#because xena and gabrielle ARE the way of love!!

[witsserviceablesubstitute]

All I can do is say what I'd like to see happen and that's either the writing committing to a Buck and Eddie romance arc (911 does write romance well between its main characters) or them continuing being queerplatonic. Their other romances would work out fine as long as they and their romantic partners understand and consent to that, you know?

Queer coding and friendship in storytelling is a thorny issue when applied to homoerotic subtext because of the history it has in closeting queerness. Especially with queer men (but not always: Swanqueen and Xena/Gabriel come to mind). For example, Buck wasn't who they were going to give a queer storyline to in s7, Eddie was, and if there was nothing in the characters or their relationship to interpret homoromantically then they couldn't 'eenie meenie miny moe' a sexuality discovery arc. Buck and Eddie ending the show as friends doesn't lessen how lovely that relationship is, but denying there's romantic undertones or desiring its suppression is playing into the hands of an industry that routinely plays it safe with sexuality.

There's a lot of great representation in 911. However, there are also a lot of constraints on television storytelling which are visible in the way 911 approaches its narrative arcs— 911 knows where the lines are and it doesn't cross them often. (Personally, I want to know so much more about Karen than 911 is ever going to tell me. I live in hope 😔).

It's also why I recommended Gregory Ashe for Buddie fans. (He's a bit gratuitously brutal, but then so is 911, and he's very good at slow burn friends-to-lovers). Queer books and video games are the only place it's likely to get the level of queer catharsis some fans seem to be after (I recommend The Lamb and the Lion series for a couple that are lovely to each other. A bit of a rare thing with Ashe— he likes writing complicated and damaged men) and that's okay too.

What is, is good, and so much more than what would've happened only a few years ago.

#911 #buddie #fandom wank #911 abc #911 fox #queerness in television #queerness in media #navel gazing #i haven't really mey tommy 2.0 yet but I'm sure he has potential

[dagna]

any path is okay, as long as it’s with you.

#xena: warrior princess #xena x gabrielle #xenaedit #xwpedit #xwp #* #i finally had some time to photoshop #repurposed an eli quote to suit my ~vision~ #because xena and gabrielle ARE the way of love!!

[jennyandvastraflint]

Going insane over the Xena/Gabrielle - Vastra/Jenny parallels again.

#the way i screamed #when xena did that because HANG ON I've seen that before #also xena ready to let Athens fall in order to save Gabrielle was delicious #if you're not a little fucked up and concerningly codependent are you even living #xena and gabrielle #jenny and vastra #xwp #xena warrior princess #xena #gabrielle #madame vastra #jenny flint #jenny x vastra #vastra x jenny #vastra and jenny #the paternoster gang #lovely parallels

[mejomonster]

Thank you priest for writing lots of epic length slow burns

Thank u Silent Reading for a slow burn that takes like a third a novel to flirt, half a novel to date, three fourths to hook up, four fifths to actually be (relatively) honest and confess some bigger heavy stuff (and for fei du to propose with a quickly made ring) and im on the last fifth now but I expect more reveals to come. Thanks for a slow burn that was half during their actual romance so the buildup of trust and development didn't stall once "together." Thanks for making them "love rivals" at the start so they're not flirting exactly, but they're competitively flirting and will go onto continue doing fighting/competitive flirting for the rest of their lives so its a fun transition from their mutual crush to each other (and also gives a fun opponent/enemies vibe that never totally goes away and even 4/5 in when fei du admits most things, there's the undercurrent feeling they'll never truly be able to see eye to eye in the same world as each other and just have to adjust to learning what the others perception is when they can)

#silent reading #lb #zhoudu #this might sound odd but zhoudu remind me of xena and gabrielle a LOT #because ones older and ones a mentor of Goodness and ones hellbent on revenge by any means #fei du may (depends on when and whats compared) have a more fucked up childhood than xena but he also killed less #and theres other differences #but stuff like the domestic vibe. the mutually flirty boss vibe. the mentor and mentee of each other in different aspects #the acclimatjng on how to love someone who loves YOU back but whos otherwise morality is simply NEVER going #to be the same as yours no matter how they change #cause their world is just fundamentally different #(id argue until gabrielle kills to protect xena in her pacifist arc she is not fully seeing #the worldview xena has as Warrior as HER path and THE way to protect loved ones. #beforw that gabrielle tries being a bard being a pacifist even eventually a spiritually avoiding harm belief. #but once she crosses That line for her loved one? shes done what xenas done forcmany years #killed for someone she loved or thinking in some way itd help or protect ppl she feltcresponsible for) #well luo wenzhou and fei du dont have that kind of scene yet. luo wenzhou Cant fully see why someone would #have fei dus moral view and driving his actions #fei du hasnt killed anyone. but perceprions wise Anything is justified for revenge and protecting #the innocent caught up in messes. and its just a Different basic perspective of the world ans how to interact #its very xena x gabrielle to me in 2 very different ppl also making a home together theyd Only be able to have together

[andsotheuniverseended]

Najara: you claim to have changed. Why can’t I? After all, we both had the same inspiration. Gabrielle. But unlike you I’ve changed my whole life for her. You just changed sides

Xena: you hurt Gabrielle and I will change you in ways that are anything but peaceful

Najara: You forget? Hurting Gabrielle is your job

#gods i wanna transcribe this whole conversation because it's making me INSANE #Universe Ends Posts #xena #spofidgjodf #its just SO much the fucking. the fuckin. they're both in love with Gabrielle they're both so in love with her #but its also about so much more than that and i- hngh this show is gonna make me start eating dirt i just #the fucking. juxtaposition of Xena being violent and having the path of a warrior but also always always being so respectful of gabrielle #completely honest an gentle towards her in all ways and even encouraging her to find her own way and wanting her to be happy #and then there's Najara who has converted to the path of peace (presumably) but is also clinging to Gabrielle and the idea of Them #trying to drive Xena away instead of offering Gabrielle a choice. you know what i mean? #and its ALSO wild bc literally last time we saw Najara when Xena still thought she was good she tried to leave Gabrielle behind #WITH Najara! and Gabrielle was Not Happy about it! and then she sacrificed herself for Xena anyways! #saying she'd stay with Najara if she left Xena alone! and that! all wrapped up in this new dynamic! #i'm just- isodfugodf #Heated Drama Between Women #its all about Gabrielle and her love and her life and the path she'll choose and neither Xena or Najara realize she's made her own choices #there's no 'Gabrielle is better off with me' bc Gabrielle has already Decided that she can be peaceful and also be with Xena #Gabrielle knows where she's better off!

[back-on-my-bullsh-again]

The whole of Star Trek canon makes way more sense of you give it the Xena: Warrior Princess treatment. Within XWP, it is canon that the whole story is being given to us through bits and pieces of Gabrielle's scrolls. So any weirdness can be explained away as this bit was missing, so we filled it in. Or how was Xena at the Trojan War, but also around during Julius Caesar's reign? Gabrielle was trying her hand at fiction (without the cursed scroll this time) and wanted to write a "what if we were in Troy" story.

How does this compare to Star Trek? I hear some of you asking. Well, Star Trek episodes frequently begin with a log entry. The Captain or Chief Engineer or Science Officer or whoever is telling the story. We are watching the events play out as they recount them. And since every crew member is supposed to keep logs, if we piece those logs together, we presumably have a coherent story. But listen to any group of people recount a story and you'll hear the inconsistencies, the bias, the limited perspective. Now couple that with the fact that these stories are being turned into a show at some future date when bits and pieces of the story may be lost and you have a recipe for weirdness.

For me, thinking of it this way explains so many things. Why were there so many encounters with historical and mythological figures on Kirks Enterprise? Well, Janeway said it herself: there's debate about whether or not Kirk was exaggerating his logs. Why does it seem like there's weird one-sided sexual tension between two characters? Because character A is keeping their logs in a way that doesn't hide their unrequited love and longing for the very oblivious character B. Why is this or that character seemingly missing from an event that they'd have a vested interest in? Their log was lost or corrupted or they were so excited to be a part of the mission that they completely forgot to write it down.

I don't know if I'm making any sense. But it makes sense for me and is much more fun to think of Star Trek this way than it is to be overly critical of canon inconsistencies within a franchise that has been around for as long as it has and gone through as many permutations as it has.

#star trek #star trek tos #tos #star trek tng #tng #star trek voyager #voy #ds9 #star trek ds9 #enterprise #star trek enterprise #discovery #star trek discovery #star trek lower decks #lower decks #strange new worlds #star trek strange new worlds #star trek picard #picard #star trek lore

[hubristicassholefight]

Swordswoman showdown FINALS

Hornet (Hollow Knight) vs Xena (Xena: Warrior Princess)

(Better here in a "preferred character" sense, not "who would win in a fight")

Propaganda below cut

Hornet

Technically its not a sword but she wields a needle in a setting where swords do not exist and she wields it in an exceedingly swordlike fashion so. She counts; Girlboss demigoddess spider lady. She's been protecting an entire kingdom for longer than many of the other characters have been alive. She systematically kills her siblings for being too weak. She's simply the best.

#im pretty sure hornet can beat like. anyone in a fight.#have you ever fought hornet#its so fucking hard getting past her every time i play hk i go literally insane.

#i remember getting stuck on the first hornet fight on mt first play through and bring likr#''omg the boss fights in this are so hard!!!''#like what. you're not even half way through what are you talking about#you can't even DASH honey. you don't know what's diffcult or not in this game.

So, SPOILERS

but I feel like the "she systematically kills her siblings" part needs a little clarification. See, one of her siblings was used as a living prison for an angry god and that uh. Didn't work out for the sibling in question or anyone else.

This account is itself heavily abbreviated but it's likely that any other sibling Hornet encounters will be trying to take over as the god's new prison. She appears to challenge any sibling she sees to battle, in order to test their resolve against herself and her needle - would they actually have a chance against that god?

We never actually see her kill any siblings, but she does quite pointedly tell one of them that (to paraphrase) "My needle is lethal and I would feel no sadness in a weakling's demise."

Feels like a relevant quote. In any case, if they can't beat Hornet, it seems like her needle would be a far more merciful end than what the god would grant.

Anyway, a bit of additional material for @swordswomanshowdown :

As is the case for any cool swordswoman, it's not just her sword that's lethal, it's her with it. And Hornet's needle was custom made for her - the creators have said that, while other needles exist, hers was made specifically for her to wield, and its construction allows her to use her spider silk better in combat.

And another thing that I think makes her a good swordswoman: she's actually pretty thoughtful about how she uses it. There's a least one instance where she tries to warn someone off before fighting them! At the same time, when she does fight, she seems to enjoy it - during her boss battles, you can hear her laugh sometimes, as if exhiliarated. She's really got it all, as a swordswoman!!!

#HORNET SWEEP CMON PLEEEEEEASE#shes gay. shes the only sibling with a gender. shes a spider named HORNET. look like croissant. whats not to like

Xena

Warrior Princess

She wields a sword and chakram. Just had to submit a biconic swordswoman.

i love her. she made me gay as a kid. Anyway, her weapon of choice is her sword, she is obviously very good with it

#unfortunately i have to choose and i have to choose xena#a) utena had no warcry. b) xena fought gods. c) xena has kickass goofy comic book combat which is my favorite

xena didn’t just fight gods. she fucked up a girl’s life so bad that she (calisto) devoted her entire being to destroying everything that xena loved that ended up with calisto becoming a god in order to destroy xena, which didnt work because xena entombed her in lava. and then when xena and gabrielle encountered calisto in the (christian) afterlife (different from the greek one which they also fought her in), calisto dragged gabrielle to hell so xena became an archangel in order to save gabrielle and then sacrificed herself in order to undo all the harm that she did in calisto’s life and then when not!jesus (played by timothy omundson) revives xena and gabrielle, calisto impregnates xena with the reincarnation of calisto’s soul in order to end the cycle of hate. xena doesnt just fight gods. she creates and destroys them

#this isnt even mentioning her fighting julius ceasar several times#telling brutus that caesar is not his friend#xena and gabrielle’s souls reincarnating across centuries in order to kick ass and fall in love all over again#or the time xena became a god but tbh that ep is kinda ‘uhhhhh…..’ even if they did hire a consultant for it

#I think everyone here knows to vote for Xena. I think a couple people here might have some propaganda for Xena saved already#everyone remember that Xena/Gabrielle is CANON and that's a pretty big deal also#(does anyone have that Xena Loves Trans People interview around because that would also make good propaganda)

I love Xena ❤️ 😍 💖 ❣️

#hornet #hollow knight #xena #xena: warrior princess #swordswoman showdown #poll #official #round 6 #finals

[ivyinforests]

Obviously I am obsessed with Xena and Gabrielle’s relationship. In addition, I cannot believe that Callisto did All That within six episodes of screen time. She’s a parallel to Xena because she made herself Xena, but she’s also a parallel to Gabrielle (at least in Xena’s eyes) because Xena ruined her life and she genuinely believes (especially late season one/early season 2) that she is destroying Gabrielle. ALSO she immediately can tell that Xena and Gabrielle are in love and that’s how she gets the upper hand, while major male antagonists almost universally ignore Gabrielle or downplay her. She’s so interesting and it’s all so much better knowing that her storyline ends in the most unbelievable way possible.

#xena warrior princess

[skullsnpineapples]

The writers on Xena made a really interesting choice in terms of how they wrote almost all of the episodic male love interests for Xena and Gabrielle. The vast majority of them never end up sharing a kiss, and the connection between them is rarely explicitly labeled as a romantic one. Instead it’s almost subtextual at times, having the men ask if they plan on settling down, parting with a kiss on the cheek. Even when discussing men that they explicitly had romantic interactions with (Borias, Caesar, Marcus) the writers have them referred to as friends or former friends. It really hammers home the distinction of the crew Queercoding Xena and Gabrielle rather than Queerbaiting the audience, because they went out of their way to make as many of the romantic interactions the women had with men subtextual and analogous to the way Xena and Gabrielle were able to interact on screen, almost as if to say, “see this, you see this as romantic, it’s romance between them too”

#xena warrior princess #xena and gabrielle #xwp #lesbian #lgbt #queer media

[badass-queer-couples-battle]

⚔️⚔️ Sword gays showdown, grand finale ⚔️

*Camilla fanart by @friendamedes, used with permission

Propaganda:

For Camilla:

she prefers dual-wielding two short blades but can fight with pretty much anything. she's ambidextrous she's autistic she's even sex-repulsed ace. she sighs longingly when reunited with her weapons. she's from planet academia and dresses like an off-duty librarian. literally one of the most iconic moments of the entire series is when she gets challenged to a duel and absolutely wipes the floor with her opponent even though she doesn't even like rapiers that much. 'swords don't lie.' 

OK I’m sure you’re getting just about every character from The Locked Tomb but Cam is my favorite. She's a nerd AND a jock. She is in this deeply intense and loving and unhealthily codependent soulbond partnership with her best friend second cousin and prince. She is smart and deadpan snarky and fights like a grease fire and I have never been able to get that line out of my head.

For Gideon:

she's incredibly good w/ her two hander and less good with her rapier but she's still pretty good!! she is a horny lesbian who's taste in women seems to exclusively be "girls who have tried or are going to try to kill her". she's a redhead. i love her

Gideon’s a HUGE Butch lesbian and literally always wanted to use a broad sword. Specifically a broad sword. She said fuck rapiers. Uhhh literally dies to save the girl she cares for and the sword she uses then becomes like an altar for said girl. Gideon Nav Supremacy <3

oh she is the most badass swordswoman lesbian in media. she’s her gf’s cavalier, defends her in battle, she’s incredibly butch and buff

C'mon shes THE sword lesbian like... canonically 

Loves her broadsword more than anything on her home planet and practices whenever she can. Spoiler it’s possessed by her mom. Gave everything so her best enemy could eat her soul and become the new saint. The character of all time child of two separate threesomes, child of the god emperor, she’s dead, she’s butch, she’s a dork, she’s doomed by the narrative. She’s my favorite.

girlie is literally the swordswoman supreme. she’s the cavalier primary to her necromancer. she has a fuckoff huge longsword. she gets absorbed into another person SPECIFICALLY to swordfight for them. in a gay way too.

While everyone else was developing common sense, she studied the blade. This dyke's main weapon and true love is the long sword, but she's also passable with a rapier. The sword is, in her own estimation, pretty much all she's good for. That and her smoking hot bod and terribly charming sense of humor. 

"While we were developing common sense, she studied the blade." (Direct quote from the book). She's the most useless lesbian to ever exist, and she's obsessed with an absolute wet cat of a woman. Learned longsword mostly on her own and is such a genius with the sword she learned rapier in a few months (by personal experience, it's really really hard)

Most badass broadsword wielding lesbian easily slaying bone monsters and evil space wasps

The cavalier to her necromancer. very gay. in a complicated codependant lovehate relationship with the only other person her age she knew growing up.

For Xena:

It is HER! The OG woman with a blade! 

Her show was so iconic that any lesbian over the age of 30 knows her IMMEDIATELY because this show probably helped her have her awakening. Fandom foremothers and fathers rise up and get your gal a title.

An all around badass, bisexual woman, comfortable with many different bladed weapons. Her show was so much better than Hercules people forget his exists.

Xena is one of the OGs: once a baddie who turned good, she's a warrior who uses swords, daggers, and her trusty chakram to defeat evil and defend the innocent, while traveling with her kickass girlfriend Gabrielle. 

She has many skills

#sword gays showdown #camilla hect #gideon nav #xena #tlt #the locked tomb #xena warrior princess

[salamisatos]

late to the party?

I recently finished Xena's first season and it's the first time I'm rewatching it since I was a teen. And I'm just overwhelmed. I finished "Is there a doctor in the house?" last night and spent my whole day thinking about the episode and the season as a whole.

The thing is, I missed tv so much without even realizing it. Halfway through the season it hit me that we did used to have mid-season finales and the storyline would go a certain way to 1) give us a twist or 2) plant the seeds for the finale. What a joy, truly.

Anyways, from what I could remember the relationship between Xena and Gabrielle was never just implied but I thought they had only started to add more things in later seasons but it's so clear that this build up starts as soon as season 1. It was a very pleasant surprise, actually.

The start of Gabrielle's hero journey is breathtaking. I love a good "young and naive sidekick that tries to keep their heart pure even after witnessing the horrors of the world" trope. She starts like that and it's so painfully clear how much Xena wants to protect that and at the same time in later episodes we also see how much she respects Gabrielle's worldview. I also love that when she goes back home to figure herself out after freezing facing a dangerous situation it's 100% her choice. It was an amazing choice to put this moment right after she starts becoming more and more competent in battle, taking more care of herself because I feel like it was such a turning point for her. It's like in that moment she fully understood how high the stakes were and it's heartbreaking to see Xena come to the realization that she can't help Gabrielle with that. Ugh, I love it.

Speaking of Xena, I love how through the season we see her getting more and more fond of Gabrielle but really keeping her at arms length because she thinks she's not a good person. They are always doing things kind of separately, mostly Gabrielle staying behind and what not. I also love how this power trip and bloodlust she gets into feels almost like an addiction and it's such a painful struggle. She's trying so hard and Gabrielle is so ready to vouch for her, to absolve her of all her wrong doings, even us as audience feel so much in the way she's trying to do what's right and then bam they hit us with Callisto.

AND IT'S SO GOOD! like the literal personification of everything she did wrong. and they show us in such a nice way how much Xena understands and accepts that what she's doing is basically the bare minimum. She's not going to be absolved of anything, she's doing what's right because it's the right thing to do because she doesn't want that pain and suffering anymore and not because people will cheer and forgive her on the spot. She won't cheer and forgive herself on the spot.

It blows my mind how she's as caring as she's tough. I feel like often in media people still struggle to balance this line with the "strong female character" and here I felt it was done so naturally. In the last episode we see her using so many of her battle techniques but this time to help heal people. People she doesn't even know. We see her so practical, rationally teaching medicine as we know it to Hippocrates lol but then it all comes crashing down so painfully when Gabrielle gets injured. Like, that's her guide, her northern star, her partner and best friend. The scene where she's trying to get Gabrielle back is just so so so strong. She's like a cornered animal, no one is going to help her, she's at her most vulnerable and everything is so raw and desperate it truly took my breath away.

I don't think that's when she realized she really loved Gabrielle, I think she's known that for quite some time at this point but it was the first time she actually had to face what it would be like to really lose her and it was the worst thing that has ever happened to her.

Anyways I don't even know if I'm making sense, I just felt a lot of things and decided to let it out. I just love them so much it's crazy. And they love each other so much it's even crazier.

#long post #xwp #xwp personal recap #xena warrior princess #my text #also it's been ages since I typed so much english lol

[girl4music]

They’re not dated or old. They’re classic and iconic.

I want for so many people of this generation to discover Xena and Gabrielle and fall in love and be inspired by them the way I have done since I was 5.

When I didn’t even know what being “gay/queer” was but clearly could connect to their love story anyway

That’s what real representation is and how it works its magic. You never realize how profoundly it affects you until you watch it again one day and it suddenly clicks.

I know people of this generation who have never heard of Xena will never have that experience with them. But I very much want people of this generation to give watching the show and this ship a chance regardless.

I could wax poetic (and don’t think I wouldn’t enjoy every minute of doing so) about them forever but to truly understand how special they are and how epic their romance/love story is you really do have to see it for yourself, hear it for yourself, feel it for yourself,

Know it for yourself. Please watch this show. Learn for yourself about what you should be getting in TV art/entertainment today when there’s no restrictions now.

This show was severely censored - and yet look at it. Look what they achieved. All because they wanted to.

Pretty much everything you have - both genuine and not - in WLW representation today started from them. They were the greenlight, the blueprint, the very first. And they still hold up incredibly well as genuine WLW representation in this day and age of TV art/entertainment for the simple fact that the creators actually tried to represent them for the right reasons. You may get that every now and again now… but you know for fact they won’t last anywhere near as long. In a lot of ways the fact they were not textually canon helped them a lot and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

#xena warrior princess #xena and gabrielle #xena #lucy lawless #gabrielle #renee o'connor #gay #queer #love #romance #representation #wlw representation #why xena is still relevant representation today #100% shipper #Youtube

[lucyflawless]

"Xena and Gabrielle weren't canon"

They were canonically life partners that raised a child together: Xena canonically considers Gabrielle "the father", and Eve as "our daughter". They were canonically soulmates: they referred to eachother as such, others referred to them as such, and Xena was the only one who could pass through the soulmate flamesTM to revive Gabrielle. They canonically kissed multiple times. Xena canonically gave Gabrielle a love poem written by Sappho.

It relied on mostly subtext due to the network, but with every watch through I discover another piece of undeniable confirmation that they were a couple. Just because something isn't explicitly and overtly written in neon lights, doesn't make it less of an obvious and canonical choice. Creators, writers and actors have subsequently come out and confirmed they were a couple. XWP paved the way for other wlw shows, it absolutely set the stage for others to be more explicit, and I'm so tired of it being considered less than because Xena and Gabrielle didn't explicitly state their sexuality/identity... They didn't need to, it's so obvious!

#i swear to god xena and gabs couldve finger fucked on screen and thered still be people like 'aw best friends aw sisters" #PLEASE #xena warrior princess #anyway i saw a post and i had to write this i feel calm again now

[marley-manson]

Xena Episode Guide

Xena is an episodic show with a few ongoing arcs, both plot and character, so some episodes are very standalone, others are part of ongoing continuity. This guide will have four categories, denoted by symbol: * must-watch for plot or character development reasons + not essential but very good and/or gay, I recommend these ^ average non-essential episode, not notably amazing or awful, watch if you want more xena, skip if you want to get to the good parts faster # episodes I actively recommend skipping, not too many of these because I'm easy for this show lol.

I'm also going to link this site which has a lot of info and resources, including very thorough episode synopses under "episode guide," if you want more info before deciding whether or not to watch an episode.

It's also worth noting that it's a spinoff of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, a show I've seen exactly one episode of. You don't need to watch it to watch Xena, but occasionally it can add some context, and it's worth knowing that some plot elements are developed in Hercules rather than Xena, particularly parts of the Dahak arc in season 3. They'll have the characters explain the plot relevant stuff briefly, eg why Callisto is a goddess now, but yeah if you feel like you're missing things, that's why, and it's not a big deal.

So without further ado, here we go, starting with Xena's introductory episodes in Hercules.

Hercules: 1x09 The Warrior Princess, 1x12 The Gauntlet, 1x13 Unchained Heart# I haven't seen these, it's not necessary, and afaik some of the characterization and general vibes are incompatible with the Xena we know and love in her own show. But feel free to watch them if you want to see her introduction as a character.

1x01 Sins of the Past* 1x02 Chariots of War^ One minor highlight of this episode is that Xena and Gabrielle's respective flirtations with a man of the week each mirror their new relationship with each other - Xena and some peaceful village dude, Gabrielle and a wannabe warlord. Otherwise basic and uninteresting. 1x03 Dreamworker* 1x04 Cradle of Hope^ 1x05 The Path Not Taken* 1x06 The Reckoning* 1x07 The Titans^ 1x08 Prometheus^ Hercules and Iolaus appear if you skipped Xena's Hercules intro and want to meet them, but there's not much to recommend it 1x09 Death In Chains^ 1x10 Hooves and Harlots* 1x11 The Black Wolf+ I don't remember it too well but I remember enjoying it, and there's some cute baby les Gab stuff 1x12 Beware Greeks Bearing Gifts* Idk if it's quite essential, but a character in this ep recurs later and this episode is referenced. And it's pretty solid anyway iirc. 1x13 Athens City Academy of Performing Bards^ It's a clipshow so not much of substance, but this episode is referenced in a lot of fic as a path not taken for Gabrielle 1x14 A Fistful of Dinars^ Apparently Xena's former fiance is in it but frankly I had no memory of that so I don't think it's important enough to be considered essential 1x15 Warrior... Princess^ It introduces a recurring character (and trope) so worth watching for continuity purposes but p inconsequential otherwise iirc. 1x16 Mortal Beloved+ Controversial categorization because it's het, but what can I say, I like it 1x17 The Royal Couple of Thieves^ Pretty fun and introduces another recurring character, but otherwise not especially important 1x18 The Prodigal^ Not really a fan of this one personally but I wouldn't say it's bad 1x19 Altared States+ Gets a plus sign for blatantly gay Gabrielle <3 1x20 Ties that Bind# I personally hate this ep, but it does have somewhat significant character exploration, and I wouldn't necessarily say it's bad so much as not to my taste. Up to you whether you watch. 1x21 The Greater Good* Most of the ep isn't essential but it leads directly into the next one which is, plus it's pretty good. 1x22 Callisto* 1x23 Death Mask^ Gets into Xena's past and surviving brother, but not in a way that really has much of an impact? Might be worth watching for that, but I don't think skipping it will affect much 1x24 Is There a Doctor in the House+ Gay, good, and establishes one detail that recurs later on but not a particularly important detail.

2x01 Orphan of War* 2x02 Remember Nothing+ Arguably essential viewing for character stuff, but I don't think skipping it would hurt your understanding of anything. Solid episode though. 2x03 The Giant Killer^ Referenced in a later episode so worth watching for thoroughness, not bad but not stand-out. 2x04 Girls Just Wanna Have Fun+ Gay 2x05 Return of Callisto* 2x06 Warrior... Princess... Tramp^ Introduces another occasionally recurring character, fun, not essential otherwise 2x07 Intimate Stranger+ 2x08 Ten Little Warlords+ These are direct sequel episodes and I really enjoy both, but they're not immediately relevant. The latter is arguably somewhat essential for Ares character stuff, but ymmv on how important that is to you. 2x09 A Solstice Carol# 2x10 The Xena Scrolls+ Clipshow, not essential, but please watch it bc it's an absolute delight. Basically a canon role reversal AU, and it's one of the episodes that spawned a thousand lesbian romance novels in the form of published Xena AU fic. 2x11 Here She Comes... Miss Amphipolis^ 2x12 Destiny* 2x13 The Quest* 2x14 A Necessary Evil* 2x15 A Day In The Life+ Not technically essential but widely considered one of the best episodes of the show, wildly gay, don't skip it. 2x16 For Him The Bell Tolls^ Joxer heavy, Xena light. Most would probably categorize it as # but I'm easy for the comedy episodes 2x17 The Execution^ 2x18 Blind Faith+ 2x19 Ulysses^ Warning for dumb het, skip if your tolerance is low. After this though it's pretty clear sailing in terms of male love interests of the week, thankfully. 2x20 The Price* Amazing episode overall, imo essential for character exploration, but warning for v prominent racist tribal stereotypes 2x21 Lost Mariner+ 2x22 Comedy of Eros* It's not really essential for the most part, but it establishes a certain character beat that lasts for the next 3 seasons, and imo it's fun. Skippable if you're not in the mood for a mostly het comedy ep tho.

3x01 The Furies* Explores some of Xena's family history and introduces us to how the Furies work, since they show up in a few other episodes, but not huuugely important? Waffled between * and ^ for the record. 3x02 Been There, Done That+ One of my personal faves, not stand-out gay, but incredibly fun imo 3x03 The Dirty Half Dozen^ Basically the show's lone aware statement on feminism and it sucks lmao. Aside from that it can be fun, so I didn't mark it as a recommended skip, but it's on the cusp. 3x04 The Deliverer* 3x05 Gabrielle's Hope* 3x06/7 The Debt* 3x08 The King of Assassins# Very dude-centric and forgettable imo, but has Gina Torres as Cleopatra and introduces Joxer's siblings as a thing, so ymmv 3x09 Warrior... Priestess... Tramp^ 3x10 The Quill Is Mightier^ Fun episode for Ares and/or Aphrodite fans, not important and not notably good or gay tho (though at this point we have a relative base level of gay established so yk, p much every episode is gonna have some vibes) 3x11 Maternal Instincts* 3x12 The Bitter Suite* 3x13 One Against an Army+ 3x14 Forgiven# I skipped it my first watch and didn't regret that after watching it this time around, but fyi it does implicitly touch on the emotional fall-out of the last few episodes a little bit 3x15 King Con# 3x16 When In Rome...* 3x17 Forget Me Not* It's a clipshow, but the framing device establishes some surprisingly significant character and plot stuff 3x18 Fins, Femmes, and Gems+ A fan favourite for a lot of people, it's silly and fun with some great gay moments. 3x19 Tsunami^ 3x20 Vanishing Act^ 3x21/22 The Sacrifice*

BONUS: Hercules 4x13/14 Armageddon Now This is the sole episode of Hercules I watched, because Part 2 features the inspiration for an entire subgenre of Xena fic that I love - Conqueror fic. An AU where Hercules was never born, featuring a subplot in which Xena never turned good and went on to conquer Greece. You don't need to watch it to understand the conceit, and most fics don't follow the strict events of the episode but rather the general premise of Xena ruling a nation, but it is fun, and it has some bonus Callisto character stuff too. I've put it here because it aired alongside Xena season 3 and broadly fits into it continuity-wise.

4x01/2 Adventures in the Sin Trade* 4x03 A Family Affair* 4x04 In Sickness and In Hell# I'm at the point I haven't gotten to in my rewatch, and I skipped this one the first time around, so I assume it's not important. I think it's divisive, some fans find it funny, some find it obnoxious 4x05 A Good Day* 4x06 A Tale of Two Muses^ Haven't seen myself, haven't heard many bad things though 4x07 Locked Up and Tied Down* Starred for character development/theme stuff, but idk if it's strictly important since it's all themes that get tackled more than once. It's a perfectly good ep though. 4x08 Crusader+ Features the ongoing arc of Xena's future vision so somewhat relevant but not quite enough to be essential imo. But it's extremely gay and one of my faves. 4x09 Past Imperfect* Okay my memory's getting spotty at this point, but it's a flashback episode and those are generally important character-wise. 4x10 Key to the Kingdom# I have no memory of this one, probably skipped it, not a standout. Meg, Autolycus, Joxer heavy comedy. 4x11 Daughter of Pomira^ Sort of a sequel to The Price 4x12 If the Shoe Fits^ 4x13 Paradise Found* We're getting to the India episodes which come with their very own apology/disclaimer even in the 90s lol, so yeah, you know they get racist. But they're important episodes plot-wise. 4x14 Devi* 4x15 Between The Lines* The other episode that launched a thousand lesbian romance novels. 4x16 The Way* 4x17 The Play's The Thing^ 4x18 The Convert^ Najara's return, a downgrade from her last ep imo. 4x19 Takes One to Know One^ 4x20 Endgame* 4x21 The Ides of March* 4x22 Deja Vu All Over Again+ Canonizes Xena/Gab in a censored, network-friendly way that may have you cheering or booing depending on your perspective, but it's worth noting that it was the best the crew could get away with. The characters return in a s6 episode but one I haven't seen lol so I can't say it's essential.

A note on season 5: widely considered the worst season, esp for Xena/Gab shippers, but if you're a fan of Xena/Ares at all you might enjoy it more. Focuses a lot on the unrequited het with Xena and Gabrielle's relationship somewhat sidelined in terms of dramatic focus. But it's very arc-heavy so many episodes are relevant, and tbf Xena and Gab still have a v strong married couple vibe. My advice is to either power through, or skip freely while reading a synopsis.

5x01 Fallen Angel* Silly but v important plot-wise, also pretty gay. 5x02 Chakram* Categorized as essential for some character-statement and thematic stuff, and some minor continuity re chakram, buuuut you could probably get away with skipping it. 5x03 Succession^ 5x04 Animal Attraction* 5x05 Them Bones, Them Bones+ Silly, but v gay. Also notable for being an episode wholly devoid of men, from named characters, to background extras, to mentions in dialogue, in a way that feels like the show itself didn't even notice, it just happened to work out that way. Gotta love a show that can just casually do that without it even being a Thing. 5x06/7 Purity/Back in the Bottle^ I don't thiiiink there's anything super important here, and it's not super amazing, but it's a bit of a sequel to The Debt if that interests you. 5x08 Little Problems^ 5x09 Seeds of Faith* 5x10 Lyre Lyre Hearts on Fire^ Haven't watched this one, but some find it fun 5x11 Punch Lines^ Haven't seen this one either but it has some Gab+Dite interaction 5x12 God Fearing Child* 5x13 Eternal Bonds* 5x14 Amphipolis Under Siege* 5x15 Married with Fishsticks# Widely considered the worst episode, I haven't watched it myself 5x16/17 Life Blood/Kindred Spirits+ Stealth pilot for an attempted Amazon-centric spin-off so largely focused on random new characters, but apparently a very Xena/Gab married episode otherwise. Haven't watched myself. 5x18 Antony and Cleopatra^ I don't thiiiink there's anything super necessary here, skip to avoid het in the form of plot-induced manipulative seduction 5x19 Looking Death in the Eye* 5x20 Livia* 5x21 Eve* 5x22 Motherhood*

6x01 Coming Home* 6x02 The Haunting of Amphipolis* 6x03 Heart of Darkness* 6x04 Who's Gurkhan?* I actually haven't seen this one bc I wasn't in the mood and I never went back to it, but it's relevant to Gab's family the way Haunting of Amphipolis is relevant to Xena's. 6x05 Legacy* 6x06 The Abyss+ Racist stereotype cannibals unforch, but v gay. 6x07/8/9 The Rheingold/The Ring/Return of the Valkyrie+ Gay romance straight up. 6x10 Old Ares Had a Farm^ 6x11 Dangerous Prey^ 6x12 The God You Know* Only mildly essential in that it explains why Aphrodite is mortal now, but while I think it's somewhat divisive, it's an episode I enjoy personally so I'd recommend it. 6x13 You Are There* 6x14 Path of Vengeance* 6x15 To Helicon and Back* 6x16 Send in the Clones+ I actually haven't seen it yet but I have it on good authority that it's v gay 6x17 The Last of the Centaurs* This, Path of Vengenace, and Who's Gurkhan are starred because they kind of cap off some secondary/tertiary character threads, but fyi they're not super essential to any ongoing plot stuff 6x18 When Fates Collide+ Not essential but unskippable, iconic gay romance 6x19 Many Happy Returns+ GAY GAY GAY GAY GAY 6x20 Soul Possession+ I haven't actually seen it because it has elements I don't like, but it's another one that I know is very gay 6x21/22 A Friend in Need* Very controversial finale, many hate it, but it is the finale so it's essential. Even if I myself haven't technically watched it yet lmao.

#marley on xena #text post #xena #for anon who asked <3 #fought for my life in html to get the bolding correct btw because the fucking new post editor is so incredibly glitchy >:( #buuut then it fucks up again when you just re-open the post to edit anything else so i give up lol fix ur shit tumblr

[a-dauntless-daffodil]

on the topic of classic wlw anime ships, I'm still deceased over Nanoha sharing a room with Fate, including a BED, despite having a dorm of her own. the scene where she wakes up early, tucks their adopted daughter Vivo back under the covers, and is just SO THRILLED when Fate and the kid instinctively snuggle together like the soft implication that she WANTS her best friend forever and her new daughter to be a FAMILY

the way this quietly backs up Fate instantly volunteering herself as mom 2 for Vivio, how they naturally fall into the roles of Slightly Strict / Supports Independence parent (Nanoha, due to her lonely and self-sufficient but otherwise happy childhood) and the This Child Will Always Know They Are Safe And Loved And Can Come Crying To Me Whenever They Want parent (Fate, in reaction to literal child abuse from her mom and lots of research into not repeating that) balancing each other out so Vivo gets the best of both worlds

the moment when Nanoha our plucky lead who is always strong and determined and hopeful and ready to kick butt breaks down crying on Fate's shoulder bc Vivio was kidnapped and Nanoha is SCARED and you realize Fate is the only one she lets hold her like this, the only one she cries in front of, this girl Nanoha couldn't stop thinking about because of how beautiful and sad her eyes were, Fate who she helped save, who let herself be saved by her, who is her best friend, who she wants to build a family with, who promises her they will get Vivio back- And they do, they save their kid go on and get a house together, Vivio has two mothers and gets an amazing childhood with them, Fate is Nanoha's special person they never ever kiss they are COMMITTED TO EACH OTHER AND TO THEIR DAUGHTER

listen. Nanofate is like, anime Xena and Gabrielle in some ways. the word 'gay' will never ever be used for them outside of VA's shipping it and i don't care. they've made a life together. no external excuse or pressure. nothing about boys have cooties or there's no other way. no gimmick. just two grown women, raising their kid, sharing a home, being each other's 'special person' always

i still haven't seen anything else in anime like it

#nanofate #Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha #Takamachi Nanoha #Fate Testarossa Harlaown #Takamachi Vivio #they're queer #i don't care #they are living queerly and on screen ok

[dadrielle]

lolololol fine, twist my arm why don't you, here are my Gabrielle and Imogen thoughts.

Ok, so, one thing I like to turn around in my mind and talk a lot about is how Gabrielle’s moral confidence was shaken after the Rift (for non-Xena-fan followers, this was a series of events that put Xena and Gabrielle at odds and culminated in Gabrielle’s demon-spawn daughter killing Xena’s son, and Gabrielle having to kill her daughter like, twice (neither one stuck)(lol)). She went from having a very strong concept of her own internal moral framework to being unsure and casting about for something she could adhere to in order to regain some sense of knowing The Right Thing To Do. She became even more vulnerable to culty people like Najara and Aiden and Eli, because she was desperately seeking an external scaffolding to hang her morals on because she no longer trusted herself. This lead directly into her misguided pacifism arc, and then into her decision to ultimately put aside that search for her own path in order to follow Xena’s full warrior path, which is really the great tragedy of her character.

Imogen does not reach that point through the same means, of course, but she likewise struggles quite a bit with trusting her own moral sense. She is constantly asking others whether people or actions are good or bad, and second guessing her own actions and worth and motivations. She desperately wants the answers to be easy because they never have been and she is exhausted. She thinks she might be tainted; how can she trust herself to make the right calls? And I think that makes her more likely to both want to believe in authority figures and to be particularly let down by them not being all they’re cracked up to be. Had the Vanguard found her before Laudna, it’s very possible they would have been able to recruit her against her better instincts. I don’t think she would be a true believer and would ultimately rebel against the human cost of the project but without the Hells and Laudna in particular she too would be very much vulnerable to cults.

In both cases, they do actually have strong beliefs and a core desire to help rather than hurt people. But they don’t trust themselves to do it correctly and that gets them in trouble. In both cases, too, the strength of their love is also seeded in this weakness. Gabrielle refused to believe that Hope could be intrinsically evil. Imogen wants so badly for her mother’s actions to come from a place of care. But that lack of self-trust means that when they lean too far into their ability to understand the motives of and have compassion for others, it becomes paralytic instead of balancing.

I hope that Imogen’s arc takes her on a different path than Gabrielle’s; as I said, I think Gabrielle’s ultimate decision to model herself on Xena more fully is a very tragic one. I don’t think she ever quite manages to regain full trust in herself. However, since Imogen’s arc started from a place of self doubt and since that lack of self-worth is the core problem in the Hells generally, I am hopeful that she will develop in the opposite way and ultimately gain a firmer trust in her own ability to do the right thing as best she can.

#critical role #xwp #gabrielle #imogen temult #xena #meta #cr meta #banging my favorite characters together to figure out the places where they'll stick together lolololol #I do really really think the baseline issue with the hells isn't trust so much as it is self-worth but that's another post