imo there is something to be said for how Lip is consistently placed in the position of protector/parent. Obviously we see him take care of all his younger siblings, especially Liam. But beyond that from very, very early on in the show we see him have a strong vested interest in protecting kids, like when Karen is going to give the baby up for adoption; "Now, uh, do you check the, uh, families for, you know, um, alcohol and drug abuse? Make sure they have enough income to feed it and stuff?", "But they're still good families right? You make sure they're going to decent parents?"(s2.8)
Or in s3.4 when he convinces Mandy to help him rescue her half-sister, Molly. "She sounded desperate. Let's see if we could get her, let's see if we could help." and "If she ran, it was probably for a good reason, no?"(s3.6). Of course there's the entirety of season 4, where he's not only willing to drop out of college to look after Liam but then is afraid to even let Liam out of his sight for almost the rest of the season. And then, obviously, there's Xan in season 8 & 9, a complete stranger but still a kid in need who he then helps without question. He also gives Xan and her mom ten thousand dollars.
Also in s4 (sorry just a really good Lip season in general), it's Lip who realizes something is wrong with Ian and goes looking for him (s4.5) and then it's Lip who takes care of Fiona after she breaks parole (s4.10). On top of which, the only reason Lip is even going to college, despite vocally saying he doesn't want to numerous times, is because it'll help his family if he gets a good job; "Except the little ones Debbie, and- and Carl, and- and Liam, and, my sister Fiona. I could be there for them but I'm not. You know, 'cause I'm here. 'cause I'm told that, that's something I could do for those kids, in a big way, in a real way.' (s5.8)
This perception that Lip both doesn't care about Fiona (or the rest of his family) and doesn't do anything for them is such a misconception. Obviously, there's everything he does to help in s4, from picking up Fiona in Wisconsin to stealing food and cooking dinner every night, but there's how he does try to help Ian, like in s7.3 when he convinces Ian to take his meds. Or in s9.6 when he does a gig as a sober coach to get Ian money for his commissary account in prison. And, then, of course there's how Lip is the reason Fiona goes to AA in s9, both by convincing V to not enable Fiona, "What kind of friend do you want to be? The kind that sees her drunk at the Alibi every morning?" and also by telling Fiona, "Get to a meeting."(s9.12).
I think it's also worth mentioning that Lip only kicks Fiona out once she starts being a danger to the kids in the house, "I'm not letting you stay here! Not with Franny, and not with Liam. No fucking way."(s9.12) Keep in mind, the previous episode he had to body block Fiona to keep her from yelling around and at Xan.
It's just such a wild misreading of the text that Lip is callous or selfish in regards to his family, and especially in the context of Fiona and their relationship. When people say that Fiona always took care of Lip and he never gave anything in return, or that he pushed her to take care of their whole family and never stepped up, I think they're just willingly choosing which parts of the show to engage with and which to ignore.
Obviously there's the age gap, she's 5 years older, (in s8 Lip says he's 23 and Fiona says she's 28) so I'm not sure how much you guys wanted a 4 year old to pitch in when you bring up what she was doing at 9. But beyond that, when Lip got old enough to help, he did. We see him helping throughout the show, we see him stepping up and caring for everyone including Fiona. And it's not just Fiona he was helping, he did Kev and V's taxes, he was the one who came up for the plan to keep Debbie out of jail in s1 when she stole the baby. He helps JimmySteve throughout season 1-3.
And at the exact same time, Lip ends up having to solve most of his problems on his own or he just never brings them to Fiona in the first place. When she does find out he has something going on, her advice usually boils down to telling him to fix it; "So what are you going to do?"(s2.5) "Make it right with Ian."(s2.6) "You want to piss away every single chance you get, including this job, that's your business but don't drag me into it."(s7.10) It's also interesting how in her big "I was nine" speech in s7.12, Lip is the only one she doesn't mention.
Honestly the only character we see actually looking after Lip during his struggles with alcoholism is Debbie throughout s6 and 7. ("I don't want you to end up like Frank" being the reason he goes to rehab, "Do you need us to hide the beer?", "He's trying to get sober Frank!", and of course her confronting him in s7.11 when she finds out he's been drinking and makes sure he's going to a meeting.)
I wanna make it really, really clear that I'm not blaming Fiona or anything other character. I honestly think it's actually really compelling story telling that Lip is the sibling Fiona has a completely different dynamic with and that he's the one she consistently leans on. Not to mention, Lip clearly struggles to accept help and is pretty closed off emotionally. (Almost every big scene we see regarding their family he shuts down and goes silent.) But! I do think there's just this wild misconception with Lip's character that he's ungrateful, selfish, and uncaring towards his family. Yes he's prickly and rude and arrogant, but he's also incredibly caring and that's been a consistent character trait since day 1.
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its like... late and i need to dump all the little angst scenarios i think of in my dumb little head (i didnt include all of the harbingers because i didnt have ideas for all of them... sob sniff) (i need someone you understand and u are the #1 fatui lover in my heart)
After the funeral of the readers beloved, the tsaritsa never know that the readers tears were harsher than her blizzards (this sounds so corny but it's late plea)
The reader begging their harbinger s/o not to go on a mission in the nation the traveler is at because they're so paranoid that they'll end up in a coffin as well. (this could work in the same universe as the previous one) (Oh No .)
Dottore's lover feeling inadequate to his intelligence, so they end up staying up until ungodly hours studying and Dottore doesn't notice due to his lack of a need for sleep, causing them to collapse due to exhaustion while helping Dottore with his experiments
Columbina's lover practicing so hard for a duet they're supposed to perform that they end up losing their voice the day before the performance
Capitano's lover growing frustrated yet feeling selfish at him treating them like glass. They know it's because he's being overly weary of his strength, but they'd rather be crushed in a hug than treated like a porcelain doll that'll crack at the slightest gust of wind (it took me, way too hard to spell porcelain it was humiliating .)
Back to the handmade gift darling for pantalone.. Pantalone's darling who feels so frustrated because they know their gifts will never amount to the beautiful accessories he can just buy, unable to realize it's the love behind them that Pantalone cherishes
La Signora's lover wanting to be someone she can rely on, but it's early in the relationship and her heart has not yet melted for the reader. The reader wonders if it's their fault, not knowing La Signora just doesn't know how to deal with pure hearted love again.
Scaramouche's lover being mistaken for a caretaker because of the height difference /JOKING ILL BE SERIOUS
Scaramouche's lover often feeling themselves get closer to succumbing to their mortality. It's the little things, but it makes them oh so paranoid.. They've done everything to try to stop it, hell they even went to The Doctor about it against Scaramouche's wishes, but there's nothing that isn't.. inhumane that can happen. If they take the offer is up to you to decide <3
(cw; vomit) Arlecchino's lover who is a performer, who gets so nervous and paranoid about messing up that they end up vomiting backstage, causing the performance to have to take an emergency intermission/delay depending on how large the role the reader was playing. (I don't think she'd know immediately? i think she'd have to hear some like, other actors gossiping about it to realize)
- 🎈 is going insane
🎈 ANON WHO HURT YOU..........
Though only Harbingers were allowed to be at the funeral for another Harbinger, out of courtesy, you were allowed to be there as well. Did you care about the looks you were getting from the others? No. All you could see was your beloved's coffin that they should not be in. They should be by your side, still in this world. But they weren't and would never be ever again. Should you have tried harder to convince them not to go? You should have accompanied them at the very least. Maybe you could have protected them somehow. But no one can turn back time. (We know reader is gonna be on the Traveler's ass from then on... they are NOT safe. Reader gets a personal apology and head pat from the Tsaritsa though... she knows what they're going through.)
STOP THE DOTTORE ONE ACTUALLY HIT ME CUZ THAT'S SOMETHING I'D PROBABLY DO 😭💔 It was so hard sometimes, always comparing yourself to him, not to mention, you knew other people looked down on you because surely there was no someone like you could ever compare to the intelligence of the Doctor? And well, they were probably right, but that didn't make it hurt any less :( Yet no matter how much you tried you always felt inferior to his brilliance, and in fact only managed to hinder him more with your lack of performance.
You were so scared about not being able to live up to Columbina's voice, that you'd only mess up and thus damage her reputation and embarrass the both of you to all of Snezhnaya. You could not bear for that to happen and forced yourself to practice even more by yourself without Bina knowing. She is far more upset by the fact you hurt yourself rather than the performance :( (But she will have to call up Dottore for a quick remedy dw)
CAPITANO 😭😭 It bothered you a little bit at first, but you thought as the relationship moved on he would too, and he would realize that you're not as weak as he thinks, and he should have more faith in himself! You're wrong. It's been months and he's still scared to even do the basics of affection. And it's driving you crazy. You just want your husband... to *be* your husband! You want to hug him and be picked up bridal style and be carried and all of the sort! You're going to have to have a serious talk with him and hopefully Capitano will understand before he loses his spouse 🚶♀️
breaking down at Pantalone's... 🎈 ANON ARE U OK. You loved making handmade gifts for your beloved but you couldn't help but compare them to others. How could your little trinkets ever hold up to the expensive and professionally made ones? Yours were practically nothing to them, there was no real value in them and were easily discarded. You start to get a bit embarrassed by them and stop making it, to which Pantalone is confused. (Little do you know Pantalone much more cares for the sentimental value of your gifts, the fact that you pour so much time, energy, and most importantly love, into it, warms his heart far more than you'd ever know.)
SIGNORA MY BABY NO. She hasn't been vulnerable in so long, to the point where she doesn't even know how to open herself up again, especially in a romantic manner. She loves you, she really does, but she simply cannot give herself to you completely yet. It's a long, enduring process... one that you would absolutely wait for no matter the duration. Unfortunately, the communication skills are not the best as Signora doesn't know how to convey this to you nor do you know how to bring it up.
HELP SCARAAAA 😭 If you're taller than him then he'll definitely always be salty about it 💀 But ahem. Moving onto the angst. You are literally so big brained because I kind of wrote something like this for a Scara fic but scraped it but!! YES!! I imagine after reader hears Scara's backstory, all the people he has lost and was "betrayed" by, they would never want to put him through that kind of suffering and pain ever again. You do not want to be another "betrayal" in his life. And who else knows the answer to immortality, a longer life, better than the Doctor he's been working with...? The scientist promises that it won't hurt... not too much at least. He'll see what he can do... with some compromises in return.
You always loved performing, but even you got the jitters. Sometimes. Well, most of the time actually. And it was even worse when you knew your lover would be watching. You were terrified of messing up, to not living up to her high standards. You could handle criticism but thinking of the possible sharp and harsh words Arlie could give you made you sick with worry and fear. Unbeknownst to Arlecchino, she had no idea you were so caught up with what other people thought.
Not you giving me mega brainrot,,, these will permanently be etched into my tiny little brain
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