#they are like bffs starting from episode 3 and nobody cares :''((((( | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

bean-spring · 1 year

Text

My take on 2x06 & jealous Brett because I just remembered I have social media and I can tell this stuff to people other than my fiance

Inside job s2 spoilers / Breagan my beloved / PLEASE DO NOT REPLY WITH HATE i can't stand negativity

- My overall take because I am a very organized person (I am not)

Whether I liked the episode or not really depends on the actual meaning behind it. The plot and structure were excellent! Ron and Brett's little rivalry was hilarious and I felt Reagan's anxiety all the damn time. I really enjoyed it and I always appreciate Andre's screentime <3 However, there is some stuff that just... Doesn't make sense? The ending is what I would call... Not rushed, per se, but forced.

I found the episode funny and cool (and stressful if you relate to Reagan or Brett in any way) and really worth it! But that's it. It's like they were trying to build a really sad and shocking climax for Reagan's relationship with Ron, but using a filler episode as the conductor. The whole episode focuses on Brett and his negative feelings towards Ron to end up with Ron and Reagan taking a break from each other. Which is not a bad way to focus on the story, but I feel like if they wanted us to focus on Reagan and Ron ONLY they would've made the episode only about them, and make the Brett/Ron argument shorter and less crucial for the plot.

I also feel like the conclusion (Ron deciding that maybe work is too dangerous for them) makes sense! But Reagan's? She says something about balancing work and their relatioship, and it makes sense too, but they don't really show how work affects their relationship in specific.

Another thing that just feels odd to me is Brett's behavior. Of course, this whole post is to defend my view as a Breagan shipper and you might think that I'm just gaslighting manipulating girlbossing you into thinking he was jealous, but I couldn't care less about people's opinions (that's a lie, I kin Brett). I genuinely think Brett was acting weird and definitely not in character if it's meant to be seen as only platonic. I didn't even ship Breagan this much until I finished the season and without having them in mind I still thought he was acting a bit too strange.

Aside from the ending and Brett's behavior (which I will address now), the episode is really good! One of my favorites for sure, and it's not even because Andre has more than three lines (It really makes a difference, though).

- The ending and how it made my girl Reags dirty

Let's start off with the ending, just like when you find an interesting movie on TV but you're too tired to watch it from the beginning so you just enjoy what's left without context!

Ron's conclusion makes sense, but Reagan's "We will find a way to balance our lives and jobs" just... Doesn't. You may not agree with me about Brett being jealous, but this is something that's been bothering me for a while and I know I'm right.

Ron decides, after being chased by his girlfriend's coworkers, realizing that her BFF doesn't like him and that Cognito is darker than he thought, that it's not a good idea to mix work and love. Which is fair, to be honest. He literally saw clones of Hitler and organs of babies, like, I wouldn't feel safe there either.

But it's not what Ron thinks about Cognito and work that bothers me, because nobody would want their girlfriend working there. What he thinks is completely valid and although I didn't like the fact that he ghosted Reags (dude just text her my girl was literally begging you for a proper answer), he has the right to want to step out from that world. What truly makes me angry is Reagan's search for the perfect reality in the last episode.

I know what's the point they were trying to make: Reagan is a workaholic and wouldn't be able to keep a stable relationship with Ron.

Which makes a lot of sense and it's not out of character at all! God knows Reags has been obsessed with Cognito and being the boss and changing the world for forever. But the show doesn't give us an explicit example of that.

I know. We aren't dumb. We read between the lines. We get Reagan. It's inside the subtext and her entire persona. Easy to see, easy to understand, doesn't need to be explicit.

This argument would work if it wasn't because there's no subtext! We don't see (not even ONCE) how work is more important for Reagan than Ron. In fact, it's the opposite. Every time she has to choose between work and love, she chooses love:

Date with Ron >> Their mission in Rome -> Rome on fire

Desperately trying to convince Ron to work for Cognito and forgetting about actual work to a point where you would think she wouldn't get anything done if Ron was there with her -> Zombie apocalyspe (that was on Brett but she was the one forcing him to get along with Ron so-)

Being scared to lose Ron in one of the timlines >> Actually saving the timeline (by this I don't mean she didn't care about the timline and the others, but she was pretty much focused on not losing Ron. Which is valid and pretty damn romantic so go girl!!!)

(This is not Reagan slander, by the way! She's been through A LOT and deserves to be selfish. I support women's rights but most importantly I support women's wrongs!)

So how the hell my girl (at the end of ep 6) gets to the conclusion that they couldn't balance both things? She was doing pretty well until the Halloween party, and it didn't even get in between their relationship, it just proved Ron's point about the work not being safe. Which, again, makes sense, but doesn't really get in between their lives in the same way the last episode says.

Episode 6: Work is dangerous and it gets in between our relationship. We have proof. Here's a whole episode putting Ron in danger to prove it.

Episode 8: Work gets in between our relationship because Reagan would put work first. Which makes sense due to her personality, but we've been proving otherwise the whole damn season!

Just stick with one reason or develop both of them but don't change them!!!!

We suppose Reagan would be a workaholic girlfriend if Ron worked there due to her personality and ambition, but we don't actually see it? And it's not really that important and y'all must be thinking I'm reading too much into it, but I just think an explicit confirmation of Reags caring more about work than for Ron would've been great. The different realities in which she treats him like shit aren't out of character but feel odd, considering that she's been choosing him over work multiple times this season. Man, just a little tiny example I'm not asking for much.

Maybe it would've been different if she hadn't gotten that promotion. Maybe she would've been happy with Ron. I know those realities are focused on the possibility of changing the world she didn't have before Ron asked her to move in together, but... I don't know. As if she didn't care for her job before the promotion, y'know?

Basically, for me the whole workaholic thing appears out of nowhere and doesn't make sense with the Ron/Reags dyamic we've seen.

And this whole thing is connected to episode 6 because I think that episode would've been a great moment to introduce both points of view: Reagan prioritizing work and Ron not finding their jobs safe enough.

- The writers' decision and how I would've written the episode because I apparently have too much free time in class to think about this

The episode is great, but I don't understand why Brett is the protagonist here. If the conclusion is meant to be about Reagan and Ron taking a break from each other and asking THE question ("Is work getting in between our relationship?"), why is Brett the one we focus on through the episode?

If it's meant to be just a slight dislike and just not getting along with Ron, why is it so damn crucial to the plot? It's not just Brett wanting to be friends with Ron in a silly, little, sitcomy way. It's Brett wondering WHY he feels like that towards Ron. It's Brett wanting to support his BFF's boyfriend but not being able to do it for no reason whatsoever. It's literally Brett provoking the reason why Ron decides to take a break from Reagan.

Whether it is meant to be romantic or platonic, Brett is technically the reason why Ron acts like that in the end. He even makes a whole zombie apocalypse happen! Just because he didn't like Ron! C'mon it's absurd to think that's strictly platonic. This plot has been going on for years in thousand of different sitcoms: F/M best friends! One starts dating someone! The other doesn't like them! They don't know why! Wow, turns out they were in love the whole time and didn't realize they were jealous.

Classic trope for best friends to lovers.

But yeah, let's say it's platonic. Let's say Brett's reaction to Ron is just a silly plot device to make the guy realize Cognito is dangerous and even the simplest guy with the most innocent intentions could cause an apocalypse.

Why make the episode focus on Brett, then? If his feelings for Ron aren't that related to his relationship with Reags, why are those the ones to make them question their rellationship?

If it's just platonic then I find the episode a bit unnecessary.

If they wanted to show us how work affects them, and not only Brett, why wouldn't they make an episode about that in specific? It isn't that hard.

I personally would've kept the same plot: Reagan trying to convince Ron to work for Cognito using the team's opinions and views on their work!

They go to Brett and everything's the same. They don't get along. It's uncomfortable. But it stays there. Brett makes some comments about how fun it is to work for Cognito but accidentally reveals how dangerous it is, and Ron starts getting a bit worried and confused because... Where the hell has been his girlfriend working?

Then they go to Andre, Gigi, Glenn, Myc... Basically, individual meetings with each. Funny sketches. All of them fuck everything up by talking about work and how it actually is and Ron gets scared with every experience he hears.

And meanwhile, Reagan gets caught up with work! There's drama everywhere! Something something someone died. Something something the Hitler clones scaped. Something something Kanye West is a nazi now and we need to end him. Something somehing zombie apocalypse.

That way we see Reagan sort of neglecting her relationship with Ron because of work, and Ron realizing how dangerous it is.

It doesn't need to be all about Brett. At all. The ending is still the same.

So why would they make Brett the main plot point, wondering why he acts the way he does, if not to be important later? Not to mention that his character is reduced to this from this episode to the end.

- Reasons why Brett could dislike Ron and why I think they don't make sense bc this dude would get along with fucking Mussolini

"Ron made fun of Brett's interests and was lowkey mean to him!"

Brett is a pathological people pleaser, and as the pathological people pleaser I am I can confirm that that wasn't the reason why he disliked Ron. Brett likes everyone. Everyone. No matter what they do. It's not even... Like, like. It's just having to see the best in everyone because he wants to be able to get along with them so they don't hate him.

Making fun of his favorite music? Drinks? Comedian? That's soft compared to what half of the people he knows say to him. Literally you could meet him for the first time, tell him that Friends is a shitty sitcom and he would literally tell you that you're right and then cry while watching the finale.

He's constantly putting other people first and swallowing his opinions and pride, so why not sharing the same opinions as Ron would make him dislike him? It doesn't make any sense.

Besides, Ron wasn't even mean or intentionally hurting Brett. And even if he had been, Brett would've probably been the one apologizing, too. He has encountered horrible people through his life and you're telling me that Ron, his best friend's boyfriend, is the one that makes him dislike someone for once? Not buying it. Doesn't make sense.

"Brett is just worried about Reagan."

Literally doesn't make any sense because Ron hasn't shown any signs of being a bad boyfriend. And if that was the case and Brett was just being an overprotevtive best friend, it would've been explicit. There's no need to hide it in the subtext. And it wouldn't even make sense for the last episodes.

"Brett has abandonment issues."

Yeah, this one's true I can't fight against this one. However, it doesn't prove anything. He can have abandonment issues and still be in jealous. It can be both!

"He's just scared of losing his best friend."

Once again, yeah, true. But it doesn't make sense to me! The reason why Brett is so obsessed with Ron is because he can't figure out why he doesn't like him. If it was meant to be platonic they would've just said so explicitly and it wouldn't have been the main plot.

"They just don't have chemistry."

Ron is like a sad boy version of Reagan with religious trauma, there's no reason why Brett wouldn't like him. They do have chemistry! Brett is the sun, Reagan is the moon, and Ron is an eclipse! (not in a bad way like- I hope y'all have seen that friendship dynamics pic because otherwise this doesn't make sense but I swear it's really cute).

They end up having chemistry and getting along! But only because Ron gave Brett a reason to like him, which Brett has never ever needed before.

"It's just a plot device lmfao stop looking this much into it."

Maybe???? But idk I would like to be a screenwriter someday so looking into things a lot is my thing.

- Brett and his people pleaser soul slowly breaking through the episode

Canonically, Ron is the first person Brett has ever disliked. Which might be an exageration because this boy tends to say stuff like this a lot, but as far as we know it's canon. So, having that in mind, we know that Ron is actually the first person to make Brett panic over not liking someone.

It's completely normal, he just wants to make Reagan happy. Everything he does is for Reagan. Can we PLEASE remember that he's doing this for Reagan? Because I think we don't talk about it enough.

The thing about Brett not liking Ron is that Brett doesn't know why he dislikes him...

Despite being a horrible father and boss, Brett likes Rand! We've seen them interacting or, well, at least we haven't seen Brett hating him. Brett likes Myc despite being a total asshole to him and the others, and he probably is the only one (except Andre) that considers Myc to be a real friend. For literal no reason. Brett still likes his bullies. He likes his shitty family. He liked Reagan although she treated him like shit in the first episode.

And maybe it's not like, like. But it's enough to make him have a normal life with them and be able to to be of service for their approval (istg this guy's just like me fr).

So why's this any different with Ron? Maybe the writers were just trying to make this a plot device and forgot about Brett's inability to hate people. But is that really what happened? Why make it the main plot of the episode, then?

And why make Brett ask himself why he didn't like Ron?

If it was because of not sharing interests or being mean or whatever (something tangible) it would've been obvious. But he spends the episode asking himself that. It's not just a silly little dynamic, it's Brett actively wondering why he doesn't like his best friend's boyfriend.

In fact, the first time he finds out about Reagan being with someone else he's excited for her! He's happy! And I don't want to project my neurodivergency on him, but maybe the fact that Ron was just an idea and not someone tangible for him yet made him unable to picture him as a threat. And when he truly is there, he finally has someone to be jealous of.

He ends up having a soft spot for Ron, but it's only because he explicitly gave him a reason to like him. And then the last two episodes his whole character is reduced to missing Reagan, projecting on a golden retriever they have to kill, and sacrificing his happiness for Reagan's.

Yeah, totally platonic! As if this clearly wasn't the same exact plot of every romantic comedy to ever exist.

-B plot and parallelisms through the season because I've rewatched this like three times already since it came out. I need therapy. Please help me get out of here.

You thought I had forgotten about Rand's plot??? Well, jokes on you, I was waiting for the parallelisms!

I couldn't care less about the B plot in this episode. If I'm being honest I found it funny but didn't really understand the reason behind it until the last episode and after rewatching it a couple of times.

B plots are often meant to be the juxtaposition between character arcs, parallelisms or just funny little stories to make the main one softer. This time it's the three of them.

Basically, two boys fighting for a girl. That's it. That's like the whole plot. Tamiko comes to the conclusion that work is what made Rand such a shitty and crazy person. Do I really need to say more? Like I'm genuinely tired of writing and the parallelisms with this subplot are pretty much obvious.

Then we have more parallelisms in the finale!

"I had everything. I had my job, I had power. I know it's a fucking cliché, but it's true. You don't know what matters most until you lose it." - Rand about Tamiko and Reagan, 2x07

Brett is well aware of how much he loves Reagan, but maybe not in what way exactly. Her dating someone else might just be that thing that tells him: "Yes. This is it. You're losing her forever. She's gonna move out and be with another man and you're going to be abandoned again. She doesn't love you as much." And I don't know if they're going to keep up with this thing next season, but it wouldn't be weird to follow this statement.

Although I know this quote is meant to be about Reagan and Ron and probably about her regretting not moving with him next season, so the Brett thing is just a theory.

"You can't just hit a button over and over and expect a relationship to go back to the way it was. And I know it's scary to give up control." - Reagan about her parents and her and Ron, 2x07

Once again, obviously about Reagan and Ron. But would it be crazy to think this could be about Brett too? Like wanting constantly to go back (after finding out about Appletone) to when it was just Reagan and him. Talking to the dog as if he was Reagan. Missing her. Wanting her back. The thing about Brett is that he doesn't hit any buttons to go back because he cares more about Reagan's happiness than for his own. But yeah, I think it makes sense.

"And I got this. All I care about is that you're happy." - Brett to Reagan, 2x08

"And as long as the person you love is happy, maybe you can be happy later." - Reagan about Ron, 2x08

"Thanks for sticking by when no one else did. A good leader wouldn't drag their best friend into their dad's bullshit. I don't know if we'll ever get back to our realities, but I've seen yours and it looks good. If I succeed I'll see you again. But if not... Good luck, Brett." - Reagan to Brett, 2x07

"I searched a thousand lifetimes for the one that would make you happiest. And you'll find it one day. Just... Without me. [...] I'll miss you, Ron, and I know it were possible, you'd miss me too." - Reagan to Ron, 2x08

Do I need to say more or....?

They both parallel each other so damn much- And to be honest, maybe it is unrequited. It probably is unrequited. But it could go both ways someday! Let's be optimistic.

-"I listen to Accidentally in love from the Shrek 2 soundtrack every day!!!!" Brett. Love of my life. Is it the vibes or the lyrics?? IS IT BECAUSE THE VIBES OR THE LYRICS????? ANSWER ME BRETT HAND-

"So, she said, "What's the problem, baby?" What's the problem? I don't know. Well, maybe I'm in love. Think about it. Every time I think about it."

"How much longer will it take to cure this? Just to cure it, 'cause I can't ignore it if it's love. Makes me wanna turn around and face me but I don't know nothing bout love."

The writing team choosing the song Brett could mention while starting an uncomfortable dynamic with his best friend's boyfriend: What about a song about falling in love accidentally and not being able to stop it?

Okay so maybe it's not THAT specific. Maybe they just wanted a silly little song from a silly little movie so people would look at Brett, smirk and say "haha he's just like me fr". But?? Is it really?? As I said I want to be a writer and I wouldn't choose something as important and cool as a character's favorite song (okay maybe not FAVORITE CANON but he loves it so) just for the memes. It has to mean something, c'mon.

-Why I think Breagan wouldn't destroy the show (as some of you say) and actually would make them one of the most powerful couples ever (this has absolutely nothing to do with my love for coworkers to BFFs to lovers)

I do agree with a lot of you: We need more M/F platonic relationships. However... Have you ever considered that Brett and Reagan are just... Not really that platonic anymore? It's not the first time we've seen this. Mostly in sitcoms! Jim and Pam from The Office, Jake and Amy from Brooklyn 99, Nick and Jess from New Girl, I can keep going... And going... I kin Brett I know about sitcoms!

Reagan loved Ron. She truly did. But it's true that he needed a normal life and she was... Midnight rain. Sorry, Taylor Swift reference. But!! Reagan would end up choosing work and it doesn't mean she doesn't love Ron, it's just that work is equally important to her and knew he wouldn't be happy if they stayed together.

But it could work with Brett. it works with Brett. Because if they dated he would understand Reagan's priorities. He would be always there for her. And he wouldn't try to keep her away from danger (he would be worried sick, ofc, and always would be there to help) because he knows Reagan wants that.

They work well together and their dynamic is sweet, a bit cliché and easy to build. Maybe it's the easy path but that doesn't mean it's necessarily bad.

As an aroace person I love platonic dynamics, but maybe this is not the one we need!! Or maybe it is, tbh I couldn't care less because either way I trust the writers to give us a great relationship development, whether it is romantic or platonic. But idk I would like to see more of Reagan with the other guys and Brett with Gigi! Maybe Andre and Gigi? It would be great not to rely on just one platonic friendship.

And by the way, there's also this possibility of them being completely platonic and Brett not being jealous. Maybe he's just a good best friend that feels a bit worried about his friendship and that's all! If you don't agree with my opinion, that's great too! Just respect everyone's points of view on this because I've seen a lot of hate towards breagan shippers and it's a completely harmless ship!! <3

If there's any mistakes just know that english isn't my first language and it's like 3 am here right now-- Thanks for reading!!!! <3

#god this took so long #you make a silly joke with a silly edit on tiktok and then end up writing a whole essay #it could've been longer and i still have stuff to say but i'm tired #anyway breagan canon #or not! maybe just platonic breagan! that's cool too #i just want them to be soulmates in any way #breagan #inside job #inside job season 2 #reagan ridley #brett hand #ron staedtler #ron x reagan #brett x reagan

116 notes · View notes

hughungrybear · 7 months

Text

Me while watching Dangerous Romance Ep 11

1. Before we start, if Name did sacrifice Saifah and set him up to the police, I would advocate skinning Name alive - not only for Saifah but also for the effect of what he did to Sailom 🤬

2. When I grow up, I want to have a bff like Guy (and Auto, as a bonus 😅😅).

3. Again, Kang why were you in that hotel room in the first place? Why were you calling Sailom's phone before the attempted r*pe happened? Why the fvck do you say "it's none of your concern" but still show some care????

4. Oh, no. Looks like Sailom will be forced to withdraw from school 😭😭😭😭 Who can blame him? Poor baby can't catch a break.

5. Sailom!!!! C'mon, forget your pride and use your rich friends (specifically Pimfah) for their money. They are willing to help anyway. You need to graduate to get out of poverty 😭😭😭😭

(Side note: Yes, Asians do value education a lot because it opens doors to opportunities that are firmly shut to those who did not go to uni. It's one of the many reasons why "poor" remains poor, because nobody would give anybody without a diploma a chance to prove and improve themselves.)

Okay, now I'm crying for all the opportunities Sailom will lose as he officially resigns from school.

6. Oooh, Nava is still visiting Guy in the hospital? C'mon, sail already 😭😭😭

7. Saifah!!!! Just tell the truth. Look what your actions have done to your poor brother 😭😭😭 <After 5 seconds> The fvck you doing Name??? Oh my gods, the boss is following Sailom. What more does he want? Saifah is already in jail. Name is not talking. Why do you want to kill Sailom???

8. Oh, look. Kang-"doesn't give a damn about Sailom anymore"-han to the rescue at the exact moment that Sailom needs him 😅. What's your excuse this time? Also, apologies to those who are related to (or are) real ones, but police in drama are rarely useful. Unless they are the effing main character. The universal portrayal of the useleness of police officers in drama and in literature is quite disheartening. Especially when you are reminded that there are police officers who act like this in real life.

9. So, where is Name in all this mess??? Just when he promised to Saifah that he'll take care of Sailom, Sailom gets shot.

10. Sailom asking the right questions 😂😂😂 Also, what's up with that motel room having a huge picture of boobies at the bedside table???? Not to be that person, but shouldn't it be strategically located like at the opposite side of bed? Or the ceiling? You know, for it to properly do its job? 🤔🤔🤔🤔

11. Looks like half of the episode is just flashbacks. <after 5 seconds> Oh, but Kang, you clearly said you are abandoning him. You should have made things clearer much earlier. Sailom, my poor baby 😭😭😭😭 Now I'm crying again. The fvck.

12. Name, use your effing brain. That dude is bound to double cross you and Saifah. You need to plan ahead and get them out of the trouble you put them in 🤬🤬🤬🤬

13. Again, not to be that person but I doubt having Kang by Sailom's side would intimidate the bad guys 😅

14. My GuyNava ship 😭😭😭 Also, it wouldn't hurt for Guy to have a backup plan. Just in case.

15. Shut up with these utterly sweet lines already 😭😭😭

16. Okay, looks like robbery is not the reason why Kang's dad was shot. Seems the motive is political. Also, Name's conscience should be bothering the heck out of him if he is even a halfway decent person. 🤬🤬🤬

17. Ah, Name. That's just stupid. You didn't even have a plan??? The fvck. Also, did Name call Sailom before Big Boss bashed his head in or after (which means, he is still alive)?

18. Ah yes, Name is still alive. Still don't get Big Boss's motivation for wanting to kill Kang's dad.

AAAAAARGH. THE PREVIEW!!!! WHY DID THEY WAIT UNTIL THE LAST EPISODE FOR GUY AND NAVA TO FINALLY KISS???? WHYYYY????

#dangerous romance #dangerous romance ep 11 #kanghansailom #kangsailom #kanghan x sailom #perthchimon #perth tanapon #chimon wachirawit #dangerous romance the series

7 notes · View notes

animehime94 · 3 years

Text

So let me get this straight...

They can plan years ahead, but they still can't add a proper plotline in their show??? What kind of a logic is this?

Before you come at me with the "It's a kid show, not meant to be taken seriously" excuse, there are a lot of popular kid shows with plotlines and character arcs such as Gravity Falls, The Owl House, ATLA, LOK, STVFOE (though writing went downhill in last season). So why can't they do the same with ML???

Gravity Falls had only 2 seasons but in that short time it managed to give us a very good plot with deep characters such as Stanley Pines.

The Owl House is ongoing, but we had a good worldbuilding and "seeds of conflict" so far and from here it's clearly going further. Not to mention they have canon LGBT characters such as Amity Blight and Luz Noceda, who happens to be the protagonist.

ATLA had top tier characters such as Zuko. He began as evil firelord's son and gradually changed & got stronger. He received a slow burn redemption.

LOK had political ideologies as its main conflict. Each season had a plotline about a leader with an ideology (communism, etc) and Korra had to fight against them to protect people.

STVFOE began as a chaotic magical girl isekai but gradually the topics and characters became deeper. One of the underlying themes was racism, they explored this with Mewmans vs Monsters conflict.

Most of these shows appeared lighthearted at first with not much going on and their plot were revealed gradually.

Miraculous Ladybug already has its main conflict, has this idea of wearing jewelry with magical powers to fight against akumatised villains. The idea can be expanded much further.

BUT we are 4 seasons in and that's pretty much all we have! We don't have a plotline to follow. The characters are still stuck into the status quo BS. We don't see most characters having a motive. A continious resolve. Sure, Marinette is the new guardian and Gabriel is obsessed with reviving his wife but other than that nobody has a goal in this show!

Take Adrien for example. His character could have more depth if the writers bothered to stop worshipping him as perfection and actually gave him some sideplots of his own. Looking for his mother's whereabouts, being cautious with Gabriel due to his miraculous book etc would work as his motive too. But no, he's only a superhero for fun and he's the trophy BF for Ladybug / Marinette. There I said it.

Alya was interesting with her strong sense of justice but the writers haven't done as much as they should with her in 3 seasons, then they suddenly decided to give her a BFF pass into Mari's secret. (BFF knowing about protag's secret is a cliche in superhero shows but they are usually done in the beginning, not after like 80 episodes aired. The timing was really bad IMO)

As for Chloe she kept getting the short end of the stick because Astruc hates her with a burning passion. Imagine being hated so much by your creator that your entire potential is literally WASTED and then you'll be pushed aside with an out of nowhere half-sister. If this was another show with a creator that actually cared to improve their characters we would be getting a redemption arc with her. Learning to be more gentle, atoning for her mistakes + improving her family relationships OR having a found family would be a top tier motive for Chloe to have.

ML has a lot of potential with awful execution. If they don't start adding a continious plotline and add more changes soon the episodes will get too repetitive and boring for fans to folllow. Then this timeline of theirs will fall apart.

#ml salt #miraculous ladybug salt #anti miraculous ladybug #anti ml #anti thomas astruc #alya salt #adrien salt #chloe deserves better

184 notes · View notes

bigskydreaming · 3 years

Text

Hello, hello, tis I, your friendly neighborhood ‘dude who is obsessed with people making jokes and insults out of Dick’s name’ back with another episode of Why No But Seriously Why!

In today’s episode, we’re going to focus on the fanon of the swear jar. That thing ordained by Alfred that makes many an appearance in fics and headcanons....including ones that also show Jason and/or others calling Dick a Dickhead and other things all willy nilly and suchlike and forthwith.

How does this track, asketh I? Does Alfred provide exemption clauses for making fun of your brother, to the others? Does Alfred not consider making crude insults out of the name Dick to be a swear? Does Alfred, a born Brit, hailing from the land of the “We’ve Been Calling Richards ‘Dicks’ For Longer Than The Rest Of You Have Been Calling Them Rich’s,” not consider the fascination with making penis jokes out of the name of a child he’s helped raised from the age of EIGHT to be uncultured, crass and frankly unacceptable in any house he resides in?

I’m just saying, does it really make sense, and is the risk of pulling readers out of your story if they’re NOT amused by the jokes made of his name really worth whatever it is you feel is added to a story BY making the same old jokes about Dick’s name?

As I’ve said many times before....Dick Grayson? Fictional character. Has no feelings that actually need protecting....OUTSIDE of fiction. Making jokes about his name from beyond the fourth wall, just people commenting on a fictional character’s name? Go wild, go crazy, have a freaking Bacchanalia. Truly does not matter, if you ask me.

But IN universe? IN fiction? Totally different story, because look what those jokes require or make assumptions out of:

1) That Dick truly has no protective or defensive feelings whatsoever about his childhood nickname, and genuinely feels nothing about people habitually taking his choice to keep it as an invitation to insult or mock him.

1b) That Dick doesn’t in any way ever perceive peoples’ insistence on associating his name MORE with the insults and penis jokes than they do with it just being a name, to in any way be a slight against his beloved parents, of the “well they should have known better than to call him that” variety.

1c) That Dick has no negative feelings whatsoever about the fact that even his close friends and family regard his name as being no more worthy of respect or being ‘offlimits’ than the average Gothammite or public citizen might regard it, despite the fact that his close friends and family are perfectly aware of the public’s history of looking down on Dick for his origins and thus you’d think would WANT to appear different than them in Dick’s eyes.

1d) That Dick has never at any point expressed anger, frustration or bitterness that he can’t even have his name respected without even loved ones superimposing their own associations on top of it, no matter what it means to HIM.

2) That Alfred truly has no opinions whatsoever of the other charges in his care disrespecting Dick’s name and its origins stemming from his first parents.

2b) That Alfred has never expressed this opinion to any of them or made his displeasure about such jokes known.

2c) That Alfred doesn’t find it disappointing that the rest of the family and associated friends and allies seem disinclined to separate themselves from the general public’s opinions of Dick’s name by regarding it with a little more respect as at least a sign that they regard Dick himself with a little more respect than the general public.

3) That Jason or none of Dick’s other friends or family have never taken the initiative to wonder for themselves how Dick might actually feel about the frequent jokes or insults, and if shockingly, he might not actually be fond of them.

3b) That Jason or Dick’s other friends or family have chosen not to care or respect the opinions of Dick and/or Alfred or anyone else who states or suggests that these jokes or insults aren’t welcome.

4) That none of Dick’s other friends, be they Titans, or Uncle Clark, or siblings like Cass or Damian or frankly anyone, ever speak up in defense of Dick’s name and suggest that there’s a significant lack of respect around it and thus around him, that they personally take a very dim view of. (Even when Jason’s best friends include Dick’s former fianceé and own longtime BFF).

5) That nobody has ever bothered to think that only EVER being addressed by some form of insult by even his own siblings might possibly have a slightly demoralizing effect on someone’s self-esteem over time.

5b) That nobody has ever bothered to think that making sexual jokes about his name and thus innately sexualizing Dick from even his earliest days in Gotham, when coupled with the hyper-sexualized stereotypes people often apply to Romani individuals and further coupled with the suggestive rumors surrounding Bruce’s reasons for taking in a young boy, might possibly have contributed over time to Dick having an extremely skewed view of himself as an innately sexualized being no matter what he actually did in terms of sexual behavior.

I mean.....there’s more. If I felt like it.

But the point is......there’s a LOT of implicit assumptions that creep in alongside the seemingly harmless jokes and insults surrounding Dick’s name, the second you start to really focus in on how it might appear from his POV....IF you include even just the possibility that he DOESN’T like it.

EDIT: Also, lots of people have pointed out that its just sibling culture to make fun of a sibling in ways that you wouldn’t be okay with someone outside the family making the same jokes. And this is absolutely true! BUT. My issue here and why I don’t think the Dickhead jokes fall under this umbrella, is because I can say in my experience being from a blended family, and from what I’ve discussed in the past with other kids from blended families....there are ‘rules’ about this sort of thing, when you have adopted siblings, and the one near-universal truth that I’ve always found is that anything that stems from an adopted sibling’s first family, the one you do NOT share with them, is absolutely off limits. You mock them for something that originated outside your family, you’re the asshole, because at that point, you’re literally no different from outsiders to your current family making fun of that sibling. That ‘joke’ is not YOURS to make or share in, if you do not have the history with the thing you’re basing the joke on, that your sibling has with it. Shared history is the entire basis of siblings being able to mock each other while still citing solidarity against outsiders, and in adopted families, there absolutely are elements of each others’ lives that YOU are the outsider to, and it absolutely falls on you to respect that just as you’d want your sibling to respect the same of you in turn. If Jason absolutely would not be okay with Dick or anyone else making jokes about Catherine or his life with her, he should not be okay with making jokes about Dick’s name, circus origins, or other aspects of his life that stem from or call back to his time with his first family. The same holds true of all the others as well.

The other aspect of this name-calling not falling under the excuse-umbrella of just being typical sibling culture is its entirely one-sided. Show me the tendency where Dick responds to these everpresent jokes or insults by even light-heartedly calling Jason and the others insults like Hey Asshole, or Dumbass or anything like that. When things are entirely one-way, the impression given is not that of a camaraderie of back-and-forth. It becomes just one person or multiple people punching down in a way they feel confident from experience the other person will NOT respond in kind, which gives them an outlet for venting frustration, resentment or aggravation which risks them nothing, because they KNOW Dick won’t retaliate, and at that point that exchange becomes something very different from a general sibling back-and-forth....because there’s no ‘back.’ What you end up with at that point is literally just hostility, no matter if more mild than other cases, and a situation where one sibling is simply taking ADVANTAGE of the opportunity afforded by another sibling’s good nature and refusal to engage in hurt feelings even while you feel free to cause those feelings in them. And that’s just not a good look. Its just not. And even if you find those exchanges humorous yourself as a writer or a reader, you might want to keep in mind that to plenty of other readers, its making even the characters you like and INTEND to be liked, just....come across as kinda not cool assholes instead.

END OF EDIT.

And here’s the other point:

Its not really about his name, and never has been.

His name is simply emblematic of how EASY it is for people to fall into the trap of just....choosing to overlook Dick’s POV entirely, the second its pitted against other characters and what they might gain from their POV....even if that ‘gain’ is as simple and basic as the slight moment of humor Jason gets from making a joke or mocking insult out of Dick’s name.

Here, let me present this another way:

Every single person alive has SOMETHING they get defensive or protective about. SOMETHING that they’re like no, this is offlimits to people, this is not for their consumption, their entertainment, its not for THEM to take and twist into something other than what it is for ME, because its MINE. This is basic human nature. EVERYONE has this feeling about SOMETHING that’s particular to them.

And with Dick, most of the things that we’re generally given to view him being protective or defensive about are either almost more about other people than him - such as being protective of his family members - or else, they’re things that he’s not ALLOWED to be purely defensive or say, territorial about.

Like for instance, the name Robin.

Think about how Robin is pretty much one of the ONLY things Dick is largely deemed to be defensive or proprietary about.....BUT how that’s also largely used NOT to have him wholly in the right for feeling that way.....but to put him in conflict with the other Robins, given that they also have strong feelings about the name regardless of its origins, and its not solely Dick’s anymore.

Now here’s my question:

If for example, you go with the take that Robin was Dick’s mother’s name for him, and that’s why Dick is so protective and defensive of that name.....why would he be any LESS protective or defensive about his mother AND father’s OTHER name for him....given that the only possible reason for him TO stick with the name Dick all throughout adulthood, is that its the form of his name they referred to him by, and thus, clearly, it DOES carry emotional significance for him?

See what I’m saying?

Why is it, that the only time so many people see Dick laying a claim to something, being defensive or protective of something that’s HIS, standing up for HIMSELF.....is when the waters are murky, when its not a clear cut case of him being wholly in the right, when it pits Dick against someone else and says both are at least somewhat valid?

Why is it so RARE to see people imagine Dick putting his foot down in defense of himself, in defense of something that’s HIS.....where its 100% crystal clear that he has every right and reason in the world to feel this way, where there’s no doubt whatsoever that he’s on the correct side of thinking “this is mine and I get to say this”?

Even about something as simple and basic as his own name?

And why is it the only time we seem to see people sticking up for Dick or weighing in on his behalf, its in the case of extreme actions like him having been raped or abused? Why are there hardly any stories of people looking at alleged family and friends bitching about Dick or heaping insults on him or his capabilities and saying hey, he’s been doing this while most of us were sitting in middle school detention, you could show him some respect? Why do none of the people who value and respect Dick so highly ever seem to weigh in like THAT in stories?

My challenge, should you choose to accept it, is just to look at the above list of possible reasons why Dick might not be thrilled about how people use his name....and just IMAGINE what it would look like, if Dick just said to another character....”Hey. Could you cut that out. I would appreciate it if you didn’t do that.” Even just “I really don’t like that.”

How does a scene like that go? One where Dick is wholly and completely justified in putting his foot down, in feeling that someone is overstepping or paying him an insult or a disservice?

We hear all the time in fandom about how in the name of ‘humanizing’ Dick and ‘making him more relatable’ some people focus overly much on emphasizing his flaws, his alleged temper, his secretiveness, etc.

I’d like to argue that flaws are not actually the only staple of humanity. Risking making a character more dislikable is not actually the only way to make them feel more human or relatable. THIS is another way to do that. Make them defensive, proprietary, territorial, even prickly.....but with REASON. With CAUSE. With JUSTIFICATION. Because people are ALLOWED to be, when people are being a - all irony intended - total dick to them.

And there is a long, LONG history in fanfics, of people being exactly that to Dick, and him just....smiling.

EXCEPT for when his choice NOT to smile, and to actually take offense and push back......pits him against another character but with the other character usually being granted just as much right and reason to not give way.

So? I’m saying you have right here a perfect example of how to flip the script on that. To make it abundantly clear that Dick has just as much right to put his foot down with even people who love and care about him and say hey, you’re doing something I don’t like, that in fact even hurts me, and I want you to stop.

Why not use it? Why does there always seem to need to be an ARGUMENT about whether or not Dick is in the right to feel wronged in some way.....when its so abundantly clear that he’s given no shortage of reasons for that in practically every other fic?

And consider.....if you’ve never previously entertained the idea that Dick might take offense to how people treat his name, or feel defensive about it......what else might you be overlooking that he could feel that way about, and is there any reason why you think you tend not to view Dick as being defensive of HIMSELF and things that are uniquely his?

*Shrugs* Just food for thought, mayhaps.

111 notes · View notes

purrincess-chat · 3 years

Text

Cat’s Not-All-Encompassing Character Ranking

Okay, so I have to admit that I omitted a lot of characters I don't have strong opinions on. Most of them were one-off akumas, so don't get your panties in a twist, your faves are probably still on here (and ranked lower than you think).

As a preface again, these are just my personal opinions. They can't hurt you. You can still like characters more or less than me. And I don't care how you feel about them. This list is for me. And the person that asked for it. So shut up. Go make your own rank list if you’re so butthurt.

We're going in reverse order this time, starting from the bottom:

84. Gabriel Agreste- I mean, is anyone surprised? I am not private about how I think Gabriel should go to jail. Or fall off a cliff. Or be erased from existence. Rip to those that like him, but I’m different.

83. Thomas Astruc- Honestly, he’s down here on principle. Self-inserts are generally a no-no, and I just laugh every time I see him on screen because he really put himself in this show and said boohoo no one appreciates me XD

82. Bob Roth- I feel like this one should also be obvious. He’s just a dick. Terrible human. I give him 0 stars.

81. Tomoe Tsurugi- We all collectively hate her, right? It’s not just me?

80. Su Han- This mans has small peepee energy. And he bad mouthed Fu, so get FUCKED, my dude.

79. Rolland Dupain- Listen, I get it, he liked Marinette in the end, but I could do without the racism.

78. Nathalie Sancoeur- My opinion of Nathalie took a nosedive after the s2 finale. I just do not care that she is in love with her boss. Don’t care that she’s dying. Just do not have it in me.

77. XY- Justin Bieber ass wannabe.

76. Nora Cesiare- I didn’t care for Nora. I know Thomas loves her, but the overbearing sibling trope is tired.

75. Anarka Couffaine- I underestimated how much I don’t really like her. Like, it’s not full-on hate, but I just do not care for her.

74. Otis Cesaire- Got akumatized because a kid said he could outrun a panther. I’m still not over it, Otis.

73. Andre Bourgeois- No love for the crooked mayor. I hope your wife divorces you.

72. Alec Cataldi- The real villain of Stormy Weather. Like fr why is he such an asshole?

71. Roger Raincomprix- Is Officer Roger just doing his best? Sometimes. But like sometimes this mans just needs to take a chill pill.

70. M. D'Argencourt- Please get out of the 1600s

69. Ella/Etta- These two are basically the same character, and I am indifferent to both of them.

68. KnightOwl/Barbara- Listen, I would have liked you more if you were less controlling.

67. Majestia- Same as above, but like I guess I like you more

66. Theo- *Mean Girls principal voice* Stay away from underaged girls!

65. Andre the ice cream man- I just want a scoop of chocolate, Andre. Is that too much to ask??

64. Amelie Graham de Vanily- We haven’t seen much of her, but she seems like a snake bitch.

63. M. Kubdel- I mean, if my son wanted to resurrect an ancient mummy and believed in aliens, I’d give the family heirloom to my daughter too.

62. Jalil Kubdel- Lolol, buddy, pal, dude, my guy. Chill.

61. Vincent (Adrien's photographer)- Head empty. Mom’s spaghetti. Idk he’s alright.

60. Manon- I don’t hate Manon. She just gets on my nerves every time she talks.

59. M. Ramier- This mans got akumatized a billion times because he gets emotional about pigeons. I mean, honestly mood.

58. Mme. Mendeleiev- She doesn’t put up with Chloe’s shit, and we respect her for this.

57. Baby August- Someone just give this mans some food. He’s a growing boy.

56. Santa Claus- If I were Santa, I too would list Ladybug as the best kid in the world.

55. Art Teacher- He doesn’t even have a name, but I vibe with him. He seems like he likes to paint scenes of nature with his pet squirrels.

54. Prince Ali- Lil mans just wanted to have a good time. I can respect that.

53. Duusu- Duusu, I get that your Miraculous was broken, but get with the program, girl. You is a hostage.

52. Other Kwamis- Idk, all the ones we haven’t seen as much. I don’t have real opinions on them yet. Just neutral.

51. Sass- He gives me dad vibes.

50. M. Damocles- You go, you funky owl man

49. Jean (Chloe's Butler)- He deserves a raise. What is your name, sir? We may never know.

48. Mireille Caquet- She’s pretty cute. No complaints.

47. Aurore Beaureal- Baby’s first akuma. I love her design. She’s a cutie.

46. Claudie Kante (Max’s mom)- This womans just wanted to go to space and live her dream. We stan a hardworking queen.

45. Hot Dog Dan- I like him more than Andre the ice cream fraud. Sure, my hotdog might turn me purple, but if I ask for chili on it, I bet he’d oblige.

44. Nadja Chamack- I mean, she’s doing her best.

43. Audrey Bourgeois- So, as I said in the episode ranking, I have a love-hate relationship with Audrey. She’s the worst, but that’s why I love her. I love her ironically. Like, yeah she’s atrocious, but I just want to watch her burn the world.

42. Luka Couffaine- Directly in the middle, like he’s always been.

41. Nathaniel Kurtzberg- My opinion of Nath improved after Reverser surprisingly. I ship it.

40. Chris Lahiffe- I like Chris better than Ella/Etta. He’s just a little mans out here living life wanting to grow up. Don’t believe it, Chris. Stay little forever. Being an adult suuuuucks.

39. Fang the Crocodile- The goodest boy.

38. Nooroo- I just want to give him a hug.

37. Mlle. Bustier- She’s doing her best, but I mean, when ya whole class keeps getting turned into supervillains, I’m surprised she’s not an alcoholic.

36. Penny Rolling- I just like her. I think she’s neat.

35. Ondine- Mermaid queen! She’s so sweet, and I love her with Kim. I hope we see more of her in the future.

34. Marc Anciel- Marc is a little cutie bean. Idc if he’s based off one of Thomas’s irl friends. He can stay.

33. Wayzz- He loves Master Fu so much I cry.

32. Felix Graham de Vanily- I know everyone hates canon Felix, but tbh he exudes massive chaotic neutral gremlin energy, and I actually kinda vibe with that. And he pisses with his uncle which is a whole ass mood.

31. Tikki- Tikki is very cute, but bby please work on the preaching. You don’t always know what’s right, babe.

30. Sabrina Raincomprix- Sabrina deserves better. I hope we see good things happen for her.

29. Lila Rossi- Surprised? I actually like Lila. The first fic I ever wrote for this fandom was a Lila redemption. I think she is a good antagonist and foil to Marinette. I absolutely want to see her get dunked on in canon, but that doesn’t mean I hate her.

28. Wayhem- I don’t know why, but Wayhem makes me laugh. I love him XD

27. Uncle Cheng- He’s just a good mans with a birb who wants to make you tasty food. What’s not to like?

26. Trixx- Trixx shot up after GoS. Chaotic bean make Eiffel Tower go bendy

25. Jess- She’s pretty cool. She’s a vibe.

24. Aeon- The cutest bean!!! She saw Adrien and Marinette and said yep. Those two are meant to be together. Jess, we gotta make it happen.

23. Ivan Bruel- Ivan is such a gentle bean. We love him.

22. Mylene Haprele- Smol

21. Fei Wu- I still have not watched the Shanghai special with subs, but I liked her.

20. Gina Dupain- The grandma I aspire to be.

19. Marianne Lenoir- I love her. She is good. She and Fu are so cute. And she seems like she would have kicked le ass back in the day. (and even now)

18. Rose Lavillant- I am so excited for Pigella!! Rose is too cute. We love her.

17. Gorilla- aka Adrien’s real dad. If the series doesn’t end with Gabriel getting yeeted into the stratosphere and Gorilla adopting Adrien, I don’t want it.

16. Clara Nightingale- She’s in love with Marinette. You can’t change my mind. 16 is also how old I hc her to be, so don’t nobody come for me.

15. Tom Dupain- Most. Supportive. Dad. Soft bean. Just wants to make you fresh bread.

14. Sabine Cheng- Good mom vibes. We love to see her.

13. Juleka Couffaine- Shy goth bean. Just wants to have her picture taken. Definitely a lesbian. We stan.

12. Nino Lahiffe- The goodest boy. He’s just out here doing his best, loving his friends.

11. Chloe Bourgeois- Chloe is another one I have a love-hate relationship with. Her brattiness is funny to me. We had high hopes for her. Honestly, she ranks this high because I like to play with her in fic.

10. Max Kante- He smol and smort. And I adore his friendship with Kim and the fact that he made an AI himself at 14. What a legend.

9. Alya Cesaire- Rip to Alya salters, but I’m different. Outside of Chameleon, Alya is fine. She’s a supportive bff. All yall people that are mad she doesn’t kiss Marinette’s ass all the time need to go out and make real friends. I said what I said.

8. Alix Kubdel- I love Alix. I love how she is always so done with all the lovey-dovey bullshit. She is tiny queen, and Bunnix, while OP af, is still super cool. We love to see her.

7. Kagami Tsurugi- I will fight anyone who shits on Kagami. She has done nothing wrong, you guys are just haters. All she did was exist, and yall said, wow what a toxic bitch?? Disgraceful.

6. Jagged Stone- We are going to ignore the deadbeat dad trope that canon thrust upon him. He is a Marinette stan, and we love that.

5. Kim Le Chien- I really love Kim, you guys. Does that surprise you? Listen, my favorite male character types are sweet beans and himbos. Kim is both of these.

4. Master Fu- If you didn’t pick up on how much I love Fu from the episodes ranking, then idk what to tell you. I want him to be my grandpa. I would trust this mans with my life. He did his best. You paint those pictures, you funky little man. I love you.

3. Plagg- My galaxy trash man. Love him. 10/10 chefs kisses all around.

2. Adrien Agreste- The biggest Marinette stan there is. I just want him to kiss her on the face. And marry her. Idk, I just think that would be neat if he could do that. I just want good things for them.

1. Marinette Dupain-Cheng- Honestly, are you surprised? I have always been and always will be a Marinette stan. If you expected anyone else to be in this spot, then clown suit rentals are off to the left.

#cat speaks #cat spoils #character ranking #okay fr tho dont ever ask me for anything ever again #take your complaints to your dashboard button and off my blog #idc if you dont like my ranks #theyre not for you #heck off

23 notes · View notes

themonkeycabal · 3 years

Text

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, ep 3

Good morning!

Spoilers! of course

Previously on:

The new Captain America is a massive tool, but his buddy, "Battlestar" (lol), is a little bit adorable. They work for something called the Global Repatriation Council, which sounds like a bureaucratic delight and joy.

Bucky got arrested for skipping his therapy appointment to go to Germany (nothing good ever happens to you in Germany, Bucky. Stop going to Germany.) on a mission with Sam (the mission went badly). And once he's sprung from the clink, he and Sam are suckered into the most awkward team therapy session in many an age. Things Are Said and everybody ends up mostly feeling pretty bad about everything.

Speaking of feeling pretty bad about everything — we discover there was a black super soldier in the US Army during the Korean war who was repaid for his service by being imprisoned and made a lab rat for thirty years. Just as awful as it sounds.

Also our pseudo-terrorists from the first episode turn out to be a pack of idealistic kids who grew up in a blipped world and whose goals are probably as murky to them as they are to me. They, however, have pissed off somebody much bigger and badder (probably by stealing super soldier serum).

To find just what in the sam hill was going on with the super soldier serum being out in the wild, Bucky suggested they go talk to that very stable and rational repository of Hydra knowledge, Zemo. I'm sure this will go swimmingly.

I've got my chips and guac and beer, it's 12:30 a.m., and I'm ready for some good ol' fashioned fisticuffs! Bring it, Marvel,

And we open with a sunny, smiley propaganda ad for the Global Repatriation Council. Helping you get back to the way things used to be. Reset. Restore. Rebuild. Cut to a shady black police van with the GRC logo and militarized police hop out along with Captain Massive Tool and the shield that really shouldn't be his. They seem nice.

"Don't give them a second to delete, shred, or breathe," says Captain Biggest Bestest Hero Ever as they prepare to breach a graffiti covered building. Ah, it's the hideout in Munich where Karli and the flag stompers gang were bunked last episode. The owner refuses to give up any info, calls them brutes, spits in Captain Tool's face, and Captain Biggest Bestest Hero Ever roughs him up and yells "Do you know who I am?" The owner replies for us all, "yes, I do, and I don't care."

Captain Tool leaves and grumbles about not having intel on that super dangerous criminal 12-year old, Karli. Battlestar (lol) points out she's giving shelter and meds to displaced people, and so they're loyal. And I'm just going to let that go at this point, because last ep she was on about how the GRC only cared about helping the returning people and not the people who were there all along, and the Flag Smashers wanted to return the world to how it was during the blip. But now suddenly they're all about helping the displaced, who I thought were the ones who were gone, thus, you know, being displaced when they come back to a world that's moved on without them. And I'm letting it go …. now.

Or not. I mean, I guess we could say that they're helping the displaced the GRC doesn't want to help, because they're not politically useful or the GRC is funneling its massive resources somewhere else. Or … something. Like I said, it's all very murky at the moment. I could keep watching and probably discover the answer. And I'm sure the GRC is corrupt as hell, so you go Karli! Though, she's like 16 (okay, maybe early 20s), and I'm not sure how she's managed this level of pull and resources in the few months since the great Un-Blippening and also she's got like a team of 8 (or 7, one died last ep) and she's not exactly oozing charisma. But, never mind. Moving on. For real this time.

That's all my way of saying that 3:48 into this episode and I'm already super done with Captain Massive Tool.

In Berlin, Bucky and Sam are visiting Zemo in prison. How'd they get permission? The guard seems very chill about them being there, he even leaves so Bucky and Sam can go to Zemo's cell alone. Which is so very weird. Are they hoping somebody will shank the weirdo who sits in his cell listening to opera and playing chess all day? "Oh no, he's dead, how sad. Heinrich! Get the mop!"

Anyway, Bucky says he'll go in alone, because Sam's an Avenger and Zemo doesn't really have warm fuzzy feelings for Avengers. Sam, who is currently in possession of the duo's one (1) brain cell, remembers how Zemo literally stalked Bucky and tried to frame him for a bombing and mass murder. "He was obsessed with Hydra. We have a history together," is Bucky's very questionable counter-argument. Well, I mean, technically yes, I guess.

Seriously, they just let him walk right in. Wow.

Zemo steps out of the improbably dark recesses of his cell and immediately starts reciting the Winter Soldier control words. "I just wanted to see how the new you reacts to the old words." By staring. It's his thing.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry. It was never personal." I don't know why, but this made me laugh. His delivery is great. It's just like "hey man, good to see you again, hope you got past that whole framing you for murder and the global manhunt thing. Sorry and all. I just really hated your BFF for that time he dropped a city on my family. Bygones, amiright?"

Bucky skips the chat. "Somebody recreated the super soldier serum. I need to find out who." Ah, Zemo is super interested. But, of course. He killed all the other Soldiers, he wouldn't be keen on others around, would he?

Zemo knows where to begin looking for the answer. Cut to Sam and Bucky walking around in a dark room full of some sort of vague equipment (ah, it's a garage), Sam regretting every life decision he's ever made that led him to this point "what are you talking about you want to break Zemo out of jail? Where the hell are we? Buck, have you lost your mind?" Stupidity, who knows, and yes.

"Zemo's going to mess with our minds. Especially yours. No offense." "Offense." lol idiots.

Bucky finds the lights. They argue some more about Zemo. "Super soldiers go against everything he believes in. He is crazy, but he still has a code." Sam's like, yeah, I saw his code, it was blow shit up and kill a lot of people. Sam cannot believe he is hearing this crap right now and he's got to be like "steve rogers, if you weren't 106 I would beat your ass for leaving me with this moron".

"Let me just walk you through a hypothetical. Can I walk you through a hypothetical?" Sam, feeling those cold, tingly chills, the slowly creeping horror of realization, "What did you do?" "I didn't do anything," Bucky lies like the terrible liar he is. Wow he's a bad liar.

Cut back to Zemo's prison cell. Zemo ticks another off the "creepy euro villain" checklist, when Bucky randomly asks what he's reading and Zemo says Machiavelli. But of course. He's hiding something in his book. A key card.

Meanwhile, in the garage Bucky is explaining things to Sam. "The weakest point of any system isn't the software, or the hardware, it's the meatware." lol elegantly put, Bucky. "The human element."

Anyway, to sum up, Bucky's already broken Zemo out of prison. Poor Sam, the look on his face as Bucky hypotheticals through all the steps of the breakout, I laughed so hard.

Sam: “i hate everything, especially this asshole”

"And where are we?" Sam asks, very fed up with Things.

The door opens and here comes Zemo in his purloined guard's uniform.

"You're going back to prison!" "We need him, Sam." Zemo, politely, "If I may—" "NO!" "NO!"

Argue argue argue. Bucky makes a weird pitch about how Steve didn't sign the Sokovia Accords and neither did Sam and, they went all illegal and on the run, they did it for him and so he's asking Sam to do that again. I mean, Sam's still slightly cheesed about that, Bucky. But, it seems to work, and Sam agrees with A Great Deal Of Reluctance.

Zemo's just standing there all quiet and well-mannered as they go through this, like he's their little pet whackjob.

The garage is full of classic cars belonging to Zemo and they're full of weapons and other goodies. He says he spent years tracking down all the Hydra people who might know how to make the serum, because if it's out there, then somebody could create an army of people like the Avengers. He's taking clothes out of one of the cars and finds a purple ski mask, which he stealthily slips into a bag. Nobody cares about your weird purple mask, Zemo, I've thought that thing was dumb for 30 years.

"To do this, we'll have to scale a ladder of low-lifes." heh

Next they go to an airfield. In Germany. You guys, come on.

Anyway, Zemo owns a plane, he's rich, his family was royalty, he's a baron. Sam's like 'wtf?' Bucky just rolls with everything. Or he does until they're on the plane later and Zemo has somehow lifted Bucky's book of amends and decides to read through it. "Who is Nakajima?" And Bucky's got him by the throat.

Sam's all hey that's Steve's book. "I told him about Trouble Man, he wrote it in that book. Did you hear it? What did you think?" "I like 40s music, so…" "You didn't like it?!?!?!?!" "I liked it." Zemo chimes in, "It is a masterpiece, James. Complete, comprehensive. It captures the African-American experience." lol wtf

"Everybody loves Marvin Gaye," Sam is so offended. "I like Marvin Gaye," Bucky says, probably trying to remember 'who is Marvin Gaye?' "Steve *adored* Marivn Gaye," Sam insists. lol. I like Marvin Gaye, Sam.

Zemo starts going off about Steve, and how the danger with those heroes and super soldiers is they're put on a pedestal and we forget about their flaws. And while he's not wrong, he also clearly wants Sam to throw him out of that airplane.

"Do we want to live in a world with people like the Red Skull? No. That is why we're going to Madripoor." Ahh Madripoor, I haven't thought about that place in a long, long time. A wretched hive of scum and villainy, iirc. Ah, yes, Zemo and Bucky confirm.

Zemo says they can't go as themselves and Bucky's going to have to "become someone you claim is gone". Bucky looks Deeply Unhappy.

On to a GRC resettlement camp in Latvia. Karli is playing soccer with some young kids. Because of the good-natured idealism. She's summoned to a hospital bed, in a ward stuffed with beds in an old, fancy building that's seen better days. Somebody is dying and she's crying at their bedside. Her mom maybe?

Back to Madripoor. It's a glittering city of colorfully-lit skyscrapers. The trio are walking across a bridge to give us a picturesque view and exposit about what they'll be doing. Sam is wearing a very questionable suit with like a black and red floral pattern and yellow-green circles. Or something. I can't tell what's going on with that thing. He says he looks like a pimp. Well no, but it is a terrible suit. Zemo calls it fashion forward, but Zemo wears a great coat with a fur collar and a purple ski mask. Don't take fashion tips from Zemo.

He says Sam will play a "sophisticated, charming, African rake, named Conrad Mack. Aka the Smiling Tiger." Sam is still not thrilled, "even has a bad nickname." Though, yes, the original dude does dress that poorly and he looks like Sam, so suck it up, Sam.

Fortunately they don't have to walk all the way across the bridge (it is a long ass bridge), they're met by a car about halfway and Zemo says they have to super duper stay in character no matter what happens.

The car is surrounded by elaborately decorated motorcycles ridden by very armed people. Hell of a welcome wagon. They're escorted to a graffitied, crumbling underpass, presumably the entrance to Low Town. It's part Macao, part Kowloon, part Jakarta, crammed full of neon and people and ramshackle buildings piled together in a maze of narrow streets, rails, and weird building-to-building bridges. Good set design.

Everybody is "fashion forward" and very heavily armed. They pass a wall with the words "Power Broker Is Watching". That's the charming fellow Karli and her do-gooders stole from.

They enter a bar decorated with golden baboon skulls and koi fish. Zemo asks "are you ready to comply, Winter Soldier?" he's attracted attention from unsavory sorts. I mean, more unsavory than the already unsavory sorts who fill the bar. The bartender is surprised to see Zemo and the Smiling Tiger. Zemo asks for Selby.

Somebody at a nearby table pulls a hood over her head, and by somebody I mean Sharon Carter. NOT SUBTLE SHARON!

Bartender asks the Smiling Tiger if he wants the usual and Sam silently nods. The bartender seems suspicious, but he takes a pickled snake out of a jar, cuts something out of it, drops it in a glass and places it in front of Sam who's like 'what in the actual I am going to puke'. lol Sam bravely tosses it back and does not puke no matter how much he really wants to and he really wants to. Bucky's being the Winter Soldier and is not at all laughing in his head about this.

A power broker minion comes over and tells Zemo he's not welcome there. Zemo says if PB wants him to leave, he can talk to him himself or bring Selby. The minion looks at Bucky and asks if he got a new haircut. Bucky gives him pure murder face. So the Power Broker and his minions know the Winter Soldier, so they were Hydra? Or, I guess, they all ran in the same shady circles.

Anyway, PUNCHING AT LAST! Power Broker minions approach to remove Zemo and Zemo tells the Winter Soldier to attack. Bucky is not pleased, but I am, because now there's punching. It's just been the sort of week that needs punching to improve it. Bar brawl! It's a lopsided fight, Bucky's wiping the floor with these dudes and the suspicious bartender is moving away to make a call.

"It didn't take much for him to fall back into form," Zemo tells Sam. Shut your pie hole, Zemo. Aw, now the guns come out and the fight's over. Zemo calls off the Winter Soldier and the bartender tells them Selby will see them.

Selby is lounging in her backroom, listening to 50s french pop, and hanging out with lizards and piles of cash. As you do. She'd like to know why Zemo is there and by the way wasn't he in prison? She makes a weird purring sound at Sam. lol. I like her. The actress looks familiar but I can't place her. Anyway.

Zemo says if she tells them what she knows about the super soldier serum, he'll give her the Winter Soldier and his control words. Then Zemo weirdly fondles Bucky's face and like rubs at the cleft in his chin. lol. fucking weirdo.

Selby is charmed. She says she's glad she didn't kill him straight away. Weirdos of a feather, I suppose. Anyway, she says the serum is in Madripoor and developed by Dr. Wilfred Nagel. He was working for the PB. She won't give up Nagel's location for free, though. …and Sam's phone rings. Pro tip, Sam: turn off your phone when you go into meetings with deeply shady crime bosses.

Everybody stops and stares at him and he just sort of lets it ring. It's his sister. Dude, just turn it off. Too late. Selby wants him to answer it on speaker. Okay, well, she'll kill you either way, so just refuse the call and get ready for punching and running. So, he answers it.

Sarah says she needs to talk to him about the situation and he wants her to say exactly what situation. So, she says the one with the boat, dummy, and are you high? So he's going to play this off as a Doing Crime phone call. And it kind of works until Sarah calls him Sam. Selby's like wtf kill them and then she gets shot in the chest by … I don't know who? somebody from the outside. Now this trio of geniuses is going to get blamed for it. Immediately a bounty for them goes out to like everybody in Low Town. lol. That went well, guys.

And the shooting starts, they run. Except not so great for Sam who we just discovered is wearing heels. "I can't run in these heels!"

Here come the bikers. And they get picked off by somebody in a nearby warehouse. Oh, is that Sharon? Yep. And she's salty .When asked what she's doing there, "I stole Steve's shield, remember? I also took the wings for your ass so you (sam) could save his ass (bucky) from his ass (zemo)." lol. She didn't have any backup so she's off the grid in Madripoor. Did nobody think to clear her after everybody was all heroic and then pardoned after the Un-Snappening? Come on, guys.

She's better than they deserve and despite being bitter, she says she's got a place in High Town they can hide.

Sharon runs a gallery selling stolen masterpieces and other hot craft goodies. The creators of this show bless us with a long shirtless Sam scene as he changes out of this Smiling Tiger duds and apologizes to Sharon. She says she'd be arrested if she went back to the States and Madripoor doesn't allow extradition. Besides, she muses, heroing is hypocritical bullshit. Right Sam, since you gave up the shield and all. And Sam's all "bwhu?"

Then she turns her bitter on Bucky and asks how the new Cap is and Bucky's like "i hate him the most" and she's all 'come on', she knows he buys into all that heroic bullshit, "before you were his (zemo) pet psychopath you were Mr America, Cap's best friend." Well, no before that he was the Winter Soldier long before Zemo.

"Wow, she's kind of awful now," Bucky tells Sam. lol. You really get a sense of how much Bucky lucked out with his goat farm. Thanks Wakanda!

Sam gets them back to the point and wants to know where Nagel is, though Sharon says they should stay out of it to be safe. Sam presses, he says he can help clear Sharon's name and she's like 'wow, bargaining with my life?' but he gives her a Cap-worth speech about trying. "They cleared the bionic staring machine and he's killed almost everybody he's met." "I heard that," Bucky says from ten feet away. "I don't trust charity." You just tried to guilt him about bargaining with your life, Sharon!

Anyway, they strike a deal.

Zemo's being suspiciously quiet.

Then they go to a rave. Madripoor is party central. Sharon's gallery is hosting a party for clients and whatnot. She'll see what she can find. For some reason she invites the boys to join her at the party because hiding from the bounty on them and probably also from the Power Broker means walking into parties packed full of the sort of people who buy expensive stolen goods in Madripoor, like say, the Power Broker or his wealthier minions.

Zemo's just happy to be out of prison. The shot of him dancing. lol.

Sharon finds a lead on Nagel and the next day this quartet of galaxy brains heads to the docks. Nothing bad ever happens when you go look for scientists at the docks. No sir. And he is apparently hanging out in a shipping container. Sharon's like hurry up you've got a bounty on your heads and I'm sick of you three already.

The container is empty, but Sharon insists it's the right one. Zemo goes in and finds the false back which leads to a set of stairs going up. "Comin' Home Baby" is playing in the distance. I know I always listen to Mel Torme when I'm tinkering on gene-altering serums in my secret shipping container lab.

They find Dr. Nagel, who is not keen on chatting but he's willing to maybe listen to offers. He's definitely the mad scientist type.

Sharon, keeping watch outside, spots trouble. Some bad guys heading towards the container. She attacks! Moar punchies! Or beating the shit out of people with a baton. It's eleventy zillion bounty hunters. How did they find them? Did that Very Wanted Trio maybe go to a very popular party the night before, or something?

Bucky attempts to persuade Nagel with his gun. Nagel says he was brought in to Hydra to work on the Winter Soldier program. Then he was recruited by the CIA. They had blood samples of a subject (Isaiah? the black super soldier from last ep), and he was able to recreate the serum off of that. "I was a god! I did what no other scientist since Erskine was able to do."

Zemo is pacing around like a very, very angry psycho about to shoot the mad scientist. Guys, maybe it wasn't a good idea to bring Zemo to the person who could create the super soldier serum, given that is the opposite of what he wants. Kill Nagel, no more super soldiers. This is gonna end bloody. Zemo seems to have found a gun hidden in the lab. Yep.

"How have we never heard about this?" Sam asks. Well Sam, it turns out Nagel was blipped. Thanks, Thanos! Anyway, when he came back the CIA project was abandoned but the Power Broker was happy to help fund him. He made 20 vials and Karli stole those. And then Karli being a super duper genius, called him a few days earlier and asked if he could help somebody dying of tuberculosis. Karli … don't call the bad guys and ask for help after you stole from them. That's like day one stuff, kiddo.

Meanwhile, Sharon is still fighting every bounty hunter in Madripoor. She's killed like twenty guys.

Sharon runs in "guys we're seriously out of time" and Zemo takes the distraction to shoot Nagel. Who didn't see that coming? Oh yeah, Sam and Bucky and Sharon. Nobody was using the one (1) brain cell today. Or Zemo was. That's what you get for loaning it to the lunatic.

And then somebody fires a freaking rocket at the shipping container lab. Man. But, can you collect a bounty if all that's left are unidentifiable, charred corpses? Nobody in Madripoor is using the brain cell today.

Now they're trapped in a burning lab that's full of probably very bad explosive chemicals and o2 tanks. And yep, it partially blows up. Zemo gets away. Or seems to have, anyway. It's a gun battle now and also arguing. lol. Sharon's like "FOR REAL YOU IDIOTS?"

Oh, here comes Zemo, stomping along the top of a shipping container, carrying his purple ski mask. He fires at a gas line, the explosion distracting the bounty hunters and giving the trio time to run. Zemo beats up some bounty hunters and then finds a convertible muscle car in a container and swings by to pick up the others. Sam is very grumpy "you're going back to jail". lol.

Sharon's like 'okay, buh-bye!', she's had enough. Aww, is she really only in one episode? Well, Sam does promise to try and get her that pardon, so …

Anyway, Bucky calls shotgun and refuses to move the seat up for Sam. Payback is sweet. Heh.

Oh, not done with Sharon yet. She meets a minion and says they've got a couple of big problems.

Lithuania. Karli and one of her pals are stalking a GRC depot. Karli's sad. Her buddy says she should take some time to mourn. But, no, she's got do-gooding to do. They chat for a bit about what they'd be doing if they weren't do-goodering. She'd be a teacher or some such. They were all in Madripoor, washed up there during the blip, put then put out when everybody returned. Hmm. Lots of expositioning. Blah blah, scary taking the serum. "But it was worth it, because this world is ours." And they're going to give it to the kids in the displacement camps. … alrighty then.

Anyway, she's convinced that now that Nagel is dead, the Power Broker will come to her begging for the rest of the serum. No, sweety, I really don't think a person like that begs. Yikes.

"So we've got the one fight ahead of us then? I'll take those odds," says her very dim buddy.

In the prison in Berlin, Captain Massive Tool is talking to the guards about how Sam and Bucky where there when Zemo escaped and the guard's all "you … you don't think they had something to do with him getting out…." World class security. I find it really grating that Captain Tool calls Sam and Bucky by their first names. It's just so weirdly familiar that it almost crosses into dismissive. Completely unearned familiarity.

Lemar says they can't just accuse Sam and Bucky without evidence, but Captain Tool seems to think they can just, you know, make it up or some shit. "If we get the job done, do you think they're going to sweat us on the how?" Fuck you, Captain Tool.

Back in Zemo's plane, Bucky's fastidiously cleaning his metal arm, like a big grumpy cat. And Sam is trying to get a lead on the person (Madani) Nagel told him Karli wanted to help. He's got Torres on it.

They get to talking about the shield and how many people died or got messed up because of it/the serum. Sam says he made a mistake giving it up and he should have destroyed it. Bucky says, "Look that shield represents a lot of things to a lot of people, including me. The world is upside down, we need a new Cap, and it ain't gonna be Walker [preach]. So before you destroy it, I'll take it from him myself." Kick his ass, Bucky!

Torres gets back to Sam just as Zemo brings them lunch. Such a good host. "They found Madani. Dead. She died in Riga, a city near the Baltic Sea." … was that last bit really necessary? Like Riga is such a mystery? Even if you don't know where it is, like, that's so weirdly clunky. Somehow I think if you don't know Riga, you probably don't have the Baltic in the map in your head, either. 'Have you ever been to London? A city on the River Thames.' 'I've always wanted to go to Los Angeles, a city near the Pacific Ocean.'

Bucky should have said "oh yeah, i love Riga. I killed a diplomat there back in '64. Great beer."

Zemo's got a place they can go and he's looking forward "to coming face to face with Karli." Not creepy at all, Zemo. Nope.

Meanwhile, the kids are raiding the GRC depot and chatting way too much and calling each other by name. Oh dear.

"Filthy Flag Smashers" grumps a soldier tied up on the floor. I can't take them at all seriously with a name like that. Karli says they had six months of supplies just sitting there. "Don't you understand, we're fighting for our lives." Are you? Why and in what way?

Okay, so this is my continuing issue here. They're trying to build up this un-Blipped world, which is great, but they're doing it through So Much Exposition and so much of it is vague. We're supposed to think the GRC are probably shady, but are they? I don't know. Could be. They're sitting on these supplies! Evil! Maybe they are, but why? Why stockpile all that? Is it being sold on a black market? Or diverted to other people? Who knows! I don't. You don't.

We're supposed to sympathize with the Flag Munchers, but they're so vague in their goals. They want the world back how it was during the Blip. Okay. How was it? I don't know. What was so great about it? What we saw in Endgame didn't look all that great. But, we saw it from a different point of view, to be sure. So, what was it like for the average person who survived? Hell if I know. Also the Munchers want to help the people in the displacement camps. Okay. So do those two goals go together? I don't know. Are all the displacement camps bad? We're meant to think so, but I don't know. Is it just some of them? Is it regional? Who, exactly, are the displaced? It seems to be a mix of those who were blipped and those who weren't. I guess. I don't know.

It's just all taken out of the Big Book Of Cliched Assumptions for Lazy Worldbuilding. Why actually do the hard work of details, when they can just fall back on tropes, make vague pronouncements about how 'bad' things are, and let us assume the answers. This might bother me less if we didn't have to spend so much time with Captain Tool and the Flag Munchers. I cannot tell you how much I currently don't care. I find this all very frustrating. I don't mean to spoil the fun. Let me look at Sam's face again:

That was better. But, I stopped too soon. We're still with the Munchers.

They're leaving the building they just looted, and there’s a bit of business I don’t care about, involving Karli’s car and how she’s not taking it, she’s going to just leave it parked, completely unsuspiciously in front of the building. And, she’s going to ride with her pal Mr. Dimbulb.

She tells him to put his seatbelt on and she's very insistent. And then her car blows up and the building catches fire and it’s very dramatic.

Her buddy's like wtf there were people in there and Karli says, "This is the only language these people understand." ARGH. Who people? Why is bombing them the only language they understand? Like, in this show, the GRC have literally DONE NOTHING. Nothing we’ve seen and nothing we’ve heard. At least have people chat about dark and dire rumors or something. Hell, they haven’t even been accused of doing anything other than ‘caring more about the people who returned than the ones who never left’ which is literally their job. sighing all night long. Maybe they’re horrible and evil and the Worst Thing Ever. But I DON’T KNOW THAT, because nothing in the show has bothered to establish that.

ANYWAY

Riga, a city on the Baltic Sea

The trio are walking down the street, Zemo expositing for us again. Sokovia was apparently swallowed by neighboring countries, erased from the map. "I don't suppose any of you bothered visiting the memorial? Of course not. Why would you?"

Bucky's looking not happy. Probably remembering '64. They get to Zemo's place and Bucky says he's going to go on a walk. Zemo and Sam go on ahead and Bucky watches until they're out of sight and he circles back and finds a beeping thingy on the ground. He notices something across the street. Ah another round beepy thing. Now he's collecting them. He steps into an alley and says, "You dropped something". Nobody immediately appears.

"I was wondering when you were going to show up." And he turns around and it's one of the Dora Milaje. She looks unhappy and she’d like to know where Zemo is. Yeah, the Wakandans are not just gonna let Zemo wander free. That's a sticky situation you got yourself in, White Wolf.

Credits.

Well, I really enjoyed the bits that didn't contain the Flag Munchers or Captain Tool. Do better with your world-building, people.

#tfatws #tfatws spoilers #tfatws liveblog #the falcon and the winter soldier #the falcon and the winter soldier spoilers #long post #sorry this got away from me

23 notes · View notes

prettygraceful · 4 years

Text

magnus & the main characters interaction count: a study

an interaction counts as magnus talking specifically to 1 main and that main character responding, or vice versa. (you know like alec does with jace/ clary/ izzy in 95% of the episodes throughout the whole series and luke/ simon in half of s1 and s3.) an interaction is NOT where magnus addresses the group in general with no one responding to him directly, or him being in the same room with all of them, but they only talk to alec or to each other.

this count starts from 2b. s1/ 2a did NOT have anywhere close to an adequate amount, but at least there wasn’t so little that it was total joke like after that. the sad truth of this is so glaringly obvious when it’s listed.

plz take note this post is about magnus/ MAIN character interaction ONLY

and obviously this count is about the 6 mains other than alec

SEASON 2B

2x11: NONE

altho clary/ jace are in the room, they only talk to alec

2x12: NONE

2x13: NONE

2x14: 1 scene with luke

2x15: NONE

altho jace/ izzy are in the room, they don’t talk to him

2x16: NONE

he was not in the episode. he also was not in some episodes in s1. luke and maia have also not been in some.

clary, jace, alec, izzy, and simon have been in every episode. just saying.

2x17: 2 scenes with luke

2x18: 1 scene with luke

2x19: NONE

altho the shadowhunters/ luke are in the room, they don’t talk to him

side note: making literally everyone be against magnus/ glaring at him/ shading him behind his back after all he’s literally done for every single one of them was… a choice. they all didn’t seem to care that he was hurting.

2x20: 1 scene with izzy

final count:

6 episodes (over half the season) with NONE

2 episodes of only 1 scene interaction

only 1 episode where he interacts throughout, yet still only with 1 other main

only 3 scenes where he gets to talk to another main without alec there

no scene where he talks to another main and alec isn’t mentioned

SEASON 3A

3x01: NONE

3X02: NONE

altho shadowhunters/ luke are in the room, they only talk to alec

3X03: 1 scene with izzy

3x04: NONE

altho clary is in room, she only talks to alec

3x05: NONE

3x06: multiple scenes with clary

3x07: NONE

altho clary/ izzy/ simon are in the room, they only talk to alec

3x08: multiple scenes with izzy

no, owl!jace saying alec would chose jace over him doesn’t count

altho luke/ simon are in the room, they only talk to alec

3x09: 1 scene with izzy

3x10: 1 scene with jace

altho should a scene of him telling the parabatai he gave up his magic for them and them not saying anything count?

final count:

5 episodes (half the season) with NONE

3 episodes of only 1 scene interaction

only 2 episodes where he interacts throughout, yet only with 1 other main

only 1 episode where he gets to talk to another main without alec there

no episodes where he talks to another main and alec isn’t mentioned

SEASON 3B

3x11: 1 scene with izzy

altho jace is in the room, he only to talks alec

3x12: NONE

altho jace/ luke are in the room, they only talk to alec

3x13: 1 scene with izzy

and 1 single line to clary, i guess

3x14: NONE

3x15: NONE

aside from 1 single line to simon, i guess

no, clary/ jace/ izzy unkindly questioning him being there doesn’t count

side note: making magnus be surrounded by a room full of racist-coded shadowhunters in s3 was… a choice. what was the point of that? it showed that apparently only laws have changed but not societal sentiment- outside of the main foursome- since s1 in their mindset towards downworlders. and then they had malec get married amongst these racists a few weeks later?? to show him being treated so disrespectfully (again in s3, so nobody’s mindset progressed outside of the 4) and be made so uncomfortable and then never have them show him any love or treat him as an equal later on (as an individual and not just as half of malec) was… a choice. a bad choice.

3x16: NONE

3x17: NONE

3x18: NONE

altho clary/ jace are in the room, they only talk to alec (and then when he’s sad over something that their 3a choices caused, they leave. in the same episode the writers have maryse say “we’re all here for you”…what a joke.)

3x19: NONE

3x20: NONE

altho izzy/ clary/ jace are in the room, they only talk to alec

3x21: NONE

aside from 1 single line to simon, i guess

no, saying only biscuit doesn’t count

3x22: NONE

altho it’s his wedding day, they don’t let jace/ izzy welcome him into the family but instead irrelevant max.

and altho it’s literally the finale, the ONLY person he gets to talk to is his rival. (side note, but lorenzo and underhill should NOT have been at the wedding after their awful treatment towards him. such two-faced people.)

final count:

10 episodes (the length of a normal half season) with NONE

2 episodes of only 1 scene interaction

0 episodes where he interacts throughout

1 scene where he get to talk to another main without alec there

in his 1 scene in 3x13, he talks to another main and alec isn’t mentioned

i think the point i’m making is obvious: the 3 white showrunners and mostly white writers almost never ever let magnus even talk to any of the other main characters. (he also goes three seasons without a single story arc with another main that lasts more than 1 episode. (no, the writers using luke as a mouthpiece to justify alec’s mistake in 2b does not count.) you know, like how alec had big long arcs with both clary and jace in s1, 2a, and 3a and izzy here and there. even maia, the most neglected character on this show, still got to regularly interact with simon and luke- 2 mains. even luke with his limited screentime, still got to regularly at least talk to literally all of the mains in all his group scenes.

and what about the 3 downworlder mains and alec?

well, altho alec and maia only had 2 scenes together, that’s still twice what magnus/ maia got, seeing as they only had the 1 scene together in 2a.

alec and luke had at least 3 scenes together in s1 that i can remember vs magnus/ luke only having 2 lines in 1x06. both duos had about equal in 2b.

in 3a alec/luke had 5 scenes together. magnus/ luke had none where they actually spoke to each other. in group scenes magnus only talked to alec.

in 3b alec/ luke had 3 scenes. magnus/ luke had none. plus luke told alec that he couldn’t go to his wedding, instead of telling magnus.

in s1 magnus/ simon had maybe 1 line. alec/ simon were interacting constantly throughout, i don’t remember how many scenes it was.

in 2a magnus/ simon had 2 episodes together. in 2b they had 1 scene but i don’t really count it since it was only to have it be literally everyone vs magnus. alec/ simon had 1 scene in 2b and none in 2a.

in 3a alec/ simon had 3 scenes interacting together. magnus/ simon had none where they actually spoke to each other.

in 3b all the fans complaining really paid off! 2 scenes in 3x15. 1 scene each in 3x17, 3x19, 3x20, and 3x21 for a grand total of 6 scenes. plus no talking- yet still in a scene together- in 1 other scene in 3x15, 3x17, 3x18, and 2 others in 3x19, for a grand total of 5, not counting the edom finale scenes. magnus/ simon only said 2 lines to each other in 3b.

not to mention alec stood next to simon in a nice two-shot in 4 separate scenes. it really reminded me of what they do with clary/ alec in group scenes. the writers don’t always give them a lot of dialogue together, but they’re sure to get that dynamic in at least visually. alec always has at least crumbs vs magnus getting nothing. where is that energy from the writers, directors, or fans with magnus and literally any main? really, where is it?

i mean, there was no reason for alec/ simon not to have scenes, but i’m so truly disappointed that this is where the fan effort was spent instead of lobbying for magnus to get to interact with even one main character other than alec, seeing as alec always already get to constantly have many, many, many duo and group scenes and big arcs with the 3 other shadowhunters. and now he gets to be more bonded with all of the main downworlders too instead of magnus with his own people. the writers are so so so wack.

also obviously magnus interacts with alec on a regular basis. the point is that’s it. malec is the main reason why i watch the show, so it matters a great deal, but when every other main is getting vastly more interactions, it’s a problem. also in nearly all of the episodes when alec has scenes with other mains- and magnus is not there- magnus is not mentioned. not so when it’s vice versa.

why not count any supporting characters you may be saying? because that’s not what i hear everyone demanding for alec or the others, is it? because he didn’t interact with raphael, his supposed son, in s1, or at all after 3x01 to the actual finale. because aside from her bringing madzie over in 3x11, catatrina and and him didn’t speak in 3b. she wasn’t even introduced until 3a (so 2 seasons w/o any friends.) they only spoke in 4 scenes total in all of s3. she was his best man, yet that’s not important enough to show on screen. ragnor was literally only 1 episode. who’s left- his jealous, bitter pathetic rival or his father who has obvious gross, creepy incestuous, jealous feelings for him. or alec’s mother, who only had scenes with him for the same reason maia/ jordan had all those scenes- to give them something to do away from the group/ main plotlines. why couldn’t magnus and maia had scenes together also or instead? and being bffs with his bf’s mom but not getting to even TALK to his parabatai, the person alec’s closest to platonically, let alone be friends, is truly beyond words. and also harry and matt are only 5 years apart (kat/ dom have more of an age difference) so i’m tired of the writers/ fans keeping alec in the playpen with his younger co-stars while magnus is separated to only older ones.

and also i just really don’t care about supporting characters. i see them as just taking screentime away from the mains, specifically the downworlder mains, who are already running on limited time. look at 3x13 when they want to do a whole heidi arc, who gets cut- magnus. or in 3x17 when they want to introduce helen and aline, i resented them right off the bat for getting twice as much screentime than magnus, a main character, in that important episode for him. throughout the whole show, whenever supporting characters are getting screentime, it always means magnus, maia, and luke are not. that’s not good.

some final thoughts, nearly every single malec fan spent the entire 9 month hiatus from 3a to 3b relentlessly saying alec needs interactions. as if he didn’t get huge bonding arcs with clary and jace in s1 and 2a and 3a. as if he doesn’t talk to and go places and do things with clary, jace, and izzy nearly every single episode, every single season since the beginning. mighty handy to not count the 3 of them when you want to cry “alec has no friends” every single day, as if he hasn’t had an enemy to friendship arc with clary 3 times in 3 seasons. as if he hasn’t had a dying, can’t live without you arc with jace 3 times in 3 seasons. as if he doesn’t hug jace twice more than magnus per half season. as if he doesn’t have izzy there to lean on and talk to. funny how siblings don’t count as friends when it’s mighty convenient that’s they’re the only mains to have siblings. i would kill, KILL, for magnus to be even talk to jace and izzy let alone be real friends, yet fans are taking their friendships with alec for granted, while simultaneously saying they’re robbed of the parabatai dynamic. that’s rich.

if alec having scenes every other ep, and melodramatic arcs every other half season, wasn’t such a guarantee the fans have learned they could count on, nobody would say that his siblings and clary don’t count. but everyone knew they could say that because we know it wouldn’t be taken away. i mean, look at the stark siblings in game of thrones. they never interacted, and the entire fandom cried about that being the most important friendships to show, but it wasn’t shown. this fandom needs to put things in perspective and stop taking the lightwoods sibs and the shadowhunters squad dyamic for granted and realize that magnus and maia don’t get even a minuscule fraction of that. also want to add that simon got plenty of constant sturdy dynamics too, with clary, jace, luke, maia, and izzy. and fans got their alec/ simon content and yet still so ungrateful. i beg the malecs to compare what magnus gets before complaining.

#shadowhuntersedit #malecedit #magnusbaneedit #aleclightwoodedit #shedit #meta

20 notes · View notes

artificialqueens · 4 years

Text

Revelation Sunshine, Chapter 1 (Courtney/Vixen) - Veronica

A/N: Oh hi. Welcome to the Galactica sequel that I’ve been planning FOREVER. Like...literally since the time these two started interacting on Twitter, during season 10. Thanks to @artificialpuddle for the beta help, and @aqcitrus for brainstorming with me. <3

And of course, a HUGE thanks to @theartificialdane, for humoring me the whole way through and letting me explore this ship in the Galactica verse. It is mostly fluffy, fluffy shit, which is a bit out of my wheelhouse, but I love them so much and I just want them to be happy.

I think it can easily be read as a stand-alone story. The only thing you need to know from Galactica is that at this point in the story, Courtney is a wildly successful queer pop star and star of a fictional Disney franchise called ‘Glimmer,’ which costars Honey Mahogany as her love interest.

Challenge Notes:

Story is told mostly from Vixen’s POV

Her BFFs: Asia, Monet, Monique, Mayhem (who show up in person in Chapter 2)

The title is a song by Cree Summer. I’ve also made a playlist for this story, which can be found here.

#Vixney4Eva

TW: vague reference to past transphobia, sexual apprehension/nervousness that should in NO WAY be construed as dubcon

***

It was Honey who introduced them. Or, rather, Honey who handed Courtney the book that started everything, on the set of Glimmer 3.

BEWARE WHITE TEARS: Performativity and Racial Justice, by Toni “Vixen” Taylor enthralled Courtney so much that she barely slept for 3 nights, devouring it twice. And then she read the whole thing again, slowly, highlighting the parts that blew her mind the most.

On set, when she just couldn’t stop raving about it, Honey laughed at her.

“So...you liked it?”

“Omigod, yes!” Courtney exclaimed. “I mean, obviously I feel very called out. But in a good way? Like...this is making me rethink everything.”

“That’s good! I thought maybe you’d be offended,” Honey said, adjusting her crown.

“Offended? How long have we known each other?” Courtney giggled, bumping Honey with her hip. It was true: they’d been co-starring in the Glimmer franchise for 8 years at that point.

“Still.”

“But god, Honey, it was just...I mean, I don’t even have any words for how amazing it was. She’s so fucking smart and passionate, and so funny, and everything she says is like…” Courtney shook her head, starry-eyed.

“You should tell her,” Honey said with a saucy wink. “Send her a tweet or something.”

“She’s not gonna care what I think,” Courtney said. “I mean, hello? Chapter 4?”

“Okay, but she’s a professor. She’ll be thrilled that someone learned something. Besides, even if she doesn’t respond, maybe you’ll encourage your fans to read it.”

“That’s true…”

“And maybe get more people to listen to her podcast-”

“She has a podcast?!!” Courtney shrieked excitedly, then whispered, “Sorry,” when she saw the boom operator cringe.

Maybe Honey was right...but what should she say?

***

Vixen felt absolutely silly. There was really no reason for attention from a celebrity to make her so giddy. True, there’d been a phase when she hung on Courtney Act’s every word--but that was years ago. Early in her transition, when she felt like nothing she did was right. When she was desperate for any voice telling her that who she was was okay.

It was different now. She was 30 year old, for fuck’s sake. She didn’t need validation from anyone anymore, especially not a pop-star-come-Disney-princess. At least, that’s what she would have told anyone who asked.

But to herself, she couldn’t deny the thrill she got when she saw that first notification on her phone. The mild anxiety all day as she taught two lectures and graded a handful of thesis proposals--a nagging thought in the back of her mind wondering how she should reply. It wasn’t until late into the evening, after 2 glasses of wine, that she allowed herself to read it again, slowly typing out a reply.

Courtney Act @courtneyact ∙ 15h Just read @professorvixtaylor’s “Beware White Tears” and my mind is BLOWN. Everyone needs to read this game-changing book. E V E R Y O N E!!!! It’s so good, so informative, so powerful. AND I just found out that she has! A! Podcast!! #obsessed <3 <3 <3 <3

Dr. Vixen Taylor @professorvixtaylor ∙ 1m Replying to @courtneyact Glad you found it interesting! Thanks for the plug.

That was fine, right? Very chill. She went to sleep feeling pretty satisfied with herself. It wasn’t until the following morning when she saw Courtney’s response.

Courtney Act @courtneyact ∙ 6h Replying to @professorvixtaylor That is the understatement of the year!!! I LOVED it! You are BRILLIANT. I just listened to the first episode of your podcast and holy shit...it’s phenomenal.

Vixen put down her phone, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. It was shallow and cheap--being this enchanted by obviously exaggerated praise. But still...not a bad way to start the day.

***

Vixen was used to fighting. All of her life, it seemed, she’d had to prove herself. Scrape and claw for her voice to be heard. Shout into the void over and over, praying that someone would eventually listen. Demand attention and bang down doors and yell until she was hoarse.

Having someone at Courtney’s level of fame pay attention to her--emphatically describe her as brilliant, incisive, powerful, mind-blowing--Vixen’s impulse, in the beginning, was to lie. To say she didn’t need that kind of validation from anyone, especially a rich, famous, beautiful white girl. The embodiment of privilege. Someone whose coming out was celebrated in the media like a massive human rights achievement. Because how could someone like that ever really get it?

But on the other hand…she had to hand it to Courtney. She had excellent taste in podcasts.

And there was something soothing about a person who didn’t expect her to prove anything. Someone who respected her from the jump, who engaged with her book and her podcasts from a place of dignity, assuming that she knew what she was talking about. She didn’t demand back-up or further explanations when she came across material that was confusing. She did the work herself, looking up the articles and studies Vixen cited, posting them with a quote when something in particular caught her attention.

So reluctantly, over the next month or two, Vixen found herself warming to the idea of a real dialogue. It was January 1st, sitting on her grandmother’s plastic-covered sofa, when Vixen finally bit the bullet and slipped into Courtney’s DMs, so to speak.

Courtney had been tweeting up a storm over the holidays. Gobbling up her podcasts rapidly and hungrily, heaping her and her guests with praise and incidentally, making her subscriber numbers climb. She opened a direct message window, typing out a message that she hoped would make Courtney laugh.

@professorvixtaylor: Alright, already. This is getting embarrassing...

The response came within minutes.

@courtneyact: LOL! Listen, nobody ever accused me of a lack of enthusiasm.

@professorvixtaylor: I bet not ;)

It took one afternoon of DMs before Courtney gave Vixen her phone number. “Twitter’s great, but it’s probably easier to just text, right?”

Well.

Vixen had to admit, she had a point.

***

“So listen,” Latrice said, heaving a deep sigh. “I hate to be the one to tell you this. Like, I really, really hate it.”

“Oh shit,” Courtney said, wrapping herself in a blanket and preparing herself for whatever horrible news her manager was about to deliver. “Go ahead…”

“This isn’t coming from me, okay? It’s coming from Disney.”

“Just tell me, Latrice. What? Is the tour cancelled? Do they hate the new video? Do we need to do reshoots? What?”

“No, all that’s fine. They just...they’re a little uncomfortable about your interactions with this Vixen person.”

“Why?” Courtney sat up, ready to get extremely annoyed, extremely fast.

“Well, it’s just...she’s apparently got some very radical ideas, and-”

“So? Maybe they’re amazing ideas? Have you read the book?” Courtney countered.

Latrice sighed.

“Courtney, listen. It’s just...not what they want while they’re trying to promote this last movie.”

“It’s a movie that ends with a gay interracial marriage!” Courtney exclaimed. “So why the fuck do they have a problem with me complimenting a Black political science professor on Twitter?! This is beyond idiotic, Latrice, you have to admit that! And by the way, I’m not gonna stop. She’s amazing and her book is important and more people should know about her, and if they want to fire me, then fine!” Courtney’s heart was racing as she tried to catch her breath.

There was a pause before Latrice spoke again.

“I assumed this would be your response.”

“Yeah, so. Now what?!”

“Now, I tell them that you feel very strongly about this, and that you’re not breaching any contract, and if they try to silence you on this issue, you’re prepared for a very public, very embarrassing fight,” Latrice said.

“Okay…” Courtney waited for the catch.

“I’m pretty sure they’ll drop it.”

“Just like that?” Courtney asked, confused. She’d gotten herself well and riled up, prepared for a real battle.

“Yeah, baby,” Latrice said. “Just like that. Chalk it up to white privilege.”

Courtney couldn’t help but laugh at that, head falling back on the sofa cushions.

“Good one, ma’am.”

After they hung up, Courtney opened Instagram, delighted that Vixen had updated her story. It was just a casual picture, her and two other professors getting ready to speak at a round table discussion. Courtney smiled, replying to the picture with heart eyes and the question, ‘Is that top from my collection?’

She responded a little while later, while Courtney was on the elliptical, saying, ‘I was hoping you’d notice. ;)’

Courtney giggled to herself, wondering when she’d get to meet this amazing, glowingly beautiful woman. All she wanted was to finally talk, face to face. Maybe in the spring, when her tour hit Chicago? Which, as far as Courtney was concerned, couldn’t happen soon enough.

***

It may very well have been a love letter, Vixen thought, finding her cheeks blazing hot at the thought. She’d woken up to a video posted on Courtney’s Twitter feed. “How To Be a Race Ally.”

Vixen watched the whole video with a healthy amount of skepticism. It was great, actually. Humble and informative. Cleverly incorporating some of the points from her podcast (with proper credit given) and even some things she’d said over text recently (also with credit, and a wink straight into the camera that made Vixen feel things she wasn’t prepared for at 7:30 in the morning).

Dr. Vixen Taylor @professorvixtaylor ∙ 1m Replying to @courtneyact Okay fine, you can come to the cookout.

As usual, Courtney's response was lightning fast, an emoji wearing a party hat and about 10 exclamation points. Vixen couldn’t resist teasing her a little bit more.

Dr. Vixen Taylor @professorvixtaylor ∙ 1m Replying to @courtneyact I don’t know how vegan-friendly it’ll be, though.

Courtney Act @courtneyact ∙ 1m Replying to @professorvixtaylor You really think I’m there for the food? ;P

Vixen rose from her bed, an almost giddy feeling filling her chest. She really needed to calm the fuck down. What was with this silly schoolgirl behavior? And on a public platform? Every interaction ran the risk of absolutely ruining the street cred she’d spent years building up. (Monet was already making it her personal mission to screenshot every exchange and then tease her mercilessly, and Asia had begun to join in.)

Besides, what were the odds that it would ever be anything but a short-lived flirtation? Courtney was bound to become captivated by something else soon. An animal rights group, perhaps. Or funding for the arts in public schools. There were a billion issues competing for her attention. How long would Vixen’s moment in the sun possibly last?

And yet, when Courtney tweeted that she was on her way to New York, Vixen found herself taking a shot of liquid courage and then sending a text.

VIXEN: Hey...how long are you gonna be in New York?

COURTNEY: A couple of weeks, why?

VIXEN: Well, I have a conference at Columbia on February 23, and then I’m gonna stay for a few days. Maybe we could meet up?

COURTNEY: YES

COURTNEY: I mean, sure. Sounds lovely. Tell me what day you’re free. <3

***

It was strange, seeing Courtney in person after all this time. As much as Vixen enjoyed chatting with her, and as validating as it was to get so much attention, she had reminded herself over and over again that this was all just friendly banter. A bit of lighthearted flirting, maybe, but the possibility of a genuine romantic connection was absolutely out of the question.

But then.

When Courtney first emerged from the elevators, smile bright, it was like time ceased to be linear. Nothing...not pictures, not video, not even that concert she’d attended all those years ago, prepared her for how heart-stoppingly beautiful she was in person.

Vixen stood, in slow motion, knees shaking a little, suddenly hugely aware of her height. Was Courtney always this little? Why had Vixen worn heels?

It must have taken Courtney less than 10 seconds to cross the lobby to where Vixen stood, but for some reason, it felt like 10 years. Excruciatingly slow, and yet somehow, Vixen was still caught off guard as she bounded up and grasped both of her hands.

“Thank you so much for coming!” Courtney exclaimed, that dazzling smile still on her face. “It’s amazing to finally be in the same room!”

“Yeah, it’s…” Vixen offered a smile of her own, swallowing hard. Her hands were warm and soft, and as Vixen gazed down at her, she could feel her heart racing faster than ever. “How was your day?”

“Crazy…” Courtney linked an arm through Vixen’s, leading her towards the hotel bar.

It took a concerningly short time for all the weirdness to dissipate, for Vixen to forget that she was across the table from a celebrity, a person she’d been following for years, a person that she’d idolized at one point in her life.

She was just a girl. Granted, she was a beautiful girl, but one who seemed incredibly excited, even honored, to be talking to Vixen—about her book, her podcast, her life. Where she came from and what she cared about and who she looked up to. A girl who wanted to get to know her.

After awhile, when Vixen was finally relaxed enough to really open up, she told Courtney about hearing ‘Kaleidoscope’ for the first time. How, at that point in her transition, it made all the difference in the world to see Courtney so open about the fluidity of gender and sexuality. To hear those magical words. ‘This is who we are.’

Courtney nodded along, listening to her, tears filling her eyes. She covered Vixen’s hand with her own, and said, “I needed it too.”

As the hours ticked by, they talked about everything. Passion, art, travel, identity. She wanted to know when Vixen began to question her own gender, how she knew that she wanted to transition. She was delighted by the story of her brief foray into drag during the early college years, the source of her now permanent nickname. In spite of all the questions (or maybe because of them), for once, Vixen felt like she wasn’t on the defensive. She found herself being more sincere and honest about all of it than she’d been in a long time.

“I’m not usually this open,” she admitted at one point.

Courtney laughed, eyes glittering, and said, “I’m usually too open.”

“I think you’re just right,” Vixen replied, giving her a generous smile.

They talked about their childhoods. How much she loved pretend and fantasy as a kid.

“I went through a phase—that’s generous, it was like 3 years—where I really wanted to be a dragon. I had this dumb...dragon hoodie, that I wore all the time. And when I finally grew out of it, I cried.”

“Aww,” Courtney said, reaching for her hand. “I bet you were adorable.”

“I think I just really, really didn’t want to be me.”

Courtney took in a slow, deep breath, and then let it out even slower.

“I’m not gonna pretend that I really get it. Everything you’re talking about. I don’t know if I ever could. But...I get that part.”

Vixen raised an eyebrow.

“You? How do you get it?” Vixen let out a chuckle. “I’m not trying to judge you, but I just...look at you. You’re this perfect, sparkly princess. Everything the world wants a girl to be.”

“Yeah...I see what you’re saying. But...sometimes it feels like that’s all the world wants. Is the sparkly princess part. And I’m more than that. Or, I hope I am. But…” Courtney trailed off, wrinkling her nose. “Do I sound really dumb?”

“You don’t sound dumb. You sound like a very intelligent, thoughtful...sparkly princess.”

Courtney threw back her head and laughed.

“I can’t believe you laughed at that,” Vixen said with a shake of her head. “It was such a cheap shot.”

“Well, I’m an easy laugh,” Courtney said, shrugging unapologetically.

“Yeah I’ve heard that about you,” Vixen couldn’t help saying, and Courtney’s giggles continued.

They stared at each other for a few moments, eyes burning in the dim light, with matching, goofy grins decorating their faces, until Vixen broke, shaking her head.

“This is so surreal…”

“How so?” Courtney asked, voice lilting in a way that felt almost like a tease, resting a chin on her hand.

Vixen hesitated. It felt so cliché to say that it was because Courtney was famous, or because she once cried at her concert when she was 23.

“I mean...you’re not even really my type,” she finally answered with a small shrug.

“Oh yeah? What’s your type?”

“Ummm...I normally go for curvy Latinas,” Vixen said, lashes fluttering.

Courtney’s eyes widened, smile deepening, as she exclaimed, “Oh my god, me too!”

They both started laughing again, clinking glasses for good measure.

“So, um...do you have to go back to Chicago tomorrow?”

“Actually, no. I decided to stay a few more days,” Vixen replied. “See some shows, meet up with some friends. There’s this museum in Brooklyn that I’ve been dying to check out for years.”

“What museum?” Courtney asked.

“It’s, uh, called the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts,” Vixen said. “Kind of a mouthful but-”

“Sounds great. I wish I could see it.”

“You wanna come? I’m going tomorrow after lunch.”

“Ugh, I wish!” Courtney said, stretching her neck. “But the press tour schedule is insane. I’m doing two more interviews tomorrow, and then I fly to LA to kick off the tour.”

“Tough breaks.” Vixen tried, unsuccessfully, not to sound sarcastic.

“Listen, I’m not complaining. I’m very lucky.” Courtney smiled, tilting her head. “But it would’ve been cool to see that museum.”

“Next time,” Vixen promised.

“I’m holding you to that,” Courtney said, gaze fixed on Vixen’s face as she downed the rest of her drink.

Vixen gave a small nod, finding her eyes hypnotic. Surreal indeed.

They ordered yet another round as hotel patrons trickled out, crowd thinning, closing time approaching. By the time they stood up to leave, they’d knocked back quite a few--more than Vixen realized at the time. She grabbed Courtney’s arm to steady her as the blonde swayed in her heels.

“You alright?”

“Mmhmm…” Courtney gazed up at her, lashes fluttering.

“Do you want me to help you upstairs?”

“Okay…”

In the elevator, Courtney wrapped her arms around Vixen’s waist, leaning a head on her shoulder. Vixen’s heart hammered in her chest, one hand gripping the railing for support.

At the door, Courtney looked up at her, eyes bright, breathing out, “You know, we don’t have to be up until 10 tomorrow…”

“What are you…‘we?’”

It took Vixen a moment to catch on to her train of thought, a wave of nerves washing over her.

“Listen. Um. I think you’re great,” she began, wincing as she saw Courtney’s blissful expression crumble. “But...I just, I never hook up with girls who’ve been drinking. It’s just…”

Vixen didn’t want to explain the whole story. The girl in the lesbian bar, years ago, who danced with her all night, flirting and rubbing against her, inviting her back to her apartment. Only, when they began to undress, and it became clear that Vixen’s body was a little different, the girl flipped a switch. Went from a delightful buzz to drunken rage. Accused her of taking advantage, called her...Vixen didn’t even want to think about that. Or about how she’d left her apartment as fast as possible, terrified and choking back tears. How at home, she’d collapsed into Asia’s arms and sobbed most of the night, wondering if she’d ever fit in, anywhere.

Courtney wasn’t that girl in the bar—Vixen knew that. But she was clearly tipsy, and some things, some decisions, required a clear head.

“It’s not you,” she finished lamely. “You’re amazing.”

Courtney nodded, swallowing her disappointment like a champ and saying, “You’re amazing.”

Before she left, Vixen leaned in and brushed her lips against Courtney’s cheek.

She walked toward the elevator, regret stinging the back of her throat. She had no idea how long it would be before they saw each other again, and suddenly her arbitrary rules based on one shitty asshole in a bar 7 years ago seemed...absurd. She turned back around. Courtney was still leaning in her open doorway, watching her walk away.

“Hey, how drunk are you, actually? Can you recite the Pledge of Allegiance?” Vixen asked.

“No—” Courtney said, brow furrowed.

“Oh.” Vixen’s heart deflated a bit.

“—Because we don’t have the Pledge of Allegiance in Australia.”

“Right,” Vixen laughed.

“But what about, um, okay...so...here's a story from A to Z. You wanna get with me, you gotta listen carefully. We got Em in the place who likes it in your face. You got G like MC who likes it on a. Easy V doesn't-”

Vixen strode forward and silenced her with a kiss, soft and sweet, almost chaste at first, both of them giggling. As the kiss deepened, Vixen grabbed Courtney around the waist and pushed her backward into the room, letting the door slam shut behind them.

Vixen was so enamoured that she barely registered Courtney’s massive hotel suite, the entry hall or huge living room that Courtney led her through on the way to the bedroom. Guiding her by her hips to the bed, Courtney pushed her into a seated position and stood between her legs, chasing her lips as she took hold of her collar, fingering the little pearl buttons down the front of her shirt dress.

“Is this okay?” she asked, and Vixen nodded.

“Yeah.” She watched Courtney’s heavy-lidded eyes as she quickly opened the buttons, skin prickling as she pushed it off Vixen’s shoulders. She kissed Vixen again, deep and messy, sucking on her bottom lip.

Panting, Vixen reached around, fumbling for Courtney’s zipper. Once she pulled it down a few inches, the cotton dress easily came off over her head, and then there she was, standing in front of Vixen in nothing but a pair of baby blue panties.

Vixen swallowed, eyes sweeping over Courtney’s body, dying to touch her but nervous as all fuck.

“Listen, um...I should tell you…”

Courtney paused mid-way through opening Vixen’s belt to look at her curiously, face earnest and alert. The perfect student.

Vixen sighed. The fact that Courtney was so willing to listen, so considerate, should have been a bonus. But in this moment, it just made her feel startlingly inadequate. She hated this. The feeling of not being enough, or being too much. She didn’t even know anymore. All she knew was that she was about to make herself more vulnerable than she’d ever been, and she was terrified.

“So...Okay, um. I guess...it’s just been a long time since...I was with a girl.”

“Tell me about it,” Courtney said, grinning.

“No. A really long time,” Vixen said.

“Okay. Does that mean you don’t want-”

“No!” Vixen burst out, a little too emphatically, and then lowered her eyes bashfully, adding in a calmer voice, “No, I want to be with you, I just...might be a little out of practice.” It was an understatement, a lie of omission that unsettled Vixen’s stomach a bit. But it was all she felt comfortable with revealing at the moment, and she hoped that she’d be forgiven later.

“Hmm…” Courtney took Vixen’s face in her hands, tilting her chin up. “I think I can work with that…”

She bent down to kiss her again, soft as a whisper, fingers stroking Vixen’s cheekbones, before pulling back and gazing down at her.

“God,” Courtney breathed, “You are so beautiful.”

Vixen took in a shaky breath, her hands finally lifting to slide around Courtney’s hips. Something about the way Courtney looked at her was different than anything she’d ever experienced. She’d been the object of lust before, and sometimes very much enjoyed it. But this was more than that. She felt more than sexy, more even than beautiful. She felt seen.

But for once, rather than get all wrapped up in anxiety about what it meant, Vixen acted on instinct. She gripped Courtney's waist and pulled her forward, flinging her onto her back on bed. Courtney squealed delightedly, pulling her along.

Courtney smiled up at her, reaching a hand out but then pausing, letting her fingers rest on Vixen’s shoulder.

“Am I allowed to touch your hair? ‘Cause I’ve heard...”

Vixen couldn’t help laughing as she nodded and said, “That rule doesn’t really apply here.”

“Okay,” Courtney giggled, fingering her twists gently.

Vixen turned her head, pressing a kiss to Courtney’s wrist, then slowly moving up her arm, and finally nuzzling into her shoulder. Her skin smelled fresh and almost sweet, like she’d recently been in a doughnut shop. It wasn’t sugary like some kind of food-based perfume or soap, just a gentle, vague deliciousness that Vixen became addicted to immediately, burying her face into her neck to inhale deeply.

She found a soft, tender spot, just below Courtney’s ear, that made her sigh when kissed, and began to suck. Courtney inhaled sharply, hips thrusting up against Vixen’s, hands tightening in her hair.

“You like that?” Vixen asked, emboldened, hands sliding up from her waist to scratch gently at her ribcage.

“Uh huh,” Courtney breathed, arching up again as Vixen kissed her, thumb brushing over her hardened nipple. A whimper fell from her lips.

Vixen’s dress was half off at this point, pushed down around her waist, and when Courtney’s fingers began to trail lightly up and down her back, she shivered. Courtney pushed the dress further down, wriggling it over Vixen’s hips to her thighs, and Vixen pulled it off the rest of the way.

She was expecting to feel uncomfortably exposed, both of them now just in their panties—a situation she hadn’t found herself in with a woman is a very fucking long time. Especially a woman she liked this much. But instead of feeling awkward, she found her pulse racing with excitement, nearly breathless in anticipation of what might come next.

She realized that she’d been frozen for a few moments when Courtney raised herself up on her elbows and asked, “Are you alright?”

Vixen nodded, and Courtney sat up further, reaching out to touch her cheek.

“You want to take a break? Slow things down?”

“No,” Vixen said simply, slipping her fingers under the sides of Courtney’s panties. Her hips lifted, allowed Vixen to slide them off easily, heart in her throat when she saw how glistening wet she was already. She knew that she was potentially in over her head, but there was also a strong urge to keep going, pulse racing with desire.

“Come here.” Courtney stretched out her arm, pulling Vixen in for a kiss, tongues tangling together. She rolled Vixen over, onto her back, grinding down against her.

As much as Vixen wanted to please her, ceding control to Courtney felt liberating. She watched through heavy-lidded eyes as Courtney lavished her with affection, layering kisses against her skin. When a warm tongue swirled over her nipple, her hips jerked up, a stifled moan escaping from her throat.

Courtney sucked harder on her nipple, hands sliding down her torso, lips following as they trailed over Vixen’s tense abdomen. She hooked her fingers into the sides of Vixen’s panties and then looked up questioningly.

“Can I...?”

“Go ahead,” Vixen replied, straining to raise her hips, finding her core muscles in a weakened state, skin so flushed and hot that for a moment, she barely remembered to be self-conscious. Until Courtney began to slide her panties down, and suddenly she remembered exactly what she’d been dreading. When the reality of who she was would confront Courtney, more than theoretical, more than an idea.

Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she watched Courtney’s face. If she had any qualms about a girl with a dick, she certainly didn’t show it. She simply continued to suck soft kisses into her skin, warm hands resting on her thighs.

Vixen finally relaxed backwards, eyes falling shut. She let go of all her worries, all her stupid insecurities. At least for now. At least while Courtney took her dick into her mouth, tongue flicking delicately at her. Vixen’s hips thrust upwards, hands gripping the comforter tightly, moans dripping from her lips like honey.

It had been so achingly long since anyone had touched her this way. Maybe no one ever had, she realized as she arched into the soft caresses. She’s certainly never experienced this kind of loving attention from a woman, a woman treating her like she was precious and beautiful, turning her into a gasping, quivering mess. Vixen felt herself falling apart quickly, losing control, nearly gone before she had the wherewithal to choke out a pained warning.

“I’m-I’m gonna-”

“Mmhmmm…” Courtney made no move to stop, swirling her tongue again, then taking her deeper, sucking harder.

“Oh fuck,” Vixen moaned, hips pumping uncontrollably as she came, gasping for air.

The way Courtney’s hands stroked her thighs, continued to suck softly as she melted backwards into the pillows, every muscle in her body going slack--the small part of her that was still conscious shivered with delight, thrilled with the feeling of being spoiled.

It wasn’t until her body was completely still, bones feeling like jelly, when Courtney began to work her way up her body once again, hands sliding over her skin until she came nose to nose with her once again.

Courtney smiled, kissing her cheeks, down along her jaw, the corner of her mouth. Lips rousing her from a state of sheer exhaustion into warm, sleepy affection. Her hands circled Courtney's waist.

“How are you feeling, baby?” Courtney murmured.

“Uh huh.”

Courtney giggled, twirling a lock of her hair around her finger as she pressed more kisses against her.

Vixen sighed contentedly, pulling her in close, not caring how clingy and pathetic she might seem, just wanting the warmth of Courtney’s body against her own. Courtney snuggled into her arms, slipping to the side of her, legs still tangled together.

After a few slow, lazy kisses, Vixen started to sense a shift. Courtney’s breath grew hot and ragged, hips rutting against her. She cautiously moved a hand down, working it in between her thighs, fingers seeking out her wet heat.

“Show me what you want,” she urged, desire to give Courtney pleasure finally outweighing her fear of looking like an amateur.

Courtney lifted her head, giving her a sleepy grin and reaching down to guide her. She patiently showed Vixen exactly where to touch her, what to do to tease her, when to speed up and circle her clit, how deep for her fingers to go and exactly how to curl them to make her tremble. Vixen followed her breathless instructions, guided by Courtney’s own hand, thrilled at the way her body responded.

Soon, Courtney’s eyes were rolled back, muscles straining, tits brushing against Vixen’s chest as she thrusted against her fingers, fucking down into them, breathy moans music to Vixen’s ears. Her hips moved faster and faster until she stopped, whimpering, just barely grinding against the heel of Vixen’s hand, lips pressed to her neck.

Vixen had never made a girl come before, and it was so much more beautiful than she’d imagined, from the way her lashes fluttered against her cheeks to the slick sheen of sweat on her forehead, to her ass flexing, muscles still twitching against Vixen’s fingers. And the best part, the way she looked up at Vixen at the end, eyes locked with hers as the waves of pleasure radiated through her body, fingers wound tightly into her hair.

“Fuck,” Courtney sighed, collapsing against Vixen’s body, trapping her hand for a few moments before realizing it and letting her wriggle free with a sleepy laugh. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Vixen said, tilting her chin up for a kiss. Her whole body had suddenly become soft and pliant, and all Vixen wanted was to wrap her into an embrace. She wasn’t expecting it to feel this intimate. A part of her had even worried that this whole affair would be wrapped up in a one-night stand. But as Courtney cuddled against her, heart still hammering, she felt closer to her than ever. “I should probably tell you…”

“Mmm?”

“What I said earlier, about not being with a girl in a long time?” Vixen swallowed. “I uh...I haven’t really had a girlfriend since high school. And I guess I’ve come close since then, but never really went through with it...as me. The real me.”

Courtney lifted her head, fingers trailing down Vixen’s arm, a smile playing on her lips.

“Thank you for trusting me with the real you,” she said softly.

Vixen nodded, not sure what more there was to add, when a clap of thunder outside scared the living shit out of her, causing her to nearly jump out of her skin. So much for a warm and fuzzy moment.

Courtney laughed, pulling up the covers and cocooning them both, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

“Don’t worry, I’ll protect you,” she said, snuggling tight against Vixen’s body.

“You better,” Vixen replied.

#rpdr fanfiction #the vixen #courtney act #honey mahogany #latrice royale #courtney x vixen #trans!vixen #fluff #smut #mild angst #lesbian au #galactica au #fic challenge #black girl magic fic #diversity fic #revelation sunshine #veronica #trans character #tw mention of past transphobia

18 notes · View notes

empty-dream · 4 years

Text

Just watched 13 Reasons Why S4

Ended up making a full blown commentary per episode because this is finally the last season and I’ve been enjoying this mess since S1. I even forgot that it was released until a friend brought it up to me. So in short,

Ep1

OKAY WHO DIES AGAIN HUH??

Clay, narrating: *I'm good at hiding shits so my parents don't notice at all." His parents: *concernedly looking at him pale and mushing food on the dining table*

The concequences of investigating murder cases and creating conspiracies instead of studying your ass off because it's a damn school really caught up huh.

Charlie holy shit I love you he's so chill and good.

It's been years I still can't believe Justin is really adopted by the Jensens. Funny that now the table is reversed, with Justin finally actually doing better and taking care of the increasingly-ill Clay.

SCOTT!! OH MY GOD! SCOTT REED!! OH MY FUCKING GOD!! AAAAAAAAAAAAA HOLY SHIIITTTTTTTTT AAAAAAAAA!!!

Wow my headcanon is approved, he already graduated by S3. No reason he didn't hang out with the gang after all the shits in S2 if he was no longer around in the first place.

He's still so nice even in Clay's trippy nightmare. Is that what Clay remembers about him? Well not really surprising, considering Scott actually was worried about him in S2.

Good god finally Clay meets a therapist- Wait a minute that's the guy from CSI:NY?!?! Isn't Clay just gonna get clobbered instead.

Okay I knew they are really close and I do adore their relationship so much but HOLY SHIT THEY ACTUALLY GO AT IT WITH ALEX AND ZACH???

Alex: *panicking over the kiss* Zach: Ayy don't worry let's just continue perhaps-suicidally hanging out on dangerous rooftops that you were almost fall to your death from. Alex: ????

Ep2

That narration of Clay ranting about college applications. I'll drink to that bruh.

Ya I too make my applications and other supposedly important matters at 3AM instead of any other more sensible time.

Oh my fucking god that is the creepiest smile I've ever see.

I feel like as Justin gets better and better with his life, Clay goes worse.

Justin is so excited about going to college! You deserve the future man.

The old-time stoners and drunkards are rehabbed or dead. Enter Zach.

Winston: *eyes and ears up to your shit 24/7*

Nobody likes Tyler in S1 but now everybody likes him.

Okay. Cops doing shit jobs at protecting. This feels too real with this situation right now.

Clay's adventure to put the trash into the trash bin.

Omg they got the paint to the lab this is going real CSI.

Idk about u but at this point I don't exactly want to pay attention to Jessica/Justin problems anymore.

I know Zach and Clay don't get along and that's why I need their adventure together.

Clay drunk-puking on Justin. Well well well how the turntables.

The return of Monet!!

"I have 2.8. If I work hard, I'll get 2.9" Winston omg same.

Tht held gaze between Alex and Winston.. Is this slow burn fanfiction???????

Yes Mr. CSI it will definitely get worse.

I know writing about your feelings can make you feel better but probably not in your college essay form.

Ep3

I'm starting to think Clay is the one who dies in the end? Idk tho.

I guess the toll of busting ass trying to save everyone by yourself is catastrophically high, huh, Clay? Funny that he now goes from 100 in S3 to 0 in here and that's actually realistic.

Alex and Winston are really pining each other with Zach in the background lmao.

"You don't wanna go on the Valentine Dance with me? Even as friends?" Well sometimes there are moments when you just don't go back to being friends. It's an actual normal thing.

And besides the last time Alex goes with Jess for something she wanna do, he ends up murdering somebody. So.

"Hey Zach. Hey punch me. Hey you pussy now? Hey hey. Bitch." *poke* *poke* *poke*

No Zach he's trying to save all of your asses. You can't just say that.

Charlie is really just there trying to do his best in this shitshow and like Justin I wanna laugh but also am proud.

Everyone: *being paranoid and unto each other* Alex and Winston: *having the date of their life*

I wish everyone doesn't have this level of trust issues but then again we won't have a shitstorm drama like this.

When did this become "what is love?" philosophy class?

"You know love but you love so fiercely and sometimes it hurts."Wow Mr. CSI you hit the mark.

How many parties can the Liberty High hold in a year?

"You go with Charlie to get back to Justin, right?" Wow Diego you HIT the mark.

I still have problems with Ani as a character, but I do like her casual banters with Clay.

You know, with all these trust issues, I'm surprised nobody actually tries to peek on other's phone. Like, I know that's low. But, you know, faster solution. And better than having mass hallucinations.

Oh God the football team really is a bunch of jerks. Good fucking thing Scott is outta here.

Alex and Winston almost die like couples in a cheap slasher movie.

"Fuck Love." Clay Jensen, 2019 (according to the movie timeline)

Ep4

Why is Charlie talking? Why is he wearing the football jersey? Who on earth dies?? Is it Zach? Justin? Somebody else from the football team? But the content of your speech man...

Ah yeah. Clay did survive a great big deal of many ugly shits. Single-handedly thanks to adrenaline, mostly.

Jess got a point tho. Ani could have followed Clay to stop him, by herself or with the gang. What did she do? She spied on Winston and Alex, and then went back to the dance. So much for handling anything themselves.

Or maybe, the gang shouldn't have let Ani and Clay take care of it themselves.

Does anybody in this show ever figure out Clay has dead people hallucinations?

Domestic Jensen family is my everything.

Charlie really out there bribing Zach with his homemade cookies I-

Ah yeah, I kinda forgot that in reality Alex and Winston have a really difficult situation. With Bryce and Monty stuff.

"Looking back on your time at Liberty, do you have any regrets?" Really? Isn't that all they have?

"Who do you trust most in your life and why?" Everybody: *immediately side-eyeing each other*

Clay c'mon wtf Justin is really just worried sick and trying to help you. Aaand he's gone.

Jess you don't put your hands into something without checking it first...

Why would you only send 2 adults to supervise 30-50 kids on a camping wildlife trip? They wouldn't be able to do shit.

"I thought you were a football player!" "I AM a football player! And so are YOU!" Gold.

Dream!Monty and Dream!Clay really sit like that and I almost laugh were it not for the fact that I do that too. It's strange to see that for once, they talk normally, heart-to-heart, without the usual snickering, chiding, all that venom.

Oh shit they really make Monty and Clay mirror each other like that. They both protect people they love but have tendencies to snap, one way or another.

Zach, dude, I know you've been a real good friend. But Alex almost died. Twice. Because of your drunken ways. And you laughed. Didn't you spend an entire season trying hard to not let him die again? What's wrong with you?

When did this become a horror movie?

The Standalls :((

CHARLIE MY MAN WITH HIS COOKIES. And incidentally, a wild Zach appears.

"So are we gonna fall apart or trust each other now!" Justin my man.

Clay dude that would have been an amazing entrance were it not for the fact you looked insane.

I can't fucking believe they just go normally at campfire like that. Two people almost died. Several got beaten. What the fuck.

Does it come from the bottom of your heart or it doubles as a threat, Clay?

Alex you had us at the first half not gonna lie.

GR A NO LA CA MP C O OKIES? ??

Wait. So who has been fucking around with the football team? Who moved Clay?? Huh??

Ep5

GUYS THERE IS A THING CALLED GPS ON THE PHONE?? What are you? 3?

Justin finally breaking down after 5 episodes being the most decent and healthy person around. Well Charlie is too but he's new, so.

Finally an obligatory meeting at Monet.

CYRUS AND THE PUNK GANG!!! God I love you guys where have you been. And you guys are computer geeks?!?!?! Perfect.

My question exactly, Clay. Good replies tho, Cy.

I'm still thinking how for a nerd, Clay knows A LOT of people and knows who to ask what.

"How am I even friends with you?" Ya Alex that's my question too. How are you suddenly bff with Zach? I don't remember you two being close in S1?

Hm. If you aren't holding his family at stake, there is no way Tony would even think to rat out.

Mr. CSI starts going CSI on Clay.

I almost forgot Charlie's last name is St. George. The cast goes by Charlie mostly so.

Justin really shows up at the party with the angry mom pose and disappointed look at Clay. The turntable, people. Flynn's voice got raspy.

Oh no no Clay you don't go there. Please don't split my Jensen-Foley brothers like that. Meanwhile the punk gang be like just watching there.

C O O KI E S??? Goddamn Charlie do you bring cookies everywhere you go??

Charlie my boy you T_T I was kinda suprised that the cookie baking actually had a sad backstory.

Clay-Zach bonding that I fucking wish for oh yeah. I definitely didn't expect it with piano and drunk singing tho.

While Clay is having the time of his life, Tony is seeing life flashes in his eyes.

Yassss he winssss!!!!

Caleb's expression when the sherrif hugs him lmfao

Nice try Sherrif but Tony knows your tricks.

"What of any of this is okay?" Wow things you'd never hear Justin says in S1.

Meanwhile, Charlie and Alex are high on weed cookies as fuck. Their conversation is the most interesting thing I've seen beside the Scott cameo till now.

The look on Justin's face when Clay pushes him :((

MY DUDES HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN ABOUT JEFF'S DEATH? WHAT HE WAS ACCUSED FOR?! You do not, under any circumstances, drive drunk.

Ep6

Clay be spitting truth.

They really be discussing Clay's chronic hero syndrome huh.

Okay. Operation Clay-Zach failed.

Weren't Zach all fuck it all yeah! kinda guy? Guess when you are the one who faces death it's not that fun anymore huh.

"One Clay Jensen is enough" Jess truth.

Do Alex and Charlie really study Spanish in front of Tony who is not helping at all? That would be embarrassing lmao.

Clay: Fuck off. Hallucination!Monty: *sits next to him*

Gotta hand it to Timothy Granaderos. He could go venomous to puppy eyed in 1 second. Amazing.

Man. School shootings are fucked up. There are many things I wonder about mankind and one of them is why is school shooting even possible?

Hallucination!Bryce: Hi I’m sorry I’m late. I hear this is time for Clay’s dead people hallucination party.

"Are you a hero or a martyr?" Wow they really throw the question.

And here is Clay sitting under the desk between his two most hated dead people hallucinations whispering moral dilemmas to him.

Meanwhile Winston and Zach got high.

Charlie helping Alex to breath.

The talk with Estella and Tyler.

"No offense, you are cool, but I don't wanna die with you." Zach chill lmao.

Are.. Are you sure outing that to Winston is a good call, Zach? For a guy who was super paranoid that his gang would narc him, he sure is loose mouthed himself.

I like how everyone from Tyler to Zach to Winston, admits that Alex is a really kind guy.

Wow Tony did you really expect anyone could do anything in that situation, in fucking Evergreen situation, for that matter?

Charlie is a great friend wow.

Cl-CLAY DON'T GO OUT that is EXACTLY what you are NOT supposed to do!!!

Goddamnit Clay. Holy shit Clay.

Dylan Minnette really worked hard in this scene.

.......... WAIT A MINUTE IT'S NOW ACTUALLY CHARLIE ALEX????? Tony be just walking in.

Ep7

Clay really got into a psych ward. Talk about darkest hour. And it’s only ep 6?

Wow Ty that's some brave lines.

Which hallucination-induced person is Clay talking to before Ani gets there?

Ok that therapy session made me tear up.

These kids are having college interviews at the worst time possible. They are all fucking breaking down one way or another.

And Charlie just, really never gives up on Alex huh.

What's most important to Clay is his friends. Real quick to answer that question huh.

God Justin lashing out at the Jensens. It's the first time he does it and it hurts.

Zach holy fuck. I appreciate you didn't out it but holy fuck you didn't have to do that are you trying to die

Clay-Tony combo is back baby I miss them so much. Although perhaps Tony you would mind a bit about Clay's health because clearly he was out of it.

This is so short. I too really don't like application essays and interviews and the inevitable revisit of the sadder parts of my life because of them.

Ep8

When did this become sci-fi apocalyptic story?

God I miss the time when Clay's dreams are just Inception-styled trippy shit with Scott randomly says hello and gets him water.

Okay. Everyone's got their own way to cope with existential and moral crisis huh.

You know what, I would like one movie out of this sci-fi dream.

I knew it Tyler was a bait to smoke out illegal gun dealers. Is that... An okay thing to do for a high schooler? Sounds fucked up, all things considered.

Yaaay Justin's got the college! I'm super happy!

Wow Estella good question.

Wow Tyler good statement. If they trust each other a bit more, everything would have been a bit better.

Ah shit. Justin relapses again.

Does Tony need to be pummelled first before he finally goes all off to finish his opponent or what?

Is this going Big Brother Is Watching

What the fuck. That locker fight scene is disgusting.

Jess and Clay might throw shades at each other but together they share one brain cell.

"I think it's a walkout, Sir" Tyler lmao

Wow Zach and Alex heart-to-heart.

Cyrus really steps on some pedestal to make his point.

Aaand Zach and Alex really go all out on "doing it right" huh.

They really have students vs cops riot at this time. Talk about timing.

It's nice to see the punk gang enjoying the fighting again.

Dude what happens if you don't have anything on your bag tho.

Aaaah the punk gang with Tyler again!!

"Why are you with me and not with Charlie?" Zach ouch that hurts.

Zach no no no Zach get out of there too Zach pls

Clay really becomes 2nd in command to Jess huh.

Charlie tries to save Clay but gets whacked on the head instead.

Tony you came back!! Oh so that college scout was.. Oh.

Oh shit Clay. Oh. Shit. I should have realized that. Goddamn.

Ep9

"I like sleep." Charlie me too.

God Alex and Charlie literally sleep together jaldjwaownaljewoalsj that some cute shit.

Wow Clay really takes Mr. CSI's advice to round up the gang and confesses. That's a step.

Charlie sometimes has a good idea, huh.

The Jensens meeting is probably the reason why the idea of parenthood scares me.

Also Clay and Justin really put the practice of "tell the parents the less-harsh-but-still-harsh truth, then ask them to get prom back" by the book. And it's awkward.

Aww Charlie coming out to his dad and the response he gets... When you put the rich fams like Dempseys, Walkers and Saint Georges together, the last one is really the only healthy one huh.

Way to go Jess!

Ah I forgot Alex has an older brother.

Aaaahhh Charlie has dinner with the Standalls! Their reaction is so sweet!

"Does he make you happy?" "Yeah. A lot." AHDKWJWOAKDUWLAOEL I mean after everything that has happened to Alex, man I am so happy he can say that with a fond smile.

WHAT THE FUCK HAHAHAHHA CHARLIE WHAT THE FUCK HOLY SHIT LMFAO I THOUGHT THIS WAS JUST AN TRIPPY ANIMATED IMAGINATION THING and Alex is so done with his extra shit.

Wow Ani you do karaoke good, asking Jess out even better.

OH MY GOD IT ESCALATED. Also Alex is right that one is creepy Charlie.

I thought by special doughnut Caleb means some diet-related stuff fit to Tony's menu for fighting. Why didn't I expect a literal Will You Go To Prom doughnuts?

CHARLIE PLEASE STOP AHAHAHAHA you dumb rich kid where did you get all those lamps and prop candles.

"Would you love me any less?" Aww Clay knows Justin loves him.

"You three all look adorable" Ya Jess, same.

Tony really out there doing the "I'm here because he's here" to Caleb.

Clay, Alex, and Charlie be like judging Zach hard.

Oh right that one kid from Cyrus's gang is gay and he brought his boyfriend!

Zach: You two sitting here like it's a funeral. Also Zach: *proceeds to continue sitting as well*

"We deserve to live." Finally something from Zach's mouth that I can agree for this season.

I love that Tony and Caleb are such good friends to Clay.

And now it's Winston turn for dead people hallucination.

..... The door to the other side again.. :'''((

CHARLIE AND ALEX WON THE PROM KINGS AAAAAAHHHHHH I mean with all those extra efforts, it'd be hard to not to. And there goes Alex finally giving in to dance.

I don't like Luke the football guy when he's the enemy but I like him when he's a friend. He's a hype man lmao.

Alex I'm so happy for you man. I'm glad you are finally happy. My heart was tight at the dance part .

Everyone: *dances* Clay: *sits there, monologuing philosophically*

I like that Clay and Ani finally being honest that they don't fit each other romantically. As romance goes there is not much romantic tension between them. And they have way too many flawed traits that when paired, would turn the relationship sour and possibly toxic in the end.

Justin do u like to show up and make everyone step aside for you or what.

I like that Clay was just watching from a distance. Then at last minute decided to join the crowd with his mother, whom he had a few trust issues with in all seasons.

Charlie: "Foundry's gay?!" Alex: "Mind's blown" Me: Same.

There has been nothing wrong going on in one episode, aside from the Zach one that's timely stopped by Charlie and Alex. I'm suspicious.

Ah. Yes. Of course.

Oh my god Justin's the one dead huh?

Ep10

Oh thank God he hasn't died. Yet.

Oh God Justin no. No no no.

Get your shit together Zach. Even Charlie tells you that.

No no no not like this not after everything oh god.

Somebody would you actually please run after Clay too.

Oh my god Clay.

Oh my god Alex you. Even when he admits it to Winston, he still covers for Jess. I- oh god.

It's been only 15 minutes and it hurts.

Charlie and Alex, the moms of the group.

You know, for a guy who says he doesn't love Justin, Alex gives a lot of shit about him. I guess you can still be around people you don't like?

I know the kiss is huge news Charlie but that's not the issue here lmao.

Zach: *hugs Clay* Clay: ????? Alex and Charlie: ?????? Zach: *pats Tyler's head* *leans on Clay*

The Padillas :''')

Clay Jensen. Class speaker. Wow.

Yeah Mr. CSI's voice is really calm, rather chilling, actually.

"You've looked at death too many times for a young person." Damn right Mr. Jensen.

Ah so that's the reason why Zach stole that letter. Makes sense, emotionally.

You know, I did say Idc anymore about Justin/Jessica problems but when it gets to this point, I can't not care.

So many people come to the hospital...

Clay and Justin's talk. I'm sorry I can't hold it in anymore. I'm fucking sobbing at this moment.

He's dead. He's dead. He's dead just like his mom. But he died not in the same way. He died holding his bro's hand. He died surrounded by his family. He died with people who loved him around.

"After everything, this is how it ends." Fucck

DID HE HAVE TO DIE??? DID JUSTIN FOLEY-JENSEN HAVE TO DIE?? Did you really have to put yet another sucker punch in the last episode of the season?? Yeah I know real kids and people do die from AIDS but really? After a whole season of Clay screaming kids wants to live to the point he lost his mind???

I spent the entire funeral screen crying. I couldn't even scream again when Scott is present in the funeral. I know he'd be there but god I can't right now.

Mr. CSI sure knows super effective ways to make Clay react.

"If Justin's dead, the none of the rest of it matters. " Clay..

He opens up.

Oh yeah I forgot Charlie is a junior.

AAAA COURTNEY AND RYAN ARE HERE!!! I MISS YOU GUYS!!!!!

SCOTTTTT!!!!!! And CHLOE TOO!! It’s nice that they come together. But they aren’t like, together, right? I mean if he is her boyfriend she would say his name right away to Zach instead of a mere ‘would you like to meet him? He’s outside.’

These 4 are such good friends to attend their friends’ graduation ceremony.

The punk guys in toga are so... Refreshing to look. Such hype men.

"It's easy to hate. It's easy to fear. It's goddamn hard to love. But it's not optional. It's essential." Jessica Davis, everybody.

Jeff, Hannah and Justin really died in the span of 2 years. Add to that is Bryce and Monty, whose deaths left uncountable traumas on top of existing traumas. Yeah. It was hellish time.

Scott’s proud small smile when Clay gives his speech. Im love.

"Choose to live. Even on the worst day, life is a pretty spectacular thing." Clay Jensen, everybody.

Ma boi Zach really teared up at Clay's speech.

Luke and one of the punk kids talking about some geek thing I am not familiar with I-

“No offense Luke. You’ve got great arm but you haven’t been known for your brain.” PETER That BURNS LMAO

Poor Winston just being alone. OH HELLO RYAN YOU ARE FAST.

Zach is gonna study music! Nice foreshadowing since he plays a lot of music this season.

Clay having a gratitude moment with his parents and Scott be like munching cupcakes in the background.

Oh god Hannah ...

Wow the old tape gang is here!! The nostalgia hurts.

They bury the tapes on the same hill again asdfwosaiofai.

Kinda salty Sheri and Scott aren’t here. But then again I guess back then Scott was just helping Clay and co when he could and mostly minding his own business. HOWEVER isn’t Sheri like in the tape and pretty prominent too :(( Like she was really cool with Clay (despite the whole guilt over Jeff), tried to make amends and really helped with the polaroid cases.

Also you can't just insert Scott in Clay's dream and then not have them interact in the end. The dream was such a perfect bait. Like we know at least they apparently get along well.

Everything in Jessica’s final conversation with her Bryce hallucination. Everything in it.

Ryan: “Gordon Lightfoot?” Ha Ryan you miss a whole lot of drama.

Fuck I'm tearing up again at Justin's essay. He deadass makes an entire essay about Clay and how he is his savior I-

Oh my god they end it exactly like S1 with Tony and Clay riding away. They are really each other’s ride or die.

That’s it. It’s over. It’s been a long trainwreck. So the 2019 class graduates, so does Justin, they are doing uni right now and keeping in touch with everyone. Bye.

#13 reasons why #13 reasons why season 4 #random saying

11 notes · View notes

valkerymillenia · 4 years

Text

Umbrella Academy

season 2, episode 3

Next!

Again, live blogging and posting my reactions all in one post to avoid spamming.

This post got accidentally deleted yesterday so I had to write or all again (twice!)

Oh, starting with a Klaus and Ben 1960 flashback! Ah, Klaus... You have no shame. Let my baby eat though!

Lol "Chanel". Boy knows his fashion, of course.

And there's Boney M playing!

You can practically read his mind when he sees that diamond. Sugar momma alert! 😆

Damn, loving the black outfit, very sexy.

LEVITATING KLAUS WAS BEN LIFTING HIM UP! Seems that one crack theory on the fandom was right 🤣

Ben's face though 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

These two are the best combo. I love them.

61, Baja, NM. Traveling hippie commune.

Is Klaus still sober? He refuses a joint here so I'm inclined to believe that he is but he isn't acting very sober... Then again that might be an act, just him embracing the hippy life.

CALLED IT!!! BEN FALLS IN LOVE, DOESN'T HE?! I FUCKING CALLED IT IN EP 1!

62, Varanasi, India. The river scene from the promos. Yeah, I called this one too. Klaus is already looking seriously uncomfortable and realizing this is getting out of hand.

63, San Francisco. Poor Klaus is practically suffocating under all the touching and nobody respects his space or his words.

Destiny's Children! 🤣 You are such a 90s kid, Klaus.

Run away, Klaus! Run! Escape the crazies.

Ok, let me paused to write out a thought...

So a lot of people were worried about the cult thing and Klaus's intentions but it's clear he had no malicious intentions at all. He charmed and impressed some people for survival purposes and thrived, he enjoyed the love and attention at first and the cult just grew around around him organically whether he liked it or not, more a hippy cult of personality then a religious sect, but at some point he saw that it had gone too far, the pressure and expectation became too much and he realized he'd bitten more than he can chew.

It's actually rather sad how he just wants to escape but the cultists objectify him to all hell, he has no privacy or personal space. The problem with Klaus is that he doesn't do anything mildly, he always goes too big until he's drowning. Boy is already self-sabotaging and I'm sure he's going to start self-destructing very soon as well.

End of thought. Clicking play again.

Ouch! Poor Diego 😰 Lila, that is not how you cauterize a stab wound...

"what happened?" -your dear daddy stabbed you, dude.

Did she really need to strip him so thoroughly? 😏 Yes, yes, she did.

Well, at least she's not sewing you up, Diego. No needles, yay.

"oh, he isn't dead." "Disappointed?" "To see you? Always 😊" -did I mention I love Five's sass? I did? Well, I do.

Old family friend 😆

"you don't untie him?" "Was I supposed to?" Oh Lila, you're adorable, poor Elliot.

Vanya, that is suspicious as hell, just mow down that weirdo!

Ok, good instincts but too slow.

Run, girl, run!

Got to admit, these Swedes are good battle strategy, they are surrounding her surprisingly well.

Is this were the badass Vanya promo was from? Show me badass Vanya, please.

BADASS VANYA! 💖

Ooooooh, very smart, Five!!!

One of the machines though? What are the others for? I'm curious.

Plano Street Rooming House for Solitary Men? That's real depressing, Luther.

It's the "the end is nigh" guy the same that was screaming with Luther in ep 1?

King Kong! Not sure if cute or rude af...

Ahahahah! Luther literally STUMBLING on "Allison" and then acting like an awkward Steve Rogers when the kids call him out 😆 Boy, when will you realize that your obsession is creepy?

Honestly, ALL the Hargreeves siblings can be divided into two categories- sweet awkward dork or sass king/queen, there is no in-between (but Diego and Klaus get to be both).

Convenient that Vanya would just sit there and wait to be found by Five but ok.

"I have a brother?" -honey, you have five (pun fully intended)

IKEA MAFIA! 😂

Nice crop circle, Vanya.

Five just rolls with the amnesia, huh? Doesn't even question it. Ok, then.

Why is Ruby, notorious mobster, sewing sequins? It's it for the dog? I bet, it's for the dog.

"Hargreeves. She your ex?" *Cue Luther's super awkward fumbling* "S-Sorta...Y-Yeah. Sure." - big boy, this is the point where you realize how creepy your crush on your own sister is, time to reevaluate.

KLAUS AND ALLISON REUNION! THEY ARE SO CUTE! 😭💜

Honestly, I need more Klaus and Allison interactions. They have so much bff potential.

*le gasp* "oh, you're married?" 😲 -yes, Klaus, you met him.

"dicks, drugs, debutants. My holy trinity" -ok so everything Klaus says should be taken with a grain of salt but does Klaus still do drugs or not? Considering the evolution of his powers with Ben I'd say no, but we aren't seeing other ghosts harassing him so... Hmm, I need confirmation.

"alternative spiritual community" my ass

Ah, Allison falls into the sass queen category.

Allison can have a little PTSD, as a treat. 😢

Those shoes! Hi, Handler.

Those shoes really are her signature by now. Those heels could kill a man.

Handler as a brunette...? She looks good but I like her bleach blonde.

What did she say to make that boy pee himself?? Damn, Handler, no wonder your kid is a mess.

These dudes need to start listening to my girl Allison, instead of following her husband like puppies.

Great speech, girl! ✊

What is up with that sandwich???

Oh wait, it's Ben right? Klaus is using his powers to get Ray out of jail, isn't he?

Yup, of course he is.

Ben being all sassy and cocky about it gives me life.

"high places" - 😆

Poor Ray, you have no idea what you've gotten yourself into.

"family barbecues are about to get reeeeeeeal weird" - I'd actually like to see that.

"leave the pot, dear" - you're such an old man, Five.

"any questions?" Five, if be worried if she DIDN'T have questions after all that.

"asteroid impact" -aww 💜 you really do care for her feelings, Five... But you have to tell her the truth sooner or later.

Harlan likes classical music, huh? Good thing he knows a good violinist.

Harlan and Sissy... 😭 My poor heart.

Ouch! What is wrong with you, Lila? You're right but what is wrong with you?

"I can't believe I got shanked by my own father" - can't you, Diego? Really? After everything else that man did to you and your siblings?

"man to man, that son of bitch wouldn't stand a chance" - yeah, he would, he taught you all you know, boy

Not sure if Lila's story is true or not but... I still have that one theory that she was born on October, 1989...

"I don't understand you!!!" - ahah, poor Diego 🤣

Really? Right in front of Elliot's tuna mold?

Man, Handler is really obsessed with Five...

Oh, Luther, you giant puppy...

This is so AWKWARD!

Bonbons, Luther? Really?

Ok, this small talk is even MORE AWKWARD! It physically hurts to listen to this.

The pain in his face and voice when Luther goes "S-so great" 😭

boy, this is the moment you realize it's time to move on, you're not isolated teenagers in a dysfunctional home anymore, let her be your sister and find love elsewhere.

The sit in!

"seven languages" sassy, sassy, I love her.

YOUNG DAVE!

Oh no... Klaus, no, baby... Oh, this is painful.

Ben, don't be mean, let your brothe have this.

What kind of gay man doesn't know what eggshell is? 😆

"is this considered stalking? 'cause I think you're stalking now" - well, BEN, following your brother 24/7 for 15 years can also be considered stalking

Oh no, Vietnam flashbacks... Poor Klaus 😭😭😭

"Vietnam fling"? Ben, you know it wasn't just a fling! Stop being mean.

Aw, Klaus just wants to save Dave... He's willing to sacrifice their relationship to save Dave's life... 😭😭😭

I know Ben is just worried but he could be less mean...

Damn, this sit in thing is really upsetting...

Why is Ray being weird? Is he suspicious of Luther and Alison's relationship? Or is he just unhappy that Allison kept secrets about her family?

Oh Luther, no... Self-harm by proxy is not going to make you feel better.

Oh, motherfucker! That coffee thing was such an asshole move!

Shit, this scene is so well written, the way something so small is making the whole protest escalate to all hell... The police brutality, the parallels with recent events... Disturbing and brilliant and deeply relevant!

Yes! Rumor that motherfucker, Allison!

Oh no, don't be scared of your wife, Ray! Don't be suspicious!

Poor Allison... 😢

Oh Luther, you dumbass... 😢

Lila going to meet mommy, huh?

Oh, she's still wearing Diego's bracelet. Cute.

I know this scene between Handler and Lila was supposed to be a shocking plot twist but after David Castañeda's interview slip up, I already knew.

Still, an excellent scene and very cool surprise.

Like I said before, I really like Lila, I don't trust her AT ALL but I like her.

...

THIS WAS SUCH AN EMOTIONAL EPISODE... Again.

My god, this show gives me life.

#tua #tua s2 #tua s2 spoilers #live blogging #reactions #my phone keeps correcting vanya to baby #and honestly it's not wrong

5 notes · View notes

yukihime242 · 4 years

Text

Before I start a review on the story, I just want to get this off my mind. And anybody out there who has read Complicated and are fans of Ainsley x Mason, just know that this is personal opinions and preferences. All are welcome to their own.

This is going to be about why I feel Ainsley should be with Kendall in the Episode Interactive story “Complicated”.

[MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD]

Let’s start with Ainsley. She’s a girl who was not rich materialistically but has a good heart. One example was when Kendall asked Ainsley to distract Mason from his studies just so that Kendall can be the top in school. Of course, Ainsley felt guilty and quit after a couple of weeks.

Next is Kendall. Kendall may be a douchetard sometimes but he has a heart. No matter how much he claims to not associate with people like Ainsley, he still bothered to help her with her studies and even stood up for her against Lauren Kelly.

And finally, Mason. He is a good guy, complete opposite of Kendall and is always treating Ainsley right. He knew how to comfort her in her time of need and does not treat her like she was some girl in rags.

I bet you are confused now. If Mason is treating Ainsley right, shouldn’t I be shipping them together? Well, that’s what this post is all about.

Let’s start with Ainsley x Mason.

Mason fell in love with Ainsley at first sight when they met at a pub. They started dating together and had memorable memories.

If I am honest here, I believe they would have lasted if it weren’t for Mason’s selfishness.

1. Mason cares about his grades more.

Yes, studying is important. But just because your girl was ranked the top in school, making you fell towards rank 7 or so, it is not a valid reason to break up with your girlfriend. I get why Ainsley was so upset, she was dumped over a grade.

2. Mason seemed to care more about the money than the emotions(?)

I am not really sure what to describe, friendship, emotions, what? But anyway, I need to do a little bit of explaining for this part.

Ainsley received 7 million dollars from Aiden, who was Leah’s boyfriend, and Leah was Ainsley’s best friend, after Aiden passed away. As any good friend, Ainsley had to tell Leah about the money. She needed moral support so she contacted Mason and told him about this (Kendall was Aiden’s best friend, so this explains why she did not contact Kendall). Nobody knows how much time had passed from the moment Ainsley received the money to Mason demanding Ainsley depositing the cheque.

It’s understandable if a lot of time had passed, but shouldn’t it be driving Ainsley to Leah to tell her about the cheque first before going to the bank to deposit it? I mean, yes, 7 million dollars is a lot of money, but imagine you deposit the cheque before going to your best friend and telling her, “hey, just so you know, your dead boyfriend gave me 7 million dollars before he passed and I have already deposited it into my bank account. Fyi, bff.”.

Yeah, that’s not going to end well.

3. When things fell apart, Mason went haywire.

Mason found out his mother was having an affair. Okay, you have every right to be upset. But it does not mean you could suddenly start bring hookers into your friend’s apartment. It does not give you the excuse to act out.

Leah lost her boyfriend, she grieved by turning people away. But she never went down the “wrong” path.

When Kendall lost his best friend, he too was grieving. But he did not mean to hurt anyone (except that one point he paralysed Ainsley which he apologised for shortly after).

People reached out to the both of them and they were willing to accept the help given.

But for Mason, he just lost it. He started bringing in hookers to his friend’s apartment and to Ainsley’s hotel. Even when Ainsley confronted him about it, he shut her out. Can you imagine the relationship if they get together at the end?

I guess we can all see why Bridget became Mason’s wife instead.

Let’s go to Ainsley x Kendall.

I know in the story, a fortune teller said that both Ainsley and Kendall complete each other. However, I am not going to include that in the list and would just focus on what Kendall had done to prove himself worthy of Ainsley.

1. Kendall still continued to help Ainsley despite his rank dropping.

This is expected if you volunteer to tutor someone. Of course, nobody, including Kendall, expected Ainsley to get the top rank, but instead of not wanting to tutor anymore just because he was now ranking lower than Ainsley, he was still willing to tutor her after.

I mean it’s understandable if Kendall did not want to tutor Ainsley anymore after the results came out but he still continued to do so. At the end, both of them helped tutor each other on their weaker subjects.

2. Kendall defended Ainsley.

Okay, argument here could be that Kendall already had the hots for Ainsley during the Lauren Kelly saga. But let’s scratch that and see based on what we know so far.

It was not clear at that part of the story what Kendall truly felt for Ainsley. Sure, Lauren Kelly stepped over the line when she tormented Ainsley, everybody agreed on that (even Sophia). But did Sophia stood up for Ainsley? No. Kendall did. He may not be on good terms with Ainsley, probably just schoolmates in his opinion. Yet, he was still willing to defend Ainsley even though they are not technically “friends”.

3. Kendall understood Ainsley and vice versa.

They knew what each other meant, they knew how to play along with each other’s games. What’s more to say?

So, yep, that’s what I feel about Ainsley x Kendall vs. Ainsley x Mason.

Once again, everybody is entitled to their own opinions and preferences.

Author: Sai Keyhart

Story: Complicated on Episode Interactive app

#episode interactive #episode

3 notes · View notes

cards-onthetable · 5 years

Text

An Education

Two foster care-related storylines in 3 episodes? I don’t have time for a full rant tonight so that may come tomorrow but first I’m going to just LET YOU ALL KNOW what we’re dealing with here. Here’s your little dose of foster care reality since the show does.not.care.

“You want to adopt that baby.” Sounds sweet, right? Wrong. Here’s what would happen if Jamie and Eddie tried to “adopt” this child who already has two parents:

Jamie and Eddie have to become certified foster parents. This process takes 60-90+ days and no, having the last name Reagan does not automatically jump them through all those hoops in 12 hours (I’m looking at you, ff.net writers). By this point, Annie has been in another home for months and realistically, she would not be moved just because Jamie and Eddie ~want~ her. Hello trauma and interrupted attachment!

But let’s say Annie did get placed with Jamie and Eddie.

Neither of her parents’ rights have been compromised. Therefore Annie will have court-ordered visitation with her dad, even if he’s incarcerated. Jamie and Eddie will spend 3 evenings a week transporting this infant to the jail (or to the foster care agency office, if the dad has been released) for visits.

Annie’s mom is in rehab - once Mom is at a point in her program where she can have family visitors, Jamko will be heading upstate for rehab visits, too. Since it’s a hike, maybe the judge will be nice and only mandate one visit per week. There go all of Jamko’s Saturdays.

A family court judge will set a “case plan” which will basically be “let Mom finish rehab, let Dad finish his jail sentence, and then we’ll re-evaluate.”

Let’s say Mom gets out of rehab. If she has stable housing, there’s a high chance the judge will immediately order Annie back into Mom’s custody since Mom was not involved in the incident that led to Annie entering foster care. Mom may not even have to prove extended sobriety - she could have her kid back 2 days after leaving rehab because it was not her drug use that put Annie in care (she’d just have to do regular drug tests according to her original court order, unrelated to child welfare). Bye-bye Annie!

Okay, but maybe Mom does not get custody for some reason. Nice! It’s looking good for Jamie and Eddie. Right?

Sure. They’re excited to keep going with all the foster care bullshit.

Like Annie’s third caseworker since entering foster care has just quit, so the new caseworker is coming over at 7am tomorrow to check things out. The new caseworker opens the fridge and gets mad that there’s no juice. “Toddlers need juice!” She says. Eddie explains that Annie had 3 cavities at her first dentist appointment, and they cut out juice to protect her teeth. The caseworker still notes “inadequate food in the home.” Jamie and Eddie forget about this until 2 months later, when they’re told they’re being investigated for failure to provide for their foster child’s needs. Another month after that, an inspector combs through every inch of their apartment and shrugs. “Looks fine to me.” Case closed. Eddie sleeps peacefully for the first time in a month.

Or like the time Jamie and Eddie came to pick up Annie from a visit with Mom at the foster agency. They get to the reception area but aren’t allowed into the huge, single room where all the visits take place at the same time. Cops come storming in and arrest an enraged bio father who has pulled out a pocketknife. Once he has been removed, they are allowed to dig their kid out from the supply closet where she was shut with 8 other kids for protection.

They also really enjoy continued visits to the prison, where their innocent toddler is always patted down invasively. A few times, after security breaches, security has asked Jamie and Eddie to open Annie’s diaper to make sure nobody’s smuggling anything in.

Annie’s growing up! She’s walking, and learning to talk. She’s almost two when Eddie hears Annie say “fuck” for the first time. She’s not sure if Annie picked this up from visits with Mom, visits with Dad, or her sketchy state-funded daycare, which was the only foster-agency-approved daycare without a waiting list.

Speaking of daycare, that’s probably where she keeps picking up all these minor bugs. This kid has a constant cold. If she shows up to a visit at the agency with too much green snot running down her face, Jamie and Eddie will be ordered to spend their evening in an emergency room for “medical clearance.” It will take 4 hours for ER staff to diagnose her with a cold and send her home.

It’s been a while! 15 months, actually, since Annie went into foster care. In accordance with the Adoption and Safe Families Act, a motion is filed to terminate Mom and Dad’s parental rights.

Great! One step closer to adopting her. Right?

LOL as if. TPR (termination of parental rights) trials don’t have any time constraints. The trial will finally start oh, a year or two after the motion is filed. They’ll get one hour of court time every month or so. 30 minutes of each session will be spent picking a date for the next session that works for Mom’s lawyer, Dad’s lawyer, Annie’s GAL, and the ACS lawyer. 25% of the time, one of the above parties has to cancel, and the court time is not made up. The trial goes on for 3 years.

Annie is 5 now, starting kindergarten! She wants to play soccer at the YMCA with her kindergarten BFF Jack (all the boys in blue bloods are named Jack). She can’t because until TPR is finalized, mandatory visits at the foster agency continue 2-3 nights per week.

Oh, Mom got a new job (this will complicate the TPR trial for sure!). She can’t possibly make it to the foster agency before 7pm. Visits are pushed back to accommodate her. Annie doesn’t leave the foster agency until 9:15pm on visit nights. A note comes home saying Annie is acting tired, frustrated, and distracted at school. There’s nothing Jamie and Eddie can do.

Finally, the TPR trial winds to a close. The judge rules to terminate Mom and Dad’s parental rights. Annie is legally free for adoption! Hooray!

Did you think it was that easy? You ignorant slut! Dad’s lawyer files an appeal. It won’t be heard in front of a judge for six months, and it’ll take a year to resolve.

Meanwhile, Jamie and Eddie have always wanted to go to Europe. They didn’t go when Annie was younger because they didn’t want to leave her. Now that she’s 7 they’d love to take her with them... but as a foster child she can’t get a passport.

Are you even still reading? I’m impressed.

I think it’s time to give Jamie and Eddie a break. Let’s say the appeals have been exhausted. The judge has approved Jamie and Eddie as Annie’s adoptive placement. They just need to fill out the paperwork and get a court date!

Of course, that takes forever too. Annie’s latest caseworker - they’ve lost count at this point - misplaces paperwork and incorrectly tells Jamie they don’t need to fill out one random medical form that turns out to be critical. This type of shit takes even more months to resolve.

Finally, the big day has arrived! Annie has been in foster care since she was 10 months old. Now she’s 9 and she’s finally getting adopted by the people who have parented her for the last 8+ years.

It WaSn’T EaSy. BuT iT wAs WoRtH iT! Right? 👍

👎 ugh no. Thank goodness that baby ended up with her grandmother, who can/will provide a permanent home with minimal court involvement. A life in the System is no life at all, bro.

#sandy hates it all #a realistic dose of new york city foster care for your reading pleasure

10 notes · View notes