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-and another thing! [comes marching in mid-rant regarding a conversation no one was having about Dean Boland]

There was Dean, caving and promising Kenny a big birthday bash they had absolutely no way to pay for, and had already decided he couldn't have. Now, iirc the scene played out implying Beth possibly would've caved as well once Dean told her Kenny had dropped the bomb that what he wanted for his birthday was his parents back together. (Even their guilt over it all, though - Dean's is deserved, Beth's isn't as much.)

But then there's the difference between them in even the way that went - Dean tells Kenny he'll get his cool birthday party, and then does absolutely nothing about it. Doesn't help brainstorm or procur anything for it, just makes a promise and that's it, like it'll magically happen on its own. Beth is the one who has to go try to make it happen, and she does.

#dean boland the most hated man in the universe #weaponized incompetence #nbc good girls

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Y’all… okay. So like I’m fully aware that this is only cute to me, but looooook at my 10 year old’s drawing for my fic cover. I had to come up with a title real quick, so this is what we have for my role reversal Brio fic that’s been in drafts since July. Look at the little Brio park bench in the corner there. He has no frame of reference for the source material nor my writing. He just made me a “big city skyline.” The bench is just a coincidence. (Those blobs are flying cars, apparently. It’s fine. It still works. So a few cars can fly. So what. It’s an AU.)

I have 9 chapters mostly done. And the more I write, the more there is to write. The plot never ends. There’s just so much to say and idk how to temper it and idk how to get it to all the places I want it to go. Maybe will post the first bit on Friday. Get a no-going-back moment going to increase motivation.

#my baby #🥰🥰🥰 #fic wip #Flip Your Game #it has a title now #brio fanfic

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just a reminder:

a black girl character growing her hair out long breaks more stereotypes than a black girl character having short hair

a black girl character getting to be soft and fragile breaks more stereotypes than a black girl character being strong all the time

a black girl character being protected and comforted by others breaks more stereotypes than a black girl character having no one to look out for her but herself

a black girl character being considered pretty or cute by other characters breaks more stereotypes than a black girl character being considered unattractive

not everything that is empowering for white girls is empowering for black girls

the sexism we face overlaps, but it is not the same

#on writing #WWC #writing Black women

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#savegoodgirls

#you wanna join me? #good girls fan art

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Rio listening to Beth’s story. 

#there are so many emotions #😂😂😂 #Rio

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*slams hands on table* THANK YOU!

I really do think that 408 implies that rio got himself arrested on purpose

#Rio 100% planned his own arrest #it makes no sense otherwise #gg 4.08 #good girls nbc

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Just an FYI, my next fic is gonna have cover art drawn by my 10 year old because he’s a sweetie baby and has been home sick for a week and drawing me pictures.

#my baby #being creative #🥰🥰🥰 #helping Mommy with her stories #no he has not read any! #lmao 🤣 #he just knows that if I’m typing into my phone then I’m writing

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YEAH, you are, Julie. Me too, girl.

#hot beef #my new favorite tag

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After tonight’s episode it truly seems like Rio’s feelings for Beth are genuine. He likes her 🥺❤️

we can only hope, truly - i really wish this was the deciding factor in his actions.

imma try to do my best and articulate my opinion of the most recent episode, but i’ve never done this before on tumblr so please bear with me.

unfortunately, i don’t actually think what happened at Rio’s family’s house is related to his feelings for Beth. at least on the surface. and the surface is….. incredibly thick and cemented and the feelings underneath this surface have been buried so deep that, probably only painful vulnerability between the two of them will crack it open (which, i think, both Beth and Rio are actually stupid enough to become physically intimate with each other again - aka one of their purest forms of vulnerability beyond honesty - with the path they are currently on so…. maybe we will get a 2.13 reconciliation out of this season. i still have hope. not much, but i do hold a sliver of it.)

however, i think it’s important to point out that Rio didn’t let Beth touch him. and he never has since the shooting. he has always been the one initiating physical contact this season (the shoulder pat at the bar, the pool table, Rio stripping Beth for a wire, at the dinner table and in the guest room, etc) and the last season. so, whatever physical contact they have had, it’s always been on his terms. and, in my opinion, it absolutely should be.

neither of them are in a place to let their walls down with each other, especially Rio. as far as the physical vulnerability is concerned, i think he carries a shit ton more hurt and has very sturdy protective walls around himself (as he should). i think i agree with Manny when he said something during the s3 timeline along the lines of ‘if Rio and Beth were to get physical again, Rio would appear weak’. Rio needs Beth to prove her loyalty to him, and so far, she hasn’t done that. something doesn’t add up with the ‘Dave’ she had him kill, the car tracker, and now with the wire. i would say Beth is being painfully obvious and not making the best decisions regarding the wire, but then again, so is Rio. they’re both incredibly bad at crime, it’s embarrassing at this point. but i digress.

this game that they’re both playing with each other of ‘who’s going to break first’, seems to be basically on track to blow up again for both of them… i think, and we all know that neither of them are able to deal with any type of emotional intimacy very well. so i really hope this time we get an emotional/verbal explosion instead of a physical one as a result. while hate sex would be lovely, i think it’s about time these two grow up and try to talk about their feelings. i think that the entire guest-room scene left Beth wanting, and therefore Rio did win that particular power play: 1) because he brought Beth closer into his physical orbit, and 2) he made her lose control instead of the other way around. and we all know loss of control is literally their kryptonite.

i can’t say for sure what’s going on in Beth’s head, she’s still too infuriatingly good at compartmentalizing and expressing what she really feels, with the exception being maybe when she took on the role as ‘the banker.’ however, i do think that rio is putting a lot of trust in her hands. of course, much of it seems like power plays, and until he reveals his cards, we won’t know. i don’t think he’s dumb (*cough* *cough* with the exception of counting to two), but i think we also know that he’s more comfortable taking risks on Beth, than vice versa. his animosity towards her has not shifted in the slightest i don’t think, but his laxness towards letting her closer has, both physically (on his terms) and professionally, and—as many lovely souls have already pointed out, he does know Beth, and what makes her tick, and therefore what will inspire her trust (hopefully).

i get what the show is trying to get at in this episode, i do. could it have been more thoughtfully executed and developed? absolutely. i mean, that can definitely be said for a lot more than this episode.

Beth and Rio both have utilized their arsenals of sexual chemistry tools in order to manipulate the other post-shooting (Beth more so in s3, and now Rio in s4). they both are aware of it, and they both are determined to out-play each other. i think, at this point, Rio has accepted, feelings aside, that he wants to bring Beth into the family business, and now it’s not up to him anymore. 1) it’s up to his family, if they accept her or not, and 2) it’s up to Beth to choose him (not romantically, but business-wise, at least for now) over turning him in.

the show does seem to be going down the road of re-establishing a physical relationship between the two of them, and as the love-triangle spoilers have been revealed, it probably will result in layers of possessive, hateful, spiteful, and maybe emotional consequences, especially if the third party is a complicated relationship with another family member. i just hope that, while that’s taking place, we do get a look into what’s bubbling beneath the surface, because you can bet it’s gunna be volcanic. and this time, i just hope the only weapons used are words.

#such a good analysis #gg 4.06 #and they actually did end up resolving things with words #not a blowup #but just honest moments of vulnerability #all from Rio #I thought things were different now #we can do whatever we want #Just being myself #Something special for you #I told you you don’t need him #If you need something darlin’… #You got it boss #nbc good girls

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rio+touching beth

#that second to last one is so sincere #a moment of true empathy #he’s all tough love about things #but kinda how he is with Marcus #he ultimately is so soft #and tactile about his affections #a sweet moment #more romantic than the hand touch even #why are they always so romantic about everything #😭😭😭 #nbc good girls

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Poor Marcus must be so confused! Lol...First he meets Beth with his Dad multiple times. Then, his mom and Beth become good friends and he gets to know her even drawing her pictures. There was obviously some explanation for why she suddenly didn't want to talk to Beth at the park and at soccer. He isn't playing with Jane anymore. Now, Dad is bringing her to dinner at Grandma's house while his uncle and cousin grill her about her marriage and relationship with his Dad!

Oh my god, I know, hahaha, the poor baby! I desperately wanted him to ask Beth about Jane! I also wish we’d gotten one little moment between him and Rio specifically – maybe him answering on Beth and Rio’s behalf when his cousin was like ??? who is this lady???, or even just a little father-son beat like Rio cutting up the bigger food for Marcus (which I already wrote in my fic because I am apparently impatient) or a quick shot of them playing together.

But you’re totally right, he must be so confused, haha. I wonder how the conversation in the car ride home for Rio and Marcus went? And god - how on earth did Rhea react when Marcus probably told her? Beth’s mess spreading and spreading is one of my favourite things, hahaha. They’re all disasters.

#idk I think we’re giving kids too much credit #my kids couldn’t name a single one of my friends #and some of them have been in their lives for years #they might play with their kids #maybe even do activities with those kids #and then they’ll just disappear and my kids will never ask about them again #nor really question any friendship dynamics among the adults #I bet Marcus was more focused on his own experience of those moments to care or notice how embarrassing his dad is all the time #marcus #gg 4.06 #good girls nbc

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You know Rio is annoyed when he rolls up and Ruby and Annie are there. It really kills his plan to make passive aggressive remarks to his girlfriend about their relationship problems all night.

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Knowing that Beth is about to enter into the most toxic codependent relationship with their local gang boss really undercuts her righteousness judgment of Annie screwing the knock off Best Buy guy

#okay except #when Annie screws the Best Buy guy #they all end up doing labor they wouldn’t have otherwise had to do to fix it #it isn’t the screwing #it’s the mindless screwing for the wrong reasons #while leaving Beth to clean up after her #again #when Beth screws the local gang leader #it’s for the RIGHT reasons #like personal self-actualization and re-discovery of relinquished power #and Annie never was forced to clean up after Beth when things went sounth #Beth cleaned up after herself while continually making opportunity for those she loved #so false equivalence #Brio can do no wrong #good girls nbc

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Look everyone's probably said everything in the world about the Beth masturbating to a fantasy of rio smashing things scene but I love it and I love 205 (and imma be late for this and I don't care) and here's what murders me over it

1. He's very much not angry while he's smashing shit, it's very performative. Coming off the back of rio smashing up the vette as a performance (for her? Dean? Both?) I read it as Beth either acknowledging that was a performance (and thinking she was playing along) or a WISH that his violence/strength which she does find attractive was less... Explosive

2. He's controlled, she's super into it, natch. Not just because she's a control freak, but the contrast with Dean in this ep is palpable (he can't control the kids or breakfast or business or his dumb dick)

3. Despite it being a fantasy involving violence and control, it's not a fantasy of dominance or submission for either of them. She's attracted to (wants to emulate, wants to see performed for her) his control, his power

4. Him smashing up the trappings of her suburban life (and ESPECIALLY the mirror, the mirror in her room that's a reccuring motif for them) is extremely ugggghhh. Especially when she's fitting this in briefly before getting dragged back into duties

5. She's struggling to keep her eyes open ON HER IMAGINARY COMPANION (does she want to be seen by him?) , and she keeps opening her eyes WHEN SHE IMAGINES HIM SMASHING THINGS UGHHHH

6. It's fascinating that the fantasy is him smashing her ugly shit up rather then explicitly sexual, but then it was interrupted so maybe that can't be read into so much? Maybe it would have escalated?

7. Beth too loves smashing things and the parallel is obvi there but I think contrasted with her manic destructions this is more of an almost jealousy/being impressed with rio thang

#she wants to emulate his power #wants to see it performed for her #i got chills #nbc good girls #such a good analysis #of gg 2.05

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This is what gets us out.

No, that���s what gets you off.

#god Dean is such a moron #wE’vE nEvEr mAdE yOu sMiLe #okay whose fault is that idiot #how dare she not glow with joy at endless thankless labor #i mean how fucking DARE #maybe if you validate any one single aspect of her life #maybe if instead of playing victim in HER postpartum depression #and using her pain as an excuse to have multiple affairs #while she was pregnant #you actually tried to not act like an asshole for one second #maybe she would have smiled sometimes #this tool finally figuring out that yeah she’s happier without him #that his mere presence in her life isn’t some prize #and his decades of neglect are holding up a mirror #sorry you don’t like what you see in that mirror Deansie #dean boland the most hated man in the universe #nbc good girls

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Shout out to all the Black ppl that can no longer participate directly in the fandom they love because of the stresses of racism 👍🏾 you contain multitudes of value and I'm sorry that the color of your skin and the power of your voice makes people not want to acknowledge that.