#I’m just the first episode of the season he was flirting with Gilmore

[wackachewbacca]

I know twins are always portrayed as being tight knit and rely on one another but seeing Vexahlia and Vaxildan who are each other’s only pillar to lean on actually tied together by a golden string of fate and watching it be severed, that felt like a punch to the gut

#I’m just so sad that Vax is tied to the raven queen now and he’s just so upset about it #like I remember him having a drastic change in his personality but it’s like absolute whiplash #I’m just the first episode of the season he was flirting with Gilmore #now he’s just so scared and anxious and he needs time to work out what’s happened #not be chased around by dragons and having the actually weight of a country on your shoulders #last thought I the night I swear #they just all run around in my head like unrestrained chickens #vox machina #vaxildan #tlovm spoilers

[gilmores-glorious-blog]

more of my vox machina bullshit, reaction to the last three episodes edition:

- percy and scanlan’s friendship is my favorite thing (the two of them + vax are my comfort trio of dumbasses),, i loved scanlan pulling percy aside to be like “i love you but you’re fucked up” because.. so true of him <3 also when scanlan tried to flirt with cassandra and percy just immediately went “NO.”,,, idk i just have a besties agenda

- grog is actually an icon and my hero and i love him. king of skinny dipping in acid <3 (his friendship with pike is!! actually the cutest fucking thing ever!!!!!!! they mean everything to me!!!!) but why is his dick named captain winky

- i let out a genuine screech of horror when cassandra’s name appeared on the gun,, like i figured that she was working for the briarwoods but it still HURT (and percy’s reaction was so sad <3 when he just crumpled to the ground and started sobbing i,, 🥺😭😭)

- these last two episodes were rough…… my loves were really going through it,,, what with keyleth fucking dying and scanlan losing his voice which for him is probably literal hell and vex having to fight her brother and percy. y’know. HAVING A FUCKING DEMON INSIDE OF HIM.

- okay but vex being so upset about keyleth when she got wounded/was dying is something that can be so personal……….. like,, she’s always been a bit cold to keyleth because of abandonment issues or whatever but she was so anguished when she thought keyleth was going to die!!! 🥺🥺🥺😭 sapphic behavior

- scanlan using the same spell to silence delilah that she used on him and imitating her little “shhh” is,,,,,,,,,, very hot ngl,,,

- why do i feel kinda bad for the briarwoods though :/ this is why villains shouldn’t be sexy,, it makes me sympathize with them 😩😩

- vax calling scanlan by his last name is so important to me actually <3

- actually vax’s nicknames for everyone are just,, 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 so precious 🥺🥺🥺 as well as scanlan calling keyleth “green” :,)

- god there was so much twin angst :,(… possessed!vax fighting vex who just wanted her brother back,, vax being worried about vex when she was fighting orthax!percy,,, they are everything to me…….

- okay…………. it’s time we talk about mr. percy de rolo…. because HOLY FUCKING SHIT. first of all, demon!percy had no goddamn right to be as hot as he was. like,, jesus fucking christ 👀…. but also my GOD the trauma on that boy!! he was already so fucked up he didn’t need to have the freaking demon inside of him make him hurt/try to murder his new family while making him internally relieve his trauma by showing him his old family getting murdered again— and the whole battle was just so intense,, when he pointed the gun at himself i simply wanted to sob,,,, and the fact that the only way he finally got orthax out of him was by shooting his own hand out??!!!!? someone get this bitch some fucking therapy, p l e a s e. or just let me tenderly hold him.

- AHSKRJTHDAKTKTHDHAJTK EXPLICITLY CANON QUEER SCANLAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i’m legit. So Happy about this. like i knew that he and most of the other characters were at least implied queer in the campaign, but i thought the only thing they’d have in the show was vax being bi and i was just,, so excited that they decided to make it undeniably clear that scanlan is into guys !!

- speaking of the queer guys in this show… we knew that vax and gilmore had a thing, but like,, that last scene with the two of them,,,,, oh they FUCKED fucked. (good for them 😌)

- percy’s so nice and sweet and cute and carefree without orthax :,) he was smiling 🥺 and he was being genuinely kind to scanlan too which made me very happy because,, more people should do that actually

- @ these fucking dragon bitches: this is why we can’t have nice things.

sooooo yeah,, i’m in deep, and i would like season two to be here immediately please !!

#it is two in the morning and i have an audition tomorrow AND i leave for a trip tomorrow. am i prepared for those two important things?? #absolutely not i’ve been thinking about nothing but this show literally all day. #i’m. obsessed. #the legend of vox machina #tlovm #tlovm spoilers #critical role #eli.posts

[i-found-you-justine-time]

On Caleb and Essek  (spoilers for last episode of Campaign 2)

So I’ve seen a lot of fans of Critical Role and particularly of Shadowgast upset over the fact that Caleb and Essek didn’t kiss or end up in an explicitly romantic relationship. Moreover, while Liam has mentioned that Caleb is bi away from the table he has never been explicit about it at the table.  I understand how much this hurts. Especially for anyone who is looking for representation.  This isn’t the first time this is happened. If you’re a Critical Role veteran you know exactly what I’m talking about.  Vax/Gilmore was a sore spot for so many fans in the first campaign of season 1. The fact that Vax kept kinda leading Gilmore on while ultimately choosing Keyleth made some people upset. And while for some it may have been a biphobia thing for most it was simply the desire to see mlm representation.  There’s also just the simple fact that for some reason Liam and Matt have this amazing chemistry together. It happened with Vax/Gilmore. It happened again with Caleb/Essek. Heck, even Caleb’s interactions with Yussa had a little tension there sometimes.  The lack of representation in CR is frustrating. But I think there’s things you have to remember and make peace with if you’re going to continue enjoying this content. 1. This is not a scripted or planned show. This is not a tv show, or movie, or even a novel. Scenarios are created by Matt and the players decide how their character would react. It’s not even improv, because classic improv is meant to entertain. This is roleplay. The difference is that roleplay is very personal. The players are only going to do things that they feel their characters are comfortable with and that they themselves are also comfortable with. Yes, Critical Role has up’d the production value and yes they’re reaching a much wider audience but being a more well produced show does NOT change the medium. The medium is still a roleplay game and it’s not going to follow the rules of TV or Movies. 

The cast seem to want to have more representation, but ultimately because it’s their game they’re going to do what they feel is best. That’s supposed to be what’s fun about watching. The fact that we’re privy to this game that would otherwise have been a private game between friends. If the players started doing things only because they knew it would make fans happy then that element is lost. 

2. Liam in particular is tricky. You just have to accept this about him to move forward. He is incredibly protective of his in game experience. He never wants to feel that any outside forces are influencing his characters decisions. I think he actually tries to not think too much about his character’s decisions away from the table unless his character would actually have had time to do so in canon. 

Early in Campaign 1 Vax had a revelation during playing that he had a crush on Keyleth and that was that. And think of it. Keyleth was a party member. Someone Vax had been through hell and high water with. Vs Gilmore, who while wonderful, was a salesman who liked to flirt. You can see why Vax might have chosen one over the other, despite what any fan might have felt about the actual chemistry between players. 

With Caleb, I could tell from early on in the Campaign that Caleb considered himself someone for whom love was no longer an option. I think for Liam, it was important the Caleb not be a character for whom romantic love was the goal, but rather familial and platonic love. 

So when it came down to it and the end here Liam felt strongly that Caleb was satisfied and fulfilled by allowing himself strong, life-long friendships with all the members of he Nein including Essek. Liam puts character decisions above representation and especially above what his thinks fans would want to see. Naturally, you might disagree with what his character has decided but, it’s his character and, like I said, that’s the nature of the beast.

In conclusion: If ultimately you can’t accept this, then it means that maybe critical role or this aspect of it, is not for you and you might need to find other roleplay groups that will align with your interest better. I still hold out hope that Liam will someday allow himself a character that’s not dripping in angst and that might allow himself a mlm experience, but whether he does or not is not up to me it’s up to him.  All I ask of Critical Role fans is to please not sent hate to Liam or any of the other members of the Critical Role team. Certainly, you are welcomed to voice disappointment to Liam, but please do so in a way that is respectful and that is less centered around his character’s choices and more about your own experience as an audience member. 

#critical role #critical role spoilers #shadowgast #some perspective hopefully

[zalrb]

OKAY. SINCE ANONS SEEM TO BE INTERESTED. HERE IS MY DAWSON’S CREEK 1X01 REVIEW.

@jayciethings​ IF YOU ARE INTERESTED.

1. I think the opening scene does a good job in establishing the central struggle of the season and it does it in 3 minutes: 1) things need to change and Joey wants them to 2) Dawson doesn’t see why anything has to change and doesn’t see what Joey is trying to say 3) burgeoning sexuality 4) Joey-Dawson friendship.

2. I also think the Joey-Dawson friendship is also established really well and it’s actually a time where dialogue and action work in tandem. They give a brief history/overview of their friendship: “you’ve been sleeping over since you were 7″ “i’ve seen you pick your nose, scratch your butt” while also showing them watch tv, playfight and ultimately end up sleeping in the same bed, like they did when they were 7.

3. I actually don’t find the dialogue as annoying right now.

4. I will forever be angry that they didn’t pay to have the original music with their scenes because Dawson’s Creek is not Dawson’s Creek without “I Don’t Wanna Wait”.

5. “He did it again, he grabbed my ass.” “Like you even have one.” Joshua’s delivery is perfect because it’s resigned and un-offended.

6. “I’m Jen.” “Oh right, the granddaughter from New York.” That actually isn’t clunky. It’s a good way to do exposition.

7. “You look different.” “Puberty.” LOL Joey Whitter sass.

8. Honestly, at least so far, Joey’s behaviour makes sense for a 15 year old girl who is in love with her best friend who doesn’t see her as a sexual being and then has to watch him salivate over The New Girl. No, that isn’t Jen’s fault but sometimes people on this site act like teenagers or adults for that matter don’t have messy and not-so-great emotions/reactions to things. Unless, apparently, they’re men who are rapists and serial killers, then the understanding is boundless.

9. It’s actually refreshing to hear “Mr. Leery” “Mrs. Leery” since teens in shows now just call adults by their first names, which I would NEVER do. I still can’t do that. If I had to address initiumseries’ dad it would be Mr...

10. I also think it’s funny that this dialogue is being made fun of but this kind of cadence and irony is the kind of thing shows go for now -- Riverdale tries to emulate this and I would argue Euphoria tries to do an edgier version of this. Like Nellie insulting Pacey, that kind of tone is what they’re trying to go for with Cheryl.

11. I’ll admit this is more fun than I thought it would be so far.

12.  I LOVE WHAT’S EDGY FOR THE NINETIES. SHE IS IN A SUNDRESS. SETTLE DOWN.

13. “I have it on pretty good authority that mothers have excellent sex.” LOL Pacey, dick move.

14. Renting The Graduate, how on the nose.

15. THEIR CLOTHES ARE SO 90s.

16. The soundtrack pisses me off so much.

17. Oh Dawson. I knew so many self-important, I’m-so-deep-I-like-these-kinds-of-movies or -this-kind-of-music boys in high school. Like I find it so typical that he thinks his obsession with Spielberg would interest Jen.

18. Dawson taking Jen to his studio is like Klaus taking Caroline to sees his drawings.

19. Oh man, I remember being a kid and watching these teen shows with my cousin and seeing how Capeside High School was with everyone on a quad and throwing footballs and being like HIGH SCHOOL IS GOING TO BE LIKE THAT and my cousin just being like

20. I like how Dawson’s Creek is the whitest show and they still managed to have more Black extras than Gilmore Girls.

21. Dawson and Jen actually have a nice chemistry. But everyone is coming on super strong with Jen and she’s just kind of like, this seems normal.

22. The film teacher is a dick for no reason. I’ve had my fair share of dickish teachers but this is excessive right off the bat.

23. Lol poor Jen, she really is trying with Joey.

24. I like how a status of Joey’s class is the fact that her sister is engaged to a Black man *eye roll*

25. I don’t know of any school where teachers ate in the cafeteria with the students. In my school there were teachers who supervised the cafeteria but that’s it. Wow, I spent like no time in my high school cafeteria.

26. “I’m having a climax issue”

27.  Tamara, Ms. Jacobs, you should be in jail.

28. I like how this school LOOKS like a school.

29. Ugh, a trans jokes. Ugh, there was so much of that in the 90s.

30. “Nothing has to change. We can talk about anything.” Honestly, from a screenwriting point of view, this is a solid pilot. I remember in a screenwriting class I took, we studied The Social Network and every 10 pages someone calls Zuckerberg either an asshole or a jerk or something in that vein as a way to reiterate a key part of the theme of the movie and while I don’t have the pilot script in front of me, DC does reiterate the theme of the season frequently without it being repetitive.

31. The dialogue isn’t as hyperbolic as I remember tbh. And I’m going to say it again, shows are aiming for this, even the one episode I saw of the Winx Saga, when they try to flirt about mansplaining, when she’s fighting with her mom about how she’s not a feminist, they’re trying for this. But DC manages to make it more natural and it’s because the Core 4 have a charm. Even if you hate Dawson.

32. Who is Dawson’s dad. Is he in something else?

33. No, I just think he looks like Dr. Cox.

34. Dawson’s rant about sex not being important is hilarious. Yes, Dawson, you’re just pursuing Jen out of intellectual and philosophical desire.

35. I like how Joey is supposed to be a tomboy just because she’s the only girl/woman in Capeside who doesn’t wear a sundress.

36. Poor Jen.

37. Joey is super dramatic, I get that, but I kind of love it because I’m going RELAX but the way I would to a teenager. Like CALM. DOWN. Also “all I do is understand” is something that we needed to see more of before that argument.

38. Dawson, you never ask anyone else any questions about themselves, lol.

39. “How can you say you were just renting a movie??” Pacey is such a fifteen year old and I do wish the show would just ... let him be one? And what I mean by that is Pacey is supposed to be the friend with the edge, the fact that he “pursues” Ms Jacobs is supposed to attest to that fact, it’s framed as taboo and yet they’re presented as being on equal footing, even the way her date moves to grab him out of his seat when the fact of the matter is, he’s a kid, and if the show didn’t actually make the Tamara/Pacey relationship a storyline and made it about another way teenagers have certain idealized perceptions of relationships or apply kid knowledge to adult situations which still makes them kids, it would’ve been interesting too.

40. Dawson is literally dressed in different shades of beige. If that doesn’t say everything you need to know about his character --- which is intentional. But like jfc man.

41. I love that they can’t say “masturbate” so she has to say “walk your dog” I LOVE THE NINETIES.

42. And you know what, after that question was asked, the sheer heartbreak on Joey’s face and the sadness in Dawson’s eyes is done really well.

43. LMAO SO ANGSTY. No one does angst like the 90s.

44.  And legitimately, the ending of this pilot is great screenwriting because a change is noted, the beginning of the episode, Joey does end up staying the night, the end of the episode she leaves because they both realize it’s true that things are changing and yet Dawson answers her question about what time of day he masturbates and to who because they’re still Dawson and Joey. And that’s the way a pilot should be written.

OK. I’ve done it.

[spiderstyles04]

COBRA KAI SN 3 SPOILERS

Episode 1:

Can’t stand the fact that they’re trying to make Sam the victim, fuck the white bitch 😤. (okay yeah she’s kinda the victim but like she deserves to be blamed)

I can’t stand the fact that everybody keeps trying to make Robby the villain (ik he’s MIA, but the words they’re calling him make me wanna punt their asses into oblivion 🧎🏽‍♂️🏌️)

Episode 2:

Kreese is actually fucking sadistic wtf.

fuck men (esp. those that prey on young girls).

cops @ the prison rlly said: “I aint see nothin at all -👄-“.

wow so you can definitely see who is Johnny’s priority! Instead of continuing to look for his missing son, he went to go see Miguel🖕🏻.

and Miguel is like boohoo why’d this happen to me it’s all Johnny’s fault. Uh no it’s partially yours for accelerating the fight. Shouldn’t have gotten in the middle of a fight if you wanted to come out unharmed.

Robby blaming himself for everything and worry abt the others before himself is making me cry my eyes out pls 😭😖.

Daniel fucking Larusso rlly said let’s catch this scared teenage boy off guard and have a cop sneak up on him and arrest him

Episode 3:

I hate that Robby is in jail but he looks hot af

Not the LaRussos blaming Robby’s grudge on him being a teenage. Like you literally had a cop sneak up on a terrified kid and you expect him to take your calls???? I think tf not.

Sksks Sam rlly out here acting like Tory got angry outta nowhere and that she had no reason for being brutal. Yeah having a bad background doesn’t justify bullying but you kinda provoked her. YOU KISSED ANOTHER GIRL’S BOYFRIEND WHILE YOU HAD ONE OF YOUR OWN. SUCK IT UP AND SHUT UP LIL BABY.

Not Robby fighting with guys in prison over their comments abt Sam of all ppl 💀 she’s the reason you’re in there and she cheated, what the fuck are you defending her for?

sad puppy Robby is making me tear up shit I love him too much to see him in pain 😖

God I hate Eli. Imagine being jealous of not being able to creative enough to raise money for your friend so you resort to stealing the money from the only ones able to get money for him 💀.

“Douche clown” BAHAHA.

NOT JOHNNY MISSING OUT ON SEEING ROBBY BC HE WAS WITH MIGUEL HE COULD’VE CALLED AND LET HIM KNOW FUCK JOHNNY

Episode 4:

NOT JOHNNY ASSUMING THAT ROBBY IS THE ONE STARTING FIGHTS (reminds me of Jess and Rory from Gilmore Girls when she accused him of fighting with Dean when rlly he just got attacked by a bird)

I love that Robby is telling Johnny off like PERIODT KING GO OFF

Nah if some idiot wrecked my lego diagram that took me weeks to build, I’d knock him on his ass no hesitation. Idgaf if I got expelled

Not the counselor completely disregarding the fact that Dimitri’s project was wrecked

Every time Johnny enters Robby’s life, he just makes shit harder for him. I feel horrible for my bby

Kreese has a god complex & I wanna put him in the ground 🕳👨🏻‍🦽👩🏽‍🦯

Little miss princess got some anger issues oop

Not Johnny making a paralyzed kid get out of bed 💀

THOSE KIDS IN JUVIE BOUTA FEEL MY WRATH MFRS DISRESPECTING ROBBY MAKE ME WANNA SKSKSJSB

KREESE BETTER BACK THE EVERLOVING FUCK AWAY FROM MY BBY ROBBY I WILL NOT HESITATE TO RECREATE A CRIMINAL MINDS EPISODE WITH YOUR BODY GRANDPA DONT TEST ME

Episode 5:

Robby basically telling Kreese to fuck off and tell talk to “somebody who gives a shit” is everything to me I love him

Not Johnny using a sex magazine to motivate Miguel 🤢

If Robby gets back with Sam I will RIOT

Imagine taking pleasure from terrorizing others and children sksksk couldn’t be me

Damn it Robby you shouldn’t be fighting. It’s only gonna make your sentence worse bby. Ik he’s an asshole, but you gotta be the bigger man

The fight in the lazer tag place I- not even gonna comment

YAY MIGUEL GOT SOME MOVEMENT BACK IN HIS LEGS

POP OFF MRS. LARUSSO YOU PUT KREESE IN HIS PLACE

Episode 6:

I’m glad Eli is abt to get the vibe check he deserves

Miguel rlly should choose what he says more wisely like sir you can’t just tell the angry mentally unstable girl that she needs help sksksksk those are words of war to her

Oh Mrs. LaRusso getting in on the action lmao

Episode 7:

Damn Tory rlly wakes up every day and chooses violence uh it was a dream nvm

There’s no fooking way Miguel recovered from a spinal injury so quickly 🙄 also why’d they throw away the wheelchair??? That shit is expensive af

Imagine having a dad that actually feels genuinely bad for not keep up with your life SKSK couldn’t be me

I haven’t seen Robby in a hot minute and I’m getting pissed abt it.

I love when ppl tell Eli off. Gives me a diff kind of joy

tf is Eagle Fang sksksks

@ Kreese: Bye bitch 🥴

Episode 8:

THE DIFFERENCE BTWN THE THREE DOJOS IS SO FUNNY BAHAHAHAH

I cant believe they’re dicusssing Kreese when they’re abt to pick up Robby I- none of these men are fit to be stable father figured to him

Glad Robby told them to fuck off bc when the going gets tough, unfortunately, they will always choose someone else over Robby

But I’m all here for Miguel’s character development. Looks like soon I’ll have a total of 2 characters that I like on this show

NOT ROBBY DEFENDING SAM FOR CHEATING AND CALLING IT A MISTAKE PLS YOU ARE SO NAIVE SHUT UP SHES A STUPID GIRL WHO THINKS SHE CAN GET AWAY WITH EVERYTHING PLS OPEN YOUR EYES

Eyyy go off Miguel preach

Nvm fuck that. I’m glad Robby walked in on Miguel and Sam flirting so he could see she isn’t all she’s cracked up to be. I’m glad he’s telling them off. I just hate that they’re making him out to be a villain, AGAIN UGH

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO IF ONLY YALL COULD HEAR MY SCREAM OF ANGUISH WHEN ROBBY WALKED THROUGH THE DOORS OF COBRA KAI BABY NO YOURE THE GOOD GUY DONT GO WITH THE FUCKING PSYCHOTIC ASSHAT PLEASE

Episode 9:

Fuck fuck fuck I’m terrified for this episode

MERRY CHRISTMAS 🎄

oh shit Ali...

Trouble is in the air....

Miguel and Sam 🙄😀

Oh so Robby is back in his sn 1 wardrobe... 🤬

OH I SWEAR FOR FUCKS SAKE IF TORY AND ROBBY GET TOGETHER I WILL STOP WATCHING THIS SHOW FOR GOOD ISTG

PERIODT ROBBY DENY THE BEER A WISE DECISION

Not you making bad decisions again Robby smh we’re trying to keep you out of jail

I repeat... if Robby and Tory get together I am RIOTING

Fuck Johnny

Episode 10 - final episode:

I am the quintessential example of seething anger. If I was an anime character, I’d have steam coming out of my ears and a tic mark on my forehead smh

BAHAHAH DANIEL’S GLACES TO JOHNNY ARE SENDING ME

Tory has got some anger issues that surpass even my own, and that’s saying something

Also why tf are they fighting in Sam’s house??? Like I don’t like her but thats not only trespassing passing on private property, but the damages they’re causing are gonna cost a buttload

I’m just glad that Robby isn’t there to fight. Thank you bby

I LOVE THE MUSIC IN THE FIGHT SCENE WE LOVE SOME ROCK CHRISTMAS INSTRUMENTALS

I love the fact that Eli is realizing how fucking stupid he’s been acting

NO ROBBY DONT FIGHT JOHNNY YOU DONT KNOW THE FULL PICTURE BABY STOP BEING FUCKING DUMB

NO JOHNNY THREW ROBBY INTO THE LOCKERS FUCK IS HE OKAY IS BABY OKAY

DONT EVEN THINK ABOUT IT KREESE DONT PICK IT UP YOU GERIATRIC ASSWIPE

NO ROBBY IS FULLY UNCONSCIOUS FUCK IF I WAS THERE I WOULD BE ABLE TO HELP BC IM FIRST AID TRAINED AND CPR CERTIFIED CALL 911 JOHNNY

YAY DANIEL TO THE RESCUE

I’m still crying over Robby fuck

Everybody over here hashing shit out and Robby is inside the dojo like X👄X

NVM HES OKAY HES WALKING IT OFF

NO GO BACK TO FUCKING SLEEP BITCH BC YOURE STILL NOT THINKING STRAIGHT WHY ARE YOU STILL WITH KREESE GOD FUCKING DAMN IT

Anyways all in all, fuck season 3 gn

#cobra kai #cobra kai season 3 #robby keene #samantha larusso #miguel diaz #johnny lawrence

[mrsroryhuntzberger]

I saw your thoughts in the tags on the Jeff+Annie through the years (yes I read the tags, they’re just as good as your posts if not better) and I have to say I agree !! As much as I’d love a Community movie like in an ideal world,,in reality I don’t actually want one because you *know* Dan would make some wack ass decisions. Idk I’m still pissed at Repilot (and wtf was that with everyone being friends with Britta’s parents???) so even though he obviously understands the characters better than anyone..I wouldn’t put it past him not to fuck some (or all) of them over:’)!

First, aww thank you!! 

Second, I agree completely! Some of the choices he made with the characters seemed so weird and out of character especially in the later seasons. I feel like there are some plotlines or character developments he just can’t fully commit too. Like with Jeff and Annie, even if he wants them together I just don’t trust him to fully commit to them being together and not give us another series of stolen glances, long looks, flirting, and open-ended endings. Not only is that seriously frustrating as a jeffannie fan its also pretty sad that the characters haven’t advanced their relationship at all over however many years it might be.

I agree with you about repliot and the whole thing about everyone being friends with Brittas parents. It’s such a weird and specific retcon that doesn’t make any sense and the whole plot felt out of place and full of plotholes and kinda messed up implications (there’s a whole thing about Britta’s background apparently hinted at in the show and maybe confirmed by Dan in a reddit thread. I’ll find the link and post it in the replies but it makes that episode so much worse). It doesn’t line up with what any of the characters would actually do and I could see him pulling something similar if there was ever a movie. 

I’m also a huge fan of gilmore girls which had its own “and a movie” in the form of a four part revival a few years ago and I’m still bitter about how most of the characters were treated. the creator almost seemed to treat the revival as a go ahead for all the stuff she didn’t do in the original series (she wasn’t involved in the last season of the show) and didn’t bother to consider 1) what fans actually wanted and 2) updating the plotlines for characters 10 years older than when she first came up with the ideas and it made the characters look like people who never planned anything or were still naive and immature or never had serious conversations with their partners. I know there’s been a lot of stuff behind the scenes of community and with dan harmon personally and i can see a bit of that in how he writes jeff (jeff gets darker and more sad as the seasons progress) and i don’t want that in a movie.

#ask #lepetitchemin #emily talks #community #this became a rambling essay my apologies #i just have so many feelings about a potential movie #and s6 #it felt like there were multiple episodes where no one could decide what the 'moral' or 'take away' was #the email ep is the best example cause even the characters dont know #but also the ep with brittas parents #i said this to my friend on twitter but i dont want a movie until dan harmons had therapy and is in a better place #bc i dont want a depressed and alone jeff

[mediocre--writing]

Loki Laufeyson:

Enough: 3k, Loki x OC (Hale Njordottir): Loki has finally been thwarted by the Avengers, but what happens when his wife, Odin’s right hand (wo)man, finds out?

Tony Stark:

He Loves Me Not: 4k, Tony Stark x Reader: When one single drunken night brings out the worst in Y/N, how will Tony react when 20 years of pent-up feelings are released on him within 20 minutes?

Peter Parker:

Sinking: 5.5k, Peter Parker x OC (Tessa Kennedy): Things take a turn for the worse when TK receives earth-shattering news that could affect the rest of her life. How will things work out when everything is sinking around her?

Bucky Barnes:

The One Where Bucky’s Not Ready (Headcannon): 1670, Bucky Barnes x neutral!teen!Reader: You’re Bucky’s kid and one of the most mature kids ever, but when you don’t come home after Winter Formal, Bucky flips out. (Based on season 1, episode 9 of Gilmore Girls)

Steve Rogers: 

Not Your Fault: 980, Steve Rogers x fem!Reader: After a mission gone wrong, Steve feels guilty about your current state.

Terrible Comes in Twos: 990, Steve Rogers x fem!Reader: You and Steve have finally began a family, but what trouble will they bring to your daily life?

Not Defined:

Midnight: Random Blurb based on Midnight by 5SOS

Luke Hemmings:

The Only Aussie I’d Fuck: 3k, Luke Hemmings x Actress!Reader: Luke’s girlfriend, Y/n, is a famous actress she’s been begging him to watch her show and he’s finally caving, watching with his band mates, but how will Luke feel at her and her co-star’s on-screen relationship? 

Ashton Irwin

Love Is A Slap In The Face: 2k, Ashton Irwin x Reader: Through th eups, downs, and all inbetween, those you love will be there to keep you on your feet and make sure you smile through the tears. (WARNING: has mentions of PTSD and panic attacks)

Ginny Weasley:

Fluff 93 & 94: Ginny Weasley x Reader: (93) “you’re an idiot, but you’re cute” & (94) “I’m asking you on a date, idiot.”

Hermione Granger:

The Saddest Part of All: 956, Hermione x Platonic!Slytherin!Pureblood!Reader: It’s 6th Year at Hogwarts, and everyone is a bit worse for wear, but some have it a bit worse than others

Fluff 1 & 13: 815, Hermione x Ravenclaw!Reader: (1) “Go with me?” “As long as you hold my hand” & (13) “are you flirting with me?” “You finally noticed?”

Harry Potter:

Safe With You: 3k, Harry Potter x Ravenclaw!Werewolf!Reader: You and Harry met in your first year and when he invites you home for the summer, what will his family say about your blooming relationship?

And He Loved You Back: 6k, Harry Potter x Gryffindor!Muggleborn!Reader: You and Harry have been friends since first year, so how will you tell him you have deeper feelings for him than just friendship?

Part II: 4k: You and Harry are officially together (ish) but war can get in the way, though it can’t stop your happy ending

Fluff 49, 66, 91: 686, Harry Potter x Reader: (49) “You are my love” (66) “Our relationship is the most important thing to me” & (91) “I love you so much it physically hurts”)

Tom Riddle:

The Drooping Red Silvias on the Dining Room Table: 4.5k, Tom Riddle x Hufflepuff!Reader: “Love could be remembered forever and it could be dwelled on for decades, but it didn’t last forever. Nothing did. Not a truly happy smile. Not the Red Silvias on the dining room table. Not even love.”

Neville Longbottom:

Neville Got the Girl: 1.6k, Neville Longbottom x fem!Reader: Neville feels insecure compared to his longterm crush, Y/n.

George Weasley:

Love is Blooming: 2k, George Weasley x fem!Slytherin!Reader: After your initial meeting, you and George become fast friends, but what if there’s more under the surface?

Pretty Pink Hair: 1.5k, George Weasley x gender-neutral!metamorphagus!Reader: Being friends with the twins results in the best time of your life, but when George begins to distance himself, what’s going to happen?

Draco Malfoy:

Merry Malfoy: 568, Draco Malfoy x gender-neutral!Reader: Draco feels like being festive, and who are you to refuse?

Billy Hargrove:

Highway to Hell: 4k, Billy Hargrove x Reader: After being stuck in the Upside Down for a month, you return, only to have to fight off the same monster that had been haunting you there, but what sort of friendships can form out of a bit of shared trauma and good taste in music?

Steve Harrington:

Holiday Headcannon: Steve Harrington x Bob Newby!daughter!reader: You come to Steve on your first christmas after your dad died and feelings are revealed

Not ‘X reader’:

Steve and Will Headcannon: Will has a nightmare.

all of my harringrove stuff is under #harringrove and #mediocre—writing

#masterlist #5sos x reader #marvel x reader #avengers x reader #harry potter x reader #gilmore girls x reader #x reader #x oc #5sos #marvel #avengers #stranger things #stranger things x reader

[holycherryblossompainter]

The endless pandemic means I've run out of new shows and now I'm going to ramble on and on about a very old show: Gilmore Girls

Anyway. Thoughts from season one episode one:

Lorelei's pink sweater in the first scene is a great colour on Lauren Graham

Grumpy harp lady is sending me 😂

Lorelei's French accent is *chef's kiss

Lane has parents? As in plural? As in a dad? Does he pop up again? I don't remember him!?

Dean noticing Rory while Rory is oblivious to his existence 😍😌

Oh God they're reading Huck Finn or writing about it in silence. I'm back in my terrible high school. 😒

Grumpy harp lady has the laziest DIY tip jar ever. I love her!

First mention of their own Inn dream. If I was a chef I'd be on my ass on the floor and bleeding too! 😂 I'd be swearing instead of cheerful though...

OMG Mrs Kim is as crazy as all the Mormon mom's I grew up around. Her house has significantly more character though.

Love Sookie's two male sous chefs supporting her vision (and putting out literal fires)

Michel hates his job so so so so much. So much

Lorelei's disdain for her parents world is 100% because no one in it has an ounce of humour.

"Sweetie no one wants your car."

Rory in a striped button up and too long plaid skirt is terrible. My eyes!

Lorelei "how are the umm girls at the bridge club?"

Emily "old"

🤣

Weekly dinner condition for $$$

Yes this a very healthy family 😒

Rory thinks at Chilton everyone is just there to learn. Oh sweet summer child.

Rory drops her stuff and Dean just watches her. Then they talk about Rosemary's baby. A very teenage awkward meet cute, and then he does carry her box of stuff.

Apparently Rory has never been flirted with.

Rory's reading list this episode: Madame Bovary, Moby Dick, Huck Finn

Lane miserable on a date while Rory is miserable because she wishes she was on a date and Lorelei miserable because she's got a date with her parents 🤣

Not liking the slut shaming from Rory or Lorelei

But yeah, guys are always gonna be there, but your dreams and opportunities won't be so they have to be more important.

Macy Gray on both the ancient radios! 😁

First Friday night dinner!

Lorelei waited so she could throw her cup away where Emily told her not to. So petty 😆

Lorelei "joke"

Emily (still clueless) "ah"

Rory is 5'7"

Richard "you're tall. Lorelei you're daughter is tall."

Sooooo awkward

And then massive meltdown fight in the kitchen between Emily and Lorelei as Richard snoozes. Yikes.

Rory's blue sweater matches her eyes EXACTLY

Yikes my little ramble got away from me...

#Gilmore girls #1.01 pilot #great 2020 rewatch

[randomestfandoms-ocs]

Top Five Episodes for Sophie? (With or With out context for reasons why)

These are in no particular order, but the top five!!  Some of these ended up being a lot longer than expected  because I’m just very ridiculously excited about certain plots

1. Those Are Strings, Pinocchio — it’s a very sweet episode for Sophie and Tristan (and her boys, they all come for the graduation), and as the senior class president, Sophie gets to make a graduation speech too (along with Paris as student body president and Rory as valedictorian), and while I haven’t written the entire speech yet, I have some highlight notes for the episode and I’m excited about it!

2. The Party’s Over — the kiss list!!!  You already know how excited I am for this one, it sparked an entirely new branch of our crossover!  Obviously (and tragically) Sophie doesn’t get to make out with Richie in her own story, but she does still have a really fun time flirting with Rory and the two get to bond as Sophie dedicates herself to making sure that Rory has fun despite the Emily-And-Richard of it all, and to cheering her up after her breakup!  It’s also a fun callback to the scene I talk about at the end of this (which doesn’t line up with a specific ep yet), as it has the same main group of Rory, Sophie, and the boys, and Sophie making sure that Rory has fun at a party that Emily throws that she doesn’t want to be at — which is also a callback to Rory’s Birthday Parties, and anyways I just find it very adorable how Professional Party Girl Sophie Dugray cares so much about Rory not being miserable (and you know I’m really excited for the whole “Mary” throwback that I have planned with Sophie and Finn’s passion of the christ)

3. Rory’s Birthday Parties — while Sophie and Rory start becoming friends before this, this is when their friendship is really settled!  Sophie is at Rory’s party and when she sees how miserable Rory is, she (in her totally dramatic but endearing Sophie way) commandeers Rory and puts on enough of a show of pretending to be wasted to distract everyone so that she can drag Rory upstairs and talk to her.  She promises to get Tristan to lay off Rory, offers to climb out the window with her to escape, and ends up “accidentally” dropping a bottle of champagne to give Rory an escape when Emily tries to force her to make a speech!  This is the first time that Rory feels like maybe she really has a friend in Hartford/Chilton, and she ends up inviting Sophie to her Stars Hollow Party, where Sophie has the time of her life and gets to enjoy being at a party where the adults don’t constantly whisper about how much of a disappointment she is, and she totally hits it off with Miss Patty and Babette (and, to everyone’s surprise, Luke)

(this also includes a specific bit of dialogue between the girls at Emily’s party, which is “oh my god Sophie, you’re drunk!” “shhh, I’m as sober as ever” “you’re wasted” “I know”, while Sophie pretends to be much drunker than she is to get eyes off Rory, and then grabs Rory’s shoulders and guides her out of the room — she pretends that she’s using Rory for balance but as soon as they’re out of sight from Emily, she’s totally fine)

4. You Jump, I Jump Jack — I mean, Sophie and Logan!!!  So Rory does already know the boys in this universe, having been friends with them since season 1, but she’s only really heard about them from Sophie and seen them at a few parties that they’ve been able to make it to.  She doesn’t know know about the LDB or about Sophie and Tristan being a part of it, so it’s a fun little shock for her!  It’s also a moment where Rory realizes that this is the first time she’s ever seen Sophie not putting on some sort of act for people and really seems like she belongs — it’s not Chilton where she played up her wild child party girl image because she was going to be met with derision and slut-shaming regardless so she might as well have fun, it’s not Hartford parties where she knows that she’ll never be good enough so she gives the parents exactly what they expect to see from her, it’s not even the subparties where she’s made out with every guy and wlw under 30 (and some over) because her life might not be her own but at least her body still is.  Here she’s surrounded by people who seem to get that she can be wild and reckless and want to make the most of every minute of her life and can also be smart and opinionated and can still be figuring out what she wants from life; she can be a whole person and not just one side of a box that people put her in.  We also get some fun Rory & Sophie dynamics with Sophie (once again) encouraging Rory to live in the moment and throw herself into things, and being the one to convince her to do the jump (and having the umbrella ready because she knows Rory and knows that as soon as Rory gets out of her head, she would do it), and of course we get some great Sophie and Logan content now that they’re finally in the same place relatively permanently!  I want to say that this episode is really Sophie at her best but while that’s true, it’s more like this episode is Sophie at her truest, and that’s really special to me

5. Run Away Little Boy — This episode is the entire reason that Sophie exists, it had to be on the list!  This episode is very focused on the relationship between the Dugray siblings, which I love, and I get to give some actual insight to why Tristan is acting the way he is!  We also get some fun content with Romeo and Juliet, with Paris casting Sophie as Juliet and then Sophie stepping down when Tristan joins their group (and Paris basically saying she doesn’t care if they’re siblings if they get an A).  We also get Sophie totally tearing into Dean, Sophie and Rory kissing, and we get to see a much more calculating side of Sophie than we’ve seen til that point as she plays her cards just right to make sure that her dad doesn’t send Tristan away.

Honorary mentions (ugh there’s so many but like I’m just very excited about everything that involves Sophie): Go, Bulldogs!; Always a Godmother, Never a God; Twenty-One is the Loneliest Number; Wedding Bell Blues; The Lorelais' First Day at Yale & The Lorelais' First Day at Chilton; Ted Koppel's Big Night Out; Girls in Bikinis, Boys Doin' The Twist; Presenting Lorelai Gilmore; Like Mother, Like Daughter; The Bracebridge Dinner; The Deer Hunters; Concert Interruptus

Also — this doesn’t line up with a canon episode yet (but eventually I’ll have to figure out when it is) but I’m creating a party that Richard and Emily throw in season 1, probably some sort of Yale reunion but idk, which is when Rory meets Logan, Finn, and Colin for the first time and immediately sees how much Logan and Sophie like each other, even if the two of them are very insistent that they’re just having fun

Send me an OC + “Top 5″ anything

#ask #answered #the october reviewer #sophie dugray #about sophie

[lovelylogans]

,,,,can I get some opinions on lorelai, specifically Lorelai's Love Interests?

*cracks knuckles*

i just answered an ask about rory’s main love interests but now i’m gonna go into lorelai’s

quick disclaimer: i have seen s1-s5, read scripts of key episodes of s6/s7. so. let’s get into it.

jason:

jason is literally trash lmao and i Dislike Him. least favorite of lorelai’s love interests. garbage man. if men have one thing it’s the Audacity.

okay first of all his whole introduction to canon was that he wanted to leave the business his dad groomed him for..... to piss off his dad. like. that’s his reasoning. that’s why he wants to go into business with richard. literally just to piss off his dad. Sir You Are Nearly Forty.

and then. and THEN. like his FIRST scene!!!! with lorelai!!!!! is when lorelai is like “hey you shouldn’t have gone behind my mom’s back and planned this business trip when she was planning a party! that’s kinda shitty of you!” and his response was to REMINISCE about their time at summer camp and he’s like “you still hold a grudge” because. BE. CAUSE. he stood up and tipped over the canoe when lorelai was fully clothed, and when lorelai pointed this out, this man. has the AUDACITY. to say. “i remember. green t-shirt, no bra. trust me, i was the hero of cabin five for the rest of the summer.”

GROSS. GROSS GROSS GROSS GROSS GROSS. FUCK MEN. as if THAT isn’t gross enough he came up with the nickname “umlauts” because her nipples were showing through her shirt!!! diSGUSTIN!! men! are! nasty! and literally less than TEN one-sentence lines later he ASKS HER OUT.  

and then literally the rest of his character is basically just “business.” like. that’s it. when he takes the day off to come to stars hollow literally almost the Entire Time he’s focused on business calls and not on lorelai, his girlfriend who he came to spend time with. and then when richard, being a Shady Bitch, double-crossed him and went back into business with his dad, jason wanted to SUE HIM??? BRO???????? YOU STILL EXPECTED LORELAI TO STICK WITH YOU WHEN YOU ARE SUING HER FATHER?????????

this doesn’t even go INTO all the other stuff about hidden relationship and they’re literally dating just bc it pisses off their parents, it’s just. jason sucks. dude sucks. don’t like him. not one bit.

christopher:

i have..... complicated feelings toward christopher. to steal a quote i saw from twitter when someone was like “he knows lorelai so deeply!” they said “he knows her past, it doesn’t mean he knows her.”

so, like, on one level. i think that christopher was a bad dad to rory. right. like, he isn’t a good dad. i come from a home with split up parents, so, like, i understand the complexities there, but. he wasn’t a good dad. he just wasn’t.

that episode in season one? it’s the first time he comes to stars hollow. the. first. time. in sixteen years he has never gone to see where his daughter (and friend/romantic interest) lived, which follows: he hasn’t been to any of her parent/teacher nights, he’s never gone to any of the performances she was in as a child, he’s never participated with her when it comes to town events that she’s so passionate about (being a pilgrim, all the things taylor lists when she turns down being ice cream queen, etc) he wasn’t there. he wasn’t there for all the small moments that make up being a dad. no helping with homework, no sitting with her and listening after a long day, no actual parenting—no being there when she’s sick, no disciplining her if she does something wrong, no being there to celebrate her victories. he isn’t a good dad to rory. he has his occasional moments (he starts calling her more often post that visit, but it drops off again post-sherry) but all in all? not a good dad. i would go far as to say “deadbeat dad” as the first significant financial help he offers, that we see in canon, is him paying for yale. not helping with chilton, or any other childcare costs.

that’s an important factor when it comes to evaluating him and lorelai. because, quite honestly? i think that if rory didn’t exist, christopher and lorelai would have been firmly in the realm of “we dated in high school.” maybe a former flame that gets a fling when there’s a high school reunion. but since rory exists, they’re tied together forever, and therefore those feelings keep cropping up and flourishing (esp in situations when they shouldn’t) and they’re so stuck in the past.

i think that teenage christopher and teenage lorelai are well suited. i don’t think adult christopher and adult lorelai are well suited. lorelai had to grow up very quickly when she had rory, so she got a job, settled down in stars hollow, and put in the work of being a responsible parent who provides for her child. christopher doesn’t start keeping a job until s2/s3, he’s still very much stuck in the past. his pursuit of her is almost entirely rooted in nostalgia, as is her returning interest. they keep coming back to each other because it’s comfortable, it’s what they know. but once they look past that lens of nostalgia, their compatibility kind of falls apart. christopher is still immature in general (getting angry over the character reference she writes for luke, getting drunk at emily and richard’s vow renewal and basically shoving himself in the middle of their relationship like “but THE OOOOOLD DAAAAYYYS” and that WHOLE storyline of where he turned off his phone and ignored lorelai’s calls when richard had a heart attack, do NOT get me started) and lorelai is very independent and she likes her life where it is and how it is.

so to sum up: christopher and lorelai’s relationship is almost entirely doomed to fail because they can’t remove their rose-colored glasses when it comes to their (mutually romanticized) past together, and when the glasses are knocked off, they aren’t compatible. they just aren’t. what ties them together is that nostalgia, where they’re most natural is when they’re joking and being friendly (like the old times!) and when it turns into a romantic relationship, reality is too much for that tenuous connection to handle.

luke:

OBVIOUSLY i am team luke. this is the ship i’m most dedicated to within the gilmore girls fandom. he’s there for her, they push each other to become better (lorelai keeping his father’s boat, for example, and him encouraging her throughout the opening of the dragonfly) they have that Longing and Yearning. they have amazing chemistry, they’ve been crushing on each other since SEASON! ONE! and honestly they are fantastic when they work together.

i will say that they have their issues, and it almost entirely boils down to lack of communication.

if lorelai had communicated the occasions in which she had seen chris, luke wouldn’t have been so caught off-guard at the vow renewal and cut off their relationship. if luke had communicated about april’s existence with the full honesty that he didn’t know about her existence, lorelai, as a mother, as someone whose child’s default father figure is luke, would probably take some time but ultimately understand the importance of a child. they should have communicated about the wedding being too soon, and all their other issues. that bickering that makes their flirting and crushing so great also gets in their way sometimes; it’s hard for them to have a serious conversation without lorelai deflecting or luke shutting down. honestly i think it would have been great if they’d gone to couples therapy (okay, look, almost everyone in gilmore girls needs therapy, including emily and lorelai, so i’m glad that at least that one got tackled somewhere in canon) and it would have really helped fix that main problem.

frankly, i think a lot of their problems are bc ASP and the other writers wanted “drama.” which fair, it’s a tv show, but frankly leave the drama to rory and there are other ways to manufacture drama other than breaking up your main couple: dragonfly drama, for instance, or liz and tj and jess, or dealing with rory’s dramas, or something like the emily and richard and luke drama but sustained to a point where it causes a similar family fight that might have even paralleled lorelai leaving the gilmore household for someone she loves, and seeing that relationship knit up. like i get this show was in the 2000s but honestly let the couples actually Be Together!!! let them explore those dynamics!!! the whole “break them up, put them back together, break them up, put them back together” thing is tired and it seems unrealistic. like!!!! luke says “i’m all in” to lorelai and less than like TEN episodes later he’s like “it’s too much. this relationship is too much.” LET THEM WORK THROUGH THEIR STRUGGLES AS A COUPLE AND LET THEM C O M M U N I C A T E. LET THEM!!!!!

otherwise? iconique. the Flavor. the taste. the vibes are immaculate. chef’s kiss. luke/lorelai is So Good. their chemistry is unparalleled. their support of each other unmatched. 

i can’t really remember any other love interests lmao OH SHOOT

max medina:

lol forgettable uh, i think that he and lorelai had an interesting partnership, but it clearly wouldn’t have worked out to the point of a wedding, which i feel like lorelai knew because she kept holding back on actually answering him for the proposal after the s1 finale. i think that his dynamic could have also really been utilized to play with the dynamic of lorelai re-entering her parents’ world and the different expectations that that maintains; i don’t think it should have gone so far to, like, proposal, i think it could have been maintained then max wanted to get serious and lorelai hesitates and pulls something similar to the show. anyway, interesting first love interest for lorelai, also helps ground the world of chilton, so nice little twofold purpose for max there

i will say his proposal was super cute tho the thousand yellow daisies thing was Excellent

#i LITERALLY didn't remember max until i was about to hit post lol #that's why he's down at the bottom #annalise talks gilmore girls #Anonymous #ask

[stonerbughead]

maria watches friday night lights (#4)

season 2, pt 2!! (2x08-2x15)

ugh Matt is really having his Being A Stupid Teenage Boy season huh?

-lol love a good naked dude being chased scene — in this case, Smash on his recruiting trip being chased around by a potential future teammate. Classic.

(it’s kinda cute that Matt came to pick him up tho)

- the latest in season 2 being off the fucking rails: really? Riggins’ new digs include a meth lab on wheels??

-Landry confessing to murdering someone and then having his sheriff dad drag him out of the station to go home is the whitest shit EVER. Like, Landry is literally *trying* to be punished and they just won’t punish his white, cop-kid ass. ‘Murica. (I mean don’t get me wrong: it WAS self defense against someone literally stalking and trying to rape Tyra, but the point still stands that if Landry was a black kid he’d have been tried as an adult and convicted no doubt)

-YESSSSS a MySpace shoutout! we love to see it

“I hate you” - Santiago (and also me) @ Buddy Garrity

-omg Coach Taylor noticing that things aren’t good at home for Riggins and taking him in, my heart!

-Wow in just one scene Riggins charmed baby Grace, warned Tami’s sister not to shame women for eating a lot (“it can lead to anorexia, especially in girls”) and then offered to go out to the store to get baby formula in the pouring rain. What a man.

-and yes, Shelly, you fully grown woman, it IS a bad idea to lust after a TEENAGE BOY

-wow Riggins protecting Julie from the SUPER DRAMATIC TORNADO that made me laugh. Do we get to have a Riggins-Julie friendship??? bc I’d be down. We need more friendships.

-Thank you, Tami, saying “EW” to her sister watching Riggins work out! Someone has sense to know a fully grown woman shouldn’t be lusting after a teenager! Julie can lust if she wants tho, that’s age appropriate.

-DYING at Landry being aghast that Tyra’s never heard of West Side Story.

-oh god, Lyla — it is totally fair to assume your mom would tell your dad she’s getting remarried, especially if she knew you’d be seeing him — so I’m sorry you’re the one who accidentally set off whatever nonsense Buddy is gonna pull now that he knows his ex wife is “marrying that treehugger.”

“Who’s that?” “Some douchebag named Chip. who names their kid Chip anyway?” Same, Tyra, same.

-Landry, one of my biggest pet peeves is asking someone out while they’re on the clock. Like, come on! let Tyra work, boy.

-Jesus Christ it’s like everywhere Julie looks, she has to see Matt making out with someone. That’s rough.

-and oop Matt you busted bc Julie actually knows who Carlotta is!

-once a cheater, always a cheater, Buddy. And yes to Pam for being like “nah bye I’m happy now, it is over.” You treated her like garbage so here we are, sir!

-hilarious that Landry is the one who ends up throwing the first punch that gets the post-tornado, school-crossover tensions to finally boil over

-I like that they show both the fall formal and the party where everyone who didn’t go to the formal is. Nice.

-Aw poor Julie got drunk af to deal with all her feelings. This really is the season where they have Julie and Matt being sixteen year olds in the most painful ways. So maybe it’s good they’re not together during this tho I’m still looking forward to when the tide turns their way again.

-anyway, Tim is a good friend for getting the creep who thought he was “one beer away from getting laid” off of Julie.

-And....in true Texas dad fashion, Eric Taylor misinterprets everything! Noooo. We can’t have nice things.

-This Noelle-Smash partnership is definitely an interesting pairing. Two very ambitious football people courting all these recruiters while Smash’s mom side eyes them in the corner? Hilarious.

-omg not this Oklahoma tech recruiter harassing smash’s mom in the grocery store! GTFO here! Give her some fucking personal space. They really do such a good job of showing as much of the toxic shit about football culture as the inspiring, big moments.

-Aw and I love that Tami tried to help Mama Smash get the guy to go away. It’s such a familiar scene, women helping each other get a dude harassing them away. And then they have a heart to heart in the parking lot? Love that.

-omg what a throwback that Shelly TAPED OVER Eric’s football game to tape a NEW EPISODE of The Office! Love it. “Y’all should get a TiVo.”

-omg watching Tami and Eric work out arguments is so beautiful, they communicate very well! We stan a good marriage.

-wow seeing the other coach from tornado school lose his shit publicly after he knocked down Riggins was uh....wild???? This is the second time he put his hands on Riggins!

-awww Eric actually coming to apologize to riggins for overreacting about Julie when he hears the real story??? Love it.

-Weevil from Veronica Mars shows up as a friend of Santiago’s? Of course.

-WOW and Logan from Gilmore girls as a Christian radio host...tracks.

“Is that your way of telling her you like her?” Jason making a surprisingly astute observation about Tim. (And Lyla.)

-yo why would you invite your daughter’s boyfriend’s family over for dinner just to say they shouldn’t date? (And bc it’s an interracial relationship.) Southern culture is wild to me lol

-wow the racist coach from last season is now off spouting his mouth about how “no wife of mine would be working with a kid at home.” I love that Eric calls him out as sounding stupid and ignorant — you better!

-hearing that Lyla burned her cheerleading uniform is one of the most badass things she’s done so far tbh along with that dealership destruction

-off the rails update: 2x12 was toooo much!! Like, Jesus between Smash’s sister getting harassed at the movie theater by the racists who hate on smash and Noelle...and this plotline with Santiago and his old friends trashing Buddy’s place...it’s like, can we breathe.

-I could not be more excited for Carlotta to leave and another teenage boy with adult woman relationship to end.

-wow can’t believe the plotline where Riggins stole $3000 from a drug dealer isn’t ending well for him. And now Smash is getting arrested bc of those racist guys from the movie theater episode? One recap I read said that too many of this season’s plots feel contrived and I think that sums it up.

-is there any character who HASN’T worked at Buddy Garrity’s dealership at this point?!

-and yikes at all the other salespeople being mad that a salesperson in a wheelchair was hired...y’all mad ugly and ableist for that

-Tyra and Landry are....confusing

-Wait Logan from GG is an actual preacher and not just a Christian radio host? CREEPY. And he kissed Lyla? A lot to unpack there.

-lol Tim trying to woo Lyla is kinda funny to watch simply bc Tim is clearly so confounded by rejection

-I love how much space they give for Smash’s sister’s pain in the Noelle-Smash theater incident. A lesser show wouldn’t have centered her as much.

-is it mean of me to say Jason is boring AF most of the time

-yeah this dreads girl is seemingly way more compatible with Landry than Tyra yikes! Like she made him a power metal mix cd???

-wow this Smash storyline where mouthing off to the press is what gets him suspended....really checks out bc teenage boys are dumb

-I love Tami as a volleyball coach and getting to see another sport! Also as someone who’s been on a losing team I know that feeling of finally winning a game!!! Go Dillon volleyball!!! (Am I maybe currently writing a Bughead fic based on my underdog field hockey experiences? ;) yes yes I am)

-Oh shit now Saracen’s at the nihilistic Nothing Matters phase of teenage angst. Right on schedule!

-lol these two short haired blondes (white dreads Jean and Tyra) being in a love triangle with Landry is wild

-Omg jean just said, “are you a friend or are you competition?” She is not playing!

-I love Riggins dragging Saracen to practice

“I don’t want you to become at an at-risk youth” -Landry teasing Saracen while also sincerely caring about him is some of the best friendship banter on this show. The accuracy 😂

-It seems like Julie gets a lot of hate? But I think I have such a soft spot for Julie bc I was a bitchy teenager with undiagnosed mental health disorders and I just wish so much #growth for her! Also I really do miss her and Saracen’s relationship, I’m so excited I’m almost at S3 where it seems like it’s happening again?

-LOL this guy at the dmv is the first person in Dillon to be like, “no I hate football.” That tracks.

-wow Saracen is getting driven to the hospital to make sure his grandma is okay by the sex worker who was just giving him a lap dance. Amazing.

-also I hope grandma is okay!

-okay Tyra throwing her hat in the ring for Landry at the last minute? Idk I think Jean deserves the win but there’s no way it’ll happen bc she’s a guest actor?!

-awww Saracen’s abandonment issues coming out whiles he in the tub after being sobered up by Eric Taylor. “There’s nothing wrong with you.” 😭 and “your daughter left me for a better guy” - will take that crumb — first mention of Julie out of Saracen’s mouth in a minute

-hey, Landry, my friend: flirting with a girl (Jean) to get her outside then dumping her immediately is kind of a wild bait and switch. But I get it, he’s been in love with Tyra for a long time and Tyra IS right — they had a very fucked up start to their relationship so it makes sense she needed a minute to process her ~feelings~. however I definitely identified closer to a jean in my high school experience L O L (minus the unacceptable white dreads)

-these Julie and Tami driving scenes are painfully accurate, btw. Love them.

-wow the scene of Smash hyping everyone up, the adrenaline/energy of the team cheering with helmets and a classic “clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose” - then the whole team running out onto the field and leaving an empty locker room with just Smash breaking down into tears....#art

-alright y’all I’m gearing up for the last episode of S2! Thanks to @lockitin for reminding me this is the writers’ strike season — I was in eighth grade then and remember being pissedddd about the shortened fourth season of “the office” — so I’m fully prepared for the abruptness to come.

-I love when they parallel showing the white church and the black church

-and Tim going to church just to see Lyla makes me laugh

-ooooof Jason you cannot put on this waitress you had a one night stand with the fact that this could be your only chance to have a baby!!! Omg this poor woman who just pointed out she, too, is NINETEEN.

-wait so is Riggins doing a sports show on a Christian radio station? What?

“I think you’re really hot. Your long hair reminds me of Jesus” -Christian girls being horny for Riggins LOL

-awww Saracen being like “okay Landry you’re gonna impress Tyra right now” before that football play was a cute friendship moment for those two

-aww I love how this Smash storyline is turning out with Coach Deeks whose had his eye on him for six years my heart 😭

-also unclear to me whether Logan Huntzberger the Preacher is a fully grown adult dating a high school senior?? Biggest teen drama pet peeve once again! Stop this!

-Tami is my heroine for just leaving Eric at the restaurant fighting with her ex. “see you at home, honey!”

-I’m sorry, is Jason gonna like actually convince this girl to have a baby with her one night stand at 19??? Oh lol wait THAT ended up being the cliffhanger of the whole season? Fucking hilarious.

well I made it through season 2!!! Super psyched for Season 3, Jay has been hyping me up for it. See y’all next time! (I’ll try to post more for season 3 bc this accidentally got long af.)

#maria watches friday night lights #mine #friday night lights #friday night lights 2x08 #friday night lights 2x09 #friday night lights 2x10 #friday night lights 2x11 #friday night lights 2x12 #friday night lights 2x13 #friday night lights 2x14 #friday night lights 2x15

[sophies-earbuds]

A Tyrus One Shot: Make Yourself Comfortable

Word count: 2277

Ao3 link: x

“Hey, wanna hang out this weekend? My house?”  

Those are the words that send Cyrus into a complete panic.

Sure, he definitely wants to hang out with TJ. And of course he said yes. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t completely freaking out about it.

This is the first time they’ve hung out outside of school since they’d both confessed their feelings to each other and started “dating.” Though so far, the concept is fairly… underwhelming. It’s been about a week, and the farthest they’ve gone is smiling and blushing across the lunch table. And that’s what they did before they started dating!

Cyrus thought that once they’d start dating, he’d finally be able to do all of the things he’d been wanting to do for months, like kiss TJ whenever he wants, or steal his hoodies all the time, and cheer for him at his games before giving him congratulatory hugs and kisses in the middle of the bleachers when he wins. But for some reason, none of that is happening. Whether they’re too shy, or it’s too new, Cyrus really isn’t sure. He just knows that he feels the need to be cautious all the time.

It’s a lot harder to psychoanalyse a relationship when he’s the one in the relationship.

And so that’s why he’s currently sitting in front of his mirror, trying his hardest to find the right way to part his hair, and decide whether he should dress casually or not. He feels like he has to make a good impression this time, considering it’s the first time he’ll be alone with TJ since their confession and surprise first kiss.

How come he feels so scared of the thought of going in to kiss TJ when he’s already done it once before?

Eventually, after twenty minutes and a group call with Andi and Buffy, he’s finally decided to wear a grey hoodie and jeans, which is admittedly much different from his usual daily fashion, but he figures if he’s going to be seeing TJ outside of school, he shouldn’t dress in a way he usually dresses in school.

It makes more sense in his head.

And instead of spending anymore time pondering how to make his hair stop being the most annoying thing in the universe, he pulls a black beanie on, covering his ears, and inspects himself in the mirror.

For some reason, the only thing running through his head is “wow, I look really gay.”

Sighing, he quickly turns away, not wanting to change again for the third time in twenty minutes, and grabs his keys and phone from his bed, pocketing them. Luckily for him, his parents are at work, so he’s able to leave the house without interruption or questioning.

His parents must know that something is up at this point. Being the therapists they are, they’ve probably analysed every one of his actions to guess that something is going on. That he’s hiding something, at the very least. And he’s scared for the day they ask him about it. He’s always been a horrible liar. Especially to his parents.

Of course, it’s chilly when he walks outside, and the cold is biting at his cheeks before he gets a chance to pull his jacket up over his nose. He tugs his beanie down farther, trying to make sure he doesn’t flatten his hair out too much, but wanting to protect the bottoms of his ears from the cold. It’s a lose-lose situation. So, he gives up on his attempt to combat the cold, locks his house up, and makes his way over to TJ’s house.

It’s only about a five minute walk. Everywhere in Shadyside is. So he doesn’t even bother to put his earbuds in, opting for listening to all of the sounds of his neighbourhood. It’s the calm before the storm. The wind is only just starting to rustle the leafless trees, and the snow is starting to melt as February is just ending.

And yet the only thing going through his head is will TJ hug me when I get there? Will he kiss me? What if I mess everything up?

It’s not a good feeling. Why does he have to feel so cautious around TJ? They’ve always been touchy and flirty with each other. They’ve slept in the same bed and woke up cuddled together. They’ve even kissed each other. And it was a fairly lengthy kiss, for all intents and purposes. So why does he feel so nervous about it? He likes TJ. He may even love TJ. And they’ve been friends for so long. Why is it so different now?

Before he can even begin to answer his own questions, he finds himself hesitating as he walks up the steps to TJ’s front door, taking in deep breaths, and knocking on the door once, twice, three times, before TJ answers.

And the grin brings him back to reality.

“Underdog, hey,” TJ says, his voice sounding full of admiration. And before Cyrus can even sigh completely, TJ is pulling him into a bone crushing hug that has most of his dread leaving his body in a huge wave, putting a huge, almost dreamy smile on his face.

“Hey Teej,” Cyrus replies, feeling relieved. And a kiss on the cheek surprises him as he’s pulled into the house by his arm, the door closing as he starts to shrug his jacket off. This TJ is completely different from the TJ he’s been with all week.

“Make yourself comfortable, I have Netflix all queued up and popcorn in the microwave,” TJ tells him, pointing to the TV, then to the couch, all set up with throw pillows and blankets, looking like the coziest place in the world. Especially paired with the thought running through Cyrus’ head of him being held by TJ. And by the very touchy greeting, he’s starting to think that it’ll actually happen.

“What movie are we watching?” Cyrus asks excitedly, hanging up his jacket and walking over to the couch, sitting himself down and hugging a pillow to his chest, looking up at TJ, trying not to accidentally push his beanie off of his head.

“Your choice. I like almost anything,” TJ calls behind him, walking into the kitchen. Cyrus finds himself reevaluating his surroundings. He’s been in TJ’s house so many times before, but this is the first time he’s been since they started dating. It feels… more inviting than it ever has before.

TJ pops his head back in the room for a split second, practically whispering as he says “but I will warn you, I’m a crier,” with a huge grin on his face, winking his left eye and leaving the room again. The microwave starts beeping a few seconds later as Cyrus’ heart starts jumping into his throat. How is he supposed to have a serious conversation with TJ when he’s being this adorable?

Picking up the remote, Cyrus flips through Netflix for a few minutes, looking at everything in TJ’s recently watched list. Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Friends, The Office, even an entire season of Gilmore Girls has been watched, but paused mid-episode three of the second season. Eventually, he decides on one movie and gets it ready to watch.

When TJ walks back into the room with a bowl of popcorn and two cans of soda, his face immediately goes soft as he hands Cyrus his can and sits down on his left, leaning against the arm of the couch. He tilts his head and pouts.

“You have no business looking this cute,” TJ flirts, reaching out to grab Cyrus’ arm, pulling him closer to lay down and lean against his chest. Cyrus smiles shyly, ducking his head as he sets down the pillow he’d been hugging and sidles up to TJ, tangling their legs together. TJ softly trails his hand down Cyrus’ right arm, sending chills down his spine that he’s sure TJ is aware of, based on his shiver of a reaction before their fingers lock together.

“I’m not cute, I’m just… dressed differently,” Cyrus rebuts, resting his head on TJ’s shoulder. He feels a small kiss be laid to his temple, and he closes his eyes quickly to preserve the moment.

“You’re dressed cutely. You look so comfortable in that hoodie,” TJ says, chuckling. “And if I didn’t know better, I’d say that it was the dead of winter by how warm that hat looks,” he continues, running his thumb back and forth over Cyrus’ hand. Smiling softly, Cyrus presses his other hand on top of TJ’s, reciprocating the gesture.

“So, what movie did you end up picking?” TJ asks, pressing another kiss to Cyrus’ temple. His sweet smile suddenly widens.

“Infinity War,” he states, already feeling the protest coming on.

“Oh, come on. You just want me to cry, don’t you?” TJ asks, the pout he has on his face evident in his words. Cyrus snickers, burying his face into TJ’s chest as he feels TJ bring their arms around him, holding him tight and close. Cyrus has never felt more secure.

“No, I just want to see Peter Parker be adorable,” he replies, more listening to TJ���s heartbeat than anything else. It’s calming, reassuring. Reminding him that TJ is really there and close.

“I see, you want to worsen your crush on Tom Holland,” TJ teases, and Cyrus rolls his eyes again, but nods against his chest, smiling so widely he can’t remember a time he wasn’t smiling.

“What can I say? He’s immensely charming, and I have a thing for accents,” Cyrus tells him, his voice muffled by TJ’s hoodie.

And so, of course, in a horrible British accent, Cyrus hears “would you rather I talk like this from now on?”

“Not if you sound that bad all the time.”

“Oh, like you were any better when you came back from London with an English accent. I had to spend two hours with British Cyrus after picking you up from the airport,” TJ shoots back, squeezing Cyrus closer. Cyrus remembers that day with great detail. He’d been surprised when TJ showed up at the airport after his flight had landed, and they’d spent two hours walking around Shadyside while just… talking. Which was incredibly hard to do with the fake accent, but fun nevertheless.

“I should have known you liked me by that point. Friends don’t usually pick friends up from the airport,” Cyrus says, remembering how he was just starting to wonder if he liked TJ at that time. He had all summer to wonder about everything, and without Buffy and Andi to keep him calm and stabilised, he’d somehow convinced himself that he was in love with TJ. And he was right.

Not that he could tell TJ that yet. They’re not even at the “holding hands in public” phase yet. Let alone “I love you’s.”

“And with all those looks you kept giving me, I should have just taken the chance months before I did,” TJ adds on. Somehow, Cyrus figures that this is the perfect moment to ask his question.

“TJ, why won’t you act like this with me when we’re in public anymore?”

TJ shifts, and he holds onto Cyrus tighter, making him wonder what is about to happen next.

“When I was flirting with you, it was to make you notice. But now you know, so it doesn’t seem as important,” TJ says quietly. “I also wasn’t sure how much you wanted public about us, and I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“You can always ask me about that. I don’t want us to be one of those couples whose problems get lost in a lack of communication. I like you a lot, TJ, and I’m okay with being as private or as public as you want us to be.”

There are a few moments of silence, and then TJ’s hand lets go of Cyrus’, coming up to tap Cyrus’ chin, making him lean his head up to look TJ in the eye.

“I like you a lot, too, Cyrus.”

And before Cyrus can even begin to smile, TJ leans down and kisses him softly, gingerly, as if he’s scared that Cyrus will pull away. But instead, Cyrus leans in farther, adding more pressure as the familiar warmth begins to swirl in his stomach and cheeks. His fingers start to tingle with nervousness, as it’s only his second kiss with TJ. Even the first time was a complete blur and overwhelmingly vivid at the same time. This one seems like one he’s going to be able to remember in detail for the rest of his life.

Pulling away, Cyrus can hear the sound of TJ breathing in through his nose, and yet he can’t open his eyes yet, too lost in the moment to want to see what’s really happening around him.

“I want to tell the whole world that you’re mine,” TJ whispers, so quietly that Cyrus wouldn’t be able to hear it if he weren’t so aware of his senses. Cyrus finally finds the nerve to open his eyes, and finds himself staring into green ones that make his brain feel like liquid.

Cyrus smiles a small, sweet smile at TJ. “Then we’ll scream it from the rooftops like in every cheesy movie.” He ducks his head again, resting it on TJ’s chest.

“Speaking of, how about we start? And then tomorrow we can go around and tell everyone we see that we’re together,” TJ says, pressing one more kiss to Cyrus’ temple before Cyrus nods and reaches for the remote, feeling much better, much lighter, about their situation.

“Yeah, let’s start.”

#tyrus #tj kippen #cyrus goodman #andi mack #tyrus fanfic

[nei-noora]

Thoughts on Gilmore Girls

So I've recently watched all of Gilmore Girls. It was one of those shows that I used to watch on TV after school while doing my homework, so depending on the time I came home and the workload... Well I couldn't watch it everyday so it was one of those shows I had seen some episodes of but not all of them.

And lately I've been in that mood... That mood that makes me want to entirely watch shows I used to catch on TV after school but never fully saw from start to finish. So a few weeks ago I started my Gilmore girls adventure and... Oh boy was it good.

A really good thing about the show is that even though a lot of things happened that I do not like/approve of, I still love it so much. The characters are so loveable, you just love the show for them, stars hollow and.. Well you know what I mean. It's kinda weird because there were still a lot of things I disliked but it's kind of what makes the show great? Or not really, BUT what is great is, it shows that a show doesn't have to be absolutely perfect to be an absolute fave.

First, saying that, it makes me think of a simple thing : I miss the old shows, the ones with long openings with songs you would know by heart after a few episodes and all the main actors appearing during the opening too. Aw this doesn't exist anymore and even though we skip through them, we like them and from time to time we just watch them to sing and enjoy the song because with a simple melody all of the memories of the show resurface. Current shows can't relate. And I just like all the cute tiny "flaws" from old shows too. Like if you re-watch the first few episodes, Luke's diner is different, it's not located in the same place (I even think in the first episode Luke's diner appears twice and both time it shows it in a different location!), stars hollow is different, the gazebo is not at the center of the park, Kirk doesn't even exist and Sean Gunn is just a foreign dude for everybody in stars hollow and appears as different guys a few times before actually becoming Kirk that everybody knows since... Forever! I just love how before the shows were still evolving for a few episodes before becoming what they would be for the rest of the show. Now EVERYTHING must be perfect from the first episode. Idk I guess I find old shows endearing.

Anyway, so maybe I should kinda start with my actual thoughts?

1- I hated that they made Rory cheat on Dean and just stay with him when she very obviously liked Jess. I feel like a lot of people hate Dean but I feel like honestly most of his reactions were always justified? I am not saying that it's okay to react the way he did several times. In a perfect world this shouldn't be done but people aren't perfect and his reactions were natural and justified. People hate him for being mad when Rory didn't say "I love you" back, like he expected her to say it back because that's what one "should do" (in his mind, according to people hating on Dean) when they are being confessed to. I think he wasn't mad AT her. You have to think like a 16yo boy. For the first time ever (probably) you tell a girl you love her and she just freezes. If his reaction is over the top it's just because he feels so ashamed. He feels like he has bared his soul, and she didn't say a word so as a defense mechanism he gets angry, not really at her but it just covers the fact that he's ashamed. I feel like if she would have said something instead of freezing (even something like "oh wow that's unexpected, wow, I don't know what to say, sorry, what did I do to deserve a boyfriend like you" or like just something to diffuse the blank and the awkwardness) he wouldn't have reacted that way. An older, wiser guy/Dean wouldn't have acted that way but a 16yo one, baring his soul for the first time.... the alarm bells must have been ringing in his mind. Same for his reactions at the dance or when he talks to Jess after he sees him and Rory kiss. For the former, he's been suspicious for a while, hurting because he can feel his gf growing apart even though she says she loves him, and when he catches her and Jess exchanging looks, obviously he would be mad. He must be feeling like he's being toyed with for way too long. And for the latter, he's mad, and for the first time ever he lets himself have that cocky attitude he's seen Jess act with for quite some time. And he knows that even though he's still new to the town, he has the town's support because he has done a great job fitting in (hence saying "this is my town". People give him a hard time for that but it's definitely his town in the sense that even though Jess' family has been here forever, Jess is new in town and arrived later. so Dean came first, he's more of "the town" on that aspect AND everybody likes him when Jess... Well... You know. So Dean definitely "owns" the town). So even though Rory is currently blinded by her love for Jess, Dean knows that he has the upper hand in everything, and Rory might end up changing her mind after a flirt with that bad boy that blinded her for a while (that's Dean's thinking, not my opinion). Anyway all that to say, I read a lot of things about how Dean is the worst, and even though he is for sure not perfect, I don't understand all the hate. (but dude after what rory has done to you you should have known better than cheating on your wife). I was personally more mad at Rory for cheating on him and staying with him all this time when she only had Jess in mind. I for sure was mad at her for the way she acted but I don't see people hating on her for that. Not that I'm looking for people hating but like I haven't really seen people talking about her flaws but always the guys'. But anyway when she cheats she's 16/17, and even though she has that perfect boyfriend I can understand that when a bad boy that oh-so-surprisingly is also a big bookworm appears she can be swooning for a while). It's not the only time I disliked Roy's attitude/decision but to be honest I was so sad after finishing the show, I didn't want to leave those characters and start something else and forget about them so.... I restarted watching it and I'm currently at that stage so that's why it's my first exemple and that's why I feel so strongly about it right now.

2- I literally HATE how they changed Dean's character. At first he was this really knowledgeable guy, who had a pretty good knowledge in books and movies, and rory would make him read new stuffs, they would debate on it, Lorelai and Rory would show him movies he wouldn't know etc, but they had a real connection and real exchanges and debates. And I feel that to make Jess be THAT guy she can have stimulating conversations and debates with, they decided to make Dean kind of.... Dumber??? Like at one point Jess asks Rory what her and Dean talk about, and she's like really vague... I don't understand we've seen them exchanging books and stuff so much in the first season, why do they act like he's interested in nothing later? Just to make Jess more relevant and a good match for Rory? He literally brings nothing new to the table (except for that bad boy attitude) compared to season 1 Dean. But of course I guess when Jess was written Dean was too perfect so suddenly in season 2 he doesn't read, doesn't know anything about movies or music? I honestly feel like it's so shitty what they've done to this character. They should have thought about it beforehand instead of writing a perfect guy. Season 1 Dean was a bookworm, had knowledge in movies, but also liked sports, he had interest in mechanics, I swear they made a really good guy with various interests (not talking about the personality here) and didn't choose a stereotype-y kind of guy but then he ended up being too good so to be overshadowed by Jess they had to make him kinda dumber with 0 similar interests with Rory. That sucks. Am I the only one that noticed it? They could have at least kept that when Jess arrived and made Rory say that they talk about books and stuff. Jess being a bigger bookworm that actually always has a book on him just like Rory would still have had the same effect.

I'm staying on the Dean topic because as I write I remember other stuffs I've read on Dean. People hate him for that episode where they basically interpret what he says as "I want a woman that stays at home and cooks for me, nothing else". There's a difference between saying "I like the idea of having my girlfriend/wife cooking for me" and saying "women should not work but rather stay home and make her life's goal to make ME happy". Like, obvisouly if you told me that I could have my boyfriend cook me dinner I would also say "yes I want, I'd love that". It doesn't mean that I consider that his goal in life should be to make me food, it just means that yes the idea of having my boyfriend cook dinner when I come home is enjoyable. That's all it means. Kinda linked to all that is people saying that he dislikes/is threatened by Rory's ambition. He's said so many times that she is smart, she is Harvard material, that he's proud etc, how can the fact that he's asking her what they'll do when she's in Harvard is a proof that he is threatened. He's actually being really smart and realistic. That's a real question that should be asked and that they should think of. And when he's unhappy that she spends the summer studying rather than spending time with him, it's normal for him to be sad not to be able to spend time with his girlfriend when he was obviously thinking "yay holidays I'll be able to spend time with my girlfriend" and is just sad not to be able to see her more often even though they're supposed to be on holidays. He's not saying she sucks and she should drop out, he's just disappointed not to be able to enjoy the holidays how he thought he would. I don't know I think a lot of things that people hate Dean for are pretty justified ones and people just make them what they're not just because #TeamJess so they have to make Dean look bad. Idk honestly I understand a lot of these things and I think I would have acted in a similar way so maybe I'm a bad person too, hate on me people.

BTW this also makes me think of Logan's "ultimatum" that people seem to hate him for. To me it wasn't an ultimatum and his proposal and the reasons behind are completely logical??? They've been in a long distance relationship for a while, I understand the fact that he doesn't want to do that again and how it would be going backwards when he's head over heels for her and he very obviously wants to spend eternity by her side. Obviously doing it when he knows he has to move to the west coast which, by saying yes would force Rory to move too, is not perfect but anyway she always wanted to be on the move so being in LA or NYC or Stars Hollow wouldnt have changed much things for her since she would be spending her time on the road for her job. Obviously her family is essential so LA is not the best choice but if, again, they would have made Rory say "wait, let's talk about it" I'm sure they would have find a solution to work things out rather than making her say no on the spot and making it look like an ultimatum.

Until now I've voiced my opinions on Rory and Dean (and a bit of Logan), I guess these are my only thoughts concerning individual characters so what I want to say before moving on to other subjects is that those flaws that you can find in characters, even making Rory cheat on Dean, I actually like it. I like that they made those choices and all the characters, even the main ones, are flawed. Because nobody's perfect so it makes them so.... Normal? Relatable. Obviously I hate the fact that Rory cheats on her boyfriend but having a main character doing something bad, being flawed, is such a strength for a show. It shows exactly that nobody's perfect, we all make mistakes, and it's alright because that's what life's about. It doesn't prevent the characters to grow and become amazing characters later on (talking about growth and becoming amazing, kudos to Jess).

3- I really regret ONE thing. The fact that they didn't use all the seasons to show Emily and Lorelai work through their problems. There's been literally no improvement in their relationship from start to finish. Actually if you consider "a year in the Life", their relationship seems to be even worse than before (but I don't really wanna talk about a year in the life because I honestly thought all the episodes were pretty depressing, and if you think 10 years are supposed to have passed.... Why are almost all the characters still stuck in the same place/situation, Rory not having a successful career (this I can understand even though it's sad, but we see a full year with no improvement?) and still having no stability in her relationships, cheating on a poor guy no one thinks or cares about and doing with Logan and Odette was she has done before with Dean... I swear why have they made these decisions). What I regret is that Emily has kind of been all along a "comic relief", not in the sense that Emily is funny but because of her mother daughter relationship with Lorelai was always the perfect occasion to have Lorelai spit a lot of funny and witty lines. And I LOVE Lorelai and her wit. But I just wish the writers would have used all these years to show improvement. Obviously there's improvement in the sense that before season 1 Lorelai went only a few days a year to her parents' place. But still, from the first to the last episode, there's been no change. Lorelai being like "ugh kill me my mother is here" and Emily being still so cold. Meeting at least once a week for 7 years should have had more of an impact on their relationship. And even though we've seen snippets of emotional scenes where you can see how hurt Emily is or this kind of stuff, there's been no real improvement (and even though the revival shows an actual will to work on their relationship, they seem to be in a worst place than ever so..... Yeah.).

4- finally I want to talk about something that really, REALLY irritated me. The fact that they would spend episodes talking about something and then we would see nothing of..... The thing, and would directly have a scene at the end of after.... The thing. I have no example right now but I noticed it happened several times. They would hype me about something I would end up seeing nothing of and I hated it. I understand that the important point is the relationship between Lorelai and Rory (so the important thing would be their conversation after the thing and what they say about it) but still when you spend episodes talking about something, please show me a little bit of it at least ;-; so what I mean is... I was irritated with the writing sometimes haha but I swear it happened several times and it was so frustrating. Overall I have often disliked they choices when it came to the writing, the decisions they made for the characters, I would definitely not be happy about what would happen..... Actually when you think about it, pretty much all my points are complaints about the writing of the characters (or like consistent writing) or their choices haha But that's what makes it crazy how they are so many things I dislike or disagree with, but i still love the show very very much. So yeah it definitely means that finding flaws or just things you disagree with doesn't make a show bad. It just means that people don't think the same way and don't expect the same things but it doesn't prevent them from enjoying and loving the show anyway

Anyway this is way too long, I have to stop babbling, it's 4am, I've been writing for what feels like 2 hours and I'm pretty sure I've even forgotten things I wanted to say. If you've read all that........ Why.... How..... Thanks? If you did drop a star emoji!

#gilmore girls

[avalonsilver]

Supernatural questions

SPN Questions Game!

I was tagged by @lovedsammy

Thank you! I appreciate it. Sorry this took so long. It was fun answering the questions though. :-)

1. When did you start watching Supernatural? The night the show first premiered on Sept. 13, 2005 (according to Google). I knew Jensen and Jared from other shows (more recently at that time, Jensen's recurring role on Smallville and then Jared on Gilmore Girls) and was curious. Sci-fi/fantasy is a fav genre for me, so Supernatural seemed right up my alley (the horror/gory aspects sometimes was a little much for me, but the character dynamics keep me watching). I watched the show regularly for the first five seasons. What got me to fall in love with the show was a small scene in the first episode.  (rest under the cut)

That was when Dean answers Sam's belief about Dean doing this alone [find their Dad] with a "Yeah, well, I don't want to." The way this line was delivered by Jensen... it just showed a vulnerability in Dean. It showed what sort of character Dean was -- that he needed, wanted his brother by his side. That moment left me wanting to learn more about Sam and Dean, and I cared about their journey in each episode. After the Season 5 finale, I stopped watching the show regularly. I watched the first few eps of Season 6 I believe, but they failed to hold my interest. Not enough Cas I guess (I loved him in Seasons 4 and 5 and his character development in those two seasons). I randomly watched a few Season 7 episodes when they aired (the one with Charisma Carpenter & James Marsters (7x05) and the Eliot Ness episode (7x12)). I was wondering where Cas was at as I didn't really know then what had happened to him. Finally, about five years later, when Season 13 was airing, I fell back into watching the show. I saw War of the Worlds 13x07 live without much of an idea of what had gone on in the show in the last few years. So I had no idea that Sam and Dean now called this bunker their home. It was certainly an experience watching that episode being pretty confused about things. The mid-season finale/"The Bad Place" really peaked my interest that I should catch up with this show again. Jack got me curious. I ended up watching the Season 13 finale live. 

Over the summer, I binge-watched the seasons I missed post-Season 5. I watched the episodes I missed in Season 13 first. Then I went through Seasons 6, 9, 10 and 11 (still working on Season 12- finished through 12x08). With Seasons 7 & 8, I mainly watched the episodes where Cas appeared (with S7, that made the season go fast for me since he was only in five episodes... I did see 7x03 though because of Colin Ford. He is my favorite version of "young Sam"... and catching up with the show, it was a nice surprise that he returned in Season 7). I am planning to see those S7 & 8 episodes I skipped over-- feel kind of bad for not watching those seasons completely.

2. Who is your favorite in TFW? Castiel -- I looked forward to his scenes back in Seasons 4 and 5. His journey since then has been interesting to watch. While his development in Season 6 was hard to see unfold, I see it as the unfortunate fallout from averting the apocalypse. It was a win that TFW stopped the apocalypse particularly through Sam's sacrifice. But sadly, Cas's desire to prevent Apocalypse Take 2 from happening caused him to go to dark places -- leaving TFW fractured. I think his experience as a human was one of the best things that happened to him-- it really helped him be more compassionate and understanding-- or just really bring out what Cas already had inside him. I still prefer him to be an angel though (I have a weakness for "superpowers"...like the glowy eyes/healing...). But I appreciate that Cas did experience being human and learned something valuable from that.

3. Who is your least favorite in TFW? Dean, although it's hard to choose a least favorite. Each one has their good and bad traits. Dean's harsh treatment of Jack in Season 13 is not something I can brush aside completely. So that's why Dean comes to mind. Dean has gotten better with Jack, true, but his early S13 handling of Jack while Sam pleaded with Dean to give Jack a chance is still hard to forget.

4. Tag your top 5 Supernatural blogs. (I think most everyone has done these questions, so below are just the Supernatural blogs I like checking out) Let’s see… I tag: @hallowedbecastiel, @lovedsammy @flightoftheseraph​, @soluscheese, @castielisourhero, @sastiel-daily, @canonspngifs

5. Who is your favorite character (not including TFW)? Bobby Singer, although I guess he can be considered an honorary member of TFW. I have not seen the episode where he dies (7x10), but I plan to and I know it'll leave me teary-eyed I'm sure. But seeing the episodes where he returns in some capacity (10x17 "Inside Man" -- so much love for that episode, and 11x16 "Safe House") got me really emotional. That letter to Sam in 10x17, and Dean figuring he and Bobby were there at the same time in that house thanks to some time-wimey explanation... it just made me wish Bobby was still alive. He was really like a father to Sam and Dean and it'll certainly be hard to watch those early seasons with Bobby -- knowing now that he's gone. At least he's in Heaven. I want to add Jack too-- even if he is a part of TFW, but technically it's TFW 2.0 for him, so he does sort of count I guess (I'm reaching here, I know, but couldn't resist). Mostly because his character got me curious and led me to watching all of Season 13 and motivating me to finally catch up with the seasons I've missed of the show. Seeing all the crap that Sam had been through with Lucifer post-Season 5 made his willingness to help Jack, Lucifer's son, all the more compelling.

6. Who is your favorite woman in Supernatural? As far as a female character who's currently still alive, Rowena is pretty awesome -- some of her outfits have been gorgeous. And there's the 13x19 scene on the phone where she flirts with Cas --"oh is the handsome angel there with you? Hello, Tweetie Pie." was amusing in how it left Cas a little flustered and off-footed in his response. Considering back at the end of Season 10, Rowena cursed him with that "attack dog" spell causing Cas some considerable misery... it's just so like the show for the pair of them to be sort of chill with one another now. Cas still doesn't quite know how to take flirtations-- it's endearing. Also, due to my summer rewatch, I really enjoyed Meg 2.0's character. I loved her dynamic with Cas and was sad when she died. I love that she saw Cas as "her unicorn." Rachel Miner did a great job with the character of Meg. I'll never forget that moment in 6x10 when Meg made out with Cas.

7. John or Mary? Mary (I haven't seen all of Season 12 and did hear her storyline had its issues, but from what I know about her, I prefer her to John). Watching the 300th episode caused me to warm up to John again. I'm glad Sam and Dean got some closure with him. I think I blame the background music sometimes used during the John moments... it got me all nostalgic and emotional. I enjoyed Mary in Season 13 and being protective of Jack -- to where she decided to stay with him even if it meant needing to leave the camp because AU! Bobby was suspicious of Jack's half-angel status. So I'll stick with Mary on this one.

8. What were your first opinions of Sam, Dean, Cas, and Jack? Sam: I thought he was a compelling character. He was like the "regular guy" character at the beginning helping to introduce the audience into the strange world of hunting the supernatural his family was a part of. I took a television course back in college, so this kind of stuff was discussed, bear with me. lol ... as the show went on, it was ironic that he was the one with psychic powers, the demon blood and was the "true vessel" for Lucifer. After playing catch up with the show post-Season 5, I feel so bad for the crap Sam has gone through particularly with Lucifer. It has been a long time for me, so I can't exactly remember my first impression of Sam. After seeing Jared on Gilmore Girls, I think I just automatically decided to find any character he played likable since I generally liked his character on Gilmore Girls. It was sad how badly Sam wanted to live a normal/safe life with Jess in the pilot but that wasn't in the cards for him.

Dean: I found his "devil may care" attitude kind of cool, but as brought up earlier, I liked that he cares about family. That he came to get Sam because he needed him by his side to search for their Dad. Even despite the big fight that was close to John disowning Sam, Dean wanted to make the effort to mend bridges. Dean took the chance that Sam would still care about their Dad's well-being despite the big fight. Or maybe Dean knew that deep down, Sam would agree to help -- as after all, Dean practically raised him so he obviously knew Sam pretty well (even if he didn't quite understand Sam's strong desire to head to university and try for an "normal apple pie life.")

Cas: He was a big part why I was excited for Seasons 4 and 5 when they were airing. Although in retrospect, he didn't really have a lot of scenes in S4 &5. I just ended up being grateful for what we did get back then. I liked how though seemed alien in his first appearance and interaction with Dean, there were hints that Cas did care and wasn't a cold, unfeeling angel. Like I couldn't quite hate him completely for burning out Pamela's eyes even though I wanted to initially. Cas just seemed a little regretful about that, so I could see sparks of opportunity for character growth. I need to rewatch the scene again, but I vaguely recall Cas looked sad/regretful about Pamela's fate. And when he told Dean, "You don't think you deserve to be saved,"-- the way the line was delivered got me even more curious about Cas. Then his end of episode appearance in 4x02 freaked me out a bit because he was intense there. But honestly, during most of that 4x02 scene, I was bothered by his lips being dry/cracked... why I still remember this after all these years, IDEK. Still wish someone had given him some chapstick or something then. lol 

Jack: The first episode I saw him in was the mid-season 13 finale. I was interested in Jack and learning more about him... I'm sure it would have been better if I'd seen those earlier Season 13 episodes to understand Jack better. I really enjoyed how everything went down in 13x09 and how climactic it ended up being. The last shot of Jack in "Apocalypse World" with him looking up at Mary in a cage was a well-done shot. After seeing 13x01, I liked Jack's curiosity about the world and his love of nougat. He seemed like a sweet and caring person and eager to please.

9. What’s your favorite season? Season 1. It was when I first started watching and was just a pretty solid season overall. The cliffhanger was evil, but hell, that really got me on the board to continue with this show. Plus, the memorable lines --"driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole", "hope your apple pie was freakin' worth it!" and I loved the moment of Dean bringing peanut M&Ms as one of his provisions in 1x02 "Wendigo" (and they did prove useful in the end in tracking him down). It's tempting to say a season with Cas too because I like his character. With Cas, probably Season 10 since I enjoyed his interactions with Claire. Also, I love 10x17 so much (just made me miss Bobby and that end montage is an automatic rewatch for me). Although Season 4 was good too with Castiel's introduction. I like how his character developed to the point where he was prepared to fight off archangels to stop the apocalypse. Even if this defied the other angels wanting the apocalypse to come to fruition. Honorary mention to Season 13 mostly for the journey of Sam and Jack's father-son bond. I always love seeing tributes to that bond and the support Jack received from Sam.

10. What’s your least favorite season? Season 7, but then again I haven't seen the entire season yet. From what I saw of the Leviathans, I didn't like them as villains. But Leviathan!Cas was pretty awesome-- he definitely freaked me out for the brief time the Leviathan took him over. Just a shame that the Leviathan after that were just kind of meh... For a season I saw entirely, I'd have to say Season 6. Though Castiel had some great moments in this season (6x20 of course being a highlight), it hurt to see Cas turn against Sam and Dean. Yes, Cas was doing all that to stop Apocalypse 2.0, but I hated that he resorted to breaking Sam's wall (leaving Sam a mess into Season 7). Also, the first half of the season with soulless!Sam was weird to watch... since Sam wasn't himself and knowing that was sad. I enjoyed the episode 6x11 where Dean made a deal with Death to get Sam's soul out of the cage. So yeah, I liked some parts of Season 6, but overall, it's not easy to rewatch knowing this is the unfortunate fallout of averting the apocalypse in Season 5. Back in the day-- for just Seasons 1 through 5, I'd say Season 3...the season had its moments, but it just ranked lowest for me in terms of the first five seasons. Although S3 gets points for one cliffhanger of an ending.

11. Opinions on Destiel? I used to be big on Destiel, or just Dean and Cas's friendship/strong bond in Seasons 4 and 5. Maybe my enthusiasm for them just faded away over time... after catching up with the show recently, my perspective has changed. I can't completely get over Dean's treatment of Cas at the end of Season 7 after he'd taken on Sam's hell trauma leaving him broken and not mentally stable. Dean yelling at Cas more than once was frustrating to see during this time. I just can't get into Dean x Cas as much as before... though Cas sticking around and still being Dean's friend, helping him and Sam out, does speak a lot to Cas's ability to forgive... not to stay angry with Dean after some of the things Dean has said to him and put him through (such as kicking him out of the bunker in 9x03 without any offer of assistance so Cas wouldn't continue to be homeless... I can understand why a lot of people didn't like 9x03).

12. Do you believe Supernatural queerbaits? No. t's nice that Dean can have a solid, meaningful friendship with someone who isn't Sam... so it's good that he has Castiel. But the moments where it seems like it's leading to something more than friendship for Destiel... I think it just shows the strength of their friendship.

13. Seasons 1-7 or 8-14? Seasons 8-14 -- mostly because I liked Cas's character development in the later seasons. That he's more compassionate, maybe more human -- his short time as a human influencing him in a good way for the most part. Even if his angelic powers were diminished in the later seasons. 

I miss his teleporting (I had grown used to the "rustle of wings" sound effect in Seasons 4 and 5), and to learn he'd lost that ability for a few years already by the time of Season 13 -- that was sad to know. Despite that loss, I like that Cas has become more expressive -- like in the 14x12 scene where he's discussing "Rowena's remarkable command of profanity" on the phone to Sam -- The line delivery and his facial expression was on point there.

14. Favorite villain (plot wise)? Crowley. He had some great moments on the show, and it was great to see his journey on the show. From full-on antagonist to sort of being on Team Winchester. I don't like that he killed Meg 2.0 (I miss her :(), but he was a compelling character and it's sad that he's not on the show anymore.

15. Do you think they should end the Lucifer plot line? Yes!

16. Who do you think has gone through more trauma (Sam, Dean, or Cas) Sam. They all have gone through their share of trauma, so it's not easy to just choose one. But Sam has been tortured by Lucifer himself, and still suffers PTSD from that every time he has to deal with Lucifer.

17. What’s your favorite Supernatural episode? 1x12 - "Faith"  -- I have a fondness for some Season 1 episodes. Asylum was another fav for me along with Home and Something Wicked. At the time that “Faith” aired, I was big on hurt!Dean, and this episode delivered. I loved how determined Sam was to save his brother. This was still back when some great classic rock songs were used. The "Don't Fear the Reaper" song playing while Sam and Dean carried out their plan to stop the reaper was pretty epic. And looking back, boy, do I miss those days when iconic songs like that were used on the show. 18. Do you like case episodes? Yes -- I like seeing how the mystery unravels, and finding out who the culprit is in the end.

19. Who do you relate most to in TFW? Sam. Mostly due to his love/appreciation of research. I like to research too and learn new things. Also, he's the younger sibling, which is the same for me. I can relate to his frustration with his dad -- though it was for different reasons, I've felt similarly-- just different personalities and perspectives clashing, I would say.

20. Why do you like Supernatural? I like Supernatural because of the brotherly bond between Sam and Dean. Sam and Dean was what first drew me to the show and I still enjoy seeing the twists and turns they go through -- and I appreciate the moments that strengthen their bond and get emotional and heartbroken when they're divided. At the end of the day, I feel Sam and Dean are the heart and the soul of the show -- my hope for the end of the series is that the brothers' bond is as strong as ever. I would be so sad if they end the show with Sam and Dean at odds with each other-- I have faith the writers wouldn't do this -- it would be hard to watch (like back in 4x21 where they fight each other and go their separate ways... it was painfully heartbreaking to see).   Also, I love Team Free Will -- it's nice that Sam and Dean have Cas now as a long-time friend and confidante. I like Jack and the more recent Team Free Will 2.0 that formed to include him. Though the original Team Free Will is more iconic, I guess, for me since it formed as the apocalypse approached in Season 5. And the name really had a meaning: that Sam, Dean and Cas weren't going to fold and follow what the higher up angels wanted... that their free will mattered more than following their long foretold destinies.

21. If you could bring back one character and kill off another who would they be? I'm torn between bringing Bobby back or Meg 2.0. I'd kill off Lucifer (if he is really woken up in the Empty -- he needs to be put down again. :\). I'd like Kevin Tran to come back. I would be okay with killing off AU! Bobby if we can get the old Bobby back. And Meg 2.0 being brought back would be great-- I miss her interactions with Cas.

#supernatural questions #supernatural discussion #supernatural characters #tagged #long post #text post #tumblr ask #answer

[curriebelle]

Critical Role and Queer Perspective

There’s a little Critical Role analysis I’ve been thinking about that probably won’t fit in my thesis, mostly because it’s too narrow in scope. I wanted to talk about it, though, because it’s been one of the most interesting transitions to watch in terms of how the show thinks about its queer characters.

I have no idea where I read the comment, because it was a very long time ago, but I also remember it vividly. A Critter explained that Gilmore’s scenes made them uncomfortable, because Gilmore fell into the trope that “Queer People Are Funny”. That’s the very 90s-sitcom-esque tradition of writing jokes where the punchline is that the character is A Gay. It’s a problem because it makes people not take queerness seriously - being gay is literally a joke. The first time I saw this comment was when the Whitestone Arc was first airing, but I’ve seen it repeated here and there throughout the run.

I don’t think that argument holds true anymore. Critical Role might not be perfect, but its attitude toward queer representation is not only above average, but also constantly improving. The show started with its singular gay character, Gilmore, who first showed up in Episode 14, and by the end of the series we have a non-binary emperor, two queer happily-ever-afters (Larry and Tary, and Kima and Allura), and multiple characters confirming queer sexualities. More importantly, these characters aren’t just token sexual minorities - they’re quite varied and interesting, and have stories that don’t revolve around their queerness, but don’t ignore their queerness either. The cast does make mistakes with these characters sometimes, but they are very eager to correct them when they do.

I think a really good point of contrast is when Scanlan drinks the love potion and falls briefly in love with Percy near the end of the campaign. That entire scene is utterly hilarious, but it’s no longer made hilarious by relying on the Queer People are Funny trope. It’s hilarious because Scanlan is over the top in his declarations (”your eyebrows...I want to lick them”), because Percy is constantly miffed that Vox Machina is shocked that someone finds him attractive, and because Vex is trying to manage the whole thing and failing not to threaten Scanlan’s life.

This is obviously a matter of opinion, but while the argument that Critical Role uses the Queer People Are Funny trope doesn’t hold true now, back when Episode 14 first aired it sort of was true. For future context, if you didn’t know, I’m queer myself and this episode didn’t bother me at all at the time. Still, I could certainly see how it would put other people off, and it does make me a little uncomfortable in hindsight.

In Episode 14 there are two big moments where the show wrings a joke out of people being queer. The first one is Gilmore’s introduction. The party prepares Vax to flirt with Gilmore for discounts, and they erupt into giggles when Gilmore comes swishing in, and any time Vax initiates flirtation or contact there’s more laughter. I think it’s important to compare this scenes with Vax’s first love scenes with Keyleth in Whitestone - which were notoriously awkward - because it becomes pretty clear after doing that that Vax flirting with Gilmore was A Joke. I don’t think it was meant to be mean-spirited - the players loved Gilmore and the fans did too, pretty much instantly - but there was something giggle-inducing about Matt and Liam trying to out-flirt each other.

The far more uncomfortable moment in Episode 14 is when Kima and Allura reunite. Matt describes them hugging and talking, and Orion - whose character Tiberius has a crush on Allura - starts grumbling that it’s “the story of his life”, implying that Kima and Allura are either together or interested in each other. This one is less “queer people are funny” and more “Orion gets weirdly pissed at his dungeon master for implying a women is attracted to another woman instead of him.” Matt’s initial reaction was to claim the two were ‘just good friends’. Orion’s reaction felt bizarrely possessive and objectifying - like he was upset that the character he’d ‘called dibs’ on, Allura, had the gall to flirt with someone else in front of him. Matt’s denial doesn’t strike me as a bad thing - he was more defending himself from Orion saying “Seriously, Matthew?” - but regardless, he eventually changed his mind on what kind of ‘good friends’ they were.

So we’ve got two early scenes that fall loosely into poor representations of queer characters - one turning gay men into jokes, and one objectifying queer women. In my mind these are more bruises than deep cuts, mistakes that make some people uncomfortable and that are worth pointing out, but that don’t condemn the creators or the show as hateful. It’s worth pointing out that the show does have queer players on it (at least one, possibly more), who didn’t find the scenes disturbing either. The most interesting thing about these moments, though, is how they triggered plotlines that continued throughout Critical Role - plotlines that actually transformed the show’s representation in a really neat way.

Let’s back up a moment. CritRoleStats has previously pointed out that Critical Role now comprises more content than The Simpsons. We’ve spent a lot of time with Vox Machina and their allies; as much time as The Simpsons has spent as an icon of popular culture. In fact, it’s pretty much only sitcoms that can rival Critical Role in terms of sheer runtime and content, but their formulas for churning out this content are very different. Sitcoms are purposefully written so that each episode starts with the status quo being disrupted and ends with the status quo being somewhat restored by the end, with a few lessons learned along the way. Think about i:; nearly forty years later, none of the Simpsons have aged a day. Other long-running shows (like Law and Order or Star Trek) can wring years and years of programming out of single-episode stories, each one forming their own unique adventure. Sometimes the characters grow between seasons a little, and some are killed off or leave the show, but the characters largely remain consistent so their adventures can continue in perpetuity.

Dungeons and Dragons campaigns, by their very design, have to progress. Characters gain experience, learn more about the world, explore it, make new friends, and develop relationships. Change is anathema to sitcoms, but integral to tabletop gameplay.

And alongside the players’ concerted efforts to get better at queer representation, I think this sense of progression was what changed how Critical Role thought about queer characters. The other key factor was that the players are both the writers and actors for their PCs. They know their motivations intimately, and they write their lines on the spot from what they feel like their character would do. And there is only so long that you can inhabit a character before you have to stop taking them as a joke.

I think the moment that drives this home hardest for me is still Vax ‘breaking up’ with Gilmore in Episode 38. He takes Gilmore aside in a tavern, says he’s enjoyed the flirting and that he’s ‘been curious’, but he can’t take it further because he’s in love with someone else. Gilmore is hurt, but gracious, and leaves the tavern. A brief pall hangs over the group after that, until the game moves on and the pain fades a little. Gilmore remained funny, and charming, and bombastic, and flashy, and lovable, but that was a moment he utterly stopped being a joke. His infatuation with Vax, or his love, or whatever you want to call it, was not funny anymore. It was heartbreaking in the way that only love can be, queer or otherwise. As painful as the scene was, it was a huge step in everyone’s ability to understand how to play queer characters. Vax was devastated that he had to break Gilmore’s heart, and Liam still identifies Vax’s biggest regret as “causing Gilmore any pain.” Moreover, Liam was more open and enthusiastic about Vax’s bisexuality as the campaign went on after that scene.

And after that scene, Gilmore disappears in the dragon attack. The group rescues him, and Matt reveals that he nearly died trying to save Uriel’s children. In the Chroma Conclave arc we learn he crafts his own spells, seen when he kills the assassin during the Rakshasa attack and when he helps create the Whitestone barrier. The party meets his parents in Ank’Harel, and learns he changed his name to help his business succeed. We learn during the fight with Thordak that he’s a runechild sorcerer, one of Matt’s homebrew classes. It was like something had snapped, and Gilmore suddenly unfolded into three full dimensions of characterization. Of course, the storyline had gotten more dark in general, but some characters - think Viktor or the mapmaker - remained jokes, no matter how dire their situations were. Not so with Gilmore. The events of the campaign, and the party’s investment in Gilmore’s well-being and their constant instinct to seek his advice or his help, allowed Matt to play him more and to get to know him better. We saw how he reacted to tragedy and pressure and the destruction of his livelihood. He became perhaps the most beloved and fleshed-out of all Matt’s NPCs, to the point where he - along with Cass and Kaylie - was Vecna’s chosen sacrifice to hurt Vox Machina the most.

Coincidentally, Kima went through the exact inverse of this development. In the Underdark, she rebuffed Grog and Scanlan’s advances (both of them hit on her quite a bit) and seemed much happier to be reunited with Allura. The joke that Kima and Allura were a thing began to seem, over time, like much less of a joke. Fans (bless Charlotte Sandmael, for one) helped persuade Matt into getting on that ship. At the same time, though, Matt wouldn’t have gotten them together for kicks or just to please shippers. Instead, he let Kima and Allura develop through the story of the Conclave’s return. The dragons from their past brought them back together again. We saw snippets of their guilt and panic and mutual support, and even of their relationship in less hectic times (”you didn’t have to wear the dress, Kima, it was just a suggestion-”). The storyline would likely have fleshed out Kima regardless, due to her history with the Conclave, but in getting to know both Kima and Allura better, I think Matt eventually saw what the fans were seeing, and he realized that the pair of them falling in love wasn’t really a joke after all.

So, Gilmore started as a beloved if somewhat stereotypical queer cameo, and he evolved into a well-rounded and absolutely adored queer character; and two characters that likely would have been well-rounded regardless naturally developed a queer relationship out of their storylines. I think that happened because Matt is, by all evidence, an extremely empathetic person, and as a dungeon master he strives to understand all the characters he creates inside and out. Look at how well he understands Sylas and Delilah’s relationship: they’re sympathetic and understandable, despite the fact that they’re also despicable. He gets deep, deep inside their heads. And when you get that deep inside the head of someone who is openly queer, you learn to write and play them in a wonderfully rich way; and when you get that deep inside the head of someone whose orientation you don’t know, you might find out that queerness is a part of their personality.

Which brings me, finally, to Tary. I think Tary is just about the pinnacle of this development arc across the story. Up until Tary, the only player character who had a really in-depth queer storyline to explore was Vax, which almost accidentally emerged from him treating Gilmore as a flirtatious comedic bit and then realizing, through roleplay, how strong and conflicted his feelings were. Interesting in its own right, but also more or less concluded as a storyline by Episode 57. By the time Tary shows up in Episode 85, though, Kima and Allura are together, Gilmore’s super well-explored as a character, and the non-binary J’mon has been introduced. Most of the other characters were sort of locked into female-male relationships at this point (or into Epic Single-ness, in the case of Grog Strongjaw), and regardless of their identities (bisexual Vex and Panlan Scanlan) they didn’t get as much time to explore the stories of their orientation as Vax did. So when Scanlan left and Sam had an opportunity to explore a new character, he ended up with Taryon Darrington, who was later established as gay.

The most excellent thing about Tary, besides literally everything else about Tary, is that I still don’t know if Sam knew he was gay from the beginning or if he figured it out along the way. I can’t remember what Sam has said about this, and in a way it almost doesn’t matter. Tary only had about fifteen episodes to explore who he was, and in that time he had a really compelling and honest series of fears and revelations about his sexuality. To me, Tary is pretty much the pinnacle of all the hard work Critical Role has done to try and understand and play queer characters more sensitively. As a character, Tary is far more than his queerness, but he also has chances to explore that queerness in a very real way - and he even gets a happy ending!

And yeah, some things about Tary were a joke - even some things about Gilmore and Kima and Allura are still jokes - but the other thing about love is that, along with being heartbreaking, it can be pretty hilarious. Kima gets grumpy about how perfect Allura’s hair is in the morning. Tary morosely dubs his lost love affair “Larry and Tary”. Gilmore teleports into a hallway where Vax is (for some reason) naked, and cheerfully asks if it’s his birthday.

I think the reason I’ve been so proud to watch all this development is that it doesn’t just explode that Queer People Are Funny joke from the inside, it actually fixes one of the most difficult things about it. Because queer people want representation that doesn’t make a joke out of their identities, it can sometimes be hard to write funny or happy stories about being queer, and that’s part of why we end up with endless numbers of queer tragedies. And that sucks, because queer characters seriously lack for happy endings. They don’t even get to have fun, in some universes. 

But being queer is fun. It’s fun and it’s funny. I loved the part where Kima was complaining to Allura about her dress. My first girlfriend was a wonderfully creative seamstress, and she and I used to cosplay together, so - let’s just say it brought back some nice memories. Critical Role remedied the problems that the Queer People are Funny trope created almost as a direct result of its format - as a result of spending so much time trying to understand those characters. Queer characters can be funny again, and they can be tragic, and they can be well-rounded and human. I think there’s a magnificent capacity for greater understanding here. It makes me very, very excited for the next campaign. If they came this far in round one, I really hope round two nets us a queer player character or three, and I can’t wait to meet them.

#critical role #critical role thesis #well it's more or less on that same road but #cut from the Final Product #for space #y'know

[dollsome-does-tumblr]

This is in the category of things I'm supposed to already know but have managed to forget: How would you rank the seven seasons of GG from your favorite to least favorite? No ties allowed, of course :) And how would you rank all of Rory and Lorelai's romantic relationships from your personal favorite to least favorite?!

Ooooh, I haven’t pondered my season rankings in awhile!

I would saaaaaaaay, maybeeeee:

Season 2: Sweet, lovely, poignant perfection, and so many classic episodes.

Season 5: It’s just such an exciting time. Luke and Lorelai are finally together! Rory and Logan meet! Richard and Emily go through the world’s saddest separation but then get back together thanks, in part, to an adorable dog! Taylor fills a mansion with terrifying mannequins! A drunken Paris roams the streets of Stars Hollow, blowing raspberries at innocent pedestrians! What’s not to love?

Season 1: I will always have the nostalgic warm-’n-fuzzies for the sheer loveliness of the early days.

Season 4: This season is just such an interesting transition period for both Lorelai and Rory. All of the Gilmores go through some really compelling emotional stuff. Also, I’ve discovered a strangely ardent appreciation for the sarcasm stylings of Digger Stiles (once we as a fandom realized that his soulmate is Christopher, of course). ALSO RORY AND PARIS KISS THIS SEASON.

Season 7: I LIKE SEASON 7, I’M SORRY. (But the first few episodes of it are so anguishing that admittedly I almost never watch them. I can’t go back there!) I love where Rory and Logan’s relationship is in s7 (until the end, that is), and I really like the way the Chris/Lorelai arc goes and the Chris/Lorelai/Luke love triangle is handled. Also, in my heart of hearts I believe that 7.22 is a perfect series finale.

Season 3: Season 3 has really great episodes and moments all throughout, but the more attention I pay to it, the more it just doesn’t quite come together for me, and I’m not even quite sure why! But on the plus side: FAUX POES FOES.

Season 6: AKA, a slow descent into hell on earth. It is not without times of great wonderfulness, but it ends on a note of all the viewers being emotionally shot in the face, soooo. That’s hard to forget.

Lorelai’s Love Interests

Luke - OF COURSE. I am nothing if not predictable in the Luke/Lorelai department.

Christopher - Obviously not in an endgame way for me, but I feel like the actors had wonderful chemistry and are always fun to watch together. As a viewer, I always get why they’re still so tangled in each other’s lives and have such a hard time letting go – I think the show sold that well. I definitely appreciate season 7 for the fact that we get to see them go on this journey of realizing that they love each other but they’re genuinely just not suited to be life partners and both need to grow up and let go of the childhood dream of being together.

Max - On one hand, he is a dreamy English teacher. On the other, he is admittedly hella pushy to Lorelai about moving their relationship forward sometimes. But also, dreamy English teacher.

Digger Stiles - Last place, but 4ever hilarious to me. Also: Christopher Hayden’s husband in my mind, forever and ever.

Rory’s Love Interests

(PARIS!)

Logan

Jess

Marty

The Wookiee

Paul

That guy she asked out in the laundry room that time who said no

That stern-gazed old lady who was giving her Looks in (was it?) “The Festival of Living Art”

That guy who she briefly flirts with in “Girls In Bikinis, Boys Doin’ The Twist.” Not because I like him, because I don’t, but because he is the only person throughout the entire season to call Paris Rory’s girlfriend, and for that I will be forever thankful.

Dean

#dollsome's deep thoughts #gilmore girls