#I mean obviously a big part of it is the unrequited bisexual crush

[myriad-rainbows]

How on EARTH did Ronald Ragnor of all characters suddenly vault into being my #1 Blorbo right now. What is HAPPENING to me.

[mxgilray]

Loki Season 1 Thoughts

Overall, I really liked this series. It has some issues without question, but I sincerely don't think it's the dumpster fire so many viewers on this site treat it as. Did it go how I expected? Not at all? Did I enjoy the heck out of it and look forward to it every Wednesday? Hell yeah!

Loki's Good Guy Personality

A big complaint many have had with it is how much Loki's demeanor has changed and how his emotional growth feels rushed or his personality is ooc. Truth is, he saw his entire future, saw what his angry, power hungry, I-work-alone persona would get him in the end, and it snapped him back to reality. He has always been shown to be quite emotional and craving attention and lacking in self assurance, it's just in the past movies he's masked it with violence and fake narcissism, and he's always been a secondary character so his perspective is rarely shown. But if you really pay attention it's obvious he isn't truly villainous; we all know that, it's largely why he has such a huge fan base.

Right after meeting Mobius, Loki got an infodump of his future, saw his parents both die, found out that free will means jack shit, and learned he's absolutely powerless in this realm. On top of that, this is 2012 Loki, fresh off of being under Thanos' control, suddenly being shown that the guy who controlled him is going to end up killing him. Frankly,, I think it all broke Loki. He was too shook up by it all and by the sheer helplessness he found himself in at the TVA that he let all his barriers down momentarily. Just long enough for him to open up to Mobius about his motivation and his lack of self confidence. And you know what I bet? Loki felt relieved after talking to Mobius. A weight was lifted, because he bore his heart to someone and wasn't rejected or laughed at or treated like a psycho. And after letting his walls down fully, Loki didn't feel the need to put all of them back up. He stayed guarded around other people, but he didn't need to pretend around Mobius. Mobius has seen under the mask, so Loki doesn't feel pressure to perform as an all knowing, all powerful God around Mobius. That freedom is life changing.

People who gravitate towards broken, pseudo-villain characters do so because we relate to their internal conflict, their mental illness, their need to fake it around everyone close to them. Their turmoil and depression and self destructive behavior are familiar and we see ourselves reflected in their actions. Now, when a person really truly let's their guard down, drops all their layers of facade, and embraces themself, they tend to change demeanor and even personality pretty drastically. It's jarring in real life, so of course when it happens to a fictional character who you usually relate to it is going to be jarring, maybe even more so because it feels like a change you yourself would never go through. I know this sounds bad and people might get at me for it, but...

I believe the issue here is that a large part of Loki's fan base doesn't want him to get better. They don't want him to move past his mental illness, to learn how to cope with anger and disappointment in healthier ways, to be happy. They like his damaged persona, they like the internal conflict. Maybe it's because they're still at that low place themself and feel like a relatable character is getting taken away from them, maybe it's because they don't understand how much being at peace with yourself can alter a person and to them it feels like he's been changed too much. To those of us mostly on the up and up from battling depression and mental illness, it's comforting to see Loki getting a chance to be genuinely happy and accepting of himself.

Sylki and Lokius

First things first, I'm not anti anything. Ship what you want, idc. Personally, I do not see the Sylki dynamic as romantic, but I get why people read it that way. I thought the series did a good job of showing unrequited love, namely Loki falling for Sylvie and Sylvie feeling zero romance towards him. This was aware of his attraction and in the end used it as a distraction so she could get the upper hand. The show played up the potential romance because we are viewing things from Loki's perspective and he's become smitten as a kitten. I do think in the long run they'll have a more sibling-like dynamic, one Loki realizes that you can feel extreme love and care for a person without it being romantic. I enjoyed how the show explored their relationship, though I do wish they hadn't had every character under the sun mention their moment on Lamentis-1 like it was some big deal to bond with someone you're about to die with.

I'm bitter towards the development of Lokius. It had a strong start in the beginning, and in ep 5 had some potential reignited, but then they had Mobius not know who Loki is at the end. I'm still hoping they're playing the long game with this ship and that it'll come to fruition partway through season 2. The chemistry is there, and Mobius knows Loki very intimately and isn't put off by his past. Loki also feels much more at ease around Mobius than he does around Sylvie. It's the comfort of a deep loving bond with Mobius verses the nervousness of a new crush that he feels for Sylvie.

I don't think Loki is quite aware of his feelings for Mobius, simply because it's based in friendship and mutual respect and isn't a hot and heavy lust. Plus, as soon as he was away from Mobius he was thrown into a near death experience with Sylvie and developed a surface crush during their heart to heart. Since Loki's still figuring out what genuine feelings are beyond anger and sadness, he sees the simplistic crush he has on Sylvie as love and the intimate bond he's been forming with Mobius as friendship. He doesn't understand his own feelings yet, but I think he'll figure it out next season. I mean, he was probably already rethinking his feelings for her after she kissed and betrayed him, mentally kicking himself for expecting her to not pull a Loki betrayal like he would've in the past.

The Time Variance Authority

I really like the concept of the TVA, the structure of it, the methods they use, the deeply fucked way they recruit employees, the cult like motto, shady Miss Minutes who is definitely playing her own long game, and the blind acceptance TVA agents have of the Time Keepers' will. It's all very well done... until your dig into the core, aka He Who Remains. They built up the idea that the Time Keepers created the TVA to prevent a multiverse war and that they created agents to enforce their will. Then the creating agents turned out to be fake, the Time Keepers were fake, I expected the reason for the TVA's existence to be fake to. It felt too simple to have it genuinely exist just to keep the multiverse in check. Why the anonymity, unless it's to keep from having agents target and prune versions of himself which.. songs like a decent solution. HWR made it sound as though the multiverse war was just a bunch of versions of himself screwing shit up, so why isn't the TVA's focus on eradicating every other variant of this guy? Sounds a lot easier and nicer than fucking with the free will of every other living being. So either Marvel made a bad call when choosing what HWR's motive was for creating the TVA, or he was lying about it all to cover up something sinister.

Overall Storyline

I'm fairly happy with the plot as a whole. There were some pacing issues and I think a few missed chances for deeper conversations between various characters. While I enjoyed the Loki variants, I honestly would've been happier seeing Tom playing most the variants (except Kid Loki and Classic Loki since they are clearly different age ranges). If there is supposed to be one sacred timeline, it seems off to me that Lokis would be allowed to vary so extremely without it causing a nexus event(an alligator, whose nexus wasn't that he's an animal who obviously can't do any magic much less command Thanos' army, but that he ate someone's cat) and not just in appearance but in life path (ie boastful Loki collected all the infinity stones but it wasn't till he had 6 that he caused a nexus event even though him gaining control of the Soul, Power, and Time stones should've each caused nexus events since on the sacred timeline he never interacts with those 3 and taking any one of them would've fucked up a lot of other timeline parts)

I love the display of Lokis raw power, and 2012 Loki coming to the realization that he's way more powerful than he ever thought. And it wasn't just Classic Loki who spent thousands of years alone honing his skills, 2012 Loki reversed time on a goddamn falling building! I also liked the small magic, the fireworks, the tablecloth blanket, Loki yanking Sylvie away from HWR with just magic.

As someone who is both bisexual and genderfluid, I would've really loved more concrete representation. The comment about there never being another female Loki hit me in the gut; it undermined the Easter egg "Sex: Fluid" on Loki's TVA file. With how big a deal Sylvie being female was made out to be throughout the season, I expected her gender to play a key role in taking down the head of the TVA, like it was foretold that only a female Loki could end it all or some shit.

I don't mind the idea of Loki finding love in a straight passing relationship. I don't even mind the selfcest all that much. It just feels so obvious to me that Sylvie is written as not having any romantic inclination towards Loki, while Mobius is clearly written as falling in love with someone he shouldn't and trying to maintain an heir of professionalism to keep from wrecking his bond with Loki. I really really hope they come through on season 2 and give Lokius the canon relationship and proper representation they deserve.

Mmkay I thinks that's all the thoughts I've got right now. If you've been feeling cheated or clowned by how things went this season, maybe my perspective of things can help ease your pain.

[angelhummel]

unpopular op: i never wanted bi blaine. bc when blaine met kurt he was already out and proud with himself. he was gay. if he was introduced as bi, it'd be ok. but him being bicurious after that kiss with rachel wouldnt make sense to me bc he was the one who pulled kurt up and made him feel okay with being gay, being out and proud. it'd be like, so yeah blaine is more masculine so make him bisexual and that'd be very stereotypical. but it could be ok if he was introduced as bi at the beginning

Okay so if we had bi Blaine then obviously I wouldn’t want it the way it was in canon. That was a big ol mess. So here’s what I would’ve done 

Starting with their first meeting when Kurt is like “Can I ask you guys a question? Are you guys all gay?” and then Blaine is like “No, no, these two are straight. But I’m not” so Kurt obviously takes that to mean he’s gay. And then Blaine tells him about being bullied for being with a guy and that’s why he came to Dalton and so it’s not brought up again for a while 

Blaine can have the crush on the Gap guy, same as canon. Then Rachel’s party comes around and maybe Blaine says something about how he’s enjoying being around girls for a change (maybe something about Brittany since she’s running around half naked) and Kurt is like “?” and then later in the night he kisses Rachel and Kurt is like “...” and then he acts interested in Rachel later on and Kurt is like “!” and so he confronts Blaine about it and he’s basically like “what are you doing?? I thought you were gay?” And Blaine is like “When did I say that?” and Kurt’s like “When we first met! You said you weren’t straight” 

And Blaine is like “I’m not. There’s more than just gay and straight you know?” and so that’s their argument at the lima bean and kurt feels a little hurt and betrayed bc he thought blaine was just like him and it turns out he’s not. so kurt feels like blaine was leading him on even though he wasn’t, bc it’s not like blaine had to disclose his full sexuality to kurt five minutes after they first met. and so kurt’s feelings are more understandable and also it’s not biphobic bc i’m writing this and i’m not biphobic rip to rm but i’m different

and maybe like kurt can voice some common misconceptions of bi people and it’s like a nice teaching moment for him and the audience. like saying something about how if blaine is with a girl then he’s “straight passing” and blaine is like “well being with a girl doesn’t erase the other parts of my sexuality, and being with a girl wouldn’t make me straight just like being with a guy wouldn’t make me gay. i’m still bi, no matter who i’m with” and he still dates rachel but he just realizes that there’s no real spark there and decides to end it 

and then in sexy when the girls give blaine their numbers kurt can say something about like ooh it must be blaine’s lucky day and blaine doesn’t really respond but he has this look on his face so we know he’s not really interested in them and he just passes the numbers on to one of the other warblers or something 

and so of course by the next ep blaine has realized he’s in love with kurt and they get together and that’s that. BUT just like in canon there’s lots of things left unsaid and bubbling under the surface and creating doubts and fears that our poor boys don’t know how to properly communicate just yet 

so maybe in s3 blaine gets to dalton and he’s like the new kid so people are interested in him. and of course he’s got all his duets and roles with rachel and that stirs up feelings of last year for kurt. and maybe some other girls at school are flirty with him and he enjoys the attention but also doesn’t pay it much mind. and so when sebastian comes along he’s just like the final nail in the coffin for kurt

and then instead of that fucking alpha gay bullshit nonsense there’s some other type of nonsense about how like kurt is worried cause blaine has guys and girls all over him and it’s really intimidating and he doesn’t know what to do bc he’s always scared blaine might feel like he’s missing something and “switch teams” or whatever. and of course blaine is like “i would never do that. i love you bc of who you are, not what parts you have” etc and so that’s what they argue over in 3x17 but of course blaine reassures kurt and kurt feels better and he stops feeling jealous or like he’s not enough and yeah

also bi blaine means he could date tina in s4 hooray no unrequited love triangles

[disslve]

𝐲𝐞𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐰 & 𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐝𝐲 ! this is nai and my cowboy ass is here to throw roxy @ u and also tell u bad jokes and cry over life is strange 2 because i’m still not over this game and I NEED TO TALK ABOUT IT. just a heads up, i came up with roxy on a whim because this rp just looked so good,  so if it seems like i don’t know what i’m talking about ... it’s most likely the case whoops . ( this is an excuse for me bringing shitty muses ). anyway, my fake cowboy ass loves to ramble so if you’re interested in plotting feel free to LIKE this post or hmu. i forgot to mention that i’m also a fake grandma so idk anything about discord at all and i still need to set it up which will happen in the next few days dsdnsdsdn. 

ps: wanted connections/plots can be find in my wanted tag ( a link is on my blog ) and i’ll also list some below !

EDIT: discord name is nai #7158

 * [ kristine froseth + cis-female + she/her ] —— have you met roxanne ‘roxy’ bailey ? they are a twenty-two year old junior currently studying romance languages and literatures. they live on decker house and word around campus is that this scorpio is compassionate + dedicated, as well as impatient + dishonest. i wonder if they’ll make it out alive. 

basics.

full name: roxanne elise bailey

nicknames: roxy, rox

sexual orientation: bisexual

birth place: valencia, spain ( but only lived there for five years ) 

history. 

one could say that roxy had lived an easy life, though her parents weren’t distinguished by their social status, it didn’t mean they lacked money which was enough to support their daughter in whatever she wanted to do.

truth to be told, roxy was indeed a little spoiled, the type of kids who would try all kind of things on the expenses of their parents only to quit a new ‘hobby’ again. she could barely stick to anything. she was some twisted kind of golden child, good at many things but never had the patience to continue something for long enough to cultivate it. 

skipping over the part where she almost tried everything from arts, music etc. she finally found her passion ( and even roxy herself was surprised ). figure skating. she didn’t know what drew her in, she couldn’t explain it, she tried it and it felt right. roxy always describes the feeling as finding a soulmate if she feels extra dramatic that day. 

unsurprisingly, she was good at it. not that kind of good at something she was at all the other things she tried before, but that being good at which stemmed from genuine interest. maybe, that is why she managed to get so far. and it didn’t take too long that people even started to call her a figure skating prodigy. 

at this point at her life, she had it all, spinning the stars on her fingertips ( or warning bad pun ahead: spinning on the ice ). until, well, her parents company was in some crisis and they had to cut corners in the meantime. also oh so ‘conveniently’ roxy lived at the arse end of nowhere and getting to her practices was now even more difficult because as mentioned before they had to save their money for more necessary things. of course, there were more things , small and big, which totally threw her off ( which i am too lazy to list rn).

roxy tried to work part time, but a) the money wasn’t enough b) she didn’t want to cut more hours of training she managed to get. AND well, here comes the turning point and roxy thinking she was oh-so-smart without realizing that it would cost her career. oh-so-smart roxy came up with the idea to , well, just steal some stuff. after all, she trained with many other wealthy peers and she could just sell off their stuff or something. 

at the beginning she only did it to afford certain things she needed, but soon it somehow became an addiction. she felt in control when everyone else in her life was an utter mess. however, the more she took things away from others the more she felt comfortable, doing it more often and sometimes taking things which weren’t even worth that much. it was only a matter of time until she was caught. and as if she was lucky for too long, the person who caught her pressured her into either giving them a hefty sum of money (which she didn’t have) or to quit figure skating. she decided for the latter.

well, here she was and her sudden departure was quite a shock. but she had no choice and stated it was for personal reasons. 

skipping over her being devastated over it, etc. her parents managed to save their company (whatever this company is) but at this point it was already too late and roxy was accepted into holloway. 

right now she actually wants to pick up her figure skating career again, however, she’s too afraid that the blackmailer is going to expose her and also she doesn’t really know who they are (lets pretend they wrote her letters, txt messages >??) and also she’s kind of afraid due to the lack of practice she had .

personality.

okay i’ll keep this short bcs i wrote way too much for her background story. but to sum it up, roxy kind of has that perfect girl facade.  considering how many friends roxy has and how social she appears to be it is odd that no one seems to be able to describe her.  roxy doesn’t want people to know who she truly is, and she keeps her distance as she actively avoids conflicts that might cause her to say something wrong and exposes herself. 

she shields her feelings by only presenting polished version of herself, the facade of the perfect girl: kind, hard-working and polite. someone whose life is easy and someone who looks like she doesn’t have any worries. it doesn’t mean she isn’t anything of that, but it’s not as if her kindness has no bounds or that she doesn’t need to put effort into the things she does. nevertheless, she believes that she must be perfect in order to make people like her. and while, she is pretty good at masking her emotions and smile along, as soon as someone threatens to see past the illusion, she will become defensive and won’t hesitate to lie in order to preserve it.

plots.

best friends: although roxy pretty much keeps her distance from everyone else, this person had always stood by her side. maybe they knew about roxy’s sudden wannabe-thief phase ( which she is still in ) and well tried to talk her out of it ( which obviously didn’t work ). also adding some drama here and maybe they had a big argument over it and distanced from each othr because of it. however, my angst ass doesn’t want to ruin it and they’ll rekindle their friendship. they might meet again at holloway and it’s awkward at first, maybe they even have some arguments but they’ll get over it because everyone loves a good rekindled friendship story.

annoyance: someone who gets under roxy’s skin.seeing past the perfect girl face and constantly calling her out on it. maybe they just have fun annoying her and want to see what she really likes or they just don’t like roxy , thinking that beneath all of this act, she is a really unpleasant person. perhaps, they’re even doing it with good intentions and want to show her that she doesn’t need to hide who she is. whatever it is, they’re determined to expose to the world who she really is. 

pen pal ??:  muse a and roxy had been friends for a very long time, yet the funny thing is that they’ve never met each other nor do they know what the other look like. all they know is their name ( or maybe they only know each other by their usernames ) and their deepest secrets. maybe they already have crossed paths many times and perhaps even know each other but don’t like each other irl. or they never had noticed the other.

blackmailer: BECAUSE WHY NOT??? the person who forced roxy to give up on figure skating. maybe, they were a rival or just didn’t like her, or any other reason. they might as well, have noticed that roxy is secretly training again and might be back at their shit again. 

exes: GIVE ME THE ANGST, maybe muse a and roxy used to be in a serious relationship and as naive they were back then both of them thought this love would last forever. however, at some point roxy started to distance herself from muse a, constantly cancelling their dates because of their busy schedule. at first muse a tried to be understanding towards her, but as time passed things only got worse. roxy hating any kind of conflict just decided to ignore the problem instead about talking about it and eventually stopped replying to muse a messages. muse a never really got to know the real reason behind their break up and was left with unanswered questions. but anything works  

unrequited love: (this is just me throwing in my favourite way to make myself suffer) It doesn’t matter who is the one with the the one sided love because i just want some good angst.a)  muse a has a crush on roxy, yet they never told her about it. yet, muse a can’t hide it and it doesn’t take too long until roxy notices it. but instead of trying to talk to muse a about it, roxy just ignores it acting as she usually does and perhaps even give them false hope that she might like them back. maybe muse a even confessed to her and because roxy didn’t want to hurt them she told muse a she’d think about it.

b) roxy has a crush on muse a but doesn’t admit it. she doesn’t want to show their vunerable side and just plays it down. maybe they’re friends and roxy doesn’t want to lose another friend. but one day she confesses to muse a on accident, making everything awkward between them.

someone she stole from: idk i thought this would be fun ? maybe she confessed to them about it or maybe they caught her but decided to not confront her about it.

fan: someone who used to watch her perfomances on their tv and is still not over the fact that she quit.

i also have a connection page on my blog if these are too specific or none of these work 

i’m too tired to come up with more dsdsdnjsd but gimme everything !! THE ANGST, FLUFF, DRAMA PLS!!! 

[simplycarrie]

yeethaw and welcome to ‘sierra drops a muse because she’s bored’ i’m your host sierra. and i’m here to introduce you to my smol kid Carrington, who might i add broke my streak of space names but whatever. also i’m 110% sure this bio is going to be a) long and b) something v different from what i usually do

╰☆╮ HALEY LU RICHARDSON ─ CARRINGTON ‘CARRIE’ ALDERIDGE-SANGSTER identifies as CIS-FEMALE and uses SHE/HER pronouns. they’re a SINGER-SONGWRITER/ACTRESS, and they’re only TWENTY ! they’re said to be WARM-HEARTED, but also DOGMATIC. i guess that’s why they’re known as THE FERVOUR in the tabloids. ( florence welch / lauren jauregui )

the baby doll + the contingent — aka her early years [ infant to 12. musings: 01. 02. 03. 04. ]

carrington amelia elizabeth alderidge-sangster was subject to the same cruelty as her half-sister anastasia, getting the longest fucking name possible. although she doesn’t go by carrington, both her friends and family call her ‘carrie’

she was born june 30th making her a cancer: ‘ the crab. cancerians are seen as sensitive and emotional, and in fact they are. they’re the cry babies of the zodiac, though they’re a lot tougher than people give them credit for. they’re maternal and caring and empathetic as all heck, with a tendency towards traditional values- deep down, they want the white picket fence. along with virgo and libra, they’re one of the most romantic of the signs.’ but this information won’t be relevant until later

was v spoiled as child, and got basically anything she wanted? caused her to be a bit of a brat as a kid and she constantly needed validation from others. she had the picture perfect childhood if we’re being completely honest

always wanted attention, always needed to make sure that she knew other people were aware that she needed their attention

then she was shipped off to le rosey to follow in her sister anastasia’s footsteps and boy oh boy thing changed for her

the sovereign + the opulent — aka her teenage years [ 13 to 18. musings: 01. 02. 03. 04. ]

remember how i said that carrington was very needy and constantly wanted validation? yeah just about the moment she stepped foot on the lush green grass of le rosey she changed

was immediately the girl who was colgate smiles and perfect posture on school brochures, brandishing a tennis racket beneath a blurb about the institute’s proficiency in churning out well-rounded pupils, but underneath? she was the devil’s reincarnate of blair waldorf.

although her sister was two years ahead of her but left a reputation behind with her, and so in turn carrington was immediately popular, and she used it to her advantage

mixing in her family’s pre-established wealth ( which she flaunted at literally every opportunity she got ) with new-found popularity carrington ruled the school brandishing a fashionably velvet fist

she was bitchy to everyone, she disregarded other people’s feelings was callous and abrasive, and didn’t care what anyone had to say about her ( because she’d end up ruining their reputation and smiling in their face afterwards )

although her family wanted her to be like anastasia playing tennis and being the model student ( which she was for her first year ) she ended up finding her passion for music, quickly joining and leading le rosey’s school choir

carrington was smarter than anyone ( including herself ) gave her credit for, she aced all of her classes, and was on the road to becoming le rosey’s next valedictorian

then, she met him. the supposed ‘love of her life’. the one who was so close to making her soften and lose track of her studies, and just run away with him. until, she found someone ‘better’ stabbing him in the back, and promptly sashaying away from the damage

though leaving him was perhaps the biggest mistake she ever made, the ‘better’ thing she found turned out to be much worse. she was abused emotionally and physically, and they had sex whenever he felt like it.

suddenly she was with child, and in a panic she called stas, who took her to get an abortion without her family knowing, to this day stas is the only person knows about her daughter that never came to be, supposed to be named cornelia anastasia daphne alderidge-sangster

finally senior year approached and not wanting to break her facade carrington continued on her studies, and when she graduated she was given the honor of valedictorian ( along with winning prom queen at both her junior and senior prom )

the fervour + the fallen angel — aka the current years [ 19 to present. musings: 01. 02. 03. 04. ]

carrington had plenty of offers to go to college, but the one she settled on was the juilliard school in manhattan, new york she earned her aa in both acting and vocal arts, and also has full intentions of returning to juilliard in the spring to achieve her ba in those same two things

of course carrington’s talents didn’t go unnoticed, she was quickly offered a netflix show which is currently recording it’s first season, being one of the top rated netflix comedies/dramas ( think ‘one day at a time’ and ‘brooklyn nine-nine’ )

she’s very different from when she was a teenager, after her mother fell ill, and her step-father passed away she’s become very sensitive to the feelings of others, and her own feelings, she’s very maternal and will try to protect everyone, no matter how atrocious of a job she does

she’s very much a hopeless romantic, she’s read each and every single one of stas’s books at least five times, and she wants a love so deep she won’t have enough words in the english language to describe it

falls in love with just about anyone, no matter how bad they are for her, you could do something as nice as hold the door open for her, and immediately she’s falling head over heels for you, thinking about you, and planning your wedding together

wanted connections: ( there’s a lot skskksks )

familial —

half sibling - [ musings: 01. 02. 03. 04. ] anastasia daphne margeurite sangster. when they grew up carrington was a bit of a brat, and they didn’t get along to well, but after spending so many years together they’ve not only become sisters, but also best friends.

romantic —

high school sweethearts - [ musings: 01. 02. 03. 04. ] the boyfriend that she met and dumped at le rosey, she was in love with him, truly she was, and maybe a huge part of her always will be but she like to think that ship has long since sailed.

long distance relationship - [ musings: 01. 02. 03. 04. ] an online relationship; something that actually lasted for a good while? he would’ve still been at le rosey so they’ve never met in person but something soft where they called and skyped all the time but over time things fizzled out because she got so busy with his school and work.

secret relationship - [ musings: 01. 02. 03. 04. ] although carrington still isn’t out as bisexual, this was always the case, at one point she had to hide the relationship between her and the girl she loved, which is perhaps why it ended, but despite it all carrington will always love her to some degree.

toxic relationship - [ musings: 01. 02. 03. 04. ] carrington probably got cheated on by this person, and dumped multiple times, but there was something about them that just made her keep coming back for more, and she did every single time. until one day, she just didn’t. Or maybe they didn’t come back, or maybe she moved on, either way they haven’t spoken since.

pr relationship - [ musings: 01. 02. 03. 04. ] carrington is essentially america’s sweetheart, i mean imagine an heiress, turned singer-songwriter, and now a house favorite sitcom star, where’s the blemish in her status? that’s exactly what happened when their agents set these two up, i mean after all, how hard can faking a relationship be?

skinny love - [ musings: 01. 02. 03. 04. ] carrington has an extremely bad habit of falling in love with people, the only twist is this time this person fell back, except carrington is much too afraid to admit to herself that they’ve moved their relationship past being ‘just friends’ and so she doesn’t.

unrequited crush - [ musings: 01. 02. 03. 04. ] like i stated previously carrington has a really bad tendency to fall in love with those who don’t want her back, and this time is obviously no different, she’s probably never told them about her crush, and has absolutely zero intention to do so, but we all new york has a funny way of making people confess.

fwb - [ musings: 01. 02. 03. 04. ] carrington is far from being known for her sexual prowess, but she is known for getting her heart broken, and that’s exactly what happens every time these two hook up. carrington tries convincing herself that it’s normal, and most of the time she’s successful, but every now and then she can’t help but wonder if they should stick to being just friends, after all she gets attached far too easily.

platonic —

squad - [ musings: 01. 02. 03. 04. ] oh gosh these four have been inseparable from the moment they met, sure they fight but in the end, no matter what, they promised each other that they would stay friends until the very end.

best friend -  [ musings: 01. 02. 03. 04. ] after being the devil’s reincarnate throughout high school, carrington kinda pushed away the idea a best friend, she simply shrugged off the thought of finding someone who could understand herm and then suddenly she found them, her best friend, she loves them to bits and pieces, and somehow they just feel like an extension of her, nowadays carrington could never imagine going about life without them.

roommate - [ musings: 01. 02. 03. 04. ]  carrington has a fairly big penthouse, alright more than fairly big, and to keep herself from getting lonely she got a roommate, and about a billion animals for, although their house looks like a zoo, carrington actually loves her roommate? they’ve seen her at her highest and lowest points, and have decided to live with her dumbass through it all, they don’t even have a problem with the millions of animals living with them, honestly where would she be without them?

good influence -  [ musings: 01. 02. 03. 04. ] carrington is known for her impulsive decisions and irreversible actions, but with this person by her side the world seems like it’s at carrington’s fingertips. she’d probably rank them very high on the list of the best things that have ever happened to her, right next to anastasia and hot cheetohs.

bad influence -  [ musings: 01. 02. 03. 04. ] carrington has never been one for parties, maybe it’s the fact that she’s not old enough to drink, or that she’s a hermit half the time, but she’d much rather hang out by herself taking pictures of her pets, and going on her own little adventures around new york. but with them, her adventures seem to be hard to remember, and parties seem so much more fun.

unlikely friends -  [ musings: 01. 02. 03. 04. ] carrington is probably the exact opposite of this person, personality wise, fashion wise, but yet despite the odds these two are still friends, and she actually enjoys it? sometimes she wishes she was outspoken and brash as they are, that she could learn to distance herself so easily, but they constantly prove themselves to be one of the closest friends she has.

frenemies - [ musings: 01. 02. 03. 04. ] one minute they’re insulting each other, the next they’re getting mani-pedis and getting brunch together. no one can quite tell if they love or hate each other most the times, not even them.

enemies -  [ musings: 01. 02. 03. 04. ] it’s just every little thing this person does just irritates carrington, for one reason or another, and at this point she’s given up trying to be cordial, or even pretending to be.

ex-best friend -  [ musings: 01. 02. 03. 04. ]  maybe they were best friends back in their le rosey days or maybe they met and immediately clicked but somehow in some way it just stopped. and carrington hates knowing that people don’t like her, plus they were really close and carrington really thought maybe she could glue their friendship back together, or that somehow if she held on tight enough then her best friend would stop slipping from her fingers, but it turns out the tighter you grip something, the easier you lose it, she definitely still misses them, and still probably accidentally texts them from time to time.

[nellie-elizabeth]

Grey's Anatomy: Break Down The House/Get Off On The Pain (14x01/02)

Grey's Anatomy is a soap opera. I mean that's not a surprise to anybody, but every once in a while you see episodes that reminds you - Grey's Anatomy is a soap opera. I don't even mean that in a bad way, actually. This episode had a lot of great moments, and the extreme drama of them is what made them great. It also had just one or two moments that had me on the verge of an eye-roll... let's take a look.

Cons:

To anyone who's been reading my reviews, it'll be no surprise to you that I'm annoyed about Amelia. Owen has his sister back, and Amelia has been avoiding him and acting horribly. Then Owen tries to talk to her about it, since he knows something is really wrong, and she lashes out again. All last season I kept saying that Amelia needed to get over herself, and now we learn, thanks to her participation in a sex study (I'll get to that later) that her erratic behavior is actually because she has a giant brain tumor. Okay... did we not already do this with Izzy? This was the big shocking cliffhanger at the end of the two part episode, and it felt like the most cliche, overwrought thing that could have been done at this point. Amelia has been pissing me off for... well, forever now, and it seems like sort of a cop-out to blame all of her shitty behavior on a medical drama cliche like a brain tumor. A brain surgeon has a brain tumor?! Gasp. How surprising.

Maggie was also getting on my nerves a lot last season, and while she did have some good elements in this episode that I'll get to later, she still had one of her quintessential annoying moments. Nathan and Owen have decided not to tell Megan about Nathan and Meredith's relationship. Teddy thinks this is ridiculous, and Maggie agrees. She says that she was in Megan's position once, in that she found out about Nathan and Meredith and it was weird. Okay. The utter hubris of comparing what happened with her to what's going on with Megan is... ugh. Maggie. Please. I still can't believe how much she built up that whole thing. She had an unrequited crush on a guy. Nothing even happened, and he started dating someone else. How can you even compare the situations? She also spends her time being awkward around Jackson, and he spends his time being awkward right back. I'm convinced that this is perhaps the least interesting potential romantic relationship this show has ever done, right after DeLuca's unrequited thing for Jo. Please stop.

So, Eliza Minnick is gone. She ghosted Arizona and disappeared into the night after being fired. I mean, no particular skin off my back, since she was really annoying. But it's also annoying to see such a clear signal from the show that her presence was an utter waste of time. It takes absolutely nothing for Arizona to bounce back from this, and it takes no time for me as a viewer either. Eliza was such a poorly written character. Oh, and speaking of bouncing back - I'm really happy that Arizona found somebody to hook up with, and I'm actually rather pleased with the new character. But have you noticed that all the lesbians and bisexual women on this show are gorgeous, long-haired femme girls? Callie, Arizona, Eliza, and now Carina? Even Penny didn't have any sort of a butch vibe going on. I'm not trying to say that we need our lesbian characters to look like a cliche, but if they could not all be super hot ultra-feminine, that would be nice. Maybe this is a thing nobody cares about but me, but I apparently care a little bit about it.

Pros:

I'm gonna go through a few subplot elements before we talk about Megan Hunt.

April. Okay, so while I don't think Maggie and Jackson are interesting, I still kind of do think April and Jackson are interesting. They're a couple that I actually root for. I think they belong together. I like that April identified her pain and was honest to Jackson about it. As much as I want these two to work it out, for April's sake I hope she finds a way to be happy, with or without Jackson.

Arizona brings a woman home to her house and they're hooking up on the couch when DeLuca comes in. He sees this woman, and the two of them immediately start bickering in furious Italian. Turns out, this woman is Carina, DeLuca's older sister. She's actually a doctor too, and she goes in to meet with Bailey. Bailey has been having her own sort of internal feminist uprising as she laments the necessity of wearing uncomfortable heels to work, so when Carina suggests a sex study where women masturbate inside the MRI machine to study the effects of orgasms on the brain, Bailey decides to go for it.

This plot thread, setting aside the ending where Amelia has a stupid tumor, was pretty funny and great. Carina seems like a better match for Arizona than Eliza was. She's funny and sexy and the scene where she and DeLuca are yelling at each other while Arizona is shirtless on the couch was pretty hysterical. I also loved how everybody had this girlish interest in her sex study. Female sexuality is a very repressed topic, and it was fun to see it explored seriously. And Bailey getting rid of all her high heels was pretty fantastic. Ben is such a good husband - he points out to Bailey that her sexiest (and most uncomfortable) pair of heels will only hurt her if she tries to stand in them, leading to some fun sexy times.

Richard had the tiniest of little subplots with Maggie that I thought was quite fun. He's impressed with Meredith's bad-ass surgery skills, and tell Maggie that Meredith is just like Ellis. Maggie gets  a little competitive and asks if Richard ever compliments her, Maggie, when talking to Meredith. Richard says that while Meredith reminds him of Ellis, he likes to take credit for Maggie's success personally. This was a great moment to remind me that I didn't always dislike Maggie so much. If she could just stay away from the romance plots I think I'd be a lot more cool with her.

Jo and Alex. Another unsurprising fact for my readers is that I'm not super duper happy with Jo and Alex's romance as of late. But in this episode... I don't know. Maybe it was just that I know they're both in so much pain, and as annoying as Jo can be, I really do want Alex to be happy. Also, Alex told the truth to Jo, and the two of them seem like they could really make a good start out of this. Obviously the looming threat of Jo's husband is still out there, but for now I think they might be on solid footing. And kudos to Ben for playing the "new Stephanie" by supporting Jo through all of this craziness. Bailey correctly points out to him that he doesn't get to have an opinion about how Jo, a woman, feels in regards to Alex's violent attack of DeLuca. Ben agrees, but he still manages to help out by going to Alex and telling him the real problem - Jo is afraid of him. With that hurdle jumped, these two can finally move forward with their lives. I think I might like them better together and happy than I did when they were mutually angsting and pining.

Okay. Now for the main event. Megan is great. Admittedly, she's a little too well-adjusted to be somebody who's been held hostage for ten years, but when you hear her story it does make a little bit of sense. She was treated poorly at first, but eventually she was utilized as a doctor, and actually made friends and adopted a Syrian refugee as her son. She wasn't permitted to leave, but she was treated well. Her motivations are entirely about getting back to her adopted son. She has a serious abdominal injury, but wants to go with the quicker, more risky option in order to get back to her child sooner, instead of the safer, more painful option that will take much longer.

Everything about this setup kind of breaks my heart. Megan is really cool, and funny, and doesn't put up with nonsense from Owen or Nathan whatsoever. Meredith is the one who breaks the news to her about her past with Nathan, and Megan takes it in stride. She and Meredith seem to really like each other, and although Meredith's first surgery doesn't go as planned, the second one is a huge and innovative success that will get Megan back to her son in way less time.

Nathan breaks my heart. He's so devastatingly relieved to see Megan again, but obviously his feelings for Meredith can't just poof away. And Meredith is being so cool about the whole thing, stepping in as Megan's surgeon and doing an amazing job. April gives Nathan the advice that he needs to be all in with Megan, and let her know that he's there for her completely. He decides to propose, and we get another very soap opera-y moment when Meredith walks in to tell Megan it's time for her surgery, interrupting the proposal. Turns out, Megan says no, because she thinks Nathan is still in love with Meredith.

This is a love triangle, of sorts, but I love the fact that there's no animosity between the two women. Nathan has pined for Megan and missed her for ten years, but the fact remains that they've both moved on with their lives in big ways. Megan, as difficult as her time has been, has found a new family in her son. And Nathan has clawed his way back to a brotherly bond with Owen, and has found new love with Meredith. They can't just erase that and move back to where they were. And yet... the love is still real.

Oh yeah, and let's talk about Teddy. I didn't realize how much I had missed her until she was there! It was cool to see the scenes of her, Owen, Nathan, and Megan. These four all have a special bond that nobody else at the hospital could understand. I've always liked Teddy, and even though Owen was absolutely wrong to kiss her, I can see how it would be appealing for both of them to give this thing a shot. Of course, it just made me like Teddy even more that she said no. I don't know if she'll be around after this, but I'd love to see her integrate back into the story, even if just temporarily. It was so cute when Arizona saw her and immediately gave her a summary of everything that had happened - Callie left her and took Sofia and she found love again and then Eliza got fired - that's a lot of stuff to blurt out to somebody you haven't seen in years!

I'll end by saying that even though this episode had a lot of dark elements to it, it was undeniably a lighter episode than we've seen in a while. Megan is back and she's going to be okay, and all of the major surgeries in the episode were a success. Jo succeeded despite a med student dropping his glasses into the surgical field, Amelia succeeded with a delicate jaw surgery even against Jackson's disapproval and doubt, and Meredith found a way to help Megan get better quicker so she can return to her son. I'm always glad when we can get a bit of hope from this show, even if it is mixed in with a lot of interpersonal drama.

Well, there you have it. I'm back to writing reviews for this monstrosity of a show. I always forget how long these things take me... it's gonna be an adjustment getting back into it!

8/10

[reactingtosomething]

Reacting to X-Men: Evolution

An Entry Into the "Popular Girl Who Isn't a Bitch" Genre

The Setup: Find Miri and guest reactor Caroline’s reaction to the 90s X-Men cartoon, specifically the Dark Phoenix Saga, here. This installment directly continues that conversation and covers both X-Men: Evolution and comparisons between the two series.

Among other things, Evolution has the distinction of introducing Laura Kinney, a.k.a. X-23, who soon migrated to the comics, and whom most people now know from Logan. But as previously established, Miri is especially fond of Evolution’s Rogue, so for comparison to the 90s animated series, she and Caroline watched some Rogue-centric episodes and some Jean-centric ones: the pilot, “Power Surge,” “Walk on the Wild Side,” and “Self Possessed.”

 MIRI: Ok, X-Men Evolution!

This show was one of the first pieces of culture that I can remember loving

CAROLINE: So as a youth I was SUPER against it on principle

Because I loved TAS so much

MIRI: Because it was SO different from what you knew and loved?

CAROLINE: So I never even gave it a chance

MIRI: Makes total sense to me

I appreciate you doing so now

What did you think?

CAROLINE: BUT I watched some maybe two years ago with a friend and was surprised by how much I enjoyed them!

MIRI: Yay!

CAROLINE: And I felt that way again watching these

MIRI: It’s just so charming, right?

CAROLINE: It's a very different take but one I can definitely enjoy

Oh for sure. Super charming

And I love anything that centers on a Jean/Scott love story

MIRI: I will say they are all shockingly bad at being subtle about their mutant powers. Like, the secret would be out in no time

Yes, they do the love triangle very interestingly, because it’s doubled with the whole football boyfriend thing

(Duncan?)

Yes, Duncan. AKA Jean’s terrible football boyfriend

CAROLINE: So this my main problem with the show I think: I either want ALL the X-Men to be mutant teens secretly figuring out their lives at a normal high school. Or I want the show to be set entirely at Xavier's school where everyone is a mutant

Doing both locations is just confusing to me and feels illogical within the world

MIRI: Huh. I feel like it works the way Buffy works. But I’m very biased, obviously

CAROLINE: It feels like having Xavier in their lives is too much of a safety net

Or the high school stuff is at odds with the training stuff somehow

MIRI: I see it more along the lines of Kim Possible having her life and her missions, and the tension of both against each other make each side more complex

But I will admit that the stakes are fairly uneven

CAROLINE: I guess I'm just used to the idea of the X-Mansion being a school

MIRI: And it’s unclear the extent to which they are being trained and for what purpose.

CAROLINE: So it's weird to me that they have two schools

MIRI: That makes sense

CAROLINE: And they live at one of those schools but learn at the other

MIRI: I think they may have tried to straddle the line between training these kids to be superheroes and training them to control their abilities for their own good/the safety of others

And kind of gone back and forth as the plot demanded, which isn’t great

CAROLINE: I was super into the high school stuff though

Which is why I wanted more of it

MIRI: Yeah, I think that is what works better

CAROLINE: Also Storm 100% should've been a teen too

I was a little mad about that

MIRI: Huh, so just Xavier, Wolverine, and Beast as the adults? That would have been entertaining

CAROLINE: Or... no adults

JUST TEENS

MIRI: Ooh, just all of them in high school?

I’m into that

CAROLINE: And no Wolverine, that voice actor was terrible

MIRI: What are you talking about, bub?

CAROLINE: Ha!

K: I do prefer this costume to his classic one, though

Even Wolverine as a teen would've been fine

I mean I realize that is entirely against the canon as he's ageless

But they could've made it work

Angsty teen Wolverine

MIRI: Eh, there’s plenty that’s against canon or just outside of it

Ok, I need to take a moment to just gush about how much I love angsty goth teen Rogue

Because it is A LOT

CAROLINE: Go for it!

MIRI: She has so many feelings and she wants to be loved so badly! And she makes the ridiculous outfits work shockingly well!

Basically, she was one of my first crushes and I had NO idea that was true until like 4 years ago

M: Bisexuality in a heteronormative world is an adventure, kids.

CAROLINE: I feel like the movies and these two series give us three VERY different takes on Rogue

Yet they all work really well on their own ways

MIRI: And the voice actress is amazing.

Yes! I’d say this one is a little closer to the film one, but still pretty different

CAROLINE: Yeah she's great! I great cartoon crush all around

MIRI: Hahahah thanks

Honestly, I thought the Scott/Jean/Rogue love triangle moments at the end of the “Power Surge” episode were the most compelling storytelling EVER as a kid. Especially when Jean talks through Rogue at the end

CAROLINE: Oh yeah that was heartbreaking

MIRI: I think the way people changed from x-men to Brotherhood in this show is really interesting

CAROLINE: And Rogue's powers being a metaphor for unrequited high school love is perfect

Oh yeah that one dude was super hot

Speaking of cartoon crushes

MIRI: Which one?

CAROLINE: Quake maybe?

In my head he was Gambit, which he definitely wasn't

MIRI: Ohhhhh Lance? The one Kitty seems to be dating in the second episode?

CAROLINE: Yes! I was super into him

MIRI: Not my type of unwashed 90s boy, but I respect your opinion

I like that they can be dating or friends or whatever, which on “Enemy” teams

CAROLINE: It's a fun idea

MIRI: And Tabitha can change sides, but then also be a in a girl gang with Jean, Kitty, Rogue, and Amara

CAROLINE: And another reason I feel like the show would've been better if it were an all high school series

MIRI: You may be converting me here

CAROLINE: Aahaha

I did really enjoy Kitty as well!

She wasn't a big part of TAS or really the movies either

K: In the comics, she’s actually introduced in the Dark Phoenix arc

MIRI: The fake Valley Girl thing bothered me at first, but you get used to it super fast and I like the character a lot

CAROLINE: And this series encapsulates her nicely

MIRI: No, she was super secondary in the movies

Which is a shame because Ellen Page

CAROLINE: I love how diverse the X-Men are in terms of personality types

That's a fun conceit of the show

These people probably wouldn't have been high school friends if they weren't linked by their powers

MIRI: And on that score, the conceit of them all living in the Institute is nice

CAROLINE: And now they all have to figure out how to get along

That's true

MIRI: Because they’re pseudo siblings in a way they wouldn’t be without living together

CAROLINE: But also they're all dating each other?

MIRI: ….yes

CAROLINE: This is where things get weird

MIRI: Also yes

CAROLINE: And the amount of supervision they have is confusing to me

It's either a ton or none

MIRI: Mostly none

CAROLINE: The show probably just didn't want to deal with parents, which I get

But I don't think this Xavier is a great caretaker of teens

MIRI: I like the terrible attempts at lamp-shading like when the kids say “I can’t believe Duncan’s parents let him have parties”

Yeah, this Xavier is more of a Fun Uncle than a parent

CAROLINE: A recipe for disaster

Anyway the interpersonal dynamics between the teens were all great

Especially Scott and Jean, as I mentioned before

This Scott voice actor is SO much better than TAS guy

MIRI: Yeah, they really are fun. I totally forgot that it takes them so long to get together

In part because they’re clearly endgame from the beginning

CAROLINE: "Boring couples who take a long time to get together" is my favorite thing in the world

MIRI: And in part because my heart always lay with Rogue and I had a lot of sympathy for her doomed crush, since Scott clearly loved Jean

Hahahahaha

Also, they both have amazing hair

CAROLINE: SO amazing

Although I feel like this version of Jean is a little off somehow?

MIRI: Scott’s little floppy front bits are the most of the era thing

How so?

CAROLINE: From her comic book characterization I mean

I'm not sure I would immediately see her as a popular star athlete

Her empathy is spot on

MIRI: Yeah, I think they felt like that was a high school archetype they had to use or something

CAROLINE: But in my mind she would be a student council leader or something

Well-liked but maybe not "popular" in the conventional sense

MIRI: The perfect student who is perfect at everything and feels so much pressure from it feels like a story that was on every other show at the time

CAROLINE: True

MIRI: It is interesting to see an x-men (x-man?) who is popular

CAROLINE: But that is basically what I imagine for her

True!

MIRI: since they are fundamentally outsiders in so many ways

I wonder if a non-mutant friend/frenemy who inhabited that spot would have worked better

CAROLINE: There’s an interesting subtext in X-Men about mutants that can "pass" as human.

Especially with Kurt as a kind of POV character in the premiere

MIRI: VERY!

CAROLINE: Who obviously has such a bigger hurdle than Jean when it comes to joining normal society

MIRI: They did interesting (and unfortunately on the nose) things with that concept re: Beast and Mystique in First Class

And here it’s less explicitly addressed but I feel like I’m ok with that

CAROLINE: Agreed. And TAS doesn't necessarily delve into much at all

TAS kind of focuses on the big social metaphors

Whereas Evolution is about the personal side of being a mutant

MIRI: The opening Toad stuff delves into this a bit too--those guys made a lot of toad puns/insults for people who didn’t know he was a mutant

CAROLINE: And both are super compelling parts of the X-Men franchise!

MIRI: And I think the contrast of that kind of thing versus the loving “fuzzy elf” comments to Kurt from the other Xmen is interesting

Yeah, there’s a lot of different ways to use the “mutants as other” thing well

CAROLINE: I will say, while Evolutions is incredibly watchable, the episodes we watched could also feel a little shallow?

TAS crams WAY more story into 20 minutes than Evolutions seem to

MIRI: Yeah, I will not argue with that

CAROLINE: Even if it does so in a pretty stilted way

MIRI: I think this is a very clear shift to the idea that kids shows should be about kids and Kid Things

CAROLINE: Agreed

Kind of talking down to the audience at times.

MIRI: They do more than that sometimes, and there are episodes that deal with more serialized plot elements that we didn’t watch

But for the most part they are simple stories with not a whole ton going on

CAROLINE: But with solid nuance in the subtext!

MIRI: true!

CAROLINE: Just not maybe in the actual storytelling

MIRI: exactly

I think it was very much designed to be watched as a Saturday morning cartoon, in a block with like 5 other shows

CAROLINE: But I could still totally see myself watching more when I'm bored someday

They are fun and sweet and require very little from you

MIRI: I might be wrong about that, but that’s how I remember it

CAROLINE: Whereas TAS tends to feel drawn out

In a way that's both good and bad

MIRI: Yeah, it’s very easy to just let Evolutions play on autoplay

I did really love the concept of one of these episodes though, and it will probably surprise no one which it was

CAROLINE: Ha! The Rogue one?

MIRI: Actually not! I like the character moments in that a lot, but as a discrete episode concept “Walk on the Wild Side” may be one of my favorite things that has ever happened

CAROLINE: Oh yeah that one was abused and delightful

MIRI: I mean it’s kind of terrible and every genre show ever has done version of it

CAROLINE: *absurd

MIRI: but is adored it

*I

CAROLINE: It's very fun!

MIRI: A musical roller blading superhero girl gang getting dressed and bonding sequence is basically what’s lacking from all current superhero media.

(That and enough female characters of consequence to actually have a girl gang. SHADE INTENDED)

CAROLINE: And a random music video sequence!

Please see the amazing music video sequence at the end of this post!

Who doesn't want one of those?

MIRI: No one I want to know

CAROLINE: I also really loved the Rogue/Jean dynamic that seems to exist throughout the series

Kind of like the Cyclops/Wolverine one in TAS

MIRI: Yes! There’s always a tension, but also a love and kind of understanding

Like, we’re both in versions of the same situation and we can hate each other or understand each other

CAROLINE: They maybe don't always get along and are sometimes rivals but there's mutual respect and admiration there

MIRI: I really like that

CAROLINE: Not making the two "rival" female characters hate each other feels pretty progressive for the early 2000s

Or for now

MIRI: Sadly true

The gender stuff is handled super clumsily and I’m pretty sure Tabitha is a full 7 years older than Amara, but I just love the girl gang dynamic they get to SO MUCH

CAROLINE: Ha! I was really not into Tabitha

But I did love Amara

MIRI: She’s annoying, but I love that she can be well intentioned and also bad at it

I mean, she’s an asshole. Honestly, stop blowing people up in the shower and shaving people’s heads

CAROLINE: Yeah she was way too much for me

MIRI: But her destroying the car and thinking that was helpful seems very true to form to me

CAROLINE: Jean's feminist rage was amazing

MIRI: Defintiely

(I cannot type that word correctly today!)

I also really loved Scott falling out of his chair

CAROLINE: And as much as I don't fully buy into Jean's characterization I do like her as an entry into the "popular girl who isn't a bitch" genre

MIRI: A rare and compelling genre!

CAROLINE: See also: Liz in Spider-Man Homecoming

MIRI: LOVED her

CAROLINE: That blonde girl in Princess and the Frog

MIRI: Also a fave

CAROLINE: It's an underserved genre

And, again, an asset of having a big ensemble cast

Lots of POVs to sympathize with

MIRI: They did a good job of letting the focus shift in different episodes

CAROLINE: And some really solid high school metaphors! The idea of being along onstage and being able to read everyone's critiques of you is legit terrifying

MIRI: There’s a pretty reliable core of Jean/Scott/Rogue, but there are definitely episodes that focus on Kitty and Kurt, or Spyke or whoever

CAROLINE: *mentally read

MIRI: This episode and the Buffy telepathy episode combined to convince me that telepathy would be a horrifying super power

CAROLINE: I remember liking Spyke a lot, although he wasn't in any of the episodes we watched for this

MIRI: I know! I’m sorry about that

CAROLINE: Although I still maintain they just should've made Storm a teen rather than giving her a nephew

MIRI: I did get to be reminded of the fact that he SKATEBOARDS INTO BATTLE though

hahahahaha noted

CAROLINE: Keep Spyke, just make her Storm's cousin or something

*him

MIRI: I like how adamant you are on this point

CAROLINE: I feel VERY strongly about it

MIRI: Does Storm being one of the adults in the (earlier) movies bother you?

CAROLINE: No because it felt like we were supposed to be equally invested in the adults and the kids there

Although Storm was definitely underutilized, which sucks

But this is CLEARLY a teen show first and foremost

MIRI: Ahhh, it’s the sidelining that bugs you. That’s a good point

Yeah, I’m with you there

CAROLINE: Although going back to costumes, Storm's costume here is pretty cool!

MIRI: The adults don’t have plots, with the sort of exception of Mystique

CAROLINE: Not as iconic as in TAS but a sleek update

MIRI: Yes! Basically Storm is always amazing looking

CAROLINE: I was pretty happy with all the designs

Kitty's collar was adorable

Jean's costume is MUCH more flattering than in TAS

MIRI: I have serious questions about Mystique’s little skull details around her waist

Yeah, Jean upgraded

Rogue’s goth outfits are obviously amazing

CAROLINE: I have serious questions about Mystique in this series

MIRI: YES, please ask them

I do too

How long did Mystique raise Rogue? Like, did she take 5-10 years off of being Magneto’s henchwoman? Was she a stay at home mom? did she have a day job?

CAROLINE: I guess mainly just: Does she need to be here?

Ahahah

Different lines of questioning

But those too!

MIRI: Let’s do yours first, because there’s no way to answer mine

CAROLINE: She just felt out of place to me

Not sure if it's a performance thing or what

MIRI: I like her as a betrayer for Rogue, and the danger being right there in the school in a way they couldn’t fight

I feel like it may have worked better if we’d watched the whole arc, but I may just be being generous in my recollections

CAROLINE: No that's super fair

I think she was just WAY too much of a cackling villain in the premiere

And I kind of tuned out

MIRI: The moments where she talked to shadow monster Magneto (which, what even??) did feel really out of place to me

CAROLINE: Again, I kind of just want it to be a low stakes (but high for the characters) high school show

MIRI: I wonder if it was a case of the writers wanting to do the big plotty arcs like Apocalypse but not knowing how to marry them with the high school problem of the week thing

CAROLINE: Without the mythology stuff

Yeah there's clashing creative impulses there for sure

MIRI: Yeah, I think you’re right

Honestly, I didn’t remember anything about magneto or Apocalypse in this series

Not a bit

But I could have described the scene where Jean is floating in the air surrounded by stuff and they all try to help her in perfect detail

CAROLINE: Totally

MIRI: They definitely did a much better job with the teen stuff, you’re right

CAROLINE: Secretly I don't care about plot at all

I just want character moments

That's how I feel about TAS too

I don't remember storylines but I remember Storm's claustrophobia.

MIRI: I didn’t know she was claustrophobic

That’s so relatable

I love it

CAROLINE: Yes! It's SUCH a great character detail

She's an all-powerful goddess

But also has a completely relatable fear

I think there's an episode where a building collapses and she's trapped in rubble

MIRI: Also it makes total sense because her powers would not help at all

CAROLINE: I remember finding that SO compelling as a kid

MIRI: Ahhhhh that is a nightmare to me

(I actually am claustrophobic)

CAROLINE: I always relate to characters way more through their weaknesses than their strengths

YOU ARE STORM

MIRI: I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO FLATTERED

M: Look at Storm, living her best life, raising some plants, being an inspiration

K: One of the great sorrows of the movie rights separation of the X-Men from the MCU is that we may never see Storm as the Black Panther’s One Who Got Away (or, well, The One His Marriage to Whom He Annulled Because an X-Man Flooded the Capital of Wakanda While Possessed by a Fragment of the Phoenix Force)

M: I have a lot of questions

Actually that’s a lie: I was once told that I looked like the female leader of an otherwise male motor cycle gang

CAROLINE: Ha!

MIRI: And while it’s utterly untrue and ridiculous, I hold that compliment close to my heart to this day

CAROLINE: As you should!

MIRI: I look like a preschool teacher more than anything else, but I want to look like a motor cycle gang leader

At least the tv version of one

CAROLINE: You can be both

MIRI: Thank you ❤️

CAROLINE: Preschoolers are just a mini motorcycle gang

MIRI: that is SO true

Ok, one more episode that I do want to talk about specifically--the Rogue one, aka “Self Possessed”

I like that this storyline totally follows the same early beats as “Power Surge” and they have zero shame about it. They even show flashes of scenes from “Power Surge” in the cold open

CAROLINE: And I enjoyed both episodes!

MIRI: Same!

I’m also really impressed on an animation front--all of these transformations must have been a job and a half

CAROLINE: The Evolutions animation style is just so much more pleasing to watch

MIRI: Yeah, I’m way more into this one visual

CAROLINE: Even as I can appreciate the detail of TAA

MIRI: *visually

CAROLINE: *TAS

I do think "Self Possessed" gets a little style over substance at the end though

As I think Evolutions often does

MIRI: Yeah, it’s that light on story, heavy on Coolness thing again

CAROLINE: Yeah they could've crammed a lot more story in there I think

As TAS makes clear, even separate from the multi-episode structure

MIRI: The amount of story they did have definitely could have happened in 12 minutes or so

Made super clear by the way they reused clips--we only watched 3 other episodes, and we’d already seen several chunks of this episode

Also, I really can’t tell if Sabertooth has plot lines or if he just shows up to cause some indiscriminate violence whenever they need it

CAROLINE: I feel like that's what Sabertooth is best at

MIRI: I know that’s not super relevant in this episode, but it reminded me of it

That’s fair

Also, he seems to be Wolverine’s dad in this iteration??

CAROLINE: I love how drastically storylines can change between iterations

MIRI: Or maybe it was brother, which is what I think they are in other versions. I don’t know.

K: Just in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which was so bad that the Days of Future Past movie retconned most of it out of existence.

M: I may have read the graphic novelization prequel to the Wolverine origins movie.

Yeah, same toys in drastically different sandboxes

Oh, on that score--Can Mystique transform into animals in other iterations?

CAROLINE: Ooh good question!

I'm not sure

K: Not originally, but I haven’t gone through all the alternate reality versions

MIRI: It was very cool but also kind of felt like cheating to me

CAROLINE: She changes into a statue in the first live action movie

So there's that

MIRI: Ohhh, the mini state of liberty? Am I remembering that right?

CAROLINE: Yes!

MIRI: Hmmmmmm, but did she actually change to statue, or just to be a woman who looks like a statue?

Either way it’s very cool

CAROLINE: Very

Okay so I think my thesis here is that TAS and Evolutions are different in intention and flawed in different ways, but they're both GREAT with characters in their own ways.

MIRI: Agreed!

For all “Self Possessed” is story light, I do like the question of identity Rogue is always wrestling with in the face of multiple people in her head

That’s very high school/human

CAROLINE: For sure! And they do cool stuff with that in the movies as well

Kind of

MIRI: Yeah, especially the first one. Then they move more into how do I be myself when I’m so limited in how I can touch people and express myself to the world

Which is also cool and important

CAROLINE: God, X-Men are just the best

I love sci-fi as metaphor

Or superheroes as metaphor

MIRI: Me too

Honestly, one of my least favorite things about the MCU and now the DCEU is that superheroes are so Adult now

Because the exploration of it all as metaphor for teenage things is so right to me

But obviously that’s not all they can/should be used for!

Look at the government business in the beginning of the first Xmen movie

CAROLINE: X-Men as a franchise is truly always relevant

In so many ways

MIRI: That’s such solid use of sci fi as 1:1 metaphor for real life. And it’s done SO well

I really just love the Xmen franchise a lot

CAROLINE: I must say, there's one area in which TAS is CLEARLY superior to every other X-Men iteration

And that's the THEME SONG

MIRI: hahahahahahhaha

CAROLINE: Maybe the best superhero theme song ever

K: So good that this fan-made alternate title sequence for X-Men: First Class riffs on it in a cool-yet-unsettling way. (But my favorite superhero theme is probably Shirley Walker’s Danny Elfman-based Batman theme for the 90s-early 2000s DC cartoons.)

MIRI: BUT you must admit that the individual stylings of the names in the Evolution credits are delightful

CAROLINE: Sure sure. But it has nothing on that music

MIRI: Also the fact that the “credits” have their mutant names, not character names or actors’

CAROLINE: Which I was truly jamming out to while watching these eps

MIRI: Yes, the TAS music is better

CAROLINE: I had the same thought!

About the names

It's adorable

MIRI: Yes!

CAROLINE: And genuinely helpful for new viewers

MIRI: I am utterly mindblown that the two shows were so close together chronologically, because they’re so stylistically different

On every front

CAROLINE: The 90s to early 2000s was a surprisingly big shift

MIRI: TAS ran from 92-97, and Exolution was 2000-2003

(I saw that typo and left it in because I love it)

CAROLINE: And I think both series are REALLY tethered to the eras in which they were released

MIRI: Yeah, they 97 to 2000 jump sounds short, but it looks like TAS stayed very true to itself, so it’s really a difference  between a show started in 92 and one started in 2000, which is much more different

CAROLINE: Agreed

MIRI: Honestly I thought TAS was 80s at first

CAROLINE: It very much feels like that

Again because I think it was so influenced by the comics

MIRI: Whereas Evolution is so self consciously “current”

CAROLINE: And pulls almost entirely from that aesthetic

MIRI: Like, Scott has his stupid sunglasses

Which are so early 2000s and so clearly too flimsy for their intended purpose

CAROLINE: Ha! Totally

Okay: Have we reach any grand X-conclusions here?

MIRI: We seem to mostly think that all X-iterations are good X-iterations

Which may not be earth shattering, but I think is a good thing to explore

They’re trying to do very different things and mostly succeeding

CAROLINE: And that X-Men are a flexible enough idea to handle many different concepts

MIRI: Also, media creators should trust their audiences more than they usually do

CAROLINE: Which I suppose is why they were invented in the first place!

MIRI: Which is true both in TAS and Evolutions, but in different ways!

True!

Basically, it’s a great franchise and should be in everyone’s top 3 at the very least

CAROLINE: There's something for everyone in X-Men!

K: I have a special fondness for Colossus, whom I always played in the old arcade game, and who is the best part of Deadpool. Something something afraid of vulnerability something...

MIRI: What surprised you the most upon rewatch of each?

CAROLINE: Probably the depth of the character drama in both actually

MIRI: Yeah, I would have to agree there. That and how much I loved TAS Rogue. All Rogues are good Rogues, apparently

CAROLINE: #RogueForever

#BlastedSalami

MIRI: Oh, I meant to ask you--why is Jean Grey your favorite character?

CAROLINE: I really love female characters who are super powerful but also afraid and uncertain about their powers

Going back to the "flaws are relatable" thing

And I love that she's fundamentally good

Which I think some people dismiss as "boring"

But which I really love in superheroes

MIRI: That makes total sense and I think I have not given Jean Grey her due in the past

CAROLINE: She's a very easy character to overlook I think

MIRI: I’ve never been anti Jean, just never thought about her that much

Exactly

Well then I’m glad we got some good Jean focus in here!

CAROLINE: Also I feel like the male X-Men always get the most focus

MIRI: Ughhhhhhh so true

CAROLINE: So I'm glad we took a different approach

Rogue and Jean forever!

MIRI: Rogue and Jean forever!!!

CAROLINE: Separately or together

Thanks so much to Caroline for joining us! Remember to follow her on Twitter, and if you feel like it, us too.

X-Men: Evolution is streaming on Hulu.

Of course, we couldn’t leave you without the very early-aughts opening titles:

Plus, the entirety of Bayville Sirens musical superhero suit-up sequence. Please watch it, because life is hard and you deserve good things: