#but so great to watch paget brewster

[isagrimorie]

Criminal Minds Evolution 17x05 - Conspiracy vs Theory

"Ever since I was arrested, I have sold out every value I've held dear. And when you do that, it gets harder and harder to tell the difference between a 'conspiracy' and a conspiracy theory."

[notallwonder]

it's hot as balls here so I guess instead of a nap, it's Time for me to watch the finale, CME 17x10.

Spoilers and nonsense under the cut.

- I can't remember what happened last week. Oh, yeah. Ok

- Toodles, ha ha

- oh RIGHT. Now I remember. My incandescent Nate rage lol.

- I should not watch this mid-afternoon. Can't see shit

- why would Rebecca's mom know about whatever's going on lol

- minimal loss still ringing in my ears a bit. Sadly (bc this is not that)

- Oh Nicholas d'agosto is in this. Bailey?!

- they did SHIT ALL with the immediate aftermath of the cliffhanger. Ok

- fuck I have to switch to a different room it's too hard to see

- ope. he dead. didn't last long, did he. I did giggle at the dripping blood trail

- sorry that explosion that knocked Prentiss over was really funny

- so their cells were designed to create those bonds

- ok Prentiss is "on trial". yeah, who is we?

- I'm sorry every time they say "Peter B." it gives me bachelor/bachelorette related hives. Another symptom of paget-brewster-fan syndrome. will I ever recover

- is there a weird lack of urgency? Like, remembering back to when scratch kidnapped emily I feel like there was more panic among the team. Hm

- Dave, try telling people what you're thinking and where you're going some time

- uh oh. Is the B for Bailey?

- ah. hm. Pete.

- guys, where are we? and what are we doing here?

- not the black and white flashbacks again.

- EXCUSE ME. "I HAVE A SISTER" a whatnow. is she playing Bailey again

- if I could see the things on my teevee screen I could probably figure out who Pete Bailey is played by. his voice is familiar. Wait, is that the guy who played Wyatt in The Fosters? wow ok

- what a mess.

- loving PG's UFO earrings

- this is confusing as hell. and a lot of exposition

- Rebecca's "fuck you" to Vinny was lovely

- fucking hell this is very confusing.

- JJ "this is Emily"...girl I will always love hearing you say her name

- lol I love when the show *almost* roasts profiling

- did she say "your boyfriend's dead because you shot him babe"? why does this feel off to me? It seems too emotional, too angry? Emily's still off kilter?

- THIS FUCKER. YOU LEAVE JENNIFER JAREAU ALONE

- WHATTT. Penelope Garcia with the stare down?! what am I watching

- please break his face jj (but don't, bc he wants you to).

- damn. but also now we've got the exploitation of two female characters we know...and for what? and I think it's safe to assume JJ's not planning to tell Voit's wife...so we're back in not being honest with people territory... what is the point of all this?

- a blue-flamer? that's a new term to me

- "he had a drive...I used to have it..." hmmmmm

- there's a fucklot going on in here.

- well this is not great for our heroes...

- the stakes do not feel high enough for the story they're telling. like...do we really believe emily/the team is in imminent danger? (we do not.)

- omg how convenient, NOW they figure out is a trap lol

- oh sure the projector's just hooked up to the Internet

- ??????

- [god jj is so attractive]

- but what is this like...CW show hero shot montage thingy

- sorry the silly little troublemaker gibberish certificate on the wall in this scene with Clark Gregg is sending me

- "discretion is the better part of valor" and the shame on Emily's face at that

- party at PG's house

- OH NO. NOOOOO. TYLER APPLIED TO THE FBI. OH NOOOOOO. oh no im so shocked

- JJ "I have never been that high, ever" so I was right! she for sure has partaken before

- "we were more miserable apart than together" what a RINGING ENDORSEMENT for your relationship hahahahahaha 🤣

- Rebecca is looking v cute

- I can't with this show. Ahahaha god I'm laughing so hard. I can't explain to anyone how much I love and dislike criminal minds. What it has become. It delights me so much and it is so disappointing.

I'm going to have to rewatch this episode. There's a lot going on here. I will miss Emily Prentiss forever and always. She left some part of herself in London or whatever, and didn't return when Paget came back to the show. I thought her personality returned a bit in s16, and it did...but I don't know if I know her, this her. Anyone else?

The fact they are keeping on Tyler is not surprising. And I don't super care about it, I find him fairly inoffensive in himself, BUT I fear this means Luke will continue to be sidelined and I'm bummed at that. Maybe they will continue having these two bond and that will give Luke more screentime at least. To be extra funny FBI HR should just reject him outright and the team has to do increasingly inane workarounds to keep using him.

And that Voit is still around... Also not surprising given how much they like Zach Gilford. I personally am not tired of him so much as.... confused about what they're doing with him. With Gold Star they made Voit out to be some sort of manipulative genius, kind of mirror universe Reid. But where can they go from here?

And JJ, my beloved. I don't even know what to say there.

Rossi's still hallucinating. Wonder if he will ever do his 4 hours a day therapy lmao.

[scorpsik]

9 people you'd like to get to know better ♡

Thank you @hancydrewfan

last song: Everywhere - the opening track from The Cranes 'Forever' album. Great goth album from the early 90's. Just takes me someplace magical.

favourite colour: Purple. Raelee Hill knitted me a purple scarf once!!!

currently watching: The Shield (again) - the show is absolute perfection in my opinion - and groundbreaking for its use of direction and editing. Also rewatch Breaking Bad and The Leftovers pretty regularly too!!

last movie: God, don't expect anything modern or mainstream!! The Disappearance Of Alice Creed (twisty turny twisty twisty thriller). And I'm going to watch the horror flick 'Triangle' (the Melissa George one) tonight on DVD.

currently reading: I just finished Masters of Make Up Effects by Howard Berger. But I am engrossed in a couple fanfictions.

sweet/spicy/savoury: Sweet, for my sins.

relationship status: Single

current obsession: Paget Brewster/Emily Prentiss... art... fanfic.. models.

last thing i googled: Plant fertiliser

currently working on: Three fanfic requests and a Prentiss painting.

ahhh, to tag or not to tag, the anxiety-inducing question. please feel no pressure to do these, but i tag @tedwinisconfused @leftoverenvy @introverted-author @lex13cm @grandhike @aliprentiss77 @velvetblackness @just-a-torn-up-masterpiece @imahealer-but and anyone who sees this and wants to answer them (tag me so i can read them if you do!)

[danielleitloudernow]

Thanks for the tag @thewillowtree3

Last song? Dance, Dance by Fall Out Boy was playing at the end of my baking yesterday. Couldn't tell you what I heard in the car. I know it was Firehouse, but I'm not sure if it was All She Wrote or Don't Treat Me Bad. We were too busy laughing about my wife literally singing Firehouse every. day. and not knowing who they were when I told her they were gonna be at the fair (last year).

Last Movie/Show? Last movie was Silent Hill (I wanted to watch it because it of the cop, my sister, and all the fog we'd had lately (my brain is a weird place)). Last show was Warrior Nun. I'm late on the bandwagon for that one, but I hella love it and am belatedly pissed at Netflix for their stupidity. We also watch a fuckton of paranormal shit, cooking shows, and fix-it TV.

Favorite Color? Depends on the day, but 💙💜🖤 are staples.

Savory, sweet, or spicy? All of them. I love food and I love to cook. Give me a nice balance? Holy fuck.

Last thing I searched? Home Depot because I am that lesbian. And that might not be right, now that I think about it. I googled easy frosting roses so I could decorate a cake.

Current Obsession? Honestly? A lot of medical shit. Like, there's so much going on in my life there's not room for anything else in my head. Umm, if I had to pick I'd say getting back into writing again. Paget Brewster. Kristina Tonteri-Young's IMDB photo. Mass Effect. My fat cat. Good cologne. Learning to cook something vegan for a friend. My wife, always 😘

Last book? I'm working on reading The Murderbot Diaries. I'm on 6, I think? I'm currently reading Nettle & Bone. Working on Ruins of the Empire. Also reading the Mass Effect comics, but don't ask me what they're called since I'm reading the omnibus edition. I have a bookmark in The Huntress as well as Cunt. Umm....I like to read, so I kind of lose track 🤣 PS- none of those are italicized because my phone decided this paragraph needs to be ALL italicized or NOT. Dick.

Last fic? Almost Like Being In Love by urdnot_wrekt on ao3. Mass Effect FemShep/Liara. It was cute.

Looking forward to? Hopefully finishing writing a fic soon? Starting working out again? Having a moment to breathe with my wife... that would be great.

I'll shoot tags to @blackbird-brewster @threehoursfromtroy @girl4music @ssgay-jareau @unitchiefs-blackbirdphoenix @cargopantsprentiss @tedwinisconfused and anyone who sees this that wants to play. Just tag me so I can see your answers, please? Cheers!

thank u thank u @fiddleleafedfig for the tag !!

nine people you want to get to know better

last song: when i opened the tag, 'alien blues' by vundabar but currently i'm listening to hozier 'would that i'. as of finishing writing this, radiohead. there you have it.

favourite colour: a deep cherry red. the kind that would make a really lovely lipstick gloss.

last movie/tv show: i'm terrible with shows and movies, but i was watching the bowie doco (moonage daydream) the other day, keeping on brand ik. i also love british comedians so 'would i lie to you?' is probably up there as well.

sweet/savoury/spicy: sweet if it is really well done. i'm talking specifically that one pub down by where i live that for some reason makes the best chocolate lava cake ever. if not, savoury forever.

last thing i googled: beatles guitar songs for beginners. i've decided to relearn guitar and i'm back to the absolute basics.

current obsession: concerts! this is a long-standing love but it is very evident lately. the way concerts down here work is that no one comes for years bc of the trek to aus, and then randomly there's this one month period where everybody is here at once and suddenly i have to choose between favs. that has been this month! hard on the bank account but my soul is thriving with a concert every other week. saw noah kahan, it was life-altering.

last book: i'm between the '50 yrs of led zeppelin' biography by mick wall, and 'anna karenina' by tolstoy atm. (adding it) last fic: blends by rvltn909. finished it yesterday and oh my god. the crime that was me putting it off.

looking forward to: still a little ways away, but i'm moving to america for (my) winter-spring!! i've work in the states, which i'm thrilled abt. it also means i am tracking down artists who refuse to concert in aus (hozier for the love of god) and trying to sneak them in as well.

np tags (apologies if you've already been tagged): @fairylittlebitch @alltoounwellll @the-moon-says-hi @just--vi @whyistarchaser @bellaxisworld @feminist-cult-following @none-of-it-was-accidental @svnflowermoon + ofc anybody else who wants to. tag me. let me know you all.

[gonzo-rella]

Headcanons: Dating Frankie Dart

MASTERLIST | AO3 | KO-FI

Requested by: Anon

can i get some general dating hcs for frankie dart please? theres like no fanfic for her and i love the way you write!

Relationship(s): Frankie Dart x gn!reader (romantic)

Warnings: None! (Let me know if I need to add any)

(A/N: As Anon said, there’s pretty much no Frankie fanfic out there, so I’m going to try to change that. Feel free to send in any and all Frankie requests! On a semi-unrelated note, I’m such a simp for Paget Brewster that I might start watching Criminal Minds just for her. Well, her and Garcia; Garcia’s cute too. And, yes, I’ve read so much Criminal Minds fanfiction despite having never watched it. If you want me to start watching Criminal Minds so I can write for it, let me know. I’ve been meaning to watch it for ages and I’ll probably watch it if I get peer pressured into it.)

When Frankie developed feelings for you, she asked you out almost immediately.

She was so straightforward, calm and collected when asking you out that it was impressive...and perhaps a little too reminiscent of a business transaction.

“Y/N, I’m attracted to you. Romantically. However, if you’re not attracted to me, I understand. A response would be appreciated.”

“Uh...sure, I like you too.”

“Great. I’ll get us reservations at Olive Garden for 7 PM this Friday.” 

Frankie’s the kind of girlfriend who will also function as your very own human calendar.

You have an appointment at some point that day?

You can bet she’ll send you a reminder via text before even sending you a ‘good morning’ text.

Your friend’s birthday is coming up?

She’ll remind you a few days prior so you don’t forget to buy a present and card.

Speaking of, she’d never forget any important dates, such as your birthday, your anniversary etc.

If you’re a fan of parties, she’ll definitely organise one for any of those things, even if she herself prefers the organisation over the actual party.

Her love language is, without a doubt, acts of service. 

If she finds out something in your apartment is broken, she’ll get it repaired ASAP.

If you’re tired after a long day at work, she’ll make you dinner.

Whether or not you’re a Greendale student or a member of the Study Group, she’d prefer to keep your relationship under wraps for as long as possible, mostly hiding it from those at Greendale.

If you’re not a Greendale student, Annie would probably find out about you through some “light internet...stalking” as she put it.

If you are a Greendale student, hiding your relationship from Jeff, Annie, Britta, Abed and the others would be no easy feat. They’d definitely find out about it within a few months.

Frankie isn’t that big of a fan of PDA, nor is she very affectionate in general. 

Still, she’ll be affectionate occasionally if it makes you happy, and she’s comfortable with you being affectionate to her.

When you’re interested in and passionate about something, she’ll definitely research it until she’s almost as knowledgeable about it as you.

She also likes getting into things with you, such as learning a knew skill with you.

Frankie remembers almost every little detail about you, and it often surprises you because most of those things are things you mentioned in passing and don’t even remember telling her.

Frankie’s incredible at reading you. 

When she realises something’s wrong, her immediate response will be to try to fix the problem.

If/when she realises there’s not much she can do to solve the problem itself, she will, instead, do her best to comfort you.

She’ll get you your favourite snacks, put on your favourite show or movie(s), grab a blanket and do basically anything that she knows will make you feel even just a tad better.

Despite being a fairly realistic person, Frankie would adore and perhaps even idealise you, but definitely not to a point where you could ever let her down.

To her, you are the best person in the world.

You’re not some divine being or anything like that; you’re you, and that’s enough to make Frankie fall head-over-heels in love with you.

[literateleah]

the paradox of emily prentiss’ audience perception and character design

some of y’all about to be real mad at me, but it must be said:

emily prentiss’ character design makes no sense: my personal opinion + an objective analysis

i think it can be challenging to separate the versions of characters we have in our little brains from actual canon content, but doing so is important for understanding what those characters are truly like, especially within the context of their environment and in contrast to others around them. plus developing a deeper understanding of the media we consume is super fun and interesting! with that being said: emily prentiss should not work for the fbi and here’s why (in three parts regarding who’s responsible: cbs, paget, and fans) (sit down and grab a snack i promise this is over 3k words)

quick disclaimer: i don’t dislike emily at all! that’s my girl, i just looked closer and realized some funky things the writers did and felt the need to analyze her of course: so let’s get into it

part one: what cbs did

cbs set the stage for emily’s introduction on the heels of the departure of lola glaudini as elle greenaway! lola has clarified that she decided to leave the show because filming in los angeles was not the best environment for her personally, and after one successful season on a major network (but not much established long term plot or drama beyond elle’s departure as a character) a consistent ensemble cast was required- particularly because the bau had been criticized for being predominantly male in the first few episodes of the show and not much development was given to penelope or jj yet. enter emily prentiss.

for the duration of seasons 2-3ish, emily was framed as a chip off the block that was elle greenaway, just slightly…richer? in her first few episodes emily was hesitantly polite but ambitious, clean cut, intellectually concise and held her own within the team. she seemed equal parts intimidated and frustrated by her male superiors (gideon, hotch) but certainly proves herself among other profilers. her childhood was explored only within reference to her strained relationship with her mother (which was only ever referenced once more after the fact) and we received a short overview of her educational and career history in her first few episodes. emily fit right into the hole elle had left, and didn’t have many major storylines yet.

seasons 4-6 brought a bit more development and depth to emily’s character! she begins dropping more snarky remarks, one liners, and socially deepening her relationships with the other team members. this seems more within the lines of elle’s design, but emily arguably took more time to grow into her place within the team. during the foyet arc she was vulnerable and supportive, and the doyle arc gave her some independence and agency she didn’t have previously. this era also solidified her appearance and persona as more edgy, which falls in line with general fanon perception of her character (especially when compared to jj or penelope). i can’t address this era or season 7 without mentioning that cbs was actively trying to remove paget from the cast, similar to how they did to aj cook as well. paget has spoken about this instance before, and i believe it slightly affected her portrayal of her character, and “lauren” was somewhat of a goodbye for both paget and emily (thus why she wished for mgg to direct since they were best friends).

season 7: in my opinion, one of the best seasons for emily. she was wisened and deeply wounded by her experiences with doyle, which was understandable of course. she returned to the team she loved and learned to appreciate life in a different way, remaining mature during this time period as well! though her departure was a bit less than graceful and sudden at the end of this season, it made sense compared to some other exits the team had seen.

now *sigh* all the rest.

paget as emily appears in two separate guest appearances (once in s9 and once in s11, and she is referenced offscreen as well) before permanently reprising her role as unit chief of the bau. these appearances were most likely to boost ratings and get the team back together (i.e. 200) or just to pepper in international cases (tribute). emily’s personality remains pretty consistent here, just more mature and comfortable in leadership positions (seeing as she is running an entire branch of an international law enforcement organization). then season 12 hit.

upon the departure of thomas gibson as hotch, cbs reached out to paget to see if she would be interested in fulfilling her role as emily within a longer term unit chief position. i’ll get into why this is wack in a few paragraphs, but the remainder of her time on the show is spent on a mature portrayal that seems very distant from her previous versions. emily is more authoritative, gives orders with ease, and has no qualms about leading a team of agents or even receiving promotion offers as director of the entire bureau.

thus concludes a general summary of the canon content cbs gave us as viewers. now let's talk about what they didn’t give us, regrettably

the primary aspect of emily’s design that comes to mind for many is her queer coding. though not much was to be expected from cbs, a prime time cable tv network, each of her relationships on the show (all with men) seemed oddly forced, and without much chemistry as compared to the SOs of other main characters. rumors of scrapped plotlines have floated around about what may have been, but the ultimate lack of acknowledgement of any queer characters in the main ensemble still leaves a feeling of disappointment to audiences, and leaves more to be desired as for how emily navigates social bonds.

part two (sidebar): what paget did

i think it could be agreed within audiences that paget brewster’s portrayal of emily made the role what it was! her dry witty delivery and emotional prowess combined with sitcom acting experience made her performance a mainstay for years. i think she did the best she could with a confusing and at times flat characterization, and brought the role to life.

paget also heavily contributes to fanon indirectly with her comments outside of the show (press, cameos, twitter etc). her general continued interest and fondness for the role post production affects fan perception, particularly in what she chooses to elevate and comment on. she and aj have both spoken about viewing jemily content, and paget and thomas have both also commented on hotchniss. most cast members feel free to comment on their characters in the appropriate timing, and seem open to discussing fanon ships and theories outside of canon!

part three: what fanon did

as we can tell from this fan space as well as the presence on insta, tik tok and twitter, fans LATCHED onto emily super quickly. she’s remained a favorite over the years, and this fan persistence is what brought her back so many times after leaving (so many times). in my opinion, queer coding and a bolder female trope (in contrast to her female counterparts) are the main pulls because they resonated with so many fans- new and old. with that being said, newer fans of the show in the past year in particular have been heavily influential in fanon, solely because of the large influx of fan content and popularity of it.

fan content began to take coding and bite size moments and snippets from the show as canon, and cemented it into much of the content and discourse they created. these small pieces of emily’s character are significant, but have become magnified by how easily they are to share and edit. for example, a collection of catchy one liners from emily over the seasons makes for a great video edit intro, or gifset! there’s absolutely no problem with this content, it just all combines to create a certain fanon perception no character escapes (this isn’t a phenomenon limited to emily or the cm fandom!)

these droves of content also solidified emily’s personality as much more defined, but at the same time, simplified it in a way that’s slightly harder to explain.

fanon: more emo/goth than canon basis

fanon: more introverted/anti social than canon basis

fanon: more violent/chaotic when canon emily is relatively well mannered and doesn’t start many conflicts (particularly in the workspace)

fanon: much less maternal when canon emily displays desire on multiple occasions (even crossing professional borders) for children, particularly teenage girls (possibly projection)

(again, nothing wrong with this interpretation at all and it still varies! This is just a generalization based on most of the popular content i have seen)

part 4: why it doesn’t work

let me start with this: emily prentiss does not like her job.

we don’t receive much in depth information about emily’s internal feelings and thoughts towards her mother beyond resentment. this stems from wanting to make it on her own, as a professional and as an individual (cough cough college deposits). this makes emily’s insistence on proving herself to authority figures in her earlier seasons is interesting to watch in different circumstances. she cites her experience and denies help from her mother when justifying her placement in the bau to hotch, she is extra vigilant about being helpful on her first case with gideon, etc. nevertheless, emily forges her own path outside of diplomacy and becomes a successful profiler and agent, with the help of her privilege, wealth and name whether she likes it or not. but if we read between the lines and fill in the blanks cbs neglected, these ambitions may subconsciously be oriented towards pleasing her mother.

example one: emily’s authority issues go further than just “rebellion” or “anarchy”, she frequently questions the ethics and sustainability of the work that the bau does. every team member does this, but emily much more so than anybody else.

in “amplification”, emily almost breaks federal protocol to inform civilians of anthrax threats. she butts heads with both hotch and rossi on this front, and ends the episode with having a conversation with rossi about the ethics of lying in their line of work. emily resigns to a solemn “it be like that” and moves along, accepting this reality.

on multiple different occasions emily laments to derek about the darkness she sees on the job, and it’s shown that this gets to her quickly on particularly bad cases. this is another contradiction of the design that she can supposedly “compartmentalize” better than others on the team, when she cannot unless the lives of others are at risk (doyle arc, s7 finale).

emily also responds in this way to many cases involving children, a similarity to jj many don’t notice upon first watching the series. “seven seconds” and “children of the dark” come to mind, during the latter in which emily is prepared to cross multiple professional lines to adopt a teenage girl left orphaned by the case, until hotch stops her and establishes that her emotions can’t rule her judgement on the job. regardless of hotch’s thoughts about her attempted caretaking abilities, these actions and impulses deeply contradict the typical bureaucratic pathways of the work the bau does.

the looming reputation of her mother’s diplomatic history hangs over emily, and after going to law school and working for the cia, she most likely did want to forge her own path as far away from being a socialite: being a spy. her inner nature doesn’t always reflect this profession, and leads me to believe that with her knowledge of psychology, law procedure and care for children: emily prentiss might be more inclined to working in social work, placing suffering children and teenagers in homes they deserve.

and finally, the hill i will die on: emily prentiss was an bad unit chief

this wonderful post touches on my general sentiment, but there were many reasons as to why emily prentiss’ career arc makes little to no sense (plot holes included).

first: her background. emily attended chesapeake bay university as well as yale and achieved a ba in criminal justice. keep in mind that though timelines evidently don’t exist in the cm universe, emily prentiss is ONE YEAR older than aaron hotchner (for context). in her first episode, she professes that she has worked for the bureau for a little under ten years in midwestern offices- something the audience laters knows to not be true. emily worked with the cia and interpol as a part of a profiling team and undercover agent up until roughly TWO YEARS before her canon introduction. plot holes and time gaps aside, this makes me wonder, why didn’t she just say the cia was a backstop without revealing the highly confidential nature of her work with doyle (similar to jj’s state department backstop and cover story)? penelope or hotch could have easily accessed her file and seen that she did not in fact have experience with the bureau in midwestern offices recently, and given the fact that erin strauss set up her bau placement, i’m presuming these formalities or references were overlooked.

second: her experience within the team. emily worked as a part of the bau with the bureau for roughly 6 or 7 years. after this, she is invited to run the entire london branch of interpol, one of the most renowned international law enforcement organizations. i’m surely not the most knowledgeable on requirements or standard timelines for such matters, but with the fact that emily had never led a team in her life (not in the bau or interpol previously) and had roughly 10 years of field experience, i don’t believe she would have ever realistically been considered eligible to run the whole london department.

third: her return to the bureau. fanon depiction of their relationship aside, if you believe aaron hotchner’s last wish before going into witsec was to entrust his team to emily prentiss, you’re dead mistaken. bringing emily back was clearly a pull for ratings after the loss of two main characters (hotch and derek), but logistically a bad decision. let’s suppose emily has had 4 or 5 years of experience in london now, this established authority position would be unlikely to change at the drop of a hat, even for old teammates or friends. also considering how close they were after a decade of working closely in bureaucratic and field contexts, i firmly believe hotch would have referred jj for the job of unit chief but that’s another discussion for another time.

emily’s reign as unit chief is odd, because of the many chaotic storylines crammed into it. but amidst bad writing and viewings plummeting, emily’s character is completely flattened. completely. emily is unrecognizable, both in appearance (that god awful wig) and personality. at times she acts as a complete wise authority, giving orders and delegating local authorities as hotch did. but at other times she makes multiple illegal, emotional, and incorrect judgement calls based on personal circumstances that lead to further chaos (deleting the recording of her and reid’s mexico conversation and reprimanding luke in “luke” for the exact same thing she did in season 6 even though she enabled her to do so come to mind).

i’m not sure if this is due to paget trying to find her footing in the role again, or the writer’s bad decisions towards the end of the show wrecking any previous design for their ensemble. then, there’s the infamous “wheels up” scene in s13e1. notoriously cringey, this seems like a vague caricature of something rossi would say many years in the past (the same goes for her pep talk in “red light” in the hunt for diana reid). these moments are meant to mature emily in the audience’s eye, but instead completely removed her from who we understood her to be, and made her an unreliable leader.

part five: and why it does

in theory, emily was a bolder foil to jj, similar to elle who she arguably replaced at first. she came into her own, and stands as a more uniquely developed character than almost any other in the main ensemble. she isn’t as maternal or domestically inspiring as canon jj, less bright and sunny than penelope, not quite as stoic or intimidating as derek or hotch. And yet at the same time, she’s a fairly blank slate. stripping fanon content away entirely, canon emily has few defining traits (all of which are constantly changing), and that may be the key to why we love her so much.

[maschotch]

same anon swinging in at the end of the hour to ask for any headcanons for elle?

elle greenaway

first impression: ok dont hate me for this akjsdhgal but i started watching cm for paget brewster and i was just counting down the episodes until she left and emily came in

impression now: actually one of the best criminal minds characters. she's just so fucking great and no one matched her power. even though she was only there for a season, her impact changed so many characters

favorite moment: p911 "i told you to stay out of the field" "well reid said you wanted us here." "what? no i didnt" "yes you did!"

idea for a story: vigilante elle vigilante elle vigilante elle vigilante elle vigilante elle vigilante elle

unpopular opinion: this is the only thing i could think of but i do not like the episode derailed i think its boring/overhyped

favorite relationship: bro her relationship w reid... god. especially season two? the way that he's her anchor? the way she LOOKS at him when she first comes back? fuck

favorite headcanon: she's a lightweight but she's embarrassed about it

[everyepisodeofcommunity]

100.

Basic Crisis Room Decorum.

100 episodes is the threshold a show traditionally needs to cross in order to be rerun in syndication. That’s a thing which I know is true, but, being British, I don’t totally understand what that means or why it’s the case. Still - the random number generator has today dropped us on the exact episode where Community hits triple digits, and gives us our first visit to the Actually Pretty Good sixth season.

When Community was first airing, I stopped watching during season 4 and never picked it up again, and only recently saw season six for the first time here in the present (2021ish) and I quite liked it. It rarely has the sheer electricity or frequency of laugh out loud jokes of Seasons 1 and 2 but it also doesn’t have most of the stuff I found occasionally noxious in Seasons 3, 4 and 5. It’s a smaller and less ambitious show, but a fun one. 

And this is one of its smallest and most fun episodes. There’s definitely an alternate timeline version of BCRD (everyone’s calling it that) that takes place entirely in the Study Room in real-time, but even without strictly adhering to the limits, this has the compressed and focussed feel of a bottle episode, for the most part. The downside of that is that it doesn’t feel particularly bold or new - Abed’s position here mirrors his control room work when the gang didn’t really go to space - but we are seeing new characters and their dynamics with the group, this is a strong Frankie ep and I think only the second appearance of Elroy? (I try to work from a fresh watch of the episode alone when writing these, I could check this but I won’t). I am as close to a full on Frankie stan as you can get while hating Ayn Rand and she is perfect throughout this episode - her opening gag of only resting one half of her brain at a time, her bonding with Annie, actually the best part of this episode is the Annie - Frankie - Jeff triangle, as they bounce off their different views of what does and does not matter in the situation, the idea of the truth and our old friend moral relativism (booyah). 

Elroy doesn’t contribute a huge amount here but he’s good when he does - the introduction of Natalie Is Freezing is a weird new part of the Community mythos and it’s a shame that we never reach the chorus of Pillar of Garbage because that is a SPOT on 90s radio-alt-rock parody, full marks to everyone involved in composing and recording the snippet. It also gives Britta one thing to do in an episode that otherwise kind of serves as the nadir of the Homer-Simpsonification of her character - she enters stage left and immediately shits her pants because she’s so drunk, even though she is clearly not shit-your-pants drunk, a level of drunk I understand to exist that is absolutely not being exhibited here and would be very hard to achieve while tending bar well enough to not get fired. IMHO. Other than that, she’s barely in this episode which maybe speaks to the writers figuring out this version of the ensemble - where does Britta fit in if Jeff and Frankie are arguing the philosophy of law and butting heads with the ever idealistic Annie? 

I’m sure they’d have figured it out in season 7. If a dog can almost get a degree, what can’t a talented writing staff achieve? (........ making Chang work, I guess, but, you know, there are no perfect shows) 

NOTES

- I don’t love the business with The Dean and the Japanese teenagers with their comically broken English. Firstly because it feels DICEY, but secondly because it’s one of those things that seems to operate on a separate level of cartoon reality. And I’m not a Plot Hole Hunter TV Sins guy by any means, I don’t care if shit makes sense or not, but I care a lot about Feel and Tone and this just feels like it’s from a wackier show. Yes, wackier than the one about investigating wether a community college almost gave a degree to a dog! 

- On the other hand, it does bless us with Jeff’s reaction to The Dean putting down the olives which is very funny in a strange understated way  - “I’m really confused by this” is a great line reading 

- You know who else has great line readings? Paget Brewster. From her immediate leap into no-nonsense texting to her bonding with Annie over their shared love of competence and I love the “Jeff said I sounded like Abed” to “You know he’s unstable right?” run. It makes sense that Frankie is the person who recognises that it’s fucking weird that they all just hang out with Chang 

- Ugh, fine, quickly - the Chang pornography thing is horrible and not funny and I hate it! 

- There’s a LOT of Craig in this episode and I’m not a huge fan of that (The Dean works best in small tactical bursts, imho) but he is great in the closing infomercial. 

- Big fan of Abed’s 0 degree turn into “The Attack Ad” tone of voice 

- Truly, truly great Facial Expression Acting from Alison Brie, Paget Brewster and Jim Rash in the scene where they discover the nature of the attack ad and Frankie asks the big question. Perfect moment.

[drummergirl231-2]

18 Days ‘Til the Season 3 Premiere!

This next S2 episode on the countdown will be tricky... the whole thing was my favorite moment.

“What Ever Happened to Della Duck?!”

I mean start to finish, this episode was breathtaking. The epic intro sequence of Della’s flight and crash was so beautifully animated and the music score was flawless. Paget Brewster was incredible throughout the entire episode.

The part of the episode I watch the most often is Della’s first transmission she thinks she’s sending to Earth. Her enthusiasm and optimism, constantly in danger of being snuffed out by despair, instantly endeared Della to so many as a complex, three-dimensional character who, yes, loves adventure, but contrary to many fans’ earlier beliefs, loves her family more.

There was nothing whatsoever in that gum to give Della the will to live. That all came from the love she had for her family.

The entire sequence of her first attempt to rebuild the rocket was so cute, and at times gave me major Gadget Hackwrench vibes. Having the Moon Theme playing throughout made it even better. More on that in a little bit.

It was great to see that similarity she shares with Louie, especially considering so much of Season 2 was focused on Louie learning to utilize that skill. 

And THEN:

They made the Moon Theme a lullaby!!!  I’d speculated the Della theme that’d play whenever the Spear of Selene was mentioned could potentially be a lullaby, but they made the Moon Theme Della’s lullaby instead, and even better, it’s one she wrote for her boys herself and would sing to them before they hatched! My heart can’t deal.

There are so many other things I loved in this episode, like seeing Della take of her prosthesis and work on it, or the return of her optimism when the Moonlanders brought her to Tranquility. 

Considering Della had never been a part of Disney animation before, the show creators had quite the monumental task of creating an episode that properly introduced her, and they did that flawlessly. Della is the Disney duck I never knew I always needed in my life, and I’m so happy she’s main cast now.

[pagetgram]

Paget Brewster, Bay Dariz, and Oliver Thompson at the 18th Annual Dance With Films Festival Opening Night Party (x)

Paget: “I had worked with Kyle and Molly before. Molly sent me the script and my first thought was, “Ugh, first-time indie director — oh man, I don’t know!” And then I read it and instantly fell in love with the story. I’ve never read anything like it. So I emailed Molly back right away and said, “What do I have to do to get on this film?”  

(full interview below)

Interview: Oliver Thompson’s ‘Welcome to Happiness’ Is the Most Original Indie You’ll See This Year

by Danny Miller, for Cinehiled

Welcome to Happiness is a wildly entertaining metaphysical drama about a children’s book author, Woody (American Sniper’s Kyle Gallner), who is the secret gatekeeper to a magical door in his closet. Strangers show up at his apartment and go through a series of questions and tests, provided to Woody by an old dot matrix printer that seems to work autonomously, letting him determine whether or not they are worthy to pass through the door. Where they are headed and what they will encounter on the other side, however, is a mystery. Oliver Thompson’s first feature is one of the most refreshingly original films that I’ve seen in a long time. It had a jam-packed screening last night at the 18th Annual Dances With Films festival in Hollywood and recently won the Outstanding Achievement in Filmmaking Award at the 2015 Newport Beach Film Festival. Welcome to Happiness boasts an impressive cast including Nick Offerman, Paget Brewster, Frances Conroy, Brendan Sexton III, Olivia Thirlby, Molly C. Quinn, Keegan Michael-Key, and Josh Brener. Just before the film’s Los Angeles premiere, I sat down with writer/director Oliver Thompson, producer Bay Dariz, and cast members Paget Brewster and Brendan Sexton III. I sat down with writer/director Oliver Thompson, producer Bay Dariz, and cast members Paget Brewster and Brendan Sexton III.

Danny Miller: I loved this movie but as I was watching it I kept thinking that no studio would have allowed you to make it. They probably would have forced a lot of changes on you because they wouldn’t have trusted that audiences would “get it.”

Oliver Thompson: Oh, they absolutely would have, yes.

Paget Brewster: This could never have been a studio film.

Oliver: I mean, those are absolutely necessary people who are just doing their jobs.

But are they absolutely necessary? I guess I’m thinking of the 22-year-old studio executives giving you pages and pages of insane notes to make the film less “challenging.”

Ooh, that’s pretty accurate.

What I love about movies like this is that they’re like Rorschach tests — I doubt two people seeing it will have the same impression of what’s going on.

Brendan Dean Sexton III: We’ve certainly heard from people who completely identify with different characters.

Brendan, I think I identified most with your character, Nyles, I’m a little terrified to admit.

Bay Dariz: When you say “challenging,” I think that’s true in the sense that the movie challenges the way audience members look at life, but I don’t think it’s some weird art film that’s inaccessible.

Right. It’s more challenging for studio executives who think moviegoers need to always have the answers and know what’s happening.

Brendan: Yeah, I think “challenging” is a good word to use. The characters in the film are challenged to make some decisions after they walk through the door and the film challenges you in terms of how you think about humanity and the meaning of life.

I loved that we didn’t see what happened when they went through that door. Oliver did you ever consider showing that more explicitly?

Oliver: Never! It was suggested to me one time by a producer but I really think that would have wrecked the film.

Paget and Brendan, you are both such busy actors and you and the rest of the cast obviously don’t choose to be in a film like this for a big pay day. What drew you to the project?

Paget: I had worked with Kyle and Molly before. Molly sent me the script and my first thought was, “Ugh, first-time indie director — oh man, I don’t know!” And then I read it and instantly fell in love with the story. I’ve never read anything like it. So I emailed Molly back right away and said, “What do I have to do to get on this film?”

Bay: Molly showed us that email, by the way, did you know that? We all said, “Whaaat?! Paget Brewster is excited about US?”

Paget: Oh my God, really? But it was such an evocative script and I think the movie came together even more beautifully than what you see on the page. The themes are just extraordinary, you don’t find that very often.

Brendan: Yeah, I thought it was a visually compelling literary script that moved really well. Not only was it a great role and a great script, it also tackled big things. Just reading a great script is such a rare thing — getting a chance to be involved with one is an even rarer treat, especially a film that really tackles the human condition.

I love all the little touches like making Kyle Gallner’s Woody a children’s book author.

Oliver: I wanted him to have a certain innocence about him. I used to be a music teacher at a small private school in Michigan — I wanted to have him involved with kids in some way. I toyed with the idea of making him a teacher or even a nanny, but then I went with a more literary approach.

I love that you showed all those children’s books that he wrote. I know they weren’t real but I so wanted them!

What’s crazy is that there’s so much more to those fake books that what you see on the screen. We show the cool front covers but they all have back covers, too, with a photo of Woody, a bio, bar codes, even prices for the U.S. and Canada. Some of those books were completely written and illustrated by Bay!

I love that attention to detail, you should really sell them! How has it been showing the film to audiences?

Before Dances With Films, we only screened it at the Newport Beach Film Festival so far. The audience reaction was overwhelmingly positive — it was just fantastic, better than we could have ever imagined.

It’s crazy that you don’t have a distributor yet but I’m sure that will change very shortly.

We’ve had some people from that world sit down with us and try to prepare us for what we’ll probably hear: “You have to cut the film down to 90 minutes! Change the title! What were you thinking starting your title with a ‘W’?!”

Why is that bad?

Because when you’re on HBO GO, it’ll come up at the end of the alphabetical list.

Oy. Do audience members try to get you to tell them what the film means?

At Newport Beach, we had a phenomenal Q&A after the film. People asked very meaningful questions about things we couldn’t even believe they noticed. We went so long that the theater finally had to kick us out because they were turning off the lights. As far as what the film is about, I don’t think I’m in a place yet to pull the David Lynch “you figure it out on your own” card, but I’d love to get to that place. I think I have to be a little more giving but to tell the truth, it’s fun to talk about that.

You should give wildly different answers every time someone asks you to explain the film.

(Laughs.) That would be great. Did you see that documentary Room 237 about all the supposed meanings behind Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining?

Paget: Oh, that was great! All these conspiracy theorists saying that Kubrick was trying to tell us that we faked the moon landing.

Oliver: Yeah, they presented several different crazy theories including that it was really about the genocide of Native Americans!

You want it to be like that Marshall McLuhan scene in Annie Hall when McLuhan appears in that movie line to tell the pretentious blowhard that all of his theories about his film were total bullshit!

Oliver: I haven’t heard any crazy theories about Welcome to Happiness yet, but who knows?

Brendan: I think the world Oliver created here is so rich and compelling it could lead to crazy theories. I think it would make a great TV show, too.

Oliver: Well, two of my biggest influences for this film were Twin Peaks and Lost. They were buzzing around my head when I wrote this script.

Brendan: You could have a new case every week or maybe focus on three different characters each season who go through the door and see how they intertwine.

Bay: Sshhh! It’s been discussed!

Just promise me you’ll have a series finale that’s less aggravating than the one on Lost!

Oliver: I don’t know. I realize that ending didn’t really answer a lot of questions but I was pretty moved by it. In my opinion, people think they want all the answers, but they really don’t.

Paget: And we’re still talking about that finale five years after the show went off the air! I think that kind of response is a lot better than an ending that is just “meh.”

Oliver: I heard director Nicolas Winding Refn say that if you’ve made something that half the people love and half the people hate, you’ve made something great. But if you make something that everyone loves or everyone hates, you probably haven’t succeeded because it didn’t really penetrate.

He doesn’t have to worry about the lack of people hating his most recent film!

The truth is, I’m very aware that this movie is not for everyone. But look at how many viewers Lost had each week. There was never a more challenging hour on TV! “What did I just watch? I have no idea what’s going on!” And yet people tuned in. I really believe there’s an audience for that kind of stuff. People are smart — they like to think. It’s just that a lot of people controlling the money don’t always realize that people like to be engaged or challenged with thought-provoking material.

Bay: One thing I noticed about our Q&As is that we don’t get a lot of those typical film festival questions.

Oliver: Right. “What did you shoot it on? How long was your shoot?”

Ugh. Who gives a shit?

That’s the thing. In this case, people got right to the heart of the film and wanted to talk about the characters and the themes. People were so engaged by what was on the screen that they didn’t care about what was behind the screen.

[darringauthier]

Batman And Harley Quinn (2017)

Genre: Animation/Super Hero

Who’s Voices Are In It: Kevin Conroy, Melissa Rauch, Paget Brewster, Kevin Michael Richardson, Loren Lester

Who Directed It: Sam Liu

Plot:  Batman and Nightwing are forced to team with the Joker's sometimes-girlfriend Harley Quinn to stop a global threat brought about by Poison Ivy and Jason Woodrue, the Floronic Man.

Running Time: 74 Minutes

IMDB Score: 5.9 

Why I Watched It: Really like the DC animation films and have being doing catch up trying to watch all of the ones I missed.

How I Watched It: iTunes

Random Thoughts: No doubt Harley Quinn as a character has blown up, she’d been around in comics for a long while but with Suicide Squad and Birds Of Prey live action films doing good business DC also decided to not only have her in animated Suicide Squad but also team her with Batman  I like the character and I like the fact thy’re focusing on her humor.  

What I Like: Of all the DC animated films I’ve seen I have to say this one is the funniest, I wasn’t excepting it but I enjoyed it a lot cause they went for a lighter tone.  DC live action has a repetition of being heavy, humorless even now to be fair the animation does a better job of mixing it up but in the end most of the stories have heavy tones and this one does and they take it serious but they also have lots of fun with the Harley Quinn character and also Nightwing.  Yes I point should be made that the title is Batman and Harley Quinn but Nightwing plays a big role as well.

The plot is fine, we get Poison Ivy in here and Swamp Thing shows up for a bit, the plot moves well and it’s your basic Super Hero story the good guys have to band together to stop the bad guys from destroying mankind but in this one the team up is the thing Quinn and Batman make the plot work and the story is there but it’s the interaction that makes it enjoyable.

Voice work as always is top notch we have Kevin Conroy back as Batman, always nice to hear his voice and he’s good here but the star of the show is Melissa Rauch she’s great, very funny and also very manic, she’s got great comic timing and her stuff is so good and of course she can go a million miles a hour.  Really the film is a mixed match buddy cop comedy and the two leads play great off each other.

What I Didn’t Like: I can see how some purists might not like this, it is very slight and some might not like the humor for me it works but yup the plot is very slight and really isn’t that great and honestly you really don’t take it that seriously.

The only voice work I didn’t care for was Paget Brewster as Poison Ivy, was just not the right voice for the character she comes off weak and a little lack luster.

Final Thoughts: I really enjoyed it and had a good time with it well worth a watch if you a DC animated fan.

Rating: 7/10

[deanlighful]

(Oh man this is really long sorry!) Yes I'm really hyped to see how its gonna go! I'm making all these disney/community headcannons now lol! I cant wait to read the new chapter! ooo cool! is it the group in front of the castle? im just guessing lol also do you watch ducktales 2017? it has danny pudi, jim rash (ur fav!), and paget brewster! and im so sorry youre sad, but i hope community can help :) (1/3)

I've done pirates of the Caribbean and experienced the tree of life! I have spent an excessive amount of time in the magic kingdom, so ive been on potc a ton! its a lot of fun, has great atmosphere, and is very quotable lol. were you able to ride it? and ive seen the tree of life and been inside! (inside it is "its tough to be a bug" which is a fun 4D show). More great movie picks! i especially wanna rewatch pirates now since its been a while since i watched it! also omg thats so cool!! also did you ever get to play the pirates online game disney had? it was really fun! also now i have Stand Out stuck in my head lol the goofy movie music is so good!how about another top 5 disney movies! and 5 top characters! and i can talk Disney all day too lol. movies, parks, history, whatever! I'm always down to talk about disney! :D  (3/3) First off PLEASE feel free to message me and talk Disney and community and i don’t bite at all. I’ve seen some of ducktales. I share a Disney + account and i watch some of it which when the 2017 one came out i only knew David tenant was in it. Im a big David tenant fan so i was trying to watch it anyway i could which at the time wasn’t easy.  I wasn’t able to ride POTC. i was 3 or 6 and i remember being told i was scared of every ride on top of having a cast that couldn’t have water on it. That made for a great Disney trip. I do have a lot of pictures with Cast members pitying me.  I was a beta tester for the pirates online game actually. i don’t think i really played it much once it went live. AIso think thats how Disney got my info to let me see the 4th pirates movie early. That game was pretty fun when i did play it.  I’ve wanted to attempt some Goofy movie/Community edits just trying to figure out how.  Once again message me to talk Disney and community!!! I will do it!!!  top 5 Disney movies (Not sure if its even top 5 anymore cause I've done 2 or 3 of these but 5 more i like) 1. Oliver & company (The music, the found family angle, the everything!) 2. Lilo & Stitch. (I feel like this movie needs to explanation ) 3. Chicken Little (That is another under rated one also the music is just good. BNL) 4.Country Bears (This is a personal one but i use to watch it with my mom a lot and once again the sound track is kicking) 5.Hocus Pocus (Its a classic for a reason) Top Disney characters  1. Tigger  (I love with everything) 

2. Stitch. (The cutest Alien ever) 3. Ron stoppable (Was so relatable!! ) 4. Gonzo (He is a whatever and i love him)  5. Ragetti (No one remembers him but i do)   

[dr-spencer-reids-queen]

Good Way to Cool Off

Characters: Matthew Gray Gubler x Reader, Paget Brewster, Shemar Moore, AJ Cook

Word Count: 1,015

Warnings: pure fluff

Summary: You’re the prankster of the team, and you find a good prank to cool everyone off.

Author’s Note: This is the July 11th fic “Water Balloons” for the 30 Day Writing Challenge. If you have any requests, please send them in! this is unbeta’d and every mistake is all on me.

Feedback the glue that holds my writing together

Tags at the bottom

Looking at your watch, you waited until the clock struck 4 exactly before you could execute your plan. The summer as brutal this time of year in Los Angeles. There had a few days to film in the city, and you enjoyed every minute of it. The only thing you hated about the city was that it was so fucking hot. The whole team complained about how the air conditioning in the building sucked, and you figured out the perfect plan to cool them down.

When you were finished with your scenes for the day, you quickly left set without telling anyone where you would be going. Matthew informed you that the rest of the cast members would need at least another hour of filming which gave you enough time to go to the store, grab what you needed, and sneak back on set to prepare for battle.

The bucket of water balloons sat by your side as you hid on the roof. At say moment now, your friends would be getting out, and that is when you would make your move. Out of everyone you would be hitting, the person you knew would enjoy this would be Matthew. He was such a free-spirited person, that he enjoyed life in an amazing way. There wasn’t a lot of things that could bring him down which you admired. Because of that, you two were usually the comedians on set.

When things were getting too serious on set, either one or both of you would mess up on purpose to put smiles on everyone’s faces. It really lightened the air and reminded everyone that what they were doing was fake. It was all an act, a show. The problems that their characters were facing wasn’t their own, and sometimes they just needed to be reminded of that.

Matthew was usually the one you went to if you were feeling down. The show required you travel a lot to different places in the USA which wouldn't be such a problem if you didn't get homesick a lot. He could usually sense if you were missing home more than usual, and he would do anything to bring a smile to your face. It’s because of this that you loved him so much.

He was truly someone special that you needed in your life, and if confessing your feelings meant a possibility of losing him as a friend, you would keep your mouth shut forever. Your character was Spencer’s love interest, and it was natural for onscreen couples to become couples in real life, but you forced yourself not to go there with him. Everyone saw how perfect you two were together since there was such great chemistry between you which is why you were Spencer’s love interest.

You two did coupley things around set like hold hands, kiss one another (only in front of a camera for your characters), tell each other everything, and defended one another if you got some sort of backlash. Maybe you two were blinded by the other’s feelings, but you were content with how things were--for now.

As soon as the clock struck 4, you grabbed a water balloon before peeking over the edge of the roof. As if on cue, Paget was the first to come out of the building, and you threw the balloon at her head, hearing it break open on her head

“Hey!” she yelled as she looked up. Quickly hiding from sight, you giggled at her grumbles that could be heard. “Who did that?” After not hearing another response, you grabbed another balloon and peeked over the edge to see she was gone. Grinning from ear to ear, you watched as Shemar and AJ walked out together as they talked. Quickly grabbing another one, you threw it at their heads, the same thing happening to them as it did to Paget.

“What the fuck?” Shemar cursed as he squinted from below.

“I bet either Matthew or Y/N is up to this,” AJ giggled, not minding that she was wet. After all, it was only water.

“It can’t be Matthew. He’s still inside.”

“Then it has to be Y/N. I haven’t seen her in a while,” she shrugged as she led him to the trailers so that they could change. Laughing to yourself, you grabbed another balloon and peered over the edge to see Matthew, your main target, walk out of the building. Quickly throwing it down, you ducked before you had a chance to see where it landed. Matthew was walking to slow, and the balloon missed by a few inches. He looked up in confusion before looking around.

“Who threw that?” he called out. Laughing to yourself, you looked over the edge at the same time he looked back up. Quickly ducking down, you held your breath as if he could hear it from below. He grinned when he saw your familiar color hair and took out his phone before dialing your number. Your phone was always on ringer, and you forgot about it until it started blasting. Matthew smirked as he made his way back inside the building.

Quickly turning it off, you looked over the edge to see Matthew gone. Maybe he went to his trailer or maybe he decided to give up on the search to figure out who threw the water balloon. As you were looking around, you heard a throat clear from behind you followed by a laugh.

“I knew it was you,” he grinned. Screaming in surprise, you turned around to see him holding the other bucket you had filled to the brim with balloons.

“I didn’t get you wet?” you asked with a pout.

“Nope.”

“Then I guess I’ll have to try harder,” you said as you quickly grabbed a balloon from your stack and threw it at him. That is how the war started with you two trying to pelt each other with the balloons, and everyone from inside the building could hear your footsteps and screams as you tried to run away from the person you loved the most.

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[simonjadis]

"Subverting expectations" should be something akin to what it adds to the story and not outright replaces. In addition, a writer should employ it based on what they feel in right for their characters and story with deep consideration. It seems like with recent examples that need no introduction do it to "please the audience" when they should write the sort of the story they'd want to read and/or watch themselves. It should come from the heart if you don't mind cheese.

I had not heard of that cyborg incident, anon! That sounds great.

(And I’m behind on DuckTales – the last episode I saw was Della’s first episode; I love Paget Brewster as her voice almost as much as I loved Paget voicing Poison Ivy)

I totally agree with you!!

Sometimes, I am horrified when I learn that feedback has convinced a storyteller to go in a different direction, even if I 100% understand why. Other times, it’s a great thing.

1. Good Case: Griffin McElroy is informed by fans of the Bury Your Gays trope, and his narrative returns two Tragic WLW as dryads (I’m not there yet in The Adventure Zone; I’m so nervous about continuing The Suffering Game)

2. Bad Case A: video game creators listen to disproportionate outrage from entitled forum bros and yield to their demands to include less queer content and fewer characters of color in the next game, or to sideline that content and those characters

3. Bad Case B: Joseph Morgan is a handsome, talented actor, but his desire to go forward with the story of Klaus Mikaelson on The Vampire Diaries should not have changed existing plans. I know that this is Extremely Writer Of Me but, to my mind, that’s like putting on a puppet show and one of the puppets whirls around and tells you to not kill him off. I’m not mad that the spinoff happened or anything, I just think that Klaus is a terrible person who deserves to die, however sympathetic aspects of his backstory may have been.

Anon, you wrote “a writer should employ it based on what they feel in right for their characters and story with deep consideration“

the line about with deep consideration is especially good, and something that many of us forget to express

because I’m gay, I’m going to pick an example – there are stories I might write in which the word “faggot” appears a great deal. it’s a slur, but it might be appropriate for characterization or setting. that doesn’t mean that it needs to be part of the story that will be consumed by an actual human audience, some of whom may have heard that word yelled at them at the worst moments of their lives

I could also write a fantasy setting in which that words holds no particular meaning, and someone’s name might happen to be that. it’s not like the fantasy character speak english or have that slur – the name just happens to be that, and exists within that world’s context. BUT again, this is going to be consumed by an actual audience, and I can just … not do that

in a previous post [X], I discussed worldbuilding and narrative choices, and used a domino/marbles analogy. another analogy might be baking – you choose the recipe and the ingredients and how they’re introduced and combined, but once placed in the oven, it all has to work naturally – you can’t force a cake to rise

if you do that in a story, people will know that something isn’t right

but choosing the recipe/ingredients and how they’re combined isn’t an excuse to do whatever you want.

you can choose to, as you note, set things up so that a woman who might have been fridged will instead be in a position to become a cyborg. (I don’t know a good baking analogy for that)

there are ways to include bigotry, death, and horror in your worldbuilding without focusing upon these elements for shock value, and that’s because the storyteller also controls the perspective

for another poor analogy, let’s say that you’re using your phone to record a video tour of your house – a walkthrough. you can use camera angles to avoid showing that place where the carpet just isn’t the same as it used to be, or that side of the couch that the cats chose as a scratching post, or that place where your drunk buddy decided to throw food onto the kitchen ceiling to see what stuck and now it’s discolored. storytellers can do this by choosing who (first person or third person limited) is telling the story, by choosing an unreliable narrator (usually just someone without the social awareness to realize what’s going on around them), or by taking the story in other directions

which means, and I know that this is a tangent but you reminded me of it, that stories can avoid gratuitous depictions of sexual assault or domestic violence and focus on fun things, like werewolf violence or whatever. it doesn’t mean pretending that those things don’t exist, it’s just prioritizing what gets “screen time”

that’s another place where deep considering comes into play. what things need to be part of the media experience, and which things can’t be left aside? for example, with very rare exceptions, i recommend against following the story of anyone experiencing gastrointestinal distress and related symptoms. someone can have a stomachache and then stay in bed with a time skip or someone else’s POV for a while. with rare exceptions, we don’t need to follow that person into the bathroom. the same is true with sexual assault and domestic violence, only this time we’re adding potential reader trauma to the list of reasons to tilt the metaphorical camera in another direction; if a character says that their ex was “a bad man” or warns someone away from X tavern, I believe them

obviously, sometimes stories do include horrifying elements; there are very few absolutes in writing

[barely restraining myself from talking about showing-vs-telling and some discourse I’ve seen about it]

I absolutely do not mind cheese, anon, and I agree that stories should metaphorically come from the heart

I do think that a lot of television writing has less of that because it’s, well, a job. the story should still make sense, and ideally everyone in the writer’s room feels passionately about some aspect of the project, but any mercenary writer is going to have some things where they just do their best and then call it a day. the story needs to make sense and engage audiences, but it doesn’t have to be a passion project

if a writer does a good job of entertaining themselves, they’ll usually do a decent job of pleasing the audience. there are exceptions.

not everybody has a foot fetish, Joss

[dominicvail]

thjslove replied to your post

“do you think this could be end in one of them getting killed and...”

omg what CM receipts? ��

@thjslove cm is one of the most convoluted behind the scenes messes i have ever witnessed and i am just Astounded till this day like, i’ll bullet point for you because i Genuinely will be here writing this for 3 hours if i do details;

think of all the female cast members that have ever been on cm?? yeah?? a lot! well, the only ones who left in non suspicious circumstances? Lola Glaudini (elle) and Jennifer Love Hewitt (kate). Literally. The only ones. 

one time (between seasons 8 and 9) they almost cancelled the show because aj cook and kirsten vangsness decided they didn’t like that their male costars were making $70,000 more PER EPISODE than they were (this was back when they did 24 eps a season so like... i’m not gonna do the math but that is A Lot Of Money). (they renewed it last day of renewals, it was the same year cote de pablo walked from ncis because of the same reason, legit the only reason they got anywhere was b/c they said ‘we both get raises or we both walk’. 

btw while this was happening, minus Moore, the rest of the male cast was holding up negotiations so they got perks on top of being paid over 50% more than the women. 

this sequence is the kicker

u know season six, the jj and prentiss absences??? 

it was because they both got fired, listed as ‘creative decisions’ (that’s important later), which basically seemed to amount to ‘we want both less women and for her to be younger than both of you’. 

they fired aj cook flat out as her contract had expired that year, in the middle of a 2 parter, and didn’t even want to let her do an exit???? they legit had to fight for the right to have her to film an exit episode (they negotiatied 3 episodes, one for finishing the 2 parter, one exit, and one for when prentiss exited). 

brewster’s contract had Not expired (also important later), they just only decided she should be in 8 episodes. 

it’s important to the sequence of events that i mention outside influences, b/c the cm fans were PISSED. There was a straight up public outcry, i have Never seen a response like it in my many years of obsessive TV watching. People were Very fond of Prentiss and JJ and were Not impressed they were being booted as unnecessary to the narrative, those pesky creative decisions!!! the petitions and public support towards them were pretty incredible actually. 

by that point there wasn’t much that could be done about Cook, but seeing the response CBS kept making Brewster film Way more than those 8 episodes she got slotted for actively dragging her along, Still fired but p much unable to find other work realistically??? b/c they kept calling her back in???

public support was still Overwhelmingly on the actresses side. 

To the point that CBS started ardently claiming the actresses were fired for Monetary reasons. Yeah, they straight up lied, and still lie about it today. I have seen cbs affiliate websites print said lie bluntly in their articles (i no longer read cbs affiliate anything). 

I listed the pay scandal first for perspective on the money lie. At that point i think the men on the cast were wearing about $110,000 an episode, and it got out Cook was earning about £50,000 an ep, and we never heard about Brewster’s salary But when i say she made a Big Deal over finally getting paid as much as the men in the past couple of years i mean it, so we can assume she was also being paid a lot less. My point being, if they needed to save money, it would have been more profitable for them to fire One man on the show than two women. They pay gap was that much. 

so they lied, still lie, about why they fired them and it wasn’t even a good lie. 

ANYWAY

i know the show’s writing isn’t really applicable but Prentiss and Seaver  were never meant to be main characters on the show together, where they dragged out prentiss’ exit, they overlapped and Rachel Nichols had very little to do. 

Anyway, by the time the late eps of the season were airing (and i assume they looked at how many viewers cut loose when brewster left) cbs straight up rang up aj cook and asked her to sign back on (why she was in the last ep despite only being hired for 3 eps that season). She said she hated them but she had a young kid at the time and regular work that was local was helpful (plus, u know, i bet it was a great ego boost).

the season finishes airing, it goes on hiatus with the cast listed 4 season 7 as the men, garcia, jj and seaver. 

u know how i mentioned paget had a contract for s6 still but they cut her episodes down??? Well, CBS used the fact that they wouldn’t let her work on the show anymore despite being signed on as evidence that she was breaching contract if she didn’t go back as a regular for season 7. They threatened to sue her for breach of contract. The only reason prentiss was in s7 was because they used what they did against her that she had no power over to threaten her. So, u know, super nice. 

meanwhile, they fire rachel nichols, don’t bother to actually tell her they’d done it!!! and she found out on fucking twitter (and rachel is such a nice person, and she was absolutely vilified and abused by every idiot on the internet too thick to realise none of the above was her fault jeez). 

so s7 happens w/ the same cast as before, but brewster will Only work to contract and refuses to sign on again for s8. Understandable, tbh. 

they hire jeanne tripplehorn, fandom is disgusting as usual, like, absolutely vile, not surprised just disappointed. 

at the end of season 9 (they have 2 year contracts so like.. it was the end of her contract), despite everything in the  storyline process indicating otherwise and how much of a farce for her character what went down was... Blake left???? No more Jeanne???

Not one peep from bts over what happened.

if that sounds suspicious to you, it is, one of the crew members let slip they’d all been gagged and were not allowed to talk about it. So cbs learnt it’s lessons in as such that they learnt to hide their shitty actions rather than not do anything shitty.

p sure there was another pay scandal in here somewhere too??? 

in terms of The Gay(tm), Reid was like, conceptualised as bi from the get go but that thing in season one with Lila happened so the execs said he could not possibly be bisexual. Yeah. Yeah u read that right. Most ppl laugh at that one and say uhm do you not know what bi is??? but honestly it was just an excuse they knew full well what they were doing imo

why? they did it again! the writers, producers and Brewster all agreed on a scene where an episode opens w/ prentiss waking up in bed with another woman, guess who nixed it!!!! cbs. They also put a gag order on That little fact too! Kirsten Vangsness, bless her, did a podcast a few years ago on afterellen (before it got fuckawful and was with it’s original owners) and, i’d say ‘let slip’ but she knowingly dropped that truth bomb knowing full well she shouldn’t have. I love her. 

lately they’ve made brewster do “interviews” with some of those cbs affiliates where they try and get points??? for saying prentiss was gonna be gay??? like they’re not the ones removing the rep from the show??? and expecting a pat on the back for... refusing to have any kind of gay rep in a show that is by this point conspicuously straight (not that LA isn’t, but it’s not nearly as bad as cm). 

the whole mess with Gibson is... Wild b/c as much as i Loathe the dude he supposedly attacked cbs would not just fire their white guy show lead for no reason and i didn’t see any above the level sites claim any funny business there, but he got fired and cbs rang up Brewster and asked her to be the show lead which, honestly, after being fired for being old and irrelevant must have been AMAZING.

she also takes the time to point out to anybody who asks about her and aj being fired for money reasons that no, it was not about money at all. She basically calls her bosses out for being liars in public interviews frequently and it’s Amazing. 

i’m sure there’s more crap but i’m not recalling it rn

honestly cm bts drama is Wild and this doesn’t even get into the Patinkin drama (which while drama, is not actually anything to do with cbs). 

Interestingly enough, it’s super hard to find out all this stuff unless u were in the fandom the whole time because they’ve bloody lied So Much it’s all everyone even believes anymore. It’s disgusting. 

Still can’t believe  ncis:la’s female cast has done this well for so long???? These are just CM’s reciepts, they have a history of doing this stuff over and over on multiple shows, i know of it as far back as when trek tng was airing in the 80′s and can name more in between. 

[lenakluthor]

Did you watch season six of CM during its first run, or is it a season you caught after the fact? I only ask because if it is a season you watched as it was coming out, what were your feelings at the time when they had basically pushed Emily and JJ off the show and how did you feel when the show realized what an incredibly huge mistake they made and brought them back the next season?

I did not. don’t ask me why I rember the exact date, but I started watching cm on november 15th last year, so I’ve only actually seen a couple episodes as they aired. i am, however, very familiar with the season 6 fiasco and I think cbs was catastrophically stupid and, in the words of the great paget brewster, scummy. like, listen the ian doyle arc was a masterpiece but I would’ve much rather had prentiss get a storyline that didn’t take her off the show (and consequently make paget leave altogether) and jj pretty much barely got a storyline to leave at all sooo (again, 200 was great but it was 2 seasons AFTER she came back and was way too rushed)

and don’t even get me started on the treatment of aj and paget themselves. fuck cbs their only redeeming quality is that they air my favorite show.