#claire bear disliker

[endlesslyhyperfixating]

Every time people try to pretend there’s no existence of racial bias in the way Sydcarmy is dismissed, an angel loses their wings.

You know what’s exhausting? Watching people bend over backward to insist that there are no racist or misogynoir undertones to the way Sydcarmy gets dismissed as a valid ship—let’s just be real for a second.

I understand people who don't ship it or believe in the ship because they prefer to take the show at face value, focus on different dynamics, or interpret relationships in other ways. However, the people who deny any validity to believing their relationship is more than meets the eye? That needs to be addressed.

People will swear up and down that their issue isn’t with Sydney, that they love her, and that they "just think Carmy should go to therapy first"—but then in the same breath, you'll catch them romanticizing the hell out of his dynamic with Claire, a relationship that was unhealthy, regressive, and rooted in avoidance rather than growth. @yannaryartside covers the very strong existence of the Oedipus complex and the fulfillment of Carmy’s mommy issues through Claire’s behavior and manipulation in their relationship, and I agree wholeheartedly.

Let’s talk about the “Carmen needs therapy before a girlfriend” argument. Let’s be real—Carmy needed therapy when he was with Claire too, but nobody seemed to mind that. In fact, everyone around him—Richie, the Faks, even the audience—enabled this idea of Claire as a “good” thing for him, as if she wasn’t feeding into his worst tendencies. And the most infuriating part? Claire was, in fact, manipulative. (Again, covered by @yannaryartside .)

She didn’t do it in an overt, villainous way but used **soft, socially acceptable manipulation**—the kind that gets ignored when it’s coming from a conventionally attractive, non-threatening, quirky white woman.

Claire’s Manipulation: The Softness of a Manic Pixie Dream Girl

People like to act like Claire was just a character who wasn’t well-written or worth the time for analysis, but that was the entire point of her: to feel underwhelming, to feel forced into place. In many ways this is true of course, she's under/not well-written in ways, and people think she was simply there, offering Carmy what she believed (and convinced him to believe) was love, when in reality, she inserted herself into his life in a way that preyed on his vulnerabilities and pre-existing issues.

And before anyone jumps in with "she didn’t do anything wrong!"—let’s actually look at how she operated.

- She sought him out when he wasn’t in a good place.

She made it a point to go out of her way to get his real number after being given a fake one. If course she uses that classic manipulative play it off as a joke move when she threatens him but not the best way to start. I know it's been said before, but can we imagine if the roles were reversed? Would we not think that creepy?

- She made it about her when he was struggling.

When Carmy tried to set a boundary, Claire framed it as him pulling away from her, rather than him dealing with his own issues. She encouraged his avoidance, gave him an easy escape from his problems, and then was surprised—and (validly) hurt—when reality came crashing down. Even when Carmy was harsh in breaking up with her, he was speaking from a place of truth for himself. To be with her, when he was so damaged and not really in a space of genuinely liking her, was bullshit.

- She used nostalgia as a tool.

Claire’s entire presence in Carmy’s life was based on a past version of him that no longer existed. Just as Carmy didn’t really see Claire, but rather a projected version of her shaped by his family (and a little bit of Sydney), Claire didn’t love him—she loved the idea of Carmy she had from childhood. And she expected him to fit back into that mold, to regress into a state where he could blow off work to hang out with her and forget his partnership with Sydney, someone he's meant to work with and has a responsibility to be with. That’s not love. That’s entitlement to a person’s growth—or lack thereof.

And yet, people ignore all this because Claire fits their idea of what a love interest should look like to them. She’s non-threatening, familiar, digestible. They don’t question why she feels right, - white - while Sydney—who actually challenges Carmy, who understands him in ways Claire never could—gets written off as “not romantic.”

Claire, for "clarity" or "peace" (ugh)—is simple. She's the painted picture of a woman who puts others before herself, the quirky manic pixie dream girl inching too close to the camera, sneaking her way into his life. People argue it feels like the same effect Sydney has on Carmy, but it's not the same at all. Claire is easy. For Carmy. He can fuck up, regress, and stay stagnant, and she’ll applaud him for it. "Never ever, ever apologize."

Sydney is the opposite. She calls him on his shit, and she sees him for who he really is. Sydney is the real peace for him (how many times do we need to bring up that damn panic attack, the table scene, and strange currencies? Thank you, @chefkids ).

Phew...

Moving on,

The Hypocrisy of the “Carmy Needs Therapy First" Argument

Back to the “Carmy needs therapy before a relationship” excuse—because wow, is that just selective. People only seem to apply it when Sydney is involved, not when Claire is around. It’s the most transparent double standard imaginable. I’ve seen one too many “I ship Carmy with therapy” memes, and I need to talk about it.����.

When Carmy was with Claire, he was a mess—but people loved to romanticize it, acting like she was his “breath of fresh air,” even when she was just another distraction. Even he fell for it, tricking himself into believing the false sense of security she contrived for him.

When these people talk about Carmy and Sydney, suddenly it’s “he needs to work on himself first” as if the mere suggestion of them together is too high-stakes to even consider. It’s always “God forbid we have well-written female-male relationships without it being romantic.”

So we prefer shitty romantic relationships between the quirked-up white woman and our white male main character rather than the chemistry, character plot, and dynamic between Syd and Carm? Okay.

It’s not about Carmy’s emotional availability for these people. It’s about who people *want* to see him be available for, and it's not Sydney.

Why Do People Feel So Pressed About Sydcarmy, Anyways?

If Sydney were white—let’s be honest—this wouldn’t even be a conversation. The dynamic is already there. The intimacy, the trust, the undeniable chemistry. Their relationship fits the mold of that slow-burn, work-obsessed partners-to-lovers trope better than any other ship that actually makes it to canon.

But instead, people act like EVEN speculating about it is ridiculous, like the idea of Carmy feeling something deeper for Sydney is somehow beyond the realm of possibility. They’ll call it “forced,” “delusional,” or “just not where the story is going”—as if every single element of storytelling isn’t deliberately crafted to suggest something simmering under the surface. Whether platonic or romantic, it's there. It’s genuine soulmate energy.

They pretend their dismissal of this ship has nothing to do with race, but race is an integral part of the ship because Sydney is a black woman.

It's almost like erasure in itself when they deny it's importance, as if there isn’t a long history of Black women in media being sidelined, desexualized, and treated as expendable when it comes to romance. Sydney isn’t “just a coworker.” She’s not “just his business partner.” She is one of the most important people in his career—and even his life—whether people want to admit it or not.

So yeah, maybe people need to interrogate *why* they can believe in Claire—a character who offered Carmy nothing but regression—but not Sydney, who actually represents something real.

Because if the reason is "Carmy's growth," you're bullshitting.

---

Tags

@fairestbeard @chefkids @thoughtfulchaos773 @yannaryartside

[cosmic-light-fics]

Claire Upset with Carmy vs. Sydney Upset with Carmy and How He Responds to Them - 2x03 "Sundae"

I feel overwhelmed by how many parallels Storer and Co. drew between Sydney and Claire and their respective relationships to Carmy in this season. Not only do the parallels serve to show Carmy's attachment to the past and his reluctance to join the present, but it also serves to contrast the way Carmy shows up for the people he cares about, more specifically how he shows up for the women he has feelings for. I think it's not only interesting how Carmy goes about showing up for both Claire and Sydney, but also how the women respond when they try to hold him accountable.

At the beginning of "Sundae", right after Carmy sends Sydney out so they can go have their palate cleanser at Kasama, Claire calls him. She is pissed off that he gave her a fake number, starting off the conversation with "Should my feelings be hurt? I think they're hurt." Her tone of voice is confrontationally upset while also carrying an air of trying to be sarcastically jokey, and it's affect is immediate on Carmy. He's tensed up, stuttering out an apology, immediately lying and claiming it was a mistake. He's not comfortable off the bat with the conversation and hunkers down on the lie when she continues to push him for answers. She also mentioned twice that she could have the Faks come and beat him up for giving her a fake number. It's a pretty awkward moment, not just because of how awkward Carmy is but because of how cornered he appears.

Carmy clams up when faced with Claire's anger and pressuring questions. When he agrees to help her move the furniture, it's not instant. He knows he has other obligations. But I think he felt some sort of obligation in that moment to make it up to Claire for giving her a fake number. And that's where we get him blowing off Sydney for the rest of the day.

Towards the end of the episode, after spending the day alone and unsuccessfully trying to reach Carmy all day, Sydney arrives at the restaurant and is surprised to find Carmy there. Then she finds out that the crew, with Carmy's knowledge and help, knocked down walls without calling her. She's not outwardly confrontational about the decision, but Carmy calls out her weighted silence. What's more, surprisingly, he pushes for her to tell him what's wrong. He asks what he could have done differently, and makes sure to let her know that he will do better to keep her updated. To have better communication with her.

Sydney is not the one pursuing answers in this situation, even though she has every right to. She is his partner in this business that they are building together, and she was left out of a fairly big decision. Instead of lying, instead of dodging her, instead of simply trying to quickly pacify her, Carmy explains why he did what he did without prompting, and he stands on it. I don't think that is irrelevant to this comparison. He was so avoidant with Claire and could easily have been with Sydney, but he made sure to tell her what he did and even promised to be better at communicating with her, unlike he did with Claire.

This whole parallel between Sydney and Claire revolves around communication and who Carmy feels more comfortable communicating with. Who he feels more comfortable taking accountability with. Who he's more willing to change for.

[spywhitney]

Sydney and Carmy Sleepover

-What if Sydney comes over to Carmy's apartment to find him cooking boxes or having a panic attack?

-She's seen Carmy get aggressive and heard him freak out in the walk-in, seeing him at his absolute worst? Plausible. She wasn't there when he almost let the kitchen burn down in season 1.

-Sydney is bringing something Carmy forgot at the restaurant, but she comes to find his door unlocked and the fire alarm going off.

-Either Carmy snaps out of it when hearing Sydney's voice and puts it out himself or Sydney does.

-Shocked, Sydney tells Carmy he needs help (callback to S1 EP2 but this time she's talking about him, not the restaurant) (maybe she suggests selling some of his denim for actual therapy idk) and asks if there's something she could do.

-Carmy asks Sydney if she can stay and she agrees.

-Carmy gives her a pb&j sandwich, doritos and coke (I imagine they eat in unison for a moment). / He gives her spare clothes to put on and changes the covers on his bed (he's with Claire).

-Sydney falls asleep watching whatever she chose on the tv and Carmy puts her into bed.

-Now Carmy either sets up a place to sleep on the floor to be closer to her or sleeps on the couch.

-Claire comes in the morning to find Sydney in bed and Carmy on the floor or Carmy on the sofa instead. / She wakes Carmy up or he's already awake and she's making enough noise for Carmy to tell her not to wake Sydney.

-He insists of letting Sydney sleep so the two of them just wait until it's the afternoon. / He beings cooking at some point.

-Sydney awkwardly says hi to Claire and asks Carmy why he didn't just wake her, but Carmy says it's fine and hands her the food he made before going to the bathroom. / Sydney and Claire try to make small but fail. / Sydney informs Carmy she's going home.

-Carmy picks out a fancy plate and wraps the meal he made for her.

-Before Sydney goes he gives her the food and Sydney says she'll give back the plate tomorrow but Carmy tells her she can keep it. / Sydney says see you tomorrow and she leaves.

-Carmy finally asks Claire if she would like something to eat. / Carmy makes a meal for them to share.

-He takes the clothes Sydney wore and places them back in the wardrobe and him and Claire sit in bed eating mostly in silence.

-Can see Claire just looking at him in confusion, or just plain in denial.

I was inspired by this sydcarmy fanfic.

[chaoswillcalmusdown]

i may be only on ep 4 but i will be baffled if storer is dead serious about claire/carmy because they're so dull together

[hsslilly-blog]

the thing about hunt and claire . to me . is that everything about them has to be restrained. repressed. inhibited. these two stupid idiots need to be in situations that require them NOT to express or address whatever the fuck is going on between them. everything about them is unsaid is implied is left to the imagination. these two need to be fighting against And alongside decorum. they’re bubbling beneath the surface. there’s something constantly censoring them, and that something is themselves. and actually it should never be realised. they do not want it to be realised. which is why they keep up with the ridiculous act forever. because there is something deeply attractive about impropriety for both of them and admitting that is extremely shameful. and they're going to make sure the other one is ashamed of it. this is a novel of manners of their own doing. this is masochism!!!

[imissthembutitwasntadisaster]

I say this with my whole chest Molly Gordon is a good actress who deserves better writing than this

[oedipussyroys]

I feel like Claire might be coming back at some point, and may be the person Carmy ends up with because I just caught they call her ClaireBEAR and they call each other BEAR and the restaurant is the BEAR and the show is THE BEAR and I want to drown

[wannabeschyulersister]

lovelorn and nobody knows

Sometimes it felt like you had the words “I’m in love with my boss” written on your forehead in big capital letters.

As much as you tried to hide it, you couldn’t help but marvel at him. He was truly amazing at his craft and seeing him so passionate made you want to do it as well.

There were times that he acted a little like a jerk but he’d redeemed himself recently. Thanks to Sydney.

And to Claire.

You were surprised when you learned he was seeing someone. He brought Claire around when the restaurant was practically falling apart. It was such a weird moment. You physically could feel the awkwardness in the air.

She seemed really nice but part of you still disliked her just because she could call Carmy hers.

You avoided being around them as much as possible. It hurt just looking at the way he smiled at her.

Every part of your being wished that were you.

You wished you were the one he confided in after a long day at the Bear. You wished that you were the one he walked around the city with hand in hand. You wished you were the one that had his heart.

You felt like a lovesick fool.

Instead of subjecting yourself to seeing the happy couple, you started to back out of any group activities unless it was absolutely necessary.

The group would often go and get drinks at a nearby bar at least once a week. You stopped going as soon as you heard Claire was a regular now. People would ask if you were going and you always had a lie ready to go.

As much as you loved working at The Bear, you knew that it would probably be best if you removed yourself from the situation. It hurt every time you had to be around Carmen and Claire. You didn’t want to constantly put yourself in heartache.

There was a popular Italian restaurant across town that needed a sous. You had a friend of a friend that recommended you. It was the fresh start that you needed.

When you got the job, it was bittersweet. You should’ve been happier than you were.

So, you drafted up a letter of resignation, took a deep breath, and walked into Carmen’s office after closing. He was busy looking at an invoice when you knocked softly on the doorframe to make yourself known.

He looked at you and smiled a little, “Hey, stranger. We missed you last night.”

“Yeah, sorry I missed it. I uh- have something to give you.” You wanted to get this part over with.

“Yeah? What’s that?” He reached over and grabbed the letter that you handed him. You hoped he didn’t notice the slight shakiness of your hand.

You didn’t answer him because you didn’t trust your voice in that moment. Carmen quickly read through your letter and you watched the expression change on his face.

“What the hell is this? You’re leavin’?” Carmen stood up from his seat and placed your letter down.

“I got a job opportunity that I couldn’t say no too. I’m sorry that this puts you in a situation where you are short staffed but I’m giving you a two weeks notice.” You explained to him.

“I don’t understand. You’re happy here, aren’t you? D-did something happen’ that I’m not aware of?” Carmen questioned.

Yeah, you fell in love with someone else.

You shook your head, “No, nothing happened. I just think I’m ready for a new challenge.”

Carmen didn’t look like he bought your lie. “(Y/n), you don’t think that I’ve noticed that you’re distant and-and you haven’t been coming out with all of us?”

Shit.

You’d hoped that maybe he was so busy with Claire that he hadn’t noticed you slipping away from the group at all.

“I’ve just been busy with other things.” You lied again.

“What’s going on?” He questioned.

“Nothing is going on, Carmen.”

He crossed his arms against his chest and it took everything in you not to stare and drool. Even when you tried to be strong, his biceps made you feel weak.

“I don’t believe you.” He stated.

“That’s fine. I just wanted to do the respectable thing and give you an adequate notice.”

Carmen stared at you and it made you feel like he could read your mind. Like he knew the exact reason on why you were leaving.

“I don’t want you to leave, (Y/n). I think you’re amazing and- and you have a bright future in this industry. I think it’s a mistake.”

Your chest ached at his kind words. “I’m just ready for something new.”

He sighed and looked away from you as someone knocked on the door. You turned and saw Claire holding a takeout bag, “Thought I’d surprise you with dinner.”

“Now isn’t a good time, Claire.” Carmen told her.

She looked disappointed, “Am I interrupting something?”

You quickly shook your head, “No, the conversation is over. Have a good night.”

“(Y/n), wait!” Carmen called out to you but you left his office without another look back.

Even thought it killed you to walk away from him, you had to put yourself first.

[yannaryartside]

God I just saw a video essay about the Bear and the guy who made it even recognized that the clairexcarmy scenes that seem to try to makes us care about the relationship and all the other Claire scenes where so perpetually shallow, that she is still a manic pixie “bunny girl” in his own words, but he suggested that she may need her own episode so the audience can get “to know her mind”…🤢

Like, I know is difficult to tell what exactly is so wrong about her, but is interesting that even the people that straight up don’t care about a ship that is two seasons in the making don’t get to imagine is because that’s the intention of the show. Is like those characters that you may not trust but may not completely dislike either.

But this guy also seemed to think that Syd didn’t have a right to move forward from the Bear so…

My biggest problem is I also understand the people that say Syd doesn’t do much, and I am pretty sure that’s her arc, to let her take the wheel of her own life next season once and for all.

There is a lot of racism and misogyny involved in this discussion, but even the people that are not stupid like that, seem to not suspect of Claire (in part because is the shows intention to misdirect them) but also because what they have seen from Syd is not enough for them to root for her. The same way some people didn’t root for Richie until “Forks”

God I am rambling. There is a discussion to have about what makes people care about characters because I rooted for Richie since the phone call in the trip to the store.

I refuse to believe that they haven’t make Claire unlikeable on purpose when Richie was the most obnoxious character and was reddened in my eyes whiting two hours of content while Claire was showcased for two seasons already and is still so shallow. If this was a relationship/character to root for they would have managed to make us care. Shippers or not. She is a doctor for Christ sake, one of the most noble professions in this world and she is still impossible to swallow.

And I rooted for Sydney upon seeing her, because I know what is like to be in an industry you don’t seek to be made for. She is genuine and flawed.

I love her to death. But she frustrates me. She is also stuck in an awful narrative that Carmy is the catalyst for. All her insecurities and fears keeping her in place and I know that’s the intention.

All this to say Storer, you better giver Syd her own episode and it has to be better than Forks and Napkins combined.

[freedelusionshere]

I think it’s totally fine to dislike or even hate on Claire Bear The show wanted that, it’s literally the entire reason for her to exist. Carmy is a virgin. When is the last time you’ve seen that literally anywhere where the white male lead is like the Juliet? They’re constantly subverting audience expectations.

It really did reveal a lot of people’s feelings about trying to prioritize a rando white female love interest when it’s pretty obvious whose opinion Carmy thinks about the most and who his gaze is set on. They compare Claire to Donna. LOL

Even her “I love you” message on opening night is her forcing him to say it back like Donna did

Like imagine Carmy as feminine and soft (and he definitely is) and feeling the pressure to accept what his family wants versus what made him feel most alive?

[destielaureversebb]

Coming soon for the @destielaureversebb: “Sugar” 

Author: coveryourheads Artist: @all6pistols

Rating: Mature Archive warnings: None Length:  19,000 words Tags:  Teacher AU, Mutual Pining, Castiel Is Claire's Parent, Roommates, Insecure Dean Winchester Relationships: Dean/Castiel, Sam/Jess

Summary:  Dean and Castiel have been roommates since first year of college, best friends, and now work at the same school. Dean has always had a crush on Castiel but could never tell him because he is his best friend. Oh, and he's straight. And he has a daughter.

Excerpt: 

Claire, with a little bear face emoji next to her name, had sent, ‘Can you remind my dad that he has to pick me up today? He’s not answering me or mom.’

Dean answered her, ‘Got it.’

He swiveled around, almost knocking over a few innocent students. He hustled towards Castiel’s class. He forgot to knock (they never knocked on each other’s door at home) as he entered the room and came to face a full class of stunned students. Castiel looked flustered as well, paused mid-sentence of his probably intriguing lesson on the history of taxation or whatever it was he taught this one about.

“Dean!” Castiel scolded. “I’m in the middle of—”

The bell was well-timed and all of Castiel’s students shuffled out.

“Sorry, man,” Dean tried. He meant it, but his apologies never sounded sincere, which was a trait of his that Castiel disliked. He called it the Winchester Apology. Dean never meant his and Sam’s sounded like a wounded puppy. So, Dean added, “Seriously. Sorry. You gotta check your phone. Claire texted me because you weren’t answering her.”

Castiel sighed and retrieved his phone out of his bag. It took a long time to turn it back on because he refused to upgrade it. Dean watched his friend stab at the screen until he got to the text messages, reading his daughter’s message.

“I… Yes. Thank you, Dean. I have to pick up Claire today and am supposed to have dinner with her.”

Castiel grabbed one of his sticky notes, writing with a marker meant for the whiteboard, ‘Pick up Claire from club at 4:50’ in big blocky letters. The sticky note immediately curled on itself because the school decided to cut cost on supplies and got generic ones that never stuck to any surface. Dean tore off a piece of scotch tape to press the note down on the desk. Among all the mess of books and papers and teaching aide and stuff. In the simple act of helping his friend with the simpler task of writing down the reminder and making it stick, Dean had stepped into Castiel’s space. Close enough he could smell the aftershave (they had separate bathrooms so Dean had no idea what brand) and the fabric softener used on his clothes (unlike Dean, who used the affordable, non-softening brand). Stepping into Castiel’s space was done unconsciously, but Dean kind of liked it there. Castiel had the most amazing blue eyes (which Claire inherited) and fluffy hair that never wanted to stay in place. If he were brave enough, he would have made a move fifteen years ago. 

He wasn’t, and Castiel wasn’t into dudes anyway.

Posting date:  February 18, 2025

[lari-online]

a rant about sydney, carmy, and claire

i want to do this in parts so it’s easier to digest.

part 1 - claire is your classic textbook male gaze, manic pixie dream girl. she’s quirky and funny. she’s ’nerdy girl takes off her glasses and lets down her hair’ beautiful. she’s mysterious but not too much. she’s not like other girls because she isn’t afraid of a little broken arm (or man). she’s fearless. she calls around to ask for carmy’s real number to confront him about giving her a fake one. she’s bold. she seemingly understands him immediately. she remembers him because, he’s the bear and she remembers him. she already knows his entire family so she fits right in. she takes him to house parties to show him life can be fun. she gets him to open up because he’s safe with her. she’s the dream. she’s perfect…but that also makes her boring. and while people who look like her may be able to see themselves within her, it also makes her less relatable and therefore less likable.

part 2 - carmy needs sydney and by extension so does claire. now wether you have hopes for sydcarmy in a romantic sense or not is your business (i personally don’t want syd touching carmy with a ten-foot pole atp. at least not in that way). what’s evident to me though is that people would not be rooting for claire if it wasn’t for sydney. take sydney out of the picture. make it the claire and carmy show. a tale of childhood friends getting a second chance at love. she’s perfect, he’s fucked up but it’s okay because they love each other…tell me you wouldn’t be screaming at claire through your screen to get away from that man. to run for the fucking hills. you need characters like sydney and even richie (who actually make people like carmy deal with their shit) to be the “bitch”/“asshole”. you need to dislike them because they help drown carmy out. they make you believe that carmy may be bad but he isn’t the worst/only one.

part 3 - the relationship between sydney and carmy seems more organic and real than the relationship between claire and carmy because neither syd nor carmy are perfect. they are two imperfect, complex individuals who share a passion, slowly learning more about each other on a personal level. whereas with claire we as an audience are force fed this supposed connection through other characters. constantly reminded of how good she is for him. she is already perfect and knows everything about carmy, which by extension means he’s fucked but fixable. it is also funny because we’ve learned nothing about him through her, like girl please tell us all that you supposedly know and understand about this man lol.

bonus + sorta spoiler - “she’s peace”. i’m sorry…like was that on purpose or am i missing something? is she who you think of to calm yourself down when you’re having a panic attack? does she literally calm you down and ground you when you’re having a panic attack? is the sound of her voice, a simple “hey”, strong enough to cut through all the noise? this is why i want syd to take that opportunity because although she quite clearly is the backbone to that place and i love seeing her, i am dying to see how he’ll fare without her.

[july-19th-club]

everybody in the goodreads one-stars dislikes outlander because it's got too much rape and dubcon in it, which is fair and is in fact what turned me off of the show in college. but many of them dont like the sex in this book in a puritanical way and they're WRONG it's not bad because it's sex! it's not even necessarily bad because it's sexualized violence. it's bad because it's poorly contextualized, not justified by the text enough to bear as much repetition as it gets, and neither fits nor deconstructs the genre it's trying to play around with.

like, the marriage/sex/punishment-by-force fantasy is clearly a fetish of gabaldon's, so the book bends over backwards to present opportunities for it whether they make story sense or not, and in so doing gives readers a skewed understanding of the period and location it's simultaneously attempting to do historical fiction in. WHICH WOULD BE FINE IF: this was georgette heyer we were talking about, por ejemplo, and the whole scene was established as the kind of pseudo-history fantasy realm such fetishes often take place in. after all, there's a particular brand of time-tested romance fiction where the whole conceit is a fluttery but undeniable "but you don't understand - i had no other choice!" which allows our heroine the chance to indulge sexually without being considered a slut (see dan lavery's piece on this subject). which i think is what gabaldon's trying to do with the plot contortions that require claire to get married, and then REQUIRE their marriage to be consummated With Witnesses, and then REQUIRE him to beat her in order to maintain standing...etc, etc, etc. a good british woman doesn't want to commit adultery, a good british woman doesn't like it rough, a good british woman doesn't get off on humiliation, etc. which, described that way, almost talks me back into the whole idea.

except the description i just gave is not how it reads in the book. in the book there's no indication that she's performing mental gymnastics to get past her hangups, or that there's some underlying Understanding between characters, author, and reader. it reads like she's married a budding young abuser who claims 'this is normal here' to get what he wants. WHICH brings us to the whole 'savage man-beast...but i WANT him...but he's so violent! but i can TAME him' trope. it's only this side of racist here because the scottish people in this book are white. this man can't be expected to have respectful attitudes, those are modern. and he's from a strong, manly culture! and there's no use looking around for some other kind of guy, because everybody's like that here, and that's history, man. there's a scene in this book where her tarzan in tartan believes that all sex is doggie style and is shocked to learn it isn't. this scene made it into the show.

what im trying to say is. she's both trying to write serious hist fic AND trying to have the protagonist get raped every other page so as to justify the amount of sex in the book. like...i feel insane saying she's doing it wrong when i read carey with gusto, but again, there we are in the 'context' issue. carey's context is that the protagonist is a) a professional sex worker and b) a confirmed masochist, so it's no shock to the reader when she goes to have sex with a patron and he lays into her with a flail. people who don't want BDSM aren't going to be reading Jacqueline Carey. she even has goddamn safewords, for chrissake. and while it absolutely can be argued that the absence of a declared scene in-text IS part of the fantasy for some readers - and must be for at least a few of the outlander fanbase, since people think these books are sexy - there's just too much failure to commit. either claire is into it or she's not, either this is a wish fulfillment kink book or it's hist fic. a better writer might be able to thread that needle in such a way as to keep it both sexy and consistent, but gabaldon's not that writer. her fetishes come off uncomfortably; her details are sometimes wrong enough that even not very historically minded readers point them out and find themselves jarred out of the story.

and...worst of all? she's not at all interested in the time travel aspect of her book, which may not seem like the worst sin here, but let me go out by tying this into its origins. she based the books on doctor who, a show about travel through time and space. rarely do her 1740s characters make it to the 1940s, where the story starts - she doesn't care about the nineteen forties, or later the sixties, after the time skip. they are where stodgy frank is from. they are where claire is exiled after she's torn away from her highland lover! she doesn't care about this timeline except insofar as they constitute a Modern place (but not too modern!) to act as a bland counterweight to the pull of those glorious days of old. the interplay of timelines is never really about culture shock or culture sharing, never really about what it would be like to survive culloden and then find out about the nineteen sixties. not in a funny, lighthearted way; not in a serious, all-implications-delved-into way. in diana gabaldon's time travel, the twentieth century is only there to get away from, to leave for some imagined romantic past where men are real men, women are real women, and small furry creatures from alpha centauri - except, wait. we don't know, do we, if the small furry creatures from alpha centauri are real small furry creatures from alpha centauri. in diana gabaldon's story, the scottish guy doesn't even go anywhere near alpha centaurai. truly there's no fixing this one.

[cherryapplebee]

a list of things I really liked about the bear (on first watch)

1. the show begins and ends with the shot of the train passing by. it isn't shown stopping just moving across the screen as if to drive home the transitional journey that S3 depicted between major plot points that can occur in the show

2. carmy actually apologises to richie and says I love you. i wish there was more of the sincere apology

3. tina and richie sharing their parenting experience with nat

4. nat listening to the "types of children alcoholics have" and having it memorised, wanting not to let what is in her head ruin her baby's experience and just her overall sincere efforts to be a good mother

5. sydney being inducted into the family with richie clearly respecting + relying on her during service, marcus and sydney sharing their experiences of losing their mothers, cicero talking to Sydney and visibly realising how important she is to the bear, Sydney and pete together, Sydney and TINA ofc. i just love Sydney being part of the bear family

6. how introspective and creative markus is and him really finding expression through his desserts

7. carmy + luca meeting at chef terry's

8. carmy + chef terry's conversation

9. all those past flashbacks of carmy genuinely being content and at peace while working and learning in restaurants and around chefs who respected him

10. loved to see more of how carmy communicates through non verbal creative expression forms like his beautiful drawings, his silent improvements in the kitchen, his food ofc

11. the split screen scene where Richie is standing in the dining area shrouded in blue light and carmy inside in the kitchen in warmer light was extremely reminiscent of the argument scene they had from S2 when carmy was stuck in the walk in. except in the S2 scene they were actually facing each other actively fighting but in the S3 parallel they have their backs to each other and their lighting has flipped.

12. luca just luca. nerd luca geeking out about dish ideas and getting nervous in front of his idol chef. nostalgic luca. luca + sydney friendship. luca + carmen friendship. just every second he was on screen.

13. adding more character depth to cicero and how he genuinely cares about carmy + nat

14. sydney getting POACHED angst because I love the DRAMAHH

15. the found family of the bear. i love all my chefs so much. they have my entire heart.

16. STRANGE CURRENCIES STILL PLAYING OVER *CONFLICTED* CARMY AND CLAIRE RELATIONSHIP omg that song gives me so much brainrot it's always SO STRATEGICALLY PLACED.

17. the wholesome party at syd's house after funeral in the last ep

18. MORE OF SYD AND HER DAD

19. pete is so cute fr

20. Richie just being such a great dad

21. episode one man. i just really like how it was paced.

22. in true invisible string ass fashion carmy serving his modified blood orange dish to Sydney OBVIOUSLY

23. the chef's at Terry's funeral dinner just talking about how much they love their jobs and their passion for food.

I know I'll notice more things about this season that I'll like and obviously there are things i disliked. but rn I am not focusing on the latter that much. the time will come for it. I've just been waiting for this season for so long. and i really do appreciate it for whatever it was. i love the bear and the people in this show and i love that the show truly is becoming more and more about the BEAR as a WHOLE rather than just carmy. I hope it keeps getting richer and richer.

eagerly awaiting what's next :)

[tesssoraa]

hi. goodmorning sydcarmy community.

I just saw the photo of Jeremy and Molly in Copenhagen, without Ayo. I love Molly and Jeremy, but I strongly dislike Clairmy. So, if Carmy wants Claire, he can have her, BUT I want Sydney to get a partner, or new opportunity, which she does, according to the episode descriptions.

So let’s say, Sydney gets an offer at Ever. She takes it, after leaving The Bear for good. Even after Carmy begs her to stay. She succeeds at Ever, may even find a partner (whether it be romantic, professional, or both??) and gets enough money and clout to open her own place, and gets her star.

Carmy stays at The Bear, devastated. He sees how she does, and how she’s doing so well without him. He misses her. The end. Sydney is happy while Carmy fumbled. Big time.

Then if Sydney ever has a playlist about her time at The Bear and with Carmy, she puts Silver Springs by Fleetwood Mac on it.

Carmy will never get away from the sound of the woman that loved him.

And Sydney knew she could’ve loved him, but he would not let her.

just a thought.

[eroticwound]

I love your thoughts on The Bear. Particularly the Berzatto siblings. I was wondering if you could talk about Mikey. And possibly his relationship with Richie. Outside of the internet when I talk to peers about the show people are quick to demonize or dislike Mikey. They cite his behavior with Lee and his taking part in ganging up on Carmy with Donna as reasons why. Also, how Richie was so desperate to get away from the beef.

I would love to hear your opinion about how this could be someone’s impression of Mikey. And how you would describe Mikey to someone who maybe isn’t seeing the whole picture? Or just how you would describe Mikey as a person in general.

And do you think his relationship with Richie was very one sided? Do you think it was always Mikey in the lead? I’ve read some fic that truly makes Mikey terrible to Richie.

Hi anon. Thanks for this incredibly thought out ask. Cannot emphasize enough how much I enjoy getting questions like this :)

Michael Berzatto is a complicated guy and he’s a guy we don’t get a lot of screen time with. That’s by design. He’s the character haunting this narrative. Mikey is the Laura Palmer of The Bear (I have that disease where I see everything through the prism of Twin Peaks), and as such we get to know him mostly through people’s grief. Through their imperfect memories. We’re left missing him just as much as any other character. And while I would love a feature length movie showing Mikey’s last days a la Fire Walk with Me, I very much doubt we will get that. So we’re left to figure out this complicated character with scraps.

For these reasons, I do get why people don't understand Mikey. As you mention, they are literally not given anything close to a whole picture. In fact the screen time we have most with him is during Fishes, when he is quite literally at his worst. If people only saw scenes where Carmen was yelling at people in the kitchen or where Richie was being sexist to Syd, I'm sure they'd have a poor opinion of them as well (in fact, being in this fandom after the first season, I can confirm that most of tumblr disliked Richie).

The healthiest we see Michael is in the Ceres flashback in season 1. He’s exactly how everyone describes him: loud, brash, funny. Both Carmy and Richie are just having the best time, completely immersed in the story he's telling. Even Nat’s having a great time, though both brothers stop her from adding raisins, which is Donna’s recipe for the dish they're making (side note, I find it so interesting that Nat is the one trying to follow their mom’s recipe. She's still trying to please Donna, to garner favor, whereas the boys, who Donna relies on in the kitchen and emotionally, feel fine deviating from Donna’s recipe). Even beyond the Ceres flashback, we do get flashes of what makes Mikey great in Fishes: the opening is him checking in on Natalie, he's really sweet and engaging with Carmen in the pantry, and even though Carmy doesn't take Mikey and Richie trying to set him up with Claire well, it's still proof that Mikey cares.

The thing is Mikey is mentally ill, like Donna and like Carmen. He’s dealing with some sort of chemical imbalance (depression or bipolar) on top of the severe parentification he got from Donna. I talk about it at length in my unfinished series delving into the partentification of the Berzatto siblings. As I point out in those posts, Mikey is actually the sibling getting the worst of the parentification, which is a form of abuse where there is a role-reversal between parent and child. Nat can't morph herself easily to accommodate Donna's dysfunction (she un-normalizes it), so she gets Donna's ire instead. Carmen was also parentified, especially when Mikey was out of the house growing up (they have such an age gap), but Mikey was the oldest. He has high EQ and can morph himself to accommodate Donna's dysfunction. It has in fact shaped him into the person he is. Which is someone who is trying to avoid all of the bad: bad outbursts from Donna, bad feelings from his siblings, bad reactions from outsiders to their family dynamic. He's also trying very hard to avoid the bad emotions he's feeling. Michael is looking to avoid all of this through any means necessary, which includes using alcohol and drugs. As I mention in that parentification meta series, using substances is quite literally the only way he's managing his distress.

I want to talk about each point you mention people citing as to why they don't like Michael. But first, I want to preface it by pointing out that Michael has been forced to move back in with Donna. His failed business ventures and poor mental health have forced him back into this scenario that is NOT GOOD FOR HIM. That scene where Cousin Michelle says to Carm that it's not good for him to be in this environment? Well, it's not good for any of the Berzatto siblings. And throughout the episode, you can tell how exhausted Mikey is by it. By having to fulfill his role as Donna's pseudo-partner.

So let's start with Michael and Donna ganging up on Carmen in the kitchen. When Donna and Mikey do this they are functioning as a parental unit. This is the perfect example of Mikey's parentification at work, of Michael acting as Donna's partner. It's what he's been trained to do to maintain the delicate ecosystem of that house. Donna's emotional state is given top priority. Everyone else's emotions fall to the wayside in light of what she's feeling, otherwise you get fallout like her crashing her car into the house. Mikey talks to Nat about this at the start of the episode:

What do you think she's at right now? A 4? A 5? She's not at a 6.

The siblings literally have a rating system for Donna's moods. They're all trying to avoid escalation above all else. Michael in particular. So in that scene with Carm in the kitchen, Mikey is trying to keep things from escalating. This is something Carmen knows too—hell, it's the first thing Carmen asks Mikey to do in Fishes:

Hey Mikey can you come inside and be you for a little bit, I don't know how to deal with these people.

Carmy needs Michael to come fill his role of buffer between guests and their family. Carmy, notably, gets Donna duty—a role I'm sure Mikey filled before Carmen came along. I say this based on Donna calling Carmen "Michael" when he's trying to coax her to the dinner table at the end of the episode. She's implying talking to her like this is what Michael does. When the people you know irl cite this moment, unfortunately this is the rebuttal: this is Mikey's role. Donna needs his emotional support. Otherwise she'd be more abusive towards Nat and Carm. Michael is doing it for the greater good.

As for Lee, that's another great example of soooo much being implied. Lee, along with Cicero, were best friends with their father, and it is heavily implied that Lee and Donna had a fling or two after their dad fucks off (whether Mr. Berzatto is dead or a deadbeat, who’s to say?). When Lee is helping Donna clean shit off the floor, Mikey grabs a beer from the fridge and asks if they are "doing this again." Basically, Lee and Donna have been romantic before. This means Lee would have been around erratically growing up. And it's clear Michael and Lee have a historic antagonism because of this. Lee's first interaction with Michael in the episode has him threatening to "lay [Michael] out." This screams to me that Lee stepped into the man of the house role, and that Mikey and him had altercations that got physically violent. That's why Mikey says at the dinner table, "I can throw forks cuz this is my father's house." That feels very much like something a kid would say to a man who is trying to replace a missing father. And it's especially heated, because it is Michael who has had to consistently step into the man of the house role for Donna and for his siblings! Michael couldn't leave like Lee when Donna and him broke up. Living with Donna and keeping his siblings ok is daily life for Michael.

So all through the episode, Lee is poking a bear (Mikey Bear to be exact). Lee calls him out about telling the same old stories, embarrasses him in front of everyone by revealing he's borrowed money from Cicero and had to move back in with Donna. Lee has been explicitly disrespecting him. And maybe if Mikey was in a better place, he would have been able to roll with it, but as I mentioned before, Mikey is not in a good place. He's depressed, he's been drinking and taking something (pain pills?) to manage the stress he's under. Him throwing forks is not a lucid reaction. Frankly, if people don't also blame Lee for that outburst, then they really weren't paying attention during the episode.

Finally, onto the Richie portion of your question. Richie’s family is something I would *love* to get more canon info about. All we know is that he's not Italian but Polish, his home life wasn’t great, his dad sucked, and Donna allowed him over so often that he’s practically her fourth child.

Richie and Michael grew up together. They're best friends, practically family. It's why Richie is "cousin." Michael's relationship with Richie is his closest relationship. Everyone says Mikey was their best friend, but Mikey's actual best friend was Richie. Period. And there's some complicated jealousy between Carmen and Richie because of what each is to Michael: Carmy's jealous of Richie and Michael's genuine closeness, and Richie is jealous that Mikey has special regard for Carmen as his actual brother. You see this jealousy in the very first episode of the show during that first walk-in fight: Richie was there for Mikey, buried Mikey and took care of Donna, and yet Mikey left the restaurant to Carmen. Left the money in cans for Carmen, so he could fulfill their dream restaurant together. There's honestly some great fic out there that goes into this jealousy. I'll come back to link it if I can find it.

Bottom line is that Richie was the closest person in Mikey's life. They have the same humor, the same life experiences. They had each other's backs. So when you ask if Richie and Michael's relationship was one-sided, I'm going to answer with a resounding no. They're literally besties. It's just by Fishes, Michael has deteriorated. His depression and drug abuse and failures have shrunk his life. Just compare where they're both at: Michael's moved back in with his mom, is single, and is telling the same old stories from their youth. Richie, on the other hand, might have anxiety (the xanax from Dogs <3), but he's in a stable and loving relationship and has a child on the way. That's why Richie asks Cicero for a job—not to get away from Mikey, but to make more money for his expanding family. And yes, he wants to amount to something more than working at a sandwich shop, but hell, so does Mikey. Neither of them want that for the rest of their lives. It's why Michael tried other business ventures. They fail, so he's stuck at The Beef. But it's a weight around his neck bringing him down. He says as much to Carmen when they're in the pantry:

Yeah but the place is no good, Carmy. It's a fucking nightmare. Like trust me I'm doing you a favor.

He even tries to set it on fire for the insurance money! Only Carmen sees the potential.

As for whether it was always Mikey taking the lead, I do think there's some merit to that. Mikey is talked about as more charming than Richie. You see it in Ceres when the edit compares Mikey telling the Bill Murray story to Richie telling the Bill Murray story to his date. Mikey is loud and funny and can "dial a room." Richie can too, but I think Mikey has more finesse. Still, they rely on each other. They back each other up. Michael would hook people with the stories, and Richie would embellish and inject at the right points or reel Mikey in when needed. They supported each other and worked together. I think any fic you might be reading that's demonizing Michael isn't accurate to his character and is actually falling into a pretty common fic trope: if the focus is Character A, then a fic author will cast Character B as the villain in order to serve whatever they're writing, twisting and embellishing the traits of Character B until they’re barely recognizable. Could Mikey be dismissive and hard to contain? Sure, but I don't think that means he didn't love Richie, or was undemonstrative with his affections. Even when Michael was out of it on drugs, they still had a very close relationship—Richie says so. In fact, everything Richie says about Michael supports this. I see zero support in canon for their relationship being one-sided. I'll say it again, they loved each other.

So this is how I would describe Mikey: loud, funny, obnoxious. He could dial a room. He cared deeply for his family, friends, and employees. He suffered parentification and has some sort of chemical imbalance. In fact, because he was charming and loud and funny, people could ignore his deterioration. Even Richie says, "he was Mikey Bear! I thought he'd come out of it," because he was able to come out of it up to that point. But after decades of not treating the problem, the only solution Michael could see was killing himself. He's a complicated character. He's a tragic character. He's the Laura Palmer of The Bear.