#does anybody know how hard it is to make it look like Jesse and Emily are looking at each other?

[holodaxy]

"A director needs a team...These people know the secrets of the Bureau as well as I do, some even better. They have proven themselves"

[amispnrewatch]

SPN 1x06 “Skin”

Okay, I’m gonna try to type while I watch this time instead of forgetting this blog exists until the episode is almost over.

You can tell the footage for the previously on segment was saved on a VHS copy instead of the original film that the show was shot with because even in the HD iTunes version I have it looks low quality as fuck. And jumpy in the way that brings me back to my teens watching the WB all the damn time.

I love this song. WTF is this song. Shazam says “Good Deal” by Mommy and Daddy. I… have no comment, except that it sounds like everything I was listening to in college at the time this shit was airing.

Aaaaand not!Dean turns around to face the SWAT team after obviously torturing some woman. THAT is a cold open.

I wanna know what that car is in the background. It’s pretty. Maybe a convertible Impala? They have similar grills. This is not at all important.

Also, I love that with these higher definition versions of the episodes you can see that Sam’s email is lawboy and whatever dot com and that people in the fandom have started calling him Law Boy. It’s hilarious.

DEAN: Well, what exactly do you tell ‘em? You know, about where you’ve been, what you’ve been doin’?

SAM: I tell ‘em I’m on a road trip with my big brother. I tell ‘em I needed some time off after Jess.

DEAN: Oh, so you lie to ‘em.

SAM: No. I just don’t tell ‘em….everything.

DEAN: Yeah, that’s called lying. I mean, hey, man, I get it, tellin’ the truth is far worse.

SAM: So, what am I supposed to do, just cut everybody out of my life? (DEAN shrugs.) You’re serious?

DEAN: Look, it sucks, but in a job like this, you can’t get close to people, period.

Aaaaand now I have Dean and Cassie feelings again and we haven’t even gotten to her episode yet.

SAM: No, man, I know Zack. He’s no killer.

DEAN: Well, maybe you know Zack as well as he knows you.

Aaaaaand now I have Dean and Lee feelings and we’re nowhere near Lee’s episode in season 15.

YOU JUST BLEW THROUGH A STOP SIGN DEAN WTF.

Little Becky. Oi with the reusing of names.

Of course Sam made friends with a bunch of rich kids while he was at college in a desperate attempt to try to be normal.

SAM: You know, maybe we could see the crime scene. Zack’s house.

DEAN: We could.

REBECCA: Why? I mean, what could you do?

SAM: Well, me, not much. But Dean’s a cop. (DEAN laughs.)

DEAN: Detective, actually.

I love that Dean was like “how dare you call me that.”

Okay, after a bit of research, I totally want to take a day trip to Bisbee, Arizona, but it’s already in the 90s here in the desert and it’s not even May so that trip is going to have to wait until… winter or something. There is no way in hell I’m going deeper into the desert when the weather gets hotter.

It’s a historic mining town tourist trap looking place now which is exactly the kind of shit I love.

SAM: Bec, look, I know Zack didn’t do this. Now, we have to find a way to prove that he’s innocent.

I mean, not technically, technically you would 1) NOT FUCK WITH A MURDER INVESTIGATION YOU’RE NOT LEGALLY INVOLVED IN BECAUSE ANYTHING YOU FIND WOULD BE INADMISSABLE IN COURT 2) find evidence to provide a reasonable doubt for the jury that he did commit the crime. You know, like a lawyer would need to do, Law Boy.

DEAN: I just don’t think this is our kind of problem.

When I made my husband watch this show with me (he’s seen it all at least once now over the years) this is the recurring thing that drove him crazy.

You guys can’t even go in through the back door? Or shut the front door behind you? Really?

REBECCA: (tearfully) Well, there’s no sign of a break-in. They say that Emily let her attacker in.

Yeah, that doesn’t even really mean that she knew her attacker. Just that it was someone she let her guard down around or got in some other way. See: The Son of Sam and Nightstalker, etc.

Love the pinup magnet on the fridge. I’d throw shade at that, but I have a pinup magnet on my fridge too so… pot kettle and all that.

Okay, both people in the next couple are gorgeous.

And oh wow those special effects changing eyes… wow.

This poor couple. I feel so bad for them in this episode.

How… how are the police gonna explain the way he was able to beat himself over the head with a bat??? I…

I love that 5:30 in the morning on TV is clearly like… 10 AM.

Okay, this is a really unrelated point, but the graffiti on the dumpster here reminds me of the Teen Wolf fandoms use of the name Void!Stiles when Stiles Stilinski was possessed by a Nogitsune… I just spent way too long digging through YouTube and my Tumblr tags from back when those episodes were airing looking for a few specific videos and couldn’t find them. The TL;DR reason I bring it up here is goofball, bi-coded main character guy getting possessed by an entity set on destroying the people he loves. SOUNDS LIKE THIS EPISODE AND A WHOLE LOT OF SPN RIGHT. I love that all these monster hunting shows call out to each other.

This scene haunts me years later and I don’t even WATCH Teen Wolf. I just watched the fandom on Tumblr collectively lose it’s shit then tripped down a Hale Pack fanfiction rabbit hole.

ANYWAY

Back to Supernatural, a show that also treated its fan base, cast, and characters like garbage! Huzzah!

DEAN: Well, there’s another way to go—down. (They look down and notice a manhole.)

I’m gonna be mature and ignore the double entendre there…

But I love that Dean thinks of the world in 3D. Which sounds like a dumb statement to make, but this is honestly a good example of that in action.

SAM: I bet this runs right by Zack’s house, too.

Really Sam, sewers run by houses? SO WEIRD. I WOULD HAVE NEVER GUESSED.

DEAN: You know, I just had a sick thought. When the shapeshifter changes shape—maybe it sheds.

SAM: That is sick. (DEAN puts the bloody pile back on the ground.)

Guys, there is a WHOLE ASS EAR in that pile of yuck you’re looking at. I think it’s pretty safe to assume the shapeshifter indeed sheds its skin like a snake. A much… gooier snake.

Sam’s friend is rightfully pissed at him for fucking with the crime scene.

This is before the pearl gripped guns?! Wow. I never noticed that before.

Also, this whole episode gives me feelings.

++++

Cool. Tumblr mobile ate a whole section of my notes on this when it crashed for NO APPARENT REASON. Love that.

It always boggles my mind that actors can trust the people they’re working with enough to let people “tie” ropes around their neck or put them in actually dangerous positions in a scene.

SHAPESHIFTER: He’s sure got issues with you. You got to go to college. He had to stay home. I mean, I had to stay home. With Dad. You don’t think I had dreams of my own? But Dad needed me. Where the hell were you?

SAM: Where is my brother? (The shapeshifter leans in close to SAM.)

SHAPESHIFTER: I am your brother. See, deep down, I’m just jealous. You got friends. You could have a life. Me? I know I’m a freak. And sooner or later, everybody’s gonna leave me. (He backs away.)

SAM: What are you talkin’ about?

SHAPESHIFTER: You left. Hell, I did everything Dad asked me to, and he ditched me, too. No explanation, nothin’, just poof. Left me with your sorry ass. But, still, this life? It’s not without its perks. (He laughs.) I meet the nicest people. Like little Becky. You know, Dean would bang her if he had the chance. Let’s see what happens. (He smiles and covers SAM with a sheet.)

This exchange is just… so much. So many feelings. And I will forever (unless we magically get a fix-it fic mini season someday…) be SO MAD that none of this got resolved in that pointless, trash heap of a finale.

REBECCA: Okay, so, this thing—it can make itself look like anybody?

SHAPESHIFTER: That’s right. (She chuckles.)

REBECCA: Well, what is it, like a genetic freak? (The shapeshifter laughs.)

SHAPESHIFTER: Maybe. Evolution is about mutation, right? So, maybe this thing was born human but was different. Hideous and hated. Until he learned to become someone else. (REBECCA looks around, uncomfortable. The shapeshifter’s eyes glint silver, and he smiles.)

It always amazes me how much of this show is a pile of accidental queer allegories parading around in an ill-fitting toxic masculinity suit.

Vulcan mind meld! I love nerd!Dean. Also, I’m rewatching Star Trek: TOS with my husband, because that is what my life amounts to these days, rewatching comfort TV and flailing over the bits I love.

This post does a better job than I can do of pairing up screen caps with the dialogue of this next scene. SIX EPISODES IN. They’re dumping all of this character depth SIX EPISODES IN. FUCK THIS SHOW FOR NOT EMBRACING ITSELF.

Okay, I love that he screams back in her face after he threw the phone. It’s not something to laugh at because the situation is horrifying, but I can’t help laughing at it every time.

AND THE WAY THEY CUT THESE SCENES. Going from him winding his hand back to backslap her directly to him dropping the chains on the table to show how hard he must have hit her without actually making the actors hit each other. Good job editing department!

I… don’t understand the shifter’s motivation for killing people. If he can take over people’s identities without killing them, why kill them? Is it just because he’s a homicidal, rapist piece of shit? Cause that’s all it seems like.

How did the SWAT team even know she was being attacked? Why can the snipers aim no better than Storm Troopers?

Ugh, these kind of transformation body horror scenes are exactly why werewolf stories have never really appealed to me much. Like, I could do without watching your ribs move and teeth fall out, dude.

BUT.

THIS FUCKING SCENE.

I looked up the song that’s playing over shapeshifter!Dean being caught by the SWAT team and then going through the grotesque transformation. (And as far as I know, the iTunes version has the original music from the episodes.)

It’s a song called “Mary” by The Death Riders

Who's your mother, who's your mother here boy // Who's your mother, whos your mommy dear // Who's your father, who's your father here boy // Who's your father, who's your daddy dear

Silently screaming // Where everyone knows // Daddy's always watchin' // Where everywhere - everywhere I go

I don't wanna be a freak show pretty boy anymore // I don't wanna be a full time slave // I don't wanna be your midnight cowboy anymore // I just want to be Mary

This is… a fascinating choice. Here are the rest of the lyrics. The song as a whole has a weird incesty kinda vibe to it? Kinda like when SPN tries to straight-wash itself and misses the mark wildly. (Like Dean’s male siren episode.)

The midnight cowboy line reminded me of 12x11 and the bull riding scene with “Broomstick Cowboy” by Bobby Goldsboro playing over it

Dream on, little Broomstick Cowboy, // Dream while you can; // Of big green frogs, // And puppy dogs, // And castles in the sand.

For, all too soon you'll awaken; // Your toys will all be gone. // Your broomstick horse will ride away, // To find another home. // And you'll have grown into a man, // With cowboys of your own. // And then you'll have to go to war, // To try and save your home.

And then you'll have to learn to hate; // You'll have to learn to kill. // It's always been that way, my son; // I guess it always will.

Because, you know, why not add tons of feelings into the lyrics, right?

Props to the people who can embrace their rewatches and reclamations of the show with ease. Because every episode seems to remind me of how hollow and tragic Dean’s ending was and I just… struggle all over again.

Anyway, back to the episode so I can move on with my day.

REPORTER: An anonymous tip led police to a home in the Central West End, where a S.W.A.T team discovered a local woman bound and gagged. Her attacker, a white male, approximately twenty-four to thirty years of age, was discovered hiding in her home. (A sketch of DEAN appears on the screen.)

DEAN: Man! That’s not even a good picture. (SAM looks around cautiously.)

SAM: It’s good enough. (He walks away.)

DEAN: Man! (He follows SAM.)

(CUT TO: Alley. DEAN and SAM are walking. DEAN steps into a puddle.)

DEAN: Ugh, come on.

I love that we get two tiny little back-to-back vanity moments for Dean here. One commenting on the sketch artist rendition of him being broadcasted on the news and the other tripping in the puddle. There is literally someone running around the city trying to kill people while wearing Dean’s face, but Dean is still concerned with how he looks appears to others. He’s still concerned with keeping up his own performance. The shifter left him with just a t-shirt, so he doesn’t even have his usual comfort layers on and at any moment someone could spot him and call the police or try to kill him for assaulting Sam’s friend. His life is wildly out of control in that moment and the only thing he can try to focus on is his appearance (something semi-controllable) and finding the shifter before any of that other shit can happen.

One day I want to put together a like top 10 episodes focusing on / explaining each TFW character from the series. Like the kind of list you could show someone who’s never seen the show, but has OPINIONS about the characters (or who hasn’t seen the whole show and seen the growth they went through… you know, like the people responsible for the travesty of 15x20). This episode would be on that list. I’m not sure how I could manage to make a list of only 10 episodes to understand Dean Winchester by, but eh.

SAM: What are you gonna do to me?

SHAPESHIFTER: Oh, I’m not gonna do anything. Dean will, though.

SAM: They’ll never catch him.

SHAPESHIFTER: Oh, doesn’t matter. Murder in the first of his own brother? He’ll be hunted the rest of his life. (He picks up a sharp knife and examines it.)

Speaking of season 15 in general, this right here. This was Chuck’s villain story arc thesis statement. AND THEY DROPPED THE GODDAMN BALL WITH IT. I think that’s the thing that honestly pisses me off the most these days (about 5 1/2 months from when the finale aired) is that they tried making the whole thing a tragedy but did such an awful job with it that it just ended up like a deflating condom balloon at a dive bar concert. Disappointing and gross. The finale for season 14 set them up SO FUCKING WELL and it just… didn’t get there.

Becky’s parents are gonna be pissed at how torn up their house is after all this shit…

And you’re not shooting him when you first see him strangling Sam because…?????

I like that he took the necklace back. Also, is this kinda Dean death number .5 of the show? Like it wasn’t him but it was also kinda him. Eh.

At least they left the windshield on Baby this time. Reflections are better than tearing her apart.

[the-breath-in-air]

Fixing "Boy Erased" (2018)

I recently decided to watch Boy Erased (2018) again, now that we're a couple years out from its initial release (and hype). And I came away with some thoughts.

First, something I think worked. You know that scene near the end, when Jared (Lucas Hedges) is trying to leave the conversion camp and he's racing through corridors and whatnot. That whole sequence works, but there's one moment that really stands out.

Jared attempts to get his phone and Michael (one of the 'camp counselors') tries to physically wrestle it away from him. There's a bit of a fight but eventually Jared makes his way to the bathroom and he calls his mom to come take him away. He then emerges from the bathroom and says to Victor Sykes (who runs the camp), "If you, or anyone else puts their hands on me, I have witnesses." Victor puts up his hands and says, "Nobody's gonna put their hands on you. Why would anybody do that? Come and sit. We're gonna wait for your mom, okay?" Then there's a hard cut to this:

Victor Sykes and Brandon literally laying their hands on Jared and praying. And I love that juxtaposition because it brings to light the violence inherent in this situation. They're restraining him through enforced religious acts. There's violence in this prayer.

And on top of that, it serves as a pretty good metaphor for the whole film. Jared's parents (especially his mother) believe they're helping but really they're hurting. They can't see the violence of their actions in sending him to the camp.

If only the rest of the film was working on this level.

Problem the first: Audience as observer. The film is really about observing its subject, Jared, as he experiences these events. But it isn't about giving us any insight into his perspective or interiority as he does so. The camera is looking at Jared more often that it is revealing to us what he's seeing. Perhaps the most obvious example of this issue is with the perfume ad scene. Jared is on a run and he comes across a perfume ad on the side of a bus stop with a bare chested buff guy. The camera shows us the ad, and then the rest of the scene has the camera (and thus, the audience) placed some distance away as we see Jared first touch the ad, then throw a rock at the ad, and then scream "fuck you" at it repeatedly. The ad itself isn't salacious enough to illicit that kind of response in the average audience-goer, and the camera is so disconnected from Jared's experience that we aren't really gaining insight into why this ad is affecting him in such a strong way. It ends up making it so that scene really does not work.

This isn't to critique Lucas Hedges's performance in that scene. It's more to say that all the other elements of that scene make it feel ridiculous - because the audience has not been guided toward viewing that ad in the same way that Jared does in that moment.

The second problem: Casting. To be absolutely clear, this is not a knock against any of the actors performances. On the contrary, I think everyone was pretty dang exceptional. Rather, it's more a conversation about casting choices. Two of those choices really stand out as somewhat misguided: Xavier Dolan as Jon and Emily Hinkler as Lee.

Turns out Emily Hinkler is a nonbinary actress. Lee (the character) is a cis guy who is conspicuously unmasculine. (If you've seen the movie - he's the one who gets hit in the head with a baseball). Casting a nonbinary actress as a cis boy at a conversion camp feels a bit off on it's own in that a conversion camp would be forcing people to adhere to assigned genders at birth. But I could get behind it as a sort of statement, like, a casting decision as direct opposition to the enforced gender binary of a conversion camp. i.e. Why should the movie adhere to the oppressive gender binary that the camp would? However, by casting a nonbinary actress as the least conventionally masculine character - it actually feels like it ends up reinforcing the binary. Lee's defining trait is that he's small and unmanly and, afaik, he's the only one of the male characters who is not portrayed by a cis man.

My issue with Xavier Dolan's casting is much simpler: Jon feels like he was written as a teenager and Xavier Dolan was approaching 30 when this was filmed. Maybe it wouldn't have bugged me so much if I didn't already know who Xavier Dolan was when watching the movie? Like, maybe if you watch it without knowing the actor's age, it works better? But also, the character feels like a teen but isn't explicitly stated to be a teen. So whenever he was on screen I kept wondering if actually part of Jon's situation is meant to be that he is 30 but stuck in a sort-of adolescence due to his relationship with his abusive father. Or did they just cast Xavier Dolan to portray a teenager?

This brings me to the third problem: Not enough of the ensemble. Jared, and thus the audience, spends proportionally, little screen time with the other people at the camp. They are rarely shown talking to each other - especially outside the restrictive observation of the camp's 'counselors.' This could be part of the point - i.e. that the camp is so isolating - but that isolation wasn't really highlighted by the camera/scenes/dialogue...so it really feels more like it's just an oversight. The movie focuses on Jared and his individual story and so the rest just fell by the wayside.

This is really unfortunate because there are some (potentially) great characters in there, especially Jon and Gary. Jon went through the program once before and is now back for a second time. We don't know what happened to make him come back. He appears to be 30-ish but he's staying at a hotel with his abusive father. He is completely invested in the program and treats his sexuality like an addiction. He has even taken it upon himself to forego all physical contact with other men (not even a handshake). His self-loathing is at once horrifying and heartbreaking.

In contrast, Gary (Troye Sivan) knows the entire program is bullshit, but he's playing along for his own survival. He's over 18; he lived with his boyfriend for a year prior to coming to the camp. So that begs the question of how his family convinced him to enter to the program. Also, Gary's so invested in his own survival, that he stays silent and is complacent in the abuse and violence he witnesses against others in the camp. He is both a victim and a bystander (at times).

I think this film would've really benefited from spending more time with these characters (as well as Sarah, portrayed by Jesse LaTourette, and Cameron, portrayed by Britton Sear) in the camp and seeing how they all interacted with each other. Give us a sense of their different contexts and perspectives - and give us a better sense of the ways that conversion camps disempower the people sent there (even people like Gary, who knows it's bullshit). It's the thing that makes all the other movies about conversion camps work so well.

Which brings us to the fourth problem: the ending. If we spend more time with the ensemble, we'd either end up with a really long movie or we'd have to cut out something else. Well, folks, we can cut about 10 minutes off the end. Everything after the dinner Jared has with his mother post-escape can go. The climax of the film is when Jared finally decides to leave the camp. The resolution comes when his mother places herself in opposition to Jared's father (which she had never done before) and decides that she's going to take Jared home. And the emotional resolution comes when she admits to Jared that they made a mistake and that they harmed him by sending him to the camp.

Everything after that is extraneous. We don't really need to see Jared living in a city with a boyfriend, or see him begin to reconcile with his father. His relationship with his father was never the emotional core for the film. Boy Erased is, in some ways, a movie about self-actualization and that's the sort of movie that's best to end with something a bit open-ended. Y'know...a sort of end-that's-just-the-beginning kind of thing. Because the story of Jared falling in love and dating and moving out and gaining the self-confidence to confront his father - well that's a whole other movie. And here it gets shoved into the epilogue, which does the whole thing a real disservice.

Then there are the informational cards at the end. Two stick out as being particularly frustrating. One, "The real Victor Sykes left L.I.A. in 2008. He now lives in Texas, with his husband," feels irrelevant and unnecessary. The audience cares about what happened to Gerrard Conley (who wrote the story and whom Jared is based off of). But why do we care about what happened to the real guy who ran the camp? We don't...except for the jab about him now being married to a man - which feels like it's a more significant point for the cis straight people in the audience than for anyone queer. Turns-out-ex-gay-pastor-was-actually-just-gay-the-whole-time is not revelatory, I gotta say.

Then there's also this:

The emphasis about conversion therapy "practiced on minors," feels a bit disconnected from the film we just watched - which emphasized how abusive and traumatizing it is, even for adults. And in the U.S., all states currently legally allow conversion therapy for anyone 18+. Only Washington D.C. has banned it. And that, to me, is equally egregious, yet it isn't mentioned. The film itself challenges the notion that it's somehow okay for this to be practiced on adults because it's ostensibly their "choice," and then the info cards at the end shy away from that stance by focusing on kids.

I think the thing I find most frustrating about this movie, is the wasted potential. As I said at the beginning of this, there are some moments that really stand out in how they use the medium to convey meaning. There are some choices in how the film uses light and brightness (or lack thereof), that are pretty dang good, too. But ultimately, it's a film I feel so detached from and I think some of what I explained above is part of why.

[lespetitesmortsde]

One-Sided War, part three

Part three! @sketchywave

Except Beca does win a third time, because she works there and gets in before anybody else and stakes her claim on the spot before anyone else even has the chance.

It sparks Chloe’s irritation anew and the injustice forces it to grow. Emily can almost see the flames behind her eyes as she takes Chloe’s order and money and gestures her over to the pick-up area.

The old man is right behind Chloe, and she watches what he’s going to do as he gets his regular drip (in a white non-refillable mug) and she waits for her espresso.

To her surprise, as soon as Beca sees the man, she gets up and helps him into the chair, playfully wrapping her blanket around him and shaking his hand before walking past Chloe and into the back room of the cafe. When she emerges only moments later, Chloe’s picking up her drink, and Beca stays behind the bar, sliding easily into the rhythm Emily and Tom have set up.

Chloe slips into the same chair she had yesterday, deftly avoiding the weird bulge, and sits quietly across from the man. He reads his newspaper, and drinks his coffee, and Beca clearly isn’t coming back before he leaves, so Chloe sets up her computer. When she navigates back to her document, she cringes at the lack of work she did yesterday.

She needs to stop letting Beca distract her, so she dives right in and tries not to think about the mysterious new addition to her cafe.

Her plan doesn’t exactly go smoothly, though, because around 6:45, Beca wanders over with a mug of coffee, white this time, and sets it down in front of the old man. She swipes away his empty coffee mug and walks right back to the counter to help her coworkers.

When the old man reaches for his coffee next, after putting down his newspaper, she can almost see the chain reaction in his mind: reach for mug, oh wait there’s no coffee left, wait why is there a new mug here…

He looks up and looks around and looks imploringly over at the counter. Like she has a sixth sense, Beca looks over at that moment, sends him a smile and a wave, and then goes right back to work. Chloe can see the corners of her mouth are still slightly turned up.

“Thank you, Beca,” he calls out across the coffee shop, and Beca waves him off again.

“No problem, Rick, enjoy.”

Oh Jesus, Chloe thinks. Her anger dissipates almost entirely. She’s sweet and her voice is sexy. Chloe glances down mournfully at her computer, already admitting defeat, already knowing that today is the day she’s going to talk to Beca.

She’s also disappointed in herself. Since when does she get so irritated over small things like a chair in a coffee shop? And why doesn’t she know that the nice old man she used to switch chairs with is named Rick, when she’s been here longer?

It feels a little like she’s lost herself somewhere along the way in the past few years, settling into what she thought was a routine of adulthood, but now that she thinks more critically, seems more and more like a rut.

When did she stop making friends everywhere she goes and get so… so self-involved?

She shudders and takes a comforting sip of her macchiato. The more she thinks about it, the less she likes discovering what she’s brushed aside as the naivete of youth. She vows to be better.

Glancing over at the brunette, who’s now working the till instead of the frother, she nods to herself and even though she has almost half her drink left, she downs it quickly. She waits a moment for all the new liquid to settle into her stomach before she gets up and joins the back of the now nine-person-deep line, almost out the door.

“Hello there, can I get you another caramel macchiato?” Beca asks as Chloe approaches the counter.

Chloe beams, “Yes, please.”

“Caramel macchiato, half-sweet, for Chloe,” Beca calls over her shoulder, already ringing through the refill charge.

“Wait, how did you-”

Beca chuckles. “Emily says you’re here every day and you always get the same thing.”

Sure enough, when Chloe glances over at her usual barista, Emily gives a little wave before going right back to steaming milk.

“Well, thanks,” Chloe says, holding out her hand so Beca can pour coins into it. “Beca,” she adds.

Beca smirks. “No problem.”

Chloe steps away, toward the pick-up counter, and watches Beca interact with the next customer, and then the one after that, before she’s able to pick up her coffee and head back to her new spot.

Rick’s coffee is already three quarters gone, and he’s pushed his newspaper aside to just stare out the window instead. Normally, Chloe would’ve left him alone, but now that she’s trying to get back to college Chloe, she’s on a mission.

She sits down across from him, puts down her drink, and leans forward in her chair. “Hi there!” she greets brightly. He turns to look at her and smiles a little.

“Hello.”

“So your name’s Rick? My name’s Chloe. I see you in here a lot. Nice to finally meet you!” And Chloe sticks out her hand.

Rick takes it and gives it a good one-pump shake. “Nice to meet you, too.” He shifts a little in his seat. “You’re here early today.”

Chloe blushes a little at this. “I was trying to scope it out and see why Beca kept beating me to inheriting your chair, but now I understand.” She settles back into her new spot. “And this chair is pretty good, so long as you avoid the bump.”

That gets a laugh out of the man, and it’s so nice to have an innocent conversation with someone that it strikes Chloe how much she’s missed it.

“It doesn’t come pre-warmed though, does it?” Rick asks, playfully.

She laughs softly, “No, it doesn’t, but I guess I’ll live.” Chloe sighs a little for dramatic effect and Rick practically glows at the attention.

He drinks the last of his coffee, and looks a little forlornly at the mug. Chloe looks at him questioningly, but when Rick catches her eye, he just shrugs. “I’m not supposed to have more than one cup of coffee per day,” he admits. “Doctor said something about all the caffeine.”

Suddenly, Chloe’s good will toward Beca wanes.

“Oh, no!” She says, wringing her hands. Already, she’s thinking of ways to talk to Beca about potentially harming the health of one of her customers.

“Don’t worry about it,” a voice interjects, and Chloe turns to see Beca smiling at Rick. “It’s decaf, old man, so it’s got all the flavour and none of the crap.”

Chloe almost swoons.

Beca’s changed out of her cafe shirt, instead donning some sort of dark blue tank top with a red plaid shirt overtop, and still on top of that, a black hoodie.

“Thank you, Beca,” Rick says, as he gets up from the chair and folds his newspaper under his arm, blanket falling off of his shoulders as he goes.

“Like I said, no problem, Rick,” Beca smiles, taking a step to the side. “Have a good day!”

Rick nods, “I will, thank you, you ladies, too.” Chloe feels a little pleasurable spark at being included with Beca. He walks off and Beca drops into the chair, wrapping her blanket around herself. She reaches into her bag to pull out her headphones and Chloe realizes that her window for a conversation is vanishing as she watches.

“Hey,” Chloe says, an edge of panic to her voice. Beca pauses in her movements.

“Hey…?”

“So do you own this place now, then?” Chloe asks, the question pouring out of her. She’d meant to check if Beca was, indeed, new in town, and then try to use that as a segue to meet up with Beca outside of the coffee shop.

Beca laughs. It’s not just an amused chuckle or a couple of ‘heh’s; it’s a full on chortle, like it’s the funniest thing she’s ever heard in her lifetime. Chloe just sits there confused and patient.

“No, I don’t own the place. I’m just helping out for a few days. I’m friends with the actual owner, Jesse. He needed some help, I was passing through, so why not, you know?” Beca pulls her headphones onto her lap and reaches into her bag again, drawing out her laptop.

Chloe knows Jesse, has met him a bunch over the time she’s spent sequestered in what is now Beca’s chair. And she doesn’t mean to be rude, but, “How do you two know each other?”

Almost anyone aside from Chloe would’ve blushed at pressing for information, but Chloe just leans forward a little bit in her chair to show she’s interested, and smiles warmly.

Beca shifts her headphones so they lie on top of her closed laptop, and picks up her coffee instead. She scoots back, like she’s settling in for a lengthy conversation, and wraps her hands around the mug.

“We went to the same music finishing school.”

Chloe grins, “I love music! What did you two do there?”

Beca takes a sip before responding, “Jesse pursued thematic scoring; he’s really into movies. I took a degree in music engineering.” Chloe nods along as Beca speaks.

“So, now Jesse owns a coffee shop and you…?”

“I produce music. I’ve also been known to DJ a little on the side, but it happens less often these days.”

Bobbing her head, Chloe asks, “Anything I might’ve heard?”

Beca tilts her head like she’s thinking about it. “On the production side, yes, if you listen to the radio. On the DJ side, only if you find mixes in the furthest corners of the internet.”

Chloe just stares at her expectantly.

Beca sighs into a chuckle. “You know Halsey?”

Wide-eyed, Chloe nods quickly. Beca shrugs like it’s no big deal.

“That’s so awesome, Beca! Wow! She’s got some sick beats,” Chloe compliments. Beca tries to hide her pleasure at the compliment behind an awkward smile.

“Thanks.”

“Whom else?”

“Um, I’ve done some stuff with Justin Timberlake, a couple with Ed Sheeran, once I was graced to help Beyonce, and there have been a few others.�� Beca fidgets with the edges of her blanket.

“Damn,” Chloe whistles. “So, you’re like, famous hey?”

Immediately Beca is shaking her head, “No, no, no, I just play with some buttons and dials and stuff. I’m not famous.”

But Chloe will not be put off. “What’s your DJ name?”

Beca blushes hard. “Oh, um, it’s just Beca Mitchell. Or DJ double B. Or DJ B. I never really wanted a DJ-something name, though. If David Guetta doesn’t need one nor do I.”

Chloe freezes. “Shut. Up.”

So Beca stares uncomfortably.

“Shut up!” And then Chloe’s vibrating with glee, talking animatedly, “I love your stuff, oh my God, you’re not as hard to find as you think you are. How did you come up with the “Bulletproof” and “Titanium” mashup? The “500 Miles” one? You did a whole slew of Halsey mashups; it makes so much sense now!”

Beca swallows audibly. “Whoa. Okay. Calm down. Still shitty temporary barista Beca.”

But Chloe ploughs on, relentlessly, “Is that what you’re doing on your computer? I knew you couldn’t be writing, but I thought maybe you were doing accounting stuff for this place. Now that I know what I know, though, is it true?”

“So you’ve been watching me?”

That stops Chloe in her tracks. “Oh, um, well, I-”

Thankfully, Beca laughs. “Relax, Chloe. Yes, I’m working on some new mixes and mashups. I don’t perform much anymore, but I still release the stuff I make in my spare time.”

Chloe visibly relaxes. “How long are you here for, then, Ms. Badass Producer Lady?”

“Well, I’m covering for Jess for another week, and then I’m heading back to LA for a few sessions. Then, I dunno. I’ll be around.”

Beca’s eyes drift down and notice that Chloe’s cup and her own are empty. She shakes off her blanket and takes them over to the counter, washing her hands before making their drinks. This time, she doesn’t make herself a black coffee because Chloe watches her pour steamed milk into both of their mugs, not just hers.

When she walks back, Chloe asks, “What’d you get this time?”

Settling back into her blanket, Beca shrugs. “Same as you. I don’t usually go for the sweet stuff, but I only added half the sweetener you get. It’s halfway okay.”

“Rude,” Chloe states, taking a sip and smiling.

“That’s what people keep telling me,” Beca agrees.

There’s a brief silence over the two of them as they both grip onto their warm mugs and just kind of settle.

“Oh wait,” Chloe exclaims quickly, putting down her cup and shoving a hand into her jacket pocket. “I owe you $2.95 for the refill.”

Beca just waves her off, “It’s on the house. Don’t worry about it.”

“Are you sure?” Chloe hesitates to put her change back into her pocket.

“I’m sure, Chloe. It’s fine. I’m the boss remember? At least for the week.” Beca glances around for a second before setting her gaze back on Chloe. “So what do you do here all day? Em says you’re here basically all day every day.”

It’s Chloe’s turn to flush lightly. “Oh, I’m a writer.”

Beca grins, “Anything I’d know?”

Chloe screws up her nose a little in thought. “I generally write historical fiction or non-fiction, and you don’t strike me as the type.”

Laughing, Beca nods, “Yeah, I barely read, but when I do, it’s generally a YA novel Jesse’s recommended or books about music.”

“The music bit is a little predictable, Becs,” Chloe informs her, leaning back comfortably in her chair and taking a sip of her drink.

“What can I say, I’m an open book,” Beca jokes. “Seriously though, what’ve you written? Maybe I’ll try it out.”

“You’ll be here tomorrow, right?” Chloe asks, changing the subject.

A little confused, Beca replies, “Yeah, why?”

“I’ll bring some of my books. If you want to read any of them, you can just have them,” Chloe says. She leans down to dig into her bag for her pad of sticky notes, grabs her pen from the tabletop, and writes herself a note so she doesn’t forget.

“Oh, no, you don’t have to do that,” Beca attempts to backpedal.

Chloe waves her off. “Show me some of the stuff you’re working on, but haven’t finished, and we’ll call it a trade.”

“Deal,” Beca agrees, “but only stuff that’s my own.” She shrugs. “Confidentiality contracts and all that jazz.”

“That’s so cool,” Chloe says a little dreamily.

Beca raises an eyebrow and takes a sip of her coffee while Chloe blushes lightly. “Sorry.”

But Beca just shakes her head with a small smile. “What are you working on right now, Hemingway?”

Chloe giggles briefly as she hits a few keys on her laptop. “Not quite the right genre, but I’ll give it to you,” Chloe answers. “As long as you don’t think I’m an alcoholic.” She turns the screen towards Beca.

Shrugging, Beca scoots forward in her seat to get a better look at Chloe’s screen as she replies, “Eh, we don’t know each other well enough yet. I’m reserving judgment.”

“So you think we’ll get to know each other more?”

Beca’s cheeks redden. “Maybe just hoping.”

Chloe smiles widely and gestures to the screen. “Right now I’m working on an article for National Geographic about territorialism in domestic animals,” Chloe explains. “Maybe you could help me with the human angle?”

Beca moves her gaze from the screen to Chloe’s face, confusion evident. “How am I supposed to do that?”

Chloe grins, happy that Beca’s taken the bait. “Well, for example, I’m very territorial about my coffee shop seat,” she trails off as she watches Beca’s confusion deepen.

“Okay…?”

“And for the last three days,” Chloe smirks, “a certain brunette best friend of the manager has been stealing it.”

Beca’s mouth drops open in a soft ‘o.’ “Oh my God–”

“Which is a clear breach of my territory, however, like animals in the wild, I can be appeased,” Chloe explains helpfully, cutting off what she assumes will be an apology. “Say dinner tonight? 7?”

She watches as Beca’s face flows from confusion and apologies to slow realization, and finally, through to a smile.

“You’re good,” Beca acknowledges, and tips an imaginary hat.

Chloe almost purrs at the compliment. “Thanks.”

Beca pulls a small notebook out of her bag, rips a page out, and writes on it. When she hands it to Chloe, she shrugs, “I don’t usually carry my phone on me, but you should probably text me an address or someplace where I’ll be picking you up.”

Excitedly, Chloe takes the slip of paper and makes a big show of entering the number into her phone, which is almost always on her. “Thanks!” she says brightly. “I’m Chloe Beale, by the way,” she waves Beca off as she opens her mouth. “We already know your last name, so I thought I would level the playing field.”

“Well, thanks, Chloe Beale,” Beca replies, playing with one of the ear cushions on her headphones. Then she gestures down at Chloe’s laptop. “When’s your deadline?”

Immediately, Chloe winces. “Like… two days ago?”

Beca’s laughter is immediate and full, even though it’s quiet to match the coffee shop’s atmosphere. “I’d be so dead if I was that late.”

Blushing, Chloe defends herself, “It’s kind of, like, a thing in the publishing industry. Writers are late. Even when we try not to be!”

“Oh really?” Beca asks, amusement evident, disbelief clear.

Chloe nods emphatically. “Oh yeah, my editors have a policy where they give all writers early deadlines so that they can afford the extra time when the writer’s late.”

Beca just raises her eyebrows.

“Yeah,” Chloe admits, “I’m not supposed to know in case I abuse the safety net they’ve created for themselves, but it still works! I just feel less bad when I’m late.”

“So how much of a cushion do you have?”

“Like a week?” Chloe says, tilting her head to the side. “Something like that.”

Beca hums. “And how close are you to being finished?”

“... Not very,” Chloe says and she meets Beca’s inquisitive stare.

The two of them hold eye contact for a moment.

“Okay, well, you work on your book, and I’ll work on my music so that A. I meet my deadline because in the music industry, you cannot be late. If you’re close to the deadline, you’re considered late. And B. So that when I take you out later and blow your mind with awesomeness, I won’t feel guilty about pulling you from your responsibilities.”

“That sounds good, Becs,” Chloe smiles.

Beca smirks. “That’s how I roll,” she says and slips on her headphones, sending a wink Chloe’s way before focusing her eyes on the screen in front of her.

[marcusssanderson]

50 Hope Quotes Celebrating a Brighter Future and Progress

This hope quotes collection will help you look toward a bright future even in the worst of conditions.

Hope can be defined as”the belief that circumstances in the future will be better.” It allows us to be optimistic of a positive outcome and increases our chances of realizing our goals and dreams.

Although there are many obstacles in life, hope allows us to approach them with a success mindset. It helps us to get closer to our goals despite the ups and downs of life.

Hope brings joy, peace, protection and strength, and provides a way forward even in the worst of conditions. When you have hope, you have the will, determination, and ways to reach your goals.

Life is full of twists and turns. Without hope, or without the inner peace of knowing that better days are ahead, it’s impossible to fully live.

To help you maintain an optimistic state of mind, below is our collection of inspirational, positive, and empowering hope quotes, hope sayings, and hope proverbs, collected from a variety of sources over the years.

Hope quotes celebrating a brighter future and progress

1.) ”Anybody who has ever struggled to plant his feet onto the floor in the morning knows that life can be hard; it can be stressful; it can be overwhelming. But each of those negative, less than optimal feelings immediately takes a back seat to the inspirational power of hope.” – Shawn L. Anderson

2.) ”Never give up. Have hope. Expect only the best from life and take action to get it.” – Catherine Pulsifer

3.) ”There is always hope for a new day, hope that the darkness won’t always seem impenetrable. There is always hope because our Redeemer lives.” – Marcia Laycock

4.) ”In fact, hope is best gained after defeat and failure, because then inner strength and toughness is produced.” –  Fritz Knapp

5.) ”It’s always something, to know you’ve done the most you could. But, don’t leave off hoping, or it’s of no use doing anything. Hope, hope to the last.” – Charles Dickens

6.) ”No matter the number of times you fail you must be determined to succeed. You must not lose hope. Don’t stop in your storm. Don’t give up so easily.” – Tony Narams

7.) ”Hold your head high, stick your chest out. You can make it. It gets dark sometimes, but morning comes. Keep hope alive.” – Jesse Jackson

8.) ”A positive statement propels hope toward a better future, it builds up your faith and that of others, and it promotes change.” – Jan Dargatz

9.) ”Hope is outreaching desire with expectancy of good. It is a characteristic of all living beings.” – Edward S. Ame

10.) ”When life’s broken places lead us to Jesus, ultimately we will find hope.” – Renee Swope

Hope quotes to help you look toward a brighter future

11.) ”Even your past pain can be a blessing to someone. Hope lifters are willing to reach back and pass hope on.” – Kathe Wunnenberg

12.) ”Hope, as it pertains to love, is a good thing because by hoping for certain things such as an extended future with the one you love is made possible.” – John Franks

13.) ”Even when the world throws its worst and then turns its back, there is still always hope.” – Pittacus Lore

14.) ”Realistic thinking is where real hope is found; helping us hit the right balance between realism and aspirations.” – M. P. Neary

15.) ”You cannot change anyone but yourself. Always hope for the best, but keep living your life no matter what.” – Kate Anderson

16.) ”Hope is the most exciting thing in life and if you honestly believe that love is out there, it will come. And even if it doesn’t come straight away there is still that chance all through your life that it will.” – Josh Hartnett

17.) ”Hope is the one thing that sometimes keeps us going.” – Catherine Pulsifer

18.) ”But keep on working and hoping still. For in spite of the grumblers who stand about, somehow, it seems, all things work out.” – Edgar Guest

19.) ”Hope is a renewable option: If you run out of it at the end of the day, you get to start over in the morning.” – Barbara Kingsolver

20.) ”If we expect change, we must act on our hope every day until we have accomplished what we wanted.” – Christopher Goodman

Hope quotes to help you maintain an optimistic state of mind

21.) ”When you have lost hope, you have lost everything. And when you think all is lost, when all is dire and bleak, there is always hope.” – Pittacus Lore

22.) ”Hope is a beautiful thing. It gives us peace and strength, and keeps us going when all seems lost. Accepting what you cannot change doesn’t mean you have given up on hope. It just means you have to focus your hope on more humanely tangible and attainable goals.” – Julie Donner Andersen

23.) ”Hope can be seen out in the garden in a plant that grows from a tiny seed. At first it struggles through the soil, but it persists and continues to go on until it becomes an imposing tree, and then it starts bearing fruit.” – Robert Smith

24.) ”But I know there is a future and a hope for those who trust in God and allow him to beautify the ugly messes we often find ourselves in, often through no fault of our own.”  – Olivia Hope

25.) ”Hope enables us to walk, while fear leaves us immobilized. Fear is all about what we can’t do or what others might do to us.” – Michelle Lynn Brown

26.) ”The difference between hope and despair is the ability to believe in tomorrow.” – Jerry Grillo

27.) ”The start of something new brings the hope of something great, anything is possible.” – Unknown

28.) ”Hope, like every virtue, is a choice that becomes a habit that becomes spiritual muscle memory. It’s a renewable resource for moving through life as it is, not as we wish it to be.” – Krista Tippett

29.) ”When we go to Him in prayer, He gives us hope and strength to handle the impossible.” –  Shane DeCreshio

30.) ”Anticipate good things will happen, keep your mind positive, never lose hope, and it will amaze you.” – C Pulsifer

Hope quotes that motivate you to reach your goals

31.) ”Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.” – Helen Keller

32.) ”An unsinkable, hopeful spirit can sustain you for a long distance as you sojourn on your personal growth journey through life.” – Shadonna Richards

33.) ”When you do nothing you feel overwhelmed and powerless. But when you get involved you feel the sense of hope and accomplishment that comes from knowing you are working to make things better.” – Maya Angelou

34.) ”Hope can be a powerful force. Maybe there’s no actual magic in it, but when you know what you hope for most and hold it like a light within you, you can make things happen, almost like magic.” – Laini Taylor

35.) ”He who has no hope and who expects not to achieve anything, will never do so.” – C Butler

36.) ”Hope isn’t the same as optimism. It isn’t the belief that something bad will turn out well. It’s the absolute confidence that every part of your life ultimately makes sense regardless of how it turns out this side of eternity.” – Rick Warren

37.) ”I haven’t always been successful, but I’ve always had hope. I’ve always known that if I kept plugging away and doing my best, I’d be successful.” – Les Brown

38.) ”There is no hope of success for the person who does not have a central purpose, or definite goal at which to aim.” – Napoleon Hill

39.) ”Never let go of hope – dream, take action, and get that transfer to live the life you wish.” – Catherine Pulsifer

40.) ”Hope is possible. Hope comes when we exchange the incorrect way we see the world for the lens of grace.” – James Prescott

Hope quotes to inspire success and achievement

41.) ”Nothing can be accomplished without the hope of accomplishment.” – Jennifer Arnold

42.) ”If our focus is only on the storm we will not get beyond it. But, if we focus and hope for a sunnier day then our attitude can become one of moving forward, getting beyond where we are now.” – Catherine Pulsifer

43.) ”Whatever the magnitude of your regret, and whatever the cause, I have a word of hope for you: This is not the end. You don’t have to stay stuck in regret.” – Dave Ferguson

44.) ”Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words — And never stops at all.” – Emily Dickinson

45.) ”The best we can hope for in this life is a knothole peek at the shining realities ahead. Yet a glimpse is enough. It’s enough to convince our hearts that whatever sufferings and sorrows currently assail us aren’t worthy of comparison to that which waits over the horizon.” – Joni Eareckson Tada

46.) ”Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: You don’t give up.” – Anne Lamott

47.) ”Hope itself is like a star – not to be seen in the sunshine of prosperity, and only to be discovered in the night of adversity.” – Charles Haddon Spurgeon

48.) ”Where there is no hope in the future, there is no power in the present.” – John Maxwell

49.) ”Never lose hope. Storms make people stronger and never last forever.” – Roy T. Bennett

50.) ”Hope. It’s like a drop of honey, a field of tulips blooming in the springtime. It’s a fresh rain, a whispered promise, a cloudless sky, the perfect punctuation mark at the end of a sentence. And it’s the only thing in the world keeping me afloat.” – Tahereh Mafi

Did you enjoy these hope quotes

Even when times are bleak, you can choose hope as a means of looking toward the future. Hope allows you to know what you want, think of the ways to get there, and start and keep on going.

It gives you the ability to find pathways to your goals despite the inevitable obstacles in life. Hopefully, the above quotes will help you appreciate the importance of being hopeful.

Which of these hope quotes resonated with you best? Do you have any other favorite quotes to add to the list? Let us know in the comment section below. We would love to hear all about it.

The post 50 Hope Quotes Celebrating a Brighter Future and Progress appeared first on Everyday Power.

[frazzledsoul]

So updating my response to multiple comments on this post:

freelyvivacious said:

Do you think Lorelai’s suddenly “want” for a kid in the revival could also be a projection of her spiral? Like she thought that would fulfil her life similar to what you said about the original series?

I don’t really think it was quite the same issue in the revival. The only point in the series where we ever see Lorelai express a direct desire for another kid without prodding from anybody else is when she’s at her lowest point at the end of season six. It’s my belief that she’s grown so unhappy by her situation that she’s developed tunnel vision about what’s actually going on and is convinced that this elusive plan for her life is the only thing that she wants. She doesn’t stop to consider that she’s dealing with an increasingly delicate situation involving a gunshy and insecure Luke, his very controlling baby mama, and her newly passive-aggressive tendencies and that a quickie wedding is not going to solve any of these problems, to say nothing of the very hurtful thing she decides to do when Luke doesn’t agree with that plan.

(Of course, if she had stopped a minute, breathed, and thought logically about how crazy her demands were and how unlikely they were to solve her situation, and decided to approach Luke like a rational adult, things might have worked out. But obviously things didn’t go that way).

In the revival, I think it’s different because Lorelai is basically sane throughout the entire thing and never really does anything crazy or destructive.  The desire for a kid doesn’t come from her end, but because Emily leads her to believe that she has failed Luke in some way by not considering that he wanted something more traditional. It was done entirely on his behalf.

So while it does stem from some relationship insecurity, I don’t think Lorelai ever really wanted it for herself. Luke was fine with the kids and the life that he already had. When he says no to this crazy process, life goes on as usual. It’s a very different dynamic than the season six mess.

dollsome-does-tumblr said:

As someone in a long-term relationship who doesn’t want kids and isn’t very into the idea of marriage being this big significant thing, their relationship actually means a lot to me the way it is, and it makes me sad to see its state in the revival written off as something that couldn’t possibly be happy or truly fulfilling.

Yay! Yes, I agree. It seems sad to me that so many people believe that because things didn’t end up traditionally that it means that some tragic breakdown has occurred. Especially since it was made clear that both of them were fairly content with things happening this way.

dollsome-does-tumblr continues:

Even before the revival, Luke and Lorelai never struck me as a kids couple – when I would envision a post-s7 world (even before the revival was the faintest blip of a possibility), it was always just the two of them and their pup in my head.

I think the reason why I like your fics so much is because they fit so well with the canon that we have now. So much of what was written years ago relies so heavily on things ending up in that ultra-traditional manner. So it’s nice to have something that just relies on their dynamic and doesn’t really contradict what the show eventually gave us.

There is one particular brand of fanfiction that I really want that hasn’t been tackled. There’s a lot of great post-series stories that re-litigate season six and do it fairly. However, 99% of these stories end up with the marriage and babies thing happening a few weeks after the dicey discussions end. I want a story that talks the bad stuff out and ends up with the canon that we know, which is Luke and Lorelai as a committed yet unmarried couple taking care of the kids they already have.

More from dollsome-does-tumblr:

I also don’t really see Luke as a babies/little kids person, even though he was the one who had more Kid Feels during the original series. (Although I can definitely see that more as a manifestation of his desire to have a permanent forever thing with Lorelai than an actual wanting for little rugrats with jam hands.) I think he would be great in a godfather or grandpa capacity, because he’s clearly extremely supportive and selfless for the kids in his life, but he definitely doesn’t strike me as someone who would want to have little kids running around and being responsible for their well-being 24/7 (and in that way, he and I are kindred souls). Like, the man already has a Kirk. How much more can he handle???

Look, collectively Luke and Luke and Lorelai have a lot of kids to corral.

Rory, April. Jess. Those are the official ones.

Kirk. Lane, Zach. Steve. Kwan. Doula. 

And now Rory’s pregnant and will likely need a lot of assistance for the next few years.

I think they’re good on offspring without having to create more.

As far as Luke goes, he clearly  idealized kids when he and Lorelai first got engaged. I think that kind of went away when April came along because he realized how difficult it was, and she was practically a teenager. And he does do well with teenagers, but he’s help raise three, and that’s probably enough for your average curmudgeon.

(headcanon: Liz probably dumped Doula on Luke a lot more once he and Lorelai got back together. ASP may not remember the kid, but you know this happened)

savvyliterate said:

Their issues were so minor compared with the issues in the original series. When people claim they had serious issues because Lorelai didn’t tell Luke she was in therapy, well can you blame her?

Stuff like that is super hard to reveal, even when you’re in a committed relationship. See, even when you’ve been together for a long period of time, some times you still have issues in the relationship. It doesn’t mean you’re miserable. It just means you’re human.

I totally agree with this. It was unwise to expect that there would be no L/L drama in the revival, and what we got was pretty tame. I don’t think that there was ever a real threat to their relationship from either side. I think Luke let Jess convince him of the worst possible outcome, but he wasn’t going to back away like he did before. He was going to stay and fight, and do whatever he could to make things right.

To let savvyliterate sum it up:

Luke and Lorelai DO have the whole package. They have their middle. They learned they don’t need marriage (though I loved their wedding and it made me cry like a baby) and kids to have a happily ever middle. They have each other, and that’s what they wanted the most out of anything.

[gleefail]

Glee Memories: 1x15 The Power of Madonna

A long, long time ago, as Glee was approaching graduation in Season 3, I found myself nostalgic with some rare free time on my hands. So I decided to rewatch the series from the beginning and jot down some memories, discrepancies that have arisen since, fave quotes, tally solos - all that good stuff, strictly for shits and giggles.

8 years later (eek!) and once more I find myself with an unexpected abundance of free time. With so many revisiting or being newly introduced to the show between binge watching during Quarantine and all the tragedy that has surrounded the show since it went off the air, I figured I’d finish what I started. And by finish, I mean go through the end of S3. Cause I truly cannot acknowledge what happened after that. Except for 5B.

Kicking this off by reposting the first 15 episodes I already went through. Enjoy!

1x15 The Power of Madonna heeee, Sue just referenced Desperately Seeking Susan. Man, I loved that movie as a kid. Who’s That Girl as well anybody remember that one?!

hahaha, how have I never noticed before that Quinn is drawing a picture of Rachel Berry…a very unflattering picture that says “LOSER”? Awesome.

hahaha. Jesse and Rachel ‘hypothetically’ went to a Wiggles concert. Seriously, he’s kinda perfect for her.

Aw – The Montage from A Chorus Line is playing under Jesse’s pressure-her-into-sex moment. I have such fond memories of that song. I was featured in this song for a show that ended up changing the course of my entire life, quite literally. :)

“Would you please stop talking? You’re grossing out my baby.”

“But I can’t wait to get a guy mad at me for saying ‘no’.” Bite your tongue, Mercedes. Also…be careful what you wish for.

Still creeps me out that they have this whole sex talk with Mr. Schue in the room. And that he eavesdrops. And that when he speaks up it’s to ask if they’re having that much ‘guy trouble’, not to actually be a good teacher and help Rachel out in her “my boyfriend’s pressuring me to have sex but I’m not ready” situation or to respond to Britany and Santana’s advice to just never say no and that they should have more self-respect…teacher of the year indeed.

Do women really still earn 70 cents to every dollar a man does for the same job? Oh, eff that!

More Emma pamphlets:                HELP! I’m in love with my stepdad!                I still breastfeed …but how old is too old?                Congratulations, you’re pregnant.                Proper Wiping: Easy as 1…2…3                …and something about Toxic Shock Syndrome and Asperger’s that I                can’t read, lol.

Ugh, douche. Will just said this area of expertise (sex) is Emma’s blindspot. Jerk.

So Glee seems to have a knack for insulting folks that will later be guest stars. Gwyneth Paltrow and John Stamos have been mentioned thus far, and Lindsay Lohan just made the list. Hmmm…

I love the Ann Coultier jab. Cause I despise that ‘woman’

Ray of Light routine on stilts. Still leaves me speechless.  My favorite part is still when the men on stilts do these assisted lifts with women who are not. They get them so effing high.  It’s just amazing.

“Somehere on the English countryside in a stately manor home, Madonna is weeping.”

“Hall of fame MILF”

HA! Artie’s look in response to Tina giving him side-eye. Too funny.

Finn has no idea what misogynistic means. #BlessFinnsHeart

Kurt is gonna do a video of Madonna’s styles. With Mercedes. Kurtcedes love. :)

Yeah, I find it hard to believe high school boys wouldn’t be rubbin’ one out at these girls in corsets, touchin’ themselves and bein’ a little S&M with one another. Even if they hate Madonna with a passion. Their disinterest is completely unrealistic.

Britany has a (younger presumably as she plays soccer with a 7 year old) sister. Forgot about that. I think RIB did too.

The way to get a man forever is to take his virginity? Really? I would think that would unleash him into a sexual awakening and sleeping with everything he could now that he wouldn’t be perceived as ‘lame’ or a loser or whatever for being a virgin…no?

Finnocence. Nice.

Can we acknowledge that Finn lost his virginity in a plot for Santana to snag a younger man (by what, 4 days I think she said?) to emulate Madonna per Sue and not get kicked off the Cheerios? That’s…just so sad.

“You’re about as sexy as a Cabbage Patch Kid.” – ha!

So…watching this post-Nationals, does Emma get to have Madonna playing in her office now? ;)

Finn’s pissed that Rachel lied to him and didn’t really break it off with Jesse. Evs. Mind ya business, Finn.

So because he’s jealous or his ego is hurt or whatever, Finn tells Rachel if her and Jesse leads to something bad for the entire Glee club not to expect anymore friendship from him. Um…yeah. I’d marry him a year or two later. Cause…clearly he’ll be there through rough times…douche. Selfish, childish douche.

I still really like this mash-up of Borderline/Open Your Heart. And as much as I don’t love Finchel, the angst in this is my cup o’ tea. I like it.

I do love all the Madonna shout-outs in the hallway. Makes me feel old that I recognize each of these looks. Oy.

Finn, why are you just randomnly tearing books from the shelves and knocking them to the floor as you walk through the library? Such a badass…

I was watching an episode of Gilmore Girls and Brad was the piano player for one of Emily Gilmore’s parties (I think Rory’s college grad party). Hilarious. Also, he looked EXACTLY the same. How long ago was that?!

I find it awesome that Mercedes has a picture of a gal from So You Think You Can Dance in her locker. I love that show.

Up With People rejects. Ha.

Hmm. Will is suddenly not intimidated at all by Sue and her quips. What brought that on? Although, it’s hot when he stands up to her. Until he makes fun of her hair. Then he seems like a jerk.

“Oh, snap!” I love this moment. And the gif that came out of it.

Birth moment of the Sue, Kurt, Mercedes dynamic right there. Yay. :)

Sue just told Kurt and Mercedes about her sister being handicapped. I don’t care what anyone says, she likes them, even just a little bit. And I love this dynamic of the three of them. It always makes me smile.

Hahaha – Kurt’s reaction to Sue not being able to keep up with the latest looks when she was younger. Hilarious.

“Mercedes is black. I’m gay. We make culture.”

“I picked the Stephen Sondheim biography section for our clandestine meeting because only he can express my melonchalia.”

“You deserve epic romance.” Listen. Looking back from the end of Season 3, I really am not understanding why I’m supposed to want Rachel with Finn. Jesse makes so much more sense.

“Foreplay shall begin at 7:30 sharp.” Oh Emma. A for effort.

Vogue. Man. I was so little when this came out. I remember when it premiered on MTV.

Jane Lynch has such long legs. I’m jealous.

“Will Schuester. I hate you.”

Like A Virgin still makes me really uncomfortable. For so many reasons. I just…don’t need to see this side of any of these characters. I feel like a voyeur.

How did Santana and Finn swing a motel room at 15 years old? Hmm….

Add Whoopi to that list of joked about future guest stars. Yeesh…that’s 5 now? 4? Stamos, Paltrow, Lohan and Goldberg.

Sue is gonna reinvent Kurt and Mercedes. Squee!

Why is Rachel looking at sheet music for Where Is Love? Cause 1. I hate that song, 2. I hate that show, and 3. shoutout to the pilot?

Finn just asked Rachel how her date with Jesse went. With the subtext of “did you sleep with him?” WHY are they even talking about this? I don’t get it. It’s private Finn, so rude you’d even ask. Also, how does he even know they are even close to sex? I missed something. This is so weird. Made even more weird that neither of them seems to think it’s weird that they’re having this conversation. Ugh.

“Just come out so we can talk. Or sing about it.” Jesse is ridiculously perfect for Rachel Berry.

Okay, I’m gonna rant for a second: I know I’m anal and put him on a pedestal and all, but S3, they make it sound like Sam had sex with one of his clients at the strip club; after they’ve shoved super-romantic in-love-with-Mercedes Sam at us for like, 9 episodes in a row over a span of like, 3 or 4 months; regardless of how I personally feel about that or that ship, right now we see a super uncomfortable scene that still breaks my heart where Finn is dealing with the aftermath of sleeping with Santana, when he has feelings for someone else, but more in that he doesn’t have feelings for her, therefore it didn’t mean anything and it’s clearly not sitting well with him. Regret is all over his face. It’s so sad. So…why did they do the same thing but expect it to be okay in S3 regarding Sam (but even more gross cause of the whole stripper/client aspect)? Eff you, Glee.

I feel like this might be the most real and vulnerable I’ve ever seen Santana (in the post-coital conversation with Finn in the motel room bed). I mean…a couple moments may rival it, but it’s definitely top 5 if not top 3. It’s so sad to see how she really feels about this aspect of her life that publicly she seems so proud of and invincible to. Man. Poor Santana.

Um…is Puck playing Ninja in the background or just being a human statue or something? It doesn’t look like anyone is playing with him, so it must be the latter? Random.

Something changed in the way I felt about Glee after this episode, now that I look back on it. I felt like I should’ve left this episode feeling like “wow – they’re ballsy and go against the grain! They’ll do the unexpected” but…instead I was left with a feeling of “do I trust these writers with these people I’ve come to care about?” I’m referring to the possibility of consummation with 3 couples, 2 of which would have seemed…not completely unhealthy and one that obviously was…and they had those 2 chicken out and consummated the 1 that just shouldn��t have because it was kind of an irresponsible message to send to the youngins watching this show who they say at times they speak to when they write things like Kurt’s gay storyline or about being an outcast but finding a group that understands you and being happy with who you are. But here I’m sure they’d say something about how they’re not role models and shouldn’t be emulated. Yeah. This was the beginning of the end of my true love for Glee and the beginning of me just loving certain characters and occasional episodes or storylines…the beginning of my love to hate Glee. Whee. :/

It’s cute that Will polished Emma’s shoes. :)

I know a lot of people think it’s condescending and all, but I think the way Will handles suggesting counseling etc. to Emma was nice. There’s something mature about it. I think it’s that he’s like “we need to take action to work through our issues or they’re not gonna go away” as a team. It was nice.

“What the hell? It seems like now people are doing things JUST to hurt my feelings!” Ok, so maybe Finn IS more perfect for Rachel than I thought. Selfish little man-child.

Jesse St. James just joined New Directions. Kurt is pissed cause it means he’ll have no chance at a solo. Mercedes mentions that they only trot her out at the end of songs to wail on the last note, how is that okay? Truth.com. Also, why were those two issues NEVER addressed by Will? They were put out there, they were true as hell, and they were just ignored. Teacher of the year indeed.

Santana points out that obvs Jesse is a spy. Mr. Schue sticks up for Jesse and lets him join. Yet Rachel wasn’t allowed to date him cause that would be bad for the Glee club? #WTF?

“Mr. Schue, is he your son?”

“Okay, from the top!”  

4 Minutes. Seriously, I never thought Chris Colfer was hot before I saw this song. But let’s be real – he is hot as fuck in this song, I still think so. It was the first time I noticed as well that boy had grown into a little man! When did THAT happen? Wasn’t he just a baby-faced nugget like, 3 episodes before this?

Also, I love both of the vocals for them on this song.

Ok. This still pisses me off (can you tell this is an ep that started my rage towards Glee? Lol): Emma, Mr. Schue and Rachel are all distraught and shocked when they see that Mercedes and Kurt have joined the Cheerios…WHY? Britany and Santana are already on the Cheerios and in Glee and it’s fine. Quinn was. Why is this such a betrayal? They didn’t QUIT ND to join the Cheerios. And isn’t Rachel in like, 16 clubs in addition to Glee? Puck, Finn, Mike and Matt are on the football team. Artie has jazz band and AV club. Mercedes and Kurt and Tina are the only ones who are ONLY in Glee Club. This is stupid.

Shot of Quinn who is happy as a pig in shit for the two of them. THANK YOU Quinn for having sense and being a cool person and good friend.

“You guys could’ve at least given me a heads up.” “You mean, the same you way you gave us a heads up before NOT giving us a solo almost every week?” PREACH!!

You expect me to believe that the sexuality of Express Yourself, Artie working on that kick-ass Vogue video, or that amazing performance of 4 Minutes didn’t sway the boys to like Madonna…but their shitty rendition of “What It Feels Like For A Girl” did? Fuck you, Glee. I’m not an idiot. Stop treating me like one.

Why is Kurt a part of this lesson on treating the girls with respect? 1. He’s into Madonna, so he doesn’t need to be converted. 2. He’s NOT treating the girls like garbage. Teacher of the year indeed.

“I think we’re gonna need a new baritone cause Finn would like to become Finnessa”

“My growing feminism will cut you in half like a righteous blade of equality.”

Kurt mentions he’s an honorary girl. Again, WHY is he a part of this lesson?

AW. It just broke my heart a little that Tina said to Artie “why would you propose when you don’t even like me?” Aw. Poor Tina.

Alright, I admit, I love that whoever wrote this ep finally ended this nonsense with Finn being all pissed at Rachel for dating Jesse like she did something wrong and made him realize why she was even single to be pursued by Jesse in the first place. Kudos…whoever you are cause they didn’t credit the writer or director on this ep (the fuck?).

“Sing off. The parking lot. 5:00. Be there.” “No…”

“Frankly, I need you. I’m tired of carrying the male vocals all by myself.” Oh, FUCK. YOU. Finn! (I say on behalf of Kurt, Artie, and Puck).

Kurt just sang his first itty bitty solo in Glee club and then before Mercedes starting singing he ran up and gave her a peck on the cheek. Oh my God, I love them.

Gospel choir. So. Effing. Random. Yet so. Effing. EPIC.

SOLOS: Rachel (4), Mercedes (3), Finn (3), Emma (1), Santana (1), Will (1), Jesse (1), Kurt (2)

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EXCLUSIVE: Judd Apatow on 'The Big Sick' and Clean Movies Censorship: 'It's Pretty Sleazy'

Mentorship is not a new hat for Judd Apatow -- after all, he's the guy who helped guide a then-unknown Lena Dunham and Girls to success. Lately though, he's only increased his efforts, with Pete Holmes on Crashing, Paul Rust on Love and now Kumail Nanjiani's first feature film, The Big Sick.

"I think it's among the best movies we've ever been a part of," Apatow says of The Big Sick, out June 23. "It's scary to come out in the summer against all these behemoths, but there's always room for one movie that people go see just because it's awesome. We're hoping that there's a little sleeper appeal."

I sat down with Apatow at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills, along with fellow producer Barry Mendel (who produced Apatow's Funny People, This Is 40 and Trainwreck, as well as Oscar-nominated films The Sixth Sense and Munich), to discuss their movie and Sony's now-scuttled "clean" movies initiative, which Apatow denounced on Twitter, saying, "Shove the clean versions up your a**es!"

RELATED: How Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon Turned Their Heartbreak and Happiness Into 'The Big Sick'

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ET: You both have had long careers, including numerous movies you've worked on together. In terms of looking for projects, what do you find inspires you these days?

Judd Apatow: I like human comedies -- or dramedies. More than anything, I'm interested in people just dealing with everyday things that are difficult, and there is more than enough comedy and drama in that. Every once in a while it's fun to do something big and silly, so I also really enjoy when I get a chance to work with Will Ferrell and Adam McKay or with the Lonely Island guys. But I'm always fascinated by people dealing with the everyday difficult stuff in life.

Barry Mendel: For me, it's like, I forgot who said it -- it was maybe Jesse Helms? -- about pornography: "I don't how I describe it, but I know it when I see it." [Laughs] I'm more that way. I don't really have a philosophy about it. In this case, when Kumail came in and told us the story of what happened with Emily, it was just like, "Wow." Just, like, the light goes on.

Do you think a project can ever be too autobiographical?

Apatow: I think the key is that you have to always be aware that it's a movie. The audience doesn't care that most of this happened. They just want a good movie. During development, we definitely said, "Well, that's what happened, but it's kind of boring. So, maybe we could spice that up a little bit." [Laughs] We're not presenting this as an 100 percent accurate story. It's just the inspiration for our movie.

Many of your movies also draw inspiration from your life. Is that something you had to wrestle with in your writing, writing what you know but not being confined by the historical details?

Apatow: I just never thought anything about me was interesting, so I didn't think about writing from my personal experience.

Mendel: It's almost like the opposite journey, of writing about things that were fantastical and moving towards the personal.

Apatow: Yeah, and I think a lot of people do that! It's why people like Louis [C.K.], after decades of work as he got more and more personal, people connected with it more. It's always a big mix between fabricated and real things, as it should be. I mean, it's the only fodder you have to create with.

Amazon Studios

You are both known for nurturing young talent. And obviously that talent is what catches your eye, but what does someone like Kumail do to keep you invested?

Apatow: I think that he works so hard. I like working with people on their first movies. I think that you never get that level of effort again. And I think that most people only have a couple of amazing stories from their lives, so you're getting the best of them. And I like the passion that people have when they're trying to prove they can make a movie or be a movie star. Later in your career, you just get offered a script and maybe you get a week or two to punch it up, and maybe they rehearse it for a day before they shoot, and that's why a lot of movies don't come out well. But when you do something like this, where we developed it for three or four years before we shoot it, there's so much love and care that goes into it. That's what I like! I like being at the moment of inception for people.

Mendel: I would say Kristen [Wiig on Bridesmaids], Amy [Schumer] and Kumail had never written a script before, so they're panicked every night. They're waking up in the middle of the night with ideas and writing them down. It's like they can't believe they're getting paid to do it. It's not a job. It's the greatest thing that ever happened to them. So, it's so great for us to get to work with people who have that vibe about what we're doing. It refreshes our experience of what we do.

Apatow: Because when you're making your 20th movie, it might be the 20th most incredible thing that's ever happened to you! [Laughs]

Judd, how do you balance producing those projects with writing and directing your own?

Apatow: It always energizes me with my own work. It's always a reminder how much I should care and how truthful I can be. I think in the last few years, I haven't been able to write as much, because I've been working on the TV show with Pete Holmes, Crashing, and Love on Netflix. But that's OK, because I think the world is changing and all that matters is that I'm creating things.

Mendel: You're also working on your third documentary.

Apatow: Yes. I'm working on a documentary about Garry Shandling right now and we have a documentary about the Avett Brothers that's going to be on HBO in January. So, I've been enjoying that format. I'm just happy to make stuff. Ultimately, I don't think it matters what the frequency is of me writing or directing a movie. It doesn't really matter to anybody else. I'm just trying to put good things out there.

You recently called Sony Pictures' clean movies initiative "absolute bullsh*t." What would something like that mean for your movies? [Two films that Apatow produced, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby and Step Brothers, were of the first films Sony made clean versions of.]

Apatow: Well, it goes against everything you want in your relationship with a studio. The most important agreement you have is that they will not f**k with your movie once it's done. And so it's pretty sleazy to say, "We're going to take the version of the movie you like the least and try to distribute it to even more people." When you edit a movie for television or for an airline, you're doing it very reluctantly. And you don't want people to watch it that way! But it is part of the business that you can't prevent. It preceded you. But they're trying to create a new initiative, and we're allowed to say, "No. We've agreed to ruin our movies for television and airlines and we're hopeful that due to streaming, most people aren't watching it in those formats. We do not want to spread it." And our movies were not built to be made for children. That's the other weird part about it is, Now I can show it to six year olds! Well, even the essence of it isn't meant for six year olds, or whoever you're marketing it to. But it's a real violation of the spirit of our creative relationship, and I'm assuming that they will quickly realize it and not do it.

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That basically answers my last question, which was you have the theatrical release and then sometimes an extended or unrated cut. Is there a way to make a PG or PG-13 version of your movie that you'd be happy with?

Apatow: That's not even the question. The question is, Whose decision is it? I could edit it to, like, a six minute short if I want to! But that becomes the decision of the filmmaker. If Martin Scorsese wants to do a 14-minute, clean Wolf of Wall Street for kindergarteners, I guess he should be allowed to do it. But certainly the head of the studio shouldn't be allowed to do that without his approval. That's the issue. And I do think it will get quickly resolved.

Mendel: In France they call it, Le Droit Moral.

Apatow: What does that mean?

Mendel: The moral rights. Of the artist. The artist is implied in the French version.

I kind of want to see that Wolf of Wall Street for kindergarteners. I think if you edited out any scene with swearing or nudity, it would only be 14 minutes anyway.

Apatow: [Laughs] Exactly. I remember watching Goodfellas on a plane once, and every time they said the C-word, instead they would say "Bundt cake." And you could tell it was kind of an eff you from someone in the Scorsese world. Actually, you know what it was? It was Glengarry Glen Ross. [Directed by James Foley.]

Mendel: We did it on Rushmore, too. We did "foot rub" for "handjob." Every time it said "handjob," we just said "foot rub."

Apatow: I think we had one where we were trying to replace every curse in the entire movie with the word "tomato."

[Note: As Apatow predicted, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment soon after announced they would no longer release the "clean version" of a film if the director objected, claiming, “We believed we had obtained approvals from the filmmakers involved for use of their previously supervised television versions as a value added extra on sales of the full version."]