#dr. topher brink

[smashboy]

"Did I fall asleep?"

"For a little while..."

[thepenguinandthefiend]

My F/Os

Since I've decided to become a self-ship blog now, here's a list of my f/os. There will likely be more added later.

Romantic F/Os:

Zatanna Zatara (DC comics) {no sharing} Johanna Mason (Hunger Games) {no sharing} Desire (The Sandman) {no sharing} Elektra Natchios (Marvel comics) {no sharing} Bucky Barnes (MCU) {sharing iffy} Illyana Rasputin (X-Men) {no sharing} Bill Potts (Doctor Who) {sharing ok} Dean Winchester (Supernatural) {no sharing} Mazikeen (Lucifer) {sharing iffy} Remy LeBeau (X-Men) {sharing iffy} Gareth Ritter (Brain Dead) {no sharing} Vanessa Morales (In the Heights) {sharing iffy} Faith Lehane (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) {sharing ok} Elsa Bloodstone (Marvel Comics) {no sharing} Boodikka (Green Lantern) {sharing ok} Felicity Smoak (Arrow) {sharing iffy} Lena Luthor (Supergirl) {sharing iffy} Emilia Rothschild (Jack of All Trades) {sharing ok} Shotzi (WWE) {no sharing} Finn Balor (WWE) {no sharing} Abadon (AEW) {no sharing} Tulip O'Hare (Preacher) {sharing ok} Queen Emeraldas (Galaxy Express 999) {sharing ok} Dr. Kimiyo Hoshi (DC Comics) {sharing iffy} Darby Allin (AEW) {no sharing} Jenny Green (Dead Boy Detectives) {sharing iffy} Bleez (Green Lantern) {sharing ok} Klaus Hargreeves (Umbrella Academy) {no sharing} Harley Quinn (DC Comics) {sharing iffy} Poison Ivy {sharing iffy}

Queer-Platonic F/Os:

America Chavez (Young Avengers) Ella Lopez (Lucifer) Finnick Odair (Hunger Games) Hartley Rathaway (Flash/DC comics) Kate Bishop (Young Avengers) Monica Rambeau (Marvel Comics/MCU) Larissa Duan (Check, Please) Roxie Richter (Scott Pilgrim) Shvaughn Erin (Legion of Superheroes) Bling Mag (Repo: the Genetic Opera) Drew McIntyre (WWE) Yelena Belova (Marvel Comics) Ianto Jones (Torchwood) Benny Lafitte (Supernatural) Carla (In the Heights)

Platonic F/Os:

Kon-El (DC comics) Eliot Waugh (The Magicians) Jonathan Crane (DC comics) Wallace Wells (Scott Pilgrim) Ragdoll (Secret Six) Yukio Okumura (Blue Exorcist) Winn Schott Jr. (Supergirl) Edward Nygma (Gotham) William Poindexter (Check, Please) Jaysen Caulfield (Icebreaker) Onomatopoeia (DC comics) Topher Brink (Dollhouse) Danhausen (AEW) Roy Harper (DC comics/Arrowverse) Beetlejuice (Beetlejuice: the Musical)

Familial F/Os:

Alfred Pennyworth (DC comics) [grandfather] The Master (Doctor Who) [father] Wanda Maximoff (Marvel comics) [mother] Ursula (The Little Mermaid) [mother] Queen of Hearts (Alice in Wonderland) [mother] Bruce Wayne (DC comics) [father] Pietro Maximoff (Marvel comics) [uncle] Lorna Dane (Marvel comics) [aunt] Erik Lensher (Marvel comics) [grandfather] John Constantine (DC comics/Arrowverse) [older brother] Leon Kennedy (Resident Evil) [older brother] Leonard Snart (DC comics/Arrowverse) [older brother] Lisa Snart (DC comics/Arrowverse) [older sister] Kent Parson (Check, Please) [older brother] Dick Grayson (DC comics) [older brother] Jason Todd (DC comics) [older brother] Enjolras (Les Miserables) [twin brother] Tim Drake (DC comics) [younger brother] Damian Wayne (DC comics) [younger brother] Stephanie Brown (DC comics) [younger sister] Cassandra Cain (DC comics) [younger sister] Duke Thomas (DC comics) [younger brother] Billy Kaplan (Young Avengers) [younger brother] Tommy Shepherd (Young Avengers) [younger brother] Spike (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) [adopted brother] Dirk Gently (Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency) [cousin] Graham Miller (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) [cousin] Percy de Rolo (Vox Machina) [cousin] Luna Maximoff (Marvel comics) [cousin] 10K (Z-Nation) [son] Lonnie Machin (DC comics) [son] Andrew Wells (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) [adopted son] Giovanni Zatara (DC Comics) [father-in-law] Piotr Rasputin (X-Men) [brother-in-law] Teddy Altman (Young Avengers) [brother-in-law] Sam Winchester (Supernatural) [brother-in-law] Adam Milligan (Supernatural) [brother-in-law] Dream (Sandman) [brother-in-law] Death (Sandman) [sister-in-law] Delirium (Sandman) [sister-in-law] Despair (Sandman) [sister-in-law] Destiny (Sandman) [brother-in-law] The Prodigal (Sandman) [brother-in-law] Luther Hargreeves (Umbrella Academy) [brother-in-law] Diego Hargreeves (Umbrella Academy) [brother-in-law] Allison Hargreeves (Umbrella Acadmy) [sister-in-law] Five Hargreeves (Umbrella Academy) [brother-in-law] Ben Hargreeves (Umbrella Academy) [brother-in-law] Viktor Hargreeves (Umbrella Academy) [brother-in-law/best friend]

Pet F/Os:

Lockheed (X-Men) Dex-Starr (DC comics) Cheshire Cat (Alice in Wonderland)

[flabotanum]

So I recently watched Dollhouse (like a decade late but anyways) and it was amazing - and definitely deserved more seasons to tell the story in its entirety.

The acting, the plot and the cinematography were all incredible and the ethical questions it raised were super interesting to think about

There’s so much I could say about this show but I’ll just share the cliffnotes (Spoilers obviously):

Topher has been added to my list of favourite characters of all time (the balance of his humour, genius and moral development - he broke my heart in the Epitaphs)

Topher and Bennett were weirdly perfect for each other and both of their ends hurt to watch

Sierra/Priya and Victor/Anthony are adorable in every way possible (and are awesome characters individually)

Adelle DeWitt is such a fascinating character (definitely a favourite)

Boyd took my love of the father figure trope in fiction and threw it in the trash

Echo/Caroline is a fucking badass

I loved Alpha so much and wish we got more of him

Paul and Echo’s ending was sweet in a really weird way (RIP Mellie/November/Madeline though)

My heart breaks for Whiskey/Dr Saunders’ entire story

I actually kinda liked Mr Dominic after we saw him in the attic (and in that one episode when everyone was drugged)

The actors on this show are all phenomenal

I plan on rewatching this show several times

[seraandthebees]

10 fandoms / 10 characters / 10 tags

Thank you @spindleweedss so much for the tag!! 💕 I’m including fandoms I’ve not been a part of actively but for most of them I’ve done a little writing (even if I haven’t shared it)!

1. Dragon Age + Sera

2. Skyrim + Cicero

3. Grimm + Monroe

4. Angel the Series + Lorne

5. Assassin Creed Odyssey + Kassandra

6. Bones + Dr Jack Hodgins

7. The Sandman + Hob Gadling

8. Warehouse 13 + Helena G. Wells

9. Librarians + Cassandra Cillian

10. Dollhouse + Topher Brink

Not quite sure who’s already been tagged at this point so sorry if you get tagged twice! Obviously no pressure tagging! 💛

@dwarvenwarden @talloseye @mullethawke @ltcmdrashleywilliams @milesmentis @hawkeharel @kokiricait @breadedsinner @poetikat @seriouslyseravellan

[ninewheels]

DOLLHOUSE Actors By Screen Time

Eliza Dushku as Caroline Farrell / Echo et al - 381 Fran Kranz as Topher Brink - 179:15 Olivia Williams as Adelle DeWitt - 174:45 Tahmoh Penikett as Paul Ballard - 167:30 Harry Lennix as Boyd Langton - 129 Enver Gjokaj as Anthony Ceccoli / Victor et al - 115:15 Dichen Lachman as Priya Tsetsang / Sierra et al - 101:15

Miracle Laurie as Madeline Costley / November et al - 58:30 Amy Acker as Whiskey / Dr. Claire Saunders - 47:15 Reed Diamond as Laurence Dominic - 47:15 Alan Tudyk as Alpha - 42:30 Summer Glau as Bennett Halvorsen - 33:45 Alexis Denisof as Senator Daniel Perrin - 28:15 Felicia Day as Mag - 21:45 Zack Ward as Zone - 20:15 Liza Lapira as Ivy - 19:45 Adair Tishler as “Iris” / Caroline Farrell - 16:45 Stacey Scowley as Cindy Perrin - 15:30 Jaime Lee Kircher as Rayna Russell (1x03 “Stage Fright”) - 14:30 Patton Oswalt as Joel Mynor - 13 Matt Keeslar as Richard Connell (1x02 “The Target”) - 12 Vincent Ventresca as Nolan Kinnard - 11:45 Brian Bloom as Jonas Sparrow (1x05 “True Believer”) - 10 Kristoffer Polaha as Nate Jordan (2x02 “Instinct”) - 9:30 Mehcad Brooks as Sam Jennings (1x07 “Echoes”) - 9 Chris William Martin as Griff (1x13 “Epitaph One”) - 9 Jordan Bridges as Nicolas Bashford (1x10 “Haunted”) - 9 Jamie Bamber as Martin Klar (2x01 “Vows”) - 8:30 Toby Leonard Moore as Walton (1x04 “Gray Hour”) - 8:30 Anson Mount as Vitas (1x04 “Gray Hour”) - 8:15 Ana Claudia Talancón as Galena (2x07 “Meet Jane Doe”) - 8 Keith Carradine as Matthew Harding - 7:45 Ashley Johnson as Wendy / Caroline Farrell (1x12 “Omega”) - 7:30 Ian Anthony Dale as Jack Dunston (1x10 “Haunted”) - 7:15 Kurt Caceres as Gabriel Crestejo (1x01 “Ghost”) - 6:45 Aisha Hinds as Loomis - 6:30 Janina Gavankar as Lynn (1x13 “Epitaph One”) - 6:30 Adam Godley as Clyde Randolph - 6:15 Kevin Kilner as Joe Hearn - 6:15 Brett Claywell as Matt Cargill - 4:45 Rhea Seehorn as Jocelyn Bashford (1x10 “Haunted”) - 4:30 Phillip Casnoff as Clive Ambrose - 4:15 Mark Sheppard as Tanaka - 4 Maurissa Tancheroen as Kilo - 3:45

[missbrunettebarbie]

How would you sort the characters from Dollhouse ?

I talked this with @laufire a long time ago so I kinda forgot part of our reasoning. Not to mention, all the mess with the Dolls personality vs their actually personalities and the fact that it had only 2 seasons makes them hard to sort. Here are our vest guesses:

Echo/Caroline - Double Lion; she is a hothead who fights against Rossum both as Echo and Caroline. No other sorting would fit her

Paul Ballard-Snake probably as he fell in love with a woman he had never met and fiding her was his whole motivation. I am not sure about his secondary, but I am chossing Lion considering how easily it is for him to comunicate with Echo once they start working together

Tony Coccineli/Victor - Another Snake Lion whose person is Priya

Priya Tsetsang/Sierra - Bird Snake. The Artist seems like the most fitting sorting for her considering her personality. She's has that dreamy open-mindness of a Bird primary. And in "Belonging" even when she's herself she plays the part of Sierra to get back at the man who kidnapped her which seems very Snake secondary to me.

Topher Brink- Double Bird aka The Mad Scientist feels a bit on the nose for him, but what else could fit him?

Adelle Dewitt- Considering how she always butts heads with Echo and the similarities between them, I think she's also a Lion primary. Bird secondary for how she runs the Dollhouse?

Dr. Claire Saunders/Whiskey - We see nothing of the actual personality Wiskey had when she came to the Dollhouse, so I am only sorting the personality of Dr. Saunders as created by Topher. This being said, she's a doctor and Topher's creation so I would say Bird secondary. She truly cares for the Dolls and has a breakdown when she realizes she's "not human", so I would say Badger primary.

[whitefoxed]

Curriculum Vitae

EDUCATION

(Age 14) After being kidnapped to Eureka, Oregon, Lise studied at the multinational Tesla High - where the education was advanced enough to proceed to University upon graduation. He skipped 9th, 10th and 11th grades through finals within the first year of study and attended 12th grade at 16. However unlike most of his other schoolmates, he did not attend University at their respective campus, instead remaining at Eureka and practised under the scientists and engineers HYDRA assigned to him at Global Dynamics.

(Age 19) He did however sit for his Mathematics, Physics, Engineering doctoral degrees, Major in Artillery and Weapons Development and Minor in Pre-Medicine at California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and Harvard University respectively.

At 23, he also pursued a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and completed his medical studies particularly in the field of Osteopathic Medicine (Trauma Surgery). Lise is non-practice but his experience as his unit’s SOCM contributes to his practical experience.

Post handler training: Presently, he is pursing further studies into Neurology after completing the above.

MILITARY TRAINING

(Age 20) Forcibly enlisted into a Ranger and Military Sniper crash course by the local Deputy, Lise trained intensely one on one for a good three quarter of a year before he met the required standards. He then finished the last quarter by insisting on being trained as a Special Operations Combat Medic (SOCM). The following year was spent as an unlisted active unit in HYDRA’s operations, completing mission after mission and providing artillery improvisation and repair, as well as medical care without break. Thus earning the title ‘Dr.’ within the army.

CAREER

(Age 22) When he began to show signs of PTSD, hyper vigilance and stress, HYDRA then sent him back to Eureka, Global Dynamics to recover. There, with their advanced and luxurious therapy centres, along with the best specialists, Lise was able to remain functional and continued work for HYDRA under Global Dynamics as their Artillery Engineer. He was also assigned under the local Deputy (that trained him), and to Tesla High as HYDRA’s recruits’ Artillery Instructor.

HYDRA gave him the year off missions, and assigned him as an 'inactive but operating’ special agent to give him recognition as one of their more highly valued assets, both through his Father’s involvement with the organisation and his own accomplishments.

Thus, at Global Dynamics, being a high ranking secret HYDRA agent, Lise was given Section 5 access (the highest available) though not to the knowledge of the company’s director. Also, through his affiliation with Global Dynamics as their Engineer, Eureka’s Tesla High’s Artillery Instructor and HYDRA, Lise gained the backing of the Pentagon and diplomatic immunity in the various countries Global Dynamics is connected with.

(Age 23) In his second year, he was returned to service as a member of the Winter Soldier’s escort, though he remained 'inactive’. His duties were much lighter than before, mainly outfitting the Winter Soldier, demonstrating and training him in the use of special artillery and equipment and escorting the man safely to and fro from missions. During this, without his knowledge, he was also being trained and prepared as a future Handler for other agents, as was some of the other members on the team.

After the Winter Soldier’s escape, Lise was extracted to the Dollhouse, 23 Flower Street, Los Angeles, four stories beneath Rossum Corporation where he was imprinted with Programmer knowledge by Topher Brink and completed his Handler training there. He was also taught about Scytheon and its program Mind Whisper and Neuro-Radio. Essentially, he was in HYDRA’s pilot venture, being trained as one of their first next generation Marionette Handler.

[purpleyin]

10 characters meme

Tagged by @amber-flicker

Rules: list 10 different characters from 10 different fandoms and then tag 10 people

I don’t know what the criteria to pick is meant to be so I’m gonna go for nifty characters I like but don’t post much about or forgotten old faves.

1. Astrid Farnsworth (Fringe) - totally deserved more screentime/character dev.

2. Dr. Kavanagh (SGA) - he was to SGA what McKay was to SG-1. He was also one of those recurring ‘it’s free real estate’ characters. :D

3. Ange Finch (Primeval New World) - I appreciated that she got shit done. Competent sensible characters sometimes get overlooked and I liked her. If only the show had a S2.

4. Dinah Madani (The Punisher) - she is awesome. That is all. (and I haven’t seen s2 yet)

5. Anya Jenkins (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) - I just think she’s neat. Yay straight-forwardness.

6. Allen Francis ���Doyle” (Angel the Series) - 😭

7. Topher Brink (Dollhouse) - I am weak for geeks in general, this should be no news.

8. Dr. Ravi Chakrabarti (iZombie) - 😍

9. Amy Pond (Doctor Who) - my favourite companion.

10. Captain James Norrington (Pirates of the Caribbean) - he ended up quite tragic and I know he was an antagonist but I unexplainably have a soft spot for him.

Tagging: (as usual without obligation) @takeunknownroadnow, @oojei, @sophiainspace, @ttinycourageous, @battys-home, @captstjohn, @christinequizmachine, @anisstaranise, @tygermine and @cptnsuz-sae and anyone else who sees and likes the look of it.

[pass-the-bechdel]

Dollhouse s01e12 ‘Omega’

Does it pass the Bechdel Test?

Yes, five times.

How many female characters (with names and lines) are there?

Ten (52.63% of cast).

How many male characters (with names and lines) are there?

Nine.

Positive Content Rating:

Two.

General Episode Quality:

Not garbage, but it is a letdown after the previous episode.

MORE INFO (and potential spoilers) UNDER THE CUT:

Passing the Bechdel:

Alvarez takes Whiskey for a treatment in flashback. Adelle gives Caroline the tour. Sophie asks Whiskey if she wants a treatment again. Caroline passes with Echo, twice.

Female characters:

Claire Saunders.

Adelle DeWitt.

Echo.

Sophie Alvarez.

Whiskey.

Caroline Farrell.

Sierra.

November.

Anita Walsh.

Madeline Costley.

Male characters:

Boyd Langton.

Topher Brink.

Alpha.

Blevins.

Lars.

Paul Ballard.

Tanaka.

Victor.

Dr Saunders.

OTHER NOTES:

Saunders telling Victor that he’s disgusting and ugly now feels pretty disingenuous considering how minor her scars are. Like, ok, she’s regularly at the receiving end of other people’s shock and pity and the impact of her appearance upon the way other people approach her is significant, but the idea that we’re supposed to be looking at Amy freakin’ Acker and being repelled by some almost-completely-healed cuts that aren’t even noticeable in certain light? I feel like the narrative is approaching with the idea that mutilation is automatically hideous, at the same time as the character design has made sure to preserve Amy Acker’s looks as thoroughly as possible, and consequently the message is far, far more superficial than it should be. 

It’s pretty funny that they’re leaning on Ballard’s ‘skills’ for help. Firstly, because he’s terrible at his job, and secondly, because they can program any better-skilled person they want.

Hmmm, Alpha’s whole spiel about how Caroline ‘abandoned’ Echo, i.e. ‘herself’, relies on the theory that she is defined by her body, not her mind, but that’s immediately at odds with his statement that Wendy is “just a body - they’re all pretty much alike”. You can’t have it both ways, either you believe the body is the repository of the soul (or whatever word you want to use for that thing you value), or you think it’s just interchangeable meat. Pick one.

“I did sign a contract”, come the fuck on, Caroline, I thought you were a blando activist. As if you would legitimately believe that bullshit contract is legally binding. Also I really hate this line about how you can’t sign a contract to become a slave “especially now that we have a black President”, it’s such an ‘Obama’s election ended racism!’ type sentiment.

Tada! Alpha’s original personality was a big ol’ violent misogynist! What a shocking turn of events for this show. What an amazing plot development that is explored in any fashion and exists for any reason other than to indulge in sexist abuse. Remember that thing I talked about (in the context of rapists) and the idea of punishing women’s existence by ‘ruining’ them? They don’t actually state whether or not there was sexual assault involved in Alpha-original’s three-day abduction and mutilation of Anita Walsh, but this is that same misogynistic rage manifesting, either way. And since the show doesn’t explore anything through the inclusion of this violence, I gotta assume it’s also a manifestation of misogynistic rage from the creative team behind the show, again. This has been season-long; I’m kicking the content rating for it.

Also season-long: Echo getting knocked around, especially by misogynistic villains (because that’s not, y’know, also sending a very specific message from the creative team. Fuck all o’ y’all). This time she even gets smashed with a metal pipe, AND shot! Ten of Twelve.

You know what would have made Alpha’s whole schtick about destroying your original self way more meaningful? If it wasn’t tied up in misogyny. That might seem obvious - especially on this blog - but I mean it objectively (and subjectively, and ethically...anyway). The fact that Alpha’s entire character - both his original personality and his present conglomerated persona - is defined by woman-hating violence completely obscures the idea of exploring the formation of a second intellectual identity which perceives its original as a traitor to...themself. We COULD have had some really weird and wild meta discussions about the nature of consciousness and the ‘soul’, all of the grandiose cerebral concepts that this show invokes through its premise, but instead we derailed that by focusing on the notion that the whole reason Alpha is ‘crazy’ is because his original personality really liked slicing up women. And since the show couldn’t be bothered actually exploring that either - like all other misogynistic acts it indulges (and it indulges them on a constant, multiple-times-and-kinds-per-episode basis), it merely presents this as A Thing That Happens, and makes no attempt to challenge the why by exposing and confronting the toxic-masculine roots of the problem - Alpha’s misogyny has no textual depth of purpose, it’s just a way to waste time. At best, it’s lazy, the failure to think up an actual intellectually-engaging idea to back up the show’s intellectual concept. But we already know this isn’t a best-case scenario, the track record is far too damning for that. Remember how I said that I loved this show once, eight years ago? Nowadays I can’t see how to defend it against a charge of indulgent misogyny. It’s not just going to the well for water, it’s living down there.

[convenientalias]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Dollhouse Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Topher Brink & Claire Saunders Characters: Claire Saunders, Topher Brink, Echo (Dollhouse) Additional Tags: Brainwashing, Mild Hurt/Comfort Summary:

Dr. Saunders. Claire Saunders. Dr. Claire. A woman who has her shit together. Claire doesn't need anyone to look after her.

Sometimes I see a gif and write a ficlet. This one was gonna be femslash and now it’s very much not. Sorry folks. But. I still think it is good at least :)

[tracingpatterns]

Beyond the Wrong and into the Pattern

Last week, Kai Cole shocked the internet when she came clean about her ex-husband, the screenwriter and director Joss Whedon, who is best known as the creator of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In a scathing essay for the Wrap, Cole describes Whedon’s repeated violation of their relationship boundaries, his lying and gaslighting, and the ways that his neglect led her to compromise her integrity as she struggled to keep their 16-year marriage together:

“Joss admitted that for the next decade and a half, he hid multiple affairs and a number of inappropriate emotional ones that he had with his actresses, co-workers, fans and friends, while he stayed married to me,” Cole writes. “Despite understanding, on some level, that what he was doing was wrong, he never conceded the hypocrisy of being out in the world preaching feminist ideals, while at the same time taking away my right to make choices for my life and my body based on the truth. He said, after he left, he understood: ‘It’s not just like I killed you, but that I’d done it subtly, over years. That I’d been poisoning you. Chipping away at you.’ He made me doubt my own instincts and watched me move further away from my personal values and social mores, trying to connect with him, never telling me it was impossible."

Cheating is often perceived as a problem in a marriage rather than one of boundaries and consent. Marriage, after all, is easy to categorize as part of patriarchy’s structural constraints on women, a dated mechanism that cannot be expected to “work.” Looked at it a different way, however -- as an agreement made by people about their needs and limits -- it becomes much easier to understand how repeatedly stepping out without any effort to renegotiate the existing relationship agreement is, in essence, a denial of a partner’s right to exercise agency. “It’s not just like I killed you,” Whedon told her, referencing the ultimate denial of agency. But it’s worse than that: it’s that he acted like she didn’t have a right to agency.

A recurring pattern of cheating is emotionally destabilizing -- in order to keep the relationship going, a partner must be lied to and sometimes gaslit. As instances of emotional neglect, disconnection and misattunement pile up, the partner being lied to begins to exercise betrayal blindness to cope with the mounting cognitive dissonance. This process is largely not conscious. As the betrayal scholar Dr. Jennifer Freyd writes, “unawareness helps the victim survive. [Betrayal theory] draws on two facts about our nature as social beings and our dependence and reliance on others. First, we are extremely vulnerable in infancy, which gives rise to a powerful attachment system [that views maintaining the bonds we form with others as a biological imperative]. Second, we have a constant need to make ‘social contracts’ with other people in order to get needs met. This has led to the development of a powerful cheater-detector system. These two aspects of our humanity serve us well, but when the person we are dependent on is also the person betraying us, our two standard responses to trouble conflict with each other. [ ... ] The standard response to betrayal -- confrontation or withdrawal -- may only make the situation worse for the person who depends on the [person doing the betraying], because confrontation and withdrawal are generally not good for inspiring attachment and caregiving.” Freyd’s research and that of others in the past 30 years indicate that terror and violence are not the only things capable of traumatizing someone: betrayal does as well.  

Cole’s account illustrates why Lundy Bancroft recognizes “the Player” as one of the archetypal patterns of abuse in his seminal work on relational harm Why Does He Do That? Abuse is defined by entitlement (or to use Whedon’s own words: “When I was running Buffy, I was surrounded by beautiful, needy, aggressive young women [ ... ] I am a powerful producer and the world is laid out at my feet and I can’t touch it.” Except he did touch it and he felt justified in touching it (“In many ways I was the height of normal, in this culture. We’re taught to be providers and companions and at the same time, to conquer and acquire -- specifically sexually -- and I was pulling off both!”). Even as he admits that he had affairs that violated his wife’s consent and created literal hostile workplace environments on his sets, Whedon frames it not as deeply troubling pattern he needs to address but as a banquet laid out for him. The women with whom he had affairs aren’t agents any more than Cole is -- they are food items laid out for him. Like his then-wife, Whedon’s sexual partners are not humans with a right to self-determine. The world laid out a table and cruelly told him not to eat -- there are no other humans in this picture. “He is incapable of taking women seriously as human beings rather than playthings,” to quote Bancroft.

Whedon has suggested over the years that cheating on Cole was a personal problem specific to the tragedy of their growing apart over the course of nearly two decades together. However, his troubled history of relationships with other women -- from actresses and crew working on his shows, to other romantic partners -- and his work loudly contradict this assertion. In a 2015 analysis of his work, Laurel Jupiter spoke to the core of Whedon’s pattern:

The initial patriarchal villains of the Buffyverse were men who abused women using either brute strength or political power, but the three nerds [introduced later on in Buffy] are another kind of misogynistic male antagonist that grew to dominate and completely consume Joss’s work in the 00s: the nerdy, story-obsessed guy who used his intelligence and mastery of technology to abuse and control strong, heroic women. Nerdy men who, like Joss, either created or tampered with the women they wanted total control over, either by building androids or altering existing women, usually via invasive medical torture. 

Joss the writer invents the character of Buffy while having workplace clashes with her actress Sarah Michelle Gellar; [the three nerd villains in Buffy] Andrew, Warren, and Jonathan drug their girlfriends into compliance and create the BuffyBot to obey their will. This villain character would show up again and again in Joss’ later works: the scientist who had, thanks to his technical and storytelling skills, been given custody by higher powers over women who would normally be far out of his range of influence. And, uncomfortably, all of the actors cast for these roles bore a striking physical resemblance to Joss.

[The episode “Storyteller” in Buffy] was a story about Andrew the Joss-doppelgänger filming the house of potential Slayers for a series he called Buffy, Slayer of the Vampyres. A major theme of “Storyteller” was Andrew’s intrusive use of the Buffy cast’s personal lives and pain to make a good story, his refusal to acknowledge their privacy, and possibly, as Anya kept insisting, to use his videos as masturbation material. It seemed like a huge moment of self-awareness and self-reflection about the relationship Joss had to the real and fictional women who worked for him, especially given the conflicts he had at the time with actresses like Charisma Carpenter over her character Cordelia and personal bodily autonomy (pregnancy) [He reportedly fired Carpenter for getting pregnant as well as other abuses]. It was self-critical and raw and I was proud of Joss for being willing to go there in such a public way.

Buffy ended, and Andrew redeemed himself, but the misogynist-nerd-self-loathing metastory intensified. One of the aspects of the Three Nerds villain arc that had always made me profoundly uncomfortable was the way Joss positioned the boys’ nerdy pursuits and lack of traditional masculinity -- not just their treatment of women -- as something inherently repulsive. Viewers were supposed to be disgusted by the sight of three dorky boys nerding out over Star Wars figurines. Buffy and the house full of potential slayers call Andrew vile names for being a nerd, not in response to his behavior [toward them]; by the end of his run, I felt the urge to protect Andrew -- not from the girls, but from Joss -- who was clearly using him as a punching bag onto which he was projecting his own self-loathing. 

The next major Joss project was Dollhouse, with evil scientist and Joss-lookalike Topher Brink programming, manipulating, and violating various women into playacting roles he’d scripted for them. It was such a blatant story about Joss and his actresses it was difficult to watch. Like, My Feminism Is Just An Excuse To Exploit Hot Actresses, I Am Such A Disgusting Creature!!! Coming soon to the CW!  

At some point in his career, Joss became so intent on the masochistic fantasy of being hated by strong women for being a nerd that he spent a decade writing stories about violating those women to ensure they would hate him. 

This pattern shows through in Cole’s essay. She, a strong and self-possessed woman, supported and buttressed Whedon’s dreams and pushed him to develop these into a career. She cofounded Bellwether Pictures with him. She kept their life together as he worked on numerous projects. She adored him, and he ensured her destruction and through it, that of their marriage. 

It’s tempting to imagine that marriage is complicated, that the fault hides in the love and attention Whedon was not receiving from his wife. But then why would he destroy the next relationship he had in which a new partner offered to explore a non-exclusive relationship together? 

After his separation from Cole, Whedon had the opportunity to have a nonmonogamous relationship in which he could explore his interest in power-exchange (that is, erotic play involving power and control, or BDSM). He chose instead to slowly poison this partner too, to use his own words, but in a different way. Arden Leigh, singer songwriter of Arden and the Wolves, writes:

In the wake of his separation I offered him a consensual non-monogamous BDSM relationship so he could have his fantasies responsibly, and he STILL chose monogamy and lying.

I figured hey, marriages are messy, and while there was no question he made mistakes (which he admitted), I chalked it up to societal default monogamy and sexual repression being the problem. I thought he deserved a chance at having what he wanted in an honest way, and I offered him that. And in return he took everything I offered and then piled so much shame on me for it that I spent a good year of my life thinking I was completely unworthy of love, that I'd always fall on the wrong side of someone's Madonna/whore complex. The effort I've undertaken since the start of 2016 to undo this fuckery has been monumental.

Monogamy is not the problem. One troublesome marriage is not the problem. When you hate yourself so much that you only get off when the women you desire hate you too, then you will continue to hurt people so that you can revel in the guilt over what a piece of shit you are. And when you are a rich white man who has every resource to heal and instead you consciously choose not to so that you can stay in the comfort of your patterns of hurting both others and yourself, that's no different from abuse. And I'm glad to see it made public.

Looking over the archetypes of abuse that Bancroft describes in Why Does He Do That? we begin to recognize that the infidelity described by both of Whedon’s former partners is actually a symptom, rather than the problem itself. In many ways, Whedon’s use of his position as a feminist ally bears more resemblance to Bancroft’s “Mr. Sensitive” than “the Player”: 

He loves the language of feelings, openly sharing his insecurities, his fears, and his emotional injuries. [ ... ] Often he has participated extensively in therapy or twelve-step programs, or reads all the big self-help books, so he speaks the language of popular psychology and introspection. His vocabulary is sprinkled with jargon like developing closeness, working out our issues, and facing up to hard things about myself. He presents himself to women as an ally in the struggle against sex-role limitations. 

Mr. Sensitive wraps himself in one of the most persuasive covers a man can have. If you start to feel chronically mistreated by him, you are likely to assume that something is wrong with you, and if you complain about him to other people, they may think you must be spoiled: ‘You have the New Age man, what more do you want?’ 

He blames his behavior on you or on his emotional ‘issues,’ saying that his feelings were so deeply wounded he had no other choice. [ ... ] The “gentle man” style of abuser tends to be highly self-centered and demanding of emotional catering. He plays up how fragile he is to divert attention from the swatch of destruction he leaves behind him. 

[ao3feed-btvs]

Crossover Drabbles

read it on the AO3 at http://ift.tt/2kUOOq6

by dreamsofspike

A collection of my drabbles for various pairings in various fandoms, crossovers between fandoms.

Words: 1366, Chapters: 3/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, How I Met Your Mother, Dollhouse, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, House M.D.

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: M/M

Characters: Barney Stinson, Billy (Dr. Horrible), Topher Brink, Andrew Wells, Eric Foreman

Relationships: Barney Stinson/Billy (Dr. Horrible), Topher Brink/Andrew Wells, Barney Stinson/Eric Foreman

read it on the AO3 at http://ift.tt/2kUOOq6

[pass-the-bechdel]

Dollhouse s02e04 ‘Belonging’

Does it pass the Bechdel Test?

Yes, once.

How many female characters (with names and lines) are there?

Four (40% of cast).

How many male characters (with names and lines) are there?

Six.

Positive Content Rating:

Two.

General Episode Quality:

Strong, despite how obsessed this show is with its own rape fantasies. 

MORE INFO (and potential spoilers) UNDER THE CUT:

Passing the Bechdel:

Priya meets Echo at the art showing.

Female characters:

Priya Tsetsang.

Echo.

Sierra.

Adelle DeWitt.

Male characters:

Topher Brink.

Nolan Kinnard.

Harding.

Victor.

Boyd Langton.

Dr Makido.

OTHER NOTES:

Oh, golly, I’m so glad we’re following up on the mustache-twirling Boss-level misogynistic rapist responsible for Sierra being a sex slave. Let’s do an episode about it!

Yeah, see, calling Nolan a ‘raping scumbag’ is meaningless when you’re part of an organisation that provides victims to rapists on a daily basis. And it’s hypocritical coming from Adelle specifically, since she has also repeatedly utilised Dollhouse services (and, as a strong-arm recruiting agent for the same, she is also responsible for forcing people into the Dollhouse in the same way as Nolan is, just on a larger scale. The pot really calleth the kettle black). Harding makes both of these points in the ensuing scene, and that really undercuts the idea that the show has any business expressing moral outrage over the situation. The only difference between Nolan and any other client is that he maneuvered Priya into the Dollhouse system so that he could prey on her, and considering that the Dollhouse happily played into that by taking Priya on (despite the fact that she appeared to be so emotionally disturbed that she couldn’t possibly sign away her rights on their bullshit consent form anyway), there’s really no ethical leg to stand on here. I’m not making excuses for Nolan - far from it - but the effort to frame him as an Ultimate Evil Bastard is insanely tone-deaf for a show that plays happy twinkly music for the romantic engagements of what it deems ‘nice rapists’.  

Victor destroying the black paint is really lovely. I wish that his developing love story with Sierra wasn’t so tied up in him being the ‘good guy’ vs all these rapists, that him being good to her and for her wasn’t also about her being ‘broken’ by other men, because the simplicity of them bonding even in doll state as well as being drawn to each other even when imprinted for other purposes, that has the makings of something beautiful that is then tainted by its inextricable relation to this show’s misogyny obsession. I’m not happy about it.

Echo is taking a back seat for this episode, so she’s not gonna get hit in the face. Don’t worry though: Priya is gonna fill the gap by being violently beaten and then threatened with rape at knife-point. 

Nolan talking about how ‘struggle is a turn-on’ is exactly the kind of voyeuristic language I was talking about back in season one in regards to writing rape fetishisation without actually showing a rape onscreen. Rapists talking about how exciting it is to be rapists. This doesn’t need to be here. 

Obviously I’m delighted to have Nolan stabbed to death, but just like when November killed Hearn in season one, I really wish that being violently beaten first wasn’t treated like a prerequisite for women disposing of rapists on this show.

I mean, they didn’t HAVE to take Priya back to the Dollhouse. Or they coulda just brought her back, wiped this experience, re-imprinted her as herself and shipped her off again. She can’t blab about the Dollhouse if she doesn’t know about it, and she’ll just run along back to Australia and it won’t be a problem. They don’t actually bother to explain WHY they would have to bring her back, and it’s especially bad since this means she’s back to, y’know. Being used as a sex slave. Literally where is the ethical compass here?

WOULDA BEEN A WAY BETTER EPISODE IF THIS SHOW HAD A MORAL BACKBONE. And - like the previous episode - it’d also be better if it weren’t a continuation of this show’s FUCKING GODDAMN MISOGYNY PROBLEM. The good news is, they finally did some serious stuff with some of the under-utilised assets on this show, and the benefits are immediately evident (Ballard isn’t in this episode and Echo is relegated to a minor, barely-there subplot, and the story sparkles with unforced characterisation and life and the sense of the narrative existing within an established universe of context for once). There are some really, really amazing actors in the supporting cast of this show, and they have the power to rescue it from the depths - if briefly and incompletely (no one can change the fact that it’s Joss Whedon’s Rape Fetish Hour just by being a good actor) - and the best episodes of this show tend to have that in common; almost every time Echo is decentralised and either someone else takes the fore, or the story is more balanced across an ensemble, the quality level of the show lifts measurably. It’s really obvious. Not rocket science.

[pass-the-bechdel]

Dollhouse s01e01 ‘Ghost’

Does it pass the Bechdel Test?

Yes, three times.

How many female characters (with names and lines) are there?

Six (40% of cast).

How many male characters (with names and lines) are there?

Nine.

Positive Content Rating:

Two. TW: child sexual abuse, and I don’t consider it well-handled by the narrative. It should not be there. 

General Episode Quality:

A very strange way to begin a show (mostly for the above reason).

MORE INFO (and potential spoilers) UNDER THE CUT:

Passing the Bechdel:

Adelle and Caroline pass as the episode begins. Dr Saunders gives Echo a check-up. Echo and Sierra pass out in the field.

Female characters:

Adelle DeWitt.

Caroline Farrell.

Echo.

Davina Crestejo.

Claire Saunders.

Sierra.

Male characters:

Matt Cargill.

Boyd Langton.

Topher Brink.

Gabriel Crestejo.

Laurence Dominic.

Paul Ballard.

Mr Sunshine.

Anton Lubov.

James Shepherd.

OTHER NOTES:

Some sources may try to tell you to watch the unaired pilot episode ‘Echo’ first, but you really, really should not do that. It exists completely outside the continuity of the rest of the series, half of the content is immediately retconned, and the other half is recycled and used throughout the first five episodes of the series instead. Also, it’s a really, really bad pilot episode, I am zero percent shocked that they were sent back to the drawing board. It tries to do way too much at once, laying out a huge amount of story in way too little time, and consequently it comes off over-stuffed and amateurish. The first five episodes of the series-proper are far, far less central-plot-heavy, and while that is unfortunate in that none of them are very strong or particularly compelling, the more relaxed, drawn-out process of establishing and developing the mythology of the series is infinitely preferable to the jumbled, noisy, everything-at-once nature of the shitty unaired pilot. 

We could argue variously about whether or not to count the different imprints as actual characters, and it would be a very meta argument if we did, but for the purposes of this blog the doll characters will only be listed as differentiated individuals a) as their original personalities, b) as long-term imprints who exist significantly enough within the narrative that they form their own lives/memories/connections that aren’t just programmed experiences, and c) as their doll designations, the names of which I will continue to use for both their blank-slate and their temporary imprints. That’s just how it’s gonna be.

Reed Diamond is here, and that’s, y’know, everything. Reed Diamond is love, Reed Diamond is life. 

Ballard’s introductory scene has him being instructed by his FBI bosses to stop 1) harassing politicians and public figures 2) committing crimes, and 3) interfering in other investigations, specifically the ongoing efforts to shut down a major human trafficking pipeline. His bosses also emphasise that he should dial back on these things on account of the fact that he has no actual evidence to support the ‘need’ for any of those actions, and, um. He should listen to his bosses, actually. The scene is designed to demonstrate to us that Ballard is professionally isolated and a bit of a maverick, that he has absolutely no intention of backing down in his investigation, but also that he’s on to something and that he’s gonna have to keep pursuing it despite the obstruction of the higher-ups and the rich and powerful Dollhouse-using people they protect. Thing is though, what he’s doing is absolutely rubbish FBI work. I mean, it sounds rather a bit like he should be fired (being an FBI agent does not entitle him to commit criminal offenses. That’s not how being FBI works). He might satisfy his own curiosity about things during the commission of his various felonies, but he can’t legally obtain evidence that will hold up in court, and therefore he’s actively jeopardising his own investigation through his ‘maverick’ methods. And if he also genuinely jeopardised the human trafficking case because he’s on his own righteous crusade? That’s not ok. It’s not for him to prioritise his own investigation (for which he presently has no evidence) over the very real threat posed to those trafficked victims. I’m not getting ‘dogged maverick investigator’ from this intro, I’m getting ‘reckless self-important asshole’. I don’t think that’s the intended interpretation, but it’s what the text has presented. Also, it’s a fucking huge cliche.

First episode in, and the plot hinges on the inclusion of child sexual abuse. Not in a small way, either; Echo makes various direct references to being assaulted as a child, which is confronting and difficult to listen to, and an unnecessary, perverse detail to include. Particularly for the first episode of the series, this is a bizarre decision, and this content is way too heavy for the attitude and tone of the rest of the story (which is not exactly light and frivolous itself, but it’s not up to the task of grounding a discussion of child rape). It’s also a wildly convenient turn of events that this particular abuser just-so-happens to show up, and that kind of lazy coincidental storytelling is the last thing you want when you’re invoking something of this traumatic magnitude.

To make matters worse, while the narrative dwells on the actual abuse, it really kinda glosses over the confrontation with the rapist and the idea of any kind of catharsis, in saving Davina, knowing that the rapist is dead now and can never hurt anyone again, etc. The focus makes it feel as though Joss Whedon just really wanted to do a story about child rape, and the idea of telling that story in a way that is sensitive to real-life survivors or that places the focus on their survival or literally anything other than using this excuse to have someone describing childhood assault didn’t really occur to him. I feel like the potential for this to be upsetting and/or offensive to real-life survivors is pretty high.

The child rapist hits Echo in the face. This will be an extremely common occurrence.

Let’s be real: the sexual abuse aspect of this story did not need to be there. It didn’t. I initially wrote a whole paragraph about how easily you could tell this story with the actual kidnapping as the central trauma, and no child abuse necessary to make the plot unfold exactly as it does, but that’s a moot point: the point is that a very poorly-explored rape-trauma was used as the centre-piece of this episode, and it’s utterly unnecessary, extremely odd for the beginning of a series which is not about child sexual abuse, but also, it’s directly in keeping with the fact that Joss Whedon is a rape-fetishising misogynist who uses his ill-gotten reputation as a ‘feminist’ to get away with writing egregious abuse of women and then claiming that it’s ok because his abused female characters are #StrongWomen. We’re gonna talk about that a lot as this show unfolds.

The truth is, this was the first of Whedon’s shows I ever saw, and the first time I watched it? I loved it. This was in 2010, and my discernment skills had yet to be honed, and the fact that this was my first adventure into the Whedonverse is important because I wasn’t able to judge Dollhouse by comparison to Whedon’s other work like I can now, so his obsession with rape and with chronic abuse of women was not clear to me then as it is now I’ve seen a whole lot of his travesties. But it wasn’t just that I was less critical of the content back then; I also loved the show because it’s honestly a fantastic premise, and the majority of the cast is incredible, and there are some truly inspired episodes in amidst the rot. I have rewatched the series several times since my first viewing (though not for a few years, until now), and independent of my growing revulsion for Whedon’s misogyny, I’ve gotta say: this isn’t a show that improves on review. This is a show with flaws, loads of them, and some of them are cataclysmically large. Once you’ve seen it all before a couple of times, you really start to see the cracks (and cracks in the cracks), and it’s incredibly frustrating to realise how much they squandered what could have been a truly great series exploring some wonderful cerebral concepts in an original and compelling way. As I said, it has been years since I watched this last, and so I’m interested to see how I feel about it now. I don’t anticipate it being very good; I think I’ll be angry most of the time, and these posts will be dripping with it. But I also expect that there will be some good in the mix, and some of what once made me adore this show will remain intact. At the very least, I figure I’ll always have something to say. Probably not nice things, most of the time. We’ll see.