#i believe in you sydney adamu

[ayoarticulate]

sydney scene episode ten thoughts n shit below ‼️‼️

okay, so. syd sees the review from her braised cola short ribs and risotto on her fridge in the last ep, and begins to see all her beef/bear family and moments take over.

i think carmy has become this thing where… he’s sydney’s greatest inspiration and greatest de-motivator. carmen doesn’t know how to properly critique and show people how they can do better without being incredibly intense in a way that takes you down a few inches at the knees.

i don’t think he realizes who he is, so he doesn’t realize the impact his actions have on people in a professional capacity.

syd’s relationship with carmen reminds me of a friendship that i used to hold onto that was genuinely poisoning me. this friend of mine would generally be very mean to me, in a dismissive kind of way, that made me feel like she couldn’t care less about what i was doing, while simultaneously making me feel like i wasn’t enough to be around her. BUT. she’d have these moments where, we’d talk and she’d be so kind and we’d have this great back and forth. but then that conversation would end and the next one would start and we’d be back where it started.

it took me forever to leave that relationship because, we still had our good moments right?? we still had those moments where she was so sweet and everything was good, and that balanced out the hundreds of other times she would make me feel like literal shit. but it’s not! it’s not worth it!

syd and carmy have these fleeting moments in between moments of absolute insanity, and i think syd holds onto those little nuggets of joy as proof of “look! he cares i swear i swear he does!” to justify staying. but it’s not enough.

i think she knows that. it’s so hard to to come to terms with that feeling and that relationship, but sometimes it just is the truth, and you have to go! but letting go in this case means losing the family she fought so hard to make her own. and i think that’s enough to make her freak and think “do i believe i deserve more enough to leave it all behind and start over?”

[hothammies]

the usage of the lyrics “i don't know what you mean to me, but i wanna turn you on, turn you up, figure it out - i wanna take you on” right after carmy's apology to sydney is so serious to me and i wish we talked about it more. i think it's one of the only times where we get an explicit idea of what carmy thinks of syd in a romantic context and i fucking LIVE for it the lighting, the acting, the attempted phone call, the ambiguity of that entire scene to confuse us on whether or not he's thinking about sydney or if he's thinking about claire in the lyrics - all of it is so so so fucking scrumptious AHHH i love that shit i love this show so much

[afrofairysblog]

I just know when Sydney and Carmy get together that Black Wife Effect is gonna be on LOCK IMMEDIATELY!!!!

[g3othermal3scapism]

the kind of thing that makes you proud that nothing else had ever worked out

[cosmic-light-fics]

The Girlfriend Montage

I can't shake this moment from my mind and some interpretations of moments like this in this season have gotten me mad, so here's what I've got to say about the girlfriend montage. Carmy telling Richie he's gotta call his girlfriend, then we get splices of scenes containing Carmy making food for Claire, Claire working in the hospital, and for reasons that are highly debated by some but seem completely obvious to others including myself there are scenes of Sydney interjected into the couple's montage.

I have my thoughts as to why Sydney is in the montage but that's not the point I want to linger on, not now at least.

I am going to focus on this part in particular: the one where Sydney is undressing and we see the Three of Swords tattoo.

To me, nothing is unintentional in this show. Nothing is inconsequential. And this small, two second shot of Sydney proves that in more ways than I can think of.

What I can't shake is how freaking similar it is to a scene we will later see in ep. 9. The sex scene with Carmy and Claire. It's an intimate moment. The room is cast in blue hues. It's all close up shots, quick cuts, and we can barely make out who is who and what is where. The moment is completely intimate and sensual in all the ways a romantic sex scene typically is conveyed.

And it matches the picture above nearly identically.

The choice to show the audience Sydney's tattoo bathed in this blue light that they will later use for Carmy and Claire's sex scene, the choice to capture this extreme close up, the choice to include the strap of her bra and a tattoo with an image that symbolizes heartbreak and betrayal, the choice to put one of the most intimate and vulnerable shots of Sydney in this montage meant for a couple is.... pretty indicative of the romantic undertones hidden in Carmy and Sydney's connection. The first time I saw it, I was blown away by how intimate of a shot that was of Sydney. We've never seen her like that - undressing, her skin that is always covered exposed, seeing for the first time that she has a tattoo. Just like we never saw Carmy like that in his sex scene with Claire, him being so intimately exposed.

I don't know how else to interpret it. Because all of what's stated above is not coincidence. The creators of this show didn't coincidentally put scenes of Sydney into the couple's montage and they definitely didn't mirror the imagery from the picture above to the sex scene in ep. 9 on accident. Just like how they didn't coincidentally have Carmy think of Sydney to calm him down during his panic attack.

[sutherlins]

♡ DOWN IN THE HEART ♡ ↝ SydCarmy | Rated: E mdni | Complete | Word Count: 170K+ | [READ HERE]

Summary: Post S3 Finale. After almost losing Sydney to Shapiro, Carmy is determined to make a change. Eager to rebuild their friendship, they decide to spend the day together at Carmy's doing some recipe development but an accidental peek inside Carmy's notebook changes everything for them. In the midst of navigating trauma, therapy, grief, and their new relationship, they try to keep their thing a secret from everyone else at The Bear for six months.

♡ any reblogs/kudos/comments are all so appreciated!! ♡

[jenniesban]

[balancethescales]

saw some discussion about how the message of s2 seems to go against s1 in that s1 was about the toxicity of the fine dining industry as a whole while s2 undoes all of that work, and id just like to write down some thoughts about that.

it definitely is true that the fine dining experience for many a chef sucks ass. this is perfectly portrayed in carmy, who is a ball of anxiety due to chef jeff winger (and his family but thats a different conversation for a different day), and sydney, whose trauma from her catering business and the to-go order debacle serve as the root of her debilitating fear of failure. but despite all of that, the ptsd the panic attacks the health issues the lack of a social life, they still love food. every chef at the beef/the bear does. you can see it in the way that tina is genuinely excited to hone her skills, the way sydney delights in making the simplest dish for a friend in need, and in the way carmy tries so hard to not fuck everything up. even richie, loud crude shithead richie, finds purpose as a server/host.

so while there is so much to be said about how the restaurant represents carmys past, that isnt the main social commentary of s2, and neither is the sentiment of “fine dining is the standard.” where s1 exposed all of the dark nooks and crannies hidden inside of a restaurant, s2 serves to remind us what a restaurant is supposed to be about, that it is so much more than what the industry has twisted chewed and spit it out to be. to work in a restaurant is to put your blood sweat and tears into pots and pans, put it on a plate, and then give it to someone. plain and simple. it is the oldest act of service, and is exactly what richie comes to respect in ep7, where chef terry tells him something along the lines of how she wants people to see all the work that went into one dish just to make them happy because it makes them feel special and people should be able to have that experience. to be a chef, to be a server, and to be a part of all of the work that goes into making and sharing a meal, is to love. 

ultimately, the overarching plot of changing the beef into the bear is not saying that simple sandwich shops made by regular people arent good enough. season 2 is a reminder that as dark as the fine dining industry can be, if you go into it with an actual love for the craft, an aptitude for service, and remember that everyone is a human being before they are an employee, working in a restaurant can be beautiful.

tldr: the “deep” social commentary of s2 is that capitalism and competition ruins food service by turning it into something horrible when its supposed to be about showing and receiving love through a good meal. the end.

[theonethatyoudreamof]

so it is a love story?!?!?

I won't let you.

THE BEAR | 2.09: OMELETTE

[ayoarticulate]

so close to 100 works of sydcarmy on ao3… so close

[yannaryartside]

Let me be clear, even if I think I may be repeating myself at this point…

If clairexcarmy is endgame, the show will become trash in my memory forever.

Not even for my disappointment in the waste of sydcarmy and the atrocious use of Sydney Adamu on all the Clairexcarmy narrative.

I would consider the show trash because the clairexcarmy ship is the most sickening romance I have resisted in a while. I do say that with my whole chest.

I recently finished the book “whole again” by Jackson McKenzie, that explains (among other amazing psychological subjects) the relationship between codependent people and their “rescuers”. I may do a post detailing this but I think some people already caught this vibe. This shit is toxic, I may make Carmy stay in his unhealthy mental state forever.

I cannot believe, in one neuron of my brain, how someone can write one of the most realistic and humanizing portrayals of mental illness, treat the subject of addiction and toxic patterns with respect and realism of how to treat them, and then go “yeah it all will be fixed by being loved by someone that really doesn’t know you (only the past version of you) and has no interest in helping you grow” while also that love character being the most empty of your whole cast. I am not inventing any of that is literally what they showed us.

If it happens, I will just assume this people got possessed or were unaware of the toxic narratives they carried themselves.

[ambeauty]

Random Thoughts about Sydney and Carmen

The more I thought about it, the more Sydney and Carmen represent Yin Yang to me. In almost every sense, they are complete opposites that have to work together in order to find harmony. Here are some quotes on what yinyang is and how Sydney and Carmen fit into that dynamic:

This drawing illustrates the exact binary of their characters. Male|Female, Black|White, Quiet|Loud, no Mother|No Father. Secondary Education| Self Taught. I can keep going with the ways their characters are designed as polar opposites. The success of The Bear depends upon finding out how to balance their polarities and use them as advantages. The restaurant and themselves need each other to mature and survive. They are attracted to each other’s differences but what they are striving for requires them to resolve their struggle for dominance.

“…yinyang as a process of harmonization ensuring a constant, dynamic balance of all things. As the Zhuangzi (Chuang-tzu) claims, “Yin in its highest form is freezing while yang in its highest form is boiling. The chilliness comes from heaven while the warmness comes from the earth. The interaction of these two establishes he (harmony), so it gives birth to things. Perhaps this is the law of everything yet there is no form being seen”

Carmy is literally frozen. Although he represents a lot of elements of heat in s1, they have almost swapped at the point in time we are in now. She will metaphorically burn it all down by leaving. Carmy has the power to cleanse all of them by finding closure on his path and allowing himself to see a different future. His anger boils over like hot water, while her simmers beneath the surface like lava. Her quiet inability to speak up for herself will lead to destruction. But if they work together, communicate, they will find harmony and continue to give life (birth) beautiful things. As evidence by the education they have already passed on to their staff. As focused on by Chris in 307: Legacy.

“The philosophical principle of Yin and Yang evolved into the idea that all things in the universe exist as inseparable and contradictory opposites. Or pairs of equal opposites that attract and complement each other. Less like “opposing forces”, and more “complimentary forces”.

Think ‘balance’, not conflict.

In short, the yin-yang has come to symbolically represent the constant path of uniting opposites and the pursuit of seeking balance in life.”

I firmly believe that they need each other to find perfect harmony. Now that they are in each other’s lives nothing they do on their own will ever feel complete. They have to find the balance within their mirrored paths to create the harmony they are looking for creatively, professionally, and emotionally within each other.

Happy SydCarmy Week! Day 3: Vibrant Collaboration

Thank you to my pookie for listening to me rant about this @sydneys-adamu 😘

The gifs do not belong to me

[yannaryartside]

I want to frame this

Unrelated, but AYO IS STUNNING

[ficsinhistory]

I think the problem with S3 of The Bear was that ok the mess, the coldness and the distancing and the plots in general...if it seemed like it was intentional. If they had a long term plan and this was a bait to change course later like good stories do. But it wasn't, it was just poorly written (and a bit racist).

For example, we could see Sydcarmy being separated because of Carm's worsening mental health and him wanting to convince himself that Claire is better because he doesn't want to make mistakes with the kitchen family and Syd anymore, more as a legitimate plot point and less as Storer wanting to sink Sydcarmy at any cost (which was a stupid idea and I don't even need to say why) if it didn't completely sideline Syd and obliterate her and Carmy's character in the process. Because that man may be chaotic and stupid as he may be, but Carm always cared about Syd's well-being at the end of the day.

Even after doing something stupid, Carmy always had this worry about asking how she felt about it. And that's what made their relationship different and the heart of the show. He can be distant and cold, but ignoring Syd's wishes? Doesn't give her credit when he was the one who asked her to be her partner in the first place??? The same person who recognized in 3x01 that the credit for them getting through the family and friends' night was solely hers, because he knew he had screwed up everything and didn't deserve to be part of it? Not only that, him being an idiot to Natalie, yelling about money when she was pregnant? Even though she was his only living sister? And that he started going to therapy at her request even though he didn't want to after realizing that yes, she was right? And not going to see his niece because he was more worried about Claire?? The woman who, let's be honest, he didn't like. I mean, he a panic attack thinking on HER!!! And now she is his peace??? Using suspiciously the term that the Sydcarmy fandom baptized Syd, almost as an affront. (And let's remeber Claire was pretty happy talking how she almost kill a teenage. I was bawling my eyes if was me. Weirdo (derogatory))

And speaking of her, Sydney Adamu, my beloved and favorite character, what did they do to you? She was thrown into the corner so much that I couldn't believe it. She is a protagonist and ok, she and Carmy are on tense terms, but why not take advantage of the fact that they are more apart to delve deeper into her and her relationships, find out more about her. Her relationship with her mother and father? Any flashbacks, since there were so many, about Sheridan and how this still affects her? She and the rest of the members of The Bear, Nat, Richie. She should exist outside of Carmy in her own right, but they just threw her in there and gave screen time to Claire and the Faks and that sucks. Which leads to another point, why don't you talk more about the og members of The Bear. Okay, we had Napkins for Tina, fair enough. But what about Gary, Ebra, Many? Marcus, whose mother died barely had any weight? It left a bitter taste in the mouth. If they want to fix this, they're going to have a lot of work to do, because history has taken everything to an almost unsustainable level. It's okay to be a tragedy, but give us the rays of sunshine, so we can believe in the best. And we didn't have that. It was just going in circles and that could cost the entire story.

[gingergofastboatsmojito]

Sydney Adamu

I don’t want Syd to mother Carmy.

I don’t want Syd to enable Carmy.

I certainly don’t want Syd to get hurt by him.

I see Syd for who she really is, not for who I wish she was.

I want Syd to stay by Carmy’s side to help him get back up because I am convinced he will only accept her help, she’s the only powerful enough influence on him to bring change into his life, the change he needs.

I want Syd to help herself first, by being honest with herself about what she feels for him, why she keeps coming back to him and can’t let him go when she has the best chance to do it.

Then I want her to help him, not only because she is the only one who can (he already wants to help himself and wants to change, especially for her although so far he hasn’t nailed it but he will when she threatens to walk away again or he finds out about the poaching, don’t you worry about that, that’s covered) but also because it’s in her nature, she loves to help people and make people happy and she knows that if she leaves Carmy behind she will break his ❤️ and that’s putting it lightly.

I want her not to lose this new found family she raised at The Bear, her Tina, her Nat, her Cousin, her Marcus. She never had that before, she doesn’t have much of a social life or friends outside of work, she has always prioritized her career and job and she was a lonely girl before finding this Bear family, except for her dad. I want her to keep that and help them by sticking around and protecting that family that will protect her back. I trust that when she’s about to lose them, they will not let her go and will fight back to make sure she sticks around and that includes protection and support. It wasn’t there this season, that family was disconnected, but it’s NOT broken. Syd leaving and leaving Carmy alone will surely break it. I want Syd’s family to stay together because she wants and needs that too.

I want Syd to be happy and I don’t see her being happy getting her Star with Shapiro after leaving The Bear behind, that will break her ❤️

I want Syd to say the words: “I can’t take this anymore!!! You left me alone again after promising me the exact opposite!!!” To the man that must hear them. I want her to be specific and walk him through all his shitty behaviors he will not own up at first and will make excuses for, BUT will end up apologizing for and at that point I want her to tell him she doesn’t believe in his apologies anymore. I want her to cry and scream if she must, call him a piece of shit again, if that’s how she feels. I want Syd to look at Carmy straight in the eye when she tells him all this. Or keep it together while she spills this tea, whatever she feels like at that moment, doesn’t matter. What matters is that she does NOT spare his life, I want her to be brutal with him. Carmy Berzatto has to die for Sydcarmy to be born.

And then I want her to stick around to see the effects her words will have on him.

I want Carmy to make her happy because she deserves it.

[cornellstokez]

my sydcarmy fic recommendations!

moon river by dischelvedcurls --- super dialogue heavy and true to the characters. love it so much!

it's a lot to ask of me (to believe in you) by adogwithabirdatyour_door -- this one...omg established (kinda) sydcarmy. carmy and sydney get into a fight and carmy gets sick and sydney takes care of him in the midst of the fight. definitely one of my faves.

begin again by yxurstruly -- sydney and carmy through someone else's eyes. i've reread this sooooo many times and it never gets old.

pull you right home by onelargecoffeepls -- our favorite communication stunted chefs trying to figure out what they are to each other. 7k words!!

still don't know what love means by seh28 -- angst fest. i love angsty carmy so much. he also says "sugar thinks i'm in love w you." must i say anything else?

nobody ever got my soul right like she could by seh28 -- for one the title alone makes my fucking chest ache. ughhhhh. mutual pining and bed sharing. carmy is so down bad it's ridiculous. another one of my favorites!

cleopatra, mona lisa, sydney adamu and the constant by peachybunnybabie -- soft and sweet sydcarmy. if you love fluff these are the two fics for you!

slithered from eden by sadistic pussy -- smuuuuuut and pining

gotta get up to get down by somethingdifferent -- the theories about carmy eating pussy for a living are brought to life in this fic. carmy is an eater.

hands full of plates by thesuncameout -- 100k words!!!!!!!!! i love long fics so much. super slow burn with so much pining and some pain. ugh. so good.

intimates conquering intimacy by sashafiercer -- 38k words! like i said i love long fics. mutual teasing with mutual pining.

the wild, wild berry by blissymbolics -- THIS STORY. this fucking story knocked the wind out of me for sure. super duper angsty. a MIND fuck. this fic is funny but definitely devastating at the same time. a lot of trigger warnings so be aware before you read.