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thescrapbookingscientist · 2 years

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Biweekly Media Roundup

- Enola Holmes 2 (Movie) - While I am currently in the process of collecting info on various Sherlock adaptations, I probably wouldn’t have watched this (or the 1st for that matter) if it wasn’t for Family movie night. I don’t know if I would say it’s a bad movie per se, I did like the actual historical context around workers strike plot of the movie, as well as some of the sets and shots but...there’s just a lot of issues keeping me from getting realistically invested. Enola herself is written in that “I’m not like other girls I’m a quirky tomboy contrarian” way that writers do when they want to seem feminist by having a “strong independent woman” lead but in the process demonize femininity and other women as a concept while presenting their lead as an exception who “wise and brave” for telling people that the complex social rules they are raised in are dumb and they should just simply not do them. Very surface level feminism if you will. There’s also just a bunch of smaller issues, like the action scenes being long and boring, the characters being largely flat and nonsensical with their decisions, and an uninteresting romance plot that I felt was at least mildly entertaining in the 1st but fell entirely flat in this one. That being said I don’t want to seem too harsh, I’m clearly not the target audience, and I do think the mystery, while somewhat predictable, is interesting enough that younger viewers could have fun with it.

- Moriarty the Patriot (Manga) - I’ve talked about the anime for this one before but decided to read through the manga for the Sherlock project I mentioned as it goes a little past the anime ending. From the way the anime was structured with it’s large cast of characters declaring how close they were and talking about the many adventures they had together I had assumed that there was a lot of content that was cut from the anime for time reasons, that the manga would offer more fleshed out relationships and plotlines. Turns out, no. That isn’t to say I didn’t enjoy it, I do like the few characters who get depth (Namely William, Sherlock, and Irene), the concept of using crime to take out corrupt nobility and make the world better is good, some of the setup and payoffs of Williams plans are clever and interesting to see play out, the art is minimal but quite nice, and I do enjoy the idea of the little crime family thing they’ve got going, I just wish I could’ve seen more of them actually acting like friends rather than coworkers. In general, I think the manga has two main issues. Number one is that there are just way too many characters, there’s not enough time to give them all interesting things to do or establish complex relationships with one another, especially when most of them don’t have any particularly memorable traits to default to. Williams two brothers are the biggest offenders of this in my opinion, there was no reason to make them two different characters when “rich boy who grows disillusioned with the hypocrisy of the upper class finds purpose in the world changing schemes of his newly adopted beloved little brother and then must contest with what he wants beyond that once the plan reaches it’s conclusion” would’ve been a perfectly good character arc by itself, had it not been disjointed into two the way it was. The second major issue is just the general lack of nuance when it comes to their victims, the crimes they commit are almost entirely against comically evil men who hunt children for sport or blackmail people into murdering their family for fun or what not, there’s no actually hard moral questions here that could cast our heroes in a bad light, it’s just the illusion of a dark criminal mastermind without the work put in. I do think this kind of thing COULD work, you could weigh the lives of flawed but not evil political figures who nonetheless enact harmful policies against the victims those policies could create, use unsavory means to force projects that would ultimately be for the greater good to be implemented, put innocents in harm's way in such a way that would draw attention to a larger issue, ect ect but the important part is that for it to work, the people involved have to be PEOPLE, not just some comic book villain psychos who killing would be an absolute good 100% of the time. You can’t have a mastermind villain protagonist and not at least put some trolley problem level conundrums as a minimum here. Wow I had way more to say about that than I thought, I guess I just really would like to see the kind of story this manga could be if it took it’s premise to heart. Anyway, despite my complain I did like this, Sherliam is a cute ship and their interactions are always nice and while the James Bond stuff got a little silly it was still pretty fun. As long as you don’t take it too seriously it can be a fun mystery drama.

- A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Movie) - With all the Holidays I watched a bunch of TV with my family, this old film adaptation of a play being my dad’s pick for family movie night. I can’t say I liked it exactly as the sexism and homophobia inherent from the time gave it some not so great messages and made it a bit difficult to watch today, though I could still appreciate the clever comedy writing in how well they balanced all the chaotic interweaving plot threads and fun back and forths and double-talks with the dialogue. You don’t really see a lot of this word-play focused comedy anymore which is a shame as it’s quite charming. The songs are bad but the lead actor does a good job, If you can look past the dated messaging it might be a fun watch but personally I would rather just skim over the script for the clever parts and bypass the less than desirable parts.

- Star Trek Lower Decks (TV) - Peanut Hamper is a pretty cute name for a robot.

- Breath of the Wild (Video Game) - More dad time, while I am still making my way through my second true playthrough myself, more excitingly my father has decided to give it a chance despite not generally being a fan of video games. I’m mostly trying to stop myself from backseat gaming as it’s interesting to see the process he uses to figure things out as someone who is not familiar with typical game mechanics. Welp, He seems to be enjoying it so far, so I’m more than pleased.

- Made in Abyss (Anime) - Oh boy well we finally finished this season at anime night and just. geez. I haven’t had time to fully process my feelings on the work as a whole so I won’t write up a big thing on it now but I can definitely say that not only did I not like this season but it actually made me question if I was right to ever like the series in the first place, which is frankly about the worst thing you can do as a continuation. It’s a shame because the music, art direction, and (most of) the character/creature designs were all great but the story it was attached to just made me feel like I wasted my time with so many uncomfortably exploitive moments and characters who I could not bring myself to care about. I’m honestly not sure I’ll bother finishing it after this, though I’m sure my curiosity will at least get me to read the endings synopsis. A big disappointment.

- The S Classes That I Raised (Webcomic) - Heyoo so I wanted something to read while being lazy and lying in bed since we were getting some crappy weather here, and ultimately decided to check out the other two Korean webcomics that ORV is often grouped into as a holy trinity. I can see why there's such an overlap in the fandoms, given the similar “self-sacrificial protagonist who has knowledge of the future uses his wit to survive and change the inner workings of an increasingly more complex video game esque fantasy world while bettering the lives of his ever-growing found family” plots, though so far I do feel like each story and protagonist has enough differences to keep them from feeling derivative. For this one, a story in which the protagonist uses his ultimate parenting skills to raise up and mentor various super strong people and monsters to avoid a grim future he managed to soley time travel out of, I’m really liking the soft fun dad energy of the protagonist even if I think his design is the least interesting of the three. I really like the decision to keep the protagonist physically weaker than rest of the cast as it means he has to be clever in how he handles situations and acts more as a coach/director in terms of making plans while considering the specific talents of the ones who will execute them. I also think it gives a bit more leeway to the “everyone loves and wants to protect the protagonist” thing without feeling too forced since he does actually need to be protected in most cases and his role as “mentor who genuinely believes in you and is always there to help and encourage you to reach your full potential” is one that would garner a lot of good will. I also like a lot of the female designs so far, glad they aren’t afraid to let there be tall muscular ladies. I doubt I’ll read the novel anytime soon given I’m still making my way through ORV, but I look forward to the webcomic updates, this was cute and fun.

- Trash of the Count’s Family (Webcomic) - The next of the Holy Trinity, I’m not sure quite how I feel about this one when compared to the other two. That’s not to say I don’t like it, or even that I like it less than them, I just don’t have quite as clear of a grasp as where the plot is heading or what the story is trying to accomplish in terms of general themes and mood. The protagonist is very interesting, I appreciate his constant Machiavellian schemes that he works so hard on despite his ultimate goal of being a lay about, and out of all the 3 I’m most willing to believe in his impressive cleverness and planning skills as everything from his minor everyday interactions to his larger plots show how careful he is to always fully assess and react in the most optimal way to further whatever perception he wants people to have of him. It’s always funny to see the disconnect between his internal “30 steps ahead and done with this shit go away” dialogue and his outward “I’m just a careless yet charming unremarkable rich boy who doesn’t know anything” persona. I like how grand of a scale the story is coming up to with such plot points as establishing a navy, stopping a terrorist attack, rescuing a dragon, altering the public opinion of the prince ect, though I can’t help but feel a good amount of the side characters suffer for being just pawns to the narrative without really getting more than the barest characterization. Of course that could be remedied as the story goes on ,or could just be an adaptation issue from cutting things out of the novel. The mystery elements are pretty good here as well, as a single throughline it’s strong. This ones fun too, I’m glad I gave them all a shot.

- Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint (Webnovel) - Comparing ORV to it’s counterparts does make me appreciate the specific flavor of protagonist that is Kim Dokja and the ways in which he interacts with to his companions more. That is to say, as much as I love cinnamon rolls and a party that defaults to lovingly doting on and passionately defending their beloved protagonist, it’s refreshing to get a chaotic little rat man who’s companions simultaneously will die for him and want to beat him over the head with a shovel 80% of the time too. I’m also excited about getting more Han Sooyoung as I like her more and more with each appearance. I’ll probably get a lot further into the story next year when I have a proper tablet to read the webnovel rather than squinting at my phone.

As usual I am also watching along with the updates of Golden Kamuy, Jojo part 5, Chainsaw Man, Demon School, Spy X Family, Mob Psycho, Last Week Tonight, and Land of the Lustrous, so. There’s a lot.

Listening to: Anti-Hero and Mastermind by Taylor Swift, Something in the Orange by Zach Bryan, Lent by Autoheart, Holy Water by Michael Ray, Stay (Cover) by Reinaeiry, Curses by The Crane Wives, Nothing by Emilie Autumn, Encanto OST, All the Boys by Panic! at the Disco, Fear & Delight by The Correspondences.

#weekly roundup #My posts #wow I had a lot to say this time #woops #there was just a lot of things okay

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writerlyhabits · 3 years

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The Diner

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x female reader

Word Count: 6.5k

Summary: For days at a time, all Bucky could think about was you. He wanted to have you in his arms constantly ever since he’d taught you how to dance. And after a sleepless night of research, he has a surprise planned for you.

Ch 5 of the Neighbors Series | Masterlist | Ch. 4 | Ch. 6

Warnings: mild cursing, pure fluff, pet names, teasing/banter, excessive pining (it’s getting pretty bad), I think that’s it? It’s pretty tooth-rotting, let me know if I missed anything!

AN: Is that a change of scenery? And new characters? Whaaaaaat? 😂 This is a monster of a chapter and I’m afraid they might only get bigger 😬 I’m so excited to be introducing this little plotline for them, it’s so important for their story and I hope you all enjoy it! Thank you to my love @deceiverofgodss as always for helping me work through this, I think this is the fourth iteration this chapter has gone through? And the big dance move this chapter can be found here, from my favorite reference video 💖 Thanks for putting up with my nonsense, I hope you guys enjoy! 🥰

Playlists: Side A | Side B

For days at a time, all Bucky could think about was you. He wanted to have you in his arms constantly ever since he’d taught you how to dance, and he was running out of excuses to use when he wanted to cut you off mid-sentence and dance with you in the living room.

Currently, it was practice. Teaching you different moves and tricks, building your confidence. Hell, he was actively looking up references to tricks he knew once upon a time just so that he had more to teach you. To both his delight and his disappointment you were learning quickly, and he feared how long it would take before he ran out of excuses to dance with you.

“Where do people go dancing now?” He asked one day from his spot on your couch, your legs in his lap as you read – or tried to read – your perspective books. He hoped he’d managed to sound as casual and off-hand as he’d planned.

“Well, people usually go to clubs, but that’s a different kind of dancing. You don’t really have to know what you’re doing to have a good time,” you started with a shrug. “Why do you ask?”

“Oh, it was just…” He shrugged back, gesturing with his book. “They keep talking about it, I got curious.” While it wasn’t a lie, he elected to leave out the fact that he’d pretended to read this same section of his book for the past few days, just to give himself an excuse to bring it up. “Are there places to swing, or is it just whatever happens in clubs?”

“I mean, there are some places that pop up, I’ve seen videos of people dancing like that but it’s never clear where. Whether they only do it on certain nights or it just exists, I’ve never really looked into it.” You explained before giving him a knowing look. “You telling me you don’t like having to move my coffee table to dance?” He faltered for a second before he laughed at the playful jab.

“It’s part of the routine, what are you talking about?” He threw back, earning a light giggle from you. “No, I just… you wanted to dance, I didn’t know if there was a place to go do that. You know, the old-fashioned way.”

“Like you?” He rolled his eyes and turned back to his book, now finally being able to continue reading but unable to focus on a single word, having to read paragraphs multiple times before they finally stuck.

That same night as he lay awake, desperate to get his mind off of the recurring nightmare that had woken him up for the fourth time this week alone, he launched into action. The sitcom he’d put on for noise faded into the background as he sat perched on his couch with his phone in his hand, scouring the expanse of the internet for what he was looking for.

Dance groups, jazz nights at a lounge, clubs that might give him some sort of chance… but nothing gave him what he wanted. The groups had fees and rules, competitions and costumes, and made your living room far more desirable. Lounges didn’t usually warrant a dance floor, the focus was on the band and their performance. And more often than not, the homepage of each club’s website told him everything he needed to know; that it was practically the exact opposite of what he was looking for.

And then he saw it. He couldn’t remember what combination of words he’d tried this time, nor how long he’d been sitting there looking for it, but as the sky started to change color behind his blinds he’d found his perfect solution. It almost seemed too good to be true.

He’d caught you on your way out the door, a sorry excuse for a quick breakfast in your hand as you scurried out the door, taking the time to smile warmly at him on your way out.

“Where are you headed this morning?” you’d asked as you locked up.

“I’ve just got something to go take care of,” Bucky tried, wanting to tell you as little about today’s plans as possible. You shot him a look, brows furrowed and tight-lipped, and he could hear you telling him it wasn’t a real answer. But with a glance at your watch, you let him off with a roll of your eyes.

“Alright, keep your secrets for now. But I wanna hear about it when I get home later,” you demanded, pointing your keys at him. He simply tilted his head to the side, not promising any kind of answer before he turned on his heel and made his way down the stairs, taking no care to hide his chuckle at your huff of irritation.

After a morning of crossing one more name off of his list – in his own way – he gave his perfect solution a visit to figure out what was true. By the time he’d finished his early lunch and gotten his information out of the young waitress, he knew the diner was exactly what he was looking for.

But of course, he was going to have his fun with it. And by the time you were changed into sweatpants at the end of your day, helping him put together an easy dinner, you still had gotten no answer.

“You still haven’t told me about what you had to ‘take care of’ today,” you interrogated as you served yourself a portion of the casserole concoction the two of you had created, a new version of an old recipe he’d wanted to try. He only smiled mischievously at you as he dug in.

“This is good, you were right about the garlic,” he mused, deflecting the question.

“James,” you groaned pointedly, almost begging him not to leave you in suspense any longer.

“Okay, okay… there’s a place I want to take you if you’re not busy tomorrow,” he finally offered, opting not only to leave out the entire first errand but to hide the rest of it in plain sight.

“Oh really? Where?”

“I can’t tell you,” he smiled, watching in delight as you rolled your eyes at him. “But I will tell you to wear a dress.”

“... What kind of dress?”

“Just, something casual, comfortable… I- you’ll want to be wearing one, okay?”

"What is this, some kind of surprise date? What's going on?" you laughed, looking far more confused than you had earlier. He knew you were joking, but he faltered for a second before he played it off with a laugh, looking back down to his bowl. Bucky had to make more of a conscious effort than he thought in order to hide his reaction to the idea.

“No, just- trust me, it’ll be fun. I’ll come get you at 7.” He tried to finish with some sort of smooth cocky air he would when he asked girls out so many years ago, but based on the grin creeping up on your face, he probably hadn’t succeeded.

“Did you just drop the ‘I’ll pick you up at 7?’ Come on, you have to tell me something else about this mystery date, you can’t leave me hanging!”

“I can, and I will. Tell me about work.”

“Bucky-”

“Doll.” You stopped trying to fight back and looked at him, and he took his chance to lean in closer for emphasis. “Just trust me.” You kept looking at him for a few more moments, before shaking your head in resignation. He leaned back against the counter and listened to you talk about your day, absolutely giddy with excitement for what he had planned.

Wear a dress.

That’s it. That’s all he told you. Wear a casual, comfortable dress. That could mean anything. And even after digging through the contents of your closet for probably the fourth time in the last hour, you still had no clue what you were going to wear. Glancing at the time on your phone, you still had quite a few hours before seven, and it felt like far too long.

The whole ordeal was very out of character for Bucky. He was a homebody, reasonably so. He would accompany you to the grocery store or out to get food nearby, and you always enjoyed your trips to the library, trying to be quiet when you would make fun of book descriptions or continue to load interesting ones into his arms. He took long walks, went on vague errands, and spent time with Yori, but other than that? Bucky liked being with you in your apartment. Your Saturdays had come to be filled with dancing in the living room or cooking after he got home from his appointments with Dr. Raynor, and having to wait until seven to see him was making you go a little stir-crazy.

Noticing the time, you knew he would be free from Raynor’s hold, and sent him a text.

Do I have to wait until seven to see you? Or can we bend the mystery date rules? ;)

Already on my way back. I’ll be at yours in 15.

You couldn’t help the wide grin that spread across your face at his quick response, setting to decorate your bed with different options to present him with. He’d fallen right into your trap; if he wouldn’t tell you anything about where you were going, he could at least do his part to assist you.

“Your instructions were not helpful, I need your opinion,” you stated as soon as you opened the door to him, his knock appearing at the exact time he said he would, almost down to the second.

“Well hello to you too,” he teased, amused as you grabbed his hand and dragged him through your apartment. “It’s just a dress, doll.”

“James.” He could hear your eye roll as you walked him into your bedroom, somewhere he’d only been on chance occasions. “You had a sister. You should know that ‘wear a dress’ could mean like eight different things. Comfortable and casual only limits that to about four.”

Bucky surveyed the dresses on your bed and seemed to understand what you meant, immediately going to reorganize the options you’d laid out for him. He had his brows furrowed as he focused, moving the maxi dress to the side with your classic little black dress, which you caught him eyeing but couldn’t determine why. He examined the last two for a little longer, holding the ends of the skirts between his thumbs and pointer fingers to fan them out.

“I- these two will work…” he started, seeming hesitant. “You have this one… can I?” he asked as he strode over to your closet like a man on a mission, stopping himself once he’d realized what he was doing.

“Go ahead, I’ve got nothing to hide. Not in my closet at least,” you assured with a tease, and he cocked a brow at you playfully, matching your smile as he opened it. “What are you looking for? It might be in the hamper.”

“No no, you haven’t worn it in a while,” he explained, beginning to rummage through your hangers once he’d navigated himself. “You have this little blue dress, I think it’s got a flower pattern on it? You wore it to… here.” You couldn’t help but smile a little bashfully at the dress he’d pulled out, surprised he’d known it so well. He laid the lightweight wrap dress out on the bed next to the other two, fiddling with the skirt of this one as well.

“So I should wear that one?” You asked as he continued to examine it, and he gave you a boyish grin when he looked back up at you.

“Or, you know… something like that one,” he shrugged. As he kept his hand on the skirt you tilted your head as if to ask if everything was okay. “This front piece just opens right up… you wear anything underneath it?”

“Yeah, I’ve got little shorts to wear in case there’s a particularly strong breeze.”

“Good. You should wear those. With this dress or any of them, wear something underneath.” You could only laugh a little nervously at his instructions, even more confused at his intentions now than ever.

“The more I find out about this, the more worried I get,” you managed, trying to focus on the dresses in front of you while you had a captive audience. “What are you wearing, maybe I’ll match your colors. You know, old-fashioned,” you poked, and you swore you watched his cheeks turn a slightly more pink shade as he smiled down at his shoes. His expression quickly changed though, his brows furrowed as he looked off to the side, thinking.

“That… that’s actually a good question,” he admitted, running a hand over his jaw. You did your best not to imagine what it would feel like to do it yourself.

“James, don’t tell me you forgot your own outfit,” you asked, catching yourself with an amused tone. He merely tried to hide a smile from you, knowing he’d already given you the answer. “Do you need to go take care of that? You still have time to go get something other than henleys and tight t-shirts if you need to,” you snarked.

“I might have to,” he laughed airily as he moved past you, leaving you laughing at him in your room on your own. After a beat, you heard the door open, and his exclamation followed only a second later. “Come lock your door!” You rolled your eyes with an exaggerated groan.

“At this rate, I’m just going to give you a key so you can lock it yourself,” you muttered, catching him give you a grumpy look from his doorway across the hall. His whole demeanor softened at your threat, shoulders dropping slightly as his blue eyes bore into yours.

“You’d trust me with that?” he asked gently, and it made your heart break.

“Of course, Buck.” You couldn’t quite place the look he was giving you. It seemed a little all over the place, like he was trying to keep his face as neutral as he could while emotions were swimming in his eyes. You could have stood there and watched him for longer than you’d like to admit, but you knew better, for your own sake. Instead, you tried to ground yourself a little, nodding at his apartment. “Go get yourself ready,” you managed to laugh.

“Right,” he said with a sharp inhale, moving to walk into his own apartment, giving you one final look. “I- I’ll see you at seven.” You nodded, assuring him with a smile as you closed your door and locked it behind you. And after taking a moment to compose yourself, you went back into your apartment to figure out what the hell you were going to do with yourself for the next few hours.

“How did you find this place?” You asked after a few more blocks than your usual endeavors took you, your arms linked in his as he tucked them into his pockets, his left arm mostly hidden by the new button-up. It had a subtle pattern that ended up matching the blue dress he’d picked out for you, and he wore it well. The top couple buttons were undone and you could see the chain of his tags peeking through. He’d originally had the sleeves rolled up as well, and while it was quite a look, he remembered just how out of place the vibranium was and opted to leave them down. “Did you take a walk and get lost or something?”

“I googled it,” he admitted sheepishly, unable to contain his excitement. Frankly, even with all the feelings you ignored being pushed aside, it was cute seeing him get so excited about something.

“Look at you, you’re not such a fossil after all,” you teased, and he gave you a look in feigned offense.

“Coming from the one who asks me to look things up all the time.”

“It was good practice, and it came in handy. You’re welcome.” He merely shook his head in amusement.

“Alright teach, we’re here,” he smiled as he nodded towards the building beside you. You were met with a colorful, old-school diner, the Neon lights above the door reading Morelli’s Diner. Bucky went to place his hand on the small of your back to walk you inside, your arm returning to your side as you took it all in.

Complete with black and white checkered floors, the rustic brick walls are a nice contrast to the brightly lit interior of the diner, red booths lining the walls to match the red barstools set up along the counters of the kitchen that seemed to be set up in the middle of the building. You noticed a jukebox in the back, black, white, and red to match the rest of the theme, feeling a little out of place in the less populated area in the back. All in all, it was very lively and cozy, the light chatter of the other patrons and sounds of the kitchen perfectly balanced with music that you couldn’t quite place playing through the restaurant.

You had to order food at the counter before you could escape to a booth, despite the handful of waitresses still serving tables. Bucky said you had made it in right at the cut-off, but for what you weren’t exactly sure. Your confusion was quickly replaced with delight when he had brought over your goods after having told you to go grab a booth near the back, his hands full with baskets of perfectly golden fries and sodas in classic glass bottles.

“What do you think?” he asked skeptically after you’d had a chance to take it all in. The hopeful and slightly concerned look on his face brought a soft smile to your cheeks.

“I love it! It’s cute.” He seemed to relax a little at your assurance, but there was still something that seemed to be keeping him tense, glancing at his watch and looking around every few moments. “I have a feeling you’re waiting for something else?”

Just as he opened his mouth to reply, the music playing overhead faded out and the lights dimmed slightly through the restaurant. There was clapping tall around you as people started getting up out of their seats to head to the back, the jukebox lighting up and a lively song playing through the speakers, louder than the music before it. You looked to Bucky to find him smiling brightly at you.

“What’s going on?” you asked quietly.

“You said places like this pop up, but hadn’t found one … they open up the dance floor here every night at eight. Saturdays are swing nights,” he explained, and you couldn’t help but keep looking at him in disbelief.

Bucky was a homebody, he didn’t go out just for the sake of going out. He just hadn’t gotten there yet, he preferred being at home or at your place, and you couldn’t blame him. Yet here he was, breaking out of his comfort zone just to take you out dancing. It was the most thoughtful thing anyone had ever done for you by far, and his excitement through the day became so much more endearing. He made you feel heard, made you feel seen, like he understood you right to your core. And, against your better judgment, it made your heart flutter.

He glanced over at the dance floor with a grin, tucking his bottom lip between his teeth as he slipped out of the booth, moving to take your hands in his. “C’mon.”

“What about-”

“Leave it, we’ll be back. Come dance with me,” he pleaded as he led you gently up out of your seat. With the way he was looking at you, you couldn’t have told him no even if you wanted to.

Bucky felt his whole body light up as your face softened, smiling so brightly up at him as you let him lead you out to the dance floor, pulling you in close as he swung you into the crowd. Admittedly, it took him a second to get adjusted. He hadn’t danced in a crowd like this since the night before he shipped out, his practice in the living room with you being all he had in the last couple of decades.

As the song continued he found his rhythm and trusted his muscle memory, swinging you around as if he’d never stopped. You, however, were still tense as you struggled to find your footing. He could tell you didn’t trust yourself, wary of where you put your body in the foreign environment. That just wouldn’t do.

“You alright?” he asked as he pulled you closer to him, the moderate beat of the song allowing you to slow down for a moment. You put on a bigger smile as you nodded your head, trying to reassure him. He simply raised his eyebrows at you to tell you he wasn’t buying it. You dropped your shoulders in resignation before you answered.

“It’s really great, it’s fun, it’s just… different. I only know how to avoid the coffee table, not other people, I feel like I’m gonna hit someone,” you worried, looking around at the couples surrounding you. He couldn’t help but make a sound of amusement as he brought the hand in his to rest on his shoulder, hooking a vibranium finger under your chin to make you look at him.

“I’m not going to let you hit anyone,” he said gently. You made to argue, but he cut you off before anything could come out. “Hey. Just ignore them. It’s just you and me, just like at home, okay?”

If it wasn’t for the combination of sounds around you, he was sure you’d be able to hear his heart pounding against his chest. Home. He’d called your apartment home. Bucky had made such a conscious effort to differentiate your place and his, because after two months of practically living in your living room, he’d caught himself blurring the line between the two. But you hadn’t even batted an eye. In fact, his words seemed to help you relax a little more in his arms.

“I’ll always catch you, right?” You giggled warmly at his sentiment, a phrase the two of you had started using frequently with each other. Satisfied with your reaction, he took your hand back in his and started to swing you through the crowd, taking notice of how you kept meeting his gaze to ground yourself.

After a couple more songs, it was like the two of you had been doing it for years. You had completely let go, trusting him and responding to his cues without any reservations. You were singing along to songs you had played at home, and even ones that he’d never heard before, but he couldn’t help but happily watch you anyway. Bucky was sure this was his best idea yet. You looked like you belonged on the dance floor, and he was thriving off of the raw joy that you emanated; you were positively radiant.

“Are you holding out old man?” you shot at him, bringing him out of a daze. When he didn’t give you an answer, you gave him a mischievous grin. “You haven’t pulled out any of those tricks we’ve been working on. Let’s show them how it’s done.”

Oh, you were made for him.

He couldn’t help but match your expression as he grabbed you, swinging you out to his side and catching the pure joy illuminating your features. Reeling you back in, Bucky slipped one arm securely around your waist as he reached under the leg closest to him to hold you by your thigh. Perfectly fluent in his silent conversation, you grabbed his shoulder and kept the leg in his hands pointed straight out, allowing him to lift your body up towards his head. Resting your hips on his shoulder, his hold loosened for half a second so you could rotate as you released his shoulder. He leaned forward, and you curled one of your legs ever so slightly to follow the momentum that brought you around him, clinging onto his left shoulder on your way down, standing perfectly poised as Bucky unwrapped himself from around you so he could take your hand and spin you right back into his chest.

He was vaguely aware of the whoops and hollers around the two of you, but all he could see was you. Everything in his body was screaming at him to kiss you right then and there, in the middle of a room full of strangers, and it took all of his concentration not to.

This wasn’t a date. This wasn’t the time. You’re just dancing. It could change everything, it would change everything, and he wasn’t ready for that. Not yet.

“How was that, doll?” He asked, a little out of breath as he tried to compose himself. Your exuberant giggle was all he needed to hear.

“That was perfect,” you sighed. His cheeks were starting to hurt as the smile on his face grew impossibly larger, still holding onto you like the music hadn’t changed. You unwrapped yourself from his hold to take his hand in yours. “I need a drink before we do that again.”

He was in a different world as you dragged him back to the table, body blindly following you as only one thought occupied his brain. You were perfect.

That following Monday you found yourself working right through your lunch, a premade salad next to the keyboard as you tried to eliminate as much paperwork as you possibly could to save yourself from having to do it later. It was monotonous and took little focus to complete, so you welcomed the company of your confidants in the small space beside the desk, the handful of you hiding from the rest of your coworkers.

“It was wild! I didn’t have high hopes, but that place was fantastic, I really wish you guys could’ve come!” One of the girls explained, catching you up on the weekend adventure two of them had. Some new club that had opened up or something, you hadn’t cared much when they’d proposed the idea Saturday morning.

“Yeah? And how was the hangover?” You shot with a grin.

“Horrible, but so worth it.” The other replied, a round of laughter following. She waited for it to subside before continuing. “You said you had plans, fill us in! Are we talking about binging Netflix plans, or actually leaving the house plans?”

“I’m putting in my guess now, she always does stuff with James over the weekend,” River piped up before you could respond. “Did you have a Lord of the Rings marathon? That’s the movie you said he liked, right?” You rolled your eyes with a smile as she sipped on what had to be coffee number three.

River was your favorite among your little group, the two of you just clicked. When you had first met, she was soft-spoken and reserved, but after enough side-eye glances during meetings that could definitely have been an email, you made a point to get to know each other better. And what you found was a sweetly sarcastic, caffeine-addicted powerhouse who never failed to brighten your day. She teased in good humor, knowing just how far was too far, and when was just right. Like right now.

“We actually left the house, thank you very much,” you retorted, looking at her pointedly. But as you remembered your evening with Bucky, you couldn’t help the bashful smile that forced its way onto your cheeks. “It was actually really sweet, he took me to this retro diner he found where they open the back half for dancing, jukebox and all.”

“Hold on, do you mean Morelli’s? By the barbershop and the tattoo place?” River asked.

“Yeah, with the kitchen in the middle?”

“No way, I go there for lunch all the time! I had no idea they did that!” She explained excitedly. While an unexpected coincidence, you couldn’t say you were surprised. She’d clued you in to her taste for retro music and clothing, the two of you even had a couple of overlaps in your vinyl collections. “Are you guys thinking of going next week?"

As you went to answer, your words got caught in your throat. You hadn’t thought that far… of course you wanted to go again, dancing with Bucky in such a lively environment had made you feel electric. You didn’t have to worry about flipping the record every so often, and the unpredictable shuffle of songs made each dance a brand new experience. But the diner was also crowded, noisy, and wasn’t the kind of place Bucky frequented often since you’d known him. Would he be comfortable going back each week, if at all?

“You know, I’m not sure… ” you reasoned after a moment, trying to downplay how much this would eat at you through the day.

“Well if you do, let me know! I’d love to join you guys sometime, finally meet James instead of just hearing you gush about him.” A chorus of giggles followed, and you laughed it off as you turned back to the file open on the desktop screen, trying to ease your worries as the conversation continued.

But of course, you wouldn't be so lucky. It was such a small thing, whether he wanted to go back or not. It’s not like you would stop dancing altogether, right? But no matter what logical reasoning you came up with, your worries couldn’t be comforted. He’d gone to all the effort of finding the place, going on the right night… but had it been a one-off thing, just to put a check in the box? You’d gotten a taste of what the James Barnes was like on the dance floor, and you wanted more. If it hadn’t been clear to you why he was so popular with women of his time, it was now.

It occupied your thoughts up until you were seated on your couch later that evening, watching as the super-soldier turned away from the record player and began eyeing the coffee table, the telltale sign that he wanted to do something about it. Your stomach was twisting itself in a knot at the thought of opening your mouth to say anything, and he caught you looking as you worked yourself up.

“You alright, peach?” he asked softly, striding over to sit on the opposite corner of the couch. “You’ve been kinda quiet, did something happen at work?”

“Yeah, I’m alright,” you sighed, the corners of your lips tilting up at his gesture. But you could tell he was waiting for you to elaborate, ever observant, like he was tuned in to your attitudes and emotions. “I was talking with the girls at work today, sharing stories about the weekend. Turns out my friend River goes to Morelli’s too, she had no idea about the dancing.” As you watched his sheepish reaction, the knot in your stomach reminded you of its presence.

“What did you think of it? Really?” he asked earnestly, his eyebrows raised and his eyes brimming with hidden questions. He looked concerned, and you felt your heart pang with sympathy.

“I loved it, Bucky,” you answered softly before your brain could tell you otherwise. When you were rewarded with the relief that washed across his face, the knot untied itself and you couldn’t help but let out a breath as the tension left your body. “You know I like dancing with you, doesn’t matter where. But the diner was fun.” He let out a chuckle under his breath, and you could feel it heating your cheeks as you sat together in silence for a few moments.

“Their website did say every Saturday… would you want to go again?” he asked hesitantly. You couldn’t help the nervous laugh that escaped you, and you did your best to recover quick enough to remedy the look of confusion on his face.

“I have been trying to figure out how to ask you that all night,” you admitted, and your chest filled with warmth as he began laughing with you, a sound coming from deep within him. When the two of you finally calmed down he turned to look at you, his arm draped around the couch behind you. You had to look away after a while, your cheeks threatening to reveal you.

“If you want, we could go every week?” you asked hesitantly. “Go dancing instead of trying to figure out what movie to watch every Saturday.” When you felt brave enough to meet his gaze again, you were met with a cocky smirk on his face.

"I think if we're gonna be going every week we need to keep practicing,” he teased, quickly moving from the couch to approach the record player again, moving the needle to find a specific song. “Gotta impress your friends.”

“I think they’d be impressed by the easy stuff, they don’t dance like we do. If you can call what they do dancing,” you reasoned, and he chuckled as he turned back to you, the notes from the last song on the record filtered through the speakers. You made a scrunchy face at him when you recognized it. "Bucky, this is a slow song.”

“And? C’mere,” he defended, taking your hand and pulling you into his arms in one swift motion, his other hand falling to the small of your back as you leaned against him. You were practically molded to him, your head rested against his shoulder as he guided you across the floor of your living room, closing your eyes and enjoying the sheer atmosphere that was Bucky Barnes.

“You know what else we’ll have to do for dancing each week?” You piped up, feeling his lips press softly against your forehead as he hummed in acknowledgment. “You need more shirts.” You felt his amusement rumble through his chest, and you leaned in closer to him as you felt him trace patterns onto your back.

“You mean I can’t wear the same one every week?”

“No. Some variety would do you good, James,” you teased. “I’ll have to do the same, I only have three Barnes-approved dresses to wear.”

“You are like my sister! I fell right into your trap, she used to trick me into shopping all the time. I can’t believe you would do this to me,” he explained, shaking his head in mock disapproval as you shook with laughter. “Is that what we’re doing tomorrow?”

“If you want to wait until after I’m out of work,” you begrudgingly reminded, and you could feel the shift. You felt him start to pull away, and you couldn’t deny your disappointment.

“Shit, I always forget,” he cursed under his breath, pulling back to be able to look at you. “It’s getting late, I’ll leave you be. You’ve got an early morning.” He’d pulled away from you before you could argue, never wanting to be a burden despite being the farthest thing from it.

Watching him make his way to the door you knew what was going to come out of his mouth any moment, it did every time. Slipping off to the side, you went to retrieve something from your purse before he could.

“You gonna come lock-” Bucky started, cutting himself off when he turned on his heel in the doorway to find you standing behind him with an outstretched hand, a key resting in your palm. He looked at the key in your hand for a few moments, as if wondering if he was actually seeing it before his piercing blue eyes found yours again.

“So you can lock the door on your way out,” you offered, tucking your lip between your teeth as you waited for him to respond. His warm fingers brushed against your skin as he gingerly took the key to your apartment in his hand, and you only got another glance before he was scooping you up into a tight hug, your arms instinctively wrapping around his neck.

“You brought it up three days ago, when did you even get this?” He asked softly, right beside your ear.

“I picked it up on my way home.” Your smile was still evident in your voice as he leaned back to look at you, returning to stand flat on your feet. There was an unmistakable sparkle in his eyes as he tried to find the right words to say.

“I… I appreciate it,” he said softly, just loud enough for you to hear. He cleared his throat to try and continue. “I- I know it’s just a key, but…”

“I know, Buck,” you finished for him, understanding the point he was trying to make, and trying to give him a chance to take it all in. A chance to understand in return how far he’d come, and how much trust you had in him despite his history.

Wanting to do anything but just sit there and watch, you stood back up on your toes and leaned over to press a kiss to his cheek, hoping to help solidify the message you were trying to get through his stubborn defenses. You were pleasantly surprised to lean back and find his cheeks had turned a new shade of pink, and he was smiling bashfully as he turned his gaze away from you. It took more of an effort than you would have thought to keep your giddy amusement to a soft chuckle at his actions. He cleared his throat again and made to release his hold on you.

“Alright, I should get going,” he muttered as he made his way to your door, standing in the frame once again like he wasn’t quite done. “Thank you.” The warm feeling in your chest returned when you heard the raw emotion in his voice, and you simply nodded in response in fear of letting your emotions get the better of you. “Goodnight doll.”

“Goodnight James,” you smiled softly, before turning to turn off the speakers of your player and close up for the night, leaving Bucky in the doorway to use the key you had just given him.

He couldn’t help but watch you for a moment, acting as if he was already gone, and he couldn’t help but admire the way you moved through the space. His mind was still reeling as he tried to understand how someone so lovely, so wonderful had found a way into his life. He wondered what made you want to let him in the way you did, what had made you trust him so wholeheartedly as to hand him a key and turn your back, knowing that he’d take care of you. That he’d catch you.

As he turned the key in the lock, satisfied with the click as he stepped away from your door, he couldn’t help the feeling that was growing inside of him. It felt like his chest was going to explode in the most wonderful way, radiating through to his toes as it reached every inch of his body. It was a foreign feeling he didn’t think he’d ever get to experience again …

There was no doubt in his mind. Bucky was head over heels for you.

Thanks for reading!! If you’d like to be notified when I post a new fic, be sure to follow @writerlyhabits-library + turn on post notifications! 💛

Masterlist | Ch. 4 | Ch. 6

#bucky barnes x reader #neighbor!bucky #neighbors series #bucky barnes x female reader #bucky barnes #neighbors #james buchanan barnes #james bucky barnes #james bucky barnes x reader #james barnes x reader #james barnes #kam writes #my writing #morellis diner

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atopfourthwall · 3 years

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Ive only recently gotten into classic Star Trek so I don't think I can properly answer but what is it specifically about Discovery and recent Star Trek that classic Trek fans hate?

Putting this behind a cut because... it's a lot.

Well, first of all a big rejection of it is just on an aesthetic level. Up until the 2009 movie (which was considered a reboot, even with time travel elements), Star Trek tried to treat the original series and how it was portrayed as pretty sacrosanct. Sure, they might occasionally make jokes about goofier aspects of it and discard some of the stupider stuff (like how in the final episode, penned by Gene Roddenberry himself, that women weren't allowed to Captain starships), but how TOS looked? That's how the 23rd century looked. Buttons and multi-colored outfits and boxy computers and smooth, undetailed ships WAS what was appropriate for the time. When Scotty came back in TNG, they had him on the holodeck and it was the TOS bridge. When DS9 traveled back in time to that era for an episode? They went onto the Enterprise and visited it. When in an Enterprise 2-parter we had a TOS-era ship? It looked like a TOS ship. They even did a 2-parter on Enterprise to explain why Klingons had smooth foreheads when later (and earlier) they didn't. Star Trek up until then cared about maintaining that continuity of appearance. But Discovery is set in the TOS era... but nothing looks like TOS. Even when we got the Enterprise and those uniforms and we saw inside the ship, it was an upgraded form. The only logic I've seen people try to argue about WHY it doesn't look like it actually did was "Well, audiences won't accept something as cheap as TOS being futuristic." Well, then you've got a few responses there: -Don't set in TOS era, then. -That's horseshit, because audiences from the 90s through the 2000s accepted it just fine. Even a piece of dialogue from DS9 explained it perfectly: "I LOVE 23rd century design." It LOOKS cheap, but it was just the aesthetics of the period. And the Enterprise 2-parter it still looked good in HD. Hell, arguably it looked BETTER in HD because they knew how to light it and create mood and its own unique flavor. -It's even more horseshit because people are STILL going back and watching it even today, as indicated by you saying you've started watching it, so clearly it's not that much of a barrier. But what's even more egregious is the TECHNOLOGY. You might be able to accept updated aesthetics if at least matches what was present during the period... and it doesn't. Holographic displays and communication (holodeck technology AT ALL, frankly - it's possible it was there, but TNG seemed pretty adamant that the holodecks were fairly new, very impressive technology), weapons not looking or acting like they traditionally did, Enterprise and Discovery having R2D2-style repair droids that certainly did not exist in TOS, the wrong sound effects being frequently employed, replicator technology for good-looking food instead of food dispensers that gave out marshmallows and cubes, and honestly the tech level shown in Discovery looks just as advanced - if not MORE advanced than seen on TNG 100 years later. And this is a minor thing, but despite the attempt to make the future LOOK futuristic, from a cultural perspective, the future looks... way too damn similar to now. The excessive swearing (it was said in particular in Star Trek 4 that while they certainly did cuss, it was less common and they sure as hell weren't dropping F-bombs), a party on Discovery that looked like a rave (when previously it seemed like the most popular music and culture of the 23rd/24th century was considered fairly high-brow entertainment [classical music, Shakespeare, great works of literature and plays, etc.] - and while you could certainly argue that that snootiness and love of that stuff is a problem with Star Trek and a sign of how sterile and homogenized it is, THAT is the future they presented and a character in Voyager loving some of the goofier parts of 20th century culture like jukeboxes and old sci-fi serials was considered unusual), and just the general way people talk betrays the idea that the writers aren't thinking about how society changes in the future. It's just the modern day, but with cooler technology. But hey, let's set aside the general aesthetics - some people aren't going to mind that and find

ways to handwave away a lot of stuff (even Discovery season 2 TRIED to handwave away stuff like the holographic communications, but did a piss-poor job of it). This brings us to the problem of the WRITING. And the problem with the writing is a big Michael Burnham-shaped indentation. To be clear, I don't mind Michael as a character or her actress - there are interesting aspects to her, centering a Star Trek show around the science officer is a neat idea (though that means you should probably NAME IT AFTER HER and not around the ship, because it suggests this is a standard ensemble group and not JUST her)... but the actual execution is that it feels like the entire universe bends over backwards for HER. She has a unique relationship with a beloved longtime character that is retconned in. She has unique relationships with several important characters to the point where the fate of billions of people hinges on her and the decisions she makes. She is presented as almost always correct about everything, and those that oppose her are often wrong, naïve, or active enemies. Now, this is less of an issue in the third season - but that has its own unique problems - but in the first season, the resolution of two major storylines (mirror universe and the Klingon war) revolves around her and her relationship to the Terran Emperor and Lorca. In season 2, her mother trying to help or save her is the basis of the ENTIRE friggin' plot with time travel and the like, with special knowledge and history having to do with her and everyone ready to abandon their lives for her so she won't be alone when she has to go to the future when arguably they barely know her (the timeline of the show is debatable). Season 3 has a few different problems with her - the first is that she keeps being involved in things that don't concern her (why is she going down to Trill?) and she keeps violating orders. Now, her violating orders is a problem throughout the entirety of Discovery - in fact, it's kind of the instigating factor OF the series. And arguably, other Star Trek characters are guilty of that and they face no consequences, just as she faces none... and yet it's the brazenness with which it happens, and in those other series it's arguable because the series tries to avoid excessive continuity changes for its episodic nature, so the status quo MUST return to normal... but Discovery is pivoted as one of MAJOR continuity, so her lack of consequences (and indeed eventual PROMOTION) is baffling to the point of frustration. Now again, let me be clear here - she is not a bad character in and of herself. Honestly what it shows is that being the science officer on a starship is not where her talents lie. She should be in a position where she has a lot more freedom to act and not in a major command structure... but being in that command structure, what we see in season 3 is that she lacks the discipline, emotional maturity, responsibility, leadership qualities, and general other traits necessary to be a Captain. Only once during season 3 did she display such a quality - putting the safety of the Federation above a friend and colleague... but other times she will happily disobey orders and put herself and others in harm's way, creating potential new problems. Now, again, Star Trek is rife with characters doing that... but usually not the Captains. And, in fact, when this happened once on DS9 with one officer disobeying orders and putting their own personal feelings above the greater responsibility, it was made VERY clear that the incident would mean that they would never be able to command a starship because of the unofficial reprimand. What's even more frustrating about her is that the character is ALWAYS shoved to the forefront so much to the point where we just get sick of her. SHE is the one giving log entries (usually pretty piss-poor ones, at that - very flowery and nonsensical and kind of dumb) and not the Captain. SHE is the one given so much focus and how the plot of the episode affects her. Barely anyone else gets any focus episodes - I STILL can't

remember the names of some of the secondary characters because they're so rarely said, and a PTSD-related plotline in season 3 for one of the secondary characters basically gets resolved OFF-SCREEN. Michael would be fine if we actually had a chance to miss her... but we never do. Arguably one of the best episodes of the show is in season 2, when it focuses on Saru and his people because Michael DOES take a back seat. It's his story and his development and problems relating to him and his people. And even if, again, we forgave the idea of so much focus on her even in plots that aren't about her... she never seems to really change that much. She'll TALK about how she's changed, but I see no real difference in the way she acts (MAYBE season 1 to 2, where in season 1 she was stiffer and more Vulcan-like, but that's it). But hey, let's assume that's not a problem for you - you really, REALLY like Michael and are fine with so much focus on her. Simply put, the writing of the rest of the show... is just kind of dumb. The ship is powered by magic mushrooms that let it teleport everywhere because the universe has super fungus capillaries throughout it that nobody can see and also it's magic and can resurrect the dead. The time travel plot of season 2 doesn't make any sense when you sit down and diagram it. Well-established Trek lore is just kind of sprinkled in, but now in ways that doesn't match what it was before or at least in ways that completely recolor how it's supposed to work, because it needs to serve THIS plot. Everyone remembering a murdererous monster fondly after she leaves because "Hey, she was coooool." The explanation for the big mystery in season 3 is just fricking stupid and one of the two big reasons why I've finally given up on Discovery, because it's just so absurd, doesn't match how anything works, and just feels like the writers giving the middle finger to the audience because they care more about "YOU MUST FEEEEEEL THINGS!" instead of it making sense. And indeed, there is certainly a balance to be made of plot vs. emotion-driven storytelling - some stories are dumb, but are forgivable because the character writing and emotion are so strong that they override how goofy the plot is... but sometimes a plot is just so dumb it overrides anything I'm SUPPOSED to feel. And it would help if I already liked the show, already gave it some benefit of the doubt... but I don't and it hasn't done enough to impress me. A little thing that's a problem with ALL of current modern Trek shows is that whole sprinkling lore thing - I don't think a single episode goes by in ANY current modern Trek series that doesn't have a random reference to classic Trek lore. A name, a line of dialogue, etc. It comes across like the creators don't trust you to enjoy it on its own merits, but want you to like it because "Hey, remember thing? We know about thing! Like us because we mentioned thing!" But hey, I recognize that these are things that other people may not have any problem with or just disagree in general. But for me and my family, these are the big ones that keep us from enjoying it. Hell, my brother and dad still watch it for hatewatching purposes, but I was done after season 3. I gave it plenty of chances to impress me, and while each season MARGINALLY got better as it went along, I'm tired of waiting to actually like it and to stop feeling like it thinks I'm a fucking idiot. If other people still like it, great - it clearly appeals to them in a way that it doesn't appeal to me and they are free to enjoy it. Other people probably have their own issues, but this long, rambly bit is the major stuff for me.

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teeth-and-tea · 3 years

Text

Anime I've Binged: August 2021

I've been crafting a lot recently because I wanna get my yarn work done before it gets cold so LOTS OF ANIME lmao let's gooooo

The Case Study of Vanitas: On god, this anime is gorgeous. Still being upload as it's a new seasonal, but it's a Yen Press distributed work by the same mangaka of Pandora Hearts and Crimson Shell so it's STYLISTICALLY GORGEOUS. The story is interesting and feels new but familiar enough to have guess, people who like men AND women will have something for them, and Noè is my baby boy, my heart, my lovely little lamb, the sweetest green bean on the planet <3. Can't wait for the (eventual, as told on the first episode) death of Vanitas by Noè's hands that will crush me <3. 9/10.

Oddtaxi: I was NOT EXPECTING this anime to be THAT GOOD. Oddakawa is the MVP. You think you're getting a slice of life anime with some furry elements and instead you get Paranoia Agent meets Yakuza and went to school with Beastars. Genuinely one of the best anime of the coming decade. The last 30 seconds of the last episode legitimately left me screaming and my brother had to ask me what was wrong. 11/10.

The Slime Diaries: The offshoot for That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime full of shorts while the second half of the second season was put on hiatus due to covid. Cute, bubbly, but the drawing styles for everyone was a little too off for me to entirely enjoy. However, the extra background and time they gave to all the characters really fleshed them out and gave them more depth so you have more to care about when you're watching the main series again. Not bad, pretty cute, but you won't understand unless you've watched all the way up to the middle of the Second Season. 8.5/10.

The Slow Life of a Cheat Pharmacist: Another Light Novel Slice of Life Isekai given life, I've seen better but this one isn't bad by any means. It gives you exactly what it says on the tin, with NO annoying fan service or gross (bad) harem dynamics. Pretty cute tbh. 8/10.

Mob Psycho 100 S1: The animation is INCREDIBLE. OH MY GOD. Story was solid, depictions of original characters was GREAT and Mob is my beautiful little boy I want to wrap up in a blanket and put to sleep <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 Reigen is a sweaty, sweaty gross goblin I found outside the Denny's dumpster at midnight and decided "ahh, yes, a man who is perfect to destroy and objectify all at once." 11/10.

Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid S1, S2, and Shorts: I'm gonna be real, I'm a mad lesbian who knew I was gonna be disappointed by what I wanted but knew I wasn't gonna get it. STILL super cute tho. Lucoa and Shota gave me HARD SIDE EYE VIBES THO. Tits. Tits for days. Not my favorite but I've seen worse. 7.5/10.

How to Keep a Mummy: SO CUTE genuinely went online to see if I could buy a plushie before remembering I have crafting power and twelve dollars. Slice of Life featuring an adorable cast of high schoolers and their supernatural pets. 8.5/10. I couldn't stop being delighted by how CUTE everything was <3

Elegant Yokai Apartment Life: A Slice of Life Turned Plot-ish about if Tohru from Fruits Basket was a guy and shoved in an entire apartment complex full of supernatural beings, with less explicit romantic plotlines. It's not bad but the plot is all over the place and nonsensical in the the "why did the writer think this was a good idea" way and not the "lol" way. It was a Light Novel turned published piece tho so that clears up a lot of things. Incredibly small internet presence so if you want the world's tiniest fandom, try here. 8/10.

Didn't I Say to Make My Abilities Average In the Next Life?!: Another in the long line up of isekais and light novels that have gained an audience, this is honestly one of my favorite of the Isekais I've watched so far. It's fun, humorous, and it's got the decent premise of "oh yeah, I'm average in all my abilities! ... If you compare them from the tiniest bug to the strongest dragon alive." It's busty jokes and certain dried up cliches are abound tho, so some of the humor falls flat. That being said: the magic is run on nanomachines. That alone gives it enough premise for me to watch it. I watched the dub which I'll admit isn't amazing, but worked for me. 8.5/10

Restaurant to Another World: Another Light Novel adaptation but this one was a much earlier one that was published a few years ago, it's so calm that I like watching it to fall asleep to. That being said, don't watch this while hungry! Or watch it while eating leftovers! Because THE FOOD LOOKS SO GOOD I WANT IT D: Lol but serious it's pretty cute, really normal, there's no plot, I almost hesitate to call this anything other than a fantasy slice of life show instead of just a series of shorts strung together to make a show. I want to eat at Restaurant Nekoya TTuTT 8/10

DISHONORABLE MENTIONS:

How NOT To Summon a Demon Lord: I got 6 episodes in before I straight up could NOT take the fan service anymore. Literally, I watched 5 1/2 episodes, paused about 4 months, gave it one last shot and watched the 6th episode, and then called it quits. It's SO GROSS IT MAKES ME NAUSEOUS. Not in a gorey way (which is preferable tbh) but in "all these hyper-sexualized, assaulted, groomed, fan serviced girls are underage or are lolis" way. Ew. Gross. I refuse. I made myself watch PRISON SCHOOL but smth about this show just... made itself unwatchable. Maybe how it's still trying to make the MC seem like a normal dude and in Prison School they were literally all written to be unlikable and everyone knew it was fucked up. Here, it's like... portrayed as normal and positive? I just can't do it fam, I hate this show so goddamn much. I'm going to bed.

#the case study of vanitas #oddtaxi #the slime diaries #the slow life of a cheat pharmacist #mob psycho #miss kobayashi's dragon maid #how to keep a mummy #elegant yokai apartment life #didn't i say to make my abilities average in the next life #restaurant to another world

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blu-joons · 4 years

Text

You’re A Bookworm ~ BTS Reaction

Jin:

As he finished with his workout, walking back down into the living, he noticed that you were still in the same position on the sofa, lost in your book, smiling and gasping at every twist and turn in the plotline.

“Is it a good book?” He asked, but he already knew the answer as your head nodded. “You’ll finish it soon, and you only started it yesterday.”

You placed the book against your chest, “it’s just so engaging, there’s three more books after this in the series which I’m desperate to get my hands on.”

“Let me guess, you’ve already bought the rest of the books?” He asked, sniggering as your head nodded, “brand new ones?”

“Of course! They have to be kept in good condition, I love the smell of a brand-new book,” you reminded him.

He nodded, sitting down on the sofa beside you, “I’ll let you get back to your book, if you need anything, just let me know,” he smiled.

“I’m alright for now, thank you Jin.”

Yoongi:

His eyes widened as you showed him around your bedroom, most of your space was taken up with bookshelves and piles of books that you’d either read or were looking forward to reading once you’d finished your current one.

“I’ve never seen so many books in my life,” he chuckled, walking around the room, “are you seriously telling me you’ve read all of these?”

You nodded, tapping your current book at your desk, “I’ve read most of them, there’s a few waiting for me to start them though, whenever I find the time.”

“I could never imagine reading all this, it’s so impressive,” he complimented, studying a few of the titles, even recognising a few of them.

“I should probably get rid of a few, but all of them are just so good that someday I might go back to one of them,” you pointed out.

Yoongi’s head shook, “you shouldn’t get rid of them if you don’t want to. I think it’s cool that you’ve kept hold of all of them for this time.”

“I guess I’ve grown pretty attached.”

Hoseok:

The little skip you did as you walked towards the library was enough to bring a smile to Hobi’s face, allowing your hand to slip out of his as you quickly went to the thriller aisle and began to browse the new books.

“How many do you reckon you’ll buy today?” He asked, sitting down in one of the chairs, knowing how long you usually loved to spend in places like these.

You glanced back, rolling your eyes as you saw him sit. “There’s one book that’s just come out that I really want to find so I can start it, that’s all I want today.”

“Is it the one about the murder mystery that you’ve not shut up about?” He asked, proudly smiling as you nodded, surprised he even remembered.

“I rang the store this morning and they said they had it,” you muttered, glancing quickly over all the titles, desperate to find it.

Hobi chuckled, “that’s because they do,” he noted, tapping against your shoulder, holding the exact book in front of your face, “shall we get it?”

“Yes! I can’t believe you found it, thank you.”

Namjoon:

You turned the page for one final time on your book, sighing in satisfaction, yet another one to tick off your list of endless books you wanted to read. Namjoon glanced across at the noise, flashing you a wide smile.

“You finished that quick,” he pointed out, moving across the sofa to sit beside you, “was it as good as you were hoping it would be?”

If you were honest, you weren’t quite sure. “I liked it, don’t get me wrong, but it just felt like a storyline I’ve read a hundred times before, it didn’t feel like something new.”

“That’s probably because you’ve read most books ever to exist,” he laughed, “surely there can’t be many more books for you to read.”

“That’s the beauty of books, there’s always new ones to find,” you smiled, tapping against his chest, “I’ll never finish them all.”

His arm draped around you, “I reckon you love books enough that one day you’ll be able to finish every last one.”

“You really do talk nonsense sometimes.”

Jimin:

It didn’t take long for Jimin to find himself getting distracted as he tried to engage with his book the same way you were doing with yours, he hated the silence, desperate just to be able to sit and talk to you.

“How long do I have to read for?” He whispered, leaning across to you as you laid out on the bed, “how can you do this for so long without getting bored?”

You smiled weakly back at him, “just give it a chance Jimin, once the story gets better, I promise that you’ll enjoy it a lot more. It took me a while with this book.”

“But you have patience with these things,” he continued to whine, “it’s like that movie we started the other day, I had to turn it off because it was rubbish.”

“How about we do something then? I’ll carry on with this when you’re at the studio and I can get some peace and quiet,” you teased.

His smile grew, “I don’t want to take you away from your book though, I can see how much you’re enjoying it.”

“I can go back to it later, it’s no problem.”

Taehyung:

Coming home he knew straight away that you’d missed out on ordering the new book from your favourite author, you were slumped in your chair, the room was silent as you tried not to let it upset you too much.

“More will be made,” Taehyung hummed as he sat down beside you, “they can’t just make that many copies when so many people want to read it.”

You turned to face him, “I’d finished my other book to be able to specifically start this one when it came out, but now I can’t, I’ve got nothing to read now.”

“That might not quite be true,” he smiled, reaching into his bag, pulling out a copy of the brand-new book. “I might have found a way to get it.”

“Tae!” You yelled, wrapping your arms around him. “How did you manage to get one though? You’ve been at work all day.”

His shoulders shrugged, “I have my ways. I knew how much you wanted it, and I was determined to get it for you.”

“You’re incredible, thank you so much.”

Jungkook:

If there was one perk of you being ill and on bed rest, it was most definitely all the free time you had to finish the books you’d started and forget all about work, allowing yourself to get lost into a whole other world.

“I’ve bought you some tea,” Jungkook spoke, breaking your trance, “I didn’t want to interrupt, but you need to make sure you’re still taking care of yourself.”

You placed the book down for a moment, smiling back at him. “I should get ill more often, this is like living my dream, all I have to do all day is read.”

“As nice as it is for you, I’d quite like to have you back to normal so I can kiss and cuddle you again,” he murmured, perching on the end of the bed.

“I get all my cuddles from my books these days, this romance book is really making me sad,” you pouted.

His eyes rolled, “sometimes I really do feel like a third wheel between you and your books, how is this even fair on me?” He asked.

“Don’t worry, you’ll always be my favourite really.”

---

Masterlist

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tartagilicious · 3 years

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Hi, I've got a bit of a weird request for MLQC. What would be different with an MC who was a player of the game before somehow getting pulled into the first chapter of it? They don't have to have played through everything, but definitely at least up to ch 13, after Lucien's reveal. Which of the guys would notice MC acting weird? Would MC ever tell them? How would they react? How does this mess with the plotline?

😳 wait when I tell you I used to think about this on a daily basis- I’ve never gone into much depth with it though, so I guess now is a better time than ever! let’s say that for drama’s sake, this person has played up to chapter 29, since I think that’s the last chapter she reunites with them after being gone for 6 months.

Lucien:

- In my eyes, this always starts with the MC waking up confused in her apartment. She recognises the area around her based now what she’s seen in the game and is familiar with though she obviously thinks it’s a dream. Until, that it is, there are texts from in game characters that come from the phone on the bedside table. She’s more unsure then.

- She explores the apartment briefly and is freaked out when she recognises the kitchen, but decides that she should try visiting some other places she remembers from the game to try and confirm what’s going on. On the way out, she runs into Lucien, who’s leaving his apartment at the same time.

- By chapter 29, the last we’ve seen of Lucien is when you’re reunited and he confesses those things to you while he thinks you’re asleep. Because of this, and also because of outside sources, this person understands his situation and his personality much more. There’s a lot less hesitancy, but she isn’t sure what Lucien knows at this point. At the very least, it’s comforting to her that she has the upper hand when he’s not quite smitten for her yet.

- I always end up confiding in Lucien because I’m biased, though normally, that’s obviously not a good idea T-T

- Though of course, early Lucien is very far from a threat, so he notices how bewildered she is to see him and is more concerned than anything. It’s hard to know what to say without completely revealing everything, but I can imagine she’d be struggling either way. She would probably slip up once, maybe referring to something personal between them that hasn’t happened yet out of nerves

- He’d be polite about it, not even a bit wary because I don’t even think the MC knew she had an evol yet, and he’d know that. It’d be better just to assume that she’s spewing nonsense than actually looking very deep into it.

- I have a feeling that this would end up messing with the plot pretty badly, actually. She knows a version of him that doesn’t exist yet, and this would be a singular issue imo. His personality is night and day when comparing to the beginning to how he is currently. It would get her into a lot of trouble either way, but could possibly also force Lucien go undergo development much much earlier

- I can imagine her trying to curve his betrayal. he tells her to meet him at the place he tells her his real motives (the news station?? that skinny and tall building idk ;-;) and she just flat out says no. you can’t leave me if I don’t let you >:)

Victor:

- this!!!!! I have such a soft spot for victor and it shows in how this plays out in my head. Without a doubt, the only person that I would trust with the information that I was pulled into the game is Victor. Throughout most of the game, mostly later chapters, Victor is kind of like her partner — she learns to trust him with almost everything, and they work through the situations they can together. They save each other’s lives countless times. This is a lot for one person to carry while the other is clueless of any of that ever happening.

- Next, I feel like it’s reasonable that she would try to seek out everyone else, and where better to find Victor at this point than LFG? Conveniently, once she gets in the office, Goldman hunts her down to tell her that Victor’s waiting for her in his office to discuss the final terms of investment. talk about nostalgia lol

- personally. I’d feel panicked going up to his office. Victor is a very intimidating guy when you aren’t close to him, and acting as you normally would around him will not only be possibly humiliating but also just not effective at all.

- she would devise a plan in her head and as they talk, would slip in small details that kind of further the plot without revealing too much. so for example, mention how the investment is so important to her because she was an orphan and wants to make a name and prove that anyone can do what they dream to. he’d probably try asking more about that, but if not, she could always go into further detail like how she was injured pretty badly trying to save someone else around that time, but doesn’t really remember why and wants to find this person to see if they’re doing okay. This would advance their relationship like 10 chapters, but it would be pretty hasty. This would just be to let him know who she is and what kind of things the future will contain

- Once he figures out what she’s doing, he’d ask what her purpose is — why did she seek him out? to this, she’d most likely reveal her dilemma, and how she was pulled into this world from hers, and knows what will happen for months in the future because of the circumstances

- whether or not he’d retain this affection that he has for the MC when knowing that she isn’t technically who he’s looking for is up for debate, but regardless, something like that is definitely too good to pass up. he’s always been connected to black swan, and knowing her and enlisting her help would most likely come in handy.

Gavin:

- I think I’ve implied that these events take place somewhere in the first few chapters rather than the first so :( I’ll just continue with that. that might even work better, because it gives them at least a bit of a connection to this person. I don’t really remember what happens in the first few chapters, ngl, but I think it’s pretty calm.

- Gavin!!!! whether he’s your favourite or not, you can’t deny that this man is a literal pilar of support. he’s the knight in their dynamic, whereas she’s the queen. she knows he’s not as intimidating as he seems, and her immediate friendliness might throw him off a bit, but I think it’d be a good thing.

- part of the reason he backs off so much in the earlier chapters is so he doesn’t overwhelm her with all of these sudden developments (like coming back to be her personal guard, about black swan, etc) In the original plot, Gavin knows much more than he lets on, always more than the mc does at the very least.

- this would probably change their relationship a lot. I mean, obviously, whoever this is that’s been pulled into the game is bound to have a different personality to the normal mc. she’s more joking and doesn’t hesitate so much, and obviously is a lot smarter and confident due to knowing the future. she doesn’t have to rely on Gavin for information like the original mc does. instead, she acts with him.

- this literally takes 27 chapters in the game. when she meets Gavin in that evol institution in ch27, that’s the first time they fight comfortably side by side.

- Gavin would definitely notice such a drastic change in personality from the shy and kind girl he knew in high school. he might comment on it a few times, but I feel like a personality change is a bit easier to justify, especially since it’d been a few years. she technically has the mc’s memories, so it’s not suspicious or anything. he’d probably eventually let it go.

- though, I think it’s pretty plausible that he’d find out you’re not actually the mc he knows later, maybe by mistake or by you telling him. but by then, he’s also grown attached to this new version of her and doesn’t mind as much.

Kiro:

- you wouldn’t have to tell him you were pulled into the game. he’d know.

- with his connections as Helios and also just his general memory of the mc, it wouldn’t take very long for him to figure out that she’s not the person he’s been chasing for years. and the mf would probably point it out too, scaring her half to death.

- of course, he doesn’t know how she appeared, just that she did, replacing the actual mc. but, despite how he’s very honest about knowing she isn’t who she says she are, he’s empathetic. it’s hard not to be when she has the mc’s face.

- she’d tell him what happened and how she appeared, partly because she wants to trust him and partly because he seems a bit threatening, but either way, I see him as an eventual ally. she knows the inner workings of everything and would be a great help to him in messing with black swan. they’d pretty much be an unstoppable duo with their combined knowledge.

- as they get closer, she feels it’s necessary to tell him that he doesn’t have to leave to protect her. she can handle herself, and him ever leaving would only cause more grief and make things complicated. he would probably tell her not to worry, that he wouldn’t just leave unprompted.

- when he ends up leaving anyway, it stings more than it did watching it on a screen.

- though, that also makes the reunion more memorable, and it would probably go differently as well. maybe kiro is this mc’s LI?? that would be cool asf

#I lowkey wanna write the kiro one hm #UHH #mr love queen’s choice #mlqc #mlqc victor #mlqc lucien #mlqc gavin #mlqc kiro #mlqc x reader #mr love queen’s choice x reader

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catharsis-in-a-bottle · 4 years

Text

AHSDHFHHJKKHD

THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT. WAS SO FUCKING GOOD.

[spoilers below if you haven’t seen it and you want to]

Here are some of my (not in any particular order) bullet points. This is gonna be long as hell because, you know, brain dumps amiright

First off, Anya Taylor-Joy’s acting. Is just incredible. In particular moments, you can tell what she’s thinking with a simple hand gesture or with the tiniest raise of an eyebrow. She develops Beth’s signature facial expressions and movements throughout the show, and you just feel like you know her. And during her chess matches, sometimes it feels like she’s staring into your soul. Especially when she gives that badass chin-on-the-hands look and she knows she’s going to win. Powerful energy.

Secondly, I fucking knew I recognized Harry Beltik from somewhere else but my mom didn’t BELIEVE me and then I looked up the actor and he’s DUDLEY DURSLEY, I WAS RIGHT MOTHER, I WAS RIGHT

I love love love how they didn’t make, like, a major romantic plotline. Beth doesn’t end up with a partner - she ends with a bunch of super supportive friends that have her back by the time she gets to Moscow, and like, she has a crush on Townes but they end up being just like super good and healthy friends and I love it?? So much?? Thank you producers

Townes. Just, in general. I really like his character, he’s super nice and his voice is oddly soothing

BORGOV. I LOVE BORGOV. HE IS SO GODDAMN RESPECTFUL. Like, he seemed like a very cold character at first - well-mannered and extremely professional, yes, but rather cold. But when she wins in Moscow? “It is your game. Take it.” I LOVE THAT SO MUCH. AND HE HUGS HER AND STARTS CLAPPING AND THE AMOUNT OF RESPECT AND ADMIRATION AND AFFECTION IN THAT SCENE IS INCREDIBLE. And you don’t see any of that in Borgov’s face when he’s playing. His facial expressions do not change at all. But then his face when she wins!! He’s HAPPY! He’s like, goddamn, I’ve spent my whole life mastering chess, it’s about time somebody fucking beat me! I know I’m repeating myself but just his RESPECT I absolutely adore it

And Beth’s officer-watcher-person in Moscow was all like “ahhh be wary of the Russians! communism!!” but they absolutely did not make this yet another evil Russian show, like please that trope works for plots but it’s about time somebody did something different - they showed the US government as suspicious of the Soviets but then they showed the solidarity between the chess players that Benny talked about earlier (”The Russians work together, Americans work alone” or something like that), and then they showed the kind and excitable people on the streets, and the amount of support they would have had no matter WHO won that goddamn match. The old man she plays at the end. Everyone is a community.

Continuing that - I cannot for the life of me remember the name of the old man with the very puffy white hair, but I loved him too. He sees Beth as the rising star she is, and he respects her. He admires her. The dynamic there is absolutely immaculate, contrary to the dynamic between Beth and the man she beats earlier, the one who walks off and doesn’t even talk to her. We don’t like that man - we like the ones who admit defeat and respect Beth!! I love them!! They are extremely professional, and they show the warm-heartedness that often doesn’t show with all of the cold stares and glares that pass between players during matches.

Joline. I’m so glad she came back. I love her. She’s extremely independent but she comes back for Beth because Beth needs her but she’s also like “I’m not your savior! Get your shit together!” which is fucking awesome. And the fact that the two of them interacted like the best of friends even after years of separation was really sweet to me.

I nearly cried when Beth went back into the school. (I say ‘nearly’ because there were other people in the room and naturally I can’t do that in front of other people. If I was utterly alone, maybe on my own planet, I would have.) Because of all of it. Because of her trauma, because that’s where all the shit began... and the music during that scene. It was hauntingly beautiful, especially when the melody began switching to cello. And then Beth saw all the pictures and newspaper clips that Mr. Shaibel had saved, because he cared about her so much, because he started it all - he’s the reason she’s going to national tournaments, to Paris, to Moscow. And in that scene, we know he’s too old to be alive anymore, and she does too. The whole school scene in general just feels so ghostly and ethereal.

I love Borgov, did I say that already? I just... strive to exude his energy. I want to be good at things but I want to hold deep, genuine respect and admiration for others who are also good at the thing, because sometimes I just have the biggest fucking ego and I can get carried away. ‘Borgov, Borgov, Borgov.’ A mantra. He wins respectfully and he loses respectfully.

BETH’S MOTHER (the second one) JUST FUCKING DIED OUT OF NOWHERE?? AND I WAS SO SHOCKED? Which is really an accurate reflection of reality because death often comes out of nowhere, but DAMN I was not expecting that shit

And the fact that the mother just,,,, let her chug a beer,,,, oof

THE ADDICTION. BETH’S DOWNWARD SPIRAL. IT MADE ME FEEL SO HORRIBLE BUT IT FELT SO REAL. Everything about her progression through addiction was just... I can’t find an adjective. But when she just fucking inhaled that bucket of pills as a kid and then collapsed. When that addiction lasted into her adulthood - it’s really impactful and horrible and just so real. She needed proper care throughout this entire goddamn show and she never got medical care, she just got supportive friends - which, btw, that’s one thing that kind of threw me off. Like, she didn’t have withdrawal in Moscow, she went from chugging like four bottles of wine a day to... not drinking at all?? Without withdrawal symptoms?? And I’m proud of her for throwing away those pills but honestly it felt really fast, idk

GIVING CHILDREN TRANQUILIZERS WAS AN ACTUAL THING THAT HAPPENED. I DID NOT PREVIOUSLY KNOW THIS. BUT LEGITIMATELY, IT HAPPENED. HOLY SHIT.

HARRY BELTIK. He was like, awkwardly in love with Beth and that shit didn’t work out but even afterwards he FUCKING CARED. He’d seen his father drink himself to death and he knew that would happen to Beth and he was scared. So he came back, he tried to help her, and at that point (when she had that fucking scary eye makeup, yeah that was rock bottom) she didn’t care much about the outside world anymore. She was angry, and she was closing herself in. It made my stomach clench in physical pain. Which is a good thing. But also not.

Harry Beltik in general just being so supportive and wanting to help her though, like yeah it was very awkward, but they were vibing

AND BENNY WATTS IS FUCKING GREAT. THAT WHOLE COWBOY LOOK, COWBOY CHESS PLAYER, NOW THAT’S AN AESTHETIC. He was concerned for Beth too. He wanted to help her. He wanted to create that American solidarity that he knew the Soviet competitors had, and ultimately he did when he and everyone else called her in Moscow. Benny is... chaotic good? Neutral? He is quite an interesting character, and Beth’s persistent social awkwardness fades away with him because he knows how to interact with her. He’s a dedicated and smart narcissist, and I’m here for it.

The fact that they made me love and hate Cleo at the same time, and also question Beth’s sexuality when she first met Cleo. Like, she’s from Paris. She considers ‘tomorrow night’ to be a very long time away. I love her mysteriousness. But also, she was the catalyst for Beth’s downward drinking spiral before the match in Paris, so like... I like Cleo’s personality, but not her choices in those previous moments.

The music. Did I mention the music? The soundtrack. The orchestrals. That one song that the mother plays on piano that I hear all the time and I still don’t actually know what it is PLEASE HELP. The music is melancholy in the right moments, upbeat in the right moments, intense and suspenseful in the right moments - and also absent in the right moments. There’s tacet. There’s silence. And it’s always been my firm belief that silence can hold just as much impact as sound.

Just an interesting note, my mom watched the whole show before me and then re-watched it with me, and when Mr. Shaibel showed up she quickly reassured me that he wasn’t a child molester, because quote “it may be a creepy basement but he’s just really nice” so... I was reassured

I love Mr. Shaibel, and Beth just kept sticking up for him in front of the press and,,, yeah

I hated that bitch from the high school, what was her name?... The one who showed up in the store with a child? It makes me think about the fact that so many kids are just jerks in high school simply because they can be... and occasionally their fuckery lasts into adulthood but oftentimes it doesn’t. You don’t have to be a jerk when you’re an adult, and you don’t have to be a jerk in high school! People remember, people always remember! So, to the bitch from the high school: fuck you for making Beth feel like an outsider and then trying to reverse gears and accept her, cuz Beth isn’t falling for that shit.

The twins, Matt and Mike. They’re so doubtful of Beth in the beginning but then bam, she’s competing nationally, and I adore how the three of them become friends. All those men playing chess in Kentucky in the beginning seem so condescending, but ultimately they show respect because Beth absolutely fucking deserves it.

I enjoy the fact that we never *really* know Beth’s age. It’s just like... she’s 9, she’s 15, she’s 17, she’s... twenty something? Who the hell knows? As many characters say, when it comes to skill level, age ultimately isn’t an important factor. This young woman beats the oldest man with the bushiest white hair in Moscow and age. Does not. Matter.

The Jesus people lmaooooo when Beth said “because it’s fucking nonsense” I just. Mad respect ma’am, don’t take their money, go be a communist and “sPrEaD tHe aThEiSt AgEnDa”

Wow I really just... wrote all that didn’t I damn wish I could write essays this fast at reasonable hours of the day

Beth’s relationship with her foster mother is so fucking sweet until she fucking dies

And fuck Beth’s legal father. He is an asshole. That is all.

The mother deserved Manuel, she deserved that sketchy Mexican salesman goddammit

As my final bullet point: This has made me want to play chess. This has made me want to get good at chess. You know that thing where you like, download the personality of the coolest character for like a day after you watch something... I don’t do that anymore (maybe), but I want to download those mad chess skills. This has made chess seem so cool. I want to wear a fancy suit and compete with people. I just have to, you know, actually develop some strategy and stop losing brutally against people online. I wAnT tO pLaY cHesS dO yOu HeAr mE

I’m going to stop now, but I just,,, peeps, I love this show. I’m absolutely going to require a re-watch in the future. I just love it. The characters and their development, their relationships with each other, the progression of time and of Beth’s maturity... it is simply incredible. This concludes my brain dump.

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bloomingundertheshadows · 3 years

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I can't get over the fact that schmico have been together longer than Amelink, Magston and Marina on station 19 who just got married in their finale. It just makes it seem grey's doesn't really have an interest in writing for queer men beyond using Jake and schmico for press.

Oh anon, little did you know, you've brought forth another one of my midnight rants. This has been bothering me for so long, and finally I can justify discussing it at length. Other people have spoken about this, but I have no life, so here we are. In short, you are correct. But, there is so much to discuss, so get your drinks and snacks ready:

What bothers me about the fact that Schmico has been together longer than Amelink/Marina/Magston is the complete disparity between how the writers portray the intimacy of these relationships. Don't be bamboozled - I don't mean sex or anything. By intimacy I mean that the writers portray Amelink/Marina/Magston as serious relationships where the characters have an emotional understanding of one another and truly carry that sense of people who know one another as partners. Obviously relationships move at different paces, but if I showed Schmico to someone without forcing them to do the math, I think most people would assume they'd been together a year at most. They fight like they are just getting out of the honeymoon phase and figuring out their boyfriend has real flaws. Quite frankly both of their behaviors (Levi constantly pushing Nico's boundaries, the whole weird ass sex buddies thing, Nico flipping out over drawers, and Levi running away ) are insane for a couple who by the start of season 17, were probably together like 2 years. Maybe I overestimate emotional maturity, but these are grown men, and you cannot convince me that these two would have made it to season 16B if they behaved like this regularly. I hate it. I hate how other couples have been together shorter time periods and get to behave like a valid adult relationship while these two are behaving like teenagers.

I've always felt Schmico existed within a pocket dimension of Grey's Anatomy - completely cut off from the rest of the cast/storyline or overall plot. I literally feel like the show stops whenever they come on screen, and we start watching this mini-show within a show. I don't know if anyone else can describe this feeling, but sometimes Schmico just feels so unnaturally placed that I doubt they are even in Grey's Anatomy.

The best way I can prove this is the fact you could place this season's schmico storyline anywhere in the season, and it wouldn't even matter. They could have had Nico ask Levi to move in with him during 17x05 or 17x06 or 17x07, etc and it would not have mattered - they are so isolated you can literally cut and paste their storyline anywhere in the season without changing anything. (I realize that technically vax guy can only appear in the last episode because of when the actual vaccine was developed, but let's not pretend he couldn't have been replaced with literally any other male character. The vaccine trial was a fun tidbit, but literally meaningless to the progression of the plot). Nothing that happens to them is dependent on anyone or anything else in the show. This wasn’t as true in S15-16A, but it is on full display now. Every once in while they get pulled into a cameo appearance in a bigger plot-line, but this has no real consequences and lasts for 1 minute at most (see Nico’s numb comments). The fundamental cause of this is poor character development and the complete unwillingness of production to make these characters part of Grey’s - but we all know that.

As a result, I truly believe the writers have some sort of temporal disorientation where even they forget how long schmico has been together. Because schmico is so dissociated from the show, it feels like the relationship is on warpspeed. Sure, a few weeks may have passed between Nico asking Levi to move in and him actually responding, but when you never see the characters in the show except for when they’re having relationship issues, it doesn’t actually feel like any time has passed. They have taken away the audience’s ability to place these characters within the show’s timeline (which is already kind of messed up to begin with). I think this contributes to the audience’s dislike of them because while other couples are seen interacting with many doctors across the hospital over multiple episodes, these two will show up for 3 minutes every two episodes and the rest of the show stops while these two get locked in an enclosed space to fight. Literally. The show isolates them to closets or on call rooms or even Nico’s apartment - if I was more meh about these characters, I’d be annoyed too that we stopped all character interactions to watch these two fight in the middle of a deserted parking lot.

This whole pocket dimension schmico is also part of the reason I think the writers struggle to figure out that they shouldn’t be behaving like this. I’m not giving them a free pass because they are part of the problem, but I doubt incorporating this side couple that only gets 1.45 minutes of screen time each week is a fun or easy job. Schmico are not woven into the fabric of the narrative, and I bet even the writers feel confused how best to write them.

I imagine the Grey’s writing room has lots of whiteboards that roughly charts a character’s plot each season. Except, schmico’s plotline is written on sticky note that Krista uses as a coaster. Once they complete the episode, someone notices Jake walking by and suddenly realizes they’d forgotten schmico. Then, there’s a desperate attempt to shove them into the story before filming begins. In the crunch, there’s no time to consider whether this makes any sense.

As for your second point about them only using them for promotion, I 100% agree. The headlines about “Grey’s Anatomy introduces first Asian male surgeon” literally haunts my dreams. I’ve spoken at length about the fact Grey’s is running on a season-by-season format right now, which I think helped contribute to this nonsense. I am hesitant to call out anyone by name because this show is a group effort, but I can’t help but feel like Jake kind of got forked. He (and Alex) put out a lot of press for Greys during Season 15, and he spent a decent amount of time talking about his storyline, and I always felt he was pretty happy with it - and Krista also spent time hyping up this storyline (Your friendly neighborhood reminder that Krista once said schmico was her favorite couple. I can’t prove it’s a lie, but I’m willing to bet my left kidney). However, they totally dropped the ball once the news articles were gone and the internet had moved onto different things. It’s pretty insulting to the actors, and I would feel pretty salty if I came onto a show where I started with a meangingful storyline only to end up here.

I have nothing too much to say in conclusion. Most of this has been said before, so it’s not like I’m adding anything new. Given how everything ended, Season 18 is looking good for both Jake and Alex’s return. While I can’t say for sure they will come back, I think that right now, Grey’s is giving them both a steady paycheck and probably good connections and resume building. Last season I was super hopeful we’d get a better schmico storyline or at least something that didn’t revolve around the same old tired plot. But we all see how that went. At the bare minimum I want to believe that the Nico’s a d*ck plot will kind of be put to rest, but they have made it pretty clear that Nico is literally at fault for everything in this relationship, so I bet Levi will be mad at him next season too.

Good thing the fanfiction is strong in the community. May you all rest well knowing you put more effort into this couple than paid professionals.

#schmico #Levi Schmitt #nico kim #grey's anatomy #asks #this is a long one my friends #I have been stewing for a while #if you are not a passenger on the salty express #you might not enjoy this

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deonideatta · 3 years

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hi hi i heard you like chief kim and i'm here to get all the intel on why it's a good drama 😊 and what you love about park jae bum's other dramas 😊 pls let me know if there's romance bc that's the oxygen i breathe when i watch a show 💕

Hello!!! Thank you for asking me about Chief Kim!!!! I can go on about it for ages lol. This got a bit long so i’m putting it under a cut

Chief Kim (aka Good Manager) is a comedy office drama with 20 eps, and it aired in 2017. There isn’t a main romance plotline, but don’t let that put you off! It’s an incredible drama in so many ways. (tho there is a subtle romance side plot, but it doesn’t involve the main character and it’s never the main focus, though it is cute). It does feature a bromance that was so great that the two actors literally won an award for it tho lol, so there’s also that!

In a way, the general premise is somewhat similar to Vincenzo in that it’s the main character and an unlikely team of others fighting a big corporation. The comedic tone is also more or less the same. The drama follows Kim Seong Ryong (the titular Chief Kim, played by Namgoong Min), a man with a talent for handling numbers who goes from running a seedy accounting firm to quite accidentally becoming a champion of employees rights in one of the biggest corporations in the country. He originally joins the company with the goal of embezzling a lot money and moving abroad, but he gets swept up in office politics surrounding high executives and the sinister goings on surrounding the position he was recruited for, as well as the shady things the higher-ups want him to do and the suspicion of the other members of his department. Eventually he starts to work alongside them to fight the corruption of the higher ups, and quickly becomes the bane of top management’s existence by being so incredibly annoying that they begin to regret hiring him.

It’s the kind of drama that really gets you to laugh, while still being incredibly heartwarming. The main character is so unashamedly funny, and the character dynamics are all so warm, and none of it ever seems forced. The first tag for the drama on MyDramaList is “character development”, and that says a lot! There’s so much growth that goes on for all the characters, even some of the villains! It’s especially funny because to begin with all the good things Kim Seong Ryeong does are completely by accident, and he’s annoyed but also pleased with all the attention it gets him. Over time he begins to own it, and begins to actively try to stand up to the corrupt people at the top of the company. The other highlight for me besides the humor is definitely the characters. From the eccentric main character, to the no-nonsense second in command in his department Yoon Ha Kyung, to the aggressive finance director Seo Yul who is always eating (one of my all time favourite characters, played by 2PM’s Junho), to the janitor lady who always roasts everyone, there isn’t a single dull character, whether good or bad. And Seo Yul gets one of the best character arcs I’ve ever seen in a kdrama. You get to watch the characters struggle and triumph, and you feel for them because their struggles feel so real, and the drama really gets you invested in them. You see the ways in which they fight to survive as normal working class citizens and you want them to win.

It differs from Vincenzo in that the main character isn’t considered evil and loses his less savoury traits over the course of the drama (his character arc is one of becoming a more upstanding citizen), and the message is one of fighting against corporate greed using the corporate system against itself in order to make things better for the average working citizen. But there’s the same plotting, and the same feeling of rooting for the protagonist team to win as you watch them plot and plan. I never rewatch things, but i’ve rewatched Chief Kim twice already and i’m looking forward to rewatching it again soon (just writing about it is making me want to rewatch it right now lol). It especially hits well for me because i love office dramas, and the humor and the bromance are just right. (Also, not entirely related, but it’s the first drama Kim Seonho was in!)

Another Park Jaebum drama i can definitely recommend is The Fiery Priest! It’s also a comedy action drama with 20 eps (released in 2019), and it follows Kim Hae Il (Kim Nam Gil), a catholic priest with a real temper, as he works to solve the mystery surrounding the death of a senior priest. No romance there either, but it’s got the same humor as Chief Kim and Vincenzo, and the same overarching found family trope (that really shines for this one). It’s darker than Chief Kim, but not as dark as Vincenzo. The plot is very intriguing, and it’s the kind of drama you feel compelled to keep watching to see what happens next. And the host of characters in that drama is still one of my favourites to this day. Every character was incredibly written, and they all played vital roles in the overall story. Again, lots of character development all round, and great character arcs not just for the main character (even for a few of the villains!). Plus it was lovely to watch the various characters interact, get closer, and build relationships. Such an iconic squad. Not to mention how funny it is?? And the fight scenes??? In fact, I enjoyed it so much that when I checked Park Jaebum’s page on MyDramaList after watching it around June last year and saw Vincenzo as an upcoming project, I added it to my plan to watch list immediately even though there was only a single line of synopsis lol. It’s also got an absolute banger of a soundtrack!

When you think about it, all three (Chief Kim, TFP and Vincenzo) can be simplified to “guy with dubious past sets out to fight corruption and creates a great support circle in the process”. All three are dramas of finding people who care about you and are willing to fight alongside you, and fighting for your convictions/what you think is right. Each main character starts out as a somewhat solitary figure, and you get to watch as they each find people who are willing to fight alongside them and support them. What exactly those specific convictions are varies in each drama, but Park Jaebum writes the character development arcs incredibly each time, and the relationships between the characters are so real and so satisfying to watch. And yet the integrity of the main character in each drama is never compromised either, it’s shown that they can grow and become better without losing themselves. The growth is also in the way that they learn to work with and rely on others, because teamwork makes the dream work. And then to cap it all off he lets them have victories, and he makes it SO satisfying??? There are highs and there are lows, and you feel all of those right there with the characters, which makes the victories feel so so good. In each we see the ensemble cast get involved with the fight and the plotting, and we get to see all their epic plans and their execution, and the victories they win that build up over time. And it’s so satisfying to me! I love it a lot, just thinking about it is making me smile lol. It also shows how well humor and darker/more serious plotlines/events are balanced in the dramas, neither is compromised in favour of the other, but it always works so well that the humor never feels forced or out of place. As someone who doesn’t like overbearingly dark shows, I really appreciate that. They all give you lots to laugh at, while not losing any of the plot to the funny.

Of course there are differences, notably the romance, and the fact that Vincenzo is bad vs bad rather than good vs bad like the other two. They deal more with redemption (especially The Fiery Priest), but that works for the stories that are being told, and it’s very well executed.

It’s worth noting that Park Jaebum also wrote Good Doctor and 4 seasons of God’s Quiz. I haven’t checked those out yet, but I’ve heard good things about all of them. He also wrote Blood, I haven’t seen that one either but opinions seem to be split on how good it was. All of those are medical dramas (which is the reason I haven’t watched them lol, i can’t stand medical dramas) from before 2017, when he wrote Chief Kim. It seems he’s been on a roll since then, good for him and good for us lol. You can see everything he’s written on his MyDramaList page.

Overall I enjoyed the Park Jaebum dramas I have seen for first and foremost the comedy, but also for the warmth of the character relationships and for how well developed/written each character is. And I love how he balances the humor with more poignant/darker moments, I laughed a lot watching all three dramas, but I’ve cried over each of them as well. It’s a good balance to have, it gives you a good plot to be interested in, but doesn’t keep you stressed and sombre the whole way through. I’ve seen people say that Vincenzo wouldn’t be as good if it wasn’t so wacky, and I fully agree. It’s the same for both TFP and Chief Kim, and that balance is definitely what I appreciate most in Park Jaebum’s dramas. I know I will laugh, but I also know I will get an incredible plot and incredible characters, and that’s really important for me. Plus I know I can trust that there will be a good ending because the writer cares about his characters.

I definitely recommend checking out both TFP and Chief Kim after Vincenzo is done, especially since they’re so similar in terms of comedic tone and basic plot direction. If you ever get to watching either of them feel free to hmu to chat about it!! There’s lots of plot stuff that can be can discussed.

lol this got v long (i have lots to say about how much i love these dramas haha), but I hope it’s helpful!!!

#a breakdown on why i love the park jaebum dramas i've seen so far #it was nice to sit and actually think about it/write the reason out lol #im very passionate about it sdfsdf #chief kim and the fiery priest are perhaps my favourite dramas ever #and vincenzo is looking to join them #vincenzo #the fiery priest #chief kim #kdrama #no spoilers

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florrickandassociates · 3 years

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TGF Thoughts: 5x01- Previously on...

Welcome back!! I’m so excited to be writing one of these again. I think this hiatus has been the longest I’ve gone without new Diane Lockhart content in ten years, and it sure feels like it. A lot of important stuff has happened in the time since TGF season four ended (not concluded—ended). Most notably, CBS All Access became Paramount+ and suddenly started offering a lot of content I care about! I kid. 2020 was quite an eventful year, so I was curious how television’s most topical show was going to take it on. TGF is always forward-looking, but too much happened in 2020 to be ignored. And while I didn’t think TGF would have much to say about the pandemic, it seemed impossible to imagine a season five that pretended it never happened. Going into this premiere, I was expecting that they’d either skip COVID entirely or include very few references, but after seeing this episode, I feel like the writers took the only approach that made sense. And that is why they are the writers, and I'm just some girl on the internet who writes recaps.

Anyway, before I dive into the episode, I should also note that my pandemic boredom spurred me to actually pay $30 to watch this episode early as part of the virtual ATX Festival. Yes, I paid $30 on top of the money I spend every month on Paramount+ for this show. But I write tens of thousands of words about each TGF episode—are my priorities really that surprising? I note this not to brag or even to poke fun at myself, but because watching the episode before I knew a single thing about it (not even the title!) completely changed my viewing experience. I’ve never had an experience like this with TGW or TGF. I’m one to search for critics tweeting cryptically about screeners and refresh sites looking for background extras (haven’t done this in the TGF era, though) and read every single piece of press I can find. For any big episode, I usually know the outline of what to expect going in (I even knew about Will before the episode aired in the US!). Not this one! So, I got to be surprised, and I had to—gasp—formulate my own opinions before I knew what anyone else thought! It was really pleasant, actually. I think the structure of the episode worked extremely well for me because it caught me by surprise... and also because I’m the kind of person who somehow managed to write a college paper about Previously On sequences.

I see Tumblr has made it so that “keep reading” expands the post in your dash instead of opening a new tab. I absolutely hate this. Here is a link to the post you can click instead of the keep reading button!

The ATX stream started mid-sentence, meaning I missed the “Previously On... 2020...” title card and skipped right to Adrian saying “I’m retiring.” It was pretty easy to pick up on the device (the directness of the scenes at the start, their cadence, and their placement in the episode made it clear this was meant to mimic a Previously) but the second title card hit way harder because... well, I had no idea if this was meant to be 2020 or some moment outside of real time until a bit later in the episode.

Man, before I get any farther into this, two things that I don’t know where else to put. First, this episode had to cover so much ground. They had to write out both Adrian and Lucca—more on that later--, figure out how to deal with all of 2020, figure out how to either wrap up or continue all the truncated season 4 plotlines, and set the stage for a new season... in 50 minutes.

Second, just wanna shout out the Kings’ other Paramout+ show, Evil, which you should absolutely be watching even if you hate horror. Evil is a Kings show, so it is unsurprisingly topical (sometimes evil takes the form of racism or misogyny or Scott Rudin) and at times very, very funny. I would be recapping it if Paramount+ weren’t attacking me personally by airing it at the same time as TGF. Ever hear of too much of a good thing, people?! (On that note, I am VERY upset with myself for not having made a Good vs Evil joke about the Good shows and Evil. I didn’t even think about it until Robert King made the joke on Twitter, and it was right fucking there. How did I fail so miserably?!)

So STR Laurie, who wants a 20% downsizing, is still a thing. Noted.

This scene with Landau is the only one in this previously that is actually old footage, right?

Unexpected Margo Martindale! Yay! (Ruth Eastman is a character who is so much more effective on Fight than she was on Wife and I’m quite glad they’ve had her appear on Fight several times. It kind of redeems season seven. Kind of.)

I don’t think the writers intentionally chose for Adrian’s book deal to be with Simon & Schuster because it is the most politically fraught publisher (the number of stories about controversial memoirs they’ve picked up in 2021 alone...) but I kind of like that Adrian’s Road Not Taken involves S&S. My guess is they chose S&S because it is owned by ViacomCBS.

“Years ago, I wanted to create a law firm run entirely by women, but it never worked out. So, why not now?” Diane says to Liz. One of the advantages of having twelve (!!!) seasons of Diane Lockhart is that we’ve seen what she’s talking about. And we’ve seen her put this idea forward multiple times, too. I have my reservations about Diane’s brand of feminism, and I’ll say more about how fraught a Diane/Liz firm would be as the show explores the potential issues there, but on the surface I’m kind of excited about the prospect of a Diane/Liz led firm. Diane has wanted this for ages, Liz is a good partner, and this actually makes sense (unlike the nonsensical Diane/Alicia alliance of late season seven, where the only rationale was “well, Alicia needs to betray Diane in the finale, but they’re not on good terms. So maybe we make them business partners so then the betrayal stings more?”). Plus I fully love that Diane would end up running a firm with Alicia’s law school rival.

(Has TGF mentioned that Liz and Alicia were law school rivals? No. Am I still clinging on to that as a large part of Liz’s character? ABSOLUTELY.)

Julius is on trial for Memo 618 reasons; Diane is defending him. So this is still happening. (There’s more old footage here.)

Do they put these references to one/two party consent in these episodes as a wink at the fans? It has to be intentional. (Please do not ask me what the actual law is on this, this show has thoroughly confused me.)

I knew Cush was filming stuff for TGF, but I didn’t know it was for the premiere. She was just posting about it a few weeks ago, so either they shot a lot of it right before air or she posted a while after filming. Anyway, yay Lucca!

Bianca’s still around. And, TGF gets to shoot New York for New York, since Bianca is there. I do wish TGF could do more location shoots; there’s something about seeing an actual skyline that feels more real.

Bianca wants Lucca, who has never been outside of the country (except to St. Lucia, as Bianca reminds her) to go to London and buy her a resort. It’s supposed to be a three week stay and Bianca’s already arranged childcare. Speaking of children, because of COVID and filming constraints, that’s Cush’s real kid in this scene! You can’t really see him, but I recognized his curly hair from Cush’s Instagram, and the Kings confirmed in an interview.

Adrian wants to write a book about police brutality cases he’s worked on. Ruth very much does not want him to write that book. She wants him to write a book without substance about how white people and black people can work together. He, understandably, has no interest in writing this book. (Also, you can see in the background that Ruth doesn’t think Biden’s odds of winning the Democratic primary are good—there is a big down arrow next to his picture, which definitely dates this scene.)

Oh, David Lee is in this episode. He acts like an asshole towards Marissa when she’s trying to help him.

Marissa, not happy with the lack of respect, calls Lucca for advice “for a friend.” Lucca mentions she’s in London and Marissa does not believe her and keeps going on and on about her frustrations and her new desire to become a lawyer—quickly.

Marissa wanting to become a lawyer because she “hates being talked down to” is not a plot I would’ve expected but it’s also one that makes a lot of sense. I think Marissa’s used to being respected and praised even when she’s doing things that aren’t glamorous, so I see how she’d get very restless when she’s no longer outperforming expectations and is instead taken for granted.

Bells toll in the background on Lucca’s side and Marissa asks where she is. Lucca again notes she’s in London and Marissa still doesn’t believe her.

I’m going to miss Lucca so much, especially since we’ll also be losing a lot of the Millennial Friendship scenes with her. Cush is fantastic (even if she never really got enough to do here) and she plays so well off of the rest of the cast. I even sometimes liked the writing for Maia (who?) when she had scenes with Lucca, Lucca is that good.

Jay wakes up sweating and unable to breathe, so he deliriously calls his father-figure Adrian. This whole scene is shot like something out of Evil and (I’m getting ahead of myself here) this plot is the only thing about this episode I felt was a misstep.

“I think you’re my father,” Jay says to Adrian. Heh, I didn’t catch this line the first time around (maybe subliminally I did, since I just called Adrian his father figure lol) but I love that it is included here. Adrian and Jay’s relationship definitely deserves a goodbye.

Adrian calls an ambulance and also gets to Jay before the ambulance somehow. Adrian notes that Jay might have “this thing from China” and... we’re doing the pandemic, y’all. (Minor nitpick: on March 13th, 2020, when this scene is dated, COVID was not “this thing from China”-- we were all aware of it. March 11th was the day Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson announced they’d tested positive and the NBA shut down and travel was restricted and every single brand that had my email sent me a message about their plans and measures. March 12th was the last time I was in my office, and we’d been getting emails telling us to wash our hands and prepare to work remotely for weeks. I went to San Francisco in mid-late February and distinctly remember deciding to leave a burrito unattended on a table while I washed my hands because I was paranoid about COVID... and then I remember making a specific trip to Walgreens to buy hand sanitizer so that didn’t happen again. My point is, Adrian lives in the same world I do. On March 13th 2020, he would not be treating COVID like it was some new thing he’d vaguely heard of.)

(I am going to nitpick this timeline, but please know that I’m only doing it because I can, not because I think it’s necessarily a bad choice. Lines like this do feel a little forced, but I see the reason for introducing COVID as something new rather than going for the line that’s exactly historically accurate. I also am pretty sure there are references to dates in March/April in s4 of TGF that are now going to be contradicted by this episode, but I truly do not care. The writers get a pass on this one.)

We skip slightly back in time to the beginning of March after the MARCH 13TH title card, or maybe this is supposed to be after March 13th and my own memories are preventing me from believing these face-to-face interactions were happening. Who knows.

Michael Bloomberg is... here, again, I guess? He asks Diane to assist with a Supreme Court case about gun control. I guess it does add some weight to the plot and make the stakes feel higher.

Oh hey, this case is the 7x17 case!!!! Love that continuity.

Diane and Adrian are both at the office late, working, and there is an unnecessary split screen that feels even more unnecessary when you consider that the editing alone was enough to create the parallel.

Diane and Adrian have a nice convo (which I’ll really miss, their dynamic is great and this really feels like a successful partnership) as they wait for the elevator. When the elevator dings, they nearly tumble down into nothingness because... the elevator never came. Apparently this is a reference to an law old show I’ve never seen that killed off a character this way, and it’s meant to be a wink at how they are not going to kill off Adrian.

I do not know why I remember this, but I do: after they killed off Will, a critic (Noel Murray; I just googled to confirm my memory) who didn’t want to spoil things tweeted, “Exactly 23 years and 2 days ago, Rosalind Shays fell down an elevator shaft.” Please tell me why I remember this reference that I didn’t even understand well enough to have tracked down the original tweet in under a minute. (https://twitter.com/NoelMu/status/447942456827326464)

Back on this show, Diane and Adrian share a drink and talk about their wishes. Diane wants to argue in front of the Supreme Court, and Adrian encourages her to speak up. His own near-death experience motivates him to trash the book Ruth has him writing, and Diane trashes the (bad) legal strategy someone else prepared for the Supreme Court.

DIANE IS WEARING JEANS!!!!!! Tbh, I think my favorite part of this episode is how many slice-of-life scenes and settings we get. These are always my favorite moments. I love the satirical and political stuff too, but the character moments are what get me invested enough to write these. (Yes, Diane in jeans constitutes a character moment.)

Diane tells Bloomberg she wants to be involved and advocates for herself. Kurt gets a call on their landline (hahaha) from Adrian.

God, I love Diane and Kurt. Not only is their banter fun, you can just see a different, more relaxed side of Diane in these scenes. Diane tells Kurt she has good news for herself, but bad news for him since she’s arguing for gun control. She asks him to help her prep for court, too.

So this is before Jay is rushed to the hospital, because now we are back at the hospital with Julius, Diane, and Marissa. I do not believe any of these people would be setting foot in a hospital like it’s any other day on March 13th, 2020. But I'm trying not to nitpick.

I get why they chose to give Jay a rather severe case of COVID. I just don’t get literally anything else that follows from the initial shock of Jay having COVID.

I see why the writers chose March 20th (the actual Illinois stay at home order) as the next date for this timeline. I still do not believe that people were in this particular office on that date.

You know what else I don’t believe? That RBL just shut down for two weeks and was like, no work is being done. Did law firms really do this? I can believe it if it’s an excuse to cost-cut, and I know there were massive layoffs, but this seems... really weird???

Why are they setting up a teleconferencing infrastructure (didn’t they have one at LG? In season five?) if they are not planning to do work?

Lol Diane explains what Zoom is, very slowly. She asks everyone to “download a program called Zoom.com” which is one of the first Zoom jokes I’ve chuckled at in a while.

Marissa is not happy to hear that there’s no work for her in a work-remote world (this I believe 100%), so she calls Lucca again with more questions about law school.

Love these NYC and London location shots. Wish they could do that for Chicago.

Lucca asks Bianca to help get Marissa into a law school, fast, and Bianca tells Lucca to use her name... then offers her a job.

Marissa is at the office, alone, boxing up her things, when one of the office phones rings with some dude offering her a spot in a law school class. I guess we are really all-in on this! (Why would Lucca have given a firm phone number not specific to Marissa, though?)

Adrian and his corrupt girlfriend decide to shelter in place together. I still do not understand why he is okay with her being corrupt. I also don’t really understand why they’re going from talking about sheltering-in-place to George Floyd. How did we just skip from late March to late May? Are Adrian and corrupt gf having a conversation about sheltering-in-place two months into sheltering in place?

Okay, I am not doing so good at this no-nitpicking thing. Again, I understand why they need to merge several scenes into one to keep things moving. And I guess they could just be getting around to this conversation.

I’m going to nitpick again, I can’t help myself. How did we just go from a scene of Adrian specifically talking about sheltering in place to a scene of Adrian bursting into a bustling and maskless DNC headquarters room? How!? The only masks in this scene are on TV!! There are like ten people in this scene!

Anyway, more importantly, Adrian tells Ruth off and screams at her that she needs to listen to him instead of acting like she knows the way forward. He is completely right.

Why is travel from London closing down in May 2020? Is it because this scene is supposed to be at a different place in the episode? Liz is asking Lucca to come back home from her three week stay in London (which has now lasted three months but travel is just now closing down), and Lucca’s hesitant to come home.

This is all happening via Zoom, btw. Lucca’s in her hotel, Diane and Adrian are at their respective homes, and Liz is in the office. All of this feels right. There is a chat off to the side of the screen where you can see Adrian and the others discussing how to unmute on Zoom. Very real. Though probably not very real in late May 2020. Feels more like April. I am convinced this scene got spliced in later to help the episode flow because everything in this scene (except the TV footage that definitely was added later) feels like it should be happening in the March section.

Lucca mentions that Bianca offered her a job, and at this point we as viewers know how things are going to go—Lucca's going to end up taking it. Liz types in the Zoom chat that they don’t want to lose Lucca. When Lucca tells them how much Bianca’s offering ($500k/year, go Lucca!), Diane types “Shit.” into the chat. “Shit’s right,” Liz replies. “Yes... What should our counter be?” Diane replies. Lucca is kind enough to point out the messages are not private (again, this feels like March not May) but I think knowing that their reaction to topping $500k is “shit” tells her all she needs to know.

Diane’s background still says that RBL is a division of STR Laurie. Weird how little we are hearing about the overlords except the 20% staff cut.

Liz and Adrian chat and decide the only way to keep Lucca is to make her a partner. Which, yeah, if you’d just made her a partner years ago when you told her she was in the running for partner and then offered it to fucking MAIA, maybe she wouldn’t be considering Bianca’s offer. Lucca is definitely one of RBL’s stars, and I don’t think she’s wrong to feel like they don’t value her enough. They treat her well enough to be upset about losing her, but not well enough to have already made her partner and not well enough to actually give her authority (even though she runs a whole department). I’d be pretty unhappy too. It kind of feels sometimes like they take her for granted, and I don’t know that Lucca is one to feel like she owes a company anything. She’s more of an “I’m out for myself” type.

Madeline and the other partner we’ve seen a few times who isn’t Liz/Diane/Adrian, walk into the office (wearing masks! Which they take off as soon as they enter a room with Liz! Without asking her if she is okay with this! TV logic!) and ask who is replacing Adrian. They think this is a good time to reevaluate having a white name partner of an African American firm, and they are spot on. Liz tries to deflect, noting that Diane is already a name partner and was before Liz even joined, but Madeline and other partner (whose name I really wish they would say so I can stop calling him “other partner”) won’t let up. Their position is that Diane shouldn’t have been made a name partner then—all she did was bring in ChumHum, an account that quickly left the firm. Good point.

“What is this firm if it’s not African American? It’s just another midsized all-service Midwestern law firm, one of 50,” Madeline argues. The other partner says Liz needs to remove Diane and promote two African Americans to name partner. Liz laughs and asks if they mean themselves. Madeline does not—she's concerned about the number of black associates they’re letting go. Liz heads out, but this conversation is very much ongoing.

And I think it’s a very interesting dilemma! There’s a lot of mileage the writers can get out of this, because I don’t think there’s a right answer or a wrong one. It’s all about what Liz decides she wants the future of the firm to be. If Liz chooses Diane, she might be choosing something that works for her personally or that she thinks is a safer financial bet—but she’ll be choosing to work at a firm that can no longer be thought of as a black firm, and she’ll be choosing to move away from her father’s vision for the firm. And since the plot hinges on what Liz will decide rather than what’s objectively the right path forward, there’s a lot of interesting tension there I can’t wait to see.

(My favorite thing about Adrian leaving is that Liz will likely get more to do, especially when it comes to managing the firm. Adrian tends to speak up first, but Liz is more than capable of managing without him and I’m so excited to see what she does when her ex-husband isn’t constantly talking over her.)

Marissa and Lucca video chat with Jay. He’s still in the hospital. One thing that bugs me about how this episode handles COVID is that I never really get the sense that any of the characters are particularly afraid of the virus. Maybe none of them were. But you’d think you’d see a little of that fear, the weird dance of trying to assess others’ comfort levels with masking, etc., in an ep specifically about living through this time. ESPECIALLY since someone they all know and are close to has been hospitalized for MONTHS with this thing! It’s just so weird to go from a scene where people wear masks until they come in contact with other people (when masks matter the most) to a scene of someone in the hospital with COVID.

And now Jay’s weird hallucinations start as his battery dies on the video chat. I really, truly, hated these hallucinations. I was ready to be done with these from the second they started. They’re weirdly shot, they go on for too long, and they feel like the clunkiest parts of Mind’s Eye when Alicia starts having a debate in her mind about atheism mixed with the (far superior) hospital episode of Evil.

I don’t have much to say about these hallucinations except that I hated them a lot. When there’s the reveal that Jay is hallucinating a commerical, I almost came around on the hallucinations because that’s kind of funny and inspired. And then several more hallucinations popped up and they had a round table and Jesus got added to the mix and I was like, nope, this is bad in a very uninteresting way. I reject this.

I feel like the Kings didn’t have much to say about COVID, the actual virus. This episode is definitely more about what the characters’ lives were like during COVID and not the pandemic itself. I think they likely got a lot of their COVID commentary out of their system with their zombie COVID show The Bite (I have not seen The Bite due to it airing on Spectrum On Demand, which I have no way of accessing. Like, I would have to move and then decide to pay for cable in order to watch it.) I also suspect a lot of their commentary on COVID isn’t going to be specific to the virus and is instead going to be about things like mask-wearing and vaccinations becoming political. And, really, that’s just a new variation on talking about polarization... and they’ve been talking about polarization for years.

In fact, they even wrote a whole series about an outbreak of a (space-bug-spread) virus that caused political polarization before Trump was even elected. BrainDead is basically commentary on the pandemic before the pandemic even happened. Soooooo I get why they are more interested in recapping 2020 than in doing a Very Special Episode about themes they’ve been talking about for years. (I still think they would’ve benefitted from at least one character being afraid of getting sick or getting their family sick.)

There is likely some interesting content in these Jay hallucinations. I hate them so much I cannot find it. You know when you’re just on a completely different wavelength than the writers? This is an example of that.

Also I’m not a fan of the shadowy directing. I think this is meant to look cooler than it does.

Have I mentioned yet that I absolutely love the “Previously On” device for this episode? It’s such a fun, propulsive way to get through the slog of 2020. Scenes can be short and to the point, and each scene has to do a lot of lifting to fill in the gaps. I think that leads to scenes that are better constructed and telling on lots of levels—where are people when they’re quarantined? Who’s wearing casual clothes and when? What about this scene defines this character’s life at that moment in time?

Bizarrely, even though this episode is pretty much all plot (this happens! Then that!), I actually found this to be one of the most character-driven episodes TGF has ever done. There’s a lot of story, but most of that story is about how the characters reacted to 2020 rather than overarching plots that will weigh on the rest of the season. This episode covers a lot of ground, but it does it with character moments that resonate.

Now it’s July and Diane’s prepping to argue in front of the Supreme Court. Kurt’s helping her witness prep and it gets a little personal... and that ends up turning Diane on. Good to see McHart hasn’t lost its spark. (Remember how Kurt cheated on Diane in season 7 of Wife? No, me neither, because that never happened.)

Corrupt judge is back. Adrian playfully tries to distract her from work. Then he takes a video call from Liz, who updates him on the conversation she had with John (so that’s his name) and Madeline. I guess that part of May was close to July? Anyway, Adrian isn’t surprised to hear that people are upset at the prospect of Diane being one of two name partners.

Liz is at the office in workout clothes and I love it!

They’re losing 15 black associates (and Adrian and Lucca) and 4 white ones, Liz says. This sounds like a very big problem. (I’d be curious to know what that is as a percentage of the firm and how the racial composition shifts.)

Liz knows it’s not exactly up to her if Diane stays on as name partner (the other partners get a vote, but I think Liz knows she has a lot of sway here). She’s also wondering if Biden could win, and if so, would it be to the firm’s advantage to be black-owned? Interesting.

“Well. If you’re thinking it, then Diane’s thinking it, too,” Adrian says. He’s right. “White guilt. It runs verrrrry deep on that one, huh?” Ha. He is right about that, too. I actually can’t decide which of these interpretations is correct, because it could be either even though they seem contradictory. (1) Is Adrian saying it with a hint of mockery because he knows Diane will fight for her partnership even as she would say she’s a huge supporter of black businesses? (2) Is he saying it because he knows Diane would have enough white guilt to realize what her presence as a partner means and think through the implications? I think it is, somehow, a combination. I’m interested in this line because this whole dilemma (from Diane’s POV) is something that’s very familiar. Diane’s always been an idealist who will betray her ideals for personal gain. That sounds like an attack, but I mean that as neutrally as I possibly can. There are so many examples of this that this is kind of just a character trait of hers at this point. Usually those ideals are about feminism, but this situation seems closely related.

Adrian overhears Corrupt GF talking about Julius, Diane, and Memo 618. You would think she would wait to have this conversation until there is no chance of Adrian overhearing, because if Adrian overhears, he might...

... do exactly what he proceeds to do and hop into a car with Diane to give her a heads up. (I think I’m just going to have to accept that the mask usage rule on this episode is “we use masks to show that the characters would wear them, but we don’t want to have scenes where characters are fully masked because that’s annoying.” If that’s not the rule, then why else would Adrian be masked outside... and then take off his mask as soon as he gets into a confined indoor space with Diane?

Baranski looks ESPECIALLY like Taylor Swift in this scene.

Adrian tells Diane what he knows. He dug deeper after overhearing Charlotte, so he has even more info. “If you tell me, I will use it,” Diane warns. Adrian knows that, so he takes a moment to decide. And he decides that he cares more about Diane and Julius than about his relationship with a corrupt judge.

Diane and Julius are masked in court. Visitor and the judge are not. They use masking in a clever way in this scene: Diane uses being masked to her advantage because it means no one can possibly read her lips, so she can use the info Adrian fed her against Charlotte without any fear of spies. Charlotte, who is unmasked, guards her lips with a folder, as the Visitor watches interestedly.

Diane convinces Charlotte to recuse herself. Charlotte says she’s making a mistake; Diane does not care.

The new judge is, unfortunately, the idiot who doesn’t know anything about the law. Uh oh.

Charlotte decides she’s done sheltering in place with Adrian. He tries to talk through the conflict, but Charlotte says “You made your choice, Adrian. Julius Cain over me.”

“The choice was about right and wrong, Charlotte,” Adrian tries to explain. I mean, yeah, but if you’re dating a judge who has admitted she’s totally corrupt, didn’t right and wrong go out the window a while ago?

Adrian seems to think the other people involved in the events are bad and Charlotte is good. I am not convinced. I don’t think she’s the big bad, but I don’t think she’s good.

Charlotte points out that he invaded her privacy. She is right about that. “You said the choice was between right and wrong. Turning over my emails was the choice,” she said. I get her POV. But also, she is corrupt.

I do not like the way the part of the scene where Adrian physically restrains Charlotte to keep her from leaving is shot. I don’t think this is an abusive scene but I think it should’ve been shot from a little farther back so we could see it’s more like Adrian reaching out in desperation than trying to choke Charlotte. Because it very much looks like he is trying to choke Charlotte.

He tells Charlotte he loves her. She says it’s too late and leaves. “Maybe you won’t be with me. But you keep down this path... you’ll be done, I’m telling you, you’ll be done.”

I think something that I’ve been missing in these interactions is that I didn’t quite realize until this scene that the Adrian/Charlotte dynamic is more interesting than Adrian liking a corrupt judge. I think he truly believes Charlotte is a good person who got caught up in some bad stuff, and that she can bounce back from it. I’ve always seen Charlotte as someone who is corrupt for herself and then ended up going along with the corruption of others, too, so I’ve dismissed her and the relationship. This is the first scene that has felt real to me, and the first scene where she’s felt like more than a caricature. Kind of sad it’s the last she’ll get with Adrian—now I’m actually starting to find her interesting. Notice how in these last few sentences I’ve used her name instead of “Corrupt GF”!

Charlotte says she loved Adrian too, but that’s not enough. Awww.

He can’t really be surprised though, can he?

Now it is August and we get to see Diane and Liz react to the announcement of Kamala Harris as Biden’s VP pick, and I would like to thank the writers for giving me the opportunity to see Diane and Liz react to this. It’s kind of fan-service, but it’s also a nice tie-in to the girl-power theme of the Diane/Liz alliance.

Diane and Liz realize that Adrian’s probably not a good candidate for 2024 if the DNC only wants one black candidate and Harris is the clear front-runner. Liz suggests keeping him on as partner instead, in a way that very much implies this would be her ideal solution. Diane, being Diane, says she was liking the idea of an all-female firm. Liz hesitantly says she was too, and Diane senses the hesitation.

“Let’s look again at which associates to fire. I’m worried we’re losing too many African Americans,” Diane switches the subject. How have they still not made this decision? If any employees know downsizing is coming, and they’ve had months to act on it, assuming there are jobs elsewhere, people would’ve been jumping ship by now.

But that’s not the point of this scene. The point of this scene is that Liz corrects Diane: “Black. You can just say Black people.” Very nice moment underlining the tension. Diane means well, but she’s still acting like a white lady who doesn’t know how to act around black people... and she wants to (and, I guess, already does) run a black firm. Major yikes.

Marissa and Lucca are talking again. Marissa does not want to be in law school—she just wants to be a lawyer. Lucca won’t accept Marissa’s refusal to memorize meaningless rules: “Marissa. I know that you know how to play the game, but you have to pass the bar to get into a position to play the game.” Why does this line make me love Lucca? This line isn’t even anything amazing. It’s just a line that cuts through the bullshit and makes a good point.

Marissa keeps going, insulting all of her peers and teachers, and Lucca figures out how to cut through that, too: she tells Marissa that she’d hire her as a lawyer if she killed someone, but only if Marissa passes the bar. Marissa is instantly intrigued.

“Why are you leaving here? I’ll miss you,” Marissa says.

“Because they won’t pay me what I deserve,” Lucca says in a matter-of-fact tone. “Anyway, I thought they fired you.”

“But they didn’t mean it. It’s like the smoothie place—they kept trying to fire me and I just kept showing up,” Marissa replies. That checks out. (Love the callback!)

Lucca tries to get Marissa to come over to England. Marissa shuts that down as Lucca gets a news alert—and it’s not good news.

Our next date is September 18th, 2020 and I will get my nitpicks out of the way up front! I don’t really know why it is daytime for Lucca when she reads the news, considering it was already the evening in the States when the RBG news broke. And, also, it was Rosh Hashanah, so Marissa probably would not have been sitting in her bedroom studying... she most likely would’ve been with family or friends. OK I’M DONE. FOR NOW.

Diane is getting ready for her arguments in front of the Supreme Court. It’s almost time! She’s in casual clothes but has on a wonderful mask. She’s standing in front of Kurt’s guns to make a point (love that she’s using her video call background to her advantage) and there are several people in her bedroom getting the tech all set up. I have noted before that they only built one set for Diane’s apartment, and it’s just a massive bedroom. Diane choosing to be in front of the guns does a nice job of cutting off my question about why she’d be arguing in front of the Supreme Court from her bedroom rather than the home office she absolutely would have.

Kurt walks in and tries to shake hands... he’s clearly not very COVID paranoid, and Diane seems to be, and... that’s something I might have wanted to see? How was Diane okay with Kurt taking risks that also affected her?

Diane confirms she intentionally chose to stand in front of the guns. That’s when Kurt gets the push notification. He pulls Diane into the bathroom to show her the news. He hands her his phone and Diane’s face falls. She starts tearing up. “2020 just won’t let go,” she says, speaking for us all.

Normally I hate things that are like, we’re going to contrive this so the news hits at the worst possible moment! This works for me, because the Supreme Court plot for Diane feels more like something that exists to be a through line for the episode. It would also be a little hard to work in RBG’s death as a main plot point—and it is definitely important enough to be a main plotpoint—if it didn’t also affect something in the world of the show.

Also, another reason I like this contrivance is that it makes it all the more powerful when Diane says, “It’s over. He gets to nominate someone. Another Kavanaugh! We’ll have a conservative court for the next 20 years. My whole fucking life!” She’s not thinking about how this affects her case (and that case is basically a life-long dream for her). She is thinking about way bigger things, and knowing that her mind goes to the bigger things before the personal with news like this really underlines how big of a deal RBG’s death was.

Diane tells Kurt, “I don’t deserve you. You don’t agree with me.” “I can still feel bad for you,” he responds. He holds her while she cries.

Jay’s hallucination thing is back. Now Karl Marx is here. So is Jesus. I’m so done with this. It’s nice to get a break from writing.

Malcolm X is also on the roundtable and now they’re talking over each other in that way that everyone on this show always does. (RK gave an interview about Evil where he said he likes having the children on that show talk over each other because he grew up in a household like that. I did not need to read that interview to understand that RK likes scenes where people talk over each other.)

If anything happened in those hallucinations, I missed it, because I didn’t pause the episode. Because I do not care about the hallucinations. Because I hate them.

Now it’s November 2020... Diane’s watching election results and rocking back and forth. She tells Kurt he can go watch Fox News in the other room (so they do have more than one room!). He says he’s fine—he thinks Diane needs it more.

“Yes, but Kurt, if you stay, I know this isn’t sensible, but... Trump seems to get more votes whenever you’re sitting on this couch,” Diane tells him. Ha, I relate to this kind of superstition so hard. “Are you serious?” Kurt says. “I am so deathly serious,” Diane responds. “Whenever you’re sitting here, Arizona goes for Trump. Humor me, please. Just go in the other room.”

When Kurt tries to kiss her, she pulls away: “No, no, no. No kiss. If you kiss me, we’ll lose Georgia.” This scene feels so, so real and perfectly captures what it was like (at least for me, though I don’t have a Republican husband or anything) watching election results come in.

“Uh, if you lose, we’ll be fine, right?” Kurt asks. “Kurt, let me just say this. I’m only saying that we won’t be fine so that the universe will grant me a win,” Diane responds. This scene is so fun and so good! It simultaneously captures a relatable mood, adds some levity, gives us a window into Diane’s life, and shows some of the tensions in her marriage?! I want this all the time!

Kurt leaves the room. Diane pours more wine.

Later, with Diane still rocking back and forth with anxiety (just you wait for the several more days this will drag on!), Kurt brings in the champagne. “That was for when Hillary won. I can only drink it if Biden wins,” Diane protests. Did I also refuse to drink any celebratory alcohol until things were absolutely certain? No comment.

“It’s odd you progressives resisted religion. You seem to have a hundred religions to take its place,” Kurt says, speaking on behalf of the writers’ room. (This joke doesn’t get written if the writers don’t believe this and probably even see it in themselves.)

“Go away, Trump. I mean Kurt,” she shoos him away. Have I mentioned yet I love this scene?

“Love me even if you lose?” he jokes (though I do wonder if this isn’t that joking? I think it is, but he keeps saying it!) as Diane gestures at him to get out.

I could do without the joke about Diane’s heart on the TV for a couple reasons. One, it goes on too long. Two, I was very worried something would actually happen to Diane. You’d think that would make the scene feel more tense, but it does not, because it takes me out of the moment.

“Ok, God. You know I don’t believe in you. But I will believe in you if Joe Biden wins. I’m sorry. I know that that’s not what Jesus taught. There’s nothing in the New Testament that says, ‘Believe in me, and I’ll make sure your candidate wins,’ but I need Joe Biden to win. I’m sorry, God, but I just do. I need some faith.” This is a little much but... yeah. Also, is this the first time Diane’s flat out said she’s an atheist? I think it is, though I’ve assumed as much for quite a while.

The next day in court, masks are no longer required if you’re a series regular and votes are still being counted. I remember those days. Marissa thought Diane was checking in on Jay... Diane was not. She was checking on vote counts.

Apparently Jay’s finally being released from the hospital!

Bad news for Julius—the idiot judge finds him guilty of some nonsense charge and sentences him to seven years in prison.

Diane says not to worry, and Julius asks “Why not?” Good point.

Then we have election results! We skip, specifically, to December 14th and the electoral college vote. I’m a little sad we skipped over the huge party that was November 7th, but I get why they’d rather keep things moving along. I think showing November 7th in an uncomplicated way would’ve just been too close to fanservice. But, man, what a day.

Diane, in a red hoodie with leopard print that she somehow manages to still look classy in, is ready to pop champagne. Then she hears that on January 6th, a joint session of Congress will count the electoral votes and there might be a debate. “Nope. If I open it now, something bad will happen,” she reasons. “I’ve waited four years. I can wait another few weeks.”

It’s been almost a year and they’re still somehow negotiating with Lucca, but I understand why they’d space this out across the episode. Otherwise we’d have to say goodbye to Lucca in the first like, 15 mins of the episode and all those scenes would be in a row. I can forgive (and still nitpick) choices like this when the reasoning behind them seems sound.

Adrian says they don’t want to lose Lucca. He, Liz, and Diane are all in the conference room, and they ask Lucca for a yes or no on their latest offer by the end of the call. Diane offers Lucca partner—she'll be the youngest partner in the firm’s history—and she’ll get a $500,000/year salary. Adrian tries to sell her on being part of American history by being part of the firm.

“We are a black firm, Lucca, and we need you,” Liz says with a lot of passion for someone who knows she might very well partner with Diane. Diane looks at Liz with a bit of suspicion at this, wondering if Liz is showing her cards.

Lucca manages to make the wifi malfunction (or she gets very lucky) and uses the disconnection to call Bianca for a counteroffer, even though they said they needed a yes or no on the spot.

“They used George Floyd because they want you for less. They have never appreciated you as much as I do. All those scars, all that time being taken for granted and undervalued has made you a fighter. It’s made you someone I now want,” Bianca tells Lucca. She gives Lucca a counter offer of $1.3 million and the title of CFO. Lucca takes it. Is there really another choice? (If she were concerned about loyalty to the firm and the partnership was what she wanted, she probably would've just taken it.)

(Also, the partners can’t really act like Lucca is making history by being the youngest partner ever when they passed her over for partner two years earlier and offered it to Maia! To MAIA! Who had like three years of work experience! And yes I was fine with Alicia and Cary getting partnership offers with four years but, one, that was a scam, and two, Alicia and Cary actually worked. Oh, I see I still hate Maia with a passion. Back to THIS season...)

Lucca apologetically informs Marissa she’s leaving and the offer was just too good to turn down. I believe it. I also believe Lucca wants that job more. What has loyalty to RBL gotten her? She's someone so talented and good at her job that she just gets job offers from acquaintances all the time (starting with Alicia!). RBL appreciates her, but just enough to appease her while still undervaluing her. I don’t know that I would’ve believed a plot where Lucca actively job hunts, but I definitely believe this.

“Marissa, we don’t have to work together to be friends,” Lucca tells Marissa. I’m going to miss this so much. Why is this the best material Lucca’s gotten in ages?! I think one of the things that makes Lucca such a great character is that you can see why everyone instantly wants her on their team. She’s a fantastic friend (without giving too much of herself), she’s not a pushover, and she is incredibly sharp and able to get to the heart of any situation. I love her and I’m sad we won’t get to see more of her.

(On that bit about friendship—I can’t write about Lucca’s departure without writing about the moment I realized just how great of a character Lucca was. It was in 7x13, when Alicia has her breakdown that’s seven seasons in the making... and Lucca supports her. But the writing, and Cush’s performance, never make it feel like Lucca exists to be a part of Alicia’s story. Lucca seems like her own fully formed person who happens to be supporting Alicia at this moment. I don’t think I can overstate how tough of a task it is to get me to care about the other person in a pivotal Alicia scene, especially when that other person was added to the cast in the final season and many suspected she’d just be a replacement for a different beloved character! Anyway, Lucca’s been great for years, and I’ll miss her.)

Just when I thought I couldn’t hate the hallucinations more, we get a hint that they are going to continue: Jay sees one right after he learns that Marissa’s used her quarantine to start law school and he’s done nothing.

Jay says he carries a gun now and it’s “performative.” I have no idea what that means and Marissa and Lucca don’t seem to, either.

Another thing I like about Lucca’s final scene is that it isn’t rushed. We have time for all that, and also for Lucca to tell Marissa about the time she stole her breakfast sandwich, and for Marissa to react to it, and for Marissa to find Lucca’s Birkin bag, and for Lucca to tell Marissa to keep it, and for Marissa to react to that, and for Lucca to sappily say “think of me when you use it,” and for Marissa to nonsensically reply, “you think of me when I use it,” and there’s still a little bit more of the scene after that!

Marissa’s silly line makes Lucca tear up. “God, I’m gonna miss you guys,” she says. “I’m gonna miss this. You make me smile. I didn’t smile much before you guys.” Awwwwwww. This is also so true to character! Her friendship with Alicia aside, Lucca’s definitely said before she’s not one to have friends (which is hilarious because she is, as I've said like 100 times, a fantastic friend and also just like, the coolest person??? Who wouldn’t want to be HER friend?!).

She says she has to go because she’s getting too emotional and says goodbye. She’s also super sappy and when Marissa says, “you were the best,” she responds that they were the best TOGETHER! Awwwwwww.

What a nice, fitting goodbye for Lucca. There’s no bad blood or fireworks—she just makes a change like a lot of people do. I’d like to think she’ll still be friends with Marissa and Jay after this. I don’t want too many Lucca references in future episodes, but I would really like it if we see Marissa and Jay update each other on the latest from Lucca, or if a scene begins with Marissa closing out an Instagram post from Lucca of her kid, or something. I wouldn’t want clues about what Lucca’s up to, but I’d love to see that she’s still a part of Marissa and Jay’s lives.

Now it is January 6th. Liz, Adrian, and Diane sit on the floor of the mostly empty office, watching TV coverage and drinking. It’s so relaxed it’s almost surreal, and it, like many other moments in this episode, feels like a slice of life. Everyone’s dressed casually and no one is worried about appearances or looking like the boss.

“God, have you ever seen anything like it. It’s so fucked,” Diane says. Adrian’s more optimistic—the courts rejected most of the challenges to election results! “System worked,” he says. “Yay.” Liz says in response. She’s not as optimistic as he is.

“Liz. Liz. Sometimes when things work out, there is no parade. There’s no congratulations, but I’ll tell you this: We live to fight another day,” he explains to her even though she makes a good point that a system just barely hanging on doesn’t bode well for the future. (She doesn’t say all this, but that’s a very loaded, “Yay.”)

“Yeah? Then why are you leaving the law?” Liz asks. Diane seconds to the question.

Adrian announces he’s still retiring—and he’s moving to Atlanta. He wants to go to the south to help “create and consolidate political power.” He’s excited to start over and inspired by Georgia going blue. This is a very nice exit for Adrian. I fully believe that he’s interested in political organizing, that he’d be good at it, and that he’s ready for a change. I don’t think he’s always the most progressive person (of the three in this scene, Liz is absolutely the most progressive one, though Diane probably thinks she is!), but I absolutely think he thinks of himself as an activist and I believe that if he’s going to step away from the law, he’d do so to make a move like this.

Adrian—and Lucca, but especially Adrian—probably both got better exits thanks to the events of 2020. If Adrian had just left to be groomed by the DNC, that would’ve been a predictable and boring ending for him. His candidacy would, obviously, go nowhere, and the whole thing felt weird from the minute it was introduced. But this? Adrian being energized—like so many others were—by the ways the world changed in 2020 and using his already announced departure from the firm and recent breakup as a chance to start over and make change? This is great!

Adrian asks Liz and Diane what’s next for them. Liz says that she thinks the Biden admin will be better for black businesses. Adrian asks if they’re replacing him, and Diane says, “I think the big question is, are you replacing me?” She’s smart. I like how this scene goes from friendly to tense very fast, with everyone kind of testing the waters. Adrian tries to force the conversation, Liz opens with something vague yet pointed, and Diane speaks what’s previously been unspoken.

Liz says it’s not her intention to push Diane out. “I can’t change the color of my skin,” Diane replies. “I know,” Liz laughs. Audra’s delivery is fantastic on that line.

“Hey, I’m gonna fight for my partnership,” Diane says. “I know,” Liz says. The tone of this scene is so different from previous partnership drama on these shows and I’m excited about it. This is just a bunch of adults talking about business decisions with each other and treating each other as equals?? It's not backstabbing?? Or drama?? No one is hiding things?? It’s refreshing and I hope this plot stays like this. We’ve done so much partnership drama that I think drama that stems from a real, pressing question that has no easy answers and isn’t anyone’s fault is going to be much more fruitful for the show.

Adrian heads out—ah, I see now this scene is set in his empty office and this is why they are on the floor—and gets a nice last moment with Diane. And then they give him a last moment with Liz, which I knew they would but was still glad to see.

Liz asks if he knows what he’s doing—he says he’s not sure.

Adrian asks if Liz knows where she stands regarding Diane. “It’s going to be interesting,” Liz says. I don’t think she’s decided what she’s going to do yet.

It wouldn’t be an Adrian and Liz scene if Adrian didn’t have some unsolicited advice. “Diane’s a terrific lawyer, but this firm belongs to you. Your dad built it. He did, Liz. Despite all his faults. You got to run this place the way you want. This is a black firm. And after today, the world needs black firms. You got me?” He tells Liz. He makes it seem like Liz gets the choice and then tells her what to do. She says, “I got it,” signaling she understood him but not that she necessarily agrees.

I cannot wait to see what Liz does next!!!!!!! About this but just in general!!!!! Without Adrian there giving her constant advice I feel like she can grow so much and the show will have to give her more to do!!! I think Adrian, for all his many wonderful qualities and all he brought to the show, can suck all the air out of a room with his charisma, and Liz usually ends up suffering as a result. She’s such a capable lawyer in her own right, but Adrian has a way of making it always seem like he’s right—even in arguments she wins. I’m excited to see Liz lead (or stumble at leadership; she is fairly new to management) without Adrian’s direct influence.

Liz walks Adrian out and it’s cute. They run into Marissa and Jay. “Everybody fun is leaving,” Marissa notes. Liz is minorly offended, but playfully. Heh.

Adrian asks Jay how he’s doing; Jay says he’s a long-hauler but he’s doing okay. I like that they included that moment in Adrian’s goodbye sequence. It’s a very little thing, but it underlines that Adrian cares about Jay.

Then Liz interrupts to note that Trump pardoned a lot of convicted and corrupt Republican officials....... including Julius.

Everyone celebrates, but especially Diane and Marissa. Diane lets out her wonderful laugh and then we, finally, get to the credits. Because now that the previouslies are over, it’s time for the real show.

The credits are absolutely delightful, btw. I was a little worried some of the kittens would blow up, though! Once I relaxed and realized what they were up to—literal puppies and kittens because Biden won—I couldn’t get enough of these credits. They work so well because they accurately capture the way I (and all of these characters, except maybe Julius and Kurt) feel about the election results, but it’s so exaggerated that you know the kittens and puppies aren’t a realistic representation of our new reality. They’re just too good to be true, but you may as well enjoy them for a minute. I’m sure we’ll be back to exploding vases next week.

What a great episode! My timeline nitpicks and whatever they’re trying to do with Jay aside, I was blown away by how well the writers managed to move on from season 4, tie up loose ends, and write out two main characters. And they did it all while making me revisit the events of 2020, a year I don’t think many of us want to spend much time thinking about! This episode was enjoyable, fun, emotional, and clever. I don’t know what to expect from the rest of the season, but I’m definitely excited about the show in a way I haven’t really been in quite some time.

This season’s naming convention seems to be titles that end with ... and only have the first word capitalized. I want to see more.

Season FIVE? There have already been as many TGF seasons as there were TGW seasons prior to Hitting the Fan?! Time flies.

Please writers: No topical episodes this year-- no pee tape, no Melania divorce, no Epstein. None of that business.

Sorry if I repeated myself here. I never proofread these things, and I wrote half of this on Saturday and half of it today (Wednesday) and the days in between were an absolute blur so I cannot remember if I said the same things about this episode twice.

#the good fight #tgfthoughts

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