#the manny storyline means so much to me

[lunar-jewels]

My contribution to the Camila Mama Week! Today was day 1 and the theme was home/embrace, so I made this little christmas photo of the Nocedas :)

@camilamamaweek

[sepublic]

From Pilot to Canon, Luz and Eda

With my belief that No Tree Left Behind was boarded as part of the pilot continuity (hence Lilith's depiction), I want to bring up that I think there's kind of a subtle difference between Luz in that episode, or 'Pilot Luz', and Canon Luz as we got in the actual animated show.

With Canon Luz, she's a more brash, confident individual, who can get in over her head; King mentions that she smells of overconfidence, plus there's Luz recklessly getting into stuff like in Covention or Enchanting Grom Fright in the heat of the moment. She has this overwhelming energy and enthusiasm that's unstoppable, but as a result she can sometimes forget about the people around her, hence Wing it like Witches.

And a lot of that has to do with Luz's relationship with The Good Witch Azura in canon, because it means that the Boiling Isles is her fantasy!!! It's her chance, it's her adventure, it's what Manny would push her to go for! So she gives it her all. And in the latter half of the show, Luz's willingness to go at any cost, even to her own detriment, borders on self-sacrifice. In a way she's secretly atoning for her own existence, it's like... 'Socially acceptable' self-harm by risking herself.

So there's a difference in Pilot Luz during NTLB, who is much more averse to the martyr idea; She's a lot more scared and reluctant to fight for Arborgeist, and in a moment of crisis admits she doesn't quite get what Eda is so worked up about. And this makes me think of how the in the pilot continuity, there isn't that same relationship with Azura; The pitch bible reveals we would've had an episode where it's revealed to be written by an ex of Eda's about her, so you can guess that Luz drops it afterwards.

And as the pilot even shows us, Luz didn't choose to be in the Boiling Isles! And in lieu of my latest reblog, that feels relevant because Dana mentioned how in the final show, Luz choosing that was so incredibly important; It was a foundational change to the character's storyline. Luz wants to be here, she wants to risk it, this is the adventure and if she gets bruised up, it's okay. Us weirdoes have to stick together, she declares passionately as she rallies a bunch of strangers against Warden Wrath in the first episode. She becomes in canon the kind of passionate, righteous person who will talk your ear off about a thing and she's right about it.

So looking at the difference between first episodes, it tracks that Pilot Luz is much more reluctant and just trying to survive, hence her not 'getting' Arborgeist, in the sense that she doesn't see what's worth potentially dying over. Whereas with Canon Luz, I think she'd be more than willing to deep dive into this culture and play the hero, she's a social activist.

This isn't to trash on Pilot Luz btw, nor canon Luz; I just find it fascinating to consider how her character has changed and developed, how the story has, and how the difference in first episodes alludes to this. First episodes are very important, they can establish a lot of the core themes and ideas and Dana herself confirmed the significance of certain differences from the initial pilot. So it's fascinating seeing that difference in action, shown to us, rather than having to be told, since normally we couldn't watch the pilot storyboards to see for ourselves. Pilot Luz and Canon Luz are different characters with different flaws and circumstances, and they're both beautiful in their own ways for it.

I'd even argue that in a canon episode like WilW, Luz ends up playing the role Eda has in NTLB! And her stepping down after realizing she (might) hurt a loved one who was dragged into this, only for them to understand how much they care and come back to help for that reason... The story beats live on. Canon Luz would probably be thrilled to see Pilot Eda show so much care about something when she normally doesn't; Whereas Canon Eda becomes more of a practical guardian who's reining her kid in out of experience, because she's been hurt herself and is worried, and a tad pessimistic.

It's like the dynamics between Luz and Eda reversed from pilot to canon, with a scared and reluctant kid and her mentor who can push her too much sometimes; And now it's this overconfident, excited kid who wants to try everything and thinks she's invincible, with her jaded mentor who's a realist but also she cares more than you realize and wants to provide a safety net, being surprisingly thoughtful at times.

It makes sense, because again going back to my last reblog, Luz being more enthusiastic about the isles was to also help her foil other characters better, including Eda, and vice-versa. So it's possible Eda was changed to lean more into her pragmatic mentor role -Not that she doesn't still have her irresponsible, reckless moments- while bouncing off of Luz's new enthusiasm, which can lead to conflict like Luz wanting to try the newest magic and Eda not being in the mood, which leads to Luz being a bit reckless (take for example The Intruder).

Eda being more tired and jaded could also tie to the development of her curse as a disability that exhausts her, since in the pilot continuity the curse only made her age more; In canon, it does that AND messes with her magic stores, which leads to more exhaustion! In addition to becoming a beast. And with Eda becoming disillusioned with the isles due to her traumatic experiences, Luz acts as the light in her life to reignite her passion, which leads to Eda taking a more proactive role against Belos in S2!

She believes in her efficacy more because of how Luz changes the isles because of Eda, which makes Eda become more of an agent for social change as she starts to believe she can make a difference again, just as she did as a teen in IFWOT. Maybe Eda's curse isn't something to feel shame over anymore, maybe she shouldn't let it stop her from rallying everyone...!

Thus, there's not just a difference between Pilot and Canon Luz, but also Pilot and Canon Eda in NWLB. Though I imagine Canon Eda would still help to defend the Arborgeist tree, I'm not as sure about her confidence in attempting to rally others to do the same; She's got that loner vibe who assumes she has to do everything on her own because her own family and lover wouldn't support Eda in her defiance to the coven... But now she does have support in Luz. And King. And some of those loved ones are turning around too, no thanks to Luz's arrival inspiring some!

All this helps culminate in the S1 finale with Eda being used as a rallying cry against Belos, signaling the beginning of the end for his regime as she inspires not just a kid like Luz but other youths like Gus and Willow, and even helps chaperone Grom after avoiding Hexside for years; Eda’s really starting to believe again and she admits that Luz has gotten into her head as the cause.

[after-nine-at-the-oasis]

This episode of Abbott Elementary was wild xD it was amazing lol!

I loved the relay :D so proud that our babeys won, they rarely get a win (and usually just get out down by other schools) so I'm really proud of and happy for them :)).

Speaking of, Jacob!! An icon :D. I love how much he put into planning the field trip, how dedicated he was, and how everyone appreciated it :')). I love him so much your honor 😭❤️❤️.

UAAGHGHHHHH ABOUT JANINE AND GREGORY!!! Y'all I do not deserve this xdd. I get that it's a slowburn but it's gonna kill me 😭 xD. I mean honestly I don't even want them to be together yet I just want them to KNOW yk? But then there's probably be an awkward stage so aehhh you know xD. Anyway, still, getting to see them all happy and chill and getting to know each other (even more) was so great :')). They're so sweet and cute, I love them <3 🥰.

Also Mr. Johnson's storyline was wild xD. I'm happy for him that he got his keys unloaded but my gosh o.o bro went through it, and put Ava's bathroom through it 💀 xD. Kinda deserved though she's been hiding that for a w h i l e lol. Love that nothing in this show is ever really thrown away and forgotten about :D. Although Mr. Johnson's building key was kinda the first, if not the second xD. Anyway lol, cool detail :D.

I loved this episode! I thought it was great :)). Silly with a bunch of sweet moments and a win for the Abbott gang 🥰😌. I'm sure Janine and Gregory will get it figured out eventually :'DD. Even if not for a while longer yet xd. And again, I just love that Gregory didn't care about Manny :). Go off sir <3. Anyway, I love them all so much :DD 🥰🥰🥰❤️🥰.

So yeah! That was Abbott Elementary, Season 3, Episode 14: Smith Playground. See you next time for Abbott Elementary, Season 3, Episode 15: Party :D!

Bye y'all!!

[kindheartedgummybears]

Small(?) update on the Du'met!Erin au.

ok, so it's been what? a month since TDiM community chose the Du'met and Erin role/character swap AU and the bad news is: No, I haven't started writing it yet(disappointing I know and I am so sorry I have never written anything before so I will be slow with it :') BUUUT I do have some information about it! the brain has been storming the past month!

Ok, so first of all I would like to clear up some things before people start to question it.

1(and probably the most important at least imo): With Erin and Hector being swapped I would like to clear up that Jamie and Hector are NOT LOVE INTERESTS!!!! They are BFFs instead and Jamie's room scene will be slightly different and not at all romantic(at least between Jamie and Hector). And now that I'm writing that I feel like that was probably obvious since I did put it in a JERIN fic poll but JUST IN CASE.

2: The whole Manny Sherman and Hector being in the FBI thing will be sliiiightly different. Without giving too much away, Hector was still in the FBI and worked on the Sherman case but was able to catch himself before Sherman brainwashed him basically and resigned shortly after. However~ This time he had a partner investigating the Sherman case with him and let's just say maybe taking the tapes home with you (illegally btw) and stuffing them in your attic for someone to possibly find later on wasn't a good idea...

3: Erin still has asthma. That doesn't change and it actually has plot relevance.

So yeah! that's the "clear ups" if you can call them that?

now, time for plot stuff

ok so basically, for plot reasons I am swapping Charlie and Jamie's placements in the story, and by that I mean, Jamie falls down the trap door instead of Charlie in the freezer and she goes through most of the stuff he goes through in the actual game and vice versa with Charlie and what Jamie goes through, and I am debating if I should do the same with Mark and Kate. There's no reason to do that really, but I think it would be fun!

I am also now realizing(not really now I have thought about it for like 2 weeks) that with position swaps also means death swaps👀👀👀👀

also just some fun facts about this au ig?:

Hector and Kate PTSD twins😍✌️

Erin and Hector do maintain their canon personality to an extent with some parts of their personality obviously swapped.

Yes, Erin having asthma does take a blow on the crew's egos.

---- Oh! and if I may give you a littlleeee sneak peek of what is to come, without any context:

OMFG ERIN HOW ARE YOU NOT DEAD HALF OF YOUR FACE IS LITERALLY MANGLED AND BARELY HANGING ON TO YOUR SKULL-

:)

Also side note: I have been debating if I should do little one-shots for all of my Jerin AUs to give people a basic kind of plot or story for all of them. Obviously, I'm going to make and finish the Du'met!Erin au first before going into any of my other AUs for them. Some of them (HoA AU and Ultimatum) won't be getting one-shots since they are one-shots in and of themselves, but my other AUs(Like the 1980s murder wives, Deadpool x Spiderman, and my many(by many I mean 4 XD) werewolf AUs. Oh! And by the way, I forgot to mention that the Vampire x Werewolf AU is also an 1800s AU I know I should have included that in the poll but I completely forgot :')) That have actual storylines and plots to them that would be more than a simple one-shot. Like for the murder wives, I have an idea for a one-shot that is kind of like a prequel to the actual fic.

Please let me know if you'd like for me to make little one-shots for them first! Also sorry if this is a hard read grammar is not a very good skill of mine and I'm from the South so my English is kind of broken to begin with XD

[seancamerons]

hi !! sorry i haven't replied to your asks yet, i promise i still will <3 but i see you post about degrassi a lot and i started watching that show at some point but i just can't find the motivation to get back into it (i only watched like 4 episodes, my other problem is that i'm not sure exactly what episode i was on, so i don't know if i should just start again or what to do... so (if you want to), can you tell me what some reasons are to continue watching? like what do you like about the show etc. :)

ah no worries! the first season is a hit or a miss. i love it, takes me back but not everyone shares that love. it picks up in the second-fourth seasons all strong in different ways.

(under the cut)

season 2 is similar 2 season 1 but more beefy in the storyline dept. i hope you pick it back up but if you don't it's not for everyone. i hope i didn't spoil you too much with things, but the show aired in the 2000s. i know i was upset when something from dawsons creek got spoiled for me, that show predates degrassitng by over 5 years and ended in 2003. i just remained so far from that spoiler so long for it to happen unexpected to a favorite of mine, jen. i also dislike dawson i still haven't finished! i didn't even get to that storyline yet and i'm dreading and savoring the time i have left with that character. the show has dated with time, like the earlier seasons of degrassi but they're comforting. no biggie.

what i like about degrassi was tha tit was the first show that had kids my age at the time arguing, existing, living their lives, relatable. and what keeps me watching is mostly comfort, i like the characters, it's still funny sometimes and some storylines can be sad but beautifully written. it sets them apart from other teen dramas at the time, the careful consideration of development in the friendships and relationships. family, friends, found families and epic romances are the norm. my favorite characters and power couples i still love and set the tone for the stuff i like in terms of shows. sean is a lot like the oc's ryan, emma isn't the damsel but she is a strong female protag and fits with sean (best) in my opinion. strongest relationship is between these two, they're off and on and mostly on. they both had other relationships sellie is arguably (ellie) his second most talked about relationship. he does leave briefly after tragedy (vague) and returns again, he does leave once more but this time for good. he makes one last appearance before completely leaving the series for a new life without giving too much away.

i say maybe suggesting to skipping season 1 and starting with 2.

i got into degrassi a little late, like most shows but i found a rerun and that was my first episode from the first season toward the end of that season, called wannabe. i loved the interaction between the girls and i found myself rooting for these girls i didn't even know. they don't look dawsons casting they look about 12, 13 at most, but i had similar conversations like this with friends and i found it highly relatable tehr will always be that mean girl like paige, patronizing the young impressional grade 7's in emma manny and their friends who are younger and such. season 2 is a little more intensive in drama but i think you'll like that. it feels a lot more real, the premier for 2 is really good, there's violence but there's a great storyline going on there. maybe if you start there you can backtrack 1 later and see it through. 3 is a fan favorite, four is particularly dark and strong major storyline arc going on there based on 3, and so on. you'll love it as it goes on and it's worth noting that the oc started around the time of season 3 airing of degrassi. so there's fashion and technology differences, emphasis on music and familiar faces and vibes.

degrassi is long its time consuming and there's filler or bad episodes here and there, there's a few snoozy seasons namely end of 7 until 10 and it picks up. season 13 and 14 aren't as strong, but netflix's continuation next class picks up with those guys and so on and so forth. i feel like a tour guide rn.

but when you have time, give it a chance from another season closer to the beginning when things are more established and if you still don't like it, at least you gave it a try/chance.

i didn't get hooked until mid season 2 when all was said and done. season 2 is so special to me, and might be my favorite out of all the seasons, season 4 too but beyond that there's some good ones here and there and bad ones and a mixture. not everyone is gonna have the same love for it but i love hearing that you're mildly interested in it.

💌 thanks for messaging me.

[potato-an0n]

Ima be honest……idk how to feel abt this episode…..i mean, i get it, there’s so much to unpack in such a short amount of time but it just…..idk it feels a bit incomplete in a way like, they really shortened the wittebane bros storyline and pushed the grimwalker reveal to the side and although i saw the death signs (and spoilers) of flapjack, I’m more confused on wat just happened???? Idk, it just feels off in a way tht I can’t put into words.

Also, idk how i felt abt willow’s character writing in this episode as well like, she felt a bit off then again, I’m willow biased lol.

And speaking of Willow

Please please please please pleaseeeeee tell me I’m not the only one who sees the pan colors too……..right?

Other than that, at least we got Camila and Luz to talk, more insight on Camila and Luz as well, along with Manny (Luz’s dad), some cute lumity, huntlow (ofc and toh crew needs to stop teasing us istg-), hunter just….being a normal teenager and bonding with the squad and isn’t alone anymore (and then he got possessed) and vee (i love vee sm, she’s my second fav) getting a partner (who’s nonbinary). It’s an enjoyable episode but i think it was pretty overhyped bc we’ve been starving for more content for too long.

[headgehug]

my little "i want you back" review :P

Oh, boy. Big time spoilers and TMI below the cut!

So, I finished the credits, rubbed my face dry, and took my dog on a nice long walk, and pointedly ignored my screenshots folder after seeing the little number indicating how many items had been added during the last two hours. Also, thank you guys for making me feel very much like a media journalist right now– is this what blogging is supposed to be?!

Let me start out by saying that I don’t usually like/watch romcoms, or if I end up watching one, I pay a lot more attention to the side plots than the main one because it generally bores me, it’s cliche, I get major secondhand embarrassment, etc. So, all of my opinions should be taken with a) a grain of salt, because I don’t know what I’m talking about, and b) the knowledge that I’m a huge hypocrite for loving this movie when, if I had been less excited about it, I probably wouldn’t be giving it another thought.

So, acting first? Jenny Slate killed it, oh my god! It felt real, I felt so immersed, everything she did I was like, damn, same girl. I did not realize Manny Jacinto was Jason on The Good Place until I heard his voice, he was so good in this too! He didn’t feel like your basic throwaway comedic relief character, he felt fleshed out, he had his own little growth plotline, I loved it. Did you even do Little Shop of Horrors in high school? Speaking of that– OMG! Jenny doing Suddenly Seymour, well suddenly I need her to be in a remake of that, like, now. Charlie Day, I mean, I can’t tell if I’m being lenient because I like him or too harsh because I like him and want to be objective, and maybe it was just the writing, but some parts didn’t seem too natural, I don’t know. I think I’m being a little too critical actually, he was great I think and his expressions were so good, really nice to have two leads where both draw you in completely. Despite being primarily a comedic actor, he's just got the face and persona for romance, come on. Especially now, he's just such a beautiful, emotional romantic lead. Mwah.

Fashion/costuming next, because this is the best place to sneak it in before the rest of this long ass thought piece. Oh my god! So good! So modern and sleek but also classic and cute and snazzy! I’ll have to do a separate post just about the outfits because honestly I want everyone’s wardrobe from this, like I would wear everything the six main characters wore. Ugh. Gorgeous.

Writing now? I think I will ultimately blame any disappointment I felt with Charlie’s character on the plotline, it was the “funny, upbeat” counterpoint to Emma’s plotline. Made me cringe a little bit but that’s just because watching drunk people be stupid makes me do that. I also don’t really feel the need to point out what parts I didn’t think were all that funny and/or were a little overdone or unnecessary as far as jokes, cause at the end of the day it didn’t bug me that much. I thought Jase was hilarious and his background wheedling combined with Peter hyping himself up to jump really made me laugh. Like I said before, I don’t watch a lot of romcoms, so I don’t have much to compare this to as far as being super basic? I thought it was a cool storyline, it was generally predictable, it made you cry and laugh and hold your breath in all the right spots. I’m particularly fond of the very very end, if not so fond of the very cringe stuff leading up to it, on the boat. Not saying the writing was bad– just that I got maaajor secondhand embarrassment (which is fine, that’s another feeling and feelings are good. Do you remember feelings, Mac?)

Skip this paragraph if you want to know as little about me as possible <3 Oh boy, did this movie make me cry and not just because I’m a sappy fucking romantic! I’ve got those pushing people away so I don’t have to talk to them tendencies that angsty middle schoolers have! I’m at a job where I could easily stay the rest of my career if I so desired and wanted to end up like my manager who gets walked all over for a living! I’m ending a relationship with someone who never pushed me to be better and only shallowly supported me when I got the guts to try to do it on my own (there are other issues with that situation but I’m grossly simplifying it for ~the impact~). So yeah all of those things kind of made me go “Aw, shit, that’s me.” and bawl my eyes out.

(back to generally relatable and not hyper specific analyses!) While Peter just up and abandoning Emma (receptionist solidarity hell yeah girlie) made me want to deck him and made me just sit there in horror for a fair bit of the movie after that, I get it. It is so easy and desirable to fall back into what’s comfortable because it’s what you thought the ideal was, because it’s safe and it’s simple and it’s the known. Even if you know you're hurting other people (and yourself) because of it. So while he really pissed me off for doing that, I think, from a writing standpoint, from a realism standpoint, it made more sense than him going full spontaneous romantic– because whatever growth he had undergone at that point, that’s not the sort of person he is, and that’s okay. That being said, he certainly doesn’t inherently deserve Emma by the end of the movie– absolutely not (yet- he would/will, if he puts in the work, cause neither of them were perfect, so now's their time to grow and be better together), and I was rooting for her big time with getting her own life on track and pursuing her dreams on her own, without desperately running after a partner. But, it is a romantic movie, so I’m super duper happy about the ending, even though it’s a sickly sweet gag inducing cheesy as all hell callback to an earlier part of the movie that made me cringe and feel all warm and happy inside. And I think that’s what this genre is supposed to do, right?! I love that it’s open ended, I love that there’s a million different ways it could go after that, because that’s real life. And because this is fiction and not real life, obviously they work it out and fall madly in love, slowly and messily, and live happily ever after. :P

Anyways, thank you so much if you’ve read this far, let me know all of your comments and responses and senseless ramblings! By the way guys, that leading guy was like really cute… anybody know who he is?

[mythoughtsxxblog]

My Top TV Show Female Characters

I made a male version of this that some people actually read (thanks!!) So I thought it's time to make my female version! I'm sure there's more that I adore, but these are the ones that immediately came to mind. *In no particular order*

Haley James Scott (One Tree Hill)

Bethany Joy Lenz was one of the best actors on this show, and she brought so much to this character that I'm sure was only initially supposed to be your typical best friend to the main character. Haley James Scott was more than that. She is a wonderful wife (Naley forever, my #1 otp and simply iconic) and mother. Not only that, but she's talented and funny af. Her humor is so underrated, especially during her pregnancies, lol. Not only that but never mess with her family cause she will quite literally fuck you up (*cough* see Rachel Gatina) 💀

Blair Waldorf (Gossip Girl)

1/2 the reason why I even bothered with Gossip Girl to begin with. Takeaway that God awful relationship with the wannabe Batman voiced man, she is a literal queen that deserved better!! Leighton Meester's acting so underrated it annoys me that her career didn't skyrocket after this (there's still time though 🙏). Blair had her flaws, but was shown to be quite the good person despite everything. She is not only intelligent, but she's witty af and I love every bit of her sass. If only she had ended up with someone on her level mentally and spiritually.

Manny Santos (Degrassi TNG)

A whole ass trendsetting queen!!! Manuela Santos walked so that so many other bad ass tv women could run. The very first time I watched this show I instantly fell in love with her. She was honestly a good ass friend that dealt with so much shit that she didn't deserve. The abortion storyline was simply great because I'm almost positive girls watching the show felt safe knowing they had options when it comes to unplanned pregnancies. Her style? Immaculate. Her ability to change a once bad boy to an actual good guy? Iconic. Love her forever.

Stephanie Tanner (Full House)

This show was the very first sitcom I fell in love with as a little girl. I remember loving Stephanie. To the point where I wanted to join dance classes to be like her lol. I always was more invested in her storylines and I thought she was extremely relatable. Her catchphrases >>>> and the episode where she drove the car into the kitchen? Forever iconic. I haven't seen enough of Fuller House to give an opinion, but I'm sure she was just as iconic on there.

Jen Lindley (Dawsons Creek)

My sweet precious muffin. My cinnamon apple. Jen brought so much to this show. An iconic friendship (her and Jack 😭😍), amazing character development, and a lovable personality. I truly love her so much and I cannot believe the way her story ended. She deserved so much more. She was a beautiful person inside and out and Michelle Williams did such an amazing job. Especially when she was the youngest amongst the cast.

Lydia Martin (Teen Wolf)

My favorite banshee ❤ I seem to love characters with amazing character developments because here's yet another character that had amazing development. Lydia literally went from typical mean girl to an actual badass superhero. She was so real and so complicated (in a good way). I loved the depth to her character and forever happy they didn't keep her as the mean girl with no personality. Lydia Martin is a powerful woman. Also, her and Stiles forever have my heart.

Lois Lane (Smallville)

I love this show and the minute she came on I personally believe the show got better. Lois and Clark are legendary especially on Smallville. I know a lot of people preferred Lana and at first I was all Lana/Clark. But once Lois came on, I was like Lana who? Lois was more interesting and had better chemistry with Clark imo. I think my love for this character stems mainly from Erica Durance. She brought such a light and lovable vibe to this Lois.

April Kepner (Grey's Anatomy)

A strong ass woman. She faced so much hardship, but never ever gave up. Like the amount of shit this woman had to deal with?? It's always the characters that I love that have to deal with a lot and quite often never get the happiness they deserve. I'm so happy they brought her back and gave her a better and more proper ending with Jackson aka who she deserved to be endgame with. April could be quite neurotic to the point where it got annoying. But I still loved her and her flaws. She was extremely relatable. Also let's take a second to recognize how amazing Sarah Drew is.....the shooting episode and scene with the shooter??? ICONIC.

Tia and Tamera (Sister Sister)

Another sitcom I absolutely adore. Tia and Tamera are forever iconic queens in the show and in real life. I'll admit, Tia was favorite as a kid. I resonated with her more, but during my last rewatch as an adult I enjoyed the two of them and now I can't really choose a favorite. These two are my childhood ❤

[moodyfoxes]

AFTG Fanfic Recs! #6

November 2021

Getting back into doing these, lets see how long it will last!

The Manny by orphan_account [Completed]

Problem #1: Neil accidentally becomes the nanny of two adorable kids.

Problem #2: Neil somehow manages to fall in love with their father.

Fuck.

I will continue to reread this fic forever and no one can stop me! Basically what it says on the tin, except a lot fluffier than you would probably imagine. Andrew and Neil are soft I’ve actually recced this to people before but not in these posts so I’m reccing it again!

Two worlds collide by pandaseek [Ongoing]

A waiter showed another couple to the table beside them; Neil was grateful that the interruption seemed to remind his date to lower her voice with the tables being so close. He looked up when the man diagonally from him failed to sit when his date did. The blond man from the bar stood behind the seat staring openly at Neil and ignoring his dates nervous gesture to sit. Up close, he was far shorter than Neil had given him credit for across the bar. Well-groomed and confident enough to draw the attention of everyone in the room. Neil deliberately averted his gaze, hoping the guy would understand that he had no intention of dealing with people ogling at his scars.

Miranda went quiet watching the man out of the corner of her eyes, uncomfortable with the obvious attention that he was paying them. The man sat down but didn’t stop his staring as his date tried to reclaim his attention. Neil tried to shake it off, but his limited patience was already being pushed.

“Do I know you?” Neil snapped at him when he could no longer bite his tongue.

The blonde looked him in the eyes blandly, unimpressed with his outburst. “I don’t know, do you?”

One of my current favourite fics, and not only in this fandom! What would happen if Neil went into WITSEC after being raised in the Nest? Open this fic and find out!

The Continuing Adventures of the Nine-Nine Series by gluupor [Completed]

“So Neil seems interesting,” Renee ventured.

Andrew snorted. “His entire life is garbage. I can’t believe I’m gonna sleep with him.”

“Well,” said Renee diplomatically, “you don’t have to-”

“No,” said Andrew, cutting her off. “I’m gonna.”

Pretty much just TFC characters inserted into the Brooklyn Nine-Nine plot! I personally enjoy this series quite a lot but it might not be everyone’s cup of tea. The last work in this series has more original storyline stuff than the rest so you might wanna give that a go all on it’s own!

FoxTail Cafe Series by Baekhanded [Ongoing]

Andrew has a coping mechanism that makes him a general menace to most businesses. Neil needs the beauty in his life

FLUFF FLUFF FLUFF!!! This series is the softest for real. I always love rereading this when I want a bit of cute foxes content.

Dizzy by GoonMiracles [Completed]

Neil is used to being told that what he has with Andrew means nothing. However on one particular night it hurts more than it should.

A very short and not so sweet oneshot! This is angst with a happy ending to the max and I enjoy every second of it. May or not be on my reread list for eternity.

All of my recs can be found in my bookmarks on AO3!

[septiembrre]

It just seems really flat? And cliche? Rio feels like he’s falling way back into the Latin criminal stereotype with a resurging hint of Latin Lover~ and i don’t love that. I just feel like it’s weird that he’s narratively punished when he isn’t an active love interest for Beth

You’ve put my exact jumbled thoughts into words. They also barely acknowledge the fact he’s Latinx. Except those 2 words of spanish he spoke in S3. That’s why I love your fics so much. You’re always showing a more layered version of him 💕

Thank you!!! Looking at the character roles is really helpful to me even if it’s hella fatiguing. I was hopeful that by now there would be a better standard of representation for Latinx characters on-screen across film and tv. 

A digression on the character stereotypes: 

Charles Ramírez Berg published Latino Images in Film: Stereotypes, Subversion and Resistance in 1990 — it’s a foundational text of Latinx-American film theory/critique. In it, he explores his theory that there are six stereotypical roles that any Latinx characters in classic Hollywood and in the 70s and 80s can fit into. 

1. The “Bandito”/The Criminal (the criminalized, dangerous, lawless Latino — in Good Girls this is Rio and Mick)

2. The Harlot (the sexualized, ~spicy Latina, think Salma Hayek in any role she’s ever been in)

3 & 4. The Male Buffoon and the Female Clown (Latinx folks characterized as dumb and comedic relief, think Gael Garcia Bernal in his American roles or like anything with George Lopez. For ladies, I feel like it’s usually a Latina who is gorgeous and dumb)

5. The Latin Lover (this specifically refers to the sexualization of Latinx men and the fetishization of the sexual experience they can provide for white women — Rio in Good Girls) 

6. The Dark Lady (mysterious, traumatized and/or sad women that are visual foils to white female characters — I would argue Rhea could fall into this stereotype). 

I’m not a huge film theory nerd but I do appreciate Ramirez-Berg’s framework. It’s somehow both absurdly salient and also antiquated (it’s literally older than me). More recent Latinx film critique has argued that it’s missing the stereotypes more relevant in film post-90s/post-NAFTA/post-waves of 80s-era immigration: 

7. The Immigrant

8. The Servant/The Maid

Rio very easily falls into the stereotype of the Latinx Criminal. As his storyline progressed through the end of Season 1 onwards to Season 2, his character began to occupy a hybrid-role of Criminal/Latin Lover, too.  I would say as of 4x03, he’s at about 95% Criminal,  5% Lover. Hahahah, I guess I don’t need to break it down into percentages but I would say he still occupies a hybrid-stereotype. 

I think the word “stereotype” is universally understood as bad. But, just a reminder that stereotypes are redundant, problematic, harmful for lots of different reasons across race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and other identities -- it lands differently depending on what we’re talking about. However, a common consequence of a stereotype is that it perpetuates power dynamics for the sake of saving time or as a placeholder for on-screen characterization. For Latinx representation a common harm is lack of on-screen commitment to a character’s background — it means that Latinx end up reading as racially ambiguous and lack cultural specificity. 

Despite falling into stereotypes, Rio’s characterization on Good Girls is still net positive for me. Yes, it’s an old fucking line, but I do love that Rio is a crime boss. I also ~mostly? enjoy his toxic relationship with Beth (idk this is more contentious, but I am obviously a huge a shipper!). I think this is because despite the limitations of what is written in the scripts, Manny Montana does an incredible job of bringing nuance to the character. There are pieces of Rio that just read as so subversive to me -- like that he’s wicked smart and that he’s a good dad (sometimes). 

But, at this point in time, having just watched 4x03, I am feeling the fatigue of this ongoing problem of shitty Latinx characterization. Good Girls should do better. I’m holding out hope because there’s the promise that ~soon~ we’re going to meet a whole bunch of Latinx folks on the show??? We’re going to see his family? In this fourth glorious season, we are finally going to build out his character? We will actually learn more about his motivations? WILD.  

I just-- y’all— I am holding out judgment until we see it. I feel like 90% of what I like about Rio has been willed into existence through Manny Montana’s personal headcanons and acting choices. I would love for this show to do more to earn my trust. 

[whiskeyjack]

I absolutely hear you on a lot of what you said about Rio’s development this season, but I don’t think the show is saying that Nick’s comment about Lucy’s murder is what we’re supposed to think about it. That’s just what Nick thinks, and considering the way they’ve portrayed him, I really don’t think we’re meant to agree with him. In fact I thought we were supposed to do the opposite. Why do you think the show itself is reframing what happened through him? I’m curious in your reading of that

(x)

you know? you make an excellent point. this one also got unintentionally REALLY long, so it is too, under the cut haha

-shout out to @jade-marie and @00gangfriend00, without them I don’t know how coherent this entire response would be haha

Alright, well firstly, I think it’s unfortunately clear that even some of the show’s writers don’t actually have a good grasp on the events leading up to Lucy’s death, both during s3 and now. It seems like depending on who is talking, and the timing of the discussion, the answer will shift. It is… really hard to speculate sometimes when the writers don’t even know the reason behind a scene. However, since it’s canon - whatever the reason or goal of the scene - I’m just going to go on my merry way and create/keep my own interpretation.

The more I thought about your ask, the more I realized, yeah, through Nick’s scripted words alone, they aren’t necessarily reframing what happened, since Nick does seem to be unaware of much of the entire sequence of events regarding Lucy: “So… you were just gunna, what, keep it to yourself?”. Assuming the diner scene with the cop was the first time he heard about it, his impression most likely wouldn’t be a fair representation of what actually happened. So, this is me eating my own words from before, so I apologize for using his quotes to reinforce my idea. This is simply my opinion, and it does regularly change quite a bit… I am wrong a lot haha

To some degree, I think reframing or shifting of some sort is kind of unavoidable when a show continues a plotline from a previous season, especially in addition to incorporating new characters into the past events. Nonetheless, I do think that the show is deliberately in fact reframing Lucy’s death and why it happened - through Rio’s backstory & POVs, Nick’s character development, and the show’s choice to show Rio having a lack of scars.

1. The backstory and Rio POVs

According to the backstory we’ve been given so far, Nick is this person who apparently is so deeply entrenched in Rio’s life and decision-making but he doesn’t know 1) that Rio killed someone, 2) the fact that Rio killed Lucy for Beth (as opposed to killing Annie, Ruby or Beth), and 3) why, which makes me wonder how exactly they are using Lucy’s death as a plotline in combination with Nick and Rio’s relationship. As I said in my previous post, I believe that the events leading up to and including Lucy’s death were heavily tied into if not directly a reaction to the shooting in 2.13.

According to this season, it seems Nick is Rio’s backstory, and Rio is Nick’s. So far, we’ve gotten approximately eight Rio POV scenes, separate from the girls, including flashbacks (excluding the Fitz kill):

4.02:

-the police station

4.08:

-baby Rio (rotten eggs with Nick)

-teenage Rio (the boxing scene(s)/contrasted with Nick’s POV on the golf course)

-teenage Rio (locker room theft)

-teenage Rio (grandma/stove and locker room arrest)

-adult Rio (outside the police station)

-teenage Rio (with Nick, kitchen flashback - I think this is more just an omniscient POV, however)

4.09:

-the boxing scene (with Nick)

With the exception of the police station in 4.02, Nick has been present in some capacity in each one of these Rio POV scenes. Since it’s only been through the flashbacks that we’re getting the main context of their relationship, it’s clear that the storyline the show is perpetuating this season is that Nick and Rio’s characters are very tightly weaved together in some capacity. And have been historically.

Rio, as a teenager, was a victim of Nick’s early manipulative actions, but in the end, it made him money, so (we are able to gather) he was able to justify falling into a criminal relationship with him. After Rio’s six-month stint in prison, he spent (probably) the entire time resenting Nick (and also, this is where he most importantly - in my opinion - developed adult Rio’s mannerisms haha jk).

So, moving forward with this knowledge, let’s take a look at their adult relationship.

2. Nick’s character development (in relation to Rio)

First and foremost, with Rio, in s1-3, he was an enigmatic, charismatic, clever, powerful, king who loved money, was in charge of every decision, well-connected, and a man of few words etc etc. Now, while Rio is being given more facets as more and more of his relationship with Nick is revealed and explored: he is being illustrated as someone who is dependant on his likely long-time abuser. This may be the case, absolutely, but, in my opinion, takes away from the last three years of work the show put into the character Rio mentioned above, including Manny’s nuanced acting. The reveal of Nick’s current power dynamic over Rio (at least the abusive part) in this past episode was quite jarring and seemed incredibly OOC of the Rio I personally know and love from past seasons, and, it kind of came out of nowhere, in my opinion. To be clear, I have nothing against the storyline of Rio being a victim (have you read my fic? haha), but I think that the way they are progressing this storyline is too abrupt and lacks the subtleties that I would have preferred to see with something like this. Especially considering this is canon.

Returning to the original point though, by assuming this abuser/abused dynamic is where the show is taking Nick and Rio’s relationship, that means that Nick likely seeks to control Rio’s life and decisions as much as he can (props to @00gangfriend00 for this articulation). Related and important side note: @jade-marie pointed out to me that by setting a preceding occurrence of physical mistreatment, the show is (unintentionally) establishing Rio as someone who is stuck in a cycle of abuse, and who seems to seek out abusive relationships and probably misunderstands abuse as intimacy. Rio’s relationships with both Beth and Nick demonstrate this. How much shit they’re both clearly able to get away with, and still have power over him. Which I think is an incredibly problematic message to be sending. This is a critical point, especially regarding the scars/acknowledgement of the shooting, because it offers the writer’s an excuse to write off the entire shooting, and by doing so, they are validating this cycle of abuse. (I won’t apologize for this particular tangent, because I really hope the writers acknowledge the damage this storyline could do if they don’t properly see it through this season)

Since it was confirmed that Nick didn’t know about Lucy (even though Rio supposedly got the alibi of the boxing tickets from him) Rio was, presumably, hiding the true extent (or the entirety) of his relationship with Beth from him. Which - I think from a writer’s perspective - does benefit the show, if they choose not to circle back to the shooting. This also allows them the freedom to ‘pretend’ that Rio got over it by himself. Obviously, there are a lot of issues and plot holes with that in itself, but to me, because Lucy’s death wasn’t something that Nick already knew about, combined with the lack of clarity of who Beth is to Rio in Nick’s mind - he doesn’t know about either the shooting or the consequences of it.

3. The lack of scars

Alright, so lastly - the show’s decision to not put scars on Rio. I think this was absolutely a conscious decision, there must have been at least one person in the building that thought of the fact that a shirtless Manny without scars couldn’t just be brushed aside. As a result, I, personally, think this demonstrates that the show is done with shooting. Pretending it never happened, erasing the trauma, moving on, yeah. Obviously, as I said, I vehemently don’t agree with this direction but I think it’s clear it’s a storyline the show doesn’t want to circle back to. Otherwise, Nick would know about Beth and Rio’s history. Otherwise, Nick would know about Lucy. Otherwise, there would be scars. This is my own opinion of course, but I’m making it based off of a couple of Nick’s lines: “Did you [kill Lucy] for [Beth]?” and in 4.08 when he talks to Beth, “So what’s the deal with you and [Rio]? […] Anyone who wears a cardigan, shouldn’t be doing what he does.” He generally seems unaware of the true state of Beth and Rio’s history and is probably genuinely curious about it considering the amount of control he has (or wants to have) over Rio.

I think that because all of the Rio POVs we’ve had are linked to Nick, I made the jump that we are supposed to believe Nick’s influence is/was at the heart of many of Rio’s decisions in the past. Obviously, during s2 and s3 writing and production, they didn’t actually know they were going to get a s4 or do a Rio backstory, so the fact is, that the character they wrote called Rio then, was someone entirely different from today’s Rio. However, we’re watching different seasons of Good Girls, not a different show from one year to the next. I think because this is the backstory we’re getting, the show is implying that this was the case all along. That s2 and s3 Rio made all of those decisions with Nick, someone he was scared of, hanging over his head in some capacity. Or somewhere in his vicinity. That’s why I have a problem with the implication that Lucy’s death was phrased the way it was, without the scars present. They coated that dialogue with innuendos about Beth and Rio’s sexual history, which is also quite layered, but at least that connection I get. It reminds us that Rio was betrayed in more ways than one. However, without the scars present, and Nick seemingly unaware of the shooting, how does the show intend to justify Lucy’s death with the audience? None of it makes sense. Jade was so incredibly helpful; she cohesively summarized the events - by erasing 2.13, they are erasing Rio’s motivations for 3.05. I just want it to make sense 😩

[cristobalrios]

All of them. All of the joy. Spread it. Fuck you. <3

Spread the Love! Meme | Accepting!

This is an aggressive request to spread joy, but. I will take it.

Also, here's the jerk :p person who requested all of them I mentioned earlier.

1. What's a roleplay blog whose characterization you admire?

So we only have one thread but @therapardalis Thera is fun and honestly what Cris needs at this point in his storyline. He's in an extremely reclusive part of his life and Thera has quite honestly an excellent balance of light conversation ("light" as in small/not delving into details, not content-wise)/asking (and answering) questions and not pushing for details even though he's clearly got some Stuff going on. It's good for him to meet someone like Thera and know he's not the only person going through this kind of thing, and would be more so if/when he learns a bit more about her story and obviously their stories are not identical but they're similar enough in certain ways that it'll be good for him and make him feel less alone.

2. What's a roleplay blog whose writing style you admire?

@agnespjurati (@talvenhenki) Orion, both for Agnes when they RP her and the fics they've written. Also, I know this is stepping out of the RP sphere but shout out to @procrastinatorproject because I adore Lili's fics<3

3. What's a roleplay blog who always has the best plot ideas?

I'm saying Dean @assasenach again because we have the most threads and we talk ooc about ideas/headcanons all the time every day, so.

4. What's a roleplay blog whose artwork/edits/icons you admire?

@musikcr Nix! We just started following each other but her blog is so pretty, honestly. Like I said when I reblogged your promo, your edits are gorgeous.

@heartfledged Sarah's blog is ridiculously gorgeous and also her art is beautiful, whenever she'd post her stuff in the Discord I would have heart eyes. So pretty.

@assasenach Dean has great taste in aesthetic and it's simple compared to the other two mentioned but clean, efficient and pleasing, and I always like the edits he makes.

5. What's the roleplay blog you've been writing with the longest here?

Yeah obviously obviously that's Logan @manenimittliv, February was our, what? 7th anniversary of the first interaction between our first ship Erik/Anna with my Phantom blog @princeofconjurers and their OC (we'd interacted a little bit before that with their Raoul but that was like, a week or something before that, and then at sometime even before that very briefly with their version of Christine's father Gustave Daae but I didn't realize that until sometime later that that was also their blog). We've jumped multiple fandoms together and we pretty much autoship. They're my bff and the only originally online friend I've ever gotten to meet irl (three times) and I love them to death<3

6. What's a roleplay blog who's an absolute joy to talk to ooc?

The people I talk to ooc the most are @manenimittliv Logan and @assasenach Dean my current bffs so obviously I adore talking to them ooc (although I wouldn't say Dean is "joyful" talking to him does make me happy, so before you say anything, shush). I've primarily been talking with @iamselfmade PJ out of character but we're RPing now too but yeah, he's great and I love doing streams with him. I said Serena @empathicstars already for the "friendly mun" thing which honestly this question is rather similar to so maybe I should save some people for that question below, slkdjf

7. What's a roleplay blog you love whose character you didn't know until you started writing with them?

Well, besides OCs, I'm not currently RPing with any canon characters I did not previously know the character before I RPed with them, but I'll say Vasher back when Sarah @heartfledged RPed him on @cosmoshearted (which I would still love to continue/redo if/when you ever revive him as you've said you might do in the past, as well as the stuff with Resool, and I'm always up for stuff with Av<3). I did not know anything about that fandom but it turns out my brother-in-law loves it and he got my mom to start reading those books and I'm just like oh! I've heard of that! That's where Vasher is from (I realized it because my mom mentioned Kelsier who I also heard of from Sarah too) and I will get around to reading it at some point, I promise.

Also, PJ made a blog of a character I don't know and followed me on it and we talked about him and Elnor doing something so I'm gonna put @fifty-one-doc here too

Shout out to the OCs who of course I didn't know until I started writing with them but who I love, Anna @manenimittliv, Lorian/Paris previously Sylar @assasenach, Ellie @mclti, Manny @perfection-reached, Thera @therapardalis, Cheryl @ckingsbury1967, Av @heartfledged, any and all of my friends' OCs! Those are just the ones I'm RPing with rn. Give me all the OCs, I love them.

8. What's a roleplay blog with a friendly mun?

Dany hasn't really been RPing anymore but @empathyvslogic still counts. @heartfledged Sarah is great too. Jeanette @ltbroccoli, Logan @manenimittliv (yes I'm mentioning you again), Jamie @livedtough / @quantumstarpaths, Courtney @starsdestined, Eros @tongowheel, Hope @astraldestiny, Fool @strings-have-been-cut, Gin @alyafae, so many people I'm sure I'm missing some (as well as the ones mentioned above). Honestly everyone is friendly and I love all my mutuals<3

9. What's a roleplay blog whose dedication you admire?

So I've answered this question several times now but I know I did not include @mclti when I talked about multis and though I only roleplay with Ellie, Spyro deserves a mention for that "multis are so dedicated" thing I talked about here. I'm sure I'm missing things again too, but yeah. <3

Also, again I have to do a shout out to Lili even though it's still not RP because @mappinglasirena is a beautiful project and although it's technically more for fics, since that's what Lili writes, I as a Cris and Holo Squad RPer use it too, for RP purposes, so I say it counts as an RP resource blog like I did with the directory. And Lili is dedicated to this and I am here for it. I love our conversations about the tiny little details dearly.

10. What's a roleplay blog that always keeps you pleasantly surprised?

As other people have mentioned, this is kind of a weird question but I'm gonna go with Dean @assasenach. I'm not surprised by anything Dean does anymore, so "keeps" me pleasantly surprised isn't exactly right (although it is for certain things like whenever he compliments me I'm like ????) but this is here because the ship caught me by surprise. Like, OC/Canon (with me playing the canon) is my sweet spot when it comes to ships I fixate on, but I did not know they'd be shipped together until Dean posted a short fic about Cris and Raffi talking about then Sylar but now Lorian, Raffi asking Cris why he accepted his reassignment and Cris asking her what "t'hy'la" means and I was like Oh. Oh I like this, they're really cute (Note: I was already really liking their thread before Dean posted that fic, they had a great dynamic and chemistry and I was here for it) and now we're here.

11. What's a roleplay blog you admire from afar?

Good question. Umm, I'm going to say Jamie @livedtough / @quantumstarpaths because we've talked plenty ooc and we're in several Discords together, I love Jamie, but we haven't actually RPed together and I would love to change that at any time (we have talked about some things in the past throwing ideas around just never got to writing them).

Kame @cadetxtilly / @maldonadonco again we're in a Discord together and ze's really sweet but we haven't RPed, so

And just. Anyone in the Discords I'm active in that I have yet to RP with/have only RPed with a little bit. I love all of you.

[jade-marie]

I am just really ambivalent with Good Girls atm. I can see the show not getting another season, it has always been on the brink of cancellation. And if this season ends with beth and dean still together and it gets cancelled, I will actually laugh at the stans who defend the show and its bad writing. It will leave a bad taste in their mouth, no one can tell me otherwise. I just can't take Brio serious as a ship when the writers are still clinging on to Beth and Dean.

I get that feeling, I really do, and I feel the same tbh.

It’s no secret I didn’t enjoy the direction they chose to take with 2.13, but at that point, I was still pretty hopeful and intrigued to see what they would do with s3. As much as I hated it, it was such an emotionally charged moment and an opportunity for them to really get into both characters heads, but they just didn’t. I felt like a lot of the subtleties of Manny’s acting made it a little bit easier to get a read on how Rio was feeling, at least for me, anyway. But with Beth, nothing about her actions made sense and they still don’t, which is my biggest problem. Like with the hitman storyline, on one hand, it feels like they want me to believe that Beth is trying to kill Rio because she thinks it’s the only way she’s going to come out of the situation alive i.e. she’s scared of him. But then nothing about her actions lines up with that. 

If she was scared of him, she would be too scared to steal from him, she wouldn’t be trying to flirt with him to get her furniture back, she wouldn’t be smashing up his artwork, she wouldn’t want to celebrate with him when she finally gets her business up and running. Which means that there’s a completely separate reason she wants him dead. I’m leaning towards it being an escalation of the ongoing power struggle they’ve had from day one. I feel like that lines up a lot better with the timing of her hiring the hitman. But then I really struggle to rationalise her thought process. How can you sit there and make nice with him, biding your time, until someone kills him for you? How do the writers want me to feel about that? Because I know they don’t want me to think she’s sociopathic, they want me to think that she still feels, but they just do such a bad job of showing it.

I’m such a huge fan of these somewhat toxic cat and mouse dynamics, I love watching that sort of power struggle. But it constantly feels like he’s the one effectively extending an olive branch (at least by his standards) then she throws it back in his face and I’m supposed to celebrate.  With other similar ships, there are moments or storylines that I don’t enjoy (I’m a whore for fluff, it’s no secret) but I understand them and I can see what the writers are trying to achieve, I can understand the characters mindsets and why they’re doing what they’re doing. But with the current Brio situation and Beth, especially, I just don’t get it. So it’s making me feel really disconnected from her as a character and I want her as far away from Rio as possible🤣

And then on top of the current situation between them, it’s been pretty consistent that her reactions towards Rio are so much more extreme than the reactions she has towards Dean. Dean cheats on her, gaslights her, emotionally manipulates and abuses her by faking cancer, he steals her children to force her back into submission, he cuts the printing plate to try and take back control which leads to Lucy dying, and yet she lets him get away virtually scot-free.  On the other hand, Rio makes her feel manipulated by having her drive an empty truck, so she physically assaults him by throwing keys in his face. Rio makes her feel disrespected, so she sets him up and has him arrested. Rio makes her feel used by getting too handsy with Dylan, she immediately tries to find a way to retaliate and stumbles across the pills. Rio makes her feel betrayed and used, she shoots him. Rio exerts financial dominance over her, she pays someone to kill him. This is a consistent pattern of behaviour with her so again, I don’t understand what I’m supposed to feel about Brio when she lets Dean get away with everything.

Sometimes I genuinely wonder if they’re serious about redeeming his character because it feels like Bans and Krebs are basically trying to gaslight the audience in their interviews. They consistently fail to mention him faking cancer which is probably his most vile and manipulative act, to date. And they’ve also failed to address that on the show in any capacity. I truly hope that’s not the case though.

As for the cancellation, NBC recently moved away from live and same-day ratings, which would probably be quite beneficial to good girls because, although their ratings are normally pretty terrible, the show does well on Netflix. 

I get what you mean about stans, I’m really not a fan of when people defend the writing choice to keep “Death” together because, at the end of the day, it severely hinders her character development and sends a bad message, especially for a show that pretends to have a feminist theme. I would probably struggle to contain my laughter if it got cancelled while they’re still together as well🤭

[elixir448]

Do you really think they going to get rid of brio?

Sorry! Took me a minute to get to this! If it’s okay with you, I’ll answer your second question here as well:

Do you think brio fans might well forget about beth be rio being a couple because sound like bill krebs and Jenna bans is ending brio?

My straightforward answer is no, I very much doubt that the writers are going to do away with Beth and Rio as a romantic relationship on the show. I never got ending Beth and Rio vibes off of any of their recent interviews, or actually from any of the spoilers we have received so far.

For those who are interested, Jenna Bans and Bill Krebs have done a few pre-season 4 interviews:

https://tvline.com/2021/03/05/good-girls-season-4-preview-beth-rio-spoilers-interview/

https://www.distractify.com/p/who-dies-good-girls-season-4

https://ew.com/tv/good-girls-season-4-love-triangle-beth-rio/

Specifically, the interview in the EW link above has a quote from Bans:

“And it leaves Beth with a much more clear understanding of who this person is just as a human, which I think both equally softens her to him and also gives her clarity that this is someone you can't really be with romantically long-term. But it makes it all really messy and juicy. There's a lot of sexiness in there too. What's even more fun is that is happens pretty early in the season — I don't think people will have to wait very long.”

I think I’m getting sick of hearing myself say this but interviews definitely need to be taken with a grain of salt. Prior to season 2 airing, Manny said that Beth and Rio were unlikely to ever cross the line and then they banged in 2x04 so...

If we take the above quote at face value, it doesn’t change my opinion at all. To me, Beth and Rio don’t necessarily have to be in a defined relationship. In fact, I’ve never considered that a possibility for these two messes. I could absolutely see them being crime partners or bosses operating within the same region, crossing paths and banging each other but not anyone else haha.

I guess your reaction to that quote is dependent upon what you consider the term couple to mean, in the context of a TV series and for this particular pairing. If, to you, that means Beth and Rio in an established relationship, you may be disappointed. But if you broaden the definition and include unlabelled relationships, partnerships, a mutual understanding, longing with the occasional lapse of judgement and falling into bed together, etc, that might be what we get.

As I said above, I think it’s extremely unlikely that the showrunners will ever scrap Beth and Rio from the show’s storylines. There are a few reasons why.

• Other interviews that the showrunners have done repeatedly make reference to the fact that Beth and Rio are not done and that they love playing with their dynamic.

Bans: Yeah. At the same time, he’s obviously one of our favorite parts of the show. We love the Beth-Rio relationship, the push and pull. And we were going some really, really sort of interesting juicy ways with that, in the last five [episodes]. So, regardless of what happens, I don’t think we’ve seen the last of him.

(https://www.tvinsider.com/933107/good-girls-season-3-finale-season-4-rio-beth-annie-ruby/)

Bans: They've been at each other's throats for 11 episodes. The last five were really going to take us in a new direction. We were going to, and still will in the opening of season 4, throw them into putting that adversarial weaponry aside and having to begrudgingly work together in a way that they haven't before. That chemistry is not something that can be snuffed out, so it brings up all of that good stuff, them working in such close proximity. That's something we're really looking forward to jumping into in season 4 and something we're sad we didn't get to show the fans in season 3, but it's all still coming. You don't go from having the hottest sex of your life to wanting someone dead without conflicted feelings.

(https://ew.com/tv/good-girls-season-3-finale-season-4/)

• While they were filming season 1, Jenna Bans actually thought it would be fun for one of the girls to sleep with Rio and thought Annie would make sense!

Beth and Rio’s relationship was a direct result of Christina and Manny’s explosive on-screen chemistry and, when they realised what they were seeing on screen, the showrunners actually leaned into it and altered the season 1 ending prior to the show being aired. In other words, Beth and Rio were an unexpected surprise but were absolutely not a product of the fandom wanting them. Their relationship exists solely because of the actors and the showrunners cashing in on the goldmine before any audience saw their chemistry. So, it wasn’t fandom pressure that forced the showrunners to make these two an on-screen back and forth relationship; they were already cultivating this relationship and rewrote season 1 to factor this in. This has been stated in interviews and at one of the Good Girls panels that Bans, Krebs and the cast did.

•  Bans makes it pretty clear that whatever happens in season 4 is going to make Beth and Rio’s relationship “juicy and messy”, with a bunch of “sexiness” (isn’t that what it was lol?). She even says that it happens relatively early in the season.

At the end of the day, I have no idea what’s going to happen. We can speculate all we want but I’m sure we’ll all still be shocked by what unfolds when the season airs. I do think we have a lot to look forward to and, personally, I’m just going to enjoy the season and have fun being part of the fandom! ❤️

[blainesebastian]

Thoughts on episode 4x05 of GG? I really liked the episode, especially the parts with the girls and Mick! Would love to hear what you thought of it!

ANON HELLO <3

first of all, ty whoever you are for always wanting to know my opinion on gg. means a lot. second of all, sorry this is so damn late i just watched the episode bc who watches things when they air anymore??? (actually, that’s probably everyone other than me lol oops) thoughts under the cut

in general, loved the episode. i really like the direction we’re going in this season, so far, none of the storylines seem overly boring or ‘repeating’ as some shows tend to do when they get past the second season. the only thing i really didn’t like about the season in general so far was ben being mean to annie (cause she’s my gIRL <3) but i mean, that even feels like that’s being resolved so. one can only hope :3 

i really enjoyed the wire scene. i can’t quite tell the drama surrounding it even though i knew there was some (???) on my dash about it. i thought it the sexual tension was there and poigNANT and not too overly done and felt v organic (manny has a wonderful job with conveying so much with his face, his eyes, so i thought it was excellent all round) 

i continue to feel for annie and just want someone to wrap her in a blanket and kiss her forehead

i also loved, loved mick with the girls. him and the baby in general was great--i love how he continues to kinda surprise us, they’re giving him layers which is awesome. also his dry humor is unparalleled

stan and ruby continue to have the healthiest relationship out of any couple on the show and we stan them for that 

  idk if this is just me or who knows what’s going on but dean has become increasingly less irritating to me this season and i almost kind of enjoy his storyline???? weird flex but ok, might be somethin in my water

i am the tiniest bit annoyed that rio ain’t picking up on beth’s shiftiness. i feel like he has a good read on people--he’s always seemed very observational so...i am hoping he really isn’t selling into this whole ‘i am gullible’ kind of vibe he’s giving off. i love the idea of tension, of rio knowing what beth is up to but never giving anything away. but who knows 

really invested in this push and pull between rio and beth, where it seems like they’re not on the same page (but aren’t they?) and how neither might know what the other is up to (but do they really?). the dynamic is very interesting thus far. 

also very excited to see rio’s background story unfold-- i feel like i’ve been building that up in my head ever since i wrote PWIRB so, i’m interested to see what it’s really like, who his boss is (i saw it might be a brother? i don’t pay too much attention to dash talk / spoilers) but i’m sUPER into it all. 

overall, loved the episode :) i haven’t been keeping my hopes up bc i like to be pleasantly surprised instead of disappointed. so this season has been that for me so far! thanks for asking anon <3 means a lot! 

[milyotp]

okay so i just finished modern family and i feel like i need to vent.

i wasnt a big fan for the first couple seasons because i didnt like that many characters. in fact, i only liked three. gloria, alex and luke. but when you watch a show for eleven whole seasons, its kinda hard not to get attached, even to the characters you dont like. and thats what happened - i got really attached. it always happens to me with long-running shows. i fall in love with them and when they eventually end, i cry. i cried when charmed ended. i cried when friends ended. i cried when desperate housewives ended. i hate greys anatomy now and havent watched it in two years, but i know ill watch the series finale when it comes out in 2047 and i know i will cry.

i usually just cry for a bit, then reflect on the show and what i liked, imagine what could be happening next and eventually move on. but since i have so much free time on my hands right now, thanks to covid19, i figured i might as well write about it. see if i like it. maybe ill become a writer. who knows. i for sure dont.

lets start with what i didnt like about the show.

some characters. phil could be difficult to watch sometimes. jay was always a bit too conservatice. but mitch and cam are who i always disliked the most. they are a really dysfunctional couple and theyre mostly really bad parents. i also dont really like the way eric stonestreet, as a straight man, portrays a gay man. when they were on my screen, there was a 90% chance that i would cringe, roll my eyes or just flat out hate it. the only thing that made their storylines bareable was lily, who turned out to be one of my favorite characters. love her snark and sass.

i was also not a fan of the lack of actual character development for some of them, most notably luke. nolan has a lot of acting potential and they didnt even allow him to dip his toe in.

so, what did i like about the show?

i come from a pretty big family. we get together way too often, theres grandparents, toddlers, a dog. the show felt so relatable to me on so many levels that it was a sheer delight watching it. it felt like they just... understood. what its like, with a big family. mine may not be as diverse, but its just as crazy. and modern family was the first show that gave me that. and i loved every second of that.

thats why i didnt like the finale, though. i get why they decided to let it play out like this. they wanted a sense of goodbye and the only way to reach that was by having them say an actual goodbye. but ive never been a fan of that.

because it always leaves you on a sad note. the dunphy kids all moved out and/or far away. the tucker pritchets moved far away. the delgado pritchets are gone for the summer. manny is gone for a year. theyre all crying about when they will get to see each other again. and its just...

unrealistic and sad. for me, at least. i mean, dont get me wrong, the show was never about realistic behaviour. but it was real. the family person inside me is screaming at the way they all decided to just up and leave. going to switzerland for work, just like that. uprooting their teenage daughter to move to missouri, just like that. going to college in a state far away, just like that. its probably a matter of how much you actually wanna be around your family, but not one of them ever didnt like it. i know i love being around my family. i would never move that far away. not for work, not for a relationship, not for education. i prioritize differently obviously, and im not saying the execs created utter bullshit with that finale, but i am saying that it was really disappointing to watch. and i know for a lot of people, its just how life goes. the kids move out to go to college. siblings move out and far away for job opportunities. all that jazz.

but portraying them like a close family that relies on and thrives around each other, and then having them give all that up in one episode. just sucks, is what im saying.

i wouldve done it differently, obviously. i wouldve let mitch, cam, lily and rex stay in their new, beautiful house. i wouldve let haley, dylan and the twins move into mitch and cams old house, still. i wouldve loved to see alex excel at work - but closer to home, because i wouldve also liked to see her value her family, which shes never done much. and i wouldve liked to see luke ace college - but nearby, for the same reason as alex. and then you can end the show with them all sitting around together in someones living room, or around the dinner table, and show the audience that even though everyones seperate life is important, having a family that sticks together matters just as much.

thats what i wouldve liked to see. but we dont always get what we want.

and where the hell was stella the entire time?