#where it says characters for the bensler one i mean just elliot

[wadesprincessboy]

Bensler is green, morgan/garcia is pink, barson is blue

"do i ship it" chart but its pure hatred instead. do i hate seeing those bitches together

[sapphicsaro]

For the SVU asks thing: 10, 13, 15, and 17! :) absolutely love your blog btw!

hey! thanks sm — i really appreciate it <3

10.) best olivia hair season

listen i am BISEXUAL, mariska has always looked incredible regardless of the hairstyle — HOWEVER, i do happen to love her with longer hair.

i would say my top styles are: season 1 bob, season 8 BANGSSSSSS, current season (23) waves, and that straight middle part shoulder length from season 17

13. least fave character past/present

oof, well all the perps are disgusting (thats a given). so it depends, i HATE that one DA bucanon? or however tf his name is spelled, but you’re supposed to hate him…so? not sure if that works?

if its least faves that we were supposed to like, number one is kim greyleck. i was/am a huge casey novak stan so seeing her right after already made me biased but she was horrible with the victims. could not stand her.

as for current? the new guy. something with a v? he replaced kat which was a blow to me as a queer :/ i don’t find him likable at all and i’m kind of upset the show replaced a queer woman of color with him. idk! just me tho??

15. which character dresses the best?

i better not get shit on for this but—

every. single. outfit. that angela wheatley wore, i would rock in a HEARTBEAT. mama came in, blew up kathy, then brought it to the runway.

also liv’s coats??? idk if y’all can tell from the breakdowns but i’m so into the trench coats and blazers. 10/10.

17. all time favorite episode

with a show that has 500 episodes, there’s no way i’d be able to choose just one!

some faves (& why):

slaves (S1) - the psych evals. the minute i fell in love with each character…oof. from cragen’s break, to olivia’s breakdown, to munch’s callout, then monique and elliot?? so good. and this is when i really realized how much me and olivia are alike! so yep, a top contender for sure!!

night (S6) - again, love casey novak and when she got hurt we got to see a vulnerable side of a character who was pretty reassured and tough. plus mrs. potts, doc oc, AND rocket raccoon?? amazing

raw (S7) - this was just a really good plot twisty episode and shocked me the first time i saw it with it’s ending. tough to stomach as a jewish person, though.

blast (S7) - AS A MELINDA WARNER STAN, i have nothing more to say. what a queen 💅🏼

(can i say all of season 9????)

zebras (S10) - yes, for bensler, but also for gwen 🥺 i love carol kane so much ugh

perverted (S11) - all the bensler vibes but also a damn good episode.

(here’s where i confess that i’m catching up on svu i’ve missed and my knowledge of episodes is a little weak when it comes to seasons (11-21). i’ve just finished 16, 17, 18, so i’m catching up!! but apologies if ive missed a good episode!!)

“benson in trouble” (multiple seasons) - idk if i can call them favorites because that sounds wrong(?), but as a survivor i really find it cathartic to watch the episodes where olivia is in trouble (the william lewis arc, the townhouse incident, etc.). my therapist says it’s because i feel a sense of control and know what what’s about to happen, know that she will survive it and bc i see myself like her, i feel a sense of relief. tmi? ahhh

unholiest reunion (S17) - just a thrilling episode!!

heartfelt passages (S17) - dodds…. and tucker/liv!

gone baby gone (S19) - cmon, so good. but also i just love any and all scenes ever that we get of olivia being a mom

part 33 (S20) - very interesting introspect on the behind the scenes of the detectives. i really enjoyed this debate and honestly was captivated by their reactions.

the return of the prodigal son (S22) - i mean… i don’t need to explain this one.

(ALL of organized crime. no joke, i think i like it more than the current episodes of svu. i much prefer how they are writing their characters!!)

[themillsdaughter]

Okay, so I have thoughts on the bensler reunion and feel like if I don’t write it somewhere, it’ll just become one of those subjects one ruminates over for the rest of their lives until they become bitter and old and shake their fist in silent rage.

Twitter is filled with people who haven’t watched it yet, hence me posting about this here after years of being inactive in this fandom. if anyone’s interested, I’d love to chat about this too, but in case it isn’t clear by now, major spoilers and unhappy ranting ahead.

Alright, first off, I feel like I should put a few disclaimers from the get-go: one, i have not watched the Organized Crime episode past the letter part bc who even has the energy, two, despite everything I say here, I do genuinely love the characters, and three, I was never, ever, ever fully on board with Stabler coming back. I thought it was a stupid idea since I first found out about it.

I mean, come on. It’s literally been ten years. Ten freaking years without any contact (do not get me started on that semper fidelis thing) and NOW they wanna bring him back? Now that Olivia is settled as the captain, now that she has moved on with her life and is finally as happy as she can? Are you kidding me? And not only that, I had a feeling the show wouldn’t handle all the emotional bagage as it should. SVU is one of my favorite shows, I’ve quite literally watched it for half of my life (even before I was even fluent in English). I love this show with a ferocity I can’t quite put into words, but it has, without a shadow of a doubt, been losing it’s power for at least a couple of seasons now, if not more.

As I said, I haven’t been participating in the fandom for some years, so I can’t speak as to why it’s been going a bit downhill, though I do have a suspicion that it has something to do with the fact that it’s been going on for, hahah, literally over two decades.

But anyways, that’s beside the point. What I’m trying to say here is that I thought it was stupid to bring Elliot back. The show doesn’t need him. It might need the drama, but absolutely not him.

Either way, since what I think has no actual implication in the serious world of tv dramas, it was happening anyway and the thirteen-year-old bensler shipper in me could not help herself. I had to watch it.

I expected to be angry, I expected Olivia to go against her better judgement at least once because he asked pretty please. I expected them to share at least one kiss.

Only one of those expectations wasn't met (to my delight).

Two minutes into the episode, I was already yelling at the TV because I swore she was going to hug him when she first saw him. Thankfully, that didn’t happen, but the eye contact was already too much.

But nothing, and I mean nothing, could have prepared me for Kathy’s part in this episode. She was hurt. Someone tried to kill her. Uh-uh.

Thinking from a creative point of view, it does make sense. She’s been his wife for god knows how many years now, he’s involved with some pretty big crimes, someone wanted to kill him, she was colateral. Beautiful, classic, awesome.

What does not make sense is how the episode was set up. WHY should we feel this anguish, this great sadness over Kathy? Sure, we’ve known about her for as long as Elliot was on the show, that is, since the very beginning. But, and I’m sorry to repeat this again, IT HAS BEEN TEN YEARS. The viewers attachment to Kathy is a very very thin thread.

And yes, I do understand that the point was to focus on Elliot’s loss, on his pain, his fear of losing his wife, the mother of his children. However, that wasn’t even properly done, either. Were they in love again? He said they were happy, but how so? Where were they at in their love story? Were they a family again, were they facing problems? Were they distant, but still married? The show didn’t answer any of that, so, when she passes (which, to be honest, was predictable), that’s that. She’s dead. Elliot cries, Liv’s in shock. Okay.

Granted, it was the very first episode of his return, I cannot speak over what will be revealed in later episodes of either shows, but I personally feel that we weren’t given enough to feel. It was all based on the expectation that we would remember everything that happened and that we would still have the same attachment to everything.

And now we get to the duo of the hour: Olivia still-in-love-with-the-same-man-who-abandoned-her-a-decade-later Bensler and Elliot agressive-man-but-with-a-tinsy-bit-of-more-control Stabler.

Here I do admit that part of my frustration is my own fault. I wished, prayed, hoped and desperately wanted Liv to get angry. To give him some sort of verbal smack-down for what he did. Yes, it makes perfect sense for her to just shut it out as best she can. It’s Liv we’re talking about, so that’s very in character for her, but it still didn’t give me the satisfaction I feel we deserved to see her tell him to go to hell. (Furthermore, I think it would have been a fantastic way to showcase how much she’s grown without him. Yes, she used to be soft with him, but now she’s assertive, she wants more for herself, she knows she deserved more than what he did).

The tears, the apology, the hug in the hospital.... it was all....fine. It was fine. It was them. It just lacked something more. It lacked some sort of spark.

Don’t get me wrong, I wanted to love their reunion despite myself. I wanted to be wrong and watch a beautifully executed, messy, sweet reunion of the ship which literally made me join fandom life, learn about fanfiction and learn English. I wanted that more than anything, but I didn’t expect it.

What I expected was exactly what I got. I smelled that scene of Elliot begging her to let him in the interrogation room, giving her those Puss In Boots eyes and Olivia just folding from the minute they announced his return. And it made me angry, because the whole message they’ve been sending us through all these seasons, of Liv growing into the main character, into someone who wasn’t El’s partner anymore, into a f***ing Captain was backpaddled real quick.

And yeah, there is something to be said about the effect he will always have on her, no matter how many years. But is that really what she, as a character, deserves? Is that even healthy?

I probably have more thoughts, but this is far, far too long already.

In general, the episode was fine. It wasn’t awful. it was also not great. Do I wanna watch the rest? No. Will I? Probably.

Oh, and just before I go: WHAT THE F*** WAS UP WITH FIN???? HELPING HIM OUT??? TELLING ELLIOT UNSOLICITED INFORMATION ABOUT LIV’S LIFE??? ABOUT HER LOVE LIFE??? Yeah, sure, he was a bensler shipper, whatever, but excuse me??? You’ve actively participated in her life for twenty years and think it’s healthy to try and make her patch up with a man who just, in her own words, DISAPPEARED?

Love the dude, wanted Olivia to yell at him too.

Anyways, if anyone made it this far and feels like talking about it, I am absolutely open to that.

[dxringred]

SVU for the in depth fandom questions, of course!

Whoever sent me this is an angel and I am eternally in your debt. Also going to put this under the cut because I know before even writing it that it’s going to be long. x

Top 5 favourite characters: well anyone who knows me knows that Casey Novak is my favorite character, of course. I also really love Melinda Warner, and Elizabeth Donnelly. And Fin Tutuola and John Munch make me laugh quite frequently so they’d probably round off my top five.

Other characters you like: generally speaking I like most of the regulars? If I had to pick, like, five more they’d probably be, in no particular order: George Huang, Alexandra Cabot, Amanda Rollins, Judith Siper and Ruben Morales.

Least favourite characters: Any of the ADAs who appear after Season 9, apart from maybe Sonya Paxton whose complexity and uncountable character flaws I really loved; Dale Stuckey although I did feel quite sorry for him when it came down to it; Rafael Barba; and Elliot Stabler.

Otps: I won’t lie, I literally ship nobody from SVU? If I had to pick any ship it’d probably be Olivia/Casey because they’re mostly the only characters I pay attention to, and Olivia/Amanda comes directly after it. But I do have a soft spot for Munch/Fin because they’re pretty cute together. I also had a brief thing for Elliot/Casey during one rewatch which was weird as hell.

Notps: lmao anything involving Barba, particularly Barisi although I don’t watch the newer seasons so it’s not really something I have to worry about. I’m pretty much impartial to every other ship there is if I’m honest.

Favourite friendships: basically Casey and everyone? Though I really like her friendship with Munch, and I like Munch’s “friendship” with Fin. And I like Melinda’s friendship with everyone when it is shown. Bensler was pretty good too before S6 when everything went to the dogs between them.

Favourite family: there are practically only two families on SVU so this doesn’t help, but I’d have to pick the Stablers because I actually really like Kathy (and had a little bit of a crush on Maureen).

Favourite episodes: I have a list of all my favorites in my drafts and there are literally 40 names on that list. Night is definitely my favorite of all time (along with Serendipity and Raw) even if it does get me super emotional, but off the top of my head other episodes would include: Hate, Scavenger, Poison, Goliath, Parts, Painless, Game, Screwed, Influence, Alternate, Pretend, Authority, Svengali, Savant, Gone, Manipulated, Mean, Blinded, Impulsive, Reparations, Bound and Alien. (I’m pretty sure I could actually recite the entire list off of the top of my head which is pretty sad lmao.)

Favourite season/book/movie: I love all of Seasons 5-9 but Season 5 is probably my favorite in terms of episodes, with 6 at a very close second.

Favourite quotes: honestly most of the stuff Casey says because she literally just sasses everyone. But some of my favorites in general probably have to be:

“The Patriot Act. This convoluted piece of legislature isn’t worth the paper it’s written on!“ 

"I’m not saying I didn’t see crazies in Brooklyn but you guys are cuckoo magnets." 

"If you think Jack McCoy is going to let me get away with that then you are crazier than he is." 

"His dirty laundry is cleaner than my entire wardrobe." 

"D'you know what you get when you mix fertilizer and diesel fuel? Oklahoma City." 

“Your jacket has more than a few excessive force complaints and if IAB finds there’s any merit to Dixon’s story you’re a liability I just won’t tolerate." 

Best musical moment: I’ve got to say I love the opening theme. I also like the music at the end of Goliath, and the soundtrack at the end of Screwed because that always gets me emotional. There’s also a scene in Avatar where the background music is really good. Generally a lot of the background music is really good to be honest.

Moment that made you fangirl/boy the hardest: probably when Casey made her reappearance in Reparations; that sent me over the edge, let me tell you. Liv’s return in S8 also gets me quite a bit when I watch that episode.

When it really disappointed you: even though I’ve only watched the episode once, and have literally no recollection of it, Cold is an episode I will never talk about, never watch, and never admit the existence of. My other big disappointment is the end of Dana Lewis which I am so angry about, god damn it she deserved better!!!

Saddest moment: Night is the saddest episode ever, I absolutely cannot watch it without shedding tears. It’s bad enough that Casey gets beaten to within an inch of her life in her own office (fun fact: the actress actually got beaten up in real life for that scene which makes it 10x worse) but then you see her in the hospital and she’s crying and all banged up and I sWEAR TO GOD. Sometimes I put off watching the episode for days because I cannot mentally prepare myself despite watching it six billion times before.

Most well done character death: Sonya Paxton. It’s one of three I recall and really hurts me when I do decide to watch that particular episode. Because for me she was an interesting character and I quite liked her. And she really seemed to be helping herself out, and trying to get better. (At least from what I recall.) But then she just gets murdered and still manages to help nail the bastard who killed her.

Favourite guest star: Robin Williams in Authority automatically springs to mind personally, just because it’s one of the more memorable ones. I don’t really pay the greatest amount of attention to guest stars (because I never recognize anyone) but the other person I can think of is Mary Stuart Masterson who played Rebecca Hendrix in S6 and a couple of other episodes. Oh and Marlo Thomas as Mary Clark in S5, she was great too. I love watching her in the few episodes she appeared in. 

Favourite cast member: who am I kidding, everyone knows I’m going to say Diane Neal. God I love her. She’s super funny, passionate, and very into politics and I just love her.

Character you wish was still alive: Sister Peg. Plain and simple.

One thing you hope really happens: I lowkey really want Casey Novak to come back but I know that’s never going to happen, especially not while Barba is still around. But a girl can dream. 

Most shocking twist: for me Serendipity and Trade both had great twists. In terms of throwing you off, Serendipity is notorious for it, and Trade’s twist comes about in, like, the last few minutes of the episode and it’s pretty surprising. (Or at least I thought it was when first watching.)

When did you start watching/reading?: this is such a hard question for me to answer because I don’t entirely remember? I remember vague parts of my childhood where I watched parts of episodes, but that’s only because my mom used to have it on the television all the time. I think I finally decided to watch the entire show from start to finish when I was 11? So almost 7 years ago now. (Fun fact: I’m older than the show by literally only one month and a day lol.) Then after one rewatch I dropped it and occasionally watched the current season. And then I randomly got back into the show last May time, watching from Serendipity to the current season. And the only reason I started at Serendipity and not S1 is because I had a weird epiphany where I vaguely remembered the plot of the episode as well as the name and decided to Google it.

Best animal/creature: it’s got to be Basketball Monkey. For sure. That thing was damn cute.

Favourite location: the courtroom and the DA’s office. Courtroom scenes are always my favorite, for whatever reason, and I like the style of Casey’s office in particular. Very professional, and lots of books. I will also never forget the one time we went to Casey’s apartment.

Trope you wish they would stop using: Saint Benson. I just- it put me off of the show among other things, and I honestly don’t like it. Also, I don’t know if it counts as a trope, and obviously it doesn’t exist in current seasons, but Stabler losing his shit with the ADAs pisses me off. He does it way more than the other detectives and it winds me up. 

One thing this show/book/film does better than others: nowadays? Nothing, that’s for sure. In older seasons, however, I’d say things were more original compared to what I see on TV toady. It’s less soapy and more “hardcore”, with the different episodes tackling different issues. One of my favorite episodes in this sense is Alien, which I definitely recommend because it tackles sexuality as does Closet. Influence and Blinded are also rather good when it comes to mental illness, and Raw is fairly good with, like, addressing racial supremacy etc.

Funniest moments: that one time Casey made a house call to a judge and stumbled upon him playing a game of poker with, like, four other judges. That scene is forever etched into my mind and cracks me up every time I even think about it.

Couple you would like to see: probably Munch/Fin. Don’t know why, but it’d be them for sure. Out of the current cast I’d probably pick Amanda/Olivia, just because. 

Actor/Actress you want to join the cast: I would personally love to see an appearance from some of the previous NCIS cast members? I have no clue as to why, I just would. 

Favourite outfit: this is going to sound so dorky, but I’d love all of Casey’s wardrobe? From her casual clothes to her work outfits a lot of the stuff she wears is stuff I’d totally go out in. In fact, a lot of my school wardrobe is inspired by her work clothes so I’m already making some headway there. Shame I can’t walk in heels though.

Favourite item: it’s a clothing item so I guess it counts, but Casey’s “Sex Crimes” softball jersey. (I think it’s a softball jersey?) It’s the cutest and I love the colors. I also lowkey want her tan briefcase/satchel from, like, S5/6. 

Do you own anything related to this show/book/film?: I own Seasons 1-12 on DVD but, other than that, depressingly no because I live outside of the US and the NBC store doesn’t ship to me. (The bastards.) I’d kill - like literally murder someone - for their official SVU hoodie. And there is a poster on Amazon I’m considering getting for my wall, although where on my wall I’ll put it I have no idea.

What house/team/group/friendship group/family/race etc would you be in?: my favorite team is from Seasons 5-8: Novak, Benson, Stabler, Munch, Fin, Cragen, Warner and Huang. (Plus the others like O’Halloran, Judy and Morales.)

Most boring plotline: even though I love Kathy, generally anything involving Elliot’s marriage. Like dear lord there was so much drama there. I also wasn’t a fan of the Dani Beck episodes - I was pretty impartial to her as a character but for some reasons the episodes lacked a little more than usual.

Most laughably bad moment: no clue, sadly my memory isn’t doing well today.

Best flashback/flashfoward if any: I don’t typically remember anything before S5 or anything after S9 so if there weren’t any flashbacks in those seasons then I don’t have one and if there were then I don’t remember them lol. I’m terrible I know.

Most layered character: I am a biased piece of shit so obviously I’m going to say Casey! From what I’ve seen a lot of people tend to just paint her as one dimensional and arrogant, but there’s actually a lot more to her character and it’s dropped in through certain lines in certain episodes, and of course then there are episodes where you find out more about her - Influence and Blinded are key to getting the most out of her past. I love when they explore her conflicts with mental illness, and how she still feels guilt regarding what happened with her ex, Charlie. 

And then there are episodes like Gone where you get to see more of her emotional side and you realize how hard she tries and how personally she takes her cases etc. There are other things too, often dropped in little pieces of dialogue, but you get just enough about her to paint a picture but not so much that she becomes uninteresting if you know what I mean. I love her, personally, and think there’s so much more to her than just supposed arrogance etc.

Most one dimensional character: from what I’ve seen of current seasons, I’d say Benson and arguably Barba. 

Scariest moment: I don’t know about scariest, but the scene that always has me on the edge of my seat (or rather hunched over my laptop in bed) is when Casey gets attacked in Night; the same goes for the courtroom shooting in Raw. Creepiest scene? Definitely the one in Signature where they go to a serial killer’s torture chamber and it’s just very horrific. Well, not so much for me after the initial viewing because stuff like that honestly fascinates me, I won’t lie, but out of all the scenes I’ve scene it’s definitely one that stands out. There’s also a scene in Streetwise where Elliot shows autopsy photos to a suspect and one is of a little girl with her eyes gouged out and face slit from ear to ear. It’s a very horrifying frame if you pause it at the right moment.

Grossest moment: usually any time Warner (or someone else) does something involving blood/organs/whatever, because I’m a tad bit squeamish. One instance I can think of right now is in Serendipity when she extracts a tube from inside a man’s arm. Makes me shudder a little. 

Best looking male: honestly they all look the same to me. Probably O’Halloran? 

Best looking female: Casey Novak but S8 Olivia is very beautiful too.

Who you’re crushing on (if any): current cast? Nobody. From the show overall? Definitely Casey, though I’m pretty sure anyone reading this saw that coming.

Favourite cast moment: as in offscreen? Because there was this one time where Diane Neal did, like, a mini tour of the set and it was simultaneously the cutest and funniest thing I’ve seen. So probably that.

Favourite transportation: I lowkey love when everyone gets into their cars and all of the sirens go on and a car chase ensues. 

Most beautiful scene (scenery/shot wise): probably the end of Screwed because it’s all shot very beautifully. But I also like the overhead shot in Influence where Liv and Casey are on an upper floor in the courthouse looking down at the defendant and a gaggle of reporters.

Unanswered question/continuity issue/plot error that bugs you: usually I don’t pay enough attention to notice. One that I’ve seen others take issue with is when Casey reappeared in S12 and there was a debate about whether or not she was censured or disbarred and what was going on there, but it’s the only thing that springs to mind and it wasn’t like a big thing.

Best promo: there was one that got me back into SVU when I was a little younger, and I don’t remember what season the promo was for but I remember they played This is War by 30 Seconds to Mars in the promo because I spent weeks trying to find the song afterwards and watched the promo every time it came on the TV like it was a full episode.

At what point did you fall in love with this show/book: last May when I rewatched it was when I properly fell in love with it again, at least enough to watch it multiple times, buy 12 of the DVDs and follow a bunch of blogs on Tumblr.