#Adrians polite but condescending

[robocops-a-christ-allegory]

Blackthorn, Peacemaker, and Adrian Chase are all probably the worst customers to get individually but serving the three of them together would literally be a nightmare. Blackthorn will try to jump over the counter because you fucked up Adrians burger

[zheida]

12, 24, and 49 for Adrian? 👀

12. What’s something that makes them laugh every single time? Be specific!

when people are outright rude to him LOL not as a condescending gesture or anything, he usually just laughs because he thinks people are being playful and poking fun at him or something and he likes to be a good sport about it. He pretty much never really assumes when people are being mean that they are ACTUALLY being mean, its just how they talk or they are trying to get a reaction so he just laughs !!

24. Did they take a cookie from the cookie jar? What kind of cookie was it?

absolutely not, he is probably offering the last one to all his brothers in the house currently and wouldnt dream of it. and its probably some fancy french cookie that costs way too much.

49. Would they eat something they find gross to be polite?

YES................ AND HE WILL MAKE A LOT OF FACES. he will definitely say a lot of complimentary things in the process though, if it ever gets out that he didnt like it and offended someone he might die on the spot.

[serialfirstdater]

After the Sun: Round-Up #4-6 for 2022

I was told some people are still reading this blog, and considering that I have re-entered the dating scene for 2023 after a three-month break from the apps (gasp, what happened there? I will get there soon), I will update this blog with the rest of my 2022 dates. I am going to try to give snippets on everyone versus giving them full blog posts. Since frankly, not all of them deserve a whole post and I don’t have the time anymore lmao. But I want to at least document it before I start a fresh batch of dating stories for 2023 (if I can keep up).

#4: The Letter Grade Guy

I went on a date with an engineer who took me to a really nice restaurant in Toronto. I was quite impressed with his restaurant choice (Marked) and we had a really good conversation.

During the date I told him about my dating experiences and how I gauged my dates compatibility with me. He joked how even though I am not a fan of the sciences in school, I dated like a scientist because I analyzed and took data on everything (like how I’m recording my dates on this blog LOL).

Anyway, I thought it was a good first date. After the date, he texted me and asked what his “letter grade” was. He asked because he knew from the questions he asked me, I would rate a guy and the dates I go on (I personally would not volunteer the info myself!). I said something along the lines of “No letter grade perse. Thought we had a good conversation and got along. The restaurant choice was great!” I never heard from him again, LOL. I guess he didn’t like the fact I wasn’t heavily praising him, even though my comment was not negative.

#5: The No-Marriage Dentist

I matched with a guy that I thought was sorta cute from the photos. Until I saw him irl and realized, he wasn’t really my type physically (minus him being a bit taller than me and the fact that he was a dentist). When I agreed to meet up with him, we have barely spoken at that point via the apps. But I was free and down so I said yes when he asked me out.

I soon realized how incompatible we were, especially when he told me he didn’t believe in the institution of marriage. People like that, no offence but, makes me roll my eyes. If they are afraid of marriage because their parents didn’t work out, that’s more understandable. But once it gets very political, I’m out.

Either way, I knew that it wasn’t going to go anywhere. I wasn’t sure where his interests in me lied during the date but he at least knew I was looking for something different. His personality also truly irked me, a mix of condescending (or narcissistic) and socially awkward. AND he lied about his name. He claimed his name was Adrian on the apps and he even said it when he texted me. But he revealed to me his real name in person and I was immediately turned off. Apparently it was for privacy because he didn’t want to be recognized by clients or something as a dentist? Anyway, I thought that was dumb. 

He took me to a couple of nice bars though, so I will say I appreciated that at least. We never spoke again afterwards.

#6: The New Realtor

Ahhh, I feel really bad for the New Realtor (who only got licensed very recently when we have met, hence the nickname obvs). When I first met him, I was completely taken by him. I was so into him, like Cupid’s arrow. I thought he was so cute. He had a tattoo too, so I thought it just made him hotter. He also seemed like a husky fit guy too. So on our first date, I thought it went very well and I expressed my interest.

However after talking about him with my friends, I obviously showed his photo to them. The moment my best friend saw his picture, she couldn’t control her reaction and immediately went, “Ew.” My other friends were like, “Don’t say thatttttttt.”

But it was too late, it was like a seed that was planted in my head. I was convinced by my other close friend to tell him to take me to CNE (a huge fair that happens in Toronto at the end of summer every year). As a romantic, I always wanted to go on a CNE date or some sort of fair date. So I told him I was interested in checking out the CNE and he agreed.

When I saw him in person for our second date, something in my brain started turning and my interest started to gradually decline before it went full speed ahead as the date progressed. He was nice enough to also drop off another friend I was with at the CNE since she was going to see a mutual friend there. 

For the date, he decided to get us the unlimited rides, which I thought was excessive and when I later realized how I lost complete interest in him, I felt AWFUL. But I thought I should at least make the best of it, right? Wrong, I got sick after the third ride.

Maybe it’s because I was about to hit 30 but the third ride spun so much and did too many turns that I had some sort of vertigo. The New Realtor tried to be as gentlemanly as possible. Offered his arm for me to hold onto when I was dizzy, offered to get me food, still got me food when I said no and a bottle of water to hydrate with. Basically, he did everything I would want on a cute date.

However, I knew it was completely over when he tried to put his arm around my seat at a simple ride we did later and all I could do was to sit as far away from his arm as possible. When I am physically repulsed, I literally cannot change my mind. The ick was too strong and everything he did bothered me. I felt terrible.

Towards the end he kept offering to get me food but because I knew I had to reject him later, I didn’t want to take anymore of his generosity. When his car stopped in front of my place to drop me off, I immediately turned to him and went,

“I want to thank you very much for this date. You were a great guy and this date was very lovely. Unfortunately this would have to be the last date for us.”

Instead of asking why or being upset, he said, “That’s okay. Feel free to hit me up whenever you want.” He took it so well that I felt even worse for not liking him anymore!

In the end, I realized that I lost all attraction in him physically and also realized he was not as fit as I thought he was... Alas, I hope he finds a really nice girl that likes him because he would treat her like a princess. Unfortunately I was not his princess.

[tired-college-student-writing]

#WaynesAngel

The Maribat AU by @ozmav and @maribat-archive is all I can think about atm, so enjoy more of this

Summary- After Grayson posts a video on the wrong twitter, Damian feels like he should lose his social media privileges, and possibly his hand.

Part 1

Part 4

Part 5 (HERE)

This was a impusle write as I was trapped in a car for over 50 hours in three days. Please do not ask for another chapter. 

_________________________________________

Wayne’s Angel @FashionInGotham

Why is it weird that I’ve never met a Bat before? It’s not like Damian or the Waynes have ever seen Ladybug or Chat Noir or the Miraculous Team in Paris, and they’ve been in Paris a lot more than I’ve been in Gotham #confusion #AMERICAEXPLAIN

Jason Todd Lives @BestTodd

@FashionInGotham Whomst the Fuck is Ladybug and Chat Noir?? Also, Miraculous Team Sounds like some magical girl anime Cass watches

Call me Cass @CainYouBelieve

@FashionInGotham @BestTodd 🖕🏼

Wayne’s Angel @FashionInGotham

@FashionInGotham @BestTodd @CainYouBelieve They’re the Paris superheroes, they showed up almost five years ago to fight the little bitch of a villain, Hawkmoth and his stupid peacock assistant, Mayra.

Dick Grayson @AFlyingGrayson

@FashionInGotham @BestTodd @CainYouBelieve @ FashionInGotham WHAT?! Paris has heroes??

Wayne’s Angel @FasionInGotham

@FashionInGotham @BestTodd @CainYouBelieve @ FashionInGotham @AFlyingGrayson Oh yeah, I forgot that the mayor was trying to keep it a secret from the rest of the world #MyB But yeah Ladybug and Chat Noir have been there the longest but there’s also Abeille, Viperion, Ryuko, Pegasus, King Monkey, Bunnyx, and Badulf

Chloe raised an eyebrow at her friend as she saw the tweet thread that was quickly going viral, “You realize my dad is going to flip about this.”

“He deserves it,” Adrian pipped up from where he was painstakingly painting Kagami’s nails a deep burgundy.

The other teen heroes hummed in agreement as Chloe huffed.

“Well Yeah, but I was hoping to do it with a little extra flair than a twitter thread.”

Alix snorted as she finished up Kim’s banana yellow toes, drawing a crude smiley face on his big toe with bright blue, “She’s dating the youngest kid of the most influential family in the world and has like 100 million followers. Plus she called Hawkmoth a little bitch and it already has 90k likes. I call that flair.”

It was a surprise when Nathanial had had his freak out during his second battle,  against a Crimson Peacock event no less, and had called her Lady Marinette in front of the other temporary heroes, but had lead to many nights like the one they were having now. Onesies of each other’s heroes’ identities donned as they lounged around Chloe’s room, simply enjoying each other’s company after a long patrol. Chloe and Adrian had demanded they have a spa night, which is why everyone was either giving or receiving mani-pedis while they waited for their face masks to finish. It was nice, to have so much support outside of the masks, especially as they entered their final year in Lychee.  

Marinette rolled her eyes, “It’s only 98 million, Alix, and plus I figured four months after I made this account was long enough to make the slip up seem genuine. We need to catch Hawkmoth soon, or else this entire mess will get a lot more complex.”

They all frowned as they realized the truth behind her words. They were all facing hard decisions if they couldn’t pin the man down, not like they hadn’t already sacrificed so much to continue the battle. Max had already turned down graduating early and a full ride to MIT, citing his desire to graduate with his friends before moving across the globe. Luka had been invited to tour with Jagged, only to politely decline, telling the pouting rockstar that he wanted to do some soul finding first. Kim had given up a summer training camp with the French Olympic team. Alix had given up going on an expedition with her dad and brother, missing out on the chance to explore the dunes of Egypt. Marinette had turned down three internships at this point, one from Audrey Bourgeois, One from Raven Baxter, and lastly and most devastatingly, one from Edna Mode.

They needed to end this, before the overwhelming feeling of their futures slipping right between their fingers got them akumatized.

Tim Drake Offical @TJDrake

Seeing the demon spawn panic when he realized @FasionInGotham isn’t any safer from maniacs in Paris then she is in Gotham is strangely endearing and vaguely terrifying #whyismyfamilylikethis

Duke of Hazard @DoneWithTheRich

@TJDrake Like you and Barb aren’t frantically searching for anything you can find on the Miraculous Team and these weird-ass butterfly dude.

Call me Cass @CainYouBelieve

@TJDrake @DoneWithTheRich Bugout.com, It’s in French but informative.

Tim Drake Offical @TJDrake

@TJDrake @DoneWithTheRich @CainYouBelieve How did you find this before Barbs and me????

Call me Cass @CainYouBelieve

@TJDrake @DoneWithTheRich @CainYouBelieve @TJDrake Alfred.

The news swept up the story in an instant and suddenly the whole world was demanding to know what the Parisian Mayor had been thinking and why the Justice League hadn’t been involved.

It wasn’t long until the entire Miraculous Team was seated in front of the Louvre. Countless new agencies from around the world were present, eager to hear the story of the sickeningly young-looking heroes, but the one video that received the most views was the shaky camera videos that were uploaded to Marinette’s Twitter, as they shortened the two-hour-long Press conference into manageable clips that highlighted the most important points.

Wayne’s Angel @FasionInGotham

Full Lineup, Damn. Haven’t seen that since the last time we had a Scarlet Moth incident. For those who need context, this is like seeing the entire founding Justice League together to us Parisians.

The clip attached showed A panning shot as they introduced all of the heroes. Ladybug and Chat Noir sat in the center of the long table flanked by Vipirion, plucking his lyre absentmindedly, Abeille, glaring down her nose at the reporters, a beaming King Monkey waving excitedly, and an eerie serious Bunnyx sitting as still as a statue to their right, on their left was fierce-looking Ryuko looking ready to slice anyone who got too close, the calculating Pegasus, mumbling under his breath, and lastly the timid Badulf, struggling to keep his red bangs out of his eyes.

Wayne’s Angel @FasionInGotham

LMAO RYUKO #DRAGONQUEENSLAY

Don’t question Paris’ Heroes like that, they’re feisty.

The clip showed a British reporter demanding to know why the heroes hadn’t contacted the Justice League previously to gain their assistance in taking down the dangerous threat that was Hawkmoth.

You could Ladybug’s eye twitch at the condescending question, but before she could answer Ryuko leaned forward to the mic situated in front of her with a glint in her eyes.

“I apologize for my English,” She started, “I am not as versed in the language as some of my teammates. To answer your question on why we haven’t had the League’s help is because Green Lantern is a fuck.”

Silence filled the gathering before Chat, King Money and Bunnyx burst into giggles, the rest of the heroes struggling to keep a straight face. The media was staring at them dumbfounded until Ladybug finally leaned forward.

“I’m sorry for the outburst,” She started, lips still trying to twitch upwards, “But as Ryuko said we did ask for help. About five months into our heroship Chat and I received an answer from the League after trying for three months to contact them. The ‘help’ came in the form of Green Lantern coming and assessing the situation. Unfortunately for us, Hawkmoth is smart and when the neon green monstrosity of a hero flew in he laid low instead of attacking when a Leaguer was present. Without an attack and no physical damage present as one of my powers allows me to restore all damage done to Paris or its citizens, He decided we were powered children that were trying to get in the spotlight.”

“Getting lectured on wasting the League’s time and resources before he flew off really put a damper on us asking again,” Chat added in, toxic green eyes narrowed and laser-focused on the reporter, “So we handled it ourselves, gaining our own allies as we needed them. But please continue telling us how the League could have helped sooner if only we had asked for help.”

Clip after clip, ten of them total were uploaded into the thread. Explaining the worst battle the heroes had ever faced, the strength of their enemy, what the villain and his assistance could and would do, the worst attacks, the easiest wins, the ways that Ladybug and Chat chose their allies, but the last two clips seemed to get the largest reaction out of the audience, both at the press conference and the internet.

Wayne’s Angel @FashionInGotham

Not gonna lie, seeing my tormentors get put on blast by all of the Heroes is very vindictive #IsthatMean? #MaybeSo

“You’ve seemed to have shifted your support away from one local blog, to another over any official news agency,” One of the nicer reporters at the events said, “Is there a particular reason? And why the sudden shift two years ago?”

Chat’s face was strangely pinched, “Oh you mean why we switched from giving exclusives to the LadyBlog to BugOut? It’s quite simple. We go to the news sources we trust to take the information we are willing to give without worrying about ratings as their top priority. We tried going to Nadja Chamack at first, the local news anchor that we all hold a great deal of respect for, but the producers threatened her to get a ‘highly-rated’ interview. It led to her asking questions Ladybug and I thought were counterproductive to the reason we were invited to the interview and was trying to turn us into celebrities instead of allowing us to do the jobs we needed to. It was a similar reason we stopped going to Alya Cesaire, the Ladyblog editor.”

Ladybug took over here, “Miss Cesaire has the ability to be a very good journalist, but as her blog grew in popularity, so did her need for highly viewed content, this caused her to not only start posting more rumors and speculation than anything we’ve ever said but also to stop fact-checking with us things she heard. Even after talking to her about removing the content that was blatantly untrue and was told no due to the high ratings it had received we realized that we simply couldn’t work with her anymore.”

Abeille piped up in a low regal voice that was dripping with venom, “It really didn’t help that when we started interviewing with Aurora Beaureal from BugOut, shortly after my introduction, Miss Cesaire began a smear campaign against her, claiming she was faking her sources and videos publicly on her blog. Luckily we were able to shut that down quickly enough but it didn’t stop Miss. Cesaire from running into battle to distract us, and frankly, harass us for answers even after we told her no. It’s lead to more than one incident where she, other civilians, and even ourselves have been hurt.”

“Either way,” Chat took over again, “We want to support local news sources but only when they are willing to listen to our boundaries and work with us instead of trying to push issues.”

“Does that mean that info we found on the Ladyblog is not to be believed?” Another reporter called out.

“I would take anything after the first post about Lila Rossi with a grain of salt,” Ladybug said, only for King Monkey to snort and lean towards the mic.

“Yeah and if Lila Rossi is mentioned at all in the post just assume everything in that post is fake. Miss. Rossi is a known liar and problem for us.”

“Can you give us an example?”

Ladybug sighed before explaining, “The first time I heard of Miss. Rossi was an interview on the Ladyblog of her claiming to be my best friend. Now I very much value the secrecy I and my team have created for ourselves because it protects our friends and families, but even a lie about knowing me in such a public setting is dangerous because Hawkmoth and Mayra have proven that they aren’t above underhanded tactics to try and get the upper hand in our fights. I went looking for the girl to explain why she can’t say such things for her own safety, only to find her telling a boy that she possessed the Fox Miraculous in a public park. I will admit I called her out in a way that wasn’t very nice but either claim was enough to put her in danger, but both were painting a target on her back and it scared me that someone would do something to impress a boy. After that, she was akumatized for the first time and since then it has gotten even worse despite me apologizing the second I cured the Akuma. Some of her lies are enough to count as Slander if any of the celebrities she lied about knowing saw the posts, but no amount of persuasion seems to get her to stop.”  

Wayne’s Angel @FasioninGotham

Watching their powers without the looming threat of an Akuma/Amok is a blessing. They look so cool! #Love #Miraculous

The clip started with the heroes standing in front of the table, grouped differently than before. Off to one side King Monkey, Viperion and Bunnyx stood, Viperion holding a microphone.

“While we would love to an demonstrate our powers as requested,” He explained, “Our powers are not really good for demonstrations. Mine is known as Second Chance.”

He raised his hand and pulled the slider across his bracelet as he named it, a flash of pale teal light admitting from it, “When activated like I just did, it allows me to return to the point of activation at any time before I detransform in fifteen minutes as many times as I wish with only myself remembering the previous changes I have made.”

Without even acknowledging the startled whispers from the crowd, he handed the microphone to King Monkey, who offered a cheeky smile.

“So my power is called Uproar. It allows me to create a toy-like object that when it comes into contact with someone causes all of their abilities to malfunction.”

He goes to pull his staff from where it was strapped to his back only for Vipirion to stop him. A silent exchange passed between the pair before the taller hero nodded and handed the microphone off to Bunnyx.

“Viperion and I have a similar reason for our powers being hard to show off, only his is a little more versatile,” She started in a voice devoid of any emotion, swinging her pocket watch slightly, “I have the power Burrow. It allows me, and anyone I chose to take with me, access to a pocket dimension where I can travel to any point in time or space that I chose, past, present, or future. While you might see me fight during any battle I can make it to, my power is a last-ditch effort, as I would have to travel back in time to change the past if I do this assume the future is unsavable.”

The hush that falls over the crowd was quickly broken by Ryuko tapping her group’s microphone to draw attention to the opposite side of the stage where she stood with Abeille, Badulf, Pegasus, Chat, and Ladybug.

“I believe it’s best to not dwell on any one of our powers,” She told them, “Our powers are scary and knowing that they can be taken from us at any time and used for nefarious purposes keep all of us up at night, but we ask you to trust us to use them only for good.”

She waited a moment for the crowd o calm down before giving her own explanation, “My ability is known as the Three Dragons, the Water Dragon, the Wind Dragon, and the Lightning Dragon.”

She handed off the microphone to Pegasus, before calling forth the Wind Dragon and bursting into a group of clouds that swiftly blew around the stage before traveling over to the Louvre Pyramid and watching as the heroine reformed at the top, offering a small wave before the call for Water Dragon could be heard and a large dome of water formed over the entire courtyard.

Before she could call for her last form the snake hero grabbed the microphone, “Lightning Dragon is a bad idea, Ryuko.”

The heroine didn’t even question him, instead, vaulting off of the pyramid, the crowed gasped only for her to effortlessly land next to Bunnyx in a crouch, brushing herself off as she rose and turned her gaze to the horse miraculous user, who quickly explained his power before calling forth Voyage.

His cry caused blue light to circle his arm and he sent it towards the top of the still-present water dome, with a controlled flick of his arm.

The heroes didn’t even blink as the crowd filled with cries as the Eiffel Tower fell through the portal, Ladybug’s yoyo whipping out to direct it’s decent, the entire courtyard shaking as the 10k ton structure landed.  

“I’m up next!” Chat called out with a large grin, while the reporters didn’t seem to know if they should pay attention to the moved monument or the hero. His explanation was short since they were many videos of him using it but that didn’t stop the international reporters from screaming as Cataclysm swirled around his hand eating away at the Eiffel Tower, leaving a pile of rust in the crater

“Is-Is this much property damage necessary?”

Abeille shrugged, “No, but once we get to Ladybug, it’ll make more sense. Either way my turn.”

An unpleasant chill went up the world’s spine as she demonstrated how she could freeze all voluntary movement of her target on Chat Noir, who was still as a statue the second her stinger touched him.

Ladybug quickly took the mic and began explaining her powers. The world watched in amazement at her pulling a red and black spotted camera from thin air before she launched it into the air with a cheer of “Miraculous Ladybug!”

Suddenly a glowing swarm of ladybugs formed and tore through the air, covering Chat Noir, releasing from Venom, before healing the crater and rust from nearby, dissolving the water dome in the same instance.

If there hadn’t been so many people present the world wouldn’t have believed that so much damage was just repaired in the span of ten seconds, but staring at the unimpressed Parisians around them the world finally seemed to grasp the reality of the situation.

These children were past what one would even expect from metas, from aliens and superhumans like they had seen around the world already. These were heroes that were harnessing the very forces that made up the universe and fighting them at the same time. Bunnyx wasn’t exaggerating when she mentioned that sometimes there would be apocalyptic endings to their fights.

Instead of letting the knowledge stew Badulf step forwarded, twisting the microphone as he explained his power of illusions for the reporters.

With a short tune on his flute suddenly the group of heroes was gone, All that remained was a Sign thanking them all for coming.  Even after the illusion faded the heroes were nowhere to be found, having used the final demonstration as the perfect cover to sneak away so that no one could follow them.  

Wayne’s Angel @FasionInGotham

I must say I was not expecting such an outpour of love for all of Our heroes but damn am I pleased by it. Ladybug is our big name but the others are honestly way underloved in Paris, especially Chat who’s been there since the beginning. #MiraculousTeam

Quick Poll Who’s your favorite, everyone? Mine’s Chat Noir

Ryuko (19%)

Abeille (12%)

Ladybug (14%)

Bunnyx (8%)

Viperion (12%)

Chat Noir (15%)

Pegasus (5%)

King Monkey (5%)

Badulf (10%)

Call me Cass @CainYouBelieve

@FashionInGotham I like Badulf, he’s the newest correct?

Wayne’s Angel @FashionInGotham

@FashionInGotham @CainYouBelieve Yup! He’s only been around for four months, but he’s a pretty great fox!

Tim Drake Official @TJDrake

Fun Fact: I just heard Alfred swear for the first time while watching the press conference and it was to call Hawkmoth and Mayra an arsehole FLOB and his fucking Slag.

Never been more terrified,

Based on the faces around me neither has any of the other Waynes #AlfredisTerrifying

Wayne’s Angel @FashionInGotham

Why am I the go to person for everything Mircualous Team? BugOut.com is a great source if you want more info.

Still Queen Bee @BuzzBuzz

@FashionInGotham Probably cause you're most famous Parsian? Or cause you were a miraculous user once?

Jason Todd Lives@BestTodd

@FashionInGotham @BuzzBuzz IM SORRY?? DID YOU JUST SAY MARIGOLD HAD ONE OF THOSE MAGIC FUCKING GEMS???

Wayne's Angel @FasionInGotham

@FashionInGotham @BuzzBuzz @BestTodd That didn't come up in the conference did it? A few of the old users of miraculous got outed as heros so LB doesn't call on them anymore, but keeps tabs on them since HM and Mayra will try and emotionally malipulate them into getting akumatized. A few of us bonded over it.

Still Queen Bee @BuzzBuzz

@FashionInGotham @BuzzBuzz @BestTodd @FashionInGotham Its common knowledge in Paris, Mari, me and our other friend @NotaModel all had miraculous at one point, but HawkBitch found out so we can't ever use a miraculous again sadly. I had the Bee, Mari had the Mouse and Ari had the Snake

Dick Grayson @AFlyingGrayson

Why is Damian staring at a wall and not responding? What broke him? #Help???

Dick Grayson @AFlyingGrayson

@AFlyingGrayson Nevermind #HecouldnthaveanormalGF? #HolyShitMari

Wayne's Angel @FasionInGotham

So I can no longer say I've never seen a Bat before, just saw Signal and Red Robin, I think???

Gonna be real tho, I was expecting to see them in Gotham, NOT PARIS #wtf #Whyaretheyhere????

Marinette had barely sent the tweet before her phone was ringing.

"Are you being serious?" Adrian asked, in lieu of a greeting, "At least two of the Batfam is here?"

"Yeah," She whispered a bit numbly, eyes still focused on the roof she had watched them disappear from mere moments ago. It was far enough away that if she had been a normal human she wouldn't have heard them, but she wasn't a normal human, "Hey Adrian, Don't tell the team what I'm about to say, okay?"

"Are you okay, bugaboo?"  

"Questionable," She didn't even bother rebuking the nickname, "I think I might be dating a Bat."

______________________________________

Taglist: @kceedraws @northernbluetongue @starry-bi-sky @mysteriouslyswimmingfan-blo-blog @lexysama @vincentvangoose @theatreandcomicfreak @vinerlover @calvin1394 @interobanginyourmom @imanerddealwith @aarushi-03 @rikku052 @fantasticfourintraining @clumsy-owl-4178 @two-faced-biatch @celestiacq @vgirl-10123 @peculiarlylostdreamer @tinybrie @treebrosha @sam-spectra @zalladane @teresarosiadeviluke2112 @7-sage-7 @blue-peach14 @nataladriana9 @worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry @xxmadamjinxx @unabashedlyswimmingtimemachine @i-identify-as-a-mango @chloe-bourgeois-is-big-gay @vixen-uchiha @face-of-lazyness @lunar-wolf-warrior @derpingrainbow @drama-queen-supreme @vivilakitty @mystery-5-5 @synnesstra @ijustwannabecanadian @sharksharkbb @lysslovsanime @zazzlejazzle @corabeth11 @ur-average-reader @virgil-is-a-cutie @paradoxal-occurance @dur55 @this-is-vander @cowardlygaydinosaur @phantomneow12 @numbuh-7-knd @slytherinhquinn @celerystick045 @silvergold-swirl @dzcile @lordsmeldingtonthethird @asabella1224 @miraculous-simmer7 @god-is-dead-and-so-am-i @kuhakuanon @st0rmy-w1th1n @littleredrobinhoodlum @todaylillypads @screechingflapbiscuitpeach @a-complete-fool @urbanpineapplefarmer @woodland-queer @miraculousl4dybug @teresarosiadeviluke2112 @imanerddealwith @seraphichana @literalfantrash @zebrabaker @captainmac6 

[pawneecityschool]

Congressman Adrian Smith Visits Pawnee City

By Shawna Boverhuis

On February 20th, United States Congressman Adrian Smith from Geneva, Nebraska visits Pawnee City juniors and seniors. Congressman Smith came to talk to the classes about many topics, from what a day for a congress member is like to when he first became interested in politics, and questions and concerns with the economy.  

The seniors and juniors were also accompanied by Mrs. Cindy Myers, a middle school and high school English teacher. She gave some feedback about the Congressman’s visit. “I was impressed with his ability to relate to the students. He was very informative and explained complex topics in a manner that was relevant to students in high school without being condescending,” said Mrs. Myers. 

Many students remarked how special his visit was. Junior Hailey Dietrich commented, “It was really nice to be able to talk to him because it's easy to feel as though the people who run our country are untouchable, so the small and intimate visit was nice. The visit made me feel important and like our tiny little school mattered.”

Mr. Adrian Smith's reasoning for coming to Pawnee City wasn’t just to fill students in on political issues, but also to help open up their minds to new ideas and opportunities. Mr. Timothy Kluck, who hosted the visit in his classroom, said, “Hopefully it encouraged and motivated students.  His talk was very uplifting and he encouraged all types of schooling after high school, both four-year programs and trade schools. I hope the seniors listened to his talk and took his words to heart.” 

[florrickandassociates]

TGF Thoughts: 2x11-- Day 478

(This is the ep from two weeks ago; I am behind on recap writing. Aiming to have 2x12 up before the finale!)

What’s the strategy behind using previouslies on a streaming show? CBS must expect that at least some viewers will wait until all the episodes are up and binge them, right? I’d be shocked if they had a feature that skipped previouslies the way Netflix does. I mean, just now, I tried to open up the app and play this episode, and CBS played that insanely long Klingon scene that opens Star Trek: Discovery (no, I don’t watch it—just the pilot) for me three times before it let me actually watch TGF.

The static on the TV to rain falling is a cool graphic match.

Diane is waiting for a car at 710 N Hart St. It’s not a real address, obviously. But at first glance it looked like it said McHart street so I’m pointing it out.

Diane is waiting out in the rain. The point of this scene is what happens while Diane waits, but I would LOVE to know what Diane was doing that she’s waiting in the rain.

Her ride is initially supposed to arrive in one minute. Then it jumps to 10, so she and her not-at-all-wet hair run into a laundromat. Guys, her hair looks totally dry. She was holding her bag over her head, and her hair somehow looks perfect. Like, she’s been standing out in the rain and her hair still looks better than Alicia’s hair did for all of season 7.

(I was going to compare her hair to what my hair does when it rains, but y’all don’t know my hair and you DO know the awful Alicia wig.)

Now Diane’s car is 15 minutes away. #Relatable

OMFG, CBS, I PAUSED TO TALK TO MY ROOMMATE, OPENED THE APP AGAIN, AND WHAT DO I GET? KLINGONS. Fix this.

Diane hears grunting and fighting going on in the laundromat, so she goes to investigate. I thought she was going to get mugged in this scene the first time through, to be honest. It turns out that… wait hold on, Diane is wearing heels… she just walked through a puddle in heels?

As I was saying. It turns out that Diane has stumbled upon some sort of underground aikido class. This feels surreal, but I’ll roll with it.

“It’s beautiful,” Diane remarks. The instructor tells her to come back on Tuesday, but Diane says, “It’s not me.” “It is,” the instructor replies. “My life is pretty full right now,” Diane protests. “I know you think that. But it’s not,” the instructor counters.

I am resuming my rewatch, and wouldn’t you know? KLINGONS. I tried so many times I had to switch over to watching on a different device. Not a huge problem, but not a great user experience, especially on a service I’m paying for…

Diane’s phone rings. It’s Jay. He and Marissa have come up with a different suspect in Adrian’s shooting and now they think it’s a neo-Nazi. Even though last week Jay and Marissa believed the shooter was not targeting Adrian, this week they think he’s coming for Diane next, so she needs to be careful.

Diane goes back to watch more aikido. Aaaand credits.

We pick up with a two people on a date. This is A Choice. If there were ever a case that did not need a flashback illustration, it was this one. Unless these are memory pops and I didn’t recognize them as such—hell, even or especially if they are memory pops—this story does not need visuals.

The dude on the date is named RON, a giant subtitle informs us. Is it me or are some of TGF’s structural/storytelling risks verging on dumbing things down for the audience? I’m writing this after 2x12 and that may be on my mind because of 2x12…

Now the couple is at Ron’s apartment, making out. He reaches for a condom and she asks what he’s doing. “Can we just not do that… yet…?” she says.

The woman on the date is named EMILY.

RON and EMILY are in depositions, with Alma Hoff on one side and Liz and Maia on the other.

More flashbacks. RON makes a skeevy comment about EMILY’s age.

“She was laughing. There was no discomfort,” Ron says in the deposition. Yeah. Because Ron gets to decide how comfortable Emily was.

Now there’s a flashback of Emily and Ron kissing. I really don’t get what these flashbacks are supposed to tell me. I don’t want an objective retelling of this encounter because the issue isn’t what did/didn’t happen; it’s how Emily felt. An objective, visual retelling weakens her case unnecessarily. This episode makes it far too easy, I think, to wonder what the issue even is. I’m rereading the Babe.net article about Aziz Ansari, which this episode is obviously about, and there are some pretty striking omissions from the TGF version. In the account reported to Babe, Aziz is much more persistent than “Oh, are you really going to leave now?” and doesn’t give “Grace” clear opportunities to leave. He repeatedly moves her hand towards his penis (not just once while they’re making out) even after she pulls away. He follows her around the apartment and keeps making advances. When she says they can have sex “next time” he pours her another glass of wine and calls it their second date. She flat out says to him that she “doesn’t want to feel forced.” And he tries it again. And again. There’s also the weird fingers-in-throat-porn move.

What I’m saying is that the original situation is gray enough. It doesn’t need to be diluted even more. People already have a hard time buying Grace’s story as sexual misconduct rather than a bad date. Why remove all of the most troubling parts? The parts that best illustrate that this is about rape culture, not just rape? I’m reminded of Jill Filipovic’s opinion piece in The Guardian, which argues that Babe.net’s reporting was an issue with the Ansari story, because “instead of telling this particular story with the care it called for, it was jammed into a pre-existing movement grounded in the language of assault and illegality.” She continues: “As a result, we’re arguing about whether Aziz Ansari is a sexual assailant, and missing the more relevant conversation about sex, male entitlement and misogyny in the bedroom.” Sadly, The Good Fight misses out on this more relevant conversation, too.

(Ron thinks Emily is going to the bathroom to put in a diaphragm. Feels a bit outdated to me, but maybe not?)

The issue that’s brought all of these people to RBL is the blog “Assholes to Avoid” which appears to be the Shitty Media Men list but in blog form. I understand combining these two stories so there can be a legal case, but it feels like the show is conflating actual whisper networks (the Shitty Media Men list was a Google doc, not a blog) with an unknown news outlet sensationalizing a story for clicks. Both are controversial, but only one was meant for public consumption.

According to the Assholes to Avoid home page, you are not supposed to send the site to any men.

I have no issues with Emily’s explanation for putting her story on Assholes to Avoid: she wants to warn other women so they don’t have the same experience.

But Ron was fired (meaning he was penalized more than Ansari, whose face, gallingly, was still on my goddamn Netflix home page the day after the article ran) so now he’s suing the blog! He wants an apology and for Emily to make it clear it’s not true. Um, dude, I don’t think a LAWSUIT is the way to get her to do that. He has now tracked her down (because I assume she made the posting anonymously), forced her to relive a traumatic experience, and put a resource that has potentially helped many, many women avoid dangerous situations in jeopardy.  And HE wants an apology from HER? He would’ve had a better chance if he’d just asked her to clarify that non-consensual oral whatever did not mean rape.

“How many male lawyers are at this firm?” Alma asks as she’s leaving negotiations. Liz doesn’t know. Alma continues that she finds it odd that “at a firm with 60% men, a female partner and a female associate have graced us with their presence.” You know what I find odd? That a firm with Diane Lockhart’s name on the letterhead—and, I would guess, Liz Reddick’s name—would take on this case. Does RBL have an identity? Or do they just take whatever cases seem like money and then not question them? (I’m still a little peeved about the fact that “being a defense attorney” on this show seems to mean the inability to ever make choices based on anything other than money.)

“I guess we can turn this into a gender thing,” Liz says. Oh please. Like it was actually unintentional that there were two women assigned to the case. As sure as I know that this show believes defense attorneys are amoral-because-pragmatism, I know that this show believes that lawyers always, always, always think about the optics.

“We can’t win this one. We need to let it go,” Liz tells Adrian, who is still in the hospital. Thank you. Adrian, condescending as ever, asks if this is about gender politics. SO FUCKING WHAT IF IT IS? SO WHAT IF IT IS ABOUT WOMEN NOT WANTING TO BE THE ONES ARGUING AGAINST SOMETHING THAT COULD, I DUNNO, GIVE A YOUNG LAW STUDENT A HEADS UP ABOUT HER STARFUCKING PROFESSOR? Adrian asks this like “gender politics” are silly, some kindergarten boys vs girls battle. Feminism is not silly.

“There is no defamation,” Diane says. Adrian says okay. He wants to be helpful, so he offers to reach out to Bishop and Sweeney or to help with the merger. Diane and Liz are like, “we got it” and that makes Adrian feel useless. “Waltzer went after our clients, so we went after his,” they explain. “What are you two, the Mafia?” Adrian asks disapprovingly, even though he would’ve done the same damn thing if it had been his call. “I didn’t approve of that,” he continues. I will excuse this only because I can understand someone who was just shot and nearly killed feeling like he isn’t needed and being frightened by that notion.

Marissa and Jay then present suspects for the shooter. They include Felix Staples even though they literally just said he had an airtight alibi. I know it’s too much to ask for consistency on timelines or Lucca’s pregnancy, but can we at least get consistency within an episode?

Adrian thinks it’s the neo-Nazi.

Liz casually mentions that the police had their client list and Adrian—TOTALLY understandably this time—freaks.

As soon as his visitors leave, Adrian gets on the phone with the litigation financiers and tells them to make a move if they don’t want the case against Assholes to move to a different firm. Dude, I know you want some power over your life but can you please find a way of asserting power that is productive and does not involve assisting rapists? (No, Ron isn’t a rapist. But if this goes public? Women would be afraid to share their stories, lest they be deanonymized and brought into a lawsuit. And those women might have stories about rapists.)

I find debate over the methods and the specific interpretations of the events interesting. I can see how there is room for debate there. Could Ron have misinterpreted Emily’s actions? Maybe. Could he have understood them but not understood that no means no, because so often in the media “no” means “just try again and then you’ll get the girl”? Sure. Are there reasons a public site like Assholes might cause more trouble than it prevents? Debatable. But Adrian is not debating anything, which is why I’m being tough on him. This isn’t a conversation. He is taking actions that have consequences when he could be recovering or doing something productive.

(I feel like I need to bring out the old “understandable =/= justified” line here because I am not criticizing the writing of Adrian. I believe that he’d do this shit. I just don’t think it’s okay.)

Jay and Marissa go to the police with their leads, and the police are being useless.

Back at the firm, Diane’s accountant Anthony Rapp is waiting for her. And also Diane rehires Jay “with a 10% raise.” “Liz and I approve. It’s done,” Diane says. Awww, Diane got her female-led firm. Kinda.

(My roommate and I got to 5x17 in our rewatch yesterday and she’s excited about the possibility of a Diane/Alicia firm. I’m not spoiling her, but I have so many thoughts about that partnership.)

(I think where I was going with that is that the Diane/Liz partnership makes way more sense to me than Diane/Alicia ever did, at least after I really thought about it.)

Marissa takes this as an opportunity to ask for a raise. Diane ignores her. Marissa’s stepping right into Kalinda’s boots, isn’t she?

Oh hey Lucca!!! Lucca’s on the phone with Colin. They’re on opposite sides of something, again. “OW!” she says loudly in the middle of the conversation. Whether it’s fake pain or real pain, she’s using it strategically. Maia rushes over and helps her. (And by helps her, I mean she helps her stand up and she helps her trick Colin. Again, Maia’s only strength seems to be tricking people via phone.)

As Maia and Lucca talk about how many weeks Lucca has left (four!) (but we all know it’s going to be two so she can go into labor in the finale, but also timeline lol), Colin RUNS down the stairs and into Lucca’s office. She’s shocked to see him. He explains that he was in the elevator. “You’re just fucking with me, aren’t you!?” he exclaims. Maia excuses herself from the argument, taking Lucca’s shoes with her. She doubles back once she realizes she still has the shoes, then leaves again. I wonder if that was scripted or if Rose just forgot to put down the prop.

The litigation financiers tell Diane, Liz, and Julius to keep the depositions going. The financiers are willing to put $2.1 mil behind this case because of a class action in the works.

When Diane says the name of the site, Jer winces because he doesn’t like swearing. “Well, neither do I, but that’s its name,” Diane says. Please, Diane. You fucking love to swear.

“This is Adrian. I know him. He is bedridden, and he’s trying to assert himself,” Liz says, correctly. Julius is tempted by the money. Diane is on the fence.

Lucca’s four weeks from giving birth and she and Colin are just now having a discussion—during the work day, of course—about how they’re going to raise the baby.

You know what I don’t understand about this Colin-wants-Lucca-to-move-to-D.C. plot? Isn’t it typical for congresspeople to keep their primary residence at home, where their constituents are? Even if just for optics?

Also ffs, Colin, Lucca is not uprooting her life because of your career. And unless we are doing season three of TGF in D.C., I’m gonna need Lucca to stay in Chicago.

“This law firm takes you for granted, and you know it,” Colin tells Lucca. Last season I wouldn’t have agreed with that, but this season, yeah, I see it.

“In D.C., you will be the significant other of a Congressman,” Colin says. I mean she would also be that in Chicago, and she already resides in his district.

“Am I broke again?” Diane worries when she meets with Accountant Anthony Rapp. I think his name on the show is Glenn. That is easier to type. “A year and a half ago you were,” he replies. “Oh, I know. I remember that meeting,” Diane responds. Hee. Apparently Diane is now “whole.” She made her money back—all of it!!!—and can now retire and buy her house in France and all of that. Glenn attributes this to Diane not losing as much as they thought (um, how), smart investments, and Diane saving money. And also Trump. I do not buy it for a second. You do not go from losing everything to being where you were after 40 years of work in one and a half years. That is silly.

Can I take another moment to mourn the Diane bankruptcy arc that never was? The writers could’ve and should’ve done so much more with that last season, and now it’s gone.

Kurt’s accountant (Diane is surprised such a person exists) has contacted Diane’s accountant, and the accountants have decided that it’s time for Diane and Kurt to make a decision about divorcing or not divorcing because finances. So… “I won’t be that woman” just means “this particular argument is over let’s go back to marriage limbo like I’m Alicia Florrick”? Coolcoolcool.

“Isn’t that what you want?” the accountant asks Diane when she seems surprised to hear the word divorce. What DOES Diane want? I don’t think Diane knows. (“I don’t know,” is Diane’s next line, as a matter of fact.)

A dude puts a swastika on Marissa’s latte, at her request, idk, it’s weird and kind of amusing. It’s also an effective ploy.

Diane phones Kurt and gets his voicemail. “I wouldn’t mind getting a drink tonight,” she says casually. She’s also unwrapping an aikido robe (is that the right terminology).

On her computer, there’s a story about Trump signing an order allowing “the planting of firecrackers in the rectums of grizzly bears.” This is not a hallucination—and that’s the best (and most affecting) part. The absurd stories could easily be true. Speaking of, did anyone else see @Poniewozik’s tweet? This week there was a very similar story… but in reality.

OMG CAN I RANT FOR A MINUTE ABOUT A DIFFERENT CRITIC ON TWITTER WHO KEEPS INSISTING THAT TGF HANDLES SOCIAL ISSUES WELL WHILE TGW NEVER DID? The Debate was one episode. Yes, TGF is doing a fantastic job capturing the absurdity of the Trump era. But this was TGW’s wheelhouse too. I think I will rant about this more in my 2x12 comments. It bothers me that he keeps saying (he’s tweeted it like three times now) TGW failed at this when being timely and topical was always one of the things critics acknowledged as one of the show’s strengths.

The neo-Nazi didn’t shoot Adrian either! Now Jay and Marissa think it’s time to work with the police. Marissa volunteers to look through case files, but Diane pulls her onto the Assholes to Avoid case. “I thought we were dropping that,” Marissa responds. “We got an injection of cash,” Liz explains. “Seriously? Don’t we hate this?” Marissa questions. (Good question. And nice use of “we” even though you’re a newly minted investigator talking to two name partners.)

“I wouldn’t say hate. We’re obligated,” Diane says. Ohhh yes this is a new pet peeve. Y’all are not obligated. You were not assigned this case. You chose to take it for the money.

Liz asks Marissa to look into Emily’s past dates. “So we’re blaming the victim?” Marissa rephrases.

“Why do you think she’s the victim? What about him?” Jay chimes in, unhelpfully. “Oh my God, seriously?” Marissa responds. I feel that, even as weird as this specific case they’re debating seems to be. I’m just pretending it’s the Aziz story because it’s so obviously meant to be.

Anyway this devolves quickly into Marissa and Jay fighting about consent. I believe it from Marissa—tbh I’d be shocked if she behaved any other way—but Jay is more of a stretch. I totally believe him taking the guy’s side but I don’t really see him picking a fight with Marissa in front of the partners.

“Marissa. Can you do this, or should I give it to Jay?” Diane interrupts sternly. “No, I can do it. I just can’t turn my opinions off as I do,” Marissa replies.

“What do you think about this?” Liz asks Diane after Marissa and Jay leave. “I think there’s gonna be a lot of strong opinions there,” Diane responds. I don’t get why this firm still has this case. Is $2.1 million really enough to get Diane and Liz to go against their principles (or at least what I thought were Diane’s principles), put RBL on record as the law firm that went after Assholes to Avoid, AND cause internal chaos?

It’s not like RBL isn’t doing well. DIANE JUST MADE BACK ALL HER MONEY, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD. And the sketchy settlement a few weeks back—you know, the one the firm just had to take even though it kept corrupt cops on the force—gave them millions. If RBL is going to be LG, can they at least own it?

“We represent murderers and embezzlers but it’s always this stuff,” Liz says. Fair point.

“It was a bad date, that’s all,” Maia says to Marissa over coffee on the 22nd floor. Oh, Maia. I wish I could say I was surprised that Maia feels this way, but Maia holding this opinion is… consistent with pretty much everything about Maia. If Maia started quoting feminist writers, honestly, I’d be shocked. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Maia doesn’t seem like the type to question anything, especially not power structures or systems of any kind.

Anyway, Maia and Marissa’s conversation devolves into an argument among several lawyers, including some dude who calls warning other women against dating an asshole “revenge porn.” I know this is just an escalating nonsense argument but DUDE. DUUUUUUUDE. Revenge porn is posting private nude photos of someone you were once intimate with for the world to see specifically to hurt them. This? Is not that.

“It looks like she was trying to punish him because she was disappointed in herself,” Maia chimes in. Save it for the depositions, Maia. How the fuck did you get that?

Wasn’t there a Maia revenge porn plot last year? I can’t decide if I think it would make her more or less sympathetic to Emily. On the one hand, she’s been in a similar spot to Ron and could see him as a victim. On the other hand, what Maia did—literally just exist and date someone who wasn’t her asshole ex—is nothing like what Ron did (something beyond just existing), and what asshole ex did (revenge porn) is not really like what Emily did (an anonymous comment shared with a network meant for other women), so I could see her having a hard time empathizing with Ron, too. Oh, Maia.

“No, she’s disappointed in the whole fucked up dating scene where guys think they can get away with anything,” Marissa counters. And that’s the closest we come to discussing rape culture (again, that’s the thing this ep needs to be discussing). “He’s not getting away with anything. He can’t get a job,” the dude who was talking about revenge porn says. YEAH. THAT’S THE WHOLE POINT. Women are sick of guys getting away with anything so they are coming together to say that no, men cannot get away with anything. That no, it is not acceptable to ignore verbal and non-verbal cues and signs of discomfort on a date. That no, you should not continue to pursue someone after she’s told you “no.” And so on. 

Also: part of the point is that these lines shouldn’t be so blurred. Emily shouldn’t be afraid of losing her job if she rejects Ron’s advances. The way society thinks about “bad dates” is a huge part of the problem. A guy being too pushy is not a one-off “bad date.” That guy is probably being pushy because he’s been taught—by society, by the media—that guys are supposed to be pushy. THAT is a large part of what needs to change.

This is a bit tangential, but how many women, over the years, have lost out on jobs because men told each other the women in question were “bitches” or “crazy” or “cold” (in addition, of course, to flat-out misogyny and discrimination against mothers and all the various other reasons men with hiring power might not hire women)? Probably a lot, since it doesn’t take much for a woman to get slapped with one of those labels. I dunno if this is relevant here, but if we’re going to talk about men losing their jobs because women shared their experiences, it feels like we should also talk about how accepted it’s been for women to lose out on jobs because of men sharing their experiences. This is what I mean about structures being the core issue here. I don’t know what that means for this lawsuit, but I do know I am not a fan of anything that upholds sexist structures. And if Assholes to Avoid wins this lawsuit, that’s exactly what’ll happen. I mean, we know there’s a class action in the works. Taking on this case and fighting for Ron, against the website (not Emily!)? That’s not just about what Ron did or didn’t do. That’s about fighting to keep a system in place.

Liz goes to talk to Ian at the police station. She wants to know why the police think Adrian’s shooter was black when Adrian identified him as white.

Is dumpster a proper noun? I have come across three separate works (two books and the captions on this show) in the last two weeks that have capitalized it. Apparently Dumpster is a brand name and thus a proper noun.

Now Adrian’s doubting his recollection. Maybe the shooter was black.

Hey, Adrian and Jay are friendly again!!!! Yay!!!

Liz brings Adrian dinner (possibly not actually dinner but rather a cupcake? Or a parfait with whipped cream on it?) and they both lick frosting or whipped cream or whatever off their fingers it’s cute unfortunately this scene then turns into a debate about #MeToo and Adrian is very very wrong.

“How’s the Assholes case coming?” Adrian asks. “You really boxed us in on that one, didn’t you?” Liz responds. Didn’t you decide to take the money? But point taken. “Not intentionally,” Adrian says. What part of calling the litigation financiers so the case doesn’t get dropped was unintentional?

The litigation dudes are named TOM AND JERRY? Why didn’t I remember this?

“Maybe #MeToo has gone too far, Liz,” Adrian suggests. Nah.

“I think good causes start out being good and end up becoming mobs,” Adrian explains. He does not, however, explain in what way #MeToo has become a mob. “Like Black Lives Matter?” Liz counters. “No. I don’t understand,” Adrian replies.

“Women join together, and all of a sudden, men all over the world are worried about mobs or witch hunts, but you don’t have the same worry about Black Lives Matter hurting white people’s reputations,” Liz explains. Pretty solid point. (Would also like to add that I saw a lot of people complaining that #MeToo would become a witch hunt after the Babe article… but I saw much less, um, you know, witch hunting.)

“Liz. It was a bad date. Anybody could have a bad date,” Adrian deflects.

“Yeah. But we’re not just stopping at the date. Now we’re trying to destroy the website,” Liz points out. (Yep.)

“A website that destroys reputations,” Adrian counters. “Of men,” Liz adds.

“Don’t make me out to be some kind of cartoon male chauvinist,” Adrian accuses. Liz is doing nothing of the sort, Adrian. She is pointing out that you’re behaving like all the other well-meaning men who perpetuate a system that sees a man’s reputation as more important than a woman’s thoughts and feelings.

And then the argument cuts out. This episode’s point seems to be that this is a contentious topic that people love to debate and can’t agree on, but does it have anything more to say? (I know I obviously have strong views about this, but I’m not really sure why the writers chose to do an episode on this and ended up basically just saying that people disagree. How… important.)

Marissa’s interviewing other people who dated Emily, and another guy has a similar story (he also seems like he’s suggesting that if he buys a girl dinner she should fuck him). Marissa dismisses it as “bullshit gossip” when she relays the info to Maia. “She just seems normal,” Marissa says.

Jay has found another potential suspect!

Diane is back in the aikido class! I am intrigued but have very little to say!

Diane showers and then heads to a bar to meet Kurt. I like that her hair is wet during this scene—it conveys how comfortable she is around Kurt.

Kurt says “sorry about your partner” and Diane doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He means Adrian, and since Adrian is fine, Diane is fine. Funny how Diane’s been paranoid all season when she wasn’t being targeted and now her firm’s being targeted and she’s fine.

“So. Um. You want a divorce,” Diane begins the hard part of the conversation. “What?” Kurt replies. Diane repeats the information from the accountants.

“What do you want?” Kurt asks Diane. “Kurt. We see each other, what, thirty days out of the year?” Diane replies. “We’re both working,” Kurt says. “I know, but that doesn’t make for a marriage, so if you want a divorce, I’m fine,” Diane says. I don’t know how to read this. The first time through I was annoyed that Diane’s position is that it’s up to Kurt when Kurt is the one who cheated. But now I’m wondering if this line is actually Diane stating what she wants from their relationship: a marriage where they actually see each other regularly and support each other. I can see how the physical distance between them could lead Kurt to cheat (though I don’t think it’s a valid excuse), too.

Kurt asks if this is about Tully. I guess he knows about Tully now. Good. Diane says it’s not about Tully, “it’s about what you want.” But what does Diane want? Even if Diane is subtlety requesting that Kurt move to Chicago so they can live together full-time, she’s not saying whether or not she forgives Kurt (I guess the forgiveness is implicit?) or talking about the challenges they’ve faced. I do not understand why this is about what Kurt wants. Would Diane just go along with whatever? If Kurt came back and said, “I want to live in the middle of nowhere and fuck pretty young blondes while you live here and remain my wife” would Diane go along? Or does she think that giving Kurt space and choices is the best approach, knowing that if he makes a decision she doesn’t like, she’ll leave?

Kurt, wisely, replies: “Diane… I’ve been trying the past year to make things up to you, to… I’ve been a prisoner on probation. I’m tired.” “Kurt, that’s the most you’ve talked about it in two years,” Diane replies. Awwww, talking! “I’m not a big talker,” he replies. “Uh, I know. But I need you to be. I need you to tell me what it is you want. And if it is a divorce, then I understand, and if it’s not…” she says. “I’ve been telling you…” he starts to say, but Diane interrupts. “No, you’ve been telling me that we should spend the weekend together, that I should come to your cabin.” “That we should move in together,” Kurt adds. “As roommates. I’m too old to be a roommate, so if we’re divorcing, well, let’s just do that. I’ve spent too much of the last year drifting, letting events happen to me, and I’m not gonna do that anymore,” Diane says. “Okay. I’ll call you tomorrow. […] Because you want a real answer,” Kurt says as he leaves the bar.

As always with D/K scenes, I am not sure I understand what they’re talking about (Kurt’s felt like a prisoner on probation? Why? What Kurt wants is the most important thing? Diane has been drifting and wants to stop and wants a decision, but that decision is Kurt’s? Kurt wants Diane to be his roommate? Huh?) but I love that they’re talking. This reminds me of those Alicia/Peter scenes not in content but in the way that the writers had a knack for screwing up the build-up and then absolutely nailing the conversation, even if it came years too late.

A Mr. Rose is at the firm to see Lucca. “You are pregnant,” he informs her. “No, no, just fat,” Lucca snarks. He is a headhunter out of D.C., and he wants to find Lucca a job. “Colin called you?” Lucca asks. She also says she’s not moving. Mr. Rose gives her job offers from five firms. Damn, Lucca. I know she’s getting most of these offers because of her political ties, but just think: three years ago she was a bar attorney. (The more Lucca’s situation parallels Alicia’s the more I want Lucca to talk to Alicia. And y’all know I already wanted that badly.)

Lucca is walking around the office barefoot. Alright. I have not ever seen any of the pregnant employees at my office walk around barefoot, and my office is super casual, but OK, writers.

Lucca calls Colin, angry. But Colin didn’t call Mr. Rose. His mom did—or at least that’s what Lucca and Colin suspect. Guys, this sounds just like every conversation Eli ever had about Jackie Florrick.

Now a woman named Gretchen, who is supposed to be Moira Donegan but also supposed to be the Babe writer who sent that tirade to a reporter about “second wave feminism,” is in depositions. That’s a weird hybrid. She say the goal of her site is to get men to realize their behavior will no longer go “unnoticed and unremarked.”

“So your blog is about scaring men?” Liz twists her words.

“Look, this is not a man-hating site, Diane,” Gretchen says suddenly. “I didn’t say a word,” Diane says. “You didn’t have to. You’re representing the people suing us,” Gretchen says. Fair.

“So we should all just march behind you, right? Because only you know what’s best for all women?” Diane replies, weirdly. Gretchen may be a little arrogant—and, as she makes clear with her next line, she actually does believe she knows more than “second wave feminist” Diane—but I have a hard time hearing this line from Diane. I don’t have a hard time believing it, necessarily, I just think it’s unnecessarily harsh and it feels like the main reason Diane is being so confrontational is that Gretchen just named her personally.

“I know more than you second-wave feminists. You just want to get along now. Don’t hurt the men, they might hurt us back. You have made the way for the next generation. For us. Thank you. Now you can take a rest,” Gretchen continues. Nah. I don’t think that’s how it works.

Gretchen also accuses Diane and her generation of enabling Weinstein and Charlie Rose (who guest starred on TGW, for anyone who forgot!)  

“You know your problem? You’re too busy name-calling to realize how much we agree with you,” Diane replies. “And you’re too confident of your feminist credentials to realize we don’t need you,” Gretchen counters. Please make this scene stop. I don’t know what the point of it is, except to make Diane look good by making Gretchen insufferable and ageist???

(That’s not to say this isn’t true to life—the writer at Babe basically said the same thing—but rather to say that I think the writers could have used this screentime to do something more interesting.)

Another woman shares her experience of her date with Ron. She says he was pushy, overeager, tried a move on her he’d seen in porn, and tried to use force (nice of the writers to mention this in passing at the 37 minute mark when they could have made these points in the flashbacks we had to watch.)

Now Maia gets to question! She asks this woman why she didn’t go on Assholes to Avoid. “If I wrote about every date that ended like that, there wouldn’t be any guys left,” she explains. That’s depressing!

But this woman also doesn’t blame Emily for writing about her experience—they just made different choices. Exactly.

Maia shares Marissa’s research (the research Marissa told her to dismiss, the research that obviously was not going to be dismissed because… I’ve seen this show) with Liz and Diane, then questions Emily about it.

Marissa’s suddenly in the room for this, and she’s disgusted. “I thought we agreed it was bullshit gossip,” Marissa accuses. Maia says she’s just doing her job. She is, and Marissa should know that.

Maia also says she’s “trying to show that there’s another side to the issue.” Sigh. 

“You talked the same way about you and Amy. To me. You said that Amy was paranoid about you and Carine, that she was crazy,” Marissa fumes. OH GOODIE. Important conversations happened offscreen and Maia ranted about her gf being paranoid when Maia actually cheated. You have a Maia problem, show. If Maia were just unlikable, I could deal with that—I find unlikable protagonists fascinating. But Maia is unlikable, unintelligent, and boring all at the same time! Apart from her friendships with Marissa and Lucca and the dynamic she has with Diane (or supposedly has, since it’s never on screen), I don’t have a reason to care about Maia. And all the reasons I just listed? I’m sure this will come as a surprise, but I care about the Marissa, Lucca, and Diane halves of those relationships infinitely more than the Maia half.

“So when I’m being deposed, maybe they can use that against me,” Maia responds. Careful, Maia. You might not know it, but we know you were caught on camera…

Liz and Jay go to Ian with their new suspect, and then they find out that Detective Whitehead (the corrupt cop!) is highly involved in the investigation, and BAM, they instantly realize he’s guilty and he’s arrested on the spot! Alright. (I was obviously very invested in figuring out who did it…)

Diane is at another aikido class!

Split screen phone calls remind me of Lizzie McGuire so they feel weird on TGF.

Also, there are a few shots that were clearly filmed to be split-screened (exactly half of the frame contains nothing of interest, like on texting scenes on Jane the Virgin before the texts pop up on screen) and it bothers me.

The entire 22nd floor begins to argue about sexual harassment.

Lucca finds Rod Habercore (from 2x01!) in her office. He offers her a job! And then Lucca sets off the singing dog that’s still in her desk drawer! Heh.

Lucca asks if Colin sent him. He didn’t—he just knows others are after her. Lucca smiles after he leaves. The only reason I want Lucca to stay at RBL right now is that the show is at RBL.

So wait, Ron is suing Emily and the website?

Diane, Liz, and Maia choose this moment—as Emily and Gretchen are deciding whether or not to settle—to question their litigation financiers and what they’re actually doing here. A little late.

Diane is practicing aikido moves in her office. I love that Diane found a new activity that makes her happy!

Gretchen shows up at her office door. “My guess is you’ve never thought of yourself as a traitor,” she opens. “Is that a question?” “What do you think?” “No, I have never thought of myself as a traitor,” Diane responds. “I’m closing Assholes to Avoid. So, thanks a lot,” Gretchen reveals. “You’re welcome,” Diane says. “You know why this happened? Because we were adding one of your litigation financiers to our list. Jerry. Asshole to Avoid. And you did his dirty work. You closed us down,” Gretchen explains. (Wow, who would ever have thought…)

“You know what your problem is? Women aren’t just one thing. And you don’t get to determine what we are. Next time, hire a lawyer and do your list right,” Diane replies. Am I supposed to be cheering Diane on? If this scene is meant to show that a woman who is fighting against sexual harassment can also be arrogant and ageist, while a woman who can champion feminism can also side with men who harass women because she wants to make a profit, then I like this scene. Diane is right: women aren’t just one thing. But why does Diane get to be right? (And I think this scene, if it wanted to frame Diane as being right-yet-wrong, could’ve done a much better job of making that point.) How is Assholes to Avoid, as a site, saying that women are just one thing? Is it? And Diane hints that there is a legal way to create a list of assholes to avoid—now that’s interesting! Why didn’t we hear more about that? What is a way to make a site like this that doesn’t wind up with a defamation suit? No judge ruled that she committed a crime (this was a civil case!) and the only reason she settled was that she would’ve gone broke if she opened herself up to further lawsuits. I’m genuinely curious: what actions does Diane think she could’ve taken here that would’ve prevented this outcome?

When I watched this scene, I definitely saw it as a triumphant moment for Diane. Rewatching it, it feels less triumphant and more fraught. I am trying to imagine the scene I would’ve wanted instead, and I wouldn’t want something clean (these issues are complex), I wouldn’t want something unearned and out of character (like Diane dismissing Gretchen and then donating money to a charity), and I wouldn’t want something too didactic. Now I’m wondering if the problem is that Gretchen is written as being so unreasonable and aggressive while Diane is a familiar face, so the scene comes across like Gretchen is a villain and Diane put her in her place.

Diane watches Tom and Jerry high five, so I do think we’re meant to question her actions.

Kurt appears! “I like seeing that side of you,” he says. “I like showing that side,” Diane replies. “So where are we, Kurt?” “I have my real answer,” Kurt says. And his answer is that “we haven’t tried being married. We’ve tried balancing career and marriage, and we can’t. I’m getting a job with the FBI in Chicago. It means not traveling. It means staying here. I’m asking that you sell your apartment and we look together for a larger place and we move in permanently together. We stop pretending that we can do this part time. And we live together until we die,” Kurt says. SOUNDS GOOD! I love it when characters have conversations. And this sounds like what Diane and Kurt both want.

I would like a little more closure on the Holly of it all, but I’m also fine without it since I don’t really believe that Kurt cheated and I’m totally fine acting like the only issue is that Kurt and Diane were too distant from each other to make each other happy.

Diane then asks Kurt if he voted for Trump. He didn’t (yay!). Diane give him a huge hug. “I wrote in Ted Cruz,” Kurt explains. Heh. That’s not much better, but I’ll take it.

Adrian’s out of the hospital!!! Everyone welcomes him back to the firm. Maia is front and center. Why? Marissa I would understand, but Maia? Front and center? 

Adrian announces that the firm is a family. (No, it’s not, but I’ll say awwww anyway.)

[underthekillingmxxn-a-blog]

✍ : Offer 3-5 tips on how to get other role players started on interacting with your muse.

// OoC Symbol Roleplay Meme [x] - STILL ACCEPTING //

Oh geez this requires a lot of thinking lol.

I mostly have main verse Adrian in mind here.

Here’s an easy one: main verse Adrian is a pretty relaxed guy. Arrogant, yes, but very very approachable (okay, he’s a little intimidating being a Tol former assassin, but your muse isn’t going to know that unless he chooses to tell them). He’s willing to help just about anyone, as long as there’s no harming of Innocents involved.

(Vileblood Adrian is a bit more standoffish and definitely more bloodthirsty. Still very polite and quite haughty, but noticeably less nice. Mostly because when people see him, they usually curse and/or attack him. So getting on the good side of him requires getting past his distrust and baggage.)

On the flip side, for anyone who has an evil muse: if you’re looking for conflict, it’s not that hard to get, just keep in mind he usually doesn’t attack first. Unless he’s on the hunt for the Guilty. Or you directly threaten him. And boy, will he remember it. (I just ask to not power play; I’m 100% okay with him dying that being said, he is Unkindled after all plus like, he’s not invincible). The main reason why I haven’t been in any inboxes over this yet is that he’s been more cautious as to not get anyone he cares for targeted because he’s a Blade. Tol Boy is s-m-r-t.

(Bloodborne verse Adrian is A Lot easier to get riled up and is way less hesitant to attack first so again, if you’re really interested in that, all you literally have to do is go in the inbox and goad him xD or even just hmu for a small thread)

And caster types... seriously, all your muse has to do is bring up magic. He might have gotten rid of his school uniform and probably doesn’t look or act like your typical sorcerer, BUT HE LOVES SORCERY. To the extent he’s taught himself spells and reads about magic in his free time. I wouldn’t be opposed to him having a mentor wrt magic at all. Given his propensity to sometimes royally fuck up spells (oh hey, setting his hair on fire with a miscast of Soul Arrow, accidentally crystallizing hats?), it’s probably for the best. And if your muse is a condescending dick (I’m just being honest), it’s probably a bonus (it’ll make him lose his shit, not to the point where he’s violently angry). 

Because I think it’s okay for muses to not get along or to have arguments sometimes. Even all the time (some personalities just mix like gunpowder and fire). As long as the muns are okay with it.

And just a more general note is that I’m okay with platonic shipping aka regular ass friendships as well as frenemies and enemy type of relationships. I don’t shy away from those at all (I personally like a little realism; not everyone is going to get a long. Also, sometimes it’s just Fun).. We also don’t have to be mutuals to roleplay.