#I realize the new episode just aired so this is weird timing lol but I've had a busy week

[prettysymbiosis]

frank vs. russia

starting the episode in media res and the circular storytelling!! the writing in this episode is really good overall, just so clever and inventive and effective. go off megan

“you ARE ready. everything you need is already inside you” sunny is ready to do a gay, gay-ass love story you guys. the gays are already inside it

titling it frank vs. russia when that’s clearly the b-plot? because we’re burying the lead? because we’re telling lies???

the denny’s shirt…

“aren’t you like 60?” misogyny is so sad 😞

dennis ANYBODY can get a guy to bang them ONCE reynolds

everyone wants dennis’ help but who will help dennis? :(

when mac says “it’s VERY romantic” dennis literally smacks the counter like… yikes

“one day he will and it is going to be hot” - I choose to believe this means that rcg think old man yaoi is hot and they are excited to show it :)

sunnyblr university is producing so many brilliant scholars who understand the significance of the beads as a metaphor for queerness and whether the audience is in or out and how it doesn’t matter because the queerness is all the way in and as of this episode it’s been turned up to full blast and leads us to a resounding victory. I’m just rehashing what others have said but I wanted to make sure I include it with my notes from this episode because it really is such a central idea and yet one that can be so easily missed by someone who isn’t reading the show like this... ugh the duality of sunny will never cease to confound me

dee calling mac out like yes bitch get his ass!! (so to speak)

uncle fucking jack walks in saying “they dropped all those charges weeks ago” - playdate EW - “I don’t– I don’t have any ice cream” - “shut UP dude, that’s gross, man”

charlie is so PRECIOUS in his little outfit and glasses

is he schizophrenic? I wonder if that will come up again or if it was just a throwaway joke

violent heterosexual shushing from dennis

the backing track of the sinned system/date scene is “in the hall of the mountain king” and it’s just so fucking classic sunny and so perfect

how did mac show patrick that he needed his power? and how did he engage physically?? we need to know these things!!!

kaitlin’s whole performance in the date scene is so fucking good

“the person who made him feel powerful, but also powerless.” the macdennis of it all is truly overwhelming sometimes

 the person whose validation he’s been seeking his entire life :/

“it worked” jesus christ mac

“well yeah but listen, the dennis system is a system for getting a woman. this is a system for getting a man, and that’s why sinned is actually dennis backwards!!” when I first watched this episode I was high as balls and sick with anticipation and this whole bit nearly pushed me over the edge. I mean he basically just straight up says that it’s bad for him to like men (sin) after explaining a tried-and-true system for getting them???

and then mac and dee are like “what are the chances??” and dennis is like HIGH >:( because they don’t see it. they don’t see it even though it’s been plain as day the whole time :(

dennis: “I’m still buzzin from last night” 👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀

AND I HAVE TO BE WITH HIM oh baby boy I pray you will be

the nastiness in dennis’ voice when he says “well no, see, that’s the thing – johnny doesn’t love you. he doesn’t even like you.” glenn I’m scared of you

“they ARE my favorite” he wanted mac to realize :( and yes the crabs are deeply metaphorical

“yeah, because I AM johnny” “then who’s dennis?” “what do you mean?!” “well if you’re johnny, then who– who’s you?” one of the best sunny exchanges of all time!!!!!!!! I cannot overstate how much I love this dialogue. it just captures so much about them so succinctly go off megan!!!!!

“I can’t engage with you on this right now” great delivery rob, so funny

does dennis want to control frank like a pawn bc he felt like that’s what frank did to him? or he’s just frustrated at mac and wants a situation he feels in control of?

kaitlin’s “... yeah” when dennis asks if dee has more pills is just so funny I keep remembering it and laughing randomly

“we’re gonna need to turn the lights out.” GLENN I’M SCARED OF YOU

the POV Being Frank throwback! I love the tossing of the clothes and the blackness and the sound of the door, cool little sequence

charlie’s such a good cheerleader 🥹 his little point is so funny

do you ever wonder what danny devito might be doing with his career if he wasn’t pretending to be split in half by giant vibrating anal beads on it’s always sunny in philadelphia??

“you don’t have to do this” this one speaks for itself I think.

dennis and uncle jack, two sexual deviants having a laugh in the van :| (also the van situation is so classic sunny obvs)

mrs. mac saying “nice” god there are just so many hilarious little character beats in this episode

“I DON’T KNOW HOW ELSE TO TELL YOU!!!” :( what’s in the texts rcgm

macdennis fightin :)

the full-blast alarm sound effect just gets me every time like to me that is peak comedy

The Burning Heart by Survivor is kind of macdennis coded tbh… “It's a primitive clash venting years of frustrations / Bravely we hope against all hope / There is so much at stake” “Does the crowd understand?” “Though his body says ‘stop!’ his spirit cries ‘never!’ (omg) / Deep in our soul a quiet ember knows it's you against you” like sorry if this song was supposed to be for straight people but it’s not anymore

so there’s something there about what’s acceptable and going full blast. the mommy issues are now explicit. dennis is bisexual. and he chose to have a romantic and sexual relationship with mac while pretending to be someone else, to the point that mac was in love with this other version of him. and he was so mad mac didn’t realize that he actually played his hand and told him, and mac still couldn’t accept it, upsetting dennis further. wtf man these homos are INSANE

[wuntrum]

Oooh I just started rewatching Twin Peaks yesterday! The last time I saw it was around 4 or 5 years ago. Just putting on the first episode again made me realize how much like home this weird little show feels like to me. It’s been nice to see your enthusiasm for it on my dash :)

may I ask what you enjoy most about the show, or why it appeals to you, if anything comes to mind? I find it’s a bit of an odd one to try recommending to people - I love it, of course, but my taste is a little strange, and I don’t find other fans out in the wild that often.

oooh, that's an interesting question! i think theres a lot of aspects that appeal to me about twin peaks...on a very surface level i love the aesthetics of the show, as someone who lives in new england (pacific northwest and new england are connected pacman-map-style in my mind), the settings and fashion are all excellent. i also love its absurdity, i love the fact that no one talks like a real person and theres people with such weird and distinct archetypes and over the top emotions all colliding with each other---that, and the way it approaches the sort of worldbuilding going on, plus the importance of dreams in the narrative contribute to such an interesting and dreamy atmosphere. i think what makes twin peaks special compared to things that were made after it and were inspired by parts of it is that even when its confusing and strange on a literal level, its always emotionally resonant--you don't need to understand it, because you feel it. the way they're able to set up all the people and relationships in this town so quickly, you really feel like you're a fly on the wall in this living and breathing place, even when its strange. you rarely see how buildings and places connect, but you don't need to because its all so convincing as a woven together location (and of course thats for like logistical/filming purposes, but it creates an interesting effect lol). it uses the familiarity of americana tropes (and even television tropes) and distorts them to create meaning, while still keeping parts of their signifiers intact. even watching it for the first time in 2021 was shocking throughout, so i genuinely can't imagine how it felt catching it live when it was airing, like there was nothing else like it! the fact that david lynch helped to make a prime time television show is something that like logically should never have happened, but i'm so glad it did. i also think on a production/creative level, its so interesting to see how it sort of morphed and developed as the original run and fire walk with me and the return unfolded, like what themes were dropped versus what (at first) insignificant details were given meaning and expanded upon.

i do think it can be a hard sell to convince people to give it a chance--i've had a friend or two try to watch it and say its too slow for them, or it just wasn't clicking. but i've also had more friends really get into it, probably because i have a lot of weirdo artsy friends (i say that with love of course). but i think it's a great gateway into other weird and absurd stuff, or at least it was for me. i also enjoy a good ol "weird thing happening in small town" story, and so it was interesting watching twin peaks and then revisiting stuff that was clearly inspired by it, or at least partially (welcome to night vale, s1 of stranger things...s1 of riverdale. but also i think the return has its own sort of inspiration fuel, like season 4 of barry and beau is afraid struck me in the same way that the return did)

[binary-not-found]

I see why the anon think this may be an episode filler (is not) or the story was kinda sudden (maybe)

Things like that happens often on TVShow, cast often have other projects or they get sick/injured or pregnant or whatnot, and the writers have to find a way to incorporate a storyline that will adapt to their needs and justify the absence of an actor/actress.

Said that, even if NCIS writers aren’t perfect and consistent all the time, I kind of like how they are progressing Kacy storyline and relationships.

When I broke up with my ex I moved to another continent lol, by myself, no job, no friends, no house, nothing…It is something that I wanted to do by myself for myself (I was in a pretty toxic relationship where I gave up a lot of things in my life to please my gf and I realized only very late what was happening to me)

So I get why Lucy did what she did, when you are in a fragile emotional state, and the world is crumbling and the love of your life broke your heart,sometimes the things that can help you or make you stronger is to do something that scares the shit outta you so you can focus all the energy the pain into something new, scary, I did it, it’s frustrating and tiring but it’s fucking awesome, so I’m happy Lucy decided to do it anyway.

Also Kate was super super supportive even if you can tell she was sad, but great partners support you no matter what.

On another note I’m kinda curious to see this new dynamic with Kate and the others, so far we saw her as someone casually collaborating and interacting with them often because of Lucy, so to see the future interactions with the team without Lucy, I think is gonna give Kate some more layers to her character and a new challenge for her.

Also 4 months is nothing, especially with today technology, as I mentioned I live in another continent from my family/friends and I haven’t been back since the beginning of the pandemic, 4 months is nothing….

Im happy to see the growth Kate and Lucy can do during challenging circumstances, I love to see their relationships but they are more than that, hopefully the writers use this situation to show us more, we know Kate is Work and Lucy and I want to see Kate the friend, I think she has a weird humor and I’d love for the gang to see the more funny silly side of her, also not gonna lie, give me all Jane and Kate lol

Lucy needed this, even if things are Going well with Kate, I think in a way she never really had time to reconnect with herself after this waterfall of feelings, like she said; are they, aren’t they, maybe, than yes, no than really yes, and boom moved in together, sometimes even if things are going apparently well, it’s good to stop, breath, think, listen to yourself and find yourself away from everyone else. I don’t think she really had time to stop during these emotional roller coaster she had in the last year, she never really had a chance to analyze and understand what was going on in her brain and heart, so this may be super good for Lucy.

Also, who doesn’t love a good old reunion between lovers?

I’m in for it and I’m excited on what is gonna happen next.

oh god, anon, you are a breath of fresh air!

A lot of times as fans of the relationship we feel like any episode that doesn't focus on them being a couple is filler, but this one definitely wasn't, I agree that it was sudden, but at the same time that's what makes it feel more real.

I don't know what to tell you just that I agree with you, it's not something that is "out of character" for Lucy or Kate, it's something that maybe was needed now, and they were definitely going to be forced to be apart for work reasons at some point, and personally I liked that they adapted Lucy's absence in this way, because it's giving them the opportunity to prove that they can against everything when it's still early in the relationship, this will make them grow more as people, professionally and within the relationship.

And about Kate with the team, I've been begging for 29 episodes to let Kai and Kate be friends! I need that typical rom-com best friend chaotic dynamic!

I don't know what else to tell you, just that I love your opinion and I appreciate you sharing it ✨

[lovecolibri]

Okay, SO. This is a long and highly speculative ask that could potentially make sense to answer after 6.14 airs and we know more information, but right now I'm going off of spoilers from the early release. Eddie ends the episode single and open to dating but not actively dating. As far as I know, he didn't yell, "I'M STRAIGHT!" during the episode. And sadly, that is the best possible outcome that I could imagine from a writer like Nadia and a showrunner like Kristen.

What I've seen others continue to worry about - and have worried about myself, if I'm being honest - is that Marisol returns and since Eddie is now in a "good place"for dating, he will choose her (although I think this is a somewhat unnecessary storyline to show that he is in a "good place" because it wasn't like he was in a "bad place" generally to date after Ana...he just didn't want to date HER, which I thought was the entire fucking point of that storyline, but I digress).

Marisol's actress' captions was, "I don't know if it's out yet so I can't quite say but I just love when I work." We know that she posted it in late March. People fixated on the "it" as meaning one episode. And if that's true, I'm just very confused how she wouldn't know if her episode was out?? Especially if she was going to be playing a fairly significant role in terms of Eddie dating?? And if she's coming back in a later episode, like 6.17 or even the finale, how would she not be aware of the much later airdate?? I realize I sound a bit unhinged with the question marks, but the actress has been in the business for years and doesn't seem like an idiot. It just struck me as weird!

The other view of this, which is more negative, is that she meant "it" by "the news that I'm going to be returning to the show." Maybe she assumed that the show or her agent was going to release that information and she was waiting for the "okay" to say more. Her posting that selfie at Fox around the filming of the finale could support that theory that she's gearing up for a more serious role as a love interest (hence making the "it" being "the return"). Again, this is negative, but I don't know if I'm reading too much into what "it" means here because I find it unrealistic that she wouldn't know when her episode comes out...

ALL of that said, it's possible that she did film for 6.14 or even an earlier episode and her scene got cut (hence why she deleted the picture)? Maybe the episode WAS supposed to end with Eddie choosing to date her, but they decided to nix the scene. It would make a lot of sense because Nadia was the one who created her character.

Honestly, I'm going to need a leak or something about this character because every time I see an anonymous ask or theory about Marisol...the suspense of where this is going for Eddie ... AHHHH! LOL. What are your thoughts??

Well, it was good to wait until after 6x15 to answer this because we know from the synopsis guest cast list that she will be back in 6x17. I'm fairly certain with the lid they have kept on any of the women around Buck and Eddie, that she was probably told not to say anything. That pic she posted was, unlike her other ones from 6a, not on set or in her trailer or in costume or anything, it was just her outside a studio that 911 fans happened to know is the one 911 uses. Most people wouldn't have been able to pick up on that so she probably thought it was safe to post but of course the whole thing blew up and that's likely why the pic was taken down. We know the pick that was posted of L was also taken down when that sparked some backlash as I'm sure the show didn't want anyone to know she was back on set. No one really knew anything about Natalia until the synopsis came out so that was kept pretty under wraps too and ONLY really sparked talk because of Aisha's live where that name came up (and we all saw Oliver's reaction because he KNEW what fans were gonna do hearing he was going on dates).

IDK what the plan is for Marisol if it's for more than one episode or not, but this late in the season I'm sure it's all just testing the waters to see how the majority of the audience responds to the character so they can plan out season 7. I personally don't care where it's going because I'm never going to like or praise or accept the show throwing random women at Buck or Eddie at this point. They already both had THEE breakup where they did the thing they needed to do (mostly) with Eddie putting himself first instead of what he thought he had to do for Chris, and Buck being the one to walk away instead of being left again (even if he only did it because someone else got hurt and not because it was what HE needed to do for HIMSELF because HE was miserable, but that's on KR for fucking up that storyline to push L and not ending BT back in 5a 🤷🏻‍♀️). At this point, it's all just a repeat of storylines while they try to find women that will stick with the audience which to me is just bad storytelling from a bad showrunner. Not that I don't think they could make it work out in the end and give some reason for Buck and Eddie getting growth out of it. Hell, fandom has come up with plausible explanations by the droves! I'm just not sure if the show WILL, because Kristen has proven herself to be spiteful and doesn't see Buddie at all, and unless Timmy comes back and takes the reins or someone else takes over I just see this endless cycle continuing to the end of the show and Buck and Eddie being single so they can throw out the tired PR line that it allows all fans to be happy and see what they want in that relationship which is another way of saying they refused to commit one way or the other because they're cowards. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[bigskydreaming]

Hey ;)

What do you think of yj! Dick? I'm really curious 👀

I think less and less every time a new episode of YJ airs, lol.

Idk, the magic is largely gone from YJ for me, which sucks because back in the day I really enjoyed the first two seasons a lot. But I never even finished Season 3 because so much of it was Yikes for me, and I've dipped in and out of S4 without feeling much of a need to keep on top of it, le sigh.

Like the thing is, back when the first two seasons were airing, I loved the show and YJ's version of Dick. That's not to say I thought it was like, the definitive version of him or anything - as I often mention like the broken record I cosplay on a daily basis, I try and view adaptations as their own thing, I don't worry too much about them being completely comics accurate. Its more like I worry first and foremost if I'm enjoying the depiction of characters I like within the context of the adaptation specifically....and if I don't, THEN I might be like, I think this character would work better within the show if say, they had carried over this trait or this tendency of theirs from the comics. But without being all that bothered that they don't do that, because its ultimately just an adaptation and its existence or my dislike of it doesn't threaten or take anything away from the existence of the comics or source version of the character, which is what I'm ultimately a fan of.

But for what it was, within the specific context of the YJ universe, I liked their take on Dick Grayson, and thought he was everything he needed to be for the show. He hit enough of the character beats and traits that I like about him in the comics that I was like, yes, this isn't just an enjoyable character for me, its an enjoyable character I also accept and view as Dick Grayson, lol, and while there are aspects of him that I don't think pull from the comics or wouldn't work within the framework of a lot of comics stories, its like...it was fine. He's fine. I can and did enjoy.

And man oh man did I NOT vibe with a lot of the fandom takes on DG over the....idk, hiatus period between Season 2 and the revival. Like, for me specifically, it was reminiscent of a lot of the takes that I dislike so heartily about the comics, just carried over - like there was a lot of 'look at Dick be jealous of Bruce talking privately to Kaldur in S1, lol he has spoiled single child syndrome' and I'd be like mmmmm is it spoiled single child syndrome or is it 'kid who famously lost his parents and everything else familiar to him at an early age has clear abandonment issues and related insecurities?' Discuss.

And whenever S2 takes happened like BOY HOWDY was there a whole lot of 'how dare this guy keep secrets from his teammates and play with their emotions' and I'd be like 'oh no way, you mean in the show where the entire first season was about them learning they could be betrayed by one of their own even when that character didn't even realize they were doing it because mind control, Dick applied this experience to his future plans and kept things top secret so that even mind controlled characters like Jaime couldn't reveal things against his will, like specifically you mean how dare he do that and thus not get Artemis and Kaldur accidentally killed by the bad guys learning all their plans via mind controlled teammates?'

So there definitely was that sorta thing, but like, more heated because lbr I'm not that chill lol its not realistic.

But like, point being, YJ for me was always this weird thing where I DO view their take on DG on being ENOUGH like the DG from the comics that I'm like, invested and defensive about him, but also he's different enough that based just on the adaptation he stems from, I'm not AS invested and defensive about him as I am the comic book version.....

With the end result that like, I had strong feelings about YJ Dick INITIALLY, but in hindsight, and particularly with the revival (which I personally consider fairly lackluster and not as compelling as I wish it were), like, the strong feelings and emotional investment I have in YJ Dick just don't have the same staying power as the comics version for me, lol.

So when I see what I even now still consider to be bad takes on YJ Dick, I'm just like, cool, that's certainly an opinion you have there! Cool deal, I'm going to go like.....over there where I will continue to not care super hard because I'm just not that invested, lol.

And tbh, I'm more than okay with that.

fhaklfhnalhfalf

[swashbucklery]

Hi! I have a question for you, if that's alright. I've been wanting to get back into watching legends of tomorrow (I watched all of season one and part of season two when it was first airing, but I got a little bored and side tracked and then arrowverse killed off og laurel and I didn't want to watch Sara deal with that lol). Do you think I would be okay starting back with season three? It looks to me like that's when a lot of cool characters come in and things get more fun

Oh my gosh anon. ANON. Nothing makes me happier than to answer the question Should I Watch DC's Legends Of Tomorrow, I love this show SO MUCH and think it's for everybody!!!

So like.

I will say that I genuinely enjoy all seasons of this show, including season one. I know this places me in the minority of fans but I think part of it also depends on like. With every show I think there's a particular facet or trope that fans tend to connect with that pulls them in. And for a lot of shows, the fandom broadly has one or two of the same facets bringing them in but I'd argue with Legends like - the cast is so big and each season is so unique that there are parts of fandom accessing this show for completely different and sometimes opposite reasons.

I love S1 and S2 but part of the reason that I love it is because my access point for Legends is Sara. Character-wise she hits all the tropes that I love and I just - idk. There are lots of other characters that I love, but she's my Big Time Favourite and the things that I love about S1 and S2 are really her arc.

So in terms of reccing a starting season, it's a bit tough because I don't know what your "in" will be, anon.

I love S2 because it really sets up Sara stepping into her own as captain, and also establishes Amaya's backstory and allows her to take her place as a critical part of the team. It is also the season where the show really started to find its feet in terms of weirdness; if you skip ahead I’d still recommend watching 2.09 (Raiders of the Lost Art) as it really is a gem.

(I was going to rec a bunch more episodes and then I realized I was just reccing the entire back half of S2 but. . .IDK it’s a good season! It picks up in quality significantly after the crossover; restarting from 2.09 onwards is actually not a bad approach to it but certainly not required.)

S3 is a great place to start! It brings in Zari pretty early, and for a lot of people she’s another character who kind of brought them in to Legends. Adding another woman shifted the balance away from Men Screaming At Stuff quite a bit more and it made a huge difference in the energy and tone of the show that i think brought a lot of new viewers in.

S3 also adds in Ava and the Bureau and look I think this show is so much more than one wlw ship and has value both because of but also far beyond that, but IF YOU LIKE WHEN WOMEN KISS OR WHATEVER this is the season that also introduces that.

A caveat: We do not speak of Crisis on Earth X; if you decide to get into the show via this season I would highly recommend not putting yourself through this crossover in particular.

[malexfan10]

Malex thoughts

I was watching some old episodes of Dawson's Creek and it made me want to get some thoughts out. I watched a lot of TV shows growing up. For me, the couples I liked were either ones I casually rooted for or on the rare occasion, a couple took me by such surprise that I became extremely emotionally invested. Malex is the latter.

I've been a fan of Captain Swan (OUAT), Stydia (Teen Wolf), Kurt & Blaine (Glee), Buffy & Angel and lots more. The rare pairings I've been completely lost on, I can name on one hand. Pacey & Joey (my first OTP), Chandler & Monica and Malex. I'd say Destiel on Supernatural too but with them, everything is subtext. I don't think the writers will have the guts to go there, not even with the show ending.

With PJ, I love how they started as antagonists, became really great friends, and then fell in love. For me, PJ vs DJ was incomparable. DJ brought out the worst in each other (my opinion) while PJ showed each other what love was supposed to be. The only thing I hated about DC was the constant back & forth between the two pairings. It lasted until the final moment when you realized PJ was endgame (one of my fears for Malex). I hated that but I was a kid so it didn't bother me as much as it would now.

I loved Chandler & Monica because they started out as friends who fell in love, got married and had all the moments in between before adopting a set of twins. I loved their story because it showed their entire journey. True, the show was a comedy but their story didn't end in season 5 when they started dating. Their story just began.

It's hard understanding writers who feel that only the journey matters. Of course it does. The journey is important. It's what makes you root for a couple but the destination and what happens after is important too. It makes you continue rooting for them, seeing all that angst and pain amounting to something substantial in the end.

So as much as I loved PJ, the fact that they kept us guessing until the last 5 minutes before we realized who she chose was too much. The long, drawn out, multi-season, will they/won't they storytelling style is one I'll never be a fan of.

Which leads me to Malex.

They were two broken boys, both brought up under horrible circumstances, who found the missing piece of themselves in each other. When Alex gave Michael a warm and safe place to stay, it was probably the first act of true kindness Michael had ever experienced and it was made by a boy whose pain and suffering mirrored his own. How incredibly heartbreaking but beautiful is that? That initial bond, that "cosmic" connection stood the test of time. Separated for 10 years and it felt like no time had passed at all.

That first moment in the pilot episode outside his Airstream, you could feel the tension. I remember reading interpretations of that scene. People thought Malex were cold and angry with one another "probably over a girl". Are you kidding me? That tension could only be romantic. But that first kiss at the reunion was when I hopped on the Malex Forever train. One stop only. Endgame.

They set them up so amazingly in the first three episodes. The angst was there but you could also feel the deep love between them. They weren't shown as two guys who had a fling back in high school and then crossed paths again 10 years later, said what the hell and hooked up again. No, they were shown as soulmates. Their level of connection even scared and confused them but they both knew it existed. Their love was pure and true and rare.

With all their history and with so many odds already stacked against them, the writers deciding to throw in a triangle just because they could and doing it in such a rushed and messy way really made me scratch my head.

Carina said she loved the triangle on DC. I honestly think she was the only one. That show was incredibly divided, DJ vs PJ. But as much as I hated the constant back and forth, I'll give the DC writers some credit. Joey's feelings for both were fully touched on. I saw her romantic feelings for Pacey more profound and her feelings for Dawson as true friendship (just my opinion), but both sides were shown in depth.

The problem with Roswell? Where did those feelings come from between M&M? They shared a moment when Maria cried and I took that as the start of a wonderful friendship. I was obviously wrong. They hooked up in the desert. OK I hated it but they were two single people and Maria didn't know about Alex so I accepted. All of a sudden, the feelings were real and Maria was conflicted because of how strong her feelings were. Michael chose to be with Maria because he needed something fresh and new and according to the wonderful Vlamis, someone he also had strong feelings for (still hate that last interview LOL).

I understand where Michael was coming from a little better, as much as I hate it and hate how he went about it by leaving Alex just waiting. He'd been through so much trauma and Max and Isobel kept telling him to stop looking to the past (which, really Max? If someone told you that about Liz, would you listen?? But he died so he gets a pass). But as far as Maria's feelings are concerned, I feel like I missed something.

Between episodes 9 and 10, did the M&M feelings bloom overnight from flirty banter to crush to "OMG this is love"? Was their moment in the desert that mind-blowing that the weirdness of episode 11 happened? I don't get it.

The one thing going against M&M is that Malex is overwhelmingly loved and has been embraced by fans and critics alike.

One critic said it best when they reviewed the finale (Vulture).

"I was intrigued by the possibility of Michael/Maria at first, but the love triangle has been so rushed — with so little time spent on Maria’s developing feelings for Michael — that it’s ended up just making her look terrible. We know from Maria’s conversation with Liz that she hasn’t even spoken to Alex about the situation because she feels too guilty, and so having her accept Michael with open arms is such an odd note. Sure, she doesn’t know Alex is waiting for Michael right at the same moment, but she does know that he’s been in love with Michael for a decade."

And therein lies the problem. A lifelong friendship ruined over a guy (unless Carina makes Alex give his blessing next season which would really make me scream) to push forward a pairing that had little development and makes Maria look bad. One side of the triangle is Michael's soulmate and the other side is the friend with sudden feelings. Not the best character development which is sad because we know how awesome Maria can be and as mad as I am with her, her character that I enjoyed until episode 10 and the actress deserve better. But instead of being original, the writers chose the path always taken. They chose to use her as the odd end of a triangle where, unless they want everyone to hate the show, she will likely be the one forced out so Malex can eventually reunite and for what? Drama?

Season 1 started out really strong and it still had a lot of strong moments in the latter episodes (end scene of episode 9 between Malex, Liz & Jenna being kickass in episode 11, all of episode 12 - my fave of the season, Kyle's confrontation with Jesse etc).

But honestly, I feel like the inclusion of this triangle (amongst other reveals like Noah as the 4th alien) somewhat brought the story down. The writing for M&M felt OOC and was messily done.

Only in recent years have LGBT pairings started becoming more mainstream, given better development and importance in the overall story. With Malex, they have the potential of making Michael and Alex one of the greatest love stories on TV. As much as I love the show, I'm not saying Roswell is on the same level as Breaking Bad or The Sopranos etc. But from all the pairings on the show, Malex is the most profound and has the potential to go down as one of the best on TV. To overcome everything they've been through and still choose each other and their love would be the ultimate happy ending because unlike most male/female pairings that go through mostly regular angst, being two males in a small town, Malex have a whole other level of obstacles to face. That doesn't even include their personal history, the fact that Michael is an alien or that Alex's father is the cause of so much pain between them. Or the fact that Alex is a disabled war veteran. I mean, there is so much amazing points to their story. They are the OTP of OTPs.

But so far, it feels like the triangle is the only major roadblock the writers want to concentrate on and that's the biggest mistake of all.

Season 2 hasn't aired yet. We don't know how little (🤞) or how long (😢) M&M will last. We'll just have to wait and see how it goes and hope that Twitter Carina is not the same as Season 2 showrunner Carina.

But for me, Malex will always be each other's endgame. That's what I saw in the first 3 episodes. That's what I saw in the flashbacks. That's what I saw in Caulfield. Try and convince me differently, show. You'll fail.

❤

[rat-girl-rambles]

Holden Caulfield & Jackie Paper

So, it's been a minute. It's hard to tell if I'm getting closer or further from myself, but I guess "self" is more or less my own construct so I guess it's more of a decision than a realization. That last sentence even made the whiney protagonist from Cather in the Rye roll his eyes. I couldn't remember his name. I thought of googling it but that felt inauthentic and like I was trying too hard for a Salinger reference.

Anyways, I'm a few months into a new job. Full time big girl benefits job. So, that's exciting. I actually like it. And in more than just an "it's nice to keep my brain preoccupied with things that aren't so doom and gloom" kinda way. It's not like I'm curing cancer or anything groundbreaking, but it's nice to be good at something. It's nice to not feel so useless.

I've thought about getting on antidepressants. Now that I have an actual income, I can't totally blame finances on my hesitance to therapy and meds. But everyone has bad days, right? We don't have to get into that.

What I want to write about is boys, but the idea that my own internal monologue won't pass the Bechdel test makes me sick to my stomach. The idea that with all my depressive episodes, manic choices, self-destructive actions- it's puppy love that's making me cry- that idea just makes me livid.

Holden Caulfield. That was the character I couldn't think of earlier. I love that name too, I'm almost mad at myself for not being able to remember it.

Anyways, I'm not sure if I'm getting better and I'm not sure if I want to. I think I'll start writing more. I don't know if I actually want to die, but I think about it often enough. I'm not sure how often most people think about it, but I assume not as often as I have been lately. My goal is more just to get better at handling this kind of stuff on my own.

I might have overshared with a boy I just cut out. I sent that song "Puff, the Magic Dragon" to him (just after the last time I cut him out lol) and he thought I 0ffed mys3lf. We just have a bit about the name "Jackie Paper" and I wasn't if he knew what it was from. But a children's song? What a weird way to leave a su1c1d3 note.

I'm drinking chamomile tea and writing a tumblr blog while it storms outside. Today I ate, worked out, talked to other humans, showered, got fresh air. I'm not exactly leaning over the ledge. It's not like people are worried about me. I think letting some old habits back in is a fair trade off to keep us all feeling good about where I'm at. We're all just getting by anyways, right?

[naomigoeswoah]

ANTI MALIA/SCALIA

I think everyone has a right to like and dislike characters, as a writer I sympathize with like everyone so it's hard for me to dislike a character so passionately.

I've just seen so much Scalia/Malia hate, more Malia hate than anything, and I'm trying to figure out why that is.

When Malia was introduced I was impartial, when Stalia happened I was like hell no, and I didn't like Malia for the simple fact that she was barely given screen time before heading into a romance with a main character in the most delusional/unhealthy (from a writer's standpoint aka mine). I saw the #AntiMalia posts and all I could think was I don't like her but that's way too far. They really don't have anything better to do with their time?

When season 5 came along and Malia actually got real serious development instead of being a comic relief I took notice. I appreciated what she was going through, I connected with her character. After her Tracey and Theo car ride moment I knew that I really liked this character and that there was no reason to hold the writer's piss poor job of her entry and relationship with Stiles against her.

I may be one of the only people on this world that didn't ship Scallison and Scira. Scallison was wayyyyyy too rushed. The first episode? Come on dude. I didn't get a choice if I wanted to see those two together the show said these two are going to be together, here you go, figure it out along the way. Scira was better for me because they had time to develop a friendship before but I have so many issues with Scira.

So I've never really successfully shipped anyone with Scott, which made me kinda sad over the seasons, it was always Stiles I was shipping people with. I DO NOT SHIP MALEO.

Once I realized how much I loved Scott and Malia as characters on their own without being romantically linked to anybody else I was more okay with the idea of them getting together. At first, like a lot of people I was weirded out because of Stiles BUT STILES DID THE SAME THING WITH LYDIA SO THERE SHOULDN'T BE A DOUBLE STANDARD.

By the rules of the show, which I don't recommend going off of lol, Scott and Malia can totally get together because we've seen it happen without any drama with Stydia. HONESTLY WHY PEOPLE ARE SHOCKED BY THIS IS A MYSTERY TO ME LIKE HAVE YOU NOT SEEN A SINGLE EPISODE OF ANY TEEN DRAMA WHERE THEY ALL DATE EACH OTHER MULTIPLE TIMES?!

I digress, my point is that most you only hate the idea of Scalia because of three reasons. You hate Malia for reasons people don't like to share. Saying you hate because there's something about her is a BULLSHIT argument. If you can't give episodes or specific details why look at yourself and ask why are you being malicious. Or you ship Scira. I get it. I would be salty too. BUT WE ALL KNOW KIRA ISN'T COMING BACK. STOP USING KIRA AS AN EXCUSE FOR YOUR HATE FOR THE SHIP. ARDEN MADE THE GOODBYE VIDEO LAST SEASON, LAST YEAR, YOU HAVE NO REASON TO BELIEVE SCIRA WILL BE TOGETHER OR GET MORE SCREEN TIME. IF THEY DIDN'T BREAK UP ON AIR HOPEFULLY THE WRITERS WILL EXPLAIN IT. KIRA WILL BE GONE FOR WHO KNOWS HOW LONG YOU CAN'T EXPECT SCOTT TO WAIT FOR SOMEONE THAT MAY NEVER COME HOME IN HIS LIFETIME. Or you have the mindset that Scott and Malia are the only two left single so they shouldn't be together just because that/boys and girls can be friends and nothing more.

GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE WITH THAT. If you think Scalia is happening soley because there the only ones left you haven't been paying attention or reading context clues. Posey and Shelley are really great friends which is why Scalia works and has a standing ground. Scalia is developed in much the same way. They have a BASIS OF FRIENDSHIP FIRST. They're both loyal to each other, protect each other, and kick ass together. They're iconic. And I still don't understand why people hate the friends into something more trope. That's a great trope. Just falling into a romance without being friends with a person is the trope I hate. BUILD THAT FRIENDSHIP YALL! MAJOR KEY ALERT.

AND IF YOU HAVEN'T EVEN WATCHED ANY PENNIG/SCALIA FAN VIDS I SUGGEST YOU CHECK OUT MY EXTENSIVE PLAYLIST OF BOTH SO YOU CAN SEE THAT SCALIA HAS BEEN DEVELOPED A LOT AND THE MORE YOU THINK ABOUT HOW WELL THEY'RE SUITED FOR EACH OTHER HOPEFULLY YOU CAN BE HAPPY THAT THESE TWO CHARACTERS THAT HAVE BEEN HANDED SHITTY ROMANCE LIVES ARE GOING TO BE HAPPY TOGETHER:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5dcfVp5UBU&list=PLBtjQJj3LJqtVgDDembnysfOs1GCEQQKs

I MEAN, LIKE YOU CAN SEE THAT THEY'VE HAD THAT TUNNEL SCENE AND THE ONE IN DEATON'S OFFICE, AND THE PORCH SCENE, AND ALL OF 6A!!! I suggest watching the Pennig vids first(Home, Soldier, and the This or That vids and the cutest upbeat scalia vid is And Your Smile Shining Bright)

PLEASE JUST GIVE THE VIDEOS A CHANCE, GIVE THE IDEA OF THEM BEING HAPPY A CHANCE BEFORE YOU WRITE THEM OFF. This vids at the beginning are a little AUey and are more manipued that the older ones because I made the playlist and they came out before 6a was released, the further you go down the list the more actual scalia scenes are used. I doubt any of us would be happy that Scott got a random new love interest for the last ten episodes that we know nothing about or care about and that wouldn't be in all ten episodes.

And lastly, Scott turned Malia human again. We all know that. If there hadn't been Scira or residual Scallison do you think you would've shipped Scalia then? I was blind to it until after 5b. He changed her back, she protected him from the Berserkers, from Enis at the hospital, he took care of her when she was drunk, helped with the Desert Wolf/Belasko talons, he told her he was still there for her after the Stalia breakup, if Peter hadn't bitten Scott none of this would've happened and obviously Peter's her dad. Like can yall see the lines here? And all this doesn't mean they have to be together, but if you really look at them and watch Shelley and Tyler together and Scott and Malia then hopefully you'll see what the rest of us see. Two amazing people that have come so far that care for each other they just so happen to figure out how much at the same time. :D

I LIED. LASTLY, PENNIG BITCHES!!!!! OHHH MY GOOOOOOD! THEY ARE LIKE LITERALLY SO IN LOVE WITH EACH OTHER, TYLER MORE SO PROBABLY BUT IT'S SO OBVIOUS. THEY'RE SOCIAL MEDIA GIVES ME HEART PALPITATIONS. SHELLEY IS SO BEAUTIFUL AND SO FUNNY! LIKE PENNIG HAS PHOTOSETS OF THEM POOPING, EATING PIZZA, AND JUST BEING WEIRD AF. "I could eat you" Come on, if Shelley didn't have a boyfriend I think Posey would be on that like white on rice. To be fair, I think he already is kinda. It's so obvious he's head over heels for Shelley.

BITCH I LIED AGAIN. Lastly, at the very least, the idea of them is adorable. Take out Stiles for a second. If it was just Scott had turned her back and she eventually found her way to the pack but Scira still happened and ended, the idea of them wouldn't be so yuck to some of yall I would think. He's good to her. She needs that after her first relationship that wasn't great in my opinion, but also wasn't as bad as some stydias like to say. I say stalia is all wrong from a writing standpoint not a shipping standpoint. He "tames" her in some ways when she was still learning and she could bring out a wilder side in him. Hu Anita's King and Lionheart Scalia vid on that playlist showcased them perfectly. Like Scott's the King and Malia is his Lionheart. Iconic Duo.