#she could have the own firm girl boss arc that I still hate

[asteria-argo]

if y'all catch me totally changing Keeley's entire plot in TATBP with no elaboration mind your own business.

[accidentallyadramablog]

Review: Down With Love (2010)

I felt a little nostalgic this week and decided to rewatch Down With Love, a romcom out of Taiwan featuring Ella Chen (from Hana Kimi) and Jerry Yan (Meteor Garden).

This is more of a brain dump as opposed to a real review. More below the cut.

Let me just start with the fact I love dramas with tomboys, gender benders, and gender non-conforming women and girls in general. I'm a 40 yr old gnc bi-woman, so some of these storylines really resonate with me - despite the trend of making those female characters glaringly stupid and pitiable.

Tags: Nanny, Love Square, Tomboy, Male Chases Female First, Sismance, Rich Man/Poor Woman, Pretends To Be Gay, Single Parent, Sisterhood, Boss/Employee Relationship

Our girl Ella Chen plays tomboy Yang Guo. Yang Guo works, has friends, and a shitty boyfriend of 5 years. She acts naïve, but she actually has a lot of life experience due to a *tragic backstory*. After her mother died, her father ruined the family business. Their family plunged from riches to rags and their father abandoned them. Yang Guo is 6 when this happens and it falls on her older sister Yang Duo to raise them both while homeless, starving, and navigating the homeless camps in the parks of Taipei.

Yang Duo (Kelly Huang) has raised her little sister by herself, beginning from poverty and homelessness to having a house and making a life for themselves. They bicker good-naturedly, but Yang Duo is very protective and supportive of her sister. She's managed to earn a job at a prestigious law firm as an admin assistant with strong accounting skills. She is seen as frugal, clever, and competent. Several characters make comments throughout the series about how it was a shame that she didn't go into certain careers because she's so accomplished despite not having a formal education. It's obvious that Yang Duo has put her own dreams and happiness on hold to make sure that she and Guo have financial security. Yang Duo is my favorite character btw. She is a supporting character that is multi-faceted and has her own character arc. I really like seeing her growth in this drama, and she gets some cute side couple action later in the series. Skip the last episode.

Due to growing up in poverty and scrabbling to lower-middle-class, the two girls work nonstop. After Guo is fired from her job waiting tables, Duo gets Guo a job as a nanny for her boss Xiang Yu Ping by lying and saying Guo is a lesbian.

Xiang Yu Ping (Jerry Yan) owns his own law firm and is seen as cold and overbearing. He is raising his dead brother's kids and none of the nannies he's hired have lasted either due to being chased off by the kids (a la the Sound of Music) or by trying to seduce him because he's a rich handsome lawyer. Relieved to have found a nanny who definitely wouldn't seduce him (because he thinks she's a lesbian), he just pays an unreasonably huge salary to keep her there with the kids despite their abuse.

Supporting characters: Amanda Chu as the best friend Yan Ling with the messy dating life is also delightful, but I've enjoyed all her roles. I may rewatch Lion Pride for her, now that I'm walking down memory lane. The office of 'just some lawyer dudes being dudes' are funny. I love when they gather around to watch drama and place bets on what's happening. They're also slackers. I would love/hate to work with them.

So that's the setup.

Honestly, I hate the 'pretends to be gay' plots. It's typically really offensive and this was no exception in a lot of places. (It's not at the same level as Personal Taste, but it's bad.) One of the cases Yu Ping takes on is unlawful termination and blackmail of a gay teacher and he asks for Yang Guo's advice to help the man. Taiwan was trying in 2010, but it wasn't exactly good representation to have a fake lesbian help an actual gay man faced with employment discrimination and blackmail over his orientation. When I compare this with Love is Science (2021 twdrama) that has two out lgbt characters employed in their office with significant roles, I'm just so happy that lgbtq media representation is still progressing.

I don't care about Yu Ping's best friend Qi Ke Zhong or Yu Ping's ex-girlfriend Ding Hui Fan because they're both terrible people that don't deserve forgiveness and their only purpose was to drag out our leads getting together. Since this was a rewatch, I knew how much I hated their scenes and skipped them as much as I could. You're not missing anything. Someone on YT needs to just make a Yang Duo/Xiang Yu Ping cut, tbh. Also? Go ahead and skip the deadbeat father.

The nanny bit only lasts three episodes (the kids are adorable), but it's long enough for Yu Ping to catch feelings and think his lesbian nanny is cute. He actually is not cold and overbearing as episode 1 makes him out to be. Yu Ping is supportive and tries to be a good friend to Guo. When he thinks her 'girlfriend' is cheating on her, he absolutely flips out because he feels she deserves to be respected and loved in her relationship. He learns about her family. He learns about her friends. He knows where to look for her when she's upset. He knows how to cheer her up and later, he knows how to make the perfect date. When he finds out she lied about being a lesbian, he's not even mad. He admits it was his fault for making certain demands in the employment contract. He's just upset that he's lost chances to flirt and court her.

Listen. It's a dumb premise in this drama and the misunderstandings suck. But it's so refreshing to see male leads be decent to women that are romantically and sexually unavailable to them. The bar is so low, in RL and in dramas, that Yu Ping belongs in the top tier of male drama leads. This dude was just going to continue in a supportive friendship for an undetermined time, both when he thought she was a lesbian and later when his shitty weasel of a best friend dated her under false pretenses. He didn't burden her with a confession until her relationship was over. And whenever she asked for space, he gave it to her. And when she confronted him on instances of jealously, he apologized and gave her space.

Yu Ping never tries to change Guo. He doesn't give her a makeover. She has a makeover scene that is instigated by another character and all he does is try to make her comfortable when she's so obviously uncomfortable. Then he cheers inwardly when he sees her overcome her awkwardness and have confidence. But by the end of the drama, she is still dressing and acting the same as in act 1. It honestly reminded me a little of Coffee Prince in that the fancy male lead is still just as enamored with his gnc woman by the end and the way she presents herself doesn't have an effect on their romantic relationship. Again, this is content catered to me as a bi & gnc woman in a relationship with a cis-het man. I often am mistaken for a man when I go out with my spouse and he's still super into me so let's normalize gnc people with gc people already it's 2021.

Anyway, if you watch romances for kisses, there's really only a couple of pecks and one nice passionate kiss and they're all in basically the last 3 eps of the series.

The last episode sucks. Stop at episode 15. Seriously. Don't watch episode 16. Why oh why do you let terrible people back in your life? Qi Ke Zhong and Ding Hui Fan are toxic and should but cut out of their lives. The end of ep 15 had a happy ending with a family-style breakfast for our two sisters with their boyfriends. Ep 16 threw in some more misunderstanding, jealousy, and separations followed by a time skip for no reason and brought back my two least favorite characters.

Anyway, I will live in my little world with Yang Duo and her sweet lawyer boyfriend Liang Zhi Hao (Ian Yim/Cyran Yan/Yan Yi En yeah, this actor has three stage names) that supports her interests and self-determination while they save money on mass transit by using his motorbike. And they build her dream home that she designs. Perhaps they put aside funds for her to pursue a degree in what she's passionate about.

[atopearth]

Higurashi When They Cry Part 2 - Ch 2 Watanagashi

I regret not typing down the important thoughts for the first arc, I’m going to forget everything T_T Anyway, hmmm Mion’s really got a bunch of uncles. Like seriously, does her extended family own the whole town’s businesses, do they basically run the town altogether? It did seem like her family had a lot of power in the previous arc so maybe.. So it’s true that she has a younger twin sister… But the one dressed in those cute clothes at the family restaurant was definitely Mion rightttt?! She’s so cuteee! She should admit it was her lolol but then Keiichi would just keep teasing her lmao. Now that we know she has a twin sister though, could she be the one that died instead? Or is she a potential killer?🤔

Hahahaha my bad. I got tricked along with the MC. It was actually Shion all along! She was really good at making the MC misunderstand and continuing to let him misunderstand loll. I guess she’s scary in that way lmao. But yeah, when the MC was protected by Shion and the Hinamizawa people, it was pretty scary… Like, these guys seem capable of anything, even the elementary school kids! Like, it just sounds crazy… I wonder if the same people will die in this game too… On another note though, I love all the fun they have as usual. I mean, Keiichi in a maid outfit?! Hahahah! And when he bribed his younger classmates so he could win lmao since the kids like Satoko and Rika lololol. And his successful sales pitch for the skimpy takoyaki seller! They’re all geniuses in their own way lmao. Since although Keiichi outshined the others here, when the others helped protect Shion from perverts at her workplace, they were so cool lmao, especially Rena hahaha! She always looks so gentle but is unexpectedly violent lmao.

But omg, the idea of the Watanagashi is so frightening…. To dissect people and eat their insides and to torture them all that time… Whether they had demon’s blood or not, it doesn’t change the fact that there were people doing that…. I guess the scariest thing about Higurashi isn’t the idea really of anything looking scary but the atmosphere, tension, build up and execution of it. The random times Mion and Rena would show their craziness is always frightening. So I guess rather than being scared, you get chills down your spine.

Pretty gruesome way for Takano to die being burnt to death and half naked for some reason. Tomitake clawing out his throat and blood vessels always makes me flinch. I really like Tomitake though :( Rika-chan is so cool and dependable that you start to forget that she’s a kid. MC is in a total state of shock and confusion. Shion is the same though I guess especially with the mayor that she confided in disappearing. I guess their wrongdoing in this arc is much more substantial than the previous though considering they entered somewhere prohibited and learnt about the bloody history of the village. Mion is always the most suspicious but… I still think she’s the kind one that always wants to help Keiichi. But I guess I have my doubts every now and then too hahaha. I’ll have to go through all the question arcs before I really put a firm input of my thoughts on this whole thing I guess.

But dangg, when he exposed on the phone that Shion(?) couldn’t be the one calling him the past few days and she started laughing hysterically and then hanging up…I got so creeped out… I mean, it’s a sound novel but just reading the words with the background music made it even scarier to an extent…

It was really quite devastating to hear Mion admitting to killing Rika and Satoko. They were her friends. They’ve been together for so long… It was a very heavy burden for Mion to bear though, as the leader of her family and essentially the leader of the village itself. To protect against the discrimination the village once bore as monsters… It was quite saddening to hear though, the human eating stories getting out of hand and the village being detested and completely hated. Would it be called karma for the discrimination they once displayed to others? But that wouldn’t have been their faults, it would have been their ancestors. Regardless though, Mion having taken on the spirit of her grandfather, grandmother and her parents, she had to protect the village from that dark past, because if it were to spread again, who knows how the village will be treated again? But it was really cool that Mion’s grandmother was the one who united the whole village into that mindset of protecting one another against outsiders that don’t treat them well. I’m sure that’s what they needed. But I wonder if killing people every year at the festival was really required to protect the secrets of the village.

It was pretty heartbreaking to hear that the lock to the ritual storehouse they broke into was changed because of Rika and the mayor thinking the bars and stuff were too heavy and that it should be changed because they believed no one in Hinamizawa was bad enough to think of sneaking in. It must have hurt to be Keiichi to hear that. Especially since the mayor and Rika said they’d take responsibility for anything that happens and they really ended up having to with their lives.

I’m kinda surprised and not surprised at the same time that Mion couldn’t kill Keiichi even though he probably would have been the easiest kill. I guess besides the love factor, Keiichi really brought this fun and weightless atmosphere into their group. Everyone in the group carried their own burdens, whether it be Mion as the head, Rena with her obsession with Oyashiro (I think), Rika as the miko and orphan head and Satoko being the cursed child with everyone next to her having died. Keiichi was like a pure breath of fresh air, his existence brought a sense of calmness to them, so everyone loves him, because with him, they could forget about everything. Which is why none of them really wanted him to know about the bad things in the village and it’s also the reason why Mion could probably kill the others but not him. Everyone knew their responsibilities and in a sense have accepted their fates as a part of the village.

You know, even though Mion’s actions can only be blamed on herself and the people in her family who made her become like this, when she told Keiichi that everything started going wrong ever since that time he decided to not give that doll to her. I guess in the end, maybe if he recognised her as a girl, maybe if he recognised her love for him and maybe if he could reciprocate, everything might not have gotten out of hand because she might have stayed more sane. Maybe then she wouldn’t have been able to kill Rika and Satoko… But dangg guess Keiichi will always die hahaha, although it felt like he killed himself through his instability of mind rather than anyone coming to kill him.

If Mion had died before she could have stabbed him that night, then maybe it was the crazy Shion? Shion sounds crazy enough lol. But I do agree with the characters in their little epilogue thing where they discuss the whole story together that considering the crimes they had committed in the past, it would be much too simple and weirdly easy to have been able to pin everything on Mion and her admitting it. Now we go back to… Who is the true mastermind!? Maybe Rena is like the last boss hahaha~

[zimniysoldat-fiction]

Robot Heart [Tony StarkxReader] 1

Summary: Sometimes you wonder if your boss even has a heart, or if it’s just the arc reactor.

Pairings: Tony Stark x reader

Warnings: Shades of angst, language.

Word Count: 1,437

A/N: Angsty angst angst-angst. Apparently a series? I thought this was going to be a one-shot, but again, I’ve been a wordy mother fucker. So I have no idea how long this will be. Or where it’s going in the end, really. Inspired by this song. Heavily inspired. Because I always think of Tony when I hear it.

Series Master List

Tony Stark is a narcissist.

Tony Stark is an egomaniac.

Tony Stark is the definition of vanity.

When you told anyone that you had applied to be Tony Stark’s new personal assistant, this is what you were faced with—‘Tony Stark loves himself’ in varying syntax. You would roll your eyes and ask how that made him different from your last boss, an international rock icon who died of an overdose while you were at your mother’s funeral. Every time people would point out Stark’s vanity, asking why you would want to work for ‘that man,’ you felt like they were ridiculing your decision, belittling your character, insinuating that you were too stupid and too weak to be prepared for what you were getting yourself into.

And that was just when they found out you applied.

When you were hired, it only got worse. On top of ridiculing your decision, they wanted gossip, swag, favours—whatever they could wring out of you so they could get their foot in the door. You knew these people weren’t real friends, they were leeches. Some of them were supposed to be family. You kept them all at an arm’s length, careful not to burn bridges, but also diligent in making sure they could never cross that bridge. As a result, you didn’t have very many people left in your life that you were close with, that you trusted. You had Tori, your former boss’s sister whom you loved like your own sister; Gwen, your friend since high school, who stubbornly stuck by your side and supported you—even in your darkest hours; and Hank, your brother, your rock, the only person who has been by your side through it all—all the pain, the loss, the hurt, and the triumph. The person who had lived it all with you.

Your new job forced you to leave them all behind, forced you to move across the country, when Stark decided to shift his base of operations to New York, a decision no doubt influenced by his role with the Avengers. So you were alone in a new city, your boss your only acquaintance. At least the bagels were good. Hell, they were fucking delicious.

“Good morning, Mr. Stark!” You smiled, carrying in a tray of coffee and a paper bag of breakfast orders.

Colonel James Rhodes and Harold Hogan were sat with Tony around the industrial workbench he called his desk. You quietly served each of them their breakfasts, before collecting the messy pile of papers Tony had stacked for you to take care of.

“Where’s your breakfast, Friday?” Tony almost sounded sincere, his lopsided grin and raised eyebrows putting on a good show of it.

“Why do you call her that, man?” Rhodes interjected, his eyes rolling to match his annoyance.

“She’s my girl Friday. What else would I call her?” The lopsided grin stayed, but his eyebrows furrowed as his attention shifted to his closest friend.

“Oh, I dunno,” Rhodes sighed sarcastically, “her name?”

“It’s fine, really, Colonel Rhodes. I don’t mind.” You jumped in, not wanting to cause a fight over something so silly. “And Mr. Stark, I ate my breakfast at home, before coming into work.” You refused to call him ‘Tony’ whenever he had anyone in his office, no matter how much he would protest.

“At home?” The grin was gone. “By yourself? That won’t do.”

“I promise it’s fine, Mr. Stark. I—”

“Tomorrow, be sure to pick up your own breakfast. We’ll have breakfast together from now on.” He interrupted you, his words assertive despite being muffled by a mouthful of bagel.

“Thank you, sir, but—”

“Don’t call me sir, I hate that.” He swallowed his food, “hell, I barely tolerate you calling me Mr. Stark.”

“Man, you’re making her uncomfortable,” Rhodes scolded Tony before turning to you. “Ignore Tony, he doesn’t know how to interact with people. Get out of here before he decides you have to exercise with him, too.” He smiled, but you knew that it wasn’t entirely in jest—there was a good chance that Tony would, in fact, find some other strange demand to heft on you.

This was a typical exchange between you and your boss, though it wasn’t always the case. Your first year with him was challenging, so much so that you kept your desk empty, not sure if each day was your last. His response to questions was always one word, curt, or even aggressive. His demands were mostly comprised of ‘why didn’t you do this last week?’ on items that had only come in that day. He was cold in demeanour and hot in temper—it had you walking on eggshells whenever you were dealing with him.

That was why you were so surprised when he insisted you move to New York with him, even offering to pay your rent, on top of the raise that he thought was obvious you were getting. Once you were settled on the east coast, nothing changed with your boss; not immediately, at least. It took a few months of growing loneliness and the accompanying depression, a few screwed up requests, and a quiet breakdown at work at 1am, when you thought you were safe to let it out in the small staff break room.

You had set him up for his call with a scientist in Australia, made sure he had everything and was satisfied before giving him the privacy that he insisted upon, and taking your leave. You knew that you wouldn’t be able to go home, not until after Tony was finished and had you wrap everything up. You were tired—exhausted—and you had been at his beck and call all day. You hadn’t even realized you missed Hank’s birthday until you got his drunk text while making yourself a cup of tea. It was enough to break the dam, and you found yourself sobbing uncontrollably. You did everything you could to muffle the sound, even though you were certain Tony wouldn’t be able to hear you, while your knees gave out under you, sending you crashing to the floor.

You were just beginning to regain control, your sobs growing quieter, when you felt the warmth and strength of his calloused hand grip your shoulder. You raised your head to see your boss crouching in front of you, a strange, sort of sad, sort of worried smile playing at the corners of his lips. You could feel the embarrassment sear through your veins and you couldn’t wipe away the tears fast enough under his intense stare.

“I didn’t break you, did I? Rhodey keeps saying I break assistants.” His words were nonchalant, blunt and matter-of-fact, but there was still a hint of humour in there, a coy self-deprecation that you were unaccustomed to coming from him.

You shook your head succinctly, feeling strands of hair rebel and escape from your updo. “I missed my brother’s birthday.”

You were surprised by how composed your voice sounded. Sure, there was a little bit of a tremble, and it was quite hoarse after all of that sobbing, but the words were clear, not hidden between sobs or hiccups. You couldn’t understand why he was smiling, why his eyes were so full of compassion (but not so full as to push out the smugness that usually danced around his pupils). And yet he was, and they were, and his hand still gripped your shoulder, the pressure firm enough to bring your awareness to it, but at just the right degree for you to find it oddly comforting.

“Brother?” You nodded timidly. “Is that the guy that I had Happy send that Rolex to? Hank, or something?” It was a rhetorical question that allowed him to gloat, but it didn’t make you any less confused.

“You—Han—huh?” You fumbled through your thoughts, unsure of what to say or what to ask.

“I saw it on your calendar this morning.” He shrugged like his actions were nothing short of normal for him, like it wasn’t a big deal, or that he did it with everyone, but he didn’t. He never did anything for anyone without at least three reminders.

Tony’s change wasn’t an overnight thing, not even close, though it had started that night. Bit by bit, he grew nicer. Bit by bit, his sense of humour began to show. Bit by bit, he seemed to become more comfortable with your presence. After ten months of growing bit by bit, he insisted on your having breakfast with him at the office. What was next? A day off?

TAGS: @oneshot-shit; @marvel-ash; @bovaria; @hymnofthevalkyries; @archangel-trauma; @bionic-buckyb; @lostinspace33; @bucky-plums-barnes; @marvel-fanfiction; @jacks-on-krack

[tialovestelevision]

Tabula Rasa

The most recent episode of Buffy was good. Really good. Really, really good.

Can we do two? Can we go for two?

1. Previously On. Nobody sings. Then Buffy is patrolling in a long sweater that I initially thought was a bathrobe. She sees Spike. He asks if they can talk. Buffy does not want to talk. Spike wants to talk about them kissing. Buffy says she will never kiss him or touch him again, then she tackles Spike to keep him from getting staked. It’s a shark. And two minions. He calls him Mr. Spike. Spike owes him kittens. He’s a loan shark. The loan shark likes funny. He doesn’t want to see anyone get hurt. He sends his minions. Buffy fights his minions. The loan shark wants Buffy to get into debt collecting. Spike has left. They’re going to find Spike and talk to him more. Now the loan shark and his minions are leaving. Buffy wishes she could stop saving Spike because things would get simpler. Opening credits no Tara.

2. Xander’s house. The group is talking about what it might have been like for Buffy in Heaven. Tara says there are a zillion heavens. Willow is all guilty. So’s Xander. Willow talks about having been selfish. Xander feels weird about feeling bad that his friend’s not dead. Tara says they have to stop drowning in guilt and make things better. Xander suggests dinners. Willow says to use a spell, but Tara says no. Tara is chewing out Willow about using magic. Willow says she has a spell to make Buffy forget she was in Heaven, and Tara flips. Understandably. Tara says she knows about Willow’s spell. Willow tries to apologize; Tara stays on the topic. “How could you, Willow? How could you, after what Glory did to me?” Willow is making excuses. Tara points out that this is how Willow does everything. “You’re helping yourself now. Fixing things to your liking, including me.” Tara is breaking up with her. Willow says she won’t do magic for a month. Tara really doesn’t want to break up with Willow. Tara says to go a week, and they’ll see. She says she thinks they both need some space. “I can’t believe I’m saying this.” Willow is still in disbelief.

3. Giles and Buffy are in the training room. Giles is talking about the fact that he’s leaving. Buffy urgently wants and needs him not to. He thinks she needs him to leave. Giles: “You’ll always turn to me, when you come across something that you don’t think you can handle. And I’ll step in, because… because I can’t stand to see you suffer.” Buffy: “Me too. Hate suffering. Had about as much of it as I can take.” Good God, Giles, you’re right, but she does not need more destabilization right now. Giles stays firm on the decision; Buffy stomps out.

4. Summers house. Dawn and Tara are ready to go. Willow is not. Willow uses magic to get ready, so that’s a promise broken already. She goes to the cabinet and gets more lethe’s bramble. Oh god, really Willow? She’s erasing both Buffy and Tara’s memories, though the spell will only take effect once the bramble finishes burning.

5. Magic Box. The others think this is a meeting about a monster. It’s a meeting about Giles leaving. Willow and Xander come in late. Spike came in and is all smoldering. And wearing a schoolboy outfit. And a hat. A silly, silly hat. He wants asylum. He’s running from the loan shark and seeking asylum. We cut to the Summers house, where an ember from the fire catches Willow’s whole bag of lethe’s bramble on fire. Seriously, Willow? I mean… seriously? You just left that there? I no longer believe this episode. I no longer believe this arc. I no longer believe this season. That is just… such… so very… I mean seriously… that is DUMB. I know it’s being sold to us as a dumb act by Willow, but the girl is both a genius and a witch and is actively trying to keep what she’s doing a secret and this is NOT something that someone who’s trying to keep a secret would miss. The writing there is just bad. Dear god, the writing there is bad. You want the spell to glitch? Spells glitch in this show all the damned time, without needing someone to do something as absurdly stupid as it is out of character. Hell, the spell glitching on its own sells Tara’s warnings about the dangers of magic far better than this does. This. Is. Stupid. ANYWAY… Giles continues his announcement. Tara looks heartbroken after his announcement. Buffy can’t do this. She’s leaving. Buffy is angry and overwhelmed. Then she drops. Then everyone drops. The fire is out. The stupid, stupid fire.

6. Everyone’s still unconscious. Willow’s on top of Xander. Buffy wakes up first. It’s dark now. They were out for a while. Buffy turns the light on. Everyone is confused. Giles fell asleep with his head on Anya’s back. Spike falls off the counter, and his scream wakes everybody else up. Dawn asks who these people are. Buffy tells her not to worry. She doesn’t know anyone here either. Or what her name is. Xander doesn’t know who any of them either. None of them know who they are. None of them remember anything. Giles suggests that they all got drunk. No booze, no head bumps, no Allan Funt, so that kills that theory. Xander isn’t panicking. Buffy tries to calm it down. Willow is trying to figure out where they are. Now they know they’re in a magic shop. Giles doesn’t believe in magic. He’s British. And a man, with glasses. Dawn doesn’t like this. Buffy says they’ll take care of each other. Spike finds out he’s English in a very, very funny scene. Anya says there’s a ruggedly handsome resemblance between Giles and Spike. Giles feels like Spike is familiar. And disappointing. Giles: “Older brother?” Spike: “Father. Oh, god, how I must hate you.” Giles: “What did I do?” Spike: “There’s always something. And what’s with the trollop?” Anya thinks she and Giles are engaged. Willow comes up with the idea of driver’s licenses. She’s wearing Xander’s work jacket… They’re looking for licenses. Xander found his name. So did Willow. Tara thinks her name is pretty. Tara found her name, and that she and Willow are students. Dawn doesn’t have a wallet. Neither does Buffy. But Dawn has a necklace with her name. Giles knows his name now. Anya likes it. He threatens to spank Spike. Spike doesn’t have a wallet, but his jacket is made with care for Randy. So he’s obviously Randy Giles. Spike: “Why not just call me Horny Giles, or Desperate-For-A-Shag Giles? I knew there was a reason I hated you.” Willow finds Xander’s name on her jacket, so they’re theorizing that she dates either his theoretical brother or him. Anya found her name on the forms, but not its pronunciation, and now knows that she and Rupert own the shop together. Dawn is sad Buffy doesn’t have a name, and offers to name her. Buffy names herself Joan. Dawn doesn’t like it, but Joan does. They know they’re sisters now. They hug, and Randy complains that Rupert never shows him affection like that. Joan wants to get help. They’re going to head out to the hospital. Randy suggests that Rupert drive in his red shiny penis car. They find vampires outside. Randy is startled to learn there are vampires. Willow suggests moving large objects in front of doors. Tara points out that they need their memories back to know if they knew about vampires. Rupert suggests fighting them with magic. The vampires demand Spike, and Rupert thinks they want spikes. Randy gets some stakes and wants to give them to the vampires, but the vampires start demanding “Slayer” and they all think the vampires are saying “Slay her” so they’ll use the spikes to slay someone. Willow and Xander found a trap door in the basement to the sewer. The vampires come in the windows and kick down the door. Xander is praying. A vampire grabs Randy. Vampire: “You owe us.” Randy: “Who, me?” Vampire: “You’ve got the boss’s kittens.” Randy: “Kittens?” Joan is fighting a vampire off, then the slays the vampire who had Randy pinned. Willow: “What did you just do?” Joan: “I don’t know… but it was COOL.” The surviving vampire runs. Joan knows why she’s the boss. She’s a superhero.

7. Vampires are briefing the loan shark on what happened. They still want to attack. The loan shark wants to wait it out. Joan wants to go attack the vampires with Randy. Randy doesn’t like the plan. Anya and Giles want to do spells. Randy and Joan are going after the vampires, but first Rupert wants to hug Randy. Now they attack. Or run through the vampires. One of the vampires grabs Randy, who puts his game face on, punches the vampire, and declares himself a superhero. Joan is less convinced on this superhero thing. She runs away. Randy wants to know where she’s going, but he gets punched.

8. Randy is fighting the vampires. Big fight scene. He’s beaten them up and chases after Joan. Meanwhile, the others come down the ladder. Willow and Tara give each other a meaningful look. They found a vampire, so they turn and run the other way.

9. Rupert and Anya are in the shop, looking for spells. Rupert finds his plane tickets in his pocket. Goddamn it, Giles, why are they in your pocket? Anya found a book. Using her intuition. Anya summoned a bunny.

10. Joan just tackled Randy. She’s surprised to find out he doesn’t know who he is. He’s surprised to learn he’s a vampire. Randy doesn’t want to bite her. He’s confused. He decides he’s a noble vampire on a mission of redemption. Helps the helpless. Has a soul. Joan thinks that’s lame.

11. Anya has summoned a lot of bunnies. She’s trying to banish them. She’s terrified. She summons another. There’s a bunch of albino bunnies. Joan and Randy are arguing, but the vampires caught up to them. The others are still running through the sewers. Tara found a route out. They’re cornered. Tara and Willow are very close to each other. Staring. Anya has made a bunny cloud. Joan and Randy are still fighting vampires. There’s the loan shark. Joan has a stake now. It’s huge. It’s a mailbox post. Rupert is now fighting a skeleton. Willow checks on Dawn. Dawn finds this familiar. Willow is confused. She thinks she’s kinda gay.

12. Now they have a monster in the shop. Rupert says he’s leaving her. Anya is heartbroken. She throws her engagement ring at him.

13. The vampire’s found the group. Xander is going to confront it. He gets punched and thrown. He punches back. Rupert manages to banish the monster and the bunnies. Anya gets her engagement ring back. She’s very glad to have it back. Anya apologizes for having the wrong book. Rupert is apologizing, and Anya asks him not to leave her. Now they’re reconciled and kissing.

14. Tara gets tackled by Willow to save her from a vampire. Dawn gets a stake to save Xander with. Xander stakes the vampire. Now Willow and Tara are about to kiss. Xander steps on the crystal Willow used for the spell. And Tara pushes Willow off of her. Memories are back. Giles and Anya stop kissing very suddenly. And Buffy gets her memories back and immediately gets kicked in the head.

15. Buffy is getting beaten up by a vampire, and Spike is fighting more of them off. Tara is staring pure shattered rage at Willow. Xander and Dawn found the crystal bits, and Dawn has the most betrayed look on her face. Xander giggles, but it’s because he got back his memory of seeing King Ralph. There’s a dated cultural reference, which is something Buffy usually avoids. Pretty sure it was dated at the time, too… yeah, the movie was a decade old when this episode came out. Willow is kneeling in the middle of the group. Xander says they should get back. Willow starts to her feet, Tara has the expression of someone who has a million things to say an no words to say the with, and is sobbing as they walk.

16. Giles and Anya are cleaning. A few yards apart. Spike has killed the vampires, so Buffy is safe. Spike grabs the loan shark and promises to pay him. The loan shark is leaving. Spike goes to help Buffy up. Asks if she’s all right. She doesn’t take his help, and starts stumbling back toward the shop. Spike looks hurt and confused and resigned.

17. Bronze. A band is playing. They don’t have Sweet. Buffy is sitting at the bar and staring into space. Tara is moving out of the Summers house. God, her face. Willow is sitting against a cabinet and not moving or looking at anything. Giles is on a plane, flying back to England, because nothing will talk him out of this plan. “Goodbye to you/Goodbye to everything that I knew…” Spike meets Buffy at the bar. Buffy won’t look at him. Spike leaves. Tara walks out the front door and sees Dawn and offers her a hug. Dawn stomps off into the house. And we see Spike and Buffy making out behind the stairs at the Bronze. Episode end.

Overall: Ye gods, that was… weird?

There was a REALLY GOOD EPISODE in there. The stuff with them figuring out who they were, the assumptions that were accurate and the ones that weren’t, was wonderful. It was funny and it was heartwarming. Buffy and Dawn recognizing each other as sisters, Spike and Giles trying to bond, an entire marital drama playing out in a half-hour between Anya and Giles… that was all great stuff. So was picking up the obvious chemistry between Anya and Giles and running with it for an episode. Loved all of that. The action scenes were really good. The loan shark was a terrible pun but the show was so delighted to be making it that it came off charming. Like… the main body of this episode was great!

Then you threw in the fact that it’s in Season Six, and thus has to carry out the emotional and story arcs of this particular season, and it just doesn’t work. I know I harped on how badly conceived Willow’s mistake with her spell is, but I just can’t get off that idea. I get it, we’re telling a story about someone with an addiction, but a person with an addiction who’s hiding it from their loved ones actually hides it! Tara knows what Lethe’s bramble is. She’s figured it out once. Giles would likely recognize it if he stumbled on it, and Dawn is both absurdly clever and fascinated with magic. You never quite know what she’ll know. Willow did the equivalent of a teenager who smokes marijuana leaving a whole bag of weed on the kitchen table, and that’s just not the kind of mistake a person in that position makes. And it weakens the greater point of that arc - magic is inherently dangerous. The spell simply malfunctioning would sell everything better. So would Willow making a subtler mistake with the spell.

The Willow/Tara breakup story is pure misery in a show that’s already drowning in it around its main character. Buffy has always been a dark show, but this season in particular is just pure dreariness, and it makes even the silly bits - Horny Giles, the mummy hand with the tongs, Andrew’s Death Star on the van - hard to enjoy. “Once More With Feeling” transcended that on pure episode quality and novelty; this one, while for the most part well-written and well-performed all the way through, isn’t up to that task.

I see where Giles is coming from. In a world where there are competent, genre-savvy therapists and the Watcher’s Council excels at anything but making things worse and turning problems into crises, I might even agree with him - what Buffy needs is an actual Watcher, a stipend from the Council to reduce her financial stress, and a really good therapist - but this world doesn’t offer those things. It has mentor figures and friends, and Buffy needs as many of those as she can get, because the world is trying actively to crush her under its weight. Her support network is dissolving when she needs it most, and I would expect Giles, a man of exceptional emotional intelligence, to recognize that and act to mitigate it instead of making it worse.

This is the Season of Bad Decisions that are Profoundly Out of Character, and I’m really not enjoying it, in spite of some lovely laughs at Randy’s expense here.

[pocket-monsters-precure]

Chapter 3: Trouble at the Boardwalk! I Believe in You!

"We have a new student in our class, starting today." Mr. Barton tucked his reading glasses into his shirt pocket, offering a smile to Kailani as she stood before the class; Naomi and Fae were seated near the back, where Fae nodded eagerly and Naomi gave Kailani a thumbs up. Kailani took a breath, then offered a wide smile to the class.

"I'm Kailani, from Alola! I'm excited to be here!" She moved her hands in an arc, in the traditional Alolan greeting. "A-lo-la!"

 "You can take a seat over by the window," Mr. Barton offered, gesturing toward a window seat situated in the center. Kailani nodded and sat down, looking behind her at Fae, while Naomi waved from the back. "Kailani, we're just starting a new unit on ancient folklore; there's not much catching up to do for you."

"Yes, sir." Kailani retrieved the textbook she had been given from her bag, when a surprised "Eep!" came from her bag. She flinched in alarm, as the class looked over.

"Is something wrong? Did you forget your book?"

"N-no! Not at all! Everything's fine!" Kailani laughed sheepishly, before squinting at the interior of her bag, where Rotomi had hidden in the corner and was now being prodded by Kailani's pencil box.

------

 "What are you doing in my bag, Rotomi!?" Kailani asked as she sat outside during lunch period. Raichu sat on the nearby fountain, munching on a poffin.

"I tried living inside your pokedex, but your rotom is--" 

 "There's--bzzt--only room for one here!" Rotom buzzed in annoyance.

"Rotom, you have to share for now!" Kailani scolded it.

"Find it a--bzzt--lamp or something!"

"Then I wouldn't be able to stay with Kailani! She's a legendary Precure; I need to stay close by!"

"Alright, you two," Kailani sighed, "Settle down. We'll figure something out later."

 A new voice spoke. "Who are you talking to?"

"Eep!" Kailani yelped, spinning around to see Fae and Naomi staring at her. "N-nothing! Just thinking out loud!" 

Naomi laughed. "Hah, I do that too, sometimes. Anyway, mind if we join you?"

"Not at all! Have a seat!" Kailani replied nervously.

The three girls soon sat on the fountain beside Raichu. Fae removed a pokeball from her bag and released her Clefairy, who instantly set to jogging in place.

"Your Clefairy's rather...athletic," Kailani observed, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah...she's a handful, sometimes, but she was one of my first pokemon," Fae admitted. "She likes fighting physically, but honestly, I think she's much better with special attacks. Once I find that balance that makes both of us happy, I'll evolve her. I have a moonstone I'm saving just for that." As she explained this, there seemed to be a sparkle in her eye.

"That's really thinking ahead," Kailani remarked, "I wish I had thought of that with Raichu. He sort of...evolved by accident."

"By accident?" Naomi leaned over to look at her, taking a bite of her sandwich.

"Well, last year we were playing around in my room, back when he was just a Pikachu...like Fae, I was saving a thunderstone, in my jewelry box. Well, we started playing a little too roughly, and he knocked over my jewelry box..." Naomi burst out laughing.

"So it landed on him and he evolved!?"

"Exactly..." Kailani scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "But it's fine. He's still one of my little buddies--nothing's changed about that!" She pat Raichu's head, as he let out a happy sound and leaned into her hand.

Fae smiled as she watched. "It's always refreshing to see the bonds between people and pokemon like this...I mean, sure, you see it all the time, but when you specifically pay attention to it..."

"I get what you mean," Kailani nodded. "It's just seeing love in action."

"Love shows itself in so many different ways depending on the person," Fae mused, "It's almost impossible to generalize the idea of love."

"There you go again, getting poetic," Naomi teased and poked Fae's cheek, as the school bell was heard. "Oh!"

"That's our cue," Kailani said as the trio hurriedly put their lunches away.

"Hey, you guys want to go out to the boardwalk after class?" Fae asked, "Kailani, have you been there?"

"No, I haven't!"

"You guys have fun," Naomi replied, "But I've got my own plans with some other friends, so I'll meet you for dinner, okay?"

"Okay!" Kailani and Fae agreed, then shared a smile with each other. 

------

"Isn't it good?" Fae beamed as Kailani took a bite of some shaved ice.

"It's amazing! You were right about sitrus flavor, Fae."

"Hee...." Fae giggled. "You look like someone who enjoys fruity flavors, so I thought that would be perfect."

Kailani looked down at Clefairy, who was eating a pokepuff and humming. "Is Clefairy your only pokemon?"

"Is Raichu yours?"

"Huh? No, I swap them out regularly. I get why that's kind of a dumb question, though," Kailani laughed sheepishly.

"Clefairy's just my oldest friend, and she likes being around people and pokemon," Fae replied, "I hate to deny her a chance to be social."

"I get it." Kailani agreed. "Hey, you know what? I'll take out Brionne! Then she can make another friend!"

"Oh! I've never seen a Brionne up close!"

"Here we go!" Kailani tossed the pokeball casually, as the skirted, seal-like pokemon emerged and clapped her fins together eagerly. Fae's eyes seemed to sparkle in delight as Brionne and Clefairy sized each other up."She's so pretty! I can't believe it! I want to put ribbons in her fur and decorate her!"

Kailani laughed. "If she'll let you, be my guest!" However, she paused, as she felt Rotomi shifting around in her bag. While Fae was distracted by Brionne, Kailani opened her bag and peered in. "What is it? Need more air?"

Kailani whispered. "I can sense it...the same negative energy from that last nega-evolution!"

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive!"

A rumble shook the boardwalk, as both Kailani and Fae looked up. "What was that!?" Fae exclaimed, as smug laughter filled the air.

"That's right, Nega-Evolution! Feed off everyone's fear and despair!"

The voice came from a girl in her late teens--tan-skinned, dark-haired with multicolor streaks in the front. She shouldered a metal bat, and was ordering around a large, hulking beast in the distance.

"What's going on!?" Fae gasped.

"It's another Team Dysphoria member!" Rotomi burst out of Kailani's bag. Fae yelped in alarm.

"A rotom!?"

"Now's not the time!"

"Eh?" The teen looked over and gave a smug grin. "Hey there, lil' fairy! It's your lucky day! Boss man doesn't care about you anymore! What he cares about is this world!" She spread her arms out.

"The name's Entropy! An admin of Team Dysphoria! And I'm here to bring the house down--in every sense of the word!"

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Kailani pulled out her Cure Compact. "Fae, run for it!"

"But--"

"Go!"

"Right! C'mon, Clefairy!"

"Clef!"

As Fae had turned to run, she saw Clefairy had refused to move, clenching her little fists and glaring at the oncoming monster. Stampeding toward the group was a nega-evolved raticate, its fur jagged and fangs razor sharp. A spiked flail had grown on the end of its tail, and its claws ripped into the boardwalk as it ran.

"There's no way you can fight that thing!" Fae exclaimed. Kailani cursed internally, desperate to get Fae away so she could transform. Clefairy stood her ground, eyes narrowed.

"You....refuse to run!?"

"Clef!"

"...I..." Fae nodded. "Fine. Let's fight!"

"Oh for the love of...!" Kailani gave up on stalling.

"Precure! I choose you!" 

As Kailani transformed into Cure Sunrise, Fae looked over in shock, then shook her head, facing the oncoming foe.

"NEGA-RATICAAAATE!" The Nega-Raticate shrieked, swinging its tail. Clefairy caught it mid-swing, skidding against the ground as it tried to stand firm.

"No way!" Entropy yelped. "It caught it!?"

"My Clefairy doesn't run away! And neither will I!" Fae declared, as she clenched her fists and swallowed down her nervousness.

"You can't win against a nega-evolution!" Cure Sunrise jumped up and kneed the monster in the nose. "This is no normal pokemon battle!"

"What even are you doing!?" Fae replied, "You're physically fighting it!?"

"It's the only way! Long story short, I'm trying to turn this raticate back to normal!"

Nega-Raticate irritably yanked its tail from Clefairy's grip and swung it at Cure Sunrise, who caught it, but was sent flying into a building. Brionne recognized the Precure as her master, and hurriedly set to shooting water at Nega-Raticate's backside to distract it. Nega-Raticate turned and went to head butt Brionne, when Clefairy caught his head, squealing from the power.

"Clefairy! Use dazzling gleam!" Fae cried.

"Clefairy!" Clefairy used the attack to blind Nega-Raticate, while Cure Sunrise extricated herself from the building and jump-kicked it toward the nearby beach. "This is unbelievable..." Fae whispered. "But...but I won't give up! Not on Kailani, and not on Clefairy!"

Shingggg....

The world seemed to stop around her. She found herself in a glimmering, opalescent void, a fine mist coating the ground. "H-hello?" She called.

"Mew!" Fae jumped in alarm, when a pink creature floated from behind to face her. Playfully, it floated in a few curious circles around Fae, before stopping in front of her, tipping its head.

She gasped. "Mew!? The legendary Mew!?"

"Mew, mew!"

Mew did a somersault in the air; when it righted itself, it was holding a pink and purple compact. A pink stone appeared in Fae's hand.

"What is this...? Are these for me?"

"Mew!" Mew extended the compact to her. Fae took it, and felt a new energy rise up. 

She had to do something. For Kailani. For Clefairy. For everyone.

"Precure! I! Choose! You!"

When the flash cleared, Fae floated to her feet, clad in white and pink, her hair now in a pink sideways ponytail.

"Fae...?" Cure Sunrise murmured, breathlessly. Rotomi was flitting about excitedly, squealing in delight.

“She’s a Precure! We found another Precure!”

Fae narrowed her eyes, then dusted off her skirt and gazed toward the monstrous pokemon in resolve. "The feeling of dreams come true...Cure Wish!"