#this is about my boss’s husband btw and he did actually argue with me about being asexual

[southislandwren]

He grills you about your religion for 40 minutes straight, a week after meeting you, and now he thinks you’re 1) actually a full-believing Jesuit 2) indoctrinated into being asexual 3) want to hear his shitty and passive aggressive takes on religion

[just-1other-nerd]

Good Omens live blog ep. 7

The engine starter thing he held in the season 1 finale when he stopped time and Aziraphale held the flaming sword was something he had the whole time as the architect?! I love this detail!

The way Aziraphale was so irritated when Crowley only had eyes for the universe, he's like "I thought you were talking about me", like we, the fandom, decided that the Blitz was the moment Aziraphale fell in love but you can't tell me he didn't have a crush right there

The consistent character of Crowley being like, "If it ends in 6000 years, what's even the point of it?" when it's said in season 1 episode 1 that he hasn't got anything against Armageddon in general but doesn't actually want it to happen, just to actually take part in saving everything all. But I also see his rebellious spirit in the opening sequence. And the callback/foreshadowing of the "I only ever asked questions" bit is great

O my God! Crowley did the wing thing first! Losing my mind!

Aziraphale renting the shop to Maggie is so sweet (and I love that "You don't own me" is playing in the background)

The bit about the government people meeting in this park just keeps coming back, I love it

Crowley is wearing a snake belt!

That hug made my skin crawl

Imagine just having a normal day and then you open the door and your naked ex-boss is standing right in front of you, what a nightmare

Funny how objectively Crowley is a loser who lives in his car but it still feels like he is having the upper hand when he's talking to Shax. Also, how schadenfroh he is about Gabriel is in trouble, at least for now...

What is up with that fly in the box?

Crowley knows Aziraphale so well, and he likes to brag about it

Strings version of Bohemian Rhapsody playing, yesss

The way our demon immediately offers his help

Nooooo, Maggie made a move, but Nina has a partner

The way Crowley just wants to be safe and together with Aziraphale... and they argue like a married couple

He tries so hard to control himself and to be not so impulsive, but Aziraphale just makes him too emotional, so he can't...

Isn't the pub on the box of matches the one from the "everyday" thing? Btw, Michael only waited for Gabriel to be out of the way, I just know it

"Extreme sanctions", that's so clever of the writers and the marketing team! Also Beelzebub is a vibe

I relate a lot to Maggie. Also, Lindsay sounds toxic

Queen song!

They even apologise like husbands! The dance kills me, also I guess the angel knows more than just the gavotte

Husbands plotting, slay kings, slay

Noooo, they know!

Imma go watch the next one...

[five-wow]

10.19!!! watched it, had thoughts about it, wrote them down. the usual under the cut.

there is a random man in steve’s kitchen (is it the helicopter guy? i... don’t know him well enough to be sure but i am genuinely unsure who else it would be) wearing a “seals do it better” apron while he’s cooking and talking to junior about how this recipe helped him “seal the deal” with the love of his life. okay, random man. you’re not acknowledging it, but you just made a seal pun, so you have my attention.

btw, for a good long moment i genuinely thought this guy might be danny in some kind of weird dream sequence future. i mean, old danny in steve’s kitchen wearing a seal-themed apron and making waffles? i wouldn’t hate it.

junior about how it’s going with tani: “it’s amazing.” okay a) YAY and THAT IS VERY CUTE and b) even so, it’s hilarious to me when random guy says “sounds like you’ve got it bad” just based on junior saying that it’s amazing while he kind of smiles vaguely. cute as it was, it wasn’t a passionate love declaration.

junior lies in bed awake at night dreaming of his thing with tani working out (and not sleeping because he’s scared it might not) and i just !! he’s a smitten mess over her and i adore it, even though his level of anxiety sounds like it’s a little detrimental for his sleep, omg.

fjdkfd we get a scene of adam and quinn who went surfing together and OF COURSE they’re standing under the beach showers as they talk because i feel like adam is literally contractually obligated to have a certain number of shower scenes each season.

tani!! gave quinn!! some surfing pointers!! let’s review: we know that tani is really great at surfing and definitely better than junior, because we had a scene once of them getting back from a surfing trip and junior was slightly pouty over it and tani was absolutely unwilling to downplay her own skill and it was Very Good, and now, in these last few episodes, tani was first present during noelani’s surfing lessons and now she’s apparently been giving quinn advice, and the idea of the h50 women hanging out? the idea of tani being supportive and sharing her knowledge? it’s all so good, ahhh. (ALSO. my mighty need for tani and kono to meet grows with each and every mention of tani’s surfing skill.)

oh my gOD i wrote that bit in brackets and hit play on the episode and IMMEDIATELY adam says that he’s used to being second best in the ocean because “my ex wife was a pro surfer, and very competitive.” YES. GOOD. LOVE THE KONO REFERENCE.

quinn gets a dramatic call from an olivia! i read an episode description, so i know that’s her ex-step daughter. i’m a little hesitant about this “btw quinn has an ex-husband” subplot, but also curious to see where they’re going with it, and quinn jumping to help out a teen girl that she still has a strong bond with is an angle of approach that could potentially be very very relevant to my interests.

cows! “moooo” say the cows, quietly, under the music. they’re not important or plot-relevant, i just like cows.

fjdkfd olivia has a Bad Dad and yes, i do want quinn to adopt her now. it could be good! she could swap tips with steve about how to let your adopted teen know they’re loved and safe and worth so much more than what their parents gave them.

tani to junior: “what, you think i didn’t have a life before i met you?” junior’s eyes: [shoot up to steve, standing right behind tani, who is junior’s mentor AND boss, making it slightly awkward to have a relationship talk right in front of him during work hours] POOR BOY (but also, yes, tani, tell him).

junior is now obsessed with the mystery of why tani is so familiar with a random rancher bar an hour away from her house, and to be honest, so am i.

tani wON A LINE DANCING COMPETITION FOUR WEEKS IN A ROW. that is the BEST solution to the mystery, my gosh.

tani: [brags about her line dancing skills and calls herself the queen] junior: “who are you?” fdjkfdjkfd junior, i don’t even know why you’re suprised that a) tani slays at something she did or b) she is utterly unapologetic about that fact.

olivia says that maybe quinn could come watch her play volleybal some time and quinn says that she’d love to but it’s complicated and don’t do that, quinn! my heart hurts now!

OKAY so olivia isn’t doing cheer this year even though she was captain the previous year and she makes up an excuse about it being because of the other girls but it’s actually about HER DAD taking the money that quinn gave her for a UNIFORM which means she probably couldn’t even try out and I HATE THIS. find your ex and kick his ass, quinn.

lou, after talking about macadamia farming: “but here’s where the story gets a littllllle... nutty.” tani, fistpumping: “nice one.” punner solidarity!! good stuff, good stuff. (though i do wonder what happened to danny’s punning streak in later seasons. anyone remember 1.14, when he joked about the head in a box? he’s lost his appreciation for this fine art and it’s a tragedy, honestly.)

quinn has enlisted adam’s help in tracking her ex (jake) down and she’s telling adam a little about how she never thought she’d fall for a guy like him but he was charming, and then she says “and olivia” and THAT’S when she really smiles, and look, PLEASE don’t let this episode end with olivia still living with her dad because will have to write fix-it fic.

quinn: “i haven’t told anybody i was married, not even steve.” that’s cool, but like, do we believe that means steve doesn’t know? if his background checks haven’t gone completely downhill in the last few years, i would assume he’s figured this out, right? (i love quinn’s “in case you haven’t noticed, i’m not really a sharer” that she adds, because it fits with her personality and it’s just nice to have a female character that’s allowed to be a little secretive about her past in a way that doesn’t feel, idk, sensationalized.)

i have seen a lot of gifs of this episode by now and they’re all of steve and danny and the horses so i’ve seen most of their very polite discussion that ensues when danny calls steve out on not asking him if he wants to ride along, but it’s still utterly glorious. grace gets mentioned, too! and the way danny ends it with “why don’t you try to keep up?” as he passes in front of steve, with steve watching him go? that is flirting. blatant flirting in front of all of their poor teammates. (at least now junior can feel a little less awkward about bringing his relationship with him on the job!)

fjdkfdjk lou’s “all this and they still go time to argue, isn’t that nice?” is A+

steve and danny, as they’re super leisurely chasing some criminals through the woods on horseback: yes, this would be a good time to make up an argument about absolutely nothing at all.

oh gosh, okay, danny says “you know i can uh, i can hear you at night” and steve’s response is “why don’t you get some earplugs?” and um. uh. it’s followed by context, i know, but come on, jfc.

“when i moved in a couple months ago” he’s just GOING for it now, omg. not “came to stay with you”, no attempt at hiding that he’s been staying with steve for literal months at this point - just. when i moved in. a couple months ago.

(i am obviously also very aware of what danny is saying about steve not sleeping and how that’s a new thing because it wasn’t like that a few months ago and steve’s evasiness about it and i am VERY WORRIED ABOUT THAT but i’m also electing to somewhat ignore it because. my god. screw that. we don’t want any of where that seems to be headed in this house.)

“i appreciate it. thank you.” this is growth and it’s good and it’s steve realizing that maybe just his quippy putdown isn’t enough of a response to danny’s genuine offer of support! (and again, we’re not thinking about reasons why he might want to think twice about how he treats danny so danny will know he’s appreciated, because there is no reason for steve to be worried about that, because nothing is going to happen.)

steve: “cuff him, danno.” DANNO. danno has returned from war!!

fjdkfd and then steve says it again in like, the next sentence he says. really cramming in those danno’s suddenly.

oh noooooo. quinn tells adam that jake could be a very good dad (which is valid! addiction is a disease and it’s good to know he wasn’t always like this to olivia, even if i don’t think it excuses what’s happening now), but then she says that jake was all the things she always wished her own dad could be and that maybe that’s why she was so drawn to him, and. okay. did not need that. h50 has a tendency to make women compare their love interests to their dads that makes me very uncomfortable. (the other big one that springs to mind is when abby and chin are courting and chin opens a car door for abby and she says something about how she always admired chivalry in her dad and she thought that died out with his generation and it’s this weird thing where she seems to be flirting by going “wink wonk you make me think of my dad” and oh my god. let’s just say it’s very much not my thing.)

steve and danny end up holed up in a cabin while seven people shoot at them and ahhh, just like old times. also just like last episode, to be honest, with the whole cabin filled with poison thing, but at least there’s no poison this time! that’s a plus!

steve’s improv involves LASSO’ING a guy i’m screaming

dude gets the drop on steve, they have an epic fight, steve HITS HIS HEAD and the dude picks up a GIANT LOG to hulksmash on steve’s head, presumably, and then danny swoops in to the rescue and!!! that’s also very much like old times!!! especially with this forest green color scheme and steve lying on the floor a little dazed it really reminds me of that episode with the girlscout troop in season 3.

(so. in this possible universe we’re not talking about where steve might be sick again and could be pacing at night because he knows or fears he’s going to die (you know the one) do you think that maybe part of why his first words to danny are “why’d you leave the cabin? that wasn’t the plan” is that he was kind of... hoping the other guy would get to finish him off? do you ever think about how steve mcgarrett, man of action, would almost definitely rather go out in a blaze of glory after taking out six guys all on his own with danny having his back, than after watching his own body slowly betray him and give out on him after losing a painful and drawn-out fight with itself?)

confused, frowny steve who almost definitely has a concussion and is also still very bloody is oddly cute, gosh. also, nincompoop! definitely one of danny’s most wonderful insults yet.

quinn gets her ex arrested and yells at him and tells him that if he doesn’t clean up his act, he’ll lose custody of his daughter, and then she drives away and she’s sobbing and trying not to and just !!!!! this was definitely the good kind of “quinn has an ex-husband” storyline, but also very painful.

the sunset scene! seen this in gifset too, but hoooo boy, it hits very differently with actual sound. (i may also have described the scene to my sister and mentioned the “probably ‘cause i figured i’d see a million more” and her immediate response was “oooh, he’s dead” and yES, that’s what i was TELLING YOU i’m worried about and also what i’m not thinking about so let’s just pretend i’m not typing these words right now.)

fdjkfdjkfd i’m sure that steve turning to danny just as he says “those are the things that you’re gonna miss the most in the end, you know” after mentioning things you see every day is just. a total coincidence. yeah. he’s totally just turning away from this sunset he was so entranced by a moment ago to look at danny’s face because he wants to stretch his neck. uh huh.

there’s banter about squirrels and it’s good and then steve says “admit it danny, you’re gonna miss this when it’s done” and that sounds very meta, omg, but it gets better when danny says “yeah, maybe, but i would never say it out loud” because that is literally a way to say it, out loud.

a very good episode!! i loved meeting olivia and learning about quinn’s background and there was some prime tani content and to top it off a lot of mcdanno in the second half, and if we just completely ignore that this episode also made my anxiety about the series finale skyrocket (which i knew it would, based on what i’d gathered of other people’s response to it, but that still didn’t accurately prepare me) it was wonderful and i liked it a lot! 

[piracytheorist]

My Notes on Rewatching “Call Girl”

I amuse myself by thinking that watching this film is an important rite of passage for anyone who’s an all-in Colin fan, as in, one who’ll watch anything and everything he’s in, no matter the content, theme or quality.

I actually used to think that this was a pretty bad movie... but, as you might have seen from my last few posts, I recently realized this isn’t the case. Sure, it is not your average short film, but breaking it down you realize it’s doing most things right from a filmmaking point. I mean, you don’t have to love it, but it does a great job overall.

And I mean, it’s got Colin in it. How bad can it be? ;)

Beware of spoilers, if you haven’t seen the film. And if you do wanna see it, here it is :D

~

I'm still surprised that... this is it. That's Colin freaking O'Donoghue right there. The pirate. The cowboy. The astronaut. The man the myth the legend.

Ah, early 00's.

Wait. Ok let's make a breakdown of the decoration here. There's: 1) a heart anatomy poster 2) a frame with an undiscernible picture 3) IS THAT AN ASTRONAUT FIGURE? dun_dun_dun.mp3 4) a small penguin (?) plushie with a nautical (?) hat on it 5) are those... mantis figurines stuck on the sides of the screen????

Oooooh boy you sure have some very specific decorations on your desk.

The music stops abruptly when Brendan's mother calls out to him to not close the door because she wants to see him studying. That's interesting. Also how old is Brennan supposed to be? Is he supposed to be in high school, or an adult in college? What was the age of consent in Ireland in 2003?

This vibe, though. White perfect shirt and dark vest...

The look of "I'm gonna look at hot girls with my bedroom's door open while my parents argue across the hall" ALSO YES THAT'S A MANTIS

This just makes me laugh so much. Can you imagine sweet innocent (mostly) virgin Brendan typing it and his heartbeat skyrocketing?

Seriously though, that "Welcome back Brendan" thing. With one small addition you add a whole point in his backstory about him trying to deal with his urges.

Jesus I have forgotten so much. As soon as Brendan hears his mother coming, he immediately clicks "Dump her" on the "Virtual Babe" and it just... explodes. 

With a full low-quality boom sound effect to boot. Like seriously if you were trying to hide why the f have your speakers on. You had one job, Brendan.

A rare glimpse into Brendan's room, and I'm trying to understand what the pattern on his sheets are. Maybe I'm just confused by the astronaut figurine, but it looks... vaguely... about space? Like, if you squint, the circular thing on the top left looks like Saturn's rings. No?

Also, Brendan's mom being obsessed with disinfection. That was 2003.

"I don't want filth getting into my house while I'm gone." And two hours later, her son has sex on her bed.

Oh wait, his father says "The only contact [Brendan] has with the outside world is through that bloody computer of his," in a... weird, tone? Like he's trying to placate the mother's fears of any rave party suddenly taking place in the house, but also with his tone (and maybe by using the word "bloody"? idk I'm no native speaker but it piques my interest) it doesn't seem like he's very... understanding and/or supportive of his probably very shy and/or socially awkward son.

Mom: That reminds me, block off the internet, will you? Dad: *scoffs* Why not lock him in a tower while you're at it?

He is sassy though!

Lookit him though! So sad he won't be able to create and look at Virtual BabesTM while his parents are gone.

The parent's accents strike me more towards a British one and I got confused for a bit, but then I remembered that we see Brendan use euros later, lol.

*hatching the plan to search in his father's briefcase for any cards for escort services*

This is where I started feeling that this movie is better than I’d remembered. Like, it does the job of delivering Brendan's guilt over "tresspassing" into his parents room and disobeying his mother, as well as his fear of being discovered, even though he watched his parents drive away, so he'd hear the car if they came back, in a pretty well-done and clear way.

I love how he immediately knows exactly where to look. His father's such an organized fella. Also those pills that he seems to not need immediately (thus leaving them behind for the weekend) are... something. They're put there for a reason and I wonder what that could have been.

There's not even a moment of hesitation, once he opens the briefcase. He doesn't put the card back in, he only looks briefly at his parents' photo but then he's like "Yeah. I'm doing it."

That smile as he sees the card though, lol. 

Casual reminder to have safe sex, lads.

And then the phone operator is like, full business mode. Brendan stutters for one (1) second and she's immediately like, "You want a girl?" She's like, I've had tons of people like you, lad, can't waste my time waiting until you find the courage to ask. You wanna hire or not?

OH MY GOD I JUST REALIZED The operator asks for the address, Brendan gives it, then asks how much does it cost. Then the operator says "Same as usual." BRUH she knew the address from how often his father used the service!

And then poor Brendan checks his savings and his "Uh..." says it all about how he wishes he could hire someone for longer than an hour. Bro, calm down. It's your first time.

And then he's like, waiting all anxiously by the door. I've never hired an escort service but I feel ya dude.

And of course Barbara the nosy neighbor, here to bring us to the edge of our seats, lol.

Look at how organized their fridge is. Why is that chick suddenly so eager to cook something for him? There looks to be so much food already prepared in there.

And dude. This movie has set-ups. Barbara tries to open a cupboard to like pick up ingredients to cook something, and Brendan, with a sudden "No!" rushes in and closes it. It only makes sense later, when we see that that's where he hid the money for the call girl.

Yikes she booped his nose as she left... what is he, ten? I mean even if he's supposed to be a teen here it's still... like... he's not a little boy to fucking boop his nose. No wonder her mother seems to trust her with taking care of him, with how both treat him like he's a child.

Hi there! You're gonna die :D

Shit I just noticed the portrait on the wall. Is that a... is that a fucking ruff collar his mother is wearing???? (btw I had to search to find that term with "shakespeare collar" XD)

I mean... you can't help falling for it. At first you're like, she seems too... simple for a call girl. But then you're like, who else could it be who also knows his name?

I wonder what would've happened if she hadn't asked to use the bathroom, which prompted her to look at his parents' bedroom and him to... initiate contact. Would he have mustered the courage to actually ask her about it or would he have been so flustered until she'd say something? What would she say? "You know, your mother said you would [something]" and he would FREAK THE FUCK OUT because how does his mother know? Would they have stayed there in awkward silence long enough for his mother to call, him to pick up and find out what she was really there for?

I mean, look at that! I'm speculacting the "what-ifs"! Good fucking movie!

That look, though. You suddenly go from "Aw you cute" to "WTF I know you're thirsty for it but that's... creepy"

Look at that smile, though! She is pretty nosy!

I just... I love everything about this. The way she's smiling at nosing in in her boss' bedroom. Him creeping behind her like the future killer that he is, actually scaring her. The way he says "This is my mother's room," so shy and collected. The fucking music, too. How it slowly builds up from the moment she spots the bedroom and it starts developing when Brendan kisses her.

And that kiss. So chaste and shy and yet she's like, wow yeah let's have sex now.

"You're not as shy as you look." LOL

For the pre-sex scene I just wanna link y'all to @killian-whump 's post about it, since it says it all.

Also dude the voicemail is set up from that moment too, but we've yet to hear what it includes, aside from his mother being bossy about the smallest things. "I hope you haven't gone back to bed." IF ONLY YOU KNEW. Not only what bed he's gone to, but also what he's doing on said bed.

"You don't waste much time, do you?" Lol if only you knew. And again his first response is to apologize if he did anything wrong.

And you know what? Plot twists are a hell of a lot of fun and well made when they make you go back and see things with the new perspective. Like, how chill and simple she was, why she said the last line I mentioned, the newly-known reasons why she said it was kinky to have sex in his mother's bedroom... *slams hand on table* That's a great way to do a plot twist! A fucking plus!

Like seriously, this convo: B: Have you met my father? M: No, but a lot of the other girls have though.

Pre-plot twist viewer: Wow whAT how do you say it like that Post-plot twist viewer: Yeah makes sense

M: I think he gets sympathy from them, like, you know, cause his wife's such an old witch... *realizes* Oh, I'm sorry! I shouldn't have said that! *more failed excuses and then THAT face*

And like, that's a bit inappropriate in any case but pre-plot twist you're like WTAF. And then you're like eh makes sense for frustrated employees to pity their bitchy boss' seemingly calm husband...

And there's that set-up from before. Job well done, film.

And then their argument about the money. Brendan being confused about the amount, Mandy saying she'll come back and speak to his mother about it...

Seriously though what if he'd found out the voicemail after he'd had sex and before the "confrontation"? Would he like, have sent her on her merry way with all the money and then had more sex with the actual call girl?

And then his instinct, to try and make sure his mother won't find out, is to fucking threaten the woman with a knife. Wow, a little too much, Brendan. And then his first instinct, when they're fighting, is to search and grab the knife and fucking stab her. Lbr though that's just baby Colin finding his call for playing messed-up characters.

Also how did she die so quickly. Guess I found one weakness in the plot XD

And now you're like Jesus he just murdered her but when Barbara comes a-knocking and he looks at her and exasperatedly calls her name, you're like... same, bro.

And the stupid bastard didn't even wash the blood off his arm. Like seriously, Brendan, either do a murder correctly or don't do it at all. At least you can't say he wasn't dedicated, bro sliced his own arm open. *pats head* you'll learn, my little murderous bean, you'll learn.

Brendan: I was doing the dishes. Barbara: Did your parents leave them for you to do? They must have left in a rush this morning.

Yes, Barbara, he can do the dishes, he's in an undetermined age between late teens and-

Barbara: They didn't even make their bed.

Wtf you nosy bitch.

See what I'm saying? Full character development for a character with like, two minutes of screentime.

And then the voicemail drops like an anvil. My first thought when his mother said that Mandy is nothing but trouble I was like "Yo look who's talking" but then I thought that... yeah she did creep in her boss' bedroom, actually had sex with her son in it, then pretty much talked dirt to him about her... I mean she definitely didn't deserve to die, but maybe his mother was a good judge of character for one (1) moment.

And then Lorraine appears.

And Brendan's like "Now I have money for like, three hours with her. Maybe I'll even convince her to help me hide the body too."

“OR MAYBE I’LL JUST KILL HER TOO.”

In conlusion, yup, I’m pretty glad I spent a good hour and a bit watching, analyzing, writing this review and screencapping this film. 10/10 would rewatch and review again.

[freespeechfandom-blog]

Cassie, marks and marriage

Since the topic came up, I might as well write a separate post about all the long mark stuff that wouldn’t fit very well into a series of reblogs. Tl;dr version: C didn’t mind the marks, M didn’t intend to mark her, the marks had positive effects for C, and both of them use the marks in ambiguous ways to cherry-pick which interpretations they are going with, and even so vamp marriage probably wouldn’t be about lovey-dovey matrimony anyway. Longer version below, still, see highlights for a condensed summary.

- Let’s start with the way the marks were made. M, spasming on a bed in geis-induced desire, bit C. C didn’t expect it, but also didn’t fight it, and when she did protest, he stopped. Fast forward, she is now marked, something that is immediately visible to all vamps (will come back to this), who just go with it as they only care about ‘outcome, not intent.’ She doesn’t fuss about the marks too much ever again, though she acknowledges that she wasn’t asked, and isn’t too keen on belonging to anybody (will come back to this).

- Let’s look at the consent of the various parties. Since both were under the effects of the geis at the time, none of them were legally compos mentis - so M didn’t consciously plan it. He does later say he didn’t realize C was really there - and even if we believe that he lied, and that he perhaps coouuld have been lucid enough to plan the marks deliberately as a manipulation (unlikely), if nothing else, the fact that having further entanglements with Cassie reduces the chances of just being able to ask her to save Elena without complications should prove that he didn’t want to mark her any more than he wanted the geis to be changed into a love/desire spell. Moving on to C’s consent, she wasn’t aware beforehand, but she accepted it afterwards explicity. She’s asked if she wishes she had not been marked, and she doesn’t go ‘hell yeah, cause the marks annoy me’; she is also asked if she wishes to break up, and to all of that she says she doesn’t mind, and wants to have a closer relationship instead, and asks for dates. 

- Picking up on the marks having alternative potential meanings: belonging can mean as a possession, or belonging together. Same for the bite: on vampires, they signify a marriage of equals who belong together; on humans, they show that a favored magical servant belongs to a vamp family (because mages can’t be added to a vamp family the normal way). So C doesn’t want to be owned by anybody, but she’s cool with belonging together with M, which she wanted to do for years as a crush, in TtD even though she knew they won’t work out, subconsciously in CbS so that the geis responds to her wish to be with M (Pritkin’s assessment not mine btw), and when she reaffirms her post-marks dating wishes in CtD. (((It’s also interesting to note here that all intimacies that M and C are involved in were desired by Cassie, not by Mircea - she had the hots for him first for years while he obv wasn’t interested in a teenager, she wanted to ‘ride him’ while he previously didn’t look at her that way, her Pythian powers controlled the geis to morph into a love/lust loop based on her own emotions, and it’s she who wants to get to know him better and she wants to date. So the Missie relationship wasn’t forced on C, but rather something that predominantly she wanted that was accomodated by coincidences and M just went with it - not saying it was a hardship for him by any means, he seemed to be into her too, just highlighting that neither the geis nor the bite was an ensnarement plan of his making.)))

- So which interpretations is true then? Is C an equal in marriage, or is she a servant with a loyalty badge? Naturally, the vamps are going with the servant interpretation, because a twenty-something slip of a girl is not considered marriage material for an illustrious centuries-old Senator - but she sounds useful, so good job, they’re cool with it. Although ever since the demigoddess-reveal and the Pythia-duels, Cleo is increasingly suspicious that C might be a dedicated ally to M, not just a manipulated mortal, which is ringing her poor paranoid danger-bells. And another thing to note is that the vamps already accepted C as a potential equal - when she was named second, M’s vamps deferred to her, Cleo treated her as an equal, and she gave commands to Jules and Co. on the basis of hey, I’m your master’s second, which all support that the definition of vampire marriage can be applied to a Pythia in a vague enough way to accommodate her in a potential equal function, so it’s not automatically a servant badge. The rest of the magical society either don’t really know about it, or like Jonas interpret it as an unfair favor the Pythia would have towards the vampires, to which C argues that she’s loyal to her vampire family the same way other Pythias are loyal to their families.

- More so than what it means to the magical society however, it’s important to see what it means to them. C makes the valid point that M wants it both ways - a ‘personal’ relationship and a separate ‘professional’ one, which is clearly not working. However, Cassie does the same too, reinterpreting the ‘marriage’ whenever it suits her as well. She tells Mircea that he should tell her things, because they are ‘married’, so she invokes the bond when she’s trying to get access or information, or when she’s trying to boss vampires around. But when it comes to sharing info of her own, or falling in love with her bodyguard or hooking up with him, she conveniently forgets about being ‘married’. So both C and M are trying to juggle this ambiguous term to their own benefit by cherry-picking situations in which it would be beneficial to use the ‘marriage card’ to their advantage and ignore it when inconvenient.

- And as for that, I’ve tried to recall instances in which the marriage card is raised, but there isn’t many of them, especially lately; and from those earlier ones, pretty much all of it was beneficial to Cassie. When EtN-C shifts to TtD-M, it saves her life and provides a reasonable explanation why M would accept her as real. Then in the past, M presumes the mark shows that they are intimate in the future, which C agrees wasn’t against her will, so it gives past-M an excuse to get it on with Cassie, which enables the whole geis-discussion to surface. Then, in CtD, C bosses vampires around and doesn’t get thrown out of restricted med access only due to the marks, and later also has Nicu and the other older vamps treat her more attentively and seriously than they would a random yapping mortal. I genuinely don’t remember any situation in which the marriage is held against her, as in ‘as my wife, you have to make an army’ or ‘as the master’s wife, you need to stay inside when you can’t shift’ as most conflicts reference actual objections and arguments, and the marks aren’t used as an excuse to hinder, command or limit Cassie. Heck, they don’t even prevent her from dating Jonas’ selection of suitors, lol. However, as always, and as I mentioned elsewhere, do please quote the scenes at me if I glance over something of that sort.

- It’s perhaps also interesting to investigate what vampire marriage really means, because it’s clearly not what it means to modern readers, or what it generally represents in romance novels (and this isn’t one anyway). As we see a certain Lucilla being married to Senator Marcellus in Masks, vamp marriage goes back to at least Roman times and thus predates concepts of romanticism, so it can’t be about love and emotional support - it’s far more likely a more traditional marriage of common interests, shared resources and alliances, which would be in line with the pragmatism and collectivism of vampire society that practically requires its members to work on improving their and their family’s position.

So long story short, Cassie may not have been asked about the marks, nor consented to being bitten at the time; but she doesn’t protest or reject them later, and instead opts for an even closer relationship. This is also in line with the other trend in the books, in which intimacy happens due to accidents and circumstances, but generally in accordance with Cassie’s wishes. The marks were also not a malicious manipulative plan by Mircea, because he would not have chosen them consciously as they only complicate things. Furthermore however, they are never even really utilized in a negative way for Cassie, and we see more scenes in which she directly benefits from them being there, enabling her to do things she would not have done otherwise. Ultimately, Mircea doesn’t act like a husband should, and Cassie doesn’t act like a wife should, and I suggest that vamp marriage wouldn’t even be about that due to their mindset and the age of the traditional institution of marriage. So, was the point of the marks just a convenient plot device? So far, pretty much, though KC always insists that she writes everything ‘for the plot’ including the triangle, which so far had no reason to exist either. So perhaps the marks will also play a role in the future...? 

[grundalucious075-blog]

Shit that Happens at Work #1

God, this past Sunday just wasn't my day.

I actually don't hate the people I work with (my husband included), but this Sunday was possibly one of my worst.

(Side note: we're VERY busy on Sundays)

Let's start with the morning bullshit. There's a baker who has a car and he's usually cool with getting McDonald's for me in the am. I always get 2 or more hash browns because them bitches are AMAZING. I got my husband something too, because I'm nice and I love him (and I was SWIMMING in cash at the time). So he leaves then comes back with McDonald's. A few momenta after this, one of my co-workers comments "Y'know what's funny? That Rich (not his name) is willing to get you and Ian food from McDonald's, yet won't get us something from Starbucks--or even offers to get us something as well."

This made me feel bad. It made me feel GUILTY just for making sure I had food in the morning. She said she wasn't mad at me, but my hubby was the only one who understood that I have a MAJOR guilt complex (thanks to my mother). But I tried to let it roll off my back, and move on.

Fast-forward to a few hours later. Co-worker from earlier (whom I will refer to as Bri) was complaining about how hungry she was. Another co-worker (who I will call Kelly amd is Rich's wife) added the comment "Yeah, because she didn't get McDonald's this morning!"

I was FURIOUS. I told Kelly "Okay, you need to back off about it. I already feel bad. If you have an issue with YOUR husband, then YOU need to talk to him about it."

At this point, I had pretty much let it slode, amd wasn't gonna bring it up again. I don't like petty bullshit like that. I don't have the time nor energy for that shit. My hubby (who I will call Kel) got upset as well. Then, I catch him giving Bri shit for it, which in turn makes her salty and grumpy as fuck. That's when Bri's mom (who I will call Nana) clocks in and starts helping with the huge line of customers. Bri starts complaining to Nana AND Red (her red-headed "bestie" who clocked in an hour beforehand) about the whole thing.

All the while, almost NOBODY has either noticed or cared about how it was making me feel, and the one person in my corner had just effectively made things worse.

Fast forward another hour or so. We're slammed. I'm still feeling like shit. I can barely focus.

Then...I get this one customer.

I recgnoize her. She usually comes in every few months or so, but whenever she does, if my hubby doesn't help her (or someone white), then she gets an attitude.

I'm half black, btw.

I ended up being the one to help her. She asked for about a dozen bagels or so (bagged up separately). She then asked about our tuna sandwiches. She asked for the cheese to be melted onto the bread before we put the tuna on it (she didn't specify how). Our toaster flips bagels over as they come out, therefore, we can't melt cheese on them without the use of a microwave. Just as I was finished with her sandwich, she asks Kel "Did she just microwave that?" At first, he ignored her, because she wasn't his customer, so I answered "Yeah. You wanted the cheese melted, right?"

"Yeah, but not in the microwave. I wanted the cheese and the bagel ran through the toaster, otherwise, the bread will get all soggy."

"Ma'am I can't do that. The cheese will melt, and might break the toaster. Our toaster isn't built like that. Plus, the toaster flips the bagels as they come out. The cheese will get ruined."

She proceeded to argue with me, prompting Kel and the baker (who was in the front at the time) to back me up and confirm my statement. She then said "Fine, whatever. I don't want it."

I was very annoyed. I just got done making this sandwich VERY SPECIFICALLY for you, then you turn your nose up at it? Thanks. Fuck you too.

So I toss tye sandwich and politely asks if she wants anything else. She told me no. I rang her up, she paid, she left.

Ten minutes later, she was back. Turns out, I gave her salt sticks instead of onion sticks. I could've swore she said salt, but whatever. I replace her bagels (still being as polite as I could) and tell her to have a nice day.

Fifteen minutes go by. She's back AGAIN. She asks somebody to see the manager/boss. She starts talking to him, and I KNOW it's nothing good. She claims that I gave her the WORST attitude that I could ever give a person. She wanted ALL of her bagels replaced. Didn't want ANY of them, because I gave them to her. The boss tries to talk her down and replaces the bagels. She leaves in a huff.

At this point, I'm shaking, crying silently, and REALLY wanting to kill myself. All of my coworkers and the baker were all trying to assure me that I had done nothing wrong. The boss never talked one-on-one about it with me, but I think he knows that cunt's paytern, too.

Remember when I brought up how she preferred to be served by my husband or someone white? Kel is half-Korean. I noticed her attitude and her actions and brought it up to Kel. He suspects that she was racist. I'm pretty sure she was, too. Racist against what? Probably blacks. She always seems to give me the hardest time, and I do look equally black and white.

Still, it was a nightmare. I hate customer service. Enough said.