#which is a thing according to richie

[chefkids]

The Bear is A Midsummer Night's Dream and Marcus is making the violet love potion for Syd and Carmy

There have been Shakespeare references in The Bear from the very beginning. In the very first episode Marcus finds Carmy’s James Beard award for Fairest Creatures, which is a Shakespearean sonnet about life being short and how everything will end and die even if they're beautiful, but the only thing that survives are children, and not having children deprives the world of beauty. Nat's conversation with Jimmy about raising children was parallel with Carmy's conversation with Terry about starting a restaurant. Then of course there was Richie singing Love Story which is about Romeo & Juliet.

Violet and purple flowers are a reoccurring thing we see and learn about in Season 3 of The Bear. According to Roman mythology, the wild pansy, a type of violet flower, was originally white, then turned into the purple Love-in-idleness when Cupid accidentally shot one of his arrows at it, working as a love potion with Cupid's powers. The first time we see purple flowers is in Tomorrow when Carmy tweezing purple flowers next to Luca at Ever, this is the same wagyu dish they ate at the Ever funeral with Sydney. We see more flowers in montages, like Carmy eating them at Noma, bouquets in hotels, and at Marcus' mom's funeral and more.

A Midsummer Night's Dream TL;DR: The play starts with Theseus preparing for his wedding to Hippolyta, he declares that young people should have fun and celebration, not sadness like at a funeral. Hermia, Lysander, Helena, and Demetrius are in a love square and run away to the woods. Puck aka Robin Goodfellow, a fairy that enjoys mischief, manipulates them with the juice of a violet flower, love-in-idleness, that makes people fall in love with the next creature they see. Things get messed up, the wrong people fall in love with each other, and they all fight with each other. Puck reverses the magic, then the couples reconcile and get married at Theseus and Hippolyta's wedding. There is also group of 6 stupid men called the Mechanicals that put on a play, Pyramus and Thisbe (which is also the inspiration behind Romeo & Juliet) for the wedding. In the end, Puck breaks the fourth wall and apologizes to the audience for any offense the play might have caused. The Bear Season 3 started and ended with a funeral and an attempt at a celebration, and we know there will be a wedding in Season 4.

Marcus and his magic purple flowers are always tying back to Syd and Carmy. In Doors the purple flowers at the funeral cut to Sydney and Carmy's "cause you write in the margins" wholesome moment between them.

In Children, Marcus sees a white violet then it cuts to Sydney reading the partnership agreement that Carmy sent while wearing a purple flower scarf.

He then tells Nat about it, she mentions it's the state flower of illinois and he decides to make a white violet flower dessert.

In Violet, Marcus is working on some purple liquid and holds a violet petal, then it cuts to Syd and Carmy.

Even back in Season 1 Marcus was interested in the color purple and flowers, roommate Chester brought pantone color swatches. In Legacy Marcus and Carmy talk about creating magic to push his violet dish further, then Sydney appears.

In that same episode after the conversation about legerdemain and magic, Richie's notebook makes its own sleight of hand. It's a bit hard to read his terrible handwriting but on one page it says Lover for Syd on top and below:

Carmy -> Syd Luca -> Carm

And in another page he wrote:

Syd -> pansy Luca -> Carmen

Richie is Puck/Robin and he wants to see what would happen if Luca and Carmy start fighting for Syd. Richie and the Fak's have been fucking with the dream weave and Carmy’s love story for a while by pushing him to be with Claire.

The Faks are the Mechanicals, a group of incompetent manual laborers. We see Carmy tweezing herbs next to some pansy flowers, then Fak brings out the donkey piñatas. In A Midsummer Night's Dream, one of the mechanicals, Bottom, gets turned into a donkey then the rest of the mechanicals say they are being haunted. And we all know how much the Fak's love to talk about being haunted. Can't get more on the nose than that for them.

The Faks/Mechanicals are mechanics but they think they can make a movie/play. Theodore Fak thinks he makes art films, Sammy Fak argues with him over SD cards and tells him he makes films for children's parties. Even Francie Fak is a reference to one of the mechanics, Francis Flute, who is the only one forced to play the female role in the play they are putting on for the wedding. Also, In A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1999) Michelle Pfeiffer played Tatiana, the Queen of the Fairies, who Storer originally had in mind to play Donna. 

When Richie arrived to Ever he took off a fishing hook from a purple flower, then right after Luca appears and greets Carmy. Carmy's flower tattoo in his hand is a violet, and it was right in front of his face the whole dinner when he was next Sydney and Luca and they started vibing with each other. Next season will have a wedding and Marcus' white violet dessert will be tasted. Richie already told us plan he has for Syd, the pansy and it goes from Luca to Carmy.

At the end of the play Puck has an epilogue and breaks the fourth wall to apologize to the audience if they have offended them. Richie and Tiff broke fourth wall to address the "kids" aka us the audience in Apologies. In conclusion, The Bear is a Shakespearean comedy, but it is also first and foremost, a messy love story. 💜

[zorrasucia]

Teach Me Tonight - Part 6

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Deleted Scene] [Part 4] [Part 5] Part 6: [Part 7] [Deleted Scene] [Part 8]

Reader x Carmy Berzatto (The Bear FX)

Rating: Explicit (5k)

Tags: Smut, Set sometime after the opening of The Bear, Porn with a little plot, Virgin!Carmy, Jealous!Carmy, SoftDom!Carmy, Fluff, Miscommunication, Make up Sex, Sex Toys, P in V sex, Oral (M and F receiving), Both Carmy and Reader have a bit of a praise kink

Summary:

You were in over your head.

Some fashion vlogger had recorded a video in your store, giving it a glowing review and it had been good for business. Maybe too good. The store was now full of stylish teenagers with baggy jeans and designer bags, you had a new hire to train, and a local journalist had emailed you to ask for an interview.

He showed up a couple of days later, tall with dark hair, and every bit as stylish as you would expect a reporter from a fashion magazine to be. You had shown him around, let him take photos, talked about your favorite brands and decades of fashion, and complimented his printed shirt.

"It's from the seventies," he commented bashfully. "I'm a little obsessed."

And he talked about his ongoing quest for the perfect pair of bell bottoms. You showed him what you had in the store and promised to be on the lookout.

"You know, it's weird," he gestured to the side, where The Bear was. "I used to come here when they did sandwiches."

"They still do!" you beamed. "The fine dining is really good too. Well, I'm biased but-"

"Right! Being their neighbor and all," he concluded. You simply nodded along - no need to let him know the intricacies of your personal life.

"Let me buy you lunch," he offered. You were about to refuse when he added. "I'd love to try their food but I hate eating alone."

You accepted. It seemed harmless and it could be good for the restaurant too - maybe he knew a food critic and would recommend the place too.

Richie guided you both to a table with a smile, quickly catching up with your plan once you mentioned the interview, offering the journalist a sampler of the menu.

It was good - the food, the conversation. It caught you by surprise when Carmy stormed out of the kitchen, something angry in his stride.

"Are you enjoying the food?"

It was a simple enough question, it was the way he said it-

"It's excellent, thank you!" the journalist said earnestly, which only seemed to wind up Carmy even more.

"Good, great," he rasped, then turned towards you. "Can I talk to you?" it was said in that clipped tone that meant he was stressed and he didn't have good news.

You followed him to the back and touched his wrist briefly, trying to convey how important this was.

"Carm?" you asked, your face wrinkling in worry and confusion.

"You mad at me or something?" he asked.

"No! Just nervous, stressed... I don't even know - it's just the interview," you tried to reassure him. "Can we talk later, baby?"

"Sorry to interrupt," the journalist had walked up to you without either of you noticing. "I just wanted to know - are you the chef here?"

"He is, yes!" you smiled, thinking everything was going according to plan.

“Carmen Berzatto,” he said without offering his hand, his frown furrowed and something deadly in his stare.

The journalist gave one look at Carmy and his face shifted from friendly to scared. "I'll give you guys a minute."

Carmy was burning holes on the back of the guy's skull and you couldn't be more embarrassed.

"What's wrong with you?" you whispered.

"That fucking guy."

"He's the fucking journalist! Are you out of your mind, Carmen?" you were losing the last shred of patience you had left. "I was trying to do a nice thing and you- We can talk about this later at home, okay? Now leave, please."

You turned away from him and didn't look back until you had paid for lunch and walked the journalist out the door.

"I'm so sorry about him," you explained. "It wasn't personal."

"Don't worry about it. I worked as a server once. I swear working in a kitchen does things to your brain..." he mimicked a spiral by his temple. You winced.

"Yeah."

"Hope he doesn't bother you again," he said, which made your stomach drop. "I'll send you the article when it's done. And you have my number if you ever find those bell bottoms."

He waved goodbye and you huffed in defeat.

Suddenly, you were being hugged by Nat, her arms around your shoulders.

"Did Carmy send you?" you asked, patting her forearm.

"Kind of," she let go of you with a sigh. "He walked in the kitchen and kind of lost it? I had to get it out of him. And when he explained, I came over."

"Thank you," you said softly.

"He can be an idiot," she said.

"Yeah," you nodded.

"He loves you, though."

"I know," you said, rubbing your temples. It had been a long day. "I'll text him."

You were pacing the carpet, waiting for Carmy to get back from work. You had a list of things you wanted to tell him ready to go: that making a scene like that had been embarrassing and hurtful, that he had probably ruined the whole interview acting that way -

Your train of thought and frantic pacing was interrupted by the key in the door. Carmy walked inside, a defeated look on his face, and every cell in your body wanted to go and hold him but you stood still, arms crossed while he closed the door behind him.

"Hey," you said.

"Hey, I, uh," he stumbled. "What I said... What I did... I mean, even Richie thought that it was fucked up so..."

He let it hang there, in the air between you two, keeping his distance.

"Carm," you took a deep inhale. "I need you to understand the store is just as important to me as the restaurant is to you. It's finally going well. And maybe that means I have less time for you. I need to know that you'll be okay with it - with me being busy sometimes - that whatever that was won't happen again."

"I know, I know," he said looking at the ground. "I'm happy it's working out. I am."

You tilted your head. "Then what the hell happened?"

He rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand.

"It's so stupid," he mumbled, embarrassed. "I got jealous. So fucking jealous. I had never- I didn't know what to do with it."

You uncrossed your arms - you actually hadn’t thought of that.

"No need to be, Carm," you reassured him.

"I just-" he blinked hard like he sometimes did when he was stressed. "This tall as fuck guy, with the fancy fucking shirt, just being charming around you..."

"You think I care about that shit?"

"I don't know, maybe?" Carmy looked at you with wide eyes. "I'm an asshole sometimes, I cancel plans, my family is a fucking mess-"

"Hey, I like Nat!" you interrupted his spiral.

"And I think she likes you better than me."

You stood in silence for a while.

"I'm sorry. I am," he said in the end.

You moved one step closer and pressed your forehead to his. "It's okay if you're jealous, Carm. Just- keep your cool if it happens again. Please," you said softly. "I don't know if I can handle you acting like that again."

He nodded. "Promise."

"I'm coming home to you, baby. No one else," you emphasized, running your hands over his chest.

"Mhmm," he tilted his head, eyes closed, like he wanted to kiss you but needed your permission. You surged forward, trapping him in a tight embrace and a searing kiss.

It got heated quickly.

He cornered you towards the kitchen, grabbing and pressing, until you were sitting on the counter, legs bracketing his hips, hands in his hair.

"Carmy," you gasped, as he kissed your neck like only he knew how. His tongue traced the contour of your collarbone and you moaned.

He undid the first few buttons of your blouse, burying his face between your breasts, kissing and nipping. You carded your fingers through his hair, and crossed your legs behind him, keeping him close. The heat between your thighs was getting more unbearable as time went by. He started kissing down, like he would eat you out, atoning for what happened, but you didn't want that.

You pulled on his hair and made him look up. "I need you inside me," he exhaled shakily. "Now."

He took a condom out of his back pocket while you unbuttoned his slacks, undressing him just enough to free his cock. His hands went under your skirt, eager, and moved your underwear to the side. When Carmy leaned to start fingering you, you grabbed his wrist.

"I need your cock inside me," you clarified.

You didn't want the tenderness of foreplay. You moved to the edge of the counter, taking his cock in hand and putting the condom on yourself. You guided his head to your entrance and felt him fill you out. It hurt a little, your pussy tight and unprepped, and weirdly that was what you wanted now. You whined once he bottomed out and he groaned at the feeling, the sound making you roll your eyes.

"Fuck," you held him close, arms around his shoulders, clinging to him for dear life. Without knowing where it came from, you said to the side of his face: "Show me I'm yours."

He inhaled sharply, his hands shaking where they held your waist. Then his hips moved back and forth in one long, agonizing stroke. You moaned. Again. And you held him tighter, letting drowned out cries pour out from your lips. He kept going for a little while, the pace so slow that it made you wonder whether all his anger had fizzled out by now.

Except he started going hard, hitting that spot that made you dizzy. Your breasts and legs were shaking with every thrust. You covered your mouth to stop from screaming.

"Holy shit, Carmy" you mumbled.

His hands touched all over, scratching your thighs and up, squeezing your hips, tracing your sides, caressing your arms and holding your wrists. You shivered. His cock kept hitting just right, his mouth exhaling on the side of your face. His hand traveled south, finding your clit like it was second nature, thumbing at it in small circles, just the way you liked.

"No one can fuck me like this," you whined. "No one makes me feel this good."

His hips stuttered and he moved so that your foreheads were touching and his eyes were staring right into yours, you could feel the sweat on his brow.

"Yeah?" he asked, his voice hoarse.

"Yeah," you replied, your jaw slack as you kept panting and moaning. His pace was so steady that it felt like Carmy could go on forever. Then, impatient, you started thrusting your hips against his, making it go twice as fast, making him groan into your mouth and start losing control.

"Fuck," he cursed, grabbing your hips, steadying himself. "I'm so crazy about you."

"Carmy," you managed to say, desperate, your voice getting high, and your nails scratching at his scalp.

His free hand squeezed your breast over your bra and you slipped your hands under his shirt, caressing the hair on his navel, and up his chest, pinching one of his nipples hard.

"Fuck, baby," he groaned again.

You were so close you could almost taste it. Just then you grabbed his face with both hands.

"Tell me," you pleaded. "Tell me you'll never do that again. Tell me I'm yours."

"Never. Never, I promise," Carmy breathed into your mouth, little desperate sounds escaping his throat. "You're mine, you're mine, you're mine."

He came with a strong exhale, drowning every other sound into your neck. His thumb on your clit kept moving until you joined him, completely spent, bracing on the edge of the counter to stop yourself from falling back.

He placed gentle kisses on your throat while you both recovered your breath. You clenched your walls around his cock, drawing a satisfied moan out of him.

"Did you get the guy's contact?" he panted against your skin.

"Yeah, why?" you replied ruffling his hair with your exhale.

"Thought I'd send him a cannoli or something," Carmy looked up from his place on your chest. "Make sure what I did doesn't make you look bad."

You ran your fingers through his hair, soothing.

"I don't think that's necessary but I'm sure he'll appreciate it. He said something about wanting to marry whoever made the desserts," you teased.

"Don't think Marcus'll be interested," Carmy inhaled deeply, his nose on the exact place you sprayed perfume every morning, though by now it had probably faded into a saltier scent. "When's the article coming out?"

"Couple of weeks," you hummed, caressing his back under his shirt.  "We have time, baby. So much time."

~

You were leaning on the kitchen door, watching as Carmy and Syd posed against the counter. A photographer was giving them vague instructions about where to stand and where to look. She was also complimenting Carmy and hitting on him like she was getting paid overtime for it.

"Sydney, lean forward, yes, nice! Carmen, hit me with those blue eyes! Gorgeous, what a handsome guy!" she said with a cat-like smile.

The restaurant was going to be featured in Food & Wine, which entailed a photoshoot.

They had both started wearing their chef's whites, going for a more professional approach. Then, to make them more comfortable, the photographer asked them to change into their street clothes. It had done wonders for Syd, who was now showing off one of her mother's beautiful shirts with a proud smile on her face. It hadn't been quite as successful with Carmy - he had a tortured look in his eyes. Now he was standing awkwardly in the middle of the kitchen, even more withdrawn than when they had started, every wink and cheesy one-liner from the photographer making him wince.

"Okay, Sydney, a little to the side. Exactly, chin up, please! And Carmen - why don't you stand this way? Yeah, let's show off those arms."

You bit your bottom lip.

"Carm?" you called him - he turned with wide eyes. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

He nodded. "Sorry, excuse us," he mumbled, leaving the kitchen quickly, trailing behind you. He grabbed your hand and squeezed it. "I'm sorry," he said, his blue eyes pleading.

"What for?"

"All the things she's saying..." he turned briefly, making sure the door was closed. "Fuck, I don't mean to-"

"You're not doing anything wrong, baby," you reassured him, cupping his face gently. "It looked like you needed a break, is all."

"Yeah," he exhaled heavily. "It's a lot."

You nodded. "The kitchen looks really nice," you commented to lighten the mood. They had done a deep clean the day before that had run into midnight.

"Thanks," he smiled. Then added: "This is a fucking nightmare."

You intertwined your fingers with his. "I think-" you paused, "that she wants you to look confident. That's why she keeps saying nice things."

"They don't feel nice," he bit his cheek.

You remembered how hard it had been for him to accept compliments for anything other than his cooking when you had first started dating. He would scoff and dismiss every word. Even now, sometimes it felt like he didn't quite believe them and maybe was just humoring you - which broke your heart. There wasn't enough time to unpack all that, so instead you leaned forward, placing one hand on his hip, whispering to his ear, flirtatious.

"Carm, I want you to go in there and eye fuck that camera like you would if it was me," he took a sharp inhale. "I will make it worth your while. Let you do anything you want to me," you promised.

He gulped. "Jesus," he mumbled, his pupils dilated.

You gave him a brief kiss on the cheek. "I'll tell them you'll be back in a few minutes," you said with a satisfied grin and went back to your place by the kitchen door.

"He went for a quick smoke," you lied to Syd.

When Carmy returned, he was in control, hands on his hips, like he had suddenly remembered he owned the place.

"Okay, guys, let's get this over with," he took his place next to Sydney, leaning on the counter and staring right into the lens, something defiant in his stance.

Your heart started racing. Even the photographer seemed affected by the shift.

"Uh, yes, good," after a few clicks she said: "I think we got it. Mmm, one more from this angle and we'll be good to go."

She led them to the main entrance to The Bear, Sydney crossing her arms and Carmy mirroring that same stance. They looked like they had stepped out of a magazine, modeling some understated and ridiculously expensive brand. Carmy looked in your direction for a second and licked his lips, before he turned back to the camera, unflinching and determined.

Another few clicks.

"Thank you guys, that would be all," the photographer went up to shake their hands and say her goodbyes. You were about to follow her out when Carmy took you by the wrist.

"See you tonight," he drawled and you felt yourself get wet.

"When I said you could do anything you wanted to me, I wasn't expecting this," you panted, your hands buried in Carmy's curls, as he kept kissing and licking every inch of your pussy. He was taking his sweet time too, biting on your thighs and going up to give some attention to your breasts and neck whenever he felt you were getting too close to your release.

"What were you expecting?" he asked, an amused glow to his face while he rested his chin on your hip, his mouth and nose shiny with your arousal.

"I don't know," you sighed, frustrated but so turned on. His hand caressed your pussy gently and you moaned. "Give you a blowjob, wear a silly costume, something like that."

"And are you into that?" he asked.

"I do like to suck your cock," you said honestly. Sometimes, with other guys, it had felt like a chore, not with Carmy, you loved to see him come undone, let go completely.

"See, the thing is," he kissed the curve of your hip, "if you gave me a blowjob it would be over so quickly," he exhaled right on your spread out clit which made you shudder. "And where's the fun in that?"

You giggled giddily when he squeezed your ass, manhandling you closer to his face, keeping his focus on your pussy.

"So you're just going to edge me until I beg?" you asked, half wanting for him to say yes.

"Don't worry," he gave a long lick, from the bottom of your lips to the top, making you arch your back and curse. "You will come," there was something dark in his eyes again, that same determination from the photoshoot back in his face - he was in charge. "When I want you to."

You shivered. "Fuck, Carm."

He started sucking on your clit, his tattooed fingers curling inside of you. You melted under his touch, feeling your pussy squeeze his fingers.

"Please, Carmy..."

He stopped sucking, messing with the rhythm, keeping you hanging by a thread.

"You will come," he repeated, "when I want you to," the speed of his fingers increased. "As many times as I want you to."

You moaned. His mouth latched onto your clit, licking until you were thrashing on the bedsheets, his forearm kept you in place on the mattress.

"Fuck, shit, baby," you mumbled. Your gazes met, his blue eyes fiery. He nodded and you came in a blur, desperately grabbing at anything - his hair, the bedsheets - the feeling all the more intense for the time he had spent working you up. He kept kissing and sucking until you stopped moaning and started chuckling breathily.

"Just like that," he praised, something playful in his voice and you would have teased back if you weren't so completely spent.

He kissed the outside of your folds, staying away from your clit and your entrance, just worshipping the skin around them and you caressed his hair lovingly.

"You make me feel so fucking good," you exhaled.

He climbed up your body and kissed you hard, mouth open, letting you taste yourself on his tongue. His cock, hard inside his jeans, grazed the lower part of your belly, it made you tremble in anticipation. "You gonna fuck me?" you asked between one kiss and the next, your hips lifting up to ground on his.

He clicked his tongue. "Not yet," he got up and opened the drawer of your bedside table, taking out your rabbit vibrator. "This charged?"

You nodded, biting your lip.

"Good girl," he praised and your hand squeezed your breast almost unconsciously; something happened to you whenever he talked to you like that.

He lowered himself next to you, held up by one arm; his hand teased your pussy, his calloused fingers spreading wetness around.

"D'you need lube, baby?" he asked, more out of politeness than anything since he knew the answer very well.

"I think I'm okay, Carm," you laughed and he kissed the side of your face.

"Mhmm. So fucking hot," he whispered and you felt the dildo poking at your entrance.

You placed your hand on the side of Carmy's face, your thumb near the edge of his mouth. He sucked on it thoroughly, then let go with a pop. You whined needily.

"Please, please, please..." it poured out of you.

He bumped your forehead with his, his gaze was intense and hungry.

"Keep looking at me," he ordered, and you obeyed, keeping your eyes open even as the dildo went all the way inside you and filled you up deliciously. The coldness of the toy reminded you it wasn't Carmy's cock - but he was holding it, he was right there next to you. Your face contorted in pleasure.

"Yes, like that," he encouraged you, his words tickling inside your belly. He seemed to be overcome just looking at you - it made you feel wanted, adored, beautiful. You wanted to make him feel that way too.

"Carm," you gasped. "I need you to know- Oh, fuck," he pumped the toy inside you, slow, so slow. "I need you to know," you repeated through the fog of pleasure, "all those things the photographer said. They're true. Oh, my God, baby," his expression softened even as he buried the dildo deep inside you. "Your eyes are beautiful," another thrust, you caressed his face. "Your arms are so hot," you held onto the arm that was fucking you, squeezing the muscle there. "Shit. You're handsome, gorgeous, fucking- oh!" you blurted all at once, turning the compliments into moans. "I swear - fuck!" you held his gaze. "Can't believe you're mine."

He leaned forward, kissing you tenderly, swallowing your moans.

"I love you," he said softly.

"I love you," you replied, a choked out sound leaving your lips.

He turned on the vibration and watched you lose control, becoming desperate with lust, thrusting your hips wildly. He kept you there a bit longer than necessary, torturing you a little with how long he was drawing it out. It was so good, so fucking good.

"Carmy. Please," you begged.

"I know, I know," he soothed. "You're doing so good."

It sent a shiver down your spine and made the very last thread inside you snap.

"Oh," you exhaled, coming harder than you ever had, scratching at his forearm, screaming into the skin of his shoulder.

"Sound so nice," Carmy mumbled, looking as pussy drunk as a man could be without actually fucking one. "Baby, baby, baby."

You stayed there for a while, the dildo still inside you, and Carmy's hands touching your waist tenderly while you kissed.

After a long while of that, he got up from the bed, and started getting undressed while you watched. You bit your lip and put your head on your hand, enjoying the sight. He caught you staring.

"You really meant all those things you said," it began as a statement and ended as a question, Carmy's voice going up slightly.

"Every word," you said, taking out the dildo as Carmy showed you his cock. You licked your lips. "D'you mind? Me saying things like that?"

You wanted him to be confident but you didn't want to make him uncomfortable.

He shook his head. "I liked it," he admitted. He stood right by you, beside the bed, fiddling with the condom he had retrieved from your drawer. "Made me feel good."

"I'm glad, Carm," you reached out to caress his leg, following the line of muscle there. Saying he was beautiful once while you fucked wasn't going to change his mind, but you were willing to keep trying.

In the meantime, you could show him. Even with the exhaustion of everything Carmy had done to you, you wanted him inside you, wanted to see him roll his eyes in ecstasy. You crawled to where he was, kneeling, near the edge of the mattress. His cock was hard, pulsing, and it made your mouth water. He stood still, dropped the condom on the mattress, probably guessing what you were about to do.

When you were an inch away from his cock, he pulled your hair and stopped you.

He gestured at the vibrator. "Put that back inside you," he said in that demanding voice and you rushed to do as he said, only uttering a small moan when you had it inside you. He leaned over, tracing a long line from your neck to your ass, reaching to turn it back on on the lowest setting. You writhed a little but after a moment of adjusting to the feeling you were able to stay still and look at Carmy.

"Good girl," he said again and you keened, leaning forward to suck his dick. The sound he made once your mouth was on him was heavenly. "Holy fuck."

His hands were tangled in your hair and you wished you could deep throat without choking, just to watch him lose his mind completely. You settled for going as far as you could, getting every inch of him slick with saliva, making him groan and sweat. You looked up, his eyes were white and his face was flushed, his Adam's apple bobbing as he tried to breathe. You hummed with satisfaction and that woke up his competitive streak.

He pulled on your hair lightly. "Gimme a second," he panted. You thought he needed a breather, but he actually moved to turn the vibrator up a couple of notches. You trembled and reached for his ass, bracing, leaving red scratch marks on the tender skin.

"Fuck, baby," you said between moans. "Not fucking fair."

"Mhmm," he smirked, caressing your scalp. It took all your willpower and concentration but you moved forward and went back to sucking his cock, feeling a pang of pride as he threw his head back and uttered some curse you couldn't quite decipher.

The vibrator set a pace you could follow, rocking forward as it pulsed, letting you give Carmy pleasure while you were ridiculously close to losing your mind yourself.

"Shit, baby," he gasped, his knees buckling for a second. "Make me feel- Fuck, y're so good, so good," he mumbled.

The steady pace of the vibrator was building up a tense knot inside you - you were close, and so it became a race of making Carmy come before you did. You doubled your efforts, speeding up, hollowing your cheeks, moaning into his skin.

"You're fucking killing me," he growled, pulling on your hair just the way you liked it, making you roll your eyes as you sucked on his length. You were completely overwhelmed; you couldn't help but whine over and over. "Holy fuck."

He stared right onto your eyes as he came. He had told you he didn't mind if you spit his cum but sometimes you felt like drinking it all, consumed with lust - today was one of those times. You stayed there, licking his slit, caressing his balls until he pulled you away.

"Fuck, baby," he sighed, kneeling on the carpet to look at you.

He was completely wrecked: face red and sweaty, hair messier than you had ever seen it and a glazed look in his eyes. He tilted his head to kiss you thoroughly, tasting the cum leftover on your tongue. You could finally let go. You put your hand between your belly and the mattress, maneuvering the vibrator so it hit right where you needed it and you came immediately, kissing Carmy, biting on his lips, and humping on the bed. It was too much and just enough.

Carmy helped you take it out once you started whining from feeling sore. He moved your body to lie comfortably on the bed, your head on the pillow and him next to you.

"Fucking insane," he exhaled. You chuckled in agreement, fucked out senseless. "D'you need anything?" he asked gently after a moment.

You shook your head, raising a hand to caress his face.

"I feel perfect, Carm."

You moved your index finger, tracing the contour of his eyebrows, the line of his nose, and the curve of his cheekbone. 

“Pretty,” you managed to say.

He smiled and brought you closer, inhaling the scent of your shampoo, his arms around making you feel safe.

~

[Part 7]

~

@th3h0nkz

[whenmemorydies]

The Claw, The Scrunchie and The Prayer Card: Part 2 (Timing)

A couple weeks ago, I posted a prediction on the significance of the hair claw, the scrunchie and the prayer card that appear in Carmy's apartment in season 3. In that analysis, I suggested that these items represent three particular characters on the show and Carmy's relationships with them (FYI: the hair claw = Natalie, the scrunchie = Sydney and the prayer card = Richie). We see the scrunchie and the prayer card together at the end of 3x09 Apologies, placed in the same spot in Carmy's apartment. The first and last time we see the hair claw however, is in 3x01 Tomorrow, the first episode of the season.

In their reblog of The Claw, The Scrunchie and The Prayer Card meta, @moodyeucalyptus queried why we didn't see the hair claw with the scrunchie and the prayer card at the end of 3x09. I had my suspicions about this, but it wasn't until recently that I think I've come to a clearer understanding about the separate presentations of these items in season 3 and what the timing of their appearances means, particularly for Carmy's relationship with Nat and with his birth family.

Natalie is haunting Carmy

Or rather, the Berzatto family is haunting Carmy. Let me explain.

We see the hair claw in Carmy's apartment in the first episode of season 3. I think its early appearance in the season is for two reasons:

The first is that the hair claw is a legerdemain, meant to look like a token of Claire's given its appearance in 3x01 in between scenes of Claire at home and at work. I think the purpose of this sleight of hand was to misdirect the viewer's attention to Carmy's love life from the outset and misleadingly establish it as the primary source of his mental anguish this season. As I've noted here, I don't think Claire is the main source of Carmy's anguish.

In fact, it seems pretty clear that Claire herself is a legerdemain: a stand in for Carmy's relationship with The Berzattos. This has been discussed in various places on Tumblr including in this fantastic post by @brokenwinebox contrasting shots of Donna/Donna with Carmy and Claire/Claire with Carmy, as well as in this *chefs kiss* comparison between shots of Claire and the Berzattos done by @currymanganese. I also had a theory where I posited that Claire is a reverse-engineered haunt, maintained by Carmy to keep his brother Mikey in his life, after the latter's death.

We also have this LA Times article in which The Bear's Andrew Wehde (cinematographer) and Joanna Calo (showrunner, executive producer, writer and director) say the following:

All of the above is to say that Claire and her relationship with Carmy seriously appear to be sleights of hand masking the truth of the main source of Carmy's anguish: his birth family.

Which brings us back to the hair claw, which, as I've said here, I believe belongs to Carmy's sister, Natalie Berzatto.

If we are working on the basis that the hair claw belongs to Carmy's sister and not Claire, lets get to the second reason that we see it in 3x01 and not with the scrunchie and prayer card in 3x09.

First, we need to note that Carmy's relationship with the owner of this hair claw - Natalie - is inextricably linked to his relationship with his birth family, the Berzattos. Natalie is his biological sister from that family and she's also the ONLY Berzatto family member that Carmy is seen having any contact with in the present after returning to Chicago to run The Beef in season 1.

Indeed, according to Jamie Lee Curtis, Carmy hasn't seen his mother Donna, the only other surviving member of his immediate family (that we've met on the show) since the events of 2x06 Fishes, approximately 5-6 years ago (given the events in season 3 appear to take place in 2023).

By the time we get to 3x01, Carmy's relationship with the Berzattos (including with Natalie) has had a lifetime of impact on him due, among other things, to an intergenerational history of abuse and trauma. Indeed, right before we see the hair claw in 3x01, we see Carmy staring down at the scar on his hand - a scar that @thoughtfulchaos773 has concluded Carmy got on the day he learned about his brother Mikey's suicide - another visual reminder of Carmy's family and the shadow it casts over his life.

Given the above, I believe the hair claw in the season premiere indicates to us that Carmy is entering season 3 with this familial history playing heavily on his mind. Season 3 also starts on the back of the walk-in fiasco in 2x10 which this reblog thread between myself, @bbythurs and @ambeauty discusses as a representation for Carmy of a broken promise to Sydney and the rest of The Bear crew. In that broken promise, we see an inadvertent repetition by Carmy of the behaviours in his birth family that he hates the most (recall his Al-Anon monologue in 2x03 Sundae where Carmy says his family would fuck up things that gave him amusement and enjoyment, but specifically that they would make promises they weren't able to keep). In this way, season 3 starts with Carmy doing everything he can to undo that broken promise, to undo repeating hurtful familial patterns.

In contrast to the above, Carmy's relationships with Sydney and Richie, while not great at the start of season 3, have not yet reached a boiling point and perhaps are not as front of mind for Carmy. By the time we see the scrunchie and the prayer card at the end of 3x09 however, Syd and Richie's relationships with Carmy have massively deteriorated and are hanging on by a thread. They are definitely occupying his mind by then, explaining why the mementos associated with these two characters are revealed to us at that point in the show.

As always, these are my thoughts and an attempt to apply some logic to a season that, due to its lack of actual dialogue, relies on so much interpretation to muddle our way through. I'm not saying this as a total criticism, because my neurodivergent self loves analysing things like this, but I can see why this season put so many off lol. Its been 1.5 months since I did my first run through of this season and I'm still finding new things I missed during my first watch.

Tagging folks below who might be interested but as always, keen to hear from anyone that wants to chat about this stuff:

@currymanganese @vacationship @moodyeucalyptus @thoughtfulchaos773 @brokenwinebox @espumado @tvfantic87 @ambeauty @bbythurs @mitocamdria @turbulenthandholding @anxietycroissant @angelica4equity @devisrina @kdbleu

My next meta will get into just how The Berzatto family is haunting Carmy in season 3...when I finally get around to finishing it. I'm saying it out loud here to force myself to get it done lol. Stay tuned!

[thewhizzyhead]

also adding onto the discussions of max and grace being a strangely perfect match for each other, I find it quite interesting that what corrupted Max into a murderous monster can more or less be paralleled with Grace's fall from grace at the end.

Like, Max - self-proclaimed god of the nighthawks with an obsession with using his power to keep things according to HIS idea of order - turns into a literal fucking monster when he actually gets access to supernatural powers and he uses them for his enjoyment and in keeping people in line: be it in killing a finally-socially-accepted Richie, a Ruth who just took the first step in overcoming her anxiety, and in terrorizing Pete and Steph in their attempts to end Max's rampage on their own terms.

So, doesn't this sound quite familiar with Grace - a deeply religious sheltered girl who was quire controlling of behavior that did not seem pure be it from other's horniness at homecoming dances or from her own sexual awakening just for the sake of divine pre-marital purity and chastity - who ALSO turns murderous when given access to the power of the Lords in Black which she then learns to use to start ridding the world of people she deems "dirty" for the sake of enforcing HER idea of order: in other words, a world of chastity.

so um yea powerful teens with control freak issues and god complexes woo match made in heaven

[royall-ass]

Not a request, just a headcanon dump cuz i need someone to rant to about them! ^_^

Alex's Hatchetfield Headcanons

Paul Matthews used to sing and dance all the time as a child, but stopped when someone in his class in freshman year started bullying him for it to the point he also ended up hating musicals (especially after watching Hatchetfield High's production of Brigadoon). NOW HEAR ME OUT- IT WOULD BE SO FUNNY BUT SO SAD FOR PAUL TO HAVE A BACKGROUND IN MUSICAL ARTS BECAUSE FIRST OF ALL DID YOU HEAR HOW EASILY HE HIT THEM HIGH NOTES IN LET IT OUT?!!! WHEN HE WASNT EVEN FULLY INFECTED?!?!?!?!!!

Literally every single John Matteson character is autistic in some way. Including Wiggog Y'Rath. Bro has the eldritch equivalent or smthn.

Linda Monroe is half british. I really don't know how to explain this one but i just feels right to me.

Richie Lipschitz forgets he's 18 a lot because he thinks he's mentally still 13/14 due to COVID + his obsession with anime. Someone will call him a perv/pedo for liking one of the girls in MHA or smthn and he'll defend himself by saying "but i'm a minor too?!" and then he just pauses for a sec to think about what he just said. And then would cry about it into his body pillows at home after school.

Ruth Fleming is hypersexual. There, I said it.

Max Jägerman is an older brother, and his younger sibling gets all the attention from their dad, leaving Max to be kinda neglected and 'shunned' (abused) by his dad, all because he was the "bad child".

To add onto the previous headcanon, Max has a raging inferiority complex to which he uses his bullying and faux confidence to hide behind. Kinda like a Katsuki Bakugo typa beat but ... not? If that makes sense??

Due to intense religious beliefs , Grace Chastity's parents never taught her the quote unquote 'birds and the bees' because they thought it would be sinful to speak of such a thing to their daughter. This caused Grace to think she was being possessed or smthn when she first got her period because according to her logic/knowledge why else would she be bleeding from the 'mommy spot'? She also figured out the "self pleasure" on her own, but would do it in secret because she knew it was sinful and her parents would be disappointed in her. She never understood why it felt good though, all she knew was that it helped to stop the butterflies in her stomach whenever she thought of Max.

Stephanie Lauter is DEFINITELY chronically online, like that girl says W Rizz for SUREEE. To the point where she taught her dad what mewing was and he wouldn't stop doing it all day.

Yet another Paul Matthews headcanon because he's my special little sunflower, ummm... Paul doesn't just like black coffee, he also loves dark chocolate, and i mean like 85% cocoa dark. Although the rest of his family think he's a weirdo for it, they still get him a bar or two for his birthday + christmas every year. FOREVER AND ALWAYS SPECIFIC HC -> Emma made their wedding cake a dark chocolate/black coffee version of tiramisu as a little surprise for Paul <3

Charlotte Sweetly is a purple person in theory but not in execution, as in she ADORES purple, but cannot be bothered to buy lots of purple furniture,decor etc

Ted Spankoffski knows how to crochet!! Charlotte taught him how to in highschool (i see them as being childhood friends) and he just kinda kept it as a hobby.

Both Ted and Peter Spankoffski's favourite animal is (ironically) goats. Their parents used to live near a farm so the two grew up around farm culture and got to meet the goats and cows etc at this farm. Peter's baby toy was a crochet goat stuffie that his older brother made for him <3

Ruth's room is COVERED in stuffed animals and posters and random things she's collected over the years. She also has a notebook full of all her stuffed animals' names written in blue glitter gel pen that Richie lent her for an art project in freshman year that she never gave back.

Finally, Hatchetfield itself is a small island town on Lake Michigan, hence how the only way to get to it is across a body of water (Clivesdale has to put bridges up/down to gain access). Also that the Lords In Black utilise Tinky's abilities to create new Earths to destroy them over and over. Except the one detail they keep the same/ongoing is Hatchetfield and its residents. Because they're obsessed with them for some reason. Tinky and Nibbly more so than others .

I do apologise for how long this is but i needed to get it out of my notes app 😭😭 ~ Alex, @wiggogwiggogyrath

OH MU GOD I LOVE ALL OF THEAE

I CANT GET THE IDEA OF STEPH BEING IN THE BACKGROUND OF ONE OF HER DAD’S INTERVIEWS OF TV AND MEWING OUT OF MY HEAD 😭😭

[bearsinpotatosacks]

The beautiful thing about the Bear is that it's such a high stress show that you can apply it to other high stress environments and the AU works. I can see some kind of hospital/medical AU, or, in this case, a dancer AU.

The Berzattos run a dance school for kids, teens, and adults. They do different styles of dance, teach according to syllabus and some of their best students, like Carmen Berzatto even go on to become professionals. Syd used to go there when she was a kid until her dad noticed her passion, and worked extra hard to get into the Joffrey Ballet, then the New York Ballet before she got disillusioned and tried to start her own dance company and failed.

Carmy joined the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago, being taught by Andrea, as a child before being picked up by the Paris Opera ballet, before moving to the Royal Danish Ballet in Copenhagen, then moving onto the San Francisco Ballet before finally joining the American Ballet Theatre in New York, this is where David abuses him.

Mikey didn't have as much promise, he was a good dancer at many things, but didn't have the drive that Carmy did, so runs the dance school instead. He met Richie at the school, his mother was a dancer and she noticed his inability to sit still and put him in the dance school, his dad didn't approve at first but he started getting roles in musicals, he's a brilliant tap dancer and could've gone far in musical theatre but Mikey pulled him in. He got roles, worked hard for them but always got brought back to the dance school eventually.

Tina got into musical theatre 'too late', she's been in a local theatre outside of work but after getting fired, she's heard singing to herself at the bus stop outside the dance school, Mikey hears and offers her a job as the musical theatre teacher with Richie.

Mikey dies and Carmy's left the dance school. The place isn't doing well, they could be going out of business. Syd, who's been idolising him since she saw him in the Royal Danish's production of the Nutcracker, starts to work there. Carmy becomes strict on uniform and respect to the teacher, Richie's more relaxed, he's dance teacher but wants it to be fun, not a military school.

She and Richie don't get on, she's used to the skill levels of professional ballet studios, not local dance schools. She starts to see how good he is with the students, he can control the room easier and his students have more freedom and are generally happier.

Carmy decides to up the stakes of the school's usual yearly show, they promise Jimmy a certain amount of profit and a certain number of new uptake of students. They ask Tina choreograph her own section of the show to whatever she wants, she goes with West Side Story.

Sydney looks at some of the previous shows, and some of the previous work of the teachers to see if there's anything they could possibly do and stumbles upon some of Richie's work in musical theatre. She mentions it to Carmy, they talk to Richie, who's unsure as it's been a while.

She's there late one night when she hears something and sees Richie dancing to Singin in the Rain, which he performed on tour. They talk about dreams and goals, she encourages him to perform, but he's hesitant as it's been so long

Syd and Carmy are going to do a duet, but when it comes to the night, Carmy gets locked in one of the dressing rooms getting something for one of the kids. Syd's scared, so Richie improvises and steps in, he's seen them rehearsing and does his best (is this all because I want to imagine Richie lifting Syd like she weighs nothing? yes).

She joins him in doing 'Moses Supposes' from Singin in the Rain (minus the singing), something he used to perform with Mikey, because she makes him feel confident enough to perform again. They get through, make a fair bit of money and get some sign ups. Richie also gets an invitation to audition for another musical, with Syd's encouragement, he does.

Also added on: Eva being in Richie's dance class, Richie and Syd are in suits when they dance together to 'Moses Supposes', Syd and Richie teaching a class together and reluctantly getting along

[gingergofastboatsmojito]

Beats around the bush / Wrong crowd

He can’t just tell a girl: “Hey, I wanna be with you”, or “I like you”, and let’s not even get into the L-word.

What he would say instead is:

He's evasive. Never proactive.

He'd rather extend an invitation than tell it like it is. He's like 12... emotionally speaking. This explains why he never had a GF before. Around that age is when kids start developing those skills and in his case there clearly was some sort of arrested development in that area, which I bet had something to do with living under Mikey's shadow (and maybe even Richie's), both larger than life personalities, that probably intimidated or overshadowed him.

And this is not (only) related to communication not being his forte, it's also a damage control strategy that allows him to have the perfect alibi if it doesn't go as expected or as he wishes it did, and then he's confronted about it.

In that case, he can always say he doesn't know WTF you're talking about, he was only offering you a business opportunity or a car ride to the post office... And voilá! You're delulu, he's safe.

He didn't have to resort to his alibi in Claire's case, for obvious reasons.

But with Syd playing it safe is a must. And he's a pro at it, he can go at it forever and ever.

He can't take any risks when it comes to her, because losing her again is unthinkable for him.

The catch is that she's not like other girls, and she's definitely nothing like Claire. She's a walker.

Sydney is 100% not about to stick around to deal with his shit, she walks out on him like a boss. And he knows it.

Syd gives him what he needs, as I mentioned → here. She's his challenge → (see Reblog notes). And I can't emphasize this enough: Claire gives him whatever it takes for her to then be able to take what she wants from him. As I mentioned → here and here.

What he also knows, or learned by now, is that Syd keeps coming back to him. But he's in constant fear that one day, he'll fuck up one time too many, and she won't come back anymore.

He can't afford to take that risk, hence → THE END.

Bonus track: He's running out of time (see reblog notes). It was pointed out to me yesterday that in the last 2 seasons when Carmy and Syd were alone, there were never any clocks around but the thing is that according to one of the teasers, that's no longer gonna be the case in S3.

The Sydcarmy clock started ticking.

[lyon-amore]

Jake, emotions and defense mechanisms

One of the things Jake asks us in the game is if we don't let ourselves be influenced by some feelings when we're talking about Jessy and the initials on the bracelet. Something we can admit or not, but… What happens to Jake throughout the game? Doesn't he let himself be guided by his emotions at the end even though he says he represses them?

Jake throughout the game reminds us that it's about finding Hannah, making it clear that he's putting his feelings in the middle, not only because he's a witness, but also because he's moved by family emotion, being her brother. For him, the emotional connection with Hannah is more important than the group, because he doesn't feel any emotion towards them since they haven't started any conversation (Aside from Lilly because she's his sister and he's clearly also worried about her because she also installed Nymos thanks to him, making it clear that because of the information she published, she could also be in danger.)

Let's also remember when he discovers that Hannah had depression. Jake completely collapses, discovering something that she never told him. Depression is a serious subject and he clearly doesn't want to talk about it. Maybe because of a specific issue? Someone close to him? So his emotions flow more there, even to the point of disconnecting. He can't control himself, he needs to think about it, because he knows he is emotionally affected.

Okay, now let's move on to the photos of Michael's house, part two. According to him, he's suppressing his emotions to try to see it as an opportunity, but in reality, if we also think about how distant he is throughout the game, he's not suppressing his emotions unconsciously at that moment. He already knows how to do it because he's used it for years and now he's doing it to not let his emotions get upset.

The defense mechanism is called Intellectualization or Isolation, which is to subject emotions or feelings to abstract reasoning. Every time something bad happens, that's what Jake uses to not get carried away by his emotions, because back to the topic of finding out that Hannah had depression; when he comes back, he's like nothing happened and he doesn't want to talk about it, he completely ignores it when MC tries to talk about it. He avoids the topic. And there's a moment when he gets angry if you think that she could have hurt herself, leaving his emotions of concern on display.

And then, we get to the final part of the game. Jake has changed a lot. He has interacted with the group, he has seen the concern in them. He also doesn't want them to go to the iron mine in search of Hannah because they could get hurt, he even feels guilty that Michael goes after them. Yes, we could say that it's because they are MC's friends (but I'm talking about both genders, not only because he's the person he loves, but also because he's his friend), but even he likes the idea that they finally defend themselves from Michael, he sees it as a good thing. He also wants to find an alternative so that none of them go to the waterfall so that they run the risk of running into Michael. He is already letting himself be guided by his emotions until MC decides to talk to Alan Bloomgate.

And when it comes to the female MC, that's when all of his feelings spill over the most and his defense mechanism breaks down. We might think it was the moment she saw Richy die, but in reality it's when she sees that she can put herself in danger and possibly die. You read a much more desperate Jake, because he can't keep closing himself off anymore.

Let’s also remember something else, when we asked him if sometimes we don’t go too far with investigations. Jake asks a counter question ‘What does too far mean if it’s about a human life?’. Jake throughout the game was putting Hannah’s life before others because it’s in danger and now, with the exchange he wants to make, it’s time to value MC’s life. He can’t put his friend/lover in danger, he knows that would be going too far. So to avoid that, he puts his feelings first and decides to go in search of his sister, just as he should have done in the beginning instead of putting someone in danger. Now, thanks to that someone, he’s back to being himself and no longer feeling alone. Now he has the purpose to keep fighting.

He may not be able to tell you how far you can go to save a life, but he does show you throughout the game:

Jake has been deceiving himself during the investigation and has always been governed by his emotions even though he doesn't want to admit it. He was risking his life for one life, which in the end turned out to be two.

[moments-on-film]

Moments on Film: Carmy and Inappropriate Affect

Among Carmen’s many physical and psychological issues due to his undiagnosed PTSD from various sources and depression, he also displays inappropriate affect, a psychological term which I will describe below. Carmy has exhibited behavior that suggests inappropriate affect from the first episode in season 1, to the last episode in season 2.

The first time I noticed this, it was in the scene where Richie comes to Carmy’s aid in 1x1. Richie comes outside and essentially rescues Carmy from being beaten up by the Ballbreaker players waiting to come inside for the tournament. Richie is funny in the scene—to us as audience members—but it’s not intentional and Richie is actually very serious and pissed, exhibited by the fact that he lays into Carmy in the next scene. Yet in the scene outside, Carmy smiles and is about to laugh. Why? Perhaps he finds Richie funny, or the situation ridiculous, but from what we have seen of his personality profile so far, Carmy is a very serious person so this behavior feels very sudden and odd. Richie literally just shot off a gun. It is not an appropriate response to the situation.

According to Better Health, inappropriate affect is defined as:

“a condition where one's emotional actions or displays do not logically relate to a situation or stimuli. Common examples of inappropriate affect include smiling at the news of a tragedy or remaining unemotional during a very emotional situation.

When mental health professionals are looking for insight into what may be causing one to manifest inappropriate affect, they’ll often look for past trauma or other psychological concerns. Inappropriate affect is usually a sign of a deeper psychological or physical health concerns such as PTSD, depression, or some form of brain damage.

The following are some major signs of inappropriate affect: expressing emotions that do not fit reality; abnormal emotional responses; depression, irritability, or outbursts of anger without an obvious cause; manic episodes.”

In this post, I’m not going to get into Carmy’s other signs of inappropriate affect, such as depression, irritability, outbursts of anger without an obvious cause or manic episodes, which he certainly suffers from, perhaps I will in a different post. Here, I’m going to focus on several examples of Carmy’s abnormal emotional responses.

Above is another example of Carmy laughing in a serious situation. The delivery guy comes to deliver a 200 pound order in 1x8 and Carmy discovers that it’s pork and not beef. Pork is useless to Carmy. The name of his restaurant is literally “The Beef” and he needs it to survive. The stakes are very high for Carmy to have a successful, profitable run of service every time he opens the doors. He’s trying to save the one thing his brother left him, he owes his Uncle Jimmy $300,000 and promised he’d pay him back, his sister Natalie could lose her house if the restaurant fails, Sydney’s well being really matters to Carmy and she’s now under his protection and care as her boss, and the entire staff at The Beef relies on their jobs to live and pay their bills.

I don’t think Carmy takes any of this lightly. He understands the stakes. As he told Sydney in 1x5, “we lose one service it could kill us.” Granted, the delivery guy (shoutout to the actor portraying the delivery guy) is so deadpan in his “delivery”, that it almost is funny, but given the high stakes, Carmy’s reaction is abnormal here and will continue to be abnormal in the following scene in the walk-in when he realizes how behind he is on prep and that the restaurant is not prepared to open. This sets off a chain of disturbing dissociative behavior that almost results in him burning himself up, and the restaurant down.

Gif credit: The very kind @tvfantic87

Another example of possible inappropriate affect is in the moment when Carmy is reading Michael’s final words to him in the season 1 finale. There was so much buildup to this moment and so much emotion tied to the fact that we learn that Michael told Carmy that he loves him, and uses the words that Carmy has been playing in his head to comfort himself all season, “let it rip.” In this moment I was truly waiting for Carmy to break down and cry, to have the desperately needed release of a catharsis, but he never does. He gets emotional for a brief moment and then, as if on a dime, his face twists into a grimace and he laughs. I attribute his laugh and “what?!” to Carmy reading the part of the recipe “the smaller cans taste better”, in reference to the small cans of tomatoes, which has puzzled Carmy all season, and also the fact that he’s so happy and relieved that his brother didn’t forget about him. His reaction could also be an inappropriate response to the situation due to his inability to process his feelings because of his suppressed emotions and trauma about his brother’s death.

To me, the most glaring display of inappropriate affect comes in 2x10. Carmy is trapped in the walk-in during the opening night of his restaurant. He has no idea how the night has gone. For all he knows, his beloved Sydney and Richie are at each other’s throats, his mom is terrorising his pregnant sister, his evil former boss from New York has sent food back to Sydney and could be verbally abusing her, he’s not there to protect her, the restaurant is tanking and all hope is lost. Carmy sits down and looks up. He sees the messily ripped tape, radicchio is spelled wrong, and all at once it becomes clear to him that he has let everyone down by not being there to help his staff and lead his team. This scene is what is called a “private moment” in acting. He’s supposed to be alone, no one is around. It’s extremely private. No one can get in and he can’t get out. You would think he would use this moment of solitude to break down and cry, but again, he never does, and I found it very odd. Instead, he smiles and almost bursts into laughter. Why does he do this? I believe seeing the tape being messy and ripped, and not neatly cut with scissors like he has tried to train staff to do, is why. We know this is his pet peeve. It’s almost like it’s so awful all he can do is laugh, but in this moment it feels very, very off—because it is. It’s another example of his manifestation of not having the right affect. Even listening to Claire’s voicemail, on top of having that viscious fight with Richie should have broken him down, but it didn’t. He put his head in his hands. He still has not cried. This is particularly odd because in 1x2, Carmy tells his sister “I-I know tons of people that cry out of nowhere”, but we never see him have this response, ever. Honestly, the first time I saw the scene below, during the slow push in on his face I thought, he’s about to break character. That’s honestly what it looks like to me—a bad take that should have been reshot because the actor was not in the moment. And yet—-Jeremy Allen White is an incredibly skilled and focused actor, (as I wrote about HERE), which leads me to believe this choice must have been intentional to convey inappropriate affect caused by trauma.

Carmy needs professional help and therapy and he needs it badly. He has got to do something to help himself have a desperately needed breakthrough and come to terms with his past trauma and demons for the sake of his mental health. Al-Anon is a good step but it’s not enough. It’s a monologue, he needs one on one help and a dialogue. In Al-Anon, he only speaks to what he wants to share. In therapy, he would be asked questions and given exercises that would help him unravel his tangled mind. His panic attacks, nightmares and outbursts are a threat to his health. He must change his environment and get help. No one else can do it for him, and just like many of his inappropriate affect reactions to some of his more desperate moments, it truly is no laughing matter.

©️moments-on-film 2023

[eroticwound]

Okay so, I’m still getting through the new season but I need to see if I’m the only one who feels the Claire/Carmy scenes this far are kinda a retcon of last season?

Like, putting stupid shipping discourse to the side, one of the main criticisms of that subplot was that there was too much telling and not enough showing of how their relationship progressed as Carmy avoided the renovation. We saw them drop off the liquor license documents, go to the house party, first kiss, Carmy making dinner for her after talking to Fak about whether Claire is actually his girlfriend, and their love scene. Then there is friends and family, where Carmy is freaking out about everything and he inadvertently tells Claire their relationship was a waste of time (meanwhile Claire just said she loved him, which I don’t doubt)

But, according to the new scenes, they spent a lot of time together seemingly as a couple during those few months, as Carmy was clearly infatuated with her in those moments. So I guess my main confusion is — when the hell did all of this happen? Were those scenes before or after Braciole, because at that point Carmy doesn’t actually think of Claire as his *girlfriend* but obviously likes her a lot. Those new scenes scream “they were fully into each other and with mutual affection for each other” and definitely would’ve made me more convinced of their connection — rather than be told by every other character in the Berzatto clan all throughout s2 about how great Claire is for him. Because I never actually *saw* the effect she had on him — we only see it now that Carmy has pushed her away.

So far Claire is haunting the narrative (Carmy), sorta like Mikey in s1. But all of this new info has only made me more confused about the timeline of events and the significance of this romance subplot, rather than provide clarity for why an ongoing conflict is occurring.

i mean, carmy was said to be unfocused and away from the renovation, and that was because he was with claire. everyone says this. syd is especially annoyed by it, because carmy can't spare enough of his attention for the bear, and things are getting dropped. to your point, most of this happens off-camera, but that ep where he fucks off with claire to the post office and the party very much illustrates that.

the thing about the bear is that the first season carmy was solidly our main character, and then second season transitions into more of an ensemble show. there are some incredible pluses because of this, like an entire episode with marcus in copenhagen or richie staging at ever (tho i have issues with forks). however, by dedicating more screen time to fleshing out our ensemble, the show has to dedicate less time to carmy's plots.

and claire as a character and her relationship with carmy are the biggest casualties of this. a really clear example of this is when we follow syd during her food crawl in sundae, instead of sticking with carmy who ditches syd to help claire’s uncle(?) move. i'm sure a scene where we see carmy help claire would have done a lot of work to flesh out her character and their relationship more. but the writers had different priorities, and i am so happy they went with syd on her food crawl instead. that was some great syd character work, and a beautiful ep in general.

claire is not involved with the restaurant, but she's thee focus of carmy's arc second season. there isn't any cause for her to be at the restaurant, and they don't spare any scenes for claire to interact with our ensemble of characters. they only way they can include her in these scenes is to have characters talk about her.

now, how this translates for claire is that she felt very two dimensional, because she only exists in the story in relation to carmy and their (tepid, imo) love story, where they are mostly talking about him or the restaurant. it feels like she spontaneously spawned into the story, and all the characters know of her, but the audience isn't shown how they know her. we have to be told. repeatedly.

as for your timeline question, i think carmy was spending a loooot of time with claire from sundae onward. i think carm was confused about claire being his girlfriend before bolognese (assuming you meant bolognese s2e8, not braciole s1e8) because he's never had a gf before. he’s basically been a food monk most of his adult life (not to say he’s never fucked… tho i am personally in the carm is ace camp). he doesn’t understand the nuance. both the feelings and experience are exciting and bright (and so scary). it’s all new for him!

so the carmy/claire scenes this season did not feel like retconning to me. they really felt like more of the same. which was still bad, imo.

and ugggghhhhhhhh this explicit haunting theme this season felt.. like way too on the nose. like everything with claire, they have to make it obnoxiously explicit because there’s not enough time to flesh it out in a satisfying way. like did they ever have to tell us mikey was haunting everyone in season 1? no! they showed us that. but like their shoehorned love story s2, they have to keep telling the audience directly.

[carmenberzattosgf]

okay as much as i liked season 3 i do have two things i can think of off the top of my head that genuinely irritated me. (more continuity things honestly). Spoilers under the cut!

we did not get to see the first service at the bear. not even a little snippet. I'm still trying to figure out if the second episode was directly when he gets out of the walk in but i cannot tell because everyone seems way to normal calm for it to be their FIRST actual service that night not to just friends and family. I wanted to see Carmy physically walk out of the walk in, in complete embarrassment and shame over what happened. I loved episode one so much, but because it was back and forth in timelines, it make episode two confusing because there wasn't an established timeline.

and i have like some additional things about the kitchen in general. it felt off in doors? i mean like according to Natalie four of their chefs quit in the episode before hand? like... does that not mean that only Tina, Carmy, and Sydney would be cooking for an entire service? In particular their FIRST service and the ones after? it felt so strange for them to get all those actors involved and actually have some lines in season two just for them to not be there. the only thing they had was the people who take out plates but they do not speak. they never showed any wait staff and there was no hostess shown (which! i find even weirder bc carmy specifically mentions the hostess desk when talking about putting the critics photos in a binder). like babe. what hostess. where is she? In season two I thought Natalie was acting as the hostess but yeah no that did not continue. Now, I was sleep deprived while watching the show, so I think? I remember there being chefs in the background cooking that wasn't the main cast, but what makes that weird is there is no interaction with them. I know we can't see everything because the show doesn't have hour long episodes, but we saw SO MUCH in the last two episodes of season two. I know that clearly by the way the season was directed that the kitchen was suppose to be chaotic and toxic, but with the lack of staff it was just downright unbelievable at times!

2. Natalie had a BABY and we didn't see RICHIE OR CARMY, rush there after service. BUT THE FAKS DID????? bro i know Donna was there but what difference does that make. I literally cannot even remember if Carmy acknowledges he has a WHOLE NIECE now. I'm a Carmen defender and I really felt for him this whole season because he was struggling, to put it plainly. However, Sugar is literally the only sibling he has left. You're telling me he would miss seeing his niece for the first time at the hospital? Even if they just didn't show it that's still upsetting to me because that's something that SHOULD be shown. Just thinking about the show in perspective of the family dynamics, I think a scene with just him and Nat looking at her baby girl would be GUT WRENCHING. Because there's a person who should be there but isn't. They both lost a sibling, someone they grew up with, who now this little baby will never know. I could go on more about this but I cannot believe we lost the chance to see Carmy meet and hold his newborn niece.

3. fun third thing. RICHIE DIDNT GO TO THE ERAS TOUR??? he got tickets for him and eva to go! The eras tour in chicago was june 2, 3, and 4th. Now I wasn't expecting it to be a whole *thing* but I thought there would be a mention?

[nonbinaryeddiekaspbrak]

FANFIC RECS!

here's a revamped version of my rec post - each fic will link to it's corresponding ao3 page, a summary in my words, small notes/review, and a disclaimer for more mature ratings if needed.

enjoy!

(* = new entry, last updated: Dec 3rd, 2023, still going through recent bookmarks)

(ps. let me know if you want your mention to be removed!)

IT

and a stain on my shirt - venom crossover, vv good, also a fix-it, venom finds another eddie to latch onto, a lot of humor, reddie get together, venom saves eddie

awake my soul - pretty angsty, keep an eye on those trigger warnings, this was pretty good, i rlly couldn’t take any breaks with this one, richie and eddie get jumped but in the process of putting away the ones responsible for the hate crime richie finds that he’ll have to come out sooner than he’s ready for, added bonus of art!!, happy ending, has fan reactions and news coverage as things are slowly revealed

come over here and overwhelm me - nsfw, a VERY GOOD rec, SO tender, the fluff is so well written, richie is having a bad day nd eddie comes to the rescue being so hfwjaklhj!!!, this fic said bottom richie rights nd it opened my eyes

don’t break character - HE/THEY RICHIE RIGHTS, richie finds that maybe his journey of identity isn’t over when he hears the word “nonbinary”, very!!!!, fjkdkslahfkl, just him having he/they pronouns is so exciting and flappy hands-worthy

I killed a clown. ama! - it chapter 2 except it’s through the lens of social media from posts by richie eddie myra and background fans, very very entertaining, canon compliant until eddie’s death it’s actually a fix-it, fair amount of angst??

it’s not real - WATCH THE TRIGGER WARNINGS, a lot of angst, very intense, eddie has an amazing richie impression, almost like they share the same braincell, eddie is also vv caring and will drag any faceless internet account down with him, could def make it in celebrity PR according to richie’s manager steve, richie comes out but he gets a horrible reaction and then finds himself in the middle of a clusterfuck of things that unfortunately couldn’t stay in the past, bill apparently also gets cancelled a lot and he cannot cook, he’s also the only other loser in here, a black mirror au, AGAIN WATCH THE TRIGGER WARNINGS FOR THIS ONE

oh, wouldn’t it be nice? - nsfw, some angst, eddie finds richie’s obituary that he got from adrien (the park scene in chap 2; at least i think it was adrien), SUPER SWEET OMG, i had to stop a few times from the sheer amount of emotion this gave me

parental interference - in 1989 some parents are coming to their senses when it comes to a certain clown, i love went he’s an awesome dad, T rating, i suggest a peek at the trigger warnings/tags just in case, canon-typical triggers, again i really love wentworth tozier in this fic he’s a 10/10 dad

predicament bondage - nsfw, richie is 100% a sweetheart, eddie is fjdsljfkslf i love this version of him, richie is cast as a dom in a movie so he decides to get information from a professional which is eddie but he finds that working with eddie might bring his heart into the mix, a lot of internalized homophobia so watch out, ur honor i love eddie here

puppets and plants - the way this was written? *muah* my number two rec, some angst, the intimacy of u nd the guy set up across from u at the farmer’s market, amazing stanpat dynamic, trans eddie and ben!, pride parade!!

the king is gone - absolutely AMAZING time travel fix-it, fairly long, some angst, some fluff, not at all a boring read

the lockbox - pushing an M rating? maybe a T?, asexual eddie finding out that he’s ace and everything that comes with realizing u aren’t straight, honestly made my ace heart so happy, bit of angst

work friends and emergency contacts - outsider pov, eddie makes a work friend, fix-it w both eddie and stan living, eddie gets a divorce pre-itch2, damon just wants the best for richie and eddie, reddie getting together, richie visits eddie at work

STRANGER THINGS

bottle it up until it overflows - ohhhh boy, i absolutely love the vecna possessing mike trope and this fic definitely lives up to high standards, rated mature, bad parent ted wheeler and internalized homophobia, basically mike gets vecna'd is the entire plot - @ghoulsanderson

i feel like i know you (but we never met) - post season 4 of stranger things, ambiguous / open ending, teen rating, oh boy this made me emotional!, without spoilers i have to say this is such an angsty fic and i love it, this fic is written beautifully, the party all forget will because of vecna suppressing their memories, spoilers: mike puts everything together to figure out who the "missing person" is - @andiwriteordie

something's made your eyes go cold - TW SUICIDE ATTEMPTS, rated mature, mike is chronically suicidal, very very angsty but relatable (sadly), oneshot - @defendingtammythompson

when everything was fiction, future and prediction - two words: time travel, mike is confronted by his younger self and figures out a few things, very much hurt/comfort, rated teen

9-1-1 TV

*all the time in the world - i literally know nothing about the dsmp but the way this was written is so beautiful, i love angst and buddie but also buck angst gets me the most, evan buckley used to be someone called karl jacobs but eddie doesn't know that and thinks buck is a war veteran, he's not entirely wrong but also don't make me fact check that beyond reading this, this fic makes me feel super autistic in a way i can't explain, time travel and secret identities are just so my jam dude, bonus chris moment that made me squeal bc chris eddie and buck are so family material - @official-impravidus

*my palms and fingers still reek of gasoline - such a good crossover, the characterization is very very good, i definitely need to read it again, a pjo au that has a twist, demigod buck and eddie are special to me now, having buck be on that side is an interesting choice and i like it, buck's mom being aphrodite makes so much sense - @trashyinfernomusic

[j2zara]

The fucking way I had a vision of something then saw your most recent post lmao hahahaha what a coincidence the clone enjoyers mindhive is haha

Um. Anyways. Got struck with a vision of LJ3 (that’s what we’re calling j3/j4 right?) and the song I Melt with You

Which. I don’t think I need to add lyrics but.

Um so like. J3/J4 tragic lovers semi-Romeo and Juliet -style they did choose to leave of their own accord. Slow the plans even if only for a second. At least they’re together. Am I making sense???? I don’t know if I’m properly selling the vision but. Yeah

OK. SCREAMING BC. The way I am. Vibrating w excitement bc I got a few things to say.

1) Come on babe. You already know I have I Melt With You on my Stay / Leave Chronology Playlist (I’m sure you didn’t but now you know)

2) no joke. I Melt With You is already one of my favorite songs. I love a “loving you at the end of the world” vibe so much. You think I don’t know the lyrics to I melt with you? I melt with you is like a girlfriend to me (I’m kidding obviously sorry if I’m being too casual)

3) I would already like the song on its own I know but also. Embarrassing admission. I think I’ve talked abt this. Sky High is one of my fav movies and hilariously the bowling for soup censored cover is in the movie (it says “being friends with you was never second best”. Anyway. Hilarious).

4) I melt with you in already such a Sky High song to me but also such a Reddie Gimme song for me bc I wrote a sky high au like YEARS ago where Richie was the guy who glows and Eddie was the guinea pig girl. And ngl I have such a soft spot for that au

5) no joke my ao3 name and my discord name and my old blog is Zagenta specifically bc I am a Zach / magenta truther. (They are dykes for me your honor)

6) RHE WAY I WAS ALREADY THINKINF ABT THIS SONG FOR LJ3 FROM JUMP BC OF THE WAY THEY LOVE EACH OTHER EVEN IN RHE FACE OF CERTAIN DOOM. The tension between. J4 self appointing herself their savior. Their expiration keeps ticking closer. Jaceporter are back together. The ritual is coming closer. Time is running out. J4 needs to find a way to make them real. The way they need to get out. But also. She likes being here with j3. In the face of doom. And is it more noble to deny herself pleasure to try and save them? Is she dooming them by simply enjoying their time together?

7) But also. The RnJ parallels. The way I was SO SO SO SO SO SO SO close to calling j3 and j4 the Lark and the Nightingale! (“Wilt thou be gone? If is not yet near the day. It was the nightingale, and not the lark, that pierced the hollow of thine ear”) They enjoy their time together in secrecy, in the dark, unable to confront the end. Telling themselves they have more time!!! Telling themselves circumstances of their birth do not determine their fate! They run away to escape their doom (to escape the torment nexus you could say) And in doing so. Doom themselves.

[blogger360ncislarules]

You might say there’s a haunting pattern when it comes to season finales of Ghosts, the hit CBS series that serves you emotions with a side of morbid humor: in last May’s third season cliffhanger, a spirit from Woodstone Manor abruptly disappeared from the property. Thankfully, fans won’t have to spend too much more time wondering what happened to Revolutionary Isaac Higgintoot (Brandon Scott Jones) after he broke off his wedding with Nigel (John Hartman) and was pulled into the dirt by his old friend Patience — the ghost who still holds a grudge from Isaac leaving her underground in the 1800s.

“We’re going to find out what her plans with Isaac are. We’re going to deal with that in the beginning,” promises showrunner Joe Wiseman, indicating that we’ll be seeing a lot more of the Puritan ghost played by The Big Door Prize’s Mary Holland. Adds showrunner Joe Port, “We’re going to find out where [Patience] came from and how she was in life, and how that’s affecting her reaction to having been abandoned by Isaac in the dirt.”

CBS

So, what impact will that have on the other ghosts at Woodstone? “It’s a loaded relationship right out of the gate,” teases Scott Jones of the pair’s relationship, which was introduced and tentatively explored in the last season. “I think now that Patience has found him again, there’s definitely some vengeance that she wants to take. It’s going to be a really fun new dynamic in the house because even if she’s kind of after Isaac, the whole group of ghosts is such a tight little organism that they don’t even realize when something throws it off kilter, it kind of ripples throughout the entire home.”

Patience isn’t the only ghost getting the spotlight treatment in Season 4, which will once again consist of a full run of 22 episodes. The showrunners confirm that we’ll see Pete (Richie Moriarty) continuing explore his ability to travel outside the house grounds and, according to Wiseman, “he’s very excited about his new power to the point of being a little smug. He’s going use this power for some selfish reasons and for some good.” Meanwhile, Thorfinn (Devan Chandler Long) and Flower (Sheila Carrasco) will be dealing with the aftermath of deciding to commit to a relationship without the addition of basement ghost Nancy (Betsy Sodaro). “Flower isn’t used to being in a monogamous relationship, really,” cautions Wiseman. “So there will be adjustments to that.”

While fans can look forward to a new animal ghost and the reveal of a room in the house we haven’t seen before, there’s one particular story Scott Jones personally can’t wait to tackle: Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar) finally having the ability to see Woodstone’s apparitions. “It’ll be so fun to be able to make eye contact,” he says excitedly. “You know, I think Isaac stared at Jay for a long time, but Jay’s never seen Isaac. And I’m excited to see what that means for Sam (Rose McIver) and Jay’s relationship if they both have relationships with the ghosts. That’s going to be different.”

Bertrand Calmeau/CBS

What won’t be different? Plenty of laughs and the stories that fans have come to love, as this season will once again include the traditional Christmas episode and a Halloween story that is, according to Scott Jones “really, really fun.” Asked to sum up the events to come, the actor gets pensive. “The one word I would use — and this isn’t just for Isaac, I think in a lot of ways—the word I would use is redemption. I feel like a lot of characters are kind of after things that they’ve always wanted to be after.” Also? “Funny. Funny would be a good one.”

“The set is a great place to be because, you know, no one’s selfish. Everyone knows that by elevating everyone around them, it’s going to elevate the show and themselves. There’s so many different combinations of characters and actors and it really gives the show legs,” says Wiseman. “It’s a blessing.”

“There’s definitely many places to go,” echoes Port. “And we definitely have long-term plans but those plans don’t involve having to wrap up anytime soon. We think the show has a lot of runway ahead of it and we’re excited about season four. We’re excited for everyone to see the episodes that we’ve been working on.”

[stuckinapatriarchalbullshitland]

Dear Stuck, Greek anon here, I don't even remember when it was the last time I wrote to you haha.

How are you? How is life treating you? I hope everything is fine!

I haven't had the time to check on Camren that much since I have been gone, but from your most recent post I've read that you are no longer interested in Lauren's side. Which is literally reasonable... I was thinking the same things for the past 1.5 year. Lauren has got to another level which I cannot understand, but I respect her. Maybe without a Label this is the only way she can keep being around the industry. Hopefully new music will be out soon from her. About Camila, I really like this new era of her. It's more girly and ''richy'' which I am guessing this is what they want from her for now. I personally don't think she is coming out of the closet soon, but there always were signs of her gayness and always will be. I am guessing everything is going according to the plan her Label has for her. Also, I am watching things on Twitter as well. There is this insider, that says lots of things but I am not really sure if they are true. I cannot see the things they say that are true. Hopefully, they are not lying and say things just to make up rumors. They have been saying that L&C have a baby together. But I cannot see when did things happen and for how many years... Kinda confusing. I'm not gonna look more for it. Oh, and many shippers have lost hope from what I saw. Hopefully, the girls will one day feel free to express their love and not hide, unless this is takes their privacy away.. but you know, it would be nice to hear and see the truth one day!

Anyway, is there anything new in the Camren world that has changed anything in the ship, any signs? If you know I mean.

I hope this isn't long and boring to read! :)

My dear friend, I'm glad to hear from you again. It's been a long time since I last read you, but the bottom line is, Camren should die, Camila should come out, and Lauren should get LJ1. None of that has happened so here we are, waiting

I hope life continues to treat you well. I send you hugs and love. Good luck ♥️🤗

[gingergofastboatsmojito]

Richie Jerimovich, my favest.

Carmy doesn't even come close.

Who's a cousin? Someone who can be like a brother, but is not.

Richie has always been whatever Carmy is not, even though they are soooo alike in terms of stubbornness and temper.

Richie is always, invariantly on the other side of the road, opposite Carmy, even though they are on the same team. Richie is a Berzatto by proxy, and most importantly, BY CHOICE.

Carmy doesn't always wear his Berzatto colors with pride. Richie does.

Carmy chose to leave, Richie chose to stay.

Carmy wanted to change and upgrade the delicate ecosystem The Beef was, Richie wanted to stick to the status quo.

When Carmy didn't wanna date C, Richie was all for her.

When Richie changed for the better and started wearing suits, they briefly managed to be on the exact same page till the walk-in happened.

When Carmy "broke up" with C, Richie was not happy about it and hit a nerve telling Carmy he never lets anything good happen to him, which is true.

Now they are back on opposite sides, this new Carmy that chases the star is according to Richie: "demented". Again: True.

Richie has many defects, being a liar is NOT one of them.

You can count on him to tell it like it is. To shout the uncomfortable truths from the rooftop and not give a fuck. He is also capable of loving unconditionally (even Donna) and being sweet and careful when he wants to like he is with Eva. He serves what needs to be served, maybe not flawlessly, but surely. That's why I RIDE AT DAWN FOR THIS GUY, NO QUESTIONS ASKED.

Given his track record, I'm prepared to make an educated guess:

When Carmy either fucks it up to the point of no return with Syd, or is about to let her go, or has lost her even, or does any of the things we know Carmy is totally capable of doing, Richie, just to be true to his own OPPOSITE TO CARMY nature, will save the day. Either by being the messenger or by being the one who spills the beans to them or something along those lines. He will do whatever needs to be done. Even if that means trying to tell Carmy out of pursuing Syd at some point, because "she deserves better", which will either trigger the opposite in Carmy to defy him or will trigger the G woman in Syd and make her respond like any G woman would: YOU DON'T TELL ME WHO I DESERVE, I TELL MYSELF THAT. And... well... the rest will be history.

So one way or the other, Richie will at some point be Captain of the Sydcarmy team because that's what he does. He will always defend the Berzatto colors and the best color for Carmy Berzatto is black.

Richie knows it. He's always ball-breaker-ready.

Remember to follow my tag #Gingerpovs 💋