How're your hands feeling, Seven?
Hello friends! It was a pretty crazy holiday season for me, as I know it was for many of you, and it actually didn't END for me until about a week ago, since (due to my brother's gig schedule) my family has taken to celebrating Christmas in January the past few years. I felt like I spent most of December either in the kitchen or at the grocery store, so while it was overall a lovely holiday season, I do have some notes for myself for next year. (Mainly: if you're going to cook/bake so much stuff, START EARLIER. Heh.) It was good, though, and I got to see Mr. McK's family (I made them a beauuuutiful dinner, ham and pear/gorgonzola salad and mashed potatoes with kale and olive oil, and cherry pie with homemade crust, it was awesome) and my family, including my 9-year-old niece, who is THE ACTUAL CUTEST, and I had so much fun with her. And one morning we were getting ready in my parents' bathroom and she was singing a song and I was like, "Who sings that?" and she said "One Direction" and then proceeded to tell me about how she'd seen a 1D t-shirt at the mall with Harry's face on it and she was considering buying it with her allowance money. And I was like, "Is Harry your favorite?" and she HONEST-TO-GOD SIGHED and was like, "Yes." IT WAS HILARIOUS AND ADORABLE. And I was like, "Yeah, I know a lot of people whose favorite is Harry, too." I did NOT add the "for mostly different yet not entirely unrelated reasons" part. Hee. THANKS FOR THAT BONDING MOMENT, BANDOM. <333
Anyway, I got home late last Monday (after getting stuck in Denver for an extra day due to NO ONE BEING AVAILABLE TO FLY THE PLANE, did you know that's a thing? They originally delayed my flight four hours till 1 a.m., then informed us AT 12:30 that the flight was cancelled after all. GOOD TIMES. They gave me a $200 credit, though, so points for that, Frontier, and it was nice to get an extra day with my family). Last Tuesday, I got to spend a lovely day with
zabira and dugrival, and we were casting around for something to watch and-as an alternative to something that involved animal-related sadness-Dugrival and I agreed that we'd be interested in checking out Friday Night Lights, which Z has been re-watching. So, you know, that was a week ago, and I have now seen all of season 1, as you do, and I HAVE SOME FEELINGS.
Okay, WHERE TO START. I LOVE (almost) EVERYONE. The characters and the actors are GOLD, and the writers do a really good job of humanizing even the characters who are initially pretty unsympathetic (like Buddy, and Matt's dad, and even Tim, because when they first showed him puking drunk at practice, I was like, "THAT guy? THAT'S the guy that everybody is obsessed with?" I GET IT NOW, OKAY, not least because I'm pretty sure Taylor Kitsch is somehow beaming pheromones through my TV screen, oh my god, I would bang that dude like a screen door). Tami and Tyra are the ones I find myself responding to the most strongly at this point, because they are FUCKING AWESOME LADIES, but there is also MATT'S LITTLE FACE and Smash being AMAZING and Julie growing up and Lyla's fierce determination (I get the vague impression that Lyla is not the most popular character but I really love her-she's got her flaws, like they all do, but she is fucking TOUGH AS NAILS underneath those pompoms and I really respect that, and I find her super-charming in her lighter moments, too) and Coach trying really hard to do right by everybody (and often stumbling in kind of hilarious ways, the better to be nudged by Tami, who is SO MUCH BETTER at feelings than he is, though his feelings about his family-and Tami in particular-are AMAZING) and Jason's struggles and Tim's terrible decisions and good intentions and Landry's general weird chivalrous adorableness and Waverley's general awesomeness. I really love them ALL.
I also love a lot of things about the writing-I looooooooove how they use the radio/TV broadcasts as an expository device, it's BRILLIANT, and again, I really love how they try to show multiple sides of every story, including showing both what's great and what's completely fucked up about sports culture. I did feel like a lot of S1 felt a bit disjointed, in the sense that there were rarely more than two major characters interacting at the same time (except at games/practices), and there were a few plotlines that either seemed totally random (like Billy and Tyra planning that party, which was never mentioned again) or got dropped completely (like NO ONE EVER MENTIONED that Lyla smashed up Buddy's dealership? And it was fine again like two episodes later? Wha?). I wanted the dots connected a little more, and to feel more like the characters were a community, instead of just feeling like we were peeking in on whoever was having the big drama of the week while everyone else kind of hung out on the sidelines waiting for their turn. Though I understand that balancing a big ensemble like that would be REALLY tough, and I do really like that they gave everybody quite a bit to do.
That said, though, I watched the last four episodes of S1 all together last night and they were EVERYTHING I HAVE EVER WANTED FROM THIS SHOW. I really did feel like a LOT of those small moments from the season came together and TOTALLY PAID OFF, like the seeds of all of these relationships and experiences all kind of burst into bloom at the same time, and it was GLORIOUS. Just. Tim and Jason reuniting (OH MY HEART, I cannot explain to you the SWELLING FEELING IN MY CHEST PLACES that happened when Tim walked into that convenience store and bought Jason's beer for him, and then DECLARATIONS OF ETERNAL FRIENDSHIP BACKED BY THE RISING SUN, holy hell, TEXAS FOREVER INDEED), and BOYS HANGING OUT DRUNKENLY ON THE FOOTBALL FIELD, and Smash and Tim forging some sort of friendship, and the continuing awesome of the Tami/Tyra situation (I WOULD WATCH A SHOW OF JUST THEM, NGL), and Landry's ridiculous adorable Unwilling Roadtrip of Estrogen Overload (seriously the BEST. EVER.), and Tyra and Lyla declaring a truce (OMG I SHIP IT), and SMASH BRINGING WAVERLEY LEFTOVER CAKE OMG, and Tim sexing up his hot neighbor (THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME LIVE VICARIOUSLY THROUGH YOU, TIM'S HOT THIRTYSOMETHING NEIGHBOR; MY GUTTERS NEED CLEANING TOO, TIM, IJS) and his relationship with Bo, which is having an indescribably devastating effect on my ovaries, AND he and Tyra actually trying to become friends, including Tyra's steadfast refusal to have sex with him, which, as much as my loins want more hot Tim/Tyra wall-sexing (NGGGGGH, dear god Taylor Kitsch and Adrianne Palicki are just kind of TOO HOT TO EXIST separately, so them being hot TOGETHER is just OFF-SIDES in the BEST POSSIBLE WAY), my heart and head LOVE HER SO MUCH for not going down that road again, GO TYRA. And EVERYTHING about how the Coach's departure was handled, from the many gorgeous moments with him and Julie (I ADORE Julie and Tami's relationship and I loooove that they focus on that, but I really loved seeing Eric and Julie connect, too), and him and Tami, to MATT'S LITTLE SAD FACE OH MATT I LOVE YOU SO MUCH AND I WANT TO HUG YOU FOREVER, POOR SAD SWEET BOY. <3333333 And I LOVE what they did with Jason's journey, too, that it was such a struggle, but he was able to take some control back eventually, and find something he loved, and find a way to be part of the team he loves (and GOOD ON HIM for that, because it can't be easy to watch Matt do what Jason loves to do, but Jason is just 1000% supportive, even though he's obviously still having some conflicting feelings, and OH GOD MY HEART). And I ADORED that Smash and Matt got the biggest hero moments in the championship; Tim played a vital role too, obviously, but Matt and Smash got the spotlight, and that felt right, and I burst into tears when Smash dove into the endzone. GOOD GAME, YOU GUYS. REALLY GOOD GAME. <33333333333333
Ship-wise, I am a hundred percent on board with Coach/Mrs. Coach, OBVIOUSLY-I have been told many times that they have the best marriage on TV, and I WHOLEHEARTEDLY agree with that assessment, OMG. ♥__♥ I am actually totally into all the canonical relationships. I also imprinted EARLY (like, in the first episode) and HARD on Jason/Lyla/Tim, because I feel like the show ships them LIEK WHOA, but I am also REALLY INTO any combination of Jason/Lyla/Tim/Tyra, even though it's clear by the end of S1 that the Jason/Lyla and Tim/Tyra aspects are not healthy for them at that point, but THAT COULD BE FIXED, especially in an OT4 situation. CHECK ALL THE BOXES. IT'S MY FAVORITE OPTION. Also, on some level, Tim/everyone. Let's just make Taylor Kitsch make out with people ALWAYS. That boy is like the hip-shot laconic drawling love-child of Matt Bomer and Timothy Olyphant, and that gift needs to be SHARED, yo. (Plus, hotness aside, Tim makes TERRIBLE DECISIONS and he can be epically clueless and he was clearly a horrible boyfriend to Tyra, but he also has a genuinely REALLY GOOD HEART, and he's TRYING and GROWING AS A PERSON, so. I do love him for his HEART as well as for his hot, hot body.)
Also, randomly, this show hits my nickname kink SO HARD. All the boys (plus Lyla and Tyra, occasionally) calling each other by various permutations of first names and last names and uniform numbers? CANNOT. GET. ENOUGH. ALL THE NICKNAMES. GIVE THEM ALL TO ME I LOVE THEEEEEEEEEEEM YOU SHOULD ALL MAKE OUT.
So. ON TO SEASON TWO. I have been warned to moderate my expectations, which I appreciate, but last night I went from really really liking the show to being head-over-heels in love with it, so I hope that continues. But even if for some reason it doesn't, WE WILL ALWAYS HAVE LAST NIGHT, FNL. AND IT WAS BEAUTIFUL. <333333333333
I would also like to point out that whoever is doing the Netflix descriptions TOTALLY ships Tim/Jason. Like, for example: "Tim springs Jason from [spoiler] and takes him to a beautiful lake." AND THEN PROPOSES. IS WHERE THAT SEEMS TO BE GOING. Also, from S2: "Jason goes to Mexico [for reasons] and Tim accompanies him south of the border." I BET HE DOES. I JUST BET HE DOES.
I approve.
Also, if anyone has S1-only fic recs handy (pretty much any pairing or gen, I'll try anything once), I would love to have them! I REALLY WANT to read fic, but I don't want to get spoiled, either.
ANYWAY. For the first time in a while, I found myself without a primary fandom this holiday season (at least in obsessive reading/writing terms), which meant that I was able to fully enjoy the glorious smorgasbord of Yuletide for the first time ever. Before I left on my trip to Colorado, I sorted the archive by word-count so that the longest stories were first, and went through and greedily gathered up about 20 stories to load onto my Nook for the journey. I still have several left to read, but I thought I would rec a few of my favorites… a few today, and hopefully the rest sometime this week.
You Are My Fifth Avenue, by
recrudescence (Whip It, Pash-centric with a generous side of Bliss, rated teen and up) - This story hit me really hard, because it's such a perfect portrayal of that delicate balance between finding a new path and holding on to what's important to you, and how difficult it can be to grow with people instead of apart from them, but how rewarding it can be when you manage it. It's sort of poignant and sweet and tough, just like Pash and Bliss themselves, and I adored it.
You Could Turn It On Like a Light, by
nightcamedown (Sports Night, Casey/Dan, rated general audiences) - This fic has a lot of hits/comments/kudos, and I know I've seen it recced a few times on my flist already, but I'm reccing it again because it is just. That. Good. The banter is INCANDESCENT, to the point where I feel like it out-Sorkins Sorkin-I was laughing out loud on the plane on SEVERAL occasions, and it was a struggle not to kick my feet with glee, and the whole ensemble gets their moments-but the emotion behind the banter is handled very deftly, too, with some brilliant character insights, and the last scene made me hold my breath. Gorgeous. And did I mention HILARIOUS.
Not Exactly Lerner & Leowe, by
liviapenn (The Persuaders!, Brett/Danny, rated Mature) - OMG OMG. I LOVED THIS SO MUCH. Liviapenn has Danny's rambling carnival-barker patter down PERFECTLY, and his good heart and easygoing nature that barely masks ALL THE FEELINGS, and all the glorious ways they bump up against Brett's desperately repressed feelings. HNGH. Both hot and hilarious and a little bit achy, where comfortable lived-in familiarity meets the sudden thrill of discovery, just like I think a Persuaders! fic should be.
This post is also at Dreamwidth! http://brynnmck.dreamwidth.org/291350.html Comments at Dreamwidth:
Anyway, I got home late last Monday (after getting stuck in Denver for an extra day due to NO ONE BEING AVAILABLE TO FLY THE PLANE, did you know that's a thing? They originally delayed my flight four hours till 1 a.m., then informed us AT 12:30 that the flight was cancelled after all. GOOD TIMES. They gave me a $200 credit, though, so points for that, Frontier, and it was nice to get an extra day with my family). Last Tuesday, I got to spend a lovely day with
zabira and dugrival, and we were casting around for something to watch and-as an alternative to something that involved animal-related sadness-Dugrival and I agreed that we'd be interested in checking out Friday Night Lights, which Z has been re-watching. So, you know, that was a week ago, and I have now seen all of season 1, as you do, and I HAVE SOME FEELINGS.
Okay, WHERE TO START. I LOVE (almost) EVERYONE. The characters and the actors are GOLD, and the writers do a really good job of humanizing even the characters who are initially pretty unsympathetic (like Buddy, and Matt's dad, and even Tim, because when they first showed him puking drunk at practice, I was like, "THAT guy? THAT'S the guy that everybody is obsessed with?" I GET IT NOW, OKAY, not least because I'm pretty sure Taylor Kitsch is somehow beaming pheromones through my TV screen, oh my god, I would bang that dude like a screen door). Tami and Tyra are the ones I find myself responding to the most strongly at this point, because they are FUCKING AWESOME LADIES, but there is also MATT'S LITTLE FACE and Smash being AMAZING and Julie growing up and Lyla's fierce determination (I get the vague impression that Lyla is not the most popular character but I really love her-she's got her flaws, like they all do, but she is fucking TOUGH AS NAILS underneath those pompoms and I really respect that, and I find her super-charming in her lighter moments, too) and Coach trying really hard to do right by everybody (and often stumbling in kind of hilarious ways, the better to be nudged by Tami, who is SO MUCH BETTER at feelings than he is, though his feelings about his family-and Tami in particular-are AMAZING) and Jason's struggles and Tim's terrible decisions and good intentions and Landry's general weird chivalrous adorableness and Waverley's general awesomeness. I really love them ALL.
I also love a lot of things about the writing-I looooooooove how they use the radio/TV broadcasts as an expository device, it's BRILLIANT, and again, I really love how they try to show multiple sides of every story, including showing both what's great and what's completely fucked up about sports culture. I did feel like a lot of S1 felt a bit disjointed, in the sense that there were rarely more than two major characters interacting at the same time (except at games/practices), and there were a few plotlines that either seemed totally random (like Billy and Tyra planning that party, which was never mentioned again) or got dropped completely (like NO ONE EVER MENTIONED that Lyla smashed up Buddy's dealership? And it was fine again like two episodes later? Wha?). I wanted the dots connected a little more, and to feel more like the characters were a community, instead of just feeling like we were peeking in on whoever was having the big drama of the week while everyone else kind of hung out on the sidelines waiting for their turn. Though I understand that balancing a big ensemble like that would be REALLY tough, and I do really like that they gave everybody quite a bit to do.
That said, though, I watched the last four episodes of S1 all together last night and they were EVERYTHING I HAVE EVER WANTED FROM THIS SHOW. I really did feel like a LOT of those small moments from the season came together and TOTALLY PAID OFF, like the seeds of all of these relationships and experiences all kind of burst into bloom at the same time, and it was GLORIOUS. Just. Tim and Jason reuniting (OH MY HEART, I cannot explain to you the SWELLING FEELING IN MY CHEST PLACES that happened when Tim walked into that convenience store and bought Jason's beer for him, and then DECLARATIONS OF ETERNAL FRIENDSHIP BACKED BY THE RISING SUN, holy hell, TEXAS FOREVER INDEED), and BOYS HANGING OUT DRUNKENLY ON THE FOOTBALL FIELD, and Smash and Tim forging some sort of friendship, and the continuing awesome of the Tami/Tyra situation (I WOULD WATCH A SHOW OF JUST THEM, NGL), and Landry's ridiculous adorable Unwilling Roadtrip of Estrogen Overload (seriously the BEST. EVER.), and Tyra and Lyla declaring a truce (OMG I SHIP IT), and SMASH BRINGING WAVERLEY LEFTOVER CAKE OMG, and Tim sexing up his hot neighbor (THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME LIVE VICARIOUSLY THROUGH YOU, TIM'S HOT THIRTYSOMETHING NEIGHBOR; MY GUTTERS NEED CLEANING TOO, TIM, IJS) and his relationship with Bo, which is having an indescribably devastating effect on my ovaries, AND he and Tyra actually trying to become friends, including Tyra's steadfast refusal to have sex with him, which, as much as my loins want more hot Tim/Tyra wall-sexing (NGGGGGH, dear god Taylor Kitsch and Adrianne Palicki are just kind of TOO HOT TO EXIST separately, so them being hot TOGETHER is just OFF-SIDES in the BEST POSSIBLE WAY), my heart and head LOVE HER SO MUCH for not going down that road again, GO TYRA. And EVERYTHING about how the Coach's departure was handled, from the many gorgeous moments with him and Julie (I ADORE Julie and Tami's relationship and I loooove that they focus on that, but I really loved seeing Eric and Julie connect, too), and him and Tami, to MATT'S LITTLE SAD FACE OH MATT I LOVE YOU SO MUCH AND I WANT TO HUG YOU FOREVER, POOR SAD SWEET BOY. <3333333 And I LOVE what they did with Jason's journey, too, that it was such a struggle, but he was able to take some control back eventually, and find something he loved, and find a way to be part of the team he loves (and GOOD ON HIM for that, because it can't be easy to watch Matt do what Jason loves to do, but Jason is just 1000% supportive, even though he's obviously still having some conflicting feelings, and OH GOD MY HEART). And I ADORED that Smash and Matt got the biggest hero moments in the championship; Tim played a vital role too, obviously, but Matt and Smash got the spotlight, and that felt right, and I burst into tears when Smash dove into the endzone. GOOD GAME, YOU GUYS. REALLY GOOD GAME. <33333333333333
Ship-wise, I am a hundred percent on board with Coach/Mrs. Coach, OBVIOUSLY-I have been told many times that they have the best marriage on TV, and I WHOLEHEARTEDLY agree with that assessment, OMG. ♥__♥ I am actually totally into all the canonical relationships. I also imprinted EARLY (like, in the first episode) and HARD on Jason/Lyla/Tim, because I feel like the show ships them LIEK WHOA, but I am also REALLY INTO any combination of Jason/Lyla/Tim/Tyra, even though it's clear by the end of S1 that the Jason/Lyla and Tim/Tyra aspects are not healthy for them at that point, but THAT COULD BE FIXED, especially in an OT4 situation. CHECK ALL THE BOXES. IT'S MY FAVORITE OPTION. Also, on some level, Tim/everyone. Let's just make Taylor Kitsch make out with people ALWAYS. That boy is like the hip-shot laconic drawling love-child of Matt Bomer and Timothy Olyphant, and that gift needs to be SHARED, yo. (Plus, hotness aside, Tim makes TERRIBLE DECISIONS and he can be epically clueless and he was clearly a horrible boyfriend to Tyra, but he also has a genuinely REALLY GOOD HEART, and he's TRYING and GROWING AS A PERSON, so. I do love him for his HEART as well as for his hot, hot body.)
Also, randomly, this show hits my nickname kink SO HARD. All the boys (plus Lyla and Tyra, occasionally) calling each other by various permutations of first names and last names and uniform numbers? CANNOT. GET. ENOUGH. ALL THE NICKNAMES. GIVE THEM ALL TO ME I LOVE THEEEEEEEEEEEM YOU SHOULD ALL MAKE OUT.
So. ON TO SEASON TWO. I have been warned to moderate my expectations, which I appreciate, but last night I went from really really liking the show to being head-over-heels in love with it, so I hope that continues. But even if for some reason it doesn't, WE WILL ALWAYS HAVE LAST NIGHT, FNL. AND IT WAS BEAUTIFUL. <333333333333
I would also like to point out that whoever is doing the Netflix descriptions TOTALLY ships Tim/Jason. Like, for example: "Tim springs Jason from [spoiler] and takes him to a beautiful lake." AND THEN PROPOSES. IS WHERE THAT SEEMS TO BE GOING. Also, from S2: "Jason goes to Mexico [for reasons] and Tim accompanies him south of the border." I BET HE DOES. I JUST BET HE DOES.
I approve.
Also, if anyone has S1-only fic recs handy (pretty much any pairing or gen, I'll try anything once), I would love to have them! I REALLY WANT to read fic, but I don't want to get spoiled, either.
ANYWAY. For the first time in a while, I found myself without a primary fandom this holiday season (at least in obsessive reading/writing terms), which meant that I was able to fully enjoy the glorious smorgasbord of Yuletide for the first time ever. Before I left on my trip to Colorado, I sorted the archive by word-count so that the longest stories were first, and went through and greedily gathered up about 20 stories to load onto my Nook for the journey. I still have several left to read, but I thought I would rec a few of my favorites… a few today, and hopefully the rest sometime this week.
You Are My Fifth Avenue, by
recrudescence (Whip It, Pash-centric with a generous side of Bliss, rated teen and up) - This story hit me really hard, because it's such a perfect portrayal of that delicate balance between finding a new path and holding on to what's important to you, and how difficult it can be to grow with people instead of apart from them, but how rewarding it can be when you manage it. It's sort of poignant and sweet and tough, just like Pash and Bliss themselves, and I adored it.
You Could Turn It On Like a Light, by
nightcamedown (Sports Night, Casey/Dan, rated general audiences) - This fic has a lot of hits/comments/kudos, and I know I've seen it recced a few times on my flist already, but I'm reccing it again because it is just. That. Good. The banter is INCANDESCENT, to the point where I feel like it out-Sorkins Sorkin-I was laughing out loud on the plane on SEVERAL occasions, and it was a struggle not to kick my feet with glee, and the whole ensemble gets their moments-but the emotion behind the banter is handled very deftly, too, with some brilliant character insights, and the last scene made me hold my breath. Gorgeous. And did I mention HILARIOUS.
Not Exactly Lerner & Leowe, by
liviapenn (The Persuaders!, Brett/Danny, rated Mature) - OMG OMG. I LOVED THIS SO MUCH. Liviapenn has Danny's rambling carnival-barker patter down PERFECTLY, and his good heart and easygoing nature that barely masks ALL THE FEELINGS, and all the glorious ways they bump up against Brett's desperately repressed feelings. HNGH. Both hot and hilarious and a little bit achy, where comfortable lived-in familiarity meets the sudden thrill of discovery, just like I think a Persuaders! fic should be.
This post is also at Dreamwidth! http://brynnmck.dreamwidth.org/291350.html Comments at Dreamwidth: