Fanfic: Rudimentary Behavioral Psychology

[canadianiana]

Title: Rudimentary Behavioral Psychology
Author: Canadianiana
Spoilers: Assumes current knowledge, but I wrote this before I saw last night’s episode (3x13).
Ratings/warnings: PG-13, I think? I’m bad at ratings. There’s a teensy bit of swearing.
Summary: At dimensionallyt’s request: Britta suspects something about Jeff, and isn’t happy about it. Entirely Britta’s

Comments

[teruel_a_witch]

As usual, you provide such an engrossing and enjoyable read, I usually don't even like Britta around Jeff but I really liked the relationship you depicted here, true to the characters and not obnoxiously in our faces like the canon sometimes likes to do. Totally LOLed at Jeff and Britta in the toy department, they would be SOO out of place there, like animals yanked out of their natural habitat xD (I completely share their sentiments on kids, however *shudders*)

Jeff actually kind of snorts with laughter. Britta’s pretty sure she’s never heard him do that before.
Hee, I love that little reference to how Alison makes Joel totally lose it, I so wish they put that bit of their dynamic into the show,too. Please let Annie be funny for the other characters and not just for us, show.

The J/A scene at the backyard, oh, my, I felt a tad suffocated because of all the ~desperation~ and ~feelings unsaid~ just guh, only they can go from sickeningly cute one second to GEEZ-LOUISE CANNOT BREATH WHAT IS AIR in the next.

The talk was nice, her reaction to J/A fits with Britta's "I'm not Juno" speech.

[canadianiana]

I'm glad you liked it! I actually like Britta and Jeff as friends... and nothing else. I don't like them when they get competitive, or really in this season, with Britta trying to fix him.

And yes, more funny Annie needs to happen on the show!

It's kinda funny how many locations I considered for the backyard scene, lol. I needed somewhere they thought they were alone, but could easily be spied on. And I really do like to think that Jeff is just barely keeping control of himself around Annie, and given the slightest opportunity, he'd lose that control. Aaaaaand I'm just gonna go ahead and keep thinking that until the show gives me reason otherwise.

[teruel_a_witch]

I don't like them when they get competitive, or really in this season, with Britta trying to fix him.
Which is like 95% of their interaction, hence me not liking when they interact XD

And I really do like to think that Jeff is just barely keeping control of himself around Annie, and given the slightest opportunity, he'd lose that control
Hell yeah, totally hanging by a thread, he doesn't even have the crutch of patting her head to rely on any more.
Hee, even as early as in the debate ep, he could barely control himself, I mean he left his PHONE (clearly for the same reason the corporate boss douche refused to stand up until someone hands him his coat XD)
And the dazing effect she has on him coupled with the ~feelings~ that developed over the years should make him a goner, totally. When he lets go it's gonna be glorious and explosive and we might die happy XD

[canadianiana]

Sigh, I miss those scenes. Oh, Debate 109, I might have to go watch you again.

It will be glorious. I can't help but feel like Jeff's regressing a bit in these past couple of episodes, like he seemed way more in tune with things and himself in 3x02 than he was in 3x13. I guess it makes sense that his transition, or whatever, would be rocky. This is like 30+ years of narcissism and pushing away feelings he's dealing with. I don't know where I was going with this... Oh! I hope he comes to his senses a bit before the end of this season, at least.

[teruel_a_witch]

*sigh* Me,too, and I miss s1, rewatched 1x25 yesterday and damn, just damn, Jeffrey you were so smitten already and so sweet, why'd you have to become an inconsiderate dick to her after that? :/

I can't help but feel like Jeff's regressing a bit in these past couple of episodes
Yeah, it's that time of year, heh, last year I was thinking the same.

he seemed way more in tune with things and himself in 3x02 than he was in 3x13.
Ugh, true, and when the season started and those first 4 eps rolled I was like "wow, Jeffrey, you are super into her, I mean I always knew that but your obvious is showing, man" and then it kinda fizzled out, like the writers decided to get it over with in one bunch and then move on to other things, like "you shippers got your validation now he's going back to being a jerk to everyone including her, you don't need a confirmation in every episode, do you."(in Remedial Chaos Theory he was a jerk to everyone BUT her)
But it just ugh, doesn't make sense, it would have made sense for him to be a jerk in the beginning of the season and the wonderfully self-aware speech to come later. And Harmon has said that this was gonna be a season where Jeff pays the price for caring for these people because he's gonna fight their battles, because "when you love someone their pain is your pain", but so far it doesn't seem like he's done much for the group this season that had cost him.

Oh! I hope he comes to his senses a bit before the end of this season, at least.
Me,too, I want him to be nice and sweet to Annie again, none of that inconsiderate jerk nonsense *stomps foot* You know moments like in the last episode and then the ignoring-biology assignment they had not happened before, it feels like he's started to take her for granted and I don't like that.

[canadianiana]

"wow, Jeffrey, you are super into her, I mean I always knew that but your obvious is showing"... Yes, 3x04 totally gave me the impression that it was going to be a matter of WHEN with them, not a matter of IF... But I totally agree that Jeff's not making sense. Or at least, being inconsistent? Ugh, I'm just so curious to see what happens in the last part of this season, it's not even funny. Damn you hiatus!!!

[teruel_a_witch]

I had a sneaking suspicion that because it's was said in the song the opposite would happen but still, totally inconsistent, one episode we get Jeff staring at Annie all wistfully when she's clapping to Andre's proposal but in the next he seems oblivious to everything.

Ugh, I'm just so curious to see what happens in the last part of this season, it's not even funny.
Ugh, me,too, especially after all those mixed spoilers, like the actors saying the relationship "cools down" but Neil Goldman saying "Certainly" to the "is there hope for J/A?" and Dan Harmon saying "Jeff/Annie, they don't make out at the end of the season" (totally weird phrasing, WHAT DOES IT MEAN??? do they make out BEFORE?)
Also, there's a flashback episode in there, I'm very curious what J/A flashbacks we could get *crossed fingers that we have any*

[canadianiana]

To quote Jeff: HOLY CRAP! I didn't know there was a flashback episode!!!!!!

And yes, it's all very cryptic and confusing, and I'm sure that's probably intentional. Still annoying, though. :P I also had a feeling from the first episode that it wouldn't happen this season, but like other people have said, that's not necessarily a bad thing... provided it DOES happen next season. Bah. This is the first ship that I've ever really shipped and I think I'm driving myself slightly insane. Lol.

[teruel_a_witch]

It was said a while back that they were going to do a sequel of sorts to Paradigms but it would be different, of course. So I'm intrigued, back then I suggested maybe they would do flashforwards instead of flashbacks but I didn't put much weight in that theory. Also, I think Chevy was interviewed on the set of "flashback episode" about that thing that should not be mentioned. But anyway, I just really hope we get some J/A flashbacks, I know it's too much to hope to see how Annie convinced Jeff to join Glee club and it's probably always gonna be a Noodle Incident (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NoodleIncident) of sorts, but maybe Annie's 21st birthday? nope? wishful thinking, I know. I hope there were no secret hookups this year,though, because JB - beating a dead horse and J/A I would not want to be a secret for us, nope, never. I think the flashback episode is 19 or 20, as I recall 18 is the group therapy episode, we know about the finale and 21st is probably the heist-Greendale 7 episode. Lol, seems like there's only one episode that we don't know what about xD

I'm sure that's probably intentional.
Of course, Dan is the devil *gg*

that's not necessarily a bad thing... provided it DOES happen next season.
I've always thought so too, the later into the show a relationship starts the better chance of survival it has, now if only we'd got season 4 for sure, dammit, when can I sleep at night, NBC, last year they renewed Community in the beginning of March! Now we are supposed to wait till May.
Also, my willingness to wait does not mean I don't want some real makeouts NOW, it's been TWO YEARS, it would have been easier if I got into the show this season but I've been in this fandom for more than two years already and my patience is definitely wearing thin XD Too bad we can't have it both ways...

Heh, I'm a pathological shipper, I ship therefore I am, I'd shipped even before I knew what it was I was doing, yet I don't remember ever getting this worked up over any ship in my life, this damn roller coaster, constant half-agony half-hope XD

[canadianiana]

This is turning into a long discussion, and I LOVE it. It's weird, I've been watching Community since the first season (first episode I saw was Halloween, never stopped watching after that), but I didn't really start shipping J/A until... geez, the finale, I think. I remember seeing Debate 1x09 when it aired and kinda going "huh, there was definitely SOMETHING going on between them", but it honestly wasn't until 1x25, and then the summer after, that I really got into them (after going back and rewatching the whole first season, hah). And then it wasn't until after season 2 that I actively went searching for J/A stuff, and stumbled onto M&M. So yeah, it's been a long haul. I would also like them to make out again, like, this season, but it's hard to know how they would do that without launching or sinking the ship.

OMG, I have some serious season 1 nostalgia happening here... I think one of my FAVOURITE subtle moments between them is in 1x24, the whole "I was going for more of a professor thing..." "What, why?" "What?" "Nothing!" exchange at the end. It happens so fast, but says so much. Actually, I love that episode altogether as a J/A one. I mean, Jeff is pissed at Annie until the moment he thinks she's in danger, then he literally kicks down a door to get to her. AND NOW YOU'RE IGNORING HER? DAMMIT, JEFF!!!

[teruel_a_witch]

Yup, my whole life recently has been one long Community discussion xD
I've been watching since after 1x18 aired. I DLed all of 18 episodes on a whim, I had zero idea about the show, nobody recommended it to me or anything, I was just bored and decided to try it since DL links were available on tvshare,lol, from the title I actually thought maybe they were doing Community service and the middle-age dude (jeff) was their probation worker (that might have been influenced by me getting into Misfits just before Community XD) and I wasn't impressed by the first handful of eps, until Footbal,Feminism and You, it just felt like a REALLY good episode character-wise and at Jeff/Annie I thought "aw, what a cute friendship and enjoyable interaction" (didn't occur to me that it's an option to ship them because it seemed like it was gonna be a J/B show) and then yeah, Halloween episode made me go "wow, this show is something else entirely" and I was truly hooked. And I started shipping J/A in the debate, I didn't want to, because I thought it'd be yet another underdog of a ship I would be in the minority for liking but when in the end she says "Just pat me" she sounded so sad and resigned that I was like "aah, my heart" and yeah "ship it, ship it", so after I caught up on all of 18 eps I went and joined milady_milord immediately because I wanted more of their cuteness, but I had mostly been a lurker and non-frequent visitor until 2x09 aired and J/A were upgraded from "that cute ship I enjoy and occasionally read fic about" to OTP OF ALL OTPS status, and then I devoured all the fanfic I'd missed because I didn't care before like a ficavor I am.

s1 finale made me so happy, it felt like fanfic coming true *sigh*
Ugh, I LOVE English as a Second Language, it's such a perfect Community episode all around (and it was like a breath of fresh air after all the Jeff/Annie-less J/B filled months, considering eps 19-23 stretched through all of spring with hiatuses, it was a loong spring) and a Spanish major in me can't help but be super amused, the moment where they all start speaking Spanish better than ever before is like my favourite moment in everything ever, I love that "sudden superpower trope" so much,lol, feels so Sailormoon-cartonish,haha. I can quote that scene half-asleep ("Nuestra amiga se está muriendo! - Annie se está muriendo? Vamos, rápido!") Also, I showed Spanish final related bits to a fellow Spanish major and she laughed so much at "El crappo". The J/A moments are stellar and iconic, yeah, such a perfect episode. I love that Jeff was like "Shirley why are you playing into her ploy for attention?" but then reluctantly "so what's she say?" He "can't help but worry about her" aww*gg* and she wrote "this isn't a ploy for attention" (they are REALLY in-sinc)
AND NOW YOU'RE IGNORING HER? DAMMIT, JEFF!!!
UGH I KNOW, ALWAYS ONE STEP FORWARD TWO STEPS BACK.

[canadianiana]

ALSO! ALSO! <3 Calvin and Hobbes!!! I have the whole hardcover box set. :P

[teruel_a_witch]

Heh, I didn't even know who they were until recently. Before that,they were just some boy with a tiger comics that I saw bits of sometimes.