likethatbutnot

Mostly here to lurk

[spacelessbian]

Devil Wears Prada tells the coming of age story of a young woman entering the workplace for the first time, dealing with unneccessary levels of bullshit only to emerge stronger and more knowledgable of the world and herself. She also falls in love with her scary boss. Their last scene is staring at each other, the boss smiling to herself when the young woman leaves.

Devil Wears Prada 2 tells the story of a crumbling world where the only thing that can save art and beauty and journalism from grabby hands of tech billionaires without souls is one billionaire with a soul, who is Jeff Bezos's ex-wife. The young woman from the first movie is still in love with her scary boss, the last scene is her staring at her boss lovingly and the boss laughing when the still very young woman leaves.

[like-that-but-not]

The last 40% of Above All Things and the corresponding parts of the fic are pretty different. Not in the big beats—Andy/Jules tell their parents they’re moving in, they move in, the parents come visit, the baby is born, we have a couple of scenes of post-baby life. But some things are in a different order, we have a few scenes that got deleted from the fic and some scenes that are added to the novel (notably the regatta party). So I’m trying to write it all down in a way that doesn’t take thousands of words because everything is “oh this is a great scene!”

Regarding the regatta scene, this is one of my favorite lines in the book:

Sailboat racing is my main hobby behind reading lots and lots of lesbian romance. I just have to say, Stan Oppenheimer and Geoffrey Bernhardt must have been REALLY worried about losing A LOT of money to shut up about the races for even one second. Geoffrey would have been capable of describing that last downwind leg in minute detail for hours, especially if anything interesting had happened.

I don’t think Roslyn Sinclair is a sailor, since Ellie/Allie’s description of securing the boom in the first novel (and fic) doesn’t make a lot of sense, if by “sail pole” she means mast. I dunno about the physics terms but I do know you wanna secure a gybe preventer—you know what, never mind.

My point is that Geoffrey and Stan are very, very good businessmen to be able to focus on anything but the races at the regatta dinner. So good for them, and for Vivian.

I’ll try to get a write up done tonight or tomorrow but all the scenes are so good!

[like-that-but-not]

We open our Truth and Measure/Above All Things parallel reread with Andy and Jules unable to sleep. They basically freak out all night until giving up and heading in to work.

In the afternoon/early evening they call their girlfriends (side note: the times are different many places in the two works. Generally the fic is kind of crazier than the book (Andy wakes up an hour earlier than Jules, Miranda is an hour later to dinner than Vivian. Sometimes it feels a bit random though)). Before, though, we get a look at what’s going on in their heads:

The book changes this to “when she’d made her offer to Jules in London,” which I think nicely reflects the sometimes subtle dynamic change between the fic and the book. I really like the phrase “collared.” I assume it’s used in the sort of old-fashioned sense of being metaphorically grabbed by the collar of the shirt and dragged off somewhere, but you know, collar and leash on puppy Andy works too.

Anyway, Vivian and Miranda have been resting (they took the afternoon off). They’re tired and not in the mood for round two (nor are the younger women). Miranda remarks that Andy tried to lay down the law yesterday and the line is changed a good bit in the book:

Part of the reason is because Miranda leads up to that with mention of the twins not hearing their argument. But I like the change. So they talk about how they want to see each other every day and then Andy says “I think we need to live together.” While from Jules it’s “What if we tried living together?” I think these are both in character and shows a bit of the difference between them (more impetuous vs more reasonable). They both get a lot of silence and then “How’s that, dear?” in response.

We get a bit about how Andy couldn’t believe she said that. Jules reflects that it would have been better to plan this proposal out (possibly with spreadsheets) but that it had been living in her subconscious for a long time, whereas Andy just blurted it out.

The back and forth is largely the same (together three months, lesbian cliche, etc) but Jules continually notes that Vivian isn’t saying “no” (just “Do you know what the press would say?”). Jules clarifies that she would be ok lying about the situation for a little while, while Andy is just ok with lying and having her own room.

Also, interestingly, Vivian says “and we’re not even lesbians” about the U-Haul stereotype but Miranda doesn’t. I have thoughts about bisexual Vivian vs comphet or demi Miranda but maybe later. Andy and Miranda have been together for “less than three months” and Jules and Vivian for three months (but both younger women say it feels like longer).

It diverges a bit after the U-Haul reference. Andy says desperately and kind of ridiculously that Miranda and the twins could move in with Andy, or that Andy could pay Miranda rent (Miranda is notably appalled by this notion). Then she gets interrupted to do work stuff and basically hangs up on Miranda.

Jules notes that Vivian convinced her to be together in the first place, and now it’s her turn to convince Vivian of something that sounds sort of insane. She says she can understand why Vivian wouldn’t want Jules living with her and Vivian starts to say that isn’t the issue. It’s very sweet and very Vivian, because we the reader can pretty much tell that Vivian wants this but she’s gone all prickly and that’s what Jules is picking up on. I would have put money on this exchange coming from the fic, but it didn’t:

Jules tells Vivian she’s not going to force her to do anything (Vivian’s response is to demand if Jules is “walking it back”) and then Simon comes by to take Jules to the concert, so she hastily says her goodbyes to Vivian (omitting the I love you since Simon’s right there).

In the book we get several pages of Jules at the concert, briefly touching on her disappointment about Vivian’s response to her proposal. She has four voicemails. The fic moves pretty quickly through Andy’s work meeting. Andy’s got three voicemails.

The first two are largely the same, except that Vivian had said yes (though unenthusiastically). The first was basically how-dare-you-hang-up-call-me-back-immediately, the second is basically “it’s very soon, we should talk about this.” The third…

Vivian starts out the third message by saying she’d already considered moving in together (“although I’m sure you thought you were being incredibly original”) which is another line I would have bet came from the fic but didn’t. She says Jules needs to be sure this is what she wants because Vivian doesn’t want to hustle her into a(nother) situation she’s not ready for. She wants Jules to be happy, she wants the decision to move in together to be something she can’t imagine not choosing to do…the whole thing is so, so sweet and romantic and ends with:

So Jules is crying and the reader is swooning and then we check on the fic’s third voicemail and it is:

And if this isn’t the Miranda Priestly experience contrasted with the Vivian Carlisle experience I don’t know what is. Vivian does leave a fourth voicemail, a snarky one about not bringing Jules’s crappy couch, but still. Jules calls back and:

It’s so sweet and so romantic! Andy calls and opens with:

Which is not anything like as sweet or romantic. Miranda says she’ll tell the twins about it tonight. Also, for all that we shit talk Andy about being a doormat, she does still get what she wants:

Good for Andy.

This whole thing with the voicemails still cracks me up, and I really do recommend reading this section back to back if you have even the slightest inclination. Honestly I’m still enjoying the heck out of my parallel reread. Next up is the phone call to the parents and maybe the regatta party scene, we’ll see how long everything is. I’m looking forward to it!

[like-that-but-not]

Truth and Measure (and Above All Things) parallel reread time:

We open the fic with Miranda telling Andy that she got a reporter fired for interviewing one of the twins’ teachers. She’ll probably forego finding out who the teacher is because the girls like their teachers. They don’t get to talk much that week and can’t really get together over the weekend but they can go out to brunch on Sunday. I think how Miranda describes why it’s “safe” to have brunch is sort of sweet:

I know it’s not much but just that everyone knows that Miranda is “fond of” Andy is sweet, to me. And then Miranda saying she’d like to see Andy—awww.

Andy has a bit of panic because Miranda is late to brunch. She remembers what Stephen was saying when she went up the stairs. But it turns out Miranda is only five minutes late. Andy has to adjust to being in public with Miranda but they have a pretty nice brunch and manage to discreetly flirt a bit. It’s a good scene but I feel for Andy once Miranda leaves:

But overall both Jules and Andy are moping around because they miss their girlfriends, and Simon and Nigel call them on it (this is where the book opens). They have similar conversations about standing up for themselves and not being a doormat. We get Andy thinking about her resolve to prove that she can get ahead in her career and keep her integrity, which we don’t get with Jules.

Then Miranda and Vivian call to say they won’t be able to meet at all on Sunday. They ask about Friday instead (it’s tougher on Jules here since she’s Vivian’s second pick…her Friday engagement got cancelled. Miranda just has an opening for no particular reason). Andy and Jules have a concert to go to with Nigel and Simon but they offer to cancel and see their girlfriends instead. Miranda and Vivian tell them to go to the concert and make connections, that this period of not seeing each other won’t be for too much longer.

And then the younger women ask “how often have you said that before?” Oops. Andy reflects that she’s still scared of Miranda:

We don’t get that from Jules. The conversations are pretty similar. Andy and Jules say they’re not the ex-husband and say there’s got to be room for compromise. They point out that they used to see each other once a week and say “I don’t think that’s too much to ask for. Do you?”. Vivian replies with “of course not” but Miranda says “Maybe I do.”

Now, both immediately follow up by saying they would see the younger woman every day if they could (which is so sweet but neither even seems to notice that in the moment), so I don’t know if Miranda threw that in just to be a massive bitch or if it’s some sort of editing error.

Then Miranda and Vivian say they don’t have a choice right now and their girlfriends pounce. I think it’s more impactful in the fic because of the weight of the Paris car ride:

Jules just says that you always have a choice and Vivian always owns her decisions. Really there are several minor changes here that show Vivian and Jules both being more mature and, I guess, “softer” to each other and in general. A sudden hitch in Vivian’s voice, Jules wishing they could have this conversation reasonably and tenderly, there are just some good edits and additions from the fic to the book. And of course Andy brings up the girls a bit, which Jules obviously doesn’t. Miranda and Vivian both cry, and Andy and Jules both feel terrible. Jules asks for once a week, while Andy:

Poor Andy. We get another couple illustrative examples of Jules and Vivian’s relative maturity when they say “you know how to ‘heal’ me because God knows I must be broken somewhere” and Jules says she’s literally never said or thought that while Andy replies “yeah, broken in the head.” Vivian and Jules are a lot healthier (but I still adore Miranda and Andy).

We get a little bit more from Andy right before Miranda hangs up on her:

While from Jules it’s just:

They call back and leave three voicemails, which are basically the same (real mature, maybe you’re the one who just turned 25/26; I haven’t been calm since the day I met you; we are not breaking up). I actually really dig the second one. They’re all extremely similar, although in the last one:

Jules omits the “I love you,” and I’m not sure why. I think it’s important and I also don’t think it’s a bad thing or a weak thing to say “I love you” even when you’re angry with your partner.

I’m gonna cut this one off here so we can have a fresh post for the moving in together conversation.

[like-that-but-not]

I can talk to my mom about how I sometimes get overstimulated dealing with my son’s normal childhood behavior and neediness and it’s nice because I know she knows exactly what I’m talking about and HEY WAIT A MINUTE

[like-that-but-not]

Back to the Truth and Measure and Above All Things parallel reread!

We just had the aftermath of the party where Miranda and Vivian’s new jobs were revealed, and we find out that Allie and Ellie know they’re dating.

We open in the book with Jules sort of agonizing over her writing. She’s upset that Vivian got her an article and feels like her name is tarnished. Simon interrupts her musings with an invitation/summons to a concert with an investment banker next Friday. They also talk a bit about Allie, and Jules notes (in her head) that she’s not going to tell Vivian that Allie knows about them. At that moment she gets a text from Allie, who tells her about a call for anonymous submissions for essays for a book about fashion, which is exactly what Jules needs.

The fic opens with Andy determining not to tell Miranda that Ellie knows about them (she and Jules both note that unleashing the older woman’s wrath would be “like fire hosing a saltine.” They also both note that it’s nice for someone to know and not disapprove). Andy hasn’t talked to Miranda for a couple of nights, but that evening Caroline calls while she’s still at work and she talks to both girls for half an hour or so. They ask if she misses them and she says “of course” and then realizes it’s true. It’s a very nice look at step-mommy Andy. They invite her for dinner Sunday and then let her go so she can talk to someone from work. Her co-worker is terrified of Nigel (lol) and chats a bit about kids (the coworker says that boys are harder than girls).

Then Miranda and Vivian call after not talking for a couple of days. They have a chat about work and Stan Oppenheimer’s ears. Andy and Jules both make the “I’ll have the ears” joke and then we get two characteristic interactions. From Miranda:

Andy, Andy, you’re taking what you can get but look what you could have:

A couple of days later Andy and Jules go to the house for dinner, realizing that it’s been two weeks since they last saw their girlfriends. Vivian and Miranda are late. The cook lets Jules in (I guess she doesn’t have a key) and the twins and the nanny greet Andy. Vivian and Miranda are late late and both younger women get an apology (Jules notes that Vivian doesn’t give many; it’s unremarked by Andy). Andy has to calm the twins down (they freak out because “it’s happening again”). Jules rather ominously thinks that Vivian probably apologized to her husbands, too, but is slightly mollified by a picture of Vivian’s new office, which has an accent wall similar to the one in Jules’s apartment.

Jules and Andy are both angry but let their girlfriends eat their (reheated) dinner in peace. Both Miranda and Vivian provide assurances that this won’t be a common occurrence, that it’s only temporary. Andy gets sent home, though reluctantly on both their parts. Vivian sort of tries it with Jules, but:

They have sex and Jules looks forward to getting ready (separately) in the morning. She says she heard somewhere that the secret to a successful marriage was separate bathrooms (I’m pretty sure Miranda says this to Archer in one of the follow-up fics). Then they talk a bit about Vivian’s childhood and family and the name she was born with. Jules asks why Vivian always calls her Julia:

Then the baby kicks and they cuddle. Once Vivian is asleep (cuddled up) Jules tells her that they can have both their jobs and their relationship. It’s a very sweet scene—Jules had a much better night than Andy did (as usual).

We’ll stop there because pretty much next up is the fight that culminates with the move-in. Spoiler alert: if you want probably the absolute best and most illustrative difference between Vivian and Miranda, read the voicemails they leave about moving in. Read Vivian’s first. I laughed out loud reading Miranda’s right after. I’ll touch on this next post, but it’s worth it to read it yourself

[emily-charlton]

Anne Hathaway as Andy Sachs and Emily Blunt as Emily Charlton

The Devil Wears Prada (2006), dir. David Frankel The Devil Wears Prada 2 (2026), dir. David Frankel

[like-that-but-not]

Also: I just work part time, as a substitute teacher, and today in class a teenage boy was complaining because his mom wants him to go see DWP2 with her for Mother’s Day and the kids didn’t know what it was about. So they asked me if I knew what it’s about…and I just said no.

[like-that-but-not]

I keep trying to do a big write up about the second movie but I think I’m gonna keep it brief because I want to finish my Truth and Measure parallel reread. So some off the cuff thoughts:

I thought this was the most emotional scene of the movie:

I can’t find a good screenshot of Emily here. Emily and Miranda have A Moment. We feel their history, and it’s, like 19-20 year old history that we didn’t even see on screen the first time. We see and feel that Miranda had a huge impact on Emily, emotionally and career-wise, and it’s just moving to me.

In my opinion we don’t have anything heavy and emotional like this with Andy and Miranda, and I hate that. We got a little bit of the kitchen scene in the Hamptons, I guess. “I knew you would do great things” “you forgot I existed” “well, yeah.”

We got the car scene, which, if anything was a reversal of the original. In the original Miranda reaches out to Andy (I see a great deal of myself in you) and Andy rejects that. Here Andy’s trying to have a moment and Miranda scoffs at the idea that they’re a team now. I mean, it’s sort of, kind of, maybe, similar in that Miranda is telling Andy that she acted to save herself rather than Runway and Miranda and that there’s currently room for both of them on the life raft.

I dunno. Compared to her scene with Emily I really didn’t find the scenes with Andy to be emotionally satisfying. I guess I would have liked some acknowledgement that Miranda once saw a lot of herself in Andy and that Andy was her greatest disappointment out of decades of assistants.

I used to be a teacher. Hundreds of students per year. No, you don’t remember all of your students, but you remember your favorites (and your least favorites). Miranda remembers. She remembers what she did to Emily, she remembers Jay Ravitz breaking her vase, and she remembers Andy.

Also you know I didn’t want Emily to be the villain and I wasn’t expecting Emily to be the villain but I would have loved to have spent more time with this because I actually love it.

I think the movie tried to do too many things and had to cut a bunch of stuff and suffered for it. But, you know, I did see it twice.

I have a lot more to say about this and maybe some time I’ll get it on paper (well, not paper) but maybe not. I need to do some parallel reread stuff.

[like-that-but-not]

Guys People, I have a very stupid question that is going to make me seem entirely illiterate, but I really don’t watch a lot of movies or shows so I haven’t thought about it much.

Let’s take the last scene of DWP2:

So Andy’s wearing a cutoff version of The Cerulean Sweater. The audience knows this. Does Andy? I’m guessing Miranda doesn’t, because Andy is clearly Having A Moment and Miranda’s busy getting her work done.

“Go” is just for the audience since Andy didn’t hear that and Miranda I’m sure says that word all the time.

But, like, getting the Sasha Barnes impossible interview was a lot like getting the impossible manuscript. Is this nostalgic for Andy as well? Did that jog Miranda’s memory?

I’m so used to reading novels and being inside at least one character’s head. I mean, I’ve seen movies before. I know not everything is supposed to be obvious. I guess I’m just wondering if this is something that’s supposed to be obvious.

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I’ve read Truth and Measure so many times so recently that when Andy answered the phone to Irv Ravitz it took me a minute to realize that he didn’t actually fire her, in an elevator, on her birthday.

[like-that-but-not]

I’m going to see the movie again tomorrow. With my mom. Who I hope doesn’t ask me why I’m into DWP. I’m guessing she’s assuming I’m into Anne Hathaway, which is not entirely incorrect. Fortunately my family has a very strong track record of just accepting people’s weird quirks without needing any sort of explanation.

A few random thoughts about the movie! They’re mostly kind of negative and nitpicky. I’ll write my thoughts on more substantial stuff tomorrow after I see it again.

1. Why was Andy limping or “trudging” in that one scene? Did she do it anywhere else? Does she have a scar on her thigh from taking a bullet wound in the Congo? (Is that from Miranda Priestly’s Five Best Friends?)

2. I didn’t care for the Miranda-in-coach scene. Like, I get why it’s supposed to be funny but whatever the magazine’s financial problems, Miranda herself has (at the very least) upgrade-to-business-class money. Also, twenty years ago Andy got the unpublished Deathly Hallows manuscript but Amari can’t get a glass of champagne? Standards are falling everywhere.

2a. Totally random thought about Amari: I kind of wish we got more of her? I noticed from the trailers that she’s allowed in the elevator with Miranda, and she gives a kind of identical head toss about a quarter second behind Miranda. It made me think, like, does Miranda finally have a worthy acolyte? And, I dunno if this was on purpose or not, but she’s 30. So’s Charlie, and even Andy’s intern’s actress is 26. Is this the reality for genz? Could they not or did they not feel like finding actors in their early 20s? I felt like it was a little noticeable because looking back Andy and Emily are very very young adults in the first one.

3. Anyway I also didn’t dig the Miranda-hanging-up-her-own-coat scene. Is this her first attempt at operating a clothes hanger? Her personal wealth is, like, more than flying coach but less than having a 24-hour butler on call. She should be able to handle hanging hangers own coat up. But this might just be me being a killjoy. I freely admit that.

4. Nigel says to Andy that Emily is every girl who never talked to Benji Barnes in high school (so, every girl). But this asshole was married to Lucy Liu! Maybe she was supposed to be some sort of unattractive nerd here? It didn’t work, if so.

5. I’m kind of “meh” about the “oh I can’t say that” bits with Miranda but for some reason Jay Ravitz continually correcting himself from “ok, guys” to “people” really struck me as pretty funny for some reason.

I do have things to say about Andy’s love interest (namely, why?), Miranda’s new husband, Nigel’s relationships with both Andy and Miranda, and Andy and Emily’s final reunion of the movie. Also I think I want to talk about Miranda’s claim that Emily isn’t a visionary and doesn’t have what it takes to run a magazine (particularly since this claim comes like two minutes before we find out she apparently never had any idea that Nigel might have liked more authority or responsibility or acknowledgment).

And of course there are the callbacks that I kind of wish we had, Nigel’s apparent devotion to Andy, the new softer Miranda…just a lot of stuff.

So at some point I will put down more rambling musings. I’m also going to continue my parallel reread of Truth and Measure.

[like-that-but-not]

I woke up this morning with a crick in my neck that’s really a bad muscle spasm or something. Did a video visit with the doctor and got muscle relaxers that do not seem to be working. Not an auspicious start to 40. So I haven’t been working on any of my stupid book reports.

But!

Apparently the final shot of the movie mirrors the final shot of Working Girl, which, lol.

The Devil Wears Prada 2 Ending Is A Nod To Sigourney Weaver & Harrison Ford's Classic '80s Movie

The Devil Wears Prada 2 plays homage a classic romantic comedy.

I have not seen Working Girl. Maybe I’ll try to remedy that tomorrow.

[like-that-but-not]

Ok first round of thoughts about the movie, but it’s incomplete because I just got home and I’m really tired so I’m going to sleep soon. Also I think it sort of sounds like I disliked the movie, which isn’t the case.

My major disappointment is how the main problem is solved. Narratively it makes sense and works reasonably well, I think. They generate some goodwill with Sasha Barnes, who generally wants to do good in the world, and she comes in and is able to save the day and also kind of stick it to her asshole ex-husband a little bit.

It just sort of makes me sick that apparently the only thing that can stop a bad guy with a billion dollars is a good guy with a billion dollars.

In the original, Runway (well, Miranda, but no one can do what she does) is saved by Miranda’s own machinations. Sure she screws over Nigel and that sucks but she gets the support of all those designers, photographers, models, etc, and basically bribes Jacqueline (with, admittedly, Nigel’s job)…but she saves the day with her own cunning and strategizing and, really with her own power.

In Truth and Measure (which yes I realize is not canon) she pulls off a major coup by bringing together two people who have a lot of power but hadn’t thought to or been able to join forces to make a mutual power grab. Yeah, she couldn’t have done it without Stan and the other guy (Jeffrey?), but she was the mastermind behind the whole thing, and while I’m not entirely sure how all that worked, I’m pretty sure it was more complicated than just throwing money at the problem.

This just felt like…some rich asshole is buying Runway and is going to ruin it! Thank God we know someone rich enough to buy Elias Clarke and who fortuitously isn’t set on destroying the entire world and will let Miranda keep her power.

One of the reviews of the movie altered a Simpsons quote: Billionaires—the cause of, and solution to, all of life’s problems. I just really hate that we’re relying on the beneficence of billionaires. Sure it’s realistic (although maybe not, has Mackenzie Scott bought any newspapers?). Ugh.

Maybe I’m overreacting and maybe it just caught me at a bad time and won’t bother me as much on repeat viewing. But it physically brought me down, that this was the solution.

Also maybe this was obvious (I’m not really a movie person) but who was Andy meant to be on the phone with all day? To whom did she say “my boss is badder than your boss?” Presumably not one of Sasha’s people. I’m guessing Jay Ravitz didn’t single-handedly own Elias Clarke. So there were probably a fair amount of moving parts to get all aligned. I dunno. Maybe I’ll be like “oh duh” on rewatch but I was kind of hoping they were pulling off something cooler. Cooler than begging a billionaire to save the day.

Anyway I have other thoughts but not for tonight. I need sleep. I might end up seeing this again in theaters.

[like-that-but-not]

I saw the movie today and had a lot of fun. I have thoughts, and criticisms, but I have no idea how to cover spoilers on this app so they’ll have to wait :). So I shall talk about pretty ladies for a second.

Everybody looked great. Emily in the coveralls at the Dior store was really doing it for me and I do not habitually lust after Emily Blunt (of course I think she’s very attractive and everything).

I’m an absolute sucker for Anne Hathaway’s “natural”/“no makeup”/“casual” look and we got that a few times. She’s just so pretty! She looks gorgeous and can look all seductive and mysterious and beautiful of course but I just think her face is freaking adorable. She’s just so pretty!

And obviously Meryl Streep looks great as Miranda. I’m a big fan of that white outfit in the final scene. I think it’s my favorite. I can’t find a screenshot of it online (it was in one of the trailers or promotional videos or something).

I turn 40 this week and whenever anybody talks admiringly about how good Emily Blunt and Anne Hathaway look at 42 or whatever I’m like…”jfc they’re 42, not dead!” So I wonder if in 35 years I’ll be like “jfc she’s only 75, not dead!”

I’ll probably wait until the movie is steaming on Disney+ without additional fees to watch it again. I’m not a big fan of the theater experience. But who knows.

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It’s no longer party time in the Truth and Measure and Above All Things parallel reread!

We open with Andy and Jules having drinks with some people from work. They talk about the party and what it was like sitting at the table with Irv/Mark. Andy was actually more uncomfortable than Jules. Then Miranda and Vivian call and cancel for dinner, and say they won’t be able to see each other until Sunday. Miranda hangs up after saying “I’ll call you later” while Vivian sort of awkwardly says “er…love you” and then it’s a little unclear if she hangs up or if Jules hangs up on her without returning the sentiment. I’m pretty sure Vivian hangs up (because she doesn’t really let Jules get away with not saying it when she wants to hear it).

That Sunday Jules asks for a six o’clock dinner and Vivian counters with seven. Jules arrives and has to fetch Vivian down from her office to have dinner. They chat about the new office and who’s taking over Du Jour, and what to do with Allie.

Andy shows up for dinner “right on time” because “however she felt about her girlfriend, Miranda allowed very little to interfere with her time with the twins.” Andy still has to go make her stop working and come down for dinner, though. Apart from some stuff with the twins, dinner conversation is basically the same. Andy and Miranda head to the den (Miranda wonders where Cassidy saw them kissing).

Miranda and Vivian ask how work was on Friday and if anyone mentioned “the coup” as Jules calls it (Andy doesn’t call it anything). Miranda asks if she told them it was “divine” and Vivian uses the word “transcendent.” Andy replies that it was uncomfortable and Jules says awkward.

They tell Miranda and Vivian that they wish they’d been told about the plan. All throughout this scene we get little flashes of Jules standing up for herself a little bit more and Vivian being a little softer. Jules:

Versus Andy:

After Miranda and Vivian say not to worry, that they can look after themselves, Andy basically just nods while Jules tells Vivian that’s she’s not “a solo operator” anymore and that she should have told Jules. Jules would have told Vivian if she was getting a new job that would make her a lot busier.

Andy and Jules both decide to trust that their girlfriends will be able to make time, but Jules says:

While Andy jumps straight to “I’m proud of you.” There’s a little scene that’s not in the book that shows Miranda being (sort of) sweet but also frankly Andy liking them mean:

Then they head off to the guest bedroom and have sex. The book does have to throw in a “there was no reason to be quiet so Jules wasn’t sure why she she put a hand over Vivian’s mouth” which is yet another thing that I never noticed while reading the book but is kind of funny when reading it side by side with the fic.

Otherwise the scene is mostly unchanged. At the end Miranda tells Andy she’s “astonishing” while Vivian uses the word “incredible.” Some changes make total sense and sometimes I kind of wonder about the back-and-forth between the author and various editors.

In the next scene Andy and Jules lament only talking on the phone twice in the week, but then have a phone conversation about the new office. It’s a little different but nothing major. Then the older women say they wish their girlfriends would move because they don’t like their buildings. They both defend the neighborhood as safe (Andy neglects to mention a recent double homicide). Jules points out she’s getting a great deal since her parents own the unit. They both slip up and use a term of endearment: Andy says “Sweetie” while Jules says “Honey.” Miranda and Vivian respond, and both girls note that being called “Dear” must mean they’re in trouble (this comes up when the parents stop by: “hurry home, dear”)

The older women hang up after responding “yes” to “I love you” and it doesn’t bother Andy but it does Jules. But!

Point 17,000 to Jules (and Vivian, I suppose). They don’t talk the next day. Andy and Jules are both bummed about being sent to voicemail, but while Andy just gives herself a pep talk about being supportive, Jules muses that she and Vivian need to talk about expectations for making time for each other. She does resolve to “find some chill about it” in the meantime.

Then they both go to drinks with Ellie/Allie, at the same place Nigel/Simon said they’d found out about the pregnancy. Interestingly (not really) the drink Andy spat out was blue while Jules’s was orange. Was blue dye outlawed in NYC or something? That seems like such a weirdly trivial thing to change.

The conversation with Allie is longer. She starts off with some math talk and then asks if Jules is writing anything. This leads to Jules contemplating that Vivian had actually kind of screwed her over a bit by soliciting that article for her and how she feels weird about submitting anything now. Like it’s always going to be nepotism.

Ellie/Allie say that Miranda/Vivian misses them. But she knows that they eat dinner together regularly. She talks to the cook (who is Jimena in the fic and Ellen in the novels). The bonding-with-the-cook is different, and the book includes a passage that makes it crystal clear Allie knows Jules and Vivian are together together:

I think I’ll stop here. There’s a bit of divergence coming up. We’re right at 50% through Above All Things. I’m looking forward to the fight and moving in!

[like-that-but-not]

It’s party time in the Truth and Measure and Above All Things parallel reread!

Andy and Jules retrieve the snake pins from their safety deposit boxes and chat with Nigel and Simon about being curious and nervous about the party. He asks why Miranda/Vivian still makes him nervous, and we get subtly but tellingly different responses. From Andy:

And from Jules:

Basically Vivian has talk to Jules more about this and explicitly asked for her trust, while Miranda has pretty much refused to engage or even acknowledge that maybe she should discuss major events with her significant other.

They speculate about what Miranda and Vivian are up to but have different guesses. Nigel wonders if Miranda has bought their publisher and canned the magazine while Simon asks if maybe Vivian “now controls all of capitalism” and is shutting down the store. Which is a function of their different jobs, but also I think Nigel’s concern about Miranda slamming the door on the magazine is halfway serious, while of course Simon’s is completely facetious.

Andy takes a cab with Nigel, who says he wouldn’t have let her on the subway in her dress. Jules has the same exchange with Simon but there’s also evidence of protective/provider Vivian that’s quite sweet: Vivian had wanted to pay for Jules’s uber. Awww.

They arrive and it turns out Nigel and Simon are still in the doghouse (that phrase is used in both the fic and the book, so I guess it is still a saying), because he’s seated with Helga and some old dude. Andy and Jules are of course next to their girlfriends.

They reflect that they’re considerably younger than basically everybody there—anybody in their 20s is either the son or daughter of someone rich and powerful or:

This scene is in both and I kind of want to know how they would have finished that sentence. Anyway I think it shows Andy and Jules gaining some insight into how the relationship will be perceived once it becomes public.

They meet Vivian and Miranda. Miranda is wearing an amazing dress and a necklace by the same designer as Andy’s snake brooch. In the novel using-fashion-to-symbolize-our-relationship is a lot more overt:

And Jules goes into more detail about adoring the dress and Vivian in it:

Vivian and Miranda kiss Jules and Andy on the cheeks and are icily polite to Nigel and Simon, but the book omits a great line:

Jules is a bit braver, I guess, although they both contemplate running away to a tropical island with Nigel and Simon. They all get to the table. Mark Tavio’s insult is quite a bit tamer than Irv Ravitz’s: Irv tells Miranda to choke on dick (“try your ex-husband’s, think that would bring him back?”). While Mark just tells Vivian to go to hell and calls her a scheming bitch.

The language is toned down a bit overall in the books. I’m not sure if that’s a function of the time frame or being sanitized for publication, or both. For example the word bitch doesn’t appear in the novel Truth and Measure at all, and this might be the only time it’s in Above All Things. It appears 18 times in the fic, often with Andy (or Caroline) explicitly using the word to describe Miranda.

Anyway, Irv’s speech is very similar to Mark’s. Jules and Andy reflect on the power grab and their girlfriends twisting the knife. From Andy we get:

Jules’s reflection is different:

I think the change works but I feel like Andy’s POV is more uncomfortable and Jules’s sort of dulls that discomfort. And here I don’t really think that’s earned because the actions by Miranda and Vivian were exactly the same and I really don’t think Jules is any more into her girlfriend-as-a-ruthless-mastermind than Andy is. Although maybe she is, because she notes that part of her is happy to see Mark humiliated, while Andy’s just embarrassed and confused. Jules also has a moment of wishing Vivian had told her about ousting Mark.

The scene announcing Vivian and Miranda’s promotions is basically the same. The food is different (lentil soup vs eel? The chef is different. I know nothing about fancy food). It’s pretty much the same all the way through til they leave the party and Andy and Jules get to the house.

Actually the whole thing is pretty similar. Once Andy and Jules get to the house, Miranda and Vivian are on them and they go upstairs. There’s a couple of lines about the twins not being home (which Andy notes is good, because Cassidy would probably find this sort of yelling upsetting too). Miranda and Vivian call their girlfriends “beautiful, like a rose.” Miranda because Andy’s in red, but Vivian says “petals and thorns, I want them both,” which is sweet. Also Andy finds sexually-aggressive Miranda “just this side of scary” while Jules does not have this observation.

Miranda and Vivian have their girlfriends straddle their face. Both younger women note it’s only the second time to receive oral sex. I’m pretty sure the first time with Jules was offscreen?! I feel sort of cheated here, I feel like that would have been a good scene. Anyway, they keep thigh highs on, which Andy notes is kind of like the Chanel boots. I’m a sucker for dominant Miranda and I really like this scene. I think there is a typo in the novel in this scene though.

Then they sort of ruin the afterglow by waxing poetic about the hostile takeover. The fic has another callback to “Everybody wants to be us” when Miranda says “We’re going to be rich” while Jules just notes the “we.”

They both stay the night. Andy offers to keep some things of Miranda’s at her apartment after Miranda says she’s got some clothes at the house that will fit Andy. There’s also a bit earlier on when Andy (jokingly) offered to support Miranda and the girls on her salary, and there’s a call back in this scene as well. Neither of these things made it to the book. Andy once again has to sleep in the guest room while Jules uses the guest shower and then sleeps with Vivian.

There’s a bit of a difference in the final lines, as Andy and Jules think about how life is going to change with Miranda and Vivian’s new job. Andy:

While Jules:

Basically I think this is just evidence of Jules having a bit more backbone (she’s going to talk to Vivian about this) while Andy is, to use a word I just learned, a bit of a migajera. I don’t actually remember how the conversation with Vivian ends up going, so I’m looking forward to that.

Next post starts chapter six of the fic (which is the last long chapter) and we are almost halfway through Above All Things.