12gw is still fucking awesome
okay so i kinda completely shut down today and instead of doing any of the things i was supposed to do, i rewatched all of 12gw, and here’s a list of things that’s super friggin’ awesome about it:
Liv Belcik. Do I even need to elaborate?
the answer is no but i’m obviously gonna. c’mon you know me. because honestly??? liv is just one of those characters that MATTER, she’s so beautifully layered, so complex, so incredibly well written that there was no chance i wouldn’t fall in love with her, to the point of me still sometimes seeing great nature photography and thinking “yep, that’s where Liv went for her gap year.” You can bet your ass she’s out there living her best life, traveling the world, finding comfort in nature, finding happiness in herself, just. being completely fulfilled. she deserves that.
The whole ~~ gender thing. Not only was it completely awesome how Sebastian’s trans-ness was handled, in a way I had never seen before - it was talked about, but never in a way that it was a big deal, or like it was the only important thing about him. Like?? I was so damn in love with that.Â
but THEN Viola wasn’t cis either and my heart rejoiced and it meant so fucking much to me because I could relate to that whole narrative so much. bless
the small details. like the fact that Viola and Sebastian’s mums were called Hermia and Helena? And the vanilla bean frappuccino. and drew and oren badly rapping hamilton. or vic and curt sharing banana splits.Â
Vic Caius in general. Like. Vic/Foster was a thing for like .05 seconds but DUDE i loved it. A totally straight seeming dudebro like character suddenly falling hard for a cocky nb trans character?? LOVE IT. Gotta admit I just reread my own fic on that pairing (because it was the only one i could find) and it was great. Vic Caius, everybody. Flustered, socially awkward barely-functioning gay Vic Caius. But also, extreme mum friend Vic Caius, who has his shit together because no one around him does. A good bean.
Anthoren. Like. Remember those good old days when this ship came out of nowhere (*cough* @pansexual-link-larkin *cough*) and blessed us for a couple weeks? for no real reason other than Anthony once broke Oren’s leg and this was apparently code for “He Was Dealing With Shit And We Unlocked His Tragic Backstory” aka. “Actually They Were In Love And Nothing Was Tragic At All”. Like. It was good. Was there prom fic? I think there was prom fic. In my head, I can see them slow dancing in tuxes, and Anthony hiding his face in Oren’s neck, even though Oren is much shorter than him, and smiling against Oren’s collar bone. I know it never was, but oh, what it could have been…
the translation from original to webseries. I mean, you can pretty much trace the scenes that were taken out of the original Shakespeare, and sometimes, it borders on awkward, but then you just decide to fuck that and fully embrace it. the conversation between sam/vi and foster about the church? iconique. the scene where Drew talks to Tammi and Maria on the phone and Tammi keeps on messing with him? Honestly, just proves more how beautiful and pure my boy Andrew Aguecheek is. Embrace the camp.
Oh, speaking of Drew. Just. Yeah. Drew. I have so much love. Watching the whole thing in one go instead of week for week, I noticed so much more how much I wronged him in the beginning for not paying too much attention to him. Like, taking a picture of one particular flower every single day? my boy is thoughtful, attentive, deep, AND sweet. rocking a white shirt in “If/Then” just as much as his Broadway shirt. And remember his curly hair in the episode where he talks about his dog?? Pure. Wholesome. 10/10 would cuddle.Â
the fact that not one of these characters is perfect, and no one has to be. they’re never held to any incredibly high standards, they’re just all humans, but also, they get called out for their bullshit. Vic sorts Foster out about giving Malcolm hell (even if yes, Malcolm was definitely an asshole and deserved all kinds of crap). Viola calls Oren out on his sexism. Maria can be honest about Tammi’s and Liv’s problems while still supporting both of them and loving them. Vic owns up about kinda leading Foster on. Oren admits that he’s been kind of a bad friend for Drew, and he apologizes. This is some A+++++ human interaction here friends.
ALL THE SHIPS. I mean. How peaceful was it that you could literally ship any ship you wanted and no one would give you shit for it?? The fandom in general was good and amazing and healing and I still love you folks dearly <3
I think I’m done now. This has been an essay about why 12gw still fills my heart with joy. thanks for coming to my ted talk
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