Life With Derek - Tumblr Posts
"I'm Stuck In The 90's And Early 2000's" (Part 2)
Gotta include TV Shows. They were awesome (still are)!
Dasey is the only thing that makes any sense
I will never be fully convinced that Dasey wasn’t planned from the start because Derek and Casey’s characters are very clearly written to only work with each other.
Casey is never satisfied with the way her boyfriends treat her, because she’s always conflicted between her feminist and traditionalist ideals. Sam was respectful, but too passive for her to feel secure in the relationship. Max was less passive, but also less respectful. He expected her to play the subordinate role, and for her life to be less important than his, and she went along with it for awhile, but ultimately she couldn’t stand it. Truman won points by being the only one of the three to actively pursue her, and also by challenging her and being openly impressed when she rose to said challenge. But he only respected her as an opponent, and once she stopped fighting him, he went right back to being a disrespectful jackass.
On top of that, none of them were ever able to match her intensity. They all genuinely liked her in their own ways, but they were never going to be as invested as she was, because they just weren’t capable of it.
Derek’s problem with Kendra was kind of the reverse of Casey’s problem with Truman. She captured his interest very intensely in the beginning, but once the novelty wore off, he was over it.
His problems with Sally were kind of a combination of Casey’s problems with Sam and Max. Derek liked and respected Sally’s independence and level headedness, but was ultimately frustrated and insecure in the relationship because she was so independent and level headed that he didn’t feel needed or like his feelings were fully reciprocated. And then he got his heart broken because Sally wasn’t as invested as he was.
So, who does Casey know who is assertive enough to make her feel wanted and secure, respectful enough to see her as an equal, challenging enough to keep her interested, and with enough depth to not get bored once the chase is over?
And who does Derek know who demands his respect and refuses to put up with his crap while still relying on and prioritizing him? Who does he know who can keep his interest and reciprocate it with an equal level of intensity? Who challenges him to grow and be a better, kinder person without turning him into a different person entirely?
Exactly.
Dasey is the only thing that makes any sense
I will never be fully convinced that Dasey wasn’t planned from the start because Derek and Casey’s characters are very clearly written to only work with each other.
Casey is never satisfied with the way her boyfriends treat her, because she’s always conflicted between her feminist and traditionalist ideals. Sam was respectful, but too passive for her to feel secure in the relationship. Max was less passive, but also less respectful. He expected her to play the subordinate role, and for her life to be less important than his, and she went along with it for awhile, but ultimately she couldn’t stand it. Truman won points by being the only one of the three to actively pursue her, and also by challenging her and being openly impressed when she rose to said challenge. But he only respected her as an opponent, and once she stopped fighting him, he went right back to being a disrespectful jackass.
On top of that, none of them were ever able to match her intensity. They all genuinely liked her in their own ways, but they were never going to be as invested as she was, because they just weren’t capable of it.
Derek’s problem with Kendra was kind of the reverse of Casey’s problem with Truman. She captured his interest very intensely in the beginning, but once the novelty wore off, he was over it.
His problems with Sally were kind of a combination of Casey’s problems with Sam and Max. Derek liked and respected Sally’s independence and level headedness, but was ultimately frustrated and insecure in the relationship because she was so independent and level headed that he didn’t feel needed or like his feelings were fully reciprocated. And then he got his heart broken because Sally wasn’t as invested as he was.
So, who does Casey know who is assertive enough to make her feel wanted and secure, respectful enough to see her as an equal, challenging enough to keep her interested, and with enough depth to not get bored once the chase is over?
And who does Derek know who demands his respect and refuses to put up with his crap while still relying on and prioritizing him? Who does he know who can keep his interest and reciprocate it with an equal level of intensity? Who challenges him to grow and be a better, kinder person without turning him into a different person entirely?
Exactly.
I have a head canon that Felicia has been Concerned about Derek and Casey’s relationship for like a year and a half before the movie because she saw them on Dance Mania.
And maybe she tried to drop hints to Nora about it over the phone but Nora didn’t pick up on it (because she and George have taken ‘willfully oblivious’ to an entirely new level when it comes to their eldest children) and Felicia figured it was probably nothing. Casey is a good, smart girl. Surely she wouldn’t…
But then they actually arrive at her lodge and she only has to watch them interact for about .2 seconds before all her fears are thoroughly confirmed and she kind of wants to start screaming or banging her head against a wall or just murder Derek right there. Maybe Edwin too. Whatever it takes to stop the Venturi line from corrupting any more of her descendants.
But by the end of the movie she’s not only rooting for them, she’s semi-gleefully waiting for George and Nora to figure it out because yes she’s happy for them now and she regrets her behavior but she is still a stubborn, petty old woman and turnabout is oh so sweet.
And when Nora calls in a panic a year or two later Felicia is ready. She totally ignores the tone and acts like Nora has called to share this good news with her. And when Nora manages to stop sputtering (because this is her prim and almost intolerably proper mother and what the hell is going on is she being punked has the world gone completely mad?!) and makes it clear that she is not happy about this, Felicia plays at surprise. Why ever not? If they’re happy…
But they’re stepsiblings! They’re complete opposites! This is a terrible idea and it’s going to blow up in all our faces!
And Felicia is just like “Oh Nora you don’t want to be judgemental do you, you really should be more supportive.” but mentally she’s planning a wedding speech that will be both a heartfelt congratulations and a very satisfying ‘ha ha, I win’.
If the Venturi boys were on their own for awhile (and George was capable of noticing... anything, ever)
What if the McDonald girls had to leave for a few days for Reasons, and the Venturis couldn’t come, also for Reasons, and it was just the Venturi boys and Marti in the house again? Or maybe the McDonalds took Marti with them to make it into a kind of girl’s weekend and it’s just the boys by themselves.
The first day is great. Junk food for every meal, feet on the furniture, nothing but sports and violent action movies on the tv.
The second day is… less great. George missed Nora all last night, which is to be expected, but then the boys are a little subdued too and that’s… a little weird, actually. They’re going through the motions of testosterone fueled anarchy, but their hearts just don’t seem to be in it.
The third day is when it becomes evident that Something Is Off, because George feels restless and unmoored and a little bit mopey, and the boys are acting… restless and unmoored and a little bit mopey. And that’s weird, because, while George misses his daughter and his step daughters too, he mostly misses his wife. His life partner. The person he talks to about everything and spends the vast majority of his free time with.
And then he thinks about the way Lizzie is always nagging Edwin to eat healthier, and how she’s the first person Edwin goes to with all his weird little schemes, and how the two are all but joined at the hip despite not actually sharing any of the same hobbies.
And he thinks about how Derek and Casey are always touching, and how they planned each other’s sixteenth birthday parties, and how, despite claiming to hate each other, they always choose to sit right next to each other. He thinks about how they always seem to end up on the same side, and how they sometimes have entire conversations just through facial expressions, and how they’re able to talk each other into the most ridiculous things.
And then it’s like, oh.
Oh.
Oh no.