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Eh, vidding is not happening today which is not freaking me out because I've hit a sort of zen place about the whole thing. Instead I shall pontificate about my OT3 because I don't talk about OaT nearly enough (if you are hesitating over the defriend button so as not to hurt my feelings, it is okay! Go ahead, I understand how obnoxious I'm being about my new love).
Anyway, my OT3 has commitment issues.
Right, massive commitment issues. Well, not Victor...Vic just wants to settle down and be domestic so badly, and that way lies Bad Relationship Decisions that end in getting scammed and/or attacked by the mob. Poor Victor. *pets him* It's hard being Victor. Especially when both your girlfriend and your boyfriend might be fiercely loyal, but run screaming in a cold sweat panic at the idea of settling down. Except that one time Mac almost got married, but we all know he would have been ready to jump out a window within two weeks even if his almost wife didn't turn out to be masterminding the sale of nuclear bomb making materials.
Going all the way back to the pilot, one of the reasons Mac's flaily dodging of declarations of love or commitment to Li Ann do not bother me is that they don't actually bother her. On the contrary, she seems to find it not only a great source of amusement, but a prime way of fucking with him. 'Cause she is essentially the same. I kind of love the episode where they have to pretend to be married because it's just commitment issues ON PARADE on both of their parts. You've got Mac devolving into a stressed out pile of anxious jealousy...and he doesn't like it, kinda like that moment when he sees himself reflected in Michael's obsession with Li Ann and is all 'wait a minute, I DON'T WANT TO BE THAT' An actual explicitly committed relationship is more likely to provoke a panic attack in Mac than anything else.
And...the same is true for Li Ann. I love that her whole freakout in that situation is revealed to not be about Mac at all. Because, why would it be? She's already made a decision not to be with him so it's not a trial run of anything with him. Not to mention she knows him so freaking well that his Issues On Display wouldn't exactly be a shocker, and are part of the reason she's so adamant about moving on from him in the first place. Nope, it's contemplating being settled down at all that's got her feeling trapped and suffocated and dropping poor Victor at the end. What is sort of hilarious to me is that Mac was actually counting on that in his repeated insistence that she wouldn't marry Victor, because he knows her...and yet it didn't even occur to him until then that not only would it also apply to him, but that he had the same issues, which is why they ever worked in the first place.
It is a bit of a paradox, because like I said at the beginning...they are both excellent at being fiercely loyal and devoted, and neither functions well without a stable relationship structure to rely on. You just kind of...have to go at it sideways with them? Allow for the illusion that it isn't that kind of commitment and they're all in (with each other and with Victor). Make it explicit or draw attention to it? Bring out the paper bags for hyperventilation.
And this is where I once again feel very sorry for Victor. Who is pretty straightforward about these things, and is the exact opposite in that he needs reassurance and explicit acknowledgement. And you can tell how confused he is by the whole thing, because if you love someone and you want to stay with them, WHAT IS THE PROBLEM. If they like it they should put a ring on it, okay. He just really needs to get to the point where he figures it out and is like 'Suuuuuuuure, no relationship here! Nope, not married at all. You two can walk away any time you want, and even though you never will, I'll be the bigger person and refrain from pointing that out. Freaks.'
Anyway, my OT3 has commitment issues.
Right, massive commitment issues. Well, not Victor...Vic just wants to settle down and be domestic so badly, and that way lies Bad Relationship Decisions that end in getting scammed and/or attacked by the mob. Poor Victor. *pets him* It's hard being Victor. Especially when both your girlfriend and your boyfriend might be fiercely loyal, but run screaming in a cold sweat panic at the idea of settling down. Except that one time Mac almost got married, but we all know he would have been ready to jump out a window within two weeks even if his almost wife didn't turn out to be masterminding the sale of nuclear bomb making materials.
Going all the way back to the pilot, one of the reasons Mac's flaily dodging of declarations of love or commitment to Li Ann do not bother me is that they don't actually bother her. On the contrary, she seems to find it not only a great source of amusement, but a prime way of fucking with him. 'Cause she is essentially the same. I kind of love the episode where they have to pretend to be married because it's just commitment issues ON PARADE on both of their parts. You've got Mac devolving into a stressed out pile of anxious jealousy...and he doesn't like it, kinda like that moment when he sees himself reflected in Michael's obsession with Li Ann and is all 'wait a minute, I DON'T WANT TO BE THAT' An actual explicitly committed relationship is more likely to provoke a panic attack in Mac than anything else.
And...the same is true for Li Ann. I love that her whole freakout in that situation is revealed to not be about Mac at all. Because, why would it be? She's already made a decision not to be with him so it's not a trial run of anything with him. Not to mention she knows him so freaking well that his Issues On Display wouldn't exactly be a shocker, and are part of the reason she's so adamant about moving on from him in the first place. Nope, it's contemplating being settled down at all that's got her feeling trapped and suffocated and dropping poor Victor at the end. What is sort of hilarious to me is that Mac was actually counting on that in his repeated insistence that she wouldn't marry Victor, because he knows her...and yet it didn't even occur to him until then that not only would it also apply to him, but that he had the same issues, which is why they ever worked in the first place.
It is a bit of a paradox, because like I said at the beginning...they are both excellent at being fiercely loyal and devoted, and neither functions well without a stable relationship structure to rely on. You just kind of...have to go at it sideways with them? Allow for the illusion that it isn't that kind of commitment and they're all in (with each other and with Victor). Make it explicit or draw attention to it? Bring out the paper bags for hyperventilation.
And this is where I once again feel very sorry for Victor. Who is pretty straightforward about these things, and is the exact opposite in that he needs reassurance and explicit acknowledgement. And you can tell how confused he is by the whole thing, because if you love someone and you want to stay with them, WHAT IS THE PROBLEM. If they like it they should put a ring on it, okay. He just really needs to get to the point where he figures it out and is like 'Suuuuuuuure, no relationship here! Nope, not married at all. You two can walk away any time you want, and even though you never will, I'll be the bigger person and refrain from pointing that out. Freaks.'