Since you're in law school, here's a legal question for you about Wriggle Up on Dry Land: what's the legal process for removing a minor from their parent's custody in a situation like Jamie's? Would Ted be eligible to become his legal guardian given that he's not a British citizen and is presumably in the country on some sort of short-term work visa?

ordinarily i might just handwave this sorta thing but being as my profession and education is what it is i have done. A Lot of research about this yeah and the short answer is it’s a subplot in the fic when they realize uh oh we might have some citizenship and legality issues here and they gotta have a kind of war meeting with the responsible adults ted has sort of amassed to help him figure out wtf to DO here and some lawyers rebecca knows.

details on how that’s handled and how it plays out under the cut for length and in case anyone cares abt spoilers!

the solution is 1. roy is like fuck it what the fuck are we even talking about if we need someone with citizenship for this ill fucking take him and doesn’t even realize what he’s volunteering for until after he has volunteered for it. he does maintain he means it tho.

but that doesn’t end up being necessary because 2. what they work out with the hospital social worker and doctors and whatnot who are managing the situation when things with jamie really break bad is that he’s sixteen at that point and the law in the uk around when you can simply Leave your parents’ home (or be kicked out) is different than in several other jurisdictions (including the predominant law in the us and canada). the benchmark for that is sixteen. and so while he’d be eligible for a lot of help and programmes and whatnot it’s also possible to work out a sort of like. informal arrangement where the priority of every professional involved, whether this is technically to the letter protocol, is that given his age and circumstances he ends up in the most safe and supportive environment possible and that’s in this informal arrangement with this person they’ve determined wasn’t responsible for his injuries and who clearly cares for him very much and who he insists he wants to go with.

(there’s probably gonna be some technical inaccuracies here and fudging of how this process works and i beg the patience of uk lawyers, social workers, doctors, etc in the process but as best as i can tell the whole resolution here is like. within the realm of possibility.)

also it means that james isn’t going to be criminally prosecuted. this is a Conversation that is held between everyone involved with jamie’s wishes and what will best protect his safety taken at the highest priority. hope that’s not going to be a like. bummer to anyone, since i know hoping he sees Consequences is probably a major priority for a lot of people lmao, but suffice it to say there are some consequences for damn sure even though i didnt want to take the narrative in the direction of detailing a full criminal trial for child abuse. (bc knowing me i would’ve gone IN on it. one day im gonna write a bunch of like. legalfic for various fandoms mark my words. the same story sort of is one in a way already lmao)

THE GREAT ND REWATCH OF 2021 / SEPTEMBER 28-29, 2019 // the bonny scot

posting this a day later than normal because this is one of the rare episodes that shows a passage of time from one day to the next yayy love that for them

-wonder what filming these beginning sexy scenes is like for them in real life

-sooooo can lucy see nancys sexy dream? is she judging? does this mean she likes nancy with owen or nick more? or is she trying to tell nancy that her sex dreams are irrelevant to the mystery at hand and she needs to focus?

-seeing people in the ✨prison chair✨: gomber, carson, karen (voting for josh s3 just saying)

-completely ignores carson's question about herself typical nance

-"or maybe i did stumble across a knife" its like hes trying to make the case against him look plausible while attempting to maintain innocence. this is a slippery slope for carson to try and encourage her to keep her pacified + hide the truth while also trying to keep her from getting involved bc hudsons

-"genetics gets you in the door" aaaaand then she walks in to everetts office to meet him and crashes their family dinner

-ok who tf is dawn and why is she in charge here

-this guidance counselor of nicks is my favorite person

-"i admire your allergy to pleasantries" bess and nancy both have reveals to big families but nancy does not have the graceful, accepting reveal to her rich family like bess does at this lunch. nancys reveal is messy, cold, bloodstained and sticky-fingered, not nice in any way whatsoever. and this little chat with everett (bit of a parallel to lucy's) just highlights how nancy is always bad at bargaining with her grandparents*- always trying to fight on their level but giving up her equal hand bc she doesnt know how to hide it when they bring up something she doesnt know. like confronting celia at the masque: she was so confident with her theory and what she knew, but then we got a "what does that mean?" like. the instant you say that, you lose. and she walked right into the "yes i do have someone, hes in jail" 🤦🏼‍♀️ even in the car with ryan at the end of s1, he literally just fucking leaves her there. like 🤷🏼‍♀️ what did u think was gonna happen sis?? for all she can predict how past things lead to present circumstances shes fucking awful at seeing the direct future *(grandparents except for patrice bc her dementia makes her inaccessable)

-lmaooooo this awko ass portrait...i get the empty space is for nance but who on earth thought this was a good pic??

-LISBETH 🥺💙

-"will u help the claw for me?" george struggles financially to keep her livelihood while nancy is somehow shown as being taken care of even when her parent is incarcerated; both nancy and george live in single parent homes now with mention of both medical debt and george being breadwinner yet nancy has no struggles while george does. (i wonder if ryan had been able to help george here how the story would have changed)

-"when it comes to following people around without their knowledge or consent i am somewhat of a repeat offender" 😂😂😂

-"he wasnt endgame after all" BESS lmaoooo

-"...okay." lmaoooo i fuckin love owen

-i was hoping the girls' faces would be more shocked like with a glance to owen but they just....werent

-"we're the good guys" <---- this statement is soooo interesting in terms of how they structure the show and how the characters see themselves (its an interesting contrast with the more definitive good vs evil with things that are both clearly good and clearly evil but theres also a lot of moral grey area here, the show is kinda swamped in it. are nancy and crew the good guys? are they the bad guys in someone else's story? concerns.)

-"i'd call it more than just stuff" like why did u concede that??? and then the shit about oof that didnt sound like a compliment lmaoooooo why does she suck at arguing?? she and owen wouldnt work long term bc theyre so similar (as mentioned later on)

-i LOVE george slowly falling in love with nick here- hence how upset she gets when nick bails on her for nancy later (which is totally justified!!!)

-i am LIVING for the little nod this driver guy gives bess when she turns back around all nervous 😂

-"i do like buying things" i would so say that too tbh

-"you'd have plenty to talk about" LMFAOOOOOOO SHE KNOWS "marvins dont marry drivers" so diana is totally fine with the gay its just the poor she has a problem with 😂💙fuckin love that

-love how nancy just casually ruins everything for nick/george lmaooo

-"i have seen you at your best, nancy, and there is nothing like it." 🥴😳 i love this still-in-love look nancy gives him thats so strong he had to change the subject

-so is haunting time 11 pm? from that clock of bashiir's?

-how do NO neighbors notice this fucking water and shit

-these are TOTALLY AWFUL fake screams from the bonny scot crew 😭

-"i know well enough not to get involved when he's in play" both carson and ryan avoid engaging with everett even though nancy is willing to do so armed with less info and more balls/ but "could i trust him" and ryan says yes lmaooooo NO honey + that makes ryan 0/2 for helping the girls when they ask this ep

-"find a project of your own" and he does, with his youth center 🙏🏻💙 what s2 foreshadowing!

-"god i wish i still drank" 😂😂😂

-"she is darling." 💙👌🏻

-okay wtf is mirror bay??

-i really wonder about the extent of celia x sebastians relationship here. did she truly care about him or was it just secret and exciting sex? also would love more hints of diana vs celia moments like these. celia doesnt even look upset. i mean shes had time to deal but like wtf. and who exactly is sebastian to diana? not her husband? like damn what if he was. somehow i doubt she'd talk about him diddling celia if diana was disrespected also

-i wonder if celia being so invested in dna testing nancy was bc everrett dna tested ryan to make sure he was his bc of sebastian / other men (which would be totally valid on his part!! but wouldnt it be funny as fuck if ryan wasnt his 😂)

-what a neat hiding place in this frame lmaooo who put that in for them tho? like how do u go about ordering that

-"you certainly are your fathers daughter" this quote is doubly ironic and foreshadowy bc theyre referencing carson here as being a useful hudson attaché but nancy is playing everett just like ryan played celia about putting his house up (but TRIPLY ironic bc carson pulls off the long con of hiding nancy from the hudsons right under their noses this whole time!) the one time nancy is successful against them

-that bess/lisbeth look while lisbeth does something badass (+diana reassessing now that lisbeth has been revealed to be useful)

-"almost as fun as a real fight" why do i believe him? lmaoooo a bit weird that he would enjoy a fight w a partner, but i also think this is an acknowledgement of nancy being an "opponent" who exists at his level. but i also love the "let me take you out" as a direct mirror of her relationship with nick, where she avoids the public acknowledgment/"going out" but prefers the more subtle/hidden arrangements of staying in. but as shown with later eps, owen is way more capable of meeting nancy where shes at, which is so important to her + the only way of getting close to nancy. (the only foil is ace who somehow is able to do both)

-"not always about a guy" <---- this could have been such a powerful statement if the show had thought having nancy end up alone/choose herself instead of pitting her between love interests (nick, owen, gil, even potentially ace, in only 2 seasons) was a more worthy stance to take ; as an aro/ace person i cant tell you how much i would kill to see just one female protag choose herself over a man. and its more realistic to end up alone than have a happy ending anyway, for all that these shows try to be as "real" and gritty grimdark as possible

-"is that what you want?" this is an interesting question to his mother- like maybe he senses her unhappiness? combined with his issues with his father- still trying to look out for his mom? either way it's sweet. (it could also potentially work as foreshadowing of something happening to her, but i think that was played with but then diverted when it was revealed who really killed her) "i think its time i steer this ship" still kind of patriarchal tho. i get that its him coming into his own as a dad technically but still. i also like how he calls her "mother" and not mom

-love that old white people thumbs up at george asking about his clams 👍🏻

-okay fuck dawn tho lmfaoooo

-"stressful dinner huh?" 😂 i fucking love lisbeth so much why didnt they bring her back (wouldnt it be Fucking Hilarious if they brought lisbeth back to bounce bess on her expired visa since the marvins kicked her out and didnt fix it lmaoooooo)

-BESS IS A TOP lmaooooooo i fuckin knew it

-nick says "you can pay me back" wonder if thats gonna come back in s3 considering their "marital problems" (also, those bonds are sosus lmfaoooo if any single person cashing those was looked at sideways they'd confess in 2 seconds that some random guy is handing out bearer bonds they dont even make anymore with absolutely zero proof as to how he got them)

-"you wanna finish what you started?" 👀 (dont mind if i do)

-"i need my dad back" parallels s2 when she asks him to come home

-parent politics: "you are taking your life in your hands / no, i'm putting it in yours" vs "i know well enough not to get involved when hes in play" both carson and ryan try to dissuade nancy from pursuing her pulling this con on everett but go about it different ways: carson is wildly concerned with nancys physical wellbeing but ryan appears to be leaning more towards weighing the odds for her/ like a "you cant win so cut your losses/dont try" scenario which interestingly might have more weight with nancy; its easy for her to brush aside carson's worrying like second nature but nancy has been established to be a determined winner, and ryan speaks to her here like shes a beginners luck prodigy at a blackjack table by encouraging her to keep her record clean by not dealing in this next round. of course she herself admits shes incapable of not dealing in ie "you know me better than that" but i have lots more thoughts on how effective ryans approaches to nancy can be sometimes (saving for the reveal ep 🙏🏻)

-wonder what all carson knows about the hudsons? + that look on his face when he hangs up... wonder if he was just lying to her about knowing anything or just ashamed at having to admit bad things hes done for them

-love nick & bashiir waiting together 🙏🏻💙+ nicks very strong and pointed "good night" as a means of ending his convo w nancy on his terms (gotta reinforce those boundaries man!)

and lastly

-celia + that gossip girl moment when she just throws the whole phone away 😂(wonder if she was just talking to "gus" or whoever that guy was. keep forgetting the bobbseys' dad is in prison too, wonder if he'll feature in s3)

Awkward word vomit alert. Had to get this out of my chest.

Things have been weird lately at work and I kind of wanted to write about it somewhere so here goes nothing. I’m not easily impressionable and/or impressed. I don’t blush around senior people and managers. I’m kind of confident and relaxed on the job and it kind of got me where I am today. A recruiter once told me that with my personality, I could get any job I wanted as long as I got to meet the person face to face. It was kind of flattering and kind of scary because I happen to have skills as well, very technical skills. But anyways. I didn’t want to be reduced to a girl who giggles in interviews. So I start my job knowing that I could be working anywhere. And nobody really intimidates me except for this one manager who isn’t even on my team. He was kind of a legend and everyone kind of feared him. I wasn’t sure I feared him because he always smiled at me in a goofy way, almost. And after a little while I realized that I simply admired him and his intellect and his control. In meetings, he was ruthless and relentless and simply brilliant, and it took me so much self-control not to bring both hands to my face and swoon. Intellect does it for me. It always has. And the thing about me is that I always want to be the best and rarely look up to anyone cause I’m a condescending bitch. But this man. This man I look up to. The way he’s so quiet and observant and could command the room without bullshitting his way there or raising his voice at all. He barely networks too, and never tries to kiss anyone’s ass which I find remarkable especially in my domain and workplace where everyone is just trying to be liked by everyone. I can’t for the life of me pretend to be someone I’m not for the sake of pleasing senior management. A girl who started around the same time as me does it all the time. And I can’t. She’s competent and really great at her job but she irks me so damn much, always trying to step on my toes but with a smile on her face. This man didn’t seem to be phased by her bullshit though. He liked me and my work ethic better even if I showed up in jeans and with bags under my eyes every day. Anyways. So this man ends up on one of my projects and it makes me nervous and I’m never nervous. I don’t want to disappoint him and I don’t want to be roasted by him. So I’m nervous. Someone stops by my desk to tell me that he was impressed by my work ethic and I blush like an idiot. Again, compliment my intellect and I’m gone. I’m a vain validation seeking idiot like that. So anyways, he’s in my meetings and he never roasts me. And later on when I’m relaxed enough around him, I joke about it and ask why. He answers that there’s nothing to roast. That my work is impeccable and that I make more sense than 99% of the floor. I blush again and I blabber and I’m a mess and I feel inadequate so I leave. Now don’t get me wrong. I am not attracted to this man. I am not in love with him. I’m in love with the me he thinks I am. And it’s too much. He’s married and he has kids and i barely walk by his office anymore. It’s too weird. I get called to an office one day with him and my actual boss, and I’m worried for a second that they found my ao3 account and finally figured out why I look like a zombie in the morning. They didn’t. There’s this big project everyone’s fighting over across our floor and it’s mine now. I can’t really believe it, but it’s true. They’re trusting a newbie with this big thing and my ego is about to burst. I’m so unbelievably happy and humbled. He stops by my desk and tells me that people will hate me for landing the project but that I shouldn’t let it get to me. “You deserve this.” He says. And I blush. Then I get to work. And he’s right. People hate me a little bit. The girl who started around me smiles wider at me, and it’s so fucking weird. I can tell that she hates me and I kind of like it. A week later, we’re at a happy hour event and he’s a bit drunk, his cheeks flushed. I’m dying inside. He tells me that he’s my biggest fan and that I remind him of himself. “You’re not full of shit. You’re smart. Your brain is structured like mine.” I’m half in love with his brain, so this is the highest compliment. I can’t even breathe. Trump happens and I have issues with my visa and this man and my boss go out of their way to make sure I keep my job and stay in the country. And honestly I've never felt so valued in my life. This is it. Anyways. Things are good and I start talking about this man to people around me. My friends, my parents, yada yada. My dad is shocked that I’m looking up to a man because he thinks feminists want to burn all men, and my mom is trying to figure out if I’m in love which is fucking stupid but anyways. A few weeks later, he quits and I’m devastated. He’s leaving in three months though for a smooth transition. He’s too vital. What the fuck, I almost yell in the middle of the team announcements. You know. He’s my mentor. He’s my biggest cheerleader. What am I gonna do without him here? He’s the only person I relate to here. I decide to stop being a child and go see him in his office the next day to congratulate him on his new job. He tells me he doesn’t have one. He’ll figure it out later. He just wants to take some time off to hang out with his kids and his wife more. My ovaries do a thing. It’s adorable. My dad never took time off from work to hang out with me. I almost have heart eyes. I really admire this man. Whatever. We chat a bit about or projects then he tells me that he’ll miss working with me and that I’m Incredible. I die again. Inside mostly because I have an amazing poker face. But I die nonetheless. This is the closest to infatuation I’ve been in ages. It feels so damn good. He says he’s my biggest fan, that I’ll have a long and successful career, and that he’ll keep checking in on me. It’s all just so good for my ego and stuff. I don’t even know how to explain it. But i almost feel my self-esteem getting boosted. Anyways, i leave his office with a grin and a blush high up my cheeks. I’m his biggest fan, too, I joke. But it’s not a joke.

The next day I find out he’s actually getting fired and that he’s not quitting. He slept with the girl who started around the same time I did. The one who wears heels and designer dresses and who asked me why I dress up like a lesbian on my first month, and then why i dress up like i’m going to a funeral the following ones. I hated her, but my empathetic pathetic self always rooted for her. I don’t know. I have a thing for female characters with complex bitchy personalities. Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Yada yada. But she’s not a character. She’s a real person who slept with my favorite person in the world. My biggest fan. My self-esteem booster.

I’m honestly fucking crushed. I don’t even know how to react. I’m supposed to keep this to myself and not act differently towards either of them. And I do. I follow rules and instructions like that. I’m nice and dumb like that. But deep down, I’m crushed and feeling betrayed and it kind of sucks. Because I’m questioning every single thing now. It’s awful. Did he ever mean what he said to me? I mean he lied to my face about wanting to spend time with his wife and kids. So probably. Did he just want to get in my pants too? Probably not. I rarely dress up like a “lady”. I’m always in sneakers, always exhausted. I’m not skinny. I don’t have perfect long legs. I’m like 5 feet tall. Anyways. My self-esteem takes a hit and i feel like shit for caring about this when i could be caring about other things. I almost hate myself because it sounds like I’m jealous of her, like I wanted him to see me like that. I didn’t. I don’t. I’m confused and I space out at work. I don’t even know how I feel anymore and I’m distracted and jittery. I no longer think I’m a boss ass bitch. I’m just kind of sad and I feel betrayed and down, down, down.

Then I hear about how this isn’t the first time this has happened. About how 3 people filed sexual harassment reports against him. I’m dumbfounded. My jaw is on the floor. I can’t believe it. My skin is crawling. I want to cry. The man I looked up to. The man I related to. Did she file a report? No. she denied it apparently. Some people think she’s in love with him. I want to disappear.

People start talking shit about her, calling her names when she’s not around and when alcohol is involved. And I step up, defending her like my life depends on it. If there’s one thing I hate, it’s when dudes gather around and call some girl a “whore”. I hate it. And I’m right there. Dammit. I start feeling bad for her. Everything crumbles around her and I start hating him with all my heart. She’s not getting fired because she was wasted and it all happened in the office and someone else reported it. My heart breaks for her but she insists that nothing happened.

Most people at the company are convinced she seduced him and that she wanted it. She has a reputation throwing herself on men quite literally whenever she drank. I personally had to snatch her away from a few and carry her to her apartment once. Alcohol is not her friend but she just wants affection. I can tell. She curled around me in an uber once, completely trashed, her cheek on my bare shoulder, and I felt something. I hate myself. Anyways, she must be feeling the control slip away from her, because she makes sure to make little passive aggressive comments to me every day. Something about me being overworked and how she’s worried they’re making me inefficient. Something about me drinking Coke at lunch and how it’s not healthy. Something about how I lost weight. “Are you exercising?” Fuck. I loathe her. But I also love her and I want to protect her. I don’t understand my brain.

The Weinstein story breaks and I’m in my feelings all week. I read all testimonies and my heart is in my throat. It kills me in ways I didn’t know I could still be killed. I take a day off from work. I’ve never taken a day off from work.

He finds me in the pantry one morning and asks me why I don’t talk to him anymore. I shudder. My body just does this thing. It’s funny, but I fear him now. Like actually fear him. He’s terrifying to me now. Because I was half in love with him. And he’s the kind of person who will abuse you and you won’t even know it. He can convince you that you wanted it because he’s charming and smart and actually attractive. I hate him. I can’t look into his eyes. He notices. “You know,” is all he says. I nod and he leaves and that’s it.

I don’t think he’s a monster but maybe he is. Who knows. I’ve been doubting myself for weeks now because I realized I got all the validation I actually valued through him. And this has never happened to me before. Doubting myself like this. I realized that this man actually managed to break my self-esteem and to make dependent on his praise and validation. Like a dog. He had me on a leash. But I’m getting over it. I earned every bit of praise I got. I know it.

It’s funny how people never stop surprising you. I thought I could read people pretty well and I’m mostly right because I observe and listen. But this man was the first man I allowed myself to idolize, to put on a pedestal so to speak. My experiences with men have always been jarring in a way, and all of this made me realize that I’ve been projecting internalized misogyny. I wore sneakers and jeans to work not necessarily because I feel more comfortable in them, but because i somehow convinced myself that it made me superior to the girls who wore tight dresses and heels. Because I somehow convinced myself that I would get more respect this way and that I wouldn’t be sexualized and objectified. Goddammit. fuck me honestly. I was so shocked when I realized how backwards my thinking was. I love wearing tight dresses and heels. I fucking love it. I was just too busy blaming myself and justifying powerful men’s disgusting behavior. I was justifying sexual harassment and assault. Me! Someone who’s had a front row seat to the evils of human nature! What the hell.

I’m typing this cross-legged in my favorite black dress and my favorite pair of heels. I don’t dress like this all the time because sometimes I just wanna be in jeans. I’m working with the girl I both hate and love on something we have to deliver soon. She keeps rambling in her high pitched voice and I hate it. She’s trying very hard to convince me that she’s had a wonderful day. And although I know it’s a lie, I smile at her and pretend to be listening. I see the pain in her eyes. I really do. And i wonder what the hell she’s still doing here when everyone’s judging her so hard. I admire her, kinda. I don’t know. I both hate and love her.

She will never be my friend but I almost want to be hers. Because she might not realize it yet, but she’s been used and abused. And I want to be there for her when she realizes that if she ever does.

This word vomit started out like a love story gone wrong but it’s not. It’s a love story gone right. I’m no longer in love with the me he thought I was. I’m just in love with the me I know I can be. And you should be, too. People say I’m too naive and empathetic and that I haven’t seen enough “dark shit”. But i have. Oh god I have. My heart was torn right out of my chest and I’ve been so hurt, so incredibly hurt and abused. But I don’t want it to be my story. Sometimes “dark shit” just makes you kinder.

This isn’t my #MeToo story but I still wanted to get it out of my chest.

So yeah. Me, too. And her, too. And you, too. Stay strong, my darling 💛