One of my favourite comments
“the way this completely rewired my soul… i will never recover oh my god first off: i read the description and yes they are so tragic oh my god. the tragedy is. so strong. with these two. and how derek has to learn that no, in fact, pulling pig tails does not get what he wants and he grows as a person — — not for casey, not even for marti (well maybe a little for marti; i headcanon that part of why he grew up and stopped being an ass is because he didn’t wnat marti to think it was normal in a relationshp) but for himself, because he didn’t love who he was. while casey is slowly learning that she can trust him. that derek won’t hurt her anymore. that she went through something so magnificently cursed because once she starts realizing she can fall it’s too late. they’ve established a familial relationship because the universe has a cruel sense of humor and they can’t be together. so she says “same difference” and they both look like they’re dying inside because they are. and then they meet up again in the movie and derek is suddenly the good guy: he’s grown up a lot. he’s this guy that actually wouldn’t be awful to live with because he’s an adult (well, somewhat. he can’t pack a suitcase.) and he’s better than her husband. and isn’t that a thought, that derek venturi, the guy who ruined her life for a couple of years, is the good guy who she can’t pretend to hate anymore because pretending is exhausting. she’ll pretend to not notice if she’s got real feelings for him and that everything that’s happened can be written off as reverting back to teenagers, but he teases her and it’s fond, it’s not cruel anymore. what the fuck is she supposed to do with that?? THE ENTIRE THING BEING LIKE IT’S ON A TV SCREEN BECAUSE THEY BOTH REMEMBER IT ALL TOO WELL OH MY GOD the transition from casey’s minor aggression while derek laughs fondly to their first scene together — — chef’s kiss. this is off topic but like. the slow mo derek walk is so weird if they weren’t trying to put them together. that is a key factor for all first meetings in hallways in teen movies. AND THEY TRY TO SAY DASEY WASN’T INTENTIONAL?? the juxtaposition of the lines about his youth with derek slowly (against his will) feeling things for casey is perfection “you told me about your past, thinking your future was me” with him telling cory to tell everyone they’re stepsiblings and looking in love with casey…. i went feral and i need you to know that. “i forget about you long enough to forget why i needed to.” WITH HER BABE RAIDER OUTFIT AND DEREK’S EXISTENTIAL CRISIS OH MY GOD. lives were changed. “you kept me like a secret but i kept you like an oath” that sums up a disturbing amount of their dynamic and is a tragedy. i love these emotionally obtuse idiots. i love to see the soccer cheating episode in absolutely anything. “maybe we got lost in translation” with derek’s worst fear at the moment being casey calling him a brother… he’s in love and semi-self aware. the writers knew what they were doing. michael seater and ashley leggat knew what they were doing. and i thank them for it. the fact that after this, while he still pranks her an ungodly amount of times, it’s softer and fonder now. “i’m in a new hell every time you double cross my mind.” yeah. that really describes season 2 derek to a t. people are asking casey out and he’s supposed to be normal about it?!?! no!! he looks like he got decked!! “and that made me want to die” yeah casey’s outrage here is so totally normal and because she hates derek. mhm. totally. “a never-needy, ever-lovely jewel” do you ever think that half the reason derek liked kendra was that she was the exact opposite of casey? throughout the course of the show, most of his flings look like casey but his only two serious-ish girlfriends (kendra and sally) are fairly opposite her. kendra’s the queen bee of the school and she’s a little ditzy but she cares so much and she’s so sweet. sally’s this older girl who can turn his life upside down in a good way, not in the way casey did, the way that makes him burn a little inside whenever he thinks of her. no, sally brings out this softness he didn’t even know he had. “you who charmed my dad with self-effacing jokes” god. derek inadvertently ruining her night with her dad makes me feel so many things because you know he just wanted to catch a glimpse of the man that helped turn casey into the keener brat princess he knows and loves and then he accidentally ruins it and calls her dad because fuck casey’s crying and now he is legally obligated to make it stop. without exposing that he cares, of course. “he watched me watch the front door all night willing you to come.” taylor wrote this song just so you could make this video fun fact. “after plaid shirt days and nights where you made me your own” casey gets so fucking soft when derek’s around marti (same girl) and i love the casual domesticity of those scenes. they could’ve had that at queens!! “cause here we are again where i loved you so” god adios is insane. casey near tears and smiling so softly at derek and marti — augh i am insane over them. “you were there.” “i’ve come to take you to prom.” god. the writers knew what they were doing. michael and ashley knew what they were doing. this is cinema. the way you parallel the scene of the fight in the original short film with derek and casey’s argument in the short film episode… i love it. that’s brilliant. and also meta as fuck when i write it down like that. there’s no music becuase look at those idiots why would they need music in the midst of what’s probably the worst fight they had? it’s like the only time i think we’ve ever seen derek genuinely mad at casey when she didn’t invade his personal life. something something derek rejecting the mcdonalds because of his unhealed divorce trauma and his feelings for casey something something. “and i was never good at telling jokes” as they’re both giggling… i think something about that healed my soul. “just between us did the love affair maim you too” yes. they broke each other and the worst part is that they didn’t even mean to, in the end. derek meant to at first, but by midway through season 2, he didn’t want to ruin her life anymore. they break each other’s hearts so many times because their relationship is so tragic. if they’d met under different circumstances, they probably would be married by now. but life dealt them an awful hand and instead they’re both unhappy with the atlantic between them “i was there” for their most intimate parts of the relationship, where they trust each other and have probably acknowledged their feelings to themselves but they’re hiding in denial. well, casey’s hiding in denial. derek’s just not discussing his emotions. “same difference.” baby if you meant that you wouldn’t look like you just got hit by a truck when you said it. and he probably wouldn’t either. sheesh she is an awful liar and somehow he’s even worse. the way the music fades out in the final scene because they’re done reminiscing for now. derek’s got to leave but he doesn’t want to this time. he ran away but he’s coming back. and isn’t that some fucked up kinda karma for both of them? now derek’s coming into casey’s house, he’s the one who left but this time he’s asking to come back. in a way it’s asking for a clean slate, to erase the twenty some-odd (i did the math and i think it’s twenty-four years in canon but i could be wrong) years of sexual tension and drama so they can just be. there’s something poetic in it.”
“this did in fact change my life. brain chemistry? rewired. will i ever have a coherent thought that is not this video? remains to be seen.
but god, these two are cursed. not necessarily in the normal way in which curses kill people, but in the way that their timing sucks and they dance around each other for twenty some odd years. they could’ve lived a life without ever meeting each other or possibly meeting at uni (though if casey wasn’t around, derek would’ve failed all of his classes and gone to spain probably to never return but i digress) or something normal, but no. instead they have to know each other intimately, better than anyone else ever has or will. casey knows what makes derek tick and uses it to her advantage. derek knows how to make casey lose her shit and how to calm her down when she’s anxious.
they are paradoxes. they are so “you taught me a secret language i can’t speak with anyone else” because they really do speak it. it’s never discussed but they have conversations exclusively in subtext. they exist in that grey area where no one gets hurt because no one has to speak about loving each other. right??
the fact that this video starts with them being catapulted back into their teenage selves while derek can cook and casey’s a little bit of a disaster… they’re full of memories. they balance each other perfectly. yin yang and other assorted things.
casey just looks so sad and anxious throughout the majority of life with luca it breaks my heart. she’s so worried the whole time because fucking peter is never home, he left an anxious keener to raise three kids by herself while working a strenuous, time consuming job and breaks his promises. and here’s derek, able to effortlessly read her and balance her out and keep his word and just support her and the kids without casey even asking, like it’s the easiest thing in the world. it’s insane. “he keeps his word, you keep his shirt” etc etc. derek being paralleled to peter as a better husband for casey may not have been intentional but it’s okay because i know what they did. we all know what they did. she perks up around derek and we see her fire slowly come back to her over the course of the film. it’s beautiful. it’s cinema.
the first chapter being derek opening a door… your mind! he is opening the door to his room, his safe place, and casey is there, with all of her fire and constant badgering and he’s opening himself up. he isn’t stopping her, even; he just rolls his eyes and checks her out before catching himself. they start with him essentially slamming the same door that he’s opened, the one that he lets casey in slowly because he (against his better judgement) can’t help loving her.
i just love emily “you’re derek’s new stepsister? you are SO lucky!” she knows. she may, in fact, be captain of the dasey ship. good for her.
“i am so not lucky at all.” then why the slow motion walk with a smirk and high five and swagger casey?? i know what you are. then why the “time slows down whenever you’re around” etc etc. like yeah he’s being a douche but she thinks he’s hot. and i think that is a beautiful little thing for the show to include.
man what the fuck was the point of derek standing so close to casey in that scene where they’re in the kitchen and she’s scheming? sir you hate her why are you next to her? i know what the writers wanted to do. they sensed the chemistry. the counter sensed the chemistry.
“i can picture it after all these days.” they really never were able to forget each other. the atlantic ocean, kids, relationships and jobs didn’t even make it happen.
him begrudgingly respecting casey and tormenting her less as season one goes on (but mainly once season two starts) is really a lovely thing because subconsciously, as he starts to respect her more (he has always seen her and treated her as an equal rival, but he’s also not the greatest at the whole normal respect thing) we see him start to be softer and i love it.
genuinely what is the point of most of episode three. it makes me go insane. derek is jealous. lizzie is a little oblivious. casey is defensive. sam is… deeply canadian idk man. “don’t crush on my friends.” why can’t she??? why do you care so much derek??? i am in his walls. i demand answers. he’s just casually manhandling guys who hurt casey and you know what that is growth. HIS LOOK AT HER WHEN HIS FACE JUST GETS SOFT.
god these two are dumb. their slow bonding leading us to notice casey and derek being friendly by the end of the first season but still having that fiery distaste for each other is wonderful. jesus christ he flirts with her so much and she is just ignoring it. how did either of them ever get a date??
“he never called it what it was.” i love derek and am his chief defender but god. every time he gets close with casey, somewhere they could be in a vulnerable, loving place, he fucking ruins it. his self sabotage is so fascinating to me. does he not believe he deserves good things? i need to write a one shot based solely on his self destructive tendencies. but he runs to paris instead of talking about things, which is just a sign. derek needs therapy.
so much of season one especially is just so insane. there was no need to do that. canada should apologize for never giving us dasey at this point. i will accept a five season life with luca series with slowburn dasey as an apology.
“i forget about you long enough to forget why i needed to.” i wonder if derek just panics in uni whenever casey wears something more revealing than normal. like he saw her in a slightly cropped top and lost his shit. how would he deal with a tube top and short skirt? now i need to know this information. but also the way we see protective!derek again when he just looks enraged that casey is getting catcalled… love. love. love. the core tenet of them actually becoming friends is that derek and casey grow to protect each other as the first season goes on and that’s beautiful.
man i just have to say that sam is the most canadian man ever and i love him for it. you go beanie wearing over apologizing pacifistic man i will defend you until i die.
dear god i am only three minutes into this masterpiece and have a whole essay for you i apologize in advance.
so much of season two is just derek and casey fighting their feelings. he’s no longer an ass. she’s no longer an annoying keener. and disgusting feelings are creeping up. casey appreciates clueless but still, that doesn’t mean she wants it to be her life!
practically grinding on each other at a concert what the fuck. how did they get dates?? seriously. how did they manage to get a date?
derek’s “lost in translation” being casey thinking he is her brother.. something something he is in love and aware and fuck scott the soccer cheater for making him realize. evil evil man scott is.
god they really do just grow so much between seasons one and two. season two has derek openly admiring casey and her willingly making a bit of a public fool of herself for him. it’s insane.
“i’m in a new hell every time you double cross my mind.” coupled with derek being into casey thinking she’s a random punk chick… god i love this entire thing. it’s beautiful. this is cinema.
“using me to get derek? now it’s personal!” casey… baby… if you don’t care about derek why is him having kendra in love with him and using you so personal? that has definitely happened before but like… honey… breathe. he’s just a man you allegedly hate!
derek inadvertently ruining casey’s time with her dad trying to impress him and bond… i know what he is. he then decides to essentially guilt trip dennis into coming back to make things right with her because he understands her pain and really, even if he’s still pretending he hates casey, she was crying. he’s got to fix it. that is beautiful.
there’s such a change in between seasons two and three where derek and casey’s hatred just seems phoned in at this point. you can tell they’re lying and keeping up the front, casey more than derek. her denial is starting to fail and derek is basically along for the ride as her trophy husband which is beautiful. this is truly the turning point where they start actually interacting more like a couple than stepsiblings or friends and it is fascinating.
they really do just have this softness about them, where they’re always keeping a distance but fondly gazing from afar. it’s beautiful.
their love language is teasing each other and physical touch and i love how you showcase it: they’re always touching each other, they’re always teasing each other, but it stops being mean and becomes affectionate. derek has this intense need to protect her and casey has the same. it’s perfect because they hide from each other and they pretend they hate each other but they’re so obviously in love they end up at prom together.
the coldness in which derek approaches being family with casey… derek venturi i am in your walls. the second half of this series really is just an established relationship with a little bit more insanity. they’re in love and jealous and it’s perfect. if only they’d stop getting into relationships with people who represent facets of each other.
“i don’t speak… girl!” how many albums do we think he’s written about casey? my bet is seven.
march break, aka so much sexual tension everyone needs to leave the house and just pray they don’t come back to a disaster. lizzie and edwin definitely had a bet going about when the tension would crack.
can they go ten minutes without being overly involved in each other’s lives? probably not! and good for them! they’re there. are they healthy? to be debated at a later point, but they are there. consistently! (if we ignore the eighteen years Derek lived in Paris.)
the second half of season four is really just a romcom.
derek and casey both being offended their parents were scheming is so valid because at this point they know that half of why they hated each other is their projections of the divorce onto each other and being forced to cohabitate but they could’ve not lived like that and they’re pissed.
“you’re reading this all wrong.” “i don’t read anything on weekends! and no one should treat casey that way.” imagine him losing his shit at a guy at a party who can’t get that casey’s uncomfortable around him. he would ruin the party to protect her and deal with the teasing from the boys proudly, all while maintaining it’s out of hatred.
same difference with “i was there”… casey knew what she was doing. derek knew what she was doing. it was drawing the line of uni: siblings. except neither of them can stick to that when her smile is watery at best and derek looks like someone kicked his puppy.
fun fact: vacation with derek was watched as a romcom by my best friend. iconic of them to see the dasey agenda.
the last scene of life with luca essentially being derek and casey starting fresh, with a blank slate, moving in together again, willingly this time… god i have so many ideas for what that show should look like. they should have you as the director or something.”
