KerleyQ

The poor guy, the finally put him with Quinn when RS was on her way out the door, and now they're going to pair him with Katie, when HT isn't around very much? Would have been better off just leaving him with offscreen Quinn for a while longer until any kind of real pairing other than "hey, these two characters are both single" comes along.

You know, I think there could actually be something interesting in Steffy realizing that, because she grew up seeing Brooke always "winning" Ridge over her sainted mother, she came to believe that she had to be "like Brooke" to win a man over. And she internalized the same caricature of Brooke that Thomas was laying out during his confrontation with Brooke - the hypersexual, lingerie-wearing seductress. And when she wanted to steal Bill from Katie and Liam from Hope, she did what she thought Brooke would do. She rips Brooke for sleeping with all the men in her family, yet she herself had to have a paternity test between a father and son, and she's been with that father's other adult son, too. And one of the reasons she's never been able to let go of her thing for Liam is because she was supposed to "win" over St. Hope. But not only did her WWBD mentality allow her to lose to Hope, but it means that, just like her mother, she lost to a Logan. Of course, we could also have Hope realizing that she's such a doormat most of the time, and so obsessed with keeping the peace and doing the right thing because of the circumstances of her birth. Like her existence had already caused a lifetime of drama while she was a fetus, and now she spends her life trying to somehow atone for the sins of her parents. Because Hope needs to assert herself more than just about any other soap character I've ever seen, but 99.9 percent of the time, she seems absolutely terrified of what will happen if she does. I feel like there are only two times where she's been unapologetically like "no, this is what is happening, period" - when she reclaimed Beth and Steffy and Ridge tried to demand that she leave her with Steffy, and when Steffy had her addiction, and Hope stood firm (alongside Liam) on Kelly staying with them. Obviously, most soaps have characters who were fucked up, to varying degrees by their parents' shit, because that's pretty much the nature of soaps and the longevity over generations. But, this show does such a good job of showing characters living the lives their parents' fuck-ups kind of led them to, both in Ridge's generation and in the Steffy/Thomas/Hope generation, but they never seem to have any of the characters actually realize that they're doing it and try to break out of that.

I should absolutely know better, but I just love them so much. Also, I feel like being with Brooke will keep Bill on our screens. I don't think he'll get much screen time, beyond initially getting together, if they pair him with Li. Of course, in my dreams, when the truth comes out, Brooke tells Ridge to go fuck himself for not even trusting her enough to talk to her about the call. And then we get the Spencer and Logan families uniting to take the Marone-Forresters down. Related - something that really, really bugs me is how Taylor's family are "the Forresters" and Brooke's family are "the Logans." Both of Ridge's families are "his Forrester families," because being his family is what makes them Forresters. Brooke is marred to a Forrester. Three of Brooke's four kids are Forresters. Brooke's sister is involved with the head of the Forrester family. Hope's son is a Forrester. They're not outsiders in the family. So why is Taylor a Forrester and Brooke isn't? Steffy's "real Forresters" bullshit is ridiculous, because it's not the Forrester side of her family that has an issue with the Logans. The Forrester side of her family loves the Logans. This is a Hayes vs. Logan situation. (I know Hayes isn't actually Taylor's maiden name, but the show seems to have forgotten that). That just worked my last nerve when I was reading a spoiler article that was referring to Taylor and her brats as "Ridge's Forrester family." Also, since I know I'm not likely to get much of what I want out of the way this all plays out, can I at least have one little thing - I want Taylor to go off on Steffy after Ridge dumps her to go running back to Brooke. Because you know that the first words out of Steffy's mouth are going to be "you need to go after him and stop him! You belong together!" I so badly want to see Taylor to tell her to shut the hell up, and that it's her 24/7 pushing that led to her being in this exact position.

Is there anything creepier than lighting sex candles for your parents? As soon as I saw Taylor walking in and seeing the candles, I knew for certain that there was no way Ridge had set that up for her. That was all their creepily inappropriate daughter. And of course she wasn't leaving because she misses her kids and husband (who just got back from the fucking dead). Nope, she wanted to leave so mommy and daddy can bang. Ick. Ick. Ick. I'm kind of surprised she didn't set up a webcam in the bedroom so that she and Thomas could pop some corn and watch the playback when she gets back to LA. Confession time - while I am intrigued by the Bill/Li possibilities, I'm also a huge sucker for the the chemistry between DD and KKL. So, I'm torn. If the show was really going to commit to it this time, and not fuck it up like they did with the stupid building, I would absolutely want to see Brooke/Bill. But, if they're just going to have her dump him after 10 minutes when they find out Thomas made the CPS call and Ridge comes running back, then no, because then when he does move right on to Li, it will kind of linger over that pairing like it's a rebound. Either way, though, they really need to stop having Bill beg Katie to get back together. It's so clear that, while he does love and respect her, it's not in that way. She's just comfortable to go back to when he's feeling lonely, because they have history and a child together. I hope Katie finds out he went right to Brooke this time and it reinforces for her that telling him goodbye was the only move she could make now. Although now it looks like they're going to move her right in to being Carter's "love the one you're with." HT has such limited availability that they should just bring on a short term character to sweep her off her feet and then whisk her away. Katie can pop back in for visits here and there. It feels to me like the show has changed direction on multiple pairings over the past few months or so. It seemed like they were positioning Deacon to be with either Brooke or Taylor, whichever woman didn't end up with Ridge, and now he's involved with Sheila, and that stupidity should keep him from being a viable possibility for either woman. It seemed even recently like they were contemplating actually going with Hope/Thomas, even if just for a short time, but I think they're speeding up the "Thomas is still evil" storyline. And Bill/Li seemed like a given right after he helped her rescue Finn, but that feels up in the air to me now. It seems like they lost interest in writing for Li once she served the purpose of getting Princess Steffy's husband back to her. Maybe she'll get some more air time once Sheila inevitably kidnaps Hayes? What's the over/under on how many times we're going to see flashbacks of Thomas using the voice app to mimic Brooke's voice before he's finally busted?

In a lot of ways, I felt like the finale was almost more about her finding her way than Allison (or anyone else).

Oh, Brooke, come on, you no longer have the "but I don't want to upset my husband" reason to not tear that bitch to pieces. How did you miss the chance to go off on her instead of letting her sit there and gloat? And "this isn't about you, Brooke"? Because, of course, as always, it's about Steffy and what Steffy wants. And, of course Ridge didn't say shit to Brooke before he went to get Taylor back. What if he told Brooke he wants a divorce, then went to Aspen, and Taylor had somehow managed to hold onto that tiny fragment of self respect she was trying to cultivate last week and turned him down? Can't cut one loose until he knows the other one is in place. Seriously, of all the shit Ridge has done, this would, if I was Brooke, be the straw that broke the camel's back. He just flies to Aspen and tells Taylor he wants to spend his life with her without saying a word to his wife about ending things? And he's too much of a wimp to tell her why? Even if you accept the "oh no, the former FC employee could lose his job" thing, he can still say to Brooke "I know for a fact that you made that call, and you lied to my face when I asked you about it." Forget her being one of the great loves of his life, he doesn't have a thimble full of respect for her if this is how he handles all of this. And then he has the nerve to stand there and tell her how much he will always love her. No, asshole, you don't. If you had any love for her, you would be honest with her, and you would have told her before you left for Aspen. Instead, you flee like a coward and then act like she's out of line for coming after you to find out what the fuck is happening. Deacon, oh, honey. No. Now you're all schmoopy with Sheila? And you're OK with her stealing from your job, creating even more risk for you? I was rooting for you to form some kind of family with Hope and the kids, but now I just want you to skip town with Sheila (and a kidnapped Hayes), and I hope that Hope doesn't keep giving you chances. I can see why you were freaked out initially when you were put on the spot and feared you'd be seen as guilty if they found her in your apartment, but, come on. You've had time to think. Time to find a lawyer and get their help. After you had your scare with Hope showing up and seeing her in your apartment, you should have been out. Has there ever been a less climactic reveal than Thomas faking the CPS call from Brooke? Was there a viewer out there who hadn't figured that one out already? I'm so looking forward to watching the life drain out of Ridge and Finn as they end up stuck in 24/7 "we're family!!" celebrations with Steffy, Thomas, and Taylor, complete with Steffy giving nightly toasts to "we're family! And we're together!"

Just go to Twitter and check out the replies on any of the show's tweets about the storyline. You'll feel like there's some alternate version of the show that they're seeing. All I could think during the past two days of Eric/Donna/Thomas scenes is how Eric doesn't notice how fucking creepy Thomas is behaving. He's all but twirling his mustache. MA is playing him super creepy. Taylor gives Steffy this big speech about how "we need to trust" Ridge. Then turns to watch him with Brooke. Yeah, Taylor, that's not actually trust. I mean, I don't blame you for not trusting him, but this is just another example of you pretending to be so virtuous when you're just as much of a schemer as your kids. When the truth comes out that Thomas is still a manipulative evil shithead, especially if he manipulates Douglas (or worse) when Douglas is inevitably the first to figure out this crap, Hope had really better forget the casual arrangement thing and get a real custody decision. At some point "it's good for Douglas to have a relationship with his father" needs to take a backseat to that father using and abusing him as part of his various evil plots.

I'm telling you, I cackled when Ridge promised, "in front of my beautiful daughter, that I will always protect your heart." Yeah, that'll last a few months, tops. And Taylor is an idiot if she doesn't know damn well that's how it works. She knows he came after he because he's pissed at Brooke about something. So pissed that he couldn't even talk about it, but she thinks him coming to her is because he legitimately chose her with a clear head and heart? Looks like the shine is wearing off Dad's (Grandpa's) House of Fun for Douglas. I just like to think that this actor knows Thomas ain't shit, and he can't help playing his scenes like that. Also, it looks like we're probably going to be in for another round of Douglas being the one to bust his father for his sins. My family has the same Apple sign-in (so we can share purchases, and, when my son was little, we could keep an eye on what he was doing) and with some apps, activity on one device is available in the same app on the other devices on our account. I'm guessing we're going to get some story where Douglas finds the file for the Brooke phone call to CPS on that app, and he tells someone (probably Eric or Donna, since they've featured in both scenes where he's used the app). I'd be happy to leave Ridge to Taylor, but I uberhate Steffy and Thomas "winning." They are going to be the most smug assholes. Thomas already was with Donna in today's episode. And, good Lord, Thomas and Steffy's dialogue from the moment Steffy spotted her mommy and daddy kissing, has been even more little kids who want mommy and daddy back together than usual. Both the writing and the way the two of them deliver the lines. And Steffy has talked to her brother about 5 or 6 times since landing in Aspen. How many times has she talked to her husband and children during that same time? She was just so devastated by Finn's "death," and now she can barely remember his name in the face of cooing over mommy and daddy holding hands. Also, yeah, Ridge and Taylor are so into each other that the only thing they can think of to do after their joyous and romantic reunion is sit on the couch so Taylor can giggle with their daughter like school girls. The passion, y'all, it's melting TV screens around the globe.

The Steffy/Taylor mother/daughter relationship is so fucked up. So, when Steffy was grieving her husband, and so deeply depressed that the show heavily implied she might be suicidal over it, and the only solution was for Steffy to go overseas for counseling, Taylor didn't go with her to help with her kids or be another resource, WRP that she is, because she needed to stay home to flirt with another woman's husband. Now, Taylor needs to get out of town for a a little vacation to clear her head, and Steffy is going to leave her still rather newly returned from the dead husband, and their kids, to go run off with her. Taylor needs no help, she's not suffering a mental health crisis. She's just going off to contemplate her romantic future. But she can't possibly be alone for that, while her daughter absolutely could be alone with two young children while suffering a mental health crisis. Seriously, their relationship is fucked up. And Hope is not only being unnecessarily aggressively snarky at her mother, but also about her husband. "Now you sound just like Liam." Like Liam is her enemy now? I swear, if they are working on even temporarily having Hope want Thomas... That is the one couple that just should not happen. Not after the shit he pulled with Beth. And, really, Hope should not only recognize the same old shit from Thomas right now, but she should also recognize in herself, how she's stupidly trusting him in the face of everyone who loves her telling her "no, don't do it, girl. You in danger." Learn a lesson, Hope. What I really want to happen now with Ridge is for him to go running to Taylor, pouring his heart out about how he never should have trusted Brooke, and it's always been her. And then Taylor can take a pass, saying "no, this is always how this goes, and you always end up going back to her eventually. I'm not playing consolation price or placeholder any more." Then, when it comes out that Thomas called CPS himself (or staged an entire fake CPS investigation), and Ridge goes back to Brooke, she turns him down, too, for not trusting her and, once again, not being able to see how dangerous his son is. Let both of them be done with his bullshit, leaving him alone. What I'm guessing is a bit more likely is that Ridge goes running after Taylor and tells her he chooses her. They have one night together, then Brooke shows up and Taylor finds out the whole truth - that Ridge didn't choose her so much as he was pissed at Brooke, and she realizes that this is how it always is, so she shuts him out. Bonus points if she tells her kids to shut the fuck up already every time they bring the subject up again. (As opposed to her current "oh, you guys, shut up, stop...we really are good together, aren't we? No, stop! <giggle>"

The writers seem to have just decided that Kelly is Finn's kid. It's ridiculous that Liam isn't bringing up to Steffy her hypocrisy here, and demanding that Kelly start living with him for a while. Yeah, the CPS workers just asking Douglas like three questions while his father stood right behind them where he could potentially intimidate Douglas was freaking ridiculous. I want to see the caseworkers question Douglas alone and ask him "do you ever feel afraid of your father?" And Douglas can respond something like "not anymore," leading to him telling them all about what an asshole he was when he was using Douglas to get Hope to marry him. Let's see Thomas ending up with only supervised visitation for a while as a result of him calling CPS on himself to set up Brooke. I would laugh so damn hard.

Thomas was smirking both when the agents first left and when Ridge angrily called Brooke. He clearly was behind this. You know, I was rooting for Finn when he was stuck with Sheila, but now he's dead to me. He's really just indulging all of Steffy's bullshit. Has he just figured out that he won't keep getting laid if he doesn't indulge his crazy wife's Parent Trap fantasies? Speaking of which, when Steffy bitched about how Brooke is "interfering in my parents' relationship," I was waiting for a bolt of lightning to strike her. Bitch, you've been interfering in Brooke's marriage all this time. A wife isn't "interfering" in her husband's relationship with his ex-wife. I would say this doesn't really matter as much, because the kids in question are adults, but, since they act like they're 10, it still matters. Taylor is the worst kind of co-parent with an ex. Telling her kids that Brooke hates them because they're part of her is the kind of bullshit that really messes kids up when their parents are divorced and remarried. And might I remind Taylor, while she's sitting there talking about how Brooke will just manipulate anyone to get what she wants, that it was just months ago that she was basically telling Hope "yeah, sure, Liam is your husband, and you're raising children together, but you're just going to have to step the fuck off of him because my widdle pwincess needs him to play placeholder for her dead husband. You don't want to be a selfish bitch about this, do you?" I can't wait to see how Taylor and Steffy justify Thomas putting his son through a CPS report just to score points on Brooke.

Exactly. How many times have we seen Thomas just walk into Hope's house recently? If Thomas wants to push some idea that Brooke isn't welcome there, then he can go talk to the man who owns that house. It won't go well for him, though. Bonus points if Eric points out to him "you practically handpicked Brooke as your child's grandmother when you decided to go after making Hope his mother." I will be stunned if that isn't exactly what happened. Brooke told Ridge that it's something she might do in the future if she has reason to. She didn't say it's something she's going to do imminently, but look how fast it happened after Thomas heard she'd mentioned it. And look at that timing of him coming home right when they got there. And we all knew that app was going to come into play at some point for some scheme of Thomas's. I'm just surprised that this is how it seems it's being used instead of him using it to make one of Hope/Liam think the other is cheating. My guess is he thinks he can get a two-fer on this one. First, he'll turn Ridge completely against Brooke. Second, he'll get Hope defending him and upset with her mother because "Douglas is traumatized by those agents showing up." I like to tell myself that it's because Ridge, deep down, knows Thomas is a shitty father, so he feels like he needs to go over there and check on things. That's probably not it, but it would be a nice twist.

Yeah, after seeing Ridge today telling Thomas that Brooke said she'd call CPS if needed, I'm convinced Thomas is going to beat her to the punch and then blame her. And now I just remembered the phone app. That's where it's coming into play, isn't it? He's somehow going to use it to have Brooke's voice placing the call.

I think Brooke's initial reaction wasn't so much that it's weird to cut an apple with a knife, but just the visceral reaction to "psycho holding a knife." And then he kind of proved her point by aiming it menacingly in her direction while threatening her. When Taylor said she was headed into the office, I just automatically assumed FC, since she likes to spend her days there to moon over her asshole ex. Then it occurred to me "oh, maybe she's actually going to her own office to work? Maybe?" And I swear they are alternating writers for her. One day, she'll be giggling and plotting with Steffy over how to get Ridge back, the next day she'll be pretending to admonish her kids for that same plotting, and then the day after that she'll be coming on to Ridge. Speaking of Ridge. Ick. So he swings by to see Taylor first thing in the morning, to make sure she's still on the hook, then he goes home, after flirting with his ex-wife, to make out with his current wife. He's going for the Olympic gold in Waffling Asshole.

I had totally forgotten that this was a thing that happened, since I didn't watch at the time, and only read about in SOD when it was happening, but didn't Thomas have a thing for Brooke when he was around his early 20's or so? You'd think if his entire existence as an adult was shit because he overheard her say mean things about him when he was a child, that he wouldn't have been so thirsty to bang her. Also, again, I wasn't watching at the time, but am I right in assuming this whole "I heard the things you said about me when I was just a kid" rant is a retcon and not something that was actually ever seen on screen?

You know, some of the spoilers I've seen make it sound like Ridge is fully sided with Brooke after he looks into who called CPS. So, that would make sense, that Thomas did it himself and tried to make everyone think Brooke did it. I've also seen that there's something that makes Ridge fear that Thomas hasn't changed very much. And that would make so much more sense as the event that leads him to feel that way than Brooke telling him about the menacing apple knife. I mean, we know how creepy and threatening he was through that scene, but it's also the kind of thing that Ridge would write off as Brooke being too hard on Thomas. Calling CPS on himself would show that he's still engaging in the same kind of premeditated evil manipulation that he was when he was using Douglas to lure Hope in and covering up that her baby was alive. Add in that Ridge knows that Thomas knew about Sheila getting Brooke drunk and kept it secret, and I could see how Ridge would become concerned that Thomas hasn't changed after all.

I would have paid cash money for Brooke, when Thomas mocked her for her adult kids all leaving LA. would have said "kind of like how your own mother couldn't get away from you often enough, huh?" Does Brooke know that Taylor is the one who shot Bill? I want to see her start throwing that kind of shit out there when the TayTots go on about their sainted mother. Just her recent history - violated Brooke's medical privacy to find out she was pregnant and then told Katie. Then left Eric's place (yes, remember, children, mommy was fucking grandpa, or "Eric" as you called him at the time to pretend that wasn't a thing?) and stayed out of the country for a long time. Until, of course, she came back and tried to murder Bill because her daughter rode him like a stallion, leading to "Who's the Daddy, part 1" and ending her marriage to Liam. Then she bought Steffy a black market baby to try to help her lure Liam back in while he and his wife grieved their "dead" baby (that Taylor bought), peaced out of town and didn't come back to help Steffy deal with the aftermath of that whole thing or to find out what the fuck was going on with her psycho son who went to extreme measures to keep the "Phoebe is Beth" secret, including running a woman off the road to her death, abusing his own son, roofying Liam so he'd sleep with Steffy, and almost roofying Hope because she very clearly did not want to have sex with him, despite the sham marriage he manipulated her into. But, sure, Taylor is mother of the year, and Brooke's to blame for Thomas's crazy because she dared to be a decent and involved stepmother while his sainted mommy was faking her death and not coming home to be with her children. Twice. I agree that Brooke needs to tell Hope in specific and thorough detail exactly how her conversation with Thomas went. Hope needs to understand that Thomas is not this new, improved man. He's just hiding his crazy a little better most of the time. Also, if Donna is babysitting Douglas, why not just have her bring him home while Thomas is at work. Hell, he won't even notice right away, since he'll likely go directly from work to yet another tedious Parent Trap dinner party at Steffy's house, and won't be home until after Douglas's bedtime. Oh, wait, does he have a bedtime at Daddy's (Grandpa's) Vacation House of Fun and Giggles? Thomas won't figure out he's gone until the next time he calls Hope or shows up in her living room to try to lure her over to see him, only to find Douglas is with her.

Brooke, your husband blew you off last night. Never called to tell you he was going to be out. Never came home. Why are you going to Taylor and not Ridge? He's the one who is married to you. None of Steffy, Thomas, or Taylor's antics could matter a single bit if he didn't indulge them. He is the one who is your problem. If he'd even given a passing thought to talking to you last night to let you know what he was doing, Steffy wouldn't have had a chance to keep you from talking to him. But he didn't. Come on, you had the confidence and backbone to walk away from Bill when you refused to compete with a building. Where is that now? The only reason you should have gone to the cliff house to talk to Taylor should have been to say "here are his things. He's all yours." Instead, you're practically over there singing "Jolene" to Taylor, allowing your husband to keep playing happy family with her, and terrified of saying two words to Bill or Deacon, lest it send Ridge running right to Taylor. Fun fact, though, Brooke, he can't run to Taylor when he's already with her 24/7. When Taylor told Brooke that Ridge was struggling to choose between the two of them, that was the perfect time for both of them to look at each other, laugh, and say "and why the hell are either one of us putting up with that shit like this is the fucking Bachelor?" And, Hope, pick up the hints. Thomas is hardly being subtle. First it was his "one woman man" comments. Now "Romeo and Juliet"? He's not talking about co-parenting. He's using Douglas, again, to try to drag you into his life. And you're allowing it. School has started. Go pick your son up from school and take him home. Then talk to a lawyer about formalizing a shared custody agreement that explicitly spells out where Douglas will sleep on specific nights. Thomas and his "I never want to lie to you" bullshit. The only acceptable response to that was "since when?"

Thomas sure is spending a lot of time with him, isn't he?

I've been taking the two of them never mentioning it as a fairly common thing with abuse. It's sometimes really fucking hard for the victim to admit it's happening. If Allison specifically isn't mentioning it, Patty is taking her cues from that and not bringing it up herself, even though she probably finds it very obvious when Allison says something like "I had an accident with the door." But, they both know it's happening, and that's why Patty keeps agreeing to go to these lengths with Allison, even though she keeps saying it's too much and she's done. No matter how much you liked a friend, you'd have sat down with them long before things got to "I'm going to fake my own death" and told her she's a dumbass for not just filing for divorce is this was just a garden variety "I'm unhappy being married to this man child," situation. I think both actresses play their scenes like there is some other issue beneath the surface, going unacknowledged. But, that could just be something I'm reading into it since I'm pretty sold on the "Kevin is abusive" theory.

Give Steffy time, and she'll make the whole thing Brooke's fault. "If Brooke had kept her nose out of my business and didn't get in Sheila's face, Sheila wouldn't have given her the real champagne, and there would have been no reason for me to confront Sheila in that alley. Really, if Brooke hadn't been an alcoholic in the first place, Finn and I would have never been shot!"

I'd just like to remind Ridge that Deacon literally saved his daughter's life. And Bill rescued Finn and flew him to Monaco to reunite with Ridge's daughter, bringing her out of her deep depression. Both men should be welcome visitors in "his" home. (Since we all know it won't be his much longer.) Is it me, or does it seem like they were headed in certain directions, with romantic pairings, like a month ago, but they have since thrown all the cards up in the air and reshuffled the deck? It seemed like we were going to get some level of Deacon/Taylor, while Ridge was going to stay with Brooke (for the time being). With Finn alive, it seemed like the show was going to leave Liam and Hope together to deal with other stories. And Bill/Li seemed almost certain. And, of course, we finally got a payoff on Quarter, but it was only like 10 minutes before Rena left. Now, Deacon hasn't even shared air space with Taylor since she went to Monaco. Deacon will likely end up "in love" with Sheila, because the writers seem like they can't tank his character enough. Brooke and Ridge just need someone to call time of death already so that Steffy, who recently welcomed her husband back from the dead, can declare it the best day of her life when her father deigns to fuck her mother again. (And we can all vomit when Taylor overshares every single excruciating detail with her like they're at a slumber party in high school.) Thomas is trying to insinuate himself back into Hope's life. And they're throwing that Bill/Brooke hug at us. The only hint of a change that likely won't stick is Bill/Brooke. Because they worked too well together last time they got a chance (until that skyscraper idiocy), and we can't have her happier with anyone than she has ever been with Ridge, so she'll remain in limbo or getting involved with Deacon and not realizing he's also involved with Sheila. It occurs to me that, along with her name, Steffy apparently also inherited the self-appointed role of keeper of Ridge's dick from her grandmother. When her kids grow up, she's going to be a combination of her grandmother and mother. She'll micromanage Hayes's dating life, and she's going to completely forget (like she hasn't already) that she used to love Beth like a daughter, and push Kelly to go after any guy Beth so much as smiles at.

And there's the need to see the men on soaps as some romantic ideal. So, all the bullshit must be the women's fault. Can't let on that Ridge is a waffling, hypocritical, controlling asshole. So, it must be that whatever woman he's about to waffle away from is some unmitigated ho-bag who doesn't deserve him.

Ridge is coming home to his wife, fresh from telling his ex-wife that he still loves her, and hugging her, and he probably still smells like Taylor's Love's Baby Soft body spray. But, I'm betting he's still going to throw a temper tantrum over Brooke hugging her ex (who she hasn't been kissing, cuddling, and declaring her love to over the past few months or so).

One of the many reasons I want to see Bill get more involved in this story as the custody issue persists. Douglas is his family both through Liam being his stepfather and through Caroline. I really want to see him butt his nose in and remind Taylor that he's let her get away with shooting him...so far. And I would pay cash money to see both Liam and Bill teamed up against Steffy on Brooke's behalf. Nothing would hit her harder than seeing two of her backup men siding against her for Brooke, of all people. I can't remember which website it was now, but I saw some soap site doing a writeup on this whole thing that was very decidedly pro-Marones. At one point, I had to rage quit reading any further when I saw "and, as always, Hope is stealing from Steffy. She stole Liam, and she stole Phoebe right out from under her." Yeah, Hope is with the man she was supposed to marry before Steffy imprinted on him like a baby duckling and fucked around in their relationship. And Hope's got her baby who was stolen from her and sold to Taylor to aid in trying to reel Liam back in for Steffy. Steffy has her own man and her own new baby now. And Hope doesn't need or want either one of them. So, what, exactly, would she be "stealing" from Steffy? Steffy is the one trying to interfere in Hope's custody of her son, because she wants to use her own nephew, who has been through more than enough bullshit in his life, to drive a wedge between her father and his wife. (Side note: FFS, there is no "Phoebe." She is Beth. Phoebe was essentially imaginary. Also, Steffy should have been just as mad at her mother over that whole thing as she was at Thomas. Taylor should be trained to report signs of human trafficking, but she blew right past all the red flags because she wanted to buy a baby to get Liam to fuck her daughter again. She set her daughter up for that pain.)