#'its sexualising the character!!!!!!!' but it's only bad if it's a woman because the SECOND a man has some skin exposed it's suddenly fine

[derangedfujoshi]

Nobody:

Not even a single soul:

Some fucking cunt on hoyolab: Anyway here's a BETTER and IMPROVED design for one of the DISGUSTINGLY perverted wretched designs that those sick freaks at Hoyoverse have created!

And it's just a bland, less detailed, more npc-like and covered up version of the og design.

[philomelia1]

my self, abandon'd, and devoid of shame    ...      cassandra rike is an independent original character.       she is the second youngest of four children   &  the daughter of traveling psychics. she is inspired by   :       the myth of philomela,     the history of silencing daughters,       the gothic consumption of the daughter by the uncanny mother,  &   otherwise material that relates to the paranoia of teenagers.     

biography and rules are found below the cut.

rules,   a stated law that must be abided by   :

the author of this blog goes by scout. i am 23 and will only interact with blogs that are 18+. this blog will contain a lot of triggering material and therefore i will softblock any minors that find their way here. no racism, sexism, homophobia (etc) will be tolerated here.

i am here, primarily, to have fun. i do not participate in call - out culture, nor do i engage in petty drama that makes its way onto my dash. if you ever ask me to pick sides, you will automatically be on the losing side of that debate.

i do not engage with blogs that sexualise or otherwise glorify shitty things. i don’t really need a list of these things, but i’m sure you get the picture.

i’m selective and only care about following blogs that i think i can interact with. 

typical roleplay rules apply. no godmodding. please do not overly format your posts. do not keep following me a thousand times in the hopes i’ll follow back.

i’m pretty laidback and chill. just don’t be an asshole.

verses   :     the main verse and information will be found below.   grishaverse.

biography,     the picture of cassandra rike   :

full name  :     cassandra rike.

nicknames  :    cassie.

age   :     seventeen to nineteen.

gender and pronouns   :    cis female, she/her.

date of birth   :    3rd march, 3:00am.

religion   :    her parents’ religion has paganistic roots. she would describe herself as an atheist with a healthy skeptism.

sexuality   :    bisexual.

occupation   :    bored teenager.

faceclaim   :     maude apatow.

positive traits   :    adventurous, independent, ambitious, studious, brave, a grand sense of self.

negative traits   :    stubborn, impatient, brooding, a grand sense of self. cassie struggles with her own identity and allows this to fester.

expanded biography,     the ugly truth of cassandra rike   :

[   1, 2, 3   ...   that is your number.  third in line, after one sister then the other.  the third day of the third month of the third life     (    this would be confusing,  if your mother had not told you that you had suffered two deaths before   :      you are a reincarnation in a body   ...   these are the fairy tales your mother likes to tell you,  none of which you believe,   but they send you to sleep all the same   ).   three is not a bad number.   it would still land you a medal,  after all.   ]

three is the age cassandra is the first time her parents move house.   house is not the right term,   but we’ll use it as a placeholder.   three is the age cassandra is when they load everything they own into a van,  and that van becomes a house,   and that house is moving.    her parents work as psychics   :       her mother had been famous once,   the flash of an old screen tv and a woman who smokes too much.    she had helped the police solve three murders before cassie’s father came along and swooped her off her feet.    

traveling was fun,   because the pattern was the same.    they’d settle into a new town every couple of months,   where there was a surge of supernatural activity.   their parents would be paid a lengthy sum,   by either the local government or an enterprising good samaritan,   and they’d be directed towards the epicentre of the activity.    it was usually a house.    the family would bundle into the backyard,    spreading out across the greenery,     as their parents dedicated themselves to freeing the house of leftover spirits   --   cassie didn’t think it really took months to do this,   but the longer they stayed,   the bigger the payout was.   she doesn’t complain.

three is the age her sister,   athena,    is when she realises she can talk to ghosts.   three is the age her sister,   cleo,    is when she realises she can glimpse the future.   three is the age her sister,   clotho,   realises she has a steady hand with tarot.   three is not the age cassie realises she can do nothing   :      that comes later,   in her parents’ worried glances,   in the mourning in their voices,   as if death was equitable to normalcy.

[chibimyumi]

Hi I have a question I was curious what you thought about the episodes about Jack the Ripper episodes 3-6? And about the anime season 1 and 2 and the other series? Thank you for answering the question

Dear Anon,

In general I am not quite positive about any animated rendition of ‘Kuroshitsuji’, so if you’re interested in reading my mostly negative opinion, please proceed ^^

TL:DR

Season 1 - Ep. 3-6 - Personal rating: 2/10

Season 1 General - Personal rating: 3/10

Season 2 - Personal rating: N.A.

Book of Circus - Personal rating: 8/10 

Book of Murder - Personal rating: 8/10 

Book of the Atlantic - Personal rating 6.5/10

Season 1 - Episodes 3 - 6

Personal rating: 2/10

I personally despise the anime version of the Jack the Ripper arc because of multiple reasons.

1. The manga portrayal of Grell in that arc wasn’t great to begin with, but it was the anime that ultimately caused many people to believe Grell is a psychopathic gay, crossdressing man. The heavily gay-coded visuals (both manga and anime) alone of course were already pointing to Grell being a flamboyant male, but the additional gay-coded voice to her may have been what delivered the ultimate blow. Because anime is voiced, it often leaves a more lasting impression on people.

2. it’s not just for Grell’s portrayal. I also despised how the anime basically signal-boosted the corset scene that presented the sexualisation of a 12 year old as something that is part of a serious murder investigation. And when the sexual tension was later denied by showing ‘it was just a corset’, it was supposed to be ‘a comedic tease’ rather than a major sigh of relief.

Yes, it was just the faithful portrayal of canon. I am not saying the manga is less guilty; I am saying that the anime signal-boosted these two very harmful things without explicit warning.

Season 1 in General

Personal rating: 3/10

The good things:

In general the first season did have some fairly nice parts, hence the marginally higher personal rating. I quite liked the scene where anime!Sebastian shoved the visitor into the oven (+1pt) , for example. And I also liked the adaptation of the mini arc where O!Ciel was kidnapped by the mafia. (+1pt)

The finale makes little sense, but I did like the charm and atmosphere it delivered. I understood that the 24 episode series had to deviate from the canon storyline in order to tell a whole story within so few episodes.

The season finale managed to bring an ending that befits the theme of ‘Kuroshtisuji’: a suitably dark, ominous conclusion of a demon receiving the payment for his part of the contract. The choice of only showing Sebastian closing in on his prey from 1st person perspective before the screen blacking out was fantastic. It really reminded me as a viewer that in the end, I am but a helpless human; that regardless of what we may think Sebastian is, the last we’ll see of him is him being a predator to his prey. (+1pt)

The… not so good things.

Curry bread shuriken? (-1pt) The child king and prince arc? (-1pt) Pluto? (-1pt) **Angela/Ash!? (-2pt) The reaper library? (-1 pt. What was it even trying to achieve?). Ruining the most epic revelation of our protagonist’s arch enemy and spoiling the manga!?!?!?! (-1pt)

**They wanted to portray the genderlessness of angels, and so they decided to…. make this angel bi-gender in the loosest sense of the word? And then there is the EXPLICIT intention of giving Angela small breasts… because she can’t be “too much of a woman” (their actual words). PSA to women with small breasts!! Hear that!? You’re not too much of a woman!!

The rest is self explanatory.

Season 2 in General

Personal rating: N.A.

I deny its existence. If this season had existed, I would have said it took everything I hated about season 1, amplified them multi-fold, and… shoved all of those ingredients into a worse context. It ruined the significance of the S1 finale, and shoehorned ‘reasssssonsss’ to insert the new characters.

Also… apparently a contract now is as binding as a pinky swear between toddlers?

Also, I’d like to add how even both voice actors of the two demons hated it.

Ono Daisuke (Sebastian) was asked for his opinion of season 2, and he said that: “even I, Sebastian, learned of new sides of this character that I never expected to see”. Sakurai Takahiro (Claude) in turn, was asked why he thought they cast him for this role, to which he replied: “because he wears glasses, just like me. I think it’s called the glasses-casting-method.”

Book of Circus

Personal rating: 8/10

The animation itself felt quite static, but it was nice to finally see something animated almost perfectly faithfully to canon. The voice actors poured in so much more life and passion, and the cinematic record of Joker was very powerful.

Book of Murder

Personal rating: 8/10

I liked it, and the soundtrack chosen for these OVAs were great and fitted the theme perfectly. The animation, just like BoC, was quite static, but otherwise it is faithful to canon and represented the atmosphere quite well. First when Jeremy was introduced in the manga, many people really had no clue that he was Sebastian; the result of theories flying around in the fandom was quite nice.

In the anime, because Jeremy’s eyes were red, and because Ono Daisuke has a rather distinct voice, it was almost an instant giveaway to people who didn’t read the manga. But it’s fine. Ono Daisuke pulled everything out of his sleeve, and it was charming.

The French. I loved hating it. I don’t think I could have done a better job, but I loved hating it. French speakers out there, what did you think? ( ´艸｀)

Book of Atlantic

Personal rating: 6.5/10

I actually didn’t like it a lot, even though I went to the cinema for it THRICE!(σ＾罒＾)σ━━━!!

The good things:

Even though I didn’t really like the addition of the Double Charles, I did like love how they inserted a burn by Sebas at Grey’s expense. I think it was a wonderful re-introduction of Trash Demon™ being the salty prick he is, and how it tied back to the events of BoM.

The soundtrack designed for the movie was also great in my opinion, and the scene where Lizzie revealed herself was very touching. Me and many in the cinema were sobbing like babies, and the times that I went with people who don’t read the manga were also great, because they shock on their faces was ART.

Finally, I really liked how they concluded the story with everyone on the rescue ship. It really gave this very nice feeling of the survival of a big adventure.

The bad things:

The number 1 sin has to be how they trimmed Sebastian’s cinematic record, even though that is easily the biggest highlight of the Campania Arc. HOW COULD THEY!? ヽ(`Д´💢)ﾉ

The second thing is the ATROCIOUS animation. For the anime I understand why it would have limited budget, but the movie though? The movie was marketed SO big! some city buses in the city where I lived at the time wore the BotA skin! All Animates were PLASTERED with commercial for the movie… and then… this ⇊. I think EVERYONE agreed the CGI was jarring at least, and turned something so threatening into something nobody could take seriously.

This ⇊ was not necessarily bad animation, just a very dubious choice that I personally find quite tacky.

The third thing is - like I said before - the insertion of Double Charles who didn’t seem to add anything to the story. The time that went to their screentime could much better be spent on Sebas’ cinematic record.

Welp, that was all! Thank you for reading my rant!!! What did you guys think of the animated adaptations?

[the-desolated-quill]

Absent Friends - Watchmen blog

(SPOILER WARNING: The following is an in-depth critical analysis. if you haven’t read this comic yet, you may want to before reading this review)

At Midnight, All The Agents managed to set the tone with its cynical and biting critique of superheroes, presenting them as being violent felons or worthless failures indulging in power fantasies. The second issue, Absent Friends, sinks its teeth even deeper as we take a look at the Comedian’s past via flashbacks whilst the other characters attend his funeral and pay their respects.

So lets talk about the Comedian.

Aside from the accusations of rape, the first issue didn’t go into too much detail about Edward Blake, other than that no one besides Rorschach seemed to like him very much. This issue goes into much more detail as we see the Comedian at four major points in his history.

The first flashback is that of the Minutemen back in 1940, where we see Eddie try to rape Sally Jupiter, the first Silk Spectre. It’s a very shocking and disturbing scene, not just because of the fact that he’s supposed to be a superhero, but also because of the sheer brutality of the attack. Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons don’t hold back in depicting Comedian’s sickening behaviour, but they also don’t become too indulgent with it. They clearly take no pleasure from depicting this type of sexual violence and there is a legitimate artistic reason why it’s there. Prior to the flashback, we see the two Silk Spectres discuss the Comedian. Laurie is disgusted that Sally would have anything positive to say about Eddie after what he did, but what I find most interesting is a moment during the conversation where Sally shows Laurie a porno comic of her. This, to me, reveals what Moore and Gibbons are getting at here. Namely the role of women in superhero comics.

Female superheroes have always been something of a paradox. They need to be strong and independent, but not too strong and independent. We can’t have Wonder Woman upstaging Superman, now can we? Oh and of course they need to look sexy. Long hair flowing. Plenty of bare flesh showing. Tight leather outfits. High heels. Makeup. Never mind the fact that this getup is not remotely practical or appropriate to fight crime in. 

While this sexist attitude is slowly and thankfully fading away from modern comics, historically there has always been this kind of seediness to how women are presented in comics. They’re not there to empower women. They’re there to appeal to the male gaze. Sexy athletic women with massive boobs beating the shit out of baddies. They are, for lack of a better term, sex objects. Watchmen takes this to its extreme, presenting both Silk Spectres as being incredibly sexualised to the point where some characters, like the Comedian and the pornographer who made the comic, perceive them as being little more than sex objects. Not only that, but Sally and Laurie’s different perspectives on this sexualisation reflects the changing attitudes about women in comics at the time. Sally accepts the porno comics and the attempted rape as par for the course. The reality of being a woman. She even chose her costume herself in order to draw attention to herself in the hopes of jump-starting a modelling career. Laurie meanwhile didn’t choose the sexualised image that has been thrust onto her and is very vocal in her distaste toward how she’s perceived and how her mother is willing to brush it aside. People often have a tendency to write off Silk Spectre as being the weak link, but I don’t think that’s fair. There’s a lot going on with this character and in our current age of MeToo and social media empowering women to open up about their experiences, she’s a character that has become more and more relevant as time goes on.

The second flashback depicts Captain Metropolis trying to recruit the main characters into ‘the Crime Busters,’ only for the Comedian to ruin it with his nihilistic attitude. This mainly serves as a takedown of superhero crossovers like Justice League and the Avengers. Rorschach even comments on it, saying it feels more like a publicity stunt. It also serves as subtle foreshadowing for Ozymandias’ plan, but we’ll come to that in a future blog. But most importantly, it displays the Comedian’s changing attitude towards crime fighting. When he was with the Minutemen, he was happy to indulge in his own violent fantasies by beating up criminals, but now he’s become aware of how pointless it all is due to the Cold War. Capes and masks are useless against the nukes.

The next flashback depicts the Comedian and Doctor Manhattan fighting (and winning) the Vietnam War. This is probably my least favourite of the flashbacks and it’s because of Eddie killing a Vietnamese woman he had impregnated months earlier. Whereas the attempted rape of Sally felt thematically justified, the murder of a pregnant woman just felt like shock for the sake of shock and doesn’t really serve a purpose other than to reinforce the fact that the Comedian is a horrible human being. But it does raise an important issue. Superheroes and patriotism.

America has a few superheroes associated with it. Superman. Spider-Man. Captain America. But very rarely do comics explore the impact a superhero would have on a country’s political standing in the world. Having a superhuman associated with your country could tip the scales greatly in your favour, which is exactly what happens in Watchmen. Thanks to Doctor Manhattan and the Comedian, America is able to win the Vietnam War, turning it into the fifty first state. The United States is much more powerful than any country on Earth thanks to the likes of Manhattan, which is what has escalated the Cold War because the Russians are running scared of the threat America poses.

Morally speaking, any superhero who truly believes in justice and heroism should ideally be completely impartial. Siding with one country over another could seriously compromise the hero. But how, you might be tempted to ask. A superhero serving his country doesn’t sound so bad, right? Except there’s a world of difference between fighting for moral good and fighting for your country. This isn’t the same as stopping a mugger and giving an old lady her purse back. In war, good and evil isn’t so clearly defined. So by sending a superhero into a war zone, you’re effectively demonising a whole nation of people. Because the side with the hero must be good and the side fighting the hero must be bad, right? It imposes a black and white mentality onto a situation that is, to put it mildly, incredibly messy.

Another problem with having superheroes in the army (or any form of law enforcement) is that superheroes are a law unto themselves. They exist outside the chain of command. While, yes, the police and the military are both deeply flawed institutions, there are laws and safeguards that (in theory) prevent officers from abusing their power. Superheroes don’t have that. So with no one holding them to account, there’s nothing to stop them from going too far, as we see the Comedian do many times.

Which brings us to the fourth flashback. The police strike of 1977 where we see the Comedian and Nite Owl try to stop the riots and we hear about congress pushing through the Keene Act to outlaw superheroes.

Like Rorschach, the Comedian is also based on a Charlton Comics character. The Peacemaker. A militaristic superhero who believes heavily in pacifism and wishes to bring peace to the world.... through violence.

Yeah, I don’t get it either. But honestly, it feels like Moore and Gibbons are using the Comedian to take the piss out of Peacemaker. He’s a ‘superhero’ and yet we see him fire rubber bullets and tear gas at a crowd of people, murder a pregnant woman and try to rape someone. It’s as if they’re saying that it’s impossible to be both a hero and violent. We have a romanticised view of superheroes fighting crime, but where do we draw the line? Why is the rape of a woman unacceptable, but the beating of a criminal okay? Is it because the criminal is quote/unquote ‘evil?’ So are we saying that a criminal’s life is worthless the minute they break the law? If that’s the case, then the conversation has turned away from superheroes and toward fascism.

Many people describe the Comedian as a nihilist, which is true, but what a lot of people fail to recognise is that all the characters are technically nihilists. They all believe the world has no morality or meaning, but whereas the other characters of Watchmen impose their own personal morality onto the world, the Comedian does the opposite. He embraces the chaos and amorality of the world around him and uses his superhero identity to indulge in sex and violence. It’s what makes the smiley face logo so appropriate for the Comedian. Like the smiley face, superheroes are supposed to represent all that is good and just about this world. But just as the blood stain taints the smiley face, violence and corruption taints the image of the superhero.

The issue ends with Rorschach breaking into the cemetery to pay his respects and his final monologue I think perfectly sums up the despicable, but fascinating nature of the Comedian. In his journal, he tells the joke about Pagliacci, a clown whose act is recommended by a therapist as a cure for a patient’s depression. Except the patient in question is Pagliacci. 

What hope does America have when the superhero that’s meant to save them is just as corrupt and amoral as them?

[zuucc]

Netflix & chill?: A. Matthews I SMUT

Word count: 7,096

Smut: Yes

Summary: You and Auston are best friends with a hint of something more and Auston loves to tease you by calling your movie nights “netflix and chill”. This particular “netflix and chill” might live up to its name. 

Author’s note: Can you tell that I am in love with Auston by now? Maybe. Feedback is greatly appreciated!!

Masterlist linked in bio

“Netflix and chill?” you rolled your eyes as you read the message you just got from Auston, your annoying best friend. “What?” Amber, your friend and fellow student asked. She was sitting across from you at the library, the two of you had spent the entirety of your Friday afternoon in the library at U of T, helping each other out with your assignments. “Just Auston being annoying,” you mumbled, putting your phone back down, deciding that he didn’t deserve a text back immediately - because he was being annoying. “What’s new? Tell me, when are the two of you gonna fuck?” she looked up from the book she had been trying to get something out of for the past two hours. “Shut up, Amber,” you said a little to loud, causing the only other person in the library on a Friday evening to shoot you a death glare. “Honey, if you can tell me that you can’t feel that sexual tension between yourself and Auston, you’re lying to me. Also, better do it before someone else does,” she lectured you. You decided to not answer her either and went back to reading the same three sentences you had been reading over and over again for the past twenty minutes. 

“Fine, what did he text you that was so annoying that you couldn’t even bother to text him back?” she said after about ten minutes of silence. You had finally moved on to the next sentence, but looked up anyway. “How’d you know I didn’t answer him?” you squinted your eyes at her, already calling her bullshit. At first she shrugged, but gave up quickly when you didn’t let your squinting stare falter. “Fine, because he is now annoying me, asking me why you are leaving him on ‘read’,” she confessed. You rolled your eyes again, he really knew how to annoy you out of your mind. “He asked me to netflix and chill, which, before you say anything, means regular move night, not putting on a movie and then fucking before you’re five minutes in. And he knows that it annoys the shit out of me that he calls it that god awful, cliché, sexualised term,” you rage, putting on a fake smile to emphasise that you were done with the topic, before turning back to your book. “Well, please text him back, I don’t care what, but he is blowing up my phone,” she begged, showing you her locked iPhone that at the time showed five text messages from Auston that all said ‘Amber’. “Fine,” you mutter. “Also, you should go... to regular movie night, you deserve it, you’ve been here all day,” she said, sincerely. “Fiiiineeee,” you drag out the word, but you’re smiling. 

“netflix & chill? no, absolutely not. movie night? yes. pick me up at the library.” you finally texted him back, poor boy had waited thirteen full minutes. “i’ll be there in ten, can’t wait to netflix and chill,” he quickly responded. You once again rolled your eyes as you read his text, but you couldn’t help but smile. “annoying asshole,” you replied before diving back into the book in front of you, figuring you could probably force yourself to read about two more sentences before he showed up. 

You had managed to lay an entire paragraph behind you when you felt two strong arms snake around your neck. “Hey, babe. Hey, Amber,” Auston smiled before kissing your cheek. “Hey, asshole,” you smiled back. The entire school thought that you dated Auston Matthews - in fact, you were known as ‘the girl who dates Auston Matthews but doesn’t admit it’ - and when you thought about it, you didn’t blame them. You blamed Auston - he was handsy, clingy and everything in between, and only with you. To be honest, you loved it, you loved the attention and always having someone to cuddle or to give you a comforting hug when you really needed one.  But he was Auston Matthews, the Auston Matthews, that everyone in the entire country of Canada knew who was. Having Auston Matthews hanging over your shoulders, holding onto your hand or kissing your forehead, meant a lot of unwanted attention for you. You even had haters - you didn’t really care about them, you just thought that they were pathetic for being jealous at someone like you. Most of them were pretty, blonde, party girls who just wanted to sleep with him. Whenever one of them would come up to you with a snarky comment, you would always reply with an overly sarcastic answer like ‘yes, he is soooo good in bed, couldn’t even come to school yesterday, I COULDN’T WALK’. It didn’t really help your case, but you loved seeing their reactions. Then later you would go to Auston’s and tell him how a couple of his puck bunnies had come up to you that day and he would laugh is ass of when you told him your answer. 

“What’s up?” he asked, plopping down on the chair next to you. “Oh, you know, just hanging out, having the time of our lives,” you answered, looking over at him with the fakest smile you could manage. “Wow, you’re a delight,” he answered, just as sarcastically as you had. “How do you guys stand each other?” Amber looks up from her book to look at the two of you, finding Auston with his arm reached towards you, trying to ruffle your hair, and you leaning over the side of your chair, holding onto his wrist with both hands, trying to get away from him.  “What? We love each other,” Auston smiles dumbly. “Clearly.. Please leave before Ms. physics over here tries to kill us all,” she whispered the last part, pointing over her shoulder at the girl who had been annoyed with you before Auston even came bursting in. “It will be my pleasure, Amber,” Auston answered, making you laugh while you shoved the last book into your backpack. “See, she loves me,” he then pointed out, making you put on a fake frown again. He then proceeded to steal your backpack out from your hands and running out of the building before you could yell another feminist lecture at him again - which you did whenever he tried to carry things for you, that you could obviously carry yourself. “Bye, Amber, see you Monday,” you said, quickly giving her a hug before you ran out after him, immediately finding your place under his arm with yours around his waist as soon as you caught up to him. 

“So, do you want actual food or just snacks?” Auston asks, looking over at you, as the two of you walk into the grocery store closest to his place. “Uh, both?” you smile up at him, innocently. “Food wreck,” he mumbled under his breath. “Fuck off, Matthews,” you chuckled, grabbing some guacamole and some chips. “You know that guac is fake, right?” he comments, judging you. “Hey, just because it’s not as good as your mother’s does not mean that it’s fake. And we both know that you’re gonna eat just as much as me,” you argue, pointing your finger at him. You had met his mother once, and Auston had made sure that she made her famous guac for you before she left - and he was right, every other guac tasted low key shit after that, but it was still guac and it still filled your guacamole needs. Auston just rolled his eyes, knowing that you were right. You grabbed a couple of more things before heading to the check out, fighting Auston in front of the cashier to let you pay for the food, and then driving the last bit to his apartment. 

You stepped into the elevator, holding onto the bag of groceries. Auston stepped behind you and you leant back, resting against him - tired after a long day of studying. An older woman stepped in just a second before the door closed and smiled at the two of you. “Where are you going?” Auston asked her kindly as you were stood right next to the buttons. “28th, thank you,” she smiled and Auston pressed the button placed a few rows down from the one you had pressed when you walked in. Auston then proceeded to put his arms around you, rubbing your arms in the chilly elevator. You looked up at him smiling thankfully and he kissed your temple. You turned your head back, meeting the older woman’s eyes. She smiled again, clearly thinking that you and Auston were together and that you lived together with him, nineteen floors above herself. The elevator came to a stop at the 28th floor and the woman looked directly at you before stepping out. “You should keep him,” she smiled, and then disappeared around the corner before you could say anything back. Not that you would know what to answer. Auston burst out laughing the second the doors shut. “Fuck off,” you mumbled, but couldn’t quite keep the smile off your lips. “She’s right though, you should keep me. I’m such a keeper,” he said, smirking. “Asshole,” you mumbled and looked up at the ever changing number over the door, waiting for the number to reach forty-seven. “But you love me, though,” he mumbled back, but you just kept quiet, patiently waiting for the blush on your face to fade out. Auston tightened his arms around you, hugging you to him. 

Half and hour later you had just about licked the box of guacamole clean and you were twenty minutes into a terrible, clichéd Netflix original movie. “I’m cringing so hard, I might die,” you complained, squeezing your eyes shut as the short and awkward main character once again tried to kiss the girl that was about a light year out of his league (and a foot taller). “It’s not that bad,” he argued, but you opened your eyes just in time to see him cringe at the scene as well. “Can we just put on Friends or something?” you whined, reaching over to poke at him until he gave in. “Fine, but on one condition,” he said, pointing at you. You rolled your eyes and leant back in the sofa. “What?” you groaned. “You have to come over here and cuddle me,” he smiled, opening his arms. You pretended to be annoyed but you couldn’t quite hide your smile. This time he didn’t tease you about it, though, he knew better. 

Auston grabbed the apple-tv remote and turned on a random episode of Friends. Both of you had watched all the seasons, so whenever you couldn’t agree on what to watch, you just turned on a random season and episode of Friends. You moved up on your knees and then laid down on top Auston, who laid on the other end of the sofa. His arms immediately embraced you. You placed your head on his chest and got comfortable. “Happy now?” you mumbled into his sweatshirt. “Mhm,” he breathed into your hair. “I think you’re pretty happy, too,” he then added, kissing your head. “Don’t push your luck,” you whispered, but moved one of your hands to the back of his neck, letting your fingers play with his hair, just like you knew he liked it. 

You were halfway through the third episode of the night when Auston groaned. “Can we move? My ass is falling asleep,” he lifted his arms from your back. “Mm, but I’m so comfortable,” you whined, your head tucked in under his chin. “I promise you can be just as comfortable,” he begged. “I worked way too hard on these glutes for them to die and fall off,” he then added. You slowly lifted your body from his and stood up beside the sofa that you had been camped on for the last couple of hours. Auston looked up at you with big eyes, surprised at how easily you’d been convinced. “What? Auston, I would do anything to save your ass,” you said, seriously. He laughed and got up, stretched and jumped up and down a few times to get the circulation going again. “It’s that good, huh?” he smirked. “Yes, it’s gods gift to women and gay men,” you nodded, making Auston shake his head in disbelief. “You only love me for my ass,” he pretended to be hurt. “True,” you shrugged and laid back down on the sofa. 

“What are you doing? We’re still going to cuddle,” Auston whined, not seeing the potential cuddling positions when you were sprawled out on your back. “Calm down, needy boy. We’re just trying something new,” you told him and pushed yourself to the edge of the sofa. Luckily, Auston had a huge ass sofa. “Stop calling me a needy boy,” he argued. “You are a needy boy. Lay down on your side here,” you patted the space between you and the soft sofa pillows. “I know, but you don’t need to use it as a nickname,” he mumbled, but did as you told him. This was what your relationship with Auston was about - constant cuddling and bickering/teasing back and forth. “I’mma nickname you whatever I want, needy boy. Now, you can lay on top of me without crushing me to death,” you smiled at him and he smiled back, fitting himself underneath your arm, resting his head on your chest - your hand immediately finding it’s way into his hair again. There had been multiple occasions where Auston had laid on top of you, and every time you had nearly died from lack of air. “This is great,” he sighed happily, clearly satisfied with the position he was in. “I know, right? It’s like you’re my human blanket,” you smiled, running your fingers through the hair on top of his head. “Mm, and your tits are great pillows,” he mumbled, literally into your tits. “Again, don’t push your luck,” you said, sternly, but not really minding the fact that Auston enjoyed your boobs - it wasn’t the first time he had commented on them. Let’s be honest - if it hadn’t been for Auston hitting on you at a bar two years ago, you wouldn’t even know each other today. You didn’t hook up with him, but his pick up line was too damn funny for you to let him go.

About seven episodes into what had turned into a Friends marathon, Auston started tracing circles on a little piece of bare skin, peaking out from underneath your sweater. By the eight episode, his entire hand was underneath your shirt, his thumb moving in a little circle on your waist, as the rest of his hand laid flat on your hipbone. Your focus slowly moved from the TV-screen to the feeling of his big hand on your bare skin. His hand moved upwards, so slow that you didn’t even know if it was intentional. His thumb was coming fairly close to the thin material of your bralette. “Aus,” you whispered. “Hm?” he responded. If you could even call that a response. “What are you doing?” you continued to whisper. “What?” he whispered back. You didn’t even know why you were whispering, and Auston was clearly unaware of what he was doing. When you didn’t answer, he lifted his head to look at you, only to find that your eyes was on his hand underneath your shirt. “Oh, shit, I’m so sorry,” he quickly pulled his hand out of your shirt. His cheeks turned red and he looked down, avoiding your eyes. “I didn’t think about what I was doing, I’m sorry if I,” you interrupted him. “No, hey, it’s fine, you don’t need to be embarrassed,” you told him sincerely, putting your hands on top of his shoulders, signalling for him to lay back down. He smiled shyly and kissed your cheek before laying back down on your chest. 

His hand now laid still on your stomach and you found yourself wanting to touch his hand, kind off missing the way his hand felt on your skin. Your fingers were already running through his hair, it wasn’t like more contact would hurt. You moved your free hand on top of his, your fingers tracing his, until he tangled his fingers with yours. “Can’t keep your hands off me, huh?” he teased, lightheartedly. “You’re one to talk,” you snorted and you could feel him smile against your chest. And then he was quiet for a while again. Awfully quiet, didn’t even chuckle when Joey for some reason made a fool off himself for the hundredth time. 

“Auston?” you whispered, thinking he might’ve fallen asleep. “Yeah?” he asked, leaning up on his elbow to meet your gaze. “You were just so.. quiet,” you smiled. “I was just thinking,” he smiled back, moving his hand to tuck some of your hair behind your ear. His hair had fallen in front of his eyes, and you tried to tuck it back like he had just done for you, but it kept falling back down. He chuckled at your many failed attempts. “It’s not going to stick. I’m pretty sure that all the product that was ever in my hair is on your hands now,” he told you, smiling sweetly, making a tiny blush creep onto your cheeks. “You say that like you don’t like it,” you mumble, looking away. “Oh, no, I love it,” he smiles again. It was something about the way he was smiling that made you blush, so you kept looking away from his gaze - or his smile. Auston laid back down, placing his head closer to your neck this time. You could feel his breath on your collarbone and you couldn’t get him out of your head.

“So, what where you thinking about, that made you so quiet?” you asked after a while, your finger tracing the back of his hand. He was quiet, you could only hear him breathing. He was quiet for so long that you didn’t think that he would answer. But he did, and his answer didn’t exactly help your case. A case that you didn’t understand. “You.. Us, I guess,” he mumbled into your shirt, his fingers once again taking hold of yours. His answer must’ve somehow weakened your vocal cords because you had a hard time finding your voice after that. “Okay?” you managed to get out after a while, hoping that he would tell you more without you having to fish it out of him. “Yeah,” he breathed, and you bit your lip hoping for more. You didn’t know what was going on, usually when the two of you got deep and serious it was about hockey or missing your families or stressing about uni, never about us. It had never been an us. You took a deep breath that somehow reminded Auston to talk. 

“I just, I don’t even know what I’m thinking. It’s just me, and you, a lot of you, and this,” he spoke, lifting his body again, to meet your eyes. You nodded, unconsciously biting your lip. You didn’t even realize your were doing it, until you felt Auston’s thumb on your lower lip, carefully pulling it out from between your teeth. “Don’t do that,” he whispered, and you nodded, your eyes completely lost in his. His finger stayed on your lip for a while, before moving over your cheek, and then ending up cupping the side of your face. “You’re just,” he sighed, looking away from you, staring out into the room. “I’m what, Auston?” you whispered when he’d been quiet too long, your hand touching the side of his jaw, making him turn his attention back to you. “You’re my favourite person,” he shrugged, making the sides of your lips turn upwards. “You’re the only person that puts up with me, with my humour, with my clinginess and my constant need for physical contact, even if that changes so much for you. You’re still here, even if that means unwanted attention, and.. I know I only say that I love you when I’m like, joking and stuff, but I really do love you, and I hope you know that.” You nod your head yes, a small smile on your lips. Auston smiles, too, but bites his lip, scared he’d said too much. Scared that he stepped over a line with the ‘I love you’. 

“Don’t do that,” you repeat his words, whispering, putting your thumb on his lower lip, just like he had done on yours. He released his lip, but you couldn’t make yourself remove your hand from his face. You slide your thumb over his cheek, feeling his stubble against your smooth skin. Auston closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. He leans closer to you, resting his forehead against yours. You move your hand to the back of his head. “Fuck,” he mumbles under his breath and then his lips are pressed against yours, and you’re kissing him back and everything is perfect. Your lips part but then they’re right back on each other again, moving together like it was their purpose to do so. You find yourself wishing you’d done this before, but then again, no. You would have never gotten to know him like you do now if you’d fallen for his pick up line, instead of laughing at it. If you’d followed him home, instead of asking him to go get curly fries with you. If you had slept with him, instead of sitting in that diner until they were closing, laughing at each others jokes. 

Auston pulled back to catch his breath, his eyes finding yours immediately. “I love you so much,” he whispered, letting his finger trace your swollen lip. “I love you, too, Auston, I really do,” you sighed, like a weight had been lifted off your shoulders. Like you wouldn’t have to worry anymore. Everything you would ever need was right there in front of you, and you hadn’t even realised until now. The last two years you had spent comparing every potential partner to Auston. They were never funny enough, never kind enough, never cuddly enough, never tall enough, broad enough, hockey enough... They were never Auston enough. You spent the next minute smiling at each other, before you eventually decided that you wouldn’t want to spend another second of that night without your lips pressed against his, and you leant back in, fitting your lips to his like they were meant to be there. 

Auston hummed against your lips, making you smile at the same time as it sent shock waves down to your core. Your lips slipped open and Auston took his chance to slip his tongue inside, lightly moving it against yours. His hand trailed from the side of your face all the way down to your waist, where he pulled you closer to him, making room for him to move you both to your sides. His hand slowly moved underneath your shirt, his palm pressing to the curve of your back, making you arch into him. Auston groaned as you did so and you finally realized which way your innocent kisses had quickly taken a turn. The voice in the back of your head said ‘this is moving too fast’, but the hand slowly sliding down your back towards your ass said something completely different - and your body apparently wanted to listen to that hand. You lifted your leg to let it tangle with his legs, Auston’s thigh moving in between yours. It was innocent at first - just a way of being even closer to each other - but then his hand moved down to your thigh, hiking your leg over his hip as his thigh moved higher, pressing against your heat. The action made a low moan slip from the back of your throat, but you didn’t know if Auston heard it, he was focusing on slowly rubbing his hand up and down your thigh, while making sure his tongue still tangled with yours. 

Your hand went from Auston’s hair to feeling the muscles in his upper arm work when his hand gripped around your jeans clad thigh. From there, it went to fisting his sweatshirt, to sliding down his torso, slipping underneath it, slowly sliding over his abs, to his waist, to his back. Auston hummed against you, his lips starting a trail from your lips to your jaw, ending up underneath your ear, his breath creating goosebumps on your neck. “Mm, you’re handsy, aren’t you?” he spoke, softly, dragging wet lips down your neck. Normally you would have a witty response, but your brain didn’t work as fast as it usually did. “Shut up,” you breathed, pressing your heel into his ass, pushing him against you. The act not only resulting in a moan against your neck, but also the feeling of something hard against your hipbone. “Fine,” he chuckled lightheartedly and continued his trail of kisses down to your collarbone. His hand moved underneath your shirt again, his rough hands leaving you with goosebumps everywhere they touched your bare skin. You couldn’t help but dig your nails into his back muscles when he lightly bit into the skin over your collarbone, his tongue sticking out between his teeth. He groaned, moving onto the other side of your neck. You immediately tilted your head the other way, eager to feel his lips on your sensitive skin. He kissed his way all the way back up to your face, where he pulled back to look at you, all breathless and hot for him. 

“Touch me,” you whispered, breathing heavily. You watched Auston’s reaction carefully, seeing his eyes light up and then darken. He smashed his lips to yours, while his hand moved down your front, quickly undoing the button and the zipper of your conveniently loose mom-jeans, before it slipped inside both your jeans and your underwear. His fingers immediately finding your wet slit, slipping in between your lips. “Fuck,” he cursed against your lips. “What?” you breathed, looking up and seeing Auston looking down to where his hand disappear into your underwear. “You’re so wet for me,” he whispered, like he was surprised - like he didn’t think you’d be wet after making out with him for twenty minutes. “Yeah?” you smiled, wanting to tease him for his stupid statement, but your voice was clearly affected by his fingers in your pants. He looked up at you with a wide grin on his face and you just shook your head in disbelief. “After you rejected me big time and sent me straight to the friendzone in that bar two years ago I guess I just never thought I could get you like this,” he said, his cheeks turning red at the same time. You couldn’t help but laugh and you were about to say something overly sarcastic and mean, but Auston let one of his fingers slip inside of you and you just ended up moaning way too loud - much to Auston’s amusement. 

Auston pumped his finger in and out of you at a slow pace, adding a second one after a few minutes. Your breathing was heavier than ever and another loud moan rolled off your tongue when Auston finally found your clit, letting his thumb roll circles over it. You couldn’t concentrate on kissing him anymore, too caught up with the familiar feeling that slowly started to appear in your stomach. Auston’s lips once again trailed down your neck, stopping to suck at a spot he noticed was extra sensitive. You had a fistful of Auston’s hair in your hand, and one of his sweater in the other, feeling your high coming closer and closer. “Aus,” you breathed - your voice low but your breaths heavy. “Yeah, babe?” he spoke into your neck before looking up. “So close,” you breathed again, not being able to form a full sentence. You saw Auston smile - or more like smirk - and then his fingers started to move faster. His other hand went into your hair, grabbing a fistful too hold you in place, wanting you to look at him. You mentally thanked yourself for the time you had drunkenly told him about what you liked during sex - one of the things being hair-pulling. “Come on babe,” he encouraged you - his eyes looking straight into yours. And you came - hard - with a string of breathy moans.

Once your breathing had slowed, you open your eyes to see Auston with wide eyes and his mouth hanging slightly open. “What?” you chuckle, smiling. “That is... that is the most beautiful sound I have ever heard,” he said, in awe. “What? What sound?” you asked, not understanding what the hell he was talking about. “You coming, that like breathing-moaning thing you just did, fuck babe,” he explained and you felt like all the blood in your body rushed to your cheeks, your hands immediately going to cover your face. “No, stop, I mean it,” he grabbed your wrists, pulling them from your face. “It’s just embarrassing,” you whined, but your smile was wide and toothy.

You decided that you’d had enough attention for a while and turned the conversation, and your hands, over to Auston. You lowered your leg from his hip, just leaning your knee against his thigh instead, to give your hands more space. “But over to what you said earlier, did you really think that I wasn’t attracted to you? Just because I rejected you? Just because I didn’t fall for your pickup line?” you teased, as you slowly let your hand slide over his stomach and down to the rather big bulge in his pants. Auston swallowed hard, looking down at where your hand was sat, before quickly looking back up at you. “Uhm, no, not to sound like douche but like, I saw you look at me earlier that night, so I could tell that you either just thought that I was hot or something, or you knew who I was.. And usually my pickup lines work when they know who I am, and obviously if you know... it sounds so douche that I’m not even gonna say it again,” he told you, his breath becoming heavier by the second. “Mm, but I did knew who you were,” you told him, leaning in to kiss his jaw. “Yeah, but you knew a bit too much,” he chuckled, referring to what you had said to him that night. 

‘Wow, Auston Matthews, the Casanova himself... Is that how you’ve managed too sleep with half of Toronto?’ 

“Hm, I thought I did, you proved me wrong,” you hummed into his neck. “Mhm,” he hummed back. “But it never meant that I didn’t find you attractive. Just because you think someone is attractive doesn’t mean that you wanna pounce - and also, one can change it’s mind,” you continue talking against his neck, your lips barely touching his neck. Auston didn’t answer, though. He groaned, hooking his hand underneath your body and pulling you up, closer to his face. His lips immediately pressed against yours, hands still pulling you closer. His hand finds its way inside your still open jeans, sliding down on your ass, grabbing a handful as his tongue slipped into your mouth. You moved on to elastic of his sweatpants, quickly slipping inside - both the pants and the boxers. You didn’t just hear him groaning, but you also felt it against your lips, and it sent shockwaves down to your heat. You started to slowly give him a hand job, loving the feeling off his heavy breath against the side of your face. 

All of a sudden, Auston grabbed your wrist, holding your hand still. You pulled back to meet his eyes. “Do you really want this?” he looked so vulnerable - in more ways than one. Not just in the way that you literally had his most vulnerable body part in your hand, but also in a ‘please don’t break my heart’ kind of way. You let go of him and pulled yourself free from his grasp, placing your hand on his chest. “Auston,” you wanted his attention, fully. He took a deep breath and looked into your eyes. “I promise you that I want this, I didn’t know that you didn’t think that I.. That I didn’t like you like this? But I do, Auston. The past two years I’ve spent constantly comparing every guy, and girl for that matter, to you - and every single one came up short,” his expression softened and you moved your hand to the side of his face. “It took some time to understand why I did that and to admit it to myself, but it’s you, Auston, it’s always been you,” Auston kissed you immediately, and you kissed him back like your life depended on it. 

This time, the kiss wasn’t rushed, it was heated and deep and passionate, but it was slow and loving, like you had all the time in the world to kiss each other. Auston pulled you even closer, hugging you to him as you laid beside him on the sofa, your legs tangled with his. Your shirt moved up your back, his hand slowly sliding it up, wanting to feel every part of your soft skin while he removed it from your body. As soon as it was off you, you started on his shirt, wanting to feel his skin against yours. While you were at it, Auston climbed back over you, stilling to take you in and let his hands run over your stomach and your waist, before lightly moving his thumb over your nipple, which clearly showed through your thin bralette. You reached out for him, pulling him down on top of you. Your lips are back on each other in seconds, like they’re magnetic polars always attracting the other. Your hands ended up on his back and in his hair, grabbing onto whatever could help you keep him close to you forever. You arched your back and Auston’s hand slipped underneath you, unclasping your bra. He pulled away from you to remove it, leaving you with a lingering kiss. He stopped to admire your bare breasts, his fingers lightly dancing over the incredibly soft skin.  He bent back down, but let his lips move over your nipples before slowly kissing his way back up to your lips. His hand stayed on your breast, massaging it, while he focused on having his lips on yours. 

You let your hand slide down his chest and over his torso, feeling his muscles working underneath your fingertips. You hooked your legs around his hips, using your feet to help you push down his sweatpants. Auston kicked them off and quickly moved onto yours. Sitting up on his knees to slide your jeans down your thighs and letting them fall to the floor. He then moved his fingers in between your thighs, leaving a trace of goosebumps from your knees to your heat. His fingers hooked into the sides of your lacy underwear - his eyes moving back to yours, asking for consent before taking them off. You nodded and they ended up on the floor with the rest of your clothes. His thumb disappeared into your slit, dipping into you before sliding up to your clit. “Aus,” you moaned and sat up, getting up on your knees to reach him, pressing your lips to his. You pushed his boxers down his thighs and took him into your hand again, giving him a few tugs as his hands ended up on your behind, one hand grasping your cheek and the other disappearing in between your legs. A finger slid inside you while he, at the same time, pulled you closer to him, pressing his erection in between your bodies. 

Auston’s hand moved to the back of your thighs, dragging your knees from underneath you, making you fall back on the couch. You giggled and he smiled back at you. It was one of those wide, real and genuine smiles, that very few were able to get out of Auston. You were lucky enough to be one of those few. He stood up beside the sofa and let his boxers fall down his legs. You watched him as he stood, a hand on his member, looking around himself. “I need to get a condom,” he mumbled as he turned towards his bedroom, but your quickly reached out and grabbed his wrist. “I’m on the pill,” you breathed, desperate to have him back in your arms. “You sure you don’t wanna?” he asked, standing over you. “As long as you’re clean I don’t see why not,” you smiled, placing your hand on his cheek. He nodded, big smile on his face. He climbed back on top of you, carefully laying down between your legs. 

He moved his lips to press against yours, one hand underneath your head and one caressing your waist - sometimes moving further up and touching the side of your boob. His erection laid pressed against your heat, teasing your clit. You spread your legs out further, giving him more room. He moaned when more of your wetness came to touch him. He slid down your body, but just a couple of inches. His face was so close to yours that you could feel his breath on your slick and swollen lips, and he stared into your eyes as he took hold of himself and slowly pushed inside you. You watched as his mouth fell open and his eyes closed. “Mm, you feel so good,” he hummed as he nuzzled his face into your neck, stilling to let you adjust to his size. You were thankful for his patience, Auston was big and you needed your time to get comfortable. “Just tell me when you’re ready, okay?” he said, his hand moving to caress your cheek. You laid still for a little while longer before you half whispered-half moaned into his ear. “I’m ready.” Auston came back up and kissed you, and let his lips stay on yours as he slowly pulled back out and then thrust back in. His movements paired with the slow and sensual kissing provoking a moan from you. 

His hand roamed over your body - finger trailing over your nipple, before cupping and massaging your breast, then moving on to your hip, before it disappeared behind your back and he pressed you closer to himself. And then his hand ended up on your thigh, slowly moving a flat hand up and down the back of it, before he hooked his hand behind your knee and hiked your leg up on his hip. This gave him a deeper angle, letting him hit places inside you he hadn’t been able to reach before. Your mouth fell open against his lips, low, breathy moans escaping. His hand kept sliding up and down your thigh, his calloused fingertips leaving goosebumps on your soft skin. Auston moved his lips to your neck, making sure the moans that came out of your mouth never stopped. You moved your hand down his back, letting your other hand stay on the back of his neck with a fistful of his hair between your fingers. You moved your other leg over his hip as well, securing them together around him. 

This urged Auston to speed up a little bit. He upped his tempo as he let his lips move down your throat, leaving lingering kisses above your collarbones. His thrusts were still kind of slow, but they were harder and he hit the right spots every time. Your fingers dug into his back and you tightened your legs around him, feeling the knot in your stomach become unbearably tight by the second. You heard Auston’s breathing become heavier and every once in a while, groans made an appearance in his throat. “Babe?” he started but you answered his question long before he could ask. “I’m so close,” you breathed, turning your head towards him and he placed his lips back on yours. 

His hand moved in between your bodies, moving down until he could place his thumb on your clit. Your legs, as well as your insides, clenched around him as he managed to get you even closer to your high. The sound of Auston’s deep moans and heavy breaths also helped you closer to what would be your second orgasm of the night. At this point, you weren’t really kissing anymore, it was just open mouths against each other, while you both panted and moaned. “Babe,” Auston moaned, and you knew that he could barely hold it in anymore. “Let go,” he encouraged, putting extra pressure on your clit while he still pushed in and out of you. And you let go with a long, breathy moan, As soon as Auston felt your walls clench around his member he let go as well, lazily thrusting into you a few more times, eyes clenched and a long and groan coming out of his open mouth, before he collapsed against you with his head falling to your chest. 

You had unclenched your legs from him and now you were just tracing circles and lines on his back with your fingers. Auston’s head was tucked underneath your chin and he, just like you, was tracing patterns on your skin. “You don’t have work tomorrow, right?” Auston asked, his eyes focused on the patterns he was drawing with his finger. “No, why do you ask?” you hum into his hair. “Do you have something else planned?” he asked, not really answering your question. “Should probably do my assignment, but you know, I can finish that on Friday...” you answered, sensing were this conversation might be going. You could feel him smile into your chest and you move your hand up to lightly ruffle his hair. He got up on his elbows to look at you. You met his stare with loving eyes, adored by his tired eyes and messy hair. “I was just hoping that you’ll stay the night and like, the entire day and maybe that night again,” he smiled shyly. “Of course, Auston,” you chuckled, pressing a kiss to his lips. “Good, ‘cause I’m going to bed right now and I was i no possible way going to accept sleeping alone tonight,” he chuckled as well, before he quickly pulled out of you, got up and lifted you up - making you squeal. 

[pass-the-bechdel]

Stargate SG1 s06e16 ‘Metamorphosis’

Does it pass the Bechdel Test?

Yes, once.

How many female characters (with names and lines) are there?

Four (30.76% of cast).

How many male characters (with names and lines) are there?

Nine.

Positive Content Rating:

Two. 

General Episode Quality:

Solid.

MORE INFO (and potential spoilers) UNDER THE CUT:

Passing the Bechdel:

Carter speaks with Nirrti when she is summoned to the machine.

Female characters:

Rush.

Samantha Carter.

Janet Fraiser.

Nirrti.

Male characters:

Jonas Quinn.

Walter Harriman.

Jack O’Neill.

Sergei Ivanov.

Alebran.

George Hammond.

Teal’c.

Wodan.

Eggar.

OTHER NOTES:

O’Neill is still so racist about Russians...

Two sweeping shots up Nirrti’s body, one scene after the next? C’mon, guys. And in the second one she’s improbably posed with her entire bare leg jacked out to the side, too. And then they have her proposition Jonas in a scene that opens with the camera literally angled through the space between Nirrti’s legs as she lounges! LITERALLY.

They are REALLY pushing the sexy-Nirrti thing in this episode, wow. There’s absolutely no reason for her to proposition Jonas: there’s zero gain for her in trying to win him as a free-willed ally, it could only possibly endanger her. If she wanted his cool advanced-human body with its potential for nifty psychic powers, she’d just take him as a host, that easy. Genderless symbiote, remember? They even referred to Nirrti as a he back in season one when the character was introduced by name but not seen, which I’ve always imagined was just an oopsie, but technically it implies that Nirrti has occupied a male host in the past. The reason I assume the pronoun usage there was an accident is the same reason they’re trying to convince us that Nirrti wants Jonas to be her partner and not her host: this show is aggressively hetero and binary to the degree that it rarely seems to even remember that symbiotes are genderless, and it’s obvious that they didn’t really think about what that meant back in the day when they wrote it. They really are very, very bad at this stuff.

The over-sexualisation of Nirrti here is just too egregious for me to give ‘em a standard three on the content rating, to be honest. I wavered over it a bit, but end of the day, I couldn’t balk at camera shots between a woman’s legs and shrug it off as ‘standard practice’ in the same breath. The lingering shots over her cleavage are gross, but so expected that I have undoubtedly failed to flag such things in other episodes/shows because you see that kind of thing so often the mind just glosses over it. The extent to which Jaqueline Samuda’s body is treated like a sex object in this episode is far too excessive to be overlooked or sighingly dismissed; I imagine the director setting up that shot between her thighs and thinking himself so terribly clever, visually communicating Nirrti’s intent like that. No awareness whatsoever. It’s not good enough to start with, and in an episode that also ends with Nirrti’s violent demise? Not good enough by half. 

[eye-holesinapaperbag]

You know what I’m not gonna pretend that Joss Whedon is a perfect writer, I think it’d be unfair to say that about any writer but that’s not the point, for now Joss Whedon is not a perfect writer. There are certainly issues in his scripts, the occasional racism being a big one (although one thing I think we should all bear in mind: don’t think it’s ever been intentional. Not an excuse by any means, but there’s a big difference between being a racist writer and being a flawed writer who fucks up every so often because they don’t get the intricacies of the issue).

However I do not understand the sudden hatred of him on this site. Like actually stop and think it through for a second here. Go back to buffy, actually think it through. Again, not perfect writing, and some stuff in the early seasons could potentially be interpreted as slut-shaming (although I genuinely believe if you go and watch it again without a closed mind, that was absolutely not the intention). But can we just not forget how fucking important that show was? How much that show paved the way for better representation in tv and movies. It was one of the earliest shows to have an openly lesbian relationship within the main cast (and especially in a main stream show), which honestly I think was handled really well for the time (late 90s, early 2000s, really not a good time for this stuff on tv). It was never sexualised, like even remotely, it was just shown as a normal relationship. The one time it was slightly sexualised was in a dream sequence in Zanders mind which was intended to show the grossness of straight cis dudes. And also to the people complaining that almost no lesbian kisses were shown and the characters were always referred to as “gay” without a mention of the possibility of being bi, REMEMBER WHEN THIS SHOW CAME OUT. Honestly it’s astounding that they got away with showing what they did. Seriously shows we’re being pulled around that time for being less explicit than that.

In terms of buffy as a female character, again there are certainly flaws but AGAIN think about when this came out. Think about other shows around then. Buffy was as good as it got then for feminism. And sure, it could have been better for that stuff but if it wasn’t for buffy we would not be at the point we are at now. We’d be several years behind. She gave young girls a role model, who was tough and a badass but also vulnerable and could be very feminine. She was a well rounded, well written character. A female character who was given an opportunity to be flawed.

Buffy is the reason for so much of the the advancements we’ve had in tv representation and how these characters are written and developed. Yes it would’ve been nice if a non straight white dude was given the opportunity to pave that path, but again at that point in time that was simply not going to happen. That isn’t Joss Whedons fault, and you know what he did a damn good job as a replacement. I mean what do you want him to do? Not write parts for women and lgbtq characters? Sure he’s not the most qualified but speaking as part of the latter community I’d much rather he tried than just didn’t bother, and so far he’s done a good job by me.

Touching on firefly for a second, here’s a mainstream sci-fi show with an ensemble cast with a 50/50 split between male and female characters. Again, that was not common back then. All the female characters are well written, well rounded, interesting and diverse characters. Each one was distinctly different from each other and never once blended together, arguably even more so than the male characters. A point I forgot to mention with buffy was that these were characters who were able to enjoy their sexuality and were never put down for that, except to make a point about a male character being gross. Mal makes comments about Inara’s occupation as a companion but this is always shown as kinda gross and as a representation of a certain way of thinking about things that was separated from what was expected from the audience (mal was frequently shown to be NOT a representative of the audience, hence why he was able to be a very flawed character). Also, while less obvious and less talked about, Inara is a canonically bi character (Kaylee may also be, although that’s a bit more implication than with Inara). I say it again, all of this was a fucking big and frankly brave move when these shows came out and helped a whole fucking lot with improving writing quality and representation.

On top of all of this, both of these shows were just really fucking good. All of this was handled brilliantly, because they just got on with their stories and character development. The lesbian relationship in buffy was a big plot line but the plot line was never “look willows gay now”, it was 100% of the time “willows in a happy relationship, isn’t that nice” and the fact that it was with a girl was talked about exactly as much as it should be which means, if we are talking about true representation here, not very often. Like, a realistic amount. When willow comes out to buffy she’s surprised for like 10 seconds and then the show moves on, which is how it fucking should be. It wasn’t a lazily thrown together “coming out and dealing with my lesbianism” plot line, it just got on with things because that how real relationships work. Even today, how many mainstream shows can you think of which handle this subject that well?

And very quickly on avengers, DOES EVERYBODY REMEMBER HOW FUCKING WELL WRITTEN AVENGERS 1 IS? And then sure, he made some bad choices in AOU, but that was around the time that marvel was cracking down on its writers and directors to make sure that the films fitted into the wider mcu. Marvel had full creative control over AOU, and completely crushed whedons creativity. That’s why he left marvel if you remember, because he wasn’t able to make his film, he made a film put together by money people. I 100% believe that’s where the concerning choice about Natasha’s character came from. Not him.

Ive only seen bits and pieces of whedons scrapped Wonder Woman script. I’m not going to deny that it sucks because it does. It really does. I’m a whedon fan, but it sucks. But what we really need to hear in mind is:

A) It was written 10 years ago. Yes firefly and buffy were before that but in the course of 10 years chances are he’s improved. B) it was a first draft. Pretty much every script ever sucks in its first draft, because it hasn’t been refined but also because writers have to include the shit that keeps the producers happy in their first draft, and then they can figure out how to improve it once it’s green light. C) This is one bad script. 1. Writers fuck up sometimes. Are we really gonna throw a writer under the bus based on 1 dodgy script? Honestly that’s a fucked up way of judging art and a scary precedent to set. “Awh ya fucked up once? Awh well, fuck you forever.” Like seriously? Get a grip.

We don’t know what the justice league scenes he’s doing are going to be like yet (and let’s be fucking real here, they’re going to be a hell of a lot better than whatever awful, steaming pile of shit a puke that Snyder has come up with), and we know nothing about his batgirl movie yet. How about we all climb down of the high horse for a second and just wait and see instead of pre-judging him like a bunch of whiny entitled babies.

Yes I’m a fan. Yes I’m biased. But I also recognise the concern. I get it. But can we please calm the fuck down and just wait and see for once? That’d be nice.

In fact can we just marathon buffy and firefly?

Holy fuck that’s a long post

[orionsangel86]

Hi I've just been part of this fandom for a year and a half and I like to know how the fandom and the producers work with each other. So can you please explain to me why you don't like Bucklemming? And what else do you think about the other writers?

Hi! Well, we don’t really work with the producers much at all,, unless you count interaction with writers on twitter, and they don’t really understand fandom much at all either. The majority of the writers are kept really separate from fandom in general and Andrew Dabb only ever appears on social media rarely and usually to troll us before disappearing back into his writer cave. Robbie Thompson was the best at fan interactions and the best at understanding what makes the fandom tick (hence he wrote 10x05 fanfiction). Sadly he left us after season 11 to move on to greener pastures.

Do you really want me to start up the Bucklemming argument? Oh boy nonny you are in for some moaning if you start that! lol :P

I take it that you know that Bucklemming are the writer duo Brad Buckner and Eugenie Ross Leming (who is Bob Singer aka executive producers wife). 

They can do no wrong and basically get away with all kinds of shitty writing because she is Bob Singers wife (disclaimer - that’s my opinion but come on, its a pretty fair one given the level of shit they’ve given us). Let me just give you a brief run down of Bucklemmings greatest hits:

8x15 - Mans Best Friend with Benefits - Black Servant Girl/Dog in collar has sex with witch master - Issue in case you didn’t catch it black girl in collar and bestiality

8x19 - Taxi Driver - retconned reapers into angels, Hell has a back door into purgatory which I’m sure Cas and Crowley would have loved to know about in s6!!!

9x03 - I’m No Angel - Raped Cas whilst simultaneously having him rape an innocent girl.

9x09 - Holy Terror - Killed Kevin by burning his eyes out

9x21 - King of the Damned - The extremely violent and over sexualised death of Abaddon at the hands of Dean. Needlessly gross.

10x21 - Dark Dynasty - Slashed up our beloved lesbian Charlie by Nazi’s and left her body in a bathtub in a classic case of fridging to further male pain.

11x09 - O Brother Where Art Thou - Whole episode was horrifyingly bad. Made no sense whatsoever. Every character caught a case of stupid. Where the FUCK was Cas?

12x02 - Mamma Mia - Had Sam (mind) raped by the British woman during a really messed up torture scene. The rape made no fucking sense. It was there for gratuitous purposes only.

12x08 - LOTUS - Had Lucifer possess and knock up an innocent woman whilst masquerading as her lover against her knowledge and therefore against her consent in yet another scene of wholly dubious consent... then went on with a storyline that basically had a bunch of male characters try to force a woman to decide what to do with her unborn baby, threatening her with violence and the whole thing was really gross and nasty and just plain wrong in this current climate in America where woman are having their right to choose taken away from them by actual evil in power.

And yet people wonder why I hate Bucklemming? This would be why. 

Honestly nonny I swear I am usually very positive about Spn as a whole, but Bucklemming episodes fill me with dread. The worst part is that they show absolutely no remorse over their story lines and insanely enough think they are doing a good job based on recent interviews. 

I recently answered this ask about Bucklemming and the other writers which sums up the writing team for season 12. So you can go there for my opinions on the other writers, which are actually very positive. We have a lot of new talent on the team this year and so far their episodes have shown promise. Going into the second part of the season I am very curious to see how they do going forward, but I am delighted for Andrew Dabb to be showrunner as he is a huge Cas fan (as we can see now that we know Cas gets 2 episodes at least dedicated to him) yay!

Anyway, I did warn you that I would moan if you got me talking about Bucklemming!

I am a positive person I swear! I am perhaps having an off night. Ankle is all twisted and making me grouchy perhaps. :P

[aion-rsa]

I Hate Suzie Review (Spoiler-Free): Electrifying Billie Piper Comedy-Drama

https://ift.tt/3jjQjJT

This spoiler-free review is based on episodes one to four of eight.

This year has seen television drama so vibrant, inventive and entertaining that the first reaction is gratitude, but the second is frustration. You mean to say it could have been like this all along? This whole time, TV audiences have been stuck at the same party, in the same unending conversations about sad cops and bad men, because prejudice and failure of the imagination has kept a fabulous throng of bold, clever talent locked out on the other side of the door? Why is this only just happening now?

With TV commissioners finally giving creative freedom to writers like Michaela Coel (I May Destroy You), Sophia Al-Maria (Little Birds) and Lucy Prebble (I Heart Suzie), it’s no wonder that, once past the threshold, the first thing these storytellers are doing is blowing up the place. The explosive force of their work has been concentrated by years of being tamped. 

I Heart Suzie explodes with energy and ideas. Co-created by playwright and Succession’s Lucy Prebble with Billie Piper (the pair last collaborated on 2007’s Secret Diary of a Call Girl), it’s an electrifying series that’s constantly shedding its skin to become something new. Director Georgi Banks-Davis plays with genre, shifting style each episode to capture a different element of its lead character’s crisis.

That’s Suzie Pickles (Piper), an actor in her thirties who lands a career-saving role on the same day that her world is wrenched apart by a nude photo hack. The catastrophe reverberates throughout the episodes, destabilising Suzie’s professional and personal life, as well as her sense of self. Having grown up in the public eye since winning a TV singing competition as a teenager, Suzie has constructed herself to please other people. When her life is blasted apart, it’s devastating, but also the first chance she’s had to question whether or not she wants to put the pieces back in the same place. 

Piper is captivating in the lead. The first episode is fist-bitingly stressful and she’s the nexus of nerves at its centre. When news of the hack gets out, Suzie’s at home being primped for a magazine photo shoot. The chaotic invasion of stylists, directors, journos and hangers-on in her private space reflects the violation of the hack, but this particular incursion is all part of the territory. Wry comment is passed on how celebrities are expected to package their lives up for public consumption – comment that becomes universally applicable in the age of the social media profile.

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Suzie’s life is rarefied, with its sci-fi convention appearances, broadsheet interviews and on-set zombie Nazi shenanigans (not unlike Piper, best recognised in these parts for her appearances in Doctor Who and Penny Dreadful, Suzie’s a star of genre TV), but its demolition makes it universal. Susie’s relationships may all be affected by her career – her best friend Naomi (Leila Farzad) is also her manager, putting a business spin even on that intimacy – but her problems with her marriage and young son will be recognisable to many.

She’s married to Cob (Daniel Ings) a university lecturer who hasn’t made peace with Suzie’s breadwinner status and whom she struggles to desire. Cob doesn’t respect his wife’s line of work and belittles her achievements to shore up his own ego. Fans sexualise her and treat her creepily like their property, while a salacious and crafty media commodifies her life for clicks. On top of which, she feels as though she’s failing her deaf son, and doesn’t know who she really is or what makes her happy. Her identity crisis could be that of a great many people. 

That ongoing crisis is painted in expressive colours with stylistic ingenuity by Banks-Davis. None of the show’s surprises will be spoiled here, but there are plenty to look forward to in the first half alone. Each episode is themed around a particular emotion from the stages of grief, from shock and denial to anger and acceptance. The structure allows for a broader exploration of those concepts, and for the series to go through several figurative and literal costume changes. 

The supporting cast is strong, with a joyfully naughty turn by Dexter Fletcher in episode two (filmed in part on location at MCM London Comic-Con), and excellent work by Farzad and Ings as the two satellites orbiting Suzie. It’s a hectic, involving whirlwind of a story that sweeps you up before depositing you back on the ground with some complicated truths and hard-to-forget images. This kind of exciting, vigorous TV should by rights blast open that closed door for good, allowing for the arrival of many more varied stories by many more varied women storytellers.

On that – before I Heart Suzie went into development at Sky, it was turned down by several broadcasters, writer Lucy Prebble told this week’s Edinburgh International Television Festival. They already had their ‘woman having a breakdown’ show, she heard, so weren’t looking for another. You could lose the last three words of that quote and the same might have applied. Stories about women’s lives have for too long been considered a niche genre – like male celebrity fishing programmes or Joanna Lumley travelogues, why would anybody need more than one? Well, this and I May Destroy You and the sister-shows breaking through alongside them are your answer. Because widening perspectives in front of and behind the camera benefits everybody, television most of all.

  I Hate Suzie is available to stream in full on NOW TV in the UK. 

The post I Hate Suzie Review (Spoiler-Free): Electrifying Billie Piper Comedy-Drama appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/2YDjmjs

[erenjaegur]

Snk Positivity Day 6: Love Your Series

Im gonna put this under a read more because I cant think of express my feelings on something without turning it into a full length incoherent ass essay so!!

I’ve been in the snk fandom since I was like 12 lol - Im 16 now so that’s like, five years?? I can still remember like I’d see a lot of gifs n stuff of it going around tumblr and for some reason I just really felt I wouldn’t like it like I had smthing lowkey against it?? But then I decided to watch it one day, n i still remember, I was just chilling on my laptop watching it in the sitting room, my family around me and stuff and goddd it was soo good... but it made me tear up... n bITCH I was NOT! about to cry in the sitting room around my family. I was not! prepared for that. That night I stayed up till possibly 1 or 3am just watching it, I must’ve gotten to like around episode 6 I think? I loved it so much I rlly fell in love, I finished it all in just three days.... three days of which I also went to school and stuff and had to go to my friends party.... bitch i was pissed i didnt even like that person....i just wanted to finish snk lmaooo 😭

Im pretty sure Id spend sm of my time invested in snk and looking through snk tumblrs and stuff and other fandom stuff of it, I loved it so much!!! like!! thats all I did and even then I was still forcing my friends to read/watch it. I was really cringey in 6th class wow lmaoo I would literally go around during break with the snk manga like xD!!! eren is my baby!!! saying shit like that yikes.... bitch first of all hes 4 years older than you...your literally 12.....

Especially then, when I was younger it brought me sm happiness like when little me was going through shit then little insecure young me, you know how people say u use entertainment to escape or whatever, a distraction, idk.... like that was rlly it man idk ho to describe it without sounding weird i swear it was like my main source of happiness omg lol

Almost always, its very rare like I’ll be watching a movie, listening to music, anything like that just consuming some piece of media or literally just like. living my life and I see something and im like. omg snk au in which.... or I just somehow relate it back to snk or some of its characters lol. Like even when I was on holiday in Venice last year I was literally like thinking of a fanfic of like, the 104th on holidays in Venice like how wholesome...

Like I really do love snk I think about it every day without fail, and I honestly think I’ll always always always love it, and even if I don’t, it’s always gonna have a special place in my heart. Like, I liked it since i was literally 12 years old and it helped my through shit and I just have so much good memories associated with it. I honestly rlly do picture myself being like a 40 year old woman and still loving snk but like the fandom is dead or something... 😭 I rlly hope that never happens.....bc that will happen my 40 year old ass will b like boiis whens season 10 coming out ? Like I really hope snk is one of those series that kind of just lives on forever, or atleast for a very long time - Like Harry Potter for example

Okay, all that was really personal and I’d be surprised if anyone is reading this anyway, but I love looking back on it and talking about snk like this, I love it :) Butttt, getting to one of the reasons why I think I might love snk so much, and I mean, I can’t really pin it down why I love it so much, I dont think anyone can pin down EXACTLY why they love something, especially a series, but I think one thing I really like, and it becomes really apparent when I look at other series is like, they have a good balance between male and female characters if that makes sense. Like theres not way more men in the show than there is women, like how it is in some series or like, theres not way more men in the show than there is women, and the female characters in the show aren’t just like background characters pretty much, and they’re all good fleshed out and developed characters n shit. I think people have talked about this before but yeah.. And the female characters aren’t sexualised or anything like that and like, theres basically little to no fanservice at all which is nice. Supereyepatchwolf said something about it in his video about snk, how it can appeal to everyone because anyone of any age and gender and such can be in the survey corps n stuff... :P

And the characters just in general of course :) I honestly think the characters is one of snks strongest points, like... im not about to do a full on character analysis on anyone here lol but they’re just so amazing. Like I think on first glance it can probably be easy for people to sort most of them into like a trope or something or just write them off as cliche - mostly eren is victim to this bc people are like typical shounen boy !!! but like. you know anyway. I wish I was better at expressing my feelings and thoughts lol. Like god idk i feel like its so easy for someone who idk might just be a casual fan or smthing to just kinda see the characters on their more surface level without seeing how much depth they actually have - and I feel like that could also easily happen with anime only ppl. Like snk really does have so much great n complex n developed characters, especiallyyy now with the timeskip, more so now than ever. Like you know when you love something so much that you cant just pin point one thing about it... because its like.... everything about it i love n everything within it works to like compliment everything in it if that makes sense u get me?? like i cant just pinpoint ONE THING its the whole thing.... why i love snk? *directs u to link of readsnkmanga.com* or something lol

as for the characters themselves, obviously u can tell, with my url, u can take a guess at who my favourite is :) since the timeskip, i dont like him as much - not that i dislike him, i could literally never - but timeskip eren is basically a whole new person - and im not saying that in a bitter tone or anything, if anything its cool and i appreciate it and i understand why eren is like this now, all the shit hes been through- stuff so singular that barely anyone else would be able to understand, no one, if anything. So i understand why hes like this, and as i said earlier, this’ one of snks strong points its complex and rlly developed characters... The things I admired about Eren is just like... his good and bad, everything. How passionate he is, how he wears his heart on his sleeve - that of which being his most notable quality imo, and he expresses himself in an unapologetic manner like.... the courtroom scene... he rlly shouted that in front of all those people... how headstrong, stubborn and impulsive he is. I relate to Eren alot, thats part of the reason why I love him so much because I think I can kinda see myself in him.. but on the same hand, I think it’s also because he possesses a lot of traits I admire. Eren never backs down even when the whole world seems to be against him. He holds on firmly to what he believes in and never gives in, even when literal guns or canons are being pointed towards him. He’s full of determination and will power and he knows what he wants, and he’s also not afraid to express his opinion, even if he knows that he’ll be laughed at or be largely disagreed with.. And I admire his impulsiveness too. Those are all things I admire and other things I didn’t mention.. like me, I’m a very non confrontational person, I always feel things out before getting to it, and even then a lot of the time I just don’t at all. I might second guess my emotions and feelings when it comes to relationships with people especially, and I can a lot of the time stifle or keep quiet about my own beliefs, not completely keeping quiet, but not speaking them out as firmly as I believe them in my own mind, yielding? more I guess, if people disagree with me, I might step down a little - Which isn’t a completely bad thing, it’s good to be openminded and to see other sides, but when it’s coming from a place of embarassment or insecurity, not so much. So I really admire those traits in Eren :) I relate to him a lot, but I also know that in a lot of ways too, we are veryy different. I’ve even thought before, if I knew someone like Eren irl would I even like them lol?? Who knows lol. But as a character, I love him :) My other two favourtie characters after Eren, Levi and Jean, I won’t go into them as much as I did Eren but with them, and not just that, all of the other reasons they’re my faves.. I have like more of a ‘crush’ on them lmaooo like with them i could read so much /reader fanfic lol... but even though Eren is my #1 I could nEVER...god NO lol. And I think thats also down to the fact, as I’ve been saying I seen myself in Eren... rather than the other way around :))))))))

Like god there have been so many times I’ve laughed, cried at stuff in this fandom, made good memories as a result of it irl too... bullied my friends into watching it.... Like I have nothing but good memories. I really can’t express enough how positively snk has impacted my life like I genuinely can’t, it’d be impossible.. I seriously love it :) I’ve made friends bc of it, gotten closer to friends bc of our mutual interest in it, stuff like that...:) And even if those things didn’t happen, I’d still love the series and its fandom itself. :) I seriously can’t thank enough, the ppl that contribute to this fandom, I really can’t. Everything, and everyone to small and big creators, thank you so much. Well known and lesser known creators, like just everything and everyone, seriously. Everyone is just why this fandom is so great and!! Like I just think how lucky am I to have smthing like snk have such a big fandom and stuff and so many great people in it. Like y’know when you see your favourite fanfic update, you see your favourite artist has put out smthing new, even just see a funny snk text post or something, it all can really brighten and even make your day, and its so good :) There are so many amazing creators in this fandom, fanfics that are honestly better than published books I’ve read - like seriously, some of this stuff seriously deserves to e published or something!! And the fact that so much of these creators are putting their work out there and sharing with us for free, is just so great, and I’ll never not be grateful for it :)

Like seriously, returning back to when I was like 12-14, some days back then when I was younger it really felt like y’know the only things I could take comfort in was this series and its characters and stuff yknow.... and maybe im just being and emo teen but im getting kinda emotional thinking about it just now :’) Like seriously... I feel like im maybe being too much in this post lol but seriously this series means a lot to me.. as I said, I can honestly really picture myself being like 40 and still rlly loving snk like no matter what, whatever happens, wherever the series goes, whatever the hell, it’ll always hold a special place in my heart, because its helped me through a lot, a lot of bad days, I have nothing but good memories associated with it, made friends, seen some of the most beautiful art and read rlly great writing!! Just like yeah. Thank u Isayama and this entire fandom.....

and I was gonna peace out but I also want to appreciate and throw some love @ Isayamas art and art style. Obviously, Isayama was a bit infamous in the earlier days for his art not looking so great (Which also is amazing bc like a manga with not so great art like his in the beginning... grew to become so BIG!! like who would’ve thought) - even so the character design and stuff was all really good?? Like I also think thats a strong point he has too!! And all those years of practicing really shows, because damn!! look at his art now!! It’s really damn nice and im not just saying that lol :P

Anyway!! :) Thats all lol

[viralhottopics]

Viola Davis: Im pretty fabulous

Her extraordinary performance in the upcoming Fences has seen Viola Davis tipped for an Oscar. But her success has taken a huge amount of self-belief. She tells Alex Clark why it is only through demanding respect that you get the parts you are due

Its the run-up to Christmas and everybody in Los Angeles, which to a Brit feels unseasonably sun-drenched, is bemoaning the chilly weather; as we settle down in the Beverly Hills hotel, Viola Davis draws a warm jacket around her shoulders. Not that shes complaining: throughout our conversation, she is determinedly upbeat, celebratory, optimistic. She radiates a sense of excitement and satisfaction that, at 51, all the hard work is really beginning to pay off.

Five years ago, when Davis was playing the role of the maid Aibileen in The Help, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award, she told me that, as a dark-skinned actress in Hollywood, she had done what it was at my hand to do, even if that didnt give her as much scope for her talents and energies as she would have liked. Ive had to sink my teeth into a role that was probably a fried-chicken dinner and make it into a filet mignon.

Now, with film roles coming out of her ears, the lead in the TV drama How To Get Away with Murder and her own production company, she is opposite Denzel Washington in the film adaptation of August Wilsons Pulitzer prize-winning play Fences. (After our meeting, she begins 2017 by winning a Golden Globe for her performance, saying in her acceptance speech that the film Doesnt scream moneymaker, but it does scream art and it does scream heart.) Surely the role of Rose Maxson is a filet mignon.

She bursts out laughing. This is absolutely a filet mignon a medium-well filet mignon. And Davis clearly relishes every bite: her performance as a wife and mother in 1950s Pittsburgh, struggling at every turn to hold her family together, to absorb the rage and disappointment of her husband Troy and to protect her sons innocence and ambition, is electrifying so involving that it invokes an almost physical response. We watch as Rose is beguiled and charmed by the charismatic, storytelling Troy, unable to chide him for his excesses without dissolving into mirth, and as she seeks to intercede on others behalves to limit the damage his temper and pride cause. It takes almost the whole film, however, for Rose to voice her own feelings and desires.

That was the role of womanhood in the 50s, says Davis. You were an instrument for everyone elses joy except for your own. The 50s in America had the highest rate of alcoholism and depression. There were whole manuals out there that were being passed out about how to make your husband happy put on make-up when he walks through the door, after a long day of work, dont weigh him down with any of your problems, ask him about his problems, greet him with a smile, make sure the children are fed and theyre clean, his favourite meal is on the table, and nowhere in that manual is anything about her joy, and the centre of her happiness.

She has been here before, and with Washington; they are reprising the roles they played in the 2010 Broadway revival of the play, for which they both won Tony awards; and they are rejoined by Russell Hornsby and Mykelti Williamson as Troys son and brother respectively. Part of Wilsons 10-play Century Cycle, in which the playwright chronicled the experiences of African Americans decade by decade, Fences transition on to the big screen has taken so long because its author, who died in 2005, insisted that its director be black a simple demand revealingly hard to accomplish in Hollywood.

Now, Washington himself directs, and his key artistic choice is apparent the moment the film begins: he has preserved the works theatrical origins, with nearly all the action taking place in a confined domestic space, and dialogue ranging from quick-fire ensemble scenes to extended soliloquies. The effect is disconcerting we rarely see such unfiltered staginess on film but always riveting; there is not an inch of slack, a word wasted.

Davis herself has two show-stopping speeches, in which she first rails at life and at last attempts to make her peace with it. What was different about playing Rose this time around? She replies that she had been sitting with this narrative for so long and never quite got the ending until I did the movie. And I keep saying to myself that the reason I didnt get the end is because she is at a place that probably most of us as human beings never get to, and that is a place of forgiveness and grace. I think that most of us spend a lifetime holding on to the past, even when we feel like were letting go a bit.

Maid in Hollywood: a scene from The Help with Viola Davis as Aibileen Clark, and Bryce Dallas Howard and Ahna O Reilly. Photograph: Dale Robinette/DreamWorks

She holds close to the advice of psychiatrist Irvin D Yalom that one must give up all hope of a better past. Davis herself grew up in extreme poverty; she has spoken powerfully about the series of makeshift dwellings she, her parents and five siblings occupied in Rhode Island, about hunger and lack of sanitation, about her fathers violent abuse of her mother. The letting go seems to take two distinct but related forms: allowing herself to feel good about what she has achieved, and building platforms that will help broaden the possibilities for a new generation of actors, writers and directors of colour.

She cites her delight at seeing Shonda Rhimes, the producer behind Greys Anatomy, Scandal and How To Get Away with Murder, accepting a Norman Lear achievement award in Television last year. She said: I happily accept this award because I deserve it. I LOVE IT. Absolutely love it. Its the waking up and understanding that OK, you may not be the best person out there, but youve put in enough work to understand that you deserve what youve got, that that is what is at the end of hard work. The happily ever after comes after youve done the work. And to literally understand, especially as a woman, that a closed mouth doesnt get fed, youve got to ask for what you want and expect to get it.

I remark that its noticeable how often women play down their successes; how they will even deflect minor compliments on appearance. Why does she think that happens? I think tapping into ones power and ones potential is a very frightening thing, she replies. And for women its a very new thing. It is. I always used to feel that self-deprecation was an answer to humility that people would see me as a humble person the more I put myself down. And people do say that: Oh! I ran into so-and-so and they kept saying, Oh, my work in this really sucked, and they were great! I just thought it was so refreshing that they said that! And I often think to myself, what if someone says, You know what, Im confident, Im really happy about the work I did. I really felt like I gave it my best and it came out great, the same way men do. Why is that not seen as humble?

Motherhood has given me a different telescope to look at life: with husband Julius Tennon. Photograph: Tibrina Hobson/Getty Images

Her increasing ability to feel comfortable with her achievements is linked to an awareness of her emerging position as a figure of influence. The more Im pushed in a position of leadership and I know I have to be the mouthpiece for so many other people who cant speak for themselves, the more confidence Im gaining. And that extends to the way she views her own past and the more she shares her story. She explains: I can hear myself say, Oh yeah, I took the bus five hours just to get to the theatre, then took it five hours back, and Im listening to that, Im being an objective observer, and thinking to myself I did that? Its like looking at an old picture of yourself when you felt like you looked bad, and you go, Wow, I was fabulous! Thats how I feel about my life now that Im looking back at it, and Im like, Im pretty fabulous. I really am. Im pretty fabulous.

Back in 2011, when we talked about Daviss commitment largely via JuVee, the production company she founded with her husband, Julius Tennon to addressing the limited opportunities afforded people of colour by the entertainment industry, she expressed her hope we wouldnt be having the same conversation in five years time. Naturally, because challenging entrenched privilege takes time, we are, but it has shifted ground. Davis herself is scheduled to play the part of Harriet Tubman, who liberated slaves in the Civil War era, and to star in Steve McQueens Widows, a revisiting of Lynda LaPlantes TV series co-scripted by Gone Girls Gillian Flynn. Its not even a role that would be necessarily written for an African American, but not according to him. Hes like: Why not?

Davis brings up The Help, and says that although she loved making the film, she understands the criticisms levelled at it that women of colour were once again placed in the role of maids, and not portrayed as tapping into their anger as much as they could have. Tapping into all the things they could have been other than the maid. Partly, she thinks, that relates to the image of the black maid as a nurturer, a second mother, so that even within the movie, there are certain things that are not going to be explored, if it somehow messes up the memory of what the audience had, that perfect mother. She couldnt be angry. She couldnt be sexualised. Shes gotta stay that image that brings us comfort and joy knowing that we were loved and nothing more than that.

Davis loves the riposte to that one-dimensional figure provided by the character of Annalise Keating, the firecracker law professor, ambitious, potent and flawed, that she plays in How To Get Away with Murder. Its blowing the lid off everything that people say we should be, especially as a dark-skinned woman, that you cant be sexual, you cant be unlikable, you can be angry but with no vulnerability, you cant be damaged, you cant be smart. It blows the lid off all of it. And even if its not executed all the time in ways that people like, it doesnt matter. What matters is that shes out there. Thats it. Shes out there, shes on screen, shes making an impact.

In the 1950s women were an instrument for everyone elses joy except their own: Viola Davis with Denzel Washington in a scene from Fences. Photograph: David Lee/AP

Another fundamental has changed in the past five years; in 2011, she and Tennon adopted a baby, Genesis, who is even as we speak frolicking in a nearby hotel room. When Davis and I are done, her babysitters release the six-year-old to bound along the corridor and leap into her mothers arms, asking whether she can go and buy a swimming costume in the hotel boutique and head for the pool. Her mother observes that in such a luxurious joint, its a purchase that could easily come to a couple of hundred dollars, but concedes that theyll work something out (you imagine somebody might be despatched to Gap).

Davis combines motherhood which she says has changed her utterly, and given her a different telescope through which to see life with work by clever stratagems and good planning; often taking Genesis with her, only making one film a year, having a TV shooting schedule that allows her days off and free weekends. She claims to live by two mantras Im tired, and Im doing the best I can but she doesnt look remotely weary. And things might be about to get a whole lot busier. She was the first African American to win the outstanding lead actress in a drama series Emmy award for her role as Annalise Keating; alongside numerous other awards, she has hitherto been nominated for two Oscars for The Help and Doubt. But now her role as Rose Maxson is being spoken about as a cert for nomination and a very strong contender to win her an Academy Award come February. Has she allowed herself to think about it? She pauses, laughs, parries.

You know what I know about that? Because I dont know if thats going to happen or not. But what I will say about this is, and this is how I keep my perspective, whatever happens, Ive gotta go back to work. The carpets are going to be rolled up, the people are going to stop calling like that, and Ive gotta go back to work. And you cant bring that Oscar on a set, and that Oscar cant do the work for you. You gotta do it. Thats what Ill say.

Fences is released on 10 February

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from Viola Davis: Im pretty fabulous