#anti ali martin

[canonicallyobserving911]

Buck & Eddie: They don’t suck at dating when they date each other

I wrote a 6x18 “Pay it Forward” Coda fanfic (linked here) based on the comment Buck made to Eddie while they were in the fire engine in 6x17 “Love is in the Air” regarding Eddie sucking at dating and I decided to expound on it in a blog post.

The truth is neither of them suck at dating when they date each other and that may have been the point the show was attempting to convey to the audience when Buck told Eddie, “So that’s what it is... you suck at it” followed by Chimney agreeing with him.  Did most of the GA pick up on it?  Probably not but the truth is both of them suck at dating but only when they try to date other people.

Eddie

In CANON Eddie’s only dated two women, well he was married to SD and he dated AF but that’s not the point. The audience learned in 6x17 Eddie met SD when he was in the 8th grade, they lost touch but they reconnected when they were in the 12th grade and after he got her pregnant (either sometime right before their high school graduation or shortly after) they got married and started an instant family.  Therefore, it’s safe to say if they did date it wasn’t anything like the type of dates he would have gone on as an adult because they were teenagers when they became spouses and parents.

When he dated AF, they had two actual dates, i.e., the breakfast date in 4x6 “Jinx” and their creepy math date in 4x8 “Breaking Point”. They weren’t shown going on any other dates in CANON because their trip to the suit store and the ambulance ride to the hospital in 5x1 “Panic” don’t count as dates.

Therefore, even though Eddie’s a bit inexperienced, he DID NOT SUCK at dating when he took Buck to play poker in 6x13 “Mixed Feelings” and he didn’t have any performance anxiety issues while they were together.

Buck

Even though Buck has dated more women than Eddie, based on his CANON dates, it appears he sucks at dating too.  In season 1, every time he took AC on a date it ended in disaster.  When they went to a nice restaurant for Valentine’s Day she ended up having to give him a tracheotomy because he choked on a piece of bread.  He also tried to take her on a hot air balloon ride but they didn’t get to do it because she had to leave to deal with her mother.

The hookups he had with TK in 2x8 “Buck Actually” don’t count as dates because they didn’t go anywhere.  He went to the bar to meet Chimney and TK bought him a drink before they ended up in the restroom together.  Also, them almost hooking up in the news van was not a date.  He met AM for coffee at the end of 2x8 after she asked him out but all they were shown doing was talking while they sat in a coffee shop or whatever. 

He met Veronica for a dinner date in 4x7 “There Goes the Neighborhood” but it ended up being a disaster.  When he invited TK to join him, Veronica and Albert for dinner in 4x8, it wasn’t a date because he invited her there so he wouldn’t have to face Veronica and Albert alone.  Once he officially started dating TK, all they did was spend a whole year during season 5 entombed in his loft and they weren’t shown going out to any restaurants or to the movies.  His trip to Oklahoma to surprise her doesn’t count because visiting a prison isn’t a date, right?  The one time they had a “successful” lunch date was in 4x11 “First Responders” but they were just friends and he invitied her there to ask her for a favor.

Finally, him and ND met for coffee in 6x15 “Death and Taxes” but they weren’t dating   She asked him out so she could learn more about the lightning strike and his death.  He called her and they went on two dates in 6x17 but they both got interrupted when LD showed up at the bar and TK and Kameron interrupted their second date while they were at his loft.

But when Buck went to play poker with Eddie in 6x13, he had a great time and there weren’t any mishaps. Their date didn’t suck because as usual they couldn’t keep their eyes off each other and even though they were playing a low stakes game of poker, they were practically pressed against each other while the other players sat with at least one chair’s length of space between them.

The point of this post is Buck and Eddie only suck at dating when they try to date other people but they don’t suck at it when they date each other.

In CANON, their poker date was the best date either of them ever had.

[lover-of-mine]

#*joining in* your new girl guy is my clone. (Taylor Kelly's version)

[darklinaforever]

Frankly, people who are in mode : But why are you shocked that Daemon has incestuous problems linked to his mother ? It's a show about incest !!!

Its stupid.

Sorry but do your research. The Targaryens do not and have never had this type of incestuous relationship. This never happened and it's as disrespectful as ever to the source material.

Not to mention having the audacity to make Alyssa Targaryen, a cool and strong female character, appear for the first time on screen, through a sexual dream imposed on Daemon by Alys who rapes his mind.

Yes because I feel like people intentionally forget that these dreams / visions are not Daemon's will but Alys literally violating his mind. Daemon was 3 years old when his mother fucking died...

Without forgetting everything I've already said here :

This is not good writing, and no, in general there is no criticism against incest and the trauma that may be linked to it, in GRRM's work as I said here :

And here :

[biwitchenergyz]

My Top Three Issues with House of The Dragon (pt.1)

Issue #1. The Poor Use of Dragon Dreams and The Prophecy of Ice and Fire. 

In the first season, we are introduced to the idea of Aegon the Conqueror's dream when Viserys passes on this knowledge to Rhaenyra. This dream predicting the coming of white walkers is a good connection between House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones, but by the second season, I wished it was never mentioned. Seemingly out of nowhere, Rhaenyra begins to back away from war on the premise that it will destroy the realm. She discusses the prophecy with Jacaerys as a way of explaining her reluctance to fight.

In season one, Rhaenyra did not have the same feelings. She seemed to revel in the knowledge that Viserys shared this information with her alone, but it never affected her decision to gather allies and retake her throne. Too much focus on the prophecy messes with the overall plot because it forces Rhaenyra to seem more of a sage thinking of the distant future than a character actively at war for her throne.

The prophecy explains her hesitance for battle, but it should never have been so prominent in the first place because it takes away from the problem and focuses on something that does not matter at this moment. Not only is it too concerned with the future, but it also doesn't make sense for Rhaenyra’s character established in Season One.

Rhaenyra, in season one, is willful, ambitious, and spoiled to an expected amount because she is the heir. She does not show any care for the common folk, instead insisting multiple times that they will simply have to accept her and that their opinions are irrelevant. She is haughty and is shown mocking Lady Redwyne and enjoying the violence of the tourneys. As an adult, she is glad when her father declares that the tongue of anyone who speaks against her and her children will be removed. She does not care about her little brother's injuries, and she challenges everyone with real velaryon blood so that she can seat her son on the driftwood throne.

This shows her ambition, cunning, strategy, and ability to use force when necessary. She is motivated by her claim to the throne and her children's claims to anything they want. This makes her so powerful in the first season; this makes us want her to get the throne. But we also know that with her spoiled nature, the smallfolk are not the reason she wants to rule, so why should she care about a prophecy that seems so distant. She needs to sit on the throne to make any change, not sulk. If the prophecy is why she hesitates, it does more harm than good.

Similarly, Alys Rivers and Helaena also create the problem of present vs future moments. Alys and Helaena are incredible characters, but by the second season, Helaena’s prophecies go from cryptic to ridiculously blunt. Her final speech to Aemond, though powerful and loved by many viewers, falls flat for me. Where is the girl who whispered, “he will have to close an eye” or “There is a beast beneath the board?”

Not only has her right to emotions been completely stripped from her character by destroying the blood and cheese scene and then forcing her to move on by the next episode, but now even her Cassandra-like nature is removed and replaced with someone who sees the future, not just in strange dreams, but in vivid detail. Aemond does not need to know that Aegon will rule again; he does not need to know that he dies in God's eye because it would make no sense for him to continue fighting if he knew the outcome of everything.

Similarly, Alys revealing the ENTIRE future to Daemon was pointless. Daemon seeing Danerys should mean nothing to him at this point. From his perspective, she is just another Targaryen with a dragon; the unique thing is that three dragons are with her, but at this point, there are multiple Dragons in Westeros; her bringing dragons back to life does not hold significance for Daemon because Dragons have not died. If anything, knowing the future and the ruin of House Targaryen would have made him withdraw from battle or fight to put himself on the throne instead of running to Rhaenyra, who, in his vision, sits on the throne and leads to the fall of House Targaryen.

The show is trying too hard to connect with Game of Thrones when these things are unnecessary. House of The Dragon is set in Westeros with many Targaryens; they do not need to know all the future events, the long night, or anything established in a Game of Thrones. Not everyone needs to see the future. Helaena and Alys are unique because they know things that others do not. The extent of what they know is questionable, but Alys can see far into the future, and Helaena experiences dreams or visions that may not always be specific. If everyone knows what the future holds, then Alys and Helaena are just two more characters with no desire for war or to sway in either direction. 

In the books, and even in Season One, nobody knew what the future held besides perhaps Helaena. That is why they knew that crowning different people would be an act of war, so why do we suddenly not want to finish what has begun? Both sides have lost children, and where they should haunt the narrative, they are hardly mentioned again. Suppose the loss of these children is not enough to motivate the factions to war, then knowing that the future is destined for ruin probably won't help. The Dance of the Dragons is meant to be a series of unfortunate and horrible events that lead to the ruin of a once-powerful house. This has nothing to do with the white walkers, the mother of dragons, or even the Lannister/Baratheon on the throne because none of that is in the near future, and none of it changes the present moment.

Perhaps Alys has seen all of this, and that is what makes her such an eccentric figure, quite different from the gothic shadow I was expecting; maybe instead of showing Daemon all these things that don't change his fate, she could simply continue taunting him and reminding him of his own demons rather than the demons of the future.

Perhaps Helaena sees the future in prophetic visions and strange dreams. Maybe she is doomed to know things and never be believed, but if she knows too much and shares too much, then what significance does she have besides telling everyone how things will end despite them never being able to change it? Helaena should continue to be the prophetess who can still be taken by surprise and is still helpless to stop what is out of her control. This is what should push her to the brink of insanity, existing in so many worlds and yet never knowing what is happening in your own.

The future of House Targaryen does not matter if they do not go to war. If they stall, nobody will sit on the throne; if they fight, there is a chance that one of them will become the realm's protector. The building blocks for war have been set, and dwelling over prophecy and prophetic dreams that have nothing to do with their current situation will not make a difference. Blood has been shed, and nobody should know what to expect, but everyone knows something must be done. The prophecy and the dreams are great, to a point, that point being that only two people in the world know what the future holds, and while one wishes to stop it and the other merely observes, everything will continue to the peril of the Targaryens.

[dazzle02]

9-1-1 Love Interests

I've decided I'm just gonna write a total defence of all of Buck and Eddie's previous love interests because the amount of hate they get is insane. I will go in order of appearance. I will not be including Tommy as this is more about the Misogyny towards the female love interests. But I love him and his relationship with Buck...

Abby Clark

Now, she was NOT perfect and I'm not gonna pretend she was. But she wasn't a monster either. First of all, contrary to what people love to claim, she was not a paedophile or predator. Buck was an adult even in Season 1.

Getting Buck's number from the system was weird, I'm not going to deny that. But let's not pretend she was just getting it to try and get a hook-up or anything, the first time she calls him is to check in after his first loss on the job.

All through their relationship she was dealing with her Mothers sickness and then her death. Buck was great through it all, and it really sucks for him that she left after all that, but she desperately needed to find herself and get out of LA.

I will forever be mad at her for not just ending things with him the second she knew she wasn't coming back though. She shouldn't have ghosted him like that. As soon as she realised she wasn't going back, she should've called him up and said so. Instead she just slowly stopped replying to his texts and calls and left him to figure it out on his own.

She didn't do anything wrong with the train stuff though. Of course she was worried about her fiancé! It sucks that Buck had to be the one to be faced with that, but she didn't call him up and ask him to come save her fiancé. He saw her, she admitted what was going on and then he went to do his job. (And of course he went further than just doing his job because he refused to let Abby's fiancé die. But she didn't ask him to do that...)

I didn't like her "apology" though. I wish she actually acknowledged what she actually did wrong, and that is not communicating and just ghosting him instead of ending things like the adult she is.

Overall, I'm not a huge fan of her. But some of the takes I see make me uncomfortable.

Ali Martin

Now Ali really did nothing wrong. This will likely be the shortest part as we didn't see much of her. Which I think is a shame...

She had every right to break up with Buck when she realised she couldn't handle his job. But not only that, she waited until he was out of Hospital. She came to see him at the Hospital, she brought him home.

She ended things with him because she wasn't going to ask him to give up his job but she also knew that she couldn't handle a life of constantly worrying that her partner might not come home from work.

And that is okay.

Taylor Kelly

This will probably be the longest as she was around the longest...

Now obviously Taylor did some messed up stuff. In her very first episode she was more than happy to use the footage of Bobby nearly killing himself while drugged to get herself a better job.

But onto Season 4.

Honestly, she had every right to be upset with Buck for the whole "double date" thing. Do I like that she called him needy? Of course not. I hate when any character has their biggest insecurities thrown at them like that. But of course she was upset. And then later in the episode, she was grateful to him for helping out when she needed it. That story wasn't supposed to be a "oh no, mean Taylor called Buck names!" it was a story of Buck realising that he'd messed up and fixing it. And before all that she willingly listened to Buck's whole story about Albert and Veronica.

She helped Buck out with finding out the truth behind Sue's hit and run.

When Eddie was shot she came to the Hospital just to be there for Buck. She didn't do any story on the shooting because someone she cared about was involved and she was just there for him instead. And sure, we could say that's just human decency, but it IS her job. She was likely told to do a piece on it. But she didn't.

I don't like their first(ish) kiss. (I mean, it's a good kiss, but the circumstances aren't ideal...) I don't like that it was while Buck was clearly going through the trauma of seeing his best friend get shot, and Eddie wasn't even awake yet. And it was right after Buck's climb up the crane definitely hoping he'd get shot (we've all seen the smile on his face as he sees just how exposed he is). And I don't like that she then left. I think that scene could've been a really good scene if they hadn't kissed. She was understandably upset with Buck for risking his life like that. Showing she cares.

But she came back. And she clearly was sorry for leaving like she did. And then she was at Eddie's Welcome Home Party!

And now onto Season 5.

She was very understanding when Maddie and Chimney were gone. She reassured him that everyone at work likely weren't actually mad at him. She knew he missed them and that he was hurting due to everything that happened. And she was the one he felt able to be open about his feelings on being the only one who didn't get to say goodbye to Chim.

She was constantly there for Buck while he was struggling due to a tough case or personal stuff.

She had her story with her Dad, and understandably needed to handle that her own way. Like she said, this was HER childhood trauma not Buck's. Of course he was concerned when he felt like she was pulling away, he also has his own issues. But she had every right to deal with her stuff with her Dad in the way she was comfortable with.

And people love to say she was being rude during that dinner scene at Eddie's. But Buck literally told her to eat before they got there because he didn't trust Eddie's cooking. She genuinely wasn't hungry. And she was polite about it too!

And then HE CHEATED ON HER! And then asked her to move in instead of telling her the truth. I'm glad he eventually told her, but that was after she'd already moved in and so she didn't have her own place to go to.

And I can believe Taylor being able to forgive the cheating. One drunken kiss in my opinion can be forgivable. But I don't know that I would've been able to forgive the position he put her in of finding out after she'd already moved in. (I understand Buck's side to all this, but Taylor did NOT deserve any of it...)

Also, he never told Taylor that he was now working with the woman he kissed. She figured it out herself, yes, but he didn't tell her. (Again, I can understand that he probably didn't want her to feel uncomfortable or anything, but I think that was something she deserved to know...)

Taylor never had a problem with Buck's friendship with Eddie either, or his relationship with Chris. That's all totally made up. In fact she literally helped Buck find Charlie to help Eddie start to heal. And this was after he said no to getting her in touch with Lucy for her story. Yes, he offered her other intel, but he refused what she'd actually wanted.

She also totally understood Buck's dynamic with the 118. She had her whole speech to Lucy about it in May Day. Talking about how when things are bad at the 118 he falls apart and how she would hate for that to happen again. Yes, this was due to her figuring out Lucy was who Buck had cheated with and she was upset. But that scene completely proves that she understood and respected Buck's dynamic with the 118...

And now we get onto the Jonah stuff. To be clear, I do not like that she did what she did here. She promised she wouldn't. She didn't just promise Buck either, she also promised Hen and Chim. And by doing her report anyway, she not only betrayed all their trust, she also put people at risk and also as we later learn she risked Buck's job.

She was right when she said that Buck knew who she was from the start. And of course she didn't wanna be something he learns to live with. That's not what anyone would want out of a relationship.

And they actually ended on good terms.

The whole book thing that was revealed in Season 6 was just weird, but we don't have enough information on that to really judge one way or another. I do generally dislike people writing books about other people without their permission though...

Shannon Diaz

I will defend Shannon forever! She was treated so unfairly and it makes me so angry!

I will get this out of the way. No, I don't like that she left Christopher.

Now into my defence!!!

She was a kid when she got pregnant. Just like Eddie was. Only, she was the woman. She was the one who likely got slut shamed and ridiculed. She was also the one who had to go through the actual pregnancy and child birth.

Men get away with these things. Sure, Eddie was very likely ridiculed too, growing up Catholic and all. But he wasn't getting called slurs. Shannon more than likely was.

And as a result of her pregnancy, she is now getting married. And she loves Eddie, so she probably thinks that it won't be too bad. They'd probably get married eventually anyway.

Only he enlists into the Army in order to provide for her and the baby. And she's left having to deal with everything without him. The pregnancy was likely rough, she would've had her In-Laws smothering her and telling her how to do everything even before Chris was born.

And it doesn't seem like her Mum was in Texas at this point? Her arriving at the Hospital surprised everyone. So it seems she'd already moved?

So basically Shannon was dealing with it all alone.

Then Chris was born and Eddie was almost immediately gone again. And I truly believe she likely had PPD.

So she was raising her son alone. With her overbearing In-Laws who didn't believe she was capable of taking care of her own son. Who clearly didn't like her much either.

But there's a silver lining. Eddie's Tour was almost over. Only Christopher got diagnosed with CP and Eddie reenlisted without even discussing it with her! Again, leaving her to raise their son alone. Again, leaving her alone with his parents. Leaving her to deal with this diagnosis alone.

So she's basically raising Chris all alone. And Eddie even admits to Buck that he'd reenlisted because he was scared and was running.

But then hey, Eddie's home after being discharged. And he's traumatised. And she understands that, she does. But she's going through stuff herself.

And then her Mum was DYING and she asked Eddie to go with her so she could take care of her and he refused. Her Mother was literally dying.

So of course she left to do it herself. And she shouldn't have left Chris. He didn't deserve that at all, he was a kid and she was the only constant parent he'd had.

But I totally get it.

And she felt that she was the reason Chris had CP and that she did something wrong, and it's so unlikely she was ever told otherwise until that moment in S2. In fact, it's more likely she had all that confirmed for her by others. (This is one of the main things that makes me think she might've had PPD she was never treated for...)

She was alone in everything.

And her asking Eddie for a Divorce. THAT WAS NOT HER LEAVING CHRISTOPHER AGAIN! I see so many people say that she was about to leave Chris again before she died, but that's just NOT true.

She literally said she wanted the Divorce to make sure she didn't. Because she knew she needed to focus on being a Mother to Chris, and that also trying to focus on a marriage that was never really good was just going to make that harder.

She wanted to be there for Chris. She knew Chris needed to be her number one priority, and she didn't want anything getting in the way of that. And the number one threat to that was her marriage to Eddie.

And maybe they would've eventually found their way back to each other if she'd lived. Maybe a Divorce would've been exactly what they needed to learn to truly be coparents and partners and they could've started their relationship up again in a much healthier way. Who knows.

And let's not forget that it's not just Eddie's parents who clearly hated her. Abuela and Pepa were clearly not fans of her either. I hope that they weren't that way with her before she left and that it was just anger over her leaving. But no one really ever tried to understand what was going on with her.

Eddie says it himself that they both ran, but he got to hide behind being a Hero fighting for his Country and she just got called a terrible mother and wife. And yes, he still had contact with them while he was gone and Shannon didn't. But that doesn't mean he was there for either of them during that time.

And I'm not saying Eddie is a bad Dad or anything. But his story is literally him learning how to be a good Dad. Learning it's more important that he's there.

And Shannon's death. She deserved better! I hate that they killed her just as she was back in Chris' life and coming to terms with what she needed for herself in order to be the Mother Chris deserved.

Shannon Diaz, I love you!!!

Ana Flores

She was done so dirty!!

Yes, she should've been paying more attention to the kids on the playground. The incident with the skateboard wasn't good and teachers need to pay attention to their students or they could get seriously hurt. But it was a mistake and Chris was okay and she had no way of knowing one of the kids had brought a skateboard. And most of all, she completely acknowledged her fault in the whole thing.

And when was she Ableist? I'm sorry. I see this often and I just don't get it. Was it what she said to Eddie about limitations? Sometimes we have got limitations. Everyone does. Yes, Buck and Eddie found a way to get Chris on a skateboard, but not everyone is going to be able to do that. She was literally saying what Eddie had been saying to Chris earlier in the episode. That sometimes someone can do something that someone else can't, but then there could be something that first person can't do that the other person can. Idk, that's just how I read that. If I'm wrong, tell me.

Then in S4 they ran into each other again and they were both happy to see each other. Eddie was flirting! It wasn't like she was aggressively hitting on him while he was totally uninterested and telling her to stop. And they went out, because Eddie decided he was ready to try.

And she never pushed for Eddie to tell Chris about them. The opposite in fact! she offered to come by and help with his homework if he needed it, but she also said she understood him not telling Chris they were dating yet. She would've just gone by to help out as his old teacher. Then when Eddie did tell Chris he was dating someone and he reacted badly, she offered to take a break from the relationship until he was ready. Because she understood that it was a sensitive subject!

And Chris very much adored her. Idk where people get the idea that he hated her from. He was very happy to see her when Eddie invited her over to tell Chris who he was dating. He was constantly happy to be spending time with her.

She was the one who figured out there was something going on with Charlie and his Mum. She literally found out through trying to donate to help them out. She literally figured it out through being a good person.

When Eddie was shot she didn't leave his side. And she CALLED BUCK WHEN HE WOKE UP! Like Taylor, people have this weird idea that she had a problem with Buck's place in Eddie and Chris' lives, but she so clearly didn't. In fact it seems like she and Buck likely communicated quite a bit when Eddie was shot, with him staying with Chris and her with Eddie. I highly doubt she didn't check in to see how Chris was doing, and Buck also would've checked in with her to see how Eddie was doing. And she also didn't seem to have any problem with Buck being the one to get Eddie from the Hospital.

And onto Season 5...

She invited Eddie and Chris to a family event. She wasn't pressuring him into going or anything, she invited her boyfriend and his son to a Christening and they said yes.

She was the one to correct that she wasn't Chris' Mother, because she knows that's not a place that can just be filled. She knows no one can replace Shannon, and she was never trying to. (Which is something I've seen people say she wanted to do...)

It was NOT her fault Eddie had a panic attack. It wasn't actually about HER. It was about the idea of someone replacing Shannon and the idea of actually being a family.

And all through the Blackout she was with Chris. She brought Eddie food and brought Chris by to say hi. She was great.

But Eddie clearly isn't all in with her. He admits that. And let's do some calculations here... Carla could see this at the end of Season 4, she could see that he wasn't all in on that relationship. In 5x01 Ana says that Eddie was shot 4 months ago, which happened like the day after he and Carla had that conversation. So that's 4 months of her basically being led on. Most likely taking care of him after the shooting, helping with Chris, all this stuff.

And it's not like she just showed up at his work to demand to be introduced to everyone. She was bringing his son by with food. (Another thing I have seen people claim...)

Buck and Eddie's conversation about Ana. That was NOT Buck telling Eddie to break up with Ana for the sake of it, or because Ana wasn't good or anything. That was him saying that ANA deserved better. Because he understood Ana from his relationship with Abby. That conversation was Buck telling Eddie that HE was in the wrong here and that it wasn't fair to Ana for him to stay with her.

And the breakup! No, that was AWFUL!

She'd been there taking care of Chris for DAYS! And she and Chris are bonding over the baking they'd been doing and talking about what they should make next and Eddie just kicks her out.

It was all overwhelming for him, I get it. And when you're overwhelmed things can come out in really awful ways. But she did not deserve that!

So she goes to the kitchen so they can talk without upsetting Chris. And she starts trying to clean up the mess from all the baking. But Eddie stops her and she knows it's over. She's not stupid. She knows Eddie doesn't feel the same way about her as she does him.

Her line "I'm sorry about the mess, but I guess it's your mess now." Is NOT her being evil! She tried to clean up, but Eddie stopped her and then broke up with her. What was she supposed to do? Stick around in the house of the guy that just dumped her and clean his kitchen? Hell no!

And then she goes to say bye to Chris because she cares about him and he really liked her.

Oh, and the Edmundo thing. Eddie never told her not to call him that. He never seemed to have a problem with it either. It was literally the thing they first bonded over. Her correctly guessing his full name first try when most people don't. So I'm pretty sure that her calling him that was a reference to that.

She did nothing wrong.

Marisol

Let's just start with the fact that she didn't even have a last name! She deserved a last name.

Okay. She was introduced to the show for a call where her brother nearly died. She didn't do anything wrong there. Buck and Eddie bring a few other guys over at the end of the episode so they can all fix up her house. Because they destroyed it. (That should be a thing. Is that a thing? A service that will clean up and fix things that Emergency Services have had to destroy? It should be...)

Then she and Eddie run into each other, they flirt, she likes him and he likes her. Things are fine. He's excited to get a date with her. (Yes, it was all rushed due to outside forces... But still...)

Into Season 7 they're dating. Things are apparently going well. She's chaperoning Chris' date with Eddie, she's literally not doing anything wrong. He invited her, this is their date too.

She is CONSTANTLY being used as free childcare (Chris is a teen, but for some reason childcare sounds less infantilising that babysitter...) while Eddie goes to hang out with his new friend.

Then Eddie asked her to move in with him. Little early, but sure. So she does, she moves all her stuff in. Then Eddie finds out she used to be a Nun and freaks out.

Used to be. As in not anymore. She decided that's not what she wanted.

And okay, that can still bring stuff up for Eddie due to his own Religious upbringing, but she did nothing wrong.

He was avoiding her. He'd just asked her to move in with him, and now he's immediately avoiding her.

And she explains that she's very used to people having negative reactions when finding out she was a Nun. Which, yeah. And the sexualisation stuff is AWFUL!

Then Eddie doesn't want her moving in with him and so she moves back into her house. Meaning she has to take everything back and unpack it all over again there.

And now we really get into it. Eddie starts seeing his dead wife's doppelganger behind her back! He claims he wasn't cheating because there was no sex, but it was emotional cheating. Which can be so much worse.

And she walks in on them together. She had been spending time with HIS SON, and gets back to find him cheating on her.

And I bet that if we saw the aftermath of that with Marisol ending things and being angry at him, people would somehow vilify her for it.

Marisol did nothing wrong. Was she particularly interesting? No. But she wasn't some evil witch either.

Natalia Dollenmeyer

Okay, I think she might actually be the one I struggle to defend the most. Mostly due to how little we actually saw her.

I don't like her reaction to Buck's death all that much, I do think it was uncomfortable and inappropriate. But I don't think it was quite as awful as people make it out to be. That was what Buck was looking for at that point. He didn't wanna face the trauma part of it, and so he jumped at the chance when he found someone who was intrigued by it. If she'd been talking about how cool it was and Buck had told her it made him uncomfortable and yet she kept going, then it'd be a bigger deal.

Her reaction to people from Buck's life showing up was a bit extreme. They ran into one person he'd kissed once, saw his ex on TV (due to her being a reporter) once, and Kameron showed up. I can understand everything feeling a bit much though. Kameron showing up was definitely the nail in the coffin in that moment, but then Buck apparently just like told her his whole dating history and everything about Conner and Kameron? Which I think was kinda unnecessary. But hey.

But she came back. She wanted to apologise because she'd had time to really think about everything and knew she'd possibly overreacted. She didn't freak out over Buck having to deliver the baby on his couch, she did what she could to help.

And hey, Buck broke up with her because they just weren't clicking. It just wasn't working.

In Conclusion...

You can dislike these characters. You can dislike the ships. But a lot of the hate comes from Misogyny. None of these women were evil monsters who abused Buck or Eddie. They were human beings who were going through their own stuff. And a lot of the things people hate about them isn't actually even canon. I'm not saying they're perfect and never did anything wrong ever, but come on...

[ranbling]

Out of all of Buck's love interest only Natalia and Ali had such little screentime and interactions with Buck as Tommy does

And both relationship got an off-screen breakup

[buddiesmutslut]

I saw a post the other day about someone being pissed that people were calling Eddie gay instead of bi only because they couldn't handle more than one bisexual person on a show. Now, I didn't make Eddie gay/demi, he was born that way, BUT it got me thinking, because the whole crew feels very fruity? SO, I want to get your guys' opinions on what you think the rest of the characters are. (JUST the characters. We're not speculating on the actors. We all know this.) I'm going to put mine below & I'd love to hear everyone else's thoughts :) These are by vibes only. As a definite demisexual and probable bi woman, idk how great my gaydar is, but sexuality is a spectrum & straight isn't the default, so let's go!!

Bobby - 0% fruity. That is a straight, middle aged white man (affectionate) if I've ever seen one.

Athena - Also straight.

Chim - Chim feels very straight to me, but that scene with the bachelor had me peering at him a little closer, because I've never watched the Bachelor, but it looked like Joey (I think that was the bachelor's name, right? I've never watched a single episode of that show so I have no idea) had been around before, so I couldn't tell if he was like, starstruck, or "Wow that's a pretty boy and it's making me feel things" -struck 😂

Maddie - I don't get many vibes from her either, but I also have a vague fic idea of Madney breaking up in s4/s5 and her ending up with Shannon instead, so idk, maybe she's just unlabeled but somewhere on the spectrum of queerness?

Shannon - Bi vibes

Taylor Kelly - 100% bi, I refuse to hear any other argument.

Lucy Donato - This is a pansexual woman if I've ever seen one, you cannot convince me otherwise. (Also, the most interesting AND likable of Buck's female LI's, argue with the wall. Lucy, they'll never make me hate you bby 🩷💛💙.)

Lena Bokso - Lesbian vibes, for sure. I don't think there was ANY romantic undertones with her and Eddie (Which, I'm not saying that's the only reason I think she's a lesbian. She can like men and not like Eddie. Even if she did, Eddie wasn't in a place to do anything with those feelings, but I saw a post about that pairing recently & wanted to throw my 2 cents in)

May Grant - May also gives off queer vibes, and I've seen other view her as full wlw, but I think she gives off more bi/pan vibes?

Ravi - This man is soommmeee kind of queer that I just cannot put my finger on. I've seen him HC'd as gay, pan, & ace in some way, and I can honestly rock w/ any of the 3 of them. All I know is that he is not a straight man lol.

Albert - Also unsure about him, but if someone were to tell me that he was bi, I could definitely see it. I think that's influenced by the fic that had him, Ravi & May in a throuple, which was genuinely so cute.

Ana - Dr. Flores doesn't give off queer vibes for me, but that could be bc she was criminally underdeveloped & we know practically nothing about her.

Natalia - See above ^^

Ali Martin - Same ^^ although I could see her just being queer and not being more specific than that. Maybe she's straight, who knows. I literally forgot about her until I was looking up actor/actress names 😂

M*risol - straight & homophobic lmfao

Abby - Literally could not care less about her, but I wanted to include her so I could talk about her possibly being Tommy Kinard's ex-girlfriend and her coming back to LA for whatever reason and finding her ex-boyfriends happy & having totally forgotten about her predatory ass.

Also, obviously not speculating about any of the children, bc they're still children, even if they're fictional. It's icky.

I think that's all the main/reoccurring characters that we don't already know about, let me know if I missed any.

Talk about being the gay firefighter show, how accurate lmfao.

[nateconnolly]

Reading List for the Student and Youth Anti-Vietnam War Movement

Personal Statements by Draft Resisters and their Families

Muhammad Ali's speech

"I Picked Prison Over Fighting in Vietnam"

"We Won't Go: Personal Accounts of War Objectors"

"Resister: A Story of Protest and Prison during the Vietnam War" (free sample of full-length book)

"Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came"

Prosecution of War Resisters

"Draft Card Burning"

"Constitutional Law - Free Speech - Draft Card Burning - U.S. v. Miller"

Civil Rights Speeches

"On Black People and War" by Malcolm X

The Liberation of Our People: Transcript of a Speech Delivered by Angela Y. Davis

"An Open Letter to My Sister, Angela Davis" by James Baldwin

"Beyond Vietnam" by Martin Luther King Jr.

People that got on a boat and delivered medical aid to Vietnam

"An American Boat Sailed to Vietnam During the War. Then It Disappeared"

Homosexuality Draft Exemptions

"Coming Out Against the Vietnam War"

"Psychiatry and Homosexuality Draft Exemptions during the Vietnam War"

Primary Documents Critical of the Youth Movement

"Nuremberg and Vietnam"

"What's Bugging the Students?"

"On Civil Disobedience" (not the essay by Thoreau)

"The American Peace Movement and the National Security State, 1941-1971"

"Vietniks" (see also: David Miller's letter to the editor)

[frida-kahl-of-the-rocky-horror]

Antisemitism is evil

Genocide against the Palestinians is evil

If you disagree with either of these, please leave my page

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Further Reading:

Yes it’s a Genocide

TL;DR: there are many classifications of genocide, and one of such classifications is ethnic cleansing. Israeli military and government forces claim they are doing a Nakba 2. The first Nakba is the definition of ethnic cleansing, by UN definitions, which is a form of genocide. Israel has admitted that they are committing genocide.

No criticizing Israel is not antisemitic

TL;DR: if criticism of Israel or being pro Palestinian equates being antisemitic, then here is a list of raging antisemites (direct quotes included): Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, Malcolm X, Fred Hampton, Nelson Mandela, Albert Einstein (is Jewish), Stephen Hawking, Frida Kahlo (is Jewish), Noam Chomsky (is Jewish), DJ KHALED, Muhammad Ali, Jimmy Carter, Ben and Jerry (the ice cream people), Bernie Sanders (is Jewish), and Susan Sarandon.

Why Israel hates Palestinians (and why it’s unjustified)

TL;DR: Early post Zionist radical philosophy was to get back at the Germans and kill 6 million Germans senselessly for their systemic murder of Jews. This was rejected by Israel, but this thought process and reaction to historic European antisemitism was channelled into mistreatment of Palestinians. Europe is to blame yet Palestinians are the ones suffering,

I am very well read

TL;DR: Someone called be a slur and told me to pick up a book, I responded with a list of books which I read, a good chunk of which are from pro Israel Zionists and anti Israel Jewish and Palestinian academics

Antisemitism Post #1

TL;DR: a critique of white leftists who thing all Jewish people must categorize themselves as “good Jew” or “bad Jew”. Ethnonationalism like Zionism is dangerous but so is bigotry such as antisemitism. I also use my personal story of hating Belgians.

Antisemitism Post #2

TL;DR: if you replace “Israeli” with any other ethnicity or nationality and it’s bigoted, then your statement is antisemitic. If your statement isn’t bigoted and a rightful criticism of government or military positions and actions, it’s not antisemitic. It’s not antisemitic to criticize a genocide.

Patriotism vs Nationalism vs Jingoism

TL;DR: A Patriot loves their country, she celebrates when it does right and criticizes it when it does wrong. A Nationalist loves their country, she celebrates it when it does right and ignores when it does wrong. A Jingoist loves their country (or at least a specific version of it), celebrates when it is right and when it is wrong, because their country is unable to do wrong in their eyes. Everything can be justified.

Antisemitism Post #3

TL;DR: the Jews don’t control Hollywood.

Rebutting the “It’s Complicated” Claim

TL;DR: it’s not complicated, it’s apartheid

Antisemitism Post #4

TL;DR: Israel is Antisemitic, non Ashkenazi Jews frequently face discrimination, especially in Netanyahu’s Israel, but it’s always been this way with Yiddish language bans, forced sterilization of Ethiopian Jews, and European supremacy in all corners of government

Extremism is Sometimes Justified

TL;DR: one person’s terrorist is another person’s freedom fighter, and if you claim all extremism is bad, you support European colonial control of Africa, Haiti, the USA, and so many other evil regimes.

Yes Israel is a Colonial Project

TL;DR: Direct sources from the founders of Zionism calling the creation of Israel a colonial project and referring to Palestinians as the indigenous peoples who are in the way

Continued:

In a few months more journalists have died in Gaza than in WW2.

Gaza: Israeli company plans luxury beach side Apartment on the ruins of Gaza

A Message from a Palestinian Friend

People who are not Israeli or Palestinian are allowed to engage in discourse on this issue, especially Americans

Goat Jewish Boi Slays

The Post that Blew Up

Debunking idiotic Israeli arguments

Where’d you Come From, Where’d you Go

USA is the most diverse country on earth

Direct quote from an Israeli cabinet minister calling this conflict a war on Gaza not a war on Hamas (what happened to the plot??)

I love Jewish men who love humanity

Israel doesn’t care about peace

[saintsheretic]

banned live action faceclaims

INDIVIDUALS: Adam Driver, Ali Wong, Ansel Elgort, Anthony Ramos, Ashley Benson, Ashton Kutcher, Aurora, Ben Affleck, Benedict Cumberbatch, Brad Pitt, Camila Cabello, Camila Morrone, Chris Evans, Chris Pratt, Cole Sprouse, Con O'Neil, Danielle Panabaker, Dylan Sprouse, Ed Westick, Elizabeth Olsen, Emma Roberts, Evangeline Lily, Evanna Lynch, Gal Gadot, Grant Gustin, Harry Styles, Holland Roden, Ian Somehalder, Jeremy Renner, Johnny Depp, Jonathan Majors, Lea Michele, Liam Payne, Lin Manuel Miranda, Louis Tomlinson, Luisa Sonza, Mads Mikkelsen, Martin Freeman, Matty Healy, Michael Douglas, Michael Fassbander, Mila Kunis, Nina Dobrev, Noah Schnapp, Paul Bettany, Percy Hynes White, Phoebe Tonkin, Rachel Zegler, Riley Keough, Robert Downey Jr., Rosario Dawson, Sam Caflin, Scarlett Johanson, Sebastian Stan, Simu Liu, Sophie Turner, Stephen Amell, Steven Yeun, Suki Waterhouse, Thimothee Chalamet, Tom Felton, Zachary Levi, Zoey Deusch FAMILIES: Kardashians / Jenners, Hadids (except for Bella), Biebers YOUTUBERS AND INFLUENCERS IN GENERAL (exceptions may be made)

first note: this includes not only problematic people, but also people I just don't vibe with and/or don't want to RP against for personal reasons second note: while I tend to favour pro-Palestine and openly anti-zionist fcs, if someone said something vaguely supportive of Isr*el after Oct 7 or has complex opinions about a complex issue doesn't mean they're automatically a genocide supporter to me. kindly check this post for more effective ways to help Palestinians and move on instead of bugging me for using Ben Barnes or Kate Siegel.

banned art faceclaims

anything AI generated, most anime and gacha game art styles

[tvintedspvrkmoving]

adding : alexis ❝ ali ❞ maybank , twenty two , obx / teen wolf , virginia gardner

ali is the newest addition to the dbcu ( dumb bitch cinematic universe ) aka another child of a @greedaeye ship 🥲 she is the child of emma martin ( @lupaeus ) and ceejay's jj maybank .

she's a very independent , rebellious , outgoing , anticapitalist surfer werewolf which is just a dangerous combination tbh . . . she understands she comes from money but jj's anti - kook ways have rubbed off on her so she tries not to make a whole thing about it . her favorite things to do are help aunt kie with anything turtle related and try and find her own adventures to rival those of her parents .

[canonicallyobserving911]

Buck & Eddie: Rescue vs. Save

Buck’s only SAVED three people but he’s RESCUED hundreds because that’s his job.

I completed a post about the difference between Buck rescuing and saving people last year (linked here) and after 6x17 “Love is in the Air” aired, I wanted to mention this again with definitions to illustrate how Buck rescues people for his job but he saves the people he loves.

To rescue means to remove a person from a dangerous, dire and/or an unpleasant situation, i.e., fire, earthquake, downed helicopter, car accident, etc. and a person can be rescued by someone they don’t know (firefighter).  It’s a one-time event.

To save someone is a process and it’s not a one-time event.  It’s a relationship and the person doing the saving and the one being saved perspectives’ change as they continue to grow and mature together. 

In 6x15 “Death and Taxes”, after Buck said he met up with Natalia, Eddie said, “Seriously… dating someone you rescued, you know that never ends well” and he SPECIFICALLY used the word RESCUED instead of SAVED for a reason.

Rescued

Buck rescued Taylor, Ali and Natalia after they were involved in accidents the same way he rescued people during the Tsunami and whenever the 118 was dispatched to rescue people from fires, earthquakes and other disasters.  Also, he rescued Kameron from the standpoint of her needing somewhere to stay while she and Connor are on the outs but since Connor will be in next week’s episode, it’s highly unlikely Buck will end up with Kameron.  He’ll probably be instrumental in helping them save their relationship but he won’t end up with her because the narrative for 6B with regards to the sperm donation has been showing the complete opposite of that scenario.  Connor’s the father (Buck said that in 6x10 “In a Flash” and he said it again to Natalia in 6x17), therefore in 6x18 “Pay it Forward”, he will do just that, pay it forward when he helps Connor realize he has everything he needs with Kameron.

Saved

Buck has only SAVED three people over the past six years and they are Maddie, Chris and Eddie and he saved them because he loves them.  Maddie is his sister; he’s Chris’ legal guardian (in the event of Eddie’s death but soon he’ll be Buck’s stepson) and Eddie is his everything.  Buck saved Maddie after she killed Doug and he ran to meet her when she was injured and stumbled out of the woods in 2x13 “Fight or Flight”.  But he doesn’t have to save her anymore because she’s with Chimney and he admitted it to Sue in 3x14 “The Taking of Dispatch” when he said, “She has everything she needs” as she was hugging Chimney.  Chimney will be the one who saves Maddie now.

Buck saved Chris during the Tsunami after the first wave hit and he swam out to get him.  They came up out of the water together and he protected him because he loves him.  Chris saved Buck too during their conversations both before and after the Tsunami hit when he said, “You’re going to be ok kid” and when he told Buck about never giving up while they sat on top of the 136’s firetruck.  He saved Chris again in 4x8 “Breaking Point” when he gave him a safe place to run to when Eddie starting dating AF.  He listened to Chris and promised him he wasn’t going anywhere and he hasn’t.

Buck SAVED Eddie after he was shot by a sniper in 4x13 “Suspicion” when he crawled underneath a ladder truck (something that almost caused him to lose his leg and his career) screaming for Eddie to get his hand out.  He pulled Eddie to safety and treated his wound until they made it to the hospital.  Reminder the 133’s paramedic was in the back of the ladder truck with them but Buck wouldn’t let her help. Buck SAVED Eddie and Chris again after Eddie’s breakdown in 5x13 “Fear-O-Phobia”.  Chris called and Buck came to save both of them. Reminder, he stayed at the Diaz residence for several days until Eddie was feeling better and he called Bobby to help so that Eddie wouldn’t wake up alone. He loves them so much and he will do anything for them.

The point of this post is to prove that Eddie’s words in 6x15 were specific for a reason since Buck rescues people on the job but he saves his family, the people HE LOVES!

Therefore, Buck dating and marrying Eddie is plausible and likely since he didn’t rescue Eddie, he SAVED HIM!

[steelbluehome]

"Stan eases into the role, suggesting the young Trump without venturing into an SNL-like impersonation. He captures him precisely and believably throughout"

The Deadline Report

‘The Apprentice’ Review: Sebastian Stan And Jeremy Strong Soar As Young Donald Trump And His Ruthless Mentor Roy Cohn In Devilish Origin Story – Cannes Film Festival (click for article)

Pete Hammond

May 20, 2024 10:00AM PDT

But the political Trump is not in Iranian-Danish director Ali Abbasi‘s compelling film, which instead zeroes in on a specific period of Trump’s life in the early ’70s when he was in his 20s and struggling to make a name for himself in the world of real estate in New York City. But it isn’t just about him — it is equally focused on his unique relationship with his lawyer, the notorious Roy Cohn, often referred to as vicious, cruel, ruthless and sadistic, a take-no-prisoners cutthroat attorney who would win at any cost. The filmmakers have cited movies like Midnight Cowboy, Frankenstein and Barry Lyndon as partial inspirations for their approach, the latter about an 18th century social climber who stands for nothing himself.

Don’t be confused about the title The Apprentice. This is not a movie version of the NBC reality TV series in any way, but instead a smart, sharp and surprising origin story of the man who hosted it. In this case the actual “apprentice” is Donald Trump, infamous real estate developer, former President of the United States and current presumed GOP nominee for 2024.

Trump and Cohn would become an odd couple, helping each other achieve their end goals at the time. That is the story of The Apprentice, which had its world premiere in competition at the Cannes Film Festival on Monday and still has its U.S. distribution rights for sale.

Will it sell, and will it be released before November’s election? We shall see, but this is not a hit job on Trump, and actually considering the 77-year-old we see today at MAGA rallies and dozing off in courtrooms defending his indictments on various charges including starting an insurrection to overturn the 2020 election. Instead, it presents a person somewhat driven but awkward, a man striving for the approval of a tough-love father, unsure but determined to succeed and even oddly charming at times. Yes, I said that. Cohn, responsible for helping Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s reprehensible anti-communist crusade in the ’50s as well as putting away convicted spies Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, was the man pulling the strings — until he wasn’t. Think of it as a twisted Pygmalion with Cohn tutoring and training Trump the way Henry Higgins did with Eliza Dolittle.

“Where’s my Roy Cohn?” Trump once uttered after a tirade about a current lawyer he was unhappy with. Cohn (Jeremy Strong) was his first fixer, and basically adopted the uneasy Trump (Sebastian Stan) upon spotting him looking nervous and alone in the exclusive NYC club Trump weaseled himself into. He took him under his wing and drilled into him the three golden rules he lived by, which considering the Trump of today are prophetic to say the least. Rule 1: Attack. Attack. Attack. Rule 2: Admit nothing. Deny everything. Rule 3: Always claim victory and never admit defeat.

The latter was the one Cohn emphasized above all as the most important thing to remember. He also told Trump no one likes a loser. “Everyone wants to suck a winner’s cock,” he tells Trump, who convinced his cold-hearted father Fred Trump (Martin Donovan) that they needed a lawyer like Cohn to take on a case the DOJ had launched over their housing developments (after being indicted for discriminating against Black tenants). In his own inimitable way he got the government to settle with no fines, thus endearing him to Donald. “You have to be willing to do anything to anyone in order to win,” Cohn says.

The lawyer even dresses his mentee, who was born in Queens; not exactly the right breeding ground. “Is this gonna be a guy from Flushing or 5th Avenue?” he asks, getting an affirmative on the latter. He then puts him on the phone with a New York Times society columnist, and the result is a puff piece comparing his looks to Robert Redford and marking him as an up-and-comer. One of the key Cohn lessons is always chase the press, be in the newspapers every day.

Trump started moving up the ladder, with Cohn bringing him to a party with Rupert Murdoch, George Steinbrenner and others, cheekily (and now ironically in hindsight) telling him, “If you’re indicted, you’re invited.” Cohn himself had been in major legal hot water for tax evasion and also handled shady underworld characters, but he knew how to help Trump’s dreams of finishing Trump Tower come to fruition, essentially rigging a planning commission meeting to get $160 million tax abatement for which Trump was begging.

Separately, he introduced him to a friend, Roger Stone (Mark Rendall), whose “specialty” is dirty tricks and who touts candidate Ronald Reagan’s campaign slogan “let’s make America great again” (a slogan Trump would later steal as his own when he ran for president). And when the top of the still unfinished first-ever all-concrete hotel in NYC is set on fire, Cohn brings Trump to a meeting with some of his mob clients who deliver Trump a come-to-Jesus moment demanding the “f*cking concrete guy” gets paid. Trump is shown already as being notorious for not paying his construction workers.

The film shows his darker side, that scene included, as he is changing, becoming more ruthless himself — even to Cohn, by double crossing his lawyer whose partner has contracted AIDS and needed help in getting a room at the Hyatt; Trump reluctantly agreed but later sent him a bill. Soon Cohn himself contracts AIDS, but they make up when Trump comes to his birthday celebration with a gift of “diamond” cufflinks that say “Trump” on each one. Ivana later tells Roy they were fake.

The personal side of Trump is also on display here as he endlessly pursues Ivana (Maria Bakalova) for a date and after several turndowns finally wears her out. They marry, after she at first refuses to sign the absurd pre-nup Cohn had drawn up (she later does), and it is quite the social occasion. She becomes his partner in the garish design of Trump Tower. They have kids, but even before Trump Tower is completed he has set his eye on the casinos in Atlantic City, convincing Cohn he knows what he is doing (they all later went bankrupt). The marriage also went downhill, with the unfaithful Trump admitting to Ivana he was no longer attracted to her after she initially seemed to be in the mood for some lovemaking. She lashes out, calling him fat, ugly, bald, and orange-faced. A physical encounter ensues in which they have intense sex on the floor. Whether or not it was consensual is questionable at best and likely to be controversial, especially in light of sexual assault accusations and the E. Jean Carroll suit which he lost. Public knowledge of these lawsuits (not in the film) could paint the viewer’s opinion. It appears violent though.

This exceptionally well-researched first screenplay by Gabriel Sherman, who had profiled Trump for various publications and thought the Trump-Cohn story would make a good movie, has turned out a tale that is essentially a Faustian deal between the two. Although they have both been described as monsters in different circles, they are really given an empathetic treatment here, at least in part, and at least in an attempt to show us what led to historical change in America, and what may well continue in a story whose end has yet to be written.

Trump has never seemed so, well, human, as his own early years show a man trying desperately for his father’s approval while at the same time trying to come out from under his shadow. Progressively the two-hour film shows him doing just that, but also losing some of that humanity in the process. I wouldn’t describe the portrait as flattering, but it is not a hatchet job — perhaps part of the reason is a foreign director who didn’t even know Trump before he came down those stairs to announce his presidential bid in 2015. The goal is to show the makings of that man, not who he would later become – no matter what your opinion of that man is. I have a feeling his base of voters, the ones he dug up from under a rock, might look at these early years and give their approval, warts and all. Ironically though the first image in the film is that of Richard Nixon swearing “I am not a crook.” What the filmmakers’ intention with that choice is certainly intriguing.

Special notice to Sean Samsom’s seamless hair, makeup and prosthetics work here which never brings attention to itself.

Stan eases into the role, suggesting the young Trump without venturing into an SNL-like impersonation. He captures him precisely and believably throughout. Cohn has been portrayed in other projects like Al Pacino did in Angels In America, but Strong is ideal casting, going all in and delivering a three-dimensional portrait of this complicated man. Bakalova is excellent in her few scenes, as is Donovan as father Fred who early on tries to explain he is not racist. “How can I be racist when I have a Black chauffeur?” he asks at the dinner table while berating his sons. Charlie Carrick as Trump’s older brother Fred Jr. is also very fine, showing a man who just couldn’t live up to his father’s expectations. Scenes between the two siblings show Donald has at least some empathy.

Producers are Daniel Bekerman, Jacob Jarek, Ruth Treacy and Julianne Forde, Louis Tisne and Abbasi.

Title: The Apprentice

Festival: Cannes (Competition)

Director: Ali Abbasi

Screenwriter: Gabriel Sherman

Cast: Sebastian Stan, Jeremy Strong, Maria Bakalova, Martin Donovan, Charlie Carrick, Mark Rendall

Sales agent: Rocket Science

Running time: 2 hr

[darklinaforever]

I don't understand the delusion of people saying that Daemyra is an abusive relationship based on grooming, even go so far as to say that Daemon ruined Rhaenyra life (which is not true, nothing of all that, book or series while anyone who tries to tell me otherwise go fuck themselves), while being able to defend Rhaenicent (Alicent being the real abuser of Rhaenyra in the series and especially in the book), then the Alys and Aemond relationship, while Alys is literally the war prize of the latter, so she is literally his captive with whom he can do whatever he wants. No but really, this kind of stuff just makes me laugh at this point.

People can ship what they want and hate what they want, because to each their own. But I hate it when someone tries to pass off a ship as what it isn't to assert their preference.

[godeyed]

a  novel  based , independent , highly private and mutuals only portrayal  of  

𝖆𝖊𝖒𝖔𝖓𝖉 𝖙𝖆𝖗𝖌𝖆𝖗𝖞𝖊𝖓 : kinslayer , aemond one - eye.

second  son  of king  viserys  the  i  and  alicent  hightower.  based on  george  rr martin's  fire  and  blood.  

triggering  themes  will be tagged / include  : anger and violence,  murder,  death,  particularly child  death  and  the celebration  of  it  (  especially  when  it comes  to  lucerys velaryon  , rest in peace king )  misogyny,  mentions  of  incest  (  but  never explicitly  written.  ) 20+  only.

interest tracker . . . prompts

please read my rules before following : i will not follow first as i want writers to read my rules and decide for themselves if they want to follow <3

my boundaries include:

since incest unfortunately is a huge part of the ' a song of ice and fire ' universe, it can't be avoided, and so it will be mentioned ( and tagged ! ) however, it will never be explicitly written.

do not follow me if you write lucerys x aemond / lucerys x aegon.

anti - daemyra. and i just generally will not be cool w ppl writing incest in anyway which includes aemond and helaena and aemond/aegon .. pls no thank u ! i firmly rebuke all of the canon / fandom ships for aemond sorry fjdjf. this includes aemond x alys , who i don't ship for my own reasons. ( i am uncomfortable with age gaps mostly but am willing to write them in a non - romantic way ! ) i also ask if you do ship them in a romantic way and decide to follow me, to please tag it so that i can block the tag.

there will most likely be criticism of house of the dragon found here. it will be tagged as : hotd crit / with that said i do not mind writing with hotd based muses at all, this is just a personal thing when it comes to the way they decided to depict aemond / it goes directly against my portrayal.

i assume if you follow me, you have an interest in the greens in some capacity ( as do i ! ) however : if you are anti - team black , anti - rhaenyra , anti - alicent , anti - targaryen women , please don't follow me. criticism of all of the above are welcome , but i tend to avoid people who proudly claim they hate any of the those characters / especially targaryen women. if you can't acknowledge the fact that a lot of them ( especially dany and rhaenyra ) are the heroes / victims of the story , who have flaws along with any other character , then maybe i am not the person to follow.

this blog is an attempt at writing aemond in a very novel - based way. he's cruel , a loser , narcissist , definitely a misogynist etc. he kills his poor nephew because he wants to kill him, it wasn't an accident. despite this, i'm interested in writing a very nuanced character who does bad things bc he feels entitled to it , as well as stepping away from the way media always needs a reason for a character to do bad things. sometimes there is no rhyme or reason. if you don't like that, then this blog may not be for you. <3

with all that said, i do think aemond serves cunt. he has a lot of qualities that i like and want to portray / really love the idea of his position within his families dynamics. i'm going to try talking about all his cool and cunty qualities a lot here without erasing the bad.

writing , shipping , general etiquette:

multi - verse, multi - ship, i do and will practice mains and exclusives. duplicate, crossover, and oc friendly. ( for ocs please have a bio or at least some stats ! )

very important note : do not approach me immediately for shipping purposes. i hate feeling like someone doesn't care about my character beyond a ship that they can offer.

with that said, shipping is so fun, and i'm not gonna pretend that i don't want to do it ... but it's just not a priority for me. if you'd like to, we can discuss it only after we have already established some sort of foundation whether that is through a thread or through plotting. keep in mind that he's not a particularly fun guy so ... just you know, please remember that when you approach me.

please do not god - mod! please also keep in mind that my activity is very low. you can remind me about a thread you might think i missed, but please leave it at one reminder and do not pester me. i have a full time job and writing is just a hobby. if i do not reply to a meme you sent me, or if i don't continue a thread, it doesn't mean i'm uninterested.

if you want to unfollow, please hard block so that i don't forget and try to refollow you. i'll do the same.

i don't care to see vagues or ooc drama, we're all adults and if you ever have a problem with me, i'd love it if you communicated that or simply just block me!

this really doesn't need to be said but i'll say it : if i see racism, transphobia, homophobia, white washing, etc. i will simply hard block.

thank you for taking the time to read this. i know it's a lot but i just want to make sure that i'm comfortable in this space, and set clear boundaries so that there is no confusion in the future. i am super excited to explore aemond's character in a way that feels right to me and to the depiction that we received of him in fire and blood!

[thenoticeblog]

"Good Times" | Mike Bankhead | Dir. Paul A. Notice II

For “Good Times,” I wanted to use a quick dip into my personal life, as a framework to examine the complexities of Black Existence. I’d wager one of the biggest commonalities we have in the Black Experience is reconciling what the world sees/expects of us, and who we really are. We’re haunted by the racialized toxic positivity alluded to in the lyrics “Shut Me Up for the Good Times,” the anti-Black intentions behind mass incarceration in “Lock Me Up for the Good Times,” and cognitive dissonance from a litany of Double Consciousness byproducts. 

So, I repurposed found footage into a gallery of memories, demonstrating all of the joy, grief, play, and resilience of Black life portrayed in the song. Rather than essentializing us down to oppression, or offering apologist rhetoric for colorblind racism, we follow Mike’s lyrics as they weave throughout a multitude of Black experiences. Because people are more than just one thing at one given point in time. Trayvon Martin isn’t just a murdered unarmed Black teenager.  He was a son, a weekend snowboarder, a science camp geek, a jokester, a human being. Robbing Black folx of that existential complexity dehumanizes us.  

Directed & Edited by  Paul A. Notice II

Music by Mike Bankhead

Featuring: Katrina Reid, Danny Notice, Jade Notice, Jordan’s Vasquez, Chris Vasquez, Elliot Guilbe, Kirrin Tubo, Ashley Jones, Sultan Ali, Stephan Joseph, Nathaniel White, Cameisha Cotton, Suzanne Darrell, Justin Thomas, JP Campbell, Athena, Michelle Pham, and more.