#like yeah you have people who rightfully call out how shitty he treats others and are very keen to make sure that we know he isn't this inn

[cosmics-beings]

being a starscream fan is always difficult because you have to navigate interacting with people who completely pacify him and excuse all his actions and paint him as a innocent person who can't be held accountable for the shit he does. and going as far as saying you excuse abuse if you try to hold him accountable for how he treats others. nevermind the fact that u yourself are an abuse victim and you wanna look at him multifaceted and you know, not excuse his abusive actions toward others.

but at the same time, you also have to navigate people who absolutely HATE him, and will act like they don't and claim they just see him critically, when most of their content is bashing him for his abuse, excusing it, saying he's an awful person and getting mad at people for seeing him as a victim or wanting him to have better. literally saying he deserves what happens to him. ike a lot of people will flat out slander him, while uplifting characters who are worse than him, will say that starscream doesn't deserve redemption, or saying that anyone who wants better for him is excusing him or worse, going out of their way just to be extremely unfair and critical to him.

it's difficult because i love starscream and i do see him critically. but it's hard being around people who will just pacify his actions, and then try to go to someone so you can have indepth convos about him only to realize that 'oh, this person actually hates starscream, they haven't said anything remotely positive about him'.

[freak-accident419]

Make Me

Joosh Futturman (J-Futz) x GN!Reader

Summary: You come by Joosh’s house a year since you’ve broken up with him, after realizing you left your box of important belongings there. Seeing each other again after a long time sparked not only bitterness and resumed arguments, but also unresolved tension.

WC: 3.7k

Content: 18+ Smut, MDNI, gender neutral reader, no specific genitals mentioned (vague penetration), more plot than porn (you can tell I do that a lot.. i’m a storyteller, what do you expect?), takes place during S01E12 “Prelude to an Apocalypse”—you may have to watch this episode especially to understand the ending, hate/angry/rough sex, sort of fluff by the end, a bit silly and unserious sometimes because Joosh/J-Futz is such an unserious concept :3

(A/n: I love bad boy Josh (Joosh). Anyways, I’d like to share something that maybe you might appreciate—I’d like to think that in Season 3, nut-face Josh also brings this timeline version of you to Haven, to save you from how shitty Joosh treated you, so yeah.)

-

“Fucking shit, where is it?” You muttered to yourself, digging out your closet, drawers, and under your bed. But you couldn’t find it anywhere.

You had a small, antique box full of things that meant a lot to you: polaroids, souvenirs, trinkets, and old letters. You only just remembered about it now, because while you were speaking to a lifelong friend, they brought up the matching friendship bracelet that you kept ever since grade school. And while it was old and would barely even fit you, it was treasure to you—it meant so much to you.

That led you to remember all the other important and nostalgic things you’ve kept in that memory box. But you couldn’t find the actual box itself.

Which then made you realize sourly…

That if it wasn’t at your place…

Then it was at your ex’s.

It was a messy break up. Terrible, rushed, and chaotic. So much so, that you forgot to even take the significant box with you as you finally moved out of his house.

You groaned in frustration. It wasn’t even that important or worth it to retrieve, right? If you forgot about it for a year, it shouldn’t be that important.

However, it was filled with memories… Ancient baby photos of yourself, your parents, friends, then friendship bracelets, rings, gifts, handwritten letters. And what if your ex finds it? Who knows what he would do with all your personal stuff?

So, you decided. You needed to get it back. Even if it meant seeing your ex-boyfriend again:

Joosh Futturman.

***

“You’ve got a lot of nerve showing up here.” Joosh spat as you stood on his front porch.

“Oh, save it, Joosh,” you say dismissively. He looked just about the same as you left him; a cocky and pissed off expression on his face, the small gold earring on his right ear, and the shitty, pretentious fashion choices. “I just left something important here. I forgot all about it because I was in a rush to leave. I don’t know how I forgot it after all these months, just… fuck, let me go get it and this’ll be the last time you’ll ever see me again.”

He glared at you for a while, observing you. This was the first time he’s seen you ever since you (rightfully) broke up with him. And you haven’t changed one bit.

He hated how no matter how much he believed he despised you, he still thought you were beautiful.

He shook his head to avoid that thought. “For the last fucking time, it’s J-Futz,” he corrected bitterly, which you would roll your eyes at. When you were still together, you were his exception. He hated whenever people called him Joosh instead of J-Futz because it triggered bad memories within him, but the way you said it was always like pure honey, no matter how ridiculous of a name it was. You two were aware that this exception wouldn’t apply anymore now that you’re broken up, but you continue to call him his real name out of spite.

After a brief moment of silence, Joosh decided to accept your proposal. “Fine, just… make it quick.”

It was definitely the moment you walked in that you knew: it was on. You hoped this encounter wouldn’t end with a messy argument again, but you already felt the tension in the atmosphere.

You still knew the house pretty well. You waltzed in, walking up the staircase to Joosh’s room, and kneeled by the bed, finally rummaging under it for your missing box. It took a while, since he ended up having a lot of junk under his bed, yet he acted so blamelessly impatient. “What’s taking so long?” He finally asked in irritation.

You scoffed, continuing to push other objects away. “Oh, fuck off. You’re the one who made this harder by putting all of your goddamn junk just stuffed under your bed.”

“Oh, please. I could easily get this all organized and cleaned up in less than an hour by any one of those guys who work for me,” he brazenly claimed, with an arrogant hinge of pride.

“You think that’s something you should be proud of?” You sneer, continuing to look through the mess. “Yeah, right, well, if anything, it’s just proving to me more how much of a careless, incompetent, lazy, man child of an asshole you are.”

“‘Lazy’? ‘Careless’? ‘Incompetent’? Are you hearing yourself, Y/n?” He scowled. “I am one of the most successful people on the planet. There is a reason why I’m rich and famous and admired. I am an entrepreneur, a CEO, an e-gaming sensation. And on top of that, I have a net worth of over six million euros.” You scoffed. You weren’t impressed or intimidated by any of this. “Take that for incompetent.”

You were just about fed up with this absurdly egotistical, selfish bastard. You popped your head out from under the bed and stood up, walking towards him until you were right in front of him. You wanted to wipe that stupid smirk off his stupid face. “You know what? No. You’re just a self-obsessed asshole. You think that everyone admires you, but actually, everyone hates you. You—Your old ‘friends’ work for you and are obligated to please you because at the end of the day, you control their pay checks. They don’t actually like you. No one would. You’re a pathetic man, Joosh. All you’ve ever done was use and hurt people.”

There was an aggravated expression on his face, insinuating that you got to him—that your words got to him.

“Do you really think that I care about any of that? None of that shit matters to me as long as I’m wealthy and successful. My life is fucking awesome, and it’s even better now that I don’t have a nagging bitch being all up on my ass all the time.”

What he said barely affected you, but you wanted to add on anyways. “You know, I cannot fucking believe I fell in love with you,” you said, trying to hide any underlying sadness with your anger. “You used to be so good. You know that? But then you got greedy because money and fame just blinded you, and now you became a fucking asshole. For—For fuck’s sake, you put your parents into a shitty senior home after declaring them mentally incompetent through a court order!”

“Goddammit, Y/n, you’re the one who broke up with me!” He snarled. “Do you know how much shit the press gave me for that?”

You roll your eyes. How could he only care about his status still? “Of course you only care about your public image—”

“Okay, fuck, it hurt me too, okay? You hurt me. When you broke up with me, I had the worst damn weeks of my life.”

“Oh, yeah? That’s real funny,” you scoff at his illogicality. “Are you that fucking dense? I broke up with you because you changed! You had a little breakthrough in e-gaming, and then the hangers-on rushed in, and then fame and money—including your Uncle Barry’s money—started to corrupt you. You’re—you’re seriously trying to be the victim here? Do you know how many times you fucked up in our relationship after that?” Your blood boiled as you continued. “I—You’re insufferable! I seriously don’t know how I spent—” You corrected yourself, “I wasted three years with you.”

“Yeah? You took years out of my life too, Y/n. You know what, actually, just go get your shit so you can leave, and shut the fuck up,” he replied sternly.

“Actually, no, I don’t think I will. In fact, I should just remind you how you are the most egotistical, selfish, most narcissistic asshole on the goddamn planet! You are fucking incorrigible!” You exclaim, your voice coarse.

“I said shut up,” he huffs, stepping towards you threateningly.

“And I hate how much you believe that your money and fame is everything—is your fucking shitty solution for everything.”

“Y/n, stop that before you might say something you’ll regret.”

“Well, you know what, Joosh? You can have all the money in the world, and all the goddamn sponsors and magazine covers and press conferences, and shit, mass productions of your shitty energy drink, but… You’re gonna die alone.”

“Fucking shut up!”

“Yeah? Why don’t you fucking make me!” You retort.

Joosh suddenly pressed his lips on yours roughly, grabbing at the back of your neck to bring you in closer. You gasped the second he did this in surprise, but immediately kissed him back, feeling his tongue run against yours.

While he proceeded to make out with you, he walked forward until he pushed you down on his bed, barely giving the two of you any time to breathe before he presses his lips to yours once more.

“You never know when to fucking shut up, do you?” He grumbles lowly in your lips, placing a firm hand on your hip.

You pant heavily. “Yeah, then how about you stop giving me more reasons to complain about you, asshole?” You retort, moving your lips with his roughly, tongues fiercely mashing against each other.

From the moment you appeared at his doorstep, there was a sort of aggravating tension, which you would then realize was sexual, fueled solely by anger and resentment. It’s been more than a year since you’ve last seen him, more than a year since you two even had sex. You didn’t know what drove you to reciprocate his actions once he kissed you, or rather, you didn’t want to admit it.

Joosh threw off his jacket, then lifted his shirt off of his body, reminding you of what used to be one of your favorite things about him: his left nipple piercing.

Coming out of your trance, you mimic his actions, slightly lifting your back off the mattress so that you could remove your own shirt. You two finally discarded all your clothing in a rush until you were both completely naked against each other.

Joosh’s hand went on your side, then trailed down to your ass, then to the back of your thigh as he began to leave harsh kisses and bites on your neck, making you breathe faster.

“I fucking hate you,” he said piercingly in between kisses.

You chuckle sarcastically. “See, that’s the worst part of it all: you don’t even mean that.”

You knew your ex-boyfriend well enough to know that it would take more than a breakup and a couple of insults to get him to fully hate you. Especially while he barely detested you, regardless of everything.

He moved his head from your neck to face you. “Fine, what, you wanna know the truth? I hate that I still fucking love you.” He scowled, which caught you off guard. He placed his thumb on your bottom lip. “Open.”

You sucked his fingers off once they penetrated your mouth, sensually running your tongue along his digits. You didn’t expect him to say that now, that he still loved you, but you weren’t surprised either. The two of you had a very complicated relationship. Knowing him before his fame impacted the connection you two had; simply put, you knew him well. And you knew him well enough to be able to tell if he still loved you, which he did. You two knew each other well enough to still love each other.

After a while, he finally took his fingers out of your mouth, essentially using your saliva as a lubricant as he rubbed at your entrance vigorously, getting a soft, pleasured gasp out of you.

“A-and what, you think I don’t as well?” You huffed in response. You couldn’t lie to yourself either—you still loved him too. “I loathe it.”

Joosh sneered as he spit in his hand, pumping his cock, letting out a few, quiet grunts. “I hate that you came here today.”

”And I hate that I had always been desperate for your sad, below-average co—“ You let out a sharp inhale as you felt his entire length slide into you resistlessly.

“Yeah, but you take it anyway, don’t you?” he replied arrogantly with utmost vulgarity, beginning to move lustfully inside you.

“You’re such a fucking asshole,” you say, however, immediately becoming distracted from all the sensational feelings. You gulped a moan, glaring into his dark eyes. “Fuck, don’t even think that this means anything. I’m practically using you,” you grumble.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he replied.

Joosh had his hands gripping your hips as he thrusted into you, already at a quick pace, practically jerking his hips into yours with low grunts and huffs of breath. His cock deliciously stretched and caressed your walls at an artful rhythm.

Your eyes nearly rolled to the back of your head in pleasure, making you look up at the wall decor behind you, in which big, light up letters spelt out ‘SIN’. You let out quiet moans each time he pounded deeply into you, instinctively wrapping your legs around him to bring him even closer. His grip moved onto your thighs to support your legs, getting at an even better angle as his fingers dug into your skin. “Fuck… I really hate how you’re the only person in this world that knows exactly w-where and how to make me feel good,” you mutter as you look back at him.

The lewd, wet sound of skin slapping against skin filled the room, alongside heavy breaths and moans beginning to increase. “And I hate that even after everything, I still want you. That I could get anyone I want with my status, but they’ll never be as good as you…” He let out a dark chuckle. “Look at you, so fucking needy for me…”

He pulled out, resulting in a whine escaping your lips, until he aggressively flipped you over on your stomach, making you take it from the back. His head is beside yours on the pillow as he let out soft moans, moving quickly into you, hitting all the right spots. It was like he remembered every little thing that kept you pleasured. You actually wouldn’t be surprised if he genuinely did.

The thing is, Joosh had always been a sweetheart. He was kind, considerate, and generous, all traits taught to him by his sweet parents. It wasn’t until after the fame where he began to rot.

Hell, you two used to make love. Then after, it was all quickies and straight up fucking.

So you couldn’t understand how or why he still loved you, but you know he does.

You moaned louder, feeling his fingertips digging into the skin of your hips as he pulled you towards him with every rough thrust.

“I hate that no matter how much of an asshole and jerk you’ve been, I’m still willing to forgive you,” you mutter.

Joosh moved his head to press a chaste kiss to your cheek, and then attacked your neck with even rougher kisses as he continued to move inside you. He kept confusing you with his brief moments of tenderness. “And I hate that we both know that you deserve better.”

You panted heavily as half of your face was pressed against the pillow. “Yeah, but you don’t even fucking try to work on yourself, knowing this fact.”

His hips stuttered as he felt himself getting closer to the edge. “You know me. I can’t change.”

You let out a soft gasp as you felt a sharp, deep thrust from him. “You can’t or you won’t?”

You hear his moans become more desperate and high pitched, his pace becoming inconsistent. His cock slid seamlessly inside you, bringing the two of you to become more vocal. While he let one of his hands remain on your hip, he moved his other one to grip the bed frame tightly, fucking into you even deeper.

“O-oh, f-fuck!” You whimper intensely as he continues to mercilessly pound into you, spilling out all the anger he felt from seeing you today, in which your presence reminded him of how messy the breakup was. Your whines became louder as he ruthlessly gripped your hip and pulled onto the bed frame to easily push you against his dick with each thrust.

“You talk about me being selfish and self-seeking all the time, as if you aren’t taking all of my fucking dick for your own pleasure,” he grumbles. You didn’t have a witty comeback for that—you were far too focused on how good you felt. Which sort of implied he was right, in some way.

Joosh let out louder grunts and slight moans, which was unsynchronized with the obscene, raucous sounds of lewd plaps of his consistent penetration. Plap, plap, plap, it would turn the both of you on even more.

“You’re just as pathetic as I am, Y/n,” he said coldly.

You felt so close to your climax, and as his thrusts became more stuttered, you could tell Joosh was as well.

“Fuck you, Joosh.”

He violently pushed into you deeply as your lips parted for a loud, torrid moan to escape your mouth, fingernails digging into the thick sheets as you came hard around his cock. Not even another thrust after, your ex-boyfriend came, making sure his dick was deeply and fully into you once his semen precipitously spilled inside of your body through exuberant spurts. His voice was high pitched and desperate, and you could swear you heard your name leave his lips in a small whisper.

He pulled out of you afterwards, rolling off your body as he breathed heavily, resting on his side as he faced the edge of the bed.

You turned to lay on your side, only to see his back facing you.

The atmosphere wasn’t tense, but it wasn’t calm either. It was sort of awkward in a way. You two were still exes after all. An entire minute has passed, of silence and heavy panting, the two of you catching your breaths from all that energy you just released. Most of the words that were exchanged earlier weren’t exactly true. It was moreso getting out all your anger and bitterness of the past, so that you could have a civil, compassionate talk later about your feelings and the state of the relationship.

Soon enough, you scooted towards him, then placed a deliberate, gentle kiss on his shoulder. Your fingertips began to mindlessly trace his back tattoo, which spelled out ‘J Futz’. He seemed to appreciate it, your touch.

Your finger traced over the ‘F’ on his back. “I want to make this work,” you murmured.

“I know,” you heard him say shamefully as your fingertip caressed along the lines of ink.

“But I don’t want you to change for me. I want you to change for yourself.”

He turned around to face you, soft, brown eyes meeting yours. It was like a part of his old self was still in there.

“I’m sorry… For everything,” he finally says.

“Me too.”

***

Joosh was in the shower while you were in the kitchen, eating a small snack, back to being fully clothed. You stared at your keepsake box that you finally found, which was now sitting on the dining table in front of you—he even helped you find it actually, while even criticizing his own lack of organization.

You two agreed to take things slow, followed by you encouraging him to make some reparations, probably starting with his parents first. Ultimately, he was going to work on himself—not just for you and the people he loved, but for himself, as you said.

You took a bite out of your snack, and then slightly flinched as you saw Joosh in the corner of your eye.

“Oh, wow. That was fast,” you observed. When he said he was going to take a quick shower, you didn’t know he was that literal about it. Especially since he sort of sucked at keeping his word.

What you didn’t know, however, was that Joosh was still in the shower, as you initially expected. The man in front of you would be Josh, basically your ex, but from another timeline. Ever since he was recruited by soldiers Tiger and Wolf of 2162, they were consistently fucking with the past through time travel, and the trio’s interferences only just created new realities, such as yours.

When Josh came back to 2017 after the 80s, he discovered that he was popular, that he was a rich celebrity, loved amongst everyone. However, it nearly broke his heart once he heard from Tracy and Paul that you dumped him—or, well, Joosh—the past year. The thing was, that no matter how many times he tampered with the timeline (for example, Lamar Price’s Blapple and the disappearance of Ray), you still remained his partner when he would come back to the present. So now, knowing that he allegedly screwed things up with you in this reality, then on top of that, finding out his parents despise him, he began to become disappointed by what he thought was going to be a great life for him.

He was confused, seeing you eat at the kitchen table, clearly unbothered by him. “Y/n?” His voice was higher pitched, reminding you of your Joosh before he was corrupted.

“Um, yeah?” You asked. “Did you even take a shower? Now I’m confused.” You look at his ear. “And you took off your earring.”

“Oh, um, yeah, and no, not yet, I—” Josh was very much confused. Didn’t his friends tell him how the two of you broke up? Were they wrong?

“You don’t look too hot,” you say, grabbing your box and walking over to him. “Thank you, Joosh. For, um… for finally listening to and understanding me. I know we’re both not perfect, but… I just… I’m glad we were able to… to talk this out.”

You look down at your box and then at him, who had an absentminded look on his face that you didn’t recognize. “I have to go now. Let’s talk more tomorrow, okay?” You press a soft kiss to Josh’s cheek, then made your way out the door.

What in the hell just happened?

Josh was befuddled, but also sort of relieved. Maybe he would be able to patch things up with you. He wasn’t sure how he was going to fix things with his parents after that encounter with his dad. Actually, he was still stressed out about that. Your idea for him to take a shower didn’t seem like such a bad idea.

That is, until he was met with this reality’s version of himself in the bathroom.

[helluvapurf]

...so uhhhhh, "Apology Tour" was... *interesting*-

Didn't even seem that long ago since "Full Moon" came out so I didn't expect another ep drop this morning, buuuut welp! Lets discuss:

First off just to smoothen things up a bit, The Positives:

-Animation & visuals were quite pretty, and wasn't expecting the whole "spooky Halloween" aesthetic at Verosika's party (tho that may just be the summer season speaking lol) but hey, I kinda dig it~ 👀

-Verosika in-general, I was super stoked to see more of here! 💜and even with her staying pretty sassy/bitter towards Blitz... its honestly hard not to feel for her once she & him finally had that one-on-one convo (even revealing that she did legit love him... but Blitz simply couldn't stay with her due to his own commitment/intimacy issues ;-; ). And even if it was technically more of a pettiness move to theme her party around hating Blitz... in a way, its lowkey kinda sweet how much she wanted to help others "heal" from heartbreak? Aww... 🥺 Idk, do I still wish Verosika could've been more of the "major" character focus here (as Fizzarolli was in his past couple eps)? Absolutely. But for what its worth... I had fun watching her as I did💗 (& hopefully this won't be the last time Verosika appears story-wise, cause oml imagine the bonding potential of her, Blitz & Fizz as a reunited trio lol)

-That one incubus dude that flirted with Stolas (+kissed him) at the end seemed like a chill dude. Even if he most likely won't appear again, his vibe was fun to watch lol.

-OH, we finally get to see Mrs. Mayberry again, sweet~! :> ...and, she's apparently dating Martha now? Huh, thats... interesting, I guess? .3. (*wonder what happened to her husband/kids tho, 'cause I kiiiinda thought they would've landed in Hell too ngl-*)

...aaaaand okay yeah, that'll cover the Positives I've got atm. Now for The Negatives... ohhhhh boy:

-I... guess I'm not super alone in this opinion rn from what I've read from other fans, buuuuut... Stolas can you shut your entitled-hypocrite-mouth up for five minutes, please?? 🤦‍♀️Like, I know the dude's still reeling from how "Full Moon" ended, so him being in a mixed mood is to be expected tbh... but omllllll the way he was just SO smug, dramatic and pushy about being the "good guy" in how he & Blitz ended (-as if HE wasn't the one who set up their whole "transactional" dynamic since the start of the freakin' show?? =_=), even whining about the events of "Western Energy" (-when all Blitz was doing was prioritizing his daughter's well-being at the hospital, like a good dad should), was just... seriously?? >> Like... yes, Blitz may be a whole mess himself with how he's treated others (esp poor Verosika 💔), but that does NOT make Stolas a saint with how he handled things himself. From hanging the Grimoire over Blitz's head, creeping on him again & again, practically ragdoll-ing the poor guy's feelings during the crystal exchange (not even skipping a bit when Blitz was close to crying), aaaaand not to mention...

...so like, tell me how I'm expected to believe Blitz is the one who needs to do all this apologizing/groveling... WHEN HE DIDN'T EVEN DO ANYTHING TO STOLAS EXCEPT (RIGHTFULLY) CALLING THIS BLUEBLOOD BIRD OUT ON HIS BS?? 😑

*sighs* Sorry, didn't mean to get heated there but... yiiiikes is this show sending so many mixed messages of where I'm supposed to stand with these two, I can't keep up anymore- 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

-As much as I get what the ep was trying to do in having Blitz see past his own ego/apologize to others… Iiiiii'd be lying if I said I didn't feel just a tad bit uncomfortable at the increasing Blitz hate, throughout the party-sequence ^^; Like, I know he's a shitty guy who's done shitty things, and absolutely he needs to recognize how much he's hurt those like Verosika (& his other exes)… buuuuut tying into my previous point, it just rings rather unfair that most of this seems mostly spurned from him rejecting Stolas, of all people? ._. When… again, they were NEVER an actual couple like him & Verosika were, instead were just a simple once-a-month hookup deal that soured 'cause of Stolas' mess of a "confession"… y'all really expect me to believe Blitz is the bad guy for not immediately accepting the "feefee's" of a privileged, horny prince (aka: the one who did hold the Grimoire over his head since S1's "Murder Family")? …Ehhhh, sorry but I am NOT buying that crap lmao -x- 👎

[t4tpumpkinduo]

if those text post about the sa stuff is about cq i am baffled with how blind someone has to be to be that bad at media literacy and racist hello

no like. lmao it's super abt cq and yeah. it's horrible.✌️ i like don't even know where to begin w what an awful take it is. can we be people.

it's just uhh. well. imo not good to take v v lighthearted joke/outta context bits that aren't given narrative weight and then spin them into something they Never Were for some like. idk. leeway? is that what it is? leveling the playing field? i see this talk abt cquackity frm a lot of ppl (v consistently in cdr*blr, just to paint a picture lmao.) but the one that makes me the saddest is frm ppl who rlly like cschlatt and wnna fight back at his unjust bigoted fanon treatment by being unjust and bigoted to. another character?  like. ok? 😭

the worst thing is, for the second group, (first group don't matter i'm not wasting my time arguing w ppl like that), is that it's coming from ppl who are like. all things considered completely right abt cschlatt! it's absolutely correct to get upset abt an addict being demonized, having all his actions taken in the worst faith imaginable. having joke bits that don't have narrative weight treated as hard canon when that's not the case at all, just to paint some stupid picture that woobifies and dilutes other characters at his textually supposed to be sympathetic expense. it's ridiculous! that's all true!! cschlatt sweep forever that's my special princess like i agree!!!

so if you can understand that taking bits where he's like slapping cqs ass, or making boy prostitute jokes at cfundy, or batting people around jokingly/w no narrative weight are clearly meant to be at most shitty jests w no added pressure to them, and painting it as smthing else is disingenuous and transparent. why the hell are you taking like this abt cquackity then 😭 why the hell are HIS actions suddenly being scrutinized w the same rightfully critiqued incorrect lense! it's just sowugrrugrbrfnjfk

and on top of that, you cannot divorce the way ppl look at things and the way they filter them. like uhh for example. there's a stream where ckarl just like drugs cquackity. he puts heroin in his shit and it causes him a psychotic break and q chases the guy like an animal abt it for quite a while until he sobers up. ckarl also called him like ugly and stupid and unlikable and at one point hunted him down with an axe across the map bcs he left him at a joke altar. and i have never once in my life seen ppl freak out at ckarl abt it and go ohhh he must be a secret abuser oooh. BECAUSE THAT'S NOT TRUE AND SHOULD NEVER BE A TALKING POINT IN THE FIRST PLACE 😭 OBVIOUSLY!!! it's not supposed to be taken that way in the narrative at all. ckarl is explicitly a good guy, who means well and likes playing pranks on his friends who he loves dearly enough to sacrifice himself for them over and over. there's no awful weight to these actions he's playing his damn touys. when shit is meant to be held to a standard it literally just is held to it the dsmp isn't subtle there's no way around it. and if smone tried to tell you anything different abt it the ridicule they'd deserve would be astronomical.

ctubbo tried to drown ctommy and spent the whole time giggling abt it. that doesn't mean ctubs is some kinda freak abt it because it's treated in the narrative as a bit. ctommy hits and lashes out at cjack a lot. it's never treated or supposed to be taken as ctommy fucking abusing him. 😭 cschlatt and cq make jokes at eachother and it just point blank is never coded in any other way than them doing bits and speaking in freak tongues and having gay ghost sex infront of cq's fucking dad and being light hearted assholes to eachother until we get to the scenes where weight IS being applied. and even then it's not abusive it's human conflict between equals. like fuck's sake.

and idk. like i said, it rlly is interesting that it's applied to those character specifically. and the hypocritical gross ass double standard of it all is suddenly like. so ignorable huh how weird. so you see specifically the addict character who's at most an asshole as some uniquely scary demon evil abuser despite him not being that at all. you see this mentally ill deeply psychotic dude who's at most an asshole and think he's a violent freak who beats his brother even though he clearly isn't. you see this brown character, one of the ONLY ones, and suddenly yr stumbling over yrself abt how he's a violent assaulter and also fantasy racist to white characters despite all the. wow yr rlly cool and normal and not transparent at all hahaha. wow. hah. what a world.

anyways yeah like. i'm not gnna engage w this fuckass topic no more gensrs. it's bad for my blood sugars it's bad for my liver i've said my piece i'm done i'm sick of it. 👍 i'm just gnna start blocking even more ppl and focusing on the good of the fanbase instead. sucks that it's so common and unchecked but whatttt can you do except keep sending ghouls and devils to their addresses. if you have this wack ass "interpretation" do us both a favor and fucking block me. sword slash through the chest and you're on fire.

[petersasteria]

What You Don't Know Won't Hurt - Tom Holland

Tom || Main || Taglist

Pairing: Tom x Chalamet!Reader Requested? Nah 4,289 words

* * * *

“Happy five-month anniversary!” You whispered in Tom’s ear as you hugged him from behind. He smiled and turned around to pull you in for a short, but sweet kiss.

“Happy five-month anniversary to you too, babe.” He said softly with a bright smile on his face. “I spoke to your brother.”

“Oh?” You raised your eyebrows before pulling away from him to prepare breakfast for you and Tom. “What did you talk about?”

Tom shrugged, “Nothing important. He greeted us, that’s for sure. He’s inviting me to hang out with his friends, actually. Should I go?”

“Do you want to go?” You asked and he nodded slightly. “Then, go for it. When is that supposed to be?”

“Tomorrow after lunch.” Tom answered and you nodded. Both of you prepared breakfast and ate breakfast. You didn’t eat that much because you knew you’d puke it all out later. You’re two weeks pregnant and you wanted to tell Tom later tonight.

You and Tom haven’t been confirming your relationship to the public despite being seen together for a bunch of times. That’s about to change, though.

You and Tom were caught by the paparazzi and it was normal for both of you, but what you didn’t know is that you two were caught kissing and that caused so much reaction from the media. When you two got home from your shared flat, you were surprised that your relationship was outed by the paps. It was something that surprised both of you. You had no problem with that because you didn’t want to hide anymore. Tom, however, was fucked.

Tom’s phone rang and he glanced at the caller ID and quickly went to your shared room to answer it. You didn’t even have the time to ask who it was because he just bolted straight in the room. You didn’t mind, though. It was probably his manager or publicist or someone important from his team.

It was his girlfriend, Nadia.

Tom answered the phone immediately. “Na-”

“When were you planning on telling me that you’re cheating on me? Did you even want to tell me?” Nadia asked. She was mad and rightfully so.

“I was planning on telling you, but-”

“Cut the bullshit.” She said angrily. “It’s so unfair that you and her have gone public, but you haven’t gone public with me and we’ve been together for a year.”

“I was planning on leaving her, I swear!” Tom hissed.

“You leave me with no choice, Tom. Goodbye.” She said before hanging up. Tom let out a frustrated sigh as he sat on the bed. He rubbed his face with his hands and just sat there.

A few minutes later, his phone’s blowing up with notifications from Instagram. He clicked on it and was shocked to see Nadia’s post about her relationship with him. He scrolled through each comment and he was hurt that everyone started going against him.

Timmy saw the post and sent it to you. You were confused as to who Nadia was but when you looked through the pictures and read her caption, you realized she was Tom’s girlfriend. His real girlfriend. You went up to your shared room and saw him sitting on the bed with a shocked face.

“You didn’t have the decency to tell me that you were taken?” You whispered as tears streamed down your face. You didn’t have the energy to speak loudly. “All this time, I thought you were single when we met because that’s what you told me. Everyone’s going to think that I’m the snake who took you away from her, don’t you realize that?”

“That’s not my problem.” He said before getting up and grabbing a suitcase to pack his things. “We’re done, Y/N. I lost her because of you.”

“Wait a second.” You grabbed his arm and he looked at you. “Why are you acting like it’s all my fault? There’s two of us in this relationship! It’s your fault too!”

Tom went back to packing and said nothing. You watched as he moved around the room to grab his things. You suddenly felt sick to your stomach when you realized that you’re carrying this man’s baby.

“You came on to me!” Tom shouted and you flinched at the sound of his voice. He was angry.

“No, that’s not true and you know it! Don’t twist this!” You shouted back. “How dare you blame me for something I didn’t know! If I knew you were taken, we wouldn’t be where we are right now!”

Tom was finished packing his things when he stared at you one last time. He took in your features. Like your older brother, you had a face that made you look like you came straight out of a renaissance painting. In truth, Tom was lucky he was graced to wake up next to a beauty such as yourself.

“Look, I’m sorry. I have to go.” Tom sighed as he grabbed his suitcase and left your shared apartment. You knew he was going to try and get his girlfriend back. You stared at the man you loved as he left your shared flat without another word.

News broke out and Tom defended himself saying shit about you and that he was working on apologizing to his true love which he did. He even got her back and vowed not to do it again. He still got his job and because of all the attention he got, he was being asked to take on roles left and right.

You got the short end of the stick, though. Everyone thought you were a liar and the few people who defended you were facing backlash for being on your side causing them to leave you. Your parents had no say and your sister just dismissed you. Timmy stayed by your side and he never left. He even defended you when no one else would.

This caused a rivalry between Tom and Timmy. Timmy took it personally because even he didn’t know that Tom was taken and Tom promised him that he’d care for you and love you. Tom, of course, didn’t let it faze him. He was still a jackass.

Meanwhile, your pregnancy was going well. The baby was healthy and Timmy has been very supportive. He’s the best uncle in the world, in your opinion. You still get casted for some roles, but you asked them to hide your pregnancy and you were thankful that no one said a thing.

The media still wasn’t so nice to you, though. Since they didn’t know you were pregnant, they assumed that you let yourself go after Tom left you. They made rumors about you having breast implants, you gained so much weight after Tom left, and so much more. This pissed Timmy off because he kept asking you to clear the rumors and just tell them you’re pregnant.

“I don’t want to, okay?! I want this baby out of the spotlight! You saw how the media treated me and I admit that it’s shitty, but can you imagine how the media will treat my baby?! They won’t be so kind and we both know that.” You frowned. “I don’t want Tom to know either.”

“Fine.” Timmy nodded. “Don’t stress yourself, okay? How’s the baby?” He asked as he sat next to you.

You smiled and looked at him, “The baby’s fine and I know the gender.”

“Spill!” Timmy said in excitement. His eyes sparkled and he was happy.

“I’m having a boy.” You grinned.

“Ahh!” Timmy screamed in joy. “Tu as un fils! (you are having a son)” You laughed and nodded as he pulled you in for a hug.

A son. You’re having a son. He’s the center of your world.

A year later, Beau Julien Chalamet is now turning 1. He was very playful and he was always laughing. It brought you joy despite having a tough work life. You were thankful that Beau took almost all your features which made him really look like a true Chalamet. In short, his name suited him well.

Today is Beau’s 1st birthday and you were celebrating in your flat. Your sister will come over later and Timmy won’t be able to come because he was halfway across the world to attend an awards show. You were now waiting for his call while Beau watched Sesame Street in the living room.

You were looking at Beau with an amusing smile as he danced around to the song Elmo was singing on tv. Your phone rang in your hand and you glanced down to see that Timmy wanted to FaceTime you. You smiled and quickly answered, “Hi, Timmy!”

“Hey!” He grinned. “Where’s the birthday boy?”

“Il regarde la télé! (he is watching tv)” You turned the camera to Beau and he was watching while dancing. Timmy laughed and you turned the camera back at you. “I thought you’re at an awards show.”

“Yeah, it was. It’s the after party now and I’m in the men’s room so that it’s quiet. Everyone’s having fun out there and I figured they’d be too busy to go to the bathroom.” Timmy explained.

You nodded, “Tu es intelligent. (you are intelligent)”

“Merci beaucoup.” He said with a playful smile on his face. “Anyway, I want to speak to the birthday boy!”

You grinned and called over your son. You pulled him on your lap and he instantly smiled when he saw his favorite (and only) uncle in the whole world. “Who’s that?” You asked Beau.

“Timmy!” Beau said with a cute smile which made yours and Timmy’s heart soar. Timmy was his first word and your brother will never not let go of that.

“Hey, buddy! I miss you so much!” Timmy pouted. “When I come back there, I’ll give you lots of presents. Okay?”

“‘Kay!” Beau smiled. He can repeat the last syllables of words, but he can say ‘mama’ and ‘Timmy’ really well. It was weird, but hey, every kid is different.

You, Timmy, and Beau kept talking for a few minutes. On the other line, Timmy didn’t notice Tom entering the bathroom. Tom has never seen Timmy ever since the incident and seeing your brother made Tom nervous. He noticed that Timmy was talking to you and he hid in one of the cubicles to listen.

“Y/N, you don’t have to worry about me giving gifts to him. He’s my nephew! I’m allowed to spoil him. Plus, that’s mom and dad’s first grandchild.” Timmy said.

“I know. I’m just telling you not to spoil him. I can’t afford those things and he might go looking for them.” You told him which made Timmy sigh.

“That’s why I’m here and that’s why I’m his godfather. Besides, who else is going to do that? His deadbeat dad? No fucking way, Y/N.” Timmy shook his head. “I swear I’ll beat him up, but at the same time I’ll thank him for giving you Beau.”

“Don’t beat him up, but thank him for me too.” You said. “Well, I have to go. Pauline is coming over in a few minutes and Beau is making a mess in the living room right now.”

“Alright. I’ll talk to you later before you go to bed.” Timmy said.

“Okay. Bye! Beau, say goodbye to Timmy.” You smiled as Beau walked over to you and showed his face to Timmy. He gave Timmy a toothy grin and said, “Bye!”

“Bye!” Timmy smiled and flew him a kiss through the screen. “Bye, Y/N/N. Take care.”

“You too.” You smiled before hanging up.

Timmy put his phone in his pocket and washed his hands. Tom emerged from one of the cubicles and stared at Timmy. Timmy looked up and saw Tom through the mirror. They stared at each other and Tom cleared his throat and said, “H-How are-”

“Skip the formalities and tell me what the fuck you want.” Timmy hissed. He turned around to face Tom and he crossed his arms.

Tom gulped and took a deep breath. “Y/N has a son?”

“Why does that matter?” Timmy raised an eyebrow.

“Is he mine?” Tom asked.

“Everything related to my sister and my own sister will never be yours. Excuse me.” Timmy said angrily before leaving Tom in the bathroom.

Tom looked at the door where Timmy left and he pulled out his phone to call Sam who was back at home and because he conveniently lived near you.

“Hello?” Sam answered. “I thought you’re at an awards show.”

“That doesn’t matter.” Tom said quickly. “You live near Y/N, right?”

Sam was silent on the other line before speaking again, “Why? Are you planning on getting on with her again? Because if you are, at least break up with Nadia first. What you did was fucked. You’re lucky mum and dad love you.”

“That’s not it, Sam. I think she’s hiding something from me. I overheard her brother saying something about having a nephew and the kid having a deadbeat dad. I’m the deadbeat dad, Sam. I think she hid that from me.” Tom said.

“Are you drunk?” Sam asked in concern. “You know, I think you’re an alcoholic.”

“I’m not fucking drunk, Sam! Just check. Please.” Tom begged.

“I can’t just show up at her place a year later! That’ll be weird. What will I say?” Sam shrieked in panic.

“Tell her that I told you to get something of mine that’s still there and then look around. Tell her that I must’ve left my jacket there.”

“Are you hearing yourself?!” Sam shouted. “That’s fucking weird! You left your jacket and you want it back a year later??? Do you know how suspicious that sounds?! Just straight up ask her!”

“I don’t have her number!” Tom hissed.

“Grow a pair and ask her brother! I won’t help you do your dirty work. Besides, if she did have a child that she hid from you, she has a reason for doing so. If she wants to keep the kid away from you, then she has every right to do that.” Sam told him.

Sam had a point. A minute later, Tom hung up and exited the bathroom to find Timmy. He looked around and he couldn’t find him anywhere. When he asked Timmy’s friend, they told him that he left. It devastated Tom.

A week later, Timmy flew to London to stay with you for a couple weeks. Because he hasn’t seen Beau in a while, he decided to go on a roadtrip with Beau to somewhere far away so you can have some alone time. Your alone time was ruined when someone knocked on your door. You looked through the peephole and furrowed your eyebrows when you saw Tom.

“What the fuck.” You said as soon as you opened the door.

“Hey, Y/N.” Tom said with his hands in his pockets. “May I come in?”

“No.” You said and closed the door, but Tom stopped it with his foot. You inwardly groaned and opened the door again to face him. “What?”

“Where’s my son?” Tom asked.

Inheriting your great acting skills from your older brother, you acted like you didn’t know what he was talking about. “What the fuck are you talking about?” You asked.

“Don’t bullshit me. I overheard Timmy talking to you last week. He was talking about a nephew and a deadbeat dad.” Tom snapped.

“Why are you listening to conversations that don’t concern you?” You asked angrily. Tom shook his head and invited himself inside your flat. You rolled your eyes and sarcastically said, “Sure, come in. Be my guest and make yourself at home, will you?”

You closed the door and walked to the living room as Tom walked around the flat in search of a little boy that he hoped would resemble him. He found the room he once shared with you and saw a crib there. He went back to the living room and asked, “Where is he?”

“It doesn’t concern you.” You simply said.

“I have every right to know because I’m his father!” Tom shouted.

“You just gave me your sperm and I did all the work with the help of my brother. You’re technically a sperm donor, Thomas.” You said with your arms crossed. “Besides, you went back to your girl. I didn’t have the time to tell you.”

“You could’ve-”

“No, I couldn’t. Do you know how that’ll turn out? It’ll be messy! You have a relationship to prioritize and I can’t imagine how she’ll feel when finds out that the girl you cheated on her with is having your baby! That would totally suck! I was thinking of her more than you because she’s been through so much hurt. I wish I could apologize to her, but she probably hates me.” You admitted.

“Fuck that shit. You could’ve told me! When was I supposed to see him? Huh? You took him away from me! I want my son and I have every right to have him! You're so selfish!" Tom yelled angrily.

Tears streamed down your face as you looked at him while you sat on the couch. You took a deep breath and calmly said, "You got your girl back. You got all your dream roles and you are constantly wanted by directors for their movies. You have friends and family who are supportive of you. You have parents who love you and cherish you because according to them, you're the best thing that's ever happened to them. You have all the money in the world to support yourself and there's no doubt that you'll be financially secure for the next ten years. You have everything that I've always wanted."

"Tom, I don't have anyone by my side; I'm single. I've been single ever since you left me. I never got my dream roles and I rarely get casted for anything and if I do get casted, I play either a whore or a mistress because that's what the public sees me as. My whole reputation is now tainted as 'Tom Holland's side chick' and the media will forever portray me as that. It wasn't even my fault because you never told me that you were in a relationship that was hidden from the public."

"Ever since news broke out about you cheating on your girlfriend with me, I lost all my friends. They're all disgusted with me now and everyone thinks I'm a liar when I tell them that I never knew you were taken. My parents? They don't like me; they never did. I may be the youngest, but I was a mistake that they decided to keep because my siblings wanted me. My parents never loved me and they never supported me. I'm the worst thing that's ever happened to them. I don't have all the money in the world because like I said, I rarely get casted for anything. I don't want to live off of my brother's money because he worked hard for it. I struggle to make ends meet and I struggle to find work and I'm doing my best at that while being a single mother for MY son."

You sighed as you wiped the hot tears that never stopped falling from your eyes. "My son is the best thing that's ever happened to me and he's the ONE THING I did right. He's also the one good thing that came out of our little mistake. I don't know what I'd do without him. He's the only one I have and you want to take him away from me? Hell, he's the reason why I'm alive right now. When I look at him, I want to be better so he can have better. You don't understand that, Tom. Just because you're a hot shot doesn't mean you can get everything that you want."

"I just want to be with him. I want him to live with me for a while." Tom said.

"Over my dead body, Thomas." You said sternly. "You can't just strut in here like you own the place. I'm sorry you had to find out through someone else, but I won't let you take him from me."

"Were you planning on telling me?" He asked and you shook your head.

"You told me that being with me was a mistake and that you didn't want anything that has to do with me. So, I kept my mouth shut when I found out. I hid it well and when I did an indie film where I was, you guessed it, a mistress, I was already 5 months pregnant. But I hid it well."

"I just want to help you because I was absent in this child's life."

"I got through it with the help of my siblings, especially Timmy, but I did most of it alone. If I can do it alone now until the rest of my life, I'll do it. I don't need you."

"The kid needs a father and that's me."

"No, he doesn't. You're just thinking that because it's like a trophy for you."

"That's not true." Tom shook his head. "My parents want grandkids and he's my son. I want them to know him."

"They can have grandkids the right way. My son was born out of marriage. I'm sure they'd want their grandkid to be a legitimate child." You told him before getting up from the couch and walking to the kitchen to get yourself a glass of water.

"Lock the door on your way out, Thomas." You called out from the kitchen before drinking water. Tom sighed before leaving and slamming the door on his way out. ‘The audacity of that man.’ you thought as you shook your head.

Tom went to the pub with the boys and told them everything. Sam shook his head and said, “You pushed through it?! You pushed through your stupid plan of seeing her?! That’s really stupid!”

“Watch your mouth, Sam.” Tom spat.

“You shouldn’t have done that. Besides, she’s right. Nadia will be really hurt if she found out that Y/N’s having your baby. If Y/N can do it without you, she can manage. Just leave her alone. At least you know.”

“Yes, but I want to see him at least. I missed one year of his life. I want to be there for him forever.” Tom frowned.

“You can’t.” Sam shook his head.

“I agree.” Harry nodded. “You ruined Y/N’s reputation and that kid is the only thing that holds Y/N together. She kept it a secret because she wants it all to herself because the media will say shit about her again. If you’re in the kid’s life, you’ll be exposing him to the dangers of the media. She’s just being a mum and that means she’s not risking it.”

“Well said, Harry.” Harrison nodded. “He has a point. You’re not good at keeping secrets either.”

“So what should I do?” Tom asked.

“Nothing.” Tuwaine answered. “Don’t do shit until Y/N says so. Besides, her brother can straight up kill you because you broke her heart and you’re forcing yourself in her son’s life like nothing happened. You’d be a dead man. Imagine the headlines.”

Harrison laughed, “It’s hilarious; ‘Tom Holland killed by Timothée Chalamet’! You’re sending yourself to your own grave, mate.”

Tom sighed heavily as his brothers and friends laughed at his misery.

You told Timmy about Tom’s visit and it angered him. You had to stop him from going to Tom’s flat to give him a piece of his mind. You assured him that Tom wouldn’t bother anymore and that it’s up to you if you want Beau to know who his father is.

It wasn’t until you got your big acting break that you revealed Beau to the public. You’ve been casted in a big movie alongside Timmy and you’ve never been happier. You confided with Timmy and he agreed that it was time to reveal Beau.

You saw Tom’s comment on your Instagram post and ignored it. It’s his first time seeing how Beau looks and he’s probably shocked that Beau doesn’t look like him. Tom messaged you on Instagram and you didn’t want to reply at first, but you figured that it’s been years. Beau is now 4 years old and you knew it was time to let go of your past. It was time for a new chapter. You replied to his message on Instagram and began talking.

With Timmy’s advice and consultation, you allowed Tom to meet Beau and if he wants to, he can visit him every other weekend as long as he follows your rules.

You finally spoke to Nadia about your past issue and now both of you are okay. She believed every word you said and you thanked her for that. She even said that Beau was a very bright child with a great future ahead of him.

Tom wasn’t around all the time due to his schedule, but whenever he’s in the country with a free schedule, he makes sure to give it to Beau. They may not be as close as Tom would like, but at least they were getting along.

You moved on with your life and you finally got everything that you wished for. You got your dream roles, your parents were finally trying to have a decent relationship with you, your sister was around you more, the media was finally asking your side of the story to clear your name, you’re financially secure, Timmy finally moved in with you to help you with Beau, and you started dating someone again. Life is great.

* * * *

sorry if the ending shitty

𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐓𝐎𝐌 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓: @blueleatherbag @cocoamoonmalfoy @thatforgottenangel @parkerpeter24 @turtoix @slutforsr @givebuckyhisplumsnow @buckys-little-hoe @runawayolives @chewymoustachio @hollandsrecs @just-here-to-escape-from-reality @yourstrulyamour @juliediggory @lharrietg @alexx-stancati @rumplebutterbaby @dummiesshort @spideyspeaches @thevelvetseries @buckymylove @quxxnxfhxll @marvelsimps @dreamy-clousds @bora-world @hunnybunimdun @supred12 @more-like-reyna @caitsymichelle13

𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐋 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓: @holland-styles @trustfundparker @calltothewild @felicityparkers @hufflepuffprincess24 @tommysparker @justasmisunderstoodasloki @quaksonhehe @call-me-baby-gir1 @itstaskeen @theonly1outof-a-billion @lost-in-the-stars03 @justafangirlduh @piscesparker @speedymaximoff @miraclesoflove @lexirv @blairscott @getbywithasmile @pqrkerr @lavender-writer @blackbat2020 @hoodpankow @bi-lmg

[iamanartichoke]

[please blacklist spoiler tags: #loki tv series spoilers, #loki series spoilers, #loki spoilers] 

I know I have missed a lot of people’s takes and reactions, there’s just - there’s so many. So I’m sorry if I’m inadvertantly repeating anyone or whatnot when I proceed to make my own posts. 

Cut for length and spoilers.

Which is a segue into - I feel legitimately concerned, based on how many people are reading the TVA as being the moral authority and/or being on Loki’s side, and Mobius Dick’s interrogation being therapeutic for Loki (and how gross that is), along with an emphasis on ooc-ness for Loki and just overall cracks and fractures in the (what I thought was a) more or less solid episode - 

I feel legitimately concerned that I may have wildly misinterpreted, like, everything, up to and including Loki’s characterization. And it’s actually kind of hilarious bc like - 

Me: All opinions and interpretations are valid! No worries! Also I’m open-minded! Also I have no issue admitting I’m wrong! 

Also me: *feels physically ill at the idea that my interpretation is so very wrong* 

I’m not even lying, guys, my stomach is in knots. And I guess it’s because, like - I thought that it was pretty straightforward that the TVA are the antagonists here?? That Mobius isn’t Loki’s friend - he’s Loki’s interrogator and handler bc he needs Loki for his own purposes. That the “single sacred timeline” is not only nonsensical but also kinda fucked up (as Loki rightfully points out). 

Like I’m watching these scenes and it doesn’t even occur to me to take the TVA’s word as the correct one here. Why would I? I’m taking Loki’s word as the correct one - Loki, the one who’s calling out everything that is stupid and ridiculous about the concept of the Timekeepers and the TVA, the one who is being scape-goated and is aware of it. 

To touch on the ooc-ness of Loki - I mean, the first half of the episode was cringey and ooc, yeah; Loki was too over-the-top and the “comedic” tone didn’t quite land (I’m honestly wondering if Tom’s just not good at comedy? I mean, Betrayal was a genuinely funny play (and heartwrenching) but besides that, I can’t think of anything really comedic that he’s done.) but I’m willing to overlook that because when we got into the second half of the episode, he began to feel much more like the Loki I love.  

Historically, Loki has consistently been the one to see the truth for what it really is and either saying or doing something about it. He actively tries to delay Thor’s coronation because he recognizes, when no one else does, that Thor is not ready to be king. He knows that Odin isn’t as righteous and wise as he pretends to be (and, in fact, he knows that Odin is guilty of more than Loki could ever be, and he calls that out too). He sees SHIELD as the farce it is (and possibly knows Hydra has infiltrated it; I headcanon that he knew but just didn’t care bc why would he?), and he sees Earth and the humans in a much more accurate light than Thor could hope to. You lie and kill in the service of liars and killers; the humans slaughter each other in droves while you idly fret. Etc. Here, it’s the clowns are playing their parts to perfection (that’s the only quote I can remember right now). 

And I mean, yeah, the narrative has never acknowledged that Loki is right about everything. It’s a huge source of frustration for me bc the narrative continues to be so black-and-white about heroes and villains and, being villain-coded, Loki doesn’t get to be validated no matter how right he is. 

But I don’t think that’s the case here. I think, as the protagonist, his word holds a bit more weight. It should, at least, and I personally didn’t see anything that made me think that we shouldn’t consider Loki the authoritative voice in all of this. Loki, not the TVA. 

Mobius’s interrogation? Was very clearly cruel and fucked up, to me. The sham of a fake ass trial that Loki had to endure, with the implication being that no one who stands trial is actually getting a fair trial bc the TVA has no intention of judging anyone not guilty? Fucked up, with horrifying implications. The process of deleting people from existence being literally as detached and soulless as a trip to the DMV (complete with tickets!)? Very disturbing. Like, none of these things are the traits that I would look at and say, hmm, yeah, these guys seem legit and totally correct about everything, too bad for Loki. 

And Loki’s reactions to Mobius - his frustration, his defiance, and his eventual emotional breakdown (which we only saw when Loki was completely alone) all felt accurate to me. Again, there were a lot of over the top aspects of Tom’s performance here but I think what makes me more willing to overlook them is that, in general, we’re getting a more animated Loki than we’ve gotten to see him before, in a way that feels true to him as opposed to whatever was going on with him in Ragnarok. 

He’s not in the middle of a mental breakdown/identity crisis. He’s not being mind-controlled anymore (or influenced). He’s not being villain-coded while Thor is propped up as the hero and the ideal which, to me, means that we are actually getting to see Loki’s personality when all of that is taken away and the only thing he’s got left is himself. It’s a really shitty situation and I hate that he’s in it, but after the initial exaggerated reactions, his response to it worked for me. 

So - yeah. And now I’m like, biting my nails and my stomach is in knots bc I thought I knew Loki and I had a comfortable idea of Loki, and I thought I was more or less decent at interpreting things - but, so, clearly there were things happening and being picked up on that just whooshed right over my head bc it never occurred to me to be on the lookout for them in the first place. Does that make sense? I don’t even know what I’m saying. 

Just - I am really, really doubting my own perception of what this series is attempting to do with Loki and it does not feel good at all. So I guess ultimately I am not capable of putting my money where my mouth is and treating all interpretations as valid, when it comes to myself. (I didn’t realize I was that far up my own ass so as to speak confidently about validity while telling myself that my idea is pretty correct.) Soo there we are. 

Idk if I even want to post this but it’s time for me to clock out now so, for better or for worse, *hits post button* 

[maxwell-grant]

Charlie Chan. Who is fascinating, because he was created explictly to be an anti-Yellow Peril character. Unlike most Chinese characters of the time, he's both intelligent, physically capable, and unambiguously heroic. In the novels, he's simultaneously proud of being Chinese AND proud of being an American citizen. He gives orders and instructions to white people, and the narrative treats this as perfectly normal and acceptable. There's a bit in the first book, when an attempt to trap the..(1/2)

(cont'd)There's a bit in the first book where an attempt to trap the protagonist fails, because a message supposedly from Charlie clearly isn't because Charlie's English isn't broken, it's like poetry. Etc. The movies made him more stereotypical, & played by white actors in yellowface, but still, he's a heroic Chinese man, who is as capable and patriotic as any white man. Nowadays, he's thought of as racist caricature. Which he is, but still, it makes one think.

I'm not nearly as acquainted with Charlie Chan as you are (and I definitely suspected he was less racist in the original books because that's nearly always the norm when it comes to pulp characters) but yeah, that "Which he is" is forever going to be the most unfortunate and saddest part of it all when it comes to Charlie Chan. For all the virtues that can be bestowed on Charlie Chan, for everything great that the character had going for him and inspired, the fact that the least offensive image of the character I could find to put here for illustration's sake is from the Hanna-Barbera cartoon kinda exemplifies the big elephant in the room when it comes to Charlie.

Charlie Chan is a great example of two things: One is the way progress is never a fixed quantity and often what was progressive and forward-thinking in it's time can become something outdated and backwards and downright offensive given enough time, and the 2nd is my constant stressing that this is all the more incentive to reclaim the pulps and either highlight or fix aspects of them, instead of dismissing every aspect of them based on the preconception that everything about it's history is unforgivably bigoted and must be handled with the nuance of a sledgehammer.

I stress time and time again the need to highlight and understand the prejudices that went into pulps, because either ignoring them or wielding them as a weapon to attack them does no favors to anyone. The pulps weren't exceptionally bigoted - look at literally any medium in it's time period and you'll find bigotry and prejudice and hatred - and they were exceptional in the number of POC heroes and heroines. Pulps were a medium of experimentation and cheap entertainment that gave way to much, much more varied kinds of protagonists than were permitted in films, serials, novels, comics and radio serials of the day. Imagine if no one was allowed to bring up and discuss superheroes without mentioning the Superman Slap-a-Jap posters or the Captain Marvel story so horrifingly racist it was recounted by an American ambassador after it deeply offended a friend's son and a major influence on the 1950s anti-comic trials. "Pulp fiction had deeply, unforgivingly racist depictions that deserve intense scrutiny and cannot be ignored" and "Pulp fiction was significantly ahead of every other medium at the time in regards to authors and editors striving to publish stories about heroic POCs, this cannot be dismissed and is something that needs to be perpetuated" are not exclusive facts. "A product of it's time" is not an excuse and never was, but it's a fact nevertheless.

Every time someone speaks favorably of Charlie Chan in any capacity, they have to start with a long preface of everything positive that the character had going for him. Yes, he's a deliberate subversion of the Yellow Peril, he's a heroic protagonist, he's plump and good-natured and humorous but far from a joke, he's friendly and pleasant and well-educated and wise, he's a good dad and family man and a terrifically sharp detective who's so good at his job he gets called to solve crimes all over the world, and none of these traits are apparent to people who have to google the character and repeteadly see a white man in awful make-up into every single image of the character, who watch the movies and cringe at the broken English. It's hardly relevant in the face of all the Asian-American critics who acknowledge the character's virtues but rightfully point out that this fortune-cookie spouting caricature, acting subservient to whites and whose virtues are based around his proximity to a white American ideal, doesn't represent them and they shouldn't pretend it does.

Which isn't to say that to like Charlie Chan is "wrong", a lot of East Asians love Charlie and the character's obviously got fans in Asian Americans. It's a complicated subject and I obviously cannot begin to vouch in a subject so heavily based around perceptions I cannot experience. And I deeply detest the idea of speaking for others on their particular experiences on this kind of matter, which is something Americans do a lot everytime they talk about representation in media.

So instead, I'm going to tackle this on a roundabout manner by going on an unrelated tangent to bring up an example of representation that isn't quite representative of what it's supposed to be, has a lot of issues that have been dissected by critics among the people it was supposed to represent, and none of that stopped the character from being popular and beloved and from being claimed anyway. And it's a Brazilian fighting game character, which means it's completely within my ballpark.

Yeah, obviously Blanka doesn't look like anyone who lives in Brazil (whatever resemblance he bears to redheaded jungle protectors of Brazilian folklore is purely accidental). Obviously neither Jimmy nor Blanka are Brazilian names or even exist in the Portuguese lexicon. Obviously there are issues in Street Fighter's approach to representation across the board, sure, and I'd actually say Laura is much worse than Blanka in that regard (again, my opinion, obviously not universal), but the fact remains that Blanka is and has always been pretty controversial. Obviously there's Brazilians who took offense to Blanka and they weren't wrong to do so, and I obviously do not speak for everyone here, that goes without saying.

Obviously the idea that Brazil's major representative in a global cast of characters, the first big name Brazilian character in videogames, is going to be a freakish jungle monster who roars and bites faces has problems, as is the fact that all the others get to be regular people representing fighting styles from their countries while Blanka doesn't. None of the Brazilian SF characters represent Capoeira, which is kinda shitty to be honest. And there's a whole stereotype of Brazil as a backwards land of beasts and savages that Blanka's creation played into. There's no shortage of ground to criticize Blanka's representation and Ono actually apologized in an interview once, but then he learned one teensy little thing:

Street Fighter is very popular on Brazil. Would you like to leave a message to the fans from there?

"Ono: Yes, I'm aware. At the time of Street Fighter II a lot of the arcade machines produced went there, so I knew we had lots of fans there. A message to Brazilians, well, I'd like to apologize. I know Blanka's a weird character and I don't want any Brazilian to feel uncomfortable with that.

When Blanka was conceived, we knew there were forests in Brazil, and so we thought he could look like that. I was actually kinda nervous knowing I'd meet Brazilian journalists. Still, this is the first Street Fighter in ten years, so we'd like all fans to play, including Brazilians, which are many.

Thanks. Well, but you should know that Brazilians love Blanka

"Ono: Ah, good! I was scared of getting beat up if I ever went to São Paulo! (laughs)"

(That's from a 2012 tv special called The Greatest Brazilian of All Time where over a million viewers voted to elect whoever they wanted, and Blanka was going to win. He was polling ahead of Aryton Senna and PELÉ, fucking Pelé, yes this happened. He wasn't even disqualified for being a cartoon character, it was an open poll, he was disqualified due to canon stating he had been born in Thailand, which I think may have been retconned since then. Again, A MILLION BRAZILLIANS voted for this contest, and Blanka was going to win.)

Blanka is great and sweet and lovable, he made the best out of the incredible shitty hands fate dealt him and became a cool and strong green man who shoots lightning and flies, a self-taught warrior who rides whales and planes to fighting tournaments, and he loves his mom and friends and kicks ass and after he's done he dances in joy and gives the kids of his village piggyback rides, and Brazil loves him. He doesn't represent any existing person or fighting style, he's rooted in a negative stereotype and incorrect assumptions, he's not even really Brazilian, and he's our boy and nobody can take him away from us.

No criticism of Blanka, no matter how in-depth or even right it is, is ever going to affect that, because regardless of what was wrong or misguided and offensive about him, we claimed him and loved him so throughly that Capcom kept playing up Brazilian representation in every subsequent game post Alpha, and because of Blanka's impact and reception in such a big game, Brazilian characters have become a staple of fighting games, and that's how we got much more diverse representatives in those games. Fighting games have more Brazilian representation than LITERALLY ANYTHING ELSE on media not produced here. It started as BAD representation, with way less thought put into it than Charlie Chan, and it still mattered to a lot of Brazilians who reclaimed it and made it better than it was ever intended to be, and as a response to it, it gradually became better. 

Progress is not a fixed quantity, it's an uphill battle, and it's not unwinnable. Everything's gotta start somewhere.

The Good Asian is a ongoing comic that I think does the best job I've seen yet of handling an Asian American detective protagonist, which is not really a high bar in the first place, and more to the point, The Good Asian illustrates the 2nd part: the reclaiming. The Good Asian deals a lot with the realities that a 1930s Asian-American detective would run into, the strained circumstances and relationships between said character and the world around him, because it's born from an author who took a look at Charlie Chan and Mr Moto and the like and recognized the potential in those stories that could not be fulfilled in it's time period by the people writing said stories. 

The Good Asian pays little reverence to Charlie Chan, but it acknowledges that it cannot exist without Charlie Chan, and it reclaims the Charlie Chan premise at the hands of someone more adequately equipped to tell a gripping story that goes places none of Charlie's contemporaries would ever go. Regardless of how good or bad of representation Charlie Chan was, Charlie Chan mattered and was beloved and inspired a better example for others to improve on or rebel against.

I desperately wish that I could google Charlie Chan without having to look at a guy in yellowface, and the ONLY way that's going to happen is if the character ever gets meaningfully brought back and reclaimed for good by people who can meaningfully tackle the character and present him as he should have always been presented.

And then, I imagine it would be a lot easier to show people on how swell Charlie really is. A true, positive role model and hero, who no longer has to look like a gross cartoon to be able to exist at all. Who can finally be what he was always meant to be, and always was deep down.

[lochnessies]

I guess my discomfort with the AM route could actually be summed up as

“I went straight from playing The Gayest House to the Most Heteronormative and Patriarchal House and even though it makes sense from a worldbuilding and storytelling standpoint, it still made for a very uncomfortable experience for me, the player.”

i’m not here to say what can and cannot make a person uncomfortable since that’s so heavily subjective and i personally also don’t like patriarchal undertones as well so i completely get it. however, i have always found it weird when people refer to the black eagles as the ‘gay house’ and act like that makes it superior to the others. i mean… i like edel, dorothea, and linhardt but their sexualities don’t make or break them for me as characters. and the ‘gayness’ of these characters only happen if you happen to s-rank them as the same sex and has no impact on the story. plus you can recruit 2/3 of them out of house and marry them there so it’s kinda irrelevant. the only house that doesn’t have canonically lgbt characters is golden deer and i’ve never seen people use that as a reason as to why they don’t like them. hell, i’ve seen people call them the ‘gayest house’ before. also blue lions does have a canon bisexual… mercedes. plus a lot of endings for the characters have a lot of homoerotic subtext… mercedes/annie, dedue/dimitri, dimitri/felix, sylvain/felix, dedue/ashe. opening an inn together, living together, being buried together, dying on the same day, loving a man more than his wife…. last i checked these are not very heteronormative things. quite the opposite actually lol

as for patriarchal…. are you sure you wanna say that about the kingdom rather than the empire? what makes the kingdom more patriarchal than the place that has a man drill into his daughter how to be the perfect wife, the emperor has lots of concubines, daughters are thrown to the streets, women are desperate for husbands bc it’s the only ways to gain stability, a woman used as a broodmare till it kills her, a noble woman with a crest can’t inherit her house and her daughter is almost forcibly married and raped to have children by her step father.

is it because a lot of the main characters for the plot are male rather than female? that’s not patriarchal it’s just slightly lazy bc patriarchy is systemic not a a problem of plot structure. once again, the golden deer only has judith as a female general/essential npc and the rest are men but i don’t see people get upset about that.

Imagine if I only played AM and I came away thinking this was a typical medieval fantasy where the men are all in leadership roles,

not all the men are leaders and some women are too. such as cornelia and edelgard and they hold a lot of it.

the women are all relegated to support roles and struggling against forced marriages,

no they are not. once again, edel and cornelia are major characters and definitely not supporting roles. also, nobody is being forced into marriage in the blue lions. ingrid’s father suggests suitors but she has complete control over saying yes or no. and in her endings she gets to be a knight. however, we do know forced marriages are a thing in the empire.

men act out their feelings with violence,

yeah, dimitri does get violent but it’s seen as extremely negative and as a sign of his poor mental health and lack of ability to rule at the moment. if this was a typical fantasy game then his violence would be praised and a sign of a warrior and king. dimitri has to let go of his violent impulses in order to become a good kings and as shown in ss/vw he will die if he continues down his self destructive path.

in azure moon byleth and everybody else is constantly telling dimitri to get his shit together where as cf everybody just vapidity nods along to edelgard’s violent impulses.

women in power are inherently suspect,

women are not inherently suspect due to their sex. they are suspect bc the main female characters are suspicious and they do shitty things that hurt the other characters and they are rightfully angry. hell, even male characters are suspect. for example thales and even dimitri himself is seen as suspicious during the academy arc.

hints of flirtation between women are aggressively shot down,

i assume this is about ingrid? i hate to tell you but rejecting somebody’s romantic advances isn’t homophobic and if you don’t respect people’s boundaries then i don’t want to be around you. all other female relationships are treated very well and the female characters admire and respect each other.

hints of feelings between men are treated awkwardly and uncomfortably.

once again, with feeling this time, opening an inn together, living together, being buried together, dying on the same day, loving a man more than his wife are not examples of feelings between men being treated awkwardly. hell, most of the deep and loving relationships are between men. some are strictly platonic (rodrigue/dimitri & gilbert/dimitri) and other are much more 👀. dimitri was even critiqued by some straight men bc he was so open about his feelings with bylad and many people read him as bisexual (my sister even hcs him as completely gay). he literally calls another man ‘irreplaceable’ and ‘cherished’ while he’s apparently shirtless.

Not knowing there’s a whole other route where multiple women are in charge,

just because a woman is in charge doesn’t mean she’s good at it and we know edelgard isn’t a good leader and is willing to stoop to the lowest of the lows. just bc she’s a lady doesn’t make her horrific actions suddenly #girlboss and #feminism

men pay women respect and never degrade them,

women are not above critique. and men don’t violent degrade women for no reason on blue lions (you could say felix and his ingrid supports but he’s a dick to everyone and sylvain whos a rampant misogynist regardless of route and the same could be said for lorenz on golden deer). also hubert does degrade petra and that’s a cf exclusive.

nobody ever suggests that there are inappropriate roles for any gender,

and i have good news! neither do blue lions! ingrid is wholeheartedly supported by her male peers and dimitri (by op’s definition a violent man) even wants her to be his knight and serve in his guard.

men are allowed to be soft,

dimitri, dedue, and ashe??? hello?!??

women are allowed to be aggressive,

ingrid and catherine??? hello????

everybody has at least one potential gay ending and it’s not treated as a shameful secret. 

i hate to be the one to tell you but none of the characters from any routes have explicate gay endings outside of the few with byleth. you can read into something all you want and make headcanons but that doesn’t change what is provided in canon. i find all the same sex endings in azure moon to have romantic undertones (outside of gilbert of course go home to your wife dude). and NONE of the endings are treated as a shameful secret. homosexuality is never talked about as being shameful in the game and that sounds like you projecting.

[float-me-now]

hey!

i saw your posts re: monty and murphy and YeAh. i am so glad that someone else sees S6 as just a cheap set-up for S7. i actually didn’t mind S6 as i was watching, but in hindsight i don’t like it. both for plot reasons and characterization reasons. it is all just so frustrating. especially as a fan of murphy. he had all these rich relationships and dynamics and i feel like they just always shoved him off to the side with just girlfriend and called it a day. of course the lack of mourning is an issue with all of spacekru— but, like you said, monty had just saved murphy’s life. then all you have from him is constant drinking that goes unaddressed and a weird regression plotline about saving only himself (and his girlfriend) and then the following season just has him isolated and holding up a lie he admits he hates?? SIGH.

Hi elle!

... man where should I start?

I finished season 5 like a week before S6 aired, and I was SO hyped about it! I had recently discovered the series and caught up quickly, so I was really looking forward to S6 because it was the first one I would watch live. I quite liked the pilot and second episode actually, but after that I felt like the series had taken a weird turn. I mean, grounders were great, Mount weather too, AIs and mind control were okay, death wave and Eligius were top notch, but bodysnatchers? I wasn’t too sure. And it was not just the enemies that left me quite perplexed: there was also a change of... energy? (Idk how to describe it better than that, sorry). Too many things making too little sense: Murphy being shoved back with his old girlfriend without resolution, Eligius being completely sidelined, Indra being forgotten for like 8/13 episodes, Jordan (who was supposed to be important) only appearing to fall in love and get stabbed, Bellamy forgetting the “let’s do better” theme in the space of a second and being the stupidest he’d been since s3, him treating Murphy like garbage (just a season before he had risked his life to wait for him instead of immediately boarding the ship), spacekru not mourning Monty and Harper (who was TOTALLY forgotten, btw. Okay she wasn’t a main, but they never brought her up again ever, what the hell?), the hideous sanctum costumes (sorry I just don’t like them at all, especially compared to the previous seasons’ costumes) and many, many other things.

As a Murphy-loving person, I had the same perception as you! One of Murphy’s strong points was his ability to make every interaction he was in a fun / interesting one, so confining him to interact with just one or two characters for most of the season was pure idiocy (and season 7 managed to do even worse from this point of view).

The “regression plotline” as you rightfully called it was nothing more than sad. 5 seasons of him trying to find a group of people who loved him, gone. Okay, he was afraid to die, and this could be a fairly decent explanation if we ever knew what the heck he saw when he “died”! And fine, I can accept a regression as long as it is well done, but I feel like they kind of made it up to justify Murphy’s umpteenth redemption arc (the reason why he’s constantly having these arcs remains unknown. He’s literally the guy who did less “evil” things out of all the mains).

Also, about his drinking: ahem, dear writers, remember that Murphy had a mother? Who died?? Because she DRANK herself TO DEATH??? Doesn’t it ring a f*cking bell?? Couldn’t it be used to expand his character and give even more meaning to his self-destructive behavior???

To sum it up, season 6 did have some decent moments (6x02’s psychosis, Clarke’s mind battle against Josephine in 6x07, Murphy speaking trig) but I didn’t enjoy it like I thought I would. I stupidly thought “okay that was weird, but maybe they’ll go back to the old style, explain everything and wrap it up nicely in the final season”. Boy was I wrong! It really was a cheap set-up for s7.

I’m not even going into how SHITTY and PLAIN POOR the writing was in s7 because I’m afraid I would go on ranting for an entire afternoon (especially if I think about what they did to Murphy).

I’m so sorry it came out this long! 🥺 Sadly, when I start ranting about things that I care about I am unstoppable 😂.

Thanks for your ask 💗

[finalgirlbrainrot]

Unpopular opinion: I don't like Castiel. Not at all. It started when he freed Sam so he could kill Lillith and then never owned up to it. He did the opposite in fact and episodes later, when he told Sam he [Sam] didn't make the right choice, it cemented my dislike of him forever. But aside from his many crimes against Sam, I don't like him because he's too stupid and naive. Here we have a character older than mankind, who's been watching the rise and fall of civilization, but never understood it. Other angels didn't think or act like him (they were assholes for sure, but still..) and with the exception of Gadreel and angels who were in similar situation (imprisoned since the beginning of mankind's history), there's nothing to excuse Castiel's blatant ignorance of how humans work.

Apart from that, though those were my main issues, Castiel was kept on SPN clearly to give in into the loudest, most obnoxious part of the fandom. He served no purpose after S7 other than fan service. His subplots were uninteresting and the actor seemed to get worse every season. Some of his scenes were so cringeworthy I was embarrassed for him.

strongly agree | agree | neutral | disagree | strongly disagree

as in some parts I agree with, some parts I don't

I have a lot of mixed feelings about cas. there are times when I like him (I particularly enjoyed his relationship with jack), times when I feel protective of him, times when I'm generally indifferent towards him and times when I dislike him because of the way he treats sam (like you already mentioned, not taking responsibility for his part in the apocalypse and blaming sam or breaking his wall or undoing his sacrifice by freeing lucifer...)

the moment when my dislike for him reached its peak is in 13x21, when, instead of taking responsibility for letting lucifer out, he decided to shift the blame and turn it into "our responsibility" (even tho sam was willing to be trapped with his worst nightmare again before letting him out) and guilted sam into facing his torturer and rapist for the 85317th time and made light of sam's trauma by putting his consensual possession on the same level as sam's centuries of torture. also his "worst possible violation" remark pisses me off so much because 1) when is s9 sam was rightfully mad at dean for tricking him into being possessed, he pretty much told him to get over it, yet now he's describing his own consensual possession as the ~worst possible violation~ and 2) he was saying it while wearing the corpse of a guy who's dead as a direct result of cas' possession and from whom he got a coerced consent by using his daughter

but what makes me dislike him probably even more than his own behaviour is his stans. particularly the way they continuously lump sam together with dean when talking about cas' mistreatment, even tho literally the only time sam actually wronged cas was when he went through with dean's plan to lock jack up (as opposed to cas' multiple crimes against sam). just to mentions a few arguments I've come across, I've literally seen cas stans hating on sam for trying to kill jack and for gloating to cas about killing jack (even tho sam never did either of those things, it was all dean), or making up stuff out of nowhere (like claiming that sam called cas an "it", even tho he literally didn't, but apparently people have zero comprehension skills (while simultaneously ignoring the fact that cas actually canonically called sam an abomination)), or getting mad at sam for not standing up for cas when dean's being shitty to him (this one in particular annoys the hell out of me because 1) it comes across as super victim blamey 2) sam does stand up for him. maybe not always, but he did a few times and 3) I honestly can't think of a single time when cas stood up to dean for sam's sake) and for respecting cas' choice of letting lucifer possess him

something else that makes me dislike him is the show and fandom's double standards. when letting lucifer out was actually a team effort, the blame was placed entirely on sam because he broke one seal, but when cas knowingly chose to let him out, it became "we" let him out. when sam was tricked into breaking the last seal, everyone and their mom, both in the show and the fandom, repeatedly blamed him for it, but I've rarely seen fans blame cas for being tricked by metatron into contributing to the angels' fall and while there have been a few angels in the show who blamed him 1) he got to defend himself, while sam never did and 2) it was clear that the narrative didn't support their accusations, as opposed to people blaming sam for the apocalypse, something the narrative itself makes it clear that we're supposed to agree with. not to mention the fact that cas got to express how he felt about being possessed by lucifer and how uncomfortable being around nick made him, while sam never did

also something that put me off his character even more is when I found out that anna (who's like one of my top three fave characters in the entire show) was supposed to be the show's recurring angel, but they ended up giving her role to cas. I mean, I know that's not exactly the character's fault but still :///

I don't really mind his naivety tbh, I actually found it kinda fascinating

I kinda agree about him being in the show for too long and tbh most of the angel plotlines in general became uninteresting in later seasons imo, especially after the angels' fall and I hate how they powered them down so much and turned them from these super powerful creatures to... whatever they are in the later seasons. the only good thing about the angel plotline in the last couple of seasons imo is that it gave us jack, that's it. also yeah, I don't like to speak ill of the actors, but I'm not really a big fan of his acting, especially during casifer

send me unpopular opinions

[electricea-archive]

jassi’s adventures with the persona 5 manga, volume 2, pt. 1!

this volume was actually a bit of a struggle to get but i got it, it’s in my hands, along with volume 3!!

-so last chapter, i complained about ryuji’s awakening being sort of jammed into the end volume 1.  well the first few pages of volume 2 more than make up for it by showing him kicking ass, taking names, and enjoying the hell out of himself - it’s nice to see this cocky and confident side to him that he has as skull.

-at one point, morgana jumps in and summons zorro to help out being like ‘can’t you do anything without me?’ and later goes on to call ryuji sloppy.  the start of a classic rivalry.  also morgana calls him blondie lol.

-also this must have slipped past me but unlike in the game, morgana isn’t there for ryuji’s awakening and is surprised to see that he’s a persona user.

-they have to be reminded of their goal to steal his treasure by morgana but given we’re barely a few pages in, they make their exit to the real world pretty quickly after.

-ryuji’s a lot more confident after awakening his persona - meanwhile cat!morgana turns up and claims he’d noticed something special about ryuji all along and how these two were all part of his infiltration plan.  sure, jan.

-though i do like how ryuji raises of the point as to why didn’t morgana just steal the treasure himself if that’s so imperative.

-ryuji takes charge of the calling card - everybody thinks it’s a prank and it features his trademark crappy artwork but i do like how his wording ‘to the creepy bastard of lust, suguru kamoshida’.  get ‘im ryuji.

-oh there’s more - ‘we know how shitty you really are taking your base desires out on helpless students, thus we have decided to steal those twisted desires and make you confess your crimes, we will arrive today to commit the deed, prepare thyself, signed the phantom thieves of hearts’

-akira must have helped with writing that lmao - that or ryuji’s a lot more well spoken than i thought.

-ann wonders if it’s because of shiho, meanwhile kamoshida flips the fuck out and demands to know who did this.  he starts accusing random students and rips that shit off of the bulletin board.  yep, he’s rattled lol.

-the group prepares to end the castle, but ann turns up - even in phantom thief gear, she immediately recognizes skull as ryuji and i guess came to the conclusion that they were the ones who wrote the calling card because kamoshida freaked out so much.

-she wants in on in the action too and there’s a funny exchange where ryuji is trying to explain how they have to go through a palace and she’s like ‘...a palace? yeah, i can see that.  it’s a castle.  so what?’

-morgana already crushing on her but meanwhile she’s just wondering how the hell that cat talked.  there’s a funny little callback to the ‘castle vs palace’ line with ann, who seems to be getting confused by the two.

-ryuji just kind of tells her to get lost and starts shoving her away - she looks to akira for help but he’s just like ‘we’ll take care of kamoshida’ - though to be fair, he does mention feeling bad about it.

-there’s a lot of castle parkour, ryuji nearly slips and falls off the side of a wall.

-a lot of the following pages are game accurate - morgana loves treasure, they grab it and try to carry the giant crown, kamoshida spots them, though he offers to trade them ann (who i guess at some point he captured) for it.

-the next chapter is ann flashback one, lots of references to her alienation by her classmates, they think she sticks out like a sore thumb because she’s not fully japanese, her hair and her eyes are too different, they treat her like a foreigner, they find her really aloof and generally just a lot of gossiping and whispering going on around her.

-‘this is what it’s like for me every day.’

-i can’t tell if this a first meeting between ann and shiho but it looks like they’re in art class and shiho tells ann her art sucks - but then says she finds it really unique and weird.  ann bursts of laughing at this and it looks to be the start of a best friendship here?

-she’s strapped to that crucifix looking thing - kamoshida grabs her face which just makes me shudder, and it’s mentioned she went back in and got ambushed by the cards.  he’s still trying to convince them to trade her for the crown.

-...they give it back - aww, such sweet guys, but asshole kamoshida never planned on being honest and calls ann an ‘interesting new toy to play with’ and says how he likes seeing the looks of helpless frustration on people.

-he grabs ann’s face AGAIN - asking what fun he can have with his new toy and cognitive ann makes her entrance basically saying that he can’t let ann talk back to him like that.

-i know that cognition is more or less well explained but it’s still disgusting that kamoshida’s perception of ann is that of a skimpily dressed, obedient, mindless sex slave.  the whole idea of cognitive ann is just so repulsive to me.

-ann rightfully calls him insane - kamoshida doesn’t like that and THREATENS TO DISSECT HER IN FRONT OF THEM, WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FUCK.

-he goes on another disgusting tangent about how everyone is his slaves and calls shiho a stupid girl, saying there are more slaves where she came from and she was just a poor substitute for ann.  he says he had shiho ‘take her place’ and while it’s never outright said, i’m sure you can infer what happened and to put the icing on the cake, he blames it on ann saying that if she would have just graciously accepted his advances, none of this would have happened.

-he asks her if she thinks she actually has the right to feel angry - wtf man??

-ryuji and akira give her a pep talk saying how they’re nobody’s slaves and neither is she, even before they become phantom thieves together, they’re such good friends to her.

-ann’s had about enough of everything and is getting pissed off - i think there’s an awakening coming on!!

-her awakening is actually really cool, though with the black and white color scheme, her mask gives me catwoman vibes but carmen? super beautiful. ._.

-her tangent is more or less the same in the game - he took everything from shiho, she’s gonna take everything from him.  still super badass!!

-the first four phantom thieves have assembled - and kamoshida is not taking this well!

-he morphs into his shadow form and devours his own guards and from here, the next few pages are more or less the boss fight in manga form.

-there’s a panel where joker saves ann and they’re like staring into each other’s eyes, ryuji’s in the background being like ‘i helped too! where’s my thanks?!’

-kamoshida drinks from his giant drink glass and he’s all healed up.

even though the book feels about the same size as volume 1, it feels like there’s a whole lot more to go through with it, so i’ll be tackling it in parts, i think.  this volume doesn’t even end with kamoshida’s defeat, that’s only about halfway through - and they still have time to introduce yusuke afterwards, though i’m pretty sure that all of the actual madarame stuff is properly covered in volume 3, but yeah, ann was handled a lot better in this version, she got a lot more screntime, a lot more badass scenes, i liked the development with her.  kamoshida continues to be an immense pile of shit and it’s just fun watching ryuji grow more confident in himself as a phantom thief!

[keelywolfe]

FIC: A Pressing Engagement ch1 (Not baon AU)

Summary: Labeling things can be difficult, for everyone involved

Notes: Oh, I don't know, this sort of popped into my brain today and sometimes, I like to see the maybes and might haves.

Tags:  Spicyhoney, Fluff and Angst, Dating, Developing Relationship, Humor

~~*~~

Read it on AO3

or

Read it here!

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It wasn’t a date, really. More like a standing lunch appointment where they met up wherever the local food trucks were congregating that day. Edge was a fussy bitch when it came to food, but what kind of monster (heh) would turn down fresh seafood po’ boys with truffle Parmesan fries? Not one that Stretch wanted to hang out with, for sure.

The trucks were always busy, Humans and Monsters lining up for tasty treats. Using Edge’s strategy of divide and conquer, they queued in separate lines, gathering up a collection of paper trays lined with greasy waxed paper and holding heavenly balls of deep-fried goodness, along with the less heavenly but still delicious vegan junk that Edge always wanted, under the theory that unhealthy plus good for you would sort of cancel each other out into balanced nutrition.

Look, if it got him food, Stretch was willing to bend science a little.

The park was crowded, any tables were already claimed, if not by people than by their possessions. By the time Stretch was juggling their po’ boys and fries, Edge was through the vegan line and sitting under a tree in the grass, their Buddha bowls and moussaka artfully arranged around him. The pastoral serenity of the scene contrasted in interesting ways to the leather-clad skeleton in the middle of it all and if Stretch didn’t know that Edge would object, loudly and strenuously, he would’ve taken a picture. Called it modern art, skeleton on a theme of lunch.

“hope you grabbed napkins,” Stretch said cheerfully, plopping down in the grass to lay out his own spread.

“I did not. I brought my own,” Edge said, because of course he did, every week. Linen napkins that they both spread over their laps as they shared out the goods and dug in. Strange how growing up in murder world made a guy into a terminal recycler, but Edge was a guy who understood living under strict limitations.

The first bite of his po’ boy made Stretch groan aloud, greedily chewing fried blobs of briny shrimp and oysters couched in a bed of crisp lettuce and tomato. Waterfall aside, there wasn’t much seafood in the Underground and Stretch got a serious appreciation for it once they hit the Aboveground. Edge liked surfing on the ocean more than eating what was swimming in it and even he was eating appreciatively.

It was all good, tasty food, sunny day, perfectly awesome even if it wasn’t actually a date, and if it ended with them heading back to one of their places for some rough and rowdy bootknockin’, eh, well, that was kinda how Stretch liked it. They didn’t need it to be an official date, seriously, that was for people who just started going out, not for guys who’d been together for a few years. Once you’d shared a toothbrush, you didn’t need that kind of shit, right, and Stretch was pretty sure Edge’d forgiven him for that, he’d only done it the once and only because he couldn’t get the taste of garlic off his teeth. That was the last time he tried aioli on their not-dates.

Dessert was rice pudding with fresh mango and around a spoonful of creamy deliciousness Stretch mumbled out, “so, how about undyne and alphys finally tying the knot, huh?”

“Ridiculous,” Edge scoffed.

“right? i always figured them for getting married two weeks after their first date, took ‘em long enough—” Stretch trailed off as Edge scoffed again, louder and with some dangerous spoon waving to go with it.

“Marriage is a ridiculous institution,” Edge said irritably. “If you need to be married in order to feel as though you’re committed to one another, then the relationship is already doomed to failure. But then, most supposedly committed relationships are.” He took a fierce bite of his pudding, teeth closing dangerously around the poor, abused spoon. “That’s why I prefer what we have. No ties, no strings, you live in your apartment and I share my house with my brother. It works for both of us and we don’t need any absurd social constructs to determine what we are for each other.”

It took a minute for Stretch to realize Edge was looking at him expectantly, “yeah,” he said belatedly, rolling his shoulders laconically before leaning against the rough trunk of the tree shading them, “yeah, no strings, no ties, free as birds, tweet tweet.”

That earned him a chuckle, “Tweet tweet?”

“you prefer caw caw?” Stretch teased and his voice was normal, easy. Good. “grackle? i’d give you a kookaburra cackle but last time i tried it i couldn’t talk for two days.”

“Better not,” Edge’s voice was anything but normal, low and smoky, inviting the sorts of things that usually stirred up plenty of different emotions in Stretch’s rib cage, all the way down to his pelvis, and wasn’t it a damn shame his soul was all full up right now. Edge went on, as thick and sweet as the honey Stretch tended to crave. “you’ll want to save your voice for something better.”

“yeah, about that,” Stretch poked at his empty pudding cup, his spoon rattling, “actually, i think i’m gonna head home.”

Edge frowned. Rightfully so, Stretch didn’t usually turn down sex, it was a better dessert than any at the trucks, even the lava chocolate cakes that always sold out. “Are you all right?”

“just a little tired,” Stretch shrugged. “think i’ll turn in early.” He didn’t mention low HP and neither did Edge, who only nodded.

“Then let me drop you off,” Edge started gathering up their trash, separating it out and bagging it up to dump in his home recycling. “You’ll be on the bus for an hour.”

There wasn’t a good reason for Stretch to refuse, so he didn’t. He sat on the passenger side and closed his sockets, let the motion of the car and the shitty crooner music that Edge listened to lull him into a near-sleep. The ride was too short for him to zonk out entirely, but he was still drowsy when Edge nudged him, let him steal a brief, easy kiss before he slid out the door into the parking lot of his apartment building.

Stretch waved as Edge drove away, then bypassed the front door entirely and instead took a shortcut upstairs. Not inside his apartment, but to the fire escape that everyone in the building used instead as a sort of rattling balcony. There was a ratty deckchair in the corner, shoved in tight to keep from impeding the steps, and that was where Stretch sat as he dug out his cigarettes.

He was halfway through the first, basking in the nicotine rush, when he heard the window opening above him then boots on metal steps. He sank deeper into the creaky chair, bracing himself.

“Papy!” Blue called happily as he descended the stairs. His apartment was directly above Stretch’s, their version of a compromise when Stretch gently told his bro that he wanted his own place. The Fell brothers could live together if they wanted and did, and Stretch didn’t judge them for it. But Stretch had let his life revolve around his brother for a long damn time and once they were on the surface, facing the sunshine and an entire change of life, Stretch decided he wanted that change to go a little further and told Blue with as much blunt kindness as he could that he wanted his own place.

Blue got over it and in Stretch’s opinion, their relationship was better for having a little necessary space. Now his little bro leaned over the last metal rail, his starry eye lights bright as he beamed at Stretch and asked, "Well? How did it go??”

Stretch looked away, blowing out a long stream of silent smoke.

That eagerness softened, wilted. “Ah. It went like that.”

“yeah,” Stretch stubbed out his cigarette into the overflowing ashtray tucked underneath his chair, lit another. “guess it’s a good thing i dipped a toe into the river first, bringing up undyne and al’s wedding. didn’t know it was the rubicon i was trying to cross.”

Better than bringing out that little velvet box still tucked away in his hoodie pocket, it seemed. Not like he’d been planning a big production or anything, fuck no, Edge would’ve hated that, already hated it when Humans gave them side-eyes and stares. Nah, the plan was to bring it up casual-like over dessert and now he was pretty fucking glad he hadn’t. The ache in his chest was one he’d get over, give him a few days and a few smokes and he’d be right as rain, left as lightning, all that shit. Having to deal with that hurt on top of Edge turning him down, (rudely, coldly, highly possible, gently, awkwardly, so much worse) wasn’t something he wanted to give a try.

Blue came down the rest of the stairs at a more sedate pace, wrapping both arms around Stretch into a painfully tight hug, “I’m so sorry, brother.”

“eh, probably just as well,” Stretch tossed his second butt into the ashtray and resisted the urge to light another. He’d smoke his way through the pack once Blue went back upstairs, no reason for both of them to be miserable. “he’s working his way up at the embassy, he doesn’t need a lazy shit like me holding him back.”

He could feel Blue struggling not to argue and damn well appreciated it. He wanted to bask in his pain for right now, fucking savor it, his own soul served up as another casualty of the food trucks. Save the rah rah cheerleading for when he was more equipped to hear it.

“guess i better find out if the jewelry shop take returns or something,” Stretch sighed, “having a wedding ring laying around the house feels a lot like having a loaded gun, you don’t want anyone to find it unexpectedly.”

He fumbled for the little box, absently thinking of what would be a good day to head in to the shop, he was pretty sure he still had the receipt and—

In his hoodie pocket was his lighter, his smokes, a little baggie of dog treats, a handful of change since Stretch was physically incapable of walking past a vending machine, something his collection of small toys and weird condoms would attest to. No black velvet box that would never be opened in offering, showing off a simple pair of bands that he’d spent an hour agonizing over with an exceptionally patient salesperson, cause hell, they’d been not-dating for years now, maybe it was time to toss a label on all this. Except it wasn’t and neither was that little box.

“it’s not here.” No box. No rings, what the fuck. Horrified realization hit with the force of a two-ton slap. “it must’ve fallen out!”

“Oh, dear,” Blue tutted, “if it was at the park, someone likely took it.”

“i’d rather they did than him find it! edge gave me a ride home!” Stretch hissed. Panic was tight in his chest, fuck, fuck, “what if it’s in his car? i gotta get it back, i gotta!"

"Brother, calm down,” Blue tried, unconvincingly, “it might not even be in his car.”

“i have to check!” Stretch moaned. He couldn’t let Edge find it first, fuck, somehow he’d stepped out of the path of a speeding car straight into an oncoming semi-truck. “i can't let him find it! fuck!” He latched onto his brother’s shoulders, clutching desperately, “bro, you gotta help me!”

Blue still looked pretty doubtful but this was his brother, his little bro, and for years it’d only been the two of them there for each other, years and tears and love, was there anything they wouldn’t do for each other, even participate in an impromptu jewelry heist?

So it wasn’t a surprise when Blue nodded, finally, sighing out, “All right, brother, what did you have in mind?”

~~*~~

Read Chapter 2

[targaryen-stronghold]

As a Jonerys fan, one of the reasons S8 was so shitty is it made Dany/Jon's relationship look very ... uneven or one sided. S7 ended very clearly with Dany and Jon, both as equally powerful allies and rulers. Then S8 basically has Daenerys doing all the work while getting shit on by the North and the Stark sisters and Jon is just ... there? He at least upholds his word to go with her and lead Northern forces to KL but that's basically it?

They had some good moments in Episode 1 but then it went down the hill from there. Even then, Dany letting Jon riding Rhaegal was complete nonsense. It was total fanservice and nothing more. Dany had a hard time training her dragons and even flying them (remember Drogon refusing to fly back to Meereen?), but Jon due to his “cock power” not only flies Rhaegal like a pro, he actually goes into battle on dragonback on his second ride. What a bunch of bullshit. Also, the waterfall scene doesn’t make any sense with Season 8 plot: so Dany is this “power-hungry tyrant” but she wouldn’t mind leave everything behind to live with Jon in the wilderness? What? I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: this is why Season 8 failed and the narrative is utter nonsense. They needed Dany and her resources to save the North but they wanted to turn her into a villain, and these two don’t add up. You can’t have a queen honoring her word and doing her part of the bargain and then calling her a tyrant. You can’t have her tolerating the Starks openly disrespecting her in front of her subjects and calling her a tyrant. Whoever wrote or even agrees with this bullshit never pick up a History book. I’m a History major and I had some good laughs at this fandom stupidity when it comes to Medieval History. In real life, people were executed for less than talking shit to a monarch and these kings aren’t even remembered as tyrants. Remember when Grey Wind basically eat Lord Umber’s hand because he disrespected Robb? Yeah, I don’t recall anyone calling Robb a tyrant because he threatened his subjects with his direwolf to assure his leadership over them. You see: when a man does it, it’s cool and awesome but when a woman does it, it’s “madness” and tyrannical.

When we look at the overall story, Jon and Dany relationship leaves a sour taste in my mouth and doesn’t add up with what was previously established in Season 7. In Season 8, Jon never tells others that he willingly bent the knee to Dany because she proved herself worthy by being willing to sacrifice herself for her people (rescue mission beyond the Wall), nor that Dany pledged herself to the Northern cause of defeating the Night King and his army before he bent the knee. Whenever others attack Dany, his only response is “she’s my queen” or whatever: he never reveals the things she did to prove herself worthy of his allegiance and love. By vilifying Dany, Jon was basically turned into a horny buffoon in Season 8: he only wants her because she’s hot, he’s thinking with his dick - that’s basically what the narrative is saying. But we watched Season 7, we know that’s some bullshit right there. Jon and Dany both care deeply about their people and they were chosen as leaders. They were equals: a King and Queen. They also fell in love in the worst of times but their love was supposed to represent a beacon of hope in the darkness to come. And don’t even bring up the incest part when the ultimate love story of this crap was Cersei and Jaime’s. All the talk about Dany and children in Season 7 apparently didn’t mean anything. Also, Jon basically taking credit for Dany’s accomplishments (riding a dragon, facing the Night King on dragonback, etc.) and never praising her is some disgusting whole level of sexism. Dany is never praised for her role in the Battle of Winterfell: her armies were slaughtered, she rode Drogon and faced the Night King, she picked up a dragonglass sword and fought, and she lost Jorah. But her efforts are never acknowledged. Actually, when she was out there fighting and risking her life, the Lady of the House was hiding inside and talking shit about her. 

Dany has every right to be pissed at the feast when Jon is right there being congratulated for doing the same shit as she did. Varys looks at her suspiciously like she’s wrong in reacting this way (and later he tells Tyrion he worries about her state of mind). This bullshit was so obviously written by men: women everywhere know what is like to have a man taking credit for their deeds. After the feast, Jon is drunk and wants to kiss and have sex with Dany but stops himself. She just lost Jorah but he never bothers to ask how she’s doing. She asks him to keep his parentage a secret because hell would break lose. Dany is absolutely right and all her fears come true: people actually go on their way to conspire to kill her and place Jon in the throne instead. You aren’t paranoid or mentally instable if your instincts are right and people are out there to get you. And don’t even get me started about how awful this story is towards mentally ill people by representing them as “evil” and “monsters”. This so wrong and fucked up, I can’t even find the words to express my disgust. Then, Dany loses both Rhaegal and Missandei and she’s mourning them. In some repulsive fashion, they show us Dany with bags under her eyes and her hair unkempt: this was supposed to be an indicator she was mentally instable (yikes). Jon arrives at Dragonstone but does he care in comforting her? No. He shallowly says he loves her and pushes her away. But where the fuck is this love he’s talking about? When I first saw this scene, I immediately recalled this scene from “Closer” (2004):

This is Jon’s love for Dany in Season 8 in a nutshell. The narrative says Jon does love Dany. But this “love” is shallow and meaningless concerning his actions towards her: he doesn’t support her, he doesn’t stand up for her and he isn’t even there when she needs him the most. She is going through a harsh time and he gives her the side-eye when she rightfully executes Varys for treason (he was trying to kill her): apparently Jon kind of forgot he executed a child who killed him because he befriended the wildings (who, you know, murdered and eaten Olly’s family and forced him to watch). This is emotional abuse in my book. Have you ever watched “Midsommar” (2019)? Season 8 Jon is like the protagonist’s abusive boyfriend, This goes full circle when Jon murders Dany because he wants to protect himself and Arya, Sansa and Bran. But does he try to understand Dany or her motifs? No, she’s a tyrant, period. She wants to kill everyone even tho she never says this. I already talked about how OCC it was for Dany to burn down King’s Landing. She wants to break the wheel and the masters of Westeros are the feudal lords. Of course Dany is threat to every Lord in Westeros because she wants to give power to the people, the smalfolk. The people would then decide who they wanted to rule them. The Northern people might still choose a Stark to lead them… or not. That’s a treat to the Stark dominion over the North.

Either way: all of it was bullshit and offensive and these writers can go fuck themselves for even thinking this was okay.

[davalynbaker]

insecure as f*ck (se01-ep01)

As all seven of you know (thank you for the add!), I set out on revisiting Issa’s past relationships to see how her and Molly got to where they are now. It’s actually kind of funny to see the way Issa and Molly’s lives have done a bit of a switch over the past four seasons. The best way this show can be revisited is through an abridged timeline so let’s get to the chaos.

Episode one is written by Issa Rae & Larry Wilmore, while being directed by Melina Matsoukas. Music used in this episode. 

Our protagonist, Issa (Issa Rae) introduces us to her story through the form of narration. (an homage to the youtube series, Awkward Black Girl) We learn that it’s her birthday, she’s at a job she hates, and in a relationship she hates even more. She laments about not being as successful or well-liked as her best friend Molly (Yvonne Orji). All these things are true with the exception of her love life which is pretty much in the pits.

After having a not so great day at work, Issa’s high school crush, Daniel (Y’lan Noel), hits her up and tells her happy birthday and the simple gesture has her fantasizing about dating him instead of her current boyfriend. It doesn’t play out like this but you can definitely see it in the eyes.

Molly treats Issa to a birthday dinner but it’s really just an outing where she complains about her relationship problems. Though Issa didn’t mind because Molly catches herself and realizes what she’s doing, it really has to suck spending your birthday consoling everyone around you.

Molly complains that she’s having a hard time dating and Issa jokes that maybe she has a “broken pussy.” These scenes are my favorite in the series, where it’s best friends sitting around talking shit and getting full of liquor. When their dinner is over, Issa confesses that she wants to break up with Lawrence and gets heavy criticism from her friend. Molly has issues projecting her own feelings onto other people’s situations. Let your best friend complain, damn. It’s her birthday! Also, what is it with people telling you not to break up with someone not romantically compatible with you just to avoid living the single life. Molly was so heavily obsessed with being in a relationship from the very beginning that she was willing to try and talk her friend out of breaking up with a partner that was pretty much dead weight at this point. 

Y’all, if you’re reading this: don’t do that to your friends. Let them get their feelings out and give them sound advice, if you can*. A sound piece of advice from me to you is that it isn’t always about you.

We’re then introduced to Lawrence (Jay Ellis), who is supposed to spend the rest of the evening with Issa for her birthday. He gives her what I like to call a dry as hell “happy birthday” and when she realizes he’s not dressed to go out, he begins to talk about how he failed his job interview and just isn’t in the mood to celebrate. So what does she do? She sits on the couch with this grown man and spends the rest of the birthday comforting him.

We meet this couple five years into their relationship and nothing has happened to show Issa that it’s headed anywhere. Imagine spending five years of your life with someone and feeling like you wasted most of them. Let’s do some quick math here: If Issa is turning twenty-nine and she’s been with Lawrence for five years now, it’s safe to say that she met him either near the end of college or right when she was out of it. He’s possibly been jobless the majority of that time and been taking a job interview here and there while Issa carries the load of this relationship the entire time. 

Now does that add up?

Earlier in the episode, Issa lets the audience know that she’s “aggressively passive” which, in short, means that she does not know how to effectively communicate when she has a problem. Knowing this, I can see why Lawrence feels comfortable lying on the couch complaining about one job interview and not taking his girlfriend out on her birthday. But Issa, you need to speak up. You can’t be miserable at both work and home - a home that you’re solely paying the rent and utilities for.

It’s MY opinion that Lawrence is sticking around because he’s comfortable and essentially, has no other place to go. He has no job, he has no motivation, and he really has nothing much to offer. He doesn't even offer Issa emotional support. He didn’t ask her how her day was, if her birthday was good, if her coworkers even did anything for her…

Issa and Lawrence are both depressed but it’s doubly frustrating when there’s an imbalance in support. Job hunting is stressful, trust me. And considering that in the real world, we’re currently smack dab in the middle of a pandemic it’s oh so much worse. However, I think we can agree that not doing something for your girlfriend’s birthday because you failed a job interview is pretty shitty. If I were Issa I’d be happy that my high school crush is sending me DMS too. Lawrence’s inability to give Issa the things she feels she needs out of a relationship pushes her closer to Daniel. 

Molly has a rough day at work after finding out her coworker is engaged while she’s being paid dust by men in her life so Issa uses that as an excuse to go to a club because Daniel is producing one of the acts. Later as Issa prepares to go out with Molly in an attempt to cheer her up, Lawrence makes a joke that Molly’s standards are far too high to get a boyfriend. And Issa says, “yeah, maybe she should lower them like I did.” 

It takes him a minute but he catches the snark and Issa runs off before they can talk more about it but not before she passive aggressively suggests that they should break up. Molly figures out that it’s a scam once she sees that Issa and Daniel link up at the bar but she doesn’t have too much of a fit about it because she meets Jered (Langston Kerman) and they hit it off really well.

As Issa and Daniel reminisce on their high school days, she learns there’s an open mic night and Daniel encourages her to participate. 

Now, if you’ve watched the show you can’t forget something as wild as “Broken Pussy” but if you need your memory refreshed here you go. This song was inspired entirely by the conversation Issa and Molly had in the restaurant where Issa told her that her pussy was “broken.”

Molly is rightfully upset despite Issa’s aloofness to her anger, happy that she took a risk and received a good reception for it. And it doesn’t matter that nobody in the crowd knew who she was rapping about, Molly knew! And really, it's about the principle. Molly emotionally goes off on Issa about making a very serious issue she’s dealing with the butt of a joke and Issa is super dismissive. Issa, girl, what the hell? 

During Molly’s rant about how obviously utterly messed up all this is, Daniel is texting Issa telling her to swing by. And even worse, Issa replies during Molly’s breakdown. Knowing that she was merely a pawn in Issa’s attempt to hang out with Daniel, Molly tells her that if she cheats on Lawrence with Daniel then she’s just as dumb a bitch as she [Molly] is. Issa feels bad that she upsets her friend but not upset enough to go and visit Daniel.

What is this thing that people do where they put potential romantic partners before friends? Selfishness? It’s not that Issa doesn’t care about Molly but she was determined to rekindle something with Daniel that she literally left her best friend upset to go hang with a guy. I can’t speak for anyone but myself but I know for a fact that I wouldn’t be able to have a good night’s sleep without having resolved that. When Daniel does not give Issa what she wants, who is she going to turn to complain about it? 

But alas, Issa and Daniel’s meet-up is not met with the expectations Issa set. For the first time in this episode, she speaks up after Daniel kisses her and tells him how she’s going through a break-up and does not want her next relationship to go sour the way it did with Lawrence. The gag? Daniel tells her that he’s not looking for anything serious and feeling humbled and possibly a little betrayed at her own self for projecting something that wasn’t there, Issa goes back to Molly to set things right.

Final Thoughts: Listen to your friends. Care for your friends. And let yourselves be cared for by your friends. And dump that dude if you feel like it’s headed nowhere.

*Give them advice IF you can. If you can’t, just listen and hug them and don’t make it about you. You don’t need to be Iyanla Vanzant when it comes to a friendship. Effie, we all got pains!

See y’all next Sunday!

[inactiive-shit]

Old Flame

Fandom: Sanders Sides

Warnings: past toxic relationship, talking about some of the unhealthy behaviors, mentions of drug abuse and alcoholism

Pairings: post-romantic Prinxiety, platonic Prinxiety, current Anxceity & Royality

Words: 2,625

Summary: Roman had a high school sweetheart. He hasn't him in over ten years and for all he knows the man could be dead.Then he shows up unexpectedly, and it turns out to be something both of them needed.

Note: Hey everybody! This deals with a dicey topic and I can’t rightfully say how well I managed it, but I wanted to write something about reconciliation and forgiving people who messed up - especially when no party involved was completely blameless. So I gave it a shot, but please be aware that they do reference an unhealthy relationship and some shitty things that happened.

Thanks, and I hope if you read it you enjoy it!

When Remus looked up, stiffened, and growled, “Don’t look now,” Roman assumed he had seen one homophobe or another they had become accustomed to running into in their town. The last thing he expected to see when he turned around was Virgil Eli, a decade and a half older and looking - better.

Roman freezes, staring down someone he had never expected to see again. When Virgil looks up and sees Roman’s eyes on him, he seems just as immobilized as Roman is by what’s occurring.

Then he leans down to say something to the man whose hand he’s holding and jerks his head toward them. The man examines Roman shortly before pecking Virgil’s lips and releasing his hand, saying ‘go’. Roman can see the breath Virgil takes, the way it expands his chest and slowly drains out, and he wonders why it seems so alien on someone he knew so well, once.

Remus snarls when Virgil starts approaching and it snaps Roman out of his daze. He looks between his brother and his ex, looks between the person who had done most of the picking up the pieces and the one who had done most of the breaking, and stands between them. Remus, he knows, is more than willing to have this confrontation on behalf of Roman. But whatever is about to happen is something that Roman needs to face. On his own.

“Roman?” Virgil says. His voice is deeper and rougher than it had been before. It’s still quiet and unsure, too, but for some reason there’s a different ring to it.

“Hey, Virgil,” Roman says. He doesn’t know how to continue this conversation or even if he should. Long time, no see? Where have you been? How’s life been treating you? Where on Earth did you run off to?

“It’s, um, been a while.” Virgil rubs the back of his neck, something he used to do whenever he was feeling overwhelmed or attacked. It was something Roman is intimately familiar with, yet it felt different now, somehow. “Can we talk?”

Roman opens his mouth without a clue as to what he’s going to say when Remus stands up from the table, glaring at Virgil like he’d never seen something so disgusting. “Anything you have to say to my brother can be said right here. Or you can walk the fuck out. Better yet, why don’t you just walk yourself right in front of a car?”

The other members of their group choke, shocked. It occurs to Roman that he had never properly explained the situation with him and Virgil, or how any of it came to pass. Or why Remus would want Virgil to walk into oncoming traffic.

“Hey, dude,” Roman says, holding one hand up to Remus. “It’s okay. Stand down, please.” He redirects his gaze to Virgil, who does not, to his limited credit, seem the least bit surprised or offended by Remus. “Sure. Let’s go outside.”

“We can talk here, if you want,” Virgil says, but there is the slightest tremor in his voice that tells Roman he really does not want that to be the case. “I don’t mind if they hear what I have to say.”

“I think it’s a conversation best had in private.” Roman shrugs on his jacket and leads Virgil out of the coffee shop. There’s a bench conveniently placed right outside the big window, and Roman takes a seat on it, sipping at his coffee.

“What’s up with you?” he asks. It’s not the right question, but it’s not wrong either. It’s hard to say how a conversation as loaded as the one he intends to have should start, but pleasantries could always come first.

“Nothing too much,” Virgil says. He rubs his hands together, causing a chorus of tiny clacks as his rings smacked into each other. “How’s life been treating you?”

“Good,” Roman says, and it’s truer than it’s ever been. “What are you doing back here?” Another not right, not wrong question, but the questions are getting closer to what was really important.

“It’s home.” Virgil crosses his arms tightly over his chest, staring out at the road. “I grew up here, know every one of these roads like a locksmith knows keys. I think I was always going to come back.”

“Where did you go?” Roman asks, and that is the million dollar question. They had been childhood best friends, high school sweethearts, in love into adulthood. But things hadn’t gone well for them, had gone as awfully as Roman could imagine them going, and one day with no warning Virgil had left. Left without a note or a number to call, never picked up the phone when Roman did call him - until one day someone else did and Roman figured Virgil had died.

“I-a lot of places.” Virgil isn’t looking at him, and that too is reminiscent of the Virgil Roman knew but not quite the same. He can’t pinpoint the differences, but there has to be something. Otherwise Roman would probably feel a lot more sure-footed than he currently did. “Not many worth mentioning, though. To be entirely honest, which is the least of the things I owe you, I was so fucked up most of the time I can’t remember most of them.” Virgil shrugs like it’s no big deal, but Roman gets caught on the words, replays them like a broken record. So fucked up, so fucked up, so fucked up.

“Oh,” Roman says.

“I got sober, though,” Virgil continues like Roman hadn’t said a thing, and Roman doesn’t say another word so that he can hear whatever Virgil has to tell him. “And clean. I went to rehab for a while, therapy. Got put on meds that didn’t make me-well, that didn’t make me crazy.” He smiles, and it’s the happiest smile that Roman has seen on his face since they were nine years old.

“That’s good,” Roman says, and it is good. It’s good that Virgil got better than he was when they were together. It wasn’t-it wasn’t a good time for either of them, not something that Roman can usually look back on fondly.

“Yeah, it is.” Then Virgil does look at Roman, and Roman realizes that he has snakebite piercings and an eyebrow ring. The bags under his eyes are all make-up now instead of the ever-present exhaustion they used to be. The beanie on his head and his hair dyed black almost completely obscure his ears, but Roman can make out the telltale glint of quite a few more pieces of metal. Virgil has changed. A lot.

“One thing they teach you in AA, and in therapy, is about making amends. Especially where I went for AA, they were always driving home that you needed to apologize and mean it to the people you fucked over while you were fucked up.” Virgil pauses, releases another breath that Roman can see puff in front of his face. He pulls out a cigarette and lights it. At Roman’s look, he twists his mouth into that familiar, cute sneer that he used to pull when they were together, but it seems softer now as he says, “What? You have to have some vices,” and inhales smoke.

“I suppose so,” Roman agrees.

“Anyway. Roman, you are the person I have needed to apologize to the most. While we were together, I was-I was fucking despicable to you. I was hurt and broken, and I expected you to put me back together despite you having to face your own problems and me not putting any effort forth for the same outcome. I thought being in love with you would fix me, and when it didn’t I blamed you. I did-I did a lot of things to you that I regret, enough that I’ll probably never be able to think of them all.” Virgil flicks ash off his cigarette, and Roman realizes that Virgil seems calmer than he used to; less jittery. “I treated you like shit. As much as I loved you, I treated you like you weren’t worth anything. And I’m sorry. Sorry doesn’t really begin to cover it, not with all the ways I messed up with us, but I am sorry. I wish everything that had happened between had been better.”

“It wasn’t entirely your fault,” Roman says, because it’s true. They had fought all the time, for a while. They had blamed each other for everything. The night before Virgil disappeared, Roman had yelled I can do so much better than you in a rage and stormed out the door. When he had come back the next day, Virgil had taken all their loose money and booze and left.

“Yeah,” Virgil agrees and that easy, amicable way is enough to really shock Roman. Virgil had never liked it when Roman contradicted him and was right. “We both contributed. But I caused a lot more of it than you did, and I failed to consider you in what I did. I was a shitty, shitty excuse for a boyfriend, Ro. The things I did and said are-are pretty unforgivable. I’m sorry I put you through it all.”

“It’s,” Roman says and stops. He was going to say it’s okay, but that would be a blatant lie. Nothing about the end of their story was okay. He starts again with, “It was terrible. But I forgive you. I forgave you a long, long time ago.” At Virgil’s surprised look, he elaborates. “I was mad at you for years. Pissed. But it was making me miserable, so I eventually went and saw someone. I, uh, I worked through a lot of the things that you did, and the ways I provoked the situations. Neither of us were at a great place, Virgil. Maybe in a different time, under different circumstances, we could have worked out. But as it was...we weren’t ready yet.”

“Huh,” Virgil says. “You’re right.”

“I usually am,” Roman says, grinning. Virgil smiles back. It’s nice, Roman thinks, in a way he didn’t think this could ever have been.

“You said they put you on meds,” Roman says after they’ve been sitting for a minute. “Doesn’t that mess with your addiction?”

“They only put me on non-addictive shit,” Virgil says, “and I only ever take what I’m prescribed.”

“How long have you been clean?” Roman asks.

“I stopped using nine years ago. I had my last drink six years ago. Nicotine and caffeine are my last guilty pleasures,” Virgil says, letting out another puff of smoke. Roman snorts.

“I like the piercings,” he says.

“Thanks. I wanted some, Dee convinced me on others.” Virgil smiles, reaching up to touch his eyebrow in a move that seems like he’s unaware of it. He looks dopey and in love and incredibly happy. There’s a part of Roman that wants to be mad, that wants to be pissed off that Virgil could have gone through so much, caused so much and still come out the other side this content and happy with who he is and what he has, but most of Roman is relieved that they both made it out alive. It’s easy to drown out the voice that wants to fall back into old habits after all these years.

“Dee?” Roman asks, because asking Virgil these questions and hearing the answers is simultaneously satiating and feeding every curiosity he’s ever had about what happened to Virgil once he slipped out the door when Roman wasn’t looking.

“My fiance,” Virgil says. He points into the cafe at the man he came in with. The man pulls a smile and waves, and Virgil waves back. They both have a punk style to them, ripped jeans and flannels, old shirts and beanies, piercings and tattoos and fingerless gloves. It’s a good look.

“Getting married,” Roman says, and he gets excited despite himself. He loves weddings. “That’s exciting.”

“Yeah. I love him. I asked him out five years ago and I’ve never been happier.” Another difference between them; Roman had done the asking out when they were young. Virgil was too shy to even say hi. Virgil takes one last puff of his cigarette and crushes it under his boot. “Well, what about you? I assume both those men in there aren’t your brother’s.”

“No, no, you’re correct. My adorably freckled beau, the one dressed in light blue. We’ve been dating for two years. He is my everything. I don’t know where I’d be without him.”

“I’m glad,” Virgil says. Roman tears his eyes away from Patton to see Virgil, and he notices the tears shining in his eyes. “I am so glad you found him and that you’re happy. I was so scared for years that I had fucked you up so bad that you’d never be okay again. I was terrified that you wouldn’t ever get to be happy. I’m glad you’re happy. I’m grateful. You deserve it so much, Roman. More than anyone else I know.”

“I am happy,” Roman says. “And I do deserve it. But you deserve it too, and I’m glad you’ve found it.” Roman reaches out and squeezes Virgil’s hand. He smiles at Roman, and it is so much happier than Roman can ever remember seeing him it’s overwhelming. “I’m glad you got better, Virge.”

“Me too.” Virgil lets out a watery laugh and wipes his eyes, smearing make-up across his face. “God, I knew I should’ve put on the waterproof eyeliner this morning.” Roman laughs with him, pretending that he isn’t just as affected. Virgil stands up and looks down at Roman. “Maybe I’ll see you around, Princey.”

“It wouldn’t be too terrible if you did,” Roman answers. Virgil walks back into the coffee shop. Roman stays where he is for five, ten, fifteen more seconds before he pitches his cup and goes back to his table.

“That was Virgil?” Patton says, Roman’s world. He looks worried, and Roman knows this will be a lot of explaining later, but he feels lighter.

“Yeah. An-an old ex of mine. We had a rough time.” Roman takes Patton’s hand and kisses his knuckles, relishing the feeling. “But we’re both better now, so I think it’s okay.”

“What did he have to say?” Remus demands, glaring across the cafe. Roman almost asks if he glared at Virgil’s fiance the whole time they talked, but decides he’d rather not know.

“He apologized,” Roman says, and that takes Remus back for a moment.

“He can shove his apology up his ass,” Remus spits, but there’s less bite to the words.

“I believe this one of those ‘all’s well that ends well’ times, Remus,” Logan says. “Perhaps it would be best if we left it as it is.”

“Specs is right,” agrees Roman. “We both did things we shouldn’t have, and we both moved past it. That’s what’s important here.”

As Roman settles back in to his table and lets conversation about other, trivial things go in one ear and out the other. Roman thinks on everything. He spent years of his life with Virgil, years of his life being in love and suffering for it. He spent years in an unhealthy relationship that they both should have gotten out of if they were smarter. But they didn’t, and it changed them. Roman can’t say whether it was for better or worse, but he knows that he would be an entirely different person without the experience in his life.

When Virgil walks by the window outside, leaving and holding his fiance’s hand, he waves at Roman. Some things, he supposes, always stay the same. Others, however, change for the better. He knows this situation is one of the latter.

He smiles as he waves back.

[the-desolated-quill]

Rosa - Doctor Who blog

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

It comes as a massive relief to say that I really enjoyed this episode. There are a number of ways Rosa could have gone wrong and while Chris Chibnall has managed to crank out two surprisingly good Doctor Who episodes so far, it’s hard to shake off old fears. Oh my God, I thought to myself, a historical episode about Rosa Parks and the Black Civil Rights Movement. Is Chibnall biting off more than he can chew? 

Thankfully Chibnall had the good sense to hire a co-writer that can keep his white privilege in check. Malorie Blackman. Author of the critically acclaimed Noughts and Crosses series of books depicting an alternative reality where Africans developed a technological advantage over Europeans and where white people are segregated under this world’s version of the Jim Crow laws. It’s safe to say that Blackman knows a thing or two about exploring racism and, being a black woman, she’s much more qualified to talk about issues of race and to represent Rosa Parks and the Civil Rights Movement as a whole than Chibnall is. The result is, without a shadow of a doubt, some of the best Doctor Who I’ve seen in years.

One thing I’m glad about is the way Rosa Parks is depicted. Historical stories (particularly New Who historical stories) have an unfortunate tendency to go completely over the top with it. It’s just not enough to have a character who played a significant part in human history. Oh no. They’ve also got to be the specialist, most important person in the whole wide universe. The result is that we’re often left with a wafer thin episode that completely romanticises the period of history the story is trying to depict, waters down all the more complicated and unsavoury parts of the historical setting and turns the famous historical figure into a shallow caricature of themselves (see Agatha Christie in Unicorn And The Wasp, Winston Churchill in Victory Of The Daleks and Vincent Van Gogh in Vincent And The Doctor). Rosa, thankfully, doesn’t fall into the same trap. Rosa Parks isn’t treated as a god among mortals. She’s treated like an ordinary person, thus making her actions that much more powerful.

Vinette Robinson (who appeared in a previous Chibnall penned story 42) does an incredible job playing Rosa Parks. Again, more emphasis is placed on how ordinary she is rather than how historically significant. Nowadays we of course view her as the genesis of the Black Civil Rights Movement and she has rightly been praised and immortalised for that, but it’s easy to forget that she was a real person behind the legacy, which is what the episode really delves into. We get to see her fear, sadness and frustration in this oppressive society. And it really brings home how mundane her actions really are. Sure we can see from hindsight how her actions would influence others and change the course of history, but she wasn’t some heroic freedom fighter taking a stand. She was a woman who just wanted to sit down on a bus after a hard day at work. And the fact that she, Martin Luther King and other black people actually had to fight for the right to do something so trivial is utterly ridiculous.

Some have criticised the episode saying that this is too heavy a subject matter to deal with at 7pm on a Sunday evening. I couldn’t disagree more. For one thing, this isn’t the first time Doctor Who has handled difficult subject matters (Nazism and genocide have frequently cropped up in past stories after all). But I think the criticism mostly stems from people (white people) being left feeling uncomfortable by the story and are trying to avoid having a serious conversation about it NRA style, claiming that this isn’t the right time for it. Well... when is it the right time? Nobody wants to have this conversation, sure, but we’ve still got to have it. And as uncomfortable viewing as it is, it’s important that it is not sugar-coated and that we’re reminded of how difficult things were for non-white people so that shit like this never happens again. So no, I didn’t think the use of violence against black people or racially charged language up to and including the n word were inappropriate. It was an accurate depiction of the environment at the time and if you felt uncomfortable by that, then congratulations, that’s precisely what you’re supposed to feel.

In fact I honestly thought the episode’s depiction of violence against black people was quite restrained, making the acts of discrimination that much more despicable in my eyes. Using gratuitous violence would have been a cheap shot and Chibnall and Blackman mercifully avoid that route. What makes the episode so chilling to watch isn’t the things that white people do, but rather the oppressive atmosphere they create. It’s not the arrogant tosspot slapping Ryan across the face for touching his wife’s glove that had me on edge. It was the scene after that where everyone is just silently staring at the TARDIS crew in the cafe that really made me feel queasy. The threat is implied, yet constant, which is infinitely scarier. After the likes of Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss boasting about how their episodes were going to be ‘the scariest Doctor Who stories ever’ only for them to amount to a hodge-podge of tired horror cliches and a dumb monster going ‘boo’, it’s a relief to see writers take a more subtle ‘less is more’ approach. I’m sorry, but the bus driver glaring angrily at Rosa is much more terrifying than a Weeping Angel. Period.

Which brings me to Krasko, played with smug charm by Joshua Bowman who succeeds at making you want to reach through the screen and punch his racist face repeatedly. Again, some have criticised the episode for its ‘one dimensional villain’ and, again, it only seems to be white people making this criticism. Not to make sweeping generalisations here, but non-white fans seem to be largely happy with how Krasko was written and depicted, probably because they’ve had to deal with pricks like him at least once in their lives. I’m guessing the source of the criticism comes from him not having a backstory or concrete motivation other than he hates black people. But my response to that is... does he really need one? Would Krasko have really been a more interesting character if it was revealed that he was bullied in school or a black kid had stolen his My Little Pony lunchbox? Does there really need to be a reason for why he hates black people and wants to ‘put them in their place’? I would have thought him being a racist white person would have been enough reason to hate him frankly. Let’s not forget what happened when Star Wars and Marvel respectively gave their villains Kylo Ren and Kilgrave tragic backstories to provide context for their despicable actions, at which point the fans proceeded to romanticise the fuck out of them, calling them misunderstood. Maybe (and this is just my opinion) giving Krasko a backstory wouldn’t have made him more interesting, but instead would have been seen as an attempt to justify and excuse his shitty behaviour, and maybe, just maybe, we’re better off without one. Just a thought.

Besides, it’s not as if we don’t learn anything about Krasko. We’re given enough information to work with. He’s a time traveller from the future. He was put in prison for murdering two thousand people (quick side note, did anyone else laugh when the Doctor said the Stormcage was the most secure prison in the universe? Remind me, how many times did River Song break out again?). He’s clearly intelligent, as demonstrated by him coming up with a non-violent plan to ruin the lives of generations of non-white people in order to circumvent his neural inhibitors. While it’s never overtly mentioned, he’s clearly some future version of the alt-right and is there to act as an extension of the true villain of the story. Because that’s the thing the people criticising his character have overlooked. Krasko isn’t the villain. White people are. The society Rosa Parks lives in is the true villain. Krasko is there not just to get to the plot going, but also to subtly demonstrate that while things do get better for non-white citizens, there will always be that racist element within our society. Hell, Ryan and Yasmin even spell it out for you in their conversation whilst hiding from the police. While people like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King made a huge impact and helped change things for the better, racism and prejudice hasn’t just magically gone away. It’s still around. There are still people who cling on to these extremist and bigoted views. Some might argue that racism has become so entrenched in Western society that it will never fully go away. That there will always be some remnant hanging around. That’s what Krasko represents. So if you thought he was a rubbish villain because he had ‘no backstory or motivation’ then I’m afraid you’ve completely missed the point.

I should also applaud Chibnall and Blackman for resisting the urge to shove in some pointless alien like other historicals have. Not only would that have distracted from Rosa’s story, the racist white people are scary enough thank you very much. While there are sci-fi elements in here, the episode quite rightfully focuses on people.

Speaking of people, let’s talk about the TARDIS crew. Yeah! They’re in this episode too! Haven’t really talked about them much, have I? The Doctor largely takes a backseat in this one, which I know some people have a problem with, but I think it was the right thing to do. We don’t want an alien white woman coming in and stealing Rosa Parks’ glory. Jodie Whittaker graciously lets Vinette Robinson take centre stage while she busies herself with other things like confronting and intimidating Krasko and organising fake raffles with Frank Sinatra. I really like the balance they’ve struck between light and dark with this Doctor (something Moffat tried to do with Peter Capaldi’s Doctor and failed at miserably). She’s funny, compassionate and caring, but there’s a little bit of Sylvester McCoy’s devious cunning in there too, which really comes to the forefront here. Did anyone else find it really disconcerting seeing the Doctor try to maintain history? Influencing events so that Rosa Parks had no choice, but to give up (or refuse to give up) her seat. While we know she’s doing it for the right reasons, in order to keep black history in check, she’s still nonetheless actively contributing to Rosa’s misery, which is actually a clever way of exploring how white people all contribute to a racist status quo, directly, indirectly, intentionally and unintentionally. And of course it all culminates in the Doctor and co refusing to give up their seats in order to keep history intact. The look on Thirteen’s face as events unfold says it all. The look of sheer sadness and self loathing, knowing she played a part in this, is haunting. Same goes for Graham’s realisation. The widower of a black woman and step-grandfather to a black teenager being forced to contribute to this racist institution is utterly heartbreaking.

But the standout of the main cast has to be Ryan. Tosin Cole truly shines in this episode, giving an incredibly powerful and moving performance. This in many ways is his episode as he comes face to face with the racist prejudices of the time period and Cole rises to the occasion. My favourite scene has to be when Ryan talks with Rosa, thanking her for everything she will do in the future and promising that things will get better. It’s incredibly emotional and I actually started tearing up with him. I’m also so happy that he was the one that got to beat Krasko at the end rather than the Doctor. I stood up and cheered. And his reaction to seeing Martin Luther King has got to be one of the most charming moments of the series so far.

Rosa is unquestionably one of the strongest episodes in all of Doctor Who. It’s incredibly well written and performed and it’s extremely powerful as well as being very subtle and nuanced. What’s more, I’m now completely sold on Chris Chibnall being the showrunner. Any lingering doubts I’ve may have had are now completely evaporated after this episode. Rosa proves that not only does Chibnall respect and value diversity both in front of and behind the camera, but that he’s also committed to creating something truly special with his tenure, using the Doctor Who format to explore hard hitting and difficult subject matters with care and respect. Truly excellent television.