#now see i could've written the aftermath of this but. see i felt bad :')

[chaifootsteps]

Media Illiteracy anon here.

Onto the dreaded episode 4... Warning for SA and all that, of course.

I would like to start by saying that by Definition I am a CSA survivor (I was sexually exploited from age 10 to 16, made to produce CP). But I don't really consider myself to be one since I am not... traumatized by it? I just don't care that it happened. So I don't think I can say much in the way the episode handles SA or even how it might trigger someone who was also exploited for the making of pornography.

That being said. Yikes. I think this episode is the best one so far, as much as it pains me to say that. It's the best paced and it sticks to one plot and the plot... has Some good moments. I really liked the scene where Valentino yells at Angel that he should get rid of Charlie and how he physically abuses him. I think that scene is The best scene in the entire show because of how terrifying it is and how well it shows the damage he causes to Angel as well as his relationships with other people.

I think that scene should've literally been it. It shows physical abuse, it shows Angel's fear, how Valentino owns him (literally) and even implies the SA to come when he says he's going to make him work all day. Overworking is already a horrible thing to put someone through, but as a sex worker there'd be a point where it's no longer enjoyable and you want to stop, which is where it then also becomes rape. That line was Terrifying and made you feel dread with just the Implications of what was gonna happen to Angel, as if This wasn't already bad enough.

Then they ruined it with that stupid song.

Now Poison is not a bad song, in my opinion. I think it sounds nice, and even looking at the lyrics (which is not something I usually focus on, due to the Illiteracy I mentioned), I don't think it's awful. But putting That over a scene where Angel Dust is getting raped On Screen is a bit Very tasteless. That whole scene was Awful, you could easily tell that whoever made it clearly had a thing for it. I'd seen the leaked clip before and that was enough for me to realize how fetishized it was, but seeing there was more was just. Augh. Do they have no shame? It's so blatantly obvious I felt like I was looking at a NSFW Twitter animation.

I kind of hated the aftermath, too. Angel going back to the hotel and drinking was good, but I hated him coming onto Husk like that and then pulling a "a nice guy like me is too good for you anyway". I feel like I had never fully realized before that the Angel and Husk thing was sexual harassment, cause you grow up with movies and shows where like. A female character coming onto a male one is just. Normal, and the result would be them getting into a relationship Anyway, so it was harder for me to recognize that it qualified as Harassment. I think Angel saying that shit made me realize it was and then it was just. Weird. Also the way the line is worded and delivered, it sounds less like that's something Angel is parroting back from what Valentino usually tells him, and more like he wholeheartedly believes it, which certainly didn't help.

Following scene I also kind of like. The bar scene. I liked that even if Husk was reluctant in going, since he doesn't like Angel, and was stalling for time so he wouldn't have to talk to him, he Still stepped in when he saw someone putting something in his drink. I think if this show was written better that could've been a way to show that even those who think they've hit rock bottom are still humans with morals at the core of their beings, and that they still have the ability to care and do good even with years worth of bad decisions and an environment that encourages depravity.

I also liked him getting him out of there and trying to care for him, in his own grumpy old man way. I liked the dark revelation that Angel knows when he's being drugged, and that he just let's it happen because he thinks it gives him some control and that if he's broken enough by this random men, Valentino will finally let him go. That was really messed up.

Then Loser Baby comes on and fucking.

Okay so, I Really like Loser Baby. It's the best show in the show so far. The instrumentals are nice, it's catchy, the lyrics are a little silly and fun, and Keith David carries it, though Blake Roman is not half bad. It's the context in which is used that makes this song just flop HARD.

I think everyone understands what the song was meant to be, and I think it doesn't do Too horribly at connecting both of their situations and how they're not alone because they have each other. It fails at everything else though, because beyond "both are owned by Overlords", Angel's and Husk's situations have Nothing to do with each other, they are Not comparable.

Also calling Angel, a rape victim, a loser is not. Good, even as lighthearted as it is. The song is "suck it up, slut", and while kind of in character for someone in Hell or as grumpy/harsh as Husk, it's still. Yikes? It minimizes the situation way too much, this is not an "Oopsie, made the wrong choices in life" moment. He's getting actually abused and that's not his fault.

Also Alastor fucked off for 7 years and all he makes Husk do now is man a bar where he does nothing all day except drink alcohol. Angel is going through the worst Alastor could've done to Husk, on a Daily Basis, and even if Alastor could be cruel, it would be extremely out of character for him to straight up Rape Husk too. Or torture him without killing him, even torture doesn't seem like something he would do, at least not to Husk specifically.

Husk's lines are tone deaf and kind of offensive, but I think they're passable since it's at least Trying to say something positive, even if they're doing it poorly. Angel's though... Again, you can just Tell someone with a fetish is writing him. I hate how he says "I've got an appetite for samplin'" and "I've got no holes left to deflower". That's super insensitive, it doesn't even feel as an Hypersexuality thing, especially that second line. It doesn't feel like it's "i love being a slut because it's reclaiming my stolen sexuality", it feels like. Shock? Value? like "i'm a big whore", and that's it. It's hard to put into words, because the message comes across in every bad possible way, I have Nothing positive to say about it.

The only good thing about Loser Baby that I like, aside from the sound of the song itself, is the little dancing bits between Husk and Angel. They're kind of cute, I like how he's trying to cheer him up by pulling him up and making him dance with him a little bit.

Augh. After that there's this bit where Husk says Angel needs to learn to respect his boundaries. I Like this scene but the context diminishes the impact it could've had by a lot. It's trying to acknowledge that Angel's sexual harassment is Bad, whether it's a trauma response or not, and that he needs to Stop. And Husk is willing to start from zero with him and become friends if they start like that.

I kind of Like that they're acknowledging that it's bad, and i Would've liked Husk telling him they can be friends if he learns to respect his boundaries but like. Do we Really want to be like that about someone who sexually harassed someone else? That they can be friends? I feel like that is a bit insensitive and offensive to victims. I myself would Not like to be friends with my abuser even if he begged on his knees to be my friend.

It's also implied that Husk and Angel end up romantically involved. If you could excuse the befriending thing, saying that maybe it's not the same since Angel never Touched Husk sexually, i still think that going and making them Lovers is harmful. A "he yanks on your ponytails because he likes you" kind of situation. I like them as friends, hate them as lovers.

Another big problem I have is Charlie. She's a cardboard cut out in her own show. She's a background character in the episode where she causes the main conflict.

She's a bit of a pushover, cause she's nice. Even with pilot Charlie I don't think she's too OOC since calling the news reporter a bitch and defending yourself against her is not really comparable to being face to face with a rapist who is actively harming your friend. She can't just kill him, sinners reform eventually, and then be would be even angrier. Not at her but at Angel, because it's his fault Charlie even got to lay a hand on him in the first place. I think it's a more complex situation than "why didn't she just kill him".

But for as complex as the situation could be, Charlie is extremely. Simple. She barely appears and it's just "I'm sorry" and it's all fixed. I feel like there could've been a bigger emphasis on Charlie's and Angel's relationship (even while still keeping Husk's involvement in it all). I also kind of hate the treatment of her? Like how when Angel says he forgives her, she Cries and is carried away by Vaggie. Idk, that scene made me a bit uncomfortable. They treated her as if she was a child and it was Weird.

I think this episode had a lot of potential to be good and fumbled the bag catastrophically. Husk and Charlie are Worse characters because of it.

That's all. I can only hope the plot twist leaks aren't true, because this story is barely salvageable and that "Rosie is actually Lilith" bullshit will just ruin my experience from how stupid it is. You can be as painfully oblivious as me and this show will still find a way to make itself as dreadful as possible. I really don't understand why so many fans are so aggressive about criticism, I think they also see the disappointing bits but are far too committed to back down and admit they were wrong, so they just double down. I liked Most of the show, even though it's mostly because i already had Some attachment, curiosity and knowledge from before. But it's not as good as it had the potential to be, nor is it the single best show to have ever existed. It's honestly sad that many people, such as myself, have to go on anon on a poor person's blog to lightly criticize the show, because they're too afraid to be harassed or sent their literal house address on a direct message.

Thank you and goodnight, Chai!

You see, this is what I get out of running this blog. You guys write up these fabulous essays taking all the words out of my mouth, and it's deeply cathartic.

Try to hang in there. Vivzie's fandom will probably never go away completely, but I really do think their reign of terror is coming to an end.

[ashes-of-burnt-art]

i was in the mood to write pmtok so. have this thing w/ my Scissors (Saxen) and Handaconda (whom i’ve named Harlow). i have not figured out all of the details but this was the most solid thing i could come up with (i wrote this in. around 1-2 hours so idk if it’s my best writing but i should probably post my writing on tumblr more often pfft). i have a lot more stuff about these two in my mind than just this (but for context i will say that Saxen and Harlow have a sibling like bond and while they annoy the hell out of each other at times, they are very much inseparable). this is probably shorter than i thought

Saxen paced around the throne room's hall, her palms sweating underneath her gloves. When will he get back? He's taking too long. Just earlier, she had witnessed the purple streamer disappear - from the Sea Tower, if her memory served her correctly. But what she knew for certain was that Taniel had been the one guarding the streamer. Saxen thought of him as an idiot, but...he knew how to take care of himself, surely? Even if he's failed, he has to be okay. He can't be gone too.

She already heard about the fates of the other three members of the Legion - Jean-Pierre, Robin, and Holt. She still didn't want to believe that they were defeated, or that they were gone. They couldn't be, right? They were the Legion of Stationary, for goodness sake! There was no way they could be overpowered that easily.

However, the sight of seeing one of the streamers fall for herself was enough to strengthen that shadow of doubt that had cast itself over her head since she first heard of Jean-Pierre's defeat.

"Master Saxen."

Saxen jumped up at the sound of her own name - she whirled around to face Harlow. Finally. His clothes were slightly ragged, and the bandages wrapped around his hands were falling apart at the seams. Harlow's back, but... She looked over his expression - it was somber, an emotion that Saxen had never seen him show particularly much. Peeved? Sure. Livid? Definitely. Exasperated? Saxen just always assumed that was generally the case whenever he answered 'tired' or 'frustrated' for more than three days in a row. But this? It...wasn't something she was used to seeing. And it didn't help that he called her 'Master Saxen,' either. He never calls me by any of my proper titles.

She had to force the lump forming in her stomach to stay put. "Harlow. You never call me that, ever. What happened?"

A flicker of sadness shone in Harlow's visible eye. "I...I went to check on the Sea Tower, like you requested. T-Taniel, he..."

Harlow didn't finish what he was saying - he didn't have to. Saxen blinked a few times, feeling a few tears struggle to make their way through. That can't be true. He's not gone. He's not. He's just... As Saxen tried to come up with what she considered to be more factual, believable outcomes of the battle, she noticed Harlow slowly walking up to her. She lifted her head slightly, letting out quiet sniff.

"What have I told you about trying to sneak up on me like that?" she muttered, glancing away - it seemed to keep the tears at bay longer if she did so.

Instead of slinging back a sharp retort, Harlow just let out a shaky sigh and wrapped his arms around Saxen's shoulders. She was a bit startled, but quickly realised what was going on. Saxen was struggling even harder to keep the floodgates from bursting as Harlow started shaking a little.

"We're next, aren't we?" His voice was more of a hollow whisper, if anything. Bleak, hopeless, defeated...the very thing that Saxen could never imagine happening to her. To her friends.

"I know," she forced herself to say. She quickly realised it made no sense, but she didn't care to correct herself. It doesn't matter. We're guarding the last green streamer. Mario's going to come sooner or later. "We need to get ready for when he comes. Gather the Cutout Soldiers and Folded Soldiers. Send out the Sumo Bros to guard the entrance. Be prepared."

Harlow nodded, breaking away from her. "...And you, Saxen?"

"I'll fix your clothing and bandages up first, before anything." Almost instinctively, she reached for her duel blades sitting on her belt. A single tear ran down her cheek, stinging. "And then we'll make sure he pays."