#qb is salty

[quietborderline]

That post omggggg.

Please ffs save us from performative superficial bullshit "activism."

[alitheamateur]

After Hours

I’m sooo new to this JB fanfic world! Go easy on me 😎 Someone planted this little seed, so I obliged. Some smutty, smut, smut, so enjoy yourself. You’ve been warned 🫠

Preseason was a plethora of emotions for you. The anticipation of the impending season and the ring it may deliver for your guy was the indescribable high it brought. But, you couldn’t help but feel the heavy dread of Joe’s time with you slipping away once more as the month of May arrived.

Off season for him was coincidentally your slowest time of year at work as well, which meant the two of you were attached at the hip. Actually, more so attached in other places. Much more fun, satisfying places

Joe had fallen into the grind and sway of mini camp earlier last week, and you’d already seen so much less of that beach tanned face than you would ever prefer. A spring event you were knee deep in planning for a new business downtown had your attention on lockdown into the late evening hours, usually after Joe had been in bed for a while upon your arrival home. The ebb and flow of responsibility wearing out it’s welcome in your relationship.

Lucky for you, you had some pull with one very valuable QB, who could snag you some VIP access, & he had planned you join him at the facility for your cardio after work, rather than the 24-hour gym you typically attended alone 4 times a week.

You’d changed in your office as the sun dozed off into the night, & were about to take a left into the stadium lot when your phone chimed.

J: Let me know when you’re here. I’ll come walk you up.

Most spaces were empty as majority of the team had turned in for the night, but occasionally Joe liked to hang around late and get an ice bath in after the heat of his day.

You slung your car into park, gathering your keys and such, and waited for Joe to arrive at your beckoning.

Just as you’d opened the door of your white SUV he’d come gliding out the double doors of the tunnel. Still clad in the sticky residue of a sweaty afternoon, his tussled curls bounced from under the confines of a black headband. The thin coverings of a nearly painted on sleeveless shirt left little to your already soaring imagination as he patiently approached you with a lazy half smile.

“There she is.” He cooed, snaking a wide, sinewy forearm around your waist.

You met his eager kiss, sneaking a salty taste of his top lip between your teeth briefly.

“Let’s get this show on the road, Burrow. I have plans for you when we get home.”

Joe raised his groomed eyebrows in curious intrigue, nodding his head as he intertwined his fingers with yours to escort you inside.

The lights of the hallways had been switched off, the glow of an office here and there lighting the way towards the weight room. Once you’d twisted and turned through the doorways of the locker room and PT areas, Joe let loose of your hand to gesture toward his polar plunge.

“ I lifted while the guys were still here but Ja’Marr and I moved the bike in here for you so we could be closer.”

As he explained, he nonchalantly eliminated the cover of his spandex shirt, the lines of his back showing off in full view.

This man is actually going to have the audacity to outright strip himself like there’s nothing to it.

You played his coy game, realizing if you didn’t, there was no way you’d be able to keep your grubby paws off of him until the two of you reached home.

Slinging a leg over the seat of the exercise bike, you shifted comfortably & moved to pop a headphone into one ear for some background music.

“I can play something through the speakers, babe.” Joe mentioned, dragging your attention to his bear naked frame about to slink into the sea of slush.

His breath hitched, but only momentarily as he disappeared below the beck into the tub, still leaving you a view of his broad biceps laid over sides of his bath.

Smiling, still baffled at his calm, collective behavior, you nodded. “Only if you promise to play things I like too, stereo hog.”

He reached for his phone, poking at the screen behind quizzical brows just as H.E.R echoed faintly through the concrete walls.

You’d already began to pedal, a sheen of liquid collecting on your chest beneath a white tank top. Joe would ask a brief question about dinner, and you’d inquire how camp was going, catching up on each other as the moments passed.

Your focus lie far, far away from anything other than him.

The racket of ice chattered off the sides of the metal tub as he’d shift his apparently sore knees beneath the water, causing him to stretch his thick neck from side to side. A board hand combing back the stray waves ticking his forehead, water from his bath dampened the knotted locks.

Your breaths were hitching with the heaviest rise and fall watching him, the motion of your speedy pedaling easier on you than the sight of him.

“Slow down, baby. You’re not gonna be able to walk outta here.” Joe chuckled, oblivious to the fact that your workout had nothing to do with your panicked pace.

Reaching for a towel, he revealed himself from beneath the water, arising from the pool like statuesque sex. Eyes down as he tied the towel around his hips, not hurriedly, assuring you catch the perfect glimpse of his gifted manhood, he then looked up, bottom lip biting back his arrogant, knowing smile. He winked toward you.

Your movements, and possibly even your breaths, ceased at the sight. Aches all unrelated to the exercise bicycle tore through your core viciously, undoubtedly giving away your want for him.

“Is anyone here?” You simply asked him.

Stepping out onto the floor, he matter of factly marched toward the locker room before picking up his phone.

“Nope.” He answered as he lifted you from atop the seat.

Your legs instantly tightened around his muscled stomach as he carried you with a purpose you were all too readily aware of.

The fluorescent lights of the carpeted room reflected off the wetness of both your bodies as Joe tongued his way inside your mouth, lowering your unsteady legs to the floor.

“Sit here.” He bossed, placing you on a chair directly in front of his name marked locker.

“You’re up to something,” you breathily remarked and he pulled off you shoes, then your leggings, nearly growling to find nothing underneath.

“You better fucking believe I am,” he boldly admitted. “Take off that damn bra.”

Like the law abiding citizen you were, you obeyed without second thought, although curious why he was stepping away from you.

Planting his still towel clad body a few feet in front of you, he lifted his phone to point in your direction.

“Look above your head,” Joe directed so you would turn to see his name plate just over top of you. “Now, touch yourself for me.”

Confusion, however still arousal, swarmed you for a mere second before you connected the dots.

Joe wanted this memory forever. You, naked and flushed with overwhelming heat, pleasuring yourself in front of his locker, his name marker above you like a little gift tag. The success of his dreams come true, and his most prized asset all in one photo. Not to mention there wasn’t anything sexier to him than you being turned on by the colossal badass he was on the field.

You obliged with full commitment, not daring ruin this fantasy for him. As if you’d had to pretend to begin with…

You steadied yourself, legs spread wide, your neck fell back in a heavy daze as you touched between your thighs. Twinges of an anticipated release wasted no time trying to overcome you, almost seconds after you’d began. The excited and unfamiliar adventure of the moment almost too much to bear.

“Enough is enough.” Joe croaked with a scratchy throat. “I’m fucking taking you.”

Before you could protest, (as if you would) he was on his knees feasting and worshipping at the gap of your thighs like a man crazed. You tugged at his hair, latching a leg around his neck to steady yourself for his attack but there was no dignity left between the two of you. Screams of passion and groans of a starving man bounced off your ear drums, sounds you thought you may be arrested for had anyone witnessed.

“I could die one happy fucking man right now, princess. Such a good girl doing what daddy says.”

Trying to resist the explosion you felt in your belly, simply trying to make the moment last, you held your breath. But the resistance had no chance against Joe. You shook from head to toe, squashing the near life out of his handsome face as you clenched in release around him.

Barely taking a second to let him recover from snack time, you swiftly tugged him to the seat now slick with your sticky sweetness & mounted his wide lap with giddy readiness.

You knew better than to slid onto him without slow preparation, but the fire inside you spread like a ruthless flame & you couldn’t take the time for forms of restraint. Joe laid his palm on your panting throat, his thumb bitten between your hard bite. He never took the blown pupils of his eyes off of you as you frantically rode his solid member. Joe’s tongue grazed the love of your ear, the labored exhales of your name encouraging you.

“This what you had in mind?” You whimpered, digging into his shoulder for leverage.

His worked palm’s grazed their way over every goosebump on your swaying body, their destination bound for the gentle shimmy of your plump cheeks. The way he molded into you was an indescribable bliss that your body had learned to crave more than any morsel of food known to man. The sensation of his meaty, toned core flexed under your clawed fingers, and he kissed his answer into your mouth.

“This is always what I have in mind, gorgeous. I never get tired of this soft little pussy.” He chuckled devilishly, his sexy smile only sending you farther over pleasures edge.

Your sudden, clenching jolts, taunting Joe inside of you, and you saw the familiar furrow of his brow that meant he was shamelessly losing himself to your feminine sway.

Tilting your heads back in united ecstasy, the pair of you rode of the finishings, headed skin electric against one another.

“We should make a habit of this,” Joe traced small lines on the small of your back, peppering you with thoughtful kisses. He was proud of himself, cheeky son of a bitch.

He helped you get dressed before clothing himself, escorting you go your car, flirting like a teenager the whole way, his arm snug around your shoulders.

“We still have to shower when we get home..” He reminded.

Maybe the seasons beginning wouldn’t be so bad after all.

[flourish-of-steel]

So small FF7R update!

Rebirth is so goddamn magical. I haven't been drawing much bc I'm still playing (... currently 130hours...)

Everything has me laughing and smiling and just being blown away. The cities are amazingly detailed and alive. Can't stop listening to the music and keep trying to collect all QB cards. It's just sooo much fun. The fights are challenging but doable (only Rufus had me almost rage quit lol). Basically all expectations fulfilled!

I don't think the devs could have done it any better. Game of the century!

However... I am salty about Cid though. His personality has been toned down severely. He's too eager to help the group and offering his service for free..not much swearing.. honestly I hope they change that for part 3

[best-nun-tournament]

Round 1, Match 1

Skystar/Clear Sky and Graywing (Warrior Cats) vs Sasuke and Itachi Uchiha (Naruto)

Propaganda under break

Skystar/Clear Sky and Graywing

TW: Colonization, Abuse, Murder, Fatphobia, and Misogyny.

Clear Sky is an awful dictator and colonizer, who’s an abusive $h!twad to literally almost everyone he interacts with, including with son, Thunder. Clear Sky killed multiple cats, mostly She-cats - who are mostly native cats within the land that he’s colonizing - within his life, and indirectly caused other cats’ deaths as well. He also mentioned that he likes his mate, Star Flower - who’s old enough to be his daughter - that he likes her because he knows that she’ll deal and/or tolerate that he’s a awful cat (to her). I don’t remember what else he did, but whatever it is, it’s probably quite bad.

Gray Wing is an apologist and/or even a “boot licker” towards Clear Sky almost all the time, being in denial of how awful of a cat Clear Sky is, despite how obvious it is. He also views his love interest, Turtle Tail, (somewhat?) as if she’s a possession to him instead of an actual person. He was apathetic to Bumble, a domestic abuse victim, while she was begging to him his group in order to NOT live with her abuser anymore, due to him being fatphobic towards Bumble, thinking that she can’t and/or shouldn’t join his group due to her being to “fat” and “useless” in order to live with them, and probably with him being salty that Bumble is kind and supportive towards Turtle Tail.

And they’re even more irritating and/or upsetting to read about since the writing (at least, the majority and/or most of the time) paints Gray Wing as a “wise” cat, while Clear Sky is painted as a “morally gray”, making them even more awful and upsetting to read about them.

They’re quite bad pair together, and are awful cats themselves, so because of this, I decided to submit Clear Sky and Gray Wing into the tournament.

Sasuke and Itachi Uchiha

Itachi massacred the entire Uchiha clan and told a terrified Sasuke that he never loved him as a brother, and only let him live so he could become a worthy test of his abilities. It does turn out that Vgnpuv jnf sbeprq gb qb vg gb fnir Fnfhxr'f yvsr naq cebgrpg Uvqqra Yrns Ivyyntr, naq bayl npgrq rivy fb gung Fnfhxr jbhyq orpbzr fgebatre naq orpnhfr ur jnagrq gb qvr ng uvf unaq nf chavfuzrag sbe nyy uvf xvyyvat but that's not really healthy sibling behaviour either.

[alien-cookiez]

Brother, I never said you were looking for a husband lol it's just kinda sad to even let a high school QB inside you, much less multiple times.

I don't give a shit, I just think it's sad lol you're in your 30's high school was almost 20 years ago for you. 😂

You seem a little salty bud. I don't sleep with people based on what they did or didn't do in life. I sleep with people I have an emotional connection with. I'm sorry you feel the need to only sleep with people based on what they accomplish in life. I call him QB on here to protect his privacy.

And yeah that man has been in every nook and cranny I got. It's weird that it bothers a complete stranger 🤣

[crimsonxe]

Spoilers below the cut

So just ran across a vid where salty ass shitlord has tried to take an alternate route in anti-BB. Namely saying that if they didn’t do the big kiss for BB in v8, then they never should have done it cause y’know that’s not complete idiocy. Not to mention them trying to say that BB is still QB, even y’know after the confession of feelings, kiss, and entering into a relationship cause that’s the state of the mis-use of that label. Cis-het morons calling hard canon ships as QB, so it’s practically weightless at this point. Congrats current gen, you’ve destroyed that label

[reminiscingtonight]

CHARGERS?? EAGLES?? BENGALS?? BILLS??

Chargers - ❌️ nah, never a cali fan for 🏈

Eagles - I could probs be persuaded

Bengals - ❌️ no I'm still salty about our loss this season 😭

Bills - hmmm maybe, their qb has such a babyface it throws me off every time I see him

[crimsonxe]

Except I don't and have even given my own in numerous cases with various type of media. From games to movies to tv to comics to especially anima/manga. What I do hate is people trying to push bias and saltiness over some thing not going how they want as criticism. A homophobe yelling about a show having LGBT+ isn't criticism; a racist yelling about a show having a diverse cast isn't criticism; a right-winger yelling about a show doing things in a left-wing manner isn't criticism. Its all BIAS. Having a character with their arm cut off in episode 2 that suddenly has it again in episode 10 IS valid criticism.

Okay? Restating within the context of pushing against QB that the bees are a thing isn't tied into if you think they were planned or not. Its push back against QB.

Cool, still doesn't change anything for me.

Yet you defend them all the same, cause the ones like Judgemental and the others of that ilk = incels & bigots.

Cool for you, I do proudly stand as left-center/center-left; very much in opposition to the far left. I have as many issue with far left as I do with right-wing, which is why I make a point of stating not being far left.

I'm using the "incels, bigots, chuds are the actual snowflakes that can't take having their shit pushed back on", which actually I have noticed starting to become a thing to push back against the anti-woke bullshit parade.

I do, but I know not to call my bias as criticism. I know how to differentiate the two things and my biases at least aren't aligned to disgusting types of people. I'm biased towards CRWBY, you've shown bias towards disgusting sacks of shit like Judgemental.

Where did I "weasel word out of it"? Yes, I do think you align to bigots, homophobes, racists, sexists, etc. Same with RW/DE, HTDM, and the shitdom. You group yourself in with them by your words and expressed views; and I can easily once again pull from Kendrick towards 90% of you and RW/DE:

[I hate the way that you walk, the way that you talk I hate the way that you dress Surprised you wanted that feature request You know that we got some shit to address I even hate when you say the word "bad writing/criticism", but that's just me, I guess Some shit just cringeworthy, it ain't even gotta be deep]

I don't need or want the company to know I existed, that isn't my focus. I enjoy the content including RWBY which from all things stated seems on its way to continuing with CRWBY. Calling out the bullshit isn't white knighting dumbass; that's like saying calling out the orange piece of shit on the Republican ticket for his lies is "white knighting for Biden". No, its just calling out bullshit that is easily proven WRONG. Which is exactly where you and rw/de live in, constantly taking issue with things in the show because of BIAS or because YOU failed to comprehend what was being shown or even because YOU failed to remember x,y, or z. You spin shit to try to make it out a different way than it is, because of the exact same reasons. Hell your asses even show your truly disgusting-ness by going after VA's and CRWBY. Then whine after having your shit countered because in your entitled snowflake asses minds you're immune to that, your bullshit should be left unchallenged (which is pretty fucking ironic given that from a certain vantage that countering is a form of critique on your shit). Then you turn around and act like its so baffling why people would say that you aren't fans. Newsflash: YOU AREN'T FANS. See your fucking asses the hell out; you won't be missed.

I will give the show credit for respecting its femme characters; I will give the show credit for delivering on its built up LGBT+ main pair; I will give the show credit for avoiding & subverting sexist ass tropes; I will give the show credit for not throwing the femme characters into string bikinis for fanservice; I will give the show credit for not trying to glorify a psychotic abusive terrorist that also doubles as a lesson against extremism; I will give the show credit for not glorifying an authoritarian genocidal general that wanted to throw a city of poor people to the wolves; I will give the show credit for going into dark and mature territories like suicidal leans and fighting through them; I will give the show credit for keeping its femme mains at the forefront of its story not taking a backseat to males; etc. Those aren't white knight, they're stating reality.

I'm gonna be real, the bees being planed or not doesn't really matter... like at all.

plenty of things that are planned from the very start of a show turn out awful and plenty of improvised swerves from planning turn out great

I think the one of the biggest reasons it comes off as unnatural from a lot of people is just that CRW/BY aren't that good at writing romance, have you looked at any of the straight ships? They are FAR from great, not blaming anyone for liking them or the bees but still.

also like the weird cover up with the song BMBLB, I guess they were trying to hide spoilers even though everyone who knows about romance tropes already knew that it was either going to happen or turn out to be queerbaiting, which the show has done at least 1 arguably 3 times, so I don't super blame anyone for thinking it wasn't planed even though their most likely wrong.

[quietborderline]

Everyone stop acting like "Good Representation" will ever look the same for all members of any community because no members of any community are a monolith and life is nuanced and diverse challenge.

[irilenaps]

Zoey Wade is one of the BEST Choices LIs ever and she's not even getting as much screentime as she deserves. Despite being treated like a walking wardrobe, the bacchanalia disaster and being sidelined for literally EVERYONE, even characters who aren't even LIs, she's just so amazing?

Like, the domesticity (is that a word?) of her relationship with MC? How casual they are? How they act like an old married couple? The small touches and glances and comments whenever they're together? Even KINGSLEY took a hint and realised that Zoey and MC are probably a thing if you've flirted with her.

Like, damn, I just really love Zoey Wade. She could have been god tier if they'd treated her with just a little more respect, they really did her dirty.

[azure7539arts]

[Click pic for better resolution]

HIGH SCHOOL AU (3/3):

• First of all, no, Q did not expect to be asked out. And secondly, he did not expect to be asked out by James Bloody Bond, the sweet childhood friend who grew up to be a bloody fucking menace.

• But then again… it’s bubble tea… at his favorite bubble tea shop, too… So…

• So, he’s actually picking out an outfit, and Eve still disapproves but helps out anyway, bless her heart.

• And Q goes to the bubble tea shop. It’s at a convenient hour where the early evening crowd hasn’t arrived yet as well, and James looks really fine in that casual look. Oh my God, STOP IT, Q.

• Q orders the special, and James goes for the coffee creama, which is one of Q’s other choices whenever he doesn’t feel like chewing on a lot of interesting toppings.

• James is looking at him.

• And his drink.

• And Q takes out his straw and nudges his drink over. “You want to try it?”

• James blinks. “Uh… Sorry… uhm, Are you sure?”

• Q shrugs. “It’s my drink you’ll be drinking from, too, so…”

• So James does try it. And he does like it.

• And Q gets to have a sip at the coffee creama, too.

• It’s still weird, but at least it’s going much, much better than Q thought it would. So there’s that.

[So this wraps up my three-part High School AU. The illustrated art above, of them drinking bubble tea, is the main reason why there’s this AU anyway because of course I would invent this entire AU just to support one (1) piece of art. RIP.

Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did. If you want more and more specific elaborations? Tell me. Always here for that.]

[dreamwreaver]

I had a whole ass rant on this to add to yours because yes I am still salty. But to sum up my thoughts the big one is this

Zoe is what happens when you split one good (writing wise, not necessarily morally) character into two bad ones. Chloe pre season 4 was interesting, complex, and empathetic. Chloe post season 3's finale is literally a sociopath who does evil for the lulz. And then we have Zoe, who is so boringly nice you could have given the bee to any background character and it would have sparked less controversy. Like, you need a blonde bee holder? Aurore was right there. But I digress. Zoe is too nice to be interesting, Chloe is too out of character to be compelling. And I know this is the truth because neither of them can stand on their own. Chloe 4-5 accomplishes nothing without Lila, Zoe is never in more than the background unless the narrative decides to shit on Chloe by propping up the boring sister to showcase how bad she is.

And I think people are mistaking the definition of a redemption arc. For me, it's less about going from interesting but bad person to a pure and ethical person who is boring as dust. What Chloe, and gabriel to a lesser extent, deserved is a "be less shitty" arc. We had the beginnings of that, Chloe being QB was teaching her how to take charge without being a brat, Gabriel was like three seconds away from finally getting with Nathalie and effectively ending his villain era to become less terrible dad gabriel. Why they set up those plot points just to leave them is beyond me.

Anyways, let Chloe be the prickly but kind hearted Queen Bee we know she is inside!

I'm watching Ladybug and I'm ranting about Zoe and Chloe

I've just seen the episode where Zoe, Chloe's sister, is introduced. And, to be honest, I hope I'm wrong, but it seems like it's a character made up exclusively to have a "good Chloe" while still having Chloe as the "bad Chloe".

I don't think every bully cartoon character must be redeemed just for being a cartoon character. Gravity Falls kinda did it, Amphibia kinda did it, The Owl House kinda did it, etc. In those cases, the bully character was redeemed in a way that didn't really forgive their actions, but, more importantly, was understandable in its context. Pacifica Northwest was a bully because their parents made her a bully, and in the end she's more or less able to overcome that in her own way. Sasha saw the errors in her ways and tried to make up for it when she realised she screwed up too much. But all these examples do not mean that every show must redeem their bully. It's ok to not do so. But.

As far as I've seen both in the show and in some statements from its creator, Chloe will never be redeem not because she's a bad person, but because she's the bully, and the bully will never be a good person because people don't change and bullies will never change, no matter anything. And, yes, most people in real life do experience that, that bullies are still bullies, that most of times they don't change, and it's ok to represent that in cartoons.

But, that being true, why did they give Chloe a fake redemption arc that, in the end, had no impact on her outside the moments while that fake redemption arc was taking place? Just, why? It doesn't make sense. A fake redemption arc for a villain can work, but the way it was done it feels less that the character was evil after all and it feels more that the creatores were forcing her to be evil and only evil.

But that fake redemption arc made something interesting: it gave us a good Chloe. A potentially good Chloe. And that could be an interesting addition to the cast. And, correct me if I'm wrong, I think that's what made them create Zoe, Chloe's half-sister. Because Zoe is like Chloe, but without being a bad person and being allowed to have a personality. In the episode she's introduced, she experiences a redemption that feels similar to those of Pacifica from Gravity Falls and Amity from The Owl House: she's from a bad family with bad people and she acts bad because she wants to be accepted by her family, but learns via a new friend that there are other people who can and will accept her for who she is, not for how they want her to be. Zoe is Chloe if Chloe could have a true redemption arc.

I found this quite annoying, and I hope I'm wrong, because I liked the possibility of kinda redeeming Chloe, maybe not fully, but, in a way. Forcing her to confront her mistakes, her wrongdoings, the fact that she's always been a horrible and terrible person with everyone around her. LET HER CONFRONT THAT, IT'S EASY DRAAAAMAAAA! But, no, they couldn't lose their loser bully, because Chloe is a bully to be bullied by the show, because maybe laughing at someone it's ok if you make that person be ridiculous. And instead of exploiting possible drama, character conflicts, CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT, they created another character, a new Chloe, a better Chloe, Zoe. This way, they could let the good Chloe be a character while they made the bad Chloe the butt of the joke forever and ever and ever.

I've just seen, as I've said, Zoe's first episode, in Season 4 of Miraculous. I don't know what they did with her in both the rest of S4 and in S5. I'll find out eventually, because at the end I really enjoy Miraculous, because it's fun, even if it's frustrating with its plot and lack of character development. But I wouldn't be surprised if they turned Zoe into the new Queen Bee, taking Chloe's place on the Miraculous Team. Because, again, maybe I'm wrong, but I do feel that Zoe is the good Chloe made to still have Chloe to be bad.

[defensefilms]

Defense Films Names His Top 5 Favorite Movie Protagonists

5. Tommy “Buns” Bundy- Belly (1998)

Rest in Power to the legend, man.

Seriously, I was like 12 when I first saw this movie, and I always thought, “when I grow up I want to be like Buns”. Bro just embodies the “fuck it” mentality, you could only have if you really didn’t care about anything.

Straight up.

One of the funniest moments in the film, and a great example of foreshadowing, is when Buns tries to make a friend apologize for hurting his feelings, when man makes a joke about how secretive Tommy and his best friend, Sincere are.

Buns is a crazy person. Dangerous to everything around him, including himself. A moth to a flame type of personality. Sincere points this out several times in the film through voiceover narration, acting almost as the film’s conscience. 

My favorite Buns scene however and one that just depicts this man’s propensity toward self destruction, is the restaurant scene where he instigates those two young dudes in to a situation that ends with one of them dead and he doesn’t leave the scene. He just sits there and waits to be apprehended by police after months on the run. 

This is the portrait of a destructive personality. 

However this is countered an contrasted by another of Tommy’s traits. 

Loyalty.

When Tommy gets word from his associate, Knowledge, that Black, a member of Tommy’s crew, has been badmouthing Sincere. Tommy makes an example out of Black in the worst way possible in a fierce and aggressive show of loyalty.

And that’s the framework and foundation for Tommy and Sincere’s friendship. Tommy implores Sincere to always be loyal and to always have each other’s back.

The problem is Tommy really only has loyalty toward Sincere and only Sincere. He has no loyalty toward Knowledge, he doesn’t bother to send him any bail money, so he definitely doesn’t apply this code in business. He doesn’t have this loyalty for his girl, Kiesha. Definitely not. He doesn’t even have any loyalty towards his own people.

In the film’s closing, Tommy is recruited by government agents to aid in the assassination of a African American revolutionary, obviously alluding to the murder of Malcom X and also a metaphor for how young black men like Tommy, help the system via perpetuating a stereotype and becoming a statistic in one of the other cornerstones of American civilization, the prison industrial complex. Thus, for all the ways Tommy breaks the laws of society, he still very much serves those in power, knowingly or unknowingly. First via how he lived in the public, then as a statistic in prison, then as an active government agent/assassin. 

I wanted another Belly movie so bad, but I’ve since kind of accepted 2004′s Never Die Alone, as a kind of substitute sequel for where Tommy’s story takes him. The protagonist in that film is King David and his lack of empathy is very much like Tommy’s in this film. 

Damn, DMX was great a actor. Damn, damn, damn. 

“That’s ya mans”.

4. Willie Beamen- Any Given Sunday (1999)

“My name is Willie, Willie Beamen, And all my fans, I keep em’ screamin”

This is one of the greatest portrayals of a selfish athlete, I’ve ever seen and I thank the film making gods that Oliver Stone didn’t feel the need to portray him as some team-first, happy to be here clown with a heart of gold.

Professional sports are cutthroat and the main character here needed to be too. 

I absolutely love how the internal beefs on the team are depicted in this film. Randy Quaid’s depiction of the tired as hell, past his prime quarterback. LL Cool J as the ornery, bitter running back, salty because the new QB won’t stick to the play call, Lawrence Taylor as the worn out, defensive captain and Cameron Diaz as the take no prisoners, general manager, fighting to restore honor to a once great franchise.

All of those performances were great. 

But Jamie Foxx as the bitter, underrated, back-up quarterback, who wastes absolutely no time in exhibiting all the traits of asshole, pro-athlete behavior, was magnificent. 

Smarmy, entitled, cocky, over-confident but also jaded by years spent in a pro sports circuit that uses athletes up and spits them out. He pulled every one of those emotions off well.

Nowhere is this embodied more than in the classic scene between Willy Beaman and head coach, Tony D’Amato, played by the legendary Al Pacino.

The grizzled head coach attempts to get the young quarterback to buy in to the concept of team, leadership and brotherhood and most importantly, to stick to the plays as they have been called. This falls on deaf ears and the extent to which Beaman bristles at this is oh, so fitting. 

Beamen not only doesn’t trust his teammates or the organization, it’s the years worth of bad coaching decisions and decisions made by sporting bodies like the NCAA that have effected his future in a sport that doesn’t always reward merit.

It’s a great scene that pulls at so many strands of the things that prevent trust and team co-ordination between men who would be better served working together.

Starting with the employer vs employee angle where obviously the coach has far more job security than the back-up quarterback. Then is the age and generational difference, where the baby boomer head coach is explaining to the entitled gen-Xer that there is more to this sport than just the win-loss record. Then there is the racial divide between them, through which it’s easy to interpret the head coach’s words as telling Willie Beaman to “know his place” and that’s how Willie comes to interpret his coach’s advice.

A great scene that captures or at least, somewhat, brings to life the type of interactions, a fan would think happens behind the scenes. Splicing in b-roll clips from old gladiator films of the 50′s, gives the scene and the sport a grandiose sense of importance that only men who give their lives to it will ever likely feel or know. 

Very fitting that Willie Beaman is a running quarterback because while the traditional drop-back quarterback feeds off cohesion and everyone being on time and on rhythm, running quarterbacks need more lee-way and space to improvise. Shout out Lamar Jackson.

Willie cannot be himself and use his gifts while still fitting into the team structure. He is the living, breathing, spanner in the works, that disrupts the natural order of the franchise. A fact his coach and others must begrudgingly accept in the beginning. 

The scenes in the huddle between Willie and his running back, Julian Washington, played by LL Cool J are absolute hilarity. A constant exercise in miscommunication, two guys pulling rank and the older veteran bristling at the young guy who changes things as he goes. The shallow depth of field isolating them from the chaos of the crowd filled stadium, quick cuts that simulate the rush of adrenalin and immediacy of the moment. It’s sports brought to cinema at it’s finest.

Willie eventually has his “come to jesus” moment after the team starts losing games, but never is Jamie Foxx better to watch then when its “Willie vs the world”.

3. Malik El Djebena- Un Prophete (2009)

A French film directed by Jacques Audiard, but you can forget about all that meaning and attempts to be picturesque and ironic that you commonly associate with French films because this shit here, is bad to the bone.

Story starts out with Malik El Djebena, a North African immigrant, entering the French penal system for the first time, and when he enters the prison he’s one of only a handful of Muslims in the facility. So he does what he has to do and aligns himself with some old school Corsican-Italian mobsters to survive. As the years pass, he finds himself in a bind when the prison’s Muslim population increases and his allegiances both, religious and criminal, are tested.

The great trick in the writing here, happens right at the start. You are never sure about Malik’s guilt or innocence. It is implied that he got into an altercation with a police officer but we’re never sure how deliberate Malik’s retaliation was or whether he in fact, instigated the incident. There are no ties to his old life and the writers don’t bother to try to fill in the gaps. You are left to judge and get to know Malik, as he is right then and there, as a convict. 

Malik realizing his own value allows him to get out of a situation in which he is a prisoner within the prison, but also a prisoner of the Corsican mob boss, whose bidding he does.

And through all the treachery of the penal system and the dangers inside of those walls and the life threatening split-loyalties that were forced upon him, the whole time, Malik seems protected. Like being carried by a force beyond his own power. Always a stroke of luck, here or there, to get him over the hump. 

When he is isolated upon entering prison, the bad luck of being targeted by an older inmate, places him at the opportune distance to kill the man, when the Corsicans realize Malik’s bully is due to testify against a business partner of the Corsican boss. This becomes the foundation for his survival in maximum security.

This luck happens again when his friend is released and Malik seizes the opportunity to establish his own drug network from prison.

The luck of being Muslim, is what helps him when his boss sends him to make contact with an Egyptian businessman named Brahim Latrach and the businessman offers Malik an opportunity to get away from the Corsican boss and align with the prison’s, now very large, Muslim population.

Smart, instinctive, duplicitous, creative, resourceful, Malik is a picture of how to survive and depend on your self, but he truly is the living embodiment of the phrase “God got me”.

Beyond all that, what really helps Malik is that he’s dependable. When his jail buddy dies of cancer, he entrusts Malik to take care of his wife and newborn son. Malik does and inherits a family he did not have when he entered the system.

Very much a “pauper to king” arc to his story, and I love those.

2. Jake Shuttlesworth-He Got Game (1998)

Ray Allen was phenomenal in He Got Game, and even today when I watch this flick, I actually forget that Ray Allen is playing Jesus Shuttlesworth.

However, anytime Denzel is in a movie, you know how that goes, the show gets stolen, plus he had the Julius Erving afro, dawg, that’s my man.

The story is about a convicted felon who is released on furlough for the specific purpose of convincing his basketball prodigy son, to join a particular college in exchange for his freedom. The problem is the father was convicted for the murder of his mother.

Given what we know about college basketball in 2021, that story line is far more plausible now than it was in 1998.

I’m not one for tear jerkers or emotions but the redemption story is a powerful one here and the way Denzel embodies the remorse of his wife’s death, the frustration of getting his son to accept that it was an accident and the desperation of fighting for his freedom, was a function of both the story, and the man’s ability to bring the right emotional intensity to it.

From the moment Jake appears, you see how torn he is by the events of the past and the guilt of still wanting his freedom despite that.

The question “does Jake deserve freedom?”, is a powerful one to build the film on and it weighs on every decision the protagonist makes. Even in situations where Jake has every right to defend himself or someone else, he first tries peace.

Peace was not part of Jake’s approach to conflict resolution before going to prison. Before prison he was Lavar Ball gone bad. Pushing his son in a way where is wasn’t just basketball anymore. Jake knew he was building his son into a competitive machine and he was right in the long run.

The price for begin right though, is being able to be a father to his son and most of all the life of his son’s mother.

Still. It’s the fro for me.

1. Fresh- Fresh (1994)

Fresh is a story about a boy named Fresh, who finds himself in a mental chess game against the older drug dealers in his neighborhood when his sister gets involved in a love triangle between two rival kingpins.

Sean Nelson was absolutely magnificent in his role as Fresh and he went on to play a few roles later in his career but even then, very few of those required the awareness of subtle emotion and the ability to show those emotions with nuance and he pulled this off at such a young age, it’s incredible. 

The big motif here is the game of chess. Fresh is a potential chess prodigy but the problem is, he lives in the projects. He bonds with his father over the board game and when the two play is really the only time Fresh ever sees him.

Because Fresh lives with his aunt and a bunch of other kids in foster care, resources are very slim, he makes a little bit of own money on the side, standing on the corner and helping the local drug dealers make sales.

The older dealers don’t cut him any slack and the extent to which they terrorize the neighborhood is made abundantly clear when Fresh witnesses the murder of a schoolmate at the hands of one of these dealers over a basketball game, in broad daylight.

Fresh later serves the dealer his own justice when he implicates him as being a traitor and working for a rival kingpin. 

And that’s where the beauty of Fresh as a character really shows it’s self. He understands that the dealers around him see him as “just a kid”. They routinely underestimate him intellectually, and Fresh allows this. If the dealers knew that Fresh is not just smarter than them on a book and schooling level, but on a human level too, and on a level where he can outsmart them in matters regarding their own business and livelihoods, well then it would be impossible to run game on them, and boy, does Fresh run game on em’.

It’s not just the street smarts either. It’s the ability to understand what people want. 

For instance, each time Fresh is in a room with one of the drug kingpins, he always convinces them that he’s telling the truth, that he’d never risk lying to them and that they should accept his version of events/point-of-view as true. Psychological manipulation at it’s best. 

Not only does Fresh understand that both men desire his sister for the purpose of their own ego, he also understands that drug kingpins trust no one. Fresh understands that these guys have to live a cold, lonely life that requires an emotional distance from everyone around them and he uses their distrust, fear and paranoia against them. It’s the only reason he is able to get one kingpin to take his own word over that of a trusted employee. Fresh understands this because he can see the chess board from the king’s point-of-view.

The draw back of all this is that a young man in Fresh is forced to dehumanize himself early on in his life. To play and win this game of wits, Fresh has to make decisions as a grown man and strategist and not as a child or boy. 

This is mostly shown on screen in Fresh’s relationship with his friend, Chuckie. 

Chuckie, though the same age as Fresh, embodies many of the carefree, impulsive and childish ways that Fresh must leave behind in order to stay one step ahead of the game. Fresh at every step of this film must eliminate all emotional ties to things or people that could hurt his progress or impede his goal. Chuckie’s loud mouth and lack of discretion is one of those things.

And the way in which Fresh uses Chuckie’s naivety to his own gain and really begs the moral question at the heart of this film. 

Is Fresh a victim of his circumstance or really just a dealer in training? Is he a chess prodigy or a drug kingpin learning from the ground floor? Is he a boy fighting his way out of a situation or a conniving trickster simply refining his techniques?

At the end of the film, Fresh has one last conversation with his sister, in which he tries to convince her to leave town with him. She refuses and admits that she doesn’t see enough value in herself or in her own life to get off drugs or leave the environment she is in.

If Fresh is to really protect his sister, the best way is from a position of control in the neighborhood they live in, as a drug kingpin. 

That’s the tragedy of it all. To accomplish his goal of saving his sister or even any modicum of control in order to keep her safe, he can’t just play the streets, he must become them. 

The films ends with Fresh playing chess with his father, facing the hardest choice a boy that age can possibly be stuck with.

[alien-cookiez]

Football players in general don't have the best track record with women, so the fact that you think you have an emotional connection with someone who has definitely bodied like 50 people is funny. Of course he's been in every nook and cranny. He doesn't take resistance from women seriously, so I'm sure he was pushy on holes you may be didn't want to give up. The accomplishments are just an indication of their character. The fact you don't refer to him as like an HVAC business owner or a contractor but rather a QB from your high school is just depressing as that is like the most important thing you'd label him as lol

Again, I'm not upset or salty, I'm just saying it's sad lol get some higher quality, probably better, less brain damaged dick. Sheesh. You deserve it if you're willing to give up all the nooks and crannies.

Wow. That was a lot of assumptions on your part. I fuck because I want to, not because I get pressured. I enjoy sex, just as most other adults do. I see you framing this as him tainting me in some way and pressuring me into things I don't want to do. I can assure you, I want to do them. We are 34 and 35 years old. Both adult enough to make our own decisions about our sex lives.

I see that men will never stop policing women and what they do with their bodies. You'd simply faint at my "body count". I can't take anyone seriously who uses that terminology😂

And remember, be a slut, do who you want 😉

[princess-of-the-corner]

Queen's Second Chance: Fu realizing the similarities between himself and QB was so that he could empathize with her guilt of being the downfall of her teammates.

Oh yeah I know but I think he’d also be a little salty at the whole Time Travel fuckery. 

[quietborderline]

Other people's identities and how they relate to or speak about their identities and experiences are not yours to control. Or police. Or gatekeep. Or clock. Or investigate. Or debunk. Or anything else.

They are yours to respect. Full stop, end of story.

Just as your identity is not for other people to police, gatekeep, clock, investigate, debunk, or control. This is literally the simplest most easy to follow concept in the whole world. AND YET....

hot take uh

dont get mad at trans ppl for using the “wrong”/out of date terminology to describe their own experiences like

if a trans dude says “back when i was a girl” or “i was born in the wrong body” just. let them. if they feel it describes their experiences the best, then it’s good for them

as long as theyre not using it to describe other people who may not be comfortable with, it’s ok