#watching oitnb or perhaps starting my book

[girltomboy]

In a mood today, probably boyfriend withdrawal and work fatigue (and my period). It was sunny but I couldn't enjoy it at all, not even from the inside. My whole body hurts and I realized I haven't done yoga in a whole week (almost... I think?) but I don't have the energy. I've been eating this and that, barely any proper meals, but I can't be bothered to cook either. I don't know what, and the thought of standing in my kitchen for like hours just to put together some mediocre dish that I will eat with the smallest, deadest appetite the human body has ever known makes starving so much more appealing. Plus I might not even have enough ingredients for any half edible meal. I might make rice tomorrow though, for lunch maybe. With rotisserie chicken leftovers. Also my bf is pissing me off because he has to study for a billion subjects this year AND work on his thesis but I don't really see any of that happening because all he does is the opposite of that all day long. And like I've been patient enough during the holidays when he had to help his parents do stuff around the house, and well there were the holidays as well. Cut him some slack, but it's not like he did anything during the rest of the semester either. What will next year look like for him if he doesn't finish his studies ANOTHER year? I feel like I'm the only person in this relationship that gives any thought to these matters at all. What will next year look like for US?

[roughandroudyways]

I love you so | Poussey Washington x Nyomi Anderson (OC)

| This is chapter two on my series, please make sure to read the official OITNB warnings before proceeding with this series!

MASTERLIST FOR THIS SERIES!

CHAPTERS:

0, 1, 2

The next day, Nyomi found herself meeting her councillor - who told her there won't be any job opportunities for the next two weeks, so to hang tight and find something to do that will occupy her time, which is exactly what she was doing as she made her way down to the library.

Now, Nyomi did struggle to read, preferring books with pictures than books with words - but she did like the atmosphere of a library, and what better chance to learn a new skill than a few years locked up.

Entering the Library, she found it empty, assuming that was because most people were still finishing up breakfast, spending as much time there before being sent to work. Thankful, Nyomi took a seat at a circle table, folding her arms and laying her head in them. She didn't plan to stay here long, just until work assignments began and then she'd find something else to do, perhaps she'll take a chance to get to know the place, or have a shower without prying eyes.

So, when the doors to the library opened once again, Nyomi jolted up, no longer lying down as she turned to whoever had just entered the room. To her surprise, though, it was Poussey, a girl she recognised from dinner last night.

"What you doin' in here?" She asked, strolling into the room carrying a few pieces of plastic and two books, "didn't see you down breakfast."

Nyomi shrugged, "wasn't feeling it."

Poussey nodded in understanding, placing the things she brought with her on the table before grabbing the plastic trolley and rolling it towards where she was stood. Nyomi watched curiously as she stacked the books she brought in up, leaving the plastic behind.

"What's that?" Nyomi asked, pointing to the two pieces on the table.

Poussey shrugged, "A pee funnel, stopping me from touching them nasty-ass toilets."

Nyoni nodded, smiling, "that's clever," she praised.

"You think?" Poussey asked, smiling at the girl as she played with the two parts in her hand.

"Yeah," Nyomi replied, before laying back down on the table.

"You tired?" Poussey asked, "want me to wake you for lunch?"

"No tired," Nyomi replied, "bored as hell, though."

"Girl..." Poussey started, before dumping several books infront of the new girl, "help me stack these up then."

The pair - Poussey and Nyomi - spent the stacking and organising books, uninterrupted because Taystee was spending time with her "mom", a woman who arrived just before Nyomi called Vee. Usually, Taystee helps Poussey out in the library, so the girl was thankful for the extra help.

That was until lunch rolled around, the speaker announcing it caused them both to stop and make their way to the hall, Poussey first and Nyomi following shortly behind.

Nyomi sat beside Janae again,  not feeling too hungry so only playing with her chocolate pudding and leaving the rest up for grabs, which was happily taken by Cindy before she chose to leave and go back to her dorm with the three old ladies. Her councillor mentioned that morning she should be moved today, so that was something for her to look forward too.

Once she got there, it was only her in the room, sitting on the bunk and waiting for one of the CO's to come and find her and let her know where she'd be moving.

•••

After dinner, Nyomi found herself in the ghetto, in a bunk by herself until another woman found her way to prison. So, she made her bed, placed her things in her storage box, and made it pretty by leaving her new grey sweater and beige khaki top hanging up on her hooks.

She was glad she had moved, because that meant she received her true inmate ID card and could now start to figure out think's like the phone and commissary. Luckily, being the only inmate who came in her group, Healey said things were moving quicker for her, so she couldn't imagine coming to prison in a larger group.

It was also much easier to sleep in a cube cell, not being stuck in dead silence - the occasional creak of a bed and moving of fabric reminded the girl that other people were around her, weirdly, that comforted her. That night, Nyomi got the best sleep she had slept in months.

•••

The next morning, the block was awoken by a CO walking down the isle of the block, repeatedly announcing it was time to get up, followed by Suzanne who seemed to act as a parrot for the block - up and ready for her shower within seconds of the CO entering.

Nyomi felt that she had to give her credit for her passion, though, as she did struggle to wake this morning, choosing to remain in her white tank top and grey sweatpants and simply grabbed her towel, wash items and DIY shower shoes and made her way to the showers before everyone else.

Now, it wasn't that she felt insecure. Nyomi isn't an insecure woman - in fact, she thinks she has a pretty face and good body. However, only knowing the women two days, didn't yet give her the confidence to flaunt that, and she'd rather suffer early in the morning, alone, than in front of others.

So, when she entered the showers, apart from Suzanne, Nyomi was alone, the others only beginning to enter the room as she was brushing her teeth in the sinks.

Everyone was stood silent, the only sounds coming from showers and those brushing their teeth - that was until a commotion was heard outside the bathroom and a significant voice being louder than the others as she entered.

"All right, listen up!" She began, walking into the room with a gaggle of spanish women following behind her, "we got plumbing issues in Spanish Harlem."

That's all Nyomi needed to hear before making her way out, already dressed in her khaki pants and grey hoodie and made her own way back to her new block.

Soon after, Nyomi was joined by Suzanne, who too, was dressed and decided to invite herself into Nyomi's space.

"Nyomi, Nyomi, Nyomi," Suzanne spoke, entering the cube and sitting on the metal bed frame opposite of the girl, "so, who are you?" She asked, tilting her head left and right.

Nyomi giggled slightly, shaking her head, "Nyomi Anderson," she continued chuckling, "and you are?"

"Suzanne Warren," the girl infront responded, nodding her head in... approval? "I'm just... Scouting the place out for enemies... You know?"

"No..." Nyomi replied hesitantly, "I don't know, sorry."

"Let's just say," Suzanne said, standing up and doing a spin before looking straight at Nyomi, "if you see any... suspicious activity in these premises... you let me know."

"I will, don't worry," Nyomi replied with a smile.

The girl must've deemed that enough, as she walked off to stalk around the cubes of the other girls who weren't in the block, as if she was inspecting them.

LINK TO THE NEXT CHAPTER!

[rachelannc]

ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK: The Final Season. Netflix. (Credit: Screenrant)

My oh my. What a journey these past seven years have been with Orange Is The New Black. And if you’re anything like me, you’ve been watching this show for the past seven years, and looking back at everything you’ve seen this show do, it just overwhelms you with all kinds of feelings.

I don’t tend to watch a lot of TV as committing to shows and the time and getting hooked onto something isn’t really in me, but Orange��was the first show I ever watched on Netflix before Netflix really became what it was (as one of the first-ever Netflix original series made during a time people didn’t really know what Netflix was, giving roles to women, showcasing women’s stories and providing an intriguing setting at a women’s prison released during my slow college summer days, yeah, OITNB really stuck).

If you’ve managed to finish watching the final season, read on ahead if you don’t care for any potential spoilers.

OITNB was truly revolutionary. When it introduced us to Piper Chapman in its first season — an upper-middle-class white blonde entering prison — little did we know that she was just a “Trojan horse” to tell the stories of women who rarely get told: women of color, immigrant women, queer women, poverty-stricken women, women with addictions, mental illnesses, disabilities, etc. OITNB was a true pioneer in the way it told these very important, very under shadowed stories, and left us with some of its best episodes to date in its final season.

The main thing that has been OITNB‘s driving force is its ability to humanize characters

… characters we may have grown to hate or dislike simply because of their behaviors and actions with the characters we loved in the prison world. The flashbacks helped give us context as to why people are the way they are (it made early characters like Pornstache seem even lovable), which is something that is important and something we all should realize.

These women are women just like us. They have become a product of the system we are all placed into, and perhaps they lost their way. They found themselves at the wrong place at the wrong time, or got caught up in something seedy just for the sake of trying to survive.

In season seven, Tamika (Susan Hayward), an old friend of Taystee’s (Danielle Brooks) who became a prison guard at the same prison Taystee was incarcerated at, loses her job as warden at Litchfield — a job she got to become a “scapegoat” for black women and diversity for the uppers in the system, but a job she ended up proving to be terrific at, as she implemented programs to try and help make the prison a better place for the women. Taystee even started tutoring other inmates to pass their GED test.

When Tamika gets fired, she says she’s relieved, because no matter what good she or others may continue to do, “The system will always be what it is, and there’s not a damn thing I can do.” (That is one hell of a line.)

OITNB did a great job of highlighting and revealing the problems in our system — and how undeniably unfair they can be.

No matter what you do or how good you can try to be, the system always feels against you, and you feel helpless. In the case of Taystee, the systems of oppression became too much and almost impossible to fight or dismantle (even Mr. Caputo and the villainous Fig have tried their best to bring justice to the prison). A life sentence in prison for Taystee can make you question why you should even continue to try or fight, as you reason that ending your life is the only way out.

One of the most heartbreaking moments came in the form of Pennsatucky. She’s been there since season one and become one of the most lovable rednecks the shows ever had. She’s got a good heart, is widely misunderstood, and only wants the best for others and for herself. Her learning disability may hit home to so many people, and the fact that she did pass her GED, all thanks to Taystee, only to find that out after Pennsatucky lost her life… That was an immediate tearjerker. And a real loss that doesn’t sugarcoat anything. (Ugh.)

One of the storylines I really loved this season was the relationship Nicky (Natasha Lyonne) found with Shani Abboud (Marie Lou Nahhas) in the immigration detention center. For such a brief character in the whole of the series, Shani’s story was so telling, riveting and important. Her story of deportation, but also of female genital mutilation within the Muslim culture, was so revealing. I’m glad shows like OITNB exist to shine a light on these issues and cultural differences that do in fact exist, but never see the light of day. Her presence was refreshing, and we got to see so many layers come to light of Nicky as well, for how broken she is but how much of a heart she has for everyone around her. (And I have to add, I’ve got such a girl crush on Shani, as straight as I am, ha!)

There are so many layers to this series, but as Piper has always been the one that tied the whole series together, we can��t help but feel and relate to her. (After all, most of this shows viewers might relate to the white liberal that is Piper?) As she gets released from Litchfield and transitions into everyday life, the struggles of that life out of prison become so real. Paying rent, finding a job, keeping up with your probation, and trying to stay out of trouble? Taystee made that very clear (and so did many of the other inmates) as they found their way back into prison, after being released, and it all just becomes one huge circle and cycle that repeats itself (for Aleida, “I’ve got people in there, and I’ve got nobody out here,” is so telling).

Piper’s moment with Larry when he laid it all out on her — for who he thinks she is, and read her and her actions like a book (as someone who has had her whole life laid out in front of her, this perfect, beautiful life, but one day maybe meant nothing to her, as she craved something different, which she found through Alex, and that drama continues to fuel her, even when she’s got this perfect woman in the form of Zelda in front of her) — was just so incredibly telling. (I fearfully might be able to relate to Piper in this case, quite frankly…)

We begin to know ourselves and our relationships better through these characters, and as these characters get tested, we see what drives characters to do what they do, which makes this series so damn compelling. It’s a series that has always been about everyone else but Piper, and we can all relate to it.

This series has opened up so many conversations over the years, and when it started in 2013, it began to highlight pressing topics during its run. The Black Lives Matter movement was at an all-time high when we saw the death of Poussey (Samira Wiley), due to an untrained guard trying to stop a fight he thought she was engaging in, only to accidentally suffocate her to her death. Then came the prison riots and the unjust f**ked up system that goes into saving the upperhands’ lives and and reputations at the sake of the inmates.

Although season seven as a whole seemed to be its most focused yet, with each episode and every scene serving up some hell of moments, powerful scenes, damn funny moments and the humor you find in these women who find happiness while even in the sh*ttiest of circumstances… I think that’s what this show’s all about.

Life will always throw you curveballs and tough moments, and it’ll never get any easier, as the system will always work against you and out of your favor, but, you can find happiness. You can find joy in the little everyday moments and find your life’s purpose and make someone’s day that much better.

All of the exits in this show were so beautifully raw, painful, unfair and real. The deportation of poor Maritza (Diane Guerrero), who had grown up in the U.S. her entire life, just felt so unfair! And while I had wished to see more of the other inmates’ stories whom we had fallen in love with over the years, such as Soso, Big Boo, Yoga Jones, and all the others in the Columbus, OH prison, this show seemed to do its part (I’d hope someday they’ll continue these stories of the other women). The last 20 minutes of the last episode felt a little rushed to get all the cameos of the other women in, but, understandably so, it was still a lovely send-off.

There’s not much else I can say at the moment, but I think for anyone who’s watched this show knows the great impact its had. Thank you, Orange, for what you’ve done and given us, and all the conversations you’ve sparked and platforms given for so many viewers and women over the years.

Orange, forever. 🧡

Have you watched the final season? Do you watch OITNB? If so, I’d love to know your thoughts on the season or series as a whole!

My Thoughts After 7 Years of ‘Orange is the New Black’ My oh my. What a journey these past seven years have been with Orange Is The New Black…