#but there are a lot of absolute slimeballs of human beings
Text
🤨? bsg
like i feel like im getting more + more frustrated... bc whilst i am measuring my own expectations, and furthermore i dont EXPECT a show to align fully with my own perspectives, tht can only go so far like... i feel like everything rn is just confused about exactly what the hell theyre trying to explore here + theyre just doin whatever the fuck
like it feels directionless but not intentionally so. which it COULD be given what theyve done but i just.. god idk man. i feel like theres just so many good CONCEPTS that are floated in this show and theres tensions but so few get fully developed and more and more of the time its getting all over the place. and so theres these epic points of convergence - wherein they have done the legwork, and they know wtf is up - where the show is REALLYYY freaking good as all the disparate parts come together.... but as it goes on and theyre getting more and more infrequent and im like ok... like
like again going back to what i said abt whastever the fuck. like again i think so much of it is the lack of respect the show has for the civvies + the cylons. it put a lot of work into the fleet itself and the subtlies within it but everyone else gets half arsed or patronised and its insane, and so when you wanna incorporate those essential elements back in everything is sloppyyyyyyy.
like absolutely NOTHING!!!!!1 NOTHING!!!! on the civilian side is unreasonable but the show is so desperate sometimes to prove that it is. its so funny. and you can absolutely do a nuanced take on it- and they have done really good examples before, or have gotten close to it. bc so true sometimes what the "majority" wants isnt always best, and is swayed very much by emotion - and thats GREAT you can do a lot of commentary there on the politics of that. like i think whilst it was imperfect, gaius' election arc is a good example bc yes he won by doing exactly that, and, i think the reason why i like that arc was bc it was the emphasis on gaius being manipulative rather than everyone being stupid and unreasonable (even though there was some of that i mean the "blame" was on him). BUT you still have to concede and you cant just..... rig a fucking election and take away ppls choice, force them to do whatever the fuck you want because yes. that is authoritarianism and like OTHER EPISODES like dirty hands show very well that these grand sweeping choices made by the president/military have such ill-effects on the everyday ppl that they dont even care about or see AND ITS LIKE YEAH THAT
BUT THEN ITS LIKE. RN. IS IT FUCKING AT ALL RIDICULOUS THAT PPL WOULD WANT TO OVERTHROW ROSLIN AND ADAMA? REALLY? like- its always ZAREK again bc hes depicted as some slimy extremist, and dont get me wrong i dont doubt sure he could have some ulterior motive, but he is a construct, he was written in that way, etc. so its just like.... SO TELLING that hes the villain when literally everything he WANTS is a) reasonable but also b) against the status quo established like... HE ISNT FUCKING WRONG. HE WASNT BEFORE, EITHER!!!! like roslin is not fit to be president from an objective pov. even if her visions are ultimately "correct" at this point in the show fucking... SEE HOW THAT LOOKS TO LITERALLY EVERYBODY ELSE IN THE HUMAN RACE. THEM STRONGARMING EVERYBODY INTO THEIR OWN DECISIONS, REPEATEDLY REFUSING TO LISTEN TO ANY OF "THE PEOPLE" TO DO WHAT THEY THINK IS RIGHT AND LEVERAGING THE MILITARY, ETC. TO GET THAT... LIKE HUH AND HEY ?
AND THATS THE THING THAT MAKES IT FRUSTRATING ALL THE MORE BC. this would be such a good fucking plot if they COMMITTED TO IT properly and just had more fucking teeth about it. quit fucking presenting zarek as some cartoonish slimeball; put more fucking criticism ONTO adama and roslin. stop saying "oh adama is so anti-authoritarian" and fucking put your pussy into showing that or showing his actual internal struggle with it. like for REAL for real- something that lasts more than 2 seconds. quit being so all over the place and FOCUS.
AND WHILE YOURE AT IT OH MY GOD IM SOMAD ABOUT EVERYTHING THEYVE DONE WITH THE CYLONS AT THIS POINT. LIKE IM NOT. because its as equally half arsed at this point and its just so... NOTHINGGGG .... you kept HALF ARSING the cylons before and i thought it was just mystery and intrigue but you girlies just clearly dont care enough and now ugh fuckiNG GOD its so flimsy bc ... its not my favourite route, but i am okay-ish if you did wanna try the fucking attempt at using them to be like ohoh arbitrary differences keeping us divided shtick and do the whole ah yes minority allergory thing from hereon if its done right but youve been so fucking LAZY with them and so im just feeling. my hackles every time you try some shit th- WHATEEVERRRR RANT OVERRRR IM TIRED TODAY WE ARENT DOING TI
#Egg.txt#bsg liveblog#im never gonna make it to the end of s4 because i keep going on a radgey#im still so so fucking angry about what they did to dualla
1 note
·
View note
Text
why did the have to announce that elaine was pregnant in the weirdest way possible? “‘upon your own child who is now nourished in my womb’” why did they have to word it like that
okay, I was writing my tags for this post and I kind of realized something so I’m going to keep talking about it. This book has some truly awful/disgusting characters and storylines in it. Elaine lowkey raped Sir Launcelot in this chapter- she and Lady Brusen tricked him into thinking she was Gwenevere so that he would sleep with her and get her pregnant. This shit is not okay!
#le morte d'arthur#i know this post kind of ends abruptly#but i’m just a little flabbergasted right now#and words weren’t working right#this book has a lot of silly villains and fights#but there are a lot of absolute slimeballs of human beings#in it that aren’t being portrayed in a negative light#and that shit#is not okay#tw swearing#swearing tw#rape tw#tw rape
3 notes
·
View notes
Text
Guarded Hearts and Safe Houses (Leonardo x Reader) Chapter 7/9
Rated: T
Gender Neutral Reader, canon typical violence/injury, light angst, strangers to lovers, supportive family.
for @melodiousmelodrama
The blood drains from your face. You feel light-headed and unsteady on your feet. “Are my… are my…”
Donnie’s eyes lock on yours. “Raph’s there with Mikey. Everyone’s OK,” he says, but it brings little relief. “Your parents were at a charity function for the hospital.”
“And Gram?” Your throat’s gone so dry, you can barely get the question out.
“At the neighbors’.”
A shaky breath passes through your lips as you wrap your arms around yourself.
Leo stalks the mat as he thinks aloud. “This was a targeted attack. Their numbers might not be what we projected. But they didn’t get what they came for - hostages or us. They’ll be back. We have to get the humans to a secure location.”
Your thoughts extend beyond the safety of your family. “You have to protect the apartment building.”
“Yes.” Leo gives a sharp nod. “We have to defend the city. They’ll strike the building again. We can set up a base of operations somewhere close. Keep a lookout.” He whips out his phone and calls his brothers. “Mikey, sweep the area for somewhere to set up a base. Prepare for another attack.”
Mikey’s voice carries over the speaker. “You got it, bro.”
“Donnie,” Leo commands, “get us ready to move out. Whatever we need. Devices to track their signature, that new bo you’ve been working on. Anything else you got that might help against these guys. We’ve never been up against something like this before. We’re gonna need every advantage we can get.”
“The new weapons? But I thought you said...” Donatello rises to his full height at his brother’s nod of approval. “Of course, Leo. It’d be my honor to supply the team with new hardware. To be used in tandem with our traditional weapons, of course.”
Leo urges him, “Go!” and Donnie heads out at a sprint.
When Leo turns to you, you’re having trouble catching your breath. Tears cloud your vision and the lump in your throat makes it hard to speak.
“This is my fault,” Leo says by way of apology. “I shouldn’t have let my feelings distract me. Your family should have never been in danger.”
You understand now. How being a distraction to him is dangerous. The world depends on him. Tending to you, indulging you, led to this.
You believed his fears and insecurity about being vulnerable, showing weakness, were baseless. But leaving the city open to attack, leaving your family at risk… it isn’t worth whatever feelings stir in your chest when you think of him.
You’d rather have him and everyone else safe, than to be selfish. This isn’t him choosing to ignore you, this is him choosing to save the world.
When you return to your family home, Leo kneels before your parents and Gram. “I have dishonored you, failed you. I know my words are not enough, but I hope you will allow me to defend you and your home. I will not fail you again. On my honor. On my life.”
Your father, filled with fear, sputters before leaving the room. You know him, he doesn’t put the blame on the turtles, not really. But he doesn’t have anywhere else to direct his feelings of anger, fear, and confusion. Not yet.
Leo appeals to the women as they remain. “I allowed my mind to be clouded by distraction. It will not happen again. I devote my life to ninja and to your protection.”
His apologies hurt more than you thought they would, know you’re the distraction of which he speaks. Though you came to that same conclusion less than an hour ago, hearing it from his lips ties your stomach in knots.
“It’s time for you to go,” you find yourself saying. “You being here puts a bigger target on us, doesn’t it?”
Leo nods and stands.
“Then, go save the city, Leo. We won’t stand in your way as distractions anymore.”
Leo’s face twists in pain before his emotions slip behind the wall he builds so well. He heads for the window and you close it behind him with more force than necessary.
Once he’s gone, you try not to think of him. Your family needs you. They’re shaken and confused. And you don’t have all of the answers, but you have faith in the brothers. You have to believe they can fight this threat to the city. You have to believe they can win.
The Krang don’t attack again that day. Or that week. And a lookout returns to the roof. But it’s Leo and you won’t go up there. You don’t want to talk to him and it’s clear he doesn’t want you around.
But being in the apartment, unable to spend time on your rooftop escape, is making you stir crazy. You do get little drop ins from the other guys, sometimes right before their patrol.
Raphael will stop in to see Gram, ask about a new stitch he’s working on for his latest yarn project - a blanket for Mikey. A birthday present the young turtle isn’t supposed to know about.
Donatello dropped in to give you a secure phone so you could contact them in case of an emergency. “Or, you know, if you ever just want to talk about life, the universe, and everything.”
Mikey leaves you horoscopes, but it’s bittersweet. He doesn’t stick around to explain what he thinks they mean.
You convince yourself you’ve gotten over Leo, that the reason you spend more time looking at his horoscope than the others is because he’s the one perched on your roof and if the horoscope is predicting bad news for him then that translates into bad news for you, for your family, for your building. And you need to be prepared. You are absolutely not looking for any clues in regard to his feelings for you, any clues as to when you can expect him to knock on the window and apologize for pushing you away. When you can expect him to announce he’s come up with a way for you to be a boon to their cause instead of the distraction he’s determined you to be.
When the Krang launches an attack on Times Square, it’s all over the news. People are frantic. The city is in chaos. And you don’t know what to do. There’s no way off the island - and though you’d like your family to get to New Jersey, to get somewhere safely out of the way, you don’t even think of leaving yourself.
You and Leo haven't spoken to each other in over a week and you have no idea how he’s been handling everything. The guys haven’t given many clues. Mikey’s horoscopes are too vague to understand without his interpretations.
You know Leo holds so much inside, not wanting to burden his brothers with more than what he thinks they can handle. Why doesn’t he realize that if he trusted other people to share the burden, it’d be easier for everyone to carry? His brothers wouldn’t be as worried about him and all four of them would be better prepared to handle whatever dangers are to come.
You kiss your parents and Gram goodbye and head south toward Times Square. They know where you’re going. They don’t try to stop you. Mother straps a pack full of medical supplies to your back and squishes your face before you go. “I would be right beside you,” she says, then casts a meaningful look at Gram and Father.
The city is madness. The streets, which you thought would be teeming with people running for cover, are empty. Everyone who could find shelter has found it. Those who couldn't, well, they don't need shelter anymore.
You charge through the streets on foot, sure the subways are out of order. There are no cabs to take you, no clear streets to drive through even if there was a vehicle to drive.
You duck behind an abandoned news stand as a disembodied brain alien floats past. You peek through the rows of magazines to see it's not the only one. There must be a dozen krang moving down the streets. They don't seem to be looking for anything, led by an unseen force.
You startle when you feel a large, cool hand close over your mouth and nose. "Don' scream, a’right?" You'd recognize Raph's voice anywhere.
The tension in your shoulders eases up, but only a little.
"Your supposed t’ be hitchin’ a ride with Don. Gettin' the hell outta here with Gram and ya parents."
You pry Raph's hand from your face and gasp for air. The dude really doesn't realize just how massive his hand is. "I'm not leaving. I can help."
You notice the gash on his arm, and without hesitation, you swing your backpack off of one shoulder and around to your chest. It takes only a few seconds for you to fish out antiseptic spray and a roll of gauze. You patch him up efficiently. And Rapahel grunts. It's about as much thanks as you could hope to get while he's focused on the fight.
"Told you. I can help. Get back out there. Is anyone else hurt?"
"Bout a few thousand New Yorkers." Raph’s brow furrows and his eyes look haunted. It only lasts a moment before he shakes his head and shifts his frown to a grimace. “These slimeballs fucked with the wrong city.”
You look around at the First Responders on the scene. "What about your brothers?"
"Why dontcha ask 'em yourself?" he asks as he scans the area for any sign of those things .
You grab the secure cell from your pocket and dial the open line to the turtles. "Mikey. You alright?"
"Hey! What's shakin'?" Mikey’s greeting is casual and bright, even amid bedlam.
"You sound winded."
"I'm kinda in the middle of something,” he explains, and you can hear the thuds and shuffling of a brawl. “Can I call you back? Later? Oof. A lot later? Yow! That's my good side, dude!"
In spite of everything, he manages to make you smile. "Where's Leo?"
A gruff voice joins the line. Deep and calm. “I’m right here.” Mikey’s channel cuts out and the background falls silent. Leo has found somewhere quiet to talk. "Where are you?"
Raph leans toward the phone to answer for you. "Wit me."
There’s shock in his voice, confusion and concern. "You're supposed to be with Donnie."
"Well, I'm-"
"Helpin', alright?” Raphael defends. “Got a little banged up over here. Glad I had someone on my side t' patch me up.”
You smile at him and he shoves your shoulder a bit before smiling back. And you were wrong, your first impression of him… that his snarl couldn't be improved by a smile, because when Raph smiles it really does light up his face. Softens his edges.
It's like the rare occasion when Mikey lets himself get lost monologuing about his interests - before he catches himself and hopes that you aren't upset by his enthusiasm.
You've only seen Donnie smile like that once. Carefree.
But you've never seen Leo wear a carefree smile. Not ever. Maybe something tight lipped. Or something fond. Sad. Leo’s smiles hold secrets and burdens. His shoulders hold responsibility. There isn't a carefree bone in his body. He holds the weight of the world on his shell. And try as he might to hide the toll it takes on him, his brothers can see he can’t do it alone.
"Fine,” Leo concedes. “Stay with Raph."
"We're comin' to you, brutha."
"Wait where you are- No!" There's a thud and a gasp and Leo gives a shout of pain before the line goes dead.
#tmnt x reader#leonardo x reader#leo x reader#gender neutral reader#tmnt leonardo x reader#my writing#guarded hearts and safe houses fic
32 notes
·
View notes
Text
𝙱𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝙿𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝙰𝚄
𝐉𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐲. 𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐏𝐨𝐩'𝐬 𝐃𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐋𝐚 𝐁𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞 𝐍𝐮𝐢𝐭.
Like the true, independent force she was, Betty Cooper was seated in the driver’s seat of her mother’s car, driving herself to her “prom” — the floor length gown and heels one of the smaller inconveniences she’d had to deal with, not daring to compare to the more pressing obstacles she’d had to face in the last four years of high school.
Unlike some of her closest friends and basically everyone else in her graduating class, Betty wasn’t headed to Riverdale High for the big night. She had been banned from prom, thanks to that slimeball, Bret Weston Wallis — one of the most spineless human beings she’d ever come across, and she’d certainly met her fair share of them. But hey, why change up her totally deranged high school experience now? She may as well continue her streak straying far from the status quo.
As she pulled into the nearly empty parking lot of Pop’s Diner, only taken up by her lover’s motorcycle and Pop Tate’s dark blue van, Betty’s heart was already racing with excitement for whatever Jughead had planned. He’d insisted that she didn’t lift a finger preparing for this night. He wanted to give her a complete night off from everything. Whatever needed their attention could be dealt with after her carriage turns into a pumpkin. The only thing she could think about right now were the lips of her darling prince. Well, now her 𝙎𝙚𝙧𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙆𝙞𝙣𝙜.
After putting the car in park, Betty eased herself out of the vehicle, careful to tug the entirety of her dress out of the car so it wouldn’t get caught in the closed door. When she opened the door of the diner, that familiar smell of fresh burgers and fries wafted right into her nostrils— a specific smell no other diner could recreate. Pop’s would always stand out from the crowd, and no diner could even try to compare. She didn’t realize how much she was going to miss this place when she moved out of town, until now… so many memories were made here.
Jughead was already sitting in 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 booth, looking right at her with wide eyes nearly bursting out of his head at the sight of her. He carefully slid out of the booth, holding his hands in front of him politely. As she slowly made her way over to him, her baby blue gown just barely grazed the floor, a mix of lace floral patterns, and modest sparkles filled the entire bodice, the lacy pattern trailing down her arms in off the shoulder straps.
He didn’t waste a second before pressing multiple, eager kisses to her lips. Her hand lingered on his shoulder as he swarmed her face with his lips, a bout of giggles leaving her as she tugged away from him.
“Save some for later, handsome,” she chuckled, shaking her head at her corny darling as she carefully slid into the booth, Jughead holding her hand to steady her as she settled in.
After she was comfortable, Jughead sat across from her, and her hands immediately took his. She stared at him longingly, his thick waves slicked back with just the perfect amount of wild and tame to the look, and he wore a dapper black suit, 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 nicely fitted to his body— Jug’s tie the same soft blue as her dress.
“Jug, are you always going to take away my breath like this?” Betty blushed, caressing his hands with her thumbs.
His eyebrows shot up and a smirk worked its way across his lips. “I hope you still have that mindset when you wake up to my poofy hair and smelly breath every morning in New Haven. Just keep remembering me like this, all spruced up for you.”
Betty rolled her eyes, the smile never leaving her lips as she shook her head. “I don’t care if you’re dressed to the nines or just rolling out of bed… I’m always going to look at you fondly. Your handsomeness hasn’t faltered since the day we met. In fact, I think you somehow keep getting even 𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳. What’s your secret?”
“You know…” Jughead began, a sly look on his face as he looked over her shoulder. Pop Tate would appear a few moments later with their usual orders. “I think I’d have to credit my 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘸 to none other than Pop’s burgers. I’m doomed to wither away once we leave this town and I can’t consume my signature triple burger on the regular. Nobody makes em’ like you do, Pop.”
Pop chuckled, beaming at the compliment, looking at the two of them like he couldn’t be more proud of who they’d become. “Now, don’t you two forget about ole’ Pop… you’d better stop by here when you’re in the area for a visit. Promise me?”
Betty and Jughead gave each other endearing, heart-warmed looks, before nodding at Pop simultaneously. “We’re definitely going to stop here, 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵, Pop. You have our word,” Betty said.
The bubbly man smiled ear to ear at the two, before returning behind the counter, leaving the two of them to their meal. Betty and Jughead sat there in that booth where they’d discussed many of their theories for whatever sleuthing ordeals they’d been working on at the time, sharing milkshakes over notes they’d been comparing on cases… A few booths down was their usual spot they’d shared with Veronica and Archie, their meetups with them a reprieve from the intricate, heavy thinking that came with their sleuthing endeavors.
As Betty sat there with Jug, just about finished with her meal, she began to wonder why she didn’t feel the bittersweet feelings that were supposed to come around graduation time. There wasn’t much in this town, let alone at the school, that she was particularly sad about letting go of.
Most of her best, fondest memories were with the man sitting across from her.
A smile formed on her lips as she watched her lover pick at every last bit of food on his plate. Once he’d finished up and his attention was back on her, he gazed at her like she was the most beautiful girl in the world. The same way he looked at her when she and Veronica were sitting in the booth, and he and Archie joined them. A first glance that she had never forgotten.
“You know, Jug,” she started, letting her fingers aimlessly trail up and down his arm. “I don’t know what I would’ve done without you by my side all these years. Our lives have been… constantly turned upside down, attacked from all angles… but at the end of the day, it was you that I found my solace, consistency, safety and absolute ease within. I couldn’t have gotten through any of what I did without you, Jughead.”
Jughead immediately shook his head, his eyebrows furrowing in rejection to her statement. He grabbed onto her hand, giving it a firm squeeze. “And 𝘐 couldn’t have stayed sane without you, my little enigma. Even in the darkest, most bleak times in this hellish town, you were constantly that shining light in my life— and I have always held onto that. I will always hold onto you. We have proven time and time again that we can get through anything together. I love you, Betty Cooper.”
Jughead lifted her knuckles to his mouth and peppered gentle kisses upon them, eliciting a small bit of laughter from her, closely followed by glassy eyes.
Before she could say a word, Jughead was already getting up and out of the booth, standing right at her side with his hand held out to her. “None of that, beautiful. Only smiles tonight.”
Betty took his hand and let him guide her out of the booth, and downstairs to La Bonne Nuit, giving a wink to Pop as they walked past him.
It was weird seeing the place completely empty— the chairs were stacked up on all the tables, the stage bare, no one cozied up by the bar. Jughead left her standing in the middle of the wooden dance floor as he made his way over to his laptop, typing away until music came out of the speakers surrounding them. 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐲 by Novo Amor played, as Jughead headed back to her with wide open arms, ready to take her in them.
Betty’s smile hadn’t faltered all night, beaming so much that her cheeks were beginning to hurt. She slinked her arms around his neck and took a step toward him, to close most of the space between them. His warm hands rested on the small of her back, holding her close as they swayed back and forth to the gentle rhythm of the music.
As overjoyed as Betty was, she couldn’t help the pang of pain that registered in her chest, thinking about how the two of them had been robbed of these dear, youthful experiences they should have been able to indulge in way more often than they were able to. She must have let out an audible sigh, because Jughead slowly pulled back so he could look into her eyes.
“What is it, love?” he whispered, tucking a stray, curled hair behind her ear, searching her eyes.
Betty’s shoulders dropped a bit, a frown finding her lips. “I don’t know, Jug— I just hate that some of us in this town were just forced into a nightmarish life that none of us should have had to endure. And, because of that, you and I didn’t get to have moments like this more often. We were always sleuthing, which I loved… I loved so dearly. I just wish we could’ve found a way to escape more often, you know? And not feel so much weight on our shoulders constantly? I don’t know.”
Jughead leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, running his hand down her arm to comfort her. “I know. Trust me, I know. This town has been unfair and cruel, especially to you. But… soon enough, you and I are going to be worlds away from this seventh circle of hell. You’ll be buried in your Criminal Psych books, discussing cases with me when you’re stumped, and I’ll be sharing my latest stories with you. And in between all that, we’ll indulge in the most authentic college experience we can get our hands on. Junk food, cheap beer, football games, late night wanderings around campus… finding the best pizza place in town, not stopping until we’ve tried them all. We’re going to have it all, Betty. We’re finally going to 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭. And I wouldn’t want this beautiful new beginning with anyone else but you.”
Sliding his hands around each side of her face, Jughead slowly pulled her in for a lasting kiss… which would eventually turn into quite a few opened mouth, euphoric lip locks. When they finally parted, the two nearly collapsed into each other’s arms with how breathless they were, eventually falling back into a sway with the music.
“Jughead, I already have it all… in 𝘺𝘰𝘶. But, trust me when I say that getting out of here and starting our new lives together… this is just the beginning of our adventure. Like Romeo and Juliet, but we live happily ever after instead… well, it looks like we’re on our way to doing just that.”
His lips turned up into a soft smile, chuckling fondly as she repeated the old phrase she’d spoken to him. “Only with you, Betts. It’s only ever been you, and will only ever be you.”
Betty let out a deep, endeared breath, willing herself 𝘯𝘰𝘵 to tear up again. Bringing her lips to his once more, and removing them only when she desperately needed a breath, Betty finally, for the first time in forever, felt like a real teenager.
“As much as I hated this town… I wouldn’t hesitate to do it all again. Everything that happened led us to each other— and that is the one good thing Riverdale has ever done for me,” Betty chuckled, before covering her lover’s face with little pecks.
The two lovestruck teens would spend a couple more songs getting lost in each other’s eyes, relaxing in their embrace as they moved to their own, casual pace, until Jughead’s specially curated playlist ran out. And even then, Betty would ask for just one more. One more song. One more dance. One more beautiful memory.
And just the beginning of the multitude of joyous moments to come for the two lovers. The ones who had beaten all the odds, and came out nothing short of invincible.
But until then, they were content in each other’s arms. No matter where they happened to be in the world, it could never compare to their true home that could only be found within 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.
#bughead#bughead fic#bughead fanfiction#bughead edit#riverdale#fyeahriverdale#bugheadcentral#betty x jughead#jughead x betty#soulmates#prom#riverdalecentral#otp#riverdaleedit#betty cooper#jughead jones#bugheadreams
80 notes
·
View notes
Note
Rosario vampire girls with an S/O who's the host of a ghost rider
-Outer Moka is honestly kind of terrified. This power is overwhelming, and you are utterly merciless to those who incur your wrath. Still, she won't deny they had it coming...
-Inner Moka is taken aback. She was so sure you were a human, but this energy is outright demonic. And it absolutely dwarfs her own power... On the one hand, she is a bit offended that you're this much more powerful than she is. On the other? It kinda turns her on. And it's a very nice bike... She just prays you don't decide to turn this power on her family.
Kurumu watches in amazement as you boil alive that slimeball that exploited her. The fact that defending her honour was something you saw worthy of bringing out your inner demons touches her... And honestly, now she just feels safe. She totally wants a ride on your hellcycle though.
Yukari cries when she first sees you, not aware that it's you and thinking she is about to be next. When she learns the truth, though, she acts like a pumped-up comic geek meeting a real superhero. Also, bone innuendos. Lots and lots of bone innuendos.
Mizore is a bit worried about this. She is a snow woman. Fire is very bad for her. She doesn't want this to effect your chances of having babies... Or cuddling on the couch... Or just being close to you in general. She wants to be close to you... But when you're in your Rider form, she keeps her distance. Nothing personal, she just doesn't wanna get roasted.
Ruby honestly loves the idea of the Ghost Rider. A champion of justice that snuffs out the worst trash the world has to offer. But the nature of the thing worries her. You have a demon sealed inside you... This demon could ruin you in so many ways... She will do anything she can to help you feel normalish... She understands the immense stress you're likely under.
Kokoa loves it. She thinks you're a total badass through and through. She sticks by your side the whole time as your sidekick. She usually takes first crack at the bad guys. She loses, she just smirks and lets you do your thing. She wins, less work for you. Basically, your girl supports you.
40 notes
·
View notes
Text
Um......wow another fantastic episode that both seemed to go on forever and yet ended too soon. So much to process and chew through and wow.
Starting the episode off with the shot of Clover’s badge and Robyn ranting about how it’s “all your fault” just....wow. But we of course see that she’s screaming at Jacques Schnee, who is such a slimeball and doesn’t even realize how serious the situation is. He’s all Ha Ha Whitley is getting my legal team as we speak with no idea that Ironwood has already graduated to murdering council members.
Watts getting beaten and dragged out seems to have subdued everyone, except of course for Qrow. He might have been framed for murder with even Jacques sneering and calling him a murderer, but damn is he absolutely ready to have Ironwood’s head on a plate. Quiet, brooding Murderous Rage is definitely a thing here, even if he’s probably still drowning in his own despair and trying to stay focused on his promise.
Atlas Eye is here on the ground! ......to get shoved aside by Joanna who gives absolutely zero shits and is here to tell everyone that Ironwood has abandoned them to die. The Happy Huntresses are not here for anyone’s bullshit and I love them all so much.
IDENTITY CRISIS FOR EVERYONE. You can have one! And you! And you! The split is clearly bothering everyone, and we’re already seeing how people aren’t at their best because they feel bad. Ren is struggling to keep it together, to the point his Semblance is on the fritz and Jaune is basically holding everyone together through sheer force of personality and innate leadership ability.
.....holy fuck do you see what I see? The Hound, which is apparently the name of Salem’s new Grimm, is watching them. Time to play “Where’s the Hound?” throughout the episode, because HOLY SHIT REN’S SEMBLANCE DOESN’T WORK AGAINST IT. IT CAN SEE THEM.
Oscar has zero fucks to give concerning Ozpin, and resents that he’s back on the path to merging. I.....have a feel this is only going to made worse once Salem has him. Between her perhaps not even acknowledging him as “Oscar” and not simply another Ozma, and whatever Ozpin may try to do to protect Oscar from her, it’s going to be a mindfuck of a mess. Protect Baby Boy 2k4ever.
Racist Grandma is awful, but man does it paint how ugly things are. The Faunus DON’T EVEN LIVE IN FUCKING MANTLE. They live in the shanty town in the CRATER, which paints an even uglier portrait of how Fiona, Marrow, Neon, and Ilia all grew up. And now the humans are having to come down to the shanty town, being welcomed by the Faunus who barely have anything to share but are doing their best. Just.....Kingdom #2 where the Faunus are stepping up to the plate.
Poor Fiona trying to manage everything, with an entire city simply abandoned to die. It seems Mantle has an independent Police force, which has been abandoned to die along with the citizens.
Of course Weiss would have a solution to getting to Atlas, even if it’s an amazing and wild one. Simply using the shipping tubes the SDC uses to transport Dust to various locations is such a clever idea. MAY IS AMAZING OKAY, I LOVE HER and we must protect her. The two former Atlas princesses going to wreck shit together.
Penny, penny sweetie no. Ironwood was a lying piece of shit to blame you, and say people will die because of you. Seeing her so distressed over being the Winter Maiden is painful, and I fear for what this volume holds for her. She has a lot to deal with, and none of the experience to begin to grasp everything that is happening to her.
SDAKLSFDKLSFDJKLSFDKL
Holy Fuck the Hound is terrifying. Absolutely fucking terrifying, and this seems to give more evidence that the Nucklavee was another custom creation Salem sent out to destroy. OTHER GRIMM ARE AFRAID OF IT. It can evolve on the fly, it demonstrates human-level intelligence, and it wrecks the group without much effort.
The way it handles Oscar shows multiple pieces of intelligence and knowledge of the target(s). It knows how vital keeping him disoriented and off-balance is, making sure he doesn’t have the chance to gather magic or otherwise fight back. Just throwing him around to keep him confused and disoriented, hitting him again and again until his Aura breaks. And then he becomes a human shield, to keep the others from attacking.
I am......not sure how I feel about that shot of Grimm ooze dripping on to Oscar’s face.
And just like the Nuck, this creature is capable of SPEECH. While the Nuck could kind of roar something that vaguely sounded like speech, the Hound speaks CLEARLY and distinctly.
But Oscar is that kid that absolutely will not stay put. Three volumes, three times these people have lost track of their resident Wizard-child.
8 notes
·
View notes
Text
Magnolia
I don’t know much about Magnolia or Paul Thomas Anderson, but I do know that it takes someone paying me to get me to watch a 3-hr+ drama that doesn’t star Kate Winslet, Leonardo DiCaprio, and a really big boat. This is one of my mom’s favorite movies which is why she requested it for me to review. It’s packed with a balls-to-the-wall star-studded cast (Tom Cruise! Julianne Moore! Phillip Seymour Hoffman! John C. Reilly! William H. Macy! Felicity Huffman!) and I’m genuinely excited to see how they all fit together. Cause they have to all fit together in some coherent way, right? Well...
Do you remember in Sorry to Bother You when the Equisapiens came out and things just took like...a real turn? That’s kind of what this was like. Whereas StBY pushed a thought to its most extreme, but logical, conclusion, what Paul Thomas Anderson has done here feels like a magician doing a lot of impressive illusions - sawing a lady in half, making a motorcycle disappear, pulling smaller things out of bigger things - and then for his final trick, walking onstage amidst a grand plume of smoke, dropping his pants, taking a gigantic shit, and then saying, “You’ve been a great audience, thanks a lot and goodnight!” It’s not like you can say the experience was BAD. Everything up to the finale was a really great time! But when you’re left on a note that is that bafflingly odd, it kinda colors the way you’ll remember the whole thing.
Magnolia is the story of one long day in the life of 12 people living in Los Angeles who are all connected via an extensive web from acquaintances to married couples to parents and children to paid caregivers and beyond. It’s a day that has the same kind of ups and downs as any other day until it, well, turns into something else entirely. I’m not sure how else to explain it, but if you want to know more, spoilers will be spoiled below.
Some thoughts:
Patton Oswalt cameo! I am a massive fan and thought I knew his whole filmography and OMG how did I not know that he was in this!!
Ok, in spite of my skepticism this entire opening sequence about coincidence had me hooked IMMEDIATELY. Like, this is some damn good storytelling, if this were a novel, I would not be able to put it down - that pull, that’s what it feels like.
Am I the only person whose encyclopedic memory of character actors/roles gets distracted when they see someone from something that is wildly disparate compared to the role you’re currently watching? For example, I had to pause the movie and confirm via IMDB that I did just see Professor Sprout from HP scream “Shut the fuck up!” at her husband while brandishing a shotgun.
Would people really recognize a grown ass man from being a successful child game show contestant? I’ll tell you the answer, no they wouldn’t, because no one realizes that Peter Billingsley (aka Ralphie from A Christmas Story) is the head of the elf production line in Elf.
I knew this was a stacked cast, but holy SHIT this is a stacked cast. If I had $1 for every fantastic character actor I recognize in this, I would have at least $37, and these are people in the film who have maybe 2-3 lines each. It’s a deep bench is what I’m saying.
This makes me miss Phillip Seymour Hoffman so, so very much.
Watching PSH care for and be so compassionate and gentle with his hospice patient, Earl (Jason Robards),makes my heart ache terribly. All of the people who have been unable to perform this kindness, this type of compassionate care for their closest loved ones as they lie dying in isolation of Covid...it’s overwhelming.
OMG I’m counting 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Very Good Dogs in the old man’s house!
I know Scientology is evil and he’s undeniably a complicated and morally grey person. I know all that. But goddamn I just love watching Tom Cruise COMMIT. Particularly when he commits to just absolute fucking sleazebag slimeballs. And boy oh boy is Frank Mackey an absolute fucking sleazebag slimeball.
Related - I know Frank looks like Tom Cruise, so he could get people to sleep with him no matter what, but I honestly feel like as a human being, this flesh suit is WAY more attractive balding and fat in Tropic Thunder than he is in this shiny brown shirt/leather vest/long hair combo.
I’m getting an uncomfortable vibe about these black characters being written by an artsy white dude, because I don’t know any young black kids who want to hang around with cops and offer up information about who committed a murder in their building. In fact, the way all of the black characters are treated in this film - as liars, criminals, the disingenuous “main stream media,” and thieves - feels rooted in some racist ass bullshit. We see a lot of nuance in our white characters, but even in a film that has, shockingly, more than one key black role, we don’t get that spectrum or nuance.
There is nothing I would love more than to learn that Frank Mackey is 1) gay 2) impotent or 3) both. He’s so disgustingly over-the-top misogynistic, it honestly feels like it should all be a complete act.
I confess I am on the edge of my seat trying to figure out how all these narrative threads tie together. It’s compelling as hell, even though half the time I don’t know why these people are having these long, meandering conversations. The pacing feels so deliberate, like a puzzle coming together. There’s real craftsmanship in how every scene is plotted to feel connected rather than manic or disjointed.
This pharmacist is being unprofessional as hell. Judgy McJudgerson, mind your fucking business, Julianne Moore’s father is dying! [ETA: ope, that’s embarrassing, Earl is actually her husband.]
NO THE DOG IS EATING THE PILLS OH NO VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THE DOG.
I think I knew this, but this soundtrack is fantastic. All Aimee Mann and Supertramp, and Jon Brion’s score is this thrumming, anxious thing full of strings that underscore all these nervous conversations, and then it shifts into these low, mournful horns when things start to take a turn and everyone is reaching their lowest points.
I love this interviewer (April Grace) who is taking Frank (Tom Cruise) to task. I think it’s particularly noteworthy that she is a black woman, because the kind of misogyny Frank peddles is rooted in white supremacy.
Stanley (Jeremy Blackman) is breaking my goddamn heart here. I think he and Phil (PSH) are my favorite characters.
Jim (John C Reilly) is the perfect example of how even a cop with the best intentions, with absolute kindness and love is in heart, is abusing his power and sexually harassing a woman he encountered in the line of duty, who is eager to appease him because she doesn’t want to be charged with a crime. This movie reads a LOT differently than it did in 1999.
I normally really love Julianne Moore, but she is a screeching mess in this. I can’t stop staring at her mouth and all the contortions it makes as she delivers every line in hysterics. She’s one of the few weak spots for me here.
Listening to Frank go on his whole diatribe about what society does to little boys to break them and victimize them HAS to be the source of where Keith Raniere got at least half of his NXIVM bullshit. Like, some of these points are word-for-word.
Also if Frank makes as much money as he seems to, there’s no way he would drive a shitty Saturn sedan.
It feels like the common thread of this movie is everyone is terrible and cheats on their spouses, and you should come clean when you get cancer so you can die peacefully. Weird moral, but ok.
If Jim is a cop, how does he not see that this woman he’s interested in (Melora Walters) is coked out of her mind?
Y’know for being a quiz kid, Donnie (William H. Macy) sure is kinda stupid.
I confess I’m not taking many notes throughout this because I’m just kind of sitting breathlessly still watching all these conversations unfold because I am on the edge of my fucking seat to find out how all this is gonna come together.
Secret MVP of this movie is the mom from A Christmas Story (Melinda Dillon) who is giving the performance of her goddamn life as Jimmy Gator’s wife.
Did I Cry? On the surface it appears ridiculous, but when Tom Cruise is having his breakdown at his dying father’s bedside, I admit, that really got me. If you’ve ever been faced with that kind of hysterical, I-can’t-believe-this-is-happening, it feels like the whole world is ending kind of shock and hurt and anger, that’s what the crying looks like.
Are those......frogs?? That landed on Jim’s car? It’s raining fucking frogs???? OK for those of you sensitive to frog harm, this movie is going to take a real hard left turn for you, because I swear that came out of NOWHERE.
Um.
What.
Pray tell.
The fuck.
The climax of this movie - is when literal frogs rain from the sky.
And we finally got resolution about the dog, and the dog DID die, and I’m pissed about it. It’s offscreen but still.
I'm sorry - I know I’m fixating. But how is it possible that I knew about all the characters performing a sing-along to Aimee Mann’s (excellent) song “Wise Up” but I did NOT know that the climax of the film involves literally thousands of frogs falling to their death from the sky? How is that something that escapes entry into the cultural zeitgeist? I’m with it, you guys. I have been Very Online for over a decade, and before that, I read a lot of Entertainment Weekly, and like it just seems that this is something that pop culture really should have told me.
I think the funniest moment of this movie might be the credits in which I discovered that not only is Luis Guzman playing a man named Luis, he’s actually playing himself. I don’t know why, but I can’t stop laughing about it. That was a 189-minute setup to one dumb punchline.
I think I loved this movie but I don’t quite know. The frog thing really threw me. What I’m taking away from it is that even when it doesn’t feel like it or seem like it, we are all connected to each other, always, in ways we can’t see or know. As Wife astutely pointed out, it’s reminiscent of the pandemic - we’re all in the same storm, but we each have our own boats and our own experiences within that storm. And it’s kind of nice to remember that right now, that connection still exists even when it feels so far away. Just not if you’re a frog I guess, cause they really got the short end of the stick here.
If you liked this review, please consider reblogging or subscribing to my Patreon! For as low as $1, you can access bonus content and movie reviews, or even request that I review any movie of your choice.
#121in2021#magnolia#magnolia review#paul thomas anderson#tom cruise#julianne moore#phillip seymour hoffman#John C Reilly#william h macy#movie reviews#film reviews#patreon review
5 notes
·
View notes
Note
For the d&d ask: 31, 32, 35
31. Tell me about your current party!
Well I’m part of three very different parties currently, and they’re all quite something, haha. In my Wednesday group for Pathfinder we currently have a human warpriest (fighter/cleric hybrid), tengu magus (crow person fighter/wizard hybrid), gnome pyrokineticist (he does a lot of fire), and a half-orc hunter (ranger/druid hybrid that uses an animal companion) with a bear as a companion. We’ll be getting an old player returning soon-- not sure what he’ll be playing.
The dynamic there is... interesting, to say the least. We’re all strangers for the most part--I’m good friends with the gnome, the GM and kenku are friends (as is the returner), so we all don’t quite know each other still. It’s also a brutally crushing Adventure Path we’re playing, so I’m not sure how much longer this party is going to be together. We’ve all had close brushes with death, and we’ve had four PC’s die in the few months we’ve been playing, which is... a lot.
My Friday group is small, but I tend to like the intimacy. We have a half-drow druid, half-elf warlock, fire genasi blood hunter, and an elf rogue. The dynamic there is pretty good since we’re all good friends, but we never seem to have any idea of what we’re doing, and we NEVER do what the DM expects of us, which is kind of unfortunate. But it’s a fun game and we do our best.
And finally my Sunday group, which is a human wizard, kenku cleric, aasimar warlock, aasimar paladin, halfling bard, and tiefling monk. This group is the one that has the longest running game--we’ve been playing this campaign for over a year now. The dynamic here is pretty good! It’s been a blast playing with this group, and we generally tend to gel together, though sometimes we’ll butt heads. Still, I’m looking forward to seeing where this game goes and how things evolve.
32. Most memorable NPC you’ve encountered in a game you’ve played in?
This is such a tough question because I’ve met SO MANY memorable NPC’s, so I’ll mention a couple of them.
Carrion Margaster-- A servant of Orcus who possessed a lot of power in Waterdeep and became personal enemies of my rogue PC Damien. He was one of the main antagonists for the campaign and was an absolute slimeball. I despised him with every fiber of my being and loved every second of it. We made the unfortunate mistake of not making sure he was dead when we fought him, and now he’s come back to haunt us in the sequel campaign (my current Sunday game). I’m pretty sure we’ll get him this time though.
The Merchant-- A mysterious entity who I am fairly confident is some sort of trickster, met in my current Friday campaign. Talks fast in a New York accent and gave us free items (and sold some), as well as some hilarious moments when we met him. I’ve never quite seen a merchant NPC done so successfully, and he’ll definitely stick with me.
35. Favorite classic D&D trope?
Fighting dragons! There’s really nothing in D&D that compares to actually fighting a dragon, but it rarely seems to happen in campaigns these days. I’d love to play in a dragon-focused campaign someday.
Additionally, I love the struggle between good and evil. I like classic stories of heroes blessed by the gods who take on the forces of darkness. I know it’s kind of passe these days in favor of more morally grey struggles, but I like some classic black-and-white factions.
2 notes
·
View notes
Text
A quick peek inside Satan’s quivering anus.
Also known as the company running ICE detention centers. So, all of us already know that these places are concentration camps. Most of us also know that these are incredibly inhumane places that show the true character of what we have allowed ourselves to become. And some of us have even heard that it’s costing $775 per day, per inmate to house these detained individuals. $775. That’s a lot. In fact, that means if 2 families of 2 parents and 3 kids are detained for a year (360 days actually), we as taxpayers are paying more for these people to be locked up in bullshit conditions than we are allotting funds to prevent public health emergencies in the average ENTIRE FUCKING STATE (California and New York excluded in this, because they are special cupcakes with super high populations and extra threat sprinkles on top). Now, the humanitarian side of me has had my grits boiling since this shit started going down, but if there are any libertarians or fiscal conservatives reading, that bottom line, if nothing else, should piss you the fuck off too. Not just for the theoretical bit of it, but for the fact that the average detention stay per immigrant in 2019 has been 91 days, and nearly half of immigrants detained stay in detainment from 2 to 4 years. Sources sort of vary at how many are detained at CHS facilities (I’ll get to them in a moment, but for now know they are the reason for the $775 figure), but the ballpark spans from 20,000 to roughly 52,000 people. So let’s do some quick math here and do a best/worst/average. Say that figures have been inflated (that happens) and there’s only 9,000 people incarcerated at CHS facilities. Average length of stay has been 91 days this year, so we have a nice, simple... Carry the one... Holy fucking shitballs. 819,000 person-days. That’s $634,725,000. That is $14 Million dollars more than the CDC spends during a full FUCKING YEAR in ensuring that EVERY health department can protect the WHOLE GODDAMN POPULATION with medical countermeasures to a terror event or pandemic outbreak. FOR 9,000 FUCKING PEOPLE. FUCK THE OTHER EXAMPLES, THAT’S THE BEST CASE, FUCK.
I’m just going to step away for a moment..
Okay.. Deep breaths. Back on track. Right. Ahem.
So. Everyone else finish changing their pants after shitting bricks over the fact we’re spending national level budgets on a population smaller than Anaconda-Deer Lodge County, Montana (I swear on any God you believe in, that’s a real name) ? Good.
I mentioned CHS earlier. Amazingly, it doesn’t stand for Child Herder Services, or Cold Heartless Sinners, or Cheeto Humping Slimeballs, though they’d all be more fitting. They are a private company, called, and get your asscheeks ready for this one: Comprehensive Health Services.
COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH SERVICES ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?
So this company. Thiiiiis fucking company, owned by Caliburn International has the FUCKING BALLS to put health in their name despite keeping populations in cages with no water outside of the toilet, with no hygiene supplies, and the absolute minimum in terms of keeping people alive (with the most common issue being, you fucking guessed it, HEALTH complications) is charging us to detain people that most of us don’t even want detained, $775 a day. We’ve seen good chunks of these facilities, and they look fucking awful. Understaffed, overcrowded, minimal resources, and the treatment of (some) workers and (all) detainees as livestock. Does that sound, I don’t know, AT. ALL. FUCKING. FAMILIAR?
So where is our money going? Our over half a billion dollars, of which even the tiniest scrap could give these people at least decent fucking detention areas (not that I believe they should be there as Asylum seekers anyways, mind you)? Let’s actually make this a game. Is it:
A) Corporate Interests with a heavy Lobbying Presence
B) Some group of mostly anonymous investors that would likely feast on a newly starved child’s cheeks as they are “delectable and tender” if cooked properly
C) Some Trump Lackeys that got the contract
D) A company that also sells health insurance services
Okay, 10 seconds on the clock.
And time! Okay, so how many picked A? Nice, nice. B? Okay.. Keep in mind I don’t know if they actually eat babies but they may just as well. It’d at least make them less human and thus easier to identify as an enemy. C? Aaah, that’s the high number I was expecting and that means D comes in with a small but decent following. WELL CONGRATS, YOU’RE ALL WINNERS! Here’s how:
A) CHS is part of Caliburn, which also owns DC Capital Partners, one of the bigger and well established lobbying firms in the country. And as any lobbying group does, they ensure that politicians bend to their will, increase their dividends, and weed out competition where they can to avoid a power struggle. Ever wonder why the NRA can never be competed with by a gun owners organization that doesn’t simultaneously deep throat their glocks while twisting their heads into their own asses?
B) Frankly, a lot of these funds are going straight to the private market and boy oh boy, does cruelty mean big business gains and a sturdy portfolio. That being said, you cannot separate the act of investing from the actions of the company you are investing in. If they do something fucked, you are essentially an enabler and an accessory to that action. Well, this isn’t ENTIRELY true. As it happens, some months ago they closed off an IPO of CHS specifically (an odd thing to do for a growing company) and cited “market forces” as the reason. How very suspicious.
C) Does this surprise anyone? So, while the actual list of investors is made private, there are an executive board of orange cocksuckers d’jour that have made this their golden parachute, or in the case of one asshole, was a lobbyist for DCCP, then in the Trump Cabinet, then went over to CHS. Here’s a quick list:
Former Chief of Staff John Kelly (aforementioned lobbyist)
Former Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage
Former Ambassador Michael Corbin
Former Commander-in-Chief of CENTCOM, Anthony Zinni
Former Director of Science and Tech for CIA, Donald Kerr
Former Head of CIA Michael Hayden (WHO PUBLICLY DENOUNCED THESE SORT OF PLACES AND ACTIONS AS BEING SIMILAR TO NAZI EFFORTS LAST YEAR)
Former director of the office of the Budget for the U.S. Navy, Stephen Lotus.
Wow, that’s a lot of love between Trump’s appointees and a contractor, who yes D) also sold insurance services.
So that’s pretty fucked. And sliiight detour now. So, when I started out, like really started out, my first task was dealing with budgets. I still help from time to time, and have to work with contractors fairly often. Now, it’s usual that even if we know suspect that these contractors will give us the best deal every time, we have to do something called “competitive bidding”. That’s where we essentially throw the offer to the air, and whoever gives us the best deal, wins. Now this can be kinda manipulated a bit but in general, these records are open to the public so it’s better for us to just waste the time and actually go through a competitive bidding process than have the explain how we aren’t corrupt while looking pretty corrupt.
You know what didn’t happen here? Competitive bidding. It was a closed off contract. Completely in the dark. How very peculiar, isn’t it?
So, all in all, we have a bunch of fuckwits booted from the White House, sent to a company that has perhaps the most profitable contract of all time, acting like literal nazis, stealing from taxpayers and profiting off racism, suffering and inhumane treatment, all because they could with some bullshit nationalism narrative that’s been pushed by an asshole who can’t even spell check his fucking twitter rants.
Do what you can. But certainly don’t complain to companies who are giving resources to these groups to continue their round ups, for instance, all those vans which are owned by Enterprise. Certainly don’t contact them at 855-298-0346, whatever you do. They are busy people trying to make lots and lots of money. Don’t call your representative and tell them if they support this, they will lose by going to this website: https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative . And above all, DO NOT use your available resources to try and disrupt this “carrying out of justice” in any way you can safely. Heavens no, because this is America, and children, America doesn’t care if you’re an immigrant or a nationalized citizen. Nooo no no no. It cares about whether you can turn a profit.
#concentration camps#internment camps#trumpcamps#mexican border#us border#migrants#asylum#racism#immigration rights#immigrant rights#abolish ice#detention centers#detention camps#crimes against humanity#trump#politics#immigration#immigrants#human rights violations#human rights#border crisis
5 notes
·
View notes
Text
The "BPD Anakin" Theory is Overlooking Some Crucial Shit - a long rambly meta objection
Suiting up in my flame proof armor for this one, but submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society jury…
The BPD Anakin theory is gundark bollocks.
I’ve seen this theory getting bandied about a lot, and it’s never sat quite right with me. It finally clicked that the reason why it doesn’t sit right is because the entire argument is hinged upon ignoring nearly all the situational and cultural factors in Anakin’s world, and “diagnosing” him in a vacuum. This is tantamount to arresting someone for yelling FIRE! in a crowded theater when there actually is a fire.
Simply put, a lot of the defenses I’ve seen of the theory fail to take into account that in order for a disorder to be present, the person’s thoughts and behaviors have to actually be disordered, and they also have to be pervasive. Patterns of thought and behavior that are reasonable within context are not disordered. (If someone’s yelling “fire!” in a crowded theater, it’s not unreasonable if there actually is a fire.) Thoughts and behaviors that we don’t see until the tail end of RotS where Sidious has manipulated Anakin into what can only be described as a psychological break are not pervasive. (I’d also argue that some of them aren’t even really Anakin’s - he’s a victim of gaslighting, both by Palpatine AND the Jedi Order. Not that it excuses what he did, but abuse victims who’ve been mentally and emotionally manipulated can display behaviors that deceptively mimic various mental illnesses. And TBH the Jedi Order was really just a fancy religious cult that responded to Anakin’s very normal, very human need for love and acceptance with pretty much the Jedi equivalent of “stop having impure thoughts or you’re gonna go to hell” - which really didn’t help matters.)
And for the sake of clarity here, let me go ahead and establish a couple of things. 1) I’m talking about Anakin while he was still Anakin. Vader is a different entity in a lot of ways, and that’s an entirely different discussion. Most of the BPD stuff I’ve seen has been focused on PT and TCW Anakin, so that’s what I’m working with here. 2) I’m absolutely not arguing that Anakin is some shining paragon of perfect mental health, or that he’s necessarily neurotypical in the first place, because yeah NO. He absolutely has some issues he needs to deal with, and as far as neurotypical-ness goes, I’ve seen some pretty convincing cases for ADHD, PTSD, generalized anxiety, and even high functioning autism. I’m only arguing that BPD doesn’t fit.
So let’s go through the diagnostic criteria for BPD, keeping the above in mind.
(If you're on mobile, the rest of the post is here. Hellsite app hides the Read More. https://rocket-sith.tumblr.com/post/158218862776/the-bpd-anakin-theory-is-overlooking-some )
*frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment*
Okay, so picture this. You’re in the middle of an ongoing war, and you’re fighting on the front lines. All your friends are in the war too, and many of them are right there on the front lines with you. Your spouse is a high-profile politician with powerful enemies, and he/she has faced assassination attempts before. Your mother is living in a hostile land as a slave, where it’s commonplace to be killed or abused.
Tell me your fear of losing the people you love is irrational. Go ahead, tell me that’s not a 100% justified fear. I’ll wait.
We see in Crystal Crisis that Anakin feels abandoned by Ahsoka when she left, but she actually did leave. That wasn’t an irrational fear. She left. Anakin stood by her, not thinking she’d leave, and she left anyway, which clearly shocked him. It’s totally fair to say he’s being short-sighted in his reaction, in that the council was the ones he should be mad at, not her, but if irrational fear of abandonment is what we’re looking for here, there simply wasn’t any in this case. The possibility of her leaving never even occurred to him before the council scene in the Wrong Jedi arc, and when she did leave, he was upset, but he was upset at something that actually happened, not irrationally fearing something that might.
Anakin gets mad at Obi-Wan for leaving him out of the loop in the TCW Deception arc, but getting mad at your supposed best friend for faking his own death in order to emotionally manipulate a reaction out of you…I mean, damn, who *wouldn’t* feel pissed off and betrayed by that? And even THEN, he never thought Obi-Wan was the one behind it until Obi-Wan told him point blank that it was his idea to leave Anakin out of the loop. Anakin’s immediate reaction to finding out Obi-Wan was alive wasn’t “Obi-Wan abandoned me and was conspiring against me” it was “the council doesn’t trust me.” The thought that Obi-Wan was in on it doesn’t even cross his mind as a possibility.
Then we have the incident with Padme and Clovis where Anakin walks in and starts to whup Clovis’s ass. A lot of people like to point to this as irrational possessiveness taken to the point of violence, but again, we’re overlooking a few things here. Padme has had attempts made on her life before. The person she’s trying to lure is a known slimeball. And when Anakin busts into the room, he doesn’t see Padme making googly eyes at Clovis. He sees Clovis trying to physically force himself on Padme while she says no. This is not Anakin walking in on his wife flirting with someone, this is Anakin walking in on a known scuzzbucket doing something to Padme that looks an awful lot like sexual assault. No shit, he lost his cool!
The “everyone’s abandoned me and turned against me” mindset isn’t something we see until the tail end of RotS on Mustafar. Not pervasive. And given Obi-Wan actually was there to kill him, it’s not particularly disordered either. He did incorrectly assume Padme had brought Obi-Wan there, but considering 1) Palpatine had planted the idea in Anakin’s head that there was something under-the-table going on between Padme and Obi-Wan, and 2) Obi-Wan really had just shown up on Padme’s ship looking to throw down and start shit, it’s not like Padme bringing Obi-Wan there to whup Anakin’s ass was some random, wild idea that just popped into Anakin’s head of its own accord, manifested purely by his own insecurities. It was a conclusion reached by combining something that was actually true (Obi-Wan had arrived on Mustafar via Padme’s ship with the intention of fighting or killing Anakin) with something that had been deliberately planted in his head by a malevolent, manipulative third party (Obi-Wan and Padme were in cahoots about something sketchy). I am not in any way, shape, or form defending the way Anakin handled it, but I am saying the suspicion itself isn’t mere left-field paranoia born of nothing but a fear of abandonment.
*a pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation*
Anakin is emotionally intense, sure, and he comes off the rails when one of his loved ones is in danger, but I do not see instability in his relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation of the people he loves. Anakin is a steadfastly loyal person, and he doesn’t do the push-pull thing. Let’s look at the people he’s closest to - his mother, Padme, Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, Rex, and Palpatine.
- Mom and Rex - there’s never anything even remotely turbulent with either of these two regarding how Anakin views and feels about them. He’s unwaveringly loyal to both, never once devalues either, and there’s no push/pull here at all.
- Ahsoka - he’s overprotective of her sometimes, but she’s a young teenager in a war zone entrusted to his care. The only time we ever see him slagging her off is when he’s ranting to Obi-Wan in the Crystal Crisis arc, mad at her for leaving. That’s it. One instance hardly constitutes “pervasive” or “alternating” and we can’t forget, this wasn’t a fear about things that might happen, or Anakin saying she was Jerky McJerkface because she disagreed with his opinion of loth-cats or something. This was a reaction to her actually leaving, which was a huge, life-altering thing for Anakin that hurt him very deeply - especially since he did stay unwaveringly loyal to her even when no one else was. He’s definitely guilty of not grasping the big picture here, but again - not pervasive, not alternating, no history of devaluing Ahsoka or thinking she was going to abandon him for no good reason.
- Obi-Wan - Okay, the Anakin/Obi-Wan dynamic is complex. These two clowns are both masters at miscommunication and not understanding each other for shit despite the fact that they clearly adore each other, but again. A teenager bickering with his guardian and ranting to his friends about how much he dislikes being nitpicked and dislikes rules (AotC) is typical of every teenager everywhere, and it’s not at all contradictory for a teenager to do this even though they love their guardian. It’s 100% normal. A person being angry when a friend lies to them and manipulates them is a rational reaction (TCW Deception), and if ANYONE is guilty of disordered behavior here, it’s Obi-Wan with his shocking lack of empathy. Anakin didn’t come off the rails with the whole “Obi-Wan isn’t really my friend, he’s out to get me” deal until the tail end of RotS, when Obi-Wan really was out to get Anakin. We don’t see anything remotely like that before then. We see a teenager frustrated with rules, we see an adult upset at being lied to and manipulated, and we see some mutual communication SNAFUs, but we don’t see turbulent, foundationless devaluing.
- Padme - Both Anakin and Padme are very young considering their roles in life, and their relationship can be rocky and immature sometimes. (And not just on Anakin’s part - there was a TCW ep where Anakin had to cut an evening with Padme short to go do Jedi Business and when he showed up the Senate building later to talk to her, she greeted him with an icy “Oh, so now you have time for me?”) Anakin has some jealousy issues, and I’m not going to insult anyone’s intelligence by pretending he doesn’t, but he does not devalue Padme or think she’s against him until the end of RotS - and we’ve already covered that incident. There are absolutely some unhealthy things about the relationship (even before Mustafar), but it doesn’t fit with the BPD criteria here or indicate he’s in the habit of devaluing Padme as a person.
- Palpatine - Well hell, Anakin’s main problem here was that he was blindly loyal! If Anakin had mistrusted Palpatine at all or pushed him away, a lot of really bad shit wouldn’t have happened.
*identity disturbance: markedly and persistently unstable self image or sense of self*
Anakin is absolutely struggling to find his place in the galaxy, but again - self discovery and finding out who you are is a normal part of being teenager and young adult. Not disordered. The Jedi are a batshit cult who try to convince Anakin that his normal, healthy, human emotions are dangerous, and he understandably gets frustrated by it. This isn’t a dysfunction on Anakin’s part, and labeling it as such is fairly abusive in its own right. One of the key elements of gaslighting is when you abuse a person and then blame them for their negative reaction to it. Jedi dogma tries to convince Anakin he’s defective and untrustworthy for having totally normal emotions, and now we’re going to say he’s disordered for reacting to it with anger and confusion? I think we’re fighting in the wrong corner, y'all. And anyways, Anakin doesn’t completely come off the rails with his “the Jedi are evil” deal until the tail end of RotS - not pervasive.
*impulsivity in at least two areas that are potentially self-damaging (e.g., spending, sex, substance abuse, reckless driving, binge eating).*
Anakin gets dinged for this one a lot in the BPD Anakin theories, and this is one of those areas where we need to take into account that Anakin does not live in our world. Yes, Anakin is a daredevil. However, acting like you have superpowers isn’t disordered if you actually have superpowers. You wouldn’t call Clark Kent self-destructive for thinking he could jump in front of a bullet. You wouldn’t call Wolverine irrational for thinking he could heal from a wound that would be fatal to anyone else. So it makes no sense to call Anakin self-damaging for acting like he’s some sort of badass super pilot who can deflect blaster fire with a lightsaber.
*recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures, or threats, or self-mutilating behavior* - None of this applies at all, unless we’re talking about general daredevil stuff, and then - see above.
*affective instability due to a marked reactivity of mood (e.g., intense episodic dysphoria, irritability, or anxiety usually lasting a few hours and only rarely more than a few days)*
This one’s iffy, especially when you’re dealing with someone who’s constantly in the front lines of a war zone, as it calls into question whether anxiety and irritability are disordered in this context. Anakin definitely seems to be anxious and irritable, but he and the people he loves are constantly in harm’s way. You could definitely make a case for PTSD here, but BPD doesn’t fit considering there are very real, very legitimate causes for anxiety and irritability.
*chronic feelings of emptiness* I haven’t seen any direct canonical evidence to support this.
*inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling anger*
LMAO okay, y'all can have this one. Homeboy’s got some anger management issues. (I still say a lot of the time when he’s pissed off, he’s got a good reason to be, but DAMN he does a shitty job of handling it in a remotely constructive way.)
*transient, stress-related paranoid ideation or severe dissociative symptoms*
Nope. It’s not paranoia if they’re really out to get you, ya know? He thinks the council doesn’t trust him. They *don’t* and they’ve never been shy about showing it. He thinks his mother is being tortured to death. She *is*, and prophetic dreams are a real thing in Anakin’s universe, and a power that Anakin has been canonically confirmed to possess. He has premonitions of Padme dying in childbirth. Again, he is canonically confirmed to have the power of prophecy, and the *last* time he ignored a prophetic dream, it cost his mother her life. Taking his dreams seriously is not paranoia, and it’s not him having a dissociative episode. (Yeah, there’s a fan theory that Palpatine planted the Padme dream in Anakin’s head, but even so, that’s not evidence of a disorder with Anakin. It’s more like the equivalent of a forensics expert planting extremely convincing fake evidence at a crime scene, then blaming the cops when they think it’s real.)
So there are the 9 symptoms. You need five or more for a BPD diagnosis. Anakin has ONE. *Maybe* two if you squint really hard and tilt your head. If Anakin were a regular adult human on regular earth who wasn’t in a war zone, wasn’t caught up in a crazy religious order that was shaming him for being human, and wasn’t being manipulated by a goddamn Sith Lord, it would be another matter. But he is, and it’s not accurate to diagnose mental disorders while completely ignoring cultural factors and extenuating circumstances like being a General on the front lines of a war or being preyed upon by a master manipulator.
tl;dr - The “BPD Anakin” theory might seem reasonable at first glance, but it holds significantly less water when we stop pulling Anakin out of his own environment and either analyzing him in a vacuum, or analyzing him against the backdrop of our own world rather than in the context of *his* world, his environment, and his reality in a galaxy far, far away.
#anakin skywalker#attack of the killer meta#shameless overanalyzing#probably gonna get flamed for this
48 notes
·
View notes
Text
The End of Anime Misogynist?!?!
I’m writing to you from a secret underground bunker somewhere in North Dakota, not far from the Canadian border. I have only 7% battery left on my Kindle Fire, and getting this post out in time may be my last hope. Any moment now, the forces of the Matriarchy are going to break down the door. I’ve eluded them for over a year, but they’ve hunted me like an animal, determined to make me pay, both for my heinous crimes against all womynkind and questionable use of semicolons. When they find me, they’ll probably strangle me with one of my many dakimakura covers, hopefully the Hestia one--
--Oh, right, I was supposed to end this now.
Hi, I’m Karen, and I’m the Anime Misogynist. Normally, I blog about otaku stuff and other fun things over at Otakusphere. Now, I can’t be absolutely certain, but I’m pretty sure I’m not really a misogynist. I do however take issue with feminist criticism, both of anime and pop culture more generally, when it’s ill-informed, illogical, and myopic. There is good feminist criticism out there, but unfortunately, the type that seems to be popular online right now-- particularly on major anime websites-- is the ill-informed, illogical, myopic type. I created this site to illustrate why this is a poor way to critique anime…or, well, anything.
Does Anime Misogynist seem like mean-spirited trolling? I hope not, because that was never my intention. I believe that a viewpoint should be able to stand up to mockery, and if it can’t, people should be given the opportunity to see that (yes, I am one of those tedious “the best remedy for bad speech is MORE speech” people.) I also believe that critics should avoid using terms cribbed from academia that they don’t fully understand, which is perhaps the biggest problem with current feminist criticism of pop-culture. Most of these critical pieces make the same couple of mistakes over and over again, hence I find myself making the same jokes over and over again; that’s why I’m closing up shop.
Still, before I go, I’m left with the concern that some people misread Anime Misogynist to be a mockery of the very idea that misogyny exists in media, which it isn’t. I myself have found certain shows misogynistic at times; I don’t then make the leap to calling all fans of said show misogynists, but that’s bringing up a separate issue. No, some media is sexist or misogynist (they are not the same thing), and there isn’t anything wrong with sharing your opinion on that. However, you know what is wrong? Constantly using terminology that undermines your goals right from the start.
Why would you use the term “male gaze” when it’s completely heteronormative? Not only does it ignore the existence of lesbians, it also ignores the fact that even straight women sometimes enjoy looking at images of attractive women. The repeated use of that term assumes a male-centric worldview that’s probably more harmful than whatever the show in question is doing.
Why would you use the term “Objectification,” when it clearly doesn’t work in practice the way it does in theory? The alleged problem with objectification is that once someone becomes an object to you, you cease having sympathy for them as a human being. Putting aside the fact that anime characters aren’t real human beings to begin with (which has always seemed like a pedantic argument to me), if you’ve ever talked to an anime fan, you should know this isn’t how most fans operate. Fans have incredible passion for their favorite characters, and can simultaneously enjoy looking at sexy images of these characters, while still caring a lot about their storylines and character development. I’m sure there are instances where objectification does work as advertised, but why would you bring that concern to anime fandom, where it’s completely out of place? If anime fans are objectifying characters, wow, we sure are TERRIBLE at it.
Why would you use the term “male fantasy,” with its implicit criticism that men shouldn’t have (or perhaps, do not deserve) a fantasy life? Are only women entitled to fantasies? That makes it seem like we must need them more than men do, because we’re less engaged with reality; a firmly anti-feminist position to take.
Why would you talk about “oppression,” without acknowledging that it’s highly context-sensitive; the same person is likely an oppressor in one scenario, the oppressed in others. If you label women (or any group) as an oppressed group without further elaborating what you mean, you’re engaging in such a gross oversimplification of how the world works that it makes anything you say on any topic appear suspect.
Why would you use the term “Patriarchy,” unless you’re writing some kind of paranoid conspiracy thriller…in which case, why are you wasting your time on anime crit? You have a novel to write, let’s see some ambition!
Why would you use the word “problematic” for anything ever? It is the most useless word.
In addition to all the other problems with them, the constant use of these kinds of terms in anime criticism makes it all seem very cookie-cutter; like people are cutting and pasting from a template rather than forming their own thoughts. Even if I was more inclined to agree with the points these critics make, I would still find this approach boring as shit. We don’t need even one article that complains that an erotic anime is catering to the male gaze; we certainly don’t need 300 of them.
Do you want to actually talk about sexism and misogyny in a given work of fiction, without resorting to using your standard issue Third-Wave Intersectional Feminism Magnetic Poetry Set? Please do! Please talk about how a given show makes you feel, using your own words, your own logic (although try to refrain from the “this show is so misogynistic it made me cry for 17 hours” school of doing this; it becomes a game of perverse misery one-upmanship that doesn’t do anyone any good.) Talk about why specific creative choices appear to be promoting misogyny, as opposed to examining or undermining it; sometimes, the shows that are the most insightful in their critiques of misogyny get labeled as misogynist, simply because they address it, which is just unfair. Write about your own experiences, without speculating on what other fans must think, especially if you’re not prepared to give them the benefit of the doubt.
If a critique comes from a place of sincerity, without the need to kiss the ring of any particular ideology, then I respect it, even if I strongly disagree. Everyone is entitled to have their own unique take on what they watch; even if you think that Revolutionary Girl Utena is the most misogynist anime ever made, then by God, that is your right as a viewer. But don’t lecture me using language you don’t understand, don’t promote the very ideas you claim you’re trying to discredit, and don’t claim to know what’s going on in MY head when I watch something; that’s for me to know. I care about your opinion, not your opinion of what you think my opinion would be if I were a very dumb person.
And if you feel the need to talk about how you think a given show effects society at large, then acknowledge that you’re engaging in something extremely complex, where there are about a million lenses to look through and each have their own limitations. Broad assertions like “Big boobs in anime condition men to hate women” are an insult to everyone’s intelligence, pure and simple.
I’m not the criticism police; it’s not my job to tell everybody how to do their anime criticism, and I realize I’m being a hypocrite right now, since that’s basically what I’m doing. However, if you write really poor, illogical criticism, I probably won’t take what you say very seriously. If you write really poor, illogical criticism and then act extremely pompous and condescending on top of that, then I’ll probably mock you for it, because it’s comical. This site exists because so many of the people who write bad anime criticism are also pompous and condescending to other fans; I don’t know why that is, but it’s true at the moment. I don’t know if my efforts have any chance of changing that, but it seemed worth a try, at any rate.
So, what’s next for the Anime Misogynist? Well, “he” might pop up from time to time on Otakusphere, when a show needs to be examined through a rigorous, misogynist lens; it’s a service I rather enjoy providing. I’ll leave this site up for the time being, although I doubt I’ll be adding more to it. To all of you who were in on the joke and enjoyed my posts, thank you; to those that weren’t in on the joke, or were just confused, I hope reading this post has at least shown that I’m not a horrible, woman-hating slimeball who deserves to burn in hell.
I mean, hey, maybe I do deserve to burn in hell (no sense in ruling anything out), but not for that reason.
Love,
Karen
0 notes
Last Seen Blogs
motionlessismarvelous
Everybody Sells SNOWcaine
kiss-the-homies-goodnight
I Like Cheese, Danganronpa, dream daddy, And Anime
hometoursandotherstuff
Home Tours & Other Stuff
yukisobsession
Miss Triple S
wshwshi
#5!19