Am I the only one who actually likes Marcus in the beginning? Like I thought "oh he seems like a nice dude I want Simon to be with wille but this isn't so bad ig" and then when Simon tried breaking up with him his response????? Was so WEIRD? like it just felt off to me that he refused to hear Simon and just went on saying that they should still be together and brought up his dad. Like that was weird as hell. Maybe I'm wrong but if someone's breaking up with you you should just ... Accept it? And let them? It's one thing to try and convince them to stay bc you're so heartbroken, which is acceptable, but with Marcus it felt like different, like he was lowkey being manipulative. It felt like he wasn't listening to Simon at all. And I mean I'm not blaming him for Simon cheating on him with wille but dude you know this guy doesn't really wanna be with you lmao what did you expect

hello anon i love you. 

Trust me, you are NOT alone! This was literally my exact reaction as well. I actually kind of like Marcus at the start, and then during that argument my opinion completely flipped. Because you are very right: it was pretty manipulative of Marcus, and it wasn’t the only time he exhibited that behavior either. 

For the sake of “I’m not here to start drama”: I’m going to speak from personal experience and about my personal opinion on Marcus. I am always open to hearing other peoples thoughts on this as well, if you agree or disagree, just please be respectful about it. I have been witness to two different, incredibly manipulative relationships. I’ve done quite a bit of research because of this. So that’s where I’m coming from. 

Now, you sent me this right before my first rewatch of s2 which means i was paying lots of attention to Marcus when i watched it and I definitely took notes for this so let’s go!

Episode 1 (around 37:00): my first red flag in Marcus’ behavior was how he was pretty instantly overly-friendly and familiar with Simon despite the fact they’d only had 2 interactions. He greeted him with a hug, kept getting very close to him, and was hanging off of him during karaoke. Which isn’t always a red flag, because sometimes people are just Like That, but I still think it’s worth noting considering his later behavior. It just rubs me the wrong way that he is putting himself into Simon’s space so quickly. 

Episode 3 (around 22:40): the actual argument that you mentioned

Like you, I was perfectly fine with Marcus until this scene. I got bad feelings pretty early on.

Simon tells Marcus that he “isn’t ready for anything serious” and Marcus tells him that it’s okay, but then proceeds to immediately twist the situation in his favor. He pretends to accept what Simon says to begin with so that Simon won’t just shut down, but he does still put up arguments.

“I’m not like [Wille] … I won’t hurt you.” Bad Sign Bad Sign Bad Sign. Saying that he isn’t like Wille to catch Simon’s attention and to build trust. Simon’s trust in Wille is broken, and Marcus seems to understand that, so he’s using Wille as a gateway to establish a trust that he would otherwise have to earn. 

Simon basically telling him “that’s not what it’s about, it’s not about you, I just can’t do this now” was another chance for Marcus to step back, but instead he continues to push the issue. 

Him bringing up Micke was a trick as well. Telling Simon that he doesn’t really understand how relationships should look gives him free wiggle room. Because it makes Simon lose trust in his own judgment, and now he will look to Marcus to see if what they are doing is good and healthy. 

TOUCHING HIS NECK during the conversation made me furious actually. It built a connection between them, something intimate, again to build Simon’s trust. 

Reinforced by hugging him as well. 

“I know you don’t want to destroy something this beautiful” is also a very bad sign. Because now he’s telling Simon that what they have is healthy and good, piggybacking off of the doubt he created earlier in Simon’s judgment. 

“Let’s just take it slow” now he’s repeating this, telling Simon what his own terms are while actively ignoring Simon’s decision to end it. 

And finally for this scene, he gives a “reward” for Simon’s agreement. He offers to go cheer Simon on at the competition. 

Episode 4 (around 7:45): he expresses no interest in going to the ball, which is fine on it’s own, but it’s him shutting down what Simon wants immediately followed by proposing what he wants instead, to go to his house. 

Also Episode 4 (around 36:00): last one, this one also is a huge thing imo. “[Wille] seems nice. He’s not at all stuck-up like when he was shooting with Felice.” this is a direct attempt to paint Wille in a bad light. It’s an attempt to make Simon believe that Wille was only nice to Marcus because Simon was there, and that he is entirely different - even rude - when Simon isn’t there to impress. 

This is all to say that, whether it was intentional or not, I think Marcus was absolutely trying to manipulate Simon. So much of his behavior can kind of be waved away (“oh some people are just overly-friendly” “maybe Simon needed to hear that” “Wille did hurt Simon” etc) but also one of the major aspects of manipulation like this is that it can be easy to wave away. The person who is being manipulative doesn’t want to be clocked manipulating someone, it’s not supposed to be overt and noticeable. But it’s still there. In many little things and sometimes in a few bigger ones. 

This was something I noticed on my first watch, and the rewatch only further cemented it in my mind. Do I think Marcus was all bad? No, absolutely not! But then again, neither are most manipulators. I did enjoy him as a character as well, and the actor did a wonderful job. But yeah. I don’t think he did Simon any good. 

I constantly think about the genetic impact of Kevin’s Alcohol dependancy, in Nora’s extra content she mentioned that Wymack’s father was heavily addicted to both alcohol and drugs, Wymack himself seems to lean on alcohol for some support and it’s mentioned often that he has lots laying around his apartment, so as much as Kevin’s trauma definitely played a massive role in his dependancy, I feel like it’s so clear that there was a major genetic predisposition to it also; though it’s a shame that Kevin seemingly doesn’t know about it

Usagi is cringe, but free

i drew this at 1:49am while watching 'Home on the Range' (2004) after thinking about that one Goemon clip... can u tell?

been thinking more about just Usagi saying shit like that just completely stone-faced to the point where Leo thinks he's just fucking with them. Don is just bewildered at how Usagi has survived this long. Raph was weary but admires his honor and dedication. Michael, meanwhile appreciates the drama and is jus happy to make a new friend. what a bean

i'm just a sucker for the 'resting-bitch-face-but-is-just-a-silly' trope

@suncaptor’s Milestone Event Day 3: Sastiel Thanksgiving at Bobby’s The Other Guardian, by red_river (12/15) Castiel held him and felt Sam's back shifting under his hands—the expansion and contraction of the lungs and the feather-light brush of his heartbeat under his skin, the flesh quivering with the effort of keeping itself alive—and realized for the first time what an astonishing feeling that was, so precious, and so fragile. What an honor it was to be entrusted with something so breakable, if only for a moment.

image description:  four screencaps of Sam and Castiel hugging in “First Born,” 9x11 with the above excerpt from ‘The Other Guardian’ superimposed.

shot from below of Castiel standing as Sam hugs him, his eyes are closed.

shot from eye level from the side, showing both Sam and Castiel hugging. Castiel is looking down his arms are below Sam’s; Sam is looking forward and smiling a little.

close-up shot of Castiel looking down, his brow slightly furrowed, his hands are still on Sam’s shoulder blades. 

close-up shot of Castiel similar to the one before, as Sam pulls away with his hands on Castiel’s shoulders. They make eye contact, and Castiel is smiling slightly as he looks up at him.

im obsessed with my boss! kiri headcannons,, being his personal assistant is infiltrating my thoughts!

i love it. this could go so many ways 🫣

like maybe he’s secretly a hardass who eventually “punishes” you for the smallest thing. or maybe he’s a sweetheart who’s only slightly clueless that you’re head over heels after a week of working for him. or maybe you’re a cam girl in your off time or smth and somehow he ends up being your top contributor. or maybe he hires you thinking “oh she’s cute but that’s not a problem,” and then it totally is bc he’s a flustered mess. or he’s constantly finding ways to keep you around when he’s there, buys you lunch/dinner “on the agency,” etc.

This book has taken over my brain so many thoughts help

- Death Note AU

- Spies are Forever AU

- Lockland Era Victor blacking out a Bible and Eli getting pissy

- Victor getting nostalgic about getting milkshakes with Angie and having a weird interlude moment with Eli where nothing is really fixed but they just kind of sit there and think about the past and then act like it never happened

- Silly Lockland moments

- Eli getting a chance to go back in time and stop them both from becoming EOs featuring a very stubborn Victor

- Family shenanigans with Victor, Mitch, Sydney, and Dol

I got so mucch hyuckin tma thinks in me big ol brain of mine and I need them OUT

Me trying to decide whether to see one or two actresses at a convention...

what do you think would be the best way for the pregnancy to be handled? pure personal opinion

hmmm i'm honestly not sure, especially given that this season is rumored to just take place over a span of ten days, each episode spanning a day. but i'm gonna go unpopular opinion here and say i would be pretty fucking disappointed if it's just, like, an immediate abortion??? like idk what tv yall are watching but i feel like abortion plotlines are a fucking dime a dozen these days and maybe like one in every ten is anything approaching 'empowering,' even though all ten are framed that way. i think abortion vs pregnancy is often framed as a, like, sophie's choice for women -- do you choose to be a person or do you choose to be a woman? -- and it honestly just reinforces the exact same dichotomies they're claiming to break in my opinion. not every abortion narrative but, like... too many of them. so i'm wary lol

rest under the cut cuz it got soooooo fucking long!!

it's the same as with Strong Female Characters: it's not actually a well-written, empowering female character if her 'strength' is dependent on her complete and total rejection of her identity as a woman and every trait associated with it. we've created these, like, anti-feminine career women girlboss warriors whatever as a balm to the terrible hyperfeminized mother-before-all-else classic caricature of womanhood, but tbh, both narratives are equally harmful -- they're not only both still reinforcing the same dichotomy of, like, family/love/emotion/empathy/interdependence etc vs self/respect/rationality/intelligence/independence, but even reinforcing the valuing of the latter (the 'masculine' traits) over the former! by defining strong female characters as those who reject femininity, you're literally just reinforcing the idea that 'femininity' and 'feminine traits' are bad, weak, etc -- the only 'empowering' thing is that hey! women who act like men can be respected! except not really and they'll always be viewed as a woman anyways!

kind of got off topic but, like, that's often what abortion plotlines come down to in my experience -- housewife or career woman? man or woman? and i'm just fucking sick of it, man. like, it's one thing, obviously, for the world of a show and the characters inhabiting it to enforce these views and be judgmental etc etc etc, but it's so frequently driving the writing and narrative itself. i think that abortion plotlines can be good, but honestly? usually only when the character in question genuinely has no desire whatsoever to have kids, like diane in bojack horseman. because if a character is unsure, what typically happens is they'll get bullied into a specific outcome, and it's then framed as 'empowering' and about 'the right to choose.' if a career-driven woman maybe wants to have a baby but gets an abortion because she knows it'll ruin her career, that's not empowering! that's so fucking sad! why are we calling that empowering! that's just as tragic as having a kid because you fear the ostracization you'll receive if you abort! so. i don't know. i think abortion plotlines are really hard to do well because they always just end up oversimplifying everything and turning it into proof of how Strong the woman who got the abortion is -- like, sometimes strength is not getting the abortion. it's not like being a mother actually makes you weaker or lesser. so why do so many of the shows who claim to criticize that notion end up perpetuating it?

i think there's a lot of really fucking interesting stuff that could be done with shiv's pregnancy, and honestly? most of it isn't even fucking related to what happens with her pregnancy. it's just using that as a vehicle to explore layers of her character that we haven't been able to before, largely because she's been so vehemently obsessed with obscuring them. i've been wanting to delve deeper into shiv's relationship with her gender, with caroline, with gerri, with notions of femininity, etc etc etc for YEARS and this is the perfect fucking opportunity. i want to know what shiv actually wants. who she actually is, beneath the 'hypermasculine' veneer she's had to adopt to even be allowed in the room, let alone respected. like does she actually want children, does she actually want a family? has she only been against it out of fear for her career? or is it genuinely something she desires? how much of her relationship with gender is rooted in spite? who is she outside of that spite, and how far will she go to achieve it? will she have a kid to prove to caroline (but really to herself because caroline doesn't actually give a fuck she's gallivanting in europe with peter munion) that she can be a good mother? what does she even think motherhood should look like? does shiv want to be seen as a woman? does she want to be seen as a man who happens to be in a woman's body? does she want to be seen as a man? like, there are so many fucking interesting avenues to explore, and i mean, she's not gonna fucking have the kid in ten days. i hope they actually make the most of the opportunity this could present -- with the exception of, like, one scene, we've only ever gotten to know shiv through her relationships with the men around her. we literally know nothing about what she is outside of roy masculinity. is there anything outside roy masculinity? does she even want there to be? honestly, i've been a little frustrated in past seasons with how surface level a lot of the shiv stuff has been -- the others get so much internal depth, whereas shiv's characterization has largely been reactionary. like, she's usually just reacting to things people (read: men) have done to her. we know so fucking little about her life before the show! she has the potential to be like kim wexler level if they dig into her more and part of that is digging into her relationship with her gender because, like it or not, she fucking IS THE GIRL. like, that's her defining fucking feature: being The Girl. so let's dissect that!!

i know this was such a long rambling, like, non-answer lol but basically i guess i don't actually care what the outcome is of the pregnancy arc so long as it's handled with care -- so long as it's used as a means to explore the shiv we already know, rather than creating a new problem to understand instead. i think an abortion plotline is the riskiest because they're so frequently done poorly, i have no idea how a miscarriage would go but i do think there are interesting ways it could be done, and i can't imagine shiv actually being a mom but i think there's a lot to unpack with shiv even just considering motherhood. idk what the end outcome will be, but as long as the pregnancy plotline is used to expand upon shiv rather than punish her for her femininity or make some grand moral claim about The Correct Way To Be A Strong Woman, i think i won't be too upset. and i have faith that it'll be decent, honestly. this show -- both the writers and snook herself -- cares too much about shiv to do her that dirty. ....i hope.

OKAY OKAY OKAY finally back home. Do I work on lfls chapter 21 or a one-shot rottmnt movie angst idea.......

✨magic✨

The sharp intake of breath before the second chorus in You’re Losing Me 😵‍💫

I have so many stupid little questions about the stupid little characters in aftg it’s insane

does Neil have a credit card? does he get one? Know how to use it? does Kevin wear pyjamas? How would Andrew have tried to stop the mafia? Does Aaron also have track marks? Or was he purely into pills? is Dan still in touch with her aunt? Was Cass aware of what was happening to Andrew? in denial? how does Andrew bench more than Matt? does dan know about the men who had sex with a teenage Matt? does matt view that as consensual? why did Dan hate Renee so much in Highschool? does Neil actually have a dumptruck? he must from all the running right?

waking up from a nap completely soaked, your body knowing what it's made for and making sure you're ready for any dom that needs to use you

if i could churn out school work as fast as i churn out splatoon essays and vod reviews i would never spent more than 2 hours writing proofreading and finalising a 1000 word essay for class ever again

that moment you forgot about a plot beat you had plannned in your own oc story and then remember it and are blown away by your own past selves genius