#but like s2 is superior i think that’s obvious

[tired-bisexual-brainrot]

hey! this is the byler chicken anon, @swashbuckling-chicken and i'm here to ask you what your favorite season of stranger things is

i’ve been to your account before but didn’t realize that you were a byler anon 😭 hello chicken anon 🫶

probably s2!! it’s the byler season and it’s also just so enjoyable! the acting is phenomenal, though it is in every season tbh but like wow yk

i also really like s3 bc of the scoops troop, idk i just love their group and all of the scenes with them, especially robins coming out scene

[thesherrinfordfacility]

okay let's get them hard truths out in the open following episode 6, bearing in mind that i am in the UK and am therefore chronically sleep-deprived, and have watched the Feral Domestic™ maybe only like oh 7 times:

crowley is as much at fault as aziraphale. they are both as bad as each other. their own individual idiosyncrasies are literally the other's emotional downfall and if im honest im not entirely sure there's any way they can adequately move past it.

waxed on and on and on about it, but aziraphale's issue is not that he has any allegiance to heaven. he doesn't at all, and that is obvious in his initial reaction to the metatron, in that he essentially says that he knows his place and it is not Up Above. it is right there in the bookshop, and with crowley (even if he didn't consciously think it that explicitly at the time). he doesn't want any part of the heaven that it currently is, he has had enough and is tired of trying to be the angel that hides who he is and what he wants from his existence. that much is very much clear.

but the mantra throughout most of life is to be the change you want to see in the world. look at the major societal issues that are happening in the world today; people are rising up and fighting for what is right, and what they believe in, and wanting to make changes. now look at this opportunity that aziraphale has been given. regardless of the questionable motive of the metatron offering it to him; if you were in his position, could you say you'd find it easy to refuse that?

the issue here with aziraphale is that he (again, ill harp on about it until the cows come home) thinks that crowley - this demon that isn't a good demon because he is good and kind and gentle - would want to have his place in making that change happen; be by aziraphale's side whilst they create the world and heaven that is different from the largely shit one they've always known, hated, and feared. this is where the Pedestal comes in; like i said before, aziraphale has now been confronted with the fact that this demon, his best friend and love of his life, is acting in the way he's always acted but that aziraphale refuses to acknowledge... because to acknowledge crowley's shortcomings (which ill discuss in a sec) would be to question aziraphale's faith in him, and mean falling from the pedestal that has been aziraphale's status quo for the last few thousand years at minimum.

edit: this also needed adding because it touches on aziraphale's tendency to hold himself superior to crowley, which he also does in the Domestic scene.

crowley's issue is twofold. one, he cannot move on from the fall. second, that he is sometimes a manipulative and childish shit. the first is obvious, and his recent experiences with heaven have only compounded this (ie his conversation with gabriel/goob, where he lays into him about gabriel's part in the cruelty shown towards aziraphale to the point he almost makes goob kill/injure himself). crowley can also however be incredibly cruel borne out of his own pain. there were major hints in s2 that not only did crowley fall (no matter what the metatron says, im still not convinced he fell for only asking questions) but he fell from a great sodding height that in his mind should have made him untouchable. my thoughts on morality in heaven have already been discussed, but that must have had a huge impact on crowley; it is no wonder that it's a sore point and he feels bitter, resentful, and angry.

in the above context, id want nothing to do with heaven either. but crowley doesn't communicate and im guessing that his feelings about the fall are a No Go area in terms of what he's shared with aziraphale... so for crowley to assume that aziraphale turned down the metatron is grossly unfair - how was aziraphale necessarily meant to know how deep his trauma (if we're applying human mental health constructs) runs? he isn't to know that at all - so it does track that aziraphale would think that crowley would want to help him make a difference so they don't have to keep getting involved in the toxicity that is the heaven/hell politico-moral dichotomy.

what also upset me about the Domestic was the kiss. i loved it for what it was in isolation and it was a long time coming, and a huge movement in the dance they constantly have with each other, but it was in essence manipulative. i realise crowley was on his last emotional straw and yes, perhaps the love and devotion got too much for him to contain... but he literally just stood there and heard aziraphale tell him that he wanted crowley and he wanted them to be together. there were no qualms at all that aziraphale loves him as much as he loves aziraphale. so, what was the kiss meant to prove?

to my mind, it was manipulation; specific, a temptation. whilst very romantic and 'sweep him off his feet with the violins playing', it was also non-consensual and unwarranted on crowley's part - to the point of being derogatory and redundant (lets be clear: not a criticism on Neil for adding the kiss, im purely talking about crowley as a character and his Choices here). there was nothing to prove, nothing that that kiss could have possibly convinced aziraphale to do. so the only thing that leaves, imo, is that it was a temptation. crowley does not typically use temptation in this way, or at least that's the impression ive had throughout s1 and s2, so he chooses now is the time? to tempt aziraphale into staying with him? of course he does!

he's desperate, but also childish and immature and completely ignorant of what aziraphale is actually saying to him. aziraphale never denied him; aziraphale wanted him in this opportunity exactly by his side as he always has been. but that didn't fit with what crowley wanted, so he tried to make aziraphale bend to his will. aziraphale says the fatal words "i forgive you", but if he has (as i suspect he has) realised that crowley was trying to manipulate him... well, id probably say something as damning to crowley as 'i forgive you' too.

when aziraphale said 'nothing last forever', i realise crowley took that to mean him and the life that they built together, but it obviously wasn't that at all. aziraphale is saying that they have eternity ahead of them, that he wants to spend it with crowley, whatever has to end around them (ahem the world? apocalypse from s1, anyone?). aziraphale demonstrated consistently throughout s2 that he is trying to give crowley his own agency where heaven/hell are concerned (paraphrased but: "I want you to help me but if you don't want to, you are free to leave"). crowley however seemed that he was constantly one foot out the door in case things got Too Much (which, you know - valid) but aziraphale really did his best to make crowley not only not feel suffocated but also that crowley was wanted. and for anyone that is a tough balancing act.

the two of them have had 6000+ years of Not Really Communicating. this is the detritus that remains when they don't, and it was absolutely needed in this season. for them to break apart and break in and of themselves. s3 needs to be where they learn more about themselves than each other, and stop believing that the other is infallible, because such thinking - worship, blind faith - only ends badly.

[wonderingwhyiam]

[GOS2 SPOILERS] About that Kiss...

I was looking at Mr. Gaiman's reply to that one ask about kisses and how he said "if you haven't got it by then you'll never get it". And I was thinking about all the gifsets and imagesets and meta posts unanimously calling the kiss Crowley's confession. But it's not a confession, at least not the confession of love that it's being taken as. (For that, we need a lot of context, but beware because it's a while before I get to the actual kiss.)

First: Aziraphale and Crowley have been in love, if that's what we can call the transcendental connection between two supernatural entities, since basically the start of the show. It's always been canon, they've both known about each other's feelings (think Aziraphale saying that Crowley gets so happy when he can rescue him, think Crowley accompanying his angel through the whole magic show song-and-dance because he knows Aziraphale is doing it for him). They're certainly not under the impression that their affections are unrequited.

Second: Crowley may know that Aziraphale loves him, but he also knows that Aziraphale's understanding of him and of love in general is different from his own. Crowley has understood that neither heaven nor hell are entirely black or white, and that's one of the reasons he wants to stay on Earth (along with many others). But Aziraphale hasn't, and a central theme of many S2 scenes is Crowley trying to show Aziraphale that the 'heavenly' way isn't always right. This leads to an ongoing conflict between them, one which neither of them acknowledge and Aziraphale doesn't even seem to be aware of.

To put this into perspective: think of that one friend, relative, partner, whatever of yours who is in a toxic/abusive situation. Think of your frustration that they just don't understand how bad it is, because they've never known any other way of living. And if you've ever been in the same situation and gotten out, then you know that it takes a lot of mental effort and willpower to realise that you need to get out instead of trying to improve it from within.

Now let's go back to Crowley. He, like the audience, finds it obvious that Metatron is only manipulating Aziraphale back into their control. Aziraphale just seems so naïve for thinking that it'll be better from the inside. Doesn't he see that Crowley and his bookshop and the Earth are where he'll be happy?

But from Aziraphale's point of view, a figure in extreme power who he trusts to be correct has just told him that he can have all three of these and more. Aziraphale has come to see that his coworkers and/or superiors aren't really good (remember the end of S1), but still believes that the side of Heaven is good overall (an example is the grave-digging bit). Textbook forgiveness of your abuser, but let's not get into that. A 'perfect' solution (bringing his partner into Heaven aka the abusive situation with him so that they can 'redeem' it and as an added bonus pull his partner out of a situation which Aziraphale thinks is bad) has just appeared. Why isn't Crowley seeing it?

So finally, third: what is Crowley going to do? he's been trying to get his angel out of this mindset for literal millennia, but Aziraphale still thinks that Heaven is unilaterally good. Aziraphale still tries to deny his love for Earth, despite his every action pointing to the opposite (such as the fact that he literally preserves books for as long as possible, but says 'nothing lasts forever' as if he's okay abandoning it all) and still thinks that Crowley would come to heaven if he could. At this point, Crowley knows that his millennia of love and effort aren't enough. He is starting to feel like they'll never be enough. And we get him putting on his glasses, shutting himself off, making some last-ditch attempts to remind Aziraphale that he's losing all of Crowley's faith and vulnerability towards him by repeatedly choosing Heaven. Not just that, he's losing the magic of humanity as well (no nightingales). Aziraphale says he needs Crowley, so why does he never try to understand him? Why does he always call it "tempting" and never accept that maybe there isn't a single definition of Good?

That kiss isn't a confession; there's nothing to confess. They've both thrown all their cards on the table and none of them match. It is not an "I love you." It is an "I love you, but." I love you, but I can't keep trying and waiting and trying and waiting only for you to choose your abusers every time. I love you, but your constant denial of my good intentions has worn me down. I love you, but I'm tired.

And so Crowley leaves. He'll wait, of course, with his Bentley, but he can't keep taking the first step and then being told he's going "too fast for" Aziraphale. And when Aziraphale once again chooses his own familiar hell in heaven over everything else, what else can Crowley do but accept it?

[bewilderedbuck]

Devi vs. David: aka a comprehensive list of every single time ben gross has referred to devi as one or the other (season one edition)

okay, first things first, i am linking this post and this one, both by @catty-words, because they're so well-worded and honestly, probably explain a lot better than i can about the whole devi vs. david thing (even though those are about s2 and this one is about s1). seriously. go read those, then come back. this post is just going to be cataloging every instance in season one where ben calls her one or the other, with context + insight but i'm likely not going to be going super in-depth. i mainly wanted to document this for my own purposes. i will also be creating a separate post for season 2, so expect that sometime in the near future.

ANYWAYS. here we go, i guess.

"...was just about the saddest thing I’ve ever seen.”

here we have the first instance of ben referring to her as david. they're still nemeses, obviously — this is in 1x01, they're not close, they know each other but still only really see the other in the negative sense. (or so we're told, at least; i have a whole theory about how ben has been crushing on devi the whole damn time but we'll get into that at a later date) he calls her david here because it's part of their banter, and we can infer that he has likely been calling her that prior to 1x01. this is also the same instance he refers to the un, which she calls him out for, as she should! but you know what she doesn't call him out for? david. from this very first instance we can infer that she does not give a shit that he calls her david.

"...because you went straight-up psycho and couldn't walk for three months.”

okay, so bear with me here, this might be reaching, as well as a few others down the line. but i think his tone is softer here than it tends to be when they banter pre-friendship. he knows he's hitting close to her trauma, to the cause of her paralyzation and reason for seeing a therapist. calling her david while referencing to her biggest trauma just would not be in good taste, imo.

"...I know how hard it is to memorize seven facts.” / "Yeah, Devi, please share your mumble with the rest of the class.”

ok, so they're in a classroom setting, and he has just, in his own words, "pwned" her as her "intellectual superior" (way to be humble, benjamin). he's got this hoity-toity air about him in this scene, calling her devi because it's more mature of him and as her "intellectual superior" he should appear that way. also, they're in a classroom setting and shapiro is paying attention to them (not that anyone else in the class is lol)

okay, so he doesn't refer to her as either devi or david after 1x02 until we get to 1x05. here, he's on the defensive, obviously. she is threatening to nuke him. literally. no time for banter or nicknames when your entire country is about to be wiped out, am i right?

he doesn't know why she's mad at him yet. he's trying to slip back into their banter, to worm his way back into that sliver of not-quite-nemeses-anymore-but-still-not-quite-friends that they had going on for all of two seconds in 1x05. he wants to go back to normal, or at least some version of normal, where she only hates him because of their academic rivalry and not whatever it is she’s holding against him now. (which of course he immediately learns is the whole sleeping-with-pax thing, but he still doesn't know why she's upset about that.)

this is obvious i feel like i don't have to explain that he calls her devi here because he's having dinner with her family lmao anyways moving on

"...I actually think I am going to have a party tonight.”

boy is crushing HARD. he is SO JEALOUS. speaking up immediately after pax makes the "you look great here" comment? having a party just so devi will come? ok, jay gatsby jr, i see you. ANYWAYS. imo he calls here david here to take back some of the control he just lost after pax showed up. because "david" belongs to ben and devi and nobody else.

the smile on her face in this scene when he greets her. the smile on his face when he sees her. they are in love, your honor. anyways. this is, imo, the first time we see david being used as a term of endearment. their friendship has been solidified after the events at the end of 1x06, and it shows. she is excited to see him and he is, very obviously, excited to see her.

"...Um, did something kinda weird happen? Or did I do something dumb at my party?”

aaand we are on the defensive again lol. david once again being used as a means to control the situation and deflect away from that horrifying failed kiss attempt back in 1x08.  dude is freeeaaaking the fuck out, because he knows now that he has this stupid big crush on devi (that he’s probably had the whole damn time, even prior to 1x01, if we’re being real here), but he just got her as his friend and doesn’t want to screw it up. so. blame it on the booze. throw in a friendly nickname. hope for the best.

obv i don't have like, concrete evidence for this because we only see the literal last day she stays with ben, but i have this theory that during her stay, he defaults to calling her david to keep his guard up. because again. he knows he has this stupid huge fucking crush on her. so, keeping up with the old nickname helps establish those boundaries in his head. (this is also the last time we see him refer to her as david in season one.)

but then there's this, immediately after he refers to her as david in front of his father. because he is worried about her. because she is making rash, dumb decisions without thinking anything through (you know, like trying to get emancipated from her mom and refusing to spread her dad’s ashes)

again, he is going for serious, worried as fuck, for the same reasons listed above. hoping that her friends will see reason for concern just like he does, because his friendship with her is so new and if she’s going to listen to anyone, it's going to be them. this is the first time we ever see ben refer to devi to other people without her being present, and this is also the last time we see him refer to her as devi in season one.

[rinaisloved]

Can I just say that when Rini happened in s1 and Portwell happened in s2 I just moved on and went on with my life. Yet all I see are people so upset about Rina they just can’t seem to let go. I mean I could have also complained about the writing of the show considering Rini getting together destroyed any individual character development they had in season 1 and EJ randomly liking Gina halfway through the season made no sense with no lead up. Yet I decided to wait out and see how the ships progressed.

I don’t understand the constant need for people to try to discuss why Rina wasn’t supposed to happen, it only happened because Olivia left, etc… Like I’m sorry to say but does it really matter at the end of the day? You can voice your opinion to make yourself feel better all you want but it isn’t going to change the fact that Rina did happen. In the end it’ll just remain an opinion, not some concrete fact only you’ve discovered. I’m sorry that your ship was collateral damage in the process but I’ve also suffered through Gina moving away for Rini to get together and Rina not interacting at all in 2b for Portwell to get a chance. Not to mention 3 seasons of forced chemistry between Rini and Portwell with unsubstantial forgetful scenes.

Real fan service would’ve been giving Rini a long distance relationship so we’d have to see the whole change story once again with another potential breakup. Or keeping PW together in s4 just for us to go through the same themes of not being on the same page as a high school graduate versus junior. Because let’s be honest that’s the most obvious trope for teen shows it was basically inevitable for those two. Only difference is it would have been more than 2 weeks.

Rinas were called delusional all along and honestly some other shippers were pretty smug/rude about their ships becoming canon and Rina not. People would say we’re reaching but at the end we clearly saw the lead up so we’re not surprised Rina happened.

TLDR: It’s time for Rina to get their chance. If you think your ship is superior just trust it’ll prove itself. Thats really all you can do. That’s what I did.

[alphinias]

https://www.tumblr.com/alphinias/736177358693957632/i-saw-you-just-finished-mlwtwb-and-its-no-master

“The girls that get it get it”

YES THEY DO.

The kiss scene had me feeling HOT might have re watched a few times… wouldn’t mind a season 2 as long as they’re end game. No chemistry with the other brother I’m afraid, if anything came across creepy and gave off Jeremiah vibes, big ick for me.

Nice easy watch if you like that kind of stuff!

I rewatched the kiss several times and definitely plan to revisit it. IT WAS SO GOOD. The pulling each other in and the hand on her neck 🤭 even if the show is too trashy for you I’d recommend checking out the jackiecole kiss because!!!

I waffled back and forth on how I felt about Alex (between mild aw and wow he’s insufferable) and liked him the least in the middle of the show. I think he was mostly a nice guy and the way he was nicest to Jackie and his little lord of the rings obsession was cute, but I always get irritated fast at younger brothers who resent the cooler older brother to the point of “oh so you actually hate him yikes”. I think he’s more justified than Jeremiah but agree he gave me the ick a little at times and definitely picked up some similar vibes between the two of them. At the end of the day it’s just obvious he and Jackie aren’t right for each other and it’s one of those cases of “if you like him, why would you ship him with her?”

Superior chem aside I think it’s clear the narrative is pushing Cole. If Jackie was my friend or little sister, I’d tell her to stay the hell away, but I’m all for it in this kind of media lmao. I think he’d be endgame, at least eventually. The plot getting too out of hand for even me? Could be a possibility but I’d check it out regardless. I have serious doubts we’ll get a S2 which is why I’m really glad they at least gave us that kiss if nothing else.

[honorhearted]

Over the years, I've seen varying theories about why Ben spared Arnold's life (aside from the obvious "gotta keep him in the plot" armor), so I would like to give my two cents -- AKA yet again, I would like to meta about something that absolutely nobody asked for.

For Ben, it's pretty plain early on that friends and family are at the pinnacle of what he's fighting for (he did, after all, risk many lives in S1 to rescue his father rather than thinking about the greater good). With that in mind, when we flash forward to S2 and Ben and Arnold have their first official conversation, Arnold immediately wins Ben over in a very simple way: he commends his brother, Samuel, on his valor and being a "fine soldier." Ben's face when Arnold speaks of Samuel makes that plain:

As someone who is arguably still grieving, and tamping down said grief for the sake of his duty, you can see in his eyes all the heartache and appreciation, and even relief to hear that someone out there actually acknowledges the sacrifice his brother made for the Cause. Here is someone who finally understands the idolized view he has of Samuel in his head, and there's a comfort in that affirmation that none of his superiors have given him thus far. In other words, by uttering what Ben needed to hear, Arnold gained an immediate ally.

IMO, S3 did a great job of showcasing how those you trust and revere can be just as twisted as the supposed enemy. The best examples for Ben are Reverend Worthington, who was a r.eligious figure just like his beloved and trusted father, and then, of course, Arnold's betrayal.

When we get to their showdown in 3x9, Ben is immediately faced with a choice: he can either k.ill Arnold for his treason, or he can spare his life. And just like with most of his decisions, it all boils down to friends and family. Arnold is one of his only remaining links to Samuel. In Ben's mind, how can he possibly take out the one person in camp who'd known Samuel to be as brave and heroic as he did? By k.illing Arnold, he'd be removing the only superior who'd known and appreciated Samuel, and thus, he'd also be snuffing out a part of his brother's legacy.

Ironically, one of Arnold's initial quotes to Ben was, "We do what is right. Then we live with the consequences." Arguably, sparing Arnold was right for Ben and only Ben, and he would eventually have to live with that decision (and thankfully that didn't turn out too badly).

tl;dr ~ Ben didn't spare Arnold for Arnold's sake or any last minute compassion; Ben let Arnold live so that Samuel could live on by proxy.

[mysteriouslybluepirate]

Life of Crime (2013) Ep 1 & 2 -Watching Con-Tent for #? Days cause I need serotonin till S2 OFMD ruins me. TODAY! DCI Ferguson

I'm back!

I highly recommend you watch the two episodes. They're full if the warnings aren't too much. Poll to vote on about this show down below!

Special thanks to the usual suspects who keep me sane If you haven't watched this, just ignore me:

@dianetastesmetal for randomly popping up on my dash, and giving me the inspiration to finally watch.

@ivegotnonameidea @gydima @kimpreg @treesofgreen @mossiestpiglet

------------------------------------------------------------------------

WARNINGS FOR: Discussions of Sexual assault of a minor. Rape is a large influence in the plot. Murder, kidnappings, and generally sexism generally focused around the 80s, a bit in the 90s. General ACAB esk behavior, fucking up evidence in a police investigation.

I know Hayley Atwell for some reason. OHHH yeah, right. Okay, warning right off the bat. I'm not a huge fan of her. This might make me biased, but I'm here to see twenty minutes at most of the screen time. 

God the 80s were weird, fashion, and social attitude. ETC. 

As I have said before. I would laugh if a British cop charged at me dressed like that.

I HEAR HIM. I hear CON

YESSS HELP HER CON(Of course, I'd want more like him straight up , but it's the 80s)

God he's pretty

(She gets concussed) Mam, please go lie back down. 

'They'd let anyone in'-sure, but probably not cops

If this is a cop show about women only trusting her cause she's a woman, then I'm on board. Kinda. Maybe.

Hi Con! GOD YOU LOOK GOOD. Hello, hello. You look stressed as shit. 

(A few scene jump) That's sweet, that her partner/supervisor knew she forgot her cap so he talked her up in front of their boss.

WELL, that's a shitty way to tell a person her daughter died. Seriously, how the fuck to you say those words without sympathy. 

Nice that a suspect gets tea, I guess

I'm assuming these are college students? Maybe?

I know we all as the audience know something more is going on here. But going behind your superior's back, on the clock, is still an issue. Especially if she's a rookie. Does she think because her boss was friends with her dad, she can just do whatever she wants?

No, you know what, I kind of agree with Ferguson. Especially if she's just joining cases willy nilly. The chain of commond in policing circles exists for a reason. Are we supposed to recognize that she is the only woman, yeah. Are we supposed to see her branching out as finding justice, yeah. But she's a cop who just got her badge. She shouldn't be working on these cases yet.

This feels like entrapment. 

Music's great tho

Oh yeah, when I deal, I do it in open doorways of a busy club. Perfectly lit. 

The criminal is a jackasses, great. 

God, seeing her just go out of her jurisdiction, in her personal time, to go investigate fucking bugs me. Is Ferguson a shit boss, hell yeah. Do these women not feel safe and don't want to speak up, and she feels a duty to do right by them yeah. It's overall just shit, cause she doesn't have the clearance she should to be involved. 

As much as I don't really like 

IS SHE FUCKING STEALING EVIDENCE. Oh she's ruining evidence? Ohhh Shit. 

I'm not saying we in the US should keep this energy for when the authorities act up…but

GOD HE'S HOT. In a nice white button up.

Awww he's so tired, wiping his eyes. Give him a cig, something to sip, and a blanket.  

LOOK HE ADMITTED SOME VERSION OF FAULT. GOSH. That's kind of rare. See, he's a jackass, but he wants to get shit done the correct way. Shame she undermined him.  

Overall: Not a bad episode. Something I'd never watch if Con wasn't in it. My disdain/dislike of Hayley Atwell does kinda ruin this a bit for me. Again, it's a mix. The cops should have had more empathy with the case, and it's a shame they needed a rookie to act sympathetically to the victim. She had to go behind their back to get it done, which again. There are obvious reasons cops need to jump through so many loopholes. She did something VERY illegal. This isn't justice, this is state-funded vigilantism. I wonder what bullshit she'll get up to in episode 2. 

Episode 2:

Babe, you will never, ever be treated as one of the guys. You can work your way up, know them for years, but that will always be a barrier. Getting to know your coworkers is fine, yeah, but damn. Spending your whole life just so a few men respect you sounds like shit. 

That's like, a decade time jump, right? Damn. Nvm, maybe she found a comfortable niche. 

THOSE TWO FUCKIN? THEY HAD A KID? Good for them. They're cute. I totally didn't see it in Ep 1. I just thought he was being a nice guy helping out the newbie….

Nice for Grandma to do that for them.

Kids need routines babe, if dad makes pancakes, he probably has the stuff. I know cooking isn't everyone's thing but it is like…5 ingredients? Maybe make the meal with your kid and connect? Unless she literally planed to get ready in 20 minutes and kinda forgot she had a kid. 

Love how the office changed

This guy's probably a stalker then. Gross. The fact that he has bipolar disorder makes me cautious. 

OH SHIT. Wait, didn't she fuck with that evidence?

BITCH? Why are you scared of a DNA test? Sketchy fucker. 

Yeah, this situation is a bit shit. 

Good of her for ensuring there were more women on the force. 

Oh, the jackass who hit on her is investigating her, fun. 

SUPERINTENDENT Ferguson. Good for him. Bitch didn't have a life outside of work then. Damn, shame. Looking like that? Unrealistic. 

How the fuck were they able to pull CCTV so fast. 

MY GUY, MY MAN! THE LONG JACKET! AHHHH. 

Legit. Let them take it. 

GOD, he's hot. LOOK AT HIM. Stepping away from the stress of every day juggling a police force did him well. I hope the reason he's saying all this shit about finding time for himself is because he genuinely learned his lesson. He seems so fucking soft in this episode. More patient, and like the man we met at the beginning in ep 1.

I AGREE. She doesn't need to step in. 

GOD HE NEEDS A LOVE INTEREST. The sad little bureaucrat learning how to love. Learning to slow down and live life.

Whelp, you dug yourself into this mess. Good Job! I'm glad they immediately finish up the story. 

BRO. Even if you didn't make a life together, it was still a shitty thing to do regardless. 

Haaahaahaa. That's what you get for fucking with evidence, you idiot.  

Oh, I know exactly what she should say. 'Uhhhh…well, i'm the one that forged the evidence, so there might be a conflict of interest.'

SHIT

WHY DOES THE CROWN STILL USE WIGS!!!!! God, they're so ugly, it's fucking funny. 

Come on Ferguson, do the right thing here. 

DAMMNNNNNNNN. Nice babe, don't fucking throw yourself down with her for doing something dumb. He did everything he could.

Oh shit. They seriously brought her rape up in court, damn. 

Yeah, no, this would be leading the witness, and she obviously didn't know this would be brought up. 

Bro, just fucking admit to it. Jesus Christ. 

Whyyyyyyyyyy wouldn't you take the deal. Even if he did the crime she helped falsify evidence. 

Wait, what happened? Why did England go on holiday in the 90s? I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT HAPPENED IN ENGLAND PAST THE 1890s. 

Yeah, going on a break would be healthy for both of them. Good on him for standing up for himself. 

I AGREE! RAY! GET IT! Plus so much of their lives are at work, the only time they have together is after. They can't legally discuss cases. What do they have besides trust? She broke that. 

OKAY. Buddy, you can't just insist on full custody, that's not how divorce works. You both are fucking cops, and make enough that you can actually come to an agreement in court. 

Yeah, he's a good dad. Still, they should settle this legally so if something goes wrong he's not held accountable. Or if either of them gets snippy and decides to use the kid as leverage.

Yeah, she would make enough money as a sergeant alone to survive. Jesus Christ, giving yourself away to a cause or a job isn't Noble. Never has been. Look at Ferguson. He gave his life to this shit and all they did was promote him up. Now, what does he have? Days filled explaining the law with rich fuckers, and no time to live.   

SHE SHOULD BE ARRESTED! Accept the fucking findings Jesus Christ. 

GOD I HATE HER. That judge/lawyer representing the crown is just as much an arm of the law as you are asshole, was it shitty to bring it up like that? 

Yeah! 

But that's an obvious motive. SHOCKING. But the law is just kind of like that, impersonal and driven only by facts you can prove. Especially toward victims of sexual assault. Putting people away from just vibes alone is dangerous. Our protagonist was acting like this judge was being shitty, she's doing her job. You put a man away for twelve years, regardless of if you think he's guilty, on ruined evidence. He was within his right to have his case investigated further. It wasn't personal. 

OH! So you start getting snippy with her in the parking lot then back out of the conversation like a child! YOU'LL STILL NEED TO WORK WITH THIS JUDGE AT SOME POINT YOU IDIOT! YOU FUCKING IDIOT! 

Ahhhhh, resting at a hotel room. Nice. 

Overall for the episode? I liked her getting her just deserts, but CON WAS BARELY IN IT. He was a smokeshow for his one scene, but…Nah, seeing Haily Atwell get bullied will always fulfill a petty hole within me. 

---------------------------------------------------------------

AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Con: 11+/10. Look, I love this scraggly little guy. If a Con character can be summarized as *He needs a friend, a fuck, and to realize his life has meaning outside of his work* That will always be a character that I will love. He's tired, he's overworked, he's devoted. He's got it all. I have no notes of criticism beyond 1.) I needed a whole lot more of him. 2.) I needed to see him learn to love life specifically. I get that he's a mirror for our protagonist, what she could become, but god. Seeing it would have been great.

I generally can't stand law series/shows that focus on cops. See my thoughts on Murder City, and yeah. This one isn't great. But Con was so fucking good in this. An angry guy, stressed, trying to keep things in order so they don't get slammed in the press. Is his hesitating to correctly investigate all aspects of the case shittily? Hell yeah! But our protagonist literally had no experience. So. I don't see him as being totally out of his mind. Really fun, I need more. Especially ep 2 Ferguson.

Also, he's hot. Aged like wine, but still, not the man we thirst for today! Highly enjoy it. Especially all the lovely images @dianetastesmetal has given us.

Everyone else: 6-7/10. Again. I'm biased and I acknowledge that. But it was alright. What you'd expect from a cop procedural. Everyone's an asshole or just bound up in so many loopholes they are ineffective.

Story: Definitely intriguing, if the point was for us to hate our protagonist, they did good. I enjoyed seeing her get punished for abusing her position.

Overall: 8/10. I'm not sure I would rewatch it, but I really didn't hate it! Con was good, and for me, his implied arc was almost as interesting as the show itself. A good show about how devoting your life to work is kind of shit. I will be adding this show to the con ranking, so that should be updated soon.

[juodojimirtis]

Adriel from Warrior Nun is such a great example of the traditional Antichrist image in media.

Adriel has similarities to both the Antichrist and Satan, really. For example, he was imprisoned for a thousand years. If I remember correctly, in the traditional Christian timeline, Satan is imprisoned for a thousand years, then released, the Earth experiences a period of Tribulation, after which comes the whole Eschaton. Adriel was imprisoned for a thousand years. Tribulation is supposed to last for seven years I think, but the Antichrist apparently rules for three and a half (according to Revelation). In Warrior Nun, Adriel "reigns" for two months, but who knows, William Miller was so active in the efforts to save the show, maybe he'll return for season 3 (#warriornunsaved). We can only hope. Besides, Adriel's girlfriend's name is Lilith...

Now, let's start from the obvious. The Mark of the Beast. The ironic part - the Mark is a cross (eh, still, "Six six six, Number of the Beast" sounds better than "Spiked Cross, Symbol of the Beast", or something like that). Adriel's followers have it tattooed (be it not necessarily on the forehead, or the right hand). The show didn't portray it as needed for things like buying and selling (Rev. 13:18), it's more symbolic. But, Adriel is merciless to opposition, he tortures them, intimidates them, kills them, and, his weird burning light scorches them. Very on-point for the Antichrist.

"The Beast" in Rev. has seven heads and ten horns. I haven't noticed a nod to it (let me know if anyone else did), nor to leopards, but one of the heads is supposed to have a healed mortal wound, which makes people hail the Beast. Adriel literally receives a head wound that heals in Season 1 finale. And, he gets stabbed in the neck in S2. On live TV. And heals. Then laughs like a crazy person. The whole "who could compare to the Beast" is true in the show - people literally have posters saying "Only Adriel can save you". Like Kristian said, he's here. He's not an idea, he's not distant. He's living and breathing, and among people.

The Second Beast, or the False Prophet, I think is Kristian. The False Prophet is essentially The Antichrist's PR angent, which is a good way to describe Kristian. He helps Adriel perform his false miracles, he does his best to convert people (most notably Jillian and Duretti). Also, Kristian is a former clergyman who lost his faith in pursuit of "truth". Very fitting.

Rev. makes it clear that the Beast comes before the Great Battle. Lilith mentions there's a "Holy War" coming. Adriel was doing his best to stop it. That's all I need to say.

The Antichrist is supposed to blaspheme against God. If Reya is "God", Adriel certainly does that. But... Is she? I have my suspicions about her. I wouldn't be surprised if she were the Dragon instead, Adriel being her "Beast with Wrath", who maybe rebelled against her. She is a being of Light (Lucifer...), her servants are suspiciously demonic. Still... Would Adriel identify with Satan, then? The "Devourer of Worlds" he spoke of coud be someone else entirely.

V. Soloviov describes the Antichrist as someone with plans to bring great things to mankind, someone who would inspire peace, not war. That's literally Adriel. Adriel also doesn't "deny God" - he either seeks to be superior, or portrays himself as the Messiah for his own gains. Adriel is extremely intelligent, charming, powerful, and extremely prideful (not to mention attractive). He doesn't exactly become the President of Europe, neither the Emperor of Rome, but people for sure do give him the highest of honours (it's a shame the show didn't pay too much attention to his political influence; he's a born politician, he's so Machiavellian). Adriel seeks to take over the Church. He offers great gifts to Religions (I assume not only Catholicism, but others too; he focuses so much of Catholicism because of it's power, as well as a personal vendetta) if they cooperate with him. He demands to be recognized as the true Lord and Savior, and he wants to erase Christ. Duretti refuses, so he's killed with the whole World as the witness. I'm sure if the season were longer, Kristian would have become the Pope (he reminds me so much of Apollonius, even though Apollonius is obviously meant to be Rasputin; when you compare Soloviov's work to historical context (Russian Empire), the allegories are clear - people often write what they know after all, and philosophers criticise their own society). Adriel scorns the notion of "higher life", wants to create "Heaven on Earth". He literally asks " What about this World?" The Opposition isn't banished to the desert in a literal sense, but is small, and has to go into hiding, however briefly.

That being said, shame on Duretti. How hard was it to shout "Children, Antichrist!" while pointing at Adriel?.. Would have been more impactful than a dusty Bible verse.

According to Soloviov, the Antichrist builds a cathedral to unite all cults. That, I need not comment on. Like the Antichrist, Adriel writes his own Bible. Shame we never learn more about it.

Soloviov describes the Antichrist's followers as a "nameless crowd". The FBC, and Adriel's followers, match such a description. That being said, they have a great taste for uniforms. He also mentions how the Antichrist's miracles only appear supernatural to people. Use of ArqTech, anyone?.. Besides, it can also be true because Adriel isn't a biblical entity, he only pretends to be one.

Lithuanian author A. D. Jakštas described the Antichrist as becoming incredibly cruel to opposition once masses follow him. It isn't portrayed too widely in the show, but implied pretty heavily, and in more ways than a burning light from the sky. I had to mention one of my own at least once, and without a comparison of the Antichrist to Soviet Russia or bolsheviks. I know why people did so (especially when Christianity functioned as an important part of cultural resistance), but still, it's incredibly hurtful to me personally, to see a concept I admire (the Antichrist) compared to something I despise.

I guess one could wonder if the show's creators knew about such views, given Adriel said something about power being shared by everyone, not hoarded by gods, but at the same time, his actions reflected the hypocrisy of... certain regimes and so-called philosophies. I wouldn't be surprised. They clearly knew what they were doing. Was I upset about it, being a fan of Adriel? Of course. But artists do what they want. I always say that, I must stand by that. Oh, and I'd rather not have arguments about politics with anyone. We're here for Warrior Nun, not that.

R. H. Benson describes a leader who rises above all nations of the world, and who has an incredible ability to manipulate people's minds and lives. That's Adriel. The world flourishss in regards to science and culture. That can be said about the Warrior Nun Universe. The author identifies the Antichrist with the Freemasons. That isn't reflected in the show. But, the show does portray a conflict of Christianity and other movements - both with Adriel, and with ArqTech.

Like R. H. Benson describes, Adriel is talked about by everyone (social media...), many have a good opinion of him even before meeting him. He's charismatic, knows a lot of languages, can be described as an erudite (why does he have a bunch of books in piles on his porch, I'm not sure, but he deserves a Supernanny finger wag for it... At least.) There isn't an episode of like... All countries signing a peace treaty, but it's something I think Adriel would have them do. Again, I think he deserved more screen time. The effect he, and his cult, had on society, deserved more screentime. We only see his followers chanting his name. What other forms of worship does FBC practice? What are their main philosophical and theological dogmas? How to they reflect in daily life? What is written in Adriel's Bible? And so much more.

Adriel obviously idolizes peace, as I've mentioned already. A direct quote from him: "Hasn't humanity suffered enough?" I think that could be from Benson. He creates a new religion. I'm sure Adrielism has it's own ceremonies, feast days... So much potential. Of course, it's new, and it needs better liturgy. A proper hymn or two. Adriel, honey, come on... You had a thousand years. "Ave Adriel, Salvatore Mundi..."? Or something?

Adriel calls himself the Savior. I think the only reason why the show's creatos may not have had him call himself the Alpha and the Omega (the Beginning and the End), is because they are in touch with fandom culture... We all know how these beautiful Greek words have been desecrated in our demented world. We all know... If you don't, I beg you, stat innocent. Stay sane.

Adriel does not desecrate religious sites. But maybe his followers do. I wouldn't put it past FBC, running around the streets with bats. Cultists will be cultists.

I think WN takes place in current times (2000 20's). So, first half of the 21st century. According to many, that's when the Antichrist is supposed to show up. I'm not Ava. I will not make any jokes about the current state of the world.

Adriel certainly imitates Christ enough. His Messiah Classic fashion (which he looks rather attractive in), walking on water... Don't you, Mr. Walks Barefoot In Dead Insect Fountain Water Soup?.. And, not only imitates. He inverts. He builds an inverted temple.

Like the Antichrist according to Spirago, Adriel lets people live how they wish, do what they want (the scene in S2E1 illustrates it well - the one where Vincent "brings a lady home"). Spirago says that the Antichrist will have an easy time fighting Christianity because of godlessness in the world. I think, Adriel has an easy time for other reasons - Christianity has been used in many horrible crimes, and he has many good arguments, even though his "I ask for nothing" isn't exactly true.

The Pope defends the faithful (according to many authors). Which Duretti does, despite all his machinations. I saw some say he cared only for his own power, but I doubt it. Did he care for his own power? Yes. But did he also sincerely saw a threat to everyone in Adriel, and wanted to help others by exposing him? Also yes.

Can the OCS be seen as the religious order opposing the Antichrist spoken of by some?.. I's say so. They are his main adversaries. His main capable adversaries. Despite the irony of him helping create the Order. Now as I mention it, was Areala supposed to be the original Second Beast? Maybe. The only theory I really entertain about the early OCS, is that Adriel was really in love with Areala, and she with him, but she saw him for the... Beast he was, so she sacrificed herself, and her heart, for everyone else. Parallels with The Omen III, huh?..

Adriel has a whole army (FBC), even though his Capital is Madrid, not Babylon. Adriel talks about the tendency of people to worship money, in spite of avoiding the strategy in favor of terror. He doesn't raise the dead (Ava does...), or heal the sick, but he talks about it. His followers being possessed also reminds me of something. I don't remember who said it, yet apparently, the people the Antichrist resurrects are supposed to be devils in disguise.

The moments ifn the show of various screens showing Adriel's broadcast... That screamed Antichrist. And him killing the Pope. Everyone talks about the shot of Vincent putting the Crown on Ava. For me, it's Adriel striking Duretti. That scene makes my heart skip a beat, it's so beautiful. So meaningful.

I didn't go as in-depth as I thought I would, directly mentioned only a few authors... I'm afraid I could talk about this for days. I love to talk about this. Warrior Nun, and the Antichrist. Write me if you noticed something I missed! I apologize for any mistakes I left, and the... Personal bit. But hey... Everything is personal interpretation. Oh, and I apologize if the style I wrote this in is rather horrid. It's supposed to be the "crazy person ranting" style.

If I didn't make it clear enought, I love Adriel.

[muslimintp-1999-girl]

I think what keeps me coming back to Jelly (and perhaps keeps delusional) is that conversation with Belly and Taylor. I don’t think anything like it happened in the books, at least not the real vs dream comparison that keeps coming back. The fact that everyone says Jere is the “safe” option or “easy” choice despite the writers having Belly refer to a relationship as “real” and “scary” keeps me hanging on to a change in the endgame.

The show is superior. I know I haven't read the books but everything (except the jelly quotes) I have read/heard of the book excerpts just proves that to me. Plus I only came to know that the deb ball was a show only thing when I watched that interview of Lola, Chris and Gavin where the interviewer asked a question during the game. Like I can't imagine tsitp without the deb ball, it's such a big part of tsitp, like what even is there in book 1 then??? It's 100% super boring without the deb ball plot.

I would say that despite all the gaslighting by the b0nrad shippers and me keeping my hopes and expectations low, Jelly is definitely written as an endgame ship. They have endgame tier writing and it's so obvious, idk why people fail to see that.

And like yess I keep on saying how the show made Con better but also they acc made Jere better in s2 ep 8 too as per the book readers. Also I think they made Con worse in the finale too.

The show Jere and Belly are def superior and so in love ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤.

[insomniactalks]

y'all are absolutely insane trying to make it seem like rinas are crazy or delusional for being able to see what is right in front of all of us- there is GOING TO BE a ROMANTIC RINA PLOT this season. And EJ and ricky being friends doesn't make that any less true, it just means its going to be less chaotic than in the first season. At this point I'm convinced you guys are purposefully ignoring any and all new information (interview or sneak peek) that doesn't favour portwell endgame. It's not rocket science; EJ is busy this summer focusing on his roles at camp and his future and will likely self sabotage his relationship, putting it on the backburner but also maybe showing gina that maybe he hasn't changed as much as she'd thought. gina will be spending lots of time with ricky on and offstage, giving both of them time to realise that there's still more there. gina and EJ will amicably split at the end of the season (in fact she'll probably be the one breaking up with him), and rina will get some pseudo confession in the finale. I'm sorry if all this is coming off as rude but maybe in the future voice your predictions and theories about your own sitting duck ship without being condescending towards the fans of the other

Condescending: an adjective meaning "having or showing a feeling of patronizing superiority" (Oxford English). Literally the first thing I say in this post is the fact that I understand where Ricky and Gina shippers are coming from. I can absolutely see why you would think there is a romantic plot line for them this season given the content recently. Never do I claim yall are "crazy" or "delusional" or anything like that. But let's not act like some of y'all weren't still proclaiming Portwell as "sibling goals" in 2.05 to 2.12 , when the show made it fairly obvious there was something romantic going on b/t them. Just because it wasn't favor of y'alls ship, some tried to write off EJ and Gina as nothing more than friends in S2.🤦🏽‍♀️ I was simply offering my thoughts on what could happen b/t Ricky, EJ and Gina in S3. The very fact that you felt the need to send me a rant about my post tells me I probably struck a cord... if you're so confident about where you think the story is going to go, shouldn't that be enough? Why should my own opinions/theories/predictions affect you so, anon? 🤔

(Also, the irony of the post ur talking about not being condescending, but this one definitely is because you brought the pettiness out of me🤷🏽‍♀️)

[dadralt]

6, 17, & 22 for the choose violence game

salt under the cut <3

6. which ship fans are the most annoying?

how to choose? there are so many!

but bard stans do take the crown, especially the g*raskiers and y*nskiers.

you've got migratory slash fandom that i loathe and who of course latched onto the two white guys and were the first to turn this fandom so toxic. with all the hate towards anya & yen, erasing her over and over, diminishing her importance to ciri and geralt (the ciri has two dads & wine aunt yen thing? KILL IT WITH FIRE). and they also had to completely change the personalities of both geralt and j*skier, turning geralt into some evil person and woobifying the bard? all of it is so boring. it's your typical racism and misogyny of white slash ships.

then you've got the y*nskiers which is an entirely different bunch. they were bearable at first but s2 turned them into a toxic mess. their arrogance, superiority complex and condescension are unparalleled. with the obvious echo chamber going on. i've had to block so many of them because they made this fandom a really shitty place for me to be in :/ which sucks cause i used to appreciate some of them but oh well...

17. there should be more of this type of fic/art

i feel like i repeat this every time i get this ask but F/F ART!!!!!! god. hopefully with philippa being in s3 we'll get some more merihart but also just trissefer, trissbrina, yenbrina, yengilla, etc etc. this fandom has aid*n, v*ldo marx who are 100% completely made up but can't bother to invest in women who actually matter in canon??? not that i'm surprised but it's endlessly frustrating

also because i hate g*raskefer, there needs to be more ot3 love for like yen/triss/geralt or yen/geralt/istredd or just any pairing WITHOUT the bard i'm begging you

and because i'm me and i'm shameless i want more smutty yenralt art lmao 😌😈

22. your favorite part of canon that everyone else ignores

lol we'd have to agree on which canon we're going off on first 😂

do i get to answer the fact that yenralt is endgame? lmao. i feel like so many people seem to think something else is gonna happen in the end (re: twn) 😅 i mean i know they don't exactly follow the books but still, come on

idk i feel like people tend to struggle with differentiating fanon and canon so often. ship your thing but admit it's not canon (and that's fine, it shouldn't diminish your enjoyment of it)

choose violence ask game

[loving-villanelle]

I actually remember how much the fandom hated the second season of KE compared to the first. No one liked Emerald and we all thought that she did a terrible job compared to PWB. It's funny to think about now after the shitshow that was the final season and the somewhat redeemable third season.

I don't know y'all because I loved season 2. Superior to s1 always, in my mind. s1 was great in it's own right because obviously it set up the story and these characters for us, but s2 was MY JAM I LOVED IT SO MUCH. I think a lot of people hated the ending of s2 for obvious reasons, because we all wanted them to run away to Alaska together and instead Eve got shot. But like, it was almost poetic because literally the lyrics to "When a Woman is Around" is "an eye for an eye is a blind man's rule" and that's what s2 was, Villanelle's eye for an eye. I know a lot of people think Villanelle wasn't justified while Eve was, but I disagree. Eve played into the dynamic between she and Villanelle for the entire season. She let Villanelle believe that there was something happening between them (there was something happening between them) but then tried to act like Villanelle was crazy and reading too much into things when things became too real. And maybe somebody who is used to dealing with emotions and conflict wouldn't have reacted by SHOOTING the other person, but Villanelle isn't any other person. She heard Eve reject her, she heard Eve tell her "what did you think we'd be Bonnie & Clyde?" which IS what Villanelle thought, because what reason had Eve given her to think otherwise?, and she saw Eve walking away from her and just reacted. I think they needed to reach that eye for an eye stage though to ever truly move forward, so I personally think it was actually really important to their story. I think sometimes the fandom can be too critical, because where did they want the story to go in s2? Like, what would've made them happier than what we got? We got Villaneve working together, a deep dive into them as individuals, as well as into their dynamic, and yeah it ended with a bang (quite literally) but so did s1. The music, the cinematography, the storytelling, the fashion, the love letter kills to Eve, the earpiece sex. WHAT MORE DID YOU PEOPLE WANT?!

[authenticsleeping]

1x08 and 4x03 parallels. ( + other 4x03 thoughts)

I just finished 4x03, and something that struck me is how similar its ending is to 1x08. Let me explain: at the end of 1x08, Eve lures Villanelle into a false sense of security by laying down next to her own and letting her think they're about to kiss and then places the tip of the knife to her abdomen and stabbed her through the gut, in a moment of smug superiority, she straddles Villanelle In an attempt to drive the knife deeper, she then snaps out of it is and is wracked with guilt. We see something similar in 4x03, albeit not as obviously. Eve sits next to Villanelle on the couch, tells her about the fable, and then lets Villanelle touch her injured hand, they share a soft look, and it almost looks like Eve Is finally going to give in Yusuf's texts, and it breaks that softness. Just like how Eve pointing the knife to V's gut back in 1x08 broke the softness of what was thought to be an almost kiss. They then share one last look before the cops come bursting through the door. Similar to the "you can't" "I can" exchange before Eve stabs V. Villanelle never takes her eyes off Eve as she is being taken away and looks vulnerable while Eve stares back smug and seemingly unaffected. Back in 1x08, Eve attempts to drive the knife further while Villanelle screams out in agony, telling Eve that she really liked her, and Eve starts to feel guilty. Eve appears to look smug right up until she's alone in the room, then briefly that smugness is gone, and a different expression is on her face, something a bit softer. After 1x08, Eve was so wracked with guilt she spiralled during the first few episodes of S2, and while I don't think she'll spiral in upcoming episodes, I don't think she'll feel as secure in her decision.

- it's worth pointing out that the last song lyric we hear before Yusuf texts is " I was wrong" and we all know by now how the show uses its soundtrack to express what's going on in the characters' minds, its all intentional. like how strange effect - the song from their first kiss- played when they were BOTH in the hotel room and stopped when Eve left. So to me, this suggests that Eve does feel bad for doing this to V even if it's not obvious

- I find myself agreeing with the theory that had yusef not texted when he did, Eve would've given in to V. her mask was started to slip when she got the text.

- rewatching the hotel scene I find myself thinking that if Eve really, truly wanted nothing to do with V like she's been acting she wouldn't have let her be in the hotel room for as long as she was. yes it was probably a power move but why give power to people you don't care about ( in any capacity)

[laufire]

RNM 3x03

Since I’m all caught up with the show now, why not resume my weekly posts.

I’m VERY wary about Rosa’s storyline, specifically in relation to Wyatt Long. Like, I cannot state how much I DO NOT WANT THIS. And look, I’ve seen the arguments. I believe in de-radicalization and harm reduction and all that jazz. But I do not want this storyline to turn into how Rosa, a WoC, has to ~teach or redeem Wyatt Long for his racist ways or whatever the fuck. I simply don’t trust this show with anything relating to race; its track record is appalling (I’m also side-eyeing the Not All Cops storyline they seem to be going for with Max). And I truly hope the speculation about them becoming romantic goes nowhere because the very thought of it makes my skin crawl, tyvm. I want plots about her powers or something. I swear I saw gifs of her and Michael having a scene, so I hope there’s something with that soon.

Kyle is getting focus! And an storyline involving his dad! And scenes with Rosa! And to express anger at others! And even a little emotional support by Isobel! I almost can’t believe it LOL. ANYWAY, I’m really looking forward to seeing more of him this season. I’ve seen speculation about both Kyluca or Kybel romances and ngl, at this point neither would bother me. It might be too many plots for the season though.

Liz needs to get in on the main plot ASAP. I was tired of seeing her side-lined in s2 and I don’t want to keep seeing it now. She’s now in Roswell so at least that’s something, but she needs to start working on the investigation, to meet Jones, etc. etc.

I like that Maria is deep in the season’s plot this year, although I hope she doesn’t overwork herself and that Liz can figure out a way to stop her brain cell degeneration. However, I don’t know what to make of Greg/Maria. They’re cute, I guess. But a.) I still don’t know if the actor is actually Indegenous like his character, and that would be TWICE in one show; and b.) he’s nice and handsome and all but I’m very meh about him. That I still like Miluca probably doesn’t help lol.

I’m LIVING for Michael’s new plot. This episode didn’t do as much with it as I would’ve liked (less freaking out about how you might be genetically evil and more excitement about your invulnerability to fire, dude) but I’ll wait patiently. He’s The Heir To The Dictator!! Who Michael’s mother spyed on, betrayed, and fought against!! He was superior powers!! Maybe immortality!! I love it all. I want to meet the Dictator ASAP (and for his actor to live up to my expectations. Fingers crossed). I want MICHAEL to meet the Dictator. In my ideal world he’d use Jones/Max’s powers to bring back Nora somehow so they can all have a family reunion lmao, but I doubt I’ll be so lucky :(. I hope I get a lot of Nora-Michael flashbacks (with him regaining his childhood memories, perhaps) and Nora-Dictator flashbacks (because I already ship them lmfao).

Jones is a lot of fun and I can’t wait to see him interact with everyone and mess with their heads. But first, for the love of all holy, SHAVE THAT BEARD (he probably will so he can impersonate Max at some point, but seriously. I mean it. SHAVE IT). Also, his conversations with Isobel and Max reinforce my theory that, perhaps, their mental link is because Nora & Louise used her powers to control Max as a kid (when he says something like, “oh, you think you’re connected to them...”).

Once again, fandom’s reaction to Alex saying anything positive about Maria makes me want to ask them if they’ve ever met real people añlsdkfja. They’re friends! He likes her! As a person! And maybe as a strange form of what-if!! It’s pretty damn simple and obvious to see!! He’s only supposed to hate her because she’s some HomewreckerTM in YOUR heads LMAO. Anyway, I’m not a big fan of Malex, mostly for the fandom; but admittedly, it won some points this week because of Alex’s certainty that Michael couldn’t be the one dead in the vision, because there’s NO WAY he would’ve covered it up if Michael was the victim. I also believe he wouldn’t have if it was someone Michael loved as much as Liz loved Rosa, let alone hid it from Michael. Take notes, Max xDD

Re: the mystery. As of now my #1 guess is Walt, with the flowers and the song hints. It’s... pretty absurd nobody proposed that posibility tbh. I hope he isn’t because I’m super fond of him and his dynamic with Michael, but I’m more afraid of other posibilities like Kyle. I think the visions would work differently if it was a member of the group (more concerned about other things, basically. Hopefully), but maybe they weren’t clear on who it was at the beginning and decided later on, so. idk.

[sashannarcy]

ok i'll bite. why does sasha have NPD

alright I'm gonna finally answer this I am very sorry to keep u waiting GJDKFJD it's just hard for me to talk abt NPD w/o going on and on and on BUT! I'll try to keep this informative while not talking for hours. enjoy the essay under the cut

NPD is usually hard to describe to people in general bc it's a HUGE uphill battle due to the crushing stigmatization surrounding narcissism, but first things first, narcissist ≠ manipulative abuser, so that is NOT what I'm saying Sasha Waybright is. yeah, they happen to be manipulative; it doesn't make them inherently bad. in any case I'm just gonna pull from the 9 basic DSM criteria for NPD bc I feel like that's the easiest way to go abt it, but ofc the base criteria are not a catch-all bc this is a mental disorder and it's nuanced. anyway. here we go:

1. has a grandiose sense of self-importance (e.g., exaggerates achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements)

they're a child soldier. not only that, they were put into place as the literal lieutenant of the toad army after... what. trying to escape from imprisonment? ofc that's gonna get to their head! have we SEEN Sasha's takeover of the Amphibia theme [go watch it if u haven't!]. they might have issues but they are living BIG and they know they are. she’s very clearly not humble abt how successful she’s been, esp when she meets up w Anne again, so we can def say she has that inflated ego.

2. is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love

I gotta say this one is less obvious to pick up from the narrative, but. not to push my Sashanne agenda or anything. HOWEVER. look at the way Sasha treats Anne in Reunion and at the end of s2 AND in Turning Point. if we make the allowance that Sasha has feelings for Anne, literally next to ALL of their actions in these parts of the plot can be seen as them obsessing over how they can create this ideal solution for Anne's troubles and how they can be a sort of savior. she urged Anne to leave Amphibia w her in Reunion; she had this whole master plan for Anne towards the end of s2 and True Colors as far as sending her home to be w her parents; Turning Point is now showing that she's committed to making things right w the whole "someone that deserves you" line. it's all just very. idk. they're clearly chasing this ideal situation where Anne can be happy and they can protect her again and I think that speaks for itself.

3. believes that they are “special” and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions)

throughout the show we don’t really see Sasha trying to make friends with anyone OTHER than character who have helped them in some way; these characters really need to work their way into their heart for them to consider them worthy of their attention [and they’re only just now starting to improve on this w the events of Turning Point]. look at the way they acted in Reunion: they were dead set on proving to Anne that none of the frogs in this dimension mattered and all they should focus on was getting home. Grime only became important to Sasha after he essentially manipulated her into becoming lieutenant; she had no choice but to stick around him, and he was there for her to lean on after Reunion, so he became worthy in her eyes. like. do you see what I’m getting at here.

4. requires excessive admiration

UM. LMAO. THIS ONE’S KINDA OBVIOUS? DID WE ALL SEE BARREL’S WARHAMMER...... she was fucking DISTRAUGHT over learning that Marcy and Anne were hanging out w/o her LIKE. they need attention constantly and they fall apart w/o it. they need validation and when they feel like they’re lacking that, their sense of stability crumbles. when Anne blows up at them in True Colors, they literally just sit there on Andrias’s throne moping. they lose their purpose. someone get this kid therapy I don’t think their parents gave them enough love

5. has a sense of entitlement, i.e., unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with their expectations

this one is LITERALLY canon. it is LITERALLY canon I cannot express this ENOUGH. look at Reunion look at their arc in late s2 look at ALL OF IT. they have plans for how things should go; they have ideas of what’s best for everyone and those ideas are rock solid and absolute in their mind. you can tell she’s not used to having her plans questioned from the way she gets more and more manipulative and nasty towards Anne both in Reunion and their initial fight in True Colors, when they’re yelling at each other in the throne room. anyway if I haven’t convinced you yet that this bitch is a narcissist don’t worry there’s more

6. is interpersonally exploitative, i.e., takes advantage of others to achieve their own ends

GESTURES WILDLY AT THEIR ENTIRE ARC???? DO I NEED TO SPELL THIS ONE OUT. no you know what I’m not going to because out of all 9 this one is the most obvious. although as a quick aside here I hate how this criteria is phrased and just want to point out that the NPD base impulse to exploit/manipulate people can’t be controlled and is not inherently malicious; it takes practice to not act on it BUT it can be managed so as not to hurt others. and that is reason #5483 why narcissists are not bad people thank you for listening and we are moving along now

7. lacks empathy: is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others

this one goes hand-in-hand with 6 in that it’s what allows narcissists to manipulate w/o many qualms; they’re not typically thinking abt the effect it’s gonna have on the person being manipulated. in Sasha’s case this criteria shines the most [imo] when they get shocked at Anne not just immediately agreeing to whatever they want; their mind can’t process why Anne can’t just leave everyone behind or just let Hop Pop die or just allow the toads to take over Amphibia. she even threatens to send her home to her parents when Anne doesn’t want to comply in True Colors; she’s not trying to be EVIL, she just literally can’t understand the fact that yes, Anne would be happy to see her parents, but she can’t just leave the Plantars behind. and the easiest way to explain why Sasha can’t comprehend this point of view is due to a lack [OR JUST LOWER LEVELS] of empathy; they struggle with putting themself in other people’s shoes.

8. is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of them

again this is a behavioral thing that’s maybe not explicitly obvious from the narrative but can be reasonably inferred. plus. Barrel’s Warhammer. my good friend the Barrel’s Warhammer episode. there is an EXTREME amount of jealousy there in Sasha learning that Anne and Marcy have teamed up w/o them, to the point where they endanger their life in order to prove a point because they are so blinded by their own rage and envy. it’s uh! a little abnormal! get this kid a FUCKING therapist

9. shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes

NOT TO DISS THEM OR ANYTHING BUT THIS IS SASHA WAYBRIGHT..... GJRKJDJKDF....... THEY ARE JUST LIKE THIS. I don’t need to elaborate we all know this is just an integral part of their personality and we love them anyway

in conclusion the DSM criteria for NPD is not QUITE the best because this is very textbook definition and, again, mental disorders are heavily nuanced, BUT. they technically only need to have 5 out of these 9 criteria to have NPD and uh. there’s evidence for all of them. and yes I know she’s only 13 but lord if you’ve watched this show you know she has issues so I cannot help but think her personality is a bit disordered <3 anyway uh! Sasha Waybright is a narcissist in my heart. make sure to like comment and subscribe

in conclusion [2]: