#i think marty deserves better

[kalikoking]

imma say it because i've been thinking it for a while and their little "performance reviews" rp is the perfect time to say it: the "oldbois" dons really only value one thing, and that is traditional gang crime. their big focus is on weed, moonshine, cleaning money, etc. and that's not necessarily bad, but they really dont prioritize heists at all. they're keeping around people like octo, yuno, and marty for the heists, but they dont see heists and buttc as a priority. it doesnt count as a contribution to them. and granted, a lot of the heists havent been very profitable yet, but it just feels like, from the perspective of characters like yuno and marty, buttc and these low level heists are going to be crucial for doing the big profitable crime, and it just doesnt feel like that's something most of the dons want to invest in or prioritize. when they were first discussing heist crews, most of the dons said they wanted to do it, leading to the second heist crew with marty being formed, but when it came time for actual heists, yuno and octo were desperately calling anyone they could to join because no one was around and the hq app was full of weed pushers.

it feels like they're neglecting the heist side of things, but also wondering why the heist oriented members aren't pushing weed or moonshine, or contributing in some other currently tangible way. which would still be valid if they were accepting other forms of contributions, but there's been multiple instances of them rejecting monetary contributions, and they simply dont value buttc contributions like marty's been doing since before he even joined the crew.

obviously none of this really affects me directly, so it's not like it really matters, but i really like the yuno/marty duo, and especially after everything they've done so far, it'll just feel really shitty to me if marty ends up leaving because of all this. and i think that someday down the road when they DO hit those big heists, they'll need a second hacker. i'd be really disappointed if they cut marty out now without paying any attention to the bigger picture, just because they only want to look at weed, moonshine, and materials right now.

[galaxywhump]

.

[definitionsfading]

I think it's fair to hate Marty when you first watch S1 of true detective but to let that performance go without due credit to Woody Harrelson for what he so effortlessly did as a foil to Rust's aluminum and ash, never been anything here but jungle, I can smell the psychosphere shtick, is sooooooooooo basic lol

the people who hate Marty, but can't quite really hate Marty because they identify pieces of him as incredibly relatable and human despite all his many flaws, are the folks who are viewing his character and that acting performance with their full brain

I get Rust is everyone's baby girl but Woody deserves better from fandom than what he gets, and Rust would NOT have worked the same way without Marty there to balance his sentient wooden scarecrow countenance

[hopelesslygeek]

I'm Oliretta's biggest fan and here's why:

Okay, so I've seen a lot of people online who didn't like Season Three and didn't vibe with Oliver and Loretta's relationship and ,while I understand and respect that, I couldn't disagree more.

For one, Marty Short and Meryl Streep have insane on-screen chemistry imo, and they are also visually "compatible". It is established early on that they have a lot of things in common (love for theatre, tendency for ludicrous storytelling, "is the thing in the thing?", similar sense of humour etc), they even have some matching clothing items (Oliver's scarfs and Loretta's shawls). So it is obvious that the showrunners are telling us "Hey look, these two are very alike, maybe they would be compatible in a romantic sense too".

But the biggest and most important reason why I love this ship is that they see each other. Oliver was the first person to really see how talented and brilliant Loretta is, he is the first one to give her a chance and show her that all her life's work has not been for nought. On a more personal level later on, he proclaims her his "Lucky Durkin", he alleviates her of her insecurities of not being good or deserving enough and he encourages her to pursue her dreams. Loretta on the other hand, is the only one to really see Oliver's sensitivity and vulnerability, as shown in the second piano scene. Honestly, Oliver has been my favourite since day one and in that moment Loretta perfectly expressed the reason why: yes, he is loud and eccentric and he often serves the role of the comic relief but, in reality, he is a highly intelligent and empathetic person, and he has his own anxieties and insecurities like everyone else.

It was a delight to watch Marty act opposite Meryl in these scenes because I think he really nailed the surprise and delight that Oliver felt when Loretta told him that she really sees him for the sensitive, lovely man that he is ("You understand me, Loretta, and that has been a rarity in my life."). It is very subtle but you can clearly notice the difference in his acting when it's just the two of them. Whereas Oliver is usually chaotic and scattered, when he's alone with Loretta he is a more quite, honest version of himself.

Also, we got to see how wonderfully expressing and giving Oliver is when he is in love. He never hesitated to express his love and admiration for Loretta both in private ("I adore you, Loretta 'Lucky' Durkin, and everything about you", "I love you. I haven't said those words in a while but it felt right so I'm gonna say it again: I love you") and in front of others ("She's the love of my life.", "Doesn't Loretta look pretty?", "Anything for you, ma cherie").

All in all, after two whole seasons, my boy Oliver deserved to get some action too and I don't think there could have been a better choice for a romantic interest than Loretta. Can't wait to see them again in the new season and I really hope the creators won't fuck it up.

[weepynymph]

Gilmore girls boyfriend ranking (these are my opinions you are allowed to disagree but like don’t yell at me please I’m fragile)

1. Dave (my beloved has never done anything wrong in his life ever)

2. Jess (he screws up A LOT but he gains points for s6 and for being my little meow meow)

3. Morey (he serenades his wife daily, need I say more?)

4. Kirk (10/10 devotion will not even LOOK at another woman even if it mean crossing the street with his eyes closed)

5. Luke (I love him he waited EIGHT YEARS for her but he loses points for s6/7)

6. Richard (he screws up sometimes but he’s Emily’s no.1 fan devoted 4 life they’re made for each other)

7. Max (good guy had rizz but just not The Guy unfortunately)

8. Alex (it’s billy burke the only reason he’s not higher is we barely see him but he is good vibes and like the only guy we see get on with lorelai’s friends)

9. Jason (funny but not The Guy, plus kinda a snob. I like Jason though he’s entertaining, even if the idea of him and Lorelai actually having sex does not compute in my brain AT ALL)

10. Jamie (he was sweet and kinda deserved better tbh still a little boring)

11. Doyle (devoted and entertaining but a little boring at times - I wanted more for Paris)

12. Marty (we all know a Marty and I hate to say it but I think he’d be a terrible boyfriend and a bad kisser)

13. Jackson (mad points lost for lying about having a vasectomy that was not cool man)

14. Henry (he bailed on lane - fool)

15. Logan (I’m sorry but he loses SO MANY points for gaslighting those scenes trigger me so hard)

16. Tristan (he loses points for actual harassment but at least he’s mildly complex)

17. Zach (I hate him)

18. Christopher (no)

19. Dean (the hardest no)

20. Asher (die)

I’ve probably forgotten someone I made this in a fever dream like four months ago and decided to post it on a whim lol

[daryfromthefuture]

i'm on the train and bored and still have an hour to go, so TIME TO RANT ✨️

and i'm choosing to make a list of bttf scenes i would have done differently/things i would have added because i like disagreeing with bob gale as if i owned this franchise

this is maybe an unnecessary change, but personally, i would have preferred if there were more instances of marty trying to warn doc about his death in part 1. we see it when doc demonstrates the model and then later twice on november 12 (before he writes the letter and then before marty has to leave), but i feel like it would have been more emotionally impactful if he had tried it more than that and only at the very end given up and written that letter.

SHOW DOC PLAY SAX. LIKE BRO. they could have had a concert 😭 imagine doc crashing the dance and playing sax with marty on stage (take this bullet point with a grain of salt, i'm only half serious. but still seeing doc play sax would have been badass)

the most obvious point of all obvious points, add the goddamn lone pine mall hug. the entire fandom agrees it's canon, and i remember a post going around speculating that they did indeed record a hug and keep the secret footage somewhere at universal lmao. but all jokes aside, this hug was SO necessary. every sane person would be waiting for it when watching the movie. marty is literally on the ground, bawling his eyes out, thinking his friend is gone, and us heartbroken audience members don't even get a hug to soothe our souls. i haven't paid much mind to doc and marty's relationship when i first watched bttf, but even past me was expecting a hug. good thing bobby fixed it in the musical

MORE JENNIFER. don't knock that girl out for 75% of the movie, please. she deserved better, and i wish bttf 2 would have put more emphasis on her as a character and how she's like and stuff. i hate to see it, but she's such a surface character that we barely know anything about (in my opinion), and that's just sad. she could very well have gone to the cafe 80s with marty and kept him grounded and stuff.

honestly, i maybe even would have kept that deleted 1985a scene with dave. we don't get to see marty's siblings at all in that timeline aside from a mention from biff, and it would have been interesting to see.

this is quite a jump in time, but i wish bob gale would have expanded on the scene in bttf 3 in which doc tells marty that he wants to stay behind in 1885 because of clara. this might be my fanfic brain speaking, but i see so much conflict potential. it would have been wild to see doc and marty argue, maybe even fight for the first time in the trilogy, and picture the emotional turmoil both of them were going through. if i had been marty, i would have snapped, not gonna lie. like, yeah, i get that doc found the love of his life but after all the lectures he'd given marty and after all those times marty was willing to rip apart the fabric of time just to keep doc alive, that man just goes "sorry marty, i met a woman i fell in love with, thanks for saving my life so i can live it out HERE. you go back home and idk clean my lab" >:(. this will forever be a pet peeve hahahaha

WHY does doc just FLY OFF on that DAMN TRAIN? i have to admit, it is an epic ending and feels sort of celebratory, but how can he say that he had to get his dog BEFORE even MENTIONING marty, giving him a photo, shake his hand as if they were work colleagues and nothing more, and then LEAVE? WHAT??? at least talk to him for a bit longer, tell your best friend where you've been, whether he will see you again and that you cherish him for god's sake. if you already had to give him false hopes by getting on the train only to fly off on the hoverboard later 🙄

[tadaxii-i]

i need you to tell me about rosestarkillerchaser like they're a sales pitch please

You got it bestie *hiss* (I definitely didn't have to research what a sales pitch was, what are you talking about?)

Hey, you! Yeah, you, hi!

I'm gonna make it short, I'm *your mom haha*, I just saw you had a bunch of marauders on your feed, yeah? You like them? I really really do, especially Regulus.

And you know Reg, you know Reg! He's got a hard life, he deserved better, yada yada yada, so we got him a boyfriend, obviously; but love, what if I tell you there's better out there?

At PBAM INC, we've got the best value deals for rareships on the market. And I know what you're saying, you're saying "rareships? I already have James! I don't want to replaces him" and neither do we! That's why I'm here, today, to talk to you about rosestarkillerchaser.

I know it's a mouthful *corporate laugh* but that's also was Reg will say right before a night with them!

And well, between you and I, my love, who would want to deny Reg anything, yeah? Not me, that's for sure, and I know it's not you either!

With rskc - i'll shorten it for your pretty mouth - you could have everything you've ever wanted and a half for your sad, pathetic little wet sock of a blorbo.

Now imagine- please close your eyes, my love, and imagine. Regulus, poor Regulus. His mother's a bitch, Sirius doesn't want to be around him anymore. Barty and Evan tell him to stay away from the Gryffindors, but James slithers past their watch. He's hot, Reg knows it. And Barty, he's so determined to protect his best friend, yeah? Because he loves Evan, and he loves Reg too, in equal measure, and he want to hate James. But James is soft touches and starlit eyes and everything Regulus ever wanted and well, how can one guy be so likeable? Barty, by virtue of well-intentioned protectiveness, finds in James what Regulus saw in him, with his pretty eyes and the dimples on his cheeks. In an effort to hate James Potter, he falls in love with him.

And you might be thinking, "how is this beneficial to James? He deserves full love and attention too, my boy" and I agree with you! But I assure you, beautiful, that Barty bites, and he bites hard. He'll bite him too, when the time comes. Wouldn't you love, to ask, a reprimand, "Barty, have you been biting?" And he would look around sheepishly, but you, you wonderful soul, you could look James in the eyes, and he would uncross his arms from behind his back and tell you "I don't mind" when his arms are bloody and bruised. Isn't that the most wonderful thing you've heard today?

Of course, we're not robbing Barty of a proper, full time boyfriend. See, you and I, we need to make sure the dog is on his leash - and if that leash is called Evan Rosier, oh, what can we do but rejoice? And Evan can have Regulus, too, in the quiet ways that Barty and James don't allow themselves. He is masterfully calm, and when I say the guys will team up to make him lose his composure, it's a once in a lifetime deal I'm selling you.

The AU potential is immense too! Vampire: three mean, mean dudes to bully one poor human, yummy! Royal : the more roles the merrier! The drama! College: do I even need to say it? Cowboy, Band, Band! The band au where all of them are boyfriends! Were you expecting it? Because I can deliver it to you, right at your front door!

Our boys have so much potential, don't you see? James' unforgiving hero complex, Regulus, a self appointed marty, Barty who can Make Himself Worse and Evan who hides as much venom in his veins as the rest of them: don't you see how great they can be?

That's why I'm here right now, lover, so hear me out; for the feeble price or free-ninety-nine and a kiss on the forehead, monthly rskc delivered, right under your doorbell, for your own pleasure. It's been approved and mandated by the SONS, the RPA and even the CBTPC, and I have the best deals, today, on the market, even wholesalers and resellers. It's a steal, don't miss out on it!

Here's my card, I'll be waiting for your call, yeah? Remember, PBAM, okay? Have a great day, lover, and with every great day, comes a great ship! Toodles~

[jacksprostate]

primal fear thoughts

the thing about primal fear is it sets itself up for so much moral ambiguity... but in the last scene, the line about killing Laura — it takes it all away. Okay, Roy, Aaron whatever, is a gleeful murderer and murdered not just the priest (who deserved it) but his fellow victim. The moral ambiguity is lost to stick it to Vail.

Which is like, I guess that works. But is it not more interesting to keep it on the note where: yes, he lied. Yes, he's not so innocent and perfect. Yes, he murdered the priest. But does that mean he deserves the death penalty that was set up for him? In the eyes of the law its wrong, but is that itself wrong? The fact that the discovery of his sexual abuse was a negative, something that condemned him rather than the reverend; is there not something wrong about that? Of course supposedly in those cases things should go through the proper channels, but as the movie itself illustrates, these men often face no consequences by the law.

I don't know. I find that more interesting. Especially as it would interweave with Vail's own sense of righteousness in representing his golden hearted sleazebags; they're sleazebags, but he proves them not to be, by getting them off in court as they deserve, right? He's able to just... make the moral and legal rights align. Isn't that nice. And he did here too, but not knowingly, and the legal right is false. Does he still believe in innocence when it's not legally ordained, even when the corruption and flaws of the system are what pushed him out of his job in the state office?

So idk, I find that a lot more worthwhile. If I do anything with Primal Fear you can assume I'm treating this as a version of the story where the Laura murder comment is in some way either not real or fake. Maybe Aaron says it to get Vail to fuck off. After all, he saw what happened the last time a man offered him so much for free. Etc. Don't think I mean to retcon Aaron being much more violent, abrasive, etc, either. I don't. But the pointless murder which only serves to stick it to Vail's savior complex but also dunk on his belief in goodness or whatever? Nah, I'll pass. I want a better story than that, and it set itself up for a damn good one. Even within the story presented to us... It's not completely offbase of an assumption, I think. There's no evidence he's telling the truth then any more than any other time he's bullshitted to Marty. Of course, you know due to author's intent that that's supposed to be true. But, well, I suppose it's death of the author.

[halloweenism]

☆ ALI'S 2023 END-OF-YEAR APPRECIATION POST !!!

hi friends!!! i just wanted to do a little thing where i thank my friends for being my friends and helping make my year brighter!! this is loosely inspired by @mirxzii!

Firstly, thanks soo much to all my mutuals and followers and everyone else I've had positive interactions with this year on here :)

I'd also like to take a moment and thank all my friends who made my year:

☆ OLIVE | @jewishruthfleming

↳ hiii ilysmmm you've been such a great friend to me and i'm soo grateful you're my friend. thanks for putting up with me and my hyperfixations which are completely different from yours, thanks for listening to my rambles abt alex wilder. you have literally been one of the best parts of my year, and i wanted to make sure you knew that so

☆ NOOR | @kohinoors

↳ noor omg first off hi. i hope this is year is soo good to you. you are one of the coolest people i've ever met. even though neither of us like the same things anymore, i still love you soo much, and im so glad you think i'm cool enough to be your friend 🥺 you're like my cool big cousin, ilysmm

☆ LUNA | @mexicancokewannabe

↳ LUNA BBG HII, literally ilsym. ty for always being there for me and always cheering me up when i'm sad and making me laugh, and making sure ik to sleep. you're such a sweet, fun person and my life is better bc of you 🦐🦐

☆ MARTY | @vidnasty

↳ marty, i hope you know i think you're like the coolest person ever. even though we don't talk much anymore, i still love you so much, tysm for making me laugh and smile and cry (with your angst posts and fic ideas)! i hope you have a wonderful 2024!!!

☆ ROXIE | @mirxzii

↳ roxiee i love you just as much now as i did during our encanto phases, even though we don't talk much or have the same interests, i still enjoy seeing your posts on my dash, and i hope you have a lovely year, hon ^_^

☆ IZZY | @luckynature

↳ izzy!! ilysmmm you are so sweet and cool, and i'm so happy seeing you get the love you deserve this year, (and hitting almost? 1k followers), like congrats babes, you deserve it!!! your ideas and concepts for characters whether oc or existing are always so amazing, like you literally are soo creative omg. you're like the mirabel to my isabela, ilysm have a great year!!

☆ JUNO | @madwickedawesome

↳ juno u r literally so poggers. omg ilyy ur soo cool and have such great taste. and THANK you for introducing me to lacrimosa. life changing frr alshskk anyway ily!!!

☆ JAS | @isitovrnow

↳ jas, you're such an angel, thank you sooo much for being my friend!!! you're such a kind, beautiful soul omg, i hope this year is kinder to you, ily

☆ VARI | @mapsareforbraindeads

↳ niaaa ilysm you are such an amazing writer, and you're so cool. like omg, ilysm i hope you have a great year and i hope life is kinder to you

☆ ASH | @the-wank-shank

↳ you are like omg. you are so cool, you are also like a big cousin to me!!! your humour is so funny, and your art is so poggers. ily hug!!

☆ AERON | @lanawinterscigarettes

↳ MY big bro!!! i love seeing you spam my notifs, its like my little way of knowing your online lol, your such a bright person you always make me smile whenever we talk ilysmmm

☆ AMI | @foxboy-light-yagami

↳ ami you are so funny, your vibes are immaculate, and i love being correct abt light yagami with you. you are literally such a joy and ilysm

☆ IZZIE | @hateful1979

↳ izzie!!! you are such a lovely person, and have such banger taste omggg i love you so much you're such a delight

☆ ACHILLES | @nibblelinephym

↳ achilles you are so poggers!!! ilysmm ty for being my friend! you're so nice and always brighten the dash

☆ CLOUD | @sillysnack

↳ CLOUDDD!!!! YOU ARE ONE OF my favourite ppl omg, you're such a lovely, sweet person ^_^ we've been friends since jan 2022 with our encanto phases (2 YEARS!!) AND i can't wait for another 2 years and beyond omg ilysm i can't put in words hi

☆ SOPHIE | @larsgoingtomars

↳ sophie, you're amazing and i love you so much!! your such a lovely person and i love talking to you, you're such a great friend ilysm

And a special mention to all my friends and mutuals who've deactivated- Asha, Envy, Oli, El, Deus, and everyone else, I still love you so much and I hope that you're okay <3

HAPPY NEW YEARS, EVERYBODY, HERE'S TO A GREAT 2024!!!

[doctorbrown]

MCFLY JULY ‘24 ⸺ 「 14 / 31 * JENNIFER'S PORCH SWING 」

Lone Pine Timeline

Marty leans back, his lips spread wide in a grin as the porch swing rocks underneath them. It’s a perfect day—almost too perfect—the kind that just invites disaster, because when the weather is nice, the sun is a brilliant blue as far as the eye can see, and the birds nearby are singing their own joyful song, as if they’re just as happy to be free of the shackles of high school as they are, something must go wrong.

It’s Murphy’s Law, after all, and he knows all-too-painfully well that there’s something to that law.

He’s making progress—or at least he thinks he is. Right now, he’s smiling—something that even just four months ago felt impossible at times—filled with hope for the future despite the still-foreign land he’s been teleported to. High school, Strickland, they’re all things of the past and even back in his time, he and Jen have been eagerly awaiting the day they said good-bye to that hellhole. They’re one step closer to their lives together, to the kids, to their gorgeous house in Hilldale and a future he won’t screw up, not this time.

Maybe he’ll never be their Marty, not in the way their loving stares and easy laughs and multitude of family albums’ worth of memories that he’s still slightly envious of the other Marty over hope he is—think he is—but he’s learning. If that means fusing himself with this shadowy version that only exists in memories so he can believe that he belongs—

—or at least be allowed to stay here—

—then he will, no matter how difficult it is.

Maybe he doesn’t remember the trips to Disneyland, the block parties his father would coordinate for the ‘big’ holidays that everyone in Lyon Estates turned up to—remember the year Dad got the dunk tank and was so confident everyone’s aim would suck that he volunteered to go in it himself?—or all their little family traditions that everyone, even Jen, seemed to know and reminisce fondly over, but he’s learned how to pretend.

Bit-by-bit he’s learned how to make the smiles look a little less forced to stop worrying his mother, to stop Linda’s scrutinising stares and avoid the awkward conversations, to stop Dave from pulling him aside in confidence to tell him he can talk to him—about anything—to stop his Dad from sneaking around, trying to rope Doc and Clara into his plans to help because I’m just worried about you, son.

He pads his fractured heart with ideals and memories that, to him, will only be stories, using them to shield the truth—a reality only he and Doc seem to remember—and all its aches and pains and scars from prying and smothering eyes alike. From the people who would just try and say he’s crazy, send him to a shrink and give him a couple of pills and say it’ll all get better.

“Don’t forget your parents are throwing us that huge graduation party in a couple weeks,” Jen says, smiling as she leans up against his shoulder.

She’s watching, he knows, ever observant, even if she doesn’t understand. She’s tried, and the fact that she has makes him fall even more in love with her—sometimes I don’t think I deserve her—especially on those days where he was ready to crawl out of his skin when it all threatened to crush him from the inside out.

Marty wraps one arm around her shoulder, still wearing a smile although it’s faded at the edges, and brushes his thumb against the faded wood of the swing, remembering that one night everything came rushing to the surface and Jen stayed there with him for hours, the most comforting presence he could have possibly asked for.

Their memories didn’t line up exactly, but she was still Jen, and he needed that desperately.

He only wishes he could have been the one to give Jen all those wonderful memories he keeps hearing about.

But isn’t that what the future’s for? Doc even said—

“Marty?”

“Yeah?” He blinks, looking over and nearly slamming his nose into the top of her head. “Sorry—how could I forget? It’s all Mom and Dad have been talking about since March. I think he was serious when he was talking about inviting all of Hill Valley.”

“He’s just proud of you, you know that.”

[batboyblog]

oh silly liberal me thinking such silly stupid meaningless differences over superficial questions like: "are trans people really humans? and do they deserve to live?" was really important. ha ha ha of course have to keep the eyes on the prize for that worker's revolution that is totally totally coming and will totally be pro-LGBT rights, trust us.

any ways listen to real Unions not people who aren't in a union but shit post about things they don't understand:

AFL-CIO to give Biden the earliest Endorsement in it's History

oh whats that America's biggest labor union to endorse Biden earlier than it's ever endorsed a candidate before? but but... teens on the internet keep telling me Biden is the most anti-Union President ever, the Union buster of the 21st century!

this might be because the White House has been working for the rail union since December (when these people stopped checking the story) and has gotten agreements to sick leave all the major train companies have made deals with the union since the strike failure:

When Joe Biden and Congress enacted legislation in December that blocked a threatened freight rail strike, many workers angrily faulted Biden for not ensuring that the legislation also guaranteed paid sick days. But since then, union officials says, members of the Biden administration, including the transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg, and labor secretary, Marty Walsh, who stepped down on 11 March, lobbied the railroads, telling them it was wrong not to grant paid sick days.

oh wow look, Union officials crediting the Biden team's work on this very subject wild (the union officials are Artie Maratea, president of the Transportation Communications Union, and Greg Regan, president of the Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO)

Joseph McCartin, a labor historian at Georgetown University, said: “It’s a significant set of quiet victories. It shows that it really makes a difference to have a pro-labor president.”

of course, people like the commenter don't want railway workers to get sick time, or anything else. They want a strike! not a strike to win better deals no no no! but for the REVOLUTION! that will totally happen... sometime... and the brave men (and I guess women..) of the working class will rise up overthrow capital! while he sits in his room and posts about it (bravely!)

[doll-elvis]

Do you consider the memphis mafia trustworthy sources on Elvis? Idk if I always believe some of the stuff they’ve said about elvis

thank you so much for this ask!! I have way too much to say about this topic, therefore I apologize in advance for how long this is 🤧

firstly I think it’s important to clarify who the Memphis Mafia actually consisted of: based on what they themselves have said, it was Red West, Sonny West, Alan Fortas, Marty Lacker, Lamar Fike, and Billy Smith

I was confused why people like Jerry Schilling, Charlie Hodge, Joe Esposito, Larry Geller, George Klein, etc. etc. weren’t technically considered Memphis Mafia until I learned that Elvis’ entourage were categorized into two groups, the Memphis Mafia, and the others

I also really recommend for every fan to read Alanna Nash’s “Elvis and the Memphis Mafia” which is just an oral history from Billy Smith, Marty Lacker, and Lamar Fike

and then to watch the documentary, it is 5 hours but it’s so worth it, I’ve literally rewatched it at least 8 times at this point because it’s my favorite Elvis documentary 😩!!

I also want to say if you are going to read from one of them, you should try to read from all of them because they all have their own unique experience with Elvis and therefore all have their own viewpoints/opinions and biases *which is why it’s important to cross reference between them

For example in the Alanna Nash book there are several instances where Lamar Fike, Marty Lacker and Billy Smith all have a different opinion on something and you basically have to decide for yourself which one you agree with

I’m just going to be breaking down each Memphis Mafia member, as I’ve been fortunate enough to read each of their books, and say if I think they are trustworthy sources:

Lamar Fike: Personally, I think he is one of Memphis Mafia members that you really have to be cautious about. If y’all didn’t know he was Albert Goldman’s main source for that horrible book, “Elvis”. In Alanna Nash’s book, Lamar Fike spends a good majority of the time disagreeing with everything Goldman wrote, and said that Goldman would twist his words and retell things to fit his own agenda. He said “even though I was one of his main sources, and shared in the royalties, I couldn’t control Albert”. He admitted he did the book for money which is why I lost respect for Lamar because he knew that Albert was saying things that weren’t true and that the book’s main purpose was to make Elvis look bad. I would also be cautious of Lamar because he tends to twist reality just a little bit and over exaggerate things. For example whenever he tells the story of Elvis and Priscilla meeting, he always says that it was he who introduced them “Elvis this is Priscilla, Priscilla this Elvis”. But no one else who was in the room has told it that way, Lamar just inserted himself into the scene (he also once said she was 13 when we obviously know she was 14). So yeah I would really recommend to cross reference everything Lamar says before believing it. He just tells things in a really blunt (and lowkey funny💀) way, which makes it interesting insight, but from what I have also seen he is more than willing to exaggerate things just to be able to tell a “better” story

Marty Lacker: I really really enjoy reading his viewpoint and his book is one of my favorites out of the bunch however I think he too often lets his own biases affect his story telling. This man really really really hated Priscilla 😭 So much so that every time he talked about her it was in a negative light. I’m not saying Priscilla is perfect, she has done many things I don’t agree with, however, none of these men knew what it was like to be in her shoes so I’m just wary of them placing so much blame on her when she was so young, and I find that Marty can be a little unsympathetic in that regard (but again I’m not saying that Priscilla hasn’t done things that deserve criticism). Also Marty Lacker wasn’t around in the late late 70s so I would just be cautious of anything he says about that time because he simply wasn’t there to know. But in general, beside his obvious biases, I would say he is a trustworthy source

Alan Fortas: He was the first Memphis Mafia member to pass away in 1992, we sadly didn’t get to hear too much from him, but I’m very grateful to have his book. Since he wasn’t around much in the late 60s and not at all in the 70s, his best stories come from the 50s and early-mid 60s. He provides a really unique insight especially when it comes to Priscilla and Elvis because he was more or less her chauffeur when she first came to the United States. He also knew Frances Forbes, Gloria Mowell, Heidi Heissen and Arlene Cogan and spends a decent chunk of his book talking about them. I can’t say it is in a way that looks good for Elvis because Alan really disagreed with those relationships, even though he said he knew nothing s*xual was going on, he genuinely couldn’t fathom why Elvis, who could have any woman he wanted, wanted to spend time with teenage girls, including Priscilla. But nothing in his book I found to be untrue and everything he says corresponds with what other has said, plus he has some really great stories about the movie-making times and his beloved chimpanzee, Scatter (I know it was Elvis’ technically but Alan was his real mom lmao) but I overall trust him as well

Red and Sonny West: I’m about to get controversial; I think these are two men, that as Elvis fans, we have been a little too critical of. It’s not fair to completely write off their experiences with Elvis just because of the book they did, which in retrospect, doesn’t say anything different from what the other Memphis Mafia men have said, it was just horribly timed. But I do want to clarify that I don’t support their decision on writing “Elvis: What happened” in 1977 and at the end of the day I will always support Elvis over anybody else. As for their credibility, Red West has one of the most important perspectives imo because he was literally the first Memphis Mafia member. He was with Elvis in highschool, in Germany, during the movies, during the comeback special, during Vegas, during the American tours, he only wasn’t there for the very last year of Elvis’ life. Unlike some of the other men here, he never stopped being with Elvis, except for of course the end. I have read the book he did in 1977 and I have watched tons of his interviews and I’ve personally never come across a story that wasn’t told/referenced by another Memphis Mafia member. I do think he is trustworthy in that sense but I think he has gotten very defensive in the past and is willing to throw Elvis under the bus in order to protect his image. I feel like it is the same thing with Sonny West. These men felt betrayed by Elvis, they got fired, and they both definitely harbored vengeful feelings for a while so you have to take that into account when listening to their stories. For example when they talked about how Elvis hired h00kers in the 1977 book they didn’t mention that they were also cheating on their wives and actually slept with the hired girls while Elvis only wanted to watch the girls simulate lesbian s*x. In that book especially, they often conveniently left out that they indulged in the same kind of behavior Elvis did. But with age, I think they both mellowed out and ultimately realized that they betrayed Elvis also, and they have both said they have regretted the book. The documentary I linked above really helped me understand their perspective more, and while things ended badly between Elvis and them, I do think both parties still cared about each other. So while both of their perspectives are very important (and I think Red was one of Elvis’ truest friends), I wouldn’t fully trust anything they have said until I checked another source to confirm

Billy Smith: He is sadly the only Memphis mafia member still with us and he still makes videos answering questions on the YouTube channels Elvis fans matter and Memphis Mafia kid. I really do enjoy reading Billy’s perspective and he is one of the few people who were with Elvis from the very beginning (childhood) to the very end. But Billy rarely actually went on tour with Elvis and he also wasn’t around for most of the movie time, so his best stories are about his times with Elvis at Graceland imo. They had such a special relationship and I think Billy was the closest thing Elvis had to a brother (y’all have to read about the oath he and Elvis took, it almost made me cry😭). However this man, like anyone, is not without his biases. When reading the Alanna Nash book you can see that Billy’s main purpose is to protect Elvis and the Smith family so much so that I think he denies some things solely because he believes it will make his family look bad. For example when in the book they talked about how Gladys may have had some Jewish blood in her, Billy Smith who is Gladys’ nephew, just shot that down right away. I didn’t think much of it until Billy Smith later on admitted in the book he was slightly prejudiced against black people and jewish people because of how he was raised. But that book was also in the 90s and I haven’t seen him speak in the way since so hopefully he has changed. This man really hated Priscilla, and especially hated Ginger, so take into account these biases as well. For example, in the Nash book, he was dead set on saying that Ginger called the national enquirer after Elvis passed away. Many fans believe this also but there is just no proof to support it. If you are someone who hates Ginger because you believe she called the enquirer (I did too at one point), I really recommend reading this https://elvisdecoded.com/2021/03/13/the-ginger-hit-job/

Another reason to be slightly cautious of Billy Smith is that his opinions have changed so much since the Alanna Nash book 😭 Like how I said he hated Priscilla and Ginger, that seems to be no longer the case, at least on his YouTube channel. I was so surprised when he praised them both in the YouTube video “Elvis’ relationship secret”. He even said Ginger was good for Elvis and that she loved him- I was shook because he hated her in the 90s!!! But anyways-I would say he is trustworthy and he was no doubt one of the dearest people to Elvis’ heart but it’s always good to take into account biases, and cross reference everything

To wrap this up- They have all told the good, the bad and the ugly, and as fans of Elvis it can be hard to accept the “bad and ugly”(like was he sometimes completely unreasonable, demanding, and temperamental? yes! but do we still love him? yes!) These guys just have such a unique perspective and we are truly lucky that they have opened up their lives with Elvis to us, even if it is stories that we necessarily don’t want to accept. But there is not a single doubt in my mind that all these men loved Elvis, despite what some of them have done, and that Elvis loved all these men. The documentary I linked above has made me cry every time I have watched it because they all cried in it and something about grown men crying just hits me different okay 😭

also if anybody read all this kudos to you, I’m sorry for typing so much lmao 😩💗

[coraniaid]

Made a list of my favorite episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer by the order in which they aired in their respective seasons (that is: my favorite episode 1 across all seven seasons, favorite episode 2 across all seven seasons and so on). Much easier to do for some positions than others, I found. Episodes 1, 7, 16, 17 and 22 are probably the episode numbers with the most high quality episodes, while

When She Was Bad [I could have picked from any of five different episodes here, really: the season opener is usually very strong]

Real Me [I think the only competition is Bargaining Part 2 but that two-parter works better as a single episode; Real Me is morally the season opener of Season 5 anyway, I'd argue]

School Hard [obviously I was tempted to pick Faith's debut episode but I think this one is a bit stronger, simply because Kakistos himself is the sort of one-note villain like the Anointed One which School Hard was supposed to be moving past]

Fear Itself [here I was tempted to pick Help, just so Season 7 wouldn't feel left out of the list making process, but frankly Season 7 deserves to be ostracized a little]

Homecoming [on another day I might have chosen No Place Like Home (or even Never Kill A Boy On The First Date if I was really trying to be contrarian, but I think we all know I'd be wrong)]

Family [I think this is a pretty easy choice to be honest; Band Candy is fun, sure, but it's not as central to its season themes as this one]

Revelations [this was hard though! lots of good Episode 7s]

Lovers Walk [it's this or Tabula Rasa, right? and it's not Tabula Rasa]

The Wish [again, this seems a pretty simple choice; I suspect Something Blue might be the more popular option more generally, but not on my list]

Hush [another easy choice, and to be honest I don't even like Hush as much as some people do]

Out of Mind, Out of Sight [oh, look, a Season 1 episode. Those are rare; not a huge amount of competition here either although I suppose maybe Ted would be my choice on a different day]

Prophecy Girl [... maybe not that rare? I think I like Prophecy Girl a bit more than the average person and I like Helpless quite a lot less, and I'm not really sure what the other options would even be here]

Dead Things [feel a bit guilty about not picking Surprise but I really like this episode and the Season 2 Jenny retcon really doesn't hold up]

Innocence [another surprisingly easy choice; I don't think there's even an obvious second place here]

Consequences [this was trickier though; I really do like This Year's Girl a lot]

Who Are You? [a lot of good episode 16s as well! I think The Body is comfortably a top five episode but it doesn't have Sarah Michelle Gellar as Faith beating up Eliza Dushka as Buffy in a church while screaming through tears about how much she hates herself, so...]

Passion [also a lot of good episode 17s too, actually (and only one really, really, really bad episode 17, which I won't dignify by naming)]

Earshot [another pretty easy decision; this is, I think, pretty easily Jane Espenson's best episode]

I Only Have Eyes For You [I like Choices quite a lot but this isn't a hard decision either]

The Prom [I think a lot of episode 20s are actually quite bad; by contrast The Prom is the start of the arguably the best run of three consecutive episodes in the show's history (and maybe it's even Marti Noxon's best episode?)]

Graduation Day (Part 1) [this is the second of that run of three episodes I praised above; I think the obvious/only competition is Becoming (Part 1) but -- while I think Becoming (Part 2) is a little better than Graduation Day (Part 2) -- I think the first part of the Season 3 finale is better than the respective Season 2 episode]

Restless [not quite my favorite episode of the whole show, but I think the episode it would be easiest to defend as objectively the show's best; again, there is an absurd amount of competition here]

So, looking over that list, that's two Season 1 episodes, five Season 2 episodes, eight Season 3 episodes, four Season 4 episodes, two Season 5 episodes, one Season 6 episode and no Season 7 episodes. Which doesn't quite reflect how I'd rank the seasons overall (I think Season 5, as an attempt at a single overarching story and not just a collection of isolated episodes, is quite significantly better than Season 4; and I think Season 6 is better and more thematically consistent than Season 4 too, even if it doesn't have the same high points as that season) but it doesn't feel totally off base either.

I think every season has its run of good and bad episodes and I guess those runs line up a little more often than I'd realized. The two episodes of Season 1 that made it onto the list are really the only episodes of that season that could have plausibly made it, while there were several episodes from Season 5 and Season 6 (and even two or three from Season 7) that just had the bad luck of going up against really stiff competition.

[emmafallsinlove]

what is your brutally honest opinion on rory and logan?

i'm telling myself i don't want to be a hater but i am even though there are parts of their relationship i grew to love he's the worst. he's the king of manipulation, making it all about him, doesn't respect her space and always thinks he knows better & he has the worst fucking life. everything is a game to him, an ultimatum, the way he calls rory 'ace' is just the worst turn off ever. she is barely herself when she's around him, she barely reads books, 'their' apartment is basically his even though they living together so it feels like she's just having the longest sleepover in his place. every time he makes plans just for the two of them (or at least that's what rory is assuming) it ends up being an event with other people in it. he never stood up to what is father said to her and basically let her drooped out of yale, never did anything to help her go back to school, never did anything to make her go talk to lorelai again. he is love bombing her with gifts and coffee carts and all those stuff. he buys her a birking bag and honestly rory doesn't care about any of it. the bridesmaids 'accident' was the biggest red flag that he has over stayed his welcome. being a jerk to rory's friends, never show up when it's important to her but rather he's gonna spend millions of dollars in vegas instead of showing up to lane's baby shower party.... he doesn't even try to know rory and her friends and her world all he ever does is try to change her to fit into his. he humiliated her in front of her entire class along side finn & colin so honestly i don't get what was so fucking funny in it. he has no respect for rory, no respect for lorelai, he is just.... he steals from emily and richard when he has this dinner thing at their house and then make sure the maid who desperately needs the job (i am assuming) gets the blame on it. he steal a fucking yacht with rory & doesn't even care she needs to do a community services while he does nothing and never held any consequences for his action. treat people that don't have lots of money as they below him (as with marty) and doesn't understand what's wrong with that. says he would factor rory in & she should do whatever she wanna do and then breaks up with her because it's marrige or nothing. having an affair while being engaged and just - god, i don't love them. maybe rory was good for him for helping him change a bit in s7 but he was never good for rory! she deserves better & i'm so glad she said no to him.

Send me a ship and I'll give you my brutally honest opinion on it

[fuck-you-upmusicbracket]

So Much (for) Stardust (Fall Out Boy)

In another life you were my babe/In another life you were the sunshine of my lifetime/What would you trade the pain for? I'm not sure/I used to be a real go-getter/I used to think it'd all get better

The stars are the same as ever/I don't have the guts to keep it together/Stuck in the permafrost

"The nihilism and tragedy and loss all at once... the feeling of life slipping through your fingers because you almost had it ALMOST. The instruments and vocals working together to drive my brain insane. God it hits"

"Points at the Back to the Future clock in the visualizer for this song. This is Definitely a Marty McFly angst piece (It's not, but I like to imagine the AMV in my head)"

"I feel the lyrics to this song can be interpreted in many ways and every single one will fuck you up immensely. Also it's the one of the only two songs that has ever genuinely made me cry."

Be Safe, Be Good (Ride the Cyclone)

Be safe, they said, be good/But things don't happen quite the way they should/Oh mama/You know i tried my best to toe the line/Cause i thought at first that this universe had a reason or a rhyme

"The musical is about a group of fictional children who died in a tragic and horrific rollercoaster accident and it's just so like,, ahhhhh they had so much life to live!!! and they deserved to be able to experience that!! and this kind of stuff happens all the time in real life! not like rollercoaster accidents specifically but i mean people being put through things they should've never had to go though. life can be cruel and unfair and there's nothing anybody can do to stop it and it's devastating! it hurts to think about! and i'm sure everybody can think of something in their life that they would love to scream "it's not fair" at the universe about. i know i do. (at the same time though, life can also be very kind and beautiful so i hope people don't read this and go ahhhh life is a horrible thing and brings only pain cause that's not accurate♥️)"

So Much (for) Stardust submitted by @alonetogethermp3 + others

[spikeinthepunch]

thinking real hard about that new content in Painful bc i really love it-- while Painful did work well without more blatant explanations on Marty, Lisa, or Brad's past, it also meant there was some stuff I just never learned if i didnt play First at least (and my second play through of Painful brought even MORE clarity to me), and well honestly I just enjoy the deeper explorations of these characters. I already rambled about this content in a 2am post messily but now I am thinking hard about the cycle of abuse- specific to Brad and the general theme of new content in general being about how deeply rooted abuse is, improvement of yourself, letting go of guilt & anger and the importance of love.

in order to better break down the new content and how it adds things to the story i transcribed the new content-- queen's campfire dialog, mad dog's campfire dialog, and two large pieces of dialog from the nightmare scene. parallels! parallels everywhere! I uploaded it as a text file if you want to read it all yourself :)

also this means this post will be long as fuck. there are so many cool things to connect here.

This new content in Painful does a lot to express the years of shit Brad went through that further fed his issues. And while most of this ends up focusing on Marty (which I do thinks its important to not just throw Lisa on screen, her purpose is still as being 'off screen' for effect) it greatly helps Brad's character and the flashback to Lisa and him playing together or their convo before Brad runs away- fantastic addition alongside Buddy's later instance of putting makeup on Brad (made me extra sad)- and it 'humanizes' Lisa more. She existed- she was a sister with a brother and they hung out and had fun and they talked. etc. They existed in the same house and they endured horrible things.

I feel like this new content kind of hammered in the family like... the affect of abusive families. And what Brad has been missing from a normal upbringing, what he's lost after all this time because of abuse, and what he is desperately trying to get out of Buddy. At the end of the fight with flesh-mound Marty (we will be talking about this A LOT), this part especially feels like it reflects Brad's inability to not see Buddy as the redemption he needs, what he feels is the only thing to save him:

But if you stop. …if you do this. It's over. Dead. You know what happens. We can't let her out. She… She's gonna hurt us so bad.

Which also, I think parallels to Lisa too-- honestly. so much of what alludes to Lisa works well for Buddy and vise versa, for obvious reasons.

But the nightmare really just... you really get the feeling for how fucking exhausting it is. Brad is so tired and he's trying so hard. But the thought that says he will be like his father feels deep rooted- its his blood, Marty lives inside him, he can't fight it hard enough.

this next section of the flesh-mound boss fight ending has a clear conflict in his own thoughts. He recognizes it's all so tiring and it needs to be let go. But then it turns into anger at himself. And more likely recalling the tough words of wisdom his father gave him (or his grandpa too)

I know you're tired. All this anger. These memories. So many scars. So many mistakes. It all stings… So let it all go. You don't deserve it. The guilt is gonna kill you. Why can't you just let go? Be a man. When they hand you their heart. You don't bare yours. You eat it. Consume everything. Puke it up. Then eat it again. Eat like a dog. You know it only takes one taste. You know better than me. It's so fucking easy. And if you never stop… It feels so good.

Fun fact! The "When they hand you their heart. You don't bare yours. You eat it. Consume everything." gets referenced slightly in the new Joyful content, where Brad's friends are trying to recall some words of wisdom which they only recall as "Sometimes you need to just... Eat your heart out. Or something." Which implies Brad likely told them this line to some extent.

Oof. Probably my favorite excerpt from the boss dialog. Consume Everything. Puke it up, eat it again.... You know it only takes one taste. You know better than me... Marty's own behavior comes out here as he encouraged Brad similarly in other scenes. He's the one that's is in fact forcing Brad to get a "taste" of this. (Look back at the 'father' epilogue in Joyful). But he also makes Brad think that this is always all on him- by giving him the responsibility of "this is how men should be", it takes blame off of Marty and puts it on Brad for not "being a man" and thus, repeating these behaviors in a way that is often told to him as justified and as the right way to act.

He is constantly guilted and programed to this behavior in an extreme way by Marty taunting him, belittling and validating his own abusive behavior.

Let me cut over to Mad Dog's campfire scene. Yep! I promise its related (to me).

[cut to here. He is referring to what (seems to be) something his father said.] When I'm ready to die. We fight. You have to beat me. Then you will eat me. A dog in a dog in a dog in a dog. Hellacious. Miserable cycle. Never stop. Make. Us. More. Madness is a small cost. For power greater than love. […] Strength is our family. [Scene pans down the cliffs showing more and more skulls of humans and dogs hiden under ground. the next text appears on screen]: I love you… But I really have to go. [At the bottom of the cliffs, a spider much like the Marty-spiders appears, but with Brad's face instead.]

While this is something Mad Dog is saying as if its something his own father said to him, it seems pretty clear you can see the parallel to Brad. Honestly its way too accurate to ignore lol. the first line is strangely similar to things Marty says in the nightmare fight, and the "Dog in a dog" clearly feels very similar to the "eat like a dog" in that earlier quote i gave. Whats even more weird is the scene is pans through.

(Again not taking away from Mad Dog's own story, just explaining the parallel). The skulls that become more and more in the dirt feel like a metaphor for all the years of abuse, and the cycle of it. Now the Brad-spider? That surprised me.

Taking-

I love you… But I really have to go.

Feels like something related to Buddy. And I think this as well because of the spider at the end. Marty-spiders always felt like they were supposed to show how his effect is always there and you might now know where. His abuse still exists even in the smallest form. For a Brad one to be shown like that- I would read into it as how Brad is still going after Buddy, while his behavior is in fact abusive.

The hardest of it all is the imagery and the use of plural dialog too is that we really get to see how Brad feels like Marty is and always will be a part of him and that's what makes it so hard to change. And considering the above I mentioned, it makes sense.

We can't handle that, Brad. It's too painful. I'm not ready. We'll never be ready! Don't fight blood! Please! I'm fucking scared!

The desperation towards the end fits the idea of letting go of Lisa in the regard that the grief for her is also ruining Brad alongside his need to have Buddy as a way to atone for his behavior towards Dustin in the past, and try to not be like his father. And getting rid of that source is terrifying because it means a lot of scary things to him. The "us" and "we" keeps forcing that feeling that Marty is part of him, and that it really wants Brad to keep holding on because thats who he is. It is what he has been for so so long and he is terrified of letting go of grief because its what remains of Lisa in his head. And that letting go of Buddy would mean he is losing that opportunity to be the father he needs to be in order to prove he isnt like his father. These two reasons to not let go aren't good! They are not ways he should be living and he HAS to let that go.

But hey, thats not all. Let's get through the sad as fuck analysis okay? It'll get better.

As you descend a long rope as child!Brad you start to read a poem of sorts that I can only assume comes from Lisa. This excerpt also pops up in Joyful...

No friends. No brothers. No fathers. No mothers. Just me.

This gets repeated three times. Its weird but it always made me feel uneasy, and I think that is because it kind of focuses on how Lisa ends up being the core. When you apply this to Brad alone, it connects in the way that Lisa is the center of his grief and how that cancels out so much else in his life. Though i want to point out real quick-- it applies to Buddy in an interesting way that fufills their comparisons with the statues you destroy in Joyful. Very cool. And for Lisa it applies very blatantly. (No friends (Berny), No brothers (Brad), No fathers (Marty), No mothers (her own absent mom))

there is a LOT to this poem and you should look at that text post I linked to read it all. So I am just bringing up a one other part.

Deep below. A dark endless sea. A pain slumbers. One we'll never flee. Give me the strength. Let your memories set us free. So that when next we meet. I may grow into a mighty tree. [...] I know this wasn't easy. Thank you. …And Bradley, Good luck.

Oh yes, a step back to the boss dialog here, it's relevant:

I know you're tired. All this anger. These memories. So many scars. So many mistakes. It all stings… So let it all go. You don't deserve it.

This perfectly reflect points I have made up to this point regarding the way Brad holds onto his grief and even the earliest lines of the boss is trying to show him that. It's interesting that as the very start he's being so forgiving to himself then is devolves into more anger-- but here, once Brad has regressed, Lisa is the one to remind him this. I think its important to recognize how Its not about getting rid of Lisa's memory at all and this poem being spoken from Lisa (assumed) fits that. It isn't easy to recognize or to do this, it takes a whole different kind of strength.

In that text file i transcribed the end conversation between Brad & Lise where Brad says he is going to run away, but I won't be referencing it here... Do read it/watch it though.

If you read this far, good job! Just one more depressing thing though! The actual last thing said in the nightmare is great actually- for story telling. Because of course if this whole dream was trying to show that Brad has let go... well, it would kind of mess up the ending still carrying out with Brad still seeming unchanged.

Bradley, my boy. It's just not that easy. You can't save her. You can't even save yourself. After all… I'm in your veins..

Yes, thats it- thats the last part in the dream, where Brad sees a small flesh-mound Marty in blood. It doesn't ruin the fact Brad had this long ass dream. Its a great look into his mind. And how it entirely loops back. He really just... he really is stuck. You can see how damn hard he tries. But this theme of it being "in your blood" is SO fucking strong and it hurts. Because I think we all know, its not true. You are not fated to become the abuser. But god you can see how hard it truly is to fight what has been beaten into you for so long.

Right.

So looking at the parts where forgiveness are present... This pops up a bit in the new content- from this, too another campfire scene. I think the forgiveness and love sprinkled in is important to notice. A lot of people in Olathe in general are alone and without family. Brad has already been... alone, however. His family situation left him without affection, and an upbringing that left no proper parent to attach to meant he'd already not receive the affection he needed in order to give that to others properly. He had no one, and when he did finally have someone- Dustin- he still never received the love he didn't know he needed because of what was taught to him. And he did it again to Buddy.

This is obvious when you get to the end of the game. When Brad wants buddy to hold him.

And, Queen's dialog with Brad pulls a lot more of that conversation to the surface.

Being held by someone you love is the best feeling in the entire universe. […] These men out here. All this strength. This power. Your respect… you can't take it with you when you die. It wont save you. It doesn't matter how powerful you are. No ideas matter. No experience matters. None of that shit that's consumed you your whole life matters. You're completely naked in the face of death. Its terrifying. Now, a good hug. That matters. Honestly, it ain't gonna change much… dead is dead. But the way i see it. You can die afraid. Lost in your own mind. Haunted by the guilt of all your mistakes. Tormenting nightmares wondering what comes next. Or… you can be in the moment with someone you love. Someone that makes you feel like nothing else matters. Nothing could be more important than feeling each other's warmth and love. No thinking. Just feeling.

Brad's earlier chat included him bringing up how he didnt let Dustin or Buddy get physical affectionate too- theres some earlier chitchat that you may want to see in a video. But honestly the realization of how little affection Brad has received, due to Marty's influence, makes things even more depressing when you see how hard it is to let go.

Everything, everything is tied together. He can't let go. So he cant end the abuse. So he fails to ever change. So he never receives the love he truly wants and needs. By the end of the game, when you have that option to hold him, that new dialog hits even worse. And I don't think it is even to try and sway people into hugging Brad. if anything it kind of just opened up to me why Buddy shouldnt need to hold him. And how it is honestly something so much deeper. His struggle has infected everything he wants in life that he just keeps failing to have.

It depresses him, it discourages him. I can't even find more words to explain how heavy the weight is on someone like Brad after years and years of horrible abuse and never getting the help he so much needed.