#but.... why on THIS SHOW.... that has proven it does not care for pandering to homophobes.... why no oh hey we have seen the romantic

[storiesofsvu]

Personally not a fan of Rollisi and how they show more of them as a romantic couple and lessening them as individuals in their roles if that makes any sense

I think L&O needs to cut down on the amount of shows. It’s like the Chicago shows where writing, scripts and everything is watered down or rehashed or like with Shondaland shows affecting Greys quality - I say cut Organized Crime, keep the rebooted Original L&O and SVU

Carisi and Rollins have both been neglected as individuals for the sake of a relationship suddenly put together because writers pander to Twitter fans, I personally don’t understand them suddenly getting together after so long as friends, her pregnancies, her past treatment of him, them both having relationships before etc

it does make sense. and honestly, i don't think we would have seen much of carisi at all without rollisi. because we don't see the courtroom much anymore at all. and kelli just wasn't around a lot in the last couple of years either, so when they've got them both they'll give us the teeny snippets of their relationship. I would have loved to see more.

(this got long so it's going under a readmore)

i personally think l&o is doing fine. they've gotten into the groove of OC, OG has had its first trial season done to see what direction works and who works cast wise and the like. i think last week's episode was super good. and same with SVU, after a lot of shitty episodes, i think we may finally be heading in the right direction? (though i do still say they should actually do For the Defense cause it'd be bomb)

as for the one chicago/shondaland shows... i can't comment too much. I only watch PD and i'm enjoying it. Shonda i only watch Grey's, the only interest i have in station 19 is... oh FFS, the girl Deluca, why can't i remember her first name rn?! and i loved her on greys and they just sniped her over to 19 because of her wife. which yes, wlw representation but like, can we see her on grey's again? anyways, side tangent.

Organized crime certainly isn't going anywhere until meloni wants it to go somewhere or is done with it. and considering he's an EP, i doubt that's happening anytime soon. they also have different teams of writers, showrunners and the like to balance out each show. i think they're doing fine, they each have their own vibe and work well on their own (that "crossover" season premier was absolute *trash* though)

sonny & amanda have proven time and time again that they were the "right person, wrong time". Sonny was never in it for a hookup, we know that, he was probably crushing back from the start, and deserved something real, something more. Amanda had to grow up, she had to go through some shit, deal with her past trauma and the way it affected her adult relationships. she had to bloom more into the woman that sonny deserved. compare little baby s13 amanda to the amanda we have now and she's finally an adult, she finally feels *worthy* of the love and care that she knows sonny will and can give her. when you're that good of friends with someone for that long, it doesn't matter if you've watched each other go through relations with other people, you've always been there by each other's side, helping each other through life, and they truly have done that. Say that amanda was taking advantage of him coming over to cook or help with jessie/billie when they were first born all you want, but sonny would have done that for *anyone* not just someone he might still be holding some feelings for. it's something i would do/have done for a completely platonic friend. The arguments in like, s21 or whatever between the two of them aren't like, fights, they're amanda feeling like one of her biggest supporters (and previous work partner) is abandoning her, and we all know she's got some major abandonment issues. she doesn't know how to properly express emotion and when working 30 hrs straight, it comes out as attitude. As for the moment in Intent, where they're flirting and then she hooks up with the bartender instead, I've lowkey already covered it. That would have led to just a one night stand between them, they weren't ready for each other then, and it would've ruined things. they worked through it and came out on the other side.

as for her pregnancies, i'll forever be salty they were BOTH written into the show, it doesn't make sense, and i *hate* that both dads expressed wanting to be in their daughter's lives but we never even get a "oh yeah, al sent a cheque" offhand comment. like, how tf is amanda affording two kids and a dog in manhattan on an nypd salary? but that's beyond the point.

anyways. i think they've finally reached a point where they're able to be together romantically and i think it works. if they were still partners/sonny was still a cop it would be more problematic (and would be EO 1.0 all over again, the ep where liv gets cut by a perp and el chooses to stay with her over chasing the perp) but with him as ada they're able to keep the lines of work and personal seperate more. anyway, i think i'm done talking now lol

But yeah, to each our own. We’re all allowed our own opinions & theyre all valid (mostly lol) if you dont like rollisi that’s chill

[antonaliyev]

buddie is so funny because it has every beat of what would become q*bait and yet it just... exists on a show with multiple canonically lgbt characters that does not shy away from showing their relationships so??? the entire basis of q*bait is gone, it’s fully 100% just the writers being like yeah this thing that is very much associated w romance we won’t even acknowledge it could be romantic for shits and giggles??? i just... i do think i’m very biased but they have had them do a lot of just. things that i feel are too much to have been unintentional. once again, the paralleling of bobby and athena this last episode was so odd if unintentional? how do you not notice that? like they are continously established as driving forces in each others lives but at no point is anyone like oh hey let’s make it clear we’re not going anywhere romantic with this, let’s make it clear how this is strictly about finding family and you don’t need romance for it but.. they just dont?? it’s so. odd to me. becausee i think that’s what would happen if buddie were m/f and they didn’t want them as endgame. basic acknowledgment of how a lot of these things can be romantic then going not in this case, these two are just besties. so why not do that if u dont want buddie to be canon.

#siiiiighs and see!!! if this were literally any other show i'd be like oh the answer is easy: homophobia #but.... why on THIS SHOW.... that has proven it does not care for pandering to homophobes.... why no oh hey we have seen the romantic #aspects of our bond but we r not lke that. #see see i rlly truly think that budd13 as a m/f non endgame ship is one that tries dating and goes nope. and its so easy to also just have #buck deny being into men at several points if what ur going for is oh yheyre both heterosexual men u think they Discuss the possibility of #Romance with other men?? no #but every blatant chance to have buck b like oh im actually str8 was just. the opportunity was not taken #mentioning buck bc he's the one w a bunch of oh???' scenes #eddie does not b ut if they wanted to they could also establish him to be straight EASILY #and yet they do not #this is all to say that its just very weird fgvhjkl like just say uve seen the way certain scenes lend themselves to romance but its not #what they want and be done with it instead of being like oh no u are incorrect #i am in fact correct always bc i am so smart and cool and sexy /j #gosh do i have to tag this as spoilers #911 spoilers

[akaluan]

Erich/Kisuke/Alexis: Soulmate AU + Character in Peril Part 13

Having someone — two someones — constantly at his side is… disorienting. Even his aide hadn’t been quite so glued to his side, the two of them knowing the other’s routine and content to work with — and around — the other to get their jobs done.

(He… misses Beltz, for all that Degurechaff has proven herself more than competent.)

(Someday he might even have a chance to mourn…)

(No.)

(Focus.)

Alexis shoots him a concerned look, and Erich gives a minute shake of his head.

(He’s fine.)

(He’s fine, he’s fine, he’s fine.)

(Just one more body, one more name, to add to the ever-growing list of those he’s lost in this foolish, endless conflict.)

(And now his soulmates are here, are next to him, are in danger—)

Urahara presses into his side just the tiniest bit, head tilted away and gaze fixed on the map and papers spread across the table in front of them. He’s focused, a tiny furrow between his brows and his pale eyes flat as he takes it all in, and Erich can almost believe that the touch is accidental.

Almost.

Urahara is hesitance-uncertainty-awkwardness against him, body tense and feet planted, belying the mask of ease that he’s trying to project. It’s… strange to realize that a Reaper is nervous about him but… Erich can’t figure out what else it could be.

(Or maybe not so strange?)

(Urahara has been both everything and nothing like he expected a Reaper to be.)

Erich drags his mind back to the present and shuffles the papers in front of him while he tries to catch up with the report Weiss is giving. Not that there’s much unexpected out of the man’s mouth; they’re isolated, unable to call for backup, and being driven further back into the Empire with every week that passes.

There are markers on the map, little wooden tokens tracing the noose slowly closing around their necks.

Little hand-carved wooden tokens denoting their slow, lingering death.

(He… almost wishes he hadn’t dragged his soulmates here to his side.)

(He knew their position, knew their danger, but seeing it like this is…)

(He’s so tired…)

Alexis’ fingers drum against the table, a seemingly absent pattern that he recognizes as their childhood code for ‘talk’. It’s easy enough to remember how to tap ‘later’ back at her, and even easier to flatten his hands on the table edge in a silent appeal to let him think.

He doesn’t know what she wants to talk about, but he doubts it will be good news.

‘Good news’ is a rare commodity these days, and even when it arrives… well. There’s always a caveat.

Weiss’ report comes a close and Erich frowns down at the table in front of them, trying desperately to come up with some plan, some miracle, that will let them survive another week, another day.

(He’s given up all pretense of winning.)

(Now he just wants to survive.)

Erich stares down at the map. Tries to summon even a fragment of General Zettour’s skill. Tries to dig into his memory for something that will help, will save them, and…

He can’t.

He can’t.

His mind is blank and his hands are trembling against the table and he can’t save them.

Degurechaff glances at him across the table, and there’s a blankness in her gaze that’s perversely steadying. If even she, genius and strategist and reincarnate that she is, can see no clean way out for them—

He takes a breath. Clenches his hands. Leans forward with an arched eyebrow and a challenging stare and—

Gets to work.

(He can’t afford to be paralyzed by despair.)

(They’ll come up with something.)

(They have to.)

***

In the end, despite all their back and forth and all their attempts to strategize, more of the same is what he and Degurechaff settle on. More small raids, more careful retreating, more giving ground when such a thing would once have set both their teeth on edge.

(Frankly, it still does.)

(They just can’t afford to pander to pride over reality.)

They have too many wounded, too many exhausted and demoralized soldiers, to try for anything else. Their men can fight — will fight — because those who remain are mostly his or Degurechaff’s and thus loyal to the bone, but… it’s wearing on them. On all of them.

(The trick to guerrilla warfare, Degurechaff insists, is fervent belief and stubborn will, neither of which they have in abundance.)

(So the best they can do is keep moving, keep one step ahead, and hope that they survive.)

“General, if I may make a suggestion?” Alexis speaks into a lull, drawing everyone’s attention to her. She quirks a smile at Erich’s arched eyebrow, but her tone is level and serious when she says, “Rerugen lands are three days hard march from here. We have supplies and healers of our own, though they’re mostly herb-women and family doctors, and we have plenty of room for everyone to have a solid roof over their head.”

Erich purses his lips and glances aside; Alexis is right on all accounts and has the legal right to make the offer, since she’s the Rerugen head while he’s away at war, but it’s still… awkward.

(They don’t often allow outsiders onto their lands.)

(To accept two entire battalions of men, even as small as they are…)

“Rerugen-san…?” Urahara murmurs, fingers brushing against Erich’s elbow as concern-curiosity-loyalty slips through their connection.

(Correction, two entire battalions and one Reaper.)

“She offers our family home as refuge,” Erich informs the man, already puzzling over how best to handle bringing a Reaper home without everyone and their sibling crying for his dismissal. If the world was fair, he’d have had time on his side; time to grow used to Urahara, time to learn if Urahara was being truthful, time to introduce the man slowly to the rest of his family, but—

There isn’t time.

There isn’t time and that means bringing a potentially hostile Reaper deep into Quincy lands and—

“Ah. I’ll leave when we get close—”

“You will not,” Erich interrupts, narrowing his eyes at the man. “You will stay near me instead of going away. I will… need your weapon for…” he pauses, fumbling for the words, and sends Degurechaff a pleading look when he can’t find what he needs in his memory.

Degurechaff sighs and speaks for him, not even waiting for him to explain what he’d been trying to say. “You’ll stay with General Rerugen at all times, especially in public. Don’t stray far from him, don’t go anywhere without him, and don’t do that weird appearing and disappearing thing of yours. You’ll need to hand any weapons over to General Rerugen while we’re on Rerugen lands, including your sword, which… where is your sword?”

Urahara laughs awkwardly and leans back from the table, rubbing at the back of his head as he says, “Maa, I hid it so I wasn’t… well…” He grimaces and glances down at Erich, something like apology in his gaze as he says, “After that first confrontation, I… figured it was best if I didn’t come armed.”

“Thank you,” Erich murmurs, fighting back a shiver at the very idea of Urahara showing up with that distinctive sword at his hip. “Thank you, Colonel,” he says with a nod in Degurechaff’s direction, then purses his lips and stares down at the map in front of them. “Your opinions on the offer?”

Silence answers him, and when he looks up, Degurechaff is staring at the map and chewing on her lower lip. He can almost see the wheels turning in her mind, can sense the weighted consideration in her spiritual presence, and when she looks up there’s a measure of resignation about her that tells him her answer even before she speaks.

“I think it’s a viable option, sir,” she says evenly before her gaze cuts over to Alexis. “Are you certain of this, ma’am? We appreciate it, but giving us shelter is going to paint a target on all of your backs.”

“A target that’s already there,” Alexis answers without hesitation. “Many of our men are soldiers or officers, and all of us know how to fight, even our women and children. I’ll send our most vulnerable to our hidden shelters, and the rest of us will use the land to our advantage. You were talking earlier about guerrilla warfare being an unviable option for you, but it isn’t for us.”

Erich doesn’t react to the looks that Alexis’ words earn him from both Weiss and Schwarz, already knowing why they’re concerned. He knows what their training looks like to outsiders, knows how strange it is that they’re one and all capable of a minimum of self-defense, but…

(Their history is not a kind one, and they have grown harder to compensate.)

Degurechaff huffs and says, “If things become dangerous—”

“We know when to retreat, Colonel Degurechaff,” Alexis cuts her off. “And we have plenty of places to hide. More than enough even for you men, though I dare say they might find some of them… strange.”

Erich swallows his amusement and glances away before he can begin to laugh; ‘strange’ is an understatement, considering many of the spaces are carefully reinforced Quincy zones, anchored to hidden caves or underground bunkers. Good for training in or hiding from unpowered humans, but… distinctly unnatural in appearance.

(He’ll have to try and avoid sending any of his men into those spaces.)

(There are a few caves hidden by subtle wards instead, those will suit his soldiers much better.)

“If you’re certain,” Degurechaff says with a hint of skepticism, then leans over the table and scans the map. “Where exactly…?”

Erich reaches out and outlines the approximate location of his lands. “Here.”

She takes it all in, eyes narrowing as her mind gets to work, and then gives him a firm nod. “It’s as good a plan as any, sir, especially if your people have places we can hide out that aren’t likely to be found.”

“Not by any army our enemies can muster,” Erich answers her without hesitation, knowing it for the truth it is. Empowered humans are rare outside of lineages like his own, and he really doubts the enemy soldiers count any amongst their number.

Weiss and Schwarz exchange skeptical looks, clearly thinking about all the ways they know to hunt down and locate entrenched soldiers, but say nothing out loud.

(At this point, they’re all grasping at straws, no matter how absurd they seem.)

(Even a ghost of a chance to survive is better than nothing.)

“Is there anything else that needs to be addressed?” Erich asks when the silence begins to stretch, looking between his officers. When all three of them shake their head, he straightens up and tucks his hands behind his back. “Then you’re all dismissed. Get the camp ready, we’ll leave tomorrow at 0500 hours. Schwarz, I leave the gathering of squads for hit and run raids in your hands, coordinate with Weiss on personnel.”

“Yes sir,” Schwarz says, snapping a sloppy salute out as he does.

The two Majors file out of the tent at last, and Erich sighs, closing his eyes and rubbing at the corner of one in an attempt to chase away the stress he can feel building.

(Everything’s a mess.)

(They’re losing ground, losing hope, driven from their position by nearly fifty kilometers and cut off from the rest of the army.)

(And now they’re retreating further, aiming to hide away like cowards, like beaten curs, and there’s nothing he can do about.)

(Because they’ve been beaten like Degurechaff warned him they would be, squashed beneath the might of the entire world, and…)

(He fears what is to come.)

“Just a little longer, sir,” Degurechaff murmurs, startling him from his thoughts. Her pale blue eyes are worn-resigned-sharp but her bearing is still firm, still strong, and it… helps. Not much, but it helps. “We’ll make it through.”

He forces a smile for her, knowing it looks as haggard as he suddenly feels, and says, “I will hold you to that, Colonel.”

She nods once, glances at Urahara in question, then reluctantly stalks from the tent when Erich shakes his head.

(He’ll be fine.)

(He doesn’t need her hovering when there are things she needs to take care of.)

(Frankly, there are things he needs to take care of as well.)

(Damnit.)

Urahara’s warm hand settles on the small of his back as the man nudges him away from the table and towards the stack of crates to the side, which are about the only place to sit down in the tent.

“I’m fine,” Erich grumbles, dredging up enough exasperation to shoot Urahara a look.

“Of course you are,” Urahara says, voice bone dry. He moves his hand from Erich’s back to brush it against his right arm, bringing their shared mark into sharper focus in his mind.

Erich grimaces at the reminder and reluctantly sits down; it’s not often someone can call his bluffs so easily, and he’s a little unsettled by the idea. Alexis at least pretends she can’t, most of the time, even though they both know that’s a lie. She just… handles it differently.

(He’s not entirely certain how he feels about a Reaper fussing over him…)

“I didn’t realize how bad it was even here,” Alexis murmurs as she takes a seat next to him, her feet swinging a bit and her gaze distant.

“It’s… not been good, no.” Erich sighs and rubs at his temple, carefully breathing through the brief spike of panic as Urahara looms over him for one sharp, endless moment and… sits down on his other side.

(The worried-regretful-sheepish look Urahara sends him is almost worse.)

(Damnit, he doesn’t want to care!)

“It’s… not much better elsewhere,” Alexis says idly, flatly, gaze still distant and presence muted at his side. “We Quincy are surviving because we’ve long grown and supplied our own needs, but elsewhere… even civilians are feeling the pinch, my love, and many of them are beginning to rebel.” She heaves a sigh and casts a glance at him out of the corner of her eye. “Many of our enlisted family have… returned to the Quincy lands in the past month. Those that yet live.”

(Deserters, she means.)

(Erich can’t blame them.)

(Isn’t that what they’re about to do, too?)

“I have a bad feeling about what’s yet to come,” Erich can’t help but murmur, even as he fumbles for his pocket watch, patting at his pockets with a growing frown. He needs to check the time, needs to know how many hours he has left in the day—

Urahara catches his hand and turns it palm up, gently setting Erich’s pocket watch in his open palm and folding his fingers over it. “I didn’t have a chance to return this earlier,” he says sheepishly, a little smile curling the corners of his lips as his hands withdraw.

Erich blinks down at his pocket watch, mind finally catching up with reality. “Thank you,” he murmurs as he flicks the lid open and checks the time.

(Mid-afternoon.)

(Good, he has some time to check his troops before dinner.)

“It’s very pretty,” Urahara offers almost awkwardly, swaying closer to him and leaning in to peer at the watch-face before Erich flips it closed again. “Though it seems very old.”

“It was my grandfather’s,” Erich says as he clips it in place and tucks the watch away in its usual pocket. “He had it much of his life.”

Surprise-wonder-loyalty slips through their connection, and Erich has to wonder what he did this time to surprise the man; it’s certainly not unusual for soulmates to pass heirlooms between each other, especially something practical like a watch. But… maybe it is unusual from a Reaper’s point of view?

(Do Reapers even have family?)

(How does their society even work?)

Alexis’ fingers intertwine with his own and she lifts his hand to press a kiss to the back of it. “What now?” she asks once she has his attention.

“Walking,” Erich tells her dryly, amused by the flat look she gives him in return. “I need to check on the men again, let everyone see both of you at my side. Maybe see if we can teach Urahara some Imperial in the process.”

“That’s sure to be entertaining,” Alexis says, leaning into his side to brush a kiss along his jawline.

Wistfulness creeps into his mind, and he shares a brief look with Alexis, both of them knowing the cause; they can’t extend their closeness to Urahara, not yet, not with so many unknowns and so much fear-anger-hatred between them, but… they can be kinder to him. Limit their blatant affections so as to not inadvertently tease the man.

(They’re not trying to be cruel, but… that doesn’t mean they aren’t being cruel.)

“Come on,” Erich says to Urahara as he stands up and straightens his uniform. “I have men to look at. I can teach a bit of my language too, as we go.”

Urahara perks up at his words, smile bright-cheerful-masking but… Erich suspects there’s some truth to it this time, that his paltry offer has made Urahara genuinely happy, and… it warms something in him to see it. To know that, at least for now, he’s helped.

He wants to help, wants to have, wants both his soulmates at his side the way all the best legends end and… and maybe that’s not for him, maybe he’ll never manage to reconcile Reaper and soulmate, mortal enemy and life partner, but… he wants it.

(Wants safety-concern-care, wants loyalty, wants love…)

(Now if only he could trust…)

Erich sighs and runs a hand through his hair, fingers tangling a bit in the start of curls, and forcefully shoves those thoughts aside.

“Rerugen-san?” Urahara asks, voice concerned and one hand awkwardly half-extended as if he was about to offer aid and second-guessed himself.

“The war,” Erich offers, a lie but also a truth, and steps around Urahara, ignoring the quicksilver darts emotions that he can sense from the man. If Urahara wants to cal him on his words, let him. They have other things they need to be doing and limited time to do them in.

“Maa, alright then,” Urahara says as he follows Erich from the tent. “I promise I’m a fast learner!”

Erich smiles faintly at the man’s clear enthusiasm, mind drifting to the promise of genius-fidelity-perseverance traced across his skin in the shape of a blooming plum tree. He doesn’t yet know how much is current truth and how much is future promise, but… it’s a hopeful sign.

(At this point, he’ll cling to any scrap of hope no matter how fragile.)

(It’s about all he can do, after all.)

(Just a little longer…)

(They can make it.)

#soulmate au

[missjackil]

Andrew Dabb is by far the weakest showrunner SPN has had. I dont understand why you stan him? I mean, you're entitled to your opinion of course but to me he obviously doesnt care about canon or the Winchesters, only the side characters and pandering to the 1% (Hellers)

First, let me say I don't “stan” him, I just don't think he’s any worse than any other showrunner SPN has had, and in some ways, he's even better.  Apologies up front that this may run long, but I have a lot to say about the subject.

I didn’t join the Tumblr fandom until s11 was over and the show had changed hands from Carver to Dabb. All summer long I heard from Hellers how Dabb hates the Winchesters toxic co-dependency and is going to do away with it. And he is “for sure” going to make Destiel canon because he likes it and so does his assistant, she even had books published on the subject! So everyone not interested in that ship, dispised Dabb before the season even started filming, However, the Hellers were proven wrong, Dabb has done the least destiel pandering than ANY other showrunner, and has improved on Sam and Dean’s relationship while still managing to keep them dangerously co-dependent, but for some reason, the Hellers still preach the opposite and the bibros still believe them. I don’t think the fandom gave Dabb a fair chance. 

Now,  I agree that there have been some bad stories, and failure to keep up with canon and some annoying retcons but because i actually watch the series over and over, I can see this has been a problem with every showrunner, even Kripke.  A problem I have seen with the show since the beginning is maybe, there have been too many writers and maybe they dont watch the show or read what other writers have written from episode to episode. But since this has been a constant, I dont go nuts when it happens over and over because I still love the show and I am still invested in the whole story. 

One thing I learned quickly when I came to the fandom is the hypocrisy is level 50 on all sides. One side hates the other because theyre bullies but the other side isnt much better.  Bitter girls are critical of the other brother for things they dont hold against their fav and everyone thinks J2 hate the show as much as they do. These people may never know how ridiculous they look by watching a show for 10 years past the time they stopped liking it, or bitching about a show they dont even watch anymore and pretend they have a clue whats going on. 

As I watch the Krikpe era recently, I like picking out things that the fandm would cry about if it happened now. In s1 Faith all the reapers were scary monster looking shriveled old dudes, and then in 2.1 (Less than 10 episodes later) Dean’s Reaper tells him Reapers can appear as whatever they want even a pretty girl “RETCON!!!” I could hear y’all crying if Dabb did that.  And why did saying “Christo” help point out a demon once but never again? (till s14 when they did a call back)

How about fan-favorite Mystery Spot? We all love that right? But if it wasnt an episode until the Dabb era, you would all flame it because Sam keeps saying every day is exactly the same, thats how he knows what is going to happen and yet none of the days are the same as the one before. “THESE WRITERS SUCK!!!!!” is the response you all would give 

The End is literally double Dean and 5 minutes of Sam. In the Beginning is literally 46 seconds of Sam, if these episodes happened now alll id hear is “Dabb hates Sam... writers hate Jared!!” 

How about S4 when the Angels are threatening to kill Sam for using his powers, and yet, they want him to kill Lilith with his powers?? What? Theres no way that would fly in the Dabb era. 

How about introducing the Anti-Christ in a season about The Apocolypse and not following through on it? Or how everyone shades Dabb for pushing Wayward sisters when Kripke pushed Ghost Facers? Even threw in a random and highly out of place advertisement for their web series that never went anywhere? (random promo in Hammer of the Gods) or having girls constantly getting in the boys’ way and Dean frequently telling Sam he cant trust him and doesnt believe in him?? “No one knows the brother’s love as well as Kripke uwu” 

As far as destiel fodder goes, if anyone just started watching SPN in s12, they would never get a vibe that Dean and Cas have a thing, but maybe Sam and Cas do, Cas and Dean are hardly even friends since S12, yet the Kripke era gave birth to Destiel, and Gamble and Carver fed into it “I gripped you tight and raised you from perdition” “He was your boyfriend first” “Bases loaded bottom of the 9th, (cas) Id rather have you (as opposed to Sam) “ *dean carries trench coat around in the trunk of all his beater cars* “I need you.... we need you” “Theres people, and feelings, that I want to experience differently now, maybe for the first time” (when the only people in Deans life at the time were Sam and Cas) ALL came before Dabb, and what is Dabb guilty of? “I love you, I love all of you” and a mix tape. 

So no... Dabb isnt perfect, but he definitely doesnt suck. I just think y’all decided to hate him before s12 and just never gave him a fair shot.  Hardly any of you rewatch the series and cant remember things that happened back in the day, you just all seem to have this notion it was all gritty car scenes, googly eyes and dirty motel rooms. 

Have a Merry Christmas

[wheelofmeta]

Elayne didn't necessarily screw up?

In response to the Meta blaming Elayne, I’d just like to offer respectful disagreement on some points.

1. The meta takes as a foregone conclusion that by showing up as soon as she had the shawl, Elayne would have immediately regained the support of Morgase’s coalition.  I very much doubt that’s the case with Ellorien, but even if she’s an extreme outlier, there are others with their own grievances, which were still fresh.  Telling people she’s going to go off on White Tower business looks like putting the Tower ahead of Andor.  Just not saying anything and letting them think she got there as soon as she could avoids that issue.  Also, at the time she gets the shawl, Rand is in Caemlyn.  Furthermore, when Min arrives, he has just finished telling a bunch of nobles he’s having Elayne brought to Caemlyn, which looks even more like he’s in control of her. It’s ironic that it is when meeting the intractables of Andor that he recalls Moiraine’s admonition about first impressions, and yet doesn’t consider what impression he’s making on Elayne’s behalf. 

It’s much better for Elayne’s claim that she had some distance from Rand’s administration.  Once Dyelin is able to get away with running things without Dragonsworn interference for a few weeks, Elayne’s claim of independence is easier to believe will stand.  And giving orders, like tearing down the Dragon banners, only starts her claim to the throne. She can’t do that and then run off on Tower business.  Leaving assurances to Dyelin that she will support the regency’s actions in that regard only encourages the pro-Dyelin movement, which had begun to coalesce even before Elayne was raised.

It’s likely that the nobles who were backing Dyelin’s regency were only doing so as a compromise, because she refused the crown from day one. They weren’t on board back when they were dealing directly with Rand, and wanted her crowned. So it’s probable that they went along with her agenda to prevent anyone else from taking the throne and hoping to persuade her to accept the crown down the road, and she probably had the inverse in mind, hoping to keep them nominally supporting Elayne long enough that they wouldn’t have a graceful way to back out once the Daughter-heir arrived to take the throne.  And as is often the case, Dyelin is wrong. 

2. Aside from the political issues is the point that Elayne doesn’t (or shouldn’t) want the throne that way.  A theme in WoT is that the leadership of the world is almost all rotten, even if not malicious.  The old ways and the people wedded to the old ways have to go, to make room for the alliance that will win the Last Battle.  We see this in all the leadership of the nations quibbling over power and privilege.  The right to vote for the queen might be more worthy of aspiration than judicial immunity with regard to peasant grievances, but it’s still an aristocratic privilege, and one over which the older and “better” party of High Seats chooses to defy the Dragon Reborn. 

If Elayne had naturally succeeded her mother successfully, she’d have been beholden to that same pack of cranks who are splitting hairs about the conditions over which they will cooperate with the Dragon Reborn. As it is, they are the latecomers to her side, and the ones she will be expected to elevate and reward for their staunch support from the beginning are the kids and Dyelin.  She has the force of personality to dominate the kids and Dyelin has proven her loyalty with nearly her life’s blood.  That’s also Dyelin’s saving grace that makes her stand out among the older High Seats.  She is loyal to Elayne even when she does not agree with her decisions.  If Elayne takes over around the time when Rand goes to Cairhien in OTL, no way the traditionalists support her plans to increase the army or other changes she makes.  If they are so attached to their traditional prerogatives to tell the Dragon Reborn they will make war against the leader of the forces of the Light, there is no way they jettison the right to have the Queen depend upon them for military power. 

Dyelin represents the traditional Andoran way of doing things.  She sees the prestige and de jure authority of the juvenile High Seats where Elayne sees that they are effectively useless, politically, and their support does not carry much weight, or not the same weight that a season regent’s choice to throw in with her would. And of course, she can’t delegate to them the way she can to Dyelin or Arymilla can to Lir or Jarid. But Dyelin is thinking in terms of Andoran tradition and not the practical realities of the current day, she prioritizes birth over ability, even if she probably would be horrified if accused of that.  It’s the same with her opposition to Elayne’s plan to hire mercenaries and build up the national force to outweigh the aristocracy’s private armies, and it’s why she remains in denial about the opposition to Elayne’s cause up until their armies start marching on Caemlyn.  Elayne doesn’t need a lot more Dyelins, without her redeeming loyalty, who think she owes them something, because she had to ask them to cooperate with her coronation timeline.  Note that for all their supposed nationalism, they roll over when Elayne reveals the circumstances under which she allowed the Borderlanders passage through Andor - by her authority as an Aes Sedai.  Traditionally, the Tower’s supremacy is something people are used to.  If this crowd was as patriotic as they claim, they should have been even more incensed that she was effectively conceding that an Aes Sedai has such rights to violate their borders.  But that’s a new idea, and they’re stuck in the status quo.  The Dragon Reborn telling them he’s going to use his de facto power over their country to enforce their own laws and ensure the lawful successor takes the throne is not part of the status quo, but Aes Sedai giving armies permission to pass through national territory is, even if one is a more egregious violation of sovereignty than the other. 

3. Elayne’s role in the story is a lot bigger than Queen of one nation.  She is the future leader of the alliance that fights Tarmon Gaidon. For that sort of role, putting the needs of the world ahead of the needs of a single nation is entirely correct and appropriate. As above, the High Seats in Andor, while not ambitious for extra power and privilege (which from the perspective of a leader who needs to motivate them to get with the new program, means they also cannot be bought), do not show themselves inclined to put saving the world above their national traditions, so it is unlikely that even giving Luan and company a full briefing on what she hoped to achieve in Ebou Dar would make an impression. 

4. Elayne, ironically, is closest of the major characters to Galad’s hard-line views on right and wrong. Note her handling of the mercenaries after the siege - she punishes those who betrayed their agreement, but also refuses to reward those who fought against the traitors, because that was what they were paid to do.  In Elayne’s mind, she is not responsible for other people doing the wrong thing or choosing to not follow the law, which is that she is rightful successor of Morgase. Remember, she had a similar view of Egwene’s authority as Amyrlin, when she was first raised - the circumstances don’t matter, what matters is the law, which says that Aes Sedai jump when the Amyrlin says so. Practical experience in Andor is that while the cat’s away, the mice will play, so Elayne expects that and rolls with it, but by her values, the cat being away does not excuse the mice failing to toe the line. 

So it’s not in character for Elayne to legitimize rebellion before the fact by pandering to the excuses the purely ambitious would use to try stealing the throne anyway.  But it is in character for Elayne to do the right thing regardless of the cost, which in that case, was to address the more critical problem of the Shadow-altered weather, ahead of her personal political convenience. 

5. Elayne did not expect the quest for the Bowl to be as protracted as it was.  Both she & Nynaeve were confident of locating the stash quickly and did not expect to be in Ebou Dar much more than a week or two.  On the other hand, the politics in Andor were very likely to be a drawn out affair.  The assumption that Elayne could, in a short time, gather the High Seats and persuade them that she had to take care of some White Tower affairs and accept Dyelin as her regent, is not one she could reasonably make.  There would always be something else needing her attention and blowing these specific things off as something for Dyelin to handle or something to take care of when she gets home is really bad optics.  Especially when she takes a lot longer to return than she had hoped.  Elayne could quite reasonably believe that a quick pop-in to secure the succession before fetching the Bowl, could be the part that dragged on for weeks and weeks, while the weather got worse and she got no closer to solving it. 

6. And that’s the final thing, the Bowl was more important. Andor was suffering too. If Elayne failed to claim the throne because she was ensuring that the people of Andor would have food next year, that’s a win, and better than being queen of a starving nation locked in winter until the Last Battle, if anyone is in shape to fight. 

Thank you for reading.

#not my meta #good counterargument #wheel of time #wot #unreasonably attractive fandom #Elayne Trakand #submission meta #submission

[beautifulhigh]

If Ringsy meta requests make you happy... What do you think about the development of the relationship between Ringo and his siblings? I think it's really interesting to see how close Ringo and Tobias got since Tobias' stroke, and how Tobias is not only accepting but supporting the relationship of his brother and his best friend now. (possible keywords 😉: Ringo's coming out and Tobias support; the early days of Ringsy; Ringo pushing Tobias after the stroke; half-brothers vs brothers; .......) 😊

I said I had A Lot of thoughts about this and I really do because if there’s one character growth that comes close to Ringo’s it’s Tobias’ in relation to his half brother.

Or, as the wedding day moderation said, his brother.

Tobias and Ringo have always been so very different and so very alike at the same time.  They’re both professionals, both dedicated, both intelligent.  But while Ringo was the kind of person who would take advantage of anyone if it served him Tobias champions that kind of person.  They came at life from very different perspectives and, because that was all they saw of the other, it stopped them from finding any common ground.

That common ground, as it turns out, has a name: Ingo Winter.

When Easy saw more in Ringo and fell in love with him Tobias didn’t get it, couldn’t get it.  How could his best friend, the man with the biggest heart, fall for someone so selfish like Ringo?  And of course with the kiosk/beach scam Tobias was proven right - Ringo will even use those he claims to love.  Easy forgiving Ringo and taking him back was the biggest hurdle but slowly and bit by bit Tobias began to be worn down.  Over the following months Tobias saw Ringo put Easy first, try to be a good boyfriend...

...and then he fucked up again.  Even Tobias was shocked at this because he had started to let go of the idea that Ringo was only out for himself, that he didn’t care about anyone else.  Coming home to find them in bed together?  He understood why because he knew how much Easy loved Ringo but rationally and reasonably?  Why would Easy do that?

“You’re not reasonable when you love someone.”

The second reunion was the watershed moment for Ringo - he knew that he wouldn’t get a third chance and so he really worked hard to make it work.  They moved in together, Ringo showing his commitment to Easy.  They moved back to the WG because Easy missed his friend.  When Leni turned up Ringo was loving and supportive and when that truth came out he was even more so.  Even through Tobias’ own stroke and recovery Ringo showed that he had changed, that he was more than capable of being the man that Easy had seen for years.  The one that Tobias didn’t - couldn’t - see.

And so when Tobias learned that Ringo wanted to propose to Easy and that Easy’s adoption talk was getting in the way?  His advice was simple: no more adoption talk unless you want a kid more than you want Ringo.  Two years ago Tobias would have been all, “Well if he doesn’t want kids with you then find someone who does because clearly you’re not meant to be together”.

No half brother, they’re brothers now.

From Ringo’s perspective he has always known that in order for Easy to be happy then he and Tobias need to get along.  The post-camping trip teasing of Easy and the “big eyes” of the bunny he couldn’t bear to see killed showed them that they are capable of getting along.

I don’t think that Ringo set out with any real plan in mind to mend his relationship with Tobias, or to even form one.  I think that as he slowly grew and changed thanks to his relationship with Easy then his relationship with Tobias did as well.  Living together will have helped them both see beyond the image presented to the world and each other and it will have humanised them both.  The stroke gave Ringo an opportunity to ensure that his brother was both taken care of but also not pandered to.  He didn’t do what Easy and Vivi did, he still treated his brother like a human being and the same smart and smart-ass guy he’s always been.  But there was also so much love and support there as well, not just for Easy but for Tobias himself.

Tobias doesn’t see Ringo in simple black and white terms any more, Ringo doesn’t see Tobias in such a rigid framework any more.  And they were both almost forced into seeing that because they both love Easy.

#richard beckmann #tobias lassner #easy winter #ringsy #unter uns #overthinking jen is overthinking #Anonymous #Q&A time

[wellthatwasaletdown]

A Rant That Nobody Asked For

I read a comment on here the other day that said that Harry Styles career can’t die unless he does something outrageously heinous or controversial, and unless he’s publicly hated more than he’s liked, I actually disagree with that. I don’t know why it bothered me enough to write this whole thing but here we go.

The entire Kardashian brand is built on feeding off of public outrage. People seem to not understand that they want you to hate them. They know that a large portion of their audience dislike them, but follow and pay attention, just to see what thing they do next that they can hate on. Brands are doing that as well. Where they are intentionally putting out overtly racist clothing, slogans, advertising, obviously offensive products, because really and truly, consumers want to be apart of the outrage, consumers enjoy dragging shit. A European makeup brand made a lipstick color called the n-word, and after the outrage on twitter, the lipstick sold out in less then ten hours. I think there are people who think that they’re being helpful or effective by hating the Kardashians, but in actuality by hating them you’re feeding into their machine, you’re putting money in their pockets.

So people always tweet things like  how is James Charles still getting millions of views despite his gross behaviour, how is Camilla Cabello still able to headline tours after calling Normani the n-word repeatedly, how is Kodak Black still making music even though there’s several rape accusations against him? The last one I’d argue is because the volume on rape allegations drops significantly when the accusation comes from black women, and we don’t listen to them or give black women’s voices the validity we should. But overall the reason these people still have careers is BECAUSE some people hate them. (I don't think Camilla is publicly hated but hear me out) That’s what they want. By calling out people who fuel they’re careers off of outrage, you’re fighting a fruitless battle because you’re appealing to the sympathy of people who actually don’t give a fuck. They know what they’re doing, they don’t care who’s hurt, they don’t care the real world affect of their words, they don’t care about learning or growing from their actions, but they bank on the fact that you care about those things and will take time out of your day to try and break it down for them. They exist to antagonize their audience and then get the label “controversial”. I’m 100% positive that Kylie Jenner knew that people were going to mad about Kylie Skin, but she let them be mad, she let them hate on her loudly, she let that hate act as free promo, and then her skincare line sold out. If Kim Kardashian put her hair in braids, and no one said anything but instead she lost a shit ton of followers, if all the people who disagreed with that unfollowed her, she would’ve never done that shit again. But because the outrage actually gained her followers and traction, she continues to do it. Everyone knows what cultural appropriation is. Everybody does. Maybe not everyone understands why it can be so damaging but everyone knows what it is. So famous women right now who are posting pictures of themselves in cornrows or bindis or in Native headdresses, they know better. They know people are going to be mad, they know people are going to be hurt, they know this. But they profit off of it. They are dependant on your outrage, for a surge in media attention. I’m not saying that these girls are heinous human beings, but I’m saying it’s 100% intentional. It’s intentional. You’re wasting your energy in the comments trying to educate them, trying to get them to see why people are upset, they don’t care. They don’t care why you’re upset, they just want you angry, and then once you’re angry they’ll flip it on you and play the victim and talk about how intense and evil social media has been to them. These girls posting incredibly photoshopped pictures of themselves, and pictures with their ribs jutting out from their bodies, not disclosing all of the surgery they’ve had to impressionable young girls, they are literally profiting off of their viewers insecurity.  It’s business. It’s a game. 

(This is a side note but with all of the PR relationships Harry’s been in, really and truly him having a girlfriend might have a really negative impact on the girls linked to him, but they have positive affects for Harry. Because when he has a girlfriend, his fans feel insecure, they compare themselves to this model girlfriend, they wonder if this is the kind of woman he wants and I don’t look like that, what’s wrong with me? They hurt, they get uncomfortable, and often respond with intense hate, but really that hate comes from a place of insecurity and pain. But see, when they’re hurting, he can turn around and ask you to pay him to tell him that he loves you.)

This is getting longwinded but what I’m getting to is that the opposite of love isn’t hate, it never has been, the opposite of love is INDIFFERENCE. Being publicly hated doesn’t always end careers, in fact public outrage can be manufactured to gain traction and attention for a person or brand. The only answer to truly get rid of those kind of people is to respond with silence and indifference and the removal of your attention. This is why I think that honestly, Harry has every possibility of his career dwindling away. I don’t know that he’ll ever be “unsuccessful” because he has his core audience but I think we’re seeing more and more that we live in a world where everyone is really ready to jump on a hatred bandwagon, that the careers that really die, are not the people who you’re angry at. The careers that die are the people that you are entirely indifferent to.

It’s been proven that Harry Styles is incredibly sensitive to the point where he and his fans cannot even stand constructive criticism. It is greatly important to him to be publicly upheld and adored, and I think that that proved itself with the TV show he produced that was based on him, because he couldn’t even allow the character that was meant to vaguely represent him to be a fully fleshed out character with flaws and negative attributes, instead the character ended up being a lot like what Harry presents to the world, a caricature of a great guy. Harry presents an image that is meant to be interpreted and digested in whatever way you like. If you want him to be a feminist he is, if you don’t want him to be he’s not, if you want him to be a bad boy? Gay? Straight? A sweetheart? A rich sugar daddy aesthetic? A true artist who only cares about the music? He’s a walking fan fiction on purpose, because it is of such high importance to him to be adored and to be accepted that he presents nothing, and allows his fans to do all the work in implanting their own vision on him, and then his fans sustain his fame for him out of personal obligation and emotional ties they have to the idea of him they created, right?

Harry isn’t designed to be someone that can be hated, he intentionally straddles every topic, and stays right in the middle and never says anything controversial, to the point where he really doesn’t share any actual opinions. He spews apolitical sweetness and kindness, and creates a pseudo-political activism aesthetic without actually giving opinions, because he doesn’t have to, he’s dependant on the fact that his fans will project their opinions onto him, and assume he’s on whichever side they’re on. He’s not sustaining a career based off of the music, because the people who listen to his music, listen to him as a byproduct of already loving him. The people who pay attention to his content, do so out of love for who they believe he is as a person. Harry Styles is really not a celebrity who has many casual fans. I think in terms of his looks, he does, casual fans who will comment on his look at the Met Gala, or comment on him being good-looking, but not many casual fans who would sit down and listen to an album of his, you know?

The emptiness fans are feeling now comes from the fact that Harry used to pander to maintaining his audience at an emotional level, and insinuate a relationship between he and his audience, that he no longer cares to feed, and all the Harries, whether they admit or not, are feeling the distance and feeling his withdrawal. I bring this up because, now we're seeing even some Harries are growing not hateful, not resentful, but indifferent towards him. They are getting exhausted of having to maintain their ideal of him, and having to fight themselves into liking something that's really not there. As someone who's still kind of in the Harry Styles bubble, I can't argue this 100% but I do feel that there is a level of indifference towards him from the general public.

(Another side note: One similarity between Harry and the Kardashians is what I call convenient stupidity. They claim smarts and being smart business people, Harry specifically is obsessed with putting out an aesthetic of intellect, but when it’s convenient for them, they want you to assume that they are stupid and/or not responsible for whatever your upset about and/or that they don’t understand what they’ve done. If you think they’re stupid you’ll underestimate them and you’ll never assume that you’re the one being played. By keeping you thinking that you’re mentally above them, they manipulate you, every time.)

Harry couldn’t even commit to the rock music aesthetic fully, because rock music, real rock music, has to come with commitment and controversy, and he’s so obsessed with being adored across the board. I highly doubt he’ll ever get involved in real controversy or that he’d use controversy as a marketing ploy, just because we’ve seen time and time again that he’s prioritized public adoration over the actual quality of his work. But like I said, as he pulls away, the manufactured love between him and his fans is getting harder for them to hold on to, it’s getting hard for them to rearrange information to make him the guy he was to them. I’m telling you, what’s going to kill Harry is not intense hatred, but indifference. As he tries to gear himself to an older audience, he's not going to be able to manufacture the same blind adoration that 1D fans were able to give him in the beginning. We're already beginning to see indifference towards him grow.

#anonymous #harry styles #submission

[knightofbalance-13]

http://nerdgasrnz.tumblr.com/post/168146804389/you-bigoted-geek-ass-homophobic-transphobic

Old post I know but-

Point still needs to be made.

You bigoted geek-ass homophobic, transphobic, racist, sexist MOTHERFUCKERS still don’t understand what the problem is, do you?

Looks like you’re finally getting some self awareness.

Oh wait, you’re not talking about yourself? Huh.

This is not the “rwde community” looking to tear RWBY to shreds ever since Monty died or whatever bullshit excuses you keep coming up with everytime ppl critique this cartoon

My past two years say the exact opposite and what should I trust: my instincts or a liar?

This is the fact that REAL LGBT people watch this show; real NON-WHITE people watch this show; real WOMEN watch this show, and WOMEN are the literal lead characters of this show. But those parts of the audience wind up disappointed with the lack of care, consideration, or prioritization in this weak-ass writing, where only the art and animation salvage it.

Heh...

Then why are some of the most prominent fans of the community LGBT, Non-white and/or women? I mean, surely if this was handled so poorly they wouldn’t be so prominent. Unless of course, the issue isn’t with the show but a certain group of people with a similar thought process (that being “If it doesn’t pander to me, it’s bigotry!.’)

Diversity isn’t a fucking myth like you think just because you have less social aptitude than a fucking rock, or because you refuse to interact with anyone that isn’t the same as you.

Says the woman who rejects other LGBT/non white people for not thinking exactly like her.

Monty was GENTLY asked in a post-show interview if there’d be LGBT+ rep in RWBY, and he confirmed yes. That was 2014.

And he also fucked over his own show numerous times. He wasn’t exactly a good writer so him saying that would have probably resulted in a ham fisted, out of place moment of gay angst that would never be mentioned ever again.

What Miles Luna, Kerry Shawcross, and Gray Haddock have done, instead of giving us a named PROTAGONIST character to be the first instance of that rep, they made the first openly gay character a VILLAIN. (no, Matte Sky does not count bc the VOICE ACTOR named them, not the creators)

You mean the single sympathetic villain who would later get a redemption arc among the other straight villians who are portrayed as irredeemable and monstrous *cough* ADAM *cough*.

Oh no, how terrible. You get a complex and well written character instead of the edgelord. 

Nothing is groundbreaking about that trash. LGBT+ historians and fandoms have noted that in the media, villains were portrayed as gay, trans, or implied as such for YEARS. (it’s called “queercoding”)

And that’s called ‘bullshit’ because coding is only ever brought up in subjective ways.

Not only that: You were never promised something GROUND BREAKING. Show me where it was said that. 

Monty was GENTLY asked by fans at a convention when more brown characters would be in RWBY. He confirmed that Sun and Velvet have “cool” dark-skinned teammates. That was 2013. (after an animation panel at Supanova)

So no, this isn’t just “rabid tumblrinas” hounding the creators for the sake of being special snowflakes like you fucking think. These are real fucking people who love the soul of this show but don’t actually SEE THEMSELVES IN IT. And Monty, rest his soul, was so excited and earnest in wanting to be inclusive so this show could be shared and loved by more people.

Yeah and Miles and Kerry get death threats over this. That was proven in 2018. I could not care less.

And here’s the deal: If you cannot relate to a character because they do not share the same skin color as you, you do not DESERVE a character to relate to. Because creators are suppose to make compelling characters and skin color is NOT COMPELLING. Expecting me to find a character compelling because they are white is honestly INSULTING to me.

But the fact is that it’s not as inclusive as it could be. Even when he was alive, he made missteps too. And it’s not even like it’d be a big deal to fix. But hateful people go out of their way EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. to make it seem like it’d be such a lorebreaking addition to make a character brown, gay, or trans.

The fact that ‘it’s not as inclusive as it could have be’ is a flaw shows you do not actually care about the show. Because you care SO LITTLE about the show actually being good you try to prioritize something COMPLETELY DIVORCED from quality above all else.

And no one wanted them to just do it because it was not the right fucking time or place. Imagine a character in Berserk went off on a tangent about how gay they are. That’d be pretty cringy right? Now think of that same thing in MHA. Not even bad now is it? Because one is not built to support this and the other CAN support it.

Honestly, the way they handled Illa, from a purely writing standpoint, is the best way they could have gone about it. It’s used to emphasize her pain with Blake and quickly takes a backburner for Illa’s more personal and universal issues. They showed it was athing before moving onto more pressing matters.

It makes absolutely ZERO SENSE how a FANTASY REALM can be lacking so much variety in terms of its inhabitants. And Diversity is an AFTERTHOUGHT. Or a “lorebreaker” (remember the homophobic “how would you show gay characters? just have them make out during the chaos? That’d make no sense!” argument? Fun times!!!)

Damn near every single piece of fanart about Illa emphasizes her being gay, apparently that was an informed guess on their part. And honestly ticks me off since Illa is so much more than that.

How many times do we have to sift through the garbage comments on fanart (FAN ART!!!) of Blake being portrayed as black, as if that’s some huge leap from what she could have represented in the first place?

Representation doesn't matter here, it's the fact that these designs usually look like shit because the people making don’t care about good character design and use dark skin on a design that is built around light skin. It’s like if someone made a light skinned Emerald-it would look fucking awful.

How many times do ppl turn a blind eye to femslash fanart of team RWBY but suddenly complain when someone mentions the notion of one of the characters in team RWBY actually being canonically gay? Or bi? Or pan? Anything outside or in-between?

Never. I have literally never seen that happened. I’ve seen people be called homophobic for shipping straight ships before I say this.

Hateful people are like “u should be thankful” when they’re having a buffet of representation and we only get, not just breadcrumbs, but moldy ones that the ants are crawling on. Then, when we make our own stuff to satisfy us (again: FAN ART! FANFIC! HEADCANONS!!!) they’re suddenly so defensive and wanna police our shit???

A. Nobody has ever just eaten certain foods because of their color,

B. You actively REFUSE to accept any character that isn’t EXACTLY like you and proceed to try to hurt REAL PEOPLE over this. Mold crumbs with ants on them is more than you deserve, honestly STRAVATION is more than you deserve.

C. Making fanart and fanfics that are fundamentally WORSE than canon and calling it ‘fixed’ or ‘improved’ like these people always do is insulting. You are actively pissing people off.

Oh and D. I have seen people ATTACK OTHERS over them not following their headcanons.

RWBY’s first dark-skinned character was a villain. That’s not representation, that reinforces racist beliefs that black people are thugs and thieves that can’t be trusted and need to be put down.

Yes, a dark skinned character with understandable motives, symapethic beliefs and conflcits about her actions.

Meanwhile, the white guy Adam is portrayed as an edgelord monster who seeks genocide and talks like a Nazi.

RWBY’s first openly GAY character is a villain. That’s NOT representation. That reinforces homophobic beliefs that lesbians are predatory temptresses that seduce your daughters and sisters to lead them down a path of hellfire and brimstone.

Yes, the sympathetic lesbian who has shown more love and care and respect for Blake than her straight abusive boyfriend.

Adam pretty much exists to DISPROVE your shit on this front. All the bullshit you complain about in Illa ACTUALLY EXISTS in Adam except WORSE.

RWBY has been making transphobic jokes since volume 1 (Penny’s “*gasp* Is she a man?” reference to Blake) Those jokes reinforce the transphobic belief that trans people wear disguises to bait unassuming people so that they can harm them eventually.

A. Name me a single trans person who said that, let alone enough people for me to even consider that.

And B. Adam is cisgendered and a genocidial Nazi. Good luck beating that.

It’s not rocket science. Rooster Teeth’s animated show, “RWBY” has a problem not just with it’s writing, but with diversity. Pure and simple. And this show has had since 2014 to improve. But you’re still surprised that some of us are fucking mad.

And yet every single example you gave not only doesn’t work but would set a standard for STRAIGHT WHITE PEOPLE to complain about their representation. 

You and everyone in RWDE are mad because you WANT to be mad. It justifies the immoral bullshit you pull on a daily basis...

Huh, exactly like Adam.

Guess you guys ARE represented after all. And quite accurately.

#nerdgasrnz

[lesbian-ed]

yeahsureyoudo replied to your post “What are your opinions on gay women choosing to identify as Queer...”

I actually identify as Queer, not because I'd have any shame about identifying as a lesbian but because i just feel more comfortable with Queer.

I also think the term queer is useful for trans lesbians that perhaps aren't out yet? Women that love women but are not fully identifying as female to the whole world yet. If that makes sense?

I find it both sad and amusing that you have unwillingly proven the point of one of the many issues with the word ‘queer’.

First off, lesbians don’t ‘identify as’ lesbians, we are lesbians. To imply identification, which is something immaterial and subject to constant change, tied to the whole gender-mania of ‘~~~sometimes I’m more of a boy, sometimes I’m more of a girl and sometimes I’m both!!!1!~~’ means you’ve successfully tied lesbianism to a choice, to ‘fluidity’ (to play along with the jargon) and all that hogwash that has nothing to do with what an actual female who is exclusively attracted to other actual females is. The word Lesbian is not a title, it is not a label to be given or ‘claimed’ because it has a very clear definition: as just mentioned, lesbians are females exclusively attracted to other females. No ifs, no buts, no choices, no silly little games of ‘identity’. It is for no one to use for themselves but actual lesbians; it’s not for straight women, it’s not for bisexual women and it sure as hell isn’t for any sort of man to put his greasy hands on.

If by any chance, ‘lesbian’ feels ‘restrictive’ or if it really, really doesn’t reflect your experiences (as in, if you’re not really a homosexual female), maybe you’re just bisexual -- and there’s nothing wrong with that. But, see, the problem lies not with lesbianism; the problem is with the hypothetical person in question, who just isn’t a lesbian.

To posit lesbianism as an identity is to allow anyone to take it and, among other things, this is what the ‘queer movement’ does, stripping actual lesbians from ourselves (calling us gynosexuals or something equally ridiculous, as if we needed another word, as if ‘lesbian’ didn’t express it) and handing us on a silver plate to anyone who isn’t us -- but wants to exploit us.

Secondly, ‘queer’ is something that alienates us from ourselves and pushes us towards the values of those who antagonise us. I’ll break it down for you: if a lesbian falls into ‘queer community’ and starts to absorb their values upfront instead of those which would actually benefit her as a lesbian, it becomes easy to manipulate her to act against her own interests and those of lesbians she might come in contact with. Instead of finding her own crowd, with experiences and needs that are much more akin to her own, she mingles with people who oppose these experiences and deny these needs directly -- she begins to interact with and defend, as you have just done, the interests of males masquerading as women trying to get into lesbians’ beds, for instance, without understanding just how fucking perverse that is. We find adversaries in what presents itself as a community of equals, of people who understand and sympathize with our struggles, because in fact ‘queers’ do not understand the first thing about our struggles.

‘Queer’ is a divide-and-conquer tactic. The more lesbians side with it, the more they compromise their safety and their own subjectivity, something already much beaten around by a lesbophobic society that tries at every turn to annihilate us, either by physical force or by total erasure, by conversion, by coercion, trying to get us to worship at the altar of the phallus which, by definition, we are incapable of doing because we’re gay women, for fuck’s sake. We can be mislead, as the ‘queer folks’ try to do, but we cannot truly be converted. However, this deception is highly destructive, individually and collectively.

‘Queer’ alienates us from our very selves and it alienates us from one another, it creates rifts between lesbians who could otherwise work together, live together, love together. It walks hand in hand with cries of ‘terf!!!’ because all the ‘non-queer’ lesbians end up being shunned -- we don’t want to associate with men impersonating women or lesbophobic bisexuals (or straight people who truly believe a woman using a strap-on with a man is somehow ‘queering sexuality’ and makes them in any way comparable to us homosexuals!), so we’re punished for it. Lesbians who walk away from it are deemed suspicious and bad, while the ones who accept the label and play along with delusions are the ‘good’ ones and it stunts communication between these two ‘factions’ that should never be factions in the first place. It sets us apart and it sets us against one another. Quite honestly, it’s extremely depressing to see misguided lesbians being pitted against others simply because, unlike them, we prioritise actual lesbians in our lives instead of people who think we should all just shut up and open our legs for just about anyone.

This damn term creates a divide. It’s hard for us sometimes to find authentically lesbian communities because the support for ‘inclusivity’ -- as opposed to our caring about ourselves for once in our lives, since nobody else in this godforsaken planet gives a single shit about us -- makes enemies out of women who should have the same goals. It contributes to the effacing (and worse, the self-effacing) of lesbians, it corrodes our networks, it isolates us from one another. Inclusivity in the name of what? To whose benefit? Because the effects of all of this are negative to lesbians. And I know people who aren’t lesbians couldn’t at all be bothered about us and wouldn’t care if all of us ‘transphobic, biphobic’, ‘queerphobic’ dykes up and disappeared, but that’s precisely why we must put ourselves first. It isn’t selfish, it’s self-preservation. We have a right to exist as we are, not bent and broken as people want us.

Some lesbians fall into the trap of thinking that ‘lesbian’ is just a porn category, that it’s too loaded a word, and they shy away from it. But we came before porn, are we really just going to strip ourselves of our words, silence ourselves, and hand them over to sick men just like that, in the blink of an eye? They should be ashamed of co-opting a beautiful word that holds meaning to us to tag their trash with, not us. And as for it being a ‘loaded’ word, yeah, it has history, it has weight, it has pride. It is us, us who refuse to die out, who refuse to erase ourselves to be with men just because ‘oh, poor menz, give them a chance’; it is the name of our almost unwilling resistance because honestly it should not be so hard to live in this stupid world, having to justify ourselves at every turn, having to defend ourselves from attacks on all fronts just because we were born women who commit no other crime than loving only other women.

You have given the key to understanding the problem in your own reply. That a straight male who doesn’t even go to the trouble of dressing himself up in order to disguise himself as his revolting idea of what a woman actually is should use ‘queer’ so as to access spaces to which he otherwise could not shows what the word can do. It blurs lines. It removes barriers that exist for a reason. To be ‘queer’ is to be nebulous because nowadays it means just about anything; and lesbians are not someone’s vague idea, we are women of flesh and blood who have very specific experiences that are tied to our sexuality because this lesbian-hating society despises us to the point that we are being pressured to abandon the words that define us so we don’t sound ‘outdated’, so that we are more ‘inclusive’ and politically correct, preparing the terrain ourselves so that men can try to get into our pants. Do you see? We are being deprived of even calling ourselves what we are, we are being deprived of ourselves, in a way. And, I repeat, to whose benefit? Think. And if you refuse to think, then feel -- since so many are ready to feel on behalf of transgender males, why is it that you have never and will never feel anything but contempt for lesbians? Why do they deserve your time and compassion and why do we deserve your scorn?

Lastly, because this has gone on too long, let me reiterate a very simple fact about this blog: it is for lesbians. We have stated time and again that we are open and welcoming to bisexual women in relationships with women, but ultimately our focus lies with lesbians and we shall not tolerate male-pandering, lesbophobic bullshit here. If you’re not a lesbian, if you’re not here for lesbians, if you sincerely believe that we should embrace males as ‘lesbians’ because of ‘queer fraternity’ or some equally obnoxious, ridiculous garbage argument, kindly fuck off forever from this blog and please never interact with a lesbian again.

(An addendum: Why on Earth have you capitalized ‘queer’ but not ‘lesbian’? Seriously??? Why is that? Must I dwell on that too, must I interpret it here or is that proof enough of just how little respect there is for lesbians that the word in itself is seen as lesser-than as opposed to how people use what many still consider a slur? Fuck’s sake.)

/Mod T

#yeahsureyoudo #answered replies #queer politics #lesbophobia #q slur #mod t

[amostexcellentblog]

i understand that JL have a big drop in BO number due to hardcore fans are disappointed and thus do not desire to go watch it again and have no good word of mouth, this does not exactly explain on why JL is having a low opening number compare to the previous dc movie given that the JL review are only out 1 day before the premiere. Is it really because of reception of MoS and BvS or is it most likely because of there are way too many superhero film already out that GA started to lose interest?

It had a very bad marketing campaign TBH. Which is unusual for WB but it seems like the marketing had the same problem as the movie in that it was designed to pander to haters. Like critics say they spoiled the movie in BvS by showing Doomsday, which is dumb, and the fact that BvS made so much money despite such toxic reception should prove it but WB has proven that it didn’t understand how good they had it and convinced themselves they could get more $ if they just give the haters what they want. So the trailers talk about a threat from far away but never establish who it is and what it wants. That may be OK for hardcore ners who like the mysterybox approach but it’s a real turnoff to GA who actually need to be convinced to buy their tickets.

The trailers instead just strung together a bunch of shots of the League fighting, and jumping, and flying in a bunch of action shots. Again, maybe trying to signal to haters that this movie isn’t going to try to be smart like MoS or BvS, just lots of shit getting blown up real good. The problem is, again, audiences don’t have any reason to care about 3 out of 5 of those characters.

Which brings us to the last dumb marketing decision-hiding Superman. You’d think when only 50% of your team is recognizable to the general public you’d want to make sure you use the half people know to full effect, right? And yet WB just leaves out of the trailers, posters, TV spots. Superman’s return was supposed to be a big deal, yet WB barely teases it at all. They confirm he’s coming back by including him in merchandise but refuse to hype his return properly. From the very first trailer they should’ve been teasing “how will Superman come back?” But they neglect it, barely allude to it in trailers, like they’re embarrassed by it. 

That clearly wasn’t always the plan, the line “the world changed when Superman flew across the sky...” adds nothing to SS, it was obviously inserted as world building to hype Superman’s death and the impact his return would have. But then WB gets cold feet, they listen to the haters who say nobody likes Henry’s Superman. Only MoS made a lot of money and sold really well on home video, so obviously a lot of people do like Henry’s Superman and probably would’ve been much more excited to see him return than to see these three randos running around with Batman and Wonder Woman.

TL;DR: even without the reshoots, JL had a very bad marketing campaign, caused by the same problems that hurt the movie itself, mainly WB desperately pandering to the haters, and that hurt the movie’s opening.

[whiterosebrian]

Open Letter to Noah “Spoony” Antwiler

Spoony,

Years ago, like many other people frequenting the World Wide Web, I used to watch your videos with amusement. I remember your comedic reviews of poorly-made movies and videogames, your Doctor Insano, your collaborations with other comedic reviewers, and your retrospective of the Ultima computer games. Gradually, though, you posted fewer and fewer videos. I found out that you are far more active on Twitter. Soon, though, I realized that there were problems.

I understand that you have suffered from bipolar disorder and depression. I understand you have increasingly struggled to make a solid living for yourself after your popularity waned. I understand that you have gone through personal hardships. It's also quite clear that the election of His Most Supreme Imperial Majesty Donald John Trump has further upset you.

Yes, I too have been upset with Trump and his fellow-travelers. As a Catholic Christian I am further upset with the fact that Trump pandered to self-appointed Defenders of the Faith and Defenders of Life and Family to gain power and feed his own greed and vanity. I am upset with right-wing Christians who support the famously egomaniacal and decadent Trump over a pope who genuinely tries to spark reform in the institutional Catholic Church so that it can show a true Culture of Life.

I know that you are agnostic, even atheistic. I know that you are likely to stop reading this simply because of “god-talk”. Please hear me out. For a good while I have considered writing this letter to you. I am writing and posting this now because this is the tail end of Advent, a liturgical season meant mostly for preparation for Christmas. Much like Lent, it is penitential in character, which includes doing good works. I wanted to do a few more good works before Advent ends. I figured one of those good works should be reaching out to you.

I will concede that you raise important and challenging questions about the Christian religion. Is the Christian religion truly based on love, or is it based on fear and hate? What kind of God allows innocents to suffer and criminals to prosper? Does religiosity uplift flesh-and-blood humans or crush them? I don’t have the competence to answer those in any great depth. I also don’t know what I can offer as hard evidence that my faith in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit motivates me to cultivate humility and compassion to whatever degree I can in my weakness. I have a long and difficult history of searching for truth, goodness, and beauty, so I won’t delve into that here. I don’t want to ramble about myself—I want to address you as a fellow human being, a fellow child of God.

In between silly “shitposts” you have shown anger and frustration with your life and current events. Whenever Trump has demonstrated his admittedly potentially massively lethal incompetence and macho posturing, you have posted something along the lines of, “we are all going to die”. I have previously sent messages warning you to not give into the despair. Yes, Trump and his fellow-travelers are potentially dangerous. That is why so many people, instead of simply despairing, are doing whatever they can to oppose such forces.

The despair that you have shown can only make things worse when you are depressed and bipolar. I have seen some webpages and videos criticizing the turns that you have taken in public after your popularity faded. Those pages have talked about your angry behavior towards people who rub you the wrong way, whether intentionally or not, and your refusal to get medical help or do general self-care. They have even expressed concern that you might commit suicide or die from your assorted medical problems. I don’t want their grimmest predictions to be proven right.

I dare not pretend to be even remotely similar to a great sage. I am simply a man seeking truth, goodness, and beauty—and that includes offering whatever help I can to others. May I try to offer help to you?

You can start by examining your daily lifestyle. Is it true, as some folks have said, that you merely sit in front of a few different screens in your house? Do you need to go out more often? You should certainly see if there is some counselor of any sort who might talk with you and guide you through your problems. It may be that medical bills are too much for you—in which case, I may suggest taking a leap of faith—no pun intended, I promise—and seeing a priest or a rabbi or an imam.

More importantly, look at what is in your heart. What do you value? What dreams do you have? What kind of legacy do you want to leave? What do you love? Whom do you love? Do you have love to give? There may be a remote possibility that you have let your snarky sensibilities devolve into deep-seated cynicism towards the world. It is definitely quite possible that you need to figure out how to let go of your negativity.

My own issues that I mentioned earlier do bother me, but I know that I can’t afford to let them eat me alive. I seek truth, goodness, and beauty. I seek to cultivate compassion and humility. Even though I have problems stemming from my autism, I still try to show care towards others and I also try to create beautiful or at least nice-looking things. I have dreams of eventually creating grand works of art—though in the meantime, as part of a beginning effort to crawl out of a years-long depressive state, I’m focusing on further developing my storytelling voice through role-playing games.

Spoony, perhaps you need to turn your inner life around. Perhaps you need to begin cultivating a sense of compassion and charity. Perhaps you need to begin thinking of religion—or even simple spiritualism—not as a poor attempt to explain away various phenomena but as a serious human effort to discover the transcendent within life and within the world and beyond. Perhaps you need to focus not on throwing snarky jokes at stupid and banal junk but on finding and creating beautiful things. Perhaps you need to make occasional donations to charitable organizations.

I say all this because I want to offer whatever help I can to a suffering soul. I don’t know how you will respond, even if at all. This is a time for fostering peace and good will—not in the saccharine sense of so many commercial Christmas songs and cartoons, but in the sense of acknowledging and working through real pain and real sadness. The key is to get through the darkness, not stagnating within it. Consider what I have said to you. Give it long and careful and maybe prayerful thought. Take whatever steps can to escape your inner pain before it destroys you.

With sincerity and concern,

Brian

#noah antwiler #the spoony experiment #spoony #the spoony one #open letter

[smokeybrand]

Left Cheek

I love Transformers. Love them. I'm old enough to have experienced half of Generation One, firsthand, and i cherish those memories. With the advent of videocassettes and the Video Rental Store, i was able to see the entirety of the series a few years after it concluded. As i got older, it was difficult to accept a lot of changes to the franchise going forward. Beast Wars came through and turned everything i knew about my beloved Cybertronians, right on it’s head. I hated that show at first but, over time, it became one of my favorites. I even gave Beast Machines a pass because it was a continuation. I tolerated Robots in Disguise and the f*cking Unicron Trilogy. Those were the worst but that was my first experience with Japanese Transformers. I didn’t get into Headmasters, Zone, and all of that until much later. Animated dropped and, while i didn’t care for it, i respected it’s gumption. It’s a great take on the franchise and deserves it’s place in the fandom. Prime is the show that wormed it’s way into my heart, though. Transformers Prime is the best adaption of the Cybertron mythos, since G1. It’s spectacular. I’m not going to get into the great games, outstanding comics, and newer franchises. If i did, we’d be here forever. No, suffice it to say, i adore Transformers. It’s one of the big three that defined my childhood; Spider-Man, Godzilla, and G1 Transformers. I cannot stress enough how much i absolutely adore these bots so, when i say i absolutely loathe Bayformers, you know my contempt is real.

Michael Bay makes sh*t films. I wrote an entire essay about why but that’s not what this is. This is strictly focused on his treatment of my beloved franchise. Bayformes is the absolute worst. That first film was decent. It had potential. Hell, i kind of like that one. I didn’t think it was very good, but there was a decent feel with it. It felt like a Transformers episode. A super dark, edgy-for-no-reason episode of Transformers. I didn’t care for the Transformers designs but i understood the logic behind why they looked like that. What i didn’t understand, and the first thing that gave me pause about Bay’s “vision”, is the fact that Hugo Weaving voices Megatron. Are you serious? He had Frank Welker audition for the role of Megatron and then passed on him because “He didn’t sound like MY Megatron.” What the f*ck? Frank Welker IS Megatron! That’s like telling Stan Lee he doesn't know how to properly write Spider-Man. Are you f*cking serious? It was at that point, i knew this franchise as in trouble and i would be proven right. There is a distinct decline in the quality of the Bayformers movies after the first. Overt sexism, toilet humor, aggressive racism, poor writing, complete lack of continuity, cookie cutter narrative, McGuffin of the week story structure, China pandering, uncomfortable serialization of minors; These f*cking films became a real problem, real fast. All of that sh*t is absolutely terrible, any one of them worth ire, but it’s the treatment of Mikaela Banes that really f*cks me up.

Michael Bay is bad at films. I cannot stress that enough. He has no understanding of story structure, characterization, plot progression, or character growth. That’s why I'm so surprised Mikaela Banes is such a complete character. Mikaela might as well be the main character of the franchise because she’s the only one that can be described as a proper character. She has agency, she has depth, and she’s brought to life with a real humanity by Megan Fox. I imagine if the script was better written and she had more to do, Fox could have delivered a great performance but, for what she was given, she still hits it out of the park. Her arc takes a backseat to Sam, of course, it’s his movie, but Mikaela is quietly awesome the entire time she’s ever onscreen. Mikaela is the best thing about these films and the fact that she got axed because Fox voiced her unhappiness about how horrible Bay is to work with, is absolutely ridiculous. She called him Hitler, i believe, which is an apt description about how Bay treats the women and those he deems less than himself, on set. I imagine he passed on Bad Boys for Life because he couldn’t get away with the same bullsh*t toward Smith and Lawrence he had before. If Bay can’t feed his ego, he’s not interested in the project and Fox bruised the f*ck out of that self-image when she criticized his tomfoolery. So, after firing her from the franchise she helped legitimize with a great performance and dope ass character, Bay poured glass into those wounds by creating Carly Spencer.

Carly is a direct slap to the legacy Fox left with Mikaela. Everything Carly did in Dark of the Moon, was supposed to be Mikaela. Everything. All of it.  That was the end to Mikaela’s story. That was the cap to her entire arc and it would have been a good way to go out. It wold have made Dark of the Moon adequate. It was a natural progression, the only progression, for the best character in the entire goddamn franchise. That sh*t was actual good writing, especially coming off the debacle that was Return of the Fallen. This was a great, real, actualized character in a Michael Bay film. That sh*t, alone, is rare as f*ck. This was Mikaela’s story. If you get rid of Mikaela, you have to get rid of the entire arc. You have to respect the journey and the work put into developing the character. If Fox gets fired, recast the Mikaela. Someone else could have closed out Banes’ story. It was hers to finish. She deserved it. She earned it. What does Bay do? F*cking not that! No, this motherf*cker decides to add an entirely new broad to the mix, at the end of the goddamn story! Motherf*cker doesn’t even change the script, he just GIVES all of Mikaela’s resolution, to Carly! Like, Bay changes nothing in the script. He does a search-and-replace for Mikaela with Carly, and just shoots it. Just like that. It’s bullsh*t! It smacks of pettiness and derails the narrative in such a jarring fashion that the movie starts off-kilter and never really gets it’s bearings.

Dark of the Moon had the potential to be the best film in the Bayformers franchise, especially with what came next, but that sh*t was thrown right out of the window over a petty grudge. I don’t have anything against Carly as a character. How can I? We, as the audience, don;t know her. I don’t have anything against Rosie Huntington-Whiteley portraying her. She actually does a decent job, even though she is basically relegated to “Barbie Doll Damsel.” Even that aspect, the whole “Always in danger” bullsh*t is a slight to Mikaela. Banes had been in several battles with this robotic giants. She was as experienced with these motherf*ckers as NEST. All of sudden, she just gets played for a chump? Really? Michael Bay has an opportunity with Dark of the Moon to do right by the fans. To do right by the Mikaela character. So the actress who played her hurt your feelings. So what? Cast someone else and finish the art. Instead, Bay did everything in his power to erase the best thing about the Bayformer franchise and I'll never forgive him for it.

[phati-sari]

EXCLUSIVE: BARUN SOBTI REVEALS ABOUT HIS NEXT PROJECT AFTER IPKKND 3 ENDS!

By Ankita Bhalla -October 6, 2017 || Link to original article

Barun Sobti is probably Television’s Golden Boy. His journey began on small screen with a faith-oriented show in 2009, Shraddha. As the main lead, Barun was seen opposite Ankita Sharma in 2010 series Baat Hamari Pakki Hai. But he capitulated to envious fame and success with 2011 romantic drama Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon? As the rich, arrogant business tycoon Arnav Singh Raizada, Barun swept off every fan off her feet.  Touted as the Mills & Boon ‘perfect man’ by his female fans, his chemistry with Sanaya Irani is considered among the best till date on small screen. Owing to Barun’s immense popularity, a mini-series titled Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon Ek Jashn was aired on Hotstar followed with another web series Tanhaiyan where he was seen opposite Surbhi Jyoti. But created a stir was his return in Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon 3, a new season, as Advay Singh Raizada.

However, today is the last day of  IPKKND3. The show which went on air in July 2017, will shut its curtain after a brief stint. Does Barun feel bad that the show which made him a household name, its third season came to an abrupt end? “No, it’s okay. The makers made a sequel and the whole hype attached to it. See, some things work out or things don’t work out. There’s hasn’t been one day of the show which I regretted, or not given my 100%. People have come back to me and said that you are amazing in the show. If still, it didn’t work out, then I have no other answer to it.”

While Barun stuck to a neat, prim & proper look in IPKKND season 1, in the third season, fans were in for a surprise when they saw him experimenting with his looks. From dhotis to harem pants, Barun’s wardrobe was a contrasting opposite to his real life image. “That was one of the key points initially, to separate the two characters. I never ever get into costumes. Trust me, whatever is given to me, I wear it. And that is my fundamental in life too. I am a big fan of business tycoon Warren Buffet. I once read a story about him that he has X number of companies and CEO’s and to all those, he writes only once in the financial year. His mantra is – ‘Hire the right person to do the right job.’ So for me, if I will get into fashion and styling my own looks, I will look like an idiot. Not known to many, but my wife Pashmeen loved my look is IPKKND3.”

As per fans, one of the key reasons why Iss Pyaar season 3 couldn’t work in the first place was the lead actress Shivani Tomar. While Barun’s pairing with Sanaya Irani and their scintillating chemistry in season 1 was the key factor of the show’s stupendous success, he and Shivani, together, failed to create the similar magic. However, Barun strongly disagrees. “Poor thing (Shivani), she didn’t do anything wrong. She was just looking for a job, got the part and did the show. As simple as that. People who out there are touting Shivani as the reason for the show’s end, is just not fair,” exclaims the actor.

So will Barun be seen soon on TV or is it just Bollywood for him now? “My career has been set up in a weird way. I tend to let go off biggest of things when I am not convinced with a project. I have friends, who are casting directors. Ask them. They say that we have already said no to a film on your (Barun) behalf because we know you won’t take up the part,” adds Barun.

We insist that unlike all his fans, we would love to see more of him onscreen and he jumps in, “That’s why, because I do good work. Either its TV, Web or Films my motto will remain the same – Good work!”

Tanhaiyan, the web series, fetched Barun positive reactions from all quarters. In today’s scenarios, with rampant censorship on films, mindless, infinite plots on TV shows, is Barun keen to take over the web world? “Shooting a web series has been a beautiful experience. There were no telecast problems. We shot it in a single go. We had our scripts beforehand. And I am always a game for such things. For my fans, I have something come up soon in that space, in a few months,” shares Barun!

Last but not the least, but if the makers of Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon will come to Barun and Sanaya with a new season, will he be a game for it. “(Laughs) I can’t say. You even have to ask Sanaya. Dates bhi toh honi chahiye.”

Known for his intense, romantic scenes, is the otherwise shy Barun, open to get intimate on the big screen? Rumour has it, Barun’s reservations to not do such scenes is because of his wife Pashmeen. “No! She has nothing to do with it,” clears the actor and adds, “Rather my wife was the one who told me to go ahead and do a kiss scene, when and if required. But I am not comfortable with it. Though, my love scenes and chemistry with my co-stars onscreen suffices (Laughs).”

We wish all the best to Barun for his upcoming projects.

The bolding is mine, as is the italics of the show names.

Things I took away -- he’s again being very careful not to blame the channel or production house and is instead choosing language that implies it was a gamble that didn’t pay off. With Sobti, it’s always important to look at what he says AND what he doesn’t say. He lays the blame for making a sequel and hyping it up using IPKKND firmly at the feet of the makers though, which I found interesting. 

Unlike Dogra and Pansare, he’s historically been very careful about what he says regarding the channel and production house, which is likely the reason they keep casting him for things. He makes good relationships and is diplomatic. 

One thing I found interesting was that the article suggested that Ek Jashn was basically made because of Sobti’s popularity, which explains why Khushi was only present for two episodes. Perhaps the channel and/or production house mistakenly believed that Sobti was the reason people were tuning in, and interpreted the success of EJ as validation for this flawed hypothesis. This would then explain why the channel was so eager to relaunch IPKKND with Sobti only -- perhaps they genuinely didn’t realise that the popularity has less to do with Sobti’s hotness and more to do with the chemistry of the two leads, the amazing writing, and the superb performances they both gave. (I’d like to acknowledge that @puranijeans talked to me about this too!)

I think he would do well in another web series. I hope it’s with 4Lions again. 4Lions has proven that it is capable of delivering quality when it doesn’t have to pander to fandoms and ratings and censorship boards. I hope that, with practise, they’re able to usher in a new era for Indian television, one that isn’t so heavily reliant on ratings :)

I hope things go well for Sobti :)

#ipkknd #ipkknd3 #barun sobti #iss pyaar ko kya naam doon #tellywood #news #mine #4lions

[miasswier]

miasswier’s ultimate glee ranking: no 101

101. Britney 2.0

Written by: Brad Falchuk Directed by: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon

Overall Thoughts: Objectively speaking, putting such a huge emphasis on the new characters so soon after they were introduced was a poor move. We don’t care about these characters yet, and the stories they’re getting are stopping characters we do care about from getting storylines. Subjectively, it frustrates me that Kurt moved to New York essentially to twiddle his thumbs and make Rachel feel good about herself, and I’ve never really cared much for Brittany outside of her relationship with Santana and occasional one liners (which is probably bad, but that’s just how I feel). At least the music is good.

What I Like:

The scene where Brittany beats up Jacob Ben Israel with her umbrella and Blaine, Tina, and Artie are like “Should we do something?” “No, he deserves it”

Brittany’s “World Best Grandma” t-shirt

Blaine being so supportive of Brittany, even when Will is being a dick about it.

The video of Cassie July losing it on that random audience member because, honestly? Same.

The introduction of Kiki

Cassandra kicking Rachel out for insubordination. Also, what she tells her about not being able to handle honest feedback – which is proven in season five, when Rachel literally loses her mind over a couple of bad reviews. Like, Cassandra eventually took her vendetta against Rachel too far, but at this point, I’m on her side. I know I’m not supposed to be, but it’s honestly so nice to have a teacher that doesn’t pander to Rachel like Will did.

“You know the only cure to loneliness is cake”

What I Don’t Like:

Kurt is barely in this episode. The beginning of him being sidelined all fucking season.

Way too much new kids. This was the biggest mistake they made with the new kids in season four – right off the bat, all their storylines revolve around one another. Unique and Marley are friends, Unique warns Marley not to go after Jake, Marley ignores her, Jake ends up dating Kitty, Marley is heartbroken after crushing on Jake for two seconds. They didn’t integrate them into the original cast. There is a very clear divide in this episode between the original characters and the new characters, and it makes it so much harder for me to like or care about these new characters.

I’m just not that interested in Brittany having a mental breakdown so she can make a comeback. This whole storyline felt a bit contrived.

Basically everything about Rachel’s storyline in New York. She has more scenes with Brody than she does with Kurt, which is ridiculous, and she’s really bratty. Also, I hate that they kept trying to make Rachel Berry sexy. Part of what I love about Rachel Berry is that she isn’t sexy, which shows what an amazing actress Lea Michele is, because Lea Michele is sexy as fuck. So, this whole transforming Rachel into a sex-goddess thing kind of frustrated me.

All Brody ever seems to be able to compliment Rachel on is how sexy she is. So, not only am I frustrated that they’re trying to make Rachel Berry sexy, but I’m also frustrated that her new love interest only seems to be interested in her because of this new sexiness that Glee is forcing, hardcore. He objectifies her beyond belief, and it’s so clear that this relationship is just about sex and infatuation. It’s annoying, because Glee is trying to pass this off as what a mature relationship is, as opposed to that silly high school relationship she had with Finn where they actually had feelings for each other outside of simply the physical.

Ugh, the start of Bram. They’re already dumbing Sam down, and in doing so dumbing Brittany down too. They made these two characters so fucking stupid so they could fit together, it honestly makes me crazy.

Will telling Blaine he’s disappointed in him for allowing the lip synching fiasco, as if Blaine is the only person in the Glee club. Come on, man.

Songs:

Hold it Against Me: A nice, upbeat start to this episode, but not really that necessary to include.

Boys/Boyfriend: I like this one a lot! I wish Blaine and Artie sang together more, because they sound awesome.

Womanizer: This whole scene is obnoxious and stupid and just makes me think that Marley is an idiot. She follows Jake around the entire school as he hits on like, a dozen girls, and then when he turns to her she’s like “yeah, okay!” like oh my god, Marley. Unique and Tina sound nice, though, and I honestly don’t mind this song.

3: This one is… weird. Not just because of the content, but because of who is singing it. Why is it Sam and Tina and Joe? Like… I don’t get it. Would have made more sense for it to be Sam and Tina and Blaine, but even then it’s still a weird choice. I don’t know why they did this one.

Crazy/’U Drive Me Crazy: I adore this song. Hands down my favourite song of the episode. Don’t get me wrong, I can’t stand Jarley, and Marley is an idiot for getting involved with this guy, but this song. This song. It’s just gorgeous.

Oops!... I Did it Again: I like the vocals of this one, but the actual performance is meh. If you watch closely, Rachel doesn’t actually do that much. They do this with Cassie all the time, too. It’s kind of annoying, since this is dance class, but it’s mainly the extras in the back that are doing all the actual dancing. Rachel just sort of drapes herself all over those random tables.

Gimme More: I love this one! Definitely like it better than “Hold it Against Me”, both as a song and a performance. The performance is hilarious. Although, I will say, I can’t imagine they would actually let a high school student perform at an assembly wearing the outfit Brittany is wearing (which is basically underwear)

Everytime: I do like this one, but by this point I’m sort of done with the episode. Also, I just don’t care about Marley’s angst over the guy she saw dick over a bunch of girls dicking her over. Like, seriously girl, what did you expect? Also, you’ve known him and liked him for two seconds. Chill, please.

Final Thoughts: Decent music, mediocre plots. That seems to be the theme with the Britney episodes. It’s too bad, cause I feel like they could have done so much with her music, but they never use her to her full potential. Ah, well.

masterpost

#ultimate glee ranking

[mysticdragon3md3]

9:49 PM 11/24/2016 (after watching ep7; before watching ep8) I feel out of sync with the rest of the Yuri on Ice fandom.  

I feel like 45% of the fandom is losing their minds over the shonen ai (maybe even getting insulted that I used the term "shonen ai", even though, compared to "yaoi" or "BL", that's the most literal reference to the male/male romantic subplot, while still also referencing anime being more apt to pander to fujoshi than portray realistic or at least dignified male/male romance), another 45% is ready to attack anyone who isn't also using the series as a talking point against heteronormativity, 5% are insisting it's just a sports anime with no romantic undertones, and another 5% want Victuuri's bond to develop further before we'll jump head-long into saying they're "totally in full-blown love right now".  I'm in the last camp.  And maybe that's made 95% of people stop reading this essay.  

But quite frankly, I'm exasperated with how quickly the Yuri on Ice fandom became this landmine, where any little literary criticism was labelled as being against homosexual romance stories.  Please stop doing that.  Any good story is worth analyzing and standing up to criticism.  And I won't say Yuri on Ice is a flimsy series.  I'm all for any type of good romance, as long as it is not a cliche, "harlequin novel", shallow rom-com type of romance (which happens to be about 90% of the Romance genre stories out there).  So maybe you can see why people in my camp are reluctant to just jump in from the very beginning and say that protagonists have been in love since first sight.  That's not enough for us; that's not meaningful for us.  That's not the type of story we enjoy.  (Unless we're in the mood for shallow smut---Let's be sex positive here: Sometimes that's just what we're in the mood for.  I suppose in the same way, shallow romance, which just gets immediately to the "romantic situations", is just what the Romance genre geeks are in the mood for, 24/7.)  And when we see a story with such character depth and potential for an actual, emotionally substantial portrayal for romance, like Yuri on Ice, it feels sad to just rush it and assume all aspects of the story should be interpreted as rooted into the romantic subplot, rather than to wait for it to grow.  After all, rushing to romantic interpretations implies that deeply intense platonic relationships as invalid, rather than equally significant.  And in this romance-obsessed society, it's getting kind of tiring seeing all deep relationships assumed to end in Romance, and that result taken as being the norm.  (Maybe I'm gray-A-romantic?  Who knows.)  

It's dumb of me to feel exasperated with everyone so strongly asserting their interpretations of Yuri on Ice, because a story can have multiple interpretations.  And the more meanings that people can read into a story, the better proof of that story's quality.  That versatility (rooted in a fundamental human experience) is what enables a story to "speak to" people.  Like when "Frozen" was interpreted as an allegory for multiple repressed ways of life, by everyone from introverts, to homosexuals, to people with social anxiety disorder, even though the writers explained in interviews that they were intending a portrayal of artists who needed outlets of expression.  The fact that that movie could be interpreted in so many ways, and mean so much to so many different people's issues, was proof of the story's power, relevance, and catharsis.  So it's actually a good thing that Yuri on Ice's interpreted themes can have such versatility.  I just don't want to feel like I'm going to get pounced on for disagreeing with anyone---even slightly!  o~o  

Like for example, here are some criticisms I have for the argument that Yuri on Ice should be treated as just as a "shonen ai" series, as 90% of the fandom has made me feel:

1)  Yuri is an extremely introverted, socially cut-off type of person with few friends and difficulty maintaining bonds with the friends he has.  His whole conflict with getting the music for his free program, revolved around him still needing to learn to be more open to people, whether that meant staying in touch, depending on them, sharing his vulnerabilities, or understanding that they wouldn't reject him for it.  As such a private person, it seems out of character for him to jump at Romance, at the first chance.  If he does feel it, it would be more reasonable for him to not even realize he was in love.  This is why he lumped-in Victor along with his family and friends, during the press conference where he stated his season's theme as "Love".  Yuri was just now learning to be aware of, accept, and mutually reciprocate the platonic bonds he had.  He wasn't about to be totally in romantic love now.  And without that conscious awareness and acceptance of any love he feels (whether romantic, platonic, or subconscious), it can't be fully realized until he consents to his own feelings.  If (Romantic) Love is such an advanced form of human relationship, often cited as the realm of the mature, then how can detached Yuri, of all people, have fully realized it yet (halfway through the season 1)?  I think the enjoyment of a "character study" series like Yuri on Ice is to watch Yuri gradually develop those emotional senses, so it would be a shame and a foregone conclusion to the plot, for Yuri to come to that mature developmental level too early in the series.  I want to watch Yuri go from becoming comfortable with his familial relationships, to his friendships, then to deeper friendships, then to intense platonic relationships, then to romantic love.  I'm here for the whole show, and when Yuri on Ice presented itself more like a "character study" than anything else, it set itself up for that higher expectation. 

2)  Let's face it: Most of the Victuuri scenes (first half of the series) have been just pandering to fujoshi.  I've seen enough BL; I recognize it when I see it.  And as some other people have noted, a lot of the Victurri scenes so far, have been played for laughs.  How is that different from all the sex comedy gags from harem genre anime?  I'll take Victurri seriously, when the series stops treating their sexual tension scenes as just comedic or fanservice.  

3)  There need to be more scenes of Victor and Yuri building a rapport and defining their characters to the audience, for us (or at least me) to believe they're really in love.  There's been a lot of "character study" scenes on Yuri since the series began.  And there have been glimpses of what deep-seated issues and needs Yuri has, that Victor happens to fulfill.  We need more scenes like the one at the beach where Yuri's monologue noted how when he opens up, Victor meets him half way, and after learning what a struggle it is for Yuri to open up, we feel how significant Victor's outreach to him is.  We need WAAAAAYYY more of that, to get to levels substantial enough to call Romance.  And we need to know more about Victor too.  What do we know other than he's flippant, playful, and impulsive?  What does he value most, and does Yuri coincidentally embody those same values?  Some characters have mentioned in-passing that Victor values surprising the audience while he skates, more than anything.  But "tell vs show" doesn't cut it, especially when the series itself has established precedent of good "show vs tell", when it comes to portraying characterization.  The series has already gotten us to _feel_ along with the characters before, so it can't skip out on that level of portrayal now, especially on emotions as advanced as romance.  We need to not just hear second-hand about what they're like and assume they must be feeling this.  When Victuuri happens fully, consciously, and consensually, it better be as equally visceral as Yuri on Ice has made us feel hesitant, self-doubting, afraid, and surprised with ourselves, along with Yuri's internal journey, regarding everything else in his life.  

All that said, I _am_ very eager to see some true Victuuri.  (After the debacle of some series sinking seemingly canon ships, I'd more than welcome Victuri canon.)  I'm just willing to wait until it's fully baked.  I won't settle for raw cookie dough, after what this series has already proven to be able to do with characterization.  And I expect that when it does come, fully cooked, it will be the most savory katsudon EVER.  

On Nov 22, 2016 2:36 am I reblogged http://mysticdragon3md3.tumblr.com/post/153512094252/rainbowcitrin-i-don-t-care-what-people-are and commented in tags: #same #i'm picky about believing characters are in love #if yuri on ice gives enough reasons to believe then i would get behind victuuri all the way #too many romance stories expect you to suspend disbelief & just accept romantic scenarios #i'm watching yoi for character study & sports anime & not for a hollywood rom-com movie #yoi has potential for romance on a believable foundation

On Nov 30, 2016 4:21 pm I wrote:  http://mysticdragon3md3.tumblr.com/post/153882409577/i-cant-be-excited-about-the-new-episode-of-yuri

#please ignore my idiocy #md3 watches yuri on ice #platonic love #romantic love #reasonable relationship progress #picky with my OTPs #2017-04-22 edit: I just realized I got the most important word of my 3rd paragraph wrong #OMG typos

[celticnoise]

Last night was a disaster. Nothing short of one.

Let’s not sugar coat it nor try to pretend it’s other than what it was.

It will have profound effects on our football club in due course; when the window slams shut and our EU exit is formalised, our ability to sign promising young players from European leagues will be severely compromised. That’s the reality.

I’ll spend the day angry over this, of course I will.

English working class communities, locked in the prejudices unleashed by Brexit, have put that selfish and self-destructive idea before everything else. They have elected a brazen liar and a party which will take their votes and then remove from them everything Tory austerity didn’t already take over the past nine years.

It’s like Sevconuts embracing Dave King for his honesty and leadership.

It’s like rewarding Gerrard for failure with a new deal.

I cannot fathom it, but I do know they will reap a bitter harvest for it.

The thing is, this decision took such a shattering break with logic that I wouldn’t be surprised if Johnson or some other heartless toerag turned the same trick in five years.

Since the 2017 vote, my exasperation with Jeremy Corbyn grew to the point where, long before last night, I knew one of the silver linings of this morning would be his retirement from front line politics and his return to the allotment.

I like the man. I value the things that make him a brilliant spokesman for all the causes he espouses and cares about.

But as the leader of a political party, he was a bust.

This is a political era characterised by viciousness; his preaching of a “kinder, gentler politics” was lunacy.

The enemy lied at every turn.

Its media arm battered this guy from one end of Britain to the other.

The charge that he was a “terrorist lover” couldn’t be made stick in 2017. The charge that he was an anti-Semite was untenable if you looked at the evidence … but more importantly, those things did not matter a damn to the average voter except in the most symbolic way.

Those communities who turned their backs on Labour last night because Johnson seemed to offer them a way to “send the immigrants home” don’t give a monkeys about the plight of Britain’s Jewish population. Many of these white, working class, pro-Brexit English voters probably harbour far more anti-Semitic feelings than anyone close to Corbyn ever has or will … but it was the way Corbyn reacted to the charge, and others like it, that sealed his fate.

All Corbyn had to do, right at the start, was threaten to sue anyone who even suggested he might harbour anti-Semitic views.

Project anger.

Project loathing of all those who tried to use that as a weapon against him.

Do the same with all those other smears.

Appear willing to chew nails and spit blood.

Corbyn should have been channelling his inner bastard.

That’s what the moment called for. The public will forgive almost anything – Johnson is one of the most mendacious individuals ever to hold high office and the electorate knows it and doesn’t care. But he’s seen as a strong leader.

Corbyn’s real problem was that he was weak.

Kinder, gentler politics is weak.

The enemy was using every weapon in the arsenal.

You cannot defeat that by appealing to the better angels of their nature.

You beat it by hitting them back. Hard.

You don’t bring a straw hat to a knife fight. You bring a bayonet.

Anything less and you’re done.

What does this have to do with football, you might ask?

Plenty, as it happens.

Brexit, as I said, is going to screw us good and proper unless the game in this country has real, and truthful, leadership, and if you reckon Rod Petrie is the visionary who’s going to deliver that then you’ve been sleeping. This moment requires something else.

The SFA should be getting together with the FA down in London to start lobbying Johnson right now before the chance to protect football slips away. It requires both organisations to bring in someone with real heft to do the heavy lifting; fortunately, there are candidates.

These candidates have to love football.

They have to understand the politics of the game.

And they have to understand the game of politics itself.

One of them is Andy Burnham, but he might be a tad busy as Mayor of Manchester.

Fortunately, we do have an alternative, someone with experience of high political office and who also knows football having served as the chairman of a major club.

His name? John Reid.

If the SFA brought him in to do some of the lobbying I’m sure that would send a clear message, and provide a little gravitas.

Of course, Sevconia would trip out of its nut at the very idea of it.

But the idiot children over there need to be told to sit down and shut up.

Scottish football has pandered to those goons for far too long. They were exactly the people Regan talked about when he predicted “civil disorder” in the event of Sevco not being allowed into the league. They block reform in the game here, because no-one wants to get on their wrong side.

Well how’s that working out so far? Scottish football remains stuck in the mud.

Their financially doped team might have “restored some pride” in our game – this is the media line – and boosted the national co-efficient, but the elements of “moral hazard” are all too evident in their club policies; they’ve just handed new deals to three of their over 30’s and to Gerrard himself.

King might be on the way out, but there is no sign whatsoever that they are preparing to embrace fiscal reality far less discipline, and their crazy actions still represent a danger not only to themselves but to the wider game here.

The dust has settled on the Resolution 12 thing. But there is a case in front of the SFA that remains live and a major decision that needs to be taken. Celtic is content to let things percolate. This is another example of “kinder, gentler politics” that has thus far produced no results. The Resolution 12 campaign itself was hamstrung by the fact it allowed Celtic to drag its feet on making a decision until time bars were in place and other elements had run their course.

Weakness, in many forms. And our club looks weak because it hasn’t even proposed a reform agenda let alone pushed for it.

For too long we’ve waited for other people, or for God knows what … this game is bereft of leadership because Celtic won’t step up, and I sometimes think that Celtic won’t step up because the support hasn’t pressed them enough.

Kinder, gentler politics.

“We have left this in the hands of the SFA.”

Trusting those for whom trust and honour and keeping their word means exactly nothing.

When does it end?

It’s time to confront the big issues … and that does mean facing down the rabid lunatics of Follow Follow, so delusional they believed they could remove the SNP from every Scottish seat they held if they simply urged “unity” on the “PUL community.”

Look how that turned out.

Believe me, we’re not dealing with masters of the dark Machiavellian arts here.

We’re dealing with Peepul who’s handful of brain cells rattle when they walk down the street.

There are people who, like me, back independence and think that the SNP’s thumping result last night will make Boris Johnson realise he has to listen to Scotland … this is Sevco level delusion.

There is no point in hoping these Peepul will stay quiet. They were in uproar last night because the SFA wished them well in the game against Young Boys … think about that for a second.

Yet we pander to them., and the game panders to them.

The Celtic board wants you to trust the corrupt jokers at Hampden who have presided over a total shambles and who are stumbling into the effects of Brexit with their eyes shut.

Trusting the SFA to do the right thing now when we know their sordid history and the shameful way they behave.

Strength only respects strength.

If you show weakness you’re done for.

It has taken a monumental, cataclysmic UK election result to slap some people within Labour out of their pathetic stance and their lethargy. The next five years in Westminster politics will be a bare knuckle brawl, which is what the last two should have been.

Too late now, of course, for millions of people and the communities which will be devastated.

And at Hampden last Sunday Celtic beat a financially doped basket case club by a single goal, then went down to ten men and conceded a penalty.

The commitment of the players and the quality of our keeper prevented a confrontation between Celtic fans and its board as to why they allowed another Ibrox club the latitude to cheat its way to a major trophy at our expense, by defying financial gravity like the last one did.

There would have been no sign of “kinder, gentler politics” on this blog or on any of the others.

The writing on the wall would have been too big to ignore.

It’s still there.

Anyone choosing not to see it, time to open your eyes and look.

Crossing your fingers and hoping for the best doesn’t work. Relying on those who have proven themselves unreliable is to court disaster.

Our club needs to lead and give this game a shake.

If the board isn’t prepared to do it then perhaps it’s time we gave them a shake instead.

Our cup win yesterday continues our utter dominance of the hapless Ibrox NewCo … but how well do you know the history of our successes over them? Try our new quiz and find out. You can click this link or on the first question above .. 

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