#issa interlude

[berberriescorner]

“Are You Listening?”

Interlude: “Drinks On Me, Yeah?”

Characters: Rio x Black!Reader.

Summary: Issa Interlude, mama. Expect the unexpected.

Warnings: Profanity, angst, fluff, and drinking-little libation for the one, two.

Word Count: 1,700+.

A/N: My lovelies! My babies! Mama’s back and I got a little sum-sum for ya! Let’s start this weekend with a little Rio and the crew, yeah? Yeah. I want to give so many thanks to all of you sweet lovelies who have been rocking with me this entire time. Most of you know that the past year and a half has been quite the struggle. To everybody who took time out of your day to come and check in on me, please know that I’m appreciative and forever grateful to have connected with such amazing people🥹♥️. Thank you for all the sweet, hilarious comments and asks as well💓. I’m a little rusty, so be gentle with your girl. Enjoy my sweet babies.  Before anyone asks, yes, I’ve been working on Pt. 4😂😏😈.

"Are You Listening?" - The Playlist

Apple Music.

Spotify.

Part One Here.

Part Two Here.

Part Three Here.

Inspired By:

Your body pressed down into the plush mattress as you reveled in the comfort and security of being home. Your mind replayed the image of your mom snatching the door open, the two of you hugging tightly, rocking side to side. You had spent the past week trying to survive final exams and warding off the many questions of, “What’s wrong, baby girl?” The woman who gave you life knew you all too well. Sensing that her youngest baby was struggling, her attempts to get you to open up over the phone went unanswered. With the semester complete, being home didn’t leave much space to dodge the knowing gaze in her eyes. 

That master’s degree will probably be a waste of time.

The moment you pulled away from the hug, she cupped your chin, and your poker face cracked as the tears cascaded down your cheeks. Two hours later, you filled her in on everything from the stress of school, financial aid, working doubles, and the fresh crack in your heart that was taking its sweet-ass time to heal. All of which had only taken about forty minutes to stutter out. The talk and her comfort had left you wiped out, and just like any amazing mother would do, she sent you to your room for a nap and got to work on preparing comfort food.

You considered dozing off for a bit more rest, but your bedroom door flew open, bouncing off the corner of your vanity. Your eyes narrowed to mere slits as you started to curse your oldest brother out. His hand raising halted the verbal reprimand.

“Alena’s big-headed ass is here to see ya mean ass,” he snarked about the woman who would eventually become his wife.

These two bitches are so in love. It’s sickening. The attraction is so annoyingly obvious. Shit makes me sick to my stomach.

Before you could tell him you didn’t want company, she was already in the doorframe. “Uh-uh, bitch you are not about to dodge me for another two weeks.” With those words said, you had no choice but to give her a rundown of what had transpired. Not only had she forced you to divulge every last detail while the two of you hugged and cried together. She also took it upon herself to wiggle you into your best freakum dress and head out for a girl’s night.

Being the baby and the only girl in your family made for very over-the-top protective parents. The moment your father saw your attire, he wouldn’t let up. He was hell-bent on forcing your brothers to chaperone.

It wasn’t a horrible idea.  Only you didn’t like your independence challenged. Luckily, the older siblings were pretty chill, so long as no one was overly aggressive. They had taught you how to handle shit for yourself at a young age. You spent the first half hour in the club pouting and ready to go home to wallow in self-misery.

“Hoe! If you don’t fix your face, scaring off every good-looking man in this club!”

“They’ll be alright, so long as they keep their distance. In case you didn’t get the memo after our long talk. Men make my ass itch,” you growled, kissing your teeth.

“Whateva, you and that stank attitude can have a good time together,” she sassed, throwing up a hand and walking away from the bar.”

“Where are you going? Alena!”

“I’ll be back, damn! Let me go on and annoy them, fine-ass brothers of yours. Be nice, and don’t bite nobody head off, sourpuss.”

“Always thirsting after my blood, just triflin’.”

With the flick of a middle finger, she sauntered over to their section. You could see the irritation rolling off them as she seated herself in the middle. The arguing started seconds later. Your eye twitched at the sight. Swinging the barstool back toward the liquor, you were about to pass the time scrolling through social media. Instead, a set of bronzed-colored, muscular digits came into view. They gently pressed your phone to the bar as the matching digits slid another lemon drop into view. Your eyes danced along those muscular fingers, trailing upward until they landed on one of the sexiest faces you’d ever witnessed. If any other man would’ve done this, he would’ve been set straight expeditiously. In this instance, ole boy was just too damn fine, and it left you on mute. The corners of his mouth lifted into a handsome smirk.

The stranger turned his barstool to get closer. One hand rested on the bar while the other cradled the back of your seat. His eyes roamed over your body, lip tucking between his teeth, matching you stare for stare. He chuckled when he noticed your quirked eyebrow.

“I don’t mean to intrude on ya evening, but I figured you could use another drink.”

“Is that so?”

“Couldn’t help but overhear your conversation with your friend. I’m tryin’ to  figure out why these men got your fine ass itching out here.”

Shit, he heard that? Floor, open up and swallow me. That’s so damn embarrassing.

As if reading your thoughts, he continued, “Nothing to be embarrassed about, mama. There’s a lot of boys running around here pretending to be men. Who was crazy enough to fumble you? He gotta be the dumbest man on earth.”

As if on cue, said fumbler’s name popped up on your caller ID. With a swipe of a finger, the phone went silent. You turned back to your new admirer. He had signaled for another round of drinks.

“Either you’re a big spender, or the bartender is your connect,” you teased.

“Connect is one way of putting it. This my spot, darlin’.”

He chuckled as you damn near choked on your drink.

“I’m sorry. Tend to put my foot in my mouth.”

“You good. I like a woman who’s not afraid to speak her mind. Dealing with me, you go to say it with your chest.”

“Oh, so you plan to be around me beyond tonight?”

“Around, underneath, on top. We locked in, mama,” he insisted, licking his lips.

“I don’t even know your name, fool,” you cackled at his cockiness.

“Name’s Rio, but you can call me Christopher, mama. My future wife needs to know my government name. I’m putting my trust in you. Don’t be tellin’ my business, sweetheart.”

“Who says I’m checking for you, Rio?”

“You accepted my company and drinks. Deep down, you’re intrigued by me. Ain’t no need to hide it. When I see something I want, gotta go after it, mama.” he rasped, voice lowering to a panty-dropping level.

“You’re trouble. I just know it.”

Rio planted both hands on your thighs. The gasp that escaped you lit his brown orbs with passion.

“Can I have your undivided attention for the night? Want to get to know you better, mama.”

Grabbing his outstretched hand, he helped you down off the stool.

“Rio…”

Piercing light flickered in the darkness, pulling you from the memory that played itself in your dreams. Your hand snatched the vibrating phone from the table. Your orbs squinted to read the screen, teeth clenching in frustration.

Fucking Rio, I can’t even get away from him in my sleep. Stupid-handsome-asshole.

With a single tap, the phone rested on DND. You closed off from the world to find a peaceful slumber, only to wake from another dream. Throwing the covers back, you startled, feeling the bed dip. His cologne wafted through the air, and your eyes connected.

“Why all the tossing and turning, amor? Hmm,” he rasped, hand trailing up your arm. His warm palm cradled the side of your neck, rubbing away some of the tension.

“Sorry, did my restlessness wake you?”

“No, querida. I’ve been up taking care of some things.”

“Same old Miguel. Everything business. Still don’t sleep much, huh?”

His eyes crinkled with a small smile, but you could also see sadness. It’s the same unhappiness that’s always lingered, only now accompanied by sparks of anger and resentment. Your mind replayed his words in the elevator.

Where’s your wife, Miguel?

She had other plans tonight.

The slightest mention of her had nearly sent his mood spiraling. You weren’t privy to what was happening in his marriage but didn’t want to pry. He would only reverse card uno your ass. Miguel would insist that you vent about your own life and frustrations.

“Thank you for taking the couch,” you nibbled at your lip. 

There was a hint of frustration and guilt lingering in your chest. Not being able to sleep without dreaming of Rio left you feeling conflicted. Part of you wanted to say to hell with loyalty. Being in such a vulnerable state had you craving to be held and cuddled, but regardless of circumstance, the two of you were very much married. Concern swam in the pools of his eyes. Miguel sensed the ongoing dilemma in your head, and his fingers gently cupped your chin.

“Hey, talk to me. What’s all this,” he asked, tugging the lip between your teeth. “Tell me what you need.”

“I can’t,” you sighed.

“You can, and you will. Look at me,” he insisted as your eyes locked.

“Anything you ask me. It won’t leave this room. You need me to hold you until sleep takes over, amor?”

Unable to verbally say it, you gave him a slight head nod. Removing his tie, watch, and shoes, he made it over to the opposite side of the bed. Miguel got right to it, not giving you time to overthink it. He pulled you into his chest, arms engulfing you in a tight hug.

“Were you having nightmares, cariño?”

“No, just happy memories reminding me of the present painful ones,” you replied, voice filling with unshed tears.

“You want to talk about it?”

Silence filled the room as Miguel continued, “We don’t have to ta-.”

His sentence cut short as he felt the tremors and your head burrowed into his side. Miguel’s heart cracked at the sound of the sobs falling from your lips. His arms pulled you further into him until there was no space left, and the palm of his hand rubbed at your head.

“Shhh, you’re okay. I’m here,” he cooed, leaving soft kisses on the crown of your head.

Miguel continued to whisper calming words. You cried until your head pounded, and sleep took over.

Hope you all enjoyed that little peek into how Rio pulled up on your girl for the first time. He saw something he liked, and he had to have you🥰. We’ll just call this a vague moment of insight into upcoming events...if that makes sense 😆. If you enjoyed please be sure to hit the love button, comment, and reblog. Spread the love, my babies.

Divider: @firefly-graphics

Tags:

@darqchilddaydreamz @4everbrookemarie @astoldbychae @percosim @1andonlytashae @nightlywords7 @amorestevens @crimsonheart01 @rio-reid-whoreee @mrsmontanalol @igigix @keaboyd21 @blowmymbackout @uhlxis @abcdestinyyyy @hihellogoodbyebruh @sunshine-flower @lemmewritesomeish @catxo @naughtyslashers @realhotgurlshit @peaches007 @gardenof-venus @aizawash0e @minton131 @novaniskye @90sisthenew80s @cjricks98 @skyesthebomb @myownworstenemydw @lifeofthelovelyone @tashawar @gabbywontlose @kayla1blog @skelly-baby @adg1115 @blessedboo @fandomcitysstuff @drinaj @being-worthy @sxkxna @whore4-horror @elliesrealgf @pimpsdontcryy @batgurl42 @gotbeefbitch-blog @thedopestblackgirl @nunya7394 @midnightheat @pixieyosi @imjustheretoreads-blog 

@superhoeva @memeaaaa @djconde58

#berberriescorner #are you listening? #issa interlude #drinks on me-yeah? #series #rio x black!reader #rio x woc!reader #rio x reader #rio x y/n #rio fanfic #rio fanfiction #rio good girls #good girls rio #manny montana #black writer #spotify #daddy rio #miguel galindo #daddy miguel #rich papi #danny pino #i love my mutuals😍 #Spotify

[sick-and-artistic]

Chapter 3 : To Have and To Hold

New chapter out! Issa short one because I needed an interlude before the next fairly big chapters. Enjoy!

#obikin #anakin skywalker #obi wan kenobi #fanfic #ao3 #two halves of a whole idiot

[kenyaraae]

sounds of spring ✨

“Once, there was a thing called spring. When the world was writing verses like yours and mine” — Ella Fitzgerald.

Springtime is here — my favorite time of the year. Warmer weather and fields of poppy and lavender bloom. Many artists also emerge and spring forward with what they have been working on. Here are my favorite albums this spring(in no particular order).

Lucky Daye is undoubtedly the next big thing. Coupled with the likes of Chris Brown and Usher, Daye possesses the talent to showcase quite literally everything, Dancing, singing, rap, and poetry. In "Candydrip," the name speaks for itself -- so does the album cover. Soulful and sensual, like his chocolate skin and sweet as honey, we get a taste of all that Lucky Daye has to offer. Switching the flow through interludes and outros as he's done before, Daye inserts his love for spoken word poetry. Upon that, the album is a perfect blend of new and old R&B, funk, and neo-soul. The first single and smash hit "Over" proves that sampling can be experimental just as it used to be, if not better. (And the acapella version on Youtube strips his vocals raw and will leave you speechless) Songs like "God Body" featuring Smino and "Cherry Forest" take us back to funk and neo roots expressing the praise for his muse. "F***n' Sound" is an exciting love-making song with a mix of R&B and gospel. A Lucky Daye is certainly an experience, one that is perfect for any spring.

Pink Moon sounds just like anything you'd expect from Pink $weats. But, not to be seen as a negative — $weats is one of the best acts that can capture the true vision of an album rollout. From his repetitious hues sprinkled throughout his covers to the soft and subtle strums of guitars, each Pink $weats song is the epitome of spring. I want to categorize his sound as somewhat of neo-soul and R&B. His beautiful and collaborative harmonies with those such as Tori Kelly, Kirby, and Sabrina Claudio bring life to this euphoric dream. You're guaranteed to feel like you are floating down from a blissful high, surrounded by the blooming flowers emerging this season.

Following their 2020 R&B staple album titled "It Was Good Until It Wasn't," Kehlani introduced us to her anticipated work called "Blue Water Road." In this spacious journey, they included the perfect blend of pop and R&B for this body of work. The lyrics are always personal when listening to any album of theirs. Kehlani said it perfectly themselves in an interview -- this isn't a healing album. It racketeers between moments of bliss and confusion and the beats. Water flows wherever the wind takes us, and Kehlani makes sure to bring us on a journey of lessons of motherhood, love, loss, and self-realization. This is a new favorite of mine this spring since it brings diversity in tempo, showing us a low rhythm like "get me started," featuring Syd to upbeat jams such as "up at night" with Justin Bieber.

One thing you will be able to count on from Alex Isley & Jack Dine is a magical-sounding project. "Marigold" showcases Isley's smooth jazz vocals and delicate riffs and runs more than ever. "Under the Moon" is a turning point of the album, coming from the hurt break and accepting a breakup that has run its course. The lyrics in "Marigold" never stray from the hopeful nature matching an earthy tone of being grounded from finish to end. The best work on this project wasn't the most popular as they were "Love Again," a clear realization of a connection, and the staple jazzy tone of "Still Wonder," featuring the great Robert Glasper. Overall the production from Dine and musical ladders from Isley in this album is the proper entrance to the spring season as it showers glitter and manifests a still day of peace.

I am delighted I fell upon Ego Ella May's work. Her discography stretches to the show "Insecure" by Issa Rae and introduced her to a broader audience. Following her first EP, "Field Notes," Ella May expanded upon that, bringing us "Field Notes PT II." If you are a fan of Erykah Badu or Jill Scott, you will Enjoy Ego Ella May. The sultry vibes she included in this project are simple yet mesmerizing. Her accented soft tones in her voice, coupled with an awareness of herself and situations, make for a great feel-good this season. Funky tunes like "Introverted Hotline" explains the mere fact of wanting to be alone. A personal favorite is "for the both of us," a slow and somber one with a spin on breaking up. It follows her reminiscing about a past lover in of her new ones.

#me #music #album review #spring songs #kehlani #blue water road #lucky daye #candydrip #pink sweat$ #pink moon #alex isley #jack dine #marigold #ego ella may #field notes #field notes pt ii

[esoutherngolf]

David Mais

Former Jamaica Golf Association Executive honored at 56th Jamaica Open Golf Championship. The promotion of Jamaican golf in general and junior golf specifically are primary objectives for organizers of the 56th Jamaica Open Golf Championship, underway this week at picturesque Tryall Club in Hanover, just outside Montego Bay. It was hardly a surprise when the Jamaica Golf Association (JGA) decided on the recipient of its annual honor citation; the organization settled on a man who has worn multiple hats in promoting golf throughout the Caribbean island nation. David Mais was honored during the pro-am competition's prize-giving ceremony on the eve of the Jamaica Open. David Mais, a former vice president of the JGA and Commissioner of the Professional Golf Association of Jamaica, was honored during the pro-am competition's prizegiving ceremony held at Grand Palladium Jamaica Resort & Spa on the eve of the Jamaica Open. "Primarily, we honored David because he has been able to get golf and 'Golf Jamaica' out as a brand," said Jodi Munn-Barrow, President of the JGA. "He did this many, many years ago. When the Jamaica Open wasn't even happening, he was very prominent in trying to get the Open revived. He has been someone who has promoted the Open repeatedly and he has always insisted that we needed to have the Open." Founded in 1953, the Jamaica Open Golf Championship was held annually until 1995, when a lack of sponsorship led to a 10-year hiatus. The tournament came back for one year in 2006, skipped 2007, and was then held from 2008 to 2012. After another brief interlude, the 50th Jamaica Open was played in 2017, and it has been staged every year since then. "So helping revive the Jamaica Open was a primary reason," said Munn-Barrow. "And then also because of what David has done behind the scenes, with the administration, with the association. He has always been a part of the association, always helped with the development of golf and always promoted junior golf so we just thought it was well nigh time to honor him." Mais was unable to attend the prizegiving ceremony on Saturday at the Grand Palladium Hotel. His citation plaque was accepted on his behalf by his granddaughter, Mattea Issa, after being presented by JGA Vice President Dr. Mark Newnham. Munn-Barrow also highlighted the multiple roles that Mais has performed over the years. "He has worn hats not just in golf in Jamaica but hats in different sports in Jamaica," she said. "He has been involved in various fields, he has been part of the GC Foster school, which is a school for training in sport, so he has always been a part of ‘sport Jamaica’ and worn many, many different hats - golf just being one. He has been vice-president of the Jamaica Golf Association and he also been a part of other sporting bodies as well. He is very much a man for all seasons and he personifies the phrase 'exemplary servant'." A natural administrator, Mais is a former Wolmers’ Boys and Munro College alum who has worked in sports, education, government, and business while also heading several boards during his multi-faceted career. He began his lifelong journey as an administrator in the 1970's and, in the world of golf, he has held various roles in operations and tournament directorship, most frequently at the Jamaica Open and most notably as Director of Operations at the prestigious Johnnie Walker World Golf Championship, which was held at Tryall Club from 1991-1995. Mais has worked alongside every JGA President since the 1980s, and he also served as President of the Amateur Swimming Association of Jamaica from 1980-1982 before stepping into the role of Chairman of the Sports Development Foundation from 2008-2011. The GC Foster College appointed him as its board Chairman from 2008 to 2020, and he also held chairman's positions with Papine High from 2017 and was Consultant General to the Fire Brigade from 2018. For his various contributions to the development of sports, education, and community development, Mais was awarded the Order of Distinction in the rank of officer by the Governor General of Jamaica on August 6, 2023. Ewan Peebles, Director of Golf at Tryall Club, has lived in Jamaica for more than two decades, and he is a big fan of the Jamaica Open. He sits on the tournament committee and is aware of how important the event is for the growth of the game in Jamaica. "The Jamaica Open is a major funder of the local golf programs here in Jamaica that are managed by the Jamaica Golf Association - national teams, the national junior team, junior coaching programs," said Peebles. "Monies made and any profits derived from the Jamaica Open are invested back into those programs. So, it is very important for the Jamaica Golf Association. It's a big event for that, and David Mais has been a big part of this tournament over the years." Asked if there was one thing that jumped into her mind when she thought of David Mais, Munn-Barrow replied: "The love he has of Jamaica, the love he has for sport in Jamaica. I think that's the easiest way to describe it. It's the passion that he has for Jamaican sports." Read the full article

[radioroquette]

RR17—9# Les programmes du mercredi 17 mai au samedi 17 juin

• Les créations sonores de RR * Ben Vida w/ Yarn/Wire and Nina Dante « Who’s haunting who here » • La voix du large de Lili Le Gouvello * Voilà Valou, Bonobos & Aras • Les aventures d’A.Polina, l’atelier libre des enfants * POM et Citrons soniques • Le billet cinéma de Benoît Muller * Journal cinéphile d’avril • L’interlude musical et pimenté de Thomas * France / USA / Allemagne • En attendant la plage —écritures contemporaines * Perrine Le Querrec, Création de recherchiste • L’interlude musical et pimenté de Thomas * Spécial Mali • Les rencontres de RR * Nicolas Framont, Parasites • Les découvertes musicales au Club Convergences * Forro des petits pas mène la danse

Les interludes : Pat Kalla, Le Super Mojo « Ballade de nuit » (France) * Leyla McCalla « Lavi Vye Neg » (USA) * Pupkulies & Rebecca « Tentativa » (Allemagne) ¬ Spécial Mali : Issa Bagayogo « Gnangran » * Sidiki Diabaté « Barouba Fassa » 

[anamatics]

fic - rwby - stories of change and transition (3/9)

M // Bumbleby with some casual worldbuilding and Suffering!Weiss on the side.

~~~issa mummy au~~~

Fic Summary: Yang joined the Atlas Foreign Legion for an arm, not to get stranded deep in the desert in Vacuo with Team CFVY having stumbled upon a frankly terrifying piece of Remnant history that should have stayed buried. Now, three years, later she’s faced with an impossible offer: guide some scholars back to the desert or get shot for treason. Turns out facing your fears isn’t that hard when your life’s on the line.

Blake just wants to stick it to the Atlesian scholars who dismiss her scholarship and won’t let her into the academy because she’s a faunus from KuoKuana that’s risen above her place to be one of the better librarians in Atlas. She’s heard tell of a place deep in the desert of Vacuo which was once sacred for early faunus, a place that may well sort out the historical origins of the stories of the God of the Animals, but she can’t get there without help.

Or, Blake’s Evie and Yang’s Rick and Weiss is certainly not Jonathan but she is stuck financing this shitshow.

Chapter Summary: Things are moving: an interlude, a doomsday clock, and acting out of turn. The secret keepers must maintain their oaths.

Chapter x - Interlude

#fanfic #rwby #bumbleby #this worked better as an interlude than as part of the chapter because of the POV shift #so here enjoy oz as the curator and ruby as ardeth #and mostly me enjoying this cut scene from the script of the film I found #also lmao winter u fucked up

[alt-tj]

I really do love this mixtape.

I will forever call this his best album. Its such a dive. BUT LISTENING TO IT WHILE SMOKING IS SO MUCH FUN CAUSE ONCE YOU GET TO 55 (issa interlude) your just there like… ”…fuck…” is sequenced so well.

#SoundCloud

[absolxguardian]

What the hell happened to Cobb Vanth and Freetown: An analysis

Most Mandalorian fans don’t know that this isn’t Cobb Vanth’s first appearance. He first appeared in the interludes of the Aftermath trilogy by Chuck Wendig. The trilogy took place 6 months to a year after the events of ROTJ, so four years before the events of the show.

But there’s a problem. There’s a level of incongruity between Cobb Vanth, the marshal of Mos Pelgo and Cobb Vanth, the sheriff of Freetown. It’s almost as if, rather than sharing a universe, the Vanth we meet in the show is inspired by the books. 

But the story group hasn’t given The Mandalorian free reign to trample over the new canon. Just like with the state of the Mandalorians in general, this change is best explained with the assumption that things went down hill since we last saw Vanth in Empire’s End. Plus some unreliable narration. 

Under the cut I explain three areas of weirdness. First, what we see in the flashback vs what we know of Vanth’s backstory. Second, how has Mos Pelgo gone so far downhill. Third, why he is suddenly so aggressive against the Tuskens he once made his own peace. I’ll explain what’s in the interludes as we go, so you don’t have to have read the trilogy.

I. The Flashback

First, some backstory for Vanth that wasn’t in the episode. He’s a former Hutt slave, with a slave brand on the back of his neck. That’s probably why he wears that scarf. Presumably, his freedom was related to Leia killing Jabba the Hutt- something that had a much larger effect on the stability of Tatioone and the Outer Rim than Endor really did. Which means that when Vanth is in the Mos Pelgo cantina, he’s a newcomer- free for a time between a few days and a week.

When the mining collective shows up, while the subtitles call it Mining Collective, proper noun- it seems more reasonable to believe that Vanth meant it as a common noun (the subtitles have other inaccuracies, like calling Basic English). What he’s talking about is the half criminal organization-half mining company known as the Red Key Company. It just seems kind of ridiculous that he fights and drives off two separate mining companies, even with their thugs wearing blue masks.

As for when he gets Boba Fett’s armor from the Jawas- what we see is a simplification- reflecting how Vanth simplified the story to “I fled Mos Pelgo, was found by a sandcrawler, and paid for this armor using silicax crystals”.

We can probably assume that the rescued by a sandcrawler and paying with silicax crystals stuff is the same, just that there are more steps involved. Specifically- the plot of the first interlude.

In this, Adwin Charu, a representative of the Red Key Company is trying to buy useful things off some Jawas. Vanth encounters him outside of the sandcrawler, but we can assume that he slipped out of the sandcrawler and then looped back around so Adwin saw him as not with the Jawas. And he purchased a cool long coat:

“You’re not from around here, are you?” the man says, still grinning like he knows something. He steps in out of the bright desert sun, brushes some dust off his long jacket. “Not a local.”

He then targets Adwin, knowing that he’s a representative of the Red Key Company from what he said to the Jawas earlier. Vanth offers to vouch for Adwin, to bring his guard down. Now Cobb does say this:

The man steps forward, scratching at his stubbled face. He starts talking to the Jawas. They gabble at him in their rat-tongue and he says, “Uh-huh, no, I know, but I come bearing credits and so does he.” Cobb turns to Adwin and gives a wink. The Jawas whisper and babble. “Okay, then.

The best assumption to make here is that, intending to leave the sandcrawler soon, Vanth just converted his silicax crystals into credits. Jawas have to have a cash supply, that’s presumably what they accepted from Uncle Owen for R2 and C3PO.

In the narrative I’ve built, Vanth wasn’t sure about coming back to protect Mos Pelgo, which is why he didn’t trade for the armor right away. It wasn’t his home, he’d just came into town. So when he shoots Adwin and declares himself a lawman, he really is self appointed. It was a duty he took on in that moment.

So he returns to Mos Pelgo, and in the first skirmish against the Red Key raiders, does what we see in the show. But the war has only just begun.

II. Freetown

The second interlude is from the point of view of a depressed and purposeless Malakili (the Rancor tamer from ROTJ). He is saved from the Red Key Raiders by Cobb Vanth and a Twi’lek woman named Issa-Or. But Mos Pelgo isn’t Mos Pelgo anymore- it’s Freetown- a place for anyone willing to stand up to the syndicates and make a life as free beings. 

Vanth recruits Malakili to “train” a baby Hutt the Raiders were trying to put on Jabba’s dais. Malakili points out that you don’t train Hutts, they’re sapient. You raise them. This shows two traits of Vanth that are on better display in the show- that he has trouble thinking outside of traditional power structures (like not having Tatioone ruled by a Hutt) and trouble interacting with sapient who exist outside of the standard humanoid interaction schema- be they be the oppressor Hutts or the oppressed Tuskens.

Eventually, they fight off the Red Key Raiders, but we know Freetown doesn’t last. And I think why is indicated in a few throwaway lines:

“Everybody’s someone, my friend. Thing about Freetown is, to live inside our walls means to be useful. Are you useful?”

-Aftermath: Life Debt

Then comes a sound—a terrible howl followed by a mad battle cry. Red Key raiders begin falling from the walls as blasts from outside take them out. 

-Aftermath: Empire’s End

Freetown has walls. But Mos Pelgo, as we see it, doesn’t. Given that the walls of Mos Eisley provided Peli with a feeling of protection, I think we can assume that they have some underground component (like vibrating spikes) that protects walled villages from Krayt Dragon attacks. But those would interfere with mining, so there’s an unwalled suburb of Mos Pelgo. And that’s the only part that survived.

Survived? Well what happened to the great experiment of Freetown?

Lorgan tries to crab-walk backward, but Vanth presses down on his wrist hard enough to hear the bones start to grind. He cries out. “You don’t know what you’re doing, Vanth. You’re an idiot playing a game against gods. You stole that suit thinking you can fill it, you stole a Hutt thinking you can raise it to the dais—you’ll never succeed here. My masters will come. They’ll kill you. They’ll wipe this place off the map.”

Lorgan Movellan, the leader of the Red Key Raiders on Tatioone’s, last words are that his masters will come and destroy Freetown for their rebellion. And that’s what I assume happened. Or the Hutts got their stuff together when it came to Jabba’s succession and agreed that whoever it was, it wasn’t one raised by some humans. So the bandits Peli said destroyed Mos Pelgo were either Hutt or Red Key ships that wiped Freetown of the map- presumably also killing Malakili and Issa-Or, as they’re nowhere to be seen. 

The small group of survivors living in the suburbs are defended by a demoralized Cobb Vanth. The name “Freetown” falls away, as does the term sheriff for some reason- becoming instead marshal.

III. The Tuskens

But what about the peace Vanth made with the local Tuskens, who helped him drive away the Red Key Raiders? How does a man go from allying with the Tuskens to saying “These monsters can’t be reasoned with” in four years. Well there are a few possibilities- all of which but the Tuskens in the right and make Vanth’s hatred of them a misunderstanding- all in line with the theme of the episode. And whatever it was, Din talked with the Tuskens and sorted everything out, so Vanth could once again trust them.

But what was the context of this treaty. The deal was, that in exchange for some water tributes, the Tuskens would allow Freetown to live on their sacred land. And then Malakili got his hands on a Krayt Dragon pearl (just like they get in the episode), which secured their protection of Freetown.

As for how all of this was communicated, my best guess for the translator was that it was Malakili. He strikes me as the kind of person who’d learn their sign language so he could learn all the Tuskens did about Banthas and Massiffs so he could perfect his craft.

But Malakili died in the attack that destroyed Freetown, so there is no way to parley with the Tuskens before Din comes to Mos Pelgo. So what are the possibilities of what could have caused this breakdown of the peace.

1. A time limit: This is the one I think is the least likely, because even if Malakili wasn’t a trained interpreter, I don’t think he’d miss something as important as this. And if the treaty just expired, Vanth wouldn’t have felt betrayed. But there might have been something related. For example, without Malakili they couldn’t adjust their water tribute to reflect their smaller population. Still, in this case, I still don’t think Vanth would feel so betrayed as to change his entire beliefs about Tuskens.

2. It’s just a different group: Tuskens organize themselves into clans. Their nomadic lifestlye could create a cycle where different clans end up living in different areas over a few years. This group had no treaty with Freetown. But Vanth saw all Tuskens as a monolith, so when the new group treated Mos Pelgo the way they’d always do, Vanth fought back- restarting the cycle of violence.

3. Someone in Mos Pelgo broke the treaty: In this scenario, a citizen of Mos Pelgo couldn’t handle the water tributes- perhaps because their smaller population made it a greater burden and it couldn’t be renegotiated- and so stole water from the Tuskens, destroying the treaty. But Vanth never found out about this, and blamed the Tuskens instead.

When the Aftermath trilogy finished, Freetown seemed like a new future for Tatioone- full of free people at peace with the Tuskens. But it seems like that’s not how things progressed. Still, with Din’s help, at least the revolutionary peace between Mos Pelgo and the Tuskens has been reestablished. 

#the mandalorian #cobb vanth #the mandalorian season 2 #the mandalorian chapter 9 the marshal #sw #star wars #sw aftermath

[stateofirrelevancy]

CALM First Listen Impressions

I’ve been doing these since SGFG and imma keep doing it till the day i die!!

Red Desert - OOF harmonies okay I see you !! Intro is hella soulful don’t tell me I’m about to cry ALREADY guys… okay that bass in the bg is thicccc and I’m living for it OOF AND THEN THE CHORUS HITS AND THOSE DRUMS BITCH THIS SONG IS SO GOOD ON JUST THE FIRST LISTEN Y’ALL AHHHHH and then that TRANSITION from chorus to second verse my mans ashton did not disappoint !! Guys I’m really feeling this song holy shit it’s so good. Bitch this RED in the bridge is rly TEASING ME like bitch KEEP GOING!!!!!!!!!! Low key this song sounds like it’s 90% saying “red desert” over and over but I’m not complaining issa bop and a half !!! AHHH THAT ENDING AND THEY REALLY WENT TO A LOWER NOTE THAT WAS SO GOOD if that ain’t my fave song on the album i’ll be hella shook. Rating: 10/10 obviously

No Shame - I’ve liked this song since the very first time I heard it it’s actually such a bop. I can’t wait to drive around with this song blasting in my car. I LOVE when Luke says “Go on and plaAaAaAce me” it’s so pretty!!! Rating: 9/10 I just wish the bridge had something different I’m not a big fan of sos ALWAYS doing slowed down choruses for bridges and once you notice it it’s hard to stop lol

Old Me - I wasn’t a huge fan of this song the first time I heard it and genuinely didn’t think it’d grow on me AT ALL, but even after the second listen I really liked it, and I’ve really come to appreciate, like, the fan service message behind it? And that music video just made me love it more. The thing I didn’t like initially and still am not a huge fan of is how autotune-y the song sounds. I know everyone uses autotune, but imo it’s way too noticeable in the song to the point where it sounds a little unpleasant once you catch it. Rating: 8/10

Easier - Okay to be honest, I hate this song LMAO like one time I was crying in the shower while I was listening to my music on shuffle and this song came on and I literally stopped crying to change the song and then went back to crying daskjfkaljl Honestly the verses are really catchy and I like the prechorus but god I DETEST the chorus so fucking much it’s so fucking annoying and that’s low key like most of the song,,, I don’t even wanna finish the song but imma force myself to lmaooooo Rating: 3/10

Teeth - I love the bass at the beginning I’m such a slut for thicccc basses. I also like how crisp? Luke’s voice sound initially idk if that’s like a weird thing to say lol. I also hate the chorus here but not as much as Easier and the other parts of the song def make up for it. Rating: 6.5/10

Wildflower - This song was also like Old Me to me where I didn’t really love it at first but really liked it the second time. It’s definitely not gonna be a favorite of the album or a song I’m probs gonna remember forever but I bet it’s gonna be a BOP at concerts which is always appreciated. PLUS I love that Calum is singing he has a very unique voice I think. Also side note I justopened the livestream and it’s a hot mess lmaooo Ash rly fucking fucked up and needed to move it onto Cal lmaoo here I thought I was in sync with everyone smh. Rating: 7.5/10 with room to grow with more listens i’m assuming

Best Years - Anyways moving on from the livestream mess from these kids who don’t know technology,,, oof first impressions: sounds like same vibes as ghost of you?? I love the line “I’ll build a house out of the mess” or whatever. The part where he sings “best yeeaaarrs” is uhhh kinda weird? I thought that when Luke sang this on live but I thought it might sound better on the track but lmao nah I still think it sounds awkward tbh. But the verses are cute. Oof that instrumental was so long I legit stopped paying attention dafkdasjlk OOF OOF OOF THAT PART WHEN THE INSTRUMENTS KICKED IN okay I live for that. Song is kinda short so it gives me vibes of Lie To Me + Ghost Of You in terms of vibe (not lyrics). Rating: 6/10

Side note: I open the stream and they’re?? Just talking abt the album???? What happened to group listen lmaoo okay I guess gotta do everything in isolation around here smh

Not in the Same Way - woah okay start right away I guess !! “You say go I won’t leave” oof I don’t like that lyric cause a bitch has dealt with it and it’s terrible!! Omg when they said “NOT IN THE SAME WAY” in unison I legit live for the boys singing in unison okay OMG WE FUCK WE FIGHT AFDKAKLDJKL he really just gets more blatant every album w these swears huh fdskjkl OOF THAT DRUM BUILD UP SOUNDED SO GOOD Okay this is def a song to bop to live I can’t wait !! “I’m sick of sadness you’re sick of sadness” oof these lyrics bitch…. okay this song is kinda repetitive which is making me kinda tired BUT it’s not the worst thing and I like the parts that they’re repeating i guess LOL oh WOAH that “eh eh ehh” part is kinda interesting OMG IS THAT AN ORIGINAL BRIDGE/THIRD VERSE? From *MY* 5sos?????????? OKAY I SEE YOU,,, Okay the repetitiveness is kinda rly annoying now but it’s okay I still enjoy the song for now but can see myself maybe not listening to this song much later bc of it (Rating: 7/10)

Lover of Mine - Okay acoustic song of the album icu icu “Butterfly lies chase them away” interesting I like that  “dance around the living room” 👀 oof this pre-chorus is really good I’m such a slut for good prechoruses !! Luke’s voice sounds so soothing and smooth but the drums in the background in the second half are a little? Much? I don’t know maybe they’ll grow on me… I really like the lyrics of this song, I didn’t focus completely on everything but,, dare I say,,,, it might be some of their strongest writing yet??!? Omg I love love love these instrumentals near the end esp the piano sounds so beautiful and kind of reminded me of the interlude after San Francisco. Overall I think this song was honestly very beautiful. Rating: 8/10

Thin White Lies - more bass yessss it sounds so good,, are these lyrics about depression? Ehhh not feeling this chorus at all, too much going on and it’s just not a bop and that’s my only criteria for liking songs lmaoo. This song is giving me Empty Wallets + Babylon vibes kind of? Which isn’t rly my favorite vibe in songs tbh it’s just not for me, I don’t think it’s a bad song, though. “I don’t really like me anymore” :((((( mood Rating: 6/10

Lonely Heart - That one two three was so hot ngl,,, ANOTHER acoustic song?? Okay okay interesting. WOAH WHEN THEY CAME IN together god I love that and this OH OH OH part sooo catchy yesss okay also smth I’ve noticed 5sos doing a lot: quiet beginning (or quiet verses) and loud/bop-y choruses… that’s like half the album look me in the eyes and tell me I’m wrong !! It’s the equivalent of YB being mostly normal guitar verses and then instrumental pre-choruses lmao at least this I like a lot more WOAH THAT BRIDGE???????? WHO IS SINGING THAT IS THAT MICHAEL? I literally don’t recognize whose voice that is has it been that long since I heard his voice am I tripping?? But either way that was really cool. The song overall was pretty? Plain but not at all bad and it’ll definitely grow on me with more listens. Rating: 7/10

High - last song im so sad ahhh oof that sound it sounded like Michael? And it was umm very ear orgasmic lmao weird to put two songs that start like that one after the other tho but whatever. Woah the way Luke sang “highly” was so angelic !!! This is very acoustic-y too, but it seems like it’s truly mostly the same vibe throughout. Oof Calum’s harmonies sound so good. I also like the background “Ah”s this song sounds very angelic and pretty. I really like the way he sings the lyrics like “I hope you think of me high… think of me highly” and the part after that kind of mirrors that line. Not a huge fan of the lyric saying your friends just want you to yourself oof friends don’t like imma be honest that line was kinda cringy lmaoo But this song was very pretty, though honestly I doubt I’ll listen to it much or remember it just cause slow songs aren’t my cup of tea, but I can really appreciate the song for what it is and it was enjoyable to listen to. Rating: 8/10

Unrelated: I like that the album isn’t crazy long like every other album of theirs. I much prefer concentrating on 12 great songs than making 16-20 and then inevitably them hating/ignoring a few of them cause they’re like,, way worse than the rest of the album

Average rating: Okay technically 7.1/10 BUT if you take out Easier, then it’s a solid 7.5/10

I liked a lot of the songs and I’m sure I’ll like them even more with more listens, but the only ones I really LOVED were Red Desert and No Shame. It’s honestly a fantastic album, I just don’t think it fits my personal vibe. I’m very proud of the boys!! I really think it’s some of their best work. (Besides Easier,,, she can choke 💀💀)

#also idk music terms so if any were wrong pls dont come for me lol #forgot to mention this but i like the album a lot better than yb #i'd rate them sgfg > calm > yb > self titled #calm #5sos #5 seconds of summer #5sos thoughts

[notafraidof]

my takes on icarus falls

probably not gonna be Super Fresh Hot takes since i’m five feet up his ass, but what’re you gonna do

“let me” - ★★★✩✩ - the melody is a bop and a half, but i can’t stop rolling my eyes at “for the rest of my life” bc………… nobody can promise that lmao. also… is he still with gigi?? who he singin to. the falsetto won me over tho

“natural” - ★★★½✩ - issa tune i can groove to, but the lyrics are a teeeeny bit lackluster (my expectations are sky-high though lmao). like why did he repeat “like the bluest ocean”…… no need for it. and could he not think of other forces of nature than a hurricane?? bruh i can think of six off the top of my head. also the “come together right now” bit makes me wanna say “over me”

“back to life” - ★★★✩✩ - not a whole lot to say about this one? i liked it but it didn’t feel Life Changing y’know? also my gay ass was sad about all the “she”s

“common” - ★★★★✩ - the melody is SO GOOD. my naïve person-lover isn’t a big fan of calling other couples gray and common, but honestly he said i’m fuckin beautiful so

“imprint” - ★★★✩✩ - a Smooth Bop, i love the line “if the planets all faded away” and the CORNY ASS “jumpin’ like mario…don’t lose a life” A CUTE NERD WHO I LOVE!! i just think most of the sentiments have been said a hundred times in other (more iconic) R&B songs. also again with the “girl” shit, i wanna insert myself into the song, zaniel !!!!!

“stand still” - ★★★★✩ - i don’t entirely understand the metaphors… but everything sounds pretty and like if elton john tried R&B and i’m into it

“tonight” - ★★✩✩✩ - i’ve heard this exact shit a million tiiiiiiimes zayn, it’s not original, dude. 1D fuckin did it with lwwy in 2012 my guy. can’t fault him for the vocal run though, he always sounds good (& i do think of him when i feel myself)

“flight of the stars” - ★★★½✩ - melody line is FRESH and i love it. kinda sad it sounds like it’s just about a relationship? bruh a song about a girl who’s literally following stars could be So Much More

“if i got you” - ★★★★½ - SPACE ZAYN #CONFIRMED -- ALSO, ZAYN’S CALLIN ME BABE I LOVE IT

“talk to me” - ★★★✩✩ - not gonna ngl i know this is Yet Another Sex Song but. my heart does the pitter pat imagining it I NEVER CLAIMED THIS WAS UNBIASED

“there you are” - ★★★½✩ - Powerful Vocals and sweet sentiments!! “i’m drunk and i need you” has been driven right into the ground, but he sounds so genuine and i love him

“i don’t mind” - ★★★★✩ - for a sec i thought this was his “i won’t mind” cover lmao oops. THE LQ PIANO IS SO NICE!!!!! more acoustic instruments please zayn!! boy said “it’s lit” which made me SNORT. he has the voice of an angel and i melt at his falsetto so 4/5

“icarus interlude” - ★★★✩✩ - boy’s good at interludes, but like. that corny-ass yves saint laurent flex. and again w “girl” and Everything Has to Be About Love

“good guy” - ★★✩✩✩ - first of all: HARDCORE rolling my eyes. baby you are fooling exactly Nobody w this hardcore bradford bad boy front. u are a giggly nerd and it’s just amusing how much you think you’re not …and also the lyrics just. don’t make sense? extinct creatures don’t work on instinct… they’re dead. wwwwhat is a “slide bleacher”? why would streetlamps try to teach you anything??

“you wish you knew” - ★★½✩✩ - this kinda bops like a rihanna song!! (that’s a good thing) idk i’m just not really vibin with this song right now, maybe it’ll grow on me. i mean… i do wish i knew him lmao

“sour diesel” - ★★★★✩ - A True Jam!!! honestly crushin on the girl he’s singing about. still don’t know what a sour diesel is though

“satisfaction” - ★★★✩✩ - kinda thought this was gonna be a rolling stone cover whoops. boy sounds so sad and lovely!!! although i’m skeptical of him not getting any satisfaction w/o an SO. if you really think that, you gotta have more fun when you masturbate dude

“scripted” - ★★★½✩ - this is so fuckin obscure but he sounds like art garfunkel circa 1980s!! and i love it!! also PIANO AGAIN PLEASE MORE OF THAT. it was neat to hear like… him talking over the phone during the song, that was fun. and zayn, honey, the men in black reference just cements my opinion that you’re a huge nerd.

“entertainer” - ★★★★✩ - I THOUGHT THIS WAS A BILLY JOEL COVER QUIT FUCKING WITH MY HEAD MALIK. amazing vocals like always, and he looks like a whole-ass MEAL in the music video. i’m just sad that someone played him like that, he deserves more than fake love

“all that” - ★★★½✩ - OPTIMUS PRIME?????? HOW CAN YOU EVEN PRETEND THAT YOU’RE EDGY AND DANGEROUS YOU ABSOLUTE DWEEB

“good years” - ★★★★½ - i’m so upset!! does he actually think like this?? honey you’re TWENTY-FIVE you don’t have to worry about that!!! and it also makes me sad bc… are you regretting your time in 1D? you said you’d never do that ;; this song makes my heart hurt in the best way his voice is 👌🏻

“fresh air” - ★★★✩✩ - uh… who is he talking to?? like holy shit dude.

“rainberry” - ★★★★½ - this 👏🏻 is 👏🏻 A 👏🏻 BOP 👏🏻 the falsetto, the word choices, the bumpin bass line, everything is dope as FUCK. only thing is… idk what he’s talking about?? i googled “rainberry” and the only thing that came up was the gatorade flavor??? my guy are you singing about someone drinking gatorade

“insomnia” - ★★★★✩ - this is some quality shit!!! not much else to say honestly, sorry

“no candle no light” - ★★★★★ - MY MOTHER AND MY SON!!!!! they sound SO GOOD TOGETHER and the song fuckin SLAPS. the literal Only Complaint i have is that i wanted nicki to fuckin spit some bars!! her four lines at the end Do Not Count. also, guys, i’d like an mv if you’re up for it

“fingers” - ★★★½✩ - i can definitely groove to this, and “my fingers ain’t workin’ but my heart is” is such a neat phrase to use in a song.

“too much” - ★★★✩✩ - is good! i don’t get the juxtaposition of “i just want love and lust” and “you just can’t love enough” but the falsetto is lovely and timbaland sounds like he’s havin a good time, and that’s all that matters

the album overall is ★★★½✩ !! i love my son and ZM2 is a fuckening bop

#icarus falls #zm #shut up zane #blease read my review

[berberriescorner]

Asks Open...

Taking a little break from writing...

let's chat...

What are y'all hoping to read about in the next part of "Are You Listening?"

What have been some of your favorite parts thus far?

I'll do my best to answer any responses without dropping any spoilers.

Also, what other fics are you looking forward to?

Who y'all obsessed with these days😆?

Drop it in the ask box my lovelies🫶🏾.

#berberriescorner #berberries asks💓 #berberries asks #asks open #are you listening? #part one #part two #part three #issa interlude #part four? #daddy rio #i love my mutuals😍 #rio good girls

[musicpromoapp]

Jazmine Sullivan Reveals Tracklist for New Heaux Tales Deluxe Edition

Jazmine Sullivan Reveals Tracklist for New Heaux Tales Deluxe Edition

Jazmine Sullivan has shared the tracklist for the forthcoming deluxe edition of last year’s Heaux Tales. The new Heaux Tales, Mo’ Tales: The Deluxe features 10 tracks and interludes (including the previously released “Tragic”) and includes contributions from Issa Rae, comedian Mona Love, and more. The deluxe edition arrives February 11. Check out the tracklist in full below. Sullivan is set to…

View On WordPress

[insecure-hbo-the-recaps]

hella blows

Previously on Insecure: Issa is cool with Daniel, but he knows what it is. She’s all about her hoe-tation. Molly’s dad cheated on Molly’s mom which made her feel stupid enough to sleep with Dro. Issa wanted to make sure Daniel knew they were both seeing other people.

Issa’s alarm goes off and at first it looks like she’s beyond late for work. But it’s something even worse than that: she has to get up to move her car out of designated parking to a free side of the street before she gets a ticket or tow. Ikr? About 65% of the reason I want to move out of my current neighborhood even though it’s a huge hassle. “Ay! Your bumper bout to fall off,” some idiot points out obliviously. “Thanks!” Issa trills in a curt “no duh” kind of way.

Molly is working late. Dro calls and she hesitates before answering, clearly not looking forward to it. She thinks they’re going to have a serious conversation but of course he is just calling to shoot the shit. I feel like probably unfairly this paints Dro as suspect? Who fucks their lifelong friend while in an open marriage and then calls like nothing is different? I get the counterargument that that may be WHY he would call and act like nothing is different. But I don’t trust these fools.

Molly gets a call on the other line, and tells Dro she has to go because it’s her mom. But rather than brace herself for the sure emotional baggage that would come from that, Molly actually doesn’t answer, and just sits there thinking about what a mess her life is. She and Dro apparently have plans to see each other the next day, which is ostensibly the real reason why he called.

Shout out to Issa’s superfluously woke outerwear. She’s wearing that sweatshirt with a somewhat less than casual long skirt by the way. She has no car, so she has to take the bus. She eyes some latino kid as though she recognizes him. He regards her awkwardly as if he recognizes her too. She slides Daniel a potential come thru text and heads into her apartment, bored and restless. She has an email for somethin called a “Sexplosion,” which is appealing to her in this moment of drudgery. She bored.

Deciding this particular boredom is not something she can merely abide, Issa figures maybe she’ll stop in on Neighbor Bae. Her bathroom freshen up routine consists of mouthwash and an aggressive verbal affirmation seminar. She’s one hundred percent gasssed up.

She obliviously heads downstairs and knocks on Neighbor Bae’s door. He is surprised to see her, but he’s clearly pretending not to know whether or not he asked her over, which is polite. Issa assumes her dropping by should be welcomed, but Eddie has company. He makes needlessly polite excuses when honestly he didn’t have to because who the fuck is Issa? Mama gotta have a life too.

Although Issa has to vent via mirror freestyle (“I could cry right now I’m so embarrassed and mad, I hope you can’t get it up and that her pussy is trash”) I mean, come on. Be reasonable. You’re going to have to get a much thicker skin and a lot more comfortable with rejection if you’re going to try to be about that ho life. And you know what, it’s not for everyone. I had a friend who for some reason thought she was this perfect princess in her mind when really when she’d tell me stories I’d be looking at her like this is some random bitch who will do cocaine with strangers on a first date and then fuck them on the way home so why you think you deserve a doctor husband though? The answer to that question is that she was white and therefore delusional, but the overall point is that not everybody can brave the harsh landscape of being single and dating, and if you try to fake it you’ll just end up crying at bars when men ask you why you’re single (which also happened to this friend).

I really hate when I take accidental pauses like this one lol:

As Issa irritatedly deals with not getting the dick she psyched herself up for, she gets a double whammy of rejection when Daniel answers her come thru text that he’s busy. Issa is not feeling singleness at this moment. There’s an interlude with Baby Voiced Darius where he asks her, just randomly for no reason, if she’s going to Target. “Why would I be?” Issa snaps. I mean, it’s a fair question. I’m potentially going to Target 40% of the time in any random day.

In some other cool, quirky, millennial loft in Los Angeles, Lawrence is making some kind of pitch to a motley group of assembled coworkers. So now we finally get some details on the elusive Woot Woot: “it aggregates all of your data, where you shop, where you eat, where you drink, and it makes recommendations based on that.” Motherfucker how is this any different from all the bullshit Netflix keeps recommending me 67 times that I’m not going to watch, or how google is so Big Brother on us now that if I’m watching or listening to something and decide to look up part of it, it can autocomplete my search based on less than one word? I mean to say… technology been way able to do that for a long time, bruh. Everyone cheers and applauds and Lawrence, in a very ugly navy cardigan, grins big at what seems like praise and encouragement of his idea. And… this was the idea he’d been working on while unemployed for two years? AND WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH “WOOT WOOT”?!

Two guys that I’m going to assume are Lawrence’s superiors are giving him feedback. Bosses in the start up world look like this:

I’m glad I’m not inclined to this field because it’s honestly not something that I think I would be able to take seriously lol. They say it’s great and they loved the presentation. While their feedback sounds positive and Lawrence obviously thinks it’s a vote of confidence, if you listen closely they’re doing nothing but praising him individually and offering compliments to the fact that he is working hard and competently, not praising the viability of his work specifically. They make no comments whatsoever about the app being a good idea or potential product. Then, just to underscore the fact that they are Clueless White People, the fat guy asks Lawrence about his shoes, and calls them fly. I would take issue that at this point it seems like the show just makes fun of white people just to mock them and make white people as a whole unsympathetic but on the other hand… white people stay doing fake bonding shit like this when they don’t have to, so if they look bad, then, motherfuckers, stop doing the shit.

Where do you suppose Issa and Molly are? I’m at a loss as to whether this is a Chinese restaurant, a really shitty travel agency, or somewhere where you can get your eyebrows waxed for eight dollars. Molly is telling Issa she’s worried that she may have fucked up her friendship with Dro, and Issa points out that that wouldn’t be surprising considering that she fucked her friend. I think that it’s nice just a couple episodes ago Molly was having this talk with Issa, and now Issa’s having it with Molly.

It turns out they’re in a mechanic waiting room while Issa gets an estimate to fix her car. Molly opines that Dro is the only person/man who’s seen her at her worst so why would she go and complicate things this way? And the way I feel about that is… if you start fucking a married man you really can’t be thinking about any of this shit where he may potentially be a person that is anything other than a married man. Remind me again that at some point during this story line I take a complete break to tell y'all about how I was fucking a married man. The point is anyway that Molly is doing the most emotionally when you’d think it would be easy to understand that in a situation like this specifically you need to do your best to chill. Her current thought is to tell Dro she doesn’t want it to happen again when they hang out later that night.The mechanic comes back and tells Issa they’ll have to order parts to do the repairs (which duh she’s getting body work done) and it’ll be about 5500. Issa balks at that price tag.

Remember in the previous episode where Molly and Issa talked about a vacation? Molly still wants to go (listing a bunch of countries and islands that start with M, prompting Issa to chide annoyedly “there are other places with other letters”) seemingly oblivious to the fact that if Issa can’t afford to repair her car, she can’t afford to go on vacation. In hindsight, this show really put a LOT of effort into very deliberate continuity between episodes, for really small things.

Issa is frustrated because she had been doing really well with all her various life parts and now all of them seem to be scattering out abruptly. She’s still having trouble accepting that men she’s seeing casually aren’t just available for her whenever she wants them to be. Ok so… how are you saying you want Daniel to know to stay in his place, and you want Mexican Bae not to expect anything from you, but you want them to be willing to do whatever you want when you want it? Again: be reasonable sis. If you’re gonna dish it out then obviously you have to take it back too. Then she acknowledges sex with her is mediocre and, again, this is where she loses me. I don’t think I would ever describe sex with me as “acceptable” except on occasions when I know I am making no effort to leave an impression. Come on now. Half the dudes I got to stick around as adults - when sex is less of an issue and everyone has more baggage - is probably 80% because sex was the only draw. And I’m partially joking (clearly I have the delusionally high self esteem of a complete asshole and I like it that way), but seriously it’s something that you have to think about as you get older. The Panties Card gets flimsier and flimsier, until it is no longer a guaranteed bargaining chip to maintain someone’s attention which frankly was news to me.

Back at the super cool Los Angeles tech start up, Lawrence stops by Arpana’s desk and playfully asks her questions around what he should do with his impending takeover of the app world. Arpana makes this face:

Clearly she is clued into what Lawrence is not, which is that the presentation did not go as well as he thought it did. She tells him he should lower his expectations, because she doesn’t think Woot Woot is viable: it felt outdated. Speaking of delusional self esteem, Lawrence cooly replies that it’s fine if she doesn’t see the vision and who cares because she’s not the one greenlighting it anyway. As he gets up to leave, Arpana adds that clearly the bosses weren’t into it like they were some other app where they asked questions and dug through the pitch looking for flaws then scheduled a follow up. It slowly sinks in on Lawrence that maybe she has a point, but when she says “it’s like they didn’t want to offend you,” Lawrence puts his defenses back up and tells her that she’s entitled to her opinion. While I don’t approve of Lawrence’s childish blindspots, I do approve of his polite passive aggressive work rebuttals. (Professional environments love passive aggression.)

Laker bar. Molly shows up for her date with Dro, nervous about the speech she plans to drop. She awkwardly explains that she feels like things are different though objectively Dro’s behavior doesn’t seem in any way out of the ordinary. He tells her she’s being dramatic and to calm the fuck down. They playfully joke about french fries and apparently that’s all it took to defuse the tension.

The tension was so de-fused that they went back to Molly’s place after the game to offer us another excellently choreographed sex scene. A.) Molly’s headboard is everything (quality headboards are not in reach of everyone’s financial adult life, sigh) and b.) of all the ones we’ve seen so far I think Molly’s sex scenes are the only ones that are actually sexy.

Meanwhile, Issa has invited Mexican Bae over to her place. She doesn’t really want to date him, so this is all a ruse to hopefully get some dick. As she makes pointed conversation drawing attention to her visible bra and the obscene shortness of her skirt, at this point it’s like… do you even actually want some dick or is this just about proving a point? Like are you actually horny and wanting to get fucked? Nico plays along politely, even ignoring her obvious come ons. We are then treated to an awkward scene where Nico wants to treat Issa like a person and she wants to treat him like a conquest. It’s painful to witness.

Issa decides to try a more direct move and just initiates kissing. Nico tries to bring the date back around to their dinner reservations. I feel like the fact that he’s meant to be fairly older than Issa is supposed to play into this. Issa goes so far as to try to bypass this, and when Nico tells her to slow down - “I really like you and I don’t want to rush past this, I want to get to know you” - it just makes Issa angry. Even then, Nico is STILL WILLING to go out to dinner, but Issa apparently is too prideful for this so she flatly rejects him and watches him leave. Sigh. I do understand where she’s coming from, I do. But she’s going about it all the wrong way - very defensively and insecurely. (Oh! I get it now! Ba dum bum.)

Back at Molly’s, she and Dro are doing the post coital thing. He points out that she said she didn’t want to do this anymore. Molly is clearly in a dick haze because her defenses are vastly lowered. She wants to know the boundaries of their non-relationship but Dro is all cool and aloof. He does tell her he isn’t looking for a second side piece which you’d think considering the circumstances would clue her into how ridiculous a conversation this is. She’s asking a married man whether he wants to fuck other women on the side of his wife, isn’t that inherently answering its own question?

Anyway Dro says that Candace knows they are sleeping together and in fact it was her idea to open the relationship. Or so he says. Molly, like a fool, just wants to indulge her butterflies. Her caution is just lip service. She wanted to be told what she wanted to hear.

Another day at work, Lawrence decides to stop by the bosses’ office - where they are standing at waist high desks instead of sitting - and follow up regarding his presentation. Recalling Arpana’s words, he asks whetehr they have any feedback regarding his Woot Woot pitch. I really like the way they framed this shot:

as they shoot each other uncomfortable looks at being put on the spot. Lawrence is speaking in terms of how to to move forward with a viable project, but the bosses do nothing but offer more empty compliments. They have no additional thoughts that would signify any real concerns that would be relevant were this to be an actual project they undertook. The fat boss says they love having his “perspective and input” which delicately suggests Lawrence is there as a diversity hire and not as a real and valuable part of the team. “You bring a lot to the team,” the skinny guy says. The fat guy gives a typically encouraging bullshit line of being excited to see “Lawrence 2.0” and the skinny guy laughs sycophantically. If Lawrence still doesn’t get it, the fact that they overcompensate about his shoes again (“what store did you get those from again?”) should leave him in no doubt. Emasculating… no? (I have far too many thoughts on this subject so let’s move on. They aren’t particularly original, so I’ll spare you.)

Sexplosion. Hey! There are strippers doing pole tricks and chocolatey penis cakes so… what is Tiffany’s job again that this is a thing she does? Issa, Molly, Kelli, and Tiffany stroll up and take a bunch of free condoms. Issa thinks Molly broke things off with Dro because she asks why she needs condoms. They talk about barriers for oral sex and I just remembered this is the episode where they have the problematic, regressive conversation about oral sex.

So, let’s just get this out of the way: Tiffany, the only married one who is clearly the most whitewashed of the group, is the only one to openly acknowledge she loves giving blowjobs. Kelli doesn’t do it wholesale, Issa doesn’t like to do it, and Molly gives the Carrie Bradshaw (because of course this was a conversation on SEASON ONE of sex and the city) response of how it’s not her favorite but she’s flexible. Question: is this what black women are still on in the streets?

Being called a “ho” and ostracized for having any kind of sexuality is something that I left behind in high school once I was an adult and didn’t see any reason to need my choices validated by gossip and/or people I didn’t know. And the conservative quasi-religious culture of patriarchal standards and misogynist perspectives is something I completely abandoned in grad school when the only black men around that wanted to date me behaved like the shit I’d left behind in high school and I realized I was totally unfamiliar with any other cultural norms. I’m not going to go off on a tangent to get to the bottom line that I would hope this is not still a widespread understanding amongst young black women these days though I would not be entirely surprised if it were. I want to sum it up as so: when I exclusively dated black men some of the time I’d be sleeping with a guy who would refuse to ever kiss me, for apparently no reason whatsoever other than it was culturally normal. I was surprised when I started dating white men and they really do want to wake up and kiss you on the mouth first thing in the morning. I slept with a motherfucker all four years of undergrad who never went down on me ONCE. Like, I can’t - I feel like I’m biased and I don’t want to preach from that perspective, so I’m not even going to dig into this.

I will say this - I don’t know how the fuck you expect to successfully date as an adult when you have whole chunks of sexual entrees completely off the menu - for WHATEVER ideological reason - yet continue to think you are dating as a normal person. It’s a hang up. Call it a hang up and accept it.

The next day, Molly is reading an article by Serena Williams about closing the pay gap. Damn, that makes me feel bad. Her mom is still calling and leaving voicemails. At an office across town, Lawrence makes amends with Arpana by acknowledging “Woot Woot” is dead. He tells her she was right, and also there was a racial component to their behavior. Arpana bonds with him as a WOC. Lawrence finally starts to accept he was wrong about his app. They both slowly realize there’s some attraction there that might go somewhere, sometime soon. Every single Woot Woot joke this show has made has been hilarious.

Issa is at Daniel’s listening to some song he produced. It sounds good. Issa says it has a black Daft Punk vibe whiiiiich… it sounds good and nothing like Daft Punk at the same time. They have a moment about how apparently Issa likes champagne with a shot of Jameson. That’s new. They are very flirty and comfortable and eventually start kissing. Issa pushes him down on the couch and as they start to undress, she stops him and gets down on her knees. Speaking of hang ups, I refused to ever give a blowjob literally on my knees, until I started playing it up as an ego thing.

Somewhere across town, Molly is also having a sexy night, in some fancy sterile bathroom taking a bubble bath while Dro sits on the edge of the tub. Before they get too far along, Dro gets a text from his wife who has accidentally locked herself out of their home. Molly is disappointed, and plays it off badly. They were doing a fancy hotel thing ordering in romantic shit which… I mean, I don’t know, if they like it then I’ll abide it silently. Have taken a bath with a guy I was casually sleeping with though. The water was so hot we were both sweating and the wine glasses were fogging up. He asked me how my day was and when I started to reply he started using his fingers on me, but ordered me to keep talking. That dude and I were basically hate fucking, but that moment was always sexy as hell to me.

Back at Daniel’s he is impressed with Issa’s blowjob skills. And then this sequence of events happens: he’s about to come, and he grabs Issa’s head, somehow holding it in place until:

Look! I took a screenshot for you! Bwahahahaha. Seriously how would that work logistically? He’s holding her head down, so he… strategically pulls it up and manages to put it in exactly the right place so that he could shoot her in the eye? Issa is pissed. Daniel acts like he doesn’t know why she’s upset. Issa is so mad she’s incoherent, and forcefully pushes him away when he tries to touch her. Issa’s anger is on one level due to the aforementioned hangups about blowjobs - she said she felt like once you sucked a dude’s dick he felt like he conquered you and relegated you to ho status - but on another level, Daniel is rude as fuck and it is NEVER ok to do a facial without express consent. Her anger is justified, even if it is a bit exacerbated by other issues. Any man who is not an ain’t-shit knows it’s rude to come in your mouth without permission LET ALONE ON YOUR FACE! Hell I’ve dated men that wouldn’t come on me even when I asked, or my ex who would always pull away without my asking, even though I didn’t give a goddamn WHERE he came, EVER. Like, Daniel’s rude as fuck.

So, Issa tells him fuck you and leaves. She ends up hovering around a gas station waiting for her Uber pool that already has two people in it, holding a wet towel to her eye. “Issa?” the driver asks. “Issa car pool!” and everyone laughs except Issa because she’s tired of getting the idea that she’s the butt of every joke.

[insecure-hbo-recaps]

hella blows

Previously on Insecure: Issa is cool with Daniel, but he knows what it is. She's all about her hoe-tation. Molly's dad cheated on Molly's mom which made her feel stupid enough to sleep with Dro. Issa wanted to make sure Daniel knew they were both seeing other people.

Issa's alarm goes off and at first it looks like she's beyond late for work. But it's something even worse than that: she has to get up to move her car out of designated parking to a free side of the street before she gets a ticket or tow. Ikr? About 65% of the reason I want to move out of my current neighborhood even though it's a huge hassle. "Ay! Your bumper bout to fall off," some idiot points out obliviously. "Thanks!" Issa trills in a curt "no duh" kind of way.

Molly is working late. Dro calls and she hesitates before answering, clearly not looking forward to it. She thinks they're going to have a serious conversation but of course he is just calling to shoot the shit. I feel like probably unfairly this paints Dro as suspect? Who fucks their lifelong friend while in an open marriage and then calls like nothing is different? I get the counterargument that that may be WHY he would call and act like nothing is different. But I don't trust these fools.

Molly gets a call on the other line, and tells Dro she has to go because it's her mom. But rather than brace herself for the sure emotional baggage that would come from that, Molly actually doesn't answer, and just sits there thinking about what a mess her life is. She and Dro apparently have plans to see each other the next day, which is ostensibly the real reason why he called.

Shout out to Issa's superfluously woke outerwear. She's wearing that sweatshirt with a somewhat less than casual long skirt by the way. She has no car, so she has to take the bus. She eyes some latino kid as though she recognizes him. He regards her awkwardly as if he recognizes her too. She slides Daniel a potential come thru text and heads into her apartment, bored and restless. She has an email for somethin called a "Sexplosion," which is appealing to her in this moment of drudgery. She bored.

Deciding this particular boredom is not something she can merely abide, Issa figures maybe she'll stop in on Neighbor Bae. Her bathroom freshen up routine consists of mouthwash and an aggressive verbal affirmation seminar. She's one hundred percent gasssed up.

She obliviously heads downstairs and knocks on Neighbor Bae's door. He is surprised to see her, but he's clearly pretending not to know whether or not he asked her over, which is polite. Issa assumes her dropping by should be welcomed, but Eddie has company. He makes needlessly polite excuses when honestly he didn't have to because who the fuck is Issa? Mama gotta have a life too.

Although Issa has to vent via mirror freestyle ("I could cry right now I'm so embarrassed and mad, I hope you can't get it up and that her pussy is trash") I mean, come on. Be reasonable. You're going to have to get a much thicker skin and a lot more comfortable with rejection if you're going to try to be about that ho life. And you know what, it's not for everyone. I had a friend who for some reason thought she was this perfect princess in her mind when really when she'd tell me stories I'd be looking at her like this is some random bitch who will do cocaine with strangers on a first date and then fuck them on the way home so why you think you deserve a doctor husband though? The answer to that question is that she was white and therefore delusional, but the overall point is that not everybody can brave the harsh landscape of being single and dating, and if you try to fake it you'll just end up crying at bars when men ask you why you're single (which also happened to this friend).

I really hate when I take accidental pauses like this one lol:

As Issa irritatedly deals with not getting the dick she psyched herself up for, she gets a double whammy of rejection when Daniel answers her come thru text that he's busy. Issa is not feeling singleness at this moment. There's an interlude with Baby Voiced Darius where he asks her, just randomly for no reason, if she's going to Target. "Why would I be?" Issa snaps. I mean, it's a fair question. I'm potentially going to Target 40% of the time in any random day.

In some other cool, quirky, millennial loft in Los Angeles, Lawrence is making some kind of pitch to a motley group of assembled coworkers. So now we finally get some details on the elusive Woot Woot: "it aggregates all of your data, where you shop, where you eat, where you drink, and it makes recommendations based on that." Motherfucker how is this any different from all the bullshit Netflix keeps recommending me 67 times that I'm not going to watch, or how google is so Big Brother on us now that if I'm watching or listening to something and decide to look up part of it, it can autocomplete my search based on less than one word? I mean to say... technology been way able to do that for a long time, bruh. Everyone cheers and applauds and Lawrence, in a very ugly navy cardigan, grins big at what seems like praise and encouragement of his idea. And... this was the idea he'd been working on while unemployed for two years? AND WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH "WOOT WOOT"?!

Two guys that I'm going to assume are Lawrence's superiors are giving him feedback. Bosses in the start up world look like this:

I'm glad I'm not inclined to this field because it's honestly not something that I think I would be able to take seriously lol. They say it's great and they loved the presentation. While their feedback sounds positive and Lawrence obviously thinks it's a vote of confidence, if you listen closely they're doing nothing but praising him individually and offering compliments to the fact that he is working hard and competently, not praising the viability of his work specifically. They make no comments whatsoever about the app being a good idea or potential product. Then, just to underscore the fact that they are Clueless White People, the fat guy asks Lawrence about his shoes, and calls them fly. I would take issue that at this point it seems like the show just makes fun of white people just to mock them and make white people as a whole unsympathetic but on the other hand... white people stay doing fake bonding shit like this when they don't have to, so if they look bad, then, motherfuckers, stop doing the shit.

Where do you suppose Issa and Molly are? I'm at a loss as to whether this is a Chinese restaurant, a really shitty travel agency, or somewhere where you can get your eyebrows waxed for eight dollars. Molly is telling Issa she's worried that she may have fucked up her friendship with Dro, and Issa points out that that wouldn't be surprising considering that she fucked her friend. I think that it's nice just a couple episodes ago Molly was having this talk with Issa, and now Issa's having it with Molly.

It turns out they're in a mechanic waiting room while Issa gets an estimate to fix her car. Molly opines that Dro is the only person/man who's seen her at her worst so why would she go and complicate things this way? And the way I feel about that is... if you start fucking a married man you really can't be thinking about any of this shit where he may potentially be a person that is anything other than a married man. Remind me again that at some point during this story line I take a complete break to tell y'all about how I was fucking a married man. The point is anyway that Molly is doing the most emotionally when you'd think it would be easy to understand that in a situation like this specifically you need to do your best to chill. Her current thought is to tell Dro she doesn't want it to happen again when they hang out later that night.The mechanic comes back and tells Issa they'll have to order parts to do the repairs (which duh she's getting body work done) and it'll be about 5500. Issa balks at that price tag.

Remember in the previous episode where Molly and Issa talked about a vacation? Molly still wants to go (listing a bunch of countries and islands that start with M, prompting Issa to chide annoyedly "there are other places with other letters") seemingly oblivious to the fact that if Issa can't afford to repair her car, she can't afford to go on vacation. In hindsight, this show really put a LOT of effort into very deliberate continuity between episodes, for really small things.

Issa is frustrated because she had been doing really well with all her various life parts and now all of them seem to be scattering out abruptly. She's still having trouble accepting that men she's seeing casually aren't just available for her whenever she wants them to be. Ok so... how are you saying you want Daniel to know to stay in his place, and you want Mexican Bae not to expect anything from you, but you want them to be willing to do whatever you want when you want it? Again: be reasonable sis. If you're gonna dish it out then obviously you have to take it back too. Then she acknowledges sex with her is mediocre and, again, this is where she loses me. I don't think I would ever describe sex with me as "acceptable" except on occasions when I know I am making no effort to leave an impression. Come on now. Half the dudes I got to stick around as adults - when sex is less of an issue and everyone has more baggage - is probably 80% because sex was the only draw. And I'm partially joking (clearly I have the delusionally high self esteem of a complete asshole and I like it that way), but seriously it's something that you have to think about as you get older. The Panties Card gets flimsier and flimsier, until it is no longer a guaranteed bargaining chip to maintain someone's attention which frankly was news to me.

Back at the super cool Los Angeles tech start up, Lawrence stops by Arpana's desk and playfully asks her questions around what he should do with his impending takeover of the app world. Arpana makes this face:

Clearly she is clued into what Lawrence is not, which is that the presentation did not go as well as he thought it did. She tells him he should lower his expectations, because she doesn't think Woot Woot is viable: it felt outdated. Speaking of delusional self esteem, Lawrence cooly replies that it's fine if she doesn't see the vision and who cares because she's not the one greenlighting it anyway. As he gets up to leave, Arpana adds that clearly the bosses weren't into it like they were some other app where they asked questions and dug through the pitch looking for flaws then scheduled a follow up. It slowly sinks in on Lawrence that maybe she has a point, but when she says "it's like they didn't want to offend you," Lawrence puts his defenses back up and tells her that she's entitled to her opinion. While I don't approve of Lawrence's childish blindspots, I do approve of his polite passive aggressive work rebuttals. (Professional environments love passive aggression.)

Laker bar. Molly shows up for her date with Dro, nervous about the speech she plans to drop. She awkwardly explains that she feels like things are different though objectively Dro's behavior doesn't seem in any way out of the ordinary. He tells her she's being dramatic and to calm the fuck down. They playfully joke about french fries and apparently that's all it took to defuse the tension.

The tension was so de-fused that they went back to Molly's place after the game to offer us another excellently choreographed sex scene. A.) Molly's headboard is everything (quality headboards are not in reach of everyone's financial adult life, sigh) and b.) of all the ones we've seen so far I think Molly's sex scenes are the only ones that are actually sexy.

Meanwhile, Issa has invited Mexican Bae over to her place. She doesn't really want to date him, so this is all a ruse to hopefully get some dick. As she makes pointed conversation drawing attention to her visible bra and the obscene shortness of her skirt, at this point it's like... do you even actually want some dick or is this just about proving a point? Like are you actually horny and wanting to get fucked? Nico plays along politely, even ignoring her obvious come ons. We are then treated to an awkward scene where Nico wants to treat Issa like a person and she wants to treat him like a conquest. It's painful to witness.

Issa decides to try a more direct move and just initiates kissing. Nico tries to bring the date back around to their dinner reservations. I feel like the fact that he's meant to be fairly older than Issa is supposed to play into this. Issa goes so far as to try to bypass this, and when Nico tells her to slow down - "I really like you and I don't want to rush past this, I want to get to know you" - it just makes Issa angry. Even then, Nico is STILL WILLING to go out to dinner, but Issa apparently is too prideful for this so she flatly rejects him and watches him leave. Sigh. I do understand where she's coming from, I do. But she's going about it all the wrong way - very defensively and insecurely. (Oh! I get it now! Ba dum bum.)

Back at Molly's, she and Dro are doing the post coital thing. He points out that she said she didn't want to do this anymore. Molly is clearly in a dick haze because her defenses are vastly lowered. She wants to know the boundaries of their non-relationship but Dro is all cool and aloof. He does tell her he isn't looking for a second side piece which you'd think considering the circumstances would clue her into how ridiculous a conversation this is. She's asking a married man whether he wants to fuck other women on the side of his wife, isn't that inherently answering its own question?

Anyway Dro says that Candace knows they are sleeping together and in fact it was her idea to open the relationship. Or so he says. Molly, like a fool, just wants to indulge her butterflies. Her caution is just lip service. She wanted to be told what she wanted to hear.

Another day at work, Lawrence decides to stop by the bosses' office - where they are standing at waist high desks instead of sitting - and follow up regarding his presentation. Recalling Arpana's words, he asks whetehr they have any feedback regarding his Woot Woot pitch. I really like the way they framed this shot:

as they shoot each other uncomfortable looks at being put on the spot. Lawrence is speaking in terms of how to to move forward with a viable project, but the bosses do nothing but offer more empty compliments. They have no additional thoughts that would signify any real concerns that would be relevant were this to be an actual project they undertook. The fat boss says they love having his "perspective and input" which delicately suggests Lawrence is there as a diversity hire and not as a real and valuable part of the team. "You bring a lot to the team," the skinny guy says. The fat guy gives a typically encouraging bullshit line of being excited to see "Lawrence 2.0" and the skinny guy laughs sycophantically. If Lawrence still doesn't get it, the fact that they overcompensate about his shoes again ("what store did you get those from again?") should leave him in no doubt. Emasculating... no? (I have far too many thoughts on this subject so let's move on. They aren't particularly original, so I'll spare you.)

Sexplosion. Hey! There are strippers doing pole tricks and chocolatey penis cakes so... what is Tiffany's job again that this is a thing she does? Issa, Molly, Kelli, and Tiffany stroll up and take a bunch of free condoms. Issa thinks Molly broke things off with Dro because she asks why she needs condoms. They talk about barriers for oral sex and I just remembered this is the episode where they have the problematic, regressive conversation about oral sex.

So, let's just get this out of the way: Tiffany, the only married one who is clearly the most whitewashed of the group, is the only one to openly acknowledge she loves giving blowjobs. Kelli doesn't do it wholesale, Issa doesn't like to do it, and Molly gives the Carrie Bradshaw (because of course this was a conversation on SEASON ONE of sex and the city) response of how it's not her favorite but she's flexible. Question: is this what black women are still on in the streets?

Being called a "ho" and ostracized for having any kind of sexuality is something that I left behind in high school once I was an adult and didn't see any reason to need my choices validated by gossip and/or people I didn't know. And the conservative quasi-religious culture of patriarchal standards and misogynist perspectives is something I completely abandoned in grad school when the only black men around that wanted to date me behaved like the shit I'd left behind in high school and I realized I was totally unfamiliar with any other cultural norms. I'm not going to go off on a tangent to get to the bottom line that I would hope this is not still a widespread understanding amongst young black women these days though I would not be entirely surprised if it were. I want to sum it up as so: when I exclusively dated black men some of the time I'd be sleeping with a guy who would refuse to ever kiss me, for apparently no reason whatsoever other than it was culturally normal. I was surprised when I started dating white men and they really do want to wake up and kiss you on the mouth first thing in the morning. I slept with a motherfucker all four years of undergrad who never went down on me ONCE. Like, I can't - I feel like I'm biased and I don't want to preach from that perspective, so I'm not even going to dig into this.

I will say this - I don't know how the fuck you expect to successfully date as an adult when you have whole chunks of sexual entrees completely off the menu - for WHATEVER ideological reason - yet continue to think you are dating as a normal person. It's a hang up. Call it a hang up and accept it.

The next day, Molly is reading an article by Serena Williams about closing the pay gap. Damn, that makes me feel bad. Her mom is still calling and leaving voicemails. At an office across town, Lawrence makes amends with Arpana by acknowledging "Woot Woot" is dead. He tells her she was right, and also there was a racial component to their behavior. Arpana bonds with him as a WOC. Lawrence finally starts to accept he was wrong about his app. They both slowly realize there's some attraction there that might go somewhere, sometime soon. Every single Woot Woot joke this show has made has been hilarious.

Issa is at Daniel's listening to some song he produced. It sounds good. Issa says it has a black Daft Punk vibe whiiiiich... it sounds good and nothing like Daft Punk at the same time. They have a moment about how apparently Issa likes champagne with a shot of Jameson. That's new. They are very flirty and comfortable and eventually start kissing. Issa pushes him down on the couch and as they start to undress, she stops him and gets down on her knees. Speaking of hang ups, I refused to ever give a blowjob literally on my knees, until I started playing it up as an ego thing.

Somewhere across town, Molly is also having a sexy night, in some fancy sterile bathroom taking a bubble bath while Dro sits on the edge of the tub. Before they get too far along, Dro gets a text from his wife who has accidentally locked herself out of their home. Molly is disappointed, and plays it off badly. They were doing a fancy hotel thing ordering in romantic shit which... I mean, I don't know, if they like it then I'll abide it silently. Have taken a bath with a guy I was casually sleeping with though. The water was so hot we were both sweating and the wine glasses were fogging up. He asked me how my day was and when I started to reply he started using his fingers on me, but ordered me to keep talking. That dude and I were basically hate fucking, but that moment was always sexy as hell to me.

Back at Daniel's he is impressed with Issa's blowjob skills. And then this sequence of events happens: he's about to come, and he grabs Issa's head, somehow holding it in place until:

Look! I took a screenshot for you! Bwahahahaha. Seriously how would that work logistically? He's holding her head down, so he... strategically pulls it up and manages to put it in exactly the right place so that he could shoot her in the eye? Issa is pissed. Daniel acts like he doesn't know why she's upset. Issa is so mad she's incoherent, and forcefully pushes him away when he tries to touch her. Issa's anger is on one level due to the aforementioned hangups about blowjobs - she said she felt like once you sucked a dude's dick he felt like he conquered you and relegated you to ho status - but on another level, Daniel is rude as fuck and it is NEVER ok to do a facial without express consent. Her anger is justified, even if it is a bit exacerbated by other issues. Any man who is not an ain't-shit knows it's rude to come in your mouth without permission LET ALONE ON YOUR FACE! Hell I've dated men that wouldn't come on me even when I asked, or my ex who would always pull away without my asking, even though I didn't give a goddamn WHERE he came, EVER. Like, Daniel's rude as fuck.

So, Issa tells him fuck you and leaves. She ends up hovering around a gas station waiting for her Uber pool that already has two people in it, holding a wet towel to her eye. "Issa?" the driver asks. "Issa car pool!" and everyone laughs except Issa because she's tired of getting the idea that she's the butt of every joke.

#insecure hbo #issa rae

[nuclearplantlife]

uhhh for the album thing three cheers for sweet revenge by my chemical romance pls?

Helena: 9/10 I didn’t used to like this song when I first started listening to mcr but now I loVe it

Give em hell kid: 6/10 issa ok

To the end: 10/10 yesyesyesyesyesyesyeys

You know what they do to guys like us in prison: 8/10 one of my all time favourites

I’m not okay: 9/10 I don’t wanna make it. I just. wannA

The ghost of you: 1000/10 THIS IS MY ALL TIME FAVOURITE MCR SOMG

The Jetset life is gonna kill you: 9/10 this song makes me sad idek whY

Interlude: 5/10 well,,

Thank you for the venom: 7/10 average good song

Hang em high: 6/10sounds toO western for me it just reminds me of country music a bit too much

It’s not a fashion statement it’s a death wish: 6/10 again just kinda a average song

Cemetery drive: 9/10 lovelovelovelove

I never told you what I do for a living: 8/10 this song also makes me sad wtf

#worthlessgore #ask

[beachandtmusic]

Top 10 Albums Mid Year 2017

Travis Breese, July 20, 2017

1. DAMN. by Kendrick Lamar

I view DAMN. as what untitled unmastered. could have been if Kendrick had devoted a years worth of effort to it. In my opinion, this is the best thing K Dot has put out since GKMC. I fell in love with the effortless transitions between songs, the deep emotion Lamar poured into it and the creative and minimalist song titles. 

2. HNDRXX by Future

HNDRXX showcases a slowed down and more aware version of Future but it doesn’t come off as boring at all. Bass-slappers like “Stick Talk” would seem completely out of place on this album and that is because of the very evident work that Future did to branch out and explore themes like the ones Young Thug has begun to do. Cuts like “Hallucinating,” “Fresh Air” and “Incredible” are melodic masterpieces that I had no idea Future was capable of. 

3. Beautiful Thugger Girls by Young Thug

It was not until I stopped comparing Beautiful Thugger Girls to Thug’s 2016 smash hit Jeffery that I really could see the beauty in it. Between these two releases, Thug got more confident in his new image and juiced some of the concepts he explored in 2016 with swagger. This can be seen on proud and captivating songs like “For Y’all” and “Tomorrow Til Infinity.” 

4. At What Cost by GoldLink

After two successful mixtapes, GoldLink knew it was time to drop his first studio album, and I am sincerely sorry for anyone sleeping on him. GoldLink showcases his masterful flow on an array of jazzy and fun beats on At What Cost. This album also does the little things really well, such as “Hands On Your Knees” being possibly the best interlude I’ve ever heard. And of course there’s “Crew,” a mysterious and powerful club banger. 

5. More Life by Drake

This album could have been a lot better, the fault lies in Drake’s slight but very noticeable lack of effort. But, one of the benefits of releasing a 22-song “playlist” is that at least a few cuts are bound to be good! My highlights include: “Get It Together,” “Portland” and “Glow.” All of these cuts house interesting beats and the iconic sound that got Drake where he is today.

6. Issa Album by 21 Savage

I love this album for its diversity which I didn’t know 21 was capable of. He made the effort to use a wide variety of beats that each matchup well with the lyrics in their respective song. I listen to the opening cut “Famous” at least three times per day. 

7. My Moment by Tee Grizzley

An impressive premier album from Tee comes in at number seven. Tee utilizes his full-sounding voice to tell captivating stories of his times in court rooms and on the streets as he develops the utmost amount of street cred. He also tries his hand at singing on tracks like “How Many” and it goes over very well. 

8. Culture by Migos

Culture has undeniable strengths and weaknesses that are harder to find but noteworthy. Songs like “T-shirt” and “Call Casting” will be knocking through club speakers until we are probably in our thirties for their bouncy beats and simple and fun lyrics. I do, however, notice the lower-tier quality of filler songs like “What the Price” and every song is structured the exact same which gets old. 

9. Rather You Than Me by Rick Ross

The Biggest Boss has returned for his ninth studio album and he brought more of the same smooth, rolling and booming voice that I love. “Idols Turn to Rivals” uses an epic beat and explores one of the hot button issues in the game, beef with Birdman, and it’s not hard to take Ross’s side. And we can’t forget the outro “Summer Seventeen” which is a fast paced slapper that will get your squad jumping. 

10. FUTURE by Future

This project coming in at 10 has nothing to blame more than the fact that I just plainly chose to listen to HNDRXX 4/5 times when I was in the mood to listen to some Future. Pluto excels on very familiar beats on songs like “Supper Trapper” and “Im so Groovy.” “Mask Off” is also in my top 5 Future songs ever but, when the dust settled, I like the lighter side he showed us on HNDRXX so much more. 

#damn. album #hndrxx #ebbtg #at what cost