#Monica is their child I will take no criticism

[anarchicarachnid]

"20% are either just using any mention of Vaush to just shit-talk him as a default without any stated reasons" - Vaush has engaged in forms of Holocaust denial, using common nazi dogwhistles and believes the numbers are inflated as propaganda. Vaush said: “If you are not paying for child pornography there is no argument in favour of morally condeming people who view it. Vaush admits to being an informant when he lived in Santa Monica, California. He admits to revealing activist identities to the FBI. Vaush called the LGBT community ‘cancerous as fuck.’ because there’s a “ton of mental illness” and said they should be “excised from the left.” He also called them “less than human” and “fucking disgusting”. Vaush called trans people ‘bitches’ for taking offence when misgendered." - Vaush deserves to be shit-talked, he's less-than-human scum.

For anyone interested, this is a fantastic example of how many people who view themselves as The Most Progressive will join in on internet hate mobs using the shallow guise of criticizing leftist advocates "from the left", while in actuality they're just hate-mongering based on shit they heard second- or third-hand, and which they don't understand, and which is provably false.

It's just too bad it actually takes way more effort to do the research necessary to disprove a list of lies than it does to parrot a bunch of shit you read and immediately believed, or sometimes just lying on purpose. SO: I went to the trouble of doing the research necessary to settle this stupid shit conclusively.

First of all, I respect that you're the one and only person who didn't respond positively to my message on that post but actually provided even a single argument for why you disagree. Unfortunately your intellectual dishonesty immediately ruins that respect.

So with this person's vague allusions to Holocaust revisionism and nazi dog whistles, my first guess would be the debate against Maupin, which was an extremely frustrating experience involving a dishonest cult leader tankie who actively engaged in his own very obvious genocide denial, and after about 40 minutes of taking him to task for actually being reactionary despite posturing as a leftist, Vaush calls out his attempts to deny the Uyghur genocide by listing common ways in which Nazis will similarly attempt to undermine the narrative of the Holocaust. He did this explicitly and obviously as a way to point out how his debate opponent was engaging in denialism, and to draw parallels. If you had actually seen this play out and still believe Vaush was just unironically listing Holocaust revisionist talking points that he agreed with, actually it's impossible, you're JUST a liar. So I don't believe you actually saw this yourself, you heard somebody else tell you what happened.

Another possible but less likely example of nazi talking points being referenced might be when, during the NonCompete debate, Vaush tried to point out that NC had no actual ethical system, and was instead just repeatedly referencing common leftie terminology such as dialectics and sophistry. And he did so by asking several successive rhetorical questions, which utterly reinforced that NC had no ethical system, once he repeatedly confirmed that he believes it to be impossible to objectively determine whether an action is right or wrong, instead deferring to shifting material conditions. Vaush's point, explicitly, was that whether the justifications the Nazis used for their evil actions, such as Jewish people being over-represented in the banking industry at the time, were true or false, the actions of the Nazis were STILL EVIL AND WRONG. But NC literally couldn't say "the Nazis were wrong in their genocidal actions even if their justifications were factual"

As for the idea that he ever said that CP was okay if it wasn't paid for. First of all: ???? Are you fucking stupid? Second of all, he was clear and re-explained later for the uncharitable or stupid people who misinterpreted his point: he was using CP specifically as a point of ethical comparison to point out how we societally tend to ignore other forms of cruelty and exploitation against children, such as child slavery involved in our economy on a massive scale, though it tends to be in the form of global industries that export products to the US and other places that consider themselves above child slavery. There is a really obvious benefit to using highly contentious examples when debating someone, and it's that some people are willing to bite the bullet on something that is unethical, but if you bring up a contentious example of something directly analogous they will hesitate, even though often the latter example is nearly identical in terms of severity.

Now, when it comes to the claim that he admitted to being an informant, I will admit that while he was joking, it wasn't very obvious. It was easy to misinterpret. But after viewing it again, it's really super clear that his point was specifically about how extremist and other types of radical political groups are what they are, and aren't non-radical simply because they tend to contain dishonest actors such as informants, followed by a his joke that absolutely isn't sincere admission of something that obvious never happened. Cause like.. what group could pre-fame Vaush ever have informed on? He was just a 20 year old in college before blowing up on youtube, he wasn't a major actor in any groups whatsoever.

As to where you get the specific claim that he "revealed activist identities to the FBI" the only thing I could find was a 20 second clip in a tweet specifically claiming that he did so as a way to get out of CP possession charges, the claim for which has zero evidence or further context whatsoever, and is a condensed clip of exactly the same video I already viewed again just to see if there was any possible way you could be misinterpreting this unintentionally. Again, you clearly read this shit out of context, were told what to believe, and immediately believed it because it confirmed what you already wanted to believe. Also that tweet is suuuuuuuuuper obviously dishonest hack shit. You should be embarrassed for this one.

He "called trans people bitches" as an extremely obvious joke in a tweet that he immediately added more context to with subsequent tweets, which specifically was about TYPOS, not actual misgendering. Typos get corrected immediately, misgendering is intentional. An explicitly pro-trans advocate who literally lives with two trans people and whose audience is full of at least tens of thousands of trans people who think he advocates for trans rights as well as anyone in his position is capable of, going on to make obvious trans-centric jokes sometimes, is uhhhh not transphobic probably??

Also in the other part of this, which you lumped together as one event, he called out certain parts of the online lgbt community as being toxic wokescolds who were actually really abusive, but hid behind identity politics to make themselves immune to criticism. And this is just objectively true, and further evidenced by the lgbt people who attempt to abuse him endlessly and dishonestly non-stop every single day and over every new incident of him being a progressive advocate but sometimes disagreeing with a fellow lgbt person, which I really shouldn't need to remind you.. He is. He is in the community. People love to erase that.

Furthermore in this instance he was defending Contrapoints, a trans woman, against abusive wokescolds, correctly. And of course later Contra refused to extend the same charitability to him when he was getting sexually harassed and character assassinated by a fellow trans woman content creator who similarly played up the IdPol angle to avoid criticism, and who also leaked DMs and physically mocked him, which is pretty disgusting behavior for a progressive public figure against another progressive public figure she just personally didn't like. And Contra admitted to not even having looked into the context before picking sides against him.

Furthermore, and I know he says it jokingly a lot because he's edgy and I really don't care about that, but your unironic vitriolic way of referring to him as sub-human scum who essentially deserves to have abusive hate mobs forever, because you saw some people on Twitter or whatever saying that he was an imperfect advocate for progressive values, well it's really telling of the way your extremely vitriolic feelings drive your every thought, utterly incapacitating your critical thinking. No doubt the reason why you straight up parrot such obviously dishonest sources of such obvious disprovable lies. And don't get me wrong, if my research into your claims had yielded any proof contrary to my prior knowledge, I'd have looked further into it. It's a good thing he just straight up isn't the caricature you're envisioning. ☺

This is of course all just to say that if someone is a confident and loud advocate for progressive values but reactionary elements of the supposed online left are *constantly* participating in an abusive hate mob against them, there is a good chance that those people are playing a neverending game of internet telephone in order to create confusion around the actual truth regarding various accusations, to the point that it's difficult to even know if someone saw something firsthand when they confidently throw out condemnations.

#leftism #vaush #debate bros #breadtube #progressive #progressivism #online lefties #youtube leftists #leftist livestreamers #lgbt #lgbtqplus #anarchist #anarchism #tankies #socialism #libertarian socialist #anarcho-socialism #lefttube #Contrapoints #kat blaque #noncompete #luna oi #professor flowers #reactionaries #caleb maupin #debates #politics #conservatism #fascism #sweet lord am i gonna get hate for this one. but i've never spent so much time researching before debunking dipshittery so come get it bish

[answer2jeff]

the fatherhood theory:

my take on lip gallagher finding purpose in parenthood.

First things first, I quickly want to congratulate the writers for beautifully articulating the accuracy of Lip's initial reaction to Freddy's birth.

Tami had an extremely complicated birth that resulted in her requiring surgery. Lip, both as a new father and as a boyfriend, was legitimately terrified. He couldn't decide if he should stay with Tami or their son. His thought process probably included the possibility of the mother of his child suffering, further trailing to the fear of fatherly absence. Naturally, considering Lip's lack of a genuine father figure, contributing anything remotely resembling neglect or failure to accommodate to his son feels like the worst and most unforgivable thing he could ever do.

Secondly, I want to say that although Tami is quite different compared to Lip's other love interests, I think she was relatively realistic at the time. She has drive and compassion, and Lip loves a good sarcastic girl who affectionately ridicules the guy she loves. She's abrasive in a way that is more meant to establish her intelligence rather than actually put others around her down. Tami is also terrible at accepting criticism, but doesn't respond in the explosive anger that Lip does. She's more passive aggressive than, well...aggressive aggressive. Even though it's not quite the healthiest, it's much more flexible than rage.

In short, Lip sees a lot of himself in Tami. But, she's a more put together, determined version of him. She's the star that Lip never really turned out to be, even if she's not absolutely perfect. Their relationship is accurate for the conditions of the show (and Lip's life.) Tami doesn't give Lip a lot of opportunities to self sabotage because she's pretty much dubbed herself the lead of their relationship.

(not ignoring the fact that she said he'd be a shitty father by the way. that crushed my soul and i'll never forgive her but that's besides the point.)

Having to decide to let professionals (doctors and nurses, who he notoriously does not trust (rooted by capitalistic healthcare environments and the need for independence due to his childhood trauma), try their best to help Tami when she was literally blue and unresponsive, was difficult and extremely scary.

However, once Freddy has been properly cleaned and prepared to be held by his father, Lip suddenly finds the answer to so many of his interpersonal questions.

"I seem to have ruined everything I was once good at. Is there anything I won't automatically ruin just because I don't think I deserve it?"

Fatherhood.

"Would I be any better at this than my parents were?"

Yes, with practice.

"Would I be able to break the cycle?"

Yes, with love.

"Is it necessary for me to feel so deeply about the world?

Yes. Even if it's painful.

"And was it ever worth hiding that with anger?"

To some extent, yes. You wanted to protect yourself.

"Am I, deep down, past my inevitable quickness to rage, a good person?"

Yes. You always have been.

In hindsight, his excitement for becoming a dad seems kind of obvious considering his overjoyed and emotional reaction. But I think we can dig deeper beyond this surface level impression. Even if it's genuine and ultimately very good at showing Lip's love for his son. Something that I think really prepared Lip for the complications of parenthood was the time period during his time as a college student taking care of Liam.

He'd been surrounded by family members for his entire life that he did not trust. When Fiona, his beacon of support throughout his whole childhoo despite their complicated sibling relationship, made such a grave mistake that reflected neglect, Lip felt unsafe. Both Frank and Monica were typical offenders of drug and alcohol abuse. And they regularly dabbled in allowing these substance issues to affect their children.

Now there was really nobody in his family he could trust. Lip would have to re-learn how to fend for himself and his family. He's had plenty of experience, but he had a support system. Even if it contained his own siblings who lived the same abusive life as he did. But now that he didn't trust anyone around Liam, he literally had to become his primary caregiver.

"You're the closest thing to a dad we've ever had," said Ian Gallagher.

Becoming Freddy's father was the love that Lip needed in his life. Girlfriends are replaceable. Lip has proven this. But he always believed that once you become a father, you do not have the right to back out. And he'd always hold himself to that standard.

This is your life now. Do it right, or go to hell.

People like Lip need to have people in their lives who unconditionally rely on them. His siblings have chosen many times (and rightfully of course) to handle personal matters without Lip's advice. He hasn't gotten to feel as needed or as important as he deserved to be. Having a child, though unexpected, was the missing piece to the endless puzzle that was his life's purpose.

Lip's desire to be a good father not only stemmed from the failure of his own parents, but the fact that guiding his siblings through life was the one thing that everyone around him that everyone was convinced he couldn't do better than anyone else. (Personally, I think Fiona did a great job as an older sister. I'm more speaking from the perspectives and opinions of his siblings.)

Lip will feel love for himself through Teddy. Once he can finally succeed for the long term, he will find peace.

Not to say that he's automatically perfect, because he's not (and no one else is), but he's ready to take on the challange.

Freddy is the love of Lip's life.

And he always will be.

#lip gallagher #dad!lip #jeremy allen white #shameless #freddy gallagher #tami tamietti #shamless us #fiona gallagher #ian gallagher #the gallaghers #the fatherhood theory #i love him your honor #he's gonna be a great dad #i'm so proud of him AND tami.

[m4ndysk4nkovich]

tagging @stocious because she said she may have some thoughts on this

why i’m not a fan of sandy milkovich in 11x07/11x08

so, as we all know, i love debbie gallagher. i’m that one bitch you see on tumblr, screaming about my love for her or screaming at silly people who criticize her. that’s me. so naturally, sandy milkovich was a character that interested me because she was debbie’s longest lasting actual partner, and sebbie (sandy x debbie) was adorable.

i should have known it was too good to be true. debbie always has bad luck, especially when it comes to her being abandoned or being unloved.

in 11x07, royal, sandy’s ex-husband, dropped off her kid, prince, for the day. sandy didn’t tell debbie she had a kid. a kid who she abandoned.

and let’s say the circumstances were different, lets say she had to leave for her own safety or something, that would make me a bit more sympathetic (but still wonder why she left her fucking kid), however when prince see’s her and says “hi, mom” or whatever he said she just storms off and says “don’t call me that”.

this sets off alarm bells in debbie’s head. debbie’s mother took off and left her and her siblings with her father multiple times. by everyone in her life, she’s been used, then left, then used, then left. she’s so scared- and she now realizes sandy will probably leave her too and she freaks.

prince is well-adjusted, you wouldn’t be able to tell he’s a descendent of the milkovich family. he is the opposite of debbie. he is mature about being abandoned and doesn’t like his mother, but respects her choice. debbie’s an adult, she’s much older than this kid, yet it’s still tearing her up inside. even when she was a kid acting as an adult, it tore her up inside. that was her weak spot.

sandy knew that was her weak spot. they had known each other for what, eight months? even if they didn’t call it dating, they were, because sandy knew just the thing to use to hurt debbie.

so when debbie confronts her, things go to shit. debbie starts ranting about child abandonment, and slips up and says “you ran out on people who needed you because you wanted to do your own shit! i’ll never forgive you for that!” as if debbie was the child that sandy abandoned. as if debbie was six or seven again, being left for the first time all over again.

sandy catches on and seizes the opportunity to hurt her with it.

“holy shit. you think i’m monica.”

“what?”

“i am not your mom, debbie. i didn’t just leave my family to do my own shit!”

“this has nothing to do with my mom! fuck you!”

“you are piling all of your abandonment issues on me, right? because what happened? monica ran out on you, and now the rest of ‘em wanna run out on you too.”

“they don’t want to run out on me they want to sell the house and get the money…”

“you sure?”

sandy at this point has backed debbie into a corner and destroyed her. at the beginning, she’s confident, but then sandy just tears the layers of confidence down, breaks down the walls debbie set as a child, and now all that is left is just a scared, hurt, lonely child in an adult’s body. aka, season 1 debbie.

she doesn’t even have to say any more because she know that she hurt her. debbie looks frightened and vulnerable and sandy’s fucking smiling. then, sandy gets up, takes her shit, and leaves debbie, sitting in franny’s bed, dumbstruck.

this sends debbie into a spiral.

then the infamous scene where she does coke and sleeps with a gay guy happens, and it all reminds me of mickey in 5x11 (?).

then she gets a call from franny’s school and realizes she forgot to get her and she panics. she almost forgot about her kid.

then, she and franny meet on the steps at the gallagher house, and debbie delivers a monologue and it made my debbie-defender heart so excited.

but first, i have to say that sandy literally compares debbie leaving franny for 12 hours to sandy leaving prince for years. she also literally shows up just to call debbie a bitch as if debbie was the one in the wrong. then she says she’s open to talking it out, and debbie isn’t- good for debbie because she needs to learn to set boundaries. a+

“i blew off some steam for less than a day! and it sucked, and now i’m back, with my kid! can you say the same about you and prince? … oh my god i’ve heard all of your excuses sandy, and they sound great coming out of your mouth! but at the end of the day, you walked out on somebody that needed you. i’ve got my entire family trying to leave me, i don’t need to be worried about you too.”

and WOW. fucking wow. amazing, debbie. that was fucking amazing.

people who (gallavich fans who love franny and hate debbie) think that debbie would ditch franny and go to texas without her are wild. this is what i mean by people don’t watch her scenes and only pay attention when she says something that they don’t like. her whole storyline, in all eleven seasons, is about a girl with abandonment issues who wants nothing more but to nurture and care for people so that they stay. whether it’s her parents, or her siblings, or her child, or her partners, she loves people so hard to try to make them love her and stay, but they never do. and that’s fucking heartbreaking. she’s spent her entire life trying to fill the lonely void inside of her, and she always fails.

sandy’s absence sucked, and it really added nothing to the plot, but it did help debbie grow. despite this, i really wish that they didn’t break up.

and just to add one more thing to debbie’s monologue, i love it because it shows her entire storyline even if it’s not that long. we go from season 1, where she cries at aunt ginger leaving, steals a kid, and screams at fiona for living with jimmy, to seasons 4-6 where she wants love so badly, but knows not how to get it, so she sexualizes herself and has a kid, then to season 11 debbie, who tries to heal the wounds she’s had her entire life. who knows, maybe she will.

anyways in conclusion gallagher’s and milkoviches need to get over their hatred of therapy because they ALL need it badly.

#shameless #shameless us #debbie gallagher #sandy milkovich #sebbie #gallavich #meta #shameless meta #11x07 #11x08 #franny gallagher #frank gallagher #fiona gallagher #monica gallagher #abandonment issues #sandy x debbie #debbie x sandy #right person wrong time i fear #i may biased because i relate to debbie especially in the abandonment/attachment issues way lol #but still 11x07 had me fucked up

[carefulfears]

Would you describe Mulder and Scully’s relationship as codependent? Do you think there was a certain point where neither realized there would never be anyone else?

hey babe! no, i actually wouldn’t. not to be really annoying and technical, but codependency is a facet of abusive/toxic relationships. it's defined as a condition that prohibits a person from having a "mutually satisfying relationship," and signs include a need to control others, lying/dishonesty, chronic anger, lack of trust in self/others, and it hinges on enabling destructive behavior.

in my opinion, i would argue that scully doesn’t enable mulder’s destructive behavior, but rather tries to support/encourage him to pursue his goals in a healthy way.

(nor does mulder encourage scully’s, even if that behavior is trying to “please” him, or being with him at all. he was always the first to say, “go be a doctor.”)

it’s that scene in the end of drive, when kersh says “you apologize for him a lot.” and scully snaps back, “i’m not apologizing for this.” and says that what mulder did saved people’s lives, she’s not apologetic.

she actually doesn’t make apologies or excuses for him, that’s the antithesis of her entire role. what scully is invested in is the quest, and there’s nothing inherently destructive or toxic about the quest. it’s a search to help people and find truth and enact justice, and at its best, it’s rewarding to believe in something so deeply.

what’s destructive at times is mulder’s self-sacrificial and obsessive nature, which scully never permits. she badly wants him to care for himself and think critically about things, and she never shies from communicating that. that’s her job. but also, that’s how she shows love.

there’s a difference between depending on someone for many things and codependency, and in my opinion, it’s the world around them that forces them to depend on each other for so much. their surroundings are constantly enforcing: this is all that you have. their surroundings are constantly taking those in their lives one-by-one.

and when they do have other people, they’re not afraid to utilize those connections and reach out to others. it’s why i love that last scene of triangle so much: mulder in the hospital bed, scully and skinner and byers and frohike and langly all griping and throwing flowers on the table. they all went to any depths of the world to make sure he was okay, they all worked together to show up for him, and they all always do.

and it’s the best part of s8/s9 too! when mulder was gone, this show could’ve isolated scully, but it surrounded her in more support than ever.

my favorite moment in requiem is the final scene, when skinner comes to tell scully that mulder is missing, and she already knows. and they just cry together. hold onto each other’s hands. and she tells him, the first person to know, that she’s pregnant. it’s so moving to me, to be so connected to someone else, when the worst happens. these are the two people who love mulder the most. these are the people who are going to stay out at night searching, who are going to defend his work, who are going to invest in his child. ultimately, it will be these two left standing alone by his grave.

then she’s given john doggett, a new partner to share her days with, a stone-cold skeptic who would do absolutely anything for her. monica reyes, another tall dark-haired believer who adores her (when one fades away…). the boys move their mission control from the TLG loft to her kitchen table. her mother plans parties and finds help and babysits.

but still, she does feel so alone, doesn’t she? because it’s just not the same. that’s the dependency, to me, and i don’t personally find it unhealthy or toxic. they’re best friends. they do everything together, they’ve always wanted to do everything together. they’re the only person who understands. that’s why, in the end, after having all of that support and all of those people, scully packs up and runs to abandon all but one.

it’s why doggett and the guys break mulder out of death row, because they love scully, and they know she wouldn’t survive.

is it a bit twisted? yes. but so are their circumstances. they don’t want anything more than for the other to be and have everything, it’s like that from the beginning straight to the end.

as far as when they knew this was it, maybe it’s because i’m coming up on never again in my rewatch, but i feel like there’s no coming back from ed jerse! she burns this cycle into her skin, fucks another man, then comes back. nothing says “you are coming down with me,” quite like that. idk i might change my answer tomorrow! but i definitely think that final shot at the desk set a lot in stone.

#asks #kisses

[setzappersto-pew]

Alright, I'll get on my soapbox again.

In regards to "the kids seem to know everything": this stems from the shorter runtime. There's not enough time to have them hem and haw and be confused for many of their encounters. This may be a detriment to the suspense and the tension, but not enough for me to cry foul. Plus, they're smart! They've prepared or have been prepared for this! It was a quick cut from Santa Monica to Crusty's, implying they took Hermes' cab and he told them about the secret entrance. Hermes probably told them about Procrustes as well. As funny as this scene in the book was, it's okay to gloss over it a little, especially for Disney's ratings. Additionally, all of Percy's confusion on the book, while accurate to the book character, was meant as a teaching moment for the reader to learn about mythology alongside Percy. The viewers here are still learning, but they have less time to do it in. So exposition and expedition is necessary.

It doesn't seem impossible or improbable that Percy would jump to accusing Kronos. Ares had talked about Kronos before, Percy already maybe knew a little bit. Nearly all his dreams take place in those vast sandy dunes around Tartarus, so he made the connection that the voice in his dreams (who is not Hades, he realizes) was coming from there. All the pieces were there, they were shown and not explicitly laid out, and Percy connected the dots. They also "connected the dots" and think Clarisse stole the bolt, so clearly they don't know everything.

In regards to Sally: do you mean to tell me that a single mother of a stubborn, impertinent, ND child who is in mortal danger due to being a demigod would never get frustrated with the situation or with her 8-year-old son who is throwing a stubborn fit in the backseat? Any mother under normal circumstances might. It's clear she has anxiety about Percy's safety, it's clear she's stressed about how best to help him. She has to make hard choices, choices that will upset Percy in the moment because he's 8. He's internalized the guilt about being difficult already (through no fault of either of them), and to a troubled 8-year-old mind it might feel like everyone including your mother is against you. So she snaps a little, has to be a lot more firm because he won't budge and is being an impertinent little shit by locking the door. BUT...what this tells me, what her talk with Poseidon tells me, what her interactions with Percy in episode 1 tell me...is that she made an effort to be more patient and to ensure Percy never felt that way ever again. Percy does not seem mad at her for anything, like he is in the moment in the flashback. He feels so safe with her. She's firmly on his side, makes sure he knows that's he's not broken, he's a miracle, she doesn't want them to be apart but it has to happen. 12-year-old Percy understands, 8-year-old Percy doesn't. They showed us the past and the present to show the development of Sally's parenting, to show us the hard choices she had to make, to show us her humanity, to show us both her and Percy's struggles and how it colors their relationship. In the book, we see Sally through Percy's POV, so she's more idealized. Here, we're taken out of the POV and can see Sally struggle.

I know critical thinking is not as easy for some people. If it's not spelled out obvious, some just don't get it. If so, this is not meant to tell you to just do better. This is directed at those who bitch and moan at these disparities and complain about the lack of "show, don't tell". There is A LOT of exposition by necessity. Some things are glossed over and expedited for brevity's sake. But when the examples above are shown and not told, when there are implications in the subtext, y'all don't pick up on it and claim that it came out of nowhere or it's out of place...and that must mean that this show sucks and is terrible, right? 😑

I'll say it again: judge the show for what it is and what it does, not for what it didn't do or could have done. You're allowed to have your own opinions, but please try to form them based on actual constructive criticism.

#percy jackson and the olympians #percy jackson #sally jackson #pjo tv #riordanverse

[mediaevalmusereads]

So You've Been Publicly Shamed. By Jon Ronson. Picador, 2022 (originally 2015).

Rating: 4/5 stars

Genre: nonfiction, cultural criticism, psychology

Series: N/A

Summary: For the past three years, Jon Ronson has travelled the world meeting recipients of high-profile public shamings. The shamed are people like us - people who, say, made a joke on social media that came out badly, or made a mistake at work. Once their transgression is revealed, collective outrage circles with the force of a hurricane and the next thing they know they're being torn apart by an angry mob, jeered at, demonized, sometimes even fired from their job. People are using shame as a form of social control.

***Full review below.***

CONTENT WARNINGS: discussions of public shaming, descriptions of online harrassmement (including racist/sexist/fatphobic/ableist abuse, death/rape threats); references to antisemitism, child sexual abuse, phrenology/eugenics, scientific racism, police brutality, bestiality, suicide

I think I first learned of this book while watching a ContraPoints video, but I decided to pick it up after hearing a discussion about it on an episode of Hello Internet. I've never been publicly shamed myself, but I was interested in the phenomenon because some of my friends have been involved in public shaming on a small-scale, within academic Twitter.

Overall, I thought this was an incredibly thought-provoking book. I was fascinated by the insights that Ronson collected about internet shaming: that it was motivated by the desire to "do good," that anonymity on the internet made it more potent, that at some point it's more about entertainment than correcting a wrong, etc. I also read the edition with the new afterword and interview with Monica Lewinsky at the end, and thought both of those were enriching additions to the original text. There's a lot about public shaming and social media that we as a culture still haven't figured out, and even though this book is a few years old, I don't see us taking many steps to address the problem (so in that respect, the book remains more relevant than ever).

But even with all this good, there were a couple of things that prevented me from awarding this book 5 stars. For one, I didn't personally enjoy Ronson's prose. Ronson writes with a lot of short, punchy sentences, and personally, I didn't think they flowed well. I also think some of the storytelling overshadowed some of the conclusions or insights, and Ronson could have highlighted the takeaways a little more.

But still, I think this is an important book to read and an even more important issue that everyone needs to grapple with - especially if they are on social media. I would definitely advise adding to your reading list if you want a more scientifically or academically rigorous look at shame and internet mobbing, but if you're just getting into the topic, this is an accessible and clearly-written entry point.

[strangcbchavior]

( MELISA PAMUK / 32 / CIS WOMAN / SHE/HER ) — did you see THE IA DETECTIVE ASSIGNED TO HOPE MERCER’S CASE, AILYA ŞAHIN, wandering around the mercer hollow today? i heard around town that the INTERNAL AFFAIRS DETECTIVE is RESILIENT and METICULOUS, but also INSENSITIVE and HEADSTRONG. people say that they remind them of TO-DO LISTS, THE SMELL OF OLD BOOKS, and A BLAKE LIVELY POWER SUIT, but how well can you ever really know someone in mercer hollow? ( admin jay / 26 / mst /  she/her )

✧*･ﾟ𝒃𝒊𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒉𝒚

character inspo: chloe decker (lucifer), temperance brennan (bones), amy brookheimer (veep), katara (atla), lisa simpson (the simpsons), belle (beauty and the beast), monica (friends) 

ailya was born in turkey and into the lap of luxury. her mother was the classic combination of an heiress and a socialite, and her father was the founder of a successful petrochemical company. her mother obtained dual citizenship when ailya was a toddler so that she could pursue ailya's dance career in new york and los angeles. for the first thirteen years of her life, ailya lived and breathed dance. she was homeschooled in order to spend extra time in her company’s studio, and she was a national title holder for most of her life. her mother was convinced that she could have a lifelong career in dance and a future in modeling. 

ailya, however, disagreed. she was a serious child; the kind of kid who always used the steps to get into the pool (( after checking the water temperature first, of course )). she tried to get control of her life in high school. she devoted countless hours to her academic interests in order to get into an ivy league school for pre-law. her mother was devastated. she was only allowed to go if she chose a school close to their pent house in new york. 

she earned her undergrad from columbia so that her mother could ensure that she still spent time in the dance studio before and after classes. quinn wriggled out from under her thumb when she graduated early and was accepted into yale for law school. her parents footed the insanely expensive tuition and rent bills in exchange for a promise that when she got this 'working girl' fantasy out of her head, she'd return to have children and marry someone of her parents' choosing. aiyla quit dance, so she had to appease one of their dreams for her future. 

she grew disillusioned with the law very quickly once realized it wasn't actually about right and wrong or justice, especially when most of her colleagues belonged behind bars with their clients. she made a career change into internal affairs in state that was supposed to be less corrupt than new york in her best attempt to make sense of the u.s. justice system.

✧*･ﾟ𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕

aiyla is of the opinion that if you want something, you have to work for it. there aren’t any excuses in life, so either put up or shut up. she takes Extreme offense to anyone who throws away opportunities by messing around.

she’s v cordial at work, so she can come off as cold. she thinks that personal lives should be kept out of the workplace. of course, aiyla has no personal life to talk about so that’s an easy motto for her live by lmao. 

she’s fiercely loyal to the few friends she has. 

aiyla isn't mean intentionally, but she doesn’t know how to sugarcoat things or understand why some people would be sensitive to criticism. she grew up with a hyper-critical mom, so she thinks that’s the best way to improve, and that she’s being helpful when she’s being harsh lmao–but her goal isn’t ever to hurt someone’s feelings. she’s very honest and genuine, but not tactful. 

she definitely lacks an ability to understand people who think differently than she does, and she is, of course, always right.

she’s totally ruled by logic and reason. her loyalties lie with concrete evidence adn reason above all else. 

she can often come off as arrogant. she doesn’t brag or flex, but she’s definitely not humble lmao. she is definitely aware that she’s smart and beautiful lmao, and she’s far more likely to say, “i know,” than, “thank you,” to a compliment. 

she hasn’t danced since she was 19, and it’s entirely to prove a point to her mom even though she did love dancing before her mom became her momager. *you’re doing amazing, sweetie*

she’s v embarrassed that she wanted to be a ballerina when she was eight bc how immature and unrealistic. it’s not like she was four. 

she has a dog who she loves more than any human. she’s a german shepherd named lizzie (after elizabeth bennet of course).

she loves art and poetry history. she’s also really into the history of fashion and fashion in general. most of her money (that doesn’t go into a 401k and her investment portfolio) goes towards art pieces and handbags. 

she views relationships as a basic tier in maslow’s hierarchy of needs, similar to food or shelter. to her, sex is just a means to an orgasm, and orgasms are occasionally necessary to release tension. so ,,, she’s never had a romantic partner lmao, and she’s not interested in any unnecessary distractions from her work.  

𝕨𝕒𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕟𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕤 !!

best friends: ( m, f, nb ), childhood friends: ( m, f, nb ), fwb: (m, f, nb), casual hookup ( m, f, nb), work rivals: ( m, f, nb ), enemies: ( m, f, nb )

all the connections tbh. hmu or like this and i’ll hit you up !!

#mhintro

[czerwonykasztelanic]

A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001): a review

"A.I.: Artificial Intelligence" is a science-fiction movie directed by Steven Spielberg. Although not as much of a cult classic as some of his other films, it's still a fairly well-known production and overall has gathered positive critical reception.

And here's my own three cents:

One of the first things I noticed was the fact that the movie is divided into three visually and thematically distinct parts. In full honesty, I'm not sure whether this was intentional, or a result of inconsistent storytelling. Giving Spielberg's directorship the benefit of the doubt, I'm going to go ahead and assume it was the former.

The first part is the one I was expecting, having read the description and cover art provided on the DVD. Subtly heart-wrenching, subdued, focusing more on psychology and internal conflict. We are invited into a conventional, tame future world: sea levels have risen, technology has developed enough for people to ride three-wheeled cars (for whatever reason). Subsequently, we are briefed about the origin of the Mecha-child and introduced to the main cast of characters.

Everything is grey, beige and upper-middle-class. I found it very hard to sympathise with Monica Swinton and her family. We witness a mother's misplaced grief drive her to accepting the offer of an artificial child (the robotic David). Haley Osment does a great job portraying an android child in an ugly duckling situation. There are hurdles from the very beginning, but after a while, things start looking up for the David and we are led to believe that maybe, just maybe, this could work out. Our robot protagonist even gains an adorable sidekick - Teddy the Supertoy, and learns the story of Pinocchio. (This heavy-handed metaphor will come in handy later.) However, David is soon challenged by the no-longer-comatose Martin - Monica's "true", biological son. A near-fatal accident at Martin's birthday party upsets his parents enough to backtrack on any further decisions and give David back to Cybernetics - the generic-named company that made him.

The problem is, once a Mecha-child has imprinted on its mother, it cannot be brought back to its blank-slate state and has to be destroyed. Monica has enough heart to not wish death upon her not-quite-son and, in true medieval fashion, abandons him in the woods instead.

David, of course, wants to stay by his mother's side and cannot fathom the thought of her tossing him aside. He wishes, more than anything, to become a "real boy" - surely, if he was one, Monica would take him back. (He is driven by the vision of the Blue Fairy, who granted Pinocchio's wish to achieve the same.)

This is where part two comes in.

Part two might be my favorite, mostly because of the one-eighty change in atmosphere. We are thrust from the sterile, white-picket-fence environment into a completely different world. In the woods, a terrified and confused David witnesses a grotesque manhunt - or rather, robot-hunt. Partially dysfunctional Mechas are chased down for sport and entertainment as part of what we soon learn is called a "Flesh Fair".

David, alongside a handful of other robots, is captured and transported to the bizarre festival. One of his fellow captives is a "lover robot" (or mechanical prostitute) named Gigolo Joe. I found Joe's eccentric mannerisms and body language endearing - kudos to Jude Law.

The "Flesh Fair" festival is a sort of modern gladiator arena where humans (or "Orga", short for "organic" and not "orgasm") crown themselves the pinnacle of creation by virtue of ripping malfunctioning Mecha to shreds. An announcer calls this "a celebration of life" - the irony might be a bit too much, but looking at human history, it's by no means an exaggeration.

It's also the first element that seems very inconsistent with prior worldbuilding. Up until that moment, we don't hear anything about anti-robot sentiments, not to mention Ancient Rome 2: Electric Boogaloo.

(That being said, it was also my favorite element in the movie's universe and I wish it had been explored/dealt with more.)

During the Flesh Fair, David, undamaged and disarmingly childlike, manages to soften the heart of the crowd enough to score himself and Joe a timely escape. He tells Joe about his wish to find the Blue Fairy and is promptly informed that, since the Blue Fairy is a woman, she can be found in Rogue City.

Having coerced a group of horny young dudes into driving them there, David and his theatrical companion find themselves in a neon-lit paradise.

Rogue City is, essentially, a retrofuturistic Sodom and Gomorrah. Imagine something whose goal is to violate every rule of the Hayes Code, and then imagine the sort of thing it would consider obscene. It's only by dint of clever euphemisms that the movie is rated PG-13.

Joe leads David to the headquarters of Dr. Know, an Einstein-lookalike computer program built to answer questions for the low, low price of money. After a couple of failed attempts to get the information he desires, David finally hears a sort of rhymed prophecy that insinuates that the Blue Fairy is in fact real and lives "at the end of the world where lions weep".

After narrowly escaping arrest (Joe has been framed for the murder of an unnamed client), David hijacks an amphibicopter and sets off for the lost city at the end of the world: Man-hattan.

This, in turn, marks the beginning of the third and final part of the film: the slightly psychedelic fairytale.

David flies past a row of lion statues and lands the stolen aircraft in the partially-submerged office building that houses Cybernetics. The prophecy was a ruse: instead of encountering a benevolent supernatural being, David finds himself face-to-face with a carbon copy of himself. In a surprisingly human act of selfishness, he destroys his lookalike with an office lamp. This seems to be a test that he passes, because Allen Hobby, the owner of the company, comes out of his office and and tells him that David is the first - but not only - of his kind. The whole series of robotic children is heavily implied to be based on Hobby's own dead son.

Hobby also says that the ability to pursue a dream is something never before seen in artificial intelligence.

At the same time, Gigolo Joe is captured and - we can presume - destroyed. This is so sudden that, while I did like him as a character, his death/departure didn't even register as sad. Still, his willingness to take care of David - a task that goes way beyond his base competences as a sex worker - is quite moving.

David himself doesn't give up in his dream to find the Blue Fairy. Accompanied by the ever-faithful Teddy, he dives into the waters of what used to be NYC and reaches a submerged amusement park. As you might have guessed, one of the areas of the park is themed around Pinocchio. The movie reaches its climax: David sees a statue of the fairy, smiling at him like a cheap knock-off of the Virgin Mary.

The amphibicopter knocks down the Ferris wheel, which falls on the vehicle and traps it next to the statue. David stares into its eyes and repeats his wish: "I want to be a real boy".

At this point, I was expecting the movie to go like this: law enforcement (or Allen Hobby) would reach the amphibicopter, retrieve David and make him realise that it's impossible for him to gain a human body - but also that a human body is not what makes you human. Cue tearful "it's not you, it's them" scene, credits roll.

The actual direction the movie took was drastically different. The narrator informs us that two whole millenia pass, with David (whose batteries must be the actual pinnacle of technology) eternally staring at the statue of the fairy. An ice-age comes, the ocean freezes, humanity dies out completely, but still he looks right at the overgrown souvenir, unaware of everything else.

Aliens come to Earth and find the submerged vehicle with David and Teddy still inside. The two robots are the only living (or at any rate, surviving) remnants of the human civilisation.

It's not really accented much, but the fact that the magnum opus and last trace of humanity are not humans themselves is really quite thought-provoking.

The aliens manage to revive David's long-dead mother, using a lock of hair that he'd taken from her some two thousand years prior. The catch is, the resurrected Monica will only survive a day before she fades away forever. David gets to spend a final twenty four hours with his mom - a version of her that doesn't treat him any worse because of the fact that he's a robot, a version of her that's not much more than a mayfly.

A series of bittersweet familial shots and the day is over. Monica falls asleep forever, David decides to do the same, leaving Teddy guarding the bed like a dog.

It's all over.

The message of the majority of the movie, at least to me, is that being human and humane are separate ideas - and so are "inhuman" and "inhumane". The final couple of scenes also seem to say that the most human thing a person can want is to be one.

The acting was very good, the music alright but not spectacular, the shots of the cyber-goths playing electric guitar excellent. I really enjoyed the robot designs. A couple elements - for example, Martin initially being comatose and later waking up, catalyzing both arcs of the David situation - seemed a bit cliche, but did their job in driving the plot forward. The ending, as mentioned before, took me off guard, but didn't really undermine the whole movie.

That aside, I have no idea why they put aliens in there, or why they merged "white suburban family drama", "Cyberpunk on steroids" and "Brothers Grim after too many edibles" into one movie. I really liked Teddy though.

#spoilers? #Mutuals: Your thoughts are valued immensely. #I wanted to write something more serious about a piece of media so: woe. Whole essay be upon ye. #output

[mrshcloset]

Smartphone Compassion

The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. Exodus 34:6

READ Exodus 34:1–8

Was the driver late with your food? You can use your phone to give him a one-star rating. Did the shop assistant treat you curtly? You can write her a critical review. While smartphones enable us to shop, keep up with friends and more, they have also given us the power to publicly rate each other. And this can be a problem.

Rating each other this way is problematic because judgements can be made without context. The driver gets rated poorly for a late delivery due to circumstances out of his control. The shop assistant gets a negative review when she’d been up all night with a sick child. How can we avoid rating others unfairly like this?

By imitating God’s character. In Exodus 34:6–7, God describes Himself as “compassionate and gracious”—meaning He wouldn’t judge our failures without context; “slow to anger”—meaning He wouldn’t post a negative review after one bad experience; “abounding in love”—meaning His correctives are for our good, not to get revenge; and “forgiving [of] sin”—meaning our lives don’t have to be defined by our one-star days. Since God’s character is to be the basis of ours (Matthew 6:33), we can avoid the harshness smartphones enable by using ours as He would.

In the online age, we can all rate others harshly. May the Holy Spirit empower us to bring a little compassion today.

By Sheridan Voysey

REFLECT & PRAY

How can you show more compassion to others?

What characteristic of God do you most need to imitate when online?

Holy Spirit, please grow the fruit of godly character in me today, especially when I’m online.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

God’s revelation of Himself to Moses in Exodus 34:6–7 takes place soon after the rebellion of His people through worshiping a golden calf, an act which so angered Moses that he broke the tablets containing God’s law (32:19). Chapters 33–34 describe a gradual process of restoring God’s rebellion-prone people. In chapter 33, after threatening not to accompany the people to the promised land ( vv. 3–5), He promises once more to be faithful to them despite their sin (vv. 14, 17). Not only that, but He promises to reveal His character to Moses once more (v. 19) and to restore the tablets of the law that Moses broke (34:1 ). Despite their sin, God’s people would have a future because of who He is—“compassionate and gracious,” “slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin” (vv. 6–7).

Monica La Rose

LISTEN ONLINE

#thoughts #bible readings #daily devotion #smartphone #october 23

[freaxs-blog]

Today, I want to take a moment to appreciate the talent of Suzanne Vega and one of her timeless classics, "Luka." 🎵💫

Suzanne Vega, born on July 11, 1959, in Santa Monica, California, has a fascinating background that has shaped her artistry. Raised in Spanish Harlem, New York City, Suzanne drew inspiration from her multicultural surroundings, embracing the vibrant diversity and weaving it into her music.

Her musical journey began in Greenwich Village, where she honed her skills as a singer-songwriter. In 1985, Suzanne released her self-titled debut album, which featured the hauntingly beautiful track, "Luka." 🌟

"Luka" quickly captured the hearts of listeners worldwide, delving into the sensitive topic of child abuse. Through her delicate vocals and poetic lyrics, Suzanne gave a voice to those who often go unheard. The song's profound meaning struck a chord with many, raising awareness and fostering empathy for those facing such challenges.

The album that introduced "Luka" to the world was aptly named "Solitude Standing" (1987), and it became Suzanne's breakthrough moment. It showcased her ability to blend folk, pop, and rock elements seamlessly, creating a signature sound that set her apart.

"Luka" was inspired by a real-life boy she knew in her apartment building; The song beautifully reflects her empathetic nature and her desire to shed light on important social issues.

Today, Suzanne Vega continues to captivate audiences with her remarkable talent and thought-provoking lyrics. She has released numerous critically acclaimed albums and has embarked on several successful tours, enchanting fans with her soulful performances.

Join me in celebrating Suzanne Vega's enduring musical legacy! Let's keep spreading the message of compassion and understanding. 🙌🌍

#luka #suzanne vega #pop #folk #music history

[smokefalls]

Text: All About Love: New Visions Author: bell hooks Publication Date: January 2018 Publisher: William Morrow Genre: nonfiction, essays

I’m a bit surprised that I ended up not enjoying All About Love as much as I thought I would. I greatly admire bell hooks and the knowledge she has shared with the world (Teaching to Transgress is one that I found quite impactful). I entered All About Love to learn about… well, love. I suppose I did, but I didn’t anticipate it to be as spiritually guided as it ended up being. Not that this is a bad thing, but there was almost a New Age quality to this book that made me roll my eyes a little.

More than that, though, I was shocked that despite the incredible focus on the ways in which issues such as misogyny, sexism, and capitalism stop us from truly loving one another, hooks’ ideas did not apply to everyone. For example, her comment on Monica Lewinsky (called a “young woman”) as “greedy” took me by surprise. What happened to respect, which she emphasized was a necessary part of love? I also took issue with hooks’ insistence that queer people should find ways to stay in touch with toxic family members. This isn’t a possibility for many members of the queer community, especially if they want to put their happiness and well-being at the forefront, which are important because they lead to the finding of a deep sense of love that they weren’t given before.

I want to step away from the criticisms to at least highlight things I appreciated about this book, though. For one, I truly appreciated that hooks challenged the idea of love being exclusive to romance. I was most taken to her points on how we can learn from platonic love and community building to deepen other forms of love. I also liked that she showed love to be a multifaceted thing, that it is comprised of care, respect, responsibility, commitment, among other traits that displays the complexity of loving.

All things considered, writing about love is a huge undertaking, especially to break it down the way hooks did. However, I think this book is of its time (first published in 1999) in its language and understanding of the world. If there’s anything I’ve come to realize while making my way through this book, it’s that love is ever-changing and difficult to explain given everything that’s happening in the world every day. hooks tried, and I think there were some valuable points to take away from this book, but it didn’t make the impact I was hoping it would.

Content Warning: domestic abuse, misogyny, sexism, death mentions, emotional abuse mentions, cancer mentions, child abuse, toxic relationship, addiction mentions

#bell hooks #All About Love #book review #nonfiction #essays #2022 reads #booklr

[thats-h0w-th3-light-g3ts-in]

So that Provenance ending…. I‘m sorry … I don’t wanna be the spoilsport here but HOW do SIX (6) grown people, 3 FBI Agents (one of them an ex-marine, one of them supposedly a bit of a psychic, one of them been working on the X-Files for the last nine years) and 3 paranoid computer super geeks, who are yes - weird - but also exceptionally brilliant, still manage to have a child stolen out of their hands by ONE (1) maniac psycho woman out of an UFO cult???

I‘m sorry, I love the X Files more than my life (if that hasn’t become clear throughout the last couple of posts, you haven’t been on my page!!) BUT I also am a critically thinking adult who just needs to point this out.

Scully, Doggett and Reyes make arrangements with the Lone Gunmen to keep William safe so they can find out what those UFO cult geeks are up to.

They get into a car to meet the gunmen somewhere. Dogget suspects something and stays behind. So much for Doggett, well done, BUT he then just runs right towards the suspicious, speeding car and shoots at it like a maniac not even hitting anything. Just aim for the fucking wheels and she can’t follow them. Period. Anyways — when he starts to realize the car isn’t stopping and the woman isn’t impressed by him firing endless rounds at her windshield, he doesn’t jump away… no he let‘s himself be ran over by her so he can’t tell anyone (Scully and Reyes preferably) that they are being followed.

They meet the gunmen in some dark alley (which we know is a safe place since that‘s also what Shadow Man chose for Scully‘s secret car swop to get to their secret meeting, and he has to know, he‘s NSA or umm not…) … so far so good, they hand over the child to the gunmen. (in an ancient VW bus who’ll probably break down after 30 miles, but okay they don’t have anything better on such short notice) They assure Scully that they have taken all precautions and hand them 6 mobile phones. Good!

So Monica and Scully make it back to Scully‘s place where Doggett is just taken away by the paramedics — meanwhile the gunmen didn‘t even make it out of the ally. A car blocks the seemingly ONLY exit route for them. What????? The cult woman get’s out of her car (with what she is still able to drive cuz there’s only a broken windshield) aaaand surprise surprise shoots at their wheels so they can’t escape with the baby and she can take it.

Well done everybody. Who are you people? Who wrote this? Was this a charity episode? Was there some sort of announcement that everyone could send in scripts for an episode and the worst one won??

I am really sorry, usually I am the last one to talk shit about the holy grail that is TXF but … but …. Please tell me I‘m not alone here…

#what #i‘m confused #the x files #txf #the lone gunmen #season 9 #provenance #dana scully #fox mulder #mulder and scully #john doggett #monica reyes #please explain #chris carter

[seeker-of-stories19]

Found this article about things Ian did wrong in Shameless and I’m not saying he’s perfect but this didn’t even make sense so I’m fixing it. (Part 1)

20/20

Okay so you’re saying it’s messed up that a fifteen year old was sleeping with his married boss? No it’s messed up that a married adult man is having sex with his fifteen year old employee, consensual or not he’s the adult in the situation. Also Ian did think it was wrong and opted out of their weekend together when he was presented with the presence of Kash’s family life. And I’d like to just add that while this was a bad decision He didn’t exactly have many options as far as expressing his sexuality, throughout the show it is clear that the southside isn’t exactly excepting.

19/20

Seriously? You’re not obligated to come out to someone just because you care about each other, sexual and romantic preferences are personal to some people and it’s not something you’re required to share. Not to mention there are plenty of reasons Ian may not have come out to his family, maybe he was scared or maybe he wasn’t ready but that’s his decision it has nothing to do with Lip.

18/20

Mandy reacted well because she’s a good person and she wanted her best friend and her brother, two people she cares about, to be happy. That doesn’t seem weird to me? I mean really it’s not her job to dictate who either of them can date and she doesn’t which is a sign that they have a genuine friendship. Not to mention Ian didn’t tell her because Mickey wanted it to be private which again is his decision.

17/20

First of all I don’t think Ian was indecisive I think it was awkward to tell your gay boss you’ve been sleeping with that you’re not interested in a relationship while he’s trying to impregnate his wife. Also one again Ian is being blamed for something that could be better pinned on either other character, Mickey shouldn’t have antagonized Kash and Kash obviously shouldn’t have shot Mickey because he was jealous (it’s not like he could’ve thought they’d be together forever.) Finally Ian really wouldn’t have helped either of them by going to the cops. Kash was engaging in an illegal affair with a teenager and Mickey probably would have been killed by his father who is a known homophobe if the truth got out.

16/20

Yeah an insane homophobic ex con thinks you got his daughter pregnant when you’re actually sleeping with his son and he was the one who impregnated his own daughter, why would you try to protect the people you care about and save your own life? Also Mandy and Mickey would be pretty relieved that their dad was locked up a while longer.

15/20

Why would Ian tell Jimmy? It’s not like they’re incredibly close and as far as the fact that Ned is married he shouldn’t be dating a teenager. Now I’m not saying this was rational or ethical behavior but I do think that Ian behaves in some questionable ways romantically throughout the beginning of the series but he never had a good role model in this department and he’s really just a kid who makes some stupid decisions and figures it out later on. Finally I’d like to point out that Ian had never had the opportunity to be in a relationship where the other person isn’t ashamed or afraid of being with him and he even confirms that this is why he’s with Ned when Mickey asks, which in my opinion is more sad than anything else.

14/20

He didn’t get tired of waiting to enlist he watched his boyfriend get raped by a Russian prostitute while they were both held at gunpoint and then watched him as he was forced to marry her since she was pregnant with his child. As for the rest of it, being bipolar is hardly something you could blame on Ian.

13/20

Seriously? For starters they didn’t know he was bipolar because he wasn’t there and they weren’t looking for him, even later in the season no one other than Mickey expressed more than basic concern over his behavior. I’d also like to point out that he’s spent his entire childhood watching Monica struggle with this disease. He knows what it does to people so of course he wouldn’t except it instantly. Even under normal circumstances denial in these type of life changing circumstances is normal. As for the rest of it he did care about his family enough to take his meds even though they made him feel so horrible he eventually stopped. And his relationship with Mickey was so sex based for so long that not being able to perform sexually only made him feel more insecure about a disease that he’s already watched ruin his family’s life. As a bonus I’d just like to throw in that all these criticisms are based on the effects of a mental illness he has no control over.

12/20

One again this behavior was caused by a mental illness he didn’t have any control over, and as hard as it was to watch Mickey be so heartbroken they persevered like they always do. Also, you can understand why Ian would feel babied or crazy by Mickey’s sudden careful and loving behavior, he’s not in the right mindset to accept the genuine change in his long time partner as anything other than a response to his bipolar disorder.

11/20

Honestly I’m getting sick of making the same point over and over again. He’s mentally ill, he isn’t thinking clearly, he’s afraid and in denial, and he doesn’t have control over any of it. Seriously the judgement against him for having a mental disease in this article is infuriating. Not to mention the fact that both Ian and Yevgeny are alright which I count as a win considering the circumstances.

Hopefully you enjoyed this or at least found it interesting even if you didn’t agree on the whole thing. I’d love to hear people’s thoughts as I put a lot of time into thinking about these points. Part 2 will be posted soon and will be a continuation of this because I hit the 10 image max. I obviously don’t own the article and it is posted at the bottom to give full credit to the writer. I only own my opinions.

Part 1/2

#shameless #ian gallagher #mickey milkovich #mandy milkovich #gallagher’s #bipolar disorder #mental disorder #mental illness #article #rant post #ranting #my thoughts #gallavich

[mcustorm]

In Defense of a Black Cyclops

In case my username didn’t make it clear, the single most anticipated visual project for me is the MCU’s interpretation of the X-Men, which hasn’t even been announced yet [officially]. And ladies and gents, I have found your Cyclops:

Good ol’ Alfred Enoch, who we all know from Harry Potter and How to Get Away With Murder. If you’re not familiar with HTGAWM, know that his character goes from the de facto leader of the ragtag (murderers) and most cherished protege of Viola Davis’ Professor X to taking more of a grimdark turn after his girlfriend’s death. Sound at least somewhat familiar?

Enoch also embodies the physicality of the character well, seeing as to how he’s “slim”, 6′4(!!), black, and notoriously lanky. Wait, one of these isn’t like the others.

In general I hate fancasting. Everyone generally picks from the same pool of about 30 actors (Peeps, neither Taron nor Daniel is a good Wolverine choice. Argue with your mother!), and most all of it is based on physicality, except when it absolutely should be (like say, choosing a ~5′10 dark-skinned black woman for Storm).

And I think there’s some malarkey afoot. I think there needs to be some serious consideration on part of fancasters and actual casting agents alike to rethink race when it comes to the [white] X-Men, especially since they’re the X-Men of all teams. So I’ll make the case for a black Cyclops: 

1. There is no quota on Black X-Men: There’s a bug in your ear that’s been whispering lies to you for years, it says something to the effect of “We need a black person on the team for diversity. How bout Storm?” And you’ve gotten complacent. Storm does not have to be the only black person on your X-Men roster.

2. The X-Men represent diversity: Iceman is gay, Cyclops and Prof. X are disabled (sorta), there are plenty of women, oh and everybody except Storm is white. Of the A-List X-Men, there is only *one* POC character. I’d argue that an MCU X-Men needs to champion diversity like never before.

3. The X-Men represent minority struggle while being mostly white: There’s a cognitive dissonance in the metaphor that has always been there, and for the most part, nobody cares. To appeal to the white readers of the 60′s, the X-Men were all initially white. That way, the message of the mutants could be related to the audience with a familiar face. We don’t need to approach the problem that way in 202?

4. Just because that’s the way it’s always been, doesn’t mean that’s the way it should be: The first line of defense. Sorry, that will never be a good justification for literally any idea. It’s time for some more critical thinking.

5. We don’t all want to be Bishop: So say you’re white and you have a kid who for his birthday having a costume party. You’ve bought some X-Men costumes and you want each kid to pick one. 9 white kids and one black kid show up to your house. As the kids deliberate who gets what costume, be it Cyke or Wolvie or whatever, you yell at everybody to “STOP!”, point to the one black kid and tell him “You’re gonna be Bishop. That’s it, end of story!” 

We don’t all want to be Bishop. The black child could have the best Cyclops interpretation within him, but you’ll never know if you don’t let him try. And that’s no different from the Black actors of Hollywood. There’s no reason why all of the black talent should *have* to compete for the role of Bishop or Storm, which I’ve discussed, while Joe Schmo can walk up and audition for literally anybody he wants.          

Jharrel Jerome is 23 and has an Emmy to his name. He needs to be in the MCU in some capacity, period. Stephan James is another. How bout Damson Idris. Ashton Sanders. But no, no, let’s fancast Dacre Montgomery or Ansel or Joe Keery again as [Human Torch, Wolverine, Iceman, Angel, I’ve literally seen it all.]

6. Nobody wants to see the B-team if it comes down to it. The next line of defense from your racebending naysayers after “That’s the way it’s always been!” is “Well, what about Psylocke, Bishop, Forge and Jubilee?” who are otherwise known as B-tier X-Men. The problem is, we’ve got limited time and limited spots.

So since the X-Men is all about wonky metaphors that make half sense, let me give you another: Let’s say somebody approaches you and says “Hey buddy, I got two free concert tickets for ya! You can either see Michael Jackson Sings the Blues, or you can go see Justin Timberlake. Free of charge!”

Now, are you used to MJ singing the blues? No! Do you have a problem with going to see Justin Timberlake? No, he’s fine on a Wednesday! He had that one little diddy we liked that one time. We’d love to see him eventually! But are you gonna say, “fuck that, I’m going to see MJ Sings the Blues” regardless? Hell yes, because that’s still Michael Jackson. He’s gonna give the same amazing performance he always does, it’s just gonna be the blues. And speaking of blues...

7. Black is not Blue, Brown is not Blue: Raise your hand if you’ve ever heard this one: “I don’t care if you’re black, white, purple, or green, I’m going to treat you all the same!” I will not say all have this intention, but some fancasters have noticed that the racial diversity is kinda low within the A-List X-Men, so they oh-so-generously give the following roles to a black or brown person: Iceman, Nightcrawler, Beast. 

Notice the pattern? It’s a microaggression, and it’s bullshit. What these fancasters are implicitly telling you is that, yes the actors will be black or brown, but when the action starts we can ignore that. They’ll be blue by then. In other words, you in fact do care if they’re purple or green. Nobody will cry foul if Dev Patel gets to play Nightcrawler (because that’s a common one I see), but should Anna Diop be Starfire or Michael B. Jordan be Human Torch, I bet there’d be backlash. Oh wait. If that’s you, please stop acting like you actually value diversity. You don’t want to see black or brown skin, period. Unless of course, it’s Storm (refer to point #1).

But wait, there’s more! When brown characters get whitewashed in these movies, it’s crickets! So eventually it’s revealed implicitly that proclaimers of point #4 only care about it one way.

8. Professor X should not be black if you’re not willing to change anyone else: The next line of defense is that some people say the professor should be black, if anybody HAS to be racebent. Something something MLK Jr., Civil Rights or some shit. Number one, I’m not reducing Professor X to being a magical negro for 9 white people (and Storm!) who for all intents and purposes get to have all the action. Number 2, the Professor X/MLK/Magneto/Malcolm X comparison is an oversimplifying disservice to ALL FOUR of those people. I hate that line whenever I see it, please watch a documentary my friends. 

9. The Candidates for Racebending: For me, the A-List X-Men are Cyclops, Jean Grey, Iceman, Angel, Beast, Wolverine, Storm, Gambit, Rogue, Colossus, Nightcrawler, and Kitty Pryde. Now, who should be exempt from the racebending? Storm, she’s our designated minority. Gambit, he’s Cajun and they’re white (generally speaking, that’s a fun bit of research). Wolverine, Colossus, and Nightcrawler, because their nationality/ethnicity was the whole point of the Giant-Size premise in the first place. Angel, because his character embodies a privileged white male. Beast and Iceman, I don’t care one way or another (Point #7).

That leaves Cyclops, Rogue, Jean Grey, and Kitty Pryde. Now Jean Grey is a redhead, and we all know that every time a redhead is racebent people sharpen their pitchforks (Mary Jane, Wally West, Iris West), so I will cede the ground on Jean if only so that my ginger friends can get their rep. Kitty Pryde is Jewish, but Jews of color exist. Rogue is from the South. And Cyclops is, well, just Cyclops. That makes those three characters good options for more diversity. But allow me to make the case for Cyclops, specifically.

10. It’s not just diversity for diversity’s sake: If you had to pick who the main character of the X-Men is supposed to be, most would say Cyclops. And so in a series that highlights racial discrimination in society, it makes sense that our main character be black. While changing Cyclops’ skin color should not change who he is as a character, it *should* recontextualize it. Now, as an eventual increasingly radical leader of the X-Men, Cyclops would evoke real life figures such as Colin Kaepernick or, shall I say, Martin Luther King, Jr.

Not that most X-Men fans and writers truly think about what it means to be black anyways. Storm’s minority status is almost always put through the lens of her being a mutant and not her being a black woman. In other words, you can’t argue that making a character black will fundamentally change his or her character when you haven’t even analyzed the racial context of the black character(s) you already have. Another concept that the MCU X-Men should tackle: intersectionality.

11. Representation matters: I have to say it: Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther hit different. And now he is tragically gone. At the end of the day, the MCU moving forward is down its most prominent black male superhero. Which has implications beyond just the movies themselves.

The women are in good hands. Shuri, Okoye, and Nakia are badasses in Wakanda, Valkyrie is ruling Asgard, Storm is almost assuredly on the way, RiRi Williams has already been cast, and Monica Rambeau is here and she’s not even at her most glorious yet. That doesn’t even include variable Δ, or the number of characters who can and will be racebent. And I’ll note again that to me, Gamora doesn’t count, because she’s green (#7 really pisses me off because it’s so blatant. I hate it). Of course from a behind the camera perspective we love black women getting work.

The men are a completely different story. Imma just go out and say it, I can’t stand Falcon and War Machine [in the MCU] because they’re not characters, they’re just two of a slew of MCU minority sidekicks who have essentially been at the beck and call of Captain America and Iron Man, respectively. You cannot tell Falcon’s story without mentioning Cap. The reverse is not true. There’s a whole essay that could be and have been written on “Minorities in the MCU, pre-Black Panther”. Remember, there’s a reason BP made so much noise in the first place.

So excluding those two we have, let’s see, M’Baku, Blade, and Fury who aren’t exactly the most superheroic superheroes, Eli Bradley is proooobably coming, I doubt Miles Morales is coming (because he’s just Peter Parker in the MCU), Luke Cage(?) Bishop(??), Sunspot(???), Blue Marvel(????). Not only are they not A-List, I would not put money on any of them being in the MCU any time soon.

Cyclops is thee Captain America of the X-Men. He’s the frontman. He’s the poster boy. He’s the “boy scout”, which in other words means he’s the hero, if there has to be one. It would mean a lot right now, and specifically *right now*, if he were to be black. The MCU needs it. It NEEDS it.

12. The X-Men is the Summers Story: I’ll even make the case that if just one character needs to racebent, then it should be Cyclops, because that of course implies that other related characters need to be black because half of the X-Men universe is in fact a part of the Summers family. 

So now Cable is black. Corsair is black. Havok is black. And one of the most central stories in the X-Men mythos, the Summers family drama, is now a black family drama set in space or the future or where the fuck ever. The concept is boundary pushing. When white families have drama in the media, it gets to be Game of Thrones or Star Wars, while when black families have drama in the media, it has to be black people arguing in a kitchen or living room about their various earthly traumas (I’m @’ing you, Mr. Perry). I mean, that’s all fine and good often times, but I want my black family drama in space, dammit.

And again, this is the X-Men, the series that’s all about *minorities* and their struggle, so again, why not?

Oh, and I’ll even throw out a Havok fancast for you: How bout Jharrel Jerome?

#cyclops #scott summers #the mutants #monica rambeau #X-men #xmen #marvel #MCU #fancast #jharrel would actually be a better sunspot #but you get the point #my man would have OPTIONS

[bukojuiice]

a love like the movies  — todoroki shoto

ೃ pairing: (new pro hero! shoto todoroki x female reader)

ೃ  warnings: none

ೃ genre: fluff overload

ೃ word count: 2,024 words

ೃ   𝐦𝐲 𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐚𝐤𝐮𝐠𝐨 𝐱 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐮 (𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐨 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞! 𝐮𝐰𝐮) 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 (𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐦𝐞 𝐜:)

ೃ 𝐢 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐬𝐨 𝐬𝐨 𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐟𝐮𝐧 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬. 𝐢 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐮𝐲𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫!! 

ೃ 𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐨: 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐲 𝐛𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐱 𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐲

ೃ Shoto spends his only day of rest and relaxation by watching iconic tv shows with you 

Being one of the top pro-heroes of Japan, Shoto Todoroki always had a tight schedule. May it be fighting off villains, attending interviews from local and international news, managing his father's hero agency, or seeing through the internship of some aspiring heroes, he barely has enough time to be with his family and loved ones. Today, Shoto has one and a half days off before he has to go off to this big mission in the South of Japan.... and what better way would the Top No. 3 Hero do than spend it than with you? "Hey (Y/N)." Shoto calls out to you, in his usual monotonous voice that you know and love, holding a bag of popcorn. "What's up?" You look up to him, whilst propping the pillows on the couch and the table for your TV show marathon. "I got a joke.." He says monotonously, to the point you couldn't even tell if he was even about to say a joke or not. "Is your name Ariel?" "Why?" You ask, playing along with his joke. "Because I think we mermaid for each other." He stifles a laugh, trying his best not to laugh out loud (at a joke he apparently made on his own) as he jumps onto the couch. "Oh my goddd Shoto-kun." You groan loudly, shaking your head. "Since when were you one to make dad jokes? This is slightly out of character for you in all honesty." You cross your arms, still trying to process the fact that your boyfriend. The ever so proud and handsome, Todoroki Shoto, literally just said a dad joke right in front of your face. As in directly to you. Who knew this day would come? "Kaminari said that you'd fall even more head over heels in love with me if I told you a dad joke" He deadpans, cuddling up next to you. "I missed you too much." He pecks your cheek and you couldn't help but giggle. It was a pleasant surprise when your Half Cold-Half Hot boyfriend was in your doorstep this morning. You initially thought that he would be spending his whole day resting, but he did promise that he would at least have a movie or TV marathon with you before he had to go off in a important mission. You just felt guilty that he had to spend it on his only day of rest and relaxation for the month, and then he's back to work. "These are the shows that Izuku recommended." You show him DVDs of Friends, The Office and How I met your Mother. "After all, you do want to watch some old popular sit-coms right?" "Aside from that, Izuku might have slipped and confessed to me that you said that you've been dying to watch some of these." He looks at you and tilts his head, grabbing one of the DVDS. "Well then, let's get to it." "I have a list of some of the most recommended episodes of each show right here." You bring out a piece of paper, hundreds of words scribbled onto it. The love of your life couldn't help but laugh at your eagerness and your interest at the shows that you two were going to be watching. "I'll go cook up some Cold Soba for the two of us. Are you sure you're fine with setting up the TV?" "Yes... I mean Of course!" You nod profusely. "It'd be a huge mess if I was the one who cooked our food instead." Shoto smiles at you and ruffles your hair as he stands up from the couch and heads to the kitchen. After fixing everything up, You put in the 5th Season DVD of The Office (as Izuku had recommended it had one of the best episodes in the series) and you press on the remote control for it to skip to the 13th episode titled Stress Relief. Shoto comes back earlier than expected with two bowls of Cold Soba on both of his hands. "So...what did I miss?" "Gee. That was fast." You get one of the bowls and chopsticks from him and start munching on the noodles. "Not that I'm complaining though. Amazing as always Pee Pee guy." You giggle. "You're really bringing that back huh?" He smirks at you and puts down his bowl of soba. You wonder why until he scoots over to you and slides his hands on your waist. Now, you knew exactly why. "Hey! Stop it! You might think I'm All Might's love child!" You laugh, teasing him again, even though you were already being tickled mercilessly. Shoto stops for a second to give you an enticing glare and then tickles you again, only harder this time. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) The episode had started playing as the intro of the Office appeared in the screen. Shoto stops tickling you as he didn't want to waste more time than he already has, and the two of you start watching You take a deep breath, trying to recover from your endorphin rush. "You have to watch the intro to this episode! It's hilarious!" You nudge Shoto, wanting him to pay more attention. The two of you start snickering when one of the main characters, Dwight, as a way to teach fire safety, sets a fire in an office trash can with a cigarette, saying "Today smoking will save lives." with a straight face. Chaos then ensues in the episode. During the subsequent panic, the office's only copy machine was destroyed, one of them smashes a window to call for help, and an improv of one of the characters, taking advantage of the havoc by raiding the snack machine. One of the female worker characters even had a cat hidden in her file cabinet, and she had tossed it into the air vent so that it could escape. You were already laughing your heart out, looking at Shoto to see if he was laughing the same way as you were too, only for your glance at him to time perfectly, as he lets out a burst of laughter; one that you rarely see from him. Your eyes lit up and you feel your heart burst from seeing your usually so stoic and stern boyfriend, show such an array of positive emotions. "Why is this funnier than it should be?" His cute laugh echoes throughout your apartment. "I have to go do this with Izuku and the others some time." You laugh along with him, "Make sure to call me up if ever you guys ever end up making one!" You watch a few more episodes until you hear rain pouring outside. You pause the episode that the two of you were watching for a minute, and then stood up to look outside the window. "This is so cool! It really sets the mood!" You jump up and down as you couldn't contain your excitement and rush to your room. Your boyfriend looks at you puzzled, as he didn't know what you were being so happy about, until you came back from your room with a long and big fuzzy blanket. "It's cuddle weather!" You sit back on the couch and nuzzle next to Shoto, putting the blanket on top of the two of you. You rest your head on his shoulder and continue watching. You ended up watching all the episodes of season five of The Office for the whole morning. You took a look at the time. It was already the afternoon and you had several more hours to spare, so you then pop in a DVD of the 3rd season of Friends. "Rachel and Ross' relationship is really getting on my nerves." Shoto pouts in disappointment. You chuckle lightly because of how cute he looked and because of how interested he was. "There's so much drama in this series. How come Izuku considers this as one of his favorite shows?" He shakes his head yet continues watching. "They were on a break." You nudge his arm, referencing one of Ross' most iconic lines. "You know what? Speaking of breaks, I'm going on a bathroom break." He stands up from the couch and goes straight to the bathroom. You giggle at his sudden interest in the show, since he is now able to have his own criticisms and opinions on it. He comes back with a huge grin on his face. You look up at him. "Hm? Anything wrong?" "Hey, how you doin? "He says in a thick Japanese accent as he winks at you, trying to copy Joey's iconic pick-up line from the show. "Oh my goddddd Sho-kun." You groan at his antics again. "I can't even give you a pass for that. That was a really bad joke." On the inside however, you wanted to die of embarrassment and of giddiness. His sudden spike of confidence and how hot he looked whilst reciting one of the most iconic tv show lines of all time. You just wanted to tackle him down and cuddle all night, just from him saying that line alone. You were that aroused. "If Joey can get a girl to fall for him through that line, then why can't I do it on you?" "Because- I'm not like one of those girls... I'm one of a kind." You wink back at him. "Okay now that was a bad joke." "Yea yea I know... Let's just get back to watching Friends." The last episode of the season ended with the beach house, and you turned to look at Shoto for his comments. "Chandler really was the star of the show in this season. So was Phoebe. You know, I'll bet you 500 Million Yen that Chandler and Monica will end up together after that last episode." You were surprised at Shoto's attention to detail on the body languages of the characters. How'd he predict that the two would end up in one of the later seasons of the show "Wait til' Season Four." You boop his nose, keeping the spoilers for another future Friends marathon. The next show on your list was How I met Your Mother, though the show was quite similar to Friends, it did have a lot of good elements that the latter didn't have. Although the two of you just ended up watching the last few episodes of How I Met Your Mother since both of you were able to watch the previous seasons prior to your marathon. In the middle of one of the last episodes, Shoto gets comfortable and lays down on the sofa. He leaves a little space for you to sit on, though you didn't complain since you were too invested in the show. The last episode ends, and the credits start to roll. It was already the middle of the night and you were quite sleepy. You stretch your arms and lay down on his chest, Shoto brings you closer for warmth and whispers, "You know, I can't wait to tell our future kids our love story and tell them, "'And that kids is how I met your mother." You giggle and smile at his comment and slowly close your eyes, you hear the faint sound of the TV turning off and the rain still pouring outside, as you drift off to dreamland. "Midoriya. I'll probably be a bit late for our call time tomorrow." Shoto speaks in a soft voice on his phone, as a way to try and not to wake you up. "I just got into a little situation. Nothing big." Your boyfriend smiles, playing with your hair and looking at you with all the love he has to offer in this world. "Thanks. I'll see you tomorrow." Shoto whispers loudly and then ends the call. He turns off his phone and plants a kiss on your forehead. He closes his eyes, a contented smile on his face, as he also drifts off to sleep whilst you sleeping soundly on his chest. That night, both of you could not imagine spending an even better day with each other, but being in each other's arms. ♡ The End.

#todoroki shoto x reader #shoto x reader #todoroki x reader #todoroki shoto x y/n #shoto todoroki #shoto todoroki x reader #bnha #mha #my hero academia #shoto todoroki fluff #bnha x reader #mha x reader #mha fluff #bnha fluff #todoroki shoto #shoto todoroki x y/n #shouto todoroki #shouto todoroki x reader

[andreafmn]

Running In Circles - Chapter 4

Word Count: 3,783

Characters: Female Reader Rossi Character, Aaron Hotchner, David Rossi, Derek Morgan, Spencer Reid, Jennifer “JJ”Jareau, Emily Prentiss, Penelope Garcia

Story Description: (Y/N) Rossi is following in her father’s footsteps by joining the BAU team as a profiler. The girl genius knew almost everything but she could have never predicted falling for Aaron Hotchner, her boss and her father’s friend. in their world mutual feelings are not enough to push them together. Will all the adversities and obstacles they face pull them together or push them apart forever?

*DISCLAIMER* I do not own in any way Criminal Minds, all credits of the pre-established characters, script, and storyline belong to Jeff Davis and CBS Network. The only thing I own is Arden Rossi, any upcoming characters, and her storyline, as well as her effects in the others’ story line.

Chapter: 4/?

A/N: These next chapters are really just gonna be the necessary episode that contributes to the character's storyline. I'll try my best to compress them into fewer chapters but some I do need for my storyline. If you enjoy my writing I’ll also be posting them in AO3 and Wattpad along with other stories (I also hope to start taking requests if ya’ll want) Hope you enjoy and all constructive criticism is encouraged.

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Chapter 4

It’s funny how life moves so quickly, but agonizingly slow at the same time.

We had been on the hunt for the prince of darkness after he resurfaced 26 years after what we thought was his last crime in California. He had been across the 48 continuous states, leaving his mark of crimes all over the map. Initially, we were confused as to why he would reappear in Los Angeles if he never hit the same city twice until we noticed a pattern. Billy Flynn was recreating his original murders to taunt Matt Spicer, a survivor, and tell him he’d be going after Spicer’s family because he wanted recognition for the murder that had made Spicer a “city hero”, he wanted to be part of the story. They were horrible and vile crimes one after the other and we were working nonstop to catch him. The case took a turn when we found out he was going after Ellie and Kristin Spicer, Matt’s daughter, and sister, respectively.

The case took a turn when we sent Spicer and Morgan to retrieve the family thinking Flynn was going to take them from Matt’s house. But it was too late, he had gotten there before them. The duo decided to go to Kristin’s house believing he needed privacy to conduct whatever he was planning. Hotch, Prentiss, and I were in a car as we got intel from Morgan, waiting on the address of the sister’s house. But it didn’t make sense, that wasn’t personal enough for him. It didn’t tie into the story. Being stuck in traffic was exasperating, and it only got worse once we lost cell reception in the middle of a call.

Against my better judgment, we headed to Kristin’s apartment where we found out she had been gone for hours and Morgan had never arrived.

“Something must have changed,” Emily expressed.

“The cells are down,” Kurzbard chimed. “Now how the hell do you find them?”

“What would cause Morgan to change his like that when he knows he can’t tell us?” My father spoke up, worry evident in his eyes.

“The unsub had Spicer’s sister and daughter; Morgan knew he didn’t have a lot of time.” Hotch analyzed.

“So, his first guess had to be right.”

“The unsub attacked Spicer specifically through his family,” Emily commented.

“How long has Spicer’s sister lived here?”

“6-7 months.”

“Well, that’s why they didn’t come here.”

“If the unsub wants to hurt Spicer, hell do it someplace that means something to him. Morgan must have realized the same thing.” I thought. “The unsub and Spicer do share one place in common.”

“Santa Monica.”

“Where he killed his parents,” I finished.

“Let’s go.” Hotch started the quick walk to the cars to speed off to Spicer’s childhood home, where we hoped to find Morgan and the Spicers.

Once we arrived the front yard was covered with emergency vehicles, my mind spiraling to the worse possible scenario. We were already one man down; Flynn had gotten to Spicer. Kristin was in rough shape and Flynn had taken Ellie. Morgan had a pretty nasty head wound, but being the strong-headed man he was he just wanted to get back to work.

“Guys, I’m not going to any hospital until we find that little girl.” He directed himself to the EMT. “Now, please just put a bandage on it.”

“Morgan, what’s the notebook?” I motioned to the small book in front of him.

“I asked the sister to tell me everything she could remember about the unsub.”

“And what’s her condition?”

“It’s bad.”

“I’ll go check on her,” Emily offered. She left with the ambulance and hopefully we could get more information out of her.

Everyone knew Morgan wasn’t in perfect condition to continue working, but we also knew he wouldn’t allow us to make him rest. JJ and Reid arrived at the scene with satellite phones to allow communication to continue while the phone towers were down.

“Any word on Ellie?” JJ asked, clearly worried about the innocent little girl that had been brought into this tragedy. Morgan glared at her with such an intensity we all got uncomfortable. “I was just…”

“It’s not you,” I comforted, going out to follow Morgan, Hotch trailing behind.

Outside he called Garcia, asking for her to run the plates on the RV, treating her coldly. I knew he was desperate, but Penelope was worried, as were the rest of us. Something much worse could’ve happened to him; he could have ended up like Spicer.

“You know, she really needs to be more professional sometimes.” Derek turned.

“She gets the job done every time,” Hotch defended.

“I told him, Hotch.” His voice cracked. “I told him that we should wait for backup but he wouldn’t listen to me. We split up and he headed around back before I could stop him.”

“Morgan, sometimes when it comes to family common sense and procedure go out the window.”

“You do the best you can,” I comforted, laying a hand on his shoulders to let him know he wasn’t alone.

“This unsub raped the aunt and then beat her for no reason. She didn’t resist, guys. And he still pistol-whipped her until her ribs were crushed. He killed Spicer while he was on his knees. He was unarmed. This guy’s a pure psychopath. I want this guy.”

“And we’ll get him.”

“Well, we better do it fast. Taking Ellie was like a game to him. The sick bastard thought it was funny. He’s gonna get pissed off at her, she’s nothing but a little girl. She’s gonna show him fear, and when she does… he’s gonna kill her.”

“Then, what are we doing standing around? Let’s go,” I tried my best to encourage.

We all quickly headed back to the precinct, needing to calculate what his net moves would be. He changed his methods suddenly; all patterns were out the window. Flynn wasn’t devolving he was becoming more calculate, we had to find the ends to his means. And Derek’s attitude wasn’t helping to ease the tension we were all feeling. Thankfully, Emily entered at the right moment. We couldn’t run the plates, possibly Kristin had gotten them wrong, but she remembered something crucial. The radio. Flynn listened to the radio following the sound of his name in the mouths of newscasters, and although this could help us, the LAPD had released everything we knew about the RV, about Ellie, and about him.

“That might force him to dump the RV,” my dad said.

“Or kill…” Spencer started but quickly stopped knowing this wouldn’t help appease the strained situation.

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Why not?”

“He could’ve killed you and the sister, but he didn’t. He kept you alive, he can’t be surprised that we know what he’s driving and that he has a hostage,” I explained, my father nodding his head in agreement.

We knew he listened to the radio but not which station, but an idea surfaced in JJ. We could try to work with the Emergency Alert System. Quickly, she got to work to be able to get out a message that we were sure would reach Flynn. On one side of the room, Emily and Morgan were talking about Kristin and what she had made him promise her. The safekeeping of Ellie. Kristin said it wasn’t fair of her to ask that, but Morgan wouldn’t break that promise.

As JJ worked the bureaucratic sinkhole that was the EAS, we got word that Flynn was currently in another house with Ellie. When we arrived at the scene, he was gone, but not for the lack of trying to from the neighbors. They had tried to stop him, but he had already taken that family’s car and was able to speed off. We needed to work even quicker than before, he was getting desperate.

Inside the RV he discarded, Ellie’s hair was found on the floor. Derek got enraged, but Spencer reassured him: “Why would you disguise someone you were going to kill?”

Looking for clues inside, Derek found a pipe and I found a newspaper. As they fixated on more clues from the underlined words on it: “bright, happy child,” Spencer pointed out, Derek thought back on what Flynn had said back at the Spicer house. Flynn was after Ellie all along.

One thing we were wrong on the profile, he was stuck in the delusion of believing he was some sort of grandparent to Ellie; she wouldn’t be here if he hadn’t let Matt survive. In a matter of seconds, the gears in the case started shifting at full speed. Once JJ got through to the Madame Secretary, Hotch assigned her to hostage negotiation through the system, trying to find a way to draw him out. On the other hand, Reid and I were looking over some newspapers that were stored in the RV, the murders we might have thought were his first might not have been. As soon as the lights came back on and the cell towers were up we were contacting Garcia to check the records on a murder investigation from 1968.

Garcia has always worked fast and well, this time it was no different.

“So, Nora Flynn was a prostitute and a drug addict living in a desert community just outside of Los Angeles. It appears bikers were her stock in trade, rough bikers. And one fateful day she and a client were murdered by her 13-year-old son Billy. Shot to death. The costumer, ironically named John, was able to tell the police before he died that Billy made him beg for his life and then shot him anyway.”

“That’s him,” Morgan commented.

“And he was convicted, but...”

“He’s a juvenile,” I said.

“Right. So at 18, he was released in 1973, never heard from again,” Penelope continued.

“Oh, he was heard from,” Emily spoke up.

“And he never released a statement as to why he killed them, although it does appear his childhood was horrific. I’m sending you a picture of him on the day he was released to your PDAs.”

“make sure you send the files to JJ,” Hotch instructed.

“Of course, my liege. Garcia bids you ad…”

She was cut off by Morgan, hopefully, so he could apologize for being so cold. “Garcia, wait a minute.”

He took the phone and left to a more private corner to talk to our tech genius. Also, Hotch had gone outside to help JJ with the tough job she had to do; I did not want to be in her shoes right now. We were all standing around in a circle listening to JJ, we could tell she was nervous and picking her words carefully. At first, it was a little rough, but as soon as she tapped into her motherly instincts it was going way smoother. Hopefully, it hit the nail on the head.

Then we received some unfortunate news, Kristin had passed away. The look of defeat on Derek’s face was painful, Ellie was alone now. But there was some hope – Flynn had let Ellie go. JJ had succeeded. We sped off to the house where Billy Flynn was hiding. Upon arrival we were met with the LAPD, they had a direct line to Flynn sent in and were waiting for contact. It rang as soon as we got there, he was watching us.

“He wants to talk to you,” Kurzbard extended the phone towards Derek.

“What?” His tone was pointed, laced with anger and desperation. “He wants me to come in.”

Morgan started walking towards the house after exchanging some words with Hotch. My heart was beating a million miles an hour and I held onto Emily to stabilize myself. We had no eyes or ears on the inside of the house, and anything could happen whilst we were outside and Derek inside.

A couple of minutes went by until ten shots rang through the house. My heart dropped and tears spilled from my eyes unconsciously. I was expecting for the worse as my hands flew to my gun, ready to enter the house, but Emily held me back as Derek calmly walked out of the house. Emily and Spencer accompanied officers to survey the scene and I stayed behind with my father and Hotch to make sure Derek was okay. My father hugged my shoulders as we watched the reunion between Ellie and Morgan, who thankfully came out of the house unscathed.

On the flight home, I couldn’t help but shed a few tears as the adrenaline from the case was wearing down. Next to me, Derek noticed my mood shift and sat closer to me.

“What’s up, baby girl? What’s got you like this?”

“I don’t know, it’s just back at the house we didn’t know anything and all we hard were the shots; I just thought the worst had happened. I’m just being dumb,” I chuckled, trying to downplay how I was feeling. He was the one who went through the traumatic experience, not me.

“Oh come on, you know it would take more than a couple of knocks and a crazy unsub to take me down. You’re gonna have to put up with me for a long time. All of us,” he motioned to the rest of the team. The ones who were still awake nodded and smiled.

But the team would suffer a huge loss before we knew it. This morning JJ, Strauss, and Hotch had been in Hotch’s office right before we were meant to be on the plane to Atlantic Beach. No one knew what they were meeting about, but it had to be serious.

We all left to the case with the underlying question of what the meeting was about. On the plane we stared at JJ until she confessed about the meeting; the Pentagon had offered her a job twice and Strauss wanted her to take it. As much as we wanted to pick her brain about it, there wasn’t too much news. She had a job offer she didn’t want and our boss wanted her to take it. We needed to focus on the case.

At the moment there were two men in custody, 20-year-old Sid and Jimmy. They were claiming they both had consensual sex with our 19-year-old victim Kate after she left a bar with them. Highly doubtful. The need to break them down psychologically became apparent when there were no plot holes found in their stories by the police. We had no body, two suspects, and a limited amount of time.

As soon as we landed, the team got busy with their assignments. JJ was to stay with the parents, Emily and Morgan were in interrogations, dad and Reid to the bar, and Hotch and I to review the interview videos to find any nonverbal clues to disrupt their story. As quickly as we could work so did Garcia. In minutes she gave us a big background into the kids, criminal troublemakers since their preteens.

We watched intently both interviews, Syd’s directly and Jimmy through recording. Syd was prepotent and standoffish since Derek walked in, not much perturbed him, Jimmy on the other hand had a tell.

“He never mentions her by name,” I said as we watched the interview Emily was carrying out with Jimmy.

“Why not?” Detective Mathias asked.

“He’s distancing himself,” Hotch added. “Depersonalizing the victim.”

“Look at the way he shifts his weight and cracks his neck. His behavior was consistent until Kate was mentioned,” I noted and Hotch nodded. Mathias seemed very interested in the way we analyzed every single movement.

Then, both asked for a polygraph test. As we waited to hear from the polygraph results we got to work on theories.

“So, what if they didn’t do it then we’re back to nothing?” Mathias doubted.

“One of them knows where Kate is,” I said nonchalantly.

“How can you be sure?”

“Because an innocent person doesn’t sit quietly for three days. They get angry and defensive.”

“These guys are going out of their way to appear calm and in control,” Derek added. “They’ve got something to hide.”

We knew they were stalling with the polygraphs, all we had to do is figure out what they knew about Kate’s whereabouts. Hotch then sent JJ back to dig into the parents a little, why would have Kate gone with these two boys if everyone else says she wouldn’t have? JJ adamantly turned and headed to the Pearson couple.

“Hotch, we can’t lose her,” I whispered.

“Strauss thinks we’re all replaceable. I went over her head to try to explain that we’re not.”

It wasn’t the answer we wanted, but it’s the one that we got. At the end of the day, we could be short a team member. And worse, our family would be separated.

But we had to continue working, they had passed the tests. We needed to continue the interviews. Something they were counting on. Dad went in to talk to Syd and Reid talked to Jimmy, the latter having a bit of a short fuse. We were going to continue on and on until they broke.

We had less than three hours until they were released. We needed everything we could get. As Derek pushed Syd, and Emily left Jimmy, Hotch got a call. I quickly picked at his cell and the screen read Strauss. So, I excused myself and left Emily to analyze the pictures that were on Syd’s phone of that night.

“She’s leaving, isn’t she?” I asked, reading Hotch’s defeated posture. He nodded. “There’s nothing you can do?”

“They’re not asking. It’s a direct order,” he rubbed his temples.

“So, she’s going to DC?” He nodded once more. I knew it was hard on him the most. He was the person we all looked onto to keep us united, but this really was out of his hands.

“I really wish there was more I could do,” he sighed. We shared a quick hug in the empty hallway, a way of reassuring him that he didn’t have to carry this news by himself. As we detached, he shared a small smile of relief, a small weight lifting off his shoulders.

“Well, come on. There’s no good in dwelling on it right now. Let’s catch these scumbags and bring back Kate.”

The interviews carried on. We couldn’t be distracted by the sad news. We were picking apart every breath, every movement, every word. Then, as she perused the pictures, JJ noticed in a Kate-less one her phone was present. But, Kate’s phone was in possession of her mother since it was recovered from Kate’s hotel room. The girl had made it back to the hotel.

We started forming our hypothesis. Most of the story they believed to be true because it actually was, they did take her back to the hotel, and they did leave. But Jimmy had felt rejected by Kate since she didn’t pay him much attention, and he had the perfect excuse to come back. So, when he left Syd back home, he went back with Kate’s phone. He lured her outside, possibly drugged her, and took her to his boat. Spencer pointed out that Jimmy was obsessed with the details of the port and Mathias added that at that time of night the blood from the catch would attract hundreds of sharks.

“We asked him if he killed her,” I sighed. “He didn’t. Asked where her body is.”

“He doesn’t know,” Emily added, following my train of thought.

“Technically those aren’t lies,” Spencer stated.

“How can you prove this?”

“We’ll get them to admit it,” Hotch answered Mathias.

Back into the interview room we were. We had our bait, and we were gonna reel in the answers.

After we pushed and got no concrete answers, we knew we had to search the ocean. I left with JJ ad Hotch to the port in hopes that she would be found. The Coast guard was 70 miles out and there was no sign of the young girl. We were getting worried.

“Kate’s an amazing swimmer. If he didn’t kill her when she hit the water, there’s still a chance,” JJ hoped.

“JJ, that’s three days in the ocean,” Hotch stated.

“I know,” she said in a defeated tone.

“This might be a long shot, but she would have been thrown near a dangerous area, which would mean there would be buoy markers. It could be possible that, if she was still alive when she hit the water, she swam all the way to a buoy, and since it’s been three days and hopefully, she has no major wounds, there’s a high probability she could’ve survived.” JJ looked up at me and gave me a small smile.

“Nice catch, (Y/N).” Hotch quickly punched in the number for the helicopter and told them to look closely at any buoys they saw around the area.

“I have a feeling about this one, JJ.” She hugged my shoulders. “We’re gonna find her.”

It wasn’t long until we got the news. Mathias came back to tell us they had found her hugging a buoy, alive. The three of us let out a breath of relief, and the unit chief and I stayed back as JJ went to tell the parents the good news. Although no words were exchanged, when we both looked at each other we knew this victorious feeling would be a short-lived one for the team.

Now that it was over JJ would be gone. When we got back, everyone else knew. JJ came out of the briefing room with a defeated look in her eyes, after a mad Hotch had stormed into his office. It didn’t take long for these brilliant minds to figure out the exchange.

“It’s done,” she sighed.

“It can’t be that simple,” Morgan protested.

“It is,” I said.

“You knew?”

“Figured it out back at the precinct,” I answered JJ. “Hotch got the call while Derek was interviewing Syd. It wasn’t too hard to map out.”

“This job is hard enough. What’re they trying to do, bury us?”

“She’s too good,” Emily said.

“She’s on everybody’s wish list,” dad added. “Our loss is somebody else’s gain.”

“They can’t just take you away,” Spencer said sadly. But they could, and they did.

It was a hard goodbye. She wasn’t truly gone but she wouldn’t be with us anymore. There wouldn’t be a need for a true grieving period, but the JJ-shaped hole that would fall upon the BAU team would be impossible to fill. Our family would not be fully complete until hopefully one day she came back.

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