If the apocalypse comes, beep me.

[reginasphalanges]

DERRY GIRLS  1.01

[prophecygirly]

in light of nicholas brendons passing i felt a need to make this post, which i feel like is gonna be unpopular. first of all, i wanna say that i don’t believe anyone deserves to die and i do feel sorry for his friends and family that mourn him. however, i feel like the fandom needs to remember what kind of person he was before they romantasize him to a point that is potentially hurtful to his victims.

brendon was charged with domestic violence in two different relationships. once in 2015, for strangling his girlfriend in a hotel room, and once in 2017. one of his victims later recalls: "when somebody holds a knife to your throat, it changes you as a person, and it changes you forever. I can never erase the pictures in my mind of being strangled and thrown across the room, or being covered in bruises, bite marks and scratches, all because I tried to care for someone."

[annarowyn]

It's hard wanting to say the things I want to say here without sounding overly vague, but it's all in an attempt to protect certain people.

The way this man talked about women (especially around fans), I found disturbing. The first time I heard him use intimate knowledge to abuse a former castmate, I left the room. Over the years I've personally known people physically abused by him, I've had him in my home. I've seen fans use activism -against- him as a perverse way to get closer to him. The same fans who would pretend care and concern to get his victims to open up and share personal details, only to then turn around and share tearful tributes after his death.

As a forever Buffy fan and a friend to some of his victims, this man has been an ongoing terror in my life for almost a decade.

I don't wish anyone dead.

I will say, however, I've waited for this day.

I'm happy my friends have peace. I'm happy the fans have peace. I'm happy the women who've lived in constant fear over what he'll do next have peace.

[nicemices]

"I asked ChatGPT" well I asked Rupert Giles and he sighed and took off his glasses and started cleaning them

[annarowyn]

Sammy's Anti-Baptism

God is not going to save you.

One of my favorite parts of Sinners (and there are many) is the focus on how Christianity has been used to rip away culture from groups throughout history.

Sammy lives on a plantation, in a house so small his siblings sleep shoulder to shoulder on the floor. But what is the big white pristine building? The church.

The church was a huge part in colonizing black folks and it was immensely effective. The number of people on TikTok saying the movie was too "spiritually unclean" and they had to walk out... accidentally validating one of the massive points of the movie. If you can Christianize someone, you can erase their ancestral knowledge/power.

Annie never forgot that knowledge. She talks of haints and vampires with knowledge that only comes from generations passing down information. She makes mojo bags for the twins, and sells her wares, serving those in her community. Annie preserves ancestral knowledge and magic, which gives them a fighting chance when they realize something is wrong.

Since the beginning of the film, Sammy has been told that his guitar is in direct conflict with the church, that it will call upon the devil, and that he's asking for trouble. In reality, the guitar and his gifts don't call upon the devil; they call upon the spirit of his ancestors. Again, the church is directly in conflict with ancestral magic/knowledge.

At the very end, Sammy thinks he's about to die in the lake. He starts reciting prayers, only for Remmick to speak them in unison. He then says "The people who took everything from us spoke those words too." Touching upon the cultural erasure that the Romans enacted onto the Irish people. It's low key a "ah, they got you too?"

What saves Sammy's life? Not god. Not his prayers. His guitar. The silver they knew to use because of Annie. Because she didn't let the church erase the powerful knowledge in her lineage.

When he goes home, his father, the pastor demands, "let go of the guitar, give over to god."

He never lets go of his guitar.

Sammy knows. God is not where power lies. The gifts bestowed upon him is where true power is. And that is within him.

(P.S. The vampires chanting in the dark "love and fellowship" gave "thoughts and prayers" vibes.)

[inact-ice]

Also! In many African cultures, especially in west Africa and specifically Nigeria (most slaves were brought to America from west Africa), white is the colour of death. As a Nigerian myself, the scene in the church with everyone wearing white unsettled the hell out of me for that reason. It looked like a funeral

[annarowyn]

Sammy's Anti-Baptism

God is not going to save you.

One of my favorite parts of Sinners (and there are many) is the focus on how Christianity has been used to rip away culture from groups throughout history.

Sammy lives on a plantation, in a house so small his siblings sleep shoulder to shoulder on the floor. But what is the big white pristine building? The church.

The church was a huge part in colonizing black folks and it was immensely effective. The number of people on TikTok saying the movie was too "spiritually unclean" and they had to walk out... accidentally validating one of the massive points of the movie. If you can Christianize someone, you can erase their ancestral knowledge/power.

Annie never forgot that knowledge. She talks of haints and vampires with knowledge that only comes from generations passing down information. She makes mojo bags for the twins, and sells her wares, serving those in her community. Annie preserves ancestral knowledge and magic, which gives them a fighting chance when they realize something is wrong.

Since the beginning of the film, Sammy has been told that his guitar is in direct conflict with the church, that it will call upon the devil, and that he's asking for trouble. In reality, the guitar and his gifts don't call upon the devil; they call upon the spirit of his ancestors. Again, the church is directly in conflict with ancestral magic/knowledge.

At the very end, Sammy thinks he's about to die in the lake. He starts reciting prayers, only for Remmick to speak them in unison. He then says "The people who took everything from us spoke those words too." Touching upon the cultural erasure that the Romans enacted onto the Irish people. It's low key a "ah, they got you too?"

What saves Sammy's life? Not god. Not his prayers. His guitar. The silver they knew to use because of Annie. Because she didn't let the church erase the powerful knowledge in her lineage.

When he goes home, his father, the pastor demands, "let go of the guitar, give over to god."

He never lets go of his guitar.

Sammy knows. God is not where power lies. The gifts bestowed upon him is where true power is. And that is within him.

(P.S. The vampires chanting in the dark "love and fellowship" gave "thoughts and prayers" vibes.)