01x04 - Godzilla

[bunniefuu]

My powers of destruction

had reached dizzying heights.

Lady Parts would not play

Sound Smash on account of my─

- Play something.

- Amina, come on.

I, the unwilling saboteur,

had carpet bombed

everything the band

had wanted.

I didn't deserve to be

a part of Lady Parts.

They weren't the only ones

I had let down.

I would never just leave

your party, FYI.

It was my engagement party,

Amina.

- And you just disappeared.

- Sorry.

I couldn't tell Noor

the real reason I left.

But I wanted to tell her

something true.

- He doesn't like me.

- What?

Ahsan, he's─

he's just not into me.

- He what?

- It's over.

I mean, it never really

was anything.

So.

Babe.

Yeah.

I don't know.

I just ruin everything.

For Lady Parts.

For Noor.

I should just wear a sign,

"ruiner of lives."

Dreams dashed,

back to the grind.

They dystopian monotony.

The symphony in grey.

Excuse me, sir.

Would you like to─

The grind.

A concerto of the mundane.

The grind.

Grinding you down into a soft

powder of pure, uncut rage.

Only Momtaz refused to accept

our audition failing.

She was going to put

Lady Parts on the map,

no question about it.

Her modus operandi?

Incessantly posting

band-related content.

A call to the masses.

A movement

for radical transformation.

An entreaty to change

the world one chord at a time.

- Please like and subscribe.

- Hmm.

One thing was clear.

The band was better off

without me.

My place was here

among the algae.

- Ah!

- Sorry!

- Sorry, I just─

- Hi.

Sorry.

Hi, hello.

God, you can't just walk

from the shadows

like some creepy axe m*rder*r.

Well, that's a step up

from male escort, right?

- So this is the lab, huh?

- Mm-hmm.

It's very lab-y.

Test tube.

Classic.

I'm sorry

the gig didn't go as planned.

Ayesha told me.

Just wanna check you're okay.

Yeah, I'm all right.

Considering I single-handedly

dismantled everything

they had been working for.

Wow.

You've got

some nerve being here.

Oh, hi.

Yeah, I was just going.

Leading girls on.

What is that?

Some sort of sport for you?

No.

Yeah, no, sorry.

Listen, she might look

desperate, but she's not.

She's a strong

independent woman.

And you are a sad,

pathetic little man.

Yeah, that's exactly

what my mum said.

Sorry.

Bye.

It's actually chilling

how vile he is.

Yeah.

Chilling.

Ahsan had done his duty

as my fake man.

And here I was,

back on the shelf.

There was only

one matter outstanding.

Alas, dear vessel

of creative life.

I release you

from my quaking unworthy hands.

May you find solace elsewhere.

- Saira?

- Mm-hmm?

Sorry. I um─

I wanted to apologise

for, like,

messing up the audition

and crushing your dreams.

I─I wanted to return Fabio.

- Fabio?

- I mean, your guitar.

- Is that what you want?

- I can't play with you.

You saw me.

I─I can't perform.

You froze.

You didn't puke.

That's progress.

If you wanna be in the band,

I will do everything

in my power to help you

get over your anxiety.

Only if you want it.

- Why would you help me?

- I don't know.

I think you're good.

I can't believe

she didn't tell me.

Having a sister

is the kind of thing

you tell people

you're close to.

Look, I'm not saying

that Saira's not great, man.

I'm just saying

come along tonight.

Meet Layla.

You'll like her.

She's always asking about you.

She is serious.

Allow Saira.

No.

Don't allow Saira.

Just give her space.

She'll come around.

Come on.

She barely considers him.

She didn't tell him

about her dead sis.

She always puts the band first.

Cut and run, bro.

Cut and run.

So, just so I'm fully clear

on what you have just said.

You have just said, in front

of our female child no less,

if a woman puts her work

before a man,

it is reason enough to,

as you put it, "cut and run"?

Uh─no, no.

No, I mean─

you have

done it brilliantly, babe.

You've got the family unit

and the art both co-existing

in happy symbiosis.

- Right?

- Mm.

Daughter, I think we should

depart from this place

before we choke on the fumes

of this toxic masculinity.

Okay.

Bye, Papa.

- Bye uncle Abdullah.

- Bye, baby.

See you later.

Mm-mm.

Look, come along tonight,

yeah?

Meet Layla.

You'll like her.

Come to your poetry night?

It's not really my scene.

It is a spoken word

evening, actually.

Why are we stopping?

Excuse me.

I didn't ask for an Uber pool.

Oh, I think you did, sir.

The system

gets confused sometimes.

- 'Sup.

- Hey.

- Yo, yo, yo, my people.

- Do you know these people?

- No, man.

- Check it out.

This is the woman

who's gonna put us on the map.

- I am a woman of colour.

I seek

to elevate women of colour.

I advocate for women of colour.

I create for women of colour.

My God.

Turn that sh*t off, man.

- I'm gonna be sick.

- It's annoying,

- but I appreciate the sentiment.

- Who is this sociopath?

This sociopath is Zarina Zee.

The influencer who retweeted us

and kindly directed

some much needed

online traffic our way.

She wants to meet us.

So we gotta show her

we dig her vibe.

Ultimate fan girls.

Excuse me.

I am very late.

Chill, Winston.

Saira's offer to help had

left me with a choice.

Did I want to be in the band?

I can't deny,

it did feel quite good.

- I'm devastated for you.

- What?

- Ahsan.

- Oh, yeah.

Yeah.

Sure, we had

the occasional disagreement.

- She's dead!

- Some men are just dogs.

I heard he only dates

white girls.

- Oh.

- Typical.

But somehow,

it just felt right.

- Wow.

- Thank you all

for holding space with me.

I just─I'm sorry.

I need to─I forgot to check

on my fungal growth

in the lab.

Experiment.

We need to impress her.

So please behave.

Do you reckon her face

is frozen in, like,

a constant pout?

Like, "Hey, guys.

Welcome to my channel.

Like and subscribe."

Yeah, do you reckon

she'll orgasm

if I double tap her

on the forehead?

Stop it.

Okay. So she should be

here somewhere.

And there she is.

Hey.

When I saw that video,

I was, like, dead.

Like, actually dead.

Such strength and sisterhood.

You guys are serving up

a real feminine power

that has me,

like, actually dead.

- Appreciate you.

- Too kind.

Your feminine power has us

actually dead too.

Aw, thanks, hun.

So then, I was desperate

to meet you guys.

Because obvs, you guys

are queens, and I'm a big fan.

We're fans of you, queen.

Anyway, as the new

culture editor

of Yellow Tongue Magazine─

I know, humble brag,

humble brag, humble brag─

I would like my first main

feature to be on you guys.

On Lady Parts.

f*ck no.

Yellow Tongue?

No.

That is some bottom

of the barrel sh*t.

It's the most

read online publication.

Most read online publication,

or most clicked?

That's some real bourgeois

snobbery for a Marxist.

Let's see.

"Yellow Tongue."

Ooh, here's a hard-hitting

piece.

"Legoland on Acid."

Ooh, a quiz.

What percentage sex pest am I?

Yeah, so it's got some lower

brow stuff for the punches,

but it does great journalism.

Like that series on burgeoning

music scenes

in w*r-torn countries.

"Sex, Drones, and Rock n Roll."

It was legit.

And Zarina is the real deal.

If you'd met her, you'd get it.

It's possible,

but Amina pretty much

quit the band today.

Forget Amina.

She's done her bit.

She auditioned with us.

It didn't work out.

Still, no lead guitarist,

no band.

No band, no damn interview.

I wanna be in the band.

I want to play.

Yes!

Feels so good to say it.

Whoo!

I'm in.

- Sick.

- Looks like we have a band.

- I'm setting up the interviews.

- Yeah, yeah, whatever.

We're gonna fix you.

Kick this stage fright

- once and for all.

- Great.

How?

Saira's plan

was simple, yet terrifying.

I, Amina Hussain,

would conquer my anxiety

through the medium of poetry.

I sip the blood

from your red lips.

Sip.

Sip.

S─

Abdullah is full

of charm and quirk.

You'll love him.

Everyone does.

And yeah, it's not usual

for him to be late.

He'll be here soon.

The real slim shady

has a foot fetish.

The real slim shady

is harbouring

feelings of inadequacy.

I didn't think

I could do this.

- Saira, I can't do this.

- Why not?

My poem, it sucked.

My poem, it sucks.

- It doesn't matter.

- I was freaking out.

I think I'm freaking out.

Good.

Feel the fear.

Really feel the fear

and do it anyway.

- Move through it.

- What?

The revolution

will not be circumcised.

Oh.

Thank you.

Um, please, next up,

can we have Saira?

Um─Saira!

Didn't know you were

gonna be here.

So?

'Sup.

Yeah, I'm Saira.

I'm gonna speak some words.

These words aren't mine.

They were written by

Faiz Ahmed Faiz.

My granddad's favorite poet.

So, yeah.

I wanna dedicate this

to a new friend.

Speak,

for your two lips are free.

Speak,

for your tongue

is still your own.

This straight body

still is yours.

Speak,

your life is still your own.

See how

in the blacksmith's forge,

flames leap high

and steel glows red,

padlocks opening

wide their jaws.

Every chain's

embrace outspread.

Time enough is this brief hour.

Until body and tongue lie dead.

Speak,

for truth is living yet.

Speak,

whatever must be said.

There he is.

Damn.

Okay.

Are you gonna introduce us?

Ah.

Let's move on, shall we?

Next up, we have Amina.

- Do we have an Amina?

- Here.

Go on.

You can do this.

I'm right here, okay?

- Abdullah?

- Yeah.

Layla.

Hi, how are you doing?

Feelings are like flowers.

They bloom.

They wither.

They

Perish.

Sorry.

This is─sorry, I─sorry,

I don't think I can do this.

Look, I just─I'm just trying

to play─

play, you know, play

in a band.

A band.

Mad.

Mad, right?

Bu─but I can't.

I keep─I keep─I keep─

This.

Basically.

But I really like it.

The band, it's like

Godzilla.

I─I mean, I think um

after she destroys the city.

Really calm,

mindful she must feel.

I don't know, I don't know.

I mean, I─I think, "Godzilla."

You know what?

I─I really like it.

I just─I just─I just─I

just─I just─mm.

I don't want

to puke anymore.

Okay?

I just want to play.

Whoo!

- You did it.

- I did?

Yeah.

Now we're getting somewhere.

Let's get out of here, huh?

Okay.

Sure.

Saira, it's not

what you think.

Saira.

Saira.

Saira, wait.

I don't know who she is.

I mean, her name's Layla.

I've never met her before.

Wasim wanted me to meet her.

- I─I didn't─

- It's cool, it's fine.

- Yeah, it's nothing.

- It wasn't working out

with us anyway, was it?

So let's call it.

Noble effort, yeah?

Wait.

Saira.

Saira, seriously?

What the f*ck?

Saira!

You were f*cking amazing.

Amazing.

Thanks for your help.

So who was that guy?

My boyfriend.

- Well, was.

- What?

My f*cking boyfriend.

f*ck!

Just back off.

You wanna waterboard me

about it?

f*ck.

Sorry.

Do you wanna stay at mine?

- Stay at yours?

- Mm-hmm.

What, like a sleepover?

My mum never let me

go to sleepovers.

Yeah.

Sleepover.

Why not?

Could be fun.

- You're in a punk band?

- Yes, Ma.

Vah!

And you haven't been─

- Mm-mm.

- Or─

Well, Saira's actually

helping me

get over my stage fright, so.

Well, alhumdulillah.

Thank you, Saira.

Thank you, Saira.

It's no problem.

This is so exciting.

Oh, you know,

I met Don McLean, hmm?

- Well, when I was in Washington.

- Yes, Baba.

- No one cares.

- Oh.

Why didn't you tell us?

"Lady Parts."

Great name.

Hey, it's Abdullah.

Leave a message.

Yeah.

Hey.

Um it's me.

Hope you're having

a nice evening?

I just─

Her name is Ruksana.

My big sister.

But she made everyone call her

Roxy 'cause she hated her name.

I thought Roxy was

pretty stupid too.

But she liked it.

She was 16

when she died.

Leukaemia.

Okay, this is weird.

Sorry.

Message deleted.

Ugh!

Yes.

Was he right?

- Uh-huh.

- Give me a high five, man.

That was it.

Morning.

- Hey, little baby.

- Oh, Amina, Amina, Amina.

Taz's influencer person

has got us a gig tonight.

Tonight?

You've got this.

Hmm?

- Mm?

- Mm-hmm.

Maybe Saira was right.

After all, last night

I had performed poetry

without excretions

of any sort.

I was ready for anything.

But not for this.

- f*ck me.

- We're f*cked.

Taz, what is this?

sh*t.

Okay, I didn't know

it was this kind of place.

We've just set up

in the back.

- Isn't it perfect?

- Perf, totes perf.

- It's not really our scene.

- Exactly.

"Lady Parts

takes on r*cist Britain."

These people aren't

necessarily r*cist.

Guys, I think

I'm experiencing fear.

Give us a song then,

sweetheart.

Your husband let you out of

the house tonight, did he?

I felt like we were

in the firing line

ready for our court martial.

Boo.

We are Lady Parts.

Here's a little something

we thought you might like.

f*cking waste of my time.

Bloody hell.

Tumble out of bed,

and stumble to the kitchen ♪

Pour myself a cup

of ambition ♪

And yawn and stretch

and try to come to life ♪

Jump into the shower

and the blood starts pumpin' ♪

Out on the streets,

the traffic starts jumpin' ♪

For folks like me,

on the job from nine to five ♪

Workin' nine to five ♪

They hated us.

But nothing bothered Saira.

She was unfazed.

It was kind of cool.

Time for my solo.

Time to play.

Come on, hands.

Come on!

Ah!

Yay!

Amina!

Yes, Amina!

It was happening.

I was playing!

Oh, my God.

- Yay!

- Yeah!

Whoo!

They let you dream

just to watch them shatter ♪

You're just a step on the

boss man's ladder ♪

But you got dreams

he'll never take away ♪

Turn it in, will ya?

On the same boat

with a lot of your friends ♪

Waiting for the day

your ship will come in ♪

The tide's gonna turn

and it's all gonna ♪

Roll your way ♪

Working nine to five ♪

What a way to make a living ♪

Barely gettin' by ♪

It's all taking,

and no giving ♪

It's a rich man's game ♪

No matter what they call it ♪

- Boo!

And you'll

spend your life ♪

Putting money

in his wallet ♪

Yeah!

We had done it.

We had performed.

We were a real band.

A proper live band.

True, the crowd

weren't exactly going wild.

But this was a victory,

and the only way was up.

Or so we thought.