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#how ferus writes meta
ferusaurelius · 2 years
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I've been reading your ofmd meta. It's amazing! How did you learn to figure all that stuff out?
Thank you for the ask!
There are two distinct questions here:
What makes OFMD a compelling ground for media and critical (meta) analysis?
What’s the critical basis I’m using in writing meta analysis and how did I learn to use it the way I do?
Why Write Meta Analysis of “Our Flag Means Death”?
The first question is easy: THERE IS SO MUCH TO UNPACK HERE. It’s all right out in the open, too, and it’s a real credit to David Jenkins that he created a supportive environment for the cast, the creative directors, the writers, and his entire CREW to bring all of their creative selves. 
OFMD is so full of love for its characters and story that it always takes my breath away whenever I think about it. So much creative energy and love was wrapped into this show in so many ways that I’ll never shut up about it ever.
The second question has a longer answer.
Analytical Training, Experience, and Practice (Not Necessarily In That Order)
While I am formally trained and have a BA in English, I would still credit my experience as a writer-practitioner as equally or more important in my analytical background as the formal training.
I am first and foremost a writer, and I “read” texts like a writer who wants to figure out what makes a narrative function. Learning how something is working is fundamental to being able to replicate it in your own artwork.
The simplest term for what I use as a framework for all my meta is a technique historically called close reading, but I’d openly admit that I am more flexible and informal with it than you’d find taught in a typical college class! 
Think of a “reading” in literature or film/media analysis as a bit like what a study or practice sketch does for visual artists.
When I was writing my meta post on The Tragedy of Israel Hands, I very explicitly decided to tackle OFMD and what was happening with Izzy by breaking down the show into episode-by-episode readings from Izzy’s point of view. 
I also chose to add some extra spice based on direct scene transcriptions, mentions of Izzy by-name even when he wasn’t on-screen, and what was happening for him as a character (what was his story?) vs. the obvious romance that was happening for Edward and Stede in the foreground.
David Jenkins had helpfully stated in an interview that OFMD was broken up into acts, so I just followed his lead on doing the same in my analysis. ;) He’d also suggested doing a rewatch with a focus on Con O’Neill and I was intrigued by the possibility of what I might find.
Turned out? Con managed to fit an actual three-act tragedy into the same visual and narrative space (albeit in the background) as Rhys and Taika acting the main romance in the foreground! This is fucking incredible in my opinion. Con’s narrative counterpoint with Izzy adds so much depth and richness to the romance and the comedy. I could chew glass over it (and I did! hence the post).
I firmly believe that ANYONE can do a good and detailed textual reading (with or without formal training), so here’s my quick(?) breakdown of how that works for me in the hope that it will inspire you and others to try your hand!
The best way to get good at analysis is to practice. Analyze, analyze, analyze! Write, write, write! Create in whatever way makes sense to your brain and energizes you to explore how you think about what you love. You don’t even have to publish/share the results. It can just be for you if you want.
As usual, only do what works for you. 
If there’s a thought or a step that you want to skip? Skip it. Do what you want. Create and write meta! Enrich the OFMD fandom with your own readings. :D
Ferus-Style Close Reading Guide
Goal: Break things down to build a detailed, text-supported understanding of a creative product (story, episode, play, film, painting, etc.). You can do this whenever you’re interested in something and feel like spending more time with it as a method of learning more and deeply appreciating a work of art.
Pick a moment in the text (show, fanfic, story, etc.) that interests you.
Interest is crucial! Think about why you’re interested. Sit with the text a bit.
Take extensive notes on what’s happening. You can also use another method you prefer like outlining, grabbing screencaps, or some combination to record and organize your first impressions and thoughts.
This serves as a record of where you started.
Don’t necessarily try to interpret right away, but DO decide for yourself what you think is happening in a moment or a particular scene. This can be as short as a single line of text or a few seconds of interaction in a TV episode or film. Trust yourself! The best art, by and large, does what it does in plain sight and will repeat or reinforce the significant themes and symbols.
Hold off on interpretation to allow yourself time to develop a good understanding of what has actually taken place in the text. Plenty of professional critics are weak at this step and jump straight into reshaping events to fit their thesis and interpretation rather than reading “out of” a text. It’s not necessarily bad (and there are techniques that use this sort of interpretation), but it’s really not where I’m coming from.
Break down your favorite scenes into as many moments (or points of focus) as are likely to be relevant to your analysis. If you’re working with a specific character, focus on their actions or their scenes (or other ‘by name’ references when they’re not on-screen). If the focus is a motif (a visual element), try to figure out what its appearance or framing is accomplishing when it is present. How do other characters react to it or introduce it? How do these interactions “read” to you? Again, what is happening?
This is the focusing step that typically tells me where the rest of my analysis is going. At this point I usually have an idea of what I’m seeing when it’s either reinforced by one or more sequential scenes (reinforced) or dropped and sidelined in an interesting way.
Take a step back and think about how the moment you’re analyzing is ‘working.’ What does it do? What purpose does this story beat or moment serve? Why is it happening in this moment, at this specific time, and what important features of character, setting, or story are happening? What are the consequences that follow?
I can’t stress consequences enough! Actions having consequences is a fundamental element of a well-structured narrative. The narrative consequences for a character or a plotline are one of the things that is MOST controlled by authorial choice. Do these consequences fit in with the theme you’ve noticed? Why or why not? Whatever is happening here is usually some of the most interesting elements of the narrative (if they’re present). 
Write down your initial guesses about the answers the questions above. Or answer a few of your own questions in a first pass. Theorize!
Now that you’ve considered the individual moments, scenes, or elements and taken a stab at the larger emergent themes it’s time to mash them together into a coherent picture (what are YOU seeing?). How are you seeing this text?
Keep repeating the process above for other surrounding scenes (the context) or moments relevant to your analysis.
YMMV with repetition. A longer analysis takes more repetition. A shorter or more contained analysis may only go through this process once. Again -- no one person will see the same scene the same way as another! Everyone has a valuable perspective to contribute.
Theorize once again after stringing the analytical moments together and connecting them -- what new ideas occur to you once you’ve chewed over the “small” interesting bits separately? Does a pattern begin to emerge? Why or why not?
You can learn as much from figuring out your first impressions were wrong (and looking again to see what’s ACTUALLY happening) as you will from being “right” the first time. Enjoy the experience!
You can learn almost as much from absence as from presence. While that may sound cryptic at first, glaring absences when characters or significant elements are NOT present are just as important in their own way, and may help you discover other themes in the same text. Strategic absences are MUCH more difficult to identify without careful attention. They’ll be obvious when you begin to look for them (which is the fun bit).
“Establishing” shots (introductions, first/last shots, first/last words) are always important.
Repeated and reinforced themes are generally stronger indications that a particular symbol or motif is significant. Looking for repetition or apparently deliberate call-backs to previous episodes, comments, scenes, or character relationships are often where the most fruitful opportunities for analysis are located.
Write up your general conclusions based on what you’ve learned from your smaller (close) bite-size readings and why you believe they’re significant along with how they’re functioning. If you observe a theme or pattern, focus your writing on how that pattern is built up and the evidence you found to support that conclusion.
And you’re done! Or whatever process you prefer is finished. For now. ;)
-
The most important element in my analytical process is close attention to the different on-screen choices (in framing, acting, and dialogue) that I’m seeing in a particular episode. 
I take extensive notes on what’s happening, sometimes by recording transcripts of the dialogue and often through watching and re-watching a scene of particular interest.
To continue with my example meta, The Tragedy of Israel Hands was based on rewatching OFMD with a focus on what was happening to Izzy in both the foreground and the background, with these questions in mind: 
What would this story arc appear to be from Izzy’s perspective?
What extent was that interpretation supported by: each character’s arc, the framing of various shots, and the choices and tone throughout the context of Con O’Neill’s overall performance of this character?
Was there a narrative thread linking together Izzy Hands’s story as a contrast to Edward and Stede’s foreground romance?
And now you have the meta on the meta. METACEPTION. -is shot-
You probably didn’t want an answer this long, dear asker, but regrettably I Am Just Like This.
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bellassan · 6 years
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man remember how ferus told vader that he thought anakin would beat him three years before this actually happened - even after vader ruined ferus’ life? 
ferus had faith in anakin 
he just also never liked anakin 
and that is so interesting and awesome and fascinating and nuanced
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padmsanakin · 3 years
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A comprehensive rewrite of Ferus Olin
We’re gonna start with something simply; Ferus Olin is rather painful to watch sometimes since he has little to no flaws that are actually debilitating. He is shown as basically a foil to Anakin Skywalker. But, yes, there are still very crucial differences between each other. Well, this is just a little revamping of his character just for personal enjoyment and possibly my writing use. Feel free to use in your own works, make sure to credit me @lukegarmadon (same tag for both Ao3 and tumblr). With that in mind, let’s start :)
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for starters, I rather like the set up of him being just as powerful as Anakin. Maybe, he’s a few thousand lower than Master Yoda in terms of midichlorians. I view him as a sort of second best to Anakin which instills a bit of jealousy in him. Jealousy is complicated; he does not know how to let go of it. So, he goes to bully Anakin as he does in the books just to make his insecurities feel better. He’s compassionate and kind yes, but he doesn’t show it. He has this sort of reservedness on affection.
Ferus is a people-pleaser much like Anakin but for far different reasons. Ferus seeks acceptance in the order; most of it is conditional so he strives to be the best he can be so as to be admired by the Council. However, when he does make a mistake, he tends to blame it on others , usual scapegoat being Anakin. Ferus works hard for his goals and cannot stand failure. The blaming of others helps him convince that it isn’t his fault and still worthy of admiration.
Ferus isn’t empathetic; for starters, Jedi are very detached from their emotions. This, this upbringing affects his empathy. He is compassionate but not empathetic. Thus, he has a hard time understanding Anakin’s traumatic past. Ferus feels threatened by his presence this, he finds anyway he can to put him down. He doesn’t realize how hard the boy is trying or what; he doesn’t understand the boy firstly. This also shows how isolated the order is in terms of public and another major pitfall. This is why the people didn’t come to support them—they were elusive for starters.
Ferus becomes a general in the clone wars. He is much goal-oriented to please the council. He cares for the clones but he doesn’t care for them enough that he focuses much on winning the battle. This results in him having high casualty rates but also high success rates. He quickly rises to be one of the most successful generals in the GAR. This is to show that he is disillusioned in some ways; he puts too much of himself into the Jedi—he thinks only the Jedi matters. He needs to please them and will do it at all costs. The conditional acceptance of the Jedi Council has lead him to this point. But, that doesn’t mean that he’s like Krell. He saves the clones whenever he can but ultimately puts the battle first. He isn’t attached to them like Anakin can be. To him, they are clones first and foremost (an unconscious thought that most Jedi (with the exception of Anakin — read clone wars gambit: siege and stealth to see anakin referring to them as men more than obi-wan or ahsoka does) show throughout the tcw.
He doesn’t interact with Anakin as much now but he is suspicious still of the man. He hears about his daring exploits and how he clenches the moniker of Hero-With-No-Fear. This is Anakin’s prime to say, where he truly shines with his daring exploits to save everybody. Ferus gets slightly jealous that it isn’t him that is worshipped by the Holonet. Do note that he’s still in his early twenties but he doesn’t let it get too much in the way unless around Anakin. Ferus, despite the obvious flaws in the order, doesn’t see their wrongs and worships them blindly. To say he is much rather to follow the crowd. Anakin is rebellious in spirit; Ferus is too obedient.
Some shortcomings of his too much obedience is struggling to make decisions in hot spots during the first few months of war. He, soon, realizes he needs to be quick on feet. It is not that he’s not intelligent but he’s far too used to following orders. He is not a natural leader but rather a follower. He becomes quick on his feet as we come to the twilight of the Republic but he isn’t invincible.
I guess he does leave eventually, like a few months before Ahsoka’s leave— he leaves upon feeling guilty over the death of one of Veld (do note I’m just switching the timelines for more interesting possibilities); anakin wasn’t involved in this, he was on the front with ahsoka— snips and skyguy, why did y’all - stupid canon — he finds himself wandering the galaxy until he finds his place
during the empire years, he won’t be as prominent as portrayed in legend (sorry, I cherrypick my canon, don’t be mad— canon is a suggestive buffet spread). Like yes, he works on intel and stuff but he isn’t as prominent. He gets caught during one of the missions in the factory and killed by the 501st (stormtrooper one) . Vader finds him ; he doesn’t care or feel vindicated. He’s far too into his own feelings; he doesn’t have it in him to feel sorry for anyone but himself.
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So there we have it, a comprehensive guide to my rewrite of Ferus Olin. Images from Wookiepedia. I would like to thank a few people @padawanlost , @redrikki —their metas hugely helped me in crafting him up here. If you like Ferus Olin the way he is— that’s great! but, I didn’t . Thus, this was born.
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ani5s · 6 years
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Normally, I'm Rexani but I've enjoying reading your snippets and hcs. This stuff 'Anakin doesn't care his men & Jedi treat clones much better than he is' made me sad (probably why there're few fics featuring him and 501st out there). Maybe fluff featuring Fives and Echo (also, Hevy, Cutup and Droidbait if you want) as shinies get first introduction to Anakin. Anakin, still remembers Shmi's teachings, tells them they are people, not tools.
oh Anon, I am Anakin x basically everyone. I LOVE rexani, anidala, obikin, Ani5, Anakin/Ferus, and more! And… yeah. I hate how people act. Anakin was one of the best Generals in the GAR, and, while I don’t blame people whose main perception is based off of TCW, which kind of wrote Ani as more Vader-y than they should have because of how fanboys complained about Vader having once been like, well, Anakin, I also get kind of pissed at certain misconceptions and iffy characterizations of my boy (though I do admit that this fic is a bit self-indulgent). Was he sometimes an asshole? Yes. Did he care about his troops? Read a book or watch Revenge of the Sith (and someone remind me to write a meta about Anakin and the clones in the live action films compared to TCW). As for the fics, I don’t know. I wish there was more…
It takes Fives a very long minute realize that the ceremony thing is over. You can’t blame him, though, when their new General is apparently the most gorgeous person in existence.
And General Skywalker even feels different, even from far away. Like an unstoppable fire, a blazing sun.
But, yes, it takes Fives a very long minute.
And Cutup elbowing him in the side.
“What are you thinking about that’s so interesting, vod?” He asks. Five stammers.
“N-Nothing,” he says. “Shut up.”
Droidbait follows his gaze.
“The General?” he asks. “What’s so interesting about him from here?”
Noooooooo…
“Oh brother,” Hevy says. “Do you have a crush?”
“N-no!”
Probably. Yes.
“There’s nothing in the reg manuals about dating a Jetii,” Echo says. “Well, no more than any other clone relationship. I think they have a code.”
Fives groans. Right. Great. Kriff his life and his brothers. Kriff their stupid smiling faces.
“Forget it,” he says. “It’s not going to—”
“Troopers.”
“—Happen.”
Kriiiiiiiffff. Anakin turns around, and… there’s the General. General Skywalker smiles.
“Now that the ceremony is out of the way, I wanted to introduce myself,” he says. “I’m Anakin Skywalker, and it seems that I’m your General now. I want to let you know now, though, that I’m not like most, and, if you have a problem, even if the problem is with me or my actions, feel free to tell me, or Rex if you’re not comfortable. You’re people, not tools, and I want you to know you can act like it.”
His brothers let out a chorus of “Yes, sir”s, but Fives just kind of… stares and nods. The General smiles.
“Thank you for your time,” he says. “And welcome to the 501st.”
His brothers smile at him teasingly and Fives—
————————————
“Fives,” Anakin says, shaking him awake. Fives groans. Funny. Usually he’s the first one up. “Love you need to get back to your room before we’re caught.”
Fives groans again, but he sits up.
It was just a dream. He’d only had Echo there teasing him that day.
And Echo’s gone, now, too.
Anakin must pick up on his sadness, because he stops teasing and grips his hand.
“You okay?” he asks. Fives just smiles.
“It’s nothing,” he says. “I was just dreaming about a happier first meeting.”
Anakin hmms.
“Oh?”
Fives sighs.
“Hevy, Cutup, and Droidbait were there,” he says. Anakin leans into him. He smiles. “Last Domino standing. I’m fine, cyare. I should go.”
Anakin smiles and kisses him.
“I stand my my word,” he says. “You can talk to me.”
Fives laughs.
“I know,” he says. “I love you.”
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tachiisms · 6 years
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Does Siri know or ever find out that Anakin is Vader? How does this make her feel? Does she pity Vader, hate him? If she ever had the chance, would she try to reach out to him like Luke did?
( I assume these questions are strictly referring to AUs in which Siri survives past her canon death, and then also past Order 66 and all that jazz. )
I tend to leave it fairly open for Siri to know or not to know that Anakin became Vader. I don’t want to godmod any Obi-Wans by assuming that Obi-Wan would have told her, nor do I want any Anakin/Vaders to feel godmoded by Siri knowing, when not a whole lot of characters know ICly. 
It also sort of depends on how much contact Siri has with Obi-Wan in any given verse, which can vary depending on other players. It also can depend on how much contact Siri has with Ferus throughout the events of the book series, The Last of the Jedi, because Ferus does figure out, near the end of the series, that Vader used to be Anakin. 
I suppose that I tend to “default” to Siri finding out that Anakin became Vader, since I default to Siri having at least some interactions with Ferus throughout, or at least after, the events of the Last of the Jedi. ( Because let her see Ferus again, dammit. ) And if she didn’t know by the time Ferus finds out, or if she sees him for the first time after he already knows, he’d tell her. ( Again though, this is very open and it’s entirely possible that she hasn’t, for whatever reason, had any contact with Ferus when I’m interacting with Vaders who don’t want her to know that he used to be Anakin, which is an entirely reasonable thing for muns to want her not to know. ) 
As to how it would make her feel, I think she’d be shocked initially. It’s a shocking thing to find out for anyone, and she knew Anakin. She knew him well. She liked him a lot, she trusted him ( to a point ), she respected his opinions and abilities. Heck, she was willing and prepared to die for him when he was only eleven, she supported him to both the Jedi Council and the Senate when he straight-up murdered Krayn. ( One day I will write an entire meta on their relationship but I’ve been saying that for over two years and haven’t written it yet so until I do, please direct your attention to the Siri & Anakin tag in which you can find lots of ramblings and metas about various parts of their relationship. ) 
I think that she’d hate what Vader became, and how he destroyed who Anakin was. She might pity him, briefly, occasionally, but largely she wouldn’t pity him because he’s responsible for his actions and he’s done a lot of terrible things. 
Her feelings towards Vader would also depend on the time frame during which she’s asked. If Obi-Wan is telling her about Vader shortly after Order 66, she’s probably going to pity Vader more after she’s gotten over the initial shock and betrayal of that knowledge. If we’re talking about late in, or after, the Last of the Jedi series, and therefore after Vader murdered Roan Lands ( aka Ferus’s husband, the love of his life, his soulmate ) just to spite Ferus ( literally, Vader narrates that he hadn’t planned on killing Roan the way he did but he’d derived so much satisfaction from it just because he could see how much it hurt Ferus, and he also narrates, shortly after narrating about Padmé’s death, that he’d “taken from Ferus what had been taken from him” ).... then she’s going to have a lot less pity and a lot more anger towards Vader. He also kills another close friend of Siri’s by the end of that series ( Garen Muln ). So after that point, there’s going to be more anger and resentment towards him. 
Then if we’re talking years later, he kills Obi-Wan in ANH which is certainly not going to make Siri pity or feel sorry for him, and then he kills Ferus in between ANH and ESB, so that’s a lot of things that are going to stack up against him.
I don’t really think that she’d try to reach out to him like Luke did. Not in the way that she’d actively seek him out to go and try to reach out to him. But if she’d been captured by the Empire or something and was brought to him or something, then yes, there is a chance that she’d remind him that she remembers who he used to be, that she remembers Anakin Skywalker and how good and brave and strong he was. That she remembers the Anakin Skywalker who regularly risked his life to save other people, who became a hero to the galaxy. And that the Anakin Skywalker she remembers won’t let himself be a slave to the Emperor forever and he might just kill Vader one day.
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ferusaurelius · 2 years
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Izzy and Who Does the Work
So I was thinking the other day about work dynamics and how one early interview compared OFMD to a workplace comedy. The comparison was fairly thin, since there was a throwaway line about the crew of The Revenge spending all of the first episode deciding whether or not to murder Stede (their captain/boss).
However, there’s also this much better take: a conversation between the most excellent meta writers @chuplayswithfire and @knowlesian about Izzy the toxic leader that I want to riff on a bit. 
And I want to talk a little about what it’s like to be the person who works for a toxic manager (aka: Izzy) and that journey and why it’s harmful/erasing to believe Izzy when he claims he’s doing all the work.
At the root of his claims is an unfounded belief and self-perception (toxic, untrue pretty much in any workplace):
No one else is competent (arrogance)
Confuse direction (delegation) with action (work)
Assume things will fail without their involvement (micromanaging)
We’re going to talk about the impact beliefs like this have on others and their experiences. 
Because really important and complicated tasks are by necessity collaborative, there’s a truism in strategic studies that: “Remember, terrain doesn’t wage war. Machines don’t wage war. People do and they use their mind!” 
No matter how good a plan or a strategy is, unless it’s executed well (by the people on the ground) it will fail. Izzy reminds me of the guy who just doesn’t quite understand the above because he treats everyone around him like interchangeable action-doing machines. If they would only just do everything exactly like he says, everything would work and be fine!
Izzy does not live in actual reality by any measure.
Izzy justifies his violence toward others as necessary in order to get them to conform (except he calls it ‘doing the work’) and that ends up hurting everyone around him and even himself ... when it’s people like Fang, Ivan, Frenchie, Oluwande, and Roach quite frequently doing their work well IN SPITE OF HIM or primarily out of some loyalty and admiration for Edward Teach, Blackbeard, most brilliant sailor alive and (actually good) leader.
Blackbeard’s crew notably has no love or loyalty for Izzy ... they reserve it for Edward, who also instantly wins over the crew of The Revenge, too.
His reputation precedes him.
Good leaders:
Say thank you.
Give credit to the team.
Listen to the ideas of others.
Remain confident and humble (because it’s important that people WANT to do the work).
Does the list above remind you of anyone? If you said Edward Teach you were correct.
It’s fun to watch Edward TEACH (haha a pun!) these techniques to Stede and it’s a bit FLABBERGASTING that Izzy has managed to serve and follow a good leader for so many years while LEARNING NOTHING. 
Izzy believes he’s essential to Edward’s success ... when the crew has been organizing things just fine because they love Edward, a bit like Izzy himself does (while making it weird forever). In fact? When Izzy removes himself from The Revenge after the duel? Nothing melts down and nothing implodes. 
Fang and Ivan have things on lock with or without Izzy giving them a hard time -- and we even get that beautiful “co-captains” moment with Edward and Stede that breaks me on every rewatch because they suggest it, bashfully, together in the same moment. 
Izzy Hands You Elitist Jerk
Izzy Hands is the man who remains ignorant because he thinks he knows everything -- he’s the kind of person who cannot be taught. 
In the rock-climbing world, a beginner who confidently ignores everyone’s offers of help or education is known as a “gumby” ... after the hard rubber kid’s toy that nothing will stick to.
While Izzy is far from a beginner at piracy (that’s Stede), unlike Stede he is willfully and comfortably blind to the talents and contributions of others. 
Izzy is the kind of person who equates vulnerability with shame and who is terrified to admit he doesn’t know something. 
Izzy is someone who demands respect without earning it (abuse of positional authority), who takes credit for the work without doing it, and who punishes people who have done nothing wrong (in pretty consistently gross ways).
I love to hate him and I hate understanding him. He’s a pretty good example of a toxicity death-spiral and, as Edward calls him: a real bummer. But enough about Izzy, let’s talk about one of the people he’s unjustly ignoring.
Consider Fang - My Hero
Fang is unironically the most amazing crew member and Izzy treats him horribly from Episode 03. 
Who spots The Revenge run aground in the intro shot with Blackbeard’s crew? Ivan and Fang. Who leads the shore party? Izzy. Strike one.
Who pulls Fang by the beard (what the FUCK) when he asks why Blackbeard wants to follow Stede’s ship and then tells Fang it’s not his job to fuckin’ think (EXCUSE ME) in the most heinous way possible? Izzy.
To be honest if I were Fang I’d have murdered Izzy right there, but Fang’s too nice a person to do anything but tell it like it is:
FANG: Ow, that really hurts! I hate it when he does that.
Implying this is NOT THE FIRST TIME this has happened to him. This is yet another of Izzy’s toxic entitled power moves to keep other people “in their place.” With all the loaded classist, colorist, and racist associations of that phrase fully intact in these scenes, by the way!
We see Izzy once again making things awful in the scene with Lucius cleaning barnacles, which is yet another pointless cruelty and/or punishment. Who pulls Lucius up and rescues him? Fang. Who says no one has ever taken an interest in his form before? Fang. 
Lucius is right to say that Fang’s never met anyone worth a damn!
Who is it that tells Lucius (and by extension Roach and Frenchie) about Izzy the Spewer? Fang.
Who listens to Edward telling ghost stories in Episode 06 and says it seems like he’s having an awfully nice time? Fang. Who says it’s the most open and emotionally available he’s ever seen Edward? Ivan.
Izzy is the only person in the named ‘original’ crew of Blackbeard who calls this openness seduction and insists that the plan is still on, because “he promised me.” Excuse me Izzy WHAT? When did Edward promise you shit? Never that’s when.
Which brings me around to the problem with Izzy: he thinks respect is what he’s owed, not something earned and voluntarily (freely) given. Izzy Hands doesn’t say thank you to anyone. 
Even when Edward Teach signs the Act of Grace to save Stede Bonnet (because he loves Stede, because Stede is his friend), Izzy is the one in the corner telling him he doesn’t have to do this. Like the only reason anyone could ever make a sacrifice is because it was pried out of them by force rather than -- as the title puts it -- through grace.
Responsibility Doesn’t Mean Taking the Credit, It Means Taking the Blame
Let me tell you I, like Fang, have worked for “an Izzy.” 
And in the MMO gaming realm (a bit more like piracy than most capitalist workplaces, imho!) ... the Izzy Hands attitude is pretty endemic and that dysfunction bleeds over into drama, greed, and self-serving petty awfulness.
Why compare MMO raid groups to piracy? A few reasons:
It’s not a formal commitment. You can stay or go at any time.
You have your choice of ‘crews.’
You have your choice of leaders (insofar as if someone pisses you off, and you’re in a place of trust, you can steal their shit and laugh your way to the bank - think Calico Jack)
Standard procedures vary based on the group (culture, respect, organizational structure, etc.)
The informal-but-still-structured nature of the endeavor means having to decide where to place your effort -- having just enough trust in the group leadership that you won’t get fucked over (you’ll get your loot) and that as a whole the group can take on big challenges without those being totally futile
Picking the wrong group is a waste of time (you get no loot; Stede’s crew is starts out here even though they get a salary)
Picking the group that gets things done but are miserable fucks is miserable (Calico Jack)
Picking the right group is badass and can be a source of pride AND loot (Edward Teach, Thee Great Blackbeard)
Edward is that phenomenal raid leader with a fantastic crew who has an absolutely jack-shit “co-leader” who is ruining everyone’s day.
Stede Bonnet has it right in Episode 04!
STEDE: Ed, do you know this guy? Because he’s an asshole!
And you know what really breaks me about this scene? Stede Bonnet in Blackbeard’s clothes is standing in for what Edward has to put up with in managing his unhinged, angry, furious, exhausted, taking-the-credit-but-not-the-responsibility first mate, one Israel Hands.
The biggest power move in my current place of work that defuses conflicts?
“I take full responsibility.”
Izzy Hands takes and takes and takes everything except responsibility.
Look What You Made Me Do
So yeah, as much as I enjoy Izzy Hands as a character, I can’t help but think his protestations and his viewpoint are not to be taken seriously, much less justified.
Leaning too far with OFMD meta analysis into Muppet-land, or corporatism, or any of a number of other useful metaphors ... can tip over into accepting Izzy’s harmful self-justification (excuses!). 
Careless use of metaphor has the double-bind effect of letting Izzy take credit he has not earned while erasing the work that the rest of the crew are doing more quietly (very well, thanks, because they’re amazing and they just DO what needs to be done rather than grandstanding about it):
Frenchie - A bard. Invents pyramid schemes and fanfiction. Sews. Code-switching master who Edward picks for his “new crew” because he’s a badass who was ‘in service’ for a minute, has a mind like a steel trap, and navigates every situation with grace and aplomb.
Oluwande - Voted Captain after Izzy gets thrown overboard. Level-headed. The man Blackbeard’s crew picked to lead them instead of Izzy when they thought Edward Teach was never going to return.
Roach - A chef, a “knives are knives, meat’s meat” doctor who will always get the job done. Treats scurvy. Makes a mean tapas. Calls Stede on his bullshit (I wasn’t asking you, I was asking him (Buttons)). Embodiment of ‘fuck around and find out’ (entertained). Wins the award for best smile.
Ivan - Professional with an eye for valuables (spotted the Revenge aground; dibs on the gold teeth; ‘I’ve never seen him so open and emotionally available’).
Fang - BLACKBEARD’S HELMSMAN. Buries Lucius’s finger at sea.  ‘That Brown Peter, he can’t be first mate. I saw him talking to Izzy about it before. Never. Disaster. No offense, Lucius.’  Give him a dog in season two.
Did you notice they were all men of color? 
Because if we talk too much about how Izzy “just wants performance awards and recognition” I am afraid we are contributing to ignoring at whose expense he is operating, and once again justifying a white man’s mistreatment of POC while he(we!) ignore, minimize, and erase the actual work they are doing.
And that’s not a narrative I’m looking to repeat or reinforce, and I am as capable of fucking up as the next hyperfixated OFMD meta writer, so ...
Moving Forward
That mutiny scene at the end of Episode 09 has something to teach us!
Go back and re-watch it! It took me a bit to get all the dialogue (had to turn on captions because there’s a song playing at the same time):
IZZY: Okay, okay! Maybe, maybe we got off to a bad start. But, what, what, what, what, can I do differently, huh? I’m open to suggestions!
ROACH: Mm-hm! (Delighted, smiling like it’s his birthday, getting ready to throw Izzy overboard)
IZZY: Pete! Help me out here!
PETE: For the record, I never formally accepted the role of “first mate” and I fully endorse this mutiny.
IZZY: Gah! Y-you, you, you don’t have to do this. Part of good leadership is restraint. [Looking at Oluwande.]
OLUWANDE: Everyone’s got their own style.
Like LOOK AT IT???
This show is so good I swear. And if you’re gonna doubt me or doubt other meta writers about the anti-racist beats (Ivan and Fang are in the foreground during the mutiny, all of the people throwing Izzy overboard are men of color ... and the people Izzy has hurt the most are the ones taking the lead in pitching him overboard) ... FOR THE LOVE OF EVERYTHING BELIEVE THE SHOW.
Izzy even uses the classic racist tone-policing excuses to try to get some sympathy!
“Part of good leadership is restraint?”
IZZY GIVE ME A FUCKING BREAK. WHERE WAS YOUR RESTRAINT WITH FANG? (His poor beard. It really hurts, Izzy you bag of dicks. As you would know if you ever listened to him.)
Anyway! 
Thanks Izzy fandom I love you, I’m one of you, but let’s not make Izzy’s exact same mistake by believing his warped self-serving story about how he’s the one doing all the work.
Maybe (if you’re a white fan like me) ... start by taking responsibility to focus on THE HARM IZZY DOES TO OTHERS and taking a second or a third watch looking at the people around him rather than ... you know, minimizing the harm and exclaiming ‘but he did the work!’, just like he tries to do when he’s getting thrown overboard.
Here’s the on-screen truth: the crew’s just fine without him. Better than fine! Living their best lives! Getting free of a toxic ex!
Acting like Izzy is the only competent pirate on a crew of otherwise muppets erases the men of color who are amazing and doing just fine without him and don’t need that bullshit in their narrative -- from Izzy, from fandom, from meta writers like me, or from anyone.
Blackbeard’s crew and the crew of The Revenge deserve better, especially from people like me who write about Izzy Hands.
Because I’m thinking a lot about Fang and Frenchie lately, who are my personal heroes. And Jim. 
And where OFMD is going to go with everyone, including Izzy, in our renewed-for-pride Season Two ... so what do we do? We talk it through as a crew.
See Also: It’s Not About You, Izzy for the other half of this meta where I talk about why OFMD is (rightly) Edward Teach’s story and the narrative framing could not be more clear about that.
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ferusaurelius · 3 years
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Playlist ask
I was tagged by @rosenkow on pairing playlists but since I write majority genfic, I’ll be a bit more broad.
I tag: @vampirepunks @dr-ladybird @neonbutchery @datsonyat @rosebud1773 @danypooh80 @cosmicallium
No obligations of course! I’m just working hard on my wips today (obviously >_>) and in the mood to gush about some background.
Below the ‘read more’ tag: four songs for two fics.
Two for Air Needing Light (in progress). - My Blackwatch!Saren longfic wip.
Two for ‘This will have no bearing on your evaluation.’ - A Nihlus/Saren oneshot that may(?) turn into a few more oneshots.
Air Needing Light Playlist (aka: Blackwatch!Saren No Reapers AU) - Excerpt of what I use as background/writing music.
ALPHA - Layto: I like this song for AU-Saren on multiple levels. One of the reasons he passes Blackwatch selection and gets put on a team, despite being fantastically inexperienced, is his overall “get shit done” personality. He’s not the biggest, strongest, or fastest anything -- but he’s creative, near-fanatical about being prepared, and strikingly observant and calm under pressure. Creative pragmatism is a rare trait. My preference is to write Saren as someone who can get things done as an individual when required but who is (growing into and learning to be) a valuable force multiplier when on a team. I feel like this song covers both the attitude and the occasional self-doubt of trying to live up to who you’re trying to be. I’m treating the lyrics here as more of a metaphorical conversation. Also the beat SLAPS.
Violin Duel - “Taste” - DSharp feat. Rhett Price: I’m a slut for violin covers, but this song covers my soon-to-be-introduced biotic Kabalim OC Vallen. He’s unflappable and methodical, and I like the “duel” element of the song because he’s fundamentally who ends up taking charge of strategy on the ground. There’s no other option for him or the team. It turns into a duel between the Hierarchy military and the Alliance forces on Shanxi. This is really how I want to write the FCW -- two elite opponents doing everything in their power to test and outmaneuver each other. Really? Both forces are fighting for survival in this dynamic, awful situation. The “brighter” tone of the violin keeps me even-keeled in mood while also thinking about the overall structure of the fic’s plot.
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This will have no bearing on your evaluation. - (aka: Bar!fic!) Nihlus/Saren
don’t mind - Kent Jones (Sickick Version): I love the beat and the sheer audacity. I listen to this one fairly often, but drunk Nihlus embodies this attitude. Sober Nihlus has the same energy just with more inhibitions.
head first - Christian French (Young Bombs remix): This is pretty much sober Nihlus realizing how much shit he’s in. And fortunately/unfortunately (entertainingly?) this version of Saren has no idea what to do about this, since the whole mentoring experience is fairly involved as it is. Mostly they don’t talk about it and Nihlus goes on Having Emotions and trying to keep anything too personal to himself. Saren takes QUITE a bit longer to come around to this and go from appreciating Nihlus and his ability on a purely professional level (where he’s still excellent!), to allowing that OKAY maybe this is platonic and they’re friends (aka: Nihlus keeps predictably respecting Saren’s boundaries and being consistent in behavior to the point where Saren feels like he has a steady read on Nihlus, despite the frequently unpredictable tactics related to literally every other assignment and situation), to finally allowing the possibility that he might also care about Nihlus on a personal level. Aka: Saren is fanatic about personal boundaries and Nihlus spends time navigating those until “complacency is dangerous, Nihlus” Saren Arterius is actually comfortable around him. Unstoppable force meets immovable object for the two years of Nihlus’s training. While that kind of relationship would have been against Saren’s ironclad principles during those two years, Nihlus is stubborn as fuck, and since nothing about his intentions has changed even AFTER those two years, Saren eventually allows the possibility that Nihlus’s interest is genuine. ROFL.
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ferusaurelius · 3 years
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Day Two
For @the-wip-project #100DaysOfWriting challenge.
Prompt:  
For your current WIP: (do you have many WIPs? I have so many WIPs. So I mean current as of right this moment, the project you’re thinking about right now.) What motivates you to write this specific story? What makes this story special for you? Is there a special twist/trope/setting you want to explore? What got you started on this particular story?
I answered a bit of this in Day One but have some more meta for how and why I picked no-Reapers (and other tidbits and world details) for my “Air Needing Light” Mass Effect-based universe.
Ferus, why no-Reapers?
I immediately loved the world of Mass Effect and the whole visual phrasing of going off to retrieve an artifact where humanity was the galaxy’s quintessential new kid on the block. I thought that was great! And then Nihlus Kryik ended up dying in the prologue and we ended up with deep space eldritch horror monsters. Not sure if I should admit this, but that’s about the moment I went: oh, so it’s that kind of story.
I knew from that moment, early in my first playthrough of the first game, that I was going to just have to grin and bear it through the eldritch abominations being the big bad behind the scenes, whatever the game implied up front about Saren, the geth, and whatever else was going on in this universe.
It ended up feeling very flavor-of-the-week episodic with whatever villainous obstacle du jour we were going to encounter on each mission. In retrospect, I’m surprised I caught as much of the story as I did? I loved ME1 for the atmosphere and the background world, but I knew it wasn’t going to tell the stories I was most interested in.
The Reapers, in that sense, are just the primary plot element of ME1 that never worked for me.
While I can appreciate some excellent takes and rewrites in the fandom that have done great things with the Reapers, I wanted to go in a different direction.
Okay, so no-Reapers. What’s the central thesis of your plot?
I want to write something about the political tensions between the human Systems Alliance and the batarian Hegemony in the Skyllian Verge. That’s it, that’s the reason!
Batarians were criminally underutilized and ignored. Historically, they made contact with Citadel space 1000 years before the turians and 2000 years before humanity, and if you didn’t read the codex entries you’d never know it.
Wait, I thought Air Needing Light was about the First Contact War?
I’ve got roughly a trilogy planned. Every fic is designed to be standalone with some easter eggs present for anyone who reads all three.
There’s just enough background changes that I need to rewrite from the First Contact War, which gave me an opportunity to do something a little different with Saren’s character and throw him into a great political game. Nihlus also becomes a more central figure, as does his backstory. 
The first fic is setting up Saren’s military background. While there are allusions to later plot points which will crop up in this fic, you won’t have to read it if you just want to skip to the other two.
The second fic is setting up a very different galactic situation and environment before Eden Prime. The focus is on a few critical events in the Skyllian Verge and the motivations for Saren recruiting Nihlus to the Spectres. Batarians and Nihlus’s mercenary background play more of a role. This is going to be the ‘turian mercenary / batarian culture’ fic.
All of this setup then serves as the backdrop for the third fic, covering a very different Eden Prime and Normandy SR-1 crew. Assuming I get there? I’ll be happy if I just finish the first two. The third fic would be the icing on the cake. 
The third fic and outline breaks far enough from canon that I’d have to decide where to go after I finished it? So it’s just a different take on what I’d have liked to build into during ME1.
So what about all those one-shots? Got any more?
Funny story. I’ve got four one-shots in WIP. I think? Maybe more.
YOU WHAT.
Yeah, sorry, I’ve got a lot of ideas, I swear!
When are you posting next and what will it be?
Your guess is as good as mine. I’d like to think the next chapter(s) of Air Needing Light will finish up first, but if I have a really good day on a one-shot, that’ll get posted, instead. 
I have to roll with what I feel like working on, or the drafting and revising would never end.
I’ve been working on chapter (2+) of Air Needing Light for months at this point, but the bright side is that the rest of it shouldn’t be as complicated as I get over this hurdle. I’m also introducing the last primary member of the cast of characters! 
There’s a chance my next update for this story will be two or three chapters long...
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ferusaurelius · 3 years
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Day One
For @the-wip-project #100DaysOfWriting Challenge.
Prompt 001 - What keeps you writing? 
Other than not being able to stop myself, who knows.
Full disclosure, I love everything about the writing process. 
I’ve got a degree in English and I’ve been a professional freelance editor, as well as a tutor and a writing teacher. I wrote my undergrad thesis on revision.
But all of that is ancillary to the reason I write in the first place, or what keeps me going.
It never occurred to me that stopping (permanently) was an option. 
Writing is my primary mode of communication, a method of reasoning and polishing thoughts, and a record of experience. It’s a fundamental processing tool.
I learned to touch-type because it would make it easier for me to write without handwriting, and my handwriting is shit. At this point I type fast enough to draft at the speed of thought, even if I spend quite a bit of time outlining and revising.
Most days I just don’t have the energy to get through a draft. One of the reasons I switched careers was that I needed to take the pressure to make money off of my creative process, which is lengthy and wandering and abstracted.
I do other things for money now.
I gave myself the gift of time, and patience, and space.
Without that pressure bearing me down into the black void of doubt and self-criticism, I’m free to gather as much material as I like and to take my time mulling it over and enjoying the journey. 
The best thing I ever did for myself and my writing was forgive it for being what it needed to be.
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Why Mass Effect, Ferus?
Blame FFXIV Shadowbringers. The game writing is fantastic and I found myself wishing that someone would go back to the Mass Effect universe and do for those characters what Natsuko Ishikawa accomplished for the Warrior of Light and the Scions. 
And then I thought -- why not me? Why don’t I try to do that.
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Why the “Air Needing Light” AU, and why Saren as the POV character?
The pandemic did a number on my emotions. I’d stopped writing outside of RP for a few years, and something in me just bubbled to the surface. This idea for a no-Reapers alternative universe, where galactic political intrigue and first contact with humanity are the focus, just wouldn’t let me sleep.
There’s an ME3 codex entry on turian Blackwatch that jokingly refers to rumors that Saren was a part of the organization, though “this was unlikely due to his youth.” And I thought: challenge accepted.
From a meta standpoint, then, it was about deciding how a turian biotic might reasonably avoid the cabals. 
To my mind, the answer to that question was that a mistake had been made in training or evaluation, and that Saren was allowed to continue in his chosen Blackwatch career path because he’d supposedly washed out of biotic training. A young turian with biotic potential that just never came to fruition.
Not that uncommon! Except that, whoops, he’s actually biotic and he figures this out during his first combat deployment with Blackwatch. On Shanxi. During the First Contact War. ;D
Please look forward to the next chapter(s)! I’m hard at work on them.
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bellassan · 7 years
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I kind of like how pre-lotj ferus is like I will absolutely fight the entire jedi order and at the same time I’m like honey no do you even realize what you’re doing to your feelings you idiot
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