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asgardian--angels · 6 months

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Izzy Discourse Masterpost

Hey all, given the amount of awful splintering and wank happening in ofmd fandom rn regarding Izzy's death, including the flat-out immature and unacceptable harassment of David Jenkins and Co, I wanted to just make this one all-encompassing post to address the various grievances and complaints I've seen (almost entirely on Twitter). If I've missed anything, please feel free to add on. I'm putting most of this under a read-more for length.

Please be aware, I say all of this as an Izzy fan. I've loved his character since season 1, and while I was sad to see him go, I completely understand and support David & Co's reasons for concluding his arc, and I think it was done respectfully in a way fitting to his character. So let's break down some of the takes I've seen. I am not referencing specific posts or people here, I just want to address the general themes that I keep seeing about why some people are upset.

Izzy's death served no narrative purpose.

Look, this is one that I'm sure fans will debate for the rest of the hiatus. It's completely within your right to disagree with this writing choice, but Izzy's death did serve a narrative purpose in the story that David Jenkins is telling - and he has spoken to this end in several interviews already. I can only summarize here, and fans may find other perspectives in time as well. What we need to remember is that Our Flag Means Death is, at the end of the day, Ed and Stede's love story. That has been made abundantly, explicitly clear. The show has been fantastic at fleshing out the other supporting characters, but that's what they are - supporting characters. They often have their own subplots but ultimately the narrative seeks to move Ed and Stede's story forward and they are tools to spur Ed and Stede's growth or mirror their struggles. Izzy has been a wonderfully complex, multifaceted character but we must remember that all characters are vessels through which stories are told, lessons are imparted, and metaphors are established. He's not a real person who 'deserves' any particular fate. David said he's always intended for Izzy to die at the end of his arc.

Firstly, Izzy (now canonically, through his own dying words) represents part of Blackbeard. He enabled and encouraged Ed's darker side, they were mutually toxic forces to each other. Ed is attempting to cope with and move on from this phase of his life, and like Stede in season 1, set out a free man, unshackled by expectations and loose ends of those he's hurt and been hurt by (though we realize this is an ongoing process that takes time). This lovely gifset sums it up nicely, with Izzy being the Mary parallel, and making s2 mirror s1. Blackbeard is both Ed and Izzy; Ed cannot be free of Blackbeard while Izzy is in his life, and when Izzy is gone he will never truly be Blackbeard again. They are each other's rotting leg!! Yet, they love each other - and David has said that for Ed, this has developed into a mentor and father relationship, and where Ed has previously despised his father figures (his actual father, Hornigold) he does not want to lose Izzy. This time, Izzy brings out Ed, not Blackbeard - and that's where we get the callback to 'there he is', bringing their impact on each other full circle, freeing Ed, getting approval of sorts that he never had, to be soft, to be loved (and there are parallels to Zheng and Auntie here as well that others have made) from that force that drove him to stay in line all this time. David has said in multiple interviews now that he was going for the idea of the mentor/father figure dying and the hero living on and trying to do justice to them.

From Izzy's side, Izzy cannot be free while Edward remains either (Mary cannot find peace while Stede remains). The scar never truly healed, the leg will always be a reminder. At this point the argument becomes 'yes, but why did he have to die? Why not just sail off with the crew of the Revenge?' David has stated that he feels they've done everything they can with, and for, Izzy; he's come leagues from season 1, he's found community, he's found hope, he's found new parts of himself, and he's made good memories. He's found worth outside of what he can be to others. That's more than most pirates could hope for. Where would his character go from there, when the Golden Age of Piracy he belongs to has burned to the ground? Would he stay around and whittle on the Revenge? If he were a real person, yes, that would be lovely, and he'd deserve all the quiet peaceful happiness in the world. But as I explain several points below, he's not interested in being a captain. He's not up for the hard physical labor of regular crew, and he's extremely overqualified for that besides. He has served his narrative purpose, and symbolically, to enter a new age, everything must go. He's connected to the old age of piracy, to the Republic of Pirates, that is now demolished. To him, fighting for what he believes in, for the family he's found, bringing down an army of British twats in the process, is how he should go. It's a pirate's death, and as Izzy's said, he's a pirate - unlike Blackbeard who's succeeding in breaking away from piracy, Izzy never wanted to stop being a pirate, throughout his arc. To me, that's why Izzy remains trapped in the narrative, trapped in history, whereas Ed and Stede will escape history. They leave piracy, and canon, behind, while Izzy was content to remain a pirate and face a pirate's fate.

Burying him on land, right next to Ed and Stede's beach house, shows that his sacrifice was not in vain - they start this new life together, thanks to Izzy's mentorship, his role in their lives that sometimes for worse, sometimes for better, made their love what it was and made their breakaway possible. The new age is built on the foundations of the old age, and is stronger for it.

As we're well aware by now, David tweeted that there's no version of ofmd without Izzy. Whether that's literal or not, symbolically it's true. Izzy's arc of growth affected everyone on the Revenge. Jim fondly remembered fighting for a time when life meant something on that ship; the crew helped give Izzy new meaning in life, and he helped them in return. When he dies, they mourn and have a funeral; that wouldn't have happened under Blackbeard's watch in episode 2. His life meant something to them. He influenced Ed and Stede immensely, and they will take that with them. As David's said, they're all a family, and Izzy was a part of that family, and his loss unites them and brings them closer to continue to fight for that family they've built. It's a tragic, sudden death of someone they've all grown to care for, and that steels their reserve to keep the torch lit. They literally sail off into the sunset to hunt down Ricky to avenge Izzy; he will always be a part of this show. And, of course, with the brief appearance of seagull Buttons, the door is left open for anything.

If this was The Izzy Show, then sure, we'd be content to see him simply engaged in shenanigans every episode. But the plot, and therefore the characters, need to keep moving forward, and Izzy got his growth and development. He got what he needed for his character to have closure, and he served his symbolic narrative purpose in Ed's (and Stede's) story. You may have your own ideas and perspectives, and that's great - that's what fandom is for. But we cannot say his death was pointless when David Jenkins and the writers clearly had a well-defined motive for pushing the narrative in this direction. I actually think the narrative around Ed and Izzy is the most well-developed in the entire show. I for one am so happy we got such an interesting and complex character, and had the brilliant Con O'Neill to portray him.

Izzy's growth & healing arc was rendered pointless by his death.

As this post so eloquently puts it, it's pretty bleak to have the outlook that taking steps to heal and find meaning in life is worthless if it's later lost. Seeking happiness and self-actualization is worthwhile for its own sake; no one knows what's down the road, and we all die eventually. Find meaning in life now. Would you rather have had Izzy not miss with his bullet in ep2? He was given the chance to experience joy, freedom, and hope for the first time in potentially a long time, and when he died he did so with those happy memories. As mentioned, Izzy's death was decided long beforehand given the narrative, and the point of storytelling is to make you feel emotions. We were given impetus to connect and relate to Izzy's character through his process of healing, so when he did die, we felt it keenly. That's how stories work actually! We felt what Ed felt. It moved us. It's not a bad thing that Izzy's arc made him more likeable to fans before his death. It's not a bad thing to lose a beloved character - guess what, it happens constantly in stories - and it's not bad to grieve over it either, but to say that it made his journey pointless is just not true. People saying that Con must be upset that they snatched his character away from him after getting to develop him so much - again I say, would you rather him have died in ep 2 before he had the chance to grow? Or how about in s1, when the crew tried to mutiny? How'd you feel when Stede killed him in his dream, in the very first scene of the season? I think Con's probably glad for the opportunity to have explored this character so much in season 2. Ask him if he thinks it was pointless.

Killing off Izzy was bad for queer rep/burying your gays/"Izzy was the queer heart of the show"

I'm putting 'bury your gays' on the top shelf so people can't use it when it doesn't actually apply. Most of the main cast of characters in this show are queer, and it's a show about pirates with a good amount of violence. Ergo, chances are a queer character will die in the course of Things Happening In Stories. Izzy didn't die because he was queer, and he wasn't the token queer rep. Please turn your attention to the boatloads (literally) of queer characters that are happy and thriving (how about the LuPete wedding immediately afterwards??). As for Izzy being the "queer heart of the show," this is literally the Ed and Stede show. You know, the two queer leads whose queer love the show revolves around, per David Jenkins himself. I'm glad folks connected with and derived joy from Izzy's growth and especially his performance in Calypso's birthday, but he is not the main character of the show. The queer heart of the show is in fact, the entire show, all of their characters and the community & found family they create aboard the Revenge. Not to mention the fan community as well. Izzy was never carrying the show's representation on his back, and frankly that's an absurdly wild take to have (esp when he spent most of s1 actively working against the main queer relationships in the show, attempting to maintain the oppressive status quo of pirate society).

It was bad and irresponsible to have a suicidal character die

Are we forgetting the entire first half of the season where Ed, who was suicidal, kept trying to passively kill himself because he felt he was an unlovable monster, only to be shown that he is in fact loved unconditionally and it gives him the strength to fight for life and triumph against his own self-doubt? The show has spent quite a lot of effort telling viewers that despite feeling damaged or broken you are worthy of love and that you are loved even if it may be hard to see it when you're in a bad place. That you don't need to be fully healed to deserve love and care, and that love and support will help you along your journey. It's incredibly wild to disregard this major plot point and fundamental message of s2 to try and spin this the opposite way for Izzy's character.

Secondly, where are people getting 'Izzy is suicidal' from? Are we going back all the way to episode 2, when he's at his lowest point and fails at his suicide attempt, only to be figuratively reborn after removing the metaphorical rotten leg? By the time of the finale he's shown to be in a good place, thanks to the arc of healing and growth he's gotten, through the support of the Revenge crew and his 'breakup' with Blackbeard allowing him to find his own way in life, realizing he doesn't need a purpose to have value and enjoying his time on the Revenge and the bonds he's made with Stede and the crew. He is, in the words of Ivan, "the most open and available I've ever seen him" by the finale. To take episode 2 as evidence he's suicidal is to erase his whole season of growth, which is an ironic thing to do in the context of these arguments. There's no canon evidence Izzy Hands was suicidal post-'Fun and Games'.

As for 'irresponsible,' once again I say, David Jenkins is not your therapist, he's not 'Dad,' and has no responsibility to tell his story any other way than he intended to tell it. Please find media that gives you what you want or need, and if the death of a fictional character causes you this much distress please seek help. I mean this kindly but seriously.

Killing off Izzy was ableist/bad for disability rep.

I point once again to the rest of the characters, several of which are disabled in varied ways. There are literally multiple other amputee characters specifically. It's not good storytelling to wholly avoid killing off any character that is disabled/queer/poc/female or [insert marginalized group here], especially when a) it makes sense narratively, and b) there's plenty of representation of these groups in the media in question. The answer isn't making such characters invincible and immortal, it's increasing the number of these characters in shows so it's not devastating when some do die in the course of natural storytelling.

OFMD was my comfort show/safe space show, now it's ruined for me

I am not trying to be insensitive here when I say that's a problem that is yours and nobody else's. David Jenkins created this show with a three-season vision and a story in mind, and he is telling that story to the best of his ability the way he wants to. It's already been said that he and the crew did not anticipate the fandom becoming as large and passionate as it has. The plot of the show was never intended to be 'fan service,' and it's ironic that there were people complaining this season that there's been too many fanservice tropes, up until David and the rest of the writers room made a narrative decision they did not like, then the complaints changed to not coddling the fans enough.

We as viewers can derive joy from this show, it can be a comfort to us, it can be important to us. But it was not designed specifically for that purpose, therefore it cannot fail in that respect. We do not have the right to harass writers for not steering the ship in the direction we want - it's their work of art, and we can choose to either come along for the ride or not. It's rare to see creators actually given the chance to tell their story the way they intend (budget cuts aside), so let him do that. He should not cater to fans, or cave and change the story to appease us. Respect his right to create his art, and remember you have the right to create your own. That's what fanfiction is for - write fix-its to your heart's content, but keep these realms separate. David Jenkins and Co hold zero, and I mean zero, responsibility to you. He could not please everyone no matter what he did, it would be fruitless to try, and it would certainly compromise the quality of the story he set out to tell.

You are absolutely allowed to dislike choices made in any show. Curate your media experience. If this show no longer brings you joy, stop watching. But it was never David's purpose nor responsibility to juggle the mental health of millions of fans. Trying to put that on him will only make him less enthusiastic about interacting with fans or continuing to make this show. This isn't rocket science. You're responsible for yourself, not this guy you call 'Dad' that you've developed a parasocial-therapist relationship with.

Izzy should have become captain of the Revenge.

Really?? Firstly, we did actually get that already in s1. He was tyrannical and the crew mutinied. But even if you think 'well after his character arc he'd be better suited to it,' it goes against the point of this arc. He's found value in not having a distinct role or purpose on the ship, decoupling his worth from the job he's expected to perform. He's found his place amongst the crew, not commanding it. There's no narrative reason to put him in charge when he's expressed no further interest in slotting himself back into a role full of pressure and expectations.

Con O'Neill was only told halfway through filming, it's cruel to just kill off the character he loves so much.

Guys, he's an actor. More than that, an actor with a theater background. I think he's used to characters dying. You don't need to look out for him. Con and David spoke one on one about it at length so they were on the same page, and David even said that Con took it well. I'm sure Con had input, just as other members of the cast have influenced their characters' stories, costumes, backstories, etc. Do you really think David Jenkins hurt Con's feelings or something? The writers (remember, it's not just David, it's a whole team of hard-working people coming up with these ideas) gave Con such a chance to shine this season, really developing Izzy beyond what he was given in s1 and letting Con show off his full acting range. Why are you only focusing on the destination rather than the journey? Sure, Con's probably sad to see Izzy go, but please do not project your distress onto him or try and accuse David & Co of being 'cruel' to their cast. That's really ridiculous. It's constantly evident how close they all are.

More importantly, do you actually, seriously think that Con O'Neill would want fans to harass each other or the writers over his character? The man who preaches being kind above all? There is no better way to make an actor uncomfortable about a show and its fanbase than to start treating fictional characters like they're more important than real people. He would not want you to bully people over Izzy Hands, and it's mind-boggling that some of you have convinced yourself otherwise.

Lastly, I just want to talk about the fact that some people are holding OFMD to absurdly high expectations.

Our Flag Means Death has been a pioneer series for its diverse representation, earnest storytelling, and themes of hope, community, and love. It's fine to discuss aspects of the show with a critical eye, but so much of the discourse has truly felt like folks are trying to find fault in a show that is leagues ahead of the average tv series that we still enjoy. How many fan favorites are killed off all the time? How many plotlines are scrapped, or drawn out without closure, or contradicted the very next season? How many shows are indifferent or actively hostile towards their fanbase? How many have any queer characters, or actually do bury them? The bar's so low, and OFMD has risen above to give us so much. Some are holding the show to astronomical expectations, waiting for it to fall from the pedestal it's been placed on. If something you don't like happens in the show, it's not suddenly ruined or demoted to being ~just as bad as those other shows~. Give them some breathing room, have some perspective on how progressive the show is, and that perfection is impossible, especially meeting every single viewer's idea of it. This is basically a repeat of the recent Good Omens drama, with an absurd number of people harassing Neil Gaiman for breaking up Aziraphale and Crowley and leaving the second of three acts on a very predictable cliffhanger. Let stories be told, let them unfold as they may, and you are free to leave anytime. It's so wonderful that more queer love stories are becoming popular and even mainstream, but let's not shoot ourselves in the foot by tearing them down when they don't go exactly the way you want it, which often seems to mean no drama, no character deaths, and therefore no conflict or even plot!

Just, please be civil human beings, and while this seems to be a difficult thing for so many fandoms to do, just keep your fan opinions in the fan space. Never bring your grievances to the writers, never bully them and persecute them for telling a story that you opted into viewing. That's something that goes entirely against everything this show, and this cast and crew, have imparted onto us - the importance of kindness, support, community, and love. I'll say it again because it bears repeating: the fate of a fictional character is never more important than how you treat real people. Just be kind in real life, which includes the internet. Thanks.

Now please, let's work together to ensure we get a season 3. There's so much more story to be told, and if you want to see Izzy back, whether that's as flashbacks, as a ghost haunting the inn, or in the gravy basket, we'll need more episodes! #RenewAsACrew

#our flag means death #ofmd #ofmd s2 #ofmd s2 spoilers #and after this i will speak of it no more ok #now once we're all calmed down i am really looking forward to meta about izzy's role in the narrative #i truly think izzy's one of the most well written characters on not just this show but on tv lately in general #suicide mention tw #I tried to put a read more under the first bullet point but tumblr's formatting basically deleted it #by automatically overriding it with an Expand #so sorry about the length and such

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dollypopup · 1 month

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I think something we don't talk enough about is just how relatable it is that Colin's completely lost in life and is also just 22 years old. His whole thing in the books was that he was 33 and running away from his responsibilities, not wanting to be in just one place, least of all Mayfair, and frustrated at himself for being aimless and unsure of his future. But that just doesn't work in the same way in the show because. . . who of us wasn't unsure and adrift in our early twenties?

Of course he doesn't know what to do with his life. Did any of us? Personally speaking, I certainly didn't. The modern equivalent is that he almost got married in his undergrad and then finished his degree studying abroad when the engagement fell apart. He was sad and disappointed in himself. He is one of eight siblings, those of whom are around his age already more successful than he is. His eldest brother is the head of the family, his elder brother was in art school and close to his siblings, his younger sister is married with a title. His other younger sister is embroiled in political efforts and another is about to make her debut in society and will also be wildly successful.

Colin is deeply, deeply relatable. He wants to live up to the expectations of his family, expectations that are, in many ways, in his own head. He's a middle child, frequently lost in the shuffle. A chronic people pleaser who just wants to bring some ease. Sure, we have Chaos Colin, but in Season 1 and 2, all he really wants is to be useful. He doesn't have much use in his familial dynamic, so he looks to be useful to other people- Will and Penelope in particular.

I think there's a lot about Colin that, once you scratch beneath the surface, is a reflection of a lot of people. He's unmoored, yes, but especially in our current time, that is incredibly common. He's a young man trying to find his foothold in the world, and nothing he does seems to fulfill that. Colin tries to drink like Benedict, but it doesn't make him happy. He tries to marry like his Mum preaches about, like Daphne is expected to, and it's looked down on. He tries to travel, to be a worldly, educated person, and it doesn't bring him peace. He writes, but not to share with anyone, least of all after he gets so few replies. If his own family doesn't want to hear or read his recollections. . .who will?

We talk about wanting to see Colin humbled in our fandom. . .but let's be honest, he is already humbled. Colin is, for most intents and purposes, alone. He's lost his father and his previous engagement, his mother hardly notices him, he's curled in the shadow of his siblings, he tries things and none of them capture his heart or reveal themselves as his talents, nothing he seems to do is ever good enough. I think almost everyone can find something about him to go 'wow, that's me'.

Colin is discovering who he is, and I'm curious as to his story and how they're going to take it, because so much of the book dynamic with him just can't fit. Sure, he can be jealous of Penelope's success, she's younger than him and seemingly found her purpose, is much more established than he is as a person, but beyond that? I love book Colin deeply, but 22 year old Colin and 33 year old Colin have different struggles and different dynamic. Colin's not a rake. He doesn't frequent brothels or break hearts. Hell, in S2 he even said he's just a bystander, not taking part in any flirting or conversation with women looking to be married (save for Pen). His reputation as a flirt isn't established like it is in the books, and he's struggling to make sense of himself. He's not running from the yoke like his book counterpart, and the argument between him and Pen, in which she accuses him of running away to avoid his responsibilities, just doesn't hold water the same way. He's a confused, lost man, doing his best and trying his best and falling flat on his face. That speaks to a lot of us.

I don't know, I just love both versions of him dearly, and I hope the show allows him the depth of nuance he deserves.

#colin bridgerton #polin #i love colin so much and i hope they do him justice #i hear so much the 'we're sticking close to the books' and i reread the book and go '. . .how?'#how are they gonna thread that needle?#i'm curious but also very nervous

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lynmars79 · 18 days

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About Imelda Goldfinch

Looking back over episodes, transcripts, and the wiki as a friend experiences Midst for the first time, I keep coming back to Imelda.

She "mistook" Weepe for the Mayor of Stationary Hill when they bumped into one another (literally) in S1 E5 "Missions". She spends the rest of S1 pester-courting Weepe into the Trust, starts him at Zero, and then grants him enough Valor to become Upper Trust for the Cabaret betrayal. She makes sure he gets off Midst in the Consector's flagship.

In S2 she continues her Weepe project, showing him around the city, introducing him to people, accompanying him to Upper Trust meetings. And then the Arca, S2 E13 "Inside." Where she uses her zealousness to torment Weepe until he (outwardly) acquiesces to her.

She knew about his condition, and his medical treatment. In detail. Cameras aren't that advanced in this cosmos, and Weepe keeps that knowledge quite secret; Saskia knew after four years as Weepe's business partner, and being noted as perceptive. When and how did Imelda find out, enough to gauge a normal day's risk (if not enough to know what happens when Weepe gets excited/stressed)?

In S3 she is front and center at the naming of Weepe as Tripotentiary. She automatically becomes his Archauditor, a minimal show made of having to create the position and choice to fill it over brunch. She attends high end meetings like the dinner with Kozma, where Imelda makes interesting notes on her menu (per the appendices) about what Weepe does and doesn't like, among her other notes and reactions.

Then we get to S3 E9 "Baron."

And I have to wonder: Did Imelda "mistake" Weepe in S1 when they met? Was she there not just because of the Breach investigation and/or Moon sale, but for him? Does she know, or at least suspect, who Weepe was before his first Fold-induced transformation and the salvation from the Mothers?

Imelda is a character that fascinates me, and is a bit frightening when thinking about her. She gives some of the same vibes as HP's Dolores Umbridge, but with the caveat that Imelda seems to be a True Believer in the Trust--while also being extremely driven and ambitious. We saw in her Notary prep school yearbook that she had Caenum as a girl (with the note "most likely to Break Even"). When we meet her, middle-aged, she's wearing a wide sash of Valor and regularly rubs shoulders with the Upper Trust.

It took Fuze Peabody his entire working life to Break Even by retirement (and given Lark's past, they start working rather young in the Trust; no child labor laws in the Highest Light I suppose, for those in debt). Most Trustees never reach Zero; it's why so many Breach.

And so much of Imelda's recent Valorous momentum has been due to her maneuvering of Weepe. Of the things she has done with, for, and to him.

Did she gun for Jonas Spahr being removed as Prime Consector? Was it convenient, or targeted? Disdain for the Company or just a way to maneuver Weepe into power? And why? Did she see the incompetence at the top and think it could be better? One of her menu notes is re-starting Valor checks for Upper Trust and other important meetings. Did the Fleit scandal make her think change was needed? Does she think Weepe can get her what she wants when the rest of the Upper Trust cannot?

What does she know? Why is she doing all this? Personal power? Grandiose zealotry? Revenge? A little of everything? Is Imelda the real mastermind and arch villain?

I dunno, and that last may be a bit silly (??) but something is going on with this woman, and she stands somewhere near the heart of this tangled web.

"He's totally fucked" the Narrators say of Weepe when he bumps into Imelda that first time. That's certainly been true in many ways--and I don't think it impossible that it will continue to be, with Weepe maybe not expecting the damage this scarily cheerful little lady with Pollyanna curls can still do to him before the end.

For the good of the Trust.

#Midst #Podcast #Midst Podcast #Midst Spoilers #Imelda Goldfinch #Moc Weepe #character analysis #Scheduling this for S3 E9's release as I'm ahead #And a LOT of things are coming back around to the very early episodes in these latest ones

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mikodrawnnarratives · 9 months

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I just remembered a project I worked on for a while in like 2021 (maybe 2020) and it had a LOT of akumatized marinette's

That was the idea behind the whole thing but man I did one by one and found some of the most obscure akumatized marinette au's

Sooooo I'm dragging these drawings up from the ashes and maybe it'll be a nice surprise for some of y'all to see

yall got ✨fanart✨

and possibly reminded of miraculous ladybug HA

usually these were done on different canvas's (that were like 250x250) and then just... copied onto a larger canvas??? Mistakes were made and I was insane

A handful of these akumanette's were actually made by me cause apparently... roughly 18 other marinette's wasn't enough

Click for quality and this is a long post

First of all, shoutouts to my own akuma abominations creations.

First image, the ladybug with the red long hair? yeah the idea was the akuma bug seen in canon in like, s2 (also shown next to her) but updated for the new look in s4. Vry original we'll give it a 6/10

I don't remember too much for the middle one that is slightly dimmer. Though I do remember that was the kind of IDEA behind her. She's also holding a knife cause of course. Why have magical powers to kill people when you can harness the power of K N I F E 7/10

I remember a little more about the jester marinette in the back. She had a whole thing with medieval research, jester research, and she also wanted to stab Lila cause everyone wanted to stab lila at the time. 9/10 cause I had a fun time with her

Then the robinhood poster mari was a robin hood akuma mari. 3/10 not original

Slightly canon to downright canon

Ladyblanc was a popular akumanette idea so slightly canon, I didn't base it off of anyone's au

Ladybug and Marinette are there because what's the fun of a crossover if the og doesn't get to panic along with the rest of them????

Last image, not talking about persecuter, we'll get to her in a bit. I just thought it would be funny at the time if I included Chloe and Antibug cause... haha

Antibug is kinda an akumatized lb rip off soooo

OTHER'S AU'S

what you've been waiting for

Thank god I kept track of credit (pats past me on the back)

First of all, at the very front we got @zoe-oneesama 's devil au that made an updated appearance in her scarlet lady au, love to see it

You'll also notice little devil bug on lb's knee in the sketch

Alopeka is to the left of Devil au, by @piearsonist

hi betcha you never would have guessed you got FANARTED HA

This is a post that explains that akumatized marinette, and you'll find more if you go to her page

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAND

Princess justice at the right by @kibouwmlb (also, hello hi, surprise) and honestly it is SUCH a pretty design OMYWORD I love the watercolors

Twiddling her thumbs, minding her business. Remember the release of Descendants 3? Yeah, Queen of Mean baby. And MORE by @shiinaeu hi you are a legend to me

This was so fun to draw at the time and I was experimenting in ways I hadn't before. Peak youtube miraculous ladybug fixation meeting art interest. First one of the characters I did fun fact

@edendaphne betcha you didn't expect fanart of that one scorpion akumanette well THINK AGAIN (also, crazy that this was around when I did your dtiys I just realized, huh)

ANd then slightly more obscure, though the post does have 173 ish notes so, is @skullqueensart 's akumanette right here

Why does akumanette have sunken cheeks here? I have no clue honestly. Take it up with me from 3 years ago and maybe you'll get answers who knows. She's also just... chilling. Looking at nothing. Into the abyss.

Not now chloe's, we are discussing persecutor now.

Love the story idea honestly and the akuma design is so god tier AKUMA that oof @yiprincessart I love it

Oh uh, and chloe will be fine

CAN👏I👏 TALK👏 ABOUT👏 HER

She is the moment, she is beauty, she is grace

@artist-from-outersp-ace I love her. She looks so SO pretty!! At the time I loved your artstyle and I still do!! Too bad at the time I didn't know that Tumblr works by reblogging. I will be amending that.

I also remember being SO frustrated when drawing her that I didn't get a timelapse saved in time to show the drawing process :(

But I did love figuring out folds in the dress and the coloring process! Figuring out how to replicate elements in your art!

srs guys. Look at the RUFFLES

Alright, we are all agreeing to be accomplices and bystanders to Akuma jester marinette's NOT MURDER murder of Lila in the background? Okay good.

@lunian I have fanart for you~

And when I tell you I struggled with her design, I STRUGGLED. I ended up satisfied in the end but the curls bro, we lost the curls

But I do love her concepts and powers and I did back then too

And next to her, Okay, I never fully finished, mostly because I couldn't figure out how to get the hand to work with the tray balance thingie

@ladybub made this Lady Justice design and I WILL BE THERE when the comic updates. Or... if they aren't able to continue the comic that's also fine too <3 Life happens

Still love this au and the unique way for Marinette to get akumatized! Me and my sister bonded over our love over it!

I think this might be the first akumanette that isn't on tumblr to my knowledge. They are on Instagram tho @stivenwithani

Anyway I really liked the concept and the design just, reeked, of akuma that I included her

Okay more that I didn't really finish

We got another Princess/Lady Justice akuma idea at the left. Which I never kept track of the credit DANG IT I WAS DOING SO WELL

I'll update if I find the credit but man the OG did really well with the art.

And I have this akumanette comforting Lacrima from... a very graphic and whump fanfic Longest Night, read the tags

Anyway, Lacrima needs all the love she can get (also, funny enough, is the oldest out of this "gathering" of akumanette's)

It's not finished but hey @p-artsypants I gave angst ridden Lady Lacrima friends and fanart so.... yay...

AND THEN THE LAST ONE

was victim to so much reposting I could never find credit for it- UNTIL NOW

but the artist unfortunately deactivated their blog so that explains why I couldn't find their username all that time ago

It was a cool idea and I always love when creators take inspiration from how similar Marinette's name is to another word for a kind of puppet "Marionette"

But before I forget, I'll end this post on one of my akumanette's that I tried to squeeze in but never got to. But I did make more art for and I remember the story!

I remember having a background planned but I never really got around to it. Basically the story was that marinette got akumatized but managed to take off her earrings in time. I think the reason for her akumatization was connected to figuring out the secrets that Emilie had been hiding with the peacock miraculous (BEFORE we knew that adrien was a sentimonster).

Tikki had to bring the earrings to Chat Noir and he had to find someone that looked ENOUGH like Ladybug that Hawkmoth wouldn't notice as much that Ladybug wasn't actually there. Enter Mireille cause at the time a few people were pointing out how similar she looked to the dupain chengs.

Akumanette's powers had something to do with casting depression? I think? In the form of dragons? Oh, Also she travels by walking on the dragons so thats cool

I don't remember everything but I did have a lot planned for her.

10/10 just because I had a fun time with her

#tw old art #Don't Cringe at Old Art Challenge GO #long post #rambling about art and stories #akumatized!marinette #akumatized marinette #I'll add all the tags for the others ltr #miraculous ladybug #lady justice #princess justice #akumatized ladybug #I put this in my drafts in april and it's time to stop being socially anxious and just post it

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avelera · 8 months

Text

Ugh, popped on Twitter to geek out about the Wheel of Time S2 and immediately find a bunch of WoT dudebro fans complaining that a 15 book series of 800+ pages each isn’t getting the exact word for word adaption that exists inside their heads when they read the books. And let me remind you all, these books were my life, my first fandom, and basically my personality pretty much from when I first read them in 1999 until Robert Jordan died (alas, I read to the end but Brandon Sanderson never quite captured the magic of RJ’s writing for me again, even if I think he did the best job anyone possibly could.)

So let me just say from a place of deep respect and obsession with these books that any hate for the show based on it not being a page for page adaptation is patently insane. Much of Wheel of Time relies on the strengths of prose which are untranslatable to a visual medium. Stuff like how magic (or the One Power) feels to cast makes up a huge proportion of the book. You can externally portray a feeling, sure, but there are still limits.

They forget that Book 1 was written to be standalone and has a ton of inconsistencies with later books that need to be shored up. That means logistical changes which cause necessary alterations almost all of which have actually been massive improvements in my mind. For all my love of Wheel of Time, its pacing is atrocious and I think even RJ would agree that if he could go back with the whole story in mind and edit it to be more streamlined, he absolutely would have. The show HAS to do that or we’d still be in the goddamn Two Rivers with the book pacing.

Centering the first season on the White Tower and Moiraine’s POV makes sense. The book relied on Moiraine being a Gandalf figure that gave information away at the pace of reader reveals, in tiny drips meant to tantalize a slow-paced book’s reader. That would be immensely frustrating for a tv show viewer of a story set in a sprawling fantasy world that needs tons of explanation and world building up front to have any idea what’s going on. Focusing on Moiraine, who has the answers, instead of sticking to the ignorance of the kids isn’t just a good choice it’s very nearly the only choice you can make. The White Tower is one of the most complex and interesting parts of that world. Centering it and introducing it earlier was an incredibly wise choice.

Other smaller choices make sense too if people thought about it for two seconds. Aging up the kids makes sense. They’re teens in the books and it would be incredibly awkward on screen. But once you age them up, it makes sense that at least ONE of them has been married before. Perrin makes SENSE to have been married if he left Two Rivers later. He’s a responsible guy with a good trade and a level head on his shoulders. He’s sweet and caring and mature. Of course he got married, he’s from a small farming community in a medieval-esque world with shorter life expectancies. Furthermore, I love Perrin to death but his obsessive fear of hurting Faile later is frankly ungrounded in anything that isn’t benign misogyny on some level. It doesn’t update and translate well on its own. Giving him Laila, giving him the manner of Laila’s death grounds his later attitudes towards Faile so well I literally gasped when I put it all together.

Other changes like in S2 having Min and Mat meet the way they do in Tar Valon was genius. It matters more that Mat and Min have rapport than that they meet in the same circumstances as the book (and Mat wouldn’t even remember that meeting anyway lol). The rapport set up and the way it showed Mat’s genius and con artistry was brilliant. Showing these characters LIKE each other was incredibly engaging and endearing which is so important because the adaptation has to be enjoyable to non book readers too, especially since the 15, 800+ page books of meandering pacing are pretty much impenetrable to new readers. Book readers simply can’t make up the majority of the audience, there’s not enough of them to sustain a show with any kind of budget which WOT requires. Thus, it needs to be an enjoyable show in its own right, not just a meandering exact adaptation ffs.

I can literally point to any show change and say it was either logical, practical, thematic, or simply genius. Wheel of Time desperately needs an edit to be accessible to modern audiences. What an adaptation prioritizes is always a risk that’s going to be run for a fan of the original material but so far I’ve been wildly impressed by every choice made in how logical or thoughtful and most of all loving it was to the actual important emotions and themes of the book. Any complainers are seriously missing the point of what an adaptation even is.

#wheel of time #wot

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alotofrandomfangirling · 9 months

Text

Dating Chishiya Shuntaro would include (Chishiya x f!reader headcanons)

Tw: slight cursing, mention of death

A/N: i know i'm a bit late but recently i was able to watch AIB s2 and i completely fell in love with Chishiya?? him as a doctor had an impact on me i could never expect lol so i had to try this 🙈 please notice i don't remember much from s1 so i'm sorry for any mistakes 😅 also english is not my first language, so forgive me for any grammar mistakes 🙏🏻 i hope you like it though!! ♥️

• You both had met when you came out winners on a hearts game

• You were a very smart and strategist player, so Chishiya was really impressed by your abilities

• But of course he had to play it cool not to break his character yk

• You were leaving the arena when you heard someone say in a very nonchalant way: "nice thinking over there"

• You turned around and there he was. Yes, him.

• You had noticed that player during the game

• He was not only extremely smart, but also ruthless while playing

• And, well, you had to admit he was very good looking too

• But what impressed you the most was how he always seemed so calm, like he had 100% control of any situation

• That man was sure fascinating, and he was complimenting you?? You just had to play along

• "You weren't so bad yourself" - you replied, smirking

• He chuckled

• "I'm Chishiya" - he said, putting his hand out for you to shake it

• "Y/N" - you said shaking his hand and looking deep into his eyes

• From that day on, you became inseparable

• The best pair of players Borderlands had ever seen!

• It was like something inside you clicked, you know? Like you were meant to find each other and pair up

• You got along so well cause you understood each other like no one else

• Well, and that was because you were very alike too

• Calm, collected and extraordinarily intelligent

• You were always by each other's side and supporting the other, at the good and bad times

• And you guys nailed every. single. game. you played cause you were such a great team

• After some time you started to feel what happened between you two was more than just a game partnership

• You started to enjoy the way he sounded when he calmly discussed games rules to you, how beautiful his sharp and observant eyes were, the way he put a strand of hair behind his ear...

• You appreciated every little ordinary thing he did cause he was indeed incredible

• Damn could you be falling in love?

• And you could sense he started feeling something... different too

• You could notice he sometimes watched you intently, or how he would make sure you were safe during a game (even though you were perfectly capable of winning it by yourself lol), or how he lightly touched the back of your hand when you were debating a new strategy

• But both of you were stubborn as hell so you were absolutely NOT going to admit any of those feelings

• But one day something happened

• It was a spades game

• And it was pure chaos 💀

• As soon as you got in, Chishiya and you got separated in the chaos of the other players

• And that made you terrified because you got so used to feeling safe with him by your side

• He also got worried, how was he going to face a spades game without his long time partner?

• You fought anyway

• But it was ugly

• People dying everywhere 💔

• You could only try to make it out alive and hope that Chishiya could do the same

• You got really hurt, but you made it

• When you left the arena, you started to look for Chishiya among the survivors, but there was no sign of that platinum hair you loved

• You started crying like a baby at the thought of losing your best friend (or maybe something more?!)

• You just sat down on the sidewalk cause you could barely walk

• Suddenly you heard a familiar voice shouting your name

• "(Y/N)?"

• Just like the first time you met, you turned around and there he was: Chishiya Shuntaro

• He was alive and only had a few bruises, which meant he got off the game easily (for your relief)

• You got up and ran to him

• When you reached him, you both hugged each other so tight you could feel so much being said in that one hug

• 'I missed you'

• 'I'm glad you're alive'

• 'I never want to break apart again'

• You had never hugged each other like this before, so it definitely showed all your feelings in that moment (screw being tough!)

• "Chishiya, thank goodness... i thought... oh my gosh, i thought i'd lost you" - you tried to form a logical sentence between your pain and your uncontrollable sobbing

• You parted from the hug and he looked at you, but he was so affected he couldn't even reply with one those witty responses of his

• Of course he kept his cool like he always did, but there was a disturbance in his eyes you'd never seen before

• Was it... because of you and how worried he was?

• Did this man really care for you?!

• That thought itself made you so dizzy you nearly tumbled on the ground again

• He went to catch you before you fell and that's when he noticed your deep wounds bleeding

• The look of worry in his eyes got worse as he caught you and said "come on, let's get you out of here"

• When you finally got somewhere safe, he had you lay down and bandaged your wounds

• His touch was so soft and caring (his doctor side showing up 😭) you could feel the butterflies in your stomach

• "Okay, now get some sleep" - he said when he finished

• You thanked him and immediatly fell asleep, but you were so tired and overwhelmed you think you accidentally let slip an "i love you" before?

• Oh boy

• That wasn't good

• Let's hope he didn't hear that 😅

• On the next day, he came to check on you after you woke up

• He once again examined you with those caring eyes and crap there were those butterflies again

• "It's okay, you'll be fine soon. Just... take it easy on the next days, okay?" - he almost pleaded

• "Thank you, Chishiya" - you said and hugged him again

• "No problem, (Y/N). I just... think maybe we should talk about you confessing your feelings last night?" - he said with that smug face of his

• You got as red as a tomato

• Yeah so he heard that

• You had to find a way to get out of that situation and fast

• You decided to play the tough girl like you always did

• "Ah yes, that... well, i was very tired and overwhelmed from the game, so i probably said some super sappy stuff, but it was just in the heat of the moment. Don't worry, i don't really mean it" - you said shrugging and trying to be convincible lol

• "Oh is that so?" - he replied, raising one eyebrow - "that's a shame, cause i was about to say i feel the same" - the bastard said smirking

• "Wait, what?"

• Yep.

• And that's how you became a thing

• Needless to say that you became the hottest couple in all Borderlands, in and outside the games lol

• Your friends teased you a lot in the beginning

• Specially Kuina

• "Hey Chishiya, don't you think (Y/N) looks lovely today with her hair like that?"

• "Shut up, Kuina" - he said rolling his eyes as she giggled like a fangirl watching her OTP

• But soon they got used to it, since you were always together even before becoming a couple

• And you were a very discreet couple

• Since both of you had a "tough" image to keep, you weren't much of PDA

• Heck, after all you've been through together you were waaay past the "crushing" stage, you were almost on true love basis by now lol

• So there was really no need to be "visual" 😂

• But if there's one thing Chishiya loved is holding hands

• Yep, he would give up on his coolness and take his hands out of his pockets to hold yours (but only for that lol)

• No words were needed, you just intertwined fingers and stood like that, feeling each other's presence

• It was a tiny way to tell everyone you belonged to each other and you were cool with that

• So he would always reach out for your hand when preparing for a game or when he felt someone was getting too close to you

• He would go piercing eyes mode with that "100% done" face of his directly to the person until they felt so uncomfortable they gave up lol

• Not that Chishiya was a jealous guy

• Not at all

• Going through everything you guys went together, both of you were sure you loved and respected each other

• But he liked to show other people you were his and only his

• Cause he felt very proud and lucky to be with such a special girl like you

• You also liked to "claim" him (lol) by randomly hugging him from behind

• You loved feeling the fabric of his jacket on his thin arms and inhaling his soft smell

• He would not show any reaction, except for a little humming to show he was enjoying it 🙈

• Sometimes he'd let you wear his jacket too 🤫

• But only when both of you were alone

• Ahh yes when you were alone things were different 😏

• There was no "playing tough" anymore so you could just love each other 🥹

• Chishiya was sooooo caring

• Being at Borderlands was so lonely he really enjoyed being able to have your company

• He loved just laying down and cuddling you

• It was a moment of peace among the chaos of Borderlands

• And with his favorite person (spoiler: you), so it was even more perfect 💗

• He would close his eyes and trace circles down your back to feel you were there with him, even with everything happening around

• And you, well, you loved playing with his hair

• Omg his hair was a personal obsession of yours

• You loved it cause it was so him?

• Stylish and unique

• So you always took some time to admire it

• Sometimes he'd let you do his hair in a ponytail (just like the one in the hospital flashbacks 🥹)

• He said it was relaxing to have your hands on his hair

• Him with a relaxed face and closed eyes while you did his hair was the cutest sight ever 😭

• He did look like a kitty cat 🥺🤏🏻

• It all always ended with soft kisses on each other's cheeks and lips to show affection 💗

• During the games you guys were very focused in winning, but you also checked on each other from time to time

• You got along so well, you could communicate with just a simple look

• He'd search for your eyes and when you gave him a reassuring look with a nod, you'd know you were both okay

• You also liked laying your head on his shoulder when you were too tired from playing

• You'd sit on the floor and lay your head on his shoulder, closing your eyes and feeling his presence

• He got super soft when you did that T.T

• And he'd always take care of you while playing too

• Like quickly checking for bruises

• Asking if you're okay

• Bringing your favorite cookies for you when playing Solitary Confinement 😭❤️

• "Mine are better though"

• "Shut up, Chishiya" - you'd shove him playfully

• And it was like that everyday, anytime you could steal a little moment to be together

• Kisses

• Hugging

• Holding hands

• And those tiny little acts of love and companionship

• You really loved each other and were going to do anything to stay together, in or outside Borderlands ❤️

#chishiya shuntaro #chishiya x reader #chishiya shuntaro x reader #chishiya fanfic #chishiya imagine

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pamela-lntt · 2 years

Video

TMA if it was a video game with multiple dialogue choices that lead to different endings.

- CREDITS -

+ sfx: Slapping Everything (YouTube); cognitu perceptu (Pixabay); AldebaranCW (Pixabay); kbism (mechanical keyboard simulator)

+ music: Chosic (website)

everything was animated in ClipStudioPaint EX (yes, including the text)

This is Tumblr, so I can actually write my full idea yippe ! (read it all under the cut)

I have no clue on how to make a video game, but for some reason this whole story/idea manifested in my head like a video game, so...

Here’s the story:

Post-MAG200, Jon gets sent back to Season 1 but his only memory of the events of the podcast are feelings of deja vu on certain events followed with gut feelings that something is wrong.

He keeps this all to himself until (or if you choose a different dialogue option, he never shares) he asks Martin if this has happened to him too while they’re trapped in Document Storage. “I feel like I should [tell you about the deja vu], like you’ll understand.” and he learns that Martin does understand, that this has been happening to him too. “When Prentiss trapped me in my flat, my first thought was ‘not again!’ But, as far as I know, I’ve never been trapped in my flat before!”

Anyways, in short, the game would have 3 paths:

1- play exactly how it goes in the podcast, the events, consequences, and dialogue are exactly the same.

2- through bad dialogue choices, make the whole cast die (like the beginning scene i animated, that’s a bad dialogue. Sasha would be angry and her anger would get the better of her and might knock Tim down a bit too harshly and then run off to Artifact Storage to escape Prentiss. Tim wouldn’t be able to think as clearly, so when he escaped to the Head Archivist office, he wouldn’t find the extra CO2 canisters, etc etc.)

3- everyone survives thanks to Jon’s intuitions and the player’s knowledge of the events

As you can see, at the moment I only have in my head how it would go in Season 1... I think the game, if it ever existed, would only tackle the main events of each season because there’s a lot that happens in the podcast (S1: Prentiss attack, S2: Destroying the Table and Not-Sasha [if Sasha dies] + Leitner meeting, S3: The Unknowing, The Dream [when Jon is in a coma], S4: Getting Martin from The Lonely [if he works for Peter Lukas, I think there’d be past choices that could influence his decision]) All of these would happen differently, or not at all, depending on past choices and endings for each Season.and if by the end you either die in one of the events or cause the eyepocalypse, then the game rewinds like a tape and you can start over. The good ending would be that the Eyepocalypse doesn’t happen at all and everyone survives, because you coud have the Eyepocalypse not happen but Jon being the only survivor (which is influenced by relationship statuses that derive from choices you make, if someone dislikes Jon, they’re more likely to die)

Anyways... yeah that’s pretty much it at the moment. Again, I have no experience making video games so don’t expect this to be a real game any time soon. Most I will do is make more “fake screenrecordings” of this game if I ever get more ideas (and notes on my phone or sketchbook on dialogue and story which I do have, but won’t share unless I decide to animate them or write a fic instead)

Okay! thank you for reading all of that if you did and I hope it was at least a good way to pass the time! Back to actually doing my college work-

#tma #the magnus archives #pam.animates #jonathan sims #martin blackwood #sasha james #fake videogame #tma: deja vu

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maximwtf · 6 months

Note

request for izzy hands x gn or male reader where reader is going through a depressive episode

Izzy Hands x Reader

words: 2550

google docs pages: 5

warnings: Mentions of drinking, abuse, depression yk the usual, a mention of a suicidal thought, start of S2 spoilers

opening: Blackbeard was back, but different. The way he’d been treating the crew had gone on for too long, and it was getting hard to bear.

AN// Reader can be any gender! A small break from fluff, and back to beloved angst with comfort from a character who does not recognise the word comfort<3 I hope I stayed on topic, since I wrote half of this a little mindlessly :”D Thank you for the request !!

“Rather share the burden”

Sailing with Blackbeard had turned into all you knew. So many years on the seas together with the same crew, one can’t help but to start getting used to some of the men and their personalities. Even when the Revenge’s crew had joined it, it didn’t take long for you to get used to them too, to get to know them. So it was no wonder you’d started feeling conflicted the second this new Blackbeard had come into the picture. That was not the captain you’d sworn your life to. He was radical, at times seemingly insane. Like a shell of the man who you’d known, controlled by someone else now. He’d made the crew do rather horrendous acts, and at first it’d been okay. But day after day of massacring the men from other ships and looting them after had started to weigh the crew down. Sure, others were handling it better than some but ultimately everyone agreed that some of the attacks were getting a little out of line even for a pirate to do.

There was so much plunder coming and going that some nights the only work you had to do was to throw some overboard. The attacks themselves were brutal, but wasting whatever loot the crew had gained made it all feel like it was all for nothing. What was the point of any of this, if the items gained meant nothing and were thrown away when something new was coming in?

And by the signs Blackbeard was giving, he didn’t care either. The torture like environment you had to live in ultimately were for nothing and for no reason. You wanted to spend time with the crew and feel some kind of community around you, but something in you didn’t allow that. It felt like you were bringing more weight to their shared table, and doing that felt wrong. They were dealing with enough as it was, so you retreated to being on your own. And that had been easy, considering the others spent most of their time together, only interacting with you when there was work to do. You didn’t dare to step out of line, no matter how tired you were. You’d seen how this new captain reacted to that. Better to just do as you were told.

Being at the sidelines every free moment given, you didn’t think anyone had noticed any change in you. You would spend time on the main deck, excusing the long times spent there by saying you’d been sweeping it clean. In truth you would either be hanging around the bow of the ship if no one had noticed you slither over there, or in the crowsnest. All the places no one usually thought of checking or went to. Sometimes you’d find tears welling up in your eyes, only half of those times did you allow them to stream down freely. Though, the warmth the tears brought was never unwelcome, using it as an advantage against the rather cold air when the ‘deck sweeping’ took a little longer than expected. At times you’d just find yourself leaning against one of the masts, a bottle of whatever the latest loot had in it in hand. Sometimes more buzzed than others, but you pretended like it helped. And through all this, you thought no one had the time to notice. But someone in the crew distanced himself in the same way rather often, and it didn’t take him long to catch up on what was going on.

Izzy had been well aware of your new habits, finding you away from the crew and instead alone at the far corners of the ship. He’d known you since the day you’d joined Blackbeard’s crew, and by this point the first mate had grown close to you, sharing a few similar traits and enjoying each other's company. So, as much as he was hurting himself, the soft spot he had for you ached at the sight of your condition.

He wasn’t sure if you wanted company at those times you drifted away from everyone, so he did not offer it. Instead, he tried to shield you from the reality you’d been living in. He’d keep commanding the crew with the orders given by Blackbeard, but shield you from it and offer to do the jobs meant for you himself. Izzy could see hints of fear and shame in your eyes each time he offered to do the work for you, knowing you didn’t want to be caught not doing as you were told. But he trusted you knew where to hide and get some rest. He trusted that you wouldn’t get yourself caught because he’d take the hits for it. And this worked for some time, even if he wasn’t able to see huge changes in you. You had still gotten more rest than you’d been able to get in a few weeks, but that didn’t change how you felt internally. You’d seen how Izzy lmped, pretending as if he was okay with what was going on. Knowing him for this long, you knew this wasn’t what he’d wanted either. No one could have expected that it would come to this. He’d gotten more of his toes cut off, but of course the man didn’t tell you or anyone else about it. You’d just figured that out on your own.

But while you’d followed the cycle of abuse Izzy was going through, you witnessed the crew also notice it. The first mate was also starting to break, but this time more visible, and it hurt more to watch. The crew tried helping him, but even then Izzy pretended he was fine, having his mind set on you. And you knew he was pretending because after that, he would join you. You’d find yourself with him beside you, drinking or smoking a cigarette. Sometimes you wouldn’t talk, just pass a bottle back and forth in a comfortable silence. If you were lucky, these moments made you almost forget how horrible each and every day was. You were both suffering, but at least not alone.

“I’m going to tell him.” The first mate said, breaking the silence that had been surrounding the crowsnest. “Tell him what?” You asked, turning to look at the dishevelled man. “That the atmosphere is poisoned. I can’t keep watching the crew suffer, you.” Izzy said, silencing himself by taking a longer swig from the bottle. Your brows furrowed, worried for Izzy. “He’s not going to take it well…” You sighed, crossing your arms for warmth. “I do not care. Stay somewhere away from him tomorrow.” He said, you sure he’d almost added a ‘please’ at the end, but decided against it at the last second. Your mouth opened but closed soon after, only giving him a nod and a silent hum as a reply. Too exhausted to argue against him.

And that you did, avoided leaving the sleeping space you’d found for yourself. Avoided getting up until the worry over Izzy had gotten over the heavy feeling of staying still and avoiding seeing anyone. The sound of someone speaking rang from the main deck, getting you to head over there. Though, you didn’t quite make it in time. The sound of a pistol being fired stopped you dead in your tracks, a horrified shiver running down your spine the second a familiar voice groaned in pain. Only the gush of wind from the door being flung open gaining your focus back. Blackbeard marched through the threshold, stopping momentarily as his eyes landed on you, before walking past with his shoulder hitting yours rather harshly.

Your breath hitched in your throat the second after, the feeling only growing worse when you peeked at what had gone down on deck. Izzy laid near the door, curled around his leg. You could feel tears welling up, a familiar feeling but this time something in your chest burned worse than before. You wanted to go and help him but as if your legs had decided against it, and without much of any feeling you retreated back to your sleeping quarters. A place where you’d be spending multiple days, horrified of leaving.

You’d only creep around at night, those times when sleeping didn’t feel like an option anymore. When you’d slept for long enough that every time you were able to close your eyes, you would wake up again not even an hour later. And those times during the day when you were awake, you couldn’t hear Izzy’s commands echo in the ship, assuming he must have been hit in a vital spot. He was gone, and you wanted to go with him. You hadn’t even realised how dear he’d become, not that he hadn’t been before. But before now, you hadn’t seen him as a comforting type of persona. More of a closer friend you got along better than anyone else, but you blamed that on the way he usually treated the crew. Not letting them see the person he was under the title of the first mate.

Time passed like this rather quickly, the sense of time fading away rather fast. You’d eat small amounts of food whenever you felt like it, swallowing it down with some rum. You didn’t know if the crew had noticed your now total absence, and you didn’t care. The thought of Izzy being dead shook every bone and muscle in your body.

You could vaguely remember a night when the ship had swayed worse than usual. Like a never ending storm was over it, doing everything in its power to sink the wretched thing. But that didn’t make any sense, or it wouldn’t have in the past. The more you thought of it, the more sense it made that Blackbeard would have lost it by now. And a part of you accepted it, the fact that this could have been the night the ship sunk, and there was nothing you could do about it. But by some miracle, it didn’t. Because by the early hours of the morning, the sea was calm once again and the ship was mostly intact.

You wouldn’t have bothered to go check on the crew, and you didn’t, but something else got your attention. A familiar voice that called for you by name a couple of times, though as familiar as the sound was, their voice sounded strained. Oddly enough it sounded like Izzy, which got you to sit up just before a knock came from the door. You wanted to answer but your mouth was dry, nor did you have the energy to speak up much. “You in there?” He sounded a little tipsy, though when did he not. The first mate pushed the door open, revealing the man to you. He was leaning on a crutch, other leg missing, now replaced by a peg made of a table leg. You bit your inner lip, at a loss for words. How was he alive? You’d heard him get shot and been assured that he was gone. Your mind raced, not even noticing the hint of worry through his tired expression. The man looked dishevelled as ever, yet he’d come looking for you. “You shit, I went out on a limb for you and once I came back you were nowhere to be found. I thought you were dead.” He murmured while closing the door and limping to sit next to you. You made space for him on the small bed, exhausted enough that you didn’t feel like standing up.

You wanted to pretend like you were fine, to tell him ‘you told me to stay away, so I did’, but none of those words could make it out of you before the tears that had welled up earlier started streaming down your cheeks. Due to the blur in your vision that caused, you weren’t able to see his expression. But you did feel the hand placed on your shoulder. “I thought you were dead.” You ended up whispering, lowering your head. His hold got a little tighter after that. “When’s the last time you ate something?” Izzy asked, sliding his hand down your arm as his eyes searched the small room you’d spent your days in. “When did you?” You asked, wiping your eyes before grabbing a half empty bottle from under the covers. To that Izzy only gave you a displeased hum, turning to look at the bottle. “You know, we got it handled. It’s going to be alright from now.” He added after, a hint of sorrow flashing on his face before he hid it for your sake. He’d never seen you in such condition, but now that he was back he wouldn’t leave until those words were true. That everything would be alright. You took a swig from the bottle, gaze turning to Izzy. You were glad that him talking to Edward hadn’t been for nothing, but you had no idea what he meant with ‘handled’. The rum had cleared your throat a little, words slightly more clear this time. “What do you mean ‘handled’.” Izzy looked a little troubled, but knew you deserved to know. “Eddie’s gone. We dealt with him last night.” You gave the man a blank stare, not believing what he’d said. In a way you were glad the torture was over, but on the other hand, that’d been your captain for as long as you could remember.

Deep in thought, you didn’t even notice the tears still streaming down your face. You lowered the bottle to between your legs, mouth slightly agape. “Are you..okay?” You asked, lost with what you could have even said at that point. “That doen’t fucking matter right now.” He moved to the edge of the bed after saying that, his eyes still on you. “We’ll get you something to eat and go from there.” You turned to look at him, having not seen the crew in some time and a little frightened of having to face them. But it seemed like Izzy sensed something was off. “The crew? They’re all fucked up, we all are.” He hummed, a hand rising up to your cheek, not making contact until you leaned against it yourself. His touch was a little hesitant, awkward even, yet he still wiped the remaining tears away. “Tough, they have each other. And I know you fucker and the ways you would keep isolating yerself.” He spoke, taking the bottle from you and taking a swig from it himself.

It was rather clear he was hurting alongside you, but at least neither of you seemingly wanted to be alone with the pain. You both knew how it felt to be alone.

#izzy hands x reader #izzy hands #israel hands #ofmd #our flag means death x reader #our flag means death #ofmd x reader #x reader #fanfic #izzy hands beloved #yar har i love pirates

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drconstellation · 4 months

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i'm sorry i'm a bit slow when it comes to reading comprehension...i thought crowley saves the goats because he doesn't want to kill them, not because they're associated with demons? or did i get that wrong? 🙈

Angelic Sheep and Demonic (Scape)Goats

[Just for reference, the question above was prompted by another meta: Goats, Crows and The Flood]

Thank you for the question. This gives me a chance to write up a sheep and goat meta at length - but I hope you're not going to regret asking it, because its not a simple answer. While I am always saying "it never is in the GOmens AU" I have to admit this one took off with a life of its own (the metas do that sometimes) and has ended up much longer than I thought it would and went to places I didn't expect it to go, but sometimes that is the joy of writing these.

Crowley doesn't want to kill them because he thinks they are innocent and blameless, just like the children of Job - and by extension, we are meant to see he thinks he was unfairly blamed and condemned to be a demon as well. That's it at its most simple level, but by understanding why there is an association between demons and goats will give you a much deeper insight into Crowley's story and why he would act this way. S2 of GOmens is like an onion, you need to peel that thin dry skin off and then slice through several more juicy layers to get the full depth of flavor into the complex meal that has been created for us. Its worth the tears that the chopping of the onion releases in the end. Are you brave enough to find out?

Take the conversation above, between Sitis and Bildad/Crawley. Sitis is a parallel-character to Aziraphale here, wearing the angel's signature teal green, and she questions the demon about the children being threatened with destruction. Then let us put these two parallel scenes side-by side: Sitis vs Bildad and Aziraphale vs Heaven

AZIRAPHALE: Oh. So just his worldly goods. MURIEL: Exactly. Oh, nothing important, no. Just his farm, his camels, his goat, his oxen, his children, his geese… AZIRAPHALE: His WHAT?! MURIEL: His geese. You know, big cross ducks.[flaps arms] AZIRAPHALE: His children?

So we have Sitis looking in horror at a demon at the potential death of her children, and then we have Aziraphale looking in horror at Heaven acting demon-like, not caring if children are destroyed in pursuit of victory over Satan. "Trust in God's plan, Aziraphale. Always," admonishes the shoulder-demon Gabriel (he is so often a shoulder demon - I have words to say about this! - in another meta) In other words, be a good sheep, Aziraphale, and have faith in the Almighty. Don't worry about the goats, or kids. They aren't important.

If you listen carefully during the Job minisode, A Companion to Owls, you'll notice Gabriel prefers to emphasize the number of sheep that will be returned to Job in the end. The Christian church is very big on the sheep imagery! Sheep are considered to be modest, humble, obedient (because they follow one another - you need to be a good follower!) and patient. They follow their shepherd's voice and goes where he directs. (Uh huh...) Followers are described as being part of a flock.

Goats, on the other hand (ah, yes, we'll talk about that in a moment) are considered to be a bit on the nose. Literally. A rutting billy goat is described as having a 'fetid' smell, they can be promiscuous, capricious, devious (wily?) and contrary. Their strong-mindedness, singleness of purpose and leadership qualities (!*) make them the opposite of sheep. While going your own independent way is frowned upon by Heaven, this leading quality of the goat is sometimes used to lead the sheep.

"There are three things that are stately in their stride, four that move with stately bearing: a lion, mighty among beasts, who retreats before nothing; a strutting rooster, a he-goat, and a king with his army around him." Proverbs 30: 29-31

Did you get a good whiff of that sinister archangel, Shax?

(oh boy, some of the stuff I found researching this for more detail...such as "going your own way creates disunity...this leads others astray..." wtf! Looking at this in context with the show makes it kind of, well, some things make more sense to me now? I guess that's a big reflection on the kind of culture I personally grew up in, because I know there are cultures where unity and togetherness is looked upon as happiness and harmony.)

In the tv show, we know the scene blocking - where the characters stand - has great importance. Standing on the right-hand shoulder of another character makes them a shoulder-angel (the dexter side), standing on the left a shoulder-demon (the sinister side.) By watching who stands where usually tells us what moral stance they are taking in that scene.

If we take the example from the Job minisode below, we can see quite an interesting dynamic from the scene blocking. On the left, we have Sitis and Job, who is crouching down. They are an Aziraphale-Crowley parallel-pair, and they are even colour-coded with their colours! Sitis, in Aziraphale's teal on the angelic right of yellow tunic-wearing Job, who's modelling Crowley's suffering for sin but without understanding why. Job has crouched down to highlight Crowley's entrance. On the right the glowing angels are arrayed - Michael on the angelic right shoulder, Gabriel in the middle (more often than not he stands on the demonic left) but this time Aziraphale is taking the far left demonic position, and we know why - he's about to lie like a demon! But even on a grander scale, Sitis, Job and Crowley all stand on the angelic RHS of the visiting angels, making the archangels and Aziraphale all collectively LHS demons in this scene. And Gabriel thought they'd won the bet...*snort*

You should all take a moment to appreciate this piece of Art. Go on. Do it.

Sheep and goats had this right- and left-handedness meted out to them long ago in the bible. The sheep belong to the morally righteous right-hand side, of course, the side of angels, and the goats to the demonic left.

But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. Before him all the nations will be gathered, and he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Matthew 25:31-33

This passage and the following lines from Matthew describes how Jesus will judge the righteous from the sinners, and those who have been deemed good will be saved, but those who are deemed unworthy will be treated like goats: "Then he will say also to those on the left hand, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the the devil and his angels" Matthew 25:41

So we've established the link between goats being demons, and the left-hand side, so they have an affinity with Crowley. We can do a bit of humorous visual and word play between kids and children.

Children.

ah.

oh. OH. Hang on a minute...

Lets just take a step back to the beginning of the minisode, where Crawley delivers his short monologue to the assembled goats.

CRAWLEY: You should know why you're about to die. God has abandoned you. The God who claims to love you, who demands your praise, has given you up to be destroyed.

They're rather small goats, aren't they. The kind of size that makes you wonder if they are goat children or grown goats... you know, it doesn't matter - they are little, cute and innocent. You are meant to associate them with kids, now, and in the past. (Like, in the way, way back past. Like not just the Flood, but the Before the Beginning past.) What matters is Crawley's speech to them, because it sounds very much like him repeating his own experience about his Fall from Heaven. We already know from S1 there is a conflict around Crowley's Fall involving wanting to ask God questions. We get to explore this further several times in S2.

Then later, after emerging from Job's cellar, they witness God talking to Job.

AZIRAPHALE: I don't suppose he's getting any answers. CRAWLEY: No. But just to be able to ask the question.

We don't hear all the lines God speaks to Job, but we hear enough to them to understand that they come from the Book of Job 38 and 39. The context behind these two verses is...interesting. I was going to delve into them a little more but I think that will get us off track on this meta, so perhaps I should come back and revisit it separately, but we can note that several ops have pointed out that the lines we do hear God speak clearly to Job can be connected to Crowley. There are no coincidental accidents in S2.

But just look at Job in that last image - the light of God shining brightly down through a hole in the clouds, darkness all around...

Hmm. Remind you of anything. Like maybe... another Voice from above?

Who we've seen has shown a particular dislike for a certain demon, even though most certainly remembers what his name is.

METATRON: Ah, well, always did want to go his own way. Always asking damn fool questions, too.

Well, doesn't that sound just like a demon goat.

That withering look the Metatron gave Crowley in S2E6, the comment about asking "damn fool questions," - just about the only conclusion you can come to is that the Metatron had something to do with Crowley's Fall. What and how exactly is still unclear, but there are some clues in Gabriel's story, as Gabriel is acting as both a parallel and foil to Crowley in S2. At this point we should also talk about the scapegoat ritual that was widely practiced around the near Middle East regions for quite some time.

The scapegoat ritual involved two young goats being chosen for sacrifice, but one of them had the sins of the community spoken over them then set free to wander into the desert wilderness to die, while the other was sacrificed as a Burnt offering to God. This was a symbolic way of removing sins from the community.

It is also applied to the Passion of Jesus. When the gathered crowds are offered the choice between letting Jesus or Barabbas go free, they choose Barabbas. I've written at length how I see this applied to S2 in this meta here: The Passion of Jimbriel: Resurrection and while Gabriel and Crowley share the role of Jesus fairly equally throughout the Passion story line, there is one point it can be split and Gabriel becomes the Barabbas and the goat that was released into the wilderness and Crowley becomes Jesus on the cross - but he turns into the sacrificial lamb! Perhaps that needs to be changed to the burnt offering...

I know there are quite a few meta ops that are aware of the scapegoat ritual, and more often than not I see Aziraphale being suggested as the current scapegoat. But the way I see the ritual being used in GO is not so much in the present story but in the past, and Crowley was the unwilling scapegoat for the rebelling angels that fell.

OK, I think I've run out spoons on this meta, but seeing how its managed to be at least twice the size I initially envisioned it to be, and its since generated two more meta ideas in the writing of it on top of the ones I'm already trying to do, that isn't too bad.

I'll wrap it up by saying no matter who the scapegoat is, Aziraphale needs to let his inner lion out so he can be The GOAT in S3. I'm sure the original nanny-goat will applaud that.

*talking about that topic...I should have a meta out soon centered around Crowley and Gabriel that will cover this. I will probably come back and edit a link in to it.

#good omens #good omens 2 #good omens meta #crowley #goats #sheep #crows #job minisode #a companion to owls #aziraphale #gabriel #michael #muriel #the metatron #shoulder angels #dexter vs sinister #scapegoat

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the-eeveekins · 7 months

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Time to get some things off my chest I've been holding onto for a while, especially with regards to the Gundam community and G-Witch.

A solid chunk of the complaints I see about the show boil down to: person/place/thing wasn't as developed or given as much screentime as it would have if the show was 50 episodes, and it's potential was wasted as a result. And it just feels like a chunk of Gundam fans cannot get over a show NOT being 50 episodes, and that things can only reach their full potential if they are 50 episodes.

There's almost no adjustment of expectations for what the level of development, detail and screentime would be for a 24-25 episode length series. Just the belief that because it's less than the amount you'd find in a 50 episode series, it's automatically inferior.

And the way some people describe what they expected out of certain things, you can absolutely tell that they've been spoiled by the UC and don't have even remotely realistic expectations for a fresh AU without any sequels or supplemental content. The UC has been around for 40+ years with so much content to the point that nearly every minute detail has been explained and even over-explained. And certain fans have gotten so used to having every little detail spoonfed to them about a series that anything less is lacking or a plot hole.

Like, I seriously recall someone complaining that G-Witch didn't explain the treaty or agreement that banned the use of physical ammunition in space and that it was a plot hole! Or that the show didn't explain where Peil was getting it's doubles from? Or what characters like Guel and Shaddiq were like growing up?

Yes, G-Witch undercooked some of it's elements, probably because they expected to get more episodes than they did and added enough side and background content to give them 50 episodes worth of stuff if it got extended. But wanting the show to explore the detailed background of every side character, faction and location isn't something you're going to get in most AUs. Especially one that was only 25 episodes and more focused on telling a Shakespearean tale of two families than a large political war drama like most series.

And lastly, most of the complaints about the character development can be boiled down to one thing: most anime fans are used to having a character's thoughts and emotions spoonfed to them. G-Witch never once gets into the heads of it's characters and lets your hear their thoughts or feelings, leaving up to the viewer to interpret them based on their actions, reactions and knowledge of the character. And in a medium dominated by battle shounen, where characters constantly explain their every action and you constantly see every thought, I think a lot of people have gotten terrible at understanding character development that doesn't rely on it.

It's why there's so many complaints about Suletta not developing at all until late S2 despite developing a TON over the course of the show, because the show doesn't slap you in the face explaining it to you. Her personality doesn't go through a major change in the show because it doesn't need to, and S1 clearly shows her gaining more confidence and stuttering less around others as the season progresses. It's honestly not that subtle at all, the show just doesn't spend time explaining to you that it's happening, it just shows it happening. And that goes for a LOT of elements in the show people claim were too subtle or not explained well enough.

It's also why so many people claim Guel has the most development in the show, because his personality has to change drastically due to how awful he was (and tbf, he still ends the series as a pretty awful guy), and since it's such a major change, people claim he has the most developed character arc in the show because it's not subtle in any way.

It's not like G-Witch is a perfect show or free from criticism, but holy shit so many of the complaints I see boil down to unrealistic expectations of a two cour series or poor media comprehension/literacy. And that's not even getting into the people just hating on the show because they're sexist or homophobic.

#sorry it's a long rant #but it's been heavy on my chest for a while #g witch #the witch from mercury #gundam the witch from mercury #gundam

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mobius-m-mobius · 6 months

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I cannot believe that season. truly just. there was not a single episode I didn't sit down to without a genuine conviction that *this* would be the episode where they spit all over everything I loved about the show. I braced constantly throughout the episodes as they kept setting themselves up for Very Stupid story choices only to pull the rug and go "HAHA surprise, idiot!!! We've given you exactly what you wanted <3". until the final episode which was NOT what I wanted and also exponentially better storytelling and character development than any of the ideal scenarios I'd constructed.

something deeply meta about it all. truly a chaos season for the chaos god, where the most chaotic, unexpected, transformative thing they can do is to be good.

Spent the day processing my love for this season only to have your message sum my thoughts and feelings up perfectly, thank you so very much for sending it 💖

Same as you, not for a second did I go in truly expecting anything from s2. Owen and Mobius have my heart, always will, so primarily the show was a vehicle to provide whatever crumbs of his scenes and chemistry with Tom I could get and with the start of every episode I braced for the moment that would get ruined in some way, only to be continually hit with everything I've ever wanted in a show or pairing right up until the finale. Which, while not what I would've chosen, was beautifully crafted and an almost Shakespearean tragic romance that will haunt me for the rest of my days and is still infinitely better than the nightmare scenarios I'd been floating around in my mind so at least there's that and it's impossible not to be thankful for eps 1-5 for giving content anyone could dream of and more 😅

Besides the obvious ending, I'm mostly crushed our Loki and Mobius didn't get a proper goodbye but honestly believe Loki decided to seek out s1 Mobius instead knowing s2 Mobius loved him too much to ever let his sacrifice happen and it would've been too much to bear, so having made his mind up already he at least tried to visit a version most likely to validate his choice. Just wish the Mobius now waiting until the end of time had at least a similar opportunity, but I'm just thankful he didn't lose his memories and could make his own decision that his faith in Loki is what's carried him before and will continue to do so now.

The flip of their characterization from order or chaos is exactly what has me convinced Lokius will reunite because how can they not with such an open ended future?? Even in separation they revolve around each other and they're the only ones left wanting. Mobius and his life are in ruins with nothing but the passage of time and possibility of some spent with Loki ahead while Loki's surely going to find a way to meet halfway when the choice of order has not only made him potentially the most powerful being in existence but one who spends eternity looking at the only person who ever saw him back.

#cutting this short because it's already longer than expected and i'm about to cry again even though i've done so like a dozen times today 😅#but truly s2 has been the most incredible fun uplifting heartbreaking experience and i'm so thankful to have shared it with you all #have a feeling nothing's going to beat it for me as well which is kind of wild to wrap my mind around??#never gonna be another character like mobius or one who means more to me plus owen is it for me now #and if i could craft a perfect episode of anything start to finish it would be s02e01 #the banter their chemistry the touching the sacrifice the perfect balance of plot and humor it's pure love and comfort #what a ride #and thank you again for the loveliest ask!! love hearing what everyone thought of the season and where things can go from here #hope you're having an amazing weekend 💖#ask #loki spoilers

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stagefoureddiediaz · 1 year

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Ok so I’ve been chatting on discord with @theladyyavilee @mistmarauder and like you do I had a lightbulb moment!! Jess is an enabler and made me make this post so I’m sorry everyone in advance!!!

We are talking tsunami and the next level layering the writers have been doing. I really love that this show rewards us for rewatching and really looking at the details!

I was rewatching the tsunami arc for watery reasons and it got me thinking about the line the incident command dude says (3x02 15:29 if you want to watch for yourself!)

‘we’ve already had two [waves] so far and can expect another 4or 5 before it starts to recede’

Well that got me thinking about it being deeper than a throw away line about the fact that tsunamis aren’t just a single wave of devastation, but actually multiple waves. We’re currently doing so research to establish when the water theme actually starts but I’m currently wondering if this line is the possible beginning of the water metaphor - the two waves we’ve had being what precedes the tsunami - so the truck bombing and Shannon’s death.

Then the 4-5 expected waves to come after being the show telling us that there will be 4-5 things happen before we get to canon Buddie - before the water finds it’s level. The waves we’ve had since then are the well, the shooting and the lightning strike making 3 and we can maybe include Eddie’s breakdown as another one (although I’m not sure) which makes 4. We also know there’s going to be some big disaster at the end of the season (two trapped dads theory my beloved) which could take us to either 4 or 5 (depending on if we include the breakdown or not) suggesting that perhaps water will find its level the the end of this season/ the beginning of the next season and therefore Buddie canon will happen shortly thereafter!

If we think about everything in a little more detail and think about how those 4-5 more expected waves would decrease in strength each time (as the water settles back to its level) and them being key marking points in their relationship - the most intense ones that have the biggest impact - being at the beginning and clearing a path for the subsequent ones which are no less important, but having seemingly less dramatic results as they are just building on what’s already there.

But lets, for a minute, go right back to the beginning - back to season two - things then begin to make even more sense - tsunamis are started/created by underwater earthquakes which means the earthquake in s2 is the starting point for everything (If that’s how this came about the writers of this show are so genius I can’t even begin to put into words how much I love them and their insane cleverness!) it is the big event that sets everything that comes after into motion - and it is the event that actually establishes buddifer (Buck mets Chris post earthquake when he drives Eddie to pick him up from school).

Then you get that vacuum where all the water heads away from land as the tsunami builds its strength - Christophers line ‘Where did all the water go’ is kind of a metaphor for the vacuum created with Shannon’s death. She was Christopher’s previous water level - his having two parents (even if she was absent he still carried hope that she would return - then she did. Her loss creates turbulence for him (and Eddie and by extension Buck) and his waters are no longer level. I love the idea of this vacuum being created at this moment, but the events leading to it had already been set in motion before she even came back into the picture - that this massive change was already incoming.

The truck bomb is the first wave - and actually thats when we see Eddie’s attachment to Buck in a physical way - the hand holding - and it leads to our first Buddie hug (and technically the second as well). It also marks the point where we end up with both of them being single.

The tsunami is wave 2 - the big shift here is obviously the deepening of Buck and Christopher’s relationship - the biggest and most important pivotal thing after Buck and Eddie’s own developing relationship - because Buck having an independent and strong relationship with Chris is a requirement if buddie are going to work - the show needs to establish them having their own special bond which is separate from Chris and Eddie and from the 3 of them together as a unit.

With those two things established - the two big waves - then the smaller waves can surge in - they don’t need to reach as far because the base has been created by the first two waves - their path has already been cleared making these subsequent waves’ jobs are ‘easier’.

So wave 3 (or wave 1 of the 4-5 further waves) is the well - with it comes the big and key change of the will - and we continue the link to water.

Wave 4 (wave 2 of the further waves) is the shooting which as well as revealing the will, independently continues to further the father-son relationship between Buck and Chris. I can’t think of any obvious watery connections here - beyond the pool of Eddies blood we see spilling onto the asphalt.

If we assume Wave 5 (wave 3 of the further waves) is Eddie’s breakdown - which ties all 3 of them closer together and establishes just how deep the level of trust is between Buck and Eddie. there isn’t an obvious water connection to Eddies breakdown - beyond the tears - but the episode itself involves several water related accidents or scenes (Shark cage rescue, and all the fish from the freezer and we get Maddie playing with Jee in the bathtub as well).

Then wave 6 (wave 4 of the further waves) is the lightning strike - which just continues to build on all that’s come before - it doesn’t really reveal anything new just leads to a big jump in the amount of buddifer scenes we’ve had since. again we have a watery connection with the heavy rain!

And the potential final wave is the one we haven’t seen (which would be wave 5 of the further waves)- but could be the two trapped dads of it all - both of them being at risk at the same time and the realisation that potentially comes out of that - it not necessarily being a confession moment, but the moment before it - before the waters calm and find their level and then they’ll be in the right place to move forward - together!! We know there is a watery connection to whatever this happens to be from the bts we’ve had - filming at the Queen Mary and the road collapse is next to/ over water.

So there we have it - either the writers set out the roadmap to Buddie way back when, or I’ve gone insane and should probably be locked up in an institution - I leave it to you to decide which!

#water theme my beloved #tsunami arc my most beloved #tsunami arc - the gift that keeps on giving #water water everywhere #water metaphors #this show is next level insane #I will be flinging myself off a cliff and into the ocean #911 speculation #911 spoilers #911 thinky thoughts #911 on fox #911 fox #buddie #buck #eddie diaz #evan buckley

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ageless-aislynn · 2 months

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Aislynn's Jumble of Random Thinky Thoughts on Halo s2 ep4 "Reach"

SPOILERS, but of course

Cpt Admiral Keyes went out like a total badass. I really do hate to lose him but I'm glad he got a better send-off than he did in the game (Halo: Combat Evolved). Seeing him with a pipe was an awesome little callback to the game, IMO. (Though smoking is bad; don't smoke, kids! 👎😬😉)

The fact that The Powers That Be took Silver Team's Mjolnir with them as they ran like cowards evacuated but abandoned actual Silver Team is the most realistic bureaucratic part of the episode. 🙄

I suspected Louis wasn't going to survive but him losing Danilo and then choosing to make that stand immediately after was both heartbreaking but bittersweet: he couldn't live without his beloved and his sacrifice gave John and Riz a chance to escape but also ensured that he didn't have to live long without his beloved. 💔

My Halo vehicle fangirling was cranked up to 117% 😇 here, with me pausing the show to yell, "WRAITH, IT'S A WRAITH! I love hijacking those things!!!" and then "SCORPION! A SCORPION TANK! Aw, man, I do BUSINESS when I have a Scorpion!" *wistful, lovestruck sigh* 💖 Please imagine my dad's 🤔⁉️ face during all of that, lol! 😇

John, my beloved, and Scorpion tank, my beloved... 😍🤷‍♀️😇😉

I was legit upset that Kai was gone the entire ep, not just 'cause I wanted to see her, of course, but because it seems an awful lot like she abandoned her team and that just doesn't seem like her at all. I know last ep she was very torn and upset about John and not really believing what he was saying, but also not wanting to narc him out, either. When she finds out what happened to Vannak, I think she'll blame herself for not being there and, honestly? I think she should. (Same as she should feel bad about not believing John, evidence to the contrary.) Not saying she could've prevented any of the bad stuff, of course, but she wasn't there when Silver Team desperately needed her and if they don't have her feel guilt over that, then that's really going to be OOC for her, IMO. 😔

And then of course, the "two" of the "one-two punch" from this ep... Vannak, nooooooooo! I was completely not expecting to lose him here but I really should have, considering we're straight up doing a version of Reach's game storyline and, as we all know, Noble Team didn't make it out of the game alive (other than Jun).

And yet still... Vannak! Not when he's just learned to love animal documentaries and feeding the birds! The big guy had so much more living to do!!! 😭😭😭 I'm going to really miss him and I'm going to completely ignore his death in any fanfic I ever again write, I'm just saying. 🤷‍♀️😉

Are we feeling like Soren will be getting a place on Silver Team, at least temporarily?

Okay, so I was a little surprised but in a good way over how hard everything about Keyes hit Halsey. She was genuinely kinda tongue-tied at seeing him, then her absolutely screaming at his death and her sobbing... I wasn't expecting that sort of reaction. She really did love him and I wouldn't have thought that before this episode.

I feel vaguely like John's ex just kidnapped his current girlfriend, lol. Also, I keep staring at Makee, thinking, "Is her hair a different blonde? Is she dying her eyebrows or something?" more than anything else so I really need to get over that, lol! Annnnnd I could kinda ship her with her Arbiter but nobody should be surprised at that 'cause I can ship a character with a mop that has a wig and googly eyes on it if the chemistry feels right to me...

I could also see not-Thel!Arbiter as being a suuuuper jealous boyfriend trying to prove he's better than Makee's ex... *shipper glasses, I has 'em at all times!* 😜😉

Since Makee didn't let her Arbiter (whose name is escaping me at the moment) go ahead and kill John, one wonders if it was because she does still have feelings for him or if she just needs him for some later nefarious purpose. And why does she need Cortana? I'm still wondering if we're going to get some sort of "evil" Cortana ala Halo 5 since her new look reminds me a lot more of her Halo 5 look.

This is a still, not GIF, from Halo s2 Cortana's new look, so you don't wonder why it's not moving. 😉

Halo 5 "evil" Cortana.

And you can see s1 Cortana in the GIF right above all of this.

Annnnd my favorite version of Cortana...

Halo 4 Cortana, whom I imprinted on as my very first Cortana, so this is her definitive look to me, what can I say? 🤷‍♀️😉

And bringing things back to the episode once more, I also had a game fangirling moment when John yelled, "Frag out!" as he lobbed the grenade. My dad soon learned that the marines tend to yell that as they're lobbing frag grenades in the various games, too! 😎

Ooo, and almost forgot John's absolute panic eyes when Keyes called him forward during his inspirational speech, lol. Poor Chief, d'aww! But that was a really great moment to show people that Master Chief isn't a robot, he's a flesh and blood person, and I think that was used to great effect in this moment. 💖

In summary, this episode had me

💖

#halo #halo the series #halo paramount+#spoilers #halo spoilers #master chief #admiral jacob keyes #captain keyes #vannak-134 #silver team #kai-125 #cortana #makee #not-thel arbiter #i am in a glass case of emotion #ageless aislynn

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itsjustbyler · 2 months

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I've read your Mike post and even if I ship mileven I agree with most of it expect ofc the internalized homophobia part. So I will ask what would change for you if Mike is confirmed straight and doesn't have internalized homophobia? Would you dislike Mike?

Hi!!

Well if he truly doesn't have internalized homophobia and is in fact straight, then Mike is still smart, compassionate, brave and someone that would fight for the people they love. However, I would say the writers messed up his character/storyline.

First, sidelining him as El's boyfriend and nothing more since season 3. He doesn't have an storyline for himself in this scenario. He is just a boy who can't say ily to his girlfriend. Even if they wanted to go for only that rote, they haven't even gone deep into that. They could have Mike actually explaining how their parents relationship messed up his head, his trauma and all, witch is what most people speculate. But they decided for "Mike can't say ily because he is scared that it's gonna hurt when El dumps him" (?).

Second, his storyline in S3 and S4 are basically the same. "Mike is only 14", you would say. However, characters need to have a grown even if they are young. A character need to go from point A to point B. Look at the other kids who are also 14 yo. A character can be young and immature but they need to show how this is changing throughout the seasons with their actions and behavior. Look at the difference between Will in S3 and Will in S4 for example. He was also sidelined but even with him having the same struggles as in S3, he behaves completely different about it in S4 and it shows that he has grown.

Mike and Els relationship also is the same as S3. Mike lies to her, she gets mad and dumps him in S3 and they separate, then El lies to Mike (fact that is completely forgotten btw) but since he can't say ily she gets mad, fight with him and they separate again.

They ad unnecessary drama into Will and Mike's relationship too. There are so many ways to portray Will's sexuality without Mike involved or without Mike behaving the way he did in S3. Mike completely ignoring Will in favor of his relationship.

Why? Will could have been jealous and he was, but that was not what leads to their rain fight or their fight at Rink o Mania, is the fact that Mike ignores Will to focus on El and they were suppose to be best friends. Some people gets mad with Will for call him out on it as if he should have just accept this treatment and is acting based only in jealous.

So, if this doesn't have a deep meaning, out of nowhere Mike started acting as a bad friend. And that's the opinion of the GA. Search Mike Wheeler on Google and you will see for yourself. Even on reddit, the most mleven place you can find, there are people saying the same thing.

And that's really sad, as I said in my other post, people tends to hate on him without trying to understand the meaning of his actions. Could this behavior be because of depression and trauma? Of course but then they fail to show it. Again, we can only speculate. I know you probably will disagree, but there is more evidence for Mike to have internalized homophobia than to just be depressed, witch we already knew he was.

And that would not explain why his behavior is directed especificaly towards Will, the boy who is in love with him and that he had a deep relationship with in s1 and even more in S2, such a coincidence... Again, Mike is oblivious, he doesn't know, he doesn't suspects that Will is gay and even if he did, he would not treat Will like that only bc of it. Mike is not a homophobe.

And that is on the writers. There are Mike and El shippers that thinks that we will hate Mike if he turns out to be straight, however Mike is not the problem. Is the writers and how they decided to portray him and the relationships around him. Mike will still have the same qualities he had before, I will still like him, however I would just ad bad friend sometimes into his flaws.

ty for the ask!

#byler #mike wheeler #stranger things #ask #ty for the ask <3

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saintarmand · 2 months

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Hi! Do you think that s2 big reveal will be that Armand manipulated Louis memory? What do you think the "disastrous consequences in Dubai" mean? Louis attempting suicide as many books fans expect?

no. i think the "big reveal" will be that armand didn't have to. louis knows armand did the thing and stayed with him anyway like he did in the books. they very well may lead the audience to believe armand is doing that to louis, when it was actually daniel who got his memories wiped (and daniel may have agreed to it.) and i think any inconsistencies about the events of s1 that may or may not be revealed will be because of louis repressing memories the old fashioned way. at most armand helped a little. and i'm not saying that only because of the racist and abuse apologist implications or just cause i'm an armand stannie or whatever, although that's all also true. i'm saying that because i think the story is better for it.

to me, armand having significant overarching influence, especially though literal magic, on the story we've been told (specifically LOUIS's story told BY louis), undermines the theme of "memory is a monster." they told us the fallibility of memory in this story is the real life kind; how memory naturally changes every time we remember events in our lives, how our present self affects how we look at the past, etc. this is a fantasy story, yes, but it's very much grounded in reality. the racism isn't "fantasy racism", for example. having the twist be that a crucial element of the story that we were told was real was actually magic would lame and disappointing as hell. i think daniel having his memories wiped magically will be a parallel to louis. but the thing about parallels is that they're not meant to be literal or complete, and they emphasize differences as much as similarities, in order to reinforce the ideas and themes of the story, not replace them. so i think that while louis and daniel's memory issues can look similar on the surface, they have different causes and the show will make it clear which is which.

hell, they've even shown us magical manipulation vs regular manupulation before. we saw lestat entrance several humans including louis himself ("his gaze tied a string around my lungs and i found myself immobilized") but it was done in a way that made it obvious when it was happening, so general audiences weren't speculating lestat was using vampire magic to make louis fall in love with him or agree to be turned or whatever. he was shown to have powers he could have used at key points but didn't, more often using very basic human manipulation tactics, which were actually even more effective. even the idea of lestat causing paul's death was brought up only to be discarded. i think they'll pretty much do the same thing with armand, only teasing us a bit more with it. and sure, some people will still speculate, but i think this is what the intention of the writers is, and hopefully they do it well.

i assume the "disastrous consequences in dubai" is an interview quote and i've heard something like that but since i don't have the full context in front of me it's hard to say much about it. if you could tell me the whole quote and who said it and where and in what context i could probably talk about it in more detail lol. link me if you'd like?

what i will say right now is that i think there's gonna be a lot of arguments and accusations and revelations in dubai, i think louis will go through a hell of an emotional rollercoaster, i think daniel will find out about the eternal sunshine of the devil's minion as i like to call it, will ask to be turned again or at least realize he still wants it, i think louis and armand will break up, and i think there will be a book released by the end.

the louis suicide attempt theory i believe is based on merrick, which i still haven't read (i need to get my shit together and read it before may 12th lol) so it's difficult for me to say much about it? i know he attempts suicide at the end and that him talking to claudia's ghost who's fucking furious with him is a thing that happens. something like that anyway, i've read some quotes from it. i highly doubt louis has been talking to her literal ghost at this point in the show, he's just doing that metaphorically. i would love to see it in the future though.

honestly to me just the fact that armand said out loud that he thinks the interview is basically louis's suicide note indicates that's probably not actually what's going on. that's usually how it works in stories lol. when the character tells you what they think is gonna happen it never happens like that. (on the whole "other vampires will paint the walls with his blood" thing, i think the human world will assume the book is made up bullshit or daniel is senile or crazy, and because of that most vampires won't care that much. would be pretty dumb to kill him since it would only draw more attention to him and the book. i do like the idea of lestat, inspired by louis, going on to more or less successfully prove the existence of vampires, causing a big ruckus, and the whole "great conversion" thing that was mentioned, being a part of the show version of the queen of the damned somehow.)

louis attempting suicide could still happen i guess but i just don't think it's that interesting or particularly good writing in the context of the story being told in seasons 1 & 2. not only because it's kinda predictable and basic and boring to me but like. if he tries kill himself and fails, that's basically him being forced to live. to me, louis choosing to live on in this continuous state of mourning is much more compelling and devastating even, than him having no choice in it. it's like with him staying with armand, isn't it waaaayyy more fucked up and sad if he's doing that of his own volition as opposed to being kept there against his will? that's a story about who louis is, the choices he makes, not about how he's a victim. of course he still is an abuse victim etc, and that's certainly not his fault, but him blaming himself and seeing himself as just as bad as lestat or armand because he "let" it all happen is, to me, a core part of his character. in the book he monologues about his passivity being his biggest fault; in the show he insists "i'm not a victim" even as he's telling us a story about being abused. abuse culture & catholic guilt baby!

also. the thematic note the book ends on is, to me anyway, about the human spirit clinging to life even in devastating circumstances. armand tells louis how so many vampires resort to suicide, but louis doesn't (in book one.) he keeps going, haunted by his past, dead inside and out yet still alive, unable to let go. and he spends the whole book telling daniel the boy reporter how awful immortality is and yet daniel still wants it, thinking it will be different this time. choosing the horrors life throws us, even the cursed half life or unlife of a vampire, over the horror of the unknown that is permanent death. etc etc etc. i love this part of the book too much to want to let it go!

hell, armand only tries to kill himself after finding out what hell is "really like" in memnoch the devil, and while i don't know cause i haven't read merrick yet, i bet that influenced louis too. death isn't as terrifying when you know what to expect.

and i'm also just not a fan of the idea that actually most of the other books' events have also already happened. because then that influences the characters who are telling us the story, in ways that we won't find out until seasons later. like if louis tries to kill himself at the end of season 2 and then in like season 7 or some shit we find out actually it wasn't because of what happened in s1-2 it was actually because right before the interview he was talking to claudia's ghost who said horrible things to him and also because he found out hell is real but it's actually a bit more like purgatory where if you prove yourself you get to go to heaven eventually and also because— like you can see how that would be bad storytelling right? lmao. not that revealing new information about characters or events later is always bad, it can be very interesting and beneficial even, but not if it undermines or completely changes the whole story before that point. not shading AR's retcon habit here at all not at all of course not i would never do that

anyway i think i've rambled enough. thank you for asking!

#asks #anon #iwtv #s #interview with the vampire #vampterview

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