#1x05 Labels

[icedteaandoldlace]

"Favorite song?" "Brown-Eyed Girl."

[lamentable-comedy]

I made a supercut of every instance of the word partner (or partnership) in Black Sails... mostly as a side effect of wanting to analyze how the word was used in the show. More information/breakdown under the cut.

"Partner", "partners", or "partnership" is said a total of 92 times in the show, not counting 11 times when it's part of a "previously on". Of those 92 instances, 11 are in Season One, 24 are in Season 2, 33 are in Season 3, and 24 are in Season 4. Some form of the word gets said at least once in all but eight episodes (1x01, 1x05, 3x01, 3x04, 3x09, 4x02, 4x03, and 4x05). The episode with most instances is 3x02 with a grand total of 7. In the video, the clips are arranged in chronological order according to when they appear in the show. I used the transcript site to double-check my work so I'm pretty confidant I didn't miss anything.

A lot of the time the relationships that get called partnerships also get referred to with other terms (friendship, alliance, husband/wife), either at different times than they're called partnerships or in conjunction with the term, but "partner" as a term interests me because it is non-specific in a way that allows for it to hold a lot of different meanings, sometimes all at once. Black Sails is clearly very specific about what terms are used for relationships, just as it is specific about what name a character is called by, and often there is significance placed on moments when a relationship is called a partnership. (Miranda and Flint in 2x06, Jack and Anne in 2x10, Flint and Sliver in 3x03, etc.)

SO I've made a full chart with details on each of the 92 instances which you can look at here. It has the episode each instance is from, who says it, and to what partnership they are referring. Generally this is pretty straightforward, though sometimes a character is directly referencing one partnership in a way that implicitly applies the label to another, i.e. when Silver says he's "not the first to have been a partner to [Flint] in this way", he is referring to himself as Flint's partner, but also implicitly stating that Gates and Miranda were each Flint's partner as well. Whenever this happens I've noted it in the chart. I've also noted when characters are speaking hypothetical partnerships that do not (yet) exist, or do not (yet) exist in the form they are currently discussed, and when partnerships are referred to in the past tense.

Highlights of some stuff I found interesting:

Silver and Flint are referred to as partners (or as having a partnership) a total of 7 times, and implicitly labelled as such once. This is more than any other partnership between individuals, and depending on how you count more than any partnership between groups, too (see below). The first time they're ever referred to as partners is by Silver in 3x03

Jack and Anne are just behind them with a total of 6, followed by Eleanor and Rogers with 5

The individual relationships between Jack and Max, and between Max and Anne are each referred to using some form of partner/partnership three times, and Jack, Anne, and Max a group of three are referred to using the term once by Max and once by Jack-- though when Jack uses it (while speaking to Marion Guthrie) he doesn't specify who he's speaking about could arguably also be including Featherstone, and possibly Idelle

The pirate and maroon alliance is referred to using partners/partnership 6 times (7 if you count one instance where Flint is used as synecdoche for the pirates as a group), and there are two instances of partner/partners being used when discussing another person or group joining the alliance (Jack in the first case, and Julius and his men in the second), for a total of 9 times that some form of the alliance is discussed using partners/partnership

Other than Flint, the only person who is ever referred to as Silver's partner is Max

Eleanor says partner (or some variation) more than any other character, for a total of 14 times. Runners up are Max (12) and Vane (9)

4 out of the 9 times Vane uses partner/partnership, he's talking about a partnership between Eleanor and someone, though that someone is not always him. Of the remaining 5 instances, two are in reference to his partnership with Teach and two involve Jack in some way (one with the two of them and Flint, and one in the context of Jack joining the pirate/slave alliance)

Max never uses the word partner to describe any relationships that she is not directly a part of, unless you count one instance of speaking broadly about her own experiences in a way that also includes Eleanor's (when she says the chair "demands you win partners" to get it)

Flint doesn't say any form of the word partner until 3x05, though before that point there are other people who call him their partner or apply the term to relationships he has

Thomas says "partner" a total of 3 times, two referring directly to Flint and one speaking generally but in a conversation about a partnership between him and Flint. Miranda says "partners" twice, both times about herself and Flint

"Partner" is used as a verb exactly once, by Madi

Madi, Mr. Scott, and the Maroon Queen each only say partner(s) once (they're not the only characters who only say it once, but i did think the family pattern was neat)

[queenscatorccio]

A Long-Ass Post On Nat's Music Taste (Biblically Accurate)

I have thought about Yellowjackets + music a very normal amount which is why I have this imperfect and probably non-exhaustive but hopefully canon-accurate list of all the music we know Natalie Scatorccio likes (with reference photos.)

There will probably be a pt 2 with some of my own actual thoughts or a Nat-specific soundtrack rant but I imagine this one could be helpful to writers or smthing so I'm posting it as is.

Pictured above, from left to right: me presenting you with this post, me writing this post

FROM NAT’S STORAGE UNIT

'Kevyn's Mix 4 Nat'

'New Order 1987' -> I think this is their 1987 compilation Substance aka Substance 1987

D.O.A

'Crawford Mix' - the 1st Crawford that came to my mind here is the music journalist Scott Crawford who wrote and directed Something Better Change, a documentary about D.O.A's frontman Joey Shithead, amongst other things. In the 80s-90s he covered the Washington, DC punk scene; maybe Nat is an avid Metrozine reader and made a tape based on Crawford's recs? Music nerd Nat confirmation or does someone else have a less convoluted take?

'Halloween Mix'

'Fine Young Cannibals' - This definitely has some double meaning esp since it's p different from her other stuff

Dinosaur Jr. - Without A Sound. It's blurry as hell but imo the layout + colors are a perfect match. Also: methinks this is a strong contender for Nat's fave album/artist; it's the only tape that doesn't look self-made and in the 1x04 flashback Nat and Kevyn Tan listen to 'Feel the Pain' (the album's opener) and he tries to impress her by claiming that Kurt Cobain wanted J Mascis (Dinosaur Jr.'s singer-guitarist) to join Nirvana (it's true btw)

'Mix For Nat' (this is the mixtape made by Kevyn that Nat retrieves in 1x04; the connect-the-dots-Os match)

for the life of me I cannot read this label :(

'The Gathering' They've undergone a few genre chances since but the Gathering of 1990s was a metal band

'The Actors/The Gathering' - I'm not certain about. Actors (without the the) is a post punk/dark wave band that I do think Nat would dig but it's presence here is a anachronism; the band was formed in 2012. My money is that "The Actors/The Gathering" is just a lil wink from the set designers

this one I think says "SUMMER 4EVER" but it's honestly anyone's guess

'New Wave Mix' - New Order and Blondie (more about them in a minute) are definitely featured!

'Bauhaus Mix'

the Team Dresch tickets!! Hopefully bi!Nat foreshadowing but could also be set designers calling the Yellowjackets gaywads

Tuscadero (pop punk band with heavy girlgroup influences)

FROM NAT'S TEENAGE BEDROOM

her biggest poster is of Debbie Harry so she's definitely a Blondie fan

a riot grrrl poster (so many headcanons but I digress)

Nat has several Megan O'Neil poster and I have no idea she is. There is a Megan O'Neil on the Yellowjackets crew so it might be a reference to her? Or there is a Meghan O'Neil (Pennie) whose music I think Nat would enjoy. She has a signature dark pixie which this poster could reference - but why would the name be spelled wrong?

Nat's room has a shitload of Sub Pop stickers(??) In the flashback, Nat and Kevyn actually talk about Nirvana leaving Sub Pop, an indie record label, for a major label deal.

MEGAN O'NEIL WHO ARE YOU? She has me crashing out. The poster is v visible during the 1x04 scenes at the Scatorccio trailer so idk why they would make two posters for an artist that doesn't exist. If you have any information about Megan 0'Neil, Schrödinger's missing niche (or I'll feel v stupid) riot grrrl act, please reach out!

a poster for Betti-Cola, Cub's debut album

ASSORTED BAND SHIRTS

In 1x02, Nat wears a Black Sabbath shirt - my best guess is that it's for Heaven and Hell but honestly metal isn't my sandbox so idk

Nat wears a Death to the Pixies shirt (which refers to the Pixies' 1997 compilation album) in 1x02 and 1x03 (pictured)

In 1x05, Nat wears a Pink Floyd Europe '77 shirt - if you want to take this as an indication of her fav Pink Floyd album, the 1977 In the Flesh tour was for Animals (1977) but they also performed the all of Wish You Were Here (1975)

In 1x09 and 1x10, she wears and Amyl and the Sniffers shirt

If you notice mistakes or missing pieces - no you don't! But also feel free to tell me or add on etc

tl;dr: Nat has taste and I need someone to tell me who Megan O'Neil is.

[raayllum]

The Coin / Moon Fam plotline: a Structural Analysis

There's been some stuff in the tags recently about people being bummed over how long the Moon Fam / coin plot line has taken, and while it's an understandable perspective (particularly with how long hiatuses can feel between seasons), when looking at TDP as one complete story... the Coin / Moon Fam plot line hasn't actually taken that long, and is one of the most consistently developed plot threads / relationships in the show - and here's why.

This meta is broken down into three subheadings labelled, "Series Layout," "Plot Relevancy," and "The Trio('s emotional arcs)".

Series Layout

First things first, the fact of the matter is that the only season that didn't continue the coin plotline at all has been S2. Every other season has had something. This is pretty unique as outside character journeys or relationship development, not much besides overarching plot carries between season to season. Callum's arc is a mage and Ezran as king is ongoing, but the coin plotline has developed more consistently per season than emphasis on Ezran and Rayla getting one-on-one scenes together (which they haven't since S2). So the official breakdown is this:

1x01-1x03: Runaan and his relationship with Rayla are developed. He is taken prisoner while she goes on the mission with the boys.

1x05: Rayla shares the backstory of her parents failing to protect the egg. This is the first and last time she talks directly about her family until S3.

1x08: The coins are introduced in relation to Aaravos and the mirror, specifically. Runaan knows something of what the mirror is. He is coined.

3x03: While Runaan is believed to be dead, it is shown to the audience that he is stuck between life and death in the Lotus pond.

3x08: We see Lain and Tiadrin. It is implied they are coined.

3x09: Viren has the coins, taunting Rayla about them. This likewise teases that her parents were coined and reminds us that Runaan is too.

4x07: We learn about the quasar diamonds, which is set up for S5. Rayla also mentions how Runaan used moon opals to create illusion spells.

4x08: Rayla offers to sacrifice her blades and explains their connection to Runaan and Ethari, and how she believes she won't ever see them again. This is pretty blatant setup for the next episode in which

4x09: Rayla tries to save and then receives the coins from Claudia. This is also when it is finally confirmed that Lain and Tiadrin were coined as well. She and Stella escape Umber Tor (this is also how Rayla learns about Stella's portal powers).

5x01: Rayla investigates the dungeons to find out what happened to Runaan / how the coins work. She finds a 'mystery human' in a 4th coin. She determines that while she wants to help her family, she can't bring herself to prioritize it while the world is still in danger and that Callum and Ezran need her.

5x02: We meet the mystery human and find out that he is Kpp'Ar, Viren's old mentor. Rayla uses Runaan's bow and Ethari's arrows (thanking the latter) to defend herself against a corrupted banther.

5x04: Rayla tells Callum the truth about the coins and her pain concerning them. He immediately wants to help her and finds a potential solution concerning the coins: quasar diamonds at the Starscraper. Callum intends to personally free them himself and risks all of their present lives to get the information.

5x05: Karim summons the Bloodmoon Huntress, Kim'Dael, to do his bidding. As we know thanks to the graphic novel of the same name, she has history with Rayla, Runaan, and Ethari.

TDP loves to set things up, add to it a little for a season, and then make it a major focus.

Think of how Claudia and Soren didn't see their dad again after 1x06 until 3x03 - that's about 14 episodes, roughly half of Arc 1! Or how nothing that Viren does in S1 or S2 affects the trio at all until his kids catch up with Callum, Ezran, and Rayla in 2x02, or his own actions until close to 3x04 and 3x08 - once again, seasons apart.

Thus, the breaks in between the Moon Fam development makes sense, even if as laid out before, Rayla's relationship with them and the coins are developed 4/5 seasons. In particular, Rayla's relationship with Runaan and Ethari are more developed and emphasized, additionally, than her relationship with her biological parents. And what's more, thanks to both the Nova Blade and the Quasar Diamonds being rumoured to be at the Starscraper, let's talk about

Plot Relevancy

As soon as we'd learned there was a fourth coin, I assumed that Kpp'Ar was imprisoned inside it, simply because 1) he's close to Viren, 2) he 'mysteriously disappears,' and 3) his name sounds like fucking copper. It is implied in the Book Two: Sky novelization that Kpp'Ar has Plot Relevant Information about Aaravos (and possibly the relic staff) as well as whatever Viren did to save Soren (and his own dark magic misdeeds).

The novelization confirms that Kpp'Ar had a box that perfectly matched the one Aaravos uses inside the mirror for the bug pal spell. Kpp'Ar is also a master of puzzles and could very well be the descendant of the Jailer, who created the now infamous puzzle of the prison, in addition to having a wide berth of magical knowledge.

This implied connection to the prison would make the most sense if Kpp'Ar gets out before Aaravos is freed, and Aaravos will have to be freed in season six. And if Kpp'Ar is getting out of his coin, then the Moon fam are also getting out of theirs before the season finale.

There's also the Kim'Dael plotline to consider. While she is a menace in S5, Janai implies that she is not at her full powers, claiming, "This is a monster you do not want unleashed." Given that Karim has the sun seed and an army, he will likely become King of Lux Aurea and able to free Kim'Dael in S6 as well. This sets up the Moon fam all working together with Rayla to defeat her in S7.

So thanks to Kpp'Ar and Kim'Dael, the Moon fam is tied to two ongoing plotlines that have to get underway sooner rather than later. They are also three of the few characters to have presumably known what the mirror was. Runaan seems to outright know something ("That mirror? You have found something worse than death") and for Lain and Tiadrin, it is implied, as it seems they stayed behind ultimately to guard the mirror > Zym's egg (given that they tried to have Hendryr take the egg with him) because they knew it falling into the wrong hands could be dangerous. This means that when the three of them do come sprawling out of the coins, they will immediately understand the stakes of Aaravos' imminent or potential release.

The "two relevant plotlines" is under the assumption as well that Callum's pursuit of Star magic in order to free them is not what ultimately leads to him 1) him being possessed (with Rayla being called upon to kill him again, generating a potential interesting conflict with Runaan) or 2) snowballs into being what releases Aaravos. In which case they'd be tethered to Three Plotlines. But in some ways, they already are, because of how Runaan in particular is going to impact each of

The Trio

or why the "Ezran short story indicating Ezran is going to have lots of big nasty feelings about Runaan's rescue and survival is the best thing that could've ever happened, thank you" section. You can read the short story here if you haven't already (and I highly recommend it).

Okay, but why is this a good thing? Well...

We know next season that Callum and Rayla are heading to the Starscraper, likely now that things with Aaravos have resolved enough and/or to get the Nova Blade because things have escalated very quickly. However, as previously discussed, while Callum might do some plot relevant snowball shit to get them out of the coins, from an emotional arc standpoint, he's more likely to struggle with Runaan once the assassin is out. As of now, Callum is wholly dedicated to helping Rayla get her parents out of the coins (as he states and reaffirms in 5x04). The fact the Starscraper also has the Nova Blade is a nice preventative bonus. But this current lack of 'big feelings' means that Rayla was our main emotional tether to how people are Feeling about the coin plotline, from a character standpoint.

Enter Ezran and his anger. Not only does it expand his character, it gives the audience another piece of emotional investment and complication in the coin plotline, even if we're still inclined to be more for freeing Runaan than not (which is where Ez may fall). And it also introduces that complication for Callum.

Rayla and Ezran, and Ezran and Callum, rarely argue. Now Ezran is going to be presumably pitted against something Callum wants to do for Rayla, being torn between the two people he loves the most, with Ezran possibly feeling betrayed by the two people he loves the most.

So now there's an emotional investment with all three of the main characters - for Ezran, his anger in contrast with his hopes for peace; for Callum, devotion to Rayla and more importantly in this vein at least, disagreement with his brother; and of course, Rayla being caught up in magic that may have a steep price to pay in order to free her family (and what Runaan may encourage her to do once he is freed, re: killing Callum).

The brothers have to resolve their conflict; Rayla has to get her family back; Runaan's responses to each of these things, and indeed being freed, opens up a lot more avenues. TDP has never taken the easy way out when it comes to character development and complicated emotion. Viren was saved from a similar fate to his former prisoner so that he could develop further - otherwise why keep a character alive? Runaan (and the others) are going to be freed by the end of S6 if not earlier than the finale by a decent margin, and have enough time to change, stumble, and grow alongside their daughter and her friends - while defeating Kim'Dael together as a family, I think. #Justformerassassinthings

Conclusion

S6 is go time and it's gonna be great, Runaan and Ethari are gonna get a good chunk of screentime together, Runaan is one of the most important driving forces within S6's setup, and they all still have places to go as characters. Thank you goodnight

[nalyra-dreaming]

No criticism or offense, just my honest opinion. I think too much is made from that one quote of Hannah's interview. She never said Lestat is "pure evil" or randomly commits acts of violence without any reason or remorse. But rape is violent and bad, no matter the context. I don't think 1x05 was added for shock value but fits into a larger narrative (and was always meant to be revisited which Hannah couldn't say yet at the time of the interview). It is different than in the books, so I get it why people are upset. But this is the story they are telling in the show. The fight in 1x05 is not a random act of pure evil intention, but has context. I think Akasha's blood will also play a role here. And tbh Lestat did a lot of bad things in book 1, which was more emotionally manipulative, but I don't think that is "morally better" than physical violence. Lestat will get all his nuance in s3 and further. He already has more nuance in the show than in book 1. I'm sad to see Hannah constantly criticized over one thing, while she is such an amazing writer and we are lucky to have her. This is just my opinion, everyone is free to disagree of course.

All good.

That is why I say it was a “season one current“ statement. I also expect Akasha’s blood and Amel (actually) to play a big part in further reveals of that fight, something which might be in s3 and s4 actually (bit by bit).

This is a touchy subject. I did say in the other ask (the one before) that she also wrote other scenes (and I posted other asks where I commented on that as well), she is a great writer! I do get why that quote would make people (including me) uneasy though.

The future will tell :)) Even bringing up the possibility of there being more to this than just Lestat being “abusive and evil“ got me labeled as abuse apologist after s1. No matter the clues we already got. Emotions are very high on this subject and some proverbial wounds have been festering (and those wounds were intentional by the show!). And then there’s Sam, sneaking in lines, and having long, long calls on the subject of Lestat and Levan asking if he’s just “evil“ (after supposedly having read the books?!) So… More nuance? Maybe. But what kind of nuance^^

I know… they are trying very hard not to give the whole game away ^^ But it all comes together rather… messily, especially fandom-wise.

Again, as said in the other ask, I‘m happy to be proven wrong.

I hope I am :)

[adrianlyles]

time for the question I have been wanting to ask you: top 5 fave natessa scenes

and while we're at it, maybe dair, rufly, and jenate. brooklyn/ues pairing supermacy!

oh, this is gonna be a long one (+ these r all in somewhat particular orders)...

natessa:

1. 2x03 hand kiss - it's just so cute and the mood lighting of the black out just makes it so perfect 2. 2x16 "well, there's no reason. i just wanted to see you." <3 3. 1x15 first kiss - i had to put this in here, like it's just so sweet (+ i love vanessa's yellow dress) 4. 2x18 "you're watching the age of innocence?" "it's heartbreaking." "so are you." 5. 2x17 a masked vanessa knocks on nate's door - their whole plotline with c*uck is so chaotic this episode i love it and this scene is the perfect chaotic end

dair (god this one was hard, and i have so many i couldn't include):

1. 5x16 "remember when you won that essay competition, and your mother was too busy to even show up to watch you get your award? who came, even though you treated him so terribly?" "dan came to that?" "uh, see, dylan's always here for you, even when you don't even know it. no matter how you treat him, he cares about you, not in spite of who you are, but because of it." "dan loves me for me." - literally crazy. i died dead. don't even have to watch the scene and the buzz is insane. they kill me. best ship on this evil show. 2. 4x18 "with you, she was always caught up in schemes and takedowns, but that's not that's not really her. she's intelligent. she's intuitive, you know? she she weeps when she watches nights of cabiria." - they don't even have to be in the same room as each other and the buzz is crazy. + this one always has a special place in my heart when i remember when i posted terrible screenshots of this scene on twt and chair's quoted me to hell as if their ship isn't evil and named after a piece of furniture -_- 3. 5x19 "i have hit rock bottom. what is going on?" "i, uh, i thought you should get to feel like a princess one last time." - i'm crying, i'm literally crying. jaiden, i'm so sorry in advance for how i act when we get to dair's story you'll be so sick of me. 4. 1x04 "she's best friend's with this girl - blair waldorf - who is everything i hate about the upper east side distilled into one 95-pound, doe-eyed, bon mot tossing, label-whoring package of girlie evil." "no one's that bad." "she is. i would barely be exaggerating if i told you medusa wants her withering glare back." "well, if there's anything i've learned it's that usually there's something beneath the surface with people like that to make them act the way they do." - oh dair, the enemies to lovers that you are! and the rufly comparison!!! 5. 4x11 "... seeing nenette at film forum." "i'm seeing nenette at film forum." "you like french documentaries about orangutans?" "nenette is an inspiration." - an underrated pick, but important nonetheless. my twin flames <3 and yes i have seen this film before, i am a true shipper!

rufly:

1. 1x11 "and i seemed to have walked all the way from brooklyn to your doorstep… without a jacket… in the snow. so, what the hell… i miss you… and I've been missing you for a while." - oh, rufus ur crazy as hell and i love it! earth shattering scene. 2. 1x01 first scene together - idk why this one always stuck with me but it's just so good at establishing their banter and past together, i just love it. 3. 2x25 "marry me, lily. marry me. i know that would make me your, uh, fifth husband... so?" "yes." <3 4. 1x05 heartfelt convo whilst making food - i just love their domesticity, they were married before they were even married. 5. 3x05 wedding - duh, how could i not. (i hate the writers so much for making them get a divorce)

jenate (this was difficult too, i love them so bad!):

1. 3x17 "you know you can always come to me, right" + birthday cake celebration - idk what it is about this scene but it's just so cute! + the rina parallel, they're so tethered 2. 2x08 "you are not my father and you are not my brother, so why do you care so much?" "because." + kiss - i had too! like it's just such a good scene!!! 3. 1x08 heartfelt conversation - the start of their friends to lovers story and another rina parallel <3 4. 2x09 kiss + "so, does that mean you don't regret last week?" "i guess not." 5. 3x09 nate escorting jenny - my power couple

[beingsupahbi]

Jess Watches // Mon 15 July // Day 291 & Tues 16 July // Day 292 Synopses & Favourite Scenes & Poll

Dead Hot 1x05

Without Jess, Elliott calls on other friends to solve a murder.

Model hubby isn't The Brutalizer and just seems to really love his wife. Good for them tbh. And if Peter is Toddler-Jesus's dad, did Tina use the kid's DNA to match with Jess? Can Elliott please stop being selfish for long enough to help rescue her? I kinda hope Jess does it on her own and realizes she's better off without him.

The Expanse (rw with mum) 3x08 It Reaches Out

An old friend taunts Holden with the answers he seeks; Naomi struggles to fit in; a mysterious low-level tech aboard the Thomas Prince enacts a terrifying plan.

Holden methodically going through all the tests and possible reasoning as to why he's started hallucinating Miller. Amos not judging as long as he steers clear of the coffee maker.

Avoidance (with mum) 2x01

Jonathan's attempt to win back Claire backfires when he discovers her big secret. Dan and Courtney get a surprise at their baby scan - it's a boy.

Fun fact: My cousin went to first school with Matthew Lewis. Claire does not seem as committed as he is to their relationship. His intensity only matched by Courtney maybe lol. Also, Is it getting hot in herre?

Extraordinary Attorney Woo Ep 12 Yangtze River Dolphin

Young-woo encounters Hanbada's dark side while working on a wrongful termination lawsuit. Jung Myeong-seok fears he has a target on his back.

🐬 Lee Bongryun has been in half the kdrama's I've seen. It's always fun when she pops up because you know her character will be kind but take no shit. 🐬

WondLa 1x01 Doors

An intruder attacks Sanctuary 573, forcing Eva above ground. Alone, she relies on her survival skills and a cryptic note labeled "WondLa".

Raya Eva growing up on her own with a Multi-Utility Task Help Robot raising her while learning how to be human. The character design was unsurprisingly unoriginal but I enjoyed the set up and the colourful world for her to explore.

[mesillusionssousecstasy]

THE IDOL 1x05: Review

The big winner of this episode is the song “Like a God” by the Weeknd.  And I liked some of the cinematic shot of this episode. C’est chiadé.

The big loser of the entire series are the make-up and the cloths (I’m laughing at Natasha Newman-Thomas the so-called “Costume Designer”). 

This final episode unveils the casualties from Jocelyn and Tedros’ fallout, which leads to a massive struggle for power and control. 

But it’s absurde to say that Tedros is Jocelyn’s victim. 

If there are some victims, it would be Dyanne and Leia for sure! 

First thing first, for the first time, Jocelyn called him a con man and a fraud in front of everyone, while Tedros is still high on drugs (after so many days). We also learned that since forever Tedros has this crazy plan to meet with Jocelyn and make her fall in love with her. Why during this entire conversation, Chloé is wearing the costume of the Devil?

Also, what’s up with Xander who is now living in the basement with the rest of Tedros’ family knowing that he’s got a big bedroom upstairs. Oh and apparently no one is working at the night club anymore, right? They are all hanging at Jocelyn now.  To this point, I still don’t understand the purpose of the character “Head”, the guy covered with tattoos, can he sing too haha. Oh sorry, we now have a name: His name is Mitch.

The way they are treating the poor cleaning ladies again. 

It was so fucked up to watch a room filled with grown up people watching “kids” almost naked and sexually dancing for them, especially Chloé, who is supposed to be underage. Her outfit was so disgusting and didn’t highlight her body, nor her ass. 

Yes, Sam Levinson has especially something with young lady’s ass. At least, we didn’t have sex scene in this episode, thank god! 

At the beginning, Jocelyn rallies the cult together and offers them something Tedros could never: a chance at true stardom and sharing their art with the world. It wasn’t just a victim in distress trying to remove a toxic presence in her life, but also a power move on Jocelyn’s behalf to secure the credit and ownership over the Family, and this new era of her career. Throughout all the chaos, Jocelyn blows away Nikki, Finkelstein, and Chaim with her four new artists as well as her three new singles. Jocelyn proved to herself and those in doubt that her artistic instincts and her ability to play the Hollywood game is unmatched.

Watching Nikki try to win Tedros’ favor in order to claim ownership of the new talent while Chaim and Destiny were discussing working as an independent label really underscored how, at the end of the day, this is a business and money is at the forefront of their minds.

While Rob career is destroyed and no one give a fuck about it. They even want Jocelyn to have no part in it. 

Well, as expected, Dyanne was chewed up and spit out of the Hollywood machine just like a million other aspiring idols. You see, Nikki, only presented Dyanne with an offer because of her doubts regarding Jocelyn’s career. Now that she has seen the true potential of Jocelyn’s new era, all of the support and power they were willing to give to Dyanne has been taken and given back to Jocelyn. I know some of you may think Jocelyn requested to screw over Dyanne, but, again, I think the true villain is the record label. They made Dyanne sigh away her life and rights away to the label, and I’m assuming she cannot release music without their direct approval or oversight. Given that the World Class Sinner lawsuit is most likely a lie to cover up their renewed interest in Jocelyn, Dyanne’s career is over before it ever even started. 

I’m wondering what Leia wrote to Jocelyn in her letter. Where did she go?

This leads to Tedros reputation, which wasn’t much to begin with, to be completely smeared in the public eye, which was quite terrible to watch when the three of them where laughing because they ruined him entirely knowing that he is the one responsable for this entire world tour. This effectively kills the interest in his night club and causes him to shut down his business. And, none of his cult members desire to be attached to him or known as his students of art, because of the horrendous controversies surrounding him. What’s truly interesting about this sequence of events is that it’s somewhat hinted at from the beginning of the show. Some of you speculated that a character was going to die at the end of the season, and you all were right for the most part. However, it was not a literal death but more so an ego death. The idea and concept of Tedros, something that he prided himself in crafting, was completely killed and destroyed by the power and might of Jocelyn’s will. In the end, he is just the failed con man, Mauricio Jackson (reference to Mickael Jackson of course). Does this mean that Jocelyn was the mastermind all along? And was everything she told Tedros, and everyone else, a lie? Let’s start with what I believe to be true: I think Jocelyn was definitely in a dark place grieving the death of her mother, and that she hadn’t processed her trauma in a healthy way. We hear about and see her having mental breakdowns as she copes with her loss, which also manifests itself as self-harm during her darkest moments. Being surrounded by these feelings that weigh her down and cloud her vision, I do think it affected the way she felt about her music on a deeper lever. Now let’s go into what I don’t believe to be true: I don’t think Jocelyn is a victim of the people around her, and I don’t think she is without agency or power. The title reference the source of her power: she can sense that others will idolize and follow her. We see at the beginning of the series how Jocelyn can reflect what other people want or believe to be true about her, and she uses that to her advantage. She will allow people to exploit her to a certain point, but she will always come out on top. Remember, it has been alluded to that she has been in the industry since childhood (btw how old is she now??), and you can’t remain that famous and relevant by being complacent or a pushover in the Hollywood system. I mean Dyanne was in it for two seconds before she became a nobody in the blink of an eye. I believe that is why, when Tedros asked about the hairbrush, he realizes that part of her background was made up in order to give him this illusion of power over her. While I’m not saying she wasn’t abused by her mother, because their relationship did seem toxic and all-consuming at times (just listen to the lyrics of “Like a God”, I feel as though she may have taken some liberties about how it all happened. We’ve seen Jocelyn’s history with self-harm, so maybe the bruises and scares she spoke about. We’ll never know, because no one bothered to step in and intervene, which I believe to be true, so only Jocelyn and her mother know the truth. In the end, Jocelyn got what she wanted: inspiration for her new era of music and a wildly successful comeback. So much so, that she sold out a world tour in three weeks, all of her new singles were massive hits on the charts, and the honestly around her life and trauma created a ride-or-die massive hits on the charts, fanbase with undying loyalty. And, to the confusion and anger from her team, she reveals to them and her fans that the man who inspired her, and whom she loves, Tedros, even though Vanity Fair’s article destroyed him and she is indirectly responsable for it. This goes against everything now that everyone knows who is Tedros, Mauricio Jackson. How people/her fans will accept that Jocelyn’s boyfriend was a pimp and a criminal. How could they forget that. 

That’s why Destiny wasn’t surprised when she saw Tedros invited backstage. She was the one inside the house watching everyone and everything during a week. I think she was smart enough to realise who was in control during all this time.   

I love the mirror scene with Jocelyn coming from them. The symbolic of it. 

It took me a moment, but it started to click when I realized this was another facet of Jocelyn’s utter control of her situation and the people around her. She needed to lean into the idea that Tedros was nothing but trouble to the people in her inner circle, so that she could ask them for their help to strip him of his power and everything he had when the moment was right. That way, despite his ego and manipulations, she was always 10 steps ahead of him and the one in control all along. 

I’m wondering if she will even think of opening her own music label with Tedros’ artists. That would be very interesting. 

I honestly thought the show did a fair job at layering the different perspectives of exploitation in the music industry and raised a lot of provocative questions regarding the creative process and digging into the source of what inspires art that resonates on a deeper level. I hate to break it, but not everything inspired comes from a place of rainbows and sunshines, nor is it a smooth and linear process. On the contrary. Similar to Jocelyn’s story, it may take a journey into the darkness in order to find the light that may connect to and inspire others. And, at the end of the day, whether you watched it out of love or you watched it out of hate. The worst thing art can do is exist without stirring some sort of an intense emotion, regardless of what that emotion may be. Anyway, I’ll be listening to the full music album of the series on repeat starting tomorrow, for the next week or so. 

Tedros, be careful for what you wished for. 

ps: What happened to the publicist, Benjamin, he ran away with the audience? hahah

[stolasbuckzo]

Proof that Blitz is in LOVE with Stolas in return (but won’t admit it and isn’t ready to yet):

• In 1x05: “Moonlight Harvest Festival”

* Stolas announced he needed the grimoire for the annual Moonlight Harvest Festival (and Blitz need it too for 15 clients waiting for “heads to roll” >>> ☠️ = 💥 ���)

• Stolas convinced Blitz to accompany him to the event — announcing that “they (I.M.P) couldn’t do jackshit without his book anyway” — and had eventually agreed to it

* After Stolas playfully apologised to Blitz for making his clients wait he said without hesitation “oh, fuck my clients”

(Which, in my opinion, sounds more like putting his boyfriend over work. Like: 'you’re coming to support me of this thing I'm going to be the host of, right?' 'of course I am! Fuck work!', funny how situationship works 😏)

• After Millie announced that the prince was her boss’s “boyfriend” Blitz told her that he wasn’t above hitting a female in front of Joe

(BUT! He didn’t exactly deny it either and he could have said 'Ew! No! Stolas is NOT my boyfriend' etc so, call it what you want, whether it be embarrassment or something else, but I know denial when I see it 😏)

* Blitz ties to explain his relationship with Stolas — after Striker asked how he had “conned that ditzy blue blood” — and had got NERVOUS (or maybe didn’t know how to label what their relationship is) about the question:

• Blitz becomes “boyfriend activated” (LMAO) after he had learnt that Striker was trying to assassinate Stolas behind the former’s back

(Now an interesting thing here is — though he referred to Stolas as his “easiest lengthy ticket to Earth” — that even with him dead he could have continued with the grimoire without the strings attached, but no, he decided to save the Prince’s life by stopping Striker. Unless you care about someone (platonic or romantic) enough to NOT want to have them killed

• Blitz even had that “boyfriend” look (filled with insecurities) when Striker told him that Stolas treated him nothing — allegedly — more than a “plaything”

• In 1x06 “Truth Seekers”

* Blitz looked at Stolas’s demonic form in awe (like you would to a boyfriend doing something nice for you like SAVING your goddamn life 😆)

• He closed his eyes — seemingly to enjoy the affection or he was just mid-eye roll — when Stolas caressed his face (before lecturing him about how he had been caught by humans etc)

* Then again Blitz HAD just returned from his psychological torture where Stolas had caressed him during his trip 😵‍💫

• He was nervous (?) when he leaned forward towards Stolas for “rescuing him” and his crew, even initiated the French kiss furthermore

• In 1x07 “Ozzie’s”

(Part 1: Blitz’s POV)

1) Blitz was pacing back and forth like he was a nervous boyfriend for his first date (when in reality he was irritated by Stolas’s “tardiness” & didn’t want to miss out on M&M’s date night)

2) Both during and after Ozzie’ Blitz was heartbroken when Stolas hid his face from him (normally you wouldn’t care about that if you were a one-night-stand because you made an agreement to not fall in love which is the basic rule of it)

3) Blitz actually drove Stolas home, who could’ve easily just had created a portal to the Goetia mansion

* Which was actually MORE decent than anything we’ve seen Blitz do

4) The first thing that came up in Blitz’s photos him was Stolas and cuddling after sleeping together. Again, if you were just a ONS (and nothing more) why would you have something like that alongside your friends & family unless you CARE)

• In 1x08 “Queen Bee”

(Part 2: Loona’s POV)

• Blitz showed clear evidence that he was hurt from the events of “Ozzie’s” (Part 1) and hinted it without actually bringing it up publicly and pretty much drank his problems away under the table

“You believe the night I’ve had. I need this shit.” - Blitz in 1x08 hinting at his cataclysmic “date” with Stolas

• At the end of episode Blitz slurred out the names of people he’s mostly close to (outside of his daughter of course 😆) which are M&M — for obvious reasons — but also Stolas

• 2x01 “The Circus”

* N/A

• 2x02

• Blitz nervously asked Moxxie what he was going to tell Stolas (talk about husband activated) and Octavia making off with the grimoire into the human world

* Stolas becomes furious with Blitz — after he had received the phone call (again, PISSED husband activated 😆)

• Blitz actually blushed at the sight of Stolas’s human form before shaking it off

* Stolitz also argued like a normal couple would (more on of a husband level which Blitz briefly admired (if not a little shocked) him for the self-confidence which soon turned into annoyance; probably because he couldn’t manipulate the owl anymore >>> especially when it came to his missing daughter 😬)

• Blitz stilled at Stolas’s dominance and had swallowed hard by clear arousal (after being reassured / flirted with about “his performance in bed”

• After Stolas voiced his concern to Blitz about Octavia’s safety and who had reassured him — on a boyfriend / husband level 😏 — and that “she was in good hands”

* Related as a dad, himself, if Loona gone missing and or was been in danger

• 2x03 “Exes and Oohs”

• Equates Chaz’s bedroom performance in comparison to Stolas’s (okay I might be reading it a little bit too much, but whatever, I know Blitz has feelings for the Prince and it’s at the back of his mind, despite what happened at Ozzie’s 😈)

• Complains to Millie about how Chaz wasn’t even rich (hm… who ELSE do we know is insanely rich? 😉)

• 2x04 “Western Energy”

• Blitz became enraged when he found out that Stolas was kidnapped (not to mention it was bad timing because he had an appointment at the hospital for Loona’s hellbies shot)

• Blitz was the first one to have caught sight of Stolas — or at least his tailpiece — hanging off the stretcher and was deeply concerned (on a boyfriend / husband platonic level) about his condition and was surprised that he could even be hurt

• Blitz platonically sent a text message to Stolas for him to “get better soon” with a sad face at the end of it

* but had felt too guilty — not knowing that Stolas could be hurt physically due to not taking his kidnapping seriously — to respond when told he could visit him in hospital

• 2x08 “The Full Moon” (TBA)

[cobbbvanth]

hi im just curious as to why you chose paul for the token straight character, despite him being canonically trans? no hate, i've only recently started the show but it's really confusing to me that a trans character would be placed in the token straight role when there's other straight characters

hi anon, very happy to answer this!

paul being trans is referring to his gender identity (ftm), but his sexuality is something separate from that. as a man who is attracted to women, he identifies as straight. one of my favourite scenes in the show is the short exchange between paul and carlos at the end of 1x05 where paul says "so i guess he told you about me," referring to tk telling carlos about paul being trans. but carlos replies "what, that you're straight? yeah. i don't judge." this little scene subverts paul's expectation that people can't help but tell someone else when they find out he's trans and instead opens up the space for paul to be the token straight friend in the company of the two gay men he's hanging out with. he doesn't have to feel 'othered' for being trans, he just gets to have a fun night out with the guys <3

that's probably more explanation than you were expecting, but to me it was the funniest option to place paul as the token straight because that a) validates his sexuality without drawing attention to his being trans, and b) he doesn't really fit any of the other labels askjhfldkas

i hope that helps!

[icedteaandoldlace]

For someone soft and sensitive, this world is less than fair.

[sun-undone]

OBX details that make me feral (13/?)

The hot tub scene because as a JJ stan I am legally required to make a post about it

So many amazing things have been written and created about this scene, but I wanted to just add whatever I could to the discussion! (only 2 years late to the party i know i know)

Why does JJ spend the money in the first place?

Since I've been on a spree of looking at JJ's behaviors through a psychological lens, I feel like this scene is definitely one of the most interesting to analyze from that perspective.

I talked a lot about defense mechanisms in my previous post about 1x07, and pretty much all of those concepts are important to keep in mind when thinking about this scene. When trying to understand JJ's mindset and motivations, it's absolutely necessary to look back at the day as a whole and remember the emotional turmoil that he's experienced just in this one day alone (this whole show takes place over the course of like a month so even more reason to get all these kids into therapy STAT). Because of all the emotional baggage that has built up throughout the day, JJ is in desperate need of some relief. But since he's not exactly the best at relieving his distress in a healthy way, his "relief" comes in the form of defense mechanisms, which really just shield him from properly feeling the force of the emotions that are weighing on him.

Acting out

I talked about acting out before, and I feel like the overall definition of this one is the most self-explanatory. This defense is one of the most immature and least adaptive because it is often self-destructive; it causes even more problems.

We know that JJ generally has a pretty jaded, negative view of himself and his future, and the events of the day have probably brought all of those feelings right up to the surface. After having the argument with the Pogues, he undoubtedly feels like a fuck-up for disappointing his friends, and I would imagine that the fight with Luke only makes him feel even lower. Each of those blows to his self-image, one right after the other, definitely makes him think, "well who cares if I blow all the money?? I'm gonna end up alone and in jail anyway".

Another interesting aspect of his acting out is how exactly he decides to do it: he impulsively wastes all of the money and gets smashed. Which is pretty much what Luke wanted to do with the money (technically, he said he was gonna gamble it, but i'll argue that that's functionally the same thing as wasting it).

I just think it's so telling that JJ decides to self-destruct in a way that aligns himself with his father's own self-destructive tendencies. We've seen JJ get high a bunch already in this season, especially during/right after stressful situations (vaping after the first square groupers encounter in 1x02, smoking to "relax and lay low" when they go to the graveyard in 1x02/1x03, etc.) so he could've easily gotten high instead of drunk in this scene too, but nope. He specifically gets drunk, just like we saw Luke do in 1x05 after bailing JJ out of jail. Which brings me to the self-fulfilling prophecy part of all this.

Self-fulfilling prophecy

Pretty sure this one isn't considered a defense or a coping mechanism, but it's more of just a general concept that I definitely think is influencing the specific way in which JJ acts out in this scene. It's more like the lens through with the defenses are filtered.

In case anyone doesn't know, a self-fulfilling prophecy is basically when you have a certain belief, so you subconsciously act in a way that makes the people around you respond in a way that confirms that original belief. A classic example is a teacher labeling a student as an underachiever early on in the semester. Without realizing that they're doing it, that teacher might not call on the student as often or give them the attention that they'd give to other students. And because of that treatment, the student will likely stop trying to achieve in the class, which confirms the teacher's original belief that the student was an underachiever all along.

In JJ's case, he absolutely holds the beliefs (courtesy of Luke) that he will never amount to anything, that he's worthless, and that he's just a bad kid in general. And these ideas have been brought up throughout the day via John B saying "If you keep going down this road, you're gonna end up just like your dad", the Pogues saying that they're "sick of [his] shit", and of course Luke physically and emotionally beating him down afterwards.

(gif from @tweedlydumbtweedlydoo)

So with all of these moments fresh in his mind at the end of a very emotionally taxing day, he embodies the exact version of himself that he does not want to be.

JJ wants to be better than his father, so he copes just like how Luke would, by blowing a bunch of money and getting drunk. He desperately wants to do the right thing and to be loved by the Pogues, so he does the exact wrong thing that he knows will make them disappointed in him.

The fact that he reacts in a way that facilitates confirmation of his worst qualities by the people he loves most just makes the scene that much more heartbreaking. And it also makes me think that maybe a part of him, deep down and far away from conscious awareness, wants to let himself hit his lowest point so he can break down and finally allow himself to be comforted. He can’t directly open up to the Pogues because he’s emotionally closed off (in general, but even more so in this moment because of all the compiled stress of the day). But he can open up in a much more indirect (and not super healthy) way by going off the rails and being the worst version of himself that he can be, hoping that maybe they’ll realize themselves that something is seriously wrong, which is basically what happens.

Reaction formation and denial

I talked about this neurotic defense a bit in a previous post about jiara, and I think it's potentially back to haunt us (me) here. The short version of the concept is that sometimes, when people are hurting emotionally and feel like they have to hide their true feelings, they'll act in the complete opposite way of their impulse.

This one might be a stretch and more a consequence of him being smashed than anything else, but the way that JJ acts so excited and carefree at the beginning of this scene just screams reaction formation to me. He should be acting super dejected because that's the behavior that would match the internal emotion, but nope. He's making jokes and brushing off Kie and Pope's frustrations like they're nothing (at least to a certain point). Maybe this is just me, but even when I imagine him buying all the shit and stringing up the lights, I imagine that he's doing it "happily" as a way to convince himself that everything's fine and that he's living the life.

It's also likely that there's just some plain old denial going on here as well, which contributes to the whole "push every emotion down and everything will be fine" mentality that he definitely seems to portray as the scene progresses.

Either way, I feel like the irony in the way that JJ is acting makes the scene so chilling and unsettling, because we know that he is hurting so badly right now, but he's all smiles. And once again, this could be the alcohol making him act like this, rather than a defense mechanism, but why not a combination of the two?

He's literally just so tired/the hot tub is a metaphor dude

Every single explanation really just makes this scene even more depressing jesus christ

But yeah this last one isn't a defense (but it could potentially be considered a coping mechanism?? i really don't know), it's just the fact that in this moment, on top of all these other reasons for why he does what he does, I think he's also just fucking tired of being poor. And even more tired of being a Maybank.

This is a frustration of JJ's that we do see crop up consistently throughout the season, as he's usually the first one to bring up any wealth discrepancies and seems to be hyperaware of his incredibly low status on the island, even more so than the other low income Pogues. And more specifically in the context of 1x07, this idea is definitely salient in light of all the shit they've gone through to try to get the gold pawned off, and then later when JJ screams at Luke for giving him "nothing but a shitty life".

Along with his more personal insecurities weighing down on him throughout the day, he also has to grapple with the fact that the reason why he and the rest of the Pogues have already had to deal with so much shit is because of money. They've never experienced the ease that money can provide, and right about now, that ease sounds really nice to JJ.

I mean, it's a goddamn hot tub, the pinnacle of relaxation and luxurious ease. What a perfectly symbolic thing for JJ to gift to himself and his friends (family) in light of such a shitty, harrowing day.

One more thing about him just wanting to experience some luxury for once in his life: I adore how this is the only scene (i think in the entire series?) where he's not wearing his signature shark tooth necklace. And he's swapped it out for a fancy gold necklace instead, which is even further evidence for him trying to “try on” a different lifestyle and at least momentarily detach from the tribulations of his own life as a Pogue and as a Maybank.

Some quick color theory analysis that might be complete bullshit

This is just something that I noticed once, and ever since that rewatch (idek what number it was) I haven't been able to unsee it, so I just have to mention it even if some of it is a tad bit contrived.

So the lights in and around the hot tub are constantly shifting through blue, green, and red in this scene, and since obx actually despises continuity, it's hard to say that there's distinct color theory going on throughout the entire scene. BUT in one particular segment, I'd argue that either by coincidence or by some lighting person making a good call, the colors actually do line up pretty well with the emotions that JJ is expressing.

Broad strokes: I think blue symbolizes sad vulnerability, red symbolizes angry vulnerability, and green is just more of a transitional color between the two. (all of these gifs are from @aceofwhump btw!!)

So here you can see the lights fading from green to blue as JJ's walls come down. He seems unable to deflect away from his sadness anymore, and as soon as Kie offers him comfort, he just lets himself completely fall into it. Yes, the light fades again into red once Kie embraces him but uhhhhh can we just ignore that please it doesn't fit into my agenda and it also switches pretty quickly (jarringly) once they cut to the next angle

And then here, on this longer shot of JJ just crying and holding onto Kie, the lights are mostly blue, which reflects his most vulnerable, dejected emotions pouring through.

But when he shifts from pure sadness to express more of his anger and frustration with Luke, the lights have very obviously shifted to a pretty stark red.

And then the lights shift one more time from red to blue as JJ returns to a less angry, more sad kind of vulnerability, this time being comforted by both Kie and Pope.

Does all of it fit? No. Do I care that much? Obviously not. The main part that I thought was cool and potentially intentional is the red lighting in the third gif, and then I just based everything else around that particular moment.

(once again, i know so many people have said so many amazing things about this scene, so i hope that even just one part of this was original!!)

((if you read all of this you're the best 🥰 i think we're finally done with 1x07 oh my god i never thought i'd say it but i am sick of that episode and i will not be watching it again for at least.....a couple of weeks))

previous post // next post

[tailoredshirt]

FIC: Take a leap (911 Lone Star)

TK and Paul missing scene from the end of 1x05 // AO3

*****

"So how long has that been goin' on?"

"What?" TK asked, frowning.

"I said," Paul moved closer to be heard over the sound of a Cher dance remix, "how long have you and Reyes been…" He nodded in the direction of the bathroom Carlos had disappeared to.

TK shook his head. "No, we're...we're not together. Why would you think that?"

"Uh…because I got eyes in my head?" Paul said.

TK wiped his mouth to hide an embarrassed smile. "It's…you know…" He gestured vaguely and fixed Paul with a knowing look. At Paul's raised eyebrows, he sighed. "It's not serious."

"Why not? He seems like a good guy. And I may be straight but I know a fine-looking man when I see one."

TK choked out a laugh over the rim of his bottle of mineral water. "Trust me, I also have eyes in my head. That's not the problem."

"So what is the problem, fam? This about Mr. 116 Days Ago?"

TK picked at the label of the bottle as he considered the question. Finally he said, "I'm just not ready yet, man."

"Not ready, or scared?"

TK rolled his eyes. "I'm not scared."

"Mmhmm," Paul murmured. "So you're not scared of getting invested in another relationship, only for your man to leave you for someone else?"

"Wow, thanks, dude. Good pep talk."

"It's called a kick in the pants, bro. Someone gave me one of those the other day. He said dating sucks, and everybody gets kicked in the head, but sometimes you gotta take a leap."

"Uh huh," TK said, nonplussed. "I think you're leaving some parts out. Like the part about analyzing the risks? And only leaping when you feel safe." He opened his mouth to continue but thought better of it and took a sip of water instead.

"So how long did you and Mr. Wonderful date?"

TK swallowed down the bitter taste in his mouth that he'd come to associate with thinking about Alex. "A year and a half."

"And he made you feel safe?"

"Yes. I mean no." TK shook his head, frustrated. "At first, yeah. But towards the end he got really distant, and I never knew what he was thinking. I assumed he was distracted or maybe stressed because of work. I never thought that he would…" He clenched his jaw and looked down at his water. "I just felt so stupid. There I was asking him to marry me, to spend our whole lives together, and he'd been falling in love with another guy for months."

"I like to think I'm pretty good at reading people," Paul said, and TK snorted at the understatement, "but your boy Carlos doesn't really seem like the cheating type."

"Yeah, well, neither did Alex," TK said bitterly. "He was so sweet and considerate. To everyone. When our friend found out her boyfriend had slept with his ex, Alex was the one bringing her ice cream and Kleenex. He's the last person I would have expected to do that."

They lapsed into silence again, and the bartender came over to check on them. Paul ordered each of them another mineral water. Neither of them spoke as the music changed to some EDM track that TK couldn't name. He was starting to think - and hope - that they were going to drop the subject, when Paul spoke again.

"That's the part that really sucks, isn't it?" he asked, leaning against the bar. "That someone we trust that much can do so much damage. We thought it was safe to let them in, past our defenses, and when it turns out they don't deserve our trust, we wonder if we can even trust ourselves."

TK raised an eyebrow at him, and Paul laughed.

"Yeah, we'll save those stories for when I can actually hear myself think."

"Fair enough."

"Anyway," Paul said, pointing his bottle at TK for emphasis, "the point is that you can't doubt your instincts forever. Eventually you're going to have to forgive yourself and take a chance on someone new."

"And I will! I'm just–"

"Not ready?" Paul asked. "You're never gon' be ready, man. If we all waited until we were ready, we'd die alone. You gotta get back up on that horse, and no, that is not a euphemism."

TK raised his eyebrows. "Save a horse, ride a cowboy?"

Paul grinned. "Hey, man, get it. I'll even make myself scarce. Help my boy out."

TK scoffed and hit him lightly on the shoulder. "No way, man. You're not going anywhere. And I'm not going home with him tonight anyway."

"Boy, you lyin' and you know it. Don't worry, I'm already planning to call an Uber. You're welcome."

TK narrowed his eyes at him as he took a sip of water. "Maybe I should have taken you bowling after all."

Paul snorted. "You know, bro, I imagine you're probably worse at bowling than me, and I'd actually pay to see that."

"Pay to see what?" Carlos asked, coming up next to TK and throwing an arm around his shoulders. "Sorry, line was really long."

Paul nodded at TK. "I was just imagining TK trying to bowl for the first time."

Carlos looked over at TK, eyes wide. "You've never bowled before? We should go sometime. I'll teach you," he said, pressing his hand against TK's lower back. He smelled faintly of cologne. Without thinking, TK leaned closer until their hips were pressed together.

"That would be fun," Paul said, and when TK looked over at him, he was smiling knowingly. "Wouldn't it?"

TK rolled his eyes and pulled away from Carlos. "C'mon, guys, let's dance."

[raayllum]

Regarding working on the video about arc 2, do you think people are upset with how ''slow'' the show is, some other plots being boring( their words, not mine) or that humans are the oppressed and that the Aaravos is the good guy somehow?

Most under a read more cause this got a lil long

I do think some of the arc 2 backlash is the perception that things are slower, and I would agree that for some characters S4 and S5 are paced slower (Claudia in S5 for example) than they have been since S1, I just disagree that it's a problem because character expansion is worthwhile and there are always new sides we're seeing or understanding to everyone throughout arc 2. I also think sometimes people conflate character development with "this character is doing things I want to see". For example, Soren at the beginning of S6 is more or less the same person he is at the end of S6, but his arc in S6 is widely praised. Because even though it isn't about change, there is a lot of emotional intensity, and that's fun to see. TDP has never been a show where emotional intensity is true for everyone all the time, though, and it's not as though Soren doesn't get those moments in previous seasons (S4 in particular has some pretty rough patches for him, emotionally)

so... Idk. S4 rips my heart out multiple every time I watch it, so the idea of it being less emotionally intense (even if S5 and S6 are undeniably more) in a bad way doesn't hold water for me, personally, but that's also just my own experience (which is, of course, all I can really draw on).

The main plot arc labelled as boring in Arc 2 is the Sunfire elf plotline. I like politics and worldbuilding and Janai as a character. I don't need it to be constantly connected to the main plot line because Viren's entire plotline as a character from 1x06 onwards (and even the bulk of 1x04 and 1x05) has no bearing on any of the entire main cast again until 3x03 (for Soren and Claudia)... so, two whole seasons? But that's Okay and Not Boring, presumably, because audiences were willing to accept a white man being a semi-protagonist / bc it was established early on, and when things shift to include other main characters - especially a Black, queer led plotline - that gets people's internal hackles raised, I suppose. There's very little criticism of the Sunfire elf plotline in S4 that doesn't feel like it's coming from a racist or queerphobic place, whether from disregarding Janaya's allegory and navigating religious differences (which you don't really have to do when you're Christian/raised atheist in a culturally Christian/agnostic culture), or even just hating Karim (who is a lot more like Viren) because he's an emotional Black man experiencing cultural grief (which the majority of a white Western audience cannot relate to, but Viren's entirely individual desire for power - esp taking power away from a Black family, is seen as far more sympathetic, for some reason).

As for "the humans are oppressed and Aaravos is the good guy" that's been a complaint throughout the show and isn't exclusive to arc 2, and it's one I've always thought was silly. By virtue of showing elves and humans working together as a good thing (all of season 1 onwards) the show implicitly condemns the expulsion of the humans and division of the continent until they finally do so in words from Ezran as a mouthpiece (6x07). It's not even so much debate over whether humans are oppressed (the system was unfair, but largely we see Xadia leaving them entirely alone after the expulsion, which again, was never justified in text in the first place) as it is a statement where even if you are oppressed or scared (and this goes for the elves too, and that half of them had to mutually leave their homes, which has been Completely unaddressed by the narrative outside of inklings at the Moon Nexus) that doesn't mean your ends justify your means. Given the state of global affairs, I don't think I have to explain why a traditionally oppressed people seeking to reclaim their perceived 'homeland' after centuries away by any means necessary, even if that means destroying the lives of everyone who's currently living there, makes "we're oppressed so it's okay" the ironclad argument people seem to think it is, and why challenging that view is routinely a worthwhile thing to do (it's also why conservative far right people love to have a persecution complex, too).

That said: none of this is stuff I plan to focus on the "in defense of arc 2" video. The goal of that video isn't going to be "you shouldn't have a problem with arc 2," because people are entitled to their feelings and trying to change them rarely works. The goal of the video is to talk about why I think choices were made, how the seasons fit with each other and arc 1, and why I think the choices the show made were the most effective for the Story the creators want to tell with respect to time constraints, etc. That's it and that's all.

[nalyra-dreaming]

I will agree with the previous anon re: the lestat hate.

It's hard to watch because of the writing choices that have been made so far.

Iwtv is supposed to have lestat as cruel and vicious and callous but this was...something else.

The drop? Lestat bartering away claudia in the trial to keep louis safe? Lestat treating claudia the way he did?

These choices will not be revisited and they are hard to swallow.

They have painted lestat as this cruel white abuser and that label us hard to rub off.

They are all vampires who do cruel shit to each other is being used as a blank statement for things that maybe are meant to spark a reflection for both the character and the audience.

Santiago is also a cruel abuser we are not supposed to root for him for a reason.

This may be making no sense 😅 but I just think the have taken too many liberties with lestats character and changed significant aspects of the plot that were essential ( lestat being burned, being addled in the trial, being pushed off the tower), and with rolin saying he doesn't want to stay in the past and now we're leaving the memory aspect behind, I get the sense we won't be getting revisits to many important plot points.

The comment that we have seen 80% of lestat keeps me up at night tbh 🫠

So I get the difficulty the anon is expressing

Season 3 will make or break this character, I think. What are your thoughts?

I get you.

As I have said, I am not happy with all the choices either, I said it in my season 2 recap as well.

I think that I know why they did it all like that, and of course the social and societal commentary is indeed incredible and... biting.

The show itself is brilliant.

But the ... laissez-faire attitude with which they chose to implement some of it (and I am referring here to the "surprise" at the uproar after 1x05 and the general statements on the choices there) left festering wounds in this fandom.

And the way that the seasons are now released will only deepen it again, at least for a long while.

I... can only recommend to strictly curate your timeline.

It's been much better for my mental health, tbh.

The show did this intentionally, that is something that has to be accepted.

Some people are so fixed in their image they have of the characters now (ironically on an EDITED TALE) they will be unwilling to follow the show, narratively. That also has to be accepted.

We are going to get TVL now. In TVL, Lestat also does not revisit too much of IWTV. I think we will get exactly that... a short comment on it, and then more context on Paris and the trial.

I have made my peace with that, for the most part.

Tbh. I also, like them, likely, am ready to move on from the edited tale. It's been going in circles, for years. And what we saw was not the truth.

So, nonny, I can only recommend for you to also just "leave behind" those who are stuck on the tale they've been spoon-fed. *shrugs*

We are going to get TVL.

They are on it.

First time this has been adapted.

Let's focus on that. :)

[sixstepsaway]

Some grist for the class/work ethic issues vs homophobia/femmephobia mill - while namby-pamby and ponce are both used as homophobic slurs now, namby-pamby originally meant weak and maudlin speech, and still means lacking courage, strength, and energy, ineffectual and weak. Sure this can be short-hand for "ew, gay" but reducing it to that strips it of context, of things like the individual characters and their dynamic and situation (that's what I find all of these reductive readings have in common actually - the depersonalization and dehumanisation of the individuals involved. They become empty shells you can slap a neat label on and move them around the board like game pieces).

Ponce? Wasn't used to mean "male homosexual" until the 1930s. Before that, in British slang, it meant a pimp, as in a man supported by immoral earnings. Unknown origin but possibly from the French pensionnaire - a person living without working.

Is David Jenkins using words that are really no different from f***** now, or is he using words that had a different more nuanced connotation then and play into the class issues and Izzy's fear of softness (not femininity and god I wish people would stop equating luxury with feminine). I have no idea.

Is he using those words as an audience shortcut to "Izzy simply thinks 'ew, gay'"? I don't see how, looking at the totality of the character and Con's performance (and later scripts were written with Con's performance in mind).

Is he using words that at first glance make us think "oh a homophobe" and if you don't think about it any further than the words used Izzy's story in S2 might be more of a surprise and if you do it might be more satisfying? I hope so.

Gonna start here because it's applicable to the whole rest of my thoughts:

that's what I find all of these reductive readings have in common actually - the depersonalization and dehumanisation of the individuals involved. They become empty shells you can slap a neat label on and move them around the board like game pieces

It isn't just depersonalization and dehumanization of Izzy and Ed, either, it's depersonalization and dehumanization of the people writing and participating in the show, too. I made the mistake of opening the Izzy Hands tag and I immediately found people arguing about racism from Izzy again and, like, saying why people should be "cautious" or "careful" about shipping him and Ed because of it, specifically talking about the scene where the people of color are moving the anchor and Wee John is sitting down (a scene Ed wasn't even in, mind), and one of the writers had explained that scene? And why it was done that way? And their take was to comment on how things can slide past the writers so easily? And I was just like-- but-- the writers wrote it-- I dunno. It feels very... "You can't write deliberately, you can only write how we see it."? I'm not sure I'm phrasing this right. It just seemed like a way of handwaving the reasons for the scene being the way it was because they wanted to keep seeing what they were seeing, I guess? I see a lot of that, in fandom, and they do the same thing re: Izzy being supposedly homophobic.

(I think if the entire cast bar like three people were white and Izzy was very specifically framed as cruel to those three people and the three people were doing hard labor and all the white people were seated and doing nothing, that...? would be different? but you have to frame the scene in question against 1x05 (Lucius) and against everything else Izzy has done so far? And it's... a dishonest reading, in my opinion (and as I've said, the opinion of fans of color who can and should talk about this far more than I can or should), and it's the kind of reading where they extract a singular scene from the entire show and then present it without context to say "Look! Bad!" and honestly you can do that with everything? You could extract the scene where Stede is bossing Roach around re: the hostages on the beach and show it without context and say how that is racist too, and how when Stede bosses Lucius around in the first few episodes he's being homophobic, or the way Stede reads stories to the crew and you could crop only the people of color into it and say he was infantilizing them, and so on.

When you divorce scenes and clips from their context, you, well, lose context, and it strips not only the characters and writers of their agency but also the actors who consented to take part in those scenes and deliver those lines.)

But that just comes back down to the essay I keep referencing that said it does the show a disservice to badly contextualize in this way, and people seem to think everyone should be a hive-mind about everything else, be it whether a show or scene is homophobic/racist/sexist/whatever or whether a character is likeable or not, even though everyone will always have differing ideas, including in reference to their own marginalization.

By the same token, when you take something like 'namby-pamby' firstly out of context and secondly pretend it's on the same level as the f-slur, you're just being disingenuous as fuck.

It's like that clip of some right-wing show I remember seeing, where the guy was like, "Is saying cracker as bad as saying the n-word?" and the overwhelming response was, "My dude, clearly the fuck not, since you said cracker and went with 'the n-word' instead of saying that. You knew it wasn't on the same level, or you would have said both equally and ya didn't."

So when they say, "Oh, well, Izzy said namby-pamby but we all know he was calling Ed a f***," they're being deliberately disingenuous to paint Izzy as worse than he is. You can do that for just about every line in the show if you want to, you can say, "Well, Stede said I'm your friend but we all know he was saying Please don't kill me."

Well, no, they mean different things. They are different words. Words mean things, and they are chosen deliberately, especially in a writing context! People choose words deliberately when they're speaking (so, the characters in question), and writers choose words with even more deliberate care and attention while writing.

Izzy didn't say the f-slur because the f-slur is not what he was saying.

Now, I know that the anachronisms in the show are a popular conversation to laugh about, so although you are absolutely right about namby-pamby not meaning what they imply it means, although it can be used in a homophobic manner as you say, but I'm willing to say that technically, they're probably using it in a more modern manner.

That said, it's still not equitable to the f-slur, and considering the use of 'donkey' earlier in the show, which was very specifically used to show the character in question as racist and then that character was immediately dealt with in response to that racism, I find it hard to believe that the person who wrote this line (David Jenkins, I assume, since it's 1x10) 'was actually meaning the f-slur'.

There's also the context that a queer man using a queer slurs against another queer man is miles different to a straight dude using a queer slur. Reclamation and all of that. So even if Izzy had used the f-slur, it would still be different in context (him also being queer, which is frankly canon due to the scenes with Lucius and the face touch with Ed, even without David Jenkins' word of god saying he's in love with Ed) than just a guy using a slur.

The ponce one amuses me especially since it was used against Stede in 1x04 and I mean, yeah. I know our Stede isn't a slave owner (thank god), but he's a landowner and the class slant of looking at Izzy using 'ponce' to refer to Stede in this manner is excellent to mull over.

Is David Jenkins using words that are really no different from f***** now

I meaaaaaaan, as I said above, if it really was no different to the f-slur, I think you would have simply written the f-slur out, much like you wrote out namby-pamby. Instinctively we all know it's not the same.

is he using words that had a different more nuanced connotation then and play into the class issues and Izzy's fear of softness

Far more likely. Far more likely. When Izzy said 'namby-pamby', I heard it more as comparing Edward to a foot kicking teenage girl on his bed pining after his schoolgirl crush than picking on the fact his schoolgirl crush was the same gender as him. I also heard it more as a comment on the fact he was literally walking around in an undone silk robe with literally no armor at all and was exposing his squishy inner core for the world to see.

It also meaning 'gay' did not occur to me, I think because although homophobia very clearly does exist in the OFMD universe, it doesn't quite exist in the same way on the Revenge, because most of the cast on that ship are queer.

See also: Jim being revealed as a woman and then being revealed as not a woman but not a man either, and the issues the guys have with that is "women have crystals in their bodies" (Frenchie, when he still thought they were a woman), "Can I be Jim if you're not Jim anymore?" (the Swede) and "Can I go back to being mute?" (jim). We were still in muppet comedy when Izzy did his namby-pamby thing, we hadn't genre shifted yet, and the muppet comedy of the Revenge doesn't have homophobia.

Yes, the show does. Yes, the show discusses it in its own way, but the crew of the Revenge does not. No one comments on Lucius and Pete, who are not subtle. Pete says that Lucius has naked-sketched most of the crew. Lucius outright hits on Fang to get him to let him draw him and off of barnacle duty without a single fear he'll be hate crimed for it. Lucius hits on Izzy because he knows Izzy might punch him for hitting on him, but it won't be because he's a dude, it'll be because he's pushing his damn luck.

Is he using those words as an audience shortcut to "Izzy simply thinks 'ew, gay'"? I don't see how, looking at the totality of the character and Con's performance (and later scripts were written with Con's performance in mind).

If he wanted a true audience shortcut, using a term that's far less common would not be a shortcut. The f-slur would be the shortcut, imo.

Also worth noting that my search came up with this for namby-pamby:

Definition of namby-pamby 1 : lacking in character or substance : insipid. 2 : weak, indecisive.

and I mean-- it's not that far off of Ed in his red robe. It's not a very nice word to call someone, but there's far worse to use out there.

Is he using words that at first glance make us think "oh a homophobe" and if you don't think about it any further than the words used Izzy's story in S2 might be more of a surprise and if you do it might be more satisfying? I hope so.

I hope so too.