#like. if you genuinely think izzy is a good person you are. doing it wrong lol

[piratecaptainscaptainpirates]

For me another essential component of Ed and Izzy's dynamic is Izzy actually does 100% think he's "doing what's best" for Ed, but it's in the same way that pageant moms on TLC think they're "doing what's best" for their three-year old daughter who has a crying meltdown about being forced to parade around on stage in big poofy dresses

And this has an element of "tough love" to it of course. I genuinely do think that Izzy is convinced he's in the right for telling Ed he's better off dead than happy. He's absolutely sure that he knows Ed better than Ed knows himself, no matter how ridiculous that is. Izzy cares less about what's actually good for Ed than he does about Ed continuing to perform a set of behaviors Izzy approves of and reinforcing a view of the world where Izzy is somehow integral to Blackbeard's success. So while Izzy's over there at the end of season 1 happy as a clam, thinking he's made Ed himself again and all is well with the world, Ed's barely keeping it together because, for him, Izzy just confirmed for him that he was never allowed to be happy and he must keep re-traumatizing himself and defining himself by acts of violence forever.

Anyway, translate this into modern AUs with the foundational premise of "Izzy doesn't understand Ed at all but wants certain behaviors from him and thinks he's doing what's best for him," and you can't go wrong. Izzy has a sort of entitlement to Ed that you can't ignore, I think - he thinks he has the right to butt into Ed's personal life, scream at him, and tell others how to refer to him. Izzy will see Ed out on the town happily holding hands with his boyfriend and wearing some Claire's earrings and he'll hunt Ed down the next day and say "you basically deserve the death penalty for this." Bullies Ed into working twenty-hour days at his Michelin star restaurant where he's not allowed to get too chummy with any of his staff, and Izzy's like "Blackbeard is finally himself again" while meanwhile Ed's trying to climb out the breakroom window

[sky-fire-forever]

Being a Our Flag Means Death fan whose favorite characters are Izzy AND Ed is wild. Because I'll be in the Izzy Hands tag and I'll see posts about how horrible Ed is and how you shouldn't like him and how his arc sucked and actually he's terrible and unforgivable

And then I'll be in the Edward Teach tag and I'll see posts about how Izzy is the real villain and how him dying is so good for his arc and Ed is finally free of him

I genuinely think people who try to make either Izzy or Ed into the perfect victims who never did anything wrong are kinda... boring? I dunno. Imo pretending that either of them are completely innocent is a disservice to their characters. But so is acting like either of them are terrible, unforgivable people

Ed abused Izzy. He was nasty to him and incredibly physically violent towards him as a routine. He abused not only Izzy, but the entire crew. He was beyond cruel. He struggles with understanding the severity of his own actions and disassociates to deal with his more horrific crimes. He drives Izzy to a suicide attempt after abusing him directly and mutilating him repeatedly. He gives a non-apology and is grumpy when the people he tortured don't automatically forgive him

Ed is also a survivor of his own abuse, both from his father and Hornigold. He's someone who desperately wants to be a better person, but doesn't understand how. He's someone who loves people a lot, but who also genuinely doesn't understand what love IS. He doesn't understand romance or gentleness or how to exist in a world without violence. But he tries really hard to become something that doesn't come naturally to him. He tries to learn how to become a good person and gets frustrated when he makes mistakes

Ed constantly relapses into abusive tendencies or doesn't realize that his behavior is wrong. But he very genuinely TRIES. He's someone who clearly struggles with empathy, with understanding that what's fun for him is traumatizing to others. He struggles with understanding that just because he's ready to move on, that doesn't mean everyone else has to

I don't think that's a flaw in his writing! I think that's a character flaw and it's actually something about Ed that really, really interests me!

(I do think there's some issue in the way the narrative presents it, with the crew going along with Ed's non-apology and then Lucius being shamed for still being traumatized, but that's not the point of this particular post)

And then with Izzy

Izzy is a fucking dick. He's a jerk who lashes out against people who aren't part of the group he's deemed worthy of his protection. He views people as either allies or enemies, with very little room for something in between. His allies are only the people in his crew and everyone else can get fucked. He's quite selfish in certain ways and he doesn't care who gets hurt as long as it isn't himself or the people he cares about. He holds himself and others to standards of extremely toxic masculinity. He despises change and resorts to allying with his literal worst enemies just so he can get the guy he likes to be with him again. He's cruel and abusive towards those who are lower than him in rank, constantly making other people feel insecure.

He's also someone who is fiercely loyal, even to his own detriment. He's someone who admits when he's wrong and always tries to fix his own mistakes. When he loses the duel with Stede, he asks Ed to let him stay, but he doesn't actually fight it. He goes peacefully, even if he whines about it. He holds himself accountable to his word and to his bond. He's loyal to Ed as his captain and as his friend/lover. He's loyal to his own crew first and foremost. When he has the British attack The Revenge, it appears as though he saves Ivan and Fang, not just Ed. He expresses disappointment when members of their crew die saving Stede from the Spanish. He protects the Kraken Crew from Ed and even stands up to Ed when he realizes things have gone too far. He's someone who has longed for community, but has only found it recently

Izzy as a character is loyal to a fault. Loyal to Ed to the point where he'll get Stede killed rather than let Ed go soft and betray who he is. And I do genuinely think Izzy thinks Stede dying is the best possible course of action because he's an idiot who is going to get Ed killed because he's a fucking idiot. And Ed being so soft snd not being a pirate is also super dangerous when he's like. The most wanted pirate there is. Izzy is loyal to Ed and to his crew. He's someone who cares too much, but tries to act like he doesn't care at all. He covers up his own insecurity by insulting others and he has a LOT of insecurity

They're both just.... such great characters and I love them both. But neither of them are perfect. They're both so fucked up and that's part of why I love them

[scarrletmoon]

The fatphobia take (that I saw at least, and I know the general discussion did eventually spiral to also talking about s1) was entirely about s2 and mostly specifically the fart joke in 2x01 (which they also claimed was most of Wee John's characterization the whole season), with stuff later added on in replies about Oluwande and Auntie (and I think about female characters in general and how not enough of them were fat or something? that bit I only saw secondhand though) . The initial post starting the thread was (not exact phrasing but more or less) "so can we finally talk about the fatphobia in s2 now?" And then several fat fans were getting subtweeted at, accused of internalized fatphobia, causing discourse/attacking op when they should've just ignored a post they disagreed with and not engaged with the topic at all (even in their own threads without mentioning the fatphobia op!) because "clearly that means it wasn't for you" etc. for talking about their own personal experience of ofmd as a show that actually felt safe from fatphobia and their appreciation for the way the fat characters were always treated as people and not jokes.

i’m kind of struggling to parse this and maybe it’s bc i slept weird but im guessing this is a twitter problem?

i think there’s definitely points to be made about s2’s fatphobia problems but arguing that Wee John was reduced to a fat joke is just flat out wrong. i think he suffers from lack of screen time, but that’s not a problem unique to him, especially in s2

yes, ofmd has a problem with casting a lot of thin actors, but i think part of that — not excusing bias in casting — is that actors are unusually thin statstically, which reduces the odds of casting someone fat. i will say that i think if we can adjust to include more women and POC, we can adjust to include more diverse body types. i think that’s a valid argument. but it also feels a little like the claim that s1 was misogynistic for having fewer female characters; yes this is true, but s1 was also a story about masculinity, and idk how much space they had to explore gender generally. but they did try to rectify that in s2, which shows a willingness to expand and include more people, rather than straight up sexism. i think we also need to keep in mind that we only have 2/3 of the story. i hesitate to pass judgement when there’s still at least one more season to improve

as far as romantic interests…..i think it’s uneven when it comes to body types there too, but i think singling out auntie’s lack of romantic partner is a little misguided. whether or not her lack of romantic storyline is bc of existing bias against fat women, auntie is pretty clearly a foil to izzy. izzy doesn’t have a romantic storyline either bc it wouldn’t make sense for his character. auntie is an similar position, but is the one who changes, who learns to be soft in the ways izzy never managed to (i don’t think he had that capacity the way auntie does, but that’s a whole other essay)

i don’t think it’s fair to say “well olu is dating 3 people!” either bc while that’s true, it’s just a start. i think this show is pretty good at understanding that a single person can’t make good representation. ofmd works so well when it talks about queerness bc it didn’t put the burden of representation on a single queer character. similarly, i think fat representation needs more than just oluwande. i think as fat people, we are actually allowed to ask for more

accusing strangers of internalized fatphobia and then subtweeting is fuckin gross though. you don’t make your arguments by lashing out at other marginalized people. i get being upset and angry, especially when fat people are almost never listened to, but this ain’t it. not even “it’ll make us look bad”. it’s just shitty to do to others.

like i said, i adore ofmd but there’s some stuff that does genuinely leave a bad taste in my mouth. and i think i can say that without also saying that fat people who enjoy ofmd are just self-hating. that’s gross.

lastly, i’m hearing all this now thirdhand, so who knows what the actual thread was. maybe i’m doing that thing i’ve been accused of, where im too open minded about shit i don’t know about ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[mysteriouslybluepirate]

hi bestie saw ur post and im kinda curious about this since it's something not a lot of ppl are talking about next to ed's arc and izzy's death and all— what do you think about how they handled stede in the finale? I felt like a lot of the "incompetent wannabe pirate" jokes undermined his progress this season and also him deciding to stay at the inn with ed felt odd as he expressed he wanted to be a pirate and sail the sea. just wondering what other people think about that

[Oct 31, 2023]

Before we get into it, you are allowed to enjoy this show! My past (and next few) responses WILL be negative, but you aren't wrong for agreeing or disagreeing with most posts. Thanks to all the people who have already sent in messages! I can't wait to respond!!

I am an Izzy fan first and foremost, but how a show handles it's protagonist says a LOT about how it handles it' characters overall!

TLDR for this post: In any character-centric media, explore your characters as characters first. Develop your plot around them and their arcs. Don't treat an ensemble cast as faceless props for the story you're trying to tell. Stede's arc is weird because Stede is shoved in places where it feels like he doesn't fit anymore.

Creating a narrative focused on central character conflicts can work. This is how S1 was written. Stede and his actions directly lead to revealing truths of the world that push the plot forward. This worked because I'd argue the strongest part of OFMD overall is its characters. S2 misses out on this strongest aspect by only referencing its characters when it needs something from them.

S1 We went from Stede killing a guy-> The Act of Grace. S2 Stede tells a guy he shouldn't be an idiot and leave behind a calling card -> burning down the Republic of Pirates and killing Izzy. S2 doesn't feel as tied to Stede's arc of growing into a pirate. But Stede isn't the only person this has fucked over.

Each crew member has their role established from S1, we fans know how they work as a family. But in S2 most of the cast can be swapped out interchangeably unless its something that features this side character NICHE (Wee John in drag being good with fabrics, Roach being a cook).

Sadly, by focusing on the larger Zheng vs. Military arc, a story our characters BARELY caused, the audience misses out on potential character development. Instead of our characters facing the consequences of their actions, our favorite side characters are used as faceless narrative tools. This is largely why the crew was abandoned this season unless they had a romantic side plot. Seeing The Revenge sail off in episode 8, it feels like we barely care about them at all anymore.

As seen from @the-buttspie 's comment, even Stede's arc isn't left out of the firing range. His characterization in episode 8 is constantly thrown back and forth between 'Captain doing his best' and 'Village idiot' if the scene needs it.

Analyzing WHY I started to dislike Stede post episode 4 is FASCINATING, and I feel that digging all the way back to the beginning is a smart way to look at his character growth this season.

FRAMING: Stede's early story get's fucked over pacing-wise because his storyline happens side by side to that of Ed/Izzy.

Any dramatic moment is cut short to show just how much the other crew is NOT about to die. Every time I watch S2 with a new person, for episodes 1-3, they'll comment on how much they don't care about Stede's plot. Which is not a thing you'd want for your protagonist in a season of TV that's only 8 episodes long.

Stede goes through a really strong arc from S1 to the start of S2. For the first three episodes of S2, he puts the needs of his crew before the needs of himself. Literally making sure his crew is safe before going down to see Ed's corpse. I genuinely enjoyed how Stede stepped up for his family. How he doesn't blame the Revenge crew for killing Ed, realizing that yes. Ed is the love of his life and also a man who has seriously hurt so many people.

Eps 4-5: From that we see him trying to talk it through with Ed. While both of them aren't telling the whole truth, it's a good start! We're midway through the season, so we should expect things to get fleshed out more soon.

Until Stede decides 'I'm going to bring a man that tortured my family for 80+ days onboard less than 24 hours after my crew voted him off' Yes. Stede loves Ed to a stupid extent, but this starts the trend for Stede to be dangerously selfish this season using his power as captain to overwrite the want of his crew, a habit of his that partially gets Izzy killed.

I really enjoyed Stede in episode 5, and for me, this felt most like the Stede we recognize growing into a real Captain with hints of who he was. I think it says a lot that Stede still misses his layers and silks. That he craves the softness he used to have in the form of that cursed jacket. But as soon as Izzy is like 'you idiot, please listen to them, they will mutiny' Stede gives it up!!!! He's grown. He's listening to Izzy, he's talking with his crew! This episode did the one thing I wish the season did more of, show the reunited crew just living their lives.

This is where Stede stands out, it lets him be a bit more of a leader to the crew. Let him find his groove again. I loved it!!

Now: Killing Ned Low.

Stede choosing to kill Ned Low is the first time Stede killing someone counts. Yes, he burned down the ship French ship. But this is the first time the audience is supposed to care. I think this moment WAS in character and a really important moment for Stede. He chose this. This wasn't up to crew vote, Ned insulted Ed so fuck him, he deserves to die. Ned walks the plank, also referencing historical Bonnet's tendency to do the same thing.

This is where both Ed and Stede make an in-character mistake, having their first time after the rush of 'oh shit, I'm still alive, and I'm hurting and you're here too'. They don't regret their first time, clearly, they both enjoyed it, but both of them can't ignore what fueled it. Stede has had 3 episodes to re-establish himself with his crew, and now has very little time for the rest of the season with them to show off his growth. That's why, after the party, we don't feel like this show is showing off a family anymore. Even when reunited, they barely feel like a united front.

But from this point on, I personally feel that Stede should have toned down the humor a bit and act like he did in episode 3. Well, I'm getting a bit ahead of myself so-

Episode 7: Stede enjoys being popular, following in Ed's footsteps. He holds his ground against Ed, and overall this feels like a natural progression of his arc from episode 5. He knows what he wants in life and Ed not communicating is genuinely frustrating for him. Him being heartbroken and trying to fight Zheng like she's Izzy is one of the few callbacks I feel that works. As it compares a Stede who was supported by his crew, to this Stede who feels totally alone. I loved Stede this episode, only to be disappointed by-

Episode 8:

Where Ed is allowed to have his silly moments in private, I feel that Stede fluctuates between silly and serious WAY too much for us to take him seriously. Stede's response to Ed telling him he loved him being 'I know' also felt off to me.

"You're not a dick, life's a dick" This line is frustrating to me as it's Stede's response to Ed apologizing. Genuinely apologizing for his actions in the previous episode. This could have been a moment for us to feel like Stede and Ed were a united front but Stede's constant joking and not taking shit semi-seriously. Yes. He feels more comfortable around his family which is amazing.

But I can't help but point out how Stede chooses to go along with a plan the rest of the crew doesn't like. What NARRATIVE purpose was there for Stede trying to sell the captain? He has money, clearly. With the loot they still have, and a future alliance with Zheng.

Stede fucks up. His choice a plan that gets Izzy killed. The writers sacrificed Stede being a competent Captain who cares about his crew into what is described as a 'suicide mission' to push Izzy into his rushed death. A disservice to both characters.

ONTO:

Stede abandons piracy

I'm not shocked they did this, not after the other flubs of the episode, but I hate that it wasn't a conversation held between Ed and Stede.

They could cut the stupid joke about Ed being bad at fishing at the beginning and have these two idiots talking about their issues. Maybe establish that, yeah, piracy is a lot, and they deserve to settle down and get to know each other. Even if they return to the sea, this frames it as Ed finally finding peace and Stede getting pulled along, going against his character growth this season.

I'm surprised that they're setting this up now and not at the end of Season 3. Hell, I used to think S3 would be focused on Ed and Stede avoiding/faking their historical deaths. Given all the bullshit they'll have to clean up to wrap up all the loose ends established this season- S3 will be VERY Ed/Stede focused, I think the crew will still be inserted in without care or arc. Characters like Jim and Oluwande will be prioritized as they are in a relationship before our nonromantic characters like Wee John and Frenchie.

Stede and Ed's relationship, the driving force of the plot, still falls flat because after everything it still feels like puppy love. They've spent at most two months in person together, and two weeks in a serious relationship. I don't really feel convinced that they actually love each other. Ed still doesn't know that Stede was kidnapped at the end of S1, or why he struggles to talk about his feelings. Ed still hasn't talked about why he feels he needs to leave piracy, or his issues feeling like he doesn't belong anywhere in life. Their habit of running away the MOMENT things get hard just makes me not care about them.

I blame the size of the Izzy fandom on the fact that if you don't buy into the leads, there's almost nothing left here to sink your teeth into. The moment the show seems like they'll talk about it they hard pivot.

I hope S3ep1 happens after a LONG time jump. I want these fuckers to be snippy like two people snowed into a cabin for months. Sick of each other and bitching back and forth like no tomorrow. S3 is about genuinely breaking down their walls. Until then, I'll stick with Izzy, the Canyon, and his depressing version of this reality.

[bookshelfdreams]

aaaaah no i saw another "Izzy can't be homophobic you idiot I headcanon him as gay and anyway, he's right to hate Stede for being soft and inexperienced and rich" post send help (ik all of this has been said before and better, I just need to get it out of my system)

First of all, Izzy is a white and maybe not straight but definitely traditionally masculine man in a society where racism/sexism/homophobia/associated bigotry exist. Okay? Okay. These things exist in the ofmd universe, there's no arguing that away. It therefore stands to reason that Izzy, who grew up in that environment, harbours homophobic sentiments, because it is literally impossible to avoid that.

Detesting Stede for being effeminate and gnc is homophobia. Plain and simple. That's the core of homophobia. It's not about who someone finds attractive in their heart, it's about doing gender wrong. It's not so much about who you have sex with, but how you're doing it.

(And this is what Izzy and Calico Jack and the Badmintons and everone who ever bullied him hate about him. It's not that he's upper class. It's not that he's rich. It's this.)

Homophobia and the patriarchy go hand in hand. Under patriarchy, anything masculine is good and superior and anything feminine is weak and detestable. A good man, a proper man is defined by what he isn't (=not ever feminine), and any association with femininity is degrading. This is why Stede is called a woman (derogatory) by people who are perfectly aware he is a guy, why he's called Baby Bonnet: Both these things say You are not a real man. Does anyone who hurls abuse at him think he's gay? Who knows! It's well known he's married and has children, for fuck's sake! But it doesn't matter what's in Stede's heart, it matters how he behaves, how he speaks and carries himself, his interests, his inability to fit it.

Why do you think he's called fat when he isn't as an adult and wasn't as a child? It's the same thing, it's not logical, just a way for people to express their vague discomfort with him in the most hurtful way possible.

The way Izzy talks about him and the way the Badmintons talk about him parallel each other and that's not a coincidence. Izzy talks about Stede as having "done something" to Ed's "brain", Chauncey Badminton says he "ruined" Ed, that he's "not human" and a "monster". This is the exact violent, dehumanizing rhetoric that has forever been flung at gnc gay men, effeminacy as a corrupting, contagious influence, good upstanding manly men being seduced (hah!) into the Gay Lifestyle. You're not a person, you're a disease.

Fop and ponce may be old fashioned but they are also homophobic slurs.

Izzy doesn't detest the upper class. He has no trouble at all weaponizing his whiteness against Ed when he sends the English after him, when he attempts to buy Ed for himself with Stede's life. Izzy can fit into that world well enough to use it for his own gain as long as it will let him, and sure, he'll be crushed as soon as he's no longer useful but that doesn't stop him from aligning himself with the literal enemy, does it? That's what makes Izzy a class traitor (derogatory) btw, and why analysis that tries to paint him as "just a working class guy who hates the rich" a little silly.

("We're not bigots we are just ordinary salt-of-the-earth working class guys who hate the out of touch liberal elite and anyway, they're all perverts" hmmm, where have I heard this before?)

It's baffling to me that people watch this show and genuinely think "Izzy isn't homophobic, he just hates Stede because he's rich" is a good argument like??? Who expresses this exact sentiment in the show????

Look. I know where this comes from. I too read Izzy as queer. But queer people are perfectly capable of being homophobic towards each other.

Izzy can accept Ed having sex with men who are not him. He's fine with that, and sure, that seems to be proof that He can't be homophobic! at first glance. But, under patriarchy, not liking women sexually is - well, maybe not ideal but under certain circumstances acceptable (after all, under patriarchy, not liking women is perfectly reasonable and encouraged, so it's not a huge leap). But what is not acceptable, what needs to be violently suppressed at all costs, is men being insufficiently masculine.

Which is what Izzy detests about Stede, and what he attacks Ed for in ep10. And this is homophobia in a nutshell.

[riseofthecommonwoodpile]

Hi Izzy! I remember back in the day you were a big fan of Sunspring and wrote a beautiful piece discussing it and talking about AI art. Do you think any AI art has surpassed Sunspring? Have changes in the development of AI changed your perspective on it at all? Asking bc I love that essay and I’m very curious :) thx

(context for those who don't know, Sunspring is a short film made about 8 years ago that used a relatively early LLM to generate its script, which was then filmed with a real cast and crew. if you want to watch it here it is, it's about 9 minutes, i highly recommend it)

i've thought about Sunspring a lot as AI art has become such a big topic in the past year or so, and I think the pieces i wrote about it i still stand behind, though i got a few things wrong that i'll bring up when i answer the second question.

to answer the first question: i personally haven't see any AI art that has impacted me emotionally nearly as much, but i also kinda dropped off watching new movies (most of the new-to-me movies i watch are found footage horror movies, 70's porno-chic also-rans, and shot on video movies from the 90's), and i would wager that, if i could somehow experience all of the AI art that exists, there'd be something that hit me in the same way again. there's too much of it for that not to be the case, and too many genuinely creative people experimenting with it. that said, what was so beautiful about Sunspring was how imperfect the tech used to create it was. Almost all of the script makes grammatical sense, but the way it flows, the directions sentences go, the phrasing used is so strange that the friction between the failures of the tech to be truly convincing and the actors trying to bridge the gap to make it still work is what was exhilarating and moving. as the models have gotten better and better, as the rough edges smooth off, that tension so often has just faded into a bland beige unflavored oatmeal of average aggregate language. some of the phrases in Sunspring that have stuck with me the most ("I think I could have been my life", "Whatever you want to know about the presence of the story, I’m a little bit of a boy on the floor.", etc.) wouldn't be created by any of the most popular LLMs today. they're too idiosyncratic, the phrasing is too odd, the grammar almost but not quite there. the plot is surreal and associative, the structuring bizarre and dreamlike. the lines Sunspring ends on— "He looks at me, and he throws me out of his eyes. And then he says he’ll go to bed with me."— are some of my favorites in any film, and it's because they are abstract, poetic, like the computer stumbled upon a phrase so evocative that no written-by-committee script would've let it through. he looks at me, and he throws me out of his eyes. this man who is supposed to love me looks at me in a way where his love of me has gone, where i'm barely even seen as me. it's not the kind of sentence most modern LLMs, with their focus on being convincing, are designed to create.

as far as the second question, i think the biggest change in my perspective is how my belief in the technology, both good and bad, has curdled. i bought into the hype that the technology would progress to the point where screenwriting could be turned into an assembly line, and maybe after that the rest of the parts of filmmaking as well. i had hoped it would become a new collaborative process between human and technology, and i feared it would become a way for movie execs to pay people less and eliminate jobs. the first i haven't seen much of, and the second, while certainly the dream of so many boosters of the tech, has largely been a failure (though plenty, plenty of people have still lost their jobs to LLMs despite that, and as a labor issue i still think it is a very important area of focus). i was too caught up in the possibilities that i didn't bother to research who was making the tech, where the money was coming from, what growth in the sector would look like materially, etc. i still believe LLMs can be used creatively, but most likely any interesting art coming from them will emerge out of models custom-molded by artists to have some of those same rough edges i loved in the first place. i think, in terms of mainstream film, any use of AI is in service to the same bland competence the rest of the industry is mired in, a determination to make products for everyone that inevitably become products for no one. i've become a lot more cynical about the trend towards mediocrity in entertainment, and that cynicism is due at least in part to much of what i've seen come out of the AI space. i do not have a knee-jerk hatred of the tech, but it has not at all panned out how i had hoped or dreaded.

[originallypoki]

Our Flag Means Death S2 Spoilers!

Something people doesn't seem to realize, is that pacing has a key impact to a story. Yes, the tale you want to tell can be the best someone has ever come up with, but if your pacing of it is awful, it pulls the whole story down with it. To rushed pacing? It loses meaning and impact, because there's no time to become attached. To slow paced? It becomes boring and uninteresting, finishing the book, show or movie feels more like a task than actual fun.

The first 4 episodes of season 2 of OFMD were awesome. The pacing was perfect, we had enough time to register what was happening and to sort out our emotions. I was a bit thrown off by ep 5. Because, while still good paced, you can start the see the problems because of the missing 2 eps ( for example the skipped fight, instead choosing to tell, not show. )-

Then episode 6 and 7 happened. And oh boi, I wanted to drop the show, only my love for it keeping me going.

I know that it isn't David Jenkins and the production team's fault, since the 2 episodes got cut, giving us the total of 8. But I can't excuse the decision to cram the plot of 10 eps into 8. If you have so little time left, why don't just cut some 'unimportant' storypoints?

Like Ned Lowe, he was introduced and died in the same episode. His purpose was to give GentleBeard development I know, that still doesn't give him enough importance to let him stay in the shortened version. Just like the second break-up from GentleBeard we got in ep 7.

Instead we got very out-of-character characters, Stede for example. I can see why he acts the way he does in ep 7. It would make sense, had he more time to have proper character development! Instead he feels weird, plus the very very uncomfortable second-hand embarrassment scenes (like the fight with Zheng). And sadly after ep 3, I couldn't feel the same chemistry GentleBeard had in S1. While there were cute scenes, like the end of ep5, I felt like something was missing to make me actually care. It's just my feelings, so not very important, but it was a bit disappointing.

The end of ep 7 gave me hope. Because it was a perfect way to introduce a villain, who's a genuine threat to our heros. And I maybe like Prince Ricky a bit to much. Then ep 8 came crushing down while drowing my love for OFMD, that made me ignore everything wrong with the second half of S2.

I like ep 8, well the first few minutes. It felt like I finally had time to see what's happening and David Jenkins didn't leave us completely clueless. ( Let's ignore the logic holes since it was is a comedy show and they were always there. ) And I was way to busy squieking like a pig of happiness to think critical.

I have many criticism points, but will only focus on one;

Izzy's death. And by god, I. Am. Pissed. Killing a character that is beloved by the fandom isn't the problem. While I love him, he's my favorite, I also love a good ol' angst. But he was in the middle of his redemption arc, and ending this with death is just such weak writing. I have nothing against killing a character off for development. Iron man for example, his whole story is about becoming a better person and jumping over his ego. And it ends just like Izzy in death. But Tony was through his arc, his death was the final, showing he has changed, showing he would do everything to save the universe and more important, the people he loves.

If Izzy died at the start of or before S2 I wouldn't complain, because it would've been perfect for him. Maybe if he died a more impactful death I wouldn't write this. But you can't make a character finally change and then destroy the meaning of it by killing him off in the fucking middle of the change. It would've had so much more impact seeing how he becomes a part of the crew he loathed not even a few weeks ago. Episode 5 did that great, while a bit fast. I like how he and Stede get along. Growing closer. It was a bit too fast paced, and I hoped for them to finally communicate, not talk. The same with Ed, I wanted him and Izzy to finally talk to eachother and not through eachother. However, giving us acutally communication while Izzy's fucking dying is not how you give impact. (And credit where credit's due; I really like that dialog, it was beautiful and the right words choosen to explain how Izzy feels)

Not to forget what a meaning it conveys. Izzy always did what he thought was right, even when it was completely wrong. But when he finally grows and begins to do actually what is right and let's go of Ed, he dies?

Still, I wouldn't say that they shouldn't have done a season 2 at all. It has great potential and I can see what they were going for. So, while it has it's problem's, it's nothing what a good fanfic can't fix. So I look forward to the amazing works that will build up on this hot mess and / or 'correct' it.

So bye, I'll go cry and give the last three episodes of S2 of OFMD, the last 20 minutes of S2 Go treatment T^T (except that GO S2 was fucking fantastic through the whole season)

[pockyandsoda]

omfd s2ep8 spoilers & rant

originally posted to my twitter acc

i am genuinely so confused by the amount of pure vitriol some of you have towards izzy and izzy fans?? i get not particularly liking a character or agreeing with the way other people see them, but some of y'all are being absolutely disgusting towards others. what happened to cringe culture being dead, huh? insinuating people should be embarassed or ashamed to have a reaction to characters they like - having big emotions about media you love is part of being in a fandom! you're no better or less weird! oooh look at you being unwilling to forgive or accept character growth! wow! so morally superior and cool! just because you dont personally agree that a redemption arc was deserved or done well doesnt make it a fact btw.

ive been watching this season with casual viewers who are not a part of online fandom at all, and they have all very much enjoyed izzy's arc and him as a character, they are able to see the narrative importance of it, as are the writers and the crew. again, you dont have to agree. but dont act superior.

at the end of the day, this is a silly pirate show made mostly for 'haha's, and ALL of these characters have done HORRIBLE things, they're pirates ffs, that's kinda the whole point here guys! and those things are ridiculously easily forgiven (by our standards) again, because they are pirates and this is not a serious show.

izzy fans are sad, some are very very sad, maybe even a 'weird' amount! so? do you really need to dunk on them for lolz? make it out like they're insane for even liking a character that the show itself actively likes and supports and clearly wants the audience to like (in s2 anyway, and if you deny this then sorry but you're being willfully wrong)? idk why any of you are remotely surprised people like this character? starting to think some of you just wanna be edgy and seem sarcastic and cool and superior for your 'witty' twitter commentary tbh.

and of course sending any kinda negativity towards writers/cast/crew is disgusting and pathetic, but im seeing that from izzy lovers and haters alike on my feed, so dont you dare try and make it seem like a pro-izzy only issue here. and y'know what? it's also disgusting and pathetic to belittle and mock other members of the fandom, and im only seeing one side engaging in that behavior, please do humble yourselves and remember the times in your life when you have had a strong emotional reaction to things happening to your fav characters and ships. dont forget that you are also a loser with a fandom twitter/tumblr account.

and for the record, i thought the finale was genuinely good, as was all of season 2 in my opinion. all this immature negativity and faux superiority is making this fandom toxic. izzy is a popular character with viewers (casual & otherwise) and the creative team, who had a decent redemption arc. that is a fact, whether you like it or not. people should not have to feel hesitation about posting anything remotely positive about izzy out of fear of judgement or ridicule. save your cutting twitter remarks for actually problematic people.

im not even particularly attached to this damn character but the way y'all have been behaving has annoyed tf outta me.

[letsdeerintheheadlightsuniverse]

<<Previous Chapter <<

**Masterlist**

The Tortured Poets Department Edition Poll

>>Next Chapter>>

Pairing: Izzy Hands x gn!reader

Synopsis: Izzy wouldn't peel oranges for, if he didn't-

A/N: I'm so, so, so sorry this took so long for me to write! I really struggled with writer's block on this chapter. Hopefully, the nexy chapter will be published a lot quicker!

Content Warning: mentions of death and self-loathing but othwrwise, I think that's it. Let me know if I missed anything!

DISCLAIMER: PLEASE DO NOT REPOST, REPUBLISH, OR TRANSLATE MY WORK ANYWHERE WITHOUT MY EXPLICIT PERMISSION. I DO NOT OWN OFMD OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

=============================

T-This was good, right? You sleeping...in his arms. Goodness knows you were completely exhausted after the doctor treated your arm. The rest would do you good. Plus, as much as it made Izzy's stomach knot with anxiety, he...he liked having you this close. No, not 'liked'. 'Liked' was too palid a term.

What was it you had said? When in the midst of begging Edward to bring him to your bedside? Right. You said you needed him like you needed oxygen. Izzy did not just like having you safely tucked against his chest, as you got some well-deserved rest. He had fantasised about this moment for, well, months. Perhaps even from the first day he had saved you.

Gods, just the mere memory of the state he had found you in that day, caused the First Mate to hold your slumbering form just that bit tighter. Back then, he had possessed no inkling of just how intrinsically important you were going to be to him, but now, you were his sun, moon, and stars. His feelings for you were as equally intense as yours were for him and should have been enough, right?

Wrong. Contentment was not yet quite on the cards for the silver-haired pirate. He would have to address some decades-old demons, before such peace was granted to him.

"Gods, you're such a creeper." the sudden intrusion of another's voice, that was not your own, startled the First Hand as his head whipped round in the direction of the newcomer.

"Spriggs." Izzy breathed a sigh of relief. Usually the sight of Lucius sent a spike of rage through his persons but for once, the silver-haired pirate was rather pleased it was a...hm, not quite a friend but at least it was not a foe.

The obvious sway in the Scribe's gait was very telling as he stepped into the room, leaving the door ajar in his wake. It did not take a genius to deduce that he had been drinking. Though, Izzy could not recall a time he had ever seen the young man quite so inebriated. The thought instantly put the First Mate on edge. Drunk people could be...erratic at the best of times, especially lightweights. The silver-haired pirate did not want any trouble, especially while you were in such a bulnerable state.

"Dizzy." Lucius greeted his superior, voice slightly louder than intended.

"Keep your voice down, they're sleeping."

"Yeah, I can see that."

Noticing the half-drunk bottle of- what even was that?- nondescript alcohol in Lucius's hand, Izzy nodded towards the beverage. "Drowning your sorrows or celebrating?"

"A bit of both." the smile that graced his lips, did not quite reach the man's eyes. The usual twinkle of mirth was replaced by an emotion more akin to pain. "The doc said Pete'll hopefully pull through. Just a matter of when now."

"That's good to know." Izzy nodded and genuinely- but more so, surprisingly- he was honest to goodness glad that the Lucius and Pete had both survived the storm. With you in his life, Izzy could now empathetically imagine the pain either men would have felt, had the other perished aboard The Revenge. Well, overboard in Pete's case.

"I've been told I have you to thank for that."

"Just doing my duty as First Mate." Izzy shrugged, as if he were in the casual habit of saving lives on a daily basis. "Don't make nothing into something." the reality of the matter was that, Izzy wanted to completely forget about the storm. Even now, the First Mate could still feel the ice cold grip of the unpleasant memories, pulling his attention away from the present and back to the sight of red...staining the storage floor.

"Yeah, well. Still. Thanks, I guess or whatever. Fuck, I don't know." he gave mirthless laugh, while running a weary hand over his face. What a twist of fate! The disagreeable Isreal Hands had been the one to save the love of his life. Calypso must have really had fun concocting that series of unfortunate events. If the entire situation had not been so dire, Lucius may have found the humour in the mind-boggling concept. Still, the Scribe was at least thankful that the First Mate had been competent enough a pirate to rescue Pete. It chilled him to the core to consider the alternative. Both men could have easily have lost their lives to the storm. Then both you and Lucius would have suffered with a broken heart.

The subsequent yawn from the young man, did not escape Izzy's hawk-like gaze. "You should get some sleep."

"Could say the same to you." Lucius grinned, dopily. Already thinking about taking residence beside Pete, in the narrow single bed, as he had done every single night, since the crew had deposited themselves in the inn.

"But you won't 'cause you're gonna do as you're fucking told, right?" once upon a time, those words would have been spat with such malice but now, after everything that had happened, Lucius dared to believe that the slight smirk that played upon Izzy's lips, was real and not something conjured up by his drunkenly hazy mind.

"Heh, I suppose I am." he chuckled, already moving to turn his back on the First Mate but before he could fully exit out of the room, he had paused in the doorway, with his had rested upon the chipped frame. "You know, you should actually tell them how you feel, instead of just staring. Just some food for thought." he added, before he disappeared out of sight and into the darkness of the hallway. "Night, Dizzy."

"Twat." the lone man grumbled, only for his gaze shift to you, when you slightly stirred in your sleep. Mumbling something that almost resembled his name.

====

The next day.

Skilled fingers took their sweet time in removing the fragrant rind, causing citrus perfume to fill the air and make your mouth water in anticipation. Separating a segment from the bunch, the silver-haired pirate pressed the delightfully sweet treat to your lips. "Open." he gently commanded, smiling to himself, as you complied without hesitation. The sigh of contentment from you prompted Izzy to fed you another slice, before he helped himself to some of the orange.

And so, the day slipped languidly from morning to late evening. The sun warming everything in it's sight, transforming the Republic of Pirates from sunflower yellow, to vivid gold. The ocean melted into the sky, solid cerulean blue, punctuated with lamb's wool clouds. Crickets chipped and pirates cussed, beckoning you to leave the confines of your room. There was a world beyond the inn, calling to be explored by your curious gaze but for now, you were happy to indulge in a well-needed rest.

The steady heartbeat of your beloved, thumped steadily, as you lay your head back down against his chest. The unusual coarse leather of his waistcoat forgotten, thrown precariously over a nearby chair, in favour of a linen shirt. A far better suited material for such humid climates.

Popping another orange segment into his mouth, Izzy chewed thoughtfully, the rare quiet allowing for time for much-needed contemplation. The conversion with Spriggs played over and over in his mind. Melding and blending with with your own revelations. He could seldom believe that you actually felt so deeply for him. Did you truly mean your words, when you said his presence made it easier for you to breathe? The fear-driven voice in his head, cautioned him to not mention anything but the curiousity was eating him alive. "So, I'm your Stede fucking Bonnet, aye?"

You visibly tensed in his hold and for a moment, he feared the worst but the dusting of blush that warmed your cheeks, suggested that perhaps, you were more embarrassed at being caught saying such cherished sentiments. "You heard me say that?" you giggled, the sound immediately put the First Mate at ease. His instincts had not failed him. Maybe now his inner monologue would be kinder to him? Unlikely. "I meant every word, you know."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

He pauses once more, thinkjng over your admission. Though you had no reason to lie and nothing to gain from garnering the affections of the ship's First Mate, Izzy still could not quite wrap his head around the exact reason behind your attraction towards him. "Why?" he stated plainly, needing you to spell it out for him.

The one word caused you more heartache than he would ever know. "Oh, Iz..." you sighed, hating that he evwn had to question you.

He mistook the anguish in your gaze for pity. Something ugly reared it's head, twisting and snarling in the cavern of his chest. Of course, that's what this was, pity. The self-hatred whispered, finding glee within it's malicious words. No one could possibly ever love him. He was good enough for someone as kind as you, as pure..as..as... "I don't need your fucking pity, crewmate." he snapped back but there was no real bite to his bark.

"M'not pitying you, Iz. I'd never disrespect you like that." you did your best to reassure him, as you curled up closer in his now slack embrace. Arms loosely holding you, with no real intent in keeping you secure in his embrace. You missed the contentment and peace that had settled over you both, just mere moments ago. Despite his close proximity, Izzy may have well been miles away. You hated that you were losing him to his own damned mind. "But it's true. Existing is just easier when I'm around you. I can't really explain why. I just know what I feel. You make me happy. Really happy." you spoke with urgency, as you fwlt your bond slipping through your fingers. Hell, you were close to balling up his shirt in your fists and giving the man a good hardy shake. Or a bruising kiss- you were yet to make a final decision.

Your confession brought nothing more than an extended silence. This one far less comfortable to endure. "Look, ignore me. I'm...I'm not asking any sense and besides, you might not even think of me like that-"

You continued to ramble but Izzy was still mulling over your prior words. He made you happy. You had said, explictly and without being under duress. He made you...happy. What else had you said? Oh, right! Being around him made existing easier. Gods, he could not just sit there, looking dumbfounded, as you tried to backtrack on your confession. Say something, man! Say something! "I might not be all flowery with my words like Bonnet but that doesn't mean..." he murmured, cutting through your babbling and effectively silencing you, as you waited with bated breath for him to finish his train of thought. Watching you now, with your wide, hopeful eyes, Izzy hated to admit it but Lucius had been right. Even now, all he was doing was staring at you, instead of actually vocalising just how much he adored wvery fibre of your being. "Fucking Spriggs." he muttered, angry at himself...and maybe the scribe. Just a little bit.

"Spriggs?"

"Ignore that. Look, I wouldn't be sat here peeling fucking oranges for you, if-" but before he could utter a further sentiment, a playful rat-a-tat-tat sounded against the oak door. Disrupting the pirate's train of thought and instantly putting him in a foul mood. Gods, was there no such thing as privacy in this place? "Oh, for fucks sake. Come in!"

Speak of the evil one and he shall appear. No other than Stede Bonnet, popped his head around the door, wearing that usual dopey grin of his. "Hello! Just me." he cheerfully greeted you both, completely unaware of the emotionally charged moment he had just unintentionally poured a proverbial bucket of water over.

The First Mate's disdain for the Gentleman Pirate could not have been more palpable. If looks could kill, the blonde would have been dead a thousand times over. "What do you want, Bonnet?"

Somewhat sheepishly, Stede explained, "I thought you should know that Frenchie is finally awake. He should be well enough for visitors later on and-"

"That's great. Can you fuck off now please?" the grin that played upon Izzy's lips was merely a formality. There was nothing friendly about his tone, nothing that actually suggested that he was pleased to have received the update.

"Right, sorry!" the co-captain said with a laugh, finally recognising that he may, in fact, not be exactly welcome in the room. Of course, you were always- mostly- happy to chat with the man but since his arrival had cut short Izzy's confession, even your hospitable personality was wearing thin. "You two were probably in the middle of something. I'll pop by later."

"Oh, deep joy!"

"Izzy!" you chastised your beloved, horrified at just how rude he was being now. Watching the other man quickly make his exit, you did not hesitate to use the little energy you possessed to swat the silver-haired pirate on the arm. "You gotta start being nicer to him. Stede's a good Captain." the quirk of Izzy's eyebrow had you sighing, knowing full well that, you had told a bold faced lie. "Okay, he's a good guy but a shitty Captain."

Much to your annoyance, your admission earned you a smug look in return from the silver-haired pirate. "That's better." he muttered, settling himself back down against the pillows, dragging you down along with him, to once again, rest against his broad chest.

The previous calm fell over you both once more, as you felt yourself lulled into that welcome sense of security. Whilst in Izzy's hold, it felt like nothing insidious could ever befall you again. He truly was you guiding lighthouse in the storm of life. As the minutes slipped by, the window of opportuniry for the pirate to finish his previous sentence, grew shorter and shorter. Unable to take the silence anymore, you felt yourself moved to say something. "Moments kinda been ruined, huh?" you joked but there was funny in what you asked. Internally, you were screaming for an answer. What had the First Mate intended to say to you, before he was so rudely interrupted?

It was Izzy's turn to tense beneath you and blush tomato red, as he struggled to utter a single syllable. Gods, there was so much he wanted to say and yet, words escaped him. How did you and Stede fucking Bonnet express yourselves so freely? You may as well have spoken in sonnets, in comparison to his fumbling attempts to express just how dear you were to him. No, no! It was all too much, too overwhelming. He could not do it! Abort mission! Abort mission! "I think I just need some time to...to think things over." he eventually grumbled, as he watched your expression carefully, just waiting for the inevitable disappointment to mare you features.

He should have known better by now, not to expect such a negative reaction from you. Much to Izzy's surprise, you offered him a smile.

Hiding your heartbreak well. It would not be fair to him, you mused, to expect declarations of love, from a man of such few words. Live languages were funny like that. Each person had a different way of expressing their emotions. Perhaps yours was through praise, promises and sweet nothings but had your beloved said, not only a mere hour ago, that he would not peel you an orange, if he did not care? Maybe Izzy's love language was acts of service. Yes, yes, that was it! "That's okay, I understand." and you meant it, every word.

That was not enough for the silver-haired pirate, who still feared his inadequancies would be his ruination. "Hey," he caught your chin with his fingers, gently tilting your head to look back up at him. "That doesn't mean I don't fucking care about you, okay?" an intensity unlike anything you had ever witnessed before, burned in those captivating eyes of his. "Just...just be patient with me."

"Oh, Iz." you grinned at him further, with nothing but adoration twinkling like the brightest of stars in your eyes. "I'd wait until the end of time for you."

====

The following morning.

The knock on the door was indeed a surprise for the Captain, as he wiped his mouth free of crumbs. Whilst interruptions at breakfast were common on the ship, at the inn, there had been a lack of daily visitors to their quarters. Stede could not imagine who would be wanting his attention so early in the morning.

His own amour was not one to wait outside the door of their shared accommodation. Usually, Ed just left and returned as he pleased. That particular daybreak being a prime example of such behaviour. Stede had awoken to find his boyfriend's slumbering form, absent from their bed. All that had been left in his wake, was a sweet note, reading, 'Gone fishing. Be back later. I love you. Ed x'

So, with the other pirate most likely being confined to a small row boat for the better part of the day, there was no telling who stood beyond the closed door. Stede's initial consideration was that, it was the doctor, coming by to deliver an update on the patients (or asking for more money). However, as the Captain recalled but a moment later, the physician was not due to check in on his patients until at least noon. So, that ruled him out as a potential caller.

The next round of persistent thuddings knocks, had a now aggrieved Gentleman Pirate up on his feet and casting his napkin aside. "Alright! Alright! No need fo break the door down, I'm coming!" well, really! Could a man not enjoy his jam and toast in peace? He thought in a huff, knowing that nothing good could possibly await him at such a time of day.

Swinging the door open, perhaps a tad more aggressively than he had intended too, the blonde came face to face with that oh-so-familiar scowl, he had come to absolutely loathe. Especially when it was directed solely at him. Despite his grievances, Izzy presence darkening the door was indeed a cause for concern.

The First Mate was now so intrinsically associated with you and your wellbeing, that Stede felt a sudden rush of panic, at the assumption that further ill-fate had befallen you. Sensing the other man's worry, Izzy suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. As if he would rely on Stede fucking Bonnet an actual crisis! "I'm not here about (Y/N)'s health."

Although, credit given where credit was due, he had been...pretty helpful during the storm and Izzy supposed that, Stede had played a vital role in keeping you in a stable condition, until they had arrived in the Republic of Pirates. Plus, he was the only one the silver-haired pirate could talk to about such a personal and pressing matter. "I need your help but if you breathe a word of this to anyone, especially Edward, I will cut your tongue out." Izzy threatened, his patience already wearing thin. Fuck, life really had been turned up on it's head since the storm. First the conversation with Spriggs, now Bonnet? Calypso really was having her fun toying with their lives, huh? She was certainly enjoying making Izzy's just that bit more unpleasant.

Though Stede liked to think the other pirate to be more bark than bite, he was not going to take his chances, only to find himself inpaled in the gut. Again. Taking the threat to heart, the Captain duly nodded, before stepping to one side, leaving enough room for Izzy to pass by him. "In that case, you had better take a seat. I'll pour us some tea."

[orionsangel86]

So, if you don't mind, I was thinking about that asshole who was rude on your Thessaly post by insisting that Morpheus is meant to be a bad person. I'm curious if you could expand on why you think he's not. I keep going back and forth on my own rereads, especially since the Thessaly relationship and The Kindly Ones writing seem to try and push in a "he IS a bad person" direction. I can't tell if my arguments that "he's just flawed and mentally ill" are fangirl goggles or legit interpretation.

Hey! I don't mind. So when I first got that comment, initially I thought the response was genuine, because it's been a while since anyone has responded to one of my posts in a bad faith way. I frantically tried to wrap my brain around the idea that I had missed something somewhere and that I was supposed to view Morpheus as a "bad person" because even after The Kindly Ones that has never been my interpretation. I then realised the response was just a bad faith troll from an asshole and felt relief that I wasn't wrong.

But I suppose it's all up to interpretation.

The issue is really with what you consider makes a person inherently good or inherently bad. It reminds me of that line in Good Omens:

“It may help to understand human affairs to be clear that most of the great triumphs and tragedies of history are caused, not by people being fundamentally good or fundamentally bad, but by people being fundamentally people.”

Because I genuinely think this line has inspired a LOT of Neil Gaiman's characters, whether human or not.

I also get a bit wary nowadays when certain sections of fandoms start labelling characters, especially protagonists as "bad" because that causes a slipperly slope into accusations of "if you like this character YOU PERSONALLY are a BAD PERSON" (Example: OFMD fandom and the forever bizarre reaction to the character of Izzy Hands).

Dream is not bad. He is not good either. He is entirely neutral. He may occassionally do things that may be considered bad, depending on your perspective, but he also does a lot of good things as well. How do we weigh him on a scale of judgement? Are we to act as his judge and jury for every decision he makes in the comics? I suppose we could do, if we wished to, such is the fun of analysis, but I think the end result would again depend on the perspective and morals of the individual reader.

But I will at least give my own interpretation. I'm putting on my Anubis hat and weighing Dream's heart against my trusty feather. Let's see how he does. Under a cut as its long.

I personally think that for a character to be labelled as "bad" their actions and motivations must cause harm, whether to individuals or larger groups, without them showing any care or concern for those they hurt, in their pursuit to achieve their goals.

For example, Lucifer in The Sandman is still a "bad" character even though there is a LOT of "Sympathy for the Devil" type of perspective in The Sandman. Ultimately Lucifer is still selfishly motivated. He doesn't care about the souls or creatures that reside in Hell, and he certainly doesn't care about humanity. When he kicks everyone out of Hell in Season of Mists it causes havoc on Earth, and leads to the death of at least one child that we know of. It is implied that he does far more damage than is explicitly shown.

Thessaly, as previously mentioned, is definitely a bad character. She is entirely motivated by her own selfishness. She doesn't give a shit who she hurts, or the damage she causes in her persuit for revenge in Game of You. She is cruel and malicious and yes, also a TERF. She does not show any empathy or consideration for any character at any point, and honestly, even her little speech in The Wake comes across as crocodile tears.

Desire is a more complex character but still falls on the "bad" side of the scale because Desire also shows very little regard for others when playing their games or implementing their schemes. Desire is going to do whatever they want regardless of who might get hurt because like Thessaly, Desire doesn't give a fuck about your feelings. Desire is cruel. This is stated textually. Desire's motivations are also usually selfish. The only time I found Desire remotely redeemable was in Overture. Desire saved the universe. Though it is made clear that the only reason they saved the universe was because they wanted to keep living in it. It's worth noting that even though Desire is very much "bad" I absolutely adore them and consider them one of my favourite Sandman characters.

Now to Dream. Unlike the above mentioned characters, Dream's motivations are rarely selfish. Even in The Kindly Ones, I believe even if you interpret the whole thing as Dream's own elaborate suicide plan (which is only one limited interpretation) I don't believe he ever meant for as many people to get hurt as they did, it's just that he found himself in an impossible situation where things escalated to a point of no return. Also, since most casualties were Dream's creations, arguably he probably assumed that either he, or his successor, would simply recreate them once the situation was back under control.

Dream is a lawful neutral character. He has his rules and he must abide by them because "I contain the entire collective unconscious, without my rules it would consume me. Humanity would be consumed." (I know this is Netflix!Dream talking but I'm still gonna use it cos its such a good line).

The big difference between Dream and the above characters, is simple. Dream cares. He cares about everyone. He cares about literally everyone - the entire collective unconscious of the universe and he is so bursting to the brim with care and love for them that he is buckling under the weight of all that care. It is what is destroying him and it is WHY he is so depressed and so susceptable to making bad decisions on a small scale.

Every motivation of Dream's is for the greater good. When he sees what John Dee did with his ruby, he is almost crippled by the guilt of it. He blames himself for giving the ruby so much power that it could corrupt a mortal that much. He is easily swayed by Constantine to give Rachel a peaceful death, even though at first he doesn't think about it, it's not like he laughs it off and walks away - like any of the above mentioned characters would do. He listens to Constantine and agrees to show that compassion.

When he realises he once again has to kill a Vortex - something that is part of his duty as Dream of the Endless, something that is very much carved in stone as one of his rules, he still hesitates, even though he knew what happened last time and all the pain he suffered because of it. A fundamentally bad character who does not care would not have hesitated in killing Rose Walker.

In Brief Lives, whilst his initial motivations were selfish, he realised that his trip with Delirium to find Destruction was causing harm to others. When he realised that people were dying because of their quest, he put an end to it. He hurt Delirium in doing so, unintentionally, but his reasons for stopping weren't because he was bored, or because he had given up on finding Thessaly, it was because people were getting hurt and he didn't want to be responsible for that anymore.

When you look at Dream's actions on a wider scale, he is a good character. It is only on a more personal level that his flaws start to show through.

Where Dream's behaviour gets bad, it is usually because he has been hurt, and when he is hurt, he acts like a petty child throwing a tantrum. It is when his cruel side comes out, and its when he is most like Desire.

Nada is the most obvious casualty of this side of Dream. She rejected him, he threw a tantrum, and condemned her to Hell for hurting him.

Calliope tells Dream that she believed the "old you would have left me here to rot." We don't know how true this is, even in the comics, but the idea that there once was a version of Dream who might have discovered his ex wife was being frequently raped and abused whilst imprisoned and bound to evil mortal men and refused to help her simply because she left him is horrifying, but as I said, we don't know if it is or ever was true.

Ultimately, on the small scale, all it takes is for someone to tell Dream that he is in the wrong for him to relent and accept his misgivings. Constantine called him out on Rachel, so he did what he was asked to do. Calliope didn't even HAVE to ask for him to free her in the comics, he just showed up and saved her without question. When Death told him what he did to Nada was "shitty", he immediately put plans in place to make it right, even though doing so was risky and put him and the Dreaming in danger.

Even the situation with Orpheus, whilst seemingly harsh on Dream's side, his son told him to his face "you are no longer my father" and so Dream, hurt and with wounded pride, walked away from his son and refused to look back - but he still arranged for the priests to take care of him.

His choice of Thessaly as a lover is messed up, but he was messed up at the time. My view as mentioned in my previous post is that she was a rebound. They make it clear in the comic that he never approved of her murderous ways (and I have no doubt that he would also dissaprove of her transphobia, even if not mentioned explicitly).

In The Kindly Ones I don't view the situation as Dream being a bad person. I view it as everyone else being bad. Dream is caught in a huge cloud of depression and shitty circumstance and he is unable to free himself from that situation, and even when others can sense his desperation and pain, no one actually helps him. Dream's biggest flaw in The Kindly Ones, in my opinion, is not asking for help.

Because he is prideful, because even after all he has been through, he could not shake off that pride. It went full circle, he was back in his glass cage refusing to ask for help. Only this time, the glass cage was his realm, his subjects, his role as Dream of the Endless, and he could not change himself enough to free himself without making the drastic worst case decision.

My hatred of The Kindly Ones as a story, is not because I think it does a disservice to Dream, but because it does a disservice to every other character involved. By the end of that particular story, I hated every character who WASN'T Dream. Because I desperately wanted one of them, ANY of them, to actually help him. To see past his stubborn pride and hold him in their arms and shake him until he saw sense. Because the message in that story seemed to me to be that people are inherently selfish and so wrapped up in their own lives that they won't help you when you need it most. That there isn't even a point in asking for help. So what's the point?

But then I am fully aware that my feelings are complicated and partly projecting onto the characters and the story and well, that's all not really relevant to the point of this post except to ask you all to take my opinion with a grain of salt.

So back to your original question. I don't think Dream is a bad person. He is flawed, he is a character who when pushed to the limit will do drastic stupid things, but then wouldn't we all if pushed to our absolute limit? He is extremely depressed and buckling under the weight of the collective unconscious. All that unchecked emotion carried within him, and it is literally killing him.

So when weighing his heart against the feather of judgement, I think I can forgive him some bad behaviour towards some ex lovers in the grand scheme of all he has done. As flawed characters go, he's hardly the worst, and the feather is still heavier than his heart.

[martymcflown]

Okay I wanna ramble about the OFMD S2 finale now. This is a fucking ramble and a half but it was do this or continue posting disconnected, inarticulate messages at 5am. Spoilers ahead.

I wanna start this with the things I LIKED this season so I'm not just being a hater. Overall, I'm super happy this show even exists. A historical pirate show with an entire cast of queer characters (and many queer actors/creators) is always a good thing in my book. It's better that these shows succeed and show that it's a viable creative endeavor. Specific things I liked about s2: -Zheng. She's incredible. I loved her the second she revealed who she was and just found her so entertaining whenever she was on screen. I hope Ruibo Qian gets more chances to shine in the future, preferably as a lead.

-All the guest stars gave 110% and I found them delightful. I completely understand why the toxic lesbians took off the way they did on social media when Minnie Driver and Rachel House were so charismatic. -The Innkeeper. This episode made me so hopeful for what the season COULD be because I thought Ed's internal conflict was handled in such a great way. Kind of a shame that they set up this beautiful story of a self-loathing, suicidal person who's wronged the people he loves as worthy of second chances only to fuck that up later BUT WHATEVER THAT'S A FUTURE PROBLEM. -There are plenty of individual moments that made me feel great. That really made me love these characters and came close to capturing what I felt in the first season. But I will add a caveat to this thought in the next bit... Specific things I did not like about OFMD s2: -So, while I did enjoy individual moments when separated from the whole of the series, when trying to think of them in context everything felt so...cobbled together? Instead of feeling like I was watching a cohesive story, it felt more like the writers' room had sat down and said "All right, what scenes would people like to see? What character moments would get people talking?" Which I think was a mistake. -Plot threads were left dangling in the wind. Character conflicts were either wrapped up in a blink or were entirely forgotten. It felt like a season with no consequences (which is WEIRD, considering). I'd had an in-depth conversation with a friend around episode 2 or 3, but I'd said I was excited to see how Izzy and Stede's conflict could develop as the season went on--I specifically wanted an exploration into the idea that regardless of how hard you work to redeem yourself, nobody owes it to you to accept your apology. And that that's OKAY. Instead it felt like everyone looked at Izzy as if his previous behavior was the behavior of a mischievous cat who knocks shit off counters as opposed to a toxic force within the crew.

-I'm not an Izzy hater, I'm not an Izzy fanboy; I'm just someone who likes coherent character arcs. His character arc sucked, guys. Like I'm sorry, I know most of us were delighted with his drag show and casual, friendly bitchiness. But it made no goddamn sense for who he was in the last season, and I feel that the total 180 he did from being the symbol of toxic masculinity to giving heartwarming speeches about pirate life being all about acceptance and family to be...messy. I genuinely thought that Izzy was going to be used as an allegory for Ed having an addiction and needing to withdraw from it over a season, or that the season would at least confront the toxic nature of their relationship in a way that wasn't THREE SECONDS BEFORE IZZY DIED. Also sorry Izzy is coming up in another point but it's because it felt like 70% of this season was Izzy. -The shafting of the side characters. Remember when Ed was like "I'm the fuckin' devil. And these are the kids"? Yeah, that was kind of the vibe the whole damn time, eh? I'll be totally upfront with you, I didn't love the first season because the two Kiwis kissed. I loved the first season for the characters. I was SO intrigued by every one of them, particularly Jim and Olu. This season, every single member of the crew felt more like Polly Pockets who would get pulled out when convenient and then tossed into the sand when the episode grew tired of them. Did any of them actually have character development? Did any of them get an actual moment to shine? Also, god, on the note of the handling of crew relationships. I can't believe this season managed to polybait but here we are. I would love to understand what the reasoning was to break up Olu and Jim. Was it because they couldn't imagine two new characters (Zheng and Archie) existing without a romance? Did amatonormativity strike again? Even removing the romantic development Olu and Jim had for each other, it really felt like they hadn't gone through ANY of the shit they had in the former season. Which I suppose you could say about any of the threads connecting characters because I swear these people acted like they'd just met at a work conference as opposed to having long-standing relationships to one another. -I would like to say for the record that I was never terribly invested in Izzy Hands as a character outside of what he symbolized, but I was initially hopeful he could lead to some fantastic character development for Ed, Stede and himself. Instead, as mentioned before, he had the most rushed character development I have EVER seen and for reasons I still can't really fathom. And maybe this is just a personal thing for me, but I actually really hate showing a suicidal person learning to love life and find new value in allowing themself the opportunity to grow as a person only to fucking murk them for a cheap, rushed emotional moment.

--

Closing thoughts--have you ever seen the special finale episode of Sense8 where the creators knew they'd been screwed by Netflix and so had to scramble to put together a cohesive end for those characters? And the episode we got was messy, it left threads dangling, it wrapped up character conflicts quickly, but it also ultimately seemed to reflect the overall heart of the show? Yeah, this was like that Sense8 finale episode but, at least for me, lacked any of the heart. I've seen people argue that the creators of OFMD wrapped so many conflicts so quickly because they wanted us to have "closure" in case they didn't get a season 3. But, I would argue that I would much rather receive a season that leaves me with questions but feels coherent only to not get answers to those questions than to get the cinematic equivalent of an Uber Eats refund. I'm not satisfied. I'm still hungry. I just have someone telling me I should still be grateful, anyway. I hope they get a season 3, I really do.

[piratecaptainscaptainpirates]

A little while ago, I saw a take about why season 2 of OFMD was "bad" that I just haven't been able to stop thinking about, because it hinged entirely around hating the ending because "they killed off the only well-developed character."

This has haunted me, because I have been completely unable to understand how you can watch the show and come away with that criticism. I've talked before about how everything about Izzy reads more coherently when you understand that he's just really not an important character in the grand scheme of things (he's important to Ed's overall story, but in terms of the narrative itself he's not a major player). He's there to be a voice for toxic masculinity, pull Ed back into this lifestyle that's killing him, and then start getting better as proof that Stede's way of doing masculinity is best. And because he is the very definition of a side character, I struggle to think how you even get the idea that he's somehow better developed than our leads or even other side characters, because even Lucius has more of a backstory than Izzy does and once Izzy ceases to become that mouthpiece for toxic masculinity, his personality kinda becomes just bland, swear-y abrasiveness (which is honestly fine, I think, he doesn't really need to be more than that because he is, again, relatively unimportant).

Izzy is played with conviction and depth. This is because Con O'Neill is a good actor who presumably puts a lot of thought into his performance - this is true for most actors on the show. Very talented bunch. But while Izzy is interesting, he's often interesting in terms of what he can tell us about mostly Ed but other characters as well (the crew save him as proof that Stede has influenced them and then help him mostly as a team-bonding exercise, for example). And Izzy has very few traits that aren't shared by other characters. Pete had a very similar arc about unlearning toxic masculinity in s1. All we know about Izzy is that he's a good swordsman, he's honestly a very shit sailor, he was power-hungry but then chilled out a bit, and he likes to say "fuck" and "twat" a lot. He fulfills his narrative purpose but I'm not sure I would call him a very well-developed character, much less the only well-developed character in the entire show.

I have tried so hard to give this interpretation the benefit of the doubt, but I genuinely think the only way you could think this is if your sole exposure to the show is through the way we know a not-insignificant portion of canyon folks watched it, which is through fan compilations of only the scenes with Izzy in them.

And I'm not really sure where that leaves us. There's a small but not insignificant portion of this fandom who engage with the show purely through the lens of one side character - and not even just a side character, but one who very frequently and unsubtly gets the events that actually happen very wrong to suit himself, especially where Ed is concerned. And now we have a situation where "gentlebeardies" (read: fans of the show as written) will sometimes be unable to talk about the actual text of the show because there's an insistence that this be treated as a valid interpretation and not just a reading-against-the-text exercise, and I'm not sure where that leaves us.

[averyhollow]

@bromelads is amazing. I can’t say enough in praise of the kindness, patience, love, good will, and thought that are going into this conversation and spreadsheet; and I hope it’s genuinely appreciated by those it’s in reply to.

I think my main takeaway is that I have no common ground with a lot of people who consider themselves “Izzy critical” or anti-Izzy, and can’t say I think we care about the same things. I think that’s a good realization for me to come to and one that’ll hopefully make it so much easier for me to focus on letting what I see as inflexible assertions stemming from respectability politics and/or paternalistic racism, float on by.

Looking through the responses from “Izzy critical”, and feeling the comments so far are reaffirming positions I believe flatten BIPOC characters due to their inflexibility; and that I think are prevalent not only out of a desire to center the voices of BIPOC, but out of a desire to have a Right Answer that’s coupled with bias towards certain characters and ships.

The more I look at the arguments being made, the more I see them as the liberal/leftist counterparts to socially conservative justifications for excluding BIPOC from certain roles; or (likely unintentional) smokescreens for infantilization, sanitization, respectability politics, and dehumanization (e.g., the idea that interpreting Ed as having “anger issues” is a microagression in and of itself has some pretty fucked up implications to me). It’s not the differences in opinions and interpretations themselves that are the problem for me. It’s the insistence on making blanket statements about which ones do, or don’t, inherently reflect racist bias or reinforce racist narratives.

I think there are a number of reasons most of the headcanon and interpretations discussed should leave room for agreement to disagree that don’t involve calling the interpretations in question microaggressions in and of themselves. But that space so often isn’t there. I feel like it’s not conversation at this point. I’m not sure I can even envision what my ideal recommendations for actionable items might be in the current environment, since I think the ship has sailed on suggestions like:

maybe don’t respond to individual fanworks, but instead comment on trends and issues you notice in your own space, and tag in a way that’s easy to find for those willing to look

if responding to something/someone directly, approach with the intent of getting your perspective and counterarguments understood, and not with the intent of getting them agreed with

if responding to someone directly, keep the same energy you would for the cast, crew, and creators of the show when/if they make similar points

consider if something happened onscreen that didn’t sit right with you and you’re making authoritative claims about how it’s meant to be interpreted in order to square your love of the show with something you find problematic, and consider how your relationship to the show might change if you’re wrong about the intent

ask people about their specific reasoning for an interpretation instead of making blanket denouncements of certain interpretations

don’t outsource responsibility for your personal views to some mythical monolithic BIPOC community

if you’re white, ask yourself if you engage with and hype up the opinions and meta of BIPOC whose interpretations you don’t agree with entirely, or at all. If not, why?

if you’re white, are you about to say something that you’re willing to stand by and defend regardless of the race of who you’re replying to or if contradicting opinions from BIPOC are presented? Or are you going to bounce the moment you’re openly confronted with a situation where no matter what position you espouse, you’re gonna have to take responsibility for holding a position BIPOC disagree with and are made uncomfortable by?

or any number of other ideas I have that are rooted in an opinion that it’s unhelpful and tokenizing to make blanket statements intended to spin objective truths from subjective material.

So I think all I can, or want, to do at this point is focus on my own engagement patterns and work on being more considerate about when and how I engage in, and disengage from, arguments. Will also continue to vent frustrations with other BIPOC who love my grumpy gremlin, are neutral about him, or otherwise find themselves exhausted, frustrated, or erased by posts advising that EdIzzy is an inherently racist and abusive ship, or that the ship name BlackBonnet is offensive to Black fans.

[dr-lizortecho]

#65 for the prompts for the Pod Squad. It sounds like something Isobel would say 😂

Sorry this took so long! But with Crash Con I didn’t get much time to think about how I wanted the conversation to go, which was difficult cause as you said it’s 100% something Izzy would say in like so many situations 😂 (send me a prompt + a character/pairing) <3

Isobel smiles softly at her brothers, watching as they all continue to crowd the kid. Michael is leaned practically into Max’s shoulder as he tickles at her feet, making the baby gurgle.

“Look at that smile,” Dallas practically coos.

Annabelle releases a small laugh, feet kicking in her excitement.

Max’s smile is almost too bright, eyes twinkling as he looks at his daughter. Isobel hadn’t seen him purely content and delighted until his daughter came into their lives.

“You wouldn’t even know she has Max’s genetics,” Michael says smugly.

Max frowns, “hey!”

“Isn’t-“ Dallas laughs “-isn’t he genetically your dad?”

“Hey!” Max and Michael say in unison.

“He’s not wrong,” Isobel says, narrowing her eyes at them. When she blurred her vision the similarities always seemed more obvious. It was genuinely a shock they’d always assumed she was the one related to Max.

Michael frowns at her before straightening up and reaching out for Annabelle. “May I?”

Max nods passing his daughter to Michael. He lifts Annabelle over his head, her laughter bubbling up immediately. “Who’s your favorite uncle?”

Dallas snorts, “I mean, I’m her uncle squared.”

Isobel rolls her eyes, “maybe in front of the baby isn’t the best place to remind everyone who’s bed you warm.”

“Ewww,” Max whines, tossing a throw pillow across the small space.

Isobel catches it, glaring at her brother. If Annabelle wasn’t on the same couch she’d chuck it right back at him.

“It’s definitely me,” Michael says cheekily. “Considering I’m designated baby sitter and bringer of new toys.”

Isobel frowns, “I’m definitely her favorite.”

“Her favorite uncle?” Max asks with a half giggle.

“Exactly,” she says turning up her nose.

Dallas frowns, “I think you spend too much time here. Should probably just get a baby of your own.”

Max’s face lights up, “we could do play dates.”

Michael frowns, face falling.

“What’s that face?” Isobel squints at him.

“Nothin’,” Michael says. Bouncing Annabelle in the air before settling her into the crook of his arm.

“I know a nothing look,” Dallas arches a brow, “and that isn’t one.”

“Spill,” Isobel says, using telekinesis to tug sharply at one of his curls.

Michael frowns, shrugging easily. “It’s just- what if I make a bad parent? I mean, it’s not like I had a stellar example growing up. Like… what if I screw up?” He chuckles darkly, “I mean I fucked up on Alex more times than I can count. And when it comes to kids- you can’t. Not once. I don’t think I’d survive doing that to another person.”

There’s a long beat of silence.

Max reaches over and squeezes his shoulder, “you wouldn’t be alone.”

“There is no way that much stupid can fit inside one person,” Isobel snorts, settling easily back into her seat.

Dallas nods, “yet- somehow he manages.”

Michael glares at her, “I’m just saying it’s a lot.”

“You’re a great uncle,” Isobel says simply. “You’re a great brother. Husband. Friend.”

This makes Michael’s cheeks tinge pink, his eyes darting down to the little girl in his arms.

“You’ve grown and learned so much,” she says with a half sappy smile. “I mean if Max can do it so can you.”

“Hey,” Max frowns, but he squeezes at Michael’s shoulder again. “She’s right, though. You’d make a good father. I mean, you’d be just selfless enough.”

Dallas nods, “and you mentioned growing up. How that shaped you.”

This makes something dark glint in all three of her brothers eyes. A similar haunted look no doubt on her own face, even if she didn’t have the same darkness lying thick over her childhood. Not till she was older of course.

“And that in a way is it’s own gift,” Dallas smiles weakly. “You’ll be more cautious, you know a lot of what not to do-“

“Like that list was hard,” Michael snorts. His humor settling over him like armor, smirk half cocky.

“You know what he means,” Max huffs exasperatedly.

“You’d be a good dad,” Isobel repeats. “Alex too.”

Michael’s armor cracks a little, something soft glinting in his eyes. “He would wouldn’t he?”

Annabelle gurgles, her little hand wrapping around Michael’s finger. As if their little niece wanted to have her opinion weighed into the conversation at hand.

“See?” Max coos, booping her little nose, “little belle agrees.”

Michael groans, “please, dear god, no. Who let this man name and nickname a child?”

Max glares, “what’s wrong with her name?”

[alexanderlightweight]

Hi I’m the non-virgin Alec anon and I thought that was perfect! Thank you! I’m Grey-Ace and in college I did in fact try sex and just didn’t get the appeal. And then I met my husband who is really the only person who’s ever made me feel good about it. This is why I prompted you with this, I knew you’d get it and do it justice.

I totally see Alec as Demi. I just dislike this whole romance genre fascination with adults being virgins until they meet The One. It works with an 18 year old per the books but they clearly aged him up the show and I just have a head cannon that he gets upset one day around 20 with the teasing from his siblings and goes out and hooks up and then just does not get the appeal. I’m glad someone else saw that. Thanks so much again!

Ah thank you so much for letting me know! I agree and I did enjoy writing it! Because I do love exploring how different shades of demi are. I was honestly just a little worried that I’d approached it completely opposite for how you asked.

I was hoping explaining it would make it okay so this makes me very happy and I appreciate and am honored you trusted me with it! I’m really glad it resonated with you 💜. I’m ace-sex repulsed so that tends to flavor my fics before Alec meets Magnus tbh.

Oh yeah I see that too. Which honestly is just. Gahhhhhh I have such issues with season one so much because like. Why is it such a bad thing not to have sex? If they never mentioned Alec was a virgin until his ‘Magnus I’ve never done any of this before’ and magnus: wow the world is blind but I’m okay with that because someone else didn’t snag you

But again you’re right because I really doubt the writers were like ‘hey Alec’s Demi’ and it was easier and ‘ooh a virgin trope’ like they picked the most random things to use from the books and ofc it’s the in the closet ‘repressed’ guy trope. Which is just, not helpful and gross especially because of how they portrayed it.

Tbh one of these days I’m going to write a fic where Alec is just like: okay. So I have to have sex because you want me to? What about me? What if I don’t want to have it. Does that even matter to either of you? Or are you so focused on hoping that I’ll get distracted and become sex-focused idiots like you two so you can get away with more stuff? Because that’s gross. You two may enjoy being vulnerable with strangers but I have better things to do

-

Simons: that explain so much

Pisses me off so much and I’ve honestly always thought that Magnus thought of the first thing he could think of because Magnus looks genuinely confused that Alec’s never dated/had sex before on their date. And he seems to not notice Simon’s comment because he’s so busy

Magnus: how do I get Alexander here? Oh! Make up something ridiculous because I’m exhausted and busy.

Magnus later with alec holding him: I can’t believe that worked (Magnus: forgets about the virgin remark immediately)

But yeah I get that. Because Alec in this totally like: you know what, fine. I’m gonna have sex. And then Alec us like: wow Jace and Izzy are idiots I can’t believe there so obsessed with this and also worrying even more that something’s wrong with him and keeps his mouth shut.

Alec’s allowed to mock their sex habits because he doesn’t slut shame them and they shame him all the time.

But yeah I 100% agree that Alec could just be like ‘fuck it I’m getting this over with’ and just being like ‘well that was awful let’s never speak of it again’.

^_^

💜 lumine

[bookshelfdreams]

(previous anon here) Thanks for the reply and don't worry at all about the tone :) Yeah, I know the post wasn't about that, I just put in a good word for Izzy about his hostility in that particular scene. I was like you about Ed in season 1… I couldn't be angry with him even when he threw poor Lucius into the sea XD but my view of him changed in season 2 and I can understand people who keep defending him but it makes me sad see often the same fans who justify everything he does not empathizing even a little with Izzy (when he deserves it, of course). I'd also have to say about the Ed/Izzy dynamic of the Frankfurter clouds scene/whole episode but I don't want bother you further because that would be long ^^' Goodnight! (no need to post this, I took you enough time)

hehe sorry for not answering yesterday, I was already asleep when u sent this! No need to apologize at all, I love hearing people's thoughts about ofmd!

wrt Ed, honestly, he just bats his big sad baby cow eyes and I'm like, awwww. Who could be mad at you.

Look at him! He can do whatever he wants <3

No but fr, I think the first 3 episodes of s2 are super super interesting, because Ed genuinely is a bit of a dick in them - but we are asked to forgive him anyway. We're clearly shown that the violence, the refusal to engage with his own emotions, the hypermasculine posturing - all that is very bad for him. He's hurting himself much more than he's hurting anyone else, and ofmd always took emotional pain far more serious than physical injury. Also, there's been a worrying tendency in fandom over the hiatus to paint Ed as much more aggressive and violent than he actually is; to refuse to extend to him the empathy and understanding certain Other Characters get. This has only been amplified after s2 dropped.

So there's a counter-tendency to be very very firm in the stance that he never did anything wrong XD Not saying you personally are a part of that first tendency of course.

Ed actually is criticized in Canon for what he did! He does have to make amends. And he is forgiven. The characters forgive him; the story forgives him; we, the audience, are supposed to forgive him. Because what we are shown is the destructive death spiral of a man so hopeless, and in such horrific emotional pain, that the only solution he sees is pushing until someone snaps and kills him. That's heartbreaking, and 02x02 is visceral to watch. I never wanted to see Ed redeemed (because, imo, that's not what he needs, he feels bad enough about himself already); I wanted to see him recover. And I got that :)

But I can see how people with different life experiences than mine might see that differently.

Anyway, thank you so much for your thoughts, and for reaching out! If you want to talk about the clouds scene, I'd be elated to hear your thoughts, 01x04 is one of my favourite episodes and it's a great scene to chew on. But if you'd rather not, that's fine too <3 Have a lovely day!