#this does actually rival we don't have a future we have a dog for some of these for me which. fuck u past me for being so right about this

[crossbackpoke-check]

a junkyard dog ain't always pretty but you always love that toothless smile

[tizzyizzy]

I think the reason some people are utterly baffled by Izzy Hands appreciation is because they aren't picking up on cues that indicate that they shouldn't take all his words at face value. They wonder why we see softness, angst, vulnerability, and love in angry little henchman. But Izzy, like a hedgehog, hides his soft belly by displaying his spikes.

Like, the guy's captain instituted a no pet policy because loving a pet would make a crew member weak. Izzy has lived by these rules for years, and may have enforced them. This isn't something Izzy decided himself for kicks. It didn't come from some inherent personality defect. No one is born assuming emotional bonds are weaknesses.

When Izzy tries to kill Stede, he's still following his captain's orders, just a past version of him. If Izzy has genuinely taken the idea that love makes a man weak to heart, it makes sense that he wouldn't obey Ed's order to stand down. According to his logic, Ed literally isn't making rational decisions, and Izzy has to step in to keep him from hurting himself.

We know that Izzy isn't actually living up to the loveless pirate standard, too. Jack calls him "sentimental". Izzy spewed plenty of threats when he was banished from the Revenge...then came back to "rescue" Ed from himself.

But Izzy lives in a world where love is unacceptable, so he tells himself it's something different. It's "loyalty", not love. It makes him a good first mate, not weak and vulnerable. A tough pirate, not some namby-pamby pining for his boyfriend. But a pirate that doesn't love would have left Blackbeard once he showed weakness, if they didn't kill him themselves. If Izzy hadn't negotiated for Ed's freedom, he could have been captain of Izzy's Revenge without rival.

If love is weakness and fear is power, the best way to protect yourself and your captain is aggression. You yell and insult and threaten because you don't believe people can be trusted to be kind out of the goodness of their hearts.

Consider Izzy pulling Fang's beard when Fang questioned Ed's order. He didn't do that because he's a sadist. He did it because if a crew member questions the captain then that might be a step toward mutiny.

Compare that to how Stede runs his ship. He asks for constructive criticism. He tries to promote communication. He believes that if people listen to one another, they can reach peaceful understandings.

But that requires trusting people. Trusting they'll help you when you're vulnerable instead of taking advantage. That they won't use what you told them in confidence against you. That they'll do the best for the crew out of the goodness of their heart instead of fear of the lash.

I think the episode 10 subplot shows this perfectly with Ed. Izzy said some incredibly hurtful things, but at the end of the day, they were just words. The situation wasn't unsalvageable.

But it put the fear back into Ed. Now the crew outside, asking for a song, sounded like they were mocking him. He showed them pieces of himself he couldn't unshow.

Considering past events, Izzy likely wasn't a real threat. He threatened Ed with leaving and vengeance without doing either. Future conversations could have resulted in compromise or agreeing to part ways or something else.

But how could Ed trust that to work? Izzy is a pirate, who believes that love makes a man weak. If Izzy doesn't admire Ed or fear him, it's not like he would look out for Ed out of genuine care for him, right?

The only way to protect himself is to eliminate the threat or threaten it into submission.

Izzy seems like a very lonely man. His only close relationship is with his captain who lost interest in their work. He can't afford to be too friendly with the crew because then they might cease to respect him. So he's alone. All he has is his job and that falls apart as Blackbeard does. No one he can trust or lean on.

Like an abused dog that growls at everyone, Izzy acts out of fear, not maliciousness.

[mermaidsirennikita]

ARC Review: A Wicked Game by Kate Bateman

4/5. Releases 12/27/2022.

Morgan Davies and Harriet Montgomery have grown up in families that at odds--but while they don't get along, they aren't quite enemies. Before Morgan goes off to sea, Harriet promises him that if he comes back alive, he'll get to give her three kisses--wherever he wants. Years later, he returns after being imprisoned with a whole new perspective. He wants Harriet for his own, not as a friend or an enemy, and he'll use those three kisses as a good little jumping off point for his plans to win her.

So to be super real, this one doesn't have like, a huge PLOTTY PLOT PLOT thing. It's mostly a sexy romantic comedy that focuses on two people who are fun and likable and hot and don't have deep internal issues aside from not quite knowing how to go from friendly rivals to lovers. (I mean, he totally knows how, she's just a bit less experienced.) And normally, I think that would bug me, a supreme lover of angst and fucked upedness and drama. But here? It really didn't. It was pretty delightful. Why?

What Worked:

--Morgan and Harriet have great chemistry and read like two people who've known each other since childhood. And even if they've never been like, confidants, they know one another deeply due to that proximity, and know how to push each other's buttons.

--Tonally speaking, their relationship absolutely had the vibe of the "This Is My Idea" from The Swan Princess, which I know is deeply ingrained in the minds of many romance readers of a certain age. If you liked that, you'll like this. Morgan and Harriet are that without the arranged marriage, and with a good deal more emotional maturity (but not so much that the story is boring) and no insta-love. It's pretty clear that these two have had a thing for each other since they were kids, and it just took some good old-fashioned imprisonment for Morgan to go "ARRANGE THE MARRIAGE!!!"

--The supporting cast is hilarious (I assume we'll get a Rhys book... I mean his name is fucking Rhys and he doesn't wanna get married...?) and anyone who enjoys "everyone can see it" will have a good time with them.

--This is actually a pretty hot trad historical romance, I've gotta say, especially for one that's a bit lower angst. There's really good flirting, you get some light blindfold action, a lot of foreplay--I mean, the three kisses are essentially a sex bet. And it never feels like Harriet is in over her head, though Morgan is obviously much more experienced than she is and knows exactly what he's doing with this three kisses shit; Bateman does some maneuvering to make sure it feels super consensual. Which, honestly, isn't always a must for me as a reader, but it's a must for the tone of this book. And then you get some last minute shenanigans that I didn't expect but was super into.

--Great grand gesture, much appreciate.

--Going back to that sex stuff though... How refreshing to have a good bit of sex in the book, acknowledge Harriet's worries about ruination... and then go "well, shit happens". I'm so over historical romance reviewers (some of which I'm sure will dog this book out) acting as if nobody had sex before marriage in Days of Yore. And everyone who did was found out and ruined.

First off, as with today, money and the right connections can get you a fuckton of leeway. The Duchess of Devonshire literally had a child out of wedlock with a future prime minister, and with the right maneuvering, got back to her top spot in society in no time. And she was not the only one. People could be scandalous, and still received, because you had no choice but to receive them. And considering how much historical romance focuses on the upper crust...

Aside from that, it's just like--cool, so we'll accept all the dukes and the hot people with all their teeth and the lack of STIs but we won't accept people fucking out of wedlock just for fun? Okay!!!

But that's a huge digression, and I use it to say that I loved how this book treated sex. Harriet lets Morgan do stuff to her because she's curious and it's fun and let's be real, she's highkey in love with him even if she doesn't realize it at the moment. Harriet does some reckless shit because it feels good and she knows how to get away with it. One of my favorite parts of this book was someone realizing that Shit Went Down and going "listen, lots of people do that and we just don't talk about it, you're hardly the first one to go for it". Like... what a nice change of pace. Someone fucked out of wedlock in 18whatever it wasn't the end of the world.

What Didn't Work (For Me):

--There was a last minute plot device danger at the very end that lasted for like 30 seconds, and it felt pretty forced. This is an emotional book, not a plotty book. And that's cool! It wasn't a big detractor, it just didn't super work for me.

If you kinda wanna have fun and read about people who've known each other for years sniping at one another and then raw dogging in a fun environment, this is a great book for you. And a great series--I have yet to read the first, but I totally am, and A Daring Pursuit was really fun as well.

But for reals, don't dare a Davies if you want to keep your tender virginity intact.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[redxblueihateloveyou]

Actually for me it's pretty weird that the most popular ship in Free! is Makoharu. I mean, they give me like zero romantic vibes, if not Rinharu I would've definitely shipped Sourin. It's the main reason I hated Sousuke when I watched 2nd season for the first time - I saw him as a threat for Rinharu (now I just don't like him that much, but I decided to let Rin has his best friend, lol). Maybe it's just me loving rivals to lovers :)

Well.. for me Free! was never that kind of anime where there are other ships, but honestly after several years of watching anime and lately discovering that people ship Wei Wuxian with Jiang Cheng I kinda lost my faith in people lol And yes, I also truly don’t get those ships, where there are zero romantic vibes, but I got used to seeing this already.

I think I’ve talked about Makoharu only once, I usually don’t do it cause as a ship it’s so illogical to me that I just don’t see the point of wasting time on this lol I feel like it’s gonna be long answer so I’ll split it and after “***” I’ll talk about my bro-rinharu-shipper Sousuke.

I’m not gonna throw a debate if it’s the most popular ship or not, but I just want to say that I don’t think that it's really called shipping Makoto and Haru, since firstly, let’s talk about Makoto as a character (which is the main problem in this whole thing tbh) cause from what I saw the Makoto the MH fandom created has nothing to do with the real Makoto. Like the dude is scared of dogs, ghosts, bees, water and I forgot what else; covers his eyes when he sees anyone even in swim trunks and gets embarrassed easier than a nun (apparently you can’t even unbutton the collar of your freaking jacket!!!!!!!!!!! oh lord!!!!!!); crumbles under everyone in this anime including Hiyori and can’t even talk back. 

And suddenly like half of this fandom thinks that Makoto is a dominant top apparently. We seriously laughed our asses off seeing that, I mean even my mom (who’s a teacher btw). I’m like... I have a sister who’s majored in psychology and I myself in literature (like I seriously promise we ain’t stupid) and we just seriously don’t understand.. In what Tarzan’s ass does he suit this description? Dude can’t even answer properly while being offended. Like maybe they like Makoto’s twin brother? Because real Makoto does not have any dangerous dark side, seriously, this ain’t “8 dogs of the east” lmao.

I appreciate their friendship at times, but I never was a fan of him, because I don’t really like people who treat everyone equally (friends and strangers) and think that some asshole deserves as much love as the closest friend. I just don’t understand this life position and don’t like those “world peace” guys anyway. I mean, that fish died moment in the books was when my brain died honestly. Like I get it, dude is sensitive, but... seriously?

And for me being kind is not really a personality. I mean, hell, sometimes it’s no good to be kind. There is a fine line between being kind and being a mop you know.

And sometimes his behavior is really cringy to me. Like during the funeral and during Haru passing out in the book and during many things that are very serious. I just don’t think he’s the person you can rely on at times. I mean at first I thought he’s a steady shoulder, but somehow in all serious situations he doesn’t do anything useful.

Like I might be in the minority here, but to me when you know very well that you panic in the ocean you don’t go there trying to save somebody, it’s not brave, it’s just plain stupid (like it’s not like the tent was far, it was fucking next to him, all he had to do is wake up a pro) so by the end we had to rescue two instead of one, just because he’s dumb af.

He also panics a lot which I really hate on people. I’m sorry but like panicking ppl are the only worst. It reminds me of one of my life situation when my sister was badly hurt and we needed to keep our heads cool to act quickly and do what was necessary asap. And I’ve seen ppl behave like Makoto in situations like this and man it’s seriously no fun, it’s annoying. Like when you need to help somebody and someone panics beside you it pisses you off. And he does it even in little things like when he yelled Haru in the ear while driving JUST BECAUSE A CAR IN FRONT OF THEM BRAKED I mean omfg I would seriously yell “shut the fuck up, you pussy!”

And it all honestly keeps getting worse and worse like the way he’s written, his behavior just buffles me so much. Makoto in s3 just murdered me tbh. Like he didn’t help with anything, he didn’t bring anything to the plot, you can just erase him, he only sat there anyways. And the way they pulled his “dream” out of his ass was just a second-hand embarrassment tbh. And he’s not even Haru’s emotional support anymore. He’s just... I don’t get it. There were literally scenes where he was third-wheeling or just forced into that looked laughable. 

Which brings me to the second point. From what I saw many of Makoharu fans are mostly Makoto fans, so they just want what’s good for him, and since he has no life goals whatsoever (like after he dropped his “I dream of making children like swimming” thingy like a hot potato and was like “training children.. but look at Rin and Haru” I really lost my last marbles watching him) they apparently don’t care for what Haru’s dream is and that he said openly that he wants a future with Rin.

Like I get that everyone has their tastes, but like what.. two people who are crazy about each other since twelve and blossomed a dream of having a future together and the thought of being with each other got them through and they finally have what they wanted.. this is not a trend anymore? Mutual romantic love is not a trend anymore? Like I even without novelization can see that (and I quote Rin word for word here) that “every time he sees Haru his heart beats so fast he can’t calm down” and quote “Haru sees Rin and he’s shaking, he closes his eyes desperately trying get rid of the image, but the pain in his chest doesn’t go away”.

I am personally very happy that Rinharu are finally together and will be doing what they wanted in their life by each other’s side, cause they’ve been dreaming about it for too long, they’ve been thinking about it for  years. So not wanting them to have that is very weird for me. And the argument that Makoto somehow better than Rin for Haru is so invalid, I always laugh. I guess it depends on what you want for yourself. But honestly like you guys better find someone who make you want to reach for the stars and make you heart skip a bit everytime you see him.

So I as a huge fan of Haru want my boy to fly and now I have all the canon proof for those who were blind that Rin is the only one (been said) who makes him feel that way. So all those anons who kept writing to me how relay with Sosuke, with Rei and what baffled me the most swimming with Ikuya was just as emotional for them can finally shut it (lmao I’m sorry).

***

Now... Sousuke, my bro, the first Rinharu shipper on the village who helped them to get together is a threat? Okay. Well, I actually like s2, there are some dumb episodes but s2 actually to me showed how rinharu relationships are different from anyone else. There are literally two whole episodes and several scenes of how the bROMANCE prevails over BROmance.

Sousuke and Rin have typical brothers relationship. From their secret handshakes “parent trap” style to the fact that they draw them exactly the same with his real brother. I mean I don’t know if anyone noticed, but in 3x11 they drew Sousuke doing the exact same teasing move with Rin, that his older brother did to him in 3x01, and it’s definitely not a coincidence. Which means he treats him like his little bro, and not just that. I have lots of proof.

You know, I had a friend back at university who had an older brother who she was very close with and she kept telling me about how he kept testing her boyfriends if they’re good enough... I mean Sousuke was doing it with Haru since Rin has told him that he has found his one and only. And it never ever looked like he was possessive of Rin and was like “he’s mine”, it was always like “he’s yours so make sure you make him happy you loser”, he even stalked Haru to see if he still swims alright which is really funny (like okay dad), so by the end of the season when Rin lovingly looks at Haru and says it was all worth it, Sousuke looks very content like he was sure that they’re all good now.

And that moment like in Yakusoku where Rin dropped Sousuke as soon as he saw Haru, I honestly don’t think it’s the kind of jealousy people think it is. It’s like if I asked my sister “do u want to see the new avengers movie” and she’d answer “sorry, I already promised to go with my boyfriend” (not that this would ever happen, but let’s imagine that she found herself her nanase) I would be fucking upset too, but I would kinda get it (if it’s a love of her life I mean). Or like literally imagine you lived with your best friend for years and suddenly she wants to move in with he boo. I mean it happens sometimes. But it’s not the jealousy really, he’s just sad because he knows that he needs to let Rin go and he won’t spend as much time with him as he did before. Sousuke knows how much Rin loves Haru, plus after he saw that Haru is as good as Rin told him, he started to like him himself so he was worried about both of them. 

And I love Sousuke, he’s our godmother. I’d rather have him on the international team than Ikuya but he sadly he doesn’t swim breaststroke or back and we only have one butterfly and one freestyle spot xD

I’m sincerely saying as a person with two siblings that I really don’t see it. It’s just there’s a huge difference between brothers and lovers. And you can’t call Harurin bros. It’s just laughable. Even if you haven’t read anything and just watched the anime.

I mean I think it’s easier to see if you try to imagine Haru in Sousuke’s place in any Sourin scene and see how it would’ve went then. Like do you remember when Sousuke asked for cola and Rin went to get one and there was only one can left so they rock-paper-scissored it and Rin won and drank it?

Now imagine if Haru was there in Sousuke’s place. I can tell you 100% that Rin would’ve just given him the can. And then he would’ve looked at him with that face he makes when he’s content just by watching Haru eat, you know.

I mean it just how I see it. And there are a lot of comparable scenes in s2 that bring me lots of evil joy, but I won’t tell lmao.

But as I said before to me there’s a huge difference between bromances and bromances. So I mostly don’t get most of these ships. I don’t understand anything in this world apparently lol but I only see Rinharu since the first time I’ve watched it, and then I’ve read everything and realized that I’m right, so I’m ok with all this xD