#to see Ed wanting to die so badly

[izzysillyhandsy]

I love the murder/suicide scene (and I've watched it far too many times), but I'm realizing more and more how incredibly cruel it is.

Izzy is always looking at Ed and Ed knows this (I saw ya - Course ya did), but Ed only grants Izzy those little glances, not more. When they are directly interacting, Izzy's eyes are on Ed's every expression like a laser beam - and Ed is distractedly looking out to the sea, turning his back to Izzy or looking at other things/people.

And then, in the middle of Izzy's worst nightmare, Ed comes in and really looks Izzy in the eyes for an eternity, soft light, so close, over the barrel of a gun. Looking more beautiful than ever, not the Kraken anymore. This is Ed, finally there with Izzy, totally in the moment - he's even holding his hand for a bit.

After all this time, Izzy finally gets Ed's undivided attention - but only because he wants Izzy to do something for him. The worst thing he's ever asked of him. The ultimate act of cruelty.

No wonder Izzy tries to kill himself.

(the only other time Izzy gets Ed's full attention is when Izzy is dying - those two really are closest in death, aren't they)

[leatherbookmark]

idk maybe it makes me a child or Someone With Shit Media Literacy, but i feel like when people discuss fictional events that were good or bad writing, they often look to general fiction tropes rather than what makes sense for the individual story? like, oh, well, this is a [genre] story, and in these, it's either X or Y, so it's going to be either X or Y. or: this character technically could count as a [character archetype], so obviously they only have one very predictable ending. what wonderful, emotionally moving writing!

and like. are we writing stories, or producing products that check off all the most common boxes on the Successful [Genre] Story list? this is not to say that you can never kill off your mentors/father figures, or that your protagonist should never fail miserably in this or that point of the story -- sometimes it really is the most fitting and sensible solution! sometimes leaving a character alive would undermine or muddle up the message, if there is one, or it would simply make it more difficult for the writer. and it's fine. but when your reason for this or that writing choice is not "because it makes the most sense" but rather "because that's what happens in other stories", it's, uh, not good writing at all. it's barely any writing, really!

[ourflagmeansgayrights]

ed is absolutely panicking in 2x7 bc he’s seeing stede having the time of his life being a famous pirate and he’s genuinely happy for stede but also he wants out of this life and he’s afraid stede will choose piracy over him and so he’s leaving first before stede can leave him again, all of which is bc deep down ed still thinks he’s unlovable and he’s scared to get hurt by stede again and he’s handling everything very badly

all that being said

the fact that ed has already decided that he can’t choose piracy for stede’s sake is so important to me

piracy was slowly killing ed long before stede entered the picture. and now that ed’s decided that he wants warmth and food and orgasms and he wants to live he’s not going to force himself to do a job that makes him fucking miserable. he still might not think he’s worth love and not worth choosing, but he’s at least moved past thinking he deserves to die. he’s past making himself so miserable that he wants to die. ed still has a lot of work to do but he’s making good progress and i’m proud of him.

[piratecaptainscaptainpirates]

Rewatching all of OFMD today (#Renew As A Crew) and one thing that's sticking out to me immediately -

Until we see in s2 how relieved Ed is to lose the responsibility of being captain, it doesn't really stick out how fucking...tense Ed is.

When he meets Stede's crew, look at his body language! He's trying to be cool and smooth and everything, and he's charismatic enough he can pull it off, but his body language is borderline nervous, honestly. He's very stiff and cautious in his movements, always keeping at least one hand on his weapons, always glancing around. It's striking to compare it to how he acts when he's alone with Stede - you can almost see the weight grow on his shoulders when he's in front of the crew. No wonder Lucius thinks he doesn't know how to relax!

He's also extremely theatrical and showy, and part of that is Ed being tied with Stede for Most Dramatic Bitch on the Seven Seas, but it's also immediately obvious that he expects every eye to be on him, always. He acts like he knows he's the center of attention, always. Almost every movement this man makes seems so calculated.

You can see some of the weight lift when he tries telling everyone to just call him Ed, although a lot of the time he still looks pretty guarded and often holds his hands in front of himself almost protectively. Sweetie pie is trying so hard to be vulnerable but his body language still reads like he's not fully comfortable. It has to be very scary for him but he's being so brave and trying so hard anyway!

We don't see the big change until he's back on the ship in s2e5 and the crew have put him on probation. Although many of the crew are still pissed at him, Ed is, very explicitly, no longer captain. The crew don't hate him (they're mad at him, but he never lost their love), but they'd push back against orders even if he tried giving them. And what a relief that must be! Ed looks so light this episode! It's no longer his job to make the decisions, all he has to do is fix things up. He gets to talk with Fang as friends, not as The Legendary Captain Blackbeard and Loyal Crewmember. He gets to play, doing a cannonball off the ladder, and have a good time learning how to fish. His body language is absolutely night-and-day.

And after he gets out of probation? That stays consistent. In s2e6 he gets to play along with the crew, encouraging "the moving of the tub - it's a sacred tradition!!!" getting him a cheer from the crew ("yooo, this dude's devout as fuuuck!!"). He just gets to have a good time. Compared to the first time he meets the crew in s1e4, he's obviously so relaxed and willing to unwind in front of everyone - they were about to dance, and Ed doesn't even fucking hesitate to agree when Stede suggested they join everyone (fuck Ned Low for stealing that from us, honestly).

Ed wants so fucking badly to be free of the massive responsibility that's been weighing on him - think about what he said to Stede in s1e4: "they're all going to die, all the men who trusted you, and it'll be all your fault!" He has been living with so much weight on his shoulders, not just incredible responsibility but feeling unsafe to be the softer, gentle, sweet man we know he is.

He just wants to be free to be Ed.

[amuseoffyre]

Stede's progression of realising how bad things became is so quietly done through s2. Especially since the start point is him knowing Ed marooned his crew.

Plus, despite what everyone seems to think about him, Stede knows a lot more about Ed's past actions than they seem to realise. He knows about Ed's dad (something no one else knows), he knows about the burning ships and the toe-cutting and the skinning.

He just is... coming at it from the wrong angle at the start of the season.

"he's just letting off some steam" - it's still all just pirating activity, if a lot more intense than usual

"why would he [kill me]?" - Stede still not grasping how much he meant to Ed and how much damage his departure did

"I'm afraid your life is better without me" - and also still of the belief he will always and only be a last choice

"Ed pushed you? Why would he do that?" - the realisation that the stuff that happened to his crew was because of him

"I hurt Ed so much he pushed you off the ship" - not just realising it, but acknowledging it and recalibrating his perspective to see that not only did Ed actually genuinely care for him as much as he did for Ed, but that in leaving him behind, he's sent Ed on a downward spiral.

"I think I hurt him pretty bad" - again, acknowledging he did a wrong and determined to fix it

"I'm not ready to believe [that the time he spent with me is the best it's ever going to get for him] - the conviction that Ed can and does deserve to have some more of the happiness he craved when he just wanted "to be Edward"

his entire interrogation of the Break-up Boat crew, knowing full well that they're all lying but not able to get a clear answer

It speaks measures that he goes from thinking "Ed wouldn't want to kill me because he probably didn't even notice I was gone" to piecing together all the pieces of evidence and realising how truly shattered Ed is. It's a slow, steady realisation and in that confrontation with Izzy in the cabin, it has all crystalised into the knowledge that "he was going to watch the world burn or die trying".

He always knew what Ed was capable of, even if the crew thought he didn't or was being foolish and naive about it. "It feels pretty complicated. It feels bad", he admits when he knows how badly Ed hurt them, especially when he now believes it's all his fault.

"I let him down and I'm the cause of a lot of this", he says, so everything he does after that is in the name of trying to make things right. He does right by the crew, he negotiates with Zheng for their release, and even after he finds out they killed Ed, he still works to save them all, because he knows they don't deserve to die for saving themselves.

And then when Ed comes back, he agrees to let the crew decide Ed's fate - they voted him out (and I'm so curious about who voted how because Izzy's vote was the decider) but Stede said he would ask the crew if he could come back as well and clearly, they allowed it.

He spends so much of the rest of the season trying to undo all the damage he believed he had done, both with the crew and with Ed himself, even if he may or may not be very good at it. He tries and continues to try to make amends and I like him very much for it.

[otteranha]

Eddie’s trying not to beg Steve to stay. Harrington’s already gone above and beyond for him, he deserves a night to sleep in his own bed. But God, does it have to be now? No one will talk about it except to pat his hand and tell him with tight lipped smiles that there’s nothing to worry about- legally the mob can’t do anything. Eddie’s been declared innocent, a tragic victim of the copycat killer.

It doesn’t change the fact that there’s been a group of people standing vigil outside the hospital since he got there. It doesn’t change the fact that the group has been growing in numbers until all of Hawkins seems to either be fleeing in desperation or taking up camp four floors below the room where Eddie lies unable to walk as far as the bathroom without help. It doesn’t change the energy of the mob, steadily humming louder, faster, with the intensity of a hive about to swarm.

“Should have known he’d be hightailing it when trouble came,” Wayne tells him. He’s furious on Eddie’s behalf that Steve would leave now, when the police protection detail has been declared no longer necessary. When the mob below is bigger than ever and angry enough that Eddie can feel it all the way up here.

“He didn’t want to go, he needs to sleep.” Eddie saw how badly Steve wanted to stay, how he was sweating and jaundiced and worse looking than he had since that first fight with the demobats. Steve needed to go home, deserved to go home. But part of Eddie, most of Eddie, wails inside for Steve not to leave him. Not tonight, please not tonight. He’d tried not to let Steve see it, doubted how well his subterfuge had worked.

“I wish I could stay but I just can’t, not tonight. I’m so sorry. But I promise- Anything goes wrong Eds, I’ll be here. I have to go now but if anyone needs me, if you need me, I’ll be here, I swear it.” He’d done a strange thing then, pressing Eddie’s hand to his brow before kissing the back of it like something out of one of the tales of courtly love Eddie had devoured as an Arthurian-legend obsessed kid. And then Steve was leaving. It was almost nightfall. He stopped in the doorway and looked back at Eddie, his face anguished.

True to form, Eddie rallied. “Go on, and don’t worry about lil’ old me. I’ll be fine.”

The mob waits until just after midnight, then comes for him. They drag him from his bed, and Eddie has an insane thought apt to this insane situation that he’s glad he wore sweatpants under his hospital johnny so at least he’s not going to die bare-assed in front of the remaining population of Hawkins. Or maybe he jinxed himself by assuming the worst when he decided to wear them that night.

He sees the kids being held back by their parents, screaming for him as he’s hauled to the elevator, hopes desperately that Claudia and Karen and Sue and Charles will be strong enough to restrain them. The kids aren’t babies anymore; they’re tough and too used to fighting to protect their own. But this isn’t a fight they can win and he prays that parent-adrenaline will be enough let them wrangle his stupid, brave friends away from his side. He couldn’t keep Wayne away, they’d shouted at each other, all terrified love, him trying to make Wayne go, until the moment the door broke down and he was being dragged, his uncle’s grip still white-knuckled on Eddie’s wrist hard enough to bruise.

Everyone is shouting, himself included. He’s pleading his innocence, swearing he never hurt Chrissy. Until he sees the pyre and all the words evaporate inside him and he’s just screaming. They’re jeering at his tears, his terror. Calling him killer, devil-worshipper, Satan himself and worse. And then- something in the atmosphere shifts.

Eddie doesn’t see why the mob’s screaming changes, he’s hypnotized by the pyre. Do I weigh more than a duck? He thinks. You can’t burn me if I weigh more than a duck and then oh I’m hysterical.

“Get away! Get away from it!” They sound higher pitched now, a note of vibrato in the clamor. The shift in his captors’ tenor finally seeps in and Eddie looks around. The number of people buffeting him to a hideous end is shrinking, people peeling off and running. He can hear gunshots and then-

Snarling. Crunching sounds. Someone- something roaring into the night. It’s just the men holding Eddie now, Carver’s crew mostly. Wayne’s run up beside them and they don’t spare him a glance as he wrenches Eddie away from them. There’s a wolf. Massive, tawny, scarred, absolutely furious- lunging for them, slashing them with razor sharp claws until none of them are left standing. When the last of the mob is gone the wolf pads close and presses against Eddie’s side with a whine.

The kids come sprinting to him. “Jesus Christ, Steve! Well now they’re definitely going to think Eddie’s the lord of evil!” says Mike.

Eddie looks down at the wolf. He still feels like he might have a heart attack any minute, but the warm, soft fur is grounding. Steve Harrington looks up at him under the light of the full moon and wags his tail.

[teeny-tiny-revenge]

The longer I sit with it, the more I find Ed considering Izzy family actually really fitting and poignant. As a queer person, I feel like probably most of us have family like this? Izzy, in season one, violently rejects and sabotages Ed's queer relationship, and Ed's beginning to embrace a not traditionally masculine gender expression. And there's something in Ed's Kraken turn that still reads like a detransition arc to me. At the very least it's a trying to shove himself back into the closet, playing up the parts of himself that Izzy approves off. And it's stifling in the closet, it's killing him, he can only be happy if he comes back out and gets to be his true self and together with his boyfriend.

And Izzy eventually sees that. He starts out rejecting all parts of Ed he doesn't want to see, that don't fit his own headcanon of what Ed is supposed to be, and for a while, even looking at Ed being utterly miserable, he thinks he's doing him a favour! But then he realises, no, this is wrong, this is hurting Ed so badly, and he opens up to it. He starts letting Ed be himself, he begins to accept Ed's boyfriend, he eventually encourages Ed to embrace his own softness, to start over and live his life the way he wants.

And this is, like, an experience I have made with family members. I think this is an experience a lot of us have made: a family member reacting really negatively to our coming outs, trying to turn us "back" into a more acceptable version of ourselves. Sometimes, we lose this family member, because if they can't change their minds and accept us, we just have to eventually cut them from our lives if we want to be free and happy. But sometimes it doesn't go quite as bad, sometimes the family member changes their mind and grows to accept us, and Izzy grew to accept Ed. And even independently of Izzy's own story of overcoming his repression and getting to be loved and soft and accepted while he sings in drag, this story of "a family member who rejected your queerness comes around and learns to love you as your true self" is a very fitting story to tell within a narrative like OFMD.

Not all family members love you unconditionally at all times. Not all family members accept you out of the box. In my experience, coming out to people who have been in your life a long time, who never really knew you closely, but saw you around and assumed they know everything about you, is so much more complicated and conflicted than coming out to friends. Family isn't always happy. It's often complicated. But it's also complicated because you love them! Even when they don't seem to love the real you, even when they hurt you and you'd die for them to see you and your pain and your needs, you still love them. Because love is messy. Because family hurt us, people hurt each other in families, sometimes someone hurts you and then you hurt them back, sometimes a family is toxic, there's so much baggage in families, they're not inherently a safe space of acceptance. But sometimes they can grow into that. Sometimes the love is enough and we can move on from the hurt and be a better family together. Sometimes we can forgive each other. Sometimes we get to hear "hey, there you are, I see you now, and I want you to live in a way that makes you happy". And it seems so important that Ed gets to hear that from his only remaining family.

[stargirl-and-potts]

I think Stede is actually wrong about them both being “whim-prone,” and I think that set him up for Ed leaving. “Whim” is Mary’s (angry, uncomprehending) word for why he did what he did. But he’d never told Mary much of anything. He didn’t run away to sea the first time on a whim. He ran after forty-some years of deadly loneliness, on a last desperate bid to stay alive, to feel something, be something, when being everything he was asked to be had failed. And he did it after meticulously planning every inch of his ship, including space for her and the children. When she wouldn’t come, he wrote them a letter and planned his escape. That wasn’t a whim.

And he didn’t return back home on a whim; he went back after learning he’d gotten the actual pirate Blackbeard to fall in love with him, quite by accident — after having two men die in front of him, because of him — which drove home that he is in fact not a ghost or a stain but a real person, really affecting people’s lives; and that him leaving might have hurt his family badly. (And he was terrified to stay and see what more effect he would have on Ed. He couldn’t imagine it being anything good.)

And he didn’t go back to find Ed on a whim. He went because home wasn’t home any more. Home was where Ed was. He went because he found he wasn’t the same old Stede after all. He went after he’d made peace with his wife and children, and was sure they would be loved well, and had gotten their blessing to chase joy.

So for him to return and tell Ed, in the same minute that he tries to tell him he loves him — to tell him then that he left because he’s whim-prone? And that Ed fell for him instead of killing him on a similar whim? That just wasn’t true. It was Stede making light of himself and his pain and his longing, still, and the things he knows; and still not really understanding that Ed had fallen devastatingly in love with him too. Not on a whim, not without knowing who he was falling for, but because of who Stede is. Even when Ed tries to tell him, twice, I was all in, Stede doesn’t really get it. He can see Ed’s glad to have him back. He knows that’s shared. He thinks that’s enough.

So I think Ed goes on thinking this love is not so devastating for Stede as it is for him. He thinks, He loves me, but not like I love him. He thinks, I don’t even know who I am now, so how can I trust how I love him? He thinks, I was meant to teach him to be a pirate, and now he’s a pirate. What else do I even have to give him?

So Ed decides to leave and find out what else; and he thinks Stede will let him go and be fine while he’s gone, because he thinks all of this has been a whim of Stede’s. He thinks Stede has gotten what he wants most of all, the thing he asked Ed for — he’s become a proper pirate. Ed doesn’t think his softer self is essential to Stede. He has no idea what Stede went through to get back to him — Stede hasn’t told him. The first thing he consciously saw Stede do was kick him off the ship. He never even saw him cry.

All I want for Ed in the finale is for him to understand that Stede calling all this a whim was horseshit. (Perhaps by finding a love letter in a bottle? Or a few dozen?) That Stede was understating his heart terribly, as he does; and that Stede is all in, too. That Ed’s presence is essential to him. That Ed’s love is all he wants; that this is for life and till death parts them.

[luveline]

Hi hi hi!! You're legit one of my fave fic writers on this site so you DEF deserve all the followers. Congrats! For your celebration, can you write a fluffy blurb about reader running into a toxic ex at a party and she is triggered, and new bf Eddie comforts her and helps her feel safe? I had this happen to me and nobody was there to help me and things didn't go well. I'd like a redo of the whole scenario with our beautiful boy Eddie. Ty ty ily!

thank you ily!! for you, eddie comforting you after you bump into your cruel ex

When you find Eddie again he's already looking for you, a familiar metal lunchbox dangling from loose fingers. You slink between friends and duck under arms in doorways until he catches sight of you and meets you halfway, reaching out automatically. You let him slide an arm over your shoulder and plaster on your best approximation of a smile.

His bare forearm warms your neck and settles the worst of your unrest.

"Are you cold? You're shaking pretty badly," he says, arm curling around your neck as he pulls you closer. His happy-to-see-you smile fades and is replaced by a soft concern. "Have you been crying?"

You blink quickly. "No, I-" You'd welled up a little before you found him again from how overwhelmed you'd felt, but you hadn't cried. "I think my allergies are acting up."

He starts to lead you down the hallway. "Yeah?" He moves his arm lower to encourage you in front of him, having to walk single file to manoeuvre the crowd haunting the porch.

The cool night breeze kisses your flushed face. Eddie takes the crook of your elbow into his hand and keeps you close as you drift down the driveway. You're quiet, walking in a strange silence until the loud music and louder smells are a memory behind you.

Eddie turns you to face him gently. "What happened?" he asks.

"Nothing."

"You don't look very happy."

You smile as best you can, a wide, half-honest thing. It's easy to smile at him, for him. "I'm good. Did the deal go okay?"

"It went fine."

His arm slides up until his thumb is pressed into the soft skin of your inner arm. When he rubs a line there it tickles. You can't help but curve in on yourself as he does. A more genuine smile takes shape at the feeling.

Eddie steps closer and inclines his head to yours. "You really won't tell me?"

You look behind him. Flickering rainbow lights bleed into the night sky, the house itself hidden by tall hedges. If you listen, you can hear partygoers chanting but the music they're singing to is imperceptible. Eddie follows your gaze.

"Do you want to go back?" he asks.

"No." The intensity of your answer has his head snapping to yours.

He stares at you. "Did someone touch you?"

He seizes up at your expression and you're quick to jump in and reassure him. "Eddie, nobody touched me." He doesn't look convinced.

"Can I… stay over?" you ask. Mostly to distract him, though you’d been hoping he’d ask.

He drops down onto his knees. You gasp, startled, but quickly find your surprise eaten up by amusement as he pulls your hands toward him and looks up at you pleadingly. “Please, baby. I need you to spend the night. I’ll die if I have to take you home when you look like that.” His eyes couldn’t be more heart-shaped.

You laugh and pull at his hands. “Eds, get up. Oh my god.”

“Princess, I’m on my fucking knees here. You gotta say you’ll come over. If I don’t see you in your pajamas tonight, I’m not gonna make it.”

“Stop! I asked if I could come!”

He kisses the back of your hand. “I know,” he says into your skin, “you beat me to it. S’annoying.”

You look at each other.

“Get up,” you murmur.

Eddie stands and throws his arms over your shoulders unexpectedly, the metal lunchbox digging into your shoulder. You’re more than happy to have him close, hiding your face in the dark mess of his hair to breathe in his smell, hands curling into the front of his shirt.

He kisses the side of your face. He’s waiting, you can tell.

“I saw my ex. He was… mean.”

His arms tighten. His every word is said clearly, carefully. “He say something to you?”

“No, not now. When I was with him. Seeing him made me feel sick. It made me…” You press your nose to his shoulder and wrap your arms around his back. You’re glad he can’t see you when you admit, “It made me feel like I used to.”

He makes a sound at the back of his throat, an unhappy hum. His lips to your hair, he asks, “Do you want to go home?” You think it might be him asking if you need your honour defended. You can almost imagine it, Eddie red-knuckled and fierce.

Almost.

“Yes, please.”

Eddie kisses your forehead as you pull away, your hand and your arm as you climb up into the van. He leans over the console once he’s in the driver's side to to kiss your lips chastely, the kind of kiss that says everything he hasn’t aloud: I’m here. I’m with you.

“Do you wanna get pizza on the way?” he asks.

You beam at him. “Yes.”

[chaifootsteps]

Seeing Viv like that tweet about how "people need to get over the amateurish pilot" infuriate me to no end.

The pilot looks better than what we've seen of the show so far. Especially with the motion sickness trailer, Vaggie disappearing from it, and the weird static Yule Log video where they're just frozen in place. No movements, no blinking, NOTHING. Only the fire is moving.

And stans saying that the new VAs are a "massive improvement" over the old ones piss me off so badly.

If they're such an improvement, then why does have the new cast sound like the old cast??? Why not let the actors try their own versions of the characters? (Really curious if Alex sounds like Stamper) Hmmm almost like Viv knows the old VAs were a huge reason for the pilots success in the first place. 🤔🙄

The only character that sounds completely different from the pilot is Husk, who is just Keith David talking. I love KD but God Viv you really didn't give a fuck. You were just excited to have KD.

Also, it's so funny to me that she really thought she'd get Weird Al for Lucifer just because she met him in person once, and after getting Kesha and Norman her ego got so inflated she probably thought she could get anyone she wants. So glad Norman didn't come back.

Also, you know she probably gushed all over Kesha and showed her the Die Young video. "Look look I made something popular with YOUR song!!! I'm totally on the same level of stardom!!!"

All of this. If you like the new VAs that's fine, but anyone who argues that they're "a massive improvement" over the pilot cast is doing so around a mouthful of copium and Vivzie's boot; Blake's trying to sound like Michael and failing and Amir's got none of the danger Ed brought to Alastor. The only edge they're probably going to have on the pilot cast is singing, but we know that that's not why Vivzie dropped them all.

Also, this is a grapevine thing so I have no way of proving it, but apparently Viv soured relations with Kesha because she wouldn't leave her the hell alone.

[computerwarrior]

[From "Send me ⚓️ for our muses to be shipwrecked together"

...Not sure who should approach who, and this got really long, so leaving it at this...

—@not-that-dillinger]

Ultimately, how Ed ended up on the Grid was trivial. An anomaly he noticed, and couldn't stop thinking about, and, on a whim, went to go investigate.

It didn't take him long to find Flynn's creepy basement lab. It took him less time to find the digital world (he was without a doubt inside the computer, because that was most certainly the digitization laser he shot himself with).

It took them even less time to find him.

All he knew was that one moment he was standing in a dusty arcade, the next... he was still standing in the arcade, except as if it existed in a different dimension. In a different world.

And then two... programs? in glowing orange suits approached him, arrested him (for what, he wasn't certain), and put him on one of those ships from Flynn's game that he was never allowed to play as a kid. Space Paranoids, if he remembered correctly.

In any case, they put him on the ship, with several other programs. He'd already had a stressful day (thanks, Mackey), and was barely keeping it together when one of the other programs mentioned that they were all going to 'derezz.' Ed wasn't certain what that word meant, but from the context, he was convinced the guards were taking them to their deaths.

He was claustrophobic from the number of people programs on the ship, and he may have shot himself with a high-powered laser, but he certainly didn't want to die.

He couldn't breathe, he could barely form a thought from how his mind was reeling.

And then suddenly Ed could feel the lines code that made up the ship, and their restraints that held his feet in place. He had no idea what he did, but the next moment, their restraints were gone.

The woman next to him instantly attacked the guards with a staff he had no idea where she got it from. The ship descended into chaos as the other programs joined in the melee, and then in altitude when one of the programs destroyed the ship's pilot with the disc on their back.

Ed didn't have a disc, or a staff, and he certainly didn't know anything about piloting... anything, really, but nobody had yet realized that their ship was about to crash. So he carefully skirted the edge of their cabin to the controls.

A joystick. Really Flynn? Murder on his wrist. Joy of joys.

Ed... tried to keep them flying, but he had never been good at video games, and he really didn't have time to do much but pull up and lessen the impact when they crashed into the mountainside.

The next thing he knew, he was face down in the snowy, barren wasteland outside the city. When he rolled over to see his surroundings, the recognizer was a fair distance away (he see it clearly: blessedly, his glasses weren't broken in the crash). He must have been thrown out one of the broken windows in the crash. His ears rang, and Ed was certain he was both bleeding and concussed.

There was someone else lying in the snow, thankfully a distance away, but Ed had no idea what happened to the rest of the programs on the ship.

He knew he should get moving, in case any of the guards survived, but Ed needed a moment to recover before he attempted anything else.

((Ooooh, awesome, thank you so very much!))

Living on the Grid was hazardous nowadays, especially for a Renegade. Ark specialized in causing trouble for the Occupation, but knew that it was going to catch up with her one of these cycles.

She had been pulling another one of her self-assigned missions, when the sky had lit up in a way she hadn't seen in countless cycles.

A User was rezzing into the Grid.

Unfortunately, the beam of light distracted her long enough for the Occupation to catch up to her.

Badly outnumbered, Ark decided to save her strength for better odds.

She was loaded into a Recognizer, along with quite a few other programs.

A short time later, someone was loaded in next to her, someone with strange clothes she had never seen before. Was he the User? Or just a program with a quirky style? Was odd fashion a good enough reason for him to be arrested?

As she analyzed him, all of a sudden, him, her, and everyone else was free.

She took advantage of the surprise and chaos, and immediately leapt into action. Fortunately, they hadn't searched her too well in the confusion over the beacon, so her staff had remained with her.

Bolstered by the knowledge that there was likely a User among them, she fought hard, joined in by all the other prisoners on the ship.

The battle didn't last long before everything exploded.

Ark was flung out of the Recognizer and away from it, falling into the snow.

She wasn't out long, the cold stinging and bringing her back conscious, her circuits coming back online.

Using her staff to help, she pulled herself up and started looking around for any survivors.

She saw someone in the snow and started making her way towards them, using her staff as a walking stick while she still got her bearings.

[milfsfckr]

But I heard them..

Natasha romanoff x fem!reader

Summary: y/n thought she heard people yelling for help, she went after all the people screaming for help but found no one there.

Warnings: sh, ed, yelling

Angst, fluff

A/n: I don’t know what this is.

Not a proofread. (Sorry)

Y/n’s POV:

I failed..again. But this time it was bad. Nat, Kate, Peter, and Yelena got hurt. All because I 'thought' I heard people screaming for help, and went to go look for them and left the others in danger.

And on the way back to the tower all Steve was doing was yelling at me..he didn't even notice when I flinched, and I flinched so hard I thought someone would notice..but they were all busy and worrying about the others that's got hurt.

And Steve was just telling me how it was my fault, how I was just hearing things, and should've stayed. So as soon as we got back I ran to my room, I ran past Maria and fury, and they saw my tears, they saw how I flinched when someone got up before me, they saw everything.

All they could do was wait until Steve told them what happened and when he did Nick didn't believe that you were lying about hearing people screaming for help. But they had no proof until they have your body cam footage.

As for me I was in my room, overthinking about what I did, I could've kill Nat or Yelena, and if I made one of the die, one of the wouldn't hated me forever. And they're like sisters to me but I don't think so anymore.

So I wanted to go say sorry, so I went to the med room where everyone was. Until someone got in my way... it was Steve, "what do you think you're doing?" He asked "I'm- im just going in to say sorry" I say in a whisper "no, not on my watch you can wait until they want to see you, and I don't think they do" he says coldly, as I try and hold my tears "oh- okk.." I say and walk to my room silently crying.

All I wanted was my sisters- wait they're not my sisters. I had one more person, but she's in space fighting aliens, trying to keep everyone safe. I just want her.. but I don't want to worry her and make her come for this dumb reason.

I went to my bathroom, I needed to fix this pain, I needed to do it again. And I found my razor, pulled up my long sleeve and dragged the blade across my skin. I didn't cry, I just sighed I felt something again. It was something better than anything I've felt for the past few days.

When I was done I cleaned myself up and went on my bed and started thinking. What if I never heard the screams, what if I just left it like that and the team would've never been mad at me. What if I never joined the avengers.

That was the last thing I thought before crying myself to sleep.

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Maria's POV:

As I was going to see Natasha and them, I heard sobs coming from y/n's bedroom. I put my ear on the door and heard her crying, and she never cry's, but it was around 12 in the morning so I was gonna ask her about it in the morning.

Everyone in the medical room was awake, and they got hurt badly. I asked everyone if they needed anything, and they said they were okay, so I went to talk to Steve about the y/n situation.

He told me that she heard people screaming for help, but when she got to were the screaming was no one was there, and it set an alarm. That's how the others got hurt, Steve told me that she when they got back she ran straight to her room, and didn't come for dinner.

That's when I was worried, because she knew that Steve didn't mention something, because why would she run to her room, she would've stayed by Nat or Yelena.

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THE NEXT DAY:

Y/n's POV:

I wake up from someone knocking on my door, "yes" I say in my morning voice, "hi honey, it Maria" Maria said and opened the door, to find me with red eyes and tear stain face.

"Oh sweetheart, what's wrong" she says closing the door and running to me and hugged me, "it's all my fault" you say with tears forming in your eyes. "No it isn't, honey." She says because she looked on your body came, and heard the screaming herself.

But the reason why there was no one there was cause  they used speakers around the room I was in and they sounded so real to her. "Yes it is, if I didn't go towards the screaming they would've- they would've been okay" I say between sobs.

"It's okay my sweet girl, you did nothing wrong, and Steve should have never yelled at you like that. I saw how hard you flinched on Steve's cam, and how no one noticed cause they were busy with the others. When you can home me and fury saw how you flinched when Steve got up, we saw how you ran to your room instead of being with your sisters-" she says and I cut her off when she says sisters

"They're not my sisters" I mumble, "what do you mean honey?." She asks "why would they want to be my family when I hurt them" "oh honey...why would they hate you, your there little spider they could never hate you" she says to clam me down.

But little did I know there's a mad Captain Marvel downstairs yelling at steve and everyone that blamed it on you.

Then Nat and Yelena came and knocked on your door, "little spider?" Nat says.

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Natasha's POV:

Me and Yelena wonder why you haven’t came to see us, "Nat why hasn't she came?" Yelena asked I shrugged my shoulders and said "I don't know, but I hope she's okay, We both know she hates hurting people”

As we sat in my bedroom we heard yelling, and it didn't sound like a man, it sounded like a woman. So we ended up going to see who it was, they were in the room where we normally have team meetings.

We walked in a saw a mad Captain Marvel yelling at Steve, Tony, Bruce, and Sam then I looked at the tv and it was someone's body cam footage. Then she said her name, y/n's, then I looked up and made eye contact with her and she didn't look happy, but she nodded her head and looked up to the tv.

And that's when I knew it was her body cam that on the tv, I heard the screams for help, I saw how she flinched when Steve was yelling at her. And that's when I left the room and went to y/n's.

As I got there I heard muffled crying, "little spider?" I say and heard someone come up to the door but it wasn't y/n it was Maria. She came outside and let us in and gave us a sad smile then left.

"little spider?" Yelena says as we walked through ur door.

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Y/n's POV:

I lift my head up and look at them, the redhead and blonde haired looked at me with a sad smile and came to my bed. "Sweetheart what's wrong?" Yelena asked me "why are you guys here" I say not answering her question.

"Because your our sister" Yelena says and I looked up and made eye contact, "I don't think you'd wanna be my sister, I hurt you guys" I mumbled knowing they could hear anyway.

"Oh my little spider..you will always be our sister no matter what" Nat says as she wipes your tears, "really?" You say and look at them "really, cause you're our little spider" Yelena says and I smile.

"But I think someone's here that we know you've missed a lot." Nat says, "who?" I ask and then she walks in.

The person you saved me before Nat and Lena did, the person I called mom on accident, the person I can tell anything to, Carol Danvers.

"Auntie Carol?.." I say and got off my bed and ran up to her, "hi my sweet girl, how are you feeling?" She asked "I'm- I'm okay" I say and hug her tight and she giggled.

"I just had to talk to Steve and that okay, so you're not going to do any mission until you're ready, okay?" She says and I nod.

"I missed you some much" I say and she kisses my forehead, "me too my sweet girl, now I know for a fact that you haven't slept in a few days sooo we are going to have a good nap, okay?" She says.

"How do you know?" I asked, "look at your eyes honey you have dark circles under them, and you don't normally have them."

She says and takes me to my bed, Nat and Lena left but before they did they said bye to me and Carol. Carol put on a movie and I just cuddled with her and fell asleep, it was one of the best sleeps I had in ages.

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NO ONES POV:

After that day, you haven't been on that many missions only when they needed you. Steve, Tony, Bruce, and Sam apologise to you when you came out of your room with Carol.

Nat and Lena have been helping you with training, and Wanda has been helping you with your powers. After a few months you decided to do some more missions with the team, and by yourself.

But what the team or anyone didnt know, your nightmares were coming back. And they got worse every night. Most of the time it was just you in the redroom, but then the hydra ones came and they were way worse.

Most of the time you wouldn't sleep, you'd just look at the wall and you'd still remember everything. So you started making yourself busy and doing a lot more missions, and when I mean a lot, I mean the rest of the had barely had any.

Until someone noticed and it wasn't the person who you thought would.

My Masterlist.

[earring-stede]

Final theory for episode 8: who lives and who dies

It’s been a journey guys.

Context: since seeing the BTS footage of the funeral in episode 8 I have been pouring over the trailers and BTS frame by frame to try and figure out whose grave that is. Based on the characters who are present for the funeral, there were only 3 characters missing that could be potentially dead: Spanish Jackie, Wee John and Izzy.

From there is was a process of elimination. Based on the footage of the escape scene at the end of episode 8 we can see that Spanish Jackie is alive and unharmed, Izzy is alive but badly injured, and Wee John doesn’t seem to be there.

My first instinct was that Wee John dies. I made several posts about why I thought it didn’t make sense to kill off Izzy, with my three major points being that I thought it made more sense for both Izzy and Ed’s character arcs if Ed saved Izzy, that Izzy/Con was David Jenkins’ favourite character and his best actor so he wouldn’t want to lose them, and finally I thought the Calypso’s Birthday episode would be Wee Johns swan song.

But then a few things happened. I watched Calypso’s Birthday, and it felt more like Izzy’s swan song than Wee John’s, which felt like a big red flag. I also noticed that often Wee John just disappears for several scenes throughout season 2 for no particular reason (potentially scheduling issues) which could explain why he isn’t at the funeral. I also noticed in the funeral scene that there was a sword that looks suspiciously like Izzy’s despite him not being there. I’m on the fence as to whether the sword is on Stede’s hip, or part of the makeshift crucifix, but nonetheless, it’s suspicious for Stede to have Izzy’s sword.

And finally, I discovered this key piece of evidence that wee John lives.

In the above gif we can see the crew of the Revenge back at sea with Zheng, and I think this is where the season will finish. In the BTS footage you can see the filming of this scene from another angle. And what can we see?

It’s Wee John knitting.

And so, by process of elimination, I now firmly believe that Izzy Hands will die in episode 8.

[eliza1911o1]

So interesting that, when we have gotten communication between Ed and Stede this season (particularly in ep 4), Stede has never once brought up Chauncey. The dude not only stole Stede away from eloping with the love his life, but also died right in front of him in the same way as his brother moments after verbally abusing him

S1 was heavy with Stede’s internal thoughts and feelings, from the Badminton ghost to full childhood flashbacks; in s2, we’ve seen this shift over to Ed, such as with Hornigold and memories of his past. Since the emphasis has been on Ed’s, we have rarely been shown obvious cues to Stede’s anxieties and insecurities, though we’re well aware of them. Then, just as Stede has finally achieved everything he thought he needed to be, it all falls apart and, for the first time in quite a while, scenes of Stede as a child come back

This post reminded me that Stede has actually become more and more unhappy with himself and never reconciled with his emotions of inadequacy, no matter how happy he seemed. This is what makes Chauncey important, or, at least, his lack of mention

The Badmintons represented everything Stede was born into (particularly the insecurities his father imprinted onto him) that persuaded him into piracy. They aligned with norms, they bullied him for acting differently, and they even succeeded due to/within the limitations of norms as officers. Stede has always been told that being kind, liking nice things, enjoying intellectual activities, being adverse to violence — all that made him, him — were the wrong things for a man to be. This doesn’t change when he becomes a pirate; others still continue to point out his failings (Izzy in ep 5, Ned in ep 6, Zheng in ep 7). Stede has long internalized his strengths as his shortcomings, so while his personal methods and, truly, some luck are the real reasons things always manage to work out, he attributes his growing skill in piracy to be the true answer

Both Badminton’s die right at his feet and though Stede still takes on the responsibility and guilt, they really die due to their own carelessness. Killing Ned is done to cement his position, paralleling Nigel’s death in s1, but different in that it is an active choice. When Stede becomes a “real pirate” after killing Ned, for the first time this season (someone can correct me on this but it’s 3AM and I’m not double-checking rn) we see flashbacks, a moments of doubt and anxiety, quickly squandered because everyone likes him now, right?

Just when Stede finally manages to prove himself notorious as a worthy pirate, everything else begins to fall apart; Ed leaves, his crew almost leaves, he almost dies, yet again, and he’s back to feeling as weak as he always has. Everything, literally, blows up

Stede knows he isn’t a capable man (people always keep reminding, so it’s hard to forget), he knows he’s a failure and a mistake, he knows trying hard just brings misfortune to those around him, but he so badly wants to prove everyone otherwise and the only way he knows how to do that is by becoming something in their eyes. however, in doing so, Stede keeps surviving, untouched, while everyone continues to be put in harms way or, when it becomes too much, leaves him. Nigel and Ned dying bought respect, but Chauncey’s death reminded Stede of what he always felt like; a failure who ruins nice things. Now, at the end of the season and at his lowest, Ed has also left, so there’s no one to tell him otherwise

[the-eternal-maiden616]

Our Flag Means Death has been canceled and will not be renewed for a third/final season.

I cannot explain to you how devastated i am right now and how this is completely unfair to everyone who helped make this incredible show.

If you haven't heard yet, early today it was announced by David Jenkins that his successful show Our Flag Means Death will not be renewed for a third and final season and that this is the definite end of the series. And it was better explained by comicbook on Insta that the series was actually canceled by HBO Max.

This wasn't entirely explained in detail with why the decision was made to not make another season but David Jenkins said on Twitter that he and Taika Waititi were really going for creating the third season and that it was originally the plan for the entire series to have 3 whole seasons. Unfortunately this has changed and OFMD has at the moment officially ended as a continuing series.

I am so heartbroken at the moment and all us fans of the show are mourning as well and venting our full anger online wondering why the hell was this very successful series was canceled.

Before i joined the Good Omens community/fandom i was apart of the wonderful OFMD community and this community helped me eventually learn about GO and the similarities with these two stories. Most especially the archetypes of the blond haired boy, ie, Aziraphale and Stede falling fall the dark brooding boy, ie, Crowley and Edward.

HBO Max is absolutely ridiculous and horrible for doing this and i feel so badly for all the cast and everyone who helped work on the show. Not being able to see the proper ending to Stede, Edward and their amazing crew of 'The Revenge' is just absolutely horrible to experience.

Our Flag means death was one of the first queer shows i have ever watched on my own after coming out as Bisexual three years ago now and i cannot thank David, Taika, Rhys and everyone who was in this show for making it so fucking entertaining to watch. And especially Taika being a mixed Indigenous Māori like myself portraying himself as one of the most feared pirates of all time while also showing off a side to the infamous pirate that isn't fully known about, and even though the real life Blackbeard may of not been as queer as the show displays Taika did say the reason why the choose to make Stede and Ed a homosexual couple was infact to pissed off the homophobic historians.

Much isn't known about the true relationship between Stede Bonnet and Edward Teach when they were working together, they may or not have had a friendship or romantic relationship besides being workmates and Captains of their own ships, and i am certainly not praising the real life historical figures, because they were still bad people, i only praise this loosely based adaptation of their real life relationship.

Either way lastly i just want to say farewell to OFMD, i will keep this show near and dear to my heart, for the rest of the life, farewell Taika Waititi's Blackbeard and Rhys Darby's Stede Bonnet, you guys were beyond amazing for doing this. I will continue praising this show till the day i die and i now only have Good Omens to worry about and wait for now, so i will go and do that. BYe bye for now and Goodbye OFMD i love you very much and thank you for the memories.

[sakuraharuno156]

Hi! So while normally I don't indulge in anti... I can't help it, it's fun XD People are so sensitive about some things, but anyway... I'm on board with you since I realized later in life that yeah, Sakura is absolutely brilliant and Hinata is... SO not. I can't say I enjoy her character one bit anymore after she's done nothing but disappoint me. BUT! What I wanted to let you know was something else that kinda pisses me off.

Now we know that it's obvious that Studio Bones and the animators have this insane and somewhat misogynistic favoritism towards Hinata (because's quiet, submissive and kind), given how much to flanderize Sakura's temper to make her look like that's all she is.

Well I think even whoever made the video games favor Hinata too. I used to play this old-ass game called Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2. Very old lol but there were some joke/unique versions of characters.

Example: "Sealed Orochimaru" in reference to how he couldn't use any jutsu thanks to 3rd Hokage's Seal. And "Nine Tailed Naruto" with Naruto as the Nine Tailed Fox.

And then there's "Byakugan Hinata" I'm not kidding you, they have this... badass version of Hinata who is a competent fighter, has a strong disposition and seems to actually care about her status as a Hyuga. Even though in canon there hasn't been a single moment where Hinata's shown to be competent in fighting (she hasn't won a single battle in combat), strong (any bold moment was just so she could look cool in front of Naruto) or given a damn about her clan or her status given that she spends every moment on panels or screen gushing and thinking about Naruto.

Now here I am thinking... how pathetic is that?

That the creators of this game made up such a farfetched and dare I say fanfic-ed version of Hinata that you can find in any badly written fiction where Hinata is suddenly a badass when she's shown repeatedly in canon that she is NOT.

Hinata is no badass. She just isn't. I thought she had potential once upon a time, and then the fillers (which aren't canon) go out of their way to make her look badass when in canon, she isn't.

So it's not just the anime, the games were guilty of this too.

Okay I'm so sorry this got long lol, but I just thought it'd be neat to tell you this because it's a game many have forgotten because it IS pretty old lol. But... looking back on it, it disappoints me.

Sakura is the true badass female of Naruto. That's a fact.

Hey, there is nothing wrong with being an anti, as long as you are anti-fictional character and not anti-real preson, then you are good! 💕

So let me welcome you to the datk side, and let's go.

(BTW we clarified that it was supposed to say "studio pierrot", a mix-up, it happens ❤️)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

100% true and the worst part is that they don't see they do her an injustice.

Like studio pierrot made Hinata a healer:

But when it mattered she couldn't do anything, because she can't heal, so she looks just stupid.

Neji is dying? Better let him die. People are dying all around during war? Better not heal them because why would she? 🤷‍♀️

Or

They made her meet Naruto when they were children in The Last:

But then Naruto at 12yo calls her a "weirdo" or in that translation "a freak who won'teven look me in the eye"?

They make it seem like "she was always there for Naruto", but when Naruto is thinking about his first bonds she's nowhere to be found?

And I tried to like Hinata too, I even talked about it here, so i understand, but she's such an awfull character to be shown to younger audience that it's painful.

She's selfish and rude, her whole life revolves around a boy, her whole ambition is to be with Naruto and to cook and clean for him.

And now to the games, I had to Google it, because I haven't played it, but:

This is another injustice towards her, because it hypes her character out to be strong and hype her potential just to leave her weak and without accomplishing a thing.

And don't get me wrong, I know that games are supposed to allow the player to decide who wins and who loses based on players skills, but...

That game came out in 2004, by then the manga was at the end of OG Naruto, so looking at how the games are trying to portray her, we (as viewers or players) can assume that she will be strong someday, and yet she never was.

We were led to believe that her father will see her as strong and with "great potential", but Hanabi is still the one that will be the head of Hyuga clan, and Neji was the one who is the strongest (and we know it, it was stated).

"Surpassing the main branch" and "For the brilliant blood of the Hyuga to be flowing within a child who cannot become an heir what natural talent".

And then, Hiashi that had pure hatred (or at least the thought about them as a less than/slaves to main family) towards the branch PREFERRED TO TRAIN NEJI AND HINATA WAS THERE TO BRING THE TEA.

It's pure embarrassment. 🤷‍♀️

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's an injustice to her character and I'M THE ONE WHO IS SAYING THIS, WHEN I HATE HER GUTS 🤷‍♀️