#v; this isn't over (s2)

[mswyrr]

This moment shapes how I interpret where they will go in season 3. In the book, Rhaenyra relies increasingly on Mysaria as her advisor as the war continues. Including during some of the darkest chapters of her reign. I can see the seeds of that here - Rhaenyra committing to a path of taking and holding power by any means necessary and Mysaria supporting her in that, believing that it is justified by the kind of queen Rhaenyra will be (and their apparently now shared belief that the gods have chosen Rhaenyra - very significant that they're on the same page religiously in that, or that Mysaria is choosing to say that she shares that view. With Dae/mon's visions and commitment to Rhaenyra as the ruling queen, that makes three people on this "team" who are all in on mystical fanaticism).

I think it's important that, despite Rhaenyra and Dae/mon's reunion in a prior scene, it is Mysaria who Rhaenyra shares her doubts and moral discomfort with. It is her opinion alone that has that weight. This is due, I believe, both to Mysaria's own history as a low born woman who has suffered due to that, her advocacy for the smallfolk, her support and loyal validation of Rhaenyra, and the long-term fractures of trust in his judgment Rhaenyra had with D/aemon over young Jaehaerys' murder and their prior disagreements over who will "rule" in that relationship.

Rhaenyra is Rhaenyra - she has always craved love and will not deny herself any connection that sustains and comforts her. But I think that, going forward, the "lady wife" role Mysaria can play to her [a role that, as I've argued before in this meta, Rhaenyra seems to crave in her life and has since her youthful bond with Alicent] will be vital to shoring her up, intellectually and emotionally, and that Mysaria's strategic thinking will be important to her as well.

Their bond will be an essential one for Rhaenyra going forward, imo, based on s2 and the book info. I hope the studio is brave enough to let the queerness of that bond be clear as the story continues.

[fresne999]

Half way through the journey of our analyses

I feel like roughly half of the analysis I'm reading about OFMD S2 is folks who clearly fixated on a character (it's Izzy, it's always Izzy that inspires this kind of analysis) write analyses that cause the 2nd response of, "Um…did you ever study literary analysis in school."

Now I come at this from a slightly odd place in that I did study literary analysis in school (30+ years ago) where I learned it's possible to interpret anything about any way, because we're all bringing different lenses to the analysis. Which isn't to say that an author can't have an intended interpretation. 

Dante in Canto V of Inferno (Divine Comedy) would still like folks to understand fixating on the two damned-lovers and ignoring the details that the artist is putting in there for you to catch about how they are damned because they won't change the toxic patterns that got them there in the first place. Also, they can't because they are in hell, and hell is like that. That Dante-the-writer had Dante-the-character swoon over those same two damned-lovers (because Dante-the-character is on a journey of moral correction) is hilarious, but doesn't make it any less the point of that section of the work, but I digress.

As a career, I am very aware that folks love to misinterpret what is meant to be very clear instructions. Of course, I'm writing policies and procedures, which is a bit different from writing fiction, and is worlds away from creating a t.v. show. But that's the life experience that I always bring to literary analysis. Frequently, people choose their interpretations to fit what they want to see, and that's part of being human.

I've seen a fair number of folks interpret Izzy's redemption arc in S2 as one of a queer man struggling with disabilities and mental health issues whose struggle is made meaningless by his demise. Which sure, you could interpret it that way and in that it's coming from I'm sure an emotional place, I get it. And hmmm… I might give this interpretation more credence  if I hadn't read a lot of Izzy analysis for S1 that was wildly different than the text.

So let's take a step back. 

First, know the rules of the literary universe: OFMD is a show where the reality is not ours. It is either the Core Universe or something very close to it. BTW: If you've never heard of Core Universe or read the seminal BtVS+HtLJ "When Hellmouth's Collide" (https://www.ltljverse.com/index2.htm), a Core Universe is one where everything lines up. Row boats are magic, and where there is a Badminton, he will accidentally stab/shoot himself. 

Terminology more befitting of that fancy literature degree might be to say that OFMD functions along the logic of Magical Realism. Characters will appear briefly for the purposes of the story and then disappear not to be mentioned again (Nana, Calico Jack, Mary Read & Anne Bonny). Things align because they are meant to align. It is a universe where the Gravy Basket is a real place, and meant to be taken seriously.  It's also a universe where a man may become a seagull, because he loves the sea. You change for love, but the ways you change may be positive or toxic. 

They can result in a bird that never gets to know rest. Always flying over the sea. Or they lead to becoming a bird, who can float in the sea or land on a unicorn's leg. 

Transformation. 

Anyway, S1 - Stede commissioned a ship with secret passageways. It did not have a buxom mermaid on the prow, nor something more befitting a ship named the Revenge. He commissioned a unicorn prow and went off to become a pirate. 

A not particularly violent pirate. But a pirate who didn't have a problem with the violence of piracy. See Stede telling Lucius (hardest working man on the ship in S1) to take notes during a violent raid where the show's logo was literally carved into the chest of a dead man. 

BTW: The tone about violence is darker in S2, but the violence was there in S1. It was just presented in a more whimsical way. The nose jar was full of noses in S1. We heard about Blackbeard's violence. A man was skinned alive off screen, but we focused on the Prussian (but also sort of French) party. 

What Izzy needed to be redeemed from was established in S1. The problem is that folks who interpreted Izzy as a) the central focus of the show and b) a put upon manager just trying to do right by his crew (or as one Tumblerina referred to him as the man/father of the family going out to hunt - excuse me while I vomit - and support his family as men must do), are not going to understand what Izzy's S2 arc was all about. 

Ed and Stede are the main characters in a romantic story. There are other characters with their own arcs, but they are the main characters.

In S1, Stede created a safe space where characters had a chance to breathe for the first time. Possibly ever, and as a result revisited parts of themselves they'd lost. Wee John got back in touch with his roots as the son of a seamstress. Frenchie got back to what he loves, scamming the rich. The Swede sang like a siren of the sea, because it doesn't always have to be scary. 

Ed had his first good time in years. After expressing suicidal ideation to Izzy because of his terminal boredom in S1.E4 - Discomfort in a Married state, Ed found himself some balance. Some sweet marmalade. 

Ed and Izzy were in a toxic relationship that only reinforced their toxic behavior. And yes, I'm going to overuse the word toxic. While piracy is a place where you can go be yourself and shag whoever you want (whatever happens at sea stays at sea), it's not a place where you can be soft. Gentle. Emotionally open. Available. 

Ed's only path out that he could see at the time was to plan to skin the face of the man who built a ridonculous boat with a unicorn on the prow and wear it for the rest of his life. A plan to send Stede to Doggy Heaven. 

BTW: This is why Izzy uses the line in S2.E3 - the Innkeeper, that they put Ed down like a mad dog, so that Stede could reply that they sent Ed to Doggy Heaven. Reiterating this concept of piracy as violence, as taking away faces / identity / lives, but also losing one's own. Forgetting even what day of the year it is. Also revealing that Stede knew about Ed & Izzy's plan to murder him, send Stede to doggy heaven, and had moved on. 

This is also why the respite in S2.E4 - Fun and Games is so critical. Mary Read/Anne Bonney are portrayed as direct parallels to Stede/Ed. They are selling what are, no doubt, the spoils of their piracy. But they've chosen a remote location with no community, but each other and a life where they are not actually communicating. Which on its surface is where Ed and Stede end up, and yet…the Revenge can sail back. They are on the shore facing the sea, not in a jungle lost from a clear view. I'll quote the relevant Dante in just a bit, never fear.

Ed and Stede's new inn has the potential for a solid foundation, because the unicorn has been planted firmly in the ground, and if we get an S3, I firmly expect the unicorn leg to have transformed into a tree, because I've read a lot of medieval literature and that's how that sort of thing works. 

Well, it could be a penis tree (this was a thing in medieval marginalia), but somehow I don't think it will be. 

 But I'm getting a little ahead of myself.

Back in S1, the plan to murder Stede and take his identity broke down despite Izzy trying to perform an intervention to get Ed back into the toxic soup, and ended with Ed curled up in a bathtub and opening up about murdering his father. An image the show chose to flash on the screen multiple times in S2 just in case folks forgot that this was a traumatizing event for Ed, and was itself the culmination of years of traumatic abuse at his father's hands. 

Just as Stede kept flashing back to the moment his father tells him what it is to be a man, and kills an animal, the blood splashing on Stede's wee little face. 

That this is the point of the show. Transforming past trauma. It's there. You always carry the scars. Sometimes, you decide to tattoo yourself with the image of the thing you fear, and then the thing you fear is always there, but you've got to keep moving forward. To stay in one place, to stay trapped in the same emotion/action, is hell. I've read a lot of lit crit of Dante's Inferno. Trust me, it's the same thing.

Izzy's redemption arc is firmly based in the events of S1E6 - Here Dragons Be, because it's where the pustule of his relationship with Ed breaks. His attempted intervention fails to get Ed to kill Stede, so Izzy tries to kill Stede. Not realizing that a) Stede is a main character and b) this is a Core Universe show. Where it's possible to win a duel by being stabbed in the left side of your gut and stay there for many hours and not die. So he loses the 1 thing that defines him, his job. 

Izzy's redemption arc is firmly based in the events of s1E8 - We Gull Way Back, where he enlists Calico Jack to lure Ed off the boat (with all the toxic masculinity that entailed) so that the British could show up and shoot the head off the unicorn, and kill Stede. So Izzy can crawl back into his old patterns / job / life. 

Izzy's redemption arc is firmly based in the big drama confrontation in S1E10 - Wherever You Go There You Are, when as a person whose entire identity is tied up in being Blackbeard's First Mate and after realizing that he couldn't cut it as a captain on his own, he does whatever the f- he can to get Ed back into the toxic soup so he can get his old role/job back.  

This isn't to say that Ed's off the deep end actions in S2.E1&2 aren't his own choices. He is a main character. His emotional arc is one of the driving forces of the show. But they are the choices of a man who wants to die. After a lifetime of violent action that had been increasingly drowning him, he wants to die in the violence of battle, but the enemy are never good enough. He wants Izzy to kill him, but Izzy won't. Until he does…sort of. He wants to die in a storm. He's carving notches on his wall hoping to lure Ned Low to him so that he can die in pain. But Ed is the devil and does not die.

Except Ed's not the devil. He doesn't have a head made of smoke. He's a man. Not a fisherman. Not a fisher of men, and what an interesting attempt to go Christ himself off into the wilderness only to be fired for not being that good at it, and then receive his letter from the deep. 

Because in a show full of magical realism, the bottles with messages will reach the intended recipient eventually.

"In the middle of the journey of our life, I came to myself in a dark wood for the straight way was lost. Ah, how hard a thing it is to say what that wood was. So savage and harsh and strong, that the thought of it renews my fear. It is so bitter that death is little more so. But to speak of the good that I found there, I will tell of the other things I saw…and like one with laboring breath comes forth from the deep onto the shore, who turns back to the perilous water and stares, so my spirit still fleeing turned to gaze upon the pass that has never left anyone alive." Dante, Canto 1, Inferno. 

Instead of dying, Ed goes not to Purgatory (sorry I'd quote the opening lines, but Inferno actually works better here), but to the Gravy Basket, where he confronts the spirit of Hornigold. Dead spirit. Aspect of Ed's self. Both. Neither. Hated. Self. Unkillable. 

Is saved by a goldfish incarnation of Stede. 

But just as the imaginary as Stede's vision of what / who he thinks he needs to be for Ed, this is not true. Life being what it is, Ed and Stede rush when they need to go slow. They break apart because they are saying words, but the other person is hearing based on their own interpretation. 

BTW: The clue Dante-the-writer gives the reader in Canto V of Inferno is how one of the damned lovers, Francesca, explains how she hooked up with her brother-in-law, Paulo. She describes reading an Arthurian romance. She and Paulo kissed when Gwenevere and Lancelot kissed in the story. Except the version they are reading (and Dante tells the reader which version this is) was intended as a cautionary tale. Also, Paulo and Francesca were real people who were murdered by Francesca's husband when he caught them together. So there is that too.

I always like it in fiction when characters misinterpret each other because they hear based on their life experiences and don't hear the things that are said/unsaid based on the life experiences of the other person speaking. That's good writing. It's also how we end up with wildly varying interpretations of works of fiction.

But I digress.

Izzy's S2 arc is that he must let go of his relationship with Ed and turn to others. He must learn to let go of toxic masculinity and let in softness. Not weakness. Water is not weak, but it is soft. Calypso, goddess of the sea, is not weak. Her birthday is whatever day you need it to be. She is vast and deep and soft and relentless. 

In Ro-sham-bo, it's a shame that there is not a gesture for water. Because it is not paper that defeats stone, but water that wears away the stone. Of course, scissors wouldn't do much to water either, so that would sort of break Ro-sham-bo, so I suppose it must stay as it is.

It is through a craft's project that the crew of the Revenge find healing. Turn Izzy into the unicorn. A unicorn that Izzy's own actions caused to be decapitated with a British cannon ball in S1. That Izzy rendered legless (drunk). But the Revenge is a boat. They just need to swim/sail. It is through a craft's project that Izzy is able to offer healing to Lucius, who in turn is then able to turn their art away from fixating on Ed, and the trauma that he's been through and back towards love, and Black Pete. 

But it's not possible to see Izzy's S2 arc, if you didn't interpret S1 Izzy as needing to go through his own gravy basket. 

That Izzy dies because his transformation is necessary. He can't leave Ed, and if he doesn't leave Ed, then Ed can't stop being Blackbeard. The kracken. He literally tells Ed this as he chooses to transform. To free the world of Blackbeard, so Ed can be Ed. Yet, I've read so many posts by folks saying, "But why did he have to die?" Which sure, you can choose not believe what the character says while dying.

Which is a narrative privilege. To get a good dying speech. "There he is" get to be transmutted from an attack to an actual seeing. The larger than life concept of a smoke headed pirate can waft away.

Stories are hard to kill. They live on long past us, and as long as someone is remembered, especially in a universe like OFMD, we live. 

Though always reject the gift of a clock. That's someone telling you that you've only got so many hours left of life. If you are a character in a story. 

Thus the other parallel in this season is Izzy to Auntie and Ed to Zheng Yi Sao. Auntie must allow Zheng softness. Izzy must go through a sea change to something new and strange. Also, this would be a case of Doylistically the writers needed to line up Olu with Stede for that to work, and thus the new configurations of Olu and Jim's relationship, which, shrug, could be poly. Could be friends to lovers to friends.  Woulda, coulda, had more time, but that's on Max for not giving us 2 more episodes.

Prince Richard was trying to become a concept, but was too in love with the mechanics of it. Stede was trying to become a concept too. Found his fame, and all too quickly the toxic end of that particular route. Magical Realism was on his side until he tried to face down Zheng Yi Sao, the Queen of Pirates, and then the rules of the story weren't. Because those clocks were ticking. Everyone was in a very dark wood. The memory of blood splashed on Stede's face as a little boy was a warning. It was a reminder. It was the wrong lessons we take from our childhood and must unlearn to become whole.

Having the final shot of the show being Buttons landing on the unicorn leg as a reminder that this is a show about transformation. One thing becoming another thing. Somewhere the dead are dancing in Calypso's court. A dance below the sea and on the sea and with the sea. While the living keep sailing on their magic ship to do…I don't know. 

Because the Golden Age of Piracy is coming to an end. They'll go create new worlds and new places to be. Transforming.

If we get no more of the show, this is a resolution.

Since I've been quoting Dante, I'm going to end this with the final vision in Paradiso. Because folks who haven't been reading my analysis for the last 30 years / read it, may not realize that the Divine Comedy (a story that begins in sorrow and ends in joy) ends with the vision of a 3 way rainbow. 

"In the profound and shining Being of the deep Light, three circles appeared, of three colours, and one magnitude: one seemed refracted by the other, like Iris’s rainbows, and the third seemed fire breathed equally from both. O how the words fall short, and how feeble compared with my conceiving!…Power, here, failed the deep imagining: but already my desire and will were rolled, like a wheel that is turned, equally, by the Love that moves the Sun and the other stars."

[chronicsyd]

so i have mentioned the whole "Ella Purnell (Jinx's VA) crying doing lines for Jinx" and how a lot of people think it's possibly a Jinx death or something and I previously said I didn't think so, but another thought crossed through my head that's just as traumatic and could possibly (no, Probably) lead to tears:

Vi inevitably choosing Caitlyn over Jinx in S2.

First hear me out, of Course i know that it doesn't Have to be this way; Vi clearly has enough love in her heart to love the two equally. but Jinx and the show choose to show this Vi, Jinx, Caitlyn dynamic as a uhhh... "Unconventional Love Triangle" to put it simply. Sevika puts the thought of "Vi replacing Jinx" early on and because of Jinx's trauma she chooses to believe that this Is true. However, the actions she takes in the show actually has the opposite effect of what she wants, pushing Caitlyn and Vi closer together.

So when it comes to episode 9, Jinx feels that VI is the one who must choose between the two. It's either Jinx, or Caitlyn. And by choosing to not take action at all, Jinx believes that her fears are confirmed and that Vi is choosing Caitlyn over her. now we know that this isn't true because even after Caitlyn frees herself and both the blue girls have each other at gun point, Vi is the one desperately trying to get Caitlyn to Not shoot Jinx, despite the other not seeing what Vi sees. Caitlyn does Not see Powder in Jinx (in fact i don't think she really ever has, but she knows that family is important to Vi which is why she doesn't say anything on the bridge when the two part ways for the first time). But it's Especially why she says to Vi, "She's too far gone".

Unfortunately, with the way that i think things are going in S2, the beginning i think Vi is still going to try to go after Powder, despite us knowing that Powder practically died in episode 9 (I also think that she's also dealing with the guilt that Cassandra's death specifically (because she probably doesn't really care as much about the others but she cares about Caitlyn and Caitlyn losing her mother is going to be Rough) is at Jinx's hands and she still holds Vander's "Whatever happens, it's on you" to heart despite it not being true), meanwhile Caitlyn feels that a solo "Caitlyn V Jinx" mission is going to end up with one of them dead, and she knows that either outcome is going to be terrible for Vi (because as i said before, Caitlyn no longer see's Powder, she see's Jinx and Jinx is a threat). And I think that actions from Both Jinx and Caitlyn are going to Force Vi's hand to Make A Choice.

and i think that come end of S2, she is going to side with Caitlyn.

(Of course i could be Totally wrong with this, but of all things I've said about S2 so far this is actually one of the things I'm sadly, more confident about)

[ca-suffit]

I loved the clip from s3 then I had an immediate sentiment of dread seeing the response.

It feels like that all around me on social medias,the show is finally starting for most people.The last 2 seasons were just? Something to put in the past to disregard.

The only positive aspect for me is that i won't have to see as much mischaracterization about Louis and Claudia from people that don't really care about the narrative but still i have this sensation of being pushed in the guts.Time to touch some grass I guess.

this is the thing about ppl who were so concerned about sam's quote about *his* mental health looking at the fandom. what do they think it's like for the fandom itself?? most ppl hyping this "concern" up were ppl responsible for causing so much shit in the first place too. the antiblack brigade.

this fandom is awful when experienced outside of v curated spaces bcuz in all these years, it has *refused* to get better. it's firmly rooted in white supremacy, like all fandoms are, and it doesn't care what the show is saying about it. the *show* doesn't seem to care what the show is saying about it anymore either, so the fatigue has been setting in since S2 started.

idk if touching grass is gonna help tbh. the ppl who tell u to do that for things like noticing racism thriving in spaces and feeling helpless against it are just part of the problem too. they don't *want* anything to change so they tell u it's ur fault for being too invested. but isn't fandom supposed to be about a love of something?? finding community over a shared love of something?? what ur feeling is the loss of that and no idea of where to go from here for something u rly love and want to see given the attention and respect it deserves....to *all* of it, not just the white side.

I don't have the answers of how to "solve" this bcuz it's a never ending problem. I'm here with this account as part of an attempt to at least be loud about it and let ppl know what's happening. hopefully it inspires more actions, but at least rn it gives ppl a place to talk and know this is real. we've normalized a lot of abusive behaviors in fandom spaces and the more it grows the more everyone's gonna keep feeling like this.

[inkstainedhandswithrings]

TB S2 EP 13 THOUGHTS!

True, Omega has gotten really good with being a soldier. She's staying cool in high tension situations, she has good aim, thinks on her feet and outsmarts her opponents easily. But Phee is right, Omega hasn't gotten to just be a kid for a while now. She deserves to have a proper childhood

LOVED seeing Hunter's enhanced senses at work. Sometimes I catch myself going "froce sensitive?" just because he's so hyper-aware

^this is just based on him grabbing that dudes wrist when he tried to take his money

THAT MOMENT WHEN WRECKER GOT UP WHEN THE GUY WAS ALL "shoulda brought more muscle" BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR BITCH

Phee shooting that guy under the table like damn girly alright

"Yes, I am playing against myself. It is the only time this game is a challenge." YES BABY TELL 'EM ALL HOW SMART YOU ARE🤍🤍🤍

"We never had such a thing. I do not see the issue." Oh,,,, oh Tech Baby. Stop telling people how dumb you are🤍🤍🤍

Hunter did look like he was mulling over Phee's words

CID CAN GO AND :)

"Our mutually beneficial agreement wasn't so beneficial,,, mutually." Hunter your himbo is showing babes

HHHHH OKAY IT'S SUBTLE BUT!!! When Phee types in the coordinates to Pabu, her hand lands on Tech's shoulder. He briefly glances down at it, somewhat skeptically, and then she lifts it off again, before patting his shoulder and his eyes widen a little bit and maybe im too invested in this ship and I'll be quiet now bye

PABU IS SO PRETTY OMG

I LOVE that Phee isn't like a pirate-pirate. Like I thought she was shady but dang, she's just taking back people's heritage that was stolen from them and I LOVE IT

"Got some competition." WAAAAHH I KNEW IT

"Welcome" "Welcome" "Welcome" "Welc-" "PUT IT THERE" WRECKER I LOVE YOU

"Lots of food, drink and general merrimaking," points at Tech, "You'll probably hate it. It'll be great." Tech rolls eyes

^YOUR HONOUR I LOVE THEM

NO BECAUSE BECAUSE Tech is the sassy b in the squad and Phee switching her flirting technique from "hi there good looking" to "lol dumb b" IS EXACTLY WHAT OUR BOY WANTS AND SHE FCKING KNOWS IT

AND THEN IT WORKS BC TECH TURNS AROUND TO LOOK AT HER WHEN THEY SPLIT AND HE'S LITERALLY THE ONLY ONE AND THEN HE HAS THE LITTLE SMILE AND DOWN ANGLED FACE AND WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"I have not heard her laugh like that in some time." Heeeeessss learniiiiing (that Phee was right lol)

"As a father, you couldn't ask for a better place to raise a child." Okay, glad we're all on the same page. Like, I'm glad all we gotta do is take one goddamn look at Hunter and just go "Dad."

I know it's supposed to be a joke again, but like Wrecker being full for the first time? That's so sad. Imagine going to bed hungry EVERY SINGLE NIGHT. Being full for the first time is something to remember, Tech should be writing it down.

Omega and Lyana bonding on the boat was so sweet!!

Phee getting Tech away from his datapad to get him to appreciate life's beauty IS MAKING MY HEART SO FULL

"Pretty spectacular, right?" <- Phee using the word spectacular, even though its not in her usual vocabulary, because she's generally more succinct and down to earth, but it's totally a word Tech would use

"I suppose... that is... one way to... quantify it." <- Whenever Tech talks about data or research (topics without emotional involvement) his sentences flow nicely and evenly and he gets about 100 out in 2 seconds. Whenever he has to talk about emotions or emotions are involved in the conversation suddenly he gets quieter and his sentences have less of a flow. He doesn't stutter, but he needs a minute to get them out. hmm yes very interesting.

Hunter checking in with the girls, so cute

Omegas learned a lot and has been pretty secure in her ability, but hearing her sound so scared when the wave came? dang. loved that she immediately called hunter though. V sweet :)

TECH AND PHEE WORKING TOGETHER

PHEE HOLDING ON TO TECH TO GET UP THE WALL HEHEHEHEHEHHE

Not a single 'fear of heights' comment from Wrecker when climbing that ladder. Proud of him :)

Tech pushing through that crowd to check on his bro THE CUTENESS

Wrecker side-hugging the mayor when he's looking at all the destruction I CAN'T THAT'S SO SWEET

So,,, so Phee and Tech just move as a unit now, huh... very interesting

Phee not letting Tech disturb Omega, Lyana, and Wrecker and him listening to her so quickly just,,, I think she'll end up helping him connect to/understand human emotion better and show him how to navigate relationships and I'm SO HERE FOR IT

Like she knows people and is clearly good with relationships, and he recognises that and trusts her to point him in the right direction, WHICH HE DIDN'T AT THE BEGINNING OF THE EPISODE!!!

"We could stay and help out with things."

"I had the same idea."

"Did you, now?"

cue cute smiling at eachother

WAAAAAAAA MY BABIES!!!!

10/10 episode, made my heart v happy. Dave Filoni, I have left your walls, you may live in peace until next week.

[lemotmo]

Hi!! I hope you are doing well! I’m a buddie lurker and Painfully Shy so I’m actually a little scared about sending you this, but I wanted to give you an extra extra appreciation to your blog and your posts. It’s been such a breath of fresh air to be able to read level-headed discourse about Tommy’s role in Buck’s story - because it IS Buck’s story (and to an extent Eddie’s, because Buck’s story is always going to be a part of Eddie’s story and vice versa, and that is and always will be canon whether or not buddie happens).

Also, after reading a few of your and your anons’ posts today about how Oliver and Lou don’t get along, I got a little curious and watched that one LFJ/OS interview (never bothered to before) and now I have a lot of Thoughts lol... so I wanted to send you my two cents if that’s okay (otherwise please please ignore me)!

I got a little curious about their chemistry as actors since Buck and Tommy always fell a little flat to me anyway (maybe bc I'm comparing them to Buck with Eddie). And after watching that interview, I am not surprised. I can admit that at face value, I don’t think it was as bad as some people made it out to be, BUT it definitely was not great. Individually, something about Lou’s demeanor just seems so wooden? Robotic? It was extra apparent because Oliver and the interviewers were so much more animated. Regardless, the whole interview felt off and though Oliver did give it a solid shot, they were just NOT in sync with each other.

I suppose someone could argue that they just don’t know each other that well since this is the first (?) and only (??) time they interacted outside of the show. But then I ended up watching an early interview of Ryan and Oliver when they were filming season 2 to compare and… well, there is definitely no comparison. Ryan and Oliver in this interview is SUCH an amazing example of natural chemistry between professional actors. There was a comfortability to their banter and (so much!) teasing, which could have been awkward but they riffed off of each other really really well. And they had just met!

And of course now I'm thinking about the Buddie of it all because I think this is also an example of how platonic chemistry could look like (a la Bobby/Michael and Hen/Chim) and that Ryan and Oliver could be capable of it. But then we get whatever it is that we get whenever Buck and Eddie are on the screen together - which is decidedly much less platonic (“You wanna go for the title?”), much more tender (“I should have been there”), much more sincere (“Because, Evan…”), much more loving (“There is no one I trust more…”), and just so so soft (Buck falling asleep and his permanent spot on Eddie’s couch), etc etc. over the course of YEARS. I have a headcanon that when/if Buck and Eddie get together they will literally be the softest softbois for each other - I’m talking so much (SO MUCH) hand-holding, wearing each others clothes, cuddling, a lot of talking each other up and “that’s MY boyfriend” etc etc etc. they’ll be SO annoying and they deserve it so much after everything. Christopher is constantly embarrassed by his dads which just makes Eddie double-down on the insufferable gooeyness because he lives to embarrass his kid (affectionately) and Buck’s so used to it that he doesn’t even bat an eye - anyway sorry sorry, I completely lost track of this message…

This is the S2 interview I am referencing in case you are curious: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4asUcdU18ns

So much love to you!

Thank you for your lovely post Nonny!

I agree that the interview with Lou and Oliver isn't as bad as some people make it out to be. It's just that there is zero direct interaction between them and Oliver just didn't seem all that happy to be there, while Lou just kept on talking about himself and his father. BT was hardly mentioned. So, it was literally a 'nothing' interview.

Oliver and Ryan have natural chemistry, I agree. Sometimes you get lucky as a showrunner and you get people with natural chemistry. on 911 Tim got very lucky with Jenn and Kenny, Peter and Angela, Aisha en Tracie and of course Oliver and Ryan. The only ones that aren't currently in a romantic relationship are Buck and Eddie, but they have that same chemistry as the other pairing. This isn't just platonic.

I love your soft Buddie headcanon. Let's hope we'll get to see it someday.

[pebblysand]

okay, you guys seemed to love these last season so here we go again: selling sunset hot takes, S7E1-5.

whoever is responsible for imposing that mansion tax has my utmost respect. tax the rich plz.

i don't think we talked enough about that basket ball that amanza was dragging around in ep 1.

talking about amanza: yes, she is a shit stirrer, i called it in s2 and i am baffled it took this long for the show to self-actualise on this issue.

i also don't think we talked enough about jason's baby powdered balls.

i was equally shocked by the fact that brett seems to have a tongue and a brain that together are capable of producing words.

having said that, talking about jason, he remains The Worst. i don't even know how to explain. that man is a walking red flag and the fact that he seems to have survived a life's worth of terrible professional, financial, and personal terrible decision-making is truly a wonder.

that said, we need to stop pretending their income at this stage comes from real estate. most of the money they get is from the show. which is why, i suppose, they're able to open new offices when all of their competitors are shutting down.

as someone who knows a little bit about real estate, the house they were in for the O Group anniversary dinner had real architectural value, which is notable because none of the houses ever do.

romaine-like-the-salad remains my favourite character in this show and i swear sometimes i can hear him think in french.

that said, he and mary being pregnant is the one good news of this season, although they totally knew before that test and their "surprise" was very poor acting.

i am also happy for mary that she stepped back from management. i think this is good for everyone, but mostly her.

now onto the hot stuff: i think when it comes to bre v. chelsea, they actually both have a fair point. i do think chelsea was trying to genuinely apologise, but what she was apologising for was exactly what she said: if you don't have anything nice to say, say nothing. she had nothing nice to say and still said things, and now recognises that she shouldn't have. having said that, her view on bre's situation is so clearly rooted in very personal christian beliefs that she's not going to intrinsically change her mind. and actually, this might be my hottest take to date but... i think that's fine. like, as chelsea said, "i don't agree with everything my friends do." she would have been fine being bre's friend but bre wants her to approve of her situation (which, imo, is because deep down, bre is a bit insecure about her situation) and that's never going to happen. my hot take last year was that chelsea had a point, and i think she still does.

this is a bit of a side point but i thought chelsea was at least 40. i'm 30 and i swear my friends and i don't look that old. proof that packing your face with plastic doesn't actually make you look younger.

which, another tangent but why did everyone make such a big deal of the accusation that nicole has had work done? THEY ARE ALL PACKED IN PLASTIC.

and onto the hotter stuff: the situation between nicole v everyone else is starting to bore me. nicole is clearly wrong. nicole has been wrong for two seasons now. let's move on. that said, i had to google what "social climber" meant because i don't think it means the same thing to me as it does to them.

and on chrishell v. marie-lou: so this is actually a hot take, i think, but i do reckon they both have a point. on the one hand, marie-lou is, it's true, rather young and insecure, but she also has reasons to be. they've all made fun of her age, and i feel like her age isn't her fault, and she doesn't seem to me particularly more immature than them. additionally, jason is clearly still in love with chrishell but because he is The Worst, she cannot have that conversation with him, she's turning to chrishell who, in fairness, has no power over that.

i will also say that as a european who's lived in the US, i think what she is holding against chrishell is more of a cultural difference, than it is anything else. what she's basically saying is that chrishell is "american-fake," meaning that she is nice and enthusiastic on the surface but doesn't actually "care." which to marie-lou reads as fake and rude, but to chrishell reads as polite. standards of politeness and casual social interactions are some of the biggest cultural differences between europeans and americans, and i think that's where you'll find that most of the issue is.

i also thought that chrishell, in that scene, used her language superiority to overpower marie-lou. chrishell is someone who speaks a bit fast and is very good at arguing. which is fine when she's with other americans but with marie-lou who is german, whose english is clearly not great, it very quickly feels like bullying. i don't think she meant it as such but marie-lou was taking a bit of time, trying to find her words to get her point across, and chrishell didn't have the patience and kept badgering her. i do believe that had she let marie-lou talk, they would have realised 1) my point above about cultural differences and 2) that the source of all their problem is jason's toxicity and lack of accountability, and that he should be locked in a safe room for the rest of his miserable life.

the way he was trying to hang up the phone during that fight had me in TEARS, like: do i need to be in this conversation? YES. YES. YOU CREATED THIS MESS. you are the weakest, most pathetic little man on the planet.

having said the above, obviously, chrishell has attenuating circumstances for her snapping and bullying of marie-lou and i'm glad she's feeling better now. we are still #teamchrishell in this house, we just need to acknowledge that sometimes our girl makes mistakes.

lastly, did anyone else think the reveal that amanza was molested as a child was a bit random? like, i'm sorry for her but also it felt a bit like it didn't have anything to do with anything. i wonder if it was just there to reconcile she and chelsea.

i will come back with more hot takes whenever i have time to watch the rest of the season lol.

[burinazar]

I'm sure you've mentioned it before, but I was wondering who your favorite Made in Abyss character is and why they're your favorite? :3

I love all the main kids as well as many other characters so it's hard to choose but I think I'd have to say mine is Faputa. Not only is she a super interesting and cool character, but she's also A Creature. A little ball of fluff that can kill

---------------------

Thank you very much for the ask, anon! haha, "little ball of fluff that can kill"...yes, Faputa is great, and I think the main cast of Abyss is very endearing and very well fleshed-out. I was having a nice exchange on AO3 the other day regarding how GOOD the characterization of Abyss is and how it's often overlooked in favor of the also-extremely-good worldbuilding and plot, and why that might be, and was considering how it links together with some of my other Thoughts about ways this fandom is different from my other ones as far as what people are into (I need to finish the self-reblog I was gonna do about that on a recent related post actually). Anyway, pretty much the whole cast is endearing and/or enjoyable to watch in some capacity. But there is a definite answer as to favorite(s).

I put these up on my wall this evening, which may help to answer your question.

(Please note the scrolls. I missed the Amiami preorder period for those two because they closed earlier than the rest for some reason, but was able to get them from Suruga-ya eventually. They'll be on the wall at some point too.)

The story and cast prior to s2 I enjoyed in a, like, normal way, and then the Ganja squad arc hit me like a damn asteroid. These people...I've thought and felt and said so much about them, and after a year and a half I'm still brimming with something that feels like it has to be poured out, onto blank canvases and into the written word, and there's no end in sight. I have never had characters that were such good muses to me except perhaps for a couple I made up myself. Belaf has to be called my favorite at this point, but for a long time it was Vueko, and I really, really like Waz too; the manner in which these three characterize one another makes it a little painful to try to separate and rank them, but yes, that's the order. I dote on B and V in particular.

(Self portrait circa August 2023.)

At this point I have so much to say about them that being asked why I like them is hard to answer succinctly. Belaf is so, so sweet, but in an unusual weird, intense nerd way that I find incredibly endearing .....and then that kindness and strength of character fucking destroys him and it's tragic and beautiful and there is so much to pick apart in the manner and meaning of his transformation and his absolution, and it's also a great deal of fun to depict him as he was before. "Before" Belaf is such a fun sort of quirky nerd and his relationships wth Waz and Vue and Iru offer, like, SO much to turn over and look upon fondly, humor and friendship and loyalty and love.

And yet, when I write about his years of friendship with and loyalty and closeness to Wazukyan and Vueko and his parenthood and tutelage of Irumyuui and (note: hallucinatory) camaraderie with the other Ganja, hanging over my shoulder always is his downfall and it makes all of those things so much more beautiful, the tinny note of tragedy that is always playing at the edge of our hearing once we see it all and know how it must end.

(Another crispy fried self portrait from last year. I don't really draw myself these days at all EXCEPT in the context of making fun of my sages obsession.)

As for Vueko, since she's fairly popular maybe explaining her appeal isn't needed...or maybe it is, because it's so much more than the shy and gentle and somewhat silly person she is on the surface, it is so, so much more. Under the Layer of Fuheh she's made of steel --it's just that she's very, very softspoken, which people mistake for passivity and spinelessness. Even fans who purport to like her sometimes reduce her to victimhood and weakness. Perhaps because it's a misconception she clearly holds about herself, and a viewer can be forgiven for not putting together that Vueko might literally be the sage that acts with the most agency. There's so much more I can say that I love about her and her story, especially in the context of the other characters and the way she subtly skews some narrative and trope-related expectations, but I think that's the heart of it -- yes, she was endearing as soon as I met her, but when I saw the subtle yet unmistakeable strength under it all (and parsed that she never saw it herself, I think that little pop of tragedy really makes it hit for me lol), I think that's what made me adore her.

This next little bit might be kind of fucked up but what really makes that strength into something that haunts and compels me is that Vueko has so much determination and strength of character that she will unhesitatingly act to destroy the people she cares about very very much if she has decided at that moment that it is the best thing for them (Irumyuui, Belaf, Irumyuui again.) I can trace the real beginning of my obsession with these characters to when s2e8 aired and this is pretty much why.

So...yeah. Belaf and Vueko! Aaaand there's no way I can write about Waz here without making this post way too fucking long but.

One more shitty self portrait from earlier in the obsession should do it.

Yep!

[alitgblog]

volume V thoughts bc once again fusebox has got me intrigued

first of all omg wtf

I usually end up reading a few spoilers before I play bc I'm bored at work but don't wanna play the volume until I get back but I had such a busy day at work I didn't do that and wow ok I gotta avoid spoilers more often I was shook

so excess baggage was okay. like yeah makes sense we want the couples to be tense again before voting the couple superlatives thing, but also such a throwaway. (and also I talked about this in my post about last volume, but we have so many challenges in a row!! why)

since my MC did initially flirt with Oakley a lot more than Jin, I do think it's funny Oakley talks about how cool MC's secret is (like it's annoying fs but also something I've seen happen on love island to create small drama but then ultimately it's just talk so it's nice to have that happen here).

Also i was worried Oakley was gonna turn on us or flirt with us and abandon Emel, so I'm very glad he was just asking for advice. (I'm a big Oakley and Emel fan, what can I say?) I'd be okay if that led into a different storyline where you could pursue Oakley later, but with how fusebox has been making the seasons lately, once you pick you've made your choice and I do miss in for example s2 where even if you don't pick Lurik when they first become available you have a chance the next recoupling and it feels like it changes your route.

Jack is still mad at MC??

Couples game was fun. I wish fusebox formatted it so you discuss with your partner and then make a choice before everyone revealed their answers instead of people talking and explaining before the player picks their answer. Like we know the characters already, just let me pick and we can see who agrees.

Oakley's evening wear outfit 😍 best dressed boy fs

I of course could never bear to see Oakley and Emel go, but I surprisingly actually missed Sophie and Jack as soon as they left but like in a me missing Allegra and Miles/Jasper when they left. Like yeah they were irritating but they brought drama and I understand where Allegra/Sophie is coming from (and I support women's wrongs lol)

Jin going through his main character of S6 arc??? No but fr I can't imagine why the public would vote him out so he's either hiding something that's gonna come out when he gets back or he was voted most popular and is gonna come back soon. I hope it's not casa because (1) that already happened in s6 and (2) I want the chance to flirt around with new characters in casa lol. I've seen a few theories around and I have no idea which is true but if I could throw in another idea which is post casa, MC is finally with a bombshell, Claudia/Theo, or a casa boy and things seem good but Jin and Luna show up together as returning islanders and MC has to choose between Jin and her current LI.

It's so interesting for drama, like ik I'm here for it. But a lot of people like loyal routes so I hope yall are doing okay

I was like half hoping we could walk out with him even though of course fusebox isn't giving us that option but like I wish he said something like hey you just got here, enjoy your time at the Villa and I'll wait out there for you no matter what happens. just to explain why MC wouldn't leave. that being said, their goodbye was so sweet.

One thing that's different in the game than the show is the number of islanders present at once, which makes sense its hard to keep track of all of them (though they've done it before in s2), and it just is weird bc now the people in the Villa are MC (single), Claudia and Theo (who don't like each other), and Emel and Oakley (only one couple).

despite my complaint about the challenge thing this is great pacing/timing for a new islander. it's just a shame the screwed over Tyler coming in so soon after MC. I can't remember if I already wrote this in my last post but I almost wish he came in with MC and got a better chance.

[chibigaia-art]

Just realized ur bday is coming up!! U got a wishlist or smth??

and with that my deadline is nearing too ghhfg help😭

hmm I guess I have my steam wishlist (currently sitting at uuh 115), but I'm honestly good on games atm??? The only one I'd really want (even if I couldn't play it immediately) is BG3, and maybe P3R? There's also Ib and Stardew valley ig!!

as for stuff that isn't games it's all over the place lmao, quick list of stuff I have wanted for a while but couldn't get, and some more recent ones:

the idv prospector plushie that has been haunting me since the day it was released (my sister was supposed to gift it to me last year but stuff happened so no dice) (I need to punch it)

artbooks: complete art of FMA, Sushio's 'The idol', The promised neverland, patiently (im dying) waiting for an announcement of ryoko kui's daydream collection to be released to the west

this SEW shirt that goes so hard it's insane

deep cut amiibos because they're cute

Marcille pop up parade,,,

Coco (my sister might be getting me that yayy), Sisi or Fufu from bonnie s2 (because I already got Meimei as a gift for myself, it should arrive here around my bday and I'm v excited about it since it will be my first bjd!! this is what happens when you watch hours of doll customization videos on youtube)

tf comic #7 (impossible)

less back pain (impossible)

[dorkynerd23]

Honestly, this is something that's been on my mind for a while now almost ever since about episode 3 of the show, but now with the recent episode out, I honestly fear for the show's future and how people could end up viewing it, at least when it comes to its love triangle. So, it seems the show is now definitely hinting at a love triangle (Which is something some fans have hinted at beforehand, but it seems common now) especially after the events of episode 5, and that does worry me when it comes to MD..because I really don't want the show to be ruined by romance and shipping, and I especially don't want shipping to overshadowed the show and the stuff we're supposed to be focusing on.

I've never been a fan of love triangles and it's a trope that has honestly annoyed me and something I've never been a fan of. I'm sure everything will be okay and Liam knows what he's doing, but I'm worried about how it'll be handled and how people may view the show, I mean I remember back when Episode 4 was released, some on Twitter admitted to wanting to leave and stop watching the show because of Nuzi being hinted at and the many scenes with the two or there was just more shipping wars happening which made the fandom more toxic and such a mess.

But anyways, I know it sounds like I'm complaining and worrying too much but as I've said this is an issue I've been fearing for the show and it's future for quite some time now, I'm worried because of how shipping has ruined other shows in the past and dragged them down and can often be frustrating and can take away from the elements from what we should be focusing on or just end up taking over the show completely. There are many examples I can name when it comes to shipping taking over a show like Regular Show, Miraculous Ladybug, Legend Of Korra and TDI, but the main one that's a huge example of this and what most people talk on when it comes to this topic is Star Vs/Star Vs The Forces Of Evil. That show started out so well and good in the beginning and had good elements in it from its characters, and world-building and it just had so much potential and could've even been up there as one of the best cartoons, maybe on the Gravity falls level...but sadly, things took a huge turn sometime after S2 and they really started to drag things down with not only other things that were causing the show to go downhill, but it's shipping especially and it felt like a fanfic. I mean seriously, the shipping wars for Star Vs were the most toxic and brutal l've ever seen for a show and in the end, I don't think anybody was happy. I've even seen Starco fans feel unsatisfied for how their relationship was handled and forced at the end and let's not forget the show had one of the most underwhelming and rushed finales I've seen for a show. To this day, People still shit talk and rant on how horrible the show was handled in the end and how forced it's romance was, it still saddens me for how Star Vs was done because the show did have potential and could've been better!

Now let me just say that I've got nothing against shipping and see no harm in participating in it (Just as long as it isn't problematic)(I'm a shipper myself and have a love and adornment towards shipping, especially when it comes to Oc's + Oc X Canon) and finding investment and wanting to see certain characters together and be something more and I've seen some people state that the love triangle is common in Liam's work and it's not something new, so maybe I'm just missing something, I didn't know much about Liam and what he's done before he did MD.

But overall, I'm just worried and fear that this love triangle between N, V, and Uzi could end up pushing people away from the show and dragging things out and taking away from what we should be focusing on in the series. I mean, some are already losing hope for the show for other reasons and the shipping wars in the Murder Drones fandom are already toxic and out of control, so that doesn't help. I just fear for how this will be handled because most love triangles I've seen in media are handled and done poorly and terribly, and just end up causing unnecessary drama and same goes for other romances I've seen.

Again, this is only MY OPINION and something I wanted to discuss about, this isn't me trying to hate and shit on the show or the crew, I've adored and love Murder Drones since the Pilot and the show has kept me more and more invested and interested with its story and characters and it's honestly a comfort show for me, I truly love MD very much, I'm a huge fan of the show and consider it not only as one of my favorite shows, but also one of my favorite webseries. But I do wanna admit that the show is flawed and isn't perfect and some things can improve in the future, this post was just me wanting to give my thoughts on this situation (I've seen some fans also give their thoughts and concerns for the show when it comes to the romance) and none of you have to agree with me. You can disagree and give your own thoughts and opinions, but please try to be respectful in the comments though and don't be hateful and rude to each other, please. ♥️

[lesbianrobin]

idk if this is a hot take but honestly i hate the entire "fruity four" thing So much not only bc nancy is the straightest woman in the world but bc honestly i don't see her being close with steve robin and eddie like. At All. like imo (in an ideal scenario where eddie didnt die in the dumbest way possible) they'd do the monster hunting thing together and then nancy would just go off with jonathan like she did for like. most of the show at this point and leave steve robin and eddie who imo would just mesh way better as a trio like idk i can see her losing touch with steve and like Maybe meeting him again when theyre both over forty and she finds out he's married to a man and has to reevaluate her whole worldview but i can't see them actually staying close friends bc honestly. i feel like steve is way better to her overall than she is to him and that robin and eddie would be too weird for her. sorry for the rant the spirit of haterism compelled me

don't apologize i absolutely agree with you and we here at lesbianrobin.tumblr.com welcome the spirit of haterism!

the only thing i'd quibble with is i do think they'd maybe keep in touch fairly frequently throughout their lives if only to check in and be like hey anything weird happening? no? good how ya doing :) yknow i think they're part of the whole upside down family now but everything else is SO right. like steve robin and eddie make a lot of sense to me as a trio but as you said nancy just doesn't really mesh with them. she doesn't like robin's autistic girl swag and she's such an overachiever and i just like. i Know she'd judge steve and eddie for their academic performance. in s3 she showed that she has like no concept of class divisions and i think that would cause problems with eddie and robin. while i'm sure all four of them like care deeply for each other i just can't see nancy casually hanging out with the others on a regular basis.

kinda off topic but in s2 they frame nancy's choice between steve or jonathan as like normalcy vs being weird but as the show has gone on it's pretty clear that like jonathan is a very safe and normal path vkekcjdj like while nancy and jonathan are a super average respectable heterosexual couple steve is out here like working minimum wage no direction in life besties with a lesbian looking after a bunch of teenagers for free because he just loves them etc etc. i recognize that steve himself isn't necessarily weird in the same way that robin and eddie are but like. he's attracted to that. like robin and dustin are both such little nerd freaks and he Adores them he drives robin around and has a nerdy secret handshake with dustin and he is wholeheartedly dedicated to being a lesbian wingman like he is so driven by his heart fuck whatever he's "supposed" to do and i think that's a very interesting sorta subversion of where we began in the steve v jonathan dichotomy.

also fruity four is an evil evil terrible name it sounds stupid and it's homophobic

[missyourflight]

some stuff i read and watched in august:

good omens (s2): enjoyed this more than s1 bc i didn't have to spend any time at all w jack whitehall, they're very cute

the righteous gemstones (s3): surprisingly affected by the judy storyline lol, judy/bj a true freak romance long may they reign. i miss these idiots already

tour de france unchained: i got hashtag influenced by @eff41 and i'm so glad, watched most of this mouth agape why would anyone put themselves through this etc 🚴

the borgias (s1): how was this 2011 lol, so many awful wigs, one time a bunch of us met david oakes after a play he was in and he was Such a sweetheart, again the wigs are truly so bad, can you imagine the incest discourse if this came out today

the rules of the game: gosford park 60 years before gosford park existed! rich people!! gonna have to watch more renoir bc some of those tracking shots were Wild

opening night: oh my god gena rowlands. as ever i love stories about putting on a show

a few good men: hadn't seen this in years and it's classic sorkin fun (woof at the end tho lol 🦅), everyone's talking so fast, tom cruise is a Star etc, you can't handle the truth!!!

jerry maguire: again, hadn't seen this in years and i'd remembered it as being way more of a romcom when really it's mostly a sports film. the secret garden needle drop is brutally good and it got me Twice, intresting to think about paired w eyes wide shut in terms of cruise performances where he's desperately trying to cover the Void beneath it all. even though it's nonsense the big romantic moment gets me!!!

please baby please: fun sexy queer, i would not have predicted harry melling would have one of the most interesting post-potter careers lol, andrea riseborough!!! should have been a musical probably!!

nicola dinan, bellies: liked this a lot, the dual pov works at showing you both sides' feelings and flaws in a v empathetic way i think

ann patchett, tom lake: putting on a show!! pairs well with sweet sorrow by david nicholls in the bittersweet theatrical romance nostalgia subgenre. our town isn't as much as a thing over here as it is in the states so i'm very glad i got to see the rx production from a few years back - it was beautiful and it definitely helped to be familiar reading this

adam zmith, deep sniff: a history of poppers and queer futures: got reminded by @baking-soda's foray into poppers discourse that i had this sitting on my kindle lol. an odd but enjoyable read - much more of a personal manifesto for pleasure than i was expecting but i'm all for that, could have done without e.g. the extended tangent about a self-published mystery novel?? the star trek bits can stay

freya marske, a restless truth: love a mystery set entirely on a boat, love an f/f romance that's actually hot (if you have any other recs please share ty)

claire keegan, small things like these: absolutely devastating slip of a novella jfc

also i teared up today listening to adrian lester on the shakespeare unlimited podcast so you should listen if you enjoy that sort of thing!

[izzy-b-hands]

Watching Prince vids to find some new ones to gif and have realised i absolutely need to write either modern au Ed and Izzy fucking at a Prince concert (u know Ed's essentially cosplaying as Prince for the show, as he should, and there's this one outfit of Prince's that's a v Izzy shirt with a tight jumpsuit that I bet Izzy would happily wear both for Ed and bc. it's cute as fuck lol) that turns into a bit of steddyhands

Or. if i can wiggle around how electric guitars work in the canon time (can i just say they do and not worry abt it lmao), I'm equally down for writing it like.

Fuck it, mini sort of fic time for this version of it. nsfw and horny edizzy into steddyhands below the cut

Canon time version of this is like

Post s2, in an au version where everyone is well and fine (the only version i personally fuck with rn tbh bc u guys Know my feelings on actual s2 lol)

Ed and Izzy have been working on things. Slowly, painfully, and tbh, they still communicate in a way that's like. Absolutely odd and not great to anyone except the two of them and the few crew members who are starting to figure it out or already had some understanding of it (ex. Stede for the former and Fang for the latter)

But there's a show at this port, tonight. A fairly famous bard, that Ed's maybe always wanted to see (let's be real, he adds the maybe in bc he feels bad abt wanting to go, to spend a night away from the ship and Responsibilities, the same shit that kept him feeling tied to being Blackbeard)

It doesn't take much to convince him tho, once Izzy admits that actually he thinks it would be good for everyone to go, and Stede eagerly agrees. They'll go as a group, but everyone can vibe and do their own thing as they want at the show (aka The Swede is in Jackie's lap for most of it, Zheng and Olu and Jim and Archie are all over each other in between dance breaks, and it's just a nice time out for one night where even the navy officers in the crowd that are poorly disguised aren't gonna start any shit)

He's basically vibrating with excitement after Stede and Izzy start talking wardrobe for the show, and then suddenly they're tearing apart old stolen clothes to stitch together to make new things and he's going out in something tight, silk, different shades of purple and violet with black highlights to even it out (and some glitter, for good measure.) Izzy's smiling, helping get himself fitted into the jumpsuit that Wee John has insisted upon helping them sew together in time, adding extra black silk frills to an already black frilly shirt they've found amongst their pile of spoils (none of them like folding or hanging up clothes, so be it lol)

Add in that Stede and Izzy are taking turns making out with him mid-dress up and he's. on a fucking hair trigger by the time they go off the ship into the port, to the biggest pub there to join the crowd (Jackie notes it isn't as nice as her place was, and she's right, but it could be worse.)

Stede offers that they should go, the two of them, up closer to the front and he'll join them later (partially bc he needs a moment to adjust to the crowd which is full of pirates recognising him and Ed and Izzy and it's. v cool to him but also overwhelming considering how that went the last time at the republic of pirates), so they make their way until he's pressed gently into the front barrier, Izzy grinding against him from behind.

They're not dressed so they can hide much of anything, but everyone around them is seemingly there for the same thing and in the same sort of spirits, so they can play pretty freely. The ppl closest give them dreamy, eager, wanting looks as they watch, and he can't help but think yeah, they should be jealous. Doesn't matter if they're more jealous of Izzy for being with Ed or vice versa, it's a turn on both ways now for Ed (and he's realising he missed out on a lot by not appreciating the ppl who look at him with need in their eyes, bc he's the one taking Izzy fucking Hands home with him and not them.)

He can reach back and feel how wet Izzy is, knows the cream coloured pantsuit is probably showing it too (buttery soft and thin cream coloured silk, the brightest thing he's seen Izzy in in ages, and he wants him both in and out of it all at once lol.) His own cock is fighting against the purple silk and velvet skirt Wee John and Frenchie helped make, and he's mindful enough to not want to tear it, but he does want it pushed up so Izzy can start playing with his ass and cock

That's a step too far for the moment, but he grinds against Izzy like his life depends on it, and it's everything he wanted and more once Stede joins them. Surrounded by the men he loves being with, taking turns sneaking in kisses to them while the music plays (and the show is fucking amazing, Ye Olde Prince and his group egging everyone on to have fun and get nasty), and he's juuuust abt to come untouched when Stede and Izzy finally pull him towards the back of the crowd, where ppl are letting themselves really go for it

His eyes linger for a minute over the crew members nearby and what they're getting up to (in part bc Frenchie and Roach keep breaking away to come over and get their hands on Izzy, who moans so prettily whenever they or Stede or Ed touches him that it makes Ed ache)

But then it's Izzy on his knees pulling up Ed's skirt to suck him off, Stede behind him teasing his ass with a finger, leaving kisses and hickeys all over his neck and collarbone

He couldn't tell you much about the actual moment he cums, bc there's not a drop of blood going to his brain during it lol. He can hear the song that's playing (I've got a list for which it could be bc there are a lot of Prince songs that are on my edizzy and steddyhands lists), and he can feel Izzy swallowing it down while Stede grabs at his ass, toying with his hole (and making Ed wish they'd brought something as lube tbh), jerking himself off as best he can thru his trousers (tight, teal silk, a favourite for ed and izzy to see stede in)

After he's propped up between them for the rest of the show, taking turns teasing Stede through his trousers and rubbing at the front of Izzy's pantsuit (it's not near enough friction considering how hard Izzy grinds against his hand, stifling moans into Ed's shoulder)

The game plan was to return to the ship after the show, but an invitation from Ye Olde Prince's security guard to the backstage for the three of them means a few things:

finally access to lube and getting off with one of his favourite bards in the same room, with two of his favourite people, and the crew gets to have the ship all to themselves (something they were pretty blatantly hoping would happen in how they were talking before the show, and he can't blame them. There are a lot of fun places to fuck on the Revenge, and everyone deserves a chance to get themselves and whoever else they want off in them.)

Anyway. god. if i could draw I'd have sketches of their outfits too for u guys. but alas on that part of things akdnfjgn

[ca-suffit]

I feel as uncomfortable defending Armand as I do defending Lestat, I hate the abusers off fandom is having, where only the abusers matter and not Louis or Claudia.

It gives me hope seeing you being optimistic about the future of the show, I want to trust Hannah and Rolin, I know there is comedy in the show but I hope it doesn’t turn into silly writing like the books did, I hope they will make the adaptation as good as s1&2, Sam saying this is an adaptation not Anne’s Lestat is also positive lol,fingers crossed.

Finally I never perceived Lesmand as romantic in the books, am I crazy? I mean, Lestat wants to fuck everybody all the time, and he feels everything is LOVE, from the nun to Amel lmao, I doubt the show could depict every creature Lestat lusts after in the books, is someone new every 10 pages lol

abusers off lmao 💀

I think it's interesting to explore all the characters and not reduce them to simple labels but this fandom....mostly isn't doing that tho. it's a lot of focus on finding reasons to excuse shit instead of accept that it was real but still explore what pain motivated it. u can talk about so much without excusing it but that's all most ppl want to do. or...u know, be racist about it. and ya black ppl are never allowed to be victims of anything, always gotta find a reason to say that's not real or important. pfft.

from what I know of AMC shows, they're not going to tone shift like the books do. I mean 2x3 was silly and did that change anything? shit, look how many ppl even took that deadly serious to begin with omfg. lestat's humor is v dark and sarcastic. I expect a little lighter tone for the music angle, maybe even a musical telling of things at times, but not suddenly a full shift into "what show is this??"

lesmand passed by me entirely when I read stuff tbh. I hate book armand a LOT. I had to go back and reread parts to see what everyone was talking about when it started to get mentioned more. there's definitely sections where lestat is speaking about armand in ways that do show he's drawn to him, but...it's not something everyone is gonna pick up on. like I said, I didn't. idk if I'd still say it's "romantic" but it's...something more than I saw first.

I was rereading the end of TVL the other day, let me pull a quote to show an example of lestat's perspective (this is from when he's in that shack at the end we just saw in S2, for context)

And then I was moving up in the darkness, and Armand and I stood together on the high roof. Radiant he was, in the same old-fashioned evening clothes, and we were looking over the jungle of dark singing treetops at the distant silver curve of the river and the low heavens where the stars burned through the pearl gray clouds.

I was weeping at the sheer sight of it, at the feel of the damp wind against my face. And Armand stood beside me, with his arm around me. And he was talking of forgiveness and sadness, of wisdom and things learned through pain. "I love you, my dark brother," he whispered. And the words moved through me like blood itself.

"It wasn't that I wanted vengeance," he whispered. His face was stricken, his heart broken. He said. "But you came to be healed, and you did not want me! A century I had waited, and you did not want me!"

And I knew, as I had all along really, that my restoration was illusion, that I was the same skeleton in rags, of course. And the house was still a ruin. And in the preternatural being who held me was the power that could give me back the sky and the wind.

"Love me and the blood is yours," he said. "This blood that I have never given to another." I felt his lips against my face.

"I can't deceive you," I answered. "I can't love you. What are you to me that I should love you? A dead thing that hungers for the power and the passion of others? The embodiment of thirst itself?"

And in a moment of incalculable power, it was I who struck him and knocked him backwards and off the roof. Absolutely weightless he was, his figure dissolving into the gray night.

But who was defeated? Who fell down and down again through the soft tree branches to the earth where he belonged? Back to the rags and filth beneath the old house. Who lay finally in the rubble, with hands and face against the cool soil? Yet memory plays its tricks. Maybe I imagined it, his last invitation, and the anguish after. The weeping. I do know that as the months passed he was out there again. I heard him from time to time just walking those old Garden District streets. And I wanted to call to him, to tell him that it was a lie I'd spoken to him, that I did love him. I did.

[thesherrinfordfacility]

Hello,

Sorry about this essay entering your inbox and this certainly isn’t me disagreeing with you, or any criticism, more of an addition.

I wanted to add another perspective to your thoughts on Crowley, his flaws and how S2 may change his and Aziraphale’s relationship.

They are very human flaws, and seemingly unique and important to him as a demon. As Aziraphale’s flaws are unique and important to him as an Angel.

From what we’ve heard of pre fall crowley, he didn’t give Aziraphale much thought on their first meeting. Also, it sounds as if Crowley was somebody important in Heaven. And from what we know of high ranking angels - they are callous, unforgiving, unfeeling and the boss everyone dislikes. This appears to be Heaven’s idea of a good Angel, given their responses to Aziraphale ‘the traitor.’

Crowley, to me, sounds he was doing his job, well in the eyes of head office. He was just another high ranking angel getting on with it. Not a nice/good person from a human perspective but, if anything, flawless from Heaven’s perspective.

That was until he started asking questions, hanging around with the wrong people and sauntered vaguely downwards. Then he and Aziraphale met again, with Crowley now the ‘lesser’ being. Good triumphs over evil, surely? And this Angel he has met shouldn’t give him the time of day, like Crowley didn’t to a ‘lesser’ angel (can you imagine, if he remembers, how guilty Crowley probably now feels about this.)

But Aziraphale listens to his prattling about the tree and the flaws in God’s plans, engages with him and then shelters him. This angel has feelings, he is different, he cares about others. He gave away his flaming sword and indulges in gross matter- moves that make him a flawed angel in the eyes of Heaven.

Endearingly, Aziraphale is a well intentioned bitch.

And with Crowley possibly doing good with the whole eat the apple business and later kindness, he is a flawed demon in Hell’s view. Hell’s requirements of a good employee are cruelty, wickedness and finding murder a fun activity on a wet Wednesday afternoon.

But, kindly, Crowley is a daft, soft cockblanket.

And it’s what I feel GO is about. Balance between good and evil, finding your own side and not always becoming what others intended you to become.

Each of them stand out from their original sides because of their complexity and flaws, which is why they fit and work so well together, and have been able to for 6000 years. Neither is perfect and neither is horrible, and any criticisms they can find in the other also exists in themselves. Seemingly the only two entities like this- with possible exceptions - so they know they need each other. They’re the only two that can truly empathise with one another.

I don’t necessarily excuse these flaws and mistakes (pre-fall classism, the bandstand, I’m the nice one, how can someone as clever as you be so stupid and so on) but they can be explained. And a relationship is about how you move through your mistakes and flaws together, not being free of them.

If this has made no sense I apologise. I do struggle with expressing my own views. 💛

hellooooo @ezra-fell!!!✨✨

gOSH yes this is an essay but fuck if im not gonna do my best to provide you with a response worthy of your message!!!!

i will just start by saying i don't think any one person's opinion or perspective is correct per se, i certainly don't think mine is flawless, but it is kind of what i feel could at least possibly be a theme in s2 or even s3 or just in general, and if it isn't cool, it will firmly remain a hc and im happy with that!!!

for anyone reading, i will just reiterate once again that im not here to cause argument or discourse, i literally just write unhinged ramblings about these characters (both of whom i love DEARLY and are v important to me for various reasons), and yeah my opinion is NOT correct by any stretch, but it's AN opinion✨💓

going into a cut because my answer will probably be just as lengthy!

totally agree with you on everything you've said about crowley. i do not for one sec think that his character as an angel is like an issue (other than being a bit of a knob but as you said, if he's an Archangel or lesser Archangel (ie like sandalphon), then yes this characterisation makes perfect sense and is awesome in terms of how his character changes when he becomes a demon)

i also completely agree on your point about it being about balance (literally just talked about this in another post im going meta-feral at the mo), i do think thats the main theme of the story. i guess what i was trying (and failing) to say is that aziraphale's view of crowley might possibly be an entirely human one.

let's get personal bc at this point bc i can't speak from everyone elses perspective - ive been aziraphale in this scenario (the scenario i put forward in my post from earlier). ive been in a long term relationship, and had a major incident happen about 18 months ago. that person is who i loved and cherished more than anyone in the world, but after a lot of therapy and a lot of communication, i realised that whilst i loved them and thought they were absolute perfection, flaws and all, i had placed them on a pedestal of who i thought they were and who i wanted them to be.

so obvs with aziraphale his faith is very literal (i have no religious faith), but my faith in my person was so unquestionable and unyielding, that i also ended up hurting myself (emotionally, no CWs here!!) to find out that the flaws that i had idolised and thought were perfect actually came around to bite me in the ass, and honestly? at the time, i didn't like what i found. i still loved that person, still found them attractive and lovely etc, but my faith in them was completely shattered, and i hadn't realised until that point that love and faith are completely different things. i had initially believed that in being with someone, the two were synonymous. they aren't.

now sorry to get so personal on main lmao, and i realise that this may well be a great deal of projection of myself into aziraphale (don't we all do that tho???) and i truly recognise that, but it just feels to me that this 'reckoning' that's coming -- whilst it might not be entirely what ive said (id be utterly flabbergasted if it was) -- might be something similar. i want the boys to be happy and together and unassailable as much as the next person, but somehow i feel like we'll need to wait for s3 for that dream to be completely realised, and for the boys to take each other as they are, not as they thought they saw them initially. i hope im wrong, we'll just have to see.

i hope that's an appropriate answer to your ask, but tldr i agree with everything you said, i just have limits as to how much i necessarily discuss in one post haha!!!✨💓💓