#yes they are a red flag

[succubus-interactivefiction]

D (The Bestie, IMS RO)

Daria/Dakota/Deryn (The Bestie) Age: ??? Occupation: BBEG

Vague recollections, a memory come to life, D is a fragment of your past thrust suddenly and rather violently into your new life. In your past life the two of you had been the best of friends, rarely being seen apart you had been closer to them then anyone else in your life and after your death they snapped destroying several cities, and murdering hundreds to fuel a spell which could break through the astral realm into the world you had been reborn in.

D was never one to open up about their past and as a result they never explained to you that the supernatural was real and they were so old they could not even remember their age, original name, or even where they had been born. But despite their mysterious past you had never been one to judge and never tried to dig any further then they were comfortable with.

After tearing their way through multiple planes of existence they have finally found the one in which you now live and they will not hesitate to tear it apart in their desperate search for you.

(This character description is not very long as most of their past and motivation will be defined by you in the story.)

[inkskinned]

he says i hate everyone except you and that is addictive and that is kind of romantic and beautiful because you're young and you're kind of a sarcastic asshole too and you don't like bad boys, per say, but you don't really like good ones either. and you like that you were the exception, it felt like winning.

except life is not a romance book, and he was kind of being honest. he doesn't learn to be nice to your friends. he only tolerates your family. you have to beg him to come with you to birthday parties, he complains the whole time. you want to go on a date but - people are often there, wherever you're going. he's just so angry. about everything, is the thing. in the romance book, doesn't he eventually soften? can't you teach him, through your own sense of whimsy and comfort?

at first - you know introverts often need smaller friend groups, and honestly, you're fine staying at home too. you like the small, tidy life you occupy. you're not going to punish him for his personality type.

except: he really does hate everyone but you. which means he doesn't get along with his therapist. which means he has no one to talk to except for you. which means you take care of him constantly, since he otherwise has no one. which means you sometimes have to apologize for him. which means he keeps you home from seeing your friends because he hates them. you're the single exception.

about a decade from this experience, you'll type into google: how to know if a relationship is codependent.

he wraps an arm around you. i hate everyone except you. these days, you're learning what he's actually confessing is i have very little practice being kind.

[cuddlytogas]

So I accidentally almost got into an argument on Twitter, and now I'm thinking about bad historical costuming tropes. Specifically, Action Hero Leather Pants.

See, I was light-heartedly pointing out the inaccuracies of the costumes in Black Sails, and someone came out of the woodwork to defend the show. The misunderstanding was that they thought I was dismissing the show just for its costumes, which I wasn't - I was simply pointing out that it can't entirely care about material history (meaning specifically physical objects/culture) if it treats its clothes like that.

But this person was slightly offended on behalf of their show - especially, quote, "And from a fan of OFMD, no less!" Which got me thinking - it's true! I can abide a lot more historical costuming inaccuracy from Our Flag than I can Black Sails or Vikings. And I don't think it's just because one has my blorbos in it. But really, when it comes down to it...

What is the difference between this and this?

Here's the thing. Leather pants in period dramas isn't new. You've got your Vikings, Tudors, Outlander, Pirates of the Caribbean, Once Upon a Time, Will, The Musketeers, even Shakespeare in Love - they love to shove people in leather and call it a day. But where does this come from?

Obviously we have the modern connotations. Modern leather clothes developed in a few subcultures: cowboys drew on Native American clothing. (Allegedly. This is a little beyond my purview, I haven't seen any solid evidence, and it sounds like the kind of fact that people repeat a lot but is based on an assumption. I wouldn't know, though.) Leather was used in some WWI and II uniforms.

But the big boom came in the mid-C20th in motorcycle, punk/goth, and gay subcultures, all intertwined with each other and the above. Motorcyclists wear leather as practical protective gear, and it gets picked up by rock and punk artists as a symbol of counterculture, and transferred to movie designs. It gets wrapped up in gay and kink communities, with even more countercultural and taboo meanings. By the late C20th, leather has entered mainstream fashion, but it still carries those references to goths, punks, BDSM, and motorbike gangs, to James Dean, Marlon Brando, and Mick Jagger. This is whence we get our Spikes and Dave Listers in 1980s/90s media, bad boys and working-class punks.

And some of the above "historical" design choices clearly build on these meanings. William Shakespeare is dressed in a black leather doublet to evoke the swaggering bad boy artist heartthrob, probably down on his luck. So is Kit Marlowe.

But the associations get a little fuzzier after that. Hook, with his eyeliner and jewellery, sure. King Henry, yeah, I see it. It's hideously ahistorical, but sure. But what about Jamie and Will and Ragnar, in their browns and shabby, battle-ready chic? Well, here we get the other strain of Bad Period Drama Leather.

See, designers like to point to history, but it's just not true. Leather armour, especially in the western/European world, is very, very rare, and not just because it decays faster than metal. (Yes, even in ancient Greece/Rome, despite many articles claiming that as the start of the leather armour trend!) It simply wasn't used a lot, because it's frankly useless at defending the body compared to metal. Leather was used as a backing for some splint armour pieces, and for belts, sheathes, and buckles, but it simply wasn't worn like the costumes above. It's heavy, uncomfortable, and hard to repair - it's simply not practical for a garment when you have perfectly comfortable, insulating, and widely available linen, wool, and cotton!

As far as I can see, the real influence on leather in period dramas is fantasy. Fantasy media has proliferated the idea of leather armour as the lightweight choice for rangers, elves, and rogues, a natural, quiet, flexible material, less flashy or restrictive than metal. And it is cheaper for a costume department to make, and easier for an actor to wear on set. It's in Dungeons and Dragons and Lord of the Rings, King Arthur, Runescape, and World of Warcraft.

And I think this is how we get to characters like Ragnar and Vane. This idea of leather as practical gear and light armour, it's fantasy, but it has this lineage, behind which sits cowboy chaps and bomber/flight jackets. It's usually brown compared to the punk bad boy's black, less shiny, and more often piecemeal or decorated. In fact, there's a great distinction between the two Period Leather Modes within the same piece of media: Robin Hood (2006)! Compare the brooding, fascist-coded villain Guy of Gisborne with the shabby, bow-wielding, forest-dwelling Robin:

So, back to the original question: What's the difference between Charles Vane in Black Sails, and Edward Teach in Our Flag Means Death?

Simply put, it's intention. There is nothing intentional about Vane's leather in Black Sails. It's not the only leather in the show, and it only says what all shabby period leather says, relying on the same tropes as fantasy armour: he's a bad boy and a fighter in workaday leather, poor, flexible, and practical. None of these connotations are based in reality or history, and they've been done countless times before. It's boring design, neither historically accurate nor particularly creative, but much the same as all the other shabby chic fighters on our screens. He has a broad lineage in Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean and such, but that's it.

In Our Flag, however, the lineage is much, much more intentional. Ed is a direct homage to Mad Max, the costuming in which is both practical (Max is an ex-cop and road warrior), and draws on punk and kink designs to evoke a counterculture gone mad to the point of social breakdown, exploiting the thrill of the taboo to frighten and titillate the audience.

In particular, Ed is styled after Max in the second movie, having lost his family, been badly injured, and watched the world turn into an apocalypse. He's a broken man, withdrawn, violent, and deliberately cutting himself off from others to avoid getting hurt again. The plot of Mad Max 2 is him learning to open up and help others, making himself vulnerable to more loss, but more human in the process.

This ties directly into the themes of Our Flag - it's a deliberate intertext. Ed's emotional journey is also one from isolation and pain to vulnerability, community, and love. Mad Max (intentionally and unintentionally) explores themes of masculinity, violence, and power, while Max has become simplified in the popular imagination as a stoic, badass action hero rather than the more complex character he is, struggling with loss and humanity. Similarly, Our Flag explores masculinity, both textually (Stede is trying to build a less abusive pirate culture) and metatextually (the show champions complex, banal, and tender masculinities, especially when we're used to only seeing pirates in either gritty action movies or childish comedies).

Our Flag also draws on the specific countercultures of motorcycles, rockers, and gay/BDSM culture in its design and themes. Naturally, in such a queer show, one can't help but make the connection between leather pirates and leather daddies, and the design certainly nods at this, with its vests and studs. I always think about this guy, with his flat cap so reminiscient of gay leather fashions.

More overtly, though, Blackbeard and his crew are styled as both violent gangsters and countercultural rockstars. They rove the seas like a bikie gang, free and violent, and are seen as icons, bad boys and celebrities. Other pirates revere Blackbeard and wish they could be on his crew, while civilians are awed by his reputation, desperate for juicy, gory details.

This isn't all of why I like the costuming in Our Flag Means Death (especially season 1). Stede's outfits are by no means accurate, but they're a lot more accurate than most pirate media, and they're bright and colourful, with accurate and delightful silks, lace, velvets, and brocades, and lovely, puffy skirts on his jackets. Many of the Revenge crew wear recognisable sailor's trousers, and practical but bright, varied gear that easily conveys personality and flair. There is a surprising dedication to little details, like changing Ed's trousers to fall-fronts for a historical feel, Izzy's puffy sleeves, the handmade fringe on Lucius's red jacket, or the increasing absurdity of navy uniform cuffs between Nigel and Chauncey.

A really big one is the fact that they don't shy away from historical footwear! In almost every example above, we see the period drama's obsession with putting men in skinny jeans and bucket-top boots, but not only does Stede wear his little red-heeled shoes with stockings, but most of his crew, and the ordinary people of Barbados, wear low boots or pumps, and even rough, masculine characters like Pete wear knee breeches and bright colours. It's inaccurate, but at least it's a new kind of inaccuracy, that builds much more on actual historical fashions, and eschews the shortcuts of other, grittier period dramas in favour of colour and personality.

But also. At least it fucking says something with its leather.

[karvviie]

chex enjoyers how are we feeling

[originally posted june 2020]

[stealingpotatoes]

In Padme's defense: all of The Phantom Menace. She remembers sweet Ani who risked his life to help strangers and didn't even ASK her (her! Aqueen!) to help him in return.

So like, I do get her ignoring some red flags with "I know he's a good person deep down who just had a bad day" because her first impression was "person with no power risks everything to save a planet he has no connections to."

It wasn't smart to ignore the red flags, but I do sort of understand it.

Oh no see the red flags are a part of the reason she likes him. you gotta think, Padmé's pretty much NEVER done anything for herself. like EVER. she was helping refugees as a small child, entered the government or smthn age 9, and BECAME QUEEN AT 14. she then went STRAIGHT into being senator and continuing to put serving her people above all else she literally never has a moment for herself

and then anakin shows up like hi i'm in love with you i think you're amazing (not queen or senator amidala -- he thinks PADME is amazing) and she KNOWS it'd be insane to be with him. she KNOWS its a stupid risk and she shouldn't but thats literally the appeal!! she wants to do something selfish!! for her!!!! like sure yeah he cares abt ppl a lot whatever. but the red flags are an essential part of anidala. he's insane but so is she

[galoogamelady]

Some WIPs, unused stuff and production art for Red Flags

The 3D assets were modeled by @cameronaugust, I just did the texture paint on the Centipede house (hey, it only had to look good from that one angle!)

[polin-erospsyche]

For me it’s the way Colin tried so hard to find valid reasons for which Lord Debling is not a good option for Pen.

He’s all like, he will leave you, and he’s too particular and he’s … he’s just not right for you. And then proceeds to throw all rules of etiquette out the window and literally throws himself on his knees to declare his feelings, saying fuck it all, I will just risk it all.

When honestly in truth it’s really not hard to find reasons why Debling is not a viable option. He compares her to a dead animal, he has no intention of really knowing her or even remotely caring about her, his attention is divided the WHOLE time, except at that one moment in the end where he decides that she will do nicely as a decoration in his very big and empty house. Honestly, I could have forgiven a lot from Debling and I was ready to overlook things but when Pen asked him if he thought love could potentially grow and he replied that he would never be here and had no space for it in his life I’ve never changed my opinion so fast. This man is a walking red flag and Pen should have ran as fast and far as she possibly could.

[readgi]

I know the teen wolf fandom is pretty much dead, but I need to know how y'all feel about Theo Raeken?

Cause I haven't even looked at this show since the last season came out, but ALL OF A SUDDEN I'm obsessed with that boy and his character development on season 6 (or the little we got anyways) all over again

And thiam too but anyways

Is that a red flag? Should I be concerned?

[blakbonnet]

🥺🥺🥺 why must he go through this when he's so adorable

[princessbrunette]

rafe taking time out of his criminal schedule to be a big brother and lecture wheezie about overstuffing her suitcase was so funny and cute to me like he’s such a big brother skddjdn “anymore problems you want me to solve for you?” crying

[an-au-blog]

WAIT HOLD ON HEAR ME OUT!

Dancing With The Stars! au where pro dancer!Sanji was supposed to be paired with his favorite actress Nami. Unfortunately for him, she broke a bone doing one of her stunts so at the moment they tell him he has to be with her co-star. All he knows about him is that he looks like a brute and apparently queer. But Sanji only believed one of those statements.

They finally meet and Zoro is as stiff as a tree. Sanji does his best not to let his temper get the best of him but Zoro loves like an old wild cat. He's enraged that not only did they give him a man as a partner instead of his celebrity crush Nami, but they stuck him with this gorilla.

All their movements are clumsy and they are making almost no progress. Sanji gets so angry at one point that he kicks one of the props. He's gets startled when it breaks and one of the pieces flys right at Zoro. What was almost as startling was that Zoro dodged it like he knew exactly where it would be. Sanji realized that if they treated their dance like a fighting choreography, Zoro does marvellously.

Zoro still keeps getting distracted because there's all this sexual tension going on but almost no one can tell when they mess up. The flow like a river when on stage, they had gotten so used to each other's movements, that people though they were lying when they said they met for the first time on set.

At the end of their last dance number Zoro bends Sanji down and the crowd cheers. Zoro leans in and steals a kiss. Light and quick. No one saw, the cameras didn't catch it, but Sanji's entire world stopped turning.

Zoro tries to apologize for doing what he did after they got off the stage but Sanji just jumps him and gives him a "proper kiss".

They didn't win the competition, but they won something way better.

[gayangelcrimes]

Why was there never a Hotel California episode why was there not an episode about a hotel in the middle of nowhere that looks pretty normal at first glance but the food is strangely bland because they don't use salt, and some of the other guests have no idea what year it is, and the staff are strangely insistent that they can't leave right now, and when they look closer all the people there are ghosts that aren't aware they're dead, and the hotel is cursed, and they're trapped in there

[sciderman]

Sci why is every big male superhero secretly submissive or submissive-leaning? Peter is into Gwen, MJ an Fel, who are assertive, headstrong leading types who treat Pete as a total babygirl. Same with Wolverine who's canon kinky sub. Same for Batman who's main love interest is often canon dominatrix based on her previous work. Superman is into Lois Lane who definetly tops. And there's MORE!

um, well first off, who isn't into that

[galoogamelady]

Opinions on this buttons I found from a video about last year's memes?

[3cosmicfrogs]

back to yelling into the void about my niexu(lan) bullshit

time is a circle you cannot escape (i am making it so)

[sensationseekng]

izzy as the eight of cups - giving up and moving on, courage and loss, letting go of friends, lovers, and old ways of being

(that's the inn in the distance)

eight of cups description from Little Red Tarot: