#:') s2 doesn't exist

[notfeelingthyaster]

the most awkward thing is going to be louis learning about gabrielle, this whole ass, very important person both armand and lestat took off the narrative

[nahiseokie]

don't destroy me for this but making jayvik main leads (and slightly canon) allowed one of the most popular lesbian (& women) representation in fiction to be overshadowed by yet another m/m pairing which is part of what altered the quality of season two for me.

PUT THE GUN DOWN. yes. i adore jayvik and what was made of their characters just as much as the next queer person (well jayce at least, viktor i have my grievances with the writing) BUT i wholeheartedly cherished that arcane was one of the exceptions with such heavyfocus on female centered stories (whether it was romantic or family or friendship) and a fandom space that mirrored that rarity.

because we all know that virtually every fandom is already dominated with m/m ships and revolves around male characters, so while i understand that the tenderness evoked in jayvik's ending isn't common for gay men in media—it does bother me that the arcane fandom is now mostly saturated with this specific content. like let's not pretend it's not. orrrr maybe the duo that is brought up as much is timebomb.. which still aligns with my point.

meanwhile caitvi or sevika or mel didn't get that attention since their arcs weren't as fleshed out and developed this season. anyways yeah. just wanted to get that off my chest i guess.

[dollypopup]

the more I think about it and rewatch his scenes, the more I cannot help but realize that Colin is coded as a neurodivergent character. At least, I can very clearly see how Luke Newton, a neurodivergent actor, is playing Colin as a neurodivergent character

a special interest in Greek mythology? in traveling? neurodivergent

taking people's word at face value without 'reading between the lines'? neurodivergent

not being able to read Penelope's feelings regardless of how 'obvious' they are? neurodivergent

brain constantly bouncing around from one idea to the next (as in the books)? neurodivergent

not saying the 'right thing' and admitting to having to rehearse important conversations? neurodivergent

all that rejection sensitivity and regret he had well over a year after his engagement blew up? neurodivergent

masking in public? the whole 'charming facade'? neurodivergent

the man straight up STIMS, I mean how often do we see him fidgeting or playing with something? he has an oral fixation like no one's business, always eating, rubbing his mouth, licking his lips

I just can't unsee it

and, one day, i hope our fandom is going to be ready to recognize how many of the things we've unjustly called him an 'idiot' or 'stupid' for is actually just him existing with a neurodivergent brain and how hurtful that can come across to us neurodivergent peeps who identify with him

[urproblematicfav-arsonk]

What are your thoughts on the newest helluva episode. I don’t hate myself that much to watch an episode about Stoliz. How are Stella and Octavia handled?

"I DONT HATE MYSELF THAT MUCH" OHJJFNDJGELEHNLE

I swear I make one post about how Stolas sucks and now I got like 5 asks help

Uhhhh as an episode by itself, its the same as its always been which is Mediocre™

Been going fUCKIBG INSANE in the dm's with @grimfeywizard over the implications of Satan(and all the Sins??) being in Hell before Lucifer and thus the lowly hellborn/imps are actually indigenous to Hell and Lucifer was the one who forced the whole Sinner's are above Hellborn and the circus theme, but that's technically all AU because despite Satan saying that he was there before Luci....in the ep....as a lore drop......Viv corrected on twitter to tell everyone that he was lying about it because she's a good show runner and is good at writing it turns out.

Satan is sexy as fuck. Big dragon daddy voiced by the hottest bass to hit the hellaverse, Patrick Page. It enrages me to no end that Viv gets this INSANE talent, and just wastes it. Hades is playing Satan and its ufigkgnofjofgjtgitb💦

Stolitz is boring. Blitz gets falsely accused of rape, and correctly accused of stealing the grimoire but instead of Stolas coming clean and saying "I wanted to fuck him also I hate y'all" he just calls Blitz dumb and like, takes the fall in a way that doesn't actually accomplish anything. "I'd rather die then live without you" Stolas you know nothing about that man. You know his dick girth size not anything about him as a person, what are you on about.

Also consent king Ozzie, does absolutely fuck all when someone is falsy accused of a rape that he knows didn't happen and can testify against. "Satan is sooo powerful, the other Sins can't even stand against him!!" Yes they can. They can?? They obviously can. Also why are they there if Satan is the Law and does what he wants.

Also making "even Bee thinks Mam is disgusting for eating a lot" feels fatphobic and weird. Just like....unnecessarily mean spirited? Bel is cute slepy shepy, but Leviathan could be better I think.

And with Stella, she was just robbed, Georgina Leahy was robbed. Once again, more implications that Stella was legitimately being neglected and actually doesn't know how to read or function in her society outside of popping out babies. More evil woman evil with no actual interesting backstory or motivation. I saw some leaks/previews or storyboards, or something about the next ep awhile back and it definitely feels like we're setting up for Octavia to be like "I HATE U DAD!! U ALWAYS PUT SEXUAL PARTNERS FIRST AND NEGLECTED ME!!" And then gasp, reveal!! It was Stella who was the bitch!!!! Stella TRICKED Via into thinking Stolas did those things!! Good thing Stolas doesn't have to make amends with his daughter for the child abuse, because it was alllll her fault. I expect this only to get worse. Really sucks because 2 minutes notice was SUCH a high note for me and then....all this happens so like, fuck me for getting excited I guess. Imma go rewatch centaurworld, Helicopter Mother will save me.

Anyway, bonus funfact: I completely forgot to watch Ghostfuckers because I hated Apology Tour so bad and just didn't take the time. I only watched this ep for Hades lmao

[pepperuni]

okay I'm sorry but I need to vent about this-

I tried showing Arcane to my sister over break (because she asked me to) and for the 7 episodes she watched she really Was Not Getting It. Which is like incredibly frustrating but also *fine*, like not everything is for everyone whatever. Until we got to episode 7 of s1. And when the Jinx and Ekko fight started she said. "They just undercut all of that tension by turning it into a music video"

[medievill]

one of the things that struck me the hardest throughout all of season 2 is how much older Ed looks. and my immediate thoughts were

maybe it's coincidental. time has passed; actors age; characters age.

maybe it's intentional. hair/makeup emphasizing how hard those ~3 Stede-less months were on Ed.

but then I started to see these metas about how season 1 was Romantic, and season 2 was Realistic. how the flashback scenes were so frequently not the actual season 1 footage replayed, but fully different shots (looking at you, original "you wear fine things well"). their on-deck kiss was under a gibbous moon, not a full one. Stede's in the last vestiges of a cursed suit and Ed's in a repurposed burlap sack. they've argued; they've hurt each other; they've begun to re-learn each other.

so maybe it's a not-so-secret third thing: he hasn't aged overly much in their time apart, he just actually looks the way he is. Ed's knocking up on 50. he's never had a safe space in his life. he's spent his life under the glaring sun, buffeted by salted wind and salted waves. he drinks, smokes, snorts rhino horn. he's running from every navy in the Atlantic; if he's caught, he's dead. he can't even fully trust or relax around his first mate. he's got PTSD. depression. probably anxiety. he lives with the incapacitating guilt of having murdered his father in order to protect himself and his mother. he's constantly masking. he's never had any real friends until he meets Stede.

romantic relationships can only be successful when you stop viewing your partner, your situation, through rose-colored glasses. when you acknowledge hardship and baggage and imperfections. if you don't look at your relationship in the realistic context of Life™️, it's going to fall apart. and if you don't look at your partner in the realistic context of Life™️, you can't really know them.

[ssaraexposs]

He was told to SLAY... and he did.

[harrowscore]

i love them SO much 😭😭😭😭

[fullscoreshenanigans]

TPN Committee: Yeah we’re going to horribly truncate this anime adaption by cutting 50+ chapters, removing so much of the nuance people loved about the original story and make it the greatest disappointment of Winter 2021 after the first season was a critical darling, but as compensation you can have some REN Rights in the form of this album cover that wouldn't be out of place for a shoujo series

[sherrymagic]

no but i found this one video commentary about the final episode and the parts where the tiktoker said "this whole series was basically a torture show for Boston because the writers don't like people like Boston" and "the last episode was just to make sure that we as the audience hate him as much as the writers hate him" and "the writers wanted us to hate Boston so much that they completely changed his narrative" and "my biggest problem was with how they wrote Boston" pretty much sum it all up for me

[peppered-moths]

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5 | part 6

epilogue

When Martyn stumbles out of the portal into the featureless Void that the dead call home, he is immediately swarmed by the rest of the players, all calling out congratulations.

Scott hovers at the edge of the crowd, catching only a glimpse of golden hair every now and then. Part of him wants to press closer, to find his partner and tell him how proud he is, how he knew he could do it.

The other part hesitates, and so too does Scott. What if that was it? It's over. Move on; you're good at it. The part that still stings with betrayal. He lied to Martyn: he would never be able to kill him. He had assumed, naively, that maybe they were in accordance. And then.

Well. And then.

He's waited too long- people start breaking off in clusters, drifting away to wherever home is for them. Scott moves away too; the Void is vast and endless, which means plenty of places to hide. Not that he's trying to hide! It's- well, it's complicated.

The Void glows violet as he approaches, folding him in its chilly embrace. To anyone else, it would seem like he's disappeared, gone and left no trace. It's become a habit, of sorts, to meet with the other winners after the game was over, ever since Grian dragged him into this pocket of silence and said talk to me. He had shown Pearl, in her turn, and just like that, it was safety. A place to share their strange connection, to say I know what it's like, it happened to me too.

Grian's already waiting, wings not quite transparent and sweeping behind him in faded colors. He's sitting on what amounts to the floor of the Void, which is just whatever they decide it to be. Scott joins him with a sigh, and Grian acknowledges him with the flick of a wingtip.

He's quiet today, Scott observes, eyes dark and solemn.

"Tell me," he says, breaking the silence. Grian looks over at him, broken from his trance, still quiet. Scott waits. It's a request, not a demand; Grian doesn't have to tell him a thing.

He does anyways. It's about Scar, and the way it all ended. He talks for minutes, describing his final fall from grace. The terror. The familiarity.

"Don't you ever feel like we're repeating old patterns?"

Scott thinks about golden hair, and a sword through his chest. He thinks about I love yous, quiet and true, and about pufferfish venom, coursing through his veins.

"Of course I do."

It's at that moment that Pearl- or Pearl's head, at least- pops into their little corner of existence.

"Hey!" she chirps, cheery as always. "Interesting game this time, wasn't it?" She steps the rest of the way through, then glances behind her and sighs.

"C'mon! Let's hurry this up!"

Scott realizes the significance of Pearl bringing someone new into their winner's corner a moment too late, and he stops being able to breathe as Martyn steps through uncertainly. His eyes land on Scott, and Scott flinches involuntarily, too-recent memories of lava pouring over him warming his skin.

"Welcome to the winners' club!" Pearl announces grandly, and Grian frowns at her.

"I wouldn't call it much of a club."

"Fine, then, winners' therapy circle." Pearl waves her hand, nonchalant. She gestures for Martyn to sit down, taking her own place opposite Scott.

Grian looks like he's about to protest more, but thinks better of it for once and shuts his mouth as Martyn gingerly sits down. Scott tears his eyes away at last, focusing on Pearl's voice as she explains the purpose of their litte group.

The tip of a wing brushes his knee, Grian's form of silent comfort, and Scott shoots him a weak smile. He pointedly doesn't look at Martyn. He doesn't know what he'd do if the other man looked back. Scream, maybe, something like how could you? Or he'd kiss him, and that'd be just as disastrous. To avoid these possibilities, Scott keeps his eyes firmly on the Void beneath him.

"-and I think that's everything? Not all that much to say, I'm afraid." Pearl shrugs. "Unless either of you have something to add?" Grian mutters something about not a therapy circle and Scott just shakes his head.

"Um-" Martyn speaks for the first time, and it causes Scott to jump slightly, eyes tugged up. "Scott? Could I talk to you?"

Pearl falls silent. He can see her eyes flick back and forth between the two of him, expecting an answer. His words feel stuck in his throat.

"Okay," he manages, nearly a whisper. "I'll talk." He stands, not quite steady on his feet, and follows his partner- follows Martyn deeper into the pocket Void. Far away enough from Pearl and Grian that they can't hear, but Scott can still see the expressions on their faces; curiosity and sympathy on Pearl's, and concern on Grian's.

"Scott-" Martyn starts, stops. "I'm sorry." It sounds like it's been ripped out of him, like he's lost his breath.

He shrugs, keeping his eyes down. "I wouldn't have had it be anyone else." That's true, but it still hurts. Scott just wishes- he wishes Martyn had told him. Had- he doesn't know. Something. Anything.

"That doesn't- Scott, please look at me." Martyn sounds desperate. Scott wraps his arms around himself, shivering with what he knows is not just the Void's chill.

"I never would've killed you." A small, vindictive part of him hopes it hurts Martyn, to reveal the lie and the truth all in a few words. "I couldn't have."

"Scott." Martyn's voice cracks. He doesn't let him finish.

"I- I just- a little warning might've been nice!" He laughs, half-hysterical, and feels hot tears beading in his eyes. "I would have given you the time anyways, I would've-" I would have done anything for you. Just to keep you close a moment longer.

"Please, just look at me." It's the waver in his voice that finally makes him lift his eyes, and- oh.

Martyn's eyes are blue.

Scott's not quite sure how he forgot that.

"I wish it had been different," Martyn says quietly. "I didn't know- I would have told you if- if I meant to kill you. I swear that to you. I-" He halts, like the words have curled up on his tongue, and falls quiet. Waiting for him.

Scott exhales, suddenly aware he's crying. "I- Void. I'm a bit of a hypocrite, aren't I?"

"Maybe a little," Martyn says, cracking a weak smile. "You did lie to me, apparently." He opens his arms, and that's all the invitation Scott needs to wrap him in a tight hug. They both cling tightly, and he doesn't think he ever wants to let go.

"Where do you go from here?" he mumbles into Martyn's shoulder. What he really means is where do we go from here? He knows where he's going; back to Empires, back to Chromia. Without Martyn.

He doesn't think it would feel like home anymore. Home has meant Martyn for too long now.

"I don't know," his partner admits, slightly muffled. "I just- I just want to be where you are."

Scott laughs, breathless. "That's- well. I wasn't expecting that." He ignores the way his cheeks are warm. Martyn loosens his grip, pulling back so they can see each other's faces more clearly. Privately, Scott mourns the loss of contact.

"I do mean it, you know. When I said I love you." Scott stares at him. He's... not sure what he was expecting. Moving on, he supposes, the way they always do after the games. But Martyn's eyes are soft, and Scott already knows he wants to stay.

He can't help having a little fun with it, though.

"Well, in that case." He smiles, perfectly innocent. "I don't suppose you know a certain sheriff, back on Empires?"

"Scott- what are you talking about?" Martyn looks vaguely offended, but tolerant. "Yes, I know Timmy."

"Wrong one. I meant the older one. Gray hair, gray beard. Know him?" Martyn's eyes narrow, beginning to catch onto Scott's meaning.

"And if I did?" He sounds confused, like he hadn't expected Scott to see right through his shoddy disguise the moment he stepped foot on the server. Honestly.

"Well, could you pass a message on for me?" Scott breathes in. Now or never. "Tell him... tell him there's always a place in Chromia for him. If he ever needs anywhere to stay the night."

Martyn blinks at him, eyes wide and pupils dilated in the black of the Void.

"I- um, yeah, sure!" he stutters, face going pink. "I can... pass that along. Whenever I see him, that is. Obviously."

"Mm-hm. That's good." Scott nods earnestly, trying his best to keep his face composed.

Martyn rubs a hand over his face. "I- you're a menace," he settles on.

"Thank you. I do try my best." Martyn smiles at him, soft, and it makes his heart stutter-step.

Before he can think too hard about, he cradles Martyn's face in his hands and pulls him down for a chaste kiss.

It doesn't feel like coming home. It doesn't even feel like forgiveness.

But it does feel like hope. And that's enough for now, Scott thinks.

"WHAT?" Grian's shriek echoes through the Void, causing them to break apart. Scott half-turns to see both of the other winners on their feet, eyes wide as moons. In his peripheral vision, he catches Martyn burying his head in his hands, face flushed a deep red. Scott just giggles, any embarrassment long gone.

"Don't forget to pass the message on, Martyn!"

He manages to escape Grian and Pearl through clever dodging trips, and slips out of the hole in the Void just in time to see them turn on him to hunt for answers. Scott just laughs again

Maybe everything will be okay.

[p4nishers]

devotion as a chest wound

[indigoire]

I started this whole post chronicling Stede and Izzy's relationship, how they went from enemies to friends, but it was going a bit off the rails and it really boils down to a couple key things.

Key thing number one: Izzy realizing he was wrong. He didn't want Ed to go back to being Blackbeard, turns out. He even missed when he could talk about things with Edward instead of just being told to push himself and the crew to the brink to carve a path of utter destruction. He missed doing things Stede Bonnet's way, and to that end a lot of his antagonism faded away.

Key thing number two: Stede remarks in episode four, when Izzy is drunkenly yelling at the figurehead, that Izzy kept Ed's body aboard the ship, even after the crew "killed" him. I think that did a lot to help mend things on Stede's side. He sees Izzy clearly cared for Ed, even in his last moments, and I think that means a lot to Stede.

So the two of them reach this unspoken truce. Stede then offers the olive branch of admitting he's inexperienced at being a pirate and he'd like to learn from Izzy, along with flattery from Blackbeard (and notice they both specifically call Ed Blackbeard in that scene). Izzy "trains" Stede in a few key areas, and Stede relies on Izzy's advice in the end about the cursed suit to avoid another mutiny.

In the end I think it was inevitable that the two would learn to get along. They both love Ed, they both want to see him alive and happy, so they'll have to work together. They've both discarded the fantasy of the other turning up dead, they both had to get rid of the idealized Edward in their heads, they have a grounded place to work from now.

This might be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

[candied-cae]

I am super fucking pissed about Wee John in this last episode.

Why. The. Fuck. Was. He. Not. Included. AT. ALL. During. The. Escape??????????

Legitimately, where the fuck was he? I was fuming for a lot of that because he's my favorite character, so I was looking for him. While everyone was stripping the English of their uniforms and getting dressed up (at least partially) in disguise, he is the only character not included.

They make a point about Fang not getting a proper shirt, which already pissed me off enough, that he had to wear what was essentially prison stripes while everyone else was in uniform, but Wee John wasn't even there. He wasn't in the raid. He wasn't in the run down the beach.

He just wasn't even fucking there. And if it was something Kristian decided he didn't want to worry about hurting himself over, particularly looking out for his back and knees, I understand not asking him to run over and over again for reshoots. But the fact that he didn't even get dressed with them... and that's the second time he's been excluded from a plan apparently due to his size (remember that he didn't get to participate when The Revenge dressed up as rich boys for Nigel Badminton)...

It is legitimately breaking my heart. One of the things I love about this show is the love is gives to its fat characters and actors. Fang gets to have his tummy out 24/7 and he's treated like a snack by Lucius, Wee John got to have an incredible dress, Oluwande is the crew's most eligible bachelor, and we even got a delightful fat character in 2x07 who spent his whole time dressed in only some leather halters and pants...

But the fact that Wee John was singled out and left behind, and the fact that Fang was singled out and othered at that very same time... It fucking hurts. As a fat person who has loved getting to see so much love for fat bodies... it stung to see that the comedy couldn't even suspend its reality long enough to say "there are a few fat people in the Royal English Navy, so Wee John and Fang get to be dressed up too."

[paleode-ology]

love how that new clip is still unlisted on youtube bc it means either someone at max fucked up and forgot to unlist it OR someone at TV Insider fucked up and wasn't supposed to share the video yet. starting off the week countdown on a great note

[mysteriouslybluepirate]

New CalicoJack/IzzyHands Fic!

When Jack Rackham sank into the depths of Blind Man's Cove, he didn't die. He changed. Later he finds a ship missing its usual captains, and Izzy Hands recovering from a shot in his side

A Post S2 [Selkie] CalicoHands story.

Currently at around 6k words, updating as it gets completed! I have this full fic outlined and can't wait to share more <3