#and I can see Ed having been an influence in that decision

[amanitacurses]

[piratecaptainscaptainpirates]

I think OFMD does something very interesting and kind-hearted with the idea that self-hatred can make you hurt others.

Stede, at the end of season 1, is so utterly convinced that his presence is directly harmful to Ed, so sure that no one could ever miss him if he just disappeared, that he hurts Ed deeply by leaving him without a word. Ed, in season 2, is so convinced of some inherent hatefulness and mostrosity in his nature that he forces people who care about him to treat him like the monster he thinks he is. Both are absolutely worst-case scenarios for how your own self-hatred can influence you to make selfish decisions that deeply hurt other people.

And...they're okay. They get through it. Stede comes back and he does his level fucking best to make things right. He doesn't expect Ed to just melt back into his arms, but he's there for him and supports him and shows him that he's willing to commit to what they have. Ed's still in such a vulnerable place, but he does his best to make things right with the crew, doing what they ask him to do and taking the time to make amends and let them see him as a real person and not the mask of himself he's been trying to keep up for so long.

It's really lovely, I think, that OFMD says that no matter how much you think you hate yourself, there are people who will miss you, and they will be hurt if you act on that self-loathing. But if you do fuck up, that's okay, too - you can keep working to be a more authentic version of yourself and make things right. It's never too late.

[ontologicalsynaesthesia]

It's so interesting to me that Izzy's suicide attempt wound heals very slowly, and leaves a big visible scar, in a show where characters regularly shrug off much worse injuries. You can even see it under his drag makeup:

Injuries in OFMD seem to have a physical impact on the character more or less in proportion to their psychological impact, regardless of how serious the wound should realistically be. In S1E4, Stede spends one episode injured after getting stabbed and hanged due to his hubris and incompetence, but then he's fine after hanging out with Ed for a while and getting some validation. In S1E6, Stede spends an entire night impaled on a sword, but he doesn't even seem to be in pain and suffers no lasting damage because it's not a psychological wound. And of course, in S2E3, Ed comes back to life more or less physically intact after realizing that Stede is there waiting for him, even though he should have been very, very dead after what the crew did to him.

But all of Izzy's injuries have a realistic impact on his body, in a way that isn't the case for any other character. I think some of that can be attributed to his Only Human In A Muppet Movie status, but it's also because of his uniquely fucked up relationship with Ed.

Ed causes all of Izzy's injuries, and I think they affect Izzy so permanently because of how deeply invested and dependent Izzy is on his relationship with Ed; his whole sense of self is bound up in it. Those wounds represent the toxicity of their relationship and how much it's damaged Izzy.

In contrast, when Izzy shoots Ed in the arm, the wound doesn't seem to stick around; we never see any evidence of it after that moment. Ed's actions have a far deeper impact on Izzy than Izzy's actions have on Ed, because there's always been an inequality in their relationship; Izzy cares about Ed much more than Ed cares about him, and that's the fundamental problem for Izzy.

Izzy post S2E4 has made a deliberate decision to move on from what happened between him and Ed, because it was so big and so awful that it's not the kind of thing he could either just forgive or ignore. And I think his Ed-induced suicide attempt was kind of the final straw; it's after that that he goes on deck and shoots Ed, which David Jenkins has described as Izzy "breaking up" with him. I don't think Izzy's stopped being in love with Ed, but he's stopped trying to influence his behavior as much, or even spend much time with him at all, and he's spending time with other characters instead.

But for all his change in behavior, every time he's on screen, we get a visual reminder of what happened, in both his leg and the scar on his face. Both are emphatically visible in the above scene, when Izzy and Stede are talking about Ed. It's a reminder of the impetus for Izzy's character arc this season, his relationship with Ed, and I think it's an indication that he hasn't fully healed psychologically, and probably never will. All he can do is keep moving forward.

[the-mad-starker]

Starkercest Smut: Quick Tips For Satisfying An Alpha (1/3)

For TSToT and Starker Battleship!!

Figured I'd post this in and I'ma try to finish chapter 2 so I can attack Spidey team over at @starker-battleship !! Not gonna reveal my prompts just yet but they're very typical of me haha 😮

Notes: Omegaverse, starkercest, alpha tony, omega Peter, intersex Omegas, Size Kink, ambiguous age but underaged, tags to be updated

Rating: E

WC: 2606 (AO3 Link)

💗💗💗

When Peter Stark walked into Omega Ed., he wasn't sure what to expect but it surely hadn't been this.

The sex ed class for omegas that he'd been required to attend was just so dry. He hadn't had any real expectations though. If anything, he thought he'd end up leaving with a bright red face because learning about those things with his peers just seemed… embarrassing?

But no. Whatever Peter had expected, it was worse because it was boring. The omega instructor was a stickler for facts, which, yeah, those were super important, but Peter wanted to know stuff beyond what he could find in textbooks.

For the first week, they had to study the anatomy of all sub-genders. Peter learned a lot, for sure. He learned just how knotting happened, how female alphas’ pensies were different from males, and that male omegas had two internal erogenous spots compared to female omegas who only had one. That kind of information was an eye opener, but even then, it was all… very scientific and therefore, not at all what he thought sex ed would be like.

He'd been raised by a very sex-positive parent so it wasn't surprising that Peter had questions. Unfortunately, Peter realized pretty early on that what he had wanted from the class was guidance and a more real life approach than the in-depth diagrams and plastic models that his instructor showed them.

Like Peter now knew about the prostate and g-spot for omegas, but how do you stimulate them? What did that even feel like? He read somewhere that prostate stimulation for some males was uncomfortable but was that across all males? Or were omegas an exception? Or maybe just alphas? Beta males?

He had so many questions but the instructor didn't seem inclined to answer them. It was always a gentle but firm decision to turn back to the books and a dismissive answer that wasn't an answer at all.

It was great, then, that Peter had such an accommodating parent. His dad had never held back on giving him the truth, at least not since he was maybe five years old and had accidentally tugged Santa’s beard off only to be met with his dad’s chagrined face.

His dad wouldn't sugarcoat things for him and he’d finally get the answers he wanted.

Peter set his plan into motion on a nice Saturday morning. The freshly ground coffee beans were brewing and just as expected, the smell of it lured his alpha father out of his room.

Peter watched as his dad went straight for the coffee pot, eyes assessing the alpha over the rim of his cup of orange juice.

His father was the epitome of what an alpha should be, Peter recalled all the social media claiming. His classmates often teased him for having a hunk of an alpha as a father. Add to the fact that his dad was also single… and his father didn't discriminate between genders… and he was rich and handsome…

Peter frowned and took a sip of his OJ.

He tried to look at his dad like his classmates did. Look beyond his quirky lovable father to see the alpha that teens his age drooled after.

Surprisingly, it wasn't hard because as he already acknowledged… His dad really was the perfect alpha.

Alpha genes really were something. Alphas were just naturally taller, broader, and stronger. Put an alpha next to an omega, and these physical attributes were even more exaggerated. Alphas had a more muscular physique compared to an omega’s softer, leaner body.

And that was just the genes influencing an alpha. Of course, like any normal person, if they didn't take advantage of it, an alpha can squander those built in boosts and end up as unhealthy as any other. Not even superior alpha genes could help someone if they didn't take care of themselves.

But Tony Stark didn't have that problem. Peter’s gaze lingered over his lightly muscled arms, his broad shoulders, and the defined muscles of his back through his thin white undershirt. His dad, courtesy of Peter’s insistence, ate healthy and, despite his grumbling, worked out regularly.

“Morning, kid,” his dad's voice rumbled, rough from sleep. It sent something foreign but exciting shooting through Peter's body.

He stood up, setting his OJ aside, and like many sleepy mornings before, he hugged his dad from behind as Tony readied his coffee.

With his face pressed against his dad’s back, Peter breathed in the comforting scent of his alpha. This close, he could smell his own scent mixed in, and before he knew it, a purr rumbled in his chest.

His dad had never been able to resist Peter’s purring and it said a lot that his attention immediately went from his precious coffee to his even more precious son.

Tony turned and gathered Peter in his arms and the omega melted right into his embrace.

As a male omega, Peter stood at a respectable 5’7 height, but in his daddy’s arms, he felt so small and precious. He rested his cheek on his dad’s chest, the firm muscle of his pecs a perfect cushion. Their eyes met and Peter’s purr grew louder which only made the fond smile on Tony’s face grow wider.

“Alright, Pete, what is it?” Tony laughed, hugging him tight. “You've ambushed me before my coffee and you're purring up a storm so you're up to something. Give your old man a break and out with it.”

Peter pouted but he let his purring taper off before it stopped completely.

“First off, you're not old, Dad,” Peter had to protest.

Yeah, his dad had some silvers and grays in his hair and beard, but he was far from old. He was still in the prime of his life as far as Peter was concerned.

“Mhmm.”

Tony wouldn't be so easily distracted so Peter adopted his best puppy eyes look. Wide round honey brown eyes and just the slightest downturn of his lips completed the pouty look.

“Ouch, pulling out the big guns,” his dad dramatically sighed.

“Dad… You know they put me in omega ed this year, right?” Peter started.

“Mhmm, I had to sign off on it 'cause you know how some parents get about that stuff,” Tony said then raised an eyebrow in curiosity. “Do you want out or something?”

Peter paused but then shook his head.

“No, not really,” Peter decided, “I'm learning some stuff but it's…” How could he explain that it wasn't giving him what he wanted?

“Not what you expected, huh?” His dad hummed in understanding.

Peter instantly lit up, pleased that his father just understood him right off the bat.

“Yeah! I mean, I've tried asking questions but it always goes back to–” Here, Peter pitched his voice to a soft almost condescending tone, “This is not that type of class, Peter. I don't think your parents would appreciate it if I indulged in those kinds of questions, Peter. This class is just to help you get a better understanding of how your body works.”

Peter huffed by the end of his mini rant and immediately, his dad soothed him with a few strokes to his hair.

“Yeah, I get it,” His dad indulged him, “So what can I do, hmm? The classes that’ll scratch that itch in your brain are probably college courses. Psych classes if you're interested in the bonding aspect or maybe those general Alpha-Beta-Omega classes… We can look into some AP classes or some online classes…?”

Peter briefly thought about it but then shook his head.

“I don't think my interest is that deep,” he explained to his dad. “At least not yet? I just want… something more informative or uhh… something more real life than diagrams and stuff…”

Throughout the entire exchange, Tony maintained eye contact with him, probably to show he took Peter’s concerns seriously. Peter loved that about his dad but for the first time, the young omega hesitated. He didn't think it was weird for him to ask his dad but maybe it was weird in general?

They had a strong bond but surely, there were limits and lines between father and son that couldn't– shouldn't be crossed.

He's already gotten this far, though, and with his dad now alerted to a problem, Tony definitely wouldn't let it go unless Peter begged him to drop it.

But the thing is… Peter didn't want to drop the subject. This was his life, his future, and his understanding of what being an omega meant. He trusted that his dad would always have his best interest at heart, that he loved him no matter what and no matter what questions Peter asked.

There was no one he trusted more so Peter took the jump.

“I thought maybe… you can help me?”

There, it was out there in the open.

There was a moment of silence where Peter felt blood rush up to his cheeks and flush down his neck. This was probably the craziest thing he'd ask from his dad.

“You… want me to talk about my, uh, dating…. life…?” Tony asked, puzzled.

With that, Peter instantly relaxed but he did make a sour face at the question itself. He didn't want to know anything about the many alphas, betas, or omegas that had caught his father’s interest in the past. He didn't even try to parse the fact that it was other people getting intimate with his dad that bothered him, not the fact that it was his dad at all.

“Nooo thank you,” Peter denied very quickly. Rando strangers getting their grubby hands all over his amazing father? Gross.

“Not like I have much of one,” Tony sighed then ruffled Peter’s hair again, this time a little roughly, “Too busy with this little troublemaker here.”

Peter grabbed his dad’s wrist and set his teeth to the skin there in a playful bite. And like the good daddy he was, Tony pretended to be seriously injured.

“Oww, what a feral feisty omega I've raised,” Tony bemoaned as he tested the hold that Peter’s teeth on him.

Peter let go but still held onto his dad’s hand. The embarrassment had died down with their interaction. His dad always knew how to make Peter feel better.

“I don't wanna know about your past flings,” Peter told Tony seriously. “But I wanna know things about… alphas… And I've looked into some stuff but none of them were…” Just thinking about all the ridiculous porn he’d stumbled across in his research made him feel hot all over.

“...Credible…” Peter coughed.

His alpha gave him a look, no doubt realizing what his sources were.

“So what… you want like… tips?” Tony asked hesitatingly. “About alphas?”

“Maybe?” Peter answered, also a bit doubtful. He wasn't sure tips was the right word because he wanted something more than that. “...Would it be too much to like…”

Why was this so hard! Peter wanted nothing more than to bite his dad’s hand again, just so the words wouldn't come out. But he was a Stark and even though they were bonafide geniuses, they were also idiots with idiot planning at times.

Maybe he should've put more thought into this. His dad would never do anything to hurt him or make fun of him for his questions. The worst that could happen would be his father saying no and setting up some online learning and getting actual credible sources… But this was what Peter wanted.

He just wanted his emotional support alpha, who happened to be his dad, to hold his hand through all of it.

That was what he wanted. If he could have it. But first, he'd have to ask.

Peter firmed his resolve and then looked up from where he’d been staring at their clasped hands.

“I think I do want tips and… maybe some… hands-on experience…?” Peter tacked on the last bit, unsure of what his dad’s response would be.

Tony’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline.

“Oh,” was his dad’s response. The request was definitely a surprise, but it wasn't a no.

Peter looked at his dad, hopeful and uncertain. Terrified but excited.

Maybe… maybe…??

His daddy took in his puppy eyes and Peter could see the second he gave in.

“Ohh, boy,” his dad groaned, “you're so vicious, Pete. At least let me have my coffee before you throw something like this at your old man. I can't believe my baby boy would pop this question before I've even had a sip to wake up.”

That sounded like a yes! Well, not a definite yes, but Peter knew his dad and that was a yes for sure.

He pecked a kiss on Tony’s cheek, his face making some weird expression because he was trying not to smile.

Peter quickly retreated back to his OJ, leaving his father to his coffee. He did have a bounce in his step.

He watched eagerly as Tony poured way too much sugar into his coffee. He didn't even make a peep as his dad stirred for a bit before taking his first sip.

He waited patiently and when his dad finally looked at him, their eyes met over the rim of their cups. It felt like something seemed to sizzle between them, some irreversible change that Peter didn't understand.

“Alright,” his dad said once he'd gathered his thoughts. “So my baby boy wants his daddy to teach him about being an omega and what to expect from alphas. Is that it?”

Peter’s breath hitched as he saw the look in his father's eyes. Dark and calculating. The mood was entirely different now and Peter’s heart fluttered as anticipation took over.

“Y-yeah, I mean, yes, Daddy,” Peter tried to sound so confident like a strong omega who knows what he wanted but the words came out coquettish and shy.

That only made his dad hum thoughtfully.

“Alright, Pete,” Tony affirmed, “This… Whatever this is… You gotta be sure, kid, that this is what you want. I’ll always stop if you want me to or you decide to call it off– but some things you can't pretend never happened once you've done ‘em. If you know what I mean.”

Peter did know. Theoretically. Or at least he’d thought about it briefly. Even now, he was sure this was what he wanted.

“I'm sure,” Peter said with all the confidence of a teen who only had a tiny inkling of what he was getting into.

“Good,” his dad said and Peter sighed in relief at the acceptance. He smiled at his father, only for his breath to catch because…

For the very first time, the person looking at him wasn't his patient loving father, but an alpha assessing a potential omega.

Oh…

His dad was already starting without realizing it. With just that one look, Peter was already learning what it meant for an alpha to look at an omega like that. It made him feel… he wasn't sure what but he liked it.

His gaze dropped but then flirted back up. His dad smirked at him, knowingly, and Peter agonized over what that smirk meant. His dad always seemed to know what was on his mind, did he know what he was doing to his own son, even now?

Peter’s hands tightened on his drink, cheeks flushed like he'd been drinking wine instead of juice. Was this how omegas felt when alphas gave them attention…?

If so… Peter liked it. He liked it a lot.

The omega squirmed in his seat, surprised but excited by the indescribable look in his father's eyes.

He couldn't wait to learn what it meant.

[mermaidlighthouse]

I want to talk for a moment (or a LONG few moments but…) about my special little angel face, honeysuckle, cuppie cake…Stede Bonnet

From the start of the season, Stede is desperately seeking a person who he’s afraid will think he’s not good enough, that he is somehow lacking. He’s afraid he blew his chance at real happiness because he was scared and panicked (as he explicitly tells Ed in Fun and Games) but there’s so much more going on here. He wasn’t just scared and panicked because they were moving so fast during all their time together- he DIDN’T KNOW what they were doing. He didn’t realize they were falling in love because he didn’t know what it meant to be in love.

He was scared that running away to China was just going to be a rash decision borne out of a need to escape - he didn’t understand his value in general but more importantly, in that scene, to Ed. He didn’t understand that the “You wear fine things well” moment was special for Ed - we see that he’s come to understand that NOW in the flashback in Red Flags. He didn’t realize that to Ed, Stede is special. In all the moments that we understand Ed has been vulnerable because he’s willing to open up to Stede, Stede doesn’t have our insight. Not because he’s emotionally unintelligent - I would argue he’s generally well aware of how people see him - the problem is that NO ONE has seen him as worthy before and therefore is very easy to undervalue his significance. 

If we look at all the scenes that we as an audience can tell are meaningful to Ed, from Stede’s perspective he’s either unaware of Ed’s motivations even though the audience is aware (the treasure scene) or can, through the dialogue or lack thereof, discount the importance because of his poor self-worth. For instance, in the bathtub scene, Ed specifically says he outsources the big job - Ed has told Stede he doesn’t kill people not personally - it implies Ed’s decision to NOT kill Stede isn’t all that big a deal or at least to a person who doesn’t see their value (Stede) it would be very easy to write off the idea that Ed specifically didn’t want to kill Stede. Stede is aware that the fuckery has been triggering for Ed - this doesn’t make Ed’s confession any less impactful but it does bring into question the reasons behind his decision to not kill Stede. For Stede, it can easily be explained by saying “Ed has just relived a traumatic moment, he’s currently dealing with a heavy emotional burden, Ed doesn’t kill people (he just said so) and so he doesn’t want to kill me because it would be further trauma. Ed didn’t even see me as his friend so I’m simply a random person who happens to be here.” There, a neat little box of reasons that has nothing to do with Stede - not in any meaningful way, he’s merely a prop in the story. 

On the cliff, that was the first time he was even aware he was having an impact on Ed in any sort of meaningful way. Ed had literally, just walked away, yeah he came back but it’s not that difficult to see how it seemed easy for Ed to leave. Ed opted not to be Blackbeard anymore ostensibly to save Stede but, Stede is aware that Ed’s been thinking about packing it all in for a while now. Stede doesn’t understand how big an influence he’s had on Ed. It would be easy to say that he did ruin history’s greatest pirate because he put Ed in a position where he felt obligated to save Stede. Stede knows that Ed knows that Izzy sold them out. Ultimately, Ed put Stede in the position of being found by Chauncey and his first mate made that possible. It’s not that much of a stretch to assume that Ed simply feels guilty for putting Stede in that position and is saving him from the firing squad because of that guilt. Stede doesn’t see his worth and can’t imagine that it’s him as a person that Ed is attracted to, that Ed adores. That Ed’s quasi- or Izzy’s direct involvement in bringing about the situation has nothing to do with Ed’s decision because that would mean giving himself more credit, giving himself more agency and Stede has routinely been told that he has none, he never earned his status and he never will. The things he enjoys are worthless and weak. 

Stede so undervalues himself that excuses for people NOT hurting him or saving him can’t be due to his appeal or importance. He’s unimportant, therefore Ed’s reactions and decisions have little if anything to do with him. 

This is the repressed trauma that he carries around with him, that he buries beneath the smiles and silliness. He has moments of working through that (“I am adequate”) but that doesn’t remove the deep-rooted insecurities. The fact that he gets up and smiles and allows himself to be silly speaks to his strength of character. The moments when the demons rear their heads are so impactful but the fact that they return below the surface doesn’t mean they go away, it doesn’t mean he’s defeated them. Is it healthy? No. Is it still so courageous? Abso-fucking-lutely. He’s simply one of the strongest, most capable, genuinely wonderful characters BECAUSE he does all he does, saving the crew, working against his selfishness (most of the time), trying to figure out who he is and where he fits in the world while carrying this burden of internalizing his worthlessness.

[doumadono]

Hey hey so I hope it's okay if I send in an Emergency Request.

Recently I've been on a new antipsychotic and it's causing weight gain, so they put me on a diet medication and I'm STILL gaining weight.

As someone with a past of having anorex!a this is MAJORLY triggering as now I'm in the "Overwe!ght" BMI range and I'm freaking the fuck out and wanting to d!e every single day.

So can I get a comfort with Shinsou who reaffirms the reader( who also struggles with gender dysphoria at the same time, so this is doubly hard ) that he will love them no matter what gender they are and how much they weigh and that they can work on losing weight in a healthy way and he will help them recovery from their ED habits together?

Shinso & s/o with gender dysphoria and anxiety about gaining weight

EMERGENCY REQS MASTERLIST

Shinsou notices your struggle and decides to have a heart-to-heart conversation with you. "You've been going through a lot lately, haven't you? Wanna talk?"

You open up about your experiences with gender dysphoria, the weight of the words lifting as you share this intimate part of yourself. "I've been grappling with my gender identity, and it's been a real struggle. I trust you, Shinso..."

The words pour out as you recount the toxic environment at home, the pressure to conform to harmful beauty standards, and the history of your family promoting your eating disorder. "My family, they've always pushed me toward this destructive path. It's been a battle to break free from their influence."

He starts by expressing genuine concern, acknowledging the difficulties you're facing with both medication and family issues.

There's a moment of vulnerability as you worry about how Shinsou will react. "I'm afraid you'll see me differently, that this will be too much for you..."

Shinsou reassures you that he cares deeply for you, emphasizing that your worth isn't determined by your weight or gender. "I want you to know that I adore every part of you, regardless of what your family or society says. Your gender identity is valid, and your journey is uniquely yours, remember that, sweetpie."

Shinsou encourages you to focus on your health rather than conforming to societal standards, stressing that your well-being matters most.

He suggests finding positive outlets for stress relief and encourages you to explore activities that bring joy and fulfillment. "How about we make some tasty, nutritious snacks together? It's a small step, but a positive one, don't you think?"

Shinsou reminds you that your identity and body are yours to define, and he supports you in every decision you make.

He shares stories of his own struggles, highlighting that everyone faces challenges, and growth is possible through perseverance.

Shinsou proposes working together on setting achievable, healthy goals, whether related to weight or personal development.

He assures you that he's there for you every step of the way, offering support and understanding. "You're strong, you know? Facing everything head-on."

He uses his quirk to gently ease some of the emotional burden you're carrying, showing how he cares about your mental well-being.

Shinsou encourages open communication, emphasizing that your feelings and experiences are valid, and he's here to listen without judgment. "It's always better to talk to your trusted person, isn't it, sweetpie?"

The air hung heavy with a subdued tension as you found solace in the quiet corner of your shared living space with Shinso. The weight of unspoken burdens rested on your shoulders, and as the tears welled up in your eyes, you couldn't hold back the overwhelming tide of emotion any longer.

Shinso noticed the tremble in your voice and the shimmer of unshed tears. He approached you with a gentle concern etched across his face. "Hey, what's going on? You seem… distant."

A shaky breath escaped your lips as you attempted to articulate the complex emotions swirling within. "It's just… my family. They've never understood, and now with everything else… It feels like I'm drowning in their expectations. I'm also struggling with my gender... I feel like I'm drowning, Shinso..."

Shinso sat beside you, a silent gesture that spoke volumes. "You can talk to me. I'm here for you. Breathe. In and out, in and out. Calm down and pour it all out. It'll ease your stress. And no matter what, I'll stay by your side, always. You're perfect just the way you are. I love everything about you."

With a heavy exhale, you began to unravel the painful narrative of a family that had never truly been supportive. "They always had these expectations, these ideals of what they thought I should be. It's suffocating. They pushed me into this dark spiral of self-doubt, made me believe I was never enough. And thank you for your kind words, baby..."

The tears flowed freely now, a cathartic release of pent-up emotions.

Shinso, understanding the weight of your words, placed a comforting hand on your shoulder. "You are more than enough, and I'm here to help you break free from those chains. You don't have to carry their expectations anymore."

In the warmth of Shinso's reassurance, you continued to share the heart-wrenching details of a family that promoted destructive behaviors, exacerbating your struggles. "They encouraged my unhealthy habits, made me believe that I had to conform to their standards. It's been a never-ending battle."

Shinso's gaze never wavered, a silent pillar of support. "You're not alone anymore. We'll face this together, and I promise you, their expectations won't define your worth."

As you poured out your heart to Shinso, the weight on your shoulders began to lift, replaced by the gentle embrace of understanding and empathy coming from your beloved boyfriend.

[backgroundnoisewithaview]

What we should get....

Will thought through the conversation with Sabeena and it was like he immediately was pulled into an out of body experience. In front of him he could see two paths, one where he made the best of his current options, continuing with Verani and going into medical research and pharmaceutical panels and another where he cut his losses completely.

It was like he could see everything clearly. He was stood there in his shit shoe box of an apartment, but he could see the hospital. His friendship with Maggie had changed since she'd got with Ben, him and Natalie were over, she clearly had no problem with Crockett telling him to back off even though he was just there for Carol as nothing more than a family friend. And yeah he and April were becoming good friends whilst she worked with him but it wasn't enough.

His mind spun some more. Natalie no matter what always put him second, or third. He couldn't do right for doing wrong. Choi could have killed a patient whilst under the influence of post op drugs, collapsed in the ED and he doesn't even get a slap on the wrist. Will risks his career to save patients and he is always threatened with his medical licence.

Was this why he became a doctor? Was all of this really worth it? Was this what his life would be like for the next 20 years? Him being tarnished for his past poor decisions whilst everyone around him get theirs glossed over to save their reputation?

He came back to himself, in his shitty kitchen, in his shitty apartment he could barely afford. He was moving before he could really think. He picked up his phone, and didnt have to scroll too far down before he got to the name he wanted.

Hey Con, we've not spoken in a while, I hope you're okay. I'm leaving Chicago, mind if I come visit?

He then power walked to his laptop and booted it up. He opened his email as fast as he could and clicked to write a new one.

To Ms. Goodwin,

This email is to inform you that I am hereby resigning from my position as attending in the ED in Gaffney Chicago Med. I will carry out my month's notice if absolutely necessary however I hope to take my leave affective immediately, like many others before me have been allowed to do. I have realised how this job and place is not for me anymore. Thank you for your support through the years.

Regards,

Dr Will Halstead.

He sends the email without a second thought, and a few seconds later his phone pings with a reply from Connor.

Leaving leaving? Everything ok? And yeah man, come out whenever, you know where I live.

-

Thanks man, Will types, yeah. Long story short, I need a change. I'll tell you more when I get there and I'll let you know when I can leave.

-

Connor replies almost immediately Been there, done that, wearing the t-shirt. It'll be good to see you.

-

Will imagines a different future, with sunshine and a beach and maybe a friend at the end of the day not too far away. He has no idea if he'll remain a doctor, he has no idea how Jay will react when he tells him, but life like this couldn't continue and there was nothing really keeping him in Chicago anymore.

It'll be good to see you too. He replies back, and then sits down, phone thrown down onto the couch slouches against the back of it fully, and feels like he can breathe properly for the first time in a long time.

[princess-of-the-corner]

Bee Villain Audrey would be fun, especially given her previous interest in the temple. I agree she'd not be second fiddle, anytime Audrey lets others make decisions its cos of one of two reasons:

1: Its so unimportant that a plebian is tending to it. IE, she told them to. 2: She's indifferent enough to the situation that she doesn't care to handle it herself, IE most stuff she tells Andre to do.

Basically, yeah she's not gonna be second stringer, co conspirator at minimum.

Also, having a super powerful magical artifact, right after Gabriel and Ladybug humiliated her and Hawk Moth Akumatized her and- Wait a second! Gabriel was using Miraculous BS before, oh it is on! XD

Low key I have actually toyed with AUs built on similar premises and I think she'd be a very self motivated villain. Like maybe she wants a wish (If she knows about it) but she may just want other Miraculous, or to fuck over her rivals, or go on rampages. The line between Audrey & Style Queen is rather thin after all.

Also given the "Order & Subjugation" angle and how many write Miraculous powers as evolving or shifting based on the user. I could see Audrey's power being less Venom and more like, the power to command and control others perhaps?

Ultimately I'd say it comes down to how much one wants to do with her character. How much does she know, how much can she figure out, what does she even want out of life, ETC.

I know Audrey tends to get written off as just cruel and otherwise brainless. But I confess I always find that disappointing; there's nothing making Gabriel more inherently suited for supervillainy or competence than Audrey if you get my meaning?

As an amusing aside, her going out with a Miraculous power could lead to a very similar situation to Queen Wasp. Not identical, but in the sense that some Gabriel related event is disrupted by a Bee User. The heroes show up, Gabriel slinks away to try and Akumatize her, ETC.

Though in this case, maybe cos Audrey can re-use her powers, its instead him trying to AKumatize Ladybug or Chat as the fight turns against them?

(Oooh it could be Nathalie actually, like Gabriel is literally Veom-ed?)

But this gives a sense of how powerful a Akumatized Miraculous Holder would be (Even if it fails to take over Audrey or one of the heroes, the effort gives a sense of power), along with Ladybug losing the Bee, a signal to Gabriel not to quit. Or allow Nathalie to step up and take the role maybe?

Also, if/when Audrey is beaten (If she's a one episode wonder over a recurring problem) One could have Chloe snag Pollen up in the chaos (She was helping perhaps even jumped on her mothers back and grabbed the comb during the fight?) So now she's Queen Been, but no one knows she has it?

Sorry, rambling.

Honestly the only reason I haven't written Audrey as a villain is because she often has no genuine power over the rest of the cast.

Like.

The worst she could do herself is tank Marinette's career, but even then in a universe where Gabriel favors Marinette and her talents he could counteract Audrey's influence

Her influence over Chloé is limited and dependent on other factors. Is Chloé still vying for her attention? Is Chloé still a child or a legal adult? Does Chloé have a support network or not?

A lot of Audrey's other power would be dependent on Andre and what he's doing. Is he still willing to do things for her or has he kicked her to the curb yet? Even if he /is/ still under her spell, is this an AU where he'd break any rules for her? Or, though he is a man who wishes to grant his wife's every whim, does he put his foot down on things that would cause major problems?

But yeah in most of my AUs, Audrey has no genuine power over any of the rest of the cast. So she often is more of an annoyance or a short-term problem rather than a major player.

If I give her some kind of power though.....

[himehikoshrine]

Jack Jeanne Explainers: Takarazuka Revue

This post is a quick and probably incomplete overview of Takarazuka Revue specifically for the context of its inspiration on Jack Jeanne, for reference. It's a basic overview but it's not intended as a guide to the form and fandom.

Takarazuka Revue (JP: 宝塚歌劇団) is likely the most direct influence on the game. It also has a very dedicated fan base that maintains robust English Language resources, so if this aspect of things intrigues you, it is quite accessible to dive further into.

Takarazuka Revue is an all-female musical theater company founded in 1913 and based out of the city of Takarazuka. All roles, male and female, are played by women. It also has an associated training school, the Takarazuka Music School.

The original pitch for the game was an All Boys Revue School, so the reference starts at the very beginning, as a kind of gender swap of Takarazuka.

You may notice that the term used here for "Revue" 『歌劇』 is the same one that the game uses. It gets translated sometimes as "opera" sometimes as "theater" - in general the term does mean "opera" but it's pretty clearly not opera that they're training - it's being used as "Revue" the same way that Takarazuka uses it. Which is, loosely speaking, musical theater.

Continued below the cut --

(I suspect that the similarities in first sound and also first character between 宝塚 - Takarazuka and 玉阪 - Tamasaka are intentional as well)

Takarazuka was founded by a businessman looking for an attraction to draw people to the city and settled on the idea of an All Female Musical Revue and a focus on more western style musical, mostly, as far as I know, as a business decision and a feeling that traditional styles of Kabuki were falling out of favor with most people. It drew heavily from French Musical Revue. The full history of the company, like I said, is well documented in English, and is longer than I can get into, here.

Compare and contrast this to the information we get about the 13th Himehiko, the current principal's great-grandfather, Chuza Dairi. He's said to have been born during the Meiji era and lived into the Showa era, and was fascinated by western style musicals. He's credited with the name Univeil, and starting to use the Jack and Jeanne terms.

Takarazuka stands in contrast to a long line of male exclusive theater forms in Japan. Japan, of course, also puts on co-ed musicals, both originals and adaptations, like the rest of the world, but Takarazuka is very much, to use the phrase the game uses, the "pinnacle of all-female revues."

This image is of a showcase from 1930, where you can see the lavish, european revue style inspiration clearly.

In Takarazuka, male roles are called otokoyaku (男役) - which just means 'men's roles' and is the term Jack Jeanne uses for what "Jack" roles are. Female roles are called musumeyaku (娘役) - which translates to 'girl/maiden/daughter roles'. The game actually uses onnayaku (女役) or women's roles when introducing Jeannes.

(Worth noting that the character Kisa plays in the Newcomers' Performance is translated as Maiden but is 娘 (musume) in Japanese which means occasionally when she or other characters are talking about "playing the role of the maiden" they are saying "musumeyaku" which I think is probably an intentional reference.)

Takarazuka puts on Musicals as well as both song and dance revues. It adapts many things, from extant musicals to manga to film, as well as history and classic stories. It has a reputation for being bright, sparkly, and lavish in costuming and set design and dramatic in style.

The voice actor for Tancho, the singing teacher and head of Rhodonite, is a former Takarazuka Otokoyaku. Tancho's outfits and style of speech are directly taken from Takarazuka. The feathers Tancho wears are part of the standard Revue portion of Takarazuka shows.

Right - Tancho's image, from the website, Left - Tancho's voice actor, Nanami Hiroki, from the Asashi article announcing her retirement from Takarazuka, showing her wearing one of the typical feather backed outfits that leads appear in parades after performances.

Otokoyaku are the stars of Takarazuka and tend to draw the biggest crowd and they get top billing, though each troupe tends to have a top Otokoyaku and top Musumeyaku, decided by a complex mix of seniority (especially for otokoyaku) and gradings. I will stop short of saying these are kind of like Jack Ace and Al Jeannes of a class, though. The Musumeyaku is expected to support her Otokoyaku. Using the terms Jack Jeanne uses, for Takarazuka, the Otokoyaku is essentially always the Flower, the Musumeyaku the Vessel, which is more standardized than the point of view of characters at Univeil.

The top Otokoyaku and top Musumeyaku are called the Top Combi (コンビ). Takarazuka and its fandom use that, rather than Partner (パートナー) that Jack Jeanne is fond of, which carries a potentially romantic connotation.

Takarazuka expects its actresses to maintain a more masculine or very feminine (depending on their role) persona on and off stage, and the expectations for behavior and appearance are quite strict even off stage. For example, much like Idols, they are expected to not date, let alone marry and have kids, until they retire.

EDIT: Someone who knows more than me let me know that the rules for dating are slightly more lax now, and relationships are tolerated so long as they are kept strictly out of the public eye - though still no marriage.

Jack Jeanne remains frustratingly vague on the rules for this during school -- No one seems to think dating itself is an issue, but Ao does say that it would 'cause trouble' if people saw them holding hands. So perhaps we're supposed to imagine something similar? But back to the post.

Takarazuka is divided into several different Troupes (組, kumi, read as gumi when used after the name of a troupe). They currently have five.

They break down as follows

Flower Troupe (Hanagumi 花組) - 1921 Moon Troupe (Tsukigumi 月組) - 1921 Snow Troupe (Yukigumi 雪組) - 1924 Star Troupe (Hoshigumi 星組) -1933-1939, reestablished 1948 Cosmos Troupe (Soragumi 宙組) - 1998

Each troupe has a reputation, though they are fairly loosely followed, and many performances get performed by different troupes for different runs. However, I suspect this was a strong influence on the way the classes were divided in Jack Jeanne. For example, Moon Troupe is known for singing. The newest troupe, the Cosmos Troupe is written with a character in Chui's name, and their stereotype is 'experimental and tall'. Snow troupe, interestingly, is known for more traditionally Japanese works (loosely) which is a conspicuous absence from Univeil, especially considering Tamasakaza's style is said to be more traditional than Takarazuka's -- closer to kabuki, even.

In Takarazuka, stars are sorted into these upon graduation. The Music School is probably better as a whole separate post.

The term "Newcomer's Performance" used in the game to refer to the first show of the year is also used in Takarazuka -- shinjin kouen (新人公演), where it has the meaning of a different casting of a play with all newer Takarasiennes (a term used for the actresses of Takarazuka).

The specific announcement that Tsuki makes in the intro is almost exactly, in both wording and tone, the announcement made before each Takarazuka play. His outfit in that scene is a version of a very famous style of Takarazuka Costume, inspired by fancy French dress and specifically the manga Rose of Versaille, whose adaptation is one of Takarazuka's most iconic plays.

I would strongly encourage you to browse their official English Language site (or Japanese one, if you can read it), which can be found here : Takarazuka Revue

While you're there, if you're there for Jack Jeanne reasons, it may be interesting to pay attention to the use of the word "dream" which is one of the theme/motif words of Jack Jeanne, and is use heavily in Takarazuka's official material as well as writings on the subject.

Had to throw this in because these? These are the Takarazuka words right there. Well, their official Motto is "Modesty, Fairness, Grace" or "Be Modest, Be Proper, Be Graceful" (which is a whole lot to unpack elsewhere) but unofficially it could be "So Dreamy and Sparkly."

You'll probably get a more thorough history on the website, too, than I provided.

Rather than make this even longer, I'm going to make a separate post on Takarazuka Music School, the path into Takarazuka, and it's similarities and difference with what we know about Univeil.

I'm by no means an expert of Takarazuka, and I should probably defer to people more involved in the fandom for that, but if anyone has anything to add that I missed in this brief post, please please reblog and add! If you have any questions, I can try to answer, asks should be open!

[numinous-scribe]

hi so this isn't meant to be mean at all! but um, pit madness isn't...a thing. like, at all. the only cases that can be made for it is characters like ra's, who had prolonged exposure to it, but characters that have been dipped just once (jason, cass, damian, etc) aren't mentally affected by the pit in canon at all. at least during post-crisis, jason didn't Have a rule about not hurting kids—that was not his version of bruce's no-kill rule, it wasn't a hard rule of any sorts. he was an asshole. that was his whole character after he came back during post-crisis, until the n52 reinvented him (and the n52 decanonized all he did after he came back. so it didn't change what he did and why he did it, and since we're now in a hellscape where everything is canon, his motivations (is an asshole that chose to take out his daddy issues on a kid) are still the same they were back then, nothing changed.) he also mocked, kidnapped and blew up the school of a teenage csa survivor BECAUSE he was an asshole, so if he had any sort of "rule", it was one he made many exceptions for.

also, ra's had no interest in tim until red robin, he didn't gaf about tim back then past him being another one of bruce's robins. talia didn't influence jason's decisions; she was struggling to keep that guy in line during lost days.

this isn't saying you can't like jason—hell, i love him. but he did all that shit because he wanted to. he chose to do it, and sure he wouldn't have made them if he hadn't died and come back angry and hurt and struggling, but he did. and pit madness or saying talia made him/manipulated him to do it (which i think plays into the racist stereotype surrounding talia, but i digress) feels like absolving him of all wrongdoing for his own actions.

once again, saying all this in good faith, but it gets sort of annoying watching people make it seem lile jason didn't CHOOSE to be an asshole. for a while, he was just an asshole.

Fam. I get you're saying that you came here with good intentions, but all I'm seeing is you jumping in my inbox to "um, actually" me, which is, quite frankly, rude and unappreciated. No one likes to get "um, actually"ed. Especially over personal interpretations of things.

What all this really tells me is that you put on some selective reading glasses and chose to take offense to my tags in particular on a post that *checks notes* was initially about Tim having no obligation to forgive and forget Jason being an asshole to him. Which, fair. Point to that. But then the addition to the post was about *checks notes again* how the writing for Jason's comeback was all over the place, skewed, and completely dissonant with how his character was before. But the add on also offered some nice perspective on why people liked to use pit madness as a plot device (which, frankly, there has been other instances outside of Ra's displaying it. i.e. the first person dunked in the pits literally came out made and killed Ra's wife. It's just DC can never expand on the little bits of lore they drop surrounding this without either completely forgetting it or retconning it.)

But back to the point. Which was that people like the concept that pit madness brings to the table. They like using it as a means of explaining the shitty writing of "canon". Do some people over do it and use it to absolve him of all his sins without consequences? Yeah, and it's not great, but it's whatever. And I never said that I want it to absolve him of being an asshole. I said I liked it being A factor to skew his thoughts. The can also apply to other concepts that I toyed with in my tags.

Can Jason still be an ass just to be an ass? Yeah. He can. But I'm not here to explore canon's desperate fixation on toxic grimdark bullshit. And you can't say in one breath that something is canon, but then in the next say that canon is a hellscape where nothing makes sense. That's contradictory. You get how that's contradictory, right? Canon doesn't even know what's canon, plan and simple, that's why so many people disregard it in the first place!

I could go out and pull up receipts to counter a bunch of other things, but frankly, I don't need to keep justifying how and why I play around with ideas and concepts. So please, next time you feel the need to come into someone's inbox to "correct" them. Don't. You just make an ass of yourself.

[thegoldenhoof]

Exploring Death of the Mentor trope in Izzy's death scene

Izzy's death has been described as the death of a mentor by Jenkins and whether Izzy and Ed ever had a mentor mentee relationship aside, I wanted to explore the death of the mentor trope a bit and how it applies here.

(Heads up this is close to 2000 words)

(If someone knowledgeable at media studies help me out here. Actual references/essays for me to read would be great. For now I am hoping my google fu is enough.)

Where is the death of a mentor trope used?

In trying to understand how the death of a mentor works in OFMD the first obstacle I ran into was the fact that the mentor archetype and the death of the mentor as a trope belongs to what has been called the hero's journey and do not directly translate to romances, much less romantic comedies.

Mentor adjacent roles in romantic comedies are not strictly mentors in the traditional sense but avulcular characters, the older neighbour/friend who drop by to share their wisdom to to nudge our protagonists onto the right path of love. If this is the role Jenkins envisioned for Izzy in Episode 7 I must say it makes Izzy rather a failure at this mentorship gig.

2. What are the functions of the death of a mentor trope?

Off the top of my head, the ones I can think of are

Character growth from student to hero. 

2. Motivation of hero - Specifically when the hero is facing a dilemma regarding their actions, the death motivates them to make a decision.

3. Revaluation of the hero's ideals - The opposite of the above is of course that the death may itself push the protagonist to reconsider and debate his decisions/ideals taking him in a new direction.

4. Reconciliation- The hero (maybe hotheaded) has a fall out with the mentor over a difference of ideology or something returns to the fold and tries to live according to the mentor's ideals

5. Inheritance of responsibilities/knowledge/wisdom - Where the influence of the mentor extends beyond just the protagonist and his death passes on the burden of his responsibilities/knowledge forcing the hero to grow up.

6. Sacrifice to save the hero as a fulfilment of his role ensuring the hero lives to fight another day

7. The evil Mentor - The Mentor is responsible for actions for which no redemption is possible so his death is the only thing that can serve. This usually has the protagonist unambiguously morally superior and standing in ideological opposition to the hero. The mentor is either killed by the hero or has a last-minute change of heart and dies protecting the hero.

8. End of an era / Passing of the old guard- The protagonist heralds the coming generation whose ideals stand in opposition to the mentor. Unlike the evil mentor, their ideological opposition does not place them on opposite moral sides but still creates enough conflict that they are unable to see them as coexisting with each other, and the death of the mentor's ideals is framed as progress. As stated for this universalization of this interpersonal difference in ideology both the mentor and protagonist have the power to influence the larger social structure of their community.

In applying these roles to Izzy and Ed, I think 1,3,4,5,6 can be thrown out of consideration automatically. Ed and Izzy don't fit into any of these tropes.

2. Motivation of a hero in dilemma - I would have liked this actually. If Izzy's death had in any way influenced or finalized Ed and Stede's retirement plans, put them on the same page, and consolidated Ed's wavering character development I would have considered the plot well served by Izzy's death. It also has the advantage that this is the form of the trope that is best adapted to a romantic comedy where the mentor’s death makes the protagonist to understand the value of life and the regret of lost chances and pushes the protagonist to pursue their love. 

  As it stands however we have no indication that this is in any way true in the show. And sadly so because I feel it would have worked so much better with Izzy’s role as Stede’s mentor. 

6. Villain Mentor- As much as I thing this would be rather loved among some fans, this stands in opposition to the entire arc of the season. But more than that, death of the evil mentor works for me only when the harm caused by the mentor is 1) to a society at large and 2) of a greater magnitude than the protagonist. Ed does not stand as a moral better than Izzy. If anything they are emotionally contradictory and not ideologically. Even then, perhaps this trope maybe could have been stretched to apply in Episode 1 but not anytime later. But honorary mention for that.

7. End of an era/Passing of the old guard- 

As I understand this to be the most commonly accepted trope in play in OMFD, supported by Jenkin’s comments, I wanted to break down the application and expectations from this trope.

The episode attempts to elevate Izzy to this symbolic role by having Ricky describe Izzy as the “Brains behind Blackbeard,” a notion utterly laughable for anyone who remembers season 1. The fact that Izzy does not in fact laugh Ricky out of the room is the first point of dissonance in the episode. The second reinforcement of this elevation is by placing Izzy as the half of Blackbeard that is still active as opposed to Ed’s half of dormant Blackbeard. 

In this trope, the mentor’s death can be either a catalyst or a signifier of a larger social change. In OMFD this larger change, we are told is meant to be the passing of the old age of piracy- the culture of abuse. But it is also the passing of the golden age of piracy and the looming threat of the empire. For Izzy’s death to be a signifier of this, Izzy needs to be more than Firstmate Hand and become the the symbolic representative of piracy of both the culture of abuse and this glorified golden age. and already the cracks are showing.

There is a major problem with the use of this. Jenkins mentions death of the mentor at the end of th second act as the trope he was mimicking. But this version of the trope is better applied in the third act, often after the resolution of the crisis for emotional closure and a short hand for the future fate of the characters. That is the only place it can exist.

To exists at the end of the Second Act, the death of the mentor has to impact the character and thus the direction of the story in a significant way and a romanticized farewell to a passing age does not do that.

HOW DOES THE TROPE FIT IZZY?

I am stepping away from the larger role of Izzy as the representative of the old guard (in both its roles) as a part of Blackbeard to explore the implications of Izzy being part of Blackbeard, 

Izzy as half of Blackbeard always made sense for me in that I saw Izzy as the brute execution of Blackbeard’s plans. However, by canonizing this relationship, the narrative runs into the problem that it casts Izzy’s actions in season 1 in a much more sympathetic light. He is suddenly not the angry jealous second in command trying to separate the lovebirds but a man desperately trying to hold on to his life’s work because that is all he has. The narrative then tries to counter this by *telling* us that Izzy regrets “feeding Blackbeard’s darkness for years even after he knew Ed outgrew it.” At this point, not jumping to either extreme (of Izzy love and hate)  we can draw couple of conclusions. 

The darkness was not something Izzy introduced to Ed. 

Izzy fed the darkness and encouraged it because that was the only way he could have something that was them.  “Blackbeard was us”. Even in this apology, there is something heartbreakingly lonely about this confession. (Con O’Neill is magic and deserves all the awards on the planet). 

He regrets it now.  

We leave the scene with Izzy permitting Ed to be “Just Ed.” 

Here Izzy’s role as the supposed mentor reaches its conclusion, resolving the ideological  (or emotional in this case ) conflict with the protagonist by surrendering to his better ways. Except when we pull back to look at the entire season we realize that this ideological conflict is a few episodes out of date. We know that by Episode 7 they have reached a resolution if not catharsis and as many others have pointed out, they had reached a place where that catharsis was possible without the dramatic catalyst of death. Again, death as the only place this conversation could happen would have worked for E3 Izzy at best but not any time after. One death and rebirth each later they are not the same people anymore.

Secondly, this dramatic catharsis has no impact on our protagonist Ed. As I mentioned before this is not the trope of the mentor’s death pushing the protagonist to pursue his love. He is already on route to getting the love and life that he wants and Izzy’s death, his “permission” even the supposed catharsis has no discernable impact on it. (If there is any, we are yet to see the signs of it.) 

On the other hand, here Izzy, in his other role as the old guard has passed, allowing for the emergency of the new age of piracy. Except, stepping back again, to the larger reality, we know that it is not true. There is no new age of piracy to herald. There is no better pirate society emerging yet. Izzy’s Ideal of Piracy, which he so passionately advocated for, which was the beginning of elevating his character simply does not exist beyond the Revenge. For the simple reason that if it already did, there would be no reason for a new type of piracy in the first place.

We are again running into the old problem that Izzy is playing two roles, contradicting each other in two different scenes where one scene is meant to add to the allegorical understanding of the other. Is he the passionate defender of the new piracy or the stubborn remnant of the old? In trying to give Izzy both the glorifying speech of the martyr and make him the representative of the toxic old guard, in attempting to elevate him from an individual to a figurehead, Izzy’s role becomes too large to be contained by one character and starts to crumble.

On a larger scale I idea of an old piracy vs a new piracy simply doesn't work because the Revenge is just one ship. In spite of Stede’s newfound fame, he does not hold the kind of influence to change the shape of piracy, and Blackbeard, according to the story is dead and simply unable to effect any change. Without taking up the mantle of Blackbeard Ed has even lesser influence than Stede. Stede’s brand of softer piracy is uniquely ill-suited to survive the ruthlessness of the Empire looming large on the horizon. One can hope that these are issues that will be addressed in the third season if we ever have one. But at this point the allegory is incomplete and the catharsis we are meant to feel is dependent on a future we may never see. 

 And once consider the whole season, Izzy as the representation of Blackbeard itself starts to loose strength. Everything Izzy has grown to become, all the ways he has been embraced by and has embraced the ethos of the show and the spirit of the Revenge, simply outweighs his half of Blackbeard in the past. To refuse to acknowledge this change is to say that he never had a hope of being a better person because no matter who he became, the weight of who he was will always tilt the balance against him. The grace extended to Ed by Stede’s love, to discover who he could be, is denied to Izzy in the last moments. Ed can shed Blackbeard with Izzy's blessings but no one lets Izzy do the same.

OFMD’s strength has always been its personal narratives, of growth, of healing, of kindness. In trying to expand the scale of the show in the last episode of the season it has chosen to sacrifice one of the most dramatic triumphs of its ethos to ask us to slide back to view Izzy only by his past in order to turn him into the allegorical stand in- a strawman of a the toxic culture he had left far behind by this point. 

[torchickentacos]

cmon cmon, talk shit harder, which youtuber was it, what did they do

JKHGKJDFNGKJDFGN okay so I won't say which youtuber because it's a fairly small one relative to the rest of commentarytube but I AM willing to give into rage a little bit. Context- I'd made a post saying that it bugs me that youtubers don't always research topics well before giving commentary on them, my example being cosmetic dentistry (which is an industry that has been under a lot of fire lately- the beauty industry and cosmetic procedure industry as a whole). My issue is with the way that youtubers spread misinformation and fearmongering about these topics and procedures for the sake of 'fuck beauty standards! look at me go! fuck the system! wooo!' rather than taking a realistic approach to these conversations.

I have strong feelings on this topic! I have Ehlers Danlos syndrome (I promise this is leading somewhere). Certain types of EDS have dental implications and complications, and I've struggled with them. I had braces in high school and despite following the care instructions by the letter, I ended up with significant and visible enamel decay around the brackets likely due to enamel hypoplasia (underdevelopment). I opted for a crown on the worst of them and veneers on a few others to cover the damage and as an extra layer of protection (though it's worth noting that veneers are largely cosmetic).

As such, when I see several videos being made with people going 'look what they do to your beautiful natural teeth for veneers :(' (before then showing the procedure for crowns or even implants and then speaking negatively about those who give and receive these procedures), I... have opinions!

It begs the question to me- was my choice a bad one because I played into a predatory cosmetic industry while also dealing with a genuine health complication? At what point are elective cosmetic procedures morally okay? What justifies them? Am I a victim of societal beauty standards or someone who made a good choice for herself? Both? I am genuinely happy with my decision. I haven't regretted it for a second. I've smiled more in the last few years than I have since I was a kid. But am I part of the problem like some people seem to imply?

I'm going to partake in some what-aboutism but I truly feel that it's relevant. What about other elective procedures? They're all exercises of personal autonomy. Are only some of those okay? The person who survived breast cancer doesn't need breast reconstruction on a physical level. Is it still justified? We've seen tons of people arguing about gender reaffirming/reconstructive surgeries even though they save lives. At what point do cosmetic procedures fall under that umbrella? What is and is not okay? What autonomy is and is not frowned upon?

My stance is that the cosmetic surgery industry is predatory and needs better regulation, but ultimately it's a person's choice. Sometimes that choice is influenced by outside factors when it shouldn't be but that's something that people need to take into account for themselves before deciding rather than a reason to make them illegal as I've seen some people put forth as an option. This is a precarious time to be messing with 'which elective procedures are okay and which aren't and which should be legal'. I personally would rather err on the side of personal autonomy in every situation possible.

I believe in a person’s right to cosmetic surgery as an extension of my belief in personal autonomy. I believe in viewing cosmetic surgery as a morally neutral decision. The industry is predatory but I think it also has the capacity to greatly improve lives. I think many things can be true at once and I think that the recent wave of commentary on the industry lacks nuance.

Caveats for if this gains any traction: I did not say that I think everyone should adhere to beauty standards. I did not say that I think the industry is great, actually. I did not say that people should uncritically accept the ideals that are marketed toward them. I did not say that elective surgeries are vital to happiness or presentation of any sort. None of what I said exists in a vacuum and there are infinite complications to my opinions and there are situations in which I might double back on myself, but this is just a general opinion.

[roydeezed]

Some thoughts about D&D: Honor Among Thieves

So I was watching the dnd movie and to avoid spoilers, cause it was a damn good film, I've got some thoughts below the cut:

I'd been looking forward to this ever since I heard this director duo behind Game Night would be directing this. If you haven't watched Game Night by the way, go watch it, it's imo one of the best comedy movies of the past few years.

But there's a lot to talk about with this movie. Especially the directors style being more in service to the movie than it is in service to them. They have the chops to do auteur-esque films where each movie has their distinct thumbprint on it but they choose not to. In Game Night they used tilt shift lenses to simulate the look of game pieces on a board and in this they use the structure of a heist movie to simulate an actual dnd game, where most parties put a lot of time into the plan. And the flowy camera work does it's best to keep the same rhythm. The practical effects used in this film were also quite amazing, and their marriage with the CG worked great.

But since I am a story typa person, I want to talk about the story itself. Or more like, break down what I believe the core theme to be.

And it all comes down to Forge and Ed. And the title of the film in a weird way. Ed and Forge aren't necessarily bad guys to start off with and up to a certain point they make the same type of decisions. They steal and lie and to a point betray, though Forge's crimes are of a larger magnitude. Ed stole the Red Wizard's gold and lied to the rest of the group about Simon's confidence about the helm and betrayed their trust in the process.

What separates the two and what scene really highlights the difference is where after capturing and sending Ed and Holga away the first time, Forge sits Kira down and talks to her, lying to her about how her father abandoned her. He tells her "The fact that you see good in me makes me believe there might just be some in me." It's an honest sentiment but it's tainted by the fact that just minutes earlier he admitted to lying to Kira and enjoying being a father because he could have her look up to him and let him shape her in his own image.

Contrast that with Edgin. He had lied for a long time. And even lied in securing Doric's help when getting the helm. But there's two key differences in why Edgin makes the right decisions while Forge loses everything. The first being that Edgin has peers that can set him on the right path while Forge only has someone who looks up to him and listens to his every word. And that difference being friendship gets to the heart of dnd so well. Despite what the edgelord in your group may have you thinking, DND is about collaboration and more importantly, friendship. To Ed, his friends are a lens for him to see himself through and be better.

But that's not all. In a story about lies and thievery, what it all comes down to is honesty. Because at the end of it all, Edgin makes two decisions directly influenced by his daughter. He turns the boat around and saves Holga because of his daughter. A daughter that was also there for Forge. So why did she not set him straight?

It's because at every crucial turn Forge lied to her, whereas in every crucial turn, Ed tells the truth. He admits his lies about Simon and his weakness and his thieving ways to the group and he tells his daughter that he made a mistake. And it's through these admissions, this honesty, that his friends and his daughter are able to see him for who he is, and thus depend on him for who he is.

In a weird way, with Honour and Honesty being related etymologically makes so much sense as it is also one of the core themes of the films alongside friendship.

[alchemicaldesignquery]

Playing the Hero vs Playing the Role

Something I've noticed in the stretch of conversations that pop up around 6v6 / 5v5 (Overwatch 1 vs. Overwatch 2) is the specific way folks (don't) talk about Tank.

Those players who enjoy(ed) it can get dismissed by large portions of the playerbase, because at some point it was decided that

No one wants to play the role

and you'd be forgiven for believing that? Because Queue times are almost always brought up. They were touted (developer's said as much) as the reason for why the game shifted to a 5v5 format for the sequel. Which...also kinda explains why the design and balance decisions feel a lot like throwing wet paper at a wall to see what sticks. Experimentation and all.

I'd argue though, that Tank, unlike the other Roles in the game, has not had very good decisions made at the design level. I would even go as far as to say, that, after the original cast, there has not been a well designed Tank released into either the original Overwatch 1 or Overwatch 2.

Which isn't to say the heroes released who happen to be Tanks are all bad? But there's a firm demarcation between-

A well designed Hero; engaging, fun, interactive and encouraging of any player willing to give them a try.

and

A well designed Tank: a Role/Job within the game with a certain responsibilities that caters to specific players with particular wants.

There's evidence of this demarcation found in other Roles. The Support Role, for instance, has seen a drastic uptick in "DPS"centric heroes throughout the last few years of Overwatch.

Illari, Kiriko, and, Baptiste all saw very swiftly delivered, widely useful, and borderline, automated mechanics introduced with their kits that performed their Support duties for them, while their Damage outputs and options became the core elements of engagement and interaction.

The devs have gone on to suggest this was done to entice more DPS players into the Role and Supports, for the last year, did enjoy a very promising and popular (read: broken) status.

The question of whether this is a good philosophy, let alone a fair one, is another discussion.

The argument I'd make is that these might be well designed Heroes? But the veracity of them being well designed Supports, is pretty loose and unstable.

Switching over to the Tank Role, the demarcation becomes even more stark; Tanks with heavy DPS influence (Mauga, Junkerqueen, Rammattra, Roadhog) tend to deliver a minimal Tank experience in favour of an oversimplified

Lots of Health + Sustain with unique Damage applications.

which, again, brings up the value of the design and how it heavily leans toward the Hero aspect while leaving the Role, largely unconsidered, if not outright minimized.

And this goes back further than the newer releases/re-works, into Overwatch 1. Of all the Tanks that have been released, after the original cast, how many can actually be considered well designed?

Sigma's kit remains a bloated 'omni-answer' with no weaknesses and little variability.

Orisa's kit went from a delay-bot with little agency, to a "Press 1-button every 5s" playstyle between the two games.

Doomfist's Tank expression oscillates between delivering every known type of CC available in such short intervals that few options exist for responding

to

Interrupting his interesting movement for a poorly disguised "window of opportunity" that sees him standstill and let the enemy waste time/resources on a ridiculous damage reduction %, that neither side can garner any satisfaction from.

Zarya's bubbles are now unlocked and, most often, executed purely on a selfish level, especially when combined with the singular Tank format that demands maximum survival when playing the front line. A minimal change of her design that has drastically increased the pendulum of her gameplay, swinging from extreme to extreme depending on the numbers.

Only Wrecking Ball, seems to provide a semblance of unique Tank Design that demands particular skillsets and learning, but even then, how much of that is the Uniqueness of the Hero and how much is that he is an effective Tank?

The argument that Tank is an unpopular role has been carried around from original to sequel for quite some time and is a very well-recognized refrain within the community.

Where it comes into deep question, is just how the design has gone from Winstons, Dvas, Reinhardts, and (old) Zaryas to a dumbed down philosophy on what makes a Tank and what sort of interest there is to be found with designs that are only really just...more health, more damage, and less thought?

And many of the older designs have become not just outdated, but difficult to execute against newer models who carry all their power in their stats and high-value, minimal execution mechanics.

Who wants to play a Role that hasn't had any creativity since the Devs thought about putting a Hamster in a Ball, into the game?

[asha-mage]

When the Day Met the Night [Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney]

I don’t know that much about Ace Attorney but I gotta go for the Panic! At The Disco ref

[Send me in an Ask with one my WIP titles from this post, and I'll post a snippet of it and tell you a bit about it!]

Ah yes! My fake-relationship/co parenting/family drama au! One of my old favorite ideas for AA4, and one I'll probably return to when I get started replaying the game (just as soon as the FE brain rot abates a tiny bit)-

[CW for inaccurate sex ed information? A character believes that being on T acts a kind of contraceptive in this snippet, even though that is in no way true, though it is a common misconception]

[Also like, spoilers for Ace Attorney 4, for anyone that cares about that sort of thing.]

            When he gets back to his shitty one bedroom apartment and vomits immediately into the toilet, he puts it down to the stress of the day- the worst court debut in history. When he wakes up the next day, dizzy, a little feverish, and with a sore chest, he decides he caught something and is half way to calling into work when he remembers that his boss is currently being indicted for murder, so he just goes back to bed.             A week later, his period fails to start, which is weird because he’s always been stupidly regular. A fear takes root in the back of his mind, an irrational thought he refuses to give credence. A few days pass, still he dosen’t bleed.             He gets the tiny plastic stick from the drug store, telling himself it’s just for peace of mind. He’s been on testosterone shots since he got his job, the insurance he had gotten through Gavin and Co Law Offices leaving him with a only slightly outrageous co-pay to worry about, and even then he and Kristoph use condoms. Even if they hadn’t, everyone knows that T drastically diminishes the possibility of conception. The chances of a condom tearing even once and that once just happening to beat the odds to knock him up are astronomically low. Apollo’s unlucky, but no one is that unlucky.             He watches the ceiling, making himself wait for the timer on his phone to go off. When it does, he takes a deep breath, picks up the pregnancy test and sees the tiny pink plus sign that indicates that he is in fact, that unlucky.

Basically the premise is 'Klavier x Apollo fake relationship/co parenting AU'. Apollo had been in a relationship with Kristoph Gavin prior to the events of the game and discovers he is pregnant right after the first case. Knowing what a spectacularly bad idea it would be to tell Kristoph (and that Kristoph couldn't help anyways since he's you know, in jail awaiting a murder charges) Apollo decides to go it alone, and this influences his decision to join Wright and Co Law Offices despite being pissed at Phoenix for the events of 4-1.

Game unfolds as normal, with Apollo meeting Klavier Gavin, who shows a surprising amount of care and respect to Apollo after it comes out that he's pregnant (never acting like it's weird or treating him poorly even as the Judge and other law folks patronize him), but when the baby is eventually born it is impossible not to see the resemblance to Kristoph, and Klavier offers to help Apollo in whatever way he can, both because he likes Apollo and because he wants to take care of his nephew.

Apollo worried about his son (who is named Orestes, Ori for short, because I can't resist a good mythological reference) having to deal with the stigma of being a murderer's son, accepts Klavier's offer, and the two pass off Ori as Klavier's child, rather then his nephew. In order to shield him from the media attention bound to come with having a rock star's out-of-wed-lock baby, Klaiver insists Apollo and Ori move into his penthouse.

Apollo is determined that this arrangement, which he is only participating for Ori's sake (he 100% does not like Klavier Gavin That Way Thank You Very Much and also he does not enjoy the sight of Klavier shirtless just Out of the Shower, he swears), remain strictly platonic (which Klaiver is 100% cool with and not all bummed about he swears, it would be weird to want to date his brother's ex-protege/lover), but of course, the two have to put on a convincing charade lest the truth come out thanks to nosy journalists like Lotta, and play at being the domestic new family.

Romcom/domestic shenanigans ensue, eventually followed by more murder and family drama and Klavier having to wrestle with his feeling of inadequacy compared to Kristoph, and Apollo having to wrestle with his sense of Not Belonging since he was a foster kid from a foreign country and-

Well you get the idea.

[ginzburgjake]

Ghost AU (4/?)

Martin liked his job. He did.

Tim was a nice coworker, and Sasha a good boss. Elias was intimidating and often frustratingly unhelpful, but he rarely wandered down into the Archives. The pay was alright, the hours standard, the tasks mostly mundane with lots of perfectly boring filing involved. So yeah, Martin was pretty content in his current position and very unwilling to change it once again so soon. Looking back, most of his adult life’s decisions always had been heavily influenced by someone, something else outside of Martin’s control. For once, he could push back. The ghost could eat dirt.

Martin started his vengeance plan by locking all of his supplies in the top drawer of his desk (which was an option he failed to consider before the Hand Incident, to his eternal embarrassment). Out of pettiness, he filled his pen cup instead with exclusively non-working pens, empty markers and broken pencils, scattering a couple of jammed staplers and blunted scissors around for good measure. Maybe Martin couldn’t stop the ethereal thief, but he sure as hell could make it regret staying on this side of the veil.

He also began eating his lunch in the Archives, hoping to catch the stationery in the process of floating away. So far, Martin had been unsuccessful — either the ghost was too much of a coward to face the consequences of its actions, was simply ashamed, or had become better at going unnoticed. Which option he preferred, Martin couldn’t say.

The day after the Hand Incident, Tim brought in and installed a semi-professional camera, which he’d initially bought for his nature trips. The camera was positioned on one of the shelves, and its angle allowed decent coverage of the whole bullpen office — although Martin now had to be more conscious about his nail-biting and skin-picking. If the evidence ever made its way to the officials, he wouldn’t want them to examine a shot of himself with an arm elbow-deep up his nose.

Sasha hacked the database and dutifully printed anything she could find on the previous archival employees, whose photos and personal information she arranged on a big clipboard. She reasoned that if the ghost had manifested in Gertrude’s time, the old woman would’ve left notes on it somewhere in the mess that was the Archives. Gertrude’s assistants (all of whom went MIA) at least had the decency to check out the last day before their disappearance. It didn’t mean that they couldn’t have eventually ended up dead and tied to the Institute’s basement, but it significantly lowered their chances.

“Gertrude and her successor, Jonathan Sims, were both at their workplace before seemingly vanishing into thin air,” said Sasha on her fourth cup of coffee. “Which means they are our most likely candidates, and that’s not taking into account all the blood found in Gertrude’s office. If ghosts do indeed linger in places of violent crimes, then Gertrude is a good bet. Maybe she’s also the reason Sims disappeared.”

“Fantastic,” said Tim, twirling (and periodically dropping) a pencil in his hand. “Not only does this thing steal our stuff, but now we’re at the risk of being AWOL-ed.”

“At least we have each other,” Martin added. “Both Gertrude and Sims were alone, right? It’s easier for something to catch you if no-one comes to check on you, I think.”

“Yeah,” Sasha sighed. “I really don’t like this, but if there’s even a slight possibility of getting kidnapped by a malevolent spirit… I should probably tell Elias.”

Telling Elias, as Martin came to understand, was not as hard as getting him to actually believe them. The day after Sasha sent Elias a detailed explanation (with a brief recount of Martin’s statement and her own ideas on the topic), the whole archival team received a reply:

“I am terribly sorry for Martin’s, undoubtably very distressing, experience. In the best interests, I can advise a good counsellor and perhaps taking some time off work to promote stress management. Please see the files attached. Unfortunately, I am unable to offer any additional funding or satisfy transferring requests at this time. I trust your sensibility, Ms James, and hope that your noble intentions will not interfere with the voice of reason.

Best wishes,

Elias Bouchard.

P.S. Please inform Mr Stoker that crop tops are not workplace appropriate. Thank you.”

Tim looked down at his yellow crop top saying ‘Don’t study me. You won’t graduate’. “Shit. Must’ve seen me entering the building.”

“He’s convinced I just had a nervous breakdown and want out,” Martin lamented.

“We need more evidence.” Sasha frowned. She glanced at the clipboard, where two photos were positioned at the centre: one of an old woman, with her grey hair up in a bun and a cold, stoic expression on her face; one of a bespectacled man, seemingly in his thirties, with short black hair and tired eyes. “Let’s hope we can catch the ghost moving on camera.”

Martin looked at the photos as well. Both of them held short descriptions scribbled on post-it notes. Gertrude Robinson, former archivist; reported missing May 15th 2015. Jonathan Sims, former archivist; reported missing January 9th 2016.

Tim said earlier that he’d met Sims once or twice in Research. They’d never properly talked, and the whole time there Sims had been withdrawn and brusque, uncomfortable with other people. He and Gertrude were apparently somewhat similar in that regard: both independent and uncaring, almost existing in a vacuum. Strangely, though, as Martin looked at Jonathan’s last taken photo (cropped from his work ID, with his Facebook having been inactive for three years), he didn’t see the face of an uncaring man.

Maybe it was just Martin’s imagination playing tricks (because, well, Jonathan was attractive, and Martin was very, very gay), but he thought Sasha’s predecessor, with his lip corners pulled down and an unfocused gaze, simply seemed rather sad. And lonely.

< part 3