#and a bathtub scene in s2

[iwillstabyou]

Ok I want to say something about episode 10 and Stede’s ‘selfishness’ (and why Stede left - spoiler alert: it’s trauma). I put selfishness in quotes because I completely understand how and why he is interpreted that way, but I don’t think that selfish is quite the right way to describe it in this instance: I’m not saying that Stede isn’t selfish at all, I just don’t think it’s an accurate explanation of his actions in the moment.

Stede has been taught by years and years of bad experience that he is the problem. He doesn’t fit in with the other pirates, which is expected because of the class divide/his privilege. But he also doesn’t fit in at all with his own class either. As a kid, he was relentlessly bullied for being different. All we ever hear from his father is criticism. He never fits in with his family(pre-running away): in the dinner table scene, his only comment is immediately met with an awkward silence before they move on, completely ignoring him (this scene hit hard because I’ve had people react that way to me way too often and it fucking hurts). Stede also says in ep 5 “I was never really good at these things,” when talking about the party - the typical way of interaction for his class, and it is VERY clear throughout that episode that he is not ‘one of them’ by the way he is treated by them. There is not a single time in his old life where he is accepted for who he is.

Now let me tell you from experience, years and years of being lonely and unwanted, never fitting in, no matter how hard you try, does not do good things to your mental state. I feel like this especially applies to autistic people (and I definitely read Stede as autistic btw), as often it’s not even like we can change anything and magically be liked. You learn that YOU are the problem, it’s always YOUR fault. This, my friends, leads to a shit ton of crippling self hate.

So really, it’s no wonder that what Chauncey says really gets to him. His view of himself is so skewed by his past trauma that he cannot see himself as anything other than the monster Chauncey makes him out to be. Stede absolutely loves Ed. He cares about him so much, and wants Ed to be happy, so he does what he thinks is right - he leaves. He thinks so terribly of himself that he is convinced that his mere existence is ruining Ed’s life. Therefore, he thinks that the only way to ensure Ed’s happiness is if he is not there. (It’s heartbreaking to be honest. This poor man needs a hug so bad)

Stede leaves because he genuinely believes that Ed is better off without him. This was not a selfish decision: Stede isn’t putting himself above Ed, it’s actually the other way around. We know that Stede doesn’t want to return to his old life. He was utterly miserable all the time and he was so lonely. The only time that he is truly accepted by others without judgement is once he’s met Ed. Why would he want to give that up, especially after a lifetime of bullying? He doesn’t. But because he cares so much about Ed’s happiness, he does what he is convinced is the best thing - he leaves. The issue isn’t that he doesn’t care about Ed’s needs, it’s that he cares, but he’s so traumatised that he is wrong about what those needs are.

[lingeringscars]

Shaunanat coming second in a shauna rarepair poll those are my people

[hargitays]

potential spoilers for s2 of HOTD (leaks)

after a day of thinking about it, i'm actually okay with a potential alicole sex scene. i just really am not looking forward to memes making fun of alicent ("she just needed an orgasm"), calling her a hypocrite, etc.

i honestly think this major change alicent has gone through of having a lot of power politically as the queen to now just being the dowager queen could make her go through an identity crisis. she's just the king's mother now. she worked so hard for this, and it sucks. she's (in her head) done everything by the books, she's morally just, she's devoted her life to serving the king & the realm, she's done her duty, and now there's going to be war.

even if you headcanon alicent as a lesbian, she does not know that about herself. and, even if she did, she wouldn't believe it or do anything about it. she has always been sexually repressed because from what we have seen, she has NEVER had a consensual sexual relationship with someone in her entire life. if she wants to experiment sexually in search of identity, i honestly think that is a good and interesting direction for her character this season. and maybe it will even help the general audience like her more, since she's choosing for herself liberation sexually (but this is just wishful thinking). the main complaint about alicent last season was just a lack of autonomy and perpetual victimhood. while i disagree with that, i feel like this entire arc might help her find herself more & gain some autonomy back. but i just don't really see why she'd be experimenting sexually in the midst of all this turmoil unfolding.

major actual spoilers:

fabien said in a recent interview that criston feels very guilty because he was with alicent (in her chambers, i'm assuming) DURING BLOOD & CHEESE 😭. i really hope i'm misunderstanding but it sounds pretty clear in the video that that is what happens. so maybe the one time that alicent decides to have sex upon her own volition her grandchildren and daughter are attacked and one is murdered??? i just know now that is why she seems so depressed and guilty in every clip we've seen so far. probably why she tries to drown herself in the bathtub. both her and criston are just going to be completely guilt ridden and i guess i don't know how to feel about it until we really see it, i just hope the writing is good. that's all that i need to be on board. i need the sex scene to make sense, time & place, and i hope there is some buildup prior to it etc.

[luneemeritus]

So a lot of antis who claim that Stolas is a coercive rapist point to his appearance in S1 EP1: Murder Family because according to them Blitz accepted the arrangement while he’s being shot at, by comparison Stolas is chilling in his bathtub making him not properly consent to the deal. Do you have any rebuttals to these claims? Also let’s also mention the fact that Stolas was spying on him with a bubble. I just want good answers that point to Stolas not being a bad person because I want to root for him and Blitz being together.

The thing is, Blitz was already using Stolas's grimoire way before the deal was proposed. Stolas never demanded anything, he proposed the deal and asked for Blitz's consent. The way they are in different scenarios don't symbolize rape or coercion, the 'power imbalance' in their relationship is not there to make Stolas a coercive monster because he isn't. The Full Moon is literally sex work, not coercion, not rape, not prison, it's a sex deal where *both* benefit. Stolas needs the book, the book belongs to HIM, Blitz was the one who started their relationship with sex in order to get the book (this is shown in the pilot! Not only in S2-EP1!), Stolas only continued it.

The grimoire is *not* only Blitz's only way to access Earth. It's, supposedly, the easiest. Supposedly because we clearly see other low-class beings having access to Earth without stealing from some Goetia. Blitz is smart and capable enough to find a new way to go to Earth.

The fact that antis can only use this scene as a "prove" that Stolas is a rapist just prove how they didn't understand anything from the show (or they are ignoring it on purpose). Literally the next episode from the same season, Blitz denies having sex with Stolas. S1-EP2, "find some else's face to plant that feathered ass". Blitz has agency, Blitz consents, and he denies fucking Stolas. In "Harvest Moon Festival", Blitz says that the deal was not something he fussed about. He talks about his deal with Stolas with his friends as a transactional fucking (cause this is what it is), he denies sex with Stolas in "Ozzie's", and we can also see Stolas' messages in "Western Energy' saying that nothing was ever forced between them. Stolas never took the grimoire away from Blitz even after months being rejected. What lacked in their relationship was communication, not consent.

And I'm not even counting everything about "The Full Moon" episode. Blitz literally sings about how much he enjoys sex with Stolas, spends the whole day buying things to use on Stolas, begged for Stolas to *keep* the deal, said multiple times about how much the deal is something he enjoyed and wanted to keep, and told Loona and M&M about how Stolas never forced anything on him which lead to months without intimacy between them. Where is the coercion??? Simply, it's not there.

Once Stolas starts realizing that the world isn't a fantasy and the power imbalance between him and Blitz means that his class is deeply unpriviledged, he immediately finds an alternative way for Blitz to access Earth. He was feeling guilty for any possible 'abuse' he could've done (which didn't happen). The point is: antis can't see either Blitz's agency nor Stolas's intentions. They just care about their own paralel version of the show that never existed.

I'm sorry that antis affected the way you interact with the show. No one should feel guilty or ashamed for having fun and consuming media they enjoy, specially when the "critiques" are all based in lack of attention, lies and bad faith. But don't worry, Stolas is not a rapist, he is well meaning despite his flaws and you can cheer for Stolitz. We all know it's endgame.

Edit: also, Stolas spying on Blitz has nothing to do with antis's allegation. Yes he was spying on Blitz, he is a lonely fucked up man with nothing better to do lol Blitz also spies on M&M in a way worse level. Is that rape? Of course not.

[ladyluscinia]

My hottest take from trying to delve into David Jenkins's interviews and piece together where he's going with this is that - for all he and everyone else are consistent about describing this show as a romance and a romcom (and The Muppets) - I don't think he finds the romance compelling??? At least, not the healthy endgame version.

Like, the one interview where he dropped that he was planning an unrequited romance in all those pitches of his until they shot the bathtub scene in 1x06...? Wild twist, but also it kind of makes sense.

Look at the comparisons he makes. Titanic (where Jack dies). Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (where both leads die). Shows like Insecure and Grey's Anatomy, where relationships get messy breakups constantly. He's excited about fanvids set to Olivia Rodrigo's "Favorite Crime". Writes an episode based on Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, a 1966 film of a play that attacks the concept of happy marriages. He mentions A Star Is Born repeatedly in reference to S2, a movie where the disaster marriage ends in suicide and heartbreak.

And even broad spectrum - he repeatedly explains that he's not compelled by pirate stories. Accuses the genre of being "creaky" and "hard to budge", and then claims to want to subvert it in one interview and shrugs about how "it's a pirate story" as reasoning in others. But the part he seems interested in...? Well it's the oncoming end of the Golden Age aspect, and also maybe the short and violent life of organized crime. He's drawing comparisons to mob movies and Westerns - two things I think we can say trend toward the bittersweet to tragic scale with endings. His examples certainly do.

I'm no longer surprised he was really compelled by the Edward and Izzy toxic divorce in S1 and the idea of doing an arc about "Can Izzy find himself outside of this toxic relationship?" only to answer "No." It seems right in his wheelhouse, tbh. Definitely enough that if he felt like Izzy ought to die due to vibes, I doubt he was looking too hard for an alternative.

For all his talk about "Can BlackBonnet put the work into this relationship?" I'm really getting the impression he thinks the more compelling answer is also "No." He likes the idea of a happy ending maybe, but he doesn't really seem into that as a story.

Now, he does seem to have gotten a crash course in "Maybe don't bury your gays?" and he's not lying about wanting to avoid the specific kinds of coming out and queer trauma stories - those are different kinds of tragedies - but I am... skeptical, perhaps, that the forced happy ending feeling of S2 will do anything but repeat in S3.

Just because, like, if I was scrolling these takes on a fic author's blog, I'd put majority odds on the main couple hanging in the final chapter, and I bet a happy sunset ending would come kinda out of nowhere...

Not really a recipe for satisfying, you know?

[bemusedlybespectacled]

Minor tangent but I have seen a specific criticism of OFMD multiple times that's along the lines of "the problem was the first three episodes being too dark and gritty instead of being our fluffy kind gay show."

And I strongly disagree with that criticism.

Like, Season 1 already had its dark and gritty moments. It was never 100% fluffy. Everything Ed does at the end of 1x10 (throwing Lucius overboard, cutting off Izzy's toe, marooning the crew, and kidnapping Jim and Frenchie) is the most obvious example, but there are others: Stede's experiences as a child, Ed's abusive father, Jim's family's murder. All of them are shown to still be affected years later in a way that impacts how they interact with other people, which is why it's emotionally satisfying when they find love despite it.

Addressing the events of the S1 finale in the first couple of episodes of S2 was vital. It solidifies just how devastated Ed is and how that devastation has affected everyone else, both negatively and positively, for a given value of "positive" (the Kraken crew is clearly closer as a result of their shared trauma). The scenes showing how being part of Stede's crew changed them for the better (talking to and hugging Izzy, Jim telling Fang the wooden boy story with the voices, etc.) were absolutely necessary and arguably the strongest parts of the show, and I don't think we would have had that if the stakes weren't so high. "Ed is a bit mopey sometimes, but it's not that bad!" just doesn't have the same oomph.

Had they pulled a Last Jedi and started 2x01 by throwing away all that build up from 1x10 and making a joke about it, it would have been a poorer show. The times when darker things were treated as a joke (Lucius' experience after being thrown overboard), flat-out ignored (Stede's fairly obvious anxiety disorder), or blown past because of time constraints (Ed getting voted off the ship and then reinstated as part of the crew within a day) were when the show was weakest.

The problem, of course, is that once you've acknowledged that impact, you need to keep acknowledging it. It needs to continue having an impact. And you can't do that if you don't have the time to explore it because you need to skip ahead to the part where everything's fine now.

I'm not saying that they needed to fully shift gears and stop being a comedy entirely. I think S1 threaded the needle pretty well in terms of balancing the conflict with humor. Like, Ed has a breakdown in the bathtub over murdering his father and what a horrible person he is and his plan to kill Stede, and none of that is a joke; the joke is when Stede checks to make sure Ed isn't going to kill him. The sad stuff can be taken seriously and we can still have humor to break the tension! We can do it! We have the technology!

But you can't have a serious thing happen for the sake of growth and then hand wave it away later when it's inconvenient. And you definitely can't introduce ways to break that tension (surprise, Stede is alive because he used This One Weird Trick!) and then not use it when it's inconvenient (surprise, Izzy is alive because he– oh, wait, no, he's dying for realsies).

The issue wasn't the show having dark and gritty bits at all. The issue was the lack of time for those dark and gritty bits to do their fucking job: being a catalyst for personal and relationship growth in a way that actually matters to and affects the story.

[markantonys]

My Mom Reacts To: wheel of time season 2 episodes 1-4 (season 1)

episode 1

"if i had to carry water all that way for a bath, i'd get a smaller bathtub" you know what? that is a very fair point. just get a smaller tub, moiraine!

mom, #1 Lan Stan: so, he doesn't have any powers, right? except cunning and strength and loyalty of course me: of course

mom: so liandrin wants nynaeve to become red because she........doesn't want her to have a warder? me doing a great aes sedai truth-telling: nynaeve is really powerful so liandrin wants to recruit her for her own team

my dad predicted moiraine was scamming bayle domon and loved it when it was revealed that she was. as always, not too much commentary from him because he remains silent and seems to not be paying attention for most of the time, only to randomly come out with a completely correct prediction or read on a scene.

"i don't think it's true that neat and tidy things can't be worthwhile 🙄" clearly my mom subscribes more to the Egwene School Of Thought than to the Alanna School Of Thought

lan to moiraine after she is Mean to him: make dinner yourself mom: GOOD FOR YOU

when lan brings her the plate later and puts it on top of the maps: "what if he gets greasy food all over her maps?"

"ugh i hate dark scenes where i can't see anything" [scary fade appears] "okay maybe it's good that i can't see"

episode 2

my mom got all confused about rand's dream of him killing his friends and wondered at first if it was real, please pray for her when tel'aran'rhiod is introduced later

"HE'S BALD??????" all of us when we first saw s2 rand's new look djkfgjh

"they must like him here if he gets free food" my boy, beloved wherever he goes :')

she wasn't particularly fond of mat last season, but he's gotten quite a few laughs so far this season! (notably the moment when we ALL fell in love with New Mat, when he was miming liandrin locking the door)

she gave an annoyed TUH! at elayne dissing egwene's room, but didn't comment further, possibly because i'd just told her 20 seconds earlier that elayne was my favorite character and she didn't want to offend me jdkfgh

she was like "wait, is she blue or green???" during a scene where alanna was wearing a slightly-darker-than-normal green outfit, so i think it was definitely a good call by the show to dress aes sedai in their ajah colors always. hard to keep track otherwise!

after moiraine had her hand on her knife when verin revealed she knew about the dragon: "what was she gonna do?? just stab her right in front of all the others??? that's ridiculous!" djkfjg points were made! poor moiraine just kinda panicked and lost all her braincells for a moment there.

my mom was a randgwene shipper last season so i thought she was gonna be pissed about rand hooking up with a strange new woman whilst egwene mourns his death, but she has not said a single word about that situation yet! i did once catch her reading lanfear's wiki article which she'd gotten onto after reading lan's because "i just want to know what happens to him and i'm not going to read all those books" so maybe she retained some info from lanfear's article that made her suspect something fishy with selene?

she recognized min from s1 right away and hastened to add her to her handwritten character list, when other characters needed a couple scenes to get that honor, and i remember she laughed a lot at min's lines last season and she did again today. guys, if my mom becomes a min stan, i may never recover lmao (i'm mostly kidding, show!min has done nothing wrong and is cool. MOSTLY kidding.)

re: the list, i told her she wasn't allowed to google and print out a list of characters because she would see spoilers, only to accidentally spoil her myself last season by instinctively writing liandrin's name down in the "bad guys" column and making her ask "wait, so she's ACTUALLY a villain, not just mean??", rip (but i played it off as "oh she's just unfriendly to moiraine so that's why i put her there" so we shall see whether or not she ends up being surprised by the black ajah reveal)

when min was saying how she sees glimpses of the pattern, my mom made a connection to perrin seeing the past earlier, which i thought was very interesting! (since we hadn't yet learned that what he saw was actually a sending from the wolves.) min's viewings and wolfbrothers are the two major magical powers that have nothing to do with the one power, and it always minorly bugged me that they don't Fit In to the rest of the magic system (despite my apparently-hypocritical mocking of people who get hung up on lore rules etc haha), so i just thought it was neat to think of them in conjunction with each other.

mom, shocked and dismayed: MAT'S GOING TO KILL RAND???????? me: [vibrating with glee over The Great Cauthor Stabbening]

when nynaeve is taken to the arches: "so is she getting a promotion?"

there was some line during the moiraine-lan divorce that got a big offended gasp from our #1 Lan Stan, but i forget which one it was (it wasn't "we were never equals" it was an earlier one)

my dad just laughed when they first showed suroth and her redonkulus getup jkjfg the correct reaction to the pomp and ceremony of seanchan high blood

episode 3

when the aes sedai were saying nynaeve was ready to take the test my mom was like "NO SHE ISN'T!!!!" and was pressed about them rushing her into it

during the bandit attack in the test: "boy, i wouldn't want to live in this world!"

when nynaeve left the tower my mom was like "is this what happens in the books?!" and i couldn't reveal yet that it was still part of the test so i just instinctively said "you'll see" which is my response to everything, and she was like "no i won't, i'm not reading all these books" lmao

my dad during the version of mashiara playing during the lanaeve reunion: why is "somewhere over the rainbow" playing

sheriam: she wasn't ready mom: THAT'S WHAT I SAID!!!!!!!!!!!

she was genuinely very upset for a moment because she thought nynaeve was dead, but i think she then guessed pretty quickly that It Ain't Over Yet

scene transition from nynaeve being left in the arches over to the seanchan: "we're going from bad to worse!"

i was dithering over uno's impending death because i didn't want to spoil them but i thought my mom might want a trigger warning, and thankfully my dad went "that horn looks like it's in a dangerous spot" when they first made uno kneel, so i was all clear to say "yeah this is about to get gory" lmao

my dad wondered if suroth was the dark one which fascinated me! i think everyday negroes had the same thought, iirc. i guess it IS the logical conclusion when you know that ishy is the dark one's right-hand man and in this scene we see him being suroth's right-hand man!

my mom thought elayne might be evil or a spy! how could she! i guess she isn't accustomed to wheel of time strangers just being friendly without an ulterior motive djkfg i didn't outright say her theory was wrong because i'm not about to be a booksplainer, but i'm sure i was so visibly baffled at the idea of elayne being evil that i shot down the theory nonetheless haha

when liandrin goes to visit mat again: "how does she have time for all this? she has her sick son, she has mat, and she has whatever else she does at the tower"

when liandrin blames mat for nynaeve's death: "this lady is CRAZY!!"

mat's "is that an 'i'm here to murder you' stare or a 'light i never realized how handsome you are' stare" line was a big hit! love to see my boy getting some appreciation in this house

...............which he promptly squandered when he a) initially left his cell without freeing min too, and b) did not go comfort egwene. but i pointed out that liandrin's been psychologically tormenting him for months into thinking his friends are better off without him, because i couldn't bear to see them judge my boy!

"it's like we're in 18th century france!" was the first thing out of my mom's mouth when they went to the cairhienin party, i'm sure the costume designers would be thrilled!

mom: how did this lady from the poor district get them into a fancy party? and how could she afford these clothes? 🤨 me: 🤷👀

when logain pours out the wine: "AFTER ALL RAND'S HARD WORK TO GET IT!!"

why did my dad laugh when the inn was on fire jdkfg maybe he just likes to see rand have a bad time

mom: jeez, maybe rand shouldn't stay in other people's houses anymore me: i'm sure rand's thinking the same thing

mom at the end of the test: it's so sad that they keep getting glimpses of the nice lives they could've had 😔

episode 4

mom 2 seconds before the camera reveals who the visitor is: is her little sister moiraine? [camera shows moiraine] mom: I GUESSED SOMETHING FOR ONCE

"it's pretty rude to show up to someone's house and then say 'i don't have time to hang out with you'!"

selene: the fire wasn't your fault rand mom: well it kinda was actually

there was some moment where my dad referred to "sneezing and burning down an inn, or whatever he did" and it killed me, i wish i could remember the context bc it was even funnier in context

"i speak with the amyrlin every time i open my mouth" was also a hit! as was perrin asking if he would turn into a wolf and elyas saying "don't be stupid"

mom when moiraine waltzes into the foregate dressed to the nines: i thought she wanted to keep a low profile

just earlier that day we'd been bemoaning the lack of pockets in women's clothing, as one does, so my mom was like "[delighted] now THAT'S a pocket!" when moiraine fit a whole-ass knife into the pocket of her fancy dress. WOT costumers understand the importance of giving girls pockets! lanfear's outfits have a lot too

my dad said "she seems like a bad guy" about selene during the mountaintop scene, he been knew! but he ended up falling asleep and missing the reveal that he was right

meanwhile, mom: "i'm just waiting for a monster to crawl up that cliff and get them"

when alanna & co go through lan's bags to get the poem: "aww, i thought they were his friends! 😔"

mom: too bad moiraine won't just ask her sister about rand, she talked to him at the party! anvaere: so if you want to know where that redheaded boy is, you'll have to ask me very nicely over tea mom: [just as smug as anvaere]

when ishy shows up at min's room: "how is he EVERYWHERE????"

she didn't seem TOO surprised when liandrin attacked the girls, and she clocked that liandrin was working for ishy after this scene with min (or rather, she asked me if that was the case and i said "you'll see")

she let out the fondest chuckle when rand was like "[choking back tears] i'm going to leave now, thank you" he is BABY YOUR HONOR!!!

as the Lanfear Reveal started my mom said "i just knew she was evil" so that must be why she was so silent on the relationship and so un-judgmental of rand, she must've clocked selene's Bad Vibes from the start! or else she retained something from reading lanfear's wiki article a while back lmao

even so, she went "OH MY GOSH!!!!" and clapped her hands over her mouth in shock when moiraine slit lanfear's throat, which i think is one of her biggest reactions to anything in either season so far! the initial stabbing, zero reaction, but the followup throat-slitting, freakout.

the "i'm a monster too" line + Undead Lanfear Moment has her CONVINCED that forsaken are some kind of creatures or zombies, i'm trying to explain they're just humans who are really powerful and evil haha

at the final shot of lanfear: "i'm going to have nightmares! i'll have to go read my murder mystery to calm down before bed." duality of woman

[thetardigrape]

Ed and Izzy are Backward

I've been thinking a lot about why S2 of OFMD isn't satisfying, and I think a major part of it is Ed and Izzy's arcs. In short, they're the reverse of what should have been.

Meta with spoilers under the cut.

Ed's deep fear is that he is unlovable. That he is a monster incapable of being loved. This isn't something we only learn in S2, it's set up halfway through S1 in the bathtub scene and then continually reinforced.

Izzy's deep issue is that he thinks there is only one way to succeed as a man/pirate: be scary. Be the scariest, meanest guy around. His issue is compounded by the big problem of him not being that.

Ed's abuse of the crew is a trauma response. It arises from his fear of being unlovable getting kicked into high gear by Stede leaving and then tipping right over into A Real Fucking Problem when Izzy threatens him.

Izzy's abuse of the crew is a character flaw. He sees himself as better than them, and treats the badly because he views that as the only Right Way to Be A Pirate/Man.

Yet Izzy is given unconditional love and acceptance by the crew without ever apologizing for his behavior, while Ed is made to degrade himself for their forgiveness. Ed is cast into the role of Problematic Community Member Who Doesn't Actually Apologize, even though it's not set up that he's treating his crew like shit because he thinks that's how the world works. Again, that person is Izzy.

And then Izzy on his deathbed tells Ed he has a family and the crew love him, even though we've seen absolutely no evidence of that all season. The crew exiled him, and seem to have let him back only conditionally and at Stede's behest. That's not love, that's grudging acceptance.

Imagine, instead, a season in which the crew recognize that something is really wrong with Ed, and reach out to him despite him treating them badly. Imagine him learning that he's lovable, not just by one person who broke his heart, but by an entire crew who care about him at his worst moments. Imagine Ed receiving the grace extended to Izzy, and being healed by it without needing everything good in his life to come from Stede.

Imagine Izzy realizing that the way he viewed the world isn't actually how it works. Imagine Kraken Ed actually being worse at piracy because he's too depressed to think or plan or care when things go wrong. Imagine Izzy's moment of clarity coming not because Ed was too scary but because Izzy learned that being a miserable angry cunt actually makes it difficult to be successful at anything. Imagine Izzy apologizing to Ed for treating him badly without having to die about it. Imagine that being a factor in Ed's healing, understanding that Izzy loves him even if he does it in a fucked up, broken way, and loving him back. Imagine Izzy realizing that Ed's softness is important to his success the same way Auntie realizes it about ZYS, and in so doing understanding why Ed needs Stede.

One character needed acceptance and compassion and the knowledge that he was loved, and one character needed to learn that other people's feelings matter and that forgiveness isn't given until you show you've changed. The show just fumbled which was which.

[astudyinchocolate]

TLOVM season 3 bingo!

I did this for tlovm s2 and it was a blast! (though I didn't get a bingo). I made it a little broader than last year, though I kept some things from last season's board. Cut the Vaxleth kiss because it's confirmed, so it felt like cheating.

My final result from last season is here. Image description below the cut.

[Image Description: fan-made bingo board for Vox Machina season 3. The free space in the center is "I should have told you- it's yours." Other options include "Do you spice?", Perc'ahlia kiss, Bard's Lament, Trinket gets a pink bow, Vaxleth high five, bathtub scene, Vax gets to take his armor off, Pike is referred to as a "monstah," Sandkheg, Hints of Vecna, Vax walk of shame from Keyleth's room, Vax puts Pike's hair in fun buns, Vex and Vax childhood flashbacks, Vex wears a pointed hat, "I hear the voice of my mother in the morning," Vax refers to Percy as "Freddie" or "Whitey," Kiki and Percy best friend content, Percy and/or Vex gets sick from riding Vex's broom, Deathwalker's Ward is canonically stinky, "Percy's killing you, not us," Grog wears a silly hat, Taryon Darrington, Kash and Zahra cameo, Mansion shenanigans. / end ID.]

[follows-the-bees]

I ended up writing a ton more OFMD meta posts than I thought. And for the sake of my own sanity, I made a master post of all of them.

Filmmaking Meta

How cinematography, blocking, and camerawork in S2 eps 6&7 show Ed's and Stede's emotions

Sound design in 2x3 MerStede scene

Full filmmaking breakdown of 2x3 MerStede scene

Scene that captures the thesis of the show

Filmmaking, camerawork, framing, in 2x1

Breakdown of love "confession" scene in 2x4

Progression of the candle light getting closer to Ed in 2x4

The contrast of sounds used in the bathtub scene

The use of greenery in negative space in 1x7: This Is Happening (Part One of Negative Space Series)

How center-framed shots of Ed's back show his emotional state and isolation (Part Two of Negative Space Series)

How negative space shows Ed a hopeful future (Part 2.5 of Negative Space Series)

Negative space shows Ed's isolation after shuffling on the Blackbeard/Kraken role. (Part 2.5.5 of Negative Space Series)

The camerawork, cinematography, and blocking during Blackbeard and Frenchie's "impossible bird" conversation at the end of 2x1.

How the camerawork used in 2x2 Red Flags shows the power dynamic and tension between Blackbeard and Frenchie.

The contrast of having these two shots (2x1 and 2x5) set in the exact same place.

Cinematography of sun beams on Ed in 2x5

Wild West/Western theme used with the original Blackbeard crew

Wild West theme coming back when Ed is The Kraken

More Western tropes that I found

Buttons as a conduit of death/purgatory

Ed and Stede jumping into the water for each other

2x3 and 2x8 Ed and water parallels

Light motifs show hope and love

Green lighting used in 1x6

Ed and Stede wedding cake toppers

Light motif during the lighthouse scene in 1x4

Mirror shots

Izzy's lighting in jail

1x8 and 1x10 depression era robe

Fanfiction Meta

Stede's costume color in S2

Face touching and Ed's outfits meaning

Ed hiding his heart: the silk and cake topper

Character Meta

Stede is demisexual

Frenchie's moments that lead to him being a great captain

Ed's body language in 1x7

Single layers and no shoes show Ed's emotional vulnerability

The crew voting to let Ed back on the Revenge

Stede heals the tattoos Ed puts on his body to get over/integrate his fears/image

Jim's transformation in Calypso's Birthday

Archie's role in the narrative

Ed not really wanting to die in the grav(e)y basket

Jim's journey, the epitome of queer joy

Stede touches Ed's elbow and back of head cause he knows it's safe

Ed touching Stede's chest

Frenchie's and Ed's instant friendship

Ed and Frenchie have similar coping mechanisms

Discomfort in a Married State

Doggy Heaven line

Izzy taking the blame for the painting

Ed hiding his heart (silk, wedding cake toppers)

Stede character study

Demi romantic reading of Ed

Stede Bunnet Symbolism

Choice of saying us not me

Ed's trauma response

Stede going quiet when grieving

Stede reading and writing

Reading Ed's body language

Fanfics!

Non-Meta

Stede is a cutie patootie

Ed's introduction

Comedic actors can't pull off drama

Small moments in PB scene

Jim as Peter Pan

Edward Teach, born on a beach

Pirates get by on sugar highs

Song Lyrics

All Shades of Blue

The Stable Song

Dark, Dark, Dark

Southern Star

Second Chances

Swallowed in the Sea

[castleclerics]

ABSOLUTELY INSANE NINA PROJECT PARALLELS FROM FUTURE MAN S2 (2019)

so there i was…. minding my own business watching s2 of a show i watched solely for josh hutcherson. then suddenly… he wakes up out of a simulation in a bathtub.

anyways once he fully awakes he’s greeted by literal female brenner

i don’t even think i have to explain the next screenshots so just look at this shit

she tells him she's from the future and she went back in time because she believes he's the only person with "the skills to save our world" similar to how owens tells el the same thing in 4x03

this part is crazy to me because i already had a theory that if el did the massacre, that her sending one through the gate was something her own mind made up.

anyways so the reason they put him in the simulation was to ask him questions about this guy (its a really long story) but like in the og timeline this doctor creates a cure but it destroys humanity so josh wakes up in another timeline where he didn't save the world, where stu, josh's former coworker, takes place of the og doctor. but it's interesting to think about since brenner was trying to have el find henry all this time and what if he wanted to see what questions her brain could answer about him to collect info on him or something??

el saying to brenner "i came here to try and understand who i was." LIKEEE

he asks if he says no to the simulation process then what would happen so she tells him they'll wipe his memory and "the only side-effect would be the lingering sensation like something was off. it would just be gnawing at you never more than a shadow." which reminds me of el laying in bed and getting flashes of the massacre in 4x03.

anyways onto the twin/clone stuff !!!!!!

he escapes into the desert after this so og josh doesn't end up getting killed. so basically they clone josh to see which version of him will be the correct one powerful enough to take down stu. also og josh ends up stumbling into a room of all of his dead clones :)

AHEMMM el commiting the massacre........ (for backstory in s1 he blew up a building to save the world so it was for good) and brenner recreating henry over and over…..

also just look at all the screenshots it literally looks like it was filmed where s4 nina scenes were filmed...

btw i'm still making a masterpost thing of how el rly did do the massacre it's gonna take a while bc i still have to do a little more analyzing and go over alllll of nina

there's literally more parallels but i can't fit them in this post but they aren't too important, more just to show the writers genuinely got inspo straight from this. anyways how fun right my jaw was on the floor watching this

[piratecaptainscaptainpirates]

What are your top 5 Ed x Stede moments? 😊 I’m curiously asking several blogs to see how many of us share favorites!

I think my favorite moments are probably shared by many, but you KNOW I'm gonna talk about them anyway! They're not in order because asking to choose just five is like being asked to choose between my hundred beautiful children

The fight across the beach to each other, ending with them just beaming these big huge smiles at each other! The parallel to the opening of s2 is just >>>>>>>

Ed reading Stede's lovely letter, the absolute adoration on his face and the way their voices intertwine at the end. If I think about it too hard I start sobbing

The thumb war!

Specifically the moment in the bathtub scene where Ed rests his head against Stede's hand

Oooough the season 1 kiss. The season 1 kiss my beloved. So tentative and gentle and sweet, and the way Ed practically climbs into Stede's lap, and how borderline hot-and-bothered Stede sounds when asking "I thought you said there was no escape?" Like GIRL. They're so in love but it's so new for both of them. Just so, so good.

[characterevaluationcuzwhynot]

DOES STOLAS'S LAMENT IN S2 EP1 COME UP IN THE FIRST EPISODE (MURDER FAMILY)

I was rewatching the show and I noticed during the scene of stolas in the bathtub, the background music sounded a lot like his lament (The 'owl in a cage song')

[the-lonelyshepherd]

What made you ship lottienat? :)

TYSM FOR THE ASK‼️‼️ i love asks (this is a hint)

oooh silly question okay

-honestly i was never really into shipping in the first place like i don’t go into a show being like hm. who should kiss.

-nat and lottie as individuals were my faves (along with shauna) through season 1. nat as a main i was more invested in at first but i really loved lottie in saints and all the lottielee shit plus her little comments and fun animal facts. and her weird girl swag. and nats whole demeanor in general she’s just SO INTERESTING. so i really liked the characters before the ship (which is why the mischarectarization pisses me off so bad, sorry not sorry)

-i never really saw them as a pair at first (i even kinda missed the doomcoming knife scene bc i was like what the FUCK is going on just in general. doomcoming was.. something) season two CHANGED IT

-i watched both seasons in rapid succession  for my first time through so i feel like i had a diff experience. s2 solidified lottie as my fave of all time, and i liked how they turned around from the edge they were approaching w demonizing her (schizophrenia). we got a lot more time w her character + time w adult lottie (im still figuring out adult lottie tbh. how does she work)

-i feel like their position as narrative foils was a lot more prevalent in s2 as we got more time w lottie as well as nat. you have the travlottienat scene in edible complex. which just GUH. i wrote smtn on that too. but like just in general a lot of emphasis on the physical vs the spiritual. hope vs the realist. 

-but above all what shines through is the SIMILARITIES in their characters. they’re different in so many ways but it just makes the ways they’re similar shine through so much?? they’re both general loners that have always been a little out of place. they both struggle with mental health. they both have issues with their parents. and above all they are both providers for the team. they don’t want to be leaders but they are almost called to it. lottie wants to be a martyr but they won’t let her. nat has never been one for the spotlight and now shes in charge. lottie cares about the good of the team nat cares about the good of the individuals in the team. something about the bleeding heart and the self made cynic. but they both just CARE SO MUCH!!! the parallels drive me insane

-onto them as actual characters and not their function in the narrative. the scene that SOLD ME was (of course) the bathtub scene. now this scene serves several purposes for sure and it’s a very important scene narratively/thematically as well as for my silly shipping purposes. it definitely hints at some kind of loose friend?ship before crash imo (supporting my party loners theory). lottie, who “only talks shit when someone really deserves it” talking shit playfully. nat, who’s words usually carry some kind of sting turning light. this is after they both (more lottie but ykwim) nearly died because of each other. it shows that there was something there before this “betrayal” of trust, the betrayal of lottie going on this path so different from nats in the wilderness.

-so now after that and the rest of s2 i went into my second watch curious on what i missed and DAMN did the pilot feed me. 

-lottienat dancing in the beginning lottienat hugging after the goal gets scored lottienat leaving together after the “freeze her out” argument LOTTIE GRABBING TAI TO DEFEND NAT AFTER SHE SAYS “"Don't you have a bong to hit or a dick to suck?". lottienat standing together at the party. et cetera. 

post pilot, you have scenes like the one in the middle of the night where lottie’s just staring at the attic. who comforts her? nat. so there was clearly some kind of trust in place. and as we go deeper into the free fall that is saints, flight of the bumblebee, doomcoming, and onward, you can see nats betrayal and animosity in this trust being

broken AND lottie’s confusion because she honestly is just trying to help. just, god.

doomcoming is a whole situation that’s honestly its own post but i wanted to touch on the knife scene because this is one of the first times we see nat actually really fucking scared of lottie. she can’t brush off the fact that there is something actually wrong anymore. and it scares her (and logically so. they did FUCKED UP SHIT. obv it was under the influence, off meds cold turkey. but it doesn’t excuse or erase what they did)

so then you have all the s2 stuff i went over and then the bathtub scene comes as this… return to the past? return to the energy of them from the pilot. it’s a gentle white flag in their horrible fucking world and it’s just so tender and idk. i fucking love bathtub scene. 

i yapped a bunch about other stuff previously and i don’t wanna talk too much about teen timeline (looking back i think i already did but wtv. i went “hm i’ll just go off the top of my head it’ll be fine”) bc im planning on doing a full analysis sometime soon. but wtv. 

adult timeline!!! keeping this one shorter for now bc looking back i typed sm wtf

immediately “you were always its favorite” “there was no it it was just us” “is there a difference”

also “she’s my friend” and then “is that what we are”

also the SCENES WHERE IN THEIR MOST VUNERABLE MOMENTS THEY SAW EACH OTHERS YOUNGER SELVES??? i did NOT come up with that it’s in the show. the flashlight scene and nats death scene (nats death scene def had several meanings but im talking shipping right now). i just think…. idk tho e closest we have to that is shauna hallucinating jackie when she’s an adult. and we all know jackieshauna as basically fucking canon. plus also lottie hallucinating laura lee which again. basically fucking canon. 

anyways basically summarized. i love the way their characters contrast each other and are so different and yet so fundamentally similar. i love their hinted at precrash friendship and the way there’s just this air of.. betrayal? around it later. i love the way they have one of the most tender scenes in all of the dark horrible thing that was season two. i love the interesting way their adult counterparts interact that hints at.. so much more? and i love how above all they care so much but are basically the narrative punching bags. i think they should kiss it would not make things better at all but i would be happy 👍

and honestly idgaf if you don’t like lottienat bc i get it. they’re not for everyone and that’s okay. plus their fanon sucks sm ass ugh. and the most vocal people who ship them are so toxic and weird and annoying :// i just think they’re silly and i like to microwave them in my head. peace and love

[therealmrsgojo]

I'd lie (Gojo Satoru) pairing: gojo satoru x reader summary: throughout your entire existence, gojo satoru has been a constant companion, providing comfort and a sense of belonging. as the days turned into years, you discovered yourself succumbing to an intense affection for him, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. warnings: sfw, fluff, plot-heavy, canon compliant with my own twists. mentions of injuries, spoilers if you haven't read jjk s2 (gojo's past arc) inspired by i'd lie song. word count: 10.6k

Timeless (Gojo Satoru) pairing: gojo satoru x reader summary: you have been dreaming of a man ever since you were little; different lives with him were spent in your dreams, but when you wake up, his face becomes blurry, and you forget his name. maybe, in your real life, you might see him too. warnings: sfw, fluff, past lives, reincarnation au, kinda inspired by a song called timeless, soldier gojo, captain gojo, doctor reader, mentions of injuries, dreams, death, angst, comfort, and happy ending. word count: 10.5k

Dress (Gojo Satoru) pairing: gojo satoru x reader summary: every student assumes that you and gojo Satoru, who always seems to be by your side, are best friends, but you don't want him just like that. contents: MDNI, nsfw, fem!reader, established relationship, fluff, secretly dating, both reader and gojo are teachers in JJK setting, drunk-in-love gojo, pet names, alcohol, reader is a year younger, nipple-play, bathtub scene, cock!riding, oral!fem!receiving, missionary, mentions of death, mentions of past. inspired by the song dress word count: 4.2k

Last Kiss (Geto Suguru) pairing: geto suguru x reader summary: geto suguru had no remorse for his decisions, yet deep down, there was a flicker of regret; if only he had changed his mind - about leaving you behind. content: MDNI, NSFW, canon compliant/divergence, fem!reader, established relationship, aged up characters; will be 18+, oral fem!receiving, mating press, heartbreak, longing, angst, regrets, death, inspired by a song called last kiss (taylor s.) wordcount: 10.7k

Gojo Satoru dealing with your jealousy (Drabble)

Gojo Satoru being drunk-in-love (Drabble)

Bigger Than The Whole Sky (Gojo Satoru) pairing: gojo satoru x reader warnings: NSFW, MDNI. established relationship, wife reader, pregnant reader, angst, comfort, canon-divergence. wordcount: 5k

New fics will be posted every week, unless announced otherwise! Love, Aurora.

[ladyluscinia]

Hi there! I just read your meta about how Izzy knows the real Edward and not just Blackbeard, and that got me thinking… why does Ed tell Stede he doesn’t have any friends? I’d initially chalked this up to Izzy only wanting to be friends with Blackbeard, but if Izzy knows and is loyal to the real Ed, why doesn’t Ed consider him a friend?

Hi! You just stumbled on one of my favorite things to talk about that now I get to add S2 context to, so thank you!

Ok... Edward & his total denial of friendship. There's the big reason - which is completely divorced from the reality of any of his relationships - and then there's the smaller, related reason that I'm not even sure Edward is fully aware of.

Reason #1 (the big one) why Edward says he doesn't have any friends is because he's having a depressive breakdown in a bathtub when he says it.

It all comes back to the fact Edward hates himself, which was fairly clear in S1 and now made explicit in S2. Specifically in 2x03. Which, in a season full of excellently timed flashbacks and echoed scenes from S1, still contains the single example that made me leap from my seat in pure vindication.

When Edward tackles his conjured Hornigold to kill him, before he realizes he's in the gravy basket, we great a great line...

"It all boils down to this. You're afraid you're unlovable."

...followed by a set a flashbacks that feel chosen specifically for me 😌

Edward killing his dad, with the voiceover "I'm not a good person Stede..." cut to Izzy's destroyed laugh right before Edward left the room in 2x02, and then cut back to the bathtub from 1x06 to finish "...That's why I don't have any friends." Stede affirms he is Edward's friend and then it ends on the crew's mutiny from 2x02 and the absolute darkest point of Edward's depressive spirals so far.

That is literally an explicit connection I couldn't have dreamed of in the S1 hiatus.

Because, like... Edward's whole thing is that he's been on the edge of drowning under this lifelong struggle against depression since we met him. He does fundamentally believe in his darkest moments that he is monstrous and poisonous and no one could ever love him, but it's not a logical belief. He's not making an assessment of his relationships as he sees them, he's voicing his self-loathing and depression.

And the parallel between "I don't have any friends" and "I'm unlovable" is soooo crunchy because we know for a fact the second statement is just depression talking. Not even just Stede! Edward spends the first two episodes actively resisting evidence to the contrary in his spiral because it hurts too much - Izzy blatantly confessing his love didn't break through, it just got him shot for trying.

To go back to the bathtub in 1x06, Stede's affirmation there wasn't any more effective than Izzy's confession in S2. It gets Edward to get up out of the bathtub and pull himself back together, but the very next episode opens with Edward getting antsy and trying to leave before Stede can reject him. In 1x08 he's still half-waiting for Stede to notice there's something wrong with him.

Edward always has a little dark voice in the back of his mind saying that Calico Jack isn't his friend, and Izzy isn't his friend, and Stede isn't his friend... but it's Edward's voice. One he'll have to fight against forever, one that will sound really persuasive in his darkest moments (like when he's in a bathtub admitting its source out loud for the first time in his life), but also one that is lying.

So... that's the big reason.

Now, Reason #2 is a bit more nuanced - Edward is really repressed.

This is pretty much entirely the fault of Reason #1, but it is technically a different thing. Because Edward hates himself and has a flawed perspective of all his relationships, he instinctively holds himself back from them to some degree.

This kinda gets into the whole Izzy vs Stede thing, because Edward has a very small collection of interests and desires that he shoved into a small box as things he didn't deserve well before becoming a pirate (due to both mommy and daddy trauma), and then he never brought those things up with anyone close to him. Until he met Stede, who was basically the walking embodiment of several of those interests/desires and a person who Edward uniquely did not have a script or baseline for interacting with, so he ended up doing the reverse and diving into exploring all that as the core of this one singular relationship.

Which has left him very unbalanced.

Like, he's not wholly engaging in the relationship due to fear of rejection either way. There's nothing intrinsically healthier about letting Izzy know all his ugliest bits or Stede know all his most hidden emotional vulnerabilities. And the fear of rejection in both cases is based in his depression / conviction he's unlovable, not evidence that Izzy would react poorly or whatever.

But if he was capable of evaluating his relationships objectively, he might have felt a little like even Izzy who knew him so well wasn't as close of friend as he truly desired, simply because he puts away that box of things around him. Only... Izzy doesn't make him do that. That box was probably put away before Izzy even met him.

And like... Edward can feel his feelings about Izzy not knowing the super important emotional things he wants him to know, but it's still on Edward for not even trying to tell him.

(This got longer than I meant it to, lol. Anyway here's my hiatus post where I'm nice to Calico Jack on this topic too.)