#and they never understand that he is a separate person from the idea of Captain America

[mind-intheclouds342]

Do it for them - Co-captain reader x Curly

Previous - Part 9 - Next

You banged on the door of the room where that man was locked up, waking him up abruptly.

"Let's talk"

Jimmy: "I thought visiting hours were over."

He complained, turning around to turn his back to the door.

"Don't try to be funny with me, Jimmy. What the hell did we do to deserve so much hate from you?"

Jimmy: "Don't play innocent, you know very well what you did!"

"Honestly, I have no idea! That's why I'm asking you!"

Jimmy: "Of course, because I was always the shadow of your dear husband. You never turned to look at me again after you got with him, you never smiled at me like you did with him, you didn't even speak to me. It was as if I were invisible to you!"

"Oh, of course I was looking at you!"

Jimmy: "Then why didn't you ever tell me anything?!"

He shouted that, getting up from his bed to head towards the glass that separated them, watching your face to see you when you replied.

"BECAUSE I'VE ALWAYS HATED YOU!"

You screamed with all your lungs, to the point of making your throat hurt.

"You always brought trouble to Curly! He was always so naive, a sucker for approval, of being the good guy in the story, of not letting anyone down! That's why he never abandoned you! I knew better that's why i stopped talking with you! Because you were and are a piece of shit!" 

Jimmy: "Oh, but you talk as if I were the only fucked up one in the story."

"Yes! I admit it! I was also a mess when I met Curly, but I did something, I was able to see beyond that mess I was, he showed me that I could improve, he gave me opportunities that I knew how to take advantage of and become a better person! In someone who could make his mother proud instead of making her cry because she didn't know if he was coming home or not!"

There was a silence when you finished saying that, until you saw him smirk, that reaction you didn't like at all.

Jimmy: "You're right, Curly loves to please, you should know that very well."

"Ugh, for the love of God, I don't know why I try to reason with you, it's impossible."

Jimmy: "But you were the only one who refused to give in to make me happy."

You opened your eyes wide upon hearing that, turning again to the man who still wore that smug smile.

Jimmy: "Just as beautiful and messed up as I am, I thought you would understand me, but then you became a good girl, yet I still hoped you would look at me..."

"Shut up-"

Jimmy: "Oh, and the damn way Curly talked about you, how incredible you are, so kind, hardworking, so beautiful."

"I tell you to shut up-"

Jimmy: "Those lovely moles in the center of your chest that look like a constellation"

"He wouldn't talk about those things with you!"

Jimmy: "I saw it myself"

You felt like you were going to puke at that moment, you didn't want to believe that he had really done something like that to you while you were unconscious, you didn't want your suspicions to be confirmed, you refused to believe it.

"Liar. Anya wouldn't leave me alone, she would lock the nursery door-" 

Jimmy: "Yes, yes, she did that, it was a pain in the ass. Every night when she went to sleep, she locked the nursery with that code that only Curly and she knew... But that place wasn't closed while someone was inside."

"She wouldn't let you get close to me!"

Jimmy: "They were so sweet, Anya staying by your side saying she had to make sure all your signs were okay, and when she left, she would ask Swansea if he could keep an eye on you. But he was so depressed that he didn't dare to stay with you for long, so... I took his place to make sure you were okay."

"In front of Curly..."

You murmured at having to imagine the scene your husband had to witness without being able to do anything about it other than watch.

Jimmy: "That was the funniest thing"

You hugged tightly, feeling a horrible tingling all over your body, as if you were dirty.

Jimmy: "Swansea had no idea about anything, Anya didn't want to talk about it with anyone else. Thanks to her silence, I was able to finally look at that body that you always hide from me, thanks to Swansea's stupidity and feeling sad for his little captain, feeling all guilty and shit."

Swansea: "What did he just say..." 

You turned to see Swansea at the end of the hallway, carrying Jimmy's rations, holding an axe firmly in the other hand; he had managed to hear everything.

"Swansea-"

Swansea: "Open the door, captain"

"Listen - it's not worth it, do you have any idea what they'll do to you if they find out you hurt someone from the crew? Please, I don't want them to lock you up." 

You said immediately, positioning yourself in front of him, trying to get him to see you, but his eyes were glued to the door where he could see Jimmy's face.

Swansea: "How are they going to know? Let's say it was an accident. Open the door!"

You wanted to keep reasoning with him, but you couldn't deny that you also wished he would face consequences for his actions.

You took the axe from his hands, making him look at you annoyed.

"I won't take the risk of you killing him."

Those were your last words before opening the door, Swansea didn't take much more than a few seconds to fully open the door, step inside, and throw himself at Jimmy.

You could hear the sound of the blows, the insults, and the screams.

You stood at the door wide open, axe in hand, watching as the blood spread across the floor with each blow Swansea dealt.

You watched Jimmy and tilted your head, waiting for him to defend himself.

You wouldn't hesitate to cut off his hands if he touched Swansea.

[captain-mj]

I can see who your favorite character is, my love. This post ain't even about him.

Before I get started, just want to say that the characters are multi-dimensional and can therefore be seen in multiple ways. Anyway! To explain my points!!

Yes, GhostGaz is lust. Absolutely. Gaz is one of the few characters that show genuine desire and want for things throughout the series. He smokes, he chats about things casually and also gets excited in Recon by Fire when he has multiple targets that he can snipe. Ghost is inhuman, lone wolf, desiring something he denies himself. Gaz is the most human (Soap stans argue with the wall) of most of the characters, being in my opinion one of the most well fleshed out ones.

They have complimentary personalities and aspects that I believe not only would have them fucking nasty, but also have them drawing towards each other constantly, wanting to be in each other's orbits, touching, etc. Lust also isn't just sex, lust is wanting something tangible in a way that defies God. Something I think the two of them already do very often.

SoapGhost as Greed. NOW HERE ME OUT. Y'all got listen for this one. Do they not get greedy over each other? Alejandro literally says he couldn't imagine calling Ghost Simon and what happened?? Yeah, he was told only Johnny could do it.

More seriously, the two of them constantly try to take more. Soap spend an entire mission trying to get more info out of Ghost about himself for no discernable reason. Ghost teases him, but he also encourages it so they can continue talking, rather than forcibly changing the subject. Soap also wants things. He wants medals, he wants to know more, he wants and wants and Soap is one of the few people that Ghost does show a want to hang out with. He also asks him questions and talks casually with him and presumably sits with him on rides so they can have each other's attention.

PriceGhost as Pride. You see, what I started this conversation, my idea was that I feel Price and Ghost, together, would be more prideful than the other ships. I don't mean this as to say they themselves are prideful, though my wife's explanation of Ghost being a victim of self-glorifying and self-justification (I'm not sure I agree on self-devoting, though that may be because I don't believe Ghost actually talks about his issues that much, even if I use it for plot purposes).

To look deeper at it though, the two of them are some of the highest ranking (though not THE highest ranking) out of the ships. I think Ghost would have a hard time separating Price the Captain from Price the Boyfriend. He wouldn't want to look weak in front of the Captain of his force. For Price, I have similar arguments. It's why I never quite liked PriceGaz, cause I just don't see Price as being able to truly be himself around his inferiors. The two of them wouldn't be able to truly be themselves around each other until they got over their pride. For them, this is more in the fact that Pride is the folly of their relationship. Idk, I just have a lot of thoughts.

You covered AleGhost in more depth than I can but I would argue going after Valeria the way he did was done more in Wrath than Pride, though I understand that with the sins, they intrinsically affect each other and honestly these two (characters and the win itself) parallel each other so much most sins could be put here. But both of them are such angry people at times. I feel like this is one of the few relationships in the list where issues are brought up, rather than allowed to fester.

Ghost ships but they’re themed as the seven deadly sins (PriceGhost is pride)

[deebris]

Seems like destiny

Simon "Ghost" Riley x fem!Reader

Synopsis: After spending years in the bone marrow donation system, encouraged by the army, Simon was finally notified that they had found a match. He just didn't expect to find out that he would be donating it to his own son, who he had with his teenage love and never knew.

Warnings: Family problems, panic attacks, teenage pregnancy, swearing, mention of diseases such as leukemia, murder, archaic ideas, anguish.

Word count: 3.5 k

Any questions or errors, please let me know.

Simon always remembers how the army encouraged soldiers to be blood donors. There was a great concern within about it, as it was one of the ways the government found to help hospitals and people who depend on transfusions to survive.

Then campaigns for bone marrow donation began, but it was so rare to find someone compatible that after 6 years on the waiting list, Simon thought he would never find someone who would need him. But that changed two months ago when he received a call from the institute informing him that he should go there immediately.

He underwent more medical exams than he had ever done, and although he was a tough guy, he couldn't deny the pain he felt in the weeks following the procedure. Among so many people dying in beds waiting to find a donor, someone could finally heal because of him. It made Simon feel good about himself, as good as he hadn't felt in a long time. That had been one of the reasons why he joined the army: to help people.

Now he could only hope that whoever he donated to would improve. He found himself during the day thinking about it, wondering if in a few years it would affect him as much as it does now. It's not very fresh in his memory, but Simon is able to superficially remember the day he registered on the bone marrow donor list. He had been in the army for a short time, still a soldier, and "Ghost" didn't even exist yet.

He thought this would be put aside. He didn't understand if he would need to donate more often, not really knowing the process deeply. That's why when he received another call from the same institute, he thought there had been some mistake, or that they would need more, but the reason for the contact surprised him.

The recipient's caregiver wanted to meet him and was willing to break the standard anonymity by revealing their identity. Accepting the offer would mean that he would also need to disclose his personal information, which is why he hesitated so much. But as he constantly replayed the woman's words in his head, he grew restless.

"The caregiver wants to meet you," that's what she said. Could the recipient be a child? Or perhaps an elderly person? Or maybe someone who was already so ill that they could barely decide for themselves. He shouldn't have any information about this person, even something as empty as what that lady had let slip.

"You should accept. Everyone would like to have the opportunity to personally thank the person who saved their life," were the words of his Captain, John "Price." And it had been the push that Simon needed to agree to the idea.

Now, standing in front of the hospital room door, Ghost debated with himself whether he should open it. Just a few meters away was the little boy who had been haunting his mind for the past few days. And how did he know it was a boy? He had been directed to the children's oncology ward when he arrived at the reception minutes ago, as soon as he was cleared by the unit director, who already knew about the situation and the breach of anonymity.

Furthermore, the clipboard with the patient's information on the door also made it clear that it was a boy. The name "Lucas" was printed on the paper, accompanied by a surname that was familiar to him. There weren't many people in the UK with that name, which caught his attention.

All that separated him from the family was that door, dividing the cold hospital corridor from the room he could only hope would be less disheartening and empty. He didn't know if he would find a smile on the other side, or if he would be met with the sad gaze of the child's mother.

This woman had contacted him through a letter. On that day, he hadn't yet notified the institute that he was willing to speak with her, so the letter came anonymously since nothing had been filed. He read what she had to say, revealing some things, such as the fact that she was a single mother and was extremely grateful to God for sending him to save her son. Some paragraphs were difficult to read, where she recounted how she had lost hope before.

The little comfort he found in that text was when she talked about the boy. In those passages, her handwriting was less shaky, and he was sure she was happier when she wrote those parts of the letter. He knew that this had been her attempt to persuade him to come meet her, but without her knowing, he had already decided. Simon kept the piece of paper with him and reread it in his spare moments.

That stirred his emotions. He thought he had managed to harden his heart after everything he had been through, but he was wrong. Deep down in his soul, he was more emotional than he let on to others. He hoped that "Soap" would never find out, or he would be eternally tormented.

"Damn," he muttered softly, snapping back to reality. Simon began to bitterly regret agreeing to this. He should have declined and moved on. He could leave, but he was already here, so he mustered up the courage to knock on the wood.

He considered himself presentable in the civilian clothes he wore, accustomed to the heavy military equipment he carried all day at the base, and also missing the mask covering his face. Simon adjusted the collar of his dress shirt, as a way to occupy his sweaty hands, more nervous about the approaching footsteps he heard than his appearance.

Before the door opened, he had already told himself he would remain silent and wait for the boy's mother to start the conversation. If she asked who he was, he would state his name and explain why was there. But as the woman inside was revealed to him, he fell silent not because he had decided to, but because he was speechless. Suddenly, those seconds he spent admiring the child's surname on the door seemed like a scene from a comedy movie to him. How ironic it is considering he was just thinking about you moments ago and, like magic, you appeared?

It seemed like you took a few extra seconds to recognize him, and he doesn't judge you for that. Although you have changed and are now an adult woman, with a more mature face and body, he had changed much more since he was a teenager. Back when you two were in school, he was shorter and thinner, and he didn't have any of the scars on his face.

But it wasn't just that which changed in him. You stared in complete shock at how different the demeanor of the guy you were in love with was. He was more serious, more intimidating, very different from his brother, Thomas, whom you had seen years ago, just a few days before he was brutally murdered along with his wife and child.

Your legs went weak, and your eyes burned with tears threatening to overflow. You wanted so desperately to say something, but nothing could come out of your mouth. Was this real, after all? You withdrew your hand from the doorknob, not realizing you had been gripping it tightly until now, and sat in the nearest chair to avoid collapsing to the ground.

Your blood pressure had surely dropped, as you were sweating cold and seeing black spots. What were the chances, after so many years and after everything you had been through, of finally finding him just when you weren't even trying anymore?

Your memories since you found out you were pregnant began to flood back. You vividly remember your father's reaction when he found out you were having a baby; what he said when found out that the neighbor's son, Simon, was the father of the child; how you struggled to escape him after he took you away to another state, to cover up the shame of having a "prostitute" as a daughter.

You never managed to tell Simon, and when you returned to that town, the town where you two met, he was no longer there. You didn't have a penny in your pocket and only survived that week because of Tommy's help. He gave you a bed to sleep in, food, and clothes, both for you and his nephew. You remembered the perplexed expression he had when analyzed Lucas's appearance, it was impossible to deny that he was a Riley.

It was because of him that you found out Simon was in the army and that he hadn't come home in months.

You never managed to thank him properly. Just two days after showing up there, Tommy handed you half of the money he had in a bank deposit. He told you that a good part of that money belonged to Simon, and therefore, it belonged to your son too. You rented a hotel room so as not to continue bothering his wife, especially since she now had to cook and clean for five people.

You left for the hotel with the promise to reward him someday and continued making visits while anxiously tried to contact his brother on his phone, but Simon never answered. You didn't have a cell phone and couldn't spend the money Tommy gave you so lightly, deciding to prioritize your son's needs.

Several voicemails were recorded, but there was never a response. You felt angry at Simon. You screamed into your pillow, frustrated for not being answered and repeating to yourself how stupid he was. But the possibility that maybe he was dead haunted you. Tommy had told you how complex his work in the army was, that it was more dangerous than usual.

You always feared what you would find when you saw him again. He could have a wife, a beautiful house, and everything you ever wanted to have with him one day but couldn't. He could have children, children who had the opportunity to grow up with him, unlike Lucas. And then when you found out that no, none of that had happened, a kind of happiness flooded your chest, even though nothing in the world guaranteed that he would want anything with you again. The last time you had anything, you two were barely adults, until one day you left without saying anything. You thought he hated you.

That lasted until one time, when you went to Tommy's house, there was nothing there but blood. You still remember how scared you were when you found the broken door and called the police, who surrounded the scene of the violent crime that had just happened. You waited so long, but so long for Simon to show up. What kind of person doesn't attend their own brother's funeral? That's when you decided to forget him and threw away the phone number you had written down.

Some more time later, when Lucas had just turned 7 years old, your life was turning upside down again. It all started with symptoms of a common virus. He had fevers, weakness, and got tired very easily. Then he started losing weight and getting pale. Many pediatricians said it could be anemia or hepatitis, but more symptoms kept emerging. Joint pains came, as did swellings, and after a year of medical investigation, the diagnosis came: leukemia.

You entered a state of denial. Was there something wrong with his diet? Or his lifestyle? It could be genetic, but there were no cases of cancer in your family. Maybe the Rileys had some?

Since that day, your life has never been the same. With each passing month, your son only got worse. You would give all your savings, live on the streets, or even rob a bank if it meant seeing your baby well again. Fortunately, the government offered treatment for free, but some medicines needed to be acquired more urgently than the hospital could provide, and medicines for such treatment were not cheap at all.

The only thing that could cure your boy was the marrow from a compatible donor. You prayed so much that you could save him, but when the tests were done, it was impossible. If no one in the family could donate, it was almost a death sentence. Your last hope was your father. You hoped to never have to see him again, let alone tell him where you had run away to, but now you were no longer the same foolish young girl who depended on his money.

Despite everything, you knew he loved his grandson, and a single phone call was enough to make him come running. In recent years, he had been worried about the two of you, not knowing where you had gone. He never had the courage to admit he was wrong, and apologizing was never his strong point, but he regrets every day what he did. That day he didn't know how to react. He wanted to kill Simon, the brat who got his only daughter pregnant, just as he was afraid you would become a joke in neighborhood for having such a young son. He only managed to think about leaving to avoid a disaster, never asking what you wanted or how you felt.

For the first time, when he saw you so tired and alone, he held his tongue to not say anything that could ruin everything. Instead, he hugged you tightly, and you were so craving someone's company that you curled up in his arms just like when you were a little girl. He was a grumpy and archaic man, someone who made many mistakes, who still makes them, but he still has humanity within him.

Unfortunately, he was not a match either.

You stopped daydreaming, and you didn't realize how bad you were until you saw an adult Simon crouched in front of you, shouting in the hallway for a doctor, but you tried to silence him by grabbing the nails on his rolled-up shirt sleeve, catching his attention. The last thing you want is for the doctors responsible for your son's health to be alarmed, thinking he's worsened. These professionals worked as hard for him as you did. Simon seemed to understand and went to close the door to prevent curious eyes from appearing.

Simon looked at you with sadness, and it crushed your heart. He was afraid you wouldn't be able to breathe properly again; he knew you were desperately begging for air, but couldn't draw it in. He hesitated to touch you, but gave in to the desire and placed both hands on your cheeks. He was incredulous. It was really you, the girl he loved most in his entire life, more than he thought he was capable of loving another woman. Simon had imagined so many times meeting you again, and he had so many doubts.

"Calm down," he repeated in a whisper, locking his eyes onto yours. He knew panic attacks; he had experienced them himself several times. "I know. I know, dear. It's a lot to process."

"You…" your voice tried to come out amidst desperate breaths, while also trying to swallow the lump in your throat. Your hands grabbed both of his wrists, and your thumb smoothed over the skin, feeling his heartbeat. "It's you who…?"

"Yes. Yes, it's me, the donor," he quickly confirmed, even before you could finish the question. "Don't speak. Breathe."

You were managing to calm down and think more rationally. Understanding hit you like a bucket of cold water, and your embrace made the big burly man he had become freeze. The feeling was so strange. Of course, among so many people, the only one who could save your little son would be his own father. The person with whom he shared half of his genes.

"He's yours, Si," your voice sounded like a spell in his ear, the old nickname sending shivers down his spine. Your tone was so gentle that he barely understood the meaning of the phrase. But soon he felt his lips quivering, recounting the events of the past few months and how unbelievable this would sound if he told this story to someone. "I swear he's yours," you repeated as if that made it easier to assimilate.

The content of that letter invaded his mind again and again. He felt horrible.

Simon pulled you closer to him, your bodies almost merging. You were still beautiful, even in your disheveled state, betraying exhaustion. And even after so much time, it was as if nothing had changed between the two of you. He knew there was a small body behind him, sleeping peacefully in the bed, but he didn't dare to look. He could hear the sound of the machines, and then it all came crashing down on his shoulders at once: he had a son with you. By his calculations, the boy should be 9 years old. Wow! He hadn't seen you in over a decade.

"I have so many questions," he confessed with a choked voice, and you don't remember ever seeing him cry before when you were younger.

"I searched for you so much. I called so many times," the last thing you wanted was to make him feel guilty, but hearing that, he felt like he should have kept searching for you too. As soon as you left, he went asking where your father had gone. He worried and tried to find out something, until enlisted in the army, and then all he did from then on was just think about you; never seeking; never trying in any way to find you again because it seemed easier to accept that you had left forever.

You tried to distance yourself, even though you hated it, to look at his face one more time. Simon allowed you to run your fingers over his features until your eyes landed on your son behind him. He knew where your gaze had gone, but he didn't follow it. And of course, you would understand what was happening.

"Look at him," you pleaded with tenderness, but he shook his head while rubbing his eyes, as if they hurt. "You're hurting me doing this, Simon."

The last thing he wanted was for you to think he was rejecting the boy, so he stood up, fighting the weakness in his legs and slowly approaching the bed. The child's face was turned exactly in his direction, as if anticipating he would be there, but his eyes were closed, and his breathing was peaceful. It was only then that Simon realized how he was hyperventilating until he felt your hand gently pushing him closer.

His heart hammered in his chest, overwhelmed by anxiety and fear, as he watched his pale and still son. Each step was a journey through an ocean of uncertainty, each breath an effort to maintain composure in the face of the storm raging within him.

As he leaned over the fragile and inert body of the boy, a wave of emotions engulfed him. His broken heart cried out to stop the affliction that plagued his son, that beloved being he barely knew.

Tears blurred his vision as he stroked Lucas's hand, so small and vulnerable compared to his, so similar to yours. Each touch was a silent promise to stand by him in every moment, even in the darkest and most painful.

He found himself whispering words of comfort, as if each sentence could ignite a spark of life in his son's dormant soul. He pleaded to the heavens, to the stars, to any higher power that could hear, for a miracle, for a chance to see those childish eyes shine for the first time in his life. He was an identical copy of Simon at that age, and it made him wonder if the color of his irises was also the same, the same shade of brown. A sudden curiosity arose: what was his voice like? Would it sound like yours, so gentle and reassuring, or could it somehow sound like his?

There, in that moment, time seemed to freeze, the whole world disappearing. It was as if he were dreaming. There was no way all of this could be true, someone must be playing a prank on him. He wanted to look at your face again, to smell you while he ran his hands through your hair to make sure it was really you, flesh and blood. "He's going to be okay," he poured out the words, even though he knew the danger in promising that, and you dove into them, knowing you didn't have to face everything alone anymore.

[canonizzyhours]

I'm a professional screenwriter. I know nobody reading this has any reason to believe that, and I work pretty hard to keep my fandom activity separate from my professional identity, so I'm not going to offer any proof that would doxx me here, believe me or don't. But it's true and I don't just mean I'm trying to get hired as a screenwriter, I mean I am pretty well established in the industry and I've worked on some stuff big enough you've probably heard of it. I've also been active in OFMD fandom for about two years now, since nearly the beginning.

The canyon really freaks me out because seeing it up close makes me worried I've drastically underestimated audiences' empathy gap around characters of color and tendency to sympathize with and excuse the actions of white characters. I've always tried to be conscious about that sort of thing in my work but now that I'm seeing the whole process up close it's so much worse than I always thought.

I think a lot about what I would have done during season 1 of OFMD, if I were in the writers' room and I'd wanted to make sure it would be clear to the audience that Izzy was Ed's abuser and wasn't acting out of secretly sympathetic motives and we're supposed to be genuinely horrified by his actions. I'm in writers' rooms workshopping issues like this all the time. I know the kinds of suggestions I'd make.

Like, if we were worried that the audience would think Izzy's hostility toward Stede was about class instead of homophobia, I might have suggested we make sure Izzy's dialogue never has any reference to Stede's class at all, and that we might do a subplot in one episode where Izzy is equally hostile toward Lucius, since Lucius clearly isn't rich but is extremely gay. But that already happened, and it didn't help.

If I wanted to make sure the audience understood that Izzy is bossing the crew around and screaming at everyone to work harder because he's a petty little bully on a power trip and not because the work actually needs to get done, I might have suggested a scene where Izzy deliberately makes a mess on purpose just so he can order the crew to clean it up. But that already happened, and it didn't help.

If I wanted to make it clear that Izzy has always been awful toward everyone around him -- especially his colleagues of color -- since long before the show started, I might have suggested we repeatedly emphasize throughout the season that while Fang is willing to work with him, he doesn't like or respect Izzy and this is because Izzy has always treated Fang very badly. Have him pull on Fang's beard for no reason and have Fang explicitly say he hates that but knows it wouldn't help to complain. Have Fang tell strangers jokes about times Izzy humiliated himself in public. Have a scene where everybody unanimously VOTES TO MURDER IZZY and someone explicitly stops to ask Fang if he's cool with this and Fang explicitly says yes this is absolutely fine with me and then he actively participates in the murder plan while smiling. But all of that happened and I still see the canyon insisting that Izzy was a much nicer person before the events of s2 when he wasn't under so much stress and has always been liked and respected by the PoC around him, including specifically Fang!

If I were worried that the audience might take seriously the idea that Izzy is motivated by "loyalty to your captain" -- well, honestly I don't think it ever would have occurred to me to worry about that, since he says that in a scene where he's in the middle betraying his captain and I'd probably assume people are capable of picking that up and understanding that when someone says they're abusing you for your own good you should not believe them. But if someone else insisted we address the concern, suggestions I'd make would include: make sure some of the first interactions we see between Ed and Izzy involve Izzy complaining about how he doesn't want to do the job Ed just gave him, then half-assing the mission and lying to Ed's face about it. Show Izzy deliberately undermining Ed to the crew by telling them he's half-insane, then insist to Ed that he's the only one keeping the crew loyal when they're worried about his judgment. But they did that stuff and we still have people thinking Izzy's central motivation throughout season 1 is selfless devotion to Ed.

The show did every single thing I would have suggested, and none of it worked. So what does it say about all the stuff I've already worked on, whenever I've written a scene where a white guy was being a dick to characters of color? Have I just been embarrassingly naive this whole time? Have I undermined my own work by not getting this?

You can't control audience reactions, I know that, that's part of what's great about art, you have to let go and accept that people will interpret things in ways you never intended, I get it. But if it's THIS impossible to choose words that will create the kind of feelings you meant to, what's the point? Is it even possible to write about the kind of abusive relationship Ed and Izzy have, where the white guy thinks he's entitled to control a brown man's life "for his own good" and that the brown guy is obligated to be grateful and reciprocate his "love" and not have a huge group of people creating elaborate justifications for the white guy? What else could they have done? What else can I do, when I'm writing about characters of color? I'm seriously asking. If anybody reading this has advice I want to hear it. What could I do?

#408.

[elitehanitje]

Vince McMahon Sabotaged Christian Cage's Career

In February 2009, Christian made his surprising return to WWE and debuted on the ECW brand. The moment was exciting for fans, as Christian had made a big name for himself during his nearly four-year stint with TNA Wrestling.

Some fans don't look back on the moment fondly though, as commentator Todd Grisham didn't have much enthusiasm in his voice for the return of a legend. As it turns out, Vince McMahon himself instructed Grisham to have a low demeanor about Christian's return to the company.

Right before I walked out of the Gorillia position before the show. Vince McMahon called me over and said, “When Christian walks out..don’t get excited at all simply say ‘it’s Christian’ and that’s it. Understand me?” Me: “Yes sir”

Tony Khan responded to Grisham's post, calling the behavior insane.

In a recent interview, Kurt Angle stated that there isn't much difference between Vince McMahon and the character of 'Mr. McMahon'.

Reacting to a post criticizing his commentary on X, Grisham recalled the infamous moment. The former WWE personality detailed how McMahon ordered him to say those exact words when Christian returned. Grisham could do nothing but accept and follow his boss’ instructions. Over the years, this moment has become a running online joke. 

For some reason, McMahon never saw Christian as a potential main-event talent in WWE. Therefore, Captain Charisma failed to reach similar heights as his best friend, Edge (Adam Copeland). Even after winning his first World Heavyweight Championship, the Canadian star ended up losing the belt in five days. 

The story reignited the long-standing debate around McMahon's supposed dislike of Christian (rumors mentioned that Jay wasn't a yes-man and didn't want to be involved with any shenanigans backstage involving Vince and his bullying/harassment way).

The latter was once one-half of his most profitable tag-team stable with Edge. However, following their diversion into single competitors, the former 'Captain Charisma' was never treated as a prized asset.

Former WWE star Lance Storm confirmed the official WWE program incorrectly billed Christian at 5’ 10” when the man whose real name is William Reso is 3-4 inches taller.

McMahon's old WWE lead writer Alex Greenfield later revealed the billionaire once pitched to have Christian's face covered by a blue dot.

"Right before I started, there was a big show, I think it might have been in Toronto. Christian was just so completely over, and everybody thought he was going to get a push at, I think it was the World Heavyweight Championship at that point. We were on the plane one time shortly after I started, and Vince was just like 'God damn, I just don't like his face. His face really bothers me.'

"I was like, 'He's ugly, Vince?'

'No, it's not that he's ugly, it's just, I don't know, it's ratty!"

WWE executive Bruce Pritchard even waded in on the theory, by explaining McMahon was never a major fan. "[Vince] didn’t feel that [Christian] had the personality to connect with the audience in a big way. He didn’t think he was larger than life and at that time Vince wanted the top guys needed to be larger than life. You needed to be The Rock, needed to be Stone Cold, you needed to be Undertaker. Every time you would come up with an idea for Edge or Christian it would be like okay, there is a lot of excitement there with Edge."

"‘Oh by God, we could do this with him. We could do this with him, a big good-looking bastard and then we’d get to Christian and it would just be, ‘Ugh, God, do we have to shoot him? Do we have to see that face? The fuck’s he gonna say?!’"

Even after winning his first World Heavyweight Championship, Christian ended up losing the belt within five days.

He inducted long-term partner Edge into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2012 but is conspicuous by his own absence from the list over a decade later. The veteran wasn't offered a new WWE contract following a separate return at the Royal Rumble in 2021.

He has since found a home in AEW under Tony Khan's leadership, who reacted to Grisham's story further in an additional post that read: "Christian Cage is the man."

[cuculine-nelipot]

One way in which OFMD exceeded expectations this season is the emphasis they placed on the need for personal growth, especially in the pursuit of relationships - all relationships, not just romantic . Buttons laid it all out for Ed, and then turned into a bird just to prove that it is possible if you believe enough. They repeatedly drew attention to Ed's and Stede's flaws, and why they need to work on them in order to become better people not only for each other, but for everyone around them

Lucius told Stede that he was selfish and self-centred, that despite his self-proclaimed love, respect, and kindness, his actions made him anything but. He and the other crew members told him that he was wilfully ignoring reality so that he could believe in the fantasy of Ed/Blackbeard that he had constructed for himself. These are all things that prevent him from being both the captain and the romantic partner he wants to be. The main thing he needs to do to change is listen actively. This has been true since season 1, when we saw him refusing to engage in an honest dialogue with Mary, and several times when he ignored his crew. However, throughout season 2 he is given ample opportunities to listen, to grow as a person, to become a better leader and partner, but he doesn't. At all. He tells Lucius that he can talk to him about his bad experiences, only to quickly tell him that it's too much, talk to Pete instead. He lets the crew vote as to whether Ed should be allowed to stay, only to invite him back shortly after they decide against. After much arguing, he begrudgingly accepts that the crew believes his red suit is cursed, but he does not get rid of the shirt. He agrees when Ed tells him that he needs their relationship to progress slowly, only to initiate sex with him soon after. When Ed expresses his anger about that, he does not understand, and he does not take responsibility. He murders Ned Low even though he knows how desperate Ed is to leave violence behind. In the final episode when everyone tells him that his plan is terrible, he does not listen and insists that they do it anyway, and Izzy dies because of it. He does not take responsibility for that either. In fact, throughout the season he happily comments on the fact that despite his staggering incompetence, things always seem to work out for him specifically, not acknowledging that the same is not true for anyone else. He has remained just as self-centred and self-serving as he was in the very beginning.

Ed too experiences a similar state of arrested development. His core motivation is still to be a different person, and like in the first season he swings from one persona to the next, never reconciling the disparate parts of himself. The closet he gets to reckoning with himself is when he admits that he does not think he is worthy or capable of being loved, but that he wishes he was. However after being "reborn" every attempt he makes to that end is at best superficial and half-hearted. When he addresses the crew he does not say he's sorry, and the only thing he does that could be framed as an attempt at reparations is when he gives them money to throw themselves a party. At that same party he (at Stede's encouragement) congratulates himself for dispelling the poison, disregarding the fact that it was the crew's idea, and the crew who put all the effort into it.

Like in season 1, each of his personas comes with a costume change. There's the kohl smeared face of the Kraken, the cleaner crisper Blackbeard, and the neutrals of Ed - a blank canvas. He does not know who Ed is yet, and he is prevented from finding out by his unwillingness to accept that he is the Kraken and Blackbeard, to sit alone with himself. Fang points this out to him, but instead of anything meaningful coming from it, we get two separate scenes of Ed thinking about being quiet, about being present. Just for a laugh. Because, like with Stede, it's funnier (apparently) for him to stay exactly the way he is.

So he does not grow, because despite the writers putting him in positions to do so, their idea of comedy is for him not to. His brief stint as a fisherman is shockingly reminiscent of the end of season 1, where he's so focused on being zen and chill and being a totally new person that he neglects the basic functions of his job. Unlike then, he does not have the excuse of being burnt out. There is no commentary on toxic masculinity here. It was just 'funnier' to show him being incompetent, and apparently the only way the writers could think to get him back to the main narrative. By which, of course, I mean Stede. Because despite it's ensemble cast and the seamlessly integrated character-driven storylines on season 1, this is the Stede Bonnet show, right?

In spite of his very real, and understandable frustration with Stede a) initiating sex despite his explicitly saying he wasn't ready and b) killing Ned Low right when he was trying to leave violence behind, he makes a beeline for him. He rows back to the Republic of Pirates, sees it on fire, and immediately thinks of Stede. Not the crew (because despite Izzy's quite frankly insane last words he has not done anything to build a relationship with them) and not either of the two men he's sailed with for years. Only Stede. For Stede all of his development (as little as it was) is undone. He kills some naval officers despite his previously established desire to avoid violence. he dives to retrieve his Blackbeard outfit, simultaneously completely undermining the significance of him tossing them in the first place, and of his swimming upward towards a new life.

In season 1 he left Blackbeard for Stede and in season 2 he reclaims him for the same reason. But that's not growth. That's not character development. In both instances he is simply being reinvented in the context someone else. He pursues Stede simply because Stede enables him to imagine that he is a different person, he becomes the version of himself that exists in Stede's mind. If this were real life, it would be an extremely unhealthy way to live. In terms of fictional media, it's just lazy writing. Putting him next to Stede is the easiest, least meaningful way for Ed to change. Despite insights into his interiority, he is not being written as a character with agency.

This becomes especially obvious when we look at Izzy's dying words, and at David Jenkins own thoughts about their relationship. Jenkins says that Izzy fed Edward poison and ended up eating it too. Izzy says that he fed Edward darkness because he needed Blackbeard. There is exactly one instance where this is true. That one instance does not in anyway serve as evidence that Izzy was responsible for every violent thing Ed had ever done. Izzy was not responsible for Ed killing his dad, Izzy was not responsible for the joy Ed admitted he took in maiming people, and it certainly does not in anyway justify the violence Ed enacted on him. That one instance also does not change the fact that Ed very clearly had all the power in his and Izzy's relationship. He ignores Izzy continuously. His reaction to Izzy's anger is violence - he chokes him, he maims him. Izzy has no power. Ed chose violence - for a myriad of complex reasons, yes, but it was his choice. But the writers are framing it so that Ed is simply a puppet - he can either be filled with "Izzy's" poison, or Stede's "goodness." He has no agency, because it's too hard. It's too complicated. It would be too much for Ed to be a complex, morally flawed character who grows and changes for the better, and it would be so hard to write him having his happy rom-com story. So it's better to just simplify all that complexity, right? Forget the trauma Ed endured, forget the trauma he inflicted, forget his depression and his mania. Izzy fed him poison. Izzy made him Blackbeard. Let's just leave it at that. Except that's not the story they wrote, is it. If Izzy made him Blackbeard, fed Blackbeard, wanted Blackbeard, needed Blackbeard, then why does he almost never call him Blackbeard? Consistently, since episode 2, it's a constant stream of "Edward", "Ed" and "Eddie" and we're supposed to believe it was Blackbeard he was after? Speaking of Izzy, his arc is the cruelest of all. And no, I'm not salty that he died. I am beyond disappointed that he died in the arms of his abuser, that his last act was to not only absolve his abuser of all responsibility, but to take it on as his own, and that David Jenkins seems to think that this is a good end to his story.

At this juncture it's important to say that Izzy Hands is very clearly a victim of abuse - physical and emotional. It has however become abundantly clear David Jenkins and many fans of the show do not see it that way. Why? Is it because he's a man? Because he does not act like some preconceived notion of an abuse victim acts? Because it's possible that he "brought him on himself"? Is it really possible for anyone to bring that level of violence on themselves? He experiences the most growth of this season, yes, but as we've established the bar is very low, and he was not given the chance to flourish like it first seems. He does not remove himself from the abusive situation. He is confronted about it, he lashes out in panic, and he is consoled, but he still cannot admit to it. That one moment of care allows him to distance himself from Edward - just a little bit. It allows him to stop enabling Ed, and to stand up for the crew. Not himself, the crew. He is just as selfless and as blind to his own needs as ever.

When Edward shoots him in the leg he screams for death. When Edward confronts him again, he surrenders to the fact that he is not loved, or wanted, and he tries to kill himself. He does not survive for himself, or of his own volition. He survives because the crew makes him survive - they try to hide him, they cut off his festering leg, they make him a wooden one, they allow him to lean on them (physically and implicitly emotionally) for support. He begins to heal, but he does not fully get there. He still loves Edward. We see it in his desperation to know what Ed told Stede about him. We see it in the way he approaches Ed, hoping for a moment of his time. He never reckons with the fact of his own abuse. He tells himself a shark took his leg. His dying act is to apologise to his abuser, to blame himself. He lets Edward go not for his own sake, but Edwards'. He lets go of Edward, and he says he wants to die, just like he did when Edward shot him, just like he did when Edward talked to him after that. He hasn't healed. While Ed's and Stede's fatal flaw is their selfishness, Izzy's has always been his selflessness, and that is still true. He still loves the man who hurt him beyond comprehension, he still gives his life - takes away his guilt and gives him the family he earned for himself - so that man can be happy without him. He literally dies for Edward's sins. He is denied the opportunity to ever live for himself. He was given the beginnings of healing, a home and, a family; one party and a swan song.

[tenebraevesper]

Sonic Prime (Thoughts)

So, since the finale of Sonic Prime has finally aired, I had figured to offer my opinion on the show.

I absolutely LOVED IT!

I know that not everyone was fond of the finale, and were also confused by the ending (EDIT: Note, I understand the ending, I'm just talking about what I heard through the grapevine), and there were some wars over Ian's comment about Sonic Prime taking place after Sonic Advance 3... but I didn't mind it too much.

In my personal opinion, I found Sonic Prime to be a very enjoyable show with an interesting take on the Sonic characters, the highlights being the Amys (Rusty Rose, Thorn Rose and Black Rose and their development as sisters), Captain Dread (I loved his redemption!), Rebel and Renegade Knux (Knuxouge anyone?!; also Rebel showing off her leadership skills and Knux punching Nine) and Nine (we now have evidence that Tails will commit war crimes if Sonic isn't around). I'll also add Mangey and Sails for their adorableness.

However, what impressed me the most was the character development of the two particular hedgehogs shown above - Sonic & Shadow.

Sonic started out the show as someone very reckless and doing his own thing instead of listening to his friends, causing him to shatter the Paradox Prism and create what becomes known as the Shatterverse. He projects his vision of his friends on people that look like his friends, getting himself more and more into trouble, especially with Nine, until he finally starts to listen, starting with Shadow, and over time gains the trust of the others, showing that he did become a bit wiser by relying on his Shatterverse friends' (and enemy's) advice. He really came a long way from how he used to be.

As for Shadow, I had actually planned to talk about him more in a separate post, but to keep it short - Prime!Shadow is peak Shadow! Just like Sonic, he underwent through character development, even though his was a bit more subtle. Shadow is a character who too has issues with communicating people, preferring to punch Sonic (admittedly, it also doesn't help that Sonic refuses to listen to him) over talking, but over time, he and Sonic start working together, showing to be the dream team. Not only that, but I loved how Shadow starts to become more and more protective over Sonic during the finale, trusting Sonic's plan and even not minding the hugs from Sonic. Also, that finale, where he saves Sonic's life had my heart racing!

Yeah, I've been freaking out over the Sonadow content the whole time and Sonic Prime never failed to deliver. Oh, I know that Sonadow will never become canon, especially given how SEGA had taken a step away from romance, which I don't mind, but I love to see how fan content is thriving.

I'll be also looking forward to reading any Post-Sonic Prime ideas, especially in regards to Sonic and Shadow's relationship, as it is implied that both remember the events of the Shatterverse (again, Sonadow shippers are thriving).

All in all, Sonic Prime was awesome, but I do have a question - why are there 23 episodes?! Netflix, where is the 24th episode?!

Sonadow Prime AMV (Enjoy!)

#Sonic the Hedgehog Analyzer (Masterlist)

[dykedvonte]

wanted to say I appreciate your nuanced takes on MW and especially Curly. i don't get the claim that the fandom is full of Curly apologists when majority (esp yt and tiktok) say he's worse than Jimmy. Yes there's commentary about bro culture defending people, he def messed up in trying to placate Jimmy (tbh "we'll fix this" sounded more like trying to keep someone prone to outbursts like Jim calm and not hurt Anya/himself) but I don't think he did nothing to help Anya, since she continued to confide in him and he had less than a week to resolve it before the crash (I also don't get everyone saying he knew for ages when it seems like Anya told him that same week). I get Jimmy's a pos but saying stuff like Curly should've known he'd crash the ship or that Jim had a criminal record he ignored, reducing them to obviously horrible villain and willfully ignorant sidekick feels like a disservice to the game. If your best friend turned out to be horrible, what would you do in a confined space in the span of a few days to respond? I'd say some of the horror comes from trying to do good but ultimately failing, Curly's state after the crash is meant to be tragic horror not revenge/punishment

Thank you and this is what I want to get across.

A lot of information we have to supplement when it comes to how long things have been happening on this current ship. I think people try to add on to the horror and negligence by making things more obvious so it can feel like it was easier to avoid when, true to life, its not. Jimmy clearly didn't deserve or appreciate what Curly did for him in getting him the job, but do you think if Jimmy was that big of a menace on Earth he would've given him a position where he could have that level of power over people's lives? There's something in the fact he specifically chose to pick a position so close to himself where he could watch Jimmy.

I hate the bro code argument because that is a whole can of worms people really don't get. That sort of mentality is born from the general respect and preference of male matter over female ones. Curly is clearly not that guy, he is absent minded about the issue and inadvertently dismissive but he clearly believes Anya, he just can't understand what she's going through. It's an onslaught of information that no one really reacts right to. Additonally, the entire discussion of her assualt plays to heavy into the idea that there is fault outside of the perpertratior when it comes to SA. It's too close if she only did this or if Curly had protected her better but the fact of the matter is Jimmy did what he did. He did it before any of the conversations with Anya about it and it's why her behavior seemed to change so drastically in those last two days.

He has other conflicting thought and while his role as a Captain should've taken over, people act like it's not a very human thing to have such a toxic presence cloud your judgement. It is never easy to separate friend from coworker once that connection is formed, you want to help them, especially if they were friend first and for a long while like in this case. It's not right, but people act like it would be easy when the game clearly points out that no choice is easy to make, especially when you have to make it for more than one person. You have the weigh the consequences, look at all the options and make a plan. People can headcanon and decide how long things where happening, but if we look at what we were presented through the characters eyes, the only person given time to do that was Jimmy.

He waited two months after the crash to appoint himself Captain. Every time a problem was brought up he immediately took action and refused to sit on it and find a better solution. I think it's important to look at the warped way Jimmy takes initiative where Curly didn't as it works as a good contrast of why you don't just run in to "fix" things. The quickest and easiest option may not be the safest or most beneficial. I think some thoughts on the game suffer from the black and white thinking the game doesn't operate on along with us being voyeurs. We see what exactly led to what but the characters don't. They don't have the hindsight and foresight we do and even ours is scrambled by the non-linear story telling.

Like it's hard to talk abuou those grey zones without sounding like an apologist because you're explaining why taking responsibility isn't easy. It's not and it's weird to act like it would be in a scenerio that led up to the events of the game knowing what we know. We see all these characters in such isolated moments with various things before, in between, after and even during we aren't privy too. The idea that Jimmy is worse than Curly heavily banks on the words Jimmy was saying to Jimmy before he crashed the ship. That whatever happened on the ship was his responsibility to bare, which is true due to his position. But, are they not still not responsible for taking the actions Curly then must bare?

Like i feel like people think that these are situation that become easier with age or when you are in a postion of authority and they aren't. You don't lose your biases or gain some sudden knowledge that makes it easier. It just becomes more tiring as you keep dealing with it. I would be first in line to say Curly fucked up and should've done more but the idea he knew how bad it could get or he really saw the worst in the people around him and ignored it pretty much ignores a huge aspect of his character and the game.

[ghcstao3]

(Inspo is "First Person on Earth" by Robert DeLong)

Soap and Ghost immortals, living new lives as they blend into society. They both remember what it was like to watch the world form. They both remember what it was like to meet each other for the first time.

They hide their long pasts best they can, but Gaz catches onto their familiarity when Soap joins 141 a few years after Ghost. He starts demanding answers so an interesting meeting is called with Price and higher ups involved.

(apologizing again for taking so long to reply to this. also sorry for the mild angst it's the idea that struck)

-

One would think that after having lived the length of hundreds of human generations, Soap would have better learned how to hide his... circumstances.

Or perhaps he should know better that confiding in others is to be left between people like himself, and Ghost. Perhaps he should know better than to let his guard down, to let familiarity that shouldn't exist show—but sometimes, after eons, Soap can’t help but have the need to feel normal. Unrestrained.

Unfortunately for him, though, Gaz couldn’t let his suspicions pass. And when he’d begun to feel distrustful of Soap for his lack of explanations about anything ranging from his familiar knowledge of the past to why he barely batted an eye at what should have been a fatal bullet wound, it’s understandable that Gaz would bring something up to someone who could coax an answer out of Soap—and Ghost, by extension, for similar habits.

It’s only Price. It makes sense for Gaz to go to the team’s captain—immortality should be a concern for the entire team, for safety and advantage. That much Soap can understand—that much he can confess.

But that's only the beginning of a chain reaction. Of the irreversible fall of dominos that was never meant to happen. Because he was supposed to be careful. They were supposed to be careful.

Immortality goes beyond Price, of course. No matter how Gaz attempts to rescind his concerns.

They all realize too late that the brass would only endeavour to make assets out of Soap and Ghost. With soldiers incapable of dying, the possibilities of things that can be accomplished are near infinite.

It's the first time in centuries that they've been properly separated, because of the discovery. And it hurts more than any physical wound Soap has ever suffered.

Fortunately, even as he's exploited as nothing more than a weapon—Soap finds solace in knowing they'd still find their way back to one another. It's another inevitability of being immortal.

And one that may come sooner than the brass surely would have hoped—if only they had realized that that same immunity to death, to time itself have only made Ghost and Soap experts at disappearing.

[deathbxnny]

Hello, sorry if my english are bada and it's my first time doing this. But can you do Jing yuan, Dan heng, gepard and blade (separately) with a fem!reader who always quite and usually doesn't talk to much but when she with her younger brother, she just being the most weird and chaotic person they ever met that sometimes has a weirdest humor like metalpipes discord memes, the 'me me sour cream', and somes jokes her brother tells her and she laughed with a loud voice for someone who like to stay quite all the time.

From Kiddessia Anon

-----♡

A/N: Hello! I find this idea quite cute and relatable, so thank you for the request!<33

Content: Kinda unserious, reader has a younger brother, fluff, established relationships, sfw

Reader has no set pronouns!

((Not fully proofread))

-----♡

》Gepard Landau

He never minded your quiet self much, especially as he just assumed that that's the way you naturally were. He also didn't mind talking for you either, as he wanted you to feel comfortable. He might push you sometimes to maybe get out of your comfort zone, but he wouldn't ever force you to talk to anyone, if you don't want to.

He enjoyed meeting your little brother, even going as far as getting him something he thought he'd like, which made your him immideatly like Gepard to your delight. What the captain didn't expect however, was how much you changed whenever you spent time with your brother.

He found it to be a pleasant surprise though, as he was happy to see you be so talkative with someone for once. Whilst he didn't really understand your humour, he loved hearing you giggle and laugh so freely. It's safe to say that he's going to visit your little brother more often with you from now on.

-----♡

》Blade

He was pretty quiet himself and didn't enjoy talking more than it was necessary for him to, so he didn't mind your quietness either. In fact, he perhaps preferred it, as he enjoyed the small moment of comfortable silence and peace you could give him.

He however therefore wasn't too keen on meeting your brother at first, mainly because he was seemingly the complete opposite of you. He would only give him one or two word answers and it was obvious that your brother found it funny to annoy him.

With that said, he was absolutely flabbergasted, when you suddenly were just as loud and talkative as your little brother. He just stood there listening to your odd and weird attempts at humour, whilst you two laughed like crazy. He was baffled and didn't know how to react, but ultimately just sighed and accepted his fate. He couldn't ever find you annoying, not even like this. Especially not when your laugh and smile warmed his cold heart more than anything ever could.

-----♡

》Dan Heng

Dan Heng was quiet himself and therefore didn't think much of your silence either. He liked the comfortable silence you created, as he calmly worked in his room. He didn't mind it and never commented on it. Besides, if needed be, he wouldn't mind talking for you, if it made you feel more comfortable. And that's all he ever cared for.

So, he didn't mind and was even flattered, when you took him to visit your little brother. He didn't mind his loudness or his odd humour. If anything, he actually asked him to explain him the jokes, even if they weren't funny afterwards. Your brother seemed to at least like him.

He was mildly surprised, when you were very talkative and loud with your brother. He somehow figured you would be, though he still doesn't understand your humour. It's alright however, as listening to your happy laugh and seeing your smile is enough for him to smile and chuckle softly himself.

-----♡

》Jing Yuan

Jing Yuan found your quietness kinda cute and would playfully tease you for it. He doesn't mind speaking for you to make you feel comfortable and appreciates the more quiet moments with you after stressful, tiring work days.

With that said, he found it amusing that your little brother was at first seemingly very different than you were. He didn't mind the weird humour and just chuckled at how enthusiastic your brother was. He entertained his talkative behaviour too, which was cute quite to see.

He was pleasantly surprised to see you behave the same however and would tease you for hiding such a cute personality from him. He loves watching you laugh and smile so brightly, especially because it makes him do the same, even if he doesn't get your weird humour at times. But that's alright, as long as you find it funny.

-----♡

A/N: I hope this was okay! Thank you again for the request!<33

[scarfacemarston]

Legit Question

I'm not trying to start arguments and I know I sound crazy. I'm so sorry. I'm ashamed to have the thought, but it just popped into my head and I just want someone logical. If an actor plays mostly assholes and villains, do you ever wonder about them as a person? I know it's just pretend and it's a job, but I'm genuinely curious if it ever makes you wonder what they're like in real life. I've loved Sebastian Stan since Captain America the First Avenger. I love his early work in Political Animals, Kings, and some others from that era. He's the face claim for my OC I've had for like...4 years, but he seriously plays almost nothing but assholes and or villains. Like legit so many abusers. I AM NOT SAYING HE'S ABUSIVE AND NEVER WOULD. I am not saying he's legit a killer or anything crazy like that. That would be wild. I am saying, do you all think there is a connection between actors and the roles they play? As in a darkness or creep factor or something like that. Like there are a lot of roles in that person's filmography? And there are other examples in the world of acting, too! Am I thinking too much about it? I don't know him in real life, to be fair and no one else does. I don't want to know him or any other celeb. Maybe he just likes challenging roles? IDK. But it's making me wonder if I should change his face claim. I've essentially written a book length thing about a character with his appearance in mind. It's been bothering me. I've been getting some creepy vibes because of it. Do people get normal good vibes from him? (Knowing again that we don't know him.) I know I'll probably separate Bucky and Sebastian Stan at this point, but that's kind of hard to do. Again, I do not hate him. I don't know him. To explain my craziness: I'm Romanian so I legit get shit about Sebastian Stan every time someone finds out I'm from there so it's impossible to escape for good or for bad. Sometimes it's cool things sometimes it's not. To be fair, I think that's why this bothers me? People hate Romanians so much and I've been called horrible names like g^psy, been stopped by police for no reason, been nearly denied entry into places like the UK, told to go home back to my country, I'm stealing jobs etc. There's been a lot of shame being Romanian So I think that's why it feels a little more personal as far as who represents Romania. At the same time, I understand the idea of someone representing a country maynot be fair, but that's kind of how it is? I guess I just want the world to have like....one good Romanian example. I know I sound crazy, but I'm genuinely curious.

[t0ast-ghost]

S2 Episode 9 (Metamorphosis) Wait wait wait. I'm watching this episode on April 5th, this is so special (I know this won't be posted till days later but holy crap):

- I like hows there's just a mission that somehow requires the captain, first officer, and head medical officer to be on the same shuttle escorting one person

- I will not blame McCoy for anything (sorry. not sorry actually)

- They always take the Galileo

- Oooh pretty lighting

- "I'm not imagining you am I?" "We're real enough." Kirk what kind of fucking answer is that?

- "Food to a starving man. All of you." Saying this after he just shook Spock's hand is crazy…

- They’re conferring

- So the companion wants.. companions?

- SPOCK ITS BEHIND YOU

- The companion snap crackle popped the shuttle and Spock

- “It attacked you?!” Bones is shocked. “I’m not a scientist or a physicist, Mr Spock.” He says this with a smile and it’s such a moment between them

- This episode is like “if you love me let me go” and it’s such a deep love between them and holy shit

- hey siri what’s a “Judas Goat”?

- THEY FUCKING SHOT HIM

- McCoy watching his boyfriends die and begging the companion to stop

- “It isn’t your fault.” “I’m in command, Bones. It makes it my fault.” “How do you fight a thing like that?” “Maybe you’re a soldier so often that you forget you were also trained to be a diplomat.” Bones advice!

- Okay it just violently goes back to Scotty’s log. YESS UHURA AND SULU CONTENT!

- “It’s a big galaxy, Mr. Scott.” “Aye…”

- McCoy’s just standing there looking pretty next to Spock and Kirk in this episode, isn’t he?

- “The idea of male and female are universal constants, Cochrane.” Bull fucking shit, mate

- “You’re not a pet. You’re not a specimen kept in a cage. You’re a lover.” “I’m a whut!?”

“For all these years, I’ve let something as alien as that crawl around inside me, into my mind, my feelings…” So he wasn’t upset when he thought he was being treated as a caged animal/pet by a male or non gendered entity, but as soon as it’s a woman who’s in love with him... (its fair that he’s freaking out but like…what?)

- The boyfriend’s explaining why this guy should continue to date the cloud of sparkles. McCoy and Spock can agree on smt at least

- “No. I- I don’t want to die. I’ve been good at my job. But… I’ve never been in love. Never. What kind of life is that? Not to be loved. Never to have shown love. And he runs away from love.” This is such a heartbreaking and beautiful scene from the Ambassador

- “Companion, do you love the man?” “I do not understand.” “Is he important to you? More important than anything? Is he… as though he were apart of you?” SCREAMING CRYING THROWING UP WHAT IS THIS

- “But you can’t really love him. You haven’t the slightest knowledge of love— the total union of two people. You are the companion, he is the man. You are two different things. You can’t join. You can’t love. You may keep him here forever. But you will always be separate. Apart from him.”

- Jim just poured his fucking heart out and we know it was about them I’m dying and crying about this

- “What did you hope to gain by that, Jim?” “Try to convince her of the hopelessness of it. Love sometimes expresses itself in sacrifice. I thought maybe if she loved him… She’d let him go.” Oh my the parallels of it. This is about Spock and McCoy. He wants to be with them, but he knows he can’t let them go and so he sacrifices himself for them. Leave me alone in this hole of misery and self deceit.

- Loneliness, oh god the loneliness. Her eyes show so much in this scene

- I love when bones stands there like a NPC or lego character (oh my god I want a Bones Lego figurine)

- I’m just going to say it. I think this guy is bisexual. And it’s not just because of the colour of the sky.

- “As long as you grow old together.” You know who grows old together…. I’m fucking going I’m going off. Spock, McCoy, and Kirk grow old together (is what I’m getting at)

What.. what happened to me. This episode.. bye…

(Edit: I know canonically they’re not dating but I like to take all the evidence I can to support it. So if some of this stuff is a bit nonsensical… I’m sleep deprived as shit and it’s finals)

Masterpost

Episode written by Gene L. Coon

[mermaidlighthouse]

Since I’m apparently making this a fuckin series of posts…I’m gonna look at another Izzy moment/scene from the perspective that while a separate character with other functions and characterizations, Izzy narratively is a personification of Blackbeard and therefore an extension of Ed…this time we’re gonna look at the “you know me better than anyone has ever known me and I dare say the same is true for me about you” and recontextualize it around that premise…

Two things before we begin - First, this is going to be highly critical of Izzy if that’s not for you then skip it, however, this is critical of Izzy from the perspective of someone who does enjoy his character both as a separate entity and in this framework. Second, this interpretation is predicated on the idea that Izzy is both a personification of Blackbeard and that the persona of Blackbeard functions narratively as a physical manifestation of Ed’s poor self-worth and darkest thoughts about himself.

To get to the meat of the scene I think it needs to be said first, that Izzy is canonically and categorically WRONG in his assertion. He doesn’t know Ed all that well at all frankly and it’s apparent from the very first interactions between them. So, let's go through some of those:

The scenes in the Captain’s cabin on the QAR: Izzy didn’t know that Ed was so fucking bored that the idea of something…really anything…out of the ordinary would interest him. We know that Izzy has no qualms with straight-up lying to Ed. “I explicitly told him Blackbeard desired his company.” Even if you take the stance that there should be no way Stede wouldn’t know canonically famous for being Blackbeard’s First Mate Izzy Hands (which I have said before) that means that Izzy assumes he’s just that famous that he should be a known entity but, that still isn’t explicitly saying Blackbeard. With that in mind, why didn’t he just lie to Ed about losing Hornberry? He could have very easily lied about not having been “bested at swordplay”. That’s just another interesting thing about Stede…Izzy ends up being the person who ultimately keeps making Stede seem like the MOST interesting person. The fact that he couldn’t recognize that Ed would not only find Stede initially interesting but would find him even more interesting because he told Blackbeard to “go suck eggs in hell” after they’ve already been following him around is a huge indication that he doesn’t understand Ed at all, let alone better than anyone else.

The first day on The Revenge: so Izzy NEVER realizes that Ed already has a plan to get away from the Spanish. I’m not litigating whether Ed’s actions are manipulative (which I do think there’s a sound reading there btw) I’m simply saying that Izzy was unable to read Ed’s actions or nonactions to recognize he was being played with. I’m also not litigating whether the plan was sound because again my whole point is that Izzy never realized Ed had a plan from the moment Izzy found him on deck. This one may be up for personal interpretation but, if you know a person better than anyone else, it seems like you should have some sort of inkling that they are messing around with you. 

I’m not actually going to go through every interaction between them but I think these showcase that from the start of the show Izzy doesn’t understand Ed, he doesn’t know Ed. Izzy is not telling the truth, he’s lying.

Back to the original premise then

looking at this line from the perspective that Izzy functions as an extension of Blackbeard. So, a lot of the dialogue between Ed and Izzy throughout the show can be read as showcasing when you have self-loathing, the voices in your head will lie to you because you can’t see a way around them. That you can and will lie to yourself when you hate yourself because it’s easier at that point to perpetuate the lies because they’ve been what you’ve told yourself for a very long time. That you may have a skewed perspective especially about yourself. Essentially, I’m saying that Izzy functions as a way to show the audience how Ed talks to himself in his darkest moments, Blackbeard’s voice (in the same way ghost!Nigel functioned for Stede). 

Izzy telling Ed that he knows him best and vice versa is the voice in Ed’s head, Blackbeard, saying “we are the same. I’m the only one who understands you and no one else will see you better than me. I know all your darkest moments which means I know the REAL you. The version of you that I desire is the REAL you. I’m here to protect you from the darkness within and from outside because I’m your only point of contact in the world.” It’s a personification of how low self-esteem or self-worth preys on and isolates you by creating a false dichotomy where no one else will ever identify with you. Or that anyone who thinks you can grow beyond what your low self-worth dictates is “the right way to be” is wrong because they don’t know you, not really. 

It’s the ultimate mindfuck because it’s the voice in your head manipulating you from the inside, it can be very difficult to argue against your own thoughts. We see this in the scene as well, Ed never actually contradicts Izzy even though we already know there are several ways in which Izzy doesn’t know Ed.

This scene shows how Ed can easily feel as though there will be nothing but this, this constant boredom, this constant pain in trying to conform to the darkest thoughts in his head, Blackbeard.

This same logic can be applied to the "This is Blackbeard. Not some namby-pamby pining for his boyfriend" line. Izzy is voicing the idea that the persona of Blackbeard isn't supposed to have emotional entanglements. He's implying that Blackbeard doesn't want or need to be loved, Blackbeard only needs prestige and power. The desire to be loved is all Edward and Edward is nothing without Blackbeard. That Stede is an impediment to who Ed REALLY is. It's mirrored in Izzy telling Stede "I know you think you understand him." It's how your self-loathing can and will attempt to push people away. And Izzy falters when Stede proves that he actually does know Ed, he's fully aware of who Ed is as a person in his entirety and Stede is the person who is going to accept ALL of Ed's iterations. All of these lines from Izzy are lies and manipulation disguised as self-preservation.

The voice of Blackbeard is literally just how Izzy speaks to Ed…and in this way Izzy is the rotten leg that needs to come off................

This is no way justifies or allows Izzy to get off the hook for being manipulative and being an outside person who does all this shit...I'm just looking at how the show allows you to understand Ed better by giving an outside voice to the things Ed is struggling with internally. It can be both.

[sokkastyles]

Hi,

Hope you are doing well.

I have another query regarding TSR. When Katara confronts Yon Rah and spare him at the end, I didn't notice Zuko's silence at that moment. Now, I am realizing that his silence in a way shows that he accepted and respected Katara's choice. He may not have liked it, but he understood that it was her choice, and that was that.

Looking at the way Aang responded at the end of the episode, I don't think he understood her choice at all. He simply assumed that she forgave Yon Rah, when she did not. It seems like he did not want to understand her choice at all.

On a separate note, do you feel that when it comes to Zuko's actions in the episode, it seems a bit weird that some people say that Zuko wanted Katara to murder Yon Rah in revenge, when not once did he bring that subject up in the episode whatsoever, and the one who brought that topic up was Aang?

I would like your thoughts on this.

The thing I find funny is that people try to make this about Zuko or Katara not respecting Aang's culture when throughout the episode, the one who is consistently unwilling to accept other people's perspectives is Aang. Aang is the one who insists it's about revenge. And I agree, Katara saying "maybe it is" is probably the point where that idea entered her mind.

I'm not saying that was never a possibility, because let's be real, they're not going there to make friends with the guy. But reducing it to revenge ignores the fact that these are people who need to be stopped. No one knew Yon Rah was retired. (I've also said before that Zuko and Katara should have at least disabled the Southern raiders' ship after learning Yon Rah wasn't there, because those men certainly were not innocent.) It's also about Katara reclaiming her legacy. Yon Rah thought he had murdered the last waterbender, remember? One thing that did give Katara closure was being able to affirm her survival and confront the man who could have been her murderer with it. This also ties into why learning waterbending combat was so important to Katara. The Southern raiders' mission was to wipe out waterbenders because the fire nation feared them as a threat to their war. Katara confronting the man who supposedly killed the last waterbender with all her power is an affirmation that that mission had failed. This is also why I have no time for people who insist that fighting is not a part of Katara's legacy and who she is.

And like you said, Zuko is silent when Katara makes her choice. He might have disagreed with her, or not. The only indication we get of his feelings is the look of hatred he throws Yon Rah behind Katara's back as they are leaving, but that could mean a lot of things. It could mean that Zuko has accepted that this man who he clearly despises has to live with the fact that the person he was sent to kill not only lived, but became more powerful than he could have imagined, and that he is pathetic in comparison. One could argue that this is a punishment worse than death. And that actually is probably enough for Zuko, because what he wanted was the confrontation. Remember when he tells the new captain to look Katara in the eyes and remember? I've said before that that mirrors Zuko confronting his father and demanding the truth, a confrontation which he also chose to walk away from without killing. What Zuko wants is for these men to be confronted with their crimes, and in neither case is that accomplished through killing.

And not only is Zuko silent during, but after the fact, he expresses no judgement on what Katara did, not even when she herself says she is uncertain. He tells Aang he was right, even though Aang again is the one to make assumptions and immediately says he's "proud" of Katara for "choosing forgiveness," which Katara immediately shoots down. Despite how much this episode wants to tell us that Aang is wise and understanding, it is Katara and Zuko who demonstrate understanding of the situation, Katara who makes the right decision in the end and is wise enough to be accepting of the ambiguity of her feelings, Zuko who is able to extend understanding to both sides when Aang and Katara continue to disagree. Zuko also never makes an attempt to define the situation. We do not see Zuko and Katara's initial conversation beyond Zuko telling Katara he knows where to find Yon Rah, which implies that Katara's decision to go after him is a foregone conclusion with no need of convincing by Zuko. Another thing we never see is what Zuko told the rest of the gaang after the fact, when Katara was not there. Aang tells Katara that Zuko told him what happened, and makes his own assumptions about what happened, assumptions which Katara says are wrong. But we never hear Zuko's interpretation of the facts, because it's not for him to define what happened. The episode is very careful to NOT have Zuko define or influence things. Which is why it's funny when people try to argue that he did. It also makes it more noticeable that Aang is the one who attempts to define things before listening to Katara, which is why he comes across negatively in this episode, and why it negatively affects an audience view of his relationship with Katara.

[beryllineart]

Should Have Been Me

Guys, this comic made me cry while I was making it. You don't get how crazy that is, I was listening to a comedy podcast and I was still tearing up. Anyways, this is my 66th post, so I wanted to do something Gaster related and decided to do something from my Uncle Gaster au.

Undertale belongs to Toby Fox

I'm gonna analyze my own characters now ('cause I want to) but if you are curious about this au, feel free to send me an ask!

Okay, so this comic was originally going to be about Dana and Gaster having a fight after the death of their brother, but I couldn't figure it out, and I realized that that didn't really fit the idea I have for either of them. In fact, Gaster has had a shell around him for most of his life, and he only lets people through (like Dana) after it breaks or weakens. This is one of those times.

Since the idea of this au is that Gaster separated himself from his family, cut off all contact with them, etc, how does him opening up and being vulnerable with his sister end up in separation? Well, this is actually one of the healthiest moments in their relationship, when they were feeling the same way and were just grieving together.

The main problem is personality differences. Dana and Gaster are polar opposites. Dana is cheerful, extroverted, optimistic and confident. Gaster is quiet, very introspective and doesn't open up easily. Roman was a good bridge between the two, and he would often encourage Dana to be a little more thoughtful and would teach Gaster how to just have fun (Roman's personality is a lot closer to Dana's, but since he's closer in age to Gaster he spends a lot more time around his brother and has learned the ins and outs of what makes him comfortable).

Anyways, Dana (and their parents) seem to move on too fast after Roman's death. They adjust to this new life and they start being happy again, but Gaster's not ready for that yet. He's still got a bad case of survivor's guilt, plus he and Roman were really, really close. He needs more time to adjust and accept, but more importantly, he needs time to grieve and he needs someone he can talk to. Unfortunately, he doesn't feel like he can talk to anyone in his family because they are all happy now, and they wouldn't understand how he feels. (They would totally be down to talk, by the way.) He starts to feel like he's forced to cheer up and act like everything's okay.

Eventually the sting of Roman's death fades a bit, but Gaster can't fully find closure because he never fully mourned. He can't handle being around his family anymore, so he just leaves and cuts off all communication. (There have been a few fights between him and his sister and parents that helped this decision as well.)

I don't think Gaster ever hated his family though. That's not in his nature. He gets angry at and hates himself. Dana tends to get angry at other people, and ooh boy, when Gaster didn't attend their parents' funerals, she was mad... She and the rest of her family did nothing wrong, so she doesn't understand why Gaster would punish them like this. What she doesn't realize is that Gaster thinks there's something wrong with him, and he doesn't feel that he deserves to be a part of his family anymore. He's punishing himself.

Anyways, here's the other post I made about Uncle Gaster, and sorry if this was a bit too wordy, I just love overanalyzing these sorts of things. You should see me feverishly figuring out every aspect of my Steamtale Undyne, why she hates her prosthetic arm but wears it anyway, how her childhood impacts her captaining style (and how she treats Monster Kid because of it) and... alsdjf;alkdfj, I'm rambling again.

[incorrect-pipravi]

Can you do some Jamie and nat head cannons please pooks 🤩🤩

Hi! Hope you’re having a good day! I’m a pipravi blog, however, Nat & Jamie (Namie?) are my beloveds so of course! (Also will that make me the first person to make content for them? If so then I declare myself as the Captain of Namie ship!!!) anyways hope you enjoy these!

Tw: mentions of rape/sa, blackmail, kidnapping, survivor guilt (all references to canon) . . . Etc

So we know that Jamie used to be Andie’s friend because they rehearsed together for school plays and Nat had once gotten the lead role until Andie blackmailed her and all, so I hc that Nat had a crush on him during high school.

Jamie was the only one (besides Sal of course) in Andie’s circle who never judged or bullied Nat for the video that Andie posted.

He even apologized to Nat and had a big fight with Andie after what she did. Thus their friendship (and Nat’s crush) began.

Then Andie and Sal happened, Nat and Jamie graduated and went their separate ways with no contact for years.

Jamie drops out and returns home, so they meet again amid the chaos of Andie’s case being reopened and Max trial and their friendship rekindles.

Jamie is having troubles with his dad at home and Nat is having a hard time with the trial and they start leaning on each other for support.

Jamie starts falling for Nat because he feels like she’s the only person who truly understands him.

Nat’s old crush comes back, but she doesn’t act on it because she is in denial and she uses Luke for that.

Jamie is heartbroken and spirals after Nat starts dating Luke and he “falls” for Layla.

As for Nat, she thinks she is happy with Luke for a time, that is until Jamie goes missing when she realizes her true feelings.

After Jamie’s back, him and Nat talk about everything that happened, their feelings and they finally decide to start dating.

Connor is of course the happiest after they announced they’re dating because and I quote “I wouldn’t have survived another moment of witnessing your mutual pining, lovesick eyes.”

Nat helps Jamie out with the survivor guilt after everything that happened.

Jamie does his best to support Nat heal from everything that happened to her.

He lets her talk about her feelings about what Max did and everything else too.

In short, they help each other heal.

Those are my hcs for how they got together and the start of their relationship. As for general hcs, here’s some!

They’re very much public with their affection and they don’t mind pda.

Jamie “golden retriever” bf and Nat “black cat” gf.

Nat can be 100% vulnerable only with Jamie.

Nat fell first, Jamie fell harder!

All the Reynolds absolutely adore Nat and they were all overjoyed when they learned that she’s now Jamie’s gf.

Nat sleeps over at the Reynolds’ too often that she has her designated seat, brush and slippers.

They enjoy watching movies together, while cuddling on the couch.

Nat’s love language is physical touch while Jamie’s is act of service.

Which is why Nat is always touching Jamie in some way while Jamie is always doing something for Nat.

They both suck at cooking therefore they are always ordering takeout.

Their idea of perfect date is a night in, drinking and talking about everything and nothing.

Connor is always third wheeling them.

Jamie “it has pickles :(“ bf and Nat “HE ASKED FOR NO PICKLES!” gf

Jamie is the type of bf to hum songs and slow dances with Nat.

That’s all for now.