#bullet point tw

[ruporas]

need to exist in your warmth (id in alt)

[asgardian--angels]

Izzy Discourse Masterpost

Hey all, given the amount of awful splintering and wank happening in ofmd fandom rn regarding Izzy's death, including the flat-out immature and unacceptable harassment of David Jenkins and Co, I wanted to just make this one all-encompassing post to address the various grievances and complaints I've seen (almost entirely on Twitter). If I've missed anything, please feel free to add on. I'm putting most of this under a read-more for length.

Please be aware, I say all of this as an Izzy fan. I've loved his character since season 1, and while I was sad to see him go, I completely understand and support David & Co's reasons for concluding his arc, and I think it was done respectfully in a way fitting to his character. So let's break down some of the takes I've seen. I am not referencing specific posts or people here, I just want to address the general themes that I keep seeing about why some people are upset.

Izzy's death served no narrative purpose.

Look, this is one that I'm sure fans will debate for the rest of the hiatus. It's completely within your right to disagree with this writing choice, but Izzy's death did serve a narrative purpose in the story that David Jenkins is telling - and he has spoken to this end in several interviews already. I can only summarize here, and fans may find other perspectives in time as well. What we need to remember is that Our Flag Means Death is, at the end of the day, Ed and Stede's love story. That has been made abundantly, explicitly clear. The show has been fantastic at fleshing out the other supporting characters, but that's what they are - supporting characters. They often have their own subplots but ultimately the narrative seeks to move Ed and Stede's story forward and they are tools to spur Ed and Stede's growth or mirror their struggles. Izzy has been a wonderfully complex, multifaceted character but we must remember that all characters are vessels through which stories are told, lessons are imparted, and metaphors are established. He's not a real person who 'deserves' any particular fate. David said he's always intended for Izzy to die at the end of his arc.

Firstly, Izzy (now canonically, through his own dying words) represents part of Blackbeard. He enabled and encouraged Ed's darker side, they were mutually toxic forces to each other. Ed is attempting to cope with and move on from this phase of his life, and like Stede in season 1, set out a free man, unshackled by expectations and loose ends of those he's hurt and been hurt by (though we realize this is an ongoing process that takes time). This lovely gifset sums it up nicely, with Izzy being the Mary parallel, and making s2 mirror s1. Blackbeard is both Ed and Izzy; Ed cannot be free of Blackbeard while Izzy is in his life, and when Izzy is gone he will never truly be Blackbeard again. They are each other's rotting leg!! Yet, they love each other - and David has said that for Ed, this has developed into a mentor and father relationship, and where Ed has previously despised his father figures (his actual father, Hornigold) he does not want to lose Izzy. This time, Izzy brings out Ed, not Blackbeard - and that's where we get the callback to 'there he is', bringing their impact on each other full circle, freeing Ed, getting approval of sorts that he never had, to be soft, to be loved (and there are parallels to Zheng and Auntie here as well that others have made) from that force that drove him to stay in line all this time. David has said in multiple interviews now that he was going for the idea of the mentor/father figure dying and the hero living on and trying to do justice to them.

From Izzy's side, Izzy cannot be free while Edward remains either (Mary cannot find peace while Stede remains). The scar never truly healed, the leg will always be a reminder. At this point the argument becomes 'yes, but why did he have to die? Why not just sail off with the crew of the Revenge?' David has stated that he feels they've done everything they can with, and for, Izzy; he's come leagues from season 1, he's found community, he's found hope, he's found new parts of himself, and he's made good memories. He's found worth outside of what he can be to others. That's more than most pirates could hope for. Where would his character go from there, when the Golden Age of Piracy he belongs to has burned to the ground? Would he stay around and whittle on the Revenge? If he were a real person, yes, that would be lovely, and he'd deserve all the quiet peaceful happiness in the world. But as I explain several points below, he's not interested in being a captain. He's not up for the hard physical labor of regular crew, and he's extremely overqualified for that besides. He has served his narrative purpose, and symbolically, to enter a new age, everything must go. He's connected to the old age of piracy, to the Republic of Pirates, that is now demolished. To him, fighting for what he believes in, for the family he's found, bringing down an army of British twats in the process, is how he should go. It's a pirate's death, and as Izzy's said, he's a pirate - unlike Blackbeard who's succeeding in breaking away from piracy, Izzy never wanted to stop being a pirate, throughout his arc. To me, that's why Izzy remains trapped in the narrative, trapped in history, whereas Ed and Stede will escape history. They leave piracy, and canon, behind, while Izzy was content to remain a pirate and face a pirate's fate.

Burying him on land, right next to Ed and Stede's beach house, shows that his sacrifice was not in vain - they start this new life together, thanks to Izzy's mentorship, his role in their lives that sometimes for worse, sometimes for better, made their love what it was and made their breakaway possible. The new age is built on the foundations of the old age, and is stronger for it.

As we're well aware by now, David tweeted that there's no version of ofmd without Izzy. Whether that's literal or not, symbolically it's true. Izzy's arc of growth affected everyone on the Revenge. Jim fondly remembered fighting for a time when life meant something on that ship; the crew helped give Izzy new meaning in life, and he helped them in return. When he dies, they mourn and have a funeral; that wouldn't have happened under Blackbeard's watch in episode 2. His life meant something to them. He influenced Ed and Stede immensely, and they will take that with them. As David's said, they're all a family, and Izzy was a part of that family, and his loss unites them and brings them closer to continue to fight for that family they've built. It's a tragic, sudden death of someone they've all grown to care for, and that steels their reserve to keep the torch lit. They literally sail off into the sunset to hunt down Ricky to avenge Izzy; he will always be a part of this show. And, of course, with the brief appearance of seagull Buttons, the door is left open for anything.

If this was The Izzy Show, then sure, we'd be content to see him simply engaged in shenanigans every episode. But the plot, and therefore the characters, need to keep moving forward, and Izzy got his growth and development. He got what he needed for his character to have closure, and he served his symbolic narrative purpose in Ed's (and Stede's) story. You may have your own ideas and perspectives, and that's great - that's what fandom is for. But we cannot say his death was pointless when David Jenkins and the writers clearly had a well-defined motive for pushing the narrative in this direction. I actually think the narrative around Ed and Izzy is the most well-developed in the entire show. I for one am so happy we got such an interesting and complex character, and had the brilliant Con O'Neill to portray him.

Izzy's growth & healing arc was rendered pointless by his death.

As this post so eloquently puts it, it's pretty bleak to have the outlook that taking steps to heal and find meaning in life is worthless if it's later lost. Seeking happiness and self-actualization is worthwhile for its own sake; no one knows what's down the road, and we all die eventually. Find meaning in life now. Would you rather have had Izzy not miss with his bullet in ep2? He was given the chance to experience joy, freedom, and hope for the first time in potentially a long time, and when he died he did so with those happy memories. As mentioned, Izzy's death was decided long beforehand given the narrative, and the point of storytelling is to make you feel emotions. We were given impetus to connect and relate to Izzy's character through his process of healing, so when he did die, we felt it keenly. That's how stories work actually! We felt what Ed felt. It moved us. It's not a bad thing that Izzy's arc made him more likeable to fans before his death. It's not a bad thing to lose a beloved character - guess what, it happens constantly in stories - and it's not bad to grieve over it either, but to say that it made his journey pointless is just not true. People saying that Con must be upset that they snatched his character away from him after getting to develop him so much - again I say, would you rather him have died in ep 2 before he had the chance to grow? Or how about in s1, when the crew tried to mutiny? How'd you feel when Stede killed him in his dream, in the very first scene of the season? I think Con's probably glad for the opportunity to have explored this character so much in season 2. Ask him if he thinks it was pointless.

Killing off Izzy was bad for queer rep/burying your gays/"Izzy was the queer heart of the show"

I'm putting 'bury your gays' on the top shelf so people can't use it when it doesn't actually apply. Most of the main cast of characters in this show are queer, and it's a show about pirates with a good amount of violence. Ergo, chances are a queer character will die in the course of Things Happening In Stories. Izzy didn't die because he was queer, and he wasn't the token queer rep. Please turn your attention to the boatloads (literally) of queer characters that are happy and thriving (how about the LuPete wedding immediately afterwards??). As for Izzy being the "queer heart of the show," this is literally the Ed and Stede show. You know, the two queer leads whose queer love the show revolves around, per David Jenkins himself. I'm glad folks connected with and derived joy from Izzy's growth and especially his performance in Calypso's birthday, but he is not the main character of the show. The queer heart of the show is in fact, the entire show, all of their characters and the community & found family they create aboard the Revenge. Not to mention the fan community as well. Izzy was never carrying the show's representation on his back, and frankly that's an absurdly wild take to have (esp when he spent most of s1 actively working against the main queer relationships in the show, attempting to maintain the oppressive status quo of pirate society).

It was bad and irresponsible to have a suicidal character die

Are we forgetting the entire first half of the season where Ed, who was suicidal, kept trying to passively kill himself because he felt he was an unlovable monster, only to be shown that he is in fact loved unconditionally and it gives him the strength to fight for life and triumph against his own self-doubt? The show has spent quite a lot of effort telling viewers that despite feeling damaged or broken you are worthy of love and that you are loved even if it may be hard to see it when you're in a bad place. That you don't need to be fully healed to deserve love and care, and that love and support will help you along your journey. It's incredibly wild to disregard this major plot point and fundamental message of s2 to try and spin this the opposite way for Izzy's character.

Secondly, where are people getting 'Izzy is suicidal' from? Are we going back all the way to episode 2, when he's at his lowest point and fails at his suicide attempt, only to be figuratively reborn after removing the metaphorical rotten leg? By the time of the finale he's shown to be in a good place, thanks to the arc of healing and growth he's gotten, through the support of the Revenge crew and his 'breakup' with Blackbeard allowing him to find his own way in life, realizing he doesn't need a purpose to have value and enjoying his time on the Revenge and the bonds he's made with Stede and the crew. He is, in the words of Ivan, "the most open and available I've ever seen him" by the finale. To take episode 2 as evidence he's suicidal is to erase his whole season of growth, which is an ironic thing to do in the context of these arguments. There's no canon evidence Izzy Hands was suicidal post-'Fun and Games'.

As for 'irresponsible,' once again I say, David Jenkins is not your therapist, he's not 'Dad,' and has no responsibility to tell his story any other way than he intended to tell it. Please find media that gives you what you want or need, and if the death of a fictional character causes you this much distress please seek help. I mean this kindly but seriously.

Killing off Izzy was ableist/bad for disability rep.

I point once again to the rest of the characters, several of which are disabled in varied ways. There are literally multiple other amputee characters specifically. It's not good storytelling to wholly avoid killing off any character that is disabled/queer/poc/female or [insert marginalized group here], especially when a) it makes sense narratively, and b) there's plenty of representation of these groups in the media in question. The answer isn't making such characters invincible and immortal, it's increasing the number of these characters in shows so it's not devastating when some do die in the course of natural storytelling.

OFMD was my comfort show/safe space show, now it's ruined for me

I am not trying to be insensitive here when I say that's a problem that is yours and nobody else's. David Jenkins created this show with a three-season vision and a story in mind, and he is telling that story to the best of his ability the way he wants to. It's already been said that he and the crew did not anticipate the fandom becoming as large and passionate as it has. The plot of the show was never intended to be 'fan service,' and it's ironic that there were people complaining this season that there's been too many fanservice tropes, up until David and the rest of the writers room made a narrative decision they did not like, then the complaints changed to not coddling the fans enough.

We as viewers can derive joy from this show, it can be a comfort to us, it can be important to us. But it was not designed specifically for that purpose, therefore it cannot fail in that respect. We do not have the right to harass writers for not steering the ship in the direction we want - it's their work of art, and we can choose to either come along for the ride or not. It's rare to see creators actually given the chance to tell their story the way they intend (budget cuts aside), so let him do that. He should not cater to fans, or cave and change the story to appease us. Respect his right to create his art, and remember you have the right to create your own. That's what fanfiction is for - write fix-its to your heart's content, but keep these realms separate. David Jenkins and Co hold zero, and I mean zero, responsibility to you. He could not please everyone no matter what he did, it would be fruitless to try, and it would certainly compromise the quality of the story he set out to tell.

You are absolutely allowed to dislike choices made in any show. Curate your media experience. If this show no longer brings you joy, stop watching. But it was never David's purpose nor responsibility to juggle the mental health of millions of fans. Trying to put that on him will only make him less enthusiastic about interacting with fans or continuing to make this show. This isn't rocket science. You're responsible for yourself, not this guy you call 'Dad' that you've developed a parasocial-therapist relationship with.

Izzy should have become captain of the Revenge.

Really?? Firstly, we did actually get that already in s1. He was tyrannical and the crew mutinied. But even if you think 'well after his character arc he'd be better suited to it,' it goes against the point of this arc. He's found value in not having a distinct role or purpose on the ship, decoupling his worth from the job he's expected to perform. He's found his place amongst the crew, not commanding it. There's no narrative reason to put him in charge when he's expressed no further interest in slotting himself back into a role full of pressure and expectations.

Con O'Neill was only told halfway through filming, it's cruel to just kill off the character he loves so much.

Guys, he's an actor. More than that, an actor with a theater background. I think he's used to characters dying. You don't need to look out for him. Con and David spoke one on one about it at length so they were on the same page, and David even said that Con took it well. I'm sure Con had input, just as other members of the cast have influenced their characters' stories, costumes, backstories, etc. Do you really think David Jenkins hurt Con's feelings or something? The writers (remember, it's not just David, it's a whole team of hard-working people coming up with these ideas) gave Con such a chance to shine this season, really developing Izzy beyond what he was given in s1 and letting Con show off his full acting range. Why are you only focusing on the destination rather than the journey? Sure, Con's probably sad to see Izzy go, but please do not project your distress onto him or try and accuse David & Co of being 'cruel' to their cast. That's really ridiculous. It's constantly evident how close they all are.

More importantly, do you actually, seriously think that Con O'Neill would want fans to harass each other or the writers over his character? The man who preaches being kind above all? There is no better way to make an actor uncomfortable about a show and its fanbase than to start treating fictional characters like they're more important than real people. He would not want you to bully people over Izzy Hands, and it's mind-boggling that some of you have convinced yourself otherwise.

Lastly, I just want to talk about the fact that some people are holding OFMD to absurdly high expectations.

Our Flag Means Death has been a pioneer series for its diverse representation, earnest storytelling, and themes of hope, community, and love. It's fine to discuss aspects of the show with a critical eye, but so much of the discourse has truly felt like folks are trying to find fault in a show that is leagues ahead of the average tv series that we still enjoy. How many fan favorites are killed off all the time? How many plotlines are scrapped, or drawn out without closure, or contradicted the very next season? How many shows are indifferent or actively hostile towards their fanbase? How many have any queer characters, or actually do bury them? The bar's so low, and OFMD has risen above to give us so much. Some are holding the show to astronomical expectations, waiting for it to fall from the pedestal it's been placed on. If something you don't like happens in the show, it's not suddenly ruined or demoted to being ~just as bad as those other shows~. Give them some breathing room, have some perspective on how progressive the show is, and that perfection is impossible, especially meeting every single viewer's idea of it. This is basically a repeat of the recent Good Omens drama, with an absurd number of people harassing Neil Gaiman for breaking up Aziraphale and Crowley and leaving the second of three acts on a very predictable cliffhanger. Let stories be told, let them unfold as they may, and you are free to leave anytime. It's so wonderful that more queer love stories are becoming popular and even mainstream, but let's not shoot ourselves in the foot by tearing them down when they don't go exactly the way you want it, which often seems to mean no drama, no character deaths, and therefore no conflict or even plot!

Just, please be civil human beings, and while this seems to be a difficult thing for so many fandoms to do, just keep your fan opinions in the fan space. Never bring your grievances to the writers, never bully them and persecute them for telling a story that you opted into viewing. That's something that goes entirely against everything this show, and this cast and crew, have imparted onto us - the importance of kindness, support, community, and love. I'll say it again because it bears repeating: the fate of a fictional character is never more important than how you treat real people. Just be kind in real life, which includes the internet. Thanks.

Now please, let's work together to ensure we get a season 3. There's so much more story to be told, and if you want to see Izzy back, whether that's as flashbacks, as a ghost haunting the inn, or in the gravy basket, we'll need more episodes! #RenewAsACrew

[saccadesoup]

snuff director alex kralie au. this is what i think about when i’m ill

him and jay (jay’s a little freak we all know this) being friends in college. eventually realising they’re both into the same liveleak gore stuff. getting high together one night and alex - in all his infinite film student wisdom - offhandedly suggests making their own video.

ok so then they make a plan, right? lure in one of the girls from jay’s photography class. invite her over under the pretence of movie night (ft. free booze, which is what actually convinces her to go) then knock her out, tie her up. set up the camera.

it’s all incredibly amateur - grainy footage, slightly off-putting camera angle, muffled audio - but the people watching don’t seem to care. there’s something about the way alex captures the experience, dragging shallow, decorative cuts across her flesh in all the right places before disembowelling her in a strangely artistic way, a way rarely seen on an underground gore site like this, zooming in on her eyes as they slowly glaze over. the video gets a decent amount of traction, and the comments call for more.

so he decides to make another. this time, a girl from his film studies class. jay’s a little more hesitant this time, saying it’ll be “too suspicious” if people from their classes keep going missing - but, reluctantly, he joins in once more. same deal, “movie night”, knock her out, tie her up, set up the camera. alex makes jay take the lead this time, instead opting to stand behind the camera and direct his movements with hand gestures (he finds he much prefers it like this, surprising absolutely nobody). jay wears an old halloween skull mask he found in the attic to protect his identity - leading to him being dubbed ‘skully’ by the people in the comments. and this is the video that kickstarts alex’s career as a director. it goes viral, does the rounds on twitter, becomes about as infamous as the laser girl death gif. he’s filled a niche in the market with slow, intimate scenes rather than senseless brutality that’s become all too common nowadays, and people seem to love the change of pace.

so he makes another video. and another. he recruits his brian and tim, who become regulars alongside jay, each with their own unique masked identity - known as hoodie and masky by the fans (u get it by now right⁉️). alex runs a tight ship, hand-picking each victim, spending hours trawling through forums, local facebook pages, old yearbooks.

[kira-the-whump-enthusiast]

hey, I'm like... really new to the Whump idea but I have an idea I kinda like and wanna hear someone who clearly knows more about whump and what it is and the appeal blah blah blah's opinion on it

Whumper who legitimately believes Whumpee enjoys the various tortures they put them through, to the point that when the rescue happens and the Whumper learns that the Whumpee wasn't willing nor enjoying anything at all they crumble and break, perhaps (this one is a stretch) becoming a Whumpee as well due to the people/person who rescued OG Whumpee from Whumper trying to do justice??

definitely not me projecting a little bit too much on my mind's idea of a legitimately well meant though extremely delusional Whumper

Hey!! Thank you for the ask!!! I’m flattered that you would share this with me.

This is such a fun idea!! I always love a whumper who is thoroughly convinced that what they’re doing it okay, and I can just imagine the whumpee screaming at the whumper about how they’ve got it all wrong and the whumper just smiling and pressing a finger to the whumpee’s lip. Yes I’m very normal.

Also man you got me at whumper turned whumpee I could make a whole prompt list for this >:)

The whumper is having so much fun hurting the whumpee and can’t possibly contemplate that the whumpee might not be having fun either

The whumpee has a nervous habit of laughing when they’re very emotionally overwhelmed or smiling when they’re scared, and the whumper completely misinterprets it as enjoyment

The whumpee was known to be overdramatic and have a tendency to embellish things, and the whumper assumes it applies here too

When the rescuers come, seeing them believe in the whumpee’s suffering makes the whumper start to realize that maybe they’d been wrong the whole time

The whumper expects the whumpee to defend them, but instead the whumpee breaks down and screams at whumper about how much they hate them and how hurt they were

The whumper falls to their knees and doesn’t resist when the rescuers haul them off too

The caretaker, enraged by what the whumper did, pretty much kidnaps them to partake in the dark joy of kicking the whumper while they’re down

Maybe the whumpee finds out and they’re horrified

Or maybe they put the whumper through everything they went through, in the desperate hopes that it will finally make the whumper understand

The whumper never realized how much it actually hurt, and they scream and cry and beg for it to stop

The whumper does a full 180 and can no longer trust themself they don’t trust their own interpretations of people and they automatically assume that they’re lying to themself about anything

Their new whumper uses this to their advantage to manipulate the whumper horribly

Maybe the whumper truly does find the fun in being whumped though. Maybe they frustrate their new whumper thoroughly because nothing seems to break them

Maybe it’s all a facade and they’re slowly crumbling inside :)

[jakowskis]

30 Torchwood Questions!

Can be used as an ask game, or as a 30 Days of Torchwood challenge! I’m doing the latter (more on that later) and created this for that purpose, but then I realized it would work as an ask game as well, so here you go!  Gwen bashers DNI!!! Everybody else, enjoy! 

1. How did you first get into Torchwood?

2. Who’s your favorite Torchwood member? (And if it’s not one of them, who’s your favorite character?) Why are they your favorite? Do you have any secondary favorites (maybe a one-off or minor character that really stuck with you)?

3. What’s your favorite episode(s)?

4. What’s your least favorite episode(s)?

5. What do you think, objectively, is the best episode of the show?

6. Favorite season/series? 

7. Do you have any all-time favorite scenes? You can bring up multiple - a well-written scene, a silly scene that makes you smile, a sad scene that makes you cry, maybe a scene that just sort of stuck with you… your choice!

8. Are there any scenes (or even full episodes) that you can’t stand? If yes, and you could go back in time and rewrite them, how would you fix them?

9. Are there any characters you dislike? Do you legitimately hate them, or do they just kind of irritate you? What would it take to make you like them?

10. Do you have a favorite cast member? If you’ve gotten into the behind the scenes end of the show at all, do you have a favorite cast moment or story (from bloopers, TW Declassified, convention panels, etc)?

11. Do you have a favorite track from the score? Maybe the soundtrack?

12. Favorite location in the Hub? 

13. Favorite ship(s)? Any Torchwood OTPs? Go ahead, gush about them!

14. Favorite friendship(s)?

15. Are there any ships you dislike?

16. Have you read Torchwood fic? If so, any all-time favorites?

17. Favorite kiss in the show? What was so special about it? If kisses don’t do it for you, were there any other scenes that stood out as particularly sexy and/or romantic?

18. Who would you say had the best character development? Who do you wish got more? 

19. Would you recommend the show to people? If you would, would you feel the need to include disclaimers in your pitch? Any particular scenes you’d want to warn them about first? 

20. Discuss Jack. Opinions? Favorite moment? Least favorite moment? Any unpopular opinions? Any fun headcanons?

21. Discuss Gwen. Opinions? Favorite moment? Least favorite moment? Any unpopular opinions? Any fun headcanons? 

22. Discuss Owen. Opinions? Favorite moment? Least favorite moment? Any unpopular opinions? Any fun headcanons?

23. Discuss Tosh. Opinions? Favorite moment? Least favorite moment? Any unpopular opinions? Any fun headcanons?

24. Discuss Ianto. Opinions? Favorite moment? Least favorite moment? Any unpopular opinions? Any fun headcanons?

25. Now that we know how you feel; shag, marry, cliff / fuck, marry, kill the team! (If you feel comfortable doing so, of course.)

26. Do you have a favorite antagonist? 

27. This is a sci-fi show, after all… any favorite aliens? Favorite gadgets, maybe? 

28. Do you like how tragic Torchwood is, or do you wish it was more light-hearted? Do you think the ‘dark and adult themes’ were explored sufficiently? 

29. Do you have a favorite quote? Serious or silly, or both! Maybe a favorite quip / exchange?

30. Why, overall, do you love Torchwood?

[belioness]

so im thinking many thoughts tonight about an au where rupert did have a child with his first wife, gained custody, and it slowly becoming very obvious why he filed for it ( and why it was not for the wellbeing of his kid / was an act of malice against his ex-wife ).

rebecca comes into the picture some time after ( mostly because rupert has been incredibly strategic in how they're introduced / what it'll mean / etc ), and has to juggle this very specific dynamic with a child she cares for but rupert does not / hands off to staff to care for.

im also thinking about the other canon points that would shift ( does rebecca ask for a child with him / does she see earlier how rupert pawns his own blood in order to cause harm / does she struggle with feelings of obligation when she finds about about his affairs, how the press decides to involve / omit said child, etc etc ).

[intistone]

Blood warning but last night I was struck with creativity angst and wish to share

NOOOOOOOOO WILL I SWEAR IMMA HEAD DOWN THERE AND KICK YOUR PURPLE ASS CMERE HOW DARE YOU TOUCH DA BEANS SO YOUVE CHOSEN DEATH

also i love how you drew him HE LOOKS SO OMNIOUSLY COOL : D

[truly-quirkless]

Twenty Day Challenge - Day Ten

Honestly, I was just joking with a few friends and one of them suggested making a bowlings headcanons post. So-- why not?

He used to bowl more before his injury.

Prior to his injury, his games usually scored in the 170s-190s- so a bit above average.

While he does still bowl (very rare) after his injury, it's only on really good days that he actually does.

His average game score post-injury is anywhere from the low 90s to high 160s.

This is due in part to his injury causing imbalance, and while he's used to the general pain from it, movements done to bowl have a tendency to exacerbate it.

If he plans to bowl- like with coworkers or something- he'll take pain medication before leaving his apartment.

He does eat and whatnot during games. It's a nice break between games.

He usually pays by game, not by hour. That way, he doesn't feel rushed.

Yagi used to pay by hour, and see just how many games he could get in/how fast he could go, in his younger days.

He never paid to get the bowling alley song changed.

Definitely used to have 'drinks are on me!' vibes.

He still does- he just doesn't partake and he's more silent as he pays for the bill. No one notices he's paid until he's already gone to head out for the night, but the tab's settled on his card so no one else has to deal with it.

Uses a 16lb custom bowling ball.

They played it almost religiously when they lived in the US- once every week at the least.

Always scores from the high 90s to the low 120s.

Almost never bowls because when they go the bowling alley's fully loaded out, and social anxiety's a bitch.

Always has a Red Bull and an Airhead if they can, during games.

Loves to take breaks about 2/3 games in and just nom some food while they recover from the first few games.

Doesn't really employ smacktalk? They don't like talking down to their friends/those they're playing with.

Way more likely to point out how many pins are left.

'And where was your mind at?' every time someone gets a gutter ball.

Likely to make it a race during payment to see who can get their wallet out faster.

They only really bowl on very rare occasions/when they need to de-stress, these days.

Uses a 10lb bowling alley ball because they refuse to try to purchase a custom bowling ball. Too nervous about breaking something that costs ~30000¥.

As they get more out of their shell over the course of MHA, they slowly begin to bowl more often.

And very little to state about YagiFin that hasn't been mentioned in private conversations, but...

Fin once made the deal that if Yagi could get a strike, they'd give him a kiss.

Yagi proceeded to get a strike on every frame the rest of the game.

So of course, the two made out- but when it started to feel a bit too heated for the two, they abruptly stopped (with a silent/embarrassed promise to one another to continue Yagi's reward in a more private location).

Yagi once reserved an entire bowling alley for Fin and himself.

Fin still hasn't gotten over it and goes beet-red/can't stop grinning any time someone brings it up.

The two do a lot of 'throw the ball and turn to talk to one another before the ball hits the pins (if it does)' while bowling together.

Fin has a tendency to pay to change the song playing over the bowling alley to romance when they bowl with Yagi (and towards parties if they bowl with coworkers/friends alongside Yagi).

[anotherisodope]

Just found out that we dodged a huge bullet

You ever have a friend who just completely derails your life with their drama every time you run into, talk to or even hear about them?

Got one like that. We’ve been trying to help him for months in a Movie of the Week level family drama situation that has, along with some other stuff, totally eaten my life. And now, things have gone from bad to cartoonishly awful, in one night.

(Now edited for clarity. I shouldn’t write when I’m that pissed off, sorry!)

The Cast

Me: Gold medalist in competitive napping

My man: Has lived with me almost two decades, there’s rings involved, you get the idea

Gonk: A formerly close friend of ours who is making himself less close with every damn day that goes by as he slowly transitions from a cinnamon roll to an ego-burdened military douche. Calling him Gonk because he increasingly, stubbornly, refuses to listen to even basic common sense if it gets in the way of what he wants to do

GFF: Gonk’s friend who has been putting him up until Gonk starts Basic Training in another state

Evil Sister: Gonk’s sister, a raging assclown whom I sometimes call the Wicked Bitch of the East--with good reason

Our friend Gonk is the sort who never, ever, EVER contacts us unless he needs something, and he’s caused all kinds of disruption, but we’ve stayed loyal as hell and supported him. I was even going to move this guy into my house before he torpedoed that plan with a set of Bad Life Decisions. (Long story I’ll cover later).

Bit of backstory. Gonk has a very bad relationship with his sister, who is a far, far bigger asshole than he’s ever dreamed of being. Evil Sister was left the house and their parents’ whole estate after their mom died (so our friend wouldn’t lose his disability benefits), and promised to “look after” Gonk to his mom’s face. Once Mom died, Evil Sister promptly started proceedings for kicking Gonk out, and turned abusive in the meantime.

One thing she’s done is weaponize the police against Gonk every time she gets mad at him, meaning she calls them on him and tries to get him imprisoned over issues he can’t even be arrested for. Argument? Call the cops. He swore while playing video games? Cops. He had a meltdown from her verbal abuse and started yelling and crying? Cops. I’m actually surprised they still come out at this point.

We’ve explained to Gonk, as have the police, that what Evil Sister is doing is a form of abuse, isn’t appropriate use of law enforcement, and wastes police time and resources as well. Gonk’s seen it, he’s felt it, he’s been told multiple times: weaponizing the police so you can hurt someone you’re mad at (especially over petty shit) is really, really wrong.

So Gonk has been staying with another friend, GFF, for a few weeks before he starts Basic Training (a whole other awful story), basically to get away from the Wicked Bitch of the East. It was a huge act of generosity on GFF’s part, and a relief for Gonk, us, and everyone who cares about Gonk. At least...until yesterday.

Last night, everything blew up very suddenly. GFF kicked Gonk out and threatened to harm him if he came back. Why?

Because Gonk decided to call the cops on poor GFF, in GFF’s own home, IN AN ARGUMENT OVER WHO OWNED A FUCKING PACK OF CIGARETTES.

That’s right. Gonk, the guy who had the police inappropriately called on him over small shit multiple times, and is in the best possible position to know how wrong that is...turned around and did it to someone else. Someone he was depending on for shelter.

The cops kicked in the door, GFF’s dog escaped and vanished, and needless to say GFF is absolutely furious. He wants nothing further to do with Gonk and will probably kick his ass, or worse, if that hypocritical dumbass tries to come back. In fact, he’s already threatened to do so.

Gonk has nothing to say for himself. He is back with Evil Sister now, for the moment. I’m just praying he doesn’t show up on our doorstep again, because this has destroyed the last of our trust in him--which thanks to other crap was already badly damaged.

I am SO goddamned glad now that Gonk didn’t end up living with us. I don’t want anyone in my life who calls the cops on innocent people he’s supposed to care about, over petty shit. Of all people, Gonk should know better. But he got big mad and tossed friendship, common sense and decency out the window over an under $20 purchase instead. Nothing GFF did for him mattered to Gonk--not even opening up his home.

That could easily have been us. And I don’t want to give Gonk the chance to make it be us. Before now, I was worried about his safety, but this is the last straw. Now I just want him to leave town for his training and never come back.

[kirathespira]

( park seo joon, cis man, he/him ) — 🎬 just announced, Youngsoo “Sunny” Lee has been cast as stefan salvatore in the upcoming the vampire diaries reboot. the thirty year old is trending as people are debating if the confetti stuck in the hair, permanent marker stains of various colors, a hoarse voice from endless nights of screaming, that inevitable goofy grin when they smile they are known for is enough to make them as good as original. a quick google search shows that their fans call them honest, but internet trolls think they’re more tactless. i guess their newest interview for variety where they talk about the fact he told the studio approved story on how he auditioned to be the narrator for stefan for a few episodes but wound up getting the main role but is very excited to play the role. however the viral part of the video was reading one of the promo lines in meowth from team rockets voice will let people to know them better.

Sunny grew up in rural texas. (divorce tw)His parents were divorced shortly after he was born

Despite the driving between dallas and austin. Sunny tried to keep a happy disposition hence his nickname Sunny (divorce tw ending)

He often spent time imitating the voices from his favorite shows growing up. His first oppurtunity was the texas location in pbs sprout for pingu

Sunny was able to do the pingu friends sound effects and learned quickly.

Sunny essentially stayed on pbs sprout for the majority of his teens and late twenties, even letgave him the public service grant which let him get his bachelors in early teacher education

When Pbs sprout dissolved, he tried to go other children's network but they easily dissolved

He decided to move to california in hopes of finding a new voice acting gig. He only achieved some netflix shows with a bigger pay cut with some voice cameos

It wasn't until his major voice acting role led him to his big role

If you ask his agent he purposely auditioned for the role of stefan, being the ruggedly handsome newbie actor wanted to spread his wings

If you asked Sunny, he was just given a narrator script by his voice actor friend and told him it would good practice to get into narration/audiobook work (which at the time was more viable then children show acting). The director did a double take and asked him to do other lines and he nailed it....very well. Probably because the years of playing gruff voices helped

So now Sunny is a star....but not in the way he imagined

Personality

Sunny might be able to play suave but hes actually a dork

He seems very out there because he has more media training for children's shows

Probably spends his time going to daycares and doing his voices for kids

Is very overwhelmed by the glitz of glamour of los angeles

Know as very odd by paparizzi because he decides to do the smokey the bear voice telling them only you can prevent slander

Not sure how to react about being thirsted over.....hes like thank you but uhhh I'm really not stefan you know *sweat emoji*

Wanted: Friends, castmates, maybe complicated romantic stuff because you cant tell if hes friendly or flirty. anything really

[itsamenickname]

If you're still doing that writer's ask thing, I have a question:

💌

(Btw, I found your Bowuigi story earlier today and I freakin love it!!!!! I can't wait to see how the awesome story ends!!!!)

Aww, thank you so much anon! 😊 I apologize that it's taking me a while to get back on my feet, but trust me when I say that I have every full intention of finishing To Break the Bonds Within Two Kingdoms. :) (I already have the ending planned out, but it's more so of a matter of me taking some time to sit down and polish up the last two chapters (especially after I took an almost 2-month hiatus from writing). 😅))

And to answer your question, yes, I'm still accepting questions from the writer's ask (this specific post is what anon is referring to). :) As a way to make things easier for everyone who's reading this, I'll paste the question right next to the emoji/symbol so that everyone will know what anon is specifically asking.

💌 question: "Share something with us about an up-and-coming work (WIP) that has you excited!

So if you remember this post I made a while back, once I'm back on my feet, I am planning to upload a one-shot story before I start working on To Break the Bonds Within Two Kingdoms again. As I'm writing this response, there are two one-shot ideas that I've thought about for at least a few months (especially the second idea I'll talk about because that idea was a story I was originally going to work on after I finish TBTBWTK).

(Adding a cut here because the 2nd WIP will contain spoilers to TBTBWTK)

Idea/WIP 1: So the title of this WIP is called, Till Death Do Us Part My Sweet Little Bride and I'll start by saying right away that this story is a lot different than TBTBWTK because it's a one-sided angst Bowuigi story. Now to provide context on the events that happened before the actual story, Bowser kidnapped Luigi because he decided that he wanted to marry him instead of Peach (haven't figured out on Bowser's actual reason in wanting to marry Luigi instead of Peach yet). Now at first, Luigi was pretty compliant in waiting for Mario to rescue him, but minutes before the actual wedding would take place, Luigi made the brave and bold decision to attack the Shy Guy who was taking him to Bowser's throne room and make an escape attempt (the reason he did this is because he noticed that there were no other guards nearby who could stop him from escaping. It was just Luigi and that one Shy Guy in the hallway.) After Luigi attacks the minion/guard, the story would then center around Luigi trying to escape Bowser's Castle (while wearing a wedding dress), but would then hide in one of the guest rooms after he hears Bowser's voice and realizes that Bowser is now actively looking for him. (I will point out that this idea was kind of inspired by @jelixpo angst Bowuigi's au (which y'all can read about here), but the very first inspirations of this idea was me wanting to write a one-shot angst Bowuigi story after I finish TBTBWTK and the idea of Luigi wearing a dress to his wedding.))

Idea/WIP 2: I haven't found a title I like for this WIP yet, but similar to Till Death Do Us Part My Sweet Little Bride, this is going to be an angst Bowuigi story. However, unlike TDDUPMSLB, this story not only centers around Jerry the Hammer Brother, but it's actually kind of a prequel to TBTBWTK because the main focus on this story is Jerry's reaction to finding out that Luigi tried to kill himself (if you recall in chapter 17 of TBTBWTK, Luigi admitted to Mario that Bowser successfully saved him from committing suicide).

Now whether I'll work on WIP 1 or WIP 2, that's where I've been a little indecisive on. As of right now, I'm really leaning towards the Jerry-focused one-shot because I do really like the idea of sharing some of the events that happened before TBTBWTK took place (not to mention that I do want to create at least one story that centers around Jerry since he's become a pretty popular character in my story). :)

Although, I will say that I do love the Till Death Do Us Part My Sweet Little Bride title because of how mysterious and ominous it sounds.

[official-kenralie-fanbase]

Thoughts about Kenric being alive? Would he have a dramatic comeback? How would Oralie react? Or is he evil now?

Sorry this took so long! (everyone else who sent me an ask recently I'm not ignoring it I promise I've just been super busy lately)

Oohhhh my goodness this is the type of thing that I think about a lot, no matter how unlikely I think it is. At this point, I highly doubt he's still alive, but a girl can dream, right?

But... that being said, there could be the potential for an EPIC comeback. And there are three ways I think it could happen:

OPTION #1: Dramatic entrance during a battle

Picture this: The entire Keeper gang, including adults, is in a battle against the Neverseen. It's not going well. The Neverseen had greater numbers than they thought, and they're much more experienced in their skills/abilities than, I don't know, the literal children they're fighting

Suddenly, a cloaked figure comes in and begins demolishing the Neverseen

Sophie and her friends, bloodied and beaten, watch as this person fights off the Neverseen, killing some of them but not everyone (because that would be a really cheap way out of the final battle)

They're too exhausted to fight back as some of the leaders of the Neverseen get away, preparing for their final vengeance.

As the cloaked figure stands among the bodies of the Neverseen members they've destroyed, they watch, incredibly curious to see who this person is.

The person turns around and removes their cloak, revealing messy red hair and an all-too-familiar wide grin.

"Hey, Ora," Kenric says, looking at no one but her.

Oralie would simply stare at him, not believing her own eyes.

The silence is deafening as the two of them simply stare at each other.

And then Kenric says something like, "I never wanted to leave you," and I start sobbing in my college dorm room

He explains what happened, how he couldn't come back to the Lost Cities for some reason, and is beginning to go on a long ramble, apologizing for how it was all his fault when Oralie walks right up to him and stops him with a kiss.

There would be a long reunion between the two of them and then several short ones with him and the others

Probably a really cute moment with him and Sophie where he says she's just like her mother or something

Oralie would probably quit the Council soon after, and the two of them would just become Black Swan members, helping the others win the final battle against the Neverseen.

OPTION #2: Prisoner of the Neverseen all along

I think this is the most likely one if any of them were to happen.

Especially now that we know Elysian is a person.

Potentially Elysian and Fintan were working together, and Fintan captured him during the Healing and imprisoned him because he knew too much.

In this scenario, he probably would have been a prisoner of Elysian, and maybe the gang would discover him after searching the hideout.

He'd probably be beaten and tortured, but after a few visits to Elwin, he'd be good as new and become a member of the group.

He would have vital knowledge for them of Fintan and/or Elysian's plan

Oralie would stay by his side the entire time he's being healed, and I can just imagine Sophie also being in the Healing Center and hearing a really cute interaction between them while she's "asleep"

In this scenario, I imagine Oralie wouldn't quit the Council right away.

She'd spend every waking moment that she possibly could with him, but she'd also want to be on the Council to help stop this from happening to anyone else

And there might be an epic battle between her and Fintan or her and Elysian as she takes revenge on them for what they did to Kenric

I think there'll be a showdown between her and Fintan regardless, but that would make it especially interesting

OPTION #3: He turns evil

This would obviously be my least favorite, but... it has the potential to be really interesting

This could go down in several ways:

He might be being brainwashed or pressured or something like that, which I would love (love me some good old "forced to join the villains" plotline)

Or he might have been on the Neverseen all along.

Which... after reading some of the scenes with him in Stellarlune... as much as I loved those scenes and as much as I love Kenric, it's not entirely impossible.

Because like... I know other people have pointed this out (and maybe I have already too who knows) but three of the people Kenric talks to in his cache are later arrested: Prentice, Benham Aria, and Fintan

Could be a coincidence, but knowing Shannon, it's unlikely.

Oralie would be heartbroken.

She'd try to talk sense into him, but quickly realize that the Kenric she knew and loved was a farce

Perhaps he simply tried to get close to her to get information and never really loved her at all...

Or maybe he did end up falling for her, but put his duties over his heart.

Either way, now he would despise her and aim to get revenge.

There would be a battle between the two of them where Oralie tries to get him to realize what he's doing wrong, but then she fully realizes that he'll never be the Kenric she thought she knew

She'll end up having to kill him.

But when she grieves, she'll grieve once more for the Kenric she loved, not the Kenric he'd become by the end.

[ennaku-sirri-da]

My Best Friend is dead. Her name ...was MARTHA. She resides in the bathroom now, but I'm still trying to make her smile. [ Part 1 ]

HhhhhHhhh

The NoSleep story title aside, here's the...story! I can't really think of a proper way to introduce this but it will probably be broken into parts.

---

Let's start from a bit of the beginning, shall we? The beginning...of her ending.

( Man it's a bit weird narrating all this when it was all just built up in chats. But it's a little exhilarating too. Like I'm actually telling you a story. How strange. )

Martha. Best of her peers, best of her age, shining star of her school-- All Saints High. Music? Voice of an angel and incredible range to boot. Learns from regular piano lessons without fail. Studies, sports? If you want to get on her level you'll have to grind HARD, and then have to answer her attempts to take the crowning seat back, as well. She can hurl a volleyball just as well as she can jot down Science notes. (Their theology classes fill her with just enough doubts to seek out more on her own ). She's no nobody. Everyone knows her name. She knows them, too. Well enough not to take anything lying down( LEAST of all taunts about her pronouncedly fluttery accent and her own accompanying G-rated cursing ). She won't just survive-- she will surpass. And she's built up the assets needed with everything shes got. Money, skill, sweet words, blackmail, friendships, favours, petty revenge, precious time, sweat, perfection. ALL of it.

Home is a hole.

It is void. A fine place to read thrashy romance novels, if only to forget about the endlessly yawning cavern depths. Others exist, somewhere there. She exists alongside them but they do not acknowledge her. It is alright as long as she never causes a scene, breaks the silence. It is even more alright when she keeps aiming past what is to her the sky, sun and space and beyond and catches their attention. Sometimes, achieving this even means a warm smile or two of them, from the two of them, thrown her way.

She catches it, picks it up, learns to plaster it across on her face. Red lips frame white teeth that twinkle like stars.

Pity they fell out then.

No one could believe it. No one wanted to believe it. In fact, common, widespread verity was so grim in prospect, so sticky a situation that it would attract investigators like flies to the rotting corpse, so un-profitable in comparison to the sum offered to keep lips sealed and stories spun-- that in the end, all that blew up the town to fearfully great heights was that there was a killer on the lose.

The newspapers turn obsolete.

Law efforts turn obsolete.

Gossip becomes old news.

Students turn obsolete as they graduate into college-age adults.

The holy water sprinkled on her casket goes stale.

Her friends do not visit anymore, because life has taken them away.

The school still stands, without Martha. She is there, of course. What could it ever be without her? She keeps asking herself,

staring into the dirty thing bobbing in dark water

cannot leave this bathroom stall

should not

for her murderer is outside, walking free, living, teaching freely

They say if you stay in the stalls all by yourself or look at the stretching mirrors too long, she will appear to drag you into the stories herself. They say if you are unluckier still, it will show itself, rising, rising, rising from and out of the times past, to the top of the water...

[ ID: PNG of an item from Smile For Me the game, a pair of plasticky looking red jaws with yellow teeth, called the 'Toilet Teeth'. End ID]

------

Habit is pretty new around here, but if he can't find a single friend then God help him he is going to make the ghost in the bathroom who may-or-may not-exist-but-hopefully-its-a-may-- his friend. Now if only he had any idea where to start?!?!

-------

[honeycoded]

          noah had never been more scared in his entire life; terrified would have been a gross understatement at this point — he had no idea where he was, who this person was, or why they decided to take him in the first place. all he knew was that he wanted to go home. " wh - what ? " noah looks up at his captor incredulously, eyes red and cheeks tear-stained. " o - of course i don't love you !  you kidnapped me, you fucking psycho ! — what do you want ?  money ?  i'll give you whatever you want, just let me go, please ! " —  ♡૮꒰•༝  •。꒱ა @notfrsale

[neilphen]

*looking through my spotify- trying to find artists to see in concert* "oh prince- nevermind. oh i love mama cass, nevermind. ohmygod seeing simon and gar-ok. TO SEE GEORGE HARRIS-"

[tomboyjessie13]

Y'know @saragl728 and @bogleech , I actually read a comment regarding lgbt relationships in the Evangelion Rebuilds a few years ago and someone mentioned along the lines of "they treat being guy as being a embarrassing high school phase you'll grow out of so you can get married to straight people and have children".

I'm not joking, they literally act as if being gay is like going through an emo phase in high school and expect you grow out of it so you can make babies, news flash: that's not how being non-straight works, people.

SHE👏DID👏THAT