#non-pology

[of-fandoms]

Gotta say the instant switch up on Calypso after this Saga dropped is kinda crazy 😀

Like wdym you feel bad for hating on her? Wdym she's sorry so why couldn't Odysseus at least say goodbye?

That's still his captor and implied abuser y'all...

[one-time-i-dreamt]

not a dream

not Colleen Ballinger (Miranda Sings) responding to claims of grooming, exploiting minor fans, weaponizing minor fans who she was in a parasocial relationship with to harass her ex and people she beefs with, inappropriate behavior with minors, and many other things as well (with lots of proof) WITH A FUCKING 10 MINUTE UKULELE DARVO SONG non-pology on her third and least popular YouTube channel, where she takes responsibility for nothing and reduces the accusation to mere gossip and people on the internet out to get her

holy fuck this is the worst YouTuber "apology"/addressing the claims I've ever seen

[adickaboutspoons]

@bogeymangrandy I’m sorry - I know it’s prolly bad Tumblr etiquette to address a reply in a whole new post, but this is kind of too big an answer to address in the space a reply offers.

So the weird, shitty unchecked racist stuff isn’t JUST contained to episode 5. In episode 3, Izzy says Ed “was a wild dog, and we dealt with him like one.” It’s to set up the “doggy heaven” line, which is doing some heavy lifting in terms of conveying to Izzy exactly how much Ed trusted and confided in Stede, but referring to a MOC as a dog, especially a wild one, is still fucking gross, and, worse, it’s only part of a pattern of racist sentiments. In episode 6, Izzy tells Ed “I thought you were Roach” - that old “they all look alike to me” chestnut. Thanks, I fucking loathe it.

But episode 5 is particularly packed with troublingly racist bullshit, and carries with it connotations for the wider season.

The most straight-forward is when Stede tells Izzy that Blackbeard “credited you with a lot of his skills,” and then “you taught him everything he knows.” If it’s meant to be read as true, it’s attributing all the talent, skill, and brilliance of a MOC to some white dude. But even if it’s meant to be read as Stede flattering Izzy to get what he wants out of him (which I think it is - the whole thing with the fog in season 1 episode 4 kind of hinges on Ed having knowledge and skills that Izzy does not), it’s still not great because it means Stede thinks stroking some mediocre white guy’s ego is worth more than Ed’s reputation, which means he learned nothing from the tavern scene in season 1 episode 10 where he similarly disparages Ed’s reputation for the gratification of his white compatriots.

Similarly, consider him shouting “those fucking barbarians!” after the mostly POC (and Pete) crew rip his red coat, and compare to “You savages!” in season 1 episode 2 when Stede thinks the indigenous people who have captured him have roasted Wellington and Hornberry on a spit. But at least in season 1 Stede gets rightfully called out for being a racist. Season 2 has yet to push back.

Then, there’s the portrayal of retributive justice (the idea that, for justice to be served, a transgressor has to be punished). We start the episode with Ed in his penitence onesie and cat bell. And there is that whole Biblical connotation of sackcloth as an expression of humility, but it also calls to mind the ill-fitted and low-quality material of prison uniforms, with the cat bell as a low-tech ankle monitor, uncomfortably tight and alerting everyone to his position at all times. I’ve seen his non-pology framed as a corporate “apology” and I do think that’s mostly what they’re going for here, but there’s also an element of the preformative penitence that prisoners are forced to undergo during parole hearings. This is Ed being punished for his Kraken-era transgressions.

Now compare to how Izzy, a white dude, has been offered rehabilitative justice this season - never had to grovel, never had to debase himself, never even had to offer a single word of apology for any of the dire shit he inflicted on the crew in season 1, but was nonetheless given the unconditional support and resources he needed to transform into essentially a completely different person. 

It’s not just the races of the people upon whom these different modes of justice are being implemented that is significant - it’s also the races of the aggrieved parties in how they respond to the “justice” imparted by the retributive model, because we also see two direct, individual applications of retributive justice in the episode; Ed offering Lucius to push him overboard, and Fang describing how he brutalized Ed’s body after Jim knocked him unconscious. With Lucius, we see that he experiences a momentary thrill of vengeance, but almost immediately it flares out, and he’s still just as traumatized as before, and perhaps even more obsessed with Ed. Clearly, for him, a white dude, this primitive, Hamurabian form of justice does not give him closure. With Fang, a MOC, it’s the exact opposite - Ed terrorized him, he beat Ed up, and now they’re sweet.

In isolation, this wouldn’t read as implying that white people are more “civilized” and “evolved” than POC - except all the other POC that Kraken!Ed tormented are also seemingly fine now. Jim and Archie are immediately laughing and joking about torture after the non-pology, and Frenchie is debuting a new fancy cat flag and pointing out that “at least he’s wearing the sack” when Lucius starts freaking out about Blackbeard being back. There’s also a running through-line across several episodes about the supremacy of white, colonial values and civility, but I’ll get back to that in just a moment.

Because now we have to talk about the matter of the curse. Because, again, we’re seeing a break-down across racial lines. Team Curse is Jim, Archie, Olu, Frenchie, Roach, and token white guy Pete (the Swede having abandoned the crew for his new paramore, Buttons having transmogrified, Lucius busy being traumatized elsewhere, and Wee John just MIA). Team “Curses aren’t real” is Izzy and Stede. So this isn’t like season 1 where everyone is just kinda hilariously science illiterate and superstitious (like with the “not a mermaid” conversation) - instead, we’ve got a group of superstitious POC vs. the rational, enlightened White Dudes. And the White Dudes are unequivocally correct. Peanuts ARE a serious allergen (and a legume, not a bean). Yeast is what causes bread to rise, not fairies. Ergo curses AREN’T real, and the crew are being irrational. So when Stede relents at the end and agrees to give up his suit, it’s not him conceding that there is validity to his POC crew’s worldview - it’s a white dude condescending to the poor, simple-minded, uncivilized folk even though he’s for sure in the right. Isn’t that just SO magnanimous of him? Isn’t it awfully white of him?

And given that the White view is the Right view in episode 5, we have to start interrogating the other places where that idea shows up. In episode 1, we hear a white priest bloviating about how "The natural condition of humanity is base and vile. It is the obligation of people of standing, such as yourselves, to elevate the common human rabble through the sacred transaction of matrimony.” Normally (and at the time when I first watched it) I would clock this as CRITICAL of the tendency of predominantly white cultures to be self-congratulatory of how THEIR ceremonies are so much more CIVILIZED than those of the savage  - as though they invented the concepts of commitment and monogamy, and as though those concepts are inherently better than the alternatives. But then we have Ed, a MOC, issuing an objection - not to the specific union, but to the concept of a nice, white wedding in general, followed by a raid that Jim later comments on: “Is it just me or was the wedding thing a bit over the line?”

And, consider, in season 1 episode 3, Jim drops this line on Olu when he points out that Jim killed one of Jackie’s husbands: “We live in a state of nature.” So the “natural condition” is intrinsically tied up with that hyper-violent pirate lifestyle, and if even one of the practitioners thereof is clocking it as “a bit over the line” - does it not follow that the bloviating priest was RIGHT? That the white man sure DOES have that burden to take up, doesn’t he?

Which is exactly what Ricky is proposing in his little speech in episode 6: "It's up to us fine gentlemen to stand up against this modern piracy and stay vigilant". And we KNOW that Ricky is full of shit. We KNOW that he’s backing up his racist agenda with a self-serving, revisionist narrative. But maybe it would be better if he also didn’t, maybe, have a point? I guess what I’m saying is that I really miss the days when a racist got a knife through the hand or their ship burned down and it was something to be celebrated, and that I’m not loving the idea this season that maybe the racists are kind of in the right.

[ccaptain]

♥ What's the WORST thing that has happened to you rp wise?

kisses ur head like a little plushie ♥ -- @vohunara

In 2023, and by extension, 2024, people are still doing the ship-and-dash, aka lovebombing people and latching onto them, developing a deep emotional connection in order to ship, and then dropping them like hot potatoes with zero remorse once the person can no longer provide serotonin shots and scenarios of two fictional characters kissing and fucking. The second the ship stops, the stream of affections stops too. It sucks.

I had this happen somewhat recently to me too, and in turn I have detached myself from the emotional connection I developed once I spotted the first signs of having outlived my usefulness. I have absolutely fucking nuked the shit out of anything even remotely related to this ordeal, and walked away. Others cannot, unfortunately, do the same on command.

If it happens to you, remember this: they have the right to end what you two have at any moment with little to no explanation, but you have the right to feel hurt about it. You have the right to vent about being essentially used to your friends, who will most likely want to know what happened to provide you with comfort and reassurance. You have the right to feel plenty of emotions about it.

And, if they come back to ''clear up a misurestanding'', to ''fix what was clearly a miscommunication'' or other phrases like that, or essentially giving you a non-pology, you have the right to not reply, or to directly block them. Hell, you can even block them after they give you a proper, heartfelt apology aknowledging their mistakes, or if they don't give you closure at all.

[apostatehamster]

Edward's apology to the crew was like, the most YouTuber non-pology i've ever seen. All that was missing was the fake tears

[travellers-log-lawrence]

Lawrence, will you be accepting ask box trick or treats this year?

Ooc post

I will, yes! Pologies for taking a while to answer this, exec function and my job are kicking my ass.

All trick or treat interactions will be non-canon, and it'd be best if you sent them over to @iteration-archer because I'm working on a plan to get some specific NMS/writing time, and it might happen before the end of October if I'm lucky. So I wanna keep the main blog clear for that!

I appreciate y'all for observing my story and having patience <3

[benedictusantonius]

do you still spend all your time sexualising noah schnapp?

tbh, i rarely ever even think of her anymore. pretty much completely gone from my dash without any changes in who i follow.

i hope someday he actually feels bad for what happened and not in his non-pology way…

now sashay away, asks? shantay you stay

[thatstormygeek]

Except that the one thing that appears universally consistent among all the parties chiming in on this debacle is that it is relevant and important to state that this poor student is not trans. This is that beating heart of gender policing, beating this poor child. From queer-positive non-profits to government officials to TV news editors to whomever the fuck, they all want you to know that it matters that this kid is innocent of the crime of being trans. It’s impossible to care about trans people and not rip your own heart in half to see that word “innocent” repeated over and over again. From whatever might be the least offensive application of that word in this situation right up to Cline’s not-pology “for the negative attention my post drew to innocent students,” the world wants you to know that they don’t give a fuck about trans kids. She’s telling you right now, in so many words, that if the student she attacked had been trans, she wouldn’t be apologizing. Doxxing, threatening, insulting, harassing: These are all explicitly acceptable tactics to an elected member of the USBE, so long as the victim is trans. She’s telling us who she is, and I believe her.

[spurhill-n]

He flinched, if only because of how sudden the flick was. It'd been a while since anyone was so audacious. Still, it was a welcome turn of events seeing as she didn't seem to be upset anymore.

" 'Pologies there. My height's non-negotiable. But, hey, if you ever need someone t'reach the top shelf, gimme a holler. I'll come runnin' for ya."

Sora hadn't quite realized the extent of the height difference between them until she was standing literally right next to him. Not that she was upset about it though-- she was used to being shorter than most.

Her gaze narrowed even further as he leaned down, and after a moment she reached up... and gently flicked his nose.

"I'm also going to need you to stop being so tall."

[adickaboutspoons]

The Curse of "The Curse of the Seafaring Life"

So now that I've had some time to come down from the euphoria of watching two middle-aged men kissing in the moonlight, I've got to admit episode 5 is... bad. Like the kiss is divine and perfect and I love it with all my heart and soul, but the rest of it doesn't make a lick of sense, within the context of what we've seen this season, or within the themes of the show as a whole. And it's not just a matter of inserting a couple of lines of dialogue to fix it as with episode 4. To me, it requires a full tear-down to the very studs.

I understand that for future plot purposes implied by the trailers, it will become important that Stede knows how to do fighty pirate-y stuff, but the way they get there challenges credulity. Stede states that he "hasn't really felt [that he is the captain]" since they got back on the ship. But... why? He's called and led at least two all-hands meetings in the past two episodes (letting the crew know Ed was not dead after all, and mediating the non-pology sesh), collected votes for the decision to exile Ed (and stayed with the crew rather than going with Ed, even though finding Ed was, like, supposedly his entire motivation, god that still makes me so angry writers I am in your walls!), and convinced the crew to, at least temporarily, let Ed be un-banished. No one is challenging him for his position. No one is questioning his authority. No one is being insubordinate or any less respectful to him than they generally are, considering he encourages open and honest dialogue (which sometimes invites less-than-respectful expressions of ideas with this crew.) No one is even suggesting that his feelings for Ed might negatively impact his objectivity or his ability to perform his captainly duties. For heaven's sake, half of the crew (eventually) followed him in applauding Ed's feeble scrabble at an apology. And quite aside from all that - how many times, exactly, does he need to prove himself? He JUST orchestrated a successful escape plan using fucking TOWELS. He's ALREADY captain material! So why would he have that less-than-captain feeling?

And the only thing that I can think of is that they needed to get him to train with Izzy somehow (why did it have to be Izzy, though? More on that in a moment). So how to get him there? Well, Izzy's mean, right? So maybe Stede needs to think that he needs to get mean, so he'll go to be trained at the foot of the master. But why would Stede suddenly think he needs to be mean? Especially considering how delighted he was when Yi Sao clocked his energy as soft? Well, maybe Ed tells him the way to Feel More Captain-y is to be more assertive.

But as much as Ed-in-a-collar asking Stede to order him around is going to find a forever home in my fanfic plotbunny document, that just... doesn't make any sense. Ed LOVES that Stede is out here doing things completely different from anyone else. One of the main theses of the show is that Stede's people-positive management style is CORRECT, actually, and another is that living life as your authentic self is more important than duty or obligation. Stede needing to "butch up" to be a proper captain runs antithetical to both those ideas AND to the established dynamic between Ed and Stede. Honestly, it reads a lot more like validation of Stede's insecurities about not being enough for Ed, and that whole dream sequence that opened the season. Which would be fine if Stede was going through an arc where he thinks he needs to be more manly and learns in the end that he's fine just the way he is, but that doesn't seem to be the case? As such, it's frankly pure contrivance, and just sloppy writing.

So taking out that pin about training with Izzy. I'm gonna be real, this feels like pure fanservice to me, and I'm not just talking about Con O'Neil's magnificently sculpted tits. Izzy's "redemption arc" (and, yes, I'm putting it in scare quotes) feels completely unearned to me. What - he's absolved in his suffering? Even though we've seen not one hint of remorse for what he's done to others (only for how the repercussions of his actions actually impacted him)? Not even the barest scrap of a non-pology? Then Why Isn't Ed? Ed who has suffered too. Ed who was so fucked up he made MORE THAN ONE attempts at suicide by proxy in episode 2? Ed who keeps getting kicked when he's already down and NOT extended the same sympathy and understanding from the crew? It's a real bad look, y'all. In fact, it looks a lot more like Izzy is not going through a "redemption arc" so much as an "he's already redeemed, trust us" arc, and training Stede is more about him proving that he's part of the community by offering support and expertise, and resolving his personality crisis ("who am I to you?" and "what even are you?") - roles which, by all rights, would be better filled by Jim (who had JUST given up on their vengeance quest to try and see what being part of a family might be like, only to be caught up in the Kraken's shit and having to fight for survival, and could now have an opportunity to work through their trauma by using their skills to HELP someone rather than hurt, and learning how to be soft - like the flesh of someone becoming human after so recently being someone's puppet) or Ed (who needs to learn to reconcile the various aspects of his personality, and that violence doesn't have to come coupled with the baggage of being unlovable, and who needs to relearn how to trust and be trusted by Stede, and how to earn the crew's forgiveness). Because the fact of the matter is? Stede MUST be lying when he tells Izzy that Ed attributes "everything he knows" to Izzy's teaching. The whole point of the escape from the Spanish relies upon the premise that there is knowledge that Ed possesses that Izzy doesn't and can't. Look at Stede's face when he says "More specifically, he said you taught him everything he knows.":

(corporate needs you to find the difference between these 2 pictures) It's giving very "Stark Revelations" vibes. I'm thinking Stede is getting Izzy to buy in to his training by using a little of that weaponized empathy he picked up studying at the feet of the master: Yi Sao. I don’t love Stede pandering to the ego of a mediocre white dude by conferring upon him the responsibility for Ed’s achievements and brilliance in order to get what Stede wants out of him, but it’s immeasurably better than the suggestion that Ed’s achievements and brilliance actually ARE down to Izzy. Neither way of interpreting the implications of the scene are great, though, which is uncharacteristically sloppy writing from this show. All the more reason why Stede’s training should be in the hands of anyone else EXCEPT Izzy.

The training montage itself is… not a training montage. It’s a cringe compilation. Just scene after scene of Stede being bad at things and no follow-up scenes that show him improving. The line about him just letting his body take over in the field and it working out for him is just bad and wrong. First, it conveys Plot Armor on Stede, and obviates the NEED for training. Second, really, Stede? How about the time you almost stabbed Doug for the crime of *checks notes* putting his hand on your shoulder? Or the time you blacked out and walked barefoot to Bridgetown after Chauncy shot himself? Like, let's please not suggest trauma-induced fugue states are Stede's super-power. Third, that's really not how we have seen Stede earn his victories up until this point, and it really undercuts the fact that Stede is VERY smart, clever, and resourceful, great at improvisation and using his environment to overcome mightier or more skilled opponents (think of the way he bested Izzy at their first encounter, or even, more recently, how he used his habit of putting scent on his towels and how everyone inevitably wanted to breath it in deeply to knock out the prison guards and orchestrate their escape - again, using towels as a zip-line). One of the things about Stede that I think gets under-acknowledged is that he's actually kind of low-key a master of seeing a thing once and figuring out how to do it. In spite of what my Advanced Maneuvers  fic would have you believe, the Unhand Me Or Bleed move actually comes from him observing the bar brawl in ep 2, and then there’s all the stuff with the duel with Izzy and the butt swat and taking it on the left that Ed had shown him only once and only a few nights previously. But what does any of that matter if he’s just going to Dead Zone it and let his body do what it will?

It also bothered me that, when his training is “complete” and he’s going on raids, he's just brute forcing things? Like, his plan was the same every time - run in shouting and waving your blade around. Where’s the clever planning? Where’s the distraction? Where’s the style and finesse? What happened to his rapture over fuckeries?

The resolution of the curse storyline/training montage is bothering me in a way that I feel is emblematic of the bigger problems with the season as a whole so far. The whole point of a training montage is either to payoff with a scene SHOWING the use of all the accumulated skills, or a subversion of that; why they CAN'T use those skills (like in Galavant where he over-trained for the joust and therefore couldn't move when it came time to actually participate). But instead, we get exposition fairies. "Wow - that sure was an epic battle we just did! With us fighting back-to-back and Archie swinging from a rope!" All the interesting and important stuff is happening off-camera, and we're just being asked to accept that it happened. Just like we’re asked to accept that the Swede’s time with Jackie is more fulfilling in some way that his time with the Revenge was not. Just like we’re asked to accept that everyone’s just cool with Izzy now - even the people who last saw him when he was marooning them, even to the point of working together to make him a peg leg and calling him their new unicorn. Just like we’re asked to accept that Black Pete or Olu missed their SOs, even to the point of “crying every night” for the former, but never seeing them actually mention it/crying about it.

And about that - although I was initially overjoyed by it, now that I’ve had some time to reflect, I'm not sure I'm so happy about the Proposal. Like, Lucius is still clearly in a v. vulnerable and traumatized state, and it's maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaybe not the BEST time to be making big life choices? Juxtapose with Ed finally learning to maybe not charge full-speed-ahead. Maybe handing the U-haul keys to another couple isn’t all that great an idea, actually?

Now on to the Curse. What the dying priest literally says when Stede and Jim enter the room is "We were voyaging to the Vatican to seek an exorcism." My auditory processing is sub-par, especially when more than one person is speaking at the same time, so I can't really make out most of what he says after that because Jim keeps babbling about curses (which? I’m sure Vico had lines they were written for them to be saying, but it to present as a translation something that is v. much NOT what the person is actually saying in the mouth of a native speaker of the language is SO weird to me), and maybe it's me splitting hairs, but exorcism is v. much a casting demons out of a PERSON thing - not a "cursed artifact" thing. But fuck it. Let’s go with the “translation” Jim gives us and stick with cursed items instead of bedeviled people. There’s a real missed opportunity here to have done something extremely clever linking the "curse" and the crew's trauma and, through the process of coming together to formulate a plan for how to free themselves from the curse, managing to take the first steps toward exorcising their own demons. I mean, this is just surface-level metaphor stuff, and it's troubling to me that instead we got Stede the Rational White Dude pandering to the superstitions of his mostly POC crew.

I LOVE that Fang reached out to Ed, and that he brought to Ed’s attention the fact that Ed often defaults to problem-solving mode, trying to FIX problems. Which is great when you need to make an impromptu lighthouse to escape the Spanish, but is not necessarily the best approach for emotional problems, where the better answer is sometimes listening rather than talking, or even just actually sitting and dealing with negative feels (though I am not loving the implication that Ed's a non-stop chatterbox. Sometimes he is, but there are plenty of examples of him being introspective - like literally any time he stims with his silk - and also, sometimes soundboarding is an effective tool for processing complicated or painful concepts, too. And also, we see MULTIPLE scenes of Ed crying alone. He’s clearly sitting with his feels. Admittedly there is a huge difference between wallowing/indulging and PROCESSING, but Ed sitting alone in silence with his feels is v. much NOT the problem). But I HATE the messaging about retributive justice in that scene.

So retributive justice - the idea that a person who has caused damage has to be punished to an appropriately equivalent degree in order for 1) justice to be meted to the wronged party, & 2) the wrong-doer to be redeemed for their wrongdoing - is all kinds of problematic to begin with, but especially when seemingly exclusively applied to a MOC. And we have two examples of that in this episode - we have Ed offering to let Lucius to knock him over the rail so that they're squaresies (v. eye-for-an-eye, that), and we have Fang explaining that he's cool with Ed because he brutalized Ed's unconscious body after Jim knocked him out with a cannonball, so that makes them square for all the shit that Ed did to him.

With Lucius, we see that it DOESN'T actually make things square. Lucius is still traumatized, and just as obsessed with Ed as ever, possibly even moreso. With Fang, we see the exact opposite. He and Ed ARE cool, and Fang doesn't seem to have any lingering issues.

So not only is the scene with Fang kind of gross and reductionist, and reinforces the "broken people do broken things" idea that's been uncritically floated earlier in the season, instead of recognizing that sometimes people have maladaptive behaviors in response to suboptimal circumstances and insufficient support systems, but also, when juxtaposed with the scene with Lucius, the show is refusing to come down one way or another on the topic, and I think that's pretty cowardly on the "toxic masculinity and racism are unequivocally wrong" show.

So how would I fix it?

1) Frame Stede’s practical pirate training urges as Stede self-enriching by re-taking up the reigns of his pirate lessons, not as him needing to learn how to captain

2) Make Ed his teacher, and thereby allow for a gradual rebuilding of trust and strengthening of their relationship (and also some flirtatious banter and UST because they're both trying to hold back and re-figure things out, but also that undeniable chemistry is still there. For me. As a treat)

3) I guess Izzy can help. But HE has to ask. As a "trying to find my place now that so much has changed for me" kind of thing, and also expressing some fucking gratitude to Stede for saving his rat ass

4) My training montage would be an ACTUAL training montage with the comedy failboating at the beginning, and showing actual progress until they're ready to do the Curse raid (which sets up the subversion of payoff for the training montage because they ARE ready, but there's nothing to fight on a ship of the dead). Nix the second raid altogether so I don't have to get cranky about expositing the action sequence. Also that line about blacking out and just letting things happen would be erased from history, too. 

5) Ed's participation in the "exorcizing the demons" plot is what starts to mend bridges with the crew and starts to bring him back into the community. (Also, I want Ed to be able to see Stede feeling himself in his red suit, and it is a CRIME that we were denied that.)

6) It’s my drastic re-write, so in my version, we’re gonna nix the Fang line supporting retributive justice, but we’re KEEPING the Lucius interaction. Maybe in the 'exorcize the demons' brainstorm sesh, Ed proposes that he dress in the devil suit and Lucius be allowed to push him overboard (a 2-for-1 expurgation. Also, there would be a line where Ed goes up to Stede and is all "I really need to get you out of those clothes", and Stede breathlessly replying, "Oh, Ed!" and then Ed awkwardly having to walk it back with hasty explanations, and Stede apologizing for making assumptions, and Ed having to beat a hasty, flustered retreat, because even though he has 100% seen Stede naked before, there’s an unbearable tension to the idea of seeing him like that now). But the overboard plan doesn’t work on EITHER front. Once Ed is back on board, still wearing the devil suit, something goes wrong that convinces the crew the curse is still there (maybe it's Stede doing target practice in the background with Izzy, and THAT'S when the sail falls on everyone's head), and Lucius' can still have his "That didn't actually give me the closure I thought it would have" mini-arc. Ed can start in again, pitching more ideas and talking over people, and Fang can gently suggest that Ed doesn't have to be the one to come up with all the plans. Sometimes it's ok to just sit back and listen, and realize that sometimes your input is doing more harm than good, and it's ok to take a step back.

7) Lucius and Pete aren’t getting engaged. Sorry. Maybe Lucius can propose, but Pete would gently tell him that, while he absolutely wants to and plans to spend the rest of his life with Lucius, he’s concerned that Lucius is moving a little fast, and maybe flailing for something to make him feel better immediately rather than taking the time to work through his trauma, and as much as Pete loves him, he’s not going anywhere; Lucius can take all the time he needs to come to terms with what happened to him, and then, when he asks again, Pete will say yes.

8) After the Curse plot is resolved Ed has been sitting and stewing with the bad feelings that your input can be deletory and unwelcomed. THEN Fang can impart the "sometimes you just have to sit with your feels and let it be uncomfortable" wisdom. Maybe Ed shares what he’s been going through on his own and hiding from the crew. But knowing how to process your emotions instead of just ruminating on them is a learned skill. I don’t know if Fang is the person to teach that to Ed, but honestly I don’t know who IS since Lucius would NORMALLY be the emotional intelligence guy, so I guess Fang can be the one with emotional insight since he is quite the softy under it all.

But also I still want moonlit middle-aged men kisses, so maybe Fang also suggests that just because your input isn't needed in some places doesn't mean it would be unwelcome in all - and sometimes it's a matter of redirecting your energy, and him indicating Stede (in his shirt) brooding over the rail at the loss of his awesome (I am only saying this word for Stede’s sake, because I actually fucking hate the hideous cutaway tailcoat with its tacky, poorly applied appliques) suit. And things are better between them because of training montage, but still awkward, and Ed is now the one taking the initiative to meet Stede where HE'S at and complimenting the shirt, "wear fine things well," etc.

(And, hell, since this is essentially a fix-it fic in essay form, there may or may not be a plotbunny brewing in my head about them agreeing to "take it slow" and then sloooooowly walking together to the captain's cabin and Whoops! they forgot there's only one bed now. Should one of them maybe take the pile of furs on the floor? No! they can totally share a bed platonically. Yup. Just two platonic buds sleeping and nothing else at all in the same bed. Except Stede DESPERATELY has to masturbate about what just transpired between them. He is not as stealth as he thinks he is. And maybe when he wakes in the morning, Ed informs him that he was moaning Ed's name in his sleep all night…)

[rbhsoregon]

Compounding the Error (12/1/21)

Compounding the Error (12/1/21)

[allegra-writes]

I think he should apologise online, make a post on his Instagram (room for more words than on twitter, but perhaps a screen shot of the insta should go on twitter too), and make sure it's a proper apology, not the "I'm sorry you're feeling hurt" bullshit non-pology a lot of people serve up. Take responsibility for his actions, not place the blame on those feeling hurt. Basically, do better than Julianne- not that it takes a lot of effort to do better than her...

You're spot on, it's not that hard. Yet he still fails...

@exposingbinbons do you have JH performative non-apologies to show Ben's team what he SHOULDN'T do?

[this-is-neery]

I think part of why I don't trust Ed's change of heart is that so far I don't think he's really, truly admitted to himself what he's done. I think in his own head, Ed's still making excuses for himself, and I'm not going to believe he's changed until he's had his excuses ripped away and has to face what kind of man he's become.

Ed's still lying, to others and to himself. For one thing, I don't believe for a second that Ed actually didn't know he was scaring Fang. Ed's good with people. He's a manipulator. He can tell when someone's afraid.

What I do believe is that Ed got so good at rationalizing his own actions, he started to be believe his own excuses. I didn't kill those people, the fire did. (…the Kraken did. Izzy did.) I didn't terrorize my crew, it was just a spot of good rough fun. I'm not abusive, people just really piss me off sometimes. Look what you made me do.

I think Ed has been enabled in his rationalizations by Izzy, who's been loyal to him far beyond the point where he should've drawn the line, and now, unfortunately, by Stede, who took Ed's shitty non-pology and defended it to the crew. And the crew's been letting him get away with his excuses for a long time, because what's the alternative? Like Archie said, they're used to worse, they may not have had a captain apologize even that much before. And who's gonna go and tell Blackbeard, just recently off a rampage and now all cheerful and buddy-buddy again, that his apology was shit and the thing he did borderline unforgivable?

I love Ed, but he's well past due for someone to stand up to him and demand real apologies and real changes. And beyond that, he's deeply overdue for an ugly awakening of the "I've become (worse than) my father" kind, and the realization that he needs to change for real and not just for as long as it's fun and easy.

I'm kind of hoping the catalyst here will be Izzy (who clearly ALSO needs his rationalizations ripped away at this point. "A shark did it" indeed.)

Whenever Ed is healing or feels better it feels so fake to me like I know he will snap again. He's just pretending to be ok.

I hope he will actually heal one day. :( I do think Izzy could be getting better for real though. But I think Ed is not better at all.

[chalkrevelations]

Surprise! Work schedule turned out to be a little wonky this week, so have an unscheduled, unexpected ramble about Bad Buddy Ep 1, Part 4/4. Due diligence: I’m current on this show, which means I’ve watched up through Ep 11, and there are spoilers for later eps in here. If you don’t want to be spoiled, drive on by, watch the show (GMMTV on Youtube), and come back later.

Also, I’ll go ahead and put Ep 1 up on AO3, now that I’ve blathered about all four parts.

So. OPEN ON the scene we left at the end of Part 3, and I just realized that three of four parts of this ep begin with fistfights – all of which are instigated by Engineering and spearheaded by Korn. :hands: The other part opened with Pat and Pran’s garbage confrontation (lit. and fig.?) which didn’t include throwing hands but did include kicking around trashcans, so I think it’s safe to say that CONFLICT is one of the themes running through this episode. Anyway, we open back on the Sharks and the Jets facing off for a rumble. Pran refuses to turn over Wai for an ass-kicking, Pat blah blahs about how his manly manhood has been impugned by Wai’s middle finger (wait … that sounds … never mind), and Pran puts on his angry face and says that as class president, he’ll take responsibility (lol. Yeah, your fingers are going to get involved, my guy, but not yet … ANYWAY). Flashback to the scene from Part 1.3 in Pran’s bedroom, with Pat trying to get Pran to stop protecting Wai, and this time we see a continuation in which Pran comes up with an entire subterfuge to get Wai to apologize, in return for Engineering (supposedly) leaving everybody tf alone. Pat claims that Wai won’t do it, that if he was going to do it, he already would have, but here’s the thing, buddy - he doesn’t care about what you and the other guys who keep trying to beat the shit out of him want him to do. He does care about Pran, and just like someone else I can think of who will eventually make a sacrifice because he thinks it will be better for Pran (hmm, who is that gonna be, I wonder?), Wai might just do it for Pran. Pran’s pretty confident about this, pretty sure he can get Wai to apologize. Pat and Pran fist bump to seal the deal - the first instance we see of this - even though Pran’s like, what is this weird ritual you’re instigating? before he finally sort of taps back at Pat’s fist. Oh, honey. Just you wait.

Back to present time, Pran announces that Architecture students take responsibility for what they do (:snorfle: Your shade, I see it, my guy.) and says he’s sorry that Wai gave Engineering the finger. Good for him, actually, because he could have done one of those non-pologies, where he’s sorry they’re offended. Wai huffs and scowls at this, tells Pran not to apologize for him, says he was wrong and apologizes, because he’s not going to let Pran take that on himself. Pat winks at Pran, Pran half-smirks and gives us one of those dimples. And then Korn ruins it all by 1) saying that if Wai thinks he can end this with an apology then he’s wrong, 2) goading Engineering into attacking Architecture for a full-on rumble, and 3) launching himself at Wai to punch him in the face out of nowhere - providing Wai’s first on-screen lesson that words mean nothing. (Remember this. We’ll get back to this idea later on.) So, now Pat and Pran are standing around all :Pikachu face: while everybody brawls around them. Korn gets pushed back – presumably by Wai – into Pran, turns around and apparently makes the decision again that if Wai’s not in the direct line of his fists, Pran will do, only this time, Pat’s there to shove him away and warn him that only Pat gets hit Pran. :facepalm: Wai grabs Korn - for some more mutual punching, I suppose - and Pat and Pran decide they need to mock scuffle. During the whole thing, Pran actually kicks Pat, to comedic effect, and Pat actually hits Pran, to comedic effect, and then finally an Engineering tertiary backup hobbit tosses an Architecture tertiary backup hobbit headfirst into a fire alarm, which goes off, scattering everyone. Everyone, let’s be clear, because THAT will come up again.

After they scatter, Pat and Pran bump into each other, and Pran wants to know wtf is wrong with Pat’s friends. Pat says that they’re as bad as Pran’s friends, which is some BS false equivalence, because Engineering is measurably worse, buddy – at least three instigations of physical violence in a single episode worse, if we’re counting, and I clearly am. Pran muses that things don’t end well whenever he gets too close to Pat, and there’s no foreshadowing there, nuh-huh. Pat mentions that at least no one is getting transferred this time, and Pran’s face says that it’s maybe a little too soon to talk about that. But we do now have a clue that Pat was somehow involved in whatever situation resulted in Pran being transferred away, back in high school. Pran says, so it’s over now (hahaha, you’d THINK, wouldn’t you?). Pat says sure - Wai apologized, Enginering threw some punches, so I guess we’re even, and I kind of want to be able to reach into the screen and strangle him, because what even was the point of the apology then, and why tf do you think you still get to punch people and call it even? Anyway, Pat goes in for another fist bump, but then a professor shows up and says, oh, you think it’s over? Well, I’m just getting started, and threatens to ban them all from mutual university activities if they keep it up. The only reason it’s not happening this time is because no one got hurt, but, uh, has anyone checked the hospitals to make sure that Arch tertiary backup hobbit didn’t end up with head trauma from hitting the corner of the fire alarm box with his temple? You probably should.

Later that night, we see Pat trying to buy some bruise cream, but some guy – who is, of course, Pran – just bought the last tube. Pat kind of huffs out and goes to walk by Pran on the steps outside the store, and Pran – who seems very aware of Pat – doesn’t even look up as he asks him where he’s going. Pat tells him he’s going to get some medicine, or is Pran going to sell him the tube he just bought? whereupon Pran wordlessly offers it to him, because let’s face it, Pat, right now Pran is behaving 1000x better than you are about ALL of this. Pat sticks his face out like he wants Pran to put cream on his bruised cheekbone for him, and Pran tells him, in your dreams. I am gleeful, knowing some of the product placement that awaits us in later episodes. Pat insists that Pran just point out where the bruise is, whereupon Pran pokes him in it, like he deserves. They talk how they have to keep anyone from fighting, and Pat mentions that it would be so sad if gets banned from competing with Pran in the music contest, and I don’t know whether to throw up my hands or clutch my chest, because this is only the first time we’re going to see this exact issue with Pat, one of the ways that his dad and the rivalry between the families have fucked him up – he’s going to explicitly confess that it was peaceful when Pran wasn’t around because he didn’t have to compete with him. He’s so tired of competition ... but he doesn’t seem to know another way to connect with Pran than to compete with him. How many times will we see Pat turn things between them into a competition, even when it’s presented as good-natured, as a game? (Whoever falls in love first, loses. Whoever mentions parents first, loses.) It’s like he literally doesn’t know any other way to connect, and watching him talk about losing the chance to compete against Pran in the music contest – he says it in this half-joking tone, but it is so so painful to watch, once it’s informed by everything we learn in later eps. ANYWAY, to avoid the threatened repercussions, they talk about how they’re going to keep their friends from fighting and then come up with a plan – because their last scheme went SO WELL – to stay in contact with each other via chat and keep the two friend groups from crossing paths. Also, Pran mentions, to stop Pat from sneaking into Pran’s bedroom. Haha. Oh, honey. Wait for that one, too. Anyway anyway, neither of them wants to add the other as a chat friend first, so they have to count down one-two-three to do it at the same time. Boys, istg. Pat then wanders off to buy some ice cream, and – I think – Pran changes Pat’s screenname to “just a friend” on his phone.

Even later, we see Pran in his dorm room, and my dude, you don’t need that big glowing frowny face by your computer, it can’t be helping your mood. Sitting at his desk, Pran contemplates The Watch. Flashback again to the night Baby Pat returned it to Baby Pran – Baby Pat tapping on the window (again), bursting through Pran’s Curtains of Secrecy (again), and smacking his hand over Baby Pran’s mouth while gesturing for silence (again). He returns the watch and tells Baby Pran that they’re even, whereupon Baby Pran says it’s old and he was going to throw it away anyway, so Baby Pat still owes him. Baby Pat says fine, next time you need help just let me know, and this time I’m absolutely left clutching my chest, because OMG FUCK YOUUUUUUUU, SHOW, now all I can think about is Pran on that rooftop in Ep 10, presumably trying to call Pat, only Pat’s already there, holding him while Pran completely breaks down. Anyway, Baby Pat then tells Baby Pran not to talk to him in front of anybody though, because someone might think they’re buddies, continuing the theme of SILENCE and SECRECY. Cut back to present day, and Pran sets the watch and puts it on his wrist, before taking out one of his smiley-frowny face stickers, turning it up to be a smiley face, sticking it on his computer screen and contemplating it for a moment before getting out his sketchpad.

Cut to one last scene, and I don’t know if this is out of order, or if Pran left again and came back. We see Pat coming down the dorm hallway, eating his fudgesicle, and entering his room, stage right. As soon as his door closes, here comes Pran down the hallway, smiling at something on his phone before entering his room, stage left. OMG THEY LIVE ACROSS FROM EACH OTHER. Surprise! And End Ep 1.

Next time: Pat thinks the “girl” across from him has a crush on him. Pa thinks he’s a dumbass. Architecture coos over Pran’s secret admirer. Wacky hijinks ensue.

[gothhabiba]

what's the deal with c*ffeesp**nie....i'm always just like ???

she made a white person joke on twitter and a woman of colour said “aren’t you white?” To which coffeespoonie replied “yes. I also just spent an unreal amount of my time critiquing whiteness” (I’m pretty sure that’s verbatim). The original woc who commented plus me and several other woc were like no, still don’t do that, here’s the problem with white people making white people jokes and then acting like that’s work, why are you expecting us to be GRATEFUL to you for ~*~anti-racist work~*~ and acting like it’s aggressive for us not to fall at your feet for it, yada yada.

and this babtou blocked EVERY... ONE OF US. except for the original woc who commented I believe... and then issued a notesapp faux-pology PUBLICALLY, rather than apologising to the individuals whom she had actually insulted. naturally her whatever tens of thousands of white followers lapped that shit up. Original woc said no that’s not an apology & it’s not good enough, so coffeespoonie BLOCKED HER TOO......... and has never unblocked ANY of us. and continues to talk a big game about how she’s anti-racist and racism isn’t allowed on her page, whatever

I know later on she revealed that an Uber driver who had refused her accommodations was non-white / an immigrant? when that information was not necessary? but I didn’t see that go down firsthand

anyway it shouldn’t really shock anyone that big-name white bloggers of any other marginalised identity are racist or that they cultivate racist environments, but I was a bit surprised at just how blatant it was. if anyone wants to ask her why she still has me blocked you can be my guest ❤️

[threewaysdivided]

I do not like that Weisman man Destroying stories with no plan I do not like his sexist ways Or cowardly queerphobic plays His victim-blaming furthers harm His grooming plot-points cause alarm And while upon his blog he'll sit Mansplaining like a right-wing git I think he ought to lose his job Greg Weisman is a fucking knob

who are your parasocial enemies, like mine are andrew lloyd webber and butch hartman