#that's to be expected

[ofmdsalt]

i really enjoyed con and taika’s implied backstory/headcanons for izzy and ed’s past and how they met at kids, grew up together etc etc and i was always really bummed that we never get a flashback to see that.

then I saw the fandom discourse and it’s sheer unerring devotion to misread every single one of Izzy’s relationships & interactions in the worst possible faith, and I’m pretty sure that if we’d gotten that flashback in canon, the gentlebeardies would say some shit like “it’s so clear now that Izzy groomed Ed from the beginning” because that is level of media illiteracy we are at.

hey op! if you have any links to where con and taika have talked about their backstories for there characters, i'd love to check them out and see what they said!

the one part on Taika's take on Ed and Izzy's relationship is him saying to Con that they were like Jesus and Judas Iscariot from the musical Jesus Christ Superstar and i for one find this imagery very interesting! indulge me for a moment here.

many people raised within a Christian context and/or society all likely know of the story of Jesus and Judas. Judas, as one of the original 12 disciples, being the one to eventually betray Jesus and lead the Romans to him in the Garden of Gethsemane all for 30 pieces of silver. the guilt of this leads Judas into killing himself. the interpretation of his character is predominantly about how bad he is. how evil he is. how he is responsible for Jesus' death and it's largely simplified his character. i prefer more modern interpretations of him, and i think Jesus Christ Superstar made him a much more nuanced character than say others media have done (Mel Gibson's fairly antisemitic Passion of the Christ comes to mind when it sort of also supports the over-simplification of Judas' role in Jesus crucifixion)

but this is all to say the interpretation i like the most comes from the understanding of Judas being more concerned and hesitant about Jesus when he started kicking up more attention. more attention directed at them. like clearly Judas was comfortable with what Jesus was saying and preaching. he stuck around long enough to be called a disciple, but the moment those words turned into actions? when Jesus started flipping tables in the temple? when he started miraculously healing and calling people back from the dead? well, now, hang on, Teacher. all this noise will draw the ire of the Romans. is that what we want? is that what you are calling us to do? what if they come and jail us? what if they kill us? Jesus' radicalism in a time of oppression may have scared those too willing to keep their head down. consume some radical materials on the side, but otherwise not stick their necks out too far out of fear they would get themselves killed. i mean, Peter likewise denied ever knowing Jesus for fear that he would be crucified too.

but even after all that, Jesus was killed. murdered by the state for his beliefs. perhaps Judas didn't think they would take it that far. that he wouldn't be made a message, but he was. and it's that grief that pushed Judas into committing suicide

going back to the parallels of Ed and Izzy, it's easy to see where Taika would get this inspiration. Jesus Christ Superstar starts with Judas warning Jesus against Mary Magdalene because accepting a prostitute would go against his teachings. Izzy is frustrated by Ed's growing fascination with Stede because it goes against his teachings of keeping pets on board, and Izzy tries to get Ed to see how Stede is nothing more than a pet project to Ed. and pets are not allowed.

i can see Izzy's frustration with Ed's changing path of being more "why would you give up the image of Blackbeard when that fearsome reputation has kept you and your crew safe for all this time? why would you give it up to be this gentleman? to be this fish out of water?" just as Judas might wonder why Jesus is as outspoken as he is. why draw more attention to yourself? why make yourself a deliberate target in this way? why why why?

Judas does what he thinks is best in the moment and so does Izzy, but Izzy doesn't let Ed go to his doom. he pays his bail and tries to show him why it's dangerous for people like them to give up on the things that have kept them safe. even if those ways of being are no longer required. the world has changed, is changing, and they should change with it.

it's a tragedy what they have become. too used to the pain and violence that has become a reality for them to even see that there is another way of existing.

all we can do now is speculate on how Ed and Izzy came to meet and how they came to be friends. how they came to be what they are. i think there's a lot of potential for people to play around with who they were, how they rose to infamy, and how they ultimately destroyed each other. it was mutual self-destruction and it's frustrating to see how certain other fans try to over simplify the relationship. either by removing Ed's agency entirely to say that it was all Izzy's doing, despite how they also assert that Izzy is actually a terrible planner and has never done anything successful in his life ever.

im sure David and co had more plans for Ed and Stede flashbacks as they did throughout s1. it would've been interesting to see how Ed took on the name Blackbeard. where he started. where it all came together because we all know how it fell apart

[occultopossum]

Man , knowing that there is a karkat plushie on makeship rn if it was 2014, could you imagine how feral people would of gone

[ayo-edebiri]

This is cinema actually

[donnieisaprettyboy]

“what if kids identify with something and it ends up just being a phase-?” good. stop teaching and expecting kids (and adults honestly) to formulate permanent traits and ideas of themselves. everything in life is a phase. that doesn’t make it any less legitimate while you experience it. let people explore themselves and know it’s okay if what you think about yourself changes.

[scumbagsblog]

where's that masterpost of quotes that have no right going as hard as they do. I'd like to submit "Protagonism is best left to teens and the insane"

[kenapiece-main]

Can you believe I'm having to make this meme even after successfully finishing up taxes and applying to job

[queerautism]

This right wing social media influencer and former prison worker went to Fetish Con and got so so scared in her first 20 minutes she left lmao 😱

[limelemonchi]

freak Pines

[jotasuis]

How I found out about trump getting shot

[creepyscritches]

Banging on the walls chanting "OPEN ENROLLMENT FOR ACA THRU JAN 15" like some deranged town crier. Election results aside, you have options to access healthcare as a RIGHT through the ACA. NO one can dismantle the Affordable Care Act in less than 4 years, so SIGN UP! GET YOUR CARE! USE THE SYSTEM!

You have options RIGHT NOW that will be stable thru the next year, the one after that, and I'd be shocked to see them shrink even the year after that. That means RIGHT NOW you can get signed up for next year to gain 100% covered preventative care (your annual check ups, pap smears, dental cleaning, vision check). You have the option to get checked and screened as you need, do NOT be dissuaded from exploring ACA choices. They are SOLID, LEGISLATED, and WORK BEST WHEN PEOPLE USE THEM.

I can't change most things around me, BUT I CAN tell everyone I know that THEY CAN GET LIFE SAVING CARE. THEY CAN GET PRESCRIPTIONS. THEY CAN GET PREGNANCY CARE. THEY CAN GET CANCER CARE. AND THEY WILL GET THAT CARE!!!!!!

SIGN UP BY DECEMBER 15, 2024 FOR COVERAGE TO BEGIN ON JANUARY 1, 2025. ENROLLMENT AFTER 12/15/24 WILL HAVE COVERAGE BEGINNING FEBRUARY 1, 2025.

[baby-girl-aaron-dessner]

Full caption:

Macklemore cancels his show in Dubai to boycott the UAE in solidarity with the people of Sudan:

“At the end of the day I have to ask myself what is my intention as an artist? […] Although dismantling systemic oppression might not fully happen during my lifetime, our collective analysis is evolving. That is where it starts. When we realize our individual liberation IS Palestinian liberation. Is Sudanese liberation. Is Congolese liberation.”

He also writes:

“The last 10 months l've been learning what factors/motivators feed genocide and global systemic oppression. I keep getting led back to self interest over collective interest at the root. Capitalism is the glue that holds this ideology together. And if I take the money, while knowing it doesn't sit right with my spirit, how am I any different than the politicians l've been actively protesting against?”

[wolfythewitch]

I'm gonna haunt you in your head

The things we did, the last words I said

[lastparty]

[donnieisaprettyboy]

can we stop pretending like it’s so super easy for trans men to pass. “oh just put on a baggy shirt and cut your hair-“ it literally doesn’t work like that and I refuse to believe you actually think it’s that easy

[cryptocism]

It would have taken another immortal to keep up with him.

so i haven't read the books but i did read the Devil's Minion chapter and this part made me laugh out loud: