#this could be really obvious

[anodesu]

I Like How They use Colour in Our Flag Means Death.

Hello, I should be working, but today I just want to take a moment to gush about something that I haven't really seen anyone really talk about yet, but would love to discuss. Our Flag Means Death is a series about love and identity in so many ways, and one of the ways they 'subtly' depict where a character stands with their identity is with the use of colour. The most obvious one that can be addressed is, naturally, Blackbeard. Everything about his character in the show to start encompasses the colour black, including those around him.

Everyone on Blackbeard's crew conforms to Blackbeard, all in black, all in leather, and to an even deeper extreme in the second season as Ed spirals. It's all dark makeup, face paint. Crudely dyed hair. Not even Izzy, whose entire attire has remained unchanged, is not left unscathed when Ed is at his lowest.

(you know, besides the whole... toe... leg... thing) The times that we see Ed in anything but his leathers in the first season are times where he is slowly breaking away from the persona he had built up. We see it a few times when Stede and Ed wear each other's clothes, but that is when they are working on the mutual goal of becoming more like the other. The other notable time this happens in season 1 is when the two are imprisoned, and the clothing that defines each of them is gone, leaving only two men with growing feelings to face one another as equals.

However, Ed's not really the one who I want to focus on here. Instead, I'd actually like to talk about Stede. See, I feel the whole thing with Ed was made very abundantly ham-fisted for a reason. It stresses the idea of colour and theme to us in a simple way, before adding in places beyond Blackbeard. The thing about Stede Bonnet is that, up until the most recent episodes aired (Season 2, episode 7), Stede always had a splash of white incorporated into his attire; be it a cravat or a loose shirt, Stede's attire always has a brightness to it to make his noble ass stand out from the more neutral tones of his (admittedly commoner) crew.

But even when Stede is wearing tones that blend in, there's always that smattering of white somewhere. Or sometimes everywhere.

This is naturally supposed to be in contrast to Ed at all times, as no matter what, Ed's attire is always a little or a lot darker than Stede's, even when Ed was at his most Stede-like.

Things start to truly change mid season 2 with the discovery of a beautiful deep crimson (cursed) suit, which, if you remember, Stede secretly swipes the shirt from to keep wearing. It is this episode where we start to see a shift in Stede's colour scheme from whites and brights to something far darker than he's ever willingly worn before.

This here is the start of Stede's true descent into embracing his pirate persona in a way that did not really fit with his original ideals. By keeping a piece of the suit, Stede lies to his crew that the curse is fully, truly gone from their lives, which frankly, is quite a pirate-like thing to do, and from that moment on, his progression to being seen as a "real pirate" truly takes off. He is wearing that same shirt when he offs Ned Low, and so far, we haven't really seen him wear white since.

It all culminates into the midpoint in episode 7. Stede is basking in the fame, his ego's gotten the better of him. He's casually set a man on fire moments earlier. Ed, on the other hand, is fancying himself a career change. He had thrown his infamous black leather garb into the sea at the beginning of the episode, instead donning something much more soft and neutral; a mid-grey shirt and pants. To add to this, in the scene with Stede, Ed says the following: "I don't even know who I am! I don't wan't to be a pirate... and you- look at you! You're blowing up. You're the toast of the town!" Ed, in his neutral greys of uncertainty, and Stede in deep blues. Not in each other's clothes, but garb they had willingly chosen for themselves, and so the colour shift, where Stede is in darker colours than Ed, is a significant turning point for them both.

I personally don't see it as being White = Good or Black = Bad. I think you could see it in a lot of ways: Society vs Piracy, Gentleman vs Pirate. It could be perceived as the loss of innocence, or maybe just two strict ideals of toxic masculinity on opposite ends of the spectrum. Either way, I think it's a beautiful touch in a show about the exploration of identity of one's self. Thank you for listening to my Ed talk.

[verflares]

(click for higher quality!) draconified link concept ive been chipping away at this past week ..... here's my funny little compendium concept for him:

"A heroic spirit has taken the form of this bestial dragon. Unlike it's kin, this creature exhibits an extremely aggressive disposition. It appears highly territorial, and will relentlessly chase down those who disturb its skywide patrols - of which it seems to be endlessly searching for either a long-time vassal or foe. Unfortunately, it seems the spirit within has long since forgotten exactly who it was looking for…"

[brujahinaskirt]

arthur is rude to that one sex worker because the guys are fucking around as they oughtn't be and he actively wants the source of their distraction to go away. that is how he operates through the entire game: deliberate, utilitarian intimidation and strategic unpleasantness to achieve a goal. it is an early game commentary on arthur meant to position him as a big dog that barks. it is not a commentary on his views about women which are clarified many times afterward. you guys realize that right

[morganbritton132]

Thank you for feeding us with the Steve Has Older Siblings AU. God tier level of characterization I gotta say.

How do the older siblings handle the “Eddie Munson Problem”? I would imagine they actually do try to get rid of him at first given Eddie’s reputation but then realize he treats Steve better than any of them ever have.

Well, there is cash incentive.

Richard Harrington still has aspirations of going into local politics one days and he is not going let Al Munson’s son kill that dream. Or kill their son. Richard waves a dismissive hand in his wife’s direction because, “Of course. Of course. Or that.”

Whoever makes that boy disappear gets five thousand dollars.

(1.)

Claire takes a direct approach. She corners Steve and tells him that Eddie is a drug dealer and a drug user. She tells him about all the scary things that showed up on his toxicology report in the hospital and Steve replied flatly with, “Wow. Crazy. I had no idea.”

“I’m serious,” She says. “You could get hurt with someone like that. Do you know how that would make us feel if something happened to you?

“I fractured my ankle at a track meet once and Dad made me walk to the car afterwards,” Steve replies. “I think you guys will be fine.”

“I’m serious.”

“You know, Claire,” Steve nods to himself because, yeah. Sure. Let’s do it. “How have you felt the last three years? Or, I don’t know. The last two concussions? You have no idea what I’ve been dealing with for years now and – and you’ve never cared so why now? What’s Dad giving you to ruin my life because-“

He shakes his head, “This is not worth it. Like how picking up the phone when the mall caught on fire with me inside it wasn’t worth the effort. Tell Dad you tried really hard, but no. I’m not going to get rid of one of the few people in my life that actually like me.”

(2.)

Jason takes a different – dumber – approach. He goes in with no plan and no intentions, just took the opportunity when he saw Eddie’s van pulled off on the side of a backroad. He bangs his fist against the side and is delighted that he caught Eddie and Steve.

He threatens to beat Eddie up which is bold to say to an accused murderer in the woods, but okay.

Then he turns around and threatens Steve that he’s going to tell their dad that he was getting high in the woods if he doesn’t keep away from trailer trash, but Jason is fucking idiot because they were decidedly not getting high in the woods. He leaves with an eighth of marijuana and  no closer to five thousand dollars because Steve had just shrugged like, “Okay? Go ahead. Tell him.”

(3.)

Richie does not participate in this because he actually wants to improve his relationship with his little brother and he was the first person Steve went to after they got Eddie, barely breathing, to the hospital. He saw how shaken up he was and he also saw the bruising around Steve’s neck.

He knows what the bruising looks like. He knows how people gets bruises like that. And he knows that he’s a coward because he could not bring himself to ask a question he did not want the answer to. And he knows Eddie Munson.

Eddie is harmless.

All you have to do is have one conversation with the kid and you’ll see that he couldn't hurt a fly. Richie, however, had many conversations with him when Harrington & Associates took his case on pro bono so he knows just how harmless Eddie is.

He also knows that Eddie spends a lot of time trying to make Steve laugh. Richie has spent enough time in his life making his brother miserable. He's not doing anymore.

[keferon]

Imagine you're in the world of Transformers. Imagine you woke up randomly in the med bay and you're a giant robot.

You don't know which version of Transformers this is, the movies or the TV series or the comics? You don't know.

But you need to pick a faction and join it right now.

[redrobin-detective]

I think one underrated tragedy of Ice King's scars is that he probably took away Simon's sense of levity.

Like in his very limited appearances before Simon is consumed by the crown we see he's kind of a silly dude. In his introduction video, he only put on the crown in order to playfully tease his fiancee. Plus watching him make light of the loneliness and general misery for a young girl in a broken world. He was a dedicated man, who was generous and loved with his whole heart and threw himself one hundred percent into everything he did. He was also a fun lil guy.

But after almost a millennia of being a mad man, the brunt of every joke, someone who only existed as a broken caricature of himself and couldn't be counted on to take anything seriously, I imagine he was done with it. Now he wants to focus back on his academic endeavors, on his role as a father figure in Marcy's life, on being a proper adult. Any attempts to be silly could easily remind everyone - including himself- of Ice King, something he's eager to avoid.

So his jokes and jibes and general lightheartedness turned to sarcasm and self deprecating comments.

[roses-and-revolutions]

The people of Gotham both fear and revere The Signal. As they do the rest of the Batfam but for Signal it's a bit different.

For starters, he's the only daytime hero. The other Bats usually only come out at night when the city is quieter. And while it's far from asleep, they prioritize stopping the numerous crimes that occur in the shadows. Civilian interactions far and few. Most pictures of them online seemed more like cryptid sightings than heroes soaring through Gotham skies.

The Signal on the other hand was the people's Bat. They got to see him soar through the sky, or ride his bike in all his golden glory. He gave autographs, took photos, and joined them on their daily commutes. He was a regular at mom-and-pop shops, made sure the troubled kids made it to school, and checked in on the sick and elderly. And while he did work with them when necessary, he mostly liked to fuck with the police, like a true Gothamite would.

All in all, he was the sweet sunshine that Gotham needed. He was far more human than the others. Not that he was human, oh heck no! NONE of the bats were human! But it felt that way. Until you were reminded that he was INDEED a Bat.

The way he merged and appeared out of the shadows despite his bright yellow suit, and moved without a sound. He knew about people and things before they happened. And had an intelligence that was absolutely terrifying when thought about. And the way he took care of crimes?

The Signal is cold, borderline brutal, and efficient (with commentary that leaves you agape and a chill down your spine) when dealing with criminals. It was always jarring to witness the sudden change from Gotham's sunshine boy to stone-cold Bat, and back again. It almost gave you whiplash to realize that this was the vigilante that you were talking to about your puppies a few moments ago. And it really instilled the Fear™ that that bats were known for.

The other Bats were terrifying, shadowy demons that moved through the night. Stopping crime in the darkness. Gotham knew and appreciated this. But the Signal? He was the bright light at the end of the tunnel and the warmth of the brilliant sun. But he was also...

'Gotham's Darkest Angel'

[shitpostingkats]

The most important part of the Altissia chapter is when they're being questioned by customs and Ignis looks at their party of:

1) Him 2) A college age punk 3) A man wider and taller than a fridge wearing no shirt and with several enormous scars 4) The actual crown prince of a neighboring country, making no effort to disguise himself

and decides their best cover story is

"✨We are students of the culinary arts.✨"

And it works.

[kiwikiwiandkiwi]

HARRY BEING HARRY ON TOUR — Love on Tour: UK + Europe Leg, 2023

[vaguely-concerned]

'my cousin is all stomach and no heart' is such a funny thing for illario to tell rook if he maybe is picking up on a little bit of a Vibe going on there. the 'LMAO. well good luck with that friend. better hotties than you have tried and failed and dashed themselves against the legendarily unamorous cliffs of my cousin's complete obliviousness and lack of interest to no avail. (optional 'may I suggest a more hah-hem *undoes another few buttons on his shirt that thing is open almost to his navel now it's borderline obscene* available dellamorte for your consideration. I mean if you're like in the market for one anyway' devious undertone as you see fit)' energy is off the charts.

(illario is above all a funny petty bitch and that's why I love him so indescribably. no no lucanis is right we need him around to drop shade like this he is in fact also an essential crow. we all contribute in our own ways)

[arcticclimes]

There's been an incident on Terror.

[dysany]

Billy Batson is SO aroace coded to me and it's fun how I missed it for so long

Billy's stories is always about his family and his powers, in differents universes and everything. That's sweet and really cool, probably one of the reasons I like him so much, but I realised that my real thing with Billy is the fact he don't have romantic partners.

I mean yeah, you can mention Courtney or Cissie if you want, but I can't see Billy really in love with them or dating anyone. It's not a ship war thing, it's a aro thing who actually fits with him so much. I can't see him dating, in any age, and that's make me so comfortable

And it's fun If you imagine someone in the league wanting a romantic advice from Capitan, since he's a "adult man" who lived so much, and Billy is just in panic bc he don't understand nothing about it and run away. I really like to see him as a Damian's friend, so imagine him seeing all of his friends having dates and be like "that's gross" but happy for them all the same time, and never thinking about himself having it bc it's so weird

people asking him about any girlfriend and Billy say "and why would I want that?" like at 17 years old

I love you aroace Billy im sorry I lost you for so long

[torgawl]

sometimes i think about how crepus probably wasn't father of the year and i go a little insane. the way he pushed diluc into becoming a knight of favonious at such a young age; diluc receiving his vision so early in his life; how he saw his accomplishments as both his and his father's; crepus planning to gift or getting a delusion for his son despite his vision; and, the way diluc's namecard references him as crepus' creation, which is such an impersonal and cold way to put being someone's son. not only that but, again, referencing his strenght specifically. i'm not saying crepus was a bad father, diluc loved him dearly, but the projection he did of his own dream onto diluc's life and the efforts he went through to make sure diluc was "strong enough" doesn't appear to have been the healthiest thing.

we obviously have little to no information about diluc's relationship with his dad outside of a few mentions here and there but from his character story it just seems that even the praise crepus gave diluc was always because he did well in, somehow, living his father's dream and not necessarily because of who diluc was. it's a little bittersweet.

[phonification]

i cant stop thinking of ghost knife possessing balloon whenever hes hanging out with suitcase and goofing around

[unriding]

me n moze say good morning to the world !!! ᕙ( •̀ ᗜ •́ )ᕗ

art by @rabbbitseason of course <3

[the-judicial-assistants-notebook]

not enough discussion about the gavins' complicated relationship with feminine-coded/beauty products, i don't think.