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trippingontheescalator · 2 months

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Curious about the direction the HP fandom has gone

Okay, so as an old HP fan from way back when the books were first coming out, and then getting hit with the nostalgia and decided to return after years and years of not interacting with the fandom at all, the changes are truly mindboggling and I'd love to get to the bottom of some things.

Like, the disappearance of Blaise Zabini. Blaise was a fan favorite way back when we only knew his name but now I barely hear a whisper of his name. Now, the obvious answer is racism, which I think is the #1 reason why Blaise-pairings have dropped of significantly. Back then we all thought Blaise was a hot Italian girl, and then we found out he's a black man and suddenly people stop writing about him? Hm, yeah, seems the obvious answer (especially considering the popularity of other characters who are just a name on a page *cough*regulusblack*cough*).

Or the rise in Snape-hate. Like, Snape used to be the fan favorite. Everyone loved Snape. The meaner he was, the more we liked him. Being mean to children was a plus, not a negative lol. And this was back when we all thought he was a pureblood who came from a wealthy family like the Malfoys. Now by the time the 7th book came out I had pretty much moved on and so I didn't really see the fallout of readers discovering his actual background, so I don't know if his drop in popularity is classism and learning that he isn't a palette-swapped Lucius Malfoy or not, but honestly I would figure his impoverished background would be a plus in these times. Like Snape is obviously one of JKR's least favorite characters, and considering how she-who-must-not-be-named has destroyed her reputation with her increasing radicalization you'd figure the poor, abused, author-hating character would become more beloved instead of the rich, white, heteronormative bullies who barely even show up in the books. Like with our increasing knowledge of social injustice, I just don't understand why the fandom would want to latch onto the Marauders? And I just can't believe Snape's handful of snippets with Lily is the cause of his downfall (like what's there is barely enough to fill up a few pages, and there are certainly more toxic relationships in the series that are still beloved), or the fact that he was a Death Eater or that he inadvertently caused the deaths of the Potters (we already knew that in GoF and HPB respectively and he was still beloved, and this was when we assumed he didn't give a shit about the Potters or if they died when he went snitching). Draco is still popular. DRACO who doesn't give two shits about slinging around the word "mudblood," as opposed to Snape who actually changed for the better.

Am I just too old to understand? Is this like 90s fashion coming back in style (no, I won't do it again, I don't care if it's cringy I'm sticking with my millennial styles, I did the platforms and the slip dresses and the cargo pants in high school and I'm not putting myself through that again lol you gen z's can pry my comfortable mom jeans from my cold, dead fingers, I don't care if it makes me look old, that's the point, I AM old). Like, in addition to 90s fashion, has the 90s obsession with luxury athletic fashion like Lacoste come back in style? All those fashion ads of rich white people on yachts with popped collar polos? Are people starting to obsess over the Marauders because nouveau riche conspicuous consumption is coming back in style? It can't all just be young kids who have only read AtYD and have never actually opened one of the books, can it?

There also seems to be a trend of treating characters as if they're real people. I mean, we've always done it (Snape Wives, I'm looking at you), but now it almost feels as if the crimes characters commit are treated as if they're real crimes and that liking them is somehow a moral failing on the reader's fault. If you were to say "I don't like Snape, his douchy actions anger me, I'd rather skip all the parts he shows up in" I'd say, cool, I get that. That's normal. But "Snape is an abuser, a racist, and an incel and if you like him you're probably those things too" is fucking weird. Like, Harry and Hermione are not real children. Snape is not a real person. The things that happen in this book have as much influence on the real world as me imagining ninjas breaking into my workplace on a slow day. And that "media does not exist in a vacuum" pisses me off because it's blatantly misused. The pieces of media that have had serious consequences? Jaws, The Birth of a Nation. One resulted in the culling of sharks, the other helped restart the KKK. Do you know what those two pieces of media have in common? They're not about fucking wizards and magic schools. They instead paint a target on real groups. After twenty years nobody has ever tried to hurt a marginalized group of people because of a harry potter book (except for JKR herself).

Anyway, these are just some random thoughts, feel free to chime in with your own.

#pro snape #severus snape #pro severus snape #snapedom #mostly snape some blaise #would love to hear form some marauders fans but im not touching that tag with a ten foot pole #yikes

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veeagainsttheday · 6 months

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Ed, Killing, and the Kraken in Our Flag Means Death S1 and S2

This meta contains a whole heckuva a lot of spoilers for Our Flag Means Death seasons 1 and 2. Thanks to @petrichorca who gave it a read through and left some helpful comments!

When we first get to know Ed in s1e4, the episode concludes with him telling his first mate, Izzy Hands, about his plans to murder Stede Bonnet and steal his identity so Ed can retire from piracy. Ed and Izzy discuss the plan in a casual manner, like this act isn't shocking or deviant from previous conversations and schemes Ed and Izzy have had before. This is consistent with how other characters, especially Black Pete, have described Blackbeard in previous episodes (‘when Blackbeard kills man, woman, or child…’). While Black Pete is (probably) lying, Buttons was with him until the flip.

As the song ‘The Empty Boat’ by Caetano Veloso plays, Izzy tells Ed, 'You've still got it' and Ed says, 'I know,' turning away to face the empty deck. Only the audience witnesses his true facial expression - the Blackbeard mask falling, a kind of dead-eyed exhaustion (echoed by the lyrics of the song) taking its place.

In s1e5, we see Ed threaten violence against the French captain, but he doesn't actually hurt the man himself. We also see him act as if he's about to go kill the French partygoers before Stede steps in and 'handles it'. At this point I think we the audience would, if asked, have said that Ed seems to have a casual attitude towards killing that you would expect from 'the legendary Blackbeard'. He's scary ('next one goes through your fucking eyeball') and almost cartoonishly violent ('skin him. And use the snail fork'). So we the audience maybe make some assumptions about where the show stands on violent killing - not only that Blackbeard is familiar with it, but that it's a commonplace act for him.

Then we come to a pivotal moment. In s1e6, Izzy pushes back on Ed for not killing Stede, there’s the conversation about doggy heaven, and Ed promises Izzy that he’ll be the one to do the killing. We see Ed hyping himself up (‘You’re a killer bro. So kill.’) and then holding his knife while standing next to Stede behind the curtain in the captain’s cabin. They’re interrupted by Lucius cutting off his finger. Ed doesn’t go through with it; the moment passes as Stede exits the curtain to announce the entrance of the Kraken.

At this point, I as an audience member fully believed that Ed couldn’t kill Stede because of his feelings for him. I wasn’t yet sure what those feelings were, but I knew that Ed had a deep affection for Stede, and for a moment I believed that was all that was holding him back. Then, of course, we see Ed have a PTSD/panic attack trigger from the Kraken fuckery that sends him into Stede’s bathtub, hiding underneath Stede’s robe, where he and Stede have what I believe is the most intimate moment of the entire first season (a reading supported by s2e3). Ed tells Stede, ‘The Kraken didn’t kill my dad. I did.’ We are shown the flashbacks to the way Ed’s father abused him and his mother, and the Kraken story he told on deck earlier is shown again with the figure of the beast in the water replaced by himself, as a young teen, on the dock.

Then Ed tells Stede, ‘If I’m being honest, I haven’t killed another man since.’ Stede tries to comfort him by reminding him how much he loves a good maim, but Ed is still preoccupied with how the fact that he killed his abusive father as a child means that he’s not a good person, and that this is why he doesn’t have any friends, aka, isn’t loveable. Stede tells him, ‘I’m your friend,’ in essence, To me, you are loveable, and Ed reacts by saying, ‘No,’ and banging his head against the tub.

The next important point happens in s1e8, when Jack invites himself to breakfast and regales Stede (very deliberately, as he’s trying to push Stede and Ed apart) with the tale of Ed setting a ship alight and killing many people. (Also note - the show’s first mention of Hornigold! ‘He treated us like dogs! Worse than dogs!’ and ‘Ground us down into nothing!’) While Jack emphasises the horror and brutality of what Ed did, Ed’s demeanour completely changes - ‘No, Stede doesn’t want to hear about that.’ Jack obviously doesn’t listen to Ed; Stede’s face passes from horrified listening to Jack to squinting at Ed like, ‘Is this - true?’ Ed looks thoroughly guilty as the story continues and Stede asks him, clearly doing his best to preserve Ed’s secret in front of Jack, ‘I thought you’d, uh, given up the killing?’ Ed surges forward in his seat and, not making eye contact with Stede, says, ‘Yeah, well, technically the fire killed those guys. Not me.’ The camera then cuts to Jack looking at Stede with a bit of an incredulous expression as if he’s both gauging Stede’s reaction to the entire thing and thinking, ‘Wow BB’s in deep here if he’s making up some weird story about not being the one who lit that fire.’

I don’t think the show intends for us to believe that Ed was consciously lying to Stede in the bathtub scene in s1e6. Instead, we see the complex way that Ed - who is shown to be both brilliant and possessed of an internal monologue that just cannot shut up - has constructed mental barriers to protect himself from the trauma of killing while still achieving the highest possible status in a very violent profession and existing in a world marred by colonial violence perpetrated specifically against people like him.

S1e9 shows Ed continuing to posture to everyone but Stede as Blackbeard, seasoned killer (for example, telling Chauncey that he barely remembers killing Nigel because he’s ‘a real “life is cheap” kinda guy’). At the Academy and briefly after, in the beginning of s1e10, Ed seems set to have given up killing and violence for real, but Izzy’s threats in the cabin in s1e10 send Ed reeling back to the Kraken persona he assumed when he killed his dad. The season concludes with him pushing Lucius off the ship and Krakening up to sail, rob, and raise hell forever - but the final shot shows Ed crying alone in his cabin, his Kraken makeup streaking down his face. It’s heartbreaking, but it’s one of my favourite scenes from a character perspective. Imagine if the season had ended with Ed fully transformed into the Kraken, rather than clearly miserable and heartbroken under his mask?

Season 2 begins with Ed trying to set a record for most consecutive raids, working his crew to death under brutal and traumatic conditions. His list of crimes on his wanted poster certainly suggests a lot of violence and killing, yet the show is careful to show us Ed himself only seeming to kill one person - firing a gun into a man’s back during a raid - and if you look closely, you’ll see that the man was already dying with a dagger through his body. It feels vital to me that the only direct ‘killing’ action we see Ed taking is shooting a man who we presume he can justify as having been already on his way to death.

In s2e1 and s2e2, Ed can’t kill Izzy, though he does try desperately to get Frenchie to do it for him. He can’t even kill himself, trying to get Izzy to do it instead. When he thinks Izzy has committed suicide with the gun he gave him, he says, ‘I loved you, best I could,’ as if any love Ed could give would by its nature not be good enough.

Ed wakes in s2e3 in the care of his old captain, Hornigold; of course, he’s really in the gravy basket and Hornigold is serving as a Jacob Marley-esque psychopomp. They key to Ed realising that he’s really [Buttons voice] ‘down in the old gravy basket’ is the conversation that concludes his attempts to be Jeff the Innkeeper. Hornigold tells Ed that he’s not good with people - after all, he did strangle his father. Ed reacts first with disbelief then cold fury, saying he never told anyone that; Hornigold reminds him that he told one person and Ed flashes back to telling Stede in the bathtub in s1e6; then Hornigold reminds him that the one person he told left him, and we see Ed crying under his Kraken makeup at the end of s1e10. Later, when Ed (finally, even Calico Jack would have had it sooner) realises that Hornigold represents himself, he says that he’s unloveable. Here’s the crux of it - he believes that he is fundamentally unloveable because he killed his father, because he is the Kraken, the monstrous beast capable of lethal violence. That’s why Stede left, his brain is telling him even as he’s dying.

Then Stede actually proves him wrong by returning, saving him from death, and telling him that he ‘love[s] everything about [him]’ in rapid succession. Whether or not Ed fully accepts this information, we do see him very quickly, yes, melt back into Stede’s arms. Which brings us to s2e6, and Stede’s killing of Ned Low.

Quick digression into killing and Stede: Stede accidentally kills a man in s1e1, is haunted by his ghost in s1e2. He’s so haunted by dead Nigel that he spends a lot of s1e2 asking first Oluwande and Jim for advice on being a ‘mur-der-er’, and then asking Black Pete how his former employer, Blackbeard (!!!) handled killing. (How Pete says, ‘When Blackbeard kills man, woman, or child-’ lives in my head at all times, Matt Maher with the line deliveries of all time.) Finally in s1e2, during his court-mandated therapy with the tribal elder, Stede admits that he doesn’t feel bad about killing Nigel - he was a horrible person even when he was a child! Stede's guilt is coming from somewhere else. We see this again in s1e9, when Stede says it is time for him to face the consequences for what he’s done - it might seem like he means for killing Nigel, since that’s why he’s about to face the firing squad, but we know that Stede’s guilt is about abandoning his family (the people he’s hurt!). Similarly, when Stede kills Ned in s2e6, he seems to get over it very quickly. Ned is clearly a bad guy, and although the act of killing him was traumatic for Stede (much like the act of killing Nigel), Stede presumably reconciles it by knowing that he was protecting Ed and his crew (and avenging Calypso’s birthday). Stede as a character is shown to have a tremendous amount of natural resilience. We later see him immolate a guy and dispatch a number of British soldiers without hesitation. Stede is also one of the two main protagonists of the show, and his attitude towards killing seems to reflect the attitude of the show itself - killing colonisers and torturers to protect your loved ones is ok, actually.

(Side note but I found this idea about how zero tolerance policies actually hurt victims very informative on the topic of why it's ok that Stede killed his childhood bully; I got that link from this very interesting post where several people are in conversation about how Ed is not Izzy's abuser.)

Back to Ed in s2e6. He asks Stede not to kill Ned; when Stede does anyway, Ed is visibly saddened and ignores Izzy telling him to give Stede a moment; instead he goes immediately to check in on Stede in his cabin. He knocks on the door and in that soft voice that he only ever uses with Stede, he starts to say, ‘Hey. You okay? Look, I was a wreck after my first kill as well.’ Then he pauses, before rambling, ‘I mean, well, it was my dad, so there's that,’ which feels like a little moment of self-reflection. Like. Yeah. Ed. Baby. You might be super fucked up about the act of killing because the first guy you killed was your dad, when you were a literal child! Also, Ed has never been to (as far as we know) court-mandated tribal elder therapy, so of course his decision to kill his father fucked Ed up for decades! Also as a very clever friend pointed out, we don’t know anything about what the consequences of that were for Ed - how did his mother react, is that why he ran away to sea, etc.

There's another important thing here that the audience knows, but that Ed has never told Stede (or, we have to assume, anyone) which is that the catalyst for Ed becoming the Kraken to kill his father was abuse. The audience is shown through his panic-attack-induced flashback that Ed's father physically and verbally abused his mother and presumably him too. All Ed has ever said to Stede or anyone about it, as far as we know, was his joke to the crew during scary story hour that his dad was a dick. Stede can probably infer roughly why Ed killed his dad, but he doesn't know the details, and he loves everything about Ed anyway, and now Ed knows that Stede does too.

So Ed and Stede have sex, and as many metas have pointed out (like this one!), it's so meaningful that Ed feels safe enough to give up his Blackbeard/Kraken identity the very next morning. He attempts to get Stede to see that it might be nice to not be pirates anymore due to the high chance of death but Stede manages to completely misread it and laughs it off. (To be fair to Stede, they're both horrible at communicating and Ed is not saying what he wants in any direct manner.) Ed proceeds to have his big beautiful brain start to spiral out of control as Jackie points out how popular Stede is becoming as a pirate; Ed panics, tells Stede he doesn’t even know who he is, and leaves to become a fisherman before he can get left (again!).

As Ed rows away from his failed career as a fisherman in s2e8, his boss Pop-Pop (who he has managed to recreate a fucked up father-son dynamic with that like so many things in his show is played for laughs but has pretty dark undertones) yells after him, 'If you were ever good at anything, go and do that, you bum.' Ed rows back into the port of the Republic of Pirates and sees the destruction Prince Ricky has wrought upon the pirate community. Ed's first thought is, Stede, and then he imagines Stede calling for help before straight up murdering two British soldiers. He remembers Pop-Pop's words and says, 'Have it your way,' before diving into the sea, retrieving his leather, putting it on underwater, and emerging from the waves fully dressed. It's fantastically hot and the exact level of drama I expect from this man. The Kraken musical cue is playing as it happens.

We now see Ed murdering British soldiers in the coolest ways possible, demonstrating his skill at fighting in hand to hand combat. One way to read him taking Pop-Pop's advice is that this is what he's good at - killing and violence.

But you know what Ed’s even better at? Protecting the people he loves. His mother, himself, and Stede. Each time Ed becomes the Kraken, he fulfils that. He protects his mother from his father, himself from Izzy after being warned that ‘[Edward] better watch his fucking step’, and Stede from the invading colonisers who want to destroy their freedom. But something has changed the third time he does it - this time, he can tell Stede that he loves him and he doesn't mean it as a tainted thing, but something that he knows Stede will treasure. He's both loveable and capable of loving. He always has been, of course, but now he knows it. The Kraken, the part of him that is capable of killing, was always a defence mechanism for Ed, but the third time he understands it and himself enough to know that it doesn’t make him a monster.

#ofmd s2 #ofmd s2 meta #ofmd meta #edward teach #blackbeard #our flag means death meta #our flag means death

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asoulwithadream · 8 months

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TEASER REVIEW BECAUSE I'M DEAD

it's him. he's back. HE'S BACK. BESTIES HE'S BACK. i'm sick. his letter has caused my entire brain to shut down. "I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU. I LOVE BEING NEAR YOU. BREATHING THE SAME AIR" bestie how did you find ao3 in 1717? AND THEY GAVE US ALL THAT IN THE FUCKING TEASER TOO?????? dude he looks so fucking heartbroken– YEARNING RAAAAAAAH

THIS FUCKING SCENE— he CUSTOMISED THE TOPPERS TO LOOK LIKE THEM I'M CRYING SOBBING ROLLING ON THE FLOOR. omg omg omg omg they love eachother so much PLEASE. and poor sweet ed jesus he has been CRYING AND HE LOOKS SO EMPTY IM SICK IM DYING IM DEAD. i'm sick, i need the icu help. does this mean he's good at painting.

GOTH UNIFORMS. THEY'RE REAL. im so incredible sick frenchie has cat claws. HE HAS CAT CLAWS IM DYING. and JIM HAS A PAINTED BEARD and SHAVED SIDES. i'm actually going to burst into tears. my heart is going to stop at any moment. even FANG HAS A COOL NEW UNIFORM

i don't think i'm alive anymore at this point. THE PARALLEL. THE PARALLEL. and 9 guns he literally turned into the kraken. HE TURNED INTO THE VERY THING HE HATED HELP ME PLEASE (also did anyone notice the scene where he rose out of the ocean was very similar to potc??????? help??????) stede please stop looking lovingly out in the distance my heart has gotten enough beatings

competent stede in red. FABULOUS IM GOING TO CRYYY 2. izzy hands it's izzy isreal it's you PLEASE this is so reminisence of all the ao3 fics— izzy's finally realised what ed has become and needs to go find stede and bring ed back PLEASE HELP I'm GOING TO CRY IZZY AND STEDE BEING FRIENDS NO NO NO NO NO HELP HELP HELP HELP this is his road to self discovery and acceptance and love i'm feral

that's the same place mofos THAT'S THE SAME PLACE. THEY'RE CLOSE. omg they're going to end up FIGHTING EACHOTHER AREN'T THEY AREN'T THEY OR IS IT THE FIRST TIME THEY SEA EACHOTHER . (also, COMPETENT STEDE?????) HELP ME THEY'RE SO FIGHTING. OMG what if they're running TOWARDS EACHOTHER OKFLAIKHFL please this is insane i will cry david jenkins you have forsaken us all.

minnie what are you doing to stede. HE DOESn'T WANT IT. He'S UNCOMFORTABLE IN SUCH A STATE. LITERALLY THE NAME OF ONE OF THE EPISODES ANNE LEAVE HIM ALONE, (and do it to me) (please i'm desperate)

these two barbies are having the times of their lives.

im convinced that "susan" (whoever ruibo quan is playing) is a mermaid. buttons is being taught the way of the sea by her since she is part fish. she is setting him up with the ocean so they can make sweet love, instead of yearning like captain blondie and emo over there

WHO'S FALLEN IN A RIVER IN LEGO CITY. IT MUST BE SOMEONE ON BLACKBEARD'S SHIP MATES IS IT ED????? ED HAS FALLEN OFF A SHIP IN LEGO CITY. HELP ME WHAT IS GOING ON HERE. I NEED TO KNOW I NEED TO KNOW I NEED TO KNOW OMG THE REVENGE ISN'T SINKING ISN'T SHE??? PLEASE DON'T DO THAT TO ME

THIS IM SORRY BUT WEE JOHN IS LOOKING ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS, ROACH HAVING THE TIME OF HIS LIFE, AND IS THAT PETE THAT MUST BE PETE IT'S PETE ISN'T IT IT'S BLACK PETE. we don't have enough content with pete. YOU KNOW WHY? or else it would have to include LUCIUS. HAH. got you there david

well. that concludes my current rant. other parts of the trailer have been excluded bc they deserve their own posts OR others have phrased it better than me LMAO (yeah because what i wrote is peak shakespeare)

october 5th can't come fast enough help me

**UPDATE: FULL THEORY BASED ON THIS

#ofmd #our flag means death #rant #ofmd teaser rant #ofmd s2 #ofmd 2 #stede bonnet #ed teach #david jenkins #taika waititi #rhys darby #they're back they're really actually back #october 5th

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cressthebest · 4 days

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Crimson Rivers thoughts pt. 20

chapter 35:

1. 😟 james’ first kill had a wife and two little girls. i- these chapters always start off by hitting hard

2. “James, who is—for some reason—glaring at Frank like he's kicked his cat. James doesn't even have a cat. His cat is dead. Has been for years, so Sirius isn't sure what that's all about.” 😭😭😭😭 girl wtf

3. “Pandora marches off after the mayor with the clear determination to organize that poor man's entire life, which maybe he needs, honestly.” queen 👑

4. girl, why is james so possessive of sirius around frank?

5. ALICE MENTION!!!

6. awww james is jealous. that’s actually kinda funny

7. poor frank is caught up in a lot of jealousy

8. i’m far too worried for effie and monty. like, unreasonably worries

9. i- bernice was a mother to an INFANT. i- all these people who are young parents fucking hurt. i know that’s the point, but it hurts

10. ew, we have to deal with the malfoys and blacks i don’t want to do this

11. “For example, Regulus did not understand when he was a child that Bellatrix is fucking insane. He understands now, of course” 😭😭

12. 😧 bellatrix just- got away with murder. and she did it just to make her younger sister’s life a little easier. he didn’t even do anything wrong. i- regulus is right in calling her fucking insane

13. “Narcissa is not, and never has been, fragile. Oh, she pretends to be, sure, but she's as dangerous as her sisters, especially because you don't expect it.”

14. 💕💕NARCISSA💕💕 asexual lesbian queen

15. “”I want to raise a child. He wants to train a Victor."”

god, that hurts. lucius needs to go rot in a ditch

16. i hate bellatrix, but she’s honestly a pleasure to read about

17. 😧😳 FUCKING WILD. every time reg tells someone not to touch james or he’ll [do something], nobody ever believes him, then he follows through with exactly what he threatened. also, maybe bella needed her hand to be stabbed with a fork

18. i love that sirius has no context, but he is IMMEDIATELY gonna throw fists with bella, no questions asked

19. REMUS LUPIN!! HE RETURNS!!!! MY LOVE!!

20. AWWW PANDORA IS A QUEEN!! THIS IS A SURPRISE FOR SIRIUS

21. SCREAMING CRYING THROWING UP!! HIS WORDS ARE “HI SWEETHEART” I AM NOT FREAKING OKAY

#marauders #regulus black #james potter #fanfic #jegulus #sirius black #remus lupin #pandora rosier #pandora lovegood #bellatrix lestrange #bellatrix black #narcissa malfoy #narcissa black #sunseeker #starchaser #wolfstar #frank longbottom #crimson rivers

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riverhag2 · 6 months

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my favorite characters die in my favorite media all the damn time

my current hyper focus is a tragic opera that ends with my blorbo having his life flash before his eyes in a horrid fever dream where he's confronted for perhaps the first time with how horribly he's failed everyone he's ever loved and then he dies

death isn't the problem

pointless and hurried stuff-her-in-a-fridge death that doesn't actually even serve the narrative purpose cobbled together as an after-the-fact explanation is the problem

the idea that Izzy's arc was "over" is frankly ludicrous

he'd only just begun to rediscover the parts of himself he'd buried away or lost to piracy, to Blackbeard, to Ed

he'd only just found love with the crew

he'd only just started the arc that Stede and Ed set off on in the beginning of s1

his death does nothing for his character

it also does nothing for anyone else's

smarter people than me have spoken extensively on why the "mentor/father figure" thing is just outright non-existent in the text

even without that, the show is obviously trying to use Izzy's death to free Ed from the mantle of blackbeard and that would be a valid and interesting narrative choice if you'd set that up at any point before the last five minutes of the last episode but um

Ed had already begun the work of releasing himself from blackbeard, and even when he dons the leathers once again, it's not even the tiniest bit for Izzy's sake nor in any way at Izzy's insistence or encouragement (and in fact, Izzy had already encouraged him to step away from it)

whatever is still tying Ed to blackbeard, it is textually very much not Izzy

Izzy's dying sentiment of "they love you" holds no water because out of Ed, Stede, and Izzy, only one of them has actually connected with the crew this season and it sure as fuck isn't Ed

Izzy's dying admonition of "you're surrounded by family" is immediately followed by Ed and Stede fucking off and leaving the ship

there's nothing in Izzy's death that serves Ed narratively

there's apparently then the argument that Izzy is representative of old piracy, a dying world, and therefore he must die (which, ok, fine, but to what end?) but that's *actually insane* in the context of a show entirely about starting over in middle age

killing a character is often a good narrative choice, but if you're gonna kill him, doing it with a stray bullet in the middle of his arc in a way that does nothing to further anyone else's narrative is at best a cheap emotional punch

death also is the problem though

in a show where mortal wounds seem to pass almost unnoticed amongst our heroes, casual death by a stray bullet is bonkers

in a show where the only real villain is a cruel and corrupt state, to punish with death someone at the mercy of that cruel and corrupt state is bonkers

most importantly: in a show that presented itself as ultimately being about queer outsiders finding family in each other, there's no good reason for any of the foundlings to die

even assuming they're planning some miraculous resurrection for Izzy in s3, they work very hard to show you precisely how dead he is here

they want you to know and believe that he absolutely is dead

Lucius falls into the sea in a way that no one ever once believed actually meant he was dead

in contrast, we watch the light go out of Izzy's eyes after he tells Ed he's ready to go

we see him buried in the dirt

if this truly is meant to be impermanent, then it is even more cruel and meaningless than if they actually just killed him for nothing and no amount of "indestructible little fucker" foreshadowing redeems it

I hate everything about this ending, for everyone involved

it's such a disappointment

#ofmd izzy #izzy hands #ofmd #ofmd s2 #our flag means death season 2 #ofmd spoilers

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canonizzyhours · 4 months

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I don't know who needs to hear this, but Izzy is canonically dead. He's DEAD dead. We saw that man get shot, bleed all over the place, give a nice speech, and die. We saw his funeral and no amount of #izzylives is going to unbury him.

"But Lucius--!" Lucius and Izzy are COMPLETELY different characters. Lucius did nothing wrong, we didn't see his death, and most importantly, his death would've dramatically changed the narrative. It would've been a hell of a lot harder for Ed to come back if he'd successfully killed someone who'd only tried to help him. Izzy, on the other hand, spent all of season one being mean and wet and all of season two working on himself (and being wet). He's not anything near innocent and his story is over. What purpose would coming back next season serve? Do we want to make it easier to redeem Prince Ricky?

"Izzy could be in the gravy basket!" Ed's gravy basket moment doesn't exist to set up a death-adjacent plane of existence from which all characters can be called back, it exists to illustrate his core issue (belief that he's unlovable) and set him on his path of healing. Why would Izzy need that? He did his healing. His story wrapped. He's a secondary character who has served his purpose.

"Stede got hit in the head with a cannonball and ep8 is him in the gravy basket and Izzy is still alive--" No. Stop. I get that not everyone loved the last episode, but will replacing it with a hackneyed "it was all a dream" retcon really make the writing stronger? No! It'd ruin Izzy's entire s2 arc (which was beautiful btw) and make his entire story worse in retrospect. Not to mention there were NO HINTS that ep8 wasn't entirely "real." OFMD isn't a sneaky show. If the writers wanted us to entertain the idea that Stede made up the events of an entire episode, they would've given clear indications.

Izzy is dead. He has ceased to be, he is bereft of life, he has joined the choirs invisible. He is an ex-Izzy. Be sad about it, but PLEASE don't pin all your hopes on a miraculous resurrection or gravy basket situation. That's only going to lead to hurt if (when) we get a third season.

P.S. You're doing amazing work, friendos. Thank you so much for providing a place for us to put our Izzy takes and standing between us and the Canyon. You're truly god's strongest soldier.

#158.

#ofmd #izzy hands #canonizzyhours #fandom critical #'he is an ex-izzy' ily anon

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thecarnivorousmuffinmeta · 8 months

Note

What if Sirius Black had a death note in Azkaban?

Well, there'd be a lot of dead people.

I doubt Sirius is even in a state to question this, ask what consequences there will be, or if it even works. He just starts writing.

Peter's obviously the first to go and the Weasley family is very sad when their beloved pet rat suddenly dies in a truly horrible manner (Sirius will uh not make this painless or dignified). Then he starts killing off the Death Eaters. Bellatrix, Rudolphus, and Rabastan all die in Azkaban. Barty may survive, in that Sirius didn't hear about his arrest or the fiasco of a trial as Sirius was already incarcerated himself, except that Barty is now in Azkaban and from what we know of how things went in Order of the Phoenix the inmates can shout at each other (as they do in joy when the Dark Lord returned). Sirius may know Barty's in there, and if he does, Barty also gets the axe. Severus Snape of course gets the most humiliating, torturous, awful death of all.

At first, no one thinks anything of it. Weird all these Death Eaters are stabbing themselves to death and bleeding out in Azkaban (Sirius is very upset he was limited in his ways of killing the incarcerated), but suicide in Azkaban isn't unheard of and the main issue there is the Dementors are getting pissed and restless. No one knew Peter was alive, of course, and the Weasleys just thought their rat was dumb enough to walk into a blender.

Where people start going "huh" is when Lucius Malfoy (who escaped Azkaban) dies in a horrific accident along with Narcissa leaving their young son an orphan, when Severus Snape (who also escaped Azkaban) dies after having written the most embarrassing confession/suicide note imaginable, when they piece together things and see that anyone who is a Death Eater or closely associated with them has died quite gruesomely in a matter of minutes within each other.

The Wizarding World panics, assuming this can only be Voldemort after all and that he's getting revenge on his followers for god even knows what reason. They're all going to die, not even death can stop this man. Mass panic ensues with everyone vying to sacrifice baby Harry again.

Then they realize that it's... every Death Eater except Sirius Black.

Sirius is brought out for questioning and under veritiserum confesses that he murdered everyone with a mysterious notebook. (He does not get a chance to confess that he's innocent in killing the Potters as no one cares to ask about that bit).

Sirius is shoved back in Azkaban, sans notebook, and the uh notebook becomes the property of the Ministry. I imagine when Umbridge ends up in power, people who annoy the Ministry like oh Albus Dumbeldore or Harry Potter for that matter suddenly die in very strange accidents.

#harry potter #harry potter meta #harry potter headcanon #sirius black #meta #headcanon #opinion

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ramblings-of-a-mad-cat · 16 days

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I feel like it isn't talked about nearly enough that Harry freed Kreacher.

And I'm realizing that's because no one else, literally no one I've talked to in this fandom in the last seventeen years, interpreted the scene that way. But when I first read DH, I picked up on it immediately.

Because Harry unequivocally does free Kreacher when he gives him Regulus' locket, and I think that's so important. I get why you might disagree, because they never actually state in the dialogue that Kreacher is free. It's all subtext. You might also say that jewelry is different from clothing, but I don't think we have enough examples to rule it out. (Lucius was tricked into freeing Dobby with a sock that wasn't even his. Far as I'm concerned, if you can wear it, then it counts.)

Harry freed Dobby without hesitation, and why wouldn't he? The sweet little guy was miserable, trapped in servitude to the evil Malfoys. But Kreacher? He was the racist little bastard that betrayed Sirius, Sirius, to the Death Eaters, and had a hand in his death. Of course Harry hated him. Even in OOTP, the point is made that Kreacher cannot be freed, even if Sirius would love to be rid of him, because he simply knows too much information, and they need to keep him bound in service so that he can't pass it on.

In this, we see that Harry's status as an ally to the House Elves is conditional. He wasn't even raised in the magical world like Ron, there's no reason for him to see Elf Slavery as okay, but he just accepts it as part of the magical world because the elves are "happy" and writes off Hermione's campaign as one of her many obsessions. Ron didn't take it seriously, so neither did Harry. He was happy to free Dobby, but to him Dobby was a special case.

Then comes the tale of Regulus. Harry is told all about a Death Eater who had a change of heart for no other reason than because he loved Kreacher, and Voldemort tortured Kreacher, leaving him for dead. Harry cannot fathom it - after all, this is Kreacher. The monster who betrayed Sirius. But Sirius mistreated Kreacher at every turn, something that Harry laughed off because Kreacher was so unpleasant - but it doesn't change the fact that Sirius was literally Kreacher's master, and he regularly abused him. It's not like it's Kreacher's fault that Sirius was abused himself, or that Sirius had to return to Grimmauld Place.

Seeing Kreacher utterly break down was uncomfortable for Harry, because it forced him to confront an uncomfortable truth that conflicted with the worldview he'd set up for himself about the Elves - and about Sirius. Even twenty years later, Kreacher is still attempting to self-harm after failing to follow Regulus' orders, and it's safe to assume Regulus didn't tell him to do that.

At this point, Hermione breaks down too, and she asks them - Harry and Ron - to see what she sees. "Oh don't you see how sick it is, how they've got to obey?" And for the first time, Harry sees it. On a grand scale, he sees it. It's raw, it's awkward, it's painful to confront. But Harry comes to realize that Hermione is right. (As in most things.) Slavery is not okay, no matter the context. The House Elves should be free. Not just the nice ones like Dobby, but even the nasty ones like Kreacher. Because he sees Kreacher trying to "punish himself" just as Dobby has done many times...and I think it hits Harry that no one deserves that.

So he takes a chance. Because freeing Kreacher is still a risk. It gives him back his autonomy. He knows all kinds of information. He knows that Regulus stole the Locket, and that Harry is hunting for it too. If Kreacher were to turn around and backstab the Golden Trio, if Voldemort learned what he knew, everything would be lost. And Kreacher could do that. But Harry chooses to believe that he won't. And he recognizes that even that risk is no excuse to keep a slave.

Cause here's the thing. Even if jewelry "doesn't count" (highly debatable imo) that doesn't mean Harry would know that. So far as he knows, he's giving Kreacher something to wear, and he has personal experience with what that means to Elves. The entire scene reads like Kreacher is being freed. Call it a headcanon if you must but I have believed this for years.

Yes, Kreacher stayed in Grimmauld Place. Of course he did. He loves it there, that's his home. Where is he going to go? And yes, he continues to serve Harry after this and even calls him "Master." Because that's what he knows. I'm not saying Harry broke the conditioning. That kind of thing would take years. If she'd been allowed to, Winky would have carried on serving The Crouches after her dismissal. But the important thing is, Harry gave Kreacher the locket. Whatever enchantment it was that bound Kreacher in service to Harry would have broken when Harry gave him the locket.

I know everyone loves to mock the moment at the end when Harry's first thought after defeating Voldemort is whether or not his slave will bring him a sandwich, but, guys. It's a throwaway line about a sandwich. Harry isn't going to order Kreacher to do it. At most he's going to ask. Kreacher is old, and pretty set in his ways. Deprogramming might not even be possible for him at this point. But everything we see of their relationship following Regulus' tale shows Harry respecting Kreacher as a friend, not a slave. He gave Kreacher his autonomy back by freeing him, and, when Kreacher made the choice to stay, Harry treated him with kindness.

This is actually blowing my mind because for so many years I just took this as a given but I realized I'd never seen anyone else talking about it and it turns out I'm in the minority for interpreting it this way? It just seemed so straightforward to me...

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hollowed-theory-hall · 23 days

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What do you think Voldemort was doing during book 6?

Well, we don't know a lot about what he's up to, but what we know is Garrick Ollivander was kidnapped in July of 1996:

“Talking of Diagon Alley,” said Mr. Weasley, “looks like Ollivander’s gone too.” “The wandmaker?” said Ginny, looking startled. “That’s the one. Shop’s empty. No sign of a struggle. No one knows whether he left voluntarily or was kidnapped.” “But wands — what’ll people do for wands?” “They’ll make do with other makers,” said Lupin. “But Ollivander was the best, and if the other side have got him it’s not so good for us.”

(HBP, page 106)

And it makes sense Voldemort would be interested in Ollivander. See, the only thing Voldemort cares about during the second war is killing Harry Potter. That's it, he just wants the object of all his failings dead and gone. So everything he does is to serve that purpose.

So he returns from the dead at the end of book 4 and fails to kill Harry Potter again. Now, he starts to wonder why? What causes him to keep failing in killing this kid who is a way worse wizard than him (not really, but that's what Voldemort thinks)? And he can't blame Lily's love protection this time.

So he searches for the answer. For the trick Harry is pulling, so Voldemort can rectify it and kill this bane to his life.

So in book 5, he tries to retrieve the prophecy. He knows there is a prophecy about how Harry is his future vanquisher. Now, I don't think he believed this prophecy at first, but now he failed at killing Harry twice, so he thinks maybe there's something in this prophecy that could explain it. He starts thinking that maybe the prophecy isn't bullshit.

After he fails in retrieving the prophecy due to Harry Potter, he goes to his next possible lead into how to kill Harry — figure out what went wrong the second time.

He made sure Lily's blood protection wouldn't stop him in his resurrection, so now he needs to figure out how to circumvent whatever happened between their wands. And who's better to ask than the best wandmaker in the UK? So he kidnaps Ollivander and probably tortures and questions him on everything Voldemort could think of that might be relevant. And more, just to be safe. (It's why he tries to use Lucius' wand in the Battle of the Seven Potters)

We also know he wasn't checking up on his Horcruxes. If he was, he would've noticed the ring and perhaps the locket were missing. It doesn't seem like he knew though, since he didn't act as desperate as later in book 7 when he knows his Horcruxes are getting hunted down.

Unfortunately, this and Draco's mission (that is more punishment than mission, but Voldemort really does want Dumbledore dead) are the only things we know Voldemort does in book 6. I mean, he's not even present in the battle at the end of the book. So unfortunately anything beyond this point is in the realm of guesswork (I'd like to think I'm better at this than Dumbledore, though).

Things Voldemort might've been doing during book 6 (in no particular order):

Not giving up on the prophecy and trying to track the full version down by other means — if it happened, nothing came of it.

Forcing Ollivander to create a new wand for him that could defeat Harry — if it happened, nothing came out since the wand chooses the wizard and is not made to demand.

Researching wands and wand lore in general beyond just Ollivander's words. Perhaps, during this research, which may have even taken him abroad, he discovered the legends of the Elder Wand and some of its traces — if it happened, he noted it as a backup plan if he couldn't kill Harry with any other wand. (he ended up falling to this backup plan in book 7) (I also think this one is the most likely to have happened)

Researching Lily's blood protection again since it might've influenced Harry's survival — maybe, but probably not.

Researching other forms of magic that could allow Hary to survive, because this kid already evaded him twice and he wants to cover all his bases — honestly, he might've.

Researching the killing curse and potential alternatives for the same reason as above — if he did this he never found alternatives he liked.

#harry potter #harry potter thoughts #hp #hp thoughts #lord voldemort #voldemort analysis #voldemort #hollowedtheory #hollowedheadcanon #anon ask #asks #anonymous

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finethingswellworn · 9 months

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So my two favorite shows are being discussed in conjunction with each other and now I'm trying to figure out why the ending to Good Omens 2 has left me significantly more distraught than Our Flag Means Death.

They ended in similar places, after all. And Our Flag went much, much darker with it's main character's breakdown. (Lucius going over the side and the toe scene, anyone?) So... why did Good Omens completely wreck me, then?

Both shows have comedic and dramatic elements. Both end on a somber note, with our beloved leads separated and pining. Both shows have a critical lack of communication and a tragic misunderstanding between the two partners where one (or both) assume what the other wants or is feeling, directly leading to their falling out.

Well, I think it's because the conflict between Aziraphale and Crowley is so much deeper and more irrevocable than that of Stede and Ed. Or it feels that way.

Stede doesn't fully realized his love for Ed, not until he's separated from him, until Mary describes what it's like. And then he finally gets it. Immediately he comes up with a scheme to get himself declared dead so that by the end of the season, we, the audience, as well as Stede know that there's no more ties to his old life keeping him. He's free to pursue Ed and win his love and trust back again. I've written on here a lot about the complications they're going to have settling into their life together. It's going to be a long, rocky road. I am ABSOLUTELY NOT trying to minimize that. It most certainly will be. And a painful one, too, more than likely.

But between Stede's realization of his newfound love and Ed's miserable tears at the end of ep10, the viewer knows that it's only a matter of time before Stede tracks Ed down and makes his true feelings known. And only a matter of time before Ed forgives him.

But the sting in the Good Omens finale isn't that our two main characters are or ever were unsure of how the other feels about them. It's clear to me that they've known at least since 1941, even if they've had ups and downs since then. The care, the devotion, the love is not really what's in question here and that makes it a million times more difficult to resolve because there's no easy assurances either of them can give to mend the breach. It's that they have reached an insurmountable impasse as to how they can be together.

Good Omens fans have said for a long, long time that Aziraphale and Crowley FEEL married. And i see their issues in season 2 as the culmination of many, many things left unsaid and unresolved for so long that they "inevitably end in a (metaphorical) divorce. It's the constant push/pull of tension lying just below the surface of their relationship that neither really want to face head on.

And it's so utterly gut-wrenching because we are essentially witnessing two beings who love each other more than anything else in the universe watch each other make choices that they believe will ruin them and their relationship and there's nothing either of them can do to change the other's mind. Seeing loved ones make terrible choices and being unable to stop them is one of the most painful fucking things in the universe. Knowing that they will be unhappy, knowing that they will suffer, knowing that if they would only reach out you would be right there to help them but also knowing that it's far, far too late to help now... knowing that they would refuse your help even if you confront them about the danger they are in... that's what that ending was.

And both Crowley and Aziraphale feel that way.

Of course, Aziraphale thinks Crowley has needlessly chosen to damn himself and their relationship and doomed himself to be unhappy for ever. And Aziraphale remembers how happy Crowley was as an angel. Why is he purposefully choosing unhappiness when it's wholly unnecessary? He's watching the love of his existence condemn himself a second time. It's devastating to him.

But Crowley knows the truth about heaven and the angels. He also knows just how unhappy Aziraphale will be in heaven. And he's helpless to stop him from going. He can't and won't force him to stay. He never has and never will. He waits. He always, always waits, watches from afar as the other angels mistreat his angel over and over and over. And he doesn't understand. He's so, so angry that Aziraphale would go back to them but there's nothing he can do. Not anymore.

How can you love someone so much and still misunderstand them so fundamentally after so very long? How can two beings want the exact same thing and still hurt each other? How can ideology and indoctrination so effectively manage to drive a wedge between two people who have one-hundred percent trust in each other? How is that possible?

Those are the questions Good Omens Season 2 asks.

And it doesn't give us any answers to these questions. Not yet. Because true love is not enough in this case. A confession from either party is not enough. Both characters knowing how they feel is not enough and accepting it is not enough.

So what would be enough? What could fix this? I honestly don’t know.

That's why it hits so hard.

So, even though Good Omens will probably end with the Ineffables happily living together (I can't see it ending any other way,) there is a distinct lack of hope or optimism for the future in the season 2 ending that Our Flag somehow manages to retain.

#GOS2 spoilers #good omens #good omens two spoilers #our flag means death #good omens season two #this is me trying to make sense of my own feelings not necessarily how everyone will feel about it

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ladyjotei · 8 months

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I think we've all universally decided that Lucius probably isn't dead, probably is coming back, etc. etc.

But they still aren't revealing that yet.

WHICH MEANS.

Do you know how much of Season 2 they probably can't put into the teasers and trailers and promo shots? HOW MUCH WE STILL DON'T KNOW???

#our flag means death #ofmd #our flag means death s2 #our flag means death theory #our flag means death spoileres #ofmd s2 #ofmd 2 #lucius spriggs #blackbeard #gentlebonnet

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gh0stlyfixation · 1 year

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A match made

Paring: goddess Melinoe x Severus Snape

Summary: Albus has searched for the perfect help to aid in the war with the dark lord, only to find out she and Severus are soulmates.

I’ve have SEVER writers block and I’m on a Harry Potter binge and it’s inspired me to write but literally only for Severus and Lucius because they have OCCUPIED my mind and I apologize, so here👀 (also, I know this will flop but I needed to get this idea of of my head)

“I found help, a very powerful being,” Albus says, he’s vague, almost suspiciously vague and it makes Snape squint his eyes. “She is blood-related to Hades and Persephone,” Albus says.

Snape eyes him, “How related?”

“She is the daughter.” He confirmed

“She’s the goddess, princess of the underworld?” Snape says uneasily.

“Precisely, powerful, strong, brilliant, and beautiful. She’s agreed to help us. With her, we are powerful, unstoppable.” Albus.

“It’s the deal with the devil essentially!” Snape snaps.

“So it seems,” an unfamiliar bored voice says. Snape turns around and sees a woman checking her nails. His breath hitched as he sees her, he was being pulled towards her and the birthmark on his side is throbbing. Her long blond hair, almost white, longer than his, her eyes black, and she wore a red long-sleeve dress. Her gaze meets his and she feels the pull Snape feels soulmates. Her birthmark on the back of her neck burns as well.

“This is Melinoe, the goddess of Ghost,” Albus states, slightly weary of her.

“Severus, pleasure.” He says holding his hand out. The goddess connects her hand to his, and a bright flash of light is shown signifying that the soulmates have met. Albus is beside himself witnessing this miracle.

“I thought all these years, I’d never find my soulmate,” Melanie says quietly. Her usual personality has left her. She isn’t brave at this moment, she’s nervous. Nervous that he will reject the idea of her. Who wouldn’t? We deals with the dead.

“I as well.” He says breathlessly. His fears are washed away. He isn’t worried about he who shall not be named. He isn't afraid of his future because she is here. She calms him in a way he’s never felt.

Albus watches the two, unaware of what he brought together. He’s happy to finally see Severus in a state he’s never seen, contentment and calm, something he hasn’t felt in years.

“Albus tells me you’ve been marked by him?” Melinoe says with a hint of disdain.

“I was young and looking for the attention of some sort. It’s one of my biggest regrets-,” Severus starts.

“Which is why he came to me, to keep him safe so long he gives me intel. He hasn’t proven me wrong, he’s loyal.” Albus clears Severus quickly.

Severus was also worried he would be rejected by her and why wouldn’t he be? He’s a servant of the dark lord, a grumpy man, with a weird nose. “I don’t care honestly, just want to be sure I’m not with a traitor and if Albus trusts you then I see no problem trusting you as well Severus.” She says stepping closer to him, “I hope you accept this bond, my parents would be happy to hear the news.” She speaks again.

Severus sighs in relief, she accepted him, “I hope they will be.” He tells her with a smile, one he didn’t have to force.

“As much as I love seeing this, we have a business to discuss,” Albus says, interrupting their happiness.

#severus x you #severus snape #severus snape x reader #severus snape x you #Severus Snape x goddess #goddess #hogwarts houses #hogwarts au

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aletterinthenameofsanity · 5 months

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Izzy Amnesia Fic Excerpt (Spoilers)

Since "show the excerpt" won by a wide margin, this is getting posted. But since a portion of you didn't want it, I'll put the actual excerpt under a "read more" banner.

Note: this is from about I'd say a third of the way into the fic? So this is definitely not guaranteeing an angsty ending. Just that there is going to be some Shit That Goes Down on the way. (Also, that there is a lead up to this. It doesn't just come out of nowhere.)

With that being said, I'm warning you now that this excerpt is going to end on an absolutely gut wrenching note. And yes, I am extremely pleased by that.

---

the blessing only comes with bitterness (all that you believe in can survive this one)

Title is from "December '04" by the Oh Hellos, one of the main songs on my playlists for this fic. (And yes, I made TWO playlists for this fic. I'm at 15k and it's still got at least a few thousand left and it spiralled. Whoops. At least I'm posting this excerpt, for better or worse.)

---

“I forgot how absolutely bitter and repressed you were. You can't handle the thought that someone else could turn Blackbeard's eye, or hell, your own,” Lucius says, furious tears in his eyes, and the words cut across Izzy's ribs like Hornigold’s whip. “How would you feel if I told you that you're married, now? And to someone that isn't Blackbeard? Doesn't that make you want to shrivel up into a tiny ball, the idea that someone loves you so much that they would vow their life to you, and that it isn't the man who created you? Doesn't that just terrify you to death?"

Izzy has his sword out, the sharp side of the blade against Lucius’ throat, but Lucius’ vicious smirk doesn't slip even a millimeter. He knows which nerves of Izzy's are the rawest. He knows what strings hurt the most to be plucked. He knows how to dig his claws into the softest parts of Izzy's heart that he thought long ago calloused over. He knows about parts of Izzy that he has never shared with anyone, even Edward himself.

(Pete has his own sword out, but it is held by his side as he glances frantically between them, clearly uneasy about letting his blade join the conversation.)

“Where is this man or woman you claim I decided to turn against my Captain to marry?”

Lucius and Pete exchange a glance and some acidic mix of insecurity and rage crunches Izzy's stomach. He's been struggling since he woke up, head in agony, and whoever this fucking spouse didn't care enough to help him, to ground him, to care for him when he was laid up with a fever and woke missing years of memory.

Izzy snarls. "They're clearly not here, so they must be a fucking coward. Better dead than alive if they can't even be relied upon to stay by my side when I have a fever, much less years of missing memories-"

“Don't you dare fucking talk about my husband like that,” Pete seethes, fingers tightening around the hilt of his sword.

A stone drops into Izzy's stomach. "Your husband? I thought we were talking about my witless spouse?”

“They're standing right in front of you, you impertinent jackass,” Lucius says, tone vicious as he pulls back the neckline of his tunic to yank out a wooden ring on a leather strap. His wooden finger jerks to the side to point at the wooden ring on Pete’s hand. “Surprise. You're stuck with us.”

Izzy has to be hallucinating. He must have gotten an infection. All of this must be the product of a fevered mind.

There is no way that the scribe who humiliated him in front of the crew and the guy he slapped the head of and called a “useless fucking fucker” a few days ago could possibly have decided to marry him.

All Izzy knows is violence and control. All he knows is Edward and the sea. He does not know softness and weakness and the sort of gormless sentiment that would let himself be tied to the idiot twins.

This can't be real. He's hallucinating, that's it.

Ed is still here. Stede Bonnet's ragtag group of idiots are going to fail at their attempt at a fuckery tomorrow and Ed is going to kill Stede Bonnet and this scribe and his boyfriend will be nothing but the guys who Izzy caught fucking in the storage hold and all of this will have been a horrible, terrible nightmare-

“You’re lying,” Izzy snaps. “You absolute-”

“Twats?” Lucius offers with a horrible, gut-wrenching, fond smirk, and if Izzy ever decided to marry this man, he’d be a fucking fool.

---

But also, because I can't leave you on such a downer, and because I'm nice, here's one of my favorite lines from later in the fic when things are on the upswing:

Lucius Spriggs is a rotten bastard, an absolute bitch, and also one of the kindest people Izzy has ever met.

#fanfic #aletterinthenameofsanity #izzy hands #lucius spriggs #black pete #amnesia fic #ao3 #my fics #excerpt #lucius x izzy x pete #lucius x izzy #sprizzy #lupeteizzy

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