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rhysdarbinizedarby · 8 months

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‘Our Flag Means Death’: How Blackbeard & Stede’s Fantastical Underwater Reunion Came Together

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Our Flag Means Death, Season 2, Episodes 1-3.]

It doesn’t take more than a single second to recognize Kate Bush‘s haunting and heartbreaking tune “This Woman’s Work,” as Blackbeard, a.k.a. Ed (Taika Waititi), is pushed from a clifftop to plunge into the ocean’s depths below in Our Flag Means Death‘s Season 2 installment, “The Innkeeper.” But how did the pirate heartbroken over Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby) wind up in this position? It’s a delicate and winding path that starts with the infamous pirate’s unraveling over the course of the latest season’s first two episodes.

Believing Stede intentionally abandoned him after planning to run away together at the end of Season 1, Blackbeard embraces the version of himself so many have conjured up in their minds as he leads the Revenge’s “new” crew to pillage and plunder on the high seas. His unhinged behavior eventually forces Jim (Vico Ortiz), Izzy (Con O’Neill), Frenchie (Joel Fry), Archie (Madeleine Sami), and Fang (David Fane) to violently take control of the ship and neutralize Blackbeard — or so they think — after he steers them directly into a storm.

When Zheng Yi Sao’s (Ruibo Qian) Red Flag happens across an eerie-looking Revenge on the ocean, Stede dives overboard in his excitement over the possibility of seeing Ed, only to be told various excuses for his absence by the crew aboard. When Stede directly addresses Izzy regarding Blackbeard’s lack of presence, the now peg-legged pirate claims the Revenge crew dropped Ed on a beach.

This seems to ring true as we see Blackbeard wash ashore and cared for by his own former captain Hornigold (Mark Mitchinson). While together, Blackbeard and Hornigold discuss the mutiny that took place and Blackbeard’s hopes for the future. When a role-playing scenario testing Blackbeard’s ability to be an Innkeeper, a profession he’s interested in, goes awry, he attacks Hornigold, killing the tarp-clad pirate. But when Hornigold rises again, Blackbeard realizes something is off.

Aboard the Revenge, Ed’s body is uncovered below deck. Believing him dead, Zheng Yi Sao is forced to consider killing the Revenge crew for mutiny after initially welcoming them aboard the Red Flag. And Stede has to cope with the idea that his love may be gone forever.

After hatching an escape plan for the Revenge team, Stede and pals return to their former ship, leaving Zheng stranded without a wheel. Going to sit with Ed’s body, Stede wonders why he had to go and get himself killed. Meanwhile, Blackbeard begins to realize he’s stuck somewhere between life and death, a place this Hornigold manifestation calls a “gravy basket.”

As the two men banter about the pros and cons of choosing life over death, Hornigold ties a boulder around Ed’s waist and throws it from the cliff they’re standing on, pushing Blackbeard into the ocean. Just as it seems as though he’ll succumb to the waves, Blackbeard proves Bush’s song right: Perhaps there’s a little life in him yet. When Stede lifts the cloth from his face on the Revenge, underwater Ed reacts to the change. Peering into the water, he sees a light from which a fantastical mermaid version of Stede emerges.

In the real world, Stede reacts to Blackbeard’s twitching hand, taking it in his and pleading for him to live as a montage of their moments together rolls alongside Bush’s still-playing song. The final seconds of the episode see Ed’s eyes open, giving Stede hope.

So, how did this moving turn of events come to pass? A team full of creatives was responsible for bringing the captivating and satisfying reunion.

Stede’s Mermaid Tail

“It’s a huge process,” putting together Stede’s practical mermaid look, according to costume designer Gypsy Taylor. She says “it started with me begging everybody” to avoid visual FX and make a tail for the sequence. The orange and glittering look could have followed several different styles, but ultimately, Taylor notes, “I thought if Stede is going to turn into a mermaid, and it’s in Blackbeard’s dream, it’s sort of his vision of a mermaid.”

Considering this, in Taylor’s mind, Blackbeard wouldn’t envision some epic fantastical creature; instead, Stede would “just be like a goldfish. He’d just be like a sweet harmless goldfish.” In putting sketches together of the ensemble, Taylor acknowledges the symbolism of the goldfish motif: “There’s a huge Chinese element that we have coming through, and goldfish in Chinese culture is considered lucky.” As this vision of Stede was responsible for helping bring Ed back to life, that luck was certainly there.

“I thought that was a pretty beautiful thing, that they meet each other under the ocean and then they find each other,” Taylor gushes. “And so I went a little deep on that, but really he’s just a goldfish.” In order to achieve the goldfish mermaid look, Taylor teamed up with props master Hayley Egan, who’s based out of Australia. “She happens to excel at making mermaid tails,” Taylor shares.

After securing Egan’s involvement, Taylor says, “We fit Rhys in a jumbo stretch long skirt and made sure it was really tight so he could still sort of do this dolphin [swimming] action. And then we bought these mono fins, which you can purchase online and put your feet in.” Safety was key, though. ��He had to swim really deep and for a really far distance, and he’d never done anything like that before,” Taylor explains. “So it had to be really safe and doable.”

Once that was figured out, Taylor says Egan “cast something like 3,000 hand-sculpted silicon scales. There’s something like five kilograms of glitter in the whole thing. And then we hand-dyed pleated chiffon for all the fins, so that when he was swimming through the water, it would have this magic feel.”

While the scene may play as emotional and romantic, the story behind getting Stede’s mermaid look from Australia to New Zealand was actually quite comical. “[Egan] sliced two suitcases in half, filled [them with the mermaid tail], and then when it went through customs, the customs guy said to her, ‘Are you bringing fish into this country?’ And she’s like, ‘Yes, yes I am.'”

In total, there were four tails, including “a practice tail, a stunt tail, because Rhys had to do quite a few lessons before we got the real one on. And the real one was super precious, and chlorine’s very strong, it eats fabrics away, so we wanted to save the hero one for the hero shot,” Taylor reveals. When it came time to film, “We put him in [the tail], and it was just amazing.” In order to get Darby into the pool, Taylor says a ramp had to be built and the actor was placed in a wheelchair while costumed “and pushed in.” As unglamorous as it sounds, she adds, “it was like Rhys’s dream come true.”

How Kate Bush Entered the Music Mix

It’s safe to say Kate Bush has been having a moment on TV since last year’s “Running Up That Hill” needle drop on Stranger Things, but music supervisor Maggie Phillips says, “This Woman’s Work” was selected before Netflix‘s hit made headlines with their use of the aforementioned song. “When we were placing [the song in the season lineup],” Phillips says, “it was maybe weeks after Stranger Things, and I was worried that we would look like copycats.”

Phillips maintains that the song was in the mix before, but it ultimately “doesn’t matter because really what matters is that Kate Bush is a queen and more and more people need to know her music.”

She says, “From what I heard from David [Jenkins], it was a song that Taika was attached to.” At first, Phillips was reluctant to go with the song due to its prior uses, but “David told me not to worry about [that], that people have short-term memory when it comes to music.”

While she debated with the team over cutting it, “[David] has the visuals in his mind. I don’t. I’m just hearing it with a script and I had no clue how it was going to work until I saw the first cut, and it was beautiful and they picked a part of the song that worked really well with the visuals, so they sort of made it their own,” Phillips explains. “They added a different context to the song that I wouldn’t have been able to imagine myself. So they proved me wrong for sure.”

It’s hard to imagine the scene without Bush’s song. “It changes the way you listen to the song,” Phillips notes. “I got chills watching it and I know that song so well and haven’t gotten chills like that in a long time.” With all of the buildup, “You’re waiting for them to have their romantic moment. You’re waiting for three episodes for that to happen. And so it’s so cathartic when that song comes on, and you see them come together in this fantasy world under the sea. It’s just perfect.” This led her to email Jenkins. “I was like, ‘You were right. I was wrong. But this was beautiful, and thank you so much.'”

Blackbeard’s Wet Wig Woes

Anyone watching the scene unfold would have to notice Blackbeard’s silver tresses weaving through the water, a feat much more difficult behind the scenes than the seemingly simple sequence onscreen. “We filmed that quite late in the season, and so we were really planning and thinking about that all the way through [filming]. I was a bit nervous,” hair and makeup designer Nancy Hennah admits. “I knew that he was going to have to be under the water with his wig on for quite a long time.”

Even with high-quality wig glue, Hennah says, “You can do everything you can to make that wig stay on, but there’s a limited amount of time that the glue will last. So we had to use different products than we would normally use to get the wig down.” Because the product Hennah normally uses to keep hair back in a wig is water soluble, “it melts, and the hair starts coming out from the lace, and it can ruin the whole look of the wig.” She had to come up with a creative fix.

“I glued his own hair back, and then we glued the lace on top of that, and wildly, it lasted right until the very last shot when they were dragging him through the water by the ankles,” Hennah reveals. “The wig just came off completely after they’d finished shooting. And so he came up out of the water, and the wig was off to the side, [and he goes], ‘I think my wig came off.'” She calls the success of the wig “incredible” and “just a fluke really.”

When it came to capturing Darby’s underwater look, it was all about blending the mermaid tail with his skin. “With Stede, Gypsy had a beautiful mermaid tail made, and we did a whole lot of practice with different types of silicon and things that we had to blend that piece between his skin and the tail. We made these pieces of silicon with glitter and things in them that we individually stuck over the top of the mermaid tail,” Hennah details.

Again, there were concerns about getting “things to stick underwater,” but watching the scene come together from behind the camera eased those. “[When] we were standing there on the set that day and watching the monitor, it just was so beautiful that we were all blown away by it, and that tank that they were filming in was a couple of stories deep, and to be out there in that water, it was challenging, and they both did so well. It just went off without a hitch. It was one of those great days where it just worked for everybody.”

Don’t miss what else is in store for the season. Stay tuned for additional interviews and content as the second season of Our Flag Means Death unfolds.

Our Flag Means Death, New Episodes, Thursdays, Max

Source: TV Insider

#rhys darby #taika waititi #ofmd #our flag means death #ofmd s2 spoilers #costume designer #costume details

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formulaorange · 8 months

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2023 Fall Anime

This is honestly a loaded season full of new shows based on relatively new manga. Lots to look forward to

Spy x Family - Season 2 One of the most fun SJ series that have come out in a while. Season 1 was killer, high hopes for season 2.

Goblin Slayer 2 I didn't realize they were even making a second season. This was such a killer series. I'm really hoping they don't fall into the many mid-tier fantasy tropes out there in anime right now. I thought the appeal of the show was really Goblin Slayer himself and less about the lackeys along the way. So we'll see how it goes.

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End This is definitely one of my highly anticipated series. It's about an elf who was part of the Hero's party and her life after he dies. (Since elves live longer) Definitely a darker take on fantasy but has some really solid fantasy and adventure vibes.

Rising of the Shield Hero - Season 3 Season 2 was pretty disappointing and slow. While this looks like it'll be more fast paced, it does look like a tournament arc of sorts. I know some aren't a fan of that kind of arc, but honestly I think it's exactly what this series needs to pick things up again. We'll see.

The Faraway Paladin - Season 2 This was legitimately one of my favourite fantasy series. I thought it was really well written and didn't rush things like other series. I'm looking forward to this season.

Sequels/Continuations: Eminence in Shadow - Season 2 killer series with an anti-hero main character. Definitely worth checking out. After-School Hanako-Kun Hanako-kun spin off Dr. Stone Season 3 - Part 2 One of the best novel concept series with nothing else in it's genre to compare to. Definitely didn't drop the ball on the recent seasons and still worth watching. Dead Mount Death Play - Part 2 One that I didn't particularly enjoy, but has a decent sized manga following. Tokyo Revengers - Tenjiku Arc The continuation of the series. Might be just me but it feels like the series fell off after the first season. The Saint's Magic Power is Omnipotent - Season 2 A more mature take on fantasy isekai that just started to get into romance at the end of last season. A solid combo of shoujo genres. The Ancient Magus' Bride - Season 2 Part 2 One that I haven't had a change to check out yet but have only heard good things about. Hypnosismic - Season 2 a weirdly addictive musical/rap series. Unique characters and honestly solid rap battles. One I'll be enjoying. -- Related - Paradox Live - Music battle with what looks to be the same style of animation and solid character design. Definitely worth looking at if you're a fan of Hypmic. The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse A sequel of SDS. Looks like it could be a fun watch for the fans of the series. New:

Shangri La Frontier A new manga fantasy series. This may be a horrible way to describe but it is what it is - a new age SAO- full dive fantasy game. A gamer who only plays shit games, gets into a new massively popular MMORPG and is op. One that I'm excited for because it ticks all the fantasy game boxes I like.

Undead Unluck A relatively new manga series that gained a lot of traction in the last year or two. A gory action comedy that's super chaotic and a lot of fun.

Shy Brand new hero manga series about a shy girl and her anxieties and struggles going into the hero world who grows and gains confidence as she becomes a better hero.

Ron Kamonohashi's Forbidden Deductions This is a manga series that I have kept forgetting the name of so never got a chance to read but all the covers for the manga look phenomenal. Likely the anime doesn't do him justice but it is what it is. Essentially sherlock in anime form. A PI with issues and the wholesome police detective work together to solve crime. Other New Series: Green - Fantasy Pink - Romance Red - Action Purple - Drama The Kingdoms of Ruins A world where witches were hunted down by humans as science surpassed magic. A kid who was raised by a witch swears revenge on mankind. This honestly looks solid. The animations are very cool looking and the mc seems to be an anti-hero. Will be looking at this one. Under Ninja A well known manga series about modern ninjas. Definitely a unique series for this season. The Apothecary Diaries A historical medical mystery show. I've heard the name before and I've also only heard good things. Will be worth a watch. A Girl & Her Guard Dog The granddaughter of a crime syndicate goes to highschool out of town and the current young boss lies his way into the same school. Would be cute romance if it weren't for the fact she's 15 and he's 26.. Butareba - The Story of a Man Turned into a Pig What the title says. A girl finds him and the story goes from there. I'm Giving the Disgraced Noble Lady I Rescued a Crash Course in Naughtiness The usual light novel title. Honestly, doesn't seem as yikes as I initially thought, might just be harmless breaking the rules kinda thing. Could be fun, also a Capybara that strikes fear into people's hearts. My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer Looks like a wholesome series where an adventurer finds a baby, raises it and she becomes so strong she's busy working all the time. Just a cute father daughter relationship in a fantasy setting about her wanting to come take time to see him but being caught up in OP fantasy battles. Ragna Crimson Dragons vs Humanity - a human and a dragon team up to destroy all the dragons. Action fantasy series. Berserk of Gluttony I honestly added this because I thought it was hilarious. Looks like a combo of knock offs - the Gluttony skill from Tensura (reincarnated as a slime) and the mc being called Fate with the main girl who looks exactly like Sabre. I'll be skipping but its' here so you know.

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maxium-defense-luigi · 1 month

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Here's a trope I haven't seen yet

Coma dream/SAO type au

Coma dream

Luigi (and possibly Mario if you wanted to add him to the mix) has gotten everything he wants. A loving husband, great kids and a kingdom of people who adore him. Then one day during a fight with king boo, he wakes up in a hospital bed in Brooklyn to his family yelling cries of relief.

He'd been in a coma for years apparently, after an accident happened on their plumbing job. The timeline is the exact same as his time in Bowser's world which makes him question weather any of it really happened or it was all a Dream? he tries so hard to convince himself that dream was all it was, But there are signs that it wasn't just a dream:

He still has thunderhand, he's tougher than any human should be, stronger too. The bite mark from Bowser is still on his shoulder. He tries to tell his family but of course they don't believe him.

It all comes to head and Luigi runs off right as Bowser who has been freaking the fuck out about what happened to his husband arrives in Brooklyn looking for him, causing a massive panic.

Wonderful reunion ensues.

SAO Type au

King boo wants to play a game, so he plucks the souls of every player from a new full dive vr game that he created and drops them into his world. The players can go anywhere in this world they want, but the only way home is threw the tower of heaven type death dungeon he's created. No one who goes in comes out, and SAO rules still apply - die in the game, die IRL.

after hearing that, most players decide to make the most of their lives in the game world. Several fall in love, and even a few have children's.

Of course Boo finds this incredibly boring and unsatisfying so he pulls the remaining players and forces them to battle hoards of nigh unkillable monsters until only a few parties of players remain.

After an epic showdown, king Boo is defeated and their souls are returned to their body with all of the skills and knowledge they had during the game.

Form there both the players who returned home and the people they loved in the world they were forced to leave behind work to reunite while facing criticism and disbelief from their families in the 'real world.'

#bowuigi #bowuigi fanfiction #fanfiction prompts #angst

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darkshrimpemotions · 7 months

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Stede Bonnet Deep Dive

(aka repository for all the fucks I refuse to give to all the terrible takes on this hellsite after season 2)

I decided to do a deep dive into Stede's character finally, because I keep seeing the absolute WORST takes about him since season two aired.

I'll preface this by saying I don't agree with the majority of the negative or critical takes I've seen about season 2. I don't think the harsh readings of Stede's character are based in a good faith or often even in a sensible reading of the source material. And I don't have the time or inclination to spend all my time refuting bad Stede takes on tumblr, so this one meta in explanation and defense of my goofy little guy will have to suffice.

This is not a carefully crafted piece of creative writing. This is basic five paragraph essay shit, but with way more paragraphs. Claim, supports, transition, repeat to conclusion. Don't say I didn't warn you!

First off, no, Stede is not the villain of this story.

Yes, that's a take someone actually put into my notifications with their full chest. By no definition of the word is Stede positioned as a villain in this story, and he isn't even a compelling case for an accidental villain. This show has done a wonderful job of setting down clear and specific criteria for what makes a character villainous or not in a fictional world operating on a very different moral and ethical framework from our own. And while you could maybe argue Stede would be a pretty bad guy by real world standards, to be this is a moot point. By that measure every character in the show is a pretty bad guy. It's a nearly useless metric.

Within the show, villains are people with privilege and power who use that power to harm others and refuse to change for the better. Stede begins the story with an immense amount of privilege and power and gives all which is in his power to give up at the end of season 1. He gains a different kind of power in season 2 and by the end of season 2, he's relinquished that as well. He rarely uses his power to hurt people, and never does he intentionally seek to hurt innocent people for no reason. That isn't to say no innocent people GET hurt. But he's never trying to hurt people unless they've hurt or threatened the people he cares about. He in fact uses the power he has to stand up for the people he loves, repeatedly.

From the very beginning, he uses his wealth and power to create a space where he, and by extension everyone on his crew, has the space to be themselves. In 1x05 he uses his class privilege and knowledge to punish the partygoers who denigrated Ed simply for not being "one of them." In 1x08 he uses his power as captain to stand up for Buttons against Jack's callous cruelty and remove him from the ship after Karl is killed.

In 2x03 he uses his relative familiarity with Zheng Yi Sao (second only to Olu in terms of members of his crew who have any such familiarity) to plead mercy for Ed's crew. In 2x05 he uses his position as Captain to convince the crew to give Ed a second chance, while also hearing and working to address and mitigate their concerns as much as possible. In 2x06 he takes the responsibility for rescuing his own crew from Ned Low, negotiates a peaceful resolution with his crew, and punishes only Ned as the admitted and obvious orchestrator of the attack and torture of his crew. In 2x07, he doesn't start picking fights to show how big and bad he is. The only two people he shows any violence toward at all are someone walking toward him with the stated intention to kill him and someone poaching a third of his crew right before his eyes.

These aren't the wanton abuses of power characteristic of a villain. These are the understandable actions of someone who feels a lot of attachment and responsibility for the people around him.

No, Stede is not a cruel person who likes hurting people.

Jesus fucking Christ. Like I get that we all have our favorites, but I swear to god some of y'all think that means that you need to turn every other character into pure evil just to justify your character's existence. This isn't even remotely true.

Stede does NOT like hurting people. He hates hurting people, in fact, often even when they kind of deserve it. He really hates it when they obviously don't deserve it! Nothing he does in all of season one is motivated by a desire to harm other people. Yes, even piracy.

Stede enters the show with a very romanticized view of piracy. The violence isn't the point for him, the point is adventure and wanderlust, and possibly primarily, escape. Escape from the confines of a life he didn't ask for and has never wanted. Escape from a marriage he didn't choose and didn't want to be part of. Escape from the rigid strictures of a social structure that doesn't make room for people like him (whether we're talking about his queerness or his neurodivergence). The point is to create a space where he can be himself, and then extend that to others as well. If I wanted to get real sad, I'd say the point is the hope that by creating such a space, he will finally find people willing to tolerate him, or even be his friends.

He also doesn't leave Mary or his children to hurt them. He leaves them because Mary makes it clear they won't be going with him, and he knows he can't bear to stay. And he's riddled with guilt about it, it's not something he looks back on with pride or with glee.

And let's get real dark for a second and acknowledge: for a man in Stede's time and position, if he was actually a cruel person who enjoyed hurting people and he wanted to hurt his wife and children? There would be very little if anything to stop him from doing exactly that. If he wanted his children and his wife to live in fear of his cruelty, he could do that without consequences. But the one instance where he does something that does make Mary afraid--attacking Doug in 1x10--is something he does on instinct and immediately regrets, apologizes for, and feels awful about. He then goes a step further to continue making amends with both Doug and Mary for the rest of the episode.

And that's another thing: Stede's reaction to finding out he's hurt someone is to be upset by that, and then to try and rectify it immediately. When Lucius calls him out for not asking how he is, Stede immediately re-engages with him and starts looking after his well-being, encouraging him to talk about what's bothering him and not to shut out the people who love him. When Ed tells him how much Stede leaving without a word hurt him, Stede accepts that and tries to correct Ed's assumption that it's because he, Ed, wasn't enough or wasn't cared about. When Ed voices uncertainty and regrets about the pace of their relationship, Stede--though quite obviously hurt by what he thinks Ed is saying--immediately puts his focus on making Ed feel secure again, telling him this relationship can be whatever they want it to be.

Now, Stede gets a lot of flak for his reaction to Ed's fishing job news, but let's be real here: it IS incredibly random. It comes out of nowhere and genuinely makes not a lick of damn sense. And it's a wild thing to drop on someone you've been building a relationship with, a wild thing to have decided in a single afternoon before you've even talked to them about it. I'm not going to take Stede too harshly to task for not reacting perfectly seflessly there. It doesn't erase all the times when he DID react by immediately putting the other person's feelings in focus. And those aren't the actions of someone who enjoys hurting people and revels in cruelty to those around him.

Hell, Stede doesn't even revel in hurting people who've actually done something to warrant it, most of the time. Stede isn't excited or gloating about killing one of his childhood bullies in 1x01. He's horrified by what he's done. He wasn't even trying to kill him! He was going for the "stun move." He's so racked with guilt for it the entire season that he hallucinates the man berating him. He takes clear pleasure in manipulating the French partygoers and turning their own game against them, but he's still primarily motivated by making Ed feel better (and fine, that's his one time out of ten, I guess). He also takes no joy in Chauncy's death, in fact he's horrified and traumatized by it. The Badmintons are two people who tormented him throughout his childhood, but he shows an incredible amount of regret and guilt about both their deaths, especially considering Chauncy's really wasn't his fault in any possible way.

The final scene with Chauncy on its own would counter the idea that Stede likes hurting people! Stede is distraught by the thought that he hurts people, sobbing about it in fact. He doesn't leave Ed to hurt him! He leaves Ed because he thinks that is IS hurting him, and wants to stop.

Even Ned Low in 2x06 is not something Stede savors or revels in. Sure, he enjoys the fame it brings, later on. But he doesn't kill Ned in service of that, and he doesn't revel in killing Ned. He isn't smiling, gloating, or smug when he does it. He's deadly serious, and protective of the people he loves, in a pretty blatant mirror of his confrontation with Jack in 1x08. And even once it's done, he doesn't derive satisfaction from it. He's blatantly and obviously distraught by it, flashing back to one of his most traumatic childhood memories. It's the rest of the crew that cheer when he pushes Ned overboard. Stede is silent except for excusing himself to go to his quarters. When he pulls Ed into the room a few minutes later, there are tears in his eyes and his expression is well...agonized, frankly.

Stede's also quick to forgive even pretty serious transgressions against himself, like Ed plotting to burn his face off in 1x06 or Izzy selling him out to the navy in 1x09 (yes, there was a time gap there, but Stede began acting friendlier toward Izzy and showing concern for him basically as soon as he realized Ed wasn't actually dead). That's not the behavior of someone cruel who enjoys hurting people, either.

Yeah, Stede revels in piracy and doesn't have big compunctions about hurting people who threaten him or hurt the people he loves. I'd say the latter, at least, is true for a lot of people even in real life. And as for the former, well. If we're going to say Stede is cruel for enjoying being a pirate, I think we'd have to throw a lot of other characters into the cruel pile, too. Like almost all of them.

Stede is not lacking in care for the members of his crew.

I've already written an entire meta on this, so I'll just link that here and reiterate that if this were true, at minimum, Jim, Frenchie, Izzy, Fang, and Archie would all be dead.

So he's not a villain, or cruel on purpose, or careless.

So who is Stede Bonnet, actually?

Stede at his worst is somewhat thoughtless and oblivious. We see this throughout both seasons, but it's far more prominent in season one. Stede at his best is generous and gracious and forgiving and kind. Stede when provoked acts to protect himself and those he loves without hesitation or pulling any punches, as already referenced several times in this meta.

Stede is, textually, canonically, a gay man forced into marriage with someone he couldn't love who also couldn't love him. Stede is a survivor of a childhood filled with emotional abuse at the hands of his father and physical abuse at the hands of his peers. He does not know how to reach out to people, both because nobody ever reached out to him and because any attempts at all that he did make were met with the kind of shit we saw from Nigel, Chauncey, and his father.

But Stede wants, so very much and so obviously, to have people to be kind to and generous and loving with. Look at how eagerly and excitedly he opens up to Ed, when he sees Ed meeting him with interest instead of mockery or scorn in 1x04. Look how readily he shares his things with Ed and with the crew throughout season 1. In fact he voluntarily left an economic system where it was acceptable for him to hoard wealth for himself, and entered into a system where it was expected for him to share any and all spoils among his crewmates. He loves to share things with people! He loves to try new things with them and show them new things. He's so eager to have any kind of friend.

Stede also begins learning almost immediately how to reach out to people, once he has an environment where he feels secure doing it. And he loves doing it! He'll even do things he doesn't like to make someone else happy, like take Ed to a party he really, really wants to go to even though Stede knows it will be awful (1x05).

He is quick to take feedback and course correct when someone points out to him that he's been hurtful to them or wronged them, like with Lucius in 2x02. Arguably this would also apply to Izzy egging him on to do the fuckery in 1x06. Izzy appealed to his sense of obligation ("I stuck my neck out for you") and his affection for Ed ("he adores you") and it worked! It worked because Stede cares about other people, about their feelings and their needs and wants, and what they think of him. He cares so, so much.

He has flaws, too, of course. As stated, he can be thoughtless and oblivious. He's new to having friends, and new to love, and he makes a lot of mistakes. But he also corrects those mistakes, once he realizes them or they're pointed out to him. And it rarely takes much urging. If anything, Stede's more stubborn when he knows he's right in a situation, but even when he's technically right, he ultimately prioritize other people's feelings (as with the probably-not-actually-cursed suit in 2x05).

He's a goof. And he loves beautiful things. But he's not the entitled, lazy shit his father accuses him of being. He doesn't have a lot of physical or combat skills, but he can learn those skills simply by doing it enough. We see this in season one with how he gets better at getting on and off the ship over time. He's also great at putting a positive spin or an optimistic face on difficult things. We see this with how he treats the patrons who come into Jackie's in 2x01, and also with how he approaches challenges throughout the season. He's someone who, nine times out of ten, looks on the bright side and tries to problem solve, rather than despairing.

He's much more skilled when it comes to coming up with and executing plans, even on the fly...something we see throughout the show. First with getting into piracy in the first place. Then with his first defeat of Izzy in 1x03. Then there's the quickly thought up and delightfully executed revenge on the French partygoers in 1x05, the quite ridiculous but ultimately successful fuckery in 1x06. The fuckery to fake his death in 1x10!

This characterization carries over into season 2, with Stede's nearly successful execution of a robbery at Jackie's in 2x01. In fact that likely would have gone off without a hitch if it hadn't been for Ricky's nonsense, and ultimately did put Stede and his crew in a much better position than they were before regardless. Then in 2x03, he planned the escape of his and Ed's crews and it went off beautifully!

He came up with the plan to escape Ned Low and his crew in 2x06 literally second to second, improvising on the fly as the situation developed until he and his crew were safe again. He successfully got the drop on the two British soldiers in 2x08, he just couldn't actually fight two well-trained men on his own. And it was his plan, ultimately, that got his crew and ship out of an entirely besieged and surrounded Republic of Pirates.

(That plan did not go off without a hitch, to tragic results. But I don't think that overrides Stede's skills in this area. Many of his plans do not end perfectly, but they end remarkably well given the odds. And given the odds he was presented with, the numbers they were up against? One single casualty is wildly successful (even if I'm wailing and gnashing my teeth about it and will be unless and until David and Co. fix it in season 3).)

And finally--and this is the one single gripe I have with the season, that Stede and Ed both said this and seem to actually believe it--this man is not fucking whim-proned. Ed. Ed is fucking whim-proned. That's a pretty core element of his personality, actually. And it's not always a bad thing, and sometimes it's quite fun. But Stede? No. Stede isn't whim-proned. Stede is motivated. Stede is decisive. Stede is tunnel-visioned, perhaps. But he actually doesn't just change up his entire life on a whim. He makes a decision about what he wants, once he realizes he can actually do that, and then he fucking sticks to it like a mosquito in tree sap.

He decided he wanted to become a pirate, so he took the time, expense, and effort required to commission a ship, have it built, outfit it with supplies, and hire a crew. He realized he was in love with Ed and rowed a dinghy from Barbados to wherever the fuck (if you go with history it was Topsail Island, which is nearly three thousand fucking miles away), rejoined his crew, and set about working in a place he was miserable, trying to slowly save enough scraps of money to buy a ship to get back to his beloved. He wrote Ed letters, it's implied every day while they were at Jackie's. He had his goal, and he didn't stop working toward his goal until it was met and they were back together. And once they were back together, he didn't quit just because Ed didn't "melt back into his arms," and--*gesticulates wildly at all of season 2*.

Where Stede thinks he's whim-prone has less to do with caprice and more to do with trauma responses. Every single time we see him do something impulsive, it's as a response to something traumatic. Braining Nigel with the paperweight? Impulse in response to Nigel triggering memories of his childhood bullying. Running back home? Impulse in response to being dragged out of bed at gunpoint, having every single one of your deepest fears and insecurities thrown at you, and then watching the person throwing them basically prove them true by shooting himself in the face trying to kill you. Pulling Ed into his room? Impulse in response to the trauma of being invaded, tortured, watching Ed and all their friends be tortured, and thinking they were going to die (and yeah killing Ned too).

All of this to say...Stede has layers, y'all. He's got good and bad points. He's got strengths and many, many weaknesses. But he is in no way the one-dimensional mustache-twirling villain or bumbling total incompetent id-driven asshat people are trying to paint him as for whatever ridiculous reason.

#ofmd #our flag means death #stede bonnet #ofmd meta #my meta

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demilypyro · 1 year

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Bofuri and GGO are series about videogames utilizing full-dive VR technology resulting in game worlds indistinguishable from reality, which has been tacitly accepted as part of the isekai genre starting with series like SAO (which GGO is a spin-off of), Hack//Sign, and Log Horizon

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magnificentdreamlandblizzard · 2 months

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Villain! Yui headcanons

Me: Somehow has no ideas for what to post next on Tumblr.

Also me: Somehow reads one sentence out of a SAO book and gets a rush of ideas.

Summary: Head cannons for if Asuna and Kirito started a family, which makes Yui get ignored, and eventually abandon her family for good.

Normal! Yui who has no idea that recently Kirito and Asuna made a family. The two hadn’t told any of their friends that Asuna was expecting, which includes Yui. They wanted it to be a surprise but the child came earlier than expected, causing a sudden run to the hospital along with Kirito and Asuna telling all their friends suddenly.

Lonely! Yui who has to sit alone in a game, waiting for her two parents. Yet the two hadn’t expected the baby to come so soon, or to require SO much work. So much work that they didn’t have time to go through a full dive or even tell Yui why they disappeared so suddenly. And none of Kirito or Asunas friends talked to Yui either, being so surprised by the sudden addition to the couple that Yui was the last thing on their minds.

Heartbroken! Yui who has been removed from the machine on the top of Kiritos desk. She doesn’t know why, and when she asks her parents about it they just make up excuses on why she can’t. They can’t tell her that they’re planning to make a baby and what the process of it is, she’s too young for that. But her counseling AI can tell that they’re lying, so when the legendary duo disappear, Yui gets worried and investigates.

Even though she lost the small device Kirito had on top of his computer, she is an application stored in his computer though, and has access to his camera. So she watches it and all she sees is Kirito and Asuna flopping into bed a bit earlier than they usually go to bed.

Eventually though, Yuis night vision kicks on and she can see the outline of a baby’s cradle to the right of their master bed. Her eyes well up with tears. Did they replace her?!?! Yuis eyes start to well up with tears, and she tries to push the intrusive thoughts away but eventually they win. Why did they forget about her?!?! Why didn’t they tell her?!?! Why isn’t papa and mamas friends talking to her either?!?!

And why did she have to stay on the good side?

Villain! Yui who tries to reach out to her parents using the voice module, but finds out that it doesn’t work. It hurts so much to only be able to watch this happen and not be able to do anything, but Yui doesn’t know that the storage for her voice module was sucked up by all the baby games Kirito downloaded onto his computer, so it only adds to her thought that she is getting left behind.

She can’t bear to watch this anymore, so she jumps back into the world of Altheim online, scenes of what she saw flashing in her head. She feels her heart harden and she knows she needs to be strong and push her family out of the picture, and replace them just like they replaced her.

As her tiny body that was idle sitting against the cabin wall of their house opened her eyes again, she knew she had to get revenge.

Villain! Yui who can’t change anything because she doesn’t have administrator controls in the game, since a robot built to help others with their mental health doesn’t need that. So she goes back to leaving her idle body against the cabin walls with its eyes shut, but not to see her ex-family again. Those people are dead to her now, and seeing them again would bring about nothing proficient.

So instead, Yui takes control of Kiritos computer while he sleeps, using his mouse to open up a sight and download a virus to his amu-sphere.

When she’s back inside she flys up only to be amazed with how many buttons she can click now! She hasn’t had this many yet buttons ever as an AI, but now that they’re all in her possession, there’s no limit to what she can do…

Villain! Yui who ends up using her powers to strip everything off the in-game avatars of Kirito and Asuna, leaving both of them to have to reload only in their undergarments the next time they boot up the game. IF they ever boot up the game though. Along with their stats, Yui also strips them of their inventory, throwing their many hours of hard work away. But she didn’t care anymore, her heart was made of stone.

Villain! Yui who gets visited by her parents when they boot up the game to have a celebration inside their digital world. The couple was having a party for the baby, so only imagine their shock when they see that an account they hadn’t come on to for a while has been stripped clean of their progress.

Of course the two would never suspect their darling daughter, but when they talk to her and ask her what might’ve happened, they’re only greeted by a coldness in her eyes that wasn’t there before.

And their attempts at a conversation didn’t going anywhere either. Mostly just ending up in Yui ignoring them, interrupting them, or just flat out not listening. Eventually though Yui walks out of the house and onto the porch before she flies off into the distance in tears. Guess her heart wasn’t as strong as she thought it was….

Villain! Yui who only comebacks when she sees that both of them ended up logging out. They likely saw no other option and left her behind only to end up bringing their friends over to convince her some other time.

Such weaklings… Yui thought with a glare, her tiny hands balled up into fists.

Seeing as the cabin was empty and dark under the night sky printed with millions of stars, she sat on the couch alone, reflecting over her actions. As she sat there and remembered her tears, she felt herself get angry and started to beat herself up about it. How could she do that?!?! She needed to be strong or-!

Or…

She looked around the house, imagining sunlight streaming through as her mother, Asuna, carried dishes while she smiled down at Yui. Meanwhile Kirito came out of the bedroom and picked Yui up, spinning her around as she giggled. Then the three of them all happily hugged each other in one smiling-giggly mess. That’s when an idea hit her…

Maybe she didn’t need to harden her heart… maybe she just needed to replace them with code, and start a new family.

Villain! Yui who waists no time to make new code and shove them into the avatars of her old parents, converting them into NPC’s. When they instantly materialized, they started smothering her in love, making Yui very happy.

As days went by though, Yui could feel a small part of herself empty and eating away at her.

Why though? She was happy… right?

But as Yui could feel the inevitable day where her mama and papa come back with all their friends getting closer, she realized that it didn’t feel.. right. They didn’t act the exact the way the original two did, always making her remember what she’s done.

So after a bit of deciding she removes the code and throws it away from both of her parent’s bodies. After all, she didn’t need them now since she had a plan…

Villain! Yui who is waiting for her parents when they spawn in, surprised to see that they’re in clothes again. And even more surprised when they find out that all of their friends have been permanently banned, causing Yui to smile when they see her reactions.

But their surprise changes into absolute freak-out mode when they realize that there is no log out button just like in SAO! This can’t be happening, can it?

But meanwhile their darling little girl just smiles up at them, being down at their feet since she changed to be child-size again.

“See mama, papa? I got rid of all those external influences so we can be together forever… Now you’ll never leave me again.”

#sao alicization #kirito #asuna #asuna yuuki #sword art online #villain #headcannons #artificial intelligence

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griseoo · 2 years

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CROSSED SWORDS。。。

「 loading link, in three, two, one.. 」

thank you for the wait, [BLANK]. I hope you will have a pleasant dive.

I. - no user..?

[This is a Xiao x fem!reader and the concept is fully based on the game Sword Art Online.]

—>> character introduction | masterlist | next

[12:59]

。。。one minute remaining.

“Link start!”

Loading settings..

language ->> ENGLISH

Log In_:: :account

[BLANK]

:password

******

PLAY BETATEST CHARACTER [BLANK](W) ?

-> YES. NO.

。。。

Welcome to Sword Art Online !

[Your avatar will be chosen from the Beta test.]

「Loading data..」

“Feels good to be back here.” A wide smile stretched over my face. I looked around my surroundings, the feeling of nostalgia washing over me…

CHAPTER I. no user..?

I walked around the bustling streets from the town of beginnings, seeing many people converse excitedly about the full game release.

Entering an alley, I was met with 2 guys. One seemed to be begging the other for help and it was over all a pretty amusing scene.

“please show me some tricks im begging youuu~” The first guy whined, his turquoise long hair in a braid and he also overall reminded me of a bard.

“Fine, only if you stop annoying me then.” The other guy grumbled, his black hair in a high ponytail. “Yay~ the names Anemo!” the back haired guys eyes suddenly met mine, and the scowl on his face seemed to deepen.

“Who are you and why are you eavesdropping on us?” He frowned at me, walking up to me. “Sorry bro, I don’t have a username it’s blank.”

He raised an eyebrow at me and crossed his arms infront of his chest. “…right, Anemo let’s go.” He spoke, turning his back to me.

“Wait she seems like a nice person, let’s take her with us.” Anemo spoke cheerfully, dragging me along with them.

The back haired guy just shook his head in disappointment. “What’s your name by the way, you never mentioned it?” I asked him curiously, to which he only rolled his eyes to in response.

“It’s Alatus, don’t forget it.” I snorted at his words. “sure Alatus I won’t since it’s so important.” He only tsk’ed at my words, continuing to walk infront of me.

I burst out laughing seeing Anemo get hit by a boar as he groaned in pain, lying flat on the ground while holding his crotch.

“But you do realize you can’t feel any pain while being in SAO right..” Alatus said, trying to hold his laugh in. “oh wait yeah! sorry, that was a reflex hehe..”

He rubbed the nape of his neck while laughing. “Okay so again: It all depends on the motion you do at the beginning.”

Anemo raised his eyebrow. “Easier said than done, that boar won’t hold still for the life of me.”

Alatus picked up a rock from the ground. “So you begin the motion, then start to activate your sword skill and..”

He aimed with the rock and the rock suddenly started glowing im a bright green color. He threw the rock full force at the boar’s ass making it screech and a red mark being visible at his ass.

“The system sets the rest of the techniques together.” Alatus finished his explanation, stretching his arms over his head.

“hmmm motions you say…” Anemo mumbled, pulling his sword out. “You have to feel the skill activation.” I added onto Alatus’ speech, making him nod at me.

Anemo pulled his sword behind his back, the blade turning into a light blue color. Alatus kicked the boar in Anemo’s direction, making it charge at him.

He swung his sword at the boar, making a big gash on it’s side and killing it. “omg i did it!” He cheered, making me chuckle out in amusement.

“Congrats.” Alatus had a small smile on his face, holding his hand out to Anemo for a high-five. They slapped their hands together, smiling at each other.

“Sadly, the boar is no stronger than a mere slime so you basically did nothing.” I explained to him to which he let himself drop to the floor with a sigh.

“Man and here I thought it was like an OP enemy or something.” He whined, while Alatus only shook his head in amusement to in response.

“There are supposed to be an endless amount of skills in this game, yet there’s no magic or anything similar..” I thought out loud, to which Alatus nodded in response.

Anemo hummed at my thought. “A RPG without magic heh?” He charged his sword and activated his skill, attacking the air.

He was overjoyed with himself by his attack, squealing like a little girl. “It’s more fun to fight with your own body instead of playing an avatar, right?”

I sat down on the floor next to Alatus, making him raise his eyebrows. “You’re right tho, it’s definitely more fun.” He responded, a small smile grazing his features…

“This scenery is still so breathtaking.” I spoke with a smile, standing next to the 2 guys I’ve met today. “Yup. First day playing here and I’ve also 2 great friends!” Anemo spoke excitedly between Alatus and me, slinging his arms around both our shoulders.

Alatus only grumbled in response, yet he was not able to hide the blush growing on his cheeks.

“To think of it, this is my first full dive too, I can’t believe that this world isn’t real.” He muttered, staring off into the distance.

I hummed in response. “So you only got the gear for the release of SAO?” Alatus asked the bard looking guy next to me.

He nodded at his question, stretching his arms over his head. “Come to think of it, you were a beta tester right Alatus? you must’ve gotten pretty lucky.”

“Oh but I’m not the only one. It’s obvious that blank is a beta tester too by the way she was fighting.” He looked at me to which I nodded in response.

“Well then, shall we continue hunting?” I asked to which both agreed. “Oh wait actually I’m pretty hungry so I think i might log off for a while.”

Anemo sighed, rubbing his stomach from the hunger. “Later, some of my other friends wanna meet up with me, do you both wanna join?”

I nervously rubbed the back of my head, declining politely. “Sorry, I’m not really the person for groups of people.”

He gave me an assuring smile. “Don’t worry I understand. I’m guessing you won’t join either Alatus?”

“Nope, sorry man. I dislike many people.” I snorted at his response. “You’re a loner too I see.” He huffed at me, turning his head away.

“Well then, see you later guys!” He opened his menu to log off. “Huh? Why is there no log-out button..?”

“It’s fully down in the main menu.” Alatus and I both opened our menus. “What…? You’re right the log-out button is missing.”

I crossed my arms infront of my chest, letting out a sigh. “Must be a bug then. I mean, the game only has been out for a few hours after all.”

Anemo whined in response, dramatically falling to the floor. “I’m gonna starveee~” Alatus groaned in annoyance.

“Just text a game master then, they should be able to help you after all.” Anemo scratched his neck. “You see I tried that already, but there was no response. Is there not any other way to log out?”

I shook my head in response. “Sadly not, since you’re in a full dive. Plugging out the nerve gear won’t help either since it has build in batteries. The only way would be for someone to take it off your head.”

“You’re joking right? Man I live alone.” He let himself plop down on the floor, his spirits leaving him.

Suddenly, there was a loud bell ringing. “What’s….going on?” I mumbled, Alatus standing infront of me. A blue light engulfed all of us as we were suddenly teleported to the main area of the city.

“Are you guys all okay?” Anemo asked us, while I just confusedly looked around. “You guys stay on watch.” Alatus said, protectively stepping up closer to me.

“A forced teleport, but what’s the reason..?” I muttered, looking at Alatus in a questioning way. He only shook his head in response, signaling me that he doesn’t know.

“Guys look up there!” Anemo said, pointing at the ‘Warning:Announcement’ signs that started spreading around the area.

A red liquid started dropping from them, forming a body, similar to the one of a human. “That’s a game master..but he has no face?”

It suddenly started speaking in a robotic type of voice….

“Dear players, Welcome to my world.

I’m Ayato, the creator of SAO, I hope you guys enjoyed it so far..”

Many murmurs were heard from the people at his words, while I walked up closer to Alatus.

“I’m sure many of you have noticed the missing log-out button in your menu and I came here to tell you guys, this is not an error.”

My eyes widened at his words, a shiver overcoming my entire body.

“I repeat: This is not an error, but an original feature of SAO. Obviously since there is not a log-out button no one is allowed to take off your nerve gears, if they do it’ll send out waves with enough power to destroy your brain.”

I wrapped my arms around my body in a protective manner. “This has to be some sick joke..right?” Alatus put his arm on my shoulder in a way of calming me down.

“Sadly, many people have ignored that warning and have tried to remove the nerve gear by force, resulting in 213 players getting removed in the game and in the real world. The revival feature has been removed ingame, meaning if your HP sinks to zero, you’ll get erased permanently.”

Anemo gasped next to me in horror. “This is just fucking sick..” He muttered in fear, slightly trembling.

I noticed Alatus clutching his hands strongly next to me, blood slowly dripping down. I brushed my hands slowly over his to make him stop as I heard him take in a deep breath.

“Your only exit here out is to beat the game, meaning you have to clear all 100 floors. We are currently on the first floor in the city of beginnings. I will face you guys again in the 100th floor, but that time on the battlefield.”

“And the last thing, I left a present for you guys in your inventory, check it out. And with that note, I wish you all guys a nice time playing.”

I opened my inventory and saw a mirror. “What am I supposed to do with this thing?” Until suddenly a white light started surrounding me and the other players.

When I opened my eyes again, I saw in the mirror that I looked just like in real life. I looked back up and saw that a guy with yellowish cat-like eyes and short dark green hair standing very close to me.

“Are you…Alatus?” He mustered me up and down, not missing out a single detail from my appearance. “And I’m guessing you’re blank?” I nodded and looked next to us.

A guy with black hair and 2 turquoise braids was standing there and looked surprised at us. “Wow you guys look hella different.” The guy spoke, which I’m guessing is Anemo.

Panic started spreading around the crowd once realization hit in and everybody started running around.

“You guys come with me, I’ll go with you to the next best city before others arrive there.” Alatus spoke looking at us. “I’m sorry I can’t, my friends are somewhere among this crowd.”

Anemo looked at us apologizing. “I hope to see you guys again soon, don’t die on me.” He sent us a cheerful grin and set off to find his friends.

“Are you coming with me?” I nodded at him as we both took off to the next city together, unbeknownst to us making a new deep friendship bloom…

「logging out..see you again, [BLANK].」

[new story loaded, Alatus route selected. Good choice.]

#genshin #genshin impact #fluff #self insert #genshin x reader #y/n #genshin fluff #modern #modern au #modern au genshin #xiao #xiao fluff #xiao x reader #SAO #sword art online

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leiogerio · 1 year

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“If you die in the game, you die in real life.”

–Sun Tzu (The Art of War)

Sword Art Online is an unequivocal masterpiece. I have watched it nearly 200 times since I was just a wee little lad, and with every watch, it seems as if I learn something new, whether it be finding new Easter Eggs or finding something new about myself. The way the show presents human nature is simply astounding. It shows an anarchistic world that explores how different people may band together, forming an organized society, while others embrace lawlessness and live their lives without constraint. The writing is also impeccable. To this date, I have never watched any other anime with ZERO plot holes. Even shows such as Steins; Gate, Death Note, and Madoka Magica, some of the greatest anime, have their fair share of flaws, but Sword Art Online is the most pristine piece of media I have ever experienced.

At its heart, Sword Art Online is a power fantasy: a story with an overpowered protagonist in a fantasy world. This ties closely with the concept of the full-dive VR game. People in the show become so invested in their virtual reality that they may forget the fact that the real world exists. Similarly, people who watch SAO can become so invested in the power fantasy that they forget how they may be a loser in real life.

From the nature of identity and self to the ethics of technology, the show raises a number of thought-provoking questions about the world we live in. The show tackles questions of technological abuse because of the VR trap, questions of identity because of how people can reinvent themselves in their new situation, questions of relationships with a virtual world, questions of mental health because of how everyone is trapped, and questions of reality vs. illusion because of how the game feels just like the real world.

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discourseofthethreekingdoms · 1 year

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Interview with Baptiste Pinson Wu

On youtube and episode link

With his second book three kingdoms Heroes of Chaos book launched this week, @sunfin3k and @dongzhou3kingdoms interview (at the time, was not our editor) about his first book Yellow Sky Revolt, the main character Liao Hua, the Yellow Turbans, Cao Cao and the three kingdoms generally. A friendly chat, we decided to let this run the full length. This interview is going to relax our no spoiler about the era rule so avoid if you wish to avoid hearing about what happens beyond the Yellow Turbans.

Baptiste Pinson Wu various media can be found here including his website, his youtube channel Back in Fiction and twitter while his books can be found on likes of Amazon and Good Reads.

Steve on Tumblr and Jude on tumblr have both reviewed the first book while the historian Rafe De Crespigny calls it a tremendous achievement. If looking for non-spoilery reviews, we suggest looking at ToriTalks: she is someone who's coming to Yellow Sky Revolt unfamiliar with the era, that will give you a good idea how accessible it is for you

This is the end of our first season, The Rise of the Yellow Sky, with season 2 going to be following on the chaos at the Han court, chapters 3 and 4 of the novel and another deep dive with new and existing guests. One of the new guests has a cat, another is a member of the undead. Will be a delay till season two but we hope to see you again soon.

Chapter timings

00:00 Intro

02:15 Book Writing

19:15 Three Kingdoms

42:55 Yellow Turbans

52:50 Cao Cao

01:11:29 Book Two Heroes of Chaos and Newsletter

Transcript

Full list of platforms

Artwork with permission from Baptiste

Music is Sao Meo Orchestral Mix by Doug Maxwell/Zac Zinger

#Liao Hua #Yellow Turbans

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morethanaloveinterest · 10 months

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A Regal Look at Elizabeth Swann's Costumes in At World's End

I may not be an expert in historical fashion but I know good costume design when I see it - let's dive in!

We first meet Elizabeth in Singapore, disguised as a native, presumably a man. Going to meet Sao Feng results in her having to remove most of the outfit down to this. I like that her hair is braided, sort of like a queue, which would have been more common here. I also really like the gag of how much firepower she's hiding under that poncho (and not so much the joke where she has to strip down to go in the bathhouse).

Female representation: 5/10 The first bit is 10/10 for being a very good outfit that tells us a lot of information about where Elizabeth is on her journey (i.e., a very prepared pirate). But then the whole bit of getting her down to her undershirt and especially being looked at from under the planks is pretty tiresome and a 0/10, so I averaged them.

Practicality: 7.5/10 The whole outfit gets a 10/10 for being the most practical thing she could possibly be wearing in this situation. As with above, the following outfit is pretty disappointing but I wouldn't give it a zero, so the overall rating is a bit higher for practicality.

When they leave Singapore, Elizabeth is wearing this costume for the next few scenes. It appears to have an Eastern-style undershirt, with slacks and shoulder protection added on. It definitely feels like an outfit she cobbled together in a hurry and that makes sense for the situation (being on the run from the East India Trading Company). It's also I think the only time we see her wear armor until her pirate king outfit. This shows us how well she's adapting to pirate life on the run as well as her goal of getting everyone to make a stand and fight back against their enemies (her main goal for the movie).

Female representation: 10/10 Not gonna lie, I was sad not to get a full-length picture of good quality because it is one of my favorites of hers. It fits the situation perfectly and tells us a lot about her. It's also unique from what the fellas are wearing without singling her out as the lady of the group.

Practicality: 10/10 Easily the most practical thing Elizabeth ever wears. The only negative I can think of is that she might be hot, but she mainly wears this in Asia and then to the ends of the earth, where it is certainly cold at some points (it looks hot in Davy Jones' Locker but we don't know if it is).

Sao Feng has her dressed in this outfit while she is his captive. She wears it while she is next captive of the EITC on the Flying Dutchman until James Norrington helps her escape. It is obviously a ceremonial costume and is absolutely gorgeous. The embroidery alone is amazing, let alone all the other detailing. it is easily as rich and beautiful as any of her dresses in the first movie.

Female representation: 10/10 Honestly, the outfit for a woman who is currently a captive and mistaken for a goddess does not usually look like this. I would expect something white and billowy with a lot of skin showing (though obviously that is a Western view and I'm sure things are different in Singapore, but this was made by Hollywood after all). Anyway, I couldn't ask for better.

Practicality: 8/10 Being ceremonial, it presumably is not the most practical outfit for the kinds of adventures Elizabeth is on. It does allow her to climb up a rope to escape, which is more than I can say for most of her gowns.

And here she is, the pirate king! After taking a dip in the last outfit, she presumably puts this together from whatever was on the ship she and Tai Huang (and his men) take to Shipwreck Cove. And just look at it - it's beautifully made and actually has some good armor for going to war at last. It's perfect in every way.

Female representation: 1000/10 Our leading lady gets a costume change before the final scene and actually gets more layers? That never happens. She looks like the hero of our story and the king of the pirates and it's wonderful.

Practicality: 1000/10 Again, she actually gets to wear armor! In a battle! None of our other leads get that. It wouldn't do much against a direct shot, presumably, but there is a lot of shrapnel from the canons and I'm sure it would be some help against a sword. I can't think of another lady who gets such a practical change of outfit for the final battle.

This is presumably what she was wearing under the pirate king outfit. But of course she looks great in it. It's also more feminine than anything she has been wearing before it (even the other undershirt was more clearly a man's). That makes sense for her wedding night. Or the morning after, technically. It also makes sense canonically for it to be sunset but the mood lighting adds to the romance of the scene. I particularly like how the skirt (?) pieces swirl around as she runs down the beach.

Female representation: 9/10 It's basically like wearing a man's button down the morning after, but it is also actually her own clothes and she looks pretty without inviting oggling.

Practicality: 8/10 She's not wearing any shoes (except Will's boot briefly) and has a lot of skin bare for being in the Caribbean. It doesn't compare practically with the other outfits of this movie, but I mean I would wear it.

Ten years later, we check in Elizabeth wearing this outfit while taking her son to meet Will. We don't get a lot of information about what she has been up to all this time, if she is still pirate king or whatever. but we can see that she is pretty far from the proper lady we met in Port Royal. She is wearing a loose shirt and skirt with a waistcoat - presumably man's clothes above the waist and the skirt could be loose pants for all I can tell (there aren't a lot of pictures sadly). In any case, we can conclude that she is still bucking tradition even if she is now a wife and mother. Even if she might not be a king of all of the pirates anymore.

Female representation: 10/10 For a lady pirate wearing man's clothes, she looks pretty great - just loose fitting and comfortable instead of it being an excuse to show skin. Not that I expected otherwise from this franchise at this point (they've done fantastically going against tropes the whole time and especially with Elizabeth's outfits). A wonderful last scene of her.

Practicality: 9/10 Obviously not as practical as the armor, but she's not going into battle. It's a great outfit for what she's doing.

More costume reviews HERE

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Check out my thoughts on Elizabeth and other female characters here

#elizabeth swann #pirates of the caribbean #potc #potc: awe #costume reviews

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putschki1969 · 2 years

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Sword Art Online FULL DIVE 10th Anniversary Event Streaming Option

Just a reminder, Yuki Kajiura and her team will participate in the 10th Anniversary event “Sword Art Online -Full Dive-”, which will be held at Tokyo Garden Theater on November 6th. (Source)

[Date and time] November 6, 2022 [Venue] Tokyo Garden Theater [Participating Cast &Artists] Cast: Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, Haruka Tomatsu, Miyuki Sawashiro, Rina Hidaka, Kanae Ito, Aoi Yuki, Ai Kayano, Nobunaga Shimazaki, Hiroaki Hirata, Hiroki Yasumoto, Inori Minase Artists: Eir Aoi, ASCA, ReoNa, Luna Haruna, Yuki Kajiura

Participating Members: Yuki Kajiura (Piano) Vocals: Remi, KAORI, KEIKO, YURIKO KAIDA, Joelle MUSICIAN: FRONT BAND MEMBERS Koichi Korenaga (Guitar), Kyoichi Sato (Drums), Tomoharu “Jr.” Takahashi (Bass), Rie Akagi (Flute), Hirotaka Sakurada (Keyboard), Yoshio Ohira (Manipulator) -Hitoshi Konno Strings- Hitoshi Konno (Violin), Tomomi Tokunaga (Violin), Naomi Urushibara (Violin), Shiori Watanabe (Violin), Tomohiro Kobayashi (Viola), Takayoshi Okuizumi (Cello)

■ Official Website: https://sao-p.net/ ■ 10th Anniversary Special Site: https://sao10th.net/ ■ Official Twitter account: https://twitter.com/sao_anime

Live Streaming Option for Overseas Fans

Streaming Platform: Stagecrowd Ticket price: 4,500 yen Purchase period: October 29 ~ November 13 Archive period: ~ November 13

If you are interested in this event, be sure to use the opportunity provided to overseas fans. Stagecrowd is a reliable service and many of you might already have an account (Keiko’s earliest events were held on this platform). I’ll personally sit this one out because there’s just too much going on that I don’t care for...

#yuki kajiura #kajiura yuki #news #Sword Art Online FULL DIVE #SAO FULL DIVE #keiko

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iloveyoumorethansoup · 2 years

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Thinking about vr tech and how to get proper full dive vr you’d have to really compromise on privacy and who knows what else. People who have watched sao r both the best and worst people for that. On one hand. They know how bad it could get. On the other?? How good

#companies who wanna experiment on me for vr hit me up #love how my thought process has not changed a single bit in 8 years #crazy #me in 6th grade: that’s so cool! it’d be worth getting trapped for a few years #me now: please let me sign up where do I sign up I am willing I am ready #soup talks #this. reads like a post id make when I was 12 #maybe I should put the phone down. go touch grass. drink some water

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formulaorange · 5 months

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2024 Winter Anime

It's here! It's finally here!!! Solo Leveling comes out this season! There's definitely a few others to keep an eye out for but this is the star of the winter season:

Solo Leveling One of my most anticipated series. I'm caught up on the english light novels (8 volumes) and I'm honestly so invested in this story. In a way it gives the same impact as One Punch Man but if the story progressed a little faster toward fame and growth in his power. Easily the best of the season. Noteworthy On Going Shows: Frieren - Episodes 17-28 One of the most mesmerizing and well paced fantasies I've seen. Also one of my 10/10s of all time. Worth looking into if you remotely like fantasy. Shangri La Frontier - Episodes 14-25 Another fantasy game series that honestly just looks like it's a fun game. Explores a lot of game mechanics within this full-dive VR type game that almost puts SAO to shame. Fun action, fantasy and fun for game lovers. Apothecary Diaries - Episodes 13-24 My current favourite drama/romance/medical mystery series. The characters are simple but the show highlights the different dynamics and almost feels like an enemies to lovers plot. New Seasons:

Blue Exorcist - Season 3 This is one of the og shows I watched growing up. It's a mythology school themed show that I loved. It's been 13 years since season 1 aired and I'm stoked to see it come back. It's being done by a different studio since A-1 is busy with solo leveling, so I'm not sure if it'll hit the same but I'll still check it out at least for the nostalgia.

Mashle - Season 2 The funniest anime I've seen in a while. Man muscle brains his way through magic school and the whole show is a meme of harry potter and other magic series. Truly entertaining. Can't wait for this season

Delicious In Dungeon This is a series I've wanted to pick up the manga for for a while. It's about dealing with food and hunger when these adventurers are deep in a dungeon and learn to start cooking and eating what they can find down there. Funny concept but honestly looks like a lot of fun.

The Unwanted Undead Adventurer I read this manga and light novel so long ago. (Literal years - link to my manga thoughts and summary). I'm looking forward to the adaptation. I think nowadays this kind of story doesn't catch nearly as much attention as it did a few years ago. An adventurer dies in a dungeon and is reborn as an undead who can evolve as he kills other monsters and he deals with trying to fit in with the human realm again and evolving. I'm still looking forward to it after keeping an ear our for so long!

Mr. Villain's Day Off I recently heard about this series and thought it was such a cute concept. Us with all our villain complexes with enjoy this one. Will likely be a background show for me as there won't be a huge plot, regardless, still fun to watch. Burn the Witch - #0.8 - 30 min Special I think this won't be as exciting now that Bleach has come back and we aren't as depraved of Tite Kubo's work but I really enjoyed the original short series. Hoping for more of this world in the future. Sequels: Classroom of the Elite - Season 3 Tsukimichi - Season 2 (Link to review of season 1) The Dangers in My Heart - Season 2 More Continuations: Undead Unluck Ragna Crimson After going through 20+ shows every season, many with sub-par animations and the same fantasy twists, I've become real picky about which series are even worth trying to watch these days. Here are the ones that deserve at least 2 episodes in order: A Sign of Affection - Gets a special spot since it's incredibly rare to see disability representation in anime and it looks like it's done quite well- A romance between a guy and a deaf girl. Looks super sweet Bucchigiri?! - I honestly can't say this looks appealing to me personally but I've hear the name before and well it's MAPPA. (Give em a break) 'Tis Time for "Torture," Princess - looks well animated and just a fun watch Metallic Rouge - The sci-fi series for this season. I'm not sure I have it in me to watch something heavy like this this season but it looks decent. The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic The Witch and the Beast - Here for manga readers - lowkey looks like the manga will be much better and this might be a skip for me. Hokkaido Gyaru's are super Adorable (Ecchi) ALSO - Big reminder: Haikyu!! and Demon Slayer have their movies coming out this season as well (both theatrical releases so keep an eye out!!!) Demon Slayer: To the Hashira Training - Feb 2nd 2024 Haikyu!! - The Dumpster Battle - Feb 16th 2024

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