#garlicule rides again

[khruschevshoe]

Jim and Oluwande got the worst end of the deal. I'd even say they regressed as both characters and partners and anything they had built up in s1 was almost completely stripped away from them. The way they're portrayed together and apart in s2 is not only unlike the characters we saw in s1, but their rich storyline was reduced to extreme side characters used only as plot devices in a way they absolutely did not have to be used. I LOVED them in s1, and I was so disappointed by what s2 did to them and their potential growth, which I think applies to pretty much everything in s2, not only them.

Mind if I piggyback of this ask to go into all my critiques of the handling of Jim/Olu in Season 2? Thanks!

OFMD Critique: Tealoranges, Dropped Storylines, and Wasted Potential

God, the issues I have with the writing of Season 2 extend in so many directions. Jim's character, I felt, was well-handled for at least the first two episodes but then slowly starts skewing wrong as early as episode 3 (I am still chewing glass over the way their reunion scene with Oluwande was written- or, rather, NOT written). Episode 4 was good, but everything after that? Someone said that Jim in the back half of the season feels more like Vico than Jim, and though I do love and appreciate Vico, it's completely true. Jim doesn't feel like the same character we've come to know, whether from Season 1 or even what is set up in early season 2.

And yet, I STILL feel like they're written better than Olu, if you can believe it? So, I haven't talked about this much, but I feel like Olu is done dirty from almost the moment he is introduced in Season 2. At least Jim (through editing alone, but hey, we'll give the show the smallest benefit of the doubt) gets an acknowledgement that they miss Olu during that flashback sequences while they talk to Archie- Olu doesn't even get that. I read about a deleted scene that would have had Pete and Olu desperate to reunite with Lucius and Jim in episode 1 and I feel like that was DESPERATELY needed to make the Season 1 finale -> Season 2 jump make any sort of sense. I like Zheng, but for the love of God, her romance with Olu (which I had my own issues with for the disservice it does both their characters) is not worth destroying the tealoranges build up from Season 1. Just cut something from the first episode or one of the Zheng/Olu scenes from the second episode to make it make sense.

Then, moving onto later in the season- I've posted about how Olu and Jim deserved the grand, epic reunion otherwise 1x10 and everything set up with them in Season 1 doesn't make sense. Could the writers of the show have possibly redistributed some of the glorious cinematography from Ed and Stede over to Jim and Olu? All I need is one shot of their reunion (a proper, emotional one, not played for laughs or friendship or whatever) framed by the sun to parallel Ed and Stede's being framed by the moon and I would have been happy on that front.

And then later in the season...I was down for the poly elements if they could have been executed better. Fanfics have shown that the Archie plot could have been executed well. But the fact that Zheng is straight up NOT MENTIONED until 2x7 by Olu? And then Jim says that he's been pining for her the whole time? I'm sorry, but it doesn't compute. Show, don't tell. There's a reason why I'm down for Jim/Archie/Olu (if executed well), but can't see Zheng/Olu at all.

But of course, 2x7 comes along and we get the "family who fucked" line. And the implication that Olu could have ever left the Revenge without Jim, when in Season 1 he became a wreck because Jim left for A FEW DAYS, much less was FORCEFULLY SEPARATED from him for MONTHS. Then in the finale, at the lupete wedding, they were separated out, him with Zheng and them with Archie, and, well, at that point...I was tired. I'm not gonna lie. Because this wasn't questionable or problematic writing, it just fundamentally DIDN'T MAKE SENSE.

And this is just on a romantic relationship POV. I hated seeing Olu lose his leadership arc from Season 1 and his loyalty to Jim and his nuanced emotional level-headedness/sense of logic. Season 1 really felt like it was slowly building up the idea that the ideal Captain was neither Stede nor Blackbeard but someone a bit more rational, a bit more grounded, a bit more communicative with his crew- someone like Olu. And he gets shoved into the back in Season 2 and reduced to the guy who can't sort scrolls or know that the BOATS ON A MAP MATTER. He gets no influence on plot or major decisions when he was often the voice of reason in Season 1 (we all remember Lucius being a romantic voice of reason in Season 1, but rarely remember that Olu was a major supporting deciding factor in a number of decisions made on the Revenge).

And as for Jim, I wanted more exploration or even just acknowledgement of their trauma post episode-4. I wanted an actual organic continuation of their character arc post-vengeance quest and post-Blackbeard, not just them getting defined by "funny knife thrower with a girlfriend and an ex-boyfriend who they want to get with his crush." They were so much more than that, and it killed me to see the two people who were basically main character 3 and 4 in Season 1 get shoved aside for unneeded subplots about Ricky and Zheng or Gentlebeard's three separate breakups when Jim and Olu's plotline had so much more potential than any of that. They weren't just star-crossed lovers- they were a slow burn ship built of absolutely interesting, complicated, and well-developed characters who brought out the best in each other with a DEVASTATING midpoint to their arc and it honestly would have made a better season not just for them as characters, but for the show overall if someone had just realized that the parallels between a couple that fights and claws to stay together no matter what (tealoranges) and a main ship that was still figuring itself out (Gentlebeard) would have SLAPPED.

(I am now picturing a version of this season where instead of the Izzy fakeout death/Gentlebeard reunion in the beginning of the first episode, we get an Olu/Jim reunion in episode 3 to parallel whatever reunion the writers wanted to slap together for Stede/Ed. I would have actively cried over the Olu/Jim reunion and it would have drastically improved the season.)

#oluwande boodhari #jim jimenez #tealoranges #my asks #ofmd critical #ofmd season 2 #meta #analysis #jim x oluwande #jim x archie x oluwande #rant #just in case #garlicule rides again

[khruschevshoe]

If you want reason #341 why I am currently gnashing my teeth: I'm rewatching season 1 of OFMD and realizing that the only times that Jim ever smiles are because of Olu (especially in 1x7 and 1x10), they are ready to knife Spanish Jackie just to get their family dagger back, and yet there is NO FALLOUT in Season 2 from being forcefully separated from Olu for months on end. Like, I know that Jim did literally conk Blackbeard on the head with a cannonball and all, but I feel like I would have ascended to another plane if they just got to do a little light stabbing or yelling or SOMETHING because the light of their life was stolen and possibly murdered off-screen (they have no idea whether he survived the marooning or not until he shows back up in 2x3).

Ooh, or give me a reunion scene where they hug and/or kiss and they're framed by the sun behind them. If Gentlebeard gets to have the moon, then Jim and Olu can have the sun. I mean, not to steal from a fanfic, but Olu's smile is what brightened Jim's life in the first place. I could have really used some of the cinematographic cues from Season 2 being redistributed from Gentlebeard and onto Tealoranges as the 2nd main couple, y'know?

Anyway, in this essay I will-

#ofmd critical #ofmd #ofmd s2 #tealoranges #jim jimenez #oluwande boodhari #jim x oluwande #they deserved some poetic cinema moments #and a grand reunion #garlicule rides again

[khruschevshoe]

You have to understand that when I say "pretty" I'm not talking about girls, I mean exclusively in an Olu way. When I say "handsome" I'm not talking about guys, I mean exclusively in an Archie way. When I say "striking" I'm not talking about a knife, I mean exclusively in a Jim way. And when I say "beautiful" I am, yes, referring to the piece of art that is the entire garlicule. In this essay I will-

@possumsmushroom @ruecrown @fool-for-luv

#ofmd #garlicule rides again #jim x archie x oluwande #oluwande boodhari #jim jimenez #archie ofmd #archie jimenez #tealoranges #jimarchie #oluarchie #meta #kinda #it's about the gender envy folks #they have no right to be so captivating #ofmd season 2 #ofmd s2

[khruschevshoe]

I would like to once again speak about how unfair it is that Archie, Olu, and Jim are the prettiest polycule in the world (this also includes Zheng if that is your jam, she's also pretty). And this doesn't mean "pretty" like a dress, it means "pretty" like the sun and stars and moon are pretty, pretty in terms of a weapon flung from a hand, pretty in terms of a force of nature, pretty in terms of a plant growing in a place where it should not survive, pretty in terms of a kiss between bloody teeth, pretty in terms of cutting the ocean in two in order to find each other again, in this essay I will-

#archie ofmd #jim jimenez #archie jimenez #oluwande boodhari #oluwande jimenez #jim x archie x oluwande #garlicule rides again #I WILL PUSH THE GARLICULE APPRECIATION AGENDA #ofmd #ofmd season 2

[khruschevshoe]

Jim Jimenez's Top Surgery

Stars hide your fires

These here are my desires

And I will give them up to you this time around

And so I'll be found

With my stake stuck in this ground

Marking the territory of this newly impassioned soul

-Mumford & Sons, Roll Away Your Stone

Pete gestures a hand to his chest. “You can feel the scars, if you want. They stopped hurting a long, long time ago.”

Jim cannot believe how easily Pete trusts them, but they reach out reverently anyway, feeling the ripple of the scar tissue, far more sacred than communion or confession ever was.

Jim has known for so long that humans are capable of wreaking the same level of destruction as gods. They have seen such ruin up close and personal, with Blackbeard and the Siete Gallos certainly proving that to their faces.

They have known that humans are capable of creation, as well, have seen it in Lucius' sketches and Pete and Izzy's whittling and Archie's careful caretaking of their yarrow plant, but as for the human body?

Tight now, they feel humbled, like Doubting Thomas before the wounds of Christ, feeling the proof of the divine.

They swallow. There really is no going back now, is there? Not when they see the proof of what was once thought impossible in front of them?

“I’m going to do it,” Jim says.

Pete grins. “Fucking go for it.”

-aletterinthenameofsanity, every version of me dead and buried in the yard outside

I'm going to be completely honest; I cried reading this fic. There had been allusions earlier in the series comparing transitioning to a miracle, but I wasn't expecting the sheer level of euphoria/divinity that was ascribed to the process. This definitely healed some religious trauma scars left over from childhood. Plus, getting to see not just Olu and Archie's fantastic reactions/support of Jim's transition, but the rest of the cast's support (ESPECIALLY the wooden boy "play" that they all put on to help Jim deal with some of their post-surgery struggle to get back to normalcy) brought actual tears to my eyes. I cannot express just how much this one meant to me on a personal level.

@polikate @possumsmushroom @bricksbloggyplace @yuenity @ruecrown

#jim jimenez #nonbinary jim jimenez #top surgery #transitioning #the religious imagery in this one is IMMACULATE #ofmd #fanfic #fic rec #moodboard #ao3 #aletterinthenameofsanity #mumford & sons #roll away your stone #lyrics #this one actually made me cry to read #it was absolutely gorgeous #trans black pete #jim x archie x oluwande #jim & pete friendship my beloved #garlicule rides again #archie ofmd #archie jimenez #oluwande boodhari #oluwande jimenez #black pete

[khruschevshoe]

Archie Jimenez

I get a thrill outta playing with fire

Cause you hold your life when you hold that flame

I get a kick outta thunder and lightning and

Tearing through the night hollering your name

Oh little darlin' don't you look charming

Here in the eye of a hurricane

-Lord Huron, Hurricane (Johnnie's Theme)

Even long-healed, the white scar shows off what she and Izzy survived together last year, while her newer tattoos show off the newer people in her life. The ring around her ankle is for Jim and Olu, the rat squirreled away between two snakes on her arm is Lucius, the tiny lute on her left shoulder is for Frenchie, the scar reminds her of Izzy, and the little bear next to her elbow is Fang.

Snakes still outnumber any other one thing, but her crew, her family, is beginning to take up spots on her body, precious sections of skin that for so long remained bare.

For a woman who once let no one touch her body, who lived in fear of any wound souring due to outside influence, to tattoo reminders on her limbs and hold her scar with such fondness is a definite but happy change.

-aletterinthenameofsanity, love the one you hold (watch me as I tumble homeward)

My blorbo. My good time rotten gal. The love of Jim and Olu's lives. I cannot put into words how much I adore her and her amazingly developed character/backstory, so I'll just hand you guys this fic and cross my fingers that we get an Archie-specific fic down the line bc the times we have gotten her POV have been everything I could have asked for

@polikate @possumsmushroom @angxlwiings @bricksbloggyplace

#archie ofmd #archie jimenez #jim x archie x oluwande #garlicule rides again #ao3 #fanfic #fic rec #aletterinthenameofsanity #moodboard #hurricane (Johnnie’s theme) #lord huron #lyrics #god i love her so much #i don't understand why others don't #i mean i guess the poly writing in the show was questionable #but archie is absolutely amazing

[khruschevshoe]

OFMD (fic) analysis: The Power of Names, Agency, and Creating Yourself

So, this is going to be Part 1 out of who knows how many analyzing different aspects of @aletterinthenameofsanity 's magnum opus OFMD fic series "made a promise when I left for the coast (made a life out of chasing a ghost)." Now, the series is divided into three sections, "Season 2," "Season 3," and "Extras" (which includes missing scenes, AUs, and post-canon "special episodes"). This first essay will be addressing the symbolic/thematic meaning of characters choosing their own names in this series throughout all parts (some of these metas will only tackle one section/season/ or even fic).

It is clear in this series that names take on a particular meaning, due to the multiple times it is emphasized, such as in part 15 of the series (the "pilot" of "Season 3"), when Captain Olu says, "Everyone's entitled to choose their own name on my ship." Names, when taken on a ship, allow someone to both shed their precious life and claim one for their own. I'm going to go through the various ways this is presented in series and how letting characters choose their names on the Revenge allows them to gain agency within their lives and world.

1): Name as Gender: Jim and Pete

Early on in the series, Jim and Pete's friendship is established from Jim's POV, where we discover that before the Blackbeard-Kraken-era, Jim and Pete bonded when Pete revealed that Pete is also trans, which in the series is often referred to as "the power of creation" (there's an essay analyzing the religious implications in the works, I swear). This is a point of connection and pride between them, and is the foundation to a great and enduring friendship and place of trust that often gets both of them through low points.

This friendship is further emphasized in part 13, Pete's internal monologue echoes previous assertions by Jim's internal monologue that "they have things in common that go beneath everything, a connection that threads itself across the sea, through razors and potential top scars and names left buried on land."

2) Name as Family: The Jimenezes and the Spriggs

A) The Jimenez Matelots

During their wedding reception in part 9 of the series, Olu and Archie both make it clear that they are going to take Jim's last name due to the importance of becoming Jim's family. Olu will trade in his last name, and Archie will take on a last name for the first time, as a sign of loyalty, loved, and comfort, because for Olu and Archie, "What price is a last name when it comes to making Jim feel comfortable and loved?"

B) The Spriggs Siblings

The choice of the last name "Spriggs" by Mel and Lucius has almost the opposite backstory of the Jimenez matelots- rather than keeping a last name to honor a family, the Spriggs siblings keep their last name to spite their abusive father. When Mel is asked by Roach in part 18 of the series as to why she keeps her last name when, as a pirate, she could have easily dropped it entirely when starting a new life, she tells him that she kept it because it connected it to her brother. Her internal monologue explains that "She stayed Mel Spriggs, damn the consequences, not because the last name gave her protection, but because it connected her to the one person who, at any point in her life, had protected her." It has nothing to do with "the lily-livered douche" that was her father; it as to do with her connection to Lucius. And as the series progresses, even after Lucius gets married to Izzy and Pete, we see that he keeps his last name while Pete picks up the last name "Hands-Spriggs." As much as his matelots mean to him, shown by the rings they share (objects as symbolism will be another analysis), his relationship with his sister is just as important to him.

3) Name as Intimacy: Frenchie and Zheng Yi Sao | Ching Shih

So, this one is not as startling or connected to character agency as the others, but I really like what this relationship does with language. Zheng Yi Sao literally translates as "wife of Zheng Yi" and is used almost as both name and title, the name of the Pirate Queen and Emperor of China, while Ching Shih is her Cantonese name, within the language she grew up speaking. Historically, Zheng Yi Sao had to learn Mandarin to fit in with upper crust society, and it makes sense that the name she rules the seas with (even in OFMD) is within that more "elevated" language.

But here's the kicker: Frenchie doesn't call her Zheng. He calls her Ching Shih, honoring where she came from, acknowledging that he gets a far more intimate side of her than the rest of the world do. In part 40, in the moment of their engagement (which comes after years of a really fun half friends-with-benefits, half-long-distance-relationship that they have going on), Frenchie accepts Zheng's proposal with the line "I’d love to be yours, Ching Shih, as long as you- not your title, or your power, or whatever, just you - would be mine.”

4) Name as Agency: Mel and Roach

When Mel first joins the crew of the Revenge, Olu calls her "Miss Spriggs" and she asks to be called Mel instead. It is made clear that to her, her first name is a gesture of identity and agency as she begins a new life, a fact that is emphasized in part 39, which covers Mel's life leading up to the moment she murders her parents and leaves home. This part refers to Mel exclusively by the name "Melanie" until the moment she leaves Anguilla and takes her agency back into her own hands, paralleling the death of "Blackbeard" and the freedom of the crew with the line "Melanie Spriggs dies along with her parents; Blackbeard dies along with Izzy’s love for Edward Teach."

In part 18 of the series, we see Roach explain that his choice of name was a similar act of agency, a moment when he chose the name thar embodied his own survival instinct with the lines ""Being a pirate is about creating a life for yourself. A name, a family, a home. I picked Roach because I refuse to let anyone kill me.” He gives her a toothy grin that she can’t help but return. “I’m an invincible little fucker.”"

5) Name as Family (Part 2): Femi Boodhari and the Jimenez Matelots

Finally, we return to the theme of names being used for chosen family. When the Jimenez matelots visit Femi, Olu’s mother, in part 41 of the series, at first Jim is worried that Femi will be disappointed that her son traded away his name for theirs, Femi gives Jim and Archie a way to honor and carry both the Jimenez and Boodhari names and legacies: as a blacksmith, she makes Jim a knife and Archie a new axehead with the Boodhari name in the side so that way the family, their culture, and her own legacy of escaping slavery and starting her own business and family can be honored. Though it's not as straightforward an example of "choosing a name" as the others, I think it is a nice endcap in this series for the theme.

(Also, as a note: these metas/analysises take a lot longer to write than it took me to make moodboards. So they'll probably come out a little less frequently, even if they are just as much fun to do!)

@blue-b-bro @possumsmushroom @yuenity @bricksbloggyplace @cosmicquill @a-pessimistic-swiftie @polikate

#ofmd #ofmd season 2 #lucius spriggs #melanie spriggs #archie jimenez #jim jimenez #oluwande boodhari #oluwande Jimenez #jim x archie x oluwande #garlicule rides again #roach ofmd #archie ofmd #frenchie ofmd #zheng yi sao #frenchie x zheng yi sao #black pete #trans black pete #meta #analysis #fic analysis #aletterinthenameofsanity #femi boodhari #jim & pete friendship my beloved #fanfic #ofmd critical #this installment isn't but later metas will compare the two

[khruschevshoe]

God's strongest soldiers are those people who get into a fandom and have little to no interest in the main couple and whose blorbos are only side characters. They are wading through those tag jungles with a strength unseen by the marines

@ruecrown @possumsmushroom

#ofmd #this is about gentlebeard #my girl Archie's tag is dry #same with jim jimenez and oluwande boodhari #ofmd critical #but only bc the show screwed up my interest in gentlebeard #and gave me so little garlicule content #garlicule rides again

[khruschevshoe]

Captain Oluwande Jimenez and First Mate Izzy Hands

Don't turn away, don't tell me that we're not the same

We face the fire together, brothers 'til the end

Don't run away, our time will come but not today

I stand beside you, brother, with you 'til the end

-Brother, Lord Huron

Izzy smiles at Olu. "I hope you know that this ship is home," he says, "As much as the people on it."

Olu's smile breaks across his face, bright as the sun, and Izzy understands the tales that Jim used to whisper when Blackbeard still reigned, quick stories about how the Oluwande Boodhari- now Oluwande Jimenez- was the sun, that wherever he stood you couldn't see the rain because he would light up the world and burn away the fear. "You're not the only one who's said something like that lately. You and I make a pretty good team, don't we, Izzy?"

Izzy isn't one for excessive compliments. He isn't one for bragging. 

And yet, he nods. "I've met far, far worse."

Olu reaches out a hand for a fist bump and Izzy has to roll his eyes before returning it with his non-cane hand, but return it he does.

-aletterinthenameofsanity, love the one you hold (watch me as I tumble homeward)

Captain Oluwande Jimenez and First Mate Izzy Hands is THE First Mate & Captain combination for OFMD and you can steal this headcanon from my cold dead hands. Izzy's experience (and his blatant flexing of his reputation off-ship after early Season 2) plus Oluwande's emotional logic and ability to communicate with the crew leads to a fantastic partnership (that does have its conflict moments, but they're good at working things out) and the slow fleshing out of their friendship in this series makes me so happy to read over time. This scene is from a story later on in Season 3, but it really shows off not only how far they've come, but how much they come to trust each other.

@polikate @possumsmushroom @yuenity @bricksbloggyplace

#oluwande boodhari #oluwande jimenez #izzy hands #captain oluwande boodhari #ofmd #ofmd season 2 #fanfic #fic rec #lord huron #brother #lyrics #moodboard #aletterinthenameofsanity #they are the ULTIMATE power duo #they balance each other out well #garlicule rides again #sorry this one took me so long to post

[khruschevshoe]

Archie (Black Hole)

My broken house behind me and good things ahead

I was 17 years young

Hurt my knuckles punching the machines

The taste of Scotch rich on my tongue

The scene ends badly as you might imagine

In a cavalcade of anger and fear

There will be feasting and dancing in Jerusalem next year

I am gonna make it through this year if it kills me

-The Mountain Goats, This Year

Oluwande - he is everything Archie was expecting. Jim had changed Archie, pried open her chest, made her like it. Made her love the citrusy tang of oranges and spit out the blood that pooled in her mouth. Oluwande is everywhere on Jim. He’s so ingrained in them that before they even met, Archie felt a little bit in love with him, just the same as she feels for Jim. And she’s not even one for the guys.

“Jim’s told me about you,” she says to him, bluntly, helping him organise scrolls. She doesn’t think either of them are very good at it, but it’s an easy job and she can’t complain. 

“Oh yeah? Good things, I hope?” He replies. His tone is always comfortable, sunshiny, as he examines a scroll and then haphazardly shoves it on top of another one.

“They’re lovesick,” Archie laughs. “That’s a funny word. Like you’re throwing up your own heart.”

Oluwande joins her in laughter. He has one teal earring, Archie observes, the same colour as the sea on a nice day, when the sun hits it just right.

-cadence_stan, black hole

So, a change of pace! One of my other favorite fics in this fandom: "black hole" by cadence_stan (or @ruecrown). It's an Archie-character study that really fills in her backstory and her POV on the events of the show. The imagery is vivid, the pace was so well-executed, and the character development was delicious. (Plus, it has a healthy dose of both JimArchie and JimArchieOlu, so y'all know I was having a great time.) It was so hard to pick out a single excerpt from this fic- the writing is so gorgeous all around- but I picked my favorite bit from Chapter 3! (Y'all really should go read the whole thing, though- it's so good!)

@possumsmushroom

#archie ofmd #archie jimenez #jim jimenez #oluwande boodhari #jim x archie x oluwande #garlicule rides again #cadence_stan #fanfic #fic rec #ao3 #moodboard #lyrics #this year #the mountain goats #ofmd #ofmd season 2 #ofmd s2

[khruschevshoe]

Jim, Olu, and Archie Jimenez (Amnesia fic)

It feels just like a dagger buried deep in your back

You run for cover but you can't escape the second attack

Your soul was innocent, she kissed him and she painted it black

You should have seen your little face, burnin' for love, holdin' on for your life

All that I wanted was a little touch

A little tenderness and truth, I didn't ask for much, no

Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time

-The Killers, Miss Atomic Bomb

Jim swallows as they stare at the wall, eyes burning. They can’t push off Olu and Archie's arms. They don't want to risk waking them up and revealing their vulnerability to them.

So they must endure this. This comfort, this affection, this safety-

Can they have this? Can they have casual affection? Can they live a life where they are allowed to be open, allowed to be soft, a world where they can wear knives strapped to their leg and wear a blue silk jacket? A world where a scabbard can be both a home for their blade and a declaration of love?

A world where they can live with not just one person who loves them, but two? 

There is nothing stopping them. No one is keeping them from this possibility.

And yet-

Jim cannot help but hesitate.

How can they let themself let down their barriers? How can they condone themself showing vulnerability when Jackie is still hunting down their face? How can they allow kindness in when it has never kept them safe?

(But most importantly, most horribly, most dangerously: how could they not?)

-aletterinthenameofsanity, when I dream I'll only dream of you (does my memory remain)

This fic has a fucking deathgrip on me. I have reread it at least three times since it came out and I'm halfway through a fourth reread. Amnesia fics just HIT, y'know? Seeing season 1 Jim's POV on a world they where they are happily married and accepted and loved is DEVASTATING in the best possible way. Watching them having to grapple and struggle with the idea that softness and gentleness is something that they can actually have without it being a weakness + them falling for Olu and Archie all over again (plus all the lovely friendship scenes with Lucius, Pete, Izzy, Roach, and the others) actively rewrote my brain chemistry. 10/10.

@polikate @possumsmushroom @yuenity @bricksbloggyplace @ruecrown

#garlicule rides again #literally this time #oluwande boodhari #jim jimenez #archie jimenez #oluwande jimenez #jim x archie x oluwande #captain oluwande boodhari #amnesia #moodboard #lyrics #the killers #miss atomic bomb #fanfic #fic rec #aletterinthenameofsanity #ao3 #archie ofmd #ofmd #this fic has so many gutwrenching lines it was so hard to choose just one excerpt #it actively rewrote my brain chemistry #polyamory #17k masterpiece

[khruschevshoe]

Jim Jimenez

Fortune, fortune, smiling fate

I haven't seen you much of late

Need you now and cannot wait

But wanna look, you're not around

I must be good for something

Oh sinners come down, come gather 'round

Dancing on cold feet

Marching on cobble streets

Oh sinners come down

Yeah, I must be good for something

-Barns Courtney, Sinners

Jim leans their head against Archie's hand, their cheek brushing against her knuckles, breathing deep as Olu finishes his work, kissing the last of Jim's bandaged fingers.

Sometimes it is hard to feel like anything more than a knife. Anything more than a weapon. That's why Blackbeard kept Jim over everyone else, trapped them like a feral creature, chained them like a monster.

But when Archie is holding them and Olu is kissing them, both of them tender as can be, it's easier to think of themselves as something human. As loveable.

-aletterinthenameofsanity, if you stumble and fall (i will be where i always was, standing at your side)

Jim Jimenez. God, the feelings I have about Jim Jimenez could fill an ocean, especially in regards to the gap btw season 1 and 2, but this fic series did such a good job of capturing so much I love about the character, their sharpness and their vulnerability, while allowing them to recover from Blackbeard and find the love they deserve with Olu and Archie.

@polikate @possumsmushroom @angxlwiings @bricksbloggyplace

#jim jimenez #jim x archie x oluwande #ofmd #ofmd season 2 #aletterinthenameofsanity #moodboard #lyrics #ao3 #fanfic #fic rec #barns courtney #sinners #the enby the myth the legend #so sharp and so vulnerable my beloved #garlicule rides again

[khruschevshoe]

Jim and Archie Jimenez

I'm falling down, I'm running backwards

All this time is on a train to nowhere

We can't turn back, we need to try

And find a better way

Light a match, to the sky

And see the colors collide

Of your heart into mine

Don't wanna let you go

-Fareoh, Run Away

It’s bright out, the sun shining down on their shoulders, and it’s nothing like the night of the storm as Jim and Archie spar on deck while the crew waits to hear the update from their Captains and First Mate discussing the ships' next plans.

Jim and Archie are rather well matched. Though Archie has the advantage in terms of the length of her sword, Jim is faster and lighter on their feet. They also know each other very well. Months of fighting together on raids, often the only ones watching each others’ backs, has put them in very good tune with each others’ instincts. Their reflexes are honed to each others', and the way they attack, feint, and parry almost seems more like a dance than an actual sparring match.

The other crew members are cheering them on (and Jim’s pretty sure they even saw some doubloons exchanging hands out of the corner of their eyes), but no one is taking a sick pleasure out of this. This is for no one’s pleasure but Jim and Archie's, no different than when Frenchie sings or Stede tells stories or Wee John and Roach decide they want to try out a new piece of drama.

Unlike the first time, when a storm and survival instinct and desperation led Archie to fall to the ground, ready to let Jim kill her, this time Archie loses her sword and lands against the mast with Jim's knife at her chest, laughter on her lips.

Jim can't resist the crooked smile that pulls at their lips as they sheathe their knife and pull Archie in for a kiss, cheers echoing around them. Archie's mouth tastes like sweat, but Jim can't bring themself to mind when her smile is so sweet.

-aletterinthenameofsanity, learn me hard, learn me right (we will run and scream and be free)

Archie and Jim's interactions in 2x2 have HAUNTED me for two months now. Their affection in later episodes delighted me so much (especially all the little background interactions). The way that both of those aspects are amplified and expanded upon in this series has FED ME for the past two months, especially in the latest updates expanding upon their backstory/future with each other and Olu. I cannot wait to see what we get in the next update!

@possumsmushroom @polikate @bricksbloggyplace @yuenity @ruecrown

#the way they look at each other #archie ofmd #archie jimenez #jim x archie #jim x archie x oluwande #jim jimenez #ofmd #ofmd season 2 #fic rec #fanfic #ao3 #aletterinthenameofsanity #storm #ruelle #lyrics #moodboard #they have dug themselves into my veins #garlicule rides again

[khruschevshoe]

Captain Oluwande Jimenez

When I fall asleep I can see your face

What I lost in you I will not replace

And if you see me in the darkness

I hope you know I'm not alone

I carry you with every breath I take

I won't let up, I won't let up

Until the wind is gone

-Bleachers, Like A River Runs

The idea surges in Olu's chest: him as co-Captain would mean that he's in charge. No one would ever be able to tear Jim or Archie away from him again. No one could even try.

Olu wants that guarantee more than anything. He wants to be able to continue pirating with this crew, with this family, while guaranteeing as best he can the safety of all of these people he's come to love. And yes, he's not the most ambitious type, but if he can take a position that maybe tampers down some of Stede's more outlandish ideas and allows them all to keep the jobs and the lives they love?

There are only two people who could stop him.

Olu looks to Jim and Archie. “Would you two be okay with that?”

“You being a co-captain?” Archie lets out a delighted laugh. “Man, I can think of no one better! You’re the best leader I’ve ever met!”

And Jim, Jim who hates authority, Jim who is the first person to call out Stede and Blackbeard for being shitty captains, Jim looks to Olu as if he’s hung the sun.

“Jim?” Olu asks, voice tender, because he thinks he knows their answer but still needs to hear it anyway, because he refuses to accept the position if it means that Jim will ever look at him with fear in their eyes.

But Jim has no fear. No hesitations. “It would be an honor to sail under you, Oluwande Boodhari,” Jim says fervently, pledging themself to the cause more devotedly than they ever signed up for Nana’s revenge mission.

-aletterinthenameofsanity, let's take a chance, baby, we can't lose (it's the one thing you can choose)

Captain Oluwande my beloved! It was so exciting getting to see his relationship with Jim and Archie develop into something incredibly solid, fun, and absolutely devoted. Possibly my favorite OT3 of all time (tied with maybe Parker, Hardison, and Eliot from Leverage, if that). They would all cross the sea for each other (and have, multiple times)! This fic is the one that focuses on their matelotage ceremony and it is the sweetest thing in the world.

@polikate @possumsmushroom @angxlwiings @yuenity @bricksbloggyplace

#oluwande boodhari #jim x archie x oluwande #ao3 #fanfic #fic rec #aletterinthenameofsanity #moodboard #aesthetic #lyrics #like a river runs #bleachers #ofmd #ofmd season 2 #captain oluwande #matelotage #my captain #oh my captain my captain #the prettiest prince #garlicule rides again

[khruschevshoe]

Archie Jimenez (backstory!)

When I start to tumble from the sky

You remind me how to fly

Lately I've been feeling not alive

But you bring me back to life

Even when we fade eventually to nothing

You will always be my favorite form of loving

-Cloud 9, Beach Bunny

Out of the corner of Archie's eye, she catches sight of the yarrow pot wobbling dangerously close to the edge of the chair. One more tilt of the ship and it begins to fall.

Quick as the snakes she was raised with, Archie reaches out one hand from Olu's side to catch the pot before it breaks.

As Archie had once learned in the snake cult, yarrow is not just a rather hardy plant, able to survive at sea, but it is a symbol of healing. Of good things to come. (Much like Archie's own matelotage bracelet.)

So it's no wonder that as the storm begins to break, Olu finally opens his eyes and offers them both a tired but breathtaking smile. “I could get used to waking up to the two most gorgeous faces I’ve ever seen.”

And Olu’s covered in sweat and his eyes are exhausted but he’s beautiful, so beautiful, because he’s alive and he’s looking at them both with the utmost adoration in his eyes.

“You’re telling me, mi sol,” Jim says as Archie's hand goes to Olu's cheek, cradling his soft face in her calloused fingers. She gives absolutely no shits about possibly catching whatever infection he might have- she puts her mouth on his, stealing a soft kiss from his overheated, chapped lips.

The floors are still swaying slightly. There are books to be put back on their shelves.  Archie has no idea what there is to clean up on deck (though she has faith that Mel and the others were able to tack everything down in time), but she can handle any amount of clean up if she gets to know that Henry Morgan failed in his last act alive. He could not steal this last lovely thing from her.

-aletterinthenameofsanity, if you should lose your way (there is a place here in this house that you can stay)

Archie-centric story, yes please! It was so much fun to get a fic that explored Archie's backstory/feelings while also informing the main thrust of the story: what would happen if Captain Olu was ever incapacitated on the job and how that would affect everyone on the crew, from Archie and Jim to Izzy, Lucius, and Frenchie. We get some great confrontation scenes (Archie and Jim taking out Henry Morgan AND Lucius pushing Izzy into doing his job as acting Captain are *chef's kiss*) as well as some good hurt/comfort from all parties involved- everything I could want in a fic!

@ruecrown @possumsmushroom @bricksbloggyplace @yuenity @polikate

#archie ofmd #archie jimenez #jim jimenez #oluwande boodhari #oluwande jimenez #captain oluwande boodhari #jim x archie x oluwande #garlicule rides again #aletterinthenameofsanity #ofmd #fic rec #fanfic #ao3 #moodboard #lyrics #cloud 9 #beach bunny #my blorbo finally gets her own backstory fic!

[khruschevshoe]

Archie, Olu, and Jim (dancing)

A rush at the beginning

I get caught up, just for a minute

But lover, you're the one to blame

All that you're doing

Megaphone to my chest

Broadcast the boom, boom, boom, boom

And make 'em all dance to it

-Lorde, The Louvre

“Here,” Archie offers, “You want me and Olu to demonstrate?”

Jim can’t help the smile that crosses their face at the idea of these two people they love so much being friendly with each other, enjoying each other, becoming part of each others' lives in the same way that they have with Jim.

“C’mon, sweetheart,” Archie says to Olu, the term ‘sweetheart’ sounding casual in a way that punctures the soft underside of Jim's heart, the place that Olu has occupied for so long and that Archie has slowly burrowed her way into. “Lemme treat you like a lady.”

Olu laughs, and it’s one of the sweetest sounds that Jim has heard. They knew they missed the sound of his giggles, his smile as bright as the sun, but the sound still pierces them in the chest with its splendor. “Sounds like a good idea to me.”

So Archie puts her hand at his waist and he puts his at her shoulder, their free hands meet at their side, and they begin to waltz around this side of the deck, careful to stay at least a couple of feet away from the bedrolls and the snoring crew. They make quite the pretty pair, and though they miss a step or two, they manage to make it look comfortable, like they have known each other for ages rather than just a few days.

Jim finds themself actually holding a hand to their mouth to contain the laughter that is spilling over, not in mockery, but in delight. They had forgotten how free it felt to smile. To laugh. To take delight in the world.

But when Archie spins Olu around, these two people that Jim loves more than anything chatting quietly back and forth the whole time, they finally understand what happiness means.

-aletterinthenameofsanity, nothing matters when we're dancing (in tat or tatters, you're entrancing)

What is there to say about this other than that it's almost unbearably tender? I love getting to have any glimpse into Jim's brain (yes, you've guessed it by now, they're my favorite character on the show, with Archie and Lucius pulling up just an inch behind them), and getting to see their feelings for Olu and Archie/their relationship with emotional and romantic intimacy grow through the first 4 times they danced was INSPIRED. It was so much fun getting to see the "missing scenes" of the early OT3 as well as a surprise scene of tealoranges from Season 1!

@polikate @possumsmushroom @bricksbloggyplace @ruecrown @yuenity

#garlicule rides again #jim x archie x oluwande #jim x archie #jim x oluwande #tealoranges #jim jimenez #archie ofmd #archie jimenez #oluwande boodhari #ao3 #fanfic #fic rec #moodboard #the louvre #lorde #lyrics #they're so sweet and I love them so much #the author's ability to make me flap my hands is amazing #aletterinthenameofsanity