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cuddlytogas · 3 months

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So I accidentally almost got into an argument on Twitter, and now I'm thinking about bad historical costuming tropes. Specifically, Action Hero Leather Pants.

See, I was light-heartedly pointing out the inaccuracies of the costumes in Black Sails, and someone came out of the woodwork to defend the show. The misunderstanding was that they thought I was dismissing the show just for its costumes, which I wasn't - I was simply pointing out that it can't entirely care about material history (meaning specifically physical objects/culture) if it treats its clothes like that.

But this person was slightly offended on behalf of their show - especially, quote, "And from a fan of OFMD, no less!" Which got me thinking - it's true! I can abide a lot more historical costuming inaccuracy from Our Flag than I can Black Sails or Vikings. And I don't think it's just because one has my blorbos in it. But really, when it comes down to it...

What is the difference between this and this?

Here's the thing. Leather pants in period dramas isn't new. You've got your Vikings, Tudors, Outlander, Pirates of the Caribbean, Once Upon a Time, Will, The Musketeers, even Shakespeare in Love - they love to shove people in leather and call it a day. But where does this come from?

Obviously we have the modern connotations. Modern leather clothes developed in a few subcultures: cowboys drew on Native American clothing. (Allegedly. This is a little beyond my purview, I haven't seen any solid evidence, and it sounds like the kind of fact that people repeat a lot but is based on an assumption. I wouldn't know, though.) Leather was used in some WWI and II uniforms.

But the big boom came in the mid-C20th in motorcycle, punk/goth, and gay subcultures, all intertwined with each other and the above. Motorcyclists wear leather as practical protective gear, and it gets picked up by rock and punk artists as a symbol of counterculture, and transferred to movie designs. It gets wrapped up in gay and kink communities, with even more countercultural and taboo meanings. By the late C20th, leather has entered mainstream fashion, but it still carries those references to goths, punks, BDSM, and motorbike gangs, to James Dean, Marlon Brando, and Mick Jagger. This is whence we get our Spikes and Dave Listers in 1980s/90s media, bad boys and working-class punks.

And some of the above "historical" design choices clearly build on these meanings. William Shakespeare is dressed in a black leather doublet to evoke the swaggering bad boy artist heartthrob, probably down on his luck. So is Kit Marlowe.

But the associations get a little fuzzier after that. Hook, with his eyeliner and jewellery, sure. King Henry, yeah, I see it. It's hideously ahistorical, but sure. But what about Jamie and Will and Ragnar, in their browns and shabby, battle-ready chic? Well, here we get the other strain of Bad Period Drama Leather.

See, designers like to point to history, but it's just not true. Leather armour, especially in the western/European world, is very, very rare, and not just because it decays faster than metal. (Yes, even in ancient Greece/Rome, despite many articles claiming that as the start of the leather armour trend!) It simply wasn't used a lot, because it's frankly useless at defending the body compared to metal. Leather was used as a backing for some splint armour pieces, and for belts, sheathes, and buckles, but it simply wasn't worn like the costumes above. It's heavy, uncomfortable, and hard to repair - it's simply not practical for a garment when you have perfectly comfortable, insulating, and widely available linen, wool, and cotton!

As far as I can see, the real influence on leather in period dramas is fantasy. Fantasy media has proliferated the idea of leather armour as the lightweight choice for rangers, elves, and rogues, a natural, quiet, flexible material, less flashy or restrictive than metal. And it is cheaper for a costume department to make, and easier for an actor to wear on set. It's in Dungeons and Dragons and Lord of the Rings, King Arthur, Runescape, and World of Warcraft.

And I think this is how we get to characters like Ragnar and Vane. This idea of leather as practical gear and light armour, it's fantasy, but it has this lineage, behind which sits cowboy chaps and bomber/flight jackets. It's usually brown compared to the punk bad boy's black, less shiny, and more often piecemeal or decorated. In fact, there's a great distinction between the two Period Leather Modes within the same piece of media: Robin Hood (2006)! Compare the brooding, fascist-coded villain Guy of Gisborne with the shabby, bow-wielding, forest-dwelling Robin:

So, back to the original question: What's the difference between Charles Vane in Black Sails, and Edward Teach in Our Flag Means Death?

Simply put, it's intention. There is nothing intentional about Vane's leather in Black Sails. It's not the only leather in the show, and it only says what all shabby period leather says, relying on the same tropes as fantasy armour: he's a bad boy and a fighter in workaday leather, poor, flexible, and practical. None of these connotations are based in reality or history, and they've been done countless times before. It's boring design, neither historically accurate nor particularly creative, but much the same as all the other shabby chic fighters on our screens. He has a broad lineage in Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean and such, but that's it.

In Our Flag, however, the lineage is much, much more intentional. Ed is a direct homage to Mad Max, the costuming in which is both practical (Max is an ex-cop and road warrior), and draws on punk and kink designs to evoke a counterculture gone mad to the point of social breakdown, exploiting the thrill of the taboo to frighten and titillate the audience.

In particular, Ed is styled after Max in the second movie, having lost his family, been badly injured, and watched the world turn into an apocalypse. He's a broken man, withdrawn, violent, and deliberately cutting himself off from others to avoid getting hurt again. The plot of Mad Max 2 is him learning to open up and help others, making himself vulnerable to more loss, but more human in the process.

This ties directly into the themes of Our Flag - it's a deliberate intertext. Ed's emotional journey is also one from isolation and pain to vulnerability, community, and love. Mad Max (intentionally and unintentionally) explores themes of masculinity, violence, and power, while Max has become simplified in the popular imagination as a stoic, badass action hero rather than the more complex character he is, struggling with loss and humanity. Similarly, Our Flag explores masculinity, both textually (Stede is trying to build a less abusive pirate culture) and metatextually (the show champions complex, banal, and tender masculinities, especially when we're used to only seeing pirates in either gritty action movies or childish comedies).

Our Flag also draws on the specific countercultures of motorcycles, rockers, and gay/BDSM culture in its design and themes. Naturally, in such a queer show, one can't help but make the connection between leather pirates and leather daddies, and the design certainly nods at this, with its vests and studs. I always think about this guy, with his flat cap so reminiscient of gay leather fashions.

More overtly, though, Blackbeard and his crew are styled as both violent gangsters and countercultural rockstars. They rove the seas like a bikie gang, free and violent, and are seen as icons, bad boys and celebrities. Other pirates revere Blackbeard and wish they could be on his crew, while civilians are awed by his reputation, desperate for juicy, gory details.

This isn't all of why I like the costuming in Our Flag Means Death (especially season 1). Stede's outfits are by no means accurate, but they're a lot more accurate than most pirate media, and they're bright and colourful, with accurate and delightful silks, lace, velvets, and brocades, and lovely, puffy skirts on his jackets. Many of the Revenge crew wear recognisable sailor's trousers, and practical but bright, varied gear that easily conveys personality and flair. There is a surprising dedication to little details, like changing Ed's trousers to fall-fronts for a historical feel, Izzy's puffy sleeves, the handmade fringe on Lucius's red jacket, or the increasing absurdity of navy uniform cuffs between Nigel and Chauncey.

A really big one is the fact that they don't shy away from historical footwear! In almost every example above, we see the period drama's obsession with putting men in skinny jeans and bucket-top boots, but not only does Stede wear his little red-heeled shoes with stockings, but most of his crew, and the ordinary people of Barbados, wear low boots or pumps, and even rough, masculine characters like Pete wear knee breeches and bright colours. It's inaccurate, but at least it's a new kind of inaccuracy, that builds much more on actual historical fashions, and eschews the shortcuts of other, grittier period dramas in favour of colour and personality.

But also. At least it fucking says something with its leather.

#everyone say 'thank you togas' for not including a long tangent about evil rimmer in red dwarf 5x05 #Our Flag Means Death #Togas does meta #and yes these principles DO fall apart slightly in s2 and i DON'T like those costumes as much #don't get me wrong they're fun and gorgeous - but generally a bit less deep and more inaccurate. so. :(#I'm not sure this really says anything new about Our Flag but I just needed to get my thoughts out #i hate hate hate Gritty Period Drama costumes they're so boring and so ugly and so wrong #god bless OFMD for using more than 3 muted colours and actually putting men in heels (and not as a shorthand for rich/foppish villainy) <3 #looking at that Tudors still is insane like they really will go to any lengths to not make men feel like they've got bare legs XD #image descriptions in alt text #and yes i DID just sink about two hours into those so you'd better appreciate them

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wasyago · 1 year

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the brainrot won

#GUY S i know i haven't posted anything in a while and thats because im working on a big cool project that i really want to finish without-#distractions. but uh. as you can see. ive been distracted 😔. still working on it tho!!!! and im very happy with it turns out its just-#super time and energy consuming so ive tried to limit my intake of other media to not make myself want to draw other stuff #i also haven't read the last two (two already?????) chapters of RnS and im very sad about it and i want to read it but you know that if i-#read it ill want to make fanart and then ill never finish my project :(#SO. sorrey for the lack of art itll be coming when im free to draw!!!!!!!#but also. yes ive watched new life because i dont want to go insane with nothing but this project on my mind and umm. had to take a little-#break to do a couple designs for fun... and to switch it up a bit because for real im going insane i think #ALSO. friend got me into zelda botw and i haven't played a whole lot yet (because project) but ive tried to take some inspiration for-#designs from there. at least for joel and scott. everyone else not so much...#WELL ANYWAYS this is getting long. i should really stop rambling in the tags and just make separate posts for all this but i dont want to #umm. tags.#new life smp #smallishbeans #mythical sausage #geminitay #pearlescentmoon #smajor1995 #inthelittlewood #my art #sketch

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royalarchivist · 6 months

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Pac: I'm not going to say anything to you guys [Chat], I'm not going to say anything to you. I'm not saying absolutely anything, I'm not going to comment. Man, you broke me here, you broke me in 3 parts! I'm not going to- no no no no no, I won't fall for your game, I won't fall for your game.*

Pac's chat allows viewers to make music requests, which led to this very well-timed moment today where Careless Whisper started playing as soon as Pac met back up with Fit.

* [Approximate translation. I'm not a native Portuguese speaker, so as always, please feel free to let me know if there's a better way to translate things!]

#Pactw #Hideduo #FitMC #FitPac #QSMP #December 6 2023 #Edited #in the sense that I had to edit the music back in because Pac's VOD mutes all music #Luckily another fan shared a screen-recording of it so I was able to tell when the music kicked in in the original #so TLDR: I just put music back into this clip since it was muted #I'm so glad I finally have context for wtf that was about because I was watching from Fit's POV #and all of us were like ''??? What's wrong with Pac rn?''#also I realize that a lot of the recent clips have been Fit or Pac-centered #I've got a little bit of time to add stuff to the queue tonight so I'll mix some more variety in #it's funny because I started posting Fit and Pac stuff more to ADD variety and then over-corrected #lol #Pac #Fit #I can't stop laughing over Pac's POV because he genuinely looked so insane in Fit's POV #I need to go back and pull up that moment now

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pachimation · 10 months

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a secret rendezvous in fontaine

#genshin impact #chiscara #scarachilde #childe #scaramouche #feelin delusional in the club tonight thinking about the childe in fontaine storyline leaks #wonder what hes gonna do there… do a bit of harbingering perhaps? kiss scara?#endless possibilities for me. someone who is absolutely insane #hhhh cant believe black butler is coming back in the year of our lord 2024 i’ll be 21 by then omg #BROOOO new idea red wine and black butler watch party w my irls we’re going to be so fucking cringe hell yeah #my art

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soupdreamer · 12 days

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hey brennan what the fuck

#the emotional whiplash of this episode was genuinely insane i think i was about to burst into tears at some point and then they cut to the #fucking commercial. vic michaelis and brennan lee mulligan i ADORE you brennan you did not have to go as hard as you did on this one #this felt like a literal fever dream #like i don't even know if i fully understand it rn the last bit w vic and the radio was a bit open to interpretation #ALL of it felt open to interpretation but like. in an insane way #someone suggested host vic has dreams of/hallucinates these guests to escape from the mundanity of her real job and they try to teach smth #i dont like the dream trope but that would be v interesting #someone also said they were in a time loop which would be. intriguing #anyways i will miss this show so much someone said it was greenlit for s2 too so i'm crossing my fingers thats legit #vip spoilers #very important people spoilers #very important people #dropout #vic michaelis #brennan lee mulligan #vip

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sophfandoms53 · 1 month

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Anyway shout out to Dewey who constantly looked like he was having the worst time of his fucking life in the pitches

Just an 11 year old pissed off at the world it seems😭

#insane he ended up being so happy go lucky in canon #like in the art book they talk about the character shift dewey had once ben auditioned #and he made them realize they could take a more comedic approach with him #but initially dewey’s character seemed very negative and irritable #they had the label ‘the bad boy’ of the 3 on him for a bit too #bc of the massive chip on his shoulder and how unsatisfied he was at the time #and tbh you can see bits of that in the pilot #dewey’s character and overall demeanor is very different in the first two eps of s1 #i LOVE my boy as the bright impulsive ball of sunshine and danger that he is #but this original pitch of him intrigues me a lot #like i can talk about pitch!dewey for hours bc #kinda feels like wasted potential idk LMAO #bc he didn’t entirely disappear at least in s1 so #just a lot of dewey thoughts #bc that’s my boy🫶#ducktales #ducktales 2017 #dewey duck

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diurnalvl · 2 months

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seven years ago, they used to be friends. almost.

1 / 2 / ?

#diurna draws #vox #alastor #staticradio #radiostatic #radiosilence #onewaybroadcast #hazbin hotel vox #hazbin hotel alastor #hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel fanart #gosh i love doing more complex shading to make fake screencaps it's so satisfying.#sorry for using my personal vox design this is purely self indulgent. hey maybe vox only starts wearing bowties after this #anyways part two is going to be uploaded in a bit my doves <3 #vox made his way through the trapdoor that's why he's initially on his knees #...not any other reason...#he's so danger unaware to alastor going haywire #thing is i feel that during their friendship vox was long used to alastor hurting other people in front of him that it just...#doesn't occur to him that alastor would've ever hurt him in that way.#shame #because it never occured to alastor that vox would cross that line and ruin their friendship.#alastor is somehow desperately angry and desperately sad #and angrier still that vox gets to make him feel that way.#suddenly #alastor feels a pearl of absolute hatred form inside of him #he's never felt so strongly about something in his entire afterlife #if only my shitty little aces could communicate and stop being insane for one second. sigh.

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nicholasjoan · 2 months

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You mean- a sudden downpour forces them under an awning. They look into each other's eyes and realise they were made for each other.

#sounds a bit unlikely #good omens #ineffable husbands #aziraphale x crowley #azicrow #good omens fanart #sorry I know im not too great at good omens fanart #every time I think about them I go insane

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mummer · 11 months

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just saw asteroid city last night, pls explain the proposed significance of the kiss!!

answering this publicly hope thats ok! cant do a readmore im on mobile *****asteroid city spoilers below beware*****

i dont remember anyones names so this is gonna sound partly unhinged. okay so the edward norton playwright and jason schwartzman actor (not character, in the black and white parts) are lovers right. tbh i thought this was kind of a gag and forgot about it. but later we find out that the playwright died 6 months into the production. i didnt make the connection that THAT’s why the actor-jason has to suddenly leave the stage and freaks out backstage about how he’s not sure he’s Doing it right. hes not talking about acting!! because he himself is literally grieving his lover while he’s playing a character who’s grieving his wife written by his lover so obviously it’s too much!!! actor-jason is trying to find meaning in his death through his writing but there isnt any meaning in death [gerris drinkwater voice] which is what the play is trying to say anyway. he doesnt think he’s performing grief right even in his own life!!! (and tbh it’s the 50s so he wouldnt be able to perform grief publicly anyway!!!!) the play starts with a car accident… anyone would search for some hidden meaning there, some sign…. so when he talks to margot robbie outside it’s not really about finding the CHARACTER’s motivations it’s about the actor himself being able to process the playwright’s death! and adrien brody director was probably also dealing with that too (him and norton seemed to be good buddies) so the whole “sleeping backstage” thing gets a bit sadder maybe? maybe everyone else got this in the theatre and im just stupid lol but crazy making stuff to me!!! the whole story is about sublimated gay grief that cannot be expressed?!?!

the tweet that caught me onto this was here which posits that the playwright’s death was a suicide but i think that’s pretty stupid and unnecessary because the whole thing about the play asteroid city is that death is random and meaningless. im pretty sure that’s what the alien represents— a shocking and absurd event that isnt outright evil or menacing, not something anyone can predict or make sense of, it’s just a thing that happens to you out of nowhere, it doesnt mean anything. he’s a little black figure, he’s death! giving and taking! aagh

#you’re the wife who played my actor :(#posthumus #asteroid city #imagine youre in love with a playwright and he writes a play before he even meets you about how you cant get over his death which hasnt #happened yet. id go insane too #im going to see it again to see how this informs the whole thing because its driving me crazy #rewatching the performances knowing that they're performing people performing. augh.#remember when bryan cranston accidentally appears in frame. rending my garments #also ‘you cant wake up until you fall asleep’ confused me a bit but then i remembered that the margot robbie scene was supposed to be put o #as a dream sequence and it makes sense now. thanks #aliens are the new fairytale monster symbol of death. the ultimate Unknowable #EDIT okay i read the wikipedia summary got some facts wrong adrien brody is sleeping in the theatre during rehearsals so its not because of #the playwright’s death he’s just like that.

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mikakuna · 3 months

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imagine being so insensitive that you would blame a child for their death and openly talk about how badly behaved they were right in front of their grave. oh and on said child's birthday-- the day he would've turned 18 years old. you spend your first official late child's 18th birthday calling him brash and impulsive, implying he got himself murdered, instead of mourning the fact that today is the day your dead son would've reached a major milestone in his life.

#bruce going to jason's grave and not even looking the least bit sad is fucking insane #he looked so indifferent to it #just casually talking to one of his other kids about how much the second robin had it coming unfortunately #like that is your fucking son #you adopted that child #to say something as vain as -oh he liked cars and girls- is crazy #like that's all you know about your little boy?? a kid who blindly trusted you with his entire life #oh and that he liked ice cream #woo hoo #when has bruce ever actually rejoiced his child's life and talked about jason's personality positively #when has he never talked to his other kids about jason in a way that actually appreciated him #it's the literal bare minimum of what he owes jason #jason todd #red hood #batman #bruce wayne #jason peter todd #dc #dc comics

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petr1kov · 25 days

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the touched and sweet way guts smiles after it really sinks in what griffith said to him, that he would always be willing put his life on the line in order to save him because guts is worth saving. how it's the first time he felt truly cherished and valued as a person. that gets me every time

#man the golden age hurts so good #sorry sorry i'm going a bit insane about berserk again. happens #berserk

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wynandcore · 1 month

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Insane about this

#GOING INSANE. CHOMPING AT THE BIT TO READ IT #i need to be shown I’m not the only insane person in the room about this #tron #tronblr #tron uprising

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haunted-xander · 8 months

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I think Ryne would have a kinda skewed sense of what's normal. Like, she may technically know what's "normal" for most people, but what's normal for her is way different. She's raised by two men who are both Weird, only one of which can even pretend to be normal (and like hell Thancred bothered with that while on the run with Ryne lol)

Ryne thinks that talking circles round pixies is common knowledge from her many stays in Il Mheg. It is not. She also thinks knowing how to and being able to stomach skinning and gutting animals for food is normal. It's certainly more common, but unless you're a hunter it absolutely does not come as easily. Being able to walk and run around quietly is something she technically knows is unusual, but since her company has mainly consisted of a professional spy and a man who barely leaves home she tends to forget that most people can't do that.

I can't come up with anymore atm but. Ryne should get to be just a little weird(er) I think

#i also think this would make interactions with gaia funnier #bc for all of gaias Baggage she is more or less a normal teenager #who has normal reactions to things (mostly)#ryne & gaia go camping a bit and ryne finds and hunts down like a boar #and gaia watches in horror as ryne just guts it right there bc ryne forgot most ppl dont like to see that process #(and then she repeatedly apologizes for her oversight and promises not to do it in front of her again)#(gaia didnt care THAT much but appreciates the thought anyway)#anyway. my little baby girl i love her and want her the best always #ryne waters #thancred waters #urianger augurelt #< just mentioned (sorta)#final fantasy #final fantasy 14 #final fantasy xiv #ff14 #ffxiv #xander rambles #xander being insane about ryne #not the typical deep ranting BUT IT COUNTS

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naffeclipse · 3 days

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What would Y/N do is Orca!Eclipse was having a panic attack?

He would try to hide from your sights and deal with it on his own, panicking and struggling with the squeezing pressure in his chest that makes him wonder if his heart will simply stop and he will float belly up, dead. He can't be seen as weak. That's not attractive. That's not going to make you stay. But you would find him anyway.

You're bewildered and alarmed watching the orca siren flounder as if he were under attack, but he couldn't be. He's the apex predator of the Arctic. You finally beckon and perhaps even touch him when he thrashes beside the ice. Your gloves slide down his slick skin but you take him by the face and hold him still, speaking softly to him. You don't know what's wrong. You only know his eyes are wide and wild, darting everywhere but you.

Softly, calmly, you tell him everything is alright. He's safe. He's going to be okay. You're here. You don't want him to be scared or hurt or alone. His breaths are off-tempo and hitched like he's drowning above the sea. Your thumbs softly stroke his cheek while he slowly clings to you, his claws pressing so tight to your coat that you're afraid he's going to puncture the fabric. Instead, he slowly drags himself onto land and pulls you against his wet chest. This time, you don't fear it so much.

He curls tightly around you, clinging to you like a child. Even stranger, he's silent. He's so terribly quiet and you fear that he's gone into shock or something of that nature. You keep talking to him, telling him things about photography and other places you visit, anything to keep him grounded with your voice. You don't think you make any sense or you sound boring, but when you pause for a few seconds too long, his arms begin squeezing you. You continue, and he gradually uncoils from whatever is gripping him.

You ask if he wants to talk about it. He says no. He just wants to hold you. He begs you to stay, to not leave him. He doesn't want to be alone again.

So you stay with him in his arms until he's almost back to old himself.

#y/n would later connect the dots that he was having a panic attack #but in the moment it was just so unlike him and they didn't consider that sirens would be capable of suffer things like panic attacks #so when they see him again they're a bit more determined to ask him about it what it felt like what triggers it etc.#that way next time they're a bit more prepared #also eclipse has no idea what's going on just that he's SufferingTM and so hearing Y/N explain that it's a real thing makes him feel #a tiny bit better and less insane #panic attack #apex polarity #orca!eclipse

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