#we like to talk about his old ship being the anne but what if it wasnt?

[emojackolantern]

look if we're going full balls to the wall intentional historical inaccuracy, i'd like to see ed's original ship have been the adventure and have him rename the revenge by just tacking the words "queen anne's" onto the front

#we like to talk about his old ship being the anne but what if it wasnt? #continuing the trend of making petty alterations to stedes boat #what would they do to the unicorn i wonder? #actually regardless of the name im curious what happens to the unicorn #wait now im just so vested in the unicorn fuck #brb gonna go cry now #HES MISSING HIS HEAD #:(((( #ofmd #our flag means death #blackbeard #edward teach #the revenge

[bethanydelleman]

Wentworth was LUCKY

Captain Wentworth was lucky. Yes, it seems like in hindsight that he was actually a good prospect for Anne, but Jane Austen also emphasizes how unlikely that was to happen. Wentworth had no post, poor connections and no money when he proposed. "Lucky" is repeated over and over:

He had been lucky in his profession; but spending freely, what had come freely, had realized nothing. But he was confident that he should soon be rich: full of life and ardour, he knew that he should soon have a ship, and soon be on a station that would lead to everything he wanted. He had always been lucky; he knew he should be so still. (Ch 4)

“Phoo! phoo!” cried the Admiral, “what stuff these young fellows talk! Never was a better sloop than the Asp in her day. For an old built sloop, you would not see her equal. Lucky fellow to get her! He knows there must have been twenty better men than himself applying for her at the same time. Lucky fellow to get anything so soon, with no more interest than his.”...

“I felt my luck, Admiral, I assure you;” replied Captain Wentworth, seriously. “I was as well satisfied with my appointment as you can desire. It was a great object with me at that time to be at sea; a very great object, I wanted to be doing something.”

..."Ah! she was a dear old Asp to me. She did all that I wanted. I knew she would. I knew that we should either go to the bottom together, or that she would be the making of me; and I never had two days of foul weather all the time I was at sea in her; and after taking privateers enough to be very entertaining, I had the good luck in my passage home the next autumn, to fall in with the very French frigate I wanted. I brought her into Plymouth; and here another instance of luck. We had not been six hours in the Sound, when a gale came on, which lasted four days and nights, and which would have done for poor old Asp in half the time; our touch with the Great Nation not having much improved our condition. Four-and-twenty hours later, and I should only have been a gallant Captain Wentworth, in a small paragraph at one corner of the newspapers; and being lost in only a sloop, nobody would have thought about me.”

..."I wished for him again the next summer, when I had still the same luck in the Mediterranean.” (Ch 8)

Wentworth's success was entirely a matter of chance.

#captain wentworth #anne elliot #persuasion #jane austen #lucky #I discovered that I can make words colours #fear my new power

[acrossthewavesoftime]

Top 5 Graveses!

My Deer Friend, that is a fun ask!

Samuel "Sam" Graves (1713-1787). Tough on the outside, very soft on the inside, his personality has captured my research interest. Often portrayed as a nepotistic old choleric (which to some degree he was) in especially older literature on the American Revolutionary War, the man below the public persona of the admiral was the exact opposite. A caring man who appears to have been well liked by his sailors and the local people near his home, he was surprisingly open-minded when it came to what we might call women's rights, the importance of giving your children an education (something he openly chastised his brother about in letters, finding his nephews had not received enough schooling), and by all I was able to learn about the family, very good with young people. His personal tragedy was that he was childless due to a medical complication he was aware of, but he filled this void with his brother John's children and his second wife Margaret's orphaned niece, Elizabeth, who would take very much after Samuel, developing an interest in technology and ships. What never fails to strike me is how he helped protect Elizabeth's best friend Mary Anne, who may fall under the term queer, given she stated during her lifetime that she had no interest in men, from a forced marriage.

Margaret Graves (1728-1808). "Mrs Admiral", feared by many, loved ardently by her husband. So much so that rumour had it that it was she who wore the trousers in their relationship. A tough lady who was independently wealthy and had never planned on marrying at all to remain in control of her fortune, it took her all of ca. 6 months to decide that she wanted Samuel by her side permanently. She was by all accounts difficult, outspoken to the point of often deliberate rudeness, and one of the first bluestockings, being a frequent visitor to Elizabeth Montagu's London salon. In her sixties, she caused a stir in Bath for dancing at balls, which was frowned upon due to her age. She did not care.

John Graves Simcoe (1752-1806). Is it cheating? I don't think so. But he was named for Samuel Graves, and called "Infant Graves" by the same in a letter written to young Simcoe's father around the time of John Graves' christening. I found the Graves' through Simcoe, when many years ago I watched Turn: Washington's Spies and mostly remained watching on account of the delightfully evil ginger menace, John Graves Simcoe. The question "he can't have been that bad, can he?" (spoiler: he was absolutely not, rater the opposite, really) led to a research rabbit hole that ended with me finding out about Simcoe's supportive quasi-family which he found in his godfather Samuel, who helped raise him from the time he lost his father at age seven on, and supported his godson well into his thirties. Samuel viewed him as part of the family, and therefore, he can make this list!

Jane Graves (1666-1767). The mother of Samuel and his siblings, her own life appears to have been quite interesting from what little information we have. She seems to have married comparatively late, and to a significantly younger man at that; she was 46 or 47 when Samuel, her youngest, was born. When her husband died, she must have cared for Samuel's inheritance, and raised her son by herself. Looking at her life span alone, she must have been a very interesting person to talk to, given she lived to 100 or 101, a period spanning from the year of the Great Fire of London to the year the Townshend Acts were passed and Joachim Murat was born.

Richard "Dick" Graves (1757-1836). The enfant terrible of the family, living largely off his uncle's benevolence and will to promote him in the Navy. Badly educated, bad with money and so spectacularly bad with women that Elizabeth, his uncle's niece by his wife, loathed to even be in the same room as him (which ended Samuel's hope of getting the two involved with each other). "Dick" as the family called him with very likely the same undertone as in the famous Jane Austen quote on the late naval officer Dick Musgrove in Persuasion, had so little going for himself that the family sincerely hoped he would marry a rich woman, as that was his only chance of finding a settled life. He was, as they called it "shown" around at social events for that purpose. He did manage to bag an heiress, but their life together was unhappy, full of finanical struggles as both spent more money than they had, and assorted fights with Aunt Mrs Admiral, the Simcoes, the Admiralty and other assorted people. He even agreed to be the second in a duel once, while also being a Justice of the Peace. He must have been a troublesome man, but somehow strikes me as a little interesting for that matter.

#ask reply #ask game #samuel graves #margaret graves #elizabeth posthuma simcoe #john graves simcoe #jane graves #richard graves #18th century #history

[angelfireeast]

Ofmd ep 4 & 5

EPISODE FOUR

- the way the crew chewed Ed out on his walk of shame lol

- The sandwich hitting Lusicus in the face was hilarious and seemed unplanned.

- Ed immediately finds something alive & wants to make it his BBF. He is so needy

- It's Rachel House! I love her. She's hilarious. Really getting some amazing NZ talent now they are filming in NZ

- I'm so glad Ed & Stede worked it out. Ed has it so bad he trusts Stede again to run off after his confession.

- Ed learns a lesson about CHANGING! My heart. Mary & Anne are a cautionary tale but I feel like they both decided not to follow that path.

- Is it crazy that I feel a little hope for Anne/Mary when Anne burn down the house & they decided to move on together facing their fears & showing they love each other. Not saying they aren't still going to be toxic and full of kinks but it's a step in the right direction.

- I knew Bottons would turn into a bird! Yes king!

EPISODE 5:

- So much happened I. These two episodes but can we just appreciate that Roach invented peanut paste aka planet butter & immediately Frenchie was allergic to it

It's the little things honsetly

- Don't think I didn't notice Roach commenting on Frenchie's beautiful body cause that was 100% on my radar

- laughing at making Ed wear a bell

- Lucius was way too into pushing Ed off the ship lol I laughed at Ed yelling "do you feel closer yet"

- Ed hanging on the side of the ship & Fang rowing up and asking him if he wanted to go fishing felt so Marior

- loved Fang calling Ed out. It needed to happen. love that Fang got to tell Ed that those "games" weren't fun. I think Ed delused himself a lot about bad things to live with himself. We know he loves to play pretend & get lost in it. Yet we also know from the gravy bowl that Ed was upset about the way his old Captain hurt his crew & he was talking to himself really...so part of him knows it's wrong, dislikes it & part of him doesn't care or pretends not to care and it's no big deal as way to deal with what is happening.

- The way Olu, Jim & Archie just quietly and quickly rolled into a little united threesome is giving me life. I don't know the state of the romantic relationships and it doesn't matter cause them just being a united them is everything

- Fang is just adorable when he was telling Ed to be quite😂 he's so soft I love him. Kevin Jr lol I want more Fang pls

- Is it possible Ed has ADHD but also has trouble sitting with himself quietly cause he doesn't like himself & feel unlovable.

- the kiss in moonlight🥰

- Buttons & The Swede are off the ship. Archie & Izzy are on

What other changes are to come?

- Black Pete and Lusicus are engaged!!!🥳🍾

#our flag means death #ofmd spoilers

[chuplayswithfire]

okay here it is my true toxic ofmd opinion:

i just think calico jack is neat. i don't love him (have you seen him????) but he is narratively just so fucking neat, and also as a character so fucking neat, because every time you look at him after watching episode eight you have to wonder: how much of this is an act? how much of this is calico jack, performer, in much the same way that edward teach is a natural performer?

because in episode eight we see ed performing the role of 'blackie', wild young pirate extraordinaire, and i've talked about his social chameleoning and how ed plays the roles that he needs to play at any given time, this is a man who is almost never being his most genuine self at any one time but the thing is: we meet calico jack when he is *also* performing a role. he is performing the role of calico jack, wild young pirate extraordinaire. he is very explicitly not being his most genuine self, because he is being the version of himself that can most aggravate stede AND most reassure ed that absolutely nothing about him has changed since the last time they saw each other.

so in much the same way that we don't really ever get to meet edward teach, whole person (though we see a very honest version of him for like a minute in episode 10 before everything goes horribly wrong), we never actually meet calico jack being just calico jack.

and this fascinates me, because the man that we see in calico jack is the wildest version of a pirate frat boy, hazing and laughing and all testosterone and rum fueled wild antics, all the while cleverly manipulating his old shipmate/good friend buddy pal person who he would risk his life for but who he absolutely doesn't have an emotional attachment to because those are gross and weak and weird (aka a fucking friend jack) as well as stede and the entire crew, all the for the explicit sake of saving ed's life.

the entire reason calico jack is out there on that ship causing havoc and being a big dick is because izzy hands got in touch with him to say that ed teach is out there in the direct path of the british fucking navy and he's going to go down if calico jack can't lure him away. and calico jack, a famous pirate in his own right, wanted by the british navy in his own right, goes. we don't ever hear that izzy offered up payment, so for all we know calico jack went out in a dinghy to pull ed from the line of danger for nothing more than the reward of his old shipmate not getting killed by the english.

and he calls izzy sentimental. izzy is at least going to get something out of this - izzy is going to get the revenge, and izzy is going to get stede dead. calico jack, as far as we can tell, is getting absolutely nothing out of this aside from ed's safety...

it's just fucking fascinating. he's such a dick. he's such a fucking dick, passive aggressive, callous with people's feelings and safety, manipulative, and literally dying because he's mad about his friend risking his life for some guy he thinks is a hack.

like, i genuinely think there's a chance he'll come back, just because there's so much potential for him to shed light on ed's past (and he has connections to other pirates that they might want to bring in, like anne bonny and mary read) but even if he doesn't, what we see in him shows is a man who's very much like ed - calculating, working the angles, performative, but the heart in him is hidden by the fact that he's a dick to characters we care about, particularly stede and killing karl - and yet, he's being a dick because he wants to make sure they get the hell out of there, him and blackbeard both, before the english come down on stede and his crew like the fist of god.

and its so interesting. it's fascinating. i don't like jack, but i see in him so much potential, and i'm not like. saying i think fandom needs to obsess over yet another white man, but i do think he's so interestingly twisted, in a way that's at once super toxic and yet utterly distinct from the other toxic mess of piracy in this show, whatever is going on with izzy hands.

#ofmd #our flag means death #calico jack ofmd #ofmd meta #i am SO fascinated by this fucked up funky white man like izzy is one level but izzy is so fucking brutal about it #while calico jack is is such a dick and yet he's obfuscating so hard #the entire time #a complete mystery of a man

[sl-newsie]

My Review of 92sies

Gotta remember this was made in the 90s by the classic Disney intro! 😄

Thank you Max for the great intro monologue! ‘Thank you Max, for that marvelous introduction!’ Hocus Pocus, anyone?

Gotta appreciate how much they were able to make a crammed set look like New York

Oh. My. God! Shirtless Mush is sooo cute! 😍 

No wonder Skittery’s always angry- I’d be too if I was woken up early. 😤

Not even 5 minutes in and Jack’s called Cowboy  🤠

Where was Kloppman in Livesies? Really, where? 

I wanna know how all the newsies characters were created. Was someone reading A Christmas Carol and was like ‘yes, we need teenage Tiny Tim!’

I noticed they have the same audio of the kid yelling ‘c’mon move it! move it!’ later at the end.

Why did they cut out the ‘takes a smile as sweet as butter?’ bit?

Aw Race does the sign of the cross! Is he Catholic?

At first I was confused about the woman singing in the background but over time I feel that she brings the idea that not all the newsies are orphans 

Sorry but Race backing up from being threatened by a stick is hilarious 

Jack is so much calmer in this version! No more angry Jack

Awww! Les is so cuuute! The way he just stares at Jack while he’s running is priceless 😊

Race and Jack show more friendship chemistry in the first 10 minutes than Jack and Race in Livies during the whole show

Already 92sies Les is so much better 

It’s really hard to not picture Jack as Batman

Half the movie is watching all-a the newsies reactions in the background! 

Headlines don’t sell papes, newsies sell papes- the entire plot summed up in one sentence. 🗞️

Properly shows how the newsies respect a lady by them removing their hats

‘What’s that deafening noise?’ Uh, that’s your employees doing their job? 

I feel sorry for the guy shaving that Snider just shoves to the side when he runs up the stairs.

LUV Medda’s getup! All of it! Anne-Margret is so good! The way she talks to Les is so cute!

I have spotted the teleporting ventriloquist dummy guy!

I personally don’t ship Javid, but 92sies shows much better chemistry between Jack and David than Livesies.

‘Then you’ll be a real cowboy!’ ‘Yeah.’ What about a painter? Now where would you ever get that idea? 🤠🧑‍🎨

So it’s raining while they’re having dinner, then it stopped when they're on the fire escape, and the ground is dusty enough so when Jack does his Santa Fe ‘dance’ he doesn’t get all muddy? Huh.

Only thing about Sarah is that I feel her New York accent could’ve been better.

I wanna know who made the birthday cake. One of the cast or crew maybe?

I prefer Christian’s daydreamy version of Santa Fe. 🏜️

I’d like know what the people in the street are thinking, like ‘what the heck is this guy randomly singing?’

The streetlights make 92sies at night seem like a very cozy atmosphere

Why did they cut out the scene of Christian using a lasso? Learning how to use a lasso was a big deal for him!

What ever happened to the horse Jack technically stole?

Race and Jack’s friendship never gets old!

Pulitzer’s calculation behavior is… weird. Also why is he imitating Tevye’s If I Were A Rich Man dance?

Ok, we need a class where every newsie is pointed out and named so everyone knows who they are

What are the pedestrians thinking when the newsies start singing?

You’re a leader! Here Jack, have a stick! Now break it!

‘Em-bastards!’

Hey it’s Lone Star in a bowler hat! 

Now I want to use ‘hoity toity’ every day.

Yeessss! BROOKLYN! But where can I find the music if it’s not in the soundtrack?! 🌉

‘I spent a month there one night.’ Uh what does that mean, Boots?

Why is Spot Colon’s slingshot never brought up in Livesies?

Ok when I first watched this I didn’t know what to expect from Spot Colon but I remember that as soon as I saw him I had a crush on him instantly. 🥰

People always make fun of Spot’s height, whether it be 92sies or Livesies. But being a short person myself and knowing other short people I can honestly say that short people definitely can be scary! Seriously I’ve scared more people than I can count even if I don’t mean to, so imagine Spot Colon intentionally trying to be scary! To quote Yoda: ‘size matters not!’ Spot Colon could kick everyone’s ass if he wanted!

I luv how all the other Brooklyn newsies are just waiting intimidatingly in the background for Spot to either give the all clear or the o-k to soak Davey.

How did numerous fan theories about Spot’s key get started? 🗝️

Seize the Day is on fire! I luv the quick footwork and acro work in the confined space even though the dance number could’ve been held in a bigger area.

Where did the newsies get tomatoes to throw at Wiesel? 🍅

How long did it take to clean up the torn newspapers after they got done filming that scene?

Huh, Jack actually cares enough to try to break Crutchy out? Also how does nobody notice Jack casually standing around with a rope?

It’s cute how Les and the younger newsies made homemade drums!

‘Never fear, Brooklyn is here!’ Oh my God yeessss! 😆

It’s over, Weasel! Brooklyn has the high ground! Star Wars, anybody?

The newsies picture looks like what every attempt at a family picture looks like, with everybody scattered and looking at different places.

King of New York, still my favorite! The way they had all these guys in this tiny room with all these tables, and yet still pull off a decent dance number! Just wow.

Crutchy your positivity is contagious, even though sometimes you gotta learn when to be sad.

Jack how on Earth can you fall asleep on a fire escape?

Nice rooftop backdrop! Wonder if Jack painted it… 🎨🤔😆

Jack still wants to leave, but at least on the rooftop he explains how he’s not used to growing roots anywhere and actually asks Sarah if she cares.

‘...others who would dare to leeee!’ What, Pulitzer?

I luv how the newsies dress up for the rally!  Even though they’re poor they still know when to act ‘proper.’ Also Spot, you look great! 👍

Seeing Medda dance with all the is always fun to watch, especially with Blink and Race completely fawning over her.

Why is it that Davey and Spot immediately see that Denton’s pointing out Snyder but it takes Davey yelling in Jack’s face for him to see it? 

Typical Race to gamble with a judge 🃏

They really make us hate Snyder. Even if you don’t like Jack (don’t know how someone could but whatever), you really feel bad for him when Snyder takes him back to the Refuge. 😣

How in the world does nobody notice the newsies hiding out around the refuge or when Davey rides on the back of the carriage? There’s cops literally 10 feet from them and they still don’t see a group of kids?

Even when Jack’s yelling he’s still less angry then Jeremy’s angry Jack.

All the Refuge gives you to sleep on is a rusty bed frame? Ouch!

‘We was beat when we was born.’ Yikes Jack got some dark thoughts. 😳

It doesn’t take going through a whole day sulking and getting yelled at by Katherine for 92sies Jack to change his mind, it only takes the Delancys beating up the Jacobs for him to finally say no. 

Once And For All is catchier than the Livesies version

I like how they show all the different kids at odds and ends jobs, as well as how some kids back then didn’t know how to read.

Only thing is I wish they would’ve talked about the details with the deal with Pulitzer

Sarah doesn’t need to beg Jack to stay, Jack figures it out that he needs to stay.

Jack, how can you leave? You’re making Les cry! 😖😭

Now Mush is looking cute next to a lamppost 😍

I’m hearing the audio from the beginning!

Yes, Jarah is a relationship I can tolerate! It’s not toxic or annoying, and they don’t look like they wanna kill each other every scene.

Spot riding away in the carriage is perfect! ‘By, Spot!’ 🥰

Overall I’d want to know what the original newsies would think of this. I mean just imagine the ones from 1899 watching this and thinking ‘I don’t think we ever did this much singing and dancing.’

And now to take a moment for the 92sies who did not make it into Livesies: Snipeshooter, Boots, Bumlets, PieEater, Snoddy, Itey, Snitch, Swifty, Jake, Dutchy, Skittery, Snaps, Tumbler, and Flipper. They will be missed. Instead they will be replaced by new newsies that are far more stupid and annoying, but on the bright side are very good dancers. 😔

I feel like 92sies isn’t talked about as much because it’s more dated and not as recent. When people mention that current stars like Ben Cook are in Livesies then everyone talks about it like it’s the best thing since sliced bread. But when people say Christian Bale is in 92sies then they just say ‘oh yeah, he’s Batman’ and just leave it at that. Just because 92sies doesn’t have the A+ Broadway dancing doesn’t mean it’s not a good musical,

#Newsies #newsies 1992 #1992sies #newsies broadway #Jack Kelly #sarah jacobs #Les Jacobs #david jacobs #boots newsies #skittery newsies #spot conlon #mush newsies #racetrack higgins #racetrack newsies #crutchie newsies #crutchy newsies #medda larkin #Christian Bale #max casella #anne-margret #snipeshooter #livesies #david moscow #short people unite #star wars #hocus pocus #disney #a christmas carol #batman #space balls

[brigdh]

I can't stop thinking about rewriting S2. I don't know why – it's hard to find an activity that's actually less productive than writing fanfic, but surely this is it – but my brain won't stop circling around the idea, so I'm writing this down to hopefully shut it up.

A proposed outline for a better S2 of Our Flag Means Death.

Episodes 1-3 are pretty much the same as what aired. The big change is that I'm cutting out Prince Ricky. I think two big antagonists are too much for an eight episode season, though I went back and forth on whether to cut Zheng or Ricky. I decided on Ricky because the "end of piracy" plot is way too overwrought for a comedy series, and there's no way it was ever going to work without a lot of build-up. Like, a lot a lot. Possibly multiple seasons of it, and we just don't have time for that here. Also, although Ricky makes a fun foil to Stede, that never really goes anywhere. So he's gone. This doesn't make much of a difference to these first three episodes, since he's only in two scenes, but it will help tighten the focus at the end of the season. One other change is that it's clear (perhaps even referenced in dialogue) that Ed is still not killing anyone directly with his own hands.

Episode Four: This is where I start with the big changes, rewriting this whole episode. Now it's focused on the crew wanting to kick Ed off the ship. Stede goes back and forth between the crew and Ed, trying to talk the crew around while simultaneously trying to romance Ed. He fails on both sides. Perhaps we still have Ed's corporate "apology", as an attempt at compromise, but the crew refuses to accept it and this time, they're in charge. Lucius has his plot about being traumatized and drawing Ed's face everywhere (but not the resolution, not in this episode). Ed is angry at Stede – they get to have an actual fight, about Stede leaving, about Ed marooning the crew/tossing Lucius overboard, about Ed's mermaid dream vs Stede's masculine pirate hero dream. Ed fears he's unlovable, and Stede's unrealistic declarations of love are just making him feel like anything between them is impossible. (Maybe Ed & Izzy have a fight too – I'm not committed to including this, depending on time, but it could be good. Maybe Izzy gets to say, "A rotten leg's got to come off" to Ed!) At the end of the episode, Ed leaves the ship and tells Stede not to follow him. Everyone's angry and upset.

Episode Five: Ed spends the entire episode off the ship, throwing himself into his new career as a fisherman (it doesn't have to be fishing. It can be anything, as long as it's new. The point is Ed running away from himself and his past and trying to become an entirely new person). He's using a new name – Jeff? – and has a whole backstory he's made up. At the end of the episode, he realizes that this isn't making him happy either, because he keeps thinking about his guilt, about Stede, about Izzy or Lucius or whoever he centers on as someone's he's mistreated, and so he leaves.

Meanwhile, on board the Revenge, everyone's having a miserable time. This is where the 'traumatized crew comes together to make the unicorn leg' plot goes, except this time it's a three-sided hot mess, with the crew, Izzy, and Stede – heartbroken over his idealized view of 'true loves fixes everything' having crashed and burned in the previous episode. Buttons turns into a bird, but this time Stede is the one to witness it. It inspires him to patch things up with the crew and go after Ed. Together, they all come up with a motto for the season – something like, 'change is possible' or 'you've got to try again', idk, except it's probably cheesy and rhymes and yet is weirdly inspirational, a la 'talk it through as a crew'.

Episode Six: Ed runs into Anne Bonny and Mary Read, and goes to stay with them. Before Stede shows up, Ed gets a bit of time to talk and reminiscence with them about their own "good old days", back when he was happy. It becomes clear though, that remembering murder and torture and etc is not making him happy now. Ed asks them about feeling guilty. Their advice is terrible: only losers care. Ed laughs it off, but clearly is conflicted. Stede tracks him down, and the rest of the episode play out pretty much like it did in canon (I think Jenkins & co really wanted to do "Ed and Stede as exes at a party", so I am giving it to them here). However, the vibes are a bit different – it's less that Ed and Stede haven't spoken at all as in canon, but that they had their big fight in E4 and are now dealing with the awkward aftermath of wanting to make up, each wanting to maintain their pride, and not knowing how to do either. At the end, Stede gets the courage to put himself out there and asks Ed to come back to the ship. Ed refuses at first – the crew doesn't want him and he doesn't know how to be a better person. Stede passes on the motto the crew came up with in the previous episode – 'change is possible' or whatever – and Ed agrees to come and try. They have a brief, chaste, kiss.

The crew back on the Revenge should have a B-plot too. I love the cursed suit subplot and would stick it here, but honestly I'm not sure it works if Stede isn't around to be the pro-suit side of the debate. Maybe we have a training montage, but it's Izzy and the crew instead of Izzy and Stede. Whatever happens, we also get the Lucius and Pete proposal. This goes along with the hopeful, new beginnings vibe of what's happening with Ed/Stede.

Episode Seven: Ed and Stede return to the ship, and the crew agrees to let Ed try out their new motto. Calypso party preparations begin, but this time Ed is not just handing out money but taking part in finding and putting together decorations and set-up. We get scenes of him and different characters working together; things are awkward but improving. Izzy and Wee Jon can still do drag and sing. Ned Low shows up and disrupts the party.

The big change here: Ed is the one to kill Ned Low, not Stede. I love Stede's plot about becoming a pirate hero and killing and not dealing with it, but it's just too much for a season with a lot of other stuff going on. Sorry, Stede; your masculinity issues have to wait for S3.

Ed killing someone is portrayed as a very big deal. Ned is more dangerous here – it's seen as necessary for someone to kill him, and Ed taking on the role is cast as him becoming the protector of the crew rather than their tormentor. Nonetheless, despite Ned's death being a 'good' thing, Ed is traumatized and he and Stede still have ill-advised sex about it. Izzy can definitely still sing La Vie en Rose during.

Episode Eight: Zheng has (like in canon) been collecting all of the pirates in the Caribbean into her alliance. Now she's finally coming for the Revenge. It's them against dozens of ships. I think, since I'm making Zheng more of a straightforward antagonist than a reluctant ally, I have to break up Olu/Zheng. That's okay. In fact, it can make a nice parallel – sometimes people grow apart and it's not anyone's 'fault', it's just life. Are Stede and Ed also growing apart, or will they find a path forward together?

Stede comes up with what someone describes as a suicide mission. Ed says, 'what if we don't commit suicide?' He wants to live. He wants to be happy. He's still grappling with having killed Low, and he realizes that he can't do that again – can't even put himself in a situation where it might be kill or be killed. He proposes they surrender and just go and live on land somewhere. Why not? What is piracy good for, even, other than violence and theft? Izzy makes his speech about belonging to something. The crew – which has been swaying back and forth, debating both for and against fighting Zheng – is convinced, and decide to go to battle. Ed isn't. He agrees that community is important, that it was there when he needed it, that he'll always be glad he had it, but he can't stay. He's changing. This is him changing, for real. He and Izzy have a final exchange about Ed moving on and Izzy accepting it.

Ed and Stede have an emotional goodbye, where Ed says that he won't be like Anne & Mary – he won't let Stede leave piracy for him, but maybe Stede can come and visit some time. They make some long-distance relationship jokes. Ed leaves. They're both being ~super~ mature and adult about it, but they're clearly both not really happy.

Stede and the crew prepare for battle. Lucius and Pete get married, as a last hurrah for the Revenge in case not everyone survives the coming confrontation. They carry out Stede's plan (I don't know what that is, I'm not an action scene writer, something cool and out-of-the-box. Though it's not like 'dress up in British uniforms' was a unique and exciting plan either). They succeed, either by defeating Zheng or just escaping for now. (Does Izzy die in battle? It doesn't really seem necessary. If he does, it's clearly about becoming one of the crew and they're the ones his death scene centers on, since Ed isn't even there.) There's a big celebration scene and/or funeral, and everyone is bonding, people are cheering Stede's plan, but Stede himself can't join in wholeheartedly. He's off in the corner, clearly not quite satisfied. He pulls aside Frenchie and tells him, "I have something to give you".

The final scene: Ed is working on his new career. Maybe he's running a bar & grill in the Republic of Pirates. He's not hiding who he is, even using the Blackbeard name for PR, but it's not a fighting-focused career. Stede walks up, clearly unexpected, and Ed's like, "thought it'd take a lot longer for your first visit." Stede gets a big speech about piracy. Everyone's gotten to define it for themselves; for Ed it was about violence, for Izzy community. (Maybe some of the rest of the crew have gotten to voice their own takes as well.) Stede says that for him, piracy means freedom. That's what he was dreaming of, when he first set out to be a pirate, what he's been looking for his whole life – the freedom to be who he really is. Ed says, "and who are you?" Stede replies, "the man who loves you." They kiss.

We get an overhead shot, swinging out to sea, with the Revenge sailing away with Frenchie as captain. Distantly, we hear Ed and Stede talking as sound fades out –

Ed: You promise you're not going to burn down my bar when you get bored? Stede: Why would I be bored? I have so many ideas! Theme nights, cocktail recipes, waitstaff uniforms... Ed: Hey, what happened with Zheng? Stede: Oh, she might hunt me down for revenge. Another reason we won't be bored!

#there are probably a whole new set of plot-holes or accidental bad tropes in my version that I haven't noticed #but I wanted to try this out #our flag means death #ofmd season 2 #blackbonnet #gentlebeard #ofmd meta #also honestly I don't love the “Ed gives up piracy” beat myself but if we're going to aim for Ed & Stede retiring at the end of the season #it's the only way I could make it work

[remypat]

Theories for Episodes 4 & 5

If you haven't watched the first 3 episodes, beware! Spoilers up ahead!

Ok, so Blackbeard tried to murder literally everyone on the revenge. There is not a single person person aboard that would be cool with him just hanging about (with the exception of Stede ofc). My thinking is that for episode 4:

-the crew will be begging Stede to maroon Ed, or just leave him at their next stop, Stede's gonna be all, 'i can change him, we can make this work'

-the Bell comes into play here because Ed is alive and terrifying and his presence must be known at all times. When he is near, everyone flinches, Fang nearly cries and that sets everyone off.

-Ed isn't going to want to stay aboard the revenge anymore. He would be happy to leave especially with Stede being so close by, it's just a stab wound to the heart everytime they're near, which brings me to my next point

-We all know the reunion is gonna be awkward as hell and Stede's heart is gonna fucking shatter, because yeah they love each other and yeah, Stede literally brought Ed back from the purgatory, but as if Ed's gonna just be straight up with him about it. Nah, he's gonna downplay it all and they are gonna pine for each other and it's gonna drive EVERYONE INSANE

-Just imagine it, the pining, Stede and Ed wistfully glancing at one another from across the ship, Ed turns away, Stede looks down all sad, Ed looks back at him, you can hear the swell of their hearts, its gonna be ridiculous, it'll be very akin to the "Ohmygod this is happening"

-Auxiliary Wardrobe reveal!!! Since only Ed and Stede know of it's existence, I am willing to bet that they spend some time talking in there but what is the state of the room? Is it pristine, untouched and unsoiled? Is it Ed's personal crying hole? Has he been sleeping in there, running his fingers across silks and throwing stuff around in fits of anger? I'm not too sure, but it'd be sweet if it's almost as Stede left it. Ed already destroyed so much of Stede's but this was something he also loved.

-Mary and Anne!!! The crew of the revenge decide to port and lo and behold, Ed knows where to go and finds his old friends! I have a feeling that after that whole awkward dinner double date, Ed will finally tell Stede that he isn't coming back aboard the revenge. That he doesn't want them to be like Anne and Mary just doing crazy shit to make their romance interesting. They'll see the red flags in their own relationship and well

-Ed leaves...

Something interesting that I noticed upon my rewatch of the teaser for episodes 4 & 5 is that when Stede is talking to Izzy and is basically asking him to teach him all that he knows, Stede says, "Blackbeard did say you taught him everything you know" Blackbeard??? Why isn't he calling him 'Edward'??? Just an interesting lil detail.

-the curse episode is gonna be goofy as hell and a much needed palate cleanser after all the angsty shit we've witnessed.

-another lil detail from the teaser, Stede has made they captain's cabin his again! He's getting dressed up, he has fixed the furniture or gotten new stuff, and it's very telling to me that Ed is gone . Izzy is even sitting in the cabin, entertaining Stede's antics .

-So, Izzy will become (somewhat) loyal to stede. After all, he saved their lives,didn't take out his anger upon them even after they admitted to killing Ed. No, Stede is flourishing as a captain and Izzy sees the potential to serve under Stede, and now that Ed's gone what else really is he to do?

-Izzy and Stede become (somewhat) besties!!! They train together, probably mourn the love of Ed together too. The crew grows back together and it's fun times again! But Stede still misses Ed deeply..

OMG actually what if they do indeed 'break up' so when we see Stede back at Spanish Jackie's, he's gone full 20-something-year-old, and is all 'Yeah, see this Ed? I'm having a great time without you! I don't feel even a sliver of sadness since we broke up, I'm gonna get absolutely trashed, I don't miss you at all-'

I'm gonna scream into the next year if that happens.

Anywho, these are just my predictions! Literally had to write 'em down because we still have 3 more days until we get our next episodes and I'm losing my mind!

Tell me what you guys think!

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

[ginzburgjake]

something something a snippet from my space robots au…

Izzy leaves Queen Anne after some *stuff* going down with the arrival of Stede.

His model is old, and his processor is basically dying, but Izzy won’t trust anyone who isn’t him to perform repairs because it would require Izzy being turned off without a possibility of observing what is being done to his body. He at last blacks out in a shitty flat and is found by the crew of Revenge (Stede and Ed included), who have been trying to locate him. They stumble onto him when the apartment’s owner is dragging his body into trash.

After Izzy is repaired by Roach and comes to on the ship (very surprised to have woken up at all), he, Stede and Ed have a Talk.

“You knew, didn’t you,” Stede says, startling Izzy out of his thoughts. It becomes clear he intends to provide an explanation for Ed as well. “If there’s a risk of malfunction, a notification will appear days, even weeks in advance,” he points at his own temple. “You expected this to happen and simply didn’t tell us.”

“How’d you know this?” Ed asks, bewildered, then turns to Izzy. “Is that true?”

So we’re doing this, Izzy thinks bitterly.

“It is,” he replies, staring directly at Stede. “Will you tell him how you know this, Bonnet?”

If Stede does not come clean now, Izzy won’t expose him. It will serve no purpose, and will only upset Edward. He’s lost all chances of being with his Captain, so maybe Stede can become a sufficient alternative. But, before Izzy can further entertain this train of thought, Stede speaks up unexpectedly.

“I will,” he says with a determined look in his eye, then turns to Ed. Izzy is too stunned to say anything or warn Stede about the possible consequences. “Ed, darling, you see — there’s something I didn’t tell you. I, myself, am an android.”

Ed stares.

“Dickfuck, no, you’re not,” he blurts out. He looks at Izzy for confirmation, or maybe support, but Izzy’s words fail him. Ed frowns. “Iz is an android, and he’s all rigid, and stubborn, and technical. And you’re — you…” he gestures to all of Stede emphatically.

Stede looks down, smiling self-depricatingly.

“Ah, yes, me and Izzy are very different. But it is not due to one of us being human when the other is not. Rather, it’s an effect of our personalities clashing,” he then raises his head at Edward. “I’m very sorry, dear. I’ve never intended to hide something so big from you, it’s just — where I come from, androids are seen merely as objects, and you’re — the most wonderful human being I’ve ever met. I didn’t want for our connection to be cut short because of what I am.”

There’s a pregnant pause, during which Stede seems to become more distressed, and Izzy is almost ready to interfere on his account (the fuck?) in case Ed is going to reject him.

“Stede…” Ed takes his hands in his own. “Fuck, I — I don’t give a damn, okay? You can be a robot, or — or a walking fridge, for all I care, and I still would be here right now. I’ve seen many fucking fridges, but you — there was only ever one of you.”

“Oh, Ed…” Stede looks like he would’ve cried if he was capable of doing so. “It is so kind of you.”

They lock their gazes and seemingly exchange a lifetime of words in a span of seconds. Izzy coughs, self-aware.

Stede snaps out of the quiet romantic bubble. “Oh, I do apologise. We seem to have gotten a tad distracted.”

Izzy itches to get away. He’s clearly imposing. Just a broken tool that Ed picked back up out of a misplaced obligation — or, perhaps, because Stede convinced him that Izzy’s non-existing feelings were hurt.

“I’m… regretful. About leaving without permission,” Izzy says.

“Why’d you do it?” Ed asks, frowning. He must be feeling betrayed.

“I didn’t think there was any benefit in keeping an old malfunctioning android on board when you have so many newer models around,” Izzy replies truthfully. He doesn’t, however, mention his mixed opinions about and frustration with the crew, or Bonnet, or Edward. It’s not important now.

“The fuck do you mean? You’re my First Mate. We’re friends. Right?” Ed gazes at Izzy, sounding unsure.

“Are we?” Izzy says, starting to get angry despite his better judgment. “I wasn’t fucking aware. You didn’t even think I had an identity until Bonnet of all people spelled it out for you.”

“That’s not true,” Ed argues. “I’ve always considered you a person, Iz. Please, tell me you understand?”

Izzy doesn’t, not really. Hell, he himself isn’t completely certain whether he is a person or not. He just knows that he is fucking tired of being treated akin to a stool, or a writing desk, or a fucking maintenance bot. Ten years of service, forty years of battle missions before that, and all it takes to break him is fucking — seeing other androids, like Spriggs and Bonnet, being treated by humans as equals. With respect. With no prejudice. Like they have the same rights as any other anthropomorphic creature.

It took Izzy fifty years alive to find out he has a sense of self. Shitting fucking fuck.

Stede looks at him with an understanding written across his face. “We’ve made a lot of mistakes and poor calls these past few weeks. How about we try from the beginning?” he clears his throat. “Ahem. Hello, Izzy, I am Stede Bonnet — an android made five years ago that ran away to pursue a life of piracy and freedom. Nice to meet you.”

Izzy sighs, flicking his gaze between Ed and Stede. If starting over means he will get to stay besides Ed, even after everything, he is ready to try. “Israel, battle model IZ-1701. First Mate of Queen Anne.”

“And I’m — Edward Teach, ship’s Captain. And I — want to do better.”

Stede smiles encouragingly at the both of them, and for the first time this month, Izzy thinks that maybe — just maybe — things will turn out alright.

#our flag means death #our flag means fanfic #ofmd au #ofmd #ofmd fic #stede bonnet #edward teach #izzy hands #edward x stede #pre-steddyhands????? #steddyhands #space pirates #most unorthodox space adventures of the biggest morons in the universe #izzy’s grappling with a sense of identity #emotions are hard #stede is trying to be supportive #ed is a dumbass

[queen-anne-music]

ok no. i'm not done.

firstly, from a meta standpoint of izzy's death representing the dying age of piracy, I can kinda get it.

BUT, hear me out

we didn't need that parallel, we got slapped in the face with it in episode 7 when ALMOST ALL OF THE SHIPS BLEW UP, that was representative of the "death of piracy"

additionally, the same meta-commentary could be made by saying that ed's retirement means blackbeard's death and again we get the death of piracy thing from a narrative standpoint

now by this point it is probably VERY obvious that izzy became one of my favorite characters this season, and I have to acknowledge that some of that is definitely clouding my view of this finale

but

i really, really think that this could have been handled better, don't get me wrong Con O'Neill's acting in his final scene was amazing, and I am so, so happy that izzy and ed finally talked about their relationship with each other, but this show has had crazier things happen then a character surviving things that should have killed them, off the top of my head: ed surviving this season, stede surviving being hanged, auntie surviving a whole explosion, buttons TURNING INTO A BIRD, and of course I think there is something to be said for izzy having a leg amputated!! and somehow not getting any kind of infection from that despite the less-than-ideal circumstances

while i don't think that David Jenkins intentions were to say a big fuck you to older disabled members of the lgbtqia community, this still hurts

also seeing time and time again a character go through a redemption arc only to be killed off at the end of it just gets old

but i have to wonder

maybe this isn't meant to be the end of izzy

here's what I think, recall the ending of season 1 where ed throws lucius off the boat and we were all like HE BETTER NOT BE DEAD, I have to wonder if this is meant to parallel that

i'm not trying to pull a tjlc here, but here's a few other things that don't quite add up that support this theory

firstly, the title of the episode. perhaps I'm looking in all the wrong places but I haven't really seen anyone discuss this? the title of each episode usually plays into the events of the episode in some way (sometimes in obvious ways like calypso's birthday and sometimes in less obvious ways like impossible birds) but I can't really see the connection here? its an obvious callback to stede's mermaid scene but it never really came up in the episode which seems a bit odd

next, izzy was buried on land, this feels wrong for so many reasons (yes I know half the time pirates were buried on land shush), there feels like no good reason to bury him on land, something could be said for the fact that he's watching over ed and stede's inn but for someone who represented the pirate ideal I would have thought they would bury him at sea, which leads me to my next point

buttons landed on izzy's grave again i repeat BUTTONS LANDED ON IZZY'S GRAVE the same buttons who turned himself into a BIRD, magic is canonical to the OFMD universe, and it has been established that buttons is an actual sea witch, they didn't do much to establish the limitations of these powers so it would not be out of the question for buttons to potentially bring izzy back, which maybe he can only do if he has access to izzy's body?

i feel the need to also mention that from a narrative standpoint ed and stede's ending feels a little bit rushed (this could be for a lot of other reasons that have nothing to do with this theory I'm not in denial nooooooooo) but it did feel a little bit interesting that we got the whole scene with ed trying (and failing) to be a fisherman contrasted with the ending of him as an innkeeper to say nothing of stede's love of being a pirate captain (and subsequently leaving all of his crew behind) also there was one other scene that make me think that this doesn't feel quite right, the anne and mary dialogue. while I do understand that it was an interesting look into how their relationship turned sour because they both sucked at communication I have to wonder if it is foreshadowing the downfall of ed and stede's relationship now that they've left piracy? again I'm very happy that they seem to be able to communicate a bit better this season, and that they are happy living what ed would call the simple life, but I'm not confident that this ending means smooth sailing for them

(it also seems a bit odd that ed isn't on the ship to take revenge on ricky? but maybe he needed some time to process?)

i think a solid case could be made to bring izzy back in season 3 if we get one (but they also say denial isn't just a river in egypt and I don't wanna give anyone any false hope)

at any rate they certainly have given the fandom quite a bit of stuff to play with for fix-it fics

#ofmd season 2 #ofmd #ofmd meta #izzy hands #i'm gonna be upset about this for days #i saw a post on instagram that made me think the finale wouldn't be that bad #i was lied to ;-;

[magickedpiracy]

Pirates Were Not Nice- OFMD messes with our perception or real life.

DISCLAIMER: I love OFMD, but I also love learning and talking about real-life piracy, so there are a few things within this fandom space that bug me.

Ok so Anne Bonny is definitely going to be a fun, romantic and likeable lesbian in season 2 of OFMD...

BUT she was not irl, so was a pirate, so lets break it down a little bit.

Anne Bonny was a pirate and she killed for fun sometimes and she was not the fun personification of pirates we see in OFMD. Same with Blackbeard, same with irl Stede Bonnet.

It rubs me the wrong way when people start talking about these characters in real like situation, about "Oh, Stede Bonnet and Edward Teach were actually in love in real life!" "Anne Bonny and Mary Read were a lesbian power couple that plundered the seven seas together" [Anne Bonny was never a pirate captain (oddly common misconception), and both of them have lengthy list of male lovers].

We can love the show and also acknowledge that 16th century piracy was brutal and unjust, and OFMD is as far removed from what happened in real life as you can possibly be while still telling a story that vaguely resembles real-life pirates and adapts them to our modern-day world.

Ed and Stede as seen in the show can barely even be attributed to the real life Edward Teach and Stede Bonnet. They are in their entirety characters, who happen to have had some of the same experiences as their real-life counterparts.

Real life Stede Bonnet inherited owned a plantation before he abandoned his wife because he was bored and didn't like being married, and died at 30 years old after spending the majority of his already-short-lived piracy career (roughly two years) as what was effectively Blackbeard's prisoner.

Piracy was not glamorous, or fun, or happy.

Stede Bonnet was named one of the most cruel pirate captains of the Caribbean at times because of the way he treated his crew and treated his prisoners, and he was a bold pirate, yeah...

but he also sucked ass at being a pirate. He had no training as a sailor, and relied on his crew more than deemed acceptable of a real captain.

This doesn't mean he shied away from shameless murder, abandoning his crew members, etc., all things typical of a pirate captain and I see a few too many people acting as though these pirates were fun, cool people. Pirates had slaves, they killed for little reason very often, and the reason we hear about 'acceptance' for queer people, for people of colour, etc. aboard pirate ships is because pirates were desperate and took anyone they could. (Unless of course you were a woman, in which case many crews might have quickly murdered you, which might actually be a small mercy)

Piracy was dangerous; it was vile and it was cruel. The characters in OFMD are dramatized, and have far more humanity than any real pirate ever did.

#This is not hate just education #ofmd #pirates #anne bonny #stede bonnet #edward teach #real pirates #there is so much more to be said about this topic #but if you really want to hear more then find a paper or a good book #its actually really interesting #the revenge #calico jack #blackbeard

[froggydoodles]

Hi, I loved your response about TOH and now I would like to know the same about Amphibia. What are the things you like the most, dislike the most and what would you change?

This is gonna be a long post but i'll keep the thing i dislike most part short cause i already talk about the things i dislike many times before.

Considering it is the main fandom that i draw most about it's a bit ironic that there are a lot of things i dislike about Amphibia but most of them are connected to a single thing so i think i can say that the thing i dislike most about Amphibia is its terrible and unbalanced writing.

Of course the thing i like most about Amphibia is Anne and Sasha's relationship change and development during the show. They showed that both characters have their own flaws and neither of them exactly knows how to be a good friend to the other. Sasha thought being in control would make her friendships stronger but it unintentionally turn her into a bully in her relationships. Anne thought leaving all decisions to others and doing whatever others say would make her friendships stronger but it turned her into a pushover. During the series, Anne started to make her own decisions but she didn't completely stop listening to others and learned to make more balanced and stronger relationships. Sasha saw a lot of bad results because of her ways and they start to make her reconsider her doings but her relationship change with Anne was the final strike for her. Anne literally became the main reason for Sasha to change her ways and see the wrongs in her doings clearly. She even said to herself that she wanted to be better, someone who deserves Anne. She did exactly what she said, she learned to stop pushing people around and start listening to them, instead of forcing to be in control she started acting as a team. In the end, it gave her a chance to rebuild her relationship with Anne better and stronger. I really really wish all that development between them would get a result at the end but it turned out to be another ship bait and the writers completely wasted all the development between Anne and Sasha with a nonsense ending.

I have talked about before that how i would like to change the ending so i'll just copy-paste my old response for it. " After the hardest thing events and Marcy moves away with her family Anne and Sasha starts to spend more time together as their relationship is fixed and becomes healthier after Amphibia. They would get closer and closer in time and eventually confess to each other and start dating. And during Marcy's visit scene after the skip, we should see both Anne and Sasha welcome her together. "

#questions and answers #amphibia

[capricorn-0mnikorn]

📖Persuasion📖 by Jane Austen: Listen- & Read-Along, Chapters Seven and Eight

Discussion of Chapters Five and Six is Here.

Audio of Karen Savage’s LibriVox Reading on YouTube, starting at Chapter Seven (Chapters Seven and Eight, together, ~ 33 minute listen at normal speed)

Moira Fogarty’s reading at LibriVox (Chapters Seven and Eight, together ~ 44 minute listen)

Text of Chapter Seven and Chapter Eight at Project Gutenberg

Synopses:

Chapter Seven: Captain Wenworth arrives at Kellynch Hall, and very quickly charms everyone whom he meets (which is to say, the entire Musgrove clan). However, he insists that he cannot accept an invitation to dine at Uppercross Hall until next week, and Anne gets to postpone her private social anxiety for that long. And then, on the afternoon of, Charles Musgrove Jr. (a boy of about 4 years old, has a bad fall, and dislocates his shoulder, and there is initial fear that he may have injured his spine).* Mary is resentful that’s she’s expected to stay behind, just because she’s the mother, while her husband goes off to have dinner and meet the new neighbors. Anne volunteers to stay behind and look after the boy, and insists it’s no trouble, really. She doesn’t mind at all. The next morning, however, Captain Wentworth makes a brief visit at Uppercross Cottage, unexpectedly, surprising Anne in the middle of breakfast. We, the readers learn, for the first time, what each thinks of the other.

Chapter Eight: Describing Anne’s first time as a dinner party with Captain Wentworth and Admiral and Mrs. Croft as guest, as her elder nephew is now well enough that she can’t use him as an excuse to stay away. She’s stuck there listening in on table conversation, as he talks about his time in the navy, repeatedly mentioning the year in which they were engaged, and he never once makes eye contact. At one point, he sits down to Mrs. Musgrove and talks with her about her son, and even though Anne can tell that he had the same negative opinion of Dick as everyone else, is still gracious and patient. The Admiral and Mrs. Croft try to convince him that once he’s married, Frederick will get over his superstitious ideas about having women on board his ship, and Frederick almost loses his temper. Anne can’t help comparing how close they used to be, and finds his formal politeness toward her now to be worse than anything.

Favorite Quotes (and thoughts):

Chapter Seven

“[...] I knew how it would be.  This is always my luck.  If there is anything disagreeable going on men are always sure to get out of it, and Charles is as bad as any of them.  Very unfeeling!  I must say it is very unfeeling of him to be running away from his poor little boy. Talks of his being going on so well!  How does he know that he is going on well, or that there may not be a sudden change half an hour hence? I did not think Charles would have been so unfeeling.  So here he is to go away and enjoy himself, and because I am the poor mother, I am not to be allowed to stir [...]”

Well, she’s not wrong.

You know, I feel bad for Mary. She’s the youngest, and was only nine (eight?) when her mother died. And the only reason she doesn’t rank at the bottom of the family hierarchy now is because she’s the first to be married. And she knows that she’s her husband’s second choice.

No wonder she’s still so childish. She never had much chance to see what (healthy) “Grown-Up” looks like before she was expected to mother small children herself. As far as Surrogate Mothers go, Anne deserved far less of Lady Russell’s influence, and Mary deserved far more.

Mary, very much gratified by this attention, was delighted to receive him, while a thousand feelings rushed on Anne, of which this was the most consoling, that it would soon be over.  And it was soon over. In two minutes after Charles's preparation, the others appeared; they were in the drawing-room.  Her eye half met Captain Wentworth's, a bow, a curtsey passed; she heard his voice; he talked to Mary, said all that was right, said something to the Miss Musgroves, enough to mark an easy footing; the room seemed full, full of persons and voices, but a few minutes ended it.  Charles shewed himself at the window, all was ready, their visitor had bowed and was gone, the Miss Musgroves were gone too, suddenly resolving to walk to the end of the village with the sportsmen:  the room was cleared, and Anne might finish her breakfast as she could.

"It is over! it is over!" she repeated to herself again and again, in nervous gratitude.  "The worst is over!"

Mary talked, but she could not attend.  She had seen him. They had met.  They had been once more in the same room.

I love the way Austen’s rhythm shifts in this passage: short sentences, or strings of sentence fragments one after the other really gives the sense of thoughts tumbling over one another. It’s like, in that first paragraph, I can hear/feel Anne’s rapid heartbeat pulsing in her ears. And then it starts to slow down with: “Mary talked, but she could not attend.”

This first meeting between the two of them, in both the 1995 adaptation and the 2007 one, is also the first time the audience “meets” the Captain, and so the respective filmmakers had to forgo: “Her eye half met Captain Wentworth's,” and, instead, have full eye-contact and verbal introductions, to fill in the backstory.

In the adaptation in my head, the audience’s “First meeting” of Captain Wentworth would have been in that flashback of the happy part of their romance, so the audience would know his voice and what he looked like. So when he surprises Anne and Mary at breakfast, the camera could stay focused on Anne as she looks down at her hands, and the voices of everyone else could be overlapping and slightly muffled, under the sound of her heartbeat in her ears.

It was now his object to marry.  He was rich, and being turned on shore, fully intended to settle as soon as he could be properly tempted; actually looking round, ready to fall in love with all the speed which a clear head and a quick taste could allow.  He had a heart for either of the Miss Musgroves, if they could catch it; a heart, in short, for any pleasing young woman who came in his way, excepting Anne Elliot.  This was his only secret exception, when he said to his sister, in answer to her suppositions:--

"Yes, here I am, Sophia, quite ready to make a foolish match. Anybody between fifteen and thirty may have me for asking. A little beauty, and a few smiles, and a few compliments to the navy, and I am a lost man.  Should not this be enough for a sailor, who has had no society among women to make him nice?"

And here, Austen’s use of Free Indirect Discourse slips from Anne’s mind to Frederick’s (except for the one sentence: “He said it, she knew to be contradicted,” which is the described thoughts of his sister, Sophie Croft). Back in Chapter Four, we were given hints to how much their two minds were in sync with each other. But this passage shows us: with her first impressions of him mirrored almost immediately by his first impressions of her.

He said it, she knew, to be contradicted.  His bright proud eye spoke the conviction that he was nice; and Anne Elliot was not out of his thoughts, when he more seriously described the woman he should wish to meet with.  "A strong mind, with sweetness of manner," made the first and the last of the description.

Ah, so: in the privacy of his head, he’s telling himself he’ll marry any woman except Anne Elliot. But he can’t help holding her up as the standard that any future woman will measured against.

Also, in each of the adaptations we never see Frederick alone with his sister talking about his plans after the hunting party, and instead, his ambitions to marry any pretty young thing are said aloud (in different permutations) in Anne’s hearing.

Also, when that flashback scene was filmed, do it with two cameras: one over the the shoulder of the Actor playing Anne, and one over the shoulder of the Actor playing Frederick.

So in the next scene, when Frederick is in the drawing room at Kellynch Hall, describing the kind of woman he’s looking to marry to his older sister, we could show the same flashback from his P.O.V. (Besides, the more scenes with Mrs. Croft the better).

Chapter Eight:

They had no conversation together, no intercourse but what the commonest civility required. Once so much to each other! Now nothing! There had been a time, when of all the large party now filling the drawing-room at Uppercross, they would have found it most difficult to cease to speak to one another. With the exception, perhaps, of Admiral and Mrs Croft, who seemed particularly attached and happy, (Anne could allow no other exceptions even among the married couples), there could have been no two hearts so open, no tastes so similar, no feelings so in unison, no countenances so beloved. Now they were as strangers; nay, worse than strangers, for they could never become acquainted. It was a perpetual estrangement.

This passage is rightfully famous. It sums up the emotional dynamic of the opening of the novel in a single paragraph. And it also rings a familiar bell with that old Positivity™ Greeting Card vibe of: “A stranger is just a friend you haven’t met yet.” Well, not this time (From Anne’s P.O.V.) -- there’s no going back. And no going forward.

This is also one of the rewrites in the 2022 Netflix adaptation that’s gotten some of the harshest dunking, because the newest screenwriters changed it to “Now they were worse than strangers, they were exes.” Sorry, no. Those two sentences are not synonymous at all.

The girls were now hunting for the Laconia; and Captain Wentworth could not deny himself the pleasure of taking the precious volume into his own hands to save them the trouble, and once more read aloud the little statement of her name and rate, and present non-commissioned class, observing over it that she too had been one of the best friends man ever had.

A man and his dog. A captain and his ship 😍

There was a momentary expression in Captain Wentworth’s face at this speech, a certain glance of his bright eye, and curl of his handsome mouth, which convinced Anne, that instead of sharing in Mrs Musgrove’s kind wishes, as to her son, he had probably been at some pains to get rid of him; but it was too transient an indulgence of self-amusement to be detected by any who understood him less than herself; in another moment he was perfectly collected and serious, and almost instantly afterwards coming up to the sofa, on which she and Mrs Musgrove were sitting, took a place by the latter, and entered into conversation with her, in a low voice, about her son, doing it with so much sympathy and natural grace, as shewed the kindest consideration for all that was real and unabsurd in the parent’s feelings.

This paragraph impresses me with how Austen shows Captain Wentworth’s inherent kindness -- not just charm (as a foil for other characters yet to appear): for all his personal feelings about the late, not-so-great, Dick Musgrove, he still has the utmost respect for Mrs. Musgrove’s feelings.

“What a great traveller you must have been, ma’am!” said Mrs Musgrove to Mrs Croft.

“Pretty well, ma’am in the fifteen years of my marriage; though many women have done more. I have crossed the Atlantic four times, and have been once to the East Indies, and back again, and only once; besides being in different places about home: Cork, and Lisbon, and Gibraltar. But I never went beyond the Streights, and never was in the West Indies. We do not call Bermuda or Bahama, you know, the West Indies.”

Mrs Musgrove had not a word to say in dissent; she could not accuse herself of having ever called them anything in the whole course of her life.

*Chuckle* (hashtag the ‘I giggle, I reblog’ rule)

Once she felt that he was looking at herself, observing her altered features, perhaps, trying to trace in them the ruins of the face which had once charmed him;

Here, I’m sure she’s under the influence of Mary’s words, reporting what he said when asked what he thought of her (and I can’t help but wonder if Mary was paraphrasing it to be more negative than Capt. Wentworth originally intended). In any case, it’s a strong contrast to earlier in the chapter, when he wouldn’t make eye contact with her, while speaking of the year ‘06 (two minds so alike, it’s almost like they have a similar habit of avoidance when it comes to Awkward™).

and once she knew that he must have spoken of her; she was hardly aware of it, till she heard the answer; but then she was sure of his having asked his partner whether Miss Elliot never danced? The answer was, “Oh, no; never; she has quite given up dancing. She had rather play. She is never tired of playing.”

And despite what he told himself when talking to his sister, in the previous chapter, he can’t help being curious about her.

Once, too, he spoke to her. She had left the instrument on the dancing being over, and he had sat down to try to make out an air which he wished to give the Miss Musgroves an idea of. Unintentionally she returned to that part of the room; he saw her, and, instantly rising, said, with studied politeness—

“I beg your pardon, madam, this is your seat;” and though she immediately drew back with a decided negative, he was not to be induced to sit down again.

Anne reads this as him not wanting to be near her. But I wonder if he doesn’t want to usurp her place of honor.

--- And now, we are one third (by chapter count) through the novel.

*this is where I started keeping tally of Disability Representation™ in this novel, way back when I read it the first time.

#📖Persuasion📖 Read-Along #Chapters Seven and Eight #persuasion (2022)

[maggicktouched]

Diverging from talking about witches for a hot minute I wanna talk about Daniel and my portrayal of him.

It probably doesn't matter, because the fandom is small and largely inactive in writing and I appear to be mostly blacklisted from it, but it matters to me and a character I write and how I'll handle things as the show goes on (hopefully a long time).

I've seen a fan theory gain traction in the last few days that I don't like. It's cool if you like it, I don't like, think it's toxic or a bad thing to like, but it does bug me. The theory is, essentially, that Daniel's faulty memory is entirely constructed by Armand and I just wanna lay out what I dislike about this theory personally and why I won't engage with it.

One: It doesn't really make sense to me. Devil's Minion lasted around ten years in the book (I think), and I've always been a little on the fence about how I feel about that happening in the show canon. Ten years is a massive span of your life to forget. Even if someone plants ten years of memories (which sounds insane) into your head, you're still going to be lacking things like connections to other people, you're gonna say a lot of weird shit to people who know you that won't add up, and before you say "Armand thought of all that." I'm sorry no he didn't. Armand needed Daniel to teach him how to be more human. He cannot realistically fabricate a decade of life, relationships, achievements, etc without it very obviously being wrong in some ways. Idk maybe you believe that, and you're allowed to, but I think it's so out there that it is kinda laughable.

Two: When did we just all hop on board the "Armand has memory manipulation powers" ship? Anne Rice's vampires are extremely powerful and I guess that's fine, even if I do think things like them being able to think people to death or just instinctively know how to use technology for some unspecified reason is pretty stupid. But it's her lore, it's her rules. However I genuinely don't remember the books saying vampires can alter memories. They can read minds and control minds, they appear to be able to distort perception, but I don't recall memory manipulation being a part of it. And I guess it's fine to add that, but it's weird we've all just auto accepted it as a fandom and then to accept it can be used on such a scale. Ten years of your life.

I'm 31 and if you ask me about people I knew at 21 I would be able to give you pretty decent descriptions. I can tell you about conversations we had, things they liked, places we went together. I can do that for multiple people. I can do that with the type of car I drove. I can remember the places I liked to eat and why. I can tell you when I learned new skills. I can tell you the names of every child I worked with and every animal I met (and I lived in farm land---there were a lot of animals). Am I able to recall every moment? No. No one is. But there is so much that goes into a single memory, better yet hundreds from over the course of a decade. I'm down with Armand being powerful... but that feels like too much. I can't buy into it. Sorry.

Three: Most importantly, there is a single reason I think show Dan is better than book Dan and it's basically the only real difference between the core of the characters. And that's that show Daniel is a person whereas book Daniel really isn't.

Daniel in the books is only really ever there to enhance the story of whatever vampire he's with at the time. He's in the first book for the singular purpose of giving Louis someone to tell a story to. He's in QotD to tell us about Armand's character and, in my opinion, make Armand into a true main character in the cast and not just an ex lover for Louis. We don't really hear about Daniel's life before. He has some creepy visions, he does some alcoholism, he talks about what Armand has been up to, and he talks about how Armand makes him feel. Where's his mom? He's not an old guy. What about his dad? What led him to be a journalist? Where was he born? What does he really like? Because for the most part, aside from some bitching at Armand when Armand pushes the envelope, he is just about as fine with sleeping on a park bench as he is a lavish bed. Because only one thing matters to this Daniel: vampires. There is no real Daniel. There is a narrator. There is a normal dude who we can put ourselves into. Now granted I haven't read QotD in its entirety in years so maybe I'm forgetting things... but I doubt it.

Then he's just gone. He just doesn't matter anymore after QotD not until we get to Marius' book. And I honestly think he's only there in that book to show that Marius has someone to fuck.

I haven't read the newer books.

My point in all of this, what is really important to me about this version of Daniel, why I love him so much even though he doesn't look like the Daniel I imagined all those years reading the books, is that he's a person. He's got his own issues, and he's lived his own life. This Daniel is a whole person. And maybe we won't get to see as much of his life as other characters because he'll likely be pushed to the side in the future, but at least it is implied. At least we have some reason behind how he acts, some clue to how his world was shaped and the things he cares about.

To erase all that just to give Armand a power boost/ability he doesn't even have in the canon is a waste to me. I really hope the show doesn't go that way, and I don't plan on writing that way regardless. You're welcome to like the theory. You're welcome to enjoy it or to go "ha ha I knew it" in my face if it happens. I don't really care. But I won't be writing it because Daniel deserves to get to be more than some sad old man that Armand wants to fuck.

#Daniel Molloy;; write that down. WRITE THAT DOWN! #i'm also not putting this in the tags #because i do not want this to become “beef” #and I'm not gonna argue about something that is whole heartedly my preference #if people like the theory it's genuinely fine #i want zero drama to evolve from this

[c-is-for-circinate]

For a long, large part of my life, being queer in a media landscape--finding queerness in a media landscape--has meant theft.

I'm a Fandom Old, somehow, these days, older than most and younger than some, in that way that's grown associated with grumpy crotchetyness and shotguns on porches and back in my day, we had to wade through our Yahoo Groups mailing lists uphill both ways, boring and irrelevant anecdotes from Back In Those Days when homophobia clearly worked differently than it does now, probably because we weren't trying hard enough. I've seen a lot of stories through the years. I've read a lot of fanfic. (More days than not, for the past twenty years. I've read a lot of fanfic.)

When people my age start groaning and sighing at conversations about representation and queerbaiting, when we roll our eyes and drag all the old war stories out again in the face of AO3 is terrible and Not Good Enough, so often what we say is: you Young Folks Today have no idea how hard, how scary, how limiting it was to be queer anywhere Back In Those Days. Including online, maybe especially online, including in a media landscape that hated us so much more than any one you've ever known. And that is true. Always and everywhere, again and again, it's true, we remember, it's true.

We don't talk so much about the joy of it.

Online fan spaces were my very first queer communities, ever. I was thirteen, I was fourteen, I was fifteen--I was a lonely, over-precocious "gifted kid" two years too young for my grade level in an all-girls' Catholic school in the suburbs--I lived in a world where gay people were a rumor and an insult and a news story about murder. I was straight, of course, obviously, because real people were straight and anyway I was weird enough already--I couldn't be two things strange, couldn't be gay too, but--well, I could read the stories. I could feel things about that. I would have those stories to help me, a few years later, when I knew I couldn't call myself straight any more.

And those stories were theft. There was never any doubt about that. We wrote disclaimers at the top of every fic, with the specter of Anne Rice's lawyers around every corner. We hid in back-corners of the internet, places you could only find through a link from a link from a link on somebody else's recs page, being grateful for the tiny single-fandom archives when you found them, grateful for the webrings where they existed. It was theft, all of it, the stories about characters we did not own, the videotaped episodes on your best friend's VHS player, one single episode pulled off of Limewire over the course of three days.

It was theft, we knew, to even try and find ourselves in these stories to begin with. How many fics did I read in those days about two men who'd always been straight, except for each other, in this one case, when love was stronger than sexual orientation? We stole our characters away from the heterosexual lives they were destined to have. We stole them away from writers and producers and TV networks who work overtime to shower them in Babes of the Week, to pretend that queerness was never even an option. This wasn't given to us. This wasn't meant for us. This wasn't ours to have, ever, ever in the first place. But we took it anyway.

And oh, my friends, it was glorious.

We took it. We stole. And again and again, for years and years and years, we turned that theft into an art. We looked for every opening, every crack in every sidewalk where a little sprout of queerness might grow, and we claimed it for our own and we grew whole gardens. We grew so sly and so skilled with it, learning to spot the hints of oh, this could be slashy in every new show and movie to come our way. Do you see how they left these character dynamics here, unattended on the table? How ripe they are for the pocketing. Here, I'll help you carry them. We'll make off with these so-called straight boys, and we only have to look back if somebody sets out another scene we want for our own.

We were thieves, all of us, and that was fine and that was fair, because to exist as queer in the world was theft to begin with. Stolen time, stolen moments--grand larceny of the institution of marriage, breaking and entering to rob my mother's hopes for grandchildren. Every shoplifted glance at the wrong person in the locker room (and it didn't matter if we never peeked, never dared, they called us out on it anyway). Every character in every fic whose queerness became a crime against this ex-wife, that new love interest. Every time we dared steal ourselves away from the good straight partners we didn't want to date.

And: we built ourselves a den, we thieves, wallpapered in stolen images and filled to the brim with all the words we'd written ourselves. We built ourselves a home, and we filled it with joy. Every vid and art and fic, every ship, every squee. Over and over, every straight boy protagonist who abandoned all womankind for just this one exception with his straight boy protagonist partner found gay orgasms and true love at the end.

Over and over, we said: this isn't ours, this isn't meant to be ours, you did not give this to us--but we are taking it anyway. We will burglarize you for building blocks and build ourselves a palace. These stories and this place in the world is not for us, but we exist, and you can't stop us. It's ours now, full of color and noise, a thousand peoples' ideas mosaic'ed together in celebration. We made this, and it will never be just yours again. You won't ever truly get it back, no matter how many lawyers you send, not completely. We keep what we steal.

.

Things shifted over time, of course. That's good. That's to be celebrated. Nobody should have to steal to survive. It should not be a crime, should not feel like a crime, to find yourself and your space in the world.

There were always content creators who could slip a little wink in when they laid out their wares, oh what's this over here, silly me leaving this unattended where anybody could grab it, of course there might be more over by the side door if you come around the alleyway (but if anybody asks, you didn't get this from ME). We all watched Xena marry Gabrielle, in body language and between the lines. We sat around and traded theories and rumors about whether the people writing Due South knew what they were doing when they sent their buddy cops off into the frozen north alone together at the end of the show, if they'd done it on purpose, if they knew. But over the years, slowly, thankfully, the winks became less sly.

A teenage boy put his hand on another teenage boy's hand and said, you move me, and they kissed on network TV, in a prime-time show, on FOX, and the world didn't burn down. Here and there, where they wanted to, where they could without getting caught by their bosses and managers, content creators stopped subtly nudging people around the back door and started saying, "Here. This is on offer here too, on purpose. You get to have this, too."

And of course, of course that came with a whole host of problems too. Slide around to the back door but you didn't get this from me turned into it's an item on our special menu, totally legit, you've just got to ask because the boss throws a fit if we put it out front. Shopkeepers and content creators started advertising on the sly, come buy your fix here!, hiding the fine print that says you still have to take what you've purchased home and rebuild it with your semi-legal IKEA hacks. Maybe they'll consider listing that Destiel or Sterek as a full-service menu item next year. Is that Crowley/Aziraphale the real thing or is it lite?

And those problems are real and the conversations are worth having, and it's absolutely fair to be frustrated that you can't find the ship you want on sale in anything like your color and size in a vast media landscape packed full of discount hetships and fast-fashion m/f. It's fair to be angry. It's fair to be frustrated. Queerbait is a word that exists for a reason.

There's a part of me that hurts, though, every time the topic comes up. It's a confusing, bad-mannered part of me, but it's still very real. And it's not because I'm fawning for crumbs, trying to be the Good, Non-Threatening Gay. It's not that I'm scared and traumatized by the thought of what might happen if we dare raise our voices and ask for attention. (Well. Not mostly. I'll always remember being quiet and scared and fifteen, but it's been a long two decades since then. I know how to ask for a hell of a lot more now.)

It's because I remember that cozy, plush-wallpapered den of joyful thieves. I remember you keep what you steal.

Every single time--every time--when a story I love sets a couple of characters out on a low, unguarded table, perfectly placed to be pilfered on the sly and taken home and smushed together like a couple of dolls, my very first thought is always, always joy. Always, that instinct says, yay! Says, this is ours now. As soon as I go home and crawl into that pillow-fort den, my instincts say, I will surely find people already at work combing through spoils and finding new ways to combine them, new ways to make them our own. I know there's fic for that. I've already seen fic for that, and I wasn't really interested last time, but the new store display's got my brain churning, and I can't wait to see what the crew back at the hideout does with this.

Every time, that's where my brain goes. And oh, when I realize the display's put out on purpose, that somebody snuck in a legitimate special menu item, when the proprietor gives me the nod and wink and says, you don't have to come around the side, I know it's not much but here--there is so much joy and relief and hope in me from that! Oh, what we can make with these beautiful building blocks. Oh what a story we can craft from the pieces. Oh, the things we can cobble together. Look at that, this one's a little skimpy on parts but we can supplement it, this one's got a whole outline we can fill in however we want. This one technically comes semi-preassembled, and that's boring as shit and a pain to take back apart, but that's fine, we'll manage. We're artists and thieves. I bet someone's pulling out the AU saw to cut it to pieces already.

And then I get back to our den, which has moved addresses a dozen times over the years and mostly hangs out on Tumblr now (and the roof leaks and the landlord's sketchy as fuck but at least they don't charge rent, and we've made worse places our own). And I show up, ready for joy--ready for a dozen other people who saw that low-hanging fruit on that unguarded table, who got the nod and wink about the special menu item, who're ready to get so excited about this newest haul. Did you see what we picked up? The theft was so easy, practically begging to be stolen. The last owner was an idiot with no idea what to do with it. The last owner knew exactly what it could become, bless their heart, under a craftsman with more time on their hands, so they looked away on purpose at just the right time to let me take it home. I show up every time ready for our space, the place that fed me on joy and self-confidence when I was fifteen and starving. The place that taught me, yes, we are thieves, because it is RIGHT to take what we need, and the beautiful things we create are their own justification. We are thieves, and that's wonderful, because nothing is handed to us and that means we get to build our own palaces. We get to keep everything we steal.

I go home, and even knowing the world is different, my instincts and heart are waiting for that. And I walk in the door, and I look at my dash, and I glance over at twitter, and--

And people are angry, again. Angry at the slim pickings from the hidden special menu. So, so tired and angry, at once again having to steal.

And they're right to be! Sometimes (often, maybe) I think they're angry at the wrong people--more angry with the shopkeeper who offers the bite-sized sampler platter of side characters or sneaks their queer content in on the special menu than the ones who don't include it at all. But it's not wrong to be mad that Disney's once again advertising their First Gay Character only to find out it's a tiny sprinkle of a one-line extra on an otherwise straight sundae. It's not wrong to be furious at the world because you've spent your whole life needing to be a thief to survive. It's far from wrong. I'm angry about it too.

But this was my den of thieves, my chop shop, my makerspace. Growing up in fandom, I learned to pick the locks on stories and crack the safes of subtext at the very same time I learned to create. They were the same thing, the same art. We are thieves, my heart says, we are thieves, and that's what makes us better than the people we steal from. We deconstruct every time we create. We build better things out of the pieces.

And people are angry that the pre-fab materials are too hard to find, the pickings too slim, the items on sale too limited? Yes, of course they are, of course they should be--but my heart. Oh, my heart. Every single time, just a little bit, it breaks.

Of course the stories are terrible (they have always been terrible). Of course they are, but we are thieves. We steal the best parts and cobble them back together and what we make is better than it was before. The craftsman's eye that cases a story for weak points, for blank spaces, for anywhere we can fit a crowbar and pry apart this casing--that's skill and art and joy. Of course we shouldn't have to, of course we shouldn't have to, but I still love it. I still want it, crave it. I still thrill every time I see it, a story with hairline cracks that we can work open with clever hands to let the queer in.

That used to be cause for celebration, around here. I ask him to go back to the ruins of Aeor with me, two men together alone on an expedition in the frozen north, it feels like a gift. And I understand why some people take it as an insult. I understand not good enough. I understand how something can feel like a few drops of water to someone dying of thirst, like a slap in the face. If it was so easy to sneak it hidden onto the special menu, to place it on the unguarded side table for someone else to run off to, why not let it sit out front and center in the first place? I know it's frustrating. It should be. We should fight. We should always fight. I know why.

But my heart, oh, my heart. My heart only knows what it's been taught. My heart sees, this thing right here, the proprietor left it there for you with a nod and a wink because they Get It. It's not put together yet, but it's better that way anyway. It's so full of pieces to pull apart and reassemble. I bet they've got a whole mosaic wall going up at home already. We can bring it home and make it OURS, more than it was ever theirs, forget half of what it came from and grow a new garden in what remains.

And I go home to find anger, and my heart breaks instead.

#I don't actually know how to tag this #representation #maybe? #C needs help feeding the dinosaurs #because this is very much about being a fandom old #probably also #driveby meta attack #because that's where I keep my impromptu rambles #CR spoilers #technically I guess? #there's one line that references the finale #fandom history

[cyndavilachase]

Marcanne happening in season 3 could be a good thing for the characters and the shows’ themes as a whole

I don’t usually post my theories here on tumblr these days as traction has died a lot, so they all end up on twitter. But since tumblr is essentially just my art archive I thought I’d give a recent one of mine a go from a couple days ago, regarding marcanne:

The entire time that I've watched Amphibia and shipped marcanne it was mostly for fun- not that I thought it impossible, but I never expected it to happen. However, with recent trailers, promos, and interviews released, I really do think marcanne is now a high possibility.

I will be using Shera as reference-- particularly Save the Cat, and Glimmer & Bows relationship development, but you don’t need to have watched Shera.

We still don't know for sure at this point if Anne and/or Sasha is going to rescue Marcy, or if Olivia & Yunan will, but either way, it’s highly likely it'll happen by or on the mid season finale- in order to give enough time for the characters to make amends and heal in season 3b.

In order to give the audience a satisfactory conclusion to the characters’ developments, Anne and Marcy need a lot of time to talk, for Anne to forgive her, and for them to go through the healing process for the rest of season 3b. When we compare Anne & Marcy to Glimmer & Bow, as well as remember the pace of Anne forgiving Hop Pop, this will take a number of episodes. We can get a glimpse of how this will play out.

Marcy fucked up. Anne is and will continue to be hurt, and it'll take a lot of time (way more time than with Hop Pop) for them to make proper repairs even if Marcy says sorry again and explains her reasoning. Things will be awkward and their dynamic will have changed entirely.

However, there is this added layer of childhood best friends, Anne being protective of Marcy, as well as Marcy being stabbed and now, possessed, like Catra was. They're gonna want to go back to the way things were, but things have changed.

At this point in Shera, even after Bow and Glimmer reconciled, things were different and despite them healing and going back to being close and touchy-feely, they obviously had to overcome this huge hurdle. They managed to do that which strengthened their relationship and made them closer than ever. After that, it became evident that they were in love with each other since they were both willing to put the work into getting through a really rough spot. 

With that in mind, it wouldn’t feel unnatural for Anne & Marcy to go through the same thing, as there has been a lot of romantic subtext a la Anne blushing at Marcy in New Wartwood, and the fact that they are the most physically affectionate out of everyone in the show. It can be read platonic, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t romantic. We don’t know that yet.

Some extra treats for y’all shippers out there:

-Some of the crew has liked a pretty decent amount of lowkey marcanne and sashanne fanart, but mostly leaning into marcanne.

-Matt and crew have explicitly avoided answering any questions about the girls’ sexualities or if their feelings will ever be romantic. When you think about it, not confirming this is odd since Matt and crew are incredibly active in fandom, taking feedback and applying that to the show. Many members of the team are also queer so it would be odd to continue letting fans feel as though they're being queerbaited (not saying Marcy and Anne are queerbait, just that it would make sense to say whether or not they are early on since it's so popular).

-Back in last year's Reddit AMA Matt stated that the show is "an ode to old friendships." Old friendships can in fact turn into something else!

-It recently came out in an interview that Disney aged the girls down to 13 years old; they were originally going to be 15. While they were “aged down” absolutely nothing about their characters, interests, and personalities have been changed from the original writing. So despite the studio saying they’re 13, they’re basically high schoolers. This means dating isn’t partially out of the question, since tween dating can be a weird topic.

-The best one: Matt said in another interview that he knows that fans are hoping for certain things to happen, and without stating what will happen, he did say “it do happen."

As for why this development would be good for the characters and the show as whole- I know a lot of people don't like the idea of romance being thrown into the show, but Amphibia is about the girls’ growth & dealing with change.

Sasha in particular has issues with feeling left out & being in control, and Marcy and Anne getting together could only boost that insecurity as now they would have a new, personal dynamic without her involved. We know she’s going to be hanging out in Wartwood for a while. She will likely be redeemed a la interactions with the Wartwoodians. If Marcy and Anne get together and she’s actually totally cool with a dramatic change like this, it would be a fantastic development for her and a great representation of that idea.

Now, I always leaned into Marcy moving away to show that she has accepted change and getting over her fear of abandonment. However, with Marcy being stabbed and now possessed, it seems rather cruel to take her away from her friends. From her personality alone, we can assume that Anne and Sasha are her only friends and she may struggle a lot with making true friends at school because she’s so high energy. By the end of the show, the three of them will have gone through way too much to be separated in my opinion. 

I really think Marcy going through her dynamic with her friends changing because of her mistake will be enough of a lesson for her. 

If she does move, her and Anne could still do long distance.

Even BETTER is the fact that the show can totally show that romantic relationships and platonic relationships are equal. Third wheels are common but they're also garbage. I couldn’t ever see Anne and Marcy prioritizing themselves over Sasha if they decide to stay friends with her. Sasha is likely going to still be important to the both of them if they decide to stay friends after her redemption. This would be really different from the usual trio of a cartoon having the main character and his girl best friend slammed together at the very end, and entirely positive. It isn’t uncommon for two in a trio of friends to start dating in real life and remain stable as long as the work is put in! I know from personal experience.

Overall, there’s many possibilities for where the writers are headed with these characters. Romance or not, I’m really excited to see what they do.

#marcanne #amphibia #the dork speaks #theory #meta #amphibia theory