So I may have been browsing through your AEIWAM tag and came across your writing of Komamura saying it's too hot in summer when you have a fur coat you can't take off. By that logic he's gonna always be sitting beside Hitsugaya in Captain meetings if he can swing it, especially in the early days, cause that boy is like a mini air conditioner next to him. XD
Wolves are winter creatures. The double coat, the snowshoe paws, the proclivity for cuddlepiles- if Sajin could move somewhere that never got above 40F he'd be in heaven. Alas, he lives in a major city that hits triple digits in the summer, so he keeps close track of the little pieces of winter he can find.
The first person to realize his little game was Unohana. She knew about the wolfman thing- Yamamoto trusts her as much as Sasakibe, and persuaded Sajin that, should a medical emergency arise, it should not also be a medical surprise.
She is of course, the pinnacle of Medical Confidentiality.
...but his name came up during one of the Shinigami Women's Association meetings/boozing sessions, and a distinct schism appeared.
On one side was Soi Fon, Nanao, and Herself, who all found Komamura to be very polite, professional and reliable if somewhat reticent and at times, aloof.
"I swear I can't get more than three words out of him!" Nanao despairs.
"I like him. He knows how to Shut Up." Soi Fon agrees.
"He's a very private man." Unohana nods.
Across the table, Isane and Rukia are baffled.
"Captain Komamura? Ten feet tall, bucket head? That Komamura?" Rukia the so-called Ice Princess asks, gesturing to indicate their height disparity. "What the fuck are you talking about? He's SUPER friendly and will hang around to talk FOREVER."
"Yeah, every time I go to the 7th he always asks me to stay for lunch and wants to know how everyone in my family is doing and swap horror stories from the ER for tales of crazy people in the intake queue." Agrees Isane, wielder of the ice cloud Itegumo. "It's embarrassing, but one time I was more than two hours late getting back because we get to talking!"
Everyone stares at everyone else, baffled.
"Did- did I do something to piss him off?" Wonders Nanao.
"Huh. Maybe he just picked up on how much I hate small talk on the job?" Soi Fon shrugs.
Unohana is silent, thinking.
"GUESS WHO BROUGHT TEQUILA!!" Matsumoto Rangiku announces as she kicks in the door, holding four bottles of liquor, only three of which were still full.
"We need you to settle a debate!" Rukia demands at once.
"Ooh! I love passing judgement on things that don't effect me!" Rangiku coos, sitting down, her chest making an odd 'clunk' sound on the table "- there's also salt and limes!"
"It kinda effects you." Soi Fon waved her hand noncommittally. "How would you describe Captain Komamura?"
"Tall, Heavily Armored and Mysterious?" Rangiku shrugs, pulling the box of kosher salt out of her cleavage.
"...more like his personality." Isane clarified.
"Oh! Uhh... You know what? He's one of the few people that's ever complimented me on streamlining like 80% of the paperwork we have to do." Rangiku nodded, fishing the limes out as well. "Always has stuff done waaaay before I expected and I feel like a bit of a jerk for not replying immediately, but never complains if my stuff comes in late."
"Does he hang around and talk, or is he just really businesslike?" Nanao asks, eyes narrowed behind her glasses.
"Hmm..." Fowns Rangiku. "Kinda varies by the day- Sometimes he's all business, other times he'll stay and chat. I always assumed he wants to talk but sometimes he's got work, you know?"
There is much confused muttering as the limes are cut, when Unohana raises a finger.
"...How is he with Lieutenant Hitsugaya?" She asks.
"Oh, he ADORES Toshiro!" Rangiku nods enthusiastically, salting her shot glass. "He actually does the majority of Toshiro's Bankai training now because The Old Man handed it off to him so he could focus on teaching Zaraki Everything But Kendo- which, bless him for doing that, Shiro-kin could literally freeze my tits off!- and he really does a good job listening to Toshiro's concerns and confusions- he's a sensitive boy, you know? And Koma-kun is so gentle with him and to be honest I always eavesdrop on his advice because I could use it too. Delightful man all around." She nodded, and moved to down her drink.
"...Why?" She asked, pausing her drink and glaring suspiciously at Unohana.
Unohana nods with the clarity of enlightenment. "Nothing serious, but everything makes sense now." She smiles, then cracks into a small giggle. "It's rather charming, actually."
"Care to elaborate?" Soi Fon grumbles.
"Yeah that answered NOTHING." Rangiku glares.
"We noticed an interesting disparity in his behavior." Unohana explains, pushing her own glass towards Rangiku to fill. "For me, Captain Fon, and Lieutenant Ise, Komamura-Taicho is very polite, but sticks to the matter at hand and will not volunteer any further conversation. For Lieutenant Koetetsu, Miss Kuchiki and apparently Lieutenant Hitsugaya, he has all the time in the world and is quite the chatterbox."
"...Weird." Rangiku frowns, intrigued by the puzzle. "For me it's like, half and half?"
"Not quite, I think." Unohana smirks. "What do Isane, Rukia and young Toshiro all have in common?"
The Resounding Silence of Thinking Very Hard around the table was a bit of a disappointment, but they were about three bottles into the evening already.
"Can't be Height." Nanao hummed. "Rukia and Shiro-Kun are shorter than a stack of pancakes but Isane's got legs that are too long for the cover of Vouge."
"Isane and Toshiro are both silver-haired, but not me, and he doesn't seem to be particularly close to Ukitake-Taicho and I think I've actually seen him run out of a room to avoid Gin." Rukia puzzled.
"What? RUDE." Rangiku protested.
"They're all under a century old, right?" Rangiku pondered.
"No, I'm almost two hundred!" Isane sighed. "Oh wait- we all graduated early from the Academy!"
"Ehhhh, I graduated because I got adopted, I'm not a genius like you and Shiro-kun." Rukia waved. "Also, how would HE know that?"
"You're all Lieutenants!" Rangiku perked up.
"Not yet I'm not!" Rukia protested.
"Pfsh- you run half the division anyway. Jushiro should promote you to Co-lieutenant with Kaien already!" Rangiku waved.
"Its- it's complicated." Rukia mumbled. "Also, Nanao-chan is a Lieutenant and he doesn't like her!"
"Does it have to do with how freakishly huge he is?" Soi Fon asked.
"...Yes, actually." Unohana decided. Sajin might not have so much trouble thermoregulating if he was the size of a regular wolf. She reasoned privately.
"Also, He likes Nanao-chan just fine as far as I know. I think it's less about how much he enjoys your company- which I think he does, he's not one for putting on facades- and more about how much he enjoys your Proximity." She clarified, taking her shot. "Oh, this is good, what is it?"
"Cabrito Blanco." Rangiku read off. "Huh. The Cabrito on the label sure ain't Blanco." She frowned at the brown goat.
"None of us have transferred out of the Division we started in, but again, how would he know? and that hasn't got anything to do with Proximity..." Isane frowned.
Rukia slammed her glass down. "WOW that's got a kick. Maybe uhhhh... None of us wear perfume, but Gin doesn't either. I hope. I don't want to get close enough to find out."
"He's really not that bad-" Rangiku sulked. "OH, 'Blanco' refers to the tequila and this is that goat's white tequila!" She realized.
"Sometimes I wish I could take a weekend vacation in your brain. Its machinations fascinate me." Soi Fon teased. "Hmmm... Lotta close but no Cigar, you're all young-ish, Isane and Toshiro have living relatives and Rukia has a large adopted family, but again, not exclusive or Proximal. You're also all S-rank duelists with- OH!"
"Shh, I'm enjoying the flailing." Retsu grinned.
"Pfff- okay, that is kinda cute and I don't blame him." Soi Fon giggled. "Sometimes I'm real glad my seat is right next to The Old Man for the same reason. Or opposite reason, I guess."
"Bwah?" Rangiku frowned.
"I do the same thing with You, Momo and The Old Man that He's doing with them." Soi Fon grinned.
Rangiku frowned, peculiar machinations grinding slowly through the tequila, before she suddenly cackled, head thrown back so hard Unohana had to reach out and grab her by the scarf to keep her from tipping her chair over.
"OH NOOOOOOOO!!" She wailed, shoulders shaking. "Oh- that's cute but Toshiro can NEVER find out he'll be such a brat about it!"
"Sorry I'm late, I had to finish the latest report on the Rice Farm Subsidy Fraud Investigation!" Momo panted, jogging in late. "-What can't Toshiro find out about?"
"There is SOMETHING that You, ran-chan and Yamamoto-sama share, and it's the same thing but backwards as what Me, Hitsugaya, and Isane have in common that Komamura-taicho really likes it or something, and THEY know but won't TELL US and its MAKING ME CRAZY!" Rukia wailed.
Momo stood, expression blank for a few moments. "Wait. You didn't know?"
"KNOW WHAT?" Rukia wailed.
"That Komamura hangs around with people with Ic-Mmpf!" Momo started to reveal but was abruptly tackled and the rest of the sentence smothered in Rangiku's Cleavage.
"With WHAT?" Nanao demanded. "What do they have that I don't?"
"-Hang on." Isane frowned, the slowly turned to her captain, squinting. "Is. Is this a... Physics Issue?"
"That's one way to phrase it." Unohana smiled as Momo flailed for air.
"Oh my Gooooood..." Isane groaned. "Why doesn't he just ASK? I'd happily go over and give Itegumo some practice, I hate summertime too!"
"Huh?" Rukia glared, as Momo finally fought her way free and gasped for air.
"Itegumo? That's your- ohhhhhhh." Nanao realized. "That's. Okay yeah that's actually really cute." She giggled. "Poor guy. The armor can't help with that, can it?"
"That's what I keep telling him but it's-" Unohana waved her hands and grimaced with frustration. "-He wears the armor because he's facing the *stupidest* form of Political Persecution I've ever heard of." she sighed.
"Really?" Asked Momo. "Captain Tousen said Komamura told him it's because he's got a major disfigurement or something?"
Unohana sighed and rolled her eyes. "Komamura is FINE, he's just- It's complicated and medically private but trust me, the helmet is a reasonable precaution against an absurd problem."
"Oh." Momo winced. "Well, I'm glad he's medically alright at least!"
"I'm so fucking confused." Rukia whimpered, deflating over the table in despair. "Is. Is hanging out with me making him less sick or something??"
"...Yes!" Unohana smiled. "Or at least, makes his condition more physically comfortable."
Rukia turned that over a few times. "...Talking with him is helping?"
"Yes, but only if you're in the same room with him. Doesn't work over the phone." Unohana nodded.
"Okay." Rukia said, reaching for the nearest bottle. "Lets talk about something else."
---
Years Later, after the Bedlam of her attempted execution and Subsequent Rescue, Rukia finally saw Komamura's face.
It was a bit awkward, walking into the hospital room in search of her brother to find a nine-and-a-half foot tall wolfman wearing the Seventh Division Captain's Haori visiting Momo. It took her a moment to realize who he was, and another as some neurons connected and she squawked indignantly, pointing at him.
"My apologies, Lieutenant Kuchiki, but-" He sighed, ears flattening back against his head with Chargin.
"AIR CONDITIONING?!?!" She bellowed.
Komamura scrunched back, chagrined. For a massive apex predator, he did an excellent Kicked Puppy face.
"Rukia!" Momo protested faintly from her hospital bed. "Keep your voice down, I don't want Toshiro to find out!"
"Find out what?" Hitsugaya grunted, stepping out from behind Rukia.
"Ah, Well-" Komamura started to explain.
Rukia rounded on Hitsugaya, pointing behind her at the captain. "THIS JACKASS HAS BEEN EXTRA NICE TO YOU, ME AND ISANE BECAUSE WE ALL HAVE ICE-TYPE ZANPAKUTO AND CHILL THE AIR AROUND US!"
"...Summer is very uncomfortable when you have a fur coat you can't take off." Komamura winced.
"Uh, duh?" Hitsugaya rolled his eyes, strolling into the room. "I didn't know you were chilling Koetetsu and Kuchiki here as well, but I kinda figured you enjoyed the cold when you stayed at my Bankai training like, five times longer than Gramps ever did."
"My apologies for the deception." Komamura bowed his head.
"It's no big deal." Hitsugaya shrugged, putting a hand up to indicate he wanted help up onto the hospital bed, and Komamura obliged.
"See? I use you being tall too." he smirked.
Komamura sighed fondly as the boy sat down between him and Momo.
"Momo makes me chill all her juice too, but she never seems to warm up my tea." he handed her a juice box from the vending machine down the hall, covered in condensation.
"It would explode." Momo grumbled.
"Skill Issue." He shrugged and she affectionately swatted him on the leg. "Anyway, don't dogs cool off through their paws?"
"I'm from a wolf clan, but yes." Komamura cocked his head with curiosity, then alarm when Toshiro casually grabbed his forearm and started tugging his Gauntlets off.
"I don't mind being a human ice pack, especially not when it's nintey-eight freakin' degrees out, but be efficient about it, yeah?" Toshiro grumbled, tossing the gauntlet aside and plopping Komamura's pawlike hand on top of his head.
"...Thank you." Komamura smiled gently, and ruffled his hair a bit.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Hitsugaya shrugged, playing the tough guy even as his ears turned red. "At least you're polite about it! Freakin' Zaraki literally just grabbed me- like, put his whole arm through the office window! and threw me over his shoulders once. Jerk."
"TOSHIRO!" Momo yelped, hand on her face. "You almost made juice come out of my nose!" She half-giggled while Rukia snort-laughed at the mental image.
"Hey Kuchiki!" Hitsugaya growled. "He's got two paws!"
"You can't boss me around! You don't outrank me anymore!" She grinned.
"I have seniority." he teased, and the bed started to shake as Komamura tried not to laugh.
"You really don't need to-" Komamura tried to diffuse the argument. His voice was rock-steady but the wide grin betrayed him.
"You gotta follow my orders though!" Ukitake said cheerfully, appearing in the door. "Hi Lieutenant Hinamori!"
"C-captain!" Rukia yelped, spinning around to Salute. "What are your orders, Sir?
"Shh, nothing's happening. But I did hear you squawking from two floors down, so what's happening?" Ukitake smiled down at her.
"Captain Komamura has APPARENTLY been hanging around me and the other Shinigami with Ice Zanpakuto and using us as Air Conditioners!" Rukia glared up at her commanding officer.
"...Rukia," Ukitake patted her head and smiled gently. "Do you remember where Lieutenant Kaien's desk was?"
"Second door on the left, right next to your office, Sir!" She nodded.
"Right! And where's your desk?" Ukitake asked, leaning in closer to her.
Rukia blinked, confused. "...It's immediately adjacent to your desk in your offi- GOD DAMMIT! NOT YOU TOO?"
"Yep!" Ukitake cheerfully patted her head and then palmed it to turn her around to face Komamura. "Hop to it!"
"Technically, I got the Idea from him, when I saw how he'd rearranged the furniture..." Komamura whispered as he helped her up onto the bed as well and Rukia groaned in defeat, settling next to Komamura where she could sulk at her captain from over the wolfman's broad shoulders.
"Oh, stop pouting!" Ukitake teased, sitting down on the chair beside Momo's bed and leaning back. "It'll be winter soon enough. Actually, Your friend Mr. Yasutora told me about a fascinating wintertime holiday in the Living World-"
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(spellchecking this was a nightmare; I got sent this a while back as a response to a topic I commented on, where I basically agreed there is an oversaturation issue of a specific nature form not friendly people making the community they clam to be supporting look bad in the process. I agree with them but what is your take?)
First off no hate intended but I sometimes forget form past experiences that Mod (s) form a specific blog get bit heated around the shipper issue. (Fujoshi is the proper term for this specific shipper type; but tumblr has issues with that term being used in its proper context. there is actually a darker reason why this became a term its a Idol culture rabbit hole to be saved for later.) As for the topic I genuinely believe that they can't really relate to this topic without proper context. A great deal of this is probably because they defend who they should not and I will do my best to explain this issue without calling anyone out. No hate intended, I like to see the best in people and encourage that to grow more as individuals. The fandom in question is pretty small but the issue is not. There are other fandoms that can relate thou this one is for a game genre. I can't fathom why people defend other users for this horrible behavior towards others just because they ship the only popular guy on guy ship in the fandom.
Lets start by providing context, there are two different types of user here the kind that just mind their business and enjoy their ship, these ones are not the issue, and (lets call them Troublemakers since tumblr hates the term. The term literally means "Filthy Girl" and more importantly I know why it means this but that is somewhat irrelevant here and not the topic.) Basically I really want to understand why no one is calling out their vile behavior because to me its just as bad to not hold them accountable for the bad things they do just because they throw around a trigger or two. I am not saying they can not better themselves, just that not frowning upon their actions does not help them.
Sorry for the long clarification I just wanted to make this clear before getting to the topic because this is about a specific set of individuals, not he group as a whole and I think some people forget that this is a thing with said group. The inconvenient truth is there is a good and bad way to handle it, ignoring the issue and praying it goes away is not a way to handle it.
NOW FOR THE STORY: Because it is a general issue we shall improvise with names, it also makes cleanup easer). In this Game story the ML (Author) and the FL (Gwen) are portrayed as having a deeper bond, the only other character (Lance) also has a deep bond but is a different relationship entirely and you can tell form the interactions hinted at the the deep lore.
During the course of the story Lance becomes cannon fodder for Author's development after he makes a bad deal; yet his tragedy is not a total loss for Lance as lore in this story says Lance IS able to warn Author of a plot form his father that would lead to Author being turned into a literal human puppet.
Here is where the Trublemakers come in, They have been drawing people into the fandom claiming that a offshoot of the story in question that is teased could be centered around Author and Lance as a couple to spite the writers of this series saying if Author were to get with anyone it would be Gwen.
They also mention that is not where they want Authors story to go. Basically developers were saying that the romantic openness is just that an openness to interpret the relationship as romantic and something they only put with Gwen and Author. They also clarify that Authors relationship with Lance before Author has to end him is a "Brothers in Arms" one thou they are very close as friends they are not romantic.
Lances story is meant to be a tragedy as you discover Lance was not in the best of health in the game he even says he "Made a deal with a devil and regrets it" and it is hinted that this deal has taken his freedom form him rendering Lance nothing more than a tool for the Antagonist to use against Author in the end. When Author makes the final blow Lance thanks him for finally freeing him form his terrible fate.
This isn't to dog on the ship but in the end the issue is the Trublemakers are ruining the chances of this small fandom to grow by trying push that this is a canon Pairing when its a tragedy that was meant to grow the Protagonists resentment towards his father who is hinted as being the devil in question. Something that is meant to progress to the final confrontation where the protagonist is given a choice to side with his father (become the human puppet) or rebel against him which leads to his fathers tragic end after the epic final battle of this story. This series is NOT sunshine and rainbows it is classified as a Dark Fantasy hence why we using fantasy references. and Cannon fodder like Lance is common in this genre.
The concern is that the Trublemakers are creating false expectations for incoming fans about the series; sadly Lance is not likely to come back, thou he was developed as a character who could, as it is made abundantly clear that Lance in the end found his freedom in his passing. The Bad actors are making light of the fact Lance sacrificed himself to Warn Author and is in some since disrespectful to the writers as well who are trying to not falsely advertise the games story or genre.
Oh but it gets worse; in the fandoms they are literally intimidating and bothering fans that refuse to shill the ship going after people who just do not post the things and that could be any reason what so ever there. It could even be personal preference we are talking full on attack mode, hiding behind a gray face, trashing people behind their back to people they interact with exc.
So enter my dilemma; am I really wrong for thinking this behavior is bad? I do not feel as if its right to consider my stance here flawed or worthy of scorn and hate. My concern is not the ship existing but the bad actors that are in it being coddled when they behave just as vile as the "Unicorns" in the Idol fanbase trying to force real people to bone to appease their single sex couple fetishes. (That is literally why its so bad I did say it was a Rabbit hole, thou the term Hole is a gorse understatement of how deep.)
--
Ahahaha. What the actual fuck is this?
Am I understanding you that most of this is a c&p of something you received? Okay, then, let's break it down.
Okay, big picture:
It is bad to pressure creators to make your ship canon.
It is bad to pressure other fans to ship your ship or harass them for not posting enough about it.
But as for this little essay, no, of course I don't agree with it: It's so full of red flags it has barely any room for anything but red flags.
'Fujoshi' has a ~darker reason~? What? The history is simple: 2chan bros used a rude but kind of funny pun for women who were "spoiled"—i.e. undatable—because they liked m/m content. Those women found the pun amusing and reclaimed it for themselves. The end.
It's just the 'fu' from 'tofu' and is a pun on a homonym, 婦女子, that refers to a married woman. It's "rotten" like food going bad, not like moral depravity (though I'm sure the 2chan bros do think it's morally depraved for women not to cater to them).
Right off the bat, this is a red flag because it's trying to hint at some dark depths here that just are not present and are not a big deal. It's trying to set up a tone that the author has Special Knowledge and we should just trust them. Sheesh.
I am not saying they can not better themselves
And here we dive straight into "I'm just trying to help you" bullshit. This is condescending and creepy.
The description of the canon is convoluted and pointless. Brothers in arms is the main driver of oldschool m/m ships. Yes, of fucking course people are going to ship this.
"Baww, the creators said they didn't mean it that way!" What the actual fuck is this? Who cares what the creators think? Why is this essay fellating the idea of canon compliance?
"The het subtext was intentional!!!" is not an argument that anybody should be making because there is literally no reason fans should care which subtext was intentional when it comes to whether they ship something.
Almost the entire description of the canon could have been cut out to just leave:
"They have been drawing people into the fandom claiming that a offshoot of the story in question that is teased could be centered around Author and Lance as a couple to spite the writers of this series saying if Author were to get with anyone it would be Gwen."
Now... I think the second half of that is a reach. Are they actually doing it out of spite? What's the evidence? Canon's plot is not evidence.
Tinhats are a plague everywhere, they aren't usually doing it out of spite, and they aren't all m/m shippers. It's far more likely that a bunch of dummies are seeing shippy potential and extrapolating to think it's intentional and leading somewhere. Sherlock fandom was full of this. Many fandoms are.
But regardless, the first half does make sense as a complaint. If I'm understanding the situation correctly, some fans are bringing in new fans with false promises of canon m/m.
in the end the issue is the Trublemakers are ruining the chances of this small fandom to grow by trying push that this is a canon Pairing when its a tragedy that
Okay, you've lost me. You've lost every fan with a single particle of sense.
Don't talk about fandoms like you're talking about the third quarter profits of a corporation. That's obnoxious nonsense.
Either your fandom will grow organically or, most likely, it will not. Some annoying m/m shippers aren't the real reason: the fact that most things don't get that popular is the real reason.
Why aren't the het shippers or the gen fans able to draw in more people? Maybe the m/m ship is more interesting. Maybe these other fans should make more of an effort if they really want to treat fandom as a job or religious evangelism.
And moreover, who says tragedy and ships are opposites? Even canon ships! Even canon ships where someone died!
Look, I believe you/the person you're c&ping that this particular canon is not gearing up for "Lance" to come back, but considering how many fujoshi are still creaming themselves over The Untamed or Scum Villain, I really do not think that one of the dudes falling off a cliff or even dying for real is much of an impediment.
This is Tumblr, dude. Have you not seen that "Your greatest enemy will rise from the grave and never leave you alone" story? Come the fuck on!
If the canon's creators wanted to bring Lance back and make this BL, they could. If they prefer not to, that's fine.
The issue is entitled fans demanding that their vision be the creators' vision. Full stop.
The minute you try to hand-wring about the m/m aspect of it, you sound like a homophobic and/or misogynist douchebag. It does not matter what specific thing the demanding fans are demanding. It only matters if they're harassing people.
their single sex couple fetishes
And now we have the mother of all red flags!
Having sexual fantasies is not a ~fetish~. Clowns who think it is are not to be trusted. Does this person (you?) think that, what, idol band RPF fandoms are where the concept or term 'fujoshi' comes from? I have bad news about the levels of bonkers stalker bullshit the band guy/female self shippers pull, not to mention the bullying by people who just like a group and don't want anyone to like them the "wrong" way.
The issue is not horny thoughts. The issue is bullying and harassment.
What I'm hearing here is "Wah, wah, waaaah. Other fans of the game I like keep inviting their friends, and they all ship a ship I don't like! Won't someone think of the (near) canon het!"
That shit was tired and old in the 1970s. It's worse now.
--
If you cannot describe the harassment without resorting to all of this anti-m/m nonsense, you're never going to convince anyone that there's a problem.
If the issue is "These tinhats say X is going to be canon, but the creators have said it's not", ditch the other shit and just say that part.
M/M fans have dealt with the likes of the Johnlock Conspiracy before. We also hate annoying tinhats who create false expectations and over-promise canon m/m.
Just say:
It sucks when people pretend a canon is BL after the creators have said they aren't going to include m/m.
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omg yes please write smth about Jill and Leon i love their dynamic so much sadly there is so little about them
Anon marry me for giving me a reason to write about them ily
slightly small drabble , because the brainrot is getting too much and I can't help but have thousands of strands of thought about them and I physically CANNOT make a simple story about them anymore. I NEED to YAP.
You stared at both your partners as they sat on the couch, wearing nearly identical outfits. Both tried to push down a grin as they looked back at you, mischievous like always. They were up to something, definitely. You sighed heavily, shaking your head. “Alright. What’s up?” You asked, soft giggles coming from Jill as she motioned for Leon to explain. “Well, we figured that you love us, right?” He started, and you immediately knew this was going into a direction that you wouldn’t quite like - you never did when they teamed up to annoy you. Which they did often. “I do love you, I don’t love this dynamic, continue.” You grumbled, rolling your eyes slightly as Jill cleared her throat. “See, we both have super duper dangerous jobs, right? We figured we should teach you some self defence.” She hummed, and Leon nodded along. “So you don’t get in trouble when we both are gone, of course.” He added. “No ulterior motives.” Jill quipped. Oh jesus. You were in for a treat, weren’t you?
Just an hour or so later, you had to watch both of them show you how to defend yourself - genuinely you didn't even care this much, you had taken self defence classes in the past, and both of them knew that. You sighed when Leon patted you on the back, his hand lingering a little longer, like it always would. You stepped in front of Jill, grumbling softly as you hadn't planned to spend today practically training with both your partners. You couldn't even get into a proper stance before Jill had already brought you down onto the ground. “Gotta pay attention, sweets.” She chuckles, and you catch a glimpse of her and Leon high fiving, before sighing as you get up. “Poor little thing can't even protect itself.” Leon grins, and you shoot him a glare, while Jill can't hold back a soft laugh. “Just you two wait until I strangle you in your sleep.” You huff playfully, earning a soft punch in the arm from Leon and a manic giggle from Jill, you roll your eyes as you realise what the two are thinking about. Some days it was genuinely like they were the same person, sharing the same goddamn brain calls.
A few days later, you come home to hearing the two have the most frantic discussion with each other. You catch some small phrases - something about history or such - you really don't care, they get like this often. You sigh, calling out that you're home as you hang your jacket up and put your shoes away, unable to keep yourself from grinning as you immediately hear them get up. “Important question.” Jill starts, not even giving you a hello. “How often do you think about the Roman empire?” She asks, and for a second you are definitely dumbfounded. They both look at you like your answer will decide life and death. “Uh… I don't know? I guess from time to time..? How come that's your question?” You wonder. “We were on this TikTok App because we were bored.” Leon explains, and you swear your sigh could shake the entire house. “So you downloaded TikTok… and then had a discussion about the Roman Empire?” You clarify, keeping yourself from shaking your head as the two nod. “I need to get both of you some sort of parental lock on your phones, I swear to god.” You grumble. “Oh come on you love us.” Jill hums, moving to wrap her arms around you from behind. “Welcome home, by the way.” She then adds, while Leon casually runs a hand through your hair before placing a kiss on your forehead. “Personally, I think about the Roman Empire and specifically its downfall every day.” He shrugs, and you hear Jill groan. “Because you're just not understanding that the things that were discovered during the times of the Empire were far more interesting than its downfall!” Suddenly you have a headache. “And you don't understand how intricate the downfall showed that no system can truly work, even if it was as great as the Roman Empire!” Leon argues back. You sigh again. “I'm in love with two idiots, aren't I.” You mumble to yourself, wringing out of Jill's arms to get yourself a coffee, because you were definitely listening to their argument-discussion for a little longer.
Obviously, you were right, because the two were still arguing over dinner. It was like taking care of Toddlers really. “Jesus, can you two shut up about Roman history out of all things? I swear I'll make both of you sleep on the couch until you get along.” You huff, and both immediately shut up. “The downfall was good, I guess…” Jill mutters, and Leon sighs. “Yeah.. I bet it wasn't as great as I really think it is.” It's incredible how well some little threats work on them. Especially since you know they both like cuddling up to you in their sleep. You shake your head. “Eat up.” slips from you lips in a sigh.
Just half an hour later the two stand beside you as you brush your teeth, yapping about some of Leons coworkers - Jill seems to know their names by heart, for some reason. Soft quips about the usual office drama - you're actually caught off guard when Jill recalls a completely different story about some woman in Leons office. “Just how much do you two gossip when I'm not home?” You ask, looking at both of them through the mirror. “Oh, just the normal hour or two.” Leon shrugs. “You need to get a life.” You grumble. “We have you, sugar. Don't need any other life.” Jill chuckles, pressing a kiss against the top of your head. “I'm getting us a dog so you two get out the house more often.” You mumble as you feel Leon wrap an arm around you. “But a cool one. Like a German shepherd or something.” He answers, resting his head on top of yours. “No! A sweet little fluffy thing.” Jill huffs, genuinely pouting a tad bit. “Jesus Christ.” You muttered under your breath. You really should've thought twice about getting into a relationship with the two most gossipy people, who also weren't able to properly communicate with each other. You loved them though. Couldn't help it, really. Both had snuck their way into your heart, and no matter how tired or annoyed you were, deep down you actually found them both adorable. Sometimes, their argues genuinely made your heart clench with how happy you were that both of them were well and safe at home.
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The use of genre as unreliable narrator in ofmd
„But it’s a comedy!”
(I had to, sorry)
Ok, people usually take this argument out when talking about there being jokes, or getting a happy ending. It’s not dark fantasy like Game of Thrones, it’s not a mature drama, like Better Call Saul.
But in most stories the darker genre is justified by the fact that that’s realistic, that’s how the real world works. Going with that explanation, writing a fantasy like this is like an oxymoron (I’m not saying it’s a bad choice, just pointing out). Recently tho, it became popular to think that a story is meaningful or mature only if it’s realistic, the dark-way-realistic, if you get what I mean. If the story is too optimistic, the ending too happy, it’s apparently not realistic enough and so - silly. If the story wants to talk about something deep but there’s not enough misery, someone will inevitably come and point out how in real life it wouldn’t be like this and so the message is meaningless.
Going back on track: in most stories the genre is like the laws of physics of the story. Once set they’re absolute. You can subvert the tropes, cliches, expectations, but the genre stays intact. If in a story taking place in a genre expected to be more serious, more grand the author puts too many jokes, it’s bad writing. It’s against the laws of this world and shouldn’t be there.
And usually it’s ok, we have a lot of genre, we can take new approach to them, make them fresh, mix them. But I haven’t found that many stories that use A genre (not “Their genre”) so much as a tool, so explicitly as a tool to show characters perspective and worldview.
Let’s just quote what I’ve already said, because it was rather well put imo:
“Season 1 is more comedy like, because it’s from Stede’s point of view, mostly. Sometimes the lighthearted music actually doesn’t fit the scene, unless we take into account that it’s about how Stede sees this. Stede’s flashbacks aren’t funny, his marriage isn’t funny. Stede cares about Ed and so his flashbacks are treated seriously too, even more so (cause you know, Stede doesn’t care about himself much). But Izzy is treated as a joke. Stede doesn’t like him and isn’t afraid of him (because he doesn’t know he lives only because Ed forbade Izzy from killing Stede) and so scenes that are sad and depressing from Izzy’s perspective don’t get an appropriate music (like in e6 for example). The world is shown through Stede’s eyes. Ed is cool and scary and treated very seriously, Stede tries to hide his very real pain under his adventures and Izzy… He doesn’t care about Izzy. The scenes where Stede is scared make him look pathetic but when it’s Ed, it’s completely serious, because Stede treats Ed’s fear seriously, but finds his own shameful and, well, pathetic. The comedic tone is the unreliable narrator here.
Episode 8 isn’t so much comedic anymore. Stede feels out of place, pushed aside, and the whole episode feels like that. Episode 9 isn’t a comedy either, it’s seeped in self doubt and lingering regrets. Episode 10 has comedic vibe mostly during Stede’s adventurous escape and kinda during Ed’s pink robe phase. Kinda, because alone with Lucius, there’s no jokes, with Izzy too. The comedy stays on deck, with the crew, Stede’s crew that as a whole goes under the adventurous light vibe. But at the end of season 1 the vibe of the show completely changes. There’s no jokey comedy anymore. Yeah, Stede’s still a bit silly now and then, because that’s how he feels about himself. But at Ed’s Revenge there’s only 100% drama.”
Another thing is, with every episode, we get more and more alone time with Ed, he becomes a protagonist of his own. His alone scenes aren’t funny. Usually those are somber or depressing. In e10 their two perspectives part the moment Stede runs away. Since then there’s Stede’s world and Ed’s world. It’s Ed’s sky that’s pink. It’s Stede’s world where the assassination attempt is funny. Ed tries to maintain Stede’s reality on the Revenge, but it turns out bleak in comparation. There’s no comforting blanket of escapism and naivety. No one to nourish the optimism and the atmosphere of safety without Stede being here. It’s becoming more and more Ed’s world again. Depressing, dangerous, more realistic. Because Ed lost his faith in Stede’s world, it the value of love and comfort.
The divide is even more visible in episodes 1-3 of s2. Just what people were laughing about: Stede’s crew gets soup and Ed’s fights for their life. Stede most of the time bottles up his negative emotions, keeping his “realm” light and adventurous. Very rarely he let’s himself to actually feel his real emotions (in the rain, during the night talk with Lucius, maybe with Zheng, tho I’m not sure if it’s not more thinking than feeling at that moment really). Stede’s keeping his darkness hidden, focused on hope. When they meet Lucius and then Ed’s crew, the little cracks starts showing up. We start to see less of a humor and more of sincerity. Season 2 is less comedic and more sincere in it’s form. Because that’s how Stede feels, after realizing his feelings for Ed, after realizing what’s important to him, after getting him back. (He couldn’t accept Ed’s dead, so he wasn’t << “I’m not ready to believe that”) His world is more real. It’s not ignorance, naivety or detachment anymore, rather hope, optimism and having an actual goal. In season 1 Stede just wanted to run away from his life, now he had a specific goal to fix what he destroyed (no matter how much of it was really his fault).
Going back to Ed’s perspective in e1-3, we are told about his emotional state, for example, by weather. It’s also interesting how at the beginning of e2 Ed’s crying session is treated seriously, showing him feeling empty, abandoned, longing all at once. But the next day, when he recalls the incident, it’s framed like a joke. You know, how when you get an emotional breakdown and then later think “damn, that was embarrassing and unnecessary”? It was something like that. When he torments Izzy, it’s dark af, because he sees himself as a monster. The tone of a scene doesn’t say how actually important/serious/deep/meaningful the scene really is, but how the character sees it. Just as Stede saw his fear as pathetic in s1, Ed treats like that his sincerity. His abandonment is only deserved and him crying about it is pathetic, his self hate and violence in the afterlife just a dry fact, his fisherman era suddenly taking a jump into comedy the moment he feels he failed.
We can see Ed’s and Stede’s realities getting more similar, because their view on reality is getting more towards the middle. Ed gets more forgiveness and softness and it isn’t depicted as ridiculous. Stede's adventures get more bloody (the cursed ship), threats more real (Ned Low’s tortures). Buttons change was so out of the blue and unrealistic, because that’s how Ed saw the concept of change. He was so sure it’s not real and that’s why it was like a magic. That’s why he was alone, while witnessing it. Izzy was able to survive all that happened to him, because Ed believed he's indestructible and will always have his back, even if he doesn't deserve it. (if I'm right, then it's the presence of Stede that killed Izzy)
The weather, the colors show Ed’s emotions:
While Ed’s emotions were muddled and confusing in e5, we got the fog, when he was happy in the beginning, but then started to feel more and more unsure in e7 – the colors changed from yellow to gray, when he was happy about how Calypso’s birthday turned out, but then Ned Low appeared - the colors changed from romantic pink and purple, to disturbing green and blue suddenly, as if his past, his sins poured a bucket of cold water on his head. When he thinks he will finally die, finally made that decision, he’s relieved, and sunny weather mirrors that, but in his last moment, when he has to face it, they’re in the middle of a storm. His gravy backet is cold, cloudy and so windy it’s hard to hear anything. Hell, the first time we see Queen Anne it’s in its own dark weather!
Stede, becoming “real boy” and then “a man” makes the world around him more realistic as well. After Ned tortured his crew and Ed, Stede kills the guy. After becoming suddenly famous, the world takes a step back and everything is light and funny around him again, no real danger, Stede kills the guy without even trying and it’s funny and cool, because He feels cool about all of it. But when Ed says that last night was a mistake and then leaves, there’s no more cool Stede. Suddenly his happy adventure is falling apart, his crew doesn’t want to follow him just because (because why were they always together since the end of s1?), his behavior isn’t cool anymore, but pathetic, Steak knife probably died, his tricks don’t work, because he doesn’t believe they would, not really. He doesn’t feel like it’s some cool pirate duel from pirate tales, like in e6. He feels like a failure. Everyone left him, whatever he does, apparently it’s not enough for people to stay, and when he hit the rock bottom, the Republic of Pirates gets destroyed.
The way the world works is related to what Stede and Ed believe in atm. But if they're together on screen, it's Stede's beliefs that shape reality.
So I don’t think they changed the rules of the world in e8. The rules were changing all the time, and the world became deadly during ep 6-7, somewhere there. The tone of the episode didn’t warn us, because Ed was happy most of the time, and so the color palette of the episode is light. The left-side rule didn’t work, because Stede wasn’t as naïve as in s1 (he wasn’t sure Ed was right, but decided to believe him). Stede’s crazy plan didn’t work as in e1&2s1, because he was more aware of the risk. Stede knew they could die, knew it’s dangerous, and so it was. Ironic really.
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