#anyway ofmd fandom oh my god

[bromelads]

I am not playing the “you're racist if you say Ed is abusive" game with y’all 😒

This shit is not new or helpful to POC in the fandom. I wrote about it earlier this year (too little, too late), so I've built this post up from that.

I encourage folks to read this analysis and call to action by uselessheretic from back in JANUARY since it addresses key aspects of the harassment campaign that was par of the course for the fandom in 2022. This discourse plays into that harassment.

Listen, for all of its widely-held progressive values, the ofmd fandom is still a hobby space filled with mostly white, first world, LGBTQ+ ppl. Most ofmd fans fashion themselves leftists and generally agree that structural racism exists and is a problem. Overall, there's worse fandoms to be in.

That said, this particular wave of hand-wringing about fans calling Ed abusive is not at all about the ways indigenous people are stereotyped in media.

The most telling giveaway is the timing: fans expressing frustration towards Ed following the sneak peek that shows Fang, Archie, Jim, and Frenchie all but having an intervention for Izzy because they think he is "in an unhealthy relationship with Blackbeard" since Ed "cut two more of his toes...[which] seems pretty toxic to me."

I am not emotionally prepared to deconstruct the dark humor of holding a spontaneous intervention for your asshole white assistant manager who's on his last fucking wit because your brown and beautiful rockstar boss is too high to function and keeps cutting the guy's toes off. You either get the joke or you don't.

For the purpose of this post, all I care to extract from it is what it tells us about who is exercising the most control over the ship. Despite his physical absence, Ed’s ghost is all over this beautifully crafted scene. The tone of their wardrobe is dictated by Ed’s. They are carrying out Ed’s orders. Frenchie and Jim’s exclusive presence as former members of Stede’s crew was decided by Ed. Izzy’s authority as first mate is sanctioned by Ed. And it is Ed’s fitness to lead that Frenchie, Fang, Jim,and Archie are questioning ultimately.

I’m not particularly worried about Ed’s integrity as a charismatic lead being hurt by a storyline that paints him as someone who abuses power--the flow and exchange of power is a running theme for ofmd. Stede and Izzy themselves abuse their power in season 1 for their vanity. What I am worried about is this cute cultural feature of the wider ofmd fandom:

the chronic unwillingness to grapple with interpersonal power dynamics amongst peers, not only in the show, but in the fandom itself. 

So here we are again, ofmd fandom, working ourselves up into a moral outrage so that you, in your leftist white glory, can publicly police yourself because apparently you only know how to experience People of Color in fiction through these two lenses:

white guilt (am I racist for thinking this? are people around me racist for thinking this?) and

the white imagination (stories about characters of color are valuable because they inform my politics)

This push against reading Ed as abusive is not about calling out the problematics of depicting an indigenous man as mentally ill, violent, lonely, and rageful, it is about trying to sound self-righteous to mask anxiety about accidentally doing a racism on the indigenous, brown lead. 

This is even more obvious now with the season 2 premiere days away and audiences being primed to question whether the severity of Izzy's punishment was appropriate.

Now, here's the hard-to-swallow pill the ofmd fandom's been avoiding cuz we don't wanna point out the inevitable problems of representation within canon:

We are being served a storyline where a complex protagonist (who happens to be a brown, queer, indigenous man in a position of power) harms people who are close to him and we are meant to recognize this as a problem that he must come to terms with. I don't like it either, but I'd rather have this than no Ed story at all.

Other people have written far more intelligently about this than I could, but it bears repeating: what's happening here is fans projecting their own insecurities about racism and power onto a white character ("izzy exotifies ed!" "he wants to control ed!" "izzy is an incompetent pirate actually!") while at the same time applying a shiny veneer of respectability and perfect rationality to a nonwhite character ("ed had every right to hurt izzy!" "maiming is fair game as retribution for racism, it's in-world rules!" "ed can't be abusive because he's been abused!") in order to mask white leftist fandom's discomfort about a morally ambiguous brown protagonist.

Anyway, take a breath.

Ed is a character whose impact in "the real world" does indeed go beyond how he makes us feel. Taika Waititi's Edward Teach represents a watershed moment in indigenous representation—not only for his position as protagonist, not even for his queerness, but because of his depth, charisma, complexity, and connection to a community that cares about him. These things have been rarely afforded to the very few indigenous leads in the global film canon--no matter how his story is handled in season 2 and 3, Ed's impact has already been cemented.

Okay I'm done, here's some actionable advice to wash this all down with.

If your goal is to foster a welcoming environment for fans of color and elevate engagement with characters of color, then immediately remove shaming people's headcanons from your toolbox and read this article. Take stock of who is in your fandom social circle and take stock of what you do in order to at least see more fanworks featuring characters of color.

If your goal is to promote or participate in productive race-conscious conversations with other fans, get real about your relationship with power, your positionality in life (and in fandom) and the channels through which you want to have these conversations. Some questions to start with: Can you describe your relationship with your race? What is your experience talking about race in mixed-race spaces? What avenues do you use to participate in fandom? How do you participate? Where do you have influence? How do you manage unwanted feelings that spark from disagreements about racism?

If your goal is to interact in fandom with integrity, get explicit about your values. Engage in dialogue, treat others with the respect you want. Be curious and ask questions. Avoid becoming someone's useful idiot and learn to think critically.

Finally, if your goal is to enjoy your blorbos without having to think about the problematics of representation for QTBIPOC (Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, People of Color), then save us all the grief and just join a different fandom.

Good luck!

#phew anyway #ofmd meta #cuz i actually had to explain the sneak peak scene oh my god #the izcourse #ofmd fandom #ofmd #our flag means death #fandom discourse #ofmd fandom discourse #fandom racism #long post #edward teach #ed teach meta #ofmd season 2 #ofmd spoilers #ofmd fandom meta #thank u everyone who marinated on some of these thoughts with me in the circle <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 #and thank you everyone who proofread and gave feedback on this <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 #anyway ofmd fandom oh my god #please educate yourself #I hate to be like this but if you want to say meaningful shit about racism in this show #u need to do some actual fucking research and exercise your interpersonal skills lol #EDIT: fixed a couple links thanks anon! #la meta de mi meta

[echthr0s]

oh my god how could I have forgotten the gay angel and demon

#they're truly everywhere. dear god. and i hate those actors' faces so galkdjflkajflk >.< #i almost put the gay pirates but i used to go to ofmd so it's less a fandom-in-law and more like. divorce #lmaoooo #(jury's still out on whether i will ever go back to that show. if i do it will be for izzy. but mostly i'm just kinda Over It) #(pirates was never my thing anyway. enjoying ofmd was an unexpected fluke) #oh also sleep token

[blueberreads]

I LOVE YOUR PIXEL OFMD GAME SO MUCH IT GIVES ME LIFE I CAN'T EVEN PUT INTO WORDS HOW MUCH I LOVE IT AND HOW MUCH IT MEANS TO ME THAT YOU'RE PUTTING SO MUCH WORK AND TIME INTO THIS PROJECT OH MY GOD IT'S THE BEST THING EVER

Aww OMG thank you so much 🥹💜

I'm so glad to see people are interested in our silly little game! I haven't posted updates for a while because, as we all know, stuff happened and I'm trying to help the fandom's effort over on Twitter. But I'm still working hard on the game! Actually, we're almost ready to start doing play tests with friends. I'm super proud of how it turned out and can't wait to release it!

Anyway, I was trying not to post anything that could spoil the game, but this is a very minor spoiler. So this one is for you:

Fuck yeah, brother. Fly.

#our flag means death #ofmd #pixel art #gamedev #godot engine #monkey island #we need to be a lighthouse

[jelly-of-many-ships]

COMPLETE OFMD S2 CONTENT LIST:

To anyone looking for a complete list of trailers, vids, and photos released for OFMD season 2, here ya go.

(I’m not rly active on anything other than tumblr rn so i’m sry if I missed smth)

! LINKS CONTAIN SPOILERS !

So, first of all we have the official teaser trailer, released on August 30th: TEASER LINK

On September 14th we finally got the full length trailer. I’m assuming we’ve all seen these already: TRAILER LINK

There was a promo vid containing new s2 scenes that some people were getting on their TVs and recording and uploading to twitter. What some people don’t know is that that the official OFMD facebook account recently uploaded the same promo thats actually good quality and not just recording off a tv screen. Anyways if there’s a scene you’ve been seeing but it wasn’t in the trailer or teaser, its probably here: PROMO VID LINK

Here’s the links to some of those twitter vids if you don’t know what i’m talking about: twitter vid, twitter vid, These have the same content as the facebook link, just shitty quality.

Oh also Vico Ortez (plays Jim) posts a lot of s2 things on their tiktok. Nothing with spoilers just BTS (not the k-pop band I swear to god) I guess this doesn’t count but some of it’s rly funny: Vico Ortez tiktok

PHOTOS:

The first batch of season 2 photos we got were from Vanity fair on august 24th, but those photos plus a bunch of others are now available together somewhere i’ll say in a sec. Here is the article that showed us the first look at s2: VANITY FAIR ARTICLE

So, warner bros discovery gave us an *almost* complete collection of currently released photos. This does include the vanity fair photos but most of these you can’t find anywhere else. they say which episode every photo is from and let you download them too which is pretty cool. The site also has some great articles in the media releases section but they’re not that relevant. Go to the images section to see the s2 pics: S2 PHOTO COLLECTION

The final thing I found was the exclusive photo “The Streamr” posted on twitter. In fact there’s this whole thing happening with the OFMD twitter fandom and The Streamr and apparently they’ve posted exclusive photos that aren’t in the Warner Bros collection. Once again I am not actively on twitter so I don’t really know that much. I was only able to find one exclusive image posted by them but if there are any more please let me know. THE STREAMR EXCLUSIVE PHOTO

EDIT: found another photo on twitter! YET ANOTHER EXCLUSIVE PHOTO

EDIT: There’s a S2 behind the scenes vid from the max YouTube channel and it’s got so many extra clips it’s practically a third trailer!!! Also apparently there are some more articles that just released and I’m a bit busy rn but I’ll find and add them soon behind the scenes vid

EDIT: OMG THE MAX YOUTUBE CHANNEL POSTED A SCENE FROM EPISODE 1 AND IZZYS CRYING AND THE CREW IS COMFORTING HIM ITS CANON S2E1 SCENE

that is all that I personally know of but if there is anything else you think should be included please add it or lmk, I want this to be a complete list. If anything new comes out I will try my best to add that as well.

I was pretty confused where everyone was getting all the s2 info and I couldn’t find a complete list anywhere so I decided to make my own. hope this cleared it up for anyone else🤗

#ofmd #ofmd2 #OFMD #ofmd spoilers #ofmd theories #ofmd teaser #ofmd spoiler #ofmd trailer #our flag means death #our flag means death s2 #our flag means death season 2 #ofmd s2 #ofmd season 2 #our flag means death 2 #our flag means death theory #our flag means death spoilers #our flag means death spoiler #edward teach #ed teach #blackbeard #blackbonnet #gentlebeard #stede bonnet

[theclaravoyant]

AN ~ For @fictober-event’s Fictober 2023 prompt: “Give me that, before anything happens.” Set during S2, written after airing of ep.3. SPOILERS FOR EPS 1-3. Masterpost of my Fictober OFMD fics

Also tangentially inspired by @adickaboutspoons beard meta. Lucius shaves his beard. Angst, Hurt/Comfort.

Fandom: Our Flag Means Death Characters/Relationships: Lucius Spriggs, Lucius x Black Pete Tags/Content Warnings: Suicidal Ideation Mention

Help

If there’s one thing he’s grateful for, Lucius thinks, about Stede fucking Bonnet and his stupid fucking ship right now, it’s that the self-important asshole had thought to give the crew a bathroom with a lockable door. It has a sink and a mirror. A sink he grasps onto as tight as he can, until his knuckles clench white around the handle of the razor, and he forces himself to look his own eyes in the mirror.

He hates the way he looks now. The way struggle and starvation like he’d never known have withered and aged him. He’s too… hard. He almost looks like a pirate. Perhaps he was always going to - perhaps this life was going to beat him down and sharpen his edges eventually. He’s not naive enough to think otherwise. He just thought maybe it would happen more gradually. Or that he would die young. Most of them did after all.

Most of all he hates the beard.

It reminds him of the dog. Did you know they’re clipped that way so the rats will bite the hair instead of their faces when they- when they- 

Bile rises in his throat and finally his eyes fall away from his accursed reflection to squeeze shut as he throws up in the sink. It’s been months now, but he can still taste it. 

There’s a knock at the door. 

“You okay, babe?”

“Yeah.” He curses himself. It’s so strangled and wavy it’s easily got to be the least convincing thing he’s ever said.

“D’you want some help?”

Fuck no, he doesn’t want help. Not from Pete who can’t - who shouldn’t - see him like this. He couldn’t do that to him. God, he’s such a mess.

And he still hasn’t answered.

“Babe?”

The knock comes again, though it’s less light-knuckle-rapping and more full-handed-slap. He can sense the bristling worry, mirroring the anxiety in himself, and he tries to say something but no or even yes allude him. Before he knows it, Pete’s smashed his shoulder against the door and is staggering into the room, his big eyes looking all worried and zeroing in on Lucius immediately and suddenly he’s feeling all sorts of something and it gives him the - surprise? strength? - to unclench his white knuckles from the porcelain and turn toward him with trembling hands.

“Babe?” he squeaks, pathetic and panicking. Pete rushes in to embrace him, holding him steady until the world starts to feel more solid around him. He needs it as much as Lucius does, if his hammering heartbeat is anything to go by, but after a minute he gathers himself and pries them apart enough that he can look Lucius in his definitely-not-weeping eyes. (Oh, who’s he kidding).

“Give me that, before anything happens,” he insists gently, prying the razor from Lucius’ hands. He frowns down at it, a dark thought occurring to him belatedly. “What were you doing with it, anyway?”

“Oh, no- babe, I was just going to shave. I swear.”

He’s still wary. There’s been a lot of the other thing going around recently. “I thought you liked the beard?”

“Fuck no.” He swallows down the taste of bile. “It’s just… not me.”

“Oh. Okay then.”

The things they’ve still left unspoken pass between them in a long look. Finally, Pete decides to offer the razor back. It rests between them on his open hand. Lucius tries to convince himself to take it, but his own hand shakes violently and he shoves it down by his side and tries to smother it in -

“I mean it’s something new. I could get used to it. You said you like it, right?”

This time, Pete doesn’t take his word for it.

“Only if you like it, babe. If you want it gone then so do I.”

Oh, fuck yes he wants it gone. He wants to rip it off and burn it. Unfortunately that’s not how facial hair works.

He takes a deep breath, and tries to ignore how strangled and snot-filled it sounds. He feels so weak. He feels so loved.

“Okay then.” Pete takes a deep breath for both of them. He moves away, but only for a second, and only just enough to take the brush dipped in shaving cream from where it rests on the basin. He laves it gently down the side of Lucius’ face, and gets to work.

#fictober23 #lucius spriggs #lucius x black pete #lucius x pete #ofmd #our flag means death #my beloveddddddd #this fictional character is having a hard time #ofmd s2 #ofmd spoilers #clara's fic tag

[itsclydebitches]

RWBY Ice Queendom Recaps: “Red, White, Black, Yellow”

Hello, RWBY fandom! It feels good to be back.

Technically I never left — still answering the occasional ask, just finished up "The Girl in the Tower" recap — but between the extra long hiatus and my continuing obsession with Our Flag Means Death, it feels like I've been out of the RWBY loop for a while. I wanted to start this post with that acknowledgement because I had assumed that's why I didn't realize that Ice Queendom had dropped the first three episodes. Sure, I got an anon asking my opinion of the reboot (AU? Rewrite? We're all a little unclear about that still), but I had thought that was just in preparation for the July 3rd premiere. So imagine my surprise when I did a bit of googling last night — just in case — and found a new trailer, then a three episode sneak peak, but it weirdly wasn’t on First, but it was on Crunchyroll, and (at the time) it was set to drop on YouTube at 1:00pm today, but only for a short period? Some fans had clearly seen the episodes already, yet there wasn't nearly the amount of posting I'd expect for a community-wide, anticipated drop, and official information seemed to be scarce ... but surely my confusion was simply a result of me taking a semi-break from keeping up with all RWBY info, right?

Ehhh...

This is an excerpt from MurderOfBirds’ tweet thread (URL posted at the end of the recap, in case tumblr is still being weird about links) and, if you've been in the RWBY community for any significant length of time, you'll understand my shock that he of all fans was calling RT out like this. To be honest, I don't have much to say beyond, "This is happening"? From what little I've gathered, fans seem to have enjoyed the IQ premiere — or at least, they haven't called for a salt and burning yet — but RT's relative success in that regard doesn't suddenly erase all the other problems surrounding RWBY as a franchise. RTX planning remains a mess, communication about upcoming projects is shoddy at best, RT's company culture is continually under fire, worries about Volume 9 and the upcoming video game haven't disappeared just because we've had little reason to discuss them lately, etc. Regardless of what we think about IQ as a story, it's coming into a tumultuous IP — to put it mildly.

Again, I fully acknowledge that I haven't been actively seeking out every bit of RWBY info lately, but the fact that I, someone who is generally working to keep up with the story, had to suddenly scramble to figure out how and when and why a big chunk of the new installment was releasing now is... not great. And apparently I'm not the only one who feels this way.

That said, let's get into the story proper. In case it's not abundantly obvious by the title, I've decided to keep these recaps separated by episode, despite 1-3 releasing as a single hour of content. You all know I can write enough for each, even with a lot of this plot being repeated. No sense in giving you all a dissertation to wade through lol.

Let's do it!

We begin, as we did originally, with Salem's voice-over telling us how the humanity of today came to be.

(Oh yay, a nice het-centric creation myth. Look, I really wasn't joking about being obsessed with OFMD right now. After months of canonical queer pirates, I'm feeling a little salty towards RWBY's version of queer rep. I won't get over it, sorry, but I promise I won't bitch about it too much.)

(Actually wait, one more point: I saw a post here — which I’ve now lost — where the author didn't seem terribly enthusiastic about IQ, but they said they'd forgive it if Blake and Yang made out in every upcoming scene and like yeah, joke-y posts are jokey-y, I love them, but AS IF. If IQ confirms Bumbleby I'll just straight up die of shock. You all can @ me in the afterlife.)

(But oh god can you IMAGINE if IQ confirmed the fandom's biggest ship before the webseries? Chaos. Calamity. An actual, defensible position for IQ being better. It would be a complete disaster, yeah... but potentially an entertaining one.)

Anyway, back to the plot. We go through a version of our opening speech and, frankly, I don't think the actress playing Salem sounds nearly as menacing as Taylor does. I've always cared more about the characters themselves than the actors playing them, so I don't have any big opinions on the casting here. This is just a little acknowledgement that, had I been watching IQ prior to RWBY, I never would have gone, "Oh, this is our villain" like I did during the webseries’ opening. At least not until the end of the episode when we get the more threatening dialogue. Regardless, the animation more than makes up for that, showing us not merely the paper-like history of humanity, grimm, and the rise of their combat capabilities, but far more visceral images like a man collapsing amidst a field of flames, very nearly succumbing to them. That sells the idea of humanity almost crumbling back to dust.

But then, “The smallest spark of hope brought forth a great light” and humanity discovers capital 'D' Dust, which allows them to maintain and spread civilization despite the grimm. Salem says that it was through their “power and ingenuity” that they secured it and I'm like... really? Because the animation just shows an almost-dead guy stumbling upon a glowing rock in the ground and presumably thinking, "Hey, that might be useful." Not sure there's much power and ingenuity in randomly finding a magic mineral lol.

With the history lesson out of the way, we find Ruby at Summer's grave with... a military-like march soundtrack? It's an intriguing choice and, combined with Ozpin’s introduction + Weiss' AU design, I'm curious to see how much this story will feed into RWBY's (badly managed) anti-military themes. Though introducing our simple soul protagonist with that vibe doesn't seem like a great start...

What is done well is the character work in this scene. Actually, that's something I want to praise about the episode as a whole: IQ is very good (so far) at developing the cast and the world, something it absolutely has over the original RWBY. Remnant feels lived in, the characters' stories are better intertwined — helped by making this episode a combination of the trailers and “Ruby Rose” — and I actually feel like they have internal lives they're living, rather than just existing as archetypal puppets under the Rule of Cool's strings. Sure, RWBY gets better at that as time goes on — I wouldn't care about the early Volumes like I do if the characters didn't feel engaging to me — but IQ nails it right from the start.

Case in point, Ruby isn't just staring at a mysterious grave that was added last minute because hell, why not. She's really talking to Summer, telling her all about how Yang made it into Beacon Academy and that she "always said she wanted to be a huntress." Such a small line of dialogue and yet suddenly Yang’s motivations better align with Ruby's. Rather than being the party girl just out for a good time (the club scene doesn't even make it into this episode, if it shows up at all), Yang always wanted to be a huntress, specifically — just like their mom. It stabilizes Yang's career path and helps sell the idea that one primary, personal conflict is how Ruby will break away from her sister's shadow: she's talking to Summer primarily about her "sis," she wants to be a huntress just like Yang, she's kinda jealous that Yang is already on her way — a nice detail that makes Ruby feel like a legit person with complex emotions — Tai is worried about his youngest standing on her own, and meanwhile Ruby is asking her mom, “What can I do to be more like [Yang]?” Frankly, this scene sells the idea of Yang raising and influencing Ruby far more than the entirety of Volumes 1 and 2 did. We can see how Yang has become the mother figure that Ruby is desperate to emulate, even as she says she also wants to follow in Summer's footsteps. From Yang and Tai talking about Ruby like they're the parents waiting on their wayward child, to the hug where Ruby is positioned more like the child as Yang holds her and looks to Summer —

I feel like the show has visually told me that Yang helped raise Ruby, episodes before we get to that talk with Blake. Sure, they're absolutely still playful sisters — and Yang calls Summer "Mom." No Raven complications just yet — but IQ changes the dynamic slightly, making Yang come across as more mature and, consequentially, more of a mentor figure for Ruby. Yang is someone Ruby needs to eventually step away from in order to forge her own path.

Also, love that they give them the exact same wink. Again, they're close and we can see Ruby mimicking some of Yang's mannerisms:

However, this is perhaps as good a time as any to admit that I don't really like the character designs? Outside of their normal outfits/distinguishing features, of course. I mentioned weeks back that I find their eyes to be creepy as hell and though I realize now that's a visual staple of the creator's... it doesn't change that I think they're creepy lol. Worse, there's something very doll-like about the models that makes my skin crawl. It's not too bad when we've got a fight sequence going on, but when Ruby is just standing there with her unnatural eyes, glossed lips, painted cheeks, kinda shiny skin like she might be made of porcelain...

Yeesh.

I don't know. I'm assuming this is purely a me problem (no doubt born from too many horror movies in my youth) and not every shot is bad! But some definitely make my brain go, "Nope, nope, nope, NOPE" in a very Uncanny Valley kind of way.

I mean sure, the animation quality is undoubtedly better, but original Ruby just looks more... real to me? You know? Does anyone else get that?

Yeah, I can't explain it well. It’s fine. Just don't let IQ!Ruby into my room at night, please.

We cut to Weiss standing before the garden monument — which I've only now realized is kinda weird. Who gives a snowflake wings? —  and she's approached by Klein who is, for all intents and purposes so far, a totally different character. There's no sign of his semblance (no real loss imo) and he's far more formal — deferential — towards Weiss than he’s ever been in the webseries. Gone is the chaotic, buddy-buddy dynamic they had and in its place is the far more common “Play-by-the-rules butler has a soft spot for the young mistress, allowing for a bit of parental love to shine through.” Think Carson with Lady Mary. Or even Alfred with Bruce. Though I’m personally a big fan of this character type—I’m an absolute sucker for love pushing up against class/social expectations/job formalities—this is a case where IQ arguably moves backwards. Rather than introducing a bit of depth like we saw between Ruby and Yang, we’ve reverted to a far simpler setup. Which, I want to emphasize, isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I don’t think Klein is important enough to necessitate that creativity when being a fond, long-suffering butler serves the story just as well. It’s just an observation that they have stripped him of what made him stand out from the butler crowd.  

He tells Weiss that the “arrangements” have been made and they walk together to the ballroom where her final test is to take place. On the way we spot a day-drinking Willow from behind and the shot reminds me a bit of the comic panels:

and we also run into Whitley, still leaning smugly against the wall like he did in the webseries. This time though I’m reading him through the lens of the kid he is, rather than the scheming, Jacques Jr. that both stories seem to be going for. See: Whitley smirking from the shadows while Weiss walks through beams of beautiful light, finally settling between the pillars in the full sun. It’s not subtle.

This is one of a couple split-screens in our opening episode and though it’s a technique the webseries has made use of recently (think the Team RWBY vs. Ace Ops fight), personally it’s something that I think should be used sparingly. Like here, do we really need to get Klein’s reaction and, in the process, see the awkwardness of Weiss with half a face? Or, in a moment, a shot of her boots?

Next to the contrast of Weiss and Whitley, which actually serves a narrative purpose, these just feel unnecessary. Technique for the sake of technique.

We also get a shot of the family portrait as Weiss passes by. Nothing detailed unless you pause the episode, but it's a glimpse of that supposedly picture-perfect family right before we see it unravel. Whitley questions Weiss’ ability to pass this test, she tells him to just watch her do it, and then we get what I think is a damn solid line:

“I’ve always watched you, my fearless, foolish sisters."

We’ve got the story introducing that there's a third sibling before we see Winter at the test. There’s Whitley's quiet admission that yes, he's been watching them (looking up to them) for, presumably, years. Also an acknowledgement of those complicated emotions tied up in their choice to not just become Huntresses, but to use the career as a means of escaping their father's abuse when he, someone without combat skills, can't follow them. Is it foolish then, or fearless? Depends entirely on whether you have that option to begin with. This is a Whitley who, right from the start, feels like a kid struggling under an inability to follow in his sisters' footsteps, despite how the animation paints him as the shadowy antagonist, with the concept of paths and having to carve out your own tying in nicely with Blake's story.

Weiss arrives at the test where both Winter and Jacques are waiting for her. It puts them on fairly even footing — both watching this dangerous battle with detachment, both taking up the same position on opposite sides of the room — despite the fact that verbally Winter is more supportive of Weiss than Jacques has ever been in his life. Still, that parallel combined with Winter being "too busy" when Weiss leaves for Beacon and her cold approach to training her in the flashback makes this version of Winter seem far less welcoming than the original. “The powerless return to dust. That is the law of this world” she tells Weiss after she fails to defeat all of her summons (as seen in the Volume 5 short) and while that is a very cool line that hints at how Remnant's history has influenced the peoples’ philosophy, it’s also a damn bit more dismissive than Weiss promising to do better and Winter saying only that she hopes she can — she'll need it to escape. I can't imagine this Winter playfully batting Weiss' head and demanding information about the friends she's made.

I do want to emphasize that Weiss' entire story is much clearer for the audience though. We're told exactly who all these people are (at least in relation to one another). We've established that Weiss is undergoing a test to get into Beacon. We have a line about Klein releasing the grimm, right on the heels of our intro explaining wtf grimm are, and oh look, now she's fighting it. All of "Red, White, Black, Yellow" flows together more smoothly than the trailers + "Ruby Rose” do, meaning there's no mad scramble to, say, explain to the community that this is a flashback, Weiss got that scar during her fight—look, there’s a bit of blood—she’s singing on her father’s orders, yeah idk why exactly it’s just a thing she does, mhmm the fight is a test to get into Beacon, etc. I didn’t come into RWBY until Volume 3, but I remember finding old posts that worked to clarify the iffy canon of our trailers (and, indeed, acknowledging that some details like Ruby’s strength against the grimm remain in the realm of “Not canon, actually”) as well as explaining what precisely happened in each. None of that is necessary here. The only thing the scene doesn’t clarify is how a suit of armor is also a grimm, but failing to get into the possession abilities is small potatoes compared to the potential confusion we started out with.

Yet despite the obvious benefits of that clarity, the fight itself is just… fine? Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing bad about it—except, perhaps, the weird glyph sound effects that I personally hate—yet even following much of the original choreography, I didn’t have an emotional investment in this fight like I did the White Trailer. I think a great deal of that comes down to the music. Though I’ve always agreed that the soundtrack is a huge part of RWBY’s personality, I didn’t realize quite how much of the emotion it carried until it was gone. The generic battle music of IQ just can’t compare to hearing

Mirror, mirror

Tell me something,

Who’s the loneliest of all?

…I’m the loneliest of all.

while Weiss is framed in front of the broken moon, expression stony, this epic moment inter-cut with her future self belting this lament, all right before she drives through the knight and lands, perfectly confident in her victory.

IQ!Weiss technically has the same combat beats of the original fight (with the exception of the knight’s sword nearly crushing Klein??), but it’s a completely different vibe. IQ!Weiss feels frantic at the end to me and her getting to coldly demand the Beacon reward from her father is a one-up moment that doesn’t jive with, say, Weiss later trying to muster up a fake smile in the elevator to convince her family that everything’s fine. She feels too confident, like she’s already won against Jacques and RWBY!Weiss’ journey (marred as it was by Volume 8) isn’t even on the table anymore. And, you know, maybe it’s not. Though the changes are subtle so far, this is already a very different version of Weiss. Personally, I prefer the theme of loneliness in the original: Weiss standing as the knight is obliterated behind her, bloody face fading into someone who, despite this victory, is still left standing there, alone on stage, performing for her father. She won the battle, but is still fighting the war.

(Gotta love shots like this though. The size difference! The scale! The seemingly insurmountable challenge!)

With a red leaf that looks a lot like a rose petal flying by—nice—we transition to Blake who is…

…Naruto running with Adam?

alksdfjalsjfa okay, cool.

Their section is pretty similar to the Black Trailer, though this time around Blake’s decision to leave feels like it’s really coming out of left field. I mean, she questions whether they’ll be fighting actual people, but Adam reframes that around Blake’s courage and there’s no visual cue from her that he’s wrong about that. Then we get a seemingly sweet moment where she doesn’t even look at the Atlas soldier behind her, knowing Adam’s got her back

and though she’s clearly not happy about Adam crashing the train when there are people on board, Blake doesn’t have that much of a reaction to it. She just walks over to the next car and severs the connection, leaving the audience with Adam’s supremely awkward line, “Are you betraying me? Betraying the White Fang?”

Easily the worst part of the episode for me 😬 You know you haven’t written a scene well when a character has to spell things out in the most heavy-handed way possible.

To be honest, I’ve always found the Black Trailer to be the weakest of the bunch and I don’t think IQ has succeeded in improving on it. If anything, I think having Blake sneak away while Adam is busy with the mech, only for him and the audience to both realize she’s on a different, separated car works better than… this. I suppose neither version really sells me on the idea that this was a breaking point for Blake and if it wasn’t, why leave now, right in the middle of a mission? Compared to the clarity of our other stories, Blake’s remains lacking in some respects.

We get to Ruby’s Dust shop robbery and, given that we’ve just gone through two of the trailers, I’m a little disappointed that the Red Trailer wasn’t included. Certainly it’s the least plot connected of the four and yes, they’ve done away with Yang’s too, but Ruby taking out a horde of grimm under a shattered moon is the defining image of the franchise—at least for me. It’s not just what IQ decided to cut out though. Like Weiss’ fight sending a very different message thanks to the time spent on clarifying her test and its consequences, the development of Ruby’s character pre-robbery means that we’ve lost the appealing surprise of who she really is. What I mean is, outside of the Red Trailer, the moment Ruby turns—tiny, bright-eyed, sporting headphones and a weapons magazine—is our first introduction to her and that particular image contrasts wonderfully with her kicking that goon to hell and back. I mean sure, we already know how such “surprises” work (especially in a combat webseries. It’s not really a surprise), but I still love the (supposed) shock of this child being cornered, but then turning around and kicking ass.

That doesn’t happen in IQ precisely because the show does a better job of developing Ruby beforehand. We’ve already watched her tell Summer about how she might be getting bad grades, but she’s an expert with weapons. She’s already visited a weapons store before popping into the Dust shop.

She’s already gushed over the weapons magazine and even quoted from it, rather than that existing purely as a background detail for the audience to catch. Hell, we’ve already seen Crescent Rose, at least in its compact state, which makes the robbery “reveal” no longer a reveal at all. There’s no, “Oh cool the vulnerable kid is actually a badass fighter! And she’s got a scythe!!” reaction because the show has established that as a firm part of Ruby’s characterization. We know about Yang and Beacon and Ruby’s long-term combat goals. This

just doesn’t have the same impact anymore.

It’s the same with Zwei. Do I love seeing my favorite pupper right in the first episode? Hell yeah. Have we now lost the opportunity to introduce him through the mail—another iconic RWBY moment? Also yeah.

Which, again, is not automatically a bad thing. This isn’t a case of “Choice A works, but Choice B doesn’t.” Although IQ’s timeline is arguably a more productive way to write a long-term story, in inevitably comparing it to the webseries, I can’t help but notice that we’ve lost a certain absurdity and, well, fun that’s a part of RWBY’s charm.

(That’s an awesome shot though. Love the lighting.)

So Ruby works her way through the goons—a combat sequence I quite enjoyed. Very liberal on the crunchy faces. Looked painful—and Roman runs through most of his original lines. This time he does comment, “Semblance? A Beacon Academy student?” when Ruby busts out the window, which both hints at the fact that semblances might be comparatively rare (remember that Roman doesn’t have one) and, by extension, highlights Ruby’s innate abilities. The fact that Roman assumes she must go to Beacon implies that only someone two years older than her could pull that kind of control off. Ruby, as the talented protagonist, has managed this early.

Roman throws his smoke bomb, runs up the building, Ruby follows him… calls him a thief even though technically he didn’t take any of the Dust with him lol. While they’re on the roof, Tai, Yang, and Zwei arrive on the scene, having grown worried when Ruby failed to return home at a normal time.

(Why is that clock so cool and why don’t I own it.)

Again, IQ does a really great job of fleshing out the world and the characters’ relationships, especially in just 20 minutes. I love that Ruby was out looking for a present for Yang (still bitter we never got to see what she bought her in Volume 6), that Yang and Tai have this conversation about Ruby’s growth, Zwei is being used as a bloodhound to track her, the fact that yeah, of course there are other civilians about and the police were called on scene.

Personally, I think there’s a nostalgic charm to RWBY’s shadow people, but it’s still true to say that animating actual characters responding to situations goes a long way towards making your world feel lived in. 

Also, can I just SHOUT FROM THE ROOFTOPS that Tai is out looking for his daughter? I never cared about his character much until post-Volume 3 when the fandom started dragging him for… well, everything. How dare you make a joke your daughter clearly loved. How dare you tell her the truth in an effort to keep her from losing another limb—or her life. (Which, I will always point out now, happened! Yang stupidly jumped in front of Ruby, just like she stupidly charged Adam, and Neo killed her!! You have a ranged weapon, Yang, oh my god—) How dare you fail to follow one kid while the other is at home with severe depression. How dare you not follow both when [checks notes] you’re not a part of the primary plot. Tai really went the way of Ozpin and Ironwood (pre-Volume 8 Ironwood, anyway) where potential mistakes are declared unforgivable sins and… that’s it. You’re Remnant’s #1 Worst Dad. Sucks to be you.

So hell yeah, good on IQ for reminding everyone that Tai, even an AU Tai, is of course worried sick over his missing kid and will do whatever he can to help her. Double kudos for managing that alongside a slight increase in mom!Yang energy.

Glynda (my beloved) shows up and does her thing. Cinder never comes out to fight them, but we still see her piloting the airship, which is interesting. At least, it is to me given that I’d assumed going into IQ that a lot of the larger plot-lines would be dropped in favor of the new story: the White Fang, Cinder’s lust for power, even Salem herself. Obviously that’s not the case, so now I’m wondering if IQ is like an interlude type story? We get a mostly-the-same Volumes 1-2, then a totally new adventure, then the implication that the characters go back to a version of the original tale with Relics, Maidens, la de da? We’ll have to see.

After Ruby DOESN’T ask for Glynda’s autograph (tragic) and she’s getting her lecture while Tai and Yang wait at the station, Ozpin shows up to… salutes?

That’s a choice.

You know how I was saying that Whitley’s characterization feels more in line with where he’ll end up several Volumes later? Well, Ozpin’s characterization feels more in line with where the show says he ends up several Volumes later… even though they never actually wrote that. Meaning, this is an Ozpin introduction that actually implies an ulterior, morally gray motive. This is a guy that does feel sketchy to me.

Let’s tally the details.

Ozpin arrives at the station—now overtly a police station and not the ambiguous closet of the webseries—and is saluted by everyone there. He doesn’t wave the formality aside with discomfort or anything, but takes it as a given. If I didn’t know better, I’d think that was Ironwood walking into the room.

He still gives Ruby cookies, but this time we see that he didn’t arrive with them. Meaning, he must have made one of the officers scrounge them up which, while still potentially just a nice gesture, feels like it has more potential for manipulation. More “Do the work for me so I can look good to the kid” rather than, “I heard Glynda had you in her clutches and brought cookies from home to soothe that :D”

Ruby never gives her passionate speech about wanting to help people like her parents taught her to and how Beacon is her plan to do that. So although the fandom has long assumed that Ozpin invited her partly due to her Silver Eyes—an assessment I agree with—that motivation feels far more prominent without Ruby overtly wanting to come. At least, she doesn’t tell Ozpin she wants to come. Now, instead of making Ruby’s wish come true (with the added benefit of assisting Ozpin’s war) Ozpin offers a place seemingly out of the blue, still putting some focus on Ruby’s combat skills, far more on those special, Silver Eyes. This feels like a recruitment now, not a benevolent gesture towards a family friend’s kid.

Going off of that, there’s no playful banter between Ozpin and Glynda about Ruby getting in early. This Ozpin has very little of the kind, fatherly energy of the webseries.

Finally, we see Ozpin talking to Tai afterwards and though Tai is quite taken with Ruby getting to skip two years, it’s not like Ozpin is asking his permission here. Sure, sure, we could get into the question of how much agency Remnant kids actually have—Blake’s parents are cool with her going off to Beacon after being missing for a time, no one is looking for Oscar, etc.—but the point is that twice, once before meeting Ruby and once after, Ozpin has the chance to offer Tai this opportunity for his daughter, but very overtly does not. He says that he will be speaking to Ruby. He says that she will be attending Beacon. He’s in control here.

The combination of this creates a far less approachable, more calculating Ozpin. AKA, the kind of Ozpin that RWBY failed to write, but the fandom insists is there in an effort to make the fury in Volume 6+ make sense. I’m not sure how I feel about it? On the one hand yeah, I’m glad to see IQ setting the stage for future reveals. This is an Ozpin who really might be puppeteering this war in a way the cast can be justifiably disgusted by. Yet on the other hand, it doesn’t feel much like Ozpin to me. Though small changes have been made to all the characters, they still feel like themselves (Klein being the exception). Ozpin though… there’s no interest in Ruby’s passion, no teasing Glynda, no intimacy with Tai. Seriously, go back and watch “Ruby Rose.” We’ve got Ozpin’s dad-like concern over Ruby using one of the “most dangerous weapons every designed,” his clear fondness for his “dusty old crow,” offering the cookies only after Ruby has explained herself a bit and her actually eating them (comfortable in his presence/trusting what he gives her), the eye-twitch when she talks with her mouth full, fond smile as Ruby gushes about her uncle, laughing a little at her karate chops, “adorable girl,” the very stern “You want to come to my school?” which forces Ruby to clearly state her own goals and desires (that oh so conveniently align with his), THIS

I mean, Ozpin is a dad. I feel like that’s a very crucial part of his characterization. He’s a romantic who settled down, had kids, does the stupid voices while reading his beloved fairy tales… and then his life went to absolute shit. He’s an exhausted dad who is still fighting because he believes wholeheartedly that the world is worth fighting for. He’s exactly the kind of guy who would bring a talented kid cookies and let her skip two years, all while ensuring her happiness benefits humanity somehow.

This guy feels like a creep—and that’s not just because of the weird doll features.

So good for the fandom, finally has a legitimately suspicious Ozpin to embrace? Yay IQ laying the groundwork for future plot-points? But as my favorite character, I wish we had Ozpin back. Especially since he’s only existed as an extension of Oscar for the past five Volumes, one everyone uses as a punching bag.

Maybe his characterization will change in the upcoming episodes? :(

We near the end of “Red, White, Black, Yellow” with a bit of additional worldbuilding slapped onto the trailer content. Weiss learns from Winter that there are hard rules to their totally-not-magic system—“Your Aura can only take a direct attack once or twice at most. The moment you’re hit, you’re finished”—and that’s reiterated by Glynda to Ruby: “Is your Aura strong enough to stop every bullet they fired?”

Cue me CACKLING at, like, every single RWBY fight ever. Will IQ do what the webseries couldn’t and actually stick to its own rules? We’ll have to see…

Blake is off in a… barn? Some isolated place with a bag of supplies now. She gets her admission notice from Beacon and I have to wonder when she took that exam. Was it before she left Adam, thereby making her leaving him feel a little less random? Was it after her escape and she’s been, what? Just running through grimm infested territory since then, popping into Beacon once for a quick test? Why didn’t she ever go home?? Yeah, there are still aspects that don’t quite add up for me. Regardless, Blake gets teary and says that now she’s really able to follow a “different path.”

Klein sends Weiss off with faith that she’ll carry on the legacy of Master Nicholas Schnee and, after Ruby tells Tai that she’ll make a ton of friends at Beacon (that’s a change in characterization), we finish with them all boarding the same transport. We then get a really lovely moment where both Weiss and Blake stare at their reflection on opposite sides of the ship, mustering up a smile.

Watching OFMD grow as a fandom these last few months, I’ve gotten to see a lot of people question certain fandom trends that have popped up, including asking, “Wait, people ship that?” Ignoring for the moment that you obviously don’t need a reason beyond, “I like it,” we can usually pinpoint why fans end up liking that particular duo (or trio). The important takeaway here is that it doesn’t take much—at ALL—to spark that interest. This moment is a perfect example of that. Blake and Weiss are set up to parallel and contrast one another. One is the rich heiress harming the faunus. The other is the (right now reading as) poor faunus fighting the heiress. They’ve got that Romeo and Juliet potential—two houses not meant to join—and yet we also see, right here, that they’re so much more alike than either will initially believe. They’re separated now, haven’t yet met, are literally on opposite sides of the transport, and yet they both go through the exact same motions of sighing in relief at making it in time, catching sight of themselves in a reflective surface, considering who they are, and then smiling. There’s so much potential there! We in the RWBY fandom know that Bumbleby and White Rose are the two heavy-hitters, but right now Weiss hasn’t met Ruby and Blake hasn’t met Yang. I guarantee that if IQ were its own show and we were waiting a week for the next, totally original episode, fans would be all over Monochrome as the primary ship. It would have sunk its teeth into the community from that alone and even if IQ went the way of RWBY, splitting them up and starting numerous moments of other shipping potential (Weiss slowing coming to care for Ruby, Yang opening up to Blake, etc.) there’s a good chance that Blake/Weiss would have hung on like whoa, just from this moment and a week of theorizing alone. Never doubt the power of fans to imagine up the most epic romances from a single, thematically loaded shot.

We’re given our first glimpses of Jaune (vomiting), Nora (hanging onto Ren), Ren (suffering, but he likes it), and Pyrrha—taking up most of the screen as Salem says that “even the most brilliant lights eventually flicker and die.”

I can’t go through this again 😭

At least that’s a WAY better introduction for Pyrrha than being Jaune’s background, quirky girl...

And, of course, we end on a close-up of Ruby as Ozpin talks about small sparks and simple souls igniting the most change.

(I’m sorry she looks so creepy here hOW IS THAT NOT A MURDER DOLL??)

So, just to summarize, there's really good character work throughout this episode. Not only are the introductions tighter and better interwoven with Remnant's worldbuilding, but IQ does a decent job of setting up future themes, conflicts, and — if the plot circles back to canon — foreshadowed events like Pyrrha’s death. Basically, this is what happens when you take your story through another draft. This is RWBY with an eye towards what did and didn't work the first time around.

Yet for all that praise... I have to admit that a certain spark is missing. Yes, the animation is so much better, but as said, there's something charming about RWBY's janky movements and shadow people. Yes, the characters' introductions fit more neatly into the story-world now, but it was exciting to get individual action trailers, unsure at first how they would develop into a plot-driven narrative. No, there's no reason to waste time on silly things like Jaune being Vomit Boy, but the lack of stupid humor in this premiere makes me feel like a crucial part of RWBY is missing. There's no disappearing cookies, or Ruby being chill about Yang kicking men out of club windows, or karate chops, or (and this is a real travesty imo) a cringey "Can I have your autograph??" towards Glynda. Maybe it's that we're nearly a decade out from the original air date and tastes have changed, or maybe it's just straight up nostalgia on my part, but for however good IQ is so far, it doesn't feel like it has the same heart that RWBY did — and I don't think it's capable of recreating that. RWBY was a specific storm of Monty + 2013 + the appeal of a group of fans doing something fun in their basement over something objectively "good," and who knows what else thrown into the mysterious pot of success. You literally can't recreate that, especially when so much of RWBY's fanbase are adults now, unable to return to their teenage years — or even just the eight years younger version of themselves if they were adults the first time around — and the headspace of when they first fell in love with the story. That doesn't make IQ bad by any means (and it may well get its own fanbase of first-time viewers). I really enjoyed this first episode... but I enjoyed it in the way I enjoy lots of other well-made, but kinda generic anime. Without it already being a RWBY story and without RWBY having caught my imagination back when it did, I don't think I would have gotten hooked on IQ in the same way. The premier is good, arguably far, FAR better than "Ruby Rose" ever was, and yet, whether due to time, nostalgia, or something else entirely, RWBY still feels like it comes out on top. It’s just got... something that IQ lacks.

Not that it's a competition, of course, though certain members of the fandom seem to believe quite strongly that it should be. More because they’d like a built-in reason to drag anyone with a criticism of IQ/RWBY than because they actually believe two versions of a story can’t co-exist.

But I digress.

With that, we've completed "Red, White, Black, Yellow"! At a measly 6,000 words, no less. (I’m apologizing now for the inevitable typos. It’s past 1:00am now and I can’t read through this again...) As is abundantly obvious, these recaps take a long time to write and this sneak peek has, quite unexpectedly, dropped the equivalent of three weeks worth of RWBY content into my lap all at once. Normally I'd have no problem buckling down to write the next episode, but I have a number of fic commitments at the start of July that I can't afford to ignore. So writing time will be going towards those, first and foremost, with me continuing to work on Ice Queendom on the side. I hope to have the next episode recapped in the next few days — at the latest — but that depends entirely on how kind the writing Gods are to me this week.

So stay tuned and, as always, thanks for reading! <3

MurderOfBirds' Twitter Thread: https://twitter.com/MurderofBirds_/status/1540414268457340928

#RWBY #RWDE #mymetas #rwby: ice queendom #rwby recaps

[weirdly-specific-but-ok]

Hey,

Justaquestion,

Have you been around to the Spn fandom? If not what are the chances of a kidnapping part 2?

Oh dear god.

I... I have not been around there, yet. The Doctor Who and the OFMD fandom are currently grabbing on to me. Good Omens is my eternal fandom anyway once I was kidnapped as Mascot. The POTC fandom has made me swear an oath to watch the movies this weekend. Oh right and next weekend the Staged livestreams.

Um. Right. Okay. SPN fandom *adds to list of potential kidnappers*

#good omens mascot #weirdly specific but ok #asmi #maggots #potc fandom #doctor who fandom #ofmd fandom #good omens fandom #spn fandom #here we go again

[abihasablog]

The Anne's Revenge, chapter 4

Fandom - OFMD.

Also on Ao3.

Characters - Gentlebeard

Chapters; 1, 2, 3

Summary - Ed and Stede's scene continues.

This chapter is explicitly NSFW.

Words - 3720

Stede started cackling as soon as Ed’s fingers ghosted over his sides.

"What a pretty laugh you have!" Ed grinned, fingertips probing lightly at the soft skin through his shirt. Stede tugged at his arm restraints as he jerked about, but Ed's fingers followed him dutifully. "Kinda ticklish here, huh? What about here?"

Ed's fingers walked up to his ribs and Stede yelped before dissolving into deep belly laughter. 

"Ohoho my Gohohohohod!" He cried, bouncing his legs uselessly under Ed. Ed chuckled, head cocking to the side. 

"My poor, poor, ticklish sweetheart!” Ed cooed. “That looks like it tickles real bad.”

“It does!”

“Oh, it does?” Ed dug his fingers in a little firmer and vibrated them, laughing to himself as Stede shrieked in hysterics. He moved a little further upwards, edging closer to Stede’s underarms. 

“Wait! Wait wait wait!” Stede begged through his laughter. It wasn’t a colour, but Ed slowed anyway, just in case. 

“Colour, darling?” 

“Yehehehellow!” Stede’s head thumped back against the seat as Ed stopped completely, rubbing his palms across his shoulders.

“What do you need, love?” Ed asked softly. Stede took a deep breath as he twitched with residual giggles. 

“Just - just a second,” he panted. “Ed… sir…” 

“Yes, treasure?” Ed smiled. Stede’s eyes raked up and down his body, eyes lingering on the bulge in his trousers. 

“Can… would you please undo my shirt?” 

Still a little shy, Stede blushed at his own request. Ed rewarded him with a soft kiss to the underside of his jaw, hands moving up to start undoing buttons. 

“Such a good boy, asking for what you want,” he kissed down his neck, and Stede gasped. “How are you doing, darling? Tell me honestly.” 

“Feels so good, letting you torture me…” Stede shot him a cheeky grin. “You’re too good at this, you scoundrel!” “Scoundrel?” Ed huffed, jokingly affronted. “Bold words from a ticklish little menace in your situation.”

“I guess so,” Stede grinned and wriggled as Ed finished on his shirt, pushing it aside to reveal his bare chest, glistening in a slight sheen of sweat. “Sir?”

“Hmm?” 

“I’m, um… I just wanted to say I’m really enjoying this.”

Ed beamed at him. “Yeah? You like your tickle torture?”

“I do,” Stede blushed red furiously. 

"That's good, because I like torturing you. Not that it's really torture if you're enjoying it…" Ed's hands roamed the naked expanse of Stede's chest, running his fingertips across his nipples. Stede shivered and moaned. "Oh, just there?" 

"Sir!" Stede squirmed. Ed pressed his lips to Stede's collarbone and started a trail of kisses downwards, finishing by taking a hard nipple into his mouth and sucking. Stede yelped and tensed a moment before utterly melting back against the seat, trembling and panting as Ed lavished his chest with attention. "Fuck, Ed! Sir please oh my God-"

Ed pulled away with a wet pop. "Good?" He asked, smug. 

"Shit," Stede panted, "You're going to kill me."

"Hmm, that's the idea," Ed grinned. "Another time we'll see if you can cum just from me playing with your tits. Bet you can."

Stede's eyes fluttered closed and he moaned, hips rolling up into Ed. 

"But for now, I think you're suitably worked up…" Ed ground his hips down into Stede's hard cock and hissed at the friction. "Let's take a peek into my treasure chest, shall we?" 

"Yes, oh yes-" Stede nodded frantically. Ed leant in and took his mouth in a deep kiss, rolling his entire body up against his eager captive. He slid away, just out of Stede's sight, and rummaged through a cupboard. Stede used the opportunity to take several long, deep breaths, taking note of the state of his limbs. His arms were a little tired from straining, but otherwise he was entirely perfect. 

Flustered, sweaty, hard, and perfect. 

Ed reappeared beside him after a few moments, wielding a large feather between two fingers.

“Pretty, isn’t it?”

"Mmhmm." Stede blinked a little owlishly. "Um - where's that gonna go?"

"I was thinking here…" Ed reached behind him to trail the length of it up Stede's foot, making him twitch and giggle. "Maybe here…." He wiggled it at Stede's ear, chuckling as he scrunched his neck up with a grin. "But for the main event, riiiiight here."

He dropped his hand and tapped the very tip of the feather against Stede's underwear. 

"Oh," Stede gasped, as if the idea of using anything other than a hand had never occurred to him. Ed's fingers traced along the waistband, tickling lightly. Stede grinned, belly twitching. 

"I'd like to take your cock out, sweetheart. May I?"

"Please, yes, yes sir," Stede whispered. Ed knelt beside the chair, pressing a kiss to his belly as he slipped his hands into the top of Stede's trousers, tugging both them and his underwear down his thighs. His cock sprang free, hard as a rock and leaking already. Ed ran a finger from base to tip.

"So wet already," he hummed. "Colour?"

"Green, so green oh my God, if you don't touch me I'll die-"

"Oh now, can't have that, can we?" Ed let his fingers trace lightly up the underside of his cock, lingering at the spot just below the head. "I could touch you, get you off like this…" He pulled away just as quickly, the touch of his hand suddenly replaced by the soft tickle of the feather. 

“Ohohohohohohoh my Gohohohohod!” Stede’s head fell back with a thump, eyes wide, chest heaving. 

“Feel good?” Ed teased. He ran the long edge of the feather up and around the head, flicking it back and forth across the slit, and Stede keened. “I’ll take that as a yes.” 

Stede fell incredibly quickly into incoherency, babbling a mix of yes, and fuck, and Sir. Ed rested his elbow on the seat next to Stede’s quivering thighs, propping his chin up on his free hand. 

“Ticklish?” 

“Yehehehehehes fuhuhuhuck!” Stede turned his head into his shoulder, biting his lip. Ed tutted, squeezing a hand into Stede’s thigh. He shrieked and quickly released his lip from between his teeth. 

Ed kept up the torment for what felt to Stede like forever, the feather trailing long and firm strokes up and down Stede’s cock. Everytime Stede opened his eyes he saw Ed’s gaze on him, chasing his pleasure. The gentle pressure on his cock was maddening, pulling him further and further to the edge, but not enough to toss him over. 

“Ed, Ed, oh sir please-” Stede gasped and writhed as the feather traced unrelentingly up and down the underside of his cock. Ed hummed, unsympathetic. 

“You make such pretty noises when you’re desperate, sweetheart…” he pressed a kiss to the glistening inside of Stede’s thigh. “Not much of an argument to let you cum.” 

“Nononono please! Please sir, please let me cum-” Stede arched his back up to try and gain more friction but Ed was merciless in his steady pace. It tickled so badly but felt so fucking good all at once and he was gonna die.

“D’you need a little help?” Ed offered innocently, and Stede nodded frantically, babbling laughter and pleas. “Hmm, alright.” 

Ed sat back, setting the feather aside, and Stede sobbed. Ed ran his hands along Stede’s thighs, watching his cock twitch in the air, red and glistening. 

“Shh, shh…” he soothed. “You’ll get to cum tonight sweetheart, I promise.”

Stede only panted, eyes watching Ed’s hands for any sign he might touch him. 

He did, though not the way Stede's body was begging for. 

Ed's fingers snaked up his now naked torso to tickle at his exposed armpits, and holy shit was that so much worse without clothes! Stede jumped in his seat, instinctively trying to cover the area being ruthlessly attacked, high pitched laughter spilling from his chest. Ed laughed with him as he worked his hands up his biceps to tickle softly at his inner arms.

"Betcha didn't know you could be ticklish here, eh?" Ed wiggled his eyebrows. Stede, too lost in hysterics, only shook his head. Ed didn't linger for too long, trailing his hands back down to focus on his ribs, drawing gentle patterns that made him squirm deliciously. 

"Ed!"

"Yeeeees?" 

"Tickles!"

"Does it really?" Ed tutted. "Now that is news to me."

"Don't teeeeeaase!" Stede whined, and Ed laughed.

"Oh poor darling, does teasing make it tickle moooore?"

"Yehehehes!" 

"Hmm, well it's lucky that you're tied nice and still for me, otherwise I'd have to chase you." Ed teased, his voice laced with a slight growl. "I wonder if you'd enjoy that, me chasing you? I'd have to tickle you real bad for running, naturally. And this?"

Ed's hands darted to squeeze the divot where Stede's thighs met his hips. 

"This is me being nice, sweetheart."

Stede was a puddle. An absolute puddle. Everything tickled including Ed's very words, he was achingly hard and his chest was full of deliciously warm feelings. If this was Ed being nice he couldn't wait to see him being mean. 

Stede was incoherent when Ed pulled back. He could only tilt his head up and hope Ed got the message. Of course he did, that gorgeous man. He leaned in to cup his face in his hands and steal a long, deep kiss that had them both panting. He slipped one hand down to rub across Stede's thigh.

“You have a choice now. Do you want my hand, or my mouth?” 

“Your hand,” Stede said, pupils blown. He knew if Ed put his mouth anywhere near him then he’d be finished in an instant. Ed raised an eyebrow. “Oh, sorry! Your hand, please sir.”

“There’s my polite little menace,” Ed teased, rubbing his hands along his thighs to rest them at the base of his cock. “I want you to ask my permission to cum, is that alright?”

“Oh yes, yes-” Stede’s cock twitched heavily against his belly at the prospect of giving Ed complete control over his pleasure, having to ask his permission to touch himself, to finish. He hadn’t thought about the idea, but now he craved it. He shuddered as Ed kissed his inner thigh. 

“Good boy,” he rumbled, then his hand was on his cock. Stede keened at the touch, back arching and thrusting up into the sensation. Ed’s fingers were pure heat against him. 

“Ah, ah, ah, Ed! Ed!” Stede babbled breathlessly. Ed chuckled, his free hand trailing up the expanse of Stede’s chest before digging into his armpit. Stede shrieked at the sudden feeling, dissolving into laughter once again at Ed’s hands. “NO NO NO NOT FAIR!” 

“Not fair, hmm?” Ed grinned. The hand shifted to instead torment his other armpit, the hand on his cock still unrelenting. 

"You said this was you being nice!" Stede keened at the insane contrast in sensation, Ed's gentle hand on his cock feeling incredible, combined with the torturous trail of tickling fingers that now slipped down to his waistline. He could only sit back and take it, his breathy laughter and Ed's touch the only things keeping him from floating away.

"I did say that," Ed shrugged. "Could stand to be nicer, if I felt like it."

"Plehehehehease be nicer!" Stede's laughter broke with a moan as Ed focused his soft touch on the head of his cock. His devious tickling hand slowed to gentle stroking across his heaving belly, and Stede sighed. 

"Better?" Ed asked, smug. Stede tried to glare but found himself floating much too high. He nodded instead, eyes locked on Ed. "Remember to ask permission, sweetheart."

"Yes sir," Stede whispered. 

Ed's hand was magic. It had to be. Stede had never felt pleasure like this in all his life, his mind quietened of all nasty thoughts. The only thoughts he had were of Ed. He wished he could hold on for longer, but he was so desperate. 

"P-please, may I cum, sir?" Stede asked as steadily as he could. He was so close. 

"Not yet," Ed said gently, and Stede sobbed a moan. "Colour, sweetheart?"

"Green, green Ed, but oh, please, please may I cum?"

"Still no," Ed chuckled. "You close, treasure?"

"Yes, yes, yes, please-"

"Hmm," Suddenly Ed's hand was at the base of his cock, gripping it tight and bringing him down from the edge. Stede gulped in several breaths, thighs trembling with effort. "That's it, there's a good lad."

"Sir," Stede whined petulantly without really meaning to, and blushed. Ed grinned and pressed a kiss to his nose. 

"Few deep breaths," Ed encouraged softly. Stede did as he was told, and Ed rewarded him with a deep kiss. "There's my sweetheart."

"Sir… What, what if I came without permission?" Stede hurried to explain himself as Ed quirked a brow. "I don't want to! But what if I do, by accident?" 

"By accident? Well," Ed stroked a hand across his beard, considering. "Then that's my fault for not paying closer attention. I know you'll try your best to tell me when you're close, but I also know that sometimes they sneak up on you."

Stede giggled a little, and Ed smiled. 

"Now if you came without permission on purpose…" Ed levelled him with a sultry look, and Stede squirmed. "Then we'd have to come up with a suitable punishment, wouldn't we?"

Stede's cock jumped in Ed's hand, betraying just how much the idea of punishment appealed to him. Ed chuckled, giving him a firm stroke. 

"Tonight though, you'll ask." 

"I'll ask," Stede agreed eagerly. Ed smiled at him warmly and resumed his gentle strokes. His free hand slipped lower to tease at the soft skin of his inner thighs, and Stede gasped suddenly, the ticklish sensation feeling divine as it worked in tandem with the hand on his cock. He let out a spew of little breathy moans, his whole body clenched like a coiled spring. 

"Close?" Ed asked softly. His hand wandered down to trace patterns on his inner knee and oh, wasn't that a feeling. Stede moaned in affirmative. "Ask me, darling. I might even say yes."

"Sir, please, please!" 

"Hmm, how bad do you want it?" Ed's hand did something wicked and Stede sobbed. 

"So bad, so so bad please, Sir, please oh-"

Ed clicked his tongue and cocked his head, and for a long few seconds Stede was sure he'd be denied again, but Ed smiled softly, and nodded.

"Yes love, you can cum." 

Stede's whole body tensed as Ed's hand stroked him steadily. He'd been balancing on the edge for ages, and Ed's permission shoved him forcefully over the edge. He came with a gasping cry, eyes squeezed shut as Ed worked him through it until he was trembling with oversensitivity. Ed pulled his hand away from his cock and wiped it on a towel he'd procured from under the bench.

Stede blinked heavily as the cloth wiped away the mess from his belly and gently cleaned his cock. Ed's face was in front of him suddenly, eyes watching him steadily. 

"Sweetheart?"

"Hngh," Stede said. 

Ed chuckled and pushed the hair from his sweaty forehead. "Let's get you out of these, hmm?"

A hand circled his wrist and held it as the leather cuff was removed, then the other. Ed rubbed at the pink marks left behind and kissed the pad of each finger. Stede felt like he was made of syrup, all thick and sugary. He smiled dopily at Ed as he kissed each wrist before putting Stede's hands on his lap. He slid away towards his feet, unhooking the latch on the stocks and giving the same treatment to Stede’s ankles, rubbing away the redness and kissing the arch of each foot. 

“Clothes off, or on?” Ed prompted as he reappeared beside Stede. Stede blinked, unable to quite make his mouth work. Ed grinned. “Nod you head for on, shake for off.”

Stede shook his head. 

He sat dutifully still as Ed rid him of his clothes, his head feeling like it was full of syrup. He grinned dopily at Ed when his face appeared next to his, and leant in to steal a kiss, which Ed reciprocated easily. 

Something warm was wrapped around his shoulders and he was being carried, and then set down. He threw his hand out, searching for Ed, and whined.

“I’m right here,” Ed’s soft voice drifted from closeby. A straw was held to his mouth, and Stede sucked on it, tasting cool water. 

“Feeling a little floaty, are we?” Ed pulled the straw back after a moment and settled in next to Stede, tugging him to rest on his chest. Stede noted with a happy hum that at some point Ed had divested himself of his jacket and shirt, and nuzzled contently into his bare chest. It vibrated against his cheek as Ed chuckled. “Make yourself at home.”

Stede groaned as Ed drew his fingers through Stede’s golden curls. 

“Hmm, there’s a good lad. You stay down as long as you need to, I’ll be right here.”

Stede had no idea what Ed was talking about but nodded anyway, feeling very much like he could agree to anything Ed said just then. 

His whole body was warm and tingly. He could barely hold a thought together as he rested against Ed, feeling heavy in the best way. His world was reduced to Ed, Ed, Ed. 

The gentle beating of Ed’s heart. 

The soft tracing of Ed’s fingers through his hair. 

Ed’s thumb rubbing soothing circles against his arm. 

He was being rocked gently - Stede knew that much at least as his head started to clear. Like he was on a ship, being softly lulled by gentle waves. He brought his hands up to curl around Ed’s arm, anchoring himself to him, not quite ready to come back to reality. 

“Hey, sweetpea.” 

“Ed,” Stede’s voice was gravelly, his throat just on the edge of sore. Even as Stede started to feel more like himself again, Ed didn’t release him from his hold, still rocking him slowly.

“Are you back with me yet?” Ed’s voice was a gentle rumble that echoed through every one of Stede’s nerves. Stede wanted to tell him that, to tell Ed just how incredible he had made him feel. How safe, how comfortable, how cared for. 

“Sweetpea,” Stede giggled instead. “I like that one.”

“Yeah?” Ed grinned. “What about sweetheart? Treasure? Precious, ticklish angel?”

“The first two,” Stede giggled again, the faint trace of a blush growing on his cheeks. “Ed, darling.” 

“Oh, I like you calling me darling. It’s up there with Sir, that’s for sure.” 

“Scoundrel!” Stede smacked weakly at Ed’s chest, before hesitating. “May… may I kiss you?”

“You may always kiss me,” Ed grinned fondly. “Sweetpea.”

“I didn’t know…” Stede looked down, uncertain. “Because we finished the scene, I wasn’t sure…”

“We’re still doing aftercare, love. Remember what I said yesterday? Aftercare can last as long as we need it to.” Ed hooked a finger under his chin and tilted it up to offer him a cheeky grin. “And kissing you is no hardship to me, love, honest.”

Stede cleared his throat, a little shy, but reached up for a long, deep kiss that had him moaning. After being put through the wringer - by his standards, at least - the soft, sure feel of Ed’s lips hit different to any of the kisses they’d shared so far. Stede hoped he would get to kiss Ed until the day he died, and ever after. 

A little later, Ed helped Stede pull his clothes back on, and watched him as he downed half a bottle of lucozade. “Let’s get you home, eh?”

Stede was barely aware of the walk through the club to the door, until he made eye contact with someone vaguely familiar. Was it… Izzy? That sounded right to Stede’s worn out brain. 

“Edward,” the man’s voice was deep and husky, and it had Stede standing a little straighter. “Didn’t know you were working tonight.”

“Here on pleasure, Iz.” Ed said stiffly, tugging Stede closer to his side. “This is Stede, he knows Lucius.” 

“Ah, the prize brat brought a friend?” Izzy looked Stede up and down slowly. Stede felt rather like he was failing an exam. 

“C’mon Iz, the guy’s knackered. Introductions another time, yeah?” Stede sight gratefully, really not sure how much standing time his legs had left. He ached for Ed’s warm, quiet car.

“Right, of course.” Izzy sniffed, stepping aside. Stede was sure he heard Ed mutter something to the shorter man, but it was drowned out by the screeching of several groups of young people when Lady Gaga played over the speakers. As soon as they’d stopped, they were moving again, and Stede was hit with the cold outside air. Ed wrapped him tighter in his arm and walked them to his car, opening the door and helping Stede slide in and closing the door. He slid in next to him a moment later, switching on the engine and blasting warm air. Stede sighed, sinking back in the seat. 

“Sorry about Iz, he can be a prickly little shit.” Ed said gently as he batted away Stede’s weak attempts at doing his seatbelt up, then doing it for him. “He doesn’t mean to come across as such a prick, it’s just what his voice sounds like.”

“‘S fine.” Stede patted at Ed’s hand. “I can be very prickly too.”

“Can you?” Ed raised his eyebrows sceptically. “I’m struggling picturing you as anything but a darling little polite menace.” 

“Oh, no. Lucius tells me I am a natural bitch and should embrace it more,” Stede shrugs with a little smile. “Perhaps I should endeavour to be more of a brat, when I’m with you?”

“If you’d like,” Ed leans in to kiss him again, soft and sweet. “I’ll have to dig out my brat taming kit. I’m thinking feathers, toe restraints, electric toothbrushes…”

Stede blushed bright pink and laughed with nervous anticipation, hoping he didn’t appear too eager. Though one look at Ed’s eyes told him he’d failed. 

“Perhaps I ought to recover my wits first, you seem to have stolen them from me, you dreadful thief.” 

“I’m holding them ransom. You may have them back in exchange for more of your gorgeous blushes.”

Ed winked, and Stede fell ever so slightly in love. 

#gentlebeard #blackbonnet #ofmd tickling #tickling #tickle fic #thank u silvie for reading

[dollsome-does-tumblr]

Fanfiction of 2022 - Year in Review!

I like to do this every year just so it feels like I really got up to something. :D

Total number of completed stories: 13! (Er, if you count the one chapter of a Jane Eyre rewrite I posted for some reason in a fit of writer’s block madness. Which I shouldn’t, because it’s not complete. But I will anyway!)

Total Word Count: 32,000

Fandoms Written In: Jurassic Park, Killing Eve, Our Flag Means Death, Ted Lasso, Glass Onion, and Jane Eyre

Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d expected?: More, because this was a stressful personal year and I truly didn’t expect to write any at all. At the start of the year I was like, “You know what? This is just never gonna happen and that’s okay.” But I still busted some out when the fangirl inspiration overtook me, yay!

What’s your own favorite story of the year? I am torn between my Jurassic Park fic “and he feels like home”, my Ted Lasso fic “forget your troubles (come on, get happy)”, and my OFMD fic “my love a beacon in the night.” It’s a tie!

Did you take any writing risks this year? I participated in GrantlerFest with my Alan/Ellie fic “for me there is no other”, which I believe was the first time I’ve ever written a fic like that for a challenge in my 20+ year fanfic-writing career! I’m such a commitmentphobe when it comes to stuff like that, haha. And it wound up being a lot of fun! Year of Grantler, huzzah!

Do you have any fanfic or original fic goals for the new year? Fanfic: Just keep writing one-shots for fun when the spirit moves me! I do feel like I should write a Gilmore Girls fic this next year at some point just because it feels so weird that I didn’t in 2022.

Original fic: I have a few novel drafts I really want to get back to strengthening so I can do something with them; I feel like they deserve something better than just being an ignored file on my computer after the years of work I put into them! (Even though I’m really lazy and just letting them sit there forever is my natural impulse.) I also would potentially like to write a new novel project since it’s been a few years since my last. I think I’m going to try a comedy since I really want to hang out in silly land these days.

My Best-Written Story:  I think my OFMD fic “my love a beacon in the night” is, because it was a long time coming and because I worked on it really hard for longer than I usually do with fic! I wanted to do an “Oh my God, what happens after season one, how could you possibly fix this” fic like right after s1 ended in March, but somehow it took like the rest of the year and five or so rewatches for me to reach the point where I could actually write about it.

Story Most Underappreciated by the Universe: Just based on my own sort of irrational personal feelings, I’d say the same story as above, “my love a beacon in the night”! I think because I posted it so long after season one aired, the fandom excitement has maybe kind of cooled somewhat. It was just one of those fics where I felt like I was really putting a lot of ideas into the writing (rather than a more standard, like, simple bantery cute fic), and I suuuuper passionately cared about all those ideas just because I am so crazy emotionally invested in Ed and Stede, so I was curious to find out what other fans of the show would think about it. However: I did still get incredibly kind comments on it and it was wonderful to read people’s thoughts! In my dream life its reach would’ve just been a bit further because I’m just, like, itchy for interaction about that fic.

Most Popular: Coming in and clobbering all competition right at the end of the year, my wee little Glass Onion coda “here’s another place you can be”! It’s definitely because I was in the right place at the right time with that one. Fandom kairos!

Before that for most of the year, it was my little Killing Eve post-finale fic “darkness bright” where Villanelle lives because WHY WOULDN’T VILLANELLE LIVE. The finale is a lie, and my tiny fanfiction is the TRUTH!

Most Fun: My Ted Lasso fic “forget your troubles (come on, get happy)” where Ted mistakenly thinks Rebecca and Beard are falling in love and has Problems with it, just because I was in a state of pure hyper romcom nonsense writing it and it was REALLY enjoyable. And the reception to it really left me over the moon!

Most Disappointing: I had a few fics that I wrote a lot of – my first attempt at a post-s1 OFMD one from back in March and a Ted Lasso one that was a sequel to my AU fic “i once was poison ivy” – that just didn’t quite come together enough to be completed. That was a bit odd for me because usually when I’ve written a few thousand words of something, that fact alone is enough to propel me to finish it and post it. But I just couldn’t quite get those ones to work! (Although I did reread the OFMD one recently and I actually thought it was pretty decent. So maybe one day I’ll try to dust it off with the disclaimer that it was written by someone whose psyche had just been entirely shattered by watching episodes 9 & 10 for the first time. I also think the Ted Lasso one probably has some good bits in it, but it was on the more melancholy side a lot of the time and I don’t think my writing works super well in the melancholy zone.)

Most Sexy: I don’t ever really write sexy stuff in the traditional sense, but I think my sexiest fic from 2022 is my post-Jurassic World Dominion Alan/Ellie fic “and he feels like home”, for the reason of: WHAT IS SEXIER THAN THEM FINALLY GETTING BACK TOGETHER AND HAVING A BLISSFUL TIME BECOMING EACH OTHER’S LIFE PARTNERS AGAIN AFTER NEARLY 3 DECADES? Nothing!!

Story With The Single Sweetest Moment: I am embarrassed to say that I have sort of a hard time picking because my fic all tends to hang out in the “and then there’s a sweet moment this has all been building toward!” zone. For the sake of brevity: I did really like the idea of Benoit Blanc being able to easily set aside the insane experiences in Glass Onion and say and genuinely mean “Wow, that’s amazing!” at Phillip finally successfully baking something. That is the original germ that grew the whole little story!

I also really liked how Ted professed his Feels to Rebecca in “forget your troubles (come on, get happy)”. That kinda snuck up on me.

Story that shifted my own perceptions of the characters: I wrote a Killing Eve fic called “you’ll never leave me” (I’m not above pulling “Tell Me” lyrics for all Killing Eve fic titles!) that was meant to sort of explain WHY Eve and Villanelle were in such a different place at the start of season four than they were when season three ended, and it did help me to feel like I could imagine a smoother bridge between the two seasons based on what both of them had going on emotionally. Even though honestly, I think the writers of actual canon were just being lazy for no reason and that sucks. Sometimes you just gotta do the work yourself, SIGH!

Biggest Surprise:  Listen, I thought there was no way I would ever write fanfic for the Knives Out franchise. What could have ever compelled me to?? The answer, it turns out: Hugh Grant. Dear God, maybe he is my blorbo.

Hardest to Write: I don’t usually stick with fanfic if it’s hard to write these days, since the stakes are so low; I think the hardest time I had was writing the post-party conversation between Ed and Stede in “my love a beacon in the night,” just because it was really long and complicated and I really wanted to get it right and pick up where they’d left off with all their issues in s1. I did a lot of rewriting and reading it to myself and really trying to be able to vividly imagine each beat. I’d say I am at least 95% satisfied with it. Yeah!!

Most Unintentionally Telling: I don’t remember if I was thinking about it at the time or not, but for the general experience in my lil’ Ed/Stede fic “comfort in a bedfellow’d state” and the buzzy feelings of new love, I pulled a lot from the early days of my own relationship one million years (or, well, one decade) ago. D’awww!

Also, I feel like the fact that I started the year trying to rewrite Jane Eyre from memory says a lot about the writer’s block I was wrestling with at the time. But that’s more intentionally telling. I feel so lucky that some inspiration came along and I was still able to have fun writing fic this year!

***

Here is my Works page on AO3 if anyone’s interested in checking out any of the stuff mentioned above!

#dollsome's deep thoughts #i write things!

[sixstepsaway]

I just wanted to say thank you for all your writing and analysis on Izzy and the Blackhands dynamic. I just found your blog but I've been reading through posts and it's just been so great and helpful to read. Every character is going to sit differently with people depending on so many things. The whole "ack this character is reminding me of something toxic I have experienced and I shall now put any disparaging feelings from this media onto this character" has been placed quite often on Izzy in this fandom, but from my first watch (and strengthening upon rewatching) those feelings for me went right on Ed (Not taking responsibility, out of control, etc. Which yeah we wouldn't want to watch a show with a perfect lead who doesn't have to grow. I'm here for the journey but it does give me gnarly feelings!) Izzy has become a comfort character for me (haha, oh dear) and with most scenarios in the show, I see Ed falling off the edge of the earth and Izzy going to the end of the world to bring him back... then being demonized for it. Anyway, I probably don't have to over explain. Your deep dives are magnificent. I'm a fandom lurker and I'm mostly fine taking my perspective from media and being groovy with however the fandom wants to roll with things, but as it is for many people, OFMD just hits deeper and a bit more intimate so your writing has really been refreshing and I just wanted to say thanks for that. -Finch

General fandoms, especially those with a large portion that ascribe to purity culture etc, find it much easier to enjoy something if they boil it down in a way they can take in small bites. Eg: Izzy Bad. If they don't do that, they have to admit that Edward is a really morally grey character who needs a lot of growth to be healthy to himself and those around him, and that it's okay to still love him. It doesn't make them a bad person.

Instead of doing that introspection and acknowledging those things, they hone in on someone annoying (Izzy's voice isn't exactly standard, so that's one thing they can start with, he's a bit of a dick, rough around the edges, his accent is northern which is already looked down on and not often represented, etc etc) and heap all of the bad feelings on him. He becomes a vessel for their wrath so they can love the other characters in peace, without having to (haha, considering this is what they tell us to do) think critically about what they enjoy.

It's shitty and toxic and if I can help even one person with my metas and analysis etc then I've achieved something great, because I know what it's like to step into a fandom and get bombarded with nothing but hate for a character you don't think is all that bad really and struggle to find anything refuting those accusations of toxicity, abuse, homophobia, racism, whatever the fuck else they decide to throw in there.

Frankly, Izzy has become a comfort character for me too, probably because he's so desperately trying to keep control of a life rapidly falling apart around him and no one is listening to his cries for help. It resonates.

And I agree with your take on Edward wholeheartedly. I love that man to death but he needs to straighten up his act because his whole, "Oh no, no, the fall killed the guy I pushed down the stairs," schtick is adorable for five minutes until you realize he basically perpetuates that across everything in his life. I bet you anything that in season 2 he's like, "No I didn't hurt Izzy, the Kraken hurt Izzy," and I want someone to call him on that!

and with most scenarios in the show, I see Ed falling off the edge of the earth and Izzy going to the end of the world to bring him back… then being demonized for it.

Oh my god yes. Izzy's ways of bringing Ed back are questionable sometimes (you know, the murder thing in reference to dueling Stede) but they make perfect sense, especially in the context of everything else in the show and what everyone around him does! He tries so hard to take care of Ed and the fandom is just like, "What a dick." Or, what I saw earlier, which was, "Izzy wants to keep Ed as a pet."

Which a) was a highly racist take, as these people talk about here

and b) completely ignores all canon context that says that honestly Izzy is closer to the pet in the situation than Ed lmao

I think also one of the reasons OFMD hits so deep is there's so much love and time put into it, so we can dig into every character bit by bit, analyze scenes, talk about the context when framed against other factors like homophobia, race, class, power etc, and then keep digging and talking about everything else. There's so much detail work that's been embedded in it, as demonstrated by Izzy's ring and the tattoos they chose to put on each character that has them. I love it.

Your deep dives are magnificent. I'm a fandom lurker and I'm mostly fine taking my perspective from media and being groovy with however the fandom wants to roll with things, but as it is for many people, OFMD just hits deeper and a bit more intimate so your writing has really been refreshing and I just wanted to say thanks for that.

You're really welcome, Finch. I'm glad I could be a port in the storm of the fandom and I hope you stick around :)

thank you so much for such a lovely ask, it really made my day

#ask #anon finch #ofmd #izzy hands #edward teach #ofmd meta #izzy hands meta #edward teach meta

[hadeantaiga]

I know everyone who follows me on Tumblr is cool, but I've seen some buckwild takes on twitter (mostly from people who are extremely anti-Izzy, yes, it's a thing, there's been a lot of drama, a lawsuit, and doxxing involved)

ANYWAY

I've seen some folks claiming that Stede is a horrible person for abandoning Edward... and in the same breath, they place all the blame for Edward embodying the Kraken at the end of the season on Izzy.

Both situations were trauma-induced reactions. But in one situation, the person is blamed for their actions, and in the other, he's excused.

Personally, I think it shows a severe misunderstanding of how trauma works, and a disconcerting lack of respect for people who react to "fight or flight" with flight instead of fight. There is of course actually four options: fight, flight, freeze, fawn.

I've seen this reaction in other fandoms too: people really cannot wrap their heads around anxiety, trauma, and fear causing a character to flee a situation if it results in someone else being harmed. I recognize it immediately, as someone who also has an anxiety disorder.

In Yuuri on Ice (stay with me), Yuuri has an anxious break down near the end of the series. He decides that the best way to "fix" the situation is to "run away" by breaking everything off with Victor. Yuuri very much has a low sense of self-worth and views himself as bringing Victor down, and preventing Victor from skating.

In OFMD, Stede has an anxious break down near the end of the season. He decides in a moment of utterly traumatic panic that the best way to "fix" the situation is to run away back home. Stede very much has a low sense of self-worth and views himself as bringing Edward down and is accused more than once of "bringing the greatest pirate ever to ruin".

You can see the similarities. I think I deserve a reward for comparing Yuuri on Ice to OFMD.

Anyway, in both cases, I saw a lot of fans expressing zero understanding, empathy, sympathy or compassion for either Yuuri or Stede.

"Oh my god, he's so cruel, how could he do that!? He needs to apologize on his knees! He doesn't deserve to be taken back!"

But let's look at Edward: he's also facing trauma: he was left behind by Stede, and then Izzy comes along and in his attempt to snap some sense into Edward, he makes it worse.

But Edward doesn't flee.

Edward's response is, in my opinion, a combination of fight and fawn. He becomes the Kraken both to literally fight, and also to appease Izzy, to scare people into believing he is who they want him to be. It's a very aggressive form of fawning, but he's not doing it for himself, he's doing it to make other people happy. He's becoming who he thinks they want him to be: the Kraken. It is, in its own way, a form of flight too, because he's retreating inside himself and putting up a persona to hide behind, but I think people don't always catch on to that form of flight.

And the people out there blaming Stede for his reactions don't blame Edward, they blame Izzy! "It's Izzy's fault! He did this!"

So Stede gets to keep his agency, but Edward doesn't. Edward is a victim, but Stede isn't.

And that's not even getting into how Izzy's actions are in and of themselves a response to him being genuinely worried for Edward's mental and physical well-being. He even tries to send in Lucius first before resorting to threats. He tries to do things the gentle and kind way.

All of the characters are reacting to everything and it's a big clusterfuck of feelings, but some folks don't like things to be complicated, so they have to pick aggressors and victims, and somehow, those folks decided Stede and Izzy were to blame, and Edward has no control or agency over his decisions.

And I think people just overall have more respect for people, fictional and real, who react to panic and trauma with "fight" instead of "flight". Which is a damn shame. I'm not sure if ableist is the right word here, but it feels derogatory in some way.

#ofmd #stede bonnet #edward teach

[reedbstranger]

“Enjoy Hamilton 2.0 these people were terrible irl!” Major differences here from a former Hamilton weirdo: Hamilton was trying to tell the actual history of the real people presented in a modern context, tried to be factual about the events. LMM read one of the most highly regarded biographies of Hamilton and wrote a musical based on it. People assumed that because the events were historically accurate and there were footnotes in the script book for what *wasn’t* true or accurate, the historical figures were truthfully portrayed instead of becoming characters.

OFMD is a historical “what if?” show about the Gentleman Pirate and Blackbeard that started with a handful of truths and then threw most of it out the window, didn’t even make the ages and timing right for most of the other characters (we’ve all seen by now that Israel Hands was 17 and Calico Jack wasn’t an active pirate until after Blackbeard died, right?). I don’t think anyone’s under any illusion that the show that treats getting in a rowboat as an ocean fast travel is getting many facts right. Maybe it’s just where I’ve landed on ofmd fandoms but I don’t see people posting about “oh my god this is so funny look at what Blackbeard did!!” and drawing that fanart the way we were about Hamilton, especially Jefferson. Fuckin macaroni.

Anyways, OFMD fans aren’t Hamfans 2.0 cuz they don’t think that knowing everything about a show makes them experts on a particular piece of history

#our flag means death #ofmd spoilers #hamilton 2.0 #no one thinks ofmd is historically accurate right?? #only accurate when funny and sexy

[spectraling]

1, 11 & 21 for the fandom asks uwu

1. Favorite fictional characters this year

Oh noooo there are so many good ones, l would nominate the entire roster of Dark if I could, but if I narrow it down I think it's pretty clear that babygirl Jonas Kahnwald and girlboss Claudia Tiedemann own my entire heart

And Jim Jimenez from OFMD bc they're everything

11. Biggest squee moments of the year

Realizing how truly unapologetically gay OFMD was. The kiss between Stede and Ed......poetic cinema. Getting the s2 announcement was also so much fun and felt like such a fan effort :') People wanted to see those gay pirates keep falling in love!!!

Also the huge love and support the cast and crew of 1899 have been showing for their little forming fandom so far! Liking, commenting, sharing people's work......Bo even shared one of my own pieces on insta, it was unreal. Artists loving artists the way god intended. It's so beautiful :')

I also need to mention the absolutely stunning fuckers that did Merrywyn day with me this year. Y'all had no idea what was going on, but you wanted to contribute to that tiny rarepair anyway and I salute you 🙏

21. Overall favorite fandoms of the year

The tiny but emerging 1899 fandom! So many nice people, I hope it grows over the coming year as we keep losing our minds at what Jantje and Bo are cooking up for us :')

#ask #ask game #dark netflix #1899 netflix #ofmd #merrywyn #thank you uwu

[l0rd-0f-c0ws]

I posted 18,558 times in 2022

That's 10,104 more posts than 2021!

21 posts created (0%)

18,537 posts reblogged (100%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@mcnuggyy

@bi-panic-at-the-disco

@rustybutterknife

@strawberry-sylveons

@waitineedaname

I tagged 552 of my posts in 2022

#unreality - 20 posts

#moo moos - 20 posts

#donnie speaks - 7 posts

#prev tags -> - 5 posts

#saving for later - 3 posts

#:) - 3 posts

#prev tags > - 3 posts

#what - 3 posts

#fantasy high - 3 posts

#yessssss - 2 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#im normal im normal im normal im normal im normal im normal im normal im normal im normal im normal im normal im normal im normal im normal

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Pick me girl is out, pickle me girl is in

5 notes - Posted January 22, 2022

#4

Reading killing stalking cuz my friend likes it and said it was an amazing horror comic. It is but also Holy shit. Anyways this is the only way I can process chapter 19

7 notes - Posted June 6, 2022

#3

Hey everybody! If you are interested in OFMD and want to meet new people in the fandom, then I have a great place for you to go!! We're a brand new server and are really excited for new members!

Join the Oh Fmy Mfucking Dgod discord server!!

14 notes - Posted April 21, 2022

#2

idk if you're still taking Casey headcannons but consider him being oddly smart in certain areas but specifically inventing and how to make alternative energy sources. like you ask him "hey how do solar panels work" and he'll just explain the whole process without batting an eye

also when he panics he sucks in breath from his tooth gap

OH MY GOD FUCK YEAH!!! IT IS NEVER TOO LATE FOR CASEY <3<3<3<3<3

Also fully agree, I'm a autistic Casey truther and I think that tech and stuff would be his special interest. Donnie would be working on how to make a more fuel efficient version of the turtle tank and Casey just walks up, explains what he needs to do for like 5 minutes, then leaves like it was nothings. Everyone was so confused by it but doesn't ask cuz it's Casey and Casey is just like that

26 notes - Posted February 22, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

I commissioned the amazing @mcnuggyy for art of my ocs Ellie and Liam :) everyone who is looking to commission an artist please go to them because they are one of the kindest and coolest artists I've ever gotten the pleasure of talking to!!!!

27 notes - Posted November 23, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

[rhpsdys]

3, 8, and 16 for the end of year meme!

3. How have you grown as a rper this year? god i wish i had a good answer to this. i feel like my rping has been alllll over the place this year. overall i think i've been in a really solid rhythm this year, in terms of generally being happy with my writing. getting back into second person narration on this blog has been VERY refreshing, && it gave me a bit of a confidence boost when i was coming back from kinda taking the summer && early fall off because i was so busy. more specifically, i think i've done a really great job of writing flexible verses, figuring out ways to thrust my muses into situations™ that still have a cohesive story/explanation... i've been really happy with the starters i write, even the unplotted ones. OH! not relevant so much on this blog but over on @whsprhouse i spent a lot of this year writing characters who are very out of my comfort zone in terms of personality, speech patterns, && uh... a flirtatious and sexual nature. lucius from ofmd && laszlo from wwdits were my hardest muses to write this year, but also two that i feel REALLY good about. so that's something.

8. Talk about one of your favorite headcanons you posted this year. easily the answer is the bard library / general coven structure, although notation spells && the alchemy-to-bard-magic pipeline post is a close contender. as i was developing all of this lore, i realized it's really the most worldbuilding i've maybe ever done for a canon character, && it's super exciting to me. i can't wait to see where it takes me as i continue. getting to build these headcanons while working with an orchestra was sooooo magical tbh.

16. Wildcard: talk about anything that you want to that happened this year! is it cheating if i just gush a little about writing w you && getting into baccano? this is not the first time an rp partner from another fandom has been the reason i just decide to give a new media a shot, but almost every single time i've liked something enough to stick with it, it's become an absolutely formative part of like... my personality. (see: gravity falls, undertale). i am having a great time, very much enjoying writing jacuzzi, && it's been SOOO fun getting to just figure out crossover stuff with you, come up with a verse, etc etc etc. also, i just eat up everything you post. your dedication to your muses && this series is so inspiring && honestly i completely understand how you write such a huge portion of the cast because... they're just that interesting. more of them are poking at my brain too. anyway — what a great way to end the year, honestly. i'm having the time of my life on this wild ride, && i am very grateful to you for that !

END OF YEAR ASKS.

#closedcoffins #out of. #ask.

[areyoudoingthis]

Hey so I’m getting teary eyed over two middle aged dudes fucking in fancy 1700 era stockings. So I just gotta ask what diD YOU PUT IN THAT FIC!!!!!! WHAT JUST HAPPENED TO ME. THAT WAS AMAZING??? Seriously!!! The way you write, (especially for Stede oh my GOD), both breaks my heart and puts it back together mushier than ever I am SO THANKFUL FOR YOU THANK YOU.

PS also I’m sorry about the occasional spam of likes, (ofmd has had me lurking so hard I might just have to commit and go active lol. I have been in your WALLS I am so sorry) you just have had some of my absolute favorite takes in the fandom. The way you analyze and explain the boys?? The Ed and Stede of it all?? YEAH Dude. THANK YOU FOR SHARING!!! Legitimately, sometimes I’ll be just going about my day and one of your posts will pop into my mind and I have to like. Lay down it’s insane. Anyways, I’m really happy you’re around!! S2 ended up having some uh. Wild takes, (AS YOU WELL KNOW) but the amount of genuinely thoughtful, heart wrenchingly lovely responses and insights happening around here make me SO grateful this show and these characters exist and that there are people around who also love it as much as I do. WAAAH. :,)

ANYWAYS UH tldr you’ve punched me square in the chests and I’m glad you did. Thanks!! :D

I read this ask last night and it made me so emo that I couldn't reply until now 😭. this is one of the loveliest things anyone's ever said about my writing, thank you SO MUCH for this message!!!! it honestly means so much to me to know that people enjoy my fic. I'd still have fun writing it even if no one did, but it's so much more fun this way.

I honestly don't know what I put in that fic, I get possessed by ed and stede sometimes and they don't shut up until I write about whatever they're going on about. but this one took on a life of its own that even I can't fully explain, if I hadn't posted it I'd probably still be adding stuff to it. I love it so much that I'm considering revisiting it at some point and adding a sequel, maybe let Ed have turn with the stockings, maybe take them clothes shopping again.

never apologize for spam liking my posts!!! I love it when people do that, I always notice and I'm giving you all flowers. seriously, I feel the same way about a bunch of people in the fandom who helped me get through the tough bits of s2 and who keep turning the poison into positivity after the finale and making the fandom experience enjoyable in spite of the derangedness going on in other corners of it. fandom can be insane, but when you do it right (read: block on sight when people have shitty takes) it can also be pretty awesome, and it can connect you with some great people.

thank you so much for taking the time to write this message, it made my day 🧡🧡

#fave #I'm saving this forever so i can look at it every tine I'm editing a fic and i feel like it's the worst thing I've ever written