#ricky villain arc??

[shaniacsboogara]

Ricky discovering how much he enjoys competition and rivalry does not bode well for Steven in the next season of Too Many Spirits...

#ricky villain arc?? #is he gonna lose it??? #puppet history #watcher #too many spirits #tms #all hail the watcher #watcher entertainment #steven lim

[333itgirl]

gonna need him to get off his ass and start destroying people’s lives again 🫶🏻

#ej caswell #hsmtmts #hsmtmts season 4 #he’s getting too pathetic it’s time to tussle. #idk the villain arc potential is right there #but as we know tim hates matt cornett so #any sort of interesting or likable storyline will be going to ricky #i just really want him to go insane he deserves it #if caswen doesn’t end up happening after all this i’m jumping #i will defend him with my life #bring season 1 ej back challenge !

[tizzyizzy]

More Reasons Izzy's Death Doesn't Work

Assuming you're not writing grimdark where the point is that no one is safe, it can be tricky to pull off killing a sympathetic character in a satisfying way. S2 does not nail the landing. Here are a trio of types of character deaths, and why Izzy's doesn't end up succeeding any any of them.

The Tragic Death

A tragic death, first and foremost, Bad. The audience should be sad, the framing is sad. This death is meant to raise the stakes, or deal an emotional blow to the other characters. If the major villain does it, it makes them seem more menacing, and makes the audience hate them even more. This often occurs in the "dark moment" before the third act, and is part of the protagonist's internal struggle under the weight of their mission. Their death helps the goal seem impossible to reach. If it happens at the climax, the death shows the costs of victory.

Is Izzy's death a tragic death? It's true he's shot by the main villain at the climax but...no. Ricky wasn't defeated; he's still out there. The main couple don't actually intend to pursue him, and are instead settling in to a happy life. Most importantly, Izzy's death was nowhere near sad enough to function as a tragic death. Sure, there was some sadness in his death scene, but the funeral scene was incredible short and almost offensive in its lack of emotional impact. If anything, Izzy's death seems to have cleared up Ed's emotional issues instead of burdening him with despair.

The Final Redemption

This is a classic for redeemed villains and cynical antiheroes. In these deaths, the character marks the end of their character arc by making some final sacrifice for the greater good or their new friends. Their death has meaning for the dead character, the plot, and those they sacrificed themselves to protect.

Izzy's cause of death is more or less random. He just happens to be the one holding the knife to the villain's back.

You could say Izzy's final words are his final redemption, with him giving a final apology. This could work, but unfortunately, not with Ed. At least not how it was handled here.

Izzy had already completed his character arc of accepting Ed retiring and supporting Stede and Ed's relationship. Worse, any of Izzy's wrongs against Ed pale in comparison to Ed's wrongs against Izzy, especially in S2. It doesn't help that Ed had an entire arc of him failing to come even slightly close to making up for what he did. So instead of being glad that Izzy apologized to Ed on his deathbed, we're baffled Izzy is apologizing to the man who forced him to eat his own toes, shot off his leg, and drove him to suicide.

And his dying words fall on deaf ears, since Ed just up and leaves his "family" immediately.

The Good Death

Everyone has to die sometime. A good death is a scene where a character dies, usually due to some sort of natural cause, at peace. This may mean they're surrounded by family and friends, or doing what they love to do most. The point is that, while death is inevitable, to die well is still a happy ending.

Izzy's death isn't peaceful, and following a sneaky plan from Stede isn't what he loves to do most. Worst of all, he isn't surrounded by family. Sure, a some people say he is, but watch the scene again. The reason Roach doesn't even attempt to help Izzy is not only because Izzy is a goner (for some reason). He is also giving Ed space to be with Izzy semi-privately.

Everyone who Izzy developed relationships with is standing back in favor of Ed, who he has just barely started to get along with again. You can't even get a good look at the faces and reactions of some of the characters who had the most meaningful interactions with Izzy.

You could say it's a good death because he is with Ed, but the plot has simply failed to build this up as something satisfying. In fact, focusing on Ed is sort of tragic in and of itself. If this is Izzy's ideal happy ending, it suggests he was obsessed with Ed to the point he'd rather die giving advice and closure to Ed (who will ignore his advice) than be close to the people who actually helped him heal and find peace.

Conclusion

Writing this actually helped clarify, I think, why the death didn't work, but might seem to be doing something on the surface.

There are all sort of bits from each of these meaningful types of deaths. Izzy's speech to Ricky seems like a statement that could seem like part of a brave, dramatic confrontation or last stand, but the actual killing blow falls out of nowhere, without drama. There is tale of revenge that the leads have no interest in pursuing. Izzy's apology is supposed to be a capstone to his development with Ed, but Izzy's supposed corruption of Ed was so downplayed compared to Ed's brutal abuse of Izzy that him apologizing felt more offensive than cathartic. We're supposed to feel like Izzy finally got to die happy after a long life, but Izzy's life just seemed to be starting after healing from his trauma, with his life snatched away just when he was beginning to explore its possibilities.

This is the danger of relying on tropes without understanding the underlying reason why they work. It's why you can't say, "Izzy is a mentor figure, actually, so he should die for Ed's development" on the day you're shooting the scene.

#ofmd critical #izzy hands

[amuseoffyre]

Have had a couple of days and a rewatch and some mulling to put together my thoughts:

The good:

the writing - I've talked at length about the use of metaphor, symbolism, allegory and the like to add meat and substance to the narrative

the continuity tied in to S1 and the foreshadowing coming full circle, plus running themes continuing

the music is flawless throughout - both the soundtrack with songs and the original score and the way old motifs are used to add parallels and depth to scenes

the acting across the board has been staggeringly good. Especially for Taika, Rhys and Con. I can see why so many reviews had been raving about it.

the bits of set-up for S3 that have been planted if/when they get it

new characters who are an absolute delight

Family Trauma the TV show - intense to watch but cathartic af

Badass ladies and the soft boys who love them

Auntie.

The bad:

too much story and not enough time to tell it

sacrificing a lot of crew-related stuff - I know this is primarily the Ed and Stede story, but we're told that Olu was always talking about Zheng, but we never even got a single line of it. Buttons' disappearance gets one sus line. We gloss over the probation and why Ed is back in his leathers literally the next day. Again, I know, time constraints, but it does feel weaker for it.

speedrunning so much that it's taken several rewatches to catch everything that's going on - yes, it can work as a narrative device, but not all the time

still not over Zheng falling for Ricky's gift. Do not trust the aristocratic white dude, especially not when you've been blackmailing him. And I know there's some logical sense to her being so used to being able to manipulate desperate people on the fringes with both carrot and stick, but it feels like severe underestimation on her part about how ruthless and cruel and petty Ricky could be. He's not like the pirates - he has the power and privilege and it feels like she ignored that.

whatever that Teal Oranges pivot was so Jim could have a girlfriend, especially since they didn't have time/space to actually develop the Olu/Zheng and Jim/Archie stuff. Archie was barely a scrape of characterisation because of time constraints.

The ... Forbs Boding

Izzy - it falls under the typical archetype of Loss of a Role Model especially given all Ed's dad issues, which I thought we were beyond, but then it also fits with the running motif of the show of change, death and rebirth. We've had confirmation of the existence of a place between life and death plus a character who was beaten to death coming back from it and a seawitch turning up at the grave. I can see why it was done as it has been foreshadowed since "the only retirement we get is death" but after all his growth in S2, having Ricky be the one to get the jump on him is... hm. I feel like they had him and Ricky talking and Ricky causing his death for a reason. Feels like there's set-up for S3 planted and ready. My Forbs, they are A-Boding. ffs, they Obi-Wanned him right after he did a speech about "our spirit will last beyond your whole fucking empire". Strike me down and I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine vibes.

The way trauma is/isn't being dealt with - I feel like there's stuff there that is set up for S3 as well, because we've seen how Stede is still bottling all his stuff and hasn't dealt with any of it, while Ed has done some processing and started to make peace with himself over it. Stede still has his mental lockbox and while he tries to pretend it isn't there, it still informs so many of his decisions.

All the Star Wars vibes - I've always been convinced this was the Empire Strikes Back season and now, they have all the pieces in play for the Return of the Jedi arc: Stede and Ed are together and recovering but will have a role to play, Izzy is in carbonite with a seawitch control panel, their allies are out there getting pieces in place, and the Imperial figurehead villain who showed up in S2 is still out there and convinced he holds all the power. And I just realised that this means that if they use Hornigold, he's the equivalent of Boba Fett - Bounty Hunter for the Empire XD

On the whole, I am content with it and am already having thoughts about the potential for S3, but I find it incredibly frustrating knowing how much more it could have been with the budget/time they wanted and didn't get.

#ofmd #ofmd s2 #ofmd s2 spoilers

[purplepadlock]

Lou and Loise's last physical appearance (this panel of their feet)

if we want to be generous, then this was their last [mostly] full-bodied appearance, from the previous chapter

since then:

Ricky and Patrick became Star Bearers... and then un-became Star Bearers

Margaret's soot powers went out of control and nearly destroyed the Children's Wing (thanks Fucko McAsshole) and then died

During this, Patrick got engaged to Margaret. That lasted long.

Patrick also fully realized his feelings for Emilico. I guess. She popped out of the sky. I think it was symbolic, but maybe Emilico is actually god and Patrick became religious? Not sure. One of those.

Maggie got murdered (thanks Fucko McAsshole)

Fucko McAsshole went MIA again because that's all he does. Kills someone then disappears.

Douglas/Doug, Evelyn/Eve, and Oliver/Olly became Star Bearers

Kate somehow managed to rope Douglas into her faction (temporarily?)

a new class of Shadows was introduced - and they seem to be their own little faction

we got more of Emilico's backstory

Sara/Mia are officially being used by Edward now instead of him just humouring them and their hatred of Kate/Emilico

Sara/Mia and Edward probably overheard Emilico talking about undoing the brainwashing of the new class (that had already had their brainwashing undone) so there's definitely more cause for him to be hands-on in the Children's Wing

the new debut started, and Candy has basically cemented herself as a new villain/rival character

Sara/Mia have been placed on patrol to watch over Kate's every move [during the events of the debut?]

the new debut class has now begun fighting the new Star Bearers

that's a lot of stuff to happen since this arc was set-up and... not really revisited since

so Lou and Louise are definitely gone right?

#shadows house #shadows house spoilers #lou shadows house #shadows house lou #louise shadows house #shadows house louise #kate shadows house #kate shadow #shadows house kate #kate mirror

[midastouches]

ok so if what I've heard is true and EJ loses ANOTHER girl bc of uresolved feelings for fucking RICKY i support a full villain arc like simply put portwell deserves better after getting a full season of their buildup only for it to be wasted in the first three episodes????

#portwell #hsmtmts #hstmts spoilers #ej caswell #ricky bowen #gina porter #rina stans dni #i dont care about your analysis thanks

[bp-zb1fics]

which zb1 member would be which Disney prince,, I'm curious 🎤

Not cherrie giving me the best questions to answer 💜💜💜 when it’s literally 6am and my insomnia won’t leave me alone 😭

On principle, I find Disney’s portrayal of the princes as very shallow and gender-norm enforcing (i’m sorry I feel very strongly abt this😅) we are not fans so instead I’d probably go for what Disney princess movie fits the vibe of which member when I assign them to princes. I’m also going to be rewriting that movie as I go, sorry in advance to the purists

Pls note I’ve not great at headcanons and indecisive as hell so here we go ~

Jiwoong: The Beast/Prince Adam

If this man could play a Prince in a drama, this is the kind of content I’d pay for

Just like my hogwarts headcanon, man probably invited the sorceress to dinner and asked to be turned into a beast because everyone just liked his face

And he thought he’d be better off if someone liked his personality

Yes he asks for his servants to be turned into furniture for shit and giggles but not like permanently, maybe they all go back to normal at night

reader wonders why he always insist not that they don’t go to the west wing at night. It’s not just the rose but that’s where he and the servants go to like chill and be their human selves (this is getting a little Cupid and psyche lol)

Hao: Prince Eric (The Little Mermaid)

Just the scene of him playing his violin and mer reader listening from a distance

Sometimes they sing along while Hao is playing and Hao is like woah who dat

They probably met as kids and he gave mer reader his old violin because they were curious

Definitely have it displayed in the center of their collection

Wants to be human to hear Hao play more

Hanbin: Prince Charming (Cinderella)

If this man isn’t Prince Charming, idk who is, do not argue with me

Does not have a shoe fetish

Definitely remembers reader’s face, he just wants to return their shoe bruh

And maybe ask reader out idk, not marry them right away

Just imagine dancing with Hanbin to “So this is love” and tell me u aren’t soft

Matthew: Aladdin

For the record, the genie in that lamp would probably be Keita bc he’s been training for 10,000 years (jk)

Watch me cast the whole KTL team (except Hao idk unless we want crossover)

There’s Matthew and there’s Seok Woohyun, don’t tell me he doesn’t think those are two diff people

Just…Matthew singing a Whole New World is a song cover I didn’t think I needed until now pls and thanks

Taerae: Snow White’s Prince

For all the OG Disney fans, you know that one scene where Snow White’s singing by the well and the Prince fucking jump scares her by singing back

Yes that’s Taerae, man will take the opportunity and he has a guitar

yes he will bring the guitar

Once again watch me cast all the Wake One trainees (K+ G) and Junhyeon as the seven dwarves friends who help reader out

Ricky: Prince Naveen (Princess and the Frog)

I’m sorry my eternal headcanon is spoiled Prince Ricky and reader who puts him in his place

Would probably be a bit more sus of this voodoo man turning him into a frog

It’s probably not even a villain, it’s one of the Yuehuaz who happens to know voodoo being like oh you know what would be rlly fucking funny

He gets his whole character development arc and becomes a better young and rich, tall and handsome Prince that’s totally down bad for reader

Gyuvin: Flynn Rider (Rapunzel’s Tangled)

This man steals hearts everywhere he goes (I mean he won every challenge yo)

A lot goofy like they told him during the sleepover, he’s lucky he’s got a nice face

I haven’t got that much for this one

But energy is the same

Gunwook: Captain Shang (Mulan)

He is a leader (class pres/vice pres every year anyone?)

Dude literally takes forever to realize that reader isn’t supposed to be there (literally the en garde hidden cam)

Casting the three other Jellyfish trainees as the soldiers yo

He’s slay “Be a Man” even if I dislike the title of that song, it’s hella catchy

Yujin: Prince Philip (Sleeping Beauty)

He’s a baby YALL pls

Shy, literally just watching reader do their thing in the forest like how this boi literally watched taerae the whole signal song filming (pls see zb1’s bp commentary for red)

He’s not slaying dragons just yet but he be slaying my heart with Noona saranghaeyo

Gives reader an innocent lil peck and they wake up

Maybe it isn’t true loves kiss just yet, more like boy with pure intentions bc literally that’s equally hard to find

Ok thanks for coming to my TED talk and thanks cherrie for this very lovely question. Y’all need to keep asking me more stuff like that very much please and thanks in advance 💜💜💜

#now can I sleep now pls #it’s 7am help #will I make it to class today #boys planet #boys planet x reader #boys planet headcanons #zb1 #zb1 x reader #zb1 headcanons #kim jiwoong #zhang hao #sung hanbin #seok matthew #kim taerae #shen ricky #kim gyuvin #park gunwook #han yujin #bp zb1fics answers #disney headcanons #disney is kinda problematic yo #disney princess

[avelera]

Things I TOTALLY CALLED in my meta for OFMD S2 in no particular order (and without citations because I too don't want to dig through my whole damn tag so just TRUST ME ON THIS):

Ed NOT being mad at the sight of Stede again. Still needs confirmation but the way he MELTED during the underwater "reunion" gives me hope I'll be fully right on this one.

That if Izzy gets a redemption arc it'll be because he sees the full horror of the Blackbeard he brought back into the world and regrets his actions. CALLED IT. FUCKING CALLED IT, TAKE THAT HATERS. To be clear, I said he might NOT get a redemption arc and remain a 2D villain but that IF HE DID the turning point would be getting what he wants from Blackbeard's heel-turn and seeing it for the awful mistake it was.

Stede being the ultimate Ed apologist, literally not bothered by the atrocities. The dude is equally unhinged and at least mildly sociopathic, which makes him a perfect match for Ed. He's not blind to the atrocities. He just does not care because he loves Ed more.

A return to classic "pirate life" was imminent and we'd see Ed's dark side. I didn't know how long it would last, it's actually a bit briefer than I expected but I prefer it. Still. Totally called it that at least some of the S2 arc would be Ed coming into his own and overcoming his traumatic past the same way Stede did in S1.

Hornigold made an appearance as a way to help us confront Ed's past and the darkness inside him that he hates!

We got female characters and female antagonists, it remains to be seen if we get Anne Bonny like I predicted.

To be clear, I got a lot of things wrong (as far as I can tell so far) too, like I thought Hornigold might be a full S2 villain, not a hallucination. And alas, no Vincent D'Onofrio as Hornigold. I thought there'd be more focus on the pirate hunters who took down the historical Stede and Ed but I'm not totally writing that off yet and "Ricky" might well be the hook to more pursuit by the British.

A lot remains to be seen but I am very vindicated by a lot of the Stede/Ed and Izzy-centric predictions I made back when. Mostly I credit good writing for that, rather than any actual prescience on my part. They set up their themes well! Transparency and clear build up is good! I can't wait for more!

#ofmd #ofmd spoilers #ofmd meta

[ya-boi-haru]

Bored so I'm going to explain some of the songs I added to my Fable playlist, cause thinking of songs for playlist go brrr:

• Meant To Be Yours - (Heather's musical): Corrupted Caspian vibes

• Kiss Your Dreams Goodbye - Derivakat: Enderien vibes

• Saints - Echo's: Trying to decipher which God to believe about the war

• Viper - Derivakat: Season 2, Sculk arc coded

• Nightmare - Derivakat: Villain/Snapped Rae coded

• Daddy Issues - The Neighbourhood: 👀

• Gasoline - Halsey: Rae or Seven (theory)

• Don't make me - MALINDA: Enderien

• Freaks - Jordan Clarke: Lodestone Grove family

• Boyfriend- Dove Cameron: Enderien + Isla

• Treat You Better - Shawn Mendes: Enderien + Isla

• Achilles Come Down - Gang of Youths: Centross (Stuck in the End arc, specifically)

• As The World Caves In - Sara Cothran: Resets

• Burned - Grace VanderWaal: Rae, Icarus, Ulysses

• Someone You Loved - Lewis Capaldi: Ghae (Early S2 - Pre-Memory return)

• Dollhouse - Melanie Martinez: Morningstar family

• Just a Man - Epic Musical: Fable

• Look What You Made Me Do - Taylor Swift: Gods at war/Revenge

• God Must Hate Me - Catie Turner: How Rae sees himself vs

• Just The Way You Are - Bruno Marz: How his boyfriends see him

• She - Dodie: Enderien + Isla

• What Was I Made For - Billie Eilish: Isla

• The Hammers Coming Down - Nickleback: Resets

• Satalite - Nickleback: For the couples having their soft moments

• The Grudge - Olivia Rodrigo: Icarus + Quixis

• Killer In The Mirror - Set it off: Icarus

• Assassin - Au/Ra: Icarus & Ulysses

• Devil In Me - Halsey: Athena

• Naked - James Arthur: Wolftross or OciexCentross

• Blue - Derivakat: Athena and their cats vibes

• Would You Be So Kind - Dodie: Any of those sweet little gays trying to confess

• Memento Mori: the most important thing in the world - Will Wood: Centross (Rae, theory)

• Zydrate Anatomy - Repo! The Generic Opea: All the lil science nerds (Rae, Icarus, Ulysses, Aax)

• Banana Pancakes - Jack Johnson: For the times they tried to claim back their blissful/calm moments

• Rockabye - Clean Bandit: Isla

• Livin la Vida Loca - Ricky Martin: Souly because when I asked where c!Hayley was Connor said "she's living la Vida loca"

• Love Like You - Caleb Hyles: Centross

• I Found - Amber Run: Centross

• I'll Sleep When I'm Dead & Nightmare - Set it Off: Rae

• Safe and Sound - Taylor Swift: Isla with Icarus and Rae or Alerion & Vivian with Will

• The Quiet - Troy's Sivan: Caspian while Rae was gone (S2)

The others are vibes checks or suit 3 different things (or are obvious lol)

#did this while waiting for hair dye lol #fable smp #fable smp songs #fable smp headcanon

[originallypoki]

Our Flag Means Death S2 Spoilers!

Something people doesn't seem to realize, is that pacing has a key impact to a story. Yes, the tale you want to tell can be the best someone has ever come up with, but if your pacing of it is awful, it pulls the whole story down with it. To rushed pacing? It loses meaning and impact, because there's no time to become attached. To slow paced? It becomes boring and uninteresting, finishing the book, show or movie feels more like a task than actual fun.

The first 4 episodes of season 2 of OFMD were awesome. The pacing was perfect, we had enough time to register what was happening and to sort out our emotions. I was a bit thrown off by ep 5. Because, while still good paced, you can start the see the problems because of the missing 2 eps ( for example the skipped fight, instead choosing to tell, not show. )-

Then episode 6 and 7 happened. And oh boi, I wanted to drop the show, only my love for it keeping me going.

I know that it isn't David Jenkins and the production team's fault, since the 2 episodes got cut, giving us the total of 8. But I can't excuse the decision to cram the plot of 10 eps into 8. If you have so little time left, why don't just cut some 'unimportant' storypoints?

Like Ned Lowe, he was introduced and died in the same episode. His purpose was to give GentleBeard development I know, that still doesn't give him enough importance to let him stay in the shortened version. Just like the second break-up from GentleBeard we got in ep 7.

Instead we got very out-of-character characters, Stede for example. I can see why he acts the way he does in ep 7. It would make sense, had he more time to have proper character development! Instead he feels weird, plus the very very uncomfortable second-hand embarrassment scenes (like the fight with Zheng). And sadly after ep 3, I couldn't feel the same chemistry GentleBeard had in S1. While there were cute scenes, like the end of ep5, I felt like something was missing to make me actually care. It's just my feelings, so not very important, but it was a bit disappointing.

The end of ep 7 gave me hope. Because it was a perfect way to introduce a villain, who's a genuine threat to our heros. And I maybe like Prince Ricky a bit to much. Then ep 8 came crushing down while drowing my love for OFMD, that made me ignore everything wrong with the second half of S2.

I like ep 8, well the first few minutes. It felt like I finally had time to see what's happening and David Jenkins didn't leave us completely clueless. ( Let's ignore the logic holes since it was is a comedy show and they were always there. ) And I was way to busy squieking like a pig of happiness to think critical.

I have many criticism points, but will only focus on one;

Izzy's death. And by god, I. Am. Pissed. Killing a character that is beloved by the fandom isn't the problem. While I love him, he's my favorite, I also love a good ol' angst. But he was in the middle of his redemption arc, and ending this with death is just such weak writing. I have nothing against killing a character off for development. Iron man for example, his whole story is about becoming a better person and jumping over his ego. And it ends just like Izzy in death. But Tony was through his arc, his death was the final, showing he has changed, showing he would do everything to save the universe and more important, the people he loves.

If Izzy died at the start of or before S2 I wouldn't complain, because it would've been perfect for him. Maybe if he died a more impactful death I wouldn't write this. But you can't make a character finally change and then destroy the meaning of it by killing him off in the fucking middle of the change. It would've had so much more impact seeing how he becomes a part of the crew he loathed not even a few weeks ago. Episode 5 did that great, while a bit fast. I like how he and Stede get along. Growing closer. It was a bit too fast paced, and I hoped for them to finally communicate, not talk. The same with Ed, I wanted him and Izzy to finally talk to eachother and not through eachother. However, giving us acutally communication while Izzy's fucking dying is not how you give impact. (And credit where credit's due; I really like that dialog, it was beautiful and the right words choosen to explain how Izzy feels)

Not to forget what a meaning it conveys. Izzy always did what he thought was right, even when it was completely wrong. But when he finally grows and begins to do actually what is right and let's go of Ed, he dies?

Still, I wouldn't say that they shouldn't have done a season 2 at all. It has great potential and I can see what they were going for. So, while it has it's problem's, it's nothing what a good fanfic can't fix. So I look forward to the amazing works that will build up on this hot mess and / or 'correct' it.

So bye, I'll go cry and give the last three episodes of S2 of OFMD, the last 20 minutes of S2 Go treatment T^T (except that GO S2 was fucking fantastic through the whole season)

#I love complaining #maybe I'm a bit salty because I wanted Izzy to get a boyfriend lol #the story had great potential #just too little time #this doesn't mean I hate season 2 #I had really really fun wachting it :D #also my love Izzy <3 #also unqualified opinion lmao #gentlebeard #gentlebonnet #izzy hands #izzy ofmd #izzy our flag means death #edward teach #our flag means death #our flag means death season 2 #our flag means gay #israel hands #blackbonnet #blackbeard #stede bonnet #ed x stede

[lindsayribar]

I've seen a lot of posts about how having Ricky and Ned together, in the same season, clogged it up with too many villains -- and also about how Ricky was a good, if underdeveloped, mirror to who Stede could have been if he came from similar circumstances but was a less kind person.

All true, I think.

But here's the thing. I think that if I were to "fix" the season (I loved the season overall, but I do think it was weaker than the first), I'd ditch Ricky entirely and develop Ned more instead. Because we don't need Stede to have a mirror this season. Season one was his. Season two, in terms of giving a big life-changing arc to a main character, was Ed's.

Ed's the one who should have had a mirror this season.

And Ned Low was the perfect mirror, in exactly the way Ricky tried to be for Stede. He's who Ed could have turned into, if Ed didn't yearn for kindness and softness underneath all the trauma and lashing out and terrible shit we saw in "Impossible Birds" and "Red Flags." Ned tortures for the fun of it, for the music of it.

In season 1, we saw Stede running from his old life (as personified, largely, by the Badmintons chasing after him while embodying everything that he was "supposed" to be). We saw it catch up to him just as he was figuring out how to be happy in his new life, and we saw it nearly destroy him. We saw him defeat it.

In season 2, Ed starts out by deliberately baiting Ned Low, breaking his record knowing that he would come after him for it. It was a deliberately suicidal plan... except, by the time Ned actually catches up to him, Ed's moved into the phase of his life where he's actively trying to heal from all those suicidal tendencies. Ned catches him just in time to shine a floodlight on the gap between who Ed was and who Ed's trying to be. Same as Chauncey did in "Act of Grace" when he pulled Stede out of bed at gunpoint.

What if Ned-as-villain had stretched out for multiple episodes, forcing Ed (and, by extension, Stede -- and, by extension, the crew members that Ed hurt) to face, head on and out loud, what he'd tried to do to himself? What if he suffered a setback similar to Stede's from season one, then had to work twice as hard to recover from it?

#to be clear i'm not mad about what we DID get #and i love the role that ned played in the s2 that we saw #but ricky bores me and i really think this is why #he was filling a role that didn't need to be filled #ofmd #our flag means death #meta

[canonizzyhours]

#187 made me wonder how differently the season would've played out if we didn't get the "redemption arc", but a more satisfying, proper villain arc (something I was hoping for with ricky/ned lowe, but alas, maybe we'll get that with ricky in s3) with izzy. the end of his arc could've still resulted in his death.

it would've been really cool to see how things developed. what would make ed realize how unhealthy izzy is for him? when the s2 stills and bts came out i remember theorizing izzy betraying the revenge crew and siding with ricky - imagine that?!

sorry for my disorganized thoughts and rambling, but this really sparked something in my brain, thanks #187!

#194.

related posts: #187

#ofmd #izzy hands #canonizzyhours

[vexic929]

right back at you! Which of your heroes is most likely to become a villain? And which of your villains might be swayed towards the light?

heroes most likely to become villains:

L'Harann (she's already a bit morally grey), Alana (she's got something of a chip on her shoulder), 929 (she was rebuilt by a villainous organization so she could either be controlled by them or just turn to violence to get away from them), Lea (not a lot of things can sway her but protecting her family or friends is one of them), Berrie (will have a corruption arc), Barbara (see: Savitar), Harriett (maybe not fully villainous but definitely morally grey), Hartley (morally grey and also just a bitch who can and will hold a grudge), Cisca (also if protecting her family or friends), Kal (you get the right color Kryptonite and he could be the universe's greatest threat), Ricki (has beaten a man to death with her bare hands and also tortured people, she's not shy about committing morally questionable acts), Tiff (her male counterpart frequently ends up a villain in the future for some reason so I'd imagine she's about as lucky), Lara (also a bit morally grey already), Mendel (someone give this kid a break please lol)

villains most likely to be less villainous:

Megitsune, Yǔqí, Savitar (see: Barbara), Mallorie (it would take a lot of convincing tho), Jessie (is already an anti-hero), Klara (she's more mischief-oriented), Mihael (he is redeemable)

#practically-an-x-man #practically an x man #vexic answers #vexic lives #vexic ocs

[amuseoffyre]

I was rewatching S1 the other day and remembered how much of it had struck me as "huh, that seems a very… specific thing to focus on" and my foreshadowing spidey-senses started tingling back when it first aired. And then more turned up while I was watching S2.

Ones that have come to fruition:

The nose jar It got a lot of focus for a one-scene moment. Why specify that someone causing trouble would get a nose cut off and then not show someone getting punished with their nose getting cut off? Chekov's nose-jar was used in 2x01 and is a trigger point for the entire villain arc for the second season.

The recurring threats to Lucius's life Honestly, the amount of times he was threatened and harangued and nearly killed by Jim. It really would have been bad for the vibe around there, so when they 'killed' him at the end, Naaaaaaah. Didn't believe it for a moment. (Speaking of, Izzy has a similar run of near-deaths all through S2, so HMMMMMMM)

"Captain Hornigold! There's a blast from the past!" The second they brought up his name, I was ears pricked up and staring and going oooooooo, because there's no way you mention a significant figure from both pirate history and Ed's department of backstory when we know he's Captain of the good ship Daddy Issues without having a plan for one of the major male influences in his life, especially knowing the history that Hornigold takes the act and turns hunter and is instrumental in tracking down Blackbeard.

The wait staff exchange in 2x06 It seemed like lot of dialogue to not be leading somewhere. Behold, the Revenge crew as Wait staff in 2x01:D

The escalation of the British enmity We started out with Captain Badminton and levelled up to Admiral Badminton with the British as recurring villains all through the season and the thread of royal influence popping up here and there, which got me thinking next stop would be either their elder brother or someone even further up the social pecking order. Enter Ricky.

Secret passages built into the ship So I, like many others, assumed Lucius would be the dead man hiding in the walls. We were halfway right XD There was a dead man hidden in there. Twice.

We'll go to China Was left with a "why China?" vibe from that and it wouldn't stop niggling me that there was some specific reason that the writers would have chosen China of all place. Turns out if you can't go to China with your boyfriend, China will come to you and kick your ass.

Still to come:

"You saved the clippings so we can make fake heads and escape" I maintain this is the big one for S3. We have no less than 10 separate references to heads/faces being removed and fake heads. Stede even uses three different fake heads as props (rowing boat, the skull in the fuckery and the corpse head in the triple-fuckery of his death) and given Blackbeard's death famously involves his head being strung from the mast of the ship, it feels prescient.

"I thought that when I did marry, it would be for love" "Peasants marry for love" Not. Subtle :D Our man has already made himself a peasant and has his boyfriend, so he's part of the way there.

"I always hated you" Ed saying this to imaginary Hornigold has me absolutely foaming at the mouth for what the real Hornigold is like and absolutely 100% certain this is the plan for S3. As mentioned earlier Hornigold became a pirate hunter but also it would tie in with the S1 foreshadowing as well - we've had him mentioned, we've seen what he looks like, we know what he's done so the second he shows up in S3, we need no introduction. Plus Ed's processing his history so having his history roll up to hunt him down? *chefkiss* YES. And if (as I'm convinced) Stede was in the Gravy Basket like Ed in 1x04, then based on how Mary and Father Teach behaved, the way Hornigold is acting in the Gravy Basket is completely out of character, which would track since he's being pally and nice and taking care of Ed at different points. The few facts we do know from Jack and Ed's recollections include stabbing them, beating them down, treating them like dogs, the Felix story and him threatening to flay Ed's skin off and feed it to him. This means that outside of the basket he's gonna be SO. MUCH. WORSE.

Crossing the Darien Gap We got the glimpse of Zheng's crews bringing ships through the jungles across the Darien Gap and saw the queue of ships lined up on the Pacific side on the map. Ricky may have taken out the ships that were in the Republic, but that wasn't all of Zheng's fleet and he has no idea more are on the way because everyone knows no one can cross the Darien Gap. He'll never see it coming ;)

A Royal Hostage Given how petty a little bitch Ricky is, I get powerful vibes that he would be the one to specifically unleash Hornigold on Stede and Ed. Stede especially, since he's the one who recommended taking him as a hostage, and he already blames Stede for leading him a) to the Republic and b) for his nose getting the chop. Him using Daddy's fortune to settle a vendetta by privately commission a famous pirate hunter doesn't seem like a stretch.

Our spirit will outlast your whole fucking empire Izzy's definitely not gone for good. He's gonna be back and he's going to be a glorious little bitch about it :D (Supporting foreshadowy evidence: shot in the left side, indestructible little fucker who has been shot-and-believed-dead twice before, existence of the gravy basket, canonical resurrections, a known seawitch with ties to purgatory at the grave)

There are some more, but it's getting late and I am sleeby, so will post 'em another day.

#ofmd #ofmd meta #ofmd foreshadowing

[pixeldragoon]

PREDICTION FOR S2 + BEYOND

SOMEONE'S PROBABLY ALREADY SAID THIS BUT I'M DOING IT ANYWAY SO THERE:

SO YOU KNOW HOW THE MAIN VILLAIN FOR OFMD IS MOST LIKELY GOING TO BE THE NAVY,

AND BY NAVY THIS GUY IN GENERAL:

THERE'S PROBABLY GOING TO BE A TEAMUP INVOLVED WITH THE OTHER PIRATES

THIS ENTIRE STORY ARC MAY BE ABOUT EITHER THE END OF THE GOLDEN AGE OF PIRACY OR JUST A SINGLE NAVY DEFEAT, EITHER WAY --

DO YOU REMEMBER WHEN ED SAID THIS:

WHAT IF BY THE END IN SOME FINAL DRAMATIC CLOSING ACT THESE TWO END UP FAKING THEIR DEATHS BY USING FAKE HEADS/BODIES IN THEIR PLACE WHEN THE NAVY TRIES TO PUT THEM TO DEATH, AND THEN THEY FINALLY GET TO RUN AWAY TOGETHER

GUYS IT MAKES SENSE *getting pulled by security* THE RICKY GUY IS GOING TO GET DUPED *gets slung over security guy's shoulder* IT'S GOING TO BE SO FUNNY *clawing at doorframe as I am taken away* AND LIKE WHAT IF IZZY GETS TO BECOME CAPTAIN AFTER GENTLEBEARD LEAVES AFTER HAVING A REDEMPTION ARC AND GETS TO FINALLY BE A FAMILY WITH THE CREW AND STUFF---

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

[lunar-system]

izzy thoughts

i didn't feel at all the death was accidental or without a cause. izzy was the most himself when he told ricky to go fuck himself and defended the pirate way of life without a regard for his own personal safety. he was targeted by ricky's gun because he so vocally and ferociously stood up for what he believed in

izzy dying because he stood up to what he believes in FEELS BAD because it IS BAD in the show's actual universe as well. He died to what is the show's equivalent of homophobia, he got hate-crimed for his pirate life style, ricky targeted him because he stood up for himself and his people – that is horrible! for us and for the characters! in the actual story! it was a sad and unfair way to go! and ricky is a villain who did a horrible thing to a character we love! it hurts! gaahhh!

what hurts in real life is that we were under the assumption that there would not be hate-crime equivalent things in the show. it was a safe show for many. so yeah, of course it's a shock. the assumption is that if someone does something racist or homophobic etc in this show, they get punished right away and laughed at. but this time the bad guy actually killed someone. the violence was real. izzy hands still didn't operate under the muppet rule set. real world violence rules applied to him this one time.

why was this wound deadly when no other was? because this show decides the stakes and accuracies on a case by case basis. right now it wanted it to count. eternal arguments can be had about if that was the right choice or not.

yes, it felt kinda unfair that the show trained us not to fear death. ed practically died earlier this season, and he was fine. it was a weird surprise that for izzy the death was permanent. well. unless season 3 proves us otherwise. a long con. we'll see.

the fact that djenkins happens to be mostly on the same page with fandom, i think that's a happy accident. remember that he was surprised that people didn't dare to believe ed/stede was happening? he didn't know the fandom's long history with queerbaiting. he was just writing his show. it makes sense he would not be up to date with the fandom style politics of that you should not kill a character who is a strong symbol for something in the real world. sounds to me like it was a similar surprise than the queerbaiting one. earlier he happened to play with fandom rules, but he doesn't really know there are that much rules at all. now he happened to go against one rule, just like he happened to go by the rules earlier. he writes the kinda fanfic he likes. and right now he liked the weight that an actual character death has. unfortunately in tv shows there are no tags "major character death" to soften the punch.

could he have predicted how massively popular izzy became with his new added arc? i'm not sure. To some degree you can try to predict the impact your writing has in the real world, but you can't really control how your work is received. with the release of s2 i saw it in real time, the weight that izzy had and the importance of him for many. maybe it was a surprise that the redemption arc was that effective. and tv shows are really, reaaaally slow to make. you have to stick with a decision you have made a long time ago, unless you have ridiculous amounts of money to throw around for reshoots. And once a season is airing, it is absolutely too late to start changing anything. Djenkis wanted an impactful death, and he ended up with a bit TOO impactful one. There's no changing it, I personally don't see a point with fighting it, it happened, it was written, shot, edited, colour graded, composed, produced with care and set in stone a long time ago, and now we work with what we have. Maybe i'm just not confrontational, but I was given this, it's what I have, so I'll find a way to roll with it. Maybe I'll use a bit of fiction to cover the trauma, you know? cause not moving on is worse? Honestly, I think whittling a shark would be a great way to pay homage to izzy. I should get some soft wood to do it.

no end thoughts, just, gosh he was a wonderful character. loved to get to know him. rip izzy <3

#i neeeeed to step away from the discourse cause i just want to enjoy the shoooow #but it's hard cause i got so much into the habit of scrolling the tag when the season was airing #and i still want to see what is beingtalked about but it's a bit of a mine field #oh izzy #i loved you so much #and the crew loved you too! #you were loved #now fly high seabird #izzy hands #ofmd #ofmd s2 #ofmd spoilers