#and more than any of this Ed deserved to actually have it out with Izzy and not when he was apologising over his death bed

[bakasara]

Trying to parse my thoughts on Izzy's death and why I had a different reaction to it than I thought I would. To summarize: I thought I wouldn't like it, but also that they wouldn't do it; the opposite happened– they did it but I'm ok with it.

I'm also feeling like talking through some mourning for an amazing character, so follow along if that's you, too 😌

(I should probably clarify the following thoughts are coming from someone who deeply enjoyed this season.)

I first wondered what would be of Izzy around the end of season 1. I expected him to have a heel-face turn – which I object to calling a redemption arc and I'll get into why, because the distinction ties into his death imo. A lot of antagonistic characters' changes of heart end directly in death, but I thought they'd subvert that trope. And they... did, actually, despite Izzy dying. Not an option I had imagined.

What the show avoided is the logic, the set of tropes attached to the deaths of this kind of character. These deaths usually come as a consequence of the character's changed ethics or "redemption". My being against that scenario came from the diverging natures of traditional redemption arcs and OFMD's rhetoric.

A traditional redemption arc functions by a kind of catholic logic, if you will: the villain can become one of the good guys by balancing out his "sins"/bad deeds with enough good deeds to tip a moral scale. This often involves a purifying suffering, which acts as an agent to expiate one's faults. To the viewer, this suffering can serve to activate our empathy and make the character more sympathetic. It can also legitimize his quest: our trust in the character's good intentions comes from seeing that the character is ready to make sacrifices to become better and he isn't deterred by the hardships of doing the right thing.

The death occurring at the end of a traditional redemption arc acts as the ultimate sacrifice and/or purification. A number of ideas might be at play behind it, depending on each story: only in death can the soul become fully pure, or a final sacrifice is "needed" to demonstrate the change once and for all, or change was only possible up to a point after which there is no viable/acceptable future – the character deserves moral points for changing, but not so many that he also deserves a full life, or past crimes make him more expendable, etc.

But these are all ideas that aren't evoked in any of the crew's journey in OFMD. For starters, the show isn't interested in "catholic" redemption; its focus is on reintegration/rehabilitation into the community. Rather than appealing to the more traditional (in Western media) and more christian principle of "purification of the soul through mortification of the body", it plays with notions of restorative justice.

We see it especially this season with Ed and Izzy. Ed's arc is a whole little lab for it. We have the community being made to decide whether he can stay or should leave; catbell!Ed is made to apologize to the people affected – which he initially does abysmally, with what fandom has dubbed his "CEO's/YouTube apology". Later, he's given the opportunity to have a more honest and genuine conversation with Fang where he learns about how he hurt him. He's made to repair some of the material damage his behavior caused. Some members feel repaid by the idea that they did to him the same he did to them (Fang) while others don't (Lucius), and the show touches on what this means for each/legitimizes both feelings. Arguably, Ed using his treasure to throw Calypso's birthday party – a much needed refrain and moment of social (re-)connection within the community – is an additional form of reparation. While Stede's belief in Ed has a clear role in helping Ed change for the better, Izzy's s2 journey focuses even more intensely on the role of social support within an individual's constructive (re-)integration into their community. The show is condensed by choice of format, but the beats are all there.

With that kind of rhetoric set up, I'd never be able to accept Izzy dying in a way that feels like a punishment for his past crimes, nor in a way that should "confirm" his positive change/"purify" him for good. And he doesn't! By the time he dies, we know full well he's deeply changed, it's already established to completion. How it happens has nothing to do with proving himself – he's randomly shot in battle. It's never questioned that the time he got to live surrounded by affection mattered. The speech he gives Ed is only possible because he's changed, accessing a completely different perspective on piracy/life than before, like we see when he talks to Ricky earlier. The reason the whole crew is paying respect and crying is because he became "the new unicorn", a treasured member with a defined role. But his death itself is the show going back to the initial symbolism of Izzy as ultimate pirate. The narrative function of his death is underscoring that the age of piracy has come to an end. It's nothing to do with his change. It's posited as the "natural conclusion" (again, by symbolic function) of a character that represented piracy through-and-through, not the "natural conclusion" of a process of becoming better.

And for me, that difference changes everything. I can see and accept the logic behind it, even as I mourn Izzy as a character. It makes the grief feel like a catharsis I experience within the context of the story I'm watching, rather than a grief I feel from a show "betraying" me.

It's also a difference that completely changes how Izzy's death relates to his queerness. Izzy's change is intertwined with being able to express queer affection openly. Becoming "a unicorn" is this extremely queer imagery already – a magical rainbow creature. His role becomes akin to a mother to the crew (the mother hen!Izzy many headcanoned last season, tapping into his potential), a position that isn't extraneous to older queens, including our honored real-life mean-old-queer men. Last season he threatened another queer man for showing too much delicacy, effeminacy, vulnerability. Now, his change is a process that culminates in him singing a tender love song among the crew in drag. He's given the privilege of playing the soundtrack to our protagonists making love for the first time, which ties him symbolically to the event in a way it does no other crew member. Suffice it to say that insinuating his process of change should end in death would have been disastrous, as far as I'm concerned. Antithetical to the show's supporting ideology.

But that's not how it went. Grief occupies a big role in the queer community, but it's so rare that we get to experience it cathartically. In real life, we often have to contend with the ways queerphobia causes us trauma or even shortens our lives, or the lives of our friends. In fictional narratives, a lot of characters that get to express queerness unabashedly still die for the transgression. They're still usually the only queer character with relevant screen time or at all, at best one of two that formed a tragic couple.

We almost never have the opportunity to just mourn some motherfucker who died because they meant something else as well that was central to their character. To mourn and know we're mourning someone who wasn't ever punished for being queer-as-in-fuck-you and going all out. To mourn and not feel like it's another message of queer doom, because for once the character is surrounded by an entire crew of other queer characters that go on to live and be happy. To know the story is saying something about life, not about being queer. To know this kind of crafting was deliberate, too, because the creator has talked about working to avoid those tropes. I struggle to remember another time I had the opportunity to grieve for a queer character like they're a human being, without the implication that it's queerness itself that's a death sentence.

And honestly? It feels good. It feels like a form of catharsis I do not dislike. That I'm maybe kinda glad for. OFMD is and stays a magical world. Beyond that, in a show full of queers, one of them dies after getting some extraordinarily meaningful happiness, and it's peaceful, and I get to just be sad for the fucker without the gutting of being reminded that if you're gay, better not shoot too high. It feels like a completely different emotion that no other show, for now, would give me, but OFMD. To me, it's yet another thing it's pulled off.

As it's been known to do.

#ofmd #having warm izzy thoughts in this chili's tonight #ofmd meta #my meta

[portraitofadyke]

what's been bugging me is how some people, especially steddyhands shippers, seem to ignore Stede's complete blind spot that is Ed. I've been rereading some post s1 fix-its, and it's amazing how almost every one of their reunions had Stede blaming Ed for marooning the crew and attempting to kill Lucius (same with ppl's expectation that there would be some sort of physical fight). And then he just. Doesn't.

Stede obviously cares for the crew. A lot. But the moment Ed's well being is in the picture, he becomes hyperfocused on Ed and Ed only. Obviously the crew told him about being marooned, but we don't see him mention that once in his letters. They reunite with Lucius, and yet all Stede talks about is Ed (and his poor portrayal on his wanted posters)- Lucius confesses about Ed throwing him overboard, and all Stede does is question 'why?', because he knows Ed wouldn't just randomly attempt to murder Lucius. The moment Lucius tells him Stede broke Ed, Stede is back to blaming himself, never Ed. He clearly cares about Lucius, because later in the ep, he tries to reconcile with him by giving him 'dating advice' and trying to save him from what happened to him and Ed, but Ed comes first.

We actually see it in s1 too, if only briefly, in s7 when Stede desperately tries to keep Ed abroad and becomes oblivious to the crew's concerns and problems and we get the iconic line "Eat and apple, for God's sake!" Stede cares, but Ed is at the front of his mind and it's hard for him to understand what could be more important.

In s02e03, he gets his ship and the rest of his crew back, but Ed is nowhere. Izzy is literally missing a leg and Stede just tells him to piss off.

And I've seen people questioning why Stede never questioned that, why he never bothered to ask about Izzy's missing toe or back scars or why he didn't care about the leg more. Izzy clearly lies again and tells Stede Ed shot it off because he told Ed he loves him, and yet stede just. Doesn't care.

And i mean, that question is valid. Because people see Stede as someone who's much more caring, more hero-coded. But Stede is far more a romantic hero to Ed than he is your general hero to the rest of the characters. Stede is selfish. Stede is blind-sided. Stede is willing to abandon his morals when it comes to Ed.

I think there are two reasons Stede doesn't question Izzy's Ed-inflicted-injuries, or any other, for that matter. First one is, Stede's blind spot for Ed. Yeah, Izzy got his leg shot off by Ed (not entirely true, but I digress), but there must have been a reason why. Yeah, Izzy got his toes cut off and hand-fed, but Ed had a reason. Stede knows Ed is not violent by default, so he knows something must have prompted him to do that. Is it completely justified? That's a differenr convo about people trying to portray Izzy as a victim rather than someone who kept pushing Ed over the edge until they were both too far.

The second is... Yeah, Stede just doesn't care. Especially about Izzy. Lie it's been pointed out, Stede just thinks izzy is a dick. He misnames him. He's rightuflly mad at him for selling them out to the english. He literally dreams about killing Izzy for that. Stede blames himself for abandoning Ed and everything that happened after (and yes, Ed's actions are Ed's actions, but that's how Stede sees it), but he clearly also blames Izzy for setting them up.

So, Stede sees Izzy's missing leg? Probably deserved that. Back scars, missing toe? Eh, probably deserved that, too, Ed would look absolutely lovely in a braid. Is that morally correct? No, but Stede isn't written to be a moral character. That's what makes him so real, and that's why so many other actors than Rhys would struggle making Stede sympathetic and likeable to the audiences.

That's not to say Stede doesn't see Ed's wrongs. He absolutely does. He just. Doesn't care that much in the end, because his love for all of Ed is that bright, to the point of being absolutely, utterly selfish. DJenkins said it from the beginning; this show is about Ed and Stede's relationship. Stede doesn't question Izzy's injuries bc in the end, it just doesn't matter to him when Ed is in the picture

#ofmd meta #ofmd #no hate to the person who was talking about izzy btw they're a nice person

[celluloidbroomcloset]

I do think Jack is important in the sense that he both brings out Ed’s self-loathing, the belief that he will in some way sully Stede by loving him, and in the implications about Ed’s previous sexual experiences and their lack of association with love or true affection. This gets drawn out when Ed feels compelled to specify that intercourse should end in orgasms, and then later to the intimacy of bringing Stede breakfast in bed after their first night together. Sexual encounters seem to have been, for Ed, as generally unsatisfying as they’ve been for Stede, though for different reasons.

Even when he defends Jack, Ed keeps apologizing to Stede - for waking him up, for the destruction of the armoire. He explains away Jack’s insults as jokes. He’s worried about what Stede thinks of Jack, and by extension himself - his comment that Jack is actually really sensitive is a projection about himself, because he sees himself in Jack. Ed is already in love. If Stede can be okay with Jack, then he can be okay with Ed.

By the time Jack kills Karl, Ed has seen Jack for who he is - and Ed thinks that’s all he is as well. He doesn't fight Stede's insistence that Jack leave the ship, but sees it as extending to him—he's like Jack, and he hates what Jack has done. If Stede cannot tolerate Jack—and why should he, after what Jack does—then Stede cannot possibly tolerate Ed. He doesn’t think that he can change or that he has changed, and all he’s done is to bring violence onto Stede’s ship. It’s not an incompatibility with Stede but Ed’s fear that Stede will see him as the person he truly is.

This gets drawn forward to sex as well. Ed wants love and tenderness; he gasps when Stede touches his chest, he wants Stede’s arms around him. But his previous relationships, if Jack is any indication, were about violence and buggering, not being loved and touched.

It kind of troubles me to see Jack formulated simply as “Ed’s ex” when he’s so emblematic of Ed not believing he deserves gentleness or even pleasure. Jack is one of the reasons that Ed hates himself and thinks that he doesn’t deserve to be with Stede. All he’s ever had were men like Jack. So, no, Jack is not just Ed’s shitty ex or old friend; he’s everything that Ed is scared will ultimately come to either harm Stede or drive him away.

Jack is more palatable than Izzy because he’s funny and extreme, but he's actually more insidious. He really shouldn’t be treated like some misguided but good-hearted friend or ex-lover. He and Izzy are just two sides of the same coin.

#ofmd #our flag means death #gif #calico jack #edward teach #stede bonnet #ofmd meta

[ourflagmeansgayrights]

ok so like objectively yes ed did things wrong but not only do i personally feel no negative emotions about any of that, i swear it would make more sense tonally with the rest of the show to NOT make a huge chunk of s2 be about ed facing the consequences for and redeeming himself from the marooning/pushing lucius overboard/izzy toe thing. like if im wrong i’m wrong and it’s whatever but i really really think the focus will be more on ed’s internal emotional state and how his choices were informed by trauma and how he’s going to learn to heal more than it’s gonna be like, Ed Learns It’s Wrong To Maroon People And Force Feed People Their Own Toes. like if anything i think it’ll be Ed Learns That He Deserves To Be Happy And He Also Realizes That Marooning People And Force Feeding People Their Own Toes Is An Unhealthy Coping Skill That Negatively Affects His Mental Health And He Learns New, Healthier Coping Strategies. like i think the focus of coming out of the kraken era is going to be almost entirely on ed’s feelings, and any mention of how his actions harmed the rest of the cast will be brief and/or it’ll primarily be played for comedy

which yes irl this would kinda suck to have some guy respond to getting his heart broken (and other stuff) by killing and maiming people and then have his whole journey of self-discovery be solely abt him and not any of the people he’s hurt. HOWEVER a biiiiiig part of the humor of the show is that the characters are experiencing some very real and very relatable self-esteem issues and insecurities and vulnerabilities, and all of that is placed on a backdrop of comedically gratuitous pirate violence. like this is a romcom and ed is basically going through the classic emotional beats of the romcom heroine getting her heart broken and eating a whole tub of ice cream and crying in her room for days before becoming cold and distant and “love is dead” edgy, only the joke is that bc he’s a pirate his “love is dead” romcom era includes some people actually literally dying. izzy and the crew all just happen to be in the blast radius for this joke, and while we as fans might love and care abt those characters too, the plain fact is that ed and stede are the main characters and the other characters’s feelings or storylines or internal motivations simply do not matter nearly as much to the show as theirs (with the exception of maybe jim, and also maybe olu depending on how s2 goes). and that’s literally just how romcoms work. this sort of “protagonist bias” is like, a core part of this kind of story.

and there’s nothing wrong with not vibing with the story because of that. if season two comes and goes and you aren’t happy with how the show handled the consequences of ed’s actions in e10 that’s fine, nobody has to feel any specific way about this show. but if i’m right and this is how s2 plays out and some of y’all don’t like this, the problem is not that ofmd is bad. the problem is just that this is not the story you wanted or expected to be told.

i DO think, tho, that there’s something very powerful abt a character like this being a queer indigenous man. he’s a gay romcom protagonist and narratively speaking his feelings trump all. this is a queer romcom that uses gratuitous slapstick violence as a punchline and where the queer main characters are allowed to get violent and unhinged about their feelings, and at the end of the day they ultimately get a pass bc it’s a gay romcom and the show is about them. like literally that description itself is more than i could’ve ever dreamed of from any tv show ever, and THEN you’re telling me that one of the main characters is indigenous???? it’s been a year and a half and s2 is right around the corner and i swear to god i still can’t believe this show actually exists. we don’t GET shows like this, we don’t GET characters like this. ed teach is such a fucking blessing of a character and i love him with all my heart.

#ofmd #our flag means death #ofmd meta #ofmd s2 #ofmd speculation #ofmd s2 speculation #edward teach #ed teach #edward teach born on a beach #s2 predictions #txt #meta #mine #og #this is why im unironically on team “ed did nothing wrong” #the show gives us very realistic depictions of emotional trauma #and slapstick looney toons depictions of physical trauma

[bookshelfdreams]

Hiii I hope this isn't too forward, but your tags re: Ed's evolving reactions to abuse and Izzy as abuse-survivor-wish-fulfillment are incredible and it would lovely as its own post, if you felt comfortable doing so!

Aww thank you! The post in question

Also, tbf, I'm just obsessed with the rule of 3, whenever there's the slightest chance of seeing a pattern like this I'll pound on it with a sledgehammer until it fits.

Anyway. Ed has 3 abusive white men in his life; his father, Hornigold, and Izzy. And all 3 he deals with, to escalating effect.

His father is the one who exerts the most power over him. Ed clearly comes from a violent household, and as a child, he is obviously completely at his fathers non-existent mercy. He beats Ed's mother, throws dishware against the wall, and there was a deleted scene where he yelled at Ed's mother for "turning my son soft" (oh how I wish they'd kept that in. I can understand why they thought this was expendable, but it would have made the connection between Ed's father and Izzy so much more obvious).

Ed cannot protect himself, or his mother, against this violence - up until the moment that he can. The moment he realizes he is no longer weak and helpless, he retaliates in the only way that he has ever seen conflicts be resolved. He knows that he can't intimidate his father into better behaviour, if he wants to end the abuse it has to be permanent. So he just fucking kills the bastard.

This is, of course, Not Ideal. Even 30odd years later, he feels monstrous and unlovable because of this moment. The violence scars him. Not because he was wrong in killing his father, necessarily; the show doesn't judge him for it. But Ed destroyed the life he could have had when he did it, and he wounded himself.

Violent solution? Possible, but he deserved better.

Next up, Hornigold, who is also a mean, abusive bastard. He represents the avoidance solution: Leave and never look back. We do not know what became of Hornigold after Ed left his ship, but 02x03 implies that Ed expects him to still be alive somewhere. Ed clearly suffered horrific abuse at his hands, both physical and emotional, and even though that is years in the past, he clearly never dealt with any of it. Gravybasket!Hornigold tells him "Sorry doesn't rebuild an abdominal wall. You gotta move on.": Don't expect an apology, don't try to make amends, just ignore what happened. Apologies are pointless, you can never expect your abuser to change his behaviour. So just try to get away from him and ignore him.

This also doesn't really work. In the gravy basket, Ed is clearly still desperate for Hornigold's approval - and is refused, as he probably was often when he sailed with him. "You're never good enough" is one of the core mantras of abusers. Hornigold is still living in Ed's head, and heart, and soul; the poison he fed him is still alive and well within him. Ed even tries a violent solution this time, but obviously that can't work.

Still, avoidance is better than violence. Hornigold is left behind, standing on that cliff, while Ed goes back into the light. Ed doesn't have to take him with him. He cannot make Hornigold regret what he did, but he can remove himself from his clutches.

And then there's Izzy. With Izzy, Ed obviously has the most ambivalent relationship. He seems to truly like Izzy, to some extend (why is that would be another post, but as briefly as possible: I think Izzy provides an interpersonal dynamic that is familiar, and therefore, a twisted kind of safe for Ed. Chronic mistreatment will embed in you the idea that there's something wrong with you, and that's something Izzy is all too willing to point out to Ed. Crucially though, Izzy is someone who's approval is actually attainable. Ed keeps around someone who will tear him down, yes, but who it is also possible to impress, and over who he has authority. He's going back to the previous relationships, only now he is in a position of power, and that may feel like he can fix them. Obviously this isn't exactly a healthy dynamic. Izzy, for his part, clearly gets a kick out of the power and status being Blackbeard's first mate gives him, and manipulating Ed into doing what he wants. Just watch how pissed he gets when his control over Ed starts to slip.).

And there's another, crucial difference: Izzy wants to come around. Izzy is the fantasy of the toxic person who realizes how shitty his behaviour is, and who deep down, cares enough to want to fix it. Who recognizes the pain he caused, and who tells Ed the things he most needs to hear: I hurt you, and I'm sorry. You didn't deserve this. I was wrong; you're fine.

And then - and this is also an important part of the wish fullfilment fantasy! - he dies. Ed doesn't have to deal with him anymore. We remove the possibility that he goes back on his apology, or tries to use that as a wedge to carve out a space for himself in Ed's life, or goes back to manipulating Ed. No. The apology has to be the final note this relationship ends on.

And this fixes it. Ed can look back on Izzy fondly.

He was a fucking nightmare. What a guy.

#of course this isnt too forward anon i love it when ppl notice my tag ramblings <3 #anonymaus #message #our flag means death #edward teach

[glamaphonic]

i don't post a ton about izzy hands bcs, being real, i just don't care that much about him, and frankly, i find the obsessive fixation on him both predictable and annoying.

but it's my blog and i have thoughts that, because of the person that i am, are going to be expressed in the form of a character breakdown. i promise it is as discourse-free as i could possibly make it, but obviously if you don't want to read my examination of izzy hands' motivations as a character then...don't.

i feel like there's a very widespread misapprehension of said character and motivations, and indeed it's a misapprehension that i predicted way last year, and one that helps contribute to a wealth of repetitive arguments and discourse about the character that i am assiduously attempting to avoid in this post. (i am not, btw, proposing any sort of "solution" here; people can argue about whatever they want.)

in short, there's a tendency in meta and fic to take a singular aspect of subtext (izzy is into blackbeard) and center it as the character's primary (and often sole) motivation. and then, to work from there to recontextualize and reimagine and reinvent everything around that assumption.

but the show and the character straight up stop making sense when you do that. because izzy's primary motivation is categorically not desire for blackbeard.

his primary motivation, textually, is that he wants to be captain.

if i was at work and breaking down his GMC as an antagonist in s1 it would be:

g(oal): get rid of stede so that ed can retire

m(otivation): become captain

c(onflict): he is continually prevented from getting rid of stede, primarily by ed

and as happens in well-constructed narratives everything he does for most of the season revolves around this gmc.

to slide into the character section: izzy is, fundamentally, both hungry for power and bad at actually wielding power. izzy cares, more than anything, about his job and being at the top of the field in that job.

in 1x04, he tells ed to his face that he thinks ed's a washed up has-been who izzy has only continued to work for because of the clout that comes with working for the legendary blackbeard. this is because, as we've seen him mention to fang and ivan, he reads ed's increasing disinterest in and boredom with his job, and potentially the attendant depression, as ed having gone "half-insane" and no longer living up to that ideal. izzy later takes this back when ed has once again proven himself capable of pulling off a typical blackbeard miracle, of being the master of the work that izzy venerates. and then ed dangles izzy's heart's desire before him. if ed can retire, then izzy no longer has to suffice with being second-in-command to the biggest, baddest pirate. he can have the mantle passed to him. he can be the master of the work.

but of course, necessary to this plan, as ed presents it, is that stede must die.

and that's what izzy spends the rest of the season trying to accomplish.

to suppose that izzy is primarily acting against stede out of jealousy over thwarted romantic hopes, as the point of a love triangle trying to get rid of his rival, as someone who is desperately trying to have ed's attention redirected at him, is to suppose that he is actively seeking an end-state directly in opposition to his own goals.

because if stede dies, things don't return to the status quo, izzy doesn't get ed "back" to continue alongside him in perpetuity, and he certainly doesn't get the affection and adoration that ed has never before demonstrated towards anyone (nor do i think he even wants it, but that's a whole other analysis). the terms as they were laid out and as izzy continuously pushes ed to fulfill are that stede dies, ed goes away forever, and izzy gets a boat and a captaincy. that is what izzy explicitly wants.

and yes, as ed falls in love with stede, izzy is disgusted by what he sees as ed being corrupted by someone beneath him, turned into some "thing" that deserves to be put down. and yes, he wants to avoid the legendary blackbeard being brought low, be it by stede bonnet's influence or an english ambush. and, yes, repressed gay jealousy is definitely an aspect of izzy's overall dislike of stede, in particular.

but these things are secondary and tertiary, respectively, to izzy's immediate motivations and goals.

he stays in 1x04 because ed offers him a captaincy. he pushes ed to kill stede in 1x06 because it's the plan that will lead to him being captain. he narks to the english because they will give him a boat and a captaincy for it (plus he swore to make ed regret not following through with the original plan that would give him a boat and a captaincy). and he's happy as a clam in 1x09, even though stede isn't actually dead and ed has undermined the legend of blackbeard by signing the act of grace, because his primary goal has been fulfilled. izzy is now captain of his own boat.

and in 1x10 the sole alteration in izzy's motivation all season occurs. he realized his power-hungry dreams, but his regrettable incapacity at wielding power comes back to bite him. after he's mutinied in short order, and his life is saved solely by ed's presence and authority, he's left with limited choices (within the scope of his characterization).

he can leave and go it alone; attempt to climb the ranks again elsewhere, and eventually perhaps meet that same end he just narrowly avoided.

or he can try to go back to how things were before, try to once again achieve the highest strata he ever had: right-hand man to the legendary blackbeard. secure in the knowledge that not only is this a top position in the field, but that, barring all else, blackbeard's power and authority are sufficient to keep him safe from the machinations of the crew.

but of course, in izzy's mind, for all that to happen blackbeard has to actually be blackbeard. and well we need not rehash his opinions on that.

so yeah, gay jealousy over ed? definitely a thing izzy feels, imo, if deeply repressed.

but is it his actual motivation for almost anything he does throughout the season? demonstrably not, or else he would've made some very different decisions.

anyway this is all basically just a rehash of this conversation, but i was noodling on it so.

#ofmd #ofmd meta #izzy hands #long post

[roz-ani]

Izzy deserved to hear that from Ed.

That's Izzy's family. It's Izzy whom the crew loves.

That was Izzy's arc, not Edward's.

Now, please, don't get me wrong. It is a part of Ed's growth. Still, the main focus has always been his relationship with Stede and his identity. You can absolutely dive into the captain's relationship with his crew, but you don't replace a character's arc with another one's, especially at the last minute.

I understand the symbolism of Blackbeard "dying" with Izzy. The gatekeeping, gaslighting, feeding the persona of the world's greatest and most merciless pirate staying in the past... I am also fully convinced that Blackbeard's right-hand man actually passing away to achieve that was unnecessary.

What this season did for Izzy was absolutely incredible. That man abandoned his ego and changed the way he perceived power, respect, loyalty, and support for and because of a group of people he despised at the beginning.

His main purpose has always been looking after any crew he was a part of. He had more contact with them than the captain himself, especially aboard the Revenge when Blackbeard was going through his mental breakdown. In the first season, we saw Izzy wouldn't be the best captain, but he did have the experience and eventually learned how to look after his subordinates. All because he finally experienced proper care himself.

He got his heart broken in more than one way, yet managed to find his people, his family. Izzy finally got to know what real appreciation looks like. He got it from the people he initially mistreated. The crew decided to look after Izzy because "he's their dick". They stopped fighting after seeing him at his lowest. They made him a new prosthesis out of the figurehead of all things, showing the audience how they see him - the crew's protector, the spirit of the ship.

At first, Izzy kept pushing them away. Not out of hatred for them, but for himself. Because healing is difficult, it hurts, it takes incredible strength and willpower to admit to yourself that your environment is harmful and that you might be the problem as well. Especially when leaving it seemingly deprives you of your identity or purpose in life. Besides that, come on, it's Izzy Hands. A man who wasn't heartless, but also not "soft", as he would have most likely put it himself. He was still rough around the edges and cynical. However, after all this time he finally allowed himself to let go and feel comfortable, so some of that bitterness disappeared over time. I still don't believe he was fully healed, but he was on the right path.

Despite changing his outlook on life, Izzy was still respected. He knew what mattered and what to do and say to make sure his crew's issues were properly resolved.

Now, Ed's apology. At first I felt like there didn't need to be any deep talk between the first mate and his captain, because they understood each other well enough. That's not what communication is about though. It's not about taking something or someone for granted. Especially is the conflict escalates to such extent. There should've been more to that. They should've both had a conversation about their relationship and what made them bad for each other. Most importantly, how they could fix that and heal together. If that would require them to part ways, so be it. At least they'd separate on good terms. Now we can only speculate.

I would say my biggest problem is not with Izzy Hands dying. It's about how he died. Although I doubt I'd support this decision in season 3, at least it wouldn't be so rushed. There was no proper build-up to it. Izzy and Richard, of all people, had a deep talk about understanding piracy, a concept that is a base for one's actions. This was probably the biggest red flag, which tragically appeared in the same episode Izzy died. The crew didn't thank him or bid him farewell. He wasn't properly mourned. He was buried in the ground.

"You should've expected that. Things were going too well. A mentor character always dies after regaining hope". I have two HUGE problems with that.

First of all: a mentor character? I guess? For two, maybe three episodes at best? Izzy did meet some mentor archetype points. He was Stede's mentor for a bit, I mentioned his experience and position as the first mate, but I wouldn't say that's his main purpose. The writers did, but we're going to talk about it in a second.

Second of all: this was many people's comfort show. Especially when it comes to the LGBTQ+ community. I myself have praised this show for its take on communication and found family portrayal. It was fun, light-hearted, safe.

I understand the need to tell your story, I truly do. I know that people don't have the right to tell someone how to create, because the audience, especially the more pushy members, can be very often self-centered and don't know what's planned for a show's future. Except that these days you really have to be careful with how you plan your story with the corporations holding all the power - that's why we need to support the strikes. You need to be prepared to disclose necessary information in a proper way if needed. You need to pay attention to what you're portraying.

Now, I also believe that media literacy is dead (exaggeration) and people really can't for example understand that stories develop over time, seasons, or chapters unless they're consuming a media piece that has already run its course. They do have the tendency to take things literally and not search for the context.

Still, in the postmodern era of creativity, you need to know you don't hold all the power, despite not owning people anything. Your audience can interpret things on their own. What you believe to have no power or significance can mean the world to your audience. Remember how difficult it was for people to believe this show actually has LGBTQ+ characters and a love story in it? Or how the creator admitted he was surprised by the scepticism? I don't. Not only because I started watching the show quite late, but also because I don't consider myself to be a part of this community. It didn't mean so much to me, because I currently focus on different aspects of the content I consume. However, I know how they perceive media and their products. I may not have the same experience, but I know where theirs comes from. And I know that this show was just different. TV series, books, etc. do not belong only to the creators nowadays. Yes, they are their products, but they are made for an audience that has the right to individually approach and criticise them. And even though overinterpretation is a thing, there is no one right answer to certain issues.

BUT THEN AGAIN: THE MONEY. Was it the budget? I honestly have no idea. Perhaps it was, because literally everything is dependent on it these days...

See, we could argue back and forth about the behind-the-scenes, but I don't think I have enough knowledge of that. I also don't want to get into the topic of disability, suicide, abuse, etc., because I am not the right person for it, even though some of those things are a part of my experience. There are people out there who can give you their thoughts on their perception of Izzy's character and his significance in those areas.

I suppose my point is... I'm mad and genuinely disappointed. I can't remember the last time I was so attached to a character. I absolutely adored Izzy's character and was drawn to him in the first season. I related to him struggling with his toxic environment and finding a safe space. I was ready to see him become a captain. Heck, even if that wasn't planned for him, I still trusted the crew to let the character be happy after everything he's been through. Instead, I got this: "As long as you turn over a new leaf and heal, your death is a good one... Redemption equals no happily ever after... Remember that life isn't fair..." Aren't we tired of such narratives? What does it say about us and the media we consume? Isn't hypernormalisation of such issues exhausting?

I'm disappointed because I had hope. Even after getting betrayed by so many stories in recent years, I still had it. I had hope for a different character. Hope for a different show.

Edit: Just wanted to make something clear because I see more and more people focusing on Buttons sitting on Izzy's grave and David Jenkins liking a tweet about him being a witch. You could call me a hypocrite for pointing out people's lack of media literacy and not even considering the possibility of bringing Izzy back. That was my first thought. I would absolutely love for Buttons to do his magic and revive our man. There is something inside of me still holding onto that hope. I'm just really, really, REALLY tired of having hope in shows nowadays. I'm choosing to remain sceptical. Who knows, maybe I'll be positively surprised. Still, I stand by what I wrote: I think killing Izzy was unnecessary in the first place.

#and so necromancy is the only thing I have left #ofmd spoilers #our flag means death spoilers #izzy hands #our flag means death #ofmd #ofmd 2 #our flag means death 2 #mine #roz writes

[izzyspussy]

Fic Rec: Chef's Best by Hideous_Sun_Demon

I wanna rec this with a whole post instead of just having it marked as a rec in my bookmarks, because it's gen and I know a lot of times people are usually searching through ship tags and miss gen fics, and I think it really deserves some attention!

It's about Roach figuring out how to feed Izzy post-toes. It's expertly in character for everyone, not just the fic's own main characters but everyone that features in it. Roach felt fleshed out and extrapolated from canon rather than just wholesale made up to fit the author's needs, which I loved very much (and which, in my opinion, usually results in a more interesting character anyway, not too softened out). I think Ed and Lucius both stand out excellently despite having I think one actually relevant line each lmfao, and Stede was great and not too sanded down into perfection either! Basically I loved everyone.

It also just has some really great turns of phrase and sentence construction that I liked, but idk if y'all would really care about that as much lmfao.

I haven't left my comment yet because I read it for the first time on my phone, but I plan to read it again and comment as I go!

Author's Summary:

Roach takes pride in his cooking, and if anybody turns their nose up at it - well, that's a personal attack. So, when Izzy refuses to eat any of his food, he's determined to get to the bottom of it.

Warning for cannibalism of course, but not only the canonical forced autocannibalism incident(s) but a pretty detailed recollection of past survival cannibalism as well. Also some pretty gross vomiting, and a sort-of poisoning.

READ IT!!! ->

#jack facts #fic rec #ofmd #izzy hands #roach #roach ofmd #rizzy #<- not tagged that but it's easily read that way #food #cannibalism

[squidinkedcreative]

aaaaaaa brain is putting things together about izzy and i just :( damn

also going to say this now that if ur an izzy hater, this post isnt for u! pls dont engage :) thank u

saw art with a quote from a post about izzy, talking about how some people find it touching that he’s buried in the yard of the inn, but this person didn’t. it made them feel sick because he’s buried there like a dog. and just first of all yeah. at first it was touching to me bc of that sentiment that they’re keeping him near them, even in death, but the more i thought on it the more my stomach also churned.

i know djenks had the best intentions with how izzy’s character and arc were treated but jfc ya missed the mark. by a wide margin. like hello???? having the entire point of his arc in season two be discovering himself and growing into himself, hell even standing up for himself and letting himself hold on a little looser to his baggage and just put down the baggage he chose to carry on behalf of the man he loved only for him to die like an episode or two later. and the crew acts like nothing happened just. it doesnt sit right with me and it hasnt since the first time i saw it.

i know its for “plot” reasons, but there was no other way to convey any of this than maiming him like the family dog nobody actually likes??? like a grimy mutt?? without him LITERALLY DYING????????????????? AT THE VERY END OF THE SEASON??????? AND NOT EVEN HAVE THAT BE THE MAIN MESSAGE FOR THE REST OF THE EPISODE??? you had to stomp all over his dead body with a fucking wedding. yes yes good for lucius and pete i really do love them and i am happy for them, but its like they all just. moved on. and forgot about izzy. and trust me i am FULLY aware of how complex grief is, but still. it stings. it feels like its watering down the impact izzy had on everyone on the crew.

he and the kraken’s crew grew so close that they tried to keep him alive even tho they all knew if the kraken found out, they’d all be paying with blood. they MADE HIM. A PROSTHETIC. AND PAINTED IT. they cheered him on when he came out in drag and sang in fucking FRENCH!!!!!!! and then he dies and like 3 minutes later theres a wedding and another party. it feels tasteless. it feels demeaning.

and i 100% think djenks roped izzy and ed into the Bury Your Gays trope without thinking that through. elder queer man who is traumatized dozens of times over who just fucking came to terms with himself AND WHO JUST CONFESSED HIS LOVE TO EDWARD!!!! dies. shortly after that, timeline wise. thats the fucking trope. it’s literally right there.

AND THEN. they fucking bury him in the YARD. LIKE A DOG. in the far corner where they wont see it and be reminded of him every day. out of sight out of mind. they’ll move on and grow old together, blissfully happy, while izzy’s bones are the only thing left of the man who once was Israel Hands, First Mate to the legendary Blackbeard. he never got to have his mutual pining moment, he never got to find the true love of his life and grow old with them. he doesnt get to die fulfilled, with labored breaths, as old age takes him. he gets to sit and watch from the corner as ed and stede, his ex of sorts and the guy he replaced him with, live that happily ever after. he gets to sit in the corner like a bad dog and watch as these two get everything he ever wanted. just like the unwanted family pet.

it makes me ill. he deserved so much better. he deserves better than doggy heaven, he deserves better than being roped into the fucking Bury Your Gays trope too.

#ofmd #izzy hands #our flag means death #ofmd izzy hands #ofmd s2 #ofmd s2 spoilers #our flag means death s2 spoilers #our flag means death season 2 #our flag means death s2 #israel hands #just thinking about this a lot tonight :) #deff normal thinking :) yep :)

[blue-b-bro]

Izzy and the candles

(kinda about Izzy's arc)

So I’ve finally sat down and looked closely into the candle scenes and after analyzing them, I’ve came to the conclusion, that they’re about the state of Izzy’s feeling towards Ed, how he deals with them. (if you have other ideas please share)

Let’s look at the scenes, shall we? (it's Izzy's POV, not what I think about his actions)

S1e3:

- He's not interested in meeting. - What? - 🕯️I explicitly told him… Blackbeard desired his company.

- But does he know who I am?

- Seemed to, yeah.🕯️ - And still, he said no. - You can "go suck eggs in hell" was his response, I believe. - Fascinating.

Why at that moment? Well, I think he didn’t lie, or at least he didn’t think he did. So he’s not punishing himself or anything. It’s about the whole conflict in s1: Izzy desires Ed’s company, wants Ed to desire his company. Izzy thinks, he knows Ed, but it turns out, he doesn’t know him so well.

He’s burning his hand by getting too close, just like his possessiveness ultimately only hurts him and Ed in the process. His feelings are so intense it’s actually destructive.

S1e7:

“🕯️Bonnet comes along, and he's like, "Oh, Oh, Blackbeard, I really love... I love the way you dress. I love the way your hair, your beard, and all that." I tell ya, I would've ripped his fuckin' head off. And I would have had him, too, I would have had him…🕯️”

And what is he doing just after that? Making a deal with the English. Proving that his selfish desire only makes it worse for both of them: Ed leaves him, Izzy made him work for the king.

S2e5:

Now, we need context. After Ed’s visit in s2e2 Izzy realized, that his selfish actions harmed not only him, but actually Ed too. That he was actively helping Ed kill himself, that Ed expected him, to just go with the plan, because he was his boss. That he was a bad first mate, because he almost killed his captain instead of protecting him, and that his way of love was bad, because it made Ed so miserable. So he metaphorically killed his old self (by trying to actually do it), stopped Ed, freed from his orders, and saved the crew.

He kept it mostly together until the crew was saved by Stede and then, there was nothing for him to do, no use for him. He may have did that big gesture to become his new self, but that didn’t erase his regrets. He felt responsible for Ed’s state, felt it was his fault for not doing his job, for making Ed hate him, for being useless, everything mixed in one miserable mess. He expected the crew to just let him die from overdrinking, because why would they care? They’re safe now, they have Stede. When the crew made him the new leg, he decided to give himself a second chance, stops drinking and tries to find a way to be of use (see? He didn’t get over it at all)

In e5, right after Ed’s apology (“And whatever that nasty, dark stuff was that brought us here, it's in the past. Which is all I want to say, at the end of the day, is we're trying to move the culture forward.”) he starts whittling the shark. The whole episode is about moving on, but Izzy doesn’t do that. He just buries his feelings deeper.

“Well, this is a pirate ship and I'm a pirate, so, yeah. I'm good with it.” He tells himself that that’s how it is, just like Archie said: “They get away with it and we move on”. Izzy doesn’t expect any apology, doesn’t think he deserves any, but he’s still hurt, he’s still unmoored, without any clear direction in life.

- So this is where all my candles went. And you've used the good ones. - Yep. I'm having to relearn the basics with one leg. [🕯️] - The basics? I think my basics might be a bit more basic than your basics. Actually, it recently occurred to me that... - That you know nothing? That you're a shitty Captain, yeah? - I don't know about that. But Blackbeard did say he credited you with a lot of his skills. - Yeah, well, Blackbeard says a lot of things. But what did he say about me specifically? - Well, specifically, he said you taught him everything he knows. Made him the Captain he is today. Perhaps I could learn at the feet of one of the greats. - Foot. - Oh, yes, foot. Sorry. - Ya know, maybe I could teach even you a thing or two.

“I'm having to relearn the basics with one leg.” He’s basically saying he’s starting anew. He decided to forget the past, to kill his feelings for Ed, all that hurt and sorrow and guilt, just move on.

“Don't know what you're talkin' about. A shark did this. Dangling my legs over the side of the ship. Served me right, too.” It was all his own fault, so he doesn’t need any apology. It was to be expected, so there’s no need to feel hurt or betrayed.

S2e8:

Izzy was telling himself it was his fault he got treated like that by Ed, it was just how pirate’s life worked, everything's fine, but at the same time Stede was happy, grateful and nice to him all episode, showing him, that no, it doesn’t have to work like that, it didn’t have to work like that. His relationship with Ed didn’t have to look like it looked, he could have had better relationship with Ed, if only he let him.

In e6 he’s drinking again.

they both know it’s not about the weather. it’s about Ed’s feelings, Ed feeling it was all too nice and something has to go bad eventually. And Izzy’s on his new track, trying to keep Ed in this better place, the one he so desperately tried to get him out of in s1. He now knows his relationship with Ed and Ed’s life was so miserable because of him, and he tries to fix it, to help Ed get rid of bad habits.

Izzy probably didn’t know how to respond, having mixed feelings about it since he was all about how it was his own fault and Ed apologizing actually contradicts it, forcing Izzy to acknowledge his suffering that he so strongly tried to repress.

“Turn the poison into positivity” it’s kinda like a response to s1e5 where Izzy was opposed/shocked by open culture on the Revenge and now, knowing his old ways were wrong he actually stops, asks what’s that about and tries himself. Izzy sings about looking at the world through rose-tinted glasses, and I think it’s about him wishing Ed and Stede well.

Izzy decided to focus on helping Ed and Stede in their relationship. He realized he was the reason for Ed’s unhappiness, it was him, who made him worse by trying to keep him to himself, and so his own feelings don't matter. His feelings for Ed don't matter, his love doesn't matter, and that’s why he’s all helpful, but at the same time looks tired. After Ed leaves Stede, Izzy finds him at the bar, (always with Stede when Ed isn’t around). He tells him he thinks they’re good for each other, comforts Stede, is ok with talking about their feelings for Ed. He tries to protect Stede from his auto destructive behavior post breakup (not just going along, like with Ed).

Now we’re at e8 finally:

- 🕯️Can't believe I have an audience with the great Israel Hands. That's absolutely astounding. I've always thought you were underrated. I mean, it's absurd, isn't it? Isn't it? That Blackbeard, he gets all this praise, when you are quite clearly the brains of this operation?🕯️ (playing with fire in a safe way, calm) - Ya don't know the first thing about piracy, do ya? - Don't I? - It's not about glory. It's not about gettin' what you want. It's about belonging to something when the world has told you you're nothin'. It's about finding the family to kill for when yours are long dead. It's about letting go of ego for something larger. The crew.

“when you are quite clearly the brains of this operation” Izzy feels responsible for all the bad things that happened to Ed, for his unhappiness. He wanted to follow and serve Blackbeard, not to replace him. He and Ed created Blackbeard, why would he want to have something that was already his? When Blackbeard got all the praise, Izzy was proud. The only praises he needed was those from Ed. (I don't mean he didn't care about being respected by others but appreciated)

“It's not about glory. It's not about gettin' what you want. It's about belonging to something when the world has told you you're nothin'. It's about finding the family to kill for when yours are long dead. It's about letting go of ego for something larger. The crew.”

It’s about Izzy abandoning his selfish desire to be with Ed, to have Ed’s full attention, to have his love, and focusing about caring for others, for his family (Ed and the crew), about their happiness.

And you know what? I think it could’ve been Izzy’s idea to go with Ricky, to be on the front line. That’s very like him and I don’t see other reason for it. The crew is protective of Izzy, it wouldn’t be their idea.

- Ed, I'm sorry. I've been terrible to you. - No, I'm sorry. - No. - What are you apologizing for? I should be the one who's apologizing. - I fed your darkness… Blackbeard. For years, I egged him on, even though I knew you'd outgrown him, but the truth is… I needed him. Blackbeard... it was us. You, me.

I’m happy he said that, I’m happy they finally talked. I’m happy Izzy finally said out laud how unwell he is inside.

bonus:

(⚠️ here comes finale criticism, you’ve been warned ⚠️)

But him dying there was as if Ed died in e5! Oh, he realized his mistakes and started to fix them, but still is very messed up inside. That’s Ed in e5-6. And somehow he got to live after apologizing to Fang, hmm? Yeah, it was very in character for Izzy to get himself killed for Ed, to apologize for his great crimes of *checks hand* misunderstanding, being confused and selfish and being in love with Ed. Understandable. Ed can realize he’s actually worthy of love and forgiveness, but Izzy isn’t? Izzy would agree, but that’s not the point. He wasn’t on the arc towards healing. He was on the arc of realizing how bad of an influence he was and then dying . He was marinating that thought since s2e2. How fun.

Like, yeah, he realized he was selfish and fixed his wrongdoings. But he also thought he was worthless and, ekhem, defiled his captain with his love, wait where did I hear that...

#our flag means death #Ofmd #Ofmd s2 #izzy hands #ofmd meta #edizzy #My bitching at the end is optional lol

[rdng1230]

lemme just say that even if Izzy hadn’t died I still think this finale was shit. 1. Ed and Stede’s conflict is still NOT ACTUALLY RESOLVED Ed just says I love you and that’s all it took? No guys you actually have to fucking talk to each other. Ed didn’t meaningfully realize he wanted to be with Stede, he just got rejection dysphoric when that fisherman was rude to him. That is not meaningful character growth! Ed deserves better than that! 2. Really the only emotional issue that was resolved through open communication was Zheng and Auntie. And it was a really sweet scene! But let’s be real of the laundry list of lingering issues that needed to be solved, did anyone have Zheng and her aunties relationship in even the top 5 things? 3. The British are just not a well established big bad. They barely appear in this season at all up until the end of episode 7. Izzy’s speech to Ricky was great, but it would’ve been way more cathartic had we actually seen any character struggle to live their life due to the British navy. For Christ sakes, Stede and crew was able to take down a whole squad of officers in episode 1! Ed and Stede immediately escape from the act of grace academy and no one even seems to be really after them! Ed pulls off 90 days straight of raiding completely unhindered! 4. All of the final sweet moments to me feel rushed or unearned or both. I’m happy for Lucius and Pete but I’d loved to have a follow up conversation about Lucius’s obvious lingering PTSD. I love that Stede and Ed get to run an inn together but you’re telling me we don’t even get to see them having that conversation? How does the crew respond to both their captains leaving and their first mate dead? Who is even the captain now? This shows most interesting and meaningful moments are the messy in between bits and they steamrolled through all of them. 5. Every single thing izzy said was things that he had shown himself perfectly capable of telling Ed and/or Stede even when not bleeding out. He’s told Ed that he loves him, he’s told Ed indirectly and Stede directly that he thinks they make a good couple, he’s literally singing love songs to the crew including Ed, name one thing that he said with his dying breath that he wouldn’t have gotten around to saying if they hadn’t fucking killed him with a stray bullet like every other queer character that finally carves their way into a happy place.

#ofmd s2 spoilers #izzy hands

[rahullkohli]

i wanna talk about the dynamic between ed and lucius, because i feel like people tend to either completely brush it off as non-existent, or as lucius only having ed’s attention because lucius is close to stede, and i think that is a huge disservice, as i see the relationship between the two characters as incredibly nuanced. and this is gonna be really freaking long i’m so sorry.

it’s widely accepted that stede is the only person to ever be truly upfront with ed, but while i agree to some extent that stede is true to himself around ed, i think that lucius to a much greater degree is the absolutely only person who fully does not think thée great blackbeard is The Shit. before ed shows up on the revenge lucius does seem to think the mystery about this legend character is enticing, but the second he actually meets ed all of that washes away. he is the one person who continuously stands up to ed, and tells him to treat stede right. lucius sees very quickly (what stede himself doesn’t even see) that the chemistry between ed and stede is growing more romantic, and it is lucius’ instinct to be protective of this captain he didn’t even like about a week or two prior to ed showing up.  lucius even showed up on the island with the biggest bitch attitude to hand deliver a breakup box when ed left with calico jack.

and what i see is that ed respects that about lucius. stede actually did try to embellish his own persona in front of ed; trying to seem tougher than he is, trying to impress ed again and again - he might not have changed himself, but he did bend over backwards to make a good impression. but ed saw that lucius didn’t. there was never any doubt where lucius’ loyalty was, and it was with his own captain. and we see ed look to lucius when he is unsure about stede, because he knows the way to a dude’s heart is through his reluctant gay bestie.

then when ed returned from running away from the british navy, lucius is the only person ed opens up to. aside from stede, lucius is the only person ed is truly vulnerable with, and confides to directly. he invites lucius into his blanket fort, he tells lucius about this raw pain that he is feeling, even if he does try to thinly veil it as about someone else.

and this part is the most important to me; i think ed sees in lucius what he wishes he could be himself. lucius is openly gay, and very vocal about his gayness. he doesn’t take on the big responsible roles, because he truly does not want them. he is soft, and kind, and so gentle with people who are in a bad way. he doesn’t put a big thing into making people like him, and he is honest with people around him, and still finding the balance in how to be that in the way the situation requires. he can be mean and vicious, but only when people deserve it. in many ways, he is just like stede. he is also fiercely protective of the people he cares about, and he is definitely down to clown.

which brings me to the last episode. ed goes through this massive transformation of being broken and vulnerable, to having izzy’s words snap him back to his old alter ego of blackbeard. i’ve seen a lot of different reasons for how people sees the scene of ed pushing lucius overboard; that he just snapped, that it was to solidify his newfound edginess, that he always thought lucius was annoying, etc. but i truly, deeply in my soul see lucius as being someone ed has grown to care about, and he couldn’t have that around anymore. ed got rid of stede’s possessions, his crew - it was basically that taylor swift video where she burns all of her ex’s things in a fit of rage. so why didn’t ed just drop lucius off at the island along with the others? because lucius is a physical manifestation of the memory of stede, but also of that inner core of ed that he had buried so deep inside but slowly started letting out from knowing stede. when ed looks at lucius he sees both stede, the man he loves but he believes doesn’t love him back, but also the person he wishes he could be himself. kind, gentle, embracing his feminine side, not caring about who knows he’s gay, and someone who is loyal and protective of the people he loves. by pushing lucius overboard, ed is not only pushing away stede’s memory, he is also trying to kill the part of himself that he had only just started to embrace.

i wanna keep ranting about my love for the relationship between these two, but this is already so long. now i just really fucking hope s2 will fix this, because i need ed and lucius to be best friends and confidants.

#edward teach #lucius spriggs #ofmd talk #ofmd #our flag means death #i don't even know how to tag this #i'll probably post this and in five minutes wish i had written something differently #tv #tv:our flag means death #queer tv

[celluloidbroomcloset]

Hey there,

You’ve got a lot of insight into Ed and his whole journey from S1 to S2. Apologies if you’ve covered all this already (and I’m not the most articulate of people so also apologies for any confusion), but I’m interested in your thoughts…

I get the impression that a basic debate here is that either Ed is a psychopathic sadist (who basically ‘reigns in his sadistic tendencies’ until he loses Stede) or he’s someone struggling with his own self loathing and the toxic environment he’s had to live in (or maybe I’ve missed the mark entirely).

If it’s the latter, do you think he becomes at all vindictive in S2? Or is he more going through the motions of what he thinks is expected of ‘the pirate Blackbeard,’ because he’s somehow trying to cut off his emotions or is just tired of even trying to be anything else (ie himself) anymore? Or maybe it’s something else?

Also, to me personally it seems like Ed is stuck in… how to describe it… a depressive stasis at the beginning of S1, like at least resigned to death but doesn’t actively seek it until the end of S1/beginning of S2. I can’t decide though if in S2 Ed wants to take the crew with him (because that at least means not dying alone, like the mother and the cat in Crimes of the Heart), or if he doesn’t mind one way or the other what happens as long as he’s dead, or if the goal is to actively make the crew despise him because he thinks hatred and death are what he deserves?

Again, sorry if I’m beating a dead horse here…

Thanks!

So a lot of people have written a good bit about this. This is just what I think (and my thoughts may change—I'm planning on rewatching "Red Flags" today).

When we meet Ed, I think he is depressive and perhaps passively suicidal—he's talking about how the one thing he hasn't tried yet is death, but he doesn't seem to be really looking to die, and meeting Stede makes him re-evaluate the life he's been living and what he wants from it.

Stede and the space of the Revenge make Ed feel safe to express the parts of him that he’d concealed within Blackbeard in order to survive (the whole bringing out of his mother’s silk and Stede giving him the space to wear it openly on his heart). He tries to find this again with the crew after Stede leaves him, and it is Izzy who tells him that he is not safe unless he is Blackbeard (by directly threatening him and telling him that he would be better off dead than being the person he is).

I think a lot of what he’s doing at the end of Season 1 and into Season 2 is malicious compliance - “You wanted the caricature of Blackbeard, well HERE HE IS!” By the time we pick up with the Revenge in Season 2, he's moving from passive to active suicidality - he has been unable to correctly perform (Izzy invoking Stede and the fact that Ed's feelings are what have made the atmosphere on the ship toxic - quite literally his inability to conceal those feelings have poisoned everything around them, according to Izzy. Ed's feelings themselves are poisonous). Ed cannot reconcile his past with what he wants to be with who he is, and he has lost the safe space to be Ed.

I don’t think he wants to take the crew with him - his first move is to try to get Izzy to kill him; when that fails, he tries to get the crew to do it. If anyone actually just pulled a gun and shot him, he'd not try to stop them. He’s goading them until they’re forced into a space where they either have to die themselves or take the initiative and kill him (hence his “finally” right before his death).

Ed has been working to become all the monstrous/demoniacal stories about himself, the ones that have been told by the English and by his trio of monstrous fathers. He hates them but he also wants their approval, and he’s transforming himself into the monstrosity that others say he is. His love for Stede and the things that he was allowed to access via his relationship with Stede are the soft, genuine parts of himself that he has been told are not him but that he's also now incapable of concealing. He’s not worthy of that softness, he’s not worthy of love, and so he tries to kill it.

He’s going to die on Stede’s ship, with Stede’s cravat around his throat, murdered by Stede’s crew, as a final confirmation that all the things he wanted to be, and all the love he felt, he wasn’t really worthy of, that Stede was right to leave him because look at what he’s done, and that the people who loved him should never have loved him. He’s dying like all his monstrous fathers have died, murdered by people who once cared for him and whom he should have taken care of, but failed to because he's a monster.

#reply #ofmd #tw: abuse #tw: suicide #our flag means death #edward teach #ofmd meta

[sixstepsaway]

right, so, here are my Thoughts about that whole thing now i've slept on it. probably won't be super coherent but here we go

i feel bad for stede. he got shoved, somehow, into the weird love interest role so many female characters find themselves in, where they are truly completed by a man and a romance not the things they've been striving for throughout the series so far. he's shown no sign of wanting to give up the pirate lifestyle he's just finally got back, and to accompany him giving that up with izzy's gorgeous "piracy is about family and somewhere to belong" speech from earlier just feels cruel. we joke about how episode 2 stede wouldn't care if lucius died but that changed, he got attached, his crew became his family. they were loyal to him and followed him even when they were just working at spanish jackie's for pennies. they respected him and loved him enough to let him talk them into letting ed back on board. this was, at least at this point in stede's arc, his happy ending. in fact, you can even argue he was happy without ed for a while at the start of this episode. his relationship with ed is important and it's icing on the cake, but it isn't something to complete him, or his only source of happiness -- nor should it be!!! and then for some reason ed shows back up, fishes up his leathers, kicks ass to save him, loses izzy and now they're leaving stede's ship and crew and found family to... run an inn made out of the world's shittiest fixer-upper? stede? stede twirly fancypants bonnett??? in that place? maybe at the end of a full run this might have felt like a good conclusion to his story, him realizing he wanted belonging, not necessarily to be a pirate, and maybe them bringing some of crew along to have their home somewhere safer and happier than the piracy they don't really enjoy but turn to because they have no other choice, but right now it just feels like... honestly like either he agreed to it to keep ed with him ("AITA for convincing my boyfriend to run an inn with me after leaving him two days ago because we were moving too fast? little backstory: this involved my boyfriend leaving everything in his life for me and no i did not apologize for running off to become a fisherman") or like, as i said up there, a matter of "actually all he needed was a BOYFRIEND all along" which... ngh. stede is more than his relationship.

idk why we bothered establishing that frenchie, jim and even archie were willing to put their lives on the line and lie to ed's murderous face to save izzy's life just for them to be stone-faced and have no feelings about his loss. like, okay, ed and he's stories are tied together and him dying in ed's arms makes more sense narratively than him dying in anyone else's, but also ed hadn't earned that and izzy deserved to die in the arms of someone who hadn't tried to kill him and shot him in the leg not to mention we went from fang's squishy hug and frenchie holding his hand to just... nothing? not a thing? roach, the ship's surgeon, did nothing to try and save him? it's just ed slapping his gunshot wound pathetically?

it strongly feels like they swapped izzy and ed's roles in his death scene sounds stupid but hear me out "you're my only family" would make so much more sense coming from izzy with ed dying in his arms. izzy's desperation to keep hold of ed, right down to accidentally pushing him down the kraken path at the end of season 1, being rooted in the feeling that ed is all he has in the world? ed responding that no, the crew love izzy. he's earned their love. he has a family outside of ed now, can't he see that? that makes so much more sense, considering izzy nearly died for them multiple times and spent the first few episodes trying to protect them and then being protected by them in kind he was their new unicorn!!! meanwhile ed said sorry to fang, izzy and lucius, and no one else has been shown to give any fucks about him since that whole thing, and like... rightly so? because he hadn't earned them back at all? and he fucked off on them too last episode lol dont forget he didnt JUST leave stede

we should have known better than to trust djenks when he broke jim and olu up for no reason ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ idk

nothing worth a damn happened this episode it was all running around and waving swords. idk how anyone got to where they were at the end. it was just poor writing.

the pacing has been off all season but they really shoved three episodes into one and hoped it'd work

i'm getting flashbacks to the timeless ~finale~ ugh

they spent so much time one ed's stupid fishing boat monologue instead of on ANYTHING ELSE

i ran out of thoughts

oh, here's another: the show walked a line between muppetry and things that were taken seriously lucius' finger, izzy's toes: serious ed getting bonked by a cannonball: emotionally serious, but not physically serious ed and stede both getting stabbed: not serious and what was treated as serious and what was treated as handwavy was dictated by what the storyline and the emotional needs were izzy getting shot to make it so they all had to run away yapping would have been hilarious, especially if he got back to the ship and went "nah eddie it's my left side, remember what i told you about the left? nothing important on the left" "your liver" <- roach, horrified but instead weird death scene because this was treated as physically serious, even though it...should not have been, really? and that is bothering me a lot too, because when lucius was thrown to his death, we looked at stede finding the crew on the island and went, "aha! lucius will be fine, because that's what the show logic is" and we were right, because the show had taught us that but that didn't extend to izzy for this and that's just weird

#ofmd #ofmd spoilers #izzy hands

[diamondcitydarlin]

I was in the critical tag just because I'm genuinely curious/fascinated by the way these people are processing the text and I know I've said this before but I'm gonna do it again; like, I get that in a lot of fandoms and subject materials we can easily pick out villains and heroes, the morally-pure (bc their actions are always justified by the narrative regardless) from the morally reprehensible and we can conclude from these themes that the villains/morally-bankrupt ones deserve nothing while the 'good ones' (arguable, in a lot of cases, but they're usually conventionally hot and/or digestible so they can't really be bad lmao) deserve everything and while that is to be debated in other places, OFMD esp in this latest season is showing itself to not be one of those narratives. OFMD is a story where flawed, sympathetic people do fucked up things, act rashly, hurt each other, destroy things, etc, and then we watch them have to work their way back from that. I know we have had some one-off villains that don't qualify for this, but for everyone within the main cast that seems to be the concept. If you're trying to figure out why one member of the main cast is just too icky to be entitled to the acceptance of the rest you're already missing the entire point. If you're also trying to figure out why your fave is too precious to be held accountable for the things they chose to do, you're missing the entire point. If you think just one character is having a redemption arc here, YOU'RE MISSING THE ENTIRE POINT (they ALL are actually). And more to the point, if you're looking for any of this to actually happen in this particular story then I think you're watching the wrong show. I really, really do. And I'm also going to go so far as to say I think a lot of people are intentionally misreading these themes, projecting their own hopes on to it, saying Izzy's story 'doesn't feel good' or 'doesn't make sense' because the idea that people can be flawed, make mistakes, hurt each other and still be deserving of love and acceptance throws too much of a curveball at their already very limited world view, one in which there are only 'good guys' and 'bad guys', one in which they are indisputably 'good guys' themselves who have never done anything bad ever (even though you definitely have, we ALL have, YOU HAVE HURT PEOPLE, I HAVE HURT PEOPLE, GROW UP AND REALIZE YOU CAN'T LIVE AN ENTIRE LIFE WITHOUT DOING IT AT SOME POINT).

This is a story of acceptance and forgiveness and the moral greyness in us all, not exclusion and punishment, not the hopelessly simplistic idea that the world is just made up of good people who should never be questioned and always get good things and bad people who have no more nuance than just being bad and getting punished for it. Like, can we please try to wrap our minds around more complex themes than that maybe? Can it possibly be true that Izzy and Ed (the two most often compared) are both deserving of love, acceptance and forgiveness? Can it possibly be true that there's more to these characters than just good vs evil? Must we deny these characters the nuance and complexity that's been given to them just because 'it doesn't feel good'? Like idk babe maybe sometimes stories aren't meant to make you 'feel good' all the time, maybe sometimes they're meant to take you out of your comfort zone and examine your own worldview once and awhile IDK IT'S A FUCKING THOUGHT

#the izcourse #yelling at my izzy girlies again bc i know yall get it #and this is the only thing keeping me from starting internet fights that will go nowhere and stress me out lmao #but its like a teapot at the peak of the whistle you know like MY GOD WHY IS THIS SO DIFFICULT FOR SOME OF YALL

[littleoddwriter]

You write for ofmd?😳😳😳 hot person behavior.

I‘m in dire need of a Blackbeard x ftm!reader smut fanfic or I’ll die. I don’t even have a plot I’m so sorry. Maybe the reader is part of Blackbeard‘s crew and tries to lay low because of his situation.

Blackbeard seems to have grown infatuated with him and calls him to his private room (study?? Office??) one day to discuss something.

Ed basically acts all "weird", openly flirts with the reader and gets super touchy. Reader actually did fantasize about Ed before but can’t believe this is actually happening and just blurts out he’s trans. He says he understands if that disgusts Ed and he wants him gone off the ship or something but Ed is just like; "I don’t care?? I‘m literally obsessed with you wtf"

And then they go at it all night (obviously) :3

Want | Edward Teach/Blackbeard x Trans!Male!Reader | N/SFW (18+)

Hello there! Ok, I'm loving this and I sure hope you like what I've done with your request, thank you so much for it! :')

summary; See above. Minors DNI.

notes; Trans!Male!Reader; Gender Dysphoria and Light Euphoria; Oral Sex (Blowjob); Fingering; Penetrative Sex; Unsafe Sex; Kissing; Cuddling; Fluff and Smut.

Ever since you’ve made it onto Blackbeard’s ship and into his crew, you’ve been trying so hard to not let any of them know that you weren’t a ‘real’ man. Especially not Edward himself. If he knew, he was surely going to be disgusted and throw you overboard. And you didn’t exactly fancy dying at his hands (or at all), nor did you want to have to deal with his rejection. Because you really liked Ed. 

He was rough around the edges and a menace, but he had a heart. Besides that he was also gorgeous and the leather clothing had your mind reeling. You fantasized about him quite a bit. You knew he was into men. He didn’t make that a secret. The entire crew knew. Some of them have even slept with him. You wished you were one of those lucky few.

So, when he started paying more attention to you - seemingly to you, at least - you wondered if maybe he was simply trying to find out if he was right about you having been born with a female body. Your wishful thinking was trying to convince you that he liked you, too, though. But why would he? You were usually quite in the background. Other crew members often even forgot your name, or at least pretended that they did. Why would he ask you questions and spend time with you and look you over so closely if not for the sole reason of exposing you soon, then?

One night, though, Edward ordered you into his room. You were terrified. Had he finally found out?

You sat next to him on the little sofa he had in his room, which surprised you, considering it put you on an equal level and physically close with him. 

“I just wanted to say that I think you’re doing a great job, mate,” Ed told you kindly, putting a friendly hand on your shoulder. His touch lingered, drawing out, until you realised that he wasn’t taking his hand away at all. “You haven’t been here for long, but you’ve certainly proven to be worthy to stay on my ship.”

Swallowing thickly, you turned to get a better look at him. His eyes shone and he was smiling at you.

“Uh, thank you, Captain,” you said softly, completely dumbfounded. Why was he being so nice to you?

His hand slowly travelled down your arm and onto your thigh, near your crotch. Oh. Was he… flirting with you?

“Call me Ed,” he stated before continuing, “I was actually calling you in here because I thought we could up your position, eh? I think you deserve it. You’re doing better than some of the other crew members. But don’t tell’em that, okay, mate?”

“I won’t tell a soul, Ed, sir,” you nodded for emphasis, “And, uh, thank you. Really. But what kind of position did you have in mind for me?”

“Hm, not sure yet. Maybe you’ll be my third, eh? ‘Cause I can’t remove Izzy from being my second, but I’d like to keep you close, make you my third.” Ed’s hand rubbed your thigh, shortly touching you very close to your crotch and making you jump slightly. “What do ya say?”

Stunned, you looked at him for a long moment. Was he fucking with you? No. He was completely serious by the looks of it. 

“I’d love that, Captain, uh, Ed!” you exclaimed with a grin on your face. You couldn’t believe it!

Ed smiled and nodded in approval. Then, he leaned in, seemingly to kiss you. 

That was when you realised that there was one issue with his advances, no matter how much you liked them and how aroused you were getting because of his hand on your thigh.

“I’m not fully a man!” you blurted out suddenly. Edward leaned back in surprise, looking you over questioningly. 

“What do you mean?” he inquired, but kept his hand on you.

“Uh, I- I was born with a female body. I’m… I am a man. I know I am. But- uh- you know. And I understand if you’re disgusted and want me off the ship-”

“Oh! No, I don’t care,” Edward said easily, shrugging before leaning back in. He whispered against your lips, “I’m fuckin’ obsessed with you.”

Then, he captured your lips in a passionate kiss.

Your mind was still reeling with what he’s just told you. He was obsessed with you? Why?

Despite that, you reciprocated, opening your mouth slightly to let him lick into your mouth. Moaning softly, you moved your tongue against his, enjoying the proximity and how filthy it all was now, when seconds ago he was practically sweet-talking you.

Breaking the kiss, you were panting, breathing each other’s air as neither of you really moved out of the other one’s personal space. 

“I wanna fuck you,” Blackbeard murmured, bringing his free hand up to your face and caressing it with his fingers.

“Okay. I’d like that,” you whispered in response. 

Smiling, Edward ran his digits over your lips. Obediently, you opened your mouth for him and let him slide his index and middle fingers inside, rubbing against your tongue and pushing in as far as he could without making you gag. You closed your lips around the two fingers and sucked on them, keeping eye contact with Ed.

“Oh, fuck,” he groaned before removing his digits from you mouth. 

Then, he started to unbutton his pants and pulled out his semi-hard cock. 

“Show me what else you can do with your mouth,” Ed commanded hoarsely.

Sliding down from the sofa and onto your knees, you took his cock into your hands and engulfed its head with your mouth, suckling on it, swirling your tongue around it and licking into his slit. You could feel him growing harder in your hands and mouth. It gave you quite the confidence boost. And so you used one hand to hold onto the base and grabbed his leather-clad thigh with the other one before sliding his cock further into your mouth. You started bobbing your head, sucking whenever you reached his cock head and going as far down as you could after.

Eventually, Ed grabbed you by your hair and pulled you off of him.

“I don’t wanna come just yet. Wanna do that in you. Okay, Y/N?” Hearing him say your name in that raspy voice he had from being so aroused had your stomach turn into little butterflies that fluttered inside of you. 

“Yeah- yes, please,” you nodded enthusiastically.

Standing up from the couch, Ed loomed over you. Then he held out his hand to you. You took it and he helped you get up from the floor, guiding you over to his bed. Before he let you lie down, though, he started pulling off your shirt and took off your pants right after, leaving you in nothing but your underwear. You felt exposed. You didn’t bind your chest since the shirt usually hid it well enough, but now it was out in the open. It felt strange to let someone see; especially with that someone being Blackbeard.

Seconds later, your underwear was gone as well. 

You had never been completely naked in front of anybody else.

You tried to resist the urge to cover yourself up. You didn’t want to embarrass yourself in front of Ed. He said he didn’t care. You just had to believe him now.

“Fuck, you’re so fuckin’ hot!” Edward exclaimed, grinning at you, as he looked you up and down with that glint in his eyes that you couldn’t quite decipher.

You almost wanted to say ‘really?’, but decided against it. If he said so, then that was true for him and you had to accept that now. It was no use beating yourself up any further when you were about to have sex with this man.

Instead, you just smiled shyly at him and thanked him politely. 

In response, Ed pushed you on the bed and followed you down, lying on top of you and between your legs. His erection pressed against your crotch. You could feel how wet you were for him already. You wanted to feel him inside you so badly.

Propping himself up with one arm, Ed put his hands between your thighs and pushed a finger into your wet heat. Sighing, you pushed back. He thrust it in and out of you a bit before adding a second finger, repeating the process, until he had four fingers inside of you and you were moaning loudly and unashamedly. He told you to be as loud as you needed to be and you were. With him making you feel so good, all your shame and embarrassment was suddenly gone.

At last, he pulled out his fingers and stroked his cock to spread your wetness on it.

“Ready?” he asked, looking you in the eye.

“Yes,” you responded immediately, smiling at him.

He smiled back shortly. Then, he guided his cock to your entrance and slowly pushed inside. Once he bottomed out, you both moaned. He leaned his forehead against yours and just breathed with you.

“You feel so fucking good around me, mate,” Ed rasped.

“And you feel even better inside of me, Ed,” you moaned, pushing back against him.

Pulling out until just his cock head stayed inside of you, Ed thrust back in hard, making the bed shake. He repeated that again and again, until he found a rhythm that suited you both. As he fucked you, Edward leaned down and licked into your mouth, capturing you in a filthy kiss. 

When you felt yourself getting close, you snaked a hand between the two of you and your thighs, rubbing your dick. Ed leaned back, admired the sight and continued to fuck you in earnest. 

At last, you were coming, moaning loudly, throwing your head back and arching your back, as you could feel your muscles contract around Ed, squeezing him tight. It elicited a surprised-sounding groan from him. And then, he was already coming inside of you as well, burying his face in your neck, muffling his moans.

Panting, Ed pulled out of you and laid down beside you, wrapping his arms around you. 

“That was amazing,” Edward breathed, laughing shortly, “Fuck! You’re amazing, Y/N. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

You looked at him in wonder. This was the notorious Blackbeard. And he was telling you something so kind? You knew he had a heart, yes, but this was a lot more than that to you. 

“Thank you so much. For everything just now. I��m actually quite speechless,” you said, unable to keep the stupid grin off of your face.

In response, Ed kissed your cheek, along your jaw, your chin and then your lips.

And really, that was enough of a response for you. This was everything you had ever dreamed of and so much more.

#just imagine that ed asked for round 2 right after please xD #also yes ed stayed in his clothes during sex jfhdjhdkl i should have described that i realise but alas - anyway! #nsft fic #trans male reader #trans male reader insert #male reader #edward teach #ed teach #edward blackbeard #blackbeard our flag means death #blackbeard ofmd #edward teach x reader #ed teach x reader #blackbeard x reader #taika waititi #our flag means death #ofmd #ofmd fanfic #ofmd fic #fanfiction #fanfic