#it's about steddyhands

[naranjapetrificada]

tfw you have a genuinely intellectual question about something in a fandom but are terrified to kick the hornet's nest of asking it

#it's about steddyhands #which is very much not my thing #but lately I've started finding things about fandom interesting on a like sociological level #like I literally bought a book about it the other day #by like actual real scholars #and another by a psychologist who studies the cognitive effects of fiction #like I cannot stress enough how much this in an intellectual curiosity #and not an indictment of people's OTPs or OT3s #but there's no way I can ask it on here without fear #because it feels like mentioning a certain First Mate might get me struck by lightning #or whatever the tumblr equivalent of that is #ofmd #our flag means death #being a fandom is suffering #fandom crit #fandom is hell

[psychic-waffles]

It seems to me that the dead only return for love or for revenge. Who did you come back for?

#i could not stop thinking about this helen oyeyemi quote so here we are #im just a big jumble of feelings about these 3 😭 #steddyhands #ofmd #ofmd s2 #ofmd spoilers #our flag means death #ed teach #edward teach #izzy hands #israel hands #stede bonnet #edizzy #edstede #blackhands #gentlebeard #blackbonnet #baby's first edit (that isn't a meme) #my edits #ofmd edit

[sketchy-scribs-n-doods]

actually i am never ever going to get over this sheer Look shared between two men in love with the same (very complicated) man

they way they both know that the other innately understands what's it's like to fall in love with edward teach and know the dizzying freefall that is having a relationship with him

just. the understanding that passes between them. i could write a damn book about this one Look

#this is how steddyhands can still wi- #srsly tho oh my god i am OBSESSED w all of their interactions this season what the fkcu #ofmd #izzy hands #stede bonnet #gentlehands #stizzy #steddyhands #bc cmon #i'd tag the rest of the trio's relationships but this is primarily me having emotions about izzy and stede #ofmd s2 #ofmd spoilers

[daftmooncretin]

you may be entitled to emotional compensation

#WHY THE FUCK DID I MAKE THIS #i think momentarily my body was inhibited by an otherworldly force #but also i have many thoughts about stizzy #especially the izzy hands hand placement ™️ #anyway they cute yall they so cute #stizzy #gentlehands #steddyhands #ofmd #gay #our flag means gay #our flag means death #izzy hands #stede bonnet #ofmd spoilers

[ohmyglobwhatthefrickamievendoing]

why are you letting another man touch your thigh in the corner of a dimly lit seedy tavern just hours after your boyfriend left you to become a fisherman? Slut.

#kidding kidding but seriously......what was that about? is izzy just built to always be a bit weird about his captain? #edit: WHAT do you MEAN he was RUBBING stede's thigh while avoiding eye contact and asking stede to come back to the ship SIR!??? #ofmd spoilers #our flag means death spoilers #ofmd #our flag means death #ofmd s2 #ofmd season 2 #our flag means death season 2 #our flag means death s2 #ofmd stede #ofmd izzy #stizzy #gentlehands #steddyhands #blackbonnet #gentlebeard #izzy hands #stede bonnet

[godasfarasyoureconcerned]

tonight i’m thinking so hard about the fact that stede killed ned low and immediately dismissed himself and when ed went in to check on him he took ed by the collar and slammed him against the wall to give an outlet to some of his energy and bad feelings. what i’m thinking about in particular is the moment where ed stopped at izzy’s suggestion, and more importantly the moment where he pushed forward against izzy’s suggestion

thinking about izzy saying “give him a minute. first kill’s always a mind fuck” and about ed ignoring his advice. thinking about the fact that izzy could probably tell stede would be feeling bad after this, or at least “mind fuck”ed enough to need some space from people, something that izzy frequently takes for himself when he feels bad too. thinking about ed disregarding the suggestion and getting real actual fucked by the mind-fucked guy. thinking about whether or not they would’ve rushed into sex if ed had truly given stede the space and time that izzy was suggesting. thinking about how he knows that it’ll be hitting stede hard and about the fact that he cares enough about that to try and lessen the blow. thinking about izzy giving an order to ed for the sake of stede, rather than giving an order to stede for the sake of blackbeard. thinking about ed ignoring it because they’ve long grown out of any semblance of that relationship where izzy offers advice to blackbeard. thinking

#god he really just. cares about his captain yeah? really just cares about his pirate family huh? wow #he’s so good he’s so special i cannot believe he knows that stede is feeling frenzied or panicked or whatever #and cares enough to tell ed to hang back a bit #edward teach #stede bonnet #ofmd s2 spoilers #stizzy #blackhands #izzy hands #blackbonnet #steddyhands #mine #ofmd meta #ofmd #our flag means death

[laniidae-passerine]

Izzy moving from the thorn in Stede and Ed’s side to their relationship therapist. Told Ed to leave Stede alone after a traumatic event because he knew it wasn’t a smart idea and then later told Stede to leave the bar to avoid a fight which immediately broke out when Stede got upset and drunk. And he’s hot for these two idiots which is fine because he’s an idiot as well. Love them all <3

#steddyhands is about one person being a therapist who should have their license revoked #and the couple Going The Fuck Through It #and then they have sex about it. the therapist changes every week lol #they’re just so funny to me I doubt it’ll ever happen in canon but like love them sm in my head #our flag means death #ofmd #steddyhands #izzy hands #stede bonnet #edward teach

[lunar-system]

Izzy Hands: The Moon.

Re-imagined from the traditional Ride-Waite-Smith tarot, this version of the Moon shows Izzy taking the shape of a lone Lover, longing for what he cannot reach.

Longer exploration of the card's symbolism under the cut.

Symbolism of the card

I initially meant this card to be specifically Izzy's, but he is once again unseparable from Ed. Though the moon itself is depicted as Ed, it is through Izzy that I interpret the journey of the card. Feel free to invent your own interpretation as well!

In the original version of the Moon we see a dog, a wolf, and a crayfish. Izzy takes the place of the wolf, marking him as wild and untameable. He is accompanied by a dog, symbolizing his loyalty. The crayfish has retreated, and we can see a monster lurking in the depths of the water, reminding us of the beasts that lie within.

Rachel Pollack (2011) writes: "The Moon signifies the dangerous time between the end of one world structure and the beginning of another. On the emotional level it can indicate the strange state when something powerful has ended and you find yourself thrown back on your instincts."

In the card Izzy already has his wooden leg. He his stepping into his role as the Unicorn, marking a shift in his loyalty and his place in the world. His reign as Blackbeard's first mate is ending, and a whole new world order is being imagined.

Ed is also seen in a new light. With his short beard, he is at the end of his captaincy, possibly even at the end of his piracy. He as the Moon is illuminated by the light of the Sun, personified by Stede in another card, The Sun.

Izzy bears witness to their combined light, unreachable to him on the ground. He teeters at the edge of the water illuminated by that very light, and is faced with a choice. Will he turn, follow the path and try to reach the unreachable? Or will he explore the unknown waters in front of him?

In tarot, water symbolizes emotions, intuition and subconscious. Pollack writes: "Here in the unknown territory our animal selves take over. We cannot suppress the wild emotions but only travel through them." The message of the Moon beckons Izzy to step into the water and face his emotions.

However, there are also dangers in the murky waters of the subconscious. Pollack continues: "The Moon card calls forth powerful dreams, visions, and the power of the feminine." In tarot water is a feminine element. Izzy, a beacon of masculinity, has in the past confused the feminine with the monstrous. He is now dared to invite the feminine within him to the surface. His posture already mirrors that of the feminine lover from the Lovers-card. It also calls back to the Fool, to someone at the beginning of their self-discovery.

Tl;dr: Izzy, the Fool and the Lover, is on a journey from one world to another. Will he follow the path and try to reach the unreachable, or will he find the courage to plunge into unknown waters?

A comparison between the original Rider-Waite-Smith card from 1909 and the re-imagined version

Izzy's pose mirrors the feminine Lover

Sources

Image source: Pamela Colman Smith, 1909, republished as Tarot of A. E. Waite, 2016, AGM-Urania, Germany

Text source: Rachel Pollack, A Journey of 78 Steps, 2011, as cited in the booklet for instruction and guidance of Tarot of A. E. Waite, 2016, AGM-Urania, Germany

#there is even more symbolism in the lighthouses that are topped with the domes from the Tower but it's so much already #it's about the journey between life and death #ofmd #our flag means death #izzy hands #edizzy #steddyhands #blackhands #i'm tagging this as ships cause i ship them all and i made this with shipperly intentions #even if it's not like explicitly shipping content #ed teach #edward teach #blackbeard #gosh i went to some deep waters with this myself #i mean there is so much to interpret here #is izzy shooting for the moon with ed? has he lifted ed high on the pedestal himself? #what does it mean that the water is lit by moonlight? #to me this is the point in fics where izzy does not yet know how he would fit in the steddyhands triangle and doesn't see it possible #and maybe it won't be unless he accepts some things and allows himself to feel #but it can also be read that he needs to let ed go #in either case water is discovery and acceptance #i am planning to make ed the star and stede the sun as well! #my fanart

[immabitqueer]

Someone said the opposite of love is not hate but indifference. Something about that and Stede just walking away when Izzy says "Give me your worst, Bonnet." And Izzy seeming so hurt. (Besides, of course, his mixed feelings about Edward)

Then somehow we get THIS

Paired with THIS

Ed and Izzy finally acknowledging there past and feelings towards each other.

"I have love for you"/"I loved you as best as I could"

Immanent blackbonnet/gentlebeard reunion and getting back together.

Sharing the delusions until your just as unwell as I am <3333

#i will forever be the president of the delulu steddyhands club #ofmd #our flag means death #stede bonnet #izzy hands #edward teach #i am the equivalent of a crazy old man yelling about the end times on the side of an abandoned highway #but about gay pirates #ofmd izzy #our flag means death spoilers #our flag means death season 2 #ofmd s2 spoilers #ofmd s2 #ofmd spoilers #steddyhands #gentlebeard #gentlehands #blackhands #stizzy #edizzy

[arsenicflame]

episode 8 fix it where izzy does get shot, but it doesnt kill him- its on the left side after all! a gunshot does more damage than a sword, so he has a longer healing time ahead, and with him still learning how to live missing a leg, they all agree that its best he doesn't sail away with them, that itd be better if he stayed on land while he recovers

conveniently, he just so happens to know two men who are looking to start an inn on land! he can stay with them, help them complete repairs (god knows neither of them knows what theyre doing themselves) he can whittle little souvenirs on his sick bed; he can help moderate their ideas ("theres no point picking drapes yet stede, we don't have a fucking window") he can heal in peace.

maybe he could try being someone else other than the great izzy hands, maybe he could make something new here. no captains, no first mates, just izzy and ed and stede

#honestly you don't even need to change anything the grave could be a 'memory of the great izzy hands; the pirate' #just have ed + stede walk into their inn and theres izzy- injured; but alive #after the fishing scene i am unapologetically making ed incompetent at physical labour #hes fucking great at being a pirate captain; fighting; coming up with plans; but getting his hands dirty? boring #thats izzys job! #nyxtalks #ofmd #ofmd s2 spoilers #izzy hands #israel hands #steddy hands #steddyhands #thats where this goes for me. no question about it #that was a 'there was only one bed' size inn and of course izzy needs it for his recovery but you think ed + stede will sleep on the floor? #NO #this is canon to me i refuse to believe he's dead. hes there with them in that inn.

[frodo-of-the-nine-fingers]

the thing about people is that they need to be in a triangle and will do anything to be in a triangle, romantic or no, and if they have that thing and then lose it they'll always try to recreate the Original Triangle and always fail and create different worse triangles along the way, like all triangles have the potential to be haunted so watch out!!

#cant stop thinking about triangles thanks dec #🔺️ #⚰️ #you know what #this too is #steddyhands #making some leaps and bounds with that one re things that Have Not Come To Past Yet #mine

[foetp]

well. i rewrote that bit at the end there

izzy is dying in ed’s arms. a seagull circles overhead as the crew mourns him. buttons? the light is leaving izzy’s eyes and he stops breathing. the bird lands on him. a few moments pass. then, miraculously, izzy jolts awake. his bleeding slows and then stops. he’s gonna need some time to heal, but he’ll live.

zheng forms an alliance with the crew of the revenge, and they wind up being a little mini-fleet of 3 ships - one captained by zheng, one captained by stede (with izzy as first mate), and one captained by spanish jackie. the crew of the revenge stays together (except the swede who’s with jackie), but of course there’s plenty of time for them to mingle with the other ships.

ed starts his inn by the sea, neighboring mary and anne. he gets frequent visits from the zheng/stede/jackie alliance, and slowly his place becomes something like a new, more peaceful version of the republic of pirates. lucius and pete decide to quit pirating and start a family, and they get jobs working for ed at the inn. and, after many years of pirating and adventuring, stede settles down at the inn as well.

fin

#our flag means death #izzy hands #stede bonnet #edward teach #gentlebeard #spanish jackie #zheng yi sao #buttons #stizzy #edizzy #steddyhands #ofmd #ofmd spoilers #idk I was loving everything about this show rightt up until the end #but man did i Not Care For that ending :(

[djarin]

“it’s good to see that it’s not just the ship… that has been well and truly… docked” 🤝 “he’s jealous”

so who’s writing the fic???

#our flag means death #ofmd #edizzy #stizzy #steddyhands #like sorry but that was so gay #man i’m still thinking about that scene #ofmd spoilers #elio talks

[whats-mine-is-hers]

"you've got a type"

#ofmd #edizzy #israel hands #edward teach #also the way that izzy's whole thing in s2 is about no longer being an outsider and/or ostracized from his own crew bc of his prickliness #dunno if that could be read as izzy growing out of ed but yk #steddyhands if you think about it #clown tag (honk honk) #our flag means death #gif #ofmd season 2 #ofmd s2 #i haven't seen anyone mention this yet so i thought i might as well go ahead #don't ask me why they're so grainy for i do not know

[izzysillyhandsy]

Ok Ok Ok listen

If this is merman Stede with the spear and merman Izzy with the heart spelling Ed with their hands, then

they're holding Ed protectively in their midst

also, Ed is what connects them

with out either of them, Ed isn't complete, therefore...

...the two of them together make ED (happy)

HOW DID I NOT SEE THIS BEFORE 😭😭😭

EDIT: Here's much more I have to say about this 😅

#ofmd #ofmd s2 spoilers #edward teach #stede bonnet #izzy hands #THIS is how Steddyhands etc etc #but for real #it's right here!!! #I never realized this was IZZY and Stede before oh my god #this isn't all I have MUCH more to say about this

[bloomeng]

i made the joke earlier about how steddyhands fans tend to like edstede the least of all the pairs, and i just wanted to elaborate bc actually i do have more to say about this

when i first watched the show i didn't really participate in the fandom (so i don't know pre-s2 fandom drama), i was neutral about izzy and i suppose i liked edstede the most simply by default. in general in season 1 i thought their relationship was charming back when the show was still firmly in the realm of a comedy. then s2 happened...

i wouldn't say that s2 ruined edstede for me permanently because i still like them, but i will say that it definitely reshaped how i see their relationship. suddenly their relationship was stagnant, going in circles, and generally starting to feel more like active bad influences on each other. which is wild considering how in s1 the whole crux of it was that stede and ed were actively making each other more authentic people. i will say though that i personally feel the reason edstede fell flat to me in s2 was mostly due to ed's behavior and the way stede overlooks it. ed's behavior in s2 will always be one of my biggest complaints of s2 (the rest of the issues are more technical).

recently i've seen the opinion that edstede are now MORE problematic than edizzy, which i don't exactly agree with. i agree with the sentiment that with all the developments in s2 edstede feels worse, but i think that has more to do with the fact that their relationship issues are far more tangible to the majority of the audience. with edizzy their issues stem from an intense bond forged by a deep codependence that is pushed to extremes. simply put their dynamic is rare. (i want to quickly note that this doesn’t make their relationship better narratively; there’s a space for both in story telling and both are equally valuable.) edstede's issues on the other hand are more grounded, to the point where most people have experienced some level of their conflicts in their life whether that be firsthand or secondhand. so it's not that their problems are worse so much as more people have stronger reactions because they can relate directly. not saying people don't relate to edizzy, it's more about the scale to which people relate.

my famous example is breaking bad (spoilers for a decade-old series) but i think one of the reasons people hate skylar so much more than walt (besides the obvious misogyny) is that they can relate to the anger of being cheated on while it's harder to relate to the feeling of your husband secretly being a drug lord. like sure his thing on paper is ten times worse but audiences usually relate strongly to the things they personally relate to.

edizzy will always be worse on paper (the toe incident alone makes sure of that) but edstede now feels worse is what i'm getting at. and sure i know izzy emotionally matured leaps and bounds in s2 but unfortunately that doesn't fix edizzy. in order for it to actually be a healthy relationship they both need to grow, so yeah they're still firmly in the toxi yuri category.

anyway i actually do like them a whole lot, but they also make me angry on izzy and the crew's behalf. and on a personal level, i just tend to prefer non-canon ships because i feel like i have more wiggle room. that and if they're canon i'm usually satisfied with that canon so i don't find myself hyper-fixating as much. hence why i didn't really get into the fandom after s1, despite liking the show more at that point.

this is just my observation but i think a lot of the reasons people are now drifting from edstede and into the safety of non-canon ships is simply because s2 stripped their relationship of some of their whimsy. a lot of people are angry with ed and stede and are seeking refugee amongst ships that don’t feel like they have to confront the glaring holes in their relationship.

but these are just my musings i don’t speak for anyone but myself.

#ofmd #our flag means death #ofmd s2 #ofmd season 2 #stede bonnet #edward teach #izzy hands #i’m not tagging any variation of edstede bc i don’t want to put negativity on their pages when they’re just going about their day #even tho i wouldn’t necessarily call this negativity against the ship #but just to be safe #steddyhands #edizzy #txt #long post #ofmd critical