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izzyhandsy · 2 months

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and, for once, you were not in focus.

#came back from the dead to rb this bc WHAT #THIS IS GORGEOUS #also this art is illegal but that caption is TREASONOUS #these are all glowing reviews

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izzyhandsy · 4 months

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AU: Captain Israel Hands. The holy trinity 🤭 + redesign Frenchie and Jim (I don't think this is the final version) (edited: I just thought it would be a cute detail if Jim's vest had an orange embroidered on it (by the way this is Izzy's former vest, yes)) Sorry for the long absence, I’ll try to please you with more art in the near future

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izzyhandsy · 4 months

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Izzyguana AU part 3! (part 1) (part 2)

Support me on Patreon or send a tip on Kofi!

(ID in alt and under cut)

ID: 1. Close up of Stede from the side, a hilltop of tall grass and a distant sparkling blue ocean behind him. He is sitting with his elbows braced on his raised knees, head half turned toward the viewer with his cheek leaning forlornly on his fist. Brow furrowed and gazing into the distance, he says "I don't know what to do. Should I support him in this, or would I just be enabling something potentially harmful?" 2. Repeat. Stede lifts his head, expression turning frustrated, and flicks his hand out in a helpless gesture. He continues, "I mean, he's clearly gone mad with grief! It can't be healthy to pretend someone is still around when they're not." 3. Repeat, zoom out to wide shot. Stede drops his hand and turns his head further left, asking, "I don't know, what do you think?" We can now see that his conversation partner is, ironically, Izzy's grave. 4. Close up on Izzy's grave from Stede's POV, tie gently waving in the breeze. From offscreen, Stede does his best Izzy impression and says "You're a useless twat, Bonnet." 5. Close up of Stede from the side as he turns his head forward with a sigh, propping his chin back on his fist. He mumbles, "Yes, that's what I thought you'd say." /end ID

#AAHHH #AAAAAHHHHHHH

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izzyhandsy · 4 months

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has this been done already

#BABSHJDKFKFHAKDLLSJSK

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izzyhandsy · 4 months

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It's time for your next adventure

#art so incredible it’s got me reblogging cj #now that’s ART #this is actually breathtaking like i’m losing it over here

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izzyhandsy · 5 months

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More Reasons Izzy's Death Doesn't Work

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

The Tragic Death

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

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

The Final Redemption

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

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

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

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

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

The Good Death

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

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

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

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

Conclusion

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

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

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

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izzyhandsy · 5 months

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Ed & Izzy on the sidelines as Stede runs off to duel a master swordsman after training with them, knowing full well that all they did during their respective training sessions was take the opportunity to slap his ass:

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izzyhandsy · 5 months

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More Izzyguana AU!! A montage of the worst inn in the Caribbean. (part 1)

(ID in alt and under cut)

ID: 1. Waist up of Ed standing in front of a table with a half sliced mango on it, a knife in his right hand. A large green iguana is splayed out over his shoulders and perched to crawl down his left side to reach the mango slice in his hand. The iguana croaks, "A-a-a-a-a." Ed, chewing, looks over to him and moves a mango slice closer to his mouth, replying happily "Oh, sure! Here ya go, Iz.!"

2a. View inside a wood paneled room as the door to it opens. A large bald woman in a mesh shirt and leather vest is standing beyond, frowning at Stede who is opening the door for her, a key in his hand. His head is turned toward her with a customer service smile, eyes closed as he says "Here we are, ma'am! Room one! Now if you need anything-" 2b. Repeat. The door opens further and Stede steps in, turning his face toward the room. He startles violently, eyes wide, key falling from his grip as he cries, "Oh, good heavens!!" The guest behind him shifts her gaze to the room and frowns harder. 2c. Reverse shot of the room, which contains a single bed, a small window with yellow curtains, and a nightstand. The sheets are untucked and rumpled up, bunched into the center to expose the yellowed mattress. The curtains are in tatters. The pillow is torn open, feathers exploding out and floating around the room. A woven basket is tipped over, spilling out a few stray pink flowers which have been eaten and ripped apart. The iguana is sitting on the bed in the center of it all, a bar of lavender soap in its jaws. It turns to glare toward Stede, who is offscreen, and hisses loudly. Stede shrieks, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! We're leaving!!" The iguana rumbles back, "Wwa-a-a-a-a-a-a."

3. Waist up of Ed and Stede sitting side by side in bed together, chests bare, sheets pulled over their laps. Ed has his hair up in a bun and has the iguana cradled in his arms. The iguana turns it's head around to bark in Stede's direction, "A-a-a-a!" Stede glares at the iguana and complains, "He hates me," while covering his chest with his hands. Ed smiles at him indulgently and counters, "Nah, Iz likes you fine, I thought you two bonded?" Stede shoots back, "He keeps trying to bite me!" Ed insists, "That's his love language!"

4. The iguana crawling with purpose on a mottled brown background, a purple soap bar in his mouth. /end ID

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izzyhandsy · 5 months

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