#I'm not even saying DON'T kill Izzy | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

forpiratereasons · 7 months

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all right. i'm ready to talk about izzy.

izzy is a great character. in s1 he sits in this great position as an antagonist that's close to the main characters, and in s2 he sits in this great position as an antagonist who's gotten everything he wanted, and found that actually - fuck! - that's not it at all. the world changes enough in s1 that there's no satisfaction in izzy getting what he wants out of blackbeard. and it's not just ed that's changed, it's not just the crew, izzy himself is fundamentally changed too. even before s2, and that change continues to grow and flourish through the series.

in reality, death is cruel. and death is senseless. and death is unfair, and shitty, and it happens to the wrong people at the wrong time, too early, with too much to live for, who mean too much to too many. it happens.

maybe izzy's death is all of those things, but i don't think that's the point. it's not meant as a lesson in mortality; it's not meant as retribution for past crimes; it's not meant as a commentary on who deserves to live and who deserves to die. it's not about deserving. if anything, it's about the fact that deserving doesn't come into it at all.

the point is that izzy healed.

a lot has been made of the fact that izzy is the only character who bears visible scars from the kraken era - the scar on his head, as well as the leg. but i don't think they're meant as a reminder of the injury, or as a sign that izzy is "damaged" post-kraken era. they're representative of the fact that izzy healed. the scar is there to remind you that izzy survived. you see it heal over multiple episodes because that's the work izzy is doing - he's healing from blackbeard's actions, from his own actions, from his history, from his constraints.

it's not too late to heal. it's not too late to find your place. it's not too late to come out. it's not too late to let people in. it's not too late.

and all those things are worth doing despite the fact that our time here is limited. we are all going to die. but we are here right now, which means it's not too late, and it is worth it to free ourselves to be who we need to be regardless of who we have been and who we are now and what time we might have left.

izzy isn't suicidal in ep 8. he's healed from that. izzy isn't abused or depressed or alone in ep 8. izzy is strong, and competent, and respected, and loved.

and some folks have been disappointed it's not romantic love. i get that. but i think it's super important too that izzy's healing is worth it without romantic love. familial, platonic love is so fundamentally important to the queer community. found family. friends. solidarity. the look when some stranger sees you and you see them and you both know the other is family, that they're safe. the way we fight for each other - for our rights to love who we want, fuck who we want, to marry, to adopt kids, and also for housing, for jobs, for healthcare. for our rights to use the bathroom, for our rights to choose our own names and our own bodies and our own families. we're fighting for our right to exist and that, guys, it's not romantic. the foundations of our community is about - well, i'll let izzy say it:

it's not about glory, it's not about getting what you want. it's about belonging to something when the world has told you you're nothing. 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.

ed and izzy, following s2e3, interact and communicate on izzy's terms, and that's made clear. that's the last relationship for izzy to heal. when izzy finally approaches ed in ep 6, it's - not great. it's a start. you gotta start somewhere. he lets ed apologize, in their very closed, guilty way of speaking to each other, but then goes back to the crew, back to his safety.

he finally finishes his healing arc with the drag performance and la vie en rose, and then he and ed DO have good moments. he teases ed about stede. he directly reverses his previous actions in s1 and tells ed to listen to his good feelings. that's where djenks is getting this (imo, still a bit weird) father-figure business. the scene in the republic where ed's watching fishermen and izzy comes to say hey, it's all right, hey, listen to your gut. they don't need to directly come out and have some deep serious conversation about their relationship because that's just not like them, man. they're doing their healing their way. i think it would be nonsensical to expect these two to be open and honest with each other regardless of how they are with everyone else because their relationship is not like their relationships with anyone else.

until they run out of time.

and this, i think, is important. izzy controls this last conversation because it's what ed needs to hear, because izzy no longer needs to hear it. izzy doesn't need to hear that ed's sorry, izzy knows ed's fucking sorry. ed's whole arc this season is about the guilt he's carrying. izzy says what he says because he knows ed needs to hear it. ed, you weren't a monster all on your own. ed, i saw you. i saw you outgrowing him, and i didn't want that to happen because i was worried about what it meant for me, but i see now that it could have meant this all along - family. balance. something to die for, sure, but something to live for.

you could argue that ed and the crew don't think of each other as family. i think it's a bit more complicated than a yes or no on that one, but when izzy says, ed, you're surrounded by family, maybe it doesn't matter whether that's fact. maybe it's a statement of possibility. look at this family who can love you if you let them. look at this family who will forgive you even when you don't deserve it. look at all the ways you can still heal. look at how worth it it all is.

just be ed, izzy says, there he is.

he says it to ed because izzy already knows he can be just izzy. izzy already knows he's dying surrounded by family. izzy already knows that love and belonging and family are worth it, and he uses his dying moments to make sure ed knows it too because despite everything, despite everything he did and despite everything ed did and despite not being ed's romantic choice, he loves ed. it's worth it to use his dying moment to make sure ed knows this because izzy loves him.

it's worth it.

izzy is the stand-in for the stereotypical pirate, the villain - the representative of how repression and oppression work together, of how race and class and colonization interact with each other, of the lines between love and obsession and power and rage and fear blurring beyond recognition - and he heals. guys, the point of his story is not that he was all those things and paid that price. the point of his story is that he could grow beyond all those things and that growth and healing was all worth it despite the fact that yeah. our lives will inevitably end.

historically, israel hands is said to be one of the only major pirates who survives the golden age of piracy, and he doesn't survive it well - according to the contemporary account of "captain charles johnson" (almost certainly a pseudonym) in A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the most notorious Pyrates, published 1724, hands dies a beggar in london sometime between 1719 and 1724. it has been suggested by some pirate scholars that hands may have actually been the source for much of the information johnson is able to relay regarding blackbeard - and that johnson's apparent wealth of information contributed significantly to the legacy blackbeard left behind and his lasting fame. i had actually really hoped to see this play out in ofmd - izzy protecting ed and stede through perpetuating stories about blackbeard's 'death' (fake, i'd hoped) and legacy.

but i think - he is. in his way. he's there on the hillside, keeping watch. he's there to hold all the stories and all the memories of pirates and what it meant to belong to something, even as the golden age of piracy sets. he's there to show what it is to love and to be loved in return: eternal.

i don't like that izzy died. i think he's a great character, i think he's great fun to have in the ensemble, i think his dynamics with ed and stede are so fucking chewy and delicious. i think con o'neill has done the work of a lifetime on this character and, i hope, had and continue to has the experience of a lifetime with this fandom. my heart goes out to those of you who are devastated; i've been there in past fandoms, i know how achingly difficult that is. i'm so sorry.

but izzy's story is worth telling. izzy's story is worth celebrating. izzy is about making mistakes - bad mistakes! - and finding your way back to something better. izzy is about healing, and about community, and about hope that even when things are shit and people are shit - they can change. things can change.

and maybe - yeah. it's about the role stories play in our lives. about using fictional little scenarios to deal with our traumas. we're here. we're alive. we're coping. we will heal.

not moving on is worse.

#ofmd #our flag means death #ofmd s2 #ofmd s2 spoilers #izzy hands

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izzyspussy · 8 months

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it's just. i'm seeing a lot of posts about how ed sees izzy as an extension of himself and that's why he's targeting him so much, as a projected form of self-harm, which... I Guess. i don't really agree with that but it's not egregious, and it falls into a 'why not both' place for me. but then people are jumping off from that point to say that because ed sees izzy as an extension of himself, that's why izzy's love "doesn't count" to him. and that, in my opinion, is not at all It.

ed is targeting and hurting izzy specifically because izzy loves him. he's punishing him for it, first of all. how dare you love someone i hate, when you're supposed to be loyal to me and do whatever i want even when i don't tell you what it is. one. but he's also - crucially - hurting izzy to get him to stop.

izzy won't kill him if he loves him. izzy won't abandon him if he loves him. izzy won't let him hurt himself if he loves him. he gives izzy the gun when he does because he thinks he surely must have crossed the line by now, and izzy will finally hate him and want to kill him. and, well, izzy killing himself is (almost) just as good since dead men can't love anybody.

the thing is, izzy loving him gets in ed's way. it ruins his plans, it messes up his (spectacularly violent and rife with collateral damage) pity party. just like he's trying to get the crew to mutiny him - because he doesn't want to be BlackbeardTM anymore, but he doesn't want to put in the work to change either, and he certainly doesn't want to admit it's his choice either way - he's trying to get izzy to stop loving him. if izzy loves him, his actions matter. if izzy loves him then he's not UnlovableTM and he has to acknowledge what he's done - as things he's done, rather than as things that were inevitable because he's Just Like That - and all of his pesky feelings.

so he hurts izzy because he has to punish him for fucking up his whole deal. and he has to prove him wrong, so he can keep believing in his own self-loathing.

#jack facts #ofmd #ed teach #blackhands #hc

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uselessheretic · 7 months

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i love the idea though that izzy is holding onto some deep shameful secret that he's the cause of ed's mental breakdown and if the crew learn this they'll realize that they shouldn't be sympathetic towards izzy because clearly he was asking for it just cuz. like. how would that conversation even fucking go.

izzy: this is all my fault. i caused this.

frenchie: that seems unlikely, mate

izzy: it's true. i yelled at him when he was cleaning. called him—[sniffles] called him a namby-pamby.

jim: wow. a namby-pamby. how fucking cruel.

archie: y'know, i'm not sure blackbeard even knows my name. he usually just calls me "hey you!" and "that one yeah go fight that one to the death"

izzy: no, you guys don't understand, i asked for blackbeard! i asked for this!

fang: yeah, [slaps izzy on the back] i miss the old blackbeard too.

izzy: i told him he should've been killed by the english! that him singing songs was a fate worst than death! did you not hear the namby-pamby bit?

frenchie: forgive me if i'm wrong, but didn't you say he left you with a gun to kill yourself?

izzy: i think i really hurt him...

jim: boo fucking hoo

archie: men are so fucking emotional

#ofmd #izzy hands

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plantsjustwannahavefun · 8 months

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A lot of people are surprised Izzy already wanted Ed to "talk it through" as early as episode 2, but here's the thing: throughout S1 Izzy's always been the one who favoured clear and open communication.

1) He was the one who kept asking Ed for a plan in E4. He wanted Ed to communicate to him what they were going to do. (Yes, he came off as dismissive to Ed's feelings in that episode, he brushed him off when Ed opened up about his depression, but in fairness to him, they were literally going to get ambushed by the Spanish any minute. There wasn't any time for the ol' heart-to-heart.)

2) He told Ed straight up exactly what the problem was and how he's feeling at the end of E4. He held absolutely nothing back. From Ed's POV as Captain, this was incredibly insubordinate and dickish of Izzy, of course, but from Izzy's POV, he was witnessing what he thought was Ed completely losing his fucking mind and getting them all killed. Which was the logical conclusion to draw since Ed deliberately kept him in the dark about having a plan. I think, if only Ed took him seriously and explained himself then, Izzy would have listened this time. But Ed played it for a laugh and mocked him for it, and that's when Izzy finally lost it and flipped him off.

3) When Izzy was about to leave in E4, he apologised to Ed. He was still trying to get some closure. I'm not sure he was being honest there, but he clearly didn't want to leave on bad terms, so on his part this was still an effort to "talk it through".

4) Izzy tried having another honest conversation with Ed in E6, this time with the support of Ivan and Fang.

5) He was venting to Jackie about Stede. Venting. Seriously, why do people keep saying Izzy doesn't talk? The man loves ranting about his feelings and giving others a piece of his mind. (It's the listening part he struggles with, admittedly, but still).

6) Another honest, heartfelt monologue in E9 when Izzy tried to explain himself to Ed, make him understand why he chose to betray them to the Navy. Tbh, I don't blame Ed for punching him - but even Izzy herself didn't, he acknowledged that he deserved the punch.

Point is, as unlikeable as Izzy's made out to be in S1, when you take a closer look, he's actually been very reasonable and had been (mostly) acting in good faith, all the way up until the end when he felt he had no other choice. And even then, betraying them to the English was the only time we've seen Izzy being deliberately dishonest (ok, the second time - the first was manipulating Stede into staging the Fuckery). Even when he practically kicked Ed while he was already down, he was still being very honest and speaking his heart out, as cruel as it was.

So it's really not even remotely surprising that Izzy would have been up for sitting Ed down and talking to him. I'm not saying he'd been very good at it. Not yet. But he absolutely did want to try.

#Izzy hands #our flag means death #ofmd #ofmd s2 #ofmd s2 spoilers

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morgan-the-lonely-brick · 8 months

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Hi, I still have so many feelings about this, I will never shut up. I also made a gifset out of it because watching the video wasn't enough, i need to memorize every pixel.

(These gifs are free to download & use, they literally took me 5 minutes, so... cheers~)

"It is your job to f-" still haunts me. Also the way light falls on his face exactly when he fumbles is like him getting exposed. Shining a light on his fakery so the others see through it? And then he retreats back into the shadow trying to hide again, but does so only partially? Amazing.

The quick look up at Fang, he's so adorable🥺 i think for a moment there he actually considers admiting something's wrong but backs out of it and right back into defense. The way he freezes at the end sends shivers down my spine. it's so personal to me, Con, staaahp, fr! Also we get the "unhand me" line, or rather [if you touch me now i will start crying and that's embarrassing so don't touch me] That's how i see it.

Now we get to the good shit. Looking up trying not to cry. Avoiding any and all eye contact. His fckn lips shaking. You can clearly see that he's broken by the fact they've even noticed THIS. That expression is like a defeated "oh fuck me". Him being off focus makes this bit even worse.

Actually I was looking at this bit a lot and it almost seems like he doesn't know what Fang is trying to do at first? Like he was defensive because he didn't realise Fang was going in for a hug? Or maybe it's a reflex for anything coming from behind. He's a fighter, after all.

He looks ahead, approximately where Archie and Jim are standing as if to see their reactions or maybe seek help?! But then you can see the moment he understands - he turns his head back towards Fang and leans into it, with a hint of disbelief on his face.

God, the loose strand of hair adds so much to that delicious skrunklyness he has going on. He's so pretty...

In this gif it's clear he's leaning into Fang a lot, even actively pressing his head against him. He could've easily turned away or pulled away, but didn't. He WANTS to be comforted. He WANTS to be held. The way he scans over Frenchie as if checking what he's about to do, I'm suspecting he like. Put a hand on him somewhere or something of the sort. I am so unwell from this-

For the last time he tries to produce words, but it comes out as more of a moan than anything, so he gives up and bites his lip. (im loosing my sanity, Con, what have you done)

Also Frenchie's pout is my H2O He literally went :c

Izzy looks over to Frenchie again as if to verify he's not there to mock him and when it turns out that no. He actually wants to comfort him. Izzy fully looses it and lets out the most gut wrenching puppy dog skrunkly whimper ever produced by a human man. It must mean so much to him... Those last few micro expressions are killing me. He looks up again as if to say "oh god they mean it. They don't think im stupid for this, they're actually taking me seriously" And he can't believe it, he's so dumbfounded that poor guy.

What if this was his first hug in ages? I wouldn't be surprised...

Im breaking my own heart with this why do i do this-

#Ofmd #ofmd spoilers #Ofmd s2 #Ofmd s2 spoilers #Izzy hands #ofmd frenchie #Ofmd fang #Ofmd izzy

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brigdh · 8 months

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I want to talk about Izzy's rant to Ed in episode 10, the one that brings out the Kraken. I've seen a lot of different descriptions of what is going on in this scene – death threat, homophobic slurs, etc – and I don't think either of those are what's actually what's happening.

Let's look at it closely, line by line, and the way Ed reacts, from the very beginning of the scene.

Ed: Well, feels nice to tidy up a little. Can't believe I was living like this. Can you, Iz? Izzy? Izzy: I'm going to speak plainly. Ed: Wonderful. You know we share our thoughts on this ship.

Izzy, cont: This, whatever it is that you've become... is a fate worse than death.

Okay. So there we've got what some have interpreted as a death threat. But does Ed seem threatened? He's startled, certainly, put on his back foot – literally – but he doesn't look afraid or alarmed to me. He draws in a slow breath, assessing the situation, but overall seems more confused than frightened.

In fact he laughs it off with his next line:

Izzy then escalates the level of aggression in the conversation:

But Ed, again, looks more confused than anything. Check out that furrowed brow, that head tilt! This is a man going "what is your deal?", not a man thinking "uh-oh, you might kill me!".

Extremely noticeably, even when Izzy storms right up into his face, Ed holds steady. He doesn't run, doesn't lean back, doesn't hunch his shoulders or drop eye contact – there is no vulnerability or defensiveness in Ed's body language at all. Ed is in supreme control of this confrontation – look at the slow way he deigns to turn back to the paper Izzy's holding! As though he's making the point that he chooses when to turn, not Izzy:

Then we have the "homophobic slur". But watch closely:

Ed does not react to "namby-pamby", "silk gown", or "pining" at all. He doesn't even blink. He barely seems like he's hearing Izzy. His entire attention is on the picture.

Ed's body language and behavior changes at one word and one word only, and that is "boyfriend". As soon as Izzy says it, Ed's furious:

(It's even easier to notice when you actually watch the scene instead of using gifs, because Izzy really draws out 'piiiiiiining', putting a lot of time between the first half of the sentence and 'boyfriend'.)

Why is the use of the word 'boyfriend' so important?

Well, what has Ed been doing all episode? He's been crying in a blanket fort and singing sad songs, yes, but he's been keeping a careful level of mystique about why he's doing it. Ed often uses distanced circumlocutions instead of directly acknowledging his emotions, but he's doing it in this episode even more so than usual:

Here are the lyrics to his song:

(Version one, with Lucius) Hanging on By a thread Hanging on Shouldn't let go If I let go, all will fall Fingers bleeding down to the bone now Can't let go Nothing makes sense Hold on Hold on Hold... on

(Version two, performed for the whole crew) Just let go Make yourself let go Make it go away Away, away today Life's a hard sad death And then you're Deaaad

Notice something? There is no mention of Stede, or love, or break-ups, or abandonments, or relationships in general. All Ed discusses is a vague life-sucks attitude, which could apply to basically anyone under any circumstances. He seems pretty okay with people knowing that Blackbeard is having some sort of weird emotional breakdown as long as he convinces himself that no one knows it's specifically from having his heart broken

This is true of everything Ed says and does for this entire episode. He never once even mentions Stede's name, unless "Farewell, Bonnet's playthings" at the very end counts. The only thing Ed openly admits to feeling bad about is a fictional character who's having a hard time "holding on" (holding on to what? he never says). There are no allusions to heartbreak or romance anywhere in his dialogue.

Now, Ed's not stupid. I'm sure he knows Izzy and Lucius and the rest of the crew can connect the dots and realize that something bad happened with Stede, even if Ed doesn't fill them in on the details. But Ed is also traumatized, and has a whole host of coping mechanisms set up to help him avoiding thinking about things that he doesn't want to think about. If he's not a murderer because "technically the fire killed those guys", then no one knows he's heartbroken because technically he hasn't acknowledged it.

Until Izzy says the word 'boyfriend'. Suddenly the secret is out, and Ed can't handle it. Izzy knows his weakness. That's why this word effects Ed more than anything else Izzy says in the whole scene.

At the end of the confrontation, he hears the crew calling for another song. Look at Ed here. He looks as haunted, as disturbed, in this moment as he does at any point in Izzy's rant.

This is an important part of the scene, not just a closing note. Because if Izzy (the Caribbean's most emotionally constipated man) can see through him, obviously the whole crew can too.

Obviously Lucius – who advised Ed on his and Stede's relationship, who played along with Ed's 'fictional character' claim, who wrote down Ed's lyrics – can do so most of all.

There's a direct emotional logic to Ed killing Lucius because he had a fight with Izzy, and it doesn't involve Ed having been threatened or hate crime'd at all. Ed doesn't deal well with his own feelings (from Stede), so he chooses to become Blackbeard/the Kraken and gets rid of all the witnesses who saw otherwise.

#meta #our flag means death #I've been thinking about writing this up for a while but finally got motivated to finish it before S2

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sky-fire-forever · 5 months

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One thing I've actually been thinking about for awhile is the parallel between Mary Bonnet and Izzy Hands and, more specifically, how Ed and Stede are treated in their abandonment of them.

Izzy and Mary are mirrors of each other. Izzy is to Ed as Mary is to Stede. The one the captain is duty-bound to. The one they made a promise to stand by. Stede and Ed fail to communicate with them and when they do, they choose the wrong times and method (Ed talking around his boredom with his way of life while they are under threat of death, Stede surprising Mary with the boat). They don't listen to their respective partners (Ed basically ignoring Izzy while Izzy begs for a plan on how to not die, Stede not remembering that Mary hates the ocean). And Izzy and Mary are the caretakers for the people they're responsible for, with Ed and Stede only giving them attention when it's time to play (Ed choosing to stay in his cabin and making Izzy do most of the actual managing of the crew until Ed finds something new to be excited about, Stede being shown to ignore his children until it's time to play pirates). They also both lie to their partners about their plans when confronted (Stede claiming he'll "have it stopped" when referring to the boat before lying about having it made at all, Ed claiming he's planning on killing Stede even though he never wanted to). They both abandon their partners' plans (Ed deciding not to kill Stede, Stede running out on Mary). Izzy and Mary are both shown to be unhappy with their respective partners, but stay with them out of a sense of duty or responsibility (Izzy's threat to resign comes after he's been struggling to manage the crew and his life for some time, Mary saying straight up that she knows this isn't the life she or Stede wanted). There's like a million other things, but other people have made better posts about that

The point is that Discomfort in a Married State is about both Stede and Mary being unhappily married, but also Ed and Izzy being unhappy in the same dynamic. As much as they try, no one in either party are actually HAPPY with the way things are. Ed is bored out of his mind and feels like life is flat and has nothing to look forward to. Stede feels the same way about his life with Mary. Mary is dealing with an impulsive husband while taking care of her children and struggling to manage Stede's mood while still living her life in a way that doesn't make her miserable. Izzy does the same. Even though Mary and Izzy are upholding the relationship and staying true to their bond, they are obviously unhappy too.

What I'm interested in discussing is the way both Stede and Ed are treated by the narrative as it regards their betrayal of their partners.

Stede is shown to be in the WRONG for abandoning Mary. She's happier without him, yes, but it's pretty clearly stated that him just up and leaving her and their children was a DICK MOVE and he has to deal with that. He's made to come back to a world that no longer has a place for him in it. His children have forgotten him or resent him, his wife has found actual love with someone else, and he's no longer fit for the life he abandoned (not that he ever was, really). Stede is shown the consequences of his actions, how he hurt people by leaving and also how people are better off without him. He's punished by the narrative, made to feel uncomfortable and guilty. This makes sense!

Stede being depressed in his life is not an excuse to just... run away from it. We're shown that him leaving was a good thing, but him playing with the emotions of the people in his life by deciding when and if he wants them to be in his life at all and trying to dictate that just isn't the responsible thing to do. It's not until he finally sits and has an actual conversation with Mary where he listens to her that they're both able to move on fully. They're able to agree on an outcome, they Talk It Through and are both happier for it.

Ed imo is never treated the same way as it concerns his betrayal of Izzy. He lied to Izzy and then went back on their plan, doesn't say a word when Izzy is banished from the ship (doesn't even try to stop him from dueling Stede in the first place), and emotionally abandons him pretty much immediately after meeting Stede. Izzy is shown looking for direction and guidance from a man he trusts and who is supposed to be looking out for his best interests, only to be dismissed and mocked. Izzy repeatedly goes to Ed for direction, asks him "what do we do" or "you told me you would do this, so let's follow through" only for Ed to turn around and do something completely different. And then with the Act of Grace, he plans on running away and leaving Izzy behind entirely. Ed's betrayal of Izzy SHOULD mirror Stede's abandonment of Mary.

But Ed is never punished for it. The way Stede goes back to Mary in a time of crisis and the way Ed goes back to the crew (and Izzy) is the same situation. But where Stede has to deal with the consequences for his selfishness, Ed just... doesn't. He has to deal with his breakup, yeah, but not how he really was just going to leave the crew behind. He tortures and hurts his crew and specifically Izzy, but he's allowed back on the ship as long as he wears a cat bell. He doesn't even appear bothered by it. He never has a moment like Stede and Mary get where a conversation is had and faults are acknowledged on both sides.

Where Stede had to recognize his mistakes and grow, Ed gets off with a slap on the wrist. Mary gets better without Stede dragging her down, but Izzy falls apart without purpose until the crew give him a new purpose in being their unicorn

I don't necessarily think this is a bad thing or even poor writing if it was explored more. It mostly just perplexes me. Why make these connections between these characters at all? It fascinates me

I really wish we could see Mary and Izzy interact. Just once. So Izzy could meet someone who understands

#izzy hands #mary bonnet #stede bonnet #edward teach #ofmd #our flag means death #ofmd meta #blackhands #edizzy #queue-no steel

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piratecaptainscaptainpirates · 4 months

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I think the thing that bothers me the most about the semi-popular fandom idea that Ed and Izzy ever had a romantic/sexual relationship or that it's accurate to describe the dynamic as Stede being a "homewrecker" in their relationshihp is how these ideas deny Ed so much agency.

For me, the most interesting thing about Ed and Izzy's relationship is they fundamentally do not understand each other, even down to how they would describe their relationships with each other. For Izzy? Yeah, I'm sure he does see himself as a jilted spouse. There's no doubt he's attracted to Blackbeard (not Ed, as much), but honestly during s1 I don't think you could waterboard that out of him. Izzy has a very specific idea of how Ed should behave, and often dehumanizes him as a result - he doesn't see Stede as a romantic rival, he sees him as someone who is poisoning Ed and "making" him behave in ways that Izzy doesn't feel are appropriate (singing, painting his nails, being vulnerable in front of the crew, etc.).

But for Ed, it's very much more like "this guy reminds me a lot of my father and other controlling male figures in my life, I need to keep him around because he's predictable to me, and I'm sure I don't need to unpack that." Ed's attempts to connect with Izzy on a personal level (showing him trinkets he finds interesting, talking about things that interest him, etc.) are constantly rebuked if he's not acting Blackbeard-y enough. Izzy caressing Ed's face and looking at his lips after threatening him and goading him to react with violence in s1e10 makes Ed extremely visibly uncomfortable. When Izzy confesses his ""love"" for Ed in s2, Ed responds with absolute confusion (if you tell someone you love them and they bluescreen and then say "oh come onnnn," like, I'm sorry, but they don't feel the same way, dude).

Their relationship is very complicated and nuanced and it is delicous to dig into. But these two people do not understand each other at all. Izzy (at least in s1-early s2) thinks he and Blackbeard have this intense deep warrior's bond and understanding that goes beyond words, and for Ed Izzy is this guy whose behavior is very controlling, who isolates him and insults him, but who he still often feels like he needs to have in his life on some level (another way Izzy is such a powerful representation of the Blackbeard persona).

I just don't think there's any way Ed has ever seen Izzy in even a vaguely romantic way. He responds with nothing but confusion and discomfort when Izzy behaves towards him romantically, and he only says "I loved you, best I could," right after he thinks Izzy's shot himself, right after he put that gun in Izzy's hand and asked him to kill Ed (to finish the job Izzy started when he told Ed he was better off dead than being Ed), right after Izzy mocked him for being too scared to kill himself - Ed and Izzy are deeply, fundamentally incompatible people, and that's exactly why their dynamic is so interesting!

#ofmd #our flag means death #izzy critical #< eh I guess?#more like fanon critical but still

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starlithumanity · 6 months

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I don't even know what you can say to the people who somehow missed that all of Ed's violence is a) anti-imperial, b) protective against direct repeated threats to himself and his loved ones, or c) self-destructive in the hopes someone will respond by killing him during his suicidal spiral. (That last example is fairly indirect and performative and comes from a place of severe nihilistic suffering.)

I don't know what you can say to the people who somehow missed that the violence is triggering and traumatic and exhausting for Ed, and that he is desperate for a chance to live differently but has also never known any other life. Stede gave him the one true glimpse he's had of something gentler! Ed didn't fully know how fucked up his life was before because that was normal to him. That's what growing up traumatized does to you.

I don't know what you can say to the people who somehow missed that the suicidal spiral is a result of Ed's circumstances: of Ed being threatened by Izzy after Izzy repeatedly found ways to force Ed back towards the violent life Ed wants so much to escape, of Ed losing his one glimpse at safety and happiness through Stede and now having to face the darkness knowing he nearly found something different, of Ed feeling like the only way he can survive in this world is by being an "unlovable" monster he hates--and then he's confronted by Izzy telling him he's still not getting it right. Of course Ed gives up then.

I don't know what you can say to the people who somehow missed the show's themes about how much harm is caused by toxic masculinity and by masking your true self and by cultures founded on trauma and self-hate and burnout. (You do see the burnout in Ed, yeah?)

I do get why some people might not understand the complexities of Ed's relationship with Izzy--how codependent and enmeshed their identities are--or the layers of symbolism that position Izzy in the story as a metaphor for traditional pirate culture and its harmful impact. (Which is particularly triggering for Ed on a daddy issues level because that's his original trauma.) If you understand those things, the unique nature of the physical harm Ed does to Izzy in this story makes even more sense.

Ed also frequently communicates through metaphor himself. Him cutting off Izzy's toes is not only a show trying to convince Izzy he's playing Blackbeard right and not only a response to Izzy repeatedly threatening Stede/continuing to threaten Ed, but also is meant to physically represent the harm that Izzy has done emotionally to Ed. Ed is communicating to Izzy the only way he knows how anymore: "See how it feels to be forced to lose parts of yourself? Stede was a part of me. My hopes of softness and joy were a part of me. You cut those off too."

There is so much evidence against the thought that Ed is some irredemable, monstrous lover of violence who will hurt Stede someday. Stede would have to repeatedly and directly threaten someone else Ed loves first (which Stede won't do), and even then, Ed would really have to fight with himself.

It's not his nature, y'all, and I'm so frustrated that some people keep insisting it is. I'm frustrated about what that says about people's ability to empathize and consider reasons for or contexts behind behaviors--particularly when the character in question is an openly queer and likely neurodivergent indigenous man. Is it so hard to have compassion and forgiveness for him? Please don't get stuck in that punitive, dehumanizing mindset.

Redemption is so important, which is why I appreciate that Izzy gets a growth arc once he stops centering his entire identity on the Blackbeard persona and clinging to toxic masculinity. (Seeing Stede's impact, how different things could be, vs. the harm caused by the traditional ways, changes Izzy too!) Izzy's time, as a side character and mentor figure and piracy metaphor, does end, but first he gets to live with more meaning and unlearn many of the negative behaviors. That's the goal, right? To move forward.

#i try to avoid negative discourse but damn guys #edward teach #our flag means death #izzy hands #stede bonnet #my stuff

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aishnico · 4 months

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#𝙎𝙇𝘼𝙎𝙃: 𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦

» summary: the famous guitarist of guns n’ roses is not sure what he feels towards you

» word count: 3.2k (wOOOOO)

» warnings: cringey stuff (help 🙄🙄), alchohol, drugs, not cheating but you might take it personally (?) suggestive content, he’s a bitch until the last parts, fluff at the end (?), grammar issues (as always)

“so, what’s up with that girl in that music shop?” duff asked his curly-haired friend while drinking his vodka.

his friend yawned. “huh, who?”

“the girl in the music shop, you even invited her to our last concert. izzy said he saw you two on outside.”

he blinked a few times. then realization hit him. “ooh, you’re talking about miss fortune,” he then started to laugh like an idiot. “be ready to hear what will come.”

he didn't care about you, at first. he just thought you were a cute girl who was in charge of one of his favorite music stores when sometimes the owner, your dad, wasn't around. you would look at him impressed and with adoration whenever he played one of the greatest guitar solos. your reaction would cause him to chuckle and boost his ego.

you wondered since when he was playing and how many hours he was practicing a day. of course, your mouth was wide open when you heard the answer. you acted like you weren't believing him, but deep down, you knew it was mostly true.

after some time, he asked you to attend one of his band's shows to see more of his guitar capabilities. and it's not like a famous rock star asks you this every day. so you accepted his offer.

the show was crazy; his bandmates were also crazy and flirtatious as fuck, but they killed the show. you were looking for him after the show. then saw his friends taking drugs while a couple of half-naked chicks were sitting by their sides. you assumed he was going to join them, but you saw him outside trying to light his cigarette. but you grabbed it from his hands with a sly smile. he furrowed his eyebrows.

"c'mon, girl, give it back."

"there are better things to do than this. what are you doing here?"

"just went for some fresh air. the atmosphere inside is making my head hurt today. guess i'm not in the mood."

"this," you pointed his lighter. "doesn't make fresh air. also, won't this make your head hurt more?"

he rolled his eyes at you. "and what are you suggesting?"

that was the first moment when he thought you were, strange. more strange and different than the girls he has ever met. he never thought you would bring him to a chinese tea shop. and he wasn't expecting you to pay for both of you. he had never tried this type of tea before. hell, when was the last time he even drank tea?

the waiters even offered both of you fortune cookies. he thought they were nothing but bullshit. who would even believe in them? of course, you would.

"how can you even believe in these?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows at the cookie.

"well, i don't know about you, but for me, most of them are true!"

"i've never eaten this before."

"come on! how about the fortune cards? have you tried them before?"

"no. like i said, they are all bullshit." he said with a strict tone.

"at least eat the cookie."

he did as you said and broke the cookie in half. he didn't even look at the mini-paper and wrinkled it. then saw your sad puppy eyes looking at him. he sighed and straightened the paper without showing it to you.

'the thing you might be looking for is nearer than you think.'

what does that even mean? he furrowed his eyebrows again. "what does it say?" you asked him excitedly, and he wrinkled the paper and put it in his pocket.

"you're no fun." you muttered.

"and you are the most hilarious person i've ever met. it's getting late. let's go."

"would you accompany me?" you asked with a teasing tone.

usually, when he would go on his 'dates', he would call a cab for them. he doesn't remember when he accompanied them on a walk or when he agreed to accompany you now.

he listened to your beliefs about those fortune things he found bullshit, how tea is better than coffee and country music is actually nice to listen to, which he disagrees with on both. you two didn't have any common things at all. but he found it amusing to argue about things about which you didn't have the same opinion as him.

you were now standing before your house. you smiled at him. "thank you for the company."

he shrugged. "i mean, you asked me to do it so..."

"yeah yeah, good night, saul." you planted a kiss on his cheek before entering your house. he stood there for a couple of seconds. then started to walk fast to the street to find a cab. he had already lost a lot of time.

"she then kissed my cheek, and she probably thinks we're dating or something." the guitarist laughed at his sentence with duff. he took another roll of cocaine.

"i think she did that because she wanted to tease you?" duff asked.

"tease me? man, i don't even have eyes on her. she's weird. not in a bad way, though."

"don't tease her himself. girls like her may think you're in love with her or something."

"trust me, she's like the last person to fall in love with."

that was what he has been telling himself since your little 'date'. he didn't bother to contact you, neither did you. he thought you were just acting indifferent.

he almost forgot you while he was on tour. every day traveling to another city, playing the same songs, meeting with new chicks, and sometimes making out with them...

it has been almost a month and a half since you saw each other. they were in los angeles again, working on a new album. one day, he received a phone call from the owner of his favorite music shop. the shopkeeper told him that there were new pedals and equipments for electric guitars at the shop. he got excited and went on his way to the shop.

he spent about an hour there, testing new guitars and equipments on them. however, he decided he didn't need them for now. he thanked the shopkeeper, and before leaving, he saw a familiar picture of a woman behind the cash point.

what he did not expect was that the woman in the picture, you, was the shopkeeper's daughter.

"haven't you met with my daughter yet? strange... i remember that she told me that a famous guitarist would come here often while i had something to do."

"i... don't remember her."

"hm, i don't think you can see her often here from now on. she's in college, so she doesn't have much time for her dad anymore, I guess." he coughed.

"what's her major?"

"english literature, i believe"

"cool... anyway, take care." the guitarist answered when he was about to leave the shop. before he could pull the door, somebody else pulled. you.

both his and your eyes wide open. you smiled at him sincerely. "what a pleasing surprise! we met again." you chuckled.

"oh? isn't that our little miss fortune?" he seemed to remember now.

"miss fortune? that's not the best way to describe me but okay. i'm in a hurry, but i'd like to meet you tonight at the tea shop where we went about a month ago. bye!" you rushed inside without saying anything else.

"hey! when should i come?"

your father grinned at him and the guitarist left the shop.

why did i say that..? the man thought to himself. i probably sounded desperate to see her or something. ugh...

he made his way towards the local bar where he and his bandmates would usually hang out. maybe he could kill some time before heading to the tea shop. he just wanted to lay on a couch for a while but couldn't say no to a pretty lady who wanted to share her bottle of jack daniels with him.

"waiting for someone, handsome?"

"i'm waiting for someone, actually."

"hm, unpunctual people are not up to good."

"actually, i don't know why am i waiting."

"are you waiting for a date?"

"i don't think it's a date, just a hangout."

"well, i don't think you should wait too long for a hangout. you have nothing to do better?"

"guess no"

"well, i think there is." the lady smirked at him before attacking his neck with kisses and bites. the man threw his head back and inhaled. he gave her more permission to attack. eventually, he got turned on, pulled her head off, and connected their lips before heading to the nearest toilet.

it was almost 9 p.m. and only now did he remember he needed to go after washing his face. his head was exploding. he still didn't know why he was heading there. he certainly did not have feelings for you. he didn't find you super attractive, and he didn't find a reason to hang out with you often.

were you friends? he also didn't think so. maybe you would complain about him to his father like a little girl, and then your father would forbid him to come to his shop? that thought was hilarious to him.

after about half an hour, he was standing before the tea shop. when he looked through the window, he saw no one there except a ginger employee. he then hesitated but entered inside.

"i'm sorry sir, but we're closing here after ten minutes." the ginger woman told him before going to the personal room to change her clothes.

he huffed at himself. it was just a waste of time for him. why did he even bother? he asked this question to himself for the nth time.

he made his way to the door but stopped once he heard a door opening sound from behind. he returned his face to the sound and saw you with a shocked expression, but it turned into a relaxing small smile.

"you came..."

"you called."

then your ginger friend got out of personal room and tapped your shoulder. "we're closing in ten minutes. make your last order, then close the shop, alright?"

you nodded. "good night!"

"good night!"

you both watched her leave, then looked at each other awkwardly. "i thought you wouldn't show up."

"i planned to come here earlier, but..."

"but..." you repeated after him and got closer to him. your happy face dropped off. you looked at his neck full of hickies. "guess mosquitoes nagged you." you gave him a small smile.

"oh, is that much visible? my friends will tease the shit out of me."

you didn't reply and made your way toward the cash point. "what can i make for you?"

he looked at the tea chart for a couple of seconds. "you know what? make the tea we both drank when we were here."

"i don't remember which we drank."

"then make your favorite. make two cups of them."

"oh? you seem pretty thirsty." you teased him.

"nah, that's for you. you treated me that time. now i want to repay."

you nodded. "oh, so that's why you came here. to repay me."

this thought never passed through his mind but he chose to lie. "yeah, pretty much." you didn't look up to him but nodded.

after a couple of minutes, you put two cups of tea on the tray and went to where he was sitting. you placed his tea in front of him. "thank you."

you sat next to him. admiring people from afar. a lady and her boyfriend were clinging to each other to get warm. an old lady was struggling with her walker and her son (or someone else) was trying to help her. three children running on pavements while laughing (why were they outside at this hour?)

but he could care less about the outside. he was admiring you. he was admiring how soft your expression was. how you looked cute when you're puffing the steam from tea. how slowly you're drinking it, but it is still hot, and you manage to burn the tip of your tongue a little bit. he chuckled at himself.

"what's funny?" you pouted at him.

"you. you're funny."

you rolled your eyes at him. "you're annoying, mind your business."

"what happened to your lovey-dovey attitude? i still remember that kiss." he teased you.

"ugh, don't remind me. i cringe every time i remember this. god knows what was i thinking... besides, i know that meant nothing to you."

"ooh, how do you know that?"

"because you would try to contact me, at least passing by that music shop. but you never did these for the past month. you just chased some mosquitoes, and they chase you back."

he laughed at this. "why do i feel like we're arguing like we're actually a couple?"

you didn't know how to reply, so you continued to sip your tea. you didn't talk until you finished your tea. you looked at his side and saw that his cup was full.

"you didn't even take a sip."

"i waited for it to be cold."

"trust me, it is now. but i have to close the shop. drink it or give it to me." you said while reaching your hand to him. but he quickly grabbed the cup and drank it all at once.

your mouth was wide open. you blinked a few times. "this is not some tequila okay?! you can't just one-shot it!"

"who says?" he replied while heading to the cash point. you followed him there and finished your cleaning and checking the last things before heading door with him.

after locking the door you looked at him. you thought he wanted to say something so you waited patiently.

"thank you." was all he said. you lowered your head, and smiled at yourself. "i shall thank you. for the free tea."

"i forgot to thank you at that time. and i thank you now for your kindness."

he would never thought these words would actually leave his mouth. like, he was a completely different person now.

"you're welcome, i hope you enjoyed your tea."

"trust me, i did."

"well, i'm glad." you looked at him now. after a brief moment of silence, you coughed. "i should get going. you should too. don't drink too much at this hour. huh, why would you listen to me?" you lowered your voice at the end but he heard it anyway.

"i already drank today. and i have no desire to drink again. not now, but surely tomorrow."

"alright, good night saul. take care."

you smiled again and started to walk on your way. "wait!" you heard him calling you so you stopped. he immediately came next to you.

"would you want me to company you?"

you chuckled at yourself. "i do not want to waste your time."

"trust me, you won't."

what was that again? what did he just say? he completely agreed that he was just someone else right now. but his stomach got hurt so much when you sincerely smiled again. it wasn't pain, it was something else. it feels like something quivers in his stomach and the breath from his lungs is leaving.

he feels exhilaration.

"are you okay? you're trembling," you asked him worriedly, caressing both of his arms.

he feels like he is about to explode.

"the weather- yes, the weather is... getting cold. we should get going."

"look, you don't have to come with me. my house isn't far from here anyway. you're shaking. just find a cab and head to your home. you won't be happy when you get sick and you have to be at the studio at that moment."

oh how sincere you were in your words and how caring you were towards him.

"i'm gonna be fine," he smirked and you both started to walk next to each other.

both of you didn't talk. although the silence wasn't disturbing. it was a comfortable one. million thoughts were flying inside his head right now. he was mainly thinking about your current situation. what you two were? what you were to him? was this feeling temporary? was this feeling gonna hunt him constantly? he didn't know.

the only thing he knew was that he had to find a reason to hang out with you again.

he wanted to know more about you. wanted to hear about your college life and lessons. want to know about your family and friends. wanted to know your favorite color, food, animal, movie, and more. he wanted to learn about you more.

"are you feeling warm yet?" you broke the long silence. but it seemed like he was in his deep thoughts.

"saul?" you called him. he then came back to reality and looked at you. "

"huh? excuse me, i was thinking about something."

"i asked if you're feeling warm yet."

"oh, yeah. pretty much."

"good."

a silence occurred between you once again. this time, he broke it. with saying something unexpected.

"although i would feel completely warm if you make me a soup."

you laughed hysterically. "i bet those chicks make hella delicious soups."

"nah, i don't think so. i want to try your meals someday."

he didn't care about it anymore. he didn't care anymore if he was being someone else. he liked it

"someday... someday seems cool."

"your behavior did really change. i would lie if i say i don't miss the old lovey-dovey miss fortune [name]."

"h-huh? don't call me miss fortune. i'm not interested in that stuff that much now. besides, unlike you, i love this saul."

"oh? you don't like my old me?"

"he was salty, but he was okay. i would still hang out with him."

he couldn't hide his smile but managed to hide his slightly flushed cheeks. even if he was being like this, or normal himself, you would still be next to him.

finally, you both were standing in front of your house. you inhaled and looked at him. "thank you for your accompany."

he just shrugged, couldn't find anything to say. so you cleaned your throat. "good night, saul. take care."

"you too, good night."

you smiled and before you pulled the door he called you by your name. you turned your head at him.

"no good night kisses?" he asked with a cheeky tone. you just rolled your eyes at him playfully. "don't tease me, boy, now go and get some sleep."

"woah woah woah woah- you know what it feels like to me? like i just skipped a big part of a romance novel." duff laid on the couch, almost going to sleep right there.

"i know it happened in one night but, i'm telling you. this time, wasn't like the first time. the first time i really wanted to walk away from there. but this time, i didn't want it to end."

"congratulations on your new hook-up then. just know, i'm gonna make it shorter by saying she's the last person to fall in love with."

"hey, mind your own business!"

"fine fine..." the bassist yawned loudly before slowly drifting off.

they didn't talk for a few minutes since saul was lost in his thoughts again. then something clicked in his mind.

there weren't two versions of him. there wasn't this cheeky and normal saul. there was only one. and that only one have…

he broke the silence.

"dude, i think i've fallen in love with her for real."

the bassist woke up and dropped his bottle of vodka to the floor. "you what?!"

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amuseoffyre · 6 months

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Stede's progression of realising how bad things became is so quietly done through s2. Especially since the start point is him knowing Ed marooned his crew.

Plus, despite what everyone seems to think about him, Stede knows a lot more about Ed's past actions than they seem to realise. He knows about Ed's dad (something no one else knows), he knows about the burning ships and the toe-cutting and the skinning.

He just is... coming at it from the wrong angle at the start of the season.

"he's just letting off some steam" - it's still all just pirating activity, if a lot more intense than usual

"why would he [kill me]?" - Stede still not grasping how much he meant to Ed and how much damage his departure did

"I'm afraid your life is better without me" - and also still of the belief he will always and only be a last choice

"Ed pushed you? Why would he do that?" - the realisation that the stuff that happened to his crew was because of him

"I hurt Ed so much he pushed you off the ship" - not just realising it, but acknowledging it and recalibrating his perspective to see that not only did Ed actually genuinely care for him as much as he did for Ed, but that in leaving him behind, he's sent Ed on a downward spiral.

"I think I hurt him pretty bad" - again, acknowledging he did a wrong and determined to fix it

"I'm not ready to believe [that the time he spent with me is the best it's ever going to get for him] - the conviction that Ed can and does deserve to have some more of the happiness he craved when he just wanted "to be Edward"

his entire interrogation of the Break-up Boat crew, knowing full well that they're all lying but not able to get a clear answer

It speaks measures that he goes from thinking "Ed wouldn't want to kill me because he probably didn't even notice I was gone" to piecing together all the pieces of evidence and realising how truly shattered Ed is. It's a slow, steady realisation and in that confrontation with Izzy in the cabin, it has all crystalised into the knowledge that "he was going to watch the world burn or die trying".

He always knew what Ed was capable of, even if the crew thought he didn't or was being foolish and naive about it. "It feels pretty complicated. It feels bad", he admits when he knows how badly Ed hurt them, especially when he now believes it's all his fault.

"I let him down and I'm the cause of a lot of this", he says, so everything he does after that is in the name of trying to make things right. He does right by the crew, he negotiates with Zheng for their release, and even after he finds out they killed Ed, he still works to save them all, because he knows they don't deserve to die for saving themselves.

And then when Ed comes back, he agrees to let the crew decide Ed's fate - they voted him out (and I'm so curious about who voted how because Izzy's vote was the decider) but Stede said he would ask the crew if he could come back as well and clearly, they allowed it.

He spends so much of the rest of the season trying to undo all the damage he believed he had done, both with the crew and with Ed himself, even if he may or may not be very good at it. He tries and continues to try to make amends and I like him very much for it.

#ofmd #ofmd meta #stede bonnet

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batsarebetterthanpeople · 7 months

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why do so many people keep calling ed izzy's abuser? I thought it was kind of funny how wrong they were at first because I love being right but at this point I feel like, if you really believe that why do you even like this show? where the main love interest is a violently abusive indigenous man? that sounds boring as shit. what would possess the writers of the show for them to make such an awful decision?

but then I think, if this many people believe it does that mean I'm the one who's wrong? or is it that the creators fumbled that storyline when they should have been clearer about it? or maybe it's just that most people on here have had their reading comprehension scorched away by Sherlock Holmes conspiracy theories and Steven Universe discourse. I can't tell. sometimes I think the internet may have been a mistake.

No they're wrong here's what's going on. People all read this shitty fic called Hell or High Water where Ed was everything the Izzy stans say he was and then instead of realizing that Ed is sad everyone regressed into thinking that the Kraken Era TM was going to be incredibly violent, like serial killing blond men because they look like Stede levels of violence. Even if you didn't read HoHW you saw art or read fic from people who had engaged with this fic and succumbed to it's premise. So there's been this background radiation of misunderstanding what the Kraken is on the fandom for several months. So inevitably when Ed did some mild violence and then attempted suicide by threatening murder until the crew took matters into their own hands, which is not abuse or torture by any stretch, btw, it's a murder-suicide at worst (I say at worst because I consider it fuckery-suicide I don't think Ed was trying to kill people I think he was trying to force them into a situation where they thought it was kill or be killed so that they would choose to kill him, but that is my interpretation and you are free to think it's a botched murder-suicide I have no problem with that), which, murder is something the show has never condemned and if it did it would be horribly inconsistent. So anyway, Ed's whole Kraken Era was categorized in the show by him being sad and doing so many drugs and begging someone please god anyone to kill him and trying to break Ned Low's record out of the evil boredom, but because it had a murder-suicide element to it and Izzy's toes were getting removed and he waved a gun around at everyone once (in a way that felt to me like he was trying and failing to work up the nerve to blow his own brains out but I digress) people who liked HoHW and were mad that people had called it out were like "see hes being violent HoHW author vindicated" as if anything Ed did rose to the level of that fic

And you want to know how I know this read is bullshit? Because when I watch the show with people who don't read fic or interact with the fandom and then I gauge their reactions without showing my hand they all implicitly understand that Ed is reacting to Izzy in a way appropriate to how pirate captains react to threats from subordinates. The spectrum of reactions has been from "hey isn't it weird how Ed was the Kraken because his dad was abusive and now he's the kraken because of Izzy? Maybe there's something there but idk" to "I don't think you can apply the logic of domestic abuse to a pirate captain and first mate but also Izzy had it coming" to "I cannot feel bad for Izzy after last season, I'm sorry." To "lmao Izcel" and I've showed this show to roughly everyone I know. The only thing I can conclude from the fact that people who don't engage with OFMD fic almost unilaterally thinking that Izzy is in the wrong and then coming online to see people thinking the opposite is that Izzy as victim and Ed as abuser is pure fanon, like how Stede is a cinnamon roll who talks like Azeriphael.

But anyway yeah you're completely right about the fact that this would be a bad show if they decided to make Ed into a domestic abuser. I don't want to watch a rom com about a domestic abuser falling in love and I don't want a show that decided to make it's indigenous lead abusive when the stereotype of indigenous men as abusers is still to this day used as an excuse to separate indigenous children from their families and put them with white Christians in order to erase their culture. Good thing OFMD didn't make Ed abusive, so I still like the show.

#ofmd #our flag means death

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