#also don't misunderstand me i love izzy

[batsarebetterthanpeople]

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.

[meanbossart]

I love Izzy so much, I feel for him tremendously.

Can you tell us something about his future relationship, whatever it might be, with Grodderick? Or is it under wraps for spoilers? 👀

Sure! The details of their relationship are never relevant to the plot, it's more of a background thing that changes some very minor character interactions in ways I doubt one can predict by simply learning about it - I'll still leave it under a cut for anyone who wants to avoid it. I'll also skip certain story beats which allow their relationship to happen in the first place that are most definitely spoilers, and only talk about the actual dynamic between them and post-ANE events, so if details feel amiss, that's because they are.

So it's probably obvious that they're meant to develop a romantic relationship lol this happens after Grodderick gets somewhat "stuck" with Izzy around through certain circumstances. Izzantar, in his predicament, happens to be far more comfortable around him than anyone else because of his predisposition to feel safe around "slave" races. Now, that's obviously not a great start to any relationship, romantic or otherwise lol but it is what it is.

They grow a little closer through Grodderick's endless patience and sincere curiosity about a culture he isn't familiar with. Izzantar, despite his experiences, considers the underdark his home, he can only properly conceptualize of surface customs by comparing them to his own culture, and Grodderick is the only one willing to hear it without judgement - with the eventual wisecrack or pushback. But the way he does it is one Izzantar comfortable with.

Likewise Izzantar would probably defy Grod's own generalized negativity around the orc-ish side of his culture (and frankly be positively shocked it has any merit at all). It's a funny little game of "no, YOU have internalized hate" they keep playing between themselves by accident.

Another major point here is that Grodderick is a) the only person who sees Izzantar as an adult and b) someone who immediately recognizes him as someone with an anxiety disorder. With time he would help Izzy to calm the fuck down and not always assume the worse out of people. His company also allows Izzantar to feel more at ease in public settings in the surface as a drow, and Izzy's brazen company and completely unfiltered perspective is a breath of fresh air to Grodderick. He thinks he's funny, he recognizes and participates in his dry humor, he doesn't offend easy, and he's the furthest thing from a drow. This makes him an apt friend choice and later a romantic interest. Being hot and having cool tats helps LOL

Also they both like to partake in a little devil🌿 which is likely how their first meaningful interaction ever happens (Izzantar sees him smoking and is like "oh boy I could really fucking use some of that right now")

They probably starting fucking kind of casually. It's entirely on Izzantar to pursue him since Grodderick isn't interested in feeding a drow's ego, which is a funny interaction of its own where Izzantar just blows up frustrated that he won't make the first move, since he's used to being a very passive partner. Something along the lines of "WHY DON'T YOU WANT TO FUCK ME" probably comes out his mouth verbatim LOL they get over this non-misunderstanding quickly and Izzantar is just happy to have sex in a way that's completely the opposite of what's expected of him in the Underdark as a popular breeder. Obviously he also finds Grodderick profoundly attractive both for his confidence, smarts, appearance, and frankly his imposing presence because he's not immune to a little bad-boy charm.

I think they catch feelings around the same time as one another, and proceed to get on a long-term relationship.

Izzantar (this is post ANE and never mentioned) eventually sets shop somewhere as a jeweler. He gets a lot of business based on the fact that he's a drow and knowingly plays up the part of someone who's mystically more knowledgeable and skilled about precious stones and minerals than most because of his race (on top of his genuine talent). His bad attitude is also hysterically seen as charming drow bedside-manner and indicative of the quality of his work to wealthy clients.

He lets his hair grow out and for semi-plot-related-reasons starts passing as a female drow (also, he just likes it) Grodderick doesn't care either way. At that point they're living together and get a cat that Izzantar names Angkacha. To his despair, Grodderick nickanames it Chacha and it sticks. Izzy wants the cat to be a vicious killing machine but whenever he casts animal speak on it the cat's just like OOOO MAMA ME LOVE MAMA and he hates it (but not really, he would kill for this cat)

aaaand here's some old doodles of him from that point of his life! The last two have been uh cropped for uh reasons

[ourflagmeansgayrights]

thank for that amazing analysis of Izzy apologists. I'm so very tired. I adore some friends I've made in this fandom, but some of them are so deeply drunk on the Jizzy I can not *stand* talking about the show with them or Izzy anymore. It's either "Izzy is just a little guy he can't hurt anyone!" or "Izzy is gay he can't be femmephobic!" I'm so tired! He's the antagonist how is that controversial!? They see themselves as such victims too, the pointing of Izzy flaws is seen as an attack. Sigh.

im so very tired too, anon.

i really dont get it. i've been in fandoms where the fanon content all comes from a deep misunderstanding of what the original text is supposed to be. but like, it was marvel. or voltron. or that transphobic wizard school series. something where fans were actually coming up with a better version of the source material

i came into this fandom not because i wanted content that fixed what i disliked abt the source material, but because i wanted more of the source material, and there was only so many times i could rewatch the ten episodes that we have. this show is fucking phenomenal and has brought me so much joy, and talking abt this show and chewing on good analyses of the show has been so much fucking fun.

it's just disheartening, i guess, that so many people fell down this gradual pipeline of liking the weird little gremlin antagonist to having their entire fandom experience revolve around a version of izzy that reflects fanon more than canon. it makes me fucking sad that there are people who genuinely believe he's the show's secret protagonist and that season one is full of undeniable references to his inevitable redemption arc but also he doesn't need to change anything to be redeemed because he's the skyler white of ofmd (???) and he's a victim of an abusive relationship but also he doesn't know he's in love with his captain who is so mean and unfair to him and doesn't even notice how izzy dedicates his whole life to him and–

like. these people don't even like the show anymore. they just like izzy. rather, they like the version of him they've made up in their heads. it makes me so fucking sad, bro.

we got a gay romcom, y'all. we got a show that revolves entirely around the romantic relationship between two middle-aged men. we got a diverse cast. we got polyamory. we got nonbinary rep. we got fat characters whose fatness was never made into a joke. we got a character with a lisp whose lisp was never commented on. we got so fucking much from this show.

do you remember how it felt to watch this show for the first time? do you remember that joy?

i just dont understand why so many people in the ofmd fandom don't like ofmd anymore

[edsbacktattoo]

ok i was kind of purposefully avoiding the details of the gravy basket theory because it's sounded so dumb but holy shit i really didn't know the extent of it. sorry in advance to be rambling in your inbox.

i thought if i wanted to talk about it i should read the post in full but honestly that was a struggle on its own. it just completely misunderstands the way the show uses ed experiencing purgatory as metaphor. like, the innkeeper does not show us this sort of wish fulfilling dream state at all, and ed externalizing his self hatred into the figment of hornigold is a simple, concise idea that the show specifically goes out of its way to make clear. episode 8 just doesn't have this. like, you'd have to make the argument that literally EVERY CHARACTER PRESENT IN THE EPISODE is somehow representative of an aspect of stede's psyche. it's not just a matter of him projecting his desires into a falsely constructed space, it's a matter of internal issues manifesting from the subconscious, which is what the show has established. it's particularly bizarre to me that they don't make any effort to argue what izzy is meant to represent in this theory, or what him dying could mean symbolically (which is. y'know. the point of the gravy basket as it's been explored). also there's just a complete disregard for ed's arc in the finale which is. eugh. come on.

and this is all still being generous in taking the idea of the "gravy basket" at face value. like, it feels a little ridiculous to even entertain the idea enough to try to argue it. i'm just so baffled.

(it did make me think about psychonauts to the point of wanting to replay it, so. i guess there's that.)

PRECISELY!!!!!!!!! don’t apologise for rambling in my inbox when you’re so correct my dear friend <3

i can’t believe that this theory has such a vice grip on some people. when it first appeared on my dash (and it did, not because a mutual reblogged it, but bc i follow the ofmd tag, and tumblr is evil and gave me the post bc it thought it was being helpful) i thought it was. a joke. i thought the op was having a laugh. but the more i read the more i started to worry. it takes a very distinct lack of media comprehension to come up with something like this.

now, i want to make it clear that i do feel for the people who enjoy izzy normally. like the folks who just like him because he’s interesting and fucked up and strange. the people that don’t woobify him, ya know? those guys are all right.

but the kind of devotion that leads to behaviour like this? threatening and belittling the writers of the show? calling ed violent and thinking he’s going to be an abuser to stede, the man he’s in love with? if you genuinely believe that then there is something seriously wrong with you, and i think you ought to look introspectively <3

also, as a side note, a large criticism i’ve seen for season 2 is poor writing (which is just not at all correct) but to make up for said “poor writing” the theories that people are whipping up are genuinely like. worse? imagine if they did the gravy basket thing again. gravy basket 2: electric boogaloo. that would be bad writing. that would be lazy!!

no, what they did instead was deliberate and careful and beautiful and hopeful. open ended and bittersweet. and yet. AND YET!!!! you get folks trying to cope so bad it makes them look stupid.

and this is all that i will say on the matter. tho, ive never played psychonauts and this might be the thing that makes me dive into that :)

[madame-fear]

https://www.tumblr.com/madame-fear/757358353002446848/and-just-to-clarify-i-should-have-previously-my?source=share

I am literally not taking it at face value? I can see that it is deeper than that, I am not a god damn idiot. I expressed my irritation at the writers. I did not call him terrible or a classist. I am also a team black stan by the way. I don't hate his character, I am not trashing him or tearing him down, I am upset about how the writers handle him sometimes. I know that he is scared for his claim if more bastards come in and his inferiorty complex and imposter syndrome are tearing him up inside and that they way his mother is acting hurts him immensely. I know my characters, I know Jace and saying/suggesting that I don't is hurtful to me.

It’s okay Izzy!! Please don’t get mad, love 🥺 Prev anon already said that they forgot to clarify that the message wasn’t directed at all towards you, but rather at the Green stans and people that actually called Jace terrible things. It wasn’t for you— here is the other message !! But I understand what you mean ♡

Jace is an absolutely MARVELLOUS character. He’s intelligent, he definitely knows his place, and Jace is most worthy of being the heir to the Throne— the blood of the dragon runs through his veins. The writers have LOTS of opportunities and more scenes to add to him, I do agree that the writers haven’t been doing the best of jobs and are massacring our sweet boys 🤦‍♀️

And with Nyra, it feels the exact same. They could write her character in a better way, instead of making her hurt her own son this way. 😭 Jace is so terribly appreciated in here, in every sense— and so are you. It was just a small misunderstanding, it’s okay 💗

[khaleesiofalicante]

"I have come to set the world on fire, and I wish it were already burning"

It was just a mistake. A misinterpretation. A misunderstanding.

Yeah.

David was going to kill him.

And I can't blame him!!!

He wondered if he should sit down and talk to bapak about it. Maybe he should check if bapak wasn’t having an immortality crisis while Max was growing up and Rafe was getting married You should bc I feel this man is freaking out internally...

Why. The. Fuck. Did. You. Go. To. Him??? Of all the people in the world?? You decided to consult this with the Prince of hell???

“I didn’t do anything!” Max said immediately. “It was a mistake.”

“It’s what they all say,” Leviathan hummed.

Why does it sound like he's been through a divorce?? 😂😂

“The aftermath,” Leviathan cocked his head. “Please tell me you ended things with the kiss. I would hate to see you break poor David’s heart.” stop it!! I can't hate you if I agree with you!!!

Max ignored that. “First…I think she has feelings for me.”

“Duh,” Leviathan said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Even Leviathan sees it!! Babe, I know I can't speak bc I'm also shit at taking hints, but you are so fucking oblivious!!!

When Mallory kissed him, something inside him cracked.

First, he had thought, oh, I really do like kissing girls.

And then he thought, if anyone other than David kisses me ever again, I will set myself on fire.

It had been a little dramatic. But so very real.

David: *being so worried that Max likes Mallory better than him*

Max: if someone other than David kisses me, I will DIE

“I know your past has taught you differently. But when people die, they usually don’t come back.” HE SAID IT!!! HE SAID THE QUOTE!!! I can take a moment of relief bc I thought it was gonna be when someone died, uff, that was close!!!

“There is no fairness in death,” Leviathan shrugged. “Only pain.” *also added to my favorite quotes folder*

“If a solution doesn’t exist,” Max said. “Then I will create one myself.” I don't know what conclusion to draw from this other than, he is going to mess with bad things and this is going to backfire....

"Did you hear that, Abbycake?” Simon asked his daughter. “You should probably stick to breast milk. That’s the safest bet with your mama.” Abbycake🥺🥺🥺I am love Simon💙

Love me the Lightwood-Lovelace sisters eating about anything kdhdkdjdkdn

Izzy and Magnus are those relatives that plan your wedding when the slight prospect of it appears lmaoo

It was a whirlwind of new beginnings and Alec absolutely lived for it.

He could see it now.

It was about to happen with this generation too.

Rafael had taken the first step and the others would follow.

Yeah, but I feel some changes are not looking good😭

It was more like crossing the road – more frequent than you think and more dangerous than you realize. The way he is there for Magnus always and helps him cross that road everytime and-

But he knew Magnus wasn’t quite there yet.

Although he was pretty sure Rafael was and probably had a notebook with alphabetized baby names.

YESS!! I see this as a win win then. They take their time to have kids and Magnus can adapt better😎 but also, I love how everyone knows Rafael jdhdidbd

“We gave birth to them,” Alec said. “That’s a gift enough.”

“We didn’t actually do it though,” Diego noted with a chuckle.

They can't apply the 'I gave you birth" card lmaoo

Say what you will about Raziel, but the man was pretty chill about sex. The man is a little too chill about everything 🙂

He saw two girls running across Angel Square, holding hands and trading soft kisses.

Unafraid. Unbothered.

He smiled to himself.

A part of him, no matter how much time passed, will always feel proud of himself for contributing to that.

They have come a long way and I'm so proud of it😭😭 this makes me feel so soft inside!!!

“It’s called sexual tension, dad, jeez,” Max had scoffed when Alec had voiced his surprise. You are not in a position to talk!!!

Because despite the unforeseen consequences, Alec knew Rafael had made the right decision. PREACH TO THIS!!!

“And I will protect her as I protect the rest of them,” Alec promised.

“That’s all I needed to know,” Diego let out a deep exhale. “Oof. That was scary.”

Alec chuckled and squeezed the shadowhunter’s shoulder. “I got you.”

My fave in-laws😭😭

Magnus be like: yeah, I'm not good at warlock math... Yeah, I created the portal, but I'm not that good at it!!

“The shadow world can survive one night without Magnus Bane,” Now that is just a lie, babe...

“I mean,” Alec said. “I guess we could be a few minutes late.”

“He probably wouldn’t notice,” Magnus hummed and moved closer.

They are the only valid ones here and the reason I am still somewhat sane😎

The Herondale-Fairchild (and Beauchamp) family looks so fucking hot and stunning omfg😍 the mental image is just *chef kiss*

I had to google many words for this engagement party😭 Sorry, I am mexican, we have so many different names here😭😭

Clace are killing it!!!

“What about Chopin?” Selena asked.

“He is camera shy,” David informed.

Selena chuckled, realizing that this meant David had probably tried to take selfies with Chopin before.

🥺🥺🥺🥺now I need a pic with David and Chopin

“Okay. Now a normal picture!” her father ordered. “Someone take a picture of my beautiful family!” I love how Jace is the kind of dad who takes a million photos of his family😂

Gabriel 😍😍 I'm in love with them!!

So, it makes sense they don't know who the warlock is if they are young

She never let herself forget.

No one can make you hurt more than your own kind.

Too many fave quotes😭 but she is right, fuck all of them!!!

Gabriel smiled. “What does it feel like to be the most beautiful girl in the world?” AHHHH CAN THEY GET ANY MORE PERFECT??

No signal is not giving me good vibes.... This is bad, really bad

It was the device. It was glowing in blue. FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, FUCK-

It was their lives. It was their bodies. No one needed to know. YESS!!! It's their decision and they should all respect that ❤️

Everything they did was a political statement.

Every decision had an impact.

So, they decided to make this sacrifice.

I also wanted Max and Jaime to be their suggenes😭😭 but I get it... But please I do want to see Max walking Rafael down the aisle!!!🥺

I already fear this bachelor party😂😂

When he had been small, he used to look at her and wish he wanted to get married to someone so beautiful.

He wished he could tell that little boy his wish came true.

He wished he could tell him that he will get be soon married to a queen.

I am already crying and the party hasn't even started 😭😭

What’s with all the gorgeous women today? I ask the same thing everyday😍😍

Max 🤝 Rafel

Wanting to pass out seeing their significant other

THAT DID THEIR BEST TO SHINE BRIGHTER THAN THE GIRL WHO WAS WEARING THEM OMFG😭😭😭

He wanted to worship.

Anjali.

His divine offering.

This reminded me a lot of the quote "In the crooks of your body, I find my religion"

Her laughter brought him back to reality.

Just as her love had brought him back to life.

stoooop🥺🥺🥺

“And you’re marrying into a family with two eldest curses,” Rafael noted. "And Alec Lightwood."

“Hot,” Anjali said.

Hot indeed 😍

He was a planner. She was an executioner.

She knew how to take his dreams and make them come true.

I am convinced fiancée will be his most used word now

There was only stunned silence.

Anjali.

NO NO NO NO PLEASE TELL ME THIS ISN'T REAL NOOO😭😭

Unmoving.

Quiet.

Gone

Her hands were covered in their blood.

Anjali’s hands were red.

HOLY FUCK NO NO THIS CANT BE HAPPENING!!! PLEASE TELL ME SHE'S GOING TO BE OK😭😭😭😭

I DONT NEED SLEEP, NEED ANSWERS, LIKE, YESTERDAY!!

I hope you are happy to know that I will be thinking about this till next week, bc I'm sure as hell not

Ngl, I missed this cliffhangers and this ripping my heart out in the last sentence. I love to suffer:))

I do hope you are having a nice weekend!!! Being evil with my favorite characters is exhausting, so take a break and drink some tea💙💙

Pleases have this cuteee video as an apology. (This kiddo reminds me of Arthur)

[erinthesails]

Some of the justifications for this this weird Izzy stuff seem to stem from, obviously racism, but also a fundamental misunderstanding of useful forms of transformative fandom and basic media analysis. like yes, obviously, you can do whatever you want forever, and there's nothing inherently wrong with reinterpreting a character to explore different possible dynamics, but that doesn't change the fact that, in order to say anything compelling about a story, you have to think about it on its own terms.

I think people think of transformative fandom as meaning "apply whatever meaning you want onto anything and everything in order to make a collage of character interactions that please you personally." Okay sure fine. Do that if you want. But if you're going to be out here claiming that an interpretation that goes obviously against the intentions of the text is just as valid as other interpretations, what's the point if that interpretation doesn't actually speak to any of the goals of the text itself.

I'll use an example of another popular interpretation that I love but don't necessarily think is the canon intent of the story: Ed as transfemme. I'm not recapping all the many thoughtful posts on the topic here (tho go read up on posts by weirdgirlcore and eluciferate if you're interested), but essentially, the idea comes from a few moments and symbolic juxtapositions in the text that open up the possibility of that reading. Do I think that the writers necessarily intended for "be careful what you ask your god for, she might just answer" to be an oblique reference to Ed using sher/her pronouns? Probably not, honestly. But in a story about finding yourself and learning to be who you are outside of constructions of normalcy, AND in a story that canonically contains trans and gay characters, the reading is a compelling one that offers new insights about the forces that Ed is working against. It's a reading you don't have to agree with, but it's one that speaks to the larger themes of the text, and opens up alternate ways of situating these characters within and against narrative conflicts, giving us more capacious ways of thinking about the show

Compare that to a reading of Izzy that places him as earnestly supportive of Ed, and as valid in his desire to maintain the status quo as Ed is in wanting to break out of it. This is a story ultimately about masking and the ways we're made to play certain roles by systems larger than we are: be it heteronormativity, colonialism, neurotypicality, capitalism, even family. It's about the ways we're denied the possibility of questioning those roles, and then choosing a path that allows us to be something Else. So what does it add to the story if, despite the evidence to the contrary presented in episode 4, Izzy IS a long suffering, devoutly loyal first mate and possibly lover to an oblivious, mentally ill mess of a captain? Well. Nothing. Besides the excitement of exploring a dynamic that you personally like. And sure fine that can be fun, but it's a reading that's implicitly supportive of maintaining the status quo!! The thing that the entire show is trying to break!!!

How does it expand our understanding of the show if, of the two main white guys, one is trying to shed the norms that give him power and one is trying to retain his power through threats of violence against a man of color and the romantic lead, and we're supposed to understand these as equally valid and valuable points of view? They're just not!! You want to imagine Izzy as being as sympathetic as the other characters, that's fine, but call it what it is: an AU, and one that's more interested in fun and imagination than with exploring any kind of real characteristics that Izzy displays in the narrative. It just baffles me, the lack of basic media literacy in these readings. You can like Izzy!! It's fine to like Izzy, he's a fun character! But WHAT is the point of taking these characters and saying "well. What if they were entirely different in ways that I like better." Just make him an OC, damn!

[a-nybodys]

Idk about the other stuff, but isn't Izzy's whole thing is he's gay and homophobic? Like, not like a Bible thumping homophobe, and this show is meant to be positive so they aren't going to make him like call people slurs and he's gonna respect pronouns, but Izzy in the narrative represents toxic masculinity, and there is homophobia in toxic masculinity. He may not even hate like men sleeping together cuz pirates are desperate, but he hates softness and effeminacy and caring/attachment in men, and that is a major part of homophobia and toxic masculinity. The people he has the most beef with are the most flamboyant gay men on the ship. He tries to make Lucius do hard labor, but he also taunts Lucius over sleeping with men, and then he tries to his sexuality against him before Lucius reveals it doesn't matter to him. He hates Stede for making him look bad, but he also hates what Stede is doing to Ed, and says that thinks Stede is seducing Ed and that its breaking Ed's brain by making him "soft" and caring, and is also horrified when he thinks they're having sex. And then he insults and threatens Ed over, going soft and heartbroken over his pining after his "namby pamby boyfriend." To me, that is homophobia and it's a part of Izzy's general toxic masculinity stance. And I say this while saying that I love Izzy. He's funny and an interesting character and I wanna study him under a microscope, and I wanna see where his character will go from here, if he'll get redeemed or get more evil or just hang out on the ship still minding his own business. There is absolutely nothing wrong with liking him, and I'm not saying this as a reason to make people hate him, and no way are fans of Izzy homophobic for liking him. That literally makes no sense. But I don't understand him not atleast representing homophobia in a subtextual way, as the Badmintons do, since toxic masculinity and homophobia (among other things) are intertwined together and the stuff he uses to jab at Ed and Lucius and Stede is their presentation and even sexuality. As the antagonist, his goal is separating the gay romantic leads and keeping toxic masculinity the same as it was before Stede. I might be completely missing something here or misunderstanding something, I dont know. I do not mean for this to sound rude at all, I'm just genuinely curious about your thoughts.

i think its possible to uphold toxic masculine standards while not being homophobic. but, honestly, he doesnt even really read toxic masculinity to me tbh.

he had to have known ed was gay, he was close to the man for years if not decades, and i really dont think izzys issues with stede or lucius stem from homophobia but maybe more of a general aversion to how they pirate. he views piracy as a tough, dog eat dog world (as do the rest of the pirates in the show other than the crew), one that cant be solved by kindness or caring or anything stede tries to uphold. he is angry that stede is trying to get by like this, without any hard work on his part, without any blood sweat or tears and, worst of all, without failing miserably. we dont know anything abt izzys backstory but i think it genuinely burns him up that the crew of the revenge doesnt even have to work particularly hard to get by and even thrive, because thats not his experience at all. i think he got to where he rests, at the top of the top, second only to the best pirate ever, through pain and death and hard work. i think his problems with stede arise from more of a place of ‘he has the money and resources and luck to get by without any hard work’ and less of ‘hes effeminate and i hate that about him.’ same with the whole ‘daddy’ scene, hes not mad at lucius for having sex with a man, hes mad at lucius for not working and slacking off. he brings up fang and pete as a threat, not because he finds it gross, but because its a way to blackmail lucius into following izzys orders.

and by him being disgusted by his thinking of ed and stede having sex, i def think it has way more to do with ed having sex with stede than ed having sex with a man. he just genuinely hates the guy lmao. he knew jack was “close with” (read:had fucked) ed before, otherwise he wouldnt have sent jack to play with ed’s emotions and trick him into leaving the revenge.

idk i think my view of it all comes down to theres no way izzy could idolize ed and work on a crew consisting entirely of leather daddies if he was homophobic lmao, and i dont think ed wouldve kept him around if he were either.

[thetardigrape]

What's Wrong with Izzy Hands?

There's so much Discourse™️ lately about Izzy and damn, battle lines have really been drawn. No matter which side of which line you stand on, though, one thing is clear: there's something wrong with Izzy.

This is clear because he spends the entirety of S1 furious and struggling, when no one else does. Everyone else has moments of struggle, sure, but they also have moments of other things, like love or friendship or success. Not Izzy. Izzy never wins.

The Doylist reason, I suspect, is that Izzy is Ed's antagonist and they need him to run counter to Ed at all times in order to move the story forward. But to do that, he needs a Watsonian reason to be failing all the damn time. And I think I've maybe figured it out?

He boils people down to archetypes, then treats them that way regardless of what they do.

Ed is not a man who can both love a good maim and fancy a fine fabric, he's Blackbeard, a legend and a monster. Stede is not a starry-eyed rich man who is catching on in How To Be A Pirate 101 surprisingly quickly, he's a namby-pamby who has seduced Blackbeard and ruined him. Lucius is not a scribe hired for his artistic and calligraphic skills who is also so charming he's gotten it on with half the crew, he's a work-averse slut who can't do a single job right. Ivan and Fang aren't emotionally rich crew members who support Izzy and each other, they're henchmen who ask too many questions.

Izzy never once treats anyone else as a whole person. He never sees nuance or subtlety, never accepts that a person can contain contradictions or hold conflicting desires, never believes that there's anything more than what there appears to be on the surface. So when the people around him do recognize those subtleties, when they treat each other as whole people in ways that don't agree with Izzy's stereotypes of them, he becomes outraged. Which is like, all the time, because all of those people are people and none of them will ever consistently be a single archetype.

And that, I think, is where his redemption will lie, if it happens. I think it will have to start with himself, because I think he sees himself the same way—first mate to Blackbeard and god as far as the crew are concerned. He thinks he has no purpose or desire outside of that box, even though we the audience (and many people on the ship) can see it very clearly. Once he sees that there's more to himself than a single archetype, he'll be forced to recognize that there's more to everyone else as well. Then and only then will he be able to start building actual relationships with people.

[avelera]

Matters of Status: Ed sees Stede as his equal, Stede sees Ed as his superior, and that's how we got into this mess at the end of S1

When it comes to Ed and Stede's dynamic in OFMD I was just suddenly and violently reminded of a drama class I had in high school, which introduced me to the concept of ranked social status in acting as a way to create character drama.

The example the teacher gave was from the show Happy Days. Richie (the protagonist) is of lower status than his father and there are certain behaviors between them that extend from this status difference. However, Fonzie (the beloved, leather-clad bad boy of the show that Richie looks up to) is also higher status than Richie, which puts him at equal status with Richie's father. When Richie's father and Fonzie are in the same room, sparks fly because their hierarchies clash. Neither can command the other.

Now, to translate this lesson to Stede, Ed, and OFMD in general. Stede is ranked above his crew. Izzy is ranked above Ivan and Fang on Ed's crew. Both act accordingly towards their respective crews. When Stede and Izzy are in the same room, sparks fly because they are of equal status at the top of their respective crew hierarchies and clash because they don't get along.

However, everyone in OFMD sees themselves as subordinate to Ed/Blackbeard. That's the crux of Lucius's wake-up call to Ed about how everyone is worried all of the time about whether they measure up to Ed's standards. But the most fascinating part of that exchange is the revelation that Ed does not know this about himself.

Or, more specifically and much more importantly, Ed does not see himself as higher status than Stede. Ed knows he's of higher status than any of the crew members. Ed regularly pulls rank on the Revenge crew members and on Izzy. He pulls rank on Lucius immediately after this conversation with, "Don't, or I will stab you in your fucking face," acknowledging that Lucius was correct, given his status level, to be afraid when he punched up at Ed and told him off for being rude to Stede. Ed acknowledges that the criticism was warranted, Lucius, but don't push it.

What this exchange reveals is a conflict that lies at the very beating heart of the love story between Stede and Ed, the blink-and-you'll-miss-it misunderstanding between them that powers all of their softest moments and is the source of their greatest conflict at the end of the show when Ed in misery and perceived rejection descends into depression and then (thanks to Izzy's prodding) into the fury of the Kraken:

Ed has always seen Stede as an equal but Stede has always seen himself as subordinate to Ed.

Stede's view of himself as lower status than Ed makes sense, especially by the time he and Ed meet for the first time. Stede, in his own words, is a terrible pirate. All his naive optimism that we saw in the Republic of Pirates has been knocked out of him by that Spanish gut stab (and shaken before that by Badminton). He almost died. He almost got his whole crew killed. This is not a game and he has learned just how bad he is at pirate life. Ed shows up in the knick of time to keep Stede's starry-eyed, oblivious, foolish obsession with his perception of the pirate lifestyle from completely destroying him and people who had put their trust in him. Stede is humbled by the arrival of Blackbeard but he has all the baggage in his head of the legend of Blackbeard, and is star-struck when Ed offers to teach him how to survive in this world.

Stede is humbled and awed to enter into this mentorship with Blackbeard and accordingly, he puts Ed as higher status than himself and defers to him in most things except specific carve-outs that Ed made as part of the deal to learn about how to be an aristocrat, which is a limited period of status reversal that Stede is very aware of and is meticulous to not overstep.

The only other time outside of their aristocrat lessons that Stede pulls rank on Ed is in the same episode where Lucius screws up his courage to tell Ed off and it's a very similar moment. Stede works up the courage to flout the hierarchy because he needs something so badly (to win back Ed's interest with an adventure, or so he believes) that he temporarily puts concerns about status aside to achieve this more important goal. But the moment is a temporary carve-out just like Lucius's chastisement of Ed and for the same reasons as Lucius: to stop Ed from letting a relationship with Stede slip through his fingers. Stede clearly does not expect to go back to telling Ed what to do again after that except in similarly extreme circumstances.

Ed is not aware of the fact Stede sees him as higher ranked. He did as Stede told him and went on the adventure that day because he saw Stede as an equal and captain of the Revenge giving an order and Ed followed it even though he was reluctant. Ed has never been aware of the fact that Stede defers to him as a superior and there are many reasons for this.

First, it's important to mention why we, the audience, might not notice the power imbalance: the show is very tightly from Stede's point of view (POV). We see much more of why Stede, as a piratical failure, should look up to Blackbeard as a mentor than we see of Ed's perception of events.

But if you pay close attention, you'll notice that if you were to trim the show to just events Ed is aware of, it's a very different story.

Ed is not shown to respect very many people as equals but from the small sample we have, we can see who he does respect: other ship captains. Specifically, Calico Jack and Stede.

This makes sense given Ed's own status as a ship captain. Given Izzy's bluster and Ed's reputation, it would make sense for him to assume he is the highest status person on any ship he treads upon, but that's not the case. Ed is actually fairly scrupulous about deferring to Stede as captain of the Revenge, as is appropriate in a maritime setting. He has moments where he slips and answers to captain, but he quickly apologizes for the gaffe as force of habit and directs command decisions to Stede.

From this we can extrapolate that even in the glimpses we have of Blackbeard before Ed catches up to Stede, he's being playful but he's not being sarcastic when he orders Izzy to be polite to Stede. From the beginning, Ed has seen Stede as an equal and a fellow ship captain. This is obfuscated by Izzy's bluster about Stede not being worthy of such treatment, but it is clearly Ed's view if you look closely. Ed from the beginning privileges Stede as a ship captain as being of higher status than Izzy as a first mate and commands Izzy to treat Stede accordingly.

Ed hears impressive stories about Stede before he meets him. He hears of Stede besting Izzy at swordplay, capturing English officers as hostages, and in general, he hears of the Gentleman Pirate making a name for himself. He is not privy to all of Stede's gaffes, he learns of Stede by reputation and is impressed by it.

When Ed encounters Stede for the first time in person, it can be argued that he's as impressed by Stede as Stede is by the legend of Blackbeard. This is a novel and welcome feeling for Ed, who is lonely at the top of the hierarchy of legendary themed pirate captains. He is in search of an equal. It doesn't matter to him if Stede has less experience, that's just a matter of time and some education, which in his view are trivially easy to achieve compared to the importance of having a sense of style. From Ed's POV, Stede has what it takes. Stede as already demonstrated his competence simply by being alive and having some flair. Let me reiterate:

Ed already sees Stede as his equal when they first meet and treats him accordingly.

Now, several things happen to obscure for Ed that Stede sees him as a superior.

First, Stede is too freakin' oblivious to put 2 + 2 together and realize that the guy with the huge beard that arrived with Blackbeard's crew is in fact Blackbeard. To be fair, he is still gravely wounded and clearly out of it. But this baffling moment for Ed who is so accustomed to even total strangers like the Dutch merchants throwing themselves overboard at the sight of him, with strangers improbably recognizing him on sight, that he is utterly taken aback. Instead of laughing in Stede's face, he instead has an existential crisis about whether Ed does indeed work for Blackbeard.

By the time the confusion is cleared, Stede and Ed have had a personal moment of friendship and connection that skips Stede over the awe he would typically show towards Blackbeard. It's possible that had Stede been introduced to Ed as Blackbeard up front, he might have bowed or stuttered or had a fanboy moment that made it clear he was initially on the same page as Black Pete and the rest of the crew with his awe of this legend. That might have dimmed Ed's interest or at least made him aware of Stede's insecurities, but that does not happen.

(To be fair, Ed tries to get people to see past Blackbeard to Ed when he first meets the crew, and the crew ignores his request calling him sir - it's possible that as his soulmate, Stede would have quickly adjusted and done as Ed requested. I don't want it to sound like a foregone conclusion that Stede would have flubbed the introduction had it gone differently - I don't think he would have.)

Ed's perception of Stede seeing him as a superior is obscured by two other important things:

Ed's ego: Ed likes to be admired. Stede loves admiring Ed. Ed clearly feels good when Stede admires him but it's because he has a crush on Stede as an equal. However, this obscures the fact that when Stede says, "Whoa!" at the prospect of Blackbeard mentoring him, it's not just that he's impressed by Ed's cleverness and skill, it's also because he's amazed that Blackbeard would want to mentor Stede Bonnet. This is largely lost on Ed, I believe, and that's because:

Ed sees their mentor relationship as an exchange of equals. He does not offer to mentor Stede as a superior. He offers to mentor Stede in exchange for something he desperately wants: to be mentored in the ways of an aristocrat. Ed admires the world of the aristocrat as much as Stede admires the world of piracy. But there again is the issue of us being so deep in Stede's POV: we are not shown the world of the aristocracy in the same glowing terms as we are shown why Stede loves the world of piracy. Even the French noble party is shown mostly from Stede's POV, so from the beginning, we're shown how ridiculous these painted privileged assholes are. We get only glimpses of what that world means to Ed, for example when he is awestruck and blushy about Stede using a gentleman's skill to fix his red silk handkerchief as a pocket square and tell him from a place of authority that he wears fine things well.

Ed has always seen Stede's skills as a gentleman with as much awe as Stede views Ed's skill as a pirate.

This unequal perception of their status in relation to one another comes to a tragic conclusion when Stede leaves Ed on that dock.

To Stede's mind, Ed has always been the superior. Ed will be fine without him. The only reason Ed is in this situation in the first place is that he had to clean up Stede's mess. Stede's own low opinion of himself, which infuses the entire POV of the narrative, obscures from him the possibility that Ed might be insecure too and that Ed could have made those decisions that brought him low like this because Stede matters more to him than all of the things Stede admires about Ed-as-Blackbeard. Stede completely misses the possibility that Ed might be emotionally crushed by his abandonment because of Stede's own low opinion of himself.

To Ed's mind, Stede and Ed have always been equals. That perception brings with it a certain amount of trepidation over whether Stede thinks Ed is worthy of him. Again, Ed is just as in awe of the world of the gentleman as Stede is of the world of pirates. And, going back to those earlier points, Ed has never seen Stede's failures because Stede's piracy failures stop when Ed joins the crew and because he doesn't blame Stede for his lack of knowledge about piracy and never has.

Unlike Izzy and the crew, Ed has never seen the gaps in Stede's knowledge as a personal failing on Stede's part, partially (I believe) because Ed is so sick and tired of the world of piracy that he's not impressed by anything in that world except those who manage to survive it and who have a bit of style and flair about how they do so, which Stede has in spades. From this perspective, Stede has nothing to be ashamed of. Compound that with the fact that, as far as we know, Stede has never told Ed about his wife and children or the shame he feels about abandoning them, so Ed is completely blind to any source of shame or self-loathing that Stede might feel. Ed has no inkling and barely the beginning of a hint of how to get that inkling about what Stede has going on inside his head.

Very likely, this misunderstanding will be clarified in S2 in one of a variety of ways. Perhaps Stede's self-actualization will allow him to finally treat with Ed as an equal. Perhaps Ed's own actions and misery, as well as the story being told from his POV, will reverse the formula where he feels unequal to Stede until he learns to address his own traumas on that front. We'll see! But I hope this exploration of the status imbalance has been of interest to those who made it this far.

[youwearlavenderwell]

I just know they're gonna torture us with the miscommunication trope in season 2.

First, when Oluwande and the crew tell Stede that Ed left them there to die & the last time they saw him, he was getting in touch with his emotions; singing and mourning. Stede, in his ever-delusional glory will explain, oh it must be a misunderstanding, he'd never abandon you like that, even if I did break his heart, I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for all of this.

Then, when Stede and his crew finally catch up to Blackbeard and the revenge, Stede only speaks to Izzy (which is increasingly infuriating) and Izzy tells him to fuck off. This is his only warning.

"I want to speak with Ed!"

"Ed is no more, Bonnet. And he's given me orders to kill you on sight."

And what the hell is Izzy even doing here?! He betrayed Edward. Fury licks at Stede's boots.

Meanwhile, Ed truly believes that the only reason Stede would track him down is to take back his ship and his belongings. And he's too petty to play nice about it. Fuck. You. *Petulant child mode activated*

(I don't think he'd actually let Izzy kill Stede though, he'd wanna do it himself - or try to - let's hope it makes him cry).

I also think they're gonna make us wait until episode 3 or 4 before Ed and Stede actually interact again. Which will be excruciating but it is a common trope for a reason. We love the angst.

[chuplayswithfire]

1, 9, 13, 14, 15, 20 for the ofmd ask game! Sorry if it’s too much 😅

NEVER APOLOGIZE i love these things, getting asked them is NOT a hassle lmao

for the OFMD Ask Meme!

1( Ed x Stede: a slow burn or an arson fire?

I think the timeline has their entire romance take place over the course of a month (though I think the timeline can and would work just as well stretched out over the course of like, at least 3 months, considering it would take about 7 weeks for a sailing vessel in the 1700s to get across the Atlantic) so that's technically an arson fire, considering how hard and fast they hit in love.

But I genuinely consider it a slow burn anyway, and here's the thing: Ed x Stede has the *trappings* of a slow burn, eve if it doesn't actually take that long from them to get to first meeting and falling in love. We get the pining, we get the misunderstandings, we get the separation, we get the friends getting fed up and confronting them over their feelings, we see them become friends and then fall in love from there, we see the way the emotional confessions seem to naturally fall into place...

To me, an arson fire romance is one that feels spectacularly fast and dramatic, often propelled more by plot twists and sudden events than by the characters' own feelings. But everything about Stede x Ed revolves around Stede and Ed meeting, finding instant chemistry, and then sharing their interests, their idiosyncracies, and falling in love together. The fastest, most dramatic thing to happen is their break up, spurred on as much by Chauncey 'Gun to Your Face' Badminton and Izzy 'You Should Die If You Won't Be Miserable With Me' Hands as it is by their own insecurities.

So it's a slow burn, that just happened to have the time of an arson fire.

9( Favorite anachronism?

Honestly it changes by the day, but for today it's the costuming, from Ed's t-shirts to Olu's crocs to Stede's theater teacher turtle neck. It's so much fun. I love that they never once try to justify or address it. It just is.

13( Did Ed really plan to murder Stede when he told Izzy the plan?

No, I fully believe he came up with that plan in the spot. I can't imagine that Ed was thinking this whole time that he was hanging out with Stede that he would kill him and steal his identity - I think that's an idea he put together as a way to explain his interest in Stede without having to get rid of Izzy or let him walk away in a huff because he'd said a dick thing to Ed and felt bad about it.

Plus, in looking back, we the audience know that Ed hasn't personally killed a man and watched the life leave his eyes since he killed his father, and I don't think Ed would have been able to harden his resolve enough to do it to Stede, not after having such a genuine and open time. However:

I do think Ed said it with intent. I don't think he'd been planning it the whole time, but I think a part of him said it because that small and doubting part of him that knows how life works knew that he wouldn't be able to live like this forever, so he was speaking into existence a plan that would let the dream have a natural end point: when Stede has to die.

14( Favorite AU idea?

I answered previously that it's This Tired World Could Change, by gangnamstiles, which is still true (it's my absolutely favorite AU in the fandom thus far), and that I love the vampire and werewolf AUs, but lately I've also been really finding my love for "Ed and Stede Leave and Go To Barbados Together" AUs - there are SO many ways that this could end up being their path, from one or both of them being hurt, to Stede finding Ed and saying he needs to go to his wife and find closure, to Ed going to look for Stede and finding him walking away -

it's just an amazing opportunity to get one of my favorite concepts, Mary and Ed meeting, out into the open. Because Stede NEEDED to go back and get his closure but I love my babygirl Edward 'Dread Pirate Blackbeard' Teach who should never be hurt, and these AUs satisfy both of those desires.

15( What’s your number one wish for season 2 (besides happening at all or couples being reunited)?

Answered here!

20( Favorite plot hole?

Answered over here, because it's still the same answer!

[kindsuggestion]

I don't know what to do about a friend that still means a lot to me, but he doesn't ever talk anymore and when he does he just seems to want to stop . I don't know if i should just stop and try to move on or continue waiting even though it hurts. i know he's a nice person and we were friends for ages but i don't think i can wait for them anymore.

(resent from my personal blog in case any of our other followers find it helpful)

Hi anon, I think that if your friend isn’t willing to put in the effort anymore then they aren’t the same person that you were close to. You shouldn’t waste your time on someone who won’t give anything back, because you deserve better than that.

It will be emotionally difficult but you’ll come out the other side as a happier person. Sometimes people just grow apart and it isn’t your fault.

Good luck and I hope that you can be happy

- Abbie

hi lovely !!

i’d just like to add that maybe it would be a good idea to maybe have a discussion with them first to check that it isn’t just a misunderstanding.

let them know how you’ve been feeling about your friendship and if still it seems like they aren’t willing to put the effort in anymore then sometimes it is best to move on.

(also thank you again for letting us know our inbox was closed 💖)

- izzy