#for like absolutely no reason other than how much the OFMD fandom loves him

[verified-villain-fxcker]

It’s all “I wanna put Izzy in a glass jar and stare at him” this or “I wanna put Izzy under a microscope and study him” that. I wanna take him by the scruff of the neck and swing him around like a feral raccoon to ward off passers by.

[ourflagmeansgayrights]

i'm cry laughing some people on twitter are now saying "izzy bashing" needs to be tagged in fics. how did these people ever survive watching this show where izzy is the CANON ANTAGONIST i'll never know

benefit of the doubt but i think most of them have gotten to this point gradually. when they first watched the show they were not attached to izzy the way they are now. i know for a lot of people it was blorbo at first sight with izzy but i've also seen izzy enjoyers say they didn't like him at first, and then fandom made them care about him.

like i'm pretty sure for a lot of ppl it started off with isolating themselves from ppl who made posts that they didnt like, like ppl who criticized ofmd for being based on two real people with direct connections to actual real-world slave trade (which is an incredibly valid thing to criticize abt ofmd).

another one that i think funneled a lot of fans towards being so delusionally attached to izzy was people pointing out or complaining about the disproportionate amount of fan content for izzy compared to prominent characters of color—which is a consistent issue in fandom no matter what the media, and is also a very easy one for people to be uncomfortable with whenever they see it get pointed out. people venting that "fans care too much abt this white man" often make fans who care abt that white man very defensive right off the bat, and then rather than engage with why they feel defensive or question if maybe their enjoyment of this character is fueled by implicit bias (which it might not be, to be clear! im not saying—and i have never said—that everyone who enjoyes izzy likes him for racist reasons), they stop listening to the conversation abt white favoritism and continue blorboposting as much as they want. it's incredibly easy for fans to brush off this convo as "just starting drama" and avoid the topic altogether because "fandom is for fun!" and they dont want to think abt difficult topics like racism and implicit bias, they just want to enjoy their blorbos in peace.

so they kept narrowing the takes they were seeing until they were in an echo chamber that kept moving more and more towards complete woobification of izzy hands. these people are now looking at the show entirely through izzy's pov, making posts abt how sad it is that none of the other characters are ever nice to him, how frustrating the show is from his perspective, how it feels to be deeply in love with someone who doesn't love you back. they've stared at gifs of con's micro-expressions and read angsty fanfiction and looked at endless izzy fanart and their entire ofmd fandom experience revolves around empathizing with this one character even tho the show itself continually makes him the butt of the joke.

at this point, telling these people to rewatch the show doesn't even matter. they've spent so much time over-analyzing every single one of izzy's scenes to the point where the emotional responses they get from these scenes are not the emotional responses anyone would have watching the show for the first time. they've warped the entire first season to fit their version of the show and are forgetting how often the show itself bashes izzy.

and the icing on the cake is the trolling. there's like, one or two people on here who go around sending anon hate and leaving nasty comments on instagram posts and harassing people on twitter for... like, i would say "for liking izzy" or even "for saying positive things about izzy" but like. i've gotten these messages, and the most sympathetic i've ever been to izzy was the post i made like "maybe he's mean bc he has chronic IBS. i'd actually understand him more if that were the case." so when i get these messages it's easier for me to just laugh them off bc it's so obviously just someone trying to make me upset, but people who do care about izzy (a lot of them being the same people who avoided engaging with the "why does fandom care so much abt white characters" convo) get these absolutely horrible messages about how they deserve to get hate crimed and they should kill themselves. and these fans who didn't want to even see vaguely negative posts abt izzy bc they just want to enjoy fandom in peace are now like "im targeted for just liking a character!"

so that's how we get to people saying that "izzy bashing" needs to be tagged. never mind that their definition of "bashing" almost certainly includes things that are not bashing but are just things that contradict the way they headcannnon him.

[chuplayswithfire]

okay here it is my true toxic ofmd opinion:

i just think calico jack is neat. i don't love him (have you seen him????) but he is narratively just so fucking neat, and also as a character so fucking neat, because every time you look at him after watching episode eight you have to wonder: how much of this is an act? how much of this is calico jack, performer, in much the same way that edward teach is a natural performer?

because in episode eight we see ed performing the role of 'blackie', wild young pirate extraordinaire, and i've talked about his social chameleoning and how ed plays the roles that he needs to play at any given time, this is a man who is almost never being his most genuine self at any one time but the thing is: we meet calico jack when he is *also* performing a role. he is performing the role of calico jack, wild young pirate extraordinaire. he is very explicitly not being his most genuine self, because he is being the version of himself that can most aggravate stede AND most reassure ed that absolutely nothing about him has changed since the last time they saw each other.

so in much the same way that we don't really ever get to meet edward teach, whole person (though we see a very honest version of him for like a minute in episode 10 before everything goes horribly wrong), we never actually meet calico jack being just calico jack.

and this fascinates me, because the man that we see in calico jack is the wildest version of a pirate frat boy, hazing and laughing and all testosterone and rum fueled wild antics, all the while cleverly manipulating his old shipmate/good friend buddy pal person who he would risk his life for but who he absolutely doesn't have an emotional attachment to because those are gross and weak and weird (aka a fucking friend jack) as well as stede and the entire crew, all the for the explicit sake of saving ed's life.

the entire reason calico jack is out there on that ship causing havoc and being a big dick is because izzy hands got in touch with him to say that ed teach is out there in the direct path of the british fucking navy and he's going to go down if calico jack can't lure him away. and calico jack, a famous pirate in his own right, wanted by the british navy in his own right, goes. we don't ever hear that izzy offered up payment, so for all we know calico jack went out in a dinghy to pull ed from the line of danger for nothing more than the reward of his old shipmate not getting killed by the english.

and he calls izzy sentimental. izzy is at least going to get something out of this - izzy is going to get the revenge, and izzy is going to get stede dead. calico jack, as far as we can tell, is getting absolutely nothing out of this aside from ed's safety...

it's just fucking fascinating. he's such a dick. he's such a fucking dick, passive aggressive, callous with people's feelings and safety, manipulative, and literally dying because he's mad about his friend risking his life for some guy he thinks is a hack.

like, i genuinely think there's a chance he'll come back, just because there's so much potential for him to shed light on ed's past (and he has connections to other pirates that they might want to bring in, like anne bonny and mary read) but even if he doesn't, what we see in him shows is a man who's very much like ed - calculating, working the angles, performative, but the heart in him is hidden by the fact that he's a dick to characters we care about, particularly stede and killing karl - and yet, he's being a dick because he wants to make sure they get the hell out of there, him and blackbeard both, before the english come down on stede and his crew like the fist of god.

and its so interesting. it's fascinating. i don't like jack, but i see in him so much potential, and i'm not like. saying i think fandom needs to obsess over yet another white man, but i do think he's so interestingly twisted, in a way that's at once super toxic and yet utterly distinct from the other toxic mess of piracy in this show, whatever is going on with izzy hands.

[punkascas]

aww, man, i'm hella bummed over the news of ofmd.

i wasn't even jonesing that hard for s3 — like i'd of course watch it when it came out, but s2 reiterated and reenforced for me why i'll always choose fandom and fanworks over canon — but i feel gutted for the writers and actors. i feel grieved and jaded. and i feel aggravated that it is a familiar, well-worn groove of jaded grief over how queer stories and stories centred on non-white cis characters with diverse casts don't get their chance to flourish and grow. they don't feed the capitalist beast, even though they absolutely fckin do you're just dumb media executives. those stories are not as easy to market; not the sure, quick buck. not the stories for 18 – 25 year old straight white boys you can peddle to advertisers and that look good in quarterly-projection presentations.

i'm sad because the cast really seemed to get on. really seemed to have one of those rare mixes of chemistry and off-screen friendship. and i want to see them hang out and be creative together and fall further in love with now they portray found family on screen with so much ease and sincerity and full of genuine joy.

i'll miss them. i'll miss watching them play their characters. they seem to love them as much as and for the same reasons that we love those characters.

and to a lesser extent i'm a little disappointed to never find out what the plan would've been for s3, where djenks originally had the characters end up, how and if the creative decisions in s2 would've been addressed. fandom will of course find answers to this, and i know i'll probably think those stories are better if i could compare because i always do, but there's still a part of me that wants to know what djenks and the writing team and the cast would've done.

that all said, a part of me finds it extremely awkwardly morbidly hilarious that the s2 ending is now the official end. the ending that i can only read as a fascinating-yet-distressing lovecraftian horror story waiting to happen. like, not great as a final note due to how much it upset and divided the fandom. i wish it had been an ending that sparked opportunities for community-building and excitement and creativity that comes from a place of wanting more rather than feelings of betrayal or discomfort or creativity that comes from the need to process or to fix or to ignore.

but also as someone who enjoys absurdist dark humour, it's kind of perfect to me. the ending is an amazing (accidental) representation of schrödinger's cat of a conclusion. and i love it.

like, you can read the ending as happy. the main couple is together; the crew has their freedom and found family and can continue a life of adventure without the drama ed or stede can cause. izzy… whatever, i guess. whatever people who are cool with izzy's fate wanted for him.

or you can read the ending as, like: stede, run! you just shacked up with a known mentally and emotionally unstable guy who just very traumatically (and violently) ended a longterm codependent relationship. with the fresh grave of your boyfriend's ex right out front. because both of them are dudes that literally hoard each other's corpses because the codependence and obsessive possession just runs that deep. and you made these life choices while on an isolated spit of land with no one else around but the sea and a rundown shack whose aesthetics are straight out of a horror film. and that's implied to smell like death in one of your last lines of dialogue ever. nothing good will come of this, my guy.

if you know me, you know which reading i'm taking and running with.

[portraitofadyke]

THOUGHTS ON OFMD S2 FINALE (and s2) overall

Okay, so we ended the season on a high note, and after reading a lot of people's insights here, I have a few things to say

The issue between Ed and Stede is not resolved by them moving into the inn I have seen a lot of people have conflicted feelings about this one. And guys. Nobody said it was. They have been through a lot this season; separation, Ed's spiraling, Stede's rise (and imminent fall) to infamy. And it's absolutely not meant to feel resolved. They just went through something traumatic. I am pretty indifferent about Izzy (unlike most fandom), but his relationship with Ed was veery complicated, and now he's dead. He meant a lot to Ed, and how did Ed reward him for that? By torturing him, along with the crew, and shooting his leg off. Now Ed has to live with that. And somebody else pointed it out before, but Ed's solution to everything, same as Stede, is escapism. Right now, feeling like the regular guy who runs an inn, or lives in a little cottage, is better than facing everything that's happened. Stede hasn't expressed his opinion on being a pirate still. He seemed excited at Zheng's offer to join teams. He didn't say no. And neither did Ed. Those guys have been through so much since they met, changed as people, and now they just need a moment of peace and quiet, without the world exploding around them and the responsility of the crew on their shoulders to talk it out. Live with each other. Throghout the whole season, they did not have a chance to actually talk about what they want. Now they can

Jenkins himself said the relationship is not complete without a third act. This is not meant to be the finale for them. We're not supoosed to see the united Revenge off into the sunset and expect that to be the end. if we do have a third season, we should see how these two manage the quiet life, if they have the conversations they should. It's unresolved for a reason

Ed has serious issues that will not dissolve just because he moved in with the love of his life Ever since we are introduced to Blackbeard in s1, we see how very reactive he is, how erratic. he can't stand criticism, can't stand being told what to do, anything uncomfortable to him he lashes out at. We see some growth with that this season, BUT There's the thing nobody really talks about. In s1, during the Fuckery, Ed tells Stede he hasn't actually killed anyone since his dad. he just maims. And we believe it; Ed is very good at making people believe what he wants them to believe, he's a tactical genius, he could pull not-killing and being a notorious legend just with maiming. BUT We see it contradicted in the next episode. With Jack, who tells Stede about how Ed set a whole ship on fire. When asked about his supposed 'ban on killing' by Stede, Ed answers that 'Technically, the fire did it.' We move on. Makes you wonder how many times 'technically, something else did it' before. Then, Stede leaves him on the beach, Ed goes back to the ship, and after being vulberable in front of the crew, he wants it to stop. Wants the feelings to stop. Wants to hide behind the comfort of the insanity and ruthlessness of Blackbeard. The first thing he does? Gets rid of the person who saw him hurting the most, Lucius, and throws him overboard. That should be his first direct kill since his father, if we believe his claim, and it goes downwards from there. We start s2 with Ed completely derranged. He's pushing his crew to their limits and beyond. He's clearly indifferent to his crew dying (Ivan). He's high and drunk and it's implied that he kills recklessly now. he drives everyone around himself, Including himself, to insanity. We see him passively trying to kill himself, because like Stede said, he will either burn the world down or die trying, and like Izzy said, he's too much of a coward to do it himself. He's breaking Ned's record not to prove that he can (bc he knows he can and just doesn't care, he's notorious enough, this isn't about his legacy anymore), but because he hopes it will get Ned on his track. He hopes Ed will kill him, if no one of the crew will. He gives the gun to Izzy. Asks him to kill him. he doesn't. So what does he do? He intentionally sails his boat into a deadly storm. When everyone is too scared to stop him, he carries on. He will either drown everyone, or somebody will kill him. During the storm, while Ed is in his final breakdown, we see multiple crew members go overboard, lost to the sea. That's another dozens deaths on Ed's conscience. When the crew finally turns on him, he's relieved to die. He can't wait. In the gravy basket, he finally admits to himself that he hates himself. He thinks he's unlovable. Should be unlovable. And as much as I adore the scene where Stede essentially coaxes him back to life with his love, proving the opposite (the mermaid is a cinematic masterpiece), Ed's deep laying issues that started with coming from an abusive household and ending with being a crazy, tortutous maniac will not be cured by true love's kiss.

In the finale, he obviously kills a lot of people. And so does Stede. I love that he got his hero moment. I love that he got to use the thing he's good at. But. He killed people recklessly. We see him stab, shoot, snap necks, choke. If we are to believe he hasn't killed since his dad until Lucius, did he start being okay with death during his crazy reign on the Revenge? Will he hate himself more for it? What will he do with himself now? And Stede, somebody who had flashbacks about an accidental death, now killed more than one person who threatened his crew. his Family. How will he deal with that on his conscience?

Go do the thing you're good at and stick to it Pardon me if those are not the exact words, but that's what the fisherman tells to Ed. Ed who dreamt about a normal life ever since leaving his home, maybe before that, since his dad did nothing but abuse his family. Immediately, he fishes out the leathers and goes back to being Blackbeard, because he is the most famous pirate for a reason. Only to go to an inn with Stede. Ed's perception of the normal life is a fantasy. When he thinks he's living the live of a good, conent fisherman, he's actually doing fuckall. He's never had a chance to be a normal guy, and I don't think he will like it. Stede didn't like it, either. And now they have each other, sure, and it's different when you don't have to pretend to be somebody else and be with someone you truly love, who gets you, but. It will not last. Ed will find out how boring and mundane everyday life is.

Co-captains So obviously, since a lot has been going on, these two need to lay low for a bit. Find out what life should be for the two of them if they just live. No piracy, no crime. Like we said, it will not last. They are both restless, born to move. Not to mention either of them is exactly mentally stable. We have seen them together on the ship plenty, sure. Ed mentoring Stede about piracy, Stede Ed about finery. Then, finally, their relationship moves on and they realise they are significant to each other, and they decide to be co-captains. If you find two people perfect enough for each other. It's new. It sounds like the novelty Ed needs and the support and respect Stede craves. But we never really see it. Stede leaves. Ed goes crazy. Stede saves the crew. Ed tries to earn forgiveness. Now Stede is the captain. We have a small moment of peace (between s5 and 6) where they probably could be just co-captaining. And then, when Zheng offers them to join up, we never really see that. My guess is that's what we should be getting in s3.

So much importance on family just for Stede and Ed to see them off So my biggest nightmare for the finale, just like everyone else's, was the crew splitting up. To me, this show is as much about acceptance of queenress as it is about found family. They will be reuinted. They are a family. Overall, it was rushed, but still better than 99% of other tv shows.

[bookshelfdreams]

I posted 2,492 times in 2022

That's 419 more posts than 2021!

422 posts created (17%)

2,070 posts reblogged (83%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@swords-n-spindles

@mikimeiko

@bookshelfdreams

@snake-snack-stede

@knowlesian

I tagged 2,449 of my posts in 2022

Only 2% of my posts had no tags

#our flag means death - 1,010 posts

#esc - 340 posts

#message - 101 posts

#crafts - 101 posts

#thoughts - 74 posts

#ofmd reader - 68 posts

#german stuff - 51 posts

#!!!! - 47 posts

#anonymaus - 41 posts

#fic - 31 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#baby. theres spinning wheels for over 1000€ what makes you think you're gonna be met with thousands of ppl starved for things they can buy

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

random ofmd thought: I love that Stede is so cringe.

He's just. Awkward. Ridiculous. Unapologetically weird at all times and he never gets any cooler. Every episode has at least one Stede moment that causes me physical pain and I love that.

Because usually, if a character is this embarrassing, their arc is about learning to be less so, to be like anyone else, to be more normal, and Stede never does. He learns to be more confident, yes, but he never stops unapologetically being his awkward self, and that's so good to see? He's fine the way he is? He doesn't have to become less himself, he just has to learn how to own it better and that's so healing to see

2,133 notes - Posted May 14, 2022

#4

ofmd reader

aka Holy Shit Everyone In This Fandom Is The Smartest Person On Earth

aka a collection of my favourite meta, feel free to add your own faves!

(note that most of these don't actually have titles, I just tried my best to sum up the contents)

✬ On masculinity in ofmd by @edwardsilkheart

✬ The different genres various characters are in, and how they clash and synthesize by @fuckyeahisawthat (THIS is required reading and the reason this show works so well, all these different & contrasting flavours combined into something truly delicious. If you read nothing else on this list, read this)

✬ yk that Stede didn't actually have an evil plan to leave Ed all along right by @polyamoryprincess (on what really happened in Stede's head that night)

✬ these two posts by @mikimeiko about Ed and the mortifying ordeal of being known

✬ How does Ed like his eggs? by @forpiratereasons (on mirroring, learning how to be yourself and self-acceptance as the path to true love)

✬ Listen, I know everyone and their mother disliked Ed without the beard but I actually loved it. by @ruletogether

✬ Izzy Hands and the tenderness of violence, directed at him but not perpetuated by him by @ellicler with additional tags from @knowlesian

✬ Another one about Izzy, internalized homophobia, and subtextual queerness by @knowlesian

✬ The thing that ACTUALLY made Stede run away by @quillyfied

✬ Ed and the language of face-touching by @amuseoffyre

✬ anachronistinc costume design as a sotrytelling device by @ambassadorquark

✬ The Bathtub Scene (analyzing Ed's body language) by @orangechickenpillow plus this follow-up. I also recommend their post on clothes sharing

✬ beard media by @all-chickens-are-trans

4,851 notes - Posted April 11, 2022

#3

Crocheted Important Blue Internet Checkmark. Because why the fuck not.

(Pattern under the cut)

See the full post

4,982 notes - Posted November 11, 2022

#2

A brief conversation I had with @mikimeiko on their lovely meta about the motive of loss and abandonment made me think about miscommunication some more, and how horrible Calico Jack was to Stede.

When Stede meets Calico Jack for the first time this is what he says to him:

Who's the big gal?

Off to a terrible start, and it only goes downhill from there.

As others have pointed out, this is a very mean thing to say in general and absolutely unacceptable to say to a queer man in particular, and Ed knows that. He's trying to do damage control

See the full post

7,364 notes - Posted April 13, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

oh but I adore how everyone in this stupid pirate show is just a guy

I haven't seen ppl talk about it much but. the absolute lack of shredded abs. people show tummy and cleavage and there's not the barest hint of muscle definition anywhere

obviously some of them are very fit but it never leaves "works a physically demanding job and happens to be naturally thin" territory

and guys are fat! guys have bellies and rounded shoulders and chubby cheeks and imperfect teeth and thinning hair and are styled weirdly (that's a whole different post but the crew especially look so unprofessional styled it's great)

and they are still all hot! they are hot and desirable and find each other hot and desirable and I love that

I love to see it! nobody in this show looks like they had a personal trainer. and not just the side characters, not just a token fat guy - obv Taika Waititi is the most beautiful man you've ever seen and that little bit of tummy pudge spilling out of his crop top made us all lose our collective minds. but it's everyone else too; and it's not the extend of it either. no other show would have let black pete within 10 feet of a romance arc, much less been this sweet and sincere about it

this show is so comfortable with the human body in all it's glorious imperfection and I am in love with it

29,716 notes - Posted April 3, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[naranjapetrificada]

The timing of this poll popping up on my dash is really interesting because in our last session, my therapist asked if I would be okay sending him some of my ofmd fanfic.

For context, this isn't an entirely left-field request for him to make. First and foremost, he has every reason to delve into my relationship with media that effects me, and specifically about writing, because of my history.

I have an incredibly fraught relationship with creative writing thanks to the decades I spent convinced I "had" to do it because I had a "gift" (read: I was regularly told this in so many words and I have strong language skills).

I coasted my way through writing in undergrad and predictably hit a wall when I tried and failed to complete an MFA, after which I spent a few years barely able to read much less write.

More than once in my life when I've struggled to explain myself or something I was feeling, I've literally gone over to my bookshelf to show whoever I was talking to a highlighted passage that said the things I couldn't.

Since I started the show, we've been talking at length about the effects it and its fanworks have had on me, the questions that have come up, the useful examples it has provided, the role of narrative in our lives and how we live them, etc.

He has experience with creative therapy modalities, though that's not been what we've done in the years I've been seeing him.

I made a point to mention once that I've had conversations with other people who write fic (inside and outside this fandom) about how reading and writing it has been a useful way for them to process their emotions and trauma in ways they find engaging.

I can see how in his situation he would be curious, but because the question came up towards the end of the session we didn't really have time to get into it. Specifically why, although because we've also talked about struggling to identify concepts that are hard to name, I suspect he thinks it might reveal something useful for the work we're doing.

I'm not ashamed of the meager contributions I've made to this fandom. There's no plot to speak of in either because I'm allergic to plot. They're strings of images inspired by a specific image that popped into my head, with the absolute minimum amount of connective tissue required to prop them upright. And that's fine, because thankfully the genre conventions of fanfic allow these things to work because well-executed fan works don't require plot to draw readers in and have meaning for those readers. The very "I love _________ and want more of it" motivation to seek out fanworks gives us a space for creativity with different rules than we might be used to and allows people who otherwise wouldn't to enjoy and benefit from being creative.

A few months into my MFA program I finally admitted to myself that I should be writing poetry instead if trying to make fiction work, but at the time I didn't have the emotional fortitude to write good poetry, which would have required the years of therapy I didn't have at the time to face everything that would come up. Not that fiction isn't emotionally demanding of course, but as unequipped as I was to deal with the things fiction would require of me, I was even less interested then. But even with all this in mind I don't think my therapist will find what he's looking for in my writing for a lot of reasons.

First, I don't feel like I necessarily "put myself" into anything I write, at least not in that sort of simplistic psychoanalytic way that's assumed. While of course you still manage to tell on yourself in certain ways based on what you say (or don't say) in any context, I literally don't think my fics will help him much there. The first one was the world's mildest reunion smut born out of a specific image, with a first draft completed in one sitting. The second one is a "character study" I guess, born from another image that may have been especially inspiring because writing it (again in one go) allowed me to put off something else that I very much did not want to be doing that day. In both cases, revisions and getting them posted too less than 24 hours after the initial draft.

Let's also look at the animus behind writing fic. Like there are loads of reasons to do it, but with me the experience has always meant being struck by an image writing it down so I don't lose it, and following it down its desired path to see what else comes up. I wrote what I wanted, how I wanted, and experienced some creative satisfaction in doing so. It's been an outlet in some ways, but that's just as true of other things I do sometimes like streaming games or even like fucking exercising.

Were I to decide to share any of it it wouldn't be like linking my ao3 account or whatever, which to be clear isn't what he was even asking. He'll respect that I don't want to share them, and we'll discuss what he was hoping to learn when we meet again this week. I was definitely thrown by the initial request, but beyond all the privacy and ethics stuff, it just doesn't feel like it would be a good use of anyone's time?

Tbh if anything is gonna come from this request it will likely be a) talking in detail about the fics I've read that have profoundly effected me to identify the stuff it brings up or b) him urging me to try poetry. Which like, okay, the thing you don't want to do for the reasons I can feel in my gut that I don't want to write poetry can often be the very thing you absolutely need to do, but ugggggh. That's the hypothetical conversation I'm dreading more than anything else to do with this.

[w1zard0foz]

The way people are reacting to the season finale of ofmd is seriously making me consider leaving the fandom which sucks because I’ve met a lot of great people through this show. I love ofmd and I always will. This show means so much to me and I know it does to a lot of other people as well, but some of you are acting ridiculous right now.

This is in no way an endorsement of the hate Izzy has also been receiving. The whole “who abused who thing” when it comes to Izzy and Ed is a topic for another time and i can tell you now the answer is both of them and neither of them at the same time.

Character death is not an uncommon plot point for any show, not even a comedy series. I just can’t help but some people are taking this a little bit too far. Was izzy’s death tragic? Absolutely, I am not trying to argue that. I would love for him to be alive, really. I know some of you will just write this off as me not caring as about him as you do, but this goes for any character- in any show.

I have watched a lot of TV and movies. I have experienced my fair share of major character death- and even just minor characters that I really love. I know it hurts a lot, but don’t attack the writers over it. the cast and crew worked hard to create this season for you. You think this show means something to you? I promise you that it means just as much, if not more, to them. They poured their hearts into this season. I know it seemed rushed, but we knew the budget was tight. That’s the whole reason that they were in New Zealand in the first place. I wish that they had split the last two episodes into three or four episodes, but I would rather a rushed season than no season at all.

I don’t know about the rest of you, but to me, a show is more than just the plot. It’s the actors, and more specifically, their acting. When something like major character death happens you get to really see how good of an actor someone is. A big part of the reason this death hurt so much was because of Con and Taika’s incredible performance. The emotion and depth that the entire cast put into their performance this season more than makes up for any issues I have with the overall plot. Maybe I’m just a masochistic person, but if a show doesn’t have moments like these, I’m not really interested in watching it.

I’ve been seeing a lot of people complaining that the other characters got over Izzy’s death too quickly, but frankly, we don’t know how much time passed between Izzy’s death and the Lupete wedding. They could have been mourning for weeks or even months before they had the wedding. Honestly, even if they happened only a few days apart, it’s not the weirdest thing. The death of a loved one can have different effects on different people. Perhaps Lucius and Pete decided that after seeing someone the loved die, they didn’t want to waste any of the time they still had together. We also don’t know how much time went into Stede’s decision to leave the Revenge. We didn’t get to see the tearful goodbyes, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t happen.

I don’t know about they rest of the fandom, but I loved this season. It makes me sad to see how many people are hating on the show right now because of Izzy’s death. I’ve been seeing an alarming amount of people calling his death the “bury your gays” trope. That is not at all what happened here. That term is used to refer to when a queer character is killed because they were queer. Not every queer character death falls into this category, especially not Izzy’s. His death had absolutely nothing to do with him being queer. In order to reach that conclusion, you would have to ignore the fact that the representation in this show is some of the best we’ve ever had and the fact that you couldn’t throw a dart blindfolded without hitting a queer character. I’ve also seen people calling his death queerbaiting and I just can’t see why people would think that other than that they really don’t understand what that word means.

Anyway, if you are unhappy with the way this season of ofmd unfolded, might I suggest Ao3 as a coping mechanism?

[ohallows]

how is our flag means death? I see everyone talking about it and it looks great but I'm a bit uncomfortable with RPF and I'm worried it will feel awkward since Stede Bonnet and Edward Teach were real people :/

so, as someone who is also wildly uncomfortable with RPF - its basically a similar level of 'rpf' as something like black sails or hamilton, you know? so if those made you wildly uncomfy for rpf-specific reasons as opposed to content (or fandom....) reasons, you might have the same reaction to ofmd. hamilton i think is a bit worse - it sticks pretty closely to the historical side of historical fiction, whereas black sails (based on my limited knowledge of piracy in the 1700s) and our flag means death definitely hew closer to the fictional side of historical fiction, if that makes sense. which is great for kinda.. tempering the issues i have with rpf.

genuinely, my main discomfort with stuff focusing on real people has to do with people who are alive now, or who were alive more recently. like, if there was a show in progress about [spins wheel] obama and [pulls a card] harry styles falling in love, i would be SO uncomfortable with it (and, i think, rightly so). but there's a certain level of disconnect with watching a show about a real person from the 1700s, where historical records can only do so much, that makes it feel MUCH less weird, and i was able to get through black sails and ofmd with zero discomfort whatsoever related to rpf stuff!

with ofmd as well, i think both ed and stede (and izzy, i suppose) are very much so... vague allusions to who they were in real life. based on what i do know about him, i dont think the irl stede bonnet was a dandy fancyboy who just wanted to be kind all the time and used a 'people positive management style' with his crew, and blackbeard was definitely not a polynesian jewish man w heart eyes who decided to give it all up for an aristocrat he met on the high seas who, frankly, sucked shit irl.

(israel hands may have been a horny little freak irl, but i don't want to know. thats his business.)

there's also a specific level of handwaving in ofmd that makes it feel more baked in fiction than anything real - the characters are able to row across entire oceans (i guess????) in fucking canoes, there seems to be fast travel implemented based on how quickly they move around, and it very much so is 'oh this is convenient for the plot but doesnt make sense at all? put it in' which i actually found really enjoyable. (genuinely, there's a scene in which stede sails IN A DINGHY on THE OPEN OCEAN to a remote island with ZERO knowledge as to where the island is OR why he should be going there. but he shows up in a day. the show truly said we dont care and i love that for them.)

also, when i was watching ofmd (and black sails, which i know you didn't ask about but i WILL plug anyway), it was very easy to sort of... forget that they were real people and just enjoy the characters and the story! i think david jenkins (+ the other writers) do a really good job of sort of. taking the people's names and making them into characters of their own.

sorry this got long im rambly. yes ofmd is basically rpf, but the show itself feels so removed from the real blackbeard and stede bonnet that it's very easy to ignore that stuff.

honestly, give it a try! the show is an absolute delight and might genuinely be one of my faves of the year (yes its only march i am still confident in this). the discomfort about rpf is incredibly valid and i'm in the same boat as you (pirates, boat, get it), but our flag means death didn't kick up any of that for me, and i've watched the show three times now bc i am mentally ill. i would really recommend you give it a chance, and then if it does feel uncomfortable, you can always stop watching or just enjoy the supporting cast, which are basically all ocs there to be gay and cause problems.