#or just general positivity about Izzy

[izzyhandswhore]

HC of courting Izzy Hands. I imagine he would be a gift giver and acts of service kind of guy. I imagine the reader would write him love letters.

Izzy would absolutely be an acts of service type of lover. Making sure you get your tea/coffee in the morning, rubbing any sore parts of your body after a long day, picking up any of your chores he can.. I wonder what gifts he would give? Jewellery picked up from raids comes to mind. Rings, necklaces..

I think he’d love love letters. He can be weirdly poetic sometimes so I think he’s love to have words just for him that he could keep. Imagine the blush when you find a little box in his cabin and it turns out he’s kept every single one 🥰

[twitterdotcom]

Now that the actorss strike is over I live in fear over what the fandom is going to try and ask the cast members when it comes to season 2

[creature-once-removed]

.

[carrymelikeimcute]

Ed's reaction to Izzy in drag though. Let's talk about it.

When Izzy first appears and starts singing, Ed's face goes kind of expressionless like he's not really sure what's happening or how he should feel about it. His mouth is literally a flat line. He loses his little smile and it's hard to read his look but it's like a combination of surprise, suspicion and being slightly unnerved. This is a massive change for Izzy and it's like Ed's trying to work out if he should be concerned - whether on Izzy's behalf or his own. Almost like he's worried this is akin to his own behaviour when he gets a bit manic and 'positive' as a response to trauma. Is Izzy spiralling here, is this leading to a dangerous situation/confrontation?

But then he looks at Stede - who smiles like 'Wow. I know it's new and odd, but isn't this lovely? He's really rather good' and Ed kind of softens up a bit and makes a vague toast in Izzy's direction. Like, yeah actually, this is kind of...nice? Completely out of the realm of our normal lives but, that's sort of the point. The way we've been doing things wasn't nice at all.

Ed even asks Stede (paraphrasing) 'What's all this about do we think?' and to me it seems like he IS talking about Izzy, not the party in general, but Stede redirects to his earlier point about 'turning poison into positivity' and that's exactly what Izzy's doing - he's singing a love song to a group which contains a man he loves desperately and (practically) unrequitedly, he has matched his eye makeup to his new leg - he has taken all the pain that was poisoning him and made something beautiful out of it.

We've had the apology, but this, this I think is the moment where their relationship starts to shift towards something more positive. Because Ed is seeing Izzy properly, not just sort of waving him away. They're meeting again, and he's learning new things about him, just as Izzy has learned a bit more about why Ed needs Stede and who he is aside from being Blackbeard.

[fallenrocket]

Thinking about Ned Low, and thinking about "creative" killers in pop culture. The characters who need to torture or kill in increasingly inventive ways, who turn corpses or body parts into their "art." Thinking of various killers we see on Hannibal, Dexter, Sherlock, and I'm sure many more.

This is what Ned Low does, and it sucks. There's nothing truly creative or artful about him. His crew is bored and discontented as they go through the motions of his grand vision, and his big "symphony" is just his lame attempt to give purpose to a bunch of people screaming. He can sneer that Ed is a "lowborn" generic pirate (even though Ed "got it in one" re: his brother,) and he can call Stede an amateur, but his art is simply embarrassing.

What's more, it doesn't hold a candle to the wonder and beauty created by a ragtag group of misfits who made up a religion purely for the sake of having a big party. For Calypso's birthday, the crew invents traditions on the fly, everyone coming up with their own little twist on these timeless traditions that are only happening now for the very first time. They fill their ship with paper lanterns and pirate-themed bunting, and they fill the night with fireworks and dancing. Wee John serves drama with every brush stroke as Calypso the sea goddess holds court, while Izzy Hands sings a love song 200 years ahead of its time. Even Stede, the rube they tried to dupe into throwing this party, is fully aware of the con and doesn't care, because he's creating something too: he's turning poison into positivity.

This is art. Ned Low is just a sad, pretentious man grasping for importance.

[bougiebutchbitch]

This fandom continues to be the absolute worst.

Just because a character is canonically a kinky masochist does not mean they 'want' to be abused.

Masochism =/= deserving abuse.

Even if Izzy got off on The Toe Thing (which I certainly believe he did in the first incident!) it was in no way consensual. It happened while he was sleeping.

I hate to break it to you, but people can orgasm while being raped or assaulted. Physical bodily response is NOT the same as consent, and I really hoped we were at a stage in 2023 where that was common knowledge. Apparently not.

As a one-off in Season 1, Ed's mutilation of Izzy was immensely fucked up, but still not a pattern. In Season 2 it became........ blatantly acknowledged on-screen as repeated physical abuse from a guy in a position of power over his subordinate? That Izzy did not enjoy in the slightest, but couldn't escape? That made him break down crying in Fang's arms while Frenchie held his hand? Like...??? How do you see that and interpret those scenes as proof that Izzy 'wanted it'?

Sometimes I'm reminded forcefully of how uneducated people are about kink, abuse, victim blaming, and consent in general. If you think people who enjoy pain in the bedroom are inviting abuse and 'deserve what they get', then frankly, I think your ignorant, kinkshaming, puritanical bullshit shouldn't be welcome in this fandom. It's genuinely harmful.

[tobybestupid]

Steven Adler NSFW Alphabet <3

Tw: NSFW, smut smut smutty smut!! (Too lazy to name everything sorrrryyyy, I'll try), fluff!!, somewhat descriptive smut, breeding kink, mentions of threesome, mentions of drunk sex, masterbation,

A = aftercare

This boy wants to make sure you're okay, gives you amazing cuddles and kisses, cleans you up. If he and you aren't too tired he'll run you a nice warm bath!! <33

B = Body part

His favorite part of you in your chest, loves jizzing on there. And your thighs, likes cumming on there too!! :3 his favorite part of himself are his arms, he can just wrap them around you and rail you relentlessly :3

C = Cum

He loves cumming in you (BREEDING KINK :0), on your chest, and oh boy does he love watching it drip from you just to push it back into you!! :3 he also makes sure you cum first, such a gentleman huh?

D = Dirty secret

Wants to get you pregnant, so badly. Poor baby has a breeding kink. Also wants to have a threesome with you, definitely not with axl... he's too cocky, maybe Duff, Slash, or Izzy?

E = Experience

Good boy knows what he's doing, makes sure you're having a good time, and hes havin' a good time :3

F = Favorite position

Definitely like the spilling bamboo, or mating press because then he can just pin you down and breed you :3

G = goofy

He's prob a little giggly if he's drunk, but if it's baby making he's not giggling but definitely making alot of noise. (Such a noisy boy)

H = Hair

He's pretty hair, mean just look:

Hairy boy means hairy private. Drapes match the carpet, maybe a little bit darker. But he understands if you want him to shave, he's just a lil lazy :P

I = Intimacy

He can be rough and fast, soft and fast, rough and slow. Anyway you want it (THATS THE WAY YOU NEED IT‼️), *cough.* Anyway. Whatever you want, he'll give you <3

J = Jack off

Since poor Steven is on tour quite a bit, he does tend to jerk off a lot, especially on call with you (if you dont go with him). He likes watching you jerk him off sometimes— but why jerk off when you're there?

K = kink

He has a major, a big breeding kink. He has has a little bit of a degrading kink, just a little. But loves watching you cry from pleasure, and squirm around <3 also lives being praised??

L = Location

He's scared of doing anything in public, poor boy doesn't want to get caught. He loves bending you over anywhere at home though! The sofa, bed, counter tops, ECT.

M = Motivation

Tight or small clothes (definitely gets a boner in public/in general if he sees you in a dress or skirt), you teasing him, small things can get him bricked up.

N = No

Will not hurt you, if it's like a playful slap to the butt then yeah obviously. But if you want him to flow blown hurt you super bad. No, absolutely not. Also other icky bodily fluids, nope.

O = Oral

He loves receiving head, and giving. Prefers receiving, but will give you head :3 he's also pretty good at it.

P = Pace

Poor boy doesn't last that long, he gets really tired easily. Maybe two rounds on a super good day, three is too many.

Q = Quickie

Hates quickies, prefers taking his time with you :3

R = Risk

It depends on what new thing y'all trying.

S = Stamina

Poor boy gets tired easily and can't last that long, but he tries for you, usually fails.

T = Toys

Has a few toys for you like vibrators, teases the fuck out of you with it.

U = Unfair

He's pretty fair with you, if you're getting punished he's all about being unfair. But if he's in a submissive state, all whiny n stuff. He hates being teased.

V = Volume

When he's dominating you he grunts and groans, rather loudly too. Almost like an animalistic growling. When he's submissive he's such a whiny boy, and he whimpers.

W = Wild card

Likes his hair being tugged at, weather he's dominating you or he's a submissive good boy :3

X = X-ray

Alrighty. He's probably got a good 5-6 inches? Nice thick-ish tip, is thicker at the base and gets slightly thinner. His tip is a little lighter than the rest of him, and it's like a jungle down there. Large happy trail, drapes match the carpet, maybe a little darker.

Y = Yearning

He can't go that long, 1 or 2 rounds.

Z = Zzzz

Depends on how many rounds y'all did. He falls asleep super quick if it's been 2 or 3 rounds, but if it was only 1 he takes care of you then sleeps.

============================

SORRY FOR NOT POSTING RECENTLYYYYY

[mermaidlighthouse]

I want to talk for a moment (or a LONG few moments but…) about my special little angel face, honeysuckle, cuppie cake…Stede Bonnet

From the start of the season, Stede is desperately seeking a person who he’s afraid will think he’s not good enough, that he is somehow lacking. He’s afraid he blew his chance at real happiness because he was scared and panicked (as he explicitly tells Ed in Fun and Games) but there’s so much more going on here. He wasn’t just scared and panicked because they were moving so fast during all their time together- he DIDN’T KNOW what they were doing. He didn’t realize they were falling in love because he didn’t know what it meant to be in love.

He was scared that running away to China was just going to be a rash decision borne out of a need to escape - he didn’t understand his value in general but more importantly, in that scene, to Ed. He didn’t understand that the “You wear fine things well” moment was special for Ed - we see that he’s come to understand that NOW in the flashback in Red Flags. He didn’t realize that to Ed, Stede is special. In all the moments that we understand Ed has been vulnerable because he’s willing to open up to Stede, Stede doesn’t have our insight. Not because he’s emotionally unintelligent - I would argue he’s generally well aware of how people see him - the problem is that NO ONE has seen him as worthy before and therefore is very easy to undervalue his significance. 

If we look at all the scenes that we as an audience can tell are meaningful to Ed, from Stede’s perspective he’s either unaware of Ed’s motivations even though the audience is aware (the treasure scene) or can, through the dialogue or lack thereof, discount the importance because of his poor self-worth. For instance, in the bathtub scene, Ed specifically says he outsources the big job - Ed has told Stede he doesn’t kill people not personally - it implies Ed’s decision to NOT kill Stede isn’t all that big a deal or at least to a person who doesn’t see their value (Stede) it would be very easy to write off the idea that Ed specifically didn’t want to kill Stede. Stede is aware that the fuckery has been triggering for Ed - this doesn’t make Ed’s confession any less impactful but it does bring into question the reasons behind his decision to not kill Stede. For Stede, it can easily be explained by saying “Ed has just relived a traumatic moment, he’s currently dealing with a heavy emotional burden, Ed doesn’t kill people (he just said so) and so he doesn’t want to kill me because it would be further trauma. Ed didn’t even see me as his friend so I’m simply a random person who happens to be here.” There, a neat little box of reasons that has nothing to do with Stede - not in any meaningful way, he’s merely a prop in the story. 

On the cliff, that was the first time he was even aware he was having an impact on Ed in any sort of meaningful way. Ed had literally, just walked away, yeah he came back but it’s not that difficult to see how it seemed easy for Ed to leave. Ed opted not to be Blackbeard anymore ostensibly to save Stede but, Stede is aware that Ed’s been thinking about packing it all in for a while now. Stede doesn’t understand how big an influence he’s had on Ed. It would be easy to say that he did ruin history’s greatest pirate because he put Ed in a position where he felt obligated to save Stede. Stede knows that Ed knows that Izzy sold them out. Ultimately, Ed put Stede in the position of being found by Chauncey and his first mate made that possible. It’s not that much of a stretch to assume that Ed simply feels guilty for putting Stede in that position and is saving him from the firing squad because of that guilt. Stede doesn’t see his worth and can’t imagine that it’s him as a person that Ed is attracted to, that Ed adores. That Ed’s quasi- or Izzy’s direct involvement in bringing about the situation has nothing to do with Ed’s decision because that would mean giving himself more credit, giving himself more agency and Stede has routinely been told that he has none, he never earned his status and he never will. The things he enjoys are worthless and weak. 

Stede so undervalues himself that excuses for people NOT hurting him or saving him can’t be due to his appeal or importance. He’s unimportant, therefore Ed’s reactions and decisions have little if anything to do with him. 

This is the repressed trauma that he carries around with him, that he buries beneath the smiles and silliness. He has moments of working through that (“I am adequate”) but that doesn’t remove the deep-rooted insecurities. The fact that he gets up and smiles and allows himself to be silly speaks to his strength of character. The moments when the demons rear their heads are so impactful but the fact that they return below the surface doesn’t mean they go away, it doesn’t mean he’s defeated them. Is it healthy? No. Is it still so courageous? Abso-fucking-lutely. He’s simply one of the strongest, most capable, genuinely wonderful characters BECAUSE he does all he does, saving the crew, working against his selfishness (most of the time), trying to figure out who he is and where he fits in the world while carrying this burden of internalizing his worthlessness.

[dimplyowl]

I want to just say that the hijacking of the Izzy hands tag by the canyon is one of the most ridiculous fucking things I’ve ever heard. I’ve never, in my about 20 years of being involved in fandoms, seen anyone declare that a character tag is only for positive posts about that character until ofmd.

I’m going to be very clear: a character tag is for posts about that character. Positive, negative, general shouts into the void about them, smutty thoughts, fluffy thoughts, criticisms, etc. It doesn’t matter. You can get more specific about the particular tone of your post with other tags, but the general character tag. Is for. Any post. About that character. And it is the individual’s responsibility to know what they can handle reading and skip things they might find triggering.

Which moves on to my next point, which is that tagging whether a post is positive or critical content is not a requirement. It’s extremely fucking helpful, yes. It’s kind to do it to give people who might come into contact with your post the ability to block that tag and never have to see it if they don’t want to. But it’s not a requirement. People can post what they want. People can view what they want. It is always the responsibility of the reader to judge whether something they come across is harmful to them. You are responsible for your online experience.

That being said, if people do choose not to use more specific tags about the tone of a post, they need to be prepared to have people reacting in all manners of ways about it. Because again. They’re responsible for their online experience. That responsibility does go both ways.

But all of this “can you not tag your critical posts with the character because it sucks to see your fave being talked about negatively” is bullshit. You don’t own that character, you don’t own that tag, tags exist so that people can find posts about that thing, people are allowed to have and discuss different opinions and have them tagged appropriately.

So yeah anyway I’m gonna keep using the Izzy hands tag on my critical stuff, and I’m also going to use the critical tag because I personally think it’s good to give the opportunity for people who don’t want to see negative posts about their faves, but I don’t think it’s a requirement, or that people who don’t are assholes.

And also when you keep changing what the appropriate tag for critical posts is, it’s not the posters fault for you seeing something you don’t want to. It’s a courtesy that posters are using ones that you specifically have asked them to use, so make it more functional for everyone and just pick one.

[trafficbutterfly]

the girl!!! the tall kid!!! Izzy!!! She's so tall but everyone at her school is the same height as her so she doesn't notice it until she sneaks over to sunny's school. She's SUCH a vibe and totally would listen to older versions of taylor swift. She's also big time the type of person to use crystals in general as positive vibes. I just really love her, she's freaking adorable. I like to also think she's the gentle giant of the g5 group (idk about misty, i know very little of her character) but would definitely love to be the mom of the group. idk, i feel like id bake cookies with her and make little funky shaped cookies while at it. She's super offline about social media as well, so total opposite of pipp as well.

[batsarebetterthanpeople]

Hi! I’m sorry if this is dumb but I’m not understanding why the Ed hate is racist? From what I’ve seen it has nothing to do with his race, just his actions? What is racist about it? I’m asking this very genuinely because I want to understand and learn more from this so please don’t take this as being annoying or patronizing or something!

ok so not all Ed hate falls under the racism catagory some people just have genuinely bad taste. The thing that is racist is insisting that he's an abuser. I've explained several times why he's not abusive, as have many many others. But, here's the quick recap: Izzy was abusing him, Ed has a history of lashing out towards his abusers with physical violence and Izzy established that he had been doing this sort of thing to Ed for years so you know, he's going the way of Ed's father and nobody would argue that Ed was abusing his father. Ed wasn't abusive towards the crew. Like he did some shitty things while suicidal. He hurt his friends I'm not saying he didn't. However: 1. This show is full of very very over the top violence and no one is getting up Button's ass about Lucius's finger. 2. It would be an incredibly strange move for a rom com to make one of it's leads a domestic abuser, It's not such a weird move to give a character in a rom com a suicidal arc where they push all their friends away. The first choice would yeild a completely unwatchable show the second is what happened in ofmd. 3. David Jenkins himself has talked about this and he said "What Blackbeard did was by the standards of the pirate world a bit much" I don't know if I even agree with this considering everything we've heard about Hornigold but I certainly agree with the sentiment that Ed did some shitty things but nothing that was significantly more horrific than other characters in the show who nobody treats the way they treat Ed.

So with all of that in mind: Why is it racist to call him an abuser. Like sure, all of this adds up to the abuse truthers being wrong and stupid but what does it have to do with Ed's skin color? This ties into the history that the Maori people share with a lot of indigenous groups who were colonized by europeans. I would encourage you to do more research on your own but I'll point you in the generally right direction. Indigenous men are portrayed as hyper violent in order to justify their subjugation (see head hunters stereotypes or how often people assume indigenous cultures were doing human sacrifice). A lot of the Ed hate exaggerates how violent he is in comparison to other characters. Indigenous men are portrayed as dirty and barbaric and in need of being civilized by a benevolent white savior. A lot of fic and meta positions either Stede or Izzy as needing to save Ed from himself, or as needing to babysit him or teach him to read or bathe, ect. That's why people are so up in arms about the soap eating joke.

And finally the abuse thing. Positioning indigenous men as abusers has been used historically as a shoddy justification for family separation. This stereotype pairs incredibly well with the violent stereotype. So IF Ed was abusing poor defenseless little white Izzy it would actually be a racist decision for the writers to make. Like there's a way to portray characters of color doing abuse, because being nonwhite doesn't make you incapable of doing shitty things, but that would not be it. Thankfully that is catagorically not what's happening, we've been told that the Kraken is an abuse responce, Izzy provokes the Kraken, we've seen Izzy be paralelled with Ed's two other abusers (Hornigold and Ed's dad), we've been shown Izzy controlling the flow of information between Ed and his crew, we've been showing Izzy manipulating Ed, we've been shown him lying to turn the crew against Ed, we've been shown Izzy attempting to murder someone Ed cares about specifically because Ed cares about them, we've seen Izzy threaten Ed's life for acting wrong, we've heard Izzy confess to doing all of that shit FOR YEARS on his death bed (a time which it would completely undercut the emotional impact of the scene if he was lying). So like... people ignoring all of that shit in order to portray Ed as shooting off his leg for no fucking reason and say he's the abuser is very... "You forgot the racism don't worry we'll add it back in for you" and continuing to insist on that and be shitty to people who won't cop to your dumbass shit is actively making the fandom a more racist space.

[lawsofchaos1]

Promptlet: Malec Early Meeting

Izzy and Jace start clubbing early because Shadowhunters consider themselves adults around fourteen when they begin full mission status at the Institute. So, sixteen year old Alec just sighs and brings his Advanced Clave Law seminar work to Pandemonium and sits in the corner of the bar with a thick legal text and his battered spiral notebook for his rough draft essays. He doesn’t care if Jace and Izzy are taking field assignments, they’re still his little siblings and need a chaperone.

Magnus, obviously, starts hearing gossip from his bemused bartenders about the young nephilim downing club sodas with lime while frantically highlighting a battered copy of the Accords and decides he needs to figure out what's going on. Immediately.

So, Magnus ends up chatting with Alec (who, as it turns out, really likes the Shirley Temple Magnus snaps up for him in what was supposed to be a joke) and starts flipping through Alec's latest homework assignment. Magnus blinks, snaps up another Shirley Temple to keep Alec busy, and carefully reads the essay twice over, pulling out his own notebook (bound leather and fountain pen with a gold nib of course) halfway through. Alec found a loophole, a big loophole, that would exempt Downworlders from being questioned without notification to their faction leader. 

Alec is an absolute disaster of a baby gay whenever Magnus so much as says hello or looks in his general direction, but, once he starts arguing the Law? He is vicious and ruthless and sharply concise. (Although Magnus becomes a little bit of a disaster himself when Alec absentmindedly starts chewing on his cherry stem while debating the finer points of interpreting The Clave vs. HOTI-Beijing, 1823.)

Ragnor comes over all the way from England just to see Magnus utterly lose his cool at this now seventeen year old shadowhunter who is literally drinking Shirley Temples and eating his weight in the extra cherries the bartenders slip him because they adore him too. Also, in terms of relationship dynamics? I think it would be kind of fun to explore Alec having a gigantic crush on Magnus (and Magnus just kind of utterly adoring Alec in turn between his obvious looks and, more importantly, his intelligence and his sharp humor and just .. everything) but also realizing that Alec is seventeen.

Alec is much more open (not that he had a snowball's chance in hell of hiding his Gigantic Crush on the High Warlock from anyone in Pandemonium except his siblings), and wages what amounts to pretty much open warfare to get Magnus to date him. He's insistent that Shadowhunters don't mature as slowly as mundanes (which.. fair) and makes bulleted lists and actions plans for every reason Magnus tries to say he deserves better/Magnus is too old/Alec is too young/etc.

And.. just how the Downworlders slide a stray Shirley Temple across the table for advice? Alec starts bringing little vouchers for a certain amount of advice time (or maybe little cupcakes or chocolate chip cookies that he makes for Jace and Izzy or something?) and slides them furtively across the table.

"Where might one take the High Warlock of Brooklyn out on a date?"

And then somehow two days later Magnus ends up in Central Park responding to a call from one of his warlocks and instead Alec is waiting there with a picnic lunch and a blanket and looking very, very smug.

This teenage Shadowhunter is outsmarting him. What even is this?

Also, Can you imagine the first time an old fling of Magnus' portals in to Pandemonium for the evening, expecting a night of fun, and the moment they ask where Magnus is at the bar, every Downworlder in hearing distance is glaring? Suddenly a good dozen wolves and vampires put aside their decades old fights and start running interference to keep this brazen interloper away from where Alec is holding court ranting about the Clave's shoddy grammar and lack of consistent position on Oxford commas (which, how dare) and how that can be used to interpret their latest ruling in three different ways, depending on what side you want to fight on.

(Magnus is sighing and staring dreamily from across the table.)

One day, Camille starts her usual nastiness and trying to get Magnus to come crawling back and Magnus feels .. nothing for her. The only thing Magnus feels is rage that Camille would try to interfere when he's clearly ... dating someone now.

And Magnus blinks wildly internally because holy shit he's dating Alec. WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN MAGNUS DOES NOT KNOW

I do think Magnus would hold off on anything physical until Alec was what Magnus considered of age, so think how fun it would be to explore how the two of them date when their primary love language can't include sex?

Think of all the cuddles and the literal sleeping together and the hand holding and the forehead kisses and, excuse me but did I mention the cuddles? I really want Magnus and Alec cuddling on Magnus' throne at Pandemonium after a hard patrol and Alec falling asleep and all the Downworlders just kind of cooing at their very favorite nephilim.

(I also imagine an impressively oblivious pair of siblings who don't realize their brother isn't just moping in a corner while they dance for literal years.)

When Alec is older maybe Jace and Izzy start trying to subtly tell him it's okay to be gay, he doesn't have to hide it - they'll still love him, and Alec is just .. like .... 'what are you talking about?' as he smugly claims his gorgeous boyfriend.

[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

[td-yuri-takes]

Glad to learn this blog includes appreciation for all the female characters too because i can use it as an excuse to gush about Izzy and how she's like. Perfect for AUs.

Like seriously you could get her to do so many things and it would make sense to me with a "it's for the bit" Justification as long as the thing she's doing is kinda weird.

You could give her a sad backstory, you can make her evil, you can make her be somehow the most stable and instable person in her friendgroups, you can make her pull out secret talents or fun facts out of nowhere and it would make sense to me!

Also like??? Why does no one ever explore Izzy being the Mutant Spider in either ROTI or TDAS? Like come on! She already has a rivalry with Chef in canon this shit writes itself! (This extends to any AUs of contestants working for Chris btw. Shoutouts to Consultant Sierra in the last chapter of Slip Slop, you live in my brain rent free) You could make her interact with the ROTI cast, or the first gen cast in All-Stars, and in general they'd be pretty interesting to see since she'd be working for the guy the majority of them dislike.

Also Izzy is just. Hilarious in canon. Should've been an Aftermath host. Fight me

I love reading positive rants this is so real

[khruschevshoe]

On a third note when it comes to the problems with the writing in this season of ofmd...the handling of disability. Because good God.

To preface this before anyone jumps down my throat about getting upset: I am disabled myself, both physically and mentally. I carry a small laundry list of mild to moderate conditions that impair my daily functions. I understand what it is like to desire to see characters that carry disabilities similar and dissimilar to my own onscreen. I also understand that there ARE multiple disabled characters in OFMD (ex. Jackie with her wooden hand, Ed with his knee brace, Pete with his cleft palate, Lucius with his mentioned bad back/wooden finger). I UNDERSTAND that these were all generally handled decently well, incorporated without drawing attention to them (although the disappearance of Ed's knee brace was strange to me in season 2, even that I could get with bc personally I only need to use my cane when my knee flares bad and can walk perfectly normally the rest of the time without an aid).

Which is all to say: the way that Izzy's death was written is insidiously (likely unconsciously, but still) ableist. His entire arc this season revolves around community and recovering from trauma and accepting himself both in a queer sense and a DISTINCTLY DISABLED sense. The way he remarks upon his own disability and his acceptance of himself and the way that the show is written to have his crew member ACCOMODATE him joyfully as an EXPLICIT SYMBOL OF LOVE was a breath of fresh air when it comes to disabled characters. I also enjoyed the way that he pokes fun at it occasionally in the same way that I do with my coworkers/friends (joking "oh really, you're going to ask an invalid to do that?" *gestures at my cane*).

But that ending. God, that fucking ending. *vehemently taps table* The fact that this character who opens up, who is accepted for both sides of his identity after dragging himself through the fucking pits over them, is killed. BECAUSE HIS MOBILITY AID COULD BE SEEN BY THE ENEMY. BECAUSE HE WAS SEEN AS UNIQUELT VULNERABLE. And then they FUCKING PULL HIS MOBILITY AID, the very symbol of his acceptance, from his FUCKING BODY SO HE CANNOT BE BURIED WHOLE?

I'm sorry. I really am. I don't mean to get furious about this. But as a disabled person who saw such hope in this character, who saw a storyline about a part of myself that is rarely displayed onscreen (that slow acceptance of the part of yourself you considered broken + the acknowledgement of love by your family/community in the form of loving accommodation without complaint), this hurt me at a very primal level that I didn't know I could be hurt at.

I am SO GLAD that fanfic exists with better depictions of disabled arcs/endings bc I don't know if I could recover otherwise. Hope my fellow disabled folk out there are recovering as well, and that they understand that there is positivity to be made out of poison- it just wasn't what the finale gave us.

[cobbbvanth]

to me the really interesting thing about the way ofmd handles piracy as a metaphor for both masculinity and queerness is this. stede sees piracy in general as an escape from heteronormativity, and the way he runs his ship specifically as a way of deconstructing toxic masculinity. both of these things allow the crew to become a safe space for him to express his queerness, surrounded by other queer folks at different stages of their various queer journeys. meanwhile piracy for ed is a space for queerness (anything goes at sea) BUT to him it's also irrevocably represents toxic masculinity, not an escape from it. and this is where their opposing arcs come from in s2, because they're at different points in their journey.

piracy to stede is about the community he's built that allows him to be himself in all his camp effeminate gay glory, but for ed it reminds him of the abuse he now knows he doesn't have to endure anymore. and ed realises this because he met stede. (which makes me so !!!! the effect they've had on each other since day one!!) ed supported stede on his piracy journey, helping stede understand that his worth as a man didn't have to be tied to how effectively he played his role in society. this helps stede put his masculinity/queerness/piracy triangle in balance, seeing his life of piracy as a positive departure from the stifling expectations of masculinity and heteronormativity of his old life.

his time with stede kind of has the opposite impact on ed though, and that's where their conflict comes from. ed thought he had a functioning balance in his masculinity/queerness/piracy triangle - because being a pirate meant he could at least have his queerness, and he'd found a way to keep performing masculinity as 'blackbeard'. but stede helped him see that he didn't need to keep performing, he showed ed that there can be room for softness even in their line of work. stede giving ed the option of a different lifestyle did lead ed, the impulsive king that he is, to attempt to cut out piracy altogether. he reacts this way because he's not quite at the same point in his journey that stede is. stede was able to reach a balance after stepping away from piracy and going back to his family in s1, and we see ed doing the same thing by leaving piracy to be a fisherman in s2.

ed's (brief) time away from piracy shows him that he can't keep neglecting one part of his piracy/queerness/masculinity triangle - he needs to find a balance and acceptance of all three. in the end ed puts his leathers back on for love, and was able to lay 'blackbeard' to rest with izzy, helping him properly understand that piracy can be a positive analogy for queerness AND masculinity. stede and ed step away from piracy at the end of the season anyway, but they both do so with a much better understanding of how piracy gave them freedom to be themselves. i just think the way the show handles all of this is pretty neat