#then i can think about stede and ed and class and see if i wanna look into that whole kettle of fish

[celluloidbroomcloset]

Man, I been writing quite a bit about Izzy Hands and toxic masculinity and his arc with that and here's the thing: the arc DOES NOT WORK if you just pretend he does not have a huge amount of deeply complicated internalized homophobia. His hatred of Stede and Lucius in Season 1 is about their masculine presentation and their not falling into and remaining in the correct categories and he makes that everyone else's problem because he's been warped by a painfully toxic masculine culture. The arc is about showing how horrific that culture is and how it nearly KILLS not just Ed, but the entire crew including Izzy himself, and how being freed from all those assumptions literally saves them. The whole dang thing is poison into positivity, but if you don't accept that the poison exists, that the gangrenous limb has to come off, then positivity isn't going to do shit.

I dunno, man, it makes me mad that such a fantastic and complicated arc has been just ignored or explained away by some folks because they don't want this angry, unhappy white man to be an actual antagonist who finds redemption.

[izzyspussy]

Ok final ask from me tonight: who in the crew would be the funniest for Izzy to fake date? I think angstiest would definitely go to Ed but funniest? Idk ~ blackhannet anon

Ed

Funniest (and angstiest) if Ed has no earthly clue that this is torture for Izzy. Also very funny that his only point of reference is Stede. Ed, in his mind: so which of us is the wealthy landowner and which of us is the bloodthirsty pirate? He puts himself into the Stede role and treats Izzy real chivalrous and gentlemanly and whatnot, but.... very badly kaslfkjls. He doesn't actually know how to do it.

Stede

Stede, in his mind: so which of us is the wealthy landowner and which of us is the bloodthirsty pirate? Can I be the pirate? I wanna be the pirate. I'm going to be the pirate. And Izzy has to figure out how to play along with that or they fail the fucking mission and get killed or whatever.

Jim

The extent of what they do to convince their mark is hold hands, poorly. Like Stede and Mary on their wedding day. ...At First. Izzy has been saying what a terrible idea this is since it was suggested, and as soon as it seems like he was right he's gloating even though it means he's failed. And then it's a challenge to Jim, a way to win and also wipe that smirk off of Izzy's face. They start hitting him really hard in the mouth with their mouth for no god damn reason except that the mark is, like, there.

Oluwande

Olu treats Izzy with chivalry, but like, real genuine working class chivalry. Every time Izzy looks into the middle distance, Jim is there, threatening him with great bodily harm. No one else ever sees them.

Lucius

The plan was not to fake date, but the mark made assumptions and they had to go with it. Lucius has an absolute blast. Izzy's internal rage/sexual tension is pulled so tight it's a miracle he doesn't snap right in half. Lucius is fully aware of this, and the knowledge is 80% of the fun he's having.

Black Pete

Izzy has never been called so many pet names in his life. He's never heard of so many pet names in his life. He attempts to return the favor and sounds like he is trying to speak a language he does not know. The mark falls for the ruse because Pete is very cute despite all obstacles, but they do take Pete aside after their business is done and ask if Izzy has something fundamentally wrong with him.

Frenchie

Somehow this is the most competent combination. Frenchie is adaptable and personable and can manage to fit with Izzy pretty well, even if he wouldn't actually choose to for real. They fall into simple, non-PDA demonstrations of intimacy like walking in sync or anticipating each other's movements. The only fuck up is that Frenchie does accidentally reprise "Jizzy" in front of the mark, and in the name of their cover Izzy has to answer to it.

Buttons

Izzy thinks this is the least objectionable combination. Buttons doesn't like him, but he's a competent sailor and he hasn't yet caused Izzy any real trouble. Of course, throughout the grift, Izzy is confronted with all the ways Buttons is an absolutely bonkers person who cannot be handled, understood, or even described. Buttons has an alright time, though. He tells the crew after it's done that Izzy is "a fine lad" but not his type. Izzy has no comment, as he has not yet recovered from his experiences.

Roach

Roach seems to genuinely think he Needs to know about Izzy's kinks and fetishes to make them believable as a couple. He tells Izzy his without shame or prompting. Izzy cancels the mission.

Wee John

Wee John insists he has to be a woman for this. He's fully aware that couples do not solely consist of one man and one woman. But he insists he has to be a woman for this.

The Swede

The Swede, out loud: so which of us is the wealthy landowner and which of us is the bloodthirsty pirate?

[rachelillustrates]

So I'm rewatching "The Best Revenge is Dressing Well" (surprise! Said no one) and one thing I've noticed that first struck me kinda weird, but I wanna talk through, is the slight level of competition/personal jealousy between our co-captains before the party goes to shit and they come together at the end.

(Image from The Verge.)

We go into the episode from Ed's perspective, mostly - this is the first time we get any solid, personally emotional backstory on him, focused specifically around racism and class difference (done SO WELL, as has already been mentioned) so we know he's already hyperfocused on "winning" this situation, getting the approval of who he was taught by his mother to be his "betters," even though he knows - logically, as an adult, as we saw in what he said to the captain they took down - that that's not necessarily true, it just still feels like it is, to him. So, he's very invested in impressing them, already.

Stede - who doesn't even want to be there - should, theoretically, not care so much about that approval himself - but as we see, he starts acting a little jealous when Ed takes attention away from him, which makes the partygoers a) ignore him or b) antagonize him outright whenever he tries to get a word in. From there, he scoffs - at first - at Ed's continued attempts to impress them (the piano playing, the minor shenanigans) and then removes himself from the situation entirely - looking for Frenchie and Olu, and then taking refuge in the quiet on deck.

I think its important to note that in the opening of the episode, as he and his crew are supposed to be learning from Ed's crew in the raid, he's not exactly on the most confident of footing - he identifies several bad habits, as he points out, one of which we see Ed correct (the swap-looting) as well as needing Ed's help with interrogation tactics (as much as Ed's behavior there interested him in.... other ways). So to him, being among the gentry again, I think he expects to be at least on equal or equalish footing with them, and to hopefully impress Ed in the process since these are "his people."

But the point is - they're not. They abandon him for Ed the moment Ed proves more interesting, insulting him, even - which Ed plays into, out of his own desire to be approved of - which is probably very triggering for Stede, because of his history of being bullied. AND because of wanting to be accepted, himself, and once again failing to reach that. And what's more comfortable than feeling powerless in the face of all that, as always? A little jealousy, especially since - with their approval on (what seems, at first to be) his own terms - Ed doesn't "need" Stede's guidance here after all. That, of course, enmeshed with genuine concern that these people will drop Ed, like they dropped him, which we do see him express - only to be ignored, again. So not only is he not popular with them, but his expertise of what happens with these types of people after they tire of you is discarded, as well. Leaving Stede in a very powerless situation, once again.

I think its also interesting to note, that considering that Stede's trying to win in Ed's world (piracy) and Ed's trying to win in Stede's (aristocracy) - especially with the excuse of the "plan" to take Stede's place - the idea of competition is already subconsciously there, in a sense. On top of the fact that in friendships of the same (perceived) gender, competition can often be encouraged by society at large, too - which pops up a LOT in the kind of "buddy comedy" stories that more mainstream folks seem to have assumed this story was, at first.

So I think the writers were trying to address all that and nip it in the bud.

Because, of course, that all goes to hell - Ed makes a mistake with the spoons, and they turn on him too, which sends him right back to Stede. At first, with intentions to take care of the situation himself, violently. But here Stede steps up for real - facing the situation for what it is, jealousy and fears of inadequacy be damned - and showing up for the person he was supposed to be there for in the first place. That, as always, is where his true power is found - being true to himself, AND to the people in his care. Even telling Ed to stand down, and let him handle it. Ed may not be capable of meeting them where they're at, when it turns verbally-cruel (except to turn deserved physical violence on them), but Stede can. And does, with the use of Frenchie and Abshir's knowledge - hysterically, taking them all down - getting them to take themselves down - in a manner that ends in violence after all (which they, again, technically visit upon themselves - just like the demise of both Badmintons).

And that - having to step up and be there for Ed and let go of the idea of giving any fucks about what these folk expect of him, approve of, etc. - gets them back on track (and is kind of great foreshadowing for what happens in the last episode, and what will come next, I hope I hope). There is no note of individual jealousy or competition, really, at all between them from then on - even the banter during the swordfighting lessons is charged with just flirting and affection, no any real sense of trying to win one over the other, and the jealousy over Calico Jack's appearance later is about that relationship, not about Ed being better than Stede or vice versa. Any trace of that is done with - they've moved past it.

Leaving wide, open space for Stede to catch Ed at his softest, most vulnerable so far, looking at the red silk again after the party's rejection. And to offer him praise - calling him sophisticated after all, and meaning it, because what he's seen of Ed so far - already - is truer than any of the bullshit pandering and passive aggression the upper crust displayed to either of them.

Sophisticated means: "having, revealing, or proceeding from a great deal of worldly experience and knowledge of fashion and culture."

So what Ed's shown him, both in his own experience as a pirate and his own willingness to learn about new things and deal with people who - Stede knows - are less than both of them after all, THAT fits the word much better than any idea of high society.

🍊💕