#weve tangoed once before and you are not to be forgotten

[tediousdelusion]

my controversial(ish, maybe, idk) take on steddy hands is that two semi-apparently contradictory things have to happen first and they are both along the stizzy axis: 1) stede and izzy have to each recognize the other as competent. this takes more growth in stede’s part bc... look my dears, my loves, perhaps even my beloveds. as endearing as stede is, he still ends s1 as an incompetent pirate. he’s never taken a single ship and he has spent his entire life in the lap of luxury. (for his fuckery, he lets the danish board their ship. they live, but they don’t take any property - which is the entire fucking point of piracy). the boy needs to face a material hardship. it builds character, much like working customer service.

and 2.) izzy needs to accept some mild hedonism. pleasure for the sake of pleasure is gooooooood. anyone who tells you different is selling something. this is the one that takes growth on izzy’s part - he doesn’t see value in pleasure alone and like, god, my man perhaps i wish i vibed with you less but...

if these don’t both happen, i can enjoy it, but i can’t believe it, if you feel me. stede is a man who is insecure bc he doesn’t think that he deserves what he has... and up to this point this has lowkey been true. and izzy is fixated on being needed to the point where imo being wanted doesn’t occur to him. (ed is a whole ‘nother bag of worms and this post is toooooo Fucking Long)

but in the end, they need all need to both want and need each other. i think need comes first, but want shouldn’t be short to follow. the want has staying power.

also you can’t dom someone while also being a total incompetent i didn’t say that yes i did (guess im drunk enough)