#Izzy has grown and changed

[creaturetongue]

wheres my run me through parallel where izzy is standing in the hallway happily jerking off to their sex sounds this time??

[castieldelamancha]

the way izzy says "they love you ed", making that emphasis on the you, they love who ed is, simply ed, nothing else, not the legend just ed, because he is enough

[kamechan98]

i actually love that stede refused to give izzy the time of day. fandom can have their izzy redemption but its really important that at least at this point, stedes inherent kindness does not extend to someone who tried over and over again to completely ruin his life. stede doesnt owe someone who went above and beyond bullying (turning him in to the AUTHORITIES) anything at all actually, especially when it was to get in the way of not just his happiness but also to try to control ed

[rockscanfly]

something something “you know me better than anyone has ever known me” something something “I loved you. best I could”, something something Familiarity breeds contempt, relationships as self-context, someone who knows your past may be in the worst spot to understand your potential for change, emotional inertia, cycles of abuse, so on—

A lot of people think Izzy is fooling himself with that line. And sure, Izzy Hands didn’t know that Ed killed his own dad. But Izzy knew Ed wasn’t actually fine, after Stede left. He wasn’t getting *better* with the depression robe and the singing. He was just running, again. From himself, his actions, his emotions. Again. And Izzy has lived through *decades* of Ed pulling that kind of shit, of deflections and obfuscation. He miscalculated, yeah. But Ed wasn’t going to get better if Izzy had just kept his mouth shut. Something was going to set him off, sooner or later. Because Ed still hasn’t grown from the guy who sets people on fire and has them skinned with oyster forks then slumps through weeks long depression cycles.

Nothing about Ed and Stede’s first relationship actually forced Ed into confronting his own self-compartmentalization (and boy can a bitch compartmentalize. The Kraken, Izzy being the one to kill him in the dream, Hornigold, who he was with Jack, Jeff the accountant, just Ed—babygirl at some point you are going to have to decide who you are if you ever stand a chance of getting what you want). They were going to run away to China because it meant NEITHER of them had to deal with being the people who have done what they’ve done. If Stede and Ed had made it off that island together then they wouldn’t have grown.

On the flip side, Izzy was never going to be able to save Ed from himself because their relationship was static before meeting Stede. They’ve been together for so long that nothing Izzy says *counts* as new input (the first genuinely surprising thing Izzy ever does in-show is surviving killing himself). Iz is an extension of Ed, which is why he’s subject to torture and derision and punishment in a way no one else was. Ed fucking HATES himself. Izzy is a part of him.

So, yeah. Ed loved Izzy the BEST that he could love himself—poorly, mercilessly, as willing to hack off parts of Izzy’s body as he was entire facets of his own personality and history. So Izzy was never going to pull Ed out of the suicidal pit he’s been in for years. Knowledge, knowing someone, that doesn’t mean insight. Izzy’s so close to Ed that their perspective is practically a perfect overlay. There’s no new angles, no way to see where the light could shine through.

That’s why Ed needed Stede. The complete and total lack of context allowed Stede to take Ed as he was, to question him and force Ed to ask questions of himself that Izzy simply was not capable of. Ed is a social chameleon—he changes himself constantly to fit the image he thinks other people have of him. Stede refuses to provide the Blackbeard scaffold. There’s no context to cling to, no familiar script to follow. Stede has his own narratives and pre-conceived notions, but they’re NEW.

Context, perspective—you need both to get a whole image of a person. Maybe Stede and Izzy working together this season will finally be enough to help Ed see himself in a light that allows him to love what he sees in the mirror.

[mottlemoth]

Re: "But don't you find it beautiful and meaningful that Izzy got to experience happiness before he died? He ended his life surrounded by love and that was great for him."

You folks are sailing right past our one main issue here. Namely, why did he have to die at all?

It's a comedy show - a comedy show where not-really-deaths outnumber actual deaths by ten to one - why did Izzy have to die? Some of you are talking as if he died the way that people in real life die, like it's one of those things you just can't change. But this wasn't like that. This was a constructed narrative where a decision was made that not only should he be dead at the end of the series, but that it should be confirmed beyond all doubt with OFMD's only grave. Even the Badmintons weren't shown in their graves.

So why did Izzy have to die?

And why do so many of you find it fitting and appropriate that he died? This is a good opportunity to sit down with yourself and maybe examine your own thoughts around ageing and disability. Con O'Neill is in his 50s, not his 90s, and a missing limb is not some kind of down payment on death. The show even went out of its way to fit him with a new leg, breathe new life into him. So "he had to die because he was basically halfway out of the door" is rooted in some nasty ideas about ageing and disability, ideas which you should not allow to fester in yourself. Dig those out. If you're healthy and young, this might seem like a very remote issue to you. It won't always be.

David Jenkins has indicated in interviews that Izzy had to die because (1) he was Ed's 'mentor', a frankly baffling assertion which is contrary to nearly everything established about Ed and Izzy's relationship in the show, and (2) "it's a pirate show."

Okay! It's a pirate show. Seems fair at first.

Until you remember it's also a comedy show where guys turn into birds and people routinely survive explosions and gun shots and being stabbed through the liver on a regular basis. Throughout the narrative, OFMD has established and confirmed over and over and over again that it upholds the comedic law that death is never really death. You can relax seeing Roach fall from the rigging because it's a comedy show - they're not going to do that to you.

But then they did.

They reversed that fundamental law within the world just so that Izzy could die - and so that Izzy could just die. Nothing came of his death. It didn't open up a new section of plotline or change anything. The show could have ended with Izzy off on adventures with the crew he'd grown to love.

Instead he just died. And we're struggling to understand why.

Telling us that he got to be happy before he died doesn't make any sense. If it was all so beautiful and meaningful to see him experience temporary happiness, wouldn't it have been nice to see him happy ever after?

So why did the writers give him death instead?

We're scared that it's 2023 and some folks still think it's just fitting for visibly queer characters to be tantalised with happiness then struck down. We're scared that at the bottom of this, it makes sense to you that Izzy died because you think he was old and broken and no use to anyone now. We're scared to have discovered that even the show which said kindness, kindness, kindness right from the start had none for this character we loved, and we're scared that you find it so beautiful.

[amuseoffyre]

"A weak-hearted, soft-handed, lily-livered little rich boy"

The framing and angle on Stede in this shot from 2x07 absolutely reminded me of this scene with his father from 1x01.

It's also the only occasion I can think of where the camera work makes Izzy look taller than Stede. In almost every other scene they're in together, Stede's presence looms over Izzy, but here? Now? When Stede is at his most vulnerable? Izzy towers over him.

As far as Stede knows, he's done everything right according to his father's cruel and narrow view of the world, but it's driven away the man he loves and now, he's trying to convince himself that he has surrounded himself with "real" friends, who "like me for me".

To add insult to injury, he thought he had elevated himself in the pirate community, but then Izzy - an older man - steps into the space and dismisses the people around him with barely a word. Stede's authority, acceptance and sense of control is sliced out from under him.

"You like me for me" counts for nothing. He is nothing. Everything can be taken away from him so easily. He looks small and lost and child-like, looking up at Izzy and immediately expecting the same kind of derision and cruelty he has received in the past in the form of a victory lap. He even tries to get ahead of it, lashing out with passive aggression before Izzy can hurt him.

In S1, Izzy would absolutely have taken pleasure in it, but this is the Izzy who has been through the meatgrinder of the Kraken. He has faced the worst, lost parts of himself and found parts of himself he didn't even know existed. He's been the one left behind and he's grown and changed.

Instead of taking an easy shot, he is frank and honest about what he sees in them. It's a kindness and a reassurance when Stede is bristling and brittle and chafing to lash out. He reminds Stede it's not all about him - "[Ed]'s a complicated man". Izzy comforts him, in his way, and this is coming from the man who does have the authority, respect and credibility in the world of pirates.

As the scene continues, Izzy brings himself to Stede's level, sitting next to him, reframing them as equals, which is a lovely touch. They're not overpowering each other anymore. They're not jostling for authority. They're side-by-side.

The difference between the way Stede's father treated him as a child and the way Izzy is now treating him as a man is so beautiful to me. Izzy is from the most brutal and violent of worlds, but is showing compassion, while Stede's father was part of the so-called "civilised" world and only ever chose cruelty.

It's a quiet and subtle way to show Stede that his father's ideals aren't the only way.

[sugarlywhispers]

b.katsuki x reader ; m.izuku x reader — bakugou cheats on his gf, with midoriya's girlfriend.

☆– warnings; ANGST. swear words, cheating.

☆– i got inspired to write this angst while i was watching Grey's Anatomy, SPOILER ALERT, the episode where Alex leaves Jo and goes back with Izzy.

☆– okay, so, in this blog, we support old, grown up, calmed down mineta. i read a fanfic once (i can't remember the name! ill try to find it🙈) where mineta had cooled down his thirst for women and became a great friend (still with the double meaning of things, but funny actually), and i thought "okay, if we accept redeemed bakugou, we can accept redeemed mineta". in fanfiction, cuz he's still a stupid, hormonal kid in the manga/anime. so expect more cool mineta bestie here, cuz i like and enjoy double meaning humor. if it's not your cup of tea, you're welcome not to read this🤍

It takes a second, a breath, the entrance of air on your lungs to realize. To assimilate what happened, what it means.

"I brought a bottle of wine, some snacks and ice cream… Nothing heals the heart better than ice cream, talking about personal experience here," his voice says, but you're barely paying attention. You even saw him come into your apartment like it's his own, like he has done it thousands of times. But you don't leave your standing position by the door.

You saw the silhouette of Mineta, tall and broad shoulders through the peephole of the entrance door, and for a second you thought it was him. Even though they look nothing alike. But you thought… you wished it was him.

Bakugou Katsuki.

Reality hurts. 

Reality… is a bitch.

It takes a second to blink, to watch how everything changes, how everything falls apart in the simple action of closing and opening one's eyes.

You never thought it would happen to you. You thought he was it for you. You thought Bakugou Katsuki was going to be the one true love of your life. You trusted him. You gave him years of your life. Years where you thought he was the most amazing thing that ever happened to you. Years where you gave up dreams to help and support him in his dreams. And how does he thank you? Cheating. Choosing somebody else over you. Choosing her over you.

"I also heard hooking up with someone else also helps," Mineta jokes, snorting at his own ridiculous words. You know he is joking, he is your best friend and he has always joked this way. You know it. But… the heaviness in your chest doesn't know it. The pain in your heart doesn't know it.

"I'm not offering though… Don't take it personal, love. I love you and you're one the hottest hotties around here, but you're not exactly my type." He chuckles, taking the things he brought on bags over the counter of your kitchen.

You can see him from your position because it's not that far away, your apartment isn't big. When you and Bakugou went apartment hunting two months ago, you didn't want anything big and ostentatious. You simply wanted a home, whether that be a one room apartment.

It had been a home... Or so you thought.

Now, this apartment feels like a prison. A cell where it doesn't hold enough oxygen to breathe. Where every single corner reminds you of him. Where every single item and thing picked to decorate or to use, spoke about him. Him and you.

And there wasn't a "him and you" anymore.

Everything was a reminder of what him and you were.

There fucking isn't a "him and you" anymore.

"He left me," you breathe out, hand trembling over the doorknob.

Mineta turns around then. He sees you, shaking by the closed door at the entrance of your apartment. Hand holding the doorknob with strength, like your whole body depends on that contact to not fall apart. But your face… He has never seen you like this.

It's blank. And it's full of sentiment, emotions that hurt to actually see. Dark circles under your eyes. The skin of your face is pale, almost like a sick person; and that worries him. You're barely holding everything inside.

You are barely looking like your usual self.

Your breathing starts to agitate when you let go of the doorknob and turn your body a bit towards his direction. Then, your eyes find his.

"He… He just left me… And I–... I can't… I can't breathe," you finally cry.

You haven't cried since he confessed he had cheated on you with his ex-girlfriend, Uraraka Ochako. And that he has been doing it for three months. You did cry in that moment, but you haven't done it again. Not even when you broke the news to Mineta two days after–if you could describe your best friend's reaction, it would be murderous. It had been the first time you had seen Mineta Minoru that furious–. And you haven't even cried when you told Midoriya Izuku about what his actual girlfriend had been doing with your now ex-boyfriend. You remembered watching clearly the slow break of the number one Pro Hero's heart right through his eyes.

You haven't cried again until now. 

Why? Because today, you woke up to a message that said: "I'll pick up my stuff and leave the key at the apartment. I'll go in the morning when you're at work so I don't bother you." When you came back from work at 5pm today, Bakugou Katsuki had done as he promised. His clothes were no longer there, just more space for you to hang and organize your clothes. His computer set-up was no longer there, just an empty desk that you could use as your little home office. His shoes were no longer by the door, just empty space that you didn't know how to fill up.

The apartment is small, but it feels huge now that his things are no longer there.

You immediately texted Mineta: "S.O.S.", and it didn't take even an hour for him to appear with all this stuff he bought to make you feel better.

As you finally broke down on your knees, sobbing uncontrollably like you couldn't bring enough air to your lungs, Mineta knew any silly thing he could bring would be able to help you heal.

Because the only one able to heal this pain inside you… is yourself. 

But you're broken now. And Mineta's heart breaks with yours.

As he kneels beside you and holds you in his arms, he prays his friendship is enough to help you put yourself back together. And if not, Mineta prays to whatever exists up there that they send someone that can help you heal your heart with the devotion you deserve.

As you cry in your best friend's chest, you don't hear the little sound of a new notification on your phone. It's a message, that says:

"Hi, Y/N. It's Midoriya… I was just thinking that… only if you want to, if not it's okay… we could go grab a coffee together sometime. Just if you feel like it. Just… let me know if you want."

[forpiratereasons]

okayyy things i loved about ofmd s2 today's edition is!! FRENCHIE. what a guy. first off, joel fry, i'm free on thursdays. second, love that he gets promoted to first mate, tries to decline, & IMMEDIATELY disobeys his mad new boss to try and help izzy. he reaches out to izzy a lot tbh and of course frenchie and jim together are the litmus test for how we're meant to feel about izzy.

but frenchie is affectionate with izzy! holds izzy's hand in e1 while fang hugs him, leans against his leg in e3 while they're in zheng's jail, goes back for him in e8 when ed is carrying him forward. i think he grows up a bit esp in the first few episodes & helps his crew at the end (go frenchie!), setting him up to the captaincy at the end.

now that i look back over the series with an eye on frenchie i think they do lay a groundwork for his captaincy - not only does he become ed's first mate but he also has a functioning coping mechanism (a lot has been made of the compartmentalization as frenchie not handling shit but compartmentalization is a legit mechanism and i think once the crew is all back together frenchie gets his shit together pretty fast so u know just bc we don't see frenchie having appropriate outlets doesn't mean he doesn't have any) that would allow frenchie to take a step back and make decisions without necessarily reacting from fear. this is what enables him to fend for izzy!! he can put aside the fear of ed and ask himself, what is the right thing to do? take care of the crew.

other things that slid past me in the first few watches but which i think were more significant than i realized:

in ep 3, when the revenge and the red flag meet, the crew looks to frenchie to answer stede's questions about ed.

auntie talks frenchie (authority) and fang (soft, cultural connection - this is a deft bit of manipulation that totally works btw) aboard the revenge.

frenchie delivers the verdict against ed exiling him from the ship in ep 4 - it can't come from stede, because stede is compromised where ed is concerned, and so instead frenchie is their spokesperson.

we get one final clue as to frenchie's authority and respect among the crew in the post-ep scene of ep 8, where frenchie slips out of the jail - yeah, it's partially because he's thin enough to fit through the bars, but other folks who could fit refuse. he gets the courage up and does it, and it works! he frees the crew!

so you know, i guess i didn't instantly clock frenchie as captain in the final shots of the revenge, but it also didn't ping me as weird that he was giving orders. he's grown a lot over this series. notably, oluwande doesn't take on this sort of active role this series - his arc is a little different with zheng and jim now, his priorities are changing, and he doesn't want to captain the revenge, he wants to follow zheng. just because olu would have been the obvious choice in s1e10 doesn't mean things can't change! olu didn't want to be captain then, he doesn't want to be captain now. that's okay!! the crew have found another leader amongst themselves!!

i'm really excited to see what kind of funky cool badass jacket-wearing captain he'll make in s3!!!

go frenchie!!

[remember-digimon]

Good ol' reliable Joe!

When I first watched Digimon back in the 2000s, Joe was the character I related to the least. Now, as a big grown up in my late 30s, I finally understand what Joe is all about.

At first glance, Joe is anxiety incarnate. In the dub, he gets the 'nerd' trope that Izzy avoided for the most part. Joe is always allergic to things, worried about the slightest danger, and constantly trying to be the voice of reason. His 'voice of reason' however is more 'voice of general complaints and worry.'

If I recall correctly, in the original Japanese, Joe is like this because he's the oldest, at 12 years old. He feels it's his responsibility to make sure everyone is safe since he's the upperclassmen in this situation. In the dub, he's just a worrywort.

Joe takes on responsibility that he could easily delegate to other kids. In the episode where Gomamon evolves into Ikkakumon, Joe tries to break up an argument between Tai and Matt about climbing a mountain, only managing to get drawn into the argument himself. Later, he decides that he should climb up the mountain on his own as a compromise. He doesn't even bring Gomamon with him; Gomamon tags along anyway, of course, but initially Joe intended to go by himself.

He shows initiative, that's for sure. At least when the pressure is on. Others have noted that Tai, Sora, and Joe are the action-takers while Matt and Izzy act more defensively with Mimi, Tk, and later, Kari in mind. I like this thought, especially for Joe. He is often stumbling into danger out of his need to be the 'adult' of the group, feeling responsible for everyone's safety.

One thing we should discuss is his crest. I want to go more in depth on the crests on a different post, but here I think we need to talk about Joe's crest being changed for the dub. Originally it was the crest of faith.

Honestly, I do think reliability fits Joe a lot better. It is awkward for that to be a trait of a child (Remember, their crests were developed back during the original Digimon Adventure OVA, when Greymon fights Parrotmon). But I do think he exemplifies being reliable, because it's the right thing to do.

Conversely, Joe doesn't really expect others to help him. He wants to be relied on, but doesn't want to rely on others. He saves TK from drowning in the bay without thinking of his own safety.

Joe is also the studious member of the group. At one point, while they're temporarily back in Odaiba, Joe takes a practice test and fails it. This causes him a lot of anxiety. It feeds into the situation at home, which is another point I'll get into shortly.

In Our War Game, Joe is unreachable because he's taking an entrance exam. He's in a panic the whole time, showing how important it is that he does well. No doubt he's one of those cram school kids.

As for his family, we do meet his older brother Jim, but not his parents. In fact, Joe's parents are the only ones we don't meet out of the original 8. We do hear a lot about his dad, though, who has high expectations of his sons. Mr Kido wants both of his sons to be doctors like him, and on his terms, too. Jim says he wants to go to less developed countries to practice medicine, and that their father doesn't approve.

Jim also doesn't seem to have much faith in Joe becoming a doctor due to his high anxiety, and the fact that he faints at the sight of blood. Joe seems apprehensive about it himself, even though he does eventually go into med school and become a doctor.

To me, Joe's story is one of perseverance. When he's working off his debt in the diner, he fully expects to work there until it's paid off and is genuinely surprised that Matt would offer to help. When his test scores fall, he resolves to work harder. Even though he doesn't like the idea much at first he does eventually become a doctor. I can see how the original script would give him the crest of faith with all that in mind, but I still think reliability fits him better. He doesn't just have faith that things will work out, he's proactive in making sure they work out. Even if he's a little clumsy about it.

[ladyluscinia]

"What if it weren't like that?"

...or I'd like to propose a different theory of what's going on in Edward's head.

Going into the S2 finale, I feel like there's once again a huge consensus that Edward and piracy are an unsustainable mix, and he has to quit. Specifically after 2x07 he knows for sure, 100% that he wants to quit, and he's pulling away from Stede because he doesn't know how to communicate that certainty to him.

There's a very established meta framework backing up this belief. It's not new, just everyone pointing and saying "look! - the show is affirming us" at the same time. And it does make a lot of points about foundational trauma, the violence of the lifestyle, etc. I don't need to break it down for you. If you're seeing this post then you've seen the arguments before.

The thing is... I'm not actually sold on this read.

Edward is a complicated guy and I love to try and peel back his layers, and I'm not sure that retirement is truly his endgame. And maybe more importantly... I'm not sure retirement endgame is quite the thematic crescendo it's being presented as.

So let's talk a bit about Edward, particularly in 2x06 and 2x07.

---

Edward's Ongoing Depression Spiral

The thing about backsliding - and the Kraken was a pretty monumental backslide - is that even if you gain a lot of ground afterward, you still might not be much further than where you started.

Edward believing change is possible with Button's 2x04 guidance + his & Stede's conversation about taking it slow at the end of 2x05 are both huge steps for a guy that was openly suicidal at the beginning of the season. However, in the grand scheme of things, he's pretty much cycled back to the dilemma he was facing in S1 - continuing life as it was is intolerable, but he doesn't actually have a solid idea of what he wants. "Stede" is not a real, actionable answer.

In S1, this caused him to run recklessly into extremes of vulnerability with Stede because Stede was doing something different. He tried to metaphorically cut loose his entire history - as a pirate, as Blackbeard, as Edward Teach - and become a new "Ed" with no baggage, who was free to live an endless vacation honeymoon with his new boyfriend. And when the consequences of their own actions came crashing back in - an abandoned Izzy, Spanish Jackie, and Chauncey Badminton - Edward's desperate actions to save Stede turned into over-commitment to a guy he barely knows, a reckless plan to run halfway around the world to escape himself, and then a truly disastrous downturn when that blew up in his face.

Wherever you go, there you are - except Edward hates that guy. Edward's only concrete want so far for the new direction of his life is the one thing that's impossible - to not be Edward Teach.

So now, back to contemplating the same unknown future he was trying to chase in S1, the Kraken Era has given Edward new perspective, for better and worse. (I'm gonna link my rambling BlackHands / Kraken Era thoughts from 2x01 - 2x03 just because.) He's learned caution and is dipping his toes in self-reflection - Stede's love alone is not enough to save him, and his self-loathing has been acknowledged. Reckless pursuit of change without growth was doomed - an important lesson both Stede and Edward have started to learn.

Unfortunately, growth requires looking backwards, and if Edward was already disinclined to that due to killing his dad, he's struggling so much worse now that he's got months of fresh atrocities that he absolutely did not need to commit.

---

Drowning in Guilt

Edward's core trauma that he flashes to constantly goes back to killing his dad that night - something notably not associated with piracy. That guilt is the root of his self-loathing, but Edward is a rather troubled grown man with guilt aplenty, especially after the first two episodes of S2.

In 2x05 Edward starts with a CEO scripted non-apology firmly recategorizing all of his Kraken actions as "whatever that nasty dark stuff was that brought us here... it's in the past", and then his discussion with Stede does not involve too much reflection on why this probation is necessary and drops this gem:

"Oh fuck no. Apologizing? Nah. Didn't apologize for jack shit."

However - demonstrating self awareness / growth - he's also clearly projecting guilt and a desire (that's almost too big to look at) to apologize to Izzy for everything, and then he honestly talks with Fang (who he's known for 20 years!) about how he can not be understandably mad at him, after Fang pushes back on Edward's toxic rewriting of Knife Parade. He even learns to sit with himself!

All of which makes the start of 2x06 so layered.

We open with Edward sitting with himself, looking out over the ocean and stewing in guilt - in order: his dad, the storm, Izzy's toe, shooting Izzy, driving the crew to mutiny - and then the conversation that Edward was haunted by all last episode comes to him. He's back in his leathers - playacting the penitent with the onesie and cat bell got old after a day, and he had never truly linked his probation rules with any of his earnest feelings of remorse. Just a necessary performance to appease the crew.

Now he's himself again, as uncomfortable in his own skin as ever, and Edward Teach apologizes for Izzy's leg. He isn't being demanded to apologize by Izzy (no matter how much he may deserve it). Izzy is fully prepared to pretend it never happened despite the evidence of his body. But Edward wants to - needs to for the babiest step toward his own peace of mind - and so he does.

And then he flees from one guilt and accidentally stumbles into another. Stede has so helpfully pulled all Edward's Kraken treasure into one place, and Edward lampshades it:

"Excellent. A reminder of all my guilt. A guilt room."

Now, Stede has a decent idea here. His "poison into positivity" bit is not bad (and it echoes the language Izzy and Edward used - though I think it's a tossup whether Stede heard about that or if the parallel is purely on a Doylist level). It definitely lifts Edward's mood for the day and pulls him out of his guilt spiral for a bit.

Until it comes back so much worse.

Ned Low. Oh fuck the implications of Ned Low.

So here's the thing. People have rightly observed that Edward broke Ned's record intentionally during Kraken Era. In fact, since he makes the comment about "We got a record to break" after the wedding boat aka the last ship he takes, and Ned isn't coming after him for a tie, presumably he set the new record and then proceeded to break it over and over again. Just to rub it in. Just to really piss the sadist off.

And if Edward's attempt to take the whole ship and crew down with a storm at his lowest point was bad, what he was courting by baiting Ned before the season even started was worse. This is a man who would have tortured everyone on the breakup boat to death when he caught up to them, and Edward was passively planning on letting him do it.

Edward knows this.

Poison into positivity just became "oh shit I forgot I'm the most poisonous thing any of these people have ever run into," and he's just getting started. It's hard to shove it down and brush it off and pretend it was no big deal when Stede starts getting the hot poker to the chest.

He doesn't want to kill Ned because he's not worth the poison, but the poison is already here.

When Stede kills Ned, Edward has already spiraled. He's already got a whole narrative in his head about how this is all his fault, how this is his poison, his guilt, his Kraken surfacing to ruin Stede too.

"I'm not a good person, Stede. That's why I don't have any friends," Edward chokes out.

"It all boils down to this - You're afraid you're unlovable," snarls Hornigold's ghost in the gravy basket.

"I hate myself," Edward realizes.

"Don't do it, Stede. Killing in cold blood" - like I did - "you can't come back from that" - like I haven't.

Edward's guilt is projecting all over this scene. He's made some baby steps toward seeing Stede as a flawed person vs mythical mermaid whose love can save him, but the idealization is still coloring both their views. Stede still hasn't told Edward about any of his childhood traumas or deep seated insecurities, and Edward has continuously avoided putting together that Stede is fucked up as well. He's convinced himself that killing Ned Low is a great tragedy that will permanently scar Stede's previously unblemished goodness in a way that is all Edward's fault, and he's sticking to it despite how completely it does not apply.

Reality has never been much good at breaking through his self-loathing before.

Izzy tries to warn him to give Stede a minute, but Edward doesn't listen. And while there's a good amount of concerned boyfriend in that act, I also suspect there's more than a little self-harm. Edward's spiraling about what he's wrought. He shows up at Stede's door already paralleling this to killing his dad. Of course he wants to be in the blast radius.

Apparently, having sex about it.

---

"Bye-Bye" Blackbeard, See You Again Soon

Last season, when Edward's ignoring his past went poorly, he tried to metaphorically bundle Blackbeard and all his traumas up and cast them into the sea. He was "Edward Teach Born-on-a-Beach," and then "No-Beard" who found folding stuff in prison fun, and then he's kissing Stede and getting excited about picking new, cool names for China, because:

"Our old lives would be gone. Dead. Never were."

Edward, babygirl, that is not how that works.

Now, he's actively backsliding down a guilt spiral, just had ill-advised sex a day after the "take it slow" talk that he's already regretting, and he gets up in the morning, pulls on another goddamn robe, and goes to literally bundle Blackbeard up and cast him into the sea.

Babe you already tried this.

I don't think it's a coincidence that disposing of his leathers signals Edward is back to reckless change instead of intentional change. He tries to make breakfast in bed despite never having ever made breakfast before and explains his twine as a panicked decision. The idealization of Stede is back in force - he chooses now to tell him about the mermaid vision - "fantastic," he describes him - and thanks him for saving his life. (Once again, in times of trouble, Edward is the one offering up rosy imaginations for their relationship that swallow him whole and Stede is shoving his recent childhood trauma flashbacks down to be Normal™.)

In the Republic, Edward does avoid becoming straight up jealous of all Stede's positive infamy, but he's also doing his hardcore all or nothing thing again - this time running away from himself toward a grubby, poor, "nobody" version of Ed (or do we think he's gonna try "Jeff" again?). Jackie calls his attention to how his new life direction (as of 6 hours ago) is not necessarily aligned with Stede's, and - rather than doing something as crazy as talking - he mutters "shit" and heads to the docks where Izzy finds him.

For a guy who felt "Fucking great" throwing away his leathers, Edward sounds kind of sarcastic, even if I'm sure he's feeling just as light as he was on that Naval Academy beach. But Izzy - going through his own shit but still trying to be supportive - opened this conversation with a joke about Stede and I suspect thinks they are talking about putting the "Edward retiring to be with Stede" plan back on the table. (Edward could clear this up, but he's still not communicating his emotions to Izzy.) So Izzy encourages him:

"Maybe you should listen to it."

Edward's face falls, he looks back down at the fishing boat, and apparently gets himself a new job. He just needs to go dump his boyfriend about it. They're simply incompatible, you see?

Edward's a fisherman now. He's gonna sit with himself until he finds a better guy in there, just like Fang taught him. (Don't blame Fang for this 😆 he just wanted Edward to stop talking!)

Now there's a lot going on in the breakup scene, but I want to talk about one statement Edward makes (keeping in mind he's already spiraled all the way into his new fisherman identity):

"I don't even know who I am! Alright, I know I don't want to be a pirate, but you..."

Because, see - I don't think the second part of that is necessarily true.

It's not that Edward doesn't want to be "a pirate". That's what he's using as shorthand (and a way to strongly delineate his new career from Stede: "Fishermen and pirates - they're nothing alike.").

What he's not saying is, once again, I know I don't want to be Edward Teach.

And, babygirl, I love you... but too fucking bad.

---

Better Piracy as a Theme

There's a lot of meta around about how Edward views piracy as a kind of enforced toxic masculinity. How his traumas are woven so thoroughly into his Blackbeard career that the thought of continuing as a pirate is killing him. He has to retire. It's the only way he'll truly be happy as "just Edward."

And I question that framing.

Like... Edward clearly has trauma tied up in piracy. His time on Hornigold's ship appears to have defined his (and Calico's Jack's) fairly fucked up approach to casual violence. His time as Blackbeard has enabled his poor impulses, and he is absolutely sick of piracy as he's experienced it the first time we meet him. That's not in question.

But while leaving is one solution, I think change is another.

In the OFMD universe, piracy is not a stand-in for toxic masculinity. Stede, an outsider, describes it as a "culture of abuse" in the first episode, but it's the culture of piracy where we see openly gay relationships, polyamory, freedom of expression in clothing and presentation, the oppressed having power... to treat piracy as inherently toxic is to deny that the culture of piracy is what gave life to Calypso's Birthday party. Our main characters are pirates.

There is a lot of violence and most pirates are very troubled people, but it's not piracy's fault. That's getting the cause and effect reversed. The "problem" with piracy and pirate culture is that the people coming into it and building this community are already traumatized.

As Edward points out to Stede:

"It's usually something like that. It's often family-based stuff."

(Also the problem might be the pirate Captains, lol. I mean, if you start listing the major drivers and enablers of toxic culture... Hornigold, Ned Low, Calico Jack, Blackbeard. Fortunate, then, that the crew of the Revenge is demonstrating that piracy can also be about workers' unions and supporting each other against your shitty boss while operating in a thriving community. He can play nice or get out.)

Oluwande tells us from the start that people don't choose to be pirates - they get forced into it by terrible circumstances in a terrible society. Piracy is the community that accepts the outcasts, but it can't magically fix them. They have to do that themselves, which our crew is showing can be done.

Stede did not swan in with all the answers, but he gave his crew the space and all the confused-yet-well-meant support they needed to strengthen their own bonds and community. Oluwande and Frenchie especially have been really stepping up in leadership positions. Like, the whole plot of 2x05 was showing they have successfully formed a union and that they will operate as a united front against their captains if need arises. It's so good!

They are living that better culture that Stede wanted so bad, and it's not just our crew.

Piracy influenced by the Revenge crew has been shown as helpful and even desirable to chase.

Hellcat Maggie and the rest of Low's crew don't sail off to get new jobs - they are resuming piracy but this time talking about profit sharing. Anne and Mary, our oh so aggressive BlackBonnet mirrors, retired from piracy together like Edward was dreaming of in 1x09, and what "fixes" them is burning it all down and returning to piracy (rejecting Mary's fears) with their love at the forefront of their minds.

Edward wants to leave piracy behind forever because he has depression and hates himself, but the biggest thing he hates himself for isn't even a thing he did as a pirate. He's pushing back on his Hornigold trauma from the moment we meet him - in fact, I have a whole other meta idea I need to pull together after the season about how he has potentially thought he was doing "soft piracy" in spite of Hornigold this whole time - but the guilt he feels about killing his dad is still too big for him to even look at. And that won't go away even if he could cut 20+ years of Blackbeard out of his chest.

He's bored. He was stagnating. He needs to address that knot of self-loathing before it successfully drowns him.

Maybe people are right and he could be the one pirate to find peace operating a bed and breakfast? Maybe he'll follow in Jackie's footsteps and stay connected to the community by running a gay bar or something?

But I also think, maybe, he has a community surrounding him, a home and love on the sea, and a career with plenty of aspects he did enjoy - sailing, fuckeries, luxuries, creative problem solving - and he might just need to join everyone in striving for a better culture?

And step one would be realizing that wherever he goes, he's still Edward Teach, and he's got to stop running from that fact.

[piratecaptainscaptainpirates]

I don't think it's any surprise Ed didn't want to hear Stede say he loved him, and didn't want to say it back, because - has love ever been allowed to be a positive thing for Ed?

Maybe Ed's parents loved each other, once, but that doesn't change the fact that he grew up in an abusive household. Stede dreams of marrying for love; Ed might've grown up thinking that love hurts.

Ed killed his dad out of love for his mother, and it deeply traumatized him and made him think of himself as a monster. It would've been easy for him to draw the conclusion that love is a corrupting influence.

Izzy tells Ed he "has love" for him - "I have love," he says, like it's a shameful possession, like how you'd say you have a sickness. And Ed is obviously put off by that, but even if Izzy did ever "love" Ed, he used his "love" for Ed as justification to treat him terribly, to try to control him, to belittle and insult him, to try and stand between Ed and what he wanted to do, to hurt someone Ed cares about.

Is it any wonder Ed didn't want to hear that from Stede?

I don't think Stede ever, even for a moment, doubted that Ed loves him back. "A love like ours can't disappear in an instant." Ed is Stede's first time being in love, and he can see it's a beautiful thing-

But it's not until Ed has reclaimed the Blackbeard outfit, after he's used his love for Stede as motivation to try to protect him and get revenge on the English, once he's finally starting to realize that he is not a monster - only then can Ed tell Stede he loves him.

Because Ed was never broken, and maybe love isn't such an awful thing to have.

[madeintheniamh]

Please can you do one of the girls getting braces because i'm getting mine next week :D

golden girl

stmf one shot #23

good luck, babe. i had 4 years of braces. they're the worst, but you'll be grateful once they're off xx

“I’m not going, Mum,” Tilly shouted at you, her eyebrows furrowed in the exact same way that Harry’s did when he was annoyed about something.

“You can’t keep putting it off, lovey,” you replied. “You were supposed to have them put on a year ago now,”

Her lips were now set in a straight line, and her eyes began to turn glossy as she turned around to march up the stairs back to her bedroom.

“Come on baby, it won’t be that bad,”

You heard her slam her bedroom door behind her. “Leave me alone,”

This hadn’t been the first time you had tried to make Tilly have her braces put on. Every time the day of the appointments came closer, it seemed as though she always had an adequate excuse prepared for why she needed you to reschedule. Exams. Gymnastics competitions. A friend’s birthday. Feeling sick. And every time, Harry always gave in, to your annoyance. So, it had now been a year since she was supposed to have the wretched things put on in the first place, and she was stubborn, just like her Dad- once she made her mind up on something, it was impossible for you to get her to change it- although there was one person who could. You sighed to yourself, before knocking on the door of his office.

He was sat on one of the armchairs in the corner that faced out onto the garden, holding his guitar in his arms and the pick in-between his teeth. He was so focused on what he was doing that it took him a minute to notice you, and he jumped slightly as he looked up and found your gaze.

“Oh my- hey my love, you okay?”

You sat down next to him, exhaling slowly whilst picking at one of your nails.

“Well, Tilly’s booked in to get her braces on later, but she tells me she’s not going,”

He smiled to himself, placing the guitar down on the space next to him. “Oh god,” he moaned sarcastically. “Not this again,”

“I don’t know what to do,” Your voice began to crack slightly. “I’m just trying to help her. I don’t know why she’s so upset about it. She’s just been so snappy with me recently, and I-”

“Let me sort it.” He answered before you could finish. “I’m sure I can persuade her, one way or another,”

“I don’t even think you can, H,” You sighed. “She’s so stubborn, like someone else I know,”

He snorted slightly and rolled his eyes. “We’ll see about that,”

He kissed your forehead before left the room, going downstairs to make use of one of his favourite persuasion tactics.

---

Harry knocked on her bedroom door softly.

“Go away, I’m not going,” she moaned.

“I’ve made you a cup of tea,” he smirked whilst turning the handle, opening the door to find Tilly lying under layers of blankets, in a pair of tracksuit bottoms and one of Harry’s old t-shirts. Despite the death stare she gave Harry, she still held her hands out to accept the mug.

He closed the door behind him.

“Dad, I’m not-”

“Okay,” he sighed. “You’re not going, fine.”

“Okay?” Her face lit up. “Really?”

“No,” he laughed. “You need to do this, Til, you’re driving your mum mad, you’re nearly fifteen,”

“I’m not talking to you,” she groaned, covering her head with a blanket. He reached over to grab the mug on her bedside table.

“Okay, well, I’m taking this back then,” he chuckled.

“Nooooo!” she gasped, coming back up from under the covers. “That’s not fair!”

“Why don’t you want to go, Til?” he asked whilst running his hands through her hair, which had now grown down to her hips. “It’s okay to be nervous about it, I know you don’t like the dentist,”

“I’m not!” She pouted her lips. “I just don’t want them,”

“Well, why? Loads of people have to get braces, Til,”

“You never had to have them,” she sulked, her brows now furrowed. “You don’t get it,”

“Well, maybe not, but Mummy had to have them for a little bit, and she was fine,”

“No one has braces when they’re fifteen,” she sighed. “Izzy in my French class had hers off last week, I don’t want to be the last one with them on,”

“Loads of people have braces when they’re older Til, there isn’t an age limit,” he chuckled. “Uncle Niall was 18 when he had his braces put on,”

“Still,” She moaned. “I don’t want them. Everyone says they hurt,”

He peppered a kiss to her forehead. “Maybe they won’t hurt, you never know,”

Her eyes began to turn glossy. “But Daddy, I’m frightened, remember when I had to get my tooth taken out and they used that massive needle, and I fainted, what if that happens again,”

She began to sob softly into his arms.

“I remember Til, you’re going to make me cry, baby,” he whispered into her ear. “But I’m sure that won’t happen today, okay? I’m going to hold your little hand the whole time, and if the dentist comes anywhere near you with a needle, I’ll fight him,” he smiled.

“You will?” she sniffled. “Are you sure it will be fine, Daddy?”

“I’m sure, baby,” he chuckled. “I promise you. Now come on, let’s get dressed,”

----

Tilly sat up slowly in the leather chair, having been lying down for the past 45 minutes, her hand still clasped tightly in Harry’s as it had been the whole time. Her lips were slightly chapped, and she licked them as she pouted at Harry with disdain.

“You’re not going to give me a smile?” Harry sighed, rubbing her tiny knuckles with the tip of his thumb. Tilly shook her head.

“It feels weird,” She stared at him disapprovingly, running her tongue over the new pieces of metal that were now glued to her teeth.

“It’s gunna feel weird, Tilly bug,” He smiled. “Come on, I wanna see them!”

Tilly rolled her eyes, before flashing him a sarcastic grin. “I look awful,”

“Hey,” Harry warned, lifting her chin up softly with his hand. “You know that’s not true,”

“I do,” She moaned, placing her hand over her mouth and running the sleeve of her oversized hoodie across her lips. “And it hurts,”

Harry swooped his hand across her face, tucking back a strand of loose hair that had fallen out of her French plait, before pressing his lips to the top of her forehead. Her lips began to quiver slightly, as her eyes turned a glossy shade of green.

“Shhhh, I know,” He soothed, holding his hand out and beckoning her to follow him. “Come on, let’s get you home, babydoll,”

Tilly hadn’t said anything at all on the car journey home, until Harry had seemingly decided to take an alternative route, now navigating the huge Range Rover down the narrow Hampstead high street, reversing it backwards into a bay on the side of the road.

“Daddy? Where are you-”

He peppered a kiss to her swollen cheek. “You stay here, I’ll be quick,”

10 minutes later, Tilly was practically asleep in the passenger seat, her sunglasses having fallen down on the bridge of her nose, still swamped in her hoodie. She almost jumped at the noise of the car unlocking, and was greeted by Harry grinning wildly at her, pink coloured ice cream dribbling down the side of his wrist. He licked it off slowly, passing the cup to Tilly, who began to smile too.

“You thought I was just gunna drive home without getting you something? Look at that gorgeous little smile,” He grinned.

Tilly looked back up at him, now bringing the spoon to her mouth, still smirking at him with her new metallic smile, her cheeks rosy.

“I love you, Daddy,” She whispered, pushing her sunglasses back up on her nose.

“You know I love you more, golden girl,”

--------------------------------------------------

I HAVE MISSED YOU ALL SO MUCH <3

more to come more to come i have too many wips. but i'll give you this for now, so sorry anon you probs had your braces for a good few weeks now but enjoy anyway hehehh xx

this forms part of my dadrry one shot series! so if you did enjoy i have linked the masterlist here. please give it some love and send in any requests bc i'm in a writing/reading slump at the moment so any requests would be appreciated. love you all hope you are having a good week <3

[im-out-of-it]

I just have some thoughts since I’ve watched the first three episodes now. some things I’m glad the show did and also the things that irritated the fuck out of me so let’s go 👏🏼

1. aging the characters up. I think this is smart to do and there’s more you can do with the rest of them if they’re in their early twenties instead of being teenagers. sorry not sorry but I’m not interested in seeing teenagers being chased by grown adults

2. Clary is still beyond annoying. I know she’s traumatized by losing her mom and not understanding this new world but literally coming in “I don’t care about the clave, about your rules, I just want to find my mom.” yeah ok we get that but there are still rules that need to be followed. you’re out here almost getting people killed and it’s all in the name of your mom. and I’m not saying the clave is trustworthy because they’re massive dicks but you can’t go around running and doing whatever you want lmao

3. please give Alec a raise or a year vacation. the amount of shit he deals with having to be jaces parabatai is too much. honestly, Alec deserves better. Jace takes advantage of Alec and I would have loved to see Alec have another parabatai, one that cares for him. I know you can only have one BUT CUT THE FUCKING CORD PLEASE

4. Magnus is fucking perfection

5. Izzy is perfection too 🔥 I do not blame Simon losing his tongue over her. my bisexual mind was like OOOOO ALEC NO MAGNUS NO IZZY NO RAPHAEL NO MAIA!!!!!!! NO ALL OF THEM

6. Clary and Jace are very cringe and I’m not sure if that’s on the acting or the writing but it makes it hard to believe they’re “in love.” I felt more connection with Alec and Magnus meeting for a second than I did with jace and clary in three episodes. even Alec and jace have a bit more chemistry than he does with clary. and that is something I DO NOT ship

Jace: I would die for you

Clary: but jace we just met

Jace: I don’t care if I throw all my friends and family away clary. we’re destined to be together

7. superb acting from Matthew Daddario. he’s absolutely wonderful and he really captured Alec’s angst in my opinion. you can see why he’s on guard not only because he likes jace (ew my man Alec WHY) and because he’s worried about the safety of his people. I feel like Matt captures the emotion without saying a thing so well. as does Harry. I think they’re both great at this

8. “This would be bad for clary.”- (talking about the cup and valentine) Simon “it would be bad for all of us”-Izzy. of course in Simon and clary world, everything is all about clary. I get simon is worried about his bff but this affects EVERYONE

9. if Simon was my bff and someone as jace talked to my friend that way, ABSOLUTELY FUCKING NOT. she doesn’t really say much, she’s all like “we’re a package deal.” honestly clary and jace belong together because they both take advantage of their friends. they’re both so self centered so let them run away as far as possible together

10. Alec is big sad now but you will have better, just you wait. also want to add, I enjoy season one for the build up Alec and Magnus but man do I hate Alec pinning after jace 🤢 but if there isn’t any incest, it’s not a proper CC story

11. Im just here for the Malec content. stuff that show did well: Alec and Izzy’s sibling relationship. I love these two so much. Clary actually being nice to izzy and being her friend, and not being mean to her cause she’s jealous. Magnus’s whole attire. I love this bi king so much. I love magnus, I love his sass, his makeup, his clothes. I LOVE HIM. I wish they would’ve changed his hair and makeup more in the last two seasons. kinda feel like they thought oh he has mascara on, that’s good enough. that pink hair is truly one of my favorite Magnus looks.

12. last thing to add that I like what the show did. I love that Alec actually knows how to fight. it never made sense in the books that he’s never killed a demon, especially since he’s a Lightwood. never made sense to me. I’m glad they allowed in the show for Alec to actually be able to fight 🏹

that is all for now until I watch actually one of the best episodes of season one. Magnus and Alec meeting 🥰

[peacesells-imbuying]

80's. Platonic fic pls. Reader and Slash are roommates everyone thinks they're dating but they see each other as siblings and nothing more. Also maybe reader can date Duff? 👀 TY love ur fics!

omg yes 💞🦈 will be on a break after this is posted 😋

Growing up you never had a sibling, as you were an only child. Never had anyone to bother or talk to 24/7. So after high school, you decided to find a roommate in California. Risky but life is too short. Your parents were completely against it, but you were a full grown adult so you didn’t care. 

“Hey, what’s your name?” You stood in front of a tall curly man. He seemed nice and polite. “Slash. You?” After telling him your name you both instantly clicked. “Hey Slash, would like to be my roommate?” A bright smile blinded you as he was excited. “Definitely.” 

That’s how you ended up having(later on)the famous Slash from GNR, be your fucking roommate. It did feel unreal sometimes. But you loved having him as a roommate. He was the sibling you always wanted. From annoying him to listening him play the guitar was something you always cherished. 

Slash was having a childhood friend come over, you were fine with it. So there you sat with Slash and his blonde haired friend. “Meet Steven Adler. We grew up together. He plays drum even thought me the guitar.” Steven talent amazed you. “Woah, you’re so fucking cool Steven! You’re welcome anytime. A friend of Slash is now mine.” Steven smiled back happily. “Wow, thank you that means a lot.” 

3 months later, you got a job while Steven and Slash were with Guns N Roses. You hanged out with them a couple of times before, they didn’t mind. Axl, Izzy, Steven and Duff were kind and always asked for your feedback, which you gladly gave. Occasionally at night, you and slash joked about you falling in love with one of them. Unfortunately he was right. 

“Ha I fucking told you!” Slash was messing with his guitar. “Okay shut up smart ass.” You sat next to him slapping his arm. “So, which one? Who’s the lucky guy?” You blushed a bit. “Duff.” Slash just smirked and went back to his guitar. 

Everyone knew you were dating Duff but the world didn’t. During interviews, Slash would get the same questions. “Are you dating your roommate?” Slash replies with, “No, we are just close friends. I see her as a sister, and she sees me as her brother. Nothing else. She is in a relationship.” Of course, Slash didn’t reveal about Duff. As it was for you and Duff decision alone. Which he respected. 

All the fans and media were surprised in the end. You and duff being a couple was crazy but adorable. Some were sad that you weren’t dating Slash, but they got over it. After you and Slash moved out, nothing changed between the two of you.

Forever siblings that cared for each other.

[bookishjules]

What’s your opinion on Maryse Lightwood 🗣️🗣️

i'd say it's on the fonder side of neutral. she's strong and determined and a natural leader, but she's not really the kind of person i'd want to follow, yk? clearly she cares about her family, but she has a hard time not projecting her own issues onto them. which is understandable, given that she's not only human, but also pretty isolated up until the events of tmi. and we all know how great of a confidant/emotional support robert was..

i don't think she did a lot of working through her past traumas and the decisions she made in her youth until we see the blistering results of them come to light. she sees izzy as a little her and therefore tells her not to trust people, rather than teaching her how to discern who the right people to trust are. and when she sees jace as a little valentine, she keeps him at more than arms length, treating him with the caution and scorn she now realizes she should have treated valentine with. and again.. it's understandable, especially given the recent event of max's death in the latter example. but she is also an adult, and they are/were children--her children.

i believe i've talked before about how these aspects of her (and robert's) immaturity kind of come through in the way alec and isabelle function in the world and in relation to each other, and it is just so interesting to think about the way her actions had such intrinsic effects on them, but it can also be hard to watch. especially in real time.

all that to say, just like with the bad decision of aligning with the circle and participating in the uprising etc., she has grown from all of that, and you can already see her trying harder with her grandkids to be present etc. she's the kind of person who takes a long time to change, but who will end up in the right position once she gets there. kind of like how it took her a long time to grow physically as a kid, now that i think about it.

i know this got into more of a character analysis than an opinion, but well.. i can't help it lol she really is such an intriguing character, even if i still kind of view her as the aunt i'm happy to see during holidays but avoid interacting with much throughout the rest of the year for peace-keeping and self-preservational reasons.

[thatdude-noah]

izzy dying as a metaphor for blackbeard dying makes no sense when izzy is no longer an extension of blackbeard !!! this entire season was us seeing him grow out of blackbeard, grow out of his anger and his hatred and his insecurity. he learned to love and be happy and figure out what the crew could truly give him. yes he needed blackbeard, he created him, he encouraged that fire inside of ed, but he's changed since then. by the end of s2, izzy is no longer blackbeard's first mate. he is no longer a representation of blackbeard and that darkness. ed has grown out of blackbeard and izzy has, too. izzy dying as a metaphor of blackbeard dying no longer makes sense when neither of them hold blackbeard in them anymore.