#also as a side note i think ex bfs ed and izzy is VERY funny to me

[officialjimmybuffett]

Can you elaborate on the izzy hands thing you posted? I’m really interested

YES i am kissing you on the lips rn thank you for asking. i'm in a better mood than i was when i made the original post, so i prommy the bitchiness will be kept to a minimum

adding a read more because this is SO long i am humiliated. i do not want the well-adjusted mutuals to see how much i wrote good god

first of all from a technical standpoint, i don't think this is the route that the writers are taking the show. as far as we've seen in s1, homophobia doesn't exist in the omfd universe. it could change, sure, but judging from the atmosphere of the show, along with what jenkins and waititi have said about the future of ofmd*, i truly doubt they would introduce it this late in the game. not to mention that the setup for s2 means they have much bigger fish to fry as it is without introducing a whole other conflict.

and i know the internalized homophobia izzy sentiment is coming from more of a place of character analysis/theory/joking than of genuine prediction but we have canon evidence that izzy?? is not homophobic??? like if you want to write a character study at least do it correctly goddamn.

the only time we see izzy interact with a gay couple outside of ed and stede is when he catches lucius and pete in the shiphold. he's pissed off at them because a) he's izzy and b) they're not doing their work, but there's literally zero context clues that implies he's coming from a place of disgust for their queerness. he just has that trademark izzy hands stick up his ass.

not to mention jack saying "anything goes at sea", paying respect to the fact that pirates were REALLY FUCKING GAY. izzy is a 'real pirate' according to. well. izzy. real pirates fuck men

but what i REALLY wanted to talk about is izzy's relationship with ed. i think this tweet sums up the majority of my thoughts pretty well, but just to reiterate, izzy is VERY obsessive over the blackbeard persona. he constantly reminds ed to remember the image and responsibilities he has to uphold as blackbeard, and explicitly says that it is his job as first mate to make sure ed is satisfied.

he keeps the crew in line, squashes mutinies in the making, and is overtly loyal to blackbeard. whenever ed expresses interest in changing his career approach, in letting go of blackbeard, izzy is immediately there to talk him out of it, to wax poetic about why blackbeard is so great. izzy likes the idea of ed as blackbeard, and he likes that blackbeard is this static, unchanging thing in his life that he can always rely on (his lighthouse, perhaps?). to izzy, blackbeard represents success, masculinity, and fear (both of the pious and violent natures), all of which he values greatly.

this leads me to my next point, which is that izzy does value ed as a person beyond the blackbeard persona. however, he is very possessive of ed. we constantly see izzy call him both "ed" and "edward", but is offput when stede does the same. izzy wants ed to be seen/respected as blackbeard to everyone else, but only he is allowed to be intimate enough with blackbeard to know him as edward. which like. bitch me too i am very jealous when it comes to my homoerotic friendships

oh my god i've already written so much but im just gonna keep running. you know That Scene in ep10 where izzy taunts ed for getting soft with stede, gets his shit rocked, then gently caresses ed's face?? because of izzy's obsession with the idea of blackbeard, the only way he knows how to get an emotional response from ed is to provoke him. he sees how stede gets to be intimate with ed through gentleness and doesn't understand it. why is ed vulnerable with someone who isn't izzy? how is someone able to get ed's attention without aggression? GOD i need to chew on some tire rubber.

when ed is inspired/encouraged by stede to change as a person, izzy is unable to accept that ed is a dynamic being. he is also unable to accept that ed can be "edward" with someone else who isn't him.

ANYWAYS im tired of fans constantly pushing the internalized homophobia narrative onto antagonistic characters/characters they are very vocal about not liking. i'm not gonna pull the problematic card because that's a whole other can of worms, but i'm tired of seeing this used as the ONLY reason a character dislikes another queer character/couple. please im begging you queer people are far more complex than that. there are more conflicts you can have than just Being Gay.

maybe it's because im the only person to correctly interpret media in the world ever but people will just just slap a buzzword onto anything. did we even watch the same show 🤨

post-ofmd, i was very surprised to come into online spaces and find that so many ppl hate izzy i fucking LOVE him. i remember watching the show and being like this guy. this guy right here is funky. he's a pal. izzy being the only person with a braincell is fucking hilarious. he's a drama character written into a cast of comedy characters, the voice of reason who constantly gets plowed over for the gag. its GREAT. he's great. i could fix him but whatever's wrong with him is so much better.

*namely that there are too many tragic queer stories out there and they don't want to add another one to the mix, along with the fact that they don't care much for historical accuracy. jenkins literally said he and waititi "don't care about pirates" like 😭 he just wanted to write a queer comedy and there happen to be pirates in it

TL;DR: izzy's primary reason for disliking stede and ed's relationship is because he is in love with (and possessive of) the idea of ed, but can't accept that ed as a person is dynamic and changing. stop saying characters you dislike have internalized homophobia u dickwads.

here's my twitter btw i have an ongoing thread where i put all my ofmd thoughts that have me waking up in a cold sweat at 3am. if you are interested <3 ok thank u again bye