#and of all art i made of izzy i kind of wanted him to see this one the most

[brian-in-finance]

Inside Carnal Knowledge • Part 2

🧵 Outlander_Starz: The cannons include a little nod to Production Designer Mike Gunn and Set Decorator Stuart Bryce. Made originally for the battles in the first half of Season 7, Gunn and Bryce couldn't resist the opportunity to immortalize their names in metal when they were rebuilt for the market in Part 2.

🧵Outlander_Starz: Another Easter Egg: some of the background signs display the names of our hardworking and talented Outlander crew!

Not only are the signs an opportunity for the Art Department to have a bit of fun and feature their names in the show, but it actually helps with legal clearances too, moving them through much faster.

🧵 Outlander_ Starz: Who else was shocked seeing the usually so dignified Lord John battered, bruised, and a little bit unhinged?

To create the effect, David Berry traveled to London to have a mold taken of his face. Then, a prosthetic was made to fit over his eye (which, by the way, cut off his vision). Application took an hour.

"It looks very realistic," said Berry. "So realistic that the amount of sympathy and shock I got from people on set was quite a thing to experience."

🧵Outlander_Starz: I definitely feel for William but can we all agree he was a little bit messy this episode? So was the fight scene location.

Said Charles Vandervaart, "That was such a miserable day in terms of weather. There was so much rain. Lots of mud. I felt really bad for the wardrobe people because every time I would fall over I would just be covered in mud and they'd have to scrub it off for the next take. But it was also such a great day. I'm so fortunate to have great cast mates like Izzy and John."

🧵 Outlander_Starz: The drama continues for William at the brothel, where he meets the intriguing Arabella aka Jane.

For the screen, liberties were taken to highlight Silvia Presente's beautiful hair. Said Hair and Makeup Designer Ann McEwan, "Silvia's hair is gorgeous. Everyone was really happy with it... The producers wanted her hair down, which wasn't common for the time, but it suited the part and suited her."

🧵 Outlander_Starz: As for the brothel space, Production Designer Mike Gunn and Set Decorator Stuart Bryce opted for a dark, simple color palette, electing instead to build color and texture through textiles, props, and an abundance of flowers.

Conceptually, we just kept adding more and more. If you look closely, there are different layers of time within everything we put in that room.

There's some really ragtag, tatty looking stuff. There's some stuff that looks quite crisp and sharp.

The same goes for the flowers in the floral displays. We tried to make a visual feast of dark with pops of color everywhere. — STUART BRYCE, SET DECORATOR

🧵Outlander_Threads: In this episode, Jamie Fraser is reacquainted with the one and only George Washington, who bestows upon him a great honor: a promotion to Brigadier General.

Though WE of course know Jamie Fraser as the King of Men, the writers put a lot of thought into making sure his ascent up the ranks this season felt earned. I'm just glad the future President of the United States now sees Jamie the way that we do.

We've always shown Jamie as a revered leader... whether it be his guys at Prestonpans and Culloden-his Scottish guys that know he's a great leader-or his guys from the Ridge-his Ardsmuir guys that would follow him anywhere-he's always been the top dog. But now that he goes north and joins the revolutionary cause... he's kind of a nobody. He's in a much bigger army now...

We crafted it very purposefully to start him small as just one of the guys making suggestions but turning out to be right. Little by little, he proves himself... He becomes this leader to where finally, George Washington recognizes his talent and skill and makes him a general. — TONI GRAPHIA, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER & WRITER

Threads 🧵

Inside Carnal Knowledge • Part 2 of 2

Remember… some of the background signs display the names of our hardworking and talented Outlander crew.

[finngualart]

im gonna write my thoughts about this in the tags

[marcellaasblog]

Ok so I have a problem, I was wondering if you could write something of Eddie fucking the reader or just some type of smut activity during the slow part of Sweet Child of mine by Guns and Roses. Specifically the part after the guitar solo where Izzy’s and Axl keep saying “Where do we go”. CAUSE HOW IZZY SINGS IT OH LORD. since nobody gonna fuck me I need it fictionally. Make this shit dirty/ nasty. Idk fucking make this shit hot.

Ok but also have Eddie smoking a cig during this or he picks one up and hands it to the reader during that part of the song. I’m feral atm

Please and thank you. (This could be older Eddie too)

Your dirty, I like that.😧😏

Warning: so much smut and of course fluff.

Minor's DNI nsfw 18+

Author's notes:I hope I did you justice and Thank you for your request babe.💕

older Eddie x reader.

Music to my ears.

Eddie loved looking at your naked body. It was a piece of art to him a very special kind of art. He loves to roam your body looking at the beauty marks and all. He loved to see you so blissed out and gone from this world. He loved how Cock drunk you got, he loved the sweet sounds of your moans everytime he would fuck you into the bed. He loved it all. He loved you and he always made sure to show you.

.

.

.

Eddie has you between his legs your back to his chest fully naked as you could feel his hard Cock touch your back both of your sweaty body's melting into eachother as he is sucking, licking and biting your neck plunging your thick toy he bought you a couple of days ago inside of you. Eddie is making you a whiny mess rubbing your wet sensitive clit as he slowly goes in and out of your weeping hole. You looked at yourself and Eddie threw your body framed mirror that was set Infront of y'all's bed. You were watching Eddie fuck you. You were grabbing onto his hand guiding him in and out of your pussy as you take a couple of hits of your ciggerate letting the smoke out of your mouth as you dropped your head back on his shoulder letting your mouth open as your face srunches up and your chest heavily rise's up and down feeling Eddie's legs get tighter around yours locking you in place making sure you didn't move alot. Your moans get higher everytime getting louder then the blasting music that roams threw Eddie's room.

"Fuck baby you like this shit don't you? You like whatching me fuck you with a cock that isn't mine huh?" Eddie whispers on your neck sending chills down your body feeling your nipples harden and your pussy pulsing.

"mhm I Fucken love it." You whispered. Eddie slowly take the toy out of you causing you to whine as you clenched on nothing. Eddie giggled running the tip of the rubber cock threw your folds down to your asshole smiring all the cum that leaked out of your pussy he runs the toy up and down your hole and around your clit slapping it a few times making your body jerk up. Eddie grabs the ciggerate from your hand before you could drop it.

"Fuck baby look at that shit, so fucken wet and ready for me." Eddie said taking a puff of the hafe finished ciggerate blowing the smoke onto your neck as he rams the toy back onto your tight little hole. You gasp digging your nails into Eddie pale thighs.

"Mhmm baby more I want more." You tell Eddie letting your back arch as Eddie slowly pumps the toy in and out, so hypnotized by the sound of your dripping pussy meeting the rubber cock he analyzed how everytime he push the toy so deep inside you your toes would curl and your pussy would clench so hard on the cock Eddie would have to wiggle it out of your tight grip.

Whoa, yeah

Whoa, oh, oh, oh

Sweet child o mine

Whoa, oh, whoa, oh

Sweet love of mine.

"yeah baby you want more?" Eddie mocked your whiney voice. You nod your head repeatedly rolling your hips as you reach down to your clit rubbing it at a brutal pase. Eddie growls looking ahead of y'all watching how fast you rubbed your clit and how blissful you looked with your eyes rolled back and how hard you were bitting your lip moving your hips to the rythem of the song. Eddie's violently moved your hand away from your clit filing the cigarette bud on the floor. He speeds up his pase as the guitar solo boom's threw his speakers. You gasp pushing your ass back into Eddie .

"Come on baby follow the rythem, mhmm ,yeah just like that, making me so proud." You look ahead of you as you watched how Eddie brutaly spammed the toy in and out of you, Eddie's face squinched up bitting down on his lip . You could hear how hard he was breathing threw his nose ,studying your body rutting the pink toy in and out of you. Your moans get higher as you rolled your eyes back letting your head fall on Eddies shoulders, he grabs onto your neck pushing your ear to his lips.

"Keep your eyes open baby and look at yourself while I fuck you okay." Eddie growls into your ear as he brutaly sucks in your neck slamming the cock into your pussy as he wiggles the toy in your wet hole pushing the toy into you more not caring take it out of you.

"FUCKKK EDDIE PLEASE I WANNA CUM I WANNA CUM!" You whine as Eddie giggles.

"yeah you wanna cum. You wanna cum on daddy's dick baby?" Eddie removes the toy from your pussy setting it aside as he pushes you down on your stomach getting up on his knees as he drags your ass twords his cock. Eddie strokes his dick letting his head fall backwards before he slams into you with no warning.

"Fuck yes! The toy got you so nice and streached out for me." Eddie slams into you at a brutal pase as his hips follow the rythem of the guitar solo blasting threw his speakers. Eddie hands come down on your sweet thick ass slapping it as he sees the fat of your ass jiggle everytime it bounces back on his.

Eddie follows the rythem slamming into you. You tried to get back up on all four but Eddie would just push your head back down into y'all's mattress.

"FUCK YES!" Eddie grunted smacking your ass . Your a wet mess at this point spit is Coming out of your mouth, your eyes roll back as your thoughts disappear into the rythem of the song. You look forward giving your full attention to Eddie as you see his eyes widen staring down watching his cock disappear into your tight little cunt his eyebrows are srunched up as his mouth falls open. You bit down on your lip as you slowly push back onto Eddie following the rythem of him.

"More!" You moan wiggling your ass as Eddie hits your ass rubbing the red mark he grunts and moans and before the solo stops Eddie picks up the toy as he makes eye contact with you.

"yeah you want more I'll give you more." Before you could answer Eddie wiggles the toy into your pussy as he fucks you slowly loosing you up to fit him and the toy that still had your creamy white cum sliding down it's rubber tip.

"OH FUCKKK OH SHIT TOO MUCH BABY TOO MUCH!" Eddie giggles as he pouts.

"you SAID you wanted more so." Eddie slams the cock into you as it rubs onto his cock. "Fucked TAKE IT." Eddie growled as the solo finished.

Where do we go?

Where do we go now?

Where do we go?

Ohh, oh, where do we go?

Where do we go now?

Oh, where do we go now?

Where do we go? (Sweet child)

"oh fuck love this pussy so much baby she taking me so well." Eddie works the toy in and out of you as it squishes inside of you rubbing up against Eddie's throbbing cock. You loved how full you filled letting your boyfriend do whatever he wants to your needy cunt.

Where do we go now?

Ay,ay,ay, ay, ay, ay, ay ,ay

Where do we go now

Ah ,ah

"Mhm just for you baby she love how you make her feel so good so full." You moan out bitting down on the bed as your focas on the voices of Izzy and axel singing the hell out of their outro. You could see Eddie starting to bop his head to the rythem of the guitar outro as he fasten his pase his Right hand holds onto you soft hips as his left hand is at the base of the fake balls of the toy slowly painfully sliding it in and out of you letting y'all's shared cum drip down onto his balls and bedsheets.

Where do we go

Oh,Where do we go now

Oh where do we go

Oh where do we go now

"mhm yeah you like how my Cocks fill in your pussy baby."

"yes yes I love it so much." You cry out feeling your stomach flex and your muscles tense. Eddie could feel you tighting around his cock he could hear how you moans got more pitchy and louder. He could sence that you were close to cumming so Eddie wiggles out the toy letting your cum drip down from the tip of the rubber cock onto your asshole. He looked at it in amaze seeing how drenched you got the rubber cock and himself .Eddie chokes on his moan as he slides out of you leaving you empty and whiney.

"No, no please baby don't stop." You pled Eddie wiggling your ass up in the air.

"shh give me a second baby I just wanna taste you." Eddie said bending his head down as he licks a fat line from your drenched hole all the way up to your asshole he repeats it once again,but this time he opens up your lips as he pushes his long tounge into your pussy he hums into your pussy sending a vibration down to your clit. Your crying and whiney telling Eddie how good he made you feel,your eyes rolled back as your ass started to rock up against his face. Eddie lifts up his head kissing you left ass cheek as he quickly turns you around onto your back grabbing your legs as he locks them around his neck you gasp in a shock as he punges right into your cunt once again.

"FUCK GONNA FILL THIS PUSSY UP WITH SO MUCH OF MY CUM." Eddie threw his head back as his bangs and hair sticks to his sweaty forehead an neck.

"UH fuckkk yessssss baby faster please daddy FASTER" You tell Eddie as he doesn't take his eyes off of you Eddie grabs onto your left boob squeezing onto it as he growls from your cunt tighting around him.

Where do we go

Oh, where do we go now

"you gonna cum baby gonna cum for daddy princess gonna squeeze my fucken cock as I pound into your pretty little pussy letting me fill you up as my cum leaks out of your tight hole huh baby."

"yes, yes, yes, I wanna cum wanna cum on your cock I want you to cum in me."

Now, now, now now, now, now,now

Eddie grabs ahold of your neck with both of his big hands squeezing down on your throat making your eyes role back and your mouth open as Eddie leans down spitting into your mouth.

"beg me .Beg me to cum" Eddie told you reaching down to your pussy as he slap's it.

"I said to FUCKEN BEG ME !"

SMACK

SMACK

SMACK

Eddie's thick hands meet your sensitive pussy.

"OH FUCK, PLEASE LET ME CUM, PLEASE, I WANNA CUM AROUND YOUR FAT COCK ,I WANNA CUM SO FUCKEN BADLY DADDY ,PLEASE LET ME CUM,PLEASE LET ME CUM, I PROMISE ILL BE GOOD, SO GOOD FOR YOU,ONLY YOU JUST PLEASE LET ME CUM!"

"FUCK, FUCK YEAH BABY CUM ON DADDY'S COCK . I WANT YOU TO CUM SO HARD, LET GO FOR ME BABY?" you nod your head as Eddie pounds into your pussy like his own personal Fleshlight. Your lost in the noices of the music fading away and replaced with the sounds of Eddie's balls slapping the bottom of your ass and Eddies deep ruts and growls coming from his mouth as you tighten around him.

"FUCK ,FUCK, FUCKKK, EDDIE IM CUMMING, IM CUMMING, IM FUCKEN CUMMING UHHHHH!" Eddie holds your body down as you came around his cock.

"FUCK YEAH THATS IT BABY LET IT OUT LET IT OUT FOR DADDY!" Eddie fucks you threw your high as he presses his thick fingers onto your clit rubbing it violently making your body over stimulate as it jerks up and you choke on your own cry's.

"FU- FUCKK TOO MUCH DADDY TOO MUCH." You studded trying to push Eddie's away from your throbbing pussy.

"nu uh baby you can take it you got it just let daddy cum okay let daddy fill up your tight little pussy, let daddy use you." Eddie fasten his speed rubbing your clit, you could feel it all being to much for you.

Sweet child

Before you could warn Eddie, your juices start to spray out flying everywhere on Eddie's cock drenching him. It caught Eddie in surprise as he pushing into you bending your legs to the side of your face.

"FUCK YES THATS IT BABY ,LET IT OUT, SOCK DADDY'S COCK LIKE A GOOD GIRL YOU ARE."

Sweet child of mine

Eddie grunts fucking himself into your drenched pussy as his thick cum shoots inside of your cunt slowly moving his hips as he rides out his high. His body twitches as he ruts into you one more time hearing you small cry's from your mouth.

"Fuck that was so good baby you did so well." Eddie whispered into your ear kissing you down to your neck leaving his soft cock inside of you too scared to pull out not wanting any of his cum to leak out of your his pussy .

"mhm did you cum in me?" You asked as Eddie giggled glad to see you fully concess.

"mhm you made me cum so much baby made daddy feel so good." Eddie answered back kissing your wet lips moving your hair out of your face as you hands whrom his back sending chills down his spine.

Eddie slowly removes himself from your cunt as y'all both moans from the sensitivity running threw y'all's body. Eddie watches as his cum leaks out of your pussy he brings his two fingers up to your hole gathering all his cum stuffing it back into you.

"mhm were definitely doing this again."

[dragon-kazansky]

Spirit of the sea

Izzy Hands x Reader (GN)

You were a member of Blackbeard's crew long ago. Then you became a ghost story. Izzy Hands only sees you in his dreams these days, until he sees you for real when investigating Stede Bonnet. This sets him on a rollercoaster of emotions between you and what his captain is doing.

{Masterlist}

{Previous Chapter} - {Next Chapter}

Warnings: Swearing. Mostly Izzy, sometimes you, but mostly Izzy. Angst too.

Chapter Five - Rocky waters

♡♡♡

We've been almost a fortnight aboard the Revenge... and I'm beginning to suspect that Edward nas no intention of ending Stede Bonnet's life.

If I didn't know better... I'd say he's somehow become seduced by this imbecile.

You catch Izzy writing in his journal as you walk past his cabin. He had been rather quiet the past couple days, at least as far as you were concerned anyway. He hasn't noticed you in the doorway. You smile at the sight of the wooden sparrow on his desk. You knew he would like it.

You know that the longer Izzy is aboard this ship, the worse it gets for him. You've kind of adapted to the way the crew do things round here. It's a change of pace from your days on Blackbeard's crew.

As Izzy scribbles away, you decide to interrupt gently. With a soft knock to his already open door, you smile as he lifts his head to look at you. He snaps his journal shut and drops it beside him on his cot.

"What do you want?" He asks, trying to look annoyed by your interruption, but you can see through him.

"Thought I'd come check on you. Everything good?"

"Just peachy," he let's out an exasperated sigh. You chuckles softly as step into the room with one foot.

"We'll be off this ship soon. Sailing back aboard the Queen Anne leaving ruin in our wake. Doing things we used to do."

Izzy stares silently into space at the thought.

You step a little closer to his bed and take a seat. You can see how tired he is. The man never seems to stop: always working, never resting.

"When was the last time you slept?" You ask him.

"Last night."

"All night?"

He eyes flicker up to meet yours. He looks less than impressed, but he also can't hide anything from you. The sigh that escapes his nose tells you enough.

"I know you hate it here, and that you want Blackbeard back so we can return to our ship and our life, but you also need to give it time, Izzy."

"It's been a fucking weeks."

"I know, but surely he has a plan. He's our Blackbeard."

"That's the problem," Izzy starts. "I don't think he's our Blackbeard anymore. I think he's been seduced by Bonnet."

"Seduced?"

"Last night... last night I was up on deck. I could hear them. They were... I'm pretty sure they were fucking."

"Out in the open?" You ask, wide eyed.

"Sounded like it."

"Ew, Izzy, why were you listening to them?"

"It wasn't on purpose!" He groans. "I think Edward might be... in love with this guy."

You fall silent as you think about it. It made sense in a way. Edward was always where Stede was. They kept in the same cabin. They talked constantly. They were always looking art each other.

"Well shit..."

"Exactly!" Izzy huffs.

"I mean... Is it that bad if he is?" You ask him.

Izzy stares at you. "Bad? It's a fucking disaster."

You gaze down at your lap. "He's the happiest I've seen him in ages."

"It's pathetic."

You glance up at Izzy. "Love? Or the fact you're losing Blackbeard to Bonnet?"

Izzy glares at you.

You stand up from his bed and move over to the door. You glance back at Izzy. "I would be so lucky to have what they do."

Izzy watches you leave. He stares confused at the space you occupied only moments ago. Your words and the expression on your face, it felt strange to him. What did you mean by that? Were you jealous of Edward? No, that was nonsense. Izzy knows you better than that.

Izzy thinks he knows you better than that.

♡♡♡

One of the crew's favourite things to do was tell stories. If it wasn't Stede reading them a fairytale, it was telling ghost stories.

It was entertaining, even if they didn't always make sense.

You were sat on the steps near where Izzy stood with Ivan and Fang. You could hear them talking behind you. You were watching Ed where he sat by Stede. The latter was telling one of his ghost stories.

"So, is the plan off?" Ivan asks.

"Yeah, I reckon we're not killing this guy now." Fang chimes in.

"The plan is very much alive." Izzy says. "He promised me."

You listen to them.

"It just seems that he's having an awfully nice time," Fang says, looking at Izzy. "I mean, look at him. He's telling ghost stories."

"This is the most open and available I've ever seen him." Ivan states.

You sigh and get up, walking last the crew and heading below deck. Izzy watches you go, not once looking away until you were out of sight.

♡♡♡

You're sitting in your dark little corner when you head footsteps coming toward you then stopping. You don't have to look up to know it's Izzy.

"You alright?" He asks.

"Yeah."

He sees the way you're sitting with your knees up, arms draped over them. You're not even looking at him. He sighs quietly.

"You're not. What is it?"

"Nothing, Izzy."

"You can talk to me, ya know."

You glance up at him. You can't read him for his blank expression. You're not sure what he is trying to do.

"What happens if Edward doesn't kill him?"

"Then I'll take matters into my own hands."

"Will Edward even let you?" You ask.

"Does it matter? We'll get our captain back and we can go back to our lives. We... we can be a crew again."

"We're not a crew now?" You gaze up at him.

"Not with this lot."

You turn your eyes away from him and Izzy exhales through his nose in a sound of slight desperation. He doesn't want you to turn away from him.

He says your name softly. "This isn't our home."

When you say nothing he clenches his jaw and walks away. You listen to his footsteps fade. When you're sure he's gone you sigh.

♡♡♡

You stand on deck the next morning as the ship is shrouded in fog. The crew of the Revenge have no idea what's going on, but you sailed with Blackbeard long enough to know.

A Fuckery, as he liked to call it.

You lean against the railing of the ship as you wait. Once Stede arrives, dressed in pretty pyjamas and gown, Edward demonstrates the art of "Fuckery", which leads to the Swede jumping over the side of the ship.

Ed promptly stops his theatrics so someone can get the Swede back onboard.

Izzy promptly comes out, looking up at Ed who is still hanging from the mast. "May I have a word?" He asks, grabbing at Blackbeard's boot.

"It's a bit like theatre, isn't it, Ed? Theatre of fear!"

"Ha, theatre of fear, love that!" Ed grins back at Stede.

"His name is Blackbeard, dog!"

"Well, I'll leave you to it. It looks like there's trouble in paradise." Stede walks off.

You stick around just long enough to see Izzy try and help Ed, but he gets fed up after being caught between his legs. Izzy storms off leaving Edward hanging.

Ed looks at you.

"Help?"

You shake your head and walk off too. He can get out of his own mess.

You follow Izzy to find him with Fang and Ivan. He looks at you as you get closer to him. There is something about the way he is looking at you that sends your heart thumping.

"Where's Blackbeard?" He asks.

"Hanging out."

Izzy doesn't react, but Fang giggles and Ivan grins.

"You with us?" Izzy asks.

"Izzy..."

"No. It's important that I know you're with us," he says. "You don't want to stay with this lot, do ya? You're so much more than they are. You're wasted on a crew like this." Izzy speaks softly, almost gentle. This isn't like him at all.

"Why is this suddenly about me?"

"I-"

Izzy is cut off by Edward entering. You turn around to see him looking less than impressed.

"You left me hanging." He looks at you with a flat expression. You don't even react. "What the fuck's all this?"

"Do you remember your policy about let's aboard your vessel?" Izzy asks.

"Pets? Yeah. No pets. They befoul the ship."

"You know what else you said?" Ivan asks. "You said the love of a pet makes a man weak."

"I said that?"

"Yeah, when I joined your crew, you made me put my dog down." Fang tells him.

"Yeah, OK. Well, yeah, vaguely... remember that."

"So, here's the rub. Me and the boys, we think you've begun to view Bonnet as a sort of a pet." Izzy says. "You're in too deep, Edward. Beat thing to do, end it quick."

"The longer you wait, the harder it gets..." Fang says, getting upset. Ivan holds Fang as he cries.

You stand between Izzy and Edward, not sure what to do. Edward walks off, making it a bit easier on you.

Izzy turns his eyes to you and then follows Edward out.

You look at Fang and step closer.

"There there, Fang. It's okay."

"He's in doggy heaven, Fangy," Ivan says, trying to comfort him.

"But we go to different heavens!" He cries some more. You pat him on the shoulder. Fang turns and pulls you into a hug.

You stay there awhile.

♡♡♡

You sit on Izzy's bed and wait for him. He takes a while to return, but when he does, he seems surprised to see you there.

"I was looking for you," he says.

You're sat on his bed with the wooden sparrow in your hand. You notice some detail has been added to it in ink, meaning Izzy is giving it some character. It made you happy to think this meant something to him.

"I've been in here."

Izzy watches the way you handle the gift you made him. You're being very careful with it, your finger tracing over the ink lines on the wing.

"You know I'm right," he says.

"Do I?"

Izzy closes the door to his cabin and stands in front of you, gazing down at you with his dark eyes.

"Bonnet has to go."

"Do you hate Edward being happy?" You ask

"No, I-"

"Because it seems like it," you cut him off. "Edward has found someone new. He's trying new things and kind of just enjoying life."

"We're pirates, we're not meant to enjoy life." Izzy hisses out.

"You didn't enjoy being on Blackbeard's crew?" You ask.

"Well, yeah."

"You don't enjoy sailing the seas?"

"Course I do-"

"You don't enjoy life?"

He falls quiet.

"Are you jealous that all of Edward's attention is on someone else, or are you jealous that he has something you don't?"

Izzy stares at you silently.

You put the bird back on the desk and stand up, looking Izzy in the eye. You want to say more, but you're not sure what. Izzy seems to read your mind.

"It will be over soon," he tells you. "Tomorrow night."

"Oh. So, that's it then?" You ask.

"Thought you'd be happy."

"Happy?" You huff. "You're the one who will be happy, Izzy."

"Don't tell me you're soft for Bonnet too," Izzy almost begs.

"I don't hate the guy like you do. He's actually kind of nice. He's kind, polite, funny if even unintentionally so."

"See, that's my point. He ain't a pirate."

"Izzy. Let the man live. He's doing his thing and he's still alive."

"Not on my watch," he says in a low voice.

You see the look in his eyes and you walk away. You're done trying to change his mind. This thing with Stede was between Izzy and Edward.

You weren't going to get involved.

♡♡♡

You walk into the kitchen to find Fang holding an unconscious Lucius down. Roach is sharpening a kitchen knife.

"The fuck?"

Fang looks up. "His finger is infected."

You lean over Lucius to see the state of his hand. His finger was horribly swollen. "Ouch."

"Seems to me the best move here is... amputation," Roach says, looking closely at the finger.

"Oh, for God's sake! He's a visual artist." Fang cries out. "You can't cut the boy's little fingies."

"Level with us, man." Pete grabs Roach. "There's no better option?"

"Not in my professional opinion."

You pull a face.

"Hold him down."

You sigh and help Fang hold the poor lad down. Just as Roach is about to cut the finger off, Lucius gains consciousness again. As soon as he realises what's happening he pushes both you and Fang away and runs off.

"It's only going to get worse!" You call. He's already too far gone.

You can't help but chuckle as Pete and Fang go after him.

This crew isn't so bad.

♡♡♡

The Fuckery goes about as expected. Except for the fact that the crew of the Revenge didn't raid the ship. They let themselves get boarded by the Dutch merchants and basically put on some kind of Shakespeare play.

It ended with Edward freaking out and hiding in Stede's bathtub.

Stede did not die.

Izzy was fuming. You stand beside the man seeing the way he was clenching his jaw. His fist was balled up and it took everything in you not to reach out and calm the man.

Edward was complimenting the crew on their performance.

Edward was enjoying himself.

Not anymore.

"Stede Bonnet."

You turn to look at Izzy. You curse under your breath. Yet, you shouldn't be surprised. Izzy did tell you he would take matters into his own hands.

"Draw your weapon."

"No, Izzy, we're not doing this." Ed points at him.

"No, YOU'RE not doin' this. So I must." Izzy steps down and grabs 2 swords. "Stede fuckin' Bonnet... I fuckin' challenge you to a fuckin' duel."

He tosses Stede a sword.you step in front of Izzy.

"Izzy, please."

"Move." He says your name softly.

"I accept your challenge," Stede says from behind you. You turn around.

"Stede, no."

"Stede, be careful. He does know his shit," Edward warns him.

Izzy uses his arm to move you out of the way. You glare at him as he steps closer to Stede.

"As do I. You've taught me well," Stede replies to Ed.

"Not that well," Ed admits.

Stede watches Izzy. "I assume standard duel rules apply. What are those exactly?" He asks.

"Let's make it interesting, shall we?" Izzy says. "The loser is banished from the ship, if they're not dead."

"Izzy, no!" You call out, but he ignores you. Instead he instantly swings his sword at Stede.

Stede manages to block his attacks

"Come on. Give a man a warning." Stede says as Izzy holds his sword up to his neck.

"That was your warning."

They start swinging their swords at each other. You stand there anxiously, watching. There is no way for Stede to beat Izzy. Israel Hands was the best man you knew with a sword.

Izzy gets a hit into Stede which stumbles the man backward. Izzy's swings become a little more furious. Stede falls onto the ground. Izzy stands over him with sword pointed down at him.

"Yield or die."

"I choose... this." Stede throws powder into Izzy's face, temporarily blinding the man. Izzy covers his face and stumbles backward. The crew cheer for Stede, but all you can think about is if you should step in or not.

Stede gets to his feet, he gives Izzy a smack on the backside with his sword. Izzy straightens up again and continues the fight.

Izzy disarmed Stede with ease. The gentleman pirate backs up against the mast.

"So, it looks like we've arrived, Bonnet. The end of the road." Izzy holds his sword up to Stede again.

"Alright. Let's call it a draw," Stede says, breathless.

"Nah, I'm good."

"Izzy, stop!" You try once more in vain, but it feels like he's ignoring you completely.

With a firm stab, Izzy's sword goes right through Stede's abdomen and into the mast, pinning him there.

You inhale sharply at Stede's scream.

"Did I do it right?" Stede asks Ed, looking at the other man. "He missed all the important bits..."

Izzy tries to pull the sword out, but to no avail. He pulls hard, grunting. You stare at him, mild confusion painting across your face.

"This mast... is made from the finest cherry wood in Brazil. It's rather strong, actually." Stede manages to say as Izzy continues to attempt to pull the sword out.

Edward looks flabbergasted.

You can't quite believe what you're seeing yourself.

"Shut up!" Izzy yells at Stede. "Don't you ever shut up?! You rancid rat!"

The sword breaks in Izzy's hand. The blade still pinning Stede to the mast. You feel a gasp escape last your lips.

Buttons laughs. "Well, now, Mr Hands. Reckon he's rendered your sword inoperable."

Izzy stands there with realisation on his face.

"By duelling tradition, that means..."

"Stede wins!" Frenchie yells. The crew all cheer. "In your face, Jizzy!"

Edward shrugs as Izzy looks at him.

You watch Izzy with concern. He walks off. You watch him. You don't care for what everyone else is doing. You take off after Izzy.

He disappears into his cabin, you follow him inside, not even knocking. He doesn't say anything to you about it as he faces away from you, shoulders tense.

"Izzy..."

"No." He speaks with a firmness, but not in an angry way. Just a firm 'no.'

"Izzy, please. That whole thing was stupid."

"You're telling me..."

You take a step closer to him hoping he will turn around and look at you. He remains facing the wall of his cabin.

"Just forget the duel! Forget everything."

"No. Rules are rules."

"Izzy..."

He turns around and looks at you, but only briefly. He looks like he struggles to look you in the eye.

"He promised me. I was fucking right all along. Edward's gone soft for that twat. Any trace of Blackbeard is gone and it's all because of fuckin' Bonnet."

Your arm twitches as if you were going to reach out and touch him, but you catch yourself. However, Izzy noticed the slight reaction in your hand. He kind of wished you would.

"Don't be stupid, Izzy. Stay. We'll figure all this out. Maybe there's another solution."

"No." He shakes his head, his Adam's apple bobs as he swallows thickly. He's angry. Silently angry.

"It was a stupid fucking duel. Are you seriously going to leave?"

"I'm not a coward."

"I didn't say you were," your voice is almost pleading. "Don't go."

"Rules are rules," he says again. For a brief second his eyes meet yours and you can see all the emotion bottled up inside. You want to reach out and hold the man, caress him, get him to open up and talk to you.

But he won't.

Your breathing becomes uneven as you try to fight off any emotion. You will not cry in front of him.

"So that's it then? You're going to fuck off and... and what? Leave me behind? I only just found you again and you're leaving me?"

"You could come with me."

"And do what? Izzy, what would be the point? I only just found my way back home," you tell him.

"No. This isn't home. This is a lie. A facade. Home was back on our ship, back with Blackbeard's crew. Home is... is where we belonged. It's where we lived together."

A tear escapes and runs down your cheek. This was your breaking point.

"Fuck you," you whisper.

Izzy stares at you.

"Fuck you and this whole fucking thing." You take a couple slow steps back toward the door. "Fuck off then, Izzy. Leave me behind. Maybe... maybe I should have stayed a ghost story."

You don't hang around. You turn on your heel and leave.

Izzy catches his breath as he stares at his empty doorway.

"Fuck," he whispers.

♡♡♡

@grippleback-galaxy - @askmarinaandothers - @godlikegallagher - @for-fuck-sake-im-alive - @whiskeyswriting - @lxsm2 - @bloody-bunni666 - @the-chocoholic-writer -

[oumaheroes]

I miss the UK bros, how are they doing this time of day? Getting into trouble? Fighting? Getting absolutely pissed drunk and singing as they walk home? Fighting? How are my boys?

~Izzy

I'm very glad you asked 😌

This fic also relates way back to that poll I had, wherein I asked people who they wanted to see Wales written with in a small fic. The answer was a brother, so I chose North!

Characters: Wales, Northern Ireland, UK Bros referenced

Warnings for graphic details of butchery

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

Art Show

‘So, do you think I should ask them?’

‘I think they’ll be offended if you don’t.’

‘Yeah, but should I.’

Wales looked up from the dead sheep he was laying out on the old fashioned stone table and wiped his forehead with the back of his arm, ‘Do what you want, love. It’s your art show.’

‘Yeah but that’s you saying that there’s still a right answer.’ Leant against the rough outside brick of the barn nearby, North spun his mobile between his forefinger and thumb, the screen a dark mirror catching the sun.

With a far brighter flash of light, Wales picked up his boning knife from its spot on the table and wiped the back of it on his overalls. North eyed it, then the dead sheep, and ignored the urge to head back inside.

‘There’s not a right answer,’ Wales said slowly, ‘I’m just telling you that they will be upset if you don’t invite us.’

‘You’re invited.’

‘If you don’t invite all of us.’ Wales gave him a pointed look, conveying to him the need to honour a long-held understanding (long, at least, to North’s lifetime) that there were certain things that must be done As A Family. To exclude one or more of them from one of these unspoken events was a sure-fire way to surface old grudges North didn’t even want to try to understand. Annoyingly, most of these events involved himself.

‘I think it will be nice.’ Wales offered to the silence. ‘You and your friends’ work all hung up in a proper gallery, a chance to walk around your college. We could even go for dinner afterwards. Like...’

Wales stopped himself, maybe hearing the impossible wish in his words that made North feel embarrassed and hungry for it at the same time. Silently, Wales twisted the sheep to the position he wanted it and then, in one practised movement, slit the whole thing from throat to groin. North gagged and turned away.

Wales clucked at him in concern, gaze still focused on the sheep and the knife, ‘Are you alright?’

North didn’t trust himself to speak. He clamped his jaw tightly shut, turning back to focus on the green hills beyond the farm over Wales’ shoulder, and gave him a thumbs up.

‘It’s nice of you to watch but you really don’t have to.’

North had offered to help him, actually. Wales was very kind to omit that.

‘Alisdair will think it’s pointless.’ North continued thickly, watching Wales skin the sheep in a few quick, strong tugs, his shoulders tightening and broadening under his baggy shirt before softening away again.

‘Oh, he can piss off. He just doesn’t know what to do with himself in a place like that.’

‘He thinks me being in college at all is stupid.’

‘He’s a hypocrite. He’s had human friends before. And more human lives than I can count.’

‘He might not even come.’

‘He will.’

That’s what North was actually worried about. He knew all of them would turn up if he asked them to, they had for everything else. School plays when he was much younger, football and rugby games, sessions in parliament- there was always one of them present in all of his early achievements. Older now though, it felt strange. North didn’t know what was worse, Scotland grumbling and picking fault in the entire thing and North’s enjoyment of it, or maybe Patrick finding it all amusing. Like a hobby or passing fancy North had picked up, rather than anything to be taken seriously. It was only an end of year art show, for a module he took only because some of his friends had chosen it, but he’d found that he’d liked it. He’d worked hard on his final piece and wanted that to be recognised.

The idea of them all together, in a place he had chosen and cultivated separately for himself, felt too much like a clashing of two worlds that he was averse to see coming together. With their different accents and odd turns of phrase, they were a hard thing to normalise and explain away even if they did behave themselves.

Wales waved his knife towards the smaller building that bordered the barn, ‘I’ve left the slop bucket behind. Fetch it for me?’

‘I don’t know why you have to do this yourself.’ North called behind him as he jogged over to the door, ‘It’d be easier to take them to the butchers when they need to go.’

‘It’s important to do things yourself sometimes,’ Wales said simply when he returned. He dropped some gory looking shapes into the bucket, and they hit the bottom with a wet smack. The meaty smell of them made North feel sick, ‘You forget things if you don’t practise- easy to take the new alternatives for granted. And it always tastes better when you’re part of the process, more like how I remember.’

Wales looked at him and then back to the sheep, ‘Don’t leave anything to waste, if you can help it. This’ll make a lovely mutton stew; keep me going for days.’

North stared into the bucket warily, not feeling very hungry at all.

‘I‘d enjoy myself if I went.’ Wales said, his hand back somewhere North couldn’t look at for too long, ‘I really want to go, and I know they would do too, if they knew about it. We’ve never had many chances to enjoy small things like this for what they are.’

North toed the grass, feeling uncomfortable, ‘I suppose I could ask Alisdair when we go to the gig next week. See what he says and then tell Arthur and Patrick.’

Wales gave him a wide smile. Something inside the sheep cracked, ‘I think that’s a wonderful way to do it.’

‘You can't take any pictures though.’

Wales’ smile dropped, ‘Why?’

‘All of my friends will be there; no one else will be doing it.’

‘Of course they will.’

‘Not as many as you do.’

Wales rolled his eyes, ‘How about the small camera? My “digi-cam”- I can take that?’

‘No one uses those anymore.’

Wales pulled a face, ‘I’m sure they do. I only got that a few years ago.’

‘It was at least 15.’

Wales shrugged, unbothered, and dropped a few more horrible looking things into the slop bucket, ‘My camera phone then.’ Then, when North made a noise- ‘and I’ll only ask for one posed one.’

‘Fine.’

[mythicalmagical-monkeyman]

(Semi) Wholesome moment between Logan and Mateo was not on my bingo sheet. Under cut and @fruity-legos look i’ve got more food

Summary:

The world was tough sometimes but good thing Mateo had friends to help him along, to remind and tell him things, or to just be there when he needs them

Or

Five plus one times Mateo accidentally got good advice from his friends/had wholesome chats with them

Additional Tags:

Wholesome. Just Mateo talking to his friends and seeing parts of what make them tick. Logan Chan has DID - Dissociative Identity Disorder. These chats will come back later in the series. ambiguous time periods, idk when these would fall on the timeline. DID terminology used so feel free to ask if your curious about some of the terms. No Beta we technically die as symbolism for death and rebirth. Other Additional Tags to Be Added

Chapter One: Logan—

It was raining. 

Gross, was his first thought, and usually Mateo was a big rain lover, but that was of course on the days when he was inside and hadn’t forgotten his rain jacket at home. 

Groaning, Mateo looked out as the rain beat down on Brooklyn from his spot under the covered entrance to the school. 

Most of the other kids and teachers had left already, including Izzie, Cooper, and Zoey, as school had ended almost two hours ago. Mateo had stayed late though to finish up one of his art projects that was due soon and surprisingly his art teacher was kind enough to let him stay late. 

Really late, to the point where Mateo felt himself growing weirdly sad at how quiet the school campus had become.  

Mateo pulled out his phone and brought up his dad’s contact, he probably wasn’t off work yet but it wouldn’t hurt to give a quick call just to see if he could get a ride. 

His phone vibrated as it rang but eventually it clicked off. His dad hadn’t picked up so he must’ve still been busy. 

Disappointing. 

Ok then, all he had to do was run and hopefully he’d get home before the rain soaked through his backpack and wetted all his supplies. 

Mateo inhaled deeply and steeled himself. He was just about to run when he heard a click. 

With a hum of confusion Mateo turned to his side and saw Logan standing there, a closed umbrella in hand.  

Logan looked at him, raised an eyebrow, and let a, “Sup Matty?” Slip from his lips. 

Mateo glanced Logan over, he was dressed the same as always but Mateo could see sweat stains growing in Logan’s armpit areas. 

Ew. 

Apparently Mateo accidentally let that thought slip however as Logan scoffed at him. 

“You try not working up a sweat during basketball tryouts weirdo,” 

Well that explained everything. 

Logan rolled his eyes and popped open his umbrella, moving it to hold it above his head before walking out into the rain. He only got a few feet away when he suddenly stopped, grumbled to himself angrily, and turned back around with a loud sigh. 

He came back over to Mateo and held out the umbrella slightly like he was offering it to Mateo to take. 

Mateo took a hesitant step forward, “What are you doing?” 

Logan grumbled something that sounded like Mandarin under his breath and forced a small smile, “Do you want to walk home and get soaking wet?” 

Mateo paused and then responded, glancing down to watch himself kick at the pavement, “No,” 

“Good, now come on, my mom is making spring rolls and I don’t wanna be late,” 

Mateo glanced back up just in time to watch Logan turn and begin to walk off again. A small surge of panic darted through Mateo and he bolted over to join Logan under the umbrella. 

Instantly Mateo felt an uneasiness settle over them. Being this close to a sweaty Logan under a small-ish umbrella made him definitely feel a little uncomfortable and it wasn’t unlikely Logan was feeling the same. They weren’t exactly the best of friends. 

They walked in silence for a while, with Mateo deciding to keep his attention on his sleeve where he watched it grow slightly damp from the rain. 

Logan spoke first. 

“Why do you look so depressed?” 

Mateo shot a quick glance at him, “I’m not depressed,” 

“Sure you are,” Logan insisted, “I mean just look at your face bro,” 

“Very funny,” 

Though he wasn’t facing Logan, Mateo swore he felt Logan’s eyes on him, “I’se serious though, if you need to talk about shit I’m here. I might tease you for it if it’s lame but hey, still good to get it out.” 

“Thanks Logan,” Mateo muttered as sarcastically as he could. 

Logan snorted, “No problem bro,” 

Mateo couldn’t help the sigh and eye roll that came from him at Logan’s response. 

A second awkward silence was just starting to crop up as the boys came within sight of Mrs. Castillo’s food truck, which surprisingly still seemed to have life going on inside, when Logan exclaimed, “Oh I know what it is!” 

This time Mateo turned to look at him, his eyes narrowing in confusion, “What?” 

“Why you look all poopy,” Logan said back, jerking a finger towards the other boy’s face, “you still don’t like me,” 

Mateo frowned and in an act of protest argued, “Well you still do call me Lunchbox,” 

As much as he still felt a little irked by Logan it felt wrong to agree to full on dislike. They weren’t… enemies anymore. 

“Ha! Yeah ain’t ditching the nicknames any time soon,” Logan admitted but he still did look a little guilty, “but I get it you know. I’ve been told I’m not exactly easy to get along with,” 

“No crap,” Mateo grumbled, turning away and missing as Logan tilted his head to the side as if he was listening to something Mateo couldn’t hear. 

Logan let out a low whistle, “Alright fine, I’ll ask. Luka’s wondering if it is us though, he doesn’t like when people are mad at us,” 

“I…” Mateo trailed off for a moment, glancing at Logan quickly as his brain reminded him that Logan had other people in his head, “it’s not really you. I know we don’t exactly get along but, well, after everything we’ve been through. We’re cool.” 

“For reals,” 

They continued on for a few more steps, words on the tip of Mateo’s tongue that he felt like he had to get out, “I’m just… sad? I suppose. I’ve just been feeling really alone lately.” 

He wasn’t really. He knew that he had his family, his friends, Z-Blob, teachers too if he really felt like stretching it but he couldn’t help the feeling that had persisted for most of the week. The weird feeling that left him feeling empty, a bit alone. Yet with how everyone had been that week, doing their own things and relaxing in the face of a peaceful dream world, he guessed that made sense. People were allowed to have moments of space away from each other and while feeling alone wasn’t particularly fun it existed as a part of human nature. 

“Alone eh?” Logan hummed, “Well you ain’t,” 

“I know it’s just this feeling, you know?” 

Logan nodded, “Yeah, I get that. Sorta,” he added. 

“Sorta?” Mateo wondered, noting how his house was suddenly in sight. Talking really did pass the time, didn’t it? 

“It’s hard to feel truly alone when you’ve got … people,” Logan explained, pointing a finger at his head. 

“ Oh ,” 

Mateo really had to stop letting that slip his mind. 

“But, hey listen Matty…” Logan started, only to shake his head and start again, “Mateo, if I’ve learned anything from having headmates my whole life it’s that you’re never alone. Even when you’re at your lowest and think that there’s no one else out there… there are. There are people out there that will have your back, and that will come for you when you're hurt. Sometimes you may feel like you’re alone but you’re not. Not forever at least,” 

Mateo squinted, he was talking to Logan right? He didn’t just switch on him did he? He turned and looked long and hard until Logan turned and stared back. Logan then reached his hand up and flicked Mateo on the forehead. 

Yep, that was Logan alright. 

Mateo let out a small groan and rubbed at his forehead while grumbling, “That was… really profound for you Logan,” 

Logan snickered and grinned, his weirdly sharp canine teeth on full display, “Thanks, I have a gift,” 

After a few more steps the duo reached the front steps of Mateo’s house and Logan proclaimed loudly, “Welp, welcome home poop face!” 

Mateo grimaced and glanced around to look for other people who could’ve overheard. When he found no one he reached over and punched Logan in the arm. 

“Oh shut up,” Mateo huffed, only semi-annoyed, “you just had to ruin the moment didn’t you?” 

“Yep!” Logan agreed, stepping away and letting the rain hit Mateo full on. Mateo pouted as he began to get pelted and scrambled up the steps to hide from the rain in the doorframe of his house where he was offered little relief. 

“Ok byeeeeeeee,” Mateo heard Logan call. 

Mateo turned to wave the other boy off only to find him stopped a few feet away. Logan turned slightly and added, “Also if anyone asks I didn’t walk you home!” 

Mateo snorted, “Oh definitely, never admitting to that,” 

Logan threw back his head as he barked out a laugh, “Ha!” And with that Logan grinned before running off towards his own home. 

[katyspersonal]

Collision, Family, Volcano, Crown, Ruler and Fire for Izzy! (Her character has such a cool concept yet there is so little about her character in this fandom i need more of her,,,,)

Hey!! Thank you for asking! And also your ask made me want to finally do another quick doodle of her x)

Baby boy. Baby. vs Evil

(Asks from this ( x ) meme)

💥 COLLISON - what emotions do they have trouble dealing with? 🌋 VOLCANO - how bad is their temper? is it a slow boil, or a instant explosion?

I am combining these questions because the answers to both are quite connected, hope this is okay!

Izzy will go feral, figurally and literally, when someone either threatens people she is willing to protect or knows which regrets of hers to turn outside. Although she thinks reasonably and tries her best to have a grasp on her impulses and "be an animal responsibly!", she unfortunately is vulnerable to provocation. You know that one smug asshole that simply knows all of your insecurities and will lead you in public (friends or families) so they could humiliate you or dig through your dirt? ...no? Well, it is the worst kind of parental/authority figure, and Izzy is likely to see red and even physically attack a person like this. If she is around someone who knows how to get under her skin, she needs a more collected friend to ground her and remind her this is not worth her passion and anger.

Conclusion: slow boil, unless you pull the right strings! He can pile up grudges and anger- heck, it took a while for Izzy to "explode" at Ludwig with telling him in exact detail how much of a dumbass he was fhfhdsfd Yet on the other hand, Ashton (a crucial OC for the story) infuriated Izzy upon like, second significant interaction!

👪 FAMILY - what is their family like? what is your ocs relationship to them? does your oc have any siblings?

I envisioned her as the only child and someone growing without mom, raised just by father who was also quite harsh on her. A hell lot of emotional problems that never got resolved, just piling up over the years. She never tried to earn her dad's approval, nor strongly rebelled against him, but simply tried to coexist with little to no trust to the irrational fool that never knew what did he want.

The father had plenty of siblings on the other hand, so Izzy got to see various uncles, aunts and cousins often! With most of them Izzy was friendly and they felt more like a family than his dad, but still it was a little soured since for them her dad was the best person even with no flaw whatsoever and in her kid and teens she lacked the nerve to ruin the good picture. Izzy stopped writing any letters to her father or cousins from Yharnam in the end. There were just too many absolutely batshit things happening that letters would not cover, but he didn't want to bother with 'fake' and shallow letters either.

👑 CROWN - what does your oc want to be remembered as? why?

Izzy simply wanted to have his place amongst other significant people in Yharnam, whether it'd be as a great hunter or as a significant researcher! In a way, this wish came true.. you know, discovering a whole new philosophy in all that... mess of Kin, Beasts and humans, that STILL (!!!) has people like Josef diving into Loran dungeons to get at least close to the revelation about beasthood Izzy found? Izzy died as a monster, not knowing her legacy would live on beyond cursing Yamamura's homeland with beasthood, but she'd be very content to know she left the potential of "better humankind" open :')

📏 RULER - is your oc well educated? where did they get their learning from?

Izzy is actually well-versed in subjects like math, history, chemistry and biology! She knows a lot of literature and art too, it is just not a forefront and only brought up accidentally, when she tries to recite a poem that no one recognises. Doesn't help that her manner of talking is really "simple" for the lack of better term, and her education is only obvious when she IS discussing the topic! I always joke that she is a jock+nerd hybrid xD

She went the self-taught road as soon as she gained enough maturity to understand the teachers at the school tended to abuse their authority and the educational system itself was sketchy and with propaganda of certain ideas baked in it! If they wanted to overreact at her reasonable curiosity, then whatever! Calling them out on their bullshit and doing her own thing at the library it is, then! Because of how she studied everything "unofficially" she never had any certificate for her rich knowledge. But out of all Hunters visiting Byrgenwerth, only Izzy took a whole room to conduct researches, not to mention giving good lectures..... until Willem finally walked in and shooed her with a broom fdhfdjdsd

🔥 FIRE - do they have any self destructive tendencies? what habits do they have that hinder them from becoming their best self?

If you count self-inflicted beastly evolution and accelerating Vermin she got inside herself to properly become a part of her blood as self-destruction, then I guess so xD But in her defence, her choice of path to evolution preserved the humanity in its true nature the best!! Filth of humanity is not something to "cleanse" but something to cherish and protect from Great Ones who abuse it!

I'd say a flaw that guarantees his "failures" is inability to control the way arrogance grows as soon as his ideological enemies are marked. Izzy gets commentaries on being too stubborn from friends often, even when he is objectively right! She is actually quite similar to Laurence with the whole "I know what's best for humanity!".. Izzy is actually a strong competition to Mico in terms of being Laurence's rival: they both have these grand plans, whereas Micolash largerly doesn't care about humanity and sees most as cattle. But God FORBID you TELL Izzy this fhdhfdshds

Also:

I want to present.. the sequel

Izzy: Unlike you fanatics I am able to listen to the ideas that contradict mine without losing my shit uwu

Caryll: Embracing beasthood is not the rebellion against the vicious cycle of Moon Presence that you think it is but a truthful part of her plan same as Star Kin that receive redemption from her, the only way to win is to not play.

Izzy:

Ok ok I am done now fhhdshfdhf Thank you for the ask again!!

[manesalex]

I have my own set of thoughts about ofmd "no longer being a kind show" and, rather than hijack someone else's post, I figured I'd add to the conversation.

As others have pointed out, the outside world has always been cruel in this universe. Stede and Ed both had awful childhoods. Jim's entire family was murdered. And, as Oluwande said in the pilot, they're all (other than Stede) pirates because they don't have another choice.

But, on the Revenge, they choose kindness. We start with Stede paying his crew, having arts and crafts time, and telling them bedtime stories. We see this kindness win over the other characters. We see it transform them. In a lot of ways, we see it free them from the pressures to perpetuate the cruelty and violence of the outside world.

And we see this with Izzy too. In season one, he was bringing that cruelty from the outside world onto the Revenge. He was, essentially, trying to force his sense of normality onto the crew (also his toxic masculinity, but that's another topic for another post). But, in season two, the kindness finally reached him. The crew made him the unicorn leg. They embraced him. Even after everything he did to them, at what he'd likely see as his lowest point, they chose to treat him with kindness. And so he started to change, started to embrace the kindness on the Revenge.

And then he was shot. Again with the cruelty of the outside world on this show. And, rather than revert to the Izzy we knew on season one, rather than bringing the outside world with him (as he did in season one) he held on to that kindness that he learned on the Revenge. He apologized to Ed. He told Ed to just be himself.

Idk, I think that's beautiful. OFMD showed us the transformative power of kindness. How we can still choose to be kind to each other, no matter how we suffer. How, as queer people, we can continue to embrace each other, continue to celebrate each other, no matter how the outside world treats us. How maybe that gives us strength to face the outside world and to continue to be ourselves, rather than hiding who we are.

All that said, I understand the Izzy fans who are hurting. I wish they wouldn't take it out on other fans or on the writers, but I understand their pain. We've all lost characters we love, characters who feel like a part of us. We've all come into a story expecting one thing and being surprised and hurt when we didn't get what we expected, when we felt like that changed or twisted the message of the show for us. Whether or not we feel that way about this show, I'd be willing to guess we've all been there.

So, to those Izzy fans who are hurting, I'm so sorry. And I'm offering virtual hugs to all of you. I hope you find the joy that you used to find in this show somewhere else. And I hope you write a shitton of fanfiction to give yourselves the story you wanted here.

[dropout-if]

hi izzy!! i’m not sure if you’re still doing the emoji asks hehe but can i ask for 🖍️🌈🌪️🌠☄️ for all the ros please?? thank you <3

Hi Nikka~ I'm still doing them yep🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️ I was looking forward to someone asking a few of those ty💕

🖍️ CRAYON - what advice would you give to them?

Generally, I'd tell everyone to see a therapist (I'm very tough-love-approach when it comes to giving advice so picture me saying all this menacingly).

Jade/Jean- it's okay to not be perfect, it's okay to not be needed.

Uma- your pain is valid but so is everyone else's. You should communicate more openly.

Statler- take a break. You deserve it.

Wanda- you think everything is dandy, but ignoring your problems doesn't make them disappear.

Kai- eat your veggies. Please. Take better care of yourself.

Travis- sometimes it's better to talk things out instead of bottling it all up.

🌈 RAINBOW - what advice would they give to their younger self?

Jade/Jean- “Don't be afraid to take risks and follow your dreams. Trust yourself more and remember that setbacks are just opportunities to grow stronger. And don't forget to cherish the moments with loved ones along the way.”

Uma- “Explore your creativity fearlessly. Don't worry too much about what others think. Embrace your uniqueness and let your heart guide you. Your journey is your own, and it's worth every twist and turn.”

Statler- (they're the kind of person who gives advice but doesn't really apply it to themself) “Don't be afraid to express your feelings and show vulnerability. People value your compassion and support.”

Wanda- “Don't be so trusting of people who promise you the world. Be safe. Love yourself. Take chances, have fun, and don't be afraid to express yourself. Follow your passions and let your infectious energy inspire those around you.”

Kai- “Be more confident. Care less about what people think. It's okay to be different and march to your own beat. Embrace your curiosity and dive deep into your interests.”

Travis- “Trust in your intelligence and your ability to achieve your goals. Focus on your long-term vision and don't get too caught up in petty conflicts. Your determination will lead you to success.”

🌪️ TORNADO - what is the biggest change you've ever made to them? how have they changed from their original version?

Jade/Jean- I think J has always been J in a way. They were the first character I created for dropout and I've always had their character very clear. There's one thing that's spoilery to say but I did change their main conflict.

Uma- wasn't a tattoo artist originally, just a struggling artist trying to get through life. Uma wouldn't really want a life in which they didn't work through art, so tattooing was a very fitting solution (I was also cleaning one of my tattoos when I thought of it lol).

Statler- has probably changed the most? They used to be very stuck up and unkind they were honestly a little annoying to write? Their high school version retains some of those qualities but I like this self-sacrificing version of Statler much more.

Wanda- Gabi's dad was an important character in Wanda's plot but to my own daddy issues I completely erased him from existence lol.

Kai- wasn't originally into the whole sleeping around thing lol. They completely rejected people, even the idea of friendship. Kai atm is much more approachable, they want to be around people (but not too much).

Travis- there used to be no grievances between Travis and MC. He was the third best friend but as I developed his backstory... things changed. It's made his entire disposition towards MC generally more angry.

🌠 SHOOTING STAR - if they could make any wish with no repercussions, what wish would they make?

Jade/Jean- unparalleled success and recognition. Also enough motivation to finish their book.

Uma- inspiration to finally create a painting worthy of being in an art gallery.

Statler- world peace + the ability to heal and bring happiness to those they care about.

Wanda- to change the past.

Kai- to travel the entire world for the rest of their life.

Travis- complete control over his own destiny and the ability to shape the future.

☄️ COMET - what do people assume about them? are they right?

Jade/Jean- J is always confident and has their life together. It is accurate to an extent. While J exudes confidence, they also struggle with their own insecurities, moods, and past regrets.

Uma- people often see Uma as carefree/careless and aloof. Uma is indeed a little serious toward strangers, but this is not the case with their friends. They also have a deep emotional complexity beneath their carefree exterior.

Statler- their life is perfect, as Statler themself is perfect. People also assume Statler is always the dependable and caring friend. They are most definitely not perfect, nor they have had the perfect life. Statler's caring nature is genuine, but they also grapple with their own challenges, including Noir.

Wanda- people tend to think Wanda is careless and naive due to her bubbly/vibrant personality. Wanda generally portrays a positive disposition, but she faces her own struggles as a single mother and has her own set of concerns.

Kai- a carefree fuckgirl/boy who doesn't seem to care about anything or anyone but themself. In reality, Kai's adventurous spirit hides deeper emotions, and their relationships have more depth than meets the eye.

Travis- people assume Travis is cold and unforgiving. Though they are partly right (he is somewhat spiteful) Travis' thought process is a little more complicated than that.

[ask-healthy-light]

Though I had woken up at the same time as Michael the day before, as I was exhausted from the whole Saturday, I woke up many hours later than usual, and it took me some time to get up and head out to breakfast; and as I left the hotel towards the same bakery, I realised that there were so many more fans at the hotel as I had previously thought, as I nodded knowingly to others as I headed outside.

At the bakery, I managed to order my sandwich and cappuccino mostly in German, but also purchased a couple of extra sandwiches for lunch later that day, before I continued to the venue, meeting a few other folks on my way there; luckily, I had heard back from Filip about the Goodiebag, and told him that I was headed to the venue, where I we could meet up, hopefully before the event started again.

I politely thanked him for keeping safe the Goodiebag for so long, and headed back to the entrance, where I took some time to look through the bag, finding beautiful art of Pinkamena and Discord on a poster and a shirt, as well as a pixel recreation of a meme on a mug; and in the mug, I found a few sets of stickers and a wristband for PCRP, all of which I safely put in one of the many bags I had.

Back inside, I waited at Patch's vendor stand near the entrance for a while, making a collection of items I wanted to buy, since I had not seen her all day on Saturday, which I mentioned to her after the concerts the night prior; fortunately, she was as kind and sweet as usual, and let me know that their breakfast had run late, but we met up not long after, and I thanked her again for everything.

After we met up, and I had told her to look after herself and Deus, who appeared to be somewhat out of it during Prince's concert the night before, she told me this was because of his exhaustion; for not only had Deus been unbelievably busy for weeks prior to the event, but he had also been running around the whole day to make sure everything ran smoothly, which, fortunately, was a great success.

I thanked her for everything once again, and told her that I would see her around, before I went to the Voice Actor panel in the Mane Hall, where I met up with my friend, and where we enjoyed all the voice actors' answers; the most amazing moment was Mark Acheson's brilliant impression of Ana Sani, the voice of Izzy, in a voice entirely unlike his own, which made the whole Hall erupt in laughter.

My friend and I split up after this panel, and after I had asked PrinceWhateverer for his autograph on the two physical albums I had purchased from him, and had told him that his concert the previous night was phenomenal, I headed to a panel on Ashes of Equestria; and I purchased more fantastic art from LupiArts, shared kind words with them once again, whereafter they gave me yet another sticker.

The panel on Ashes of Equestria was almost over, and during it, I chatted with my friend, who I saw sitting at the fountain outside, and met up with him and many friends on our way outside; and after taking pictures of so many friends, we went outside, where I ate some lunch, and enjoyed music from DJ PON-3's Bass Cannon, where one of the guitarists of Coltastrophe was playing along, for a while.

We wandered around for a little while after lunch, waiting for the panel on Building Sweetie Bot to start, during which we saw the robot Mare walking, or, rather, being dragged around, looking around at a few more vendor tables; but to my surprise, confusion, and dismay, I had spent close to all my bills, so I spent the last I had on a sticker book from CutePencilCase before heading to the panel.

The panel on Building your Own Pony Robot was genuinely hilarious, very relatable, both in good and bad ways, and educational, as the host warned us that everything will break, and advised us to look for help, and to not be too overconfident in your abilities or the lack thereof; but the bot, which was apparently more akin to a car, looked amazing, and I'm excited to see her final design in time!

After Sweetie Bot, the time had come for the Charity Auction… Hold on to your wallets!

(Thanks for reading this bonus! I'll be writing more about GalaCon over the next few days, so keep an eye out if you're interested!)

Part 5/8

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8

[cebwrites]

scar headcanons (Hiraishin Pirates)

a/n: wanted to get these onto paper before I forgot because I haven't been inspired enough to write them into fic form, lol

oc crew word count: 0.8k

Kirin

A scar vertically across his left collarbone from getting in the middle of a fight between Daz Bones and Bon Clay when they were all still Baroque agents (Bon-chan didn't leave him unhurt either, their kick to Kirin's head gave him a hell of a concussion)

A spiky, horizontal scar (frantic, poor stitching) across his abdomen slightly under his navel from his desperate teenage dysphoria brain taking control and attempting something very very stupid that he still hears about to this day

A diagonal scar going into the inner thigh of his left leg, and stitching scars all across his right leg post-Marineford

A big, jagged scar that gets darker further in from his brother post-Dressrosa (he had a rough time getting around in the direct aftermath of receiving that wound, so hasn't healed that well); this scar tends to hurt on rainy days

And small nicks around his waist and lower back, almost as if they were made by the end of a hook

Aside from those, he has smaller scars here and there all over his body, Kirin's not as particularly fussed about protecting precious skin as his partners' are - ironically no other scars on his torso though, even as he struts around shirtless two thirds of the time with active goading to whoever tries to challenge that

Reiji

Miscellaneous (slashing) scars on his arms in no particular order, and some on his legs but not many, Reiji also has stitching scars on his right thumb + pinky and his left index + ring finger

His biggest scars are a big spiky one just above his heart that comes out through his back

[There are no other scars on his back or other parts of his body, some would say that's fitting for a swordsman but he'd rebuke it]

Rio

More than they care to count since they blur together after a while, especially on their back, the majority of them whipping and laceration marks

Rio doesn't go out of their way to avoid reflections of their back anymore - the tiger tattoo covering that accursed dragon claw on their skin - but they don't need to see it to know those scars would always remain; he feels them, constantly, whenever they move or shift even the slightest amounts

Rio has more scars on the back of their upper arms and legs but they've gotten used to those, barely feel em anymore

On the under side of their left arm, they have a long, jagged gash Post-Timeskip; when Rio stands with one hand over the other, sometimes they'll brush their fingers against it out of habit

Izzy

A mildly disturbing fact Izzy realized about himself after getting his devil fruit is that, after a while, his scars don't seem to last nearly as long as they should

Small nicks he'd expect, but at some point they began noticing what should be life-long mars on their skin start to fade, even if from a long time ago, almost like an old tattoo

It kind of instilled a deep-seeded fear that one day he too would fade like ink underneath someone's skin they didn't bother to touch up, gradually, helpless to stop it, and without anyone really noticing - a partial drive behind his dream to leave his literal mark on the world, by tattooing 10,000 people they'd never truly be forgotten and live on through their work

Tetsu

A lot less than some people would typically assume - Tetsu wants his body to be a canvas for his husband's art, so there's no way he could let that art get damaged, right?

He still has quite a few, though, namely on his torso and legs from direct stab wounds (his arms are surprisingly clean)

He has a circular bullet scar on his right shoulder after taking a shot that was initially for Bepo, now it's the center of a beautiful wave illustration from Izzy that he takes to brag about any chance he gets

Alto

Much like Izzy, most scars he gets are impermanent - but only on Alto's "puppet" body, and unlike them, as soon as Alto returns to his human form, they're no longer there

If they're injured in that fleshy form, though, that scar is forever, even transferring over to the next body they carve; this is possibly why no matter how many times Alto carves himself new wings, they never sit comfortably and eventually always have to be shed

The new wood he attaches to his head is unmarred, but mind and body (the human one) still retain the memory of his flight being ripped away by cold government hands

Migi

Stitch scars all around their right hand, slightly below the wrist, where they received their namesake from (the mission gone awry that marked them with this still a fresh, bitter memory before the timeskip)

They have a scar over their right eye as well, usually hidden by her scope; the damaged caused was bad enough that she needed a replacement, but luckily enough someone with the most gorgeous obsidian eyes was kind enough to give her theirs

Migi has few other scars aside from these two, their position as a sniper usually keeps them far from the toils of melee combat and even if there is trouble close up, one of their crewmates is quick to back them up

[bagofspoons]

POST SESSION 1 DLDND CHARACTER THOUGHTS

holy SHIT y’all the hiatus is over w a long ass session to start us off. i passed out so hard post session but now. i have things to say abt peoples characters and im going to say them. plus an added pronoun check for my own memory. this is a long post so ill pop it all under da cut. tldr at the end 2

IZZY | ALASTRELLE (they/he)

i LIKE THEM. i like them. i was very eyes emoji at their intro and im rly excited to see a druid. i have a feelin that theres a lot more 2 alastrelle than meets the eye but im not rly sure what. we got an insight check that he seems to know more than hes letting on... but like. idk. i have a feelin that theyre more like... they know stuff but not in a malicious way? mayb im bein 2 optimistic and alastrelle is just waiting 2 absolutely decimate every1. they DID heal ma’el tho so like... i think they do not want this. they seem kind. i want 2 know more.

CADILLAC | R-D 2.04 (pronouns unknown - seems to vary)

everybody is so mean 2 me image. r-d is rly. look. i love them but i also hate them. he’s so fuckin funny but also.... gestures broadly at the last hour of the session. she seems 2 b tha only character built 4 outright combat. at least from what weve seen. it seems like a lot of the others went 4 classes that cld offer support (from my limited knowledge of the classes themselves plus dnd) whereas cadillac built (literally) a beast. she seems really cool and had some rly amazing moments first session. designated antagonist im super interested to see how every1 is going 2 interact w the person who drew 1st blood!! also tha character we got the most backstory 4 session 1. kinda dont blame it for the murders but. i dont want any pcs to die T_T

NOX | DOCTOR (PALL’OR) REMAEDI (he/him, okay with they)

HE’S COOL... the outfit is very wizardly but we know hes a cleric. am i right when i look at the ref art and see that hes purple. he is purple. he also shotgunned an unmentioned vial (WHY DID NO 1 ASK ABOUT THAT AUAUEUEGEUGH) and the rice and meat. chuggin ig. seems like... cautious? mayb suspicious but remarkably chill. well. i say chill. again. gestures at the last hour or so of the session. LUV the weapon design. would luv 2 see it do some more damage (see “r-d is built for combat” above. terrifyink). i want 2 know more abt his eyepatch and stitches and general deal. do we think hes an unethical doctor guys. would he kill u for like. fun.

CERIN | EIWN (she/her)

pretty lady. fllushed emoji. i love her design a lot its rly cool. i assumed she was druid bc of it but idk if pep would have allowed class double ups? plus cerin is bein v secretive... possibly monk? eye dee kay im rly just guessin at this point. shes so funny 2 the bit w the shelter being her height and alastrelle tryin 2 fix it secretly was great. i dont have much 2 say abt her yet but i think she will turn out to b EXTREMELY interesting. i kno 4 a fact cerin will say smth and then the dash will explode w how much we love eiwn.

RIVER | MA’EL(VAR) (he/him)

IS HE NORMAL??? squints. i dunno... intro was. suspicious. i did like him tryin 2 explain stuff to r-d that was kinda funny. he seems to b like... relatively level headed? i struggled to get a read on his personality except like... suspicious of others but wants 2 cooperate. clearly doesnt want 2 b here el oh el. HE DID ALMOST DIE 2 TIMES WITH NO IDEA WHAT WAS HAPPENING EL EM AY OH. i wonder how hes gonna react to that.

PEP | MIYM (she/her, okay with they)

MIYM MY FUCKIN BELOVED. kenku AND a bard? plus card themed LDFKJ. alto WISHES he could. the resume made me laugh sm and she generally just seems so nice... i like that she’s immediately forming more positive relationships w tha others... probably intentional on pep’s part as a filler character for the pair offs. i was wondering why they were getting such an outright dmpc and was wondering if she was gonna get killed early... i was real newvous. its cool tho. i like her a lot. very glad miym explained the whole premise 2. thank u from da audience i was a little like WHAT THE HELL. but in a good way

TL;DR - I LIKE THEM ALL. i think theres a LOT of things we havent touched (obvs. it was 1 session) but a lot of seeds and references to things wer made i think. also it looks like we got a lot of elves lol. im generally just rly excited 2 see them play again and having consensual and established pvp will make things VERY interesting. i wonder what the symbols on the like... bracelets/necklaces are 4. and what happens when someone dies.... do they both go to zero/make death saves? i guess we will see....

[phoenixduelist]

Being prepared was an understatement. If she cannot reign that fucking attitude then she will command his attention wherever she wants it to be focused at. Ferenc, for once bless his too tight pants and lagoon blue eyes made an excellent guide.

The weaponry perhaps even admired by Izzy too, the collection of intricate, unique weapons of every kind from all corners of the world. Heaven for the keen eye and a shame they weren't on better terms. She gladly would've insisted on him choosing something as a gift. There was a small spot at the bowsprit where the figurehead phoenix spread her wings: the Siren's residence among the detailed carved plumage with Aranka insisting she would sing if they stay long enough. The 'siesta spot' as they called it, was like a makeshift nest around the mainmast, soft carpets bunched on hardwood with an extra sail stretching over it as protection against the sun. Ferenc shamelessly sprawled out on the material after explaining.

Her rum storage guarded by two locks was nothing short of impressive. All quality, none of the diluted cheap liquid in taverns. Of course it caught his interest the most. A ghost of a smile, he wore sadness beautifully. Pity it was so rarely seen. The gift, not trusted the slightest but still accepted nevertheless, residing in her cabin for now, not like she ever planned on drinking it.

That... wasn't a terrible idea actually. Rozália could hear Pest asking Izzy whenever he's alright or needs to sit down for some reason.

“Yes but too...unpredictable for my liking. I have a different method for the sails, old fashioned and slower but works.” she came to the conclusion about fireworks “I'm more on the practical side instead of theatrical when it comes to naval battles.” but fencing, oh that was an entirely different form of art

“They didn't show you one thing worth seeing, I wanted to do so. Come. Promise I won't bite.” there was that seeping darkness surfacing briefly at those words in a gold glinting smirk “Liqour, but better than rum.” she continued like there wasn't a bolt of lightning flashing before. She turned to lead the way, movements more on the deliberate side to avoid aggravating aches, her left firmly bandaged from elbow to shoulder. But everyone knew what was said about injured wild animals.

“Of course, your first mate is also invited to this tour too, if he wishes.”

@phoenixduelist || X ||

ᒥ☠ᒧ—        When he came aboard, he expected a small tour, the Vihar was a smaller vessel than the Queen Anne. What he didn't expect was such a ship to be so outfitted with so many things. He went from bored to excited quickly, wanting to learn more and more that he could. Every time something was shown to him, he demanded to Izzy that they add something similar to the Queen Anne's Revenge. He wanted a cool ship like her's, so fucking bad. However, Izzy shot back about Edward wasn't careful enough with his things for such.

The stock of rum he found currently? A treasure trove, really. "B-But...That's such a waste of rum..." He was no longer excited, instead he looked saddened by the prospect. He was a drinker, that much clear when he came aboard bearing two bottles, one for her and one he was sipping on himself. Yes, he knew she didn't drink, she told him as such. That just meant the bottle he was gifting was for him if she refused it.

As for a better method, he perks up. "Maybe one rum wasted, and it would be on me drinkin' it, but have ya tried rockets? Cooler and easy to set sails on fire with. That'll cause a real commotion, they're fuckin' loud, too." He liked himself rockets, they could be colorful, flashy, and their loud explosions were commotion enough.

[ladyluscinia]

I've made my opinion on the whole "Edward's true self is a soft marshmallow center" / "Izzy is in love with a fake persona and hates the real Ed" take pretty clear (put simply: Absolutely Not) but it's still pretty popular and I tend to read meta even when I disagree. Which means I've noticed a very specific argument that I want to comment on.

So, generally, the process of justifying woobie Ed going Kraken places blame firmly on Izzy due to the whole cabin confrontation. Some people weave this into an elaborate manipulative scheme / straight up forcing him via threats, while others are more generous (?) and just classify Izzy's explosion as Ed buckling under an atmosphere of social pressure. (I disagree pretty firmly with both.) Either way, there is one detail / accusation that I see repeated a lot:

Apparently, Izzy makes his opinion of who he really wants clear by shoving the horrible caricature picture from episode 4 - the picture that Edward was clearly distressed by - in Edward's face in an act of intimidation / deliberate re-traumatizing.

Except.... he doesn't?

This is the picture from 1x04 and accompanying quote:

"God... Is this what they think I look like? Hm? Fucking viking vampire clown with - Look at that. There's one, two, three, four... nine guns all over him. Nine guns?! I have - I, I have one gun, and one knife. Just like everyone else."

And here is the image that Izzy confronts Edward with in 1x10 (and Edward pins to the wall during his makeover):

That's no Mad Devil Pyrate with nine guns and a head of demonic smoke. That's a guy with one gun and one knife.

Self-indulgent meta-ish thoughts under the cut

Honestly, I noticed the difference in images immediately on my first watch, which meant I did not draw this (questionably) implied connection at all. When Izzy was spitting about how "This is Blackbeard!" I was pretty much shrugging and conceding his point. Because, like, he's not wrong. That is a picture of Blackbeard pretty much as we met him in 1x04, symbolic skull aside symbolic skull included because the man keeps one on his office desk for kicks that I forgot about briefly.

There's something very interesting about the fact that Izzy goes for such a plain image. There's no fancy title. No horror. Hell, on inspection I think that image shows Edward's tattoos and single sleeve outfit??? I was wondering if the show made that art themselves and now I think they must have.

(I think they made both images, because the first one is harder to tell but might also have the sleeve / tattoos thing - just less accurate. However it's also clearly based on the A General History of the Pyrates illustrations from the 1700s where he has like six guns on his chest, while the second one is more show specific.)

And what does that say about Izzy??? A whole library of books on pirate legends and he gravitates to the image of Edward that seems to have been drawn by someone who actually met him? That's based on the guy he actually served under / loves, not the myth they spread around the ocean together???

Like holy fuck, when Izzy says "This is Blackbeard" he means it wholly literally. The guy in that image is the man he knew for years, while the guy standing in front of him is a complete fucking stranger in a pink robe, and he's been waiting for however many days for the depression fog to clear enough to see if there's even a trace of his boss / friend / love left post-Stede. Instead "Ed" makes his first appearance on the deck after the breakup and sings a song about his feelings and then earnestly asks why they are being pirates.

I still think Izzy started that conversation with intent to resign. He'd completely given up - not on the "Blackbeard" persona, but on the Edward he knew that had earned the title (and his respect and devotion alongside it). Not for being some kind of horrible devil, but for being brilliant, and the greatest sailor he'd ever known, and the Captain he was loyal to above all else. Izzy is lost at sea, and there's sure as fuck nothing keeping him on this particular boat anymore.

And then, pretty much purely by accident, he pisses Edward off just enough that his "Ed" mask slips and...

"There he is."

[amuseoffyre]

Feeling the need for a bit of introspection about why Ed’s reversion to Blackbeard 1.0 model hit me where I live. Because sweet christmas, that really, really did.

Department of backstory time. Came from what I presumed was a normal family and background. Was extremely miserable for a large number of reasons, but assumed it was on me because I was entirely used to it and didn’t realise until I left home for uni that whoops, actually, no. No, you have been getting emotionally abused and bullied and stigmatised your entire young life. This is what the world looks like without that.

Full disclosure, turns out when you have undiagnosed ADHD and autism on top of being queer as a nine bob note, you pretty much have a target painted on your face. It’s fun. Especially when you don’t know what it is about you that is catching like a hangnail on everyone. Such fun.

But anyway, getting off the point. The point being that I was so used to being constantly utterly miserable despite being top of my classes, very good in all the places I needed to be very good, and - oh yeah - had my own personal Izzy telling me my behaviour was weird and stupid and “stop doing that, focus, behave yourself”.

And then one summer at uni, I got a job in a different country and I spent an entire amazing, glorious summer surrounded by other neurodiverse, open-minded people. People who showed me how to do art, how to create things, who basked in nonsense with me and didn’t treat me and my interests as something to belittle.

It was amazing and would highly recommend it. But then came the crash. The job was seasonal. University was done. Without enough funds to stay anywhere else and too far from my nearest friends, I had to go back There. Back to a place where you had to behave the right way, as demanded, as expected, or else it would come back and bite you.

And oh they didn’t like the friends I’d been spending time with. Oh, they really didn’t like the dangerously liberal and arty ways I was developing. Waste of time. Stupid. Ridiculous. No need for it. Not the “right sort of people”. You know. Supportive family things -_- They didn’t like that my behaviour had changed and they let me know about it. I was meant to behave as they wanted me to behave. Back where I was cis and het and ‘normal’ and obeyed God and my parents and no, none of that art, none of that Internet, none of those people.

When there’s someone that toxic in your life, someone who knows all your buttons and can push them without a thought, someone who can kick away your self-assurance from under you, it’s very, very hard to keep yourself resilient and upright especially when you’re in a place where you don’t feel valued or accepted at all.

When Izzy described Ed as “this whatever it is you’ve become” it made me flinch, the way he dehumanises and belittles the things that clearly and truly make Ed happy. The things you love aren’t worthy of respect. You liking them diminishes you in my eyes. I would rather hurt you than let the things I dislike make you happy.

So Ed’s initial switch back to Blackbeard, I got it. I could see why he did it. And then those absolute bastards ruined me because he did what he was meant to and put on his outfit again. He’s doing what’s expected of him. He’s behaving in the appropriate and approved ways.

And then they cut to him in the room, stripped of all the things that made him so happy, alone in the dark and crying, and that reached into my chest and twisted up in all those memories that still knot around my lungs, that place where I was treading water, waiting to drown, and I was wrecked.

This show isn’t just about the deconstruction of toxic masculinity. It’s about surviving the trauma of a world that has been cruel in a thousand different kinds of ways. It’s about people who have been crushed into a shape that isn’t them by society and are only now starting to realise there’s another option.

It’s absolutely destroying me emotionally because seeing someone around my age still dealing with the BS and trauma of their youth is not something we get to see every day. We don’t get to see adults who survived by the skin of their teeth and are still picking up their pieces. We don’t get to see the damage it can do to them and their relationships. This show is giving us that and I love them for it.

[sunnibits]

y’all asked for my Izzy Hands thoughts here you fuckin go >:) it got a wee bit long sorry

here’s some ‘meta’ that was living in my head rent free about Izzy’s role as Blackbeard’s designated killer and other stuff. some of it is probably bullshit <3

HELLO not to be overly dramatic about Izzy Hands on this good day but. I think a lot about how Ed tells Stede that he’s never actually killed people directly. And like, we can debate how true that is - particularly because honestly, Ed doesn’t seem to have any hesitation when it comes to killing people except for the case of Stede - but taking that as legitimate, he also mentions that he always ‘outsources the big job’. Now, I’ve already seen it pointed out by other people that the person who usually takes this job instead of Ed is Izzy - but, god, the implications of that are making me insane, I need to think about that more…

Because like yeah, it’s obviously not exclusively Izzy that’s doing all the killing, considering Ed has his whole crew and everything. And of course Ed is fine with maiming (love a good maim). But because I am of course crazy about Izzy Hands, I think about how Izzy is elevated above the rest of the crew. Yes, the whole crew is probably fine with doing all of Ed’s killing, but Izzy is Blackbeard’s first mate. His right hand man, his immediate second. By the time we start the show, it almost seems like Izzy is representing Blackbeard at this point - it’s kind of implied in other moments that Ed doesn’t even really get that involved in too much fighting anymore (they just see the flag and run away), and even in the third episode we see Izzy go to invite Stede to the ship on Blackbeard’s behalf. Ed specifically wants him to handle that personally, presumably because Izzy is the closest to Blackbeard. He doesn’t even feel the need to tell Stede who his boss is, because it’s just implied with his own title (but it course, Stede doesn’t know that). I know it’s reaching a bit, but I’m really into this concept of Izzy Hands as like, the primary representative of Blackbeard at this point. He’s Blackbeard’s right hand - and he does the murdering bit.

Because, of course, Izzy is heartless enough for it. As Izzy would see it, Ed is soft hearted. He doesn’t want to kill, but he wants to maintain this terrifying image, so Izzy does it for him. We even see this directly play out in The Art of Fuckery - Ed has to kill Stede. Ed doesn’t want to kill Stede. Izzy, very quickly, volunteers to do it. He’s not even shaming Ed for it, he’s just offering his service. Which like, a little off topic, but that actually ties perfectly into this whole rambling I sent to my friend about the idea of Izzy killing Stede as an act of service. His comparison of Stede to a dog is what really gets my brain churning - because they directly compare killing Stede to putting down a dog, and that’s not an act that is made out of hate. It’s something you don’t want to do, but you do it out of mercy, and you try to get it over quick. (Of course, Ed literally didn’t have to kill Stede, but the way that he saw it and Izzy saw it, it was this inevitable thing he couldn’t avoid it anymore). So by offering to kill Stede, obviously there’s a little bit of personal satisfaction because Izzy hates Stede, but it’s not just that for Izzy. At the heart, it’s an act of service. He’s saying ‘here, I’ll take the gun, you look away’. And in the end, when Ed can’t go through with it, Izzy takes initiative. (‘You’re not doing this - I am’). He’s so sure that this is what Ed needs, and obviously it’s not - (and obviously, like I said, duh Izzy is a bitch and he just wants to kill Stede BUT-) but hey, it’s not unreasonable for him to think that, considering even though he protests at first, Ed doesn’t even try to stop the duel once Stede accepts! He doesn’t intervene, he just sits by and lets Izzy do his job, even though it hurts, because that’s what he’s always done.

It just makes me wonder even more about how many times this has happened between them… Like, I wouldn’t be surprised if this exact thing has happened before! Ed gets attached to people, he falls in too deep, and Izzy has to carry out the kill. And Ed goes back to being Blackbeard, and Izzy goes back to being his right hand man. Maybe Ed cries alone in his room, but Izzy just ignores it, and stands outside the door until he’s done. He tells everyone that the captain is fine, and protects his reputation, and stands in for Blackbeard, like he’s always done. (Just like he does in the finale).

Basically, what I’m saying, if you want to be really poetic; Izzy is the one who gets his hands bloody just so Ed can keep his (mostly) clean. That’s what Izzy Hands does, and that’s probably why Ed needs him and keeps him around!

Gosh, which is just making my brain go off the rails AGAIN because that’s probably why Izzy is so shocked when things change! When Ed refuses to kill Stede, and he just lets Izzy go. Izzy’s like, what the fuck! You need me! You can’t be Blackbeard without me! But that’s just the thing. Because Ed doesn’t want to be Blackbeard anymore. Leaving Blackbeard behind, and not killing anymore, means leaving Izzy behind. He doesn’t need him anymore, he doesn’t need this gritty evil guy to do his evil things for him, and Izzy can’t believe that. (And oh boy, I have a whole fucking thing in my head about Izzy wanting to be needed, but I’m trying really hard to keep that separate because this is already too long). Even in fucking Episode 9! After Ed has literally given him up by just letting him be banished from the Revenge, Izzy still comes back to him and expects Ed to accept him! Hell, he didn’t even need to go to Spanish Jackie’s, but he’s still trying to execute the plan! He’s so fucking deep in denial that Ed has changed! He arranges for Stede Bonnet to be dead, and he arranges to get Ed out, he even says to Ed that this is a quick, humane way to do it!!! Oh my god!! He’s still just offering to put down his dog!! He’s still just trying to make it easy for Ed! He’s not even considering the possibility that maybe Ed has moved on, because Izzy can’t move on, he is going to push until the last minute to make things go back to the way they are. But damn if he isn’t going to try to make it gentle for Ed.

Izzy Hands has fully accepted his role as Ed’s tool to kill, he gladly makes himself into a monster for him, to protect his soft little heart: But then Ed just… gives it up. So all of that was for nothing - all of the killing, all of the years protecting Ed’s reputation, this whole identity that Izzy has constructed around Blackbeard and serving as his right hand man. Ed can leave Izzy behind when he wants to, but Izzy is literally nothing without Blackbeard. He’s just an angry, bitter little man with lots and lots of blood on his hands.