#dizzy izzy iggy the spewer

[guess-i-do-art]

Have I mentioned how much I fucking love Izzy Hands

His full name is Israel which is cool as hell

Historically he’s like 16 🤔

He has grey hair

He lives in the walls

He’s fallen over multiple times

He can use a sword

He hates unicorns

He is a unicorn

He’s homophobic

He’s gay

He’s swallowed at least 2 of his own toes

“Foot” 😑

He’s probably an alcoholic

He wears one glove

While drunk and missing one limb he managed to rip the legs off a decorative horse on the front of the ship (HOW??)

“I suppose they look like sausages”

He can sing

He can sing in French as well

The little X on his cheek

He wears makeup

He says FOCK

He’s indestructible (almost whoops)

What kind of last name is Hands

He’s played by Con O’Neil (do I need to elaborate?)

Short 🤏

His VOICE is PERFECTION

He has a horse leg

✨“ooohh… oohh… daddy…”✨

He got hit in the face with a sandwich

He doesn’t get paid enough for this shit

He knows songs that won’t even be invented for another 300 years

Emo

“👌”

He’s a silly billy

[kityana]

izzy gets called “iggy”, “dizzy izzy”, “izzy the spewer”, “jizzy” etc. because he’s a bully who screams and cusses at everyone and tries to abuse what little power he imagines he has to hurt others.

stede gets called “baby bonnet”, “big gal” and “steve” for the crime of existing while being gnc.

that’s why we, as the viewers, are supposed to see stede getting called names as stede being bullied, but izzy as getting his just deserts. hope this helps.

[diamondcitydarlin]

ok but ofmd and the way that it depicts following heteronormativity and societal expectation blindly as a cautionary tale

Stede ultimately leaves and abandons Ed because of the unresolved guilt he feels about having left his family (it has to have been a bad thing because it goes against the societal rules, right?) but the real push is in that final confrontation with Chauncey.

In a previous post I talked about how both Chauncey and Nigel Badminton are so obsessed with their hatred of Stede because of how loyally they both follow the societal rules of masculinity and conformity, how important those roles and designations are to them, and the frustration that forms towards Stede because he has literally never followed any of these 'rules' and seemingly continues to be far happier than any of the rest of them. Look at him there, picking flowers! Enjoying it!! WE'RE NOT ALLOWED TO DO THAT WTF (actually this was more specifically Nigel's thing, but Chauncey clearly had some bitterness about this as well that was mainly fueled by his brother's death)

So, because Stede does not and never has followed the rules, and not only that but seems to have such an effect on people as to encourage them not to follow rules either (read: express their individuality and true selves), it stands to reason in both the Badminton's minds and Stede's that there would eventually be a punishment for that; going against societal expectation couldn't possibly result in anything beneficial, after all. This is all just him being selfish and indulgent.

Stede Bonnet isn't doing anything good. He couldn't be. To accept otherwise would mean to accept that the rules that keep the Badminton brothers 'safe' in their corner of the world, and Izzy as well in a more pirate-y sense, don't actually exist and everything they've been taught is real...isn't real. That's their whole worldview, gone, and all three of these men are in far too fragile states to even begin accepting something like that. ('he's from my world, not yours' these designations are very important to them)

So therefore, Stede must be destroying things and lives with these selfish, rebellious actions; his family, both Badminton twins, the dread pirate Blackbeard himself.

And you know what fuck it, they're not wrong. Stede is destroying things; or rather, he's deconstructing them.

He, Mary and their children never knew true happiness until Stede chose to deconstruct and redefine their lives into something other than the societal expectation. With him out having adventures and them free to live as they choose with his money and land, they're all happier than they've probably ever been before. It's only when Stede comes back and tries to re-conform them to roles that only ever made them miserable do things really begin to go to shit. That's only fixed by he and Mary finally accepting that they aren't what society wants them to be, never have been, and who cares, who needs it? They've defined their unique family situation in a way that makes sense for them.

Stede deconstructed Blackbeard too. He knew him as Ed first and pretty much exclusively, he convinced Ed that he actually does deserve nice things and affection and safety and he can do so without the protective barrier the persona of Blackbeard has always afforded him. Ed hasn't been allowed to believe what Stede so effortlessly shows him.

Because Blackbeard plays an important role in society too, odd though it may sound. Chauncey says it himself when he chastises Stede for bringing 'history's greatest pirate to ruin' and is ultimately fine with allowing Ed to go free; if Chauncey is the good guy and hero in his own story, Blackbeard is the necessary villain, the worthy opponent that he must always have vicious and bloodthirsty to justify his own place in the world. I mean...without villains, who needs heroes? And without that clear designation of who is 'good' and who is 'bad', people might start second-guessing his own integrity.

And of course, Izzy needs Blackbeard too for similar reasons, a lot of which I believe is tied up in the ways he represses his sexuality, the ways he actually allows himself to experience his own sexuality so that it doesn't emasculate him. He needs Blackbeard calling him filthy names and throwing him around and feeding him his own toes; he needs a stronger, dominating masculine personality to take control. (This is a completely valid desire for someone to have btw, I'm not trying to say its inherently toxic AT ALL, just in Izzy's case I think it's tied up in some things)

I don't think it's even that Izzy doesn't like Ed, that more emotional, goofy side of him. Ed just...scares him, and not in a safe, sexy way. It's too much emotion and vulnerability on display than Izzy can even bear to recognize in himself so. No, that won't do at all, he's got to stuff Ed into a drawer and lock it tight. So to speak. But also maybe literally who knows.

And the Badminton brothers ultimately fall on their own swords. The metaphor is literal. Or gun- you get it. Stede had no part, no real blame in what happens to them, but he's been conditioned to shoulder the blame of anything that happens as a result of deviance from the norm.

(I need to write another post about my theory on Nigel's repression / toxic crush on Stede too bc that's fun and fucked up lol)

So I guess that's why I loved that Mary described Stede in the end as "finally free". For all intents and purposes the old Stede Bonnet we knew is dead now. As difficult to watch as most of his return home was, it was a necessary final step in his personal growth to see the true results of his own actions and not just those he's been gaslit into believing all his life so that he continues to play the role designated to him.

Stede Bonnet can now go forward in his story confident in the knowledge that yes, he does destroy things. He breaks chains and cycles of abuse and toxicity. He encourages others to want more for themselves and from the world they've been given, regardless of what the status quo deems they deserve.

[plantsjustwannahavefun]

Yeah, Izzy can be a right dick sometimes most of the time. But you know what? He's NEVER made fun of another character's name. Whenever he hates someone or is pissed off with them, he'll cuss them out, use every swear word in his toolbox (which isn't a very large selection, but who needs variety when you're capable of growling out twat like he does?), hold nothing back.. but he'll leave their names alone. Not once did he call Stede "Steve" or "Baby Bonnet" or another nickname he thought of himself, even though Stede called him "Iggy" right in his face. It was always just "Bonnet". He saved that informality for Stede alone, everyone else he always called Mr Last-Name, like the stickler for professionalism that he was. He humoured Pete's "Black Pete" moniker, even though it was clearly a reference to Blackbeard and Izzy barely even considered Pete to be a real pirate. He even respected Jim's pronouns.

All the while having to listen to people call him "Iggy", "Izzy the Spewer", "Jizzy" and "Dizzy Izzy" to his face. The only person on the ship who didn't treat his name as a joke was Ed. His own nickname for him, "Iz", was meant to be affectionate, not mocking. In turn, Izzy loved being the only person allowed to called him "Ed" because he felt like he'd earned it. Names were important to him, they meant something. Being the only person allowed to call Blackbeard "Ed" was one of the things he'd cherished most about his position. Having Stede barge into Ed's life and "steal" the nickname Izzy saw as his, without earning it with decades of loyal service like Izzy had, felt like the worst kind of betrayal. And then the crew started doing it too in ep. 10, and that was just too much for Izzy. Names had power, and the name "Blackbeard" was Ed's armour, his protection. And he just threw it away. That was the last straw. That's when Izzy finally snapped. If Blackbeard was now just "Ed" to everyone, then Izzy wasn't special anymore. Their relationship wasn't special anymore.

I think after the toe scene and Ed's turn to "the Kraken", he didn't let Izzy call him "Ed" or "Edward" anymore. And it broke Izzy's heart. That's when he knew that he fucked up, truly fucked it all up. He never wanted this. When he said "I serve Blackbeard, not Edward", he was desperately trying to bring "Blackbeard" back, but he didn't think he would lose "Edward".

[thatwitchrevan]

OFMD rewatch thoughts: I adore how the Revenge crew keeps using their own nicknames for Izzy even outside of the bombshell 'Izzy the Spewer,' such as 'Dizzy Izzy' from Lucius and 'Jizzy' from Frenchie; also, Lucius calling back to when Stede called Mr Hands 'Iggy' with the same patronizing venom while reminding Izzy that Lucius only responds to his captain (a step or two up from "I'm still in [on the mutiny] by the way."

I love them. They are united in hating and teasing Izzy Hands ❤️

[cottoncandiescupcakes]

Some sad Izzy facts:

Izzy devoted his entire life to Ed but Ed actually thinks he sucks and will instantly swap his loyal first mate for any attractive guy that comes along. You know this happened with Calico and others too, not just Stede Bonnet.

Stede is scared of his own shadow but instantly treats Izzy like a minor annoyance.

Izzy has less bitches than Karl. Karl had a devoted wife what does Izzy have.

Fang and Ivan are supposedly Izzy’s right hand men but they hate him.

Everyone on the ship will get laid before Izzy does. Stede and Ed. Oluwande and Jim. Lucius, Pete and Fang. Frenchie and Wee John. The Swede is getting his back blown out by Roach before anyone touches Izzy.

Buttons is a far better first mate and navigator than Izzy. He was spotting ships while Izzy was being a bitch somewhere. Buttons can actually catch when there’s mutiny while Izzy gets yeeted overboard.

Spanish Jackie was into Izzy at first but he was too much of a whining Blackbeard simp for her to even consider it after like three seconds.

Signed up to work for the king but never even showed up LMAO. ??? Why? Afraid they’d shave your goatee?

Frenchie, who is scared of cats and women, just calls him ‘jizzy’ to his face.

Lucius, who is half Izzy’s age and constantly fainting when it gets scary, instantly starts bullying him after Izzy tried to bully Lucius once and after that, the entire crew non-stop calls Izzy names, Dizzy Izzy, Iggy, Izzy the Spewer etc.

ATE HIS TOE FOR ED. AND WAS HAPPY ABOUT IT. Man is walking with a limp and like, flat out delighted. He can’t even run anymore??? How is he going to pirate?

What is this man’s life?

[red-riot-unbreakable]

I personally subscribe to the calling Blackbeard “Ed” is a privilege crowd. Stede almost always calls him Ed and they crew also seem to end up using Ed/Edward.

Izzy (unless I’m wrong) only uses Ed three times and those are to get his attention. He uses it to get his focus away from the little ship, he uses it when he’s trying to find him during the closet scene, and he uses it to correct him during the fog/September 1st scene.

Even in those scenes Izzy reverts to Edward pretty quickly or something like boss or captain.

Izzy is obviously obsessed with Ed and him being Blackbeard and all those things everyone has talked about already. What I do think is happening is that “Ed” starts to or has always been too informal. Edward and Blackbeard and Captain all have a formal weight to them. They’re not nicknames or pet names.

Izzy’s own name is a nickname and one that even gets made fun of. Stede purposefully calls him Iggy, the crew tacks on Dizzy Izzy and Izzy the Spewer, and the crew also finds the idea of Izzy’s Revenge to be hilarious (to be fair Israel’s Revenge would sound better). Izzy’s name holds no weight with the crew. Other pirates seem to know him on sight (see Spanish Jackie’s bar) and that holds some power but he’s still attached to Blackbeard’s name (again see Spanish Jackie’s bar scenes).

So yes, Izzy calls Edward “Ed” a few times but it’s rare and it’s in early episodes. Edward is his intimate go to. It slowly changes into an insult (I serve Blackbeard. Not Edward). It no longer an intimate thing but a sign of change and Izzy is so codependent that he can’t stomach the idea.

[darkfire359]

I think there’s an important difference between idolizing a toxic character (as you mentioned in the comparisons) and wanting to rehabilitate one. There’s a REALLY long line of queer media that either rehabilitates antagonists or ends up making us love their awful selves anyway. Look at She-Ra, Hannibal, Arcane, Steven Universe (or so I hear), The Owl House, or Killing Eve. What We Do in the Shadows cuts out the middleman and makes the toxic assholes the protagonists. Taika himself has written redemption arcs for literal nazis (albeit 10-year old ones).

It’s a classic fandom move because that’s what queer media itself ALSO does (I think in large part due to the history of queer-coded villains). It’s definitely not specific to male characters (and I think it’s actually more common with female ones based on the examples I thought of). It *is* more common with white characters, but I think this is actually because a lot of writers are afraid to give us toxic asshole non-white antagonists, and when they do (e.g. Catra and Shadow Weaver) they’re more likely to be racially ambiguous.

I agree that emotional violence is more important in OFMD than physical violence, but also Izzy gets hit with emotional pain too?? Like, a lot. He’s constantly making these tormented, heartbroken expressions when Ed does something that (to him) feels like a betrayal. Stede and the crew make fun of him and calls him demeaning nicknames. Compare Stede calling him “Iggy” to Jack calling Stede “Steve”. Or compare “Dizzy Izzy” and “Jizzy Izzy” to “Baby Bonnet”.

Honestly I suspect that part of the reason a lot of writers don’t spend much time harping on Izzy for the things he did is because whenever Izzy does something shitty, the show punishes him like, instantly. He yells at Lucius, and immediately afterwards he gets blackmailed and made fun of for the “Izzy the spewer” incident. He stabs Stede, so he gets thrown off the ship. He sells Stede out to the British, so Ed punches him in the face and then he’s forced to watch Ed take the act of grace with Stede. He’s an asshole as the captain, and then he gets mutinied on and nearly thrown overboard. He yells and threatens Ed, so he gets forced to eat his own toe.

This is honestly a greater quantity of karmic and immediate comeuppance than in probably any of the above shows I mentioned (which DO actively redeem their antagonists), for what are IMO usually lesser crimes. Izzy also is largely motivated by his misguided sense of loyalty to Blackbeard and by a belief (even if wrong) that his methods are the proper way of pirating. Contrast that with characters like Nandor or Catra, who act in ways that are much more undeniably out of selfishness or spite, and which leave much more lasting harm on other characters.

Because TBH, Izzy’s actions really DON’T make other characters scared or traumatized or sad. As much as Izzy obsesses over Stede, Stede mostly bitches at him and ignores him. Even getting stabbed leaves Stede smug and Izzy being the distraught one. Lucius is perfectly happy to snark and flirt with Izzy. The crew is perfectly secure and supported in their plans to mutiny him. Ed, while crying at the end of e10, is almost certainly crying because of Stede, not Izzy—the toe incident is very much not the response of a person *frightened* by Izzy’s threat. I think Ed IS scared of the idea of Izzy leaving him, but that’s not something that Izzy would be wrong to do.

And frankly, I don’t think that Ed is frightened about the colonialism stuff AT ALL. He’s snarky and joking when in a prison cell, and perfectly content to fold clothes in the British boot camp. It’s the threat of them killing Stede that gets to him, and it’s Stede’s desire to leave that convinces him to escape.

the way izzy was received by this fandom rlly is the worst combo of how fans responded to kylo ren and how fans responded to, like, tyler durden or walter white.

anything i could say comparing izzy fans and kylo fans was already said in this fucking incredible post by @chuplayswithfire. but basically: izzy is a huge cunt to everyone in this show but fans take him at his word when he talks about being hardworking and competent, they minimize and excuse his actions and act like he's an innocent traumatized baby, and they focus on him, a shitty white antagonist, instead of any of the other interesting characters of color they could be paying attention to

but imo the thing that rlly makes a difference between izzy and kylo, and the thing that makes me compare him to those other two white dudes i mentioned above, is that unlike the movies kylo ren is in, ofmd is actually well-written

the first movie in the star wars sequel trilogy was pitched, written, filmed, and literally released with no ending for the trilogy in mind. the writing for the next movies was adjusted based on fan reactions, and major plot points were decided by studio executives deciding which events would make the movie more profitable. i should not have to explain to you that this is a terrible way to write a movie series. or a television series. or literally any kind of fucking story in the world.

our flag means death, or what we have of it so far, is not that. there's fully developed characters with given realistic motivations, instead of one-dimensional props that are jerked around by a constant tug-of-war between writers, directors, and studio executives. there are narrative plot points that are woven expertly throughout the story, not hints of storylines that are completely forgotten about by the next franchise, or storylines that were finished that are getting dug up again. there's a central theme to ofmd, unlike the new star wars movies, where the theme seems to be "how can we milk this fucking franchise for all it's worth." there's no goddamn queerbaiting

i'll admit that i've never actually seen breaking bad, and everything i know about it i've learned via tumblr osmosis. but from what i can tell, it's actually a very well-written show, and the whole point of the show is that walter white is the epitome of entitled and abusive white man who thinks he's super tough and badass and that everyone should listen to him and do whatever he tells them to do (lmao, sound familiar?). he ruins his life and the lives of everyone around him and idk he might die in the end. anyway dont do drugs.

fight club i have seen, and i can confirm that this is a fantastic movie that features, you guessed it, an arrogant white guy who represents the classic violent male power fantasy. the narrator, deeply depressed because he's a beta male, watches jealously from the sidelines as tyler durden starts seeking violence, first from just meeting up with random guys for consensual beatdowns, but it escalates as more and more men start joining the fight club (wow! the title of the movie!) until the club morphs into a terrorist group. also if you haven't seen it there's a Big Plot Twist that i haven't mentioned and it's pretty good. love that movie.

anyway the point is that both of those men are very obviously. shitty fucking guys. classic macho men (even tho tyler durden's fashion sense is fantastically fruity, for some reason) who crave power over others and respect in the form of fear. the whole point of their fucking characters is that in any generic action movie, they would be the heroes

and so many fans just. completely fucking miss this. there are hoards of dudebro fan guys who relate to these characters and go "wow, he's just like me!" and absolutely do not get the point of the thing they're watching. it is fucking baffling to see

anyway that's izzy stans!! an truly groundbreaking combo of your classic female fans who woobify evil white men and classic male fans who miss the entire point of characters who are written to subvert the expectations of what kind of role a character like izzy hands, walter white, or tyler durden would be expected to play!!!!! izzy hands is written to be an antagonist and the personification of toxic masculinity that ed is trying to escape from, and yet people are acting like he's the show's third protagonist.

because izzy would be a protagonist, in a different and much shittier story. and even though we all watched the same show where he very clearly is not the protagonist, people are applying that role to izzy and not actually looking at what role he plays in this show.