#i am like stede in that i generally stop thinking about izzy the moment he or discussions of him are out of my sight

[soapbubbles511]

Not to be Stede-coded, but most of my thoughts after the sneak peek clip amount to "Sorry about your toes Iggy*, but sounds like Ed's having a hard time🥺" And "Sounds like Ed could also use a hug from Fang"

Like, we already knew all that but baby is deep in his "fuck it" spiral.

Ed was already burnt out and miserable and feeling trapped when we met him. And for a minute there after he met Stede, he had hope that things could be different. That he could retire. That he could have friends. That he could explore things he actually liked and let himself enjoy softer things. Then Stede left. And Izzy made it explicitly clear that he wouldn't tolerate Ed changing.

So he went fuck it. You want me to be Blackbeard? I'll be Blackbeard. The only retirement pirates get is death anyway. Captains rule through fear and intimidation. This is how piracy has always worked. Lots of maiming and assorted violence. Lots of drinking and lets throw in some drugs. Fuck it.

None of this is really new information, but it's making me sad for Ed. Extra sad when I think about him crying with his cake topper dolls when he's alone.

*not actually that sorry about his toes

[morgan-the-lonely-brick]

I have thoughts about the clip and especially about Fang and generally all of the scene so yeah, an analysis-like tangent full of spoilers below cut

Out of the entire crew, I think Fang and Frenchie (especially Fang) are literally the best people to recieve comfort from. It's double true for Izzy.

Not only do they have like. The least invasive and violent trauma out of the crew, but they're both very empathetic and want to help others in distress. Even when that person isn't a particular ray of sunshine... like Izzy.

It also makes sense for Fang to be the main comforter. He knows Izzy. He's known him for a long while. And he's known Blackbeard for a long while too.

Watching him from the beginning of the clip, he seems to be the first one to notice Izzy's not feeling great. Far before the others do!

This is the first we directly see Fang in the clip and yeah he looks surprised that they're throwing loot overboard - as you should be but... even more than that he looks ALARMED. He knows something's up.

After listening to Izzy for a few seconds he is completely sure something's up. He checks in with Frenchie to know if he's seeing it too. We don't know where Frenchie is looking, but I'd assume he reciprocates the look.

Izzy stops mid-sentence. That's not like him. The others will have noticed it too now. Sure enough, here's Jim, thoroughly confused and/or taken aback at least.

Fang protection mode ACTIVATE! His first thought is to ask how Izzy's doing (i am so soft for them oh my god-) and to touch him - reassure him. Ground him.

we then get a "I'm fine, unhand me" which Fang does, to give Izzy some space and checks in again with a "you really don't seem fine". He waits for Izzy's response. He wants to make SURE Izzy's okay, or rather, is patiently waiting for him to admit that he's not.

The others join in saying that they've noticed. They've noticed how destructive his relationship with Ed is. I can't even imagine what's running through Izzy's mind at this moment. Probably like a waterfall of emotion - shame and anger and sadness and everything is too much - he's soon to break. He's trying so hard to hold it back, but he can't. He can't, when the truth is being thrown directly at his face by his own crewmates.

Frenchie comments "he's cut off at least two more of your toes hasn't he?" and Izzy almost flinches at that sentence. He quivers. That's his breaking point. And I. have to stop a bit to look at the implications of this. Form this scene at least, I understood taht when Izzy fails to make the crew follow orders, he gets physically punished. As we heard earlier: "It is your job to f-" *he stops, he shakes slightly* he's thinking about the consequences of them not following his orders - more of his toes cut off. That's horrifying. I'd start crying too, jesus...

Fang knows it's his breaking point and goes back to comfort him - even forcing it a bit on him, because he knows Izzy will struggle, but needs it. God, does he need it. He's always pushing people away, but Fang won't let him this time. He won't let himself be pushed away, because he cares. And he wants to show Izzy that he cares. So he persists.

And after only a few seconds of a very feeble struggle, Izzy accepts it. He's been strong for so long. He's been brave and hurting and isolated and repressed for so. So long. And he needs to let go. And he does. He whimpers. He sounds like a puppy who's been kicked. And he is. He is a puppy. A puppy that's been severely hurt and doesn't WANT to be hurt anymore. (god, i am weak at the knees, someone call the ambulace, i think i'm dying)

Frenchie steps in as secondary comfort to show that Izzy's really not alone in this and that none of them actually hate him. Even if he thinks he deserves it. Not even Stede's former crew hate him. That's what Frenchie represents here - to me. Fang and frenchie together show him that love isn't meant to hurt so much. It's not meant to be like this. And they also ground him in that moment. Izzy looks at Frenchie several times as he whimpers, perhaps checking in - seeing if Frenchie leaves after seeing him weak. But he doesn't. He stayes and he waits for Izzy to be okay and I think that means the world to Izzy. It means the world to me too. Izzy deserves all the comfort by this point.

Also I want to throw Edward overboard.

11/10 i need Izzy to have more hugs

[gabichanwrites]

As someone who has no strong feelings toward Izzy, I still didn't want him to die and was certain Izzy wasn't going to die because despite all the things I disliked about what they did to certain characters and plots in the second season, I thought it didn't fit the show to have a central character (or basically anyone who isn't a minor character) die. It didn't fit anything it had set for itself in the previous season to kill off one of their main characters even if it WAS for a meaningful reason (which it wasn't). And yet they did it anyway, and like I thought, it was an awful decision.

Yeah, man, exactly that!

I may be quite biased because I literally loved Izzy since I first saw and heard him, all the quips, all the potential of redemption... And, you know, I've got a spot for "pathetic, wet cat" characters. As in I want to give him a towel, feed him something nice and treasure each moment he stops hissing at me.

And even with all the love I hold for Izzy, I don't think I'm not objective when I say it's a shit narrative choice and it's a death that doesn't do anything. It wouldn't serve well any of the characters in the show in fact.

Especially with the way the show handled 1 season, with the softness and historical inaccuracies in how open everyone is to the new stuff - man, people loved it. I loved it. I trusted the writers so fully that not for a moment did I think they would actually kill off anyone, not even for a moment did I believe that Lucius would die. And this was this kind of show about pirates, this was why people liked it so much, at least partially.

And now this finale... Even if we ignore how much Izzy doesn't deserve it, it's just a bad way to go. It's a generic shot in a generic setting, with the character doing absolutely nothing special, not protecting anyone, not running away, just standing there. It's like killing Pete so Lucius will realize that pirating is dangerous and bad and he should stay on land. It's like killing Jim to make Oluwande realize that this isn't safe and... I don't know, go to Zheng. Honestly, I have a hard time coming up with similar nonsense because it just... Doesn't make sense. The writer in me recoils at the sound of so much unnecessary death and cut potential for the sake of... What exactly?

. This kind of death breaks the theme we got used to seeing and it takes away our belief that we can freely enjoy the shenanigans without worrying. A feeling I just got familiar with when the curse and Calypso's birthday happened. This kind of death takes away character in a cruel, pointless way and reduces them back to side characters, there to make way for the main couple. And I like Ed and Stede well enough but COME ON.

So yeah, in short, I fully agree anon. But you probably knew that if you took a look at my Tumblr in the last few hours. I'm gonna stop here though because it's very late for me and I am several hours behind on getting some sleep. Thank you for the ask though, I feel like this finale deeply affected even those who aren't that obssesed with Izzy and, to be honest, it's our first warning sign - writers don't mind pointless killing anymore.

Or maybe it's the saving grace - the bad reception will make them unlikely to do anything equally rush and stupid in the future.

[adzeisval]

You Lied to Me

Ricky captures Jim. Also on AO3.

Izzy manifested back into the world and looked around. He wasn’t quite sure where he was at first. He was usually on the ship or at the inn, mostly on the ship it seemed his crew needed him more often than his Captain’s did. He was glad to be able to help. He was also glad that the crew noticed that he was there and came to the conclusion that he was there to help. 

Izzy knew that someday he would be there to do other things but for now he was just helping. And it was nice of the crew to give him updates on what was going on and where they were when they realized he was there. 

At the moment though Izzy couldn’t pick out who he was supposed to be protecting or who needed his help. They were at a market somewhere he didn’t frequent in his life. He looked around at the people; some were probably pirates and some where obviously not. Finally he caught sight of Jim walking with a basket in their arms. Izzy looked around to where any danger might be but couldn’t pick any out.

Izzy moved to walk by Jim touching their glove and hoping that Jim picked up on his presence. Jim stopped for just a moment then continued on looking around. 

“What have we got Izzy?” 

“Fuck if I know,” Izzy said. He really couldn’t pick out anyone dangerous in the crowd. 

“I’m not seeing anything weird Iz,” Jim said. 

“Neither am I,” he said even though he knew that Jim couldn’t really hear him. Maybe they could pick up on the vibes though. 

Suddenly Izzy turned around and saw two men exiting a shop looking right at Jim. Izzy touched Jim’s glove pulling slightly to hopefully get them to look behind. Jim did but not in time to prevent them from being grabbed. 

The world went away and came back and Izzy was on a ship, in a cell with Jim. Jim looked up.

“Izzy?” 

Izzy touched their glove, “I’m here.” 

“Two assholes grabbed me, put a bag over my head. I hear them speaking English, maybe navy.” 

“Got it in one.” 

Izzy looked up and wished he had an actual body to use. He needed a sword, a gun, something and he needed to use it. 

“Fuck,” Jim said. 

“Welcome aboard the Hunter,” Ricky said. Izzy looked at the nasty fucking cunt that killed him and wanted very much to return the favor. At the very least he could make sure that Ricky didn’t kill Jim.

Unless…was he there to take Jim away? Would he know when that was what he was sent for? So much about what he was doing was unknown. 

“I just have one simple question for you, you see, no one seems to know where I might find Blackbeard or Stede Bonnet and I can’t seem to get ahold of one of the crew of the Revenge until now.” 

“I’m not telling you where they are,” Jim said. 

“If you do I’ll not only let you go, but I won’t touch you or anyone on the Revenge so long as you live.” 

“Fuck off,” Jim said. 

“It’s a rather generous offer I would think,” Ricky said. 

“It is, if it were real. I don’t believe a word you say,” Jim said, “And I don’t make deals with people who killed my friend.” 

“Friend? You don’t mean Izzy Hands do you?” 

“Keep his name out of your mouth you…rancid syphilitic cunt.” 

Ricky frowned and took a step back, “How…” 

“Oh, Izzy’s here, he told me to say that,” Jim said. Izzy didn’t realize that he could put words into people’s minds, perhaps he could only do it occasionally but it was worth the effort to do it for the look on Ricky’s face. 

Ricky scoffed, “So the ghost of Izzy Hands is here is he? Well that’s none of my concern. He can’t do much can he and I can’t kill him again. Did it take him a long time to bleed out? Did he die screaming in pain?”

Jim growled at Ricky and Ricky laughed. 

“Jim, I’m alright,” Izzy said. 

“Last chance or we’ll start torturing you. Maybe if Izzy is here he’d like to watch you die in horrible pain,” Ricky said. 

“Jim, lie to him, tell him to go to Dead Man’s Cove, I’ll get the Revenge there.” 

“They’re hiding at Dead Man’s Cove,” Jim said.

“See that wasn’t so hard, what Izzy’s ghost can’t possibly understand is that you are still alive and can feel pain. Such a good motivator,” Ricky said, turning to go, “Oh and if they are not there I’ll kill your whole crew in front of you and then you last.” 

Jim sighed, “I hope you know what you are doing Izzy.” 

Izzy hoped he did as well. 

***

Izzy made it back to the Revenge and went straight to Frenchie. The man was very receptive to his presence and he hoped to make quick work of warning them. 

“Lord above, uh Izzy’s here,” Frenchie announced. 

“Does this have to do with Jim? They’ve been gone too long,” Olu said. 

“Fuck, I told them they shouldn’t go alone,” Archie said. 

“I think it’s about Jim,” Frenchie said, “Let’s see…” 

“Oh, I wonder if Izzy can guide us to Jim? If I’m at the wheel?” Fang asked. 

“Let’s try that.” 

Izzy didn’t know if he could get Fang to steer in the right direction but it was worth a try, he didn’t really have any concrete idea on how he was going to do it anyway. 

Fang stood at the wheel, “I’m ready Izzy.” 

Izzy came up behind Fang then sort of stood in the exact same place, he place his hands over Fangs and thought about moving the wheel so that they would go Deadman’s Cove. 

Fang turned the wheel and Izzy got them heading in the right direction. Izzy helped for the first little bit but then he had to lave to check on Jim. 

*****

“Izzy?” 

Izzy touched Jim’s glove and Jim sighed in relief. 

“We should be at the cove soon. I hope the Revenge is coming,” Jim said. Izzy wished he could actually speak to Jim to tell them it would all be alright but he kept touching the glove and hoped Jim could pick up on it. They were quiet for a while then Izzy knew he needed to go back to the Revenge and make sure that things were going well over there. 

“Izzy? If…if this goes wrong before they get here. If he decides to kill me, can…can you stay with me?” 

“Of course I will Jim,” Izzy said. 

“Good.”

*****

Izzy made it to the Revenge and Fang was still at the wheel. 

“Izzy’s back,” Fang said.

“Are we going to Dead Man’s Cove Izzy?” Frenchie asked. 

“Wiggle the wheel if that’s where we’re going,” Fang said. Izzy did so and the group cheered. How Izzy ended up with such a bizarre group of people he didn’t know. But then again he was a fucking ghost so maybe it didn’t matter. 

“Who are we up against?” Zheng asked. Izzy wasn’t sure at first how to answer that, he was surprised that Zheng was jumping in with the madness. Izzy thought about his death, about the pain, the fear, the sadness. 

“Anybody feel really depressed right now,” Frenchie asked. 

“Yes,” Fang said, “Like when Izzy died maybe? The English?” 

“Ricky, it’s probably Ricky that has Jim,” Zheng said. 

“No way out of Dead Man’s Cove, if Izzy’s leading them into a trap we’re probably supposed to go fight and get Jim back,” Frenchie said. 

“Yes!” Izzy said and hoped they would get it. 

“Alright, Zheng get ready to fight, Fang keep on course for Dead Man’s Cove, lets go get Jim back.” 

*****

Izzy went back to Jim and Jim was standing on the deck of the Hunter. Ricky was looking at the clearly uninhabited island. Jim looked nervous and Izzy made his presence known. 

Izzy looked and saw the Revenge just starting to peek out from the ambush spot.

“You lied to me,” Ricky said, “I’m almost impressed.” 

“Must have forgotten where they went,” Jim said. 

“Is your ghost here now? I wonder how he’d like it if I shot you with the same gun I killed him with,” Ricky pulled out the little pistol and started to load it. 

“You can kill me but someday that smug attitude is going to get you killed pendejo,” Jim said, “You’ll have two vengeful ghosts after you.” 

Ricky scoffed at that and continued to load the gun. Jim was doing an good job of looking unafraid but Izzy could feel the fear coming off them in waves. Izzy didn’t know how much he could effect things, if he could nudge the gun or stop the bullet. He didn’t have a body but he could move thing a little. He hoped it wouldn’t come to that, he hoped the Revenge would soon be in firing range. 

“Captain Banes!” 

“Oh what now,” Ricky said. The first cannon ball from the Revenge hit the railing of the Hunter sending splinters flying everywhere. 

Jim looked back at the Revenge and smiled. Ricky looked around in panic but still had the wherewithal to lift the pistol and aim it at Jim. Izzy knew he was going to fire and nudged Jim just a little then put his ghostly had around the gun to try to move it just a bit. 

Ricky fired and Jim cried out in pain and fell to the deck.

“No.” 

Jim moved and Izzy knelt next to them. It was enough, Izzy had done enough to make the wound none fatal. Jim had been shot in the arm and the bullet had grazed their ribs as well but it wasn’t a mortal wound. Now if he could get them to safety maybe all would be well. 

It wasn’t long before Zheng and Olu came over the edge of the ship and focused in on Jim. Izzy followed Jim back to the ship, he wished he could see what happened with Ricky but he promised to stay with Jim and though they weren’t dying they were still hurt. 

Zheng and Olu came back not long after Roach started working on Jim, Ricky was likely going to get away but the ship was fucked enough that they could get away. 

“That fucker threatened to blow us all up,” Zheng said. 

“We’ll get him someday babe,” Olu said, “How’s Jim.” 

“Doing well, needs stitches, broke a rib,” Roach said. 

“Izzy saved me,” Jim said through gritted teeth. 

“Thank you Izzy,” Olu said, “If you’re here thank you.” 

“He’s here,” Jim said. Jim groaned and cursed as Roach started stitching their arm. Izzy stayed with Jim until Roach was done.

“We need to warn Edward and Stede,” Jim said, “Ricky wants them.” 

Izzy agreed with the whole thing and hoped that he could stay with the group long enough to see Edward again.

[chuplayswithfire]

Do you have OFMD fic recs?

do i have OFMD fic recs?

oh my god, but do i have OFMD fic recs. i am, not, as some might be fooled into thinking, a Normal Person, and as of today I have read through and browsed about 77 pages of the 103 pages worth of Edward x Stede fics over 3k in length that AO3 has to offer.

Why have I done this? I really enjoy reading fics. Seeing what the writing community has to offer, enjoying whats available, crying at the things that make me feel the word No crystalize louder in the core of my being when I see takes I can't live with.

As a direct result of this, I currently have over a 180 specifically Ed x Stede OFMD fics in my bookmarks, so in the broadest of terms, generally speaking all of those could be in a rec list. But here's an incomplete list of the OFMD fics I would recommend (and have recommended to my friends). Also none of these will have the exact summary, just my sales pitch on them bc i don't feel like copying out the summaries.

domestic by Ark

the most blissfully domestic fic ever, a take on what could have happened had Stede and Ed left the academy together rather than what happened in canon. It's a long and generous character study on how these two might have adapted to domestic life together, how they flourished, and it nurtures my soul.

Turning Tides by Fyre

A speculative season 2 bringing in just about the entire cast from the first season and introducing new characters, new threats, and reuniting our sappy middle-aged men along the way, this series blew me away with magnificent characterization, stunning use of the characters and plot threads from the first season, and some absolutely fab moments. A speculative season 3 is coming in the future!

An Awfully Big Adventure by trinityofone

I won't spoil the surprise and twists in this tale, but it was a fun and emotional fantasy journey for our characters, and is astoundingly entirely from Izzy's POV, which is usually a thing I unashamedly hate, but here is used to incredibly fascinating effect. I couldn't stop reading this fic from the moment I started. This is post S1 and does have reconciliation/reunion aspects.

Always and Forever by stereobone

ACCIDENTALLY GOT MARRIED FIC, ACCIDENTALLY GOT MARRIED FIC, do I NEED to say more? Post-S1 Stede and Ed wake up married without remembering their reconciliation, things progress from there.

The CafeHouse by WaitingToBeBroken

Coffee shop AU where Ed is a tattoo artist and Stede is determined to figure out his perfect coffee order - because obviously Ed isn't a man to really want a black coffee. I loved this from start to finish, it had me laughing and screaming.

half-agony, half-hope by lyricl

Post Season 1 fic Ed gets his groove back by getting a new pen-pal, going on a journey of self-exploration, picking a first mate who aligns with his management and life goals, and getting his man back. I LOVED this fic, loved Fang and the rest of Ed's crew, and the various OCs who pop in from time to time. Really enjoyed the take on Izzy too which is a big one for me, and also the fact that this author, like me, agrees that Izzy needs to go and find the dom top of his dreams instead of trying to make Ed into that.

guardians of a rare thing by ShowMeAHero

its a 5+1 fic about nice things Stede did for Ed and one nice thing Ed did for Stede and look I am a simple woman, I just want my babygirl Edward Teach to have the best life possible and be spoiled and this fic satisfied that craving so well.

a very good bad thing by seularen

Someone tries to come after Ed while he and Stede are on vacation. Stede Handles It baby. I will actually copy a bit of the summary here to show you why i HAD to read this fic when I first found it, and why everyone else should too:

“Unhand him,” Stede said. “Or what?” “Good point. I can’t say ‘or bleed.’ You’re going to do that already.”

My Saddle's Waiting by dracothelizard

One of the shorter ones on this rec list, this is a nsfw comedy take on the first season, where Ed sees that Stede's hung like a horse in episode 4 and is determined to ride him some of that.

Possibly the only incomplete fic on this list but which I die for every update:

Chiaroscuro by MenaceAnon

featuring one of my favorite genres of OFMD fic, the Mary & Ed friendship dynamic, this fic features Stede crashing back into Mary's life with an injured Ed, and the ways that Ed, Mary, Stede, Doug, and the kids all interact. I love this take on Mary, I love the compassion and humor and care that the author puts into every single word and scene, Ed teaches Mary about tattooing and Mary affirms Ed's nature as an artist, AND, Ed and Stede still haven't made up yet, so we get some delicious conflict there too.

and to finish the list, my favorite fic in the entire fandom which I have rec'd like twice already but will never STOP rec'ing because it WRECKS ME EVERY TIME -

this tired world could change by gangnamstiles

IT HAS EVERYTHING.... EVERYTHING.... i love this fic so fucking much okay?!?!?! Modern AU, miserable business man Stede is drowning in his day to day life when he meets Edward Teach, mechanic, handsome guy, savior who offers him a cigarette (and uh former hitman for Spanish Jackie's mob). They fall in love, but oh boy is there a lot for them to cope with along the way.

I LOVE THIS FIC. I love this fic. I found it about halfway through and screamed through every single update with one of my friends, literally read this fic on the cycling machine at the gym and jumped for every update as soon as they posted because i LOVE this fic so much okay, and now that the author is posting some extras i am living again.

And this is my OFMD Bookmarks on AO3 in case anyone wants more. My bookmarking philosophy is "anything I know I'm going to want to read again, put here"

thank you anon for letting me spend an hour revisiting all these fics I love

[avelera]

OFMD Season 2 Prediction: The Redemption of Blackbeard

Ok ok, so, another thought around Stede's "glow up" at the end of Season 1 (I mean, just look at his hair, his posture, the romantic puffy shirt, the single hand raised like a beacon to hail his crew, the everything wow) but with Stede now looking so amazing and Ed being so fucking horrible at the very end, I think we're going to get a reversal of the S1 theme of "Why the heck does Blackbeard like this loser Stede?" turning into "Why the heck does Stede like this monster Blackbeard?"

(cut for length because of who I am as a long-winded person)

Quick context, but one thing I saw across my many years as a fanfic writer over many fandoms was lot of kvetching over whether one person in the ship deserved the other person. You write a fic where one of them supports the other and get the inevitable troll being like "OK but why does this person deserve this perfect angel of a character," or whatever. It's an irritating comment when used to ship-police people but there is an interesting kernel of truth in it for writers, because too often romances (especially generic male-gaze het romances) can ignore whether or not we have some evidence that the protagonist is actually worthy of this beautiful, incredible love interest's affections. (By the way, with Bagginshield I saw trolls pestering people about both characters not being good enough for the other so eh, I don't take the trolls too seriously.)

But the thing is, in "Our Flag Means Death" Stede is.... kinda pathetic in the first season. I mean, it's real, legitimate question that everyone is asking, especially Izzy Hands, of why the fuck the legendary pirate Blackbeard is giving this guy Stede the time of day, let alone swooning over him.

I mean, Blackbeard as a love interest is legitimately amazing. He's the most remarkable sailor a hard-ass like Izzy has ever met, his name strikes so much fear that he doesn't need to fire a shot. But he's also sensitive and vulnerable and wonderful about Stede's hobbies. He's A+ red silk boyfriend material, caring about Stede, being patient with him, and generally looking at Stede like he hangs the moon. It's wonderful stuff.

Now, we as the audience see firsthand how Ed and Stede complete and fulfill each other in intimate moments that few other characters see but let's be honest... Stede still kind of sucks. He's still a deadbeat dad, he's often self-absorbed and oblivious to what other people want (like when he barges into his wife's new life, or even just when he tries repeatedly to force his crew into his vision of a healthy lifestyle, regardless of what they want). There is a legitimate question to be asked if Stede is worthy of Ed. And by the end of Season 1 we have the answer, he's glowed up. Stede's a romantic hero now, he's dealt with his bullshit and he's become worthy of Blackbeard's affection as a self-actualized adult ready to be his full, authentic self with Ed.

Ok that's great and all, like that's a pretty standard emotional arc, especially in a romance, but what does that mean for Season 2?

Well, in Season 2, I think we're going to get the formula reversed. Stede is all windswept and handsome and self-actualized, he settled his family drama, he's realized who he is and who he loves and all his good qualities like caring for his crew are going to stop being silly unwanted eccentricities and really make him the "better" partner of the two, I mean goddamn he almost looks angelic in the last shot, it's the promise of the Gentleman Pirate that Blackbeard was swooning over in the first place.

But Ed? Ed has fallen into shadow. He's got messy eyeliner and he kills without blinking, tortures without remorse, and has clearly descended into a pit of self-loathing. He's a fucking mess. We might even have moments where we wonder if he's redeemable (IMO, Lucius is alive but that's a pretty serious line that Ed crossed by trying to kill a member of Stede's beloved crew).

As fanfic readers/romance watchers, that rather valid question of "Does Character A even deserve Character B?" is going to be deliciously flipped. Does Ed deserve someone as wonderful and caring as Stede? And my deepest, dearest hope is that we will get the same luxurious, intimate journey from the darkest pits of Ed's worst self to show how he's going to become worthy of the person Stede has become.

[knowlesian]

so: the closet scene! i’ve been mad at this stupid closet scene for SO LONG. i still don’t entirely know how i feel about it, to be honest. whenever i do, i find a new angle i hadn’t considered and have to think about it that way. i’ve got a couple things i’m fairly steady about and a whole heap more that sound out there even to me, because my whole brain gives up on linear thinking and goes all-in on muppet-esque leaps of logic when i try to sort out any given thought. 

i need to acknowledge the visual joke here before i even deal with taking it seriously. it’s so broad it’s like... i don’t know, a visual gag version of taking a pie to the face. this takes the implied knocking boots joke by the throat and says “i can do better.” stede 10000000% literally takes ed into his secret closet of fancy gay things. this sweet, sad little man who is so metaphorically closeted at the moment he’s in fucking narnia, is taking ed into his actual factual closet to hang out. and then they stay there even longer so they can be gay together away from izzy, #1 pooper of parties.

i mean, what am i supposed to say? that’s funny. it just is, i don’t make these rules. it’s really, really fucking funny. 

then it’s not, because oh wait: what leads up to this moment in the closet makes the obvious “hah hah, two gay dudes in maybe the gayest closet the good lord ever did make” joke into something a lot more textured. they’re very good at this! i have said it before, and i will say it again. i will meet these writers in the parking lot of a denny’s!!!! 

stede’s never been told anything he loves is right for him. none of it matters. it’s all soft and silly and frivolous and weak. worst of it: it’s fucking girly. because of some very stupid rules a bunch of dead people made up in part to make sure the generational wealth that gave stede these nice things stayed the fuck put where it was already at, he can’t get caught enjoying them or risk being shamed for it. 

there’s something really sad and complicated and fucked up about that that won’t stop eating at me. maybe it’s the way they’re digging into the complications that arise when privilege and marginalization beat in same breast, maybe it's all the juicy class stuff, maybe it’s the nodding at toxic masculinity and the way patriarchy likes to stab a knife into its own emotional guts while reaping practical/systemic benefits at once thing. (i guess if the patriarchy had emotional literacy i wouldn’t need to know the word patriarchy, because it wouldn’t be such a fucking problem! love to live in a society, i really do.) i don’t know what i think it all actually means now, but maybe someday.

what i do know is the way stede says “rather exquisite cashmere” is unfair. because that’s what it is: cashmere that is rather exquisite. he’s describing the world as he sees it, and up until now every single response he’s gotten to saying anything like that has been “fucking... christ with this one, and his gay little scarves and shit.” sometimes they phrase it more kindly, but nobody ever gets it.

so stede holds his breath there, hoping he’s not going to be mocked, but his face when it’s even better than that kills me. ed doesn’t just nod and take stede’s way of expressing himself in stride; he repeats the words back to him. he decides he likes the way they feel in his mouth, far better than izzy’s demands he stick to harsher, guttural tones.

the way this show deals with communication and words as a method of love or shelter really does kill me. the jim and olu of it all is literally always killing me softly, and this just kicks my feelings up a notch. 

on this show, to love someone is to find out you had the same words in your heart all along, you were just waiting for someone to understand them. that’s pretty fuckin’ rad.

anyway, then ed rubs the rather exquisite cashmere on his fucking face and the music gets all lighthearted and “this is the scene where they start falling in love, you know this cue, let’s ROLL, we are DOING THIS.” i mean... come ON.

and stede is so HAPPY! he loves his pretty things, his soft beds and fine fabrics, and he’s never had a single person reflect that back to him. and here ed is, not just listening, but agreeing; he does fancy a fine fabric. (the fact that at this point in the narrative stede’s self-concept is still pretty tied to his material goods and here ed is like “yes. fine fabrics. i like them. and since you feel as though your personhood is coupled with these fabrics, i also like you.” is Very Nice.)

(god, i can’t wait for s2. what's the version of this scene where stede is the one validating ed’s Whole Thing going to look like, i don’t know but god i need it.)

the little gasp stede lets out after “i think i do, yeah” is... mean. it’s mean. what if i never do anything but obsess over the little details of this insanely talented cast acting their faces off? that feels like a valid choice. the way rhys does this adorable little lean and looks like a kid about to show off his ant farm to the first person alive who also finds ants as interesting as he does, equally mean. 

and the purple shelving in the closet? FUCK THIS CREATIVE TEAM. JESUS. the use of purple as ed grows more comfortable just being ed is fucking next level.

honestly, i know this level of textual analysis isn’t for everybody and a lot of my dear, dear friends are largely like “that’s nice, sarah, we don’t give a single fuck about the use of purple” but when a show like this comes along, it feels like a sin not to appreciate all the hard work they put into the little stuff.

speaking of: time for izzy to rock up and take things into the fucking thematic stratosphere.

there’s something really fascinating to me about the casting on izzy, and the general choice to make our one Homophobic Gay the white guy who looks and acts most like the fulfillment of patriarchal power fantasies but is actually a sad little gremlin idiot who wants to fuck other men so bad it makes him look stupid. izzy never heard the good word about how you can be a monster and a lighthouse if you want, depending on the day, because as discussed: he’s from a canon where the dicks don’t touch.

less flippantly, there’s also a lot to be said about how his dynamic with ed is exploring some pretty intense thematic waters re: the intersection of race and sexuality, the long and so-very unavoidable history of white people divebombing in and fucking up indigenous cultures and their understanding of gender and sexuality with weird repressed jesus shit, and how izzy who is a white man even while being gay and ed who is not have wildly difference lived experiences of the same sexuality. i need to rewatch izzy and ed’s scenes with that in mind to sort out any more eloquent thoughts other than ‘oh shit, they went there?’ and ‘holy shit, they go HARD’. not mentioning it’s in the mix feels wrong, though, so i want to at least point it out as something the show is doing really, really well.

i like it even more because we’ve got stede and lucius and pete knocking around also being super gay white guys, so that marks izzy out as particularly in denial and out of step with the times.

the whole 'and now we’re not just checking out your fun little room, we are officially hiding in the closet from izzy’ kicks into high gear when you think about it that way. the obvious “yes, we see they’re hiding from the one character who doesn’t understand the show he's now on”, literally closeted metaphor works there, but it’s not a despairing or fearful scene.

just the phrase “in the closet” is something that brings up a lot of weird baggage for some of us in the soup, especially those who have Been Around A While; there’s a vague sensing of shaming to the way I’ve most often heard it used throughout my life. we tend to heap our scorn or pity and Hot Takes on the person still lingering behind the doorway, because they’re a coward. they’re not being authentic. they’re weak, and they’re not to be trusted. 

(and don’t even get me started on people inside our own fucking clubhouse outing people. the fact that perez hilton is still wandering around, pretending he’s all cute and refusing to reckon with the damage he did bothers me every single fucking day.)

why we do that shit to each other sometimes is a whoooooole thesis i’m in no way qualified to write, but: we do! we tear at each other, trying to yank open the door before someone else is ready.

so here these two men are, hiding in a closet; stede already spends most of his time in here, and ed doesn’t want to deal with izzy, striding around telling him it’s time to man the fuck up and Do A Toxic Pirate Masculinity. but since izzy needs ed to be the same as him so badly he’ll die trying to make it happen if he doesn’t get some fucking therapy and stop trying to enforce his rules on other people’s lives, ed hides in stede’s gay little closet with him and they enjoy the stuff they’re not supposed to enjoy, together.

i really like that. it’s not the more-familiar “it Doesn’t Matter, we are all Just People, so you should live your life in secret, being honest is shoving it in our faces so just be quiet and let us pretend you aren’t withering away” (which is the other nasty little barb we swallow on the whole scorn for the closeted thing; we don’t blame the team who built the damn house, we blame the person trapped inside it) but instead it’s allowing that sometimes you need these softer, secret spaces where people speak your love languages on instinct and you can figure out who you are while being sheltered, not locked away.

the whole “stede’s closet is accessed by a secret passage and when you think about it, this whole dumb ship is his closet, gayass unicorn and all so maybe NONE of this is happening in a closet, it’s a liminal space instead” angle feels like i’ll die if i attempt to parse it out with that spin in mind, so i’ll just say: jesus fuck. jesus fucking fuck, with this show.

[lizluzz]

Okay, I've watched some reaction videos to ofmd (yes, I'm at that sad stage of hyperfixation, what can I do), specifically two reactions by straight guys, and I'm fascinated.

I know how important this series is for a lot of queer people, cause, well, I watched it, and also my best friend, and I'm also on tumblr. Seeing yourself represented on screen, having your story treated with love and respect, all that. But only after watching those people react am I starting to understand how important it is in general. It's also very interesting to me seeing their realization about the way the queerness in the show progresses vs. the usual tumblr user realization. Let me try to put this into words .

Let's start with Jim. While me and basically everyone I know immediately picked up on Jim saying 'I don't know' when asked if they're a girl now, deciding to stick with Jim, and being referred to as 'they', both guys doing the reactions did not. They thought until much later in the series that it was a classic 'girl who hides her identity to blend in', and kept referring to them as 'her'. But, and that's the important part, the moment they were clued in they stopped. They both learned about using proper pronouns and one of them even about the term non-binary because they watched the series. And it's not the language that's the real important issue here, imo, it's them understanding about the range of gender roles and respecting that. Because of this show.

Let's move on to Luscious/Black Pete. When it was first revealed, they were both surprised, as, I believe, most of us. That was the point, I think. Black Pete was presented as the most 'masculine straight guy' (aside from Izzy), and the show worked hard on deconstructing that. But despite not being immediately delighted to actually see queer people on screen like probably all of us, the sweet interaction brought them aboard pretty quickly. One of them got invested in the relationship almost immediately, and was very taken by the finger stuff at the end of episode 6. The other one took a while, but he accepted it and moved on without a fuss.

Now to the main pairing, of course - Stede/Ed. That was fascinating. One of them started to clue in on the moonlight scene, where I believe people were supposed to start seeing that there was something romantic going on. He was a bit weirded out, but definitely kept seeing all the obvious clues and talking about it in the next episodes. The second one (the one who was already very invested in Luscious/Pete), when on episode 6, kept commenting on Stede's immaculate appearance, until suddenly he went: 'Wait... he dresses well, loves theater, loves silk... Is he gay?' which was a bit hilarious. But also, really is the way straight people might look at this. This also made him start wondering about the Stede/Ed relationship, and interestingly, he said that it's maybe not so far fetched, because we already have one gay couple aboard. Cause that's part of how normalizing queer relationships work! The more you see of them, the more you open to accept they are an option!

There was an interesting contrast here with what I saw a lot of queer people saying at the time (before ep 7 came out). There was an opinion that because we got Luscious/Pete we're not getting Stede/Ed. Cause there's no way they'll do two gay couples! We got our representation and we should be glad with that! But that's just our past experiences and disappointments talking. For straight people who don't usually engage in queer discourse, it's the opposite. It signals - here is a place where queer relationships are an option!

By the time we got to the kiss, they were both fully on board, and they were both absolutely devastated by the, well, devastating events that followed. They both wanted a good ending for our guys as much as any of us. Because they were swept up by the story. Because it was treated so normally and with such care that it didn't matter it was queer. It was a good and wholesome love story, and who wouldn't want a good ending for that?

It's worth mentioning that both of them were also very interested in Blackbeard's story and his struggle with toxic masculinity, which is not less important for cis straight guys to experience.

So, this was super long, but:

Tl;dr: I knew theoretically how important it is to show queer people in the context of a story that is not explicitly about queerness, and to show a variety of queer people and queer relationships, but seeing in front of my own eyes and in almost real time how that helps with normalizing queerness, made me extremely happy and emotional.

[ladyluscinia]

As someone who is nebulously in the “Izzy is a bad person/ not an Izzy fan” camp, your posts have helped me realize something pretty important. A big part of why I hold those opinions is because I view Izzy through the lens of symbol and allegory rather than complex personhood. Maybe that’ll change in season 2 as we learn more about him, but as of now I think that’s a big reason why I and many others are quick to judge and excuse wrong doing against him. For some it’s simply difficult to connect with him as a character, and much more accessible to see him as a reminder of hypocrisy within the queer community. Hell even a reminder of that one old friend who for whatever reason just CANNOT let the fact that you’re growing as a person go.

I don’t know, what do you think about the concept of there being a difference between analyzing characters as people and analyzing them as representations of larger societal issues?

Interesting question...

I mean, I am a big proponent of "characters aren't real people and that's important to remember when discussing them", which does dovetail nicely with a lot of discussion on "What is this character in the story?" And a character being a symbol or representation of something else abstract or systemic is a perfectly valid option. Nigel Badminton, for example, has a twin brother who loved him, but absolutely none of us give a shit about how his death affected Chauncey emotionally because both of them are really just symbols of oppressive societal power / Stede's childhood trauma / bullies in general / etc. The show only cares about their deaths insomuch as it affects Stede, and Stede literally admits he doesn't even feel bad about it.

They are such straightforward examples of narrative tools all the way down to their deaths, which are pure symbolism via black humor. Like, Nigel falls on his own sword because he can't stop mocking Stede to take him seriously for two seconds, and Chauncey shoots himself in the head the moment he fulfills his role in Stede's story because it's a hilariously dark joke that this happened to Stede twice.

To take this to Izzy however... Ok, so three major questions once you think a character is representing something:

What is this character representing?

What is the story trying to say about it?

How direct is the represention? Or to put it another way: How much of a person are they vs just a symbol?

Because most characters with any decent amount of screentime are going to naturally become more "people" than "symbol". It's not an either/or situation. OFMD creators have been very open about how the show is looking at toxic masculinity, for example, so I think it's pretty safe to say Izzy is the character on screen most pushing that mindset via the abusive pirate culture he's firmly planted in. I also think the show has a lot to say about classism, and Stede is pretty obviously the designated character for that. (I also think Lucius is, because he's kinda picking up the furthest extreme of Stede's version of piracy just like Izzy is Edward's, but that's a meta a little to the left of what you asked.)

But Stede is a lot more than just "rich guy", and despite the fact you don't exactly root for the rich guys in classism narratives, we are supposed to root for Stede. His arc is about learning. The show's message is broadly not upper class positive - look at the French partiers - but Stede can escape it in a way they can't because he's also a character in his own right, and the show's overriding theme is about growth.

I think Izzy is certainly complex enough to be a character, unlike the other antagonists who are kept mostly offscreen. He has a major connection to one of the mains, which tends to automatically convey a level of depth. He also just... doesn't function effectively as a pure symbol of oppression, because he's not bad enough. There's so many writing decisions where it would have been so easy to make him worse. More aggressive. More textually bigoted. More directly harmful. And they didn't. (...Fuck it. Linking to that time I said this and got immediately blocked.)

An example that's been getting me recently: In his very first episode, why didn't Izzy steal the hostages? That's like basic antagonist setup. Especially for people that think overt racism is at play here at all (I very much do not) it would be the simplest thing in the world to have him steal them from the natives for some stupidly easy early work on that front, and establish it with a line of dialogue. Instead the line we get is "Oh, we sold them to some guys." They had him pay for them.

And all of this I think ties back into that second question of "what is the show trying to say," because I do not think the answer is "Izzy is just our stand in for bad people and we do not care about him." Especially not if he's the designated representation of toxic masculinity, because I think Izzy-as-a-character is clearly suffering under toxic masculinity. He's specifically also a victim of the system, and it's kind of a fucked up and pessimistic message to say victims of a shitty system deserve to be written off as a comedic punching bag and die unhappy. Isn't it better thematically if he's a person like Stede who can learn to be better???

We're in a world where Edward's backslide into the toxic masculinity aligned system starts with 7 attempted murders + mutilation and abduction, and we're going to forgive this and give him a happy ending. At this point the show's message is approaching incoherent if Izzy is irredeemably evil and deserves to suffer.

[talea456]

Thoughts on the OFMD s1 finale: The complexity of being human

Okay, folks. Welcome to another OFMD-meta edition. I just can't get over a few interesting connections my brain made when rewatching OFMD for the something-something-billionth time:

What if Ed is actually NOT suppressing his Edness?

What if he made a conscious decision to go back to being Blackbeard/The Kraken in order to protect their Stede's crew?

*spoilers ahead*

Listen, we KNOW Ed is heartbroken. We know it's his first heartbreak, and as show-runner David Jenkins said, that really fucks him up. But, this isn't a first-time heartbreak of a teenage boy. This is still a middle-aged man who has seen some shit in his time.

Here's the thing about being a somewhat-functional, 40+-year-old person who has seen some shit: You get really good at still reasoning and problem-solving while concurrently feeling like a complete manure pile. Grief often shows up when you don't have time to stop (or at least, not for as long as you want to). Gotta still look after the kids (if you have any), go to work to pay the bills, holy shit pay the bills (!!!), eat enough so you can still function, take the car in for repair (cause it's like a universal law that it has to break while you're grieving), get a rental car and/or take the bus around while it's being fixed, etc...

So, given Ed's age, his success as renowned pirate (who isn't actually isn't a complete ruthless), and his vast experience with chronic shit piles of societal, generational, and inter-relational traumas, I'd love to see his actions at the end of the finale to be a testament to the complexity of dealing with heartbreak and grief while still trying to function as an adult in whatever world you inhabit (i.e, being a ruthless pirate).

The facts season 1 established that set up the complexity of his character:

-Blackbeard/Ed was established as a "strategic genius" -He clearly loves a good Fuckery™ -He really embraced the "found family" of Stede's ship even after being abandoned on that dock by Stede (per his leaning on them for support through his heartbreak). -He only went back to his Blackbeard persona after Izzy literally threatened his life. Meaning, he realized in that moment that being openly soft™ through his heartbreak meant he was endangered himself and Stede's crew by being easy targets to any "normal" pirate (like Izzy). (And he's not really in the right headspace for being able to really protect all of them rn.) -He chose to keep Jim and Frenchie on the ship while putting the others on the island. -He also chose to not directly, explicitly kill any of Stede's crew.

What can this all mean???

Maybe, just maybe his actions with the crew (i.e., Lucius, the island and such) was a Fuckery actually intended to protect them???

So what would this look like?

Here's my head cannon for the "Save the Crew Fuckery™" (provided for free if some amazing fanfic author wants to use any of it):

The crew members abandoned on the island are the ones who Izzy could easily double-cross, kill, and/or injure easily either onboard the ship or by Izzy putting them on impossible and dangerous missions.

I personally am thinking that island was: 1) Close to an important port such that ships go by there a lot (and would be why Stede to could reach them fairly quickly); and/or 2) Is in the middle of a popular route for merchant ships and a crew dressed as an acting troupe would be very likely to be rescued from said island--especially with the whole, "We were stranded here by Blackbeard!" story. (Versus the unlikeliness of them being rescued if they look like a bunch of hobo-pirates.)

Jim can take care of themself (i.e., Is safe from Izzy) and clearly will not be fucked with by anyone on BB's original crew.

Frenchie is a FANTASTIC grifter (like, "Leverage" level grifter) as seen during his "Egyptian Prince" scam. So he can run a scam around anyone in BB's original crew (including Izzy) and could come in handy for any future Fuckery Ed needs him for (like...idk...keeping an eye on Izzy without Izzy realizing it).

Ed just might have planned for Lucius to be saved (via scheming with Fang and/or Ivan). He did this because he knew he needed to appear to go "full Blackbeard/Kraken" for Izzy to back off. So, he planned a Fuckery in which he appears to publicly (i.e., out on the deck of the ship) kill Lucius. Also, Lucius would've been smart enough to suspect something was up when being taken to that island, while also simultaneously not being smart enough to not say something about his suspicions. So he couldn't be put there with the others--hence, the alternative option of letting him hide out in the hidden compartments on the ship.

That last scene of him crying next to the window/looking at the lighthouse painting becomes so much more in this context. He's simultaneously dealing with heartbreak/abandoment stuff while also morning the loss of his co-parent-captain and the fact that he can't act as their lighthouse alone*.

Ed getting rid of Stede's things could be part of the Fuckery, but I think it's actually a part of the heartbreak (i.e., he's hit the "anger" stage of grieving.)

*So, all this head cannon goes pretty well with my thoughts (posted here) on the lighthouse analogy also representing found family--and of Ed & Stede being the parents of the family. Cause Ed can't be a guide alone. He needs Stede as his partner to really supply the guiding light the crew needs in order for them all to stay safe.