whywontgodletthisblogdie

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IZZYGIRLS (GN) WAKE THE FUCK UP ONE OF THE OFMD CREW JUST CASUALLY DROPPED THE FUCKING RING BACKSTORY IN AN INTERVIEW LIKE IT WAS NOTHING. THIS IS NOT A DRILL!!!!! 🚨🚨 🚨🚨‼️‼️‼️‼️

WATCH IT HERE

OH ALSO IT JUST HAPPENS TO EXACTLY CONFIRM THE SAME FUCKING HEADCANON I’VE LITERALLY HAD SINCE DAY ONE. I’VE BEEN FUCKING RIGHT THIS WHOLE TIME BECAUSE I’M LITERALLY SO HUGE BRAINED AND HOT AND SMART AND SEXY AND MY BRAIN IS SO WRINKLY. IT WAS HIS MOMS THIS WHOLE TIME AND I FUCKING CALLEDDDD ITTTTTT

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fuck it izzy hands playlist

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a little treat for you

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Am I the only one who is not worried about Izzy dying? Like at all.

I think this fandom is having a trauma response right now. We’ve only just overcome our trauma of queerbaiting after season one. Now we need to overcome our trauma of the age old trope of when the antihero is righting all of their wrongs, only for the audience and other characters to become too invested and attached before their death. And for what? So that it hits harder for drama and shock value?

How many times has this happened to us? How many characters tossed aside and wasted? I get it. We're only bracing ourselves. However, how many times has Our Flag Means Death proven itself to be fundamentally different than any other show we have ever seen?

I think Izzy being alive and thriving next season will be more beneficial to the story than him dying in the finale. Besides the fact that he has become a fan favorite, more so this season than the first, there is way more at play here.

We have TWO very important love stories now: Ed and Stede AND Izzy and the Crew.

While Stede and Ed are all about romance, Izzy's story is all about self-love and finding your soul tribe - which is equally important. Here's why. Look at how many issues Ed and Stede are working through together and individually because both of them have yet to truly love themselves? This is why Izzy's own journey is the perfect foil for Ed and Stede's relationship.

Izzy is falling in love with his true self whom he has repressed for years and it is clear to me now that he always knew exactly who he was, he just never felt brave enough or comfortable enough to be so open and vulnerable before.

He is falling in love with the crew that protects him, accepts him, values him, cares about him, inspires him and shows kindness towards him that he severely lacked in his life for a long time. His love and devotion that was never reciprocated from Ed is now being reciprocated tenfold by the crew. Sure, romance is important but it goes to show how healing friendship, community, belonging and acceptance can be.

He is also falling in love with life again which he wanted to end only a few episodes ago. This parallels with Ed teetering the line of life and death while in a coma. The same way an imaginary merman Stede saved Ed's life, saving the crew during the storm is what gave Izzy a new purpose and motivation to keep going.

There is no Ed without Stede or vice versa. As of this season, there is no crew without Izzy and he would have already given up without them. There is no ship without Izzy because he is the new unicorn for a reason.

Ed and Stede are the heart but Izzy is the soul of this story. David Jenkins knows this. Con O'Neill knows this. We know this.

If there is one thing about Our Flag Means Death is that this show was created with meticulous care to not fail us the same way every other show has.

This silly little pirate show is about kindness and hope. If Izzy is killed off, I feel like everything this show stands for is thrown off deck because then the message becomes that a character no longer has use or purpose or value in the story if they are not wallowing in self pity and insecurity and repression and angst.

Izzy has the potential to be the example that a character can continue thriving in a story with a healthy mindset, self love and happiness. I can't tell you how much this is severely lacking in media, especially queer media. And that is why Izzy is special.

Don't worry, Izzy is not going anywhere.

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thinking about unknown/nth (hozier) and izzy. the episode where ed shoots him being called “red flags” and the line in the song “if there were scarlet flags they washed down in the mind of me” and then izzy deciding to make up the shark story…

“you’re smile now, i can still see it’s pieces still stuck in your teeth” a glimpse every now and again of the ed he remembers from years ago, but only when he’s with stede

“do you know i could break beneath the weight, of the goodness, love, i still carry for you” because he kept ed’s body on the ship even after he tried to get izzy to kill himself and tries to kill the rest of the crew…

“that id walk so far just to take the injury of finally knowing you” in that he pushed ed to the breaking point and endured the loss of his leg only for it to lead to izzy accepting that ed loves stede, and that they’re good for each other

“and there are some people, love, who are better unknown” in reference to their relationship being unhealthy for the both of them because they brought out the worst in each other for so long

anyways i’m going to go eat a fuck ton of drywall

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anyway the stizzy energy is going crazy. Izzy is devoting significant time to Stede, calling him Captain, admitting he loves Ed to Stede and trusting him not to make fun or be cruel about it, giving Stede advice, fighting on his behalf and as part of his crew, making sex jokes to and about him - while Stede is completely comfortable with Izzy to the point of once again being undressed in front of him and snarking at him in a playful way and actually taking his advice. this shit is insane

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bitches will be like “is this too much taylor swift for this playlist about a 57 year old pirate from the 18th century” and then add more taylor swift to the playlist

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the best I could

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Lets talk about Izzy and why being in drag is (potentially) huge for his arc.

The verdict on Izzy in S1 seems to be either 1. he's an angry, repressed queer guy with internalised homophobia or 2. he's an angry guy with homophobia. I would like to present to you - secret option number 3. Neither of the above (but a bit of 1).

I think he's an angry queer guy, who's terrified of the danger that lurks outside of appearing constantly masc and strong, and seeing other people apparently not realise or care how vulnerable they are, drives him absolutely spare. It's more complicated than simply internalising homophobia, it's misogyny and self-loathing and a response to being at sea for his entire life and struggling to survive - and we see what just a few months of that does to Lucius.

This is reflected in his talks with Ed in S1 - Ed's whimsy in the face of the approaching Spanish ship might get them all killed. Ed's public breakdown, if it got out, would destroy the reputation that protects Ed, Izzy and their entire crew. Stede is a pet, he's a weakness, and so he needs to be eliminated. That's how Izzy functions - he has like two bits of exposed skin, one outward emotion and he's lived for a long time like that - it works. It's the kind of strength he understands. He's convinced that him reining Ed in is what's keeping them alive.

BUT in S1 he sees that being open, being yourself, isn't a death sentence - and he HATES it. Because if that's true, look how much time he's wasted.

Ed and Stede's very whimsical lighthouse fuckery WORKS. Stede, in his frilly suits with his rec room and his fucking library, skates past death over and over again like he's scotch guarded from consequences. Ed and Stede make moon-eyes at each other and no one uses that against them - until Izzy does, because it's going to happen sometime (he thinks) so it's better it's him, because at least then Ed will survive.

Lucius is just hooking up with Pete in the galley while Wee John is right there - this is something that's an unspoken part of ship life, a shameful thing, and Izzy's the only one it bothers. Lucius uses flirtation to get out of scraping barnacles under armed guard, and uses it again to shut Izzy down. Lucius isn't ashamed of being flirtatious, seductive and femme - and Izzy loses to that tactic. He can't beat it with yelling and anger. It's a sort of strength he doesn't expect or understand - the strength that comes from knowing who you are. Of 'carrying yourself like you're cute' - because if you're confident, it'll work.

But he still has a huge amount of resentment for anyone who is allowed to be themselves - because he can't be. Especially in Ed's case - one of them has to be 'the strong one' and he thinks that's him.

Then, Season 2 happens.

In the space of a few episodes, Izzy learned that sharing your feelings is fucking difficult, painful and takes a lot of courage. He's had no choice but to be weak, spilling out all these ugly emotions and being physically dependant on others and in that weakness he wasn't destroyed - he was rebuilt. A little bit of that guard comes down and it doesn't kill him. So, he takes his shirt off and no one stabs him in the back. He's got a gold unicorn leg and he still absolutely wrecks shit up on a raid. He does something a little arty, opens up a tiny bit to Lucius, and he still doesn't die. It doesn't make things worse, it makes them better.

Enter, the drag episode. Suddenly, we've got Izzy in drag. A masculine style of drag, but still, drag. All that internal change, the shifting meaning of strength and masculinity, is externalised, but he's still himself - his face tattoo is redrawn as part of the makeup because it's still his face, if anything, it's MORE his than ever - AND THEN THE SHIP GETS ATTACKED, his worst nightmare - he's as far from hyper-masc as he can be, and now he's in danger.

BUT

In the teaser, we see Izzy telling people who are, presumably there to torture him and the crew, that it's just going to turn him on. He's using Lucius' technique of disarming people with flirty banter. I can't see S1 Izzy being able to do that.

He gets to dress in drag, be sassy and still win a fight because he's strong as shit and that doesn't go away just because he allows himself to be other things too.

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"Ease Your Pain," watercolor...love that old man. Prints. Thinking about what to paint for a S2 Izzy tribute...

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This is why I shouldn't be allowed to talk to myself, there was I, feeling all soothed and relaxed and happy, and then I remembered Izzy saying "a shark did this to me. Dangling my legs over the side of the ship. Served me right, too."

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Imagine if you will:

It's the end of season 2, Izzy is fully relaxed like we've never seen him. He's laying in a hammock somewhere on the Revenge, in an actual (open) hawaiian shirt, knocking down strawberry margaritas well before noon.

Oh and btw there's like a fire while all of that is happening. The crew running around, someone is maybe fighting. But not Izzy. No, Izzy is on Island Time.

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when izzy barges in with the unicorns legs while the crew is at each others throats he says something along the lines of “that’s what it gets for not doing it’s fucking job.” and then a few days later (probably??? who tf know how time works not me) he gives lucius the whole shark story and like. he’s so thoroughly convinced that he deserved to have his leg chopped off because he didn’t do his job properly that he comes up with a story to absolve ed of the blame. because he’s 100% convinced that he deserved to be punished.

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CON O'NEILL as Izzy Hands in OUR FLAG MEANS DEATH (2022— ) Episode 2.04 Fun and Games

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the curse... is a curse... and once it takes hold... well then it takes hold

-izzy hands 1718

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rip israel basilica hands u would’ve loved microsoft excel