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seikilos-stele · 6 months

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Izzy, Ed, and Saying “I’m Sorry”

I saw a post recently that said Ed’s apology (“sorry about your leg”) was fine actually, because that’s just how Ed and Izzy are, it’s just how they talk.

So I wanted to stress: that’s how Ed is. That’s not how Izzy is.

When Izzy apologizes, it’s: “I said some things I regret last night. I don’t think you’re a shell of a man or a twat.” And: “Ed, I’m sorry. I’ve been terrible to you. I fed your darkness. Blackbeard. For years I egged him on even though I knew you’d outgrown him.”

In S1 and S2 we see how izzy apologizes. He acknowledges his wrongdoing in specific “I” statements — “I did THIS, and I regret it,” “I did THIS, and it was a terrible thing to do.” When Ed apologizes it’s “Sorry about your leg.” Not “Sorry for what I did to your leg,” and no eye contact.

Some people think that Izzy’s response, “Fuck off,” is evidence that he doesn’t accept Ed’s apology, but I disagree — I do think Izzy accepted. I think it’s the most he’s ever gotten from Ed and he knows he’s not going to get anything better. Ed himself says he’s never apologized before, and only does it (not to Izzy but to the crew) when Stede makes him.

It’s worth analyzing how the two apologies are treated by the narrative as well. When Ed apologizes, all is forgiven; he gets his crew (“Ed, they love you”), he gets his lover and his happy ending. For Izzy, the narrative isn’t so kind. In one case, his apology is met with deceit from Ed — to prevent Izzy from further apologizing (by leaving the ship) Blackbeard lies to Izzy and says he plans to kill Stede, then maneuvers Izzy into doing it for him. Only to let Izzy be banished, because he never really wanted Stede dead in the first place. To recap, Izzy is mean to Ed in private; he gives a sincere, unprompted apology the next morning and tries to repent by leaving the ship; he is narratively punished with a humiliating duel and banishment.

In S2, Izzy apologizes to the crew by protecting them from the Kraken, and he IS narratively rewarded for this. His wordless apology results in love from the crew, acceptance, and support. It’s worth noting that we never see Ed make the same concerted effort to change his behavior. Stede tries to push Ed into it, but Ed resists — he rolls his eyes, he treats it as a joke, and he tries to convince his crew that they actually enjoyed being tortured. This is very different from Izzy, who quietly changes his ways without being forced or prompted.

In the finale, Izzy apologizes for feeding Ed’s darkness and absolves Ed for the way he mutilated Izzy in the S1 finale and first two episodes of S2. These mutilations are physical acts including multiple amputations and forced auto-cannibalism; Izzy still bears the scar from his suicide attempt following the final and most severe amputation. Izzy gives a high-quality apology for his mean words (“namby pamby in a silk gown pining for his boyfriend,” “I serve Blackbeard, not Edward. Edward better watch his step.”) Ed doesn’t apologize for choking Izzy, for cutting off his toes and feeding them to him, for shooting him or for goading him into suicide; he certainly doesn’t apologize for lying to him back in S1 about Stede. As we all know, while Izzy dies, Ed doesn’t apologize at all. Izzy gets only one apology from Ed in S2. It’s a low-quality apology vaguely referencing Izzy’s leg, without taking responsibility for it. Ed’s apology is the same distant statement of pity that we might hear from Lucius or Black Pete upon noticing that Izzy is disabled. “Sorry about your leg” — not as in “I’m sorry for what I did,” but as in, “Wow, it sucks that that happened to you. And it has nothing to do with me.”

It’s made worse by the fact that Ed can’t just apologize to Izzy. It’s Izzy who approaches Ed, awkwardly extending the olive branch. Ed rebukes Izzy for avoiding him and makes a judgmental comment about Izzy’s recent uptick in drinking, then seeks out Izzy’s reassurance/comfort (“It feels like a storm’s coming…”). Izzy refuses to give Ed the comfort he seeks, and it’s clear that this bothers Ed; it’s a departure from their usual dynamic.

Ed has to work up to an apology over the course of a brief conversation where the first thing he does is subtly reprimands Izzy for avoiding him. Ed’s priority is not to say he’s sorry; it’s to make sure Izzy knows Ed is upset about the silent treatment and then to seek comfort for Ed’s own emotional turmoil. Contrast this with both Izzy’s apologies: in S1, when Ed approaches him, Izzy squares his shoulders and apologizes right away. There’s no waffling about it; it’s clearly been weighing on his mind, and he needs to say he’s sorry before the conversation veers elsewhere. In S2, Izzy is literally dying; he asks Ed to stay with him, and then launches directly into his apology. There are no insults; there’s no cattiness; he doesn’t try to make Ed feel bad for being hurt.

Conclusion:

There’s a world of difference between Izzy’s apologies and Ed’s. The first difference is in the quality. The second difference is in how the narrative treats them. Ed’s low-quality apologies are rewarded. Izzy’s higher-quality apologies are punished with banishment and death.

#ofmd critical #ofmd #Izzy hands

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emptymasks · 6 months

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so there's an interview with david jenkins up on gizmodo about izzy's death and i have feelings. again.

the interviewer is a big fan of izzy. and jenkins is upset that they are upset about izzy's death. i know he probably doesn't want to make people really upset with izzy's death. but how could he not have known how beloved izzy was. perhaps he didn't realise how many more people would come to love him over this season.

trying to console the interviewer by saying "ghosts exist in this world" since when? buttons turning into a bird might not even be canon, it's left as this maybe, so don't make up and give false hope that he could come back as a ghost. that feels cruel. i know he's trying to make the interviewer feel better but man. don't make promises you can't keep.

of course he took it hard.

izzy didn't get much time to belong though. i love that speech he gave. but for him to get punished for it. to kill of the character with the most growth because it doesn't matter because he's not as important as ed. izzy deserved better than to a plot device for ed to grow.

'to see their friend go' uh.. i don't think we got to the point where stede and izzy were friends yet. sadly. because he died too soon for that to happen. i think being buried near them, and without his ring that they took of his corpse, is selfish on ed's part.

i don't know how this is kind. i don't know how you can describe this as kind.

i... am almost laughing since i feel so delirious reading that. you wanted to avoid killing your gays by.. killing one of your gays. right. an.. upbeat note.. i.. how.. did you really think no one liked izzy that much? maybe he didn't expect so many new izzy hands during season 2 but...

again the interviewer gets upset about izzy's death. jenkins tries to console and comfort them but couldn't. i can't believe he didn't see this coming. i'm sorry he's sad too. though surely he wanted people to be sad? to feel sad about izzy's death? maybe he didn't think anyone would take it this hard. but i'm sure con could have told them different given the stories i know people have told him about how much izzy means to them. i think it's wrong to call the show homophobic, i think the show is still a great piece of lgbt+ representation. and i also think the ending was rushed and izzy's death wasn't fair (and not enough people accept that ed abused him and was his abuser and no one should have to give their abuser closure) but i think if he had to die it could have been defending the crew, and not being stupid enough to let ricky have a gun, because that didn't feel very in character. i just. i'm with the interviewer. i'm not mad at jenkins i'm just disappointed and upset. and i know he didn't mean any of this maliciously, and yes i know it's all fictional, but people are still allowed to complain and be hurt. no matter how stupid you think that might seem. there's no need to get angry at people who are upset about izzy's death. these are just my thoughts and feelings and there's no ill will too anyone who disagrees with me.

i'm sad at you.

#lets kill of the suicidal character im sure that'll look good and people wont be upset at all #our flag means death #our flag means death spoilers #izzy hands #my rambles #mine

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ourflagmeansheartbreak · 5 months

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Now that it’s been a minute and I hopefully won’t get “kys” comments on my posts, something to say.

I love Ed with my whole heart but he had no business crying when Izzy was dying. And no business crying because he’s his “only family”. For someone who tried to kill him twice himself not weeks ago.

Another thing, I love ofmd with everything I have and I thought season two was amazing, yet I’ll still say the ending sucked. We got a half assed burial for a crucial character that we were forced to fall in love because of all the character grow, and after that immediately the wedding and no one really even seemed to be that fucking affected.

The whole ending was about how much everyone loves Ed. I get that it was a private moment between him and Ed, which Ed had no privilege to have to begin with, but not a single person said good bye or even remotely let him know he was also loved. Because he was, they’re a family, they love each other. Izzy is the father that tried to protect them from Ed as much as he could, even from himself (hence saying “your feelings for Stede Fucking Bonnet” because with Edward constantly being high he might have just fucking shot himself. And Izzy wouldn’t let that happen).

I’m not saying that because of all the growth he did his death meant it didn’t matter, not at all. I’m saying it was poorly handled and made purely for shock factor and just to make it easier. Because in third season we have Stede and Ed and then Izzy doesn’t mix into the equation anymore, does he? With him being in love with Edward letting him go must’ve been a happy ending for them with “no interruptions”. That’s just my opinion. They didn’t even get a chance to sort anything out, to talk about anything except “sorry for your leg” scene. He got literally no closure, something I see often mentioned on here as well.

Izzy got the briefest time to feel actually happy. Imagine becoming a pirate at 16, scraping your way through life with so much violence, then working your ass off for Blackbeard and then here, you find a crew that lets you to just be, well, you. And he didn’t even get to feel that fully.

It was badly timed, the whole thing felt off, and once again, for someone who tried to actively kill and harm Izzy, Edward had no business bawling his eyes out how he’s his “only family”. A few weeks ago you discarded him like trash and didn’t even blink when you thought he was dead. Not saying people can’t change but holy shit balls is that a huge ass change for such short time.

I love Ed, don’t get me wrong, when you live among violence for so long it’s difficult to adjust your moral compass to something WE think is morally wrong or right. However I am saying it simply didn’t make sense.

And I love ofmd I thought second season was amazing, but the ending was not. And I think it’s okay to express something you didn’t like, just because I love it to death doesn’t mean I have to look at it like it’s the hand of god and I can’t be upset about anything.

I don’t think going forward I’ll make any comments on Izzy’s untimely death again, it’s just beating a dead (haha) horse over and over again, I’ve seen these things pointed that already but I talked how his death was fitting (in a way, it was) so now I wanted to say what was poorly handled. Because it was, in my opinion.

If you disagree, please don’t say that I deserve to lose a leg or “kys”, I really don’t think you should be watching ofmd if that’s your reaction to someone online criticising anything. And for that one lucky person who did say that, lucky to inform you, I already walk with the cane, so, half way there!

That’s it. That’s my final comment on this situation, I am slightly disappointed in how it ended but then again it’s just my opinion that means nothing in grand scheme of things. Moving forward I’m no longer commenting on this, only memes and good times.

Take care of yourself and most importantly love your fucking selves.

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our-flag-means-love · 1 year

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so i know ed and stede's love languages have been discussed to death but i'm gonna do it too because imo many cakes isn't just about fic.

specifically, i want to talk about what i think their love languages are, and why they are what they are, and also why this supports the fact that stede and ed are more alike than they seem at face value.

but in order to do that, we'll also need to talk about violence.

so there's pretty much no question that ed's love language is physical touch. his first real contact with stede (y'know, besides when he was like 3/4 dead and barely conscious and looking like a drowned rat) was a gentle touch to the hand.

he's constantly giving stede little reassuring touches, and just casual ones as well.

stede, on the other hand– i've seen people suggest that his love language is quality time based on the treasure hunt episode, but i disagree with this. he did that with the specific goal of impressing ed with an adventure, not just spending time with him.

no, i firmly believe that stede's love language is words of affirmation. he's always praising not only ed but also the crew with verbal reassurances.

i mean, his main motto as a captain is "we talk it through as a crew." it's hard to be more clearly in favor of verbal support than that.

(this is mostly split for Very Long length but also consider this your content warning for discussion of stede and ed's childhood abuse a bit further down.)

we see both of these love languages at play from the moment they meet. in their very first conversation, when stede is feeling unsure of himself, ed gives him reassurance and– importantly– a few gentle touches, and stede responds with praise.

and once they get to know each other better, they also start communicating in each other's love languages to show support and care.

so, we know their love languages. but why are these their love languages?

well, i'm far from the first to say it, but i think it's because of this.

they use what they know.

when you've grown up in a culture of physical violence, bodily contact is what you learn how to utilize.

and obviously being immersed in violence extends well beyond ed's childhood– it's present through his whole career in piracy– but that was where it took root.

and, likewise, if you've been raised in a world where violence is committed through words and not punches, then language is your most trusted weapon.

and the same goes for this being a factor throughout all of stede's life, and from far more people than just his father.

but... stede doesn't use his words for violence. not usually, at least, and never with people he loves. he's passive aggressive with izzy, with the french aristocrats, and a bit with mary after he catches her with doug. but for the most part, he uses his words to show care and appreciation to his crew and to ed.

just like how we rarely see ed use actual physical violence. he certainly delegates it, but the most we see him commit by his own hand (in real time, not counting killing his father) is threaten a racist french captain, horse around with calico jack (who was raised in the same culture of violence as ed, i might add), and then what he does to lucius and izzy after he gives up hope of stede returning. like stede, we mostly see him use physical touch as a gesture of care and fondness.

they may have different love languages, but their love languages arise from the same source: the methods they were taught to harm people. one of the many things stede and ed have in common is that they both show the most support using the tools that they were always told can do the most damage. they've both reclaimed the languages of violence they grew up with-

-to use them for love.

#and this is also why ed deserves to be gently and lovingly railed thank you for coming to my ted talk #ofmd #our flag means death #ofmd meta #ofmd gifs #stede bonnet #edward teach #blackbeard #blackbonnet #gentlebeard #ids in alt text

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insanescriptist · 4 months

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Khr flame types for all the bat-clan. (Batman, Nightwing, Red Hood, Red Robin, Robin, Oracle, Black Bat, and Batgirl. Maybe Alfred and a few others.) It's a question/concept that's been floating in my mind for the last couple of days.

Okay, so having gotten into DC, Izzy will finally answer this ask that’s been lounging in inbox hell for um... years. *screms* My tagline says ‘may answer’ for a reason

Batman: Lightning primary, Cloud secondary.

Nightwing: Storm. Sun.

Red Hood: Sky. (yeah, oof.) Rain secondary. (Rains are scary.)

Red Robin: Lightning. Mist.

Robin: Rain. Cloud. (Ra’s is also a Rain, with a Storm secondary.)

Oracle: Sun. Mist.

Black Bat: Sun.

Batgirl/Spoiler: Lightning. Storm.

Signal: Mist.

Alfred: Storm.

Mind you, this is my take on it. Umei also had thoughts about this a while back (in October of ‘23), so...

Batman: Lightning

Nightwing: Sky

Red Hood: Cloud

Red Robin: Lightning

Robin: Storm

Oracle: N/A (we didn’t mention her.)

Black Bat: Sun

Spoiler/Batgirl: Lightning

Signal: Mist

Alfred: Storm

As nonnie can see, we do agree on some things.

Anyway, further explanations under the cut

Batman we agree is a Lightning. He’s both grounding and polarizing. In his actions and how he approaches things. He’s got the Cloud secondary because of his territorial style to Gotham and what he values/considers his.

Nightwing we disagree on. Nightwing usually plays peacemaker in the family. He’s friendly, charming and has a temper. However Izzy disagrees with the Sky because while Nightwing has friends, none of them really seem to hmm, be the same level of closeness and intimacy that strikes Izzy as a characteristic of a Sky-Flame bond. Depending on the continuity, the Titans broke up under him how many times? Yeah, he’s Driven and he Cares and tries to make things better for others, but he’s also a mess that really needs someone to barge in and take care of.

Red Hood we also disagreed on, but Izzy did argue Umei around. Like yeah, you could write him on a Cloud rage-bender but also, that could just be Trauma. But really what sold Jason as a Sky was everyone’s reactions to his death. He touched a lot of people, even if he only met them a few times. Like Roy. He made such an impression on Talia that she kept tabs on him before he was ever adopted by Bruce. He meets new people and lets them in and works with them, like Artemis and Bizzaro; they reach back, gel together in ways that shouldn’t work but do. Izzy’s still reading up on earlier comics but well, he’s got a lot of Xanxus vibes, so there’s that too. The Rain/Cloud secondary bits are more nuance but well, both Flames are pretty willing to cut a bitch first for something/someone they believe in. But Jason’s got a lot of sensitivity we don’t see in most KHR Clouds so Izzy went Rain.

Red Robin. Yeah, he’s a Lightning. Also Mist. They feed into each other. Tangle. He is such a mess. He just hides it better now that he’s older.

Robin. Umei says Storm because he’s insecure and willing to attack. Izzy says he’s a Rain, because again, Rains are willing to cut a bitch and still be sensitive. Izzy further modifies with Cloud who had their expected life upended and is trying to figure everything out.

Oracle strikes Izzy as a Sun and a Mist. She’s just on the intellectual side of Sun (see perfect recall) and Mist is basically a modifier on that. Oracle is very much willing to make things go her way.

Black Bat is a Sun because we see her body reading ability in KHR with Reborn. Reborn not only does this for combat but to get his jollies off, since he, like Cass probably can’t turn it off. Izzy’s not sure on a secondary for Cass, but might be Cloud.

Spoiler/Batgirl: We agree to the Lightning. Izzy originally went with a Sun secondary, but further thought is probably Storm secondary.

Signal: he’s a Mist. He’s perfectly reasonable. Until he ain’t. He also gets away with so much shit. Izzy’s pretty sure he’s a Sun or Storm secondary but while he seems to be Sunny, Izzy thinks he’s actually more Storm. After all, if you start a revolution, gotta be willing to play with fire.

Alfred: we should all be glad we only met him post-war, when he had settled into being a butler.

#khr #DC #batfam #Izzy answers #anonymous

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natalynsie · 9 months

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Let's Don't Forget About It (Noco Oneshot)

Was Noah a little bit scared for sleepovers at Owen’s after what happened last time?

Yeah. A little.

Trent having a video of Noah cuddling with Cody and kissing his ear for some reason was pretty embarrassing. Also, Owen might have the video by now, Noah wasn’t sure.

But, nevertheless, Noah was invited to a sleepover yet again. Thankfully, this time it was only with Eva, Izzy, Cody, and, of course, Owen. Noah figured he’d be able to stand that. There were only so many things that could go wrong, and even if they did, he only had to live with four people knowing.

“Hey Noah!” Owen greeted, opening the door seconds after Noah knocked.

“Hey Owen,” Noah greeted monotonely.

“Everyone’s already here,” Owen informed. “We’re gonna watch Mean Girls right now.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah! It’s my favorite movie.”

Noah sighed. “Fine. Whatever.”

Noah followed Owen down the thin, dim stairway to the open, carpeted family room. Owen’s house always made Noah feel a certain way. It had three stories: the top one being fairly small, only containing a few bedrooms and bathrooms; the middle one being the kitchen, dining room, living room, one bedroom, and a bathroom; the basement was dim and open, and was covered in white carpet and cheap furniture. It gave Noah a sense of nostalgia even though his home was never anything like Owen’s.

As Noah sat on the couch, he saw Cody on the other end with his head resting on his palm. Izzy was doing cartwheels around the basement, and Eva was cursing at the TV. trying to get it to play the movie.

“Your TV is stupid!” She yelled as Owen walked in.

“Are you pressing enter?” Owen asked, walking up to Eva and the remote.

“Yeah! That’s the button you’re supposed to use when you’re selecting something, idiot!”

“You have to select TV again.”

Eva selected the button and the movie started playing. “Oh.”

Owen giggled and Eva blushed.

“Hey! It’s not funny!” Eva yelled, sitting down on the couch between Noah and Cody.

As Owen skipped through the commercials while sitting on the ground, Eva started tapping her foot.

“Move, Noah, this seat’s uncomfortable.”

Before he knew it, Noah was being picked up and dropped in the middle of the couch and Eva laid on the side of the couch where Noah was previously.

“Wow, real nice of you,” Noah commented.

“Shut up!” Eva responded. “The movie’s starting.”

“Oh come on, everyone’s seen this movie like, a billion times. It’s just Cady talking to her parents.”

“Eva, if you’ve ever been to a sleepover, you would know watching movies is so we can comment on them,” Izzy said.

“I actually never saw this,” Cody stated.

Noah looked at Cody with a look of surprise. “No way. My sister made me watch this with her literally every day for a month when I was 14.”

Cody shrugged. “I never really had any interest in watching it. I’m not big on movies.”

“You’re going to love it,” Owen told Cody.

“You won’t,” Noah disagreed. “It’s so basic and boring.”

“Blah blah blah, WHATEVER,” Eva yelled.

So, for the next few minutes, the group was quiet.

Noah was pretty stiff against the couch, because Eva was right, it was uncomfortable. This part of the movie was pretty boring, but then again, Noah thought the entire movie was boring. Either way, nobody had anything to say so far.

“Why do they have cliques like that?” Cody asked as the camera zoomed through the cafeteria. “Why does their cafeteria even look like that?”

“That’s what I’m saying!” Noah agreed.

“I’ll agree on that one,” Izzy said. “Why do they have to separate the smart asians and the hot asians? We all know that Noah is both so that’s inaccurate.”

Noah coughed loudly. “Sorry, what?”

First off, the movie had not said ‘smart asians’ and ‘hot asians’, it had said ‘asian nerds’ and ‘cool asians’. Second off, Noah had never thought himself to look good, nevermind hot. He was average. Probably a little under that. He hadn’t ever put effort into his looks or cared about them until a couple months ago, and the only people who ever commented on it were Cody and his sister.

He was pretty glad Cody was one of the people who noticed, because that’s really, embarrassingly, who he was dressing up for. But Noah still wasn’t attractive.

“She isn’t wrong,” Cody stated.

Noah stopped. He looked straight forward at the TV and did not dare look at Cody.

Cody thinks I’m hot.

It was moments like these that Noah had to wonder. Maybe Cody did like him. Maybe Noah should ask him out.

But then again, Noah was a coward. And whenever he thought about the moments after they happened, he convinced himself they were totally platonic. Cody didn’t like him and never would.

Noah brought the knee closest to Cody up to his face and laid on it to cover it. He didn’t want anyone looking at him at a time like this, especially not Cody.

Eva snickered from next to him.

Wow. Noah was stuck in a room with people who all knew he liked Cody and Cody.

Noah took a sneaking glance at Cody, who turned out to be looking at him.

“Dude, are you okay?” Cody asked.

“Yeah, why?” Noah lied.

“You aren’t. Are you embarrassed or something?”

“No. I’m not.”

“You totally are,” Cody smiled. “What, do you not know you’re hot?”

“I think it’s because you said it,” Eva grinned.

“What the heck Eva?” Noah yelled. “It is not.”

“You weren’t acting like that when Izzy said it.”

“...I needed time to process. I was surprised.”

“Well, now you can have comfort knowing that you’re hot,” Cody stated.

Noah pinched the top of his nose. “Please stop talking.”

Cody shrugged and went back to laying on his side of the couch.

A few other exchanges occurred while watching the movie, but Noah didn’t really pay much attention.

~~~

“We should have a fashion show!” Izzy exclaimed.

Noah rubbed his eyes. “For god’s sake, where would we find anything fashionable in this house?”

“Oh don’t worry. I brought a ton of extra clothes. Just in case I have to run away and live in the woods, you know? And I have some accessories so we can totally be stylish with it. This movie really inspired me to dress up! Come on!”

Izzy ran out of the room, upstairs, and back downstairs with her bag before anyone even bothered to follow her. She quickly laid out all her clothes on the floor. “Okay, let’s pick our outfits!”

“Izzy, I am not going to fit in those,” Owen said.

“Well this is your house, go get your own clothes!”

“I’m not gonna fit either,” Eva stated.

“Don’t worry, I have some clothes big enough to fit you,” Izzy smiled, handing Eva what remained in the bag. “This is the big stuff.”

“Okay then,” Eva turned, walking into the bathroom to change.

“I’m gonna grab some nice clothes from my room,” Owen told the group before running upstairs.

Noah studied the clothes in front of him. He obviously wasn’t going to wear Izzy’s miniskirts and crop-tops, he would never subject himself to such torture. Plus, even though Noah wasn’t as big as Owen or Eva, he probably still wouldn’t fit in a lot of Izzy’s clothes.

Unfortunately, it seemed most of Izzy’s clothes were tight.

Noah ended up picking some jean shorts, a green flannel, a blue pajama shirt, and hoping for the best.

After changing, Noah looked in the mirror.

Jean shorts were not his style. He figured womens’ clothing in general was not his style. He hated how short the shorts were, he didn’t like shorts in general, but at least they were baggier than the rest of what Izzy had.

The flannel was much more his thing, and was very anti-Izzy. He was surprised she had it at all. He liked it, and figured maybe he should get a flannel of his own.

The pajama shirt he had picked really because everything else Izzy owned was a crop top, and he liked that too.

The outfit worked surprisingly better than he thought it would. But before he exited the room, he decided to wear his own jeans instead. He hated the shorts. A lot.

“Next,” Noah shouted as he exited the bathroom.

“Noah! Get over here!” Owen shouted from down the hall.

Noah walked over to where Owen was standing. “What?”

“We’re gonna go down the catwalk!” Owen pointed to some wooden planks placed going from the hallway into a room. “Izzy’s filming.”

“She’s what?”

“Don’t worry, we aren’t sending it to anyone but each other. Anyways, take a blanket so you don’t ruin the surprise like you already did for me.”

It was at this point Noah realized Owen had been wearing a blanket. “Oh, yeah, okay.”

Noah wrapped the blanket around his body and laughed at the stupidity of it, and then followed Owen into the room of the catwalk. Soon enough, Cody followed.

“Okay!” Izzy yelled as Cody walked into the room, wearing a blanket. “Eva’s getting ready to walk the walk and Cody just came out! Too bad it was the bathroom and not the closet. Anyway, presenting the fabulous Eva!”

Owen clapped and Cody facepalmed with a laugh. And sure enough, Eva came down the catwalk and dropped her blanket, revealing her outfit. She wore a mid-thigh length blue skirt, white tank top, and green jacket. She did a little spin with a straight face before she made it to the end of the catwalk and started laughing.

Noah found himself laughing with her.

“I feel so dumb!” She giggled. “Why don’t you have any big clothes that match!”

Izzy shrugged with a smile. “Owen, you're up next!”

Owen ran around the other door to the catwalk, dropping his blanket dramatically. He wore a long-sleeved white shirt… and a yellow skirt?

He started pretending he knew how to do ballet as he danced the catwalk and the other four of the group laughed.

“Where did you get your skirt?” Noah asked.

“I stole it from my mom,” Owen smiled, sitting down.

“Okay, Noah!” Izzy shouted.

Noah sighed and went around the wall, dropping his blanket on the floor before he got to the catwalk. He stepped on the catwalk and rolled his eyes, struck a pose with one hand up and one on his hip, and stepped off. As he sat down, he smiled.

“Cody, you’re up next!” Izzy exclaimed.

Cody ran around the wall to the catwalk. He was smiling as he dropped his blanket and spun around. He wore a denim skirt, green top, and dark green jacket. With every step he did a different pose and at the end did another spin, looked straight into the camera, winked, and burst out laughing as he walked to his chair.

“Okay okay I’m next! Eva, hold the camera!” Izzy ran around the wall and the catwalk where she revealed herself wearing a pink miniskirt, long-sleeve pink crop top, and a white spaghetti strap crop top over it. She did a front-handspring down the catwalk and did a peace sign to the camera.

“Woo!” Owen yelled and started clapping.

Cody and Noah started clapping too and Eva ended the video.

“Well, you didn’t look half-bad,” Cody joked. “You made that pajama shirt work.”

“Whatever. You look good too.”

~~~

“Let’s play roll call,” Eva suggested.

After the fashion show, the group had changed back into their normal clothes and decided to just talk for a minute. But soon enough, they got bored.

“I’ve never heard of that,” Noah informed.

“Oh, it’s so much fun. I used to play it with my sister and her friends all the time. They always made me be it first, but whatever. And we would probably be better off with more people, but we can still play.”

“So… how do you play?” Cody asked.

“So first, there’s a leader,” Eva began. “Then there’s a kidnapper. The lights all have to be off and we walk around the house in a single file line except for the kidnapper. The kidnapper has to grab people from the end of the line one by one. When they’re taken, they all have to hide. Every once in a while, the leader has to say ‘roll call’ and everyone left has to say present. When the leader is alone, they turn on the lights and start seeking.”

“Sounds fun! I’ll be it.” Izzy grinned.

“I want to be the leader,” Owen added. “I think I’d get too scared not being the leader.”

“Great! Let’s turn off the lights.”

Noah reluctantly stood up as Eva, Izzy, and Owen ran upstairs to turn off all the lights.

“I just know I’m gonna get the shit scared out of me,” Noah stated.

“Same here.” Cody rubbed his arm. “I feel like I’m gonna scream and ruin the game.”

Noah nodded. “Let’s just turn off the lights down here. I think the other three have the rest of the house covered.”

Cody walked off to another section of the basement while Noah went down the hallway, turning off all the lights that remained on. As he came back, he bumped his forehead into something.

“Ow!” Or someone.

“Sorry,” Noah apologized while rubbing his forehead. “I didn’t see you.”

“Well yeah, duh. We just turned off all of the lights in the basement. Where are you?”

“I’m right here.”

Noah stuck his hand out to reach for wherever Cody was so he wouldn’t bump into him.

And his hand met another hand.

“Sorry!” Cody apologized loudly, removing his hand

“You didn’t even do anything,” Noah replied, grabbing Cody’s hand back. He was glad Cody couldn’t see him smiling in the dark. “It would be better to know where you are anyways. Let’s just go find the others.”

Noah wasn’t sure if Cody responded, but it seemed as if he had nodded or something along those lines because he followed Noah up the stairs while holding his hand.

Noah felt the walls around the narrow steps and eventually found himself at a closed door.

“Hello?” Cody asked. “Where are you guys?”

Silence.

“Are you guys there?”

Silence.

“What the fuck are they doing?” Noah asked, pulling Cody through the kitchen while holding onto the wall. “Are we going to play or what?”

Cody followed Noah as he guided him through the house. “Are they trying to mess with us or something?”

“Probably,” Noah responded.

“Where are the light switches anyway so we can find them?”

“I have no idea where the light switches are when there’s no doors. There’s no doors on the main floor except for like, two.”

The two stayed in silence for a minute.

Then, there was a scream.

Cody stopped. “Was that Eva?”

“They’re messing with us. Definitely.”

“Wanna go back downstairs? So we can turn on the lights?”

Noah groaned. “You’re such a chicken. Look, they’re gonna make fun of us if we turn the lights on. I mean, we could probably scare them back if we wanted to anyways. Should we?”

“AAAHHH!” Cody shrieked, running straight into Noah’s back and tripping.

“Cody, what the fuck?”

“Get the fuck up I’m out of here!” Cody shouted, tugging at Noah’s arm.

Noah stood up and held Cody’s arm as they started running. “We’re going to run into something, what happened, are you okay?”

“This cold ass hand just touched my back! No, I am not okay. Where the hell am I and where’s the door?”

“Leave,” a horrifying voice bellowed.

“Okay, that’s demonic,” Noah stated. “The fuck type of prank are they trying to play? And who is that?”

“I don’t care if it’s a prank or what, I am leaving this house,” Cody said. “Oh, this is a doorknob.”

Cody presumably turned the knob and opened the door. “Shit, it’s the basement.”

Noah heard footsteps behind them.

“Fuck it,” Cody said, and ran down the stairs.

“Don’t kill me!” Noah yelled.

“I’m trying not to!”

As Noah and Cody reached the bottom of the stairs, they began to hear a laugh. A familiar one.”

“I can’t take it!” Izzy yelled, flicking on a light switch at the top of the stairs. “It’s too funny!”

Cody sighed. “Izzy you scared me half to death.”

“Me too, honestly,” Noah admitted.

“You, you guys started sprinting!” Izzy cackled. “Oh my gosh. I scared Eva too! She screamed so loud but then I told her to play along!”

Noah rolled his eyes. “Very funny.”

“Are you guys holding hands?”

Noah looked down to his and Cody’s hands. He quickly released his hand and crossed his arms, a slight tint of red on his face.

“How did you get your hand to be so cold?” Cody asked, dodging the question.

“I stuck it in the freezer. I guess I should go tell Owen I’m done scaring people.”

Noah’s mouth fell open. “You mean he didn’t have to fall victim to this torture?”

“Yup! Now, we should play that roll call game. It sounds fun!”

“Nuh uh.” Cody shook his head. “I am done getting scared today.”

~~~

“Can we just hang out and play some music?” Cody asked.

The group was laying on the carpeted floor of Owen’s basement, tired after Izzy had pulled shenanigans instead of playing a game like normal people.

“After all of that, that’s the only thing I want to do,” Eva sighed.

“Nobody loves music like Eva,” Izzy smiled.

“It’s true,” Eva agreed. “I call first song.”

Eva pulled out her mp3 player and picked a song.

Noah listened to the beginning, and it wasn’t even seconds until he recognized the song. “Cemetery Drive? Really?”

“What? It’s my favorite song right now,” Eva responded.

“I’ve never heard this in my life, how did you recognize it so fast?” Cody asked.

“Remember my cousin, Caleb?” Noah returned.

“Yeah…”

“He loves My Chemical Romance.”

“Your family has been relating to this sleepover one too many times,” Owen said.

At this point, Noah glanced to where Owen was sitting up at a desk, opening firefox.

“What are you doing?” Noah asked.

“I want to open this up so we can pick a song that isn’t Eva’s,” Owen stated.

“Thank god. Lemme see.”

Noah walked over to the computer and looked up his favorite song. “Play this when Eva’s music ends.”

Owen smiled. “I love that song!”

“Everyone loves that song,” Noah smirked.

Eventually Eva’s song came to an end and at this point everyone except Izzy was off of the floor. Owen pressed play on the video Noah had pulled up.

Izzy perked up as the song started playing. “Oh my gosh! I love Smooth! Owen, come dance with me!

Man, it’s a hot one

Izzy grabbed Owen and started shaking her arms and his to the beat.

Like seven inches from the midday sun

She twirled around and let go of his hands.

I hear you whispering the words, melt everyone

Cody smiled as he watched them dance and stood up, taking Eva’s hand.

But you stay so cool

Cody twirled as well, copying the same movement that Izzy had moments before. Noah watched them with a small smile, standing next to the wall.

My muñequita

Izzy pushed past Cody and into Eva’s arms.

My Spanish harlem Mona Lisa

Izzy rocked Eva side to side and Eva smiled dumbly.

You’re my reason for reason

Cody made his way over to Owen and Owen himself did a twirl.

The step in my groove

Cody stepped a foot forward and Owen took one backwards.

And if you said this life ain’t good enough

Izzy dragged Noah into the middle, taking his arms and running them both around in a circle before dropping him.

I would give my world to lift you up

Owen caught Noah and picked him up off the floor.

I would change my life to better suit your mood

Eva dragged Noah out and awkwardly wiggled his arms. “I’m not really a dancer,” She smiled.

Because you’re so smooth

Before Noah could respond ‘can any of us?’ Cody stole Noah from Eva and walked backwards to an area free of the other three.

And it’s just like the ocean under the moon

Cody spun him around the same way Izzy did, but didn’t drop him.

It’s the same as the emotion that I get from you

He twirled Noah around before catching his shoulder.

You got the kinda lovin’ that can be so smooth

Cody twirled himself around between Noah’s arms.

Give me your heart, make it real, or else forget about it

He ducked out and mouthed the words before winking and letting go.

The song continued without lyrics for a few moments, and Noah stood there, stunned. Throughout this entire time, Noah had not had the time to process anything that happened.

Cody had spent a lot of time dancing with him. Everyone else only lasted a couple lines but Cody just… kept dancing with Noah. Maybe he was overthinking, maybe Cody just really liked the song too.

But Cody winked at him.

And Noah’s heart was racing a million miles per hour.

And he was out of breath.

And hoping Cody wasn’t paying attention.

But I’ll tell you one thing

Izzy whisked Cody away from where he had begun dancing by himself.

If you would leave it’d be a crying shame

Izzy spun herself and Cody as they both smiled widely.

And every breath and every word

Owen and Eva took each other's arms and Owen basically threw her around in a circle with one arm around him.

I hear your name calling me out

Eva smiled and did the same to him.

Out from the barrio

Izzy grabbed Noah again just to do a dance move on her own, and Noah just moved to the rhythm himself.

You hear my rhythm on your radio

Owen joined the two with a smile on his face, rocking his hips back and forth.

You feel the turning of the world, so soft and slow

Eva made her way into the circle spinning by herself.

Turnin’ you round and round

Cody yet again returned to Noah and spun him around three times.

And if you said this life ain’t good enough

Eva began to mutter the lyrics to herself while Izzy practically yelled them. Owen and Noah watched them both, Owen mouthing the lyrics and Noah just smiling. Cody began to dance by himself as well, also lip-syncing.

I would give my world to lift you up

Owen held Izzy up by her waist in the air as she giggled.

I would change my life to better suit your mood

Cody turned towards Noah, and while still dancing on his own, opened his eyes and mouthed the lyrics happily in his direction.

Because you’re so smooth

Noah found himself smiling back and started lip syncing to the lyrics himself.

And it’s just like the ocean under the moon

Cody’s grin grew wider and he took Noah’s left hand with his right.

It’s the same as the emotion that I get from you

Though they both did their own independent dance moves, they kept their hands together.

You got the kinda lovin’ that can be so smooth

Noah had gone back and forth with himself a million times. He thought Cody liked him but convinced himself Cody didn’t like him. Noah had gone back and forth with Owen a million times. He thought Cody liked him but convinced himself Cody didn’t like him.

Give me your heart, make it real, or else forget about it

The instrumental part followed these lyrics, and Noah decided to just stop thinking. He was having a good time, he was dancing with his friends, and he was dancing with Cody. He wasn’t required to wonder about whether or not Cody liked him. He didn’t want to bother wondering about it because he was happy enough as is. There weren't enough moments where he just forgot about thinking and embarrassment and just had a good time, and he knew his friends, especially Eva, felt that way too.

Noah let go of Cody’s hand but kept smiling as he made his way to dance with Eva and Izzy.

As the rest of the song faded, Noah fell flat onto his back on the floor.

“I feel you,” Cody laughed heavily, falling next to him. “That was really fun. Owen can you put on Tiny Dancer next?”

“Yeah,” Owen responded.

Noah smiled. This was probably his most successful sleepover so far.

#total drama #fanfiction #fanfic #oneshot #cody x noah #codyxnoah #fluff #high school #high school au #noah x cody #noahxcody #noco #natie fics #natie wawanakwa high school fics

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batsarebetterthanpeople · 2 years

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Alright I want to talk about piracy, gender, and babygirlification in here on this day. I don't know if metas are a thing you title but this one is called "babygirl, that pirate is gnc as fuck."

I want to be up front here. I've seen some people talk about us feminizing these pirates and saying "hey maybe don't do that" in ways I agree with the sentiment of but disagree with on their conclusions. So to lend credence to the parts of those arguments I agree with I'm gonna say up front that Ed's hair isn't the thing that makes me go "oh he's serving femboy" while is hair is gorgeous, it's not considered feminine in Maori culture to have long hair so it is not contributing to my reading of "ways Ed goes hard with his gender presentation" that's the part I agree on. However I don't think that means he's not giving gender because oh baby let's get into it.

I want to preface all of this with this. Ed's costume is delightfully anachronistic. He is dressed like Mad Max. He's giving biker he's giving leather daddy. So when I talk about the gender presentation implied by spacific costume pieces I'm analyzing it from a modern perspective because how am I gonna hold mad Max leather daddy to 1700s standards of masculinity and femininity. Now with that disclaimer out of the way let's start with perhaps the most talked about and simultaneously least acknowledged one

He's wearing a whole ass crop top. They didn't have to do that. Mad Max, the major costuming influence for Ed's look has the divide between his shirt and his pants down a bit from where Ed's is. me and the other girlboys and gender anarchists all know that a hairy man in a crop top is the ultimate serve. And while his tummy is thirsted after I don't think it gets the credit it deserves for being a gender moment. I blame the high waisted pants for that, because if you can't see tummy you are likely to forget it's a crop top.

The next hint over the course of the show we get that his gender expression might be complex and varied and for the queers is this

I'll get to the suits when I talk about Stede, but here we have a man with flowers in his hair and bows in his beard. What he has done here is again very androgynous. Usually when we think of androgyny we think of something that is neither masculine nor feminine. My man Jeff has gone the opposite direction with the beard bows. Because beards are very masculine (there are women with beards of course but as a cultural signifier beard screams man) and he has put these dainty feminine little bows in it. It's giving like 1700s glitter beard in that it's something we consider very masculine decorated in a way that is very feminine. And it's elevated by those fuckin hair flowers which match his shoes. It's a whole look.

Then we get another wonderful anachronism. It's blink and you miss it but

The fuckin nail polish. He's wearing nail polish, and not even nail polish in a color where you can go "well he's goth" lord no. It's pink and sparkly.

Next one: the Kraken

Now I know what you're thinking, "But Jamie, this look is the sad boy look. This look is the look where he's trying to hide his vulnerability, and, subtextually, his femininity from Izzy." And let me tell you, you're so right and as a trans man this look is something that can be so fucking personal to me. The man is undergoing beard dysphoria and he's dealing with it how I dealt with it when I was 16 and some of my cis male classmates started coming to school with lil teenager mustaches. I know that's like the opposite of a feminine thing but it is part of the complex gender fuckery we see on this character. He got told you're not enough of a man pirate and he ran and threw on FAKE BEARD? that's that on me knowing this mother fucker to be trans. On top of feeding us with that trans masc experience he gives us the MCR eyeshadow? The look is undeniably trans. And that's not even getting into the dangly earring. Granted the earring could go either way pirates are often depicted with earrings.

I suppose this isn't really a meta so much as me gushing about minor costuming decisions and how Ed is a GNC icon

#ofmd #our flag means death #blackbeard #edward teach #blackbeard ofmd #edward teach ofmd

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ladyluscinia · 7 months

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Oh so they're doubling down on saying that enjoying a character they don't like and being defensive (and, admittedly, a bit petty) in what's effectively a Flame War is a red flag for demonstrating cult-like fandom behavior, while clarifying that no one is actually calling Izzy fans a cult. Yet. Just saying we need to nip this in the bud, you know?

(This being... what exactly? Arguing about S2 predictions on tumblr? Vaguing people? - Hi! 🫡 Having "bad" takes that may or may not be problematic? Bitching about tagged character crit / hate about your fave, sometimes on the posts in question? Dedicating blogs to wank? Welcome to every-fandom-ever-including-BlackBonnet, I guess.)

Not a new accusation, but since people are once again making ominous statements about the "concerning" potential of a Snapewives situation... maybe we should pass around a reminder of who, exactly, they're referencing?

The Snapewives (Fanlore Link, Reddit Synopsis) were an extremely small niche forum in a really huge fandom that are pretty much only known for infamous levels of cringe that got them mocked relentlessly when discovered by Fan Wank. We are talking a tiny subsection of a subsection of a subsection of the massive HP fandom that got really earnest with their self-insert fanfic / roleplaying (and really didn't like the canon ending of Snape's arc). There's actually a really interesting paper on analyzing "Snapism" as a religion that alludes to their particular issues with Christian faith and erotic fantasies, and can kinda sketch in how they might have gotten to where they did. It's weird, no doubt, but honestly sounds pretty harmless?

Like, I'm not sure if we're using the BITE model that they would even count as a real cult - "Snape" seems very controlling and makes them do things (cook specific dinners, stop biting nails, go on diets, etc.) but, like, there's no cult leader being "Snape". These are all self-assigned "tasks" via "channeling" (which is again weird but not super unique - read the paper) and then the women themselves disagree on things and could just come across as a really intense roleplaying forum having disputes over ratings for self-insert fic, among other things.

The situation is different when there's an obvious cult leader - see the extensive documented history of Andy "thanfiction" compiled here. Trigger warnings for sexual assault, abuse, manipulation... all the stuff you expect from cults. And really getting into reading the supplementary info will take you many hours, btw.

Anyway... having looked extensively at our "fandom cult" examples, I don't think I'm remotely "concerned" that we're veering toward cult behavior. Or Snapewives behavior. The Izzy section of fandom - and, for that matter, the Izzy Anti section of fandom - haven't really done anything that hasn't been done in countless flame wars before? Like we as a collective haven't even gotten to the levels of targeted character hate that I can glimpse by searching "Teen Wolf" right now, and frankly OFMD still isn't big enough to dream of replicating 2010s fandom's biggest hits. There's some cutting edge weaponization of social justice that's a more modern development, but that's still fundamentally just fighting about the fiction. Even the one doxxing incident is unfortunately not unique.

Sheesh, "Izzy Canyon" isn't even demonstrating a unified meta or consistent S2 desires / shipping preferences / etc. We're just better at not being dicks about it by necessity?

#fandom history #cults #tw cults #snapewives #ofmd harassment #the izcourse #ladyluscinia #tbh i mostly wrote this because i hadn't actually ever looked into the snapewives before and i was curious #the thanfiction post i had buried in my drafts after reading all the links and such a few months back

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averyhollow · 1 year

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Some people jump at the chance to reveal they think characters that are BIPOC lose their humanity if they behave in acceptable ways. The tiniest bit of deviation from the narrow path of righteousness, and POC become unfeeling brutes.

Any hint of violence and anger that isn’t in response to direct and immediate threat? Any reaction to something that might be perceived as a disproportionate? If a BIPOC does it, they’re a brute and a savage unfeeling animal that needs to be leashed and muzzled. Therefore, if the BIPOC on the show engage in the kind of violence and displays of anger that white pirates can revel in without remark because they’re seen as human by default, it must be explained away or mitigated because BIPOC can’t be both traditional pirates and people you root for or want happy endings for.

In that light, it makes sense the people in question don’t accuse Izzy of wanting Ed to be more like Calico Jack. They don’t say he wants Ed to be a typical pirate, or some archetypical party bro, or whatever. Nah. In wanting Ed to be the Ed he knew when they started, in wanting Ed to be Blackbeard, in wanting Ed to be the guy who sailed and had dalliances with Calico Jack, he must want Ed to be a beast, a savage, an unfeeling mindless killing machine. Calico Jack gets to be a jackass, a douchebro, fratbro Jack Sparrow, etc.

Ed? Ed must be a victim/survivor whose past violence is justifiable and/or exaggerated, and who wants nothing more than softness and serenity in the future. There’s an assumption made by some that to think of Ed otherwise, is to think of him as an animalistic stereotype.

And the people who think this and proudly say that it’s what they think, do so while claiming to be pushing back against racism. They’re trying to confine Ed’s humanity and the ways in which he can be viewed by the people who cheer for his happiness - on a show where Ed isn’t a token nonwhite character but part of an ensemble cast filled with BIPOC and therefore there’s no reason to project onto his portrayal the requirement of adhering to standards of respectability - and they’re doing it under the guise of antiracism in fandom. What’s scary is that I think they really believe it too.

Note: I’m not talking about when people express their interpretations and leave it at that. I’m talking about when people claim that disagreeing Izzy wants Ed to be a “savage” stereotype or claim thinking Ed is mercurial or violent - not especially so, but at all - is to ignore racism or to commit a microaggresion.

#OFMD racism #OFMD fandom #the izcourse #izzy hands #ofmd #OFMD fandom racism #calico jack ofmd #blackbeard ofmd #ed teach

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uselessheretic · 1 year

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Harm Reduction in the OFMD Fandom: Izcourse Edition

I keep wanting to write something up about this, but getting stumped on how to even begin. Largely, because I already know exactly what bad faith arguments are going to be made off the bat, and I feel reluctant to clog down my writing trying to dispel every weird take about things I didn't say. So, it is what it is. If you have questions please ask politely and use a bit of critical thought beyond trying to find anything to grab hold on to contradict.

The Izzy fandom gets harassed. A lot. Nobody here understands why either. When referencing harassment, I'm most likely referring to either direct abusive messages such as anon hate through Tumblr, or talking about the OFMD through a holistic view that includes harassment through Twitter of common dogpiling, stalking, spreading of false rumors, the occasional doxxing, and other things. I'm including Twitter in this conversation because the world doesn't revolve around individuals on Tumblr, and for some of us, it's beneficial to talk about the greater context of fandom without assuming that we are blaming random Tumblr users for Twitter drama. That said, a lot of people use both platforms and the two of them are closely linked, especially since a lot of meta from Tumblr gets poorly replicated on Twitter.

So we're on the same page, the way I'm defining harassment is: The continuous or severe targeting of an individual or group through harmful behavior that includes physical threats, name-calling, impersonation, spreading malicious rumors, and encouraging others to harass a target. This is not an all-inclusive list, but I want to create a baseline for what I'm talking about. This also means things such as stating you dislike a character, responding to another's post to disagree, or speaking positively about a character. This also means that instances of conflict are not inherently harassment either, although this is murkier as we move through the gray area of "continuous or severe."

I'll also be using the terms "Izzy likers" and "Izzy crit" since those seem to be each respective sides more preferred terms and things like "Izzy stans" or "Izzy antis" can hold negative connotations. I'll also be referring to the anon hate received as from a singular person, unless noted otherwise, and as "L anon."

So, I guess let's dive into it?

I've seen the question posed a few times "Well, what do you want us to do about it?" when Izzy likers have brought up the topic of harassment or alluded to the fact that Izzy crits as a group contribute to this. It's true that our individual ability to stop harassment completely is an impossible task, however, there are actions that can be taken as a collective to reduce the amount of harm being done. I don't believe it's true that harassment is an aspect of fandom one must accept to be within it. I also don't think it's right to equate messages telling Black people to get lynched as the norm in fandom everyone has to deal with. I understand that anon hate is common throughout fandoms, but the vitriol and noticeable escalation of L anon is an anomaly that deserves to be taken seriously.

Actions I'm proposing (and will elaborate on) are for Izzy crits to STOP:

Minimizing the harassment of Izzy likers

Separating this harassment from greater conversations of misogyny, transphobia, racism, and antiblackness

Engaging with L anon unless it is to very clearly condemn him without caveats

Encouraging the association of liking Izzy as being an indicator that someone is racist, abusive, homophobic, etc

Using the #Izzy Hands tag as a place to post character hate, criticisms of Izzy likers, or to find meta focused on disliking him.

Minimizing harassment and distancing identity

This includes things such as suggesting that the harassment might not exist, that it isn't that bad, it's just a troll, turn off anon, everybody deals with this, and the idea that people are using discussions on harassment as an excuse. Minimizing harassment normalizes the behavior and continues a narrative that Izzy likers should expect to get harassed online. Downplaying the effects or severity dismisses the victims of it, and refusing to recognize that this is a form of passive endorsement.

I feel some type of way about this personally because I don't appreciate my experiences of racist harassment being treated as something I should just get over or normal in fandom. Like sorry to keep bringing it up I guess lol but like?

This isn't okay and it goes beyond "normal" fandom harassment and I feel like I'm going crazy having to argue that this isn't just something shitty that happens to everyone, but an awful, violent, and frightening message(s) to receive. It genuinely concerns me to see white people in fandom brush it off and make a choice to instead focus on the implications of shipping Izzy with his boss. It points towards a trend of dehumanization online where we no longer see people as people, but characters in our screen who have lesser value than our favorite blorbos. I cannot believe I have to say this.

Purposely separating L anon from identity is another way of passively justifying abuse. Whenever people brush off L anon, it's often in the context of anon hate happens to everyone and ignores the fact that more marginalized identities are getting the brunt of this which includes rape threats, suicide baiting, and overt antiblackness. It can often be followed with reminders that Izzy crits of color also receive racism. The thing is, saying that Izzy likers are receiving racist harassment, doesn't mean that other groups of fans do not. The harassment Izzy likers gets still matters, even if you don't view it as unique. It's concerning to hear white allies especially utilize this rhetoric as if they have a limited capacity of caring for poc.

Engaging with L anon

A lot of people do straight up delete L anon asks. On the Izzy likers side at least, there's been an uptick in people posting the hate they receive or collecting screencaps before blocking out of a necessity of proving that the hate exists. I think a lot of us would prefer to not have to do that!

It would help if Izzy crits made an effort to stop engaging with the anon unless it was to condemn his actions. Certain forms of engagement can be viewed as encouragement whether intentional or not, and it feels noticeable that in the last few weeks L anon has gotten increasingly violent.

You don't have to tell L anon that "I'm not even an Izzy stan so you have the wrong blog anyways" because this normalizes the idea that he should be focusing his attention on Izzy likers. You don't have to argue and justify to L anon that you actually dislike Izzy or prove that you're critical of him for the same reason.

You certainly don't need to tell L anon "I don't care if you harass Izzy stans" and it's insane to pretend like this is anything but a dick move.

Telling L anon "you act just like an Izzy stan!" or that they're "Izzy coded" reinforces to him that Izzy likers are abusers and racists, therefore affirming in his mind that they're acceptable targets.

Seriously, if your response is anything other than "sending these messages is fucked up and nobody in fandom deserves this for liking a character" then just block and delete the ask. Any amount of attention can be twisted into positive affirmation and adding on "harassment is bad" doesn't negate the impact of confirming to anon that you view Izzy likers as racist abusers.

Encouraging the association of liking Izzy as being an indicator that someone is racist, abusive, homophobic, etc

It sucks stop doing it. We can draw a difference between Izzy the character and Izzy likers. In the end, your interpretation of a character is yours and nobody can stop you from having it. Putting thought into how you frame meta, however, could help lessen this association.

Be careful with your language and ensure that you are referring to the character when discussing the show. "Izzy stans refuse to see that he's X" is an unnecessary statement when it can just be that "Izzy is X which you can see from scene Y." When there is a specific trend of harassment being justified via claiming a group of people is bigoted, it's worth the effort of minimizing feeding into that assumption.

Saying shit like "Izzy likers who are poc are desperate for white approval" is like for one really shitty lmao? But also feels bad in a climate where people are being called Candace Owens race traitors who should be killed.

There's a great article that touches on this and the way that even when someone isn't directly harassing a person, their separate posts in combination with others, reifies the idea that the victim in an appropriate target.

The author further elaborate in her research about third order or indirect harassment.

The examples she uses here are a bit more extreme, but this is the same framework she's utilizing in her article discussing harassment on the left and in queer communities.

When you answer L anon and say shit like:

or respond to concerns about racist targeting like this:

I am in fact going to feel some type of way about a week later seeing L anon increasingly escalate his behavior until I get six messages in my inbox calling me a race traitor bigoted cunt. It doesn't matter if you say "it's bad to be racist" when you're already confirming the idea that Izzy likers are the main exporters of racism in fandom which is explicitly L anon's justification for sending hate.

Tagging character hate

I still can't believe that this is an argument when it's a basic courtesy within fandom and has been for years. Tagging character hate doesn't constitute as harassment. However, it does exacerbate an already hostile climate between fans and allows for more conflict that could be easily avoided.

If a meta post is in the character tag then people are going to respond to it. It being tagged communicates that this is something people can respond, especially when you encourage people who agree with you to comment.

If you want less Izzy likers to respond to your Izzy meta then just stop tagging it as #Izzy Hands. It will greatly decrease the amount of interaction! Putting posts into the tag ends up baiting people into responding, continuing to draw out a conflict that nobody wants to be in.

If you don't like Izzy and you think he's too popular a character or his fandom is where you end up seeing the most toxicity come from please consider not going through his tag. If you instead look through tags of characters you like, you will be rewarded with content of that character. The character tag will not function adequately as a place to locate critical content for them, so just cut out the middle man, and stop using it because it's just pissing both sides off and "I have a right to be here!" is the dumbest hill to die on.

Using alternative tags for organization literally just makes things easier for everyone. Tagging things with #Izzy crit or something like #Dizzy Izzy allows you to have a space to locate similar posts without having to expose yourself to a group of people you don't like. It also provides an easy tag for people to block and avoid seeing on their dashboard. This is better than people just having mute the tag to filter out when going through his character tag, because it doesn't require an entire community to cater towards your need to post things in a tag on principle. People who are new to the fandom and just happen to like the character also don't have to be confused by seeing chara hate in the tag and going to argue with it.

It is good to center your fandom experience on things you like instead of being set on asserting your right to be within a space you don't like! I promise!

#the izcourse #long post

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something-about-sunflowers · 1 year

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So. Like. Izzy doesn’t have the social or emotional power over Ed to be his abuser. He’s not good at manipulating people, let alone a ‘tactical genius’ like Ed. It speaks volumes on some of yall’s opinions on Ed that you think he can’t just get rid of someone trying to hurt him like that.

It’s easy to reach a conclusion when you’re starting from the conclusion and working backwards to an explanation. I could just as easily go through a list of ‘signs of abuse’ and call Ed Izzy’s abuser but I’m not going to do that because, while those signs might be there, it’s more complicated than that. There’s nuance that’s being ignored by labeling either one of them as the sole ‘bad guy’ in their relationship (however you interpret the word ‘relationship’).

I’m not going to argue the specific points because there’s no point, I’m going to block and you’re not going to see this unless someone shows you or you block evade (which I can’t see why you would so I doubt you will). I will say though, the toe thing was not ‘striking back’ at abuse. It was premeditated assault. It was done with intent to control. To put Izzy back ‘in his place’.

If Izzy brings it up as a negative that’s because it IS. Genuinely, I don’t know how many times we have to say it but disabling someone is not a punishment.

You say you’re not an expert on abuse and it shows. Reading a single text on ‘things a perpetrator might do’ does not give you authority to ascertain anything about their relationship, especially when you’re only looking at one side of the relationship. You are certainly allowed to interpret their relationship that way but you HAVE to understand that it’s just YOUR interpretation and that not everybody is going to see things the same way you do. If you don’t like seeing interpretations you disagree with then, by all means: block those people. Ultimately these are two fictional characters we’re talking about and it does no inherent harm for people to have these differing interpretations. Remember: discomfort is not harm, and can be easily avoided by the block button.

(Also? Hiding replies that disagree with you really doesn’t reflect well on your argument, just saying.)

Anyway, bye. May we never cross paths.

#the dork is being a dork #izzy hands #edward teach #the izcourse #this is stupid #this is all so fucking stupid #like #you are more than welcome to have your interpretation but to go on to insist that other people are factually wrong for having different ones #is stupid #I'M annoyed that it's been a year and we've still got people like you insisting that your interpretation is fact #I'M annoyed that it's been a year and we're still getting abuse hurled at us spouting YOUR rhetoric #but somehow yall aren't responsible for that #despite giving them a platform and doing half their work for them by villainizing us because of a different goddamn interpretaion #and not a single one of yall bothering to condemn the fucker #i still remember 'i don't care if you harass the izzy fans cause they're annoying'

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theloopus · 6 months

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TL;DR some thoughts on izzy's death via black sails comparisons

rambling here, but i keep coming back to Izzy's death and why it seems to have missed the landing a bit (and i'm not talking about the rabid Izzy fans who have completely lost the plot, i'm talking about the general reaction from actual normal people being "...wait, what?")

and, not to make everything about Black Sails, but i think it's been useful mentally to compare it to Charles Vane's death—they're actually very similar character trajectories, broadly speaking; an antagonist and generally unlikeable guy turned ally, made through the course of the season likeable enough so that when his death comes you're actually bummed to see him go. and you don't really see it coming (unless you do), you expect them to get away until the last minute, but at the same time it makes sense, thematically, because they represent a very specific version of piracy, and their deaths signal the end of the Golden Age of Piracy.

but whereas Vane's death seems to be generally met with shock, Izzy's death is met with confusion (which is a very different thing). and i think this stems not so much from the genre gap, although that does play into it (Black Sails is a gritty drama, OFMD is a romantic comedy (dramedy?)—and both series have a touch of the surreal, but BS is generally more grounded in reality, whereas OFMD tends to operate on cartoon rules), but rather from execution, no pun intended.

i do fully disagree with the take that Izzy's death was "bad writing"—the bones are there, the actual death scene was good, the themes are coherent— it makes sense, when you think about it. but you shouldn't have to think about it to know, instinctually, while you're watching, that it makes sense, as much as it might pain you or shock you at first—so the problem is execution, not writing.

obviously there's the matter of pacing, which has been discussed to death and isn't really the fault of the writers, but it's undeniable that it's one of the reasons why the idea doesn't seem to land at first. it happens too quickly, not just the actual death and funeral, but the lead-up to it. the wounding, for one—i don't know if they were intentionally going for a "surprise wound" approach ("did he really get shot? oh he did? well it doesn't seem that bad. wait, is he dying for real?"), but it just does not work here, because then instead of building up dread over whether or not he's going to make it, you just think he's hurt and then suddenly find out he's actually fully about to die only when he's like. pronouncing his last words. and then a minute later he's dead. it's too quick!

but it even goes back to before the actual death shot—the way the season's constructed, our main association with Izzy up to this point is that he's healing or whatever now, so if his death is meant to represent the end of an era, you need to remind the audience that he's supposed to be associated with that era, regardless of all his character development. this is why Vane's death works so well, imo: the very reason why he's being hanged, in-universe, is because of what he represents as an iconic pirate; and the fact that he chooses to sacrifice himself is what separates him from Flint and the others (despite the fact that they're currently allied): they represent a possible future which, albeit better, he does not fit within and has zero interest in fitting within. so he'd rather sacrifice himself, helping them with their cause while also keeping true to himself and his own view of the world (their world, the old world of piracy) and what he represents (old, classic, Blackbeard's kind of piracy).

with Izzy though it's an extremely tricky line to walk, because they wanted him to die having become a better person, free and loved, so essentially having embraced the kind of piracy that Stede represents—while also still being a walking symbol of the past, of the kind of piracy that he used to represent to Ed. again, on paper, it's doable: he is an embodiment of what piracy means to Ed, which used to be abuse and toxic masculinity (S1); then Stede turns piracy into something else, meaning acceptance and liberation and a support system (S2); but the fact is, negative or positive as the environment might be, piracy itself as an idea is coming to an end, it's ceasing to exist (therefore, so would Izzy), and Ed's journey isn't about embracing a new kind of piracy, either, it's about fully shredding it and letting go of it (therefore, shredding and letting go of Izzy) while keeping Stede (acceptance, liberation, a support system). problem being, executing all of that is a bit harder. doable, certainly, but harder, and perhaps more than the writers could chew with such a constricted budget and timetable. with the benefit of hindsight, maybe they could've crammed this into Izzy's conversation with Ricky...? it's there a little bit, if you squint, with Izzy going on with his "what piracy is really about" speech and Ricky going "you've become such a bore" or whatever he says (implying past vs. present), but, i don't know, maybe have Izzy like... talk about what piracy is really about and also what he used to think it meant, what it represented for him (and therefore for Ed) even though now he knows better, and also, very importantly, hit the final nail in the coffin by somehow sneaking in that he's piracy embodied and has no interest in being anything else, during that "our spirit will last throughout your entire fucking empire" speech, cementing that the spirit of piracy is also the spirit of Izzy himself (and therefore when piracy dies Izzy will die with is, and this will be his choice). maybe not the subtlest way to go about it, but like, not really time for subtlety when you've gotta wrap up a 60-minute storyline in 30 minutes, and they've been slapping us with DO YOU GET IT flashbacks for the entire season, so it's not like they've got the upper hand here, you know. as it is, though, those beats (and many others, as i've said before!) are missed, so (sans post-mortem interviews and tumblr metas and the like) Izzy's death feels like 1. it comes kinda out of nowhere, and 2. it serves no purpose other than to be sad. which is a shame, because it's actually a suuuper interesting beat that could've been really juicy both on a meta level and on an emotional level, if the writers had the space to set it up properly.

#long post #txt #ofmd #ofmd spoilers #our flag means death #not that i know what i'm talking about ever #it's such a shame too because compared to s1 like... 1x10 is INCREDIBLE at doing everything it sets out to do perfectly hitting every beat #and also being entertaining *and* emotional while doing so! but because it has the appropriate space to do all that #can you imagine if they'd had to cram the events of 1x9 and 10 together in a single ep? it would've been a mess!

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ziggyandleo · 6 months

Text

Speaking as a writer...

I have mixed feelings about Izzy's death. I think if it was narratively necessary, it could have been done better. But I don't think it was narratively necessary personally because there were better options to resolve the character arch. (Even with the 40% reduced budget). A "death" beat doesn't always have to be a physical death. I've seen several valid explanations for why Izzy's death made the most narrative sense, but I'm not really convinced by any of them.

That ALL said. I'm not the writer of OFMD. My opinion is basically "eh. I would have done it differently." I personally only kill characters off if I think the character's death would serve the story in the best way. I don't really kill off characters based on what that character means to one of the main characters unless a character's death is the only way to incite a character into action. It's still a valid writing choice. I just don't like it personally. And what I've mainly seen as justification for killing Izzy off is what he meant to Ed's story.

Again, I don't normally like that reasoning, but it's not bad reasoning. Some sort of "death" needed to happen that cut Izzy and Ed's arch off. Did it need to be actual character death? I don't think so. But also, this is said without knowing what s3 has planned. I may change my opinion after that.

Character death isn't necessarily bad. And it doesn't mean the writers wanted to get rid of the character. Different writers have different preferences.

The point of a story isn't to give the audience what they want. It's to make the audience care. Writers don't always care about what the audience wants. We care about what the characters want and how we are going to make it difficult to get that. We like making audiences happy, but at the end of the day, we just want to tell a story that keeps you occupied and enthralled. If you're feeling emotions towards the characters--happy, sad--GOOD. It means we did our job.

Not every character death is problematic, and I'm quite sick of the discourse calling every character death problematic. (This isn't to say that I don't think there's a problematic angle to Izzy's death, but if anything, I'm more worried about the "killing your disabled characters" trope more than "killing your gays." But I can see an argument for how it doesn't fit into that trope as well. I just haven't been entirely convinced it doesn't).

Writing sucks. I've written scenes where I cried over killing a character because while I loved them, I knew it was what was best for the story and the best way to make the audience care. (Granted, I'm too busy with law school now to really write and I'm procrastinating by writing this as we speak).

Writing is hard. It means making hard decisions and we don't think of everything from every angle (and trust me. We overthink quite a bit).

Part of writing often involves killing off characters. Writers need to think about the implications of killing off certain characters, of course. But sometimes we still need to kill off characters knowing the readers might be sad. That's not necessarily problematic. It's writing, and it sucks sometimes.

It is okay to be sad that a character you like dies. But that doesn't mean the writers screwed the character over. Character deaths can be problematic, and it's important to have discourse over it, but character deaths aren't inherently problematic. It's okay to be sad and disappointed. But ffs don't be mean to people for disagreeing with you on something like if a character should have died or not.

It's just a story at the end of the day. And stories mean a lot to people, and that's good. But it's just a story. The characters feel real to us and touch our hearts, but they aren't so real we can touch their shoulders. We can't respect fictional characters more than the real people we are talking to on the internet or in person. It's a line that needs to be drawn.

They had a 40% budget cut and had to make do. I like Izzy and Con. I was sad at the end of s2. I don't agree with the decision as a writer, but I respect the decision as a writer. It's important to critique. It's important to question things. It's also important to listen to others and respect where they are coming from (with some exceptions).

Tl;dr. It's okay to be sad a character died. It's okay to disagree with a character being killed off and talk about the problems with it. But be nice to writers and other people.

If you're going to be mean to someone for disagreeing with you, at least be mean to someone who is disagreeing with you about something like whether all humans should have rights.

Something. Something. I have to get back to studying for torts. Please don't be mean to me.

#izzy hands #ofmd #writing #ofmd s2 #ofmd spoilers #I do not claim to have a perfect take on this #There is no perfect take on this #This is just the rambling of someone procrastinating on studying for finals

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