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ladyluscinia · 4 months

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Draft clearing. I think I had more of a point on the topic of Jenkins and genre I wanted to make when I gathered these, but I'm not feeling it anymore. However, I need spread awareness of his absolutely baffling ideas about pirate media and how he sounds half-convinced it must be a formulaic action/adventure. I only picked up on this by reading way too many interviews back to back so I'm not surprised I've never seen anyone else mention it, but like. It's wild. And he's SO additionally weird about how showrunning a piece of media about pirates relates to whatever concept he has of pirate media in his head.

Here's the link to my interview compilation if you want to check my sources on these.

Jenkins Quotes on "Pirate Genre"

"I think actual pirate stuff is fine, but it's not necessarily my cup of tea. And I think Taika [Waititi] felt similarly.

[...]

Showrunner Jenkins sees Our Flag Means Death as having "joy. A lot of joy. I like Stede because Stede is, to me, the outsider artist of pirates. And I think in designing the show, I was conscious [of the fact that it's] a hard genre to do anything to. It's a very stubborn genre because it's been done so well and so often. So I kind of tried to look at, like New York, like Alphabet City in the '80s via a pirate genre via Mad Max and try to throw all these different things at it. So I think you'll get a different feel than you'd get on a normal pirate thing. I think we achieved that with our amazing crew." - (Gizmodo, 2/22/22)

"I guess I really… I get kind of bored. How much pirate can you do? They're going to rob stuff. They're going to steal ships. There's only so many pirate stories you can do." - (Collider, 3/24/22)

Despite creating a pirate show, he himself says he's not a huge fan of pirate movies. - (EW.com, 12/13/22)

"I don't want to see a bunch of pirate things that I've seen in other things, I'll just go watch another thing if I want to see that. That's not really my thing. I like the genre, but it's a very hard genre to budge. I want to see relationships in a pirate world." - (TV Guide, 10/5/23)

"The pirate genre is fun, but I wasn't dying to make a pirate show. Taika wasn't dying to make a pirate show. But the thing that was interesting to me was that Stede finds love, and he finds it with Blackbeard." - (Variety, 10/13/23)

"I think there is something in the show about how piracy is a brutal way of life. It's essentially Mad Max, this world. There's no law, there's just strong and weak." - (Polygon, 10/21/23)

"And it’s also a pirate show, so he’s got to die." - (Vanity Fair, 10/26/23)

"Another thing I love is what I call shaggy stories, stories about people navigating each other. When you plug them into different genres, you get this great engine that comes with it. I'm not particularly dying to write a pirate thing, but I want to write a bunch of characters trying to navigate each other in a pirate thing." - (Vulture, 10/28/23)

"But I'm like you. I'm not a big pirate person. In general, it's a big creaky genre that's hard to budge, but I think the show benefits from we can pull pirate stuff out when we need it. Ultimately, yeah, I want to see these different relationships and perspectives on different relationships. Then it's fun to plug it into an overwrought genre.

[...]

Pirates of the Caribbean, those movies are great. That's not necessarily what I hunger to see, but in that genre, it's great. You're not going to beat that, especially on something that's lower budget. We've seen a lot of this stuff, so it's fun to take it then and don't do any of that stuff." - (Metro Weekly, 11/1/23)

"I think it's more interesting to me that I've never seen a love story like this in this genre, and you dream for that. Really, pirates, what can you do that's different with pirates?

[...]

To me, to tell the story about these two men in this very hetero action genre, falling for each other..." - (Metro Weekly, 11/1/23)

---

...This is the same guy who just ended a season on the British Navy blowing up Nassau for symbolism reasons that I'm pretty sure have nothing to do with the love story. 🤨

#good news - his forest fight is probably not intentionally a weak parody of black sails #because despite being a known tragedy enjoyer i don't think he would watch black sails #our flag means death #ofmd s2 #ofmd piracy #david jenkins #i'll also do just to be safe #ofmd critical #even though this is 90% just pulling his own words together for you to make your own conclusion #ladyluscinia

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hootgrowlhootgrowl · 6 months

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I need these men to talk. I need Stede to take his own advice and not fucking bottle it up. There are so many insecurities and misconceptions between them and they need to start at the beginning, they need to talk about why Stede left (and why he came back)!

Both Mary and Ed referred to him returning home as a whim and i think that's unfair. 'Whim' implies a certain amount of carelessness and shallowness, which I feel doesn't apply to what happened. Stede had been feeling immense amounts of guilt about abandoning his family the entire season (which he didn't talk about or try to work through at all), then he caused the death of another person after being told he ruins everything he touches, then he walked all the way back to his house and it was clear he wasn't all there. He didn't just wake up that night and decide 'you know what? I'm not interested in Ed anymore and I'd rather go back to my wealth and nice things and pretty wife.' Like yeah, it wasn't planned, but I don't think it's fair to call psychological trauma a whim.

And Ed needs to know this! Have they talked about this at all? Does he know anything about what Stede went through that night? Does he know that Stede and Mary were so happy separated but so miserable together that she tried to murder him? That it was after Mary helped him realize how much he loved Ed and how much happier he was that he decided to leave? That he renounced his title, his land, his money, faked his own death, burned any bridges back to his old life to find Ed again? That he gave up everything he had not for piracy or the crew, but for Ed?!

If they would just fucking talk to each other about the actual important shit, how they both feel like they've ruined each other and aren't good enough for each other and like the other loves a version themselves that they don't want to be. I loved the kiss scene in ep 5 and the 'let's take it slow' not because I felt like that in itself was the paragon of communication, but because it implied further communication. It implied they would have the big conversations, but they're both trying to move past everything because they're too scared to be emotionally vulnerable about their insecurities with each other.

Initially I thought it was good they were staying together while working stuff out, but now I feel like maybe a couple weeks apart would be really good for them and give them time to think about what needs to happen and what needs to be shared for this relationship to move forward. Also, Ed's been through a lot of shit the past week, maybe some actual alone time would really do him good.

Best case scenario for me at this point is the season ends with Ed and Stede sitting together after all the action and Ed holds his hand and says "Stede, I love you and want to be with you, but I think we need to talk about our shit first." And Stede squeezes his hand and says, "I think you might be right." And then the camera pans away from them with a slightly open but hopeful ending.

#i trust taika and david #but if this gets resolved by the power of love rather than conversation #our flag means death #i will be disappointed #and like the whole 'stede tells other people not to bottle it up while bottling up all of his trauma' has been a recurring thing #i hope it gets addressed in a more meaningful way #ofmd #ofmd s2 #ofmd s2 spoilers #ofmd spoilers #blackbonnet #gentlebeard #stede bonnet #edward teach

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notebooks-and-laptops · 2 years

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Okay, so I’ve noticed a theme in posts recently about Izzy Hands that I want to address. I love Izzy as a character (*chefs kiss* to Con O'Neill's portrayal) and also love exploring him. He is (unfortunately) one of my blorbos. But the thing is that

Izzy Hands is homophobic. He’s a queer coded homophobic homosexual - this immediate interpretation of him that was passed around isn’t wrong.

I’ve seen at least 5 posts now saying he isn’t and it’s kind of bizarre to me? He literally is. So I sort of just want to look at some of the reasons people are saying he isn’t. Ultimately, I think the reading that ‘it’s wrong to say Izzy is homophobic’ comes from like. A misunderstanding of all the forms homophobia can take? Or a belief that if you yourself are mlm you can’t be homophobic?

So one HUGE thing I’ve seen multiple times now is ‘Izzy ignores Pete and doesn’t say anything homophobic to him when he finds Pete and Lucius having sex in Episode 5′. But the fact that Izzy immediately picks on the effeminate gay man and calls him a ‘bitch’ - a pretty damn loaded term in this context - is homophobia. But then why does he ignore Pete? It’s because Izzy’s homophobia is specifically directed towards effeminate gender-non-conforming gay men. Which is a pretty intense form of homophobia, in fact its a wildly common one. ‘I’m okay with someone being homosexual, but I can’t stand all that gay shit’ is like. A huge thing. Do we not remember that dumb meme that was passed around in like 2012 that was all ‘gay people I respect vs. gay people I don’t respect’?

So yes, Izzy ignores Pete in favour of Lucius, but that’s because Lucius is the kind of gay man Izzy takes issue with. And there’s obviously more to it than that, there’s an important class reading (in an episode which is all about class) in that Lucius represents the most educated member of the crew apart from Stede. But that’s not it in it’s totality because the ‘bitch’ line is RIGHT THERE, and the way that Izzy wants to use Lucius’s open flirting with the crew is RIGHT THERE.

And Izzy’s hatred of Stede plays into this; Stede is an imbecele, he’s dumb, he’s ridicious, he’s not the right sort of man. Edward when he allows himself to enjoy the things Stede enjoys is also not being the right sort of man. But wanting men to not be openly feminine in some of their hobbies and personality it just...it IS homophobia.

And Izzy is obviously queer coded. As the show runners said, he has a toxic love for Edward. He gets really close to men and stares at their lips while he argues. Etc. Etc. If Izzy was offered a ‘manly’ no holds bared violent relationship with Ed he wouldn’t have a problem with that at all. If the crew were fucking but like ‘proper pirates’ do (aka calico jack and Ed’s relationship) then Izzy probably wouldn’t have a problem with that either. But just because he doesn’t take issue with mlm relationships in all their forms, that DOESN’T mean he’s not homophobic and denying this part of his character is just...a really weird move in my opinion? And sort of denies him some of the complexities he has?

Idk if people are doing this because they want to make him more sympathetic, or more ‘blorbo-y’ or if they just genuinely don’t see this kind of behaviour as homophobia but. You can like the character even if he is like this you know that right? In fact, this aspect of his character is what makes him interesting to many people and makes people want to explore his backstory and stuff (and maybe give him some kind of redemption arch)? It’s okay to like villains and people in fiction who you wouldn’t IRL? He did all the bad stuff he did and that’s actually very interesting and way more cool than if we sooth him over so he’s easily digestible.

Anyway, that’s my rant.

#izzy hands #ofmd

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remypat · 6 months

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Theories for Episodes 4 & 5

If you haven't watched the first 3 episodes, beware! Spoilers up ahead!

Ok, so Blackbeard tried to murder literally everyone on the revenge. There is not a single person person aboard that would be cool with him just hanging about (with the exception of Stede ofc). My thinking is that for episode 4:

-the crew will be begging Stede to maroon Ed, or just leave him at their next stop, Stede's gonna be all, 'i can change him, we can make this work'

-the Bell comes into play here because Ed is alive and terrifying and his presence must be known at all times. When he is near, everyone flinches, Fang nearly cries and that sets everyone off.

-Ed isn't going to want to stay aboard the revenge anymore. He would be happy to leave especially with Stede being so close by, it's just a stab wound to the heart everytime they're near, which brings me to my next point

-We all know the reunion is gonna be awkward as hell and Stede's heart is gonna fucking shatter, because yeah they love each other and yeah, Stede literally brought Ed back from the purgatory, but as if Ed's gonna just be straight up with him about it. Nah, he's gonna downplay it all and they are gonna pine for each other and it's gonna drive EVERYONE INSANE

-Just imagine it, the pining, Stede and Ed wistfully glancing at one another from across the ship, Ed turns away, Stede looks down all sad, Ed looks back at him, you can hear the swell of their hearts, its gonna be ridiculous, it'll be very akin to the "Ohmygod this is happening"

-Auxiliary Wardrobe reveal!!! Since only Ed and Stede know of it's existence, I am willing to bet that they spend some time talking in there but what is the state of the room? Is it pristine, untouched and unsoiled? Is it Ed's personal crying hole? Has he been sleeping in there, running his fingers across silks and throwing stuff around in fits of anger? I'm not too sure, but it'd be sweet if it's almost as Stede left it. Ed already destroyed so much of Stede's but this was something he also loved.

-Mary and Anne!!! The crew of the revenge decide to port and lo and behold, Ed knows where to go and finds his old friends! I have a feeling that after that whole awkward dinner double date, Ed will finally tell Stede that he isn't coming back aboard the revenge. That he doesn't want them to be like Anne and Mary just doing crazy shit to make their romance interesting. They'll see the red flags in their own relationship and well

-Ed leaves...

Something interesting that I noticed upon my rewatch of the teaser for episodes 4 & 5 is that when Stede is talking to Izzy and is basically asking him to teach him all that he knows, Stede says, "Blackbeard did say you taught him everything you know" Blackbeard??? Why isn't he calling him 'Edward'??? Just an interesting lil detail.

-the curse episode is gonna be goofy as hell and a much needed palate cleanser after all the angsty shit we've witnessed.

-another lil detail from the teaser, Stede has made they captain's cabin his again! He's getting dressed up, he has fixed the furniture or gotten new stuff, and it's very telling to me that Ed is gone . Izzy is even sitting in the cabin, entertaining Stede's antics .

-So, Izzy will become (somewhat) loyal to stede. After all, he saved their lives,didn't take out his anger upon them even after they admitted to killing Ed. No, Stede is flourishing as a captain and Izzy sees the potential to serve under Stede, and now that Ed's gone what else really is he to do?

-Izzy and Stede become (somewhat) besties!!! They train together, probably mourn the love of Ed together too. The crew grows back together and it's fun times again! But Stede still misses Ed deeply..

OMG actually what if they do indeed 'break up' so when we see Stede back at Spanish Jackie's, he's gone full 20-something-year-old, and is all 'Yeah, see this Ed? I'm having a great time without you! I don't feel even a sliver of sadness since we broke up, I'm gonna get absolutely trashed, I don't miss you at all-'

I'm gonna scream into the next year if that happens.

Anywho, these are just my predictions! Literally had to write 'em down because we still have 3 more days until we get our next episodes and I'm losing my mind!

Tell me what you guys think!

#our flag means death #ofmd season 2 #ofmd season 2 spoilers #our flag means death spoilers #ofmd s2 #ofmd spoilers #ofmd

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ferusaurelius · 2 years

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I've been reading your ofmd meta. It's amazing! How did you learn to figure all that stuff out?

Thank you for the ask!

There are two distinct questions here:

What makes OFMD a compelling ground for media and critical (meta) analysis?

What’s the critical basis I’m using in writing meta analysis and how did I learn to use it the way I do?

Why Write Meta Analysis of “Our Flag Means Death”?

The first question is easy: THERE IS SO MUCH TO UNPACK HERE. It’s all right out in the open, too, and it’s a real credit to David Jenkins that he created a supportive environment for the cast, the creative directors, the writers, and his entire CREW to bring all of their creative selves.

OFMD is so full of love for its characters and story that it always takes my breath away whenever I think about it. So much creative energy and love was wrapped into this show in so many ways that I’ll never shut up about it ever.

The second question has a longer answer.

Analytical Training, Experience, and Practice (Not Necessarily In That Order)

While I am formally trained and have a BA in English, I would still credit my experience as a writer-practitioner as equally or more important in my analytical background as the formal training.

I am first and foremost a writer, and I “read” texts like a writer who wants to figure out what makes a narrative function. Learning how something is working is fundamental to being able to replicate it in your own artwork.

The simplest term for what I use as a framework for all my meta is a technique historically called close reading, but I’d openly admit that I am more flexible and informal with it than you’d find taught in a typical college class!

Think of a “reading” in literature or film/media analysis as a bit like what a study or practice sketch does for visual artists.

When I was writing my meta post on The Tragedy of Israel Hands, I very explicitly decided to tackle OFMD and what was happening with Izzy by breaking down the show into episode-by-episode readings from Izzy’s point of view.

I also chose to add some extra spice based on direct scene transcriptions, mentions of Izzy by-name even when he wasn’t on-screen, and what was happening for him as a character (what was his story?) vs. the obvious romance that was happening for Edward and Stede in the foreground.

David Jenkins had helpfully stated in an interview that OFMD was broken up into acts, so I just followed his lead on doing the same in my analysis. ;) He’d also suggested doing a rewatch with a focus on Con O’Neill and I was intrigued by the possibility of what I might find.

Turned out? Con managed to fit an actual three-act tragedy into the same visual and narrative space (albeit in the background) as Rhys and Taika acting the main romance in the foreground! This is fucking incredible in my opinion. Con’s narrative counterpoint with Izzy adds so much depth and richness to the romance and the comedy. I could chew glass over it (and I did! hence the post).

I firmly believe that ANYONE can do a good and detailed textual reading (with or without formal training), so here’s my quick(?) breakdown of how that works for me in the hope that it will inspire you and others to try your hand!

The best way to get good at analysis is to practice. Analyze, analyze, analyze! Write, write, write! Create in whatever way makes sense to your brain and energizes you to explore how you think about what you love. You don’t even have to publish/share the results. It can just be for you if you want.

As usual, only do what works for you.

If there’s a thought or a step that you want to skip? Skip it. Do what you want. Create and write meta! Enrich the OFMD fandom with your own readings. :D

Ferus-Style Close Reading Guide

Goal: Break things down to build a detailed, text-supported understanding of a creative product (story, episode, play, film, painting, etc.). You can do this whenever you’re interested in something and feel like spending more time with it as a method of learning more and deeply appreciating a work of art.

Pick a moment in the text (show, fanfic, story, etc.) that interests you.

Interest is crucial! Think about why you’re interested. Sit with the text a bit.

Take extensive notes on what’s happening. You can also use another method you prefer like outlining, grabbing screencaps, or some combination to record and organize your first impressions and thoughts.

This serves as a record of where you started.

Don’t necessarily try to interpret right away, but DO decide for yourself what you think is happening in a moment or a particular scene. This can be as short as a single line of text or a few seconds of interaction in a TV episode or film. Trust yourself! The best art, by and large, does what it does in plain sight and will repeat or reinforce the significant themes and symbols.

Hold off on interpretation to allow yourself time to develop a good understanding of what has actually taken place in the text. Plenty of professional critics are weak at this step and jump straight into reshaping events to fit their thesis and interpretation rather than reading “out of” a text. It’s not necessarily bad (and there are techniques that use this sort of interpretation), but it’s really not where I’m coming from.

Break down your favorite scenes into as many moments (or points of focus) as are likely to be relevant to your analysis. If you’re working with a specific character, focus on their actions or their scenes (or other ‘by name’ references when they’re not on-screen). If the focus is a motif (a visual element), try to figure out what its appearance or framing is accomplishing when it is present. How do other characters react to it or introduce it? How do these interactions “read” to you? Again, what is happening?

This is the focusing step that typically tells me where the rest of my analysis is going. At this point I usually have an idea of what I’m seeing when it’s either reinforced by one or more sequential scenes (reinforced) or dropped and sidelined in an interesting way.

Take a step back and think about how the moment you’re analyzing is ‘working.’ What does it do? What purpose does this story beat or moment serve? Why is it happening in this moment, at this specific time, and what important features of character, setting, or story are happening? What are the consequences that follow?

I can’t stress consequences enough! Actions having consequences is a fundamental element of a well-structured narrative. The narrative consequences for a character or a plotline are one of the things that is MOST controlled by authorial choice. Do these consequences fit in with the theme you’ve noticed? Why or why not? Whatever is happening here is usually some of the most interesting elements of the narrative (if they’re present).

Write down your initial guesses about the answers the questions above. Or answer a few of your own questions in a first pass. Theorize!

Now that you’ve considered the individual moments, scenes, or elements and taken a stab at the larger emergent themes it’s time to mash them together into a coherent picture (what are YOU seeing?). How are you seeing this text?

Keep repeating the process above for other surrounding scenes (the context) or moments relevant to your analysis.

YMMV with repetition. A longer analysis takes more repetition. A shorter or more contained analysis may only go through this process once. Again -- no one person will see the same scene the same way as another! Everyone has a valuable perspective to contribute.

Theorize once again after stringing the analytical moments together and connecting them -- what new ideas occur to you once you’ve chewed over the “small” interesting bits separately? Does a pattern begin to emerge? Why or why not?

You can learn as much from figuring out your first impressions were wrong (and looking again to see what’s ACTUALLY happening) as you will from being “right” the first time. Enjoy the experience!

You can learn almost as much from absence as from presence. While that may sound cryptic at first, glaring absences when characters or significant elements are NOT present are just as important in their own way, and may help you discover other themes in the same text. Strategic absences are MUCH more difficult to identify without careful attention. They’ll be obvious when you begin to look for them (which is the fun bit).

“Establishing” shots (introductions, first/last shots, first/last words) are always important.

Repeated and reinforced themes are generally stronger indications that a particular symbol or motif is significant. Looking for repetition or apparently deliberate call-backs to previous episodes, comments, scenes, or character relationships are often where the most fruitful opportunities for analysis are located.

Write up your general conclusions based on what you’ve learned from your smaller (close) bite-size readings and why you believe they’re significant along with how they’re functioning. If you observe a theme or pattern, focus your writing on how that pattern is built up and the evidence you found to support that conclusion.

And you’re done! Or whatever process you prefer is finished. For now. ;)

The most important element in my analytical process is close attention to the different on-screen choices (in framing, acting, and dialogue) that I’m seeing in a particular episode.

I take extensive notes on what’s happening, sometimes by recording transcripts of the dialogue and often through watching and re-watching a scene of particular interest.

To continue with my example meta, The Tragedy of Israel Hands was based on rewatching OFMD with a focus on what was happening to Izzy in both the foreground and the background, with these questions in mind:

What would this story arc appear to be from Izzy’s perspective?

What extent was that interpretation supported by: each character’s arc, the framing of various shots, and the choices and tone throughout the context of Con O’Neill’s overall performance of this character?

Was there a narrative thread linking together Izzy Hands’s story as a contrast to Edward and Stede’s foreground romance?

And now you have the meta on the meta. METACEPTION. -is shot-

You probably didn’t want an answer this long, dear asker, but regrettably I Am Just Like This.

#our flag means death meta #ofmd meta #ferus ofmd meta #how ferus writes meta #answering asks #close reading #sorta close reading?#i do a very very detailed version of close reading that works for me #and it's considerably less formal than the historical or theoretical background #would suggest #metaception #the tragedy of israel hands #look the day has arrived when i write meta on meta #is shot #im laughing #ferus chats

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a-nybodys · 1 year

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Idk about the other stuff, but isn't Izzy's whole thing is he's gay and homophobic? Like, not like a Bible thumping homophobe, and this show is meant to be positive so they aren't going to make him like call people slurs and he's gonna respect pronouns, but Izzy in the narrative represents toxic masculinity, and there is homophobia in toxic masculinity. He may not even hate like men sleeping together cuz pirates are desperate, but he hates softness and effeminacy and caring/attachment in men, and that is a major part of homophobia and toxic masculinity. The people he has the most beef with are the most flamboyant gay men on the ship. He tries to make Lucius do hard labor, but he also taunts Lucius over sleeping with men, and then he tries to his sexuality against him before Lucius reveals it doesn't matter to him. He hates Stede for making him look bad, but he also hates what Stede is doing to Ed, and says that thinks Stede is seducing Ed and that its breaking Ed's brain by making him "soft" and caring, and is also horrified when he thinks they're having sex. And then he insults and threatens Ed over, going soft and heartbroken over his pining after his "namby pamby boyfriend." To me, that is homophobia and it's a part of Izzy's general toxic masculinity stance. And I say this while saying that I love Izzy. He's funny and an interesting character and I wanna study him under a microscope, and I wanna see where his character will go from here, if he'll get redeemed or get more evil or just hang out on the ship still minding his own business. There is absolutely nothing wrong with liking him, and I'm not saying this as a reason to make people hate him, and no way are fans of Izzy homophobic for liking him. That literally makes no sense. But I don't understand him not atleast representing homophobia in a subtextual way, as the Badmintons do, since toxic masculinity and homophobia (among other things) are intertwined together and the stuff he uses to jab at Ed and Lucius and Stede is their presentation and even sexuality. As the antagonist, his goal is separating the gay romantic leads and keeping toxic masculinity the same as it was before Stede. I might be completely missing something here or misunderstanding something, I dont know. I do not mean for this to sound rude at all, I'm just genuinely curious about your thoughts.

i think its possible to uphold toxic masculine standards while not being homophobic. but, honestly, he doesnt even really read toxic masculinity to me tbh.

he had to have known ed was gay, he was close to the man for years if not decades, and i really dont think izzys issues with stede or lucius stem from homophobia but maybe more of a general aversion to how they pirate. he views piracy as a tough, dog eat dog world (as do the rest of the pirates in the show other than the crew), one that cant be solved by kindness or caring or anything stede tries to uphold. he is angry that stede is trying to get by like this, without any hard work on his part, without any blood sweat or tears and, worst of all, without failing miserably. we dont know anything abt izzys backstory but i think it genuinely burns him up that the crew of the revenge doesnt even have to work particularly hard to get by and even thrive, because thats not his experience at all. i think he got to where he rests, at the top of the top, second only to the best pirate ever, through pain and death and hard work. i think his problems with stede arise from more of a place of ‘he has the money and resources and luck to get by without any hard work’ and less of ‘hes effeminate and i hate that about him.’ same with the whole ‘daddy’ scene, hes not mad at lucius for having sex with a man, hes mad at lucius for not working and slacking off. he brings up fang and pete as a threat, not because he finds it gross, but because its a way to blackmail lucius into following izzys orders.

and by him being disgusted by his thinking of ed and stede having sex, i def think it has way more to do with ed having sex with stede than ed having sex with a man. he just genuinely hates the guy lmao. he knew jack was “close with” (read:had fucked) ed before, otherwise he wouldnt have sent jack to play with ed’s emotions and trick him into leaving the revenge.

idk i think my view of it all comes down to theres no way izzy could idolize ed and work on a crew consisting entirely of leather daddies if he was homophobic lmao, and i dont think ed wouldve kept him around if he were either.

#thanks for coming to my ted talk #i think the ‘homophobic izzy’ thing has a lot more ground textually to stand on than the ‘abusive’ or ‘racist’ shit ppl try to say #idk if this makes sense at all #but yeah #i appreciate the ask :)

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izzy-b-hands · 2 years

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man a nightclub running AU tho.

Black Pete and Jim as bouncers, Roach bartends, Frenchie and Wee John help arrange for talent/performers (thinking like more club/concert space for smaller shows)

the Swede and Buttons handle stuff like set up and lights (the lighting system is weird as fuck, and they are the only two who can make it work without potentially breaking the entire thing)

Lucius is some unique combo of things: he'll bartend with Roach, help shout assholes out of the club while Pete and Jim handle the physical tossing bit. But he also helps Olu with the finances (Olu's main job because he saw Stede's attempt at it and knew they'd sink in a month if he didn't step in, and he really doesn't feel like job searching again so soon. Plus, Stede is very excited abt his new club even tho he knows next to nothing abt the actual running of one, and the enthusiasm is sweet), and will generally pick up anything else that needs doing as long as he doesn't outright hate doing it

Ed runs a competing club across the street but as soon as he sees Stede and his crew and how they work (and also how cute Stede is), he's like ayyy

what if I sell my space and help you run your newer, nicer space? I can give you Izzy as an extra bouncer, he does a good job at my club (he does. he may be short but he will literally haul ppl outside and yeet them a good foot while calling them a twat so loudly anyone nearby now knows this person is apparently an asshole. several times this has unleashed a passing drunken bachelorette party on the tossed out asshole, who don't know what's going on but will happily give this person a dressing down for harshing the overall vibe

It also nets Fang and Ivan as additional stage crew and bartenders and tbh whatever else they feel like doing. they've done the work for ages, they know their shit, so having their help in any area is a gift

Badminton's shithead twin (im gonna probs misspell it, Chauncey? dickfuck #2 lol) rolls in with some Footloose levels of i don't want clubs near my home and schools!!! Meanwhile the fucking club is all the way down town, and his dumb ass lives literally miles away on the outskirts of town on a big lot with horses and rich ppl shit, and his kids go away to a private school. it seems like he's literally just making a fuss to make a fuss, but either way now they have to deal with his shit. and he is batshit, he keeps trying to do things to fuck up their service and revenue like stealing the visiting talent's gear, attempting and failing poorly to set the club on fire, etc, but he's besties with the authorities so any reports they make get minimal results if any

eventually Ed finds out Stede has had to consistently kick out and finally banned the first Badminton twin for being generally terrible and making other patrons uncomfortable and shit, on like week two of his club being open, and that's the actual reason twin 2 is losing his shit. Explains it, but doesn't excuse it

The only thing I can't decide is how to end it, and how to work everyone else in. I do right now really like the idea of Mary and Spanish Jackie as a team of lawyers that end up representing the Revenge and crew as a business entity while the Badminton dickfucks keep trying to bring useless, so far only civil, cases against them. Bonus for Doug as the legal assistant, because i feel like he'd shine there, honestly. He's got his shit together, and he genuinely loves going to the club to see new bands, so yeah yeah conflict of interest but ehhh it's fanfic fuck it lol, and he doesn't want to see it taken away when it's doing decently well finally, and most in town who are old enough to get into a club love it

Calico Jack is just a regular performer, but each performance is Something. Never know exactly what he's gonna do: spanish guitar for three hours? strip tease? Led Zeppelin cover band made up of only him? you gotta roll the dice and see what he shows up with. Stede is a little concerned abt him but hey, he shows up consistently and helps set up his own gear while working out a decent deal for wages with Stede and Olu, so what more could he ask for on the nights when they have no guest performers coming in?

the ending really evades me rn, but im gonna find it dang it. eventually lol

#text post #once again i have this idea on a draft but my brain quit after two sentences #but also it won't leave my head and it's driving me nuts so here this post is lmao

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mcbangle · 2 years

Text

Everything I’ve learned about “Our Flag Means Death” from Tumblr

Without having seen an episode.

It looks good! I’d watch it if I had HBO Max, but I don’t, so.

Stede is a gentleman pirate who kind of looks like Aziraphale. I think he might not be very good at being a pirate, but his crew likes him anyway.

There is a sewing contest to make Stede’s flags. One of the flags has a cat on it?

Stede gets sick or injured or something and is laid up in bed.

Blackbeard, who is also called Ed and is played by Taika Waititi, visits Stede in his bedchamber.

Blackbeard wears all leather except for one arm which is sleeveless and covered in tattoos. Everyone, including the showrunners, agree that an all-leather outfit would be uncomfortable for a pirate of the Caribbean, but that the outfit nonetheless looks hot.

Blackbeard’s flag has a cool skeleton wearing a pirate hat and holding a spear. Early on, some fans were concerned that the flag was historically inaccurate because the real Blackbeard flag had a bleeding heart. This will be important later.

Blackbeard pokes around and looks at Stede’s stuff and is very intrigued.

At some point they try on each others’ clothes and at one point (possibly the same point??) they go to a fancy ball.

Their two crews are initially suspicious of this situation and each other but eventually they all become friends and/or fall in love except for one guy on Blackbeard’s crew who persistently Does Not Like Stede.

Speaking of the crew, one of them is nonbinary and initially wears a beard and fake nose but then they don’t, and eventually they fall in love with someone too.

At one point Blackbeard, Stede and another, foppish-looking crewmember go on some kind of expedition in the jungle. Blackbeard spends a lot of time making heart eyes at Stede and foppish-looking crewmember spends a lot of time observing Blackbeard’s heart eyes and at some point in that episode the foppish looking guy says “This is happening”.

I think foppish looking guy has a boyfriend too, or at least a love interest.

Blackbeard and Stede get captured by enemies and are made to lie facedown on the deck. Stede says something like “You came back!” and Blackbeard says something like “I never left” and then the camera pulls back and Blackbeard gently nudges Stede’s foot with his own.

Blackbeard shaves his beard off??

Ed and Stede are sitting on the beach. Ed tells Stede that Stede makes Ed happy. They kiss and then Stede tells Ed that Ed makes Stede happy. They make plans to run away together to China.

Then - tragedy strikes, I assume??? Something happens and evidently they do not run away to China together.

Ed gets drunk and wraps himself in a blanket (is it Stede’s blanket?) and sings, I think? And everyone feels sorry for him.

Stede goes back to his wife and kids, but they don’t actually want him around. Stede’s wife tries to kill him, and he leaves and gets on a boat to presumably become a pirate again and maybe find Ed?

But wait, what’s this? Blackbeard blackened his eyes and painted a beard on his face (?) and now he is Angry! And he abandons Stede’s crew on the tiniest island ever!

Close-up on Blackbeard’s flag, which now has a new panel sewn on of a bleeding heart, the same one that history buffs said was missing in the early episodes, symbolizing his broken heart, dun-dun-dunnnn!!!

How did I do?

#our flag means death #spoilers #ofmd spoilers #i guess

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