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subway-tolkien · 6 months

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Okay, this is 1600 words of (positive!) meta regarding the OFMD finale. Included is character analysis and a treatise on why a certain trope people keep throwing around does not apply here.

This is of course just my take, and I'm sure people will disagree, but I needed to get this out. Apologies if it comes off disjointed, I've had like no sleep.

Spoilers within, obviously. You have been warned. Heed the tags. I didn't tag any characters because I consider it a spoiler, but you know who this is about.

Listen. Listen.

Let me start off by saying I have been where you are. I’ve had beloved characters die, either because it was important to the narrative or for shock value. I’ve been there, so I’m not coming at this without empathy. I’m not an Izzy hater. I loved him as a character. I’m truly sad to see him go.

But from what I’m seeing around Twitter and tumblr, some of you do not understand the role of an antagonist in a story.

Izzy was always meant to die. The moment he said, in the first season, “the only retirement we get is death,” I knew he was meant to die in the end. The foreshadowing ran through both seasons. Izzy was the true antagonist of S1. He was there to keep Blackbeard tethered when he started pulling away, and yet he also set the plot in motion. He inadvertently introduced Blackbeard to the person who let him be just Ed. He put Ed on his own path to redemption without even knowing it.

S1 ended with Izzy getting what he wanted as Ed lost everything he had. S2 was about Izzy coming to terms with the fact that he’d gone too far, he’d turned Ed into a monster. It wasn’t what he wanted. He wanted Blackbeard back, just like old times. Instead, he got the Kraken, and it was more than he bargained for.

Especially after it cost him his leg and he realized how far gone Ed really was. The conversation that ended with Izzy’s half-assed suicide attempt was the final blow to Izzy—Ed really didn’t seem to care anymore. Where Izzy wanted him to stop giving a shit about his silly boyfriend, he instead got a Blackbeard who didn’t care about anything, and he was apparently now included in that category.

(I said half-assed suicide attempt because Izzy wasn’t meant to die then, THAT would have been an empty, pointless death. It wouldn’t have taught Ed anything—in fact, all it did was make him more self-destructive, which was Izzy’s purpose to the narrative, but not his endgame. That Ed thought Izzy killed himself pushed Ed to the brink. Ed wanted to die and take every scrap of Blackbeard with him. Had Izzy successfully killed himself, Ed and the Revenge would be at the bottom of the ocean.

It wasn’t until the crew left Izzy the unicorn leg that he realized the power of compassion, the incredible act of grace from a crew that suffered so much from Izzy’s own machinations and didn't need to forgive him. It moved him to tears, and it moved him to accept that maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea to let people in, to let himself be cared for. It was a foreign concept and something Izzy likely hadn’t experienced since losing his family (I fully expect a shit ton of fanfic of Izzy’s life before piracy).

Israel Hands found the capacity to let love all the way in and by god, did he pursue it.

But, again, Izzy was always meant to die, and I’m glad they stuck to the narrative they set out with instead of placating fandom and letting our influence dictate how they told this story That’s never good, trust me. Fandom should not influence a creator’s decisions regarding their own characters. It rarely if ever ends well.

[Stares in Voltron S8]

And I see a lot of people out here throwing the “bury your gays” phrase around—I beg you, please look up the definition of the trope. Izzy didn’t die because he was queer, he didn’t die because of his disability. He wasn’t one half of the only queer couple in the show fridged for shock value. He wasn’t killed off due to pressure from conservative viewers. He wasn’t the only queer, disabled character.

They didn’t kill off Lucius, or Jackie, or Wee John. Would you be as outraged if it was any of them?

Killing Eve is bury your gays. Supernatural is bury your gays. Pretty much any film, book, TV show, whatever, where a queer character dies because they’re queer, of AIDs, to further the narrative for a straight person, etc—that is burying your gays.

Izzy’s death was none of those things. Izzy’s death had meaning.

Izzy’s death freed Ed from the Blackbeard persona. It finally forced Izzy to say the things he couldn’t say until he realized it was his last chance. Izzy was also tired. I honestly think he stuck it out for Ed’s sake, because he was afraid to let Blackbeard go without making sure Ed would be ok.

He loved the idea of Blackbeard, but over time, he learned to love Ed. He finally understood what Ed tried to tell him the whole time.

“Fuck off, you twat. You’re surrounded by family.”

You’re safe. You’re loved. You don’t need me anymore. You don’t need to be reminded of who you’re capable of being, you need the people who will guide you to who you will become, and I’m not one of them.

I know a lot of Izzy fans are stung by his death, some of you are deeply upset. I get that. Like I said, I’ve been there. Sirius’s death made me throw that fucking book across the room. That Fucking Woman™ killed off my entire OTP, purely for shock value and, imho, a direct response to shippers. Trust me, I have felt betrayed by a creator for their decisions.

But I need you to understand that no, this was not a personal attack, this was not malicious, this was not “bury your gays." A show that celebrates queerness and diversity is not suddenly homophobic and ableist because your favorite character died and happened to be both of those things. But when the majority of your cast of characters is different in some way, and they’re in a show about 18th century pirates, you have to accept that one of them could, in fact, die. “Anyone Can Die” is also a trope and the more accurate one to describe E8.

If only being queer and disabled made you invincible.

Spoiler alert: it doesn’t.

And no, I’m not an Izzy hater. I loved him, I loved him as an antagonist, and I loved his redemption arc. He was fascinating and Con put his whole O’Nussy into that part. I’m sorry to see him go, but as a mystery writer who often has to kill off beloved characters, I understand that he served the purpose he had from the beginning.

I swear, if some of you had your way, there’d be no conflict at all in any form of media. This what a steady diet of nothing but fanfic gets you. This is not a fluffy one-shot with magical healing dick and a happy ending where everyone sails off into the sunset. If that’s what you wanted, what you headcanoned, you did this to yourself. It’s not David et al’s fault that we took that character and babygirled him. That’s the risk we take when we decide to love a specific character, when we take a genuinely terrible person (in S1) and woobify him.

So, please stop harassing and attacking David, Alex, et al. David did not and should not change his story to placate us. The fact he went ahead with it despite the backlash I’m sure he expected makes me respect him as a creator even more.

Anyway, I’m going to revel that we have three (!) queer relationships with happy endings where one or both didn’t immediately die (again, the actual definition of “bury your gays”) and that we got at least two seasons of a little show that celebrated individualism, diversity, queerness, compassion, and love.

In the end, it all came down to love.

“There he is.”

Goodbye, Blackbeard.

Hello, Ed.

#ofmd spoilers #ofmd season two spoilers #ofmd finale spoilers #ofmd finale #Meta #ofmd s2 spoilers #our flag means death

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brigdh · 6 months

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Okay. My thoughts on the Our Flag Means Death finale. Obviously I'm not very happy with the ending, though I'm also not as upset as some people are. I would say I'm discontent. Unsatisfied. Too aware of how it could have been improved, and a bit bitter that we didn't get a better version, but I also don't hate what we did get.

I know a lot of meta has attributed the problems to a shorter season, and absolutely I would have loved to get 10 episodes instead. I would have loved 22 episodes! Why don't we do that anymore? But I don't think the 8 episode length was the ultimate problem. A) The showrunner and writers knew they had only 8 episodes, so they needed to choose a story that fit into that length, but even more importantly, B) my problem is not that they had too much story for too little time, but actually that they had plenty of time and chose to fill it with too little story.

As I've sat with it over the last few days and thought more about the season's arc, it feels to me like we got eight episodes of filler. Filler episodes can be great! Filler episodes can have some of the funniest lines, the greatest scenes, the most intriguing ideas. But filler episodes do not progress character arcs or major themes, and that's exactly the problem this season had.

The only characters who got arcs this season are Izzy, and to a lesser and more rushed extent, Lucius. Which sure is a choice.

Ed and Stede and their relationship did not meaningfully change from S1. (Okay, yes, they had sex, they said I Love You – but these are external changes, not internal. They don't represent character growth. Stede realized he loved Ed and was telling everyone back in 1x10. Ed clearly would have slept with him in S1 if they'd had a little more time.) Ed and Stede in 2x08 are not different from who they are in 2x01. If Ed had asked Stede to be innkeepers in 2x01, does anyone think Stede wouldn't have immediately agreed? One of the big moments in 2x08 is Ed reading a letter that Stede wrote in 2x01! Stede's exact words from the very beginning of the season! What better way to underline that none of the subsequent seven episodes had important growth or changes?

Another one of 2x08's big shippy moments is Ed and Stede running to each other across a beach – deliberately paralleling the dream Stede had in 2x01. What are we supposed to take from this parallel? My original thought was that we're supposed to see how different the real version is from the dream, but there's honestly not many differences. Neither one has a beard, now? The dream mocked how Stede knew they needed to have a conversation about their relationship that he wanted to avoid, but they don't have a conversation in the "real" version either. They exchange about two sentences (which includes Ed's I Love You, yes, which is a big deal but still isn't a conversation) and then they charge right back into the fight, without discussing anything like Ed abruptly dumping Stede to go be a fisherman, Stede killing Ned Low when Ed asked him not to, their differences of opinion on being pirates, if having sex was a mistake or if that's only a thing Ed said because he was panicking, etc etc. They have just as many issues to address as they did in the dream, but just like the dream they act like everything is magically okay without talking about it!

So I think we're meant to take the beach-run parallels as "here's what Stede's been wanting, and after waiting for so long he finally gets it". Which is fine, a very sweet take-away for a finale. But it underlines what I'm saying is the problem of the season: Stede has just been waiting for eight episodes for his dream to come true. Not changing. Not growing. Not doing anything to bring the dream about, other than trying to get himself and Ed into the same physical location. Just... waiting.

This is an extra surprising development, because the show was really good at giving Ed and Stede character arcs in S1! Ed and Stede in 1x10 are significantly different than they were in their first introductions. Also, just to preempt some criticism, by 'progressing' I do not mean 'wrap up literally every loose end and make a firm final ending' – S1's finale is an excellent example of both moving the characters forward and leaving a ton of room for future stories. I wasn't expecting for 2x08 to show us a Stede and Ed who were perfectly on the same page and would never again have a problem. I was expecting them to be somewhat different than they were in 2x01, and I just don't see that.

Instead of arcs, we got little pieces of single-episode growth here and there that never added up to an overall whole. The season brought up a ton of potential arcs for Ed – violence, piracy, guilt, suicide, daddy issues, self-loathing, apologies, redemption, his tendency to idealize escaping into a different life – but didn't do anything with any of these options. Stede had nothing resembling a season arc at all.

Stede works to improve as a captain! Stede kills someone and has regrets! Stede confronts Ed's dark side! <- All potential arcs, but none of which lasted for more than an episode or had consequences. We don't even know what the ending means for Stede: does he want to be an innkeeper because he failed as a pirate in 2x07? Because piracy was always just a displaced search for love, and now that he has love, he doesn't need piracy? What does the crew of the Revenge leaving mean to him? Stede's understanding of their new arrangement literally happens off-screen and we're left to fumble at guesses for its significance to him as an individual.

Ed and Stede's last big conversation in the season is their break-up fight in 2x07, which is a shocking way to send off your main couple in a rom-com. Yes, there's the I Love You on the beach (again: two sentences) and the brief 'let's try to be innkeepers' conversation at the very end, but that's it for them in 2x08, except for their inclusion in some brief large group conversations about their fighting skills and the plan for escaping the British. How can you end your rom-com with the main couple exchanging only a paragraph's worth of dialogue in the finale? None of the stuff was brought up in the fishing fight in 2x07 is ever addressed at all!

Again, I don't think this is solely a matter of time crunch. Instead of using the eight episodes to progress the two main characters, we got a bunch of filler episodes that used the time in amusing side tangents instead of forward progress. I don't think that's the inevitable result of having to work with eight episodes.

Look, I can come up with a better Ed/Stede relationship arc without needing more episodes, and despite only thinking about this for a couple days and not having an entire writing room to work with:

(Note: this only addresses the Ed/Stede relationship. It doesn't fix Stede completely lacking an independent character arc and Ed having about ten thousand of them, none of which went anywhere.)

In 2x05 to 2x07, I would make Ed's motivations in their relationship very clearly that he's pushing Stede away so he doesn't get hurt again. Basically play up Ed's comment about "I was all in" in 2x04, and make him determined not to get 'all in' this time around. This aligns the "let's take it slow" conversation in 2x05, the "sex was a mistake" in 2x06, and Ed running away to be a fisherman in 2x07 into a single arc. He wants Stede, but he's afraid of what that wanting will do to him. He's trying to find a way to have a relationship without making himself vulnerable. He keeps pushing off commitment and openness.

Then, in 2x08, I'd make it more explicit that Ed thinks/fears Stede is dead when he sees the pirate ships burning. I think it's subtext in the episode as-is, but give him a line or two to make it really clear. Ed and Stede still see each other on the beach, have their dramatic run to each other, and Ed says, "I love you". Now this moment is Ed acknowledging his love, exactly what he's been avoiding for the last three episodes.

Near the end of the episode, Ed and Stede have a conversation where Ed says something like, "I didn't want to get hurt again, I was afraid of the risk of falling in love and you leaving again, but thinking you were dead made me realize that never loving you would be worse" (but better written, ha, this is a tumblr post that's already too long). (Also possibly you could tie in Izzy's death here to underline both Ed and Stede not wanting to lose another person they care about, if we must have that plot point for some reason.) We actually get to see Ed asking Stede to come be innkeepers with him, paralleling asking him to run away to China (and paralleling NOT asking Stede to a fisherman), Stede voices some of his worries (paralleling him keeping them inside in 1x09, but also giving him a chance to explain what piracy and love mean to him and why he'd give up one for the other), but ultimately they agree that they at least want to try.

This both puts them into a much clearer place for a happy ending, has clear growth from S1 and the beginning of this season, but also leaves open a ton of room for S3, because welp, it turns out trying to have a relationship entails all sorts of problems! Especially with these two. It also would make me feel like they'd at least addressed some of the issues between them.

Right now I feel like S3 will have to spend at least the first few episodes running through exactly the same "don't talk – break up – get back together dramatically" arc that Stede and Ed have already done twice but have never discussed and never learned from. I liked it, but I don't need to see it yet again. That will – ironically – feel like yet more wasted time, more episodes that are just churning through beats without moving the characters forward. I wanted them to have new, different fights in S3, but now I don't even feel like they've made enough progress to have a fresh set of problems.

#ofmd meta #our flag means death #ofmd 2x08 #ofmd season 2 #ofmd critical #(I guess)

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stedefxckingbonnet · 6 months

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PLEASE WRITE BEING IZZY'S LOVER (gn) AND IZZY ACTUALLY SURVIVED BECAUSE IDK THEY EITHER MISSED OR THE LOVER MANAGED TO SAVE HIM OR ANYTHING I JUST NEED TO SAVE THIS MAN 😭🙏

I GOT YOU!!! Here's my little fix-it fic, all! Writing this made me feel a bit better because my god I finally brought myself to watching the finale even after knowing all that happened already and wow I was not okay. But perhaps this fic is me turning poison into positivity in my own way? Yeah. Yeah! I'll leave it at that :) This one is a bit shorter but, it's short and sweet, I thinl!

I didn't really want to recount the battle itself, just more-so the aftermath, so please keep that in mind whilst reading in case it feels like I dove in a bit too suddenly and quickly!

Keep the requests coming, all! I love you all so, so dearly.

Love,

Lavinia

My Favorite | Izzy Hands x Reader

Warnings: light angst (but there's fluff GALORE and it ends happily, i swear!), some strong language, brief mentions of being shot, tending to an injury/mentions of injury (non-graphic descriptions)

Word Count: 1481

In your periphery, you couldn't help but notice Izzy suddenly hunched over, clutching his stomach. Everyone else managed to continue charging forward with their weapons, but you had other plans, and knew that both you and Izzy would be better for it. You rushed over to him without any hesitation, slinging his arm around you gently as you ushered him back to the ship as quickly as you could. His breathing staggered and the sound of it motivated you to move even faster.

You managed to rush him back to your quarters; in case the rest of the crew came stumbling onto The Revenge again, you would be able to focus on the most important mission of your life—helping Izzy Hands survive.

"I'm alright, love," Izzy breathed out, looking up at you as you cleaned the wound and prepared to bandage it.

"Clearly, you aren't," you laughed sadly, fighting back tears as you worked.

"You don't have to do this, you know," he sighed as he spotted you scrambling all over the place, very clearly in a panic about all of this. You so badly wanted to stop right there and scold him. You didn't have to do this? Was he fucking kidding? Of course you had to do this, you wanted to do this. You wanted him to be okay, needed him to be. You wanted to take away the harm brought upon him. You wanted to see him live another day and many, many more. You craved to see him go on to send you another one of his not-so-discreet-anymore smiles that got you through the toughest of times. You don't have to do this? How could he be so foolish? He was by far the most intelligent aboard the ship and yet, he still managed to say such a silly thing.

"Did you hear me?"

"Oh, I heard you," you almost seethed. "And once again, I will be ignoring your request."

"You manage to go and do that so much and yet, you're still my favorite," he weakly shook his head as he looked up at the ceiling and laughed under his breath.

You stopped in your tracks, for just a moment. You figured you could—Izzy was all patched up and all that was left to do was sit with him and make sure the bleeding stops and give him food, water, anything else he needed, and you were beyond happy to do so. You needed to be sure he was okay. But what he had just admitted to you earned quite a bit of a shock from you, a shock you couldn't quite process running all around the room. "I'm your favorite?"

He laughed once again, coughing immediately after and reaching to clutch his abdomen once again. You immediately sat down beside him, not realizing you had started to gently touch his cheek. "Isn't that fucking obvious? Everyone else sure as hell knows it."

You couldn't help but laugh yourself. "I guess? I don't know. You're my favorite too, you know."

"Oh, don't bother lying just because I'm injured," Izzy teased, reaching out to flick you in the arm.

"I'm not lying!" you threw your hands up in a playful surrender. "I mean it, Izzy. You know I do. And I don't want anything happening to you. I don't know what I'd do if you..." and with that, the tears began to spill out. Izzy knew there was no use trying to sit up, but he was able to extend his arm around you.

"I signed up for this," he shrugged.

"As long as I'm around, you are not dying any fucking time soon. Okay? You got that?"

Izzy's lips formed a smirk. "I love it when you get feisty."

"Shut up," you rolled your eyes as you giggled. Though suddenly, your expression hardened, and even Izzy noticed you were about to say something of the serious vein. "You really scared me back there, Iz."

Izzy could only sigh—he knew that none of the words he could muster would be enough to relieve you just yet, or even at all. And what was he supposed to say, anyway? That he was sorry he let himself get shot? Sorry that he didn't immediately seek help? Sorry that you had to see that? That he was so fucking exhausted of the life he's made for himself after all?

You made your way over to the foot of the bed, carefully sitting and stroking his leg. "I'm sorry," you suddenly lamented.

"Why are you sorry?"

"You just really scared me. I didn't want to lose you but I don't want you feeling bad about it either because it wasn't your fault you got hurt," you sighed, averting your eyes from his gaze.

Izzy slowly sat up, rubbing your upper back before gently wrapping his arm around you and resting his head upon your shoulder. "I'm not going anywhere, you know. I promise."

"I know," you exhaled. "I just...I could have lost you, and that thought absolutely haunts me every time we raid or duel or see another ship at all, or even just roam about the Republic of Pirates, but I know this is your life and what you're used to and I would never yank you away from—"

"I don't want any of it anymore," Izzy suddenly admitted. "I'm tired. So fucking tired. And I don't even know how many wounds my body can take anymore."

You laughed sadly, craning your head over to look at him once again. Even after the years of suffering and pain that remained on his face at times, he was the most beautiful sight you had ever seen. And, he was healing as of late—you could see that, everyone could see that. "Well, what are you saying? And no, it isn't obvious—"

"I want to live," Izzy assured you. "But not this life. A different one."

"What would that look like to you?"

"I don't know," he whispered, almost ashamed of this answer.

"It's okay not to know. I'm up for anything as long as you are right there beside me," you reassured him as you planted a gentle kiss upon his forehead.

"Really? You'll stay with me?" Izzy asked in disbelief.

"I love you, Izzy. You. Not because you're Blackbeard's first mate, not because you're a pirate. Because you're you. You're Israel Hands. You are clever and caring and proud and you have so much else to offer this world, away from the sea. Beyond all this."

Izzy lifted his arms up from his sides, wincing as he did so, his hands flying back to his abdomen. You smiled softly as you ever so carefully wrapped your arms around him, making sure not to squeeze so tight. One of your hands made its way up to the back of his head as you gently ran your fingers through his hair. You suddenly heard him whimpering and it brought tears to your own eyes. At last, he spoke. "Fuck you."

You couldn't help but giggle as you sat back up once again.

"I love you," Izzy spoke sincerely, hoping with every part of him that this came across. By now, your face was in his hands, and he looked at you in such a way that truly did confirm his tenderness, his endless adoration that he reserved for you and only you.

You knew exactly the response he was searching for. He knew that you had love for him already—you were never exactly subtle about it. And he never exactly minded it. "I know that, Iz. I promise you."

"Suppose we should say goodbye to everyone?"

"We will. I just want to be here with you right now."

"I wouldn't mind that."

You lay down beside Izzy, draping your arm over his chest as you nuzzle your face into the crook of his neck. He hums happily as you do, and he instantly settles into the warmth you provide. Before you know it, your eyes flutter shut and even in your dreams, Izzy Hands is there and you are together and you are living without fear and judgment, and the only thing you're stressing about is what to make for breakfast that day even though he'll always mumble, "Anything will do, darling." Perhaps whatever life the two of you should lead will come to you in your dreams and you will eagerly share these ideas once you awaken. In this moment, you were just grateful to get to spend the rest of your life with none other than him, and it almost didn't matter what endeavors you embarked on alongside one another from this moment forward. You finished the ditty Izzy was humming before you succumbed to the sweet dreams he wished upon you, and you looked forward to your dreams that were about to come true in just a few hours.

#ofmd #our flag means death #izzy hands #izzy hands x reader #ofmd season 2 #x reader #izzy hands my beloved #ofmd s2 #fanfic #ofmd izzy hands #fix it fic #fix it au #izzy is alive and well wdym?#fluff #light angst #requests open #keep the requests coming #please request #established relationship

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izzysillyhandsy · 6 months

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Thoughts about the finale, and my utter confusion about Izzy Hands

What I hated about Izzy's death wasn't him dying. I love a tragic arc, and although Con O'Neill elevated every scene he was in, it would have been ok if they'd handled his death better.

To have him die with only 10mins of the episode left (and this might even be the last ever episode!) was the first terrible decision. Everything that was built up over 2 seasons had to be resolved in a few minutes, we don't see any repercussions for anyone Izzy was important to - Ed, the crew and even Stede.

But the main criticism is the 180° turn the show made for his character arc in the last episode (or more precisely, in Izzy's last scene) and in David Jenkins' latest interviews.

Since season 1, I kept asking myself the same two questions:

What function does Izzy Hands have in the narrative? What is the nature of his relationship with Ed?

And the answers changed drastically from S1 to S2, and got more and more complex and intriguing.

Until the finale.

Izzy Hands as a plot device for the main couple

In S1, Izzy was an antagonist. His function in the narrative was to stand in the way of the Ed/Stede romance, of Ed growing and finding happiness and to move the plot along. He brought a lot of humour to almost every interaction he was in - he was such a fish-out-of-water character, clashing with everyone and constantly losing.

He was barely human - he was a pirate cliché.

But there was also so much going on in the background - his quiet desparation, his obvious love and longing for Ed, and these hints of a fascinating backstory between the two of them. This is what many fans picked up on, and going into S2 we hoped that we'd get more of this (for me personally the most important thing was clarification on Izzy's importance to Ed).

And then S2 came along and boy, were all of our expectations exceeded.

Suddenly, Izzy wasn't a plot device anymore. He was one half of the most intense (and interesting, sorry Stede) couple in the show. It was even confirmed by the showrunner that he was in a love triangle with the main couple!

In the first 2 episodes, we got so much more than we ever expected. At the end of Ep2, Izzy broke the lifeline with Ed, both of them almost dying in the process. He went on a journey of discovering who and what he even was without Ed (and right up to his death he was still deeply unhappy and broken, even though he was on the right path).

Izzy suddely became a fascinating character in his own right, with his arc of healing and self-acceptance and his inability (for now) to keep himself from sliding back into this relationship with his other half. He was blaming himself for everything that had happened. He was still so entangled with this man he built his whole life around. He still had a long way to go and a lot to work through (the same also applies to Ed btw).

But he also became the crew's unicorn, doing Izzy things (still related to Ed, always to Ed) but you could feel him becoming more himself. Slowly, Izzy's real personality started to shine through and we realized - this man is fascinating on his own accord. He's a respected and very capable pirate. He came from nothing and fought his way up. He's a really good teacher. He's creative and sensitive. He also cares about other people than Ed a lot.

Viewers who hated him or were indifferent to him in S1 suddenly became interested - this man's journey was fascinating and, most importantly, it wasn't at all finished. There was so much yet to come, and we wanted to see it.

Does this sound like a plot device to you? If it doesn't, bad news.

At the end of the final episode, Izzy is suddenly back where he was in S1.

He dies in a completely unnecessary way - almost as if how he died didn't matter. And it didn't matter, because in the end, Izzy Hands' journey didn't matter anymore. All that mattered was that he died and how it affected the main couple.

On his deathbed, Izzy is saying exactly what Ed needs to hear to move on. He absolves him of any guilt. Ed is ready. Izzy has played his part, he's ready to die.

Notably, nothing is really resolved for poor Izzy. Even if Ed says he doesn't want him to go, it's because Ed is losing his only family. He doesn't tell Izzy he loves him, or that he's important to him as a person, as his oldest friend, as the one who knows him best.

In the end, Izzy's function in the narrative, even after everything that happened in S2, was to be an obstacle to the Ed/Stede romance, to Ed growing and finding happiness. He had to die to free Ed of his Blackbeard persona and because "it's nice that Blackbeard is upset by it" (WTF).

The problem is, for the rest of the season, that wasn't Izzy's role in this show at all and I felt completely blindsided.

More than a spurned, jilted lover

"I guess it's a journey of redemption, but I think it's more a journey of finding out, who is he to Blackbeard?" According to Jenkins, Izzy is "more than a spurned, jilted lover." "What is that relationship about? And I think by the end of the season it kind of becomes a little unexpected of who they are to each other and what they mean to each other." (source)

I also made a poll about that question after Ep3 if anyone's interested.

The answer is, apparently, the two of them were Blackbeard. Or, Izzy was the brains behind the operation. Or, Izzy egged Eddie on to give in to his darker impulses (which, I think, was alluded to quite strongly in the murder/suicide scene).

I mean, yes. That was one of the options on my poll that I was quite sure of, and I think most of us suspected this even in S1.

Izzy was Eddie's only family. Ok, I think family doesn't quite express what was going on between them in S2, but that certainly was one aspect of their relationship.

This is all fine. I can see that being built up to over the two seasons.

But.

"And then there was the realization that [Izzy] is kind of a mentor to Blackbeard and that he is kind of a father figure to Blackbeard. It felt nice to have him die and have Blackbeard be upset by it, because Blackbeard killed his father. But this is a father figure that he’s losing that it’s hard for him; it's sad and he doesn't want him to go." (source)

This is not fine. Not at all.

Izzy is not Blackbeard's mentor. Izzy is obviously in love with Ed (and Ed is fully aware of that). Izzy might have been a mentor-like presence in Ed's life when they were younger, but when we meet them in S1 Izzy is more like an overworked housewife cleaning up behind her disinterested husband. Izzy would do anything for Ed (apart from killing him) and is ready to die at one point because of him. Izzy is desperate, grabbing onto the scraps Ed throws his way.

Where, where does Izzy seem like a mentor to Ed in all of this? A mentor is supposed to be at least at the same level or above but Izzy is clearly not.

And in the death scene, suddenly, that's all there is left of their complex, intense dynamic.

Izzy took young Eddie in and fed his darkness. He was Eddie's only family, binding him to himself out of selfishness in the process.

So that's their unexpected "who they are to each other". Izzy taught Ed everything he knows (which is actually bad for him) and it'd probably been better if they'd never even met.

And don't get me wrong, I don't completely disagree with this take. As a part of their dynamic, this is a fascinating concept - but only if this wasn't the end.

Because there was so much more, so much promise of a complicated, mutually destructive relationship that nevertheless was also full of love. Those two seemed so intertwined (and I'll never forgive Stede for stealing that for himself and Ed). Ed is Izzy's missing half and Izzy is Ed's.

And I still believe that, without Izzy, Ed isn't complete.

And with this rushed conclusion, and all the mess left behind and never even looked at, Ed will never be happy.

Conclusion

I think what hurts the most is, that with Izzy dead and their last conversation being that reductive, all possibilities of an exploration of all these complex and fascinating aspects of their relationship are now closed. I know this show isn't about Ed and Izzy. But Izzy is a big part of what made Ed interesting, and he's a brilliant character in his own right. We could have gotten so much more (even if it's only allusions, we really don't need everything spelled out).

I guess I expected too much from this show - but with good reason. The actors gave it their all. S2 set up such an intricate dynamic (and it was probably overly ambitious with only 4 hours of screentime!). I've never gotten so much of what I wanted from an outsider character in any show.

And then it let us down in the last 10 minutes.

And even if we hadn't gotten a season 3 - the setup was all there for meta, for fanfiction. Why ruin it all with killing off Izzy for all the wrong reasons and making their last conversation all about Ed "outliving his mentor".

To quote Prince Ricky: "Oh, my goodness. You've just grown so tedious."

Still, I love everything they've done in this show except for the ending. I will watch it again, many times, and enjoy the drama, the humour and the complexity. But I will try to forget these interviews and convince myself Izzy's senseless death was just a dream :).

#ofmd #ofmd s2 spoilers #izzy hands #edward teach #it's just not fair #Izzy deserved so much better #and Con O'Neill as well #so many things were set up and then boom #nothing matters anymore

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blue-b-bro · 5 months

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Discussion time!

(I try to understand what the writers intentions were, not how it turned out)

I was thinking about the abundance of antagonists in s2 and what was the problem.

Prince Rincky was cool for one episode, showing us how much Stede has changed since we first met him. It was cool. And he left him, as if letting his past behind. They didn't need to go further with it, the message was clear.

Then Ned Low, Ed's antagonist, symbolizing his violent part or past. Hurting people for fun ("love a good maim"). Showing us this time how much Ed has changed.

But wait, what happened to Ned? He lost his crew because of Stede, and then Stede killed him, even tho Ed asked him not to.... Everything Stede accused Ned of is eerily similar to what Ed did to Stede's crew. His suicide plan finally worked and destroyed Calypso's birthday. And it's tragic and clever at the same time: Ed's attempts to redeem himself destroyed by the memory of his sins.

But now things get a bit messed up. The symbols get mixed up. (I won't even talk about how Stede sees this whole confrontation, it's already complicated enough) So is Ned the symbol of Ed's guilt or his violent past? Those are two different things. Stede killing Ned for things similar to what Ed did also means a lot. Did they... Did they put all of Ed’s darkness in Ned and made Stede get rid of it? Is this where they hid his redemption arc? Stede yeeted all the negativity from his ship? (is this some kind of parallel to Izzy's banishment in s1e6? Or Calico Jack in e8?)

Ok...

And then there's Zheng. Don't get me wrong, she was great. But why did they add her to the story? To show how a pirate ship could work? To show us how shitty of a captains Stede and Ed were? To tell Stede that sometimes talking things out isn't enough? But he knew that already?? S1 was about Stede proving that he could win by being clever instead of violent! Or did I read it wrong?

Was Zheng the reason Stede asked Izzy to teach him? Fine, let's say she was. But that doesn't explain her presence in the story after episode 3. Stede meets her again in episode 7 and gets his ass kicked, showing he's still pathetic.

And I'm confused again, wait. Stede outsmarted her before thanks to his plan and his crew's help. So... was Stede trying to be cool like Zheng this whole season, thinking this is what people want from him? And his duel with Zheng was a desperate attempt to prove to his crew and himself that he's worth something? Because Stede could still be insecure about his inadequacy and now that he left everything for this life, this was everything he had. Ed left him and if his crew will too, then he's alone. That would be a proof of him being worthless, someone people just tolerate and leave at first occasion. Great angst, where's the payoff in the next episode tho? Or anything really. You're telling me that crying, pathetic man is now all cool with being a failure? Since WHEN? When was this whole arc of Stede accepting he's a mid pirate?? Surely not in e7. Whatever, let's leave it.

What was the whole deal with Prince Ricky and Izzy. I've already said, Ricky should be left in e1 and Izzy didn't need his antagonist. What for? His arc was about healing and opening up to the crew. We know he realized his mistakes, we know he got attached and protective towards them from e1! They showed this in e1-6! The speech was nice but was it necessary? To me it was like spelling out something they already shown. We knew Izzy realized the crew is more important than his selfish desires when he shot Ed or when he worked with Stede to protect them.

Did they try to say that good, not selfish anymore, Stede helped an old time pirate to be a better self and bad, selfish Stede killed the pirate. The piracy. (god, my head hurts) Fuck, I don't know anymore, help guys. It only works if we go with that crazy metaphor of Stede killing the darkness ect. So good Stede understood and worked with pirates to reform piracy being one of them, and bad Stede didn't understood, didn't work with pirates and was rejected, so he destroyed them, or something????

Was Ricky's come back something like Ned to Ed? His past biting him in the ass? Stede thinking piracy was the parties, the earing, the killing, the fame? The shallow understanding of what piracy means? And just like Izzy was teaching Stede, now Izzy explains it to Ricky?? So unnecessarly spelling out again.

Anyway, Ricky was good in e1, Zheng could be great for Stede's arc if they didn't forget about it in e8, but still there was too much of her for no reason really (we don't need main relationship's dynamics paralleled on secondary characters). Ned had potential, but they went to weird places with it.

#our flag means death #Ofmd #Ofmd s2 #Ofmd critical #Ofmd meta #prince ricky #zheng yi sao #ned low #stede bonnet #edward teach #izzy hands

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whim-prone-pirate · 7 months

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i think izzy might get to be happy for the rest of the season. the whole crew made him feel genuinely appreciated for the first time since he stepped foot on the revenge.

they always thought he was a dick, of course they did, but he never got to hear jim say "he's our dick." while they and archie helped take care of his leg. even if he's an asshole, they kind of all are!! they're pirates!!! he's still integral to the ship and the crew knows that; he's knowledgeable and arguably the most skilled fighter on the ship. aside from ed he's been pirating the longest just from the virtue of life lived. the crew may have known this since season one but they never expressed their appreciation for him because he was SO mean.

but in episode four they all see that he's genuinely depressed and fucking struggling, probably has been since they've known him. like jesus he became a fucking alcoholic for like three days😭

i think it really comes down to the resentment and jealousy he has for stede; stede is a fucking LOSER. i love him so much but i feel like that's just. canon. he's not a good pirate by any standards, it's a miracle he's alive, and ed fell for him in a week when izzy's been right by his side for DECADES. he's got everything izzy wants and he didn't even have to try. he was living unhappily for months while he watched the man he loves literally fall into the arms of another—someone who is everything izzy isn't.

and then ed was pretty fucking horrible to him the entire time he captained the revenge!! why was that?? BECAUSE OF STEDE. AGAIN. out of everyone izzy was the most mutilated, disrespected, manipulated, and made a fool of. but he accepted it because he loves ed so greatly. and then fucking stede comes back and that's all izzy can take.

he never felt love from ed, not like he needed. i think he believed that ed was the only person in the world who could have. once izzy realized he never would, he thought he was unloveable. worthless. so when the crew made him a sturdy, hand-designed, hand-painted prosthetic, they showed their love for him. that's all he ever needed. having friends other than ed will be SO beneficial for his mindset, because let's be real, izzy was ALWAYS too dependent on ed and ed absolutely took advantage of it every chance he got. they are not good for each other, at least not alone. if izzy finds himself loved and valued among the crew, the lack of love from ed won't consume him anymore. he can be free i fucking know it

#i neeever thought i'd care this much about izzy hands being happy🤷🤷#i don't even think he deserved the love of fans in season one #he had done nothing to prove that he was acting like a shithead all the time for an understandable reason #but i am so so glad david and the writers have begun to use him to his fullest potential as a fleshed out character #things have happened in the past five episodes that change how we can view him in the first season and that's amazing #izzy hands #meta #analysis #character analysis #our flag means death #edward teach #ed teach #blackbonnet #stede bonnet #blackbeard #long post

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wario-speedwagon · 7 months

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Dave and Old Sport Adopt a Kid: Chapter 7

And so I return with another chapter! This one's a bit less chaotic and more so just wholesome and introspective on our child, "Pruny." Full chapter is under the cut, and also some more amazing fanart at the end, too, this time by Fyreon! I hope you enjoy! <3

Chapter 1 Chapter 6

Chapter 7

“Aaand there!” Dave triumphantly declared as he lifted off Pruny’s penultimate shirt until just her new lavender polka dotted pajama top remained. “Feels much better, don’t it?”

The small girl nodded up at the purple man–Dave–who was sitting next to her in the back seat. It was admittedly easier in some ways to interact with Dave since his voice was so loud she didn’t always have to rely on lipreading as much to understand him. On the other hand, his loud personality was a lot for her, but she didn’t terribly mind.

She could tell she was ready to fall asleep soon, as she was getting too tired to maintain eye contact anymore, and the man was still chit-chatting away with her, more than she had the energy to keep up with, so she started to tune him out.

Today had been a nonstop roller coaster of many different emotions. She hadn’t experienced so much excitement in a long time.

…

Probably not since she had to leave her old home… It must have been close to a year ago by now…

She found herself wondering how some of her friends–if she could be so bold as to call them that–were doing…

Her friend Izzy who didn't mind hanging out with her in the orphanage… and the other ones who at least didn’t make her time there worse…

Friends who she left behind… But that’s just how it went there: people came and went all the time there. It’s just that her turn to go wasn’t as… happy as the others’...

Ah well. She really needed to stop bringing that to mind so much when it’s behind her now…

…

So she thought more about her time on the streets instead; about that cool older kid on a nearby street who sometimes shared their makeup, even taught her to hide her skin tone to blend in more. She sometimes saw glimpses of purple shades on the edges of their skin, and unless it was some strange aesthetic technique, she wondered if they were maybe like her under their own makeup. Was that too much to hope for? But Dave showed her she really wasn’t alone.

But that kid… despite wanting to, she never managed to find the words to ask their name. Or even their gender at that, which she’d never been sure about.

She realized she never got to tell them her name either…

…Or there was that sweet, older man who always offered her one of his bakery goods that he just bought—she was sure that he must have always made sure to buy something extra just for her, and she didn't know why he thought she deserved it.

He'll have to keep her treat for tomorrow. Or maybe for a while… if she doesn’t ever see him again…

Was all of this going to be some permanent change?

…

Truthfully, she hoped so.

…

Nudging herself back awake, she glanced to her left at Dave and noticed he wasn't rambling anymore, but blankly looking ahead in her general direction off in the distance, as if contemplating something. But as she turned to look directly at him, his eyes quickly met hers and a smile returned to his face again as he began to speak again, more softly this time as she lip read:

“Y'know kid, I really hope this all works out for us.”

An indescribable feeling of relief falling over her, she found herself agreeing.

Is this how those other kids felt? The ones who left?

Dave slumped himself back against the car seat, arms crossed. He let out a rather loud yawn, one that brought attention to her own tiredness as she also rested her head against the door window.

“Now what is that tangerine up to, making us wait so long?”

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Jack finally exited the closing store with everything he needed–well more specifically, what she needed of course, but it took a hot second to not only find what was needed but to also budget-puzzle what he could manage to afford, what was necessary, what could wait a bit, what he could discreetly slip into a pocket…

He knew this was all probably going overboard for a girl that was only staying no more than a night or two hopefully, but hey, she could use the stuff on her own once she's taken under better care. She was a good kid.

Though Jack didn't care for how his mind was mentally preparing for a long term stay, because it wasn't happening. He just had to find a way to not have her end up back on the streets either.

*sigh*

Finally approaching his car, Jack opened the driver's seat door and threw the bags over into the empty passenger seat. Empty, huh? Evidently no one claimed shotgun. And as he was about to address his guests in the back, Jack promptly ate his words when he noticed the two of them were fast asleep in the back. Frankly Jack was both impressed and glad for a more quiet drive home like he was used to. So he opened the car door carefully and tried not to wake them as he not-so-quietly proceeded to boot up his piece of junk car for home.

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When the soothing rumbling stopped, Violet woke up to a disorienting sweeping motion, but she was still too tired to bother opening her eyes more than a slit. She knew she was being carried bridal style, and glancing up, the fuzzy purple hued figure towering over her was enough to tell her it was Dave carrying her. She felt the cold night air around her, and then the muffled thud of car doors closing behind them, the movement of Dave walking-

When light started to surround them, she buried her face in Dave's chest to keep sweet darkness as the two men discussed something quietly which she hardly had the energy to begin trying to hear and decipher.

…She then felt herself being let down onto what was probably a sofa? A quick squinted glance confirmed her surroundings to be Jack's living room before she quickly blocked out the harsh light again and buried her face into the couch. Violet was committed to her comfortable act of being asleep, but since being lifted from her sleep in the car, her mind was awake again.

The room suddenly flicked dim as a lamp must have been turned off with only the further kitchen light spilling in, and their muffled voices grew more distant. Violet was finally left with her thoughts, and today gave her much to think about. Suddenly falling in with these two guys: was it even safe? Was it a good idea? Why did they want her? Or, well at least the purple one did, though the orange one seemed nice, except for that knife from the beginning…

She didn’t know what to make of either of them. She didn't understand them. Who they were, what they're about, or even what kind of people they really are. She'd not been out in the streets for more than a year or so, but even so, she quickly learned the importance of following her gut instinct around new people.

And that's what perplexed her: there was something… genuine about them. Especially the purple one. And he really was purple, without a doubt! She couldn’t help but be interested and perhaps excited just by that alone. Was he really also like her? Maybe that's why she felt at ease around him, just the natural kinship of finally not being alone…

The orange one, though, she could tell from his shoddy job that his orange-ness wasn't natural; definitely makeup. She couldn't think of a reason why someone would go out of his way to color his skin so strangely, especially when she sometimes went out of her way to hide her skin with makeup to look “normal.”

Those men were both a mystery that she admittedly wanted to get to know better… But she was a mystery to them too. They don't even know her actual name; they'd just given her a name when she failed to volunteer her own. Although it was a strange name, she didn't entirely hate it. Pruny… She’d been called worse before, or at least names that felt worse considering the way they said those “nicknames.” This one honestly felt nice, no matter how strange it–or the people using it–were.

One day, though… she hoped that she'd be able to tell them the name Violet.

…That is, if there will be more days for her to keep trying. For now, though, the couch was the comfiest night she'd had in months. She didn’t even notice when the blanket had been placed over her.

(Chapter 8) ->

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FANART! <3

Huge thanks to @fyreonfnaf for this adorable art of Pruny and her first words- er, word!! It's so freakin cute!

And thanks to everyone as always for the continued support!

#Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed <3 #and is that one side character suspiciously similar to a certain character by @an-artist-place-for-extra-art? maaaybe ;)#dayshift at freddy's #dsaf #dayshift at freddys #davesport #dsaf fanfic #dave miller #jack kennedy #dsaf dave #dsaf jack #jack dsaf #dave dsaf

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light-sabe-babe · 6 months

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wait wait wait

this is the first episode stede's letter in a bottle was mentioned at all since we saw him write and throw it in ep 1. he tells ed how he wrote multiple letters and threw them all in the sea w the hope they made it to ed.

now ed is going off on a little ass boat to become a fisherman after catching a single fish (which took him who knows how long)

I swear I need to see ed on the boat catching all the bottles stede threw and reading all of stede's letters realizing how much he misses stede

yes yes i know that they both need to grow a little (stede especially) bc they didn't take things slow. now I love that they finally fucked but we all know that they were full of adrenaline from getting tortured and neither of them were actually ready for it

they both wanted it and it was consensual, but they weren't ready. they didn't take it slow like ed said he wanted to (Ed points this out!)

stede needs to realize he doesn't need to prove himself anymore to gain respect and I understand ed's response by running off to join a fishing crew.

but I am and always will be a hopeless romantic when it comes to these two and damnit I want to see ed catch stede's letters and run back to him to help stede realize he doesn't need to prove himself anymore.

like Izzy says they balance each other out. stede helped ed realize he didn't want to be Blackbeard anymore. he wants a slow life away from pirating. now ed can help stede in a similar way.

im not saying he has to simply bc stede helped him. absolutely not. but he can

I think that if Ed collects stede's letters and brings them back to him then he can show stede the man he fell in love w was the one who wrote those sweet, loving words. not the man who killed Ned Lowe

#ofmd spoilers #i just want ed to find the letters #and is it too much to ask for him crying a bit as he reads them?#just for added angst #gentlebeard #ed teach #stede bonnet #ofmd s2 #ofmd stede #ofmd edward teach #izzy hands #ofmd izzy #our flag means death #ofmd #i am once again a child of divorce

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little-fandom-dump · 6 months

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going to try so hard to cohesively express all of my feelings about Thee israel basilica hands, so bear with me as i write a fuckin novella about this wet cat lad

(obvi spoilers for s2, e 1-7)

i am first and foremost. just incredibly impressed with his growth this season. last year, we had "he's done something to my boss's brain" and "this, whatever you've become...is a fate worse than death". last season, he had nothing but malice and spite for stede (for helping ed discover he can be soft and gentle) and ed (for letting himself change around stede) both. we know canonically now that it was all fueled by love- albeit a possessive and jealous love that hinged on his ideal perception of who ed was as blackbeard.

for years, he subjected himself to a cruel and unfulfilling affection. he allowed himself to be abused just to feel needed, to receive table scraps of attention and praise.

by all rights, he should fucking hate stede this season. after all, didn't he ruin blackbeard's pirating prowess, tarnish the version of the man he has fallen in love with? the crying in a soft velvet robe, the blanket fort and amateur poetry- these are coping mechanisms ed would never have indulged in before meeting stede.

but izzy doesn't hate stede, not really. like he says in episode 7, he understands that stede makes ed a better person- someone more loving to himself and those around him. how could he truly hate someone who does what he could not, who helps the man he loves grow into the best version of himself?

no, who izzy really hates is himself. in izzy's eyes, he's the one who pushed ed into becoming the kraken again after the breakup- he thinks he's responsible for all of the abuse and torture ed puts the crew through in the resulting weeks. the gun to jim's head, the apathy at ivan's death, the extreme psychological and physical abuse that ed inflicts onto the crew- izzy puts a lot of that blame on himself. we see this in his interaction with lucius about moving on- he dangled his leg above the shark, wasn't it really his fault when his leg was bitten off? he drinks himself half to death, begs for the crew to just kill him already, drives all of his pain inwards and inwards and inwards.

the thing about that, though? when a person engages in such self-destruction, they're bound to hurt those closest to them (ask me how i know). and he does. izzy's pain and guilt and self-hatred bleed into the lives of the crew, and it's only after he puts ed's gun to his temple and misses that he realizes it. so, what does he do? ever the unkillable bastard, izzy climbs his ragged way out onto the deck and turns the same gun back on ed. he may be a fucked-up self-loathing twat, but he can't allow (what he views as) his mistakes to hurt the crew-- or ed--anymore.

it is a testament to both the brilliant writing (and con's acting), however, that he doesn't suddenly heal after that. it wouldn't be a realistic expectation to have of him- after all, he's gone through incredible physical, emotional, and mental trauma for years now. izzy, he's not a functioning or emotionally healthy person. instead of suddenly being better and well-adjusted, he's angry and bitter and still so self-destructive. but he still tries to thank stede for the rescue. still tries to convince stede that ed didn't hate their breakup and do horrendous things to the crew and himself, still tries to keep him from knowing they (seemingly) killed him.

and when ed wakes up and stede finds himself the captain of their motley crew again, izzy is still hurting but izzy still tries. among so much hurt and devastation, he tries! and then the crew makes him a new leg, a literal embodiment of the trust and love they have for him- and he realizes that he deserves better! he deserves better for himself than to drink alone and spit venomous insults at his reflection. sure, he still drinks before noon and insults the crew-- but he also teaches stede new pirating skills, helps lucius out of his own traumatic funk, navigates the new ship dynamic as best he can. the insults are still there but there's no longer poisonous intent behind them. (the poison replaced with positivity)

the amount of grace and emotional maturity izzy is displaying in later episodes is incredible, considering what storms he's just weathered. his effort is admirable, especially towards ed and stede. he has every right to hate the two of them, to disavow them and leave the Revenge, but he doesn't. Instead, he takes time to reclaim parts of himself that were long hidden or never developed at all. chrissake, he lets himself be tender! he lets wee john help him with his makeup, sings a lilting love song to the crew, openly admits to stede that he loves ed, supports stede on the republic of pirates, allows himself to be more vulnerable than he's ever been before.

izzy sees now how good ed and stede are for each other, and he congratulates them on their, *ahem*, docking even while harboring his own jealousy and hurt. even if it's a bit of a joke, the sincerity is still there- he's willing to grin and tell stede he balances ed out, the two of them are good for each other. it's not even remotely hinted at, but i'm willing to bet izzy knew what the two of them were doing in the cabin while he was singing his soft and sweet requiem for the love he harbors for ed. and yet he still chooses to be kind and supportive to them both. to himself.

i know this post was a million paces long, but i'm just having so many feelings about izzy hands. and i'm so, so proud of him for admitting to himself that he deserves better, he deserves vulnerability, comfort, support, and the fullness of his identity as a queer person. it's a major change this season (one i honestly did not expect!), but one i love love love. great storytelling and great acting. i'm so looking forward to the future of izzy's character development.

TLDR: izzy's commitment to doing better for himself and others makes me emotional. i'm incredibly proud of him for trying to do/be better each passing moment.

#okay i promise i'm done #for now #izzy hands #israel hands #israel basilica hands #ofmd izzy #ofmd s2 spoilers #ofmd s2 #ofmd season 2 #ofmd spoilers #ofmd 2 #our flag means death s2 spoilers #our flag means death spoilers #our flag means death #ofmd #our flag means gay sex #con oneill the man that you are

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subaquatic0mess · 2 hours

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Alenoah Hypnosis AU, where Alejandro offers to hypnotize Noah, Noah says yes but makes sure that Owen + Izzy + Tyler is around to make sure that Alejandro doesn't make him do anything too embarrassing...

But Alejandro only adds a hypnotic trigger... Whenever Alejandro offers Noah a hug, Noah feels a strong urge to cuddle Alejandro... It's Alejandro own way of playfully messing with Noah... Noah hates it (but secretly enjoys the cuddles)... Owen + Izzy + Tyler doesn't stop Alejandro from adding the trigger, cause they think the hugging might help the anti-social grumpy Noah...

NOAH (while hugging Alejandro): "I'll get you for this, you eel..." 🍥

I've induced myself into to much content about this idea already so I'll give you a quick response so that I don't become hella biased or just repeat something someone else might have already said. (Did I say quick? Fuck that, future me had other ideas.)

Something I would like to see is Noah gradually understanding how to suppress the urges of the hypnosis with Owen's help.

By that I don't mean he just randomly stopped being able to be hypnotised or something.

I mean that Noah would realize just hiw much control Alejandro had over him and he realized he couldn't do anything about it.

This then brings Noah to consistently try to explain to Owen how wrong this is and that he needs him to help him to not give in. Yet it wasn't that easy he knew that if that eel even doubted Noah was retaliating he'd most definitely put a stop to it.

So this ends up with Owen confused as he keeps recieveing mixed signals from Noah who seems to switch up almost completely when Alejandro joins the same room. (Noah isn't taking chances.)

So this ends up with Noah practically beggin Owen to pay attention to the next time he gets hypnotised.

This results in Owen seeing his best buddy go from his usual self to someone who wasn't there. The way Noah disassociated scared Owen a bit.

Now Owen would try to understand how he views Alejandro. Alejandro was supposed to be a good guy no? Why does this feel so wrong then?

The moment Noah would regain focus he'd probably be quite alarmed as his chubby buddy is quite literally having a crisis. See what I mean now Owen?

And this would result in the two slowly scheming a way of making sure Noah would be able to control the trigger of his hypnosis.

Owen making sure Noah avoided Alejandro.

Noah trying to concentrate on Owen rather than Alejandro.

Owen trying to distract Alejandro when he saw he was hypnotising Noah breaking his focus midway through. That last one was quite helpful. Hope is not something the cynic feels too often but this is important.

Hope.

Knowing that he can break even if only momentarily from Alejandro's grasp.

////////////////////////////////////////////////

Something I invision would maybe be Noah being able to free himself from his grasp but not emidiatly making it clear for anyone else. Besides Owen.

Like now they have the power over that eel. Ofcoirse this would work for only a little since I feel like after all of what happened Noah would be pissed.

And he isn't one to just express himself. He's too lazy for that.

And since he bottled up his anger I have a feeling there would be a moment where he would just burst?

It's not even about the hugs. Fuck that Noah wasn't even that pissed about that.

He was pissed Alejandro used that to make Noah shut up when he disagreed with him.

He felt as if he took his voice. It made him feel small.

He couldn't take it anymore. So blah blah angst and more heavy angst that I have no clue how to write properly. Srr!!

And then they would probably become quite begrudging of eachother as now things are quite tense.

From Alejandro's pov he didn't see no wrong in what he was doing. Maybe he might've have gone a bit overboard but- Noah allowed him. Did he just make Alejandro a fool of himself in international television?

For everyone to see? For his brother to see? For his parents?

Oh no. He can't bear that.

Did he do the same to Noah?

They're both torn at the moment. This is all my brain ranting srr if it makes no sense.

Credits to this anon, @total-drama-brainrot and they're anons awell for the inspo!

Idk what else to say!!!

#noah td #td noah #total drama #alenoah #td alejandro #alejandro/noah #owen td #hypnosis au #alenoah hug trigger au

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canonizzyhours · 5 months

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idk if this is appropriate since it isn't about canon izzy directly but i need somewhere anonymous to complain about 'the canyon.' i'm not in a lot of fandoms so i don't know if this is normal fandom behavior or what. I hope it isn't. this has been a uniquely upsetting experience for me. I have, like, next level autism for this show so of course i had to find Every single scrap of information about it and in the course of my obsessive 'research' i encountered these guys a lot, almost from the very beginning.

at first i thought it was funny and cute, like when people are hot for hannibal lector or some fucked up little guy. they wrote the worst ever fanfiction. that was fine, I could forgive that. but then they started saying things like 'if you watch it from izzy's perspective you'll see that he's the real hero and ed is the villain.' like girl no I've watched it 96 times and never once found this authoritarian incel karen good or relatable. the one that really got me was 'in any other show he'd be the protagonist.' yeah bro that's why i like this one? go watch one of those?

by like the fourth month they already had a bizarre victim complex. I just avoided talking about him completely because they would get really rude and start in with the guilt trips if you mentioned izzy even in a neutral way, let alone if you said anything about homophobia or psychological abuse. they called people abusive and homophobic and racist (?) if they said anything negative about fictional white man izzy hands. they threatened to sue someone. remember when there was an essay about him in a zine that was actually pretty positive? and most of the comments online were about how the actors and writers would definitely read this and be heartbroken. probably cry. maybe not even want to make the show anymore. it was a fan zine.

i didn't even like izzy except as an antagonist, but somehow they almost convinced me that i was watching it wrong. i started to seriously think, like, what if the writers were on his side all along? what if they really were making the main (queer, indigenous) love interest abusive and my very favorite thing was not as good as i thought it was? why not, when i've always had to twist a story to pretend it's for me? maybe i'd done it without realizing this time. i would have been so disappointed. and the way season two was done, there was like a week where i think i really believed it. it made me feel like i couldn't trust my own judgement. probably I was depending too much on this one tv show for serotonin because I cried a lot during that time, but you know how it is. the point is, it should have been a fun time for me but it was not.

i was so happy when he died, though. that cheered me right up and i'm fine now. i know I'm being dramatic and none of my complaints are very important in the grand scheme of things (i didn't even get into the racism) but they almost fucked up my Autism Favorite Thing for me and i want it to be documented somewhere that i will never forgive them for that <3 <3 <3

#31.

related posts: #29

(so i'd have posted this anyway bc of recent posts talking about questioning their views of izzy bc of the prevalence of canyon takes insisting he's a protagonist etc. but even without that, this blog was literally created because of a need for a space to talk about canon izzy and a need for acknowledgement that fanon izzy has become very widespread, mostly due to the canyon actions you mention. so it's difficult to separate the two when the blog was partially born from people thinking they were the only one to feel this way!)

#canonizzyhours #ofmd #izzy hands #fandom critical

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nonpracticinghumanbeing · 2 years

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A Fellow Masochist's Perspective on Izzy

(I wasn’t going to write about Izzy anymore. But then of course I did, because I’m me. We just gotta do what we gotta do. FUCK.)

[This is like half meta about my views on Izzy as a masochist and half my attempt to explain why him being shown the way he is is so important to me on a personal level. I just can’t separate these two issues even though I know I’m getting way too emotional over this. I guess there’s not a lot of people who would be a target audience for this, but I need to get it out of my system.]

Soooooo... So. So so so so. I made this comment on Facebook about how Izzy being a sad little masochistic boy gave me feelings no other fandom has been able to give me in about a decade. Which was a joke, of course, we all laugh at Izzy’s pain kink. Ha ha. But then I realized it’s also very much not a joke. Because I can indeed remember the last time I felt like this and it was when I first watched Lawrence of Arabia. And that movie turns SIXTY this year.

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Let’s be clear. Izzy IS a masochist, plain and simple. I’ve already written about how I think he’s more into power play than pain itself, but then I do realize how often these seem too similar to be simply labeled as one or the other. These things are way too complex to be simply analyzed and quantified as often pain becomes a tool of power. And I don’t necessarily mean “power” as in a relationship between two people, it may also mean (and often does) power over one’s own body, and in a larger perspective, one’s life.

In episode 3 there’s this scene with Izzy back on the ship, giving Blackbeard a report on Stede. He comes into Edward’s cabin and tells him how Stede isn’t interested in meeting. And while doing that, he burns his hand on a candle. Edward has his back to him, so he’s probably unaware that Izzy is even doing it. So he’s not doing it for Ed (I’ve written about the power exchange dynamics between them here), he’s doing it for himself. Is he punishing himself for lying to Edward (’cause he didn’t tell Stede he was working for Blackbeard because he didn't want them to meet)? Is it a way of proving to himself that he’s strong - unlike Stede - and therefore worthy of Edward’s attention? Does he even know why he’s doing it? I really don’t think he does, I think it might be something that he just does instinctivenly and without any deeper thought (especially seeing that he does the same thing in episode 7 while talking to Spanish Jackie and accounting for the fact that he’s not the type of person to analyze his feelings in general). And I absolutely adore it to bits.

It’s shown from a few different angles, so we’re being made aware that it’s important. But at the same time he’s talking to Ed about Stede, like him doing it wasn’t all THAT important. Like it’s just a thing that he happens to do while carrying on with his responsibilities as Blackbeard’s second-in-command. And yet the camera shows him burning his hand with nothing else happening visually. It goes on for about ten seconds, which is A LOT when it comes to movie editing. They’re coding it as something that is BOTH a crucial part of his identity AND just one of his many traits. (And it’s not just here that they’ve done this, the scene when Ed cuts off his toe with Avalanche playing in the background with its lyrics about conquering pain is just pure damn genius.) And honestly, when did that ever happen before?

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Now, I know there’s been a considerable and overall very positive move to normalize BDSM lifestyle and practices. (And I’m certainly NOT talking about the horrible abusive garbage like 50 Shades of Grey or 365 Days.) But it always seems to go one of two ways, neither of which makes me feel the way OFMD makes me feel.

So, on one hand we have the media meant to educate vanilla peope about the issue, while at the same time trying to build their capital on being somewhat naughty, with Netflix’s Bonding being the prime example. I’ll be the first person to say that the show was important in disspelling a number of popular misconceptions and trying to broker some deeper understanding between kinksters and the rest of the populace. Hell, I LOVED the talk about trust and boundaries Tiff is given by her boss in the second season. But its characters - those who are truly into the lifestyle and not just in it for the money - don’t really come off as fully fleshed characters. They are mostly just Tiff’s clients and are often characterised solely by their kinks. And that makes it impossible to relate to them.

Then we get the shows with well rounded characters who just happen to be more or less tangentially connected to BDSM, for whatever reason. Irene Adler being a dominatrix on BBC's Sherlock. Kat doing the video dominatrix stuff in the first season of Euphoria. Joanna and Tyrell doing bondage on Mr. Robot. That whole fake-kidnapping-actual-s&m-roleplay thing on Cucumber. It happens more and more which is great. But it never really felt all that important to who any of these characters really are. It’s usually about money or just a simple way of quickly allievating boredom in the bedroom (which are both totally valid, to each their own, it just doesn’t feel like it’s something that is crucial to the core identity of any of these characters). Or worst of all, it’s just an embarrasing eccentricity intended as a pun. So of course I can’t really relate to any of it, even if I do appreciate it being shown in mainstream media at all.

If hard pressed for an answer about any representation I found compelling, I’d have to say that Transparent hit the closest to home with Sarah’s experiments with BDSM, but even that felt more like a three-episode-long subplot rather than an attempt to really make it an integral part of her character. And then I’m given Izzy. Izzy for whom his masochistic tendencies seem so deeply ingrained that they are crucial to who he is. And yet he isn’t at all reduced to being just the sad little masochistic boy, because there’s also so much more to him. No wonder I’m so drawn to him, because the only other piece of mainstream media that made me feel so seen is sixty years old.

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I’m not at all saying that what Izzy is doing is in any way healthy. His relationship with Edward - the only meaningful relationship in his life - is very toxic and right out mutually abusive. He’s so fixated on the balance of power which makes him feel safe that he’s willing to suffer a great deal to keep that balance - and willing to hurt Edward as well, even though he’s the closest thing to a friend Izzy has. A point has been made (here) about how he feels that he only deserves physical closeness when it’s justified by his own defeat. He clearly craves submission and yet he has to be forced into it - and I don't mean "forced" in a fun, playful, BDSM-like way, I mean he literally needs things to be done to him without his consent. He doesn’t just need pain (which is fine), he needs abuse (which most definitely isn’t). Because Edward making this decision for him means he doesn't have to acknowledge this need. Because acknowledging that he wants to submit to another man would shatter his self-image and make him feel weak, which he can't afford. None of this is healthy.

But. Let's imagine for a moment that he was to learn to let his guard down and let go of the toxic masculinity he's so dedicated to - which would also very much help him stop seeing his need for submission as shameful (because it's toxic masculinity, with its inherent homophobia, that tells him that no real man would be willing to submit to another). I’m not saying that it’s going to happen, I’m not even sure if I want it to happen. But let’s just imagine it. That wouldn't stop him being a masochist. These needs don't just go away, but you can learn to fulfill them in a safe and healthy (both physically and mentally) way. To find a healthy outlet for them. The feeling OFMD gives me is that everybody around Izzy would be 100% fine with him being like that. And THAT feeling is so very difficult to come by.

Why exactly does the Kraken cut off Izzy’s toe? Sure, it’s a punishment for threatening him and being disrespectful in general, Edward is full of rage and acting out. But I don’t believe he would necessarily do that if Izzy wasn’t the way he is. Blackbeard recognizes that in order to trust him again, Izzy NEEDS that punishment. It is fucked up for sure, because their whole relationship is fucked up, but there IS the act of recognition that this man needs pain (and humiliation of being made to eat the toe) to feel safe in the world. Edward ACKNOWLEDGES that Izzy needs this even though Izzy himself isn’t capable of acknowledging it. What Ed is doing here is that in his own twisted fucked up way he is actually showing respect for who Izzy is. (Then there is the confrontation between Jim and Spanish Jackie’s husband. Jim spits him in the face and he quite matter-of-factly tells them that he’s into that. And everyone around just accepts that, and I didn’t get any feeling that they judged him for that in any way.)

What OFMD was able to do that no other TV show has done for me before is to create a safe space for pretty much everyone (I do get the criticism of it glossing over the implications of Stede being a slave owner, but that’s quite a different conversation). We get multiple queer couples on the show, we get a non-binary representation, we get a huge and diverse POC representation, we get a wonderful discussion of toxic masculinity and a brilliant deconstruction of the stereotypical top/bottom dynamics in gay couples (in the fencing lesson scene, with Edward being the more experienced one and still being the one who gets penetrated by the virgin Stede). And for the first time in oh-so-many years (or maybe ever?) we get a world where I feel being an out masochist would be fully accepted by everyone and yet it wouldn't get you reduced to just this one aspect of your identity in their eyes.

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As someone whose policy has always been total openness, over the years I’ve had people approach me and ask what the appeal was. Why did I enjoy getting hurt. And I really DO get the curiosity, because it’s very counter-intuitive for most people. It’s just that it’s so hard to explain it to someone who isn’t like that. Either you feel this way or you don’t, and if you don’t, understanding may be quite difficult.

So I’ve always used one of two things to try to explain how I feel about it: Bob Flanagan’s poem Why? or the opening scene from Lawrence of Arabia (the trick, William Potter, is NOT MINDING that it hurts), because these were the only pieces of media I could truly relate to. But then, one of these is just a short poem by a man who’s best known for being that guy from the music video for Happiness in Slavery by Nine Inch Nails, so it’s hardly mainstream media. And the other is a sixty-year-old movie - based on a ninetysomething-year-old book - which is deeply problematic in more than one way (from glossing over just how dishonest Lawrence was with the Arabs concerning their chances for actual independence to Alec Guinness playing an Arab prince which is just totally off-putting).

And then I’m given Izzy. Yes, he is a horrible and toxic man who’s both abusive towards everyone around him and dealing with his own needs in an extremely unealthy way that borders on being self-destructive. BUT. He’s being acknowledged for what he is, both by the characters within the show and the creators who make sure the viewers won’t miss it. And yet he’s not just that, he’s his own person, with his own motivations and feelings that go way beyond his proclivities. AND he exists in a world where him being like that would most probably be completely fine with people around him. No wonder I’m losing my mind over it. Because I was given a piece of modern mainstream media that makes me feel more seen and more validated than I even thought possible. And it’s a feeling I will treasure FOREVER.

#our flag means death #our flag means gay #ofmd #ofmd meta #izzy hands #is this really meta?#or is it just me having a meltdown?#i don't really care i just need this out there #i'm honestly losing my mind over it

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bubblepopsims · 5 months

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Ruby sighed finding herself back on the roof of the studio with Josiah just staring at her. Ruby had moved onto the floor surrounded by the memories of izzi. Realizing that pictures, plushies and journals didn’t feel that heavy anymore.. didn’t feel any form of a pull towards them. R:“I was jealous… Tobias has been the first person to makes me feel that way.. the fact that I only now realize this.. is fucked up… I was never jealous when it came to izzi no matter who they talked too. Who made them blush… but with Tobias it was instant.I wanted to break Bailey's fingers. Who by the way is very nice actually.. did we just decide without actually speaking that we have feelings…”

R: "Josiah." Josiah jerked at his name being called realizing he had been in deep thought about what he was just being told. Everything screamed "YOU GUYS ARE IN LOVE" but he couldn't figure out why his sister was so resistant to it. J: "Ruby."

J: "you are genuinely giving me a headache. you cant honestly be this stupid.." R: "Excuse me" josiah narrowed his eyes at Ruby and began speaking with movement in his body. J: "you really don't see it... i don't understand you. you have this perfect and i mean PERFECT guy right in front of you yet you are still so hooked on Izzi.. i get it Izzi.. is Izzi... But that shit was 6 consistent years ago. you need to move on.. you are literally saying it yourself.. HE IS DIFFERENT! YOU are different with him. This whole time you were speaking on both Izzi and Tobias... there was huge and i mean HUGE difference... yes you loved... not love Izzi... you did very much and you will always but there is a difference of loving someone and being in love... and sister dearest.. i think you are in love but not with who you think you are." Ruby didn't say anything only to look down and fidget with their hands. "then why do i feels this way if you are oh so wise right now.." the response might have sound sarcastic and a bit belittling but genuinely she wanted to know. J: "i think you are clinging onto it because Izzi was your first real love.. we cant deny that.. they were but it was puppy love.. you guys needed each other in that time to grow, to become who you are now.. to find the person who you are supposed to be with. I am sorry but you and Izzi were never going to be long term." R: "How would you know.." Josiah gave her a sad smile as his voice softened for a moment. "because i see the way you look at Tobias... sure He makes you crazy and weirdly that is what liking... no LOVING someone does.. it drives you nuts yet you still want to be around them no matter how much they annoy you... you complain and complain about him being this free little hippie boy.. but yet you never really walk away from it.. With Izzi... you left.. -ruby was about to testify but Josiah cut her off- you. left. Ruby. if you really loved them the way that you have tricked yourself into believing than you wouldn't have left... but you did.. because they are not the one."

Ruby just stared at her brother, he was never one to be serious, to drop his tone in such a stern and aggravated way. Despite him being Ruby's kid brother.. he too had his scary moments. Ruby sighed heavily and pealed herself up on the sofa behind her

R: "So you are saying Tobias is the one?"

J: "That I don't know.. That for you to find out"

R: "Such bullshit.."

J: "Nope, it is not. not in this moment you need tough love and who better to give you that than myself. you are being stupid here... you are quite literally having Tobias wrapped around your finger and yet you don't want him? bullshit. Did you know i had to stop him from bargaining into the gym when you told me to tell him you didn't want to see him. HE LOVES YOU! YOU KNOW IT! I KNOW IT! HE DEFINITELY KNOWS IT! And you are being stupid. Ruby sighed and looked down feeling quite literally scolded at this point and groaned, hearing movement only to see an envelope being waved in her face. she looked at it and then at her brother who gave her a small smile. R: "What is it?" J: "Your invitation... since when I first brought it up you slammed a door in my face I feel like now is the right time to hand it over..." Ruby hesitated on taking it and let out another deep breath, slowly flipping it open and giving Josiah one last glance hoping he would stop her. but no. So she opened it.. seeing the black and gold card itself. slowly she opened it, immediately being faced with what she had feared since the day Josiah told her about the wedding.

Ruby's breath hitched lightly as they stared at the picture... Izzi looked different.. happy actually, happily standing next to the unknown woman Josiah addressed as juju. She was beautiful, so vibrant you could feel the warmth radiating off of the picture. leaving a sad but yet happy emotion on her chest. "i have to admit... Izzi has good taste..."

R: "This is Juju?" Ruby managed to say while still just staring at the picture.

Josiah hummed a yes "Yeah that is Juju.. or jujubug. she is well known Party planner in San my and quite frankly.. sorry sister but i am obsessed with her.. she is actually what you see."

R: " stunning...- Ruby said without thinking and looked up at Josiah who smirked.

J: "I know right.. they both look fabulous as usual." he sat there giving his sister time to process for a bit, just stared at her lightly clutching the card in her hand.

J:"how do you feel seeing that..?"

ruby let out a breath and slowly began to nod her head "Not as bad as I thought I was going to feel... i don't know.. i am weirdly happy that they found happiness... it's just i think i was clinging on to a version of them that i knew well... that only i had and well this Izzi.. i don't know much of. it's sad... they weren't just my lover... but also my best friend.. family.."

J: "It's not too late to mend that..." Josiah gestured with his head to look in the envelope. She did just that and found a small note hidden at the bottom, unfolding it slowly only for their eye to widen.

it was a note from Izzi addressed to Ruby..

"Hi Ruby, I just want you to know that I am sorry.. I am sorry about how we ended. It wasn't just a relationship that ended but our friendship too and I miss it. I miss you. I know I might be asking a lot of you to come to my wedding.. my wedding... crazy.. but i really want you there... I want you to meet Juju.. weirdly enough she reminds me a lot of you at times.. a bit calmer but also more chaotic at times.. she knows about you, and wants to meet you as well.. you might not have forgiven me, but i have forgiven you because i have come to realize that you, Josiah, my aunt, and now Juju are the only real family I got.. I won't hold it against you if you don't come... but you are more than welcome to.. Sincerely, Izzi."

Pervious - next

#ts4 simblr #ts4 #ts4 screenshots #ts4 story #ts4 gameplay #the tribe #sims 4 #my sims #oc: ruby #oc:josiah

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marsupials-of-mars · 7 months

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So Izzy seems to at least know what he's doing, and has clearly grown, has moved on. But i think he might also know that its not sustainable. I'm very very excited to see Izzy and Ed have their first conversation. Especially now that Ed is learning how to apologize first, and realizing how his actions effect others. I'm going to sob so hard.

I kind of hope they go with Ed begging Izzy to let him apologize and Izzy won't give him the satisfaction, and just wants to move on from it. and they mend from there. It would be an awesome way to demonstrate that making amends is not one size fits all, and what makes you feel better might not be what the person you hurt wants or needs, and its up to them.

ALSO!! Izzy being silly and friendly! It's exactly what i hoped, he's still a dick but he's a dick on his own terms and it makes him so much cooler and he KNOWS he's fucking cool. Its not just that he feels responsible for the crew, its because he now knows that the crew respects him. And not just because he earned it by saving them, but because they do care about him.

They cared about him while he was still bossing them around, and it's so important that i do not think he KNEW. He assumed they thought oh what a mean pirate he needs to lighten up, and he assumed that they didn't acknowledge his experience and talent. His reality was Ed, who seemed to be the only one who took him seriously anymore. So now that he knows that the crew can be his crew...WAAAHH I love this man so much.

Also I'm so proud of Stede and Ed I was very afraid they were going to get super codependent and that Ed's gravy bowl experience would kind of cause him to lean on Stede and Stede would not listen to anyone about their trauma (which obviously his lack of empathy causes problems but as long as he's told what he's doing he's accommodating, which yes, now i understand why people consider him autistic as i type that...) but it seems like everything is moving along in about the best way it can.

I'm so worried about what this season's third act conflict will be...hopefully the initial conflict might be enough to change the format and the story is just healing and feeling safe, which would be par for the course. STILL!

#our flag means death #ofmd #ofmd season 2 #ofmdS2 #I love this show. they could take it so many directions and it would be great #and every one they choose I'm not disappointed. obviously its fun to explore the other possibilities but they choose very solid ones #for having to make one choice. screenwriting is hard in that way. any story is i suppose

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