#its rotten work
“izzy wants to control blackbeard” is such a shallow reading of the text when like. half the time when we see them together izzy is literally trying to gently coax ed into doing his job
izzy DOESN’T want to control ed. he’s BEEN the one making pretty much all the decisions, seemingly for some time, perhaps even years, as ed has declined and become more erratic
he doesn’t want to control ed, but like. he doesn’t want stede to control Ed either - he thinks that Stede will get Ed and everyone else killed
what Izzy wants is basically for Ed to not be mentally ill and to be in charge again, he wants Ed to have his own internal motivation that’s also roughly connected to common sense and self-preservation - he misses the Ed to whom those things were intrinsic (or at least, thats how Izzy remembers it)
i don’t think izzy is a good person, and he’s absolutely jealous, possessive, cold, and nasty, but like. he isn’t actually that cunning or intelligent. he’s not creative like Ed is.
like, do all the people who despise Izzy not see how and why Ed keeps Izzy so close? why he trusts him so entirely even when Izzy is being a massive bitch?
when he pats Izzy on the lower back and says “need you here”, that’s not just some shallow, meaningless line, and it’s not a manipulation either
when izzy snaps and resigns, Ed’s SURPRISED
like. from Ed’s perspective, Izzy is this unshakably loyal pillar in his life. Izzy comes to him and doesn’t try to order him about, but suggests stuff kind of desperately until Ed says “fine” and they do something
for years, Izzy has acted as Edward’s executive function, an external motivator - he still gets Ed to choose and make decisions wherever possible, but he needles and pushes at Ed to make the decisions in the first place, because otherwise Ed would just obsess over some little thing, or sink into one of his depressions
like. Izzy brings him his tea. Izzy. Look at Izzy. look what a dick he is. is that a man you imagine making tea for you and gently handing you the cup? setting the cup by your bedside and saying, “Edward, come on, it’s been three days. just walk out on the deck and you’ll feel better.”
izzy couldn’t survive without Ed, I don’t think. he’s unlikeable, he’s a bitch, I think he makes a great boatswain or quartermaster, and he cares about a ship being in good repair, he actually cares if they lose crew (unlike Ed), he’s efficient
but Ed wouldn’t have survived as long as he has without Izzy. not because Ed isn’t a genius, not because Ed isn’t smart or intelligent, but because Ed is fundamentally disabled by the immensity of his mental illness
like, Ed and Izzy have this codependent fuck-up going on where Ed is a creative genius who’s constantly depressed and wants to die, whether it’s because he’s bipolar, ADHD, just prone to depressions, whatever
Izzy has rage issues, but imo like. he’s so obsessive, he’s so incapable of remaining calm, and I think he’s probably got some kind of anxiety issues on top of his evident self-loathing and masochism
and so they rely on each other. Izzy coaxes Ed out of bed while also bullshitting to everyone how well Blackbeard is doing, safeguarding his reputation - and Ed keeps Izzy on because Izzy is the only man he can trust to be a complete mess in front of and not risk his life…
until Stede. until Stede’s crew. until Stede says, actually, its okay to not be okay sometimes. thats alright, isn’t it? we all have bad days. I’ve had millions of bad days. but together, I think we can have some nice ones. shall we?
and they do.
and Ed is suddenly loved and supported by a huge group of people who see that he’s messy and sad and dramatic and don’t make a big deal of it but also don’t make him hide it, they SUPPORT him very casually and easily, and also, there’s ofc Stede
whereas Izzy spirals. because everyone’s treating him like he’s the way he is for no reason, but also like, acting as if he does what he does to hurt Ed, when from his POV like… he’s been keeping Ed alive, and now Ed is throwing him away for these nice shiny people who are encouraging him to be weak and who will get him killed
this is why Izzy being in the wrong genre is such a thing, bc like. he cannot see this as anything but dangerous to all of them, but especially Ed
