#ofmd regression

[tasteofdeathao3]

things tiny Izzy will not eat:

- carrots

- anything green (except for sugary green things)

- anything soggy

- anything too plain

- anything slimy

- anything spicy

- crusts

- root vegetables (excluding potatoes)

- capsicum

- meat that isn't cut up super tiny

things tiny Izzy will eat:

- arms

- hands

- fingers

- sleeves

- Mama

- Baba

- badges and buttons

- literally lit candles

- paper

- socks

- tables and chairs

- ankles

[downupthebayleaf]

Chapter 9 of All in Time out!

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

[tasteofdeathao3]

one hundred percent Izzy uses aggression as a defence mechanism to prevent anyone from finding out about the soft vulnerable parts of him and using that to hurt him, and of course no one on the Revenge (besides Ed and whoever from the Hornigold days happens to turn up) knows this or would even really understand it.

one of the first time Izzy slips not in the privacy of his or the Captain's cabin he's cranky. really cranky.

he tries to bite Frenchie when he offers to play with him, which ends up with Frenchie in tears and Wee John glaring Izzy down with dark angry eyes - even if Izzy is a baby, he's not happy about his Frenchie all upset.

he growls and kicks and whines and screams when anything happens, be it a loud noise from the galley or the Swede trying to sing beside him, or someone trying to loosen his vest so he isn't wheezing while fiddling with his little handmade puzzle pieces.

after he spits (more of a very wet raspberry) at Lucius as he tries to move Izzy over towards the floor where his lunch is set up, the crew decide enough's enough- it's time for a timeout.

Izzy screams and cries when Wee John lifts him gently from behind, kicking out and stretching his legs out into the corner so they can't sit him down easily.

It takes almost a full five minutes of wrangling him into the corner and then returning him when he tries to crawl away, wailing and absolutely soaking wet with tears and snot and spit.

but then Ed pokes his head into the galley, suspicious of all the noise coming from where all the tinies were supposed to be playing, and he spots Izzy.

"Uh oh." He says, carefully stepping over the toys and games scattered across the galley floor. "What've we gotten ourselves into?"

Izzy wails and sobs indistinctly, arms reaching out limply for Ed as he comes closer, and Ed reaches down to wipe off his face with the backs of his hands.

The crew explains - both big and little - what'd been going on, why Izzy was freaking out and why he was in the corner.

Ed nods along, thanks them when they're finished explaining, and says sorry on Izzy's behalf and goodbye for both of them. He sets Izzy on his hip and brushes his damp hair out of his eyes, and Izzy melts into his touch, tucking his face in Ed's shoulder silently and slumping down.

It's confusing to everyone as Ed carries Izzy away - a few hours of constant fussiness and spitting and crying and yelling all resolved with a hug (which had been tried already a few times and had ended in more than a few bites to the shoulder).

Of course, as longs they've known Izzy, they don't know him as well as Ed does. Where they see his anger and aggression at face value, Ed reads it as fear, as Izzy being utterly terrified of being so vulnerable and weak in front of people he's still convinced want to hurt him.

Had Ed known Izzy was regressed he would never have left him alone; if keeping close to Izzy and easing him into regression worked with Stede (now Mama whenever Izzy gets like this), then surely a few sessions could get Izzy feeling a bit more secure around the crew, which would surely be good for him.

[tasteofdeathao3]

Izzy and his collection of different seats and recliners stede keeps buying bcs he wants his tot to be comfy (and secure, just bcs Izzy fell off the kitchen chair /once/, now mama insists on all his seats having a harness or belt)

So of course Stede buys just everything for his babies, ranging from every onesie Ed so much as looks at and any toy he thinks Izzy would be able to chew on safely (which is a lot).

At first he starts buying little chairs for Izzy because he insists on either being on the floor or right on top of someone's lap, nothing in between, and Stede quite often likes his legs to not be numb or asleep.

He gets a simple bouncer to have on the floor in front of them. Izzy can strap into it and also entertain himself with the little additional hanging toys.

But then, of course, Izzy is so cute in his little chair that he can't resist buying more!

The issue with the bouncer is that it's so close to the ground - it's great for when baby wants to be as small as possible, but it's not so easy to keep an eye on him when he's so low down and you're running around the house.

Stede decides a taller bouncer is a good investment. Izzy loves it, being properly tall enough to watch Ed fiddle around in the kitchen and eat raw carrot and tomato and watch Stede work on his laptop beside him at the kitchen bench! And being able to have a nap while Ed and Stede are working beside him? Perfect.

But of course neither of these chairs are great high chairs - resting far too far back and not having any way to attach a tray in any stable enough way for Izzy to eat and slap his little hands in all the mess without it going all over the floor.

So of course Stede has to buy more!

And it's great! Izzy can be all comfy and keep eating his food, strapped in nice and safe so he doesn't try and climb out the second he decides he's done (about halfway through every meal).

But Izzy's fussy no matter what age he's at, and he decides when he's feeling more like a toddler that he's way too big for that baby chair! And then the next day decides he's too small to sit at the table altogether! So Stede must venture out to find a more grown up chair for dinner time and one a lot smaller.

Izzy's only little, and he always manages to tire himself out by midday. He's not too fond of naps before he realises he's sleepy, but the one thing that always gets him down is his rocker. It looks like some of his other high chairs, so he's always happy to get strapped in and rock back and forth beside Ed's feet as he works above him. Within five minutes, every time, Izzy is always conked out. Ed will tuck a little blanket over him and keep the little seat rocking until his foot gets too tired.

Ed and Stede (mostly Ed. Only Ed) like to take Izzy camping. Usually on their own property, they find a nice spot and set up tents and whatnot. Ed will start a fire and make dinner while Stede hauls Izzy around to play by the edge of ponds and puddles. Ed is mortified when Stede pulls out the portable crib, but Stede insists their baby needs it. "He can't sleep in a sleeping bag, Ed!"

Izzy, on the other hand, doesn't mind. He's got a cot (with a fly screen!), a cradle, and a changing pad all up off of the ground. Ed complains that it's not proper camping if he's got a proper bed, but Stede always wins arguments when it comes to Izzy being pampered.

In summer it's a lot more uncomfortable to go camping, with all the bugs and the sticky sweaty heat, so they pack Izzy up and go to the beach instead. Izzy will happily sit in the shallows, but will whine and cry when sand gets in his swim pants and won't calm down until Stede helps him wash off at the beach showers. Which is where his little beach chair comes in very handy.

Ed will dive for pāua and kina and Stede will set up their little picnic area on the sand, and Izzy will sit beside Stede in his special big boy chair. The beach can make Izzy feel extra small and also like a very big boy, depending if he's floating on someone's hip in the water or running around on the sand with Ed chasing him.

unfortunately that's all the photos tumblr will let me upload in one post! i have more if anyone wants to see them lol

[tasteofdeathao3]

getting on the Izzy snake bandwagon because I'm obsessed

In my mod AU Ed and Stede live out in the countryside (in my mind it's just off the east coast of Australia but that's just because that's the same area we lived when I was little) which of course means snakes. everywhere.

So of course when Izzy comes up to visit at some point he catches a glimpse of some kind of snake (presenting all sorts of issues for Ed and Stede).

warning: there will be pictures of snakes below the cutoff!

Thankfully, though they live on a lot of land intended for livestock, they only have the one or two that Ed insisted on purchasing as pets, so an infestation of mice, and the Eastern Brown Snake that follows (the second most venomous snake in the world), isn't very likely.

One day, unfortunately during one of Izzy's extended visits, Ed goes into the garage to get his car and he finds a Diamond Python all cuddled up around the wheels.

(This actually happened to me once!)

The car isn't as much of an issue - he can just take Stede's - but the garage connects to the house with a very flimsy door, and even if it's non-venomous and and docile, he really doesn't want it slithering inside.

He leaves the garage door open while he's at work, but the thing is still cuddled under his 4-wheel drive, so he and Stede have to call WIRES and distract IzY somewhere far away from any windows (because if he sees the WIRES truck he'll know there's a snake and throw a tantrum if he can't go down and pet it (which will not be happening under any circumstances)).

One day while walking in the undeveloped bush on their property (which is a lot, full of birds and plants and life) Izzy randomly perks up out of his little sulk and excitedly begins tugging on Ed's arm, pointing down to a little patch just off of the track.

There's a Red Bellied Black Snake (which I reckon would be one of Izzy's favourites) coiled up in the sun, staring right at them. Ed yelps and grabs Izzy's hand.

He tries to tug Izzy back down the path (because he knows those things, and those things bite) but Izzy wants to sit and watch it and dogs his heels in. Ed has to resort to hauling Izzy over his shoulder and booking back out of the bush.

(look how cool these guys are! they're venomous but not very aggressive, and give birth to live babies! we used to see them at school a lot)

Occasionally little harmless snakes will slither up into the trees beside their houses, and Izzy will sit right in front of the window, watching it intently.

He's so obsessed with it that he refuses to leave until it does - meaning Stede has to drag his play mat to whatever window he's situated beneath and get him his iPad and blankie so he doesn't have to take his eyes off of the snake, and Ed has to feed him his dinner and change him while he's just staring at the poor little snake trying to have a sleep beside him.

(non-venomous, a non painful bite, and calm around humans. they're a gorgeous snake)

The worst, and the only time Izzy didn't yell and cry until he could go and see the snake, was when there was a brown snake on the roof.

Ed had been outside feeding their chickens when he'd spotted it, splayed out on their roof.

He heads straight inside after locking the chickens up, putting towels over the cracks under the back doors and putting the grate over the fireplace in case in somehow manages to slip down the chimney (typically they don't go inside houses, but Ed isn't taking any chances).

Stede goes out to take a look when he gets home with Izzy, but Izzy dutifully sits in his little chair and watches warily as Ed and Stede call WIRES.

Stede scoops him up and takes him away while the snake handlers come and get it, but they watch from an upstairs window as they load it into the truck and drive off of the property.

(Brown snakes are the second most venomous snake in the world, aside from the Inland Taipan (also an Australian native). They typically live in populated areas, and while they prefer mice to eat (making farmland perfect) they will sometimes slither onto suburban properties and hang out. They are aggressive, and should be left alone.) Someone I grew up with had this happen to them when we lived in the city!

[tasteofdeathao3]

I've had this in my docs for a few months and it doesn't look like it's getting finished anytime soon so into the WIP collection it goes :,-)

Walkie Talkies

The bedroom is dark still, even without the curtains drawn, and Stede is beside him breathing shallowly in sleep.

He turns over to go back to sleep, but sleep doesn’t come, and instead he rubs the sleepy blur out of his eyes with his closed fist. Stede always sleeps deeply before morning, so he doesn’t hesitate in sitting himself up in bed and looking around the room.

It can’t be too late at night, since it’s light enough for him to see around the room, the huge pile of laundry he was supposed to do and the mess from where his work bag had tipped over. The window shows a few stars still in the sky, barely stuck out against the paling sky.

Ed sits up for a while, hands tangling in his hair and the soft red bedsheets. He can feel a gentle fog ebbing at the back of his neck and sitting on his chest, and lets it consume him from the inside out. His thumb finds its way into his mouth and he curls up a little tighter, sheets pulled up over his knees, hand fisted in his shirt when it would normally be curled up in his little bunny.

He doesn’t really know where his bunny is - he hadn’t slipped in a long while and Stede had probably tucked it away somewhere safe again, but safe to Stede meant somewhere that Izzy wouldn’t find it, which also means that Ed wouldn’t find it either. He could always wake Stede up and get Haeata back within minutes, but a big part of him thinks it would be mean to wake him up right now, so instead he just sits still and tries not to think about it.

A loud crackle ripples out across the room, out of nowhere, and sends a wave of goosebumps over his skin.

It takes him a little longer than usual to remember the baby monitor beside Stede’s half of the bed, though he blames that on his foggy disposition. He blinks slowly as more noise crackles out of the monitor, the sounds of quiet rustling and the occasional grumpy whine. Once his memories catch up with him he remembers the person sleeping in the nursery a few doors down, that Izzy had stayed the night last night. He’s not even really sure why he doesn’t remember, because it was a friday night last night and Izzy always sleeps over on fridays.

Slowly as he can, he slips out of the sheets and across the soft beige carpet over to Stede’s bedside table and takes the little monitor in hand.

“Izzy?” He whispers, pressing down on the little blue button at the side of the monitor. Stede had specifically wanted a two way monitor, just in case Izzy needed to hear them at night, and one with a push-to-talk on their end seemed the most appropriate. Izzy had vehemently fought against a monitor with a camera, and Ed and Stede hadn’t fought back - it did seem a bit invasive.

For a moment there’s no sound coming from the little speaker at the top, and Ed worries that maybe Izzy wasn’t awake after all and now he’s just woken him up, but a voice begins to warble across the channel.

“Baba?”

Ed frowns. He’s used to being Baba, just like Stede is Mama, but it doesn’t feel quite right today. He’s not anyone’s Baba right now.

“Not Baba.” He huffs, humphing quietly as Stede lightly snores up on the bed beside him.

“Eddie?”

“Yeah,” Ed whispers, sitting back on his heels, knees digging into the carpet, “Hi.”

Something rustles again, Ed assumes Izzy’s getting comfy again.

“Hi.” Izzy yawns.

“Are you sleepy?”

“Mm mmm…”

Ed’s brow furrows. He doesn’t like much when Izzy hums instead of just talking, it’s way too confusing.

“Do you wanna play?” He whispers, holding the monitor close to his lips so that Stede doesn’t hear. He’s pretty sure Stede won’t be mad, per s e, but he doesn’t really want to stop chatting to Izzy over the radio.

Izzy rustles the blankets again. “Okay.” He mumbles.

Ed frowns. Izzy still sounds tired, whining when he talks like he’s fighting to stay awake. “You c’n come here ‘n sleep with mum,” He sighs softly, picking at the fraying hem of his pyjama shirt. He doesn’t really want Izzy to go back to sleep, because that would mean that he would have to go to sleep too.

Izzy seems to consider this, humming crackling through the radio. “No,” He says wistfully.

Ed twists his lips up into a confused little pout. Within a moment, Izzy resolves it with a soft and quiet response.

“Eddie come here.” He humphs, sounding like he’d gotten closer to the bookshelf his monitor was sitting on.

Ed perks up. If he goes down to Izzy, he’ll have someone to talk to, and maybe Izzy will wake up enough to actually play! Stede won’t mind if he gets up, especially if he’s going down to look after the baby. He still kind of wants Haeata, but Izzy has plenty of teddies for him to borrow - Izzy could even double as a teddy if he was feeling cuddly.

“Okay,” He chirps quietly, squeezing back down on the button, “‘M coming.”

He sets the little monitor back on it’s resting stand, making sure it’s sitting back on the little charging piece, and pads as quietly as he can out of the bedroom.

It’s cold out in these months, and it certainly doesn’t help much that he’d gone to bed in only a thin tee and boxers, but he still pulls the door behind him almost closed and tip toes down the hallway to the nursery, soft blue light bouncing off of the sliver of wall he can see through the half open door.

He pushes the door open and is met with the soft spray of blue light up across the walls and room, spawned from the small canary shaped night light plugged in just beneath the window. Izzy’s sat up in his little bed by the corner, the three walls at the ends and back side of the bed covered with soft blankets and stuffed trinkets. He rubs his eyes blearily as Ed slips in and presses the door closed.

“Eddie.” He hums, wriggling back down under the covers once Ed comes into view, as if he’d been sitting up waiting for Ed to come in.

“Hi, Izzy.” Ed whispers, stepping over the few soft toys left scattered across the rug. Stede usually picks up what Izzy doesn’t, but last night he hadn’t.

Izzy’s bed is fenced in by a little drop rail on the one side of the bed that wasn’t tucked against a wall or furniture. It was small, only a foot or more high, but it certainly reduced the number of times Izzy had slipped out of bed in the night.

His tongue is stuck out in concentration as he tries to lift it up against the latch; he always has a little trouble with lowering the rail, and being all small and fuzzy doesn’t really help much. He does eventually get the little latch unhooked and the rail slips down enough for him to climb up beside Izzy.

Putting the rail back up is far easier, and he flops down on top of Izzy the second it clicks into place.

Izzy whines when Ed lays on top of him, shoving at his shoulder until he rolls off and curls up beside him.

“Hi.” Ed whispers, shoulder and arm pressed firmly against Izzy’s.

“Hi.”

“What are you doing?”

“I dunno.”

“Same.”

Ed chews on his lip. He’d had some vague idea of fun when he’d first thought of coming down here, but now he’s not so sure if anything that fun will be happening at all.

Izzy is looking back at him, sucking on his bottom lip. Mama would probably tell him to get a soother if he were here now, but Ed doesn’t really want to open the drop rail all over again to find one.

“Are you gonna sleep?” He whispers, rolling onto his side so he can look at Iz without getting a crick in his neck.

Izzy shrugs again, either ignoring or completely oblivious to the little trail of dribble slipping down from his mouth.

[tasteofdeathao3]

I feel like the crew really likes tiny Izzy. like there isn't a single person on board who doesn't want him around.

Ivan and Fang are his favourites (aside from Ed and Stede, of course) and love to carry him around on their backs and cuddle him up close during story time.

Roach likes having him in the kitchen to feed 'scraps' to, though it's really just little off cuts of fruit or vegetables that Izzy probably wouldn't eat otherwise, and can also feed Izzy himself with much less of a mess when he's up on the kitchen counter before or after meals.

Buttons... doesn't really have much to do with or say about any tiny person on The Revenge, but doesn't complain when Izzy stumbles up to the upper deck and asks very politely (curtesy of Stede) to pet Olivia if he can.

Jim, when big, lets Izzy sit beside them and watch them play with their knives - occasionally Izzy gets his hand on one and slobbers all over the handle, making Jim wince and wonder if that's also what they're like when they're tiny

Frenchie plays music for Izzy when he wants to listen, otherwise has to be very careful that Izzy doesn't try and play his lute and accidentally damage it somehow. He's chewed on the tuning pegs one too many times for Frenchie to trust Izzy alone with it anymore.

Olu's just kind of chill, lets Izzy sit next to him and babble about whatever he's thinking or drawing, joining in on the conversation when Izzy's up to it.

Lucius and Pete are kind of a tag team, when one's not regressed they're both chilling out with Izzy, Lucius giving Izzy 'tattoos' with a quill and ink and Pete is either making one sided conversation with a burbling Izzy or telling Lucius what to draw.

Swede is a bit hopeless, but tries to do nice things like show Izzy how to take naps in barrels or climb up in the netting (but not very far because Swede's a little bit afraid of heights, especially after watching Roach fall in yardies).

[tasteofdeathao3]

Cranky toddler-space Iz who hates Stede because him being there has completely ruined their usual routine and has him feeling very bad about everything, and also because any time he wants Ed this dude is just THERE, until one day he decides he’d really liked to be held and Stede is the first grown up he finds so he’ll do. He climbs up and is still pouting even as he drops his head down and grips onto Stede’s shirt to comfort himself. He doesn’t even ask for a show or story, he just wants to sit quietly (even if he’s still kinda grumpy about it)

Oh my goooood

So yeah, toddler Izzy tends to be cranky, but with Stede around he's 100 times worse.

Suddenly when Ed is supposed to be coming in and putting him to bed he's fooling around with Stede at story time, and when Ed usually comes down to help him eat and wipe him up after dinner he's still in the captain's cabin flirting over his and Stede's empty plates.

Stede insists it's best to bathe in the mornings to clean the body of all the sweat and grime from a night's sleep, so instead of getting a nice cosy bath before bed like he likes (a very rare treat on the Anne, an almost daily thing since Stede caught sight of him) he gets put right into the bath when he wakes up in the morning.

He eats different, sleeps different, wakes up different - suffice to say, all the change to his routine makes Izzy really dislike Stede.

Of course that means glares. The occasional swat. Sometimes a raspberry, and very rarely actual spitting if Stede is making him very cranky.

But then Izzy wants a cuddle. He's upset for no particular reason at all which makes it all that much harder to make himself feel better. He wants to be held, he wants to be safe and in someone's arms now.

Ed isn't around, and when he toddles around he doesn't find anyone else either. Then, when he peeks into the bedroom, he spots Stede standing in front of his bookshelves.

It's good enough for Izzy, seeing as he can't see any other options around, and so he stomps in front front of Stede and climbs up until his arms are wrapped tight around his neck and his legs around Stede's waist.

He grumbles into Stede's shirt when he tries to talk to Izzy, and fists a hand tightly in the soft cotton fabric as he noses into it.

Stede, of course, is absolutely beside himself. Izzy hasn't wanted to have anything to do with him since they met, and here he is climbing up Stede like he's a set of monkey bars - which did not go well. Stede almost fell backwards several times before he managed to stabilise himself.

He ends up spread out on the settee with Izzy tucked into his neck and up on top of his chest. Each time he's made an attempt at conversation Izzy has practically growled at him (and bit him, only once and through his shirt at least).

Izzy is still pouting and occasionally giving a wet little humph (and glaring daggers at Stede when he dares to look down), but he doesn't untangle himself from Stede and noses into the juncture of Stede's neck and shoulder with a little sniffle.

Stede offers to let him watch something, or even to read to him, but Izzy grumbles into his shoulder a resounding no. Stede doesn't mind. He's spent a long time holding cranky little children close and knows he's good at it - and judging by the calm silence coming from Izzy, he knows it too.