#I... I just wanted Stede to be happy and content and rest his head on his partner's shoulder

[dragon-kazansky]

Spirit of the sea

Izzy Hands x Reader (GN)

SEASON 2 CONTENT AHEAD!!!

Blackbeard rules the sea. Despite wanting his captain back, Izzy realises his mistake. Protecting the crew is his concern. Protecting you is his life mission. Stede's return brings hope, but there's a lot of work to be done before this crew becomes a family.

{Masterlist}

{Previous Chapter} - {Next Chapter}

Warnings: Spoilers. Izzy's depression spiral. No real unicorns were harmed in the making of Izzy's new leg. Things get a little steamy at the end.

Chapter Thirteen - Loving touch

♡♡♡

Stede had gathered the crew, minus Izzy, to talk to them all. Turns out Ed woke up. You swore under your breath when you heard that. No way is that man going to be happy with any of you.

"What happened to your face?" Pete asked Stede who was standing to a bruise on his cheek.

"Bet Blackbeard did that, didn't he?" Wee John asks.

"It was an accident. Okay? I think Ed just sat up too quickly," Stede says.

"That's what they all say," Roach states.

"As you know, he's gone through quite the ordeal and he does need to regain his strength," Stede explains.

"Yeah. He'll probably get around to killing you after he's rested," Jim says, looking Stede in the eye.

"Yeah, I'd say it's a pretty obvious mistake letting him get strong again," Lucius points out. You nod.

"Kick him off the ship already!" Jim yells.

"We just don't banish people, do we?" Stede says. "That's not us. Let's give him some time, perhaps to rebound a bit."

"Medically speaking, the man can't speak, and his brain is maybe couscous." Roach points out. "Also, gonna need that steak back. It's dinner."

"Right. Yes, aye."

"Maybe we should put it to the vote," Fang suggests.

"Do we have to do this now?" Stede asks.

The crew start yelling.

♡♡♡

Stede got his answers from the crew, that much was clear enough. As you head out, Stede catches up to you.

"You were awfully quiet in there."

"Don't get me wrong. I agree with them, Ed has to go."

Stede's expression falls.

"I know you like him, but that man... he did things. He hurt people like I've never seen before. He hurt Izzy..."

"Ah yes, Izzy. How is he?" Stede asks.

"He's been better."

"Where is he anyway? I didn't see him in there."

"Drinking probably. He, uh, he's stopped talking to me at the moment. He won't talk to anyone."

Stede frowns again. "He's stopped talking to you?"

"I think it's the constant drinking... It's making him... upset. Like, more than before."

"I see..."

You shrug lightly and sigh. "Look, I'm not looking for sympathy. You're the captain, sort this out."

You walk off. Stede watches you go, his heart feeling heavy. Maybe he could have a word with Izzy for you.

♡♡♡

You sit on deck with the wooden sparrow in your hands. After everything that happened it had survived. Izzy had kept it in his cabin. You had found it when you had gone in there to find him. Izzy was nowhere to be seen, but the sparrow was sitting on his desk. There was a slight chip in the wood, right on the wing, but for the most part it looked good.

You sigh as you run your finger carefully over it's little head. Did Izzy even notice it was gone? Probably not.

"The atmosphere around here sucks," Lucius sighs, sitting down next to you. You notice the cigarette between his fingers, but you don't ask. "What's that?" He nods toward the wooden bird.

"Marietta."

"Marietta?" He looks at you with a funny expression.

"That's what I called it. It was a gift for Izzy from me. I dropped the first one in the sea while I was angry at him... so I remade her." You hold the sparrow up. "She's a little beaten, but still in nest condition."

"You carved him a bird?"

"Look, I can't draw like you can. I can't make sew like Frenchie, or knit like Wee John. I can, however, whittle."

Lucius smiles a little. "I like it."

A moment of silence passes while you play with the bird in your hands a little more.

"So, you and Izzy?"

"So, you and Pete?" You reply, sarcastically.

"We're fine," he says defensively. "What's going on with your boyfriend?"

You raise your eyes to Lucius. "Blackbeard abused him. Punished him. Took his leg. He's a little upset at the moment. Rightfully so."

Lucius stands up a little defensively. "We've all been through shit," he says.

You narrow your eyes at him. "I'm not saying you haven't. We thought you were dead!"

"Well, I wasn't." He puts out his cigarette. "I've suffered too and it's all his fault!" He points to where Blackbeard is tied up on the deck.

"He's fucked everyone over, Lucius. Just need Stede to get his ass in gear and do something about it."

Lucius sighs. "Do you think anything will ever go back to how it was?"

"No," you admit honestly. "But I do believe things can get better. In time."

Lucius says nothing. He glares at Blackbeard and then leaves. You sigh and return to holding the bird, caressing it again gently.

"Oh, Izzy..."

♡♡♡

Stede found Izzy at the front of the ship. He was leaning on some of the rope rigging, his wooden leg propped up on the railing. In his other hand was a bottle of rum, of which he was drinking merrily.

He looked a mess.

Stede offered him a smile as he joined him, ignoring the look Izzy was throwing his way. He means over and notices the unicorn is missing it's head.

"He's seen better days, hasn't he?" Stede asks in a lighthearted manner.

"At least he's still got both legs!" Izzy yells.

"Yes!" Stede joins in. "He can't hear you, he's go no head. You've got a head, though, which you should look after."

Izzy down his rum. Stede sighs.

"What do you want, Bonnet?" Izzy asks, not really in the mood for conversation.

"Well, here's the thing. The crew, they're in a bit of a deadlock over the whole banishment of Ed thing and I just thought, seeing as, well, you were the one who kept his body aboard, maybe you should weigh in. You've already murdered him once. Seems like a pretty good payback." He chuckles softly. "So, what do you think?"

"My vote?" Izzy leans in a little closer to Stede. "A rotten let's got to come off."

"Right. Just to confirm, was that a nay or yay on the banishment?"

Izzy just drinks some more.

"Right... I suppose I just mention that our Spirit of the sea is worried about you. You've stopped talking to them apparently..."

Izzy says nothing.

"Don't push them out, Izzy."

Izzy just drinks from his bottle again. Stede sighs and takes his leave.

♡♡♡

"So! We, the crew of The Revenge, have voted and we've chosen banishment, unfortunately." Frenchie states, announcing the result. "So, yeah. Effective immediately. Your complimentary dinghy awaits you portside. Now leave, please."

"Fuck off," Ed hisses, walking past him. You watch him closely.

"Alright, rude."

"Fuck you," Ed laughs softly, walking past Olu.

"First time I've been on this side of a walk of shame," Wee John comments.

"Way to make this awkward, bruh," Archie says.

"Shitty sailing with you." Jim chimes in.

"You're making it really hard to look up to you, man," Pete sighs.

"Hey, made you this sandwich for the trip," Roach says, holding it out to him. Ed slaps it out of his hand and Stede catches it

"You don't want your sammie?" Stede looks sad.

Ed slaps it out of Stede's hand and it hits Lucius in the face. You have to cover your mouth to stop from laughing. Lucius bites back his laughter too. It really isn't a funny moment, throwing someone off the ship, but at least you can find something to laugh about, you supposed.

"Ed, say something at least."

Ed turns his head and looks at Stede.

"You're not a fuckin' mermaid."

You knit your brows together in confusion by that statement. Stede looked equally confused.

"What?"

Ed climbs off the ship and into the dinghy. Stede looks down and watches him, you and Lucius part with the rest if the crew, not hanging about to watch any longer.

Ed was gone. That was that.

♡♡♡

"Is it me or does the energy around here seem off?" Wee John asked.

"By 'the energy,' do we mean him?" Roach nods over to Lucius who was smiling and freaking out a little. "Or him?" He gestures over to where Izzy is still standing at the front of the ship yelling at the unicorn.

"Well, mythical creature?" Izzy yells. You sigh as you watch him from where you stand. He still wasn't talking to you much. "Anything to say to yourself? Fuck you!"

"Or them?" Roach asks, looking at Jim, Archie, Frenchie, and Fang scrubbing the deck of any "possible" bloodstains left over from where Edward had bled out.

"Do you still see blood?"

"Yeah. We'll get it. Just keep scrubbing."

"They're lookin' this way." Fang says.

You tune out the rest of their conversation to watch your stupid drunk pirate curse at the unicorn some more. If only you could talk to him. He would surely listen to you.

It was breaking your heart to see him fall apart like this. Izzy hadn't held you since you got back onto The Revenge. He was shutting you out, suffering on his own.

You hated it.

You try not to let the tears fall as you walk away, letting Izzy do whatever the fuck he wanted.

♡♡♡

Olu had invited you to join the crew for a surprise. Jim had speculated they were planning to kill you all off for being disturbed after sailing with Blackbeard. You thought it was a bit of a stretch, but you wouldn't put it last them either.

You were all guided below deck where the surprise was.

"You gotta close your 'cause it's a surprise." Olu says.

No one does that, everyone sceptical. Frenchie leads you all behind Olu. You find Pete and Wee John waiting.

"Ta da!"

Wee John moves to reveal the surprise.

The crew all jump and startle, hiding the knives they were all carrying behind their backs incase of an attack.

"Fuck!" Lucius sighs, jumpy enough already.

"Guys, it's called a pine-ata." Pete says.

"Yeah. So, you just pull this string and then--" Olu tries to explain.

"And then you hit it with a stick!" Pete demonstrates.

Everyone is triggered. PTSD from the storm, from Blackbeard.

"Time for blindfolding." Wee John tries.

"Stay the fuck sway from me!" Jim yells.

"You won't want to stay the fuck away from this came!" Roach says, brining the cake in.

You feel your stomach churn at the sight of it. It looks like the wedding cake...

"God's sake, take it away!" Fang screams.

You all draw your weapons. Yeah, even you. This is too much, too soon. This how it ends up at a stand off.

"One-half of this room has some serious emotional damage," Jim explains, holding Wee John in a choke hold. "And it's not us."

"Well, it's not us!" Wee John says back.

You have your knife pointing at Olu.

"Right, so, is everybody else's arms and various limbs getting tired?" Frenchie asks.

"Alright, look, look, look, look. I think there's actually an easier way to resolve this." Olu days, eyeing your knife. "Yes? Right. So you all think that we're plottin' against you?"

"Yeah," you nod.

"Which, in hindsight, maybe was inaccurate." Frenchie says. "I don't know, you tell me."

"Okay. So, can we all agree to just not jump the other crew and solve this as fuckin' adults?" Olu asks.

"You're saying this is like a space that is safe?" Jim asks him.

"Yeah, babe." Olu looks at them.

"I love that."

"A safe space."

"Yeah, okay."

You all lower your knives. You take a deep breath. Nearly lost your cool there.

"A lot has gone unsaid," Roach speaks. "I think now is a great time to discuss lingering issues."

"Yeah, yeah, absolutely." Archie nods. "Can we talk about the fucked-up sleeping arrangements?"

"Excuse me, do you even have a name, new guy?" Wee John asks her.

"Yeah, fuck you is her name." Jim starts, drawing their knife again.

"Hey, stupid name for a person," Roach draw his knife on Jim.

"You know my name is Archie," she point her weapon at Roach.

Everyone draws their weapons again. You sigh and point your knife at Olu again, but he doesn't sense any actual malice from you.

The sound of something thudding against the floor draws everyone's attention to the door. You turn and your heart skips a beat at the sight of Izzy. Two wooden legs at his feet.

"There! It's done!" He yells. "Maybe next time he'll think twice about not doing his fucking--" Izzy's peg leg breaks from under him as he raises his crutch and he falls harshly to the ground.

You gasp and drop your knife, hurrying over to him. He shrugs you off.

"Get off me! Fuck off!"

You sit there on your knees as he rolls over and starts crawling down the hall. Your heart breaks watching him.

"Leave me alone! I'm already gone." He mutters. He starts repeating a phrase over and over again. "You're born alone, you die alone. You're born alone, you die alone."

You can feel tears building up again. God, only Izzy could ever make you cry so much.

"Yeah, he's definitely more disturbed than any of us," Lucius says, watching Izzy go.

You try to hide your teary eyes as you get up and leave.

♡♡♡

You're sat up on deck with yours curled up wiping away the tears that were falling. If only you could get that stupid man to talk to you. You just wound to heal his internal wounds, and soothe his external wounds.

You don't hear the door open, but you do hear footsteps coming over. You turn your face away, but you know it's Fang who is now sitting beside you. He has one of the unicorn legs in his hand.

"You okay?" He asks softly. Fang was a soothing presence.

"Spectacular," you mutter.

He look down at the wooden leg and then back at you.

"We, uh, we had an idea for Izzy."

You wipe your eyes again. "Yeah?"

"We're gonna make him a new leg. You wanna help? It would sure mean a lot if you gave it to him after." Fang smiles.

"You want me to help?"

"I think Izzy would like that, don't you?"

You shrug quietly. "I don't know. He's not exactly talking to me right now."

"Aw, listen. He still loves you. He's just hurting, but maybe we can help. Let's do something good for him."

Fang offers you a small smile.

You find yourself smiling back. You reach over and take the leg from him. "Okay. Let me see what we can do."

Less than 30 minutes later the leg is being constructed, the crew are gathered to help. Fang constructs the leg into a strong, comfortable, and practical leg. Lucius had got some gold paint to add something that little bit extra.

You smile as you paint the leg.

"The gold was a gold touch."

Lucius smiles, happy he could help.

You leave the leg to dry and then Fang returns to your side with it. You sigh as you take it, looking it over.

"We sure it will do?" You ask.

"Its been measured and made just for Izzy. It will more than do. Oh don't forget the note." Fang holds out the parchment.

You take the leg and take the note.

"Right..."

"Just leave it outside his door if he doesn't want to talk. I can assure you he'll talk to you again soon."

You nod and make your way to Izzy's cabin.

♡♡♡

As you approach Izzy's door, you don't hear much. It's almost too quiet for your liking. You hover outside the door, the leg in hand. That's when you hear his voice. He's talking to someone.

"And you? What's your excuse?" You hear him say. You lean a little closer to listen, worried about him. "I mean, what even are you?"

You knock on the door hoping he'll answer.

"Fuck off." You hear him shout. You knock again firmly. "Fuck off!" He yells again.

You sigh. Telling him it was you probably wouldn't make a difference. You prop the leg up but the door, tucking the note and Marietta, Izzy's carved sparrow that you still had, into it.

You knock again and hurry away, disappearing down the hall.

"You are harassing a cripple! Fucking twats!" Izzy yells, no longer realising the person has gone from behind his door. He limps his way over and opens it, looking down the hall.

He sees no one.

His gaze drops down to the item waiting for him. He sees the note and the bird. He reads the note first, all emotion clogging up in his throat.

Those little shits.

He cries. Izzy covers his mouth as tears overwhelm him. He looks up down the hall, trying not to break down.

"Fucking cocksuckers."

He sees the sparrow and picks it up. It's then he realises you had been the one knocking. His finger close around the bird and the tears fall freely.

Shit. He's been really shit to you.

Izzy hold the sparrow against his chest and takes a few deep breaths. He grabs the leg and hobbles back inside his room.

♡♡♡

It's the early hours of the morning.

Izzy stands on deck with his new leg on. It's a good fit. Made really well. His hair is slicked back against his scalp, out of his face. His face is a little cleaner. No rum in sight.

In one hand he's clutching the ring he wears under his clothes, hanging from a string of twine. He smiles as he looks down at it.

In his other hand is the note. His eyes drift over to the words written on it. His heart feels full.

'For the new unicorn.'

Izzy smiles.

With the dawn of a new day comes a new Izzy. A healing Izzy.

He's going to be okay.

No. He'll be more than okay.

He just needs to talk to you first.

♡♡♡

The sun hasn't even risen yet when Izzy wakes you. You've been sleeping with the rest of the crew since Izzy stopped talking to you, so he had to be quiet when waking you. You're startled awake by something hitting your face again and again.

You wake up to find little balls of paper being thrown at you. You look up to see Izzy waving you over. You look at him confused. He wasn't talking to you befkre, and now he wants to?

That's when you notice the leg and your heart begins to race.

You climb out of bed and make your way out of the room, not waking a single person. You follow Izzy into his cabin and enter cautiously. He looks tidier, cleaner, more content.

"Izzy?"

He stands there and looks at you. There are several emotions flickering in his eyes, but he finds his words in no time.

"Thank you."

You stand there awkwardly. "I didn't do anything."

Izzy inhales loud enough for you to hear as he looks down at his leg, his hand resting over his thigh. "You did this."

"It was the crew's idea."

Izzy holds up the sparrow. "I noticed it was gone, but there was only one place it could be."

You nod your head softly.

Izzy puts the sparrow down and walks over to you, closing the distance between you both. You find your heart rate picking up as you look into those beautiful eyes of him.

"I love you," he whispers.

Just like that he's reaching out and kissing you. You're in his arms again. You return his kiss, having missed his lips. Having missed him. You reach out and take hold of him.

The kiss is hot, passionate, desperate. It's significance lies with the fact that you two spend all your time wanting each other, but when you're hurting, you don't reach out for one another.

You remove his scarf, taking the ring around it and carefully placing it down. It belonged to his mother and you know he would definitely curse you if you lost it. You begin to undress him, and he, you.

Clothes land on the floor. The soft thud of his wooden foot taps lightly on the floor as he moves you over to his bed.

Doing this right after the emotional rollercoaster you both has been through probably wasn't the best idea, but this time no one could stop you both, and this was long overdue.

You push Izzy down on the bed and take care of him, admiring him. You notice the other ring around his neck. You had seen it before, but it's origins you hadn't known. He was wearing it last time you did this too.

Still, your mind was focused on other things.

Safe to say, both of you are going to be a little late getting up tomorrow.

♡♡♡

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[phantom-ellie]

Temet Nosce Chapter 3: I should have left you on that Spanish Vessel where you were Hanging

Click for Chapter List/Content Warnings

A paper doll, sure. A silly joke, but one headed for the mouth of the whale, and Stede tells himself it's about rescuing Ed but somehow he knows it's actually himself. He can almost feel himself becoming less transparent, returning to flesh. A pathetic joke, a source of entertainment for sure. The crew around him laughs. He knows they're laughing at him.

He's wrong, though. Through his silly puppet dancing and the sad mewling and bright, painted smiles masking the incompleteness of the carving below them, Stede has cultivated something. There is a secret garden blooming on the vessel he seeks to reclaim. The man of the hour, the day, the month doesn’t know it, but he is heading towards nabatea, ad meliora.

“Hey, Ivan! I-van!” Ivan looks up at Fang in the crow’s nest, holding a telescope.

“What is it, Fangie?” Fang closes his lips together in a nervous line and hurriedly beckons with his hand.

“Not in front of the others!”

“Why, what don’t you want us to see, capullos?”

“Shit, Jim, you can’t just sneak up on a guy like that.” Ivan rubs the back of his neck nervously. Since the… unfortunate separation of the crew, Jim has taken to stalking the ship like a malevolent forest spirit, and Ivan hates forest spirits. They make his nose ache.

Jim does what Jim is wont to do and twirls their knife threateningly.

“Whatever you tontos del culo have to say to each other you can say to me.”

Ivan has nothing against Jim. He has nothing against the rest of the crew, really. He is loyal to Blackbeard, sure, but he is beginning to suspect that the Captain has gone a bit too far this time, isn’t quite right in the head.

Fang shrugs his shoulders. “Aw, Jim, don’t worry about it, don’t need to get mad at us like that-”

“It’s Stede! It’s the crew!” Frenchie points out at the water and is practically dancing a jig, his voice the loudest stage whisper imaginable. Jim runs to the edge of the ship and strains to see. There they are, all fifty of them, or however many, piled on top of each other in the dinghy, moving about and jostling so much Jim is surprised they haven’t capsized. It is hard to tell them all apart, they are so far away, but Jim sees a hand shoot into the air and stay there, as if to acknowledge that they are being watched. That Stede fucking Bonnet is being watched.

“Fuck!” Jim growls.

“Fuck yeah!” Frenchie cheers as quietly as he can manage, fist pumping the air.

“Oh god, here we go again.” That’s Ivan.

“Oh man, Izzy is gonna be so mad,” Fang starts the climb down from the crow’s nest, hunching his shoulders like the world’s most resigned teddy bear. What he doesn’t say is how happy everyone else will be to have them all back.

Jim whips around and points the dagger at Ivan’s face.

“You’d better let them board,” they say through clenched teeth. Ivan lifts his hands up in surrender.

“I don’t have no beef with any of that lot, but it’s Captain and Izzy that call the shots around here, you know that.”

“Hey! Do you think he can fix him? Blackbeard? Make things nice again?” Fang huffs as he continues his climb down.

Ivan looks at Fang. He turns back to Jim. Then he gives a side-eye to Frenchie. Finally, he rests his palms on the edge of the ship and sighs.

“Aw, hell.”

***

Izzy. He looks at his own reflection in the knife he’s holding. Izzy. Fuck. Fuck. Maybe that’s been the problem all along. Maybe that’s why I don’t get the respect I deserve. Couldn’t be Israel, no, had to go with a cute nickname. Fucking Fang has a scarier nickname than I do, and he’s jolly as a fucking creampuff. Izzy Hands is, to no one’s surprise, brooding. His toe hurts. Well, the place where the toe would have been if he hadn’t shat out said toe three days ago hurts. That was an unpleasant experience, but it was the kind of unpleasant experience that happens to be quite pleasant for Izzy- uh, Israel.

For a moment, he casts a pensive look up at the ceiling above the bunk where he is sitting.

Is that fucked up? Is it fucked up that I take pleasure from being abused? Isn’t it possible that this pleasure-from-pain experience is linked to some form of childhood traum-

Frenchie, master of subterfuge and distraction, bursts into the room, and Izzy loses that train of thought forever.

“Izzy! Izzyyyyyy,” Frenchie holds out both hands palms up like he’s about to ask a huge favor.

“What the fuck do you want?”

“You know, um, I’ve just been thinking about what a hard worker you are and all, and I just wanted to come down here and thank you-”

“What. did. you. do?” There are so many clenched teeth on this vessel that they might have to bring a dentist on board.

“Oh, nothing! Nothing. I just know you’ve been down, ‘cause of… the foot? You know?” Frenchie widens his eyes above his obviously nervous smile and sort of thrusts his hands towards the foot as if to say, that’s definitely a thing that exists in this location.

“My foot is fine. What are you trying to do?” Izzy gets up off his bunk and starts limping forward.

“No!” Frenchie throws out his hands again. “No, don’t move! There’s no need to move at all! Just stay there-”

“Get out of my way,” Izzy sticks out an arm to shove Frenchie aside, whose mind instantly goes white as a clap of lightning as his instinct kicks in.

He does what he has to do. He stomps on Izzy’s injured foot as hard as he can.

“Aaaaughhhh! You fucking-”

“Sorry! Sorry, it was an accident! Why don’t you just-” The knife comes out and Izzy lunges at Frenchie, who quickly evades it and backs towards the door.

“No need for that, really,” Frenchie whimpers with a hint of hysteria, quickly casting an eye towards the Lair of the Kraken, which is really where Stede used to sleep but Frenchie doesn’t think he’d appreciate it much right now. Oh, he’s gonna be so pissed. Please don’t hear, please don’t hear.

“I will flay you alive, you-” as Izzy hobbles towards Frenchie menacingly, Frenchie has a choice to make. He can return to the deck, or brave the Lair. Thankfully his self-preservation kicks in and he books it towards his friends, turning around to blow an ultra-mature raspberry.

***

Stede had been the first to board. He had expected a wave of raging hot ire to descend upon him. He wanted to take the brunt of it. It was his fault, after all. The pain between him and Ed was like an invisible line of fire that linked them in their pain and misery, burning anyone who haplessly stumbled into its path. Stede expected a sword to the gut, and wasn’t afraid, because he knew he wouldn’t feel it above the white-hot burning that was already there.

Instead of the sword, he had been offered a friendly hand by Ivan and was asked to wait patiently so the others could follow him. Thus Stede sees the first hints of his garden, in flore, as he raises his head in greetings to Jim while Fang claps a happy hand on his shoulder.

Now he stands awkwardly by the ladder, welcoming his family home.

“There you go, welcome back Buttons, Olivia-”

“It’s good to be aboard, cap’n.”

“Watch your step, Oluwande, there you go, see there’s Jim right there, safe and sound, off you two go… Up and at ‘em, Black Pete! I haven’t seen Lucius yet but I’m sure he’s around here somewhere. No, Roach, I don’t know if anyone messed with your good knives. Swede, yes, maybe stand over there and dust yourself off a little, you’re covered in- Hurry it up, Wee John, we have a ship to take! No, I don’t know where Frenchie is but apparently he’s safe.”

Stede begins to try on his captain persona again, to be who these people need him to be, to be the man who reads them stories and encourages them. To begin the performance. But God, he’s tired of the performance. He needs to be himself, to demand to be accepted as himself, because he can’t live in this weird performative skin anymore. He just can’t.

But the crew can’t read his mind, and therefore Fang grabs him around the shoulders.

“Captain, you gotta help us. You gotta talk some sense into him!”

“Who, Izzy? That probably won’t work.”

“No! Blackbeard! He’s making it miserable for everyone! Fix him!”

“I’m sure it’s fine, Fang, just take care of the crew. I’ll make things right.” Stede suddenly realizes that throughout this conversation there has been a mounting roaring sound, getting louder and louder until he stands up straight to figure out its source. Not two seconds later he becomes enlightened, as Frenchie runs out onto the deck followed by a mad, spitting, angry ferret.

“Hi Captain! Sorry Captain!” Frenchie bolts straight past him like a World War I soldier trying to outrun a frag grenade.

The ferret stops when he hits the deck and the roaring is cut off in a wet sputter of rage.

“You.” Izzy the ferret waves his knife in Stede’s general direction. “How the fuck did you get on my ship?”

“I climbed the ladder, dickhead! Let me talk to Ed!”

He needs this to be over with. He can only hold onto the adrenaline for so long.

“I’ll slit your fucking throat-”

“Qué cabrón!” Izzy is interrupted by Jim, who smashes their boot into his hand and sends the dagger flying.

“Aaaugh, you-” Fang tackles Izzy to the ground with a crunch.

“Sorry, Iz. I mean, I’m a little sorry, honest, but not too sorry.” Ivan sort of dances around his apology as he stuffs a gag in Izzy’s mouth before reaching up to take a coil of rope from Frenchie.

“Wow. So much for loyalty.” Black Pete has his arms crossed and his eyebrows raised.

“We’re pirates!”

“Okay, okay! I’ve just never watched a mutiny from this end.”

Watching Izzy struggle in vain sends an initial wave of relief through Stede’s torso. It was so easy. They did it for me. They want me back, they love me.

Killing with kindness actually works. Stede isn’t a fucking lunatic.

This relief lasts only a few moments however, as the door to the deck bursts open. A thunderclap hit’s Stede’s heart. This is him, isn't it? A dark wave flowing out onto the floor of the deck. A black cloud. A trio of tentacles grasping towards Stede's neck.

“Izzy, what the fuck is the fucking commotion up here-”

And there he is. The love of Stede’s life, drunkenly staggering onto the deck. He’s swaying a bit as he takes the last few gulps of what has to be his third bottle of rum. Stede's breath catches in his throat as Ed looks him dead in the eyes. The bottle of rum just hovers there.

And in seeing that kohl-smeared, inebriated Demon King, something drops from the top of Stede’s brain down to the floor, only to curl upon itself and rise through his legs and up through his arm and shoot out of the top of his head like a geyser, a mélange of adrenaline, courage, and wanting. His shoulders straighten. His chin rises a couple of inches. Stede Bonnet looks Edward Teach dead in the eyes as everything else threatens to roll right out of his body and crash upon the deck.

“You. You and I need to have a talk.”

Death it is.

He expects Ed to throw the bottle at his head. He expects Ed to rage and challenge him to a duel. He expects Ed to take out his pistol and shoot a hole through Stede’s torso. He expects Ed to throw a knife at his face. He expects Ed to collapse onto his knees, tears streaming down his face. He expects Ed to stride forward and bend Stede backwards in a kiss.

Instead he hears the groans of the crew as Ed pitches forward and spews three bottles of rum onto the deck.

Stede sighs.

“I guess I just have that effect on people.”

Romance is dead. It will happen the hard way.

Chapter 4

[iris-writesx]

shifting eyes and vacancy, vanished when i saw your face | gentlebeard

read it here or read it on ao3 <3

i’m not kidding i got the idea, wrote my entire plan, wrote it, and posted this all in the span of like 12 hours. i got the idea and was basically foaming at the mouth until i wrote it

i’m posting this as a one-shot for now, but i feel like i has potential for more chapters so if you’re interested to see more please let me know!!!

ed is so fine he’s all i can think about akdkwkf

title is from “enchanted” by taylor swift x

2.5k words — meet-cute, angst, threats, masquerade ball

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Stede hadn’t been somewhere so exquisite in years.

The ship that himself and his crew were on was marvellous. From the crystal chandeliers down to the golden trim of the carpets, whoever had designed the ship knew their stuff. Stede could only hope that one day, The Revenge would be so delicately beautiful.

It was a couple of weeks ago that they had found the letter for the masquerade ball on one of the many vessels that they had raided — on that particular raid, Stede had come back with some lovely potted plants that he had displayed around his room. He had discussed the opportunity with the crew, and after Frenchie and Olu had discussed some pyramid scheme that they wanted to put to work, it was decided that the crew would go- well, some of the crew. Jim, Wee John, Roach, and Buttons had all opted to stay behind and keep watch of the ship, so Stede, confident that the ship was left in good hands, had opted to join his crew to the ball.

And although the types of people who would be there undoubtedly made bad company, he was actually excited.

He had dressed himself in a quite exquisite teal suit, paired with a beautiful mask that was tied around his head with white silk. The mask itself matched the clothes he wore, though had golden vines woven over the mask, a detail he loved to see. Although Stede always prided himself on his appearance — he had to build up an image for himself as The Gentleman Pirate after all — he felt particularly wonderful in his masquerade get-up.

He had helped the rest of the crew dress for the occasion, too. They had all lined up outside his quarters, and one by one he had given them an outfit that, in his proud opinion, made them all shine.

Lucius, who was stood beside him at the drinks table whilst the rest of the crew had disappeared to mingle in with the crowd, was dressed in a lovely burgundy, it really brought out his eyes. For once, the boy didn’t have his book in his hands — Stede had promised him a night away from his work, just to enjoy himself… as long as he noted down the key points from the night once they had gotten back to the ship.

“We all stick out like a sore thumb,” Lucius pointed to the Swede, whose suit was a little mismatched as Stede didn’t have trousers for him that fit that matched the shirt he was wearing. “Are you sure they won’t realise we weren’t actually invited, Captain?”

Stede waved his hand as a dismissal, sipped from his glass of wine. “All these people care about, Lucius, is one-upping each other in the who’s more posh game. As long as you don’t offend their fragile pride, they won’t notice a thing.”

It was almost overwhelming, the amount of people there that Stede had promised to never end up like. He could imagine they all had considerable wealth; mansions and ships and jewels beyond his own property, and all they cared about was showing it off. He didn’t intend to strike a conversation with any of them, he was content spending time with his crew-

“I’m gonna go find Pete, Cap.” Lucius pat him on the shoulder before he disappeared, weaving into the crowd.

Well, he was happy to spend time by himself, too.

He finished his drink — the wine just had that taste of expensiveness — poured himself another, and with the wine-glass in hand, he started wandering around the giant hall in the centre of the ship.

As he passed the partygoers, he admired each of their attires; everybody was dressed up in masks, even the butlers who had been pacing the room serving delicacies. That, in turn, meant he didn’t recognise anybody that he might’ve known there — any men from his past, from that damn school — and, more importantly, nobody recognised *him*.

It was exciting, being hidden in plain sight whilst he was making his name as The Gentleman Pirate. Stede figured that nobody on the ship would take well to hosting to pirates. The masks certainly made the visit more exhilarating.

He wandered the outskirts of the hall for some time, just observing whilst he sipped his wine, and after some time had past and he had finished his drink, he began to realise that he hadn’t actually seen any of his crew in quite some time. Stede paused his walk, by one of the many doors out to the deck of the ship, and turned to face the masses of people there. His gaze flickered between them all, tried to find a familiar face within the crowd, but fell short. Where had all of his crew disappeared to?

He was jolted out of his search by somebody who had bumped into his back, and flinched, immediately turning to see who had walked into him.

“Oh fuck- sorry, mate,” the stranger gestured to the patio doors behind him. “Didn’t see you when I came in.”

“Oh no, that’s quite alright, I was a little in the way.” Stede let out a slight laugh, waved the stranger and his apology off.

The man who had bumped into him was, he had to say, one of the best dressed in the room. His suit consisted of a deep purple fabric, which had been woven with gold thread. The same purple matched the man’s mask, trimmed with lace and tied back with a fine velvet. The stranger’s hair, which he could see was quite long, had been pulled back and out of his eyes, spare two loose strands which framed his face, and the full beard which he had no way of getting rid of, Stede supposed.

There was no denying that this man was gorgeous.

But there was just something about him, something Stede couldn’t quite place, that left him at an odd place out. Something in him was telling him that this man didn’t belong here, either.

“I have to say, your suit looks marvellous,” Stede commented before the stranger could walk off to where he had originally been directed, because he really did. “I hope you don’t mind me saying so.”

The man himself clearly didn’t mind — in fact, Stede watched as the corners of his mouth lifted into a slightly bashful smile, like he hadn’t been expecting any compliments. “Oh- no, thanks mate. It’s pretty neat, huh?” He stretched his arms, flapping a bit to show off the loose lace of his sleeves by his wrists. It was just a little too long, like it wasn’t his. “Got it off of a ship I was on a couple days ago.”

“Oh, a merchant vessel?” Stede asked, curious. “You’ll have to point me in their direction, all of my suits come from land.”

The stranger hesitated, blinked a few times, before he nodded. “Right, yeah,” he cleared his throat. “A merchant…”

“Well I’ll keep an eye out,” Stede nodded, before he smiled, and extended a hand to the stranger. “I’m Stede, Stede Bonnet.”

The man took his hand with a strong grip and shook; Stede noticed, upon looking down at their joined hands, that a tattoo of a spider was inked into the back of his hand. Which, he definitely thought was odd. Most people there, he would assume, would’ve been under the impression that tattoos were sinful. “Ed, nice to meet you.”

Ed certainly wasn’t supposed to be here.

Stede hoped that it wasn’t obvious that he shouldn’t have been there, either.

“So what do you do, Ed?” Stede asked once their hands had parted; his curiosity had taken a hold, now, and he couldn’t help himself. If the story was interesting enough it would certainly be great for Lucius to write down.

“Oh, just, y’know,” Ed waved his hands a little. “Fancy shit, just like everyone else here,” he shrugged, but Stede was still looking at him, so he tacked on. “I’m a… I’m an accountant.”

“An accountant?” Stede raised his eyebrows. “Finicky business, that.”

“Oh yes yes, very… uh, tough,” Ed nodded. “What about you, Stede Bonnet? What do you do?”

Stede paused. He hadn’t thought of his lie yet, it was quite fun. “I’m a… well, I’m a trader of goods, I suppose you could say. I came here with my crew…” at the mention of his crew he remembered that he had been looking for them, and glanced back to the crowd again, scanning. Still nothing. “Who have appeared to disappear,” Stede sighed, looked back to Ed. “I’m sorry, will you excuse me? I’ll just check to see if they’re outside,” he gestured to the door, before hesitating. “Would you… I mean, when I’m back, would you like a drink?” Stede gestured back over towards the drinks table, flushed pink, and he hoped Ed couldn’t see it underneath his mask. “They have some fine wine here.”

Ed smiled, nodded. “That’d be great. I’ll be here.”

“Amazing, yes, great,” Stede nodded, smiled, felt a glow in his chest. “I’ll be back in a tic.”

He gave a final smile to Ed before he left through the patio doors, and upon his deep inhale of the cool sea air, he realised how hot he felt. God, when was the last time he’d flustered himself up like that?

He cleared his throat and tried to focus on finding the crew. His heels on his shoes clicked against the wooden boards as he walked up and down the deck, scanning the faces of the people there — none of which were his crew. Stede knew that nothing bad could have possibly happened to them, the worst that they would experience on the vessel was a terrible conversation. But part of him just felt… uneasy. Like there was something wrong, something he wasn’t seeing.

He huffed out a breath as he came to rest against the railing of the ship by the doors he had just exited from. Stede stared out at the open ocean for a moment, admired the pink swirls in the sky from the sunset, before he reached up to take off his mask. The cool air felt amazing on his face, and for a moment he just took some breaths of the air, tried to calm his uneasiness.

Everything was fine. He’d go inside, share a drink with Ed, his crew would show up, and all would be good.

Stede had been so distracted by just breathing that he hadn’t heard the patio door open behind him, but he was quick to register the presence against his back, the breath he felt against his neck. His eyes widened, swallowed, and was about to ask who was stood there, but was beat to it by,

“The Gentleman Pirate?”

The breath from the words hit the back of his neck, and it took too long for his brain to catch up with his ears, because- that was Ed’s voice.

Ed didn’t know about his piracy. He didn’t know who Stede was. He had just met the guy.

“Wha- Ed?” Stede asked. “How do you-”

So much happened at once that it took a moment for him to process it all.

Ed’s hand had pressed against his lower back, harder and harder until he was pinned against the railing in front of him. The surprise made him drop his mask, and he heard the porcelain shatter against the wooden flooring beneath them. But the loss of his mask was the last thing on his mind when he felt the sharpness of a blade pressed to his throat, cold and dangerous

Oh god.

“What- what are you doing I-”

“Shh shh shh,” Ed’s breath was still hitting his ear, and it made Stede shudder beneath him. “Calm down, mate, I don’t want to have to hurt you,” his voice was so smooth as he spoke, it made Stede’s head spin. What was happening? “Took a while for us to track you down, y’know. I was asking myself, what’s so special about a pirate like you? But you aren’t just like any pirate, are you Stede?” Ed clicked his tongue, pressed his hand firmer. “No, fancy fucker like you shouldn’t even be a pirate… and here you are.”

Ed’s hand gripped his hip, then, and the knife was momentarily pulled from his throat, allowing Ed to spin Stede around to face him. Whilst his hand never left his hip — which Ed gripped tightly, fingers digging into his hip bone, pushing to keep him pressed to the railing — the knife returned to his throat.

Facing him, Stede was able to see that Ed, too, had rid his mask. And he hated to admit it of the guy who had him at knife point, but he was even more gorgeous without the mask.

“I don’t- I don’t understand- Ed-”

Ed leaned in closer, until his breath spread out over Stede’s face, until all Stede could smell was the rum that he had obviously been drinking. “Since I know your alias, Gentleman Pirate,” Ed fucking smiled, gripped his hip tighter. “Think it’s only fair you know mine, huh?”

There was a pause, so Stede forced himself to nod, shakily, too afraid to say the wrong thing to speak.

“Name’s Blackbeard.”

Stede’s eyes widened, felt his face pale, his breath rushed in such a deep inhale he thought his lungs might fucking explode, his heart was thumping so quickly he could feel it. “Bla- Blackbeard?” He choked, “Oh god don’t kill me, don’t- you- you can have anything you’d like, my ship is just over-”

Stede didn’t register that his hand had left his bruising grip on his hip until it had clamped over Stede’s mouth, effectively silencing him.

“Already said I didn’t want to hurt you, didn’t I?” Ed- Blackbeard smiled at him. “And anyways, as oh so kind as it was for you to offer, I already know where your ship is,” he nodded over in the distance. “Look over there.”

Despite the instruction, Blackbeard curled his fingers into Stede’s jaw until he had no choice but to turn his head to the side, saw The Revenge in the distance where it had been anchored. But when he looked closer, he saw a dingy on its way towards the ship.

“My men, the kind fuckers that they are, have escorted all of your crew back to the ship. Why don’t we join them?”

Stede, unable to say anything, just stared at Ed with wide eyes.

“Been wanting to talk to you for a while, why don’t we do it back on your ship?” Blackbeard suggested, as much as it could be considered a suggestion with his hand clamped over his mouth and his blade pressed to his throat. “I’d love to see the place,” he paused, and leaned in until the loose strands of his hair tickled Stede’s face, “and me and you need to have a little chat, hm?” He grinned. “You still owe me a drink.”

༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶

comments would mean the world <3 requests are open!

[edactually]

Ed POV - 6.3

Ed spent the next hour doing everything he could to antagonise Sam. He clung to Stede like a barnacle, always making sure that some part of him was in contact with the man whether it was his head on his shoulder or his arm around his waist. 

Ok, it was mostly to antagonise Sam but Ed was also feeling pretty touch-starved for Stede. 

He noticed that Stede didn’t object. Every touch that Ed sought out was met with acceptance. Had Stede pulled away at any point then Ed would have shifted in his seat to put some distance between them, but he seemed content to have Ed close. The resting of Ed’s head on his shoulder was met with the stroking of his hair, the arm around his waist was matched with an arm around Ed’s shoulders. Ed allowed himself to wonder if Stede had missed this just as much as he had.

When the karaoke machine opened Sam was pretty excited about it and tried to get Stede to agree to a duet, which was politely refused. Sam eventually relented. “How about you, B? You much of a singer?”

Ed tried not to laugh. “You could say that.”

“He’s an amazing singer.” Stede’s voice was a little slurred and Ed glanced at the empty glasses on the table. Sam hadn’t returned any of the glasses to the bar since he’d come back the first time to find Ed in his spot.

“You’ll have to do some karaoke then, what’s your song?” Sam was beaming at him and showing no sign of irritation at Ed’s antics despite Ed’s best efforts.

“Oh, I don’t like to sing in public.” Ed didn’t have to see Stede’s face to know the man was giving him an incredulous look.

“Are you sure I can’t tempt you?”

Ed looked pointedly at the karaoke machine set up on the small stage and then back to Stede whose side he was still curled into affectionately. “No thanks, I think I’m good here.”

“Just me then.” Sam was still as cheerful as ever as he strode over to the karaoke machine and started flipping through songs. Ed had deduced that Sam had golden retriever energy - constantly happy and difficult to annoy.

He felt a nudge in his side. “Are you sure you don’t want to sing?”

“Fuck no.” Ed laughed. Even if he hadn’t been comfortably tucked into the booth with Stede, he still wouldn’t have got up there. Sam might not have recognised him, but there would surely be a few people who did, and he didn’t want to wake up tomorrow to find he’d been tagged in a bunch of annoying videos or have people asking for selfies all night. “It’s almost worth it to prove I’m a better singer than Sam, but nah.”

“Why are you giving Sam such a hard time? He’s a nice guy.”

I’m giving Sam a hard time because he’s your boyfriend and I’m not.

He let those jealous thoughts stay in his head where they belonged and observed as Sam made his song selection and grabbed the microphone, doing one thing that Ed was actually glad of this evening and keeping him from having to answer Stede’s question.

And then the music started and Ed had to grit his teeth.

Of all fucking songs.

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[petrifiedcrange]

[ OPEN STARTER for mutuals and non-mutuals both ]

It's a nice summer evening - all the ship's inhabitants ( except for Mr Buttons, of course, because someone has to stay at the helm if they want to avoid running aground again... even though the last time they did that worked out in the best of ways for all parties involved in the long run ) gathered in a loose circle up on the main deck, drinking and laughing after a day well-spent ( not to mention a ship well-raided ) - and the warm breeze that stirs their ship towards their next adventure ruffles Stede's curls as he takes a sip out of his own bottle and looks around the crew - his family at sea - the warmth blossoming in his chest and spilling over into a soft, content smile upon his face having less to do with the alcohol flowing through his veins and much more to do with the expressions on their faces: some excited, some drowsy, but all of them happy in their own way.

Yes, for all the bad decisions he has made in his life, the ones that brought nothing but misery and pain into his life and the lives of people around him, coming back here - returning to the sea, his ship, his family, his love - was definitely the single most right decision Stede Bonnet has ever made ( and he will be quite happy even if it remains this way for the rest of his life ).

Putting the half-empty bottle down and keeping one hand wrapped loosely around its neck so that the alcohol it houses won't accidentally spill over, Stede snuggles a bit further against his partner's warm side just as a couple of voices join in a burst of laughter at something entirely humanly impossible Pete claims to have done during their last raid and tilts his head to rest it comfortably on his partner's shoulder.

[itsclydebitches]

Ive blocked like 3 people today for the kylo ren shit takes lmao theyre just trying to start shit. i feel like if you're going to flatten "character who becomes a nazi-allegory space wizard and is proud of it, and then kills his own father on a good vs evil space opera" and "pirate romantic comedy antagonist who doesn't actually achieve his goals even Once and doesn't do anything too far from the moral baseline of the main characters", and then put it in the character tag, you cant be surprised when people ignore you.

Is kylo ren the only popular villian they know (what rock do they live under) or just the one they know scores the most disgust points out of the gate bc of the morality crusade the sw fandom went on over his fangirls??

(Also while I dont like kylo ren bc i found him boring i dont actually care that people like him?? It has 0 impact on my life. What got me out of the sw fandom was all the hate if you shipped any of the main three in the Wrong Way, the kylo stans were a bit annoying sometimes but this is fandom. We're all annoying.)

(I don't even have that much of an opinion on Kylo Ren because my interest in SW is focused almost entirely on the Clone Wars era. I watched the new trilogy once lol.)

I've also seen Snape come up a couple times as a comparison, which is its own can of worms. Honestly, I knew the moment tumblr started diving into Izzy that a lot of other fans would be upset by that focus and I do have sympathy for them because I've been there. I've absolutely been the person standing on the sidelines, feeling left out of many popular conversations, struggling to find kinkmeme prompts I want to fill, all because the community has latched onto a character that makes my skin crawl. It's a sucky situation to be in, but that doesn't mean the rest of the fandom is in the wrong for catering to their preferences. Over the past 2+ months I've watched posting move from playful complaints and semi-private venting to far more serious accusations that equate liking Izzy with some sort of moral failing: as a fan who isn't writing the characters "correctly," as a viewer who isn't reading the show "properly," as a human being who is, supposedly, making a conscious choice to reject the diversity in the show to instead uphold the awful white man, so that makes you racist, homophobic, ableist, etc. And I mean, I knew this would happen because it always happens (RWBY friends, you KNOW it happens)... I just didn't expect it to start really kicking off with Kylo Ren of all things.

Ultimately though I'm an old school fandom granny who subscribes to the general philosophy of "Don't like; don't read." Everyone should be allowed to engage with the canon in the way that makes them happy. You don't like what they're creating? Ignore it! Block freely and without guilt! If you disagree strongly with a fandom stance — as I've done tonight — that should be posted on your personal blog and shared by like-minded folks; don't go throwing yourself into a tag you hate, screaming at those trying to enjoy themselves. Moral crusades against people who like villains/antagonists, or aren't enjoying them in the "right" way, is nothing new, but it never gets any less frustrating to encounter. Plus, despite my description of Izzy's popularity above, this isn't actually a fandom where the "wrong" character has taken over. AO3 has over 4,000 fics for Ed/Stede compared to 500 some for Ed/Izzy (with Lucius/Black Pete coming in before that at 604). I've already reached the point where I'm shaking my head if someone tries to seriously claim that the fandom, as a unified whole, has rejected the loving, diverse, healthy canon relationships for the toxic, white man-focused, fantasy relationships and that makes you a bad person, didn't you know? There's plenty of content for the "right" characters and the "right" ships alongside interest in Izzy. Plus, we can have both! [cue everyone's shocked gasps]. I'm writing a fluffy fake dating au AND a woobified Izzy suffering from hanahaki disease! I guarantee you the world will not end if you let people 'poor little meow meow' a fictional character once in a while.