#Lady Stede Build

[bismuthburnsblue]

while i was away the other week, i picked up a potential trim for my lady Stede dress, and i wanted to talk a bit more about it with you guys and see what you think !! (you can skip to the end for an opinion poll if you dont wanna read all the background spiel!!! tldr: do we like what i picked?)

so, Stede's costume is not particularly historically accurate, but the use of trim between mens & womens fashion is completely different anyway, so im not too worried about trying to find something that matches 100%. i mostly want something that brings the same effect to the garment, particularly in the colour. i went and found some high def images, so you can sort of see the structure of the trim.

The colour is somewhat hard to pin down, but i tend to see it as a sort of antique gold colour? it looks to me like tarnished metal (but i would love to hear about your opinions on the colour!)

The trim is much more subtle on the style of dress im making- most of the decoration is created through pleated stripes in the same fabric as the dress, with the decorative element lining the edges (and occasionally running down the centre). looking at extant examples, ive seen many different shapes of trim, though most of it seems to be looped cord or "fly fringe" - loose filament tied into little puffs or flowers (its super cute but hard to get a hold of and i dont think i care enough to make it)

im not quite sure how im trimming this garment yet- i dont want to commit to anything until ive played around with what looks good on the actual dress, but i know i want to do at least some of this pleated design on there, so these styles are what i went out with in mind.

(ok, context established, onto my specific picks!) i really struggled to find trims i felt would work for this project- i wanted gold, but everything i was finding was too bright and shiny and not at all what i was going for. I ended up picking two things in the same dark gold colour that felt a bit more worn in, but definitely needed work to get the shapes i was looking for- one i think ill dismantle entirely and use the cord to make something new, if i end up using these.

the other was much closer to the kind of thing i wanted, but still needs work. it had two lines of loops and my plan is to remove one of the lines to create something more like the looping of the historic trims. ive pinned one line out of the way in the pictures below to give you a bit of a better idea of what i want, but please know this was a 5 minute edit, and the final result may be different!! (i also want to add that i dont think ill leave the border edge as wide, either- i want the trim to be a hint, not overwhelming)

(these images have been edited a little to try and capture colour accuracy, as my phone Did Not want to make the blue blue :/ the last image is the most accurate to the trim, i think)

i think my pick was absolutely the best option out of the ones i saw... only now im looking at it with my fabric, im not sure. it was the best kind of gold colour they had, but i feel like stedes is even darker and cooler in colour, almost a brown-grey tone. (honestly, this one is pretty brown when you look close, but what matters is the bigger picture, so :/ ) it feels to shiny and sparkly, and like it might stand out in the wrong kind of way.

i want this dress to feel like a genuine historical garment first and foremost, id rather it look cohesive and intentional than be accurate to the show and im doubting myself with this trim- but also i know it was by far the best option that i saw when i was actually looking at hundreds of gold trims... so, what do you think?

[adickaboutspoons]

Tea Soup and Sympathy

There’s already been plenty going around fandom about the significance of soup this season, so I’ll just condense soup discourse down and summarize that it’s about love and nourishment. But sometimes, soup is not real soup.

When we first meet Zheng Yi Sao, she is posing as Susan the Soup Merchant. But before the end of the episode, it’s revealed that her soup-slinging ways are all artifice.

And just as soup is love, this Yi Sao’s soup-slinging pretense is indicative of the fact that she uses the semblance of sympathy to manipulate people to her own ends. Let’s look at the case study of her interaction with John Bartholomew: Having successfully sacked his ship, she gets news that he wants to shoot himself, but only with the captain that bested him watching. Yi Sao attends the cabin of of the clearly panicking John with Stede and Olu in tow, and lets John show his ass with his inground racist and misogynistic assumptions; with him first identifying the white guy as the captain, then the MOC, and finally the WOC. In spite of the insult, Yi Sao meets him with the contrivance of compassion to give validation his heightened emotionally volatile state, acknowledgement of the cultural assumptions that are making this a particularly difficult defeat for him to accept, but also plays INTO his misogyny by suggesting that if he follows through with killing himself that his final deed in life with be the (implicitly shameful) act of surrendering to a woman.

Once she has gotten him to a place where he feels like someone is listening to him AND understanding where he’s coming from, and shamed out of taking his own life, she applies the social lubricant to foster that warm, fuzzy feeling of camaraderie by suggesting they have drinks.

Pay close attention to the language she’s using when she’s talking John around. After John complains that he’s just trying to feed his crew, and maybe make a little extra money on the side, Yi Sao jumps in with more affirming statements to demonstrate that she understands and appreciates the obstacles he’s facing in obtaining his goals, and concludes with a restatement of his thesis:

“Sure, but they won’t let you. The Spanish, the Dutch, the fucking English! Everyone is cracking down on the little guy! Like, hello! How’s a pirate supposed to make a living?”

Having established that she understands where he’s coming from, she starts the bridge-building portion of her agenda; inviting him to identify with her because of common interests, but simultaneously downplaying her authority, AND using a rhetorical question to which he can easily agree in order to prime him to continue agreeing with her further down the line:

“I don’t speak for everyone, but I didn’t get into this business to fight other pirates, did you?”

She’s also using neurolinguistic programming: all the while that she’s talking to him, she’s reaching her hand out to him - a gesture that mimics the way she is metaphorically reaching out to him, and inviting him to reach back. She then floats a hypothetical that ALSO is easy to say “yes” to, but posing it as a question rather than an order to encourage him to buy into the idea rather than just submit to it:

“What if we could all work together, support each other?”

From here, she plays coy - feigning reticence to float an idea as though it’s TOO audacious, and employing a little false modesty, suggesting her idea is stupid, to not only, once again, play into John’s misogynistic zeitgeist, but to allow him to feel that, when she DOES give voice to her ultimate plan, he can feel like HE won one over on HER by enticing it out of her.

“I don’t know… be, um…Oh! Forget it! It’s stupid. What if… What if we could be partners?”

And that, ladies, gentlemen, and those betwixt and beyond, is how you get someone to cheerfully buy into their own subjugation in the coming invasion.

And make no mistake - invading and conquering the Caribbean IS what Yi Sao is after. She's not looking for partners - she's looking for subordinates. She’s very clear about that with Stede back aboard the Red Flag.

Her soupy subterfuge in the Republic of Pirates was a reconnaissance mission to scope and get info on the local talent in order to try and get them to either join her or die. But she’s not picky either way. Her red flag fleet is already making its way over land at the isthmus of Panama. This IS going to happen. So are you on-board or not?

“Okay,” I hear you say (or not. I don’t know you well enough to put words in your mouth), “but she’s really nice to her crew, providing them with gentle exercise and kind words and soup that, according to all the Caribbean pirates who taste it, is so good it might be the best thing they’ve ever tasted. What makes you think it’s manipulation and artifice, and not the real thing. Maybe she’s just actually compassionate, but her compassion has its limits - the proverbial iron fist in a velvet glove, as it were?”

Because we’ve already seen this behavior before. Using alcohol to lower inhibitions, using both shame and sympathy to motivate participation, using neurolinguistic programming to let the other party think that THEY’RE the one driving the action, and even being calculatedly withholding to make people think they’ve won something when they extract it from you:

That’s right. It’s Calico Jack, the master manipulator (RIP, asshole) all over again. But whereas Jack leaned further on the typically masculine end of the shame-to-sympathy scale with bullying and establishing himself as a subject matter expert, Yi Sao is coming at it from a decidedly more typically feminine place, encouraging self-identification and downplaying her strengths and contributions. But Yi Sao also ups the game transforming into what the other person needs her to be to close the deal. With Jackie the bossbitch businesswoman, Yi Sao is the Money Bitch. With John Bartholomew the prototypical pirate drowning in toxic masculinity, she’s a feminine fount of sympathy and understanding who, gosh, just CAN’T be sure that her silly little ideas are any good unless a big, strong man affirms that for her. And with Stede, she’s a girl-friend who has BEEN THERE and wants to dish about his toxic ex and all the complicated feelings about that.

So when we hear:

It should immediately throw red flags, both for us AND Stede. He was THERE when she used this voice with John Bartholomew. There might not be any liquor, but she KNOWS that Stede has said that he encourages this kind of “talking it through” behavior, so she doesn’t need to get him to buy into it first. Instead, she launches directly into the same kind of tactics she employed before. She hears Stede say “[The crew] couldn’t keep living like that. Ed can be quite troubled.” Out come the affirming statements to demonstrate that she understands where he’s coming from, and restatement of his thesis: “You must feel so weird. Like you’re glad he’s alive, but then he did all this evil shit to your friends?”

Then on to bridge-building (literally and figuratively - look how she reaches out to clasp him on the shoulder) to invite identifying with her: “I’ve dated my fair share of guys on ‘Wanted’ posters.They’re hot.”

She doesn’t bother with downplaying her authority, because Stede has just confessed to being a novice in terms of romance, but she is so calculated with her wording, floating a scenario that invites Stede to come up with a solution for: “But it always ends in a massacre and then the wrong people get hurt.”

So when she “caves” to his suggestion of “Maybe we could avoid that happening here?” with “I AM feeling a little merciful today,” it begs the question:

What, exactly, was going to be the price of this “mercy” if Auntie hadn’t interrupted?

So Roach isn’t wrong when he praises the soup they get aboard the Red Flag as “Beautiful, complicated, and balanced.” It IS a complicated act, an artfully balanced deception, and beautiful in its artifice. It HAS to look better and more enticing than the real thing. Because it will never give you the actual nourishment you need.

[quillyfied]

Okay final episode thoughts that I don’t know that I can expand into real coherent thoughts so heck it we’re doing it live and cramming them together, no chronology just memory vibes, PART FOUR:

- I think part of the problem of it feeling so fast an episode, for me, is the anticipation; I waited to watch it with friends and by the time it was finally happening I had been waiting all day and it was killing me.

- That being said, the pace is breakneck, for something that starts so peacefully

- Love that we get immediate confirmation that Ed is not suited to a fisherman’s life. Though I do love the conflict inherent in Ed meaning “simple” as a compliment based on how hectic and chaotic his life has been up to this point, but of course someone who doesn’t know any of that would think he’s insulting them.

- Also very interested in the shift of Ed going to direct killing rather than trying to put a layer between it and himself; it’s the Kraken but in Protection Mode. Adore that for him. (And maybe the killing doesn’t count if they’re English Navy.)

- I had a feeling Stede was talking to Zheng about being a failure the longer the season went on. Delighted to be proven right. Was also shocked to hear she thought Auntie was dead but then had to reckon with the fact that she hasn’t analyzed a single screenshot and spotted Auntie like I did soooooo

- The simmering anger in my own gut when I saw Spanish Jackie’s overrun and the lady herself treated like that. Also OF COURSE THEY BUILD UP RESISTANCES TO IOCANE POWDER POISON IN THIS HOUSE

- (Side note but the number of ofmd fics, my own included, that have Princess Bride as a reference or element in them makes me smile)

- Calling Ricky Pinocchio. IZZY calling Ricky Pinocchio. The layers. The subtext. The intertextuality. The face-value humor. I’m salivating.

- The letter Ed reads! The way they say the words together!! If they don’t start next season with matching lover’s tattoos (or include it somewhere), I’m rioting.

- THEY GET TO RUN AT EACH OTHER ON A BEACH TO NINA SIMONE FOR REAL THIS TIME

- okay but is Ed’s knee brace a victim of the budget cuts this season bc I miss it

- the entire time they were running at each other I kept shrieking “please don’t stab each other. Please don’t stab each other. Boys please drop the swords and don’t accidentally stab each other”

- KISSIES.

- I LOVE YOU. TWICE.

- Zheng having it up to HERE with these useless gays

- NOT NOW ZHENG THEYRE VERBALLY AFFIRMING THEIR CARE FOR EACH OTHER AND ALSO KISSING

- Olu caring for Auntie. I cry.

- I also cry bc it has seemed to me all season that Auntie and Zheng have a dynamic similar to Izzy and Ed but less deeply toxic; I love that just because it isn’t as toxic, it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t still hurt them both. Auntie choosing to listen to Olu and be softer and more open with Zheng, and Zheng returning the favor, is so important to me. Cannot emphasize enough its sweetness. Especially with Zheng thinking she’d lost Auntie.

- “It’s only a suicide plan if we die” STEDE.

- Giggling to myself at the butt shot bc 1. Of course the guy whose butt it is has a whole post about it where he’s a delight, and 2. Fandom has been begging for them to show hole all season, y’all satisfied? ;P

- Why does everyone look so hot in those uniforms though. Why is Ed putting on a tricorn hat so attractive. These are uniforms that represent imperialist cruelty, WHY IS EVERYONE HOT IN THEM

- (It’s the rebellion of it all I think)

- Awfully bold of Ricky to immediately turn on them when he’s still close enough to be shot, but I think it’s his Rich White Boy recklessness.

- Con O’Niell giving the performance of a lifetime to the very end. The subtlety of Izzy not being okay through the entire mad dash to the Revenge, culminating in him leaning on Ed AND Frenchie and the implications of that I EXPLODE

- So. Turns out my final mini theory about that bloody hand screenshot from the trailer was right; it is Izzy’s blood, and it is Jim that Ed’s hand is blocking.

- Izzy giving the apology we have been waiting for all season as a deathbed confession, HECK

- And giving voice to the fact that he loved and needed Blackbeard! And that he knew he was feeding it even though Ed had OUTGROWN it!! And giving Ed closure and release from having to be Blackbeard!!! GUUUUUHHHHH.

- I really didn’t think izzy was going to die until three days ago. Im so sad. It’s thematic and perfect and if someone had to die of course it had to be Izzy and they did him right by that death scene but I CARE MORE NOW. CHEFS KISS STORYTELLING.

- This end bit, to my memory, feels a little scattered and messy; Zheng wanting to work together to get back at Ricky…and then the ship sails off without Ed and Stede. Maybe I need to watch again but I got some whiplash there. Like yeah it’s way more important to the story that Ed and Stede get at the very least a break from piracy before the next season, more in line with the themes and character arcs, but. Idk. Felt sudden still?

- Pete and Lucius marriage ;A; “you may slash each other’s faces” ROACH PLEASE

- YES ED WE SEE YOUR ROMANTIC SIDE EYE

- FRENCHIE IS THE CAPTAIN NOW. Capitalizing on that quiet arc he’s had all season!! I love it!!! And showing that all of the Revenge crew have it in them to be leaders and the best versions of themselves when given an environment where they can. And now they have capable women aboard! Win-win!!

- I need to go dig up my post about the hollowness and toxicity of revenge in this show bc I have more examples to add to it and strengthen my theory

- Ed and Stede about to go through their Anne and Mary arc. Let’s hope they pivot faster than the other two and don’t get stuck in a rut the same way. But I love that they get to try this out together, to find new dreams and things to do together. They deserve that.

- I also respect the showrunners so much for giving us an ending that could be a decent end if Max doesn’t renew for a third. I like being able to hold my two favorite shows next to each other and see that the two extremes of ending in an uncertain place work—for GOmens, a heart-shattering cliffhanger was absolutely the right call. For OFMD, a soft ending that can be expanded on if allowed. I love them both.

- Gonna go rewatch and then rewatch the whole season and then rewatch both seasons, excuse me.

[practicefortheheart]

Current things

Thank you for tagging me @crazybutgood <333

3 ships: Aziraphale x Crowley (Good Omens), Nick & Charlie (Heartstopper), Ed & Stede (Our Flag Means Death), also every Green Creek couple (but I think Robbie & Kelly the most).

Last song: since my dad passed away I've been listening to his music a lot (music was his thing, he knew so much about it, and he made me a spotify list when we learned he was sick) and so I've been listening to a lot of oldies. Last one was Sweet Lady Genevieve by The Kinks.

Currently reading: My coworker knows I'm into ghost stories and she recommended Home Before Dark by Riley Sager to me. It's pretty good, I like the setup (kind of a story within a story) and I'm about halfway and still not sure what is going on exactly.

Last movie: I don't watch a lot of movies, but I watched half of The Hobbit when my husband was watching it.

Currently watching: Not really anything at the moment! I started Only Murders in the Building, but my interest kind of fizzled and I stopped watching. (if you can rec me anything, please do!)

Currently craving: Chocolate, but I don't have any in the house (damn those new year's resolutions).

Currently consuming: Schweppes Tonic.

tagging: I'm not around a lot so no clue who has already done this. If you feel like it, please go ahead and tag me! @shealwaysreads @alanna342 @vanillaflowerstuff @better-be-daydreams just in case you want to, babes.

[alas-ye-have-revenge]

OC Info:

Full Name: Rosalie Smith

Also Known As: Rose, Rosie.

Status: Alive

Nationality: Barbados born to English nationals

Height: 5'2

Eye color: Blue

Hair Color: Light brown, often ends up with blonde streaks due to being in sunlight for hours.

Gender: Female

Age: 19

Occupation: Crew member of the Revenge, often working on deck or in the kitchen.

Family:

Annalise Smith-Mother

Robert Smith- Father

Sebastian Smith- Older brother

Thomas Smith- Older brother

Robert Smith Jr- Older Brother

Christopher Smith- Younger brother

FC: Emma Watson

----------------------

Rosie's backstory:

Rosalie was incredibly lucky to be born into the family she was. She was born into a rather weathly English family in Barbados where her father owned a few businesses, and her mothers family was well known within London. She grew up rather comfortably with her 3 older brothers, and when she was 6, her younger brother was born, bringing the Smith siblings to five.

She was raised by her rather strict and stern mother to be the perfect lady of class, prim and proper as a lady of her social class should be (or at least that what her mother told her continuously) . She was taught how to read and write, needlepoint, how to sew and the etiquette she would need to know in order to survive in the world of wealth whilst her brothers were allowed to do thing such as play outside, allowed to play in the dirt when they were younger and pretty much do whatever they wanted which lead to Rosie and her brothers growing apart due to their different upbringings.

By the age of 19, her world came to a screehing holt when her father announced she was to be married to the eldest son of the Jacobs family, another influential family in the area. Rosie didn't want to get married. Not at her age and definitely not to a man she didn't even know. She didn't want this life forced on her, and she refused to be thrown into the married life without a say, but she couldn't think of anyway how to get out of it except to run away and to leave her old life behind. One dark night, she put her plan into action and ran away from her family home with only a small bag full of only the essentials, not even leaving a note for her family. She needed to get away from Barbados and her family if she wanted to be truly free.

It was a miracle she ran ( quite literally) into Stede Bonnet and was hired (albeit reluctantly on his part but he felt bad for the girl as he knew what it was like to be trapped in a loveless marriage) and thus she became a crew member of the Revenge, eager to prove herself to the world and eager to build a life of her own that wasn't going to be dictated by others and a life of adventure of the high seas certainly didn't sound too bad.

She gave up her youth for her future and she would do whatever she could to make sure that no opportunity was wasted.

--------------

Rosie's outfit:

[mysteriouslybluepirate]

O and X?

O - Choose a song at random, which ship or character does it remind you of

X - top 5-10 characters who are yoUR PRECIOUS BABIES AND YOU WILL DIE DEFENDING THEM

----------------------------------------------------------------------

O: WARNING: My taste in music is embarrassing.

So when I read the ask I was listening to this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZTTnAG0sSk

But to go on with the ask, I'll shuffle my current Spotify playlist. I'll do 3 cause this is a shorter section.

Not Evil- (Tiffany Haddish, From the Lego Movie: The Second Part)

So, this is awkward, cause I have a fan music video that plays in my head for this for OFMD. Evil Stede Bonnet is my shit. In canon, he's oblivious and hurts those around him, but purposefully EVIL Stede? Candy to me. Obviously, Izzy's the only one that sees through this. Watching as everyone around him falls to Stede's seductions.

Coconuts-(Kim Petras)

*sigh* You already know. He's in my head, at all times. Izzy Hands. Booba, Honka Honka.

The Anthem of Mr. Dark - The Arcadian Wild

Edward fucking Teach. This whole song(just like Ed) is voice envy for me. Plus, just being unhappy with where you've ended up in life. But it's really playful, and soft, and hopeful. It's not sad like it should be. Radiates Ed vibes.

For non-OFMD choices, I have no idea about my first song. Maybe Benry from Half-Life Vr AI(A really niche internet comedy improv series).

Coconuts I'll push on Geralt(Witcher TV) or Cas(Supernatural) and Anthem goes to Jaskier(Also Witcher TV, but only the fandom Jaskier we've all agreed on)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

X - top 5-10 characters who are yoUR PRECIOUS BABIES AND YOU WILL DIE DEFENDING THEM

TLDR: Loyal sidekicks who just need a hug, a warm blanket, and an ear to bitch into. That are often ignored by their wider fan base.

John Watson- Most adaptations of Sherlock Holmes. THE OG CHARACTER I OBSESSED OVER.

Watson, to me, defines if an adaptation is going to work. He's not a henchman meant to be there for Holmes' ego. Watson is his own fucked up guy, hell, do you think Holmes would keep someone around that was dull? My favorite fan work, Warlock Holmes, gives Watson a fascinating character arch that explores loyalty, addiction, grief, PTSD, masculinity, societal expectations, and ethics. I had a Holmes(all media types) faze from 2015- essentially now. It's what I read when I just feel like shit. Watson is just as batshit as Holmes in the original short stories. Willing to murder, hide evidence, and fight to protect Holmes. Baby.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

AGENT 99- Get Smart (1965–1969)

Deep cut. My family kept a box set of this show that they grew up with. This show was a James Bond parody series in the US in the 60s that really hasn't aged well.

Agent 99, the lady on the right, is a fucking delight and was one of my first tv crushes. The whole joke is 'The Simpsons' set up of a Dumb Husband and Smart Wife. But 99 is fucking amazing. Due to when this show was aired and general sexism, she's not able to just solve every case for 86(on the left). But the audience is meant to know that She's the one doing all the work. She is sarcastic and witty, and not afraid to stick up against 86's ego and hot an ahhhhhhh. It's supposed to play against the trope of the 'useless' woman in Bond media, but she gets just as much development as her partner. We also see them build up their relationship over the course of five seasons into a loving couple, and 86 knows he's the one who got lucky. When she opens up she's highly passionate and a huge fucking nerd. They're both dorks and I love them.

She's also always willing to get in danger for her fail husband. Don't get me started on the awful movie adaptation.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Izzy Hands- Our Flag Means Death

You already know my thoughts if you've been following me for a while. The showrunner, writers, and actors all love this fuck up. He's a pleasure to write, and fuck, he's compelling. I know the magic of Izzy is how much we don't know, but I'll enjoy the ride while I'm here. It's not often that my favorite character is liked by the writers (Castiel, Supernatural), so I'm living for the welcoming community we've built online.

I want his gender, and that's okay! Please and thank you, with leather on top.

Special Mention: Jean Vicquemare- Disco Elysium. He and Izzy are the same sad man.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jaskier(Dandelion)- The Witcher(All Media Types)

*Look* I've only seen the two seasons of the show. Jaskier is barely in it and sidelined as much as humanly possible. With that, I've spent two years of my life reading as much fanfic with him as the main character as I could consume. He is my first case of gender envy and the reason I've been listening to The Amazing Devils for 3 years. Jaskier is who I think I am in a friend group, sarcastic, bitchy, and judgy.

I am fully aware that he shines in the books. The show fucked over every aspect of Geralt and Jaskier's friendship, and honestly, I would have read the books if OFMD didn't come out when it did. I prefer the idea of Jaskier I've built in my head. He's been there for years, he might as well stay. He is an immortal half-elf and is Ciri's beloved uncle/third parent. This mess of a show won't take that from me.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Hanzo Shimada- Overwatch

Did he murder his brother over a family feud? Yeah, kinda. Is he the personification of an 'older sibling'? 100% Did Blizzard ignore a growing fanbase in 2016 and give us almost no lore about him beyond that? Yeah.

Just like with Jaskier, fan interpretation is what drives this fandom. He thrives as the fandoms emo bitch, and I like him so much.

Not a fandom I spend too much time in (besides now, where I spend most of my free time playing O2). But I always loved the general 'there are 50 ships in this fandom' vibe. (Also, throw Cassidy here, he deserves it)

-----------------------------------------------------------------

And Finally. My Queen.

Morrigan- Dragon Age (Spoilers Ahead for the video games Dragon Age: Origins, II, Inquisition)

If I was raised to be the 'spare', younger, body for an elven god mother, raised in a marsh, I would be just as socially fucked up as she is. She is a Bioware Tsundere, like most on this list, seems easy to read but complex once you crack that shell. Her story through the games is amazing and seeing her slowly learn the truth and accept who she is, is inspiring. Growing up I used to play as a male character just to romance her.

She doesn't need love to be happy in life. Just someone to support her in the bullshit that she's about to go through. Playing the game from a friend or lover's POV is rewarding (cough cough *Alistar*). When you do romance her, she's still sarcastic, insensitive, and herself. She doesn't see a reason to change for you (Alistar). She views love as stupid bullshit that will get you killed, and in this story, she's right!

If you fuck up in some story decisions, she still has agency and will leave you if her moral lines are crossed. Nowadays this is kinda common, but when I first played this game as a kid, I was afraid of doing the wrong thing and making my favorite character leave. My only issue is you can't romance her as a female Gray Warden. But Leliana is Bi in origins and is usually my first choice. She does a lot of shit I don't agree with though...

More Mentions:

Castiel. I'm done with Supernatural (years active 2019-2022). I might watch a 'Winchesters' episode if he's in it. But I've moved on. Love him, and will defend him, but that is behind me.

Phoenix Wright (Phoenix Wright). The embodiment of 'I'll get through this somehow'. He tries so hard to be something more than he is, before one day learning that living a happy life is enough.

Dorian (Dragon Age Inquisition)- Gender Envy. I love a sarcastic mage. Also, his coming out scene always makes me emotional. He's learning to be his own person in a strange new land and AHH.

@born-on-a-beach-teach  Thanks for the ask! I ask the same questions back at you!

[izzysprettyhusband]

Matching rings and kisses

Trans!Izzy x gn!Reader

summary: You and Izzy got some time off and you decided to explore the town a bit.

warnings: cursing and probably ooc Izzy

Izzy and you finally got a day off after working on the ship for god knows how long. You were told by Lucius that he, Stede and Edward would go on ‘’an adventure’’, and that you could walk around for a bit. So, naturally you and your boyfriend Izzy would go get some alone time and relax. Who knows when was the last time you two could be alone and show love and affection to one another?

“Hey, whatcha thinking about?” you heard from your side, snapping you back to reality. It was your boyfriend, who was desperately trying to get you to notice him.

“Oh, nothing, just thinking about when it was the last time we got some time alone together.” you responded, looking up at him. He isn’t the same as back with the crew. There is not a single sign of anger in his expression 

“It’s been fuckin’ forever, but now it’s just us.” he took your hand in his as you two walked down to the town, making sure you don't bump into other crewmembers. 

after some walking, you spot Stede and Lucius trying to sell the hostage you had taken a few days prior. You shoved Izzy behind a stone wall and hid yourself with him, making sure Stede didn’t notice you.

“Oh my fuckin’ god you can’t be serious-”

“Shhhh, shut it before he notices us!” you whisper-shouted and looked back at Stede. He turned his head around to look at you two but you pushed yourself and Izzy through a door of some kind and hid there, your bodies stuck together. You heard Stede call out your name a few meters from the door. You held your breath as you felt Izzy tensen up. After a few seconds you heard Stede leaving with Lucius, and you finally allowed yourself to breathe, as did Izzy. You looked up at him and smiled as you took his hand and pushed him further into the building you entered moments before to hide.

“Hey- i can walk by myself!” he scoffed as you walked into the darkened room which only had a few candles here and there.

“Oh great, we ended up at Spanish Jackie’s.” he sighed and stepped further into the booze smelling tavern. You walked around a bit, keeping distance from Izzy in case you spotted a crewmate. A small nice-looking lady caught your eye, and you walked over to her table. You noticed she was selling trinkets and gems, and as your eyes skimmed through the stuff you felt Izzy lean against the table. 

“Why hello there lads, would you like to buy anything?” she spoke but you barely heard her as your eyes spotted two matching rings with beautiful gems on them. You let yourself touch the cool steel and run your fingers over the stones. Izzy noticed you admiring them.

“Do you want them?” He asked as you nodded without realizing, and you started pulling out a bag of coins from your pocket, but Izzy stopped you quickly and put the coins back.

“How much for these?” he asked as he picked up the rings and some other stones as well

“Oh no you don’t have to-”

“Shut up. How much?” he cut you off and the old woman smiled

“Oh, why aren’t you such a gentleman? You can have them for free, they were’t going to sell anyways.” She spoke softly, but Izzy shoved a small bag of coins into her hands

“Take ‘em and buy yourself something nice.” He mumbled and took your hand as he walked back out of the building. It was already getting kind of dark, but you didn’t mind. He led you to a nice spot away from other people and turned to face you

“Izzy you really didn’t have to buy those for me...” You whispered, smiling slightly. He raised your hand and put the ring on you. He brought your hand up to his lips and gently kissed it, earning a smile from you.

“But l did, love. It suits you so well.” He blushed as you took the other ring from his hand and put it on his finger, smiling up at him.

“Never knew the fearful Izzy Hands was such a romantic person” You giggled as he pulled you closer by the waist, kissing you softly. You hently kissed him back, staying there with him like that for a moment.

“My my, i never expected you two to be found like this together” You heard Lucius say as you both pulled away from each other, noticing that he, Stede, Ed and Frenchie were standing there in awe.

“What the fuck- FUCK OFF!” Izzy yelled and pulled his dagger out.

‘What were you going to do with this man’ you thought to yourself as you grabbed his hand and followed the other back to the ship. You were both embarrassed to death and the teasing would not come to an end, even after Izzy cursed them off multiple times. You walked up to him and gave him a small kiss

“You know i love you, right Iz?” you asked as you kissed his cheek. In an instant he calmed down and kissed you back.

“I love you too, my darling pet” he whispered and leaned against your touch.

God, the amount you love this man.

[abihasablog]

Working Method part 1

Already posted to ao3 but @nhasablogg inspired me to publish here too!

Our Flag Means Death, established Ed/Izzy/Stede, SFW

This is a tickle fic ladies gentlemen and Jim's :)

--

The evening started, as most bad things do, with Stede making a pun. 

“Dunno, more of a raspberry jam person myself.”

“Whatever floats your boat, I suppose,” Stede grinned, Ed chuckling from the other end of the table at the joke. Izzy fought every instinct in his body not to roll his eyes - he had promised to be nice, after all. 

“Aw, Izzy didn’t like the joke!” Ed winked at his first mate. 

“I’ve yet to see you laugh, Izzy,” Stede cocked his head and looked over Izzy fondly. Izzy scowled at him. 

“I’ve yet to hear you be funny, Bonnet.” 

Ed threw his head back in a cackle, and Stede even cracked a smile, which was completely the opposite of what Izzy had intended. 

“Ah, Stede mate, Izzy’s a tough nut to crack,” Ed leant in conspiratously. “You know… in all the years I’ve known him, there’s only one method I’ve found to make him laugh.” “Edward,” Izzy tensed up suddenly, glaring at his captain with the force of a thousand suns. “If you finish that sentence I’ll wear your teeth as a necklace.” 

“What’s the matter, Iz?” Ed turned to him with a smug grin that made Izzy’s insides crawl. 

“Shut the fuck up,” Izzy hissed. 

“Ed, if it’s a secret that Izzy doesn’t want me to know…” Stede intervened and Izzy wanted to throttle himself for being grateful to him. Ed observed the pink tinge in his cheeks, the way his hands clenched into fists, and despite it all opened his big fucking mouth anyway.

“Izzy is ti-”

“Ed’s ticklish!” Izzy blurted out, standing and pointing an accusatory finger at Ed, who’s mouth fell open in shock. “Super fucking ticklish, everywhere!”

“Mate!” Ed’s cheeks flushed red under his stubble, looking between Izzy and Stede indignantly. “That is so not cool!” 

“Oh, like you weren’t about to blurt out one of my secrets?” Izzy scowled. 

“What, that you’re ticklish?!” 

“Not as ticklish as you!”

“Come now gentlemen, there’s nothing wrong with being ticklish!” Stede interjected, looking nervous at the weird energy building in the room. “Nothing to be embarrassed about!” 

“You’ve not seen how ticklish Edward is, that’s fucking embarrassing,” Izzy stepped out from behind the table and took a step towards Ed. Ed jumped away swiftly, eyes locked firmly on Izzy’s hands, moving slowly to stand behind Stede. “Using your co-captain as a human shield, are you?”

“Stede, protect me,” Ed ducked behind the back of the chair with a nervous laugh as Izzy approached, hands raised and clawed, ready to strike. 

“Bonnet, if you protect him I’ll get you too.” 

Stede flushed a deep pink, which absolutely did not go unnoticed. He cleared his throat, and took a sip of his tea. 

“Far be it for me to get involved in personal matters between a first mate and his captain!” He said nervously. Ed’s mouth fell open with a squawk of protest. 

“I thought we were friends!” 

“We are darling, but Izzy is currently scaring me quite a lot, so I think I’ll just stay here.” 

“Shame, coulda used you to help me hold him down,” Izzy grinned as both Ed and Stede flushed matching pink. “Never mind, I’ll manage.” 

With that, Izzy launched himself at Ed, catching the unsuspecting captain around the waist and dragging him to the floor. Too surprised to fight back, Ed blinked as Izzy shoved his shirt up to his chest and straddled him. “Izzy!”

“Shut up and take it, Ed,” Izzy dug his fingers into Ed’s sides, his own smile widening at the high pitched shriek that Ed let out. Hands wrapped around his wrists as he worked, wriggling his fingertips into the ticklish skin of his belly. 

“Nonononononono Izzy! Plehehehehehease not thehehehehehere!”

“Straight for the kill?” Stede questioned from where he sat. Izzy threw a look over his shoulder that had Stede squirming. 

“Tip for you Bonnet, gotta tire him out early so he can’t fight back,” Izzy shrugged. “What’s the matter, Ed? Too ticklish, hmm?”

Ed gasped through his laughter. 

“Dohohohohohohn’t!” He giggled, eyes squeezed shut. 

“Don’t what?” Izzy skittered his nails over the soft flesh below Ed’s navel. “Don’t talk about how ticklish you are?”

“Yehehehehehes!” Ed tugged weakly at Izzy’s wrists, head thrown back in laughter and feet scrambling for friction against the floor. 

“Alright fine, won’t talk about what a ticklish little tummy you have, and how much you love having it tickled.” 

“Do nahahat!” Ed thrashed under Izzy, face turning impossibly more red. “Stehehehede help!”

“Izzy, perhaps you ought to-” Izzy looked up to tell Stede exactly where to stick his suggestion, but this was all the opportunity Ed needed. He flipped them both quickly, forcing Izzy on to his front and sitting securely on his thighs. 

“Fuck off!” Izzy tried to flip himself over push Ed off. Ed tutted, taking Izzy’s ankles in hand and tugging off his boots “No! Nonononono Ed!” 

“Aw, baby can dish it out but not take it?” Ed cooed. He bent Izzy’s calves at the knee upwards, wrapping an arm around his ankles. “Anything you wanna say to me? Maybe an apology?”

“Fuck off, you like being tickled!” Izzy snarled, twisting like a cobra trying to escape the hook. Ed scoffed, gaze shooting to where Stede stared at them with wide eyes. 

“Do not. You do, though.” With that, Ed scratched his short nails up and down Izzy’s soles, a gentle touch that forced genuine giggles out of the pent up first mate. 

“Oh my God,” Stede whispered. 

“Gehehehet the fuck off mehehehehe!” 

"Don't think so, mate. Captain needs to keep his first mate in check, so this is me doing that, by tickling you until I'm bored."

Izzy didn't reply, too lost in his own laughter. Ed's fingers scribbled across his soles, targeting every inch of skin from heel to toe. Izzy gave up trying to flip them back around, instead burying his face in his hands and trying to muffle his squeaking laughter from his captains. 

"That's it, lay there and accept your fate, there's a good lad," Ed smirked as Izzy kicked harshly at the teasing. That was the thing with Izzy, he loved the teasing. Loved the praise that came with letting himself relax, but he'd never admit it out loud. He was lucky in a way that Ed was so bloody observant and had sussed very early on in their relationship that Izzy struggled to communicate with words. Ed always knew what he needed even if Izzy didn't know it himself, and as much as it physically pained him, he felt himself relaxing at Ed's merciless tickles. Even with Bonnet watching.

"Ehehehehed!" Izzy's voice was muffled by his hands, but Ed slowed anyway. 

"Need to stop, Iz?" 

"Juhuhust a second plehehease…" 

Ed stopped tickling, instead rubbing his palms across Izzy's feet to soothe the lingering tickly feelings. Izzy took a few deep breaths, and turned to gaze at Ed. 

"You're a bastard, you know that?"

"So you've said," Ed grinned. "Let me know, yeah?"

"Mmhmm." Izzy flopped back down. "Bonnet?"

"Uh-" Stede blinked at the unexpected address. "Yes, Izzy?"

"Need the afternoon off."

"Oh, of course! Of course you must." Stede brightened immeasurably at the request. "You both look rather tired."

"You look rather left out," Ed said cockily, turning to look Stede up and down. Izzy perked up at the new development, also turning to appraise Stede, who was quickly looking very nervous. 

"Don't worry about me! I'm very content to watch!" Stede jumped up from the table, moving to take cover at the other end of the room - or ship - but Ed and Izzy struck first. Izzy's hands latched around his ankles and squeezed tight as Ed surged forward to pull him down between them. Stede gasped in surprise, a protest on the tip of his tongue before two sets of devious, professional hands dug into his insanely ticklish ribs. "Wait! Nahahahahahaha!' Stede's hands grabbed uselessly at his tormentors.

“You’re all about equality on this ship, Bonnet, so it’s only fair you get the same treatment,” Izzy said, moving his hands down to see how ticklish Stede’s sides were, which turned out to be quite a lot. 

“Buhuhuhut there’s two of you!” Stede protested weakly through his giggles, thrashing from side to side to try and escape but finding himself penned in by his tormentors. 

“That’s true,” Ed threw a sly grin Izzy’s way. “You’ll have to let Stede tickle you Iz, in the pursuit of equality.”

“If that’s your angle, he gets a turn at you too,” Izzy pointed out smugly. “Maybe just take your boots off now, yeah?” 

“You-” Ed started, but halted when Stede shrieked suddenly, both him and Izzy looking to see what caused such a reaction. Ed noted with faint embarrassment that his hands had shifted downwards to latch at Stede’s hip. “Well, well, well.” 

Stede gasped in a few giggly breaths as the tickling stopped. 

“I’m not sure there’s any point in me begging for mercy,” Stede hid his face in his hands, eyes peeking in between his fingers to watch their hands warily. 

“If you’re not having fun, we can stop?” Ed said, voice suddenly soft. “It’s not meant to be bad. Right, Iz?” 

“Yeah, no judgement,” Izzy shrugged. Stede lowered his hands slightly and took a shuddering breath before speaking. 

“I suppose… it’s not awful,” he said bashfully. “You don’t have to stop if you don’t want to.”

“Aw, Stede!” Ed leant over him and pressed a little kiss to the tip of his nose. “You like it too!” 

“And you said liking it was nothing to be embarrassed about, so move your bloody hands and let us see your face.” Izzy jabbed a finger into his ribs. Stede squeaked and did as he was told, hands coming down to take one of Ed’s, and looked hesitantly at Izzy, who rolled his eyes before grabbing his other hand. “Tell anyone and you die.” 

“I understand,” Stede smiled softly, clearly delighting in a soft Israel Hands. “I just feel… a little overwhelmed. I’ve never been this physically open with anyone before.”

“Well good news for you, Izzy and I are very physically open, even if the little shit likes to pretend otherwise-” Ed ducked the smack aimed at his head. “And besides! You’re like, emotionally available and shit, and love talking about feelings and emotions.”

“Feelings and emotions are the same thing,” Izzy said. 

“No, feelings are sexier, obviously,” Ed countered. 

“Still, it does feel a little out of character for me to allow this,” Stede’s hands tightened around theirs. 

“You’re not allowing anything, Bonnet,” Izzy offered with a glint in his eye. “Ed and I are going to pin you down and tickle the shit out of you until you cry… with your consent.” 

“Oh,” Stede seemed to cheer up at that. “Well that’s different! Alright, I consent. Tickle away.”

“So kind,” Ed squeezed Stede’s hand once before releasing it. “So, hips…?”

“Not for too long, but yes, I think so.” 

“Excellent!” Ed clapped his hands together. "Need to be held down?"

"Uhm… potentially." 

Wordlessly, Ed shifted to sit above Stede, shuffling him into a comfortable position against his chest, sitting between his legs. He wrapped his arms around Stede's middle, securing him firmly in place. Stede squirmed nervously, leaning his head back against Ed's shoulder, taking comfort in his warmth. Izzy cracked his knuckles before moving to straddle Stede's legs. 

"If you need to stop, really stop, just say 'mercy', alright?" Izzy said sincerely. Stede nodded, not trusting his voice. "If you just say stop then I'm going to keep going."

"Why?"

"It can be easier to give up control if you feel like you're being forced into it," Izzy offered with the smallest, most comforting smile Stede had ever seen from the man. He felt his nerves settle. 

"Alright, ready."

"Good man," Ed whispered against his cheek, and dug his fingers in where they rested against his belly. Stede yelped before descending into giggles, wriggling as far as he could in Ed's strong grip. Izzy, in turn, started to trace swirling patterns with his fingertips along the soft skin of Stede's hips. 

"NO NO NO!" Stede shrieked, loud belly laughter echoing around the room. Thank God he'd had the foresight to soundproof his room, or someone would come running to see if he was being murdered. Which, he supposed he was.

"Ed, Izzy nahahahahahaha!" 

"What's the matter, Captain? Can't take a little bit of tickling? Poor ticklish hips."

"And belly, his belly is very ticklish too." Ed chimed. 

"I bet there's not a spot on him that isn't ticklish," Izzy mused, deepening the pressure of his touches to make Stede buck like a spooked horse. "Could spend hours just here and get to know every one of your spots. Sound like a plan?" 

"Nohohohoho!"

"I'm taking that as a yes," Izzy grinned, diving in. He moved downwards to latch on to Stede's thighs, fingertips and short nails curling into the soft flesh. 

"Nahahahaha stahahahahahap!" Stede's laughter was joyful, and Izzy and Ed both believed be didn't mean it, but wanted to check anyway.

"Won't stop until you ask for mercy, remember?" Ed prompted, to which Stede nodded furiously. "Good boy."

Stede made a broken sound through his laughter, fat tears slipping down his cheeks. Ed's hands drifted upwards to poke at his underarms, making Stede snort in a most ungentlemanly fashion. Izzy shuffled backwards, now perching on Stede's shins to allow better access to his thighs. Stede arched his back and kicked, but could do nothing as they worked him over, wringing laughter from him like water from a cloth. 

Stede felt his stomach flip as he imagined Izzy's teeth against his soft, inner thighs. He felt a flush of heat through his body as he caught Izzy's eyes, sparkling with mirth, and panicked momentarily that he could read his dirty thoughts. Izzy’s hands dipped lower, latching on to his knees and squeezing, and Stede was done. 

"Mehehehehercy!" He cried, chest heaving. The hands stopped immediately, not leaving him instead petting away the lingering tickles. Stede collapsed backwards with a gasp, eyes falling shut.

"Stede, mate? We break you?"

"No, no… I'm wonderful," Stede said giddily. "You're both wonderful."

"You make it easy with how bloody ticklish you are," Izzy ribbed affectionately - something only he could pull off. "You done for the day?"

"Maybe a nap, then regroup," Stede flopped off Ed and snuggled against his side, tugging both men to land either side of him with matching "oof's". Ed laughed softly, throwing an arm over Stede and nuzzling his cheek into the soft rug beneath them. Izzy grumbled but conceded, eyeing Ed from across Stede's chest. 

"When we wake up I'm gonna show Stede how ticklish your feet are," Izzy promised, not noticing he had slipped and called Stede by his first name for the first time. 

"Oh, my feet. Didn't get my feet," Stede sighed wistfully. "When we wake up, please?"

"You're so fucking weird," Ed grinned, and Stede grinned back. "But of course, darling little tickle toy. When we wake up."

[a-cumberbatch-of-cookies]

Sweet jesus but a Grease AU for OFMD is perfect

Stede moved to a new school, hooks up with the gay crew that go by the name Pink Ladies. Stede won’t shut up about Edward, the beautiful, sweet boy he fell in love with over the summer.

While on the other side of the building is Ed “Blackbeard” leader of the T Birds making up lewd details about the sweet piece of ass he was fucking over the summer, not mentioning how incredible Stede was and that he’s definitely heartbroken about being away from his love.

Until BAM they run into each other in the halls and it’s summer lovin all over again!

[toyboy-molloy]

I posted 3,234 times in 2022

351 posts created (11%)

2,883 posts reblogged (89%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@wilyangel

@starbuckhan

@missielynne

@babygirl-bonnet

@marykris

I tagged 3,234 of my posts in 2022

#our flag means death - 790 posts

#me - 478 posts

#blackbonnet - 358 posts

#my posts - 280 posts

#bbc ghosts - 271 posts

#blackbonnet fanart - 218 posts

#rhys darby - 172 posts

#only murders in the building - 155 posts

#stede bonnet - 146 posts

#video - 102 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#tfw you’re getting your head massaged by a head specialist whilst his weird little beard-bow wearing husband talks about killing a prussian

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

izzy: ooooh daddy, daddy

lucius and pete:

390 notes - Posted March 29, 2022

#4

so sexy of taika waititi to make crisp rat act incompetent, be gay for five minutes then have him fuck off to another planet for the rest of the movie

433 notes - Posted July 9, 2022

#3

if stede doesn’t pull ed into a kiss by the cravat what is the point of him wearing it

491 notes - Posted July 25, 2022

#2

selina: whoever you are, you obviously grew up rich

batman:

747 notes - Posted March 6, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

the fact that chris hemsworth’s daughter played gorr’s daughter and natalie portman’s kids played asgardian children as well as taika waititi’s children and chris hemsworth’s wife played the wolf lady he was making out with. a real family affair

5,435 notes - Posted July 10, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[lilithpleasant-archive]

look, i LOVE ed and stede, but i also miss playing lady sims sometimes, lmfao, so the past day ive been doing a build for (icona pop voice) me and my girlfriend and her son and its very cute and so are we

[bismuthburnsblue]

Lady Stede part 1: the shift!

(this is all about prep & the pattern, tomorrow we will begin the actual making!!)

so as ive already mentioned, im not focusing in on a specific period for my shift pattern, instead trying to make something i can get the most wear out of as possible. i dont think theres going to be anything inaccurate about my finished shift, but thats not been a specific consideration for me.

Ill mostly be following this blogpost by Angela Clayton & the cutting guide linked within it. theres a couple other resources ive looked at to make this, but i think those form the foundation of how im going forward.

im using a linen that i bought a couple of years ago for the purposes of making a shirt or shift, so it feels good to be finally getting around to using it! its pretty light and slightly see through, and when i prewashed it the hand softened up a ton, which im super happy about too. it should drape up really nicely!

its 140cm wide (actually, its more like 145cm, but lets ignore that, im just going to work it into the length of my shift) so ill be cutting my body with a shoulder seam for better fabric efficiency.

If you wanna read more specific stuff about patterning & even see my cutting plan, its below the cut! this was just getting a little long :)

Theres 4 shapes i need to cut for a shift - the main body, the sleeves, the side gores & the underarm gussets - but a lot of the measurements are pretty arbitrary, especially in this era where they were a relatively loose garment.

i knew i didnt want too much extra around the bust, both because it ties into how far off the shoulder the seam falls, and for sensory reasons- i hate having too much fabric underneath a tight garment, aka my stays- and i wanted slim sleeves for a similar reason, as sleeves in this era are pretty tight, so i drafted a quick mockup from my bust & flexed bicep measurements (and a couple other things i picked at random) to see how things were looking. you should be able to do a shift without a mockup, but im personally glad i did, because i decided to adjust a couple numbers after it!

while thinking about cutting, i thought id have a look to see if there was any lay planning software out there- i found this one, which i think is for cutting wood, but works great for planning out rectangular sewing projects too! i had a great time tweaking numbers until it fit together in the best way possible !!

So! heres my final cutting plan w/ measurements :) ill need to cut a diagonal down my gores to make triangles, but other than that, this is exactly what ill be working with!

(i have more yardage than this, so the extra section will just be left attached to the rest of it! though i did see narrow cuffs for the sleeves mentioned in some sources, so ill get those out of there too, if i decide to include them!)

[ciaranshade]

Carolina Lowcountry Gothic

- They say Charleston is the most haunted city in South Carolina. What they don't tell you is that they're all haunted.

- Everyone knows and talks about the gray ghosts - the Gray Man who shows up on Pawley's Island whenever a hurricane is coming, the Gray Lady who wanders Debordieu and Brookgreen Gardens morning the loss of her son. But nobody talks about the Gray Creatures on the beach. You ask the old man - the one who's lived here as long as anyone can remember - and he tells you they're just Sand Cats. "Yes, they looked like cats," you tell him, "But they didn't really move like cats, and they were awfully big -" The old man cuts you off with a waving motion and shakes his head. "Sand Cats!" he insists, his voice almost angry. "They're nothin' but Sand Cats, and I won't hear no more about it!"

- The wind whispers through all the trees, but when it passes through the fronds of the palmetto, it laughs - a dry, raspy laugh, its tones even more ancient than the distant thunder of cannon fire from across the harbor. You ask your friend if he heard it, too. He laughs - a nervous echo of the wind - and says your ears are playing tricks on you.

- The tour guide tells stories of all the hauntings in Charleston - the souls of prisoners who died at the Provost Dungeon, Lavinia Fisher at the Old City Jail, the Gentleman Pirate Stede Bonnet and his crew at Whitepoint Gardens, the girl with consumption buried alive in the graveyard, the baby that cries in the yard of St. Philip's Church. The stories always vary a bit, and the ghosts don't mind. They're just happy to be remembered. You ask the tour guide about the old Market, the hub of Charleston's slave trade - surely such a place, steeped in cruelty and disregard for human life, is bound to be haunted as well. The tour guide's face grows stiff. They don't talk about the Market. The last guide to speak of them nearly choked to death in the middle of his tour. The tour guide can still see his face - cheeks turning purple, eyes shot through with blood and terror. The Market ghosts are off limits. They are done being exploited.

- There's something about the ladies who sell sweetgrass baskets on street corners that entrances you - bright smiles and bright clothing, dark eyes dancing, skin gleaming with sweat. If you can't afford their wares, at least smile or nod and say "Good morning." "Boy, 'e sure how outchea!" one says, waving a hand in front of her face. You can reply in one of three ways: "Sure is!", "Innit though?", or "Boy howdy!" Variations of these are acceptable, but you must reply.  Never ignore the basket ladies.

- Everyone knows about the Lizard Man. The only part of the story anyone can get straight is that he's a giant lizard who comes out at night and leaps on people's cars. It sounds ridiculous. You laugh. The locals stare at you with wide eyes. "You won't be laughin' when he busts through your windshield," they say.

- There's an island somewhere off the coast where they used to send victims of malaria and yellow fever. You wonder if the faint cries carried to you by the wind off the sea belong to them. 

- They tell you that Charleston is called "the Holy City," because there are so many churches. What they don't tell you is why there are so many churches. You always thought it was because Charleston was home to so many denominations of Christianity. The truth is, Charleston is home to something else, something you can only escape by entering a sacred place. Convenient, then, to have a consecrated building on every street.

- There's this woman you see frequently at the CARTA bus stop. Her clothing always seems to swallow her up. Even in ninety-eight-degree weather with eighty-percent humidity, she wears a long beige trench coat that obscures her face and reaches down to her ankles. You can barely make out her eyes peering from beneath her wide-brimmed hat. You've never seen her get on a bus nor step off of one. You've never seen her arrive at the bus stop nor walk away from it. She is simply there. And then she's not.

- Driving home at night on a dark country road with barely any street lights, you might think you catch a glimpse of something shadowy running alongside the car, darting in and out between the trees. Don't stop. Don't look at it. Keep driving.

- There's voodoo here. It doesn't permeate the air and seep into your bones like it does in Louisiana. No, here, it lurks unseen in the shadows, following you and whispering to you - superstitions and old wives' tales, you think. Still, you hold your breath or whistle as you walk by the cemetery, and you never brush your hair outside.

- You're thinking about purchasing a house in the area and ask the old man for advice. "If they ain't blue already," he says, "paint the door an' window sills blue. Or any part of the house. Just make sure it's got some blue on it." You raise an eyebrow. "Why?" you ask. He speaks seriously yet casually, in the same tone as someone suggesting citronella to stave off mosquitoes. "Keeps out the hags an' skincrawlers."

- Everyone you know has lost something or someone to the pluff mud.

- You always feel eyes on you, staring out at you from the tall marsh grass - unblinking, calculating. It's just a bobcat or an alligator, you tell yourself. Just a bobcat or an alligator.

- It is not just a bobcat or an alligator.

- Everyone's grandmother has told them that you must say, "God bless you" whenever someone sneezes. It is required. If you don't, their soul might fly out and get replaced with a demon. You don't consider yourself superstitious, but, somehow, you've never been able to avoid saying it.

- Your friend often complains about "damn bloodsuckers" and "no-see-ems." You think he's talking about insects. He's probably talking about insects. Right?

- The horseshoe crabs slide up onto the beach dragging behind them the endless sands of time. They are Eldritch beings from before the dawn of time, prehistoric beasts with blank eyes and hidden, skittering appendages. Their blood is full of ancient magic. Leave them be and respect their space. They are there for a reason.

- When you leave the seashore, the sand clings to you with insistent fingers. It doesn't want you to leave. Even after you wash it away at the beach showers, you can still feel it burrowed deep into your skin. The sand will never leave you. The sand will never stop calling you back to the ocean. And, in your heart, you know that you will return. You will always return.

- Time doesn't seem to pass the way it ought to in summer. The hours that trickle by like raindrops on a window in spring slow to the speed and consistency of tree sap. Moments stick in your memory like insects caught in amber. Did that happen yesterday or ten summers ago. You can't be sure. Time passes differently here in summer. And it's always summer.

[our-flag-means-death-ao3feed]

Mermaids, Marmalade and Marriages

by LadyAuroraWhitesails

Notorious pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read have shown up for a late night visit on Victory. They ask to stay. Not everyone believes they are there just to hitch a ride. The crew works together to try to figure out what their real reason is for wanting to be on a ship with the co-captains.

If that wasn't enough, Izzy and Lucius are learning to navigate their new relationship while Stede and Edward are eager to plan their wedding and don't want their guests to interfere with their future.

Just another week in the life of our (mostly) friendly gay pirates! Specific content warnings will come before chapters where needed and I'll change tags as the story develops. (WIP)

Words: 1685, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Our Flag Means Death (TV)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: F/F, M/M

Characters: Blackbeard | Edward Teach, Stede Bonnet, Anne Bonny, Mary Read, Our Flag Means Death Ensemble

Relationships: Blackbeard | Edward Teach/Stede Bonnet, Anne Bonny & Mary Read, Israel Hands & Lucius Spriggs

Additional Tags: Domestic Fluff, Lady Pirates, Light Smut, Slow Build, Wedding Planning, Mourning, Izzy and Lucius have to talk about sex, no beta we die like the badminton twins, We swear like pirates - language ahead!, Revenge, Hopefully a few laughs!

source https://archiveofourown.org/works/40709172

[kislak-center]

[Ed. note: we are very grateful to Dr. Patricia Stoop, visiting Brueghel Chair at the University of Pennsylvania / Universiteit Antwerpen for contributing this post.]

At the beginning of this year, the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts of the University of Pennsylvania purchased a unique and fascinating woodblock (c. 12.5 × 9.5 inches). Apart from the fact that for mysterious reasons over the course of time, a strip of about half an inch was cut off from the left end of the block—this was already the case when it belonged to a private owner in Eindhoven (Noord-Brabant, the Netherlands) in the 1950s—the woodblock is in excellent condition.

#gallery-0-5 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-5 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 50%; } #gallery-0-5 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-5 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Woodblock (UPenn Object Coll. Box 27)

Image from M. de Meyer, “Een oude bedevaartprent van Scherpenheuvel” in Volkskunde 13 nr. 3, 1954, p144

The devotional print is related to Scherpenheuvel (literally ‘Sharp Hill’, most often called ‘Montaigu’ after the French), which since the beginning of the seventeenth century was the main pilgrimage center in the Habsburg Low Countries. Its cult goes back to at least the beginning of the fourteenth century. In his continuation of the Spiegel Historiael the Brabantine priest and author Lodewijk van Velthem (c. 1260/75–after 1317) mentions a holy oak, which had the form of a cross and stood on the hilltop between the towns of Diest and Zichem, where he was ordained as a priest. The tree was worshipped because of the healing powers ascribed to it:

Van ere eyken die men anebede. LVII.

In desen tiden was ganginge mede Tuscen Zichgem ende Diest der stede Rechte bi na te middewarde. Daer dede menich sine bedevarde Tot ere eyken, dat si u cont, Die alse .i. cruse gewassen stont Met .ii. rayen gaende uut. Daer menich quam overluut, Die daer ane hinc scerpe ende staf Ende seide dat hi genesen waer daer af. Som [s]liepense onder den boem. Dus quam hem voren in haren droem Datsi vanden boem genasen. Aldus so quamen daer die dwasen, Ende die waren meest siec vanden rede, Ende vele verlorne daer optie stede. Dit duerde wel .i. half jaer, Sodat menige scerpe hinc daer Ende menich staf anden boem.

On an oak that was worshipped. Chapter 57.

In these days pilgrimage took place to a place almost in the middle between Zichem and Diest. Many went on pilgrimage there to an oak, that as you should know was grown in the form of a cross with two diverging branches. Apparently many put their pilgrim bag and their cane on the tree and said that they were cured thereof. Some slept underneath the tree. They believed that in their dreams they were healed by the tree. Thus the fools came there, mostly sick of mind, and lost many belongings in that place. This took place definitely for half a year so that many pilgrim bags and many canes hung there on the tree.

(Book 4, Chapter 57, ll. 4256–74)

Not too long after Velthem’s disapproving observation, a small statue of the Virgin Mary was placed in the cross-shaped tree. According to the legend, a shepherd had noticed around 1415 that the statue had fallen down. When he lifted it up in order to take it home, he was unable to move. Only when his master, who was worried because the shepherd had not returned home after work, put the statue of the Virgin back into the tree, was the servant able to move again. In this way the Virgin had shown the spiritual importance of the place. In the woodblock the shepherd is depicted in the lower left corner: he is identified by the French word berger, which indicates that the prints to be produced from this block were intended for a French-speaking audience.

After the miracle with the shepherd, the site was frequented by inhabitants of the surrounding villages whenever they were sick or a member of their family suffered from illness or pain. As suggested in the short passage from the text by Velthem, the pilgrims hung their support aids on the tree when they did not need them any longer: in October 1603 the tree counted no less than 135 canes. But there was also a lively trade in ex-votos: pilgrims could buy representations in gold, silver or tin of the body parts that were cured or needed healing (in the last case it was believed that the representation of the ill limb would take over the disease). These votive offerings were left hanging on the holy tree, as can be seen in the image above the radiant aureole in which the Virgin is depicted.

In the 1580s Scherpenheuvel found itself in the midst of the battlefields of the Dutch Revolt (1568–1648). While occupied by Protestant forces of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands between 1580 and 1583, the statue of the Virgin fell victim to an act of iconoclasm and was removed. After the town was retaken by the Spanish army, the cult was restored in 1587 by the parishioners of Zichem. (This town is represented in the woodblock both by the striped coat of arms at the left end of the woodblock and the stag with the crucifix at the right end of the block, which refers to St Eustachius, the town’s patron saint). By that time the site also had a strong appeal to Spanish soldiers who were wounded or infected by diseases. Via them, stories of miraculous healings spread all the way to France and the north of Spain. One of the people who benefited from these miraculous healings is represented centrally in the lower edge of the woodblock. Hans Clements—or Jean Clement as he is called on the woodblock (both names are derived from the Latin name Johannes)—, citizen of Lucerne in Switzerland, was born crippled. He traveled throughout the Netherlands on this knees, begging, until he arrived in Scherpenheuvel where the Virgin Mary finally answered his prayers and cured his disability.

The story about Hans (or Jean) Clements is one of the most famous miracles that happened in Scherpenheuvel in 1603 and 1604. It is extensively described by Philips Numan (c. 1550–1627), humanist writer and town secretary of Brussels, in his collection of miracles ascribed to Our Lady of Scherpenheuvel: Historie van de mirakelen die onlancx in grooten ghetale ghebeurt zijn door die intercessie ende voer bidden van die H. Maget Maria op een plaetse genoemt Scherpen heuvel by die Stadt van Sichen in Brabant [History of the miracles that happened recently in large numbers by the intercession and mediation of the Holy Virgin Mary in a place named Scherpenheuvel near the city of Zichem in Brabant]. Numan collected the miracles by order of the archbishop of Mechelen, Mathias Hovius (1542–1620). The first edition was printed in Louvain by Rutger Velpius in 1604. The image below is taken from the third edition printed by the same printer in 1606. Besides the publication in Dutch, Numan wrote a French version for the local nobility and a Spanish one intended for the court. Not much later an English translation was printed (1606). A Latin version was published by the famous humanist Justus Lipsius (1605).

The third edition of the Historie van de mirakelen (Brussels: Rutgeert Velpius, 1606). Copperplate engraving. Copy of the Heritage Library of the Ruusbroec Institute, Antwerpen, RG 3091 I 13. In the middle Our Lady of Scherpenheuvel is depicted in the same radiant aureole as can be found on the woodblock. She is accompanied by Hans Clemens to her right and Catherine du Bus, who is exclaiming the message of the devil.

The second great miracle is depicted in the lower left corner of the woodblock: there we see a woman on her knees, her arms spread while she expresses the message of the devil. The woman is identified as Catherine du Bus, a woman from Lille, France, who was able to speak Hebrew and Greek, although she never studied those languages, a clear sign that she was possessed by the devil. While being exorcized, she made predictions about the siege of the city of Ostend, which at the time was occupied by the Dutch rebels. During the process, which initially failed a number of times, the devil—in both the woodblock and the copperplate engraving he is pictured in a speech balloon—via Catherine’s mouth shouted to eyewitnesses that they were wrong in believing that the Spaniards would be able to win the siege. After eating a fragment of the oak tree of Scherpenheuvel, however, the devil was forced out, and on 22 September 1604 the Royal Spanish troops of Archduke Albert of Austria (1559–1621) took over Ostend, all thanks to the intervention of the Virgin of Scherpenheuvel.

Miracles like these established the fame of Scherpenheuvel as a pilgrimage site on a greater level than a regional one. In 1603, after they had heard that the Virgin had wept blood, the Archduke and his wife Isabella (1566–1633), who are depicted in the lower right corner of the woodblock (which is quite exceptional in devotional prints from Scherpenheuvel), visited the place for the first time and took it under their protection. In order to spread the devotion, books such as Numan’s and other devotional representations were mass produced. In the meantime a small wooden chapel was built for the statue of the Virgin in front of the oak in 1602. As we see in Velthem’s text, the worshipping of a tree was not much appreciated by the Catholic priests. Only two years later this wooden chapel was replaced by a larger, stone version. Likely it is this chapel that is depicted on the woodcut. In 1607 Albrecht and Isabella, out of gratitude for the expulsion of the Calvinists from the Southern Low Countries, decided that Scherpenheuvel had to be transformed into a fully-fledged pilgrimage site. In order to stimulate this they commissioned the building of a new basilica as a symbol of the Counter Reformation. The foundation stone of this new church was laid by them on 2 July 1606, the Feast of the Visitation of the Virgin. It is usually this basilica, which still is the destination of many pilgrims to this day, which is represented on devotional prints from Scherpenheuvel such as the example below.

Jean Clement and other pilgrims being healed by Our Lady of Scherpenheuvel, with the new basilica in the background. Printed by Johannes I van den Sande (1600–c. 1675), after 1620. Antwerpen, Ruusbroec Institute, Collection Alfons Thijs, KP 31.17.

This observation may help us in dating the woodblock. Contrary to the date of c. 1750 offered in the catalogue of Samuel Gedge Ltd. (from whom the Kislak Center acquired the piece) it is more likely that the woodblock is from a much earlier date. The fact that the woodblock does not depict the new basilica that was built from 1609 onwards (and consecrated in 1627), but instead the chapel that stood at the pilgrimage site before, indicates that the woodblock was produced in the short period between 1603/04, the years in which the miracles of Hans Clements and Catherine du Bus took place, and 1609 when the chapel was torn down in order to replace it with the new basilica, or certainly before 1627 when the new basilica was consecrated. Given the fact that devotional prints such as this woodblock were intended to propagate the cult of both the Virgin and the pilgrimage town, it seems to make little sense that one would not depict the impressive new church on devotional prints after it was completed. Moreover, the striking similarities in iconography with the copperplate engraving in the third edition of Numan’s Historie printed in 1606 as well as with a devotional print from 1602 and especially an approbation by the church on 17 November 1604 (see below) seem to support a dating in the first decade of the seventeenth century.

–Patricia Stoop

References

Bowen, K.L., Marian Pilgrimage Sites in Brabant: A Bibliography of Books Printed Between 1600–1850 (Leuven: Peeters, 2008).

De Meyer, M., ‘Een oude bedevaartprent van Scherpenheuvel’, Volkskunde: driemaandelijks tijdschrift voor de studie van het volksleven, 55 (1954), 144–45.

Duerloo, Luc and Marc Wingens, Scherpenheuvel: het Jeruzalem van de Lage Landen (Leuven: Davidsfonds, 2002).

Duerloo, Luc, Dynasty and Piety: Archduke Albert (1598–1621) and Habsburg Political Culture in an Age of Religious Wars (London: Routledge, 2012).

Samuel Gedge LTD, Catalogue xxv, no. 20.

A Woodblock on Pilgrimage: From Flanders to Philadelphia At the beginning of this year, the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts of the University of Pennsylvania purchased a unique and fascinating woodblock (

[deathbymassagebyamermaid]

“Oh no, no we heard about you all on the dock you last stopped at. We were just doing a supply run, we’re responsible for carrying our Lady’s most necessary cargo around quick as can be. But when we heard the news, and knowing of our Lady’s interest, we hastened to try and follow! It’s delayed our trip by a few hours, but I’m sure we can make up for it soon. Our ship is build for speed after all” Eadric says politely, sparing no detail

“Which speaking off, master navigator, would you mind giving a demonstration? The tales say you chart maps using only the stars and no tools in hand!” He asks North Rose, who glances at Ed and Stede between picking with her teeth with her dagger

Sighing she gets up “Hope ya got a notepad then cause I’m only explaining once before We all are going to bed” she says as compromise, glancing at Ed’s still faintly irritated eyes. She felt maybe a little bad about the hot bottle trick

It had felt badass in the moment tho

The least she could do was try to cut this ‘meeting’ as short as possible, leading Eadric a bit away to the side of the ship to explain

"Why's your Lady so interested in a navigator?" Ed purposefully picks up the wrong spoon to stir his tea with.