#calicoblack

[perpendicularpotatoes]

Maybe day number eight was when he had finally lost it [Fic]

Young Ed and Jack during the Hornigold Era. I suppose you can pretend it's someone else if you prefer to block out that particular part of Ed's history (it being Ed's business and all). 😉

But if you're not scared off, you can check out the accompanying fic on my AO3. (link to profile since it's explicit, mind the tags)

A becalming robs young Edward of all his usual coping strategies to deal with his brain when it becomes unbearable. With Jack's somewhat accidental help, he discovers a new one and learns some things about himself along the way. [Jack is pretty okay in this and doesn't really initiate any of the inadvisable behavior even if he is a bit over-enthusiastic once given a direction, but it is well received.]

It was originally conceived as a part of the longer fic I'm working on that is exploring the question of why you'd get a "Trust no one" tramp stamp, since that kinda feels less like a reminder to yourself and more like a message to the people topping you...

And which is ending up being a character and relationship study, exploring amongst other things the learning and unlearning of (internalized) toxic masculinity through seven times Ed had sex with various people and the history of his tattoos spanning from Hornigold's ship to Post-Canon Era.

But this part ended up not really fitting so I'm posting it as standalone one-shot that's more unapologetic smut.

And I'll obviously post again once I start actually uploading the more serious fic (and the accompanying fanart!)

Should be soon, since the first three chapters (and most of the art) are basically finished, but I want all seven properly planned out before I start uploading.

[salamanderinspace]

Edward Teach's "Type"

Ed's "type" is men who belive in realities that are contradicted by all evidence and blatantly detached from the plausible.

Stede Bonnet believes in a world where people can always be soft and kind and people-positive and hierarchy-dismantling, even on a god damned pirate ship.

Calico Jack believes in a world where pirates don't have friends. Not ever. They're all just in a non-stop process of fucking each other over. A state of nature.

And Izzy. Poor Izzy. Izzy believes in Blackbeard. He believes in the firey eyes and the 10 pistols and the bloodlust and the power and the pride and the legend. He believes in a man who cannot die.

And every single one of these men manages to make the world he believes in a reality--at least, for himself. Sometimes dragging Ed or other bystanders along with him.

[ladyluscinia]

My heart is a BlackHands shipper so I'm biased toward that above all else, but the most galaxy brained dynamic in my messy JackHands manifesto is definitely when Edward is having flings with Jack.

Edward is bored and Izzy is failing to fix it, so he's enthusiastically chasing the reliable bender of fun that hooking up with Jack for a few weeks pretty much guarantees. Jack isn't opposed necessarily, but he spends more time than he wants to thinking about how he's being so snippy with Izzy because Izzy gets so pissy about anyone Edward actively wants to fuck (even if said person hypothetically maybe would be more interested in fucking Izzy when Edward and Izzy were on the outs, except that's off the table so what's he supposed to do???). And they all know the situation is temporary (especially after the first time it happens) which prevents tempers from getting too crazy.

Basically the perfect storm of Edward wants Jack, Jack wants Izzy, and Izzy wants Edward. And they are all being such dicks about it.

[perpendicularpotatoes]

2 - Crow's Nest [Fic]

Chapter 2 of The Marks Left On Your Skin is up!

Hornigold’s ship ca. 1692 Ed / Jack Ed is around 22.

For this picture I learned how to paint sweaty/wet looking skin, scars and glass. Some wip and pretty drastic improvements below the jump!

first version is probably from July.

Close-up of the skin:

And Jack's hands. Probably the most drastic change with no in-between.

Probably a pretty basic tip, but taking reference pics of my own hands on the right pose helped me immensely. So did paying attention to how tensing the muscles changes shape and color!

Also adding that little bit of shadow where things touch takes it from awkward hovering to an actual grip... 😅

[ladyluscinia]

What kind of dynamic do you reckon exists between Izzy and Calico Jack? :D

I have other asks in my inbox that I should probably be getting to first, but I'm going to tackle this one because Calico Jack thoughts have been plaguing me. Also I'll probably want to add links and that's much easier if I don't wait.

Calico Jack! He's a bastard frat boy. He's Edward's shitty ex that he's probably had ill advised hookups with every few years. He's Edward's friend, but the kind you really wish he would cut off while acknowledging he can't due to trauma bonding. He's a garbage fire of a man whose nastiness is thrown into sharp relief once you start Black Sails and realize that Jack Rackham makes you want to pet his head and coo "babygirl 💓" and cheer for his thruple.

Which makes it so very strange to slowly become fascinated with ways for other characters to like him and have longstanding relationships with him lol. Yet I have.

So. Short answer first.

My thoughts on Jack and Izzy started in what I'd assume was the very common understanding that these two fucking hate each other. Their personalities seemed likely to clash, Izzy probably doesn't have a record of liking Edward's boyfriends, and I mean... it's Jack. Then I moved onto maybe they are more just kinda bitchy but respect each other as pirates, and the main conflict in their relationship is a petty tug of war over Edward that, crucially, Izzy usually wins (which makes him comfortable, unlike with Stede).

Finally, I honestly don't know how I got to considering JackHands as a concept rather than "you crazy kids do you", but I did. And while I don't per se "ship" it, I am drawn to multishipping because I think characters having complex relationship histories is fun. And suddenly I'm sold on the idea that Jack has been carrying a fond torch for Izzy since forever, and they have hooked up before when Edward was ignoring both of them. Which is where I am now.

(I have one mutual who I know will find this heartbreaking, and for that... I'm sorry. Ish. 😆)

Now for the long answer... Buckle up. We're going to backstory headcanon zone.

-

To get setup out of the way... I don't place Izzy on Hornigold's ship. A couple reasons - mainly that I'm fond of the Navy backstory. I think Izzy is a few years older than Edward and Jack (though probably not a full decade) and they met as adults. Barely adults, on Edward's end (I'll put him at maybe 20), but adults.

I also think there was a gap period between escaping Hornigold and becoming Captain Edward Teach, because who gives a fuck about history? We've discarded that piracy careers were like 5 years long. We can stretch shit. And I want Edward to be a First Mate when he meets Izzy but not Hornigold's First Mate, because I want Hornigold to remain the kind of terrifying, imposing authority figure from his childhood that he can't quite believe he stood up to even decades later, so being his second in command kinda kills that for me. (Makes it more delicious to think about arc villain Hornigold.) For the Captain I'm leaning toward Sam Bellamy but that's off topic.

...At this point I'm realizing that my Izzy-Jack dynamic thoughts are by default Izzy-Jack-Edward dynamic thoughts, so we're actually starting with Edward/Jack.

Edward has a type. Aesthetically-obsessed. Kinda bitchy. Totally crazy. Jack is his type. Probably the first person he met that was, so I imagine they hooked up pretty fast and had a decently long relationship throughout years under Hornigold and continuing after. Edward seems to fixate on Stede pretty heavily long before getting to know him, which makes me suspect that's a pattern for him... in which case Jack was probably his first fixation person. That plus trauma bonding makes them close for life.

The thing is, though, Jack isn't emotionally invested in the relationship. Like he thinks Edward is fun and a good fuck but they aren't dating. Edward knows this, and it cools his investment too, especially as the fixation wears off. Edward free of Hornigold and looking at a future of possibilities is getting bored of Jack as his constant companion and #1 bestie.

Enter Izzy Hands. Fresh off a Navy ship, professionalism too ingrained to let a hair out of place while also absolutely feral with something to prove to all these pirates. He's fancier. He's fussier. He's bitchier. Edward instantly wants to know everything about him and insert himself into every aspect of his life. Jack? Demoted to drinking buddy that can barely hold his attention before Edward is once again bemoaning Izzy didn't immediately agree to fuck him when he did a sick knife trick!

Now, long term, this is not a major loss for Jack. His pride is a little sore over getting dumped, probably a bit bitchy about it, but he wasn't invested so he doesn't care that much. He remains involved in the newly established friend group (something Izzy will not manage with Stede when history repeats). And Izzy turns out to be a vicious little shit, which Jack admits is hot. They are hanging out together and bitchy friends through Edward deciding that he should get his own ship, and by the time Jack decides to strike out independently he's nursing a pretty decent sweet spot for Izzy (who is in the middle of falling hard and fast for Edward in the honeymoon period).

Fast-forward a bit. Edward's fixation on Izzy fades, but not before building a serviceable framework for codependency that Izzy shores up to secure his spot in Edward's life. Sometimes Jack shows up and hooks up with an eager Edward on a fratboy bender while smugly taunting Izzy because he can't help being a dick, which Izzy doesn't take too personally because it usually ends with Edward going back to Izzy (in a professional sense and often literally) when he gets bored again. Sometimes he shows up when Edward and Izzy are at a good point and they fall back into their original friend group dynamic to have fun for a while. And sometimes he shows up when Edward is fully distracted by something else, and - well.

If Edward doesn't want to fuck either of them, it's practically gentlemanly to offer Izzy some of that attention and appreciation that he's being deprived of. 😘 (Jack only shoots his shot when he thinks it might actually work. He knows Izzy's thing for Edward isn't going anywhere, and getting turned down is a bit embarrassing.)

(Izzy is more embarrassed about saying yes, but Jack doesn't refrain from flirting when he refrains from actually asking, so it's not exactly a surprise. And Jack can potentially get Edward jealous while also not actually turning it into a proper fight like someone else would.)

(And Izzy does like attention.)

The highlight of all this is the offscreen meetup between 1x07 and 1x08, when Jack serendipitously (he thinks) runs into Izzy after getting mutinied and asks where Edward is, only to immediately get the story about him dumping Izzy for some rich ponce. What the fuck, Edward? Naturally he offers a shoulder to cry on (and some rebound sex) but Izzy declines. He tracked Jack down because he wants someone to help him dispose of the new mistress, and Jack is more than game because this guy sounds like a waste of air. Really... He thought Edward had better taste.

(He will throw in a quip about Izzy being "sentimental" though, because this amount of effort to get Edward back when he could be having perfectly good rebound sex and leaving the bastard to get bored of his new fling...)

So yeah. That's the history I'm sticking with until canon overrules it or I come up with something better.

On a personality / day-to-day interaction level, I think both Izzy and Jack are naturally bitchy friends (which Edward finds hot). Izzy rolls his eyes at Jack's ridiculousness and Jack taunts Izzy about the stick up his ass, but they both have a base respect for each other. Jack because he's seen Izzy lose it in very dramatic fashion and thought it was hot as fuck, and Izzy because he knows Jack is way more clever and conniving than he lets on (which appeals to Izzy's competency kink, and is demonstrated by how masterful his manipulation in 1x08 is).

Also I cannot emphasize enough how much Jack flirts at Izzy. Izzy doesn't always flirt back, but it will be blatant. (Edward, again, thinks this is hot and funny when he's confident that Izzy is his. Less so when they are on the rocks.)

Oh, and I'm linking this fanart too because it was very persuasive on this mental journey. 🤣

[salamanderinspace]

I wish there was more love between the "gross teen boy" coded villains and the "very serious powerful Satanic Master" coded villains.

Like usually the gross teen boy villain will at least pretend to some semblance of fondness or respect for the more serious guy, but the more serious guy won't give it back, you know?

E.g. in tags

[salamanderinspace]

more CalicoBlack shipper manifesto material:

When the choice is "who do you want to spend time with? who do you want to hang out and do pirate shit with?" Ed choses Jack.

When the choice is "whose life is most valuable to you? who would you stand by in a crisis?" Ed choses Stede.

And I just relate to that so hard. The person I want to live next to is not always the person I want to die for.

[salamanderinspace]

I want to write a fic where Ed is 13 and he runs away because his mother has been watching from the corners and jumping at the shadows. He doesn't want to frighten her but she is frightened and if he can spare her that, he will. So he takes a job on Hornigold's ship. The man is cruel but it reminds Ed of his father and it feels like home somehow. The other boys become family, especially Calico Jack who is one year younger and looking for a leader. When Ed is 15 he gets his first tattoo and Jack is there, egging him on, so it doesn't hurt. When they're 16, Jack is injured in a raid and Ed takes care of him, fucking up the other guys when they try to mess with him or talk shit. When Ed is 18 and Jack is 17 they sneak out at night to swim in blind man's cove in the moonlight. The water is warm and the night is silent and they're testing each other to see who can hold their breath longest and they become lovers, almost accidentally. When Ed is 18, Hornigold gets drunk and gets it in his head that Ed has been stealing extra rations (maybe he has) and attacks Ed with a wild, paranoid look in his eye. He's about to deal a death blow when Jack steps in and strangles the old man. They flee and Ed starts growing his beard. They meet a kid named Izzy in a tavern and come together with two other boys to steal a ship. Ed arranges the whole thing and it goes off perfectly and they're all high on the power they have, the limitless potential and boundless freedom.

I can't write it because I can't write longfic but that's how it would go.

[salamanderinspace]

somebody on the bird website pointed out that Ed isn't embarassed of Jack, or of the person he is with him

and I would add that he doesn't even think he should be embarassed

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[salamanderinspace]

Ask box is open and anon should be on. Come talk to me about gay pirates.

[salamanderinspace]

Ok listen. So I posted the smutty Ed/Jack fic I wrote today. And it's definitely way, way less gross than I thought it would be! It even has a few really good lines and I think some kind of emotional something about how their connection works. So it's on Ao3 under salamanderinspace but I think its really only for people who are strict CJ enjoyers AND who don't mind some amount of f/m AND who are not at all grossed out by sex work (or who, IDK, like to be grossed out, I guess.) I'm just happy I wrote 2200+ words in day. Ok take care, peace

[salamanderinspace]

working on an Ed/Jack/OC fic that I may have to burn after writing

is there a discord for Calico Jack enjoyers or...?

[salamanderinspace]

CalicoBlack (official ship name?)

After consultation with the Our Flag Means Death reddit I have decided to tag all my Ed/Jack content as CalicoBlack.

We threw around some other ideas but this seems like the optimal one for search engines.

I'm tagging the jackhands people and the jackedhands people in case there's, you know, like, a venn diagram thing happening.

Please boost if you go anywhere near here, or if you support scumbag pirate enjoyers finding each other.

[ladyluscinia]

Oh, and also in a SteddyHands universe this gets so fucking funny, because Jack finds out and is just:

"Are you fucking telling me we could have just all fucked??? That was an option?!?"

Man who missed out on potentially hooking up with Izzy so many times because Izzy got caught up in a jealous rage over the very idea of sharing is confronted with Izzy in a thruple and flips a table.

My heart is a BlackHands shipper so I'm biased toward that above all else, but the most galaxy brained dynamic in my messy JackHands manifesto is definitely when Edward is having flings with Jack.

Edward is bored and Izzy is failing to fix it, so he's enthusiastically chasing the reliable bender of fun that hooking up with Jack for a few weeks pretty much guarantees. Jack isn't opposed necessarily, but he spends more time than he wants to thinking about how he's being so snippy with Izzy because Izzy gets so pissy about anyone Edward actively wants to fuck (even if said person hypothetically maybe would be more interested in fucking Izzy when Edward and Izzy were on the outs, except that's off the table so what's he supposed to do???). And they all know the situation is temporary (especially after the first time it happens) which prevents tempers from getting too crazy.

Basically the perfect storm of Edward wants Jack, Jack wants Izzy, and Izzy wants Edward. And they are all being such dicks about it.