#i like omfd AND oluwande

[fiery-rat]

6th episode of OFMD s2 was so important to me

it shows us such a beautiful queer representation

there's a found family

there's Jim, a canon afab nonbinary character and they had a mustache drawn on their face and theyre in a queer poly relationship

there's a drag queen and a whole scene in which Izzy had his queer moment and let himself explore his queer identity by letting Wee John do him a makeup

there's a queer community that's loving and supportive

and it's all about forgiveness, acceptance and love

and I'm fucking weeping

[paranoid-radio]

WhydidtheybreakupmyfavsidecoupleWhydidtheybreakupmyfavsidecoupleWhydidtheybreakupmyfavsidecoupleWhydidtheybreakupmyfavsidecou-

[cononeillbreastingboobily]

I agree with all your takes on omfd season 2... wasn't all that a laugh and a half :/ do you have any thoughts on a prospective (?) season 3?

Oh yeah lmao, the writers were definitely having a laff, unlike me 😭😭😭

When it comes to season 3:

• I can't imagine or accept a situation in which Izzy is not there in the flesh. Not after a season that specifically introduced the concept of magic and the gravy basket. I don't want him to be a ghost or a vision of guilt-ridden characters. I want my boy back, in the flesh, to pester everyone around him and to finally have his hot girl summer ‼️‼️‼️

• as much as even after the first 3 eps of s2 I could potentially see Steddyhands happening, all of that kinda went to shit in my eyes after they killed Izzy off.

• After everything that happened I can't and don't want to imagine Ed and Izzy reconciling enough to get involved with each other romantically.

• I can see Izzy with Stede tho. I'd actually like that quite a lot.

• at this point I'm not a Blackbonnet girlie (gn) by any stretch, and well, I can't imagine myself enjoying a potential season 3 if all it has to offer will be more drama between those two

• knowing them both, I think they will be making genuine attempts at running an inn for half an episode. And I'm being generous

• also, I can't imagine a season 3 that has Zheng just. Hanging out on the Revenge. Making out with Oluwande. And not even attempting to rebuild her pirate empire. I need my girl cunning and powerful with a fleet to show for it. I think that what they did to her by the end of the season was a shit writing decision. Was her losing her entire fleet... Supposed to humble her? To teach her a lesson? What lesson? That it's not things but people that really matter? It's kind of a weak message, especially for this character. And the execution of it was just. Plain bad lmao. Her talk with Auntie by the end was cute, yes, but it came so out of the blue tbh. If it has been established earlier on that maybe Zheng feels insecure sometimes and would like for Auntie specifically to tell her she's proud of her, that would make more sense. But this way it was kinda. It didn't have the punch it should've had.

• also sidenote: Zheng deciding to team up with Stede (even if it was mostly because Ed was also there) doesn't reflect well on him... It reflects badly on her. My girl deserves allies as powerful as her and Stede is simply not that.

• I want more crew shenanigans. And more backstory for every crew member!!!

• I can imagine a version of the story in which Stede and Ed break up and just don't get back together again by the end. It's so beautiful here. Hold my hand

• also sidenote, but has Jim just completely given up on taking their revenge on the Siete Gallos? I think it would've been fun to revisit that storyline

• also - WHAT HAPPENED TO JIM'S BROTHER

• honestly - after the shitshow that was season 2, I can't think of an actual potential way that the story could end. And tbh I don't think the writers do, either. I do have ideas, but they're mine and not the writers' of the show, and thus not very likely to actually happen.

[elviriel]

me: i'm not interested in the black sails vs omfd thing silver loses a poll against oluwande me: enemy 🗡️

[mikimeiko]

Our Flag Means Death | 1x07. This Is Happening

[artist-rat]

so hey i haven't watched the show, but these two seem so awesome. maybe one day i'll watch it. for them 😔

[morecaffeineplease]

that's it my arm has been twisted i started watching our flag means death

first impression is a fun little show about pirates, really enjoying it

[everlastingrandom]

This is sea shanty discourse all over again.

There's been some posts saying that Our Flag Means Death is antiblack for being ahistorical. But a fair amount don't sit well with me, a black person. So I'm gonna pull an ADHD and go on several tangents about it. Also, marginalized people aren't a monolith and when I see "listen to black people" from nonblack people, I get sus about who is doing the loudest talking and how, why, etc.

Also this is mostly about the show textually. Taika had a lot of creative influence on OFMD (and he directed the pilot episode) but he is not the creator of the show. David Jenkins is the main show runner, producer, and writer. That said, I'm gonna read more on both of their track records because I did see some important points that were made by others, so bear with me.

Anyway, this post will have heavy spoilers!

TL;DR Personally, I don't think this specific comedy/romance show is antiblack for choosing to not highlight the transatlantic slave trade in relation to their reimagined protagonists. However, OFMD feeds into the swashbuckler genre and I definitely think we should deconstruct that as a whole. Also I wish more people would put their righteous anger into substantially supporting Black creators.

The MEAT

OFMD doesn't shy away from depicting white people as racist: the British Navy refer to Stede's BIPOC crew members as "savages" when aboard Stede's ship. The show acknowledges the atrocities committed against the Native populations of the Caribbean and American mainlands. The tribesman who guards Stede literally says, "you [white people] keep killing us." Nor does it shy away from colonizers exoticizing people from lands that are now former victims of imperialism. Oluwande and Frenchie's scam of being an African prince relies on of the ignorance of the foppish, rich white people that they swindle.

But OFMD is not a documentary, it is a comedy/adventure show with a romantic subplot. It genre bends quite frequently, occasionally dropping the comedy to have serious moments. But the main characters are a white englishman and a white barbadian being played by a white new zealander and a maori new zealander. The conceit is that none of this is supposed to be taken seriously. No one's accent is the same. A man gets weird with some seagulls on more than one occasion. We are having fun in muppet treasure island. There are dummy mechanics in use. This is not a place of honor.

I went into watching OMFD with mental blinders fully up, because I knew pirates + caribbean = oh potential yikes. But as it progressed through S1, the fear that slavery would be depicted in an upsetting way slowly dissipated. And then it just wasn't there really. I think the choice to not explicitly depict the relationship between piracy and the transatlantic slave trade—especially in regards to Stede and Blackbeard—made sense for their tone, but ended up being an oversight in their worldbuilding. If the showrunners continue into s2, they should bring in Black/Afro-caribbean consultants to give insight on what those depictions might be, if addressed.

The swashbuckling genre is distinctive due to 1) shenanigans on a boat 2.) romance. A lot of OFMD is about the romanticization of pirate life, but it also challenges those romantic notions directly. Add two historical figures with radically opposing methods of piracy and THERE WAS ONLY ONE BOAT. That's not true, there was a max of three boats. And you end up with an untapped hotbed of creative potential. The Gentleman Pirate was a narrative figure in Stede's own lifetime and Blackbeard is a goddamn legend. There's only so much influence you can draw before people claim you're blatantly ripping something off.

Slavery is a pretty hard sell, generally. Like, commit a whole episode and tread lightly from there, hard sell. But I wouldn't be surprised if there were efforts to address it in media rez, that just didn't make it to the final cut (but this is me speculating.) TV shows are not made in vacuums, hundreds of people were involved in this production. My point is that sometimes media is not here to trick you into believing that real-life terrible people were actually good and admirable. (Sometimes it is.)

But I feel strongly that OMFD expects you to be on the side of the characters of color from the jump. Catch the implicit, "Can you believe these white people?" in the way they roll their eyes and sigh and give each other looks. The way Oluwende and Frenchie include the African servants(?) into their scheme in Ep. 5. The way the Elder pities Stede when he has a breakdown, but at the same couples Stede with every other white person who's attacked the tribe. I think OFMD seeks to depower the image we have of colonizers as inhuman forces of nature, when they were all very painfully human.

Why did fans not background check this show?

I knew the history of Stede Bonnet prior to watching OFMD, which I'm guessing was not the majority experience (?) I was interested in watching the show when I first heard about it, mainly because the costumes looked nice.

From the number of "Here's the TRUTH about Stede Bonnet" posts circulating, it's clear he's a relatively un-talked about figure. Honestly, that's fine. It happens to be that we will not learn about everything about everyone in human history. But the history of piracy + the slave trade—THAT should've been more widely known. When there's a widespread deficit in knowledge, that's a systematic issue more than an individual one.

That said, if you do not currently connect piracy with slavery, hello, here's your wake up call.

You should be able to infer that Stede, being landed gentry in Barbados, gained his wealth from slave labor. That these characters were inspired by real people who existed in and benefited from a slave labor economy. That chattel slavery ballooned during this time period. The show does not go out its way to acknowledge this. And because it didn't, where does that leave us? Filling in the gaps? Doing our own research?

(The answer is yes.)

It's Just Hamilton 2.0

I didn't make this connection like others did, and at first I was annoyed by it but now I'm kind of like. Yah.

25 year old me understands that the problems at the root of Hamilton extend deep into the entertainment industry: the way white historical figures continue to be romanticized, who we let spearhead big productions, and the histories of actual Black historical figures that were completely excluded from the narrative.

19 year old me thought, "Omg, Black people in major broadway roles! Songs that I and other Black theater kids can perform! An accessible way for me to learn more about American history!" I was in a black theatrical ensemble in college. We had that play m e m o r i z e d.

25 year old me looks at OFMD right now and thinks, "Omg, a show that shows a smart Black woman in a compelling role, a fat, Black man as a compelling love interest, and show that openly says White imperialism was fueled by greed and ignorance. Also!! Good LGBT+ rep!! HOLY SHIT!" 25 year old me also understands that we cannot scrub away the scars left by colonialism. Not even in silly Blorbo show. All media will become problematic with time, and we will never be able to get ahead of it.

But for now I would love for folks to take a step back and touch grass because fanon woobifies historical figures waaaay worse than canon does. Lin did not curse us with Miku Binder Jefferson. Y'all did that yourselves and I mine eyes will never be scrubbed of the memory. Also the lack of love towards dark skinned characters does not go unnoticed don't think I don't see y'all sleeping on spanish jackie.

If you don't want to consume OMFD, cool! Please seek out and endorse media actually helmed by Black people. If someone wants to present a counter-argument to this that isn't an angry stream of consciousness and has paragraph breaks, I will weep for joy.

[candied-cae]

Roach, my Beloved- 🥰

Why are we, as a society, NOT TALKING ABOUT ROACH IN THIS SCENE?!

Everyday I wake up, expecting someone to have clipped this scene and posted it so we can all comment on how adorable it is, and everyday I am disappointed... I feel so alone, like I'm the only one who sees it.

BUT IT'S SO FUCKING CUTE- SO I'M GOING TO TALK ABOUT IT!

The way he just clicks his tongue and does a lil zhuzh to his hair after Jim mentions the humidity and side eyes Oluwande's "So?" I just know in his head he's asking him "Excuse me. 'So?'! ‘Wande, my brother in christ, have you NO HAIR PRIDE? I may be chaos incarnate, barely contained within an apron, but it's a fucking cute chaos and I didn't plan on letting some island climate ruin it."

There are so many tiny acting choices the crew makes when they aren't the focus of shots, and this one is EASILY my favorite. Every time I'm rewatching ep 7 I'm looking directly at him in this scene.

I just love him a lot okay.

More OMFD

[sunflowersandsapphires]

So I was talking to someone I really admire and they sparked some courage so here are some thoughts about OMFD caretaking:

Clearly Ed gets sort of explosive when he’s upset and I think Stede would quickly learn to let him have at the world and then be there to pick up the pieces.

Steve, alternatively, seems to turn inward when upset. I think Ed would be pretty good at getting him to open up but needs to learn to be patient with him.

I feel like Ed is a good cook bc he worked his way up from the kitchen to being The Blackbeard™️ and he likes to cook fancy people food for Stede is Stede is feeling down.

On the other hand, if Ed is feeling down, I think Stede will put extra soft blankets on their bed and ask Roach to prepare something sweet that he can give to Ed.

I think that Jim would probably remove themself from the rest of the crew to throw knives or angrily journal when they’re upset. Oluwande would probably lean more towards trying to immediately solve the problem that upset someone or just talking thru his own emotions when he’s upset.

I think he would make sure to get Jim off the boat when Jim is upset to get their mind off of things. Go for a day to a beach or something and just have a little adventure.

If Oluwande is upset, I think Jim would look to have a night in. Just reminding him that they are there for him and that he can rest.

Also, unrelated, but I read this great WIP “The Nettles in the Garden Dont Go Away” by JRaylin441 which is a beautiful Ed/Stede soulmate AU. https://archiveofourown.org/works/38007859

[candied-cae]

We're All Going Home, No One Left Behind - Way Back When

Here's Part 1 <- This is Part 2 of Our Family

Chapter 5/? - - - Read it on AO3

[1] [2] [3] [4] <- Previous Chapters - - - Next Chapters -> [6]

Word Count : 3,333

Summary : Join Stede and his interruptive listeners as they share and remember the day The Revenge's crew all met for the very first time.

(This is sort of a mini-chapter. I know it's not a whole bunch story progression wise, but I got my wisdom teeth stolen on Friday so I really just wanted to work on a fun little update while I finish up the next big one. And I wanted to headcanon how tf Stede managed to get all these people on the same boat. So sit back and relax for a casual, silly 3k about our found family doing the damn finding of the damn family. 🥰)

More OMFD Fics

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

Once the crew received what felt like Captain Anne’s approval and promise to help them get back to their ship, they were all positively elated. Toasts of drinks, cheers, gratitude, and affection, they shared it all in their relief. They stood a better chance now of actually getting it all back. It felt possible again. Which was a comforting feeling because there was a second there where it didn’t. 

Once their joy and reprieve settled, and it felt like tomorrow was a tangible thing in their hands and not something they might lose grip of, Stede felt a call to remember. He looked around his crew, though it was missing two, and remembered the day he found them all on the port outside Bridgetown. 

“What’re you smiling about?” Lucius teased.

Stede chuckled as he took a sip from his glass,” Just… all of you. Being here.”

“That’s something to smile about?” Roach wondered skeptically as he looked around them at what was an arguably overcrowded ship, and it wasn't even their own.

“I’d say it is.” He refuted. 

True, them being gathered not on the Revenge and not wasting their days away doing whatever it is they managed to come up with… it wasn’t the ideal way they’d have been together. But Stede couldn’t help but smile while looking at all of them. He loved them incredibly so. Being with them felt more like being with family than anything he’s ever really known. How was he expected not to smile when it finally looked like he was going to be able to get everyone back together again?

“It’s still wonderfully strange to think that people I’ve known my whole life have felt like strangers compared to you all, who I’ve only known since the harbor.”

“About half a year back now, yeah?” Oluwande asks.

“A little more than that,” Stede corrected,” But yes, Oluwande. It’s not even been eight months now that I’ve known any of you.”

“So, you really did just slip into this sort of lifestyle.” Mark comments, emphasizing the ‘just’ because, hell, Stede’s still an infant when it comes to being in this line of work, isn’t he?

Anne asks,“ And you said you’d just gathered them all up the day you got your ship just because they happened to be around, right?”

“Well, yes-”

“How did that happen?”

Seems they weren't fully satisfied by the tale of the near mutiny and brushing over the life Stede left behind. Well, he did promise entertainment in exchange for assistance. And, not one wanting to disappoint their hosts, nor the kind to miss the chance to tell a good story, Stede smiled softly to himself as he began recounting the very day he met his darling crew.

“Well, the first one I met was Buttons…” Stede begins.

He remembers boarding The Revenge alone for the first time just before dawn that morning when there were barely more than a few people getting ready to start their day. He’d set down his bag and tucked away the model as he set on the prowl for the crew to manage his ship. He’d only gotten so far to lean over the railing to scope out the street when he sighted someone… interesting. One of the only people there so early in the morning was none other than Buttons. He was sitting at the edge with his legs hanging off the wooden dock, sharing crumbs of food with a seagull named Karl-

“I thought she was Olivia.” Sabine cut in, cocking her head to the side.

“Yeah,” Xi adds,” Isn’t her name Olivia?”

“Aye, she is Olivia” Buttons motions to the bird presently seated in a nest of rigging rope,” but back then, it was Karl.”

Sabine continues,“ So, wait- Did Olivia used to be called Karl?”

“Or was this a different seagull?” Emilio asks.

Stede answered,“ Another seagull.”

“Olivia’s late husband.” Buttons further explained, and though he was clearly trying to clear up why they've had more than one pet bird, the idea of seagull marriage he's just extended to them seemed to only confuse.

“Alright…?” Sabine accepted, though it sounded like it was more or less to appease Buttons’ waiting expression.

“May I continue?”, Stede asked before taking their nods as approval to go on.

Stede didn’t know him, and he had no clue how important this weird fellow was going to be in his life, but he had packed a few finger sandwiches with him to start his journey. So he elected to give some to Buttons and the bird. Buttons happily accepted the gift and proceeded to share it with his feathered companion. The sight of it was something very foreign to Stede, he’s never seen such a gentle and genuine kindness extended to animals in high society. Such engagements were usually raised out of the children who entertained them, so they might all just see creatures as measures of ability and status. But, here was this man, enjoying a pet bird for no other reason than to enjoy him. So Stede sat down with Buttons and asked about how he came to know and care for the pet. They spent a good amount of time together just chatting. But the sun had risen further, people began to flitter into the port, and so Stede stood up to continue his search. And the other man stood up with him. From that moment on, Buttons seemed to display unwavering allegiance to him. He’d never imagined that he would've hired his first crew member with a snack, but it worked out very much in his favor. 

“Then I found Oluwande and Jim.” Stede attempted to segue.

Until Llyod wanted to clarify,“ And you’d said this Jim was….” 

“One of the ones still on The Revenge, yes. But back then, you couldn’t hardly find either Oluwande or Jim apart. If you found one, you’d find the other.”

As more began to gather, he stumbled upon Oluwande and Jim. The two were slinking around together. They were looking all around, Oluwande was whispering to Jim, they kept their face angled below the brim of their hat. The display looked more than a little suspicious.

“We had good reason to be suspicious-looking!” Oluwande interrupted.

“Not that I knew it at the time!” Stede defended himself,” And I was getting to that bit, for your information.”

When he’d first seen them, Stede just assumed they might have snagged something that wasn’t theirs from the market down the way and were looking to avoid the local law enforcement. He now knows it was because Jim was in disguise and running from Spanish Jackie’s vengeance, but he wasn’t put off by his own assumptions. A little bit of thievery wouldn’t be the worst skill to have on his crew. And Oluwande had a nice face-

“Awe, you thought so, mate?” Oluwande broke off Stede right in the middle of his sentence with a feigned coy laugh to tease him. 

Stede rolled his eyes,“ Oh please, you’ve got a very nice face, Oluwande. But my point is that you seemed like a very sweet guy. Anyway-”

Oluwande had a kind disposition, and he clearly cared about his rather capable-looking accomplice, so Stede decided the pair would make a good addition to the team. Stede didn’t even have to offer much of a sales pitch to them. The fact that he seemed like a good guy who was hiring help and looking to leave before noon was enough for Oluwande to readily agree and drag Jim along with him. 

“After I had them in tow, I looked down the boardwalk and saw this one.” Stede continued with a wave of his hand to Wee John. 

The man was sitting on a set of crates with his club tucked under his chin propping him up. He was gazing thoughtfully over the horizon where the sun was still rising when Stede spotted him. Even seated, Stede could tell the sheer size of the man was impressive, so he was quick to think it’d be a smart idea to get him on his crew. When Stede approached him and he stood up to speak… he saw how truly massive he was. And donned with tattoos and piercings? The sort of expression he had when he furrowed his brows? That was a man people didn’t mess with. But he still had an air of… joy, one might call it, to him.

All the while Stede was saying it, Wee John was grinning to himself and looked like he’d be the sort to say “oh, stop it” with a sheepish swat of his hand.

To Stede’s delight, Wee John didn’t take a whole lot of convincing either. In all honesty, Wee John was nearly ready to agree the minute he realized Stede was an actual fancy man who was earnestly speaking to him and proposing ideas like “people positive management” and “luxury amenities”. And the funny, fantastical little man seemed like he’d be amusing, what with his frilly outfits and the giddy smiling and all his whimsy. It was nothing like anyone had ever seen in a pirate captain before. Then Stede said he’d encourage arson at every event it seemed fitting, and that was it. Wee John was in.

“After that, we ran into another pair having their own happenstance meeting for the first time: Roach and Swede,” Stede said with a nod to the two sitting next to one another.

The crew had grown to five if you counted the captain with them, and they were passing a restaurant. Stede was keeping his eyes peeled for anyone who seemed like the pirate type when two people burst from the restaurant doors right in front of them. Swede was first as he sort of tumbled right out of the doors once he’d swung them open, and just following behind was Roach with a handful of items. The Swede had fallen onto the ground, and Roach grabbed him by his arms and pulled him against the building to prop him up. When Roach lifted his shirt, they all saw the back end of a fork sticking out. No one ever figured out why he’d been stabbed before even breakfast time-

“Well, it was none of your business” the Swede argued with a cross of his arms.

“If you say so.” Stede conceded to continue.

But the Swede added a quick,“ And they started it.” before he could.

But the fellow loudly whined his Swedish phrases over his shoulder back into the establishment, and a few curses, also in Swedish, called back out in response while Roach worked. In just a few moments, they saw the man remove the impalement, clean the wound, and sew it closed. All with very minimal bloodshed. When they’d seen him run out in an apron, they assumed he was a cook, but his skillful recovery of this other stranger was cause to question just where his profession lay. And such skills would surely serve well on The Revenge. Stede started on his proposal to Roach, though he didn’t seem especially piqued by their numbers nor by the captain’s obvious inexperience. However, when Stede took the hint from the apron anyway and went over the sort of extravagances he’d had the kitchen stocked with, there was a certain interest sparked. 

Roach had just begun to pull his rolled cigarette from behind his ear when Burns asked,“ So wait- are you the chef or doctor?”

“Both,” he said simply as he brought a lit match to its end as it hung from his lip.

“Wh- how does one- Are the two skills not incredibly different?” the reddened fellow pushed.

After taking a draw from his cigarette and blowing the smoke away from the circle, he shrugged and answered,“ Meat is meat. Knives are knives.” which gave some of the strangers a worrisome shiver.

Anyway, Roach had never gotten to work with some of the expensive ingredients Stede was offering uninhibited access to. And the Jim lad they already had on the team looked extremely competent. Worst case scenario, that guy seemed the kind you could make a sneaky escape with. Thus, Roach signed on. And by then, the Swede seemed entirely set on staying with them. Probably because the accident-prone fellow didn’t want to stray too far from the sort of person who could handle his injuries and illnesses, or maybe he just liked the vibes. Whatever it was, Swede held his wound and looked up toward the captain as he asked-

“Me, too?” the Swede pipes in, putting on the same display as he had that day, wide eyes and a finger pointed towards his own face. 

And perhaps most people might’ve gone on ahead with their recruitment and not thought to include the man with the fresh stab wound he’d earned before it was even 7:30. Though, Stede was hardly like most people. 

“Hm, why not? You, too, you little Swede.” Stede repeats his response from back then. 

“That was how we gained our sixth and seventh. Though,” Stede said as he cast a sassy eye on Pete,” our eighth wanted to be a more difficult case.”

“What can I say?” Pete asked with a sort of self-satisfactory smile to himself.

“Well. I, for one, would appreciate a thank you for the opportunity after all this time, but besides all that…”

The band of pirates was quickly finding themselves growing towards the size of a decent crew when they came across Pete. He had that sort of classic pirate-y look and was waiting by the ships like he wasn’t sure which one he would board. Stede sauntered forward and asked if he’d like to join their bunch. Pete was far harder to convince than the others. He introduced himself as having previously been on Blackbeard's crew and asked a barrage of questions which all seemed to circle back to 'how does this guy compare to the legendary Blackbeard?’ Stede was honestly sure that Pete was going to end the conversation by saying that Stede could never measure up and he'd rather find a better ride with someone else. So, Stede chose to bid him a good day and began to walk away so the men he did hire and him could get to the ship with anything they had on them and have lunch before setting sail. But Pete ended up stopping him, saying he might as well climb aboard and keep the rest of them from getting themselves killed.

“You’re welcome.” Pete chimed it at the end, again looking so very cocky and pleased with himself.

“I asked for a thank you.” Stede reminded him.

Though it was clear he wasn’t going to receive one at this time, so Stede elected to move on,” Next then, came Pete’s little poet.”

Lucius raised a finger at the title,“ I wouldn’t really call myself particularly poetic-”

“Can’t you let me have a bit of alliteration? Fine, the little scribe was the next one we came upon.”

Stede wasn't exactly sure how many men he needed, but it was nearing midday, and he really wanted to treat his men to a meal before they set off for their adventure. So he figured, a captain, something of a first mate, a medic/chef, plus various levels of pirate-y-looking guys would be enough to get started. They started to head back towards The Revenge with his crew in tow when they quite literally ran into Lucius. Or, more accurately, the boy ran smack into them. Pete, specifically. He was looking behind him as he darted around a corner, they weren't exactly sure what he was running from, but he flashed them a grin and immediately began selling himself as a writer and artist if they could find the need for such a person wherever they were going. Stede did like the idea of having someone around to keep a record of the journey and his attempt to form a new kind of piracy without all the usual abuse. And the boy seemed alone. It's no good being alone. So Stede readily pointed just down the boardwalk to where The Revenge waited for them and told Lucius she was their passage if she pleased him. Clearly, she was indeed a pleasing sight, because Lucius came along with them to climb aboard. 

“I was coming out of a less than ideal companionship with someone and found myself without many options. Was even beginning to reconsider my pickpocketing days as a way to find funds for the foreseeable future. Hadn’t even mulled the thought over much when I saw the very person I was trying to cut ties with.” Lucius excused.

“All in all, I’m very happy we caught hold of you. Happier still that we hadn’t lost you.” Stede said.

“I am, too”, Pete hummed as he snuggled further into Lucius’ hold. 

“And finally, the last one to join us was Frenchie, also still on The Revenge at this time.”

Now the musician, he was a rather surprising end to Stede’s recruitment mission. They were all trekking onto The Revenge when he saw them. He was casually walking down the street, playing the harmonica like he didn't have a care in the world as they were loading up into the ship. He simply looked at them and asked where they were headed. Stede told him they weren’t sure. Frenchie asked if they had room for another. Only seconds later, he was walking up the gangway along with them at the end of the line, right behind Wee John, as they boarded. 

Wee John himself laughed remembering the moment. 

“What’s so funny to you about it?” Stede asked.

Wee John stifled his giggles down and explained,“ Well… never mentioned it before, but as we were loading up he tapped on my shoulder. Asked me ‘What’s this guy’s deal?’ He figured you obviously came from money, not just from your clothes but pretty much from everything about you, and so he wanted to know what exactly was happening with all of us coming into your crew. If it could really be for piracy.”

“And what’d you tell him?” 

“I just shrugged and told him none of us really knew what was up with your… everything, and that you were being completely serious about not having a plan.”

“What if he’d decided to leave, Wee John?” Stede exclaimed the question like such a thing was still at risk.

“Well, he didn’t.” Wee John pointed out,” He was happily surprised by all the musical things you’d had and later told me that he thought the ship looked nice and that her miss-matched crew seemed like the right kind to kill time with. He’d figured, 'why not see the same old same old with the likes of you lot and hope it was at least a little more fun this time ‘round?' At least, that's what he said.” 

“Then I guess it’s lucky for us you two became near-instant companions. Can’t imagine that hurt the efforts to keep him on board.” Stede sighed before clapping his hands together,” Anyway! That’s the tale of how the eight of us, plus our two dearly departed, came to be The Revenge’s crew.”

From there, they all spent a good portion of the evening running through everyone’s greatest and worst of their days on the water. They play a game called “raise your hand if you’ve been personally victimized by Calico Jack and his whip”, which results in Buttons, Swede, and most of Anne’s crew with arms up. And finally, at the end of it all, they tell Stede and his crew where they can settle for the night. Stede tells the night’s bedtime story of Sleeping Beauty: a tale of gifts, curses, grief, loneliness, true love, a dragon, and happily ever after. And while he was telling the story, it seemed that some of the Kingston’s crew were listening from right around the corner.

[paranoid-radio]

And they were so casual about it which makes it worse somehow

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