#you want to know about the fearsome Blackbeard's EYES???

[iggy-hands]

there's little consensus on whether Pete actually sailed as a part of Blackbeard's crew

but I think an argument against is that when Pete is describing Blackbeard to the crew - head made of smoke, two glowing eyes -

Stede asks, "how big are [Blackbeard's eyes]?"

To which Pete says "uhhh they're just regular [size]"

which we know is such a fucking lie

[clairegregoryau]

Through the Looking Glass

From fairytale in Season 1 to stark reality in Season 2 of Our Flag Means Death- meta ported across from this Twitter thread by popular demand!

This thread contains spoilers for the entirety of OFMD Season 2

First OFMD S1 rewatch since S2, and holy shit, if you haven't done that yet... do that. A thing that it made instantly clear: they told us *all along* where this was going, but there was a reason we didn't see it. Because we were living in Stede's world then. Now it's Ed's.

I know that a lot of us have felt that the tone shift at the end of S2 was... jarring, compared to what's come before. This felt like a show that wouldn't go there. One where being run through was a temporary hiccup. We've travelled all the way from this to this.

But we haven't jumped there without a journey in between. And from the minute we started hearing about Blackbeard, the show never tried to hide what Ed's world and his specific life was like. Not once. In fact they told us over and over and over.

But Season 1 told us a lot of those things through song and story and fuckery. It blended reality with fiction.

Stede met the Blackbeard he knew through books and tall tales, and the real man was even more wonderful than he'd imagined.

We, along with Stede, were comfortable thinking that all those other tales were exaggerations and misrepresentations, and a lot of them very likely were.

The Ed Stede got to know was a person who was capable of whimsy and silliness and loved soft things and doing something weird. Yep, he was also capable of violence and rage, but when he was with Stede, he didn't feel it so much.

This was a vacation from that life.

To Stede he was absolutely lovely... oh, and also a bloodthirsty killer. And Stede loved (and loves) everything about him, and both of those things can be true. This is a perfect example of a spot where (in watching Season 1 without the benefit of hindsight) I assumed that everyone else in that pub was wrong, and Stede was simply trying to protect Ed's fearsome reputation by agreeing on the bloodthirsty bits. And I think from Stede's perspective that was largely true. I think that's how they wanted us to see Ed, through his eyes. Now, after watching both seasons, I think it wasn't the whole picture.

They told us, we heard it, we saw glimpses of it. But we (and Ed) were in Stede's run-away-to-sea fairytale the whole time. It wasn't until Stede left that we saw the reality- the Ed we knew had been, to a degree, a fictional character all along. I always saw this scene as Ed putting a bit of distance between himself and reality; it always felt like the Blackbeard of Stede's storybooks was the fictional one. But now it feels like the softer Ed that Stede knew was much the same- neither of them the whole story of who Ed was and is.

The one person who refused to live in Stede's fairytale was Izzy. I've seen people say it before, but he always gave off that vibe of the only human in the Muppets movie, or the guy who was in Black Sails while everyone else was in Pirates of the Caribbean. He saw the real risks clearly.

And in that light, the end of S1 has shifted an inch to the left for me, and I'm seeing it at a slightly different angle.

Izzy ripped away the healing Ed was doing, but in some respects he did it by tearing away the fairytale we'd all been living in, shoving Ed back into the Blackbeard story.

And that's where we pick up again in Season 2.

The fairytale reference came back in S2 in two notable places, those being Jim carrying that legacy forward in the darkest times, and in Izzy invoking the wooden boy against Ricky's efforts. Stede's made himself into a real boy. Ricky, nope.

Now that I've watched both seasons together, the tone shift doesn't feel so jarring at all, actually.

It feels like sliding through the looking glass, out of Stede's world, and into Ed's- a world that existed all along; we were just seeing it, la vie en rose, through Stede's eyes.

At the beginning of S2, Stede's gone, and we're seeing it unfiltered through Ed's reality.

But Stede wasn't lying when he said he loved everything about Ed. He made a promise to come back and find him- he went down into Ed's darkest place and reminded him that no matter how bad things got, there WAS someone waiting for him, ready to love him.

The contrast between S1's fantasy and S2's reality (excluding mermaids and actual bird guys and cursed coats) is stark, but it really is that.

We have the same settings, the same people, and very different ideas and outcomes at different times.

But it was always there.

Things do come back to a state of (precarious) balance once they're all together. Apologies are made, whether they're spoken out loud or through actions. Things go right, things go wrong. Healing happens. Izzy continues to have the steadiest, most real through-line in the story as he tracks toward redemption, finds acceptance, and to an extent finds himself.

Once again, I hate that they went here with the ending and I wish they hadn't. But it got a fraction easier for me looking at it not as a continuation of Stede's fairytale, but of the grounded-in-pirate-reality arc Izzy was always on, even while we lived in Stede's world.

Where does that leave us? We're not going back to the fairytale, but we're not going to be living in Black Sails for S3, either. We've hit a fusion point where S1 ended with each of them going to separate, miserable homes, but S2 ended with them in the same place, ready and willing to make a go of it.

Season 3 is going to give us their world, together.

I LOVED the moments in this season where the deep emotions were in balance with the silliness I've always adored about this show. Eps4-6 were wonderful like that. Clearly we're not done with drama, either, but like Ed and Stede, I think we'll find a middle ground.

Anyway in conclusion, a rewatch of S1 after S2 somehow made me love the first season even more, which felt impossible? It's now gained /even more/ layers of depth than it had before. No matter how you feel about S2 I think it's worth that rewatch.

Adding one more bit of clarity for myself: I think we got a bit (intentionally) seduced in S1 by the idea that the Ed of the storybooks, the Vampire Viking Clown with the nine guns, was a version of him that others saw, when Stede saw the REAL person who 'worked' for Blackbeard.

In hindsight I think it's clear the Ed Stede go to know was also not the complete version of himself- the reality is, there's a whole spectrum between the two, and they've landed in the middle of it now. Ed intentionally leaned into the unlovable Kraken image to protect himself.

It very much didn't work, just like being just... Edward hadn't worked to protect himself, either. This season has been very much about pulling those two extremes together and finding all the parts that make up Ed overall (another thread on that here on Twitter, which I'll also shift across to Tumblr soon!)

And I think one of my favourite things in S2 has been seeing the way Stede SEES that- he knows what Ed's done, everyone's told him, but he still loves Ed. sees his trauma and how it affects him, and believes he's a good man regardless. He IS lovable; he's not forever broken.

And together, they can heal.

[dragon-kazansky]

Spirit of the sea

Izzy Hands x Reader (GN)

You were a member of Blackbeard's crew long ago. Then you became a ghost story. Izzy Hands only sees you in his dreams these days, until he sees you for real when investigating Stede Bonnet. This sets him on a rollercoaster of emotions between you and what his captain is doing.

{Masterlist}

{Previous Chapter} - {Next Chapter}

Warnings: Swearing. Heavy plot from episode 3, but you're in it a lot more.

Chapter Two - Delusional

♡♡♡

"What's up with you?"

Izzy was shaken from his thoughts by the voice of his captain. He had come here to explain that he didn't think this Stede Bonnet was really worth his time. Izzy had left out the part where they tried to scare him with a ghost tale.

"Nothin'."

Blackbeard turns slightly in his chair to look at his first mate from the corner of his eye. Izzy was all stiff and quiet. Something was clearly on his mind.

"Just thinkin' of the past, is all."

Blackbeard hummed in thought. Something was bothering his first mate. That wasn't like him.

♡♡♡

Stede returns to his ship with his one prisoner. Lucius just wanted to get out his bloodstained clothes. He had been traumatised enough for one day.

"Tie him back up and I'll go check on our other prisoner."

Stede marched onward below deck.

A week earlier Stede had caught himself a prisoner. They had been trying to steal from him and in an embarrassing scenario that involved being scared, a lot of screaming, and a decent whack to the head, Stede had managed to imprison them. He was just glad to have knocked someone out without accidentally killing them in the process.

Stede looks through the bars to see the prisoner sitting the floor, head bowed down, one arm resting on their knee.

"What?" They ask.

"Uh, nothing. Just checking in on you."

"I see the ship is sailing again."

"Yes, we had some help."

At last you look up at him. Stede was unlike any pirate you had ever heard of. Polite, clean, generous.

"So, what's the plan?" You ask him.

"The plan?"

"Yeah. I've been locked up in about a week. You gotta have a plan, right? Can't just keep me in here forever."

"Right, a plan..."

"You don't have one?"

"Of course I have a plan!" Stede argues. "I'm just not telling you."

"Right..."

"Captain!" The voice of Buttons calls out.

"I have to go. Don't go anywhere," Stede warns in the softest way possible.

"Not that I can if I wanted to," you sigh and watch him walk away.

♡♡♡

The Republic of Pirates. Not as fearsome as it once was, but still the place to be for information and goods. Stede was fascinated by the place. In fact, he seemed to be having a good time.

"Man for sale!"

Lucius, who had been having less of a good time, was keeping an eye on everyone who passed them. He seemed stressed.

"You look like you're having a hard time," you say to the boy.

"A little bit. Not that it matters. I just want to get away from this god awful place."

You chuckles softly.

"Hey, are you going to sell me too? I'd rather you didn't. You could just let me go and I won't try and steal from you again!" You say, turning to Stede.

"Absolutely not. I'm not stupid enough to fall for that. I'm sure I can do something with you." Stede nods at himself proudly.

"No one is gonna want to buy me. Not even my old crew would pay for me."

"You old crew?" Stede looks at you curiously.

"Yeah. I'm a pirate, pirates usually have a crew."

"Where are they now?"

"I don't know. I've been separated from them for a good few years. But I hear rumours they're thriving."

Stede is curious about this information, but before he can ask any more, a pirate turns around and sizes him up.

"One piece of silver's my bid," the man safe in a gruff voice. "So, so I get all three of he's, or...?"

"No, only one us is for sale," Stede clarifies with a friendly attitude.

"Mm, so the other two watch, or...?"

Lucius leans into Stede and says, "He thinks you're a prostitute."

"I'm not a prostitute, mate!" Stede declares, flabbergasted at the thought.

"Oh, we could've made magic." The man walks away.

"Unbelievable. Do we look like prostitutes to you?"

You chuckle. "Not terribly successful ones."

Stede frowns and marches on, pulling you with him.

Coming across Spanish Jackie's bar gave you a slither of hope. Coming to this sile was your best bet of finding someone you recognize. You would give them all the coin you have to have them free you from Stede Bonnet.

You had to find your old crew. You had to.

With Jim already disappearing inside, Stede followed suit. You didn't bother questioning why Olu was so tense about Jim going into the bar. Your only focus was escape.

"OK, like we rehearsed," Stede tells Lucius.

You roll your eyes. What was with this guy?

"Hear ye, hear ye!" Lucius begins.

Everyone turns to look at him. "Oh fuck," he mutters softly. "Please join me in welcoming for his regional debut... The Brigand of Barbados... the Cream of the Caribbean... The Gentleman Pirate."

With that, Stede steps out with you in tow. Never before have you ever wanted the ground to just swallow you whole.

"Hi, all. Nice to be here. I may be land of gentry, but I'm thrilled to be granted entry."

No one in the tavern says a thing.

"Well, the drinks are on us." Stede declares.

With that, someone throws their drink at Lucius and he gets frustrated again.

"The drinks be on ye now!" The tavern erupts into laughter.

You are promptly locked up by the entrance of the bar with the navy man. You sigh as you watch Stede walk toward the bar.

"I know you, don't I?" The Englishman says, looking at you. He has definitely seen better days.

"Maybe. If you know your pirates."

He takes a step away from you. You chuckle. So he does know you.

"Spirit of the sea," he mutters, almost scoffing at the thought.

"Ya know, to be a spirit, you have to die," you say to him.

"Well, yes. I know that..." You chuckle at how nervous he sounds.

"You afraid of me?"

"No..." He shakes his vigorously, his wig falling further back off his head.

"Relax, my guy. Blackbeard thinks I'm dead after what happened. I'm just a ghost now, well, to them."

"No one is looking for you?"

You guy him a silent flat look. He seems to get the message and backs down. Clearly you're not in the mood to talk about this.

Having been busy talking to the guy, you had failed to see who had entered the bar. He had also not noticed you.

♡♡♡

Izzy's orders were to follow Stede. He didn't have a fucking clue why. Orders were orders and he would do anything for Blackbeard. Upon entering the Republic of Pirates, Izzy swore under his breath.

He had lost sight of Stede Bonnet, but he would find him easily.

That's how he ended up at Jackie's. He hated this place, but he was right to go in. Stede fucking Bonnet was in there in all his flimsy glory.

Izzy casually slides up to the bar as Stede tries to order wine. Instead he choose a glass of the liquid in front of him, upon finding out it was blood that was covering Lucius' clothes.

Both of them drink the liquid and Izzy has to hold back from laughing.

"Mm, it's nutty. What do you call this?" Stede asks the bartender.

"It's juice from the nose jar." Both Stede and Lucius react to that. "Jackie's been collecting them for years. You misbehave... you end up in here."

Both of them gag.

"I've a few colleagues in there."

"You again!" Stede looks less than impressed to see him.

"Mr Hands, welcome," Geraldo greets. "It's been a while."

"Yeah, because I hate this fucking place. But for some inexplicable reason, my boss would like a word with you, Bonnet."

"Yes, well, everyone wants a piece of the Gentleman Pirate." Stede holds his head up high for that. "Get in line. I'm very sorry to have to tell you this, Iggy..."

"Izzy! " He growls.

"Whatever. I don't care... but we're busy at the moment, fencing our remaining hostages."

It didn't click to Izzy that Stede had more than one hostage still after their last meeting. He honestly couldn't care about this prick and what he was doing.

"So I'll tell my captain that you're declining, then, yeah?" Izzy confirms.

"Or tell him he's got terrible taste in flunkies and he can go suck eggs in hell."

Izzy leans in and speaks softly. "Gladly."

♡♡♡

You turn back to face the bar, leaning against the bars that trap you from the rest of the pirates. A sigh escapes your lips.

"May I ask?" The man behind you speaks up again. "Where have you been all this time if everyone thinks you're dead?"

He obviously has questions despite you making a point you didn't want to talk about it.

"Just around. Blackbeard spends most of his time at sea. Finding him on my own isn't easy. God, it's been like 6 years since then..."

"Yes, I remember hearing about it. He set a ship alight."

"I was still onboard. He didn't know that. The ship went down, I managed to leap off, but it was dark, foggy, and a storm was rolling in. I had no chance of ever swimming back to The Queen Anne. I don't blame them for thinking I was dead... I just wish there was a way to tell them I'm still alive."

The man looks at you from where he leans on the wall.

"Why the fuck am I telling you my life story all of a sudden?" You scoff. "I'm going soft... spent too long on Bonnet's ship."

"I'll be damned."

"You kind of are," you say to him.

"Israel Hands."

You have never looked up so fast. A name you hadn't heard in years. The Englishman was right. Leaving the tavern right in front of your eyes was Izzy. Your Izzy!

"Izzy? Izzy! Hey Izzy, it's me!" You call out.

He doesn't hear you.

Or so you think.

Izzy freezes just out of sight, at the top of the stairs. He could have sworn he heard your voice, but that's impossible. He takes a deep breath and shakes his head, marching on. He has a job to do, be can't be distracted by ghosts.

You're dead, and there is nothing he can do about it.

It's getting worse if he hears your voice now...

♡♡♡

"SHIT. I have to get out of here!" You shake the bars urgently.

You don't care that a bar fight is breaking out. You just saw Izzy Hands after years of being away from him and you're trapped! Life couldn't get any more cruel. If only he had heard you.

"Fuck this!" You kick the bars, but regret it as pain shoots up your leg. Jackie really made these bars for no escape.

When Jackie holds a knife up to Stede, you catch wind of their conversation.

Blackbeard wants to talk to Stede!

You are filled with hope. This was your shot. Your shot to return to your family at sea. Your shot to make it up to Izzy for being gone so long.

You and the Englishman are let out as Stede and Lucius flee the bar.

"Stede!" You call out to him. "Listen you have to meet with Blackbeard. Take me too!"

Stede doesn't listen to you.

Before reaching the port, Gelrado appears saving Stede from one of the many creepy people on this island. Apparently he has a proposition for Stede. A deal that needs to be made, but only by a man of Stede's position.

You try one more time. "Please, just let me go and you never have to see me again. It's so important I go now!"

Stede doesn't pay you any mind as he takes Gelrado up on his offer.

It's almost enough to make you cry in frustration.

Izzy... God, you missed that bastard.

He has no idea you were right there. It's killing you from the inside.

♡♡♡

@grippleback-galaxy - @askmarinaandothers - @godlikegallagher - @for-fuck-sake-im-alive - @whiskeyswriting -

[doks-aux]

They do this now. Talking. Long nights in the captains’ cabin, hot drinks, old stories, and just. Talking.  About work and everything but work, about anything in the world. Izzy has more to say about it all than he would have expected.

Ed dozed off a bit ago and is snoring on Stede’s shoulder, a tiny damp spot starting to grow on his dressing gown. Stede doesn’t wrinkle his nose at that anymore. He’s turning half of a petrified fruit over in his hands, quiet for the last few moments. And then:

“Do you ever regret not having children?”

It’s a big assumption but one he feels confident to make. None of the tales he’s been regaled with during these nights of the dread Blackbeard and his fearsome first mate had any room for rugrats running underfoot, no hints of families waiting on shore. And by now he knows that if Izzy’s ever... Well, he would have had to... Well, obviously he didn’t.

“Sometimes,” is the answer he receives, and by now he knows Izzy well enough to have half-expected it. What he doesn’t expect, when he looks up from his own hands at the man in the chair across from them, from himself and Ed, is that Izzy’s wistful gaze is cast to the side, out the window where the sea and sky blend together into inky black infinity. He looks so far away that Stede... that Stede knows.

It isn’t Ed.

Izzy’s fingers have itched up to play at the ring at his throat. He doesn’t snatch them away. He doesn’t know he’s doing it.

It isn’t Ed that Izzy had wanted to have children with.

Stede knows, and he feels sick with the want to apologize. It isn’t for him to know. Not when even Izzy doesn’t.

Izzy looks away from the window, comes back to the cabin, his hand still at his throat. His eyes land briefly on Stede’s shoulder, on Ed’s sleep-soft, brandy-flushed face resting there, and there’s a flicker of that loneliness that Stede regrets he didn’t see sooner, regrets he wouldn’t have cared about sooner.

“It doesn’t matter now.”

[house-afire]

comfort in a married state (Ed/Stede, consensual humiliation)

Prompt: 100 words of large cock shaming

Ed tugged Stede’s drawers down over his hips, baring his flushed and already half-hard cock.

“Look at that monster,” Ed said, with his eyes narrowed and lip curled: the picture of haughty disgust, more fearsome than any Blackbeard illustration bristling with knives and clanging with guns.

It would have gutted Stede if it had been real. As it was—with, say, the beautiful memory of when Ed had actually first glimpsed him and crooned, Oh, you mouthwatering motherfucker, his face alive with desire and delight—he was rapt. Some unnamable feeling squirmed about in his belly.

“It’s not so bad, is it?” Stede said. There was a little hitch in his voice.

“Mate, if I wanted to fuck a horse, I’d have stayed on land. ‘Not so bad’—it’s so big, it’s fucking useless. It’s like a table-leg. You stuck that thing in your wife?”

He worked Stede’s loosely curled hand open and stuck his own fingers inside, giving Stede a chance to squeeze his hand to cut him off. He often did that when his eyes had this dark spark of mad inspiration.

“No wonder she tried to kill you when you came back,” Ed said, almost in a purr. Stede shivered. “Couldn’t have you pummeling her with that again, could she? You’re not fit to be around decent women, Stede.”

Stede raised his chin. “You’re not a woman. Or all that decent, really. You know, by society’s standards. I quite like you.”

Ed’s mask of disdain slipped a bit as he smiled, but then he grazed his fingers against Stede’s lips: Quiet, love. I’m working.

Indeed he was, and as magnificently as ever.

“You think I’m going to try to climb on top of that? Not a chance. You’re not getting your dick wet ever again. No one’s gonna want you if you try it. This thing—” He slapped lightly at Stede’s cock, making Stede’s hips jerk up; a breathy, high-pitched sound escaped him. “This thing’s never going anywhere.”

“No?”

Ed shook his head, some of his hair falling out of its loose bun. Stede came more undone than ever at that.

“No. Fuck no. Luckily for you, I’m the world’s greatest tactician, so I’ve worked out what to do with you.” He pinched lightly at Stede’s hip. “Roll over.”

“Not sure it took a master tactician to land on that,” Stede murmured, rolling over obediently. He earned himself a nice little spank in the process.

“Look at that,” Ed said. “You’re dripping all over the bed. Your fat fucking horse cock’s making a mess, Stede.”

Stede pressed his forehead down against his arms. His face was burning. “I’m sorry.”

“’S’all right,” Ed said generously. “Not your fault you’re a beast. But let’s talk about what you’re still good for, yeah? Let’s talk about the only way you’re going to get fucked from here on out.”

Behind Stede, there was the familiar sound of a cork being pulled free of a bottle, and then Ed’s slick fingers were on him, in him, opening him up.

“You can still take my cock.” Ed’s tone was soft now, almost a caress even though the words were still unkind. “Let you have it whenever you want, so maybe you won’t miss your own as much, won’t even have to think about something so fucking embarrassing. Yeah, you’ll get used to this. You’re gonna think it’s silly you ever offered me anything but your arse and your mouth, because that’s how you fuck from now on, Stede.”

Stede knew he was getting swept up in the moment, but that sounded rather lovely. “Forever?” he said, just to hear Ed say it back.

Ed sank into him, easy and slow.

He breathed out his answer, warm on the back of Stede’s neck: “Till the end of time.”

[izzy-b-hands]

Cute/emotional little Roach centric fic. Went sort of flowery prose in bits, forgive it if u can, if not I absolutely get it and valid lmaooo

TW for brief descriptions of medical care/treatments & allusion to abortifacients (no actual abortion or miscarriage occurs in the fic, this is just a general allusion as it being noted as part of his medical knowledge.)

---

"I know," Roach sighs. "I'm sorry!"

The little girl wriggles on her mother's lap, but lets him finish her stitches.

"Thank you," the woman sighs and hands him a few coins. "I don't quite have-"

"This is more than enough," he cuts her off gently. "Make sure she keeps that clean. If anything starts to look infected, she'll need the next doctor that comes through."

She nods and waves as she and the girl leave the small empty shack he's commandeered for the duration of their stay at the port.

He told the captains that he simply prefers to find his own accommodations, but truthfully, it's because he doesn't need the crew knowing about and hanging around all this.

Part of why people come to him, after all, a transient pirate doctor/cook, is for the discretion and quiet.

He's helped out girls and women needing certain teas, with ingredients his mother taught him about.

There are babies growing up that he delivered, then for a fee took and found a home (sometimes as easy as reaching out to the local church or orphanage, other times begging a better off family or a pirate captain in want of an heir but lacking a family to consider a new baby.)

Broken arms he's set while ignoring blackened eyes and listening to insistent protests of a bad fall. He always mentions how easy it is to simply disappear on a ship, should one need to escape from anywhere for any reason.

And worse. So much worse, often begged to be kept secret, but they simply had to tell someone who might help.

And a doctor always tries to help. A decent one, at least. He may not be quite decent yet, but he figures he's close enough.

"Please," the man comes skidding around the corner, wailing bundle in his arms. "I need five minutes. Just two, even."

"Hey," Roach says softly. "What's up?"

"She left me with him," the man holds out the bundle. "He won't stop crying. I can't take it."

Roach silently takes the baby, and points the man across the way towards a cheap inn. The coins the girl's mother gave him will be enough for that, and the man can sleep for the first time in days.

"You're giving your dad a lot of trouble," Roach says over the baby's cries. "And all of what, a few days old?"

He's joking, but he feels bad when the baby wails louder.

To make up for it, he doesn't set the baby down in the bassinet in the shack (one bassinet and one small cot, in case anyone needs to be monitored overnight or longer), even after the baby sleeps.

Instead he walks the small square of the shack and rocks on his feet and drowsily mumbles shanties and lullabies until the two blur into an odd mix of fish in cradles knocked out of tree boughs by sailors.

Four hours later, the man returns with an older woman. Grandma, who upon hearing the situation has agreed to come and stay with them.

Roach hands over the baby with a bittersweet ache. Memories of younger siblings held and the idea of a family of his own (incredibly unlikely considering his career) and the physical ache of his arms from cradling the baby for so long.

"Here you are."

He peers out as his latest patient is carried off, and there stands Ed.

Pipe in hand, smoke lazily drifting through the candlelight shattering the dark. He looks imposing, every bit the fearsome Blackbeard of legend.

He also looks incredibly, almost upsettingly attractive, but Roach is fairly sure Ed just has that effect on most if not all people.

"Can I help with something?" Roach asks.

"Everyone else is waiting for you to come out with us," Ed replies. "But no one knew where you went. When I volunteered to find you, I didn't know what I'd expect to find you doing-"

Roach braces for a lecture about being a pirate, or something to that effect. It won't stop him doing this, and he'd be disappointed in Ed, but this wouldn't be the first captain to disapprove of what he did, of the time and loyalty they always claimed he took away from them with such work.

"But this is awesome! I could hear that kid clear across the way earlier, but look at you!" Ed smiles. "How'd you quiet them down so fast?"

"Practice," Roach shrugs. "Siblings, then patients."

Ed's eyes grow wide. "Midwifery?"

Roach nods. "Sort of. As needed, thankfully not too often."

"You've got stories," Ed beams. "You've gotta come tell us-"

He pauses. "You're open all night to help people, aren't you?"

Roach nods. "But I can-"

"No, hang on!" Ed says. "I'll go get everyone, and we'll have things here. We can help you with anyone who comes by! We've got food and drink we can carry over, and I want to hear stories while we eat! Gorier the better!"

Ed claps a hand on his shoulder before jogging off to wherever he left the crew, leaving Roach stunned.

Stunned, but incredibly happy. Not just for the company, but for the extra hands. With them, he might even get to sleep for an hour.

[adickaboutspoons]

List five of your least-popular fics, as well as when/why you wrote them. Tag five people to play. Shamelessly stolen from someone foolish enough to say they were tagging "anyone who wants to play." I'm going to go ahead and interpret "least-popular" as "has received fewest hits"? I mean, I have a (prolly unhealthy) spreadsheet with data like the ratio of kudos:hits, which is PROLLY the most accurate way of determining what was well-liked by the people who read it, but that's also possibly just speculation (except Like I Want to be Awake, my beloved. It's got the lowest ratio of them all, and even the people who were nice enough to comment have mentioned that the ending is a bit of a downer because it's canon-compliant. So I can easily imagine that readers getting to the end of 16K and being mad about the "downer ending" that I didn't warn for). Anyway. Unbelievable: written in August 2023 in response to @ofmd-dailyquest prompt: Make Up Unbelievable Stories about The Most Fearsome Pirate. I'm not surprised this one has so few hits. It's T-rated (generously, could easily be G), and Jeffery Fettering is the POV character. Who's that? Exactly (The answer is the guy who approached him in the tavern in Bridgetown). Just because I like to imagine the string of repressed white dudes inspired to piracy that Stede leaves in his wake doesn't mean it's gonna be everyone's cuppa. It's about Jeffery and his tavern buddies making up nasty stories about Blackbeard's exploits to entertain themselves and Jeffery realizing that they're all full of shit and he's bored out of his skull and hitting much closer to the truth than he knows.

Hook Head Man Tale: written in April 2023 in response to another @ofmd-dailyquests prompt: Learn the Hook Head Man Tale (Bonus: Discover how he Eats and how he Kisses). Another one I'm not surprised about. It's G-rated, and it's kind of bad on purpose (from a technical writing stand-point; it's written in the style of Young Stede's first self-insert fan fiction, so it's pretty self-indulgent and overwrought). It's the story of Young Stede meeting a creature with a hook for a head because he's under a curse. And breaking that curse to reveal it was really a fairy with long black hair and big brown eyes all along... When a Good Plan Comes Together: written in September 2023. Ed and Stede plan a fuckery together for the first time after the reunion, and get caught up in the giddy euphoria of it and wind up making love on the paper-covered table. I've talked smack about it before. It's fine, and there's actually some pretty excellent metaphors and lovely turns of phrase in there, but mostly I'm cross with myself for lazily glossing over both the actual plan of the fuckery and the actual sex. Stede Sonnets: started in December 2023, but I add new ones every now and again when the fancy takes me. Exactly what it says on the tin - sonnets either about or from the perspective of Stede. Poetry isn't everyone's jam, so yeah - another one that I'm not particularly surprised it's not popular. Under Par: written in June 2023. Stede is golfing with the Badmintons and hating life. Ed is a flirty cart-girl (delivering beverages and snacks to golfers on the links) to the rescue! Remember when there was that 2-second clip of Taika in his Blackbeard get-up riding around in a golf cart in the bts footage from a Rita Ora music video? And we were so desperately starved for any news at all about the second season that we all lost our minds? So this is a little modern AU based on that clip and comments it inspired. It was v. much an "of the moment" fic, and now that we've all moved on from the moment, I'm not surprised there's not any interest in reading this one anymore. Ironically, this has the highest kudos:hits ratio of all my fics, so even though it's not been read by many, I guess those who did read it generally liked it? Tagging @bizarrelittlemew, @chocolatepot, @emi--rose, @epersonae, & @forpiratereasons

And, of course, anyone who wants to play 😉

[teeny-tiny-revenge]

So I was thinking about Ed and Blackbeard and the Kraken, as you do, and I thought "Blackbeard is a mask, and the Kraken is a shield for Ed to hide behind", but that's not it, either. Blackbeard is the shield. The Kraken is a sword.

Blackbeard is, and I'm dying on that hill, Ed's biggest and best fuckery. Blackbeard is a carefully curated performance of everything Ed has to be to be successful and secure as a pirate. Blackbeard is cool and edgy, he's scary and fearsome, he's the best sailor and pirate out there. And everything Ed is and wants that doesn't fit that image gets carefully hidden away behind it.

But Blackbeard's origin is closely tied to the Kraken IMO. The Kraken is Ed's fear response. Ed goes Kraken when he's hurting and feeling threatened. The Kraken is the part of Ed that lashes out to protect him.

Ed's initial reactions to being scared or hurt or out of his depth aren't Kraken-y. He cowers and hides from his abusive father, makes himself small and silent. He fawns. Until it gets too much to bear and he snaps, and then he uses the violence he grew up around to protect himself and his mother.

Ironically, that's the only thing Ed's actually afraid of. The Kraken. The thing he turns into when he's at his worst. Ed's afraid of very few things (Stede dying, and I think that took him by surprise), but his worst fear is becoming the Kraken. It's something I think he feels he has no control over, and Ed's all about plans and strategies and knowing all the next steps and having a tight control of what's going to happen, and I don't think there's much of that left in Kraken Ed.

And I think when Ed grew up and became Blackbeard, he ended up in a world that worked like his family home: the most scary and violent person is on top of the pecking order, and Ed became that, and that's what kept him safe. What keeps him safe. People are terrified of Blackbeard the Fearsome Legend, and we are shown glimpses of Ed's fuckeries engineered to create, support and maintain this legend. Blackbeard's head is made of smoke, he's got eyes of flame, sailors flee at the sight of him stumbling to his knees halfway into a panic attack and arguably at his least fearsome, he doesn't even have to be on the boat. The fuckery of Blackbeard, the mask, the shield Ed built to hide behind and keep himself safe is working so well it ends up stifling him, but it means he hardly has need for the sword of the Kraken anymore. I don't think he's needed to raise it in years, perhaps decades. Nobody dares to threaten Blackbeard.

And then Stede comes along, and Ed allows himself to look out from behind his shield, to lower it, first gradually and then he just chucks it overboard altogether. He's ready to give it up, to be Ed, to stop hiding. He makes himself super vulnerable, and then that comes around to bite him. Stede abandons and ghosts him, breaks his heart, and Izzy tells him to his face he's loyal only to Blackbeard and that Ed would be better off dead and will have to watch his fucking step or else Izzy might see fit to finish the job the English didn't.

And the problem is, Ed isn't really Blackbeard anymore, is he? Not to Izzy in any case, not fully and without question, and that would be important here. Blackbeard worked as a shield built of respect and fear, and none of that is left. Not much, at least.

So in a tragic repeat of his youth, Ed, lacking a proper shield, picks up his kraken sword and lashes out, and then he reconstructs the Blackbeard shield from the scraps he has left. He paints on a fake beard, he puts the leather uniform back on, and he performs the acts of violence he rarely needed to perform anymore as Blackbeard before. He maroons, he throws people overboard, he gets rid of anything to make him vulnerable, hastily putting the wall back up. But he isn't safe behind Blackbeard anymore, he can't ever slip up again, he has to hold tight to the shield and the sword both now.

There's meta and fic floating around where Blackbeard and the Kraken are considered, like, two different things, two different elements of Ed's personality, but I think they really aren't? I think the Kraken is Blackbeard's origin, his source, and Blackbeard is mostly just toned down elements of the same things that bring out and characterise the Kraken, just not so out of control. The Kraken is a trauma and fear response of Ed protecting himself by hurting what hurts him. Blackbeard is an Ed who isn't in total crisis mode who has internalised the ways of his world and knows exactly how fearsome he has to be for nobody to dare fuck with him. There are a lot of Kraken elements in Blackbeard once you look for them. Blackbeard is the performance of "you can't hurt me if I hurt you first" and "you know I could do terrifying things and that's enough, I won't actually have to do them". And Ed has perfected that! But I think he hasn't genuinely been scared or threatened in forever.

You know, I think the person who is the most scared of the Kraken is still Ed. Izzy is happy, he got what he wanted, that's the Blackbeard he wants to see. Fang looks so sad to me on that final shot of him at the wheel? He knows Ed is hurting. Jim clearly isn't scared at all. Frenchie is, but Frenchie was scared or at least wary of Blackbeard in the beginning, too. Like all of the crew, this behaviour Ed, full of dread of himself, calls the Kraken must be much closer to what all of them expect Blackbeard to be like than what Ed's been doing the couple of weeks he's been on the Revenge.

I think nobody but Ed will see the Kraken as a separate entity to Blackbeard at all. That's all in his head, and that's something he'll have to work through eventually, but what in Ed's head is "I am a monster, I am the scariest most horrible thing there is" is more likely to be "so yeah Blackbeard had a breakdown and a rampage" to everyone else. The Kraken as a concept is Ed's own way to frame his trauma, and nobody currently on the Revenge is privy to any of that.

Stede is privy to the Kraken imagery Ed uses there, so I think there needs to be a moment in season two similar to the bathtub confession scene where Ed can give voice to the fact that the thing that scares him most in the world is that part of him that exists to keep him safe the only way he ever learned how and where Stede can reassure him again that yeah, that was bad things he did, but we can move past that if you want to try.

[kharti]

[ The Wind Will Blow Me Home #2 ]

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Life on a mercantile ship was—different. Or maybe it wasn’t so different, and Izzy was. He was no longer the first mate, no longer Blackbeard’s dog. He was just another crew member with no special title or privileges.

      ( Continue reading on AO3 or... )

Life on a mercantile ship was—different. Or maybe it wasn’t so different, and Izzy was. He was no longer the first mate, no longer Blackbeard’s dog. He was just another crew member with no special title or privileges.

It didn’t stop him from being annoyed by mediocrity, however.

“Is that the best rigging you can do?” he barked out. “And what are you going to do when it comes undone at the first fooking gust of wind?”

The man scowled, but wordlessly started to redo his work, sending a glare over his shoulder when Izzy snorted.

“Do it right the first time and you wouldn’t have to do it again.”

His gaze wandered the ship, stopping when he spotted Buttons with the captain. He had already been voted into first mate position—and why not? Buttons had an uncanny sense for the sea.

It did mean that he was frequently at the captain’s side, and opportunities to be alone together were equally infrequent.

Izzy couldn’t decide if he was an idiot or not. Buttons had made no advances, no hints of there being anything between them, no clues that there could be.

But there was. Wasn’t there?

So Izzy waited until nightfall, and just as he did on the Revenge, Buttons was nude on the upper deck and basking in the moonglow.

“Joinin’ me fer a bask, Mr. Hands?”

Izzy hesitated, not letting his eyes take in anything below the shoulders. “You can call me Izzy.”

Buttons turned to face him, and Izzy couldn’t fight the dip of his gaze. The man was completely, disappointingly soft. “Aye, I can, but feels weird.”

“Israel?” he offered.

Buttons stared at him, unblinking. “Joinin’ me fer a bask, Israel?”

The name was said softly, almost fondly, and Izzy’s heart squeezed at the sound of it.

“I’ve never basked before,” he admitted with a curl of his lips. “Teach me?”

“Isn’t anythin’ tae it.” Buttons gestured at him with both hands. “Strip the kit and bask in her radiant glow.”

Izzy hesitated, then reached up with an unsteady hand to start unbuttoning his shirt. “That’s it?”

“Aye.”

Izzy didn’t say another word as he undressed right there out in the open, right there in front of the man he wanted to love and wanted to be loved by.

Was it just his imagination, or was Buttons watching him? Was it with interest? Fuck, he needed to keep his thoughts in order, or his complicated feelings would show the moment he got his pants off.

Keep it together, Israel. You still don’t know what’s going on.

Once he was fully naked, he stepped forward to stand beside Buttons and looked up at the full moon. “Now what?”

“Ye stand there and let her wash over ye. Simple as that.”

Izzy’s mouth went dry as he tried and tried and failed not to think about their moonlit encounter. It seemed like a lifetime ago, long enough that he had to let it go.

If anything happened, it would happen anew.

“Don’t think, Israel.”

His own name shouldn’t affect him so much, but he swore that Buttons said it with distinct fondness again, so it was impossible not to shiver a bit at the sound.

“Thinkin’ gets in tae way of her magic.”

Izzy snorted. “Does she have magic? I recall being promised a hex once upon a time from the ocean.”

He swore under his breath.

So much for letting go.

Buttons was quiet for a while, and Izzy glanced over to see a contemplative expression on his face. Finally, he replied, “The moon is capable of many awesome and fearsome things.”

It wasn’t an answer to what he was really asking, but Izzy hoped nonetheless. His heart had crawled its way up into his throat, and he swallowed to try to push it back down.

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📚 view a list of all my current stories!

[buckevantommy]

2022 Tumblr Top 10

1. 2,472 notes - Sep 24 2022

ryan, at the start of every investigation: i believe in ghosts and have brought all this cool equipment with me to try and prove the existence of ghosts once and for all

*somethin spooky happens*

ryan: NO i am LEAVING i am walking AWAY from the scary noises and shadows out the corner of my eye GOOD DAY SIR 

2. 421 notes - Oct 23 2022

watching Knives Out for the first time after seeing it all over my dash i thought daniel craig’s character would sound like james bond british i was not expecting gay cajun vampire sidepiece

3. 256 notes - Apr 6 2022

Stede shows his wife his model ship and she exclaims how she hates the ocean and doesn’t want a ship [re:Stede’s dream] then we cut to Blackbeard gleefully saying “this place is amazing” while picking up Stede’s model ship i see your writing Eliza Jiménez Cossio and i applaud you

4. 169 notes - Apr 6 2022

5. 129 notes - Apr 1 2022

non-binary character whose story doesn’t revolve around them being non-binary and they don’t encounter bigotry and they’re portrayed by a non-binary actor and written by non-binary writers and are also a bamf my beloved 

6. 80 notes - Apr 2 2022

so blackbeard wants to meet this new interesting pirate to break up the monotony bc he’s bored af of the same old same old pirate life and not only does this shiny new pirate decline to meet with him he also insults him. dude unwittingly insults the most fearsome pirate in the world and instead of being angry or wrathful blackbeard is just upset that this new shiny pirate doesn’t want to meet him so then he saves said pirate from certain death and proceeds to fanboy over him. no one is doing it like this guy. 

7. 60 notes - Apr 15 2022

season 2 needs a parallel of the Jim’s Nanna scene where Ed visits his old mum and introduces her to Stede like: this is Stede. he’s my.. friend. because they’ve mended some stuff but haven’t quite made their way to being Together (yet) and his mum gets A Look in her eye the more time she spends with them because She Knows and she’s quietly rooting for them to sort their shit out and tries to tell Ed and he says: it’s not like that. we’re just co-captains.

8. 55 notes - Apr 4 2022

9. 52 notes - Apr 11 2022

Izzy putting his head between Blackbeard’s legs to try and help but failing to free him getting frustrated and giving up spouting how Blackbeard knows everything before running away. this scene is about gay sez.x.

10. 50 notes - Apr 1 2022

you need to watch season 1 of ofmd twice: the first time is to see everything as it happens with virgin eyes. the second time is to bask in the queer that is canonically everywhere. 

[bbygrlblackbeard]

YALL IM LOSING IT i was watching 1x4 Discomfort in a Married State, the scene where they’re eating marmalade dressed in each other’s clothes in the morning light, and Edward looks over at Stede in pure awe while they’re eating, after they mentioned the fact that they could keep living like this, teaching each other about the other’s life. At first I kind of saw their relationship as envy of what the other one has, and it is at first--Edward finds a longing in Stede’s fine things and Stede aches for the intimidating aura that Blackbeard has when he boards a ship. There’s envy there for sure, a longing, an ache, as I think there often is in certain queer relationships. But as he’s staring at Stede with those big doe eyes of his I realized something even more important; that loving look on his face isn’t because he’s seeing something he wants for himself. He’s seeing Stede, being who Stede really is for probably the first time in his life. He’s looking at Stede in admiration, not envy. Dressed in Blackbeard’s clothing, being the pirate he so desperately wants to be--in this moment Edward is the only one truly seeing Stede for who he is--for who Stede sees himself as inside. And it goes the other way too, Edward is being vulnerable, letting Stede really look into his red silk heart and see him. And i think that’s why they’re so special. Why them playing in each other’s clothes is so important. They’re the only ones that see each other as the other person sees themself. That’s what love is--when someone sees who you are the way you see you (or the way you want to see yourself) despite whatever anyone else might think or say. Edward doesn’t have that gooey look in his eye just because he’s closer to coming to his own desires of having fine things--he has it because he’s sharing those inner desires with Stede, who’s dressed as a fearsome pirate, who’s showing his true self to Edward and they’re sharing that together. 

I dont know if that made any sense and it’s probably been said before, i’m just having a lot of feelings kdjfakljesdkljfkl

[run-me-through-but-not-like-that]

ooohhh, maybe a fic where reader is a pirate too, the captain of their own ship? maybe they had an agreement not to fight with blackbeard and even be allies, but they just heard about the toe thing and now izzy has to hold them back so they don't violently dismember ed, lol

I'll Kill Him:

As soon as the ship came into sight, Izzy recognise it. Its flag was raised high and proud, making sure it couldn't be missed.

"Should we get the captains?" Oluwande asked, frowning slightly. The ship was definitely approaching them but who would risk raiding a ship that flew Blackbeard's flag.

"They won't attack us, prepare to let them board," Izzy sighed, already feeling the migraine coming on.

"...seriously?" Normally Izzy wouldn't be so lenient with one of Bonnet's crew questioning him but the concern was fair if they didn't know better.

"They're old allies. Just do it," was all the information Izzy gave.

"And the Captains?"

"...wait for now..."

Izzy watched from the quarterdeck as the ships lined up, a friendly approach considering a canon hadn't been fired. He watched as you boarded the ship, shaking his head. A captain shouldn't board another ship alone but your arrangement with Blackbeard was an unique one.

The majority of your crew, including your stony first mate, stood at the railing of your ship, watching. Waiting to see if their assistance would be required. They understood the peace between you and the other captain but you had sought out the Revenge in a rage, making them wonder if it still stood.

You assessed the crew with a stern expression, figuring out what to make of them. Izzy waited to see what conclusion you came to.

"You," you pointed to Lucius, who scrambled over and stood to attention. He could be a right twat but he wasn't stupid. "Where is your captain?"

"Uh...which one?" the scribe asked nervously, hoping you wouldn't think he was being difficult on purpose.

You frowned a little before putting the pieces together. So, that part of the rumours was true...

"...he took him back?!" you snapped in disbelief.

"Uh...I guess you want Captain Teach?" Lucius decided not to get into Stede's return.

That was when a familiar voice called your name, saving the scribe from your wrath. Though, all of the anger fell away from your face when you turned to see Izzy approaching you, a grin on your face instead.

"There you are!" you approached like an old friend, arms held out at your sides, "thought you weren't going to welcome me aboard for a minute."

Izzy grumbled as you pulled him into a hug. He didn't resist but he didn't wrap his arms around you either. Had to uphold his reputation at least a little after all.

You were still smiling when you stepped back. At least, you were until your gaze dropped to the cane he clutched. Instantly grimacing at the fire raging behind your eyes once again.

Of course, you were disgusted by his weakness. The cane being a dead give away of what, he was sure, you had already heard rumours about. He refused to hang his head in shame.

"Fucking Blackbeard," you muttered through your teeth before turning away from him. "Edward fucking Teach!" you called, the same shout you would use when taunting an enemy to fight you, "get your arse out here!"

The crew quickly when from cautiously curious to completely stunned. They had taken part in their fair share of raids now and couldn't believe you would address the fearsome Blackbeard in such a way, even if they had come to know him as Edward now. They had also had a taste of him at his worst.

Thankfully, you didn't have to storm into the captain's cabin because the two captains soon came running out to see what was going on.

"Uh, who are you?" Bonnet asked with a small frown, unsure whether this would be another Calico Jack incident. Should he be welcoming a friend of Edward's or shooing them away before they can do any damage.

"Seriously, Edward? Everything that happened and you're co-captaining again?" you asked, sounding almost disappointed in him but your anger was more prominent.

"Not that it's any of your business but we have talked all of that out," Bonnet huffed defensively.

"Does he speak for you now?" you raised an eyebrow. You weren't here to speak with the Gentleman Pirate after all.

"Of course not," Edward sighed, rolling his eyes at you. "What are you doing here?" he would have greeted you with more excitement, if you hadn't come here with obviously hostile intentions.

"I had hoped the stories Jackie told me were just rumours, imagine my surprise when I decide to visit and find your first mate needing a cane just to walk across the deck," you glared the pirate captain down.

"Y/n," Izzy sighed, shaking his head, "that's why you're here?"

"That's why-of course that's why I'm here!" you spun back round to face the first mate. Did he really think you wouldn't have something to say about all the nonsense that happened over the last few months? "Seriously, Izzy, I told you that you should have accepted my offer years ago," you sighed, thinking about how this whole thing could have been avoided.

"So, that's why your here," Edward scoffed, "trying to poach my first mate. I thought we settled this."

You faced Edward again with another harsh glare. "We settled it until you fucking mutilated him!"

"It's more complicated than that," Izzy insisted, coming up by your side.

"What? Eddie had his feelings hurt so had to dismember you?" you knew you were taunting him, pushing all the right buttons, but you didn't care.

"Fuck you," Edward spat, Stede sharing his sentiment.

"Well, that sounds enough like a challenge for me," you smirked, unsheathing your sword with a little flare.

With a smirk of his own, Edward accepted by drawing his own sword. "Edward...is this necessary?" Bonnet asked, eyeing the other ship nervously. The crew wasn't exactly prepared for a raid and you seemed like you meant business.

"Stand down. Both of you," Izzy demanded, even if he had no authority over either of you.

"I'm the Captain, Iz," Edward reminded him without taking his eyes off of you.

"And a Captain only lives if his crew allows it, you should know that," you reminded him, threat clear in your words. "How many mutiny attempts has our dear Mister Hands put down?" you asked, earning a glare from Edward as he stepped forward.

The crew watched on intently, honestly a little excited to see the two captains duel.

Your smirk grew as you approached him, sword firmly in your hand.

"Enough," Izzy grabbed your arm, jerking you to a halt, before demanding, "Bonnet, make yourself useful."

Stede got the hint and hurried over to Edward, holding him back and trying to dissuade him. He wasn't the biggest fan of Izzy but if he thought this duel would be a bad idea, he was probably right about something.

"You should let me fucking kill him," you seethed, addressing Izzy but glaring at Edward. "But I'm feeling forgiving, so I'm thinking I might only take a foot," your smile was twisted, sadistic if Izzy hadn't known any better. But he did know better.

You always had been protective over those you called friends, even back on Hornigold's ship.

"I don't need you fighting for my honour or some shit," Izzy scoffed.

"Are we fighting or not?" Edward asked, his glare nearly as cruel as yours.

"Oh we're fucking fight, you bastard," you lunged towards Blackbeard, only to have Izzy catch you and hold you back.

"This is ridiculous!"

But what broke out next was an even more ridiculous scene.

Edward stood seething beside Stede as you spat vitriol at him, making all sorts of threats, each one Izzy was certain you would follow through on if he released you. Each one worse then the last.

You fought against Izzy's hold, occasionally slipping loose but only to be pulled back by the first mate.

"Izzy, get their ass off my ship," Edward ordered. "Or our agreement is off the table," he settled a heavy glare on you. Threatening you like you weren't the one to track him down with the intention of dismembering him.

"Fuck your agreement, Edward. If you want fight, fucking do it," you tried to tug out of Izzy's hold, but to no avail.

"Off my ship. Now," Edward snarled before letting Stede pull him back into the captain's cabin.

In an instant you spun around to face Izzy, the speed and force of your movement causing him to stumble back. Thankfully, you caught him by the arm before he could lose his balance. He used to have impressive balance, helped make him such an impressive fighter, but you were certain his missing toe had impacted that.

"You should let me gut the fucker," you insisted.

"Obviously, I can't let you do that," Izzy rolled his eyes.

"He cut off your damn toe, Izzy," you said, as if he needed reminding.

Izzy huffed, shifting as he became aware of the number of eyes on him. "Can we talk about this somewhere else?" he asked.

"Fine," you sighed, knowing this was a private conversation.

You didn't speak as you followed Izzy down to his cabin, ignoring the rest of the crew.

"He took your toe, Iz," again, he really didn't need to be reminded, but you said it anyway once the door was closed. There was another part of the rumour, more speculation than usual, some people believed it some people didn't. However, knowing how impulsive Edward could sometimes be, you couldn't rule it out. "Did...is it true, that he made you eat it?" you asked.

Izzy glanced at you before sitting down on the edge of his cot with a heavy sigh, "yeah."

A beat of silence.

"Can I see it?"

"It's not-"

"Please, Iz."

Izzy looked up at you for a moment before nodding. He knew that you just needed to see the proof, wanted to see how bad the damage was, you weren't enjoying this anymore than he was.

You just watched as Izzy removed his boot and unwrapped his bandages. Neither of you spoke as you knelt down in front of him, lifting his injured foot into your lap. Cradling it.

Izzy bit back his complaints that as captain shouldn't be kneeling for somebody else but you weren't a pirate captain right now, were you? No, you were his friend. Somebody who cared about him. You always had, hadn't you?

Instead, he just watched as you examined the injury. You were well experienced in controlling your facial expressions, but he still caught the sadness in your eyes.

"It looks like it healed alright. Did it get infected?" you asked quietly.

"Yeah...Roach managed to salvage it before I had to lose another toe," Izzy answered honestly.

"And you're still here..." you thought out loud before looking up at him. "You know I admire your loyalty, I always have, but...I can't help but think it may be misplaced."

"I threatened my Captain, he punished me. Any other captain would have killed me," Izzy insisted, it sounding a little like a script, like this has been what he's been telling himself since it happened.

"But Edward isn't just your Captain, he's suppose to be your friend. You've known each other for decades," you reminded him, "even Jack was speechless when he heard, and he normally finds this type of shit hilarious."

"You saw Calico?" Izzy asked but wasn't too surprised. Of course the bastard wasn't dead, maybe nothing could kill that cockroach.

"Oh yeah, drinking his sorrows down in Jackie's. Until she kicked him out, of course," you nodded.

"Useless bastard," Izzy grumbled, earning a small smile from you before you glanced back down at his foot.

"...does it still hurt?" you asked.

Izzy sighed. He had hoped you had forgotten about his foot, even if it was still in your lap. "Yeah, sometimes," he admitted, "most of the time. On bad days it goes right up to my hip."

"When it hurts, you take care of it by yourself?"

"Obviously," he huffed, no real bite to it.

"Ed doesn't help?" You felt like you already knew the answer.

"Don't think he knows how bad it can get. Thinks I'm just down a toe," he explained.

You carefully placed his foot down and stood before joining him on the cot, sitting close enough that your thigh touched his.

"I'll kill him," you whispered, more so to yourself than to Izzy.

"You and Ed have been friends for nearly as long as I've known him. You'd kill him because he took my toe?" Izzy asked, like he didn't believe it. Couldn't believe it.

"Don't act like you don't already know that," you sighed, the way you looked at him stealing the breath from Izzy's lungs. Yeah, he did know that. "You know I would, Iz. When I heard about what happened, I demanded that Jackie told me where the Revenge was last sighted. Had to come see if the rumours were true, and if they were...I had to kill or dismember Edward," you told him as if it were nothing, just a simple fact of life. For you, it was.

"I don't understand you," Izzy sighed, staring down at his lap.

"Oh c'mon, you know I've always sweet on you. Never tried to hide it," you nudged your shoulder against his, your words coming easy and with no shame. Just another fact.

You were sweet on him.

You cared for him.

You would kill Edward for him.

"Never understood that either," Izzy confessed.

You loved him.

And he lov-

"I'm going to ask again," you warned him.

"Please, don't," Izzy pleaded, bracing himself.

"Come with me, sail with me. Be my first mate. Fuck it, if Blackbeard can co-captain, so can I. Be my first mate or be my co-captain. Just come with me," you took his hand in yours, holding it in your lap.

Izzy at least did the decent thing at met your gaze as you spoke. As you pleaded with him to leave with you. As you silently promised to take care of him.

"I can't."

"You can," your thumb brushed over his palm, making him shiver, "and you should."

"I can't."

"I won't stop asking." Another simple fact of life.

You wouldn't stop asking.

You wouldn't give up on him.

"I know," Izzy found himself smiling slightly.

"And if Ed thinks he can make me leave this ship before I'm ready to go, he's obviously forgotten who I am," you huffed. You weren't leaving until you were ready, until you said everything you wanted to say.

"As stubborn as he is," Izzy agreed with a small nod, making you chuckle.

You just watched him for a moment. The slightest smile on his face, the pain in his eyes mixed with...something else.

"Fuck, Iz," suddenly feeling an intense wave of sympathy, you practically threw yourself at him. Arms circled around his neck as you embraced him.

"Wha-"

"Shut up," you mumbled into his shoulder.

And he did. Izzy let out a shaky breath before slowly returning your embrace, giving up his weak attempt at resisting and burying his face into the crook of your neck.

"I don't care what you did, Izzy. If I were here, I wouldn't have let him hurt you, would have killed him if he tried. I don't even care if he was justified, people don't hurt my Israel and get away with it," you spoke into his hair, fingers running through his hair.

"I'm not your anything," he reminded you. Still, he tightened his hold on you.

"Not from lack of trying," you retorted. His grip tightened further.

"Are you going to kill him?" Izzy asked after a short silence, knowing that the two of you couldn't stay down here forever.

"...no. Only because I know it would hurt you," you conceded, pulling away from the embrace, cupping his neck in your hands, touch gentle and caressing. "But I am going to be having a word with him," you told him, using that tone that told him there was no point arguing.

He was looking at you in that way he did sometimes. Reverently. Like you were God's gift.

"My offer will always stand. If you ever decide to leave, there will always be a place for you with me," you promised him, running your thumb along his jaw. Izzy lent into the soft touch.

You wet your lips with the tip of your tongue as you watched him, deciding to take the chance. You closed the distance between the two of you, pressing your lips to his. Izzy didn't hesitate for a moment, like he had been expecting it, hoping for it. He didn't deny himself this one thing, desperately melting into you instead.

It wasn't the first kiss the two of you had shared during your time knowing each other but it had been so long that it felt like the first. And for the first time Izzy truly knew you would do anything for him. It only made this whole thing that much more difficult.

You weren't sure how much time had passed by the time you and Izzy remerged back onto the deck, but you didn't really care. Still ignoring the tense crew, you marched right over to the Captains' cabin

You didn't know, you just let yourself in. Edward could earn your respect back another day.

"I thought I told you-" Edward was up from his seat in an instant, glaring and pointing at you.

"Shut it, Teach," you rolled your eyes. To your surprise, he actually went silent. His glare remained. "You ordered me to leave but since when did I ever listen to you?"

"So, did you steal my first mate?" Edward asked bitterly, as if Izzy wasn't standing right beside you.

"Nah, he turned me down once again," you shrugged, trying not to lash out at Edward's smug look. "He should have accepted my offer, any sane man would, but it's always been Blackbeard and First Mate Hands, right?" you added.

"And always will be," Edward reminded you.

"Until you decide you've changed your mind," you agreed.

"What are you implying?" Edward growled.

"I'm not implying anything, and I'll get out of your hair, but one more thing..."

"Which is?"

You stepped up to Edward until you were only inches away from him, holding his gaze with no fear. Izzy watched you, hoping his awe didn't show on his face. Stede anxiously glanced between you both, wondering if he should step in.

"If you ever lay a hand on him again, I will kill you, Edward. I don't care what he does, I don't care if he kills half the crew, if you so much as slap him, I will kill you. Right in front of your crew," you threatened. Edward had known you long enough to know when your threats were real. This one certainly was.

"Now, I don't-" Stede began to protest but you didn't give him a chance.

"And you," you practically growled, pointing at Stede accusingly. "If you ever leave or hurt Edward again, I will track you down and kill you," your threat had the blond widening his eyes and going speechless.

"Do you both understand?" you asked, looking between them both.

"Yes," Stede nodded. Of course, he had no plans on hurting or leaving Edward ever again, so it would be an easy promise to keep.

"You've always been a protective friend," Edward recalled, almost fondly.

"Yeah. Just don't forget that my loyalties lie more with Izzy than they do you," you warned.

"You never let me forget it," Edward rolled his eyes.

Deciding that this conversation was over, you nodded and turned back to Izzy. "Remember what I said. No matter what, there's a place for you. Always will be."

"I know," Izzy nodded. And he really did, which made it all the more painful.

You sighed but accepted the answer before leaving the cabin, Izzy following after you. If Edward didn't like that, he could tell him about it later.

You didn't care if the crew was around, you gave Izzy one last hug before you returned to your ship, greeted by your diligent first mate before they shouted to raise the anchor.

On either ship, you and Izzy stood at the railing. Focused on nothing but each other, watching the distance between you both expand once again.

[zemobaronofthedance]

Kissing Your Pain Away (Stede/Izzy)

Prompt: Kissing your partner's wound.

Can also be found on AO3

“Don’t be childish Izzy. Let me help.”

Stede pointedly looked to Izzy’s arm where he’d gotten nicked by a sword in their most recent pillaging. Izzy had been careful not to react to the wound and carry himself as normally as possible. He’d thought no one had noticed but of course, fucking Stede Bonnet had somehow clocked the injury and was now adamant about helping Izzy lean it. As if Izzy wasn’t perfectly capable of tending to it himself.

“It’s just a scratch Bonnet.” Izzy tried to brush past Stede and leave the Captain’s quarters – where Stede had squirrelled him away to the second they’d set foot back on the Revenge, everyone else, Edward included, had been too excited sorting through their loot to notice, or so Izzy hoped.

“It’ll get infected and Roach will have to cut it off.” Stede stepped to the side blocking Izzy’s escape route.

“It doesn’t even hurt,” Izzy protested, practically spitting the words at the other man.

“Oh really?” Stede raised an eyebrow as he reached out and squeezed Izzy’s arm – hard. Izzy’s knees threatened to give out at the searing pain that shot up his arm.

“Ow, fuck, you fucker.” Not his most eloquent insult but it would have to do, given the circumstances. Izzy thought Stede would let go after proving his point but his hand kept its firm grip on Izzy’s arm, sending waves of pain up his arm.

“Now, are you going to be a big boy and let Stede clean you up?” Izzy had never felt the slight difference in their heights more than he did at that moment. With a simple question, Stede Bonnet towered over Izzy making him feel small and vulnerable. To his horror, Izzy didn’t hate it and if his leather pants fit a little snugger than usual no one would ever know.

He stubbornly stared Bonnet down with flushed cheeks, whether that was from their proximity or the pain Izzy didn’t know or care. He wouldn’t crack. He was Isreal Hands, first mate to the fearsome Blackbeard, he would not submit to this pansy fancy boy playing pirate.

Stede tightened his hold on Izzy’s arm, his body quivering at the new flash of pain. Izzy couldn’t hold in his desperate moan. Fuck, there was no coming back from that. Stede sent him a knowing look though for once he kept his mouth shut.

Izzy dropped his angry gaze from Stede’s eyes to the floorboards, all fight leaving him. “Good boy,” Stede whispered before leaning down to place a gentle kiss on the top of Izzy’s head.

“You’re ridiculous,” Izzy mumbled at the other man, who had finally released his hold on Izzy’s injured arm.

“Mhmm,” Stede hummed in amusement. Izzy didn’t look up as Stede moved around the room gathering his supplies or when he peeled Izzy out of his vest and shirt. The first touch of a warm, wet rag on his skin sent shivers down Izzy’s spine. Stede was gentle with every pass of the cloth and his grip on Izzy’s arm. It was so different from how Edward touched him but it still sent his heart hammering away in his chest.

As if he could hear Izzy’s thoughts, Stede paused in his cleaning of Izzy’s wound and using just the tips of his fingers under Izzy’s chin lifted his face so that Izzy had no choice but to look into his eyes. His eyes, like every other part of him, were soft. Izzy didn’t believe the emotion he saw in those eyes, he couldn’t. The second he let himself think this was real was the second he had everything to lose. And what good was a pirate that was afraid of losing?

Stede moved forward in one swift motion and placed a quick peck on Izzy’s lips. Izzy knew Stede wanted more – more of the kiss and of Izzy. But Izzy kept his lips a harsh, stubborn line and forced himself not to lean into Stede. He hadn’t kissed anyone in years, not since he and Edward were young – before Blackbeard.

A flash of disappointment crossed Stede’s face before he turned back to his work on Izzy’s arm. He was meticulous as he cleaned out the cut. Once he deemed it good enough, Stede reached over for a jar of a sharp-smelling ointment he claimed was the cure to everything. Izzy braced himself for the sting he knew would come from Bonnet rubbing the foul ointment into his open wound but the sting never came. Instead, pain and pleasure twirled around each other as Stede pressed a kiss into the skin just above where the cut started.

Stede looked up at Izzy, keeping his lips against Izzy’s skin. Izzy watched, trembling, as Stede slowly moved his lips down the cut in Izzy’s arm, stopping to lick at the fresh blood that had pearled out at his touch. He moved further down until his lips came to rest at Izzy’s wrist, hovering just over where he could no doubt feel Izzy’s heart pounding. His lips parted and his tongue danced across the delicate skin.

Izzy didn’t know what to do. This was too much, more than anyone had ever given him before and more than he deserved. Stede’s eyes were unreadable as he lifted his mouth from Izzy’s hand and moved back up so his lips were mere centimetres from Izzy’s.

Izzy could feel Stede’s breath on his lips, gentle puffs of air that sent tingles down his spine. He waited for Stede to close the distance between them again and was irritated when Stede seemed content to stay where he was, so close but not touching Izzy.

Seconds stretched into minutes and anger buzzed anew underneath Izzy’s skin. What game did Stede think he was playing? What tricks was he trying to pull? Anticipation, frustration and desperation drove Izzy to his braking point as he smashed his lips into Stede’s. Caught off guard by the man in front of him Izzy moaned like a cheap whore as Stede’s tongue snuck into his mouth and repeated the patterns it had drawn on Izzy’s wrist. A part of Izzy screamed at him to pull away, to leave before this could go any further but as Stede ran his fingers through Izzy's hair and grabbed hold of his neck a louder part told him to take everything Stede was offering. Izzy might be going crazy but he let go of everything that had been holding him back and melted into Stede's arms.

[quillquiver]

what a pirate would do

yes i have indeed hopped on the gay pirate bandwagon BUT i can’t be blamed bc this is technically me, a potc stan, going back to my roots

READ ON AO3

“...But when you get right down to it,” Ed says faintly, gaze sliding towards some distant point on the horizon. “Being a pirate is all about power.”

Stede’s brow furrows. “Power?” he asks.

Ed shakes himself, head dipping in a nod. When he smiles it’s a caricature of the real thing; too wide, the corner tugged up rakishly as he raises a brow. “Over your crew, your berth, your reputation… it all comes down to power.”

“Ah.”

“You know, it’s funny,” Stede says quietly. And it is, he thinks. It’s strange to be sitting up in the crow’s nest of his own ship, kept company by none other than the fearsome pirate Blackbeard, whose bearing is not so terrifying as he’d been led to believe. Perhaps it’s even funny that Stede has actively made himself vulnerable in front of this man, who has been called a devil and a demon and worse—and that he’s about to do it again. Truly, it’s hilarious that whatever dangers Edward Teach presents pale in comparison to the way the lamplight shines honey-gold against his cheek, softening his edges until a man is all that remains. He’s exceedingly handsome.  

“It’s funny…?” Ed prompts.

“Right, of course,” Stede stutters. “It’s just… I always thought being a pirate was all about freedom.”

Ed considers him for a moment, and Stede is very quickly made aware that he’s said the wrong thing. He feels his flush start to travel down his neck and loosens his cravat, clearing his throat as he turns to look over his shoulder. “Silly of me,” he mutters. “Got taken in by an advertisement.”

The weight of Ed’s hand against his shoulder feels like a stone, and Stede immediately turns to look at it. His heart is beating so hard he’s sure he’s bruised it on his ribcage, eyes wide as he watches Ed’s long, dirty fingers slide own the material of his clean white shirt until their hands are atop one another’s. Stede doesn’t dare breathe.

“Not silly,” Ed murmurs, leaning closer as if the admission is a secret. “Romantic. Fitting for the Gentleman Pirate, don’t you think?”

Stede’s palms sweat and his cheeks flush again. He swallows thickly. “Well, yes, I, ah, I suppose it is.” His valiant attempts to avoid looking at Ed’s mouth fail once. Twice. Three times. “I do have it on good authority that I, um, am a master of romance…ing.”

Ed’s smile lives almost entirely in his eyes. “Do you?” he teases.

Stede suddenly can’t stop himself from grinning. “No.”

He doesn’t know why that’s funny, but it is somehow, because they’re both laughing. Ed swings into his space before moving back completely, and while it’s disappointing to have him at a more appropriate distance, the way he hooks their pinkies as he pulls away more than makes up for it. “Lesson two,” he says cavalierly. “Sword fighting…”

***

It’s appropriate, Stede thinks, that that moment in the crow’s nest is the one that plays most often in his mind. Over and over and over again—the rough feel of his fingers, the wistfulness of his voice, his eyes… the way he’d looked, unabashedly, as if Stede was not only interesting but competent, and someone to be respected beyond that.

Stede thinks of that moment almost as much as their kiss.

Well, he knows better now; he’s been well-trained in the art of sword fighting and treasure hunting and fuckery, and with a mostly marooned crew and a long row back to the closest serviceable ship, he knows the long and short of it. Piracy is dangerous and difficult. It’s a life filled with small terrors and great horrors. With disappointments and heartbreaks, no matter how deserved.

But it’s not about power. Or—it is, but not in the way Ed seems to think. It’s… innate. Not a by-product of the freedom piracy can give you, but the strength that allows you to chase that freedom in the first place.

“Captain,” Oluwande says. “You’re sure you want to do this?”

“It’s my mess to clean up,” Stede says, eyeing the Revenge in the distance. He won’t leave. Not again. Not Ed.

That’s not what a pirate would do.

[thetardigrape]

Today I am having Thoughts about Calico Jack and his parallels with Izzy.

Specifically, this bit:

Ed definitely didn't want to leave with Jack. Jack reminded him that he saved his life, which he brought up previously before they went to Dead Man's Cove. It seems to me that he holds this over Ed.

Jack's words here carry a threat: You owe me your life. If you don't do what I say I can collect that life debt. I can take your life.

It's the same threat Izzy makes later: Edward better watch his step. Act like a pirate or I will kill you.

Ed doesn't want to go with Jack. His hesitation is clear:

Ed's body language says very clearly that he's reluctantly giving in. He's not happy about leaving with Jack. He simply feels he has no choice.

I think a lot of the time we focus on Ed's perception of himself through Stede's eyes here, how he thinks Stede must see him as a monster and villain, the Devil Pyrate Blackbeard with nine guns. And all of that is true. That's why he says, "This is who I am." But equally, he's being Blackie here because he must. Because Jack, like Izzy, is threatening his life.

And who knows how long Jack has been doing this? Who knows how many times he's reminded Ed that he saved his life to push Ed into something he didn't want to do?

I'm not saying that Ed has no agency or is incapable of making his own choices. It's just that the mantle of Blackbeard protects him from men like Jack and Izzy. When he shows vulnerability and a desire to connect with others, these men shut it down. Be fearsome and fearless, they say, or we will kill you. Be the monster or be nothing.

I don't think it's a coincidence that both Jack and Izzy are white. It would be so interesting in S2 to see Ed interacting with another pirate captain who isn't white. I feel confident that dynamic would play out very differently.

[punkcornzero]

Smoke & Mirrors aka Blackbeard/ The Kraken

In this post I’m going to talk about how literal smoke and mirrors are used to portray Blackbeard in Our Flag Means Death, in my opinion.

I tried to find every scene in which we see Blackbeard around smoke or when Ed is reflected in a mirror, and to see what this tells us about him. I think that smoke represents Blackbeard/ The Kraken, and is used to conceal Edward beneath it; while he is often reflected in mirrors because he is hugely effected by the way others perceive him, and often what people think of him isn't the real Ed.

In the early stages of the show we see Blackbeard emerge from smoke a few times. (Also, smoke resembles tentacles in the way it swims around things and this is another reason i don't really distinguish between Blackbeard and The Kraken)

First, he is literally made out of smoke, he has this powerful aura around himself:

Then he slowly comes out of it, we can’t immediatly see his face, for we are behind him and he is smoking, but we get a glimpse of it later in the scene:

Finally, when Ed and Stede meet the first time, we see who really is behind the Blackbeard persona, as he emerges from the smoke:

This tells much about the show - we see that Blackbeard is not mystical or whatever, he's a mate, a capable guy but really human, behind the illusion of power created by smoke.

I also think that we should distinguish between reflections in proper mirrors and reflections in reflectives objects. Because I see as “fancy” mirrors have more to do with how Stede sees Ed, while the others are as Ed wants to be seen.

In this take, Ed makes faces because maybe he isn’t used to his face, and wonders if this funny scary one is how Stede or others see him:

Also, I included this scene because here we see them as a lighthouse: Stede brings the light that reflects in Ed, maybe because Stede sees Ed purely and his light eventually comes back to him when they’re close:

Here, Ed is insecure about his past as a poor boy, and the rude remark of some fancy guy reminds him of this... After telling a crewmate to skin the guy, I think that Edward sees a fancy plate and concludes that he may never be worthy of that, because what he sees are Blackbeard eyes. This is what people expect of him, the heartless pirate that is merely a reflection of Ed:

This is the moment in which Edward tells about the Kraken, he is telling the truth - but hiding the true identity of the Kraken, and he is smoking (for the last time in the show, for he will let himself being honest around Stede and his crew) once again creating an aura around himself (I know, he barely lit the pipe, but some smoke will come out):

Then, the fuckery. I consider this episode as a confirm of what I’ve been saying: Ed presents himself as Blackbeard, fearsome, but soon reveals that all of the smoke is just illusory. Beneath, there's a real human being:

Here they’re talking about the true identity of the Kraken, and I like that we got also this image of both of them reflected in proper mirrors. This is a glimpse of their true selves: Stede as light, Ed as human, with his fragilities and everything. He doesn't look at the mirror, he isn't unaware that people might actually perceive him as Ed. But we, the audience, can see them as they are:

Then things happens, as we know... And here he doesn’t see himself as Ed, he wants others to see just the Kraken. The reflection becomes the person, but as we know, Ed is still very much alive but also very much concealed:

Hope this makes sense and if you want to add something please reblog or comment, I’m willing to discuss things! Also I'm sorry if I wasn't 100% clear

(Also I'm sorry I can’t make GIFs but I hope that the images helped anyway)