#OFMD crew in action

[suffering-and-happy-about-it]

Basking in the Moonlight (Love’s Wrecks, Part 7.)

Description: Heartbreak is one hell of a bitch. And one Edward Teach could tell you all about it. Yet thanks to Fate being a little trickster, there’s a person who enters his life to remind him of how nice it is of having someone he can confide in, someone he can care about, and someone he can trust. To remind him, what it means to have a friend for better or worse.  

Part Summary: Buttons wasn’t your favorite member of the crew by any means, he was far from it, actually. But when the crew gets to know that he’s celebrating his 600th basking in the moonlight, you all decide to join this strange, exceptional ritual.

Word counter: 6.1 K

A/N: Yes. The name of this part is a clear reference to Dancing in the Moonlight by King Harvest. 😀 Also, I realize that the chapter is fucking long as shit and that 'The Wellerman' (a New Zealand shanty) was sung a century later (c. 1860-70), but I think that imagining the entire crew just standing there, singing it, that would be so fucking dope. Also, who the fuck cares about accuracy? The show itself ain't accurate, and Taika, Rhys, and David don't care in the slightest.

One last thing: I know using the term 'sea shanty' isn't accurate, but it's just catchier and fun to use.

Tagging: @le--petit--croissant @missdictatorme @soliyra-the-sunbringer

Series master list:  h e r e   | Series play list:  h e r e

A month passed by just like that. A whole month of plundering, adventures, and all sorts of exciting daily activities. It was pretty usual to stop by in a harbor time you met on your way to replenish all the supplies you might need; whether it was a barrel full of oranges, food, or gunpowder. Each time you stopped there, Izzy was trying to sell you with all the desperation he had inside of himself; and yet, to Izzy’s bad luck, there was no slave-holder who’d buy your, and you quote, “fucking annoying ass”. Harbor days were your favorites when it came to breaking the blissful routine you and the crew often came across throughout your traveling; on a Harbor day, everyone was allowed to enjoy their time as they found appropriate before spending the afternoon finishing tasks.

As usual, you decided to join Olu and Jim on their endeavors through yet another strange town since it was often beneficial to have Jim by your side when the locals started to haggle with you in Spanish. Where did you take the money to even haggle in the first place? Oh, that was pretty easy - you sold off some of the jewelry the boys were bringing you from various raids. Usually, all your Harbor days looked pretty much the same - first off, Izzy was dragging you along with your wrists loosely tied together and tried to talk down anyone, literally anyone, to buy you. After his attempts came in wain, the three of you wandered around the town; sometimes, you decided for a beach trip to soak your feet in the old ocean waves and when the noon hit, you decided it’s time to pick yourself up to find you some food and, in Jim’s case, alcohol source. But this Harbor day was way different than the rest - this time, the entire crew decided to pay a visit to the local pub, ordering food and drinks left and right. Thankfully, Frenchie offered to pay for your dinner, which you accepted immediately since you had no money on you.

“I was talking to Buttons earlier this morning.” - Pete said loudly enough for all of you to shut up and pay him attention; John stopped himself from nibbling on his piece of chicken, sitting there with his mouth wide open and with his eyes piercing through Pete’s profile. Such a view made both you and Jim giggle, but upon seeing Pete’s serious expression, you both shut up and straightened up. “And you know how he sometimes gets, talking about his mumbo jumbo that no one understands, right?” - The man asked and everyone hummed back in agreement, muttering sentences like 'that’s so Buttons' or 'yea, that sounds exactly like him'. - “But then he said a big number and so, I started to pay attention and asked him about what he’s talking about… And today’s a full moon, correct?”

“Oh, no.” - You moaned in despair, furrowing upon this realization. Jim patted your shoulder with an apologetic grin, and the rest of the men sighed; each member of the crew knew that seeing Buttons running around naked was a bit too much for your taste. The worst part was that this was happening monthly. To your bad luck, Buttons was also the most talkative during this period of time, so he was capable of coming up to you multiple times a day, telling you all sorts of information you didn’t even want to know. - “Is it really that time of the month again? Oh, dear, help me, Jesus.”

“We all know it’s a small problem for you, Y/N…” - “A problem? A small problem!? It’s a violation of my personal space! But whatever… You heard a big number and…” - You said quickly, prompting Pete to continue. “He said it’s his 600th basking in the moonlight. And I thought to myself: Woah, that’s a lot of basking. That guy might be a weirdo, but he’s our weirdo and I think we should, you know, show support and come there to share it with him.” - After he was finished with this speech, all of you simply stared at him, not finding the right words to say. In your mind, you started counting; if a year had twelve months, that meant… Six hundred divided by twelve… “Oh fuck!” - You squealed suddenly, looking at everyone sitting around the table; none of them seemed to connect the two dots, but again, you were the only one who could actually count. - “That means Buttons just had his 50th birthday, guys. Did any of you wish him?”

"Since when do you wish someone for having their birthday?" - Frenchie asked a bit pragmatically, offering you his palm with all the French antics he learned while he worked as a servant. - "I wish you the best for living long enough to become fifty years old." - Then, the man stopped himself and furrowed, lowering his palm and shaking his head. - "That's an awfully big number. Imagine living that long. Doesn't most people die when they're like... 30?" "Doesn't most people die on small pocks, scurvy, plague, or starvation?" - The Swede chimed in. At that moment, you simply shook your head and already regretted the debate you started simply because you wanted to be nice to Buttons. - "... Or a bullet to the chest, to the head, hanging, blowing up... Or a very ugly ax hit, I've seen that before." - Wee John continued, nodding as he finally nibbed on the piece of cold chicken in his fingers. Buttons, moon basking, and birthdays were quickly forgotten as the entire crew started to argue about the most common mortality. So far, of course, the pirate ways to go were strangely the most popular ones. - "... And that was when his finger fell off his foot. I don't know what he had, but it was the most disgusting stuff I've seen so far..."

"Can you all just... Stop?" - You exclaimed and sprang to your feet, looking at everyone. You could feel your stomach turning upside down, and the food in front of you suddenly appeared to be disgusting. You fucking hated when the boys simultaneously started talking about such disgusting shit without being prompted to do so, talking about it until the very evening. "I think Pete's idea's great. We should celebrate Buttons' 600th basking in the moonlight. Does any of you know what he likes? So we could give him a proper gift, perhaps?" - At this question, the men stared at you as if this was the first time ever saw you. How would they know what Buttons likes? This guy wasn’t exactly the one to share his hobbies or interests with the crew if you hadn’t noticed yet.

“Birds!” - Pete exclaimed after five minutes of utter, dead silence. - “I’m pretty sure he likes birds.” “That’s certainly… An observation. A good start, though. Come on, guys, you’re a part of one crew for a pretty long time. There must be something you learned about him, no?” “Mermaids, sea devils, and weird spells. He cursed Calico Jack and that guy just… Vanished. I think he’s a sea witch.” - Frenchie chimed in with another random, unfounded observation. At this observation, you nodded with visible disappointment, but you still brought yourself to pat Frenchie’s shoulder.

“He’s a very wise dude.” - Jim proclaimed out of nowhere, catching your full attention. This piece of information sounded very intriguing, especially coming from Jim. But with each new word they said after, the sparks disappeared from your eyes. - “He might not be able to read… To write… Or to count, but he has so much pirate knowledge. Maybe it’s not as bad that he’s this old because he can teach us a trick or two.” “Now that I think about it, he was helping Captain Stede with piracy in the begging a lot. Is that helpful?” - Olu asked seriously, making you stiffen for a few minutes there. “Sure!” - You exclaimed with the fakest smile on the planet; it didn’t seem that any of them noticed. None of that was helpful; what kind of a gift would he appreciate? A picture book filled with drawings of various sea demons and creatures? A parrot? A dead fucking mermaid dragged onto the deck? Huffing, you still kept the smile on your lips.

Truth be told, you’ve seen birthday celebrations rather rarely and knew a small amount of information about them. It was a pretty recent trend, to host a ball for someone’s birthday. And as usual, the ones inventing it were French. Your mistress threw a few parties as well, once or twice; she explained to you, all of her servants, that these small parties are more of a declaration of respect and honor than an actual birthday celebration. It wasn’t anything the French would be throwing to say it simply. So, you wanted something subtle and nice, to spend some quality time with all the crew members, and have a space to simply breathe.

"You know what? I think we should just bake a cake, cook some good dinner and buy a bottle of wine for the toast." - With a sigh, you looked down on Jim and motioned for them to stand up. They looked back at you, visibly annoyed, and motioned towards the two remaining pieces of chicken on their plate. - "Stop being so dramatic, you said you don't like the taste anyway." "That was five minutes ago, I thought that puta spotted on my plate." "Language!" - You squealed and shook your head, looking into the small leather bag hanging long your belt. You weren't poor just yet, but you will surely need to haggle. Jim bounced their leg around a few times before sighing, putting their hat on their head, and pulling the coat off of the hanger. - "Roach, pick your ass up, you're coming along."

Just like Jim before, the man gave you a dramatic stare, throwing his palms around in a vague gesture. - "Olu didn't make me a shopping list, you see? I have zero ideas what's in the larder and what do we need to buy for the cake and the dinner." It didn't take you long to pay and to walk into the local market - if it even could be called a market, that is. It was more of a clamp of three separate stalls pushed together. That didn't mean that the vendors wouldn't be offering good quality goods, quite the opposite, to be honest. Just when you inspected the fresh shrimps, Roach leaned in, sticking his head right beside yours; naturally, it made you look him in his damn face. "You said you want to cook good food tonight, eh?" - He mumbled in a strange, suffocated tone, making you frown. - "Does that mean that I usually don't cook well enough for your standards, or..."

"I've never said that your food is bad." - Now, you were both standing straight, looking each other in the face. - "What I meant by 'good food' is 'special dinner, you dumbass. I was thinking of shrimp with a lemon-garlic sauce or something like that, something with a LOT of vitamins. Mostly because Swede mentioned scurvy recently and I don't wanna watch him pulling out his teeth, okay? That's what you do to celebrate a birthday - you have a fun time and some special food." "So, you think my food is good?" - Roach asked indecisively, making you sigh as you closed your eyes. You only decided to celebrate Buttons' birthday half an hour ago and all of it was already causing you high levels of stress. But even though all the thoughts you had, you made yourself smile and nod. - "Of course. I love your food. Now, for the love of God, help me with picking everything we need."

Jim's trading spirit came in handy eventually. You and Roach stood behind them, watching them and the vendor spitting various Spanish hisses at each other; it almost looked like there was an argument in the air, but then the vendor smiled and started laughing. Jim, clearly taken aback by that, pointed at him and looked your way, making all of you laugh uncomfortably as well (even if you and Roach had zero ideas what was it about). He gave you everything you needed for a very low price, which was something you were endlessly grateful for. As Roach and Jim picked up the goods packed into two sackcloth bags, you handed the vendor the promised tiara; it was quite big, made out of silver, decorated with big pieces of some very valuable green stone.

All three of you made it back to the ship significantly earlier than the rest of the crew, making Izzy just watch you with a respectful furrow. As soon as you were off the radar, you walked into the kitchen and started preparing the cake as well as the dinner. Looking at the sun, you had about 3 hours to finish all the chores if you wanted any chance of actually celebrating Buttons' birthday. Even before the other got back, you already started with cleaning the deck from various bird droppings spread all over it. Roach was almost furiously cooking 2 dishes at once, baking bread and cake, and even Jim themselves joined the efforts; they were cleaning up the upper deck. Izzy was watching all three of you suddenly working furiously, but he didn't find any reason to scold any of you (which was weird, since he always found at least one vile remark that he spat right into your face).

Later that afternoon, when everyone got back and started finding their chores, you found yourself on the deck, folding the rigging. Pete was just polishing the cannons (and he didn't miss a single spot) and Frenchie was more or less just... Hanging around, holding his old and broken lute. "Oi." - Pete exclaimed suddenly, looking at Frenchie. - "Sing us something and we'll join." - He asked, shooting a gaze your way. Naturally, you didn't protest against it, you simply nodded; by this point, it was normal for you to sing while doing your chores since it always seemed to flow much quicker that way. Sometimes, when you were all bored out of your minds, you just laid around and Frenchie sang you random snippets from all the songs and shanties he knew, making you either continue from where he stopped or guess the name of it.

As Pete asked, Frenchie did. First, he was just playing random chores, watching as you stopped yourself in your tracks, listening into it. When he stopped for a moment, you simply smiled and shook your head. - "Eliza Lee. You are making it easier and easier on me, Frenchie. Give me a challenge, come on." "Maybe it's just because you know all the songs by heart now, eh?" - The man answered with a snicker, making you grin as he sang the first words of the song. Both you and Pete soon joined him while finding your tasks; you tapped your foot in the rhythm of the song while Pete clapped his thigh.

Since you were so preoccupied with singing and tapping your foot, you didn't even notice Buttons creeping up behind you, watching all three of you. When you finished Eliza Lee and Frenchie started to play other chords, you straightened your back and muffled a scream into your forearm; Buttons was right behind you with his eyes wide open and head tilted in the most Buttons way possible. Putting your palm on your chest, you closed your eyes and turned away, breathing the shock away. The man always did this to you; you couldn't understand how someone could be as quiet and sneaky as Buttons was, but he crept on you each and every fucking time, giving you a heart attack.

"You need to stop doing that, Jesus fucking Christ." - You muttered, still breathing through the scare. You were sure that Buttons is making you freak just for the fun of it at this point; there wasn’t no way around it, he was just doing it for his own pleasure. This time, though, he was watching you without blinking for so long that you figured out he has something on his mind. - “What’s on your mind? Did I fold the rigging wrong or something?”

“Naye.” - Buttons said decisively, making you alerted. Sure, you two never got along that much, but he usually came after you to show you how to do all that ‘sailor’ stuff right; it was him who showed you some of the basic tricks just so the crew would avert Izzy’s two-hour-long monologue about how lazy and useless all of you are. It was rather rare to have Buttons just come to… Have a chat. Or anything like that. “Olivia just wanted me to tell ye she likes ye singin’ shanties. All of ye. And she ain’t wrong in this kind of stuff, I like it too. It reminds me of the good ol’ days when I was young.” - With a hum, you nodded and mumbled a quiet ‘Fair’, looking away. So at least he acknowledged he isn’t the youngest as well, good to know. But then, out of nowhere, you opened up your lips and looked Buttons in the eyes, gasping as if you’d just discovered the Lost Arc.

“You like it when we sing?” - You asked in disbelief, staring at him with aggression. “Aye.” - Buttons nodded, opening his mouth. He knew you weren’t a sailor and that you had a lot of shit to learn, but he never noticed that you were also partially deaf. - “That’s what I just told ye.” “You like it when we sing.” - You repeated frantically, catching his forearm in your palm and squealing into the sky above you happily. This erased all your problems with not knowing what to give him; the crew could sing a song of his choice, appropriate to the dramatic tint of the moon backing. - “Hallelujah. Thank you, Buttons. Thank you.” - And after you pecked his cheek quickly, you ran off to the kitchen, telling Roach the good news. Buttons didn’t bring himself to move though; this behavior of yours was rather suspicious when he compared it to the way you usually behaved. Usually, you’d end the conversation as soon as it started and you wouldn’t touch him in no way. So he looked at Frenchie, motioning his head in your direction.

“Did someone jinxed her?” - The man hissed in a quiet, sinister tone, his eyes popping out of his skull even more now. - “I’ve seen it before. That’s how ye behave when ye jinxed… Or worse… Cursed.” “Y/N isn’t cursed, don’t worry.” - Pete defended you, almost laughing at the accusation. He did his best not to start howling, and so did Frenchie, who barely contained his grin as he leaned into the wooden railing innoncently, humming another melody. - “She’s just very excited. That gal is glad someone finally acknowledged how well she sings, isn’t she?” - He called out to Frenchie while putting another piece of wax onto the heated-up cannon. “Oh, yes.” - Frenchie nodded with a matching sense of drama; it wasn’t that far off. You knew the words now and your voice was much higher than theirs; naturally, it sounded very nice when you sang with them. - “She loves praises. Especially from a wise man like yourself.”

And as Buttons walked away, he eyed Olivia with raising suspicion - he didn’t remember any of them being so nice to him in a long, long time. Something was about to go down and because it was Buttons, he didn’t like being in the dark.

Later that night, you delivered the usual batch of tea to Edward; he seemed to be in a good mood that night. As usual, the cabin was nicely tidied up and he himself was also well taken care of. He groomed his stubble, combed his hair, and wore a nice, easy smile on his lips. As soon as he noticed your jolly mood, he knew that something must’ve happened to get you this thrilled. You were humming a song as you put the tray down, sitting in the enormous plush chair opposite him.

“It was Harbor day today, wasn’t it?” - The man asked with a huff of laughter and you nodded happily, sipping on the hot tea as you gently tap your foot accordingly to the rhythm playing inside your head. “It’s now 13 to me and 0 to Izzy, not that I’m counting.” - At that, both of you chuckled. Edward knew precisely what you were talking about; Izzy’s never-ending endeavors and efforts to sell you off. Now, Edward wasn’t as keen on selling you as he was a few weeks ago, but he still didn’t have the talk with Izzy. He was putting off the argument as long as he humanly could, as usual for him. - “And the entire crew had lunch in a local pub. That was also pretty fun. Not the part when all of them debated about the most common mortality, but the rest was lovely.”

“Sounds like a great fucking Harbor day. Would you give me a hand here?” - Edward asked and pushed one of his maps towards you, showing you a trading route located not too far from where you were at the moment. With a hum, you picked the map up, trying to read in it. - “It’s a Dutch trading route, an old one. Which could mean that they’ll be less vigilant since they sailed there millions of times and nothing happened… Yet. The Dutch are usually harmless and even more stupid than my men, so it should raise the spirits. Waddaya say?"

You continued to stare at the paper for quite a bit, almost making Edward believe that you were really thinking about the question he asked you. As time passed, the more trust you gained from him, the more he trusted you with sharing his future plans. Now, you probably knew more than Izzy himself, which was pretty hard to believe; Edward couldn't quite believe himself, to be honest. He already went this route and where did it get him? His heart was broken in shambles, his spirits salvaged to bits, and into a deep depression and letargy. And yet, here he was again.

His reasoning behind all of this was pretty simple as well - he was worried sick about losing your company if you'd find him too boring. It was already a surprise that you still managed to find topics to talk about and stories to share. In Ed's mind, entrusting you with his plans, was a way not to only show you respect and trust, but to also keep you occupied while spending time with him. But that night, something was different. You quite literally stared through the old, ragged map, and yet, it could be seen that you barely remembered a single piece of information as you mumbled. - "Pete and Roach will be thrilled. You know how they get all giddied up and excited about torturing people. John would love to blow something up, he hadn't got his fingers on gunpowder in weeks."

"You're not entirely here tonight, are you, Y/N?" - Edward asked silently, rolling the map and putting it aside. With a sweet smile, you had to shake your shoulders while leaning closer to him. "I learned that tonight is Buttons' 600th basking in the moonlight." - With that, you wiggled your eyebrows as if that was supposed to mean anything meaningful to Edward. He tried to at least act interested before taking in a long breath.

"That's... That's a lot of basking in the moonlight?" - He tried to guess. "It also means that it's his 50th birthday!" - You exclaimed. - "So, we decided to throw him a little party, to celebrate with him." "Why would anyone celebrate fucking birthday? Shouldn't he be already, yannow?" - With that, Edward pretended to have a noose around his neck, hanging on it. - "Fifty years old! Heh. That's an awful age, I'll tell you that much. Don't people die in their thirties nowadays?" "Yea, they die at the of thirty because of plague, cholera, starvation, or leprosy - I've heard it all today, Edward, I don't need to hear it again. The point is..." - You stopped him before he could go on an extended rant about how old Buttons was. - "The point is that Buttons is your bird guy, a deserving sailor, and a wise pirate on top of that. I think the celebration will be good not only for him but also for the crew. It will... Bring us together. I think this would be the ideal day..." - You leaned in, setting the cup of tea aside, looking him in the eyes as you caught his palm in yours. - "Ideal day to finally leave the cabin and join us. They will be so happy to see you, mainly Buttons and Pete."

By the look on his face, you could say that you just hit a nerve, so you tightened the grip a bit. The look of a small, terrified boy was back in an instant; you have seen it so rarely nowadays that you almost forgot what it looks like. Edward's breathing got shallow and quick while his eyes looked into yours. His palm was trembling and the color of his face and cheeks vanished. "Just think about it, okay?" - Now, you were whispering, putting your other palm on top of his as well. - "Truth is... I... I would love to see you there." - You barely noticed the change in his gaze as you picked yourself up, leaving the room. Just before closing the room, you gave him one last encouraging smile as you then proceeded to make your way into the kitchen.

You would love to have him around for the celebration? This gave everything a new, fresh air - now he had something to fight his anxiety with, this might've been his exit strategy. Edward had a reason to leave the cabin, to spend time with his crew, and to bond just like they did before... When Stede was still aboard. With confusion, he turned around and looked at the painting of the lighthouse. You, on the other hand, were busy finishing the preparations - the cake was ready and it was looking even better than you'd imagine. Since you didn't have any candle on board, you carefully stuck a piece of cannon fuse on top, choosing Wee John to be the one who lights it up if he promises not to destroy the cake. The dinner was also prepared and it was exactly like you and Roach envisioned it. The shrimp with the sauce and rice looked fucking delicious, you had to say.

Most of the crew was now hiding in the subdeck, trying to warm up their vocal cords - Frenchie was choosing random songs, making you sing all the notes and words perfectly. Jim was fucking annoyed to sit through this and even had a murderous gaze on their face; but they couldn't make themselves walk out upon seeing your, Pete, and Roach's enthusiasm. When the sky got finally dark enough, you moved to the kitchen; Swede and Olu grabbed the tray with old mugs and a bottle of good wine you haggled while you and Pete picked the cake up, letting John hold the fuse in the air. Walking on the deck, you were all giggling like little kids doing something naughty. That was also where Izzy stopped all of you, making everyone stare at him.

"What the fuck you think you're doing?" - The man asked and pointed his arms at you. The blood froze in your veins; you worked so hard for this... If this fucking asshole destroys it... - "That old moron is running around naked as a newborn, the dinner wasn't served yet, I doubt that you finished your duties, you fucking twats, and what's this?" -The men stepped closer, looking at the cake unbelievably. - "A cake? A fucking cake. So this is what you were doing all fucking day? As soon as the captain gets to know, hooo-hooo..." - The man started cackling devilishly, pulling the sleeves of his black shirt up. You were in deep shit, weren't you? All of that for nothing, heh? "You shouldn't be so hasty, Izzy." - A tired, ironic voice came from above you, from where the rudder was. Hearing it, you closed your eyes and started laughing quietly, thanking all the Gods. Edward was leaning into the railing nonchalantly, smirking down at his entire crew. - "They asked me beforehand. Let them be." - "But captain..." - Izzy objected, having Ed frown in a very nasty way. He was fucking scary.

In the end, Izzy moved out of the way. Quickly, you and Edward exchanged quick glances accompanied by a warm smile, before you moved on. You found Buttons and Livy near the rudder, as usual; he was already half-naked, chanting, and his board was attached to the railing. Edward was soon to follow you, passing Izzy as he mumbled 'these fucking morons will lead me to fucking madness'. As you all waited for Buttons to exit the trance as he chanted, Jim walked to the captain, bowing a bit. - "Will you be celebrating with us?" "No, I came to stare at his naked ass." - Edward answered with irony, making Jim raise their eyebrows. With a burst of quiet laughter, he patted their shoulder. - "That's why I'm fucking here. Y/N invited me to come." "I'll go for one more mug for toast then, captain." - They were giving him a calm, warm and big smile; the crew was still appreciating that he joined, even if they didn't tell it right away. - "Should I ask your right hand if he wants to join us?" "Negative." - He dismissed immediately; Izzy was upset at that moment, like a little kid who had his favorite toy confiscated by their mother because they were too naughty. - "He'll sulk for a bit but he'll join as soon as he feels like it."

If Frenchie hadn't sneezed, Buttons would probably never noticed you. As he stared at the entire crew just standing there, his gaze was getting more and more intense. "Waddaya want?" "You told me it's your 600th moonlight basking today. And Y/N calculated that it means it was your 50th birthday as well." - Pete explained, motioning towards the cake in your arms. - "We also wanted to be a part of your special basking." "Aye." - Buttons nodded, watching you all in horror. - "Why would I care about me birthday, eh? I should be dead by now, people die in their thirties nowadays." - The man continued; but then he noticed your expression getting sadder and sadder with each second. That was why you all acted so weird that day? Because you planned him a surprise and were all excited about it? That's what the damn kiss meant? Damn it, he couldn't just tell you to fuck off now, could he? - "That's nice of ye. All of ye." - With that, Livy landed on his shoulder. - "What am I supposed to do now?"

And just like that, the jolly mood was back on again; first, Buttons blew the fuse while John was holding it, having you all laugh and clap as a party of little children. Then, each of the members toasted to Buttons, having Izzy joined as well. Edward was delighted to be outside of his cabin. The night air was a bit cold with a hint of salt and it felt so fucking... Refreshing. The sea was calm, the sky was clear... On top of that, it was so nice to watch all of you interact and chit chat, and laugh at one another's toasts and jokes. Yet then, everyone got quiet as you stepped forward with a shy smile, looking at Buttons.

"And, as a gift, we'd love you to choose a song that we'll sing for you since we didn't come up with anything else." "So that was the awful screeching coming from the subdeck." - Izzy whispered in Edward's direction, quickly putting the cup in front of his lips so wouldn't see him talking. - "Your angels were singing. Wouldn't you look at that?" - "Excuse me? Do you want us to sing about whales? Are you sure?" - You said at the same time, making both the man pay you full attention once more. - "You heard the man, gentlemen, and Jim." - You sighed, walking back to your crew to join them. Frenchie stepped in front of all of you as your conductor, tapping his foot, and having you all repeat after him. - "What are they signing?" - "No idea."

But soon, Frenchie sang the first words of the first verse, having you all join him during the chorus. - "Soon may the wellerman come, to bring us sugar and tea and rum. One day, when the tonguing is done, we'll take our leave and go." - And to both of their surprise, the harmony sounded really good, just as well as the rhythm. Your, Swede's, and Jim's voices were very high and velvety compared to the voice of Wee John and Pete, for example. You and Jim even stomped from foot to foot, swinging your hips. Just when Buttons got completely naked, just as you expected, you turned away to look at Edward with excitement, stomping on your way to him, mumbling the verse Frenchie was singing. As you offered him your palms, another verse came. The captain quickly looked at his crew before he reluctantly caught your palms back, having led him next to the ruddle while still singing the song. Just as the last chorus came, Edward noticed you were leading him to Buttons' board and while singing the words, you leaned in and whispered. - "Live a little. Happy backing in the moonlight, captain." - And with that, you stepped off the board, making Edward fall down into the warm, salty water as well. At first, he was irritated and almost angry with you; he was looking at you with confusion and fury in his eyes, his lips were sealed and he was ready to snap as soon as you look at him. Yet when you laughed, looking at him with sparks in your eyes and splashed water his way playfully, all the anger just... Defused inside of him.

More so, he could feel himself freezing on the spot as he heard the crew clapping and laughing, watching both of you covered in the moonlight. It didn't take long enough for Pete to jump after all of you, laughing and screaming while doing so; Jim seemed to have the most fun with it, though. They rolled up their sleeves, dramatically approached the board, and reached out for Olu's palm while 'fainting', laughing as they hit the water. But Edward wasn't able to look away from you. How beautiful you really were? And why didn't he see it all before? Would he even notice it if he wouldn't come out of the cabin to oversee Buttons' celebration?

The man could feel his heart warm up a bit, he felt the corners of his mouth twitching as he almost started to smile at you. This would be the most genuine, felt-through smile he had given to anyone after months of solitude, but it would surely expose everything on his mind. Therefore, he just nudged your shoulder, making you cackle devilishly. "I'm dying of hunger. Want to see all the special delicacies that we cooked today?"

[arsenicflame]

izzy getting adopted by them is EVERYTHING to me. fuck you youre part of our found family now, whether you like it or not. we have claimed you.

bonus: the way jim defends him here. theyre So mad:

[portraitofadyke]

Look, even if this doesn’t work out, even if we don’t get renewed/picked up, even if all we get out of this is getting noticed and tarnishing Max’s already shitty rep, at least the cast and crew see how much we care.

But also, at least it connected us. There’s so many people who were inactive in fandom, just lurking around coming out to try and save it. There’s celebs noticing us, articles written. We came together and shared our fave fanart and fave moments and connected over something we loved so hard Max’s social media people are probably on the verge of exhaustion right now.

Idk it’s just beautiful to see everyone, even ppl who weren’t the most ecstatic about some choices in s2, come together and fight so hard for something that made them feel happy and made the feel seen. Even if we don’t get more content, it was not for nothing

[indigoire]

I literally have become that crazy person that watches the wedding scene in Impossible Birds (s2e1) every day now. Name a line more raw than "Demon? I'm the fuckin' Devil." All while looking at this congregation with those big ol' brown eyes. And then the reveal of his bloodthirsty crew with "...and these are the kids," is absolutely stunning. No notes.

Oh and then while everyone is getting their stabbing on (and doing it with such style btw), Ed's just calmly collecting the wedding cake toppers and sampling the buttercream frosting with his sword. All while "Strawberry Letter 23" plays in the bg.

Listen, he may be on every wanted poster in the Caribbean, but his atrocities are done with such style.

[starofhisheart]

So much of the "bad" behaviour in ofmd are trauma responses and i love that they show how yeah sometimes we dont respond in the most healthy of ways, we fuck up and we hurt those closest to us, but we still deserve love and kindness at the end of the day

Just so important to me

[nikonuee]

@ people who make Ed a "naur my soft widdle baby Eddie-pie just had trauma amd that's why he traumatised the crew and did all that fucked up shit 🥺🥺🥺"

Why do you refuse to have nuanced characters? Why deny him the sauce?

[lecter-lioncourt]

Me when an OFMD fan yet again forgets about Ed's 3 canon acts of animal cruelty, ordering Fang to skin a man alive with a snail fork, setting fire to a ship full of people and burning them alive, cutting people's body parts off, canonologically "loving a good maim" etc and instead infantalizes Ed and somehow places the blame for all his Kraken antics onto Izzy:

[justafaller]

“The Betrayal”

A sin done in the shadow of night, enables another in the face of the light.

Huge thank you goes out to @tuherrus for their Calico Jack, Wee John, and Roach tattoo reference sheets AND for their Edward Teach tattoo sheet, you’re a life saver!

And as a cute little bonus, here’s the original sketch!

[fishhuh]

Done Izzy ranting for tonight, you can find me in the Izzy/Lucius ao3 tags where they actually respect Izzy's character and acknowledge what Edward did to him o7

[mysteriouslybluepirate]

Izzy 'Pirating? Well... this is a pirate ship and I'm a pirate, so, yeah... I'm good with it' Hands

Ed 'if i'm honest, i've never killed another man since. not personally' Teach

[ladyluscinia]

In an ideal world, DJenks could build on Lucius’s poly ideas in “we don’t own each other.” and Stede and Izzy’s (super limited) abilities to compromise with each other (via hostages) and they could both be with Ed and everyone in the love triangle is happy, but that seems super delusional at this point, even if it’d be so cool. So, what do you think a realistic happy ending for Izzy would look like?

I think I pulled up a link I wanted to include to answer this like a day or two after it was sent, and then I promptly got distracted and didn't actually type anything. Oops.

Anyway... happy endings.

So here's a post where I kinda speculated on this before that's worth reading. It brings up some tropes that I think are in the mix of possibilities and how I personally feel about them.

For an answer to your question... The way I kind of see the "compromise" situation coming out of S1 is that all the characters are falling on a sliding scale between two not-ideal extremes of piracy philosophy. One end has Izzy firmly planted as the extreme of Edward's default approach - iron fist, emotionally closed off, total focus on skill and discipline, ruling things through a balance of fear and awe that makes them really good at piracy but emotionally and interpersonally a disaster. The other end is probably Lucius as the extreme of Stede's approach - all focus on interpersonal relationships and emotional fulfillment, wanting to have fun and do no work, flaunting hierarchy, and generally failing piracy in favor of self expression.

(Note it's important that Edward and Stede can't truly hit their extremes - Edward is too seeking of attachment and frivolity even as he bristles at vulnerability, and Stede is too emotionally locked up like a clam to practice what he preaches and now has no money to fund a permanent enforced vacation. They don't really want what they perceive as their culture goal, which is good because both their goals kind of suck in different ways. The Kraken is doomed to collapse because it's further out than Izzy.)

The whole crew, Izzy included, needs to make their way toward the midpoint (which, given this is a romcom, is probably not a true middle but skewed a bit toward Stede and silly hijinks) in order to be successful AND emotionally fulfilled. And I think they can do it!

Like Stede's whole vacation boat and enforcing his own unskilled, atypical piracy in the early eps has already caused friction with his crew. They want to be badasses, face challenges, complete raids, etc. The fact they've grown to like him doesn't mean they've decided Stede's hobbies are better than theirs now, it just means they are more open to doing something silly with him and enjoying it than they were in 1x01. I don't think the show is going to end with "retirement" because I don't think any of the characters really want to retire (including bored-as-hell Edward). And if they are still being pirates - in fact, trying to be good pirates - then it's not unrealistic to think Izzy can chill out a bit via character development and get in on the fun.

This is a guy who met Stede and sliced his shirt up as a hello, and then did literally everything he did in 1x06. He's not an inherent buzzkill of a person lol. He's just stressed.

Izzy and Edward working out their shit is probably going to be a extended part of Edward's general character arc, but once they get through that I feel like Izzy's happy ending will be just moving from lurking on the stairs to being in the circle. Give the man a friend, a knife game, probably a boyfriend for the middle aged love parallels... and throw in a real, much scarier antagonist for S3 just to cement him on the Revenge side (*crossing fingers* please be Hornigold).

He'll do just fine.

[suffering-and-happy-about-it]

The Criminal Mastermind, Part 1. (Love's Wrecks, Part 8.)

Description: Heartbreak is one hell of a bitch. And one Edward Teach could tell you all about it. Yet thanks to Fate being a little trickster, there’s a person who enters his life to remind him of how nice it is of having someone he can confide in, someone he can care about, and someone he can trust. To remind him, what it means to have a friend for better or worse.

Part Summary: Back on board the Revenge, the crew was up to its usual shenanigans - unfortunately, it wall becoming a bit too much for all of you. And therefore, you decide to figure out something that would allow you to have a break.

Word Counter: 6 K

A/N: Uh, so obviously I have disappeared for a long, long time and I had to find my way back into writing and continuing this series naturally. I had a plot point I wanted to get across in mind, I know what part of the story we are in. I just wanted to go back to approaching it with sense and emotion, and I found out that if I'll want to have the characters have a good dialogue, these chapters will be long as hell. Therefore, I decided to divide this chapter into 2 parts. :)

Tagging: @le--petit--croissant @missdictatorme

Series master list:  h e r e   | Series playlist:  h e r e

Anyone on board the ship understood how it happened or how did you manage to lure Edward out in the first place, but they started seeing their captain way more than once every two, three weeks. Each noon, he’d take a stroll around the ship to check that everything was in place, so he could greet and chat with his crew before he'd disappear once more; it could be felt that the captain's presence is making everyone's mood a bit better. Besides boosting the overall morale, it ensured that Izzy's competencies as Ed's right hand were heavily reduced. Now, he couldn't bully anyone into oblivion no matter how much he wanted to - sure, you were still just "useless fucking fuckers", "a bunch of twats and morons" and "brainless idiots", but he couldn't throw anyone overboard just for his amusement. It could be felt that Edward is slowly picking up the reigns of captainhood by chatting with all the men and asking about what is on their minds, by giving them direct orders, and occasionally, he stuck around for long enough to laugh upon hearing their newest, craziest stories. This was pushing Izzy off his usurped pedestal - now, he pretty much resembled a small and ugly dog who was all bark and no bite, which was funny enough to watch in itself.

Captain’s presence could be also felt in the way boys approached their tasks, completing each one with much more enthusiasm and care than before. The ship was in a better shape now when compared to whatever you guys were doing in the past few weeks; by all means, it all looked the same, but it felt so different. It felt much better.

While clearing your throat, you wiggled to find a better position to lay in while putting one of your palms below your head. It was yet another lazy afternoon on board the Revenge, just after you and Pete finished playing a game of tennis in the subdeck - needles to say that he managed to roll you over once more simply because he knew the actual rules, while you had to learn step by step; sadly for him, you were catching up at a fast pace. Now, it was time to lay down, close your eyes, and suntan during your afternoon siesta. This time, Frenchie and Roach joined you; there wasn't a word spoken and the air was beautifully warm and humid just enough, almost refreshing.

Now, at this hour of the day, the sunshine was dim and less direct so it was pleasant for you to bask in it for hours on end. Sure, each of you had responsibilities they were supposed to be doing, but afternoon siesta was way more important than whatever it was all three of you were supposed to be doing. As you sighed, clearly lost in your thoughts, Frenchie turned his head to you and asked you about what you were thinking of. "I'm just thinking... It's amazing that we were able to get the captain out of his quarters, but he's still kind of meh and keeps to himself." - You mumbled, making both of the men hum in agreement. - "So... What if we'd prepare some sort of fun activity for him, you know? That's where I bumped into an issue - I don't know, what is that something that he enjoys? Something that really fills his guts with excitement?" "Let me see. The screams of innocent people, seeing ships going down in flames, watching his portrait on wanted posters..." - "Also, plundering, pillaging, stealing, setting stuff on fire in general, making people scared, I'm fifty-fifty on torture... Music and art if he's in the right head space. You can choose, really." - Roach counted on his fingers, making you lazily turn your head to look at him. "Is there anything that isn't listed as a crime except the last two?" "No, I don't think so." - Frenchie answered this time, Roach immediately seconding his words. - "It's a pirate captain first and foremost."

"But I don't wanna sink another ship, guys, that's all we're about these days. Wasn't the French one enough for this week? We split the treasures and all of the sweets pretty equally. And we also traded all of the captives for a decent amount of gunpowder." - One of the guys wanted to object, but you shushed them even before they managed to take a breath. - "I remember that happening just because Wee John was giggling as he rolled the barrels on board - he even wished them good night. You all got your fair share of plundering this week." "Uhm, Y/N, I don't know if you caught up with that information yet..." - Frenchie sat up, waving his palms around in a grandiose gesture. - "But you are kind of a pirate now. That's kind of what we do, it's our whole thing."

For a bit, you were looking at each other; you were furrowing and Frenchie was looking at you with his mouth open and eyebrows rose, as if he was waiting for the information to click inside your brain; at which you had to roll your eyes and scoff. Roach, on the other hand, couldn't be more unbothered by the topic of your conversation - he rose his hands above his head, spreading all over the wooden part of the deck. He loved to tan. - "Okay, fair, you got a point Frenchie. Nonetheless, I don't think that's what I'd like to do to cheer him up." "Fine, what would you like to do, then?" "What about something that can be could be taken as a minor offense? Let's steal a... Barrel of oranges or a bolt of fabric." - You proposed, having Roach giggle and Frenchie look at you with confusion.

"I don't recall that anyone would be calling Blackbeard the 'Orange stealing pirate'. Let me tell you that if you'd be out there pirating on your own, you'd be a horrible pirate." - The man muttered, laying back onto the deck himself as he shook his head with peals of genuine laughter. Stealing oranges, wow. You could be out of this world at times. "If I was somewhere out there on my own, I wouldn't be in the pirate business at all, just to remind you." - With that, you picked yourself up and stretched your back with a long, lazy yawn. The sky was slowly getting darker, so it was an ideal time to brew some tea and carry it to Edward's quarters. - "You two better come up with something interesting then, sir pirates. I'm off!"

While humming one of Frenchie's lute songs you walked into the kitchen, just to see absolute havoc breaking out in there. Swede was laying on the kitchen table, screaming for his dear life, while Buttons was standing at the head of the table - holding a cleaver risen above his head. The smile he had on his face was terrifying, to say the least.

Olu must've found this situation going on since he was trying to defuse the situation; he was asking Buttons to take it nice and easy, to put the cleaver down, and to talk it through... As a crew. Needless to say, it had little to no effect on Buttons. While the three men were to screaming at each other unintelligibly, you carefully tiptoed behind Buttons, knocking the cleaver out of his palm. The blade of the kitchen tool slid into a small cranny between the wooden planks, not falling through thanks to the handle. Which, of course, prompted Lucius to squeal in surprise. As everyone in the kitchen fell silent, you could hear Lucius' mumbling coming from the subdeck before he fell silent.

"What in the world is going on here? Are you two rehearsing a murder scene up in here or is it that finger thing of yours, Buttons?" - You asked tiredly, snatching the cleaver away from Buttons' proximity to put it back in its place, nudging his shoulder. It was the finger thing that was driving Buttons in the last few days, so you knew that he neither Swede planning on performing any sort of play anytime soon. - "That's the third time this week alone, Buttons. We're getting fucking sick of it. Olu, take that poor man away from here and tell Pete to look after him for a bit, thank you." "But..." - Buttons objected, making you turn your face to him once more. "No buts or butts. Come on, what did we say about eating, sewering, or cutting parts off your crewmates, eh? This is also Roach's favorite cleaver, he would get upset if you'd..." - With an exhale, you put a pot of water on the stove to start brewing, leaving your elbows on the counter with your eyebrows risen. Olu was helping Swede off the table in the meantime.

"Olivia told me I need to finish this ritual before the next moonglow baskin'." - The guy told you with a serious expression, rising his chin up and popping his eyes out as he tended to usually do when he wanted to appear terrifying or mysterious. Unfortunately, it was to no avail. - "Need to get one finger, notin' more." "And I'll tell you once again that there are various ways of acquiring a human finger. You can haggle it on the black market next Harbor day or something! Mother of Christ, you don't cut it off your friends! We kinda need the crew around in case you haven't figured yet."

"What if ya gimme one of yours, lassie?" - Buttons asked with his eyes narrowed, walking closer to you. Whatever happened to him, he was seriously out of touch this time, freaking you the hell out. And, of course, of all people, he had to corner Swede... The biggest blunt man on the ship. "Out. "Won't even hurt a bit, I promise." "I said out. Go. Now. Bye." - And with another exhausted sigh, you watched as Buttons walked out of the kitchen with intense mumbling right as Olu came back. After Buttons was truly gone, you both just leaned into the counter and stretched the napes of your necks, not believing anything that was just happening right in front of your eyes.

"What is going on? It's been barely two days since Buttons attempted to cut Fang's finger off while he was asleep - good thing Jim was coming back from the toilet that night." - You said, walking to the stove to check the pot, steering the water a bit. - "Why would anyone in their right mind want to cut off someone's finger anyway?" "Something tells me you've just answered yourself." - Oluwande muttered out, watching you prepare the tray and the tea itself. - "In their right mind, see? We don't know where is Buttons from, but people must've been insane there. I think we all need to catch a bit of breath, you know? We need to relax and have a bit of fun. The last two weeks were a killer, even Jim is pretty on edge the last few days."

"Uh-uh, that's not a bad idea, Olu. Truly. What do you usually do when you need to catch a bit of breath? Haven't been part of this kind of crisis yet." - While asking the question, you were preparing also a piece of pie on a small plate with gold-laced edges, your newest savaging find. - "Do you... Tie Buttons to the musk so he wouldn't eat anyone on the ship? Let Swede pretend he's your mermaid by letting him sing all day long? Maybe a bit of wrestle matching in the subdeck with Pete and Wee John? Hard to tell, actually."

"All of that sounds tempting, one way or another." - The man answered with an amused scoff, helping you fetch the sugar and milk. - "Truth is that any of us really knows. It was usually Stede who made us slow down and sit down, who came up with a certain activity and let us do that until we talked about what was going on inside our heads, because he believed bottling everything up hurts us even more. I can see in hindsight that he knew what he was doing, it was pretty relieving." "Stede sounds like a really wise man." - You smiled sentimentally, pouring hot water into the kettle, preparing the herb mixture to brew.

"Well, since you bit the topic of Stede... How are things the captain? Have you talked about them yet? Or anything else he should know?" - Olu eyed you down, holding the door open for you as you balanced the tray in your palms. - "We did... If Stede's what you're talking about. I mean, he definitely didn't share the details, but I came to my understanding of how everything went down. There are other things I still need to tell him, but, all of them are tricky." "Don't bottle it up." - Olu sighed. "As I said, Stede is a wise man." - With that, you set out on your way. - "Oh, by the way, Olu." - You whispered, turning your head back to Olu, making him come closer. - "Go to Lucius and ask him for another fairytale book, we're almost done with Andersen." "Will do, ma'am."

As usual, Edward was sitting in his huge, plushy chair - this time, he was sitting in front of an opened window with his ankles laying in the window frame as he stared onto the land appearing on the horizon. Upon watching you enter, the man sent a smile your way before picking himself up and helping you set the tea. After the whole 'basking in the moonglow' hurray project you came up with, something had shifted between the two of you - you couldn't quite put your finger on it or name it, neither you wanted to, but everything suddenly felt more personal from that point on... The atmosphere was different. And it necessarily wasn't a bad thing. Oftentimes, Edward started noticing small itsy-bitsy details you'd never suspect him to register; one time, that was a week ago, the man extolled the fabric of your new shirt which was given to you by Lucius, freshly cleaned and everything. He also noted that the color of it suited your eyes very nicely - and you'd never suspect the man could be into anything fashion-related in the first place. Lucius, upon hearing the prases you've been given, grinned and bumped your shoulder with his palm.

This time certainly wasn't going to be an exception. Just upon looking at you, Edward noticed that the black circles under your eyes deepened a bit and that your eyes weren't as glowy as per usual, immediately chiming in on it. - "Well, you're looking fucking exhausted. Something happened, something I would need to know about? Are they giving you a hard time?" - The captain said as he poured you a cup and pushed it closer to you, trying not to dwell on you with his gaze for too long. "Buttons tried butchering a member of the crew again, Swede from all of the people this time. Remember how I told you about the whole Fang thing? How Buttons wants someone's finger?" "Mhm, certainly do." "That nut job just picked up Roach's best cleaver and cornered Swede on the kitchen table... And you know how simple can Swede get at times, so he was just lying there like a dog waiting for his treat. I swear... If Buttons murders someone, it's not on me."

"That sounds like something I'd laugh at, not gonna lie." - Edward muttered out with a scoff in while pushing another chair next to his one; this one was for you. He wanted you to join him in staring at the mainland on the horizon... Which certainly could be another relaxing activity to do in the afternoon. You caught yourself enjoying it quite a lot. "Fun? Try coming and calming the havoc down; Buttons hissing and mumbling god knows what, Swede is screaming at the top of his lungs and Olu is sweating, waving his palms around chaotically, trying to defuse the tension; God bless him. And after we managed to get Swede out, Buttons turns to me, and will all the audacity he asks me, if I'd give him my finger." "If it gets fucking bad, you know you have my permission to lock Buttons in the closet until he gets over it." - The man reminded you, sitting beside you while letting out a long exhale.

"Well, while talking about 'getting over it', there's this one thing,, actually." - You assumed, leaning into the back of the chair with a contained smile. - "Shoot, I'm all ears." "Olu said that the crew used to do some stuff which let them express what was worrying them, back in the day... What I mean is that they got it all out and felt better afterward, you see?" - Even though the pitch was subtle and you didn't mention Stede's name either, Edward precisely knew what you meant. Grinning, he hummed and prompted you to carry on. - "I wondered if you'd maybe know about something? These guys really need a breather." "Sorry to disappoint, but none of that was never my area." - Blackbeard muttered almost immediately, using the tone that usually signaled you to back off. For a moment, you were both silently staring off into the distance; you didn't speak up solely because you could basically hear the thoughts going through Edward's head.- "On the other hand, if you'd come up with something, full send it. I'll make sure Izzy won't bother you."

"I'm taking your word on that." - Agreeing on said matter, you started asking him about his day and what was on his mind, chatting away as you always did. And as per usual, it turned into a pretty interesting conversation and to your surprise, you learned that Edward is planning on anchoring in one of the nearby towns to restock. But this time, it wasn't to be any small village located at the end of the world but rather a whole ass big town. At first, you didn't seem to realize what he was trying to get across, yet when you did, you froze for a bit. "Oh." - Was all you said upon the realization. The next question was uttered in a quiet trembling voice that almost brought Ed's heart to the edge of breaking. - "But... I'm a member of the crew now, am I not?"

"You adapted well and did everything you had been asked for and even more than that, for sure, but, you see..." - The man clicked his tongue and looked at you with an unhappy furrow. - "There's this whole drama about you being the wife of Judge Trott and I don't think I'll manage to change Izzy's mind this time." There was a pretty long moment when you two simply remained staring back at one another, the idyl being suddenly thrown out of the window and long forgotten. To be frank, you hoped that maybe, just maybe, Ed would forget about the whole selling you into slavery ordeal.

Since you've joined the crew, you have found yourself at the center of defusing many conflicts... For example, it was you who talked Wee John out of trading two barrels of gunpowder for one of the teacups Edward really adored, it was you who spoke to Roach regarding his torturing tendencies (and persuaded him into not giving in to them) and first and foremost, it was you who was spending their time reading the crew bedtime stories; if he'd need more proof, it was you who came up with the birthday party idea and who also swayed said birthday man from cutting a finger off his crewmate - multiple times. Blackbeard's men liked you, they were glad that you were around... And you knew that Ed must've been enjoying himself to one degree or another. Given how quickly all emotion evaporated out of your face, Ed could easily recognize that you became distressed. The glow out of your eyes disappeared altogether, your lips were opening and parting on their own as you tried coming up with an answer, shaking your head in the end. With a sigh, you put your cup on the side of your chair and picked yourself up to clean the morning tea off the table so you could leave the cabin. At least he told you only the day before you were supposed to go which was pretty considerate of him.

You could... Spend the night on your own at the very beginning of the deck; there was a small, secluded corner right under it, a small ridge that was hardly accessible for everyone but you. It was Lucius who told you about the spot and you went there anytime you simply needed to catch a breath. The night was seemingly going to be warm, so the air would be gently breezing, letting you close your eyes as you'd breathe in the fresh, salty air and let droplets of water fall on your skin. It would be pretty nice to do before you'd have to... Work somewhere in utter, deep dirt while listening to every order and get whipped in case you would misbehave - in case you wouldn't be considered to be just a piece of meat.

"Y/N, come on, I didn't mean it like that. I don't want you to go." "I just... Forgot about this entire deal. For quite some time, this ship started feeling like home to me, I've..." - You wanted to tell Edward how much you appreciated his hospitality and that thanks to all of his men, you felt like you found a place to which you belonged. They were treating you as their equal, always made sure that there was anything bugging you off or ailing you, who made you laugh all the time, and who felt like... Family. As insane as it seemed, they felt like family. All of them. - "It's nice that you'd like me to stay and join your crew for a bit more, captain, but... Honestly, it'll just be better to get on with it like the civilized, adult folk we are." Upon hearing your tone and all of the posh, formal phrases you decided to use, Edward rolled his eyes and scoffed without any sign of amusement.

Frankly, Edward was keen on forgetting the whole deal too - you weren't by any means the best pirate he had bumped into, quite the opposite in fact. But by being your least-pirate self, you were proving that even an ordinary posh lady could be helpful. And... The man even had to admit that his selfish self wasn't ready to see you go just yet; as of that time frame, you were the one who was taking most of the baggage off his mind, who talked to him about everything and anything, someone who became his great friend, who made him feel there's still light and love present in the world around him, that he doesn't have to be only the Blackbeard everyone was so terrified of and... He liked you. In what way precisely Ed wasn't sure yet, he simply knew that he liked having you around.

"Shut it for a moment, will you? I totally put it wrong. The last time I made a similar pack with Izzy, I wasn't able to change his mind and it almost cost us the life of the entire crew - he's very stubborn and vengeful when it comes down to it. But I haven't said I won't be trying to change his mind again." - Saying that, the man stood up and watched as you put the porcelain down, looking back at him. Your expression hasn't changed a single bit; if anything, you were looking more pissed than before. - "Fuck, listen - I appreciate you as my company, wench. You're everyone's friend and the crew would mutiny and throw me overboard if I'd let you get sold off now. Regardless if you're the wife of Judge fucking Trott or not, why would I care? If you'd like to get out, just say the word. I'll make it happen. If not... Stay for now."

"Are you being serious or are you just making sure I won't freak out?" "Listen closely." - Blackbeard pointed his finger at you and furrowed, his already dark eyes darkening a bit more. - "I've been a lot of things throughout my life, okay? A captain, a pirate, a whoreson, a murderer, a plunderer, a thief... But I've never been a fucking liar." It was this statement of his that brought to the other topic you wished to discuss. The longer you've been putting on the Mrs. Trott mascarade in front of Edward, the worse you felt. By that point, it felt like it didn't even matter if you were just a simple servant or a posh lady, it wouldn't change anything about the dynamic you and Edward carefully created step by step.

Edward Teach might not have been a liar, but you sure were... Weren't you? The silence in the cabin was getting pretty loud as you slowly inhaled, leaning your palms into the desk of the table. It was probably the time to tell Edward that you might've not been exactly who he thought you were the entire time, it was the time to get it off your chest. No way in hell he'd get a lot of money for you, in case anyone would pay him for a mediocre-looking slave like yourself. Especially if the entire story behind it was crafted by you, Olu and Frenchie. Did Trott even have a wife? How on Earth would any of you know? You were just mediocre fucking pirates trying to make a living.

"It's pretty strange to bring this up, but I already knew it would come sooner or later. We need to talk about something, I feel like." - The entire posture of your body was telling Edward that you weren't feeling comfortable at all; your gaze was shooting all around the room while you started to tap a melody onto the wood. - "Just promise me you won't freak out or anything. You see, it's funny, but my name..." The confession was on the tip of your tongue and it almost flew out of your mouth; but at the last second, Izzy swung the door wide open. If that didn't happen, you'd tell Teach all about how you came up with a cover-up story and you'd explain to him that you were just a poor servant who was sailing along with their ma'am and found themselves caught up in the middle of a naval battle. That's who you were and against all the odds, you were pretty positive about Edward being cool with it - for some reason, you were positive that this could be a hilarious story to bring up at some pirate gathering or whatnot; if pirates gathered, that was. Yet, the moment was disrupted when you stepped away from the wooden desk, shyly looking away while picking up the tray once more. As soon as Izzy started rambling about Buttons' deteriorating mental state, about which you already reported to Edward, you knew that the chance was gone. And you also acknowledge that it will take you a long time to gather up enough confidence to bring it up again. You disappeared quietly, without interrupting the conversation; mainly because everything Izzy historically muttered to the captain was hilarious in itself and you didn't wanna miss a word from the rat's monologue. Just as you were closing the door, you nodded at Teach with a genuine thankful smile and left them to it.

It was hard to keep yourself relaxed and make sure your mind was in order as you tried to fall asleep. The men were sleeping around you, snoring loudly; Frenchie, who was commissioned with having the night watch sleeping in the crow nest as well. The air was warm, the sky was clear and the ship was swaying gently from side to side, but even the view of the stars wasn't enough to lull you to sleep. No matter how much you tried, even through believing in Ed's promise, there was some sort of panic arising inside of your chest. You were so off, in fact, that when you heard the crew yapping and bicker during dinner time, you just stabbed the tip of your knife into the wooden deck, storming out of the room with little to no explanation just so you could take in a fresh breath.

The entire morning, as you prepared the ship for docking and made sure that everything is tidied up and in its place; like the rigging and the lock on the door leading to your gunpowder supplies since Wee John was weirdly keen on staying behind just to look after it. Olu and Roach, as usual, put together a grocery list that needed to be bought so you wouldn't starve for the next week. The entire time, your stomach was grumbling and your palms were shaking as you attempted to fold the ropes into neat loops and knots, just as Buttons taught you; everyone else seemed to be in a good mood overall, they were ready to spend their afternoon in a normal city for one... Not realizing that your entire future might've been on the line that morning. And you weren't to ruin the mood for them.

By the time Pete and Olu disembarked to make sure the ship is properly anchored and to talk to the person who was overseeing the docks, you were practically breaking down. The worst part was that you were barely being overly dramatic; there were tears in your eyes, your breathing was incredibly shallow, and your head? Your head was empty. As you saw Izzy eyeing you down upon walking out of Ed's quarters, you knew that this was the moment of truth - now, your breath hitched entirely as you watched the man back, furrowing at him while holding the wooden railing in your palm. And in the last moment, Edward embarked from behind Izzy, dressed up in his captain attire. This was when most of the crew turned around to look at them with genuine surprise in their expressions, watching both of them descend the stairs while walking closer to you. - "Mrs. Trott." - Blackbeard nodded with all due politeness, prompting Izzy to talk.

"I and the captain were talking about what we should do with you for the last half an hour." - Every word Izzy had gritted through his teeth while pretending that he has at least one ounce of respect for you was harming him internally, for sure. Last few weeks, you got used to bickering and spitting various phrases at each other since he was the right hand and you knew very well that you could talk back at him anytime you wanted... Because Edward liked being around you and thus, speaking while pretending you're at least somewhat respecting one another was rather complicated. - "And we agreed that we wouldn't get any sort of good coin for you here, at this fucking end of the world. On top of that, the morons would've most likely arrested us if they'd gotten to know that we captured you. Therefore, Jim and Olu will keep a close on you. If you say a word to anyone, wench, I swear to Kraken that I..." "That's enough." - Just as Izzy's facade started to break, Edward put his palm on Izzy's shoulder and pushed him away from you.

As the statmenet ran through your mind, it was easily read that you were outright confused, attempting to pick up whatever Izzy was laying down. They wouldn't get paid properly? Yeah, right, no surprise there; you were barely worth a hen, let alone a pouch of gold. Arrested? For abduction? But then... Oh, you realized, your gaze flickering between the two men. It all clicked together. Holly hell... Edward did it - he managed to either talk Izzy out of selling you entirely or he managed to sway him some other way. Whichever of these two options, you were grateful beyond any reasonable reason; without realizing you were doing so, you caught Izzy's palm to shake it. - "Thank you so much, sir. So, so, so much." "Stop, for fuck's sake you wench, let me go. All of you other idiots, come here!" - While taking in a deep breath, Izzy stepped aside and started adjusting his shirt; he did that anytime he got uncomfortable.

While Izzy told the crew anything you needed to do in the evening and what were a few exquisite specialties you needed to haggle somewhere on the market, you and Edward stayed behind and leaned your elbows into the railing. With a grateful smile and glow in your eyes, you looked up to Teach and nodded at him. - "Thank you." "I didn't manage to change his mind entirely, but I bought you a few weeks." - Edward muttered back, smiling back at you unknowingly. - "You're welcome. I'll need to make him busy, though; I came up with some fortuitous task, so..." "Sounds like you're gonna have fun, eh?" "Don't make me sell you." - Edward muttered silently, noticing that Izzy is already leaving the ship while still mumbling nonsense angrily. Since you could hear that he was joking, you just scoffed and waved at them as they left the deck. - "It's still on the table."

You still did just as you had been told to do; you were following Olu and Jim around, marking this as yet another of your Harbor days. This one, though, was more special than all the other Harbor days; this time was big and modern, showing off everything that modern society was proud of. Each of the women was dressed in expansive dresses, having jewelry hanging on their necks and ears; their wigs were almost hilariously big and their faces were drenched in make-up... Oh, home sweet home. While exploring the town, you bumped into a few curious shops you visited; there was a store full of luxurious expansive fabric, and a butcher filled with fresh pieces of meat which you all watched with your mouth open. And then, you saw it - all three of you were standing in front of it, looking at the building sitting in the middle of the plaza. Jim and Olu were discussing the architecture and exterior of the building with quite serious faces, yet your expression remained too dumbfound.

"That's it." - You mumbled quietly, shooting your gaze back at the fabric shop. The bank, the fabric shop, a bit of acting, pulling out a fuckery while engaging the entire crew... You'd kill two birds with one stone. - "Oh dear, that's it. I just figured it out." "What did you figure out?" - Jim asked you upon noticing that you were really out of it, looking at the fabric shop, then turning your head to the bank and back to your fabric shop. - "Are you okay, Y/N? You're not looking good." "I figured it out. The activity that will allow you to take a breather. We are about to rob a bank... But with a twist."

[arsenicflame]

since we all appear to be talking about izzy 'calling the police' on stede id like to offer my silly little two cents:

its not like the navy wasn't actively looking for him anyway??????

at most, izzys actions sped up badminton catching up with stede, but its made very clear that badminton wanted Stede dead well before this, and was willing to use whatever he could to find him- whos to say jackie wouldnt have cut a deal on her own? that any other pirate thats seen them being unsubtle in a port wouldn't take the opportunity to make a quick buck over a guy who is Nobody and holds no influence that could lead to any consequences for them?

in reality izzy is probably the only person who would receive negative repercussions to selling out stede, given his personal connection with ed- any other pirate would probably have gotten away unscathed, anonymous. they likely wouldnt have even been present like izzy was. izzy had personal stakes, anyone else would have taken the money and ran

the way i see it, with or without izzy the events of episode 10 probably would have happened in some degree, izzy just expedited the timeline

[bougiebutchbitch]

people talking about izzy and ed's weird as fuck codependent toxic unhealthy relationship: yeah!! yeah!!!!!!

people talking about izzy and ed's weird as fuck codependent toxic unhealthy relationship who obviously dislike Izzy as a character, and are acting like he 'deserved' everything he got and was somehow 'the real bad guy' of that whole situation because of the fucked up shit he pulled in S1: ..........?

[billiewilder]

In the ofmd modern day au that lives in my head, Stede is a cheery office manager who goes through a wild midlife crisis, where he decides he wants to be in a biker gang, easy rider style. I love the idea because I can't get the image out of my head of Stede going into a biker bar, and declaring "Which one of you lovely gentleman would like to join my GANG?""

[jeff-the-accountant]

wdym #ofmd no longer pink???