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rottingformerfirstmate · 9 months

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Best I Could (BlackHands)

Summary: A detailed look inside Izzy's head during that scene of episode two. Fully canon-compliant.

Tags: BlackHands, Mutual Pining, Mutual Hurt/No Comfort, Mutilation, Canon-Typical Violence and Gore, Religious Imagery, Suicidal Thoughts and Behavior, S2E2 Compliant

WC: 2.4k | AO3 | Rated: M

Time, for Izzy, has always been a matter of order rather than any valuable measure. Days are relevant insofar as the expiry on fruit stores or how close the ship is to landfall. Weeks and seasons matter to currents. Vaguely, in the back of his mind, Izzy has a sense of exactly how much of his life has been spent at Edward’s side, but it’s not a quantifiable number of years he could quote with any certainty. He’s always kept a calendar on his desk to be a good first mate, and help with logistics, but it never mattered. Time passed, Izzy’s life remained the same, and he used to be happy with it.

When exactly the satisfaction faded into nodding off on watch and fretting over Ed, he can’t say. Izzy can, however, pinpoint the exact moment in which genuine fear of Ed began to constrict his throat. Blackbeard, the mythological persona carefully crafted between Ed’s orders and Izzy’s hands, was always ruthlessly cruel to anyone who dared cross him—frequently including the crew of the Queen Anne’s Revenge. Izzy was historically exempt from this as Ed’s first mate. The worst pain Edward ever inflicted on him, directly or otherwise, was the tattoo on his face. That memory is fond. Ed sat in Izzy’s lap, gripping his chin in one hand and inking the needle with the other.

Over a stretch of years beyond Izzy’s articulation, he and Ed have revolved around one another like two marbles circling a drain, colliding occasionally in the dim light of the captain’s cabin. Ed’s never been rough. Although sometimes Izzy wished he would be, there was a distinct lack of gentleness in the act. Izzy can best describe it as perfunctory, like Ed considered it no more exciting than scratching an itch, though the whole process rewrote the very foundations of Izzy’s soul each time. There was a routine to it; Izzy knew how Ed liked him, on his knees with his face in the pillows and his hands behind his back, and he took what he was given and loved it because it was the closest he would ever come to love. It used to feel like enough.

Izzy’s fear was born the night Ed snapped. He was fraying for years before Bonnet’s arrival, was hanging on by a thread after the breakup. Izzy can admit to himself his own role in breaking Edward. To taunt him when he was already so fragile was as cruel as it was stupid. And all Ed offered for Izzy to cling onto was a chide for his screams of agony and an order to work as he always did.

At this point, Izzy cannot guess how long ago Ed cut off his pinkie toe. It feels like an eternity but could be anywhere between a couple of months and several years. They have no calendar anymore, nor do they possess a working compass. It’s all booze, plundered food, treasure they can’t offload, and sticky grease paint caked around Izzy’s hairline. He’s down to his big toe on that foot.

Ed shot him in the same leg.

Most of the day is a blur, all of Izzy’s life smearing around it. The one thing he remembers clearly is the muzzle of Ed’s gun tucked under his own chin, raving at the crew with such insanity Izzy wouldn’t have been shocked to see spittle foaming up around his lips like the rabid dog Ed has become. Izzy lays in a sickbed nestled in the walls, sweating and shivering and bleeding and swearing and, when he has the strength, begging. He screams in every face he sees to spare him from this horrible torture already.

He feels closer to Ed now than he ever has before. Izzy has experienced practically every emotion available on the human spectrum, but this is the first time he has stared up, dewy-eyed, and prayed for death. The prospect neither frightens nor overwhelms him. Instead, he feels it would be a warm, soothing embrace, of the sort to deliver him softly from the purgatory he willingly followed Ed into. If nothing else, he deserves some recognition for how far loyalty to his captain above all brought Izzy.

“Kill me,” Izzy bellows into Frenchie’s face, too weak to do much else. “Kill me, you fucking coward!”

Frenchie doesn’t kill him, which is just as well because Izzy has never loved anything that wasn’t trying to tear him apart. The crew take up vigil at his bedside as he fades in and out of consciousness in an ever-growing pool of his own festering blood. Izzy can’t smell it anymore, at least. He’s too angry that no one has had the mercy to kill him to feel guilty about how permeating the awful stench is beyond his fear Ed will happen upon their unwilling convalescent.

When he wakes up to only Edward beside him, Izzy’s brain is slow to catch up. His leg still burns, from thigh to ankle, but Izzy realizes immediately his leg is gone. In its place, the outline of what once was in black blood reflects the small darts of light creeping in. Izzy can barely move, remaining limbs uncooperatively shaky and raspy voice fighting out his throat to ask. He already knows, had known the second Fang put him on this cot, but his mind cannot think much further than the shock of his missing leg. It doesn’t feel real. Nothing has since Stede Bonnet crossed paths with Blackbeard, or longer, if Izzy wants to be particularly honest. Now is the last chance he’ll ever have to do so; a dying man cannot be tortured indefinitely.

“That’s gone now,” Ed tells him matter-of-factly, “up in leg heaven.”

Izzy is barely awake, scarcely alive, soaked in every fluid his body is capable of producing, all skin and bones, like most of the crew. Raids haven’t kept them fed without making land to sell loot. But Ed looks so beautiful in this moment Izzy has trouble convincing himself it’s real. He’s looked hollow since Stede left, but now, there’s a glow to him. His golden skin, creased with decades of hysterical laughter and devastating meltdowns, is clear of the greasy paint. His hair is pulled up out of his face, messy but less snarled than usual as though Ed sat down and ran a comb through it. Izzy has been the only one to do so in the months since Bonnet, and his empty stomach roils at the thought of Frenchie carefully sorting through the knots in Ed’s long silver hair, but he hasn’t seen Ed do so himself since his golden days aboard the revenge in pink silk robes. Ed doesn’t look younger, but he is softer. Izzy doesn’t point out Ed clearly bathed, nor does he acknowledge the faintest hints of lavender offering a bare reprieve to the oppressive air of the room.

“Have you come to take the other one?”

That should be enough to do him in. As far down the rabbit hole as they all are now, Izzy wouldn’t put it past Edward to turn Izzy into a torso and a head, a buff statue to entertain him until that gets boring too and he’s tossed overboard with no way to save himself. Death is a welcome friend in comparison to anything else Ed dreams up to inflict on him.

“I think that’s quite enough.” In another life, or another decade, Ed touches Izzy at this point. He dabs the sweat off his skin, kisses his clammy cheeks, drops laudanum under his tongue, whispers those words. There was a time they looked after each other, though the memory is so distant Izzy has to strain to grasp it now. “I just popped down to say a proper goodbye.”

Ed holds his gun more reverently than he has touched Izzy in all the time they’ve known each other. Smooth mahogany and polished silver gleam beg for his attention, but Izzy can only look at Ed. He’s never done anything else. Practiced hands cock the weapon.

“I had a dream about you last night.”

Izzy had a dream about Ed as well, or a night-terror if Jim is to be believed. It was the two of them on deck, lit only by the barest tangerine glow of temperamental torches, and Izzy was sobbing. He begged and pleaded for Ed to stop- what Izzy wanted him to stop, he can only guess. In his dream, Ed laughed at him and reached through his ribcage to tear out his beating heart. Long, sticky strands of blood vessels tugged to try and keep Izzy’s heart close, but Ed bent down to tear through them with his teeth. Izzy collapsed to the deck, bleeding out with a blurry impression of Ed’s boots in front of him, Ed’s laughter ringing in his ears. He woke up screaming. The last good sleep he had was long enough ago to feel less real than the night-terrors.

“Take it.” Ed forces the gun toward Izzy, ignores every protest to crush Izzy’s fingers around the handle. If Izzy drops it, he doesn’t know what will happen: death, or something creatively worse. “Hold it!” He struggles to keep a decent grip on the gun. Not too long ago, Ed might have followed it with some sort of praise, a brief acknowledgement that Izzy is a good lad for playing along with his whims. A bare crumb is enough for a man of Izzy’s station to cling to, but Ed will not allow him such a foothold any longer.

Ed leans forward so the muzzle of the gun nearly kisses his lips. Izzy has the faintest urge to push it between them. Whether Ed would open his mouth, eyes dark and locked on Izzy’s, or if he would be out of the way before Izzy’s finger could find the trigger, Izzy doesn’t know. He doesn’t want to find out.

“I dreamt you killed me.” Izzy has had a lot of dreams about Edward, but never one of this nature. He’s always the one to suffer, and Ed is always the survivor happy to be free of the burden. “Shot me right through the skull.”

As a pirate, Izzy has enough experience in shooting men at such close range to picture it vividly. The slug, wherever it reaches Ed’s face, would blow Ed’s skull wide open into an array of pink tissue and white bone. Blood would cover the walls and ceiling, slowly dripping to add to the ocean on the floor beneath Ed’s unidentifiable body. It would be much faster, more merciful death than a shot to the leg. All this, and Ed still couldn’t kill Izzy no matter how deep his rage at the mere mention of Bonnet.

“Good for you,” Izzy croaks. He’s able to get his finger around the trigger, with only the pressure requisite to feel it against his skin.

“It was good for me.” Ed stands and rounds the edge of the bed, oblivious or indifferent to the wavering track of Izzy’s aim. “It’s just what the doctor ordered. But it wasn’t like that.” He turns his back to Izzy. One slow step after another, he approaches the door with cold, catlike, precision. “No. In my dream, I was standing.” He doesn’t look back over his shoulder. It wouldn’t change anything if he did. “Just like this.”

The light cascading down the stairs breaks around Ed’s silhouette. With his arms outstretched, Edward is the perfect imitation of every religious drawing Izzy has ever seen, bathed in the golden glow of late afternoon sun, standing on his own two feet without a bottle or a pipe his hands. For just a moment, he’s little Eddie Teach again. Then Izzy remembers which one of them has truly been nailed to the cross, and his heart hardens.

He shores himself up to raise the gun he never wanted in his hand, but after losing a leg and every shred of dignity he ever had to his name, Izzy can barely lift it a more few inches off his stomach. Dry, bitter laughter spills from his cracked lips. For a moment, his swollen tongue lolls out of his mouth. His body is too broken and tired to keep it in place. His eyes remaining open at all shocks him. But if this is his last day on this earth, or Edward’s, or both of theirs, then he will be present for as much as he can. He forces a shaky aim somewhere between Ed’s shoulder blades. Right in the back, like a coward, would be a fitting end.

“Oh, are you scared, Eddie?” Though Ed shifts his weight, he does not turn around. He plays the part of a cold, detached killer too well for a man who can’t stomach death by his own hand, acting as if it’s not his fault Izzy is a corpse whose brain hasn’t caught up yet. Ed deserves to be scared. He wasn’t frightened any of the times he mutilated Izzy, or made him scrub his own blood off the floor, or pushed the crew into another pointless raid. “Too- too scared to do it yourself, ay?” Another bout of compulsive, painful laughter bubbles up his throat. Ed still doesn’t react. The only time he’s ever still and reserved is when Izzy wishes he would break for a second, at least. “Go on, clean up your own fucking mess.” The gun drops dully onto his stomach. He can’t hold it up anymore. “I’m not doing it, I’ve been doing it all my fucking life. Fuck off.”

Ed nods.

“Farewell, old chum.”

As he climbs the stairs, any remaining fight in Izzy’s body saps out of him. Once again, Izzy is alone. The blood still sluggishly drooling from his stump of a leg discourages him from any action to make himself presentable before death. There’s piss in his trousers, sweat in his hair, blood from his belly button to his remaining ankle, and a sickeningly sweet smell like coinage and spoiled oranges permeating the air. Nothing he does will make this death honorable.

The second Ed’s feet disappear from sight, Izzy fights to raise the gun to his temple with the last of his strength. For all his flaws, at least Ed has given him a way out. May they both find their way.

Izzy pulls the trigger.

#our flag means death #ofmd #blackhands #edward teach #blackbeard ofmd #izzy hands #israel hands #blackhands ofmd #ofmd fic #our flag means death fic #violence tw #gore tw #blood tw #suicide tw #guns tw #emwrite

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our-flag-means-death-ao3feed · 11 months

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give me everything you got

by dinoromance89

Blackbeard’s crew make port, gathering what they need for their freshly bitched omega captain. But while Izzy is running errands, Ed runs into an interesting young alpha at a pub. Perhaps the Barbados ale is not the only blond thing worth sampling?

Words: 4271, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Series: Part 3 of nautical knots

Fandoms: Our Flag Means Death (TV)

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M, Multi

Characters: Blackbeard | Edward Teach, Israel Hands, Stede Bonnet, Fang (Our Flag Means Death), Magic Man (Our Flag Means Death)

Relationships: Blackbeard | Edward Teach/Stede Bonnet/Israel Hands

Additional Tags: Omega Verse, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Pre-Canon, Alpha Israel Hands, Bottom Israel Hands, Alpha Stede Bonnet, Top Stede Bonnet, Omega Blackbeard | Edward Teach, Jealousy, Possessive Behavior, Blood, Insecurity, edizzy typical communication, aka none, False Identity, Birth Control, Relationship Negotiation, Anal Sex, Oral Sex, Mean Sex, Threesome - M/M/M, Porn with Feelings, Angst and Fluff and Smut

source https://archiveofourown.org/works/48927670

#Our flag means death #ofmd #https://archiveofourown.org/works/48927670

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cebwrites · 2 years

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my, my (how can i resist you?)

a/n: the vacation and tenderness they all (i) need (them to have)-

oc x canon, post-wano, nakamaship and fluff, poly (implied, and shown) he/they law word count: 1.3k

Tang and Strider dock, both Hiraishin and Heart Pirates heave a collective sigh of relief. The island they’ve found themselves on seems to be uninhabited with little to stock up on in terms of supplies but in comparison to the hell that awaited them upon leaving samurai-country - this was virtually time off.

The combined crews waste no time in off-loading onto the island and slip into relaxation mode; Law said that they’d only be able to spend a few days here but that only meant that everyone would have to make the most of it. Usually he’d disdain such lackadaisical behavior, but frankly at this point if Law hears one more word of Strawhat nonsense, mucking up yet another perfectly good plan, he’d combust into stress fueled flames.

So distraction is given a pass for now.

Everyone eases into their impromptu holiday without a second glance; respective first mates have abandoned their duties in lieu of beach-time fun (although some stick to their responsibilities out of habit more than others), typical friend groups all huddle up to discuss their interests with lots of overlap from other circles as the night draws on, couples, trios, and quads find a nice little corner to simply spend time with each other without needing to worry about work - even typically more solitary folk come out of hiding to enjoy the ambience.

Soon “a few days” turns to a week, but Law still can’t bring himself to tell everyone it’s time to leave yet. Not when he sees Tetsu and Shachi playing Shoulder Wars with Bepo in the water, Penguin chatting amongst Reiji and Rio, the latter with his legs across Migi’s lap, Mitsu exchanging recipes and laughing with his own beloved cooks. Across the beach Coco squawks in response to her girlfriend’s teases and Ikkaku’s all the happier to pile them on.

Law can see Noire and Nabiil desperately trying to keep Fritz from falling into the water as he windsurfs, Alto and Uni help get sunscreen on the parts of Jean-Bart’s back that he can’t reach, while various Heart and Hiraishin crew members try to haggle a bargain from their resident tattoo artist, Izzy, too. Least of all when he spots Kirin out of the corner his eye, napping in various spots throughout the day but always wearing a slight smile even in his slumber.

They’re all on a well-deserved vacation. Especially after de-throning two Emperors and fending off the fallout therein. Plus, with Dofla-fucking-mingo rotting in Impel Down, Law reasons, although the knowledge that this vile creature was alive at ALL made their bones ache with a decade-long rage, he has nothing else to worry about other than zeroing his focus on the One Piece, or rather, the Will of D, at his own pace.

Still, Kirin finds Law sulking away from the liveliness as usual, tucked away in their office among piles of old but well-kept books.

“Hiding away before the party even starts? It might be our last day here, you know. Our crews wanna have at least a little fun with both captains present.”

“You’re leaving? When? It’s the first I’ve heard of this.” Laws brows furrow as he looks up to meet Kirin’s gaze, placing down his favorite bear-themed pencil.

“Nothing’s set in stone yet but Rio wants to get a move on before those kids get caught up in another storm. You know how he is. It’s fine, we need to get to another town to stockpile tools for repairs anyway.”

“Mugiwara-ya? Him and his ilk cause problems wherever they go,” Law snuffs, “Wonder when we’ll see the end of his competitive streak, though, if at all.”

Kirin cocks him a grin, brow raised and eyelids slack, “Who, Rio? I don’t want to hear that from you, Tora-o.”

The corner of Law’s mouth twitches at the accursed nickname, Kirin laughs. They will admit though, at least secretly and only ever to themself, that hearing it from his lover, his amor, in such a sweet tone despite the intentional mockery makes them all but want to kiss this insufferable man. So he does. Hooks his fingers into the loop of Kirin’s belt buckle, pulls him to sit on the arm of his chair, and leans up with clear intent. Kirin’s more than happy to oblige.

It’s only when Law swipes his tongue across the inside of the other captain’s mouth and Kirin makes an undignified noise in response that he realizes their true intentions.

“Law! You had coffee before I came in, didn’t you?”

Kirin feigns offense but it’s hard to stay mad with his partner’s rare and ever-sweet laughter ringing wonderfully through his chest and ears. Almost as if... they were wedding bells. Kirin’s caught off by his own thoughts, brushing the idea far away for now and hoping that Law didn’t see his expression change. God, where did that come from? What would’ve been a mock scowl now sits as a mere toothless pout on tan features. Law’s head rests against their own jolly roger inked on Kirin’s shoulder, fingers intertwined as he lets the last huffs of laughter empty from his chest. He’s still smiling though, and Kirin wouldn’t do anything to jinx it for the world.

“I take it you still want me to go out there and socialize for our last day on this carefree island?”

“You don’t have to, Heart, but it would be nice. We wanna have fun with you, too.” Kirin brings up their knuckles to smooch with all the tenderness and devotion his heart can manage - Law tips his chin for a proper kiss on the lips, after. Had he been born with the ability to, Kirin’s wings would’ve fanned out in a flurry of ruffled feathers at right this moment.

“Hmm, since my darling asked so nicely, who am I to say no?”

Heart Pirates cheer at the sight of their captain emerging from the sub to join them - Kirin close behind, standard smirk of a smile already in place; his crew keeps their teasing about Law’s hermit habits to a minimum if only because of the warning look their own captain briefs over them when Law is too preoccupied with Bepo shoving plates of fresh food into his arms, well into the party mood.

The buccaneers greet the transition from dusk to nightfall with raucous laughter, excessive drinking, and gorging themselves on the bounty of seafood they could find by fishing and diving around the waters surrounded them, though the island itself was almost devoid of any edible meat. At least, not enough to justify hunting to feed a party of more than 30 grown adults when they already had more than enough fish and crustaceans to last. Plenty of herbs, however.

They herd Bepo into the Tang with his tipsy, giggly partner once the clouds seemed to roll away from to avoid another Sulong incident, although whatever those two got up to in the privacy of their sub was none of anyone’s business. A few others had disappeared with their own arrangements, too, but Kirin was content to simply lay on this blanketed patch of beach listening to his intoxicated boyfriend ramble about all the ‘funny fishies’ they saw while trying to catch tonight’s feast.

Law sits next to them a short while later, drink in hand and pleasantly buzzed, but not nearly as drunk as the unconscious red-faced samurai between these captains.

“Did Pen and Shach ditch you to go make out?”

Law snrks in response, “No worse than Tetsu and Izzy leaving you for the, what, broom closet where they ran off to? Usually we’d be racing against them.”

Kirin’s snickers muffle against the kiss he presses to Law’s cheek; Reiji shifts a little with something unintelligible muttered in his sleep below them - Kirin smiles, moving to lay his head on their mutual boyfriend’s chest.

“’M not really up for it tonight. Hate to say, but all that food’s made me sleepier than anything.”

“Yeah? Well, we’ve got the world’s best pillows right here,” Law shimmies a little lower too, resting on their elbow as the buzz sinks in from the last gulp to finish off his cup.

“I don’t know about sleeping on the beach, though, all that sunlight is going to make our hangovers murderous,” Kirin doesn’t get to finish, they’ve already been shambles’d into his room, Reiji and all.

“Oh, so you can get sand in my bed but when I drop a single crumb in yours-”

Once again Law cuts his train of thought short, this time with a kiss. Their head swims with a familiar airiness and both captains smell pleasantly of sake; they break to smile at each other, then Reiji’s slumbering face. The cap’ts press tipsy (one more so than the other) kisses to either of his cheeks, before each laying on a tit and knocking out for the night.

All things considered, it was a vacation well spent.

#cebwrites #lawrin #rekilaw #one piece #one piece law #fluff #trafalgar law #trafalgar d water law #trafalgar one piece #op law #poly #just some boys being tender

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awriterpretendingtowrite · 2 years

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"Thus Conscience Doth Make Cowards of Us All" Part One

Our Flag Means Death fic, based loosely around the time of 1x09, in which Ed recites Shakespeare (badly), Izzy Hands is tricked because he's an idiot, and the crew plans to get Stede back before Ed goes off the deep end. Canon-typical shenanigans. 2k words.

Part Two

---

“I’m worried about Captain.”

Oluwande sat on a box in the hold of The Revenge, fingers laced, his chin resting on his hands. Blackbea—Edward’s erratic behavior had him worried, though the rest of the crew hadn’t seemed to mind the captain’s newfound vulnerability. He had gathered the few of them that had seemed to notice a bit, and now he, Jim, Lucius, Black Pete, and Frenchie sat together, planning what to do.

Lucius looked up from his writing, and Oluwande could see the detailed planning for the next production Blackbea—Edward wanted them to put on. The writer huffed a little sigh and said, “I agree. Ed’s getting out of hand. And I just know that Izzy is up to something.”

Nodded along, Oluwande started to speak, but Jim spoke first. “I’ve seen him sneaking into Blackbeard’s headquarters.”

“You don’t think they’re—” stared Oluwande with a grimace, but Jim cut him off.

“Ugh, no,” they said, muttering, “eso es asqueroso.”

Oluwande wholeheartedly agreed.

“So what should we do?” Black Pete asked, shifting closer to Lucius, who smiled at him. “Confront him about it?”

“Not unless you want to get killed.” Frenchie shrugged at the looks the rest of them threw at him. “What, like you’d go up to Blackbeard and accuse him of being mentally unstable?”

A general muttered concession ensued.

“So then what do we do?” Black Pete pressed.

Lucius rolled his eyes. “The only thing to do is get Captain Bonnet back,” he said. “Obviously.”

Oluwande raised his eyebrows. “That could work.”

“Do we even know where he is?” Jim asked, leaning against the wall. “He ditched Blackbeard. If he’s smart, he’ll be so deep into hiding that not even the king could find him.”

Lucius raised his eyebrows again, sucking in a breath as he placed his book back in his bag.

Voicing everyone’s thoughts, Frenchie said, “He’s not exactly smart though, is he?”

A moment of silence, in which Jim raised their eyebrows, Oluwande shuffled his feet, and Black Pete avoided eye contact. Then Lucius, who had been rifling through his bag, triumphantly raised another book into the air.

“Aha!” he said. “Captain’s journal.”

“Blackbeard keeps a journal?” Black Pete asked.

That earned him a cuffed ear from Frenchie.

“Captain Bonnet kept record of everything,” Lucius said, flipping through the pages so fast that Black Pete’s hair would have been blown backward. If he had hair.

Then, with a mighty thud, Lucius slammed the book down on a box. “Here,” he said, pointing to a paragraph. “‘I, Stede Bonnet, the Gentleman Pirate, hail from the seaside town of Bridgeport, Barbados. Being born so near to the ocean may have, in hindsight, been a prophecy, a prophecy of the great Gentleman Pirate—’”

“Stop,” Oluwande interrupted, grimacing.

Jim rolled their eyes. “Do you think he knows how bad of a pirate he is?”

“I thought that passage was quite nice,” Frenchie suggested, and Black Pete nodded, much to Lucius’ satisfaction.

Oluwande sighed. “You think he went back home,” he said.

“It makes sense,” Lucius responded quietly. “He was guilt-ridden for killing that British captain—”

“He didn’t kill him,” they all chorused, shaking their heads.

“Nevertheless!” Lucius said, staring at them until they quieted. “I knew him better than you all did. I would bet my life—well, maybe not my life, but you know what I mean—that he just wanted to forget that this ever happened. So he went home.”

All was quiet, then Frenchie said, “So how do we get there? It’s not like we have a boat.”

“Yeah we do,” Black Pete said. “This one.”

Jim scoffed. “And how do you plan to swing that one? ‘Hey Ed, let’s head over to the hometown of the man who broke your heart. Maybe we’ll see him there, who knows!’” Their sarcastic smile made it clear what they thought of the suggestion.

Deep in thought, Oluwande spoke. “Well,” he said slowly, “I doubt he knows that Captain is from Bridgeport.”

Cottoning on, Lucius blurted out excitedly, “We could tell him we need something there.”

“Get him to take us there,” Frenchie added.

“Sneak Captain Bonnet on board,” Black Pete said.

“And hopefully keep Ed from completely losing it,” Oluwande finished. Then he looked up to Jim. “What do you think, Jim? You in?”

They shook their head, their expression obscured by their hat, and they scuffed their boot on the planks. “You’re all crazy,” Jim said. “But it could work.” They looked up and their hat brim raised enough for the others to see the smile on their face. “I’m in.”

Blackbea—Ed was pacing the deck, haltingly reciting a Shakespearean monologue from one of Stede’s books. His extravagantly pink silk robe contrasted his unruly hair, uncombed in these weeks of Stede-less agony.

“Captain?” Frenchie had cautiously approached him and was standing nervously to the side.

Edward held up a finger, not looking at Frenchie, continuing to pace and recite from the book in hand. A great shushing from the others, among whom were Wee John, Buttons, and the Swede, made Frenchie bow his head and retreat to lean against the mast. All of the others were perched on various surfaces, and Frenchie even spotted Fang and Ivan sitting on the upper deck, watching the captain recite his Shakespeare.

“The oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely—” Edward was stumbling over the words but still holding a Shakespearean-esque face— “The pangs of despised love, the law’s delay—”

“How long’s he been at it?” Frenchie asked Wee John, who was sitting on a box next to him.

“Ah, dunno, a couple hours?” he said. “We’ve all been drifting in and out, but Roach finished dinner and now we have to wait for Ed to be done before we eat.”

“The insolence of office and the spurns, that patient merit of the unworthy takes—”

“It’s quite beautiful, innit?” Frenchie said, squinting against the setting sun. “In a pathetic sort of way.”

Wee John just nodded, then Frenchie realized he had actually nodded off.

Ed had turned around and was walking toward Frenchie and Wee John. The bard nudged Wee John, who jerked awake just in time to nod encouragingly along with Frenchie.

“When he himself might his qui—quietus make, with a bare bodkin? who would far—farb—fardel bear—”

Frenchie could barely keep his cardboard smile on until Edward turned back around, at which point the bard grimaced and snuck back down into the hold, leaving the others to uphold the captain’s ego.

“Change of plans,” he said, and Oluwande and the others looked up from Stede’s journal, which they were poring over in search of any more hints to Stede’s life.

“What is it?” Oluwande asked, and Frenchie grimaced again.

“He’s reciting… Shakespeare, or something. One of Captain’s old books.” A pause. “He’s not very good at it.”

Lucius nodded gravely. “Takes a strong man to read Shakespeare.”

“Or a broken one,” Oluwande added.

“Either way, he’ll be at it for a while,” Frenchie sighed.

The five of them stared at each other, wondering what exactly to do now, since their captain wasn’t really acting like their captain.

“Don’t hate me for this,” Black Pete hedged, and immediately Jim muttered, “Dios ayudanos.” Pete stared at them for a moment, then said, “What if we talked to Izzy?”

Immediate grumbling from them all, and Black Pete scrambled to say, “I’m just saying! He hates this version of Blackbeard as much as we do!”

“Who hates Blackbeard?” a threatening voice from the hall said.

The bickering stopped instantly and five scared gazes turned to see Izzy Hands staring at them, leaned up against the entryway.

“N—no one,” Black Pete stammered, but Oluwande stood up.

“You do,” he said, looking at the first mate and folding his arms. “At least, you hate the way Blackbeard is now.”

Ed’s voice drifted down to them, with a floaty, “thus conscience does—doth?—doth make cowards of us all.”

“That,” Izzy spat, pointing upward, “is not Blackbeard.”

Frenchie said, “We know. That’s why we’re going to do something about it.”

Izzy raised an eyebrow. “You lot,” he said disbelievingly, “want Blackbeard back?”

“Yeah,” said Frenchie, turning to stare pointedly at the others, who hastily nodded and affirmed their agreement.

The first mate looked suspicious, but as they had suspected, he was too desperate to get rid of the mess Edward had become and too desperate to get Blackbeard back. “Fine,” he growled. “What’s the plan?”

“Captain,” Izzy said, knocking on Ed’s door that night. “Captain, the boy has requested a word with you.”

Silence, then a muffled, “Let him in.”

Izzy jerked his head, motioning Lucius into the captain’s cabin before closing the door.

The cabin was a mess. Bottles were strewn across the floor, melted candles sat on top of books, and worst of all was the clothes thrown every which way across the room.

“Oh my—”

A great sniffle interrupted Lucius’ disgusted commentary, and as the writer crept into the room, Ed came into view.

He was curled up on the bed, staring out the window, dressed in Stede’s atrocious gold nightgown.

“Ed?” he asked hesitantly. “Are—are you… okay?” He realized how stupid was as he looked around the room. He didn’t need to ask if Ed was okay. It was clear he wasn’t.

Another sniff from Ed, then a very, very quiet, “No.”

Lucius carefully perched himself on the end of the bed and peered over at Ed.

Red-faced, puffy-eyed, and plastered, Ed had tears streaming down his face as he stared out at the calm midnight sea. Between Ed’s arms was clutched a pillow which was, to Lucius’ horror, dressed in Stede’s clothes.

Lucius turned away for a moment, his revulsion at the pathetic sight clear in his expression. Then, he smoothed over his facial features into a more sympathetic look and turned back.

“You really miss him, don’t you?”

A single sad nod.

Lucius debated silently and quickly what to do. He couldn’t risk telling Ed that they wanted to get Stede back—that could spark something dangerous. But he couldn’t let it go on like this—that seemed likely to get them all killed if (or when) he snapped.

A half-truth then, he decided.

“I could paint you a portrait of him,” Lucius suggested.

Ed turned to him, eyes wide and teary. “You could… do that?”

Lucius nodded. “Yep. Just need the supplies for it.”

For a moment, Lucius thought Ed would jump up and set them on a course to the nearest landmass right then, but luckily, he pressed his face back into the pillow-Stede.

“Tell Izzy to set the course,” Ed said, muffled.

“Of course,” Lucius said, standing. A satisfied smirk crept onto his face as he strode proudly out of the room.

Ed stumbled out of his cabin late the next morning. It was nearly high noon, he realized as he squinted at the sky. His hangover was vicious, but nothing new. He’d had one constant hangover his entire 20s. Could barely remember a thing about that decade.

As members of the crew turned to look at him from their various positions on deck, he realized that he was still wearing Stede’s nightgown, and he immediately staggered back inside the cabin, closing the door behind him as quietly as possible.

He missed his beard, he thought as he entered Stede’s ridiculous secret closet. Shedding his clothes, Ed thought about what it would have been like to have Stede braid it. He’d put Ed’s bows in for the fancy party they went to, but nothing beyond that.

“This is my auxiliary wardrobe.” Stede’s voice echoed in his mind as he ran his hand along the array of clothing. “Winter jackets. Autumn vibe. Summer linen.”

“I hate you,” Ed muttered to the voice, but he didn’t mean it. In truth, he would have given anything for Stede to be back with him. But he knew that Stede didn’t want to be with him, so he wouldn’t force him to be. That’s what Stede would have done. He needed to let go.

---

~ To Be Continued ~

---

This was so fun to write! I've had insane OFMD brainrot for weeks so you all get to deal with it too haha. Ten points to anyone who knows which monologue Ed is reading from.

If any of the Spanish is off, please lmk and I will fix it asap!

Commissions - Ko-Fi - AO3

#our flag means death #our flag means gay #ofmd #our flag means death fanfiction #blackstede #ed teach #jim x oluwande #lucius x black pete #frenchie #the revenge crew #ofmd brainrot #ofmd spoilers #ofmd stede #ofmd blackbeard #gentlebeard

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thehuntersmoondiscord · 4 years

Photo

Here’s a complete list of everyone’s creations for the Hunter’s Moon Creation Exchange. There’s a variety of rating, pairings, and tropes, but guaranteed they were ALL made with love. Check out the collection here or look through the individual creations below.

Bright Lights by @brightasstars

Malec | Mature Summary: After years of searching for the one who could love him unconditionally, heart and soul, Magnus has retreated himself into his shell, scared and lost. The will and the need to help a little boy who is the only witness of a brutal crime leads him unexpectedly to meet Alec, a young man who's past life has forced to grow up quicker and wiser, and...unbelievably kind. Magnus walks into Alec's life as if he had always been there, and Alec welcomes him as if his heart was a home built just for him. Alec knows and Magnus knows, but...will they? Tags: Silver fox Magnus Bane; Younger Alec Lightwood; Alternate Universe - Human; Emotional Hurt/Comfort; background crime scene; Protective Alec Lightwood; Happy Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood; Falling In Love; Strangers to Lovers; Healing; overcoming fears and insecurities; Light Angst; People Change People

A hey tipped in Gold by @highfunctioningdragonslayer

Malec | Explicit Summary: In a world where everyone has a soulmate, Alec lightwood has the worst luck EVER, he didn't even realize when he met his soulmate. CURSE HIS FATE. On top of that...he meets a guy. He meets a guy from Edom OF ALL PLACES, he's the prince for god's sake, he can't fall for some trader from Edom...Can he? And Magnus, oh Magnus... has a secret. but he chooses to ignore his mission to chase a hazel-eyed dove. The question is..is it worth it? is the promise of love enough for him to forget the pain of heartbreak? Tags: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Wingfic, Fluff, alec is a gentleman, Magnus Bane Deserves Nice Things, Alec Lightwood Deserves Nice Things, A Splash of Pining, some og characters, Innocent Alec Lightwood, sibling dynamics, cute cute cute, Emotions, cat and izzy are wise souls, Smut, we cant not have smut, did i say Emotions, and courting, Anal Sex

Don’t Overthink by @cloudburst-ink

Malec | Explicit Fanart Summary: Explicit fanart for ColorfulWarlock's fic, "Don't flirt with me (I'm working, dammit)" Tags: Prison AU, Blowjob, Smut

ISABELLE by @miss-shiva-adler

Raphael/Izzy | Teen Summary: He has feelings for her. He is unable to describe it, unable to put it in plain words. But her name is always on his mind, especially when they are apart Tags: Aromantic Asexual Raphael Santiago, Mention of addiction, Addiction Withdrawal symptoms, Feelings of guilt, heartbreaks, Missing Scene, Canon Divergence, Hopeful endings, open endings, Mention of Blood Drinking

The Sixth Love Language by @polarnacht1

Malace | Explicit Summary: Jace meets Alec and Magnus at their bar Pandemonium, realizing astonished that they are not what they pretend to be: They are not regular humans but Vampires. Jace feels instantly drawn to their world full of shadows and blood - and them. They spend a hot night together that could be the beginning of more, if not Alec’s last words to Jace were ones that make Jace forget the night, Vampires, and them… A story about falling in love - or avoiding it - in the crossfire of Shadow World politics and a Vampire clan war. Tags: Alternate Universe, Vampire Alec Lightwood, Vampire Magnus Bane, Mundane Jace Wayland, reverse fic, Canon-Typical Violence, Blood Drinking, Blood Kink, Vampire Sex, Vampire Bites, Anal Sex, Oral Sex, Rough Sex, Threesome - M/M/M, Polyamory, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Torture, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Falling In Love, Happy Ending, Mind Manipulation

Where First Kisses Grow Cold by @jesssssah

Jalec/Jangus | Explicit Summary: Jace never expected Alec’s death would lead him to any kind of comfort. Diverting from S1 Ep04, the scene in which Magnus and Alec first meet but imagining that Jace is there too and that Alec doesn’t save anybody. Tags: MCD, graphic depictions of violence, canon-divergence au, blood and gore, angst, hurt/comfort, first kiss, necrophilic kiss, repressed_bisexual!Jace, sad

A Bond’s Journey by @antisocial-af

Malec | Teen Summary: A look into Magnus' and Alec's journey through courtings and talks of immortality. Omegaverse. Tags: Omegaverse, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Warnings in Chapters are Important, Downworlder Politics, Shadow World Council, Matching Party, Courting, Texting, New York Shadow World Institute, Slight Angst, Fluff, Happy Ending, Alpha Magnus Bane, Omega Alec Lightwood, Background Simon Lewis/Raphael Santiago, Alpha Raphael Santiago, Omega Simon Lewis, Protective Magnus Bane, Insecure Alec Lightwood, Consent is Sexy, No Smut, SFW, Tiny Alexander, Immortal Husbands Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Bonding Ceremony

Make A Wish by @sivan325

Malec | General Summary: Max loses his first tooth, and his dads suggested to put the tooth under the pillow. Tags: alternative universe, Tooth Fairies, Wishes, Fic Exchange, Fluff SO MUCH FLUFF, Cute

How am I supposed to pretend? by @finditagain24

Jimon | Mature Summary:He’s wracked his brain to try to understand the shifts in Jace’s behavior lately: from the soft touches to the casual kisses and now asking him to meet his parents. There’s only one possible explanation. “How do you know when someone is trying to make you their boyfriend?” Tags: Alternate Universe - College/University; Friends With Benefits; Friends to Lovers to Morons; Friends to Lovers; Frottage; Unreliable Narrator; Hence the moron; Alternate Universe - Human; Gratuitous bottle episode

Fallen (for you) by @killynxgames

Malec | Explicit Summary: Alec’s eyes closed, the simple movement slow and calculated. When he opened them again, his eyes had changed. Where before they were a beautiful clear hazel, they were now all black; no hazel, no white, just inky blackness from corner to corner. Magnus’s face paled instantly at the sight, fear rising in his gut. Demon. “W-wait. What did you do to the Lightwood boy? Is he-is he dead?” Magnus asked, fearing for the confident, sexy event planner he had met earlier that evening at the Institute party. “There has never been another Alec Lightwood." Magnus let the implications of that statement sink in. Demons had been eradicated from this realm centuries ago. If this one had survived, living and blending in among mortals... Tags: Bondage Panty Kink Rough Sex Rimming Top Alec Lightwood Bottom Magnus Bane Alternate Universe - This World Inverted (Shadowhunters TV) Minor Character Death Cock Piercing Happy Ending Anal Sex Nipple Clamps Biting Hair-pulling Vibrators Multiple Orgasms Forced Orgasm Spreader Bars Demon Alec Lightwood Warlock Magnus BaneCome Eating Come Sharing Facials Barebacking Manhandling Magnus is very bendy

I Love The Way You Make Me Hurt by Nadja_lee

Malec | Explicit Summary: Magnus had never wanted Alec to see this side of him; the side that wanted to make the Nephilim kneel for him and mark him up as his. He panics when he wakes up and discover how rough he got with Alec the night before. However, Alec quickly assures him that he wants and needs to give his surrender and wear the Warlock’s marks just as much as Magnus wants him to. A story of accepting your own needs, your partner’s needs and the many nuances of love. Basically, the most fluffy and emotional smut fic I’ve ever done. Tags: Dom Magnus Bane, Sub Alec Lightwood, Kink Negotiation, Light Dom/sub, Dom/sub Undertones,Understanding Magnus Bane, Breathplay, Rough Oral Sex, Anal Sex, Happy Ending, Insecure Magnus Bane, Supportive Alec Lightwood, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Smut, Oral Sex, Love, Angst, Possessive Magnus Bane, Protective Magnus Bane, Romantic Fluff, Power Bottom Alec Lightwood, Top Magnus Bane, Bottom Alec Lightwood

All In The Name Of Love by @high-warlock-of-brooklyn

Jem Carstairs/Tessa Gray/Will Herondale | General Summary: In a world where the first touch with your soulmate gives you visions, Jem Carstairs, a barista in Idris Cafe, refuses to let the universe dictate his love, opting for a love of his own choosing, while he harbors a crush on Will Herondale, a regular of his. Things take an exciting turn after a brunette with a smile that can win the world, steps into their lives. Tags: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Human, Light Angst, Will is a dork, Tessa is another slightly lesser dork, Jem is an angel as usual, OT3, soulmate angst, Happy Ending, Church the Cat, Is the real MVP, i said what i said, Sophie is another angel, Who is Raziel I only know two(2) Angels, Jessamine is a good friend, Friendship, The many nicknames of Jem Carstairs, Author loves and misses their ot3 very much, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Chosen Soulmates

out of this cavern by @linkscap

Malec | General Summary: Alec will laugh about this one day. Maybe. The thing is, at the moment, it’s the furthest thing from funny. OR: Alec and Magnus each get kidnapped by the Seelie Queen and held in her realm until they make a startling discovery. Tags: Soulmates, Kidnapping, seelie realm

Stuck On You by @the-ghost-of-william-herondale

Malec | Mature Summary: Magnus and Alec have an established soulbond, one that links them via magical sticky notes. Who would have guessed that this soulbond would one day save Alec's life? Though not, of course, without some trials and tribulations, first. Tags:Established Relationship, Husbands, Whump, Injured Alec Lightwood, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Soulmates, Bond: Sticky Notes, Post-it Notes, Major Character Injury, Blood and Injury, Hurt Alec Lightwood, hints of malace, blink and you'll miss them

Won't You Be Mine? by @PhoenixStar73

Malec | Teen Summary:Magnus Bane, gorgeous guy of the popular crowd in high school, is trying to discourage any unwanted paramour. Magnus happens to run into fellow student, Alec Lightwood, who helps him to do so. As they get to know one another, Magnus talks about his problem again, and Alec inadvertently gives him the perfect solution to keep the guy away -- for them to be fake boyfriends. But before long, it starts to work a little too well.... Tags: High school AU, Human AU, Fake/Pretend Relationship

The Perks of Kylo Ren by @icymalec

Malec | Explicit Summary: All human AU. It’s Simon’s birthday and he is throwing a Star Wars themed party at Pandemonium- even the staff have agreed to dress up. Begrudgingly Alec attends, little did he know that the party would have a happy ending. Tags:AU, Human, Simon's Birthday, Star Wars, party, malec, first meeting, Smut, Office Sex, Anal Sex

A Change of Perspective by @forensicsisabelle

Malec | Teen Summary:Magnus hates the Lightwoods, including the kids who get everything they want. So how, exactly, does he wind up as Alec Lightwood's pretend date to a family party? Tags:Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, Enemies to Lovers, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Homophobia, Bad Parent Robert Lightwood, Bad Parent Maryse Lightwood, Hunter's Moon Discord's Gift Exchange

about colors and animal puns for names (or not so much) by @thelightofthebane

Malec | Teen Summary: Alec has barely left his office when he heard the trumpet of an elephant followed by the roar of a lion. Seconds later, a laugh from some hyena. He groaned. The new recruits were too damn loud. OR, A soulmate x omegaverse fusion nobody expected. Tags: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Beta, Beta Alec Lightwood, Alpha Magnus Bane, Discrimination Against Betas, Alec is a good leader and says Soulmate rights, Magnus is a good alpha, True Mates, Romantic Soulmates, Fluff, Background RJS, Background Melibelle, Background Claia, soul animals, Animula

Kiss Me Today (and everyday after) by @tobythewise

Malec | Explicit Summary: Five times Magnus almost kisses Alec and the one time he does. OR A Malec royalty arranged marriage where Magnus holds himself back until Alec doesn't let him. Tags:Royalty, Arranged Marriage, 5+1, Dom/Sub, Dom Magnus, Sub Alec, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Bottom Alec

Love came knocking (at the door) by @fanfic-fugue

Malec | Teen Summary: Nothing exciting happens in the small town of Brocelind Plains. At least it didn't, until Alec Lightwood moves in next door, and Magnus' whole world is disrupted. It's up to him to decide if change is a good thing. Tags: Alternate Universe - SoulmatesSoulmate-Identifying Marks Alternate Universe - Small Town Alternate Universe - Human Teacher Magnus Bane Teacher Alec Lightwood Lawyer Alec Lightwood Enemies to Lovers Enemies to Friends to Lovers Alternate Universe - Neighbors Slow Burn

Between the Lines by @bidnezz

Malec | Explicit Summary: Alec has always been supportive of Magnus, even when his estranged father asks for Magnus and his boyfriend to come visit him for the week in his mansion to reconnect. Or, he would be supportive if Magnus did have a boyfriend... but he doesn’t. Only Asmodeus seems to be under the impression that Alec is his boyfriend, and Magnus doesn’t have the heart to correct him. It would be fine, totally fine, if Alec wasn’t already 100% in love with his best friend. Tags: Human AU, Romance, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Pining, Lack of Communication, Rich Asmo Daddy, Best Friends to Lovers, First Kiss, Sharing a Bed, First Time, Explicit Sexual Content

The Power Of Fiction by @jesseywoodhunter

Jimon | Teen Summary: Simon is fed up! With work, with people, with coworkers that have too many dogs. Most of all, he is fed up with his boss. Simon has been rebuffing Jace's flirtations at work for a while now. The guy is his boss after all and professionalism is a thing, not that Jace would know anything about that. Plus, it doesn't help that the guy is 100% annoying, 100% of the time. Simon does have one escape: Writing Fanfiction. See, Simon is a pretty badass writer and being able to express his creativity and channel his frustrations into creating stories is what makes him happy. Until it doesn't. Until he finds that happiness elsewhere. Tags: Alternate Universe - Office, IT Technician Simon Lewis, Boss Jace Wayland, Jace Is Simon's Boss, Attempt at Humour, Enemies to Lovers, Kinda, More Like Mutual Annoyances To Lovers, Persistent Jace Wayland, Other characters mentioned - Freeform, Misunderstandings, Simon Writes Fanfiction, Jace Finds Out, Mutual Pining, Sassy Simon Lewis, Sassy Jace Wayland, Emotionally Repressed, Questionable professionalism, Dumb Boys Get Smart, Fed Up Simon Lewis

Puppy Love by @foxymoley

Simon/Alec | General Summary: Simon broods broodily until he makes a little friend...then a bigger one! Tags:High School AU, Puppy, Simon needs a hug, Jock Alec

not the end of the world (the beginning of ours) by @sobsicles

Malec | Mature Summary:The universe seems to seems to want Alec and Magnus to kiss upon meeting, and it isn't long before they want the same thing.Or, the one where Magnus is Alec's new roommate, and they're definitely falling in love. Tags: 5+1 things, Meet Cute, Roommates, sharing a bed, fluff, Almost kiss, Alec Lightwood Being a Gay Disaster, Magnus is having a great time

#hmdiscord #hmexchange #masterpost #fanfic #fanart #malec #jimon #jalec #malace #jem/tessa/will #rizzy #jangus

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thatfanficstuff · 6 years

Text

Salvation (11)

Pairing: Loki x OC

Warning: Canon typical stuff, angry gods and happy endings

A/N: This is the conclusion to Salvation. My MCU book #3 features Bucky and the love of his life. Information will be posted soon

Series Masterlist

***

"Thank you for your help," Nick Fury said as he shook Isolde's hand. "I hope we can call on you again should we have need of you."

She gave a small smile. "My loyalty is to Asgard. But I would not be opposed to helping Thor protect Midgard once more. Loki goes where I go however."

Fury groaned and closed his eye slowly before looking back at the Asgardian. He glanced over to where Loki and Thor stood on the far side of the room. "Loki may be of use provided he doesn't try to take over the planet any more."

"I'll make sure he behaves, Mr. Fury."

He hummed and turned to the rest of the room. "Avengers," he said as a farewell and gave a little bow before leaving the room. Agents Coulson and Hill followed closely behind.

"Should you go with him?" Stark said to Agent Oliver with a tilt of his head.

She smiled and shook her head. "I have officially been assigned to Steve. Steve's an Avenger, so..." She trailed off and shrugged her shoulders.

Captain America beamed from his seat on the sofa. Raven and Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff stood in a small group on the other side of the room talking in low voices.

The unassuming Bruce Banner sat near Stark.

Isolde ran her gaze around the room taking in her new friends. That's what she considered them anyway. She wasn't certain how they felt about her.

An arm wrapped around her waist from behind and tugged her backward. Cool lips laid against her ear. "Hello, my love."

Isolde simply smiled and linked her fingers with Loki's, enjoying the feel of being in his arms. "I like it here, Loki," she finally said.

"I imagine you do considering how long you've made it your home," he agreed quietly. "Do you...do you not wish to return to Asgard with us?"

She turned in his arms so she could look up at him. She laid her hand against the side of his face and gazed into his eyes. "I go where you go, my prince. I want to be anywhere you are."

Loki leaned forward and captured her lips with his. "I love you, Izzy."

"And I you."

***

Everyone came to see them off though they'd said goodbye the day before. Isolde figured it had more to do with them making sure the tesseract left their realm than anything else. With a nod goodbye, the three of them were off to Asgard. When they came to a halt, Isolde rocked on her feet and Loki grasped her arms to steady her. "Are you all right, love?"

She nodded before turning to Heimdall and throwing her arms around him in a big hug. "Hello, my friend," she said as she stepped back.

He smiled as his strangely colored eyes ran over her face. "Isolde. It is good to have you back. You were missed."

"So I've heard," she reached back and grasped Loki's hand in her own. "I don't suppose you'd tell me where Jana is?"

His smile fell instantly. "She is with Frigga awaiting the return of the princes."

A sliver of hurt pierced Isolde but she pushed it aside. It wasn't as if everyone knew of Jana's betrayal and still chose to befriend her. But last she'd known, Frigga hadn't liked the other woman at all.

Apparently sensing her unease, Loki squeezed her hand. "And where is Mother, Heimdall?"

"She is in the gardens. Odin is in the throne room with Sif and the Warriors Three."

"I suggest we see father first then," Thor said. "Shall we?" he said and gestured toward the palace.

Loki took a deep breath as if bracing himself but nodded just the same. He had always been closer to his mother but recent events had further widened the gap between him and Odin.

Isolde trailed behind the brothers as they walked into the throne room, letting them all but hide her presence. "My sons have returned," Odin said sounding as happy as he ever did. "Why is Loki unrestrained, Thor? I was under the impression he was responsible for the events on Midgard."

Thor stepped forward and Isolde heard a gasp. She glanced to the side to see Sif staring at her with her hands over her mouth. Isolde gave her a small smile and a little wave.

"Loki is not to blame for his actions, Father. He was being controlled by a being known as Thanos."

"How are you so certain of this?" Odin asked, followed quickly by, "Lady Sif, what is the cause for your behavior?"

Isolde stepped out from behind the brothers and bowed before her king. "I'm the answer to both of those questions I believe," she said.

Odin stood from his throne. "Isolde? Is that you, child?"

Loki reached out and took her hand again. "It is. And we are to be wed as soon as possible."

Isolde glanced over with an arched brow. She didn't recall discussing a quick wedding with her prince, but as she didn't mind, she didn't see the point in correcting him.

Odin let out a loud laugh as he sat back down. "That is an action that is long overdue." He looked at one of the guards. "Bring Frigga at once."

"Jana as well," Loki added. "If you don't mind," he said looking at the All Father, "I have an idea."

***

"Odin, what is so important that you had to..." Frigga trailed off as she spotted Loki. Her hands covered her mouth and tears came to her eyes as she hurried to him. "Loki," she breathed and framed his face with her hands.

He smiled back at her. "Hello, mother."

Isolde smiled from the hiding spot she and Thor had tucked themselves into.

"Loki has been exonerated of the crimes we believed him guilty of against Midgard. And he has something he wishes to discuss with us," Odin announced. Frigga wiped the moisture from her eyes and took her place beside her husband.

Jana started to leave and Loki stopped her by calling her name. "You should stay. This concerns you as well," he said.

He turned his attention back to the King and Queen. "I have decided it is time for me to marry."

Frigga frowned. "This seems very sudden, Loki." She glanced over to Jana who was absolutely beaming. It was obvious she thought she was the one Loki had decided to marry. "And I was under the impression you hadn't found anyone you would even consider taking as a bride."

"Oh, that is where you are quite wrong, Mother. In fact, I should have made her mine many years ago, but better late than never." He flashed that grin that always had Isolde smiling in return. "Wouldn't you say so, Jana?"

"Of course, my lord." Her voice was breathy with excitement. "I would be honored to marry you."

Loki looked down before glancing back up at the woman. In that moment, he changed from a happy prince to a villainous and vengeful god. "Oh, I'm certain you would, but that position is taken by someone else." He took a step forward, keeping his eyes locked on Jana. "Though you've been angling for it for years, haven't you? After all that is why you led us all to believe that Isolde was dead, was it not? And that I was responsible for it?"

Frigga's grip tightened on Odin's shoulder. "What are you saying, Loki?"

Isolde stepped out from her hiding place, Thor at her back. "I believe he is attempting to inform Jana that her lies have caught up with her. Isn't that right, my prince?" She stood beside Loki and linked their hands together as she pressed against his side.

"Isolde?" Frigga asked, her eyes widening. She started to come down to greet the girl but Odin's hand stayed her action.

"It is good to be home, my queen. I apologize for any difficulties that arose from my departure, but I had entrusted a letter and two summoning disks with a woman I believed my friend. It is my belief that she immediately destroyed those objects and created a story that I killed myself in an attempt to win Loki for herself." Isolde shifted her gaze to Jana who was now held firmly in the grasp of two guards.

Frigga's face was flushed in her fury. Isolde had rarely seen the woman truly angry but she was a force to behold when she was. "I order Jana immediately stripped of all rank, title and property. Place her in a cell where she can remain long past the time we have all forgotten her."

"That shouldn't take long," Isolde muttered and Loki had to bite his lip to keep from laughing.

As soon as the guards escorted Jana from the room, Frigga hurried forward to embrace Isolde. The women held each other for a long time before the queen stepped back to look between Isolde and Loki. "Are you two truly to wed?" Frigga asked, her excitement at the idea obvious in her tone.

"Yes, Mother," Loki assured her. "As soon as she'll have me."

"Then we should have married several decades ago, my prince," Isolde said with a smile.

***

Several months later...

Isolde stood on the balcony outside her and Loki's room and looked out over the beauty that was Asgard.

"There you are, my love," Loki said as he stepped out behind her.

She glanced over her shoulder and smiled. "I was waiting for you. How did the meeting go with Thor?"

He gave a small shrug. "He is concerned about things on Midgard. He is returning to check on his friends."

Isolde turned completely then and leaned against the railing at her back. "And?" she asked, sensing that her husband had more to say.

He closed the distance between them and placed a hand on the railing to either side of her boxing her in. "He would like us to accompany him."

Her eyes darted between his lips and his eyes before she locked gazes with him. "And you said?"

"I pointed out that we've been married barely a fortnight." He leaned forward just a bit.

"Uh huh." Isolde's heart raced.

"Thor understood and advised me there would most likely be unknown dangers." There was barely a breath of space left between them.

Isolde wrapped her arms around his neck. "That is a good point," she breathed.

"So naturally, I said we would be delighted to go with him," he finished with a smile.

"That's my prince," Isolde said and pulled him down to press her lips to his. Their adventure was just beginning.

#loki x oc #loki fanfiction #loki #marvel #marvel fanfiction #avengers #avengers fanfiction #salvation

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ketzwrites · 6 years

Note

I agree with what you say and that sort of the point I was making. Every time she raised her voice in favour of the downworlders it's been personal. She almost got deruned because of meliorn and she was in a relation ship with him. Alec is her brother, the person she's probably closes to so she's accepting of Magnus. Simon is someone she is canonically going to be with so she's always helping him. What she did to rosa then was just shitty. Aside from these I don't remember her being nice to them

Hm, I get where you’re coming from, but the opposite is also true. Every time Izzy was condescending or outright racist, she was in a position of conflict against a Downworlder. That doesn’t excuse her behavior, but it explains why the writers would have her “assert dominance.” It’s the worst way possible to do it, but it doesn’t happen every time she sees a Downworlder.

Izzy has interacted with Maia, Catarina, and Luke outside of fighting scenarios and didn’t talk down to them in those moments. When she went after the vampires under the effects of craving their venom, Izzy didn’t demand that they gave her what she wanted or acted as if she was entitled to their bite. She was the only Shadowhunter besides Clary that went to see Simon’s performance in the Hunter’s Moon, a typically Downworlder bar, and she took Max to train with her and Simon at the Jade Wolf, a place surrounded by werewolves.

Now, I agree that Izzy speaks up more for the Downworlders that she knows personally. But she did steal the Mortal Cup from Alec instead of turning it in back in Season 1. Doing so would’ve saved Meliorn from being tortured, but Izzy believed the Clave would use the Mortal Cup to harm other Downworlders as well:

“If the Clave is willing to subject Meliorn to the Silent Brothers, if they are willing to go this far, what do you think will happen if they get the Cup? This affects everyone.”

Izzy to Magnus, 1x09

I do believe that if it wasn’t Meliorn but another Seelie, Izzy would have acted against the Clave’s orders as well. But we haven’t seen that happen yet, so it’s a matter of interpretation. To me, Izzy’s racism is internalized and it slips out whenever she is “asserting dominance” more than something that she extends to all Dowsnworlders but for those she knows personally.

#izzy lightwood meta #shadowhunters #downworlders #a nonny speaks up

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bluephoenixdruidicprincess · 7 years

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Shadowhunters Season 2 Epsiode 13 -- Those of Demon Blood -- Review/Discussion

Here we are again with another Shadowhunters review. This time we have Season 2 Episode 13, Those of Demon Blood. I have to say I was much more on the verge of liking this episode than I have with the past couple of episodes. It still isn’t exactly compelling me to get excited for this show and the next episode but it was interesting enough to keep me engaged. Like with the previous episodes, I found enjoyment watching the episode unfold but I really have no inclination to watch it again – even though I did because I’m a responsible reviewer (you’re welcome, guys).

This is going to be an honest review of my thoughts and feelings regarding this episode. If you’re the kind of Shadowhunters fan where you only want to hear positive things about the show, this is not the place for you. If you decide to stick around and get offended by what is said, then that’s on you. I warned you. Just know that if you send me any rude comments or messages, I will 100% ignore you. I find that’s the best way to deal with bullies. I work 14 hour days. Do you really think I want to waste my incredibly valuable free time dealing with derogatory comments? Hell no. This review will consist of my honest opinions. Opinions are never right or wrong. I’m not telling you how to think and feel. I’m telling you what I think and feel. So please, let’s discuss with dignity and respect. If I’m critical about the show, it’s only because I want it to get better. There is, in fact, a difference between hating a show and being critical of it. I do not hate Shadowhunters; I am being critical and analyzing the flaws as I would with any other show. There are positives but there are also negatives. It’s great if you want to promote positivity with this show (and I encourage you to do so) but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t acknowledge the things that are legitimately wrong with it. Also, keep in mind that despite the fact that I do love the books, me being critical of this show has nothing to do with my love of the books. I don’t really care if the show deviates from the source material as long as it’s good and it makes sense. My problems with this show are problems that I would have with any show or book for that matter. I think it’s perfectly reasonable to take issue with a show that has plot holes, shoddy world-building, and inconsistent characters. There will be spoilers for the show and spoilers for the books and movie.

As always, this was not a perfect episode but structurally and tonally, I thought this was a very good episode. I spent a good amount of time racking my brain trying to figure out why I enjoyed this episode a little more than the previous two what with this episode displaying the same illogical behavior as the previous ones; not to mention plot twists the show thinks is clever but really aren’t as clever as they think it is. But I think I’ve figured it out. There was only one central plot to this episode. We didn’t have a whole lot of subplots sending us in every direction. There was one problem in this episode and everyone was more or less pushed to move that one plot forward. This is what I mean when I say “Have the characters push the story and not the story push the characters.” The show introduced this one plot and everyone aided in moving it along. In the books, it always felt like all of these characters were one big family and that’s kind of how it felt in this episode. It really felt like all of these characters had real bonds with each other. As always, there are weird things and things I don’t agree with but structurally and tonally, this episode worked in a way I don’t think any of the previous episodes this season have.

Let’s Talk About This Plot

So this central plot was interesting to watch unfold as you can pull a lot of parallels to what the media is reporting in the real word. This was an extremely politically based episode and it was a little heavy-handed at times and extremely blatant but overall, I liked how they did the plot. The Shadowhunters book series also had a very political foundation so I really don’t mind if the show gets political on us. Note: I’m not going to talk real world politics here. That is not the purpose of this blog. I will ignore any comments made about real world politics or any assumptions made on my political stance. To be blunt about it, my political affiliations is none of your business just like your political affiliation is none of my business and I will never make assumptions about who you support. I expect you to afford the same respect to me. But anyway, I enjoyed how we had this one central plot with all of the characters moving the plot forward with their actions and motivations. Now granted, it wasn’t perfect. There are things that don’t really make sense and obvious plot twists that were a little too obvious.

For one, no shadowhunter in this episode ever entertains the possibility that maybe the downworlders are being framed. Everyone sees the dead shadowhunters with different marks on their bodies and just assumes that all of these kills align with the respective downworlder marks left on their body. Never mind the fact that the shadowhunter bodies were exhibiting the same creepy serial killer MO (runes being flayed off). Not a single person questions this. I could chalk it up to the shadowhunters giving a typical fear response. You’re not liable to think logically when you’re afraid. But the fact that the Lightwoods also didn’t question it either was a little too illogical. Then we also have the shadowhunters completely puzzled as to why Kaelie was trying to frame other downworlders. Really? I think it’s pretty obvious. Izzy apparently is the smartest person there whether I agree with the pathologist plot point or not. Suffice to say, I don’t because that plot point is full of plot holes. I can forgive a show for having plot holes in world building but I can’t forgive a show for having plot holes in a character’s defining personality trait. Even if I don’t necessarily respect or buy the “Izzy is the best pathologist in NYC” it doesn’t change the fact that the show has decided to make it canon so Izzy is supposedly a genius. Which means the show can’t just ignore that fact whenever it’s convenient for the plot. But who am I kidding? This is Shadowhunters, after all. The day this show uses sound logic will be the day the universe implodes. But yeah, shouldn’t Izzy be smart enough to figure Kaelie’s “master plan” out if we go with her being some sort of child prodigy? I am not a pathologist and I can figure this one out. God, I hate it when characters are dumb for plot convenience. Which, in the case of this show, IS ALL THE DAMN TIME.

Also, Kaelie being the killer wasn’t really all that surprising. Never, for a single second during this episode, did I actually believe Sebastian/Jonathon was committing these murders. That was the fan theory but I never really clung onto that one. Nor did I ever once believe that Meliorn was responsible either. I’ve had far too much experience with procedural crime dramas to have been duped by that particular plot twist. I can spot a red herring plot from across the universe. Not to mention, the show was really laying it on thick. Raphael insinuates that Meliorn once said that the downworlders would need to show their true power in order to gain respect from the Clave and then the episode pans to Meliorn somewhere on a dark, dimly lit set. They might as well have lit up a neon sign saying, “THIS IS WHO YOU SHOULD SUSPECT NEXT.” It was so obvious it was a mislead. Not to mention, Kaelie is a character we saw briefly in one episode of 2A. She has never been mentioned since. We’ve gotten no inclination before that she was ever going to pop up again. The show gave no innocent reasoning for why she was there at the bar in that particular moment. So her just popping up in the bar conveniently where the first body was dumped, moments before the body was revealed…hmm, I wonder who the killer could be. As I’ve said before, Shadowhunters isn’t nearly as clever as they think they are.

Then the Inqusitor has this idea to implant all the downworlders with trackers under the guise of, “we can track shadowhunters with their runes; this is no different.” This is kind of a dumb argument to make because it actually is canon in this show that there’s a way for shadowhunters to prevent themselves from being tracked. Remember, back in Season 1 when the Clave wanted to find Clary because they thought she had the Mortal Cup? Jace sent her a pic of a rune and told her to draw it on herself because it would prevent the Clave from tracking her. That’s not a usable argument if there’s a way that shadowhunters can block the tracking. And apparently it’s common knowledge to all shadowhunters. Even more ridiculous than them making the decision to put these trackers on the downworlders, they send only two shadowhunters to a bar full of downworlders. If you’re going to do this, fine. I don’t agree with it. I think it’s a downright despicable thing to do but hey, people do horrible things out of fear. But if you’re going to do this, make sure you have the manpower to back you up. Did the Clave really think the downworlders were going to line up for trackers being implanted into their skin? To viably do this in the real world, you’d need an entire army to get this done.

But speaking of which, Maia really shined in this episode. As did Luke. I’m a little on the rocks about Isaiah as Luke and a lot of it has to do with the show just not writing anything decent for Luke. But in this episode, I saw the Luke I’ve been waiting for. The Luke that despite wanting to be there for Clary and Simon also is a strong advocate for fighting for what’s right. I just loved his moment when Jace reveals that he’s decided to go forward with this tracker plan because the killer went after Clary. You can tell Jace is expecting Luke to be on his side and tell his pack to get implanted. But no. Luke is all, “This isn’t about Clary. This is about starting a war. Do you really want that blood on your hands?” I’m not going to lie, the anti-Clary part of me rejoiced a little when Luke was saying there are more important things than Clary, sometimes. Yes! Someone besides Alec acknowledging that Clary is not the most important person in the universe. That just because you’re doing this for Clary doesn’t change that what you’re doing is wrong and you know it. And poor Jace looked like he was about to cry. But these days, Jace always looks like he’s about to cry. Nothing wrong with that. Just a casual observance. And I really liked Maia reacting to this, realizing it’s wrong and being a total badass about it. Now, I know I wasn’t the biggest Maia advocate during her “I’ma kill Clary” stage but I can go with this because it was actually justified here and made sense with her character. Instead of Maia’s kill mode coming completely from left field as was the case with the “let’s murder Clary” plot. She realizes what the shadowhunters are trying to do is wrong and she’s willing to fight for it. Then of course another weird writing moment came a little later when the Clave arrests Maia because she was a block away from one of the dead bodies. Jace had managed to implant her with a tracker earlier. So the Clave tracked her within a block of a dead body. So what? It’s NYC. Just about anyone is a block away from a dead body. Why weren’t they able to track her to the actual dead body? It was a little hard for me to believe that the shadowhunters, despite being consumed with fear would jump to this conclusion, afraid or not.

More Herondale Drama

So Jace is definitely not acting like Jace at all in this episode. Which is kind of understandable. He just found out he’s a Herondale after all and I can understand him trying to please his family. Here’s the thing about Jace. He wants people to love him but is afraid they won’t so he has this air of snark and sarcasm to protect himself from being hurt. At least, in the books, he does. In the show, that personality trait is a little inconsistent. In this episode’s scenario, he just found out after believing that he didn’t have any family to impress that he does have a family to impress. He desperately wants to be accepted by the Herondales because he wants a family. He lost Michael Wayland as a father and was adopted by the Lightwoods but never really felt like he belonged. He then found out he was Valentine’s son but Valentine turned his back on him and then revealed that Jace isn’t his son. He feels lost. He doesn’t know who he really is. His bad decisions in this episode are perfectly understandable. After years of feeling like he doesn’t belong somewhere, he finally has the chance to belong somewhere. Not saying he was right but I can certainly understand his motivations. He does redeem himself by realizing he is not suited to be the head of an Institute. He names Alec the next head which is probably for the best. Jace is too impulsive and gets swept up in his own emotions far too easily. You can’t make the really hard decisions a head of an Institute may have to make if you’re constantly letting your emotions dictate the decisions you make. Whereas I do agree with Clary when she makes the statement that emotions make you stronger. That is true to a certain extent. But there are some things that logic cannot be applied to. It works if you’re fighting in a battle and you’re trying to find a reason to fight and to keep on fighting. However, when you’re governing a large group of people with differing personalities and emotions, people who’s safety you’re responsible for, you can’t let your personal feelings cloud what’s best for the group. And currently, Jace is not in the right mindset to be able to make those decisions and leave his personal feelings out of it. He’s on a journey of self-discovery and on his way having to deal with his very complicated feelings towards Clary. Alec is a much better choice. Even though he’s no robot himself, he can moderate his feelings to a certain extent and get to the heart of an issue and make a sound decision from there. The only reasons the Inquisitor didn’t want to name him as the head is 1) she now has a bias towards Jace, 2) I don’t think she likes the Lightwoods very much and 3) Alec is dating a downworlder. Shadowhunters, particularly those who come from Idris are very small-minded when it comes to downworlders.

But the Herondale plot also had logic inconsistencies. The Inquisitor apparently knows a little about what Jace is normally like, that he’s impulsive and doesn’t respect authority, and she still thinks he’s a good choice as head of an Institute? Like I said, she’s biased. I’m also a little confused on what’s going on with Jace’s parents. In the books, Jace’s parents were part of the Circle. Is that canon in the show? I don’t think they’ve ever stated it. It just kind of confuses me because the Inquisitor keeps on talking like Stephen and Celine were these great people when really, they were kind of not. They fell in love with Valentine’s ideals just like everyone else and unlike Luke and Jocelyn, they didn’t realize their mistake in time. They died still supporting Valentine. They died traitors. Forever a black mark on the Herondale line. Maybe the show is saving this reveal for Jace at a later time or maybe it really isn’t canon. Who knows? I’ve learned that with this show, you shouldn’t think book logic...or any logic at all. You just need to sit back and try to enjoy the ride…try being the operative word.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a review if I didn’t rag on Clary a little bit and this episode is no different. Granted, Clary was a little more tolerable in this episode but it still doesn’t mean I liked her. So Clary is yelling at Jace for following the Inquisitor instead of following what he thinks is right. That what the shadowhunters is doing is wrong and that he should stop. Which okay, fine. We all know what the shadowhunters are doing is wrong. But here’s what irritates me about Clary. Her telling other people that what they’re doing is wrong but not doing anything to help the situation. She’s a rebel without a cause or in this case, a rebel without a solution and it kind of annoys me. She’s pretty much equivalent to a teenager complaining about how unfair their life is but just expecting the problems to fix themselves. As my father said my entire childhood, step up or step aside. You don’t get to bitch unless you’re willing to do something about it. So yeah, you can tell the shadowhunters that what they’re doing is wrong and even if they decided to stop, there are still people dying. You haven’t given any ideas on how to stop that. As the Inquisitor said, “People are dying. When the next body comes in, what will you tell their family?” How are you going to be able to look that family in the eye and say you’re sorry for their loss but that you did nothing to prevent it? You think that family is going to give a damn about maintaining downworlder relations? Just think about it for a second. Imagine you’re 10-years-old and you’re at the Shadowhunter Academy. I don’t know if the Academy actually exists in the show. But for these purposes, just imagine it does. Your family comes to see you and tell you that your father/mother/brother/sister won’t be around to see you graduate from the academy because they were flayed alive by an unknown entity. You go to the NYC institute to find out more information only for them to tell you that they don’t know anything and they haven’t done anything to stop it. How are you going to react? How are you going to deal with the loss of that family member when, for all you knew, it could’ve been avoided if the Institute had taken action. Ideals are nice but they don’t pay the bills. Again, no one misconstrue that I think the Clave is right. That’s not what I’m saying AT ALL. They are absolutely WRONG. I’m just saying that for me to genuinely like Clary as a character, she needs to get off her high horse of idealism and actually get shit done. You don’t like the way the world works, then do something about it. Don’t just complain about it. The only way a situation is resolved is if someone does something about it. That’s Newton’s First Law. An object will remain at rest unless acted upon by an external force. In this case, shadowhunters are going to continue dying until someone does something to stop it. For better or for worse.

Max the Next Shadowhunter

So we had a sequence of really adorable scenes with Max. I’m always happy to see Max brought back into the story and this time he’s brought in to finally start his official shadowunter training. This does beg the question, who is training Clary? If you start the training at the age of 10, how has Clary become an expert shadowhunter in the course of a few weeks? You would think the older you are when you start, the longer it takes. That’s why we’re sent to preschool at toddler age. So we can be taught to think a certain way. Same principle applies here. Getting those reactive instincts to fight at a younger age is paramount. Clary hasn’t had a chance to develop those reactive instincts so it stands to reason that it would probably take her a little longer to catch on to the training. But no, she’s pretty much an expert whenever the plot calls for it. But whatever. I could write an entire book on how badly written of a character Show Clary is. So Izzy has been tasked with training Max by Alec. Alec thinks it will help her with her venom addiction issues. The show keeps on saying yin fen addiction but I am no longer going to indulge the show by calling it a yin fen addiction. It is not a yin fen addiction; she is addicted to vampire venom. The scenes between Max and Izzy were really cute. Izzy tells Max that she has her own mission she has to go on and he wants to go with her and she tells him to stay put. Which I have no idea why she thought telling a 10-year-old boy to stay at home was actually going to work. Of course he shows up on the mission and of course he gets kidnapped by Kaelie. I really have no idea why when they heard the banging sound, Izzy didn’t just tell Max to stay behind her. You’re going to leave him alone in a dark shipyard, you have no idea where the enemy is. If they’ve spotted Max. Yes, that was a sound plan, Izzy. I’m being sarcastic here. But what can I say, Izzy had to make a dumb decision here because the plot necessitates it. Max needed to be kidnapped so Izzy could kill Kaelie. I’m also really scared that Max is back in the story. Book fans understand the implications of Max and Sebastian/Jonathon now in the same city occupying the same space. I don’t want to see it happen but I feel like that’s what we’re headed towards.

We also had a small little scene where Raphael is low-key jealous of Meliorn. This is around the time they think Meliorn is behind the kills so Izzy uses one of Meliorn’s shirts she has to track him. Raphael is like, “You wore one of his shirts home and haven’t given it back after all this time?” As much as I don’t love Rizzy, it was still pretty cute.

The Malec Rant

Now, I’m sure a lot of you have already seen my Malec rant from a couple of days ago and I’m going to talk about it again. This wouldn’t be a truthful review if I didn’t talk about Malec. I honestly was not a big fan of Malec this episode. It isn’t because they were fighting. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I want them to fight. It’s what makes the relationship feel real. I didn’t like this episode’s Malec because, once again, Alec is made out to be the bad guy in a fight where Magnus continues being this perfect being that doesn’t make a mistake in this relationship. Even though, I feel he did make a mistake. His mistake: just assuming that Alec was asking for a hair sample because Alec suspected him and not looking at the bigger picture. Looking at the situation Alec is in. I can kind of understand Magnus’ stance, though. Magnus feels insecure in Alec not having faith in him because Alec didn’t believe the switch. Well, he believed it but at the same time he also didn’t want to be wrong either. I can understand that. Would you want to be included on the long list of people Valentine has duped? We all think about the situation and we all want to say that we would’ve believed it was really Magnus but at the end of the day, none of us have been in that situation. Is it really right to judge Alec for that? I’m not saying Alec was right. I’m not saying Magnus was right. I’m saying I understand why Alec couldn’t straight up believe the switch. And I’m saying I understand why Magnus may question Alec’s faith a little. Let me make this clear because I saw a lot of posts talking about how Alec was a real douche and he shouldn’t be so mean to precious Magnus. I don’t know how everyone else was interpreting the scene but I interpreted the scene as Alec wanting a hair sample so he could have a way to prevent the Clave from suspecting Magnus. Nowhere in this scene does Alec ever say he’s doing this because he suspects Magnus. But Magnus is all, “you’re doing this because you have no faith in me” and I’m just like, “No, he’s doing this so the Clave doesn’t come to your place accusing you.” Let’s think this through logically. So let’s say hypothetically, that Alec decides to not pursue the hair sample. It’s not going to change the fact the Clave is still going to suspect Magnus. Magnus isn’t giving any other ways to prove he wasn’t responsible for a shadowhunter’s death. Alec can’t just tell the Inquisitor that Magnus didn’t do it simply because he believes in Magnus. That’s not going to fly with the Inquisitor. Hell, it wouldn’t fly in the real world if a detective told their superior not to suspect someone because they believe in that person. The detective would’ve been laughed right out of the precinct. Just like the Inquisitor probably would’ve barred Alec from the investigation. I don’t know about you, but if I were the Inquisitor I would see Alec in that moment as being unable to keep his personal feelings and his job separate. There’s a reason why detectives and cops aren’t allowed to work on investigations they have a personal connection to. This, right here. Now keep in mind, I’m not saying either party was right in this fight. Alec could’ve broached the situation better and Magnus could’ve thought about the situation Alec is in and been a little more understanding. Not straight up accuse him of not following his heart because Alec following his heart in this situation wouldn’t have helped either of them. It’s like the Clary argument from earlier, Magnus is doing a whole lot of complaining without giving a whole lot of solutions to aid in fixing the problem. Then the show just makes it even worse at the end by having Alec apologize and say he’ll never doubt Magnus again. BUT HE WASN’T DOUBTING MAGNUS! Geez, the writing in this show. It makes me want to pull my hair out. You know what would’ve been a better resolution to this fight?

ALEC: I’m sorry. I should’ve put up a bigger fight against the Inquisitor about suspecting you.

MAGNUS: And I’m sorry, too. I shouldn’t have assumed you didn’t have any faith in me.

This is just a general idea of how I would like to have seen it resolved. See, I resolved a fight with both parties admitting they had faulted. Like an actual, healthy relationship. *GASP* And that right there is the problem I have with the Malec relationship. The fact that there is always one person completely at fault while the other is completely blameless. This relationship has no sense of equality.

Another issue with Malec I have is the fact that the scenes are so short. We never see them just talking and getting to know each other. At the end of the day, with all of the fights these two have, I’m left scratching my head wondering, “Why on earth do these two like each other?” Seriously, why do they love each other? No development on the intellectual part of their relationship has been given. You think you can just have a scene where they confess their love for each other and I’m just going to accept it? No. I want to know why they love each other. Matt and Harry have great chemistry and I love seeing them on screen together but at the end of the day, good acting and chemistry just isn’t enough. The writers are actually going to have to pull their own weight eventually and make this relationship feel genuine. Every time these two have had a fight, I’ve hated those scenes. And it’s not because I don’t want my OTPs to fight. I want them to fight. The problem is the writers aren’t writing these fights organically and genuinely. It always feels like its forced. That these fights don’t feel like fights these two would be having.These writers need to sit down and figure out what these two characters love about each other and draft out conflicts accordingly. That’s the key to making this relationship feel more genuine.

And of course, I do have to mention the ending of this episode. Now from a tonal point of view, I liked how this episode ended. I liked the song. I liked how it mixed with the other scenes. Whoever’s in charge of mixing the fight scene music should follow this scene’s example. I do want to remark that Simon is surprisingly good at techno synthesizing and I also don’t necessarily understand how a college student who doesn’t appear to have a job is able to afford the equipment he has. Trust me, that equipment must’ve cost well over a grand. He must’ve been saving his entire life. But Simon’s unrealistic techno mixing skills isn’t what I really want to talk about. I’m sure you all knew I was going to talk about this. The make out scene between Jace and Maia. Now I understand the idea behind Jaia but was a 30 second make-out scene at the end really necessary when Malec had a less than satisfactory ending? They could’ve cut this scene down a little and wrote a really nice ending scene for Malec and the ending would’ve been so much more powerful. Shadowhunters keeps on digging itself a bigger and bigger hole in regards to their sex scenes. Malec gets all of the chaste and fade-to-black kiss scenes while all of the heterosexual couples get these high intensity sex scenes that are unnecessarily long. I know, the show is trying to be racy but they need to stop with these scenes. The Malec fans are seconds away from rioting. To an extent, I understand Freeform’s position. They’re trying to be more racy. They want the audience the CW has. However, it doesn’t change the fact that Freeform (ABC Family) is a family channel. As progressive as we want society to be, it isn’t always that way. When Beauty and the Beast came out earlier this year, I went to see it on opening night and there were quite a few families who unfortunately took their kids out of the theater mid-way through the movie because they didn’t like LGBT intonations the film had. It’s very distressing that this is still happening but it is. And this is the precise reason I did not want ABC Family to produce Shadowhunters. I knew this was going to happen. I knew the show was going to try to be more racy but that it was also going to be tied down by the same conservative values that most family channels suffer from. I would’ve been far more comfortable if the CW had taken this show. The CW has a little more freedom when it comes to this sort of thing. I can’t say I’m really surprised that Malec’s been treated this way. Honestly, I would much prefer this show not do sex scenes period if they can’t give the same respect to Malec. But then again, I’m not Freeform. I don’t know what’s going on with them. Maybe this all comes down to what Matt and Harry are comfortable with. As progressive as they are, maybe they’re not entirely comfortable with doing a sex scene. It’s perfectly within an actor’s rights to say no to something that makes them uncomfortable. Regardless, if not every couple is going to be treated with the same respect in regards to sex scenes, then the show should’ve said no to sex scenes, period.

I didn’t hate everything about Malec in this episode, though. I did enjoy the scenes with Magnus and Dot. Not the actual Dot part, though. We all know I wish she had stayed dead. They keep on trying to make her important to these characters but you can’t rewrite an entire season where the main characters did not care about Dot in the slightest. Dot is apparently finally recovering from her ordeal with Valentine and Clary (who once called her relationship with Dot a sisterly bond) hasn’t mentioned her at all? Magnus and Dot’s relationship had never once been mentioned. Magnus announces that she’s dead in Season 1 and he really doesn’t seem to care but in this scene, it’s like these two have been drinking buddies for years. I agree that this scene was fun but it could’ve been any random warlock Magnus knew in this scene and it would’ve been exactly the same. But it was great to see Harry dancing again and it was also nice to see the show debunk the bi-stereotype. That bi people will sleep with anyone and everyone and are willing to cheat on their significant others. I’m glad the show made that statement.

So, I know that just in that last section alone, I listed a whole bunch of problems but to clarify, I did like this episode. I felt it was definitely better than the last two. It’s still not on a level where I would continuously want to re-watch the episode nor does it leave me with counting down the days until the next episode premieres but I did like it. The things that got me was just the logic and the inconsistencies. Really, the same thing that bugs me with every episode. The writing. If more care could be taken with the writing I think I could probably really enjoy this show and this episode. But as it stands now, I’d have to give this episode maybe a high B-, maybe 84%.

That’s all I have for you. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Do you agree? Do you disagree? Did you like the episode? Did you hate it? Just remember to be respectful of everyone’s opinions.

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