#i still imagine ed trying to get stede to “work on his mean voice” for days

[amuseoffyre]

Feeling so many things after my full rewatch. Especially realising that Ed has spent his life trying to act like people want/expect him to act while secretly privately believing "people can't change", not daring to be himself because he doesn't believe he can be.

"People can't change" is one of his ways of deflecting focus from himself, but he means he doesn't believe he can change. He's spent his entire life convinced that he's this monster, this terrible thing, because of the trauma of his dad's death around his neck like an albatross.

In the Gravy Basket, Hornighost gave voice to Ed's biggest internalised fear: that Stede left him because of what he did to his dad. "You told someone and he left you". This is the wall Ed has never been able to get over, the conviction he can't be more than that.

He was so wary and guarded and yearning when Stede started speaking about loving everything about him. He wants so badly to be loved but is so afraid of it and still doesn't believe he can have/deserve it. "People don't change" he tries to insist right until Buttons does.

Look at the wide-eyed wonder on his face.

Yes, some shock, but also realising Buttons was right. Change is possible. He needed to know that, to see it, to believe it. So much so that when Stede comes back for him, he's a bit tearful and has to wipe his eye.

This is the start of Ed's journey of rediscovery and of change. The sack and bell are an active demonstration. He's figuring things out a bit at a time and has that conversation with Fang that reframes his past behaviour and learns to apologise. He chooses to pause and think.

As Fang observed, he never really took the time to sit with himself and at the beginning of 2x06, he's doing just that and he's struggling. He even admits he's worrying about it, but again, he talks in metaphors - "a storm coming but I just can't see it" - so no one realises.

He's constantly been moving. "You got to move on or blow your brains out", Hornighost said in the basket and even then, he asked "and those are the only options?" He's been moving on his whole life and it didn't work. He tried the blow-the-brains-out-by-proxy and it didn't work.

Now, he's trying to change and he's doing something different and it's a lot. It's so much to be processing and then to have Ned Low show up and knowing it's his fault for shattering Ned's record and almost getting them all killed. A new layer in the guilt cake.

I've said before that his conversation with Jackie in the bar serves a similar function as Stede and Chauncey's in the forest: pointing out that his presence has led to his lover changing to be more like him (ie. ruined), triggering a panic-spiral and flight without warning.

They came so close to having the conversation they needed to have. Stede has been learning to be better about talking about stuff, but Ed had been steadily spiralling all day and those metaphors happened again, leading to a lot of miscommunication.

Ed doesn't want to be a fisherman. "I just know I don't want to be a pirate anymore". He's just grabbing onto the first safe thing that came along. He's dressing in Buttons' clothes and he's making it an active change out of desperation because he's panicking so much.

He throws off his old life and runs because he thinks that's his only choice. Stede is "blowing up" in the Republic & Ed can't be in that life anymore, but can't imagine Stede would give it up when he's just described it as "a great day". He can't imagine Stede would choose him.

When Ed comes back to the Republic and reclaims his leathers, he's not doing it for piracy or to be Blackbeard again. He's doing it to find the man he loves. He's fighting, standing his ground. He is finally able to be himself and say his feelings directly and out loud. He is Ed.

[thegoldenhoof]

Poison into Positivity - Why we should have revisited The Talent Show.

Prefacing this, that as a Izzy lover, I loved the Calypso’s birthday episode. Perfect. No notes. Except that maybe it should have been longer 

But boy did Ed get done dirty in that episode (and Stede but I am making my peace with this is just who Stede is. Being a better person was never his character’s motivation).

Perhaps nothing has bothered me about the whole of Ed’s arc as the poison to positivity comment because, Girl! Where? What exactly did you do to earn that? Ed threw some money at the problem and sat back which made sense in a sad way because it is a very Stede way of doing things. At least Season 1 Stede ( but again we are not talking about Stede here). And Ed was following his cues. This is Youtuber apology the sequel.

But in contrast, imagine if we had gotten The Talent Show- Take 2

A repeated problem that many posts have talked about in this season is that it was unwilling to face the trauma that it set up and look it in the eye and deal with it. So much of the show had become “shit happens move on”.

But revisiting the  idea of The Talent Show for Calypso’s Birthday party would have been amazing imo and here is why…

The Chekhov's gun was already set up with Lucius mentioning it in the previous episode

This season had been spoonfeeding us Season 1 flashbacks and references and this would have fit in perfectly with the pattern. 

Ed’s side of it was as set up with him not remembering the show at all. We have been told repeatedly that Ed rewrites his memories/forgets things that are uncomfortable to him. 

Repraising the talent show would have worked as a shorthand for Ed actually confronting his past and would have been an opportunity to genuinely make himself vulnerable in contrast to the youtuber apology.

It would have reminded the crew that this was still the man who they cared for at one point, who just did some fucked up shit because he was hurting.

It would have shown the audience that the crew was able to look at a painful past experience and rewrite those memories with a better version if it-  a stand-in for them moving past the trauma of the Kraken era and being willing to rewrite those memories with this new Ed.

Izzy could have joined Ed’s song putting it in contrast with Izzy’s anger and confusion of Season 1. 

Ed is singing some old song. He hears the uneven stomp of the peg leg behind him and stops. Cue bad memories.

Izzy’s voice takes up the song. He turns back to look at Izzy and he is revealed to us, in all his Drag glory, looking equally nervous until they both give a tentative smile and continue with the song.

Ed turns to Stede pulling him into a dance. Izzy turns to Calypso kissing her hand. They are singing the same song but the have their own people to dance with now. 

a) This would have given us a peek into their joint past, a happier time and laid a foundation to the relationship they are hinting at in the death scene with  Ed’s “You are my only family” because we haven’t actually seen that relationship between them in either of the seasons.

b) It would have given us a transition between the earlier drunk Izzy-avoidant Ed scene and the absolute tonal whiplash of the next day morning after scene by having an on screen truce/resolution.

c) It would have shows them as two people on diverse paths who are even now still tied by their past. They too are trying to rewrite what that past should mean now with hopefully better associations.

This means we lose La vie en Rose the, I’d make that sacrifice for some actual character growth. (We could still have had that performance over the end titles/longer post credit maybe?)

8. This would actually fit in with the message of turning poison into positivity for both Ed and the crew and Ed and Izzy.  It would also have had Ed make an emotional investment in that transition and not a monetary one so he has actually earned that comment.

9. It would have made Ned’s interruption much more painful because Ed is trying to make amends for something he did here and another consequence of his actions have come crashing in.

Cue Stede killing Ned but now it doubles down on the “You don’t have to do this alone. I’m here beside you helping you (however badly) too” message.

Overall…

The larger events of the episode don’t change. 

Just a few dialogues here and there and maybe trim the Ed giving money to the kids scene (Because what? Why? I dont care u gave them a knife. Those kids are getting murdered within a couple of days. Good job Ed!).

 So little changes. And yet there was so much potential for shifting the tone and not putting all their eggs into the one basket that they were planning to smash with a hammer.

[jellybeanium124]

maybe it's time for me to make a post about izzy's redemption arc as a jar guy who's been a fan of the bastard since season 1.

prior to season 2 airing, I was redemption arc neutral. I thought that a redemption arc could be good, but a "get even worse" arc could also be good. my ideal izzy ending was him leaving ed to go be a pirate on his own after realizing that they couldn't fit together in any healthy way. I wrote a fic about this.

anyways, they completely fucked the redemption arc up. I don't have too much of a problem with 2x01-2x04, despite the major issue of izzy suddenly understanding his feelings for ed and being able to physically say out loud to ed "I have... love, for you." I mean, it's a fantastic line and con delivers it perfectly, I just wish it hadn't happened in the first 15 minutes of the season. like imagine placing this line somewhere else? what if it was in 2x02 instead, aka The Edizzy Episode Ever aka The Episode That Made Me Interested In The Edizzy Dynamic. like ok ok ok ok. ed gives izzy the gun. he goes and stands like jesus in the light on the cross. izzy shakily holds up the gun, but then he laughs. he laughs and then cuts himself off and then he chokes down a swallow and says "I have... love, for you, Edward." imagine being ed in that moment. isn't that super fucked up? isn't it glorious? imagine hearing that when all you want to do is die?? like WAUGHHHH right?

anyways, moving on.

I do like 2x05. I think it's a just a really fun chill episode and my exact flavor of TV that I like. I call it "11 short films about the Revenge" because it's structured in a series of loose snippets and scenes. I do enjoy the izzy & stede stuff in this episode (izzy slaps stede's ass lmao how could I not enjoy it?) but it's really the episode where issues with how izzy is redeemed start to come to light.

why is he so good at not being an asshole? izzy, for the most part, doesn't fall back into old habits. he'll make the occasional uncomfortable comment, or walks up to wee john looking like he's gonna say something homophobic, but he doesn't. sure, he can't move as fast or as well as he used to, but he used to have no issues pushing the crew, and he never trips up. he's just so goddamn open too! I get that accepting the leg is like, a metaphor for accepting the crew, but it'd be cool if izzy had trouble actually doing that. in s1 izzy is so socially awkward, and he clearly is not a people person. Why didn't he struggle with being accepted, an entirely new feeling? Why didn't he try to remain a loner, just a little bit? HOW ON EARTH DID HE GET TO THE POINT WHERE HE COULD DO DRAG IN PUBLIC??

my favorite flavor of steddyhands in fic, and I promise this is related and I wouldn't say that if it wasn't relevant, is the kind where stede and ed conspire to flirt with izzy and izzy is a complete dumbass who doesn't know what's going on. izzy in these fics is trying to be better, but he doesn't know how. he constantly struggles to voice his feelings, he struggles to change his old toxic thought patterns, he struggles with openness and vulnerability. how come izzy didn't struggle with that in the show? he spent 50-something years being closed off to the world, and now he can open himself up with no issues?

that's how you "redeem" izzy and keep him fundamentally izzy. he's trying to be less of an asshole, but he's not really great at it. he wants to learn how to open himself up, but he's never done it before. he's still a loner at heart. he's still socially awkward. he still has toxic assumptions to work through. my izzy, my ruthless bastard rat man, was replaced in the show with a clone and then that clone was killed.

I understand that doing this right would require more time. I wish they got that time. and I wish they did something different with the time they had.

[boreal-sea]

I saw a take on here that Izzy is abusive, and Ed is the victim, and while there were very interesting analyses in there, I think it simplifies and ignores a lot of canon evidence. Also, not that it means much because I'm not from the 1700-1800's, but I was a sailor, so I have insight I think the person who made that post lacks.

Personally, Ed and Izzy have an unhealthily codependent relationship that worked really well for years but is now imploding under the weight of the myth of Blackbeard. Izzy is exhausted and Ed's burnt out. They burned so bright and so strong, but something has to give; they're only men, after all.

Blackbeard - as many people have noted, is not actually Ed. Edward thinks he's Blackbeard, Izzy thinks Ed is Blackbeard, but actually, the true mythological figure of Blackbeard is a combined effort of Ed and Izzy. Ed is the cleverness, the creativity, the big ideas; he's part of the tactics, and he's the face of Blackbeard. But Izzy is a different side of leadership: he's about figuring out logistics, organizing the crew, and putting everything into action. He's also the ruthlessness, the killing, the violence of Blackbeard. That's part of the myth, and as canon shows, although Ed does do more killing than he likes to admit, Izzy does most of it. And this works for both of them, because Ed, I think, truly doesn't like to kill, and Izzy has no qualms about it.

Another claim from the other post is that Izzy is actually the one in charge of everything and he's just using Ed. However, Izzy is shown in the show to depend on Ed for their plans, and when Ed doesn't have a plan and gives up, Izzy desperately (and angrily) tries to get Ed to figure something out. To claim that Izzy is actually in control of everything makes no sense, because Ed is shown in the show executing plans that Izzy knows very few details about, and sometimes no details - and he's stunned and impressed with Ed's work every time. So clearly, Izzy isn't the mastermind running everything and he's not just using Ed's pretty face. He needs Ed, and Ed is perfectly capable of executing a plan without Izzy's help.

One point the post I speak of tried to make is that Izzy isolates Ed on purpose and keeps him from the crew as a form of abusive control. I don't think that's true based on canon evidence. We do see Ed as isolated and aloof at the beginning of the show, but that's because he's very clearly suffering a severe case of depression. His "moods" are mentioned, and it's shown that Izzy is always the one who's responsible for pulling Ed out of those moods. That's exhausting. And I imagine that at first, those moods were few and far between. Ed was still having fun, after all. He wasn't bored. But as the years went by, and things got less fun, Ed isolated himself more and more. What pulls him out this time? Something new. Something fresh, and entertaining. Stede.

As for Izzy lying to Ed about Stede: yeah, of course he does that. He fucking hates Stede. Trying to keep your one and only friend - the man you are completely loyal to - away from what you view as a dangerous idiot isn't necessarily abuse, even if you lie to try to achieve that purpose. He can also see Ed's behavior changing, and it's worrying him. He's always been the one to pull Ed out of his slumps. Someone else being able to do that, especially someone who isn't part of the codependent relationship, is a very obvious threat.

Next, again from the other post: yes, Izzy is the voice between the captain and the crew. As a former sailor, let me tell you that this is normal. To act like it's weird or controlling for Izzy to be the one ordering the crew around shows a complete lack of awareness of how ships and command structures work. Hell, I didn't even know what my captain looked like when I was on a ship; he spoke to us over the announcement system once or twice a day, so if I'd been on a ship back in ye olde days, I probably would've seen him at those times, but captains do not normally directly interact with the sailors on deck. We have work to do; he has logistics to deal with. There's no time for idle chit chat. Look at the way Pete speaks about Blackbeard: he didn't have a close, personal relationship with the man - he feared and revered him. And sure, pirate ships were probably slightly different, but the way Stede does things is weird. The show goes out of its way to portray his leadership style as completely abnormal compared to what the other pirates expect.

I think more capable people than myself have already done meta about the whole sale and purchase of Ed; I won't get into that because personally it's not my place to touch that. It's definitely a low point for Izzy; it's him at his worst, doing what he thinks he needs to do to save Ed from himself. But again, he's not doing it to hurt Ed, he's doing it to get rid of Stede.

Then we have everything that happens afterward. We have Izzy hurting Ed to try to bring Blackbeard back, to (in Izzy's mind) keep him safe, to fix all the shit Stede has done. Because that's how Izzy views it: they weren't necessarily perfectly fine before, and Ed was spiraling before Stede showed up, but Izzy was convinced he could figure out a way to fix that on his own. Stede, in Izzy's opinion, swooped in and did irreparable harm to Blackbeard, to Ed, and now Izzy has to try to repair that damage. The problem is he only has one tactic, and it backfires. Ed doesn't swing back to the man Izzy remembers, he becomes something new. He's not Blackbeard: he's the Kraken now.

And no one wants that.

To say that Ed and Izzy's relationship is a one-way abusive relationship takes away all of Ed's agency and absolves him of any wrongdoing, while piling all of it on Izzy unfairly. They are both Blackbeard, and they're both very responsible for their relationship with one another. Izzy is narratively an antagonist but he's not the villain.

[triflesandparsnips]

In the realm of historical things that could have been true and therefore I am choosing to believe they are absolutely canonical:

Stede has a book of John Donne's poetry.

And he likes it, of course he likes it, it's got a bounce to it, an immediacy, a directness that Stede finds wondrously freeing in the midst of the social nuances he seems to constantly be tripping over. That might be part of why Donne's terribly out of fashion, come to think of it-- being so fond of his work hasn't exactly done Stede any favors.

But. Well. It's not just the tone, or its easy approach. It's... when he was younger, he rather thought that the way Donne described love and, and country matters... he thought that's how it would really be, when it happened for him. When he fell in love and-- other things.

Stede's not sure what love is supposed to feel like, not really-- and so when Donne describes it as if it is to find a hermitage in someone, and she in him; to look into some girl's eyes, and feel the whole world's soul contract... surely that's worth waiting for? Worth seeking out?

But years pass and he's not trying to avoid getting married, he's looking for love, but it... it just doesn't seem to be happening for him. If there's a girl out there who can wake his soul, he hasn't met her, and if there's a girl who carries a world within her perfectly matched to one in him, she must be on some hemisphere too remote for Stede to ever reach.

So maybe Donne is the reason he tarries so long that his father just takes the choice from him. And when he meets Mary, she's nice enough, but... it's not like the poetry, not at all, and he feels like an idiot for thinking it could have been.

It doesn't stop him from picking up the book again and again over the years, though. Looking for the metaphor he must have missed. Stede likes poetry, but he knows he's not particularly clever about it; he thought he'd found something he could understand without interpretation when he'd first come across the book, fifteen years old and about to leave one horror show (England) for another (his father)-- but no, that must've been wrong too.

Eventually he picks out meaning here and there, and latches on to each he finds. (Let sea-discoverers to new worlds have gone.) The sea. That's something easier to picture than finding love. (Teach me to hear mermaids singing.) He imagines adventures, wonders.

(What merchant's ships have my sighs drowned?)

He imagines piracy.

(Whoever rigged fair ships to lie in harbors?)

He imagines leaving.

.

.

The flip of this, is that when he finds Ed--

(Though he knew not which soul spake, because both meant, both spake the same--)

--the words make sense again--

(Some man unworthy to be possessor of old or new love, himself being false or weak--)

--but too late.

.

.

It takes longer than it should, and brings more pain and heartbreak than he'd known was possible to hold inside one body, but still-- they're here now. And just being in the haggard Blackbeard's presence is enough to give Stede hope that things will turn out all right eventually.

Granted, Blackbeard is currently unconscious and recovering from no less than three bullet wounds in the captain's cabin of Stede's stolen sloop. So. There might be some difficulty when he heals enough to wake up fully. That's a problem for future-Stede, he supposes.

He doesn't want to disturb Blackbeard, but, well-- he's not made to be quiet in this man's presence. He thinks he might read aloud, though quietly and with very few voices, to pass the time and comfort Blackbeard's dreams, but they haven't any books on board except the logs. This in turn reminds Stede of some of the things he'd heard about the library on the Revenge-- and he feels a sad pinch at the thought of his old book of poetry gone too, for all that he'd memorized his favorites years ago...

Memorized. Hm.

Stede -- sprawled out in the chair by Blackbeard, tired, heartsick, fearful of some infection or imbalance that will take away any hope of reconciliation and desperate to ignore that possibility -- clears his throat.

.

.

Blackbeard, for his part, hears some things.

A familiar voice, but hushed almost to a whisper, too like the memory of sunsets. Just that would be a hurtful enough hallucination to make Blackbeard want to dive deeper into this darkness until it finally lets him drown, except--

Except that the voice is saying some... interesting things. That need more thorough investigation.

Like when he surfaced long enough to feel a brush untangling his hair, the soft scent of orange flowers returned and ruining him, and the voice saying in lilting tones, Nature drew those magic circles in your eyes, and made your hair the chains with which she ties rebelling hearts.

Like when he felt a hand touch his, a clasp both tentative and testing, and he swam up and up through the black mire until he was close enough to hear, Wilt thou then say now that we are not those persons which we were?

Like when-- staying as near wakefulness as he could manage in the darkness, waiting for these moments and studying each one-- he felt his wounds checked, his blankets arranged, the tired voice still there and close and not close enough, saying By these hymns, all shall approve us canonized for love, and thus invoke us: You, whom reverend love made one another’s hermitage. You, to whom love was peace, that now is rage; who did the whole world’s soul contract, and drove into the glasses of your eyes-- and made such mirrors--

Ed says, not sure if he can be heard in the dark, "What does it mean?"

The voice pauses, and in that pause the whole sea begins to lighten, like the sun has come out after months of night, and Ed feels a sudden strength he thought he'd lost give him the chance to rise up, and up, and up--

"It means," says Stede, as run-ragged as the day they'd met and staring wide-eyed at him and here, fucking here, "it means-- I don't know what it means. I'm not very-- I used to think it meant one thing, and then maybe it didn't, and--"

Ed says, "You learned it anyway?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

And Stede says, "I love you" and kisses his cheek with hard, trembling certainty-- which wasn't exactly the answer Ed was expecting, but he'll take it, fuck, he'll take it all.

.

.

(Much, much later -- and what was really the point of this little plot bunny until "feelings" got in the way -- Stede discovers that even more of Donne's poetry is relevant to his interests, particularly in light of the sounds Ed makes when Stede backs him up against their cabin door and between deep, drugging kisses murmurs, License my roving hands and let them go...)

[fogsrollingin]

My Favorite OFMD Fics (Recommendation Reviews)

Independence Day is canceled. Human rights and freedoms have been stripped from all Americans as a result of Christian fascist politicians and judges living in the U.S. and infiltrating our Supreme Court. So um let's just think about Our Flag Means Death, okay? /throughsobs/ Okay, here we go ✧ my fic sweet spots for this trope:  hurt Edward Teach, angst, slow burns, I like Stede having a bit of a bite to him vs so many 'darlings' and 'sweethearts' (which sort of morphs into Aziraphale from Good Omens in my mind for some reason haha; I really look forward to Rhys/Stede making those endearments his so I can better imagine them in his voice for fic!) ✧ Last updated 7/4/2022. Let's get started! Haunt me, then by hyruling (AO3). Rated Explicit, Blackbonnet, 28k words. Summary: He releases the ropes slowly, barely registering the burn as they slip through his fingers. Then, fallible as Orpheus, turns to meet his ghost. https://archiveofourown.org/works/39165330 This fic's Edward angst is so amazing, it had me tearing up a few times before Stede even makes his appearance. The slow, conflicted burn between them trying to reconcile their mistakes together is the absolute best. It's what isn't in the name by tciddaemina (AO3). Rated Mature, Blackbonnet, 41k words. Summary: The first thing they see - apart from Captain Bonnet himself, all silked up and frilly and a sight in his own right - is the cat sitting primly by his ankles. She's a white, well-groomed thing, coat as pale and smooth as snow, with a delicate pink ribbon around her neck and a little golden bell hanging at her throat. And sure, she's a little big, on the large side as house cats go, reaching right up to his knee, and a bit leggy as well but the crew still takes one look at her and feel their estimation of their new captain drop another sharp couple of notches. This, they think incredulously, is the man that proposes to be our fearsome pirate captain? "My name is Captain Stede Bonnet," the new captain says proudly, sweeping an arm out in greeting, looking so pleased and chuffed and ever so slightly nervous to meet them. "And this is Miss Daisy Bonnet, though of course you may all call her captain as well." "Two dubloons on a mutiny by the end of the week." Frenchie murmurs with a sharp bite of mirth. On his shoulder, Beauregard lets out a soft tittering laugh, the songbird's beak clicking. "Not taking that bet." Pete replies snappishly, still glowering sullenly at the captain. https://archiveofourown.org/works/38203582 A really fascinating version of season 1 with daemons inserted. I loved Stede's character and development in this. I love how Stede-centric it was because I tend to lean into Edward more but this one captured me, had me adoring and respecting Stede as much as Ed had come to do. Also, while the fic follows season 1, the events are changed in interesting ways so it doesn't feel like a retread of what you watched in the show. Fantastic story. Reflected In Hell's Mirrors by Nuriashnee (AO3). Explicit, Blackbonnet, 51k words. Summary: Ed knew that wasn't Stede as soon as he saw him. A ghost or a demon maybe, but not the Stede he'd known. Christ, he looked like the materialized wrath of an Angel. His shirt was torn and there was a downpour falling over him. There was a sword in his hand, already bloodied, and he was coming for him. -- Ed isn't prepared for Stede coming back. Let alone for this new him, ready to follow him to the ends of the Earth just to try to fix what he'd broken after leaving him. https://archiveofourown.org/works/38567427 Ed's angst was delicious, and Stede's steadfast love breaking his barriers down was handled so well. It was such an amazing slow reunion fic, and then we got offered up two amazing, emotional sex scenes that told a story of their own. Really, really well done. I'm so happy to have read this story. a shipwreck heart to haunt the sea by eldritch_beau. Mature, Blackbonnet, 14k. Summary: He buries his nose into his armful of shirts and takes a deep breath. It soothes a yawning ache somewhere in his chest and makes his lips tremble, his eyes water. Enveloped in the comfort of what is the closest he will ever come to hugging Stede again, he lets the floodgates open. “Fuck you, Stede.” he cries into the clothes of a dead man, “You had to go and fucking die instead of coming with me.” -- or, meeting again, like they once first met. https://archiveofourown.org/works/38579718 Angst with a happy ending YAAAAAASSSS I loved Ed's grief, poor bunny Unintentional Seduction by mnwood. Teen+, Blackbonnet, 3k words. Summary: Stede turned his attention back to Ed and whispered, “I suppose we can take this conversation down to my quarters.” Ed nodded and giggled in response, and both of them shushed each other as they tried to quietly make their way through the sleeping crewmates. It was becoming a habit, really. Ed had been on the Revenge going on two weeks now, and each night he would join the crew on the main deck while Stede read them stories. Reading stories always dissolved into telling ghost stories, which dissolved into individual conversations breaking off until everyone, one by one, fell asleep. Stede and Ed were always, always the last ones still awake, still talking. https://archiveofourown.org/works/38520409 /cries/ They love each other so much, it's sooooooooo AHHHHHHHHHH [Selfies Reccies!] Revenge, Blackbonnet, Mature, 5k words. Summary: "Remember he just beat us down? Just- just ground us down into nothing?" - "Oh, I remember. I was there. He treated us like dogs. Worse than dogs!" AO3 || FFN I'm really proud of this one. It hits some sensitive themes but the worst is over after the first chapter. The rest is vengeance and recovery and shmoop.  Surrender, Blackbonnet. Teen. 2k words. Summary: "Surrender." Stede's words were even and firm. He was at the helm facing Blackbeard. Their swords were unsheathed but only half-raised, as though neither of them could really threaten each other. AO3 || FFN Obligatory reunion fic that any self-respecting OFMD fan has written obvs >>>Click back to my Fic Recs Masterpost

[lothiriel84]

The One That You Love

Try to be the fire for you, try to be the sun Try to be your home and the place that you come to Babe, I took the whole world and put it in your hands I'm really trying hard but I don't understand

A Our Flag Means Death ficlet. Sex-positive asexual!Ed. Post-season 1 finale.

It was fine, Stede kept telling himself. What they had now, it was something he wouldn’t have deemed possible a mere few weeks ago, and it wouldn’t do for him to risk ruining the status quo by asking for more.

The thing was, he was only human. And he wanted, all the time – even more so now that they were sharing a bed, and Ed had taken up bestowing sweet, chaste kisses upon him every time they found themselves in the privacy of their cabin. And yet, every time he dared to hope Ed would finally take things forward, so to speak, he was left to work his way through his growing disappointment and frustration when nothing ever changed.

Sure enough, they’d had their fair share of shouting, and crying, and everything in between; but that was water under the bridge, or ship as that might be the case. They were reconciled now, had confessed their mutual love and devotion, and he simply couldn’t understand why Ed wouldn’t initiate anything between them that wasn’t cuddling or kissing. As the more experienced out of the two of them, he’d naturally assumed Ed would take the helm when it came to, ahem, carnal matters, and he was starting to worry that the crux of the matter was that Ed found him lacking, somehow.

Truth to tell, it wouldn’t be that surprising a turn of events, in Stede’s own experience. Whenever he looked at himself in a full length mirror after a bath, he had to fight off the urge to immediately cover himself, to hide his soft, ageing body under layers upon layers of fine clothing. It was hard to imagine any of Ed’s former lovers as anything but fit and gorgeous, or at the very least, experienced enough to show him a good time, as opposed to someone who had only ever known the discomfort of fulfilling his marital duty with the unwilling wife someone else had chosen for him.

We had our dalliances, Calico Jack had leered at him way back when, and it wasn’t so much jealousy that hurt him as it was the sheer humiliation of being found lacking in comparison. More often than not, he would wake up hot and bothered in the middle of the night, had to extricate himself from a sleeping Ed and lock himself into the en suite to – take matters into his own hands, and have a cathartic cry while he was at it. It was fine; he was a grown man for pity’s sake, he could deal with whatever this was between him and Ed.

Edward had said he loved him, and that was all that mattered. Even if they never got around to buggering one another, as Jack had so crudely put it, it was still leagues better than anything he could ever bring himself to hope for as a young man.

“There you are,” a soft, familiar voice startled him from his musings, and he instinctively pulled the dressing gown more tightly around himself. He hadn’t even been able to – get it over with, tonight, had just been sitting in the empty bathtub gazing into the shadows, waiting for the pull of sleep to lure him back to Ed’s side.

“Didn’t mean to wake you up,” he whispered, sounding just as small as he felt. Get a grip, mate, he instructed himself sternly, hugging his knees to his chest for good measure. “Sorry.”

“You didn’t. My knee did.”And there you weren’t, Ed left the words unspoken, but he could hear them loud and clear all the same.

“I’m sorry. Here, let me,” he made to scramble out of the bathtub, Ed’s hand shooting out to steady him when he lost his footing and nearly tripped over the edge.

“Hey, careful now. Wouldn’t want to end up with a dodgy knee yourself.”

He opened his mouth to apologise again, caught himself as soon as he met Ed’s piercing stare. “Yeah, no, you’re right. I’ll get you a pillow for your knee, and perhaps a massage, if that’s all right?”

“I’d rather you told me what’s it that got in your bonnet, mate.”

Stede chuckled in spite of himself. “Very funny, yes.”

“I’m being serious, love. What’s wrong?”

He nearly tripped on his own feet. Love. The endearment wasn’t by any means a novel one, but it fell like an unexpected balm on his still raw wound.

“Let’s get back to bed, get you comfortable, yeah?” he pleaded. If they had to have this conversation, he’d rather it didn’t happen in a crammed en suite, thank you very much. Even more so with Ed’s knee in a right state, as he strongly suspected from the way he was now leaning most of his weight on his good leg.

Once they were settled, he fussed with the pillows until he was satisfied Ed would be at his most comfortable, then rummaged for the small bottle of scented oil he kept stashed under the mattress for just such an eventuality. “There we go,” he murmured encouragingly, pressing his fingertips in soothing circles around the spot he knew better than his own hands by now. Ed let out a soft hiss of pain, then gradually started to relax under his fingers.

“Stede.”

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he blurted out without seemingly any input from his own brain, and he knew they both knew he didn’t mean the knee.

“You think I can’t take it?” Ed scoffed. “It’s the silences that’s driving me mad, mate.”

“I’m – sorry.”

“What did we say about apologising all the time?”

He swallowed, forced himself to meet Ed’s gaze. “Not to do it?”

“That’s right. Out with it, then.”

His fingers stilled momentarily as he struggled to find the right words. “Ed, I – please know that this won’t change anything between us, but I feel like I need to know where we stand. I – I couldn’t help but notice you don’t seem all that interested in – well, me, if you catch my drift, and I was wondering, you know – ”

“Not interested?”, Ed cut in, sounding distinctly offended of all things. “The hell are you talking about?”

Stede drew in a fortifying breath and shut his eyes, the better to steady himself. He’d been hoping he wouldn’t have to spell this out, but it was looking more and more like he wasn’t being given any other choice. “I’m talking about sex, Ed. Like I said, I’m more than happy for things to stay the way they are between us, and I want you to know this is still the happiest I’ve ever been in my entire life; it’s just that I’d rather know where you stand on the matter, if that’s all right with you.”

“Oh!” Ed breathed, as if the missing pieces had finally started to click together in his mind. “Is that all? We can do sex, no problem – all you have to do is ask, and I’m game.”

Stede blinked, swallowing around the sudden bitter taste in his mouth. Blindly, he reached for his handkerchief, wiped the remaining oil off his fingers. “Well, I won’t, if it’s that much of a chore,” he managed to grit out, his voice surprisingly steady to his own ears. “I’ll just – I’m getting some fresh air, I’ll be back in a bit.”

Ed’s fingers closed around his wrist before he could even push himself off the bed. “Shit, sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.”

“However did you mean it, Ed?” It was his turn to feel offended now, and he couldn’t bring himself to care exactly how childish it was on his part. “I hope you won’t think me as selfish as to demand anything from you you’re not willing to give. I’ve had more than enough of that with Mary, and god knows she’s much better off now that she’s free from any obligation on that front, at least as far as I’m concerned.”

He chanced a quick glance in Ed’s direction, and was struck in the solar plexus with the pained look marring his lovely features. Hot, burning guilt poked at his gut, and he let himself be tugged back onto the mattress, focussed on the way Ed’s thumb was now rubbing at the back of his hand.

“My bad. Do go on, please. I’m listening.”

Ed shot him a rueful smile, turned Stede’s hand to cradle it between his own. “You should know by now I’m shit at this sort of stuff, mate. Y’know, feelings.”

“Aren’t we all,” Stede joked in a poor attempt to diffuse the tension. “Shouldn’t have lashed out at you, and I’m terribly sorry about that.”

“It’s all right,” Ed shrugged. “I figured you weren’t in the best state of mind when I found you crying alone in the bathtub.”

“I wasn’t crying,” he objected, half-heartedly at best.

“Not when I found you, no. Anyway, the point is – I’d love to have sex with you, mate, if that’s what you’re into.”

That caught Stede’s attention. “Not unless that’s something you’re also into, Ed. I mean it. Please ignore my earlier outburst – I fear it had more to do with my own self-worth issues than anything else.”

“Of course I’m into it,” Ed grinned. “Sex’s loads of fun, innit?”

“Well, I wouldn’t know about that, would I?” slipped out of his mouth before he caught himself, and he felt his cheeks redden as he turned his face downwards to stave off the impending embarrassment.

“I’ll show you, no problem,” Ed was quick to reassure him. “But you’ll have to ask, mate, or I won’t know that’s what you want from me.”

That prompted him to tear his gaze off his own feet. “I should have thought that was pretty obvious to – you know, more experienced people, such as yourself.”

“Not to me, it isn’t,” Ed shrugged. He threaded their fingers together, brought their joined hands to rest against his chest. “You know how most people get urges around – men, women, whatever?”

“I think I do, yes.”

“Well, I don’t. It’s never been like that for me.”

He frowned, more than a little confused, if he was being honest. “But, I thought you just said sex was – well, fun.”

“Sure is, mate. I just don’t generally get all hot and heavy around good-looking people, ‘s all.”

“Oh. That’s all right then,” he smiled, a little too genially, and then thought, what the hell – in for a penny, in for a pound. “And do you reckon sex would still be fun with someone like, well, me?”

“Now you’re just fishing for compliments, mate,” Ed chuckled, shoving lightly at his shoulder. “Best-looking pirate in the Seven Seas, I’ll tell you, and I should know.”

“I fear you may have been staring at your own reflection, darling,” he deflected, even as something warm and frankly lovely bloomed inside him at the compliment.

“No way. And I’m not about to have sex with a mirror, man – doesn’t sound like fun at all, that.”

Stede valiantly ignored the way his blood pooled straight between his legs. “You’re not about to have sex with anyone, dear – not with your poor knee in such a state.”

“Bugger my knee,” Ed huffed impatiently. “I can handle it.”

“I’m sure you can. Doesn’t mean you have to,” he said with conviction. Retrieving the vial of oil that had somehow managed to get lost between the sheets, he nudged at Ed until he grudgingly lay back against the pillows. “Now, where was I?”

“You’re impossible,” Ed muttered under his breath, grabbing at the front of Stede’s dressing gown to drag him in for a tender kiss.

“I love you too, my dear,” Stede breathed against his mouth, then pushed himself off him to resume his ministrations on Ed’s abused knee.

They had all the time in the world, he told himself quite firmly, ignoring the way a certain part of his anatomy screamed for attention. It was theirs, to do as they pleased.

[semi-imaginary-place]

*hacker voice* im in. i started watching our flag means death. time to see what all the hubub over th gay pirate show is about.

ep1: me googling our flag means death characters. *squints* there’s no way that actor for stede is 29 years old. eh or i could just throw the wiki out and imagine he’s another dude having a midlife crisis. missed his calling as a middle school art teacher. me: *points and yells* deadbeat dad!

ep4: excellent he’s as weird as stede. pfffft the show runners decided to dress blackbeard in a black leather tube. what is he wearing. the worst part is knowing there are people on the internet actually swooning for this. well i suppose it doesn’t matter all that much that stede ran away given mary was already carrying the family on her back by herself. neglectful af, so self absorbed he doesn’t notice anyone else. MARY!!! she’s trying so hard to make the most of things! she’s trying so hard. (unlike some one.) and she’s getting stonewalled at every turn, for years because stede can only see his problems and his emotions and no one else’s. i'd say at least he left her the money but A. the land was her family's to begin with and B. wasnt it illegal for british women to own property as some point in the past. ...they’re LARPing are each other... i feel worse for izzy by the minute.

ep5: wow this show really went: the only thing worse than the british: the french. omg literal hello i am the prince of egypt i need your help in retrieving my lost fortune with just 2000$ from you i will be able to pay you back 10 million. glad our idiot lost it in the end those those who the wealth would be better in the hands of.

ep6: what happened to the entire ship of blackbead? ed and izzy discussed faking his death and izzy becomign captain but izzy is still here. also where’s the physical ship?

oh wow everyone in this show is getting a boyfriend huh.

im sorry to say but your pirate fav washes his hands after using the bathroom. none of them do

in case you all didn’t get it. all stede’s talk of communication and emotional support is an act to convince himself that he is emotionally well. Its a lie in the sense that not really true but he want to believe it and maybe if stede repeats it enough he can make it true. all the postering in the early episodes is steve trying to project the persona of the person he wants to be. kind, emotionally healthy, respected, loved which he isnt really at the start of the series. but by acting out the things a compassionate person should do, he is compassionate and earns some fondness from his crew

ep9: contract signed by a dead man huh? sounds like it’d make good kindling. good that stede’s finding closure for his guilt and all but mary is totally better off with him legally dead. gods just let her be free of this burden.

ep10: SHE WAS HAPPY. HER PAINTING WAS GOING WELL!!. they really should have gotten separate beds years ago they’re rich enough for it. stede’s luck mary didn’t build another house and take the kids to live there. yuup everyone’s pairing off and getting a boyfriend. might be easier to say who doesn’t have a boyfriend. oh look someone who’s supportive of mary and encouraging of her painting. i don’t blame mary for getting a boyfriend but she should have just told stede so they could reach a mutual understanding about the gap between their legal status and their personal relationship instead of going behind his back. stede thought that as long as he fixed his guilt over leaving everything would work out. magical thinking. but he never thought of the actual people he left behind. stede thinks he’s the main character of the universe. “decided to unabandon your family on a whim” she’s so right. ah and all it took to get them to talk was a little attempted murder.

ah yes what is a little mutilation of the homeboys to assert control over one’s life. yeah seriously what happened to that whole other ship and crew blackbeard had.

well i guess that was that. fairly entertaining. i see why people like it, though a good chunk of its popularity on tumblr is probably because of the shipping material (pun intended). it was fine but it didn’t resonate or wow me. i do think it was funny how people just kept showing up on the boat even though its supposedly at sea.

[izzy-b-hands]

Ed/Stede. The spring cold that was trying to get me got me, so I'm only good now for writing pirates and being on the couch, so I have more lol. Bathtub shenanigans time.

---

"You know, not many of the ships I've been on had a tub like this," Ed remarked as he slipped into the water Stede had boiled and perfumed for him. "Or made it so fancy, my goodness. Are these flower petals?"

"Atmosphere really makes the experience," Stede replied.

"Yeah, but where did you get them? Or do you just have a stash of these on board?"

"Wouldn't go to sea without them," Stede laughed, and plucked one from the water, playfully dropping it onto Ed's head.

"You'd look really lovely with flowers in your hair, actually," Stede noted. "Baby's breath tied into your beard..."

Ed was careful not to drip any water on Stede's clothing as he reached up and let Stede rest his head in his hand. His eyes were closed, his voice blissful and dreamy.

"I'd invite you in here with me, but I think you'd fall asleep on me," Ed murmured as he used his free hand to pull the flower from his hair, admiring it.

"I've no reason to be so tired," Stede yawned. "Just ignore me."

"It was a full day of pirating," Ed protested. "And even if it hadn't been, you don't need a reason to be tired."

"Maybe," Stede said, eyes still closed. Ed's hand was going numb holding him up, but it was a sweet enough sight to endure the pins and needles shooting towards his wrist.

"Will you fit?" Ed asked. "I don't mean that in a rude way, I just don't know if this was designed for more than one person."

"No, they're not," Stede sighed. "If only. I've got work to do anyway, so I can't get in with you tonight."

"What work exactly?" Ed asked. Most everyone had bedded down for the night, and he couldn't imagine what Stede would have left undone.

Stede moved to sit behind the tub, on a short stool. He stripped off his first few layers until he was down to his undershirt and trousers, rolling the sleeves of the former up.

"If you don't want me to do this I'll stop," Stede said. "But I thought...well, I'd always thought about someone doing this for me after a long day."

He took a clean rag and dipped into the water before running it up Ed's chest. His hand was shaking.

Ed gently took his hand and tossed the rag back into the water, before replacing Stede's bare hand on his chest.

"Oh god," Stede moaned softly, leaning around the back edge of the tub to wrap his arms around it and Ed, running his hands back down Ed's chest as if he couldn't feel him well enough.

"I don't think I'm going to get too clean from this," Ed admitted.

"We'll give you another after," Stede said. "Though I might need to leave the room for it, I regret to say."

Ed nodded, trying to keep himself mostly upright so Stede's hands and arms stayed close to him. It was a struggle; he wanted to sink down in the water and let his hips buck until he came, but be couldn't bear to not have Stede touching him either.

"Okay, we've got to do something," Ed sighed. "I can't take it anymore. You either need to be in here with me or-"

"Or you bend me over and fuck me sopping wet and dripping on our bed and ruining my clothes," Stede interrupted. "Ooh, or what about this? Now, I admit I am terrified of sharks, but I also really would love to fuck you on one of the dinghies but I'm also afraid we might accidentally capsize it..."

"Go on," Ed calmed, shifting in the bath as Stede's fingers toyed with his nipples.

"Now honestly, I've planned out a little. It's silly, but a sort of sex tour, you might call it? A schedule or itinerary maybe actually, since it can be applied to multiple ports as needed," Stede continued as if anything he was saying was remotely usual in nature. Meanwhile, Ed was suppressing slight alarm at how quickly Stede had gotten him hard, along with how badly he wanted to come.

"So ideally," Stede said. "Fuck in the morning here before we go ashore, take our own dinghy so we can fuck there, then break to explore. Lunch with the crew as usual; we can't break that tradition! After lunch we find somewhere for our own sort of dessert, and then exploring until we head home."

"I didn't expect that, but I love it," Ed smiled. "Next you'll be telling me you want to try and fuck in public during one of those trips, in a tavern or on a beach or something."

Stede went quiet for a moment, then giggled. He leaned in to Ed's ear, and kissed at his neck before giggling out: "Edward Teach, fucked on a beach!"

"You would not," Ed teased.

"I would," Stede said. "Shall I tell you how?"

His cock throbbed, and Ed managed to nod.

"First off, an extra bedsheet to help with the sand," Stede said. "Can't avoid it all but it'll help."

"Hadn't even considered that, that's a good idea," Ed remarked.

Stede smiled. "Not one of my worst! Then I want to be on my back, somewhere shaded mind you. I don't want either of us baking too much under the sun for the duration."

Ed let out a heavy sigh, trying to ignore his cock. There was no wholly comfortable sensation now; dipping into the lukewarm water made him throb, but the cold air out of it made him ache.

Stede's voice shook with his own excitement as he continued. "Then you, opened up, riding me. And I want you to come first."

Ed realized one of Stede's hands had disappeared, and he smirked. He could guess where it was more needed now.

"Oh fuck," Stede moaned and leaned into the hard tub edge to kiss as far down Ed's chest as he could. "I need you to come first. I want seeing you come to be what gets me off."

Ed wanted to turn to kiss Stede, but both of Stede's hands were back now. His arms looped under Ed's, helping to keep him sat upright in the bath, because he couldn't keep his hips still anymore and kept slipping down with each upward thrust.

"Fuck me, you're gorgeous," Stede mumbled. "Can you do that for me, hm? Come hard, so it streaks all on my stomach and up my chest?"

He had meant to say an actual response that consisted of understandable words, but instead all he could do was whine and moan as his cock jumped and pulsed with each shot, come pooling on his stomach.

He wiped away at tears he hadn't realized had fallen, and let out a shaky sigh as Stede let him go. "Stand up, I'll suck you off as a thank you. Because fucking hell, I have to thank you for that. Stede, oh my god-"

"That is very sweet," Stede smiled. "And I would love to take you up on it, but how about a rain check?"

"Did you..." Ed turned in the bath to ask. "Fuck, you did come in your pants, didn't you?"

"You're absolutely beautiful when you come," Stede said softly. "And the way you held onto my arms..."

He shivered. "Like you never wanted to let me go."

"I don't," Ed said. "Ever want to let you go, that is."

Stede wiped at tears of his own. "Hang on a moment, let me grab a towel or two."

"Oh, I've got o-" Ed started but stopped as Stede haphazardly tossed down a few extra towels around the tub, ripped off his clothes like they were on fire, and gently climbed onto Ed's lap in the bath.

Water spilled out to the floor as he did, and they broke into a fit of giggles.

"Definitely not a two man tub," Ed laughed.

"We'll have one made," Stede said. "Because I'd like to have more room to do more with you in here."

Ed wrapped his arms around Stede, welcoming his warm breath and kisses to his chest. "You're trying to fucking kill me."

Stede looked up, alarmed.

"Making me come myself to death," Ed moaned, and Stede relaxed. "I'm not even hard again yet and I want more."

"Maybe you could settle for kissing me until the water goes completely cold," Stede offered.

"Could do," Ed agreed. The water, however, was already basically cold. He let out a groan of effort to hoist himself and Stede carefully out of the tub, dropping Stede as gently as possible on the bed before laying on top of him.

"This is better," Stede admitted. "But next time just tell me and we'll get out together, silly. You'll hurt your back if you make that a habit."

Ed nodded, but was otherwise completely absorbed in making out with him, leaving kisses and any sort of mark he could on Stede's chest and neck. His hips rocked against Stede's ass, his cock still mostly soft as he moved.

For what it was worth, they both made an effort to keep going. But between the yawns and how warm they both were, how comfortable the bed was and how cozily snug they were, it was a losing battle.

Luckily it was the incredibly unfazed Mr. Buttons' turn to wake them the next day, who was unbothered by the sight of Ed's bare ass being the first thing to greet him.

He saluted it in lieu of saluting either of his captains, and shut their door. Then he hung his homemade sign on the door, a crudely carved 'CAPTAINS FUCKING COME BACK LATER' on a piece of driftwood.