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imagopirateversion · 2 months

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It’s a Pirate Life for Me!

Why I am an adult who still believes in the pirate philosophy and is not willing to change.

An essay by: a person who really hopes future employers will never find this, but will still put their name at the end of it.

Painting credits: Pirate Boarding, Andrey Serebryakov

Can One Still Call Themselves A Pirate in the Twenty-First Century?

There are two answers to that question, and both of them are "yes".

Pirates do actually exist today: there were around 120 incidents of maritime piracy and armed robbery against ships reported in 2023 and around 115 in 2022 (source x). So yes, one can define themselves a pirate in the twenty-first century in a very literal sense; which is not what I'm trying to do here, of course.

While the world has changed and piracy has (almost) ceased to exist, thanks to stories, legends and media, the idea of piracy has become completely detached from the practice. This has led to a concept of "piracy" that has very little to do with sailing, stealing, and killing, and a lot more to do with what most things become over time: philosophy.

What no longer exists in practice in our era (and sometimes what never existed at all) has become a way of living: think about cowboys, goths, hippies, punks and so on. All these things are much more than aesthetics: each one has its own vision, its own practices, its own style, its own way of living; in other words, its own philosophy.

This text is about pirate philosophy and its origins.

First Things First: Why Did People Become Pirates?

Piracy did not appear out of nowhere in 1600; it's ancient and we have proofs of it existing as a practice since ancient Egypt (read more here). We automatically think of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries when we talk about piracy because that period is known as the Golden Age of Piracy. Precisely between 1650 and 1730, there were thousands of active pirates, some of them infamously notorious, as Henry Morgan, Captain Kidd, Calico Jack, Bartholomew Roberts and, of course, Blackbeard himself. But why did that happen? Well, the answer is complex but can be easily summed up in a single word: money. The world was changing, and as Lord Cutler Beckett explains so brilliantly in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest: currency was becoming the currency of the country, especially in England. Ruthless landowners forced small farmers to leave their lands, while smaller tradesmen were challenged by larger businesses. Everyone wanted more, and those who couldn't adapt to the new world's rules became unemployed and were forced to move to urban areas to look for work or poor relief. The cities became overpopulated and soon there weren't funds left: distressed people had no hope of making a better life (source x). For this people, piracy was nothing more than a way out: it was either submit to the new society and starve to death, or rebel and survive. What would you have done?

What Kind of People Became Pirates?

Piracy soon became the best choice for many people. Not only for unemployed men who couldn't find a better way to survive, but also for those who, for various reasons, couldn't fit in. people who couldn't conform to societal norms weren't just discriminated against or isolated, they were often killed. That's why, even though piracy wasn't an easy life at all, many people preferred it. So, who were the pirates?

Sailors usually didn't make enough money to survive, and the discipline was extremely strict. Many of them ended up starving, getting sick, and dying. It's not surprising that many chose to become criminals and sail as pirates (source x).

Teenagers, often orphans with no money or future. Young men might have to endure seven-year apprenticeships before they could make an independent living, while piracy offered them a way to earn money quickly (source x).

Rebellious against the oppressive conditions imposed by their governments, specially from the Navy.

People discriminated because of their race. Black people in particular often had no social opportunities all, but could find acceptance within pirate crews, where camaraderie transcended racial or ethnic differences.

People with a religious belief that was considered heretical or nonconformist by the mainstream society could often find themselves persecuted. Pirate crews comprised members from diverse religious backgrounds and were generally more tolerant of religious differences.

People with a criminal background, who were offered an opportunity to start anew and be part of a community, two things that the civilized society couldn't give them.

Queer people, particularly homosexual men. Homosexuality was a crime at the time, often viewed as negatively as piracy, if not worse. Piracy was a male-dominated world; although for a long time media tried to portray pirates as "turning" gay due to the absence of women among them, the truth is that many gay men were pirates because they were gay. Homosexuality was so common among pirates that they had something very similar to same-sex marriage. It was called "matelotage": a legal civil union that bound two sailors together in an informal partnership, uniting one's fortune and future to the other's, and was respected by ship captains and pirate crews (source x).

Women. The majority of pirates were men, but not all of them. In a world that was not at all kind to young girls and women in general, it was not uncommon for them to disguise themselves as men or marry a pirate in order to become one. There have been notorious women pirates, some of them captains, such as Zheng Yi Sao or Huang Bamei (source x).

In short, outcasts. Individuals rejected by society, unable to find their place, and unwilling to conform to strict societal rules.

The Adventurers

There were a few people, a minority of course, who willingly chose piracy even though they had a normal, conforming, and even wealthy life. It's the case of Stede Bonnet, The Gentleman Pirate; he was born into a wealthy English family and inherited the family estate after his father's death in 1694. Despite his lack of sailing experience, Bonnet decided he should turn to piracy in the spring of 1717. He bought a sailing vessel, the Revenge, and travelled with his paid crew, capturing other vessels and burning other Barbadian ships. His story, apart from giving us one of the best pirate stories in the history of media, is significant because it provides evidence that piracy wasn't just about necessity; it was about identity. Piracy had become a way of life long before it was romanticized by the media.

The Pirate Life

What was it about pirate life that was so tempting for so many people? Life on a ship wasn't easy at all; the work was tough, the food was poor, and anyone could die at any moment, whether due to illness, sinking, or murder. Nevertheless, there was something that made it all worthwhile: freedom. People who have had no possibilities nor future in society found in piracy the opportunity to live by their own rules. Civilization's norms had no reason to exist in an uncivilized society; no master telling you what to do, no morality, no societal standards, no need to impress or perform. If you wanted something, you simply had to find a way to get it. That meant you could possibly starve to death, but it also meant that you had a chance of getting everything you had ever desired, and eating and drinking until you died, and in the civilized society you didn't have that chance. You could choose to sail and never touch land again; you could choose to marry or not to marry, to have a family or not to have one, to sleep with whomever you wanted to, to practice your religion. You could change your name and be who you wanted to be. Pirate life was the realization of that question most of us have asked ourselves at least once: 'What if I disappear tomorrow and start all over again somewhere else?'.

Piracy in the Modern World

In our eastern, civilized, technological, capitalist society, we don't need to be part of a crew and sail to be pirates. Piracy as a practice was defeated thanks to pirate hunting in the eighteenth century, but you can't kill an idea, can you? Ideas not only persist, they evolve and adapt to the changes they're forced to face. When we say "pirate" in today's world, we mean a lot of different things:

Sea Pirate: a person who attacks and robs ships at sea;

Software Pirate: a person who appropriates or reproduces the work of another for profit without permission, usually in contravention of patent or copyright;

In Italy, we have a way to describe people who ignore the Traffic Laws, 'pirata della strada', literally 'pirate of the street';

In sexual slang, the word 'pirate' is used to define someone who sleeps around, who constantly looks for casual sex.

The term 'ass pirate' has been used as a slur to describe homosexual men.

In short, the term in today's society is used to describe someone who breaks the rules, whether they are actual laws or societal standards.

If we consider everything piracy represents as a concept, as an idea, in modern society, and put it together, we can sum it up in three words:

Freedom, Anarchy, Resistance.

Freedom

'Freedom' is such an abstract concept it is almost impossible to define. It's widely discussed in philosophy, particularly the question: is it possible to be truly free? As soon as we built a society, in order to gain benefits, we had to partially sacrifice our freedom. We can't freely steal from our neighbors, but in doing so, we ensure our neighbors won't steal from us (at least, we hope). It's a simple concept. However, there's a line beyond which the benefits we gain aren't worth the sacrifices we make to obtain them. This has occurred repeatedly throughout history; it happened in the Golden Age of Piracy, and it was the reason why most of people chose to abandon civilization and sail as pirates, and it continues to happen every day. Whenever a social construct, or sometimes even a law, prevents you from simply existing as a person; whenever your future is dictated by your social status; whenever you're denied free time, enjoyment, rest, and happiness because you have to work ten hours a day just to be paid the minimum wage, if you're lucky enough to live in a country that has one. That isn't a freedom you willingly gave away to have a benefit. It's a freedom someone took from you before you were even born, before you could think and understand that just because everyone acts like it's the normal way of living, it doesn't mean it has to be that way.

Anarchy

It is true that, at least concerning crews, pirate society had a sort of hierarchy, in which the Captain of the ship was at the top. However, it is also true that this hierarchy could collapse at any given moment, considering the possibility of a mutiny, and that, in general, pirate society was anarchic. There has been research on the functioning of pirate society, particularly regarding its potential application in a hypothetical modern society where the value of human life and individual needs are more considered than they were during that era. Most of the work in that sense has been done by Peter Lamborn Wilson in his 1995 book 'Pirate Utopias: Moorish Corsairs & European Renegadoes'. He provides a definition of what he calls 'Pirate Utopias', that are described as "Early forms of autonomous proto-anarchist societies in that they operated beyond the reach of governments and embraced unrestricted freedom" (source x). I highly recommend reading his work and all the other research that followed it if you want to go into detail, because that's not what I'm going to do here (for now).

That being said, this is my personal take on the matter:

In our days, the discussion about Anarchy as a political belief is often ridiculed and reduced to a mere "if there were no rules, people would kill each other". That statement is true; people would. What is usually misunderstood and not taken into consideration is that people who profess to believe in Anarchy do not mean we should abolish every existing law overnight and see what happens. With 'Anarchy,' we mean a hypothetical society in which individuals are free to do as they please, and they willingly choose not to kill, steal, and hurt others because they have no interest in doing so. This hypothetical society is, of course, unachievable; it's what is called a utopia.

Most political beliefs are based on utopias (or dystopias, depending on your vision of them), because a society that strictly adheres to a pure political system is impossible to achieve. There cannot be a perfect socialist society, nor a perfect communist one, nor a perfect capitalist one, and of course, there cannot be a perfect anarchist society. What we can do, though, is aspire to one—or, to use a naval metaphor, we can set the course towards it. We can make decisions, take actions, and build societies around a specific vision.

The western society, for example, tends to a capitalistic system; in brief, money are what our society revolves around. The more money you possess, the more power you wield; your ultimate goal in life must be to gain money so that you can afford basic necessities: food, housing, healthcare and so on. Everything is privatized, leading to the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer, being exploited by people whose only purpose is to become even more rich. Consequently, you are forced to wake up every morning at 6 am to work ten-hour shifts for minimum wage. Don't like it? You're free not to live in the capitalist society. You'll probably starve to death, end up living on the street, be marginalized, isolated, persecuted, but still. You're "free" to do it. Of course, this is not a "perfect" capitalist society, it can't be; not until Democracy exists, not until Resistance exists. Still, our society tends towards it.

'Anarchy' doesn't mean we should live in a society with no rules; it simply means we should strive towards it and build a society that is as similar as possible to that utopia, prioritizing the freedom of the individual, but without causing collapse.

Resistance

Most pirates were hardly educated enough to even understand all of that as a concept, of course. They didn't fight for a political idea, most of them fought to survive. Even though it wasn't a utopian society, they still had a shared belief: dissent. Being an outcast means to be disillusioned in how 'mainstream' society works, and we know most of them were, considering their social background. Piracy was, in its own way, a movement of resistance.

Times have changed, and we don't have to engage in naval battles to resist. As society evolved, resistance as a practice evolved with it, and hence Western society has become less and less violent, as have the harmless but powerful acts of resistance.

Every time you protest, you are resisting. Every time you talk back, you expose a normalized injustice, you rebel towards an unfair authority, you say 'no', you go against what's expected from you, you are unapologetically yourself, you refuse to adapt, you decide to ignore or bypass a senseless law, you are resisting. Every time you prioritize your free time over money, you challenge beauty standards, you don't accept a 'that's how it was always done' as a justification. Even when you have fun harder than how you're supposed to, when you rejoice louder than how's considered appropriate, every time you dance like no one is watching you, you are, somehow, resisting.

Piracy in Media

Much of our perception of things we haven't directly experienced is filtered and conditioned by media. Even when we study historical periods like the Medieval Age or the Roman Empire, a part of our understanding will always be influenced by the media we've consumed about them. This is because media is often how we were introduced to these subjects: you can get very passionate about Indiana Jones, and so get interested in studying the pyramids and ancient Egypt, only to find out pyramids are nothing like it was portrayed in the movies. Nevertheless, you got interested in studying them in the first place because of Indiana Jones, so as much as you understand and accept that that isn't the truth behind ancient Egypt, you can also accept that Indiana Jones is part of your vision of it, and that cannot change. I know Pirates of the Caribbean isn't historically accurate, as much as Our Flag Means Death and Monkey Island aren't; still, I cannot deny that they have a role in creating a general vision of Pirate Philosophy in the modern world.

There are, in my opinion, three main aspects that come out from the combination of what we know about Piracy as a historical reality and as it's portrayed by media, and those are Hedonism, Nomadism and Camaraderie.

Hedonism

Hedonism is defined as 'the prioritization of pleasure in one's lifestyle, actions, or thoughts'. It's a recurring theme in the portrayal of pirate society; from songs, to movies where Tortuga is depicted as a place where people drink, eat, have sex and fight as they please, to legends that speak of treasures to be found so one can live a life of excess.

The reason for this is related to what we already know about the history of pirates, particularly the society they escaped from. The society of the seventeenth century was extremely strict, both morally and legislatively. Sex outside of marriage was out of the question, and many things that we consider normal today were seen as affronts to decency, often punishable. To be considered a respectable man or woman, one had to follow certain rules. Additionally, many pirates came from backgrounds of extreme poverty, making them prone to indulging in every kind of pleasure when they could.

Hedonism isn't just a perpetual search for pleasure; it's actually an ethical philosophy that is grounded in pleasure (defined as the avoidance of pain as much as possible) as the only intrinsic value and therefore the only reasonable expression of ethical good. This philosophy of life can be easily connected to the anarchist society that we described earlier; a society that doesn't have rules and in which you don't have a 'place' or need to 'contribute,' since your only purpose as an individual is to pursue pleasure.

I personally believe in Hedonism as an ethical philosophy, particularly Psychological Hedonism, as much as my research of pleasure doesn't prevail on someone else's.

Nomadism

One of the things that fascinated me the most about the Pirate Life as portrayed in media, was the idea of embarking on a journey that would never end. Our society is a stationary one, and I actually think there's nothing wrong with that. My perspective on this matter has nothing to do with morality, ideology, or politics. Being stationary is good; the human species would have never evolved if it didn't stop and build the world as we know it. This is simply a personal preference and stems from my absolute intolerance and repulsion at the idea of being born and dying in the same place. I've always yearned to explore, to see as much of the world as I could. The concept of 'borders' has always bothered me; I firmly believe in cultural exchanges and in learning about how other human beings live in different parts of the world. Of course, I acknowledge that without nations, traditions, and populations that are local and bound to their territories, there wouldn't even be cultures to discover or different societies to explore. So, this is about me, not a hypothetical, utopian society. I'm the one who always wanted to travel without ever stopping; I've never felt like I belonged in any one place or that there's a good enough reason to settle in a single nation and miss out on all that there is to see out there.

Camaraderie

Pirates encompassed men and women with all different kinds of backgrounds, nationalities, beliefs, ideologies and identities. While we speak in absolutes, in a society with no moral or legislative boundaries, factors such as who you were, where you came from, who you slept with, or what you believed in simply didn't matter. You were a pirate, and that was enough.

The official definition of camaraderie is:

"A feeling of friendliness towards people that you work or share an experience with".

In this case, we could even say "towards people that you share a lifestyle with". Being realistic, in a historically accurate pirate society, it's plausible that hate towards differences and minorities still existed, considering the strict and mentally bigoted society most pirates came from. However, we're talking about individuals who chose to leave that society, probably because of its strict and mentally bigoted nature. It's reasonable to assert that this particular kind of hate was at least less prevalent in the pirate society than outside of it.

Piracy in media undoubtedly plays a significant role in romanticizing the sense of brotherhood and companionship felt among pirates; we saw Pirate Codes, Brethren Courts, battles in the name of a common ideal, epic friendships and romances, songs that speak of a union strong enough to beat death itself and slogan such as "Long Live Piracy!".

What attracts me the most about it is that camaraderie as a concept exists in basically all societies or communities with a shared aim or belief. However, there are always rules that need to be followed, and the risk of being excluded and losing the privilege of deserving such camaraderie is always present. The idea of fidelity toward one's society, community, or even nation is essential for its survival, ensuring that those in power maintain control over their adherents, citizens, or believers. The pirate society is the only one I've stumbled across that doesn't need it. The feeling of brotherhood within these people doesn't need any kind of loyalty, proper rules or the fear of losing privileges to make sure that the community keeps existing. That's because the pirate society is made up of people who have already betrayed, renounced, and lost all of their privileges to be there. All they have is that sense of brotherhood and friendship. They exist in a reality in which none of them belongs anywhere and that, somehow, becomes a sense of belonging; one that doesn't need to be continuously shown or respected, simply because it's the only thing that keeps them there.

I believe that is the only reality in which camaraderie and freedom can coexist in a society, and I think it's one of the most beautiful and powerful concepts I've ever seen portrayed.

Conclusions

We finally arrived at the end of this... yeah, let's call it 'essay'. It was more than two weeks ago when I wrote the first word. It was meant to be brief and simply a way to put in words an intimate belief. I wasn't sure if I wanted to post it, mostly because I rarely share such deep thoughts with people around me; though, I'm trying to change that. As all human beings I strive to find belonging and as a true pirate, I never found anywhere to do so. So, to find but one person who reads this until the end and finds themselves to agree with my view, it would make me immeasurably happy.

Thank you if you made it this far, even if you don't agree with a single word I've written, because you dedicated part of your time to me, and I appreciate it.

If you find syntactic errors, please consider that english isn't my first language and also that grammar is a made up concept anyway.

Don't forget to be free, to resist, to pursue pleasure as much as you can, to explore and to show camaraderie not because you have to, but for the sake of it.

Fair winds t' ye!

Imago

#pirates #pirate philosophy #piracy #long live piracy #long reads #essay

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factual-fantasy · 4 months

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26 ASKS!! :DD THANK YALL!! 🎉🎂🎉

@ardent-38 @lime-ether @piperjistic @elegysonnet @storylover2 @forestrests

AAAAAA THANK YALL SO MUCH!! :DDD YALL ARE THE BEST!! :}} 💖💖💖

(Sorry I'm a bit late!)

:DD Thank you!! My favorite might be plain vanilla 😋💖

@unpopularartist14

I have definitely heard of it and seen it around. :0 And I got a good taste of it from SMG4s video on it XDD I've thought about watching it in the past. Though hearing about that widely accepted ship.. Ehhh,, I'm not so sure now.. <XD

@sunshine-vr6

@wdillustration

:DD THANK YOU!! :}}}

@badlyblurry (Post in question)

XDD It really has. The poor guy is so conflicted. This really seems like a romantic moment. But surly she's just excited about her new form and doesn't understand the typical boundaries friends have.

Surly someone as beautiful and desirable as Blue.. wouldn't be interested in a old cookie like him.

..Right??

@jesterpiecethejester

They're still on my blog, I never deleted them or anything. You just gotta go to my #undertale tag and scroll down a bit-

@minnesotamedic186 (Post in question)

AWW!! Its might be a bit out of character for Blue, but its still a cute scene!! :DD

@keakruiser (Sorry for replying a bit late!)

:DDD THANK YOU!! I had some giant cookies and cream cupcakes! 😋😋

Huh, suprising!

....now what does Urchin taste like.. 🍴🍪

@edgywithaheart

Ooooo interesting!! :DD Though I wonder if this would change Barnaby and Howdy at all <XDD

GASP!! Nooo not my boy! He would never do a crime. XD

@jenny-the-fox

XD I think I have a couple of OCs that belong there--

(Post in question)

Oh! Thank you for the info! :DD

@candyglumboy (Post in question)

That could be an interpretation of it yeah :00 but to be totally honest, I haven't thought it all through yet..

The intention behind that comic is its showing that Eddie used to be a human. And now he's.. well. He's Eddie.

The comic was trying to show that there was someone he used to know when he was human. His sister? His mother? Someone.. He knew someone. And now that he's in the neighborhood.. she's gone. What happened to her? Who was she? Why do I miss her so much?.. Why.. am I crying? Why am I shaking?

"..What was I talking about.?"

@astaherussy

EATING THIS SCENARIO LIKE GARLIC BREAD FR!!! AAAAA JUST IMAGINE EVERYONE'S REACTIONS!!

I think the 3 of them are no strangers to bloody scenes, but that wouldn't make seeing their Octokids so hurt any easier.. <:(( Now I'm not much of a writer, and idk if this is the kind of response you were expecting.. but none the less you have inspired me! :}}

I can see them offering their services if needed, but mostly just staying out of Peso's way and letting him do his thing. when everything winds down and they're able to see each other.. it would be tough. :((

Kwazii would be in high spirits as always despite the injuries. He would proudly tell Calico Jack about how he was bravely able to fend off multiple sharks! He expected a lot of enthusiasm from his Grandad.. "..Y-Ye did great Kwazii, ye protected yer crew well. I'm real proud of ya for that.." Instead he got a more.. somber response.

With the time Kwazii has spent with the Octonauts, he's gotten a lot better at reading people. Its not hard to tell when someone is shaken. His ears are pinned back, his tail is puffed up and flicking back and fourth.. its clear that Jack isn't taking this sight well.

Kwazii would probably sit up straighter. "Hey,, Grandad I'm.. I'm alright, ye don't need to worry." He'd gently grab Jacks arm, getting his attention. "I'll be alright, this isn't a big deal! Really, I'm ok! It looks a lot worse than it actually is."

Jack might take a deep breath and nod "..I know. I know you'll be alright, lad.." His ears were still pinned back. Kwazii frowns. "..I'm alright now Grandad. This is small, trust me.." Jack would pause.. but then nod. Seeing Kwazii so beaten is hard for Jack to stomach. But Kwazii is one tough cookie.. Just like him. He knows that things will be ok. Kwazii will be ok.. They're both ok..

~~~

When Marsh came in to see Tweak, he almost lost his composure. He knows Tweak is tough. And she's gotten hurt a lot growin up, this ain't nothin she cant handle. But gosh, this hurts. That's his little girl. It hurts so much to see her like this. She's collapsed in medbay, and has her leg all bound up in a cast.

"Pa! Heh, uh- sorry about all this. You an I were supposed to go out swimmin after that mission. I guess uh.. it'll have to wait.. heh.."

A deep breath, "Now don't chu worry bout none of that," He sat down beside her bed and pat her on the shoulder. "You just put all yer energy into gettin better. Ok? We can always go see the reef another time." His droopy ears and shaky voice wasn't helping his tough façade..

Tweaks pauses for a moment. But then offers her hand to Marsh. He takes it, confused at first.

"..I'm sorry I scared you pa.. I'll be ok.."

...Unable to reply, Marsh just nods. He sighs and wipes his tears away. Gripping Tweaks hand tighter. He sniffles, and just nods..

~~~

Natquik's meeting with Barnacles went a little smoother than the others. He is no stranger to the sight of blood. And knowing that Barnacles is tough as nails, he wasn't too worried about him.. but still. Seeing Barnacles in such a state.. it wasn't easy.

When Natquik came in, he placed a gentle paw on the bears shoulder. "Barnacles, how do you feel? Are your wounds bad..?" Barnacles' voice was gravelly and slow. He had a nasty headache after that facial injury.. "..Oh.. I'll be alright.. its nothing I.. cant recover from.."

Natquik pulls up a stool and sits beside him. "You gave me a big scare, you know. You must not do that to me! No more dangerous missions for you!" He said wagging his finger.

Barnacles chuckled. "That wasn't meant to.. be a dangerous mission. Things just.. got out of hand." Natquik nods. "Yes yes, I can see.." His tone seemed off at the end there..

"..Are you alright, Professor?" It takes Natquik a second to respond.. Seeming to think over his words. "Don't worry for me, Barnacles. I am better now that I have seen you. And you will heal fine, yes? So all is ok." His hesitation wasn't reassuring.. But he knows how Natquik is. So doesn't push it further. "Yes, despite the scene we caused.. most of these injuries are minor. We'll be.. alright." Natquik puts on a smile that cant truly be read. "That is all that matters, my friend."

~~~

ALSO WAAHAGA THANK YOU SO MUCH!! :DDD I'm so glad to hear you like my stuff!! And you're interested even when you don't know thE CANON? BESTIE I AM HONORED!! 😭😭💖💖😭💖💖

And of course I would respond! :DD I LOVE receiving comments/interaction with my work. Its the #1 thing I hope my posts receive! Now I cant respond to every single one unfortunately, but I do read them all and respond to as many as I possibly can!! :D I'll take this moment to give a big thank you to all that leave me messages/comments/asks! They're my favorite thing!! 💖💖🥰💖

@couchwow

Thank you! :D Also OOOO CREATRURES! :DDD

@peaspods

I don't have a master post for those, no.. it would take a ton of effort for me to comb through my entire blog to compile it all so I haven't done it..

You can find all/most of that stuff under my #octonauts tag and my #deltarune tag. I hope this helps!

I did have a blue blanket for a time.. though that blanket doesn't actually exist irl-

Also man, that would take me forever to make. Bibi and the other's quilts were really small and easy to work with. I cant imagine all the time it would take for me in this state to make a full human sized quilt-

Plus I would have to draw the quilt with me whenever I draw my sona. Which would suck because then it would take longer for me to draw myself <XDD

XD Thank you!! :D I'm so glad you like them! :}}

WAAAAA THATS SO GOOODD!! 😭😭😭😭

#my response #tw descriptions of blood #tw descriptions of injury #octonauts #welcome home #eddie dear #factual fam #cookie run #cookie run kingdom #cookie run ocs #my ocs

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ariazureyt · 4 months

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Theory/Headcanon: OFMD is part of a shared universe (Our Wrecked Earth Flag Means Death Universe)

Hey! Don’t get weird 🦌 But I found similarities in Our Flag Means Death, People of Earth, and Wrecked 🤯 I knew there was a reason I love all of these shows! 😄

1. OFMD and POE are both created by David Jenkins, and have similar premises.

POE’s B-plot is a workplace comedy about imbecile ALIENS working on a spaceship

OFMD S1’s A-plot is a workplace comedy about imbecile PIRATES working on a ship

youtube

2a. Stede (OFMD) and Steve (Wrecked) are similar characters and both are played by Rhys Darby

They’re both mild mannered men that learn to take charge and become leaders. But Steve is ruthless, and gets mutinied. Stede is never mutinied.

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2b. Stede and Steve both date pirate captains. Stede’s relationship with Ed is healthy, while Steve’s relationship with Barracuda is abusive.

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3. Stede (OFMD) and Don (PoE) both leave their old lives and find love.

Stede, an aristocrat, left his life on land to be with Ed. Don, an alien, leaves his life working on a spaceship to be with Kelly on Earth. Both of their arcs involve living on land, and leaving/boarding ships.

youtube

4a. StarCrossed (PoE), Ed and Buttons (OFMD) are all experiencers. The gravy basket is a false memory.

The people abducted by aliens are given false memories so they don’t remember they were abducted. StarCrossed (the alien abduction support group) call themselves “experiencers” because it gives them agency. Being abducted was an experience that they had, and they can move on from it.

The aliens give Ozzie a false memory about driving and hitting a talking deer. Ed has a vision of Hornigold and of Stede as a mermaid in the gravy basket. Buttons talks to seagulls and turns into a seagull. But he was actually abducted by aliens and replaced with a seagull. Because once every few years on a certain day someone is abducted/picked up by the aliens permanently.

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4b. Mermaid (OFMD) must be a pirate term for an alien

Mermaid (OFMD) is a pirate term for an alien. Since aliens weren’t a thing back in the Golden Age of Piracy.

Stede is actually a white alien (or mermaid as Ed calls him) like Don in PoE. Steve (Wrecked) falling for Barracuda also makes sense since he dated Ed when he was “Stede.” Stede/Steve likes pirates. Whites in PoE are empaths/pacifists that fulfill people’s emotional needs. They also don’t like hurting people or getting hurt.

Stede has been living as a human on Earth. Then he changed his name to “Steve” (Wrecked) after he outlived Ed since aliens live longer. He got the name idea from Calico Jack mispronouncing his name as “Steve” in OFMD. Stede never fit in with other people. Like he’s an alien (or mermaid).

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5. But the MOST damning evidence that all 3 shows have in common: Warner Bros. cancelled all of them before they had a proper ending 🤯😭

Anyway, it was fun rewatching the shows again to ease my pain about the cancellation.

Even if we can’t #renewasacrew or #adoptasacrew We’ll still have 2 amazing seasons that David Jenkins and crew fought through budget cuts for. And we have these 2 other amazing shows as well! WBD can’t erase passion! #OurWreckedEarthFlagMeansDeath

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theorderofthetriad · 2 years

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@cumulativechaos this had to be its own post bc i have way too much to say on it.

"izzy's contempt for stede reads too similar to stede's past bullying imo."

I don't understand that at all. I understand it's your opinion, but it doesn't line up with the facts of the show, or with my own personal experiences with being bullied for a solid 13 years of my life, or with the definition of bullying for that matter. Here's the (Australian) National Center Against Bullying's definition of bullying:

Bullying is an ongoing and deliberate misuse of power in relationships through repeated verbal, physical and/or social behaviour that intends to cause physical, social and/or psychological harm. It can involve an individual or a group misusing their power, or perceived power, over one or more persons who feel unable to stop it from happening.

Emphasis is mine, because at the end of the day the power part of it the the crux of what differentiates between being a bully and being an asshole. Taking a glance, the majority of the definitions of bullying (especially when the group defining it is an anti-bullying organization) specify a power imbalance. Between Stede and Izzy, who actually has the power? Stede is a captain and good friends with Izzy's captain, Izzy is only a first mate and has zero positive social connections with anyone on The Revenge. Even Ivan and Fang, who seem at first to respect Izzy's authority, turn out to not respect Izzy's authority at all.

Stede was scared and uncomfortable with the Badmintons. As a child when being bullied he ran away from the Badmintons and their creatively cruel tortures for Stede. In their childhood, Stede's bullies had power over him in numbers and social standing among their peers. As adults the Badmintons still have power over Stede as members of the navy. And even though he treated Stede so cruelly, Nigel's words contradict the situation, playing off the relationship between them as though they were really just friends and always had been friends and the bullying was just fun playing among friends.

Stede was also bullied by Calico Jack, who made Stede uncomfortable and purposefully called Stede by the wrong name (this will be relevant shortly,) doing so as a guest on Stede's ship and as a mutual friend of Ed and as a badass pirate the rest of the crew thinks is super cool, so Stede didn't have the power to do anything about Jack's bullying without coming off as, to quote Lucius, "bitchy." So Stede just had to stand there and take Jack's insults without being able to retaliate. Like Nigel, Jack bullied Stede under the false pretense of being friendly with him.

But with Stede and Izzy, Stede is, for Stede, unusually confident and aggressive. They meet on equal ground as equals in their field (at least at that moment as they are both men in charge of two other men.) They have a fight and Stede wins by jabbing a knife in Izzy's face, making Izzy submit to Stede's demands. Stede leaves that interaction feeling very confident, having had fun ("This isn't over Mr. Bonnet." "Good, cause I kind of enjoyed it.")

When Stede and Izzy meet again at Jackie's bar, it is no longer as equals. Stede is there as a captain, Izzy is there as a first mate acting on the orders of his captain. Izzy does not how power over Stede like a bully would have power over their victim. Stede takes that moment to be petty and calls Izzy "Iggy" (hm, that seems familiar,) announces upon Izzy's correcting that he doesn't care what Izzy's real name is, and later calls Izzy a flunky. In the next episode Stede announces to Ed this guys "a complete ASSHOLE." He even says that shitty little "looks like there's trouble in paradise," about Izzy a few eps later.

At this point I do have to note that the way Stede talks to Izzy very much reminds me of how I was talked to by my bullies when I was a kid, with extreme disrespect for who I was (people purposely got my name wrong a lot,) and a lot of insults. He's being a dick to Izzy, and only to Izzy, similar to how bullies will single someone out and treat them differently from everyone else, like how Stede was singled out and treated different from his peers when he was bullied. That being said, I don't think Stede is being a bully*, I just think he's the most comparable to one of the two characters.

*Stede is not seeking out to harass or demean Izzy. After the skirmish on the island, we literally never see Stede coming to or talking to Izzy oh his own accord, it is always Izzy initiating their interactions. It's just that Stede is being an asshole during those interactions and also happens to be the one in power, but we never see Stede use the power he has over Izzy.

The way Izzy acts is rude and aggressive and not an appropriate way to treat someone, but it's just not bullying*. The way Izzy treats Stede doesn't impact Stede like being bullied as a child or by Nigel or by Jack did. Other than when Izzy cut up Stede's shirt and during the duel, Stede was never scared of Izzy. Izzy doesn't intimidate him, Izzy doesn't have any power over him. All Izzy can really do while on The Revenge is say some harsh but ineffective insults like "little shit" and wait patiently until Ed decides to kill Stede. Izzy is not coming up with creative ways to make Stede miserable like Stede's bullies did. Izzy's not making any illusions about his contempt for Stede, whereas Nigel and Jack hid their contempt through passive aggressions and facetious friendliness.

*Izzy does make an attempt of using power over Lucius to make Lucius do his job (which might have been a bullying attempt I'm not actually sure if Izzy's goal was to demean or a genuine effort to get him to work) but Lucius establishes that he's the one with power over Izzy, not the other way around. When Izzy is momentarily captain of the Revenge and does have power we don't see him unfairly single anyone out, only punish Wee John in retaliation to Wee John laughing at him. And then the crew mutinies because Izzy's authority only went as far as people respected it, and nobody respects Izzy.

Stede and Izzy have a mutual contempt for each other, it's not bullying from either side, even with the power imbalance in Stede's favor. I just don't understand how you could watch the account of Stede's bullying and then watch the way Izzy and Stede interact and then think those two things are in any way related at all.

#if you're reading this and you're not cumulativechaos do not go bother them over what they said as it is extremely bad etiquette.#sorry this is long but i did not get irreparably traumatized by over a decade of bullying #just to have someone tell me Stede's also irreparably traumatizing bullying is comparable to Izzy being a dick #there are like a million and a half better and actually valid criticisms of Izzy you don't need to imagine something up #like you coulda just said 'i don't like how Izzy tried to kill Stede' and that would have been the end of the discussion #Izzy Hands

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avelera · 2 years

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I’m still really excited for Our Flag Means Death s2 and I still love the fandom and especially the fanworks, but I’m also glad to be taking a break from said fandom right now until some new content comes out.

There comes a stage in a fandom with a few hours of content, more coming but nothing yet known of what will happen next, where the obsessive lens turns inward to the most minute aspects of the original content. Let’s call it the “Anderson is sexually excited by dinosaurs” period of a fandom because hooo boy if you’ve got any inkling about what I’m talking about you’ll remember the time between BBC Sherlock S1 and Sherlock S2 (before the queerbaiting was confirmed and it really did seem POSSIBLE that these two men might kiss) when the fandom lost its entire goddamn mind.

And don’t get me wrong, the fanworks were still fun! People were having a good time! But you get this sort of fanfic of a fanfic of a fanfic era where the true feel of the actual show gives way to fan interpretations of characterizations written by other fans. There’s a sort of drift. In-character works that share the spirit of the original text become more rare, which is fine but not what I was into. More importantly, very minor characters get a microscope taken to them (Anderson, in this case Calico Jack for example). Joke moments are analyzed with utmost seriousness. One gets the sense the show is being watched in gifs only because few people have gone back to the source material in a while.

It’s a perfectly natural cycle of a fandom analyzing and interacting with a work they’re obsessed with. But for me things get just a liiiittle too derivative at that point, an orobouros of fandom talking to itself. I’m looking forward to more OFMD but I think I’m going to need a fresh infusion of source content to chew over, this piece of gum from Feb 2022 has gotten slightly stale.

#fandom

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ltlemon · 8 months

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kk I'm gonna live blog episode 6 of OFMD because it'll be funny MAJOR SPOILERS but also like everything's super spaced out so you could probably read along with my reactions? (no clue why you would do that but the option is there.)

fair warning this is really long but no one's going to actually read this so that's fine.

that opening shot is SOO PRETTY

who tf is this guy

'my love'? is he fruity and evil? evil and fruity?

'god that was a beautiful pitch, that was really nice'??? I THINK SO???

I might end up liking the evil gay violin man

hi ed <33

oh no trauma

DRAMA WITH THE GIRLLLS <33 (Izzys little wiggle is precious)

HE THOUGHT HE WAS ROACH???? HOW DRUNK IS HE HOT DAMN

he did say sorry though :')

they're sharing the bottle !! the only times ed has done that with anyone that I can remember has been with calico jack and stede

fock off >:(

aww stede put away all his stuff for him

's probably not a good idea though

oop, yep, caught it. guilt room :(

poor stede he looks like he feels a little bad now.

he's so sweet about it though. <3

ARCHIE!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE HER SM

AA LOOK AT HOW JIM LOOKS AT HER

HOLY SHIT THAT WAS A BIRTHDAY STORY?!?!? AHAHAH

GIRL YOU ARE INSANE

oluwande looks like he's doubting his partners choice of a third slightly

fang's sticking his pinky out!

hehehehe they want a party <33

YEAHHHH

aww not stede offering to give the loot up to a good cause

give it a new purpose, one not tied to ed's guilt

you interrupted their little meeting >:(

EEhehe

YES TURN POISON INTO POSITIVITY

that's what I said

aw ed's charmed

✨I'm gonna go walk my dogs now, I'll be back✨

okok I'm back and I have a quesadilla

oh cool Ricky's back

you were minding your buisness?? no tf you weren't

heh, his new nose is cute though, it's like fancy china

old wrapped his arm around Jim!!! the cuties ever!!

AWWWWW HES FUCKINDUWDHAH

HES GIVING MONEY TO RANDOM KIDS BC HE WAS POOR AS A KID ADSIJN

I love him so much

'filthy little gutter rats' I'm dying

INN RP???

'don't be pirates' 'yeah agreed don't be pirates 😀'

zheng!

girl what is wrong with you

wee John doing drag makeup!!!!!!!! EAHEIDHAB

izzy seems quite intrigued

AWW stede's so charmed by the party

it's rubbing off on ed too

omfg Jim's so silly

just a little guy

HOLY SHIT WEE JOHN LOOKS GOOD

eeeeee ed's little smile at stede <33

WHAT THE FUCK IZZY MUSICAL SCENE WHAT

WHAT THE FUCK

AND HE'S GOOD!?!?!?!?

WIAIYT WAIT WAIT ARE THEU GONNA DANCE

PLEASE PLEAAAASE TELL ME THEYRE GONNA DANCE

fang's clapping for izzy in the background ee

UEUEUEUE SOME PEOPLE ARE DANCING

Jim and Archie are so flipping cute omfg

holy shit??? hand kiss???

AWWWW <<3333

OH OH OH AND JIMS DANCING WITH OLU TOO

THEY REALLY DO HAVE TWO HANDS

HAH HOLY SHIT THE THREE OF THEM ARE TRYING SO HARD

JIM SANDWICH

!!!!

AW OH OH NO ED SHIELDING STEDE-

oh its gay violin man!

'oh I'm going to torture you all. by the way. 😃' sorry I forgot, I meant evil gay violin man.

I love how when ed says 'its because I only hang out with cool pirates' Stede's looking at him like he just delivered the burn of the century

oh holy shit stede's getting pissed he's like stop touching him

'oh shit! You struck a chord, I think you got it in one!' his face here is so wholesome aa

'you torture like a bitch' 'yes ok honey maybe you shouldn't say that it might get us killed'

AW NO THE LITTLE 'it's me you want ITS ME YOU WANT' he can deal with it, causing pain to himself because of an action he did is fine, he's used to that, but that pain coming to stede is unacceptable.

'so what's the plan you...weird...fock?' starting to like izzy

AHDJAKSJ I love Lucius and Pete sm ya'll

his little conductors baton is really cute

Lucius and Pete in the lower levels of the ship looking like a shot from Alien

omfg stede asking for her name is so cute'

'where were you 😡' 'we got engaged 😄' 'aww🥰' 'anyways- 😡'

'alright gang! let's talk profit sharing! 😄' I'm dead

'don't do it stede 🥺' crying sobbing shaking

holy fucking shit stede

OH NO

baby's looking haunted by the horrors in his bedroom

??????

WHAT??

THE LOOK ON HIS FACE???? I NEED TO REWIND HOLD ON

HOLY SHIT

EDS FACE TOO HE WAS NOT EXPECTING THAT

sir you just killed a man???? why do you want to fuck now????????

aw ok but Izzy's back to singing though <33

he likes it :))

PHEW HOLY SHIT WHOA

OK IM STAYING SILENT FOR THIS SCENE ILL TALK WHEN ITS DONE I CANT FLIP BACK AND FORTH DURING THIS ONE BOYS (gn)

THAT WAS SO GOOD

LUCIUS'S LITTLE DANCE, EVERYONE SINGING ALONG,

GAY SEX?!?!?!

AGAGAAHAH

omg they're shouting for an encore in the creditsaaa 🥺

and Archie and roach interact yay!!

wow. ok. so we were right about the gay sex hips!!!

wow. we were right about the gay sex hips....

on to episode seven. (I may die within the next 24 minutes.)

#ofmd #our flag means death #ofmd s2 #ofmd season two #ofmd s2 spoilers #ofmd season 2 #random #lemon's live blogs #lemon speaks

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phantom-ellie · 2 years

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Temet Nosce Chapter 7: Exsanguinated

Click for Chapter List/Content Warnings

Ed has managed to move Stede about a foot. Slowly, as if sleepwalking. Non progredi est regredi.

“I’m sorry I didn’t go looking for you that night. I should have found you. I should have talked to you. I should have asked you, anything. Just asked. I should have asked.”

With each apology they take a step towards the couch, together, miserere nobis.

---

When you kill, you die as well.

Stede wonders if Jim feels this too, this death. Jim, hiding behind knives, behind a large hat, behind a fake nose, behind anger. Semper ardens, semper instans.

Breathe out.

It took Stede’s first kill to begin to feel. His second snuffed that feeling right out, left it on the jungle floor among bits of skull and his own bare, terrified footprints. Will a third kill bring it back? Will a third kill bring Stede back?

Well it’s not that much more dramatic than running off to become a pirate, is it?

Maybe he can summon it back by sheer force of will. He can cup his hands together and softly open them to reveal a yellow butterfly, creatio ex nihilo, and maybe it isn’t yellow due to cowardice, not this time, but yellow like sunshine, like the robe that kept Ed safe in the bathtub.

You’d save me a seat, wouldn’t you?

Maybe. If you weren’t being a dick.

Stede needs a cleansing, a revitalization, a renewal.

Breathe in.

No pets. They befoul the ship.

No. Not if he has a bathtub on board. Stede can be good. He can be worthy. Maybe even adequate. Just let him aboard.

After all...

It’s his boat!

It’s Stede’s fucking boat!

He’s back on the ship, nerve endings screaming and expanding to its very edges, vox clamantis in deserto, it’s his boat and the kraken can’t touch him here.

The kraken has no right to tell him what to do. To tell him he isn’t a person. What kind of a person is a kraken, anyway? It isn’t. It isn’t a person at all. And maybe quem deus vult perdere, dementat prius, maybe, but what can be destroyed can be remade again. Right? Ed, are you even listening?

Breathe out, with just a little more gusto.

***

“I’m sorry about Calico Jack… and marooning the crew…”

Closer, and closer still. One step at a time.

“And the boy, he didn’t do anything wrong, I hurt him to hurt you, to hurt myself, I’m so sorry Stede.”

***

We’re breathing in, we’re breathing out, we’re having fun with it.

Stede is climbing the mainmast. His hand shields his eyes from the sun. Heroic, dashing, not at all corpselike.

Everyone’s had a go at killing me but me. I’d like a shot.

Ed was wrong. Brave, wonderful, but simply incorrect. Ed is not the kraken. He’s just fine. It’s been Stede all along fouling everything up. But if there’s anything Stede knows about himself, it’s that he’s weak. He can be defeated. And that's the good news.

Our life feels monotonous to you?

No, no it doesn’t, does it?

Here’s the adventure! Stede dramatically points his sword at the horizon, The tendrils rise from the water. Poisonous, menacing, but polite enough to threaten ahead of time. That’s this kraken’s brand, after all.

Our old lives will be gone, dead. Never were.

This is what Stede dreamed of. He’s left it all behind, his life, his sanity. The ocean expands on all sides of his home, his shelter. The kraken speaks. Hic sunt dracones, it sneers. But Stede knows that there is no point, its threats are surdo oppedere.

The tendrils lurch towards him, poking at him, toying at him, before one shoots out and wraps around his torso. Constricting, trying to remove every last bit of oxygen, only this is a dream so Stede can still breathe, always breathe, and he’s smiling about that when the Kraken plucks him from the mainmast, from his shelter, and threatens to crack him up on the rocks.

Muse, why have you forsaken me?

And actually, no, he can’t breathe. He hasn’t taken a breath in or out in a while, or maybe he’s taken too many. His head is spinning. He thinks it’s done. Maybe. This is it. In articulo mortis. The smothering.

There there, Baby Bonnet. Feels better, doesn’t it?

No, fuck off. His arms are pinned to his sides, but he can reach his pocket. He can wrap his fingers around it, this ugly half of a petrified orange, and he remembers what Ed revealed to him. What Jim returned to him. What Alma shared with him. And Stede is being pulled towards the black, gaping maw, nolens volens, but the orange in his hand is burning like lava. It burns so hot, like a ball of molten fire, charring the sides of the tendril that grasps him.

And it catches fire. The tendril lights up, even brighter than the horizon. Its grasp is released, and Stede goes careening towards the dark of the Kraken’s mouth, but he has his sword at the ready, and it’s time to end this beast forever.

***

Ed can hear Stede’s breathing, rapid, energized.

“You’re a person Stede, you’re my person. Don’t go anywhere else, don’t leave me. Please.”

They’re so close. They’re there. Ed lowers Stede onto the couch and sits at his right side.

“It’s okay. Wake up.”

Two Acts of Grace, please.

***

Stede wished Ed could see him now (because esse est percipi, and he’s ready to be), diving into the belly of the kraken, sword grasped in his right hand, a molten beacon of fire in his left.

Vae, puto deus fio.

Stede lands on its tongue, giant and sticky, crimson red, and everything is red. It’s a red vibe in here.

Stede isn’t an expert on kraken anatomy, and he doesn’t have time to read about it, and at any rate the books are gone. But he’s ready for the end. Maybe it’s true that when you kill, you die as well. But maybe it can also lead to a rebirth? Renaissance.

We have to try, don’t we?

Stede hears it before he sees it, the creaking and groaning, and he looks behind his shoulders to see his home, his great Revenge, joining his side. It’s all been swallowed. It will have its vengeance.

Yield or die.

I choose…

He reaches for the rope ladder. He’s good at climbing ladders now. He has skills. He has flesh. He does.

Everything turns over, they’re moving towards the gaping hole at the back of the throat, and he holds onto that ladder for dear life.

And as Stede slides down the esophagus, holding his ship as much as the ship is holding him, he can’t help but peer up at the flag. The new flag, Blackbeard’s flag. Ed’s spear pointed at a heart, a red heart. Whose heart is it?

They land somewhere in the stomach, acid and yellow bile nipping at the heels of Stede’s boots. And he can almost hear the heartbeat, now.

Wait.

He can literally hear it, the heartbeat. It’s loud. It’s coming from the flag. What does it mean? He climbs the ladder. He navigates towards the flag mast as the ship buckles in the depths of the enemy. Fluctuat nec mergitur.

Now he’s climbing the mast. It’s a dream, and it’s easy in his dream. No problem. He has the strength, he has the fortitude. He’s reaching for it. And as the ship buckles the flag moves aside and now he sees as well as hears. The inner lining of the stomach, pulsating. Beating. It’s the heart. Stede smiles.

This is how you die.

He’s at the top of the flag pole. He’s grasping his petrified and molten lighthouse beacon. He’s launching it at the thumping, and it just explodes, a rain of fire. Fire and blood. It drenches everything in soft sheets of red. And it’s comfortable. It’s warm, it’s safe, this blood. It feels smooth. Like he could sleep in it forever.

At least, if the body wasn’t rejecting him now. He’s pulled back up through the tunnel of the kraken, through the mouth, barely missing the teeth. He finds himself violently spewed into the air, and now he's miles away.

Luctor et emergo

And he can see his house in Barbados, his wife and children, and he can see his Revenge, and he can see his love standing on the deck, arms open wide. The sea is crimson now as well, waves moving in a silky motion, as if it could catch him in perfect security and hold him while he rebuilds himself. Which he can do. Which he is doing. He gladly points himself in freefall towards this ocean of fabric, and just as he should hit it full-force and be smothered, he finally wakes up.

***

There. Ed feels a hand against his cheek. Stede is looking him in the eyes, sad, so tired, but not angry, not accusing. He looks as if all the blood has been drained from him, like he’ll turn to dust and blow away.

Instead, Stede moves his hand behind Ed’s head and gently presses their foreheads together. Eyes closed. In salvo, in spe, ad infinitum.

Ed feels something brush his arm. He looks down, intus et in cute. It is his mother's crimson silk handkerchief, pressed from Stede’s hand to his. He doesn’t know where it came from, but it’s there, as if it never left. Ed begins to cry.

Donatio mortis causa.

Finally, after everything, the spell might be broken.

“Ed. Edward. My love.”

“Yeah, what is it, man?” Ed breaks into a smile through the tears.

“I think… I want you to kiss me.” Stede mumbles. He mumbles it with a smile. That smile is Ed’s new favorite thing.

And with that consent, he does what is asked. Ed is no prince, but Stede is no princess. They are so broken, so tired. But they are men, and men can heal. They are humans, and humans can love. They are hostis humani generis, and they can sail free.

***

Ed opens his eyes at the sound of movement in the corner. The door to the auxiliary wardrobe slides open and there is Lucius, peeking around the corner, the edge of his mouth upturned with a small smile.

“Don’t wake him up,” Ed mouths barely a whisper from the couch. Stede’s head is resting on his shoulder, eyes closed, lights out, a bit of drool running down the side of his mouth.

Lucius creeps closer. He still has the red journal tucked under his right arm. He looks down at Stede like one looks down at a sleeping puppy who is having a dream… or maybe even a human being who one is very fond of.

“He looks… peaceful,” Lucius whispers with a hint of suggestion.

Ed leans his head over to the left to lay it on top of Stede’s. He never wants to leave this spot. But in Lucius’s presence he feels extra… pathetic.

“I’m… I’m sorry for what I did to you Lucius,” he mumbles.

“Sorry for what, exactly? Say it out loud at least.”

Ed raises his voice above a whisper. “I’m sorry I threw you overboard. You were a good friend. You didn’t deserve it. I’m sorry.”

“Ssh!” Lucius scolds with a smile. “Don’t wake him up. He looks like shit.”

And with that Lucius sits down on the couch, on the other side of Stede, who doesn’t seem even close to stirring. He gives Stede’s left knee a light affectionate pat and his eyes are drawn to the clasped hands of his co-captains, the darker hand over the lighter one, thumb moving to and fro to calm the shaking that was no longer there.

Lucius gives a happy sigh. He is in a forgiving mood. He sees better days ahead. And with that he pulls out Stede’s journal, shoots another fond look at those loving clasped hands, purses his lips, and begins to sketch.

#ofmd fanfic #our flag means death fanfic #gentlebeard #blackbonnet #cross posted on ao3 #ellie golden age #stede x ed #ellie tn

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ourflagmeansdeath-kinkmeme · 10 months

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Gen — Izzy and/or Ed being pirate mentors

So the scene with Ed/Blackbeard and Calico Jack talking about their past working for Hornigold got me thinking Ed and Izzy have been at pirating for a while now so it's likely they've had people who have left the Queen Annes Revenge to go do their own thing by now. Whether they were deliberately teaching or considered it more like showing the new employee the ropes.

Its interesting to picture was Ed more hands-on with the crew then or would he have already started keeping to himself and being a mysterious boss. Did Izzy teach sword fighting? I think he would have to any new recruits who weren't up to par and taught a select few other things as well.

Could work with OCs but as I'm typing this I just pictured him teaching a young Elizabeth Swan (who is being ransomed) and Will (who tagged along) to keep them busy. cause idk there are already people in the brig.

Anyway I think anything showing their effect on the next generation of pirates would be interesting

Fill: None

#C: Edward Teach | Blackbeard #C: Israel “Izzy” Hands #C: Elizabeth Swan (Pirates of the Caribbean)#C: Will Turner (Pirates of the Caribbean)#P: General | No Pairing #AU: Pirates of the Caribbean #T: Teaching Someone Something #Fill: None

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batsarebetterthanpeople · 2 years

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You know after thinking about it I think my main problem with Izzy stans once you get past the obvious one, which is the way that they are racist to Ed, (Clearly my main problem but not the problem I’m here to talk about) is that they don’t even like Izzy. They like Ed, and they like Black Pete, and they like Calico Jack, but they can’t admit that they like those characters for some reason? (you know why they can’t admit that they like Ed and Black Pete)

Like the ways Ed’s back story gets cannibalized for Izzy in a lot of fics and the way people will swap Izzy and Ed’s personalities is well trod territory. Ed is treated as enjoying violence and having a toxic masculinity problem and Izzy is treated like someone who’s trying desperately to make his working relationship with Ed beneficial when in the show those rolls are switched. You’ve heard this meta before. I just made a whole post about the way that Jack’s roll in Ed’s backstory (i.e. like 90% of the reason he exists as a character) gets ignored in favor of giving that roll to Izzy. And don’t even get me started on Black Pete. Both Izzy and Black Pete struggle with toxic masculinity, are obsessed with Blackbeard, and desperately wants to be in a leadership roll and aren’t very good at it. But so far at least Black Pete is the one undergoing the redemption arc and getting better, and Izzy is the one getting worse. I see people wanting a relationship with Lucius to redeem him and I’m like girl you have that. That’s Black Pete. Like Black Pete chose to get better and he’s still working on it but when he realized that Blackbeard wasn’t who he thought he was he minded his business and he went from complaining about sewing being womens work and worrying about what Blackbeard’s crew would do in episode one to learning through his relationship with Lucius to be sweet and vulnerable. And while Izzy in canon is attracted to Lucius i guarantee you that Lucius will not be playing that roll in his narrative, because it’s the roll he plays for Black Pete. That’s not to say that Lucius fixed him, but they will give Lupete’s dynamic to Izzy for no fucking reason.

So I’m gonna do something I don’t usually do and that’s defend Izzy here. If you’re gonna like Izzy there are tons of things about him that you can like. His psychosexual obsession with Blackbeard and his and Ed’s weird codependency is juicy enough to drive the plot at times. He’s a little freak to the point where he got his toe cut off and he liked it. He’s stubborn. He’s driven. He’s manipulative. He’s plotting and conniving. He sees other people as caricatures of themselves and DOES NOT react well at all to people falling outside of the box he’s made for them. He’s angry all the time. He can’t identify love. He’s jealous of Stede in the way that a child is jealous of their friends’ friends. All of these are wonderful traits in a blorbo (and terrible traits in a person, but a blorbo is not a real boy) They make him interesting and they give him layers. It’s very fun to theorize what happened to him to make him this way. There are many reasons to like Izzy Hands. But it’s kind of annoying when other characters’ cool stuff is ascribed to Izzy and those characters are ignored and maligned in favor of Izzy, especially when those characters are the brown romantic lead and the bald kinda frumpy guy with a lisp, who in 99% of media doesn’t get to be seen as hot but in this media gets to be desired. And it makes me feel bad for your Izzy that you cant like him for him.

#its because Ed is brown pete is disabled and conventionally unnattractive and jack is gross and offputting #I will accept that their reasons for disliking Jack are valid #however they're gonna need to get over the things that are making them dislike Ed and Black Pete post fucking haste #I even saw someone describe Izzy as flamboyantly gay (they used more words than that)#and I had to read over their paragraph a few times to figure out where Izzy was fitting in to this description of stede #before I realized they weren't talking about Stede at all they were describing Izzy #but that was one individual where as the thing with pete and jack and ed is a fucking pattern #I like Calico Jack for Calico Jack #It's not his negative traits that are the problem #put some fucking respect on Black Pete's name now

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our-flag-means-death-ao3feed · 1 year

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The Lost Children of Ikatera

by PhantomEllie

Literary scholars are reeling after a once-in-a-lifetime discovery hidden in a vault belonging to the famed 19th century publisher Benjamin Hornigold. A heretofore unknown work by the notorious adventure novelist and traveler Jonathan “Calicut Jack” Rackham has been released over a century after his mysterious disappearance on 1913. A controversial figure in his time, Mr. Rackham was both celebrated and abhorred for his novels which were known to be as linguistically exaggerated as they were absurd.

The work (which appears to have faced censorship at the time of its publishing due to the gratuitousness of its language) is an obviously fictional account of Mr. Rackham’s last journey with famed scientist Edward Teach in which he claims that they discovered a new species of human which possessed the upper-body of a human and the lower-body of a fish! This work would therefore be one of the most detailed accounts of mermaids (and mermen) to precede the 20th century. If, of course, the reader is so easily swayed as to believe it.

For the OFMD Reverse Big Bang 2023 in conjunction with @QueenHasNoLife. Work complete, 2 Chapters will be posted every Mon, Wed, Fri until finished.

Words: 10346, Chapters: 2/10, Language: English

Series: Part 1 of The Children of Ikatera

Fandoms: Our Flag Means Death (TV)

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: M/M, Multi, Other

Characters: Blackbeard | Edward Teach, Stede Bonnet, "Calico" Jack Rackham, Israel Hands, Crew of the Revenge (Our Flag Means Death), The Badminton Twins, Officer Hornberry (Our Flag Means Death), Geraldo (Our Flag Means Death), Karl the Seagull (Our Flag Means Death), Benjamin Hornigold

Relationships: Blackbeard | Edward Teach/Stede Bonnet/"Calico" Jack Rackham, Blackbeard | Edward Teach/Stede Bonnet, past Blackbeard | Edward Teach/Israel Hands/"Calico" Jack Rackham, Mentioned Oluwande Boodhari/Jim Jimenez, Pre Buttons (Our Flag Means Death)/Israel Hands

Additional Tags: Canon-Typical Violence, Alternate Universe - Victorian, Victorian Science Fiction, Unreliable Narrator, POV "Calico" Jack Rackham, Anti-Villain Jack Rackham, Māori Blackbeard | Edward Teach, Trans Israel Hands, Humor, Pining, Unrequited Love, Stede Bonnet Whump, Injured Stede Bonnet, Hurt Stede Bonnet, Imprisonment, Body Horror, Badminton Eye Trauma, Hornberry Whump, Mermaid Sex, Monsterfucking, Hermaphroditic Mermaids, Stede Bonnet Has a Big Dick, Stede Bonnet Has a Small Dick, Stede Bonnet in fact has Two Dicks, And they both get sucked at the same time, Sexual Experimentation, Threesome - M/M/Other, Rimming, Fisting, Anal Fisting, Blow Jobs, Wall Sex, Sex In A Cave, Floor Sex, Multiple Sex Positions, Mild Painplay, Light Masochism, ovipositor, Ovipositor Fellatio, Oviposition WITHOUT eggpreg/mpreg, Pregnant Background Character Mentioned, Belly Bulge, Come as Lube, Flavored Lube, Bad Dirty Talk, Mild Consensual Autocannibalism, Animal Death (RIP Karl), Protracted Villainous Monologue, Author Open To Hearing About Dead Batteries, weird victorian inventions

source https://archiveofourown.org/works/47669038

#Our flag means death #ofmd #https://archiveofourown.org/works/47669038

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stedelovesed · 2 years

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Creating generative value

Or: Why We Need to Stop Worrying and Trust that Nathan Foad Will Be Back for Season 2

Gals, gays and theys, (swash)buckle up. What we were hoping, crying and begging for happened: in early June, our beloved gay pirate show Our Flag Means Death was renewed for season 2. We’re going to get our BlackBonnet reunion. Repeat: we are going to get our BlackBonnet reunion. Stede and Ed are going to be together again, and they are going to talk about their feelings, and they are going to be happy. This, I manifest.

Of course, there’s someone else that we are all desperate to see - Lucius Spriggs, the Revenge’s scribe, played by Nathan Foad. David Jenkins, creator, writer and executive producer of OFMD, recently Tweeted an image of the season 2 premiere script to announce that filming for season 2 had begun. The Tweet was accompanied by a very cryptic caption: “Anyone care to have their shit fucked up? Because this is happening. 🏴‍☠️💔🦄 #OurFlagMeansDeath #justiceforluciusrip” Leon Miller, writing for CBR.com, reckons that Jenkins’ hashtag #justiceforluciusrip “seemingly confirmed that Nathan Foad's Lucius Spriggs did indeed die at the hands of Taika Waititi's Blackbeard” in the Season 1 finale, "Wherever You Go, There You Are."

Devastating if true, of course. Foad’s Lucius was nothing short of incredible. At the risk of sounding cliché, he’s the heart of the ship; warm, gentle, supportive, and, as a viewer, so, so funny. We watched as he comforted Stede during the events of the eighth episode, “We Gull Way Back, as Stede battled with feelings of jealousy towards Ed’s old friend and former lover, Calico Jack. Lucius’s romance with Black Pete (Matthew Maher) is nothing short of joyous. It’s deep and complex and filled with love, desire and respect - just another example of how this show elevates and prioritises queerness.

The final episode, though. Agh. My heart hurts to think about it. Ed is heartbroken and believes that Stede left him on the beach because he didn’t love him back, and his coping mechanism is to wander around the Revenge in Stede’s old robe and take sad baths. Lucius is there for him through it all, offering support and kindness to Ed. And Ed, heartbroken Ed, decides to push Lucius over the side of the ship and leave him to die.

Brutal. I still can’t believe I even typed those words. If I had more space in this post, I’d explain, at length, why I believe that Ed was so utterly devastated with grief that having Lucius around was just a reminder of Stede, but I don’t, so I won’t. Nevertheless, I’m convinced that we haven’t seen the last of Lucius Spriggs. Sure, Nathan Foad hasn’t been posting on Instagram about being in New Zealand for filming like other cast members. Sure, David Jenkins’ Tweet and hashtag don’t really give us a lot of hope for Lucius’ survival. Here’s the thing, though: Lucius will come back for season 2, and here’s why.

First of all, for all the reasons I’ve mentioned above and more - Lucius Spriggs is the heart and soul of the Revenge. If there’s one thing OFMD knows, it’s how to give its viewers the warm fuzzies. Second, the absolute drama that will erupt when Lucius appears, alive and well, on deck after Ed thought he’d killed him - there’s no way that David Jenkins would deprive us of Foad’s exquisite facial expressions during a scene like this. Third - and perhaps this is the cynic in me - but we’re here talking about it, aren’t we? OFMD is a television show that skyrocketed in popularity through word-of-mouth. Fandom is one of the best media marketing tools there is, and even for that reason alone, the ‘surprise’ return in season 2 of one of OFMD’s best characters would cause the fandom to go into meltdown, even if it was just to Tweet, “I told you so #Luciuslives”.

#NETS5005

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factual-fantasy · 6 months

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22 asks, Happy new years!! :DD🎉🎉

:DD That's Kwazii! Thank you! I'm so glad you like my redesigns for all of them! :}}}

Yesn't! Kwazii isn't Calico Jack's son- he's his grandson- but Kwazii is part Calico, part orange tabby! :}}

Why thank you! :DD

@tallchest13-blog

SWORD BUDDIES YEEEAAAHH!!

Well Bibi cant say no to some cookies! XXDD

(Also thank you! I'm glad you like him! :}}} )

@elegysonnet

YAAAAAS I LOVE THE MAKING JEVIL EAT AND ASGORE/GRILLBY BEING DAD--

Although I don't know exactly how she would lose her AU.. Grillby and River lost their au becuase of a choice being undone. Think of it like this,

I was thinking that Grillby and Rivers timelines were the result of a humans (likely a Frisk's) decision. Then a reset was done and that decisions was changed. The thing that created that branching timeline was undone. Effectively erasing the timeline and everyone in it..

Because Frisk is the one with the resetting power.. how can her timeline be erased? If she's the one undoing things? The timeline just follows her path.. And since I don't want any of those world destroying sans' around, Like Error and nightmare.. I'm still thinking of ways that she could be left stranded.. :/

All of this said, its a little more complicated then that but that's a simple way to put it-

Because my AU had already been fully re-written before the DLC came out. And she wasn't written into it :/ nor do I want to add her- she is a lore screw up n' a half- XDD

Oh? You made a comic? :00 Neat! :DD

The 1-ups grew out of what now-

(Also thank you! :DD And although I didn't intend for the 1-UPs to grow out of bodies.. it is an interesting/terrifying thought! :D

@2006-stupid-thatsme

Thank you so much! :DD As for facts about my little OCs.. hmm.. trying to remember <XD

Well I know that Bibi's favorite flavor of cake is Vanilla, (same dude)..

And uhh.....

..huh, my memory isn't doing me many favors today. That's about all I can remember- <XDD so sorry!

NOOOO! ANYTHING BUT THAT! XDD

Also thank you! :DD I'm glad it does! :}}

XD No, I would just knock his hat off if I did

WAAAAAAAHAGG THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! 💖😭😭💖💖💖

Also! I think you're talking about this comic I made!(?) If so, you can find all the stuff about them under the "deltarune" tag on my blog :00

As for Bibi and my other critters, I'm glad you like them! You can find all of their stuff under either "bibi" or "factual fam" ..Man I really need to make a master post for them-

No no, I just Googled "marsh rabbit" and drew what I saw :0

Yes exactly! I believe that's the idea! :00

@beryl-shade

XD Whelp Caine is dead-

@the-cactus-taco

(ALSO WAAAAHG THANK YOU!! :DD)

@graycoin

AWE! Thank you so much!! :DD

Aww! Luigi was getting anxious while training with the ice power so Mario got some fire power and gave him a hug 🥺💖

:DDD Thank you so much!! :}}}

#my response #octonauts #fnaf security breach #factual fam #bibi #super mario bros #undertale #deltarune

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chuplayswithfire · 2 years

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this thought just hit me but it's got me in my chest, its really got me here, but i don't think edward is actually a violent person at all. violence is a tool of the trade and a means to an end and he's absolutely aggressive as a front, but we don't really actually see ed being physically violent when its not for a job until the very end of the season, and i don't think that's a mistake.

ed's primary response to feeling humiliated or threatened is to threaten others, but he doesn't actually attack them. think about the french captain - when that man uses a slur against him, he gets up, he yells, he raises his voice, but the man is on the ground in front of him in a heap, perfectly vulnerable, and ed never once touches him when he's screaming and yelling, even when it might be easy and expected for him to kick him around.

he orders fang to kill the man, and in an exceedingly horrible fashion, absolutely, and its an expression of his anger, but its also about setting an example and reputation. you use racial slurs against blackbeard? you insult blackbeard? you die screaming horribly.

and ed doesn't watch. ed doesn't have it happen in front of him. ed doesn't even seem to enjoy it so much as he's fucking furious and setting an example, but he never gets his own hands dirty with it.

in the same way, when he threatens someone for the loot - its the clearest example of him turning aggression on like a switch, stabbing a knife, threatening violence, but never actually USING violence.

on the party boat, in that horrible moment at the party? his response is to get up and make himself bigger and louder and threaten but again, he doesn't try to hurt anyone. we see that he HAD his weapon, and there were plenty of knives at that table, and blackbeard could absolutely take down a bunch of snobby, snotty, rich punks. but he DOESN'T. he flees, and only thinks about actually engaging in violence when he's too far away to do it. and he lets himself be talked down in seconds.

when we actually see ed commit some physical violence for the first time, its against his abusive father, in what appears to be at least a slightly premeditated kill to remove his father from his and his mother's life. we see that ed's father smacked his mother around, that he threw plates, that he was a drunk and expressed his frustrations with violence - and killing him would appear to be the last time ed struck out at a PERSON in violence that wasn't about the job

(person because he did kill that snake viciously and with prejudice, though i think thats reasonable tbh. reminds me of myself with the broom every time i see a bug in my house -)

even with calico jack, ed's violence is all games and fun - shooting bottles, shooting drawers, getting whipped, staging a turtle vs crab fight, throwing coconuts at each other - and the only time he gets physical otherwise is when he snaps jack's oar over his leg and dives off the boat. even though finding out your friends have been sold out by one of your oldest buddies is absolutely the time most people would throw a punch, ed doesn't.

the first time we see him be violent towards a person in the present is with izzy when he punches him in the face directly after being released into his care and being told stede's going to die now, because of izzy. stede, who ed loves and who izzy KNOWS ed loves and who ed knows izzy knows ed loves, just to make that sentence more confusing. it's the first time we see ed react with violence and its equal parts to get away and defend stede as it is because of the emotional upheaval.

the next time we see ed lash out with violence is after he endures a truly terrible amount of homophobic aggression from izzy. it's emotional and verbal abuse, but its also just, such utter homophobic aggression, and this might be controversial but i think its perfectly RIGHT that ed strike izzy in that moment. when someone tells a queer person that their affection, their love, their mourning, their grief and loss for their partner makes them a THING that should have been killed, that doesn't deserve to live, that they would be better off dead than being openly affectionately mourningly queer? that person actually does deserve to face some physical violence!

fuck that shit!

izzy absolutely deserved to get the shit KICKED out of him in that moment, but its not about what izzy deserves, its about what ed needs, and what ed did not need was to be kicked at his lowest with every sore spot to goad him into violence (reasonable, understandable, VALID violence) that absolutely seemed to take him right back to his father, to that abuse. there's a reason ed didn't just become blackbeard again, but the kraken, who was born in ed's survival instinct but also his need to escape an abusive situation. ed becomes the kraken again because he is horrified at himself and terrified of himself and what he's become, if he can be like his father and lash out with violence when he's angry, and because izzy *validates* that and tells him that this thing he hates is all he can be.

but ed isn't naturally inclined to violence, its not his natural state, its a defense mechanism that kicks in when all else is lost. we KNOW its not just because of disrespect because izzy?

izzy is utterly disrespectful to edward at various points in the show. izzy calls him a twat to his face. izzy questions him. izzy insults him and yells at him and edward laughs it off and shrugs it away and changes the conversation and leaves the conversation. izzy initiates violence at every turn with so many characters, and ed doesn't step up to the plate to dish any out until the very end, when he's hurt and vulnerable and doesn't think he can get away from this. i DON'T think that ed has been violent with izzy this whole time, in their history. it doesn't fit with ed's behavior. it doesn't fit with izzys - izzy would have called ed out on it, if ed normally punched or slapped or choked izzy for insubordination, because its clearly part of their regular routine.

this is why it means so much that ed shoves lucius over, barely seeming to be present, fully emotionally distanced, that he cuts izzy's toe off in the dark and makes him eat it in a show of calculated violence without much emotion at all, has the crew marooned with utter calm, and then has a sobbing breakdown the second he's behind closed doors. violence has been part of his life as part of the job, not as an emotional outlet, and its killing him to make it one.

#ofmd #our flag means death #ofmd meta #edward teach #izzy hands #ofmd spoilers #domestic violence #for the stuff about mom teach and dad teach

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