#my favorite ship is actually ed and stede (obviously) but i wanted to give some other characters the spotlight

[magnusthepuppet]

OFMD WEEK DAY #4:

favorite ship

pardon for the late submission again, i was caught up with some work yesterday…have some tealoranges tho!

[darkfire359]

My personal ranking of Izzy ships, based entirely on how much I like them:

1. Blackhands: My beloved toxic dumpster fire! Izzy just has so many feelings here, it’s hard to not want to focus on it. Probably a personal favorite just because of all the interesting power dynamics here (which I love). Hard to ever have a happy ending with this ship, but that’s okay.

2. Steddyhands: I feel like all my favorite fics are this. A good way to get the fun of Blackhands without everyone involved being miserable forever. I love it when the dynamic is “experienced vet helping new intern with world’s meanest cat.” I love it when the dynamic is “divorced couple get a marriage counselor, repair their marriage, also marry the marriage counselor.” And I love it when it’s just straight-up Ed and Stede conspiring together to seduce their grumpy first mate. So many fun takes on this!

3. Lusrael: I ship it more every time I see Nathan and Con do anything together. I think it’s the single most likely ship to happen in canon (not counting the Blackhands failmarriage). I think I’m personally just a little less excited by the dynamic in fics.

4. Gentlehands: Hard for this to not just be Steddyhands, but I do appreciate it on its own. Probably my favorite angle is “bitter rivals must team up to win back their ex, have hatesex, spend the whole time imagining their rival is actually their ex, accidentally fall in love.”

5. Calicohands: This ship made me actually like Jack as a character, sometimes. I think Jack’s style of affection of affection is something Izzy could actually accept (tackle-hugs, nuggies, friendly shoulder punch, etc) and while it’s not optimal, our poor baby might be touch-starved enough to like it anyway. I also like Jack having unrequited feelings and the resulting angst (in case you couldn’t tell from my #1 ship).

6. Jackie/Izzy: They’re actually friends, maybe! And Jackie would be the type of dom Izzy would love. Izzy does seem more gay than bi to me though, unfortunately.

7. Izzy/OC: Obviously highly variable. I’ve certainly enjoyed Izzy/Bryce from HoHW quite a lot, as well some other one-off portrayals of Sam. But #7 is probably appropriate in terms of how likely I am to actively seek out such fics.

8. Ivan/Fang/Izzy: I think I saw some art of this like once and it was good art. Also I see David and Con taking newlywed pics together and it makes me like Fang/Izzy more. IDK. They’re there, they know each other, it could happen.

9. Izzy/Roach: They both like sharp weapons. Roach at least tried to give Izzy a sandwich once, which was nice. But they don’t have much actual or implied interaction in the show.

10. Jim/Izzy: I’m very excited about them together platonically. Maybe it could work romantically? But unlike Lucius and Pete, Jim/Olu don’t come off as quite so poly.

11. Izzy/Pete: They could bond over being Blackbeard fans. They could get together by both dating Lucius. Possibilities exist.

11. Izzy/Frenchie: I’ve enjoyed some fics of this, but overall, I admittedly don’t see the appeal. Frenchie taunted Izzy with “In your face, Jizzy!” after he lost the duel. Izzy held Frenchie at gunpoint in a scary (rather than a sexual tension-y) way. It feels like this ship is just happening because Frenchie and Izzy are stuck on the same ship together post-e10.

12. Izzy/Buttons: Butthands is a terrible name. I think Buttons is in a monogamous relationship with the sea. Good art though.

13. Izzy/Wee John: John is big and could lift Izzy in a princess carry. I can’t think of anything else to say here.

14. Izzy/Olu: I feel like this would be a healthy relationship for Izzy, because Olu is the type of person who has healthy relationships. Therefore, Izzy would never go for him.

15. Izzy/Swede: I feel like Izzy would actually hate this. The Swede is probably the least competent member of the Revenge crew. This relationship would be a disaster and not in the fun way like Blackhands is.

16. Izzy/Mary: I really really like them platonically. So much. But I feel like a romance would make negative sense.

17. Izzy/Chauncey: This actually skeeves me out, no.

[laceratedlamiaceae]

Ed, Olu

(character ask game)

ooh okay I'll start with Oluwande and put Ed under the cut because I can't help being a bitch about him sorry

how I feel about the character: I used to not really like him that much because I thought he was too nice, but I've since gotten into the awkward energy of lines like "I'm gonna try to undo some of the damage from that interaction" and now I think he's pretty cool. OTP: Tealoranges, of course. (Is that the generally accepted ship name for Jim/Oluwande? it's the one I've been using). OT3: I'm intrigued by Jim/Oluwande/Spanish Jackie. NOTP: Honestly shipping him with anyone other than Jim would just feel wrong to me, but I guess the worst would be Oluwande/Stede. favorite bromance: Frenchie. Their whole thing in episode 5 was so good. favorite family dynamic: When the whole crew unanimously votes him as captain. He was only captain for like half a second but I love the way they all trusted him to lead them and we'd better get more of that in season 2. favorite canon thing about them: I'm not quite sure how to put this, but he just has good vibes. Whenever he's on screen it just feels nice to see him there. So I guess my favorite canon thing about him is just that he's there lol. favorite headcanon: He was trying to get with Jim for months before they killed Jackie's husband and the two of them had to run away, they just didn't pick up on it at all until they were in a life-threatening situation. Like there's no way he would be good at flirting and you know Jim would be into mortal peril.

how I feel about the character: I hate him. I've actually done a lot of introspection as to why and I think the main reason is that I envy him--why does he get to be such a whiny, emotional, annoying, sad, pathetic, crybaby little bitch and still be loved when I never did? I know that's wrong and I'm trying to get over it though. (that being said I do also just find his general mannerisms annoying too. that bit in episode 4 where he's trying to show Izzy the model ship when Izzy obviously doesn't care is so grating on me) OTP: That post I reblogged a while ago going "I love blackbonnet because I wouldn't want to inflict them on anyone else" was so true. OT3: The only option I can even think of is steddyhands, and while I used to be kind of into them I'm not anymore, so I'll just make one up and say Spanish Jackie/Ed/Jim because he needs two terrifying people to keep him steady. NOTP: I'm tempted to say blackhands just because Izzy is my favorite character and I don't want him with my least favorite, but I do sometimes get into the tragedy of them so I think I'll go with Ed/Frenchie, just because I've actually seen that one and it does not do it for me. favorite bromance: uhh I guess the friendship that once existed between him and Izzy in my mind? favorite family dynamic: I love how his mom tried preparing him for the harsh realities of life and ended up unwittingly reinforcing harmful beliefs that would haunt him well into middle age. That was so real. favorite canon thing about them: He is very sexy with the beard and the leather, I'll give him that. favorite headcanon: He, like Frenchie, is deathly afraid of cats. I just think that would be funny.

[dumbkiwi]

to clarify: i love blackbonnet as the endgame for the show.

but i really dont like a lot of blackbonnet fanon bc i think so many ppl miss the mark on stede. forget "darling" "my love" etc. what happened to "Ed, do you know this guy? He's being a complete asshole!" <3 let him be a bitch!!

moreover - stede is consistently shown to be so incredibly selfish. as his #1 character trait. swede has scurvy? cake wasnt that good anyways. Mary hates the fucking ocean? wasn't listening. remorse only comes when he's having a ~spooky mormon hell dream~ and he feels bad, more out of a fear of retribution than anything. Ed seems antsy and riled up? time to solve this with an adventure that makes him obviously miserable! even if he's saying he's doing it for someone else, he's doing it to ease his own conscience or bc it's what he would have wanted to do anyways.

basically, i think that stede doen't necessarily have blinding self-confidence, but in spite of his insecurities he remains just. so not self-aware and entitled. he's ridiculously bold in demanding things so people tend to give into what he wants, so he's never really told no. whenever he is, this is viewed as an obstacle to overcome/win. (see: the fuckery) he's truly shocked when he's disliked, never questions his own judgement or ideas, and expects everyone in a space to mold themselves around him. he doesn't listen to what most people say unless it'll have a direct effect on him ("that's a bit advanced for you mate" from his favorite person, or "i think he's more than up to the challenge" from his least favorite person?) and only feels remorse or guilt because he feels bad for himself -- never because of what hes put the other person through. stede bonnet lives in a world where he is the main character and everyone else (the people he loves included) are NPCs; he never once thinks that he affects other people in the way that they affect him.

and that makes him a fantastic pair for ed, because Ed *loves* selfish people. 1) it gives him something to play off of bc he's a social chameleon with adhd cant relate wym ; 2) everyone treats him with such reverence, putting him on a pedestal, and it's gotta be so refreshing to be around people who treat him like Just Some Guy. so then when ed in turn is bitchy or bratty or what have you, theyll treat him like a person and not like Blackbeard Hates Me; 3) Ed wants to be wanted, and selfish people want. it's the praise kink thing lol. being treated as blackbeard is incredibly isolating, and most people view him as a threat or unattainable ((or probably expect ed as pursuer)). but in front of izzy and stede and jack, who make their desires SO clear, ed can show off and preen. he is the object of desire, and that's just fun

not saying that stede jack or izzy dont respect ed, but their self interests will always come before eds well being. izzy expects so much from ed -- and if eds not stacking up, especially if izzy perceives his life hanging in the balance, he'll jump ship! jack doesn't give a shit that ed cares about stede. obvs you can say that he was on a mission, but he doesnt show any remorse for fucking with ed's happiness. and stede is completely unafraid to demand things of ed, too. i'm not even talking about going back to mary. the fuckery, questioning izzy's authority (instead of thinking that there might be a reason this seasoned sailor is taking issue with his judgement), not listening to what ed is saying about wanting to retire/just fold socks.

so idk i think what im trying to say is. the blackbonnet dynamic has so much potential to be bizarre and cool and interesting. but so many ppl only acknowledge this side of stede when izzy's thrown into the mix cause hes so hurtable. even when they want angst, use kraken!ed, which i think is such wasted potential. instead of forgiving stede for his actions, why not take his self-imposed ignorance as a form of malice!! he hurts people because he does not actually care about them! he's weirdly paternalistic and condescending to EVERYONE unless he sees himself as the victim. There are 33 works tagged 'Stede Bonnet has Issues' on AO3. 33!!! there are 300+ fics tagged 'Israel Hands has issues'. there is SO MUCH UNTAPPED POTENTIAL HERE.

some blackbonnet ideas below the cut, both sfw and nsfw, to get the ball rolling (maybe me @ myslf idk)

in general: ed taking on izzy's arm candy with a gun/queen of hell role as stede kinda takes over the captaincy. conflict between stede and kraken!ed when stede returns, but stede is pissed that ed doen't immediately accept his apology. play stede wanting one aspect of ed so fiercely against ed's fear of rejection. possessive stede in general, but also ed not immediately buckling

for nfsw! stede inflicting overstim torture. dubcon with stede not understanding/willfully ignoring boundaries and ed realizing that like izzy his boundaries are also malleable, and stede taking advantage of that. pillow princess or power bottom stede and service top ed. so many mind games. ed and stede both trying to out-dom each other fjeialfj.