#And Jack says they're all in various stages of fucking each other over

[candied-cae]

Ed's newfound naiveté as a recurrent theme is so special to me actually.

Ed is smart. He's so smart. He is so incredibly intelligent that he's regarded at "History's Greatest Tactician" by Pete minutes into his on-screen appearance. He displays an almost causal competence with being able to plan and plot a course based on his working memory of moon cycles, weather patterns, ocean currents, and known sailing routes.

He is really brilliant and it's exemplified in so many different ways. He should be planning moves that branch from 5 different results in 10 different directions to make sure he can get ahead of anything. Those are the skills he's had to sharpen to survive on the water as long as he has.

But, after meeting Stede, someone without ulterior motives or plans to hurt him, he stops looking for them. He stops suspecting everyone around him is watching to catch him off-guard. And it makes every betrayal hit him harder. The passive aggression of the rich folks at the party, the intentional steps taken by Izzy, Calico Jack's scheme, and even himself disguised as Hornigold from his memories, it all surprises him.

And especially in the cases of his Mate Calico Jack and Captain Benjamin Hornigold - these are people he should know aren't coming to him earnestly. He should know they always have a card up their sleeves and they're always watching out for number 1. He should be able to remain suspicious of them, working out the usual 10 steps ahead of wherever he is to prepare for whatever he could possibly do to make sure he survives.

And yet, he was caught by surprise both times.

And it results in some ridicule. Because "Blackbeard" doesn't make these beginner mistakes. He's better than this.

But Stede turned his whole world upside down, and he's started seeming optimistic. He started believe the best in people and trusting them after a single show of effort. He started thinking maybe his dreams weren't so impossible and maybe there were less people to be scared of than he originally thought.

Even when he was scorned (leaving The Revenge to go off with Jack - being abandoned by Stede in S1) he still hasn't put up all his walls again. He's definitely tried, that's why he "became the Kraken" but he's not as closed off as he thinks he is. He thinks he's hardened himself back up, he thinks he's impenetrable because he's ready to die and "stopped believing in love," he thinks he's back to business and back to who he was before Stede Bonnet ever happened to him...

But we still haven't actually seen it go away.

He's still somewhat expecting people to be genuine and honest with him. At the very least he's expecting the people who hate him to just say so.

And that's so, so, so special to me. His life before Stede Bonnet was full of him expecting the worst and finding whatever scrappy way he had to spin it to his advantage to keep moving forward. But since meeting him... he's started messing up that formula. He's been trusting too much.

That joy and belief hasn't died yet. I'm sure as he wakes up, he's going to act like he's got it all figured out again. He's going to act like his defenses can't be breached, but I believe that he's going to keep trusting too much for his own good. And here's to hoping that trust lands back in Stede's lap soon <3

#Cae Has Lots of Feelings About Our Flag Means Death #I love him I love him I love him #He's so babygirl #And so soft and hurt #Edward was practically changed on a chemical level by meeting Stede #Everything he's ever known about the laws of the universe were challenged by this one guy he happened to come across #And he's trying to undo all that changing #He's trying to undo the effects of Stede Bonnet on his life #But he can't #Not as easily as he pretends he can #I think there's also something to say about people who have directly hurt him in the past being the ones he still ended up trusting #Because they say point blank that Hornigold was abusive to him and Jack and other people on their crew #And Jack says they're all in various stages of fucking each other over #These are no good people and he knows it #And yet... he opened himself up too wide and got hurt. #I think the Hornigold scene is going to be treated a little bit as 'the time the lesson finally sank in' #That he can't trust people at all and least of all will he let himself trust Stede #But Edward Teach won't be able to stick to that for very long #He's going to love and miss being loved #And he's going to fix things #So he can enjoy the perfect feeling of family #And also a husband- who said that? #Our Flag Means Death #OFMD #Our Flag Means Death Season 2 Spoilers #Our Flag Means Death Spoilers #OFMD Spoilers #OFMDS2 #OFMD s2 spoilers #Edward

[brigdh]

Ed and the mortifying ordeal of being known

Ed does not like revealing his feelings. He is incredibly consistent about lying,

hiding

displacing,

distracting, or just outright denying what he's feeling instead of actually talking about it. This is a consistent pattern of behavior with him. There are a few exceptions – most significantly, I think, the bathtub scene where he confesses to Stede about killing his father – but they are a) rare, and b) occur under unusual circumstances, such as a PTSD flashback. In general Ed goes to great lengths to prevent people from recognizing the truth about him.

I don't really blame Ed for this habit, to be clear. He went through an abusive childhood, and though we don't see a lot of the exact dynamics in baby Ed's house, it's very common for abused children to become hyper vigilant of both their own and others' emotions. It's an attempt to exert some, any control they can over the situation, as though they can prevent setting off the abuser if they just always say and do the right thing.

Ed escaped into piracy, but in terms of talking about his feelings, I don't think it was much of an escape. Piracy in OFMD seems to be a place where the idea of having friends (though not the reality – I'd argue Ed might not use the word 'friend', but has had close relationships) is to be scoffed at. "We're all just in various stages of fucking each other over!" says Calico Jack, and being open about your emotions, plans, hopes, etc would just make it all the easier to be betrayed. On the other hand, lying, obfuscating, or just telling everyone about Plan A and then instead pulling off Plan B makes you look like a double-crossing genius who outthought everyone around you. So I'm not surprised that's Ed's learned to be manipulative and uncommunicative. I don't think he's ever been in a situation where emotional openness wouldn't be a disadvantage.

Regardless of why he does this, it's very clear that it's a pattern of behavior for him. This is one reason why I don't think Sad Robe Ed back in Episode 10 was healing – healing requires addressing and dealing with your feelings, and Ed was very much not doing that. I've already written a whole post going through that episode and laying out how Ed never once mentions Stede, or love, or heartbreak, or anything related to what he's going through, so I'm not going to do it again here. In brief, Ed's putting on a performance of sadness for the crew, but it's a generic, vague sort of sadness, without any connection to his personal, specific pain.

Who finally brings up Stede in Ep 10? It's sure not Ed. Izzy:

Which brings us to Season Two. How is Ed doing now?

He's once again making a performance of his pain, and once again keeping it vague, not letting any of his true, personal hurts be revealed.

These:

Are performances of his pain and sadness, but just like before, they're generic, unspecific. This is "Mad Devil Pyrate Blackbeard", not heartbroken, human Ed. Who is it that brings up the private reality of what's causing this toxic atmosphere? Once again, not Ed. It's Izzy, just like before. And this time he gets shot immediately for saying Stede's name, and Ed doesn't even look at him.

In all three episodes, Ed mentions Stede directly only once, and very pointedly, it's when he's alone:

I'm glad Ed has decided that he wants to live, but that's the beginning of a journey, not the end. What I really want to see in the next couple of episodes is Ed finally, for once, opening up. He doesn't want to be vulnerable, but the lack of emotional intimacy that constantly lying and performing has gotten him is, quite literally, killing him.

Ed can't get over his own, very real pain until he's willing to admit that it exists. I want to see him acknowledge where he hurts. He needs friends. He needs love. He can't get those without being honest.

I hope he does. I hope the show will have him do this work instead of skipping him ahead immediately to the happy ending, no behavioral change required. I think they will. It's kind of their motto, after all: talk it through as a crew.

Now if the co-captains would just follow their own advice...

#I could work on articulating this more but I really want to post it before the new episodes tomorrow #our flag means death #ofmd meta #edward teach #blackbeard #ofmd 2x02 #ofmd 2x03 #ofmd 2x01 #ofmd s2 spoilers #ofmd s2 speculation

[tangerinesgirl]

Frank (Abigail) NSFW Alphabet

Rating: 18+, explicit

Notes: this is made with a Fem!Reader in mind, obviously spoilers for Abigail (2024), some mentions of CNC and various other kinks.

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

Aftercare for Frank before being a vampire wasn't really his thing, the most he would do is offer you a drink of water. However, after being turned, he felt more possessive over you and is way more attentive, making sure if he hurt you at all, since he can't really control his new abilities yet.

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

Frank pre vamp liked his general physique and mind the most, he would work out regularly and always liked being in charge and had to keep his mind sharp and how he could manipulate people. Post vamp he liked the fangs, how they looked on him and how they looked biting you. He couldn't keep them off you, making sure everyone could see who you belonged to.

His favourite body part on you is your neck obviously, but he's also partial to your breasts and ass. As long as they're covered in bite marks.

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

Frank loves seeing his cum over your chest, and watching you lick it from his fingers. It felt like a power trip to him seeing you helpless and covered in his cum.

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

Frank, even though always the dom, secretly wants to be pegged. He never ever shows this, but sometimes when you grab his hair and he moans, you kinda knew occasionally he wants to be topped, at least.

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

Frank is very experienced, he absolutely knows what he is doing and how to make a girl cum, but he would only use sex as a necessity, he would never get attached or think anything more of it. One night stands, only when he needed to. So he was never any good at the affectionate side, it was never really in his nature.

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)

Post vamp Frank will fuck you into next week and wants to try every position, everywhere, he does not care. If he has to pick, it would be doggy, so he could bite your ass occasionally, he also liked how deep he felt inside you this way.

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

Frank is a very serious person, sex with him is always calculated and rough. You couldn't joke with him, even if he would accidentally do something silly during the teething stages of being a vampire, he would hate you laughing at him and shut you up immediately.

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

Frank always prides himself on appearance. He has a little bit of hair down there that's well trimmed and aethetically pleasing. His chest has a few specks of hair. He's particularly fond of his V line and his light snail trail, and how you would lick down it.

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

Frank isn't the most intimate or romantic kind, he's purely sexually driven. Sometimes he buys you things from when a job has gone particularly well, or take you out to dinner, sometimes a holiday if he's feeling generous.

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)

Well if you've read this fic of mine, Frank likes it when you masturbate together when you have turned into his puppet as you can both feel each other through his powers and giving you instructions.

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

Apart from the obvious domination and masochism, he loves to humiliate and objectify you. Anything that gives him power over you. He's also an exhibitionist. Even though he's smart, when he's horny and needs you he doesn't think twice, he just has to have you there and then. Post vamp Frank is also determined to try mirror sex to see if his reflection vanishes (he's seen too many vampire films).

L = Location (favorite places to do the do)

You don't really stay at home a lot, Frank likes to get hotel rooms when he's on a job, and wants you there when he's particularly worked up over it to unwind. Post vamp Frank wants to try it in a church, to see if he'll burst into flames or not.

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

Frank never really shows you PDA himself (apart from hickies/bites), but you do it subtly to him. You like to slide your hands up his thighs under a table, and he goes WILD. It's a sure fire way to get him to fuck your brains out in the public restroom. He also loses his mind when you dress particularly well: whether it's a figure hugging ball gown or a new lingerie set he's bought you.

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

Frank is very possessive over you so isn't a huge fan of the idea of groups/threesomes, but he is pretty sexually open otherwise.

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

Frank typically is more of a receiver than a giver pre vampirism. Post vampirism, he gives a lot more, he can't help but nibble a little on your thighs on the way. He also loves to give when it's your time of the month for obvious vampire reasons.

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

Sex with Frank is always rough, he loves to see you come undone under him. He fucks deep, fast and hard, you can feel it for days afterwards.

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

Frank is a big fan of quickies, especially during a job, it adds to his feeling of being in charge. Quickies are quite a regular occurrence, he tends to be the one to initiate them. When you initiate them, he likes to humiliate you through it, calling you desperate, whore, slut... But you like it and only turns you on more.

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

Frank is always game to experiment, especially with his new vampire powers, even if you're a bit apprehensive. Even though Frank can be a little scary sometimes, and caught up in the moment, but you have safe words, it's very well planned out, and he always listens.

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

Frank pre vamp normally just lasts one round once a day, he tends to see sex as an obligatory job rather than a relaxed activity. Occasionally he does more if he really needs it. Post vamp Frank has an insane amount of stamina, he could honestly fuck you an entire day and not get tired. You have to beat him away with a stick sometimes when he fucks you too rough and you need a day to recover.

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

Frank likes to buy toys for you when he goes away before a job. He likes to ring you to make sure you're using them and how they feel. He likes watching you use them too.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

Frank is a HUGE asshole for this. He LOVES to tease you, work you up, then deny orgasms from you. He has a way with words that really gets you going. When you tease him in revenge, he hates it, he absolutely MUST be in charge and will show you a lesson.

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

Frank is VERY vocal, he likes to talk through exactly what he's going to do with you, even in public he likes to whisper sweet nothings into your ear, as well as the occasional derogatory pet names, and a "good girl" on a particularly nice day. He likes seeing how wild his voice drives you. He also moans an awful lot, especially in your ear, when fucking but also when feeding from you, saying how good you taste, which sends you into overdrive. It's honestly his hottest feature in your opinion.

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)

Frank loves seeing you tied up, as well as the occasional CNC where he would kidnap you and have his way with you. Another roleplay favourite of Frank's (and yours too) is being chased in the woods and hiding from him. He likes to smell the blood and the wetness coming from you.

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

Frank is average girth wise, but is slightly longer than most. He likes it when you choke on him from oral, and when he can see the bulge in your stomach when he fucks you against your cervix.

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

Frank post vamp has an insane sex drive, he loves using his vampirism, especially for sex. Not exactly that he misses you, he more misses the effect he has over you. He is a walking red flag, but the sex is great.

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

Frank doesn't sleep an awful lot. He never really switches off from work, so he would leave you in peace to go work or do some last minute planning in a different room, and end up falling asleep there.

#fanfic #reader #frank (abigail) x reader #frank x reader #adam barrett #adam barrett x reader #headcanons #alphabet #frank #abigail #frank abigail #movie #abigail 2024

[batsarebetterthanpeople]

Jack's thing is not that he super loves being a douchebag, his thing is that he's gone through what Ed had gone through. The same exact meat grinder that's making Ed say shit like "I'm unlovable and I don't have any friends and maybe death is a better option" is the thing that makes Jack say "pirates don't have friends we're all just in various stages of fucking each other over." And it's also the same thing that makes the crew act how they do in episodes 1.01-1.03. The show gives Jack sympathy this is not my woobification at work. They have Ed tell us that he's insecure and they have him tell the story about why he's the way that he is when they're discussing Hornigold. Jack's 15 minutes of fame fit incredibly fucking well into the overarching narrative of this show about toxic masculinity and if you can only see him as a villain rather than as a product of piracy just like Ed and Izzy and Mary and Anne and Fang, then you're missing an enormous part of both what he says about Ed and Ed's past and what he says about Stede and Stede's insecurities. That's the reason that people think Stede is having a Jack moment in 2.07, because Jack is what happens when you put Stede in the blender for long enough. You literally can't understand Jack as a character until you can imagine him and Ed as highschool aged kids getting flogged by their boss for holding hands.

You have to understand about him also that when Ed says to Stede that Stede and Jack have a lot in common because Jack comes on a bit strong at first but he's insecure, that Jack and Stede do in fact have the same insecurities about not being man enough. Think about how Stede acts when he's trying to be a real pirate and how he imagines himself in the fucking dream sequence that opens season 2 and then think about how Jack acts in his episode. Jack literally manages to trigger Stede's insecurities so bad because Jack is doing the exact same big man posturing that Stede wants to do so fucking bad. Stede at his highest manliest moment is Jack-esque.

#ofmd #our flag means death #calico jack #calico jack ofmd #stede bonnet #ed teach #ofmd meta

[chaotic-neutral-knitter]

Let's do soup.

A lot of people have been talking about how soup is doing some symbolic lifting in this season, but I've gotten really stuck on this scene in particular. Ed doesn't know that Hornigold is his own subconscious yet, but he confronts him about a time that Hornigold killed a member of his own crew (hey Ed are you maybe feeling bad about something?) and Hornigold gives him three options for dealing with all the horrible shit he's seen, done, or been unable to stop.

The first option is just "move on, you gotta move on." Or, in other words "toughen up, who cares that you feel bad about it, just lock that shit up and get over it." Ed got this advice a lot in season one. Izzy told him "the love of a pet makes a man weak" and Calico Jack told him "what kind of pirate has a friend, we're all in various stages of fucking each other over." It seems like this is just what pirates do. Frenchie starts out this season talking about how he bottles it all up. It's a stand in for all the toxic masculinity and repression that the show enjoys unpacking - in Hornigold's mind, if feelings can't rebuild an abdominal wall, they're useless.

The second option is "blow your brains out." It's become pretty clear at this point that Ed is trying his best to get someone angry enough to kill him. In season one, Ed is told repeatedly that dying is what happens when you fail to do option one. When Izzy says, "the only retirement we get is death," that's what he means. Ed can't retire, can't stop being a pirate, can't do things differently. He has to tread water until he drowns. When Izzy says "Blackbeard is my captain. I serve Blackbeard, not Edward. Edward better watch his fucking step," he is telling Ed to toughen up or die. At this point Ed, unimpressed, asks "Those are the options?" Hornigold does his little bup-bup-bup thing where he weighs them in his hands and says "Or, we could just make some soup."

Ed says "Yeah, soup. Let's do soup."

The third option is "soup." Soup can mean a lot of things - it's warm, it's nourishing, it's what you eat when you're sick. The show has been tying it to the crew of the Revenge by having them continually eat soup and talk about how great it is (Notably, in the scene above, Olu asks Yi Sao if she's really a soup seller and she says "Not exactly.")

What does "make some soup" mean for Ed? I think, above all, it's a third option in what has been an inescapable dichotomy of "be tough or die." The first person to break this dichotomy in the show is Stede, when he refers to piracy's culture of abuse and says "And my thought is, 'Why? And also, what if it weren't like that?'" before encouraging his crew to talk through their feelings. To the surprise of literally everyone, that works. The crew of The Revenge took the space that Stede gave them and built a family inside of it. They gave Ed the idea that maybe "tough it out or die" aren't the only two options, and he's still thinking about it even now.

Making soup is also work - Ed's going to have to deal with the fact that he tried to torture his crew into killing him - but it's good, useful work. It could be a metaphor for the kind of work you have to do to repair relationships with people you've hurt. The first thing Ed does in this episode is refuse the soup that Hornigold is giving him. It's poison, he doesn't want it.

So, I'm wondering if there's going to be a moment later in the season where Ed either literally makes soup or accepts it from someone else, and whether that will be Important To His Arc in some way.

Also, I'm really craving soup, so.

#hey what if I spent my entire evening writing a meta about soup #my nonsense #our flag means death #my brain just wouldn't let go of SOUP #ofmd meta #ofmd s2 #this is all actually meaningless and david jenkins is just in the pocket of Big Soup™ #edward teach #our flag means soup

[thornfield13713]

Sparrington, multiples of 12 (+ 47 since it doesn't reach 48)

...okay, full disclosure, I have been out of this fandom for about a decade at this point, so...this may end up a bit weird because it has been a very, very long time since I've seen the relevant material.

Favourite non-sexual activity?

Honestly, this is a tricky one, because I see this as a relationship of quick trysts and then parting ways before morning for much of its duration, which makes it very difficult for them to figure out what their favourite things to do together that aren't sexual are. Very much a case of fucking first and loving later.

That said, I sort of lean towards them enjoying the way they bicker most of all. Jack seems to be more inclined towards guns than swords, so while I think they would enjoy sparring together, I feel like the sparring is going to end up more often verbal than anything just because fencing, for Jack, more often appears as a necessity than a pleasure, though he is still quite good at it. That, and James would probably win most of the time, since most practice sparring is done in environments that don't favour Jack's way of using the terrain to his advantage to make up for inequalities of skill.

That said, I've always liked the idea of Jack-as-cartographer, which appears in the original script for Curse of the Black Pearl and is mentioned in the novelisation of same. It might be very neat if he's kept in practice, even if some of his maps are...more than a little fanciful, to say the least. And if their favourite joint activity was something like that. Honestly, I could see these two doing two separate things in the same room and being fine with it...right up until Jack decides he wants attention and is going to be a pest about it, anyway.

Who remembers things?

That would depend on the things being remembered. Both of them remember grudges quite well, no matter how petty, which means that fights between them have a tendency to get nasty just as soon as they get past the 'playful bickering' stage, just because there are so many old grievances that they are both willing to use to score points off one another.

Anything to do with the maintenance of the Pearl, Jack remembers with an exactitude that borders on the monomaniacal. Her crew...he is perhaps rather less solicitous of. It's got him into trouble before, because a mutiny does not generally come out of nowhere. James is better about remembering that part of ship maintenance, and in any hypothetical post-trilogy AU where he sticks around on the Pearl, this probably makes him quite an invaluable person to have around.

Anniversaries and such are...variable, in large part because any relationship between them likely started in somewhat fraught conditions and in a way that makes it difficult to pin down a solid start date. They probably each hold a collection of dates that mean a lot to them, which may or may not line up with one another's.

Typical date night? Out or at home?

This changes, over time. Assuming a relationship starting while James is still commodore, in the beginning, they have brief assignations...usually at anonymous inns in various ports, once or twice, daringly, in James' own lodgings in Port Royal, usually because Jack climbed in the window (that classic of 2000s-2010s-era Sparrington fic). These are usually hurried things, primarily sexual but with conversation afterwards, usually while still in bed, before one or other of them gets themselves together enough to up and leave.

This changes, after James joins the crew of the Pearl and he and Jack actually get to the point of having a domestic life, when date night-type things shift to shore leave, when they're at port. In which case...it's usually a tavern, a few drinks (or more than a few, Jack being Jack and James...also having some issues with alcohol, though more usually when depressed than when happy), and sometimes a rented room if they feel like a bit more privacy than the Pearl's captain's cabin can allow.

How do they make up after a fight?

This is another thing that changes between the two phases of their relationship.

During the Port Royal days, they...didn't, really. If they argued during an assignation or clashed as pirate and commodore, they just wouldn't talk about it and then however many weeks or months later Jack would come slinking back through James's window or they'd arrange another assignation and continue just not talking about it.

And then James lost his commission, the plot of film two happened, the plot of film three possibly also happened, James miraculously survived, and suddenly they were having to be around each other all the time and just...not talking about it and slinking back into each other's lives once they'd cooled down just wasn't an option.

James...seems to be a 'talk it out straightforwardly' type, based on that one deleted scene of him talking frankly with Elizabeth about the fact that he knows he was, at best, her second choice. Jack...very much is not. This is going to cause issues. I suspect this is probably going to be the biggest stumbling block in their relationship - whether they can find a way to work through their (many, serious) differences of opinion and worldview.

I suspect that, eventually, they settle into a pattern of 'have a blazing row about it, sulk for a few days, reapproach the subject once they've both calmed down and had time to consider one another's points'. James is usually more direct in bringing the subject of the row up again, Jack weaves words around it, coming at things sideways, and they both end up talking past each other quite a lot, so it often takes a few cuts at an argument to reach an equitable solution.

#pirates of the caribbean

[bookshelfdreams]

Hi, what are your thoughts about all these fine people drinking when they are separated from those they care about? For me it's sad on a level I can't quite grasp but seems to be connected to how I felt during the past two years (even though I only drink when I have company).

hi! haha, i didn't think anyone would actually take me up on this, thank you <3 Original post by @amuseoffyre here

Throughout the show, alcohol is used as a shorthand for loneliness. Of course there's social drinking; but if a character over-indulges, it's usually to show they feel isolated and fail to make connections.

The very first person we ever see drunk is, iirc, Mary in ep4, which is an interesting choice considering this is a show about pirates.

We only see her take a few sips, but when she speaks and stands up it's pretty obvious that she's rather tipsy. This is of course a comedy stereotype (day-drinking wine mom lol) but it's not played for laughs. She's sitting at a table with Stede but they're not enjoying a glass of wine together; she's drinking because she's frustrated and isolated in her marriage (she and Stede can't communicate etc etc).

The other, noticeably drunk person is, of course Calico Jack, who I don't thing we ever see sober (only hungover). When he first appears he can barely stand straight, and it only gets vaguely better; he is always drinking. Even at breakfast.

Now the interesting thing is here, while that could technically qualify as social drinking - neither Jack nor Ed drink alone! - it's still in line with my thesis. watch me make this work

If this show has a central theme, I would say it is the discovery and acceptance of the authentic self. It is about playing roles and conforming to expectations; and how, to achive happiness, you have to break through that. Only once you find, accept and love yourself can you build the life you truly want.

And alcohol is an obstacle to that, quite literally. It lowers inhibitions; it makes you do dumb shit; it changes how you behave and how you are perceived. Calico Jack is unable to function without it; his true, authentic self is buried under alcoholism at all times. As this really smart meta said, he may be fun at parties but you don't want to be there for the hangover.

Jack is completely hidden behind the pirate persona. Overindulging in drink is a shorthand for this lifestyle, and by drawing Ed into that he's drawing him away from the people who genuinely care about him. But he's not offering a genuine connection in return; he says it himself.

"Pirates don't have friends. We're all just in various stages of fucking each other over."

The image, the persona is what's important. Ed may have built relationships with people who care for him, but none of them are fearsome, badass pirates. They're losers and nerds, and they don't make him look cool, and are thus worthless (or that's what Jack desperately needs Ed to believe).

Something similar happens with Stede at Mary's art show in ep10, when all those men buy him drinks and want him to tell stories. Again, there's the overindulgence: look at all those mugs on the table.

For reference, this is what the table looks like when they invite Stede over:

And then this exchange happens. Someone: "And what's Blackbeard like?" Stede: "He's absolutely lovely."

"Oh, and of course, a bloodthirsty killer!"

They, too, don't care about the real Edward Teach, they care about the badass pirate Blackbeard. They don't care about Stede's real experience, they care about the story they want him to be for them. This time, the persona is projected onto the person from outside, instead of built up and maintained by the person themselves, but the message is still the same:

To conform to expectations is to be isolated.

To not be your true, authentic self is to be isolated.

To be your true, authentic self, however, can be hard, and scary, and painful. The persona is there for a reason; it lets you hide and deny all your insecurities and vulnerabilities. It lets you forget that you long to be loved. It protects you from the worst pain of all: rejection.

Alcohol is just another crutch to hide your true, authentic, messy and uncool self. The self you have to expose to get people to connect with you, even at the risk of rejection.

This is why it makes me sad that the sweet lads take refuge in alcohol when they're seperated from the people they care about :(

#drown the pain of having exposed your true self :( #i continue to care about this show a normal amount #our flag means death #thoughts #anonymaus #message #no ids sorry

[batsarebetterthanpeople]

in jack's perfect reality, what would his relationship with ed be like?

I think it depends on when and what's going on with Jack. Like young 20 something Jack on Hornigold's ship is gonna desire different things from a relationship or lack there of than the more world weary older Jack we see in the show, and there's a question of if he even wants to be with Ed at that point (he certainly wants to fuck him in all situations and universes but most people are not on my he's in love with Ed bandwagon) But I love to chew on, analyze, and crawl inside of the brain of our favoriate Herpes Cowboy so I'll give you a few scenarios. But I'll start out with the consistencies I think there are across all three of these situations.

First of all the similarities. I'm on the he's in love with Ed train through and through, because I like the concept not because I have a lot of evidence to back it up. That being said I feel like Mr. "We're all just in various stages of fucking each other over" is commitment averse shall we say. He and Ed are fuck buddies with an emphasis on buddies and I don't think he wants that to change. Even if they're boyfriends Jack's gonna want to fuck other people and he's gonna want Ed to be able to fuck other people if he so chooses. Second of all Jack's a pirate. One of the pirates ever even. He's gonna want to be doing piracy. If they're not making out during shoot outs with the law it's gonna get too boring. Third he's a party girl, and he wants Ed to party with him.

So I'll start with back when Jack and Ed were young dumb and full of cum. This I think here he and Ed were weathering the storm together and this is before the world chewed them up and spit them out so this is the softest they're gonna get. I do think Jack wants to be softer than he was allowed to be here. He's gross and derranged in all timeframes but I don't think the toxic pirate culture has quite taken root yet. In this time frame his ideal relationship with Ed is straight up boyfriends. He never got it because Ed was too afraid to admit it and he was too afraid to admit it and they were both being taught the hard way to trust no bitch. In reality they are cuddling but only after sex and Jack has to make some fucked up comment about how Ed's such a pansy for wanting to cuddle in order to deflect and seem more macho, but in Jack's mind they're holding hands and going on dates where they skin a rich guy alive together but in a romantic way. And in Ed's mind they're holding hands and going on dates where nobody gets skinned and they do boy best friend activities but while holding hands.

Now what do I think Jack's ideal scenario was when he suggested republic of pirates at the end of episode 8 for his and Ed's relationship? Depends on whether He actually has been mutinied or not but I think either way he does want to take this opportunity to keep Ed around because he likes him. If he's smart he'll decide against it because Ed is potentially a rival pirate captain but we're talking about his perfect world, and I think in his perfect world he and Ed go get a ship together and continue doing piracy and being buddies. However here I don't think he's necessarily looking for the boyfriend angle anymore. He wants to fuck, drink, and hang out. Guys being dudes.

Now. I do want to talk about the dynamic of Jack and Ed if he didn't get mutinied vs if he did. I made this post yesterday in which I considered a new angle to the whole "Whose with me" thing that Jack did to Stede and joked about Jack imagining him and Ed running off with Stede's boat and crew to do Bonnie and Clyde shit. I've been rotating the scenario in my brain ever since (would be out of character for Ed but Jack doesn't know that) Because I've been rotating this post mutiny Jack scenario I think there's two different dynamics for Ed and Jack being boy best friends on the same boat but this time they're in charge. If he didn't get mutinied I think he would want to be the captain and keeping Ed around is an unrealistic fantasy because motherfucker that's Blackbeard, he will have your crew answering to him instead of you in seconds. but we're looking at unrealistic fantasies so, Jack's in charge Ed's on the ship. However if he did indeed get mutinied three times... Well. Izzy's just betrayed Ed so he's out of the picture. And Ed is a very charismatic captain, and can definitely keep a crew on his side, something that thrice mutinied Jack has failed at. I think he's looking to slot himself in as Ed's second in command and use his shiny new "guy who's fucking blackbeard" card to get away with causing as many problems as he wants and partying all day and doing absolutely no work.

#ofmd #calico jack