#Blackbeard has never heard of him before

[zo1nkss]

I see this on Nathan Foad's ig? I think of how in a modern world Lucius would post a billion photos of his husband.

YOU'RE SO RIGHT he would be so very in love with him and I would never be able to look at his page because I would be sick with it.

You think Ed and Stede are bad this season? Imagine Lucius with an instagram and a fiance. Bar none.

#he would be like fuck you hoes I landed a baddie #that baddie is off to the side telling everyone he works for Blackbeard the notorious biker gang leader #Blackbeard has never heard of him before #ofmd #our flag means death #ofmd s2 spoilers #only technically its like barely a spoiler #we all knew #lucious spriggs #black pete #lupete

[clairegregoryau]

Through the Looking Glass

From fairytale in Season 1 to stark reality in Season 2 of Our Flag Means Death- meta ported across from this Twitter thread by popular demand!

This thread contains spoilers for the entirety of OFMD Season 2

First OFMD S1 rewatch since S2, and holy shit, if you haven't done that yet... do that. A thing that it made instantly clear: they told us *all along* where this was going, but there was a reason we didn't see it. Because we were living in Stede's world then. Now it's Ed's.

I know that a lot of us have felt that the tone shift at the end of S2 was... jarring, compared to what's come before. This felt like a show that wouldn't go there. One where being run through was a temporary hiccup. We've travelled all the way from this to this.

But we haven't jumped there without a journey in between. And from the minute we started hearing about Blackbeard, the show never tried to hide what Ed's world and his specific life was like. Not once. In fact they told us over and over and over.

But Season 1 told us a lot of those things through song and story and fuckery. It blended reality with fiction.

Stede met the Blackbeard he knew through books and tall tales, and the real man was even more wonderful than he'd imagined.

We, along with Stede, were comfortable thinking that all those other tales were exaggerations and misrepresentations, and a lot of them very likely were.

The Ed Stede got to know was a person who was capable of whimsy and silliness and loved soft things and doing something weird. Yep, he was also capable of violence and rage, but when he was with Stede, he didn't feel it so much.

This was a vacation from that life.

To Stede he was absolutely lovely... oh, and also a bloodthirsty killer. And Stede loved (and loves) everything about him, and both of those things can be true. This is a perfect example of a spot where (in watching Season 1 without the benefit of hindsight) I assumed that everyone else in that pub was wrong, and Stede was simply trying to protect Ed's fearsome reputation by agreeing on the bloodthirsty bits. And I think from Stede's perspective that was largely true. I think that's how they wanted us to see Ed, through his eyes. Now, after watching both seasons, I think it wasn't the whole picture.

They told us, we heard it, we saw glimpses of it. But we (and Ed) were in Stede's run-away-to-sea fairytale the whole time. It wasn't until Stede left that we saw the reality- the Ed we knew had been, to a degree, a fictional character all along. I always saw this scene as Ed putting a bit of distance between himself and reality; it always felt like the Blackbeard of Stede's storybooks was the fictional one. But now it feels like the softer Ed that Stede knew was much the same- neither of them the whole story of who Ed was and is.

The one person who refused to live in Stede's fairytale was Izzy. I've seen people say it before, but he always gave off that vibe of the only human in the Muppets movie, or the guy who was in Black Sails while everyone else was in Pirates of the Caribbean. He saw the real risks clearly.

And in that light, the end of S1 has shifted an inch to the left for me, and I'm seeing it at a slightly different angle.

Izzy ripped away the healing Ed was doing, but in some respects he did it by tearing away the fairytale we'd all been living in, shoving Ed back into the Blackbeard story.

And that's where we pick up again in Season 2.

The fairytale reference came back in S2 in two notable places, those being Jim carrying that legacy forward in the darkest times, and in Izzy invoking the wooden boy against Ricky's efforts. Stede's made himself into a real boy. Ricky, nope.

Now that I've watched both seasons together, the tone shift doesn't feel so jarring at all, actually.

It feels like sliding through the looking glass, out of Stede's world, and into Ed's- a world that existed all along; we were just seeing it, la vie en rose, through Stede's eyes.

At the beginning of S2, Stede's gone, and we're seeing it unfiltered through Ed's reality.

But Stede wasn't lying when he said he loved everything about Ed. He made a promise to come back and find him- he went down into Ed's darkest place and reminded him that no matter how bad things got, there WAS someone waiting for him, ready to love him.

The contrast between S1's fantasy and S2's reality (excluding mermaids and actual bird guys and cursed coats) is stark, but it really is that.

We have the same settings, the same people, and very different ideas and outcomes at different times.

But it was always there.

Things do come back to a state of (precarious) balance once they're all together. Apologies are made, whether they're spoken out loud or through actions. Things go right, things go wrong. Healing happens. Izzy continues to have the steadiest, most real through-line in the story as he tracks toward redemption, finds acceptance, and to an extent finds himself.

Once again, I hate that they went here with the ending and I wish they hadn't. But it got a fraction easier for me looking at it not as a continuation of Stede's fairytale, but of the grounded-in-pirate-reality arc Izzy was always on, even while we lived in Stede's world.

Where does that leave us? We're not going back to the fairytale, but we're not going to be living in Black Sails for S3, either. We've hit a fusion point where S1 ended with each of them going to separate, miserable homes, but S2 ended with them in the same place, ready and willing to make a go of it.

Season 3 is going to give us their world, together.

I LOVED the moments in this season where the deep emotions were in balance with the silliness I've always adored about this show. Eps4-6 were wonderful like that. Clearly we're not done with drama, either, but like Ed and Stede, I think we'll find a middle ground.

Anyway in conclusion, a rewatch of S1 after S2 somehow made me love the first season even more, which felt impossible? It's now gained /even more/ layers of depth than it had before. No matter how you feel about S2 I think it's worth that rewatch.

Adding one more bit of clarity for myself: I think we got a bit (intentionally) seduced in S1 by the idea that the Ed of the storybooks, the Vampire Viking Clown with the nine guns, was a version of him that others saw, when Stede saw the REAL person who 'worked' for Blackbeard.

In hindsight I think it's clear the Ed Stede go to know was also not the complete version of himself- the reality is, there's a whole spectrum between the two, and they've landed in the middle of it now. Ed intentionally leaned into the unlovable Kraken image to protect himself.

It very much didn't work, just like being just... Edward hadn't worked to protect himself, either. This season has been very much about pulling those two extremes together and finding all the parts that make up Ed overall (another thread on that here on Twitter, which I'll also shift across to Tumblr soon!)

And I think one of my favourite things in S2 has been seeing the way Stede SEES that- he knows what Ed's done, everyone's told him, but he still loves Ed. sees his trauma and how it affects him, and believes he's a good man regardless. He IS lovable; he's not forever broken.

And together, they can heal.

#ofmd #our flag means death #gay pirates #ofmd meta #unreliable narrators #fantasy vs reality #ofmd spoilers #ofmd s2 spoilers

[queerfandomtrifecta]

Bottle It Up: the most tangible theme in OFMD s2

So looking at s2 through the (super fucked up) lens that Jim asking Frenchie “How are you handling all of this so well?” And Frenchie responding by saying he puts all the terrible things in a box in his mind and never opens it again was the lesson everyone was supposed to learn this season and like, that’s there in the text more than anything else and I hate that.

Frenchie is handling everything well because he’s putting it in the box and never addressing it again.

Izzy finally says he has love for Ed, everyone is worried about him, the atmosphere is toxic and suggests talking it through and Ed goes on deck and points a gun at everyone as he asks them to talk about it, and when Izzy finally does address the reality of things and speaks Stede’s name aloud he gets shot in the leg.

Lucius isn’t talking about what happened. Avoidant about the Rat Boy name at first, says he fell off the ship, can’t remember when he picked up smoking.

Stede asks Lucius to talk to him about what happened after he was pushed off the ship, and Lucius starts to and almost immediately Stede runs away saying to save the rest for Pete.

Lucius says he talks to Pete and Stede says “please tell me you held back on some of the darker stuff” and Lucius confirms he did because Pete got nauseous and started crying.

Lucius tells Stede he should look past the man he loves and examine all the awful things he did, but Stede brushes it off and doesn’t do that.

No one will tell Stede they killed Ed. (Arguably this is for their own safety as well but it fits the whole “we’re not talking about the hard stuff” theme so I’m including it)

Ed finds out Stede went home to Mary through Anne Bonny. Stede begins to try to explain but instead, Ed smashes his chair against the wall and walks off. They have a very brief conversation with mention that Stede was kidnapped by Chauncey then watched him die.

Ed gives his influencer non-apology that was clearly written by Stede to the crew, and everyone but Lucius and Izzy seem to have forgiven him. During the “apology” Jim talks about how it made them feel and Stede shushes them so Ed can keep not apologizing. Afterward, for some reason, Jim says immediately says “I thought it was pretty solid for him” Archie says that’s how it goes in situations like this, Roach has never heard an apology before so they’re all good apparently now.

Lucius pushes Ed off the ship but isn’t okay yet. We’re addressing the trauma here and trying to make it right (even if it’s in a messed up way); we’re finally talking about it directly, but Lucius isn’t okay after this.

Fang tells Ed he’s not mad at him because he got it all out of his system when they beat him to death.

The whole Lucius/Izzy exchange “A shark did this to me. Dangling my legs over the side of the ship, served me right too.” “Okay, that seems healthy. Using a bit of fiction to cover up your trauma.” “Not moving on is worse.” (Another point at which Lucius wants to resolve trauma and he’s told no, don’t talk about it)

Lucius is clearly coping poorly and tries again to talk to Pete about how he almost died and Pete says he should find him when he’s no longer thinking about his trauma (“find me when Blackbeard isn’t living rent free in your head”) and that Lucius should talk about how he lived instead. Lucius then seems to decide that he’s fine, proposes to Pete, and is seemingly okay after that. (5th point in the story when Lucius tries to talk about something to heal and is told no in some way, and here is when he finally seems to moves on and is played as “better” after this)

Izzy’s drinking a lot even after he’s not totally dysfunctional like at the end of ep4.

The only Ed apology to Izzy is “Sorry about your leg.” With no eye contact as he’s walking away. To which Izzy responds “Fuck off.” After Ed’s out of ear shot.

Stede suggests Ed can absolve himself of everything by “turning the poison into positivity” and selling his treasure he got during the time he was abusing the crew to buy party supplies. Stede later says at the party that yes, Ed has achieved turning the poison into positivity, though Ed has done nothing by throw money at the problem.

Stede ignores Ed’s warning about not being able to come back from killing in cold blood and kills Ned Low.

Stede is visibly upset and Ed goes to check on him and begins to start talking, but Stede wordlessly grabs him and slams him up against a wall and then they have sex (which Ed has requested to wait on) instead of talking about it.

Ed decides he’s leaving to become a fisherman because Stede is infamous now and Ed’s been wanting out of that life so there’s a brief disagreement where not much is said and then he leaves.

“I’m sorry I was such a dick.” Is the biggest apology we’ve gotten all season. It’s immediately dismissed as “you’re not a dick. Life’s a dick.”

No one in the crew seems to be mourning Izzy’s death and we as the audience seem expected to move on from it very fast. Avenging his death is proposed by Zheng but then it cuts to nope, we’re done with that and we’re inn keepers now instead. Put the terrible thing you’ve seen in the box and never open it again.

I’m definitely sure I forgot some of these and it felt at first that these were being set up to be played negatively because this is the don’t-bottle-it-up/healing-from-our-traumas show but that just doesn’t play out. Like so much of it’s either dismissed without reason, played as a joke, or framed as acceptable and the fact that I could pull so much more of this stuff out of the text than I could any other potential thematic element does has me just so baffled. I don’t know what to do with it.

#ofmd spoilers #ofmd #ofmd season 2 #izzy hands #ofmd season 2 spoilers #ed teach #stede bonnet #ofmd critique #ofmd critical #david jenkins #ofmd meta

[deathmetalunicorn1]

Hi!!! HAPPY NEW YEAR 🥳🥳🥳

Anyways can I request a whitebeard pirates x female child reader? (This is basically were ace and whitebeard survived)

Basically the reader used to a slave for Blackbeard because she has a powerful devil fruit called the ink ink fruit

The ink ink fruit basically let's the user control and manipulate ink into wepons, shields, and sometimes people or other creatures (like the creatures from BATIM)

Anyways so like the reader feels nothing because of years of mental and emotional torture from Blackbeard :(

And she also has a big scar from Blackbeard over her eye making her a little blind but not fully

How would they react to her? Like how they met her, how they saved her and her life in the whitebeard family?

Can you also maybe based the reader of this?

Anyways HAPPY NEW YEAR AGAIN WHOOOOOOO

Sorry if this was a bit complicated bc I'm a bit tipsy hehe

-It was only chance that you had been seen after Blackbeard and his crew tried to kill Whitebeard, without success as Whitebeard blew them all back.

-Ace and Whitebeard were both lucky to walk away from that battle with their lives, they both had new scars to show off, but they were both alive.

-Marco had seen a child on Blackbeard’s ship, tendrils of something black swirling around you as you had broken a window, crawling out of it, like you were trying to escape.

-He easily swooped down, using his talons in his phoenix form to grab you, much to your shock and he picked you up.

-You cried out in fear, looking up and your one good eye went wide, seeing the flaming bird above you, before you heard Blackbeard, “Give me back Y/N!”

-Marco felt your flinch of fear, looking down to see you trembling in fear and he knew he wasn’t going to leave you with Blackbeard.

-Once on the ship, Marco took you to his room, carrying you so carefully, so gently, he could see the tears slipping out of your eyes as he smiled softly, “Nobody is going to hurt you again, Y/N.” you had never known such gentleness before, it was strange and kind of scary.

-Marco took you to his room, which was warm feeling and he put you on his bed, kneeling before you, “I need to go help the others. Will you stay here for a while, and I’ll come get you once we’re safely away from the area? You can sleep here if you want to.” You were hesitant in answering, a bit unsure of him before you mutely nodded.

-He ruffled your hair gently before leaving you in his room, closing the door behind him and you tipped over, feeling the softness of the bed you were on. It felt so nice. You couldn’t help but curl up and fall asleep.

-Hours later, after all wounds had been dealt with and everyone was safely away, making it to one of Whitebeard’s islands, they were all quickly celebrating, drinking and eating.

-Marco returned down to you, finding you up, looking up at the bounty posters he had on his wall, “You’re up- how do you feel Y/N?” you didn’t know how to answer, something he was able to tell before he picked you up, holding you up on his hip, “Let’s get you cleaned up and we’ll get you something to eat.”

-He called some of the nurses who were quick to rush to him, seeing the child he was holding, cooing over you like you were adorable while you didn’t react, looking back at Marco, who you knew was a safe person.

-Marco just smiled softly, “They’re gonna help you get cleaned up, I would but…” the nurses explained while giving you a bath that men, unless they were your father or something, shouldn’t give you a bath, and once you were clean they found a clean dress for you, but no shoes, and brushed your hair out.

-They checked your wounds over, finding bruises that signified shackles, not only around your wrists and ankles, but around your neck as well, as well as new and old bruises, whip marks, and what looked to be knife cuts in your back.

-Your eye that was heavily scarred was useless, you couldn’t see out of it. The thing that worried them was that you seemed numb, telling them that you had been tortured and abused for who knows how long. Long enough to abandon your emotions to keep yourself safe, but they couldn’t tell exactly how long.

-They told Marco everything and you could tell he was angry, hearing about what you, a child, had gone through, but he picked you back up, holding you close as they all headed back upstairs where the party was.

-Needless to say, seeing Marco walking out with a child in his arms was not what they were expecting, eyes wide as the party froze, everyone blinking in unison.

-Marco headed over, all eyes and heads following him, to Whitebeard, who was also surprised. You had never met someone so big before, but like those in Blackbeard’s crew, you didn’t feel afraid of him, you didn’t feel afraid of any of the people you were now surrounded by.

-Whitebeard reached down, taking you from Marco, pulling you up so you were sitting on his lap, “And who are you?” you looked up and answered in a soft, but emotionless, “Y/N.”

-Whitebeard had lived a long life, and he knew a hurt child when he saw one, but he kept his mouth shut about that at the moment before Marco spoke up, telling everyone how he found you on Blackbeard ship, escaping out of a broken window.

-Many saw the bruises on your wrists and ankles, from shackles, and many grew angry- fully ready to hunt Blackbeard down again, not only for what he tried to do, but for what he did to you.

-You didn’t seem to have any emotions, even when Ace brought you a mug of juice and some cake to eat, like other kids who would be all smiles and cheering. You just sat there and ate quietly, worrying the others on how you were acting.

-Marco then spoke, trying to get you to interact a bit more, “Y/N- what was that black thing that was helping you get out the window?”

-You lifted your hand which turned black, almost like ink, and it morphed into different shapes, “Ink-Ink Fruit- it helped me. He always made me do bad things with it.”

-Eyes narrowed, which made you flinch back, your ink returning inside you, thinking they were mad with you, but Ace was quick to hug you close, to reassure you, “We’re not mad at you, Y/N. We’re pissed at Blackbeard- I can’t believe he would treat a child like this! How long have you been with that bastard?”

-WHACK!! Marco was quick to punch the top of Ace’s head, sending him to the ground while pulling you up into his arms, “Language!” which caused laughter all around the deck of the ship while you were confused.

-You looked at your fingers before holding up four fingers, “This many years I think.” Looking at your size, they estimated you to only be about 8 or 9, since you had been malnourished, meaning you had spent over half your life, almost, in Blackbeard’s clutches.

-Whitebeard stood, a foreboding aura surrounding him, “Teach- he’s going to pay for this!” a roar of cheers rung out around him as everyone agreed. You were confused, looking up at him, wondering why they were all so upset and willing to help you.

-Over the next few weeks, the crew, who had adopted you, everyone except for Whitebeard becoming your big brothers, as Whitebeard became your papa, had been treating you so nicely, helping you heal, trying to teach you how to be a normal kid, since your childhood had been snatched away from you.

-They had a chance to see your abilities in action, you could control the ink to create full bodies, creatures that looked like devils, but cute, like something a child would draw, as well as weapons, shields, and the tendrils which were like arms to help you in various situations.

-You had expert control over your ability, as you had eaten your Devil Fruit when you were very young, but also ‘thanks’ to Blackbeard, who would beat you or let one of the others beat you if you did something wrong, you had learned quickly how to control it, to avoid beatings, which still sometimes came, just to keep you in line.

-It was strange for you, being on the Moby Dick, you never knew hunger since coming aboard, everyone aways made sure that you ate your three meals and would always give you snacks, which sometimes would cause fights, as your appetite would be ruined for an actual proper meal.

-You had your own room, between Marco and Ace, with a soft, warm bed, all for you, you had clean clothes and you got to bathe on a regular basis. It was almost like paradise for you.

-You never hurt again, other than the few shots you had to get, to help boost your immune system, but those only hurt for a bit. It was strange to walk around with no pain, as not a day had gone by without you being in pain and to have that now gone… it was weird.

-You had been gently forced into participating with your big brothers, sitting with them at mealtimes, joining them on the deck to watch others train or to enjoy a party, and they would include you on their, child friendly, conversations, asking you your opinions on things like your favorite cake flavors.

-Whitebeard knew this was going to be a process, one that was going to take a lot of time and patience, but he could see that you were trying, at least a little bit, seeking out certain members of the crew, like Marco and Ace, whom you felt the closest with, and you weren’t as hesitant to answer questions as you had been.

-Whitebeard smiled when he saw you peeking out the doorway leading to the deck, looking around before you spotted him. He smiled warmly at you as you trotted over, your face as neutral as normal, but he noticed your eye did look just a bit brighter.

-He grinned, setting his mug down as you peered up at him, “Hello Y/N- what brings you out here today?” you lifted your arms up, silently asking him to pick you up and he grinned, reaching down with one hand and picked you up with ease, setting you on his knee, “Will you tell me more about Rock?”

-Whitebeard grinned, as he had been telling you stories about his past, when he was in the Rock Pirates, and to see you asking him for more, it was a sign of improvement, seeing you asking for something, rather than taking what was given to you, something they had been working on.

-Whitebeard paused, seeing you look back towards the door where he saw Vista, Marco, Izo, and Ace all giving you a thumbs up, as they had encouraged you to go ask the old man for a story.

-He chuckled warmly, seeing the truth, but he didn’t mind, as you were taking it step by step, as he told you of a raid that he and Kaido took part in, working together, after they had snuck off after Rocks told them not to.

-You gazed up at him, listening to his tale, and he remained silent, seeing the small smile on your lips, seeing you finally smiling for him.

#one piece #whitebeard #marco #izo #vista #blackbeard #portgas d ace

[izzysillyhandsy]

So, that new interview with Con...

Again the emphasis on his loneliness!

"So, it wasn't an easy job. It was quite a lonely job. It was quite a difficult job because it was going down that path that I knew inevitably we were going to go down."

And the way he has to search for words, and his expression before "it was going down that path..." this is breaking my heart 😥

This part is just incredibly beautiful - especially because Con says it with so much love and emotion:

"We always associate love with romance. That isn't the case here. The love that Blackbeard and Izzy have for each other is deep, man. It's deep, and it's rooted in years of working together, loving each other, saving each other's lives, being constant. This is probably the only constant they both had in their lives, is Blackbeard is Izzy, Izzy is Blackbeard, and then they have this buffoon come in and steal Blackbeard's heart."

Also THIS:

"And then once, I think once Blackbeard hands him the gun, everything changes. And Blackbeard says, kill yourself. Everything changes."

"Blackbeard says, kill yourself"??? I mean yes, but also - CON!!!! The way he just lays it out here, like obviously? Chilling.

But the more I think about that relationship, the more I go down all these different avenues of what it could have been, and what it could never have been, and what it is and what it wasn't.

I haven't even finished the interview yet, but when I heard this I was so touched by how much this man loves Izzy, and how much he loves Ed. He's still thinking about their relationship, and it is obvious how much it means to him. "Go down all these different avenues of what it could have been" oh my God 😭!!!

What have we done to deserve this man? I can feel his sadness about everything that happened to Izzy, he's still in his head, isn't he? His insistence on "all he wanted to do is fix Blackbeard" - and he did try - until his last second. How seriously he takes his relationship with Ed.

If they don't bring Izzy back - what a fucking waste.

(I've used the wonderful transcription here, I hope that's ok!)

#ofmd #izzy hands #con o'neill #everything Con says about Izzy is so heartfelt and feels so true #❤❤❤

[brascu]

ok I can't believe Imma write a piece of OFMD meta without even getting to the end of the season.

I NEED to talk about Lucius and Izzy. like, a lot.

But before we get to the spoilers and stuff, I need to go back to first season. Be mindfull that I won't tell you again this is going to have spoilers from season 2, up to the 5ft episode.

It's safe to say that Izzy is Ed's right hand and Lucius is Stede's right hand. Or better saying, Lucius is the left hand.

Not only because Lucius is, indeed, left handed, but because the left side is associated with feelings.

Lucius is the one character to be wearing red from the begining of first season. He is feelings, he is the one who records Stede's thoughts and feelings. He is not "useful" in a practical way, he is simply the person who observes and helps people figure things out.

He is literally the first one to see that Ed and Stede are falling in love.

I mean, there is a second guy who notices, but can't understand what is happening. Izzy.

Izzy is Ed's right hand. He is the one who taught Ed what he knows, he is the one who kills people for Ed, he is the one who guarantees things are going acording to plans. He is practical. He doesn't have time for feelings and romance.

Izzy wears black clothes all the way. He is in no way in contact with his feelings.

And from start he thinks he is better than Lucius, but yet we see Lucius owning him in first season. We see Izzy showing his queerness in a very uncomfortable way to him in his "ohh, daddy" scene. (god, I love that moment)

Izzy sees Ed falling in love with Stede, but only sees a problem. A rock on the way of their sucess. Feelings are useless.

Lucius sees them falling in love and gets the role of a wingman or something. He helps them out.

And Lucius is protective of Stede in regards to Ed, we see it on Calico Jack's episode and more recently when he seats down with Stede in Zheng Yi Sao's boat and tells him to be mindfull of the cruel shit his boo has been doing. He is somewhat afraid Blackbeard will hurt his friend.

Just like Izzy was afraid Stede was going to ruin his Blackbeard.

In season one, Izzy simply wants to separate them. He wants Ed all to himself. He hates Stede.

In season one, Lucius was a bit afraid of Ed at the beginning, but learned how to deal with him and appreciate him. When Ed looses Stede, Lucius is there to help him.

There is a reason he calls for Lucius while at the blanket fort. Lucius is emotion, is feelings. Lucius is able to help him in a way Izzy would never be able.

Ed gets out of his cacoon, fully in red, and sings his feelings out.

Izzy freaks out an threatens Ed. Izzy gets Ed scared. Scared Ed gets rid of his feelings for Bonnet, he gets rid of Lucius, the feelings.

And the Kraken spiraling he gets into hurts both right and left hand.

At first, Izzy thinks he got what he wanted. At first, Lucius thinks he is dead.

And both get ruined.

Ed, without his feelings being heard by himself, proceeds to destroy himself. Which, of course, includes destroying his right hand.

He hates himself and he needs the others to hate himself. He tortures and hurt Izzy too many times. To the point where Izzy, the one "without feelings" is whining on Fang's lap, scared like a little puppy. Dirty, scared, powerless.

We understand from what's been shown that the rest of the crew supported him, and that's probably where he started thinking about going against Ed's madness. Not for himself, but for the crew. Izzy learned to care.

Lucius, on the other hand, was alone. He went through hell without a friend. He had to tough it up to survive and he is fucking damaged.

He lost hope and trust and he is bitter as fuck, just like Izzy used to be.

Lucius starts this season hating on Stede and Ed. He blames them for the things he went through, and he has right to do so.

He thinks, just like Izzy used to think, that Stede caused Ed's madness.

For Izzy, Stede made Ed weak. For Lucius, Stede made Ed unhinged.

And while in season one we have Izzy getting mad that Stede and Ed are hanging out, Lucius this time is outraged. How could my bestfriend replace me with some sissy? How can my captain wellcome back this guy who almost killed us all?

Both Lucius and Izzy dress a bit diferently this season.

The red is gone. Lucius wears basic clothes, not colorfull at all, as if he doesn't want to get attention. He wants to blend in to the back.

Izzy has gold now, on his unicorn gold leg.

Both almost died from infections "caused" by Ed.

Lucius is bitten by Buttons after Ed scared them with his theatre, the one he was showing to entertain Stede. Izzy gets shot by the Kraken after he dared to mention Stede's name.

Lucius loses his finger, which makes it a bit more dificult for him to write, for him to keep doing what he was doing.

Izzy loses his leg, which makes it a lot more difficult for him to fight with a sword.

And although they still can do those things, they're not that needed anymore.

Lucius doesn't write Stede's diary anymore. We've seen Stede writing by himself, which lead me to think he doesn't need Lucius that much with understanding his own feelings as well.

Izzy is not Ed's right hand anymore. He is still somewhat of a first mate, he helps the captain, but in a different way. He teaches Stede things, but he still haven gotten to actually doing things for him on screem. We had someone trying to hurt Stede twice and Stede saved himself before Izzy even got his sword out.

Izzy is learning to admire Stede's way. He felt what Stede's absence did to his friend, to the crew and to himself. He is learnng to talk it through.

Lucius is still bitter. Lucius is obsessed with Ed, but he has help from someone that was hurt in a similar way.

Izzy, the practical, is helping Lucius, the emotional, to deal with his trauma.

They are getting closer, just like their captains, in a new way.

The scene with the little shark absolutely broke me. Izzy made him an artpiece. This is the first time we see him doing something artistic, and he gives it to Lucius. He gives emotion back to Lucius.

I can't wait to see where they go.

#ofmd #ofmd s2 #izzy hands #lucius spriggs #i ship them #a lot #lucius x izzy

[dragon-kazansky]

Spirit of the sea

Izzy Hands x Reader (GN)

SEASON 2 CONTENT AHEAD!!!

Blackbeard rules the sea. Despite wanting his captain back, Izzy realises his mistake. Protecting the crew is his concern. Protecting you is his life mission. Stede's return brings hope, but there's a lot of work to be done before this crew becomes a family.

{Masterlist}

{Previous Chapter} - {Next Chapter}

Warnings: Spoilers. Izzy's depression spiral. No real unicorns were harmed in the making of Izzy's new leg. Things get a little steamy at the end.

Chapter Thirteen - Loving touch

♡♡♡

Stede had gathered the crew, minus Izzy, to talk to them all. Turns out Ed woke up. You swore under your breath when you heard that. No way is that man going to be happy with any of you.

"What happened to your face?" Pete asked Stede who was standing to a bruise on his cheek.

"Bet Blackbeard did that, didn't he?" Wee John asks.

"It was an accident. Okay? I think Ed just sat up too quickly," Stede says.

"That's what they all say," Roach states.

"As you know, he's gone through quite the ordeal and he does need to regain his strength," Stede explains.

"Yeah. He'll probably get around to killing you after he's rested," Jim says, looking Stede in the eye.

"Yeah, I'd say it's a pretty obvious mistake letting him get strong again," Lucius points out. You nod.

"Kick him off the ship already!" Jim yells.

"We just don't banish people, do we?" Stede says. "That's not us. Let's give him some time, perhaps to rebound a bit."

"Medically speaking, the man can't speak, and his brain is maybe couscous." Roach points out. "Also, gonna need that steak back. It's dinner."

"Right. Yes, aye."

"Maybe we should put it to the vote," Fang suggests.

"Do we have to do this now?" Stede asks.

The crew start yelling.

♡♡♡

Stede got his answers from the crew, that much was clear enough. As you head out, Stede catches up to you.

"You were awfully quiet in there."

"Don't get me wrong. I agree with them, Ed has to go."

Stede's expression falls.

"I know you like him, but that man... he did things. He hurt people like I've never seen before. He hurt Izzy..."

"Ah yes, Izzy. How is he?" Stede asks.

"He's been better."

"Where is he anyway? I didn't see him in there."

"Drinking probably. He, uh, he's stopped talking to me at the moment. He won't talk to anyone."

Stede frowns again. "He's stopped talking to you?"

"I think it's the constant drinking... It's making him... upset. Like, more than before."

"I see..."

You shrug lightly and sigh. "Look, I'm not looking for sympathy. You're the captain, sort this out."

You walk off. Stede watches you go, his heart feeling heavy. Maybe he could have a word with Izzy for you.

♡♡♡

You sit on deck with the wooden sparrow in your hands. After everything that happened it had survived. Izzy had kept it in his cabin. You had found it when you had gone in there to find him. Izzy was nowhere to be seen, but the sparrow was sitting on his desk. There was a slight chip in the wood, right on the wing, but for the most part it looked good.

You sigh as you run your finger carefully over it's little head. Did Izzy even notice it was gone? Probably not.

"The atmosphere around here sucks," Lucius sighs, sitting down next to you. You notice the cigarette between his fingers, but you don't ask. "What's that?" He nods toward the wooden bird.

"Marietta."

"Marietta?" He looks at you with a funny expression.

"That's what I called it. It was a gift for Izzy from me. I dropped the first one in the sea while I was angry at him... so I remade her." You hold the sparrow up. "She's a little beaten, but still in nest condition."

"You carved him a bird?"

"Look, I can't draw like you can. I can't make sew like Frenchie, or knit like Wee John. I can, however, whittle."

Lucius smiles a little. "I like it."

A moment of silence passes while you play with the bird in your hands a little more.

"So, you and Izzy?"

"So, you and Pete?" You reply, sarcastically.

"We're fine," he says defensively. "What's going on with your boyfriend?"

You raise your eyes to Lucius. "Blackbeard abused him. Punished him. Took his leg. He's a little upset at the moment. Rightfully so."

Lucius stands up a little defensively. "We've all been through shit," he says.

You narrow your eyes at him. "I'm not saying you haven't. We thought you were dead!"

"Well, I wasn't." He puts out his cigarette. "I've suffered too and it's all his fault!" He points to where Blackbeard is tied up on the deck.

"He's fucked everyone over, Lucius. Just need Stede to get his ass in gear and do something about it."

Lucius sighs. "Do you think anything will ever go back to how it was?"

"No," you admit honestly. "But I do believe things can get better. In time."

Lucius says nothing. He glares at Blackbeard and then leaves. You sigh and return to holding the bird, caressing it again gently.

"Oh, Izzy..."

♡♡♡

Stede found Izzy at the front of the ship. He was leaning on some of the rope rigging, his wooden leg propped up on the railing. In his other hand was a bottle of rum, of which he was drinking merrily.

He looked a mess.

Stede offered him a smile as he joined him, ignoring the look Izzy was throwing his way. He means over and notices the unicorn is missing it's head.

"He's seen better days, hasn't he?" Stede asks in a lighthearted manner.

"At least he's still got both legs!" Izzy yells.

"Yes!" Stede joins in. "He can't hear you, he's go no head. You've got a head, though, which you should look after."

Izzy down his rum. Stede sighs.

"What do you want, Bonnet?" Izzy asks, not really in the mood for conversation.

"Well, here's the thing. The crew, they're in a bit of a deadlock over the whole banishment of Ed thing and I just thought, seeing as, well, you were the one who kept his body aboard, maybe you should weigh in. You've already murdered him once. Seems like a pretty good payback." He chuckles softly. "So, what do you think?"

"My vote?" Izzy leans in a little closer to Stede. "A rotten let's got to come off."

"Right. Just to confirm, was that a nay or yay on the banishment?"

Izzy just drinks some more.

"Right... I suppose I just mention that our Spirit of the sea is worried about you. You've stopped talking to them apparently..."

Izzy says nothing.

"Don't push them out, Izzy."

Izzy just drinks from his bottle again. Stede sighs and takes his leave.

♡♡♡

"So! We, the crew of The Revenge, have voted and we've chosen banishment, unfortunately." Frenchie states, announcing the result. "So, yeah. Effective immediately. Your complimentary dinghy awaits you portside. Now leave, please."

"Fuck off," Ed hisses, walking past him. You watch him closely.

"Alright, rude."

"Fuck you," Ed laughs softly, walking past Olu.

"First time I've been on this side of a walk of shame," Wee John comments.

"Way to make this awkward, bruh," Archie says.

"Shitty sailing with you." Jim chimes in.

"You're making it really hard to look up to you, man," Pete sighs.

"Hey, made you this sandwich for the trip," Roach says, holding it out to him. Ed slaps it out of his hand and Stede catches it

"You don't want your sammie?" Stede looks sad.

Ed slaps it out of Stede's hand and it hits Lucius in the face. You have to cover your mouth to stop from laughing. Lucius bites back his laughter too. It really isn't a funny moment, throwing someone off the ship, but at least you can find something to laugh about, you supposed.

"Ed, say something at least."

Ed turns his head and looks at Stede.

"You're not a fuckin' mermaid."

You knit your brows together in confusion by that statement. Stede looked equally confused.

"What?"

Ed climbs off the ship and into the dinghy. Stede looks down and watches him, you and Lucius part with the rest if the crew, not hanging about to watch any longer.

Ed was gone. That was that.

♡♡♡

"Is it me or does the energy around here seem off?" Wee John asked.

"By 'the energy,' do we mean him?" Roach nods over to Lucius who was smiling and freaking out a little. "Or him?" He gestures over to where Izzy is still standing at the front of the ship yelling at the unicorn.

"Well, mythical creature?" Izzy yells. You sigh as you watch him from where you stand. He still wasn't talking to you much. "Anything to say to yourself? Fuck you!"

"Or them?" Roach asks, looking at Jim, Archie, Frenchie, and Fang scrubbing the deck of any "possible" bloodstains left over from where Edward had bled out.

"Do you still see blood?"

"Yeah. We'll get it. Just keep scrubbing."

"They're lookin' this way." Fang says.

You tune out the rest of their conversation to watch your stupid drunk pirate curse at the unicorn some more. If only you could talk to him. He would surely listen to you.

It was breaking your heart to see him fall apart like this. Izzy hadn't held you since you got back onto The Revenge. He was shutting you out, suffering on his own.

You hated it.

You try not to let the tears fall as you walk away, letting Izzy do whatever the fuck he wanted.

♡♡♡

Olu had invited you to join the crew for a surprise. Jim had speculated they were planning to kill you all off for being disturbed after sailing with Blackbeard. You thought it was a bit of a stretch, but you wouldn't put it last them either.

You were all guided below deck where the surprise was.

"You gotta close your 'cause it's a surprise." Olu says.

No one does that, everyone sceptical. Frenchie leads you all behind Olu. You find Pete and Wee John waiting.

"Ta da!"

Wee John moves to reveal the surprise.

The crew all jump and startle, hiding the knives they were all carrying behind their backs incase of an attack.

"Fuck!" Lucius sighs, jumpy enough already.

"Guys, it's called a pine-ata." Pete says.

"Yeah. So, you just pull this string and then--" Olu tries to explain.

"And then you hit it with a stick!" Pete demonstrates.

Everyone is triggered. PTSD from the storm, from Blackbeard.

"Time for blindfolding." Wee John tries.

"Stay the fuck sway from me!" Jim yells.

"You won't want to stay the fuck away from this came!" Roach says, brining the cake in.

You feel your stomach churn at the sight of it. It looks like the wedding cake...

"God's sake, take it away!" Fang screams.

You all draw your weapons. Yeah, even you. This is too much, too soon. This how it ends up at a stand off.

"One-half of this room has some serious emotional damage," Jim explains, holding Wee John in a choke hold. "And it's not us."

"Well, it's not us!" Wee John says back.

You have your knife pointing at Olu.

"Right, so, is everybody else's arms and various limbs getting tired?" Frenchie asks.

"Alright, look, look, look, look. I think there's actually an easier way to resolve this." Olu days, eyeing your knife. "Yes? Right. So you all think that we're plottin' against you?"

"Yeah," you nod.

"Which, in hindsight, maybe was inaccurate." Frenchie says. "I don't know, you tell me."

"Okay. So, can we all agree to just not jump the other crew and solve this as fuckin' adults?" Olu asks.

"You're saying this is like a space that is safe?" Jim asks him.

"Yeah, babe." Olu looks at them.

"I love that."

"A safe space."

"Yeah, okay."

You all lower your knives. You take a deep breath. Nearly lost your cool there.

"A lot has gone unsaid," Roach speaks. "I think now is a great time to discuss lingering issues."

"Yeah, yeah, absolutely." Archie nods. "Can we talk about the fucked-up sleeping arrangements?"

"Excuse me, do you even have a name, new guy?" Wee John asks her.

"Yeah, fuck you is her name." Jim starts, drawing their knife again.

"Hey, stupid name for a person," Roach draw his knife on Jim.

"You know my name is Archie," she point her weapon at Roach.

Everyone draws their weapons again. You sigh and point your knife at Olu again, but he doesn't sense any actual malice from you.

The sound of something thudding against the floor draws everyone's attention to the door. You turn and your heart skips a beat at the sight of Izzy. Two wooden legs at his feet.

"There! It's done!" He yells. "Maybe next time he'll think twice about not doing his fucking--" Izzy's peg leg breaks from under him as he raises his crutch and he falls harshly to the ground.

You gasp and drop your knife, hurrying over to him. He shrugs you off.

"Get off me! Fuck off!"

You sit there on your knees as he rolls over and starts crawling down the hall. Your heart breaks watching him.

"Leave me alone! I'm already gone." He mutters. He starts repeating a phrase over and over again. "You're born alone, you die alone. You're born alone, you die alone."

You can feel tears building up again. God, only Izzy could ever make you cry so much.

"Yeah, he's definitely more disturbed than any of us," Lucius says, watching Izzy go.

You try to hide your teary eyes as you get up and leave.

♡♡♡

You're sat up on deck with yours curled up wiping away the tears that were falling. If only you could get that stupid man to talk to you. You just wound to heal his internal wounds, and soothe his external wounds.

You don't hear the door open, but you do hear footsteps coming over. You turn your face away, but you know it's Fang who is now sitting beside you. He has one of the unicorn legs in his hand.

"You okay?" He asks softly. Fang was a soothing presence.

"Spectacular," you mutter.

He look down at the wooden leg and then back at you.

"We, uh, we had an idea for Izzy."

You wipe your eyes again. "Yeah?"

"We're gonna make him a new leg. You wanna help? It would sure mean a lot if you gave it to him after." Fang smiles.

"You want me to help?"

"I think Izzy would like that, don't you?"

You shrug quietly. "I don't know. He's not exactly talking to me right now."

"Aw, listen. He still loves you. He's just hurting, but maybe we can help. Let's do something good for him."

Fang offers you a small smile.

You find yourself smiling back. You reach over and take the leg from him. "Okay. Let me see what we can do."

Less than 30 minutes later the leg is being constructed, the crew are gathered to help. Fang constructs the leg into a strong, comfortable, and practical leg. Lucius had got some gold paint to add something that little bit extra.

You smile as you paint the leg.

"The gold was a gold touch."

Lucius smiles, happy he could help.

You leave the leg to dry and then Fang returns to your side with it. You sigh as you take it, looking it over.

"We sure it will do?" You ask.

"Its been measured and made just for Izzy. It will more than do. Oh don't forget the note." Fang holds out the parchment.

You take the leg and take the note.

"Right..."

"Just leave it outside his door if he doesn't want to talk. I can assure you he'll talk to you again soon."

You nod and make your way to Izzy's cabin.

♡♡♡

As you approach Izzy's door, you don't hear much. It's almost too quiet for your liking. You hover outside the door, the leg in hand. That's when you hear his voice. He's talking to someone.

"And you? What's your excuse?" You hear him say. You lean a little closer to listen, worried about him. "I mean, what even are you?"

You knock on the door hoping he'll answer.

"Fuck off." You hear him shout. You knock again firmly. "Fuck off!" He yells again.

You sigh. Telling him it was you probably wouldn't make a difference. You prop the leg up but the door, tucking the note and Marietta, Izzy's carved sparrow that you still had, into it.

You knock again and hurry away, disappearing down the hall.

"You are harassing a cripple! Fucking twats!" Izzy yells, no longer realising the person has gone from behind his door. He limps his way over and opens it, looking down the hall.

He sees no one.

His gaze drops down to the item waiting for him. He sees the note and the bird. He reads the note first, all emotion clogging up in his throat.

Those little shits.

He cries. Izzy covers his mouth as tears overwhelm him. He looks up down the hall, trying not to break down.

"Fucking cocksuckers."

He sees the sparrow and picks it up. It's then he realises you had been the one knocking. His finger close around the bird and the tears fall freely.

Shit. He's been really shit to you.

Izzy hold the sparrow against his chest and takes a few deep breaths. He grabs the leg and hobbles back inside his room.

♡♡♡

It's the early hours of the morning.

Izzy stands on deck with his new leg on. It's a good fit. Made really well. His hair is slicked back against his scalp, out of his face. His face is a little cleaner. No rum in sight.

In one hand he's clutching the ring he wears under his clothes, hanging from a string of twine. He smiles as he looks down at it.

In his other hand is the note. His eyes drift over to the words written on it. His heart feels full.

'For the new unicorn.'

Izzy smiles.

With the dawn of a new day comes a new Izzy. A healing Izzy.

He's going to be okay.

No. He'll be more than okay.

He just needs to talk to you first.

♡♡♡

The sun hasn't even risen yet when Izzy wakes you. You've been sleeping with the rest of the crew since Izzy stopped talking to you, so he had to be quiet when waking you. You're startled awake by something hitting your face again and again.

You wake up to find little balls of paper being thrown at you. You look up to see Izzy waving you over. You look at him confused. He wasn't talking to you befkre, and now he wants to?

That's when you notice the leg and your heart begins to race.

You climb out of bed and make your way out of the room, not waking a single person. You follow Izzy into his cabin and enter cautiously. He looks tidier, cleaner, more content.

"Izzy?"

He stands there and looks at you. There are several emotions flickering in his eyes, but he finds his words in no time.

"Thank you."

You stand there awkwardly. "I didn't do anything."

Izzy inhales loud enough for you to hear as he looks down at his leg, his hand resting over his thigh. "You did this."

"It was the crew's idea."

Izzy holds up the sparrow. "I noticed it was gone, but there was only one place it could be."

You nod your head softly.

Izzy puts the sparrow down and walks over to you, closing the distance between you both. You find your heart rate picking up as you look into those beautiful eyes of him.

"I love you," he whispers.

Just like that he's reaching out and kissing you. You're in his arms again. You return his kiss, having missed his lips. Having missed him. You reach out and take hold of him.

The kiss is hot, passionate, desperate. It's significance lies with the fact that you two spend all your time wanting each other, but when you're hurting, you don't reach out for one another.

You remove his scarf, taking the ring around it and carefully placing it down. It belonged to his mother and you know he would definitely curse you if you lost it. You begin to undress him, and he, you.

Clothes land on the floor. The soft thud of his wooden foot taps lightly on the floor as he moves you over to his bed.

Doing this right after the emotional rollercoaster you both has been through probably wasn't the best idea, but this time no one could stop you both, and this was long overdue.

You push Izzy down on the bed and take care of him, admiring him. You notice the other ring around his neck. You had seen it before, but it's origins you hadn't known. He was wearing it last time you did this too.

Still, your mind was focused on other things.

Safe to say, both of you are going to be a little late getting up tomorrow.

♡♡♡

@grippleback-galaxy - @askmarinaandothers - @godlikegallagher - @for-fuck-sake-im-alive - @whiskeyswriting - @lxsm2 - @bloody-bunni666 - @the-chocoholic-writer - @bugbugboy - @callmemana - @the-shenny-of-azkaban - @cool-ontherun-world - @outer-space-beech - @ahewi24 - @grace585 - @innertimemachinegirl - @dmitrytherat - @emilynissangtr -

#izzy hands x reader #spirit of the sea #ofmd spoilers #ofmd s2 #ofmd season 2 #ofmd 2 #ofmd #dragon writes

[shiplessoceans]

Rewatching Episode 9 "Act of Grace" (because life is hard and I deserve joy on occasion) and noticed something.

Chauncey has clocked Blackbeard and Stede. He's aware they share a relationship or the least, a deep connection.

We know because he uses it against Stede to force his confession.

"Blackbeard confessed to the crime moments ago."

"He did? (Insert Ed confessing)....But that's not true..."

"Why would he lie?"

And that's the question isn't it?

Stede and Ed shared a little moment on deck with the boot touch, maybe Chauncey noticed, maybe he heard them reassure each other or noticed their inability to take their eyes off each other before Blackbeard was hauled down to the cells and Stede was taken off for questioning.

Stede is told Ed confessed to spare him. But he won't let Ed take the fall and Chauncey is counting on that fact. Why else would he still be questioning Stede if he already had the culprit?

After the Act of Grace I remember thinking it was strange that Chauncey says:

"WHY?! Why do you all show such loyalty to this....nothing?!"

He addresses the question to Stede's crew, not to the most feared pirate on the sea. I was actually expecting him to ask Blackbeard "Why? Why would you give up your life to save him?"

But he never asks and on top of that, doesn't seem shocked when Ed yells "ACT OF GRACE!". He mostly seems pissed off that Ed exercised that loophole.

Chauncey suspects. He knows something is going on between them.

Which makes his accusation that Stede brought history's greatest pirate to ruin all the more devastating.

#ofmd meta #ofmd analysis #she's back with more headcanons to ruin your day #our flag meets death #chauncey is slug reaction confirmed #you defile beautiful things #ofmd #gentlebeard #ed/stede #edward teach/stede bonnet

[khruschevshoe]

Izzy Hands and Ed Teach

You have always been there in my mind

But now I understand you

And I will not be part of your designs

I know who you are now

And I name you my enemy

I know who I am now

I know who I want to be

I want to be more than

This devil inside of me

-The Oh Hellos, Dear Wormwood

Izzy knows that if he cannot kill his god, his god will not want him around. Izzy takes the gun, wraps weak fingers around it, and tries to do his god proud.

But it does not work. The gun goes off, sending pain ricocheting through Izzy's skull, and his head does fall back on the pillow behind him. His god gives a soft sigh, says that he loved Izzy, best he knew how, and exits from Izzy's prison, this ninth circle of hell.

Blackbeard leaves. Izzy Hands remains, pain pounding excruciating through his forehead. He has lost his leg. He came seconds, a mere hairsbreadth difference in the placement of the gun barrel, from losing his life.

It is in this moment, as he tries to breathe through the pain, the weight of his god's condemnation, that Izzy finally understands that if a god demands that a man die but that man wishes to cling to life, he must learn how to outlive his god.

If Blackbeard condemned him to the ninth circle, then it is time for Izzy to earn his sentence.

-aletterinthenameofsanity, bury me as it pleases you (but these bones never rested while living)

Well, @aletterinthenameofsanity just posted a writing update and mentioned that the Dear Wormwood album was extremely Edizzy-coded so I started relistening to it (especially the songs I've never heard before, such as Dear Wormwood itself) and yep, she's really not wrong! I listened to this song and COULD NOT unsee the Edizzy of it all. As I eagerly wait for the Izzy amnesia fic, I wanted to put out another Edizzy moodboard because their toxic, religiously devoted dynamic scratches such an itch in my brain!

@possumsmushroom @yuenity @lady-of-the-spirit @bricksbloggyplace @polikate

#edizzy #tw sui ideation #izzy hands #ed teach #izzy hands x ed teach #ofmd #aletterinthenameofsanity #fanfic #ao3 #lyrics #moodboard #fic rec #dear wormwood #oh hellos

[ellaenchanting]

Hypnovember 2023 Day 2: Brain Drain

I have committed Our Flag Means Death fanfiction! I am so sorry. Stede/Ed, Ed/Izzy, somehow happy poly and happy metamours making a lovely vee. Takes place in some AU season 2 where the last arc of the season never happened. Izzy is living his best happy masochist life.

Author knows fuck all about ships.

Izzy had gotten much more comfortable spending time with his shipmates since the Calypso's birthday incident.

There was nothing like a round of torture to bring a crew together, he thought.

Tonight the whole group had gathered in the galley under the ship, laughing and chatting long past when they usually went into their quarters for the evening. The sea had been calm that day and the mood was social. Everyone seemed quite relaxed.

Only two members were missing.

Oluwande looked up from his cuddle pile with Jim and Archie. He seemed to have read Izzy's mind. "Hey," he called out to the gathered group, "Has anyone seen the captains this evening?"

"No!" a few people responded.

"Thank God," snarked Black Pete. "Blackbeard...well Ed has been freaking me out. Yelled at me earlier about trimming the sails and you KNOW I keep them the trimmest, babe," he said to his partner Lucius.

"Yeah, he snarled at me when I told him 'hello' earlier," said Archie. "Like this!" She contorted her face into a frankly over-the-top grimace. "Made me nearly jump out of my skin. I may have heard him yell at some seagulls too? Or dolphins?"

Roach looked worried. "Neither captain has come down for dinner, yet," he said.

"Perhaps they are...occupied in the captain's quarters," speculated Izzy.

"Oh? Feeling left out, are you?" joked Frenchie, the little shit. Izzy tactfully ignored him.

Roach replied, still concerned. "Captain Stede will usually come down and request provisions in advance if they're having a long night alone," said Roach. "Thinks he's being sneaky, says they need extra energy 'for planning raids.'"

"My room is below theirs. Trust me, they've not been buggering today," piped up Wee John. "Unless they've learned to be much more quiet about it."

"Maybe they've gotten into a spat and someone's gotten pushed off the ship," spat Lucius. "That'll happen with him, you know."

"OK, that's enough," said Izzy, trying to regain control over the situation as everyone began to talk at once. "You're like gossipy fishwives, all of you. I'll go check on the captains. Make sure Bonnet's not running the ship into a cliff or something."

Izzy climbed up the stairs and started to look around the ship. Ed and Stede weren't in the captain's quarters (being quiet for once). There was no sign of them on the deck. He even craned his neck up to the bird's nest and checked. No captains there.

He finally spotted them at the back of the ship- on a little bit of the stern mostly hidden from view. They were both sitting facing out at the ocean. From a distance, Izzy could see Stede's arm was bent around Ed's shoulder, his hand occasionally reaching up to rock Ed's drooped head into slow, almost imperceptible little circles. Aside from the rocking, Ed's body was remarkably still. It was a huge change from the tense, coiled menace that Ed's frame had carried earlier in the day. Now, he looked almost like a puppet with his strings cut, only responding to Stede's guidance. His arms rested gently besides his legs, lax and pliant.

Izzy could hear Bonnett speaking in a low, soothing voice near Ed's ear but he was too far to make out any words.

Ed had mentioned mesmerism to Izzy before. It was one of the many upperclass daliances that Bonnet had introduced him to- one of those many trifling hobbies that Izzy would never begin to understand the appeal of. Izzy even knew that Bonnet had used his skills on Ed previously. His captain confided that Bonnett's fancy mesmerism routine had helped him find quiet during his not-infrequent emotional storms, that it evened out his seemingly uncontrollable highs and lows. In Izzy's mind, he had pictured the whole thing looking quite comical- Bonnett with wiggly fingers staring daggers into Ed's eyes (maybe with rays), Edward swooning and fainting away in response like a lady whose corset was too tight.

This was quieter than what he had pictured. Gentle. Intimate, even. As he looked over at the scene, he had the sudden feeling that perhaps he shouldn't intrude.

He began to walk away when Stede turned his head and look directly at him. Izzy froze for a moment, unsure what to do. Stede quietly waved him over to where the couple was sitting.

As Izzy approached, he began to get a closer look at Ed's face. His eyes were closed and his face relaxed. His chest slowly rose and fell with each breath. As he come closer, he noticed Ed's eyes were making little flickers underneath his eyelids like he was dreaming.

Izzy wondered what dreams were happening below those lids.

Ed's brows furrowed a bit as Izzy came closer, picking up the noise.

Stede stroked a reassuring hand through his hair. He spoke in his ear, this time loud enough so Izzy could hear: "Shhhhhhh sweetness. It's OK. Relax. You're not in charge right now, remember? Just rest."

Ed's expression immediately cleared. He let held breath with a sigh.

"Izzy's here," Stede continued. "He and I are going to have a chat for a bit. But you don't have to pay attention to that right now, ok? Just drift. Why don't you see how deep you can count yourself down for me while we talk? I'll be right here. I'll touch your leg when it's time for you to listen to me again, ok?"

Ed gave a slight, dreamy nod. His lips barely moved as he began to count silently.

Seemingly satisfied, Stede gestured for Izzy to sit and moved over closer to him.

Izzy sat down, still staring at Ed's lax face. Somehow that by itself was just fascinating. Ed seemed so vulnerable and bare right now. Izzy wasn't sure if he should feel honored or spooked.

"He had a bad day," Stede said gently, nodding over to their entranced boyfriend. "You know how he gets. He needed out of his head for a bit."

Izzy DID understand how Ed got- probably more than his dandyish captain ever would. Hopefully more that Stede ever would, he corrected himself. Ed had certainly told his other boyfriend at least a bit about the hurricane that had been his and Izzy's relationship in the past. When times were bad, they had only known how to take their energy out on each other. They bit and snarled and scratched at one another just to drown out all the noise inside. Izzy had always assumed Ed had NEEDED all of that- needed to hurt and make Izzy suffer the same way that Izzy needed to hurt and suffer for him. That's how they worked. That's who they were together.

Since arriving on the Revenge, though, Izzy had seen more and more of the hidden soft side of Blackbeard. The side that enjoyed fancy clothes and fine foods. The side that kissed Stede's cheek sweetly when he didn't think anyone else was looking. The side that, even now, sat loose and drifting and unguarded while his two boyfriends stayed by him and had a chat.

"Can he hear us?" Izzy asked Stede, curiously.

Stede smiled. "He can hear us, he's just..focused elsewhere right now. Mesmerism's not a magic spell, it's more like- a nice version of where Ed's brain goes when he's navigating. Or how he is when he's trying to sniff out a storm."

Izzy was familiar with his captain's tendency to tune everything out while trying to read the sea. He pictured the absolute, unshakeable concentration of his focused gaze. "Only with nice, clear skies?"

Stede nodded. "Only with nice clear skies." He looked fondly at Ed's dreaming face. "No rain. Nothing to worry about right now." He had dropped into a lighter, dreamy tone- and for a moment, Izzy wasn't sure if he was still speaking to Ed or Izzy or even somehow mesmerizing himself.

Izzy had seen many things in his travels. He once heard a street charlatan talk about mesmerism- saying mesmerism somehow balanced out a person's magnetic forces (y'know- whatever magnetic forces were). He wasn't one for all of Stede's little tricks but- he did understand about needing balance.

Izzy had initially misunderstood Ed's relationship to Stede. He worried that the gentleman pirate would make Ed weak. That he would seduce him away. That he would try to turn the great Blackbeard into one of Stede's fancy little gentleman friends. Izzy had been terrified there would be nothing left of the Ed that he loved after Stede was through.

But Ed was still Izzy's Ed, even now. He could still fight and outwit and outmaneuver anyone else on the sea. He would still protect his crew with all the fierceness of his notorious reputation. He and Izzy could still lose themselves in each other- in their old married couple bickering, in their fighting and fucking, in their indulgences of Ed's sadism and Izzy's corresponding masochism. It just- felt more controlled now. Izzy no longer wondered if Ed actually hated him or if he was just looking for someone convenient to break. He no longer worried that Blackbeard would maim him so badly that he couldn't look after the crew. Even when Ed hurt him now- and he WOULD still hurt him, Stede didn't magic that part away- Izzy was always rewarded with a kiss and some praise afterwards. "That's so good, Izzy. You did so well for me," he would say. Edward seemed so much stronger in these moments now- able to control his own fierceness and use it as a weapon- but also to hold Izzy as he fell apart for him.

Izzy looked over at Ed's quiet countenance- so different than before. It was otherworldy seeing him this serene and distant. He had a sudden desire to protect this version of Ed- Stede's gentle Ed. To keep him safe. A mad, possessive impulse made it to Izzy's mouth before he could stop it.

"Can I touch him?" he asked. "Like this?"

Stede looked surprised. "By touch, do you mean....?"

"His face, Bonnet" Izzy replied, snarkily. "Or his hand or something. His hair. Not going to wank him off on the deck, now am I?"

Stede bit back a laugh. He leaned over to gently touch Ed's leg.

Ed reacted with an almost imperceptible startle before gently settling- serene like the moon going back behind a cloud.

"Shhh- that's OK, love, you can stay relaxed. Good," Stede soothed. "Izzy was wondering if he could touch you while you're in trance. Would that be OK?"

Ed took a moment to respond, as though the words were reaching him from a great distance. Then he nodded his assent.

Stede smiled back at Izzy, reassuringly. Izzy took a breath- then reached over to slowly stroke Ed's hair.

His fearsome Blackbeard smiled in return to the gesture- giving a happy little murmur. He slightly leaned his head in. Just like an affectionate kitten, Izzy thought.

"Good," soothed Bonnet at Ed. "I bet that feels nice."

Izzy grinned too, feeling oddly proud to be trusted with this quiet moment. He and Ed had never been conventional. Maybe it was OK that Ed and Stede weren't either. Maybe it was ok that their relationships were so different- that they saw such different aspects of the same person.

Maybe it was all ok.

Maybe it all balanced.

They sat quietly for a long moment on the deck, letting the peace of the atmosphere soothe them.

Gradually Stede stirred. "Izzy- I forgot to ask: Did the men send you? Were they looking for us?"

"There's no emergency, they were just curious where you were," replied Izzy.

Stede nodded. "We should probably get back, then. Or at least get off deck. Love," he said, moving his voice back into that hypnotic tone. He touched Ed's leg to refocus him. "Are you ready to come up out of trance for me?"

Ed took a deep breath and nodded.

"Good, I'll count to 5 then. It's just to guide you- I know you know how to come up at your own pace. Bring back any of this peace and calm that you want with you, ok?"

Stede started counting- his voice slowly gaining energy as he reminded Ed to connect back with his body and helped him reorient to the ship. It all didn't seem particularly magical to Izzy- but then again he rarely tried to understand Bonnet's ways anyway. Ed finally blinked his eyes open when Stede reached 5.

He blinked a few more times, adjusting. Then, his gaze lost it's bleariness as he looked adoringly up at Stede.

"Hi, there," said Stede, smiling gently. "Back with us, love?"

"Mmmmph mostly," said Ed, scritching his beard and stretching to rouse himself. He looked over at Izzy as though reminding himself he was there and smiled. "Heya, Izz!" Ed leaned up to kiss him.

Izzy grinned into their kiss. "Heya, Captain. Didn't want to interrupt your little daydream session. Crew was just looking for you."

"Ah, we missed dinner!" exclaimed Stede. "I should have asked Roach for..."

"Provisions for planning raids, I heard," smirked Izzy. "Yes, we're all very snowed by your clever euphemisms."

"Fuck provisions, I could eat a horse," said Ed. He practically bounced up and put an arm around both of his boyfriends. "C'mon, let's get some grub!"

Helpless to his whims as always, both of his partners joyfully followed him to dinner.

Fanfic is new to me so would love some thoughts! Also this is unbeta'd so will love you forever if you would point out spelling/grammar mistakes or if there's unclear writing. I'm considering posting this to AO3 but- don't want to embarrass myself in front of the REAL fanfic writers, you know? Feedback welcomed!

Tagging @mentat101posts and @thekinkycocktailclub .If you want to be tagged in these, just lmk!

Tagging @darthkyra @linnybeenaughty @pearlqueensposts @thiskenisftm @deeperforme because they wanted OFMD hypnokink and I blame/thank you for the inspiration to actually get this down!

#hypnovember #hypnovember 2023 #fanfiction? #Our Flag means death #Gentlebeard #Compersion #hypnosis is romantic #because I say so

[teecupangel]

I’m thinking about Edward and Benjamin because I miss them both dearly! 💙

Let’s say Desmond time travelled back to that era. Do you think he’ll get along with Ben just as well as his ancestor did?

Alternate scenario: Edward and Hornigold raising baby Desmond together 🥺

This is gonna end in tragedy considering Hornigold became a Templar later on.

How about we make this much more painful by making Desmond an orphan he had taken in during the time he was training Thatch. Ben hadn’t been planning to take him in but Desmond, even as a kid, served to be more agile and smarter than most of his crew members. Thatch also noted it would be a waste to let the boy stay in the port so Ben took Desmond in. Desmond really had no actual plans at that point, thinking of just waiting till he grows up a bit more and get a ship of his own.

So he goes with Ben and Thatch, not knowing that Thatch would later be known as Blackbeard while Ben was a formidable legendary pirate of his own.

This would be set before they get their own fleet. At first, it’s just a crew that sails the seas and plunder Spanish ships sailing to war.

Desmond wasn’t totally into the whole plundering business and Ben realized that he had some sort of code.

It was a flexible one though.

If someone attacks them first then he’d take them down.

‘Self defense’.

That’s what Desmond liked to call it.

When Desmond was around 15 or 16 years old, that’s when Thatch brought a newcomer on board.

Edward Kenway.

Desmond immediately recognized him.

He might not have any vivid memories of him but the name and the aching loss in his heart were all he needed to know that this was Haytham’s father.

Ratonhnhaké:ton’s grandfather.

Desmond naturally gravitated to Edward because of this and they become friends. Brothers in arms.

They were both taught by Ben and Thatch with Desmond preferring Ben’s more reserved approach while Edward was… closer to Thatch.

Later on, Ben gives one of the fleets to Desmond to sail on his own, believing he was ready.

A few months later, Desmond becomes part of the Pirate Republic "the Brethren of the Coast" in Nassau. He was there for its founding but he passed on being one of its leader, something Ben thinks is a mistake because he believes Desmond would make be able to rein in the more ‘aggressive’ of the leaders.

Desmond said no to that because… well… he didn’t want any leadership roles for pirates.

Hell, he was known as the ‘Pirate of Retribution’ because he only attack ships that attacked him first. He wasn’t cut for pirating. His ship was more or less a smuggler ship and Desmond’s ‘clients’ were those in desperate needs.

But that was the day he met ‘James Kidd’.

He only heard of the supposed child of the great Pirate Kidd, their paths have never intersected before the founding of Nassau.

And he clocked the pirate immediately.

An Assassin.

It was the movements, the footsteps, the silence…

And it seemed that James Kidd realized that he was an Assassin as well.

They spent a few months feeling each other out, trying to understand each other’s goals in terms of all these pirating business.

When they finally confront one another, that’s when Desmond realized what had been bugging him this entire time.

James Kidd had more secrets than just being an Assassin.

And, by god, it took Desmond reminding himself he was an adult to not blurt out “what is this sorcery!” just to make a joke.

He was led to the Assassins and finally got an overview of the current state of the Brotherhood around these parts.

He has no idea why they’re so hung up on all this Sage business until he realized that whoever this Sage is? He was connected to the Isus.

Which meant Desmond had a lead on a way to contact Minerva or find a POE or some shit that can help him make sense on why he’s here in this time period.

So he helps the Assassin lay in ambush when they learned of the Sage’s location, having been captured by the Templars.

And his eyes widened when he realized that Edward Kenway is with the Templars.

Unorganized Notes:

There’s a brief moment that Desmond assumed that Edward is a Templar then he remembered that Edward was mentioned to be an Assassin in Ratonhnhaké:ton’s memories so he assumed that Edward was a Templar turned Assassin. That all went out of the window when he talked to Edward (secretly) and Edward told him that he’s there for gold, not to join some weird ass posh cult.

Desmond’s closest to Edward and Mary. Ben treats him as a son and Thatch treats him like a younger brother who needs to lighten up. Desmond thinks Thatch is a good man who really needs a minder.

Desmond gets entangled with the Sage plot thanks to Edward but he’s worried about Edward’s focus on the gold.

Desmond would agree that trying to provoke the British would backfire on them but he would also agree that they do need medicine when Nassau is hit by the unknown disease. Thanks to Desmond being more of a smuggler than a pirate, he was able to do something about it.

But because the world is conspiring to keep the timeline intact, Thatch still attacked the British to get medicines a day before Desmond returns to Nassau.

In this scenario, Ben would still take the pardon and he’d beg Desmond to do the same. Desmond sees no reason why not until they order him to hunt down the other pirates. That’s where he and Ben have their falling out with Desmond not wishing to hunt down people he knew, especially the ones he knew were good men dealt with bad cards and making the best for it. His ‘insubordination’ causes the British to take his ship and imprison his crew while Ben tries to keep him out of harm’s way, ending with Desmond staging a prison break with… well… lots of Constantinople approved ‘fireworks’.

Desmond could be the reason why Ben would not become a Templar… or not. Ben believes he’s doing the right thing and he might see Desmond as a son but he’s a rebelling son who needs to be pulled away from his ‘friends’ who were influencing him.

Desmond loses his ship because of this but he and his crew commandeered a British ship and runs away, returning to Nassau to talk to the others about these new pirate hunters.

Desmond’s loyalty is the Brotherhood and that will be the source of conflict between him and Ben (and even Edward). If Ben becomes a Templar, this will end in a tragedy.

#i might have focused more on benjamin hornigold #desmond has a pirate family #where he’s pretty much the black sheep of the family #assassin's creed #desmond miles #benjamin hornigold #edward thatch #edward kenway #mary read #ask and answer #teecup writes/has a plot

[ourflagmeansgayrights]

back at it again with yet ANOTHER Thing That OFMD Does So Fucking Well, this time im thinking about how for all that this show has the "love at first sight" trope and even textually says that "love feels easy," it still takes what i like to call the "anti-soulmate" stance, or a rejection of an easy "happily ever after" romance.

you know what im talking about when i say "happily ever after" romance, right? romantic stories that act like there's a Perfect Person in the world for you and that once you guys are together it's smooth sailing for the rest of your lives, the end. stories where the drama is all in getting together, and once we get the dramatic kiss at the finale the curtains close and the credits roll and that's all, folks! they're together, now! everything is fine!

and like anyone who's ever been in a long-term relationship (which is uhhhh Not Me, but i've heard it said) will tell you that this is NOT how relationships work at all. long-term relationships, no matter how well-suited the match, take a LOT of work.

and this is SO CLEAR with stede and ed. all of season one showed us the many, many ways that they fit together so easily. they have the same crazy "thinking outside of the box" plotting approach, they both have a penchant for drama and showmanship, they have similar senses of humor, they both enjoy fine fabric and good food and other fancy things. ed is the first person in stede's life to enjoy stede's presence so openly and honestly, and stede is the first person in ed's life to not balk at the less "blackbeard" side of him. the more they learn about each other the more they appreciate each other.

but. but. IT'S NOT ENOUGH!!!!

stede and ed got to the dramatic kiss. they got to the confession of mutual romantic interest and the "now they're together!!" part. in many love stories, that's where the credits start to roll!!

but then, very quickly, it all falls to shit.

yes, there are a LOT of external forces that drive ed and stede apart in episode 9 and 10, but the real thing that causes stede to run back to his wife and kids in a panic and causes ed to retreat back into blackbeard is the fact that these two fucking idiots never just TALK TO EACH OTHER

"communication is the key to any successful relationship" is something people say All The Time, but the thing with that phrase is that it doesn't really convey how fucking HARD it is to communicate. because communicating isn't just about talking to your partner, it's about expressing your desires, your weaknesses, your insecurities. it's being incredibly vulnerable and it takes a lot of practice and a lot of constant effort.

it is SO much easier to try and slowly distance yourself from someone because you don't want to come off as clingy (ed at the beginning of e7). it is SO much easier to come up with bullshit reasons to hang out instead of just saying "i want to spend time with you" because that's admitting how much you care about this person (stede with the treasure hunt). it is SO much easier to bite your tongue when something makes you upset because you don't want to make a fuss (stede when ed blew up his chest of drawers). it is SO much easier to choose your shitty ex over your new crush without actually explaining to your crush that it's not about him, it's about how you feel responsible for the shitty things your shitty ex just did (ed leaving the Revenge with jack). and it is SO SO SO much easier to never actually admit to your new friend, your co-captain, and the love of your life that you were never going to be good at "teaching him the ways of an aristocrat" because you've never actually fit in back in your old life, that you've never had a real friend before him, that you've been ridiculed your whole life for being yourself, because what if your new friend/co-captain/love of your life realizes just how pathetic you are?

for ed and stede to get their happily ever after, they of course have to deal with the narrative obstacles the show is throwing at them (izzy, the british, whatever else is coming for us in season 2) but more importantly they have to learn how to communicate directly, so they both understand what the other is saying. ed needs to know about stede's insecurities and stede needs to trust ed to choose what ed wants and understand that he's not "corrupting" or "defiling" anything when ed says he wants to stop being blackbeard. ofmd shows us that ed and stede would be an incredible couple, but even if the feelings of love are easy, the work that goes into having a successful relationship isn't.

#ofmd #our flag means death #ofmd meta #blackbonnet #gentlebeard #edward teach born on a beach #edward teach #s1e09 #stede fucking bonnet #blackbeard #stede bonnet #s1e10 #og #meta #txt #mine #tags on my last ''ofmd does this so well'' post was abt how awkward i was when asking out my ex #these tags are abt how that relationship wouldve ended way sooner (and it SHOULVE ended sooner) if we fucking COMMUNICATED #he did not put effort into the relationship and i felt unappreciated. he was afraid to... break up with me??? for some reason???? #so i got strung along for weeks until i was like ''hey can we break up'' fhgjkfhgjkf. a mutual split! and we are still friends #(this guy is also the subpar fwb i project onto ed's relationship w jack lmao) #but yeah i was miserable in a relationship i wasnt even that emotionally invested bc i was too scared to talk abt my feelings #cant even IMAGINE how fucked ed and stede are rn bc they wont just talk about their shit.

[amuseoffyre]

Some thoughts I had while drilling a rock along with some thoughts collated earlier in the day. The writers don't waste dialogue. If it's there, it's there for a reason. This includes stuff from eps 4-5 plus the teaser for 6-7.

These are the bits I want to focus on:

Can't tell what's real and what's the basket anymore

Artsy outsider was always your thing

Can't tell what's real and what's the basket anymore

I suspect Buttons didn't turn into a bird. I think this is entirely down to Ed's head still being vaguely-basket influenced. Especially since he sees the bowl and the bird, but Stede doesn't come back and see either. Plus we heard birds startled and scuttling in the bushes literally seconds before it happens.

Part of the power of the basket is that it lets you see what you want to see and in that moment, nervously accepting Stede's invite back to the ship, what Ed needs a reassurance that people - he - can change. And how better to have your still slightly-untethered imagination do that than let yourself believe a man can turn into a bird? If Buttons can turn into an impossible bird, maybe you can turn back from one?

I'm curious what was in that giant spliff-looking bundle that Buttons had him hold right before his transmogrification act, especially since we already saw him and Mary with smaller versions back at the house. Could've been sage or could've been Buttons getting Ed a wee bitty stoned which certainly would've let him see things a bit more oddly and would definitely explain his giddy, blissed-out look as he watched 'Buttons' fly away XD

Artsy outsider was always your thing

Will fully admit that this one is a bit of a stretch, but bear with me and I will get to my point.

1. Ed mentions that he has a record to break based on mass raids and leaving chaos and carnage in his wake in episode 1. According to Oluwande, he's never seen a wanted poster with writing on both sides before.

2. Ned Lowe appears in the new teaser, apparently very irritated at his record being broken. This feels very personal an offence.

3. Ned Lowe enjoys hurting people but specifically, he enjoys hurting people in incredibly creative and artistically pleasing ways to him: he enjoys the perfect pitch of a scream, he tortures people with musical instruments, I half suspect the horrors he's committing in a lighthouse will end up looking like the batsignal for the Aesthetic.

4. Stede and his crew have already come across a ship where the bodies were left arranged in a tableau which feels like it was done especially to garner attention and horror: a man impaled on candle-sticks, another borderline crucified, another with knives in his eyes, and a giant bloody pentagram.

5. This artsy outsider, a bit of a sadistic weirdo even by pirate standards, has taken it personally that Blackbeard has stolen his thunder and is making a show to steal his thunder back in the most dramatic and over-the-top showy ways, including coming onto his current ship to torture his crew.

6. Bitter ex, anyone? :D

All that aside, I'm also now happily gnawing on the idea that the real Hornigold is going to turn up in the season finale post-credit scene as a hook for season 3. The fact they have post-credit scenes feels a bit of a waste, when so far, they've added nothing to the story. They're bait to make sure we stay watching to the very end.

#ofmd s2 #ofmd s2 speculation #ofmd s2 spoilers #ofmd meta

[abbythewritor]

"Fairness." One Piece x Saitama reader, 3.

"Just a Normal girl looking for an everyday life. At least, if you call sailing across the seas with idiots with useless dreams a simple task, then you might wanna see a doctor. Seriously."

Warnings: Blood, gore, mentions of Luekimia, and heaps amount of blood and strength. It might be a little cursing, but not bad, and maybe some flirting in there, but it's mostly clean.

Other things:

-You didn't get bald due to your powers; you got bald to an extreme illness.

-You part of the straw hat crew, but others are interested in you and your power.

-Everyone that is a male is taller than you.

-Monsters from the OPM world will appear in One Piece, and I'll make some new monsters you will fight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The tension was high, Luffy and Jimbei attaching a complete fit of rage through his veins, as black beard held a smirk to his face. I could tell that this pirate in front of us did something wrong to cause the two of them so much anger, I remembered Ace talking about fighting a pirate named Black Beard, but I never expected him to show up here.

I saw Luffy put his fist to the ground, his legs spreading as he looked up at Teach, his skin soon glowing pink as smoke came off of him.

My eyes widened as he yelled Second gear, as his speed allowed him to zoom towards the pirate, slamming his fists hard into the man's stomach out of anger.

Teach slammed into the wall, leaving a significant dent as a man with a gun looked his way. "Captain!" He called out, soon causing Blackboard a hissy fit as he rolled on the floor. "Man, what a tough guy this is. Is he really the man who Ace fought?" Jimbei nodded. "Yes, don't underestimate him, he may look different, but in all reality, he has a potent Devil fruit." I didn't understand what he meant by devil fruit, so I took Jimbei's words seriously as I stepped closer, walking past Luffy to the bigger man. "Oi, fat guy." He looked up to see me, irritated from me calling him fat. "WHAT DID YOU SAY-" I slammed my foot beside his head, creating another crack in the wall. "You put Ace here...you meant for him to get caught by the Marines. So you can take his bounty and leave." He smirked and laughed. "That's precisely what I did...I've never seen you before, what are you? A pirate?" My head shook. "No, just a girl who's trying to better the situation. I've heard stories of you, one of you killing your crew member of the White Beard pirates. Is that true?" He laughed more. "What if I did? That old man never treated me like his own, so I made my own decision, and look at me now, a devil fruit user with a bounty higher than before. CHEHAHAHAHAHAAH!! That fool Ace will never understand when you cross paths with me; I always get what I want!" My fists clutched with slight anger, but my face didn't show it as I kicked off the wall. "Luffy, this guy hurt your brother, right?" Luffy nodded as I smirked. "Then it's your responsibility to put this man in his place." Your words struck Luffy hard as he nodded again, returning to his stance as his skin turned pink again, glaring at Black Beard. "I won't let you hurt Ace anymore!!" Teech got up, a smirk forming as black smoke emerged. Everyone stood at a reasonable distance, leaving the battle to the both of them as Luffy moved fast, teleporting in the air as he was ready to punch him; Blackbeard could follow him with his gaze. "GOMU GOMU NO! JET!" His left fist extended fast as Teech held up one of his hands. "VORTEX!!" He yelled, more black smoke coming from his palm, spinning like a black hole as it started to suck him in; his and my eyes widened with surprise as Luffy was completely sucked in, getting grasped.

"Luffy!" I yelled; I heard Bon Chan call for him as Blackbeard slammed him into the ground, which broke.

But everyone was surprised when blood came out of his head, as he was made of rubber, he was surprised as well, as he jumped back, touching his head.

Teech let out a menacing laugh, black smoke still surrounding him. "Seems like you don't have any idea of what happened! Your brother Ace looked like that!! Just face it, Devil fruit powers are ineffective on me!!" He boasted, Luffy getting angry as he was about to punch him again, until I stood before him, stopping as my hand grabbed his face. "Wait a minute, Luffy," I spoke, looking at him. "Enough already! This guy is powerful; that's coming from me. If you want revenge for your brother, take it later; he needs you right now! You too angry and high up from emotions!" He still struggled with your grip, pleading for you to let him go, as you didn't. "Let me go!" He yelled as Jimbei stepped in. "No, Luffy! What is your priority?! Like Abby-san said, Ace is the one who needs our help! Think about it! Luffy!" Luffy huffed angrily as things began to settle down, and Jimbei glared at Teech. "Ever since he was on good old Whitebeard's ship, he was so strange! I don't know how he got it, but he has this power that enabled him to defeat even the unbeatable Ace-San!"

My brows twitched from his words as I wondered why Black Beard turned out this way, that, and how much menace he had in his mind. "Luffy." He turned his head to me. "You must use your time and energy wisely here! Fighting him now out of anger doesn't help you save Ace!" He didn't want to admit it, but both of you were right, as he glared harshly to Black Beard, who smiled at him menacingly. Who laughed at him. "You are more robust than I thought! You got more Haki than before-" "Your name is Black Beard, right?" Crocodile spoke as he looked at the Warlord. "I heard that a nameless pirate on Whitebeards's ship had taken my place as Warlord. But it's odd. You should've been summoned by Navy Headquarters already; why are you here?" He asked, wanting answers as I did too; I nodded with agreement as he laughed again, crocodile continuing."You're risking your life as the Warlord you wanted by being here." Teach laughed more. "It's apart of my plan!" My head tilted. "Plan? What plan?" He turned to me. "Do I have to tell you everything about it? Your starting to piss me off with the questions..pests..." Crocodile glared at him harshly, as did I. "No, you don't; actually, I'm not interested at all... are you?" I shook my head. "No," Crocodile smirked. "See?" Blackbeard smirked as well. "How disappointing-" He was interrupted when something exploded, as Bon-chan and everyone looked that way. "W-What's going on?!" He asked as I stood by him until one of Ivanka's soldiers yelled suddenly as if someone was there. "Shit.." Crocodile muttered as Ivonka got into stance. "Not good." She pointed to Luffy. "Straw, boy! You better go now!! If you get poisoned by Magellan again, there's no way for you to survive this time!" She yelled as everyone started running up the stairs, the crowd pushing me slightly. Mister One noticed as he grabbed my waist, bringing me with the group as we headed up the stairs. "Mister one! Thank you!" I smiled as he nodded his head, still holding me to not get squished by the crowd, as Luffy and Crocodile landed beside me, soon running with us.

But, as we were about to get to the top, a Giant cow was in front of us, knocking some prisoners back. Noticing, I hopped out of Mister One's arms, who was confused about what I was doing as he charged forward, about to run into more people until I grabbed its horns, my strength stopping it in his tracks.

It let out a high-pitched moo; I was surprised I could do that as I didn't want to hurt it, as it was an animal.

So, I gently slammed my fist into its head, giving him a bump for it to sit on the floor. "OH! HE SAT!" Some prisoners yelled as Crocodile scoffed with irritation. "What are you doing, brat?! We need to keep moving-" He paused when a cute smile was on my face as everyone saw me praising the cow like a dog, its tail wagging. "Who's a good girl?! You poor thing! Under the stupid marines' control, you must be so fed up, huh?~" Everyone except Luffy blushed a little, surprised with how cute I was as the cow leaned over into me, and I gained its trust. "Never expected this." Mister one spoke, as Crocodile just nodded, just as confused as him, as I held the cow's face. "Can you tell your cow friends to let us go?~ We have an important man to save! Can you do that for me?" She huffed and nodded, letting out a loud moo as the rumbling stopped, the cows soon making a path for us to walk through.

Praising her again, I thanked her as we all went ahead, me and Luffy in front. Everyone was confused and shocked at how I did that but shrugged it off when we were almost to the third floor, as other Animals attacked us. We cleared them quickly as we reached the top, freeing more prisoners, but there weren't any, which confused me. "Why aren't there any prisoners in these cells?" Crocodile hummed. "I could ask the same thing.." Jimbei looked around as well. "I wonder who released them..."

After moments of exploring, we soon heard mayhem up ahead as we all went to check it out.

Luffy was surprised when we arrived, seeing familiar faces as a clown and a man with a three on his head with so many prisoners, as we found who freed them all. "Buggy!!" He yelled, a smile on his face as the clown turned, shocked. "MUGIWARA?!" All of us were running his way, and the number three man was shocked to see a crocodile. "CROCODILE?! BON-CHAN?! MISTER ONE?! AND-" He paused as both of them saw me running, a blank look on my face as my curves bounced, making them both blush furiously as we stopped before them. "Who's this?" Mister Three asked as the boys looked at me, as Luffy smiled. "This is Y/n! She was trapped in the same cell as Ace! She's helping us out!" I waved. "Hello, not expecting to meet a clown." Buggy scratched his neck with embarrassment as a smile plastered his face. "Well, it's your lucky day-" Bon-chan kicked both. "I HEARD YOU BOTH CALL ME A PERVERT! I AM NOT A PERVERT BLAH BLAH, BLAH-" As the two got kicked, I giggled, smiling as Crocodile and Mister One glared down at me, smiling gently at how cute it sounded.

The guards couldn't believe this mashup of a team, as I was shaking Mister Three's hand as if it was a happy reunion?

But, thinking that we were safe, the warden came up suddenly, as Buggy and Mister Three screeched from his appearance suddenly.

My eyes widened with shock as Luffy and Ivan-chan, the scissors man, were not there, and I gulped, meaning we had to run for it. "EVERYONE LET'S GO!"

Everyone followed my orders surprisingly, as we all bolted, heading a way to get to the upper floor.

But, as I was running, a bullet from one of the guards grazed my leg, and I stumbled. "Y/n!" Jimbei yelled, looking at me as prisoners stumbled over me; I looked at my leg, surprised that it also hurt me. As I was about to stand, I struggled to walk, and as I stumbled more, Jimbei was about to go back and help until Crocodile took care of the guard, as he easily picked me up again, looking at me. "You alright?" He asked, as I nodded. "Just a scratch, but bullets usually never affect me, so I don't know why these are different." He started following the group while holding me, glaring at the guards. "These bullets are different, made for devil fruit users, which is why your bleeding right now." A sand whip came out of his back, deflecting more special bullets with his sand as he wiped some guards away, slamming them into the wall. I was surprised at how he was helping me, as the way Luffy met him earlier, he seemed like a ruthless person, but maybe prison changed him? Who knows because you don't know anyone's story as you never met anyone here before.

"Is Devil fruit the powers you guys have?" Your question confused and shocked him as he looked down at you while running. "You don't know what a Devil fruit is? Have you been living under a rock? How did you get your powers from?" I sighed. "It's a story for later, but let us say I was given my power. Honestly, I come from somewhere that doesn't have these Devil fruits." His eyes widened slightly. "Really? Makes sense then, but the whole world has Devil fruits, so I don't understand why your land doesn't have any." I smile. "Like I said, it's confusing and a long story, so let's focus on getting us and the others out of here." He nodded, not questioning it further as he used his sand powers for quicker motion, keeping you in his arms as you all continued to head through the second floor, running from the warden.

As we headed closer, the warden's purple slime launched over us, and my and Crocodile's eyes widened, him bending down, ready to shield me from it.

But, the impact never came, as Mister Three stepped forward, using his candle power, which was impressive, to create a large barrier over everyone as my eyes widened with awe. Some prisoners cheered as he looked back at me and Crocodile. "Are you two alright?!" I nodded. "Yes, thank you, Mister Three!!" I look at the crocodile. "Are you alright?!" I asked, a little worried as his face was close to mine, and he smiled gently and nodded. "Barely even scratched..." I sighed with relief when smiling up at him as he stood up. "Good, I'm glad!"

"Everyone! Go now while you can! I can't keep doing this forever!" Luffy smiled and nodded as the warden sent more Venom to us, which Mister Three blocked again as it signaled us to move.

As we ran, we devised a plan; as Jimbei stated, there might be Navy ships for us to use up there. Luffy decided to stay with Mister Three to help, as Luffy had an Idea. It was risky, but we let him do it as Crocodile, Buggy, Mister One, and the others went forward, heading to the upper floor.

As we arrived, Bon-chan cheered as they were no more enemies, and Mister One glared at him. "You're letting your guard down, Idiot; what are you amature?" Hurt by his words, he scolded the swordsman as I looked at him from a crocodile grasp. "He's right, Bon-chan; we still need to be cautious. Like Jimbei said, there could be a bunch of Navy ships out there." Bon-chan slumped. "Maybe your right..." "He is right...don't be an idiot, even if it's ten, 800 marines are each on board, as very few of us came up here," Crocodile stated, as I nodded with him. "Yeah! We still need to be cautious, even when stealing a ship!" He understood and nodded in agreement as we reached the front door, and everyone was excited.

I hopped down the Crocodile's arms, ignoring the pain from my leg as I walked up to the door, quickly punching it open. "AHH SO POWERFUL!" The prisoners yelled, and Buggy was shocked too, as the sunlight shined on us for the first time, revealing the sea...and the Navy ships Mister 10 was described in the mist.

I sighed as I put my hand on my hips. "Just as we thought, we knew this wouldn't be easy." Everyone started to freak out, besides the devil fruit users, as Jimbei stood beside me. Everyone! You have me here! Let me handle this!" He announced as I looked up at him, then nodded as I completely trusted him.

Soon enough, he walked over to one of the entrance doors, Yanking it off its hinges.

Me and Crocodile smirked, knowing exactly what he was doing, as Jimbei jumped in the water and went under the door, holding it securely. "I can't carry that many, but if anyone is brave enough to steal a ship with me, hop on!" I smirked more, hopping on myself as I wobbled a bit. Crocodile and Mister One landed behind me, but soon, Buggy hopped on, feeling confident as he landed gracefully, his fists going onto his hips; as Jimbei zoomed off, I strumbled a bit from how fast he was going, as Mister One held me steady, holding my shoulders as I smiled up at him.

This was our chance to steal a ship and Help save Luffy's brother...we won't let you down because even if the world bites you in the back...

Everyone deserves an equal amount of fairness...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

#monkey d luffy #luffy #one peice #one piece #roronoa zoro #one piece fanart #One Piece x reader #Crocodile #Jimbei #Luffy #Buggy #Mister One #Ivanka #One Piece fanart #One Piece fandom #Anime #Anime x reader #for you #Fanfiction #Pirates #white beard #blackbeard #op mihawk #alvida #hawkeye mihawk #buggy the clown #dracule mihawk #one piece mihawk

[deathmetalunicorn1]

That was amazing! Can I request a Part 6? Drum Island, where they need to find a Doctor for Nami and Reader who become severely sick

When Reader regains conscious, she keeps running away from Dr. Kureha in fear (Dr. Kureha took a little of Reader’s blood when she was unconscious to check what she’s infected with, and discovers her blood has a unique mutation that can reverse not only her cells, but others’ cells that have severe diseases/illnesses to curable stages) then puts two and two together on why a little girl could have so many scares and feels disgust, and darkly asks Luffy, Nami and Sanji if they’re the ones who gave Reader her scars, because if they are she’s going to kill them

Dr. Kureha tells Luffy and Nami that this is her theory, but based on Reader’s her scars, her reaction when she learned she’s a doctor and her power (And what she found out from her blood) that someone’s been taking Reader’s body apart to use as they see fit (Luffy, Nami and Sanji have never felt more horrified then murderous over the pain Reader had to endure)

When Reader meets Chopper, she quickly bonds with him and trusts him to treat her (She’ll slowly trust Dr. Kureha) as Luffy and friends battle the evil Wapol, she also doesn’t see Chopper as a Monster, rather thinks he’s cute and his blue nose is his ‘pretty’, and if he thinks he’s a monster, then they’ll be monster’s together, since they both have ‘horns’ (Though Chopper corrects her saying he has antlers)

Dr. Kureha tells Reader that if she can use her power correctly, there’s no telling how many people Reader could save (Calling Reader’s power the ‘Great Miracle’ all Doctors wished for and her existence is a miracle itself, which makes Reader cry because she’s always saw her power and existence a ‘Curse’) but tells her that it’s her power and only she should be allowed to use it as they leave to Alabasta

-Vivi was beside herself, trying to take care of both you and Nami, after she suddenly collapsed after guiding the ship through a sudden but short storm that would have knocked them off course.

-Nami was having the same symptoms at you and while scared at first that this sickness was contagious, Vivi found a similar bug bite on Nami as well.

-Vivi heard shouting up above and while not wanting to leave the two of you alone, you were both asleep and she went to investigate, finding a massive hulking person, Wapol, threatening Sanji and Luffy.

-After a very brief fight, Wapol was sent flying out into the ocean, which, for a Devil Fruit user, was normally a death sentence.

-Drum Island was covered in snow, everyone was bundled in thick jackets and for good measure, you were wrapped up in a blanket as well, being held in Vivi’s arms while Luffy carried Nami.

-Dalton tried to attack the crew with the former Drum Island militia, but after hearing what was going on, a woman and a child that desperately needed a doctor, he called off the attack and took everyone to Bighorn, a nearby village.

-Everyone was furious to learn that Wapol, the man Luffy punched earlier, had taken all doctors for himself, and if anyone on Drum Island needed medical attention, Wapol expected them to come and plead for help.

-A pirate named Blackbeard attacked, and Wapol, rather being the king he should have been, fled with his court and the doctors, abandoning Drum Island because he was scared.

-You whimpered softly and Luffy was quick to take you in his arms, holding you carefully, but you remained asleep as Dalton told them that there was one more doctor, Kureha, but many regarded her as a witch, and would only come down from her castle, Wapol’s former home, when she felt like it.

-Vivi, Zoro, and Usopp remained at Bighorn, mainly for the ship, while Luffy and Sanji, carrying you and Nami, made way to Drum Castle.

-Sanji sensed the Lapahns before Luffy did, as he had stepped on one, and leapt back, cradling you close, a glare in his eyes.

-Unable to fight properly, Luffy and Sanji were banged up, but after causing an avalanche, the Lapahns conceded, after Luffy pulled the parent of one out of the snow when a child was trying to dig it out.

-Sanji was still conscious, but injured across his back, having taken some claws to protect you before delivering a harsh kick.

-Kureha walked out, seeing the visitors, and found the two men, bloody and bruised, holding a woman and a child, but in need of medical attention before they quickly passed out.

-The men and Nami were up first, meeting Chopper, a blue nosed reindeer who ate a Devil Fruit and was a doctor himself!

-Nami looked around for you, growing concerned as Luffy was chasing Chopper around, demanding that he join the crew, loving the idea of a talking reindeer in his crew, “Where’s Y/N?! Is she okay?!”

-The doctor gave her a small nod towards another room, “Still asleep. That fever of hers did a number on her. I’m hoping you lot can help me understand something.”

-After getting everyone together in Nami’s room, Kureha told them how, while she was working on you, tending to your fever as well as running some blood tests, your horn seemed to flare with energy, and that energy surrounded you, healing your body, but due to you being so weak from being sick, you were still unconscious.

-Chopper nodded, “I’ve never seen anything like it before, is it a Devil Fruit ability?”

-A few hesitant glances were shared before Luffy gave a small nod, and Nami spoke, “Y/N’s ability isn’t a Devil Fruit ability, it’s something else, something she was born with, that’s what she’s told us. We don’t know too many details about it ourselves, other than she was abused terribly for it before running away and being capture by Alvida, before Luffy saved her. Her ability allows her to rewind time.”

-Chopper’s jaw dropped and eyes bulged, “Rewind time?!” Nami nodded and hesitated, only for a moment, “We don’t know all the details ourselves, but she was able to bring my mother, who died when I was a child, back from the dead from just a lock of hair.”

-Their jaws dropped before Kureha inhaled deeply, grabbing the newspaper, “That’s probably why the government is after her then. YN’s ability… in the wrong hands it could- I-I don’t want to even think about it.”

-Luffy punched his fist into his other hand, “And that’s why we’re protecting her. Nobody is allowed to hurt her ever again!”

-Kureha seemed pleased with his answer before she spoke, “Then I won’t kill you lot.” Kureha was fully prepared to kill them herself if they were the ones who had hurt you, “When I removed her bandages, the number of wounds and scar tissue she had on her little body, whoever had her was strategically hurting her, tearing her apart, I’m guessing to study this ability of hers.”

-They knew you were scarred, but to hear this from a doctor’s standpoint, that you were being tortured for your ability, the rage they felt was unlike anything they had ever felt before.

-Kureha was able to discover this easily, about what not only your ability, but your blood could do as well, and she shuddered to think if the government ever got their hands on you, knowing you would probably be even worse off compared to whenever you were with the bastards who did this to you.

-It was an hour later when you finally stirred, your vision blurry and your eyes went wide, finding yourself in a hospital and you instantly panicked, sitting up, “Big-big brother?!”

-Kureha entered, offering you a friendly smile, “You’re up! Glad to- don’t!” you leapt out of bed and quickly scrambled underneath, ripping your IV out as you huddled your legs tightly to your body, hyperventilating.

-She quickly exited the room and only moments later you heard strange footsteps before you came face to face with a…reindeer?

-Chopper entered, hearing you were having a panic attack, scared of doctors, and sent him in instead, and he got down on all four to peek at you.

-He was nervous, but not as much as he had been with your crewmates, you were a child.

-Your eyes were wide as you blinked, a bit confused about what you were looking at before he talked, “Your name is Y/N, right? My name is Tony Tony Chopper! But you can call me Chopper.”

-You mouthed his name, unable to form words and he nodded, offering you a hoof, “You shouldn’t be out of bed yet, you’re still pretty weak.”

-You hesitated but took his hand and let him pull you out, finding he was shorter than you, but gave you a friendly smile and helped you back onto the bed.

-He ran out, panicking that you were bleeding, going to get supplies and came back to find the wound gone, as you had healed it.

-He was gentle, tending to your wounds, “Does it hurt where it was?” you were still scared, not talking, shaking your head as he checked it out, “Does it hurt when you use your ability?”

-Your free hand lifted to your horn, touching it, “Some-sometimes, when I fix a big- a big…” your voice trailed off and he nodded, explaining that Luffy told him if you use your ability too much, you get fevers, which you confirmed.

-You smiled, thinking about your brother, wanting to see him, “Big brother tells me not to use it, so I don’t get sick. He tells me I only use it when I want to.” He smiled softly, patting your head gently, “He’s right, you only use it when you want to.” It was so unlike things when you were with Overhaul and Alvida, who forced you to use it on their whims.

-You asked to see your brother, or Nami or anyone, wanting to see your family, only to find out they were out fighting Wapol, who wanted his castle back. You tilted your head to the side, “What’s a Wapol?” you didn’t know him, so Chopper explained he was a cruel king who left many years ago and is now coming back.

-Chopper checked your temperature and made sure your body was okay, being so gentle with you, and he couldn’t help but grin as you poked his blue nose, “It’s so pretty.” Your words were so sweet and gentle before he looked down, “Thank you Y/N, but I don’t really like it. It makes me different- makes me a monster.”

-You knew that word well, your arms coming towards your chest, looking down as you nodded, “We- can we… can we be monsters together then, since we both have horns?” his face fell, eyes full of concern as he realized that you had been terribly abused, thinking that you were a monster.

-He remembered the words of your family well, that you could rewind time, and if you were being tortured, forced to use your ability, they probably forced you to rewind time on things and others called out a monster for it.

-He smiled gently, offering you his hoof to hold, “Technically I don’t have horns, I have antlers. But we can- together.” His answer made you smile, it made you feel like you belonged!

-Kureha entered and you instantly flinched, holding onto Chopper, scared, but she sat down on the empty bed across from you, “I won’t touch you, Y/N, that’s why I sent Dr. Chopper here instead.” Your eyes went wide, looking at him, “You’re a doctor?”

-He beamed, looking smug and proud, but you were so confused, he was a doctor, but he didn’t hurt you, he was so nice. You looked back at Kureha who saw your realization, giving you a grin and a small nod.

-Kureha, true to her word, kept her distance, ignoring the rumbling in the castle, hearing Luffy and the others fighting, and spoke with you, “Y/N, your ability is- it’s amazing! You could be the Great Miracle that all doctors have been wishing for, to help everyone they can!”

-The tears instantly swelled and spilled over, all your life, you’ve known this ability as a curse, and many had told you so, both your ability and existence, because without you, some people might still be alive!

-To hear that your gift was a miracle, and that you would help others, listening to Kureha that you could save the world if you learned how to control your ability.

-The thought seemed scary at first, but there was a swell of something inside of you, you felt so happy, like you were going to burst!

-You sobbed in relief, leaping into Luffy’s arms when he came to get you after defeating Wapol, clutching him tightly and Nami whacked him only once, scolding him for making you cry, as you were upset that he was injured again.

-You nearly were in tears again, holding Chopper’s hand as he was saying goodbye to Kureha, who was trying not to cry herself, not liking tearful goodbyes.

-Chopper was sobbing loudly as your whole crew was gawking with wide, wonderous eyes, as Kureha seemed to use magic to make it snow cherry blossom, the pink glow from the cannons illuminating the white snow in a pink hue. It was so beautiful! You had never seen anything like it!

-You were happy to be back on the ocean and Usopp couldn’t help but grin, seeing you opening up a bit more, showing Chopper all around the ship.

-The others learned quickly not to tease Chopper about eating him, you overheard them joking about it and Sanji and Zoro spent almost an hour trying to calm you down, each of them having several steaming lumps on their head while Nami and Usopp yelled at them while Luffy was hiding with Chopper.

Elsewhere

-A man sat in a bar, looking over a couple of bounty posters, a grin on his lips, “You’ve grown Luffy… but I’m kicking your ass because you never told me you got a little sister! That means I’ve got a little sister now!!”

#one piece #luffy #eri

[ccl-c]

some things i wanted to draw a while ago but never had the time because work has been so intense. now that s2 ended this way …

long rambling below:

i had been having a very bad feeling about the “devastating loss” and fuck it really happened (it being foreshadowed from ep1 is kind of funny but fuck).

i did enjoy the episode, and if this is the end of the show i'm good with that. ep8 isn't just about izzy's death obviously, nor is the season or the show about izzy, and i know it's a bridge season where problems are not solved, but i need a way to get over this, so.

within the episode i think the death is beautiful, but within his whole arc, for me it's the timing and david's explanations that i found kind of awkward and disappointing. it might be because the budget got cut but i think also because izzy's arc was a bit too prioritised especially if david wanted to stick to the mentor-death-in-act-two trope (izzy is my favourite character but i have been feeling the unbalance since ep3).

izzy's last speech sounded almost too early for ed's arc. letting a repressed traumatised amputated (also talented and romantic and sometimes humourous) elder apologise for what he believed half of his lifetime and die voluntarily (to some extent; i think he said “i wanna go” mostly because he knew the wound was fatal, but then why must it be fatal it was on the left side?) when he was just physically and mentally getting better is tragic but it also could have been a more satisfying death. i am very biased and very bad at literature, but i think if izzy and ed got to earnestly communicate about their relationship and past issues, if ed had more interactions with the crew to (re)build the mutual love, and maybe if besides telling ed to “just be ed” izzy really got to see it (when he's not dying), his story would be more complete and he would really be leaving at his happiest.

of course death is inevitable in life and unpredictable in piracy, of course there are tropes in tv shows, and of course it's part of the journey for the audience to feel devastated. but i read multiple interviews and the central idea just seems to be “the mentor often dies in the second act” which is valid in itself, but then s2 becomes “how can we make the most out of his last moments” (after posting this i heard that “funerals strengthen families” dropped; i'm just so disappointed i don't know what to say). honestly i was confused about how david said “let's give con all the toys he could play with” (yes if i had con in my show for one last season i'd want to let him do everything possible as well and i am grateful david did, but after all con played a side character; also it's cruel to “give him everything” while hiding the ending from him until halfway through the shooting); it's supposed to be a story and not a talent show (um). if time is too short for his ideal arc then maybe he should do fewer things but each better paced, or maybe the mentor-death-in-act-two trope needed to be adjusted, or maybe it wasn't the right trope at all.

i might be dumb but i didn't see the mentor-hero relationship before stede said blackbeard said izzy made him the captain he was, and even then i honestly thought it was mostly stede talking for ed. when david put it like that i can see little traits of it in s1, but i find the jesus-judas (jcs) dynamic much more obvious. let alone the father figure thing; didn't see it at all.

there are many ways to mark an end and for a recurring character to leave (buttons turning into a seagull was beautiful; the swede temporarily leaving to become jackie's husband was also lovely; but ivan's death mentioned by fang just looked like they had to get rid of him); ultimately what frustrates me is that it's unclear what the concept of death itself brings to izzy's arc at this point. major character “deaths” in this show is often associated with change or rebirth, and i'd expect a realistic humanly death from severe wound to also open up something new in his story or in general, even if his life ends here. maybe that's for s3. but for now he died just because their power-thirsty enemy hated him and his gorgeous speech and piracy; ed did not seem to consider the crew his family, nor did the crew seem to bother. piracy did become more about belonging though but that's not his legacy.

on a side note, letting a disabled elder (who was previously seen seriously irritating ricky) escort ricky and no one noticing ricky hid a gun? izzy was playing with fire (ha) to talk to ricky like that but at least ed and zheng and jim and jackie could have been more alert. then roach was asked to look for bandages and nothing happened afterwards? that was the guy who replanted his own arm back and who was ready to chop off lucius's finger. if he just came up to izzy's side and tried to take care of him and then izzy said “no it's too late i want to go painlessly”, or if someone said “let izzy and ed have their moment”, then okay, but having roach try to save izzy with no follow up is kind of disrespectful to roach's character.

with how much david loves izzy and con there probably was a better version of this story that didn't fully make it into the show. that said, i do work in a creative industry with various constraints in many directions; it happens that creators have intentions and priorities that the audience does not understand and vice versa, it happens that budgets got cut and what you deliver is not what you would have made in better circumstances, but when a mainstream tv show got such polarised reactions about one specific part of the story, there might be a real problem and the budget or the creative direction won't be enough to justify it.

then if all this is for izzy to be brought back in s3 i'm curious to see how it will be played out. his death was shown in such an explicit way and he even got buried on land (honestly the burial was weird and a bit creepy for me but well) it doesn't seem likely he survives again; it might be fun if he reincarnates as a creature or appears in new flashbacks, or in the gravey basket.

(also, now that izzy's dead, i hope con can share his version of the backstory of izzy's ring.)

my point is, maybe, that i think izzy's arc in s2 was so saturated and glamorous and full of potential that it felt too important to end, while the main romance and the crew's arc could have used some more time to address more context or some issues underlying since s1 for example. also lots of things weren't consistent and many interesting points were never addressed again, but i hope it's left open for s3.

but it doesn't undo what has been great about this show. the death scene itself was beautiful too, and the whole cast and crew deserve an hour-long standing ovation.

i guess it's just a bit like you went on a really fun roadtrip with a beloved friend but had an unexpected misunderstanding leading to conflict with said friend at the end of the last day. eventually you probably stay friends because you always had a good time, but you will be thinking about the conflict.

#ofmd #ofmd s2 spoilers #izzy hands