#anyway this was fun! my first ofmd ficlet! i hope you like it

[redleavesinthewind]

proper pirates have tattoos

written for day 1 of @demonlandline’s celebration. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TYLAR!!✨ and so many congrats on the 2k milestone!

prompts: tattoos, transformation, yellow

before the crew sets sail to follow blackbeard, stede gets a tattoo

read below or on ao3 (720 words) / the other day 1 / day 2 / day 3 / day 4

The sun is setting, painting the sea pink. There’s a stripe of yellow, just where the ocean meets the horizon, and that’s where Stede keeps his gaze as the needle pricks at his arm over and over again. He tries to come up with a good description for the sensation, and concludes that it feels the way scraping a chalkboard sounds. It is unpleasant and takes more time than he anticipated, and Stede would very much like it to be over now.

He grips Oluwande’s hand tighter. “Why did I let you convince me to get a tattoo?”

Oluwande looks unimpressed. “Captain… this was your idea.”

“Why would I decide to get a tattoo? I dislike pain very much.”

At that, Oluwande raises an eyebrow in amusement, then he shakes his head. “I tried to warn you. You didn’t listen. Talked about how proper pirates have tattoos.”

“Well, they do.”Stede closes his eyes and tries to ease his grip around Oluwande’s hand at least a little bit. He doesn’t want to crush it. It works until the needle pricks at a delicate part on the underside of Stede’s arm, and he can’t help but yelp.

“Be careful!” Stede cries out, and the tattoo artist looks at him even more unimpressed than Oluwande did. Stede goes back to watching the yellow in the sky. For a few seconds, there is peace.

“I found us a ship!”

Pete barges in, at the same time as Roach stumbles through the door. “I got us stocked up on supplies, but there’s nowhere to put them.”

Stede looks between the two for a moment, waits for them to come to the conclusion. When they don’t, he sighs. “Well? Put the supplies in the new ship Black Pete found for us.”

Roach nods, the movement a bit more frantic than it has to be. “Right ahead, Captain.”

He doesn’t leave yet though, as this is the moment Buttons decides to show up, a new seagull—Olivia he said her name was—perched on his head.

“What’s our course, Capt’n?” He asks, wide eyes looking down at where Stede is sitting.

“We need to follow Ed, so his course is our course. Do we know where he is at the moment?” Stede looks at Oluwande, as if the man has all the answers. He doesn’t.

“Do we really want to follow Blackbeard?” Wee John asks from where he’s been hovering in the corner with the Swede all this time, scrolling through the pages of the tattoo artist’s sketchbooks.

“The man marooned us on a tiny island.” Roach adds.

“Yes! We have to follow Blackbeard!” Pete yells right over him. “Lucius is still on that ship!”

“And so is Jim. I’m not leaving them behind.” This time it’s Oluwande who grips at Stede’s hand, looking for support.

“We are not leaving anyone behind.” Stede hisses through the pain. “Not Lucius, or Jim, or Frenchie. Not Ed. I understand what he did was… well, unforgivable. But it also doesn’t sound like him.”

“Marooning a whole crew when he’s tired of them doesn’t sound like Blackbeard?” Pete asks, in a way that suggests that this exactly sounds like something Blackbeard would do. He’s not wrong.

Stede sighs, then mumbles. “It doesn’t sound like Ed.”

Oluwande is the only one who hears him. Louder, Stede orders. “Everyone, ask around town if they heard anything about Ed—Blackbeard, and ready the ship.”

Slowly, everyone disperses, even Oluwande, after he looks at Stede with a question in his eyes, and the Captain nods. When he is alone with the tattoo artist again, he looks back out of the window. It is dark now, the sun has set. There is no yellow stripe between the horizon and the ocean anymore.

“It’s done.” The artist says, voice gruff. Stede thanks him and pays for the tattoo, then he leaves the stuffy room. He expected to feel different, now that he has a tattoo. Expected it to transform him into a proper pirate. But part of him always knew, that particular transformation requires more action than just getting a tattoo. But he is ready. He forces a smile. This is going to be an adventure. One look at the black outline of the candied melon silk moth on his arm, and his smile turns real.

***

✨tagging people from my taglist that i know are also into ofmd (tell me if you only wanna be tagged for spn stuff, and as always, ask to be added/removed)

@classycoffeecat @goiwantamuffin @emeraldcas @hellericarus

#chalkboards didn't exist until 1801 but haha i don't care. that is exactly what getting a tattoo feels like i can't describe it any diffrent #anyway this was fun! my first ofmd ficlet! i hope you like it #elliot writes #demonlandline2k #rambleoncas #ofmd #ficlet

[theclaravoyant]

AN ~ For @fictober-event's Fictober 2023 prompt: "It's not too late, let's go." A ficlet in which Ivan and Fang steal acquire a dog. ((her name is Polly, and yes she very much would like a cracker)) Masterpost of my Fictober OFMD fics

Set post-S1, but no S2 spoilers.

Fandom: Our Flag Means Death Characters/Relationships: Fang, Ivan, Fang x Ivan

Polly

Shore leave isn’t quite as much fun without Captain Bonnet’s generous allowance, but they do well enough on Blackbeard’s cache and reputation. It’s more than enough for a decent feed, at least, which Fang is thankful for as he tosses another bit of meat to his new best friend.

Said friend is a large dog with a solid build and a beautiful, wrinkled face he wants nothing more than to smooch. She’s skinnier than she deserves and has made a bed in the dirt with nothing but a heavy chain around her neck to keep her company. It’s the least he can do to share his - rabbit, probably? - and give her a scratch behind her flea bitten ears in return for the company.

Ivan looks on, bittersweet, as Fang gives the rest of his dinner over and gets up from the bench with a sigh. Their on-and-off-again First Mate is a stickler for being back on board on time and it had to end eventually, but it still hurts to see the usually cheerful Fang subdued and solemn as they make their way back through the market. There’s been a lot of terror and tumult in their lives lately - and sure, that’s their lot as pirates - but it had been nice to share a moment of kindness amongst it all.

But then Ivan thinks to himself, why does it need to be only a moment?

He stops in the middle of the pathway.

“We should go get her.”

Fang’s eyes light up, but then he frowns. He glances toward Izzy, who is watching them all back onto the ship with a hawkish glare. He hasn’t seen them yet, but he will soon.

“We can’t,” he says. “Ed- Blackbeard might have changed his mind but what if Izzy gets his knickers in a twist about it? Besides. It’s boarding time. ‘S too late.”

His shoulders slump, deflated, but it only makes Ivan feel more inspired in comparison. He nudges Fang, offering an encouraging smile.

“So what? Dizzy Izzy? Let him twist. Blackbeard’ll have his other foot if he comes for her anyway.”

“You really think so?” Large brown eyes, full of so much hope. He’s missed having a dog in his life. He’s so dearly missed letting himself love like that.

“Yeah!” Ivan encourages. “And if he doesn’t there’s always Jim. I reckon they would go to bat for her, eh? ‘Specially against Iz.”

Fang glances at where the mysterious assassin is boarding. They’d be ready to stab Izzy Hands over very little, he reckons. It’s somewhat heartening, and it helps to crumble his already weak resolve.

Ivan takes his hand, and that does it.

“It’s not too late,” Ivan insists. “Let’s go.”

They run back into the crowd together, to save themselves a friend.

#fictober23 #ofmd #our flag means death #fang #fang x ivan #ofmd fanfic #ofmd fic #let fang be a dog dad again 2k23 #clara's fic tag #prompt me stuff