#ed's face really has me feeling some kind of way

[saltpepperbeard]

is this anything

#OFMD #OFMD Season 2 #OFMD S2 Spoilers #Gentlebeard #Blackbonnet #Edward Teach #Stede Bonnet #Edit #okay stay with me here lol STAY WITH ME HERE #ed's face really has me feeling some kind of way #((i mean that's a given lol but his EXPRESSION there more like)) #i keep staring at it and going back and forth between thinking it's awe/reluctant intrigue #as though he's furrowing his brow because he WANTS to not get butterflies for stede but stede is making that Very Difficult HSDJKLS #OR #and hence me making this set- #he's feeling some sort of complicated emotion in seeing stede step away from the person he met him as #the colorful bitchy poised fine thing he fell in love with #because i am ALSO sitting here wondering if stede is doing this all entirely on his own volition #or if he was ENCOURAGED to do so by izzy or someone else as like a #'it'll win you more respect and win you back ed's heart if you act and dress this way' type deal #like something something another ongoing commentary on masculinity something something #but it could ALSO be stede really wanting that world/respect/look for HIMSELF #something something stede and ed wanting to be each other and delving into each other's realms something #but just as it soured a bit for ed #i have to wonder if it'll also sour a bit for stede #and they'll consequently find 'the other home' they're looking for in EACH OTHER #and settle into a mixture of swashbuckling ruggedness/finery and subsequently complete/compliment each other #IDK i'm not being very coherent about it HA but i have many many thoughts of course #stede changing up his entire aesthetic just has me very very intrigued on how he's going to move forward #and how others are going to perceive him

[skzdarlings]

Chan with ❛ that really does make you hard. i can feel you pulsing inside me. ❜

summary: your husband is a university professor. when you sit in on one of his lectures, it gives both of you an idea...

pairing: bang chan/reader content info: husband!chan, kinky professor/student roleplay, though reader is his wife and not actually a student. dom!chan, sub!reader, degrading language (stupid, dumb, slut). corruption kink, power dynamics kink. explicit sexual content. word count: 2380 words.

part of the valentine's day stories series. credit to prompts. requests are closed.

enjoy! <3

-

Chan is giving a lecture when you reach the university.   You kill some time and grab a coffee, ambling around campus and idling in corridors until your wandering leads you to his hall.  The main doors are propped open, likely for air circulation with the spring heat, and you smile at his voice spilling into the hallway. 

It is a big lecture hall.  He is teaching a beginner level so the class is substantially large, a couple hundred freshman packed inside.  No one will notice an extra presence.  There are a few empty seats scattered across the back row so you slip inside and quietly take one. 

You like seeing Chan in his element.  Your husband is something of a chameleon, spending his down time in hoodies and baseball caps, listening to music and giggling at his own goofy jokes.  You almost forget his professional side, his prestigious and academic character.  He loves his research and his work and his students and it shows in every remark and gesticulation.  

You adore him.  His passion and intelligence never cease to amaze you.

Though right now your loving attention strays to his appearance.  You must admit: your husband is a hottie.  You suspect the tittering co-eds in the first few rows are not as interested in statistical analysis as their rapt attention might suggest.

Professor Bang Chan stands at the front of the hall, dressed down to his shirtsleeves.  His suit jacket has been tossed over the desk.  His pants are pressed, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, but his neat black hair is just this side of dishevelled, like he has been running his fingers through it. 

You slouch in your seat and smile a cheesy smile as you watch him work. 

He looks around the hall as he lectures, attentive to every student.   In his perusal, his eyes skim the back row.  They stop on you.   

“And that’s why we, uh, ah…” He stumbles so noticeably that a few heads turn to see what caught his eye.   He laughs and waves, drawing their attention again.  “Sorry, sorry, as I was saying…”    

Your smile only widens.  There is a little flutter in your heart as your husband looks at you with a glimmer in his eye.  You rest your head on your fist and watch the rest of the lecture without any interruption.  

You stay seated when it ends and the students file out.  Chan lingers by his desk to sort his papers.  You just admire him for a moment, then you make your way down the aisle.  He lifts his head, smiling at you.

“Hey, stranger,” he says, shrugging on his jacket.  “You’re early.” 

“Yeah, I thought traffic would be worse.”  

“Hungry?”

“Definitely, Professor,” you say.  Your original plans were dinner, but you lift an eyebrow while smirking, suggesting a different kind of hunger entirely. 

It makes him laugh, a nervous sort of laugh.  You are charmed by the tips of his ears turning red, a testament to your ability to fluster your man well into your marriage. 

“What’s wrong, Professor?” you ask, reaching up to touch his face.   “Aren’t you hungry too?”

He stares back at you for a moment.  His gaze is resolute despite his faint blush.  You cannot help your delight. 

“Ooh,” you say.  “Do you like it when I call you Professor, Professor?”

He finally takes your hand and lowers it. 

“I’m a professional,” is what he says, which is definitely not an answer to the question you asked.  He kisses your cheek before you can protest his reply, then he winks and grabs his bag.  “Come on,” he says, “I just have to put some stuff in my office.  Then we’ll go grab dinner.” 

You suspend your teasing for the time being, talking about your day as you cross campus in the sunshine.  You take the stairs up to the office floor, winding around the labyrinthine assembly of empty offices.  It is quite late in the afternoon, plenty of people seemingly packed up and gone for the day. 

He unlocks his office and lets you both in.  While he goes to his desk to sort his stuff, you close and lock the door.  He does not notice your deliberate movements, still talking about mundane nothings.  You do love your endless conversations, whether casual or important, but right now you are less preoccupied with Channie than Professor Chan.  There is something about seeing your husband like this, smart, competent, confident, and so in charge of his space. 

“Baby girl?” he asks, lifting an eyebrow at your slow, slinky approach.  “What’s up?” 

You circle the desk and lay a hand on his chest, smoothing your palm down his lapel.  You swear his eyes somehow darken, narrowing in focus, his whole expression coloured differently than before. 

“What are you doing?” he asks. 

“I know you’re married, Professor,” you say, blinking oh-so innocently at him.  “I don’t want to make you uncomfortable… it’s just that I… I need…”

He lets you nudge him back onto the desk chair behind him.  He gazes up as you lean over him. 

“Baby,” he says, warningly, but does not move or push your hands away. 

“We’re all alone, Professor,” you say.  “The door is locked.  No one will ever find out.” 

“Ah. Is that right?” he asks, looking like he is on the verge of giggles.  He sighs instead, dropping his chin and shaking his head, playfully disappointed.  With another breath, he lifts his head, and your sweet husband dons a more predatory air.   

He does not even have to say anything, does not even have to touch you.  He just has to look at you with all that desire in his eyes, turning your insides molten.  Every dirty thought is plain in how he checks you out.

“I saw you looking at me in class today,” you say, breathless already.  “Did you think I looked pretty, Professor?”                                         

“I think,” he says, “I was impressed you were sitting there, actually listening for once.”

You open your mouth to retort, but he touches a shushing finger to your lips.  He shakes his head. 

“Nuh-uh,” he says.  “Tell me what you want before I throw you out of my office.”  He cups your jaw, his gaze so clearly centred on your lips. 

“Oh, please, don’t do that,” you say.  “I need you, Professor.  I mean, I need your help.”

“I think you’re beyond help, baby girl,” he says.  He momentarily breaks character to glance at the wall, then he looks at you with a quirked brow.  “We are at my work, maybe we should—”

“I know you,” you reply.  

Because you do.  You and your husband are no strangers to roleplay or kinky fun, your desires and boundaries and safewords known.  Your backside is still tender from a good spanking the night before, just enough to leave you squirming today.  You were pent-up before you even saw Professor Chan administering his lecture.  But now that you have, now that you are here, you cannot let it go.  And given the way he is looking at you, he feels the same way.

“You’ve been hard since I called you Professor in the lecture hall,” you say. 

“Since I saw you sitting in my classroom, actually,” he corrects.  “I could fill in the rest with my own imagination.  Just… looking at you…”  He takes another breath and looks you over.  His gaze is heady.  “God, you just get me going every time, you know that?” 

“I won’t tell if you won’t,” you say with another smirk.  Then you pout, batting your eyelashes, as you sink to your knees in front of him.  “Please, Professor,” you say.  “I’m begging you.  I need a good grade or else.  I’ll do anything.” 

“Anything,” he says.  “That’s, ah… that’s a bold statement.  Are you sure about that?”

“Of course I am,” you say.  You clasp your hands.  “Anything at all.” 

“You know, a man who is not as nice me could do bad things to you, baby.   A pretty girl like you.  It’s like you want someone to take advantage of you, yeah?”  He cups your jaw and tilts your face up, looking at your mouth thoughtfully, smiling as he circles his thumb over your lips.  “They could be really mean to you,” he says.  “Make you do things you don’t like.  Maybe even hurt you, baby.”

“But you wouldn’t do those things,” you say with a watery sniffle.  “You’re a good professor. I can trust you.”

“Of course you can,” he says.  With his thumb, he tugs your bottom lip down.  It flips back up with a bounce.  “I’ll help you then, if you do what I say.”

“Oh yes, of course, Professor, anything,” you say. You start to stand when he puts a hand on your shoulder. 

“Naw, naw,” he says.  “You stay there for me.”

“On my knees?”  You blink up at him.  “What for?” 

“Tsk.  Baby.  You know what for.”  He pats your head like he would an especially dumb puppy.  “You’re just a pretty face,” he says, “but you’re not that stupid.  You know what you’re good for at least, don’t you?”   

He cups your chin.  Before you can reply, his thumb is forcing its way into your mouth, pressing down on your tongue. You wrap your lips around it, staring up at him while sucking diligently. 

“That’s it,” he says, and slides free with a wet little pop.  “Good job.  See?”  He speaks with saccharine sweetness, completely condescending as he pats your cheek.  “You are good at something.”  He unbuttons your shirt with deft swiftness, your breasts already heaving in your low-cut bra when he pushes the material off your shoulders.  He laughs to himself as he says, “It’s just the only thing you’re good at is being a dumb slut, but that’s okay, yeah?” 

“I… I guess…”

“Shh, it’s okay.”  He covers you whole mouth with his hand, tugging you close while he undoes his belt with the other.  “You don’t need to talk,” he says.  “No one needs to hear what you think.  Open your mouth for me.   That’s a good girl.  Come on.  You can take it.” 

With a shuffle, he gets his pants open and partially down, enough to get himself out.  He is already rock hard as he guides you forward, sliding into your waiting mouth.  He grunts with deep, obvious pleasure. 

He lets you take over, sitting back while you suck his cock with expert knowledge of exactly what he likes, when to take him deep, when to lick and suck and swallow.  You stop for a breath and his cock smacks your cheek.  Then suddenly he is standing and taking you with him, wasting no time bending you over his desk. 

“Professor!” you say, pushing your ass out with your theatrically scandalized cry.  “Oh no, sir, I’ve never done this before, please, ahh—”   

He lifts your skirt and tugs your panties to the side, sliding his fingers through all the wet arousal there.  He slides two fingers into you easily, with no resistance at all.  He leans down and laughs against the nape of your neck.

“I find that hard to believe,” he says, fucking you steadily with his hand.  “I think I’m not the only professor you’ve done this for, am I, baby?” 

“Ohh,” is all you manage, out of character and genuinely moaning as he works you towards a quick orgasm.  “Channie, you’re gonna make me come,” you warn, wriggling. 

Your moans turn to pathetic little whimpers when he wraps a strong arm around you, locking you in place as he lines up behind you. 

“What’s that?” he asks, holding you tight.  It stops you from writhing while he pushes his wet dick inside you, inch by slow inch.  “I’m not Channie, am I?” he says.  “What do you call me?  Huh?  Dumb little girl.”  He swats your ass and you yelp, clenching around him.  “Try again,” he says. 

“Oh, Professor,” you say.  Then you cannot help but giggle, recalling his evasion when you teased him in the lecture hall.  The evidence of his desire says it all.  “That really does make you hard,” you laugh, breathlessly, “I can feel you pulsing inside me.”

You squeak when he pushes you down onto the desk, holding your hips as he thrusts into you with more vigour.  Then you are not saying anything, just moaning and riding out every quick snap of his hips.  You are not sure how he manages to find the softest, squishiest, more sensitive place inside you, every time, no matter the place or position, sending you hurtling towards to an orgasm at breakneck speed. 

“Oh, help, Professor, I’m gonna—”

“Me too, baby,” he says.  “All inside you.”

“Ohh, fuck—”  You come with a shuddering convulsion, twitching and clenching, your eyes closed as you pant into the wooden surface of his desk.  Your orgasm ends and he is still fucking you, drawing it out.  Your voice is guttural, low and breathy as you say, “Professor, be careful, we have no protection…”

He lifts you up, arches your back, and covers your mouth.

“I… told… you…”  He punctuates each sound with a hard thrust.  “To… be… quiet…” 

Then he drives into you and stays there, groaning into your neck as he comes and comes.   When his hand drops, you take in a gulp of air, shivering from the aftershocks of pleasure.  You are spilling out of your bra from all the jostling, your skirt in disarray.  You whimper when he pulls out of you, then again when he just covers you back up with your panties.  They are soaked in a second. 

“Maybe, uh,” he says with one of his funny, embarrassed, little giggles.  “Maybe we should stop by home and clean up before we go for dinner.” 

You giggle too, turning around to face him.  You fix your shirt while he tucks himself back into his pants.  He is already blushing and smiling that dimpled smile, looking all sweet and goofy as if he didn’t just fuck your brains out on his desk. 

“Good idea,” you say.  “That’s why you’re the professor.” 

He laughs.  Looking at you fondly, he cups your cheek and pulls you in for a long, tender kiss.    

#bang chan x reader #bang chan smut #chan x reader #chan smut #skz smut #stray kids smut #skz x reader #stray kids x reader #bang chan x you #skz x you #kpop fanfiction #valentinesdaystories #stilestotherescue

[mrsrdlw]

Insecurities…

warnings: problems with body image; angst; caring!boyfriend!eddie (the sweetest guy in the world); fluff; he makes sure you understand that he doesn’t care how your body looks, you’ll always be the prettiest girl he has ever seen.

that’s a bit short i know. but i had this draft for a while and i wanted to post it. i just love the idea of eddie comforting the reader. at least i genuinely think that he would always try his best to make you feel better if you’re not or make you laugh when you need to. HE IS THE BEST!!!

******

“Sweetheart, are you still doing you makeup thing? Because if you’re ready, we have to leave.” He knocked on the door hoping he was not using a tone that seemed like he was rushing you. He knew better. You were in your house, getting ready to go to one of the famous Steve Harrington’s parties.

You were in your room for hours, at least that’s how Eddie felt. He wasn’t the most patient person ever, but you were taking too long. Longer then you normally take. Little Eddie knew that you were sobbing in front of the mirror for 20 minutes by now. You tried your hardest not to cry. That seemed only to make things worse. Now you were miserable, mascara all over your cheeks, red eyes and nose, freaking out. Fuck! What were you supposed to do. You forgot that you also had to deal with your boyfriend. So you cleared your throat, trying to sound chill so he could just give you a minute.

“Hey Ed, just give me a minute ‘kay? i’m almost done-“ You were cleaning your face when he cut you, opening the door to your room. “Eddie!”

“What happened?” How did he knew? you thought to yourself. Like he read your mind, he answered “i heard your crying voice. Do you need something, baby?”

“No sweetie, i just-“ You looked at you reflection in the mirror again. He gave this dress to you as a valentine’s present. According to him, he wanted to see you even more hot. The dress was extremely pretty. It was a dark green dress, tight on the waist. But for some stupid reason, you thought you looked… not extremely pretty in it. “Do you think i look too fat in this?”

“Babe, why would you even say that?” He looked concerned when your eyes locked with his and the tears started to stream down again. “No no no, i’m so sorry i said that. I meant like, you’re not fat, not at all.”

He opened his arms welcoming you to a tight hug. He knew that sometimes you would compare yourself to models and singers you liked. Or even the Hawkins High Cheerleaders. And they were all very skinny. Eddie was pretty sure that some girls of the last group didn’t even eat right. But he could not stand that you couldn’t see yourself the way he did. To him, of course you were so much more than your body, but if he was talking body, you were the whole package. Always kind to the ones you loved, funny, making him laugh so much sometimes, he would have to pee, AND your sexy smokin’ hot body.

“You know me angel, i would never care only with your body. I’m not dating you because of your body” He separated from your hug to wipe your tears and placed his hand on your cheek. “I love you, this person inside here” he placed the other hand right up your heart. “And really, I, Edward Munson, think you are perfect, inside and outside. And i know i can’t make you just forget about this angst your feeling right now, but i need you to know that. That you are beautiful. And still, you have so much more. Honestly lady, i could keep going for hours.” seeing you smile at him, made him feel a bit better. He hated seeing you sad about this shit.

“Can i kiss you?” He asked. You were sensitive and he didn’t want to push things

“Of course you can.”

You always loved the way he made you feel safe. His arms around you and his soft lips pressing into yours, kissing you so tenderly. It almost felt like you were never sad.

“I’m sorry-“ You whispered, still close to his lips, caressing his chest but he kissed you again.

“Don’t say sorry for feeling things. I just hope you’re feeling better. If you don’t want to go to the party anymore that’s totally fine too!”

“No! I want to go. Just give a minute to fix this mess” You pointed to your face and started to clean it with a tissue. He was smiling at you now, sitting on your bed, he whispered to himself “That’s my girl”.

In 5 minutes you were ready. Eddie was a little scared by the way you made it look like you never cried.

“I’m better now, thanks Eddie. What would i do without you?” You took his hand in yours, ready to leave the room.

“Oh please baby, that’s what you deserve. I only work with princess treatment here. Now turn around, let me see you.” Giggling a bit, you did as he said “Yeah, we’re good to go, my love. After you” He gave you the space to leave the room first, extending his arm dramatically.

“I love you so much!” It was the only thing you could say now.

“And i love you more!”

*****

•for the one who would like to send me a story request, please do! my inbox is open! so feel free to send me your ideas to stories or headcannons there. :)

#eddie munson #eddie munson fic #eddie stranger things #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson headcanon #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson x you #eddie x reader #insecurity #insecure reader #dress #eddie x you #getting ready

[amuseoffyre]

I'd done a post before about the intimate violence of face-contact within the pirate world of OFMD, but for Ed especially, when we see the flashback to his childhood, it's something that has clearly stayed with him.

S2 added even more layers into that with the story of Felix the cabin boy and Hornighost physically force-feeding Ed, implying this is something he has seen and probably experienced himself under Hornigold in his youth.

It's something that he is instinctively on guard for at all time. He flinches and recoils when people touch his face. He jumps out of a chair, a makeshift weapon upraised, when someone tweaks his moustache unexpectedly. He slaps Izzy's hand away when he touches his cheek and backs away. He also weaponises it himself against people when he's doing a threat-demonstration.

And there's two exceptions to this:

Because Stede doesn't invade his space or grab him or touch him unexpectedly. The first time, Stede touches his shoulder in comfort and Ed chooses to initiate face-to-hand contact. The second time, Stede offers and says gently "come here" and Ed feels safe enough to do so, leaning into him and letting this silly little man brush some food out of his beard.

And it got me thinking about how much Ed craves that kind of gentleness. To take something that has always been a threat of violence and to have it be soft and intimate and personal.

Which leads me to the way he kisses Stede, gently cupping his face.

And what I really like is the fact that Stede doesn't go for his face in the later kisses either. Stede's instinct is to cup the back of Ed's head instead. Combine that with Stede listening when he says to stop and waiting for him to nod and consent to his touch? Ed feels safe with this kind of touching.

And now that he feels safe to do it, oh Ed loves to touch his man's face. He loves it a lot.

#ofmd #ofmd s2 #stede bonnet #ed teach #blackbeard #ofmd meta #tw: violence

[starlithumanity]

I'm having a fascinating time rewatching Our Flag Means Death with the knowledge that Ed sees Izzy as a "safe" mentor/family figure ("safe" because Izzy is Ed's subordinate aboard the ship, which creates a more balanced power dynamic) upon whom Ed projects his many unresolved daddy issues. That stated interpretation from David Jenkins does work, even in season one!

Most of the fandom conceptualized season one Izzy as a power-hungry subordinate to Ed and a "co-parent" to the crew (paralleled with the Stede/Mary marriage) who has an understated masochist lust for the Blackbeard legend. All of that is true too, because Ed and Izzy's relationship is incredibly complex and fucked-up. I know from personal experience that this kind of layered toxic relationship is completely possible, though it might seem contradictory on the surface.

In season one, Ed considering Izzy as a mentor/family explains more why Ed let his first mate be so insulting to and controlling of him and still kept wanting Izzy to stay beside him. It adds more meaning to how Ed veers super hard into the violent Blackbeard role after feeling cornered and threatened by Izzy at the end of the season. (This also has further weight for those of us with family members who have disapproved quite loudly of our queer relationships.)

There is a strong parallel that I noticed previously between young Ed's reaction to his father abusing his mother and season one Ed's reaction to Izzy dueling Stede. Stede is linked to Ed's mother through the red silk and through the fact that Stede and Ed's mother--and Lucius--are the only people we see treating Ed with compassion/softness in season one. It thus makes sense for Izzy to be mirroring Ed's father.

Then there's another parallel in how Ed responded to Izzy mentioning Stede in a mocking way ("pining for his boyfriend") by choking Izzy, like how Ed had once responded to his father threatening his mother by strangling his father. In this moment, Izzy touched Ed's face with an intimate kind of familiarity and said, "There he is." Ed clearly found this unnerving, which some people read as sexually harassment, but it makes just as much sense for it to be his daddy issues getting triggered.

(GIF Sources: captain-flint and divineandmajesticinone)

I think part of why this dynamic was unclear in season one is because the writers wanted us to see that, even though Izzy is a mentor figure who taught Ed certain skills, Ed is a grown man who is fully competent on his own. He had likely started building the Blackbeard legend by the time Izzy met him, he has a clever mind that's constantly coming up with new plans, and when Izzy himself was left as captain, Izzy proved to not have the necessary charisma and compassion to lead the crew. Ed is the star power; Izzy is the manager, so to speak.

However, Izzy overestimates his importance and often talks about himself like he's a martyr to the Blackbeard legend, working so hard to keep both Ed and the crew in line. He claims that he's been "clean[ing] up [Ed's] messes... my whole life," which feels like a very parental complaint to me.

Ed fuels this martyr complex some in season two by physically harming Izzy, but notably, Ed doesn't threaten this kind of harm to the rest of the crew (though he isn't very careful with them either) until he's in the suicidal spiral of driving the ship into a storm. Before that, Ed threatens Izzy specifically, both because Izzy threatened him and Stede in season one and because Ed's trying, in his own fucked-up way, to prove to Izzy that he's following Izzy's guidance and "being Blackbeard." The toe-cutting also has some metaphorical weight: Izzy demanded that Ed "cut off" the gentler pieces of himself to be Blackbeard, so Ed starts cutting off literal pieces of Izzy in return. When it becomes clear that this isn't satisfying Izzy either, that's when Ed really goes off the deep end. ("I loved you the best I could," but I never could be enough to fit your expectations.)

(GIF Source: livelovecaliforniadreams)

Meanwhile, we see Izzy starting to question things specifically in response to Ed saying that Izzy could be replaced as first mate. Izzy thought his place, as a mentor/family and self-professed "martyr", was more secure than that, and it challenges his whole identity.

Throughout season two, the mentor/family dynamic is further emphasized via the parallel between Izzy/Ed/Stede and Auntie/Zheng Yi Sao/Oluwande. Others have discussed this more, but there's so much meaning in the similar ways these characters carry themselves, in the tension of Auntie disapproving of Zheng Yi Sao's feelings for "soft" Oluwande, and in the way Oluwande finally teaches Auntie to soften herself some for Zheng Yi Sao.

(GIF Source: bizarrelittlemew)

Additionally, in episode five of season two, we see Stede turning to Izzy for mentorship, proclaiming that Ed himself had recommended Izzy as someone who "made him into the captain he is today." People have questioned that as being a false manipulation from Stede, but I think there's a good chance that it was true! (Ed probably said this to Stede sometime during season one, when the two of them got to know each other so well.) "Taught him everything he knows" is definitely a flattering exaggeration, but hey.

(GIF Source: ofmdaily)

Throughout this and other episodes, we see Izzy continuing to take on a mentor-like role with Stede and the crew (and eventually Ed) as he tries to recenter himself after the darkness of the first three episodes. It's clear that Izzy is most comfortable playing the gruff and politically incorrect old fighter who offers guidance, but now he's letting himself branch out more and connect to the crew in new gentler ways. He even metaphorically "gives his blessing" to Ed and Stede's first time having sex by providing the musical accompaniment, which is the perfect amount of weird for this show, haha.

(GIF Source: izzyfag)

Izzy's transformative arc in season two also involves a steady pattern of reversals, corrected new versions of his treatment of Ed in season one, as Izzy start coming to terms with the harm he did to Ed. Other people have discussed this in more detail, but I think the pace of this change is realistic to what you would see in such a situation. Ed's responses to this, too, are consistent with him seeing Izzy as a mentor/family.

(GIF Source: edwards-teach)

I should further note that Izzy and Benjamin Hornigold (another abusive father figure from Ed's past) are two characters mirrored by the fact that they call Ed "Eddie" in season two. I can imagine that being the nickname Ed used when he was younger, before growing out of it. Izzy seems to start feeling the echo of that memory of younger Ed when Ed comes to him scared, asking for Izzy to "fix [his] mess" by shooting Ed like Ed "dreamed" about.

(GIF Source: blairpfaff)

Right before Izzy's death, there's a scene where Ed is triggered super hard in his daddy issues by the fisherman "Pop-Pop." I think the writers wanted to remind us of the parental trauma Ed has been through before giving us some catharsis through Izzy's deathbed confession and apology. In that moment, Izzy takes full accountability for what he did, while Ed cries and says, "You're my only family." Izzy redirects him in a final bit of mentorly guidance, telling Ed that the crew is there to be his family if Ed will let himself be loved, truly, in the way Ed has often rejected and distanced himself from being loved.

(GIF Source: izzyfag)

Now, I do think Izzy's death was the right choice for this show. I like that DJenkins went with the classic mentor death trope, and he did a similar thing with Buttons, the other old-timer first mate! I agree likewise with those who have discussed Izzy's loss as being a necessary step for the narrative to move forward both from Ed's darker self/parental trauma and from the older age of piracy that Izzy represents. Izzy was always meant to be a dark reflection of and a narrative support/conflict for Ed, and this is the natural culmination of that. His complicated legacy will continue to be something Ed has to reckon with, however, although Ed is trying to compartmentalize that right now.

I very much hope to see, in season three (🤞🏻), how Ed continues to process his past, especially now that he's trying for a domestic life that will likely lead into marriage. Marriage, from what I've seen, often acts as a staging ground for whatever parental trauma you had growing up, because you look to your parental figures as an example of how to do "adult" things. This is going to be a huge conflict for both Ed and Stede, who has his own personal negative marriage experience. I suspect Izzy will continue to represent this problem in some form or another.

(GIF Sources: kiwistede and yenvengerberg)

#our flag means death #ofmd spoilers #izzy hands #edward teach #stede bonnet #gentlebeard #benjamin hornigold #nathaniel buttons #zheng yi sao #auntie #oluwande boodhari #my stuff

[steddielations]

ao3 | hurt/comfort, friends to lovers, pre s4

"Hello? Ed, is that you? What's all that noise? What's goin' on?" 

"Wayne, can you come pick me up ... I’m at a party at the Harringtons’ house ... I don't wanna talk about it, man … Can you please just come get me? Please." 

Eddie hangs up the phone and swallows down the lump in his throat. 

He refuses to cry in Steve Harrington's kitchen.

Making his way through all the teenagers crowding this soulless house, he blinks the fog from his eyes. No tears are gonna take him back to half an hour ago, shooting the shit with his dad in the van, happily ignoring years worth of bloody hatchets and skeletons between them. 

While Eddie was desperate for it to be real this time, dear old dad hadn’t changed at all, taking off with Eddie’s van the second he came inside to scope out the party. Sorry to all the manicured girls of Loch Nora that pay pretty pennies for his shitty joints, but his stash is long gone, along with all the cash he made the last few days. 

It’s all in the wind with Al Munson like always.

The muggy air washes over Eddie when he steps outside, rubbing his eyes against the cool sting of wetness brimming in them. He’s not gonna cry in front of Steve Harrington’s pool either, even if he’s alone out here. 

It’s like a different dimension from the crowd inside, but everyone knows the pool is off limits, though no one seems to know why. Everyone just falls in line to the will of the king. Whatever, Eddie doesn’t give a shit he just needs a minute to breathe. He needs a damn cigarette, too, but of course, his smokes were in the van.

“Hey Munson, you sold out already or something?”

Eddie’s hands drop from his face, whipping around to where the voice came from. Caught off guard, embarrassment rises in his cheeks under the gaze of the man himself, Harrington. There’s an almost eerie blue glow casting off the water where he’s sitting poolside in a deck chair, strangely alone out here when he’s got a whole party inside.

Eddie clears his throat, trying to shield his vulnerability from a moment ago, “Nah man, all my shit was stolen.”

“That bites. Do you know who took it?” Harrington sounds oddly… concerned. “I bet it was that dickhead, Hargrove. I kicked him out like 10 minutes ago.”

“What’s it to you?” Eddie shoots back, instinctively distrustful, hackles raised like a cornered animal. He’s already taken a knife to the back tonight.

Harrington holds up a hand as if to ease him, like somehow in all his prim Polo-wearing properness, he’s used to handling wild things. “Just figured maybe I could help you get it back.”

“Why do you care?” Maybe Eddie’s being too defensive, it’s not like Harrington has ever given anyone hell like Hargrove or Hagan, but they’re all one in the same right? Or maybe Harrington really was ousted from the throne like the rumors in the hallways say. Eddie’s got more on his mind right now than the intricacies of Hawkins High pecking order. 

“Uh, because it’s my house and I don’t want some thief around? Jesus you’re prickly, dude.” With an eyeroll, Harrington waves him over to the empty chair next to him. “Here, just sit down and relax for a sec. We’ll see if we can figure it out.”

Eddie hesitates, feeling like it has to be some kind of trap, but there’s no one else around. Harrington’s never done more than stand by while his jock buddies do their damage to whoever or call Eddie a freak under his breath a couple times, but who hasn’t? Eddie encourages it, even. What would Harrington get out of pulling anything now when it’s not for show?

Honestly, Eddie’s just trying to rationalize it because he could really use the beer that’s also up for grabs, offered with an outstretched hand.

So Eddie stalks over to the empty chair, warily sitting down as if it might snap him inside like a snare. His nerves are all frazzled. Between his dad’s little stunt and now the king of the jocks (former king?) is handing Eddie an open beer that he’s taken a sip from himself, give him a break. Eddie mellows out a tad after a couple chugs.

“Do you have any clue who took it?” Harrington asks, way too much concern in the line between his brows than he should be able to fake for Eddie.

“No one here.”

Eddie sort of wishes it was that simple. A stranger would only hurt his pockets, instead of this bone-deep betrayal he should’ve seen coming. He doesn’t even care about the money, or his van, it’s deeper than that. It aches somewhere the booze can’t wash away. He squeezes the cool bottle in his grasp, blaming the contents for what he woefully admits next.

“It was my pops, man. He ran off with my van and everything in it.”

For some reason, it’s embarrassing to say. Either secondhand for his old man pulling something so low-down, or just his own pride for falling for it. He stares at the unnaturally still water in front of him, instead of meeting the gaze beside him.

He can feel Harrington taking in it, questioning it. Maybe he’s wondering how a father could screw over his own son like that, or maybe he’s thinking everyone knows that’s exactly what Al Munson would do, and Eddie— especially Eddie, should’ve known that.

Even Jeff warned him this time too, having been there since the days that Al would bring Eddie a new bike when he won big at the casino, then steal it back the next week to sell when he lost. Seems like Eddie was the only idiot willing to give his dad another chance, even blowing off band practice the last couple days to spend time with him.

“Your van, huh?” Is what Harrington finally says, soft for some reason. “I could give you a ride home. Forest Hills, right?”

That’s… not what Eddie was expecting at all. Just picturing that hotrod that’s all the rage in the school parking lot kicking up gravel in the trailer park rubs him wrong. It’s all off-beat, Eddie feels so far off his center that he’s normally so sure of. All he can do is push back to try and find it again.

“What, you’re gonna ditch your party to slum it on the wrong side of Hawkins with me? Don’t worry about it, I called my uncle.”

Looking over, he sees how Harrington almost looks disappointed by that.

“Yeah okay, but I don’t really care about this party,” he says, not even trying to pass it off in a ‘cool’ way, he just seems put off by it, “Graduation’s coming up, y’know, it was Tommy’s idea. I should’ve said no, I don’t give a shit about it. Or Tommy.”

Again, not what Eddie was expecting. He feels a thud in his stomach at the mention of graduation, yet another failure under his belt. “Well I’m not graduating, so does it count as that kinda party if you’re out here with the super senior freak?” 

“Guess we’re just having a shitty dads party then,” Harrington tries for what Eddie assumes is a reassuring smile, because for whatever reason in this twisted reality, Steve Harrington is trying to comfort him. 

Him, Eddie Munson.

But it ends up striking an already sensitive nerve.

“What do you even know about it?” Eddie scoffs.

Harrington’s smile drops, snapping back, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

A bitter laugh bubbles up in Eddie’s throat. He hates how it sounds as awful as he feels. Gesturing with the beer in his hand, he states the obvious, “Look around, dude.”

Maybe Harrington’s not as popular at school, but he’s still well off at home. A rich, two parent household that he’s never had to worry about scrounging to keep the lights on. The only business he’ll ever have to do is for his Daddy’s fucking letterhead. Eddie will accept his pity to the extent of a free beer, but he won’t sit there and listen to Harrington pretending to know what it’s like for him.

“Yeah, look around,” Harrington retorts, an even more bitter curl on his lip than Eddie’s. “Got everything except parents, don’t I? Like if they buy me enough shit, I won’t notice they’re hardly here.”

The look in his eyes is a little hurt but fierce, grating enough to cut through Eddie’s defenses. Wayne keeps telling him to stop jumping the gun and going off half-cocked. Yet here Eddie is again, assuming he’s got this guy all figured out.

When in reality, all he knows is that despite being the talk of the town, Harrington’s parents are rarely ever seen around. He lost his girl, doesn’t seem to have any real friends to show, and looks about as lonely at school as he does now— while he’s doing nothing but trying to help Eddie.

“I’m sorry, man,” Eddie relents, “You’re just going against everything I thought I knew about you right now. I’m trying to kick the habit of putting people in boxes with the whole anti-conformity thing. Been told I can be a real judgemental asshole.”

“Yeah I wonder why,” Harrington says lightly, his lips curling back into a smile that sort of makes Eddie want to hide his face. It doesn’t feel wrong somehow, like the rare times that a girl spared him a look, more like it shouldn’t be directed at him. Steve Harrington shouldn’t be smiling at him.

“And call me Steve, alright? If we’re gonna be in the shitty dads club together, we should be on a first name basis.”

That actually gets a laugh out of Eddie. Short and pained as it sounds, it’s real.

“Okay then, Steve,” he has to look away after he says it, feeling his chest cave under the weight of that smile for some reason. Must be the state he’s in. Steve made him forget for a second but he’s sinking again, staring out over the pool, trying and failing to see the bottom.

Read the rest on Ao3

for day one of @eddiemonth prompt “Parents”

#pre season 4 steddie w so much eddie lore anyone anyone #full fic linked at the bottom hehe #steddie #steddie fic #eddie munson #steve harrington #al munson #arriving to eddie month so late but i’m here now #rueswriting #steddie ficlet #stranger things

[eph-em-era]

hey so i am so so pleased they hired an intimacy coordinator this time around! and you can tell that the actors are much more comfortable too! the intimacy is much much better!!

let's do a lil intimacy breakdown from my knowledge as an IC in training and a director just in general

(this is a long post so it's under the cut)

fact is, there's some awkwardness in the ed/stede s1 kiss, which i am ninety percent sure is due to body placement. i'd wager there was a discussion on set that was like "hey this is a stunning shot, we love what it looks like, let's get the actors in" and they got the actors in and got to the blocking for the kiss and everyone was like "hey this is a bit awkward but we'll muscle through" - cause that awkwardness fits the character arcs.

but it's not actually all that easy turning all the way to one side to kiss someone without moving where your legs are! it's weird! it's an awkward angle! - or more accurately, it's the angle that two people would kiss at if it was a very impulsive, awkward surprise; or if your two lead actors are very good friends faced with playing lovers for the first time and not sure what to feel about that (we've all been there) - there's reticence, but it fits the scene so it's fine.

(Lucius and Pete and Olu and Jim also have moments of intimacy, which for the most part are fine, and I suspect that's a combo of a) their staging is SO MUCH BETTER, b) character choices, c) different directors and d) less of that "OMG WE'RE PLAYING LOVERS NOW" anxiety)

~~onto season 2~~

for the record, intimacy direction isn't just for kissing/sex scenes, ICs can come in for intimacy building exercises and additional blocking, as well as things like nudity, childbirth or any similar sensitive work, but I'm going to be talking mostly about kisses in this. anyway!

Beautiful! Kind, lovely, tender! The backdrop is super nice too. Honestly, the Lucius/Pete stuff has really been so nice all the way along; that's great casting! Especially in S2E5, everything reads as very earnest and space is used very well.

Archie and Jim. Now, we don't have anything to compare it to from S1, but I'm flagging it cause yeah, they definitely have similar staging to Ed/Stede from S1E09. I would say there's a much better range of movement in this one, likely because they're sitting on the floor, braced against the bed, so they can compensate for the weird angle better than E/S could. This might come off as a lil rude but it's also more likely that these two actors are slightly more flexible and can make this staging work better than Taika and Rhys.

Cannot for the LIFE OF ME find a gif of their hug, but they have fantastic chemistry! despite only showing up for like 2/3s of one episode. I've seen people whining about how they absolutely should have kissed - and you know what, I would have liked that too!

however, I suspect that what happened here was that one or both of the actors didn't want to kiss on screen, and voiced their objections to the IC, who found a work around. It was likely not cause of any kind of ill will or homophobia, for the record - sometimes you just don't want to kiss people. Maybe you're sick, maybe you're feeling weird, maybe you're just not in the right headspace, but a kiss might be off the cards that day.

This is behaviour we want to encourage, btw. The goal is to ensure that actors feel comfortable and that the shot isn't be all end all. I've done something very similar, we had 20 mins to get the blocking done and the actors weren't at a point where kissing felt comfy, so we did a kiss on the cheek and a hug.

it is better that the actors are comfortable than your ship is fulfilled.

Hey yknow what I was saying about how ICs aren't just used for blocking, they're used for chemistry building? That's what they've HIT ON HERE. This is genuinely a very lovely kiss. It's deeply appropriate for the characters, and it's private and simple. things get a little more raunchy, and hands start moving, but then it's stopped, for a narrative reason, and the chemistry remains with the hand hold. It's really very nice, well blocked and well performed. the hand placement! the tenderness! it's great. there's none of that s1 reticence, whether that was from characters or actors.

I think the intimacy work, much like the writing and the characterisation is much, much stronger in this season, and that's to the show's benefit. I know we're only halfway through, but I'm thoroughly interested to see where things go in the remaining episodes. I will update this post if anything exciting crops up in the final five.

and this is why you need to hire ICs! they make life easier for actors, directors and crew alike!!

#our flag means death #ofmd #intimacy coordinator #ed teach #stede bonnet #intimacy direction #ofmd s2 spoilers #ofmd spoilers

[adickaboutspoons]

When a Steard is not a Beard

I want to talk about the significance of Stede's beard in the opening dream sequence of s2e1, and how we know from Lucius in the first season that "not every beard is a beard". Of course SOME beards are just beards - most of the Revenge and QA crew sport face fuzz of some sort or another, and it's just How They Look. But, narratively speaking, when attention is called to facial hair in this show, it's all about deception and hiding one's true self.

We have Blackbeard, who has built his brand around his eponymous facial fur, but feels stifled by the way the success of said brand has left him bored out of his skull, and frustrated by the way his reputation has been co-opted and twisted into something inhuman. (And by poor Taika's accounts, the beard itself was literally stifling; unbearably hot to wear, and how he could hardly move the bottom half of his face lest the glue start peeling off). It's only when Ed shaves it off at the academy that he's able to start really approaching the question of what it means to be Just Ed. And, of course, we have the way he smeared kohl across his mouth and jaw in a frightful simulacrum of a beard as part of his Kraken transformation at the end of season 1.

We have Jim, who uses a fake beard to conceal their identity while on the run after having killed Alfeo de la Vaca. Only once that beard is discarded are they able to really think about who they are and how that doesn't fit in the narrow parameters of a gender binary. We see them go back into the beard when they re-commit themself to the vengeance quest, posing as a bearded priest in order to capture Geraldo, but, again divested of the beard, Jim is able to consider whether completing the vengeance quest and allowing their life to be consumed with a family that is dead and gone is something they want, or if they might be happier committing themself to a different path, and finding a family that will give them the love and support their own no longer can. And then, of course, the way Jim paints on a simulacrum beard when they are forced into a life of violence as part of Kraken!Ed’s crew.

We have Heartbroken Voyeur Stede’s comment about how Calico Jack had nice hair, but “his moustache is weird.” Shortly after, we learn that CJ has been a duplicitous, manipulative asshole the entire time, his only goal to lure Ed away from the Revenge before the British came to kill Stede.

So what does it say that Stede is dreaming about himself with a full beard? To have Dream!Ed specifically comment on it? Because they’re calling attention to it, so, hey, hi, how are you? You have my attention!

I think it’s not JUST that Stede is casting himself in the role of the dashing hero with all the trappings thereof, indulging in a fantasy about a joyous, romantic reunion with his beloved. Because this fantasy has some MUCH darker connotations than the sun-drenched beach would suggest. This Dashing Hero™ persona isn’t Stede’s idealized self. It’s the culmination of all his insecurities about not being the kind of person who is worthy of the attention and love of someone as impossibly cool as Blackbeard.

(Incidentally, I think it significant that Ed, in the dream, ALSO has his full beard. This more than anything is what clues me into the fact that Stede is still trying to measure up to the Legendary Pirate Blackbeard - not Just Ed with his soft, beautiful clean-shaven face, nor even a more realistic version with a beard that’s coming in quite nicely, but isn’t anywhere near the epic proportions that it once was, as we see with the scenes of real Kraken!Ed)

We learn later in the episode that Stede has been dragging his feet about setting out to reunite with Ed in spite of the all the money he and the crew have managed to scrape together working for Jackie, and the true reason behind his reticence is that he is still genuinely convinced that Ed is better off and happier without him. Even when reunited with Lucius in episode 2 and Lucius suggests that Ed’s time with Stede was “as good as it’s going to get for [Ed]”, Stede’s response is that he’s “not ready to believe that.” Stede really just is incapable of conceptualizing a reality in which Just Stede could ever be enough.

(And don’t get me started on Lucius’ beard! Lucius who was the emotional intelligence of the crew in the first season, and is now a guarded, brittle, traumatized shell of who he was. He’s 100% for sure not hiding behind a façade of butched-up toughness. Nope. Not. At. All.)

So in Stede's dreams, he’s the epitome of the kind of guy that WOULD be good enough. The kind of guy who has a beard and wears leather pants (hello queer urge to become the person that you sexually desire, how are you?). The kind of guy with neat, tidy, barely even wavy hair instead of perfectly coifed cherub curls. The kind of guy who, if he wears a fine fabric at all, it’s wrapped around his waist where it can be mostly concealed by a thick, macho belt, and trailing in front of his crotch like a fabric phallus (and, say, if Ed feels like touching it, maybe there’s something else in the vicinity that he might also be interested in touching?). The kind of guy who is tough and competent and can kill without remorse or pity.

#ofmd s2 spoilers #ofmd s2e1 #ofmd s2e2 #ofmd #our flag means death #my modest contribution to fandom

[ourflagmeansgayrights]

ok so like objectively yes ed did things wrong but not only do i personally feel no negative emotions about any of that, i swear it would make more sense tonally with the rest of the show to NOT make a huge chunk of s2 be about ed facing the consequences for and redeeming himself from the marooning/pushing lucius overboard/izzy toe thing. like if im wrong i’m wrong and it’s whatever but i really really think the focus will be more on ed’s internal emotional state and how his choices were informed by trauma and how he’s going to learn to heal more than it’s gonna be like, Ed Learns It’s Wrong To Maroon People And Force Feed People Their Own Toes. like if anything i think it’ll be Ed Learns That He Deserves To Be Happy And He Also Realizes That Marooning People And Force Feeding People Their Own Toes Is An Unhealthy Coping Skill That Negatively Affects His Mental Health And He Learns New, Healthier Coping Strategies. like i think the focus of coming out of the kraken era is going to be almost entirely on ed’s feelings, and any mention of how his actions harmed the rest of the cast will be brief and/or it’ll primarily be played for comedy

which yes irl this would kinda suck to have some guy respond to getting his heart broken (and other stuff) by killing and maiming people and then have his whole journey of self-discovery be solely abt him and not any of the people he’s hurt. HOWEVER a biiiiiig part of the humor of the show is that the characters are experiencing some very real and very relatable self-esteem issues and insecurities and vulnerabilities, and all of that is placed on a backdrop of comedically gratuitous pirate violence. like this is a romcom and ed is basically going through the classic emotional beats of the romcom heroine getting her heart broken and eating a whole tub of ice cream and crying in her room for days before becoming cold and distant and “love is dead” edgy, only the joke is that bc he’s a pirate his “love is dead” romcom era includes some people actually literally dying. izzy and the crew all just happen to be in the blast radius for this joke, and while we as fans might love and care abt those characters too, the plain fact is that ed and stede are the main characters and the other characters’s feelings or storylines or internal motivations simply do not matter nearly as much to the show as theirs (with the exception of maybe jim, and also maybe olu depending on how s2 goes). and that’s literally just how romcoms work. this sort of “protagonist bias” is like, a core part of this kind of story.

and there’s nothing wrong with not vibing with the story because of that. if season two comes and goes and you aren’t happy with how the show handled the consequences of ed’s actions in e10 that’s fine, nobody has to feel any specific way about this show. but if i’m right and this is how s2 plays out and some of y’all don’t like this, the problem is not that ofmd is bad. the problem is just that this is not the story you wanted or expected to be told.

i DO think, tho, that there’s something very powerful abt a character like this being a queer indigenous man. he’s a gay romcom protagonist and narratively speaking his feelings trump all. this is a queer romcom that uses gratuitous slapstick violence as a punchline and where the queer main characters are allowed to get violent and unhinged about their feelings, and at the end of the day they ultimately get a pass bc it’s a gay romcom and the show is about them. like literally that description itself is more than i could’ve ever dreamed of from any tv show ever, and THEN you’re telling me that one of the main characters is indigenous???? it’s been a year and a half and s2 is right around the corner and i swear to god i still can’t believe this show actually exists. we don’t GET shows like this, we don’t GET characters like this. ed teach is such a fucking blessing of a character and i love him with all my heart.

#ofmd #our flag means death #ofmd meta #ofmd s2 #ofmd speculation #ofmd s2 speculation #edward teach #ed teach #edward teach born on a beach #s2 predictions #txt #meta #mine #og #this is why im unironically on team “ed did nothing wrong” #the show gives us very realistic depictions of emotional trauma #and slapstick looney toons depictions of physical trauma

[13tongues]

happy friday the thirteenth

hello, hello.

it's been a while.

let me start by apologizing for falling off the face of the internet over a year ago now. i wish i had a better explanation for y'all, but truthfully, i just felt burnt out and had personal issues to work through that greatly impacted my desire to write anything or even maintain some kind of internet presence.

i will say my life has changed significantly shortly after i stopped writing and i didn't have the time i used to to write. i returned to school and lost all of my free time.

he's a killer queen, the most widely read of my fics and the only one to be regularly updated, became scarier and scarier to write. i appreciate every single one of you who has read any of my works and enjoyed it or left me comments letting me know how you felt about it, and i deeply appreciated that all of you were so endlessly kind about my writing. at the same time, something i really enjoyed writing and imagining and updating became something of a burden. i didn't love how i wrote the second trial in the goblet of fire and rereading those chapters, i can see my own indecision and hesitation in deciding how to progress in that moment. i cared a lot that people liked my writing and worried about failing to meet people's expectations, and it became harder to write at all. especially as i approached fifth year, with umbridge, i struggled. i experienced the same feeling where i did not like how i was writing umbridge, but felt my own expectation of me to post forcing me to write her character anyway.

i still think about he's a killer queen and all of my unfinished works and think about how i had planned to wrap them up way back when. most of them also have final chapters outlined, although everything in between has been yet to be written.

beginning in january of this year, i knew october 13th would be a friday and i imagined it would be the perfect day to return to posting. and yet, my 29th chapter, titled "edward elric is back in black" is half-finished.

i cannot promise any firm deadlines moving forward, but i intend to be more active. i will be done with my degree in 2024 and once i'm back to working, i think i will have more brain power to be creative and get back into writing, which i truly love. i still write snippets of ed and the gang here and there, they're not forgotten.

i really hope to share my silly little stories with y'all again soon.

sincerely, hoye.

#he's a killer queen

[darlingsfandom]

Naive reader calling Eddie to come over to her house because she’s scared and heard a noise outside.

She answers the door in nothing but panties because that’s how she sleeps so she’s not bothered if she’s faces Eddie like this. Him on the other hand is eternally fucked

Gif credit : @shedaresthedevil !

It was one in the morning and you still couldn't sleep. Between the pouring rain, loud thunder and your fan you're normally in heaven but for some reason you can't sleep. You laid there tossing and turning until you heard something, it sounded like foot steps but you were home alone for the weekend since Steve was out on a business meeting. You quickly grabbed your phone from the bedside table and dialed Eddie's normal.

"Hello? This better be import..."

"Eddie? It's me." You sounded scared.

"What's wrong ? Can't sleep?"

"Yes but I think someone's in the house! I heard foot steps and you know Steve has that stupid meeting! Can you please come over? Please" eddie could hear the neediness in your voice before he agreed to come over.

You sat in bed until you heard the chime of the door bell. You quickly ran downstairs and swung open the door to see a very shocked eddie. "I'm glad you're here eddie!" You pulled him in by his arm.

"I couldn't tell you no." Eddie rubbed the back of his neck before shutting the door with his foot. You looked at him confused.

"Eds what's wrong?" You touched his cheek as he bit his lip.

"Nothing! Nothings wrong just umm.. well you're in just panties and you have really nice tits! I mean boobs? Breasts! Fuck!" Eddie palmed his dragging his hand down until he could look at you and were standing there with a big smile on your face.

"Eddie, they're just my tits."

"Yeah but we're friends and friends aren't supposed to get boners!" You shook your head a little bit and took his hand to lead him into your room. You sat down on your bed and waited as Eddie slowly made his way around the room that he's been in a thousand times. It just felt a little weird.

"Eddie come relax, so what you seen my tits! It's not like I haven't noticed you checking me out before." You laid back against the sheets before eddie finally sat down next to you and looked at you with the softest eyes you've ever seen.

"It's just that... you know... we're friends and friends don't ..." You leaned in and kissed him hard making his hands fly up and grab you. Your lips brushed against his before looking into his eyes.

"Eddie, friends do this kind of stuff! Friends fuck each other all the time.... plus I heard that you may or may not have jacked off to the thought of me a few times...."

"I told Steve that in confidence !" Eddie's face was dark red as he covered his face which made you giggle.

"Steve didn't say anything! I just made you admit it." You pressed your lips against his as you crawled into his lap making out with him hard.

"Wait... was there even a noise or did you just want to fuck me?" Eddie asked breathlessly as you started grinding against his lap.

"No no there was a noise .... this is just a way of saying thank you!" You kissed Eddie's neck while helping him get undressed until he sitting in just his plaid boxers. You licked your lips. "Eddie since you made such a big deal about my tits, it's only fair I get to make a big deal about your dick." Eddie's eyes went big before he felt your hand pulling his dick out of the boxers he was wearing.

"Wow'!" Your eyes doubled in size as Eddie sat there holding in a moan until your hand started pumping up and down. "I don't know why you were being so shy Eddie , you have a nice dick. It's thick and warm... now let's just..." you pulled off his boxers and tossed them aside before pulling your own panties off. Both of you stood there naked, admiring each other until you couldn't hold back, pushed eddie on his back and climbed ontop of him.

"I mean it eddie , and if it makes you feel any better, I've touched myself thinking of you too!" Your lips were on his neck down his chest and soon wrapped around the head of his cock making him whine while he pulled in your hair. He picked his hips forward watching how his cock would disappear into your mouth and back out. It felt like his own personal stash of porn! You looked so pretty with his cock twisting in and out of your mouth. You moaned around his cock while your hand cupped his hairy balls. Eddie was a mess above you moaning your name loudly hearing you gag when he'd hit the back of your throat making the drool dribble onto his balls.

"I can't hold it! I'm sorry!" Eddie came down your throat making your dribble a little as he pulled you away. Your lips curved into a smile as you swallowed his load. "Don't be sorry Eddie, that's just one of the many orgasms you're going to have tonight."

#eddie Munson #eddie munson blurb #eddie munson smut #eddie munson x reader #emsblurbs

[saltpepperbeard]

so, hastiness of the sex and the literal and figurative distance that follows aside, something was really bugging me about the morning after. i couldn’t put my finger on it for a while, but now that i’ve sat with things, i think it’s finally clicked in my head:

stede’s reactions to ed’s sweetness. or lack thereof, really.

because goodness, they just slept together. they just bared body and soul to each other. they just survived a dangerous situation and made it to see the sun rise once again. they’ve been through so much, and faced so much adversity.

and despite all they’ve been through, ed is kind. ed is thoughtful, and soft, and sweet. he brings stede breakfast in bed. he tries to make it as pretty as he can. and then weaves beautiful gratitude and admiration in the form of his goldfish tale.

something that should make anyone sigh with fondness, really. something that make eyes flutter with hearts to match.

…and yet.

and yet stede reacts almost…casually to it all. not glittery how he was at the end of episode 5, for example—so warm and so bright and so very clearly in love. it all felt a bit more…stunted? reserved? unnecessarily curt?

and upon sitting with it as i said, i have two lines of thought, two theories.

one, it’s a sort of look into the heightening poison in his system, the good ol’ villain that is toxic masculinity. he feels the need to perform around ed, to be a man worthy of his love. he feels the need to be more than just “adequate,” more than just an “amateur.” and so he feels the need to be more masculine as a result. he’s not quite at his peak of course, not quite in the absolute thick of it—he still has moments closer to himself throughout the day. but the more poisonous seeds have been planted.

and what does that sort of masculinity often lead to? reserved emotions. stunted reactions. you’re not allowed to show vulnerability, or softness, or anything of the sort; you’re expected to be just a wall of strength and flat composure.

which, also, would align with the show: ed actively tries to combat that mentality in the morning. he straight up tells stede that the man who saved him was a fantastic, orange, sparkly mermaid. not some swashbuckling hero. not some colder, mysterious, more reserved man. but a beautiful, soft, dazzling goldfish.

and stede sort of just shrugs it off—turns it into a “well i hope we’ll both get through the violence” as opposed to realizing that ed is complimenting his true character.

but that brings me to my second theory: maybe stede reacts the way he does simply because…he’s never been loved like that before. he doesn’t know what to do with it. he’s never been brought breakfast in bed before, and now there ed goes doing so for him.

he seems to be fine when he's the one in the driver's seat. like, he's very romantic when he's dealing out the romance. but the second it's turned back on him, he can't seem to conceptualize it, even when it's coming from a man he knows he's in love with. like, ed complimenting his shirt led to a more incredulous reaction. ed saying that stede wears fine things well also led to a more incredulous reaction. and like...

"then you shaved your beard off...for me?"

he just can't grasp it. he can't grasp something so new and foreign to him quite yet. and it's of course also wrapped up in a lot of self-worth issues, because how can anyone love him when he really doesn't love himself (which i think is also the same for ed. help them. HELP THEM)

you just...can't catch a fish unless the fish wants to be caught.

#OFMD #OFMD Season 2 #OFMD S2 Spoilers #Stede Bonnet #Gentlebeard #Blackbonnet #Edward Teach #Revenge Rambles #morning lol MORNING #THIS IS A LOOOONG ONE #and maybe a little disjointed please excuse #but like lol man #MAN #I AM //LOOKING// #these two really have so SO much to work through huh #continuing to light the candles for a season 3 manifestation as we speak because goodness gracious

[eyesofshinigami]

Staring Problem

Rating: G

CW: None

Tags: Pre-relationship, kisses, humor

Prompt: For @starryeyedjanai "Love is when you look at his lips for half the conversation because you can't stop thinking about kissing him."

WC: 837

Written for Day 28 of @steddielovemonth

Eddie’s trying really hard to concentrate. Really, he is. It’s just that… Steve has the most kissable looking mouth of any person he’s ever met. 

Okay, so. Eddie usually has a bit of trouble keeping his focus. Some days he feels like a ping pong ball, zinging back and forth between one thing and the next. It takes a lot of effort for him to slow down and just… pay attention, even to the things he loves.

Like Steve. Usually, Eddie can focus on Steve. Puts a lot of effort into it, really. He never wants Steve to feel like he isn’t listening to what he has to say, or that Eddie can’t give him the attention that he so rightly deserves. Because Steve is like the sun, beautiful and bright and he makes Eddie feel like he’s lighting up from the inside out. 

Today, though… Eddie’s really having a hard time. Maybe it’s because Steve’s mouth looks particularly pretty today. His lips are full and a little pink, like he’s been biting them. A little slick, too, if the way the light is playing off of them. It’s making Eddie think about other reasons why Steve’s lips might be a little slick, but he knows that’s a pipe dream. Steve wouldn’t want Eddie like that. 

So, sue him. Eddie couldn’t help it. Anybody would stare at Steve’s mouth and wish they knew what the shape of it tasted like. 

“Eds? You in there?” Steve teases, breaking him out of his trance.

He jolts. “Huh? What?” Heat crawls up the back of Eddie’s neck and blooms over his cheeks. He’s been caught. “Sorry, I guess I’m spacy today.”

Steve licks over his lips and the heat gets worse. “No more than usual,” Steve says, but it’s sweet as much as it is a tease. “What’s on your mind?” 

Nothing you want to know about, I’m sure, Eddie thinks to himself. “Nothing, really. Sorry, man, I didn’t mean to zone out and not listen.” And it’s true. Eddie loves listening to Steve. He could listen to him ramble and watch his mouth move all day long. One of the few things that Eddie finds that can keep him still, keep him quiet, in a good way. 

“Well, I’m sorry I distracted you so much.” Steve’s mouth curves up in a smile, stretching those lips in the most delectable way. He might actually kill Eddie with that smile alone, which is why it takes an extra moment for Eddie to realize what Steve said. It must show on his face, his panic, because Steve adds, “You’ve been watching my mouth all morning, Eds. Is there something you want?”

No. No way. There is no way that Steve could be asking him that. Eddie must be dreaming because in what universe would Steve Harrington be asking Eddie if he wants to kiss him. Wait… that is what he was asking, right? “Like… like what?” Eddie whispers, scared that if he speaks too loud, it might pop the bubble of whatever alternate universe he’s ended up in.

Steve leans in, his warm breath ghosting over Eddie’s mouth. “Like you want to kiss me as much as I want to kiss you.”

Yup. Eddie’s fried. Stick a fork in him, he’s done, because there’s no way he hasn’t died and gone to some kind of heaven. “Fuck, really?”

“Yeah, really. Your mouth is so distracting. Now, you gonna kiss me or what?”

Eddie wants to say my mouth?? But it gets lost when he surges forward and closes the distance between them. Months of longing culminating in a single, wonderful kiss that thrills him all the way down to his toes. Steve must feel the same because he shifts closer, brings their bodies together, and the tip of his tongue teases at Eddie’s bottom lip, seeking entrance. 

They kiss for what feels like hours. Lips moving, tongues sliding together, their bodies moving against each other as they learn the shape of the other. It feels amazing. It’s so, so good.

When they finally break apart, both of them are breathing hard and staring at each other like nothing else in the universe exists. A single, perfect moment that Eddie never wants to end. 

“So? Everything you wanted?” Steve teases, but Eddie can see the thread of tension in his face, the way his smile wobbles at the end. How could it not be? Steve is everything he wants and more. 

“Dunno, think I’m going to have to keep kissing you to make sure. And no one else can either, don’t want to cause a bias in my sample.”

It’s the dumbest thing he could have said, but it makes Steve laugh, that ridiculous donkey laugh that shouldn’t be as cute as it is. So, all Eddie can do is grab Steve by the collar to haul him in for another kiss. 

Now Eddie guesses he can stare all he wants at Steve’s mouth, will probably get to kiss it anytime too.

Sweet.

#steddie #steddielovemonth #les writes things

[carrymelikeimcute]

I'm in my feels again so lets talk about Izzy Hands and violence.

I read a novel ages ago, where an older guy takes a young orphan boy under his wing and teaches him a trade - it's medieval times and said boy becomes a young adult and wants a sword, but his pseudo-father/boss/friend tells him he can't have one, because if he has one, he'll draw it and if he draws it, he could be killed. The safest thing is, paradoxically, to carry no weapons. To learn control of one's temper and control over your surroundings.

The scenes of Izzy and Stede in ep.7 at Jackie's reminded me of that novel.

Obviously Izzy has weapons, tends to put his hand on his sword during arguments and we do see him fighting and killing people. HOWEVER, I think it's really interesting that, given how often we talk about Izzy being repressed (emotionally/sexually/gender-ly) and how controlled he attempts to be, we don't often talk about his controlled approach to violence.

A lot of fic characterises him as someone who is hot tempered and violent, but looking at s1 with fresh eyes, between him and Ed, he's definitely not just the cooler head when it comes to instigating violence, but the one who takes less interest in violence for its own sake as a performance - e.g. Ed's very creative instructions with the tiny fork, the toe thing etc vs Izzy just stabbing Stede. It's a means to an end.

Don't think I'm not saying he has a fucking temper and a half, because he obviously does, but that seems to mostly be vented non-violently through yelling - not yelling at strangers either, but at people he knows and can (usually) judge where the line is.

Until he puts a toe over that line and...oops.

On first meeting Stede, Izzy cuts up his shirt without actually hurting him. It's a threat, but he hasn't drawn blood, hasn't started anything violent...yet. It's almost a display intended to dissuade actual fighting, by showing your potential opponent that they're probably going to lose.

I think one of the reasons Izzy's so annoyed about their losses in the battle with the Spanish is that it's not their fight. They didn't get anything from it - it was pointless (to him, not to Ed obvs). He wants to avoid facing the Spanish again in the following episode, because they stand to lose more than they will gain.

Even when he's actively calling for Ed to kill Stede, he isn't fussy about how. (And he uses manipulation to keep his hands clean - something he does again when selling Ed out to the navy.) Stede needs to be gone, and this is the easiest way to do that. And when he does finally lose it he doesn't just attack Stede without warning - it's within the controlled setting of a duel, which, when Stede starts improvising, breaks down Izzy's control and leads to him becoming emotional, making a mistake and getting his sword broken.

In s2 the pointlessness of the raids is obviously getting to him, disrupting a wedding for no real gain. Losing Ivan for nothing. I don't think the violence is what bothers him, he's a very active participant, but the fact that it's not for anything - it's not enough of a reward in and of itself. (It's like not really caring one way or the other about being a barista, it's just what you do and it's fine, but then suddenly you're not being paid and also your boss keeps burning you with the steam wand on purpose and you just sort of wish you could just get on with your job and make rent like before.)

S1 Izzy seems to lack the whimsy and imagination that Ed/Stede bring to piracy and to violence, but that doesn't make him stupid. They're playing some kind of made-up game that only they know the rules for, and he's trying to play chess with everyone, even when the rules are only a burden to him.

When we see him training, he's being a dramatic candlelit bitch, but he's also measuring his movements, focusing intently and not just hacking away at everything. Even the candles are interesting to me in this context - we see him playing with candles several times in S1/2 and while yes, there is a certain amount of 'Izzy likes pain' in there to unpick, it's also kind of a metaphor for control - fire is one of the most dangerous things to have on a 'wooden vessel' but a candle is like a tiny pet fire that you control - so long as you're careful and respectful. It's all about risk management, respecting dangerous forces and being aware.

When Stede kills Ned, Izzy looks impressed, even seems to smile for a second, but then he looks more subdued and tells Ed that the first kill is a head-fuck. It's like he's proud of Stede being ABLE to kill, but regretful that Stede CHOSE to kill in a situation where it wasn't necessary at all.

I don't think for a moment that Izzy regrets killing most of the people he kills as part of pirate life, but I think he would regret killing someone he didn't have to. Most people wouldn't want to carry that around with them.

We see in ep7. that Izzy is well respected at Jackie's. He tells bigger guys than him to fuck off and just takes people's chairs. He gets called 'Mr. Hands' instead of by his first name. There's a lot of respect there and I think some of it comes from his reputation with Ed, but also, from people knowing that he's not insane - he can be treated respectfully and everything will be fine for all involved. He's not some menace that's going to stab you as likely as pat you on the back.

For all that people are afraid of Blackbeard (and maybe slightly in awe of Stede as of the Ned thing) for their unpredictable natures and occasional violent outbursts, people are still attacking them or pandering to them, actual respect is something else entirely.

Later, Izzy doesn't pull a weapon and tries to discourage Stede from doing so, even tries to get him to leave to prevent a fight from starting. In the fight, he smashes a stool over someone and doesn't just start killing people - it's an appropriate level of violence for the situation, not an escalation.

It feels like Izzy is very much in that place of controlling himself, being aware and knowing when and how to use force practically, proportionally and effectively. This might be age related, but it's also a big part of his personality. I think that's also why he looks impressed by what Zheng does to Steak Knife (rip) because it's so precise, bloodless and quick. She's basically the best captain for him - she's efficient and controlled.

It's easy to confuse 'is willing to kill' with 'is eager to kill'. I don't think Izzy necessarily loathes that part of his job, he seems ambivalent, but it is still a job to him. It's what pirates do, much as the crew of the Revenge do still kill people, it's just part of their life and not some kind of performance or fun activity. It's work, and it's hard and it's unpleasant and if something can be done an easier way - a smarter way - then that's probably the best way.

#ofmd #ofmd spoilers #izzy hands #israel hands #ofmd meta #izzy hands is a character and a half #character discussion #long post

[bookshelf-dust]

go to sleep

eddie munson x gn!reader

word count: 1,108

warnings: swearing, fluff, angst but no happy ending

a/n: gonna take max’s advice for this one and just sit here. i’m gonna sit here, and i’m gonna watch. mhm. that’ll do ;)

————

“Hey, sweetheart.”

Your face splits into a grin before you can even try to suppress it. It doesn’t matter how shitty your day has been, that you cried in the car on the way home, that there’s this ache in your chest—almost like something is really wrong, something you can’t quite put your finger on. It doesn’t matter, because now you’re home. 

You pull the door shut behind you, gaze dragging over the man stretched out on the couch before you. 

“Hi, baby.”

Eddie sits up, watching intently as you tug off your shoes, your coat. You go to him, and he spreads his legs, arms held out, welcoming you to a hug. You notice, as you wrap your arms around his shoulders, that he isn’t wearing his pick necklace. 

He nuzzles his face into the soft skin of your belly, taking in the leftover scent of your perfume, the laundry detergent used to wash your shirt. He kisses your forearm, lips a little chilly. 

You pull back and take his face in your hands to kiss him properly. He smiles into it, giddy as ever to have his mouth on yours. He treats each ounce of your affection like it is the greatest privilege one could ever be allowed. It is an immense privilege that you allow him to be yours.  

His hands fist the fabric of your t-shirt. “You wanna lay down with me for a while?” 

You nod, and the movement makes him grin. His happiness is palpable. 

“Yeah? Come on then.”

He scoots back against the arm of the couch, shoving a pillow under his head. He has a feeling you need his attention. That maybe you’ve been longing for it. He opens his legs, watches as you settle on top of him, careful not to hurt him while you get comfortable. 

When you shove your face into his chest, trying to absorb as much of him as you can, you realize that his lips aren’t the only chilly part of him. He’s cold. He’s usually so warm, like your own personal space heater.

“Eddie? Can you reach that blanket?”

Your brows knit in concern, but he doesn’t catch it, just pulls the fabric over the two of you. He tucks it in around his thighs, making sure you’re comfortable.

“Better?” he asks, kissing the top of your head. 

You look up at him, propping your chin up on your hands. “Much. I love you, Eddie, you know that, right?”

“‘Course I know that. I love you too. So much it hurts.”

You lean forward slightly and press a kiss to his collarbone. “I wouldn’t want to hurt you, Eds.”

“Oh, don’t worry. It’s a good kind of pain.” 

You kiss his chin. Your brain keeps fussing at you, telling you something’s wrong. This isn’t right. You ignore it. 

“Anything you wanna talk about?” 

Eddie hasn’t taken his eyes off of you since you got home. There’s this look in them that you recognize, a look you’ve only seen once. Something in your head tells you that you didn’t like that occasion. Because he’d looked at you like you’d hung the stars, like he could let go because you were there, and that meant he was safe. 

No. That’s silly. 

“I’m okay,” you tell him. “Just wanna be here with you.”

Really there’s so much you want to tell him. So much you need to catch him up on. Things you shouldn’t have to catch him up on. But your heart tells you not right now. You feel as though he might slip through your fingers at any moment. 

You bring your hands around his back, rubbing over his shoulder blades. You hug him tightly. 

“Don’t go, Eddie.”

He laughs. “Where would I go, huh, baby? I’m right here. You get some rest now, okay? When you wake up, we can pick up dinner.”

“Promise?”

He tilts your head up toward him with a soft touch, his index and middle fingers to your chin.

Eddie kisses you. Soft and sweet. As you drift off, you can’t help but realize that he never promised. He just kept you distracted.

————

When you wake up, you’re covered in a thin layer of sweat. Not enough that you’ve soaked through your clothes, but enough that the backs of your knees feel sticky, that your hands are warm and a little swollen. Your heart is pounding. 

“Eddie—”

You call out for him, but your voice catches in your throat. You’re crying. You hadn’t realized you were crying. 

Eddie’s not here.

But you know where he is.

He’s exactly where you left him. In that place. Where he’d given you that look. 

It’s okay, baby, really. This is all I get, and we have to be okay with that. I’m okay with it. You’re gonna be fine, y-you hear me? 

On instinct, your hand moves to Eddie’s side of the bed. Cold. The pillow still has an indentation from his head, one on the side where he’d grip it when lying on his stomach. 

Your dream crashes over you all at once, every small detail telling you exactly what it was. A dream. Much better than your waking nightmare. You fall back against your own pillow and shut your eyes.

Go to sleep, you think. It’s still dark out. You should be sleeping.

Maybe if you can get back to sleep, Eddie will come to you again. Maybe you’ll be able to feel him. Hear his voice. Oh, his voice. 

My sweet baby.

Can’t believe I landed such a badass.

Come and give me a hug, I’m dyin’ here.

You can pick the music.

Gonna marry you someday, you know that?

You’re sobbing now. Your room is covered in Eddie. He’s everywhere. You smack your hand against the mattress beside you, angry that you’re alone. 

Because he should be here. He should be here and he should be snoring, pressing half his body weight into you because he can’t share for the life of him. 

When you wake up, you know he won’t be in the shower, screaming the words to some obscure metal song. He won’t rush back up the stairs to kiss you twice more before he leaves. He won’t call at lunch. You won’t hear his music blaring halfway down the street when he comes home. 

Take me with you, you’d thought. I wanna go. I don’t want to be without you. Please don’t go without me. 

If only it’d been that simple. 

You keep your eyes squeezed shut and roll onto the opposite side of the bed. 

Go to sleep, you think. Eddie might be there. 

————

please let me know if you liked this! feedback is always appreciated!! comments and reblogs mean more than you know. <33

tagging: @clovermunson

#savannah’s fics #eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x gn!reader #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson x gender neutral reader #eddie munson fic #eddie munson fanfiction #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson oneshot #eddie munson imagine #angst no happy ending #eddie munson angst

[piratecaptainscaptainpirates]

1k request: Stede has his own version of a merman dream. But. Ed's a catboy instead.

You are an absolute genius. This possessed me mind body and soul. Absolutely inspired.

--

Stede Bonnet was dying, probably.

The world was hot and strange, and their bedroom felt weird and empty. His head felt swimmy. The last thing he really remembered was Ed trying to feed him some soup and looking terrified when he couldn’t finish more than a few spoonfuls, and he remembered wanting to fight the entire world for making Ed look so scared.

He remembered Ed putting a wet cloth on his forehead, and it had felt like heaven, and he remembered Ed whispering that he was just burning up, begging please don’t leave me - he wasn’t sure he’d been meant to hear that part.

And now the world was dark and hot and strange. He registered being in his bed, but it was lonely, and he tried to focus on breathing. He didn’t want to go, he wanted to hang on, but it was so hard. He wanted to rally his strength, find the will to choose to live, but he was so fucking tired.

He felt the world start to slip, bleeding away at the edges-

“Stede?”

Stede gasped as he opened his eyes. He was used to the sight of Ed in bed with him becoming the new most beautiful thing he’d ever seen every morning, but this was on a whole new level.

The Ed that crawled into bed with him had big, adorable, soft-looking gray kitty ears, and a long, fluffy tail that curled up into a curious hook, and his movements jingled with the bell on his collar. Stede’s heart absolutely melted at his big, adorable eyes, and the way his ears were slightly folded back with concern.

“You can’t leave me,” Ed pouted, curling up into Stede’s side, fingers starting to knead nervous biscuits into Stede’s chest. “I love you, I need you! I’d be so sad without you!”

Stede reached out to touch his adorable, soft ears, and Ed headbutted his hand, leaning into the contact with a cute little mrrp?

“Please don’t go,” Ed said, leaning forward to nuzzle his cheek cutely against Stede’s shoulder, the bell on his collar jangling. “You promised you’d never leave me again.”

Stede had promised him that. It would be an absolute dick move, to abandon his boyfriend when they’d only been living together for a couple months. Stede Bonnet, taken out by a little head cold? Ha! If his throat wasn’t so sore, he’d laugh at the thought.

“Please come back to me.” Ed pressed his nose under Stede’s jaw, purring softly, an adorable little noise. His fluffy tail thrashed anxiously over the covers. “We’ll keep each other safe. We promised each other, didn't we? I want to be with you for the rest of my life. I can’t lose you.”

Stede took a deep, rallying breath, and he tried to sit up. All he really managed was a groan in the back of his throat and a twitch of his hand.

“Yes!” Ed’s ears pricked forward with excitement, his eyes getting somehow even bigger and more adorable. “You can do it, babe, c’mon! Fight it! You’ve got this!”

Stede thought he might be able to manage a word. “Ed,” he groaned.

“That’s it!” Ed wiggled happily, pushing his head against Stede’s shoulder before doing this sort of adorable stretch onto his back, his shirt riding up to show off his adorable, soft tummy. As usual, the sight made Stede want to brush his fingers adoringly through his happy trail, bite gently at the soft skin there to make Ed squirm and giggle…

He couldn’t be finished. He wasn’t going to die before burying his face in Ed’s tummy one last time.

With a prodigious effort, Stede opened his eyes.

That was a little strange. He’d thought his eyes were already open, but when he opened them again, the cat-Ed in his lap was gone, and their bedroom felt more real than it had just a few moments ago. He could feel the soft quilt under his fingers, and as he sat up, the cloth that had been placed on his forehead, which had long since stopped being so pleasantly cool against his skin, kind of flopped down into his eyes.

And…there. Stede’s entire body relaxed when he realized Ed was still with him, asleep in a chair at his bedside. He’d fallen over so his head was resting on Stede’s thigh, his soft snores like a cute little purr.

Stede reached down to pet Ed’s hair. “Ed?”

“Mm - Stede?” Ed rubbed at his eyes with his knuckles as he sat up, starting to smile at him automatically before the realization hit. Shit - Stede! How do you feel?”

Stede let Ed press the back of his hand to his forehead. “Pretty great, actually.”

“Oh, thank fuck,” Ed groaned in relief, climbing into bed next to him so he could hold his face and pepper his cheeks with kisses until Stede was laughing. “You were so warm, and I couldn’t get your fever down, and I didn’t know what to do-”

“It’s alright.” Stede held Ed’s hand to his chest, letting him feel the steady beat of his heart. “You saved my life, I think.”

Ed raised an eyebrow. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Stede sighed in fond reminiscence. “I was thinking about how I felt like absolute shit, and then you just appeared to me.”

“Woah,” Ed breathed. “Like a mermaid? What color were my scales?”

“More like a cat,” Stede said, scritching at Ed’s beard, smirking at the way Ed’s eyes fluttered shut and he leaned into it. Still very catlike, really. “You were so cute. You had these big soft ears, and a cute fluffy tail, and I knew why I had to stay alive.”

Ed humored him. “Why’s that?”

“So I could do this.” Stede lunged forward, gently pushing Ed over so he could press his face into his soft, adorable tummy. Oh, yeah. The world felt right again.

Ed snorted, wrapping his arms around Stede to hold him close. “Never change, Stede.”

#ofmd #our flag means death #ofmd fic #my fics