#T: Israel “Izzy” Hands Learning To Be Part Of The Crew

[ourflagmeansdeath-kinkmeme]

Stede/Ed/Izzy, Izzy + crew — Mind-reading trope but reverse, everyone can read Izzy's mind

Izzy lashes out at something and is being an asshole. The everyone talks about it and, in the light of a particularly bright full moon, someone mentions how they'd love to know what the hell Izzy's thinking, if only to know how fucked he is in the head to everyone's agreement.

When they wake up the next day and Izzy seems to be having a fit, everyone is shocked to discover that they can hear him, even after he's stopped talking. At first it's funny, hearing Izzy complain and grumble in his own head.

Until a worrying pattern emerges. Izzy panicking to himself when their food supply runs low, gearing himself up to starve so he can provide other people his rations. How he feels left out and jealous whenever he sees affection between the crew, how he never feels enough and just assumes he's not meant to belong. How he's grown fond of the crew and loves Ed and Stede but is always ready to be cast away, that he's always been the disposable sort.

They set out to make things right and properly gather Izzy into their fold.

TLDR; the crew accidentally wish upon the moon to be able to read Izzy's mind and wow, Israel Hands is really fucked up... and needs a hug.

+ The wish eventually wears off and Izzy never finds out about it. During all that, the crew have grown overprotective of their prickly First Mate and the captains realize their own affection for him. + Ramp up the angst with Izzy's self-worth issues, nightmares, Hornigold and other trauma, and the Toe/Kraken-era!!! Make him cry and hurt (and give him the softest happy ending that would end me please).

Fill: None

#C: Israel “Izzy” Hands #C: Revenge Crew #P: General | No Pairing #T: Magic #T: Mind Reading #T: Realizations #T: Hurt Comfort #T: Protectiveness #T: Trauma #T: Israel “Izzy” Hands Learning To Be Part Of The Crew #Fill: None

[pengychan]

[Our Flag Means Death] The Lost Unicorn, Pt. 2

Title: The Lost Unicorn Summary: Weakened by the gunshot wound, Izzy falls behind during the escape and is captured. The good news is that the navy surgeon can keep him alive. The bad one is that he's now live bait for the crew of the Revenge. Characters: Izzy Hands, Ed Teach, Stede Bonnet, Crew of the Revenge, Ricky Barnes Rating: T All chapters are tagged as 'lost unicorn' on my blog. [Back to Part 1]

Unsurprisingly no one is having a good time, but at least they now have extra brain cells on board to think of a decent plan. Also, flashbacks. ***

“Good Lord, Israel, I truly hope that was one of your baby teeth.”

Israel tries to reply, but there is blood bubbling in his mouth and something hard on his tongue. He turns and spits out another tooth. “Think so,” he says, as well as one can manage to enunciate with both front teeth gone. So, not very well. 

The innkeeper rubs his face before giving a quick glance towards the kitchen where Israel’s mother is busy cooking dinner, unaware of the trouble her son got into yet again. He can faintly hear her singing. “You’re going to give poor Edith a heart attack one of these days, you truly are.”

“So don’t tell her.”

“I think she’s going to notice either way, boy. Who was it this time? The cobbler’s kid again?” 

“I fell down the stairs.”

Callused fingers grab his chin, forcing his face up. Israel scowls before the old man even starts his lecture. Or tries to, because one eye is swollen shut and it makes scowling difficult. “You can’t keep picking fights with everybody.”

“He insulted me,” Israel replies, and it is a lie. But he’ll die before he lets a word of what really happened - he insulted her - past his lips, so he’ll settle for lying. Mr. Doherty probably already worked out that his mother’s ring is all for show and that she’s not a widow nor was ever married in the first place, but it’s one of those things that are best left unsaid.

His mother made sure he understood that very well: a problem that goes unspoken is a less of a problem.

“You should learn to let an insult or two slide, before you lose something more than a couple of teeth.”

“I’d like to see them try.”

“You’re the size and weight of a wet rat. You really do not.”

“You should see the other guy,” Israel replies, even though the other guy barely got a nosebleed out of their fight, and steps past to head upstairs, to the room he shares with his mother, to wash some blood off. Or at least he tries to. He never manages to put one foot down on the steps before Mr. Doherty grapes his wrist, tight. 

It’s wrong. Israel can tell right away that it’s wrong, because Mr. Doherty never grabs anyone like this unless it’s a drunk patron that needs to be thrown out of the inn.

And no one alive should ever have hands this cold.

“You’re going to die alone. You know that, don’t you, Izzy?”

Israel looks up, alarmed and more than a little confused, because no one has ever called him anything other than his full name before. Mr. Doherty is looking the other way, even as the grip tightens, colder and colder. 

… Or maybe it isn’t that cold. Maybe it’s him who is warm, too warm, feverish. Israel swallows, and now even the blood in his mouth feels boiling hot. “Let me--”

“You’re difficult, you know? You make it so goddamn difficult for anyone to like you. Got it into your head no one could and now here you are, making damn sure no one does.” 

The man turns his head now and it’s not Mr. Doherty anymore. Israel Hands is still some fifteen years away from meeting Benjamin Hornigold for the first time, but those eyes still go through him like a knife, make him still and stop struggling to break free from his grip.

A smile, wide, all teeth. “They’re not coming back for you, Izzy. None of them. Why would they?”

Israel’s vision is swimming, and it feels like he’s burning. The grip on his wrist stays, ice cold, while his left knee folds and he falls. The man who’s not Mr. Doherty pulls him up by the wrist, dangles him like a dead rat caught in a trap. Something in his gut hurts, more throbbing heat.

“Because you got dolled up, put on perfume, and sang a little song? That’s it? You think that would make anyone want to risk their lives for a miserable bastard? They wanted to have a laugh at you, that's all.”

A shake, the heat in his gut blooms into pain, and Israel screams. 

“Ma--” he tries to call out, but another cold hand grabs his neck, squeezes, and the scream dies in his throat.

“They won’t come, none of them, least of all Ed. They thought they got live bait, and all they have in their hands is dead meat. It’s for the best, you know. If they do, they die. And the last person who was ever willing to give her life for you died shitting her bed while you were fucking around as a powder monkey for the Royal Navy.”

Israel tries to grasp the man’s wrist, to pry those icy fingers from his throat, but his hand is so weak and he feels so heavy. His vision darkens, and the arm falls back by his side.

“Do you want them to come for you? Do you want them to die for you? You selfish little twat.”

None of his words make sense to Israel, but he’s no longer listening. All he knows is that he’s burning, and his side hurts, and he can’t see anything anymore. In the dark he hears voices, faint and far away-- … high fever……bring it down…… doing my best…… keep him alive…-- but when he tries to scream, the grip on his throat makes it impossible. That’s when he knows that he’s going to die, and no one is coming. 

A chasm opens beneath him, and Israel falls.

***

“All right. So. The plan. We need to be clever about this.”

“We’re never very clever about anything.”

“Yeah, whose idea was it to send the guy with the obvious wooden leg forth with the hostage?”

“I mean, Prince Whatshisname would have fucked it all up either way, I guess.”

“Still, proves my point. We’re never very clever about anything.”

“And it got one of us captured. So we have to be this time. Like with… remember the lighthouse trick?”

“Oh yeah, that was good.”

“Real good.”

“How’s playing lighthouse going to help with this?”

“It’s not, but what I mean is that it shows we can be clever, and that’s the kind of attitude we need to have again.”

“Oh! If we do the lighthouse thing anyway, can I do the foghorn?”

“Yes, Roach.”

“I say we go and burn the place down until they give Izzy back.”

“No, Wee John.”

“There were the towels, too.”

“Yeah, the drugged towels, when we got away from the Red Flag!”

“That was clever. Wasn’t it, Zheng?”

“... I’ll concede it was. Begrudgingly. But it won’t help us now, since none of those men will let us close enough to smell our towels.”

“I don’t need to get close.”

Jim’s voice was cold, and it caused everyone on deck to turn to them. They were sitting apart from everyone else, sharpening their throwing knives, jaw set and mouth a thin line. There was no doubt that they were already thinking of the moment each of those very, very sharp knives would sink in some pale English throat. 

“Probably not what I’m supposed to say,” Archie muttered. “But you look really hot right now.”

“Appreciated,” Jim replied with the smallest twitch of their lips, but didn't stop sharpening the knives for a moment. Stede cleared his throat. 

“Very well. So, um. Going back to our clever plan--”

“We split up.” 

Ed had been silent almost from the moment they managed to lose the Navy ship at their heels - so silent, in fact, that Stede was starting to worry a little - but now he spoke up, and everyone turned to look at him.

“... Split up?” Pete repeated, and Lucius made a face. 

“That sounds like a terrible idea. You know, in horror books someone always dies when the characters split up,” he muttered, gaining himself a look from Jackie. 

“What kinda books do you read?” she asked, but never got an answer. Ed walked up to the improvised table they were all huddled around, and tapped his finger on New Providence. 

“They gave up the chase now because we had a head start and sailed faster, but I’ll bet they’re not going to just dock again. They’ll be on high alert for any attack after we took down so many of theirs. I’ll bet Frenchie’s right arm their man-of-war will keep patrolling around the island, looking out for any ships.”

“Why does it have to be my arm?” Frenchie groaned, but got no reaction other than a sympathetic pat from Fang.

Stede frowned down at the map. “It makes sense, but how does splitting up--”

“Some of us stay on the ship, the others are dropped on New Providence,” Auntie spoke up, nodding. “Yes, I see. We lead their ship on a wild duck chase--”

“I think you mean--” Olu started, but a glare was enough to make him shut his mouth.

“I know what I meant to mean. Some of us keep their ship’s attention on the Revenge, while the rest get on the ground and scout things out from there.” A pause, and she looked around. “A small group would be best.”

Ed scoffed a little. “A big group kills more English.”

“Yes. But a big group also gets discovered quickly. If your friend is alive, the last thing you want is charging in like a bull without knowing what you’re getting into. For all we know, the noseless rat has him at gunpoint. ” Auntie crossed her arms, and looked Ed in the eye. “You want him back alive, yes?”

“Of course I do.”

“And come back alive yourself?”

It was a more charged question than she realized, Stede knew, and he found himself holding his breath for Ed’s reply. “Yeah,” Ed said, like a man who hadn’t purposefully steer the ship into a storm to go down with it only weeks earlier, and Stede breathed again. “Would be nice.”

“Then you take a small group for reconnaissance. Figure out what’s going on in Nassau, if he’s even alive, and where they’re keeping him. Then get picked up by the ship again, and we reconvene. Makes sense, no?” She turned to Stede. “What does the captain think?” she asked, her tone making it clear she was no huge fan of the fact he, out of all the people on board, was the captain.

Oh dear, now it fell on him to decide, of course. Stede opened his mouth, but Ed spoke up before he could utter a single word. 

“... It makes sense. I’m going. Jim?”

A flick of their wrist, and the knife Jim had been sharpening whistled through the air, hitting the mast only a few inches left of Ed’s temple. He didn’t even flinch, and just looked on as Jim nodded. “Of course I’m in.”

“Me too, then,” Archie muttered, and Ed nodded. 

“Sounds good. The three of us,” he agreed, and looked back at the others. “We’ll signal you when we’re ready to--”

“What-- no, wait a moment!” Stede protested. “I’m coming, too!”

A scoff. “No you’re not.”

“Yes I am!”

“Are not.”

A bit too outraged to even notice the way several crew members were rolling their eyes, Stede crossed his arms. “Am too!”

“I’m not risking you falling into their hands too. You’re the captain, so you stay on the ship--”

“Well, I am your captain, Edward Teach!” Stede snapped, slamming both hands on the table and causing Ed to recoil, several crew members to flinch, and Lucius’ eyebrows to shoot all the way up to his hairline. “I call the shots here, I am going nowhere without you!”

It was a pretty good outburst, if Stede said so himself. Almost up there with ‘do not try this captain again’, and he liked to think Izzy would be just as impressed. Ed sure seemed to be, because he opened his mouth, stared a moment, and then closed it before licking his lips and clearing his throat. 

(Later, after leaving them on the coast some way north of Nassau, Lucius would ask aloud if he was the only one who’d gotten the distinct feeling that Ed had been very close to rawing Stede on the deck right there and then. He was not.)

“... Right. Yeah. So, the four of us,” Ed finally said, and turned to the pile of uniforms they’d thrown on the deck after getting away from the English warship. “Guess we should put them on again.”

Archie tilted her head. “You think that fuckery is going to work twice? Barely worked the first time. It was a bit of a shit plan. No offense, captain.”

“None taken. But to be fair, I didn’t have much time to come up with anything better and I didn’t hear any of you--”

“Shit plan or not, Ed is right,” Jim cut him off, crossing the deck to retrieve their knife from the mast. “Seeing their uniform may at least make someone hesitate a moment before shooting. And a moment is all I’d need to kill them.”

Stede nodded. “Oh! Yes, of course! We only need a moment to strike first, if it comes to it.”

“Not you,” Auntie said. “You need more moments.”

“Maybe two moments, babe,” Ed said quickly. 

“More like twenty,” Zheng commented, and Ed crossed his arms. 

“That’s not very constructive.”

“No, no, she’s not wrong,” Stede conceded. “I may not be the best swordsman. Or marksman. Or… well… I will be mostly there for, uh. Strategic thinking.”

“Then we’re fucked,” Jim remarked, but turned back towards New Providence, by now only a small dot in the distance. “So, what are we waiting for?”

“Nightfall?” Olu suggested, a bit hesitant, and Zheng nodded with a smile. 

“Yes. Nightfall,” she said. A pause, and she turned to Jim and Archie. She pulled something from her sleeve, and held it out to them. A vial, with something viscous in it, like oil. “Take this. It’s a poison. Not of much  use if someone drinks it, but if you coat your blades with it, the smallest cut is deadly.”

“Oooh, this is awesome!” Archie grinned, taking the vial. “Can’t wait to try this out.”

“Leave some for me,” Jim muttered, elbowing her side, and turned back to Zheng. “Thank you. We’ll put it to good use.”

“You’d better, because it’s more expensive than this ship.”

“Oh, you shouldn’t have said that, man. I’ll get performance anxiety now.”

Archie’s comment made both Jim and Zheng chuckle. It was Zheng to speak again first. “And come back in one piece, both of you. Oluwande would appreciate that, and-- I would, too.”

“We’ll do our best,” Archie exclaimed, all brightness, putting an arm around Jim’s shoulders. “But failing that, do you have any preference on what pieces we do bring back?”

Stede was honestly a little curious to hear the answer, but he noticed Ed walking off below deck and that immediately shifted on top of his priorities. He followed, a little sheepish. 

“Um, Ed? I’m sorry I raised my voice.”

It caused Ed to pause, halfway down the steps to retrieve more guns, most likely. He turned just a little, enough for Stede to see his profile. “... It’s all right. You’re the captain.”

“Well, it’s no excuse to yell--”

“The captain gets to yell.”

“That’s not really the kind of captain I wanted to be,” Stede muttered, more than a little bashful, and Ed fully turned to look at him. 

“I mean-- I don’t mind.”

“But it’s ru--”

“Kinda hot really.”

“... Oh?”

“Well, maybe-- you know, in other circumstances. In a private setting. Not on the deck.”

Stede’s mind immediately attempted to supply various circumstances where that new bit of information could be used in a private setting, and it took him some effort to chase that thought away. Later, he decided. Once their mission was complete. 

“Ah,” he said, and cleared his throat. “Well-- duly noted. But, uh… I think I really should come with you, that’s why I insisted. I’m worried about Izzy, too, and I don’t think I can just sit around while sending you to do this really dangerous thing alone. I mean, I’m the captain. Makes me responsible for all the crew. You know?”

Ed stared a moment, then nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah, I-- I get that. Just don’t wanna see you in danger if I can help it.”

“Well, that just means you’ll need to be my knight in shining armor if it comes to it,” Stede quipped, and was very relieved to see Ed’s lips quirk in a smile. 

“I can do that. Killing is a hell of a lot easier when it’s to protect someone.” 

“There, problem solved. But I’ll do my best not to get in the line of fire in the first place.” He stepped closer, and leaned in for a quick kiss that Ed reciprocated right away. “No one’s getting hurt. I mean, no one but the English.”

“... What if he’s already dead?”

“No, hey.” He pressed two fingers on Ed’s lips, looking at him in the eye. “Don’t think like that. Captain’s orders.”

Ed didn’t reply, but he did lean into the touch and kisses his fingertips, and Stede figured he could take it as an ‘aye’.

***

After letting his father’s body drop on the ground, Edward turns around and runs.

He has to run. He can’t go back. His mother will look at his face and see what he did, what he is, and he can’t bear the thought. Rain keeps falling, there’s thunder and he keeps slipping on cobblestones, hearing nothing but his own panting breath, blood rushing in his ears. 

He can hardly think but there is one thing he knows, one thing only that keeps him running towards the docks. Father is gone, she is safe, and she doesn’t need another monster to replace him. 

So he has to go.

Later, he won’t remember exactly what happened. He will only know that by the time he gets to the docks his eyes are full of-- rain it’s just rain--rainwater and he can’t see the man standing in front of him until he slams against his side and falls back on the ground with a grunt. 

“And who the fuck are you?”

The man is towering over him, like his father did earlier that night before-- he --the Kraken got him. He’s pulling back his lips in a grimace, hair sticking to his forehead. There is a boy too, he’s got some kid by the throat and is holding him high up enough his feet don’t touch the ground.

“Well? I’m talking to you!” The man steps forward, and his boot is up to come down on him before Edward can even think of scooting back, but it never comes down. Not on him, at least.

“Eat shit!” the boy in his grasp yells, and his foot kicks out, hitting the man right in the groin.

The high-pitched scream would be funny, if Edward remembered how to laugh. For now he only stares, wide-eyed, as the man drops the boy and falls on his knees, holding onto his groin with a whine. “You little bastard-- you’re fucking dead meat when I--”

He never gets to say another word, because the kid he’s been holding by the neck picks something up from the ground and screams. He swings that something in an arc through the air, heavy and made of metal. It meets the man’s bald head with a sickening crunch, the skull caves in, and he falls back without another sound. 

“WHO’S DEAD MEAT NOW, FUCKER!”

Another hit, another, and another. Edward doesn't remember standing, but he must have. Suddenly he’s up and grabbing the boy’s arm, stopping him from swinging the metal pipe again. “Stop it. Stop! He’s dead!”

He’s dead, dead, dead, I did it and I can never go back.

He expects a struggle, but there is none. The boy drops the pipe and turns to look at him, blue eyes wide under a mop of wet brown hair. Only later, when the sun dries them both, Edward will see it’s sandy blond.

“Ah, shit,” he says, and for just a moment his voice shakes. “I killed him, didn’t I?”

Tell them it was the Kraken, Edward thinks, and for a horrible moment he almost laughs. 

“We’ve got to get away from here,” he says instead. “Come this way, we can--”

“Well well. That looks an awful lot like what my ship cook would look like after going through a meat grinder.”

Edward stills, and so does the boy. They turn, slowly, to see a man standing over the corpse - and over them. A boot kicks the dead man’s side. “Must have been shitfaced drunk for two runts like you to take him down. How do you plan to pay me back for this loss, precisely?”

Edward says nothing, mouth dry, still holding onto the boy’s arm and looks up. He cannot make out the man’s face. 

The first time he sees him, Benjamin Hornigold is nothing but a dark shadow in silver rain.

“I should shoot you both,” the shadow is saying. “But he was an asshole, and I could use another couple of cabin boys who can take down a man if needed.” A sharp tilt of his head. “You, what’s your name?”

“John Rackham,” Edward hears the boy say, and the shadow scoffs. 

“Well, I already have a John on board. So you’ll be Jack from now on. Objections?”

“No, sir.”

“Good. Do you have a family to say goodbye to, Jack?”

“... No,” he says. It sounds like a lie even to Edward’s ears, but the shadow doesn’t insist. 

Honestly, he probably wouldn’t have let him say goodbye either way. He just smiles, a flash of teeth in the dark. “Just how I like my men,” he mutters, and turns to Edward. “And you, what’s your name?”

Edward licks his lip, mouth dry. He has seen ships come and go his entire life, merchant ships as well as the occasional pirate ship port authorities turn a blind eye on for a bribe, but he’s never been on one. Still… he has no choice now, does he? This is why he was running to the docks in the first place. He has to leave, and the only way is by sea. By ship. This is his chance to disappear. 

And it only cost another man’s life. 

Laughter almost bubbles up his chest and throat, but Edward holds it down because he knows that if he laughs now, before this man, he’s as good as dead. So he looks up, face wet with rain, and speaks. 

“Edward.”

“Edward what?”

“... Just Edward. I don’t have a family,” he adds. Somewhere out there is a woman nursing a bruised face, wondering when her beast of a husband and her son are coming home, but now they’re both gone - the Kraken got them - and there’s just him left, and he can never go back. 

She’s better off without.

As with Jack, the shadow doesn’t question him. “Hm. Well, damn common names you’ve got. I’ve got another Edward too, and it seems much too long for a shrimp like you. So Ed it is.” A wave of his hand, beckoning them to follow, and they obey. They will keep obeying for a long time. What choice do they have?

Benjamin Hornigold walks to the docks in pouring rain, and Ed follows.

***

When Izzy woke up, he was still feverish and he could hear rain. 

There was no window in the room he’d been put in, but rain was drumming loud above him, so he could only guess he was put into one of the rooms in the attic. Not a stupid decision: the only way in there would be up the stairs, and a few men with rifles could easily fend off an attack from the vantage point. 

And he was sure Pinocchio had placed plenty of men on each floor, weapons at the ready. They’d taken down plenty, but the bastard had brought in half a fucking army. If the crew tried to storm in, they’d be utterly fucked. 

They won’t. They’re not so stupid, he thought, but even as the thought crossed his mind he knew there had to be a limit to willful delusion. They’re probably not so stupid. But they won’t come. They must think I’m dead. Someone must have seen me get shot. 

It was what he wanted to believe, sure enough. The best possible scenario: not one member of the crew would die for his sake, not because they didn’t care but because they didn’t know he was alive. He could go with that, hold onto that thought until the trapdoor opened beneath him and he hung by the neck for a crowd of cunts in Kingston.

Or maybe they know, and still won’t come. 

Enough. Don’t go there.

Izzy shook his head, trying to dispel the thought, and tried to shift on the bed. He was still sluggish, much too warm, and whatever the ship surgeon gave him must have worn off, because his bandaged wound was hurting like a bitch. But he was alive, mind passably clear, so it looked like the fever was not going to do him in after all. 

Bit of a pity, that. He’d have loved to stop being a chess piece in Prince Cunty’s hands.

Izzy groaned and let his head drop back on the pillow, staring at the ceiling. What time was it? What day was it, how long had he been out? He had absolutely no idea. He could tell he was still really fucking thirsty and now also really fucking hungry, but he had probably pissed Noseless off enough he’d leave him to--

“What are you doing here?”

A voice on the other side of the door, barely muffled. Izzy craned his neck to look at it, not too surprised to find there were officers standing outside it, too. There was another voice, lower, more mumbled.

“Ugh, so we’re feeding him now?”

“Guess little Prince Ricky doesn’t want to hang a corpse in Kingston. Let him through.”

The door opened, and some kid walked in, closing the door behind him. Well, not quite a kid, but not a man either. The uniform didn’t quite fit him right, he had pimples across both cheeks, and was avoiding his gaze. He was carrying a tray with a glass of water and some bread. Izzy sneered.

“Do I get my own maid now?” he muttered, and the boy looked up. 

“I’m no maid,” he protested, with a thick yet annoyingly familiar accent Izzy could place in three seconds flat. Look at that, all this way from London - another dweller of the city’s shit pits beyond the Tower. “I’m--”

“A powder monkey,” Izzy cut him off, and the boy flushed red. 

“I’m learning to be a seaman--”

“And until you do, you’re the monkey fetching gunpowder on the ship. Now give me the tray or fuck off.”

A sharp intake of breath, and for a second the brat looked like he could cry, but in the end he placed the tray on the bed, where Izzy could reach with his free hand, and quickly stepped back. They had told him he was dangerous, more likely than not, but even if he’d been in any condition to harm him, Izzy couldn’t be bothered. 

All he could do now was make an effort to sit up as much as the manacle and his wound allowed, grab the glass of water, and drink. His parched throat almost spasmed, but he forced himself to swallow and then drank more, to the last drop. Maybe seeing him drinking so desperately made him look less dangerous, after all, because the monkey gathered the courage to speak out, standing to his full height. 

It was not a lot, but it wasn’t like Izzy was the one to speak there. 

“I’ll have you know,” he declared, trying and failing to imitate the way of speaking of much higher class officers, “that my duties on the ship take skill.”

“No, they don’t,” Izzy replied, grabbing the piece of bread and biting into it. It was stale and rubbery, but he’d take it. He heard the monkey’s protests over his own chewing. 

“What would you know!”

“That’s how I started out,” he replied through his mouthful, and swallowed. “A powder monkey on the HMS Riptide.”

“Ah.” A pause, a little uncertain. Izzy had time enough to chew and swallow another couple of bites before he spoke again. “I heard some men say you used to be in the Navy.”

“... It was a long time ago.”

“Then what happened?”

Izzy didn’t reply right away. Another bite, and the bread was gone. Hunger was somewhat quelled, but the thirst sure as hell was not. “If you want the tale, get me more water,” he said. “Or you can fuck off.”

A scowl, and the monkey want to take the tray, once again stupidly skittish for someone dealing with a bed-bound man who’d been deliriously feverish until that morning, with a hole in his gut, missing a leg, and with a wrist manacled to the bed frame. He hesitated a moment, glancing at the pitcher on a table at the far side of the room… then set his jaw and marched to the door, not sparing him a second look. 

How easily offended, kids those days.

Izzy leaned back with a groan, closed his eyes, and tried to sleep. Listening to the rain helped, to some degree; it kept his mind from wandering to the crew, what they may be doing, whether they may be foolish enough to return and fall right into a trap. 

And it kept it from memories of a very long time ago, when he’d looked up at Captain Benjamin Hornigold and - still tied to the mast, back a bloody mess from the interrupted flogging, the corpses of his comrades littering the deck - he’d asked if he happened to be hiring.

***

[Back to Part 1]

#ofmd #our flag means death #izzy hands #edward teach #stede bonnet #crew of the revenge #lost unicorn

[ourflagmeansdeath-kinkmeme]

Gen or Any/Izzy, Izzy + Crew — 5+1, Izzy is a Total Mom

5 times Izzy was a total mom to the crew (and they were too dumbfounded to appreciate it) + 1 time the crew thanks him for it (and accidentally invents Mother's Day).

Some potential ideas: * Izzy has snacks on him, like all the time. Feeling faint? Having a low blood sugar attack? Just in the mood for something to nosh on? He's got you covered. Nobody knows where in the hell the snacks come from, seeing as the man wears skintight leather with no visible pockets, but nobody is complaining. * Caretaking. Izzy is just about the least squeamish person on the face of the earth, and has no qualms sponge-bathing crew members too sick/weak to wash themselves, handling chamber pots, or dealing with anything relating to vomit. * Izzy singing to a crew member that's had a nightmare. * Soccer Mom Izzy in charge of a group excursion to teach the crew how to swim. * Izzy tending to minor injuries the crew's suffered, like rope burns and scraped knees. He's 100% the type to try and distract from the pain by telling horror stories about injuries that he's suffered, which only works about 25% of the time. The other 75% it just freaks people out more.

This list is by no means exhaustive! It's just some suggestions.

Fill: None Rec: Pride [General | No Pairings (Background Canon Pairings)]

#C: Israel “Izzy” Hands #C: Revenge Crew #P: General | No Pairing #P: Israel “Izzy” Hands x Any #T: Caretaking #T: Food #T: Singing #T: Injury #T: Israel “Izzy” Hands Learning To Be Part Of The Crew #Fill: None

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Ed/Izzy, Izzy & Crew — Everyone is more affectionate to a touch-starved Iz, Ed is jealous/possessive

Everyone's together again. Ed and Stede have reconciled and the crew have grown more sympathetic of Izzy after learning more about him.

In an attempt to start over, the crew, now recognizing Izzy's heartbreak and desire for companionship, have taken to being kinder to him, inviting him to their fold and giving him more friendly touches. Surprisingly, Izzy takes to it like a bird to the skies, having been touch-starved for so long with only Ed and the occasional violence to go off on. He's kinder now, in as much as Izzy can be. Character growth abound for everyone.

And Ed realizes how he suddenly wants Izzy all to himself again. How dare Izzy let other people touch him when he only used to go to Ed for comfort and the friendliest touch. How dare other people touch what's been his for so long.

+ Stede and the crew gently remind Ed that Izzy is his own person. That nothing's stopping Ed from showing his own affection alongside everyone else. + Izzy.exe short-circuited on the first kind touch from the crew. Now, he can't get enough. (He still bites tho.) + Endgame Steddy Hands is peak outcome

Fill: None

#C: Israel “Izzy” Hands #C: Revenge Crew #C: Edward Teach | Blackbeard #P: General | No Pairing #T: Jealousy #T: Touch Starved #T: Israel “Izzy” Hands Learning To Be Part Of The Crew #Fill: None

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Izzy & Revenge crew — Ed beats Izzy within an inch of his life, the entire crew threatens to mutiny

Stede's back with everyone else but while Ed's gone back to before the split, the Kraken's never really left him.

The crew are wary of him, more so when they see Izzy almost afraid of being in the same room as Ed despite still being loyal. Stede, for his part, have taken to forgiving Ed near instantly even when hearing about what happened to Lucius and Izzy. 'Positive reinforcement' and forgiveness taken to a near toxic degree.

When Izzy disagrees with Ed at some point Ed snaps and takes out all his buried anger on Izzy. Everyone is horrified and intervene but when Stede looks like he's about to brush it off or defend Ed, or imply that everyone needs to get along, the crew realize it's a them vs. the captains situation at this point.

They threaten a mutiny or a mass quitting if the captains don't get their shit together and actually take care of the crew as they should. That Izzy, at the very least, deserves an apology.

+ Doesn't have to be dark!Ed, but he's got major anger issues that he still feels Izzy deserves. Stede's got a blindside when it comes to Ed, and his forced positivity isn't helping. Recognizing guilt and reconciliation with Izzy is a bonus! + The crew as a family and somehow Izzy's a part of them now. Healing & trauma recovery time!

Fill: None

#TW: Violence #C: Edward Teach | Blackbeard #C: Israel “Izzy” Hands #C: Revenge Crew #P: General | No Pairing #T: Kraken Edward Teach | Blackbeard #T: Bad Guy Edward Teach | Blackbeard #T: Arguments #T: Mutiny #T: Found Family #T: Israel “Izzy” Hands Learning To Be Part Of The Crew #Fill: None

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Izzy & the Crew — Izzy got some of the kids in the divorce

Once the dust settles a bit, Ed is no longer Mr Popular with anyone who isn't named Stede Bonnet.

The Muppets who got stuck on the Revenge have a bone to pick with Stede (Archie doesn't know him from Adam, but takes her cues from Jim).

The Stede half of the Muppets are baffled to find that Jim, Archie, Frenchie and Fang (possibly also Lucius once he's read in) are suddenly closing ranks around Izzy. Wait? We like him now?

I'm just loving the emerging scenario where some of the kids side with the stepparent's ex in the divorce.

Fill: None

#C: Israel “Izzy” Hands #C: Frenchie #C: Fang #C: Jim Jimenez #C: Archie #C: Revenge Crew #P: General | No Pairing #T: Found Family #T: Israel “Izzy” Hands Learning To Be Part Of The Crew #Fill: None

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Stede/Ed/Izzy or Gen — Izzy whump, self-harm-ish, Intricate Rituals™ go horribly wrong

Basically, take the "Izzy cannot accept affection unless he's literally at death's door" trope and make it angsty.

Izzy gets a middling-bad injury during a raid and the classic "Stede/Ed/the crew take care of him" plot ensues. The problem is that he cannot mentally justify that kind of physical closeness and emotional intimacy without the plausible deniability of it being solely for medical treatment. He might not fully be able to articulate it or be aware that that's what's happening, but he starts craving that kind of care and acting in a way that makes it more frequent.

Of course he can't hurt himself – that would make it too obvious that it's something he wants – but if he's just really reckless? If he goes belowdecks without backup or takes on three enemies at once or throws himself directly in front of a bullet meant for someone else, and then requires care afterwards? That's just him doing his job.

Maybe some of the crew notices, but Izzy's fifty-six years old and missing a toe, so him getting injured more than he used to isn't that suspicious.

And then something happens where he is actually life-threateningly injured and the wounds are infected, and while delirious with fever, he in some way admits why he's been doing it.

(Full disclosure, I am thinking deeply about this passage in an essay by Kent Brintnall: "In the war film, a soldier can hold his buddy – as long as his buddy is dying on the battlefield. In the western, Butch Cassidy can wash the Sundance Kid’s naked flesh – as long as it is wounded. In the boxing film, a trainer can rub the well-developed torso and sinewy back of his protege – as long as it is bruised. In the crime film, a mob lieutenant can embrace his boss like a lover – as long as he is riddled with bullets. Violence makes the homoeroticism of many “male” genres invisible; it is a structural mechanism of plausible deniability.")

DNW: Permanent injury like losing limbs, or for Izzy to be treated like he's manipulating or betraying the crew. It's tragic and pitiable but not evil.

Fill: None

#TW: Violence #TW: Self Harm #C: Israel “Izzy” Hands #P: General | No Pairing #P: Edward Teach | Blackbeard x Stede Bonnet x Israel “Izzy” Hands #T: Injury #T: Caretaking #T: Israel “Izzy” Hands Learning To Be Part Of The Crew #Fill: None

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Stedyhands/Gen — Izzy takes vow of silence

After a particularly bad week of Izzy yelling at the crew, and the crew not listening and causing problems - Stede makes a bet with Izzy that he can’t be silent for a week in order to get him to both rest his voice and stop yelling at the crew.

The crew learns to appreciate why Izzy yells, Stede and Ed realize they miss his nagging, Izzy learns that sometimes breaks can be good?

Fill: None

#C: Stede Bonnet #C: Israel “Izzy” Hands #C: Revenge Crew #P: General | No Pairing #P: Edward Teach | Blackbeard x Stede Bonnet x Israel “Izzy” Hands #T: Challenges | Competitions #T: Israel “Izzy” Hands Learning To Be Part Of The Crew #Fill: None

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Gen — Izzy digs himself further into a hole

Every time a crew member asks Izzy a personal question, he lies sarcastically - unaware they think he is serious. So overtime they believe all the ludicrous things he says and he eventually has to keep track of it all and it bites him in the ass because he doesn’t want to admit he lied because he cares now. Eventually someone puts it all together with one of those crazy mystery obsession boards and the crew has a meeting.

Ed is trying to be a good bro and stay out of it but is also just standing by and watching this all go down and is both deeply amused and horrified.

Fill: None

#C: Israel “Izzy” Hands #C: Revenge Crew #P: General | No Pairing #T: Miscommunication #T: Misunderstandings #T: Passive Aggressive Israel “Izzy” Hands #T: Israel “Izzy” Hands Learning To Be Part Of The Crew #Fill: None

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Blackhands/Gen/Steddyhands — Izzy unmasks

Ed has forgotten that he isn’t the only one to wear a mask. Or Izzy has been trying to keep himself safe for so long he has lost his true self. As he finally starts to relax on the Revenge, shades of who he really is start coming out.

Or Izzy learns it’s safe to unmask, the crew learns to love who Izzy actually is, and Ed reflects on their relationship.

Fill: None

#C: Edward Teach | Blackbeard #C: Israel “Izzy” Hands #P: General | No Pairing #P: Edward Teach | Blackbeard x Israel “Izzy” Hands #P: Edward Teach | Blackbeard x Stede Bonnet x Israel “Izzy” Hands #T: Israel “Izzy” Hands Learning To Be Part Of The Crew #Fill: None

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Izzy & Everyone — The entire crew fake their death as a prank on Izzy, it backfires, crying, comfort

The entirety of the Revenge crew (minus Ed's) plan a fuckery to prank Izzy into believing they've died. Then when Izzy celebrates their demise they'd reveal that they're alive and well and laugh when Izzy get mad.

Only, to everyone's surprise, Izzy doesn't react in joy and relief at finally being rid of them. To everyone's horror he cries, heartbroken at a chance of settling in with these new people he thinks could've been his new family outside of Ed.

Turns out he's been trying to fit in the past few months, has been significantly more mellow with them and downright apologizing for his past actions. No one noticed because they've always been pushing Izzy away throughout all that.

Izzy's still his prickly asshole self ofc but now that they think about it, it just seems to be his baseline.

+ Any/Izzy ship goes with the crew coming out to comfort and reassure Izzy! Izzy cries some more & a hug hug pile happens maybe.

Fill: The Funniest Of Jokes

#C: Israel “Izzy” Hands #C: Revenge Crew #P: General | No Pairing #P: Israel “Izzy” Hands x Any #T: Pranks #T: Hurt Comfort #T: Emotional Breakdowns #T: Art of Fuckery #T: Israel “Izzy” Hands Learning To Be Part Of The Crew #T: Cuddling #Fill: Complete #General | No Pairings Fills

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Stede/Ed/Izzy & Crew — The crew back Izzy up when he has a fight w/ the captains, insecurities

While things have improved after the reunion, the co-Captains and Izzy still have so many grievances and hurts with each other. Many of their altercations are the cause of both parties, more often than not leaning towards Izzy's antagonistic nature and the unspoken trauma between him and Ed.

The crew tend to side with the captains during these fights, more out of bias against Izzy than not. Stede and Ed had come to rely on this in their interactions with him. That despite their faults, the crew would always put their words above the First Mate.

Until an argument after a particularly bad day gets out of hand.

The captains are on the offensive, maybe even bringing up the topic of worth and questioning Izzy's place on the ship. Vicious in the way they've grown used to the hierarchy. And Izzy's tired. Tired from the past few months, tired of never having been able to truly recover from that ordeal physically and emotionally. Tired of being alone on the ship with no one on his side. And the worst part, that a lot of his points in their many arguments have been valid.

The crew realize this when they see how bad Izzy is off. And, to everyone's surprise, they back him up versus the captains. Crew is crew and Izzy's done his part in earning their trust.

Stede/Ed get mad that the crew are taking Izzy's side until they realize how shitty that mindset was. On top of that they realize that maybe they do have feelings for Izzy after all.

Fill: None

#C: Edward Teach | Blackbeard #C: Israel “Izzy” Hands #C: Stede Bonnet #C: Revenge Crew #P: Edward Teach | Blackbeard x Stede Bonnet x Israel “Izzy” Hands #P: General | No Pairing #T: Arguments #T: Bullying #T: Self Esteem Issues #T: Israel “Izzy” Hands Learning To Be Part Of The Crew #Fill: None

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Previous Ed/Izzy, Lucius/Pete/Izzy — Trans!Mpreg

Ed got Izzy pregnant (dub con max, not non con), but doesn't really have an attachment to Izzy or the child.

For whatever reason, despite knowing Ed has no interest in being a father, Izzy decides to keep the baby. He doesn't know why, he doesn't know how he's going to accomplish it, but Izzy knows one thing - he wants to be a good parent to his child.

Lucius and Black Pete see a new side to Izzy, as he struggles to work through his emotions, figuring he should at least practice being nice to people. They take him under their wing as the stress of pregnancy takes its toll, and the camaraderie slowly turns into romance.

Lucius and Pete really admire Izzy for all his ability to change. Izzy is obviously grateful to them for their help, but even more than that - he finds he can relax and laugh with Lucius and Pete, that romance doesn't need to feel like life or death. He starts to remember his love of actually sailing, when he listens to how badly Pete longs to be a pirate. He appreciates Lucius's raw honesty and boldness. When the baby comes, Izzy has two men more than happy to stay by his side. Well... Pete may actually be passed out on the floor, but the sentiment remains the same.

Bonuses: + Pete is also trans, so he bonds with Izzy over that, and can really empathize with how hard it must be for Izzy to have a baby. + Lucius is still poly, maybe has a bit of a side thing with Fang, but very much loves Izzy and Pete. Pete may have done it before, but he's feeling pretty emotionally and romantically fulfilled with Izzy and Lucius. + Pete loses his idol worship for Ed when he sees how he treats what any other pirate would die for- a first mate like Izzy Hands. + Izzy in labor, waffling between wanting to keep his labor a complete secret from Ed, and also wanting someone to drag Ed in so that Izzy can throw shit at him for making him give birth.

Fill: None

#C: Israel “Izzy” Hands #C: Black Pete #C: Lucius Spriggs #P: Israel “Izzy” Hands x Black Pete #P: Israel “Izzy” Hands x Lucius Spriggs #P: Lucius Spriggs x Black Pete #T: Gender Swap #T: Israel “Izzy” Hands Learning To Be Part Of The Crew #K: Male Pregnancy #Transgender Israel “Izzy” Hands #Fill: None

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Stede/Ed/Izzy, Izzy & Crew — He's all bark and no bite to people he gives a shit about, friendship

As much as Izzy liked to threaten bodily harm and death to the crew (and Stede) it's only several months after everyone's back together that they truly realize how harmless Izzy can be to people he doesn't give a shit about.

He used to redirect the Kraken's anger unto himself, would push people around but never actually hurt them, and for all the times he threatens Stede he's usually the first one to jump between an attack aimed for the captain. Ed has always known how harmless he can be to the right people and now everyone else is starting to get it.

It all really clicks into place when they see how Izzy interacts with people he loathes. Not even Stede, who'd gotten the brunt of Izzy's meltdown-induced violence, could've expected the sheer brutality and asshole energy Izzy can dredge up for someone he doesn't give a shit about.

TLDR; Izzy cares, the crew comes to terms with that fact.

Fill: None

#C: Israel “Izzy” Hands #C: Revenge Crew #P: General | No Pairing #P: Edward Teach | Blackbeard x Stede Bonnet x Israel “Izzy” Hands #T: Found Family #T: Feral Israel “Izzy” Hands #T: Israel “Izzy” Hands Learning To Be Part Of The Crew #Fill: None

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Gen, Izzy + Crew — Nobody's Perfect, But That Doesn't Mean You Can't Learn From One Another

Izzy isn't the perfect pirate. Nobody is claiming that he is--not even Izzy himself. Still, he has more experience than most of the crew combined... and there's a lot that they could learn from him, if they were willing to meet him halfway.

There's a lot he can learn from them, too.

A reverse 5+1 (1+5?) that begins with the Crew listening and learning from Izzy... and turns into Izzy listening to and learning from the crew.

Fill: None

#C: Israel “Izzy” Hands #C: Revenge Crew #P: General | No Pairing #T: Teaching Someone Something #T: Israel “Izzy” Hands Learning To Be Part Of The Crew #Fill: None

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Izzy & Crew, Ed/Izzy — Izzy threatens to quit, crew surprisingly doesn't want him to go

Months after the reunion and of Ed acting like the Kraken never happened, Izzy's had enough and calls him out on the one-sided loyalty between them and quits.

Izzy's been trying to make things right and have apologized to everyone on the ship. Ed, for his part, have given the crew candid apologies, and as insincere as they've been, at least they got something. Ed hasn't so much acknowledged his part in his and Izzy's rough relationship and would often revert back into threats to keep him in line.

After another callous remark or two from Ed, he finally gives his resignation. To everyone's surprise, Stede and the crew have grown fond of him and want him to stay.

Ed reconsiders his own actions and feelings towards Izzy and Izzy, in turn, acknowledges that he has a family outside of Ed and is his own person.

+ Crew & Izzy friendship hours!!! Just a lot of Izzy interacting with and bonding with the crew (whether he likes it or not). + Can be endgame Steddyhands!

Fill: None

#C: Edward Teach | Blackbeard #C: Israel “Izzy” Hands #C: Revenge Crew #P: General | No Pairing #P: Edward Teach | Blackbeard x Israel “Izzy” Hands #T: Found Family #T: Israel “Izzy” Hands Learning To Be Part Of The Crew #Fill: None