Thread by @fabuLizSup

Izzy was 36 and angry. He had spent 20 years working for the British Navy, watching rich twats with fancy educations make shit decisions with the sole goal of advancing the officer's careers, nary a thought to danger posed to their sailors by their orders.

And all of this for wages that hadn't increased since before Izzy'd joined. So when pirates boarded the ship he was on, Izzy figured it was as good a time as any to vent his frustration with the officers whose careless "leadership" had put them in this situation to begin with.

~~~
Edward was 27 and ambitious. He'd only been sailing for 15 years but he had been born on a beach and raised by the docks, so by the time he first set foot on the deck of a ship he already knew more about the sea than he did about himself. Once he was on the open water his

understanding of the sea and her moods and tells continued to rapidly outpace that of his own. His brilliant and restless mind had him learning everything there was to know about sailing at faster than anyone any of his crew mates had ever known. Ranks weren't as formal on pirate

ships as they were for merchant and naval vessels, but Edward shot up through whatever there were, becoming de facto leader of the crew, especially as discontent with the actual captain grew. It was Ed's charisma that him to lead a bloodless mutiny, becoming captain at only 21.

In the 6 years of his captaincy, Ed had continued to learn & grow in both knowledge & confidence, becoming one of the most brilliant maritime strategists on the seven seas. So when a sole naval ship was wandered into his sights far from the usual trade routes, Ed didn't hesitate.

Ed liked leading boarding parties. A raid's first moments are filled with chaos, and chaos is full of opportunities; one only had to be sharp enough to see them and quick enough to seize them. Most days Ed was the sharpest, quickest man on whatever ship he was on. Most days.

September 1, 1697 was not most days. The ship was still chaotic, but Ed could tell just from how the bodies lied that someone had already seen Opportunity in it and seized her helm.

Fascinating.

Out of the corner his eye, Ed caught sight of a blur of movement. He maimed his

opponent & turned to get a better look. A petty officer was fighting his own superiors, & he looked GOOD doing it. Oh, the seaman'S slops were baggy, his long dark hair was shaggy & falling out of its queue, his broad frame was underfed and his face was covered in grime & sweat.

But the way he /moved/! He had a sleek gracefulness that brought to mind for Ed a dolphin leaping and swimming in the wake of a ship, but he fought with the ferocity of a crocodile.

It was captivating. Ed thought he might want to watch this man fight for the rest of his life.

~~~
The battle was the shortest Izzy had ever been in, although in retrospect that's probably because he was no longer following the orders of posh knobs whose rank had everything to do with who their families were or knew and nothing to do with their naval acumen or lack thereof

Once Izzy heard the cry of surrender he found a crate to sit on & began cleaning the blood off his sword. He didn't look up, instead eyes continually scanned the deck for any approaching threats.

Two worn black leather boots headed towards him so Izzy looked up.

Izzy could only assume the man approaching him was Adonis reincarnated. His golden skin shimmered w a light sheen of sweat; his hair was full of lustrous black waves; he had the start of a beard, but it was still short enough that it didn't hide his strong jaw or high cheekbones.

"you always fight your own officers?" Adonis asked by way of greeting.
"Only when they're conceited morons about to get me & my crew mates killed."
"I see. What's your name?"
"Hands"
"Shake?" Adonis extended his arm. Izzy rolled his eyes which made Adonis smile& his eyes sparkle

Izzy grasps his hand in a firm shake. "I'm Ed. Well, Captain Edward Teach."
Izzy raised a brow, "petty officer Israel learns."
That startled a laugh out of Ed, which made Izzy blush.
"That was a hell of a show out there mate. Assuming you can avoid any future captain stabbing

we could use a man like you on our crew. Whaddya say to becoming a pirate?"
"Sounds better than getting hanged for mutiny."
"I thought you seemed smart. Go get your stuff while I finish up here. Then I'll walk you over and show you around your new home."

This ending feels unsatisfying to me but also I already wrote them living HEA so like maybe I'm expecting too much of myself. Anyway #HappyEdIzzyWeek ! I rolled a 1 so this is my fill for #awestruck

@threadreaderapp unroll