'Ed feels something in his chest, something resembling fondness. He doesn’t know why, he doesn’t even know this guy’s name. And yet, Ed had spent the better part of the last few days thinking of the rich man crying in the rage room, making up stories in his head to justify his presence, his anger, his sadness.'
I mean... it was only a matter of time until I rec'd a novel-length Our Flag Means Death (OFMD) fic.
I am trash. We know this, and we love it (...hopefully.) 😅😈😎
If you haven't watched OFMD yet... Gay pirates and Taika Waititi as Blackbeard. #JustSaying.
This week's fic is a modern AU, set in the USA.
And while I'm uncomfortable with actual, real, people appearing in fanfiction, there's only like two or three actual historical figures in OFMD, and I can guarantee that this show is more like historical fiction than any academic despiction of reality.
So, OFMD is 100% available for AUs in any way, shape, or form, as far as I'm concerned!
(Fandom notes:
AU = Alternate Universe. A universe which is alternate, some may say.)
The basic schtick here is that Ed runs a 'rage room' where people pay to break stuff for a set period of time - let off some steam, team bonding time, whatever.
It is - and this is genius, I love it - named Blackbeard's Breakery.
Blackbeard's Breakery. I can't even. It's amazing! 😂😂😂
(...your fave Fluid blogger is Bi today, and the puns are winning, OK? I'm about one purple lighting sequence away from doing finger guns 😅)
Anywho, one day this really rich-looking dude comes in - not the sort of dude that Ed is used to seeing.
And... there's something about him OK? His weird just seems to chime with Ed's weird.
But... he's just so sad.
(And pretty. He's kind of pretty. Clearly got a lot of issues but... he's pretty, OK?)
Stede Bonnet is dealing with... a lot.
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| Via Giphy |
His marriage is loveless, everyone thinks he's Gay for some reason (...strange that 😅,) he doesn't seem to fit in anywhere, and despite working for the family firm, he pretty much gets the exact opposite of preferential treatment at work.
In fact, his father seems to actively encourage the Badminton brothers to treat him like... well, his co-workers are not nice people. They are especially not nice people to Stede.
His life is not happy. But... he's OK, right? He just needs... something.
So he wanders into Blackbeard's one day. And then another day. And another day...
Argh, the angst in this one is so good!
My emo spaghetti goblin brain was swimming in it!
Don't get me wrong - there's plenty of sweetness and light and bright vibrant flashes of hope in there but... argh! The angst!
There are some Tough Topics™ in this one.
(So pay attention to the Content Warnings when I list them below, OK? OK.)
In my oh-so humble opinion, it's done extremely well - but it's pretty damned heart-breaking in places. And the Depression felt... pretty real, in a lot of places.
That's part of why I loved it.
Look, I read Angsty fanfiction as self-care.
I know a lot of people won't understand that, because they haven't been there.
But it works for me, and I'm sure I'm not the only nerd out there whose emo goblin spaghetti brain howls for some sweet, sweet, angst.
And this is sweet angst - on the My Chemical Romance emo scale, this is very much on the 'I'm Not Okay (Trust Me)' meets 'Vampires Will Never Hurt You' vibes.
(She said, hoping that everyone (anyone) else also understands the MCR emo scale. 😅)
Quick shout-out to Stede's obscure music blog!
I love how much he loves it - the fic author has actually linked all the songs Stede talks about, but I was reading on my eReader, so I haven't checked them out.
I also love the way the fic author manages to fit in various other OFMD characters - so well done!
A lot of Content Warnings - please pay attention!:
- suicidal ideation/planning, verging on a suicide attempt
- Depression, mental health issues/symptoms
- MH hospitalisation
- Homophobia
- Homophobic assault
- bullying, including workplace bullying
- drug/alcohol abuse, addiction, relapse
- child abuse - emotional, physical
- abuse of grown-up child - emotional, financial, physical
- emotional neglect
- assault
- foster care system
- gaslighting
- grief and bereavement
- brief inclusion of terminal cancer
- reference to murder/manslaughter
- lots of family issues
...I think that's everything, but PLEASE be careful!!! This fic covers so many difficult topics, and it's very possible that I've missed something.
This week's fic, then, is:
The Art of (Smashing) Crockery by PhantomEllie
What do you make of the 'rage room' idea?
Do you understand the MCR Angst scale? 😅
Talk to me! 😊💬
Related Reading:
Sharing and commenting is uber-awesome!
I don't know OFMD but Blackbeard! :) I don't usually like real people in fanfic either, but I might make an exception for Baclkbeard heh
ReplyDeleteTaika Waititi's Blackbeard is amazing! XD If you get chance, give OFMD a go - Blackbeard turns up about 3 or 4 eps in
DeleteI watched OFMD about a month ago! It was so great, hilarious and I loved Stede.
ReplyDeleteIt's taking up precious real estate in my head ;) I love this whole show so much!!! :)
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