Mary Read
| Character | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Mary Read / Mark Read / James Kidd |
| Occupation: | |
| Relationships: | |
| Fandom: | Assassin's Creed, Fate/Grand Order, Black Sails |
| Other: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Mary Read, a.k.a. Mark Read is a historical figure who appears as a character in multiple fandoms.
Assassin's Creed canon
Mary Read (c. 1685 – 1721) was an English pirate and member of the West Indies Brotherhood of Assassins, trained by the Mentor Ah Tabai. She was also one of the founders of the Pirate Republic of Nassau. In order to facilitate her career as a pirate, she presented as James Kidd, an illegitimate son of the late William Kidd. In 1715, Read became friends with Edward Kenway and helped him out several times, eventually revealing to him that "James Kidd" was a disguise.
Mary and Anne Bonny later formed a pirate crew with Jack Rackham, and in 1720 were captured and tried for piracy. Mary and Anne were set to be executed but were temporarily pardoned when they revealed they were both pregnant. Mary gave birth to a girl while in prison. However, in accordance with the pardon, her child was taken away, and Mary became ill due to the prison's unsanitary conditions.
The two women were soon rescued by Edward and Ah Tabai, who successfully infiltrated the prison and took out the guards stationed inside. Despite this, Mary was too ill to leave, even with Edward's insistence. With her dying breath, Mary asked him to redeem himself for her sake, and said she would always be with him. Refusing to leave her behind, Edward carried her body to Ah Tabai's boat, and she was taken to Tulum for burial.[1]
Assassin's Creed fandom
Popular ships include Kiddway and Anne Bonny/Mary Read. A number of fans interpret the character as a trans man or nonbinary person.[2][3][4]
Give me genderfluid James Kidd who likes to go out as a women at night and fight as a man at days. Give me trans James Kidd who not only dresses as a man to be a pirate but actually is one despite the fact his mother gave him the name Mary Read. Give me Edward Kenway falling in love with James Kidd and after finding out he’s actually Mary Read asking her to stay James when they make out because that’s the one he fell in love with, and James happily complying. Give me James Kidd rescuing pretty ladies and hot male pirates (because he likes bootie, no matter what kind). Give me James Kidd not giving a fuck about gender and sexuality and just enjoying the hella awesome life as a pirate.[5]
James is so fantastic in that she can be either gender on call, blend in when needed. She treats society like a plaything. In the game, it seems like she's a crossdresser, out of convenience, and enjoyment. Historically, it sounds more like Mary was trans, or at least bigendered.[6]
Fannish links
- Mary Read works on AO3
- #mary read on Tumblr
References
- ^ Mary Read on AC Wikia
- ^ https://lidren.tumblr.com/post/179200982058/james-kidd-was-pansexual-trans-male
- ^ http://perkigothii-geekius.tumblr.com/post/162444577397/i-absolutely-headcanon-acblack-flags-version-of
- ^ http://ghoulroyalty.tumblr.com/post/123686524109/okay-but-consider-this-gender-fluid-james-kidd
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20181206230256/http://madgirlwithanxbox.tumblr.com/post/73995249755/give-me-genderfluid-james-kidd-who-likes-to-go-out. Archived from the original on 2018-12-06.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ Something Is True: Chapter 4 (Pause) by MasterSeimei. November 11, 2013