cufeilidh

[cufeilidh]

Ed.

I did a Twitter poll on who to paint next and Blackbeard won. I started well and got distracted by his eyes and I’m sorry, but also not sorry.

[cufeilidh]

Thinking this morning about how Ed handles breakups.

I still hear a lot of talk about how Stede and Izzy bear equal responsibility for Ed's Kraken spiral, and I just don't think that's a fair take. Bearing in mind that we know both that Stede is the first man Ed's ever been in love with and Stede left him with no warning or explanation immediately after their first kiss and deciding to run away together, and it would be understandable if Ed was especially torn up about it considering those factors, Ed handles the breakup by:

making a blanket fort

wearing his ex's clothes

indulging in sweet treats he likes

writing lyrics as a creative emotional outlet

seeking support from those around him (you could argue that he's potentially self-isolating, but given how we're shown Izzy acting like his heartbreak is shameful and obviously trying to keep people away even when they ask for him, I don't think it's a fair assumption)

being vulnerable and sharing his art, seeking out support and validation

trying to engage in community

he allows his space to become messy, which is uncharacteristic behavior from him, and happily cleans up as soon as he feels up to the task. his personal hygiene remains perfectly fine, however, and his hair looks just as perfect as ever

Like, genuinely, he's doing good. I have personally handled better breakups way worse than this. Ed is not only visibly feeling better throughout the episode, he's also refused to allow Stede leaving to take away the desire he's starting to feel to get to act more like himself. He's still determined and hopeful to get to be himself.

It's only after we see Izzy threaten him and make him feel that he is not allowed to have that hope that Ed's behavior becomes truly unhealthy. This is the only point we see him drinking and doing drugs to excess, to the point where other characters comment on it and he's visibly wobbly on his feet.

I don't think it's fair to look at Ed's post-breakup behavior and argue that he's bad at breakups or that the whole Kraken thing can just be reduced down to a "bad breakup." He was doing damn good, and honestly considering the circumstances, I think how well he handled it is further proof that Ed is really quite emotionally stable and difficult to drive to extremes.

[cufeilidh]

📢 OFMD fan creators of all types 📢

Want to collab with like minded people but don't know where to start? You can use this spreadsheet to let others know you are open to collabs, and to search for people who you might work well with

Please share far and wide!

[cufeilidh]

I ask this with shame: Please donate a small amount that may save my father's life,only 55€ left to buy my father's treatment, his doctor's appointment is tomorrow, please do not ignore my message and do not hesitate to help me❤️‍🩹

Account No. 10 due to repeated deletion😭

🛑I am having difficulty communicating, please donate or share.🫂

✅verified by: @gaza-evacuation-funds

I'm so sorry things have gotten so bad. Hopefully a few more people can see this post and help out <3

[cufeilidh]

12/15-16/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR: David Jenkins; Rhys Darby; Taika Waititi; Nathan Foad; Leslie Jones; Vico Ortiz; Samson Kayo; Kristin Schaal; Madeleine Sami; Guz Khan; Adopt Our Crew and Save Queer Stories; Fan Spotlight: TinyCrewBigRaffle Updates; Our Glad Means Fanfiction; Never Left Podcast; OFMD Advent Calendar; Loves Notes;

= David Jenkins =

Annnnnnd Chaos Dad is back to his old vendettas against cats!

Source: David Jenkins Bsky

= Rhys Darby =

Rhys was featured in Beat Magazine for his upcoming tour!

Source: Rhys Darby's Instagram

= Taika Waititi =

Taika out in AUS or Aotearoa!

Source: Instagram

= Nathan Foad =

Nathan shared this video made by ourflagonmax about Lucius.. with the message "miss him :')". We do too Nathan!! I attached the video down below!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Our Flag Means Death (@ourflagonmax)

Source: Our Flag On Max

= Leslie Jones =

Leslie is currently in Italy! She's been posting great videos that you can check out on her Instagram!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Leslie Jones (@lesdogggg)

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A post shared by Leslie Jones (@lesdogggg)

Source: Leslie's Instagram

= Samson Kayo =

Some more Samson out Behind the Scenes of the F1 movie!

Source: Instagram

= Vico Ortiz =

Tale of the Transcestors was live for 12/12 - 12/14! There were so many amazing photos taken, check them out below!

Source: ChloeGlowyFlowy Instagram

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A post shared by Donato Fatuesi (@dfatuesi)

Source: Instagram

Source: Germaine Arroyo Instagram

= Kristen Schaal =

Now I don't feature her too often, but I thought it'd be a good idea for this recap because Kristin Schaal (aka Antoinette from The Best Revenge is Dressing Well, and you may also recognize her as Mel from Flight of the Conchords!) was a big part of the What We Do In The Shadows TV Show which had its finale on the 16th!

Source: K. Schaal's Intagram

= Madeleine Sami =

In case you hadn't heard, Deadloch Season 2 is wrapped! Look at these lovely ladies! Can't wait for the next season!

Source: Madeleine Sami's Instagram

= Guz Khan =

Source: Guz Khan

== Adopt Our Crew - Save Our Queer Stories ==

Our friends over at @adoptourcrew shared the initiative of @savequeerstories! Want to help support our cancelled show (or so many others that were cancelled prematurely) their carrd has some great ways to help! https://actforqueerstories.carrd.co./#action

Source: Adopt Our Crew Twitter

== Fan Spotlight ==

= OFMD Buys Boats =

Some more updates from our friends @ofmd-buys-boats!

Source: OFMD Buys Boats Instagram Stories

= Our Flag Means Fanfiction =

A new podfic episode of Our Flag Means Fanfiction is out --"Up, Down, Turn Around" by Shearwater, and read by Andrew. According to OFMFF, this Andrea's first podfic!

Source: Our Flag Means Fanfiction Instagram

= Never Left Podcast =

New episode of Never Left! This week they're talking about Art! There are some supportive visuals to check out as well!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Never Left (@neverleftpodcast)

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A post shared by Never Left (@neverleftpodcast)

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A post shared by Never Left (@neverleftpodcast)

Source: Never Left Podcast Instagram

= OFMD Advent Calendar =

Another set of Advent Calendar doors by our sweet TillyChMo on @ofmdadventcalendar.bsky.social! The 9th Door Features the fantastic @inkirtis!

The 10th Door features the glorious @clairegregoryau!

The 11th Door features the very sweet @cufeilidh!

Source: OFMDAdventCalendar Bsky

== Love Notes ==

Hey there lovelies, things have been a bit crazy with the holidays going on! Will be catching up as I can-- hope you all are staying safe out there! I am trying to get two recaps out tonight, so this first one will be some other folks love notes for ya <3 Take care!

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A post shared by bailey (@anxiety.positive)

Source: Anxiety Positive Instagram

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A post shared by Dani DiPirro (@positivelypresent)

Source: Positively Present Instagram

[cufeilidh]

Hi lm hamdi lam from Gaza.lam a father for 4 children . our small goal is to reach 2,000€  there is less than 700 € left to reach our goal.please donate!! . We are still suffering from the effects of war and the loss of everything, This amount is not just a number, but a real opportunity to rebuild our lives and Help me complete my children's education and put a smile back on my children Thanks 🙏🏻

All the best to you and your family. Truly hope you all can get back on your feet <3

[cufeilidh]

Hello 👋,

I hope this message finds you well. My name is Aziz, and I’m reaching out with a heartfelt plea to help my family find safety and reunite with our mother. 😞

The ongoing war in Gaza has torn my family apart. My mother and newborn sister are stranded in Egypt, while I, along with the rest of my sex family members, am trapped in the midst of the genocide in Gaza. We have not only been separated but have also lost our home and are enduring unimaginable hardships. 💔

Your support can make a difference. Whether by reading our story, donating, or sharing our campaign with others, you can help us reunite, find safety, and start anew. 🙏🕊

Thank you, from the depths of my heart, for your kindness, compassion, and solidarity during this difficult time. ❤🍉

https://gofund.me/58268669 🔗

I'm so sorry that you and your family are going through this. I truly don't have the words. Hopefully posting this will get your page at least a few extra eyes 🫂

[cufeilidh]

stede approximately 7 hours after meeting ed (they have been talking this whole time): —especially wildflowers cuz i hardly ever saw any. my father’s house—he kept the lawn completely manicured, just this…depressingly plain…… er, plane

ed: a plain plane?

stede, moving his hand back and forth parallel to the ground (to indicate a plane): that’s right, it was—well, it was sort of a…small plain, i guess, landscape-wise, but it—a really plain plane of a plain

ed, following every word of this: sounds like a pain

stede: fuck ugly. all that grass and no bugs!

ed, now sort of seeing the appeal when you phrase it like that but not saying anything bc fuck dads and fuck the rich and also he thinks its hot when stede complains: like a golf course

stede: eerily like a golf course

ed: did y—actually, i’m afraid to ask.

stede: ooh, go on

ed: …did you ever use it at all? like, for…fancy people barbecues, or…?

stede, becoming increasingly irate about it all: not even—we mowed it, is what we did with it. and we had—my father’d got it from his father, it was—he had me using this little—one of those lawnmowers that look like egg beaters, y’know—

ed: awwwgh, the old-timey ones?

stede: like a push-along that also cuts people’s fingers off

ed: did you cut anybody’s fingers off?

stede: i came pretty damn close once

ed: physically or emotionally

stede: emotionally, mostly. i had a wishlist to santa on the line, i wasn’t gonna risk that

ed: you had—hang on, how old were you when this was happening

stede: i think i was about fifteen

ed:

stede: NOBODY TOLD ME!!!

ed: bro

stede: if anything i think my parents kept it going on purpose. so it’s him i’d get upset with

ed: oh you didn’t like santa then

stede: such a relief to learn he’s made up, i thought he hated me

ed: oh no. what??? why? what the fuck’d they do to you??

stede: nothing egregious, just….. every year i’d write to him, and i’d be explicit about what type of thing i definitely didn’t want, and every christmas that’s what he got me. bb guns, boxing gloves, g. i. joe…

ed: :(

stede: …paraphernalia from dad’s alma mater…there was one year i got to the bottom of the stairs and went, “oh god, santa’s fucked it. that’s all clearly meant for someone else.” so every year after that, santa put my name on everything. just to make sure i knew. embossed, sometimes.

ed: aw. mate, if i’m honest, that does strike me as kind of egregious

stede: well, they were nice things

ed: yeah but he knew you didn’t want em and he gave em to you anyway when they could’ve gone to, i dunno, some rough-and-tumble kid who’d be over the moon about a bb gun… what were you hoping for? what did stede want?

stede: i remember the big one i asked for was always a lawnmower

ed:

ed: OHHH yeah to liberate you from the push-along?

stede: all the time i was push-alonging i’d have daydreams about those big rideable ones

ed’s brain (separately from ed): any lawnmower’s rideable if you’re enough of a pervert

ed, internally, to his brain: i cannot fucking say that to him

ed’s mouth, without permission: any lawnmower—

ed:

stede: ?

ed, sweating: an—an-any lawnmower jokes?

stede, face lighting up because nobody’s asked him that before and he’s got half a dozen ready to go: OOH YES HERE’S ONE—

[cufeilidh]

WIP sketch of ed from omfd

[cufeilidh]

personally i'm not inclined to complain too much about ned low shipping in general because given his only real character trait is Torture Guy i figure that can only be an expression of a very specific kink you're not really getting anywhere else in this show so you do you. i am however haunted by the knowledge that i'm aware of ship names for ned/stede and ned/izzy despite the fact that they do not actually directly interact but i have never once seen ned/ed despite the fact that ed is canonically the person ned is fixated on. no purer expression of the Two White Guys phenomenon

[cufeilidh]

alt version of this with fewer layers... the original is more moody which is what i was after, but i like this one too, and you can see more of the sketchy layer underneath

[cufeilidh]

Today I'm thinking about Ed's reaction to the marmalade. No, not about that it's very good. (I wanted a gif of this moment and it was the only one I could find.)

I'm thinking about Ed's face after Stede's "Ship's stores are loaded with it. Had to get rid of some gunpowder, but I think it was the right decision."

Ed is surprised, shocked maybe, but you never get the idea that Ed thinks the load of marmalade is frivolous or a waste of space (as a lot of other characters would!). But Ed's eyes are wide with wonder. Ed is impressed. Ed is fucking inspired. (And a little bit in love already, but that's beside the point.)

Because Ed is a survivor. Ed has built his entire life around surviving, and he's successful at it, he's going grey in a career that tends to cut your life pretty short, he's built this entire act and persona up for the sole purpose of ensuring his safety and survival, and when challenged and threatened later in the series (before he completely loses his will to continue surviving like this) we see Ed throw away anything pleasurable in favour of holding up the sword and shield of Blackbeard and the Kraken.

Ed is a guy who has learned to prioritise survival over anything else. Ed's stores are certainly full of gunpowder, no space for even a jar of marmalade left. Ed lived a life, from young age on, that taught him that he doesn't get to have nice, pleasurable, fun and comforting things. He keeps his one nice comforting scrap hidden away inside his leather armour. He has more money than you can shake a stick at, but he doesn't have any luxuries. He doesn't even have comforts. He has knick-knacks. But he doesn't have soft robes to sleep in, he doesn't have the damn good whiskey Stede keeps in his cabin (although he could easily afford it!), and he certainly doesn't have good marmalade. Ed doesn't treat himself. Ed is a survival guy and he has survival necessities. Ed only has gunpowder. He doesn't have marmalade.

And here comes Stede, with his fancy boat full of fancy things that aren't helpful to survive on the seas. It's a ship full of joyful little pleasures. It's got a library, a nice cozy fireplace, two fucking chandeliers (overkill!), it's stocked with good brandy, and two full closets of nice clothes, and its captain prioritised tasty marmalade for breakfasts over gunpowder for survival.

Because the Revenge isn't built for survival. Stede was done surviving (he'd run away from just surviving). He was probably aware he might not have a long life out on the sea, but Stede didn't come to survive. Stede came to live. And he was going to live to the fullest. He stocked his ship with all the things that he found make life worth living. (Stede later learns that he doesn't need all the things to enjoy life, but that he needs friends and his lover, but that's not the point here.) Stede designed his ship to be fun. To be a nice place to live. The Revenge is full of creature comforts. A full bathtub! Can you imagine Ed to have a full bathtub on his old ship? I can't. Because Ed has spend his life so busy surviving that until he's almost dead he doesn't stop to consider what makes his life worth living. And then it's so simple things he comes up with. (Creature comforts!)

Ed has lived a life of denying himself nice things in favour of things he hates but that are "safe". Ed lives in a house full of gunpowder. And he's choking on it, it's killing him, but he doesn't think there's another way. And then comes a guy who goes "oh actually, I replaced a lot of my gunpowder (not all btw) with this super tasty marmalade so I can have nice breakfasts". And to Ed that's life changing. Look at his face next time you rewatch, when he turns to Stede. This is a guy who just had an epiphany, who just had someone crumble his world view in the best of ways. You don't only have to keep gunpowder. You can also have marmalade, because marmalade is nice. You should live rather than just survive.

And we see Ed try to embrace this. With Stede, and for a brief time before Izzy happens to him, even on his own, Ed lets himself have nice things. He wears comforting clothes and eats the marmalade from the stores. Because it's nice to live a little even when you're sad. And then he goes back to just surviving, and he can't do it. He's tasted marmalade, he can't deal with being stuck with nothing but gunpowder anymore.

But he does survive, and Stede comes back, and they spend the night together and the next morning Blackbeard's getup is tossed away tied to a cannonball (a companion to the gunpowder), and for Ed there's toast with marmalade in bed.

Because Ed chose life. And to live means to have things to enjoy. Like good marmalade to start the day.

[cufeilidh]

saying ao3 needs to censor certain content is like saying a museum can't have still life art that includes strawberries because you don't like them.

these are not real strawberries. you do not have to, and in fact cannot, eat them. no one with a strawberry allergy will be harmed by looking at them. no migrant workers were exploited in the picking of these strawberries. there were no questionable farming practices or negative environmental impacts from growing or transporting them.

because - and i cannot stress this enough - they are not real strawberries.

if you don't like strawberries, you don't have to look at the paintings. in fact, you can get a map of the museum that lists what works are in what rooms and just. not go in there. if you see one by mistake, you can look away. just keep walking. there's plenty of other stuff to see.

yes, real strawberries can cause real quantifiable harm to real people.

but again. these are not real strawberries.

you may have whatever feelings you like about strawberries, and so can i. you can draw and write about whatever fruit floats your boat, and so can i, even if that happens to be strawberries. and we can hang our art side by side in the same gallery, provided you understand that my strawberries are not about you (and your kumquats are, shocker, not about me) and that - and this is true - neither are real.

and when the fascists break down the doors and grab all the strawberry paintings and heap them in the street and set them on fire, please know that they are coming for your kumquats next.

so if you want a place where you can show off your beautiful kumquat art safely, you're gonna have to tolerate having some strawberries in the next room.

and that's okay. because the strawberries aren't real.

[cufeilidh]

For OFMDsleepweek here's day 3: Sleeping Together!

[cufeilidh]

actually genuinely curious about this because anecdotally I think I've seen a shift, maybe even in my own reading patterns

[cufeilidh]

Another thing I love that I don’t think we talk about enough: Edward Teach is absolutely not cool. He has crafted a cool persona to wrap around himself as protection (because in pirate society he would be dead otherwise), but his actual self, the man that he is underneath, is deeply uncool. We know this from the moment that he does that leap off the stairs in “Discomfort in a Married State.”

Ed isn’t the cool bad boy who loves the loser despite his foibles. Ed is a dork. Ed is charmed by kindness and flamboyance and humor because that’s what he longs for and that’s who he IS underneath. He doesn’t settle for Stede. He doesn’t condescend to love Stede.

He’s deeply uncool. Ed is a cringefail loser boyfriend too.

[cufeilidh]

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