#Stede Bonnet character study

[follows-the-bees]

Stede Bonnet character study in 2x7.

What the audience sees and what Stede sees/feels/thinks are different, and I think that's a really important perspective to consider, especially with everything that happens in Man on Fire.

When Ed went to the party in 1x5, he was having the time of his life at first: dancing, making up stories, winning them over. And then when they turned, he had Stede. Stede came through using the "upper crust use cutting remarks" method.

In a direct parallel, in 2x6, this time Stede is getting recognition. His entire life he's been bullied, beaten down, laughed at and - just like Ed - he is having fun being the center of attention. This has never fully happened to him, even his crew - especially at the beginning - didn't fully respect him.

So, let's talk about Stede's perspective of Ed and his crew vs our audience perspective.

We know the crew loves Stede, he is their captain - for better or worse - but they continually choose to stay with him and use the methods he taught them to get through: the act of grace, Jim telling Fang the story of the wooden boy to make him feel better, the marooned crew continually to stick with him at Spanish Jackie's and saving money to buy a new vessel, using the safe space talk when the two new crews come together and the trauma makes them paranoid of each other. And of course, arts and crafts time to bring them together again as a crew but also to present Izzy the unicorn leg and welcome him unconditionally.

Out of all these instances, Stede only sees the act of grace and them sticking together and getting back to the Revenge.

Stede has been prioritizing his crew a lot more this season - even over his self interests (mainly, there is some stuff we can talk about how he immediately leaves after Ed is voted off the ship and then spends all day with him and brings him back.) But he kicks Calico Jack off, he saves the marooned crew from the island, and then for the Pirate Queen's ship, holding back his grief of Ed's death, only going to him after the crew is safe. And after he realized how much the curse was affecting him, he does ultimately give up the suit.

Now Ed. We of course see how much Ed loves him. I wrote a lot about Stede's perspective of Ed coming to his room after he kills Ed and how much that is a substantial moment for them. Not just because of the sex but because in the past Ed shuts down and leaves when Stede stands up (when he kicked Calico Jack off - Ed leaves, he doesn't do anything when Izzy challenges Stede to a duel, etc)! So Stede is afraid Ed will leave, but Ed doesn't, he shows up. He's there for Stede. Read that meta here.

But we also know what's going on with Ed's head, his insecurities coming back, his wanting to not be a pirate and seeing Stede become the biggest one right now. But Stede doesn't get it.

So everything spirals so quickly in 2x7, Man on Fire. As I mentioned previously, Stede is enjoying being the center of attention after a life of not having any respect from anyone.

And in his mind, him and Ed are partners. "But we're a partnership" it's already set in his mind, probably further cemented by them sleeping together and taking that next step. So he goes to Ed, realizing he's not by his side and Ed tells him he's leaving, already made up his mind, randomly mentions the fish - which Stede doesn't understand the meaning of - and then tells him that last night was a mistake. This has to be a mindfuck for Stede. Ed chooses to come to him and then immediately saying he regrets it - we know it's not the sex but the moving too fast - and is leaving, something that he was already afraid of happening and he thinks has happened in the past when Ed shut down. He tried to salvage it "well, you know, this can be whatever we want it to be."

So now, his boyfriend broke up with him and he's spiralling even more, and like Ed does when he is spiralling (hides under a blanket or in a blanket fort, or Stede's robe, getting comfortable and warm) Stede surrounds himself with people. His own warm blanket of loose acceptance.

But then he sees his crew getting supposedly poached. (I'm not sure if he actually knows anything about Olu and The Queen). And now everything comes crashing down again. Ed left him, his crew is leaving him, he doesn't think he's good enough. All those insecurities, things falling apart. And his self esteem issues are raging.

And then Steak Knife dies (I assume he is supposed to be dead) for him. Another person to haunt Stede's dreams.

Yes, you can read Stede challenging The Queen only as an ego trip, but in no way do I think that's all of what's happening. It is more of a frightened traumatized man at his wits end trying to save his family. "We've been through hell together."

Everyone is leaving him, he's got tears in his eyes, and he's doing something, anything to keep his family together. Even if it's something against an opponent he can't win against. Cause isn't it better to at least show his crew he's there for them again, than have to see everything he has built, he has loved, walk away from him?

[katmiscellanious]

I truly think Stede is about to have his own breakdown. Now, idk if it’s going to happen at the end of this season or in the 3rd if we get one. But Stede has been ignoring his trauma for too long.

Stede is good with other people’s emotions because he knows how he wants people to treat his own. But he’s so busy pushing people to better places and helping others that he completely disregards what he’s gone through. He hasn’t ANYONE what happened in those woods the night he escaped the British. He hasn’t told anyone about what Badminton’s said to him, or being bullied, or the way his father treated him. I don’t even know (and I doubt) he’s even REALLY told Ed just how trapped he was in his marriage with Mary.

When Stede really, actually kills a man on purpose, instead of talking it out, he throws himself into Ed’s arms. And Ed obliges because I think this is the kind of comfort he knows how to give.

And now we can see, as Ed rises to better places, Stede is descending. Stede has discovered his own power. He’s discovered he doesn’t have to take shit from people and while I’m so glad for him, he’s also doing so without addressing that’s he’s breaking his own “not fighting violence with violence” and “talk it through as a crew” and “turn poison into positivity” It feels good now, but especially without working it out in a meaningful way, he’s losing himself to it. He thinks he needs to be this macho tough guy to feel powerful, cause he’s discovered what all the people he’s helped have, that power feels good in the moment. And then, he’ll, you’ve done one bad thing, why not another? It doesn’t feel as bad as you thought? So maybe it’s normal? But then the trauma comes, and you wonder if your a good person anymore, or if you ever were? But you ignore the feeling, because it feels good, and your not weak any more. Nobody can hurt your. So drown yourself in more power or liquor or drugs. Who cares if your a bad person? If people hurt you, you hurt them back. And people respect you for it. And by the time you look back and realize how bad things are, you might think it’s too late to change.

Violence and power is like a drug, you chase the high of power, and when you start to feel it, you remind yourself why you do it with more shows of violence and your tolerance for it just gets higher and higher until the only person left to hurt is yourself, and your Blackbeard, and your sailing your ship into a storm to kill yourself and your entire crew, because your an unlovable monster and you can’t see the light beyond the violence anymore.

Ed and Izzy don’t quite see what’s happening as a bad thing because to them, this is normal pirate stuff. And Stede is Stede. Kind, loving, soft, fabric loving Stede, who is so in tune with people’s emotions he literally therapy’d Ted Lowe’s crew into turning on him in the middle of being tortured. Stede couldn’t possibly become like them. He’s just more piratey now. And see? Look how much fun he’s having? He’s fine!

And Ed? He sees Stede happy and powerful and is so happy for him that he doesn’t even consider asking Stede to come with him this time when he decides to quit and become a fisherman. Ed thinks they are on different paths. And he doesn’t even conceive that this path is a danger to Stede, because it’s Stede. Stede could never get as bad as he did. Right? So best to just end things and let him be happy before either of them get to attached (though, it’s a little fucking late for that one bud).

Mark my words, unless somebody steps in and realizes what’s happening, Stede is going to end up just like all the other pirates we’ve seen. And there is only one way that kind of violence can end, with him getting himself killed, either someone else’s hands, or his own.

[serennn17]

Learning to Love Me Like You

Rated G | 523 | Mini One Shot

Ed doesn't understand why Stede loves him so much, but he's learning that he doesn't need to because Stede is going to love him anyway.

Read on AO3 Here

[madzillus]

Blackbeard & The Gentleman Pirate

Our Flag Means Death has reached uk shores!! Here are some gay pirates in celebration

[davekatzdefensesquad]

The way that Stede has asked two different people if they meant to hurt him physically (the Spaniard’s stabbing and Ed’s headbutt) goes to show he’s either really naive or likes to think people aren’t as awful as they present themselves as.

It’s actually kind of admirable and adorable.

[scary-flag]

Chapter 5 of my backstory/character study fic posted!

Stede thinks about his future, Izzy saves Ed's life and joins the Hornigold's crew, and Jack feels jealous.

Read here :)

[serious-goose]

i would love to hear people's takes on if they think stede knew he was gay or not before he met ed 👉👈

[pluviophiliced]

wrote a lil character study on ed inspired by amigo the devil's song "another man's grave"

writing it made me cry lol please give it a read, i'm begging

https://archiveofourown.org/works/39707382

[piratecaptainscaptainpirates]

Been thinking about why the argument that OFMD is inherently a bad show because it's based on historical slaveowners so often feels disingenuous to me as a person of color.

HUGE disclaimer up front: if you don't wanna fuck with the show because of that premise right out the gate, that's 100% valid and I completely get that. I'm not talking about that. What I'm specifically talking about is White fandom people in particular who argue that OFMD must be "problematic" because of this, especially when they say this as some kind of virtue-signalling trying to win points in fandom wars, stuff like that.

My big thing is that the resemblance the characters in OFMD have to their real-world namesakes begins and ends with having the same name. The show feels more to me like it's playing with the vague myths around these names, not the people themselves. Can you make an argument that they should have come up with original characters instead? Sure, but let's be honest, even people who study the irl counterparts have very little knowledge of their actual lives, and the average person has all but none. To add to that, this show has absolutely zero interest in historical accuracy; the moment they cast a Jewish-Polynesian man as Blackbeard that became obvious. No one is saying the real-life Blackbeard and Stede Bonnet were good people, least of all the show itself; the point is that OFMD's versions are basically original characters already.

It always feels like an incredibly disingenuous claim to parallel the show to Hamilton, because Hamilton both did care about historical accuracy and also brought up the slave trade. Hamilton is uncomfortable for so many poc because it writes poc into the story of otherwise very faithfully portrayed racists, colonizers, and slaveowners and just handwaves the racism. In OFMD, racism exists, but the stance is always explicitly anti-racist and anti-colonialist in a way that is just so fun to see (whom among us has not wished to skin a racist with a snail fork?).

The other thing that sticks for me is...there's an appropriate amount of slavery I want to see in my romcoms, and that amount is none. I am so sick of historical fiction where Black characters are only there for trauma porn about the horrors of the slave trade. You can make a legitimate argument that OFMD is handwavey about the slave trade, but I'd argue that including discussion of the slave trade is something that should be done with such incredible care that it would leave us with a show that can't really be a comedy at all anymore. OFMD's characters of color are allowed to be nuanced, complex characters with their own emotions, and it's incredibly refreshing to see, and I'd much rather have that than yet another historical fiction show where the only characters of color are only there to make White audiences feel virtuous about how sad they feel for them.

In conclusion, I guess: every yt person who makes this argument to win points in a fandom war owes me and every other fan of color a million dollars

[follows-the-bees]

Sometimes I wish we could have seen the second conversation and vote of letting Ed on the ship. I think it would stop people from saying Stede outright went against the crews' wishes.

The first vote to kick him off was only by one vote. And Stede went along with it, he was going to let Ed - a major part of his reason for returning, a person he wrote love letters to for months, who he called the love of his life - go for his crew.

And yes, we don't know if he would have gone after him or not, but we know they did accidentally run into each other and Stede specifically states he will bring it back up to the crew for Ed to stay the night.

In the next scene, we see that they voted yes, with provisions. With ways for Ed to atone to them to stay on the ship. His weapons and leathers are taken away - he is in a rice sack that offers no space for said weapons. Something that someone had to make him (either Wee John or Frenchie since they have the sewing skills.) And we have the cat collar and bell so he doesn't sneak up on people.

If the crew truly did not want Ed there at all, if Stede "made them" keep him, then we wouldn't have these small things. The crew would have reacted very differently. They could have flat out said no, they could have left the ship themselves, they could have kicked both Stede and Ed off. But they didn't, and to say otherwise really takes away the crews autonomy just to paint Stede into a villain.

Yes, Stede has faults, but this show makes a point AGAIN in this same episode that Stede comes through for the crew in the end. Just like with Ed being back on the ship. Stede doesn't realize how much the cursed suit is affecting the crew. And when he sees them literally attack him, and when he listens to Izzy, he grows. Stede is emotionally immature. But his heart is in a good place. So once again, he lets the crew decide, even if it's against what he wants. He is maturing, learning, becoming a better person, even if it is slow.

Stede has always cared about his crew; he knows every single person's name in the pilot. He reads them bedtime stories, he gives them art projects to get along together. He tries to help them, he makes Lucius yell at him instead of Pete. And yes, they played him running away for laughs at the end, but once again, not a single person on this show is perfect or is going to handle ever situation perfectly. That is the point. Everyone is flawed, and even if they are flawed, they deserve a community, love, friendship, found family.

Stede CARES! And he grows (albeit slowly, and only once he realizes how his actions are affecting others - but that's how emotionally immature people grow) And that's a fundamental part of his character.

[luceliapriceyear2artportfolio]

Character Study of Rhys Darby as Stede Bonnet

The first character I wanted to tackle was Stede Bonnet. The character is always showing their emotions and how they feel which means I will have to come up with a variety of facial expressions.

If I am going to draw him in a different style I need to to know his facial features, what would be emphasised and top understand how his face works. I decided to use a charcoal and crayon themed brushes as I find them a looser medium that is less focused on the finer detail but more on catching emotion and expression.

My first drawing (middle) was a decent warm up as I got back into using charcoal. My second drawing (right) was a lot more successful at capturing Stede's facial expression but my final attempt (left) really captured his likeness alongside his expression.

[izzyhandsrightglove]

The Izzy Hands Is Autistic PowerPoint Essay

(this is the essay i submitted to the above all else zine (@izzyhandszines ), the exclusivity period of which just ended. enjoy!!)

Hello!!

I would like to start off by saying I’m absolutely fucking terrified to write this essay for a variety of reasons. But I want to express my love of Izzy Hands and how important he is to me, and the best way I’ve found to do so is to express the weird ways I relate to him as an autistic person. I’ve joked in a couple friend circles that I was going to make a PowerPoint presentation about why Izzy’s autistic (hence the title) but I decided to write an essay instead.

Disclaimer: I’m not diagnosing anyone, nor do I want this essay to be used as a diagnostic paper. This is by no means an academic paper, it cites exactly one (1) study, it’s based on my own experiences, light research, and the experiences of my fellow autistic friends. I’m just a dumbass who likes imprinting themselves onto the characters they hyperfixate on.

Reason one why I think Izzy is autistic: because I’m autistic and I said so. *cue end credits*

I’m kidding.

The real first reason comes from Izzy’s interactions with Stede FUKIN’ Bonnet. For one, Stede hates Izzy almost the second he meets him. Now, you could argue that it was because Izzy “stole” his hostages but we’ll set that aside for a sec. It’s been proven that people inherently don’t like autistic people if they don’t realize they’re autistic (Neurotypical Peers are Less Willing to Interact with Those with Autism Based on Thin Slice Judgements by Noah J. Sasson (2017)). Traits that are often put towards “untrustworthy” or “creepy” people tend to describe autistics too. It’s entirely possible Stede caught a vibe and hated Izzy because of it. Stede is kind of an asshole after all (and we still love him for it). Another reason is Stede’s entire existence throws a wrench in Izzy’s routines as a First Mate. He whisks Edward away to do pirate-y things while Izzy is left to deal with a crew who frankly want nothing to do with him because he’s introducing structure on a ship that didn’t have any to begin with. Sure Izzy came off as an asshole (emotional regulation is a bitch) but he’s just a lil guy trying to follow his routines so nobody dies. He has the worst case of sense of justice. He’ll complain that an ambush is “unprofessional”, he’ll play fair in a duel even if it’s to his detriment, he’ll chase Edward around asking for a plan because Bad Things happen without a plan, the list goes on.

I’d like to dedicate this section to his stimming/eye contact/other little habits that make me think he’s autistic. Izzy has a tendency to touch his face when he’s stressed. Not just that, he’ll wrap an arm around himself and rest his hand on his chin so he can fidget with his beard, as if to self soothe. When he’s talking to people, unless he’s threatening them or yelling at them, he doesn’t look them in the eye. Often he’s not even facing them. When he is facing them, he often looks down at their lips, as if he’s struggling with eye contact. He walks around with his hand resting on his sword either because he’s short and the sword will touch the ground if he doesn’t or because it’s more comfortable for him to have his arm up near his chest. This is often referred to as T-rex arms and a lot of us find it more comfortable than letting our arms rest at our sides. He’s a little pyromaniac, he seems to use candle fire to soothe himself. He’s done it at least twice, once while he was lying to Edward about Stede’s response to meeting Blackbeard and once while talking to Spanish Jackie about Stede in her bar. He sleeps in his underwear like a WHORE (affectionate) which could be argued is temperature regulation because a lot of autistics (myself included) H A T E being overheated. Then there’s the ooh daddy scene. From my little list I made prior to this essay, “ooh daddy scene (thank u conbert), yes i have an explainiation for this. a weird ass intimidation tactic? sure. however what if he can’t read social queues and doesn’t fully realize how fucking weird it was to do that”.

Then there’s his glove. I could dedicate an entire essay on speculation on that fucking glove. Is it hiding something? Is it just to look cool? Is it a sensory thing where he doesn’t like the texture of his sword so he wears the glove to make sword fighting easier? We may never know. Or we might in s2 who knows. Speaking of sword fighting it could be argued by me that because Izzy is supposed to be the best swordsman in the world, sword fighting could be his special interest. He probably spent hours perfecting every move until he got to the level of carving his name into a man’s shirt without leaving a single scratch on him.

We’ve seen Izzy have at least one meltdown re: the duel. He’s losing the duel, the crew are jeering at him, Stede isn’t helping, he finally screams at him before his sword breaks. We’ve also seen him have a shutdown where after Edward goes below deck after realizing his plan against the Spanish isn’t going to work because it’s a leap year, Izzy is in the foreground of Frenchie and Lucius staring off into space. It’s possible that after everything he went through that day and the realization that he’s going to die made him completely shut down.

I have no proof of this since we never really see izzy by himself but I don’t believe in the entire time Izzy has been subjected to the constant torture of being alive and autistic in the late 1600 early 1700s he has unmasked even once. When living in such close quarters with other people and being First Mate to the physical embodiment of ADHD he probably doesn’t get a lot of time to himself. Therefore he has to cope with his existence in other ways, as mentioned above. And the crew of The Revenge have ruined almost every way he uses to cope and manage his autism. We’ll have to wait and see what other horrors unfold for this poor little autistic man, but for now all we can do is pick him apart and see what’s under the hood.

[madzillus]

A page of Eds and a rogue Stede

[focusfixated]

when we fight about love

fandom: OFMD | pairings: stede/izzy, stede/edward, edward/izzy | rating: explicit | tags: identity, jealousy, character study, religious themes, repression, first time | word count: 41k

Bonnet took a dainty sip of rum, then put the mug down with a fussy finality. “Look, I’m not interested in deals and riches and who gets what from who. I want to find Ed, that’s it. You’ll come with us, and you’ll guide us to the Revenge, and when we’re done, you can have my other ship to do with what you like. Sell it, sail away, set it on fire, I don’t care. Do we have an accord?”

Bonnet held out a hand. His nails were ragged, and there were blisters on his fingers. Somehow, he still smelled of lavender. With all the recalcitrance of reaching towards an open flame, Izzy shook it.

Or: after brokering an uneasy peace, Izzy Hands, Stede Bonnet and the rest of the Revenge’s depleted crew are thrown together for a mission: find Edward, snap him out of his terrible madness, and then – and then.

notes: finally made good on that izzy hands "i don't know how to love him" character study fic. 41k of gay longing, stizzy infighting, repressed heartache, and a begrudging rescue mission.

READ HERE

[the-moon-loves-the-sea]

Omg if you have the time & energy, would you share some more fic recs?

Yes! With joy!

Liquid Gold by @perkynurples (Stede/Ed, 27k, WIP, M, modern beekeeping AU, friends to lovers). I ADORE the crew in this. I love the little town and the gentle steps toward courage they all take. I wholeheartedly needed Stede and Ed chasing the memory of mothers' kindness away from the specter of their fathers' failures and into each other's arms.

"Stede Bonnet, recently divorced, returns to the town he once knew. He's got the old house, he's got the bees, and he's going to be(e) happy if it's the last thing he does. (Stede is a bit miserable no matter how hard he tries.) Ed Teach is known as the beekeeper in town, always meticulous, always gentle, never too bothered with rules, or protective gear. (Ed is also, no matter how hard he tries, a bit bored.)"

whole, holy by @queerspacepunk (Stede/Ed, 3k, T, post-canon, re-establishing the relationship). Gorgeous little character study, sweetest freedom-finding for them both.

"Ed's as precious, by Stede's accounting, as the priceless tea cup in his hands, and, on Stede's insisting, just as set apart."

And What Obscured in This Fair Volume Lies (Stede/Ed, 11k, E, post-canon, regaining trust, first time). Featuring honest, tender, careful romancing and a brilliant background return of the Revenge theater troupe.

"After Stede reads William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet to the crew, they decide that tragedies are bullshit and decide to put on their own production of the famous play. Meanwhile, Ed and Stede slowly find their way back to each other."

Under the Weather (Stede/Ed, 10k, E, sickfic, getting together). Gentlest domestic caretaking and a simple discovery of love.

"Sickness sweeps through the crew of the Revenge. Stede introduces Ed to his favorite self-care remedies for dealing with a cold."

Buttercup by @mia-ugly (Stede/Ed, 13k, E, post-canon post-reunion getting together, love confession, learning intimate communication). Devastatingly tender, fragile at first and building to so much trust and love between them.

"When you're Blackbeard you've got a reputation to uphold. And you let it slide, the things people assume. You don't want to talk about it."

forgive & forget (Stede/Ed, 9k, WIP, unrated but T so far, amnesia, post-canon reunion). Heart-wrenching, heart-warming, fantastic writing. Stede's courage and Ed's heartbroken gentle fierceness is ruining me. And Lucius is a DELIGHT.

"An unlucky twist of fate leaves Stede with a head injury that wipes the last months of his life clean. Unable to remember leaving his family in the first place, exiled by his wife for sins he doesn’t remember committing, Stede has absolutely nothing to his name. He doesn’t make it far before he’s captured by the dread pirate Blackbeard himself, who seems to hold the missing piece of the puzzle that Stede’s life has become."

In Favor with Their Stars by @mxmollusca (Stede/Ed, 37k, M, scifi AU, canon arc aboard a spaceship). Extraordinary study of personhood and love, incredible use of its central concept. Stede's coming-to-consciousness as an AI, falling in love with Ed as he falls in love with life, parallels Stede's in-show coming-awake in a way that makes me cry. Their unconventional communication makes them so intuitively close. And Ed's sudden blooming in the liminal space of care and possibility Stede creates for them is exquisite.

"Ed is an engineer aboard the Revenge, an interplanetary research vessel on a multi-year mission. An accident wakens Ed from cryostasis months early, and his only companion is STE/DE, the ship's onboard AI. They develop an unconventional friendship, but is it possible to have more?"

Just a few of the gorgeous ones I've read recently, or gone back to. You're all exceptional gifts.

[avatoh]

Title: Eureka Author: JaneSane Artist: Avatoh Beta reader: Oddishly Characters: Edward Teach, Stede Bonnet Relationship(s): Edward Teach/Stede Bonnet Rating: E Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - Victorian, Alternate Universe - Detectives, Romance, Humor, Pining while fucking, Road Trips, Corporate Espionage, Colonialism, Australia, Māori Blackbeard | Edward Teach, Period-Typical Homophobia, Period-Typical Racism, Apologies to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, it's also funny

Warnings: None

Summary: In the year 1888, Stede Bonnet, twenty seven years of age, holder of a degree in Political Economy (by the skin of his teeth and his father’s refusal to fund any further studies in Classics or History), lived life fairly well on his own terms. He was a little queer in his ideas, and in addition to the arts was an enthusiast in some branches of science. Those with a passing acquaintance, which was the most anyone would claim, called him a decent fellow enough. Stede Bonnet, tired of wasting his hours in the lonely offices of Bonnet Industrial Holdings, decides to follow in the footsteps of his fictional hero and advertises his services as a private detective. Ed Teach, seeking the inheritance that should be his, is in need of someone to help claim his father's gold mine for the good of his whānau back in Aotearoa. From the moment they lay eyes on each other there's no chance they're keeping things professional. It could be a perfect detective and sidekick partnership, if they weren't lying to each other. And if they could agree on who's the Holmes and who's the Watson.

Wordcount: 50,000

Link to story