#but it’s also a take that just makes Stede look like the absolute worst in a way that is more about societal dynamics than him personally

[nicnacsnonsense]

What I really need is a way to mute the notifications on just one specific leg of reblog chains on my post. I don’t want to mute the whole post, I just would like to be excluded from that one conversation in particular.

[adickaboutspoons]

Fuck me, I have more to say about this moment:

And it's gonna get ugly, folks, so buckle in. As important as it is to understand this scene as a moment of Character Growth for Stede? It's also key to understanding Why Shit Went Down the way it did during the negotiation of the escape plan in Act of Grace. So Stede stands up for himself and draws some boundaries. Good for him! Love to see it. And how does Ed respond to "I don't like who you are around this guy?"

And what does he say when he chooses to leave with Jack?

It's a through-line. In this moment, Ed is calling back to the conversation on the beach. I don't think he is being intentionally cruel - to him, what he's saying is more of a reflection of his struggles with feelings of worthlessness - but how can Stede help but make the association; the ONE TIME he draws boundaries with Ed, Ed leaves. Not only does Ed choose to go, rather than stay and respect Stede's boundaries (which, I would argue are completely reasonable here; Don't wantonly kill innocent animals), he is aligning himself with the man that has spent the entire day tormenting Stede ("This" - Jack killing Karl - "is who I am"). Again, I'm not saying that he's being intentionally cruel; I don't think he fully understands how awful Jack has been to Stede. But, surely you can see how, from Stede's perspective, this is absolutely DEVASTATING - much more than JUST the heartbreak of the man that you had so recently made tentative plans to join your life with ("Co-Captains!") breaking up with you. But breaking up with you AND CHOOSING ONE OF THE WORST PEOPLE YOU KNOW OVER YOU.

So now we come to the Act of Grace and the scene on the beach:

No, AFTER that.

Ed proposes a plan to run away together. And Stede... doesn't say yes. In fact, his first instinct is to push back, THREE TIMES.

"But you said there was no escape."

"What about the English? They'll be all over us."

"China? That's quite far away."

Every time Ed dismisses his concerns - comes up with a reason to make the plan A Thing. Ed is clearly not going to take "no" for an answer.

And what happened the last time Stede told him no?

Ed left.

Ed broke his heart.

Ed sided with the kind of person that validates Stede's every insecurity about not being enough.

So is it any wonder that Stede gives in? And not even with enthusiastic consent. With the most tepid positive-leaning neutral responses possible.

"Yeah."

"I think so."

"Mm-hm."

(Which is to say nothing about his body language - the incredulous-bordering-on-disgusted face he makes when he talks about China, his lips pressed together when he says "Mm-hm", the way he starts the conversation leaning in toward Ed, his body twisted toward him, but quickly shifts so his body is angled straight ahead with his head awkwardly twisted to the side to look at Ed)

The seeds of tragedy were planted when Ed left Stede. Because, by doing so, he accidentally reinforced a lifetime of Stede being taught that his wants and needs are secondary to those of others, and that acceptance is conditional on compliance.

[bookshelfdreams]

#Op I need u to know I thought this was about his post-coytal bedside manner when I read the first line#was fully expecting you to wax poetic about how Ed's mediocer attempt at making breakfast was actually a heartfelt attempt to make sure#he didn't feel like he was a One And Done type of thing#I was vibrating#and then it was s1 meta 💀 RIP LMAO (@zo1nkss, on this post)

No, absolutely, let's talk about it. Because this?

This is terrible. Comically bad. The worst anyone's ever done it, I'm sorry to say. The toast looks like it's covered in coal dust. The tea (? I hope it's tea, might as well be Ye Olde Cuba Libre) has clearly gone cold. Ed spooned the marmalade directly onto the tablet instead of just leaving it in the jar like a sane person, for fuck's sake!

Of course that's deliberate; they even make sure we know what the platonic ideal of a nice breakfast tablet looks like with the title card.

It's like an Expectation vs Reality meme. There's a flower, there's porcelain, there's even a plate! Ed, I know you've had breakfast before, why are you so bad at this?

Because, of course, this was doomed from the start.

Ed is panicking, because he knows falling into bed together right after everything that happened in 02x06 was a mistake, and he's desperately trying to salvage the situation.

Ed wanted to take things slow, because he wants stability. He wants to pursue happiness. He wants to build a beautiful life with someone he loves! Breakfast in bed every day!

Instead he to watch the love of his life be tortured in front of him, because of him, and then had to watch him intentionally kill a guy for the first time in his life - also because of him! This is the opposite of what he wanted, for himself or for Stede.

He wanted them both to be safe and happy, but instead they had an evening of horrible experiences and then had sex about it. It's all coming crashing down. Aside form the worst breakfast spread in known history, look how the scene is shot and coloured: The slightest green tint, just enough to turn the light harsh and cold, how far apart from each other they are. Tons of empty space in the frame. How they are backlit, so they are in the shadows, their faces barely discernible.

This isn't a happy Morning After. This is them standing at the ruins of what was supposed to be a beautiful moment, but the violence of piracy broke into it and destroyed it.

Ed knows he needs to leave it behind, once and for all. Throws out his Blackbeard kit to make his decision to abandon the pirate life irreversible. Tries to have a soft, domestic moment, shares the lovely story about Merstede coming to rescue him, in an attempt to salvage his dream of retirement with Stede.

But Stede? Oh, Stede is on an entirely different page. He just had his first real taste of the power violence can grant him. While the torture wasn't fun, in the end, he triumphed! Defended his love, defended his crew! And topped it all off with what was probably the first positive sexual experience in all his 40whatever years of life! He's patronizing and kinda bitchy about the whole spread, because he doesn't get what Ed is trying to tell him. All he sees is Ed being terrible at this domestic bullshit, but that's okay because he thinks he's terrible at it too!

They'll just sail the seas, terrorize the various empires and have adventures together, forever and ever! That's the dream, right? Right???

(Wait, what do you mean Last night was a mistake?)

[citrineghost]

I absolutely cannot get over - of all the things wrong with this season of OFMD - the abuse apologism.

Listen, hear me out, I understand that they're violent pirates. I understand they brutally murder and kill people and steal their shit and ruin lives. I get it.

The problem is, you cannot make a comedy about pirates and put a focus on the therapizing and emotional openness of the crew, making the fact that Stede showing up has them healing and talking and being emotionally more healthy as a major selling point of the show only to use that therapy-speak as a way of justifying abuse apologism.

They all hurt people, yes. The thing is, they're not supposed to hurt each other. They're supposed to be a family. The violence and abuse is supposed to be outside of the family network. They're supposed to be at home around each other, even if everyone there isn't great all the time and can sometimes be a bit toxic or unhealthy. Overall, in season 1, the message was, "We can get through this together." "Talk it through, as a crew."

Instead, season 2 dives directly into Ed committing atrocities against his own crew, giving most of them some combination of PTSD (which is clearly worse than any they've experienced before, because their personalities and ability to interact with people is completely altered), dissociation, hypervigilance, etc. Then, when they finally beat his ass and try to kill him because of the abuse, Stede fucking Bonnet shows up and is like, actually! I think you all should give him another chance!

The following episode(s) are so fucking hard to watch.

You've got people jumpy around him, terrified he's going to hurt them, all the while Stede encouraging them to just get over it and forgive him. He pushes for Ed to try to "turn poison into positivity." Basically encouraging the notion that if your abuser apologizes and then acts nice, everything should be fine and peachy.

The fact that this is bullshit is mentioned, I believe, only once, when someone noted that Edward didn't even use the words, "I'm sorry," during his apology.

This isn't just perpetuated by Stede, it's also perpetuated by Black Pete. He says to Lucius, "I feel like you're not even looking at me, you're looking through me." and then, when he sees that Lucius is drawing Ed's head on Pete's body (I guess meant to be some comedic take on traumatic fixation), he isn't sympathetic at all, he get's mad that he's not focused on him, and says something along the lines of, "You're so focused on the bad that happened to you but I haven't heard you mention once that you're alive."

This is such a heartwrenchingly common form of abuse minimization that it's nauseating to think about. This idea that, oh, you may be traumatized but actually you're not dead so who cares? Be grateful! Get over it!

And, unlike it being pointed out that Ed didn't say the words, "I'm sorry," this scene is never criticized by anyone in-show. Instead, Lucius appears very guilty and then draws a picture of Black Pete as an apology, telling him he's right.

He wasn't right. That's a fucked up thing to tell someone who was almost killed and then experienced extreme trauma following that. He made the entirety of Lucius' trauma an affront to him. Because Lucius was thinking about his trauma and not him.

Now the worst thing about all of this, to me, is that once this episode is past, it's treated as if everything is resolved. Oh haha funny, Ed walked around the ship with a cat bell on his neck for a few days so he couldn't sneak up on people! So cute and quirky!

It's fucking not! They should have thrown him onto a deserted beach and left him there. I'm not saying Ed should never be allowed to have anything good again in his life, I'm just saying it shouldn't be the crew he traumatized and abused. They don't deserve to have to live with him. They shouldn't be expected to forgive him.

Don't even talk to me about how they made a, and I quote, "Safe Space," and then Ed showed up to it. Like he had any fucking right to be there. When it was a Safe Space meant to be specifically an escape for the people he abused and traumatized. As if he, too, was a victim of him abusing them.

And on top of all of that, the fact that, as he's dying, Izzy is taking all the blame for Ed's actions as Blackbeard - another of Ed's abuse victims - and is treated as if that's the peak of his emotional development. It's not. That was where his development plummeted. He had seconds left to live and he used them to absolve his abuser of his guilt because he loves him and didn't want him to feel as bad when he died.

I was not a fan of Izzy in season 1. He was the biggest cunt on the ship, and he did encourage Ed to be a worse version of himself. But that doesn't mean his cuntiness justified him being mutilated and abused daily. We can only put so much of that on him. Ed had the power to say no. He had the power to be moderate, even. He had the power to be violent and terrible to people outside of their crew. He took Izzy's words and he ran with them - waaay further than he had any conscionable right to.

But this post isn't about season 2 Izzy. It's about abuse apologism, which I feel made up a significant portion of this season's content. And I'm just fucking furious about it.

I'm not saying shows can't have bad things in them. I'm not saying abuse apologism doesn't happen or that it doesn't have its place in media. I'm just saying, season 2 of this show wasn't a fucking comedy. The writers fucking tanked it. Everything that was good about season 1 was stripped of season 2 and everything was plunged into dark-humor tinted tragedy.

You can't base an entire show on the idea of comedically intelligent/modern therapizing language and then use that language to communicate that abusers deserve your pity and forgiveness - not to a queer audience that is probably 90% people who have been horribly abused.

[saltpepperbeard]

Poison into Positivity: A List of What I Liked in OFMD S2

Hello hello everyone! Things have been a little rough around here. Even away from the more heated takes, I've still seen a few "down in the dumps" murmurs. To which, I'm giving y'all big hugs, but also offering up some little bits of warmth! I wanted to share quite a few bullets of the things I enjoyed about this season. Maybe it'll serve as a reminder, or maybe it'll just serve as a chaotic, silly little read as per usual PFFF.

But I invite you to read along, and even add some of your own points should you feel inclined! Also, this might not even be my full list; these are just the ones that came to me quickly/off the top of my head. Still, let's dive on down like a fantastical, dazzling goldfish, shall we?

All the callbacks/parallels. My goodness. When I tell you I'm a SLUT for metaphors/parallels/callbacks/etc etc. Seeing so many things and being able to just *Leonardo Dicaprio pointing meme.* I know people might not share that same opinion because some might view it to be excessive, but I personally LOVED being able to point at my screen and be like "oH EYYYYYYY!!!" Maybe because it makes for such immaculate gifset/meta material <3 SJKJDLHSK

The costuming and makeup. WHEN THEY TALKED AT ECCC ABOUT EVERYONE GETTING HOTTER, THEY WERE NOT KIDDING LMAO. EVERYONE LOOKED SO, SO GOOD. and listen, i am on my knees begging for them to give ed with his hair up back to us. i need Her back,,,ALSO, SOMETHING SOMETHING COMPLICATED EMOTIONS TOWARDS STEDE'S LATTER HALF LOOK, BUT ALSO...GOD DAMN, MR. DARBY,,,,,,

Speaking of Mr. Darby, the acting in this season. The ACTTTINNNGG. Everyone acted their ASSES off. Everyone put their entire piratussies into this season. Though, I'm PARTICULARLY impressed with Taika and Rhys, because again with their "oh we're comedians lol so idk drama can be Difficult Difficult Lemon Difficult." MMMM I THINK THE FUCK NOT, MY GUYS LMAO??? They both did SO well with all the drama and painful moments. The acting in episodes 2, 3, 6, and 7 in particular like...God. GOD!!!

I loved so many characters in this season, and I'll of course have to give two individual shoutouts to my two favorite new ladies, but man. LET'S GO FRENCHIE!!! ALWAYS A DELIGHT!!! FANG/KEVIN MY ABSOLUTE SWEETHEART. JIM SERVING ABSOLUTE FUCKING GENDER THIS SEASON. OLU OLU DARLING OLU. PETE NEVER MISSING WITH HIS ONELINERS. LUCIUS BEING SO THEATRICAL AHDJKSDK LIKE NATHAN PLEASE YOU KILL ME. ROACH MAKING ME LAUGH OUT LOUD NUMEROUS TIMES AS HE DOES. WEE JOHN AND HIS KNITTING AND DRAG!!! AND THEN OF COURSE MY DEARLY BELOVEDS, ED AND STEDE. I JUST LOVE THEMMMMM!!! But okay okay okay-

Zheng my beloved. I just love this badass pirate queen with her sweet little pigtails and her IMMACULATE LINE DELIVERIES SDHJKSKL. A lot of my favorite deliveries from the entire season came from her quite honestly. Please see: "Girl, how ARE you?" and "Hiiiiiii. I KNOWWW it's been a day" and "I've killed mediocre men. I've killed exceptional men. But you're the worst kind: a mediocre man who thinks he's exceptional."

AND ARCHIE MY BELOVED. She kills me because I remember seeing like, those ~*~audition tape whispers~*~ WAY back in the day, and subsequently thinking she was going to be quite a different character. Only for this silly goofy bubbly energetic darling to pop up and snag my heart. HER deliveries kill me also, like when she goes "Like...STEDE Stede?" and the whole "I was IN the fuckin' snake!" also hhngngngngnershkfhslkds tattooed ladies Hot :(

Speaking of which, the comedy. THE DELIVERIES. THE WAY I LAUGHED OUT LOUD NUMEROUS TIMES THROUGHOUT, EVEN WITH THE DEEP UNDERCURRENT OF DRAMA/ANGST. The whole bit where Stede is in hysterics over his cursed coat is just hsjkdhsklds; it will NEVER not make me wheeze. And then, like I said, almost EVERYTHING Pete says this season kills me; another thing that will never not make me laugh is "a doggie...?" weird little pirate show with weird little humor my beloved

The ROMANCE??? I genuinely was going into the season with the expectation of getting maybe like, one or two Gentlebeard kisses. Imagine my shock and utter delight when we ended up with FOUR, AS WELL AS AN INTIMATE SCENE, THE LETTER SCENES, AND THE LOVE PROFESSIONS. Like, one of them dropping a legitimate "I love you" felt like an unrealistic expectation--the HIGHEST dream tier really. And then wouldn't you know it. And that doesn't even account for all the rest of the couples either! The murder wives having their chaotic little moments of fucked up affection??? LUCIUS AND PETE GETTING ENGAGED AND THEN MARRIED??? HELLO??????

The sets! I know people have pointed out that the world felt a bit simplified this time around, due to budget restraints and what have you. But I still loved what they did with the world even with the various constraints. The market in episode 6 is a PARTICULAR favorite of mine; it's just so lush and colorful. I also love what they did with The Revenge during episode 6 too!

Also, this might be an unpopular opinion, but I really actually liked that they filmed on location. First of all, love that the Kiwis got to be right at home in Aotearoa. Love that they have an even more special connection to the show now. But second of all, I just like when scenery is...actually THERE? It feels way more TANGIBLE. Don't get me wrong; that hugeass wraparound screen that they use to film a lot of sets is a technological marvel. But I'm a sucker for practical.

The deeper and more complex dives into character motivations/trauma. Like, homie lol...When I tell you episodes 6 and 7 utterly set my brain alight in the best way possible. I was CHUGGING through thoughts. You know those gifs where someone is walking around and ranting/passionately talking,,, yeah. Yeah. Maybe because a lot of it "struck a chord" with me indeed, but I love love LOVE getting brain food like that.

Speaking of brain food, in PARTICULAR, the deeper dives into Ed's self-loathing and into Stede's troubles with confidence and masculinity. A lot of Stede's choices were fueled by those two things, and it was SO friggin fun to catch all of them, put them in a jar, and shake them around. I've seen a lot of people fearing his actions in the latter half were out of character, but to me, I don't see it that way. I just see a man who has been so spurned, so left behind, and SO deprived, a man who is stuck thinking he has to be someone else to mean something. And I think that plays a lot into even the EARLIEST developments we saw in season 1, so it was just so intriguing to watch everything messily play out.

THE INNKEEPER. THE INNKEEPER MY BELOVED. SO much about that episode absolutely has my heart. All the different developments, the stakes, the pacing, and the payoff at the end. Not to mention that I had a FEELING that mysterious figure in the trailers was Hornigold, so it was so SO validating to see him pop up PFFF. And also, all those dream/gravy basket sequences were so so good too. I don't know if it's the chemistry between Taika and Mark, or the deeper symbolism, or the lines that have become vocal stims for me SJKDLS (please see: ooOOoooO eddie eddie eddie...you're laying some heavy shit on me, bro), but man. MAN.

And this one gets its own bullet because of course it does: the fucking mermaid scene. Like, are we kidding. ARE WE KIDDING. THE ROMANCE OF IT ALL? THE FANTASTICAL-NESS INDEED?? THE WAY IT WAS ALL FUCKING PRACTICAL AND RHYS SWAM DOWN TO TAIKA AS A BEAUTIFUL LITTLE GOLDFISH AND THEY HAD TO THROW HEART EYES AT EACH OTHER UNDERWATER??? WHAT THE FUCK!!! And don't even get me started on Kate Bush lol. This Woman's Work might easily be one of my favorite songs, if not my FAVORITE song from the season. And man. Man. The whole meaning behind Ed seeing Stede as this beautiful, sparkly being, and not some hypermasculine/extraordinary thing. He fell in love with Stede for who Stede really is. And so I ADORE that acknowledgement.

Speaking of songs, the MUSIC!!! Absolute bangers all throughout. And I loved how there seemed to be even more intermixed within the episodes. Like God... "These are the kids..." 🗣️ HELLO MY LOVE I HEARD A KISS FROM YOU 🦗🦟🦗🦟🦗🦟 . And all the beautiful classic piano pieces and NINA SIMONE AND JUST HSJKDHSFJKLHSKD????

Okay, I've always had and STILL have complicated thoughts and opinions on Izzy, but man, seeing him interact with the Revenge Crew was really something. Seeing Stede's influence come over the lot of them like a warm blanket, extending its welcoming and familial hands...It was just lovely. I love seeing our little sea family care for each other so much. They've probably all hurt so so much in different ways, so to see them all being a collective heart is just so nice.

Speaking of which, the queerness of it all, the queer celebration of it all. The way the whole crew is just...a representation of queer people finding each other, and subsequently finding love and family in each other. Like, when the whole world wants to cast you out, you pull each other in. When no one else wants you, you take refuge in each other. And just...the joy, beauty, and wonder that can be found in that.

And speaking of which x2, the overall care that was put into the entire thing, the effort that was put into the entire thing. I know Max fucked us over with the budget, which subsequently fucked things like the intricacy, the amount of characters, and especially the pacing. But, I don't know; I personally could still tell everyone involved was trying so so hard to deliver for us. Based on the little details, the little callbacks, and the little moments that felt so catered to us, it just seemed so...gifted to us. Not to mention of course, the way they so deliberately chose to end on a hopeful note in case we never get a third season. They care about us. They've always cherished our excitement and passion, so it just...idk; it feels so special to have a bit more of an intimate connection like that. I've never been involved with a piece of media that so avidly SEES its audience, and celebrates along with us. So, despite everything, despite any sort of troubles, despite any sort of lows, that's a big part of what has me clutching all of this so closely to my chest. And I really hope they can still see that love, because I want nothing more than for them to see this beautiful story through.

Also, getting to enjoy this with everyone. Getting to ride the wave from the beginning of filming, all the way through the finale. Getting to see all the excitement, all the theories, all the art, all the fanfiction, all the gif sets, all the meta, and everything in between. It has carried me through some nastiness in my personal life, and has subsequently served as a very welcomed distraction. It's been such a pleasure getting to delight in this new content with you all, and I hope we get to do so into the future. <3

[piratecaptainscaptainpirates]

Hey! This is extremely late but I feel like you'd adore this prompt.

Character study: Ed's beard caused sensory issues, required tedious upkeep, and was a source of performative masculinity. Finally, he's shaving it, and seeing "Ed" for the first time in decades. Super healing, cute, positive 💜

You're right, I absolutely adored this prompt!! This took a minute because I wound up going in a completely different direction at first, wasn't satisfied with it, and it sat in my drafts, and now I actually fuckin' love it. This one's set in a modern AU with a trans Ed, because that's a delicious little wrinkle. Bon appétit.

(Never too late to send me prompts for 1k word fics, by the way! I can't promise they'll all get done but if they inspire me, I'll do 'em eventually. These are great for writer's block)

--

No one could accuse Ed Teach of disliking hair care.

That was something his mama had instilled in him from a young age. His hair was also his pride in his heritage, in where he came from, and taking care of it was an important way Ed could take care of himself and stay true to himself. His worst argument with Stede, to date, was over which of them was taking up too much space on their shared bathroom counter with all the hair care products (they’d wound up putting up more shelving). The first time he’d let Stede help him wash his hair, after Stede had listened through Ed’s explanations of his hair care, was probably one of the most intimate moments he’d ever shared with another man.

His beard, though. That was a different story.

Ed didn’t hate the beard, most days. It had started out as a band-aid solution when he’d been struggling to be taken seriously with his baby face, and he’d wanted to prove he was as much a man as anyone.

Then he’d grown up, and he’d stopped looking like he’d just glued a few random hairs to his chin, and it became…him. It was big and striking and masculine.

“You know,” he’d confided in Stede a few nights ago, cuddled up under the covers together, one thigh and an arm thrown over Stede’s middle while Stede traced little patterns over Ed’s bare hip with a forefinger, “I don’t even like the beard.”

Stede blinked down at him. “You don’t…like your beard?”

“Honestly?” Ed ran his fingers through it. He liked how soft it was, liked putting little bows in it, liked how everyone saw him and knew without a doubt he was a man. “It’s itchy, and it’s easy for things to get stuck in it, and it makes my face all hot, and hair gets in my mouth, and -”

“Hm,” Stede said, shifting his hand up to scritch his fingers along Ed’s jaw, and Ed leaned into the touch. “You don’t have to keep it.”

It was Ed’s turn to pause in surprise.

“But I’m Blackbeard,” he said, a bit lamely.

“You can be whoever you want to be, beard or no,” Stede shrugged. “I’ll love you just the same, with or without it.”

Huh.

This morning, Ed woke up early, plugging in Stede’s electric razor and locking the bathroom door behind him. It wasn’t that he hadn’t wanted Stede to be part of this moment, but…he hadn’t seen his whole face in literal decades.

He wanted his reaction to be his and his alone.

Ed hesitated before he could touch the razor to his face for the first time. What would everyone think? He’d literally named his entire brand after this thing.

He took a deep breath. It didn’t matter what everyone else thought. It was about what Ed wanted. He could do what he wanted with his own body to help himself feel more himself and more comfortable.

At the very least, he told himself, it would save him time in the mornings. You don’t keep a beard that big looking that good without a very time-consuming beard care regimen. 

He used a hand mirror as he worked, looking at himself at too close an angle to be able to see his full face before he was ready for that. When he splashed water on his face, he shivered at the coolness of it against his sensitive skin.

He swept up all the clippings, taking care to avoid looking into the mirror over the sink. “Bye-bye, Blackbeard,” he whispered, tipping the clippings into the trash can.

Ed took a deep breath. Stede had said he’d love him, no matter what. He lifted his head, and he saw -

Oh.

His first reaction was that he looked a lot like his mother. He’d started trying to grow his beard out right after he’d first started taking T, and he hadn’t even realized how scared he was that he’d shave his beard off and see his dad under there until he got to see the opposite was true. He had a sharper jawline, but the rest was all her.

And he’d been scared he wouldn’t look enough like a man without it, too, but he looked…pretty, actually, and literally fine. He’d probably want to keep at least some stubble, because he really did just like how affirming facial hair was, but this was proof that he didn’t need the full beard to look like a man. He was a man, no matter what he looked like - the beard had just been his way of daring anyone to tell him otherwise.

“Hey, Ed,” he whispered, watching in the mirror as he brought his hands up to feel, tracing new wrinkles, soft skin, birthmarks and little freckles he’d long forgotten.

It shocked a quiet giggle out of him when he realized how nice it would be, to eat food without worrying about something getting into his beard. How nice it would be to feel soft things against his cheek, to -

There was an idea!

Ed darted out of the bathroom and practically launched himself back into bed, grabbing Stede’s hand to hold it against his face. He shivered in delight - Stede had touched his face before, of course, but he’d never felt it so clearly, his soft palms and warm fingers against his cheek.

“Mmf,” Stede mumbled, burying his face in the pillows in protest against being woken up.

“Babe!” Ed collapsed down onto his side so he could snuggle close and rub his clean-shaven cheek against Stede’s.

“Wh-aah!” Stede yelped as he opened his eyes to see Ed like three inches away. “Your beard fell off!”

“Shaved it,” Ed corrected, looking away. He hadn’t expected Stede to fucking scream at him -

Stede reached out, gently, cupping Ed’s chin to tilt his face for a better look. “Oh, Ed,” he whispered. “Aren’t you beautiful?”

Yeah, Ed thought with satisfaction. He sure fuckin’ was.

[uselessheretic]

the "stede played no role in ed's mental breakdown and ed would've ended up like that anyways" thought process is killing me because i really don't think it's true. yes, ed is a volatile shaken soda can of trauma waiting to burst, but he exists within the context of others as well. he was clearly already mentally ill and had serious issues, but the severity of his breakdown was intensified by outside forces with his relationship to stede.

ignoring the fact that stede left, by the time we get to their kiss ed is in an extremely raw and vulnerable place. he has unlocked multiple traumatic memories over the last few weeks, lost several of his closest friends, uprooted his entire life in a career change, for the first time ever truly and genuinely fell in love with someone, and laid himself bare, offering his love to someone he thought would take it.

if this was in modern times and ed lived in a utopian world of competent mental health services, he would likely have a care team right now giving extra support than usual because he is set to fucking blow at the smallest upset.

all of this may look like progress, but this is too much too fast placing him in a dangerous and precarious moment where any damage done has the potential to push him into probably the worst mental breakdown of his life.

and it's not stede's fault that ed has trauma, and it's not like stede could've known how bad it would get. stede isn't equipped to handle this either. he is also dealing with his own issues and him making a mistake was inevitable. he stumbled in a way that is completely understandable and it had consequences much larger than he could have ever anticipated.

stede still owes some level of responsibility to ed and his breakdown though. stede had offered himself as a place of solace, accepted ed's trauma, and made big life decisions with him surrounding this. even if ed didn't become violent as a result, stede's chronic need to run away from intimacy would've done immense damage to anyone in that situation. yes he had his reasons! it's not malicious, and neither was abandoning his wife and kids, but this is a pattern of behavior with stede reflective of his biggest character flaw. it's understandable, it's sympathetic, he had his reasons, but in the end he still hurt someone he cared immensely for who he knew was in a vulnerable position. even if he didn't know ed would turn into the kraken, he absolutely should have understood how badly this would sting.

the situation is complicated. there aren't any good guys here, there's just a lot of pain and disappointment. it needs to be resolved between them! ed has to take responsibility for his own actions—he hurt the crew, not stede!—but if stede wants to be in a relationship with ed, if he wants to love him and to be with him, he needs to take ownership of his part in this too.

[ludwigplayingthetrombone]

OFMD fix-it Epilogue

Decided to make an epilogue as a thank you! wanted to try and write some fallout from the reunion. takes place over about a week. tw for blood and stede saying something self harmy. Thank you all again for the incredible response to both parts ;w;

Part one Part two

Stede: Edward! [ed gasps for breath]

Ed: What are you doing? Stede: [screams] cHRIST, Ed, Warn a man! Ed: You don’t get a warning when you’re being a dickhead. Why were you running around and lifting shit

Stede: Settled a crew dispute! I didn’t want to disturb your rest, so I took care of it. Everything’s- oh. Ed: Stede! Stede: I’m fine, really! Ed: Yes, I believe you, man bleeding and drenched in sweat! Stede: I don’t want to just sit on my ass while everyone else busts theirs. Bit of a bad start to co-captaining again, y’ know. Ed: Better than a fuckin’ dead one! You saved their asses, so let them handle it

Ed: Let me handle it Stede: It’s my mess. Why should you? Ed: Thought we agreed we both fucked up. This isn’t about the gash, is it?

Stede: Sitting idle is making me...anxious. I...I have this feeling something bad is going to happen. This all went way too well. I feel like the proverbial shoe is about to drop. Ed: You think you’re the only one feelin’ like that? I’m the reason you’re laid up; what with the stabbing and all. Also, this was ‘went too well‘? Scared to ask what the worst case scenrio was in your depraved little mind. Stede: Truth be told, the stab was for my peace of mind as well. Hopefully as cathartic for you as it was for me. Ed: [horrified silence] Things are... super weird right now, but-... Before shit went sideways, Lucius was telling me about the wonders of self care. Stede: Oh no, I feel fantastic! Absolute bliss, believe me! It’s just...

Stede: But of a novice with this, genuine courtship, let alone the pirate kind! No clue. Plus I didnt facror in the wound-. Perhaps I’m overthinking Ed: hmm Stede: Hard to believe, I know. Ed: If you’re uneasy, I can back off a bit Stede: Not from being with you. The opposite actually. I’m scared I won’t be able to treat you how you truly deserve. If I could shoulder your trauma for even a moment, I’d do it in a heartbeat. I’d do anything really.

Stede: Sometimes I recall the hurt in your eyes when I first returned, and it forms a pit in my stomach. That’s all. Ed: I’m terrified, Stede. Never thought I’d find something like this. Someone who sees the me I hid for so long. I’m in the same boat as you this time. I’ve never done... all this before either. Feeling ‘n shit

Ed: No plan. Have no idea how this’ll go. It’s exhilarating, amazing, mortifying, sometimes i wanna throw up- I feel FUCKIN’ ALIVE!

Ed: You feel it too, right? Stede: Of course, my GOD, man Ed: Then, you being on this ship is enough, Stede. Knowing you’ll be here to peel me off the ground and put me back together. That’s all I need. And I’ll keep your fancy ass alive everytime you rip open your guts. Stede: Well, that just won’t due for someone of your caliber. Bare minimum really. After all,

Stede: I’d be dead many times over by now without you Ed: Yeah, you would. Ridiculous man. Stede: I think you fancy a ridiculous man

Ed: Yeah, think maybe I do. No one’s ever gonna take him away from me again. Including the lunatic in front of me. FANG! Come fix up captain bonnet. And strap him to a chair so he stays put [stede sighs]

Stede: If you can believe, not my first stint being tied to a chair Lucius: Oh, I believe pretty easy

Stede: Focus, Lucius. I have to nail this rebrand Lucius: I’m sorry, I can’t see anything else you’d be. Maybe grow a mustache? Stede: Now there’s an idea!

Lucius: Yeah, you’d look very dilfy Stede: Dilfy? Ed: Why are you one the floor? Stede: Oh! Welcome back! Needed a change of texture! How’d it go! Ed: Boring. Gave up instantly.

Ed: Crew’s back, go irritate Izzy. Lucius: Perfect. I hate third wheeling you two specifically. Ed: Hey Stede: Well, this is a familiar angle Ed: It’s a good angle! Stede: I concur!

Ed: How’s the stitches? Stede: Ship shape! Ed: Good man. Bummed you missed the raid? Stede: A little bit Ed: You wanna cause some havoc?! Maim some people? Stede: More of perhaps managing the maiming, but yes! Share in the camaraderie!

Ed: Brought you stuff. Stede: Really? [muffled] oh lovely!

Ed: Thought you could build your public closet up again. Whatever you dont want, i’ll throw in the rec pile Stede: This wouuld look beautiful on you. keep this one. Ed: Me? These are for you, nut. Stede: Of course you! Always wanted someone to share this passion with! Even more fun when you acquire fine things together.

Stede: Only made finer by being worn by you. Ed: These are for you too

Stede: [choked noise] I thought looting books wasn’t piratey? Ed: Notice I put them in a bag and didn’t replace. Stede: Some of these are great finds! Impeccable taste as always. Ed: Meant to do that. Totally didnt just throw shit in a bag and run. Just that good

Ed: We gotta fill these shelves again with cool shit. Plus, you gotta read to the crew at night. They really miss it. Been filing complaints for days

Ed: The balls on you to kiss Blackbeard on the cheek. Unheard of! Stede: One could say, balls for days

Ed:See? Left yourself wide open! Could have easily nicked your liver Stede: Was that your real plan all along? Ed: Most coveted liver in the seven seas. Blackbeard has to have it. Stede: You could have just asked

[gentlebeardsbarngrill]

I’m probably in the minority here but I’m so easily satisfied by this show. Whenever I see critical posts of the show (that offer valid takes, not talking about straight up hate posts) I’m just sort of like “huh ok I didn’t think of that. moving on.”

generally I’m pretty positive about whatever I watch unless it’s total trash and no care put into it. maybe a flaw of mine but idc. I had a great time with season 2 and maybe there are a few things I might have liked if they were different but I can’t bring myself to dwell on those things for more than like 30 seconds because I had so much fun with everything else.

I will say that the worst part of the season is definitely Izzy but I care so little about him that it did not affect my enjoyment of the story whatsoever.

I see stede and ed kiss and I’m like hmm yes absolutely genius writing right here

Hey, there is absolutely nothing wrong with just pure satisfaction from the show (and any show really). I love analysing stuff, but I'm the same way, I see Stede and Ed kiss and the part of my brain that triggers dopamine is just like "NOICE". I literally have spent the last several months doing my best to do ANYTHING ELSE (you know like.. job, family, whatever) but think about them kissing, or generally them just being them. I would say I'm very easily satisfied with this show too just by the vast majority of stuff I can get out of it depending on my mood-- and I think that's what so great about it. You can have fun with it whether you wanna dig deep or just bask in the awesomeness of it all.

Gay pirates? Check.

Hot leads? Check.

Diverse Cast and Characters? Check

Always something new and exciting to be analysed down to the second? Check.

Ability to turn it on and smile at every fucking scene just because it's gorgeous or mah boys are kissing? Check

Inspires people to create awesome art and smutty fics? Check

Real fucking relationship problems between queer people that end up happy? Check.

Sometimes I turn it on and just watch the Ed and Stede kissing scenes because it makes me smile. I don't need to think about anything, I can just look at their little goofy ass grins, and their pure love and just fucking live in it for a while.

I have to say too-- I LOVE that you generally have positive experiences with what you watch. I tend to find the good things in just about anything (unless its like crazy offensive somehow) and it's nice to just enjoy stuff, ya know?

ALSO SIDE NOTE: I appreciate you reaching out and chatting! I love reading your recommended fics and posts just fyi <3 DM me sometime if you ever wanna chat!

Speaking of the two babygirls kissing... I'll just be sitting here staring at them for a bit.

[meteor752]

Episode 6 and 7 thoughts

This will now be a regular thing

Also im writing this as I go

Episode 6

So Izzy thought Ed was Roach. Huh. Does he and Roach talk regularly? <- Coming from a Rizzy shipper

“Do weeeee?” Fang I love you

Oh my god, Frenchie and Jim coming to Ed and Stede like they’re kids asking if their cousins can sleep over

The crew going shoppiiiiiiiiing!!!

Frenchie’s lil dancey dance added many years to my life

Ed being nice and giving kids mon- oh never mind, oh that’s a knife okay. Ed never have kids please

“Don’t pirate kids” well listen okay I don’t have HBO Max it’s the only way I can watch this show

MY QUEEN

Wee John you’re so beautiful and amazing and we don’t deserve you

Jim’s lil mustache, like yeah me too <- Non-Binary person

Stede looks so happy about seeing Wee John!! He’s so proud of his son!

Izzy is gorgeous. I’m actually so happy to see him explore more sides of himself, and to find things he can indulge in. This whole season has really just been Izzy’s big therapy arc

His hair makes him look a bit like Cinderella’s evil stepmother though

Oh he can sing too! Izzy!!! <- A person who did not like Izzy in season one

Wee John X Izzy? Roach X Fang?

YO THE

POLYCULE DANCING?!

Ed protecting Stede….just, immediately putting him behind himself…I just…

I rewatched that clip five times

“Because I only hang out with cool pirates” Stede’s face!!! He’s just like Oh Snapppp

Despite it all, Stede and Ed are still the cutest couple that has ever graced the TV screen. Like hell yeah, make fun of people together!

Ed keeps being protective…..okay I need a moment…

Roach you’re a lunatic and I love you

“Whatever this is it’s just gonna turn me on” Izzy you’re a shining star

Also I just now noticed that Black Pete and Lucius aren’t there. I’m guessing they eloped somewhere and are currently taking care of their adopted cat

Nope okay, literally the second I unpaused there they are. That’s the worst timing

Hell yeah my dudes, I hope you broke whatever bed you used

“I’m just doing it for the lolz” Yeah that’s sounds like something someone from the 1700s would say

I know this is a pirate ship but why do they just have so many knives and swords laying about

Who is this fanged torture queen, and how do I acquire her number?

Stede remains best employer, while Aziraphale is the best landlord. Can these two people just run the world please and thank you

Hell Cat Maggie is my soulmate

I feel like there needs to be a pirate workers union

The crew of the revenge is the best found family of all time

Stede Bonnet can rival Steven Universe in reforming villains, like he’s just such a genuinely nice dude

“Alright gang! Let’s talk profit sharing”

Oh protective Stede, alright let’s go mate defend your mans

Okay but why is Stede kinda 👀 in this scene

Oh Stede, love…

OH THEY FAWHKING

That French? Izzy speaks french?

I want to see that man get dicked down

I guess the revenge now has a pet goat

Episode 7

Okay Ed is a soft boy again, aight

NO NOT THE LEATHER JACKET

The anime toast in mouth thing. He’s officially been baby girl for a long while, but we’re really solidifying it

OH THEY FUCKED

Isn’t there an anime where a mob boss becomes a house wife? Yeah that’s Ed

Oh we’re telling him about the mermaid fantasy, okay

Izzy what the fuck, you’re amazing

“He’s jealous” my darling

The polycule is going strong, and I love the absolute lack of jealousy. This is the best representation I have ever had

Oh they’re going on a date! That’s so sweet actually

It’s really sweet that they’re talking about their time apart

Stede’s famous now? Good for him!

I need to stop falling in love with every pirate lady In this show. That being said, I hope we see more of the fangirl lady

I’m reinforcing my claim that Stede and Ed are cuter than anything that has ever been on screen

OH MY GOD SWEDE

The Söt Och Saftig, my love. Also this far in and this is the first time the character “The Swede” actually says something in Swedish

Scammer Frenchie is back in business, love that

Jim and Archie trying to get their boyfriend set up is very sweet actually

The character development of Izzy going from wanting Ed to remain “Blackbeard” to him saying if being a softie makes him happy then he should do that, like I get it now, I know why you all love this man

OH MY FUCKING GOD STEDE

Can’t believe Stede is an official Slut now

Open communication? Like genuine conversation about their relationship, and the pace they’re taking it? Ed being honest that he’s not ready for the steps they’re taking in their relationship?

What is this argument

I live for Lucius and Black Pete’s nicknames for each other

“I’ve only known you for a few hours Bonnet, but I’d fucking die for ya” Same random dude. Same

Izzy🥹

Zheng and Olu are really cute actually

Oh my god the polycule will end my fucking life

DONT BRING ED INTO THIS ZHENG

“That was really mean” YOU TELL HER STEAK KNIFE

Protective Jim my beloved

Oh my god

Roach and Fang friendship?

Roach is the queen of self care

[chuplayswithfire]

i love the writing for Stede because he's an excellent example of how a person can be marginalized in some ways and privileged in others, which is, in general, the way the world actually works. its rare for there to exist a person with absolutely no privilege and only marginalizations, but people generally don't think of the ways that we're privileged, especially when we're suffering from the ways that we're marginalized

and that's why stede is a great example, and his writing does an excellent job of digging into the topic. because stede experiences a lot of marginalization as a gay man, from childhood bullying and abuse from his father right up to being pressured into marrying a woman and having children - but he's also immensely privileged by virtue of being rich, white, and a man, with each of those things insulating him from the realities of the world that other people, including the people around him, suffer through.

like, with mary - stede's marriage to mary as viewed by stede is one where they're both miserable in monotony, but when you look at the show in reality, stede checked out of his marriage because he didn't want to be there. mary didn't either, but she tried to make it work, because she doesn't have any other options in her society - she would be disgraced and without support, monetarily, or familial in most cases, if she left her husband, and she wouldn't be allowed to divorce him. she has to make it work because this is her only option.

but stede has options. stede can check out. stede can leave his wife to do the hard work of raising the kids while mary has to be the one to ask them to stop running around the house, and initiate conversations with them at the dinner table, and nurture and care for them. stede is the fun dad playmate, and its why when he decides that he wants to leave his monotonous life, where he's uncomfortable in a married state, that he leaves the children behind with her.

and with the crew - stede is a terrible captain in terms of actually knowing how to sail a ship or do anything that a ship needs doing. we all know this. the characters know this. there's a reason oluwande agrees that stede is going to get them all killed, and jim calls him the worst pirate captain ever - when stede sets out to be a captain, he genuinely sucks at this. he's terrible at it, because he didn't have to learn anything about doing any of it, he just needed to be rich to achieve everything he ever wanted, and then rely on the labor of poorer white men and poorer men of color to make it all work out for him.

in episode two, when stede finds his courage to go after the hostages and prove himself as a captain, he says "i am adequate", which is both played for comedy and empathy - comedy because its such an understatement for a positive affirmation, empathy because it's *such* an understatement and goes to outlining stede's overall low sense of worth, but i think it's also important to note that it's kind of right? at best, stede is adequate at that moment.

and throughout the show, we see stede take a lot of things to heart, but also, in many ways fail to take responsibility for things he does wrong - he overcompensates and makes them about his lack of worth, or he deflects and makes them not his fault, or he gets overly critical towards others so he doesn't have to accept any blame or fault - and it all stems from this mindset that's been built into him from youth, that he's worthless and terrible and pathetic.

and here's the thing: i'm not saying that stede's abusive father or the badmintons or anyone else who bullied and tormented stede were right. he's not a lily-livered little rich boy who's never going to be anything else. but they did impart a lot of learned helplessness into stede, at least as i see him, where because he has such low self-esteem, he genuinely seems to think that he can't possibly cause harm to other people. he feels guilty about abandoning his family, he feels guilty about leaving them behind, he feels that this makes him a bad person, but it's not until episode 9 and he learns that he's been reported dead that he seems to genuinely think about the ways that his family could have suffered without him.

after all, in keeping with the times, it's very possible that mary would have been educated on managing a household, but not finances or businesses, or the land that they run. it's very possible that other relatives could have come crawling from the woodwork for the fortune. it's possible that with the money being louis', not mary's, by right, that she could have been with very limited access to their funds.

a lot of bad things could have happened, even WITHOUT the emotional hurt that being abandoned by a husband/father would cause, but stede doesn't seem to have expected any of that. in episode 10, he's surprised and hurt that his children are angry and have forgotten him. he's angry that mary has found a person to be in love with. he's upset that he came back and coming back wasn't enough for anyone, because he didn't think he, stede bonnet, could hurt anyone.

and that's partially because he's always seen himself through the lens of victimization and the ways that others have hurt him, and not in the ways that he could hurt others. mary's life is better with stede gone not because of his inherent lack of worth as a person, but because he was a terrible husband, wrapped up in himself and his griefs and his hurts and his very real marginalizations, and in doing so completely failed to be compassionate or kind or even an active participant in his own domestic life.

by the end of the season, we see stede finally starting to own that. we see that he's recognized his part in the harm he caused, and that he's finally being active, not reactive, in his own life. he makes the decision to leave openly, he carefully removes himself from at least one of his privileges - his class, by abandoning his wealth fully, this time, no longer leaving himself a lifeline to the world of the wealthy elite, and setting out to be an equal to his crew and to ed.

and that's a GOOD way to show this kind of story. because we are often much more attuned to the ways that we experience marginalization than the ways we enjoy privilege. privilege functions near-invisibly for the privileged, because we don't see all the ways we benefit from a world that's purpose-built for us. it takes intentional thought and perspective to see that the world is not built equal, and that we don't all move through it in the same way. often times, we have to confront sources of our marginalization, like stede did in coming back home and dealing with the life he left behind, to acknowledge our privileges - like stede did again, facing his fellow disaffected rich peers and the wife and children he hurt - to begin being active participants in our lives.

i'm really glad for the way stede's journey is handled. it would have been SO easy for the show to say that stede has no fault in his actions, that he had no choices, that he was just reacting. instead the show shows us that stede had options all along, but he was so embedded within himself that he didn't see them, and straggled along, hurting people because he was too busy in that mindset, until finally he came out of it.

i'm excited to see season 2. i'm excited to see where stede grows next, now that he's finally actively shaping his life, not bowing to his learned helplessness, not looking away from the negative impacts of his choices.

[whatkeepsmeafloat]

All right, now that all the promotional material is out there (as far as we know), here are my season 2 timeline predictions/expectations. Putting it behind a cut because this is a long one - I just need to get my thoughts out.

Before we jump into my proposed timeline, a note on the character arcs: Stede is free of his past, but now has to wrestle with the present and his romantic expectations vs. the reality of the situation. I think he enters the season full of hope that the worst is behind him and now he’s going to reunite with his love and his crew and they’ll all sail off into the sunset together. Not so much. He is going to have to put in the work - a lot of it. As for Ed, he will go through a ton of emotional turmoil this season around the theme of acceptance and self-actualisation. I think he initially blames everything on Stede, but has some realisations of his own and finds a way to let go of Blackbeard and his own troubled past at last. This is necessary for him to arrive at any kind of forgiveness when it comes to Stede.

It’s only after Ed lets go of some of his baggage and Stede has proven himself that they truly reunite - on equal footing. They may meet up again early on, but no smooches until after some serious character development.

So what do I think the order of events is going to be?

Bearded Stede running down the beach in leather trousers at sunset is absolutely a dream sequence, and my money is on Stede. He's going to have this fantasy about being a dashing rogue swashbuckling his way back into Ed's heart - maybe in slow-motion set to a great song - only for it to cut to him and his crew sleeping on a floor somewhere like a group of miserable wet dogs. Classic gag - it’ll be great. If Blackbeard interrupting the wedding isn't the opening scene, it'll still be in the first episode of the season. Izzy hates how it's all going and tries to talk to Ed about it, but Ed throws a knife at his head and locks himself into the auxiliary closet with the cake figurines. The crew eats the wedding cake and talks about how things are Not Going Well. Stede stares at the wanted poster, Ed stares at the figurine (music plays, of course). Ed has given up - Stede has only become more determined. Somewhere around here is when Stede meets the Prince Ricky character. More on him later. Also, and I’m not sure if this will happen this early on, but after almost getting eaten by Buttons and Roach, the Swede leaves the crew and joins Spanish Jackie’s harem of husbands. She finds herself drawn to his awkward vibe and he likes getting bossed around by a strong woman - we already know that Jackie is the dominant partner in her relationships.

Stede and crew befriend what they think are a group of Chinese merchants, but end up being a band of pirates who have a bone to pick with Blackbeard and want to find him just as badly as Stede does.They’re using Stede to find Blackbeard’s ship, but somehow it all works out. Don’t ask me how. Meanwhile, Jim is bonding with the cool new lady pirate, but still looking for a way to escape and get back to Olu. Fang and Frenchie are concerned as Ed’s behaviour escalates and Izzy loses his leg - whether it's the severed toe or that rogue gunshot, I don't know. When Stede finally catches up with their ship, they use the crossbow to make a zip line between them - finally, the gang is reunited. Perhaps all of this takes place after the storm that we see Ed standing in. He is reckless and gets himself knocked out. Stede insists on bringing him onto their ship as well, even though everyone thinks Blackbeard is going to kill him. Ed wakes up, headbutts Stede, and things are Tense. Stede is his smiling cherub self and assumes they’ll just go back to the way things were. He says all the wrong things, and Ed is having none of it. He tells Stede that he never wants to see him again once they’re back on land. Stede sighs that he should have just told Ed how he felt instead of whatever came out of his mouth - we all cry. The Chinese pirates forget about whatever they wanted from Ed because he is clearly a broken man and there’s nothing to gain here. Maybe Stede’s crew grew on them, like when we see Buttons doing tai chi with them on deck.

Back on land, Ed tries to leave Stede behind, but Stede keeps following him around and popping up all over the place - like at Spanish Jackie’s place and Anne Bonny and Mary Read’s… antique shop? That look on Ed’s face in the trailer reads as “oh god, he’s back again” to me, not like a first meeting. Anne Bonny and Mary Read either gleefully enjoy the drama of it all or have something more nefarious in mind in revenge of Calico Jack. Izzy absolutely loses his leg because of Ed and is patched up by Stede's crew. Roach uses the ship’s unicorn to create a peg leg. It’s humiliating for Izzy, but he has no choice but to accept. He is vulnerable in a way he has never been before, and instead of casting him out the crew is supportive and tries to help him back onto his feet (well, foot and hoof). This makes him reevaluate not only himself but the group and piracy as a whole - think Long John Silver's arc on Black Sails. He will also have to relearn how to fight and handle himself with the peg leg, so I fully expect a Rocky-style training montage including that shirtless candle slicing scene. This newfound sense of community and purpose combined with the knowledge that Ed really was better with Stede drives Izzy to train Stede in the ways of being a pirate. They both grow to respect each other, the fans cry - give me the montage. There might be a storyline where Olu and Jim have to rediscover their relationship after their separation and Jim growing close to the new crew member. I don’t see them breaking up in any way though - just figuring out where they stand now and how they want to move forward. At the end of the episode someone appears on the ship in English navy clothes, and it turns out to be our boy Lucius. Roll credits.

We learn that Lucius was picked up by the English at the end of season one and has integrated himself into the navy, growing a beard and keeping his head down. He has heard some things and has been looking for a way to rejoin the crew and share this knowledge - maybe their new Prince Ricky fan was an undercover English officer this whole time or something. Black Pete is overjoyed and so are we. Meanwhile, Ed tries to find ways to move on and figure out who he is without a crew and without Stede. He finds himself in an isolated location - maybe after washing ashore after a storm, but this is the part that I can’t figure out - where he talks to a rabbit and starts seeing the ghost of Hornigold. Whether he is using drugs, seriously dehydrated, or just lonely and emotionally unstable, I don’t know. Maybe it’s all of the above. Regardless, he has to face his past and deal with his Blackbeard identity. This is his lowest point, and he ends up throwing himself off the cliff with the rock tied around his middle. Maybe he believes it is a way to pay for what he’s done, maybe he can’t imagine a future for himself without Blackbeard looming over him. Either way, he survives somehow and finds a way to work through the trauma and start over - an ocean baptism, if you will. At the end of all of this is when Ed is finally ready to forgive and move forward with Stede. Perhaps he’s just in time to jump into the fray as Stede is battling the English navy.

I don’t know who this Prince Ricky character is, but it seems like he initially meets Stede’s crew while down and out (or pretending to be), gets his nose cut off along the way (presumably by Jackie), and then leads the English in their battle against the pirates. I do know that there is a historical figure who was an English sailor turned pirate who had the nickname “Prince of Pirates” and used to sail with Hornigold and Blackbeard. However, his name was Samuel Bellamy a.k.a. Black Sam. They may play fast and loose with history though and move some things around. It was actually Hornigold who became a pirate hunter for the English in the end, but maybe they’re going to give that storyline to this guy. I’m really curious to see how it’s going to play out. Fighting back is where Lucius really comes in - he has insider information that the crew can use to form a plan.

The torture ship? Drag show? Earring? I have no clue.

Thank you for letting me vent. Place your bets now on how wrong I’ll end up being!

[izzy-b-hands]

random fic writing babbling and rambling below the cut. TW for discussions of babies, historical breastfeeding, birth, Ed's midwifery charge from his wanted poster (the inspo for these fic ideas that are being discussed below lol.)

I keep trying to write a fic based on the midwifery charge on Ed's s2 wanted poster but I keep getting hung up on the historical accuracy thing of 'where are they getting enough human milk to feed a newborn until they can get this baby to a new family.' Like. In theory, it is doable, but before I get into that:

to explain, the plot every time, even the times I've actively tried to write it differently, is that it's a thing of them choosing the worst time to raid another ship. Either they're mid-raid and hear this poor person still attempting to give birth while everyone else onboard is being killed or threatened by Ed and crew, or as in the latest draft, Ed and Izzy literally walk in to the room just as this person passes away post final push/baby fully delivered.

The baby doesn't fix jack shit between Ed and Izzy or Ed and the crew, bc that doesn't work irl and it ain't gonna work in fiction either.

But! The situation and how everyone pulls together to look after the baby does make Ed slow down and take a step back from the things that have been doing his head in abt himself and Stede and Izzy and life in general. Bc like. He didn't INTEND for this to happen, had he known someone on the ship was actively giving fucking birth, they would have passed it by and left that ship alone! That's too much extra risk/work, when he's intending to keep them on a briskly moving pace for raids. And he doesn't want to hurt a kid, so of course he's going to make their new mission finding someone or a family to look after the baby, and look after them well (god help them if he should find out that's not the case, even years in the future.)

In the latest draft, as in previous, I have it also highlighting Izzy's connection to his mum via midwifery and knowledge abt looking after kids/babies. in the latest draft in particular, Izzy is implied ftm who was absolutely being trained by his mum to take over as midwife for their village/town, had he not gone to sea with Ed instead. But it means he's still retained some knowledge of it all, so he takes on a lot of the baby care.

For example, the bassinet they steal off the ship goes into Izzy's room (which we've seen is small af, so like. He can't even close his door anymore with the bassinet there.) The bottle making kit (that was an interesting bit of research, to find out how the few bottles used might have looked if a wet nurse/someone else nursing that lived nearby/etc weren't available to just. nurse the kid directly) is in his chest at the end of his bed.

Izzy and Ed wind up, again at least in this latest draft, having a few late night, exhausted conversations as they feed the baby and take turns rocking/walking the hall with the baby, just generally so sleep deprived and focusing on the baby that they haven't noticed they're working together more again. It's still clear they have so many things to talk abt and unpack for both of their sakes, but that wax seal over their shared emotions for each other starts to crumble a little once the baby is onboard.

The conversations might not entirely evade the rest of the s2 events, but I can't say bc my drafts always falter right abt here, or when I'm trying to make it sound realistic that they are also, very much, now raiding other ships not just for loot but for anyone currently lactating to express milk for them to feed the baby

(honestly, i half wanna write at least one raiding scene in the fic simply to have Ed try and explain that demand. Yes, he's the dread pirate Blackbeard, the Kraken, your nightmare. Yes, he wants all the loot and money onboard. Yes, he's also currently an unintentional foster parent along with his first mate/husband and their crew to a newborn that needs more milk and as such, anyone currently breastfeeding is commanded to try and fill some of a bottle. Either way, you're giving up everything you have so stop thinking about it or asking questions, unless you know of anyone looking to adopt a baby, by chance. In that case, please give that information to Fang before giving up your expensive things and/or breast milk.)

There's a lot of tentative hope, among all of them re: the baby. All of them making little comments, here and there, that whether the kid winds up a pirate or not, they hope the baby will be happy. Looked after and loved, in the ways some of them either weren't or experienced a very unhealthy/dysfunctional version of.

I do know the ending pretty well, though elements of it could change.

But for sure, I'm thinking of a scene of the ship, dark, everyone quiet sitting on the deck after they've dropped the baby off with a new family (i keep hemming and hawing with it being Doug and Mary somehow having heard abt this kid some pirates are trying to unload, bc I like the idea of leaving a little room for a sequel in Mary being like 'huh sounds like this guy (Ed) is really upset over someone who sounds an awful lot like Ste-oh no' and letting Ed know what went down with Stede)

And as they sail into the night, Ed mumbles that they should consider the night as a night off, but be ready to fight tomorrow morning. He implies they can all go fuck off to bed or whatever then, but instead all of them, Ed included, wind up bunking together on the main deck. Sharing bottles of rum, taking turns at the wheel/making sure they're not about to run aground, and having conversations abt their childhoods, mainly the few happy things they remember.

Like, Archie reveals part of the reason she joined the snake cult was bc she just always has liked them. Even as a little kid, grabbing them gently and letting them chill on her arms/hands.

Ed talks abt his mum teaching him how to sew, and jokes abt him and Izzy having darned each other's socks for years, thank fuck they both sew fairly well.

That actually gets a smile out of Izzy, who mumbles out that his mum would be pleased to see he'd remembered how to keep a baby alive and that he'd maybe even done fairly well.

Fang makes a gentle, kindly meant joke abt Izzy keeping them all alive fairly well, that she'd be proud of that too, and we cut to Ed's face just. Destroyed as he realises yeah, that's exactly what he's been making Izzy do, now and before. And he's just stepped back from the Kraken and the feelings that make that up to have that make him feel terrible. They used to live for each other, each sunrise they saw a defiant, blinding medal in reward of their survival. But it hasn't been that way for a long time, has it? And he can't decide if he wants to explore that feeling or make it go away as fast as possible, or maybe both.

Cut back to Fang cheerfully telling everyone the story of how he wound up being named for his dad, becoming Kevin Jr, and we end on the implication that at least for the rest of the night, things will be calm for them.

Makes me mad as hell I can write this whole post out to discuss the fic, but I can't seem to finish a draft solidly enough to finally finish and publish lmao

[happyandticklish]

ohohoho ed n stede for the headcanon game pls 🥹💕

Of course, I love them so much <3 I apologize for how ungodly late this is, I completely forgot this was in my inbox 🥲

Who has the cutest tickle laugh?

Probably Stede, tbh. I feel like

What are their tickle spots?

I think the fandom has collectively agreed that Ed's worst spot is his stomach, but I would like to add on that his ribs are a close second. Stede's absolute worst spot are his thighs, but basically everywhere serves as a walking tickle spot tbh.

Who is ticklish in unusual places and where would that be?

Ed's calves are ticklish, especially to that tactic where you grab the muscle and just squeeze. It's not even his worst spot, but it's unbearable in this very specific way where he can't stand it for very long.

Who gets cheer-up tickles?

They both do because they're saps (affectionate).

Do either of them try to hide their ticklishness?

I feel like Ed would due to his reputation. It can't really get out that the infamous Blackbeard is ticklish, after all. Stede does not, and also does not realize why that information would be something that you'd try to hide.

Who takes advantage of the other one getting their arms stuck while trying to take off their shirt?

Ed does, because it's so fucking easy. The sheer amount of fancy clothing and frocks and undergarments on Stede's person makes it impossible to get it all off in one fell swoop, and often he'll get stuck in the process and Ed's not not gonna take advantage of that opportunity.

How did they discover each other's ticklishness?

Stede found out through Jack. Out of all the shit that Jack brought into their lives, that particular piece of information that he left slip was the one good thing he did for their relationship. Ed found out when they first really got together; Stede's far too ticklish for his own good, and it would crop up in cuddling a lot.

Who can't take tickle bites/raspberries?

BOTH they turn into giggly piles of mush and it's adorable 🥰

Who has to be tickle-forced out of bed in the morning?

Okay, so Stede most of the time, because he's not an early riser and it's the only way to wake him up without him getting crabby. Ed, on the other hand, is used to getting up early, but he'll pretend to be asleep just to give Stede an excuse to tickle him awake.

Who initiates tickle fights?

They both do ^^ They have a very playful relationship and love fucking with each other, so it comes up a lot lol

Who gives up in tickle fights?

Weirdly enough, Ed. Stede's is a goddamn glutton for tickling, and he could go endlessly without any breaks. Ed isn't used to tickling though, so he gets overwhelmed very quickly and has to take a break.

Who's in danger of getting hurt when attacking the other?

They both are! Ed could genuinely hurt someone on accident, and Stede's just really fucking squirmy. Ed has definitely walked away with a black eye from one of their tickle fights lol.

Who always provokes the other into tickling them and how?

They both do omg. Ed gets extremely playful and will get into arguments about everything, poking Stede in the side and pretending nothing happened when he looks over at him. Meanwhile, Stede fully just asks, my man has no shame.

[straightupsickfics]

I have an OFMD promt for you if you're interested! I love the way you write them! Lucius @Ed abt Stede, "That man spoils you rotten."

oh this is sooo cute for them pls <3 stede really will spoil him!

****

Ed wakes up alone in bed, which is unusual for a two reasons. First, he doesn't quite remember getting in bed, and two, he never wakes up alone. Stede is always beside him, reading or sipping his tea or kissing Ed's cheek or —

Well, anyway, Stede is decidedly not beside him. In fact, the right side of the bed is entirely made up, which means Stede hadn't been there at all just yet.

"Oh, look who decided to join us," a voice says from the other side of the room. "You look amazing like that, by the way."

Waking up to Lucius instead of Stede is not Ed's idea of a good morning, if he's being honest, but given the way the light is coming through the window beside him, it looks more like late afternoon than morning, anyway.

"Mm? Lucius...? Where's Stede?" Ed sits up too quickly, his vision going bleary and unfocused and the congestion in his head shifting enough that it brings the last few days back in vivid memory. He has some kind of bug...cold... sinus shit, which was all too soon joined by some of the worst headaches he'd ever had. And Ed had had his fair share, given all the drinking and hangovers over the years.

"He's off making sure Roach gets your soup just right," Lucius informs him, looking up from his notebook and smiling a little. "He left me here to make sure you're alright and to track any new developments. So far I've written down 'absolutely ungodly snoring' but not much else."'

"Fuck off," Ed groans. He feels a little better than he had earlier, but he's definitely still sick. His head feels heavy with congestion, he can hardly breathe through his nose, and he's vaguely aware that he's going to sneeze in a minute or two.

"Just reporting the facts, Captain," Lucius says primly. "Stede should be back soon, though, thank god. Not that I haven't loved this."

Ed sneezes once...twice...three times in response, aiming them down at the many blankets Stede had piled around him, too exhausted and out of sorts to do much else.

“eh-hH–httSCHssh’ooh! Chiiishhhew! ehh… etCHishh!"

He sniffles a few times, eyes and nose streaming after his little rush of sneezes.

"Attractive," Lucius teases.

"Snf! SNF! I don't remember note-taking needing a minute by minute commentary, mate. Tell Stede I don't snf! dneed soup I just ndeed..." Ed trails off, because all he really needs is Stede and the realization makes his breath catch in his throat.

"You can tell him that, but then you'll make his face to that horrible pinched up sad thing, and trust me no one wants to be the one to do that. Plus, that man spoils you rotten, why ruin it for him? Or yourself, for that matter."

This, too, gives Ed pause. Stede truly does take the best care of him, in general, but especially these last few days. Aside from this latest soup endeavor, Ed reckons Stede's hardly left his side the entire time he's been sick. The thought makes him warm all over, but it also makes him miss Stede something fierce.

"Yeah, s'pose you're right about that," Ed says quietly. His head throbs and he knows it's a matter of minutes before he's sneezing again, but at least he knows Stede will be back soon, and he can count on him not to narrate every fucking moment of this fucking cold.

"That's been known to happen, yes," Lucius smirks.

He looks back at his notebook and Ed lets himself burrow back down into the blankets Stede had covered him with. The only thing that would be better right now is if Stede himself were here beside him instead of — no doubt — torturing Roach to ensure the soup was done up the right way.

Ed's smiling to himself at that thought when the door creaks open and then shuts again.

"Oh, thank god," Lucius says, already springing to his feet and talking rapidly, faster than Ed's cold-addled brain can comprehend.

"You're a star, Lucius," Stede says, and when Ed looks up, Lucius is high-tailing it out of their quarters, leaving just him and Stede and a steaming tray full of mugs and bowls and spoons. If Ed had any sense of smell left, he'd bet it all smelled amazing.

"And how's the patient?" Stede asks warmly, setting the tray down and pressing the back of his hand to Ed's forehead. "You gave me a little bit of a scare there, Edward. I was afraid to leave you alone, you seemed to be in so much pain."

He's looking at Ed with so much fondness and genuine care that it makes a lump rise in Ed's throat.

Stede presses his fingertips to Ed's scalp, massaging lightly, like it's nothing at all. Ed lets out an involuntary groan at the touch, feeling some of the tension leave his body. His headache was already on its way out, but a few more moments of this and he'd be asleep all over again, and that wouldn't do either, not when Stede had gone to so much effort for the soup.

"S'nice," Ed says, fighting to keep his eyes open. "Y'really didn't have to do all this."

"Oh! Nonsense. No one likes to be sick. Let me fuss a bit," Stede says, as if he isn't already doing just that.

Lucius' words ring in Ed's ears. That man spoils you rotten.

He really isn't wrong.

"Yeah, alright, mate," Ed says quietly. He looks up at Stede and smiles, thankful beyond belief that the same man who would let one of his crew lose teeth to scurvy would drop everything to make Ed Teach soup. "But you'll have to have some too. Misery loves company and all that, eh?"

Stede sits beside him on the bed, smiling when Ed lets his head rest on his shoulder for just a moment.

"Ah, well, you know I always love your company, Ed."

Ed's stomach flips. Definitely, definitely spoiled by Stede Bonnet.

[knowlesian]

thinking about ed, and walls that become cages.

because we know ed is young when he kills his father; we can assume he’s just as young when he leaves home. young when he has to start fending for himself and keep the world not just at a distance but learn to bite back without crossing the fine line between being somebody’s eventual and immediate c.o.d.

that takes control. it takes a certain amount of planning. it takes understanding that people see what they want to see unless they’re looking carefully or you give them a reason to do otherwise.

because there’s no reason to disbelieve ed, when he confesses that to stede; we can have our own take on if he's defining murder right, but when it comes to ed the character with his own internal moral structure, he defines it so that the last person he killed personally was his father.

so the years with hornigold, pirate frat bro’ing it up with jack: nobody figures it out. he leaves home barely more than a kid, grows into a man in a culture where his line there would be anything but the accepted norm, and as far as we know nobody ever figures it out. he becomes the legend, he makes izzy his first mate; nobody knows.

he presents himself as blackbeard: legendary pirate. the kraken is his private shame, the thing he tells himself in his worst moments, and ed is who he is when he’s alone. blackbeard bridges the gap, in some ways, at the same time it protects him.

who would think blackbeard doesn’t kill? it’s ludicrous. he’s born of the devil. a million knives and guns and a head made of smoke. he has made himself so motherfucking scary all it takes is the evocation of his imagined wrath to make people surrender.

like ed said: he doesn’t even need to be on the ship.

the parts of piracy ed enjoyed— thinking fast in new ways and not the same old shit, equally new daring adventures, buckling some swashes and having gay sex via swordfights literal and colloquial that aren’t weird and depressing— are now basically all off the table.

he doesn't have to do much but run from one easy win to the next, maybe plot a daring escape in between, but it’s all the fucking same. he built blackbeard to protect himself; his secrets, his tender underbelly. and then he built blackbeard as a channel for his very real anger, because among the many rational responses to a lifetime of unfair bullshit is being pissed off about it.

violence isn’t ed’s instinct, but push people far enough and they push back. physical violence absolutely provided him a shield (nobody suspects the guy who chops off toes and make people eat them of not liking murder, because... that’s fucking terrifying holy shit that is MURDER BASEMENT territory, if you don't know all the secrets ed told stede, or we as an audience saw in flashback)  but it also provided an outlet for that anger.

he's older now; still angry, because the world is still fucked up, but no longer satisfied channeling everything into the same old expected patterns and only letting his other impulses bleed in around the edges until the world (or izzy) reminds him to pull it back in and be who he is supposed to be.

this is the problem of becoming blackbeard so nobody will be able to see ed, and the things he doesn’t want them to see; self-fucking-fulfilling prophecy. he needed blackbeard, once upon a time, but he’s outgrown blackbeard. it always hurt him, but it used to give him things he needed. 

the utility’s gone. all being blackbeard does is hurt him now and he wants to figure himself out beyond the boundaries of his legend but he built the foundations of said legend so well knocking them over also involves toppling pillars of identities that aren't even his.

it is an absolute goddamned pickle of a bitch of a Situation. i enjoy these writers a lot but also: ow?