#chauncy is he/him

[ghostathan]

For the good of the empire

[crimson-and-clover-1717]

Chauncy’s character assassination of Stede Bonnet in 109 is brutal. I want to explore the imagery and connotations of monster. Typically, we think of monsters as grotesque, ugly and something to be feared. Monsters are deemed anti-normative by the majority who set the standard for what is considered desirable, normative.

Stede has been ‘monstered’ by everyone his whole life. His father others and bullies Stede for being a gender nonconforming boy; Mary cannot understand Stede’s desperate need to ‘break the monotony’ in their marriage; the Revenge crew can’t initially comprehend this new, life-affirming approach to piracy and consider mutiny. To the likes of Nigel Badminton, Stede has been a ‘monster’ since childhood with his gentle, crying, flower-picking ways. Ed is the first person to see beauty and worth in the monster. When Ed attempts finally to shed the costume of toxic masculinity worn as protective armour for so long, he is accused of being a monster too: ‘This…you’ve become’. This. Unnamable. A whatever. All because Ed isn’t performing masculinity to Izzy’s expected standard. Effeminate behaviour will not be tolerated. Emotion outside of anger is weakness.

But this show loves to confound and it confounds well.

In 203, Ed’s mind subverts the trope of the monster into something transcendental. And by doing so rescues his own self from the Kraken-monster imagery that has imprisoned him, the stone falling from his waist, albatross-like.

Because what is more monster than a human-hybrid. A scaly, underwater-breathing, half-man, half-goldfish. Merstede is a monster. An effeminate one. And a beautiful one! Ed reclaims the word from Chauncy, rehabilitates it, and allows the wonder of Stede Bonnet to blaze across his dying consciousness. This enigmatic man, frequently reviled for being unashamedly himself, turned Ed’s world upside down and inside out. Who challenges Ed’s own perceptions of self again, and again, and again. Whose anti-normative qualities are not grotesque, but rather exquisite. This undefinable, miraculous creature who left Blackbeard completely and utterly undone.

Stede mirrors Ed. I am you and you are me. Let’s be anti-normative together. Let’s redefine the trope.

Here be monsters, both.

[piratecaptainscaptainpirates]

One of the things about Stede that absolutely kills me is that I don't think we ever see him defend himself.

Stede has such a negative view of himself, and it's clearly gotten to the point where he thinks everyone else is justified in assuming the worst, too. He acts so confident that it's almost something you can miss, so I can't even blame Ed for not noticing just how bad Stede's self-image is.

Stede never tries to explain his behavior. He just nods along when other people tell him how they interpreted his actions.

S1E3: Stede, about to be hanged, says "I deserve that" when Jim calls him "the worst pirate captain in history." Now, yes, he's been just the worst pirate ever up until this point, but he's literally about to die and he doesn't even try to get sympathy or reassurance.

S1E9 - Stede never even bothers trying to explain that Nigel's death was an accident, he says he stole Nigel's sword and jammed it through his head. Part is obviously to make sure he takes the blame instead of Ed, who already confessed, but he could have given the true account of events.

S1E10 - Stede seems bummed but definitely not surprised to see Mary and the kids are doing so well without him. Never explains himself or tells Mary that he'd been feeling so trapped and terrible. When Mary tried to skewer him, his biggest cricitism was about how maybe she should have tried smothering him or using a pillow instead.

S2E1-E3 - Stede can only assume Ed's behavior at the beginning of the season is his fault alone, but he never, ever tries to pass blame. He never even thinks about blaming Ed or any crew members' actions. As far as he's concerned, the responsibility is his alone.

S2E4 - I think it's very natural that Stede's explanation to Ed wouldn't include the fact that Chauncy dragged him out of bed and shot himself in front of him. It might make Ed feel better to know Stede wasn't just panicking about their relationship moving too fast, he'd also just been through a very traumatic event, but Stede doesn't think of it like that. As far as he's concerned, he has no excuses and Ed is right to blame him entirely.

Always, every time, Stede assumes everyone is always working with the understanding that Stede fucked up big time and he deserves complete blame for everything that happens as a result. He never tries to contextualize his actions. He assumes the worst of himself and thinks everyone else is right to do so too.

I'm glad Ed's started to pick up on how much Stede is desperate for approval. I hope he realizes how much Stede needs reassurance and how much good saying "you're not the worst person alive and you're not irredeemable" will do for him.

[adickaboutspoons]

I object to the term "whim"

In episodes 4 and 5 of the second season, there's a lot of throwing around of the word "whim." Ed and Stede both argue that they were just a whim to the other, Stede concludes they they are both "whim-prone" and that whim-prone people shouldn't run off to China together, and Ed cites their "whim-prone"ness as a reason to take things slow as they start to rebuild their relationship.

And I know we all like to joke about U-Haul failboats in love, but they aren't whim-prone. That's not what's going on here.

The first time on the show that we hear the word "whim" is in s1e4, when Izzy says "For years, I've followed your every whim, I've managed your increasingly erratic moods, I've massaged this crew when they were worried about your judgment." But from what we see of Izzy's interactions with the crew, he's not a massager, he's a sledgehammer, and the crew respect Blackbeard a hell of a lot more than they respect Izzy. Ed's moods don't read as "erratic" at all if you pay attention to what he's responding to; he's an emotional guy, for sure, but mostly even-keeled until highly provoked. And as for "following [his] every whim," Izzy can barely follow orders as given - committing insubordination at least twice that we see; not telling Stede that it was Blackbeard that wanted to meet him in s1e3, and flat-out ignoring Ed's "we're not doing this" in s1e6 when he challenges Stede to the duel. So I don't see Izzy as a reliable narrator when he suggests Ed is "whim-prone" - it might look like that to him because he doesn't try to understand Ed on his own terms, but it is v. much a construction that Izzy is imposing on Ed; not an objective character trait Ed possesses. After all, you don't get a reputation for being "history's most brilliant tactician" if you're not, at the heart of it all, a planner.

Stede is also a planner. Mary accuses Stede of abandoning his family on a whim, but that's also inaccurate. Thanks to all the hard work @nicnacsnonsense did in her marvelous 1st season timeline video, we know that SIX MONTHS elapsed between Stede proposing with his model boat that they go to sea at the anniversary debacle and the night of Mary's apology when Stede had already committed to actually leaving. That's not a whim - that's plenty of time for serious deliberation. It LOOKED like a whim from the outside because of their disastrous communication failures, but that doesn't make it true. Unabandoning his family was not a whim either - Chauncy was the catalyst, but only because he created a high-pressure situation that validated all of the insecurities we'd seen Stede struggling with all season; guilt over abandoning his family, and his crater-bottom self-esteem that the people he loved were better off without him. Even in season 2, we see more of this long-game behavior, where Stede takes his drudge job in towels and elevates it by applying scent; a move that LOOKS whim-prone from the outside, but primes him for success when it comes time to escape, because it means he knows the guards are used to deeply inhaling the scent of the fresh towels he gives them, and is thus he is able to trick them into chloroforming themselves.

There are times in the 1st season where it might LOOK like they are being whim-prone, but for the most part, those things are mostly time-critical circumstances . The impulsive decision to go to the French Party Boat? The invitation was for that night, so it's not like another opportunity like that was just going to come along. Stede's impromptu Fuckery? He'd JUST been introduced to the concept that morning, and the ships on which he wanted to try it out were three days away. If you'll recall, Ed actually tries to talk him out of going through with it with such a short turn-around time, and likely would have succeeded if Izzy hadn't interveined to further his "Kill Stede Now" agenda. The Treasure hunt? Stede was anxiously scrabbling for ANYTHING to keep Ed's attention (AFTER he confirmed there were no oranges for sale, not even for ready money) because Ed said that his plans for the day included "planning for the next adventure" and leaving. Act of Grace? Signing away ten years of your life for a man you've known for a month IS a lot, but the alternative was letting Stede be executed. Running away together? I'll give you that China was quite the absurd swing, but they WERE in jail for all intents and purposes - no sense staying longer than absolutely necessary, and there theoretically could have been time for re-working the plan once they were just away had circumstances not arisen.

So while I think it's fair to call the boys whimsical with their love of dress-up and lovely perfumed things and theatrics and tasty sugary treats, I wouldn't say whim-prone is an accurate descriptor (and the fact that they are accepting that it is makes my heart crack wide open for them, because it's evidence that they're still both uncritically absorbing the labels applied to them by people who don't really understand them at all), nor the problem they need to address.

Their real problem is actually the exact opposite of flitting from whim to whim; that, once they've committed to something, they are all in, 100% ride-or-die. It's why Ed resigned himself to going down with the ship when it turned out he'd miscalculated the date instead of trying any evasive maneuvers with the fog to give them cover. It's why, when Stede didn't show at the docks, Ed went full pillow fort until Lucius was able to talk him around into life going on without Stede. It's why Stede threw himself into trying to be all the things he thought he'd failed to be as a husband and father when he came back to his family, and was committed to staying, even though it was making him miserable, until Mary tried to murder him.

Ultimately, the solution for both these conditions is the same - slowing down. But it's not a matter of making sure this is serious and not just a whim for either of them; it's a matter of taking the time to understand exactly what it is that you're committing to. So I object to the term "whim."

[nortsauce]

one thing i really missed in season 2 (and ofc season 3) of OFMD was the found family aspect, specifically between stede and the crew.

i was INHALING the stede and lucius scene as well as stede complimenting everyone during the cursed ship raid, and i dead near cried when jim, the one who had been the most critical of stede from the beginning, started telling his stories to the other pirates as well as being the one to ask/greet him for calypso’s birthday.

this was all wonderful and dandy and i love the crew and stede and dont get me wrong i love how ed and his crew and other crews were sorta integrating into the revenge all “You Can’t Take it With You” style (iykyk)

but NOTHING and i mean NOTHING will ever top how hard i cried when Stede owned Chauncy with “We talk it through,” and the the WHOLE ship responds with “As a crew!” after doing so much to save stede’s hide despite not liking him at first.

Buttons being stede’s ride-or-die, Oluwande being there reasonable one for stede, Lucius being stede’s “son” that he cant relate to, jim being the edgy one who eventually comes to miss stede

i start crying thinking about it theres so much more i wanted,

more stories being read, more gags of stede being a father figure to the crew,

DONT GET ME WRONG i wouldn’t trade the romances and other relationships for all the money in the world,

this is just my grief of “fuck you big corporations i wanted MORE”

anyways this is all just to say i love found family and i love the crew of the revenge. 💝

[girlbossblackbeard]

my theory (hope) is that Ed will read the line in Stede's letter about having renounced his wealth which will prompt him to ask Stede why tf he would do that if he was already leaving Mary and Stede will reply with something along the lines of "Well I can't keep my fortune if I'm technically dead" and Ed will be like "???? what" which will be how Stede tells Ed EVERYTHING from getting kidnapped by Chauncy to the fuckery of his faked death and I will FINALLY know peace

[batsarebetterthanpeople]

I want to write a meta on Stede Bonnet of Our Flag Means Death and internalized homophobia. A lot of this is going to be a rehash of something I said to an anon back in october of 2022 but I feel like it deserves to be put out without rancid anon takes attached.

Our Flag Means Death as a show is trying to do a deconstruction of toxic masculinity. I feel very comfortable in saying that seeing as David Jenkins had "A lot of what we're taught about what it means to be a man is wrong" and a show about gay men with a thesis like that is necessarily also deconstructing homophobia, even if it doesn't center homophobia, which ofmd does not, it keeps it in just out of frame at all times, because it prefers to center queer joy. However that doesn't mean it's not there and I want to talk about the one place where it exists that I feel like people don't really touch on.

Stede is a character that comes from a background of wealth, of rigid adherence to social norms that he was never able to fully fit into. There are rules for what men do and what women do and those rules must be obeyed and Stede learns this the hard way, by getting tied in a boat and having things thrown at him for picking flowers. By being bullied relentlessly for being soft and weak. Under such conditions you can’t not internalize those rules.

Stede also is very insecure, in episode 2 it's established that he struggles with feelings of inadequacy. A lot of Stede’s guilt comes from his inability to preform the roles of husband and father, roles which were thrust upon him without his consent and stand in opposition to his identity as a gay man, at least in the 1700s. Stede considers himself a coward for his inability to preform these rolls. Stede is unable to forgive himself for being unable to fit into the heterosexual expectations that society as placed on him.

Blackbeard is also a hypermasculine figure. A role that Ed finds himself unable to fit into. That’s why Ed and Stede seem to be in the same place when they first meet. They’re both trying to break out of these rigid boxes that have been forced upon them. Blackbeard is less heterosexual, more specific, but it’s still a distinctly male expectation which is tied up in cultural ideals about masculinity, especially non-white masculinity. And the whole show Izzy, a gender conforming character who seems to go out of his way to talk down to any man he perceives as even a little bit soft, is trying to force Ed into it, and when he tries to imply that Ed isn’t Blackbeard enough he does it by emasculating him

Ed is open, at least when he's made to feel like he's in a safe environment, about not wanting to be blackbeard anymore. Stede suggests retirement and provides him space to experiment with reinventing himself, but at the end of the day Stede doesn't believe him because Stede venerates Blackbeard as one of the most fearsome pirates of all time (something I expect to be a large point of contention between them in the next season). When Ed finally shakes off his captaincy and tries to leave Blackbeard behind for good Stede ends up blaming himself for it, because he perceives Ed's desire to leave a role that is hurting him behind as him being ruined, the same way Stede perceives his own failure as a husband and father as an inherently corrosive thing.

Unpacking Chauncey's speech in season 1 episode 10 and why Stede agrees with it is fundamental here. Gay people have been for centuries been portrayed as corrupting influences trying to convert people to our lifestyle. We've been portrayed as horror villains. Our sex is portrayed as defilement. We're accused of being groomers who want to corrupt others to our way of life, we're accused of recruiting. This is one of the more classic homophobic tropes. So when Chauncy says you're a monster who defiles beautiful things there is venom and oppression behind it. And Stede agrees to it because he does believe himself to have corrupted Ed away from being Blackbeard into being kind of a pansy like Stede. And that he defiled his family by leaving despite it being what he needed to do.

And so his reaction to this is to shove himself back into the closet and try to be Mary's husband again.

I'm not passing moral judgement on Stede, it's just difficult to interpret the show without seeing the subtextual journey of overcoming internalized homophobia that Stede goes on.

[takitafulily]

Misadventures of the MCs #02

Welcome to our exclusive interview with your favourite MCs! It's ok if you don't know them, let's get to know them!

Q: Let's start simple! Who's the baby?

WHB!MC: Easy, Ppyong

OB!MC: Luke. No matter how much he denies it it's Luke.

TWST!Yuu: I'm gonna say Ortho since Grim is technically a cat, not human, but then again Ortho isn't exactly human either...

LTD!MC: Oh! I'm invited? I'm flattered, thank you! Oh, the baby? Yinny definitely!

MM!MC: Shhhhhhh don't tell him I said this... it's Yoosung-

Q: Who's the parent of everyone?

WHB!MC: Either me or Solomon I guess. Probably Solomon.

OB!MC: Everyone's expecting me to say Lucifer. Wrong. It's Barbatos. Poor demon works overtime to make sure the universe doesn't collapse in on itself.

TWST!Yuu: Hmmm, I'm gonna say Professor Crewel, but he's not the affectionate parent type, he's the Asian parent.

LTD!MC: I'm not quite sure... everyone's very professionally so most of us know how to look after ourselves... maybe Chauncy...

MM!MC: (Immediate response) Jaehee. Please. Give my girl a break-

Q: What's the hardest currency to obtain (as a F2P)?

WHB!MC: Solomon's tears. I need my dear ancestor to cry more please-

OB!MC: Devil points. You really need to save and gacha wisely...

TWST!Yuu: Gems. Once you reach you limit in the storyline, cleared your twistunes and cleared your weekly missions they're so hard to come across...

LTD!MC: Tomatoes I guess? I'm not very F2P friendly after a certain point which is a shame...

MM!MC: The. Freaking. Hour. Glasses.

Q: How many times has someone attempted to kill you so far?

WHB!MC: A couple dozen times, the angels just won't leave me alone-

OB!MC: About 10-20 times? I forget to count since it gets brushed under the rug every time. (Cue the other MC staring weirdly at them) What?

TWST!Yuu: 9 and counting, though I guess some weren't personal I just happened to be there.

LTD!MC: N-none??? Are you guys ok????? (Concerned noises)

MM!MC: Less than 10 I think? They were pretty close calls though.

[short-king-enthusiast]

Thinking about how if Ed had found out about Chauncy trying to kill Stede, Ed would have folded even faster than he already did. But Stede didn't mention it because he was taking responsibility for his own actions.

Sure Chauncy triggered a breakdown but Stede still chose what he did. He didn't even try to use it as an excuse to win him back. Even though it absolutely would have worked.

The level of maturity?? Not bringing up a valid factor in your mental state and your choices because it's not truly relevant to the fact that you're apologizing for hurting someone. I'm on my knees. I'm in a puddle.

[sarucane]

How did Stede leave pirating so easily?

So in the space of 2 episodes, Stede goes from being "the motherfucking man" to an innkeeper, and there's really not *much* in between there--all his scenes are primarily about other characters in the finale. So I wanted to rant about what I think fills in this gap.

Why did Stede become a pirate in the first place? Well, because he wanted to be a "real boy." He wanted to have a life that felt like his own, a life that wasn't swaddled in comfort (completely, at least). He wanted to break the monotony, the despair of a life without room for deep emotions or agency. And he became a certain kind of pirate because he wanted to be someone important and good in the lives of others, not just a marginal figure.

But why did Stede become a pirate the second time?

Ed.

Sure, there were other reasons: he didn't belong with his family anymore, didn't fit in his old life, and trying to have his cake (having run away) and eat it too (coming back) was just hurting everyone. He changed, and they changed, and a foundational truth of this show is that you can't change back.

But the reason he didn't belong with his family anymore was that he had gotten his original wish. He'd become a "real boy," someone who felt things deeply, who didn't need to keep one foot in his old life by hanging onto his wealth. He'd become important and valued in the lives of his crew, which they demonstrated when Chauncy challenged his right to the Act of Grace

But the moment Stede crosses the line forever between his old life and his new one is when he tells Mary "his name is Ed."

When Stede leaves, he falls in with the marooned crew--but he spends more time pining for Ed then talking to them. There's a place for him with his crew, and he fits in it, and we see in E5-6 that he cares deeply about doing right by them.

But neither Ed nor Stede fully fit into the crew when everyone's back together. Ed's caught up in his own self-reckoning, and Stede's splitting attention between the crew and Ed. In a way, they've outgrown Stede: they no longer need his help to enable the community on the ship. They've reached a point where they can deal with the conflicts in E4 by themselves, can absorb Archie and then Izzy and give both of them space to relax and integrate. They like having Stede as captain, but they don't need him anymore. In E7, Stede takes Olu leaving as a betrayal, but even that goes back to Stede being more focused on Ed than on the crew, and acting out over hurt feelings from a fight.

The only thing left that Stede can only get through piracy is the lure of fame. And that's a real perk--Stede genuinely enjoys his taste of infamy in E7. It's fun, it's a fulfillment of a childhood dream.

But it's also hollow, and it's a trap. It's hollow because Bill isn't Stede's real friend, and the loss of Steak Knife wasn't worth Stede dying by challenging Zheng (nor was Stede's ego worth Steaky's death, but that's another thing). And it's a trap because Stede really is a terrible pirate. Stede has to deal with the pirate world without Ed three times during the show. The first time, the Spanish almost kill him; the second time, Spanish Jackie almost maims him; the third time, he challenges Zheng to a duel and refuses to back down, then tries to "ambush" British officers who kick his butt. Stede's fantastic when he stays in his lane of nontraditional piracy, but if he became a really successful traditionally infamous pirate, he'd no longer be Stede.

So Stede doesn't need the infamy of success as a pirate, any more than he needs is pretty clothes (though he likes both). Stede doesn't need to stay a pirate to keep his relationship with the crew, and they don't need him either. Stede doesn't need to go out and be a pirate to feel real things, or think he's "adequate" enough for his father.

But Stede does need to give his relationship with Ed a real chance, to be what they want it to be. And Ed just cannot be a pirate anymore--there's too much damage and pain. Plus, living on the ship, their lives in danger all the time, heightening everything, pushing their actions out of their control. Their relationship was crushed under that pressure in S2, and it's still a pretty fragile thing. They need space and time. And by leaving the ship, they can have it.

For Stede, piracy meant belonging, love, and fulfillment.

He has those things now: He's got Ed. He doesn't need piracy anymore.

[leonsgotit]

OFMD S2 SPOILERS ‼️

in season 1, stede was constantly putting his feelings ahead of other people’s��he put his own feelings ahead of mary’s and his kids’ when he ran away in the middle of the night to become a pirate and when he left ed at the dock to return to his family (and yeah, stede thought he was protecting ed from him when he did it and he was in distress after having been kidnapped and then witnessing his childhood bully accidentally shoot himself in the head and i’m not discounting that at all!! but he also ran because he was afraid of how fast things were moving with ed), and he does it in other little ways all throughout the season but i think these two examples are the most important ones.

he puts his own feelings in front of other people’s up until mary tries to kill him and he realizes how he’s sort of messed everything up for her by returning, as well as realizing his feelings for ed. then, stede fakes his own death and gives up everything he has to return to ed.

now, in season 2, we see stede constantly putting the feelings of others before his own. he sets aside his own feelings about izzy to rescue him and the rest of his crew so they can take back the revenge. he doesn’t like izzy, but stede can tell that he’s important to frenchie and jim and archie and fang, and he knows izzy was important to ed, so he sets aside how he feels and saves izzy, too.

stede does everything in his power to protect ed when he wakes up (comes back from death), but when the crew speaks their mind, stede again sets aside his own feelings for them. they aren’t comfortable with ed being on the ship anymore, and even though stede has spent months and months searching for him, and even though stede cried and begged for ed to come back, he doesn’t try to fight the crew when they’ve made their decision. even though watching ed leave the revenge must break his heart.

stede tries to give ed the space he wants from him, he doesn’t push to make ed understand why he left the dock that night, and when ed gets angry upon learning that stede “left him for mary,” stede doesn’t try to explain what happened in full. he lets ed be angry, he respects ed’s need for space.

when he tries to tell ed he loves him, and ed pushes stede away, stede respects that boundary that ed has set. he tells him instead that he loves everything about him, being near him, and breathing the same air—and stede tells ed he doesn’t have to say it back.

when stede finds that “cursed” red suit that he loves so much, he puts himself first for a little while—but when it becomes apparent that the crew won’t be comfortable until the suit is gone, stede puts them first. he gets rid of the suit and validates their feelings about it. even though he really loved that suit.

and we love character development—we love to see stede growing as a person and learning to put other people’s needs and feelings before his own—but it’s like from zero to one hundred right now. stede is putting other’s (particularly ed’s) feelings before his own, because he feels guilty about what happened in season 1. and because, i believe, he’s still thinking about what chauncy badminton said to him—that he ruins beautiful things and that he ruined ed. so he’s over-correcting in order to fix what he thinks he is responsible for breaking.

it almost seems like stede doesn’t think his feelings are important anymore, that he has to completely ignore how he feels in order to make amends with everyone, especially ed.

he needs to find a healthy balance of acknowledging and validating his own feelings while also being able to put other people’s feelings in front of his own when appropriate!!

which is why i think he and ed need to actually TALK about what happened that night at the dock. they need to sit down and lay it all out, cards on the table, no stone left unturned.

stede needs to tell ed that chauncy kidnapped him from his bunk at gunpoint, he needs to tell ed exactly what chauncy said to him about how he ruins beautiful things, and how he brought blackbeard to ruin. likewise, ed needs to tell stede why he immediately thought stede had just ditched him—he needs to tell stede why he didn’t think to go looking for him that night and jumped to the conclusion that stede had changed his mind.

THEY NEED TO BE HONEST WITH EACH OTHER!!!

[preblesboys]

*taps mic at a coffee shop*

*Ahem*

“Oceans waves and tempest roars,

1812 commodores

High seas high hopes set by Hull,

Redemption achieved by that old salt

Bainbridge, more to follow,

“Free trade sailor’s rights” Porter’s motto

Victory and failure came to Decatur

and did Jones face the weather,

Sorrow be told, for Lawrence

“Don’t Give Up the Ship”, remember him,

Hornet’s sting sent by Biddle,

Blakely’s fate became a riddle

Peacock spread your feathers Warrington

Burrows you gave pride to Portland

This is not where the tale ends

Hampton Roads release Stewart,

in Constitution he killed two birds

Macdonough led in Lake Champlain,

”an anomaly” Chauncy is portrayed

Know him? Burlington Races?

In war, Preble’s Boys endured

1812 commodores

Courses change but, all fates are the same

Fighters to the end of their days

Young Burrows to old Stewart,

now belong to time and the earth”

[missvidel]

Luigi's Mansion Head Canon - TW!!!!

When I was a kid I played the original Luigi's mansion more times than I can count. I came up with my own twisted headcanon as to how the portrait ghosts died.

Neville - After he finished an insanity driven murder spree, he read books on how to hide bodies and evade police capture. The stress have him a heart attack in his library

Lydia - Was depressed after Chauncy so kept herself locked in her room. Her twin sons kicked a ball through her window and the glass caused a fatal injury

Chauncy - Stillborn. His photo was a memento mori

The Floating Whirlindas - Murdered by ballroom competition, hanged

Shivers - Burned to death in a fire alive accidentally while trying to capture Melody

Melody - Got decapitated by piano after trying to run from Shivers

Mr. Luggs - Obesity related heart disease

Spooky - Neglect after Mr. Luggs died

Bogmire - A spectral manifestation of the fear and hatred of the mansion

Biff Atlas - Lifted too heavy with no spotter, died from asphyxiation

Miss Petunia - Slipped in the shower, died from head trauma

Nana - Died from old age related causes, but the body was not discovered for a month. People thought she was just sleepinh

Slim Bankshot - Misshot a billiards ball, it rebounded and struck him in the head, killing him

Henry and Orville - Caused the accident that killed Lydia. Neville murdered them by luring them with a game of hide and seek, and locking them inside tiny boxes

Madame Clairvoya - Attempted to warn Neville of impending doom before the deaths of Chauncy and Lydia. He angrily dismissed her. Was the last person to be Murdered by Neville for not being able to prevent those events from occurring.

Uncle Grimmly - Like Nana, died elderly, of age related cause. His body wasn't found because nobody cared about him.

Clockwork Soldiers - Non human beings brought to life like Pinoccio. Accidentally set alight when Shivers tried to get to Melody

Sue Pea - Murdered by Neville, her uncle. Was heavily abused as a child, hence the fear bed-wetting. Neville became infuriated when she couldn't stop bed-wetting and murdered her in her sleep

Jarvis - Was a potter, and Neville's brother. They quarrelled, and Neville smashed a large pot over his head, killing him

Sir Weston - Died on exposition. Although his ghost returned home, his mind never did.

Vincent Van Gore - Suicide

[melvisik]

OFMD S2 BINGO SPOILERS

EPISODES 4&5

This season. This fucking beautiful season....

Roach's Meal - Peanut Paste sandwich, yes counting it. The man is an unrecognized, unappreciated culinary genius. Second Kiss - Adding it to Lucius and Pete's kiss, cuz god they killed it. The moon being so much smaller, symbolizing the maturity of their relationship growing. The softness. Jeezus. Edited by suggestion from @emily-tumbles-on: Ed Jealous - Gonna say it counts when Ed finds out Stede left for Mary. Though he should really tell Ed it was because Chauncy kidnapped and traumatized him, poor thing.

Proposal - They didn't use the word matelotage, but as it could be the pirate version of 'spending life together' and Pete and Lucius are pirates, it qualifies.

Everything. EVERYTHING.

(Now Ed REALLY owes Fang/Kevin a pet.)

[nebulousgaythoughts]

Things I really hope they adress in season 2:

--Ed's lingering trauma and pain. I feel like they still need to address the fact that he literally tried to end his life, and he seemed to "bounce back" really quickly. You don't heal from that level self-hatred overnight.

--having Ed actually apolpgize to the crew in a meaningful way, and maybe showing that some accept his apology while others don't. And that you don't owe the people who hurt you forgiveness even if they're trying to be a better person.

--izzy apologizing to Ed for pushing him back into being blackbeard. Ofc Ed is a grown man and is responsible for his own actions, but right after Stede left and Ed came back to the ship, he was fucking writing songs and expressing himself!! He could have dealt with the breakup so much better, but Izzy just had to push him. We did get the line "you and me did this to him, and we cannot let the crew suffer anymore from our mistakes," which was awesome, but I would love Izzy and Ed to work their shit out personally.

--Stede actually telling Ed about what happened the night they were going to escape--Chauncy literally holding a gun to his head while throwing all of Stedes worst fears in his face: the idea that he ruins beautiful things, that Ed would be better off without him. And then to top it all off, he dies right in front of him. I want to see him deal with that trauma and actually talk about it with Ed. I want them to catch each other up on literally everything.

--Ed staying sober. Maybe Stede has the crew hide the alcohol so Ed doesn't know where it is.

--Stede not knowing if he wants to have sex with Ed. After all his only experience that we know of is with Mary, and that probably wasn't very enjoyable for either of them. I want to see them struggle with how to be intimate in the ways that they are comfortable with and talk it through.

--A FUCKING SEASON 3 CONFIRMATION BECAUSE THREE MORE EPISODES IS NOT NEARLY ENOUGH TO ADRESS ALL OF THIS AND MORE

[heyitsburtburt]

Maybe you could ask Chauncy if he has any siblings, or how he joined the government or something? This seems like a pretty serious thing. You don’t have to if you don’t want to. (But maybe punch a pillow or something instead of Price, if only to avoid hurting your hands.)

I mean maybe I will, but I've been a bit nervous to talk to him. Almost like I know him...

As for punching that Robert guy, oh please, my upper arm strength is amazing. When you have bad legs, you have to make up for it somehow XD