#i love soft gentlebeard

[naranjapetrificada]

In this weird wonderful AU Georg fandom that is OFMD we have so many beautiful options. I was never, ever an AU type until now, but I truly can't get enough. Just last night I stayed up entirely too late because I finally got into Wave Hello to the Void, which on its face should absolutely positively not be My Thing, but the AUs we're blessed with here seem to always break that rule (especially with mxmollusca involved because holy shit have you read In Favor With Their Stars yet???).

We're so incredibly lucky y'all. I've been in fandom spaces for a long time but I've never felt this lucky.

We get different takes on time travel. We get the multiverse (and in so many beautiful forms). We get thought-provoking fantastical allegories and devastating (but often hopeful?) prequels with fascinating studies of character and fascinating takes on soul mates. We get complete fantasy overhauls that are gem-like in the beauty and precision of their prose and world-building. We get darling modern AUs and heartwrenching (but still ultimately happily-ending) modern AUs and modern AUs in basically every possible permutation, including ghost stories.

We get dystopias and apocalypses and post-apocalypses, meditations on love and existence, metafictional experiments in Not-RPF that draw even the biggest RPF skeptics (*points to self*) in, leaving us to wrestle with fundamentally altered attitudes toward storytelling that we may never be able to reconcile. Hell, even the missing scenes, canon-divergence, and fix-its hit different. Not to mention westerns with outlaws and cowboys, an archetype which conveniently also manages to scratch the proverbial pirate itch.

Even though pretty much every fandom has these things, for me at least they've never felt quite so imaginative and well-executed. We're so lucky to be here, to be writing for each other and reading for each other and for many of us, feeling creative for the first time in years or even decades. The gay pirates did that for us, because good source material can be the key to great fan works. And whether or not we get a third season, as much as they can't take the show from us, they also can't take away the gift that getting to experience all these fanworks has been. That's something I'm going to keep reminding myself while we wait.

and idk maybe tell your cowboy fanart friends that Ed can also ride horses as a steppe warrior or whatever

[applestede]

So the other night I had a dream. Where first of all, HBO Max dropped all of S2 with no warning and no lead up at all, which pissed me off because I had to call out of work because gay pirates come first. BUT I remember some of what went down, and I had to share:

Don’t remember much about the rest of the season, but I remember episode eight (the season finale) was called Pirates In Moonlight

The ending shot was on the Revenge, after some battle. Everything around them was all battered but it seemed like the ship had survived

They were standing in silhouette of the moon again like in ep 5 but it was a thin crescent moon, not full. Personally I assume it was a waning crescent bc the new moon symbolizing new beginnings and all that

They were wearing ragged, bloody clothes, because they’d just been through a battle

Ed was proposing. He didn’t have a ring or anything though, so he had that FREAKIN RED SILK and he tied it around Stede’s wrist

Anyway I need them back I need them to be happy together 💖 please and thanks

[countessagaby]

Morning glory ✨

[p4nishers]

thinking about her again (ed and stede holding each other w both hands and playing thumb war)

[monnisaurus]

The brain rot is all too real today, I'm just thinking in the queer pirates

[la-granoteta]

Auxiliary Wardrobe in S02 Theory

People (me included) have been wondering where the Lighthouse painting is and I have also wondered where has the plant (Stede's first treasure) ended... and since we haven't actually had many opportunities to see The Revenge at it fullest, we don't really know the state of everything and every room.

I like to think that maybe in the next episodes there will be a moment where Ed is overwellmed and dissapears. And Stede ends up finding him in the Auxiliary Wardrobe, the first secret they both shared. And as Stede walks in, I like to imagine Ed curled up in Stede's yellow or pink gown next to a little Stede shrine, where both the painting and plant are.

Or maybe both the painting and the plant ended up being thown overbroad and I just need a way to entertrain the pirates brain rot.

[thedarkcaustic]

[kingsofgaytham]

i have finished my ofmd rewatch and yes i'm happy i did it cause my love for this show and its cast grew even more since i noticed so many tiny details or background subplots i missed the first time, the whole cravat exchange between Stede and Ed...but now my heart breaks even more for them, especially poor Edward, manipulated by Izzy and pushed to his limits where he once again puts on the persona he detests but this time he's also mourning the life he already envisioned in his head with Stede :((((

their reunion is gonna be so emotional and i hope by the end of season 2 we get to see Ed embrace his true desires (like soft, silk clothes and eating marmalade at the sunrise with his dumb boyfriend) and i'm excited for Stede to finally experience mutual love, not an empty spectacle put on for the society even tho he really needs to work on his thinking and communication skills cause this whole drama could've been avoided if he told Ed he wants to fix things with his family first ANYWAY i'm sure s2 will make me cry and laugh and scream and i can't wait 💜

[sweet-bazzle-bean]

Stede dotes on Ed in the bedroom. Ed sure as hell isn’t complaining, but it makes it hard for him to repay the favor. So he decides to create a few ground rules. It works out beautifully, and then even better when Stede breaks his leash. _____________________

“I only get to touch you three times?” Stede asks.

“Yup,” Ed says, “Say the word, and you get to touch me wherever you want, however you want, until I tell you to stop.”

“That sounds…” Stede hesitates, “Well it sounds quite difficult.”

“I have faith in you.”

[atom1cflea]

Applause for this entire post. Off to read the fics.

GENTLEBEARD LOVE-MAKING

Completely self indulgent thoughts here and going to ignore the fact that you cannot and should not attach your entire well-being to one person but oh my god how Ed got to have sex with his beloved Stede Fucking Bonnet...

I mean yeah shit timing and this is still kinda the proverbial honeymoon stage, but jeezus this isn't just some tumble with a fling that Ed's probably had dozens of times (or a familial obligation like Stede's had to fulfill in the past), this is some goddamn love-making with someone Ed truly desires and loves, and who adores him just as much.

Stede doesn't even have to touch Ed to make him feel good...

Like, just the sound of Stede's voice is enough to bring Ed back from the grave(y basket)...

This is a person Ed wants to protect...

...and who wants to protect him.

Ed was constantly giving Stede those sweet shoulder pats in the first season (plus that frickin foot touch), like he was blatantly advertising his wish for physical contact with him.

Now Stede has the emotional freedom to reciprocate, and he treats Ed with such tenderness and respect even when the desire for him is overwhelming.

I mean, look at the switch here - how Stede roughly grabs Ed, slams him against the wall and then immediately becomes so gentle cradling his head like that, like Edward Teach is the most precious thing in the world.

Ed holds onto Stede tight here, but by god does he also want to treat his sweetheart just as tenderly...

Even without the sex part, just thinking of they way these two touch each other -- or how they want to touch each other -- is so sweet and sexy.

Fuck, lookit Ed...

He is literally trying to get as close to Stede as he can here within the boundaries he's just set. He's caressing that hand like "These beautiful fingers clasped in mine belong to the person who gives me butterflies in my stomach and brings light into my life." As innocent as it is, he wants that touch. And it's there, he is right there.

From Ed's point of view, Stede is the one who plays games with him.

He calms him down.

He gives him comfort.

He defends him.

He avenges him.

He loves him. Everything about him, beyond just the physical.

This outrageous, ridiculous, bizarre man makes the dread pirate Blackbeard, scourge of the seven seas...

...go all him...

And this guy can cut Ed's heart to shreds, but Ed still misses him like hell.

Stede can be Ed's despair...

...but he's also his hope...

...his happiness...

...his joy...

All of that and more wrapped up in a tangible warmth that Ed can cherish, kiss, hold close, and in return be cherish, kissed and held close.

So yeah that sex/love-making must have been absolutely mind-blowing even if they probably were fumbling around awkwardly in the dark for a while. Anyone looking for some awesome, hot fics of that scene, highly recommend this and this by darkshrimpemotions (jujubiest)

[naranjapetrificada]

So I wrote some First Time™ meta yesterday and the brainrot is so real that I had to write my first fic in at least a literal decade about it.

I guess this also means you can put me down in the "Ed has ADHD" headcanon camp but only because I wrote this and realized it's literally not possible for me to understand what sex is like without ADHD because I have the brain I have.

Anyway I hope you enjoy! These lads are so soft and deserve to have all the emotionally healing gay sex that they want.

[temporal-discounting]

I genuinely feel as angry about the shortened runtime of s2 as I do about the cancellation. Not only did they give the crew 2 fewer episodes, but the episodes were around 2-3 mins shorter, on average.

This all adds up to a staggering 80 minutes across the season. 80. MINUTES!

Just imagine what the writers could have done with that extra time. All the little plot points they could have included. The space for silly, goofy gags that don't directly serve The Plot. Space for shots to linger, and for scenes to breathe more.

And of course more soft little gentlebeard moments. There could have been more kisses! And cuddles! And pet names!

Don't get me wrong - I love s2. I just get sad and angry (sangry? Is that a thing?) when I think about how much more we could have had.

[blakbonnet]

Hello! I was wondering if you had any Gentlebeard fanfic you would recommend on ao3? Ideally a nice slow-burn with a few chapters but honestly anything you like would be great - just on the search for more fics to digest. Thank you!

I'd recommend everything by @xoxoemynn and @darcylindbergh if you're looking for some very soft and in character, kinda awkward but also canon compliant, ed and stede ❤️ they've both got a ton of shorter works too. My favourite ofmd fics are:

Witness Marks (unhinged smut, horny clock boys)

Where the Daylight Begins (long but so so good, slow burn, I've read this one 4 to 5 times by now, magical realism and lovable crew on top of lovable ed and stede)

Roll for Charisma (so fluffy and some top quality pining, the plot of the show is their D&D campaign)

The Devil's Panties by @adickaboutspoons (sex pollen but make it so fluffy and earnest that my skin melted off my bones)

Separating Salt from Water by @nonagethimus (one of the tags is homoerotic shark hunting, enough said)

You Belong in that Home By and By (everyone wants Stede, but Stede only wants Ed)

Two Birds @red-sky-in-mourning (very gentle romance tinged with good angst but happy endings)

Grounded (fluffy smut, stede is something else in darcy's hands, no one gets him this right trust me)

Your Name Like a Boat (the angst oh my god this one still hurts, another one I've read a bunch of times and a very fulfilling ending)

The Kraken's Sacrifice @trinityofone (actual kraken ed and they're so soft and in love, this one is a bit out there but it's so interesting, i finished it in one sitting)

From Gloom to Grace @bizarrelittlemew (pollen but it makes them cuddle is there anything better)

Stealing Romance by @skrifores (I prayed for a realistic jealous ed fic and this one is it)

Little Wonder @ofmd-alsaurus (stede has a tiny dick, ed is really into it, it's funny and sweet)

Only by the Grace of the Sea @palavapeite (hot priest stede, incredible writing, slow burn)

Leggy Blonde You Got in Goin' On by @palavapeite (stede joins a gym, most in character stede I've read in this fandom)

And I'd 100% recommend my own fic 😬 Moonstone Mage Championship (slow burn, fantasy, idiots to lovers)

[bougiebutchbinch]

there's just something about Izzy being a loud-and-proud Stede Anti but still cumming as soon as Stede puts it in, yanno??

I want Izzy vocally telling everyone how useless Stede is (Stede himself included) to desperately hide the fact that he is SOOOOO fucking into him

I want Izzy gasping out 'I love you' literally the first time they're together and Stede, who got nothing from Izzy's attitude that suggested they were having anything other than angry post-Gentlebeard Break Up Hatesex, is like. Um. Wtf??

(he doesn't mention it. he's a gentleman, after all. Izzy is still MORTIFIED and very almost reneges on his No Murder Attempts Against Stede spree while Stede's passed out snoring beside him.)

Izzy bitches to everyone about how Stede is sooooo ridiculous and annoying and soft and silly, but he brutally murders anyone who badmouths his captain (who's not on the crew) then stalks back to Stede with blood dripping from his sword, refusing to ask for praise but secretly hungry for it~

[finethingswellworn]

I just want mushy, gushy lovesick, disgustingly affectionate, gentlebeard, Allwright?

These men have spent their lives alone. They’ve suffered enough. They deserve to be fluffy and cutesy and gentle.  They deserve to make every single person around them uncomfortable. They deserve to give each other little pecks on the cheek every single time they pass each other on deck. They deserve to yell in the thick of a raid sickeningly sweet  pet names over the noise and chaos of pirates falling all around them. They deserve to go to sleep every single night cuddled next to each other in soft, fluffy blankets with little forehead kisses.

I just want the cocaptains to be happy and in love and disgusting about it 

[khruschevshoe]

This isn't so much a hot take so much as something I wasn't expecting from Season 2 of OFMD: the most romantic moment of Season 2 for me was actually the quick little back-to-back of Lucius and Pete's reunion and the "You have a beard now" "Do you hate it?" "I love it. I love all of it" + kiss because 1) we never got olu/Jim anything, 2) gentlebeard's moments feel tainted by them being dicks to everyone else, 3) the polycule was buried, and 4) the proposal being tainted by how yikes Pete's response to Lucius' trauma is.

But that moment? That reunion? The absolute relief/delight/love/excitement on Pete's face when he saw Lucius for the first time after months of thinking he was dead? That moment of reassurance/sweetness Lucius got after everything he went through? The soft look on Lucius' face after the kiss, that almost disbelief that he had Pete back in his life after all that had gone wrong?

I'm cherishing that very deep. Because that, right there, was my glimpse at what this season could have been, when the acting, writing, and cinematography were all firing at all cylinders and giving us payoffs for our set-ups. It was a moment of beauty. A moment of light. A moment of love.