#me vs ofmd

[death-rebirth-senshi]

Whatever I'm done talking about this but just know I stand with Izzy Hands now and forever.

[thatdude-noah]

i think maybe we don't always need the trope of redeeming a character and then having them die. maybe we can redeem a character and have them live. maybe we can redeem a character and let them bring that redemption into the world, make it a better place than before. maybe we can simply let a character enjoy their happier life.

[arsenicflame]

steddyhands modern au inspired by this post:

(1828 words, themes of kink but nothing explicit, established blackhands & gentlebeard-centric. Happy Pride!)

Stede picks up leatherworking in the wake of his divorce. He's not exactly sure how it ended up being such an important hobby for him, only that he had always admired the intricate designs on his horse's best bridles, and with little else to do with his time, he decides to give it a go.

It's rocky going at first, but he's having fun working with his hands for the first time in his life, and there's a sense of satisfaction in seeing the design come to life as he works. With practice, his skills improve, and he learns how to make things that are truly one of a kind.

He starts off posting his pieces online, as a way to reach fellow enthusiasts, but quickly finds himself with a rather large audience. Stede’s style is unique, and, after many requests from his followers, Lucius encourages him to make some more basic pieces he can sell. It's not about making money for Stede, but another way to meet new people who share his interests- as Lucius keeps telling him, it's sad that his personal assistant is the main person he talks to these days. 

So Stede sets out on a new adventure, and has quite the time designing a new range of patterns for the market. He makes purses, belts, bracelets, and, most importantly, dog collars- all still with his unique designs embossed into them, of course. He rents a booth at his towns monthly craft fair, and very quickly finds himself with a new group of friends in the other regulars- Pete, his usual neighbour, who sells an array of wooden figures he carves, Roach, who runs a stand for his bakery, and Frenchie, who isn't actually a stallholder, but is almost always busking near his friend Wee John’s stand of knitted goods, bringing life to the market even in the pouring rain. There's also Buttons, another regular at the market. Nobody is exactly sure what he does there- he doesn't sell things, or seem to buy anything either, but rain or shine, he's there with the birds.

Stede’s been doing this a few months by the time June rolls around. As he's setting up his stand, he notices that the area is much busier than it’d normally be at this time of morning. Lucius, who got roped into helping run Stede’s stall somewhere down the line (despite his protests that this is not what personal assistant means… But hey, he got a boyfriend out of it, at least), reminds him that there's the parade today, too- not realising that Stede had no clue there was a parade today, and especially not that it was pride. Stede immediately jumps to fretting about the amount of stock he’s brought, and Lucius takes the cue to escape, saying he’ll go and grab them coffee (but really, he's off to flirt with Pete)

Lucius is still missing when Ed stumbles across the little leather stall. Stede’s just ran back to his car to fetch his last boxes of inventory, and by the time he returns, Ed’s already begun to narrow down his choices. Stede greets him, starting to tell him that they're not actually open yet, but before he gets more than a couple of words out, Ed’s exclaiming “You're a Kiwi!!!”

The two of them smile at the shared recognition, and Stede says he’ll make an exception, just for Ed, and asks him what exactly he was interested in. Ed tells him that he's looking for a collar “for his boy”, and points out the particular design he was looking at. It happens to be one of Stede’s favourites from this latest run of work, a fact he mentions to Ed. It leads them into a discussion about Stede’s craft, and Ed’s Izzy, and then everything in between. Ed’s listening intently to the things Stede’s telling him, completely drawn in by the process, and by Stede himself. He watches as Stede stamps Izzy's name into the collar, and Stede even lets him have a go at one of the stamps. 

Lucius reappears sometime in the middle of this- only to immediately retreat again, seeing Stede engrossed with Ed. He sets up camp at Pete's booth opposite, watching this man flirt intensely with his boss- and Stede flirt back just as hard. Does Stede even realise he’s doing it? Lucius had known Stede was gay since before Stede even admitted it to himself, but this is on a whole other level.

The pair stand there so long that Izzy comes to look for Ed- the two of them are manning a float on the parade with their crew, and it's past time for them to get geared up. He's already worked up, frustrated to have been left to set up everything alone, when Ed had just gone to see if he could get them both coffee. So maybe he's a bit of a prick, approaching with a brash “where the fuck have you been, Edward”, to which Stede brings the same energy, giving a bitchy “Ed! Do you know this guy?” Izzy tenses, ready to snap, but then Ed cuts in, excitedly telling Stede that this is “his Izzy!” Which confuses the hell out of Stede. 

Forgetting his earlier attitude, he asks Ed if he “really named his dog after his friend”, only to be met with confusion right back from Ed at where the hell Stede got the idea he had a dog from. Stede gestures at the bag with the collar in it, to which Ed has to tell him, “oh, no, that's for him.” Ed tells Stede that they're here to run a float for their local leather society, and while Stede is certainly shocked by what Ed’s saying, he's not finding himself… uninterested. It's simply that he’s never even considered any of this before, especially not that people would use the things that he made for this, but Ed sounds so enthusiastic about it all. He tells him about how his friends would love to see Stede’s work, about how classic leather gear is always so fucking boring- but not Stede’s stuff, no, Stede’s stuff is “fresh” and “fascinating” and unlike anything Ed’s ever seen before. 

Ed's enthusiasm is incredibly infectious, so when he invites Stede to come back to see their float, he readily agrees. It’s a concept Izzy’s less than enthusiastic about. He doesn’t really want to bring this man who’s dressed like he just walked out of a HOA board meeting to their kinky little corner of the world, but he is having a lot of fun watching Stede squirm, so decides not to raise a protest. He does demand he gets his long-overdue coffee first, though (Stede pays for it- as “compensation for him distracting Ed from his job”, he says, not giving Izzy a second to process before he's tapping his card)

By the time they return to the float, Fang, Ivan & Jim are waiting for them, all already geared up. Stede is stunned silent at the sight for about 5 seconds, before he starts actually looking at the quality of Jim’s harness, and proceeds to go off about the poor quality of the craftsmanship, about how the hardware is tacky and completely the wrong choice with this leather, how his “ten year old daughter could do a better job!!!” 

There's complete silence from the group, until Izzy, of all people, bursts into laughter at Stede’s audacity (and, the fact he was staring at Jim's tits completely unabashedly, like he hadn't even noticed them in the first place). Izzy's laughter sets Ed off as he tells the group about Stede’s misunderstanding- “you didn't say he was a person!” “I mean, he's my dog”- and soon everyone's having a friendly giggle at Stede’s mistake.

It's somewhere in the middle of the retelling that Ed remembers that this whole thing happened because he was buying Izzy a gift. After a moments fumbling, he presents Izzy with the collar-  It's a rich, deep black, embossed with a rolling pattern that resembles waves. It’s made from a firm enough leather to take the tooling, and to remind Izzy that he’s owned while he’s wearing it, yet still soft enough for long term comfort. Izzy's eyes immediately lock on to it, an unreadable expression coming over his face, and Ed turns it; first so he can really see the design and Izzy’s name embossed into it, and then so he can see the small “Ed ♥” on the inside of the collar, right over his swallow tattoo. 

“I did the heart,” Ed says to him softly, intended only for Izzy’s ears. Izzy's eyes flick up to Ed’s, and he raises his chin to give Ed the room to put it on. Ed buckles the collar around his neck almost reverently, a test of the tightness turning into a caress of Izzy's neck. It's a perfect fit.

It's as though something comes over Izzy; so twitchy and abrasive earlier, now silent, staring at Ed with a look akin to worship in his eyes. He obediently tilts his head for a kiss as Ed's fingers move to his chin- It's a sight to behold, and one that has Stede intrigued. He wants to know more about this lifestyle, and these men in particular. He wants to be the one to put that expression on Izzy's face.

The moment breaks as Ed and Izzy pull apart, and Ed calls for the crew to finish the last bits of set up. Izzy shakes himself a little before running off to bark orders again, but even still, there remains a softness to him that wasn't there before. 

Ed turns back to Stede with an apologetic smile, already obvious that he has to get going. Before he can speak, however, Stede jumps in -“My business numbers on the card in the box… I'll be around all day”- Ed’s smile turns more genuine at that, promising to stop by if he gets a moment, and that he’ll send his friend's Stede’s way- “if he wants that kind of business.” Stede says that he does, actually- that he's seen a whole new world already today, and, while he was a little taken aback at first, he can feel the passion Ed and his friends have for this life. If there's one thing that's ever mattered to Stede, it's other people's enthusiasm. Maybe he doesn't completely understand yet, but he would like to try.

One year later, Stede’s back at the market on pride weekend again, far better stocked for the crowds this time around. Lucius is finally free to spend the day flirting with Fang & Pete to his heart's content, now that Stede’s roped his own boyfriends into helping him run the stall- and into modelling the merchandise. Ed loves that part, while Izzy needs a lot more convincing, but the puppy eyes Stede & Ed weaponise against him make a very good argument.

[mysteriouslybluepirate]

I just need a piece of media that combines:

The humor and feeling of community we got from S1 of OFMD

The storytelling, world, and humanity behind Disco Elysium

Izzy Hands just for fun

You know?

[sevenspoonfulsofsugar]

beloved Someone who is loved; something that is loved. Much loved, dearly loved

[apollos-olives]

would you guys still love me if i asked y'all to vote on a shipping poll

[xray-vex]

Edward Teach when there's no chaos, no drama, no fuckin' LIFE:

Edward Teach when there IS some chaos, some drama, some fuckin' LIFE:

(**affectionately)

Ed Teach and the ADHD mental torture of being bored vs the overwhelming sensations of being out of his element will always be especially relatable to me

[everyscreentoobeseen]

My thoughts about possible Gentlebeard makeup vs Azriacrow makeup

Gentlebeard: "Awww. Stede should just say sorry and make up. I know Ed is probably too hurt to accept it the first time but you two are so good for each other. Besides you two have only known eachother for a few weeks, every couple has fights. 😟😭"

Azriacrow: "I dont care if the earth is about to implode. Crowley shouldn't have to accept Aziraphale back after one apology! I know he has religious trauma but that dosen't mean all those 6,000 years of treating Crowley like he's beneath Aziraphale just magically goes away. I want Zira to BEG for forgiveness. More than once. And then the two can get couples therapy together. 😒😡"

[fuckyeahourflagmeansdeath]

in 8 hours time someone in the pirate television show is going to get laid. its likely to be ed and stede. but if izzy gets some vibes at least from fucking... somebody. i am gonna buy myself a ice cream. if he gets laid thats two ice creams.

[adamarks]

Btw they’re so autism4adhd coded it’s not funny. The amount of times I’ve had the exact experience of [listening patiently to a long rambling adhd story full of points that aren’t necessary but I’m enjoying myself and so are they] and then “so what did you do today?” “Oh it’s a long story. Got this shirt.” “That wasn’t a long story.” “Oh. Guess not!”

[death-rebirth-senshi]

He lost a leg. He had to eat his own toe. What more do you people want.

[batsarebetterthanpeople]

What we have learned from these poll mishaps is that OFMD is most loved therefore most hated HOWEVER Stucky, despite their fucking US department of defense budget and their Disney sponsored chokehold on action movies, somehow does not have the ability to rally the troops like a game of thrones core in its execution off brand b list treasure island fanfic that got middling reviews and hasn't been airing in five years. which is actually fucking pathetic. Y'all had the whole deck stacked in your favor financially culturally sociologically and you are down to the fucking decimals on this when the Kankri Vantas of piracy ratioed us for no reason other than that people hate us??

No words for Stucky what a fuckin fall from grace. "On the stucky website? On the we love being queerbated website?" No! You are on the Captain James Flint website now. Get into it. He's ginger, he talks like an over enthusiastic philosophy professor, he's gay, he's the worst white anarchist you know, he joined the navy and then quit when they wouldn't let him kiss his boyfriend because he can excuse colonialism but he draws the line at homophobia, he just beheaded the CEO of Tumblr and declared himself the posting king, and he is your overlord. The mascot this website deserves!

[arsenicflame]

(I am still in love with you, can't admit it yet)

[thelighthouseandthekraken]

Just lounging about thinking about the important questions

(does Rhys Darby understand the effect his tits have had on the internet?)

[marblenarwhal]

there is a sadness that permeates ofmd s2. it feels post apocalyptic in an uncomfortably real way. there are a lot of beautiful, painful moments. it reminds me of my early 20s and the friends i had, who eventually moved or drifted away.

like, there was a golden time when things are simple and you were there but you missed it. you didnt stop and appreciate it. or maybe it was never that simple, and it's just the nostalgia making you feel that way. but youre different now or maybe youre the same but everyone else is different, and youve all been through so much, youve lost people and youve hurt each other in ways that were casual and careless but caused ripples that shifted things in a frustratingly, achingly imperceptible way you dont even know how to fix. and now you have new people, and maybe some of the same people, and you keep trying but you cant recapture those golden moments of the past because it was lightening in a bottle. so you just have to keep going and in five years you'll look back at this moment right now and think, man. those were the good times. and everything is different now.