#nigel ofmd

[decent0distraction]

Our Flag Means Death AU where everything is the same except Nigel is actually crushing on Stede pretty hard and he genuinely cares about him so he joins the crew and AHHHHH-

-Ahem. Sorry. Let’s break it down.

SO, we have Nigel, whose crew spots the Revenge, “EyE!”, but pauses. Because

that can’t be him, can it? Stede Bonnet? Were the rumors really true? This can’t be the same sweet, good person Nigel knew when he was young, can it? A pirate captain? No. Stede Bonnet couldn’t possibly have become something that Nigel is supposed to destroy.

Still, he looks…nice. That color is a good color on him - a nice color. In fact, Nigel woke that morning entirely sure that he despised such a color, but now, he isn’t sure of anything.

So screw the crew, we’re goin’ over there. Why? Don’t ask questions, Bob. Just for that, Bob, you get to stay behind on our stupid, smelly ship in this job that I’m pretty sure was a mistake so yeah, Bob, fuck you-

-Anyway, they go over there. Stede panics like in canon and while the rest of the Navy ship crew are just kind of like “okay??”, Nigel sees right through them.

And yet, he finds it endearing. He needs to get Stede alone, to apologize and address the rumors without raising cause for concern amongst the other officers.

So he requests a tour and a little banter jumps across the table between the two captains.

“A tour,” Stede repeats questioningly. Why would he care about a tour?

“Yes,” Nigel confirms with a smile. “A tour. It is an activity in which two people may do together. It involves walking around the property of which one person owns, with the intent to show the other person what that property entails.”

“Intent, you say,” Stede quirks, a small smile tugging at one corner of his mouth.

Nigel could almost laugh. Did he just see the beginnings of a smirk? “Don’t be cheeky now. Give us a look.”

And Stede, ever the gentleman, agrees.

The entire time by the way, the two crews are looking at each like “what the actual flying fuck are these two talking about??” and “aw, they’re gay.” I’ll leave the matter of which crew is thinking what to the masses.

Also, as Nigel leaves, he stops to barely glance at his crew. “Behave yourselves,” he growls, knowing better. (This, unfortunately, changes nothing, but we’ll get to that later)

In Stede’s room, Nigel is speechless for once in his life.

There’s something so… Stede about this room. The curtains, the books, the hidden compartments. It’s lovely and unique, just like him.

Instead of making fun of Stede, Nigel brings up the matter of rumors with serious concerns.

Did something happen? Was Stede threatened? Or was he just unhappy?

They have a real conversation, which Nigel interrupts to apologize for he treated Stede when they were children. He explains that he was running from something inside himself and he just happened to keep running into Stede. Not that he meant that as an excuse. Of course not. He would never-

-Stede stops him, touching his arm. Nigel feels as though he could be stabbed through the eye and fall into instant death and still feel this warm.

The moment is ruined, however, by shouting. Nigel immediately moves to protect Stede, who sighs and returns to the crew like an exhausted parent.

Nigel is mortified at the behavior of his crew and sends them back to the ship like children.

However, two brave foolish officers try to attack Stede and are immediately knocked out with two swift hits from their captain.

They get the fuck out of there, of course, because Nigel literally just betrayed the British Navy?? Like girl, me too but calm down.

And somewhere between fleeing and accidentally running the ship aground, Nigel asks Stede if he can join the crew and fight at his side.

And Stede laughs. He laughs and Nigel feels cold. He feels as though he might freeze to death. Surely, he deserves it. He’s a fool for thinking someone as wonderful as Stede Bonnet would ever grace someone like himself with sunshine.

“Oh, Nigel,” Stede sighs. “I thought you already had.”

And off they go.

BONUS!!

Nigel being there when Izzy, Fang, and Ivan meet them in the forest. Nigel and Izzy having a little sword fight and Nigel COMPLIMENTING Izzy because his skills match (nay, best, but who’s gonna admit to that) that of British Navy officer’s?? Nigel sulking about it later on and Stede trying to reassure him that he is “very good at swords” which is somehow worse then just nearly getting beaten??

[saltpepperbeard]

OFMD Week Day 5: FREE SPACE

Scenes That Always Make Me ✨Giggle✨ for @snake-snack-stede

[quarterlifecrisis-activated]

Me (showing my aunt OFMD for the first time): So it’s a gay pirate comedy

Her: Who all is gay in the show?

Me: Everyone onscreen

Her: Really? Even him?

I look up to see her pointing at Stede: How are you shocked that THAT man is gay?

Her: I don’t want to assume

[sherlockig]

[blakbonnet]

OFMD + Antagonists Getting Their Comeuppance

[ammdakin]

Happy Birthday to our Captain!! Thank you for the laughter so far, sir<3

[appleteeth]

Screencaps that made me laugh x OFMD (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) (14) 15

[temporal-discounting]

So, we know Stede was bullied relentlessly as a child, both verbally and physically. The incident we actually get to see via flashback is, of course, the rowboat incident.

The rowboat incident itself is deeply sad. But what's even sadder to me is Stede's reaction to Nigel's mentioning of it. At first, he doesn't recall it. Only when Nigel keeps going with his 'hilarious anecdote' does a look of recognition cross Stede's face, and we see the flashback.

Why is this so sad? When we experience repeated events, it becomes hard to remember one specific instance. Our memory tends to shift from specific details to the general gist, such that we remember generalities, but we lose the details. We might forget entire instances, or mix up details from different events as they all blur together (a vulnerability of memory that is often used to discredit abuse victims btw).

The implication here is that the rowboat incident was just one experience against a pattern of sustained and repeated abuse, such that this one event is not even particularly memorable to Stede. Indeed, we hear about one other horrific incident (with the horse), and he was no doubt subjected to even crueller acts; ones that even Nigel wouldn't dare to pass off as a hilarious prank over dinner.

My heart absolutely breaks for Stede in this scene - for the man who has shouldered this trauma his entire life, and for the little boy who was relentlessly bullied.

[smudgeandfrank]

Captain Nigel Badminton cat is here for you to hold! 💙🐈‍⬛✨️ He had a... stunning accident recently... But just ignore that little detail, and watch out for the blade! Otherwise, this kitty is... straight up mean... But look at his precious lil' face! 💙🐈‍⬛✨️

[ofmd-ann]

Stede Bonnet (S01E01 - Pilot)

[chaotic-neutral-knitter]

I've seen metas about Stede being a coward and I think that, when you're analyzing a show about how there's not just one way to be a man, that misses the point a bit?

like. Stede definitely thinks he's a coward and other people call him a coward. in the same way that Ed thinks he's a monster and other people call him a monster. these are labels that they both grapple with because they don't want them to be true but when people keep telling you over and over that you are [X], then you'll believe it eventually.

and the thing that gets me about Stede is that his cowardice isn't in the areas that his bullies tell him it is. his plan to steal a hostage back from Izzy is dumb, but it's also brave. the man keeps putting himself in physical danger, ALL OF THE TIME. he's naive, but he's also brave.

his decision to go be a pirate is brave, and Ed sees that. I'd even say it's one of the first things he recognizes and likes about Stede. because Ed also wants to change his whole life (but is struggling with actually doing it) and here comes this guy who just went and DID it. what the hell. better talk to that guy, see what he knows. (maybe fall in love with him)

Stede's only a coward when it comes to emotional stuff. there was probably a middle ground between "suffer in this marriage forever" and "run off to be a pirate" but leaving in the middle of the night was a way to escape hard conversations. there was also DEFINITELY a middle ground between "go to China with Ed and be eaten alive by guilt over abandoning his family" and "leave Ed without saying goodbye" but that would have meant talking to Ed about it and my man Stede does not talk about his feelings, wants, or needs. because emotional honesty is scary. (and when you're Stede, emotional honesty has always ended up with getting yelled at, shut down, or worse).

but it's frustrating, because people will say "oh Stede's a coward" and point to all the people saying he is one and Stede himself believing it, and ignore all the times he is shown to be very brave. or they'll say (and this one haunts me) "Stede wasn't bullied as a kid for being obviously queer, he was bullied for being a coward."

and idk dude but I think the point is that sometimes the things we believe about ourselves because we've been told them over and over are just... not true?

your childhood bully wasn't right about you, they were a fucking bully. your shit dad wasn't right about you, he was just shit. these people don't know you and they don't want to know you. their opinions are worse than useless. and Stede's season one arc is about him grappling with that and deciding he isn't a coward, he isn't inadequate, he isn't a waste of space. he is in fact worthy of love. that's the whole point!

[popodoki]

The only pic that matters from MCM May 2023

[areyoudoingthis]

ngl I'm not fond of fandom's insistence on equating Stede's inexperience with complete ignorance and insisting on making constant jokes about how ridiculously useless he must be at sex as a result

[https-hunter]

2023 is truly the year of men from the 1700s getting engaged

[sherlockig]

[follows-the-bees]

Clearly, the best antagonist of OFMD is Stede's haunted ghost Nigel.