#ofmd meta

[crimson-and-clover-1717]

Ed & Soft Things (long post)

Just thinking about the years that have passed between these two images, and Ed appearing to remain in a form of childhood stasis and trauma demonstrated through the use of setting and body language.

Ed’s sitting at the left side of a window, knees pulled up. The bed or bench he appears to be on both times has very little in the way of softness or comfort. The second image as an adult is by tortured design, but the first screams childhood poverty and neglect. In the first image also, the chaos is external, but you can see Ed is internalising it, trying to stop the sensory overload, what this display of violence is doing to his child’s soul, by placing his hands over his ears.

By the second image, the childhood trauma is ingrained and a new layer of pain and abandonment is being laid over the top. It’s the inability to process the loss of Stede healthily, a huge part of which is triggered by Izzy’s threats. Ed situates himself back within his childhood pain here. He turns Stede’s Captain’s quarters into a stark reproduction of his childhood home, and turns himself back into that child. Whether he does so knowingly or is in some way reaching after psychological familiarity is open to interpretation.

Something really significant though after Ed meets Stede is his reaching after a robe or blankets to hide under when he is in psychological distress. I don’t feel that is something he did as a child because I don’t think he had the right circumstances, practically or psychologically, to do so. The finding of soft things comforting has always been a part of who Ed is though, which is why he stims secretly with the silk when distressed. What Ed starts to do later is show openly his need for the comfort of soft things when upset, and on a much larger scale. He goes from holding fabric to fabric holding him.

The use of soft coverings is a form of self-soothing and points to the beginnings of healing. Ed has always needed to make himself small when distressed, but the battle-jacket in the bathtub, and the depression robe in the blanket fort, are Ed starting to attempt better self care. It’s as if Stede’s respect for the silk opens a door for Ed to develop this care further. It’s important also that after Stede’s departure, Ed practices that same self care with soft things until Izzy triggers the Kraken spiral.

In Red Flags, we see Ed uncovered with little to no emotional self care in the way of soft things. I take some comfort from the fact, despite lying on the floor, he is at least on a soft rug rather than bare wood. It indicates there’s something still there, some need for comfort, but it’s limited and waning. During the final moments of the mutiny, he lies on bare wood, nothing to comfort him at all.

Which is why the couch scene in Fun and Games is so significant. Imagine this played a different way with Ed curling up in a window position in trauma or lying on the floor, after finding out about Mary. But he doesn’t. Upon Stede’s return (and let’s give some credit to the work Ed tries to do in the Gravy Basket), Ed is already reverting to a healthier way of processing his pain: he’s straight under that blanket.

There’s something else too. In the childhood scene, the ending of season one, and the Red Flags montage, Ed is silent. He’s alone, either physically, emotionally or both. Whilst in the bathtub and in the blanket fort, it’s as if Ed’s on a therapist’s couch. He makes himself safe with soft coverings and tries to show his inner self by talking - because someone is there who cares.

Initially in the couch scene, Ed remains silent. He’s not sure if he’s safe to speak. It’s a liminal moment. But Stede is just so gently patient, Ed soon finds his words. Ed knows Stede’s ethos is talk it through. And look at him go! He can’t stop. Let it all out, Ed!

And that’s kind of how we know Ed has already begun to heal, plus forgive Stede. A huge reason Ed is able to process and move through his feelings quickly is because Stede allows that safe space to do so. Ed can hide under a blanket without feeling mocked. He doesn’t have to pretend he’s something he isn’t. No stoicism needed. Stede is instrumental in the process of Ed being able to heal, and forgive him.

Ed diving under blankets is never a problem. Ed speaking a lot whilst upset is never a problem. It’s when Ed doesn’t do these things, he needs help. When he denies himself physical and emotional comfort, and is mostly silent - cornerstones of toxic masculinity. But it does also show the importance of others. You can’t talk if there’s no one to listen (which is why the ridding of Lucius is partly an act of self harm). Ed is so desperate to talk though, he creates a toxic version of himself in the gravy basket in order to thrash it out.

Ed’s been an island too long. Now he has Stede to share the load. And he will learn how to be there for Stede too. Together they can have soft things, self care, and talk things through.

It’s amazing how quickly Ed feels emotionally supported once Stede returns. And actually how quickly Ed comes out from under that blanket, yet is still emotionally open; processing, listening.

I like also that Ed feels safe enough to ‘tell off’ Stede. And that Stede can argue back safely too. They really do create their own safe-space. Bicker like an old married couple, but it’s nothing like Ed’s parents. Experiencing healthy disagreement has to also be healing for Ed. They love each other and that will always win through in the end.

[teeny-tiny-revenge]

Gonna add a devastating thought I had a while ago because it fits here: in The Art of Fuckery, when Ed claims to not feel fear? He might not even be posturing or lying. He might believe he really doesn't feel fear. It's his default state! He's afraid all the fucking time! It doesn't feel like feeling much of anything when he's basic normal Ed-baseline levels of scared. He thinks being mildly afraid at all times is just how one feels. It wouldn't register as "I'm scared". Ed's feelings around fear will be "no fear/normal" almost all the time (he's scared) and "suddenly very terrified" (which is the level where he notices something is up).

When something happens to make him more afraid, he's easy to tip into panic, because he doesn't start from a normal emotional baseline but from already at least a bit scared all the time. It's a shorter way to go to full on panic. He's halfway there at his normal.

I think it's important to remember, when trying to get into Ed's head, that a primary emotion that he operates on throughout the show is fear. We're talking about a character who is very often afraid and that's essential, I think, to understanding him.

I don't mean this in a way that discounts his agency, his joy, his immense hope - in fact, I think his hope is the other huge defining emotion at play here. I mean it as in this is a guy who does not know what it's like to be unafraid.

From his introduction, so much of Ed's body language and actions read as incredibly insecure and anxious - think about how he refuses to take both hands off his weapons while introducing himself to the crew. He is deeply concerned with maintaining his image as fearsome because this protects him, and it's the point where an intervention from Izzy to remind him of his place in the story convinces him that he really needs to kill his new best friend and crush if he's going to stay safe and maintain that reputation. We know that Ed's childhood was defined by fear as he grew up in an abusive home. He is terrified of how other people will treat him and he is terrified of himself.

When Izzy threatens him in s1e10, it triggers Ed's trauma and his fears. It shifts the genuine support the crew were showing him into something to be afraid of - Ed cannot believe that they're not just waiting to hurt him, that they don't just see him as a performing clown. Stede doesn't do anything wrong in s2e7 - it's more that Ed cannot help but be so scared that Stede will leave him that he has to leave first to protect himself.

This doesn't make Ed stupid or weak or somehow undeserving of his genius. It just means he doesn't know how to live without expecting abuse because it's all he's ever known, and once you get that, I think everything else about him falls right into place.

[o-wild-west-wind]

ofmd is like not comedy as in sitcom but comedy as in shakespearean where it’s psychological trauma and conflicts of violence but with dick jokes and the promise of marriage in the end

[ourflagmeansgayrights]

"killing off izzy after he went through all this growth and finally got to be happy means all that healing was for nothing"

goddamn that is a bleak way to look at life. we all die, man. healing is still worth the effort.

[ulgapodatkowa]

I have so many thoughts but I at least want to address the "for the new unicorn" note. because first of all it's so incredibly gratifying for izzy to finally be accepted into a community. it was shown before that the crew cares for him in some way but it was the first time he really saw that. that he isn't useless and alone, that he still has a place on the ship. even more so the crew WANTS HIM to be on the ship. and also that they want him to embrace his disability which doesn't make them think any less of him.

but also the choice of words. because inherently it rings queer, unicorn as a symbol of queerness. and even if it may have a negative sound when you use it differently here it is extremely positive. izzy is not only accepted to the crew, he's also accepted to the queer community, to the family. the unicorn on the revenge was also the one that was leading the ship, so one can argue that they want him to take that role in their dynamic.

and you can see that he does so immediately. he puts himself together and starts helping the crew. he's still bitchy but no longer violent and cruel. he helps stede and lucius immensely because that is what he does now. he's part of the family. twat.

[asneakyfox]

btw the other reason we should talk about this line is. idk if all of you remember but back during the hiatus a constant source of discourse was the 1x04 conversation where izzy tells ed he lost several men on the mission and ed dismisses it with "kinda their job, they're pirates." the argument at the time from the proto-canyon was that this indicated ed habitually did not care about the lives of his crew, and izzy did (the last part was kind of a stretch since after ed's line izzy just changes the subject without reacting in any way, but you know how it was). sometimes people would argue back that ed tries to guilt stede about the idea of losing crew - "all the men who trusted you, all their blood's going to be on your hands, it's going to be your fault" - and that indicated he must care, but it was all kind of inconclusive.

but now we know ed does normally care, and openly show signs of it, when he loses crew. (at least openly enough for someone like fang, who's known him a long time, to recognize it clearly; maybe he tries to hide it and maybe he doesn't, but if he does it's not successful.) fang is super super explicit about this, what's bothering him is specifically that ed's failure to react visibly to ivan's death is uncharacteristic, that is not how ed as captain normally reacts to losing crew.

which makes it more interesting that ed absolutely does not show any such reaction in the conversation with izzy! i think there's probably multiple equally valid interpretations you could come up with as to why - i know what mine is - but any way you look at it there's something interesting in there

small thing btw but. lots of people have talked about why the idea that ed was actively physically torturing the crew (as opposed to just enforcing a brutal raid schedule), or would have done so if not stopped by izzy, does not make any sense and is not suggested anywhere in the show. but one point i don't think i see people bring up is that would make fang's line about ed not reacting to ivan's death not make any sense.

you would not be surprised that someone who was actively going out of his way to be physically cruel to his employees would also fail to show obvious grief when one of them died. if someone was actively flogging you or otherwise physically torturing you on a regular basis then "and also he didn't cry at our co-worker's funeral!" would be an "arson murder and jaywalking" sort of complaint and that really does not seem to be the intent of how the line lands, it's not played as a gag. however the line completely makes sense if what's going on from the crew's perspective is simply that they hardly ever even see blackbeard and all they know is that he's demanding an insane raid schedule with no shore leave and is also high out of his mind on rhino horn all the time, then it completely makes sense that fang would still consider it weird that ed failed to react as he normally would to ivan's death.

[lightbluetown]

i just love that ed asked for stede to stop

i love that stede was finally able to tell ed that their first kiss happened too fast and that he panicked. i love that when they kissed again, when ed leaned in for a quick peck but stede got passionate, ed was able to break the kiss and say "hey man, let's take this slow". i love that stede, of course, immediately stopped. i love that it didn't feel weird and they kept playing with each other's fingers and talking about their day

that was the most healthy, natural, realistic kiss i've seen. it wasn't romanticized for tv, it wasn't forced to be something it didn't have to be. it happened under a moon that wasn't full, on the deck of a messy ship, after ed complimented a piece of fine clothing that had lost most of its charm. it was as awkward as it was graceful

[edscuntyeyeshadow]

thinking about how ofmd took blackbeard, a historical (almost mythical) figure that has pretty much always been depicted in media as a super hypermasculine white cishet man, and turned him into a gay man of color who wears crop tops and silk gowns, paints his nails and pines for his boyfriend

[thetardigrape]

I wanna take a minute to talk about the Looks of the entire cast of OFMD S2.

I think we're all pretty familiar with the male gaze. Lots of skin, tits and ass, that sort of thing.

The female gaze has been debated, but it looks something like a sexy college professor or himbo househusband.

What OFMD S2 absolutely nails is the queer gaze.

Look at this man.

An absolutely beautiful man. Who wears crop tops and leather pants. Long hair up in a messy bun. He's wearing eyeliner. And pearls.

And here.

Drawn on facial hair. Spaulders. Bracers. Fishnet sleeves. A MOTHERFUCKING MULLET.

These badasses.

The teeth and chains. SO MUCH MAKEUP. Big fancy coat with nothing underneath. Glam met goth and fucked out these looks.

And THE SWEDE!

Cropped jacket. Ponytail. Asymmetrical button fly. Decorative chains (again).

All of this screams queer. If I saw any of these people in a bar I'd be like "Yep, one of us." The gender fuckery of it all. The feminine and the masculine all thrown in together in perfect combinations. Decoration for its own sake. Jewelry and flashy adornment and gorgeous peacockery.

And we love it. The fandom is going absolutely feral over these looks, these actors, as we very well should. There is not a single member of this cast who has not had beautiful art lovingly made depicting them.

Fuck the male gaze, fuck the female gaze. Give me the queer gaze. Give me queer creators making queer media for queer audiences and absolutely nailing it. These people are not at all what Hollywood usually thinks sexy looks like, yet we want to devour every one of them. This is what queer beauty looks like. What queer sex appeal looks like. What queer desire looks like.

Fuck yes. It's about time.

[stedebonnit]

Can I also say how touching it is that Stede said he believed Ed would he happier without him, who, even in his fantasies, could only picture Ed wanting him as a picture of masculinity with a beard and no hesitation to kill. Stede still, deep down, doesn't understand why Ed would ever want him as he is.

But who did Ed see coming down to rescue him? It wasn't a manly recreation of Stede with a beard, masculine style and a killing spirit, it was a merman. Someone bright, colourful, by all accounts a rather feminine perception of Stede.

That was who rescued Ed. It wasn't who Stede thought he needed to be, it was someone soft, and bright, and graceful, and expressive. Someone feminine, someone queer.

I just think that's beautiful.

[three--rings]

One thing I haven't seen a lot of talk about in the fandom so far is about the financials of this season.

It took us two whole months to get a confirmation of renewal from Max, and I talked at the time that I think there was probably a lot of heated negotiations going on at the time with contracts and that's why it took as long as it did.

I think we see a huge number of indications of the compromises that were made in order for S2 to be made. One obvious one that has been talked about is being making in in NZ instead of LA, to save $.

But there's also the eight episodes instead of ten. And then the cast aspect. One downside of moving overseas was having to fly out and house the cast, not just pay day wages.

We knew immediately about Guz Khan not coming back, losing Ivan as a character. At the time I was sad but I thought it had the air of a pretty harshly practical call. If you went through the main recurring cast and said okay which character will affect the fewest things, has the least character interactions of anyone? It would be Ivan. (With the only competition being The Swede IMO, but he's Stede's crew and therefore a little more central.)

And then this season started and we got first The Swede sidelined and taken out of major scenes. And then I noticed that different members of the crew were simply absent for long stretches, like Wee John isn't around for ep 5 at all. And then Buttons takes flight.

Lucius and Pete aren't at the party for most of it. Fang isn't in the torture scene. Roach and Fang aren't in the bar. Etc. SCHEDULING IS HAPPENING.

The new characters are almost entirely played by NZ local actors, which is great, but also...cheaper.

In other words there are big signs that they did everything possible to give us a giant cast of almost everyone we love from S1, and cool new characters, in the most economical way possible.

And I'm grateful for it. I'm grateful we got S2, and it looks great, and it's well written, I'm having a blast, and we get to spend more time with this awesome cast.

But I also kinda think it needs to be said that the cost-cutting shows. That it shouldn't have been only 8 episodes, the pacing is off. That we miss every time someone from the ensemble isn't on screen.

That despite what they've put on screen looking very good, there's far less costuming budget, there's less elaborate sets, and it's a little disappointing. And it's clear it's not a lack of will or talent or vision but blatantly lack of money.

Look, streaming networks want brilliant shows that people love (that will get them to subscribe) but they very don't want to pay anyone to make them. That's like, the whole moment we're having right now.

Max puts out promos about how great it is to not have unions messing shit up in NZ. Well I have friends who are union costumers in LA and guess what union costumers did amazing last season. This season, well, I guess Stede got three whole shirts, so that's cool.

So I dunno. It's just stuff I think about. I'm not trying to be negative about the show in any way. I'm extremely happy with this season; I love it more than well, possibly any show I've ever been in fandom for.

But I see you, Max. You're cheap. You weren't that cheap when you were called HBO.

[teeny-tiny-revenge]

Really so much respect for David Jenkins. He really went "historical accuracy"? "Realism"? "Laws of physics"? Nope, we don't need those here, everything in this story is Vibes. Dinghies can travel huge distances if necessary, except sometimes not, injuries heal immediately or slowly fester, whichever the plot demands for comedy or drama respectively, a character spends several days dead/in a coma/in purgatory and then just comes back to life when his beloved shows up. Nothing is too over the top for this story, cringe doesn't exist, we'll dial all those feelings up to eleven, and we're gonna play everything with 100% earnestness, and we're gonna have a merman and it's going to be so fucking romantic. And he's right about all of it! Really the best way to do fiction.

[blakbonnet]

Ed baiting Ned Low </3 oh i get it. the tally marks, ‘we’ve got a record to break.’ ed was baiting ned low deliberately. he had to know low would come after him: low was ed’s original passive suicide plan - @forpiratereasons

[dragonlands]

This isn't the face of someone who is sad or even unsure of what he wants. This is Ed being vulvenerable. His face is open and loving. This is the man who's had a lot of sex in his life but none of it had meant anything and now he gets to have sex that means EVERYTHING. This is the face of a man in love coming undone.

And also. This isn't the man turned on by violence deciding to fuck Ed on a meaningless whim. His eye are glistening from tears and there's so much going on but his eyes are filled with unbearable amont of LOVE. Yes he just killed a man, and there's probably adrenaline rushing through his veins, but this moment has been long time coming. And it isn't motivated by violence, it's motivated on Stede holding onto what's real and good in his life, and that's Ed. He doesn't know who he is, a gentleman or a pirate, the only thing he knows is that he loves Ed. Wants Ed. Needs Ed.

And I want to add that it's not uncommon at all that death and violence act as complex motivators for sex. Funeral sex is a concept - people wanting to celebrate being alive when confronted with their own mortality. Baby boomers originate from people historically fucking like rabbits after ww2. So yeah, I think the scene was realistic, consensual, and amazingly nuanced. I could not have hoped for a better first time for these two.

[ourflagmeansgayrights]

godddd the way the original e5 “you wear fine things well” scene was backlit by a giant full moon that didn’t actually exist bc this was ed and stede’s fairy tale romance, the way they’re both all dressed up in finery and looking their best after a fancy night out (which didn’t go how either of them expected but that’s not the point the point is it was an Event it was a whole Thing they went to)

and then in the e5 “wear fine things well” 2 electric boogaloo scene the moon is a waxing gibbous because it’s real and stede’s wearing what remains of his fancy suit he had to get rid of and ed’s wearing a fucking. sack and a cat collar. and holding a fucking dead fish. and they’re just catching up after both of them had a pretty normal day doing their own things. this isn’t the picture-perfect fantasy from last season this is both of them grounded in the moment taking it slow because their relationship is worth handling with care. they want this to last and they want this to be real so they’re taking their time, being gentle. they’re not as completely absorbed by each other the way they were last season, they’re their own separate people who can exist in different plotlines for an episode and then come back at the end of the day and catch up, swap stories, kiss and hold hands and just hang out and enjoy being in each other’s presence.

now if you’ll excuse me. i have to go cry.

[ridleymocki]

(seeing so many bad faith interpretations of the argument, y'all are really going to make me do this, okay HERE WE GO)

.................................

What Ed says: "I think last night was a mistake. I'm not ready for... Whatever this is."

What Ed means: "I didn't want last night to happen so soon or under those circumstances. Things are changing rapidly, which makes me feel out of control and scared."

What Stede hears: "I regret sleeping with you. I don't want the sort of relationship that you're after."

.................................

What Stede says: "It was a fine fish. It was... whatever. I was just trying to make you feel good!"

What Stede means: "I only cared about the fish because you cared about it, and I care about you. I liked the fish because it made you happy. Ordinarily, I'm ambivalent about fish."

What Ed hears: "I lied to you. I didn't care about your achievement I was just placating you to get what I wanted."

.................................

What Ed says: "Here's the news: I'm leaving. I got a job on a little fishing boat and I'm leaving. I'm a fisherman now."

What Ed means: "I think I need to be away from you to figure out who I am, because I haven't been able to do that while we're together, and your lifestyle now is the life I'm trying to leave behind."

What Stede hears: "I've made a decision to leave you and have a life without you. I don't value what we have enough to work with you to find a solution, I'd prefer to end it."

.................................

What Stede says: "Oh, Ed. Seriously? You're not a fisherman."

What Stede means: "I think you're using this plan to escape and avoid your problems. It sounds like you're pretending to be someone else. It seems to me like an impulsive decision and I am concerned."

What Ed hears: "I don't support this ambition. I think you're incapable. I don't think you can be different from what you have always been."

.................................

This is the kind of analysis done in therapeutic environments. When I put what they mean, it's not just a rephrasing but a boiling down to the core issue. I could go on to the rest of the dialogue but do you see the continuing ship-in-the-night miscommunication?? It's tripartite:

failing to express one's current emotional reality with the most accurate and clear language, often because that reality is not fully understood to oneself,

misinterpreting the other's language, due to preexisting sensitivities and defensiveness about one's own understanding of the situation,

increasing frustration and sense of personal attack that results from those misinterpretations, which perpetuates and worsens the poor communication.

Importantly, this kind of pattern means you miss the best and most important kernels of communication in an exchange because you're reacting to the more inflammatory parts.

Stede: "This can be whatever we want it to be." (I am willing to make changes to our arrangement so that you're happy). Ed: "I don't even know who I am! Alright? I know I don't want to be a pirate. And you, you're blowing up, you're the toast of the town." (I think we want different things. You're just starting a journey that I've already finished).

With those two bits alone they could've sorted this out. The first is the answer to the second. But they didn't -- couldn't -- latch onto it because all their other baggage was getting in the way.

And I'm being proven correct that this is what is happening, because I have seen next to nothing on here about the above two lines, only reactionary takes of fans also focusing on the inflammatory parts because of their predispositions. You're doing an encore performance of what they're doing.

Point being, there are no bad guys in this scene, just repeated system failure!