#ofmdm

[napneeders]

I also LOVE how they introduce Blackbeard, sliding from fantasy to legend to reality over TWO whole episodes (and on). Ed's keeping up a façade to the world but also to the viewer. his reputation goes before him. his henchmen go before him. of course it thunders around his ship. dies irae is not coming from the place the light comes from; it's blasting from the sky. he's on screen but he's not showing his face. his first mate stands at attention but slips into familiarity. he orchestrates the conditions he wants. his control is a cage but it affords him privacy. he doesn't show his face until he sees Stede.

[izzyspussy]

so. y'all remember the meta about ed having his hair down while Being Blackbeard because he can't stand to look at himself and/or be Seen, and when he's feeling better about himself / wants to be more accessible to others he ties it up from back in season one? but then during the kraken era he had his hair up more than ever before?

well. what if. the meta is actually still true, and he's tying his hair up so far and so much during the kraken era as another method of making himself feel worse? he's no longer giving himself the relief of being hidden, from himself or others. he's no longer allowing himself any kind of distance from himself or from just any old witness who bothers to look. no one can call him by name but he can't hide behind the curtain anymore either. he allows himself both no intimacy and no privacy.

[napneeders]

(@calicojackofficial)

also

one thing about Ed's anger that I haven't seen mentioned is that while the emotional reaction is immediate, the retaliation isn't always. he only orders the French captain skinned when he has calmed down and sat down; he slams Izzy into a wall, but the real retaliation is the considered toe-snipping hours later. imo it makes it all the more effective and signals that the consequences of incurring his anger aren't just the consequence of that emotional reaction. just because he has calmed down doesn't mean he has changed his mind about your fate.

he can also turn the anger, or at least the aggression, on at will, like flipping a switch: he uses it to threaten the same French captain when Stede's interrogation tactic isn't providing results, and to threaten the guy that recognises him in St. Augustine. this may or may not be real anger but it simulates it, borrows from it, and the target isn't meant to know the difference.

I imagine having a short fuse has served Ed as Blackbeard, so he hasn't had a reason to reign it in. at the same time, he clearly has some control over it. it's not just the calm before the storm that should be alarming, it's also the calm after the storm.

differences with izzy and ed's anger btw just for fun is i feel like izzy's anger builds up like hes on the mp100 countdown. hes a soda can be shook, steam gauge increasing, pressure cooker about to go off until it all fucking explodes at once. and then he breathes for two minutes and is fine.

eds sense of anger is a light switch its either on or its off and you get little warning for which one it is.

[m-e-w-666]

Lucius has to do all the work himself on this goddamn ship

[napneeders]

i think 100% the Siete Gallos are not dead and Spanish Jackie knows where they are.

also I love this origin story for her name.

okay SO

Spanish Jackie. Let's talk about her.

I have a theory that's been rolling around in my head for a while.

We learn a bit about her when she's talking to Jim during drinks, but she keeps it vague. She tells Jim to give up their vendetta, that anger ages you and makes you bitter.

I think theres some truth in that, but the best lies are threaded with truth.

She knows Jim wants to enact revenge for their bloodline but she also knows Jim wants to give up on killing the Siete Gallos and leave. Does Spanish Jackie want to push Jim towards abandoning their vendetta out of the goodness of her heart? Maybe, but I think it's more likely that she's got a horse in this race. When she told Jim the rest are probably dead, it sounded like she knew more than she was sharing.

I think she's married to more of the Siete Gallos. Maybe all of them. I think she married the 7 most notorious Spanish mercenaries around and it earned her the name Spanish Jackie

[myherowritings]

Sof *in denial*: ratsuki >:/

Me: Did you mean

[napneeders]

idk I love the Izzy Lucius scenes in The Curse of the Seafaring Life because it's like. I think it's less about telling Lucius to get over it and more about Izzy refusing to talk about his trauma on Lucius's terms because he's being a bully. have I said this before. even in the second scene, I don't think he's lying exactly, but he's also very clearly keeping that boundary: this is all you get. this is all I can give. and there's something so sad and soft about it

[ialmostdos]

I wouldn’t call him a crush because it’s kind of a thing, but I’m bored too lol. So he’s tall, like 6’ 3” and has the most beautiful blue eyes, they’re so light and bright. He’s very athletic and into sports, but he’s secretly a giant nerd and has read every comic he can get his hands on. One of the sweetest guys i know, but he’s like a book, and I’m Jared, 19, who’s never fucking learned how to read. Ugh, I’ve got him texting first tho so 🤷🏼‍♀️

“i got him texting first” fucksk u win hon !! but aww omg this is cute i’m happy for u bud !! & 6’3 he’s a keeper 😩😩

tell me about ya crushes

[napneeders]

this pretty much went off on a tangent, followed by all over the place, but idk I'd love to talk about these themes w people rather than mull endlessly in my drafts -

yeah Ed and Izzy's relationship is complicated and reducing it to some kind of representation of queerness vs queerphobia is just... flattening both of their characters. like even if you don't like Izzy (which you don't have to) that interpersonal relationship still tells us a lot about Ed. and even if you interpret internalised homophobia into it, it's still not like that's the only thing informing their relationship.

I realise I'm getting carried away on your post about not interpreting Izzy as x phobic but I'm just interested in that if. what if, what then?

I'm pretty understanding of various interpretations I don't "agree with" (aka they are not my interpretation and often would clash with my interpretation(s)) because I think generally having an interpretation is about exploring something or working something through, so I kind of assume that's what people are doing at the bottom of it even if they're being really annoying on the surface. so on principle I'm not even against interpreting Izzy as homophobic or whatever, just against the overwhelming tendency to try to assert that it's the only correct, possible, moral, etc. interpretation. and personally, exploring internalised homophobia is a lot more compelling to me if it's done with compassion and nuance.

in practice though a lot of these seem to be more about "he's evil so I'll pin any unsavoury opinion on him" lol. (I'm not even talking about internalised transphobia Izzy in this because (in what I think you're referring to) it feels like such a throwaway headcanon I don't even know what to do with it. it doesn't feel like it's exploring anything to me. the concept could be explored with compassion, though. (I have a modern au young trans Izzy fic where I don't go into it because that would get heavy for me, but it kind of informs the character in my head.))

but on the other hand I feel like there's a tendency on the end of Izzy enjoyers to respond to takes like "Izzy is evil because he has internalised homophobia" (or just homophobia if he's being taken as straight which... personally.... doesn't make sense to me) with "he's not evil so he doesn't (can't) have internalised homophobia" without pausing to question the underlying logic. what if he does have internalised homophobia? what if Ed does? what if Lucius does?

if the only options are "unsympathetic and has internalised homophobia" and "sympathetic and doesn't have internalised homophobia", that limits the scope of interpretation (as I think basing interpretations too much on just debunking another interpretation does in general), and can be kind of a worrying reflection of how we see real people.

like you said there's a certain black and white worldview... idk where you *either* are a victim of homophobia (sympathetic) or perpetrate it (unsympathetic). so when it comes to internalised homophobia that too gets separated into either something you suffer from or something you act on others? which I'm pretty sure neither of these exists alone, nor do they exist in a vacuum separate from all the rest of life experience, environment etc. (and I guess then Unsympathetic internalised homophobia, if not all internalised homophobia, gets categorised as basically the same as garden variety homophobia, even though while it may partly look the same or have the same outward consequences, where it comes from or how to get out of it isn't the same.)

& separating internalised homophobia into something that hurts Good People and makes Bad People hurt others makes it impossible to recognise that 1) you, a good person whose internalised homophobia hurts them, might hurt others (imo even if you're not directly hurting anyone else, it still affects how you relate to other people in a way that's not for anyone's benefit) & 2) a person whose internalised homophobia hurts others is also hurt by it. and like, you don't have to be there for their healing, but them healing is in everyone's best interest. as is your healing.

I guess on a more general level it's about having been hurt and having hurt others. it's something I'm working through in therapy and also something I find v compelling in OFMD fanfiction and meta (look, we got back on topic). how to reconcile that in both yourself and others and how you can't really reconcile one without the other. personally, again, exploring internalised homophobia without compassion doesn't particularly compel me. neither does allowing a character only to be a victim or a perpetrator, which I guess is also what a lot of Ed meta I've seen recently is about. how would I find solace in a character who's only good and sympathetic because they're only ever the victim?

I don't agree that Izzy is repressed or has internalized XYZ, I think he's just been hurt and humiliated a Lot, so he's got his guard up. I don't think ppl understand that being nice sometimes feels really vulnerable when you've been hurt, and thats why a lot of ppl avoid it, because it makes them feel ashamed and unsafe. Once again, Oluwande said pirates don't choose that way of life. How does this apply to Izzy and his way of being?

[vocalhyuck]

ALSO

his eye makeup in person. HES SO INTIMIDATING OFMDM

[napneeders]

have I talked about how when I started watching ofmd I knew there was going to be a nonbinary character but didn't know who it was, or who Vico Ortiz was, so my reaction to Jim was like "oh so he's the rugged stoic man's man". apparently they didn't fool Jackie but they fully fooled me.

(and then I was kind of heart-punched from the reveal up to episode four, because it felt like that same old one-two of yearning and rejection, all through the years, in every story about a girl dressing up as a boy - and inevitably going back to being a girl in the end. and then it wasn't.)

[napneeders]

Lucius as red and Frenchie as purple

Okay, I'm sure we all know (and have our own takes on) the significance of red and purple for Ed's character, but I'm kind of surprised I haven't seen anything on the connection to these characters also marked by those colours, both of whom also - alone amongst the crew - have something of a personal relationship with Ed and play a key part in his story.

this is just my thoughts on the matter and I'd love to hear others. this is also very much from the perspective of Ed's arc, leaving aside the characters' own storylines.

First off, we see red a lot more than purple, and it appears both more interpersonal and more mutable (and yet more defined).

Take the red silk, which originally carries a connection to Ed's mother, with the no doubt complicated feelings there and the implications about "fine things" - the silk is a fine thing, but also just a scrap of the kind of things young Ed is barred access to, a reminder that they're "not for us". But the silk is also Ed's heart, and it becomes infused with new meaning when Stede touches it. When Ed throws it away, he's trying to let go of both his love for Stede and his desire for fine things, for soft things. Stede and fine things are woven together now. Throwing away something he's always had drives it home that Ed hasn't just lost what he recently gained, he's worse off than before meeting Stede. What was ambiguous before has to be denounced now.

(cf. the petrified orange - something that carries Jim's family history becomes something that reminds Stede of Ed becomes something that connects him to his family.)

Similarly, the red robe symbolises "the colour Ed brings to Stede's life", then becomes the breakup robe, both heartbreak and comfort, first for Stede, then Ed.

Red is the colour of love, and while Ed after Stede's abandonment rids it from his person, he adds it to his flag as if to publicly execute it.

I don't know if Lucius wearing red was intended to fall within the same colour symbolism, but it's hard to ignore. He, too, is a connection between Ed and Stede and their love specifically, nudging both of them along, being their confidante at various stages. And he gets tossed with the red silk. (crucially, I think, after the red silk.)

I've seen a lot of people say that Ed tossed Lucius overboard because Lucius was the one who told him to go for Stede, and I'm not saying that's wrong, but I think it's more because Lucius witnessed him in vulnerable moments. The Ed that Lucius saw is incompatible with the Kraken. Maybe he also reminds Ed of Stede, much like another plaything. This is on an overall motive level – in the moment for Ed the drowning doesn't seem premeditated. (I could go on speculating about what might have happened to Lucius if he hadn't come on deck at that moment, but perhaps another time.)

Actually, the scene in which Ed gets rid of first the silk and then Lucius is all but infused in red, practically the only colour apart from the blue tint of night-time. It's as if everything is coloured by Ed's heartbreak - and all of it has got to go.

The colour purple is also related to love, having been identified as a symbol of Ed's growing love for Stede – but I would say where red exists and signifies between the two, the purple is an Ed thing only. It's not just about the romance, but about the person Ed is able to be with Stede, the person he's uncovering beneath the leathers and salt. Its appearances are not as frequent as red's, and though the outfit Ed wears to the fancy party is very striking, the purple shirt he wears on the treasure hunt seems almost a shy visual sign, something tentative.

And whereas red features in numerous ways in Ed's heartbreak era, up to and including the bleeding heart added to his flag for all to see, the purple disappears. It symbolised something budding, the beginning of a journey that got cut short, and it retreats before it can be killed.

Now, this is probably less obvious - both visually and thematically - but it's definitely interesting to me that the one other Revenge crew member that Ed has a connection with wears purple: in a lighter shade on his jacket and as an accent on his fancy suit.

I as well as others have speculated before that Ed picks Frenchie for his "new crew" because a) he has shown himself to be adaptable and savvy, including in his reaction to Blackbeard, and b) because of the solidarity, recognition and validation when Ed is humiliated by the fancy party people. Like Lucius, Frenchie has witnessed Ed in a vulnerable moment, but in relation to the outside world rather than his inner feelings (though, of course, there is overlap). Whether Ed's recruitment of Frenchie is because he thinks he'll be an asset to the Blackbeard operation or out of some desire for a personal ally, I sure hope season 2 will tell.

I like to think of Frenchie as a kind of (largely unaware) messenger. He creates the cat flag that acts as a message of Nigel Badminton's death, sent back to the English in the dinghy and subsequently shown (dramatically) any time Chauncey talks about his brother's assumed murder. I think it's no coincidence that Frenchie is also the one to both sew and hoist Blackbeard's new flag – another message, an intentional one this time.

Whereas Lucius mediates between Ed and Stede for the benefit of their love, Frenchie mediates and carries messages from and to the outside world: bringing in the invitation to the fancy party, introducing Olu as Prince Azi, connecting Stede to the information he needs for Stark Revelations – introducing the whole series with his song…

He's smart and tactical, but also whimsical as fuck, both qualities Ed appreciates, standing for not just using what's there but also shameless reinvention. One of the qualities that originally enamoured me with the show is the constant play with identity and presentation. When characters dress up, whether that's Stede's captainy clothes or straight-up costumes like in the fuckery, they're rarely being "fake", but rather playing, exploring or emphasizing facets of themselves, or inventing or discovering new ones. Similarly, the question of Ed's fractured identity is more complex and nuanced than "which one is the real Ed".

…but I digress. If I have to pin down the connection I'm suggesting between Frenchie and purple, I'd consider it a sign that he could be someone who helps Ed stay in touch with himself. The themes I've outlined above have some common ground: self-discovery, self-invention, self-determination. If Lucius stands for a sexual and romantic liberation, Frenchie might stand for a personal one.

I've kept this mostly on the symbolic and abstract level so far, but the characters around Ed aren't just a greek chorus. I know many people agree that to come back from the Kraken, it's not enough for Ed to regain Stede's love; he needs to come to terms with himself in his own right. That kind of personal growth doesn't happen in a vacuum, and while Ed may be shoving the need for connection deep down with the advent of the Kraken, both Lucius and Frenchie have shown him that people can care about him and want to help him. I like to entertain the thought that in keeping Frenchie close, Ed is subconsciously holding onto the possibility of connection. (@uselessheretic has a post on similar themes of Ed opening up to the crew beyond Stede via Frenchie, noting the potential for poc solidarity between them, specifically as something Ed has been missing in his life.)

We've seen Frenchie act deferentially towards Blackbeard/The Kraken, and comradely towards Ed; what I'm most curious to see about their relationship in season 2 is how this balances out in the new status quo. Season 1 ends with both of them putting up their masks - Frenchie following Ed's lead, always reacting to what the situation around him demands for survival - and I'd expect this to be a setback in their relationship, mirroring the setback in Ed's personal growth as he shuts himself back off.

Anyway. All of that was supposed to be about four paragraphs.

[napneeders]

imo something that gets underplayed in fanon is that Stede doesn't forget that Ed is Blackbeard, even while he's getting to know Ed and Ed is effectively taking a holiday from being Blackbeard. there's trepidation when he accepts Ed's deal at the end of ep 4.

I was watching the run me through scene (as one does), and it struck me that the way Stede says "yeah, right" when Ed first makes his proposition doesn't just feel like an objection to hurting Ed - it feels like Stede's wary for himself, like it might be a trap, the advanced trick of the trade being something Ed's going to do to Stede after he attempts to stab him.

[m-e-w-666]

@yet-another-artblog crying and screaming and throwing up you are absolutely correct

[napneeders]

I was going to make this private but actually whatever this is my rough on-the-fly categorisation of ofmd episode titles for my own vague purposes

(pilot -- n/a) a damned man -- epithet the gentleman pirate -- epithet discomfort in a married state -- event/theme the best revenge is dressing well -- motto the art of fuckery -- event/theme this is happening -- motto we gull way back -- motto act of grace -- event/theme /object wherever you go, there you are -- motto

impossible birds -- object/metaphor red flags -- object/metaphor the innkeeper -- epithet fun & games -- motto /event the curse of the seafaring life -- event/theme calypso's birthday -- event/theme man on fire -- epithet mermen -- epithet

[napneeders]

honestly the whole gravy basket sequence banged, Ed's mind summoning Hornigold to see him on one way or another, to nurture him and torture him, the father that's the self, the father that can't be killed, the self who's braver than you but at what cost. Ed having to hallucinate himself unable to move to receive care. the disquiet of Hornigold initially displaying none of the cruelty that both of them identify him by. the fact that Ed had to kill himself to live