#this is why I relate to stede bonnet so much

[anemojocknerd]

My autistic special interest is pirates and I’ve always wanted to be a pirate except I have absolutely no idea how to pirate, I’m just gay

[larphis]

Sometimes I think “God, I am just like Ed” and then I start putting him on a pedestal and make big paragraphs to say that he never did anything wrong in his life and how he’s actually just a very soft person that is hurting deep inside and needs a forehead kiss and then I look in the mirror and realize that I am in fact Stede Bonnet.

[ofmdrecaps]

07/13/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Taika Waititi; Florida Super Con: Vico & Samba; Dominic Burgess; Kristian Nairn; Christopher Corbin; Darby Family Foster Kittens; Articles; Fan Spotlight: Cast Cards/AuxilleryWardrobe Zine Reminders; Love Notes; Daily Darby / Today's Taika Gifs

Hey crew, today's a bit of short one, but I wanted to make sure there was some fun stuff up and about with everything going on.

== Taika Waititi ==

More shots of Taika directing Russell Crowe's show from a couple days back! You can buy tickets to the recorded concert and see at least a bit more Taika on the IndoorGardenParty website! Thank you to our crewmate @jimjim531969 for the screenshot!

Source: @JimJim531969's Twitter

== Florida Super Con: Vico & Samba ==

Samba and Vico are out at Florida SuperCon-- and as you can probably tell, they're having a great time! They're taking shots with all sorts of fans and other guests, including a certain set of What We Do In The Shadows TV Series friends! <3

Source: Samba & Vico's Instagram

== Dominic Burgess ==

Dominic is keeping us fed with more cat photos!

Source: Dominic Burgess Twitter

== Kristian Nairn ==

Kristian also sharing some beloved pets -- and this time, a new addition to his family, Calypso!

Source: Kristian Nairn's Instagram

== Christopher Corbin ==

Hey! We haven't seen our "Magic" man Christopher Corbin in a while! He's out giving a tour to his bro Jim at Universal Studios!

Source: Christopher Corbin's Instagram

== Darby Family Foster Kittens ==

Today really is a feast for the eyes when it comes to kitties and pups! Rosie shared more foster kittens with us! I can't tell you how tempted I am to drive to CA and adopt some!

Source: Rosie Carnahan Darby's Instagram

== Articles ==

Thank you to ShowSnob for this article on why OFMD deserved an S3! And thank you to our friends over at NeverLeftPodcast for bringing it to the crew's attention!

Source: Never Left Podcast's Twitter

== Fan Spotlight ==

= Cast Cards =

Our sweet @melvisik is keeping up the cast cards for us with another Emmy Submission! Albert Fox joins Mark and John "for Outstanding Music Composition in a Series for Mermen -AdoptOurCrew"

Source: @melvisik's Twitter

= Auxilery Wardobe Zine Reminders =

Reminder! The signups for the Stede Bonnet: Auxiliary Wardrobe Zine close in a week! You can still sign up until July 21! Sign Up Here!

Source: StedeBonnetZine Twitter

== Love Notes ==

Hey lovelies, today was a day all around the world. I hope you're all doing okay. A lot of stuff happened that could have left you feeling a lot of hard feelings. I know it's concerning, and I know it's scary, especially the unknown of it all. If you can, today, take care of YOU. Take time to breathe, take time to eat well, and shower, and drink enough water. If you can, watch something funny, cry, whatever you need to do to feel okay. When the world is uncontrollable, and feels unreachable, and the future unknown, one of the best things you can do is take care of yourself and your loved ones. This is a good article on how to ground yourself, if you're feeling out of sorts. It says it's related to triggers but it can be anything really that you need to ground yourself from. The most important thing in the world is that you're safe, and you are okay, so please take care of you. If you need support, reach out to your crew, we all care about you and your well being.

== Daily Darby / Today's Taika ==

I think today we could use a little boost. So here's Taika laughing his ass off at Rhys' ANYWHO, and Rhys having a bit of a grumble about ZADDY. I love these two so much, it's ridiculous. Gif courtesy of @ dallonismysavior <3

[cephalosporine]

Why OFMD is the only 100% relatable autistic representation out there to me

Stede Bonnet is

- overly confident and misjudges situations constantly

- very loyal and keen to follow “the proper rules” of pirating, but still doing things his way

- can be a tad bit narcissistic/ too self-involved + very opinionated

He has no training, no clue, just his authentic, polite and upright self. Most shows would dunk on him like crazy.

In OFMD, he is just…himself. And he finds love and acceptance not despite, but because of it! 🥹

You can disagree on whether he’s autistic or not. He is to me. Our community gets very little representation except for the “savant who is only valued for their intellect” or the “disabled person in need of a saviour”. This was the reason I thought “I could not possibly be autistic” for 4 years. And I see so much of myself in Stede now!

[ourfag]

and how to succeed in genderhood

hehehe @t4tgb asked for this one as well!!

this file is my workshop for everything relating to the transbians modern au i think ive mentioned once before on here. it’s a very long way from being written, if it ever does get written

in a lot of ways it’s a garden variety fluff piece with coffeeshop au sensibilities—everybody’s friends, interpersonal conflicts are trivial, one of the most important functions of this setting to me is creating a safe environment for ed to tumble into and gently get her egg cracked

not that it’s as simple for her as meeting a trans woman her age and going “oh why didn’t i think of that!” there’s a bit of push-and-pull she has to muddle through in terms of—actually let me just copy paste some of my thoughts on where her head is at before she comes out to herself:

With the culture Ed’s been surrounded by up until now, it’s been an easy assumption to make that Being A Man was another one of those things like swallowing live worms or playing bloody knuckles: getting yourself loaded up with as much acute misery as you can take and then parading it around like a trophy. “Look how much this pain doesn’t even bother me.”

The question, “But would you like to be seen as a woman?” draws out some tears because her approach to the image she projects has always always always been about its utility. Simply expressing herself without curating an image built around that utility is such an unfamiliar and bittersweet experience, and there’s a reason she’s spent most of her life not considering it a serious option.

she starts out with a bit of a blind spot about stede’s insecurities the same way her canon counterpart does, so there’s a period where she uses the way stede is So Obviously A Woman to her in order to kind of.. illustrate to herself why she So Obviously Isn’t, no matter how much she would like to be. and it’s not until stede Gets A Sense About Ed and starts gently sharing some of her earlier gender experiences For No Particular Reason that ed starts feeling more able to draw those connections to herself

i realize im making it sound like a really rough time but tbh it’s mostly abt watching star trek in your underpants and having tender lesbian sex. stede gets ed brainstorming potential name changes with her while she tries on flowery hats and ed is like “tbh i think the name bonnie really suits you but i can’t figure out why” and stede turns to ed and goes 😐 Bonnie Bonnet? and ed is like ohhh yeah thats why

(stede vacillates between a whole bunch of Traditionally Female names bc she feels like she Ought To Have One Of Those but her heart isnt really in it)

(she does eventually change her legal first name though)

(to Captain.)

[blakbonnet]

that the good place scene reminded me of someone in the ofmd tag making a post comparing that scene to izzy and ed. as in, izzy is eleanor and ed is the mom 😵‍💫 truly one of the most baffling izzy-takes i have ever seen!! the scene itself is so good though, i miss that show too

As in, Izzy sees Ed doing well with Stede and goes "why couldn't he be like this with me?" I mean, okay, so from Izzy's perspective, I'm 100% willing to believe that went through his head.

All that "Bonnet has messed with my boss' brain" shit? There is a flip side to that thought process where he probably starts with blaming Ed for everything he's gone through the past few years because Ed was completely uninterested/difficult when it came to the Blackbeard business and Izzy was having to "manage him".

Like I'm 100% sure Izzy sees himself as this person who is 50% - if not more - responsible for the success Blackbeard has had and now that they finally have what they once wanted, Ed no longer wants it anymore and how dare he let them both down *shakes fists* to see Ed finally laughing and having fun with Stede, there's going to be bitterness there to the tune of "why him and not me"

But also - and I'm talking about pre redemption Izzy here - he definitely put all the blame and onus of their troubles squarely on Ed's shoulders because admitting he had a part to play in Ed's continued unhappiness would straight up blow his mind. He would not be able to get out of bed in the morning. Which is why his redemption hit so good to me, coming to terms with your role in someone's life, apologising for your mistakes, being giving a second chance - that's ofmd for you.

Baffling take if the poster believes that's what happened actually (I haven't seen the take lmao god bless) in the context of canon.

Can you even believe tho that the good place was a real show that gave us all these brilliant amazing characters 😭 I felt that Elinor scene in my soul so bad, she was so right and so wrong and just- I relate to it so much. Every single character in that show and their arc... I need to be put down, I need to rewatch a million times.

[stede-blackbeard]

Something that just clicked in my head and I’m tired so this might not make sense but

The reason why I love stede bonnet is because he is an incredibly flawed character who has had issues and has worked with them and he’s really trying his best, but he is still terrible person occasionally like leaving his wife and other things but he is eight he still deserves love.

It’s not like another shows where there’s a character there for love, and along the way, the show makes them a terrible person occasionally to the point where they become a bad person. It’s not like a show where they are terrible person who occasionally finds love as a bit, he is a flawed character and it is part of his core and he is still the main love interest, and he is still viewed as desirable even if he’s messed up even if he’s not traditionally handsome (the traditions are wrong but my point stands) he still deserves someone as amazing as ed so it’s a lot easier for me a person who doesn’t think there traditionally attractive, and knows I have issues to project myself onto him because I relate to him so much you do that I can’t relate to Blackbeard, even though I do love him, and I occasionally relate to him, but I don’t feel what’s going on with him. I feel what’s going on with stede

[ladyluscinia]

Well. Extremely post-S2, predominantly archival update in fucking May of 2024 simply because I clicked on this and realized how tonally dissonant it was from my current vibes re: OFMD. I will leave the original pre-S2 optimism below for the historical record.

Note I have mostly checked out from the fandom after burning my last bit of interest on deconstructing how much I hated that S2 finale and the retroactive effects on the entirety of S2, but here's some highlights from that period:

My OFMD S2 Magnum Opus aka my final thoughts on how it failed as a story on multiple levels (featuring Pirates of the Caribbean comparisons)

The S2 Timeline Sucks SO Bad, guys 💀

As part of my Deconstruction Efforts I read WAY too many David Jenkins interviews and compiled them because why the fuck not, and then shared some observations on irony (+ real observations scattered about my in-text links)

Post for the official cancellation news (everyone had one)

Also my immediate finale reactions (everyone had those too)

Formally throwing in the towel with final thoughts on fixing S2

A few related posts/asks on bad writing re: Edward's violence + the concept of fuckeries + lack of follow through

A bit of post-S2 lightness in #ofmd daemon au which kind of trailed off (mobile-friendly tag link at the bottom)

The fandom continued to be a fascinating case study and toxic as fuck about Izzy (classic ofmd) and so fucking bad at important creator boundaries and prone to general ridiculousness

And you know what - sure. For the record. My optimistic, immediately pre-finale meta ramblings where I was brimming with good faith assumption that they had a plan (🤣):

The Edward Focused One

The Izzy Focused One

---

Welcome to my OFMD Masterpost. I've been having a great time writing meta about this show and the (frankly concerning at times) fandom around this show. Here's a couple of my highlights:

My First Major Analysis of Edward Teach (April 2022) - If you read any singular post of mine to understand where I'm coming from, pick this one

Izzy Hands, Manipulation, and Why the Navy Plot Rules (September 2023)

Fic Statistics Analysis and Looking at a Different Angle + Updated Stats Pre-S2

Stede Bonnet in 1x02

1x04 Good Cop / Bad Cop is so Compelling

Comparing Drawings of Blackbeard

Sometimes I write meta for Calico Jack, and I fell into a JackHands manifesto because it's hilarious

My elaborate Anne Bonny dreams

More (shorter) Analyzing the Navy Plot (also defending it somewhat)

Summarizing my takes on 1x09 and 1x10

I spent a few days discussing woobification and Edward Teach, and speculating on fandom response

This fandom is weird and pretty toxic btw

Oh, and here's my Izzy Hands Playlists. For fun!

Ships:

#blackhands, #steddyhands, #blackbonnet, #frenchizzy

Characters:

#izzy hands ofmd, #blackbeard ofmd, #stede bonnet ofmd, #calico jack ofmd, #fang ofmd, #ivan ofmd, #spanish jackie ofmd, #mary bonnet ofmd, Post with tags for the whole Revenge crew

Topics of Interest:

#ofmd meta, #give me anne bonny, #ofmd harassment (unfortunately), #genre fuckery, #sea god izzy, #breakup boat, #ofmd daemon au

[loveisamountain]

so, i’ve being hurting a bit seeing Ed struggle, because i’ve been there, i also had an ex dumping me out of nowhere just to reappear months later asking me to comeback, to then dumping me again and coming back and dumping me again and coming back (in the end i finally dumped her for good). I know why Ed can’t trust Stede right away, i should not have trusted right away for example, i Will be glad to see Ed healing by himself and to also see Stede working to reconstruct the trust and showing to Ed he really is determined and he really loves him, and that if that means being patient and working hard he will do it because Ed is worth it, Ed is special and Ed deserves being loved properly. i neeeeed to see the season now u.u i need to know that Ed knows Just how much he is loved. And also, Stede, i relate to Stede cause he is so autistic coded and i am autistic and i know he doesn’t have bad intentions but he fucks things up regulary and i know what that is like also. I also want Stede to feel loved by Ed. I want them to know that their Love makes them stronger because is such a beautiful thing to Love and be loved, trully. I’m just gonna stay here in the corner crying just like Ed at the end of s1 cause i am at that stage, feeling unloveable and sad, but there is no Stede Bonnet for me u.u

[eolewyn1010]

Dragging Frankenstein - prologue

Well, fuck it; I miss posting more various stuff of my own instead of just reblogging, so I'll post the snark I have bestowed on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Don't be misled; it's a hell of an interesting read if one can get over the Regency prose, but the protagonist pisses me off to unholy degrees, so I shan't be too respectful. I'll do it my way, with only arbitrary regards to the lingual differences between Now and Then (rule of Funny goes, folks) and with my silly little counters. Don't take to seriously. Onward to the prologue, and one Captain Robert Walton, who is not our protagonist!

“in a country of eternal light” – wtf, Walton? Does he mean polar days? Bc those are not eternal, but then he does spout a lot of purple prose (and so does the entire book).

And more weird fantasizing – “passage at the pole”, what’s that supposed to be good for? “secret of the magnet”???

“my education was much neglected” – yeah, stop marveling at your self-taught brilliance already; I swear, Walton and Victor both are so egotistical it’s no miracle they can take an interest only in one another.

Also, Walton had an emo poet phase. And his Chemical Romance didn’t take off. LOL.

“worked harder than the common sailors” – sure you did, you spoiled little rich kid. “preferred glory to luxury” – I’m getting distinct Stede Bonnet vibes here, and in a very Privileged White Guy way. And he keeps exotizing Russia. I SO PRIVILEGED: 1

“longing for a friend” calls in the Gay™, and after bashing his so-beneath-him sailors for a bit, it settles in with “I desire the company of a man […] whose eyes would reply to mine. You may deem me romantic…” Counter starts now. DAS GAY: 2

“shall certainly find no friend on the ocean” – yeah, chill out, we saw your subtle foreshadowing. Why does he keep telling his SISTER how his early life went??

His “best years spent under your gentle and feminine fosterage” leading to a distaste of brutality is ever so slightly sexist in several directions, but it also rings in the theme of every goddamn female character being cast in the light of a maternal figure – even when that is not the relation in which she stands to the character in question. EVERY WOMAN IS A MOM: 1

Whyyyyy does the gossip about his ship master’s failed love story take up so much space? I dunno this guy???

“as silent as a Turk”, “ignorant” and “savage inhabitant of some island” – oh, hai, racism!

Is one single dog really strong enough to pull a sledge with a person plus luggage on it?

Funny how Walton describes Victor as all emaciated and shit, and yet goes insta-thirsty like “must have been a noble creature in his better days, being even now in wreck so attractive and amiable” – and Victor is “uneasy when anyone except myself enters his cabin”, gotcha. DAS GAY: 4

And five minutes after knowing him, Walton declares him the “brother of my heart”, and his “affection for my guest increases every day”. DAS GAY: 6

The unfounded praises of Victor being “wise, noble, gentle” get on my nerves, but imagine my eyebrows at the lines “a groan burst from his heaving breast” and “my thirst for a more intimate sympathy”. Because… huh. DAS GAY: 7

Bitch, where do you get off calling your sister fastidious? She probably had the same education you did! Get your ego out here.

Walton’s crush on Frankenstein is already getting old; does he need to gush about him like he’s the bees’ knees? He doesn’t know this asshole at all! “his lustrous eyes with their melancholy sweetness” – ok, Walton needs to get laid. DAS GAY: 8

What a queer intro, and no, I don't plan to stop making fun of this kind of language. It's the only redeeming grace of these characters.

[rei-does-stuff]

It's kind of a silly question, but I thought I'd ask you because... well, you're the only ofmd fan I know and trust 😅 /lh /gen

So, I was thinking to myself, what is the difference between representing Blackbeard in a fictional way, who in real life was a bad person, and representing other bad historical figures in a fictional way?? Or representing Stede Bonnet, who was also an idiot in real life??? /genq /lh

Let me be clearer: what differentiates ofmd from... hamilton, for example? /nf /lh

This is not an attempt to mock your interest or make you feel bad for liking the series because I do too, I was just having this moral dilemma and wanted an answer. It's a, like I said, not very important question, and I REALLY don't want you to answer this if it makes you uncomfortable, but if you do have an answer and feel comfortable sharing it, I'd love to hear it! /gen /pos /lh

I'm just... worried that maybe I'm consuming a bad media /nf /lh

(also... some words or phrases might be weird because english is not my native language and the translator is not very reliable, but I hope you can understand everything /lh /info)

Oh wow I wasn’t really expecting an ofmd related ask! Hello!!

Now like, this kinda discourse comes about whenever anything related to historical fiction gets popular. And it really depends on how far you’re okay with separating the characters based on the people they’re well, based on.

With OFMD in particular, they’re using the stories of Blackbeard and Stede Bonnet as basically a vessel to tell this specific story. And it’s basically this own thing. I mean for Blackbeard specifically he’s been in tons of medias with different depicts each time. (I mean if I remember correctly he’s even in a assassins creed game but don’t quote me on that I am sadly not a very well versed gamer)

For Hamilton it’s more of the same, however the reason why people have more of a problem with it compared to something like ofmd is because of it’s plot and themes. It deals more closely with history (well ‘closely its a musical yk) than something like ofmd, so it’s romanization of these people (and how the fandom back then treated it) makes people more wary of it

Also, people don’t generally know about Stede and Blackbeard compared to like…Alexander Hamilton yk? Hell I’ve seen people who thought they weren’t even real people! So the degree of separation is there.

For me personally, I like ofmd, obviously, I mean I’ve literally made fanfiction for it so it’s obvious I don’t have as much of a problem with it as others may have, and with Hamilton, it’s, alright, the songs are good and it’s definitely a good tool for people to get more interested in history, even if it doesn’t tell the truth abt it. But I’m not as invested in it’s story or characters as others.

I 100% get why people may be uncomfortable with either of these things, and historical fiction in general, when you do it, you’re always gonna get these kinds of discussions. Don’t blame em either! Just as long as they aren’t an asshole to the people who do like it, but that’s a given yk?

Additional, ofmd is important for queer media, so regardless of how you feel about it, I think it’s good to respect it a little for that, queer media has gotten far and the show for a lot of people is proof of how far its come.

I think that’s everything!

[maeglinthebold]

I posted 14,156 times in 2022

That's 4,856 more posts than 2021!

58 posts created (0%)

14,098 posts reblogged (100%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@tasyfa

@megan-is-aa

@chuplayswithfire

@beautifulcheat

@ladynox

I tagged 14,148 of my posts in 2022

#our flag means death - 1,808 posts

#roswell new mexico - 1,482 posts

#blackbonnet - 1,067 posts

#our flag means death - 958 posts

#important - 724 posts

#blackbeard - 699 posts

#stede bonnet - 505 posts

#star wars - 481 posts

#tolkien - 423 posts

#fashion - 413 posts

Longest Tag: 135 characters

#the fact that rose and finn didnt get fancied up for their casino planet infiltration just shows how little rj thought about them 🤷‍♀️

I sent 1 gift in 2022

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

the greater chaves county area polycule, part deux

36 notes - Posted September 6, 2022

#4

Roswell, New Mexico Finale Cocktails 🍸👽🍹👽🍷👽🍾👽🥃👽🥂👽

Instructions below the cut for the following:

Joniz Attempted Murder Margarita (shot)

Rum and Cosmic

Dr. V's Iced Tea

DeLuca Daiquiri

Rosalinda's Spicy Lavender Lemonade (nonalcoholic)

Joniz Attempted Murder Margarita (Shot)

Strawberry margarita mix to mostly fill the glass; separately, mix blue curaçao with silver tequila to “lighten” it (literally to reduce the weight) so that you can use back of a spoon to layer the blue on top. The sweetness and amount of tequila you need to add to the curacao make this drink an excellent shot. 

See the full post

41 notes - Posted September 4, 2022

#3

i like that i haven't needed to follow any new ofmd blogs to get ofmd content it's just. we're all ofmd blogs now

52 notes - Posted April 12, 2022

#2

See the full post

98 notes - Posted June 18, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Reasons why Michael Guerin Has a Mustache this season, some speculations

Following the predictable trend, the entire 13 episode run of Season 4 will take place over approximately 9 days. Not too long for a mustache experiment. But why, you ask? Why would God and the CW do this to us? Here are our best theories:

During production there was a "Michael" mix up and they gave Trevino's mustache to Vlamis, but once they realized the mistake it was too late to go back and re-film everything and they didn't want to be like Justice League Superman

What is left is an attempt to CGI the stache away

Entire season takes place during the last week of Movember

Michael lost a bet

Kyle bet him he couldn't grow one

It's the Michael Guerin version of gaining 20 lbs. once he's in a stable relationship

Michael is going to be Ted Lasso for Halloween

He's trying to look gayer

He's trying to look more hipster frat-boy Vlamis

It's his Freddie Mercury bicon phase

He's testing how much Alex loves him

He's helping Maria move on (and not want him back)

It's a standoff with Alex to make him get better hair

He's going to be in a community theater production of Brokeback Mountain

Disguise so Ramos doesn't recognize him

Disguise so Flint doesn't recognize him

Pandemic-related razor-shortage and he selflessly opted to go without

Speculating on the soup strainer is fun for the whole family! Reblog and add your own below! (image)

111 notes - Posted January 7, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[dumbkiwi]

to clarify: i love blackbonnet as the endgame for the show.

but i really dont like a lot of blackbonnet fanon bc i think so many ppl miss the mark on stede. forget "darling" "my love" etc. what happened to "Ed, do you know this guy? He's being a complete asshole!" <3 let him be a bitch!!

moreover - stede is consistently shown to be so incredibly selfish. as his #1 character trait. swede has scurvy? cake wasnt that good anyways. Mary hates the fucking ocean? wasn't listening. remorse only comes when he's having a ~spooky mormon hell dream~ and he feels bad, more out of a fear of retribution than anything. Ed seems antsy and riled up? time to solve this with an adventure that makes him obviously miserable! even if he's saying he's doing it for someone else, he's doing it to ease his own conscience or bc it's what he would have wanted to do anyways.

basically, i think that stede doen't necessarily have blinding self-confidence, but in spite of his insecurities he remains just. so not self-aware and entitled. he's ridiculously bold in demanding things so people tend to give into what he wants, so he's never really told no. whenever he is, this is viewed as an obstacle to overcome/win. (see: the fuckery) he's truly shocked when he's disliked, never questions his own judgement or ideas, and expects everyone in a space to mold themselves around him. he doesn't listen to what most people say unless it'll have a direct effect on him ("that's a bit advanced for you mate" from his favorite person, or "i think he's more than up to the challenge" from his least favorite person?) and only feels remorse or guilt because he feels bad for himself -- never because of what hes put the other person through. stede bonnet lives in a world where he is the main character and everyone else (the people he loves included) are NPCs; he never once thinks that he affects other people in the way that they affect him.

and that makes him a fantastic pair for ed, because Ed *loves* selfish people. 1) it gives him something to play off of bc he's a social chameleon with adhd cant relate wym ; 2) everyone treats him with such reverence, putting him on a pedestal, and it's gotta be so refreshing to be around people who treat him like Just Some Guy. so then when ed in turn is bitchy or bratty or what have you, theyll treat him like a person and not like Blackbeard Hates Me; 3) Ed wants to be wanted, and selfish people want. it's the praise kink thing lol. being treated as blackbeard is incredibly isolating, and most people view him as a threat or unattainable ((or probably expect ed as pursuer)). but in front of izzy and stede and jack, who make their desires SO clear, ed can show off and preen. he is the object of desire, and that's just fun

not saying that stede jack or izzy dont respect ed, but their self interests will always come before eds well being. izzy expects so much from ed -- and if eds not stacking up, especially if izzy perceives his life hanging in the balance, he'll jump ship! jack doesn't give a shit that ed cares about stede. obvs you can say that he was on a mission, but he doesnt show any remorse for fucking with ed's happiness. and stede is completely unafraid to demand things of ed, too. i'm not even talking about going back to mary. the fuckery, questioning izzy's authority (instead of thinking that there might be a reason this seasoned sailor is taking issue with his judgement), not listening to what ed is saying about wanting to retire/just fold socks.

so idk i think what im trying to say is. the blackbonnet dynamic has so much potential to be bizarre and cool and interesting. but so many ppl only acknowledge this side of stede when izzy's thrown into the mix cause hes so hurtable. even when they want angst, use kraken!ed, which i think is such wasted potential. instead of forgiving stede for his actions, why not take his self-imposed ignorance as a form of malice!! he hurts people because he does not actually care about them! he's weirdly paternalistic and condescending to EVERYONE unless he sees himself as the victim. There are 33 works tagged 'Stede Bonnet has Issues' on AO3. 33!!! there are 300+ fics tagged 'Israel Hands has issues'. there is SO MUCH UNTAPPED POTENTIAL HERE.

some blackbonnet ideas below the cut, both sfw and nsfw, to get the ball rolling (maybe me @ myslf idk)

in general: ed taking on izzy's arm candy with a gun/queen of hell role as stede kinda takes over the captaincy. conflict between stede and kraken!ed when stede returns, but stede is pissed that ed doen't immediately accept his apology. play stede wanting one aspect of ed so fiercely against ed's fear of rejection. possessive stede in general, but also ed not immediately buckling

for nfsw! stede inflicting overstim torture. dubcon with stede not understanding/willfully ignoring boundaries and ed realizing that like izzy his boundaries are also malleable, and stede taking advantage of that. pillow princess or power bottom stede and service top ed. so many mind games. ed and stede both trying to out-dom each other fjeialfj.

[thats-entirely-too-much-tuna]

OFMD Reactions: This is Happening (1x07)

knowing how the love of your life takes their tea is something that can actually be so personal

fellas is it gay to ask your crew to help you brainstorm ways to impress your leather-clad pirate captain crush?

EVERYONE IS USING THEY/THEM PRONOUNS FOR JIM AND I AM SOBBING IN NONBINARY

stede’s entire vibe this episode is “baby are we in a rut??? why don't we ever go out and have fun anymore???”

i relate to wee john feeney because i would also love to be stabbed by jim

SELENIS LEYVA!!!!!!!!!

nana is out here proving you can place an impossible burden on your grandkid's shoulders and still gender them correctly. take note, ladies.

stede’s gay little safari outfit. that is all.

the stede/blackbeard/lucius storyline reads like a dysfunctional family vacation movie with a gay couple and their adult son who is also gay

nana ships jim and olu as much as i do <333

“you know what your problem is? you just have no idea how to relax!” oof, yeah, if only there was some way stede could help ed relax. that’s a real tough one.

“probably could. maybe i will. i can do anything.” i am manifesting blackbeard’s level of self-confidence for myself in 2022.

ily: i love you ilysfm: i love you so fucking much ictyr: i'd come to your restaurant

i can only imagine that the direction for the snake-roasting scene must've been, “okay, rhys and taika, you two just go ahead and riff about restaurants, and nathan, you’re gonna look at the two of them like ‘what in gay hell is going on’”

“oh my god, this is happening” WE ARE ALL LUCIUS

“i'm gonna try and undo some of the... damage from that interaction” olu is truly such a perfect partner for jim. love heals, y'all.

lucius is really the MVP of this episode and i owe him my life, he better get an honorable mention during blackstede’s matelotage vows

ed is already such a changed man and it's only episode seven??? the effort he makes for stede once lucius talks some sense into him????? he cares about him so deeply??????? i am weeping?????????

me: please say “i could be family” please say “i could be family” please say “i could be family” olu: i could be family me: *gasp*

STEDE I AM ROOTING FOR YOU BUT YOUR TIMING NEEDS WORK! YOU ARE NOT THE ONLY QUEER IN SAINT AUGUSTINE!

“okay, i’m literally the only person here with a wooden finger, but sure!” lucius is so valid for this and he’s also the biggest bitch and i love him so much

co-captains. i have no words. just… co-captains.

it’s easy to miss because of stede’s bright and cheery delivery, but the way blackbeard says “co-captain” is so soft and tender, it cleared my pores and watered my plants and fed my cat

“we said the same thing.” no duh, you're soulmates.

spanish jackie: izzy: stede bonnet is the nastiest skank bitch i’ve ever met, do not trust her, she is a fugly slut

[johannestevans]

i was talking to a friend about this the last day and it's relevant so like.

TREASURE ISLAND, by robert louis stevenson, which Black Sails is a prequel to (and which Our Flag Means Death is related to, given the presence of various famous pirates), is an adventure novel. pretty much every pirate story you can think of is influenced by adventure novels like this one

J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan is also heavily influenced by RLS' work specifically (Barrie was in love with the man (literally) so that's no surprise), and many of these stories we tell and play with that are about pirates and adventurers come from a legacy of texts penned in the 19th century (with a few big ones from the century before)

now, the thing is, as soon as you're looking at an adventure narrative and the protagonist is a white boy (or man), it is fundamentally a story about white supremacy and imperialism, told from the lens of an imperialist.

the young white boy who goes off on "adventures" and experiences the stuff of exciting tales is able to do so and see it as fun and exciting because of his whiteness

beyond merely being plot armour or genre protection to defend him from extreme physical harm or death, his whiteness is a halo around him - he is a purifying, civilising force, and we are supposed to view through his eyes a savage and intriguing world. if he is not trying to civilise it, he is enjoying the last waves of this savagery before other white men civilise it for him, but make no mistake, he considers that civilisation inevitable, and right. he knows the age of adventure is coming to an end, and why is it coming to an end?

because "adventure", from the perspective given to us as white men, is fundamentally about enjoying a world that is foreign, uncivilised, savage, and "untouched". it's about our "exploration" of a world that's not yet been explored, it's about going where no one has gone before

because as white men "exploring" the world, everything is turned into adventure - strange, exotic animals (that we lead to the extinction of), new habitats and environments (that we overmine for resources and destroy the ecosystems of), and most of all, strange, exotic people (who we don't see as people, or not fully as people: they're just exciting savages for us to take from, "civilise", fight with, rape, and murder)

you literally cannot approach any adventure novel without understanding that this framework is central to the text.

Swallows and Amazons. 20000 Leagues Under The Sea, Journey to the Interior of the Earth, Tarzan of the Apes, The Lost World, Kidnapped, The Time Machine - and you have to apply it to texts that came after or were inspired by adventure novels.

so in the context of Peter Pan, that's a vital part of the text - people are stupid about peter pan and i do get frustrated with a lot of people's poor readings of the text (especially when they've seen that fucking Disney film), but it's a text that's fundamentally about working class anxiety and the desperate terror of burgeoning economic responsibility in a world that's hostile to the Darlings - and how do they escape?

by going back into the adventure novel. back to when their class doesn't matter as much, but their whiteness still means everything. ditto, peter pan is one of the most monstrous characters in all creation, and he is precisely as monstrous as he is, yes, because he's an 8-year-old who was neglected, but specifically because he's an 8-year-old white boy who thinks he owns the world

and this also applies in Our Flag Means Death when we look at Stede Bonnet - this is a man who's hampered by responsibility, so he throws himself into his very own adventure novel, but like. by definition, this flattens the world around him into an adventure for him to have, not a world full of other people living in it

[fogsrollingin]

Interview: David Jenkins On Making ‘Our Flag Means Death’ an Escape

Here's some topic highlights and their timemarks

First question 0:00-3min : Jenkins' career summary and how his fam - especially his Dad - had great taste in comedy.

Jenkins explains he grew up watching horrible, dark, things growing up. They were 'scarring but in a good way.' And also you can't really tell what's gonna age well. ~3mins in

How did you come about the story of Stede Bonnet, Gentleman Pirate? "I love men in existential freefall and having identity crises" 7mins in

Did you always want this to be a romance between Stede and Ed? 8m50s "Oh it was definitely because they had a romantic relationship." and "To me it didn't seem like it could be anything other than that."

9-11 mins in: wanting the series to be so character- and relationship-driven that you could pull them out of the pirate world and into another universe and you could still tell the same/similar character- and relationship-driven story

12 mins in : on when Taika got involved as EP and when Rhys got involved. Taika as 'star EP' is very hard to pull off. But he's a smart businessman and so busy, so he pairs with people whose sensibilities he trusts to make big choices, and then he goes away, and he came back to OFMD and got fully behind it.

The virtues of "Yes, and" when it comes to creative collaboration (it's not a bunch of people saying "No, but" frustrating each other) 17 minutes in

What showrunners do; how your brain makes you forget how much pain was involved (yes they're related topics haha) 18 mins in

20 mins in praising Rhys Darby! 22mins in Jenkins does an impression of him/his Kiwi accent. Also fascinating that "Rhys in particular really disappeared into the role." Which led into appreciation for Rhys and Taika accepting and performing his comedy dialogue so well

26 mins What's the show's secret sauce? HBO doesn't seem impressed by the fandom but then he goes online and they have more likes on HBO's season 2 renewal announcement vs. HBO's new GoT spinoff. Fans picking up on and loving details that you came up with on a Tuesday sleepy with a migraine = amazing; lightning in a bottle.

32mins Jenkins anticipating mean/nasty tweets. The host saying there's too much negativity in the world, hold back on nasty tweets and Jenkins actually goes "ehhhh the mute/ignore button is great, I'm not gonna lose that much sleep over it." So much love for that. "With the hellscape we're living in right now, this show has become something of a refuge and I think that's why the fans have been so gentle."

34mins in with a diverse writer's room, this time period, do we incorporate slavery? The writers of color in the room asking "Can we not make this show about trauma?" Also OFMD "is more about falling in love than coming out." - "Made me realize how many people only see themselves onscreen when the trauma of x, y, or z is attached to their character as an anchor and they can't just be a character." (This is absolutely brilliant)

38mins your casting beyond Taika and Rhys? They really lucked out! The ways celebs get cast, everything's very up in the air but it's exciting.

40 mins Favorite eps? Eps 8, 9, and 10 are tied; where the show really found its footing. Break the Chain. Rhys and Taika's performances. Bonnet 3 words: lost, kind, adventurous. BB: troubled, lost, and fragile.

Sauce

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