#you get your pointy-eared Crowleys and your very lizardlike Cardassians

[chocolatepot]

Well, I think that incongruity is part of what helps people to read the actual body of Rhys Darby as something separate from what Stede Bonnet looks like. One valid interpretation is that he is Rhys Darby and they're lying or completely misperceiving him, but it's also valid to interpret him as being more physically "soft"/less muscled (particularly since he's shown repeatedly as uncoordinated and awkward) though obviously they're still wrong about his body to some degree.

Part of why I'm so laid-back about this is that I have no real stake in it. Being aspec, I don't think that much about bodies (when I write Ed being attracted to Stede it usually relates to his manner or his hair or his smile etc. etc.) and when I do focus more on them it's in my genderbent universe, where there's much more latitude for imagining what Stede looks like, and where frankly my goal is more about making myself feel good than trying to exactly reflect Rhys's body as a woman's.

But I also find variation in fannish interpretation really cool in and of itself! I used to focus on correctness to an unhealthy degree and while I still have my own personal standards of which interpretations seem most correct, I just really love the way that different people come to different conclusions about conflicting information in a canon, or straight up rejig canon to conform to their own kinks or emotional needs or taste. Even, to some extent, when it comes to interpretations I actively dislike. I'm glad they exist even if I don't necessarily want to read fic/meta based on them.

I can admit defeat by the Rhys faction 💚 I will continue to be quietly baffled and y'all can continue to see him as buff.

In my defense, my ex was way too into powerlifting and I have consumed probably too much strongman content, largely against my will. I never intended to know who Eugene Sandow was.