OUR FLAG MEANS DEATH | 1.06 The Art of Fuckery | 2.03 The Innkeeper | 1.05 The Curse of the Seafaring Life

Utterly obsessed with Izzy appearing out of nowhere to surprise Stede.

(cw// depression, suicide, suicidal ideation)

“you’re afraid you’re unloveable, and you’re too scared to do anything about it” is a goddamn brilliant line because it cuts both ways: you’re too scared to open up and be vulnerable, and you’re too scared to kill yourself.

you’re afraid to live. you’re afraid to die.

welcome to the gravy basket.

guys... ed 'burnt the toast but added some twine as a flourish' teach and stede 'towels? what is this? are these jobs?' bonnet are going to try to run a customer service based business.

Ed + Stede's robes

Ed's smiles when he sees his mermaid lighthouse

❌ innkeepers

✅ shepherds

AU post-season 2 where Ed and stede become sheep dads. More thoughts about the idea under the cut from the group chat 💕

Stede: We should probably have some kind of security system for the Inn though. Odds are someone will eventually come after us.

Ed: Mmm yeah like that dick, what was his name, Chauncey? Been waiting for him to show up for ages, I mean I’m kinda surprised it’s taken him this long.

Stede: oh no he shot his own face off.

Ed: … Wait…What?

Stede: Well I mean he came and pulled me out of bed at gunpoint when I was supposed to meet you on that pier, and forced me into the jungle, said I ruined everything I touched, including you, and then tripped and blew his own face clean off.

Ed:

Stede:

Ed:

Stede:

Ed:

Stede: I probably should have mentioned that ea-

Ed: Earlier? Yeah you fucking think!?!?

The thing that gets me the most about this scene is that Stede doesn't rescue Ed. Not in the traditional sense. He doesn't grab him. He doesn't pull him out of the water. Heck, he doesn't even lead him out of the water.

No, what he actually does is just be with Ed, exactly where Ed is. And that's the most powerful thing he could do.

And, crucially, Ed is still underwater. Stede's presence hasn't changed the fact that he's underwater. But the difference is that the weight has stopped pulling him further down, and, most importantly, he's no longer drowning.

I've talked about how much I love the way that this show explores mental health, and this is just a shining example of that. Stede's love for Ed, and his unwavering supportive presence beside him, doesn't fix his mental illness. It doesn't pull him out of the water.

But, fuck me, does having that love and support make it all feel a bit more survivable.

Edward Teach (S02E03 - The Innkeeper)

the way he says "ooh yeth *groan* *chuckle* very good" 🥹

OUR FLAG MEANS DEATH | 2x03 The Innkeeper

I love this scene so much. I, too, can relate to being really good at my job and am able to dismantle the egos of misogynistic men with a few carefully chosen barbs, but am equally unable to seduce anyone I like without terrifying them.

You know what really warms my heart about the innkeepers idea - the softness, the talking, I mean imagine these men finally getting to talk for hours about themselves and their pasts and figure things out together and just lay under the stars next to each other speaking earnestly because they can finally be vulnerable knowing they'll be loved just as they are, and making love softly and without all the despair of the first time, and Ed gets to be all domestic as he always wanted to, and Stede gets to see a face of married life he hasn't seen before, and yes I know if we get a S3 they won't stay innkeepers forever and it's surely gonna be really fun and they'll probably mess up at some point but just for a moment they get to slow down and allow themselves to be soft without having to fight for their lives every other day and I just find this so heartwarming :') they deserve it so much

ed and stede as innkeepers though would be so funny. because they're both insane. so imagine you show up to the inn and ed answers the door in a kiss the cook apron and tells you all about how he's an innkeeper and not a pirate and sometimes a fisherman and an accountant. and that dinner is at 8 and he hopes you like fish because he's cooking fish for dinner ('again' stede adds curtly). and stede shows you to your room and tells you about all the furniture and art in the place and how 'none of it is stolen, if you were wondering'. and there's a lot of erotic merman art in the gift shop. and the place is quaint but you can't sleep because the owners are having fucking buck wild sex downstairs so it makes it hard to make eye contact with them at breakfast.

Warmth. (I'm processing some stuff.)

I’ve been thinking about the outfits Ed wears to serve breakfast to guests at the inn.

- tight leather trousers with tiny crop top. 

- silk dressing gown with enormous sleeves that wack people in the face and fall in the food as he’s setting down the plates (and Ed gives them a dirty look as if it’s their fault that his best gown now has egg on it)

- lacy black nightdress that Stede definitely fucked him in last night and is definitely too transparent to be wearing in public.

- comfy loose trousers and shirt that are Ed’s favourite because they are so soft but they keep getting holes in from being washed and worn so many times, so Stede has been stitching them up and embroidering little flowers and love hearts on them.

- whatever Stede was wearing earlier (they have a bit where they swap outfits halfway through a meal and everyone has to clap)

- after they get married Ed wears his wedding dress to serve breakfast everyday for two weeks.

I was so stoned when I first watched Stede swim out as a mermaid and I think god intended for me to experience it that way