#ofmd thinkie thoughts
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Something I love about OFMD is that when they introduce Mary properly, they let her shine. Like we could be given entirely Stede's POV of their relationship, but when it comes to them giving each other gifts, we get to see hers first.
Look how excited she is to share her art with him! She's so excited and then he completely cuts the legs from under her.
And it's so critical that we see him do this to her first, so it's not her being petty and shrewish about his boat. It's showing how perfectly unsuited they are to each other. He's so oblivious to her, he has no idea she's been painting and assumes her exciting new art was done by the kids. He has zero interest in her interests.
So when we cut to the next scene and she does the same to him, it's only further emphasis about how disconnected they really are. Not only does he show no interest in what she cares about but he straight up doesn't listen when she talks to him.
And I find it especially interesting that he keeps up the pretence of trying to act appropriately excited about the painting (even though he's obviously not), Mary doesn't hide her confusion and anger that he's been ignoring her again. Stede is so used to masking to behave 'correctly' that he does it on autopilot.
So when Mary actually expresses how she's really feeling, instead of following the socially acceptable script, and actually shouts at him, you can see him emotionally shut down. "I'll get it stopped," he says at once. Course-correcting so he won't be shouted at.
And what I really, really love about the whole scene is the fact that when they receive a negative reaction to their respective exciting gifts, both of them use exactly the same body language.
It also strikes me that this may be the first time Stede has really expressed something he's wanted to her. We know he hides away to cry on his own at night and lies about it. We know he fake-smiles his way through things and pretends everything is fine, so him actually saying "what if we did something that would make me happy" and having it shot down in front of him?
"I'll get it stopped".
Because as Rhys said in an interview, Stede never expects to get a happy ending. After all, with all we know of him, he's never had a happy beginning or a happy middle. Of course he would never expect he would be allowed to be happy.
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Ed and Stede really looked at U-Haul lesbian culture and went: bet.
#ofmd#our flag means death#edward teach#ed teach#stede bonnet#gentlebeard#blackbonnet#uhaul lesbians#late night thinky-thoughts
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Thinking about Stede finding Ed and Ed is furious and upset and wants to fight Stede, so Stede throws down his sword, opens up his frock coat and says "stab me."
"Fuck off, we're not doing this."
Stede, smiling, "What, are you scared? Take your sword, run me through."
(Whether Stede gets stabbed or not is irrelevant because Ed has been unwillingly charmed by his own flirting tactic being used back at him.)
#thinky thoughts at 3am by me#our flag means death#ofmd#stede bonnet#edward teach#gentlebeard#ofmd s2 speculation#ofmd s2 silly ideas
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how we feelin
(gif by @usermeggy)
pain. I feel pain
#i have so much thinky thoughts about this one it's killing me oh my god milo what have you done to me#sorry for taking so long. i eas planning on sorting out the thinkies and making a very long post abt it. but then life just kinda happened#and I won't be able to do it for a while. so anyway. just paaaaaian for now#ty for so much the ask!!!! i love receiving those little guys. it's like mail but fun and no supermarket ads#(you like receiving asks? bcs i have considered sending some silly stuff through there but get too scared to do it.#idk maybe there are people who dont enjoy receiving them. you just can't know)#ofmd#ofmd s2 spoilers#tw suicide#cw: suicide ideation#cw: suicide#tw: suicide
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Ship Manifestos?
Do any of my fellow OFMD fans who are also Livejournal veterans remember how common ship manifestos used to be? I'm not saying they were exclusive to LJ, just that I tended to see them more commonly there, and as a discrete thing from the way general meta seems to take shape on tumblr dot com. Which is fine! The medium is the message etc, but I just started thinking about how I never see them anymore.
I think I'm thinking about this because more than in any other fandom I've ever participated in, I find myself baffled by A Few Particular non-canon ships in a way I can't possibly account for. Even with the requisite probable lack of hinges, I find myself missing the ship manifesto as a form in this situation. It's making me feel old and nostalgic and also like, fundamentally divorced from the way my brain used to handle even those ships that weren't for me.
Beyond the obvious internal fandom discourse we've had at length (and don't need to rehash) about the ways shipping does and does not feel different with ofmd, I wonder if this is more of that "we're so used to queer romance as subtext or afterthought that we handle queer-centric stories strangely" phenomenon?
#not trying to start anything#that was my posts this morning lol#nb4r I'm just having thinky thoughts on this fine monday evening#long-term participation in fandom is an interesting thing ain't it#ofmd meta#fandom meta#gentlebeard#blackbonnet
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Get off my ship. Now.
Just want to talk for a hot second about what a critical moment this was for Stede as a captain.
Now, obviously by this point the crew is fond of Stede. The dynamics have significantly improved from when the show first started and they were plotting mutiny. But still, when Calico Jack showed up, they reverted a bit too their old ways. Because just when they were starting to get comfortable with having the legendary Blackbeard on their ship, his ole bestie had to show up and remind them all again HOLY SHIT WHAT LEGENDS. THIS is the life of a pirate they signed up for -- rum all day, flying coconuts, devil-may-care stunts on the ship that may end in death but WHO CARES, it’s an ADVENTURE, what a STORY! And when Stede attempts to raise Jack’s constant acts of massive passive aggression, resulting in him sharing a sob story of being mutinied (again), the crew is quick to comfort him by throwing Stede under the ship, letting Jack know they were going to mutiny against Stede and probably would again some day.
But then Calico Jack kills Karl. And listen, everyone knows Buttons is a bit of an odd bird, but he’s their odd bird. There’s a lot of obvious respect for him, and by extension his bird friend, Karl.
When Karl is killed, all the laughter dies as well. Nobody is amused by Jack’s “oops.” He might as well have killed a member of the crew. And then when Buttons responds by placing a hex upon him and Jack laughs?? With utter scorn and derision and mockery???
There’s this suffocating tension because the crew is obviously on the side of Buttons and the dearly departed Karl, but how do you rise up against Blackbeard’s best friend? Sure, they’ve all become somewhat of friends in the past few weeks, but it’s still Blackbeard. It’s like Ed and Jack were the too cool for school seniors, and the crew were the gangly group of misfit freshmen, and they were all having a great time hanging out together over the summer, but now they’ve returned to school and all the old power dynamics are back and it’s scary and uncomfortable and they’ve lost any kind of even footing they had.
But then who emerges? CAPTAIN STEDE. And he IMMEDIATELY tells Jack to get off his ship.
It’s the firmest we’ve ever heard him speak, leaving absolutely no room for questions or debate. Jack is GONE.
The crew has seen Stede and Jack interact. They may not know the full story, and they may not grasp all the nuances at play, but it’s pretty clear Stede isn’t a big fan of Jack. But he put up with his insults, put up with the changes to his routine, put up with behaviors he found juvenile and cruel...but he would not put up with anyone harming his crew. And by kicking Jack out, Stede was fulfilling his role as captain: to ensure his ship, and his crew, was safe.
And the crew recognizes this. The next day, when Stede tells them Blackbeard will no longer be sailing with them, they’re all disappointed, yes, but they also understand why and that Stede’s upset about it so they’re not going to press the issue...except for Black Pete, who lacks a bit of tact, but he’s roundly told to read the room and not be a dick. Now’s not the time to whine about how they wish Blackbeard were still on board. Now’s the time to respect their captain, who’s hurting.
Anyway this turned out to be way longer than I thought it would, but it just struck me what a meaningful moment that was, with Stede truly stepping into his role as captain and his crew recognizing it. Such growth in a relatively short amount of time, both with him as a leader and with the crew as a bonded unit.
#OFMD#Stede Bonnet#OFMD meta#I've been taking my time with this rewatch and trying to gather all my thinky thoughts#and also trying not to go overboard and just share everything at once#but tonight we are just very emotional about Stede Bonnet's journey ok???#emynn.op
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Someone else may have already brought this up, but I think the tone of the Ed/Stede reunion is going to hinge a great deal on whether or not Ed hears about his "death" first. I think if that happens, Ed's initial reaction to seeing Stede again is going to be much more disarmed and relieved -- there will be a lot more cracks in the shell. And I honestly could go either way on whether or not that will happen; I think Stede's fuckery accomplished exactly what it needed to from a narrative standpoint: a rebirth for his character, a way to get him off the radar, to accomplish what Ed was proposing in Act of Grace, and to bookend Ed's "plot" (to whatever extent it was a plot) after they first met. I don't think it's strictly necessary for it to also be a source of misunderstanding and further pain for Ed, but I could also see it being used for that.
Another interesting possibility is that Ed hears about it but is together enough to connect the dots, and realizes ahead of time exactly what it means -- that Stede is coming back.
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I'm caught up lately in thinking about how, yeah, Stede fucked up, promising to meet Ed and then running away and all that. But. Ed's long-game fuck-up leading into that is how he basically never asks Stede about himself or his life - past or present. He asks unconscious Stede, 'who's this Mary then?' but we never hear him ask again. I always cringe in ep. 4 when Ed asks the 'do you ever feel..' question and then plows right through Stede's attempt to answer.
It makes me wonder about Ed's love for Stede, and what it's based on. I believe he loves him, and I believe his reasons are valid. And also that his reasons are generally pretty selfish. He feels safe with him, appreciated by him, amused and delighted by him. But does he know him? In the way Stede has come to know Ed? I don't think so. We the audience see how uncomfortable Stede is after the kiss on the beach but Ed doesn't catch it. He just doesn't act curious about Stede in a way that I want him to and that I hope he will in the future. He accepts too much at face value from a man who is so often performing.
I love Ed. I can let him be imperfect in this way. And I am hoping that I get to watch him learn who Stede is and what his life has been and love him for all that too.
#ofmd#edward teach#blackbeard#stede bonnet#stede fucking bonnet#ed/stede#stede/ed#blackbonnet#thinky thoughts#just give me s2 already you fuckers#ofmd edward teach
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Ok this is probably super obvious but I had a thought about Why There's So Much Soup - it's warmth, and it's good food, and it's something we keep seeing being enjoyed by the crew when they're together as a family, and that's a huge part of what Ed needs in the "what makes life worth living" column. (And I think we all know where the intercourse and orgasms will come from 😏)
#our flag means death#ofmd season 2#ofmd s2 spoilers#ofmd episode 2x03#meta#or just extremely obvious thinky thoughts idk i'm still processing
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okay I've been thinking about ed replacing the auxiliary wardrobe lever with the skull a lot. like too much
ANYWAY
i was trying to sus out how big it was and. I think he stuck the skull ON the mannequin figure??
literal deepfried edits sorry but. look. i am thinking about the symbolism but also. my sweet baby edge lord....
#is this common knowledge?? or more likely no one cares but me but. but im obsessed#ofmd s2 trailer#ofmd s2 spoilers#my thinky thoughts
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ok so what is the deal when Mary (Read, not Bonnet) talks about Ed's type during "Fun and Games"? Who are all of these "outsider" folks Ed's been into? good lord, I cannot for the life of me imagine anyone describing Jack as "artsy". Have folks been talking this to death and I just haven't noticed, because I have QUESTIONS
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Just had a little epiphany about why Stede reacted so intensely the way he did on Calypso's birthday night.
We know from his past experience that he's been deeply unhappy for a long, long time. He has a habit of removing himself from a situation when he's upset/distressed, so he can hide away alone rather than face the scorn of others, which is cemented by the fact he was emotionally abused by his father for showing negative/'weak' emotions and bullied by the Badmintons for crying.
Mary said herself that she thought she had heard him crying sometimes when he was alone at night. Specifically it was in the past tense - she'd heard him and only approached him about it later.
Alone is the key part here.
He's always been on his own. He's never had people really show concern or check in with him when he was having a hard time. More often than not, they would laugh or belittle him for it, so he's become used to squashing down the emotions and taking them somewhere to hunker down and let himself have his grief and distress in isolation: after Jack upsets him, when Ed's shaved in the academy, after they escape from Zheng.
The crew had to help out in 1x01 but even then it was out of necessity and obligation. The closest we really came to anyone intervening before Ed was in 1x02 when he has a complete breakdown in front of everyone, so they don't have a choice but to stop and Olu explains what happened to the chief.
The only time someone actively comes looking for him when he was upset is at the academy. Ed finds him on the beach and says, relieved, "there you are" and we know how that scene ended.
No wonder Stede reacts the way he does at Calypso's Birthday - the scenes really do run parallel from start to finish:
Stede is distressed and runs. Ed watches him go, hesitates, then goes after him. Stede marinades in guilt/grief and seems surprised when Ed shows up. Ed reassures him and offers his emotional support and assurance that he'll be all right. Kisses.
Stede is distressed but he's no longer alone. He can be upset and someone will care enough to come after him and comfort him and love him enough to make sure he's all right. No wonder he got caught up in it, knowing that someone cares and cherishes him despite everything. And no wonder Ed reciprocated, seeing such a tangible expression of passion from Stede.
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Dread pirate, scourge of the sea (and queer icon)
Or
Zero rizz, silly lil subby kittieboy (and queer icon)
#add 'both. both is good' meme here#ofmd#our flag means death#kracken ed or kittyboy ed?#my oc#thinky-thoughts
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Definitely would want to pull up the show again and check that I'm remembering several scenes right before I commit this into my meta read, but I'm having thinky thoughts on how Edward seems pretty willing to shut people down for being presumptuous about him / perceiving him in ways he dislikes except Izzy and Stede, who get a lot of leeway. But. Before he realizes he's fucked up in 1x04, the whole dramatic plan to save the day after making Stede and Izzy both realize they can't pull it off is kinda a subtler and more elaborate "remember how you are supposed to see me" message. Just, like, geared toward people he doesn't want to threaten with face stabbing to get his point across. Both of whom presumably have been less deferential to his awesomeness then they should have recently (Izzy getting fed up with his boredom and Stede refusing to meet him).
And because I've been on a toxic codependency / Edward and Izzy's lack of boundaries kick, there's definitely something to consider if Edward does pointedly push back against Izzy when he's underestimating his capability and it bothers him, but doesn't push back nearly as hard through the vast majority of the Stede stuff (before the abnormal circumstances in 1x10). Something something maybe this is a potential boundary that Izzy has been allowed to ignore before...? And Edward doesn't register Izzy trying to veto his boyfriend as presumptuous and in need of correction, even if he's still not keen on accepting the veto?
#our flag means death#still working on putting all my belongings in boxes so who knows if i'll ever get to a final version of this?#but i thought the thinky thoughts deserved to be put out for consideration#blackbeard ofmd#izzy hands ofmd#stede bonnet ofmd#ofmd 1x04#mutual toxicity baby ~ <3#codependency#ladyluscinia
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A good is-Tom-Normal-About-That-Media? meter is how I deal with music related to that specific media. Unfortunately in OFMD's case it's ticking in the "Brain Rotted Pile of Clown Meat" zone, because I basically went through every song ever made by Nina Simone just to try and guess which two songs are playing in s2.
So you know what??? I'm laying out my predictions here, if any of these starts playing then I'm owed a Jenkins thumbs up or something like that. Idk. I spent four hours of my life on this, I need a hug. I threw the dice and this is what came out.
> These three are my favorites, I have a feeling about them, they smell like OFMD to me and my brainwaves bounce up a bit when I hear them (u know... like the sea.... ha...ha)
Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
Ed-Coded, sad, moody, it's frantic and helpless in a way that's also really desperate, and ohohoho the rhythm on this one tickles my brain a bit.
Feeling Good
A bit overplayed, basically in every fandom playlist but It! Is! There! For! A! Reason! And that reason is that it's reeeally good and very villain like. Could be Ed-Coded, I'd like to imagine that's him trying to conform into his Kraken/Blackbeard persona, could be other people too though. Use your imagination here.
Do What You Gotta Do
Are all of these Ed-Coded? You might ask. And the answer is, well.... maybe. It's not my fault Executive Producer David Jenkins based Ed's whole character on Nina Simone songs okay????? (I see what you did there you little evil man-shaped weasel. I SEE IT ALL.) But just.. here, look at me... listen to it and tell me it isn't Ed through and through.
> These ones are also very OFMD-like and I wouldn't be putting them in here after sifting through more than 100 songs just because. I also have a feeling about them, but it isn't the overwhelming sense of certain doom I get from the previous three.
Save Me
Ed coded. He loves Stede and he hates that with every fiber of his being. He's still very hurt, but cannot help being fond of the whimsical dipshit, poor guy.
I Shall Be Released
Ed coded, just give my man a break.
I Put A Spell On You
Overplayed one again, this one isn't really coded to any of them. But I feel like it would play after Stede tries to reconcile with Ed for the first time and fails miserably. Ed is still really hurt, and Stede is just realizing the extent to which he hurt him. It's after they just had a discussion, maybe it's raining, Stede is soaking wet calling "Yd! Yd! Yd please talk to me!" But Ed just keeps on walking. It's a romantic comedy staple and we need to have one of these.
Take Care Of Business
Semi-Competent!Stede being the breadwinner of the family is one of my favourite hcs. Ed is really tired of The Pirate Life™️ and I bet he'd fucking love to be a trophy wife, man spent his whole life being the scourge of the seven seas, give him a break for christs sake.
Mr.Bojangles
just... listen to it
Just Say I Love Him
Is- Is that a... no, it can't be! Dios mio, It's... a Stede coded song 😱😱 *pain sounds* *weird bone cracking going on* *little bit of a fleshy sonority to it now* *crashing sounds* *cat meowing* *bone cracking again but this one is good I think*. Ok back to it, this is really just "I should just have told him how I feel" vibes, Stede made a mess, he regrets it. Etc.
That's it then. Did I do this just to prove I was right if any of them appears in S2? Pfft of course not! Who would even do that... lol... Also please feel free to add thinky thoughts to this if y'all are willing! I'd love to hear people's interpretations of the songs.
#i really wanted to put sinnerman in there#i really did#but it played on The Thomas Crown Affair so Idk if they'd put it in OFMD#also You've Got To Learn#ofmd#ofmd s2#our flag means death#our flag means death s2#our flag means death season 2#ofmd blackbonnet#blackbonnet#gentlebeard#ofmd gentlebeard#ofmd stede bonnet#ofmd ed teach
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Having thinky thoughts about OFMD and the tarot as a storytelling structure
Thinking about Stede’s big Fool energy and how his innocent, big-eyed optimism and childishness are key features of the start of his journey at the start of Season 1.
Thinking about how intense The World shows up on his last individual scene as he pulls the boat into the ocean with his whole bodyin S1E10x The sense of fulfillment and realization: he’s done it! He’s leveled up! Time for a new adventure!
And then
The Tower
#lol#Stede bonnet#ofmd meta#ok but fr I could swear there’s meta about this somewhere#does anyone know#help#la meta de mi meta
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