I do love a good pirate's tale

And last, but by no means least, our final #TinyCrewBigRaffle treats! As part of the #TinyCrewBigRaffle, the beautiful human that is Lindsey Cantrell agreed to an interview about her work on #OFMD Season 2.

Amy had an absolute blast putting together the interview questions, and we hope you all enjoy reading Linds' answers. As an added bonus, she kindly offered to send us some #ofmdbts pictures to go with our interview. When Amy sent back a list for Linds' to chose from, she delivered them all, and then some!

We'll be posting the highlights here on our IG, but read the full interview here: https://substack.com/@tinycrewbigraffle

I don't care if it's technically canon divergent AU or whatever. Until Season 3 happens and we find out otherwise, let me imagine Ed and Stede in their kitschy bougie little inn as bitchy elder gays. There's a persistent rumor that Stede once met (and maybe fucked???) the dread pirate Blackbeard or something but whenever anyone asks they can never get a straight answer.

חנוכה שמח everyone!

now that it is actually chanukah again, and i have a much bigger follower count sample size than the past two years, i have to ask:

i do this and im a raised conservative (ish?) indian jew

thinking about ed and stede attempting a “sexy french maid” roleplay with the feather duster and everything but they almost immediately digress into a competition of who can manage the most ridiculous french accent and by minute sixty they’re doing a cooking show bit a la swedish chef. ed is still wearing nothing but a ruffly apron

If there's one thing the fandom has latched onto post-season 2 that I just don't get, it's the idea of the Gravy Basket as being more than I think it was ever actually meant to be.

I don't think the show at any point is ever actually trying to establish that the Gravy Basket is, like, a point of worldbuilding. I don't think they were ever trying to establish that it's an actual place all characters in the show go before they die.

The thing about the Gravy Basket is it's so specific to Ed. It's not meant to be world-building, it's used to externalize where Ed is mentally so he can grapple with the choice to live or die in a way that's easily understandable to the audience. It gives him a chance to actually say things out loud that he wouldn't otherwise - "I hate myself," "I don't think anyone's waiting for me," etc. It just doesn't work if you try to implant literally any other character in there because it's so clearly meant just to externalize Ed's thought process.

I know the theory that the Gravy Basket is An Actual Place is mostly used as a way to imagine that Izzy isn't actually, fully dead, but I don't think that at all follows what the show is trying to tell us. And if it were true, I think that would genuinely be very lazy, bad writing.

i think canon era ed knows his way around cast iron cookware but if modern au ed became the owner of a cast iron skillet it would become his entire personality for a month

tonight i am thinking fondly of ed and his cast iron skillet

Quick PSA

If you get a comment on AO3 like this:

Where it's generic, & written by a guest user copying a real username--

--that's probably a bot! Apparently there's one going around doing this, don't ask me why.

Ed going grocery shopping by himself, wandering through the aisles aimlessly, picking up items and then putting them back down, because why would he need a chocolate dessert to eat by himself, and it's fine, it is, he's used to it, but he looks longingly at couples shopping together and wonders why he's only good for one night stands and not going shopping together and bickering over which cereal to choose, and it's fine, it is, and he's probably getting the sniffles, so he rushes his trolley to the checkout (no, he didn't take the chocolate dessert) and completely misses a blonde guy watching him from the dairy aisle, who was just plucking up the courage to say hello...

"Hello, excuse me?"

Ed turns around at the exit door of the store to see a solidly-built man with wavy blond hair, black jeans that look painted on, Chelsea boots and a button-down shirt in a shade of teal that rivals the clearest Caribbean waters. He's holding the chocolate dessert, a tentative smile on his face. "I think you forgot to get this."

Ed seems to have forgotten how words work. He looks between the man's expressive hazel eyes and the chocolate dessert, mouth slightly open in shock. The man's smile fades. "I'm sorry-- you probably think I'm some weird stalker or something, it's just that I saw you looking at the desserts in the bakery aisle and you looked like you really wanted this one, but then you put it down and you just looked so sad, and I thought, no one should deprive themselves of a little bit of joy, and I wanted to say hello but I didn't know how and---" He trails off and looks away, lowering his hand holding the dessert. "I'm sorry, I'm being too presumptuous, I'll just...go."

He's turning to walk away and Ed's brain finally reboots. "Wait!" he says, maybe a bit too loudly, because about a dozen people in earshot immediately turn to look at him, including Blondie. "I just--" He blows out a breath, looks away as he tries to find the right words. "I'm not used to...to people--strangers--being nice to me for no reason."

Blondie smiles. "What about friends you haven't met yet?"

Ed chuckles ruefully. "Don't have many friends, mate. People think I'm...scary."

"Well I'm not scared of you. I'm scared of making a fool of myself, but not scared of you." He offers the dessert again. "Here, please, take it. My treat."

Ed holds out his hand and accepts the dessert. "Thanks, mate. Really appreciate it." He puts the dessert in his cart and turns to go, figuring the interaction is over, but a hand gently placed on his arm - not restraining, just touching - stops him, and he turns back.

"This is probably very forward of me, but...would you like to, uh, meet up? Sometime? For a coffee, or- or tea, I don't know if you like coffee or not--"

That's twice now that Blondie has struck him speechless. Ed searches his eyes for some trick, some deception-- did his asshole ex put this guy up to this?-- but no, the man is an open book, sincerity written in the laugh lines around his eyes and mouth. Blondie starts to pull his hand away, an apology forming on his lips--

"That'd be great actually," Ed says, and Blondie's smile is dazzling, the sun emerging from a blanket of clouds.

"Great! Uh--yeah you said that already. Super!" Blondie says, and Ed can't help but laugh. Blondie laughs too, and pulls out his phone. "Can I get your number? So we can decide on a date?"

Ed's impressed that this guy, this absolute lunatic, managed to get up the courage to approach a complete stranger with a gift, and he figures he can be brave too. "I have a better idea. Why don't we split this dessert over some coffee? There's a little coffee shop a few doors down from here."

"Brilliant!" Blondie says, bouncing on his toes with excitement. This guy's joy is positively infectious, and Ed feels the clouds around his heart dissipating.

"Just one thing--what's your name?" Blondie says, as they walk out together.

"I'm Ed."

The man offers his hand. "Stede."

You fixed it!! Yay! And then they sit there for hours, just staring into each other's eyes, until they are told to leave and then they still spend the rest of the day together!! And also they never again go grocery shopping alone! 🥹🥹🥹💙💙💙

Ed Teach + turning to look at Stede 🥹

OUR FLAG MEANS DEATH

ed & stede: yeah haha we were once vaguely ‘involved’ in piracy but like we’re super chill and retired now just running this cozy b&b

also ed: hey so did i tell you guys how my boyfriend murdered his two childhood bullies and looked so fucking hot doing it—

David Jenkins Christmas Special Part 2

Read Part 1 over here

Source: David Jenkins Bluesky

Also put this on the OFMD Renewal Repo for all of it in one place if you need it on other platforms: David Jenkins OFMD Christmas Special