You ever think about how Stede is not wearing a wedding ring in Discomfort in a Married State, but Ed does have a ring on that finger? And how that means when they swap rings, Ed is functionally putting a wedding ring on Stede, but Stede isn’t (yet) doing the same for him? Because I think about that a lot

…..Oh my God.

Idk if this is a hot take or not, I personally have not seen too much talk about it.

But…

I don’t think stede was going to meet ed at the beach whether the Chauncey of it all happened or not. I don’t think he PLANNED to abandon ed, in either scenario, but he was never going to make it to the dock.

Oh, HARD agree.

The thing about what happened with Chauncey is that it's not about Chauncey, it's about externalizing all of Stede's guilt. Stede's guilt is really a defining motivation all season long, and it's coming to a head in this episode, not just because he feels like he's ruined his family, but because he now also feels that he's ruined Ed. Stede is trying to live a life he can actually be okay with, but he's going about it in a way that's hurtful to everyone - it's why I think Stede calls back to the "we only have one life" line while he and Ed discuss running away to China. It's good advice, but he's taken it to mean "just up and leave without getting the closure everyone needs." That's what Ed was doing, too, talking about leaving their old lives behind entirely (the China plan was like Ed's version of what Stede did at the start of the season). It was never going to work.

And certainly Stede didn't know he was never going to meet Ed at the docks. But something was always going to happen to force his guilt to a head and send him back to Mary and the kids so he can leave properly.

The ‘only have one life’ link passed me by there too. Good catch. @piratecaptainscaptainpirates

There’s some interesting foreshadowing in 102 actually. The ‘They’ll never see Papa again’ from Ghost Nigel is Stede’s feelings about abandoning his children. And when Stede is doing the therapist’s couch with the indigenous islander about his lack of Nigel guilt, the islander says ‘Perhaps this guilt concerns something else…Everything is coming from you. Until you resolve this guilt, you’ll continue to be haunted’, which is exactly what happens with Chauncey turning up manifesting all of Stede’s guilt.

Stede has to go back to Bridgetown because the way he left the first time caused everything to be in flux. Stede’s mind seems to go quiet for a time between Ep5-8 because he’s distracted by fun times with Ed. But once the proverbial hits the fan, Stede’s haunted again by his actions. He believes he’s a coward in the way he handled his leaving, and until he can put that right, he cannot move forward with anything else.

So, no. He was never going to China because that isn’t where the narrative is going.

A lot of Stede’s behavior is also relentlessly cheerful, and we see the cracks in the facade throughout—he wants to make the best of everything and he is naturally inclined to optimism and buoyancy, but at times it seems brittle or even hysterical. One of the few instances Stede seems really and fully relaxed is when Ed kisses him. He’s using his cheerfulness to ward off the underlying guilt and terror that he’s made a horrible mistake and ruined everyone’s lives. He’s waiting for the “bill to come due” and then is given a reprieve and faced with something that he truly does not believe he deserves, in the form of Ed’s love and being able to let go.

Agree with all of this. And I think Stede knows this to be true, at least on some level. And that is why he doesn't tell Ed about Chauncey (at least, not right away). Because the truth is, it was never about Chauncey.

Just posted this little bit of S1 canon-compliant fluff, set after episode 5. Ed gives Stede a harpsichord lesson, and Stede tries to make sense of his developing feelings for Ed.

Read on AO3

Snippet under the cut

Reblog with added propaganda.

Small things about Ed that make me take video game poison damage irl

The narrative gap here is Ed holding Stede steady as he got up and out of bed, and helping him on with his robe. Because there’s no way Stede managed any of that entirely himself at this point.

In fact, Stede probably needed quite a bit of help undressing and dressing during the entire clothes-swapping skit.

They basically got all close and naked, and swapped rings the moment they met. That’s married in a lot of people’s books.

Gnawing my own arm off.

Chapter 13 is here! And a whole day early 🙀 only one more chapter after this 💛

“Of Monsters & Milkmen” by Quaintly Fig

Rated T

Ed & Stede meet at one of their favorite restaurants. On Halloween, Ed asks Stede to go to the carnival with him on a date. This is their Halloween date night, and it is very sweet 🧡🖤

This was written for the Our Flag Means Trick-or-Treat Halloween charity zine & the Somethin' Witchy Afoot event with the prompt:

🎃 Someone is at a carnival.

🎃 A costume & kissing are involved.

🎃 Story element: a first date

Fic link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/60545299

Sometimes I do get annoyed by fanon reactions to Ed, and then I remember that the OFMD writers were very careful to ward off the already-silly "Ed is abusive!!" takes by having other characters say to Stede "do you think Ed is going to murder/hurt you" and then having Stede respond every time with "wtf what is wrong with you, no??" And then, of course, Stede (who textually knows and understands Ed best) is right about that, and once he's feeling safe and supported again Ed is literally just hanging out being a little kitty. So I guess RIP to everyone who thinks Ed sucks but I actually paid attention to the show and I'm different <3

LITERALLY like

Ed in his mind: extremely quick to anger and responds with violence at the drop of a hat

Ed irl: will let someone tackle him to the ground and will literally just cower about it and not lift a finger to defend himself, won't even yell back that this guy's a dick until he's rowed his little boat out of retaliation range

psst you ever think about how ed doing violence against hornigold even inside his own imagination isn't triggered by hornigold being aggro at ed himself, it's only when hornigold brings up stede?

and actually that's the pattern for EVERY time we see ed lose his temper to the point of becoming directly personally violent outside the context of a raid, every single time the last straw is when they bring up or threaten somebody else ed loves? his mom, "pining for his boyfriend," "your feelings for stede bonnet," the soldiers reading the letter, etc?

and in that context probably part of the point of the pop-pop scene is to establish that there's actually NO level of threat to ed himself and his own physical safety that drives him to violence, not even a situation any normal person would view as pure self-defense, as long as pop-pop doesn't threaten someone else he's perfectly safe?

i just think that's interesting. in light of, you know, everything.

I agree with all this, except I think we do see it once - with Lucius. Because Lucius isn't a threat to anyone, and I think it's interesting that it's the only time in the entire series we see him respond with violence to something that isn't clearly a threat.

I know there's been discourse about this, but I think it's notable in the context of this discussion. In this case I think it is to defend himself? But is it because Lucius saw Ed vulnerable? Is it because Lucius would make it too hard to be the Kraken (and thus put Ed at risk?) Is it because he was present for his vulnerable moments with and about Stede?

It's a moment that breaks a clearly established pattern for Ed

One of the reasons that moment is so terrifying is because it’s such a stark break for Ed—he becomes the monster he thinks he already is. It also has the flavor of “the fire killed those guys”—he does not murder Lucius directly, he pushes him off the ship (“the water killed that guy”).

Just posted this little bit of S1 canon-compliant fluff, set after episode 5. Ed gives Stede a harpsichord lesson, and Stede tries to make sense of his developing feelings for Ed.

Read on AO3

Snippet under the cut

We are approaching $6K donated to charity!! This is so crazy and warms my heart like nothing else! (except for gay pirates of course)

The person who gets us over the $6K threshold, will get 6 bonus entries, a thank you card from Amy and me (Christina), and a little OFMD prize!

You ever think about how Stede wrote POETRY on the map he was drawing to find Ed? And that he drew Ed as he remembered him, not the racist caricature that the British put on his wanted posters, to have an image of Ed that was actually Ed?

You ever think that Stede remembered handing Ed a book that contained a caricature of Blackbeard and how Ed showed that it was not him at all?

You ever think that in his darker moments, Stede thought he had wronged Ed by believing the monstrous, mythic stories about him, and wanted nothing more than to see and touch the real man again?

Ed and Stede are having silly & sexy adventures in my head, unfortunately that's much more interesting than this boring essay I need to write.