so after the s2 teaser drop the pirates have been ping-ponging inside my brain for the past few days rapidly enough to reach a boiling point and I think it’s just cooked a theory: the Kiss™ was, for all intents and purposes, a marriage proposal—and Ed’s not raiding weddings just because he feels like the possibility of a future marriage is off the cards, but because he sees himself as, quite literally, having been jilted by a man who just said yes to his proposal.
Prefacing that a) I know the historical context is not (and absolutely should not) be given much weight in this show, and b) I am not a historian (so please correct me if I say anything patently ~falshe~) but that said and with my only qualification as being a Certified Slut for period dramas, I think a case could be made that this show—and Ed specifically—could be assuming an era-specific formula for romance.
While the majority of society was kind of a free-for-all when it came to sex/marriage/etc. in the 18th century, the upper echelons were still bound to a relatively strict level of propriety, as well as transactional views of a relationship; and at the same time, this was a period when the notion of marrying for love was rising in popularity (Stede, of course, is the poster child of someone forced into this contradiction). For the upper classes, you'd be lucky to get a period of courtship before the actual marriage, because if you did, it meant you got a shot at getting to know the person you were going to end up with (and had the potential for love). And—as such—courtship was kind of a thrilling, romantic thing with a few common qualities: it tended to be very public, very loaded & grandiose, and very brief, and even though it didn't have to end in marriage, marriage was always the end goal. You can probably see where I'm going here.
I think it's easy to read the "you wear fine things well" scene as a possible soft-launch of their courtship, and Lucius's nudges solidify it. Courtship was traditionally full of big, romantic gestures—maybe planning treasure hunts and setting ships on fire weren't typical ones, but they sure do count—and as much "getting to know you" as possible. Like dating, it was the time when you'd learn the other person's values, hobbies, preferences, etc., except perhaps to a shallower degree given the typical lack of privacy. If anything, Ed and Stede have a leg up in this respect.
Now, I do think it's a misconception that the majority of marriage proposals in this time happened after, like...3 weeks of knowing each other, but the trope is there for a reason. It was a lot more common for the engagement period to be the time you really got to know each other, and it wasn't abnormal for the engagement to last longer than the actual courtship; a marriage proposal kind of WAS the first truly official step in someone's relationship socially, emotionally, and physically. And while this might not have been true of the rungs of society Ed has been a part of, it definitely would've been true of Stede's.
Now, I don't think Stede is really thinking consciously of all of this during the timeline he's with Ed; he's intent on breaking all the rules he's felt strangled by his whole life. But Ed—he wants all that. He loves the idea of an aristocratic life, but he's also a romantic who wants an aristocratic love. Like how so many of us romanticize Jane Austen novels because it's a world we're so far removed from, Ed probably romanticizes love in Stede's world. He doesn't want the free-for-all he's been living; he loves the thrill of a courtship, of gentlemanly sensibilities, of the metaphorical dance of it all. And when an upper-crust gentleman appears to have initiated this courtship—and when he's being encouraged by everyone (except Izzy, but there's even more romance in rebellion) to reciprocate—he's going to indulge in it with all his heart. He's literally living a romantic novel dream world, and once he's sure of Stede's feelings, he has absolutely no reason not to expect that their trajectory is marriage. Sure, Stede is a pirate now—but he's still a gentleman, and isn't that what being wooed by a gentleman means?
So when they're in a desperate situation and the bar for grand gestures can't go higher, and they experience true privacy for the first time ever, and Stede kisses back, and he says yes to running away together—and Ed even asks for confirmation to make sure it’s all for real—"yes?" "I think so?" "yes!"—that's as good as a vow. That's a promise on par with a proposal. And this is probably when it clicks for Stede, too—he hears Mary's words, "we never would've chosen each other," and suddenly he realizes that he can finally choose love! And so there they are: relationship made official, 1700s style.
Cut to Ed, crashing weddings and stealing little cake toppers in dramatically tragic, anachronistic fashion—because, well...they were supposed to get married, weren't they? Because that's what gentlemen are supposed to do, or so he thought. But in reality, gentlemen aren't romantic; they're just fickle.
And let the divorce arc commence.
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So you're telling me Light has a big bad secret that would cause him to fall out with his traditional law abiding father, a secret that brings him closer to an older eccentric man. He lives a double life and feels a deep disappointment toward society and he has no interest in women. Hmmm wonder what all this means
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ULTRAKRILL
Sisyphish (Lion's Mane Jellyfish) and Minnows (White Ribbon Eel) Prime
Glubriel (Caribbean Reef Squid)
SubmarV1ne (Longfin Mako Shark (+ Sailfish)) and SubmarV2ne (Great White Shark (+ Sailfish)) (also inspired by the little articulated snake toys)
Rambling about why I chose the beasts that I did under the cut.
Originally I was gonna use yellow tangs for Sisyphus but then I was looking at his design and was not sure how I would deal with his face while going with a fish for the tail. And then I remembered that jellies' tentacles kinda look like the way his hair does in the concept art, and while I was looking for yellow jellies I saw a lion's mane and went. Yes, that one. Very happy with the way it looks it was a lot of fun to draw.
Minos was originally gonna be a deep sea giant isopod, but after I remembered that jellyfish existed I considered going with a sea snake, couldn't find ANY naturally white snakes, thought about an albino moray, then found out about white ribbon eels (which are related to morays, very cool). He's technically the only fish unless you count the V models jkgjkhgf
Gabriel was originally gonna be a paradise/mustard gas betta but I ended up deciding that if I ever drew/wrote about them all I would be so annoyed about there being just. One freshwater fish in the ocean with saltwater creatures just,, bothered me so much that man would be In Pain. So I decided to look for color changing sea creatures, most cephalopods obviously, and one of the first ones that came up was the Caribbean reef squid. I checked to see if they could be red and they sure could so I decided that worked.
Also, his crown(?) is meant to look like gorgonian coral.
V1 was originally going to be a shortfin mako because they're slightly faster, but the silhouette was so similar that I was STRUGGLING to find differences. Longfin wasn't much better though. Regardless, mako shark because they're known for being the fastest shark and among the fastest fish.
V2 is a great white because strong scary y'know y'know. I considered dunkleosteus for the same reasons, but switched to a shark because V1 was also gonna be one and I wanted them to mostly match.
V1 and V2 both have two sailfin sails because 1. big fin to mimic their wings, 2. fast fish. Very cool.
Also the doodles on them are meant to show that the sails can fold back for speed and open to stop quick. The other one is to show that they can swap the tails out for legs if they wanted to.
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