#trans pirates babyyyy

[positive-omens]

Our Flag Means Death is very gay but also very gender.

Here is my trans reading of Blackbeard's character arc!

First of all, David Jenkins choosing Blackbeard as his lead in a show about unlearning toxic masculinity was such a 3D chess move. While I think a majority of the themes can be related to the experience of being a feminine gay man, Ed's obvious euphoria at wearing soft clothing and choosing to shave his facial hair is some unignorable subtext that i'm gonna read into.

When we first meet Ed, he's already created the macho, confident, violent (and dare I say, over compensating) persona of Blackbeard. While Stede struggled to meet the masculine expectation of a pirate captain, Edward went above and beyond, creating an impossible caricature of a man than even he can't live up to; though he's surrounded by people who expect him to.

Seeing Stede be a pirate captain without all the pretending seems to unlock something inside of Ed that he was trying to bury. For the first time, he realizes it's possible to be different, and to have all of the things he's been longing for. With Stede aboard, he feels more comfortable trying new things; pretending to be someone else at a party, putting effort into his appearance, letting his guard down around his tight-knit crew. You know, baby trans stuff.

Although Stede escaping from the expectations of his loveless marriage and his judgemental society feels like a powerfully queer moment of deciding to stop living a lie, the sea comes with another set of expectations about Masculinity. Stede, who simply can't help himself in that regard, makes do but Blackbeard has spent a lifetime internalizing and projecting those expectations. Being around a new set of people who don't have those expectations of him allows Ed to consider that he could actually change and be the person he wants to be, but when people like Izzy and Calico Jack are around he slips into his old habits.

When they are given the Act of Grace, it's Ed's new leaf. He gets to leave all those expectations behind. He can go by the name he likes, and shave his facial hair and wear soft clothing and just be with the one person who actually sees him. It's such a wonderful and vulnerable moment and it's clear that for him, escaping the pirates life is similar to how Stede felt about leaving his wife; he's going to escape and finally stop pretending.

When Stede leaves and, in his eyes, rejects him after he laid himself bare for the first time, it makes complete sense how he dove right back into his old persona and coping mechanisms.

In conclusion, OFMD is a masterwork of symbolism and I really appreciate how it looks at masculinity and sexuality as separate but equally interesting things. The pirates life is simulatously a queer escape from heteronormative society and an oppressively hypermasculine space. And Stede Bonnet is the solution.

#our flag means death #ofmd #my post #ofmd essay #edward teach #blackbeard #stede bonnet #trans pirates babyyyy #trans stuff #lol can you tell i'm questioning my gender and projecting very hard? #anyways ed looks very good with the beard but he also looks very good without the beard & if u don't get on board then you're off the ship

[liichkiing]

Hi you should ask me about my projects

Heroes of Alanon (fantasy/scifi)

Recently getting revamped!

In which some teenagers are inhuman and have sick as hell magic powers

Also they save the universe or whatever

Extensive lore

Broken Crown (scifi)

Fuck I need to work on this more

In which sibling rivalry is taken to a fucked up level

Cyberpunk future babyyyy

Tales from Mea'izoa (fantasy)

Formerly known as Tales of Anamalia

In which a bird lesbian does crime

Everyone is kind of a furry

The Starship Merlin (scifi with fantasy elements)

Exactly what it sounds like

In which I retell Arthurian legend except in space and gay

It's not the fucking mechanisms there are no cowboys involved

RENEGADES (scifi/fantasy)

Needs reworking again

In which space pirates

Many lesbians but no overarching plot

Buzzard's Peak (horror)

The new one

In which a group of teens investigate the paranormal

It's the breakfast club but they're trans and hunt ghosts and also it's hardly anything like the breakfast club while also still being the breakfast club

#sif says #please engage with my content