#anti bearded stede nation

[rovermcfly]

y'all think they'll stfu about that lumberjack-looking caricature they call stede now

#no they wont #I've seen the twitter responses #anyway it's a dick move to tell someone to just ''try growing better facial hair'' #or that ''it's okay bc hair and makeup can 'fix it''' #genuinely shut. the fuck. up. #stop telling ppl how to make themselves hotter for you #y'all think he's gonna feel good reading those responses? reading ppl be like ''pls try growing a better beard so I can find you hot 🥺'' #jesus fucking christ #log the fuck off #reevaluate how you think about and talk to STRANGERS #anti bearded stede nation #rhys darby

[rovermcfly]

I love that I coined Stede 2.0 bc I'm gatekeeping it from the bearded Stede freaks. none of them are allowed to use it.

#stede 2.0 #stede bonnet 2.0 #yes this may or may not be block bait lol #anti bearded stede nation

[rovermcfly]

a lot, if not most of the bearded stede fanwork is a pretty transparent attempt at covering up the fact that people can't admit to themselves that rhys is attractive and stede is a desirable romantic hero unless they imagine him performing masculinity in a way they're more comfortable with

almost all of this bearded stede thing goes hand in hand in hand with giving him sharper angles, bigger muscles, a younger face, more facial hair than rhys has ever had, all in all changing him beyond recognition until he's finally hot enough by their standard and they can finally see him as someone capable of sweeping ed off his feet. noone even tries to pretend they're imagining a solid, narrative reason, it's literally just "he'd be so much hotter this way" but they wouldn't even go half as hard for him if it really just WAS rhys with his actual real-life beard.

#queer pirate show #stede bonnet #that's it I'm starting a fandom war #anti bearded stede nation #unless there is ever any canon evidence for him growing a beard I will be anti beard #rhys darby

[rovermcfly]

"imagine if stede grew a thick beard and became all rugged to show up at the revenge and ed couldn't resist him bc he looks so hot now-"

me, who watched a whole season of Ed falling in love with Stede the way he is:

#why do you ppl have to make your lack of attraction to rhys darby everyone else's problem #like yes stede definitely went/will go through some changes also in terms of appearance #but why tf do y'all act like ed wasn't deeply in love with and attracted to him 🙃 #rhetorical question‚ i know why and have ranted about it endlessly #but I will not stop ranting either #queer pirate show #anti bearded stede nation

[rovermcfly]

have any bearded stede enthusiasts ever considered that the reason stede hasn't grown any facial hair in an almost cartoonish way may be... symbolic. that it's a symbol for his failure to perform traditional manhood correctly, which has made him a target his whole life. because even the english hostages grow a stubble but no matter how long stede seemingly went without access to shaving tools he never does. could mean nothing. but considering the heavy symbolism of ed's beard I think it's not a reach to assume there's a good reason for his lack of beard.

#either way #fucking hate this ''he'd be so hot and ed would go crazy over him'' attitude #at least fucking pretend you think there are good narrative reasons for him to grow facial hair #which honestly? there are. and if the show does choose to go w any of them it'll be really cool #but this show spends so much time examining toxic masculinity and the idea that there is a right way to be a man #and yet so many ppl miss the point completely #just bc they don't think rhys/stede was hot enough yet #like fucking hell #queer pirate show #should I make an anti beard stede tag? so all these meta posts can be easily found? I think I might #anti bearded stede nation #there it is that's the tag now

[rovermcfly]

Firstly, I just want to say I understand your point about no beard-Stede and generally agree. I like the idea of him getting a beard (any kind of facial hair he can grow) to symbolise Stede getting closer to Ed (whose beard identify him), sort of bridging the gap between where he comes from and where Ed does. So the both of them with a bit of beard but not too much is like them meeting halfway instead of one of them crossing all the way to the other and losing their identity. I hope this makes sense, I should probably be sleeping now XD

I don't have a huge problem with "Stede grows facial hair" theories or headcanons per se, I even thought abt how it could be significant for him to maybe grow a stubble or sth myself (but ultimately felt like the show probably established his perpetually clean-shaven look for a reason). like your theory for example is really interesting and it acknowledges how beards and getting rid of and putting on beards goes hand in hand with losing or constructing an identity within the show's narrative.

it's just that the "stede with a beard" movement that recently took over this fandom rubs me the wrong way in a major way for a lot of reasons, mainly the ones I already talked about and don't wanna regurgitate but I think you can see how what I'm criticising there doesn't necessarily apply to what you're saying, bc you are actually approaching it from a "could this have meaning" pov and not a "I think he should be hotter" pov.

#ask #anonymous #queer pirate show #I probably wouldn't have an issue with the facial hair hc's at all if they weren't almost all uncomfortable and hypermasc compensation #stede bonnet #anti bearded stede nation