#it means so much to me just holy shit
genuinely obsessed with how the crew went from planning on murdering stede to considering him family and in a way their protector? like. they all were in a way performing this image of wanting a ruthless pirate as their boss but ultimately once they do get one (izzy) they’re like mmh. no actually. no thanks. because they got used to and accepted wanting to be safe and a family on the revenge.
stede built a ship where people who would otherwise be subjected to homophobia and racism can just be a safe little supportive community and talk about their problems, be gay, not worry about being discriminated, love each other and just be their weird soft selves. they jump to defend stede against the english, they follow him in his stupid little adventures, olu sleeps in stede’s cabin, wee john and frenchie are roomies, they all share blankets and sometimes even cuddle while stede reads them stories, they’re supportive of buttons and sad when karl dies because they know he cared about him, they ask each other for advice, they’re unapologically queer.
and this is all because stede built this space they feel safe in. its not just that they don’t give a shit about hiding that they’re gay/scamming piece of shit racists/jim being genderqueer from stede; its that they expect his support and protection. lucius basically saying ‘stede will have your head if i get hurt’ to izzy, stede kicking jack off the ship when karl dies because it made buttons sad, even the last scene in which stede is the one who comes get them off the island. and they’re right to expect his help! he takes care of them! they’re his family! ‘my family’s at sea’ LITERALLY the found family of outcasts trope. and they’re all queer. they start off playing though but ultimately they’re vulnerable, they cry, they’re supportive and physically affectionate with each other, it’s just. i adore how stede made them feel safe enough to be themselves and consider each other their family. it’s so wholesome, it’s so beautiful, and i’m pretty sure its one of the big reasons queer people are so called to this show. because of this sense of safety and community and family between outcasts. and also there’s sexy pirates so you know. that doesn’t hurt either
