Quaintly Fig | OFMD

The first two are from @clairegregoryau

The first fic is called “Ashes to Ashes”.

This one is so sexy, so sweet and so complicated….until it isn’t. Ed is in the crypto industry and Stede is a lawyer. I loved reading it and will absolutely be reading it again! Stede, who’s never been on a motorbike before utters the phrase (to Ed) “I’m sure I’ll be a very enthusiastic rider!” This nearly made me choke on my tea laughing! If that doesn’t make you want to read this fic then maybe the fact that Ed and Stede fall in love in Bali will! This fic also has interactions between Ed and Mary that I always love to see!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/61857703

The next fic is called “Making the Connection”.

Ed is a celebrity chef and Stede is a librarian. They’re sitting next to each other on a flight and sparks fly! I’d call this a very fast burn. It’s funny, sexy af and tender as hell!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/59158474

The next two fics are by @quaintlyfig

This fic is called “The Prince’s Sword-Master”

A little post canon, innkeeper era roleplay sexy time fic for y’all.

There’s beautiful art by @y2jenn

https://archiveofourown.org/works/57283468?view_full_work=true

The next fic is called “Like Lovers Do”

Ed is a king, Stede is a prince and they get married! It’s short, sweet and oh so sexy!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/62417923

The next two fics are by @chaotic-neutral-knitter

This one’s called “Slippery When Wet”

Stede is in a minor car accident during a storm. Don’t worry, he’s not badly injured. Plus, Ed rescues him and they have very sexy times together! Fair warning, there’s a bit of a cliffhanger that might make you cry laughing and or choke on your tea (or whatever, if you’re even having a drink) laughing! 😂 🤣

The next fic is called “Afterparty”

A post s1 ep 5 missing scene fic that’s hilarious and sexy af! It’s short, sweet and I loved every bit of it!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/41364738

The final two fic recs for today are by @piratecaptainscaptainpirates

This fic is called “Lovers of Beauty” which was a lovely birthday gift for @merryfinches last year!

If you want some sweet fluff to go with your smut then this is definitely the fic for you! I love everything about this fic! It’s sweet, funny and very sexy! I love the whole concept of Ed owning a video store full of queer history of all kinds! It’s seriously rude that I can only hit the kudos button one time! So here’s a million more kudos for you and this wonderful fic Atticus! 😌🫠🔥🥰

https://archiveofourown.org/works/57690808

The final fic rec for today is a collab between Atticus and @ofmdee

This one’s called “As the Ocean Meets the Shore”

I love this fic so much! It’s so sweet, hot af and so achingly tender! I love that Ed and Stede were able to get a bit of a do over on a rather sore memory for them both. They both deserve to feel as safe, loved and absolutely treasured the way they do with each other! Beautiful words & gorgeous gifs that are decidedly not nsfw! 😂🥰🫠🔥😌

On this chilly sexual Sunday in February I’d like to recommend this wonderful fic by @quaintlyfig that’ll be sure to warm you up! Stede is an artist and Ed is not only a rock star but he’s also a rock star chef! Do you like friends to lovers au’s? Then this is the story for you! It’s sweet, sexy af and tender as hell! There’s also lovely artwork by @inkirtis to go with this wonderful story! Everyone go check out “Deep Sea Wreck”! If you’ve already read it why not give it a reread?!

Ed.

I still hear a lot of talk about how Stede and Izzy bear equal responsibility for Ed's Kraken spiral, and I just don't think that's a fair take. Bearing in mind that we know both that Stede is the first man Ed's ever been in love with and Stede left him with no warning or explanation immediately after their first kiss and deciding to run away together, and it would be understandable if Ed was especially torn up about it considering those factors, Ed handles the breakup by:

making a blanket fort

wearing his ex's clothes

indulging in sweet treats he likes

writing lyrics as a creative emotional outlet

seeking support from those around him (you could argue that he's potentially self-isolating, but given how we're shown Izzy acting like his heartbreak is shameful and obviously trying to keep people away even when they ask for him, I don't think it's a fair assumption)

being vulnerable and sharing his art, seeking out support and validation

trying to engage in community

he allows his space to become messy, which is uncharacteristic behavior from him, and happily cleans up as soon as he feels up to the task. his personal hygiene remains perfectly fine, however, and his hair looks just as perfect as ever

Like, genuinely, he's doing good. I have personally handled better breakups way worse than this. Ed is not only visibly feeling better throughout the episode, he's also refused to allow Stede leaving to take away the desire he's starting to feel to get to act more like himself. He's still determined and hopeful to get to be himself.

It's only after we see Izzy threaten him and make him feel that he is not allowed to have that hope that Ed's behavior becomes truly unhealthy. This is the only point we see him drinking and doing drugs to excess, to the point where other characters comment on it and he's visibly wobbly on his feet.

They’re also both protecting their own egos a bit by being nonchalant over the question of where Ed is going to sleep tonight, when it’s obviously the only question that needs answering currently.

Ed says first he’ll ‘crash in the trees’, then starts to say something else.

‘Well, I mean…’ indicates Ed’s about to suggest something, but is also a lead in for Stede to suggest something too, which is likely what Ed wants. It causes Stede to say ‘Well, I was thinking…’ as a mirroring of Ed’s language, and then ‘if you wanted to…’ because Stede doesn’t wish to appear too keen because he’s not sure he’s forgiven yet.

Ed’s interruption ‘Well, no you shouldn’t have to…’ is quite emotive depending on how it’s interpreted. He’s saying this isn’t Stede’s problem to solve. He’s saying Stede shouldn’t feel he has to stick his neck out for him with the crew. Ed’s also saying Stede doesn’t owe him anything. Ed’s possibly playing it cool, and whilst recognising that Stede doesn’t have to, he bloody well hopes he’s gonna. It shows how they’re both treading so lightly though here.

You then get this ridiculously polite to-ing and fro-ing, ‘sorry you go etc.’ until…

Ed wins.

He wins because he doubles down on his ‘No yous’ making Stede have to give way, and forcing him to say what he wanted to all along. Stede’s seemingly backed into a corner to save face. Once Stede suggests Ed stays one more night on the ship, it’s like the coolness and politeness facade drops for both of them.

Ed hasn't done anything to make himself "more lovable." Stede sits there and says that he's been lovable, to Stede, this entire time. He doesn't have to become anyone or anything different. There are no conditions to Stede's love.

I used to be *good* at search. It was a whole thing - I found people's "lost songs" or their unknown-source childhood stuffed toy or whatever from Google.

Now, you can't search for the exact brand/design name of something and get accurate answers. It drives me spare on Amazon - if I search for XYZ and you don't have any, or you only have 2, tell me that.

I used to be able to search for recipes and easily eliminate unwanted ingredients with a -. For example I'd look for low-carb desserts but without the zillions that use peanut butter simply by searching for something like:

low carb chocolate dessert recipe -peanut

And I'd get a slew of on-point suggestions. For some time now if you do -peanut Google ignores the - and assumes you want recipes stuffed with peanuts.

Where it's even worse now is now you get directed to sites full of bogus AI recipes that don't even make sense. But they have peanuts in them.

I used to be able to use reverse image searches to find out who made that awesome art so I could give credit in my share. They've removed that ability entirely and replaced it with Lens, which is AI BS just showing you more like what you looked for. (Rebecca Watson complained about this in her recent video about JD Vance jizz cup rumours and I apologise for that sentence but...yeah. Watson is great, go find her on Youtube and subscribe because she went into detail about how Google has become less and less useful for debunking.)

This isn't just about Google inserting shopping ads instead of what you wanted to learn about. That's bad. But the results now are just *broken*. The tools we used to have to make searches better have been removed. Google no longer wants us to find the answers we seek, but the answers they want us to have, and that's super creepy and dangerous.

And the alternatives are either using Google in the back end or have other significant barriers to use.

It also forces "Sort by Date" on Google News search.