mostlikelytobeagainstcapitalism

[mostlikelytobeagainstcapitalism]

love love love that they didn't make flint's earlier life privileged. he was the son of a carpenter. raised by his fisherman grandfather. he rose up in the navy despite his lack of formal education. and he was still admired. he was an intellectual and a proper soldier. he was very realstic about life. he wasn't raised sheltered like most of his superiors. he knew what it takes to get him where he was and he did all of it. and that was still not enough to sheild him from how "civilization" saw him. you don't understand. he did everything right. but he still wasn't "civilized" enought because of who he was how he wanted to live. they shunned him and called him a monster for being who he is despite doing everything else right. and i want to start chewing on the wall

[mostlikelytobeagainstcapitalism]

so the tiktok ban was literally just propaganda for the trump administration. like. we all agree with that right. this is just laughably transparent. the ban wasn't even 24 hours. not even a whole day. to quote my infinitely funnier mutual from Discord, "Misha Collins was bisexual longer than TikTok was banned"

[mostlikelytobeagainstcapitalism]

[mostlikelytobeagainstcapitalism]

we do not talk abt Mr. Gates enough.

he's carrying out the most intensive damage control that is being in kahoots w James Flint - the MOMENT he gets affairs to a manageable level Flint is pulling some unimaginable shit.

he'll show up on deck w his fuckass ponytail spewing a whole monolog that really chalks up to "Gentlemen!!! We are blowing up our own ship today!!! For a better tomorrow!!" and the crew turns to Gates like "how the fuck did you let this happen"

i KNOW his ass clocked Silver as an equally (if not more) delusional bitch than Flint. whenever he saw them have a single positive interaction, he prob thought: "Good. good for you. truly, a match made in heaven. good luck with reality"

[mostlikelytobeagainstcapitalism]

Black Sails really tapped into a very specific kind of ghost story where your ghost is not actually you but someone else's perception of you - the person they thought you were and should be. Imagine hating knitting and embrodiery, and you're no good at it, but you do it because you're a governor's wife and people expect you to be at his side, quiet with your head bowed over your needles. You buy a new wardrobe of dresses because your role necessitates it, but you keep your old clothes hidden in your rooms because you can't bear to let go of that part of you yet. And then you die and you come back as a haunting and you're faceless and voiceless, and you're wearing a dress that means nothing to you, and the only sound you can make is that of your knitting needles hitting each other again and again. And this is how the person you love brings you back: a voiceless, faceless thing in the corner.

[mostlikelytobeagainstcapitalism]

Hogwarts classes, I plan to make all of them!

[mostlikelytobeagainstcapitalism]

I know the moment is objectively sad but ‘Mr Gates’ heart has given out’ has got to be one of the funniest line deliveries in the whole of black sails. The fact he knows no one is going to believe it but you can still feel the absolute audacity seeping out of his voice. The side eye to Dufresne. The cunty stance. It’s so fucking good. Toby Stephens the man that you are.

[mostlikelytobeagainstcapitalism]

& the thing is you DO see flint struggle with it. he's troubled by his own violence, he doesn't like doing what he does - and silver is just like. contemptuous of it. he mocks flint for how much he cares ('it must be awful being you') bc he just doesn't. the guilt will pass if you let it. i know i've said it before but silver really is the only guy where all the stuff "civilised" people say about the pirates is true and he doesn't really consider himself a pirate. he doesn't even like sailing.

[mostlikelytobeagainstcapitalism]

enough with the "who haunts the narrative?" olympics. let's talk about who doesn't haunt the narrrative. jon arryn's death kickstarts the entire plot and STILL no one gaf

[mostlikelytobeagainstcapitalism]

THERE WAS A POINT WHEN EVERYTHING BENT DOWN / AND IT TOOK SOMETHING FROM ME / SOMETHING I CAN'T QUITE EXPLAIN / AND I ALWAYS WONDERED IF IT WOULD COME BACK / AND LOVE ME THE WAY IT SAID IT WAS SUPPOSED TO

[mostlikelytobeagainstcapitalism]

silver unable to conceive that flint could care for madi and that they'll get her out of there and that the revolution could succeed. his disbelief making it true, making it so making it a self fulfilling prophecy. you have destroyed and betrayed yourself for nothing idiot.

[mostlikelytobeagainstcapitalism]

one of the most frustrating things about the neil gaiman situation (and others like it) is people who were fans immediately moving to a different person to idolise ('well, at least we still have x author' or 'please tell me y author is still a good person') and in this situation specifically, 'terry pratchett would be furious'. no!!! you do not know!!!you have no idea whether terry pratchett or any author you like was/is a predator! you cannot take a situation in which a man's public persona as a feminist and supporter of women allowed him to prey on vulnerable women without suspicion and then look at all the other men who portray themselves as good people and say 'well, these ones are still okay though.' just stop idolising celebrities!!!!!!!

[mostlikelytobeagainstcapitalism]

“Please don’t do this.”

So after binging the whole four seasons of Black Sails last month, I’m now on a more leisurely rewatch… or so I thought.

But god everything hits so much worse or better or harder knowing about Flint’s past and motivation now. And then this scene came up, and I’m just… fuuuuuck. Crying, screaming, throwing up. I’m not okay. This is devastating. (Did I mention I cope with art?)

On my first watch, Flint killing Gates truly shocked me. He would really kill his friend just because he wouldn’t go along with his plans? To not have to give up on the Urca? Sure, Gates is going against his command. It’s mutiny, but Gates seems to be trying, and he sounds so bloody reasonable. And more importantly, he’s been a loyal friend up until now. A fatherly friend (I want to throw up). And even now he’s… trying to protect Flint, right? (Fuck. Seriously. Feeling ill.)

But yeah, I was shocked. And as he whispered broken apologies to the friend he just murdered, I wondered… could I forgive him for this?

And now…omg now it’s like watching a completely different train wreck happening, and it all makes perfect, tragic, horrible sense. The way the whole scene mirrors James McGraw’s futile attempt to convince Hennessy of their Hail Mary plan to save Nassau. Every step. The urgency when things have already gone sideways, but James refuses to give up, because it can still work. People just have to listen. Let him explain. Have a little faith. Back then he trusted Hennessy, and now he still trusts Gates. He trusts them to understand, asking them to believe in him. He doesn’t see it coming. (How does he not see it coming this time?)

And then the moment the floor is ripped out from under him. And it’s all there, on Flint’s face, in the moment when Gates says “They know.” It’s not the mutiny. It’s the betrayal. The way Flint’s face falls, and for a moment he looks just like James McGraw in Hennessy’s office. The same devastation and disbelief when he asks “You told them?” And of course for him it is the same betrayal. It is the same fight, to prove Thomas right. To stand against those who took him and everything else away from James.

And Gates, that poor bastard, doesn’t even understand what sin he is committing. He doesn’t even see it as mutiny. He sees it as doing the right thing, containing a madman. (Omggg…) And then there is Flint, reliving the worst moments of his life. And that point it doesn’t feel like it’s about the Urca anymore. It’s an emotional massacre, to which Gates seems completely oblivious. When Flint asks if he will see him get hanged, only to be promised an opportunity to flee for him and ‘Mrs Barlow’, Gates thinks he is doing him a kindness. Like Hennessy probably thought he was doing him a kindness, saving him from the gallows. It’s all right. Flint just has to leave, vanish and never be heard of again. He should be grateful. And the way Flint’s eyes close briefly in disbelief that this is happening. Again. The way he pleads with Gates, just like he pleaded with Hennessy. So unlike Flint. But once more he is told that his actions are unforgivable. Simply too much. He’s not just rejected, but he is abandoned. He is cast out for who he is and his supposed sins. A monster that can’t be allowed to exist amongst the rest of them.

The whole scene is executed so brilliantly, the way he fluctuates between James’ almost innocent appeals to be understood and Flint’s anger at being denied. But he keeps trying until the last moment. And then, when he acts, it’s not a calculated move. It’s pure desperation, the only purpose to do something, to stop what is happening. Because James McGraw didn’t. But where James McGraw hesitated, where he maybe still hoped, still didn’t comprehend, and where he still thought he had something to lose… Flint doesn’t. And yet we can see it break him. We can see how it breaks another part of his soul. 

(And of course it will happen again. Screaming. Crying. Throwing up.)

[mostlikelytobeagainstcapitalism]

[mostlikelytobeagainstcapitalism]

so essentially, james norrington is 10% yearning, 20% snark, 20% repressed emotions, and 50% being absolutely and utterly done with everyone’s bullshit huh

[mostlikelytobeagainstcapitalism]

in my heart and in my soul all of the starks are safe in winterfell

[mostlikelytobeagainstcapitalism]