#it also just makes sense to me bc flint seems to be the only person graham is vulnerable around ..

[strawglicks]

need more firesetter content of graham being horribly pathetically downbad for flint

[frostbite-the-bat]

OK random FROSTBITE THE BAT (CHARACTER) TOONTOWN RAMBLES

thinking abt frost and their development with them hiding their identity as a cog - it's always been basically a big joke, after all this lore and 'au' with them isn't very serious and is very jokes (though some of the more personal or detailed things mean a lot to me, especially the allan/cathal/frost/spam/hr/freakson goofy family dynamic)

but I just think it's so funny how they went from careless but still careful to realizing nobody cares as a case of convenient plot armor. like oh no wait we can't do that the toons will know we're cogs. We (spam + frost) gotta be careful though the cogs don't know we're toons. we're in this middle ground where we're FUCKED OVER

but they find toons and cogs they love who love them back and frost just had their whole careless development and they just. Don't care now like all the oil stains and only ever talking to cogs that they were worried about in the past it seems to be a joke to them too. as long as like the resistance doesn't know, they're fine

And if they were to be sorta harassed away from presenting as toons and being around toons they have a massive safety net with the cogs. canonically this would never make sense but it's a self insert au for myself and my friend group, so like whatever we want to happen can happen it's goofy it's cheesy it's nice it's very seperate from canon but it's FUN like I'm aware and like. they barely do shit thats like bad bad theyre just silly goofy frost max bites you then does a prank they dont do evile. they dont even got normal job)

Plus frost especially doesn't have to worry about cogs seeing them as a toon and getting attacked either this fucking thing is a menace with maybe a slightly oversized ego even if they get fucked up in a battle they're probably gonna pretend it didn't happen (while everyone else laughs) boy they scare any flunky with those teeth

like it's very unrealistic but it's so goofy and fun just watching this just. goofy loud motherfucker do whatever they want and do pranks and be a menace. it's fun to just have a character to mess with around non seriously but goooood the more private dynamic stuff is so good I mention it in doodles

them mirroring allan with showing off son everywhere and being very proud of him. their dynamic with spam of kinda being the lead sibling getting into trouble and being loud with empty threats with spam just being like 'uh huh yeah' about it because frost wouldn't do it. frost is a very fail character but in a swag way. their whole 'this weird fucking thing that perplexes me I need to know more about them now we got something fruity going on that isn't ever disclosed because it's entertaining on stage but also frost never says shit' with hr (they're the Fucking Thing), them being able to keep cathal company in some times lifting his mood and motivation up whenever he's too dismotivated or. like just depressed for stuff. more reason to do things when you got goofy siblings to do things with. Especially frost being the opposite energy like they have energy levels equal to graham like those two constantly babble!!

Another dynamic!! The rivalry with Graham but like. there's still some slight care bc mole pace flint is canon here. That's their boss and the guy dating their clubs leader and one of their closest friends also like. but also they will be tryna fight each other in small goofy ways and try to one up each other like 💀💀💀 the girls r fighting. OK see u next week same time for me beat you up!!!!!

It's all so goofy but I LOVE IT I LOVE MY SILLY GUYS I LOAVE TOONTOWM EVEN IF ITS MY OWN PERCIEVED SELF INSERT VERSION OF MYSELF. MY TOONTOWN FRIENDS AND REAL FRIENDS ARE ALL IN IT!! WE'RE ALL HERE!! AND MY GOOFY BAT IS IN THE CENTER OF IT ALL!!

[im-the-punk-who]

Miranda and Thomas for the character ask meme! (Am I predictable? Maybe. Do I care? I do not.)

Okay I skipped to this one because WHOOOOOOOO BOY DO I HAVE FEELINGS ABOUT THESE TWO LMAO. Also please continue to be predictable you know me you know my FEELINGS. Uh. As a warning this is. Long. Like it was 3k at last count. Please...please bear with me.

How I feel about this character

Miranda:

Honestly my growing feeling is that I wanted such a different arc for her. She gets used for Flint’s progression(not even necessarily by Flint, but by the writing of their characters) she gets shit on by the world, she gets her world taken away, and then when she finally tries to start taking the things she wants from it back, she is killed. 

I both love, and growingly ... hate is not the word. I hate her character arc. I love my girl, who is smart, and funny, and sure of herself, who knows what she wants, knows how to get it, and in a world dominated by men isn’t afraid to cross them when it needs to happen. Who saw her world fall apart and saw the man responsible and didn’t shy away from a course of action she knew would lead to his death. Who was called a witch and shunned and had rocks thrown at her and somehow managed to build anything from that, with Flint only there sometimes and even when he was there, still angry and lost over a past that she is trying to move on from. 

God I just. my thoughts on Miranda are ever evolving and ever changing. I love her, and honestly I can’t even blame her for betraying James because their interests were SO at odds with each other that it was inevitable. 

Thomas:

Okay there are literally not enough words to explain how much I love Thomas Hamilton. I may actually love him more than James McGraw. Proportionally to how much information we are given on him I certainly do. I’ve written more meta on him(and my longest fic to date) than any other character. 

Thomas Hamilton is so important. WHY is Thomas Hamilton important? 

Because he recognizes that everyone is entitled to belonging, to not being shunned for who they are. Because he believes in love, and the goodness of things, because while this is true he is not naive about who he is or what London is - nor does he shy away from hard truths. Because he is angry about injustice, because he refuses to capitulate to societal norms even when the right path is easier. I love him a lot because of the fact that the first thing he does when he sees James after ten years is to check in with him emotionally. 

I love him so so so much because he’s cheeky and intellectual but uses that intellect for the best better he knows how to. Because when he’s shown he’s wrong he changes course because he knows that pride is a useless emotion that stymies us in connecting with other people in the ways we are meant to connect. Because he knows that shame and trying to hide who you are, those are the things that keep us apart. He knows that knowing someone and making yourself known is the truest form of connection.  

I love him because of the growth we see him go through - Thomas Hamilton has more character growth in 15 minutes than some characters have the entire show. And it is because all of these things are true: because he actively seeks to better himself, and does not shy away from his own flaws and moral failings. He is a radical because he truly believes that a better world is possible, and that love and forgiveness and understanding WHY someone is the way they are, are the paths to that better world. and I just. really love him for it. Okay?

Thomas Hamilton Stan First, Human Being Second.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Miranda:

Thomas, James, Peter Ashe’s wife

So I’m gonna kind of budge into my Thomas answer with Miranda, but I have a LOT of thoughts on her lmao.

So with James and Thomas, I do believe that she was romantically and sexually involved with both of them, at least to some degree. I don’t really have a strong opinion on how much, because that honestly changes with the story that’s being told, where in there relationship they are, etc, but I do believe they were a true triad in every sense of the word. Like Jack and Anne, I think sex particularly between Thomas and Miranda was inconsequential to their love of each other, and their romantic compatibility. Particularly because I view both of them as having other sexual partners, it’s just not important to me to define that part of their relationship. 

With James, it’s different but with some of the same machinations. Personally, I don’t think Miranda and James work as a solitary couple. They need Thomas as the fulcrum to function, and I think while this is exacerbated by Thomas’ death, it would have been true regardless. James and Miranda are very different people in a way that leads to a lot of conflict if they’re put directly to each other. 

Miranda is an individualist, she thrives on having things of her own - her garden, her relationships with the Puritans, her social life in London, her extramarital affairs - Miranda to me is the definition of an independent woman, but not in the way that makes her incapable of love or romance. Just that she puts herself before her romantic attachments. James is the very opposite - the people who are important to him are all important, and I think Miranda is a bit stifled by that, especially when trying to fill the hole left by Thomas. James needs people - he needs partners and people to be dependent on and intimate with and attached to. It’s what makes him work so well with Thomas, but with Miranda it’s a source of tension. And so,  while I do still ship them in Nassau, I tend to view them as very dysfunctional, lost, still loving towards each other but having a difficult time showing that in ways the other can understand. (James sees everything he is trying to build as a sign of his love, Miranda sees asking for the pardon as a symbol of hers.)

Okay and here’s my galaxy brain, off the walls take that I’m subjecting anyone to who will listen:

My crack ship that I will sail into that good night is Miranda and Peter’s wife, because I like to headcanon that Miranda is trans and Abigail is actually her daughter but they never told Peter bc like LMAO why would they and also Abigail looks enough like her mom and sort of like Peter that it never came up -esp since her mom was never unfaithful and just always hanging out with her galpal Miranda. 

(This also neatly solves the ‘Is Miranda barren’ question about why she and Thomas never have any kids bc the barren woman trope is one i HATE WITH A PASSION lmao.) 

Anyway so Miranda and Peter’s wife are A Thing but like, Miranda knows what London is and she’s breaking enough rules being trans, presenting as female, and being in love with a woman, so she marries Thomas when Peter and his wife(who I’ve taken after Meg in calling Kitty) marry, but Thomas is totally cool with it and he’s like ‘this is actually super convenient so have at it.’ 

(I LOVE this scene because it hints at Miranda having had this struggle before - of having to learn the difference between a little danger and mortal danger and having to potentially give up things in order to survive in a way that seems more serious that just a woman avoiding a marital scandal.)

So anyway this is also like, why she’s so desperate to return to London society because it’s so much easier to pass when there are Rules yaknow? 

But then they find Abigail, and Kitty is presumably dead, and she finds out Peter betrayed them as well and well she just MCFREAKIN LOSES IT.

Anyway this is my sandbox you’re all welcome to play in it. Enjoy.

Thomas: 

Miranda, James!

So yeah I’ve already talked about how I see Miranda and Thomas so let’s move on to the fucking main event, Thomas and James. 

THOMAS AND JAMES.

Do you have an hour to talk about my two perfect boys, Thomas Hamilton and James McGraw?

Anyway so like obviously I ship Thomas and James together and to me the best thing about their relationship is that they do compliment each other’s needs so well??? Like, Thomas, who has probably never had someone really stand up and defend him, he has people talking behind his back, even Peter and Miranda indulge him more than they should.

And then there’s James who’s like ‘BRO, MY GOOD LORD, this is MADNESS’ and FIGHTS him and MAKES him explain his case and MAKES him change his mind and see the reality in things, and doubts him and openly is like ‘My Lord I have grave doubts about whether or not something like this isn’t jsut straight up stupid.’

And Thomas is just so CHUFFED because 

1) HELLO have you seen Lieutenant James McGraw and 

2) Lieutenant James McGraw isn’t afraid to tell him he’s being an absolute right piss pot. 

And THEN his whole world view starts changing because of this man, and THEN he finds out that James??? Defended Miranda???? and he’s like ‘oh no <3’ and he starts actually really trusting and valuing James’ opinion and THEN JAMES STANDS UP FOR HIM AGAINST HIS FATHER and Thomas is like ‘well sign me up for the next war’ and they learn and grow and TRUST one another so much.

Ans on the other end there’s James, who wants so badly to BELONG to something, who has probably always been both too smart and not well bred enough, and then he meets Thomas, who doesn’t give a shit about his birth, who recognizes his talent, who LISTENS when James speaks. And not only that but he’s the most honest person James has probably ever met? And he CARES. Really, actually CARES about how his actions and the actions of his family and England as a whole affect those who are under their control. And he argues, and fights, but James learns, and he’s accepted into the Hamilton’s home as if he’s always been there. And he’s fooling around with Miranda and just gay up FALLING for Thomas and every time he thinks he’s fucked up Thomas is??? Pleased???? And then Thomas suggests possibly the DUMBEST thing James has EVER heard come out of his mouth. 

Pardons?? For ALL of the Pirates???

Thomas.

Thommy.

T-Dot-Ham.

But Thomas is like THEY’RE MEN. THEY DESERVE A SECOND CHANCE. THEY’VE BEEN FAILED BY US AND IT’S OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO SEE THAT WRONG RIGHTED. WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE IF THEY’RE TRAITORS TO THE CROWN - THE CROWN CAN FORGIVE THEM. 

And I think this is the moment that something really snaps into place for James, because he’s lived his life knowing his preferences aren’t accepted, that he is technically betraying his crown and country simply for being, and here is Thomas - and I do imagine James knows Thomas fucks men because as i’ve said before there’s no real reason for Thomas to be hiding it? 

SO ANYWAY he’s having a small breakdown during dinner while Thomas is arguing with his father and Alfred Hamilton is being a RIGHT CLASS GRADE A MOTHER FUCKING FORK DISASTER. And James just. He snaps. He gingermcfucking snaps because THOMAS. THOMAS believes in forgiveness and he BELONGS in this house with these people 

Because in this house, with these people, is where he belongs, and there’s no way he’s gonna let Alfred Hamilton talk to HIS FAMILY like that lmao. 

someone should be willing to defend it.

So anyway then they smooch and then they fall even MORE in love because Thomas IS where James belongs and someone is standing up forThomas in a way HE’S never had before. And then. God then everything falls apart but in the end they do survive, they both survive, and at the end of all things, they find each other again and just...listen i’ve written so much about the finale lmao. but this truly sums it up

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Miranda:

Honestly I always wanted to see Max and Miranda interact, or Miranda and Hal. Like can you imagine, more than anything else, Hal and Miranda teaming up to absolutely destroy James Mc-fucking-Graw? 

Iconique. 

And Max and Miranda I just feel like would at first have SUCH hostility towards each other, but I feel like they could bond over living in the shadows, and what you sacrifice to do that.

Thomas:

ANNE MC-FUCKING-BONNY

I just really get the feeling that Thomas and Anne would be absolute besties and would get along like a fucking house on fire. And maybe actually set the house on fire. Thomas is SO open and Anne is so closed off and you would never think it would work but it does for some reason and they just. Are besties. End of.

I also think he and Madi would have a really interesting and fun relationship with Thomas once they got to know each other. They are extremely similar characters in their core ideologies and feelings about the people they view as their kin. I think they would definitely butt heads over a lot of things but I think they would also both understand that to make an omlette you have to break a few very hard skulls. 

They both try to understand where others are coming from, and that core curiosity is I think what would be so fun to explore with them. 

My unpopular opinion about this character

Miranda:

Miranda is Silver’s true parallel in the series and there’s not really anything anyone can do to change my mind I have proof. They’re literally the exact same character except her anger gets her killed because she’s a woman.

(ME? BITTER? Like milkweed.)

But even beyond that, like...listen there is a whole list of parallels in things they do, how they think, how they act when endangered or when put to a choice, who they chose, how they choose...

My unpopular opinion I suppose is that Miranda never understood James’ true motivations, because she always desired to return, whereas returning to civilization was never going to be possible for James. (And, that James never understood her, as a corollary.)

Thomas:

I’M REALLY SORRY I’M GONNA TALK ABOUT THE EXACT THING YOU DID BUT FROM THE OTHER END LMAO. I’m a trash human.

Edit: I went back over this with a fine tooth comb, and reworded/changed a bit of my opinion in this post. I still think that there’s clear indicators for Thomas changing from the first time we meet him to where I think he would be in the finale, but also that like, he was born, grew up, was supported by and lived in a colonialist system and that those things are almost impossible to throw off when they’re so ingrained in your own privilege.

So my unpopular opinion is that viewing Thomas as a supporter of colonialism throughout his arc ignores the character development we’re shown. 

I absolutely agree that in the beginning he is aligning with colonial views even as he seeks to change them, but after the hanging date with James we see a huge shift in his view about what's wrong with Nassau. He basically looks at the whole situation with the pirate being hung and says 

 By the time he’s come up with the pardons I think it’s clear he’s seen that the way England does things is wrong. 

James says that Thomas believes England needs to systemically rethink itself in 2x03 and that the pardons were a way to seek to change England entirely in his talk with Rogers. 

We’re shown his character move away from the colonialist views he started with, even in London. He recognizes they’re a problem and is trying to figure out a way to fix them.

Now, do I think that he still had room to grow? For sure. Just like James, he has only just begun the journey. 

But I think framing his entire character in London as a static upholder of colonialism ignores a lot of the real character growth were given in the 15 minutes he's on screen. We have five scenes with him and in every one his character has changed and grown - and I think that's one of the things that I love most about him is that when he's shown he's wrong he actively tries to correct himself rather than doubling down like Guthrie or Peter or Silver, or a dozen other characters. Or even James sometimes. 

The beautiful thing about Thomas's character to me is how fluid and open to change he is and I think viewing him as merely a colonial agent or stuck in colonial thinking tends to ignore that part of his character completely. 

ALSO I think there is this false dichotomy of thinking that a revolutionary character can only be someone intent on tearing down the system. That ISN’T true and just because you’re working from inside the system doesn’t mean you support it. Thinking like that is exactly how you get shit like today, where people say we shouldn’t participate in government because it’s broken and the only way to move forward is to tear things down completely. 

/end rant <3

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

MIRANDA LIVES. MIRANDA CONFIRMED TRANS. 

THOMAS MORE SCREENTIME WHEN!! THOMAS HAVING DIALOGUE OR MOMENTS THAT ARE SHOWN TO BE THROUGH HIS ACTUAL LENS AND NOT SOMEONE’S MEMORIES OR STORY. 

GIVE THOMAS AGENCY BLACK SAILS CHALLENGE.

I mean tbh, I would love to rewrite the whole damn thing but my biggest things are that Miranda doesn’t die, and is given a chance to choose her own ending - maybe she decides to stay in Charlestown! Or goes to Boston at the end, when Jack goes to visit Guthrie!

And that Thomas got some scene - ANY scene - that was shown through his own eyes. We only see him in Miranda and James’ flashbacks, or Silver’s story. We never actually hear him speak through his own words and that is like, the biggest tragedy of Black Sails, that so many characters(Thomas, Madi, Flint, even Anne to a degree) are denied the agency of their own story through the narrative itself.

Also shame farm what shame farm in this house James Oglethorpe is represented with historical accuracy and Thomas has been working alongside him to keep Georgia a slavery free colony,, they’ve been reducing the prison populations in London, and he’s basically got an army of radicals ready to go when his sexy pirate husband returns from war.

Listen there’s no shame in asking me to write more than the 4500 words I’ve already written today about Black Sails Characters.

[infinitestarsintheskye]

The Lady and the Chauffeur Name Thing

So at the end of my LAST installment of my FS Downton Abbey AU, Christmas at the Abbey, I promised that if ONE person wanted an explanation of the many new names that popped up I would write it. Well many weeks ago now the lovely @valentinaonthemoon asked for such a list, and I am a woman of my word, even if I completely forgot about and only remembered about it just now. I’m going to pop it under a read more bc it is going to get LONG  and also contain ALL OF THE SPOILERS for that series. 

OKAY SO

We’ll do this in birth order I think. Nicknames are in () 

Eilidh May FitzSimmons, born December 12th 1919 - The first of the many babies!! As many of you will know if you have been following me for a while, Eilidh May was, pre-finale of course, my utter ride or die name for baby girl Fitzsimmons. I think I have like three or four fics with this particular name in it, I loved it so much. Eilidh is the Scottish variation of Helen, and means sun-ray, which ugh wouldn’t that just be so perfect for a little FitzSimmons baby. I was just utterly in love with the idea of FS giving their baby a Scottish name (as you will see in the NEXT FS baby) and the fact that this had a space/star/sun/celestial twist to it just absolutely SOLD IT for me. I should add, for all my non-scottish followers that Eilidh is pronounced Ay-Lee. I have no idea how gaelic pronunciation works, I just know how to say it.  Her middle name, May, doesn’t need much explanation. I just loved the idea of them giving their little girl a middle name after someone on the team. 

George (Georgie) Lincoln Campbell, born 2nd October 1921 - Okay ngl, I got real lazy with this name. Mary and Matthew’s (who Daisy and Lincoln were in the place of in this fic) son was also named George, and I liked it, I thought it would be cute if he was called Georgie, as a bit of a variation. His middle name comes from his father, obvi, who, in keeping with BOTH canons (the noise I made when I figured out I could do that I swear. I’m so sorry Lincoln it was just far too good an opportunity to pass up), I killed off on the day he was born. My apologies. 

Hamish Phillip FitzSimmons, born 6th January 1922 - Oh this name. A lot of people REALLY don’t like this name, which is fine. As I said with Eilidh, I was really on a kick of giving FS babies Scottish names. I originally dismissed Hamish, and it just wouldn’t leave me alone, and just utterly grew on me. I actually went to school with a Hamish, he was a fair few years below me and he was just the tiniest, most adorable little toot! From what I can gather, Hamish is an anglicised version of Seamus or Seumus, which is the gaelic version of James, which is a very long and roundabout way of honouring Fitz’s middle name, but I still love having that connection. The middle name, Phillip, again, this name was a love of mine before this fic came about and it just seemed so natural to me that they would name their son after Coulson, and there was just no other name I liked so much with Hamish 

 Kathleen (Kathy) Skye FitzSimmons, born 30th May 1925 - I have no really grand explanation for this name, other than Kathleen is a special name to me, and I love using it in stories. It fit in well I thought with the 1920′s style of naming (yes I did that extensive googling) and as I say it is a very dear name to me and FitzSimmons are deserving of it. Skye, again, I’m just going through the checklist of names from the team. This was in NO WAY  a narcissistic naming, I promise, I just really think they’d give their child that as a middle name, as also this was my way of slipping a lil bit of Scottish into her name too. Just a smidge :)

 Hazel June Sousa, born 14th October 1926 - Oh Hazel. Hazel is just a name I really love. It is also the name of a dear friend of mine who I don’t get to see very often, and I just love it. Honestly I was just trying to find names that worked with the last name Sousa and Hazel just popped into my head. Again it works with 1920′s naming trends, (again with the googling) and yeah I just really love it. The middle name June comes from the fact that in this fic, Daisy and Sousa get married in the month of June. I thought that was a nice way of honouring their relationship, through their daughters name :)

Finley (Flint) Alphonso Mackenzie, born 28th May 1927 - So Mack and Elena adopting Flint is basically canon isn’t it??!?!? He is their son I will have no arguments. SO finding a name that Flint would work for as a nickname, bc lets be real no one was naming their child Flint in 1926, I had to find a roundabout way, was NOT EASY. I still have no idea how Flint could come from Finley, but it is close enough to make sense. By the time I got to Flint I had already named five children and was getting a bit lazy, and so his middle name is just the same as his fathers first name, which is still a very common middle name tactic. 

Emily Lorna FitzSimmons, born 12th October 1927 - Again, by the time I got to poor little Emily, I had named six children already. Emily I just like. Every Emily I have ever met has honestly been the nicest and sweetest person I have ever known. It has a good track record for me and it just sounds so nice with Fitzsimmons. Lorna, Lorna comes from my own personal headcanon for Fitz’s mum’s name, and so I think that’s where Lorna comes from, as a way of honouring Fitz’s mum.  It is also believed to derive from the name of the Scottish town Lorne, so snuck another bit of Scotland into baby FitzSimmons’s name :) 

Arthur (Archie) James FitzSimmons, born 14th August 1929 - If you all cast your minds back, at the very start of the Lady and the Chauffeur, I named Jemma’s dad, Lord Shieldshire, Arthur Simmons. So this was my way of honouring dear old Donk, but they call him Archie, just so he’s his own wee man. James, again, got a bit lazy, same middle name as Fitz. Also v Scottish name, we are 5/5 for Scottish baby FitzSimmons :)

Eve Margaret Sousa, born December 24th 1929 - Eve, well, she was born on Christmas Eve. I cast around for ages trying to find Christmasy names. She was Robyn for a little while, I considered Noel, but that felt a little too contemporary, so she was Eve! And yes, Margaret is my little wink to Agent Carter. I couldn’t help myself. 

Violet Faith Mackenzie, born 6th April 1930 - I actually had a lot of fun finding this name. I briefly considered calling her Hope, but no, that felt a little too on the nose for me. The name Violet comes from obviously the little purple flower, but the flower itself means hope, which I liked. Out of the three surnames, I feel like Mackenzie is the easiest out of all of them to find names for, (maybe it’s because I’m Scottish and know a fair few people with that Mac/Mc sound at the start of their surname) and I played around with a few possibilities, but honestly I just fell in love with Violet. Faith comes from the fact that faith is very important to both Mack and Elena and I wanted to consider that and honour that in the naming of their little girl. 

 Edward (Teddy) Donald FitzSimmons, born December 1st 1932 - The last (for real this time) little FitzSimmons baby of this verse. Blame Fitz being forever broody and Jemma just loving their babies so much, and also being an easy burst when it comes to Fitz and their babies. This name, boy oh boy, this name was HARD. Girls names for FitzSimmons babies, for some reason, easy as pie for me, I have a list as long as my arm of girls names I love for them. As for boys names, Hamish is the only one that has really stuck long term for me. All of the names I found for this poor wee boy that I liked were just a bit too modern, so I had to go searching again. I saw Edward, realised it could be shortened to Teddy and fell in LOVE. Only in this verse would I really get away with calling a baby Teddy so I took the chance and ran with it, and now little dark haired blue eyed Teddy FitzSimmons runs around rent free in my brain. His middle name, is not really obvious why I chose it at first glance. Again I struggled. I couldn’t really find any more Scottish names that I liked, or at least ones that i could give poor Simmons a fighting chance of pronouncing properly (Lachlan is still on my list and I have NEVER heard anyone not Scottish pronounce that first syllable properly). So Scottish was out, and so I went to my next mainstain of family names. And Deke or Enoch were the only two male names I hadn’t touched. Enoch was going to be impossible to find a link (trust me I tried) but DEKE, comes from a common nickname for Donald. So Donald he was. 

I hope you enjoyed this little (haha) list! I just love putting thought and meaning into names, and this kind of gives you a little glimpse into my naming process. Yes I know I will be a nightmare if I ever have children. That is a whole SEPARATE and ever changing and evolving list. 

[laufire]

In depth fandom ask: the last fandom you joined bc I can't remember it now

Well, I guess the last fandom I’ve properly joined --making a few edits, starting yet-another-WIP etc.-- is Black Sails, so. Plus I want to talk about it a little, spoiler-free, in case you decide to watch it ^-^ (I’ll leave that to the s3 post I need to finish...).

Top 5 favourite characters: Max is my number one, without a doubt, and of the rest of my faves Silver has an edge... but the remaining positions are a tough fight between Flint, Jack, Madi and Miranda, and I honestly can’t choose DD:

Other characters you like: Mr. Scott, Anne, Idelle, the Maroon Queen, Billy, Eme, Abigail... This show has a lot of great characters tbh.

Least favourite characters: I still loathe Peter Ashe with every fiber of my being. Alfred Hamilton is obviously The Worst(TM). And though it hasn’t grown into hate (yet), I don’t like Woodes Rogers one bit ¬¬

Otps: Flint/Miranda, and the combos in Flint/Madi/Silver and Anne/Jack/Max (in no particular order at the moment because I just HAVE TONS OF FEELS ABOUT THEM ALL).

Notps: I don’t have strong NOPE feelings towards anything, but I’m not into Eleanor/Max (which is a dynamic I actually really like BUT that I’m glad it doesn’t return to shippiness LOL); Eleanor/Rogers (I might be indifferent towards Eleanor most of the time but I haaaaaate Rogers for her. RUN GIRL), Flint/Vane (booooooooring).

Favourite friendships: Max & Silver (THE duo I swear), Jack & Max, Flint & Silver, Idelle & Max (I might not have said so before but I guess I like a little conflict LMFAO), Billy & Flint (NOT a friendship, but their relationship absolutely cracks me up I swear. “Who’s Billy?” XDDD).

Favourite family: Madi’s family, which is all I can say without getting spoilery. I just. *lies down on the floor overcome with emotions* xDD

Favourite episodes: the problem with binge-watching (okay, I’ve taken s3 more slowly but) is that they all kinda blur together LOL. Hmm. The season finales are all *chefs kiss* so far (sometimes in a very painful way... I’m looking at you s2. Though the ominous Flint/Silver moments in the s3 were A LOT too); any in which I get to see Max & Silver scheming together ofc. And the first handful of eps in s3 were particularly enjoyable to me because I was drowning in PURE ANGST and Flint & Silver feels xDD (I can’t NOT believe the fandom seems to call one of those “the shark date” asñldfjasdfñl).

Favourite season/book/movie: oof. I honestly can’t pick; s1 is probably the “least” because the others include better moments for some of my secondary faves, and because there’s a plot that’s really hard to watch... BUT it has things on it I adore to pieces too. s1-2 doesn’t have Madi (major drawback xD), and s3 is after one of my faves’ death... but frankly they’re all neck and neck so far.

Favourite quotes: “I am ruined over you” always comes to mind DD: “Liked is just as good as feared”; Max combo with Eleanor about sand (typing that down made me think of Anidala LMFAO. The scene itself is very different though! xD) in the s1 finale; “in another time, in another place, they would call me a queen”; “this ends when I grant them my forgiveness, not the other way around”, Mr. Scott’s “No. Only YOU.”... honestly, this show’s dialogue is just too good(TM), I could just quote it all back xD. And of course, I HAVE to mention “WHO’S BILLY”. It’s the law.

Best musical moment: the score is perfection all around, but given that I never skip the intro just to listen and watch it... yeah, the intro xD

Moment that made you fangirl/boy the hardest: well, I *might* have lost it the moment CAPTAIN FLINT COMES OUT TO LONG JOHN SILVER OVER A BONFIRE, IDK XDD

When it really disappointed you: the fact that I won’t get to see a fully fleshed out Mr. Scott-Silver dynamic is MAJORLY disappointing, let me tell you. That Flint’s actor didn’t somehow get his mother (aka Maggie Smith aka Professor McGonagall aka Lady Violet) on the show too ¬¬. LOL.

Saddest moment: character’s deaths of two of the characters listed on “top 5”/“others you like” xD.

Most well done character death: the hanging in 3x09 was well done and served its purpose.

Favourite guest star: for a value of “guest star”... I’m going with Idelle.

Favourite cast member: Jessica Parker Kennedy is the one that I know and love for other projects she’s done.

Character you wish was still alive: THE ONE WE TRAGICALLY LOST IN 2x09.

One thing you hope really happens: I’m cheating because I know there’s some of that in s4, but I want to watch more Flint/Madi interactions pls.

Most shocking twist: well, I wasn’t spoiled for Mr. Scott’s plot in s3 so I was (pleasantly) surprised by that xD

When did you start watching/reading?: a little over two weeks ago; I watched (devoured) s1-s2 and 3x01-3x04 in a few days because I wanted to meet Madi, and then I tragically had to slow down :(((

Best animal/creature: I will always love Treasure Islands’  parrot that Silver named after Flint LMFAO.

Favourite location: Nassau aka Max’s ~domain xD. And Miranda’s house.

Trope you wish they would stop using: noooooone. I love the tropes this show reuses LMFAO. Romantic Betrayals(TM), triumvirates, “good things happen in the dark/away from civilization”, the power of narratives, social climbing and revolt... bring them oooooon.

One thing this show/book/film does better than others: quite a few xD. But one that really stands out to me is the dialogue; both the ~deep and sorrowful type (there were so many quotes where I had to take a break to freak out properly lol), and the humorous ones.

Funniest moments: I know I’m repeating myself, but I recently rewatched the pilot to edit some scenes and I keep remember the WHO’S BILLY one xDD (which I maintain it was Flint trolling him. He could give Abigail a rundown of Billy’s whole life story AND he shamelessly checked him out that one time. Flint knows who Billy is, he’s just an asshole xD). Really, all the scenes between Billy and Flint in that episode are comedic gold lmfao. Billy’s “oh dear I fucked up” expression when he tells Flint the crew has started to think him weak and Flint looks half a second away from murdering him right there, his WTF face at Flint’s antics with the stolen page... Gold, seriously.

Couple you would like to see: I meannnnnn. I would’ve been very happy if the show had decided to go with Flint/Madi/Silver, for one. Bonus if Miranda could’ve been included. Or just explicit Flint/Silver in poly arrangements (THEY ARE IN LOVE, IT’S JUST ~COMPLICATED XD).

Actor/Actress you want to join the cast: MAGGIE SMITH DAMMIT.

Favourite outfit: literally everything Max wears in s3. Eleanor’s s1-s2 outfits were things I’d love to wear too. Flint’s ~dramatic coat. Miranda’s collection of supposedly-puritan-but-showing-the-goods dresses xDD (and ofc her London clothes), Jack’s clothes (he’s Nassau’s fashion icon lbr).

Favourite item: the books!! Especially when Flint gave Miranda “La Galatea” as a gift (given that sometimes he reminds me of my OC Latoya, you might understand the freakout I had when he gave the other member of my OTP a book titled like that xDD).

Do you own anything related to this show/book/film?: no, but I kinda want to. I did have a Treasure Planet computer game I tragically can’t find... it was about collecting money in increasingly difficult scenarios LOL. And I probably have more pirate-y/Treasure Island theme stuff. I had a long pirate phase xD

What house/team/group/friendship group/family/race etc would you be in?: Max’s because I like being on the winning team, thanks xD (though I do ~align more with Flint and Madi’s lbr...).

Most boring plotline: Eleanor and Vane’s ~romance is not at all badly written... but the fact that I find both of them boring kinda ruins the whole thing because I always wish that time went to someone else xD. Also, Blackbeard. Meh.

Most laughably bad moment: n/a.

Best flashback/flashfoward if any: the London flashback where Miranda goes to Flint’s house unannounced to take him to an art gallery, she finds him half-naked and he gets all awkward about it lmao. And then they hook up in the carriage :DDD

Most layered character: we get to explore Flint and Silver the most. Silver’s development in particular is something that never ceases to impress me ngl.

Most one dimensional character: except the one-note characters I wouldn’t really call anyone completely one-dimensional, tbh. Though I do think the fandom attributes more complexity to Thomas than it’s seen in canon? Like, I like what I see; I think he’s functional, he works well, and he adds wonderfully to Flint’s (and Miranda’s) story, but I don’t see him as a full character in his own right. Which is perfectly fine for the narrative so far, but I fear it might fall apart for me at the very end.

Scariest moment: I never know what to say in this... I mean, I guess Flint killing a man with his bare hands in the pilot Like That was scary xD. I understand why Silver freaked out LOL.

Grossest moment: any of Max’s interactions with Vane tbh. Stay away from her ¬¬

Best looking male: Flint has that ruggedly handsome thing going on for him, if you’re into that (and sometimes I do appreciate his ~aesthetics... very sad he shaved his head in s3 though. Like, I get you did it for the Angst, honey, and trust me, I Feel U, but still). I feel like I might be forgetting someone, but seriously, none of the dudes in this show so far do anything for me LOL. I can honestly say I love them for their personalities xDD

Best looking female: I have a weakness for Max, but Miranda, Madi, Anne, the Maroon Queen, Idelle, Eme... all of them are gorgeous in their own way. This show is good for sapphic women’s enjoyment in that sense xDD.

Who you’re crushing on (if any): I could crush on any of the women mentioned above tbh.

Favourite cast moment: I have literally only seen this post about an interview where Flint’s actor says he’s too old to party with The Youth of the cast and just wants to chill on the weekend... with bonus Max and Eleanor’s actress talking about how Vane’s once climbed the side of a building up AND back down. I’m with you, Toby Stephens, you don’t need those shenanigans xDD

Favourite transportation: the Walrus, for sentimental reasons LOL. I liked stolen Spanish warship too.

Most beautiful scene (scenery/shot wise): lots of good ones, though I think my fave might be the one of Miranda sitting by the window in London. Or the one of Charles Town burning down, I liked that :))) (I remember thinking “Flint better go full Daenerys on them”. And he did! It was nice xD).

Unanswered question/continuity issue/plot error that bugs you: n/a, so far.

Best promo: n/a.

At what point did you fall in love with this show/book: I liked it from the word go, but the moment that TRULY cemented it for me was in 1x03, with Max making a decision that I... frankly didn’t expect. It made things worse for her in the short-term, the storyline itself was difficult and disturbing to watch and I still have some mixed feelings about it. But what it said about her as a character and how her journey goes after that... I was in awe of her, and of the show.

[mxlxdroit]

black sails s4e1 liveblog

the last season. wow. ok here we go

zach mcgowan’s name no longer being in the credits makes me kind of sad. by the end of s3 i really liked vane

they open with flint quoting the bible. love this show. also his point about the allinace of pirates he’s relying on being very tenuous is true

silver: if it makes you feel any better,

flint: ‘a little.’ lol. silver is still kind of a shit and i love him for it. i also appreciate that he and flint have a shared sense of humor

this is a bad picture but madi’s outfit here is great. i’ll be interested to hear more from her about why she doesn’t trust flint

jack knows how to give orders to an active crew now! growth. he’s gained blackbeard’s respect as well. also

it’s a trap! flint it’s so clearly a trap

ok i’ll give woodes rogers this one- he knows how to defend nassau

this is stressing me out so bad i’m going to save this as a draft and go watch something else. maybe go to sleep. idk i’ll be back

ok it’s several days later and i’m back

silver: if we don’t get these men off the ship, they’re dead

flint: if we don’t find a way to harass those guns, everyone’s dead

that sums up their priorities and dynamic at this point in the show huh

i hate woodes rogers.

nooooo the walrus… my baby :(

bear mccreary outdid himself on this one. 3.10 and 4.1 have some of the best scores in the show so far

aw shit this is so bad. i know silver doesn’t die but a lot of the other men do. and the walrus. i’m actually upset about them sinking the walrus. flint’s BOOKS are on that ship dammit!

‘my wife… i get why she did it but like. eleanor why

as someone who embroiders? mood. also it’s so weird to see eleanor still in her noblewoman clothes and embroidering, being hidden from a fight. i like scenes where she acts like she did before- cussing out soldiers, cussing while embroidering, taking over for rogers when he’s sick… she’s the same person, just trying really hard to be someone else

ok the show just said what i said so i feel validated. eleanor’s like ‘i’m a noblewoman now, so i might as well put in the effort to play the part.’ max is like ‘it bothers me that faking your personality doesn’t seem to bother you that much.’ eleanor: ‘we are who we are. nothing so important changes so quickly.’ SO GOOD

oof. OOF. i don’t think flint realizes how like. he’s just let madi know he has feelings for silver that are similar to hers. but he definitely has

silver: when flint and i are of the same mind we can do literally anything. i don’t know why that is. he doesn’t know why that is

madi: u may not know, but i have a pretty good idea

i also think madi is right about flint needing silver more than silver needs flint. i don’t like it tho bc i like flint more than i like silver lololol so i want their weird codependent relationship to continue bc it allows flint to be who he is. also silver has an advantage in that he has both flint and madi as friends/lovers (as well as having the men, sort of), while flint literally only has silver

YES ANNE. have i mentioned how much i love clara paget before because i love clara paget. she is so charismatic

woodes rogers is so mystified why nobody has offered him assistance in capturing the pirates… it’s because they don’t like you, king! ok it’s actually way more complicated than that in that you’re going against their status quo and offering them security over freedom which makes them unlikely to trust you even if they generally agree with you and also they’re all former pirates so they still have some loyalty to their brothers on the seas etc. but not liking you personally doesn’t help

NOOOO mr. de groot

‘flint’s inner circle’ lmao. good on him for telling rogers to go fuck himself tho

flint is lit and framed like he’s a shadow in his own house

woodes rogers’ comparison between what would happen if flint’s men captured 121 of his men vs what he’s going to do with flint’s men now that he’s captured 121 of them is so interesting to me. he wants to treat them humanely, in a civilized way- but their “trials” will still result in them losing their freedom or losing their lives. is it really more civilized to drag out that process if the laws are unjust and punitive? and if they will result in the same outcome?

oh billy. ohhhhh billy. and flint! their pride is getting in the way of everything like i GET it you guys have some nasty history but is this really what’s important right now? aaand madi to the rescue!!! only sane person on this show. i don’t think she’s going to end up queen of nassau but she’d be damn good at it

the whole scene with silver swimming makes me feel like i can’t breathe

oh my god the fucking dairy goat. it’s going to die. ok ya it did

i’m glad they lampshade the fact that jack could have killed woodes rogers in the carriage fight. he’s not the killing type, though

jack cares abt their legacy, anne cares abt their future… anne has figured out her identity while jack still feels insecure in his… anne isn’t willing to risk her life to avenge vane’s death while both jack and teach are willing to do really stupid things… so good so complicated i can’t even fully express all the layers of this scene

eleanor is realizing that rogers is going to take her sacrifices for granted because he doesn’t understand that they are sacrifices- and he still doesn’t respect max! and eleanor is like shit this did not turn out how i planned, this is the second relationship i’ve had with a man where he doesn’t view me as an equal only this time we’re actually fucking married and i have to deal with it maturely

rogers has fallen into the great trap of the noble cishet white man in england of this era- debt. money can be a great equalizer (allowing max to be powerful despite what england says, and rogers to be in deep shit despite his privilege).

good on eleanor for offering to use her family’s name to help him out. i may hate his guts but i respect what she’s doing here

oooh long john silver babey!

[captain-flint]

1/2 I allow you to kill me because I'm gonna do the unthinkable thing: disagree with Toby Stephens. First of all, I bow to him. No one could've played Flint as perfectly as he did. He is unreal! But there is one thing I disagree with him. :) I do not think that rage is Flint's sole motivation. It's the majority of his motivation, no doubt. But I do believe that there is more to it.

2/2 “I cannot believe we are so poorly made as that” and “Freedom in the dark” speeches are too powerful to be a delusion. They are too raw and heartbreaking. He can’t be deluding himself in those moments. He must genuinely believe in it. No way, no way he can deliver those words and not believe in them. Yes, he’s angry and I love him for it. I love that he wants revenge. But I do believe that a little bit of idealism still lives in him and it comes out in those two beautiful speeches.

!!!! i very much agree, actually, with you and with toby. essentially, flint is a character with a dual personality. he’s james mcgraw and james flint, a good man and a ‘villain’, a born cynic and inspired idealist. toby focused on one side of flint while describing him, that is he kind of oversimplified him, which i understand bc what he described is the overpowering, dominant side of flint and the side that was relevant within the context of the story he was currently talking about. flint’s hopeful, kind and forgiving side of him is more subtle, something that’s constantly overshadowed by his still very much present cynicism and distrust of both the system and most people around him. i didn’t think much of toby’s words besides that i agreed with them, but now that you brought it up i have to talk about it. strap in this might get long and boring because it’s me talking about flint ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

speaking of his idealism, what i find so fascinating about this character is his uwavering strength in protecting that fragile sense of hope considering the world he was forced to live in. once that idealism had been instilled, no matter how hellish the struggle the world had put him through was, no matter how fragile that hope had become, it never died. his idealism perservered. and it all started with thomas. this awe-inspiring man whose talks of goodness and kindness in people and need to rethink systemic things made him realize that the world and its people he saw as ‘’brutal and unforgiving’’ weren’t above change for the better. being born a good man, thomas’ overwhelming idealism that could’ve blinded every good soul on the planet took root in james and only grew from that moment on. 

however, flint’s faith never reached the same depth as thomas’. where thomas believed in people in general and saw good in just about everyone, flint’s faith was in individuals. in the few good people in his life he deemed capable enough of changing the world. in people like thomas and miranda (‘’Who better qualified to oversee the building of the New World than Thomas?’‘), and later silver and madi (‘‘And you think I’m the one best suited to lead our people through this? I think that you are the best of us.The two of you together are the world in balance’‘). his trust in those people was steadfast and true. he believed their goodness could’ve changed the world for the better, but more importantly they were a promise, a reminder that somewhere out there must be more people like them, people who can fight the oppression and make a difference. (‘’I cannot believe that that is all there is. I cannot believe we are so poorly made as that.’‘) they were his true idealism, the bridge to a greater world. what breaks my heart the most, though, is that he never really considered himself to be one of them, one of the good guys, so he allowed himself the freedom to take what he believed was his and theirs with fist and sword. i actually talked about this once before. i think flint believed himself to be the tool used to push the boundaries and achieve a breakthrough within the society. someone who would incite a revolution and bring the world to its knees so the good people could recreate a new, better one. he actually admits it on a few ocassions: ‘’I don’t think that there’s a part for Captain Flint in Nassau’s future.Not with the blood on his hands.’‘, and later on when he purposely excludes himself from silver and madi’s future as the leaders of nassau. 

however, putting his faith in people aside as it has been unchanging and deep ever since he first stood up for thomas and miranda, i think his idealism when it comes to the world change itself over time steered in a weird direction. i kind of see his pursuits as two different versions of an ideal world, both fought for with the people he loved and both, despite their difference, unattainable. the one he was trying to achieve with thomas, had they succeeded, would’ve been a very different world than the one he was trying to achieve with silver. to put it simply, the first one would’ve been attained with mercy and forgiveness. the change would’ve been swift and radical, but the world would’ve most likely been unsullied by blood and tragedy. this type of idealism was noble, good, the kind that thomas was preaching about and the kind that inspired james’ own idealism. but as deep-rooted as that idealism was, i think that with time it went a little askew and that ideal world he had envisioned for himself and everybody else after thomas was gone became yet another unachievable goal, only this time with a path to it paved with nothing but blood and tragedy of both the guilty and the innocent. in between his outbursts of rage and violence, flint did try to sue for peace, more than once and in the least destructive ways, and every time the world spat in his face and made him even more aware of its cruelty and resentment of the people like him. with every failed attempt to reason with the civilization he was more driven to simply destroy it all and rebuild from the ashes. with every failed attempt he was moving farther away from where he started, from thomas’ initial attempt for a peaceful and reasonable outcome and steering towards destruction. the idealism still thrived in flint, he believed in everything he said, every powerful, tear-jerking monologue was true to his soul and invoke sympathy, he still believed in those individuals to set them all free, but it all sort of merged with his anger and this obsessive need for vengeance where the ends always seemed to justify the means in his eyes, so what was once pure became something mutilated and questionable rather than inspiring. 

both silver and julius were right in a sense. flint’s desire to change the world so quickly and brutally wouldn’t have resulted in a victory, not yet. the world was too strong for that, and his war was going to be a neverending nightmare for everyone involved. so, really, toby wasn’t wrong. flint is, fundementally, driven by rage and revenge against england for what it did to him and his loved ones. as you said, it’s the majority of his motivation and nearly everything he does or says kind of stems from that, even a part of his idealism. when toby said flint is playing out his own psychodrama on a massive scale, that he’s not waging war for altruistic reasons, that’s very much true and it becomes even more prominent as the seasons go and the world takes more from him. flint is not a freedom fighter. he’s not a hero. we are proven time and time again that he was ready to sacrifice almost whatever and whoever to further his war and reach the outcome he wants. had his goal not had been freedom from the oppression, he wouldn’t have been seen as the ally in the eyes of so many. he knew that what he was doing could’ve benefited everyone, that’s in part how he won the people to his side, and even though i personally believe a certain part of him truly, selflessly wanted to serve that freedom to them bc he was aware of their suffering as much as he was of his own, it still first and foremost had to have benefited him. 

i also have to bring up Lauren Sarner’s review about the last episode here because she talks exactly about this and honestly i trust her judgment when it comes to black sails more than anything: Flint’s monologue, aside from being beautiful, also reveals his truest nature. Silver sees Flint as being filled with rage, and he is. But deep down, he’s also never relinquished Thomas’s idealism. Flint wanted to wage war against the world, but his belief in his ability to change it — and in Silver and Madi’s ability to see it through — was genuine. To say Flint only fought for rage is only half of the picture.

[fansplaining]

Hi guys! I recently marathoned Black Sails and i loved it! the only thing I'm sad about is that i didn't watch it in real time... I don't care if my ship is cannon, but I found that seeing it all at once means i know what happened to everyone, and I'm having a hard time shutting it off. I want to be into it, bc there are so many characters and ships i like in BS, but i don't know how to make the story feel open for exploration. any ideas or thoughts on how to incept myself into BS fandom?

Hello! Of course Elizabeth is answering this. This is a GREAT ASK, thank you, and not just because the entry point to this question is Black Sails ⚓⚓⚓. 

(I’ll have you know this is one of, like, three gifs of Flint smiling in the entire series. I also googled “Black Sails happy” and…no one looked happy.)

OK so it seems like there are a few things going on here. Apologies for taking what’s ostensibly about one show and turning it into something broader, but I think it gets at fundamental questions of fannish engagement, so I’M GOING IN.

1) Watching/reading a series all at once 

Flourish and I talk about this one a lot, because we (and many others) have observed that younger/newer Harry Potter fans approach characters and plot elements VERY differently than we do, and we chalk a lot of this up to reading the books as a complete text versus reading it with miserable long gaps in which to turn over every freakin detail only to have 75% of it jossed when the next book came out. In 2002 I legit read this one page of Dumbledore dialogue in GoF 100 times thinking there was a clue that was just…under…the surface.

I think that with some texts and with some fans, the serialized nature of TV and book series are the way in—we climb into those gaps and lingering there, waiting and obsessively turning things over and imagining all the branching possibilities, all the future reveals, all the resolutions, is part of the pleasure. I sure as hell wouldn’t have fallen for Sherlock if I hadn’t shown up to poke at the gaping emotional wound between s2 and s3. (Frankly if you showed me all four seasons at once I’m not sure I’d even like the show—my lingering emotional loyalty was the only thing that kept me saying anything nice about s4.) 

If I had not watched Black Sails all in one go it would have been LITERAL TORTURE FOR ME. I had to pause for a week while traveling and I started to read fic that actually spoiled parts of the fourth season WHOOPS. :-/// But I can also understand how watching it all in one go wouldn’t give you enough space. But then, we watched the same way and I am deep in it, plotting out fic and everything. So maybe… 

2) A complete text can stay with you but might not give you a way in

This happens to me with books *all the time*. I’ll read something that shakes me—I’ve often used the metaphor “knocks your world off its axis” when describing a really great book, like it can be the subtlest tilt and you’ll feel like everything’s changed. I think it’s pretty normal for texts to stay with you? If they’re good or if they touch you in some specific way? Especially if you’re fannish and really feel the media you’re consuming.

But one thing I often find about books is they’re more…complete. Even when television shows end properly, rather than being cancelled, they might stretch for longer than what was initially planned, for example, so it doesn’t feel like the arc of the plot was as carefully constructed—often it can’t be, especially with long-running American shows (and of course with classic episodic television, say, a monster-of-the-week show, it’s not even structurally designed to have the same sort of ~ABCDE structure as a novel might). 

Black Sails is not one of those shows—they knew they were bringing the story to a close, and the entire show rests on carefully-plotted narrative arcs. (Not to mention there was an actual ~canonical endpoint for all the Treasure Island characters, ie where the book begins (like, sort of). I mean, there were also canonical endpoints for Jack, Anne, Vane, Blackbeard, Hornigold, and every other historical figure, but…)

Over the years I’ve joined fandoms for WIPs as well as finished products, and often for me fandom’s been a way of trying to mend the wounds of a media property I found incomplete, either narratively (with bad writing) or literally (like, when a show ends abruptly). I think for some fans, this is a crucial piece—they say that when they find something too complete, there’s nothing to mend. 

3) Different modes of fannish engagement

So here’s another thing I’ve observed—different friends have different definitions of “fandom.” So people are like, “Oh yeah, I’m in the fandom, I love that show!�� And I find out that means they enjoy the show and livetweet it and look at some gifs and that’s that. Which is totally fandom! And then there’s me, nodding nervously as I debate mentioning that, “Oh yeah, I’m in the fandom, I love that show!” for me means “THIS IS THE ONLY THING I WANT TO THINK ABOUT, HELP ME, I AM DROWNING.” It’s funny, sometimes I think about archetypal nerdboy fandom and its dick-measuring fact recitation, and then I think about all the times I tried to read the room to see if it was safe to let another person know how much I thought about something I loved, how much I felt about it. Even in totally fannish spaces, I still hesitate. :-/

There have been some things in the past few years that I’ve really enjoyed and toyed with checking out fandoms for, but what I’ve come to realize over the years is for me, it needs to be like falling in love. I think for some people, interest and obsession grows, and for others, you fall in head-first. And for others still, it depends on the thing. 

I understand this ask might have been specifically looking for resources or suggestions and while I’d just say if you’re not feeling it in this way, that’s cool, there are lots of different ways to fan, and you can keep thinking about something even if you aren’t drawn to, say, create transformative works about it? But maybe I should say something about Black Sails in particular…

4) Black Sails-specific: unreliable narrators and transformative works

If anyone hasn’t finished Black Sails, stop reading here, I’ll keep it vague but there’s only so much I can do. This is one thing that’s especially interesting to me about this ask: while I’m going on about how final and precisely plotted it all was, it’s not…that final. Because the entire point of the show is about narrative, right? Who gets to write them, who gets to own them, how they can be manipulated, how they shape “civilization.” Characters constantly talk—and constantly show—how both Flint and Silver (and, like, most of the characters, from Max to Thomas to Vane to Woodes Rogers) are these masterful shapers of narrative. Flint is the victim of clashing narratives: what’s actually happened to him, what he tells the world he’s doing, what he’s actually doing (note that explosive scene when Miranda calls him on this, ahhh I love Miranda). But the show’s choice to shift to Silver’s narration to wrap up events is a really fascinating one: the man who works so hard to obscure his past, laying out the narratives of the future. Should we believe him? 

I recommend this interview with creators Johnathan Steinberg and Robert Levine—the Flint section at the start is really delightful if you’re into artists being super into open-interpretation of their work. “Do we have a sense of what we imagine is happening?” Steinberg says when asked if we should believe Silver’s speech to Madi. “Yes, but if I was someone else, I wouldn’t want to watch it with my interpretation coloring it.” They talk about how this is essentially a transformative work (they don’t use that term)—a certain decision “made sense as a way to both acknowledge the book and spin it.”

So this is like the literal opposite of, say, JK Rowling, who seems intent on letting us know every freakin detail of canon and post-canon and seems genuinely unhappy at the idea that people will interpret things in ways that “aren’t true.” (At least in interviews I’ve seen/read of hers in the past few years.) Steinberg and Levine seem to be the ultimate “open to interpretation” guys, which really is like this big blank slate for fandom building on and playing with this world they’ve created. That being said, if oppositional fandom is your cup of tea—if you love fic and fandom as a corrective, as a way of wrestling a creator over the text—then the, “Go for it, interpret however you want” thing is probably not super appealing. 

This is the first time in my entire fandom life, going on two decades now, that I have simultaneously been really satisfied with a show’s ending and still wanted to write and read fic. And that seems…weird to me? So I don’t think it’s that weird that it wouldn’t work for someone. TL;DR: I’d just say if it happens, it happens. But it’s OK to love something and not find a way into the fandom. But if that changes for you, I’ll be there. :-)

[survivor-rotuma]

Tribal #8

Apollo, congrats on winning individual immunity! Does having immunity make this the right time to make a big move to add to your resume? Or are you just thankful not to have the target on you for a week?

I feel like every move is a “big move” in the grand scheme of things. Everyone wants that “big move” on their resume but should probably just be happy it’s not their ass sent home. For example I’m just happy to know that even though I’m working all day tomorrow, my ass will still be competing in the game still after tribal.

Boris, talk to us about alliances. Is the game still Sumi vs. Mea after a tribal council where a Tuai went home? How are people dividing up? At what point will this become a truly individual game?

I think its natural at the start of merge for people to stick with what they know and who they know. But as the game progresses people are going to start seeing the value in playing their own game instead of a collective game. All alliances are fluid. I think we're going to see in the next few rounds how quickly tribal lines can dissolve and alliances become blurred

Brianna, your tribemates seem to think you’re both on the bottom and likely to be blindsided by your allies. Does that make you nervous about your position in the game? Do you think you’re truly on the bottom? How do you make sure you can trust your allies not to vote you out?

Um to be honest jay. I don’t know how to answer that question. I try to stay confident and use caution in the game of survivor. I try to think through my decisions of who I can trust and stay ahead of the game and make sure I won’t be blindsided.

Joey, people forget you’re playing the game. Do you plan on adjusting your game to change that perception? Are there any advantages to being less visible?

I mean, I think there can be an advantage to being invisible, but at this point i’m VISIBLY invisible, so it could be really easy for others to target me as an “easy” vote. I really wish I knew these people better, but working full time and juggling my own life at home has been pretty tough for me recently. Going forward, I hope people feel like they can open to me and I hope they don’t stick to whatever preconceptions they don’t have, bc I’m a pretty chill dude :)

Flint, talk to us about the last tribal council. How do you feel about a former Tuai going home? Does that bode poorly for you moving forward?

Last tribal was a shock for sure but that’s the game. It was exciting to be part of a blindside, although I’d rather have been on the other side. Moving forward will be tough because I now know I’m playing from the bottom. But I’m a loyal person and vote so hopefully people can see that and keep me around.

Felix, you earned several of the major categories in touchy subjects, making you one of the most visible players in the game. Knowing that people are so aware of you, how do you adjust your game so you aren’t seen as a threat? How can you survive with a target on your back?

I'm very comfortable being visible. Being visible means I am not skating by or riding coattails. It means I am my own player in this game. Plus, not all those categories were bad. I think the villain role suits me well ;). I think if I already have this huge visible target on my back, I cannot shake it off. I have to play with the target. And surviving it is something I don't know how to do yet

Marie, your tribemates seem to think you owe them an apology. Why do you think this is? Do you plan on adjusting your gameplay because of this challenge?

My tribemates probably think this because i say and do the most shit, need numbers for a vote? marie will do it. need someone to assure people/basically lie to them? marie has you covered. i think that's what they think of me. i talk to everyone, i'm not afraid to make moves, i'm not afraid to lie. maybe i should've won the villain category who knows. people wanting apologies means i'm playing an active game, the only way i plan to change my gameplay is by saying i'm sorry right now in advanced. it's a game.

Lysandre, are you nervous about this tribal council since you don’t have immunity? Where do you think the former Mea stand on this tribe? Are you two working together or are you trying to make your own path?

I would say anyone can feel nervous especially kf they don't have Immunity. In regards to any "Mea", the merge has come and the old tribes are gone. If anyone is stikl thinking in a tribal mentality they've got a storm coming later or sooner. I personally am an individual. My name is Lysandre not Lysandre of Mea.

Zest, last tribal was the game’s first real blindside. How do you adjust to the competition getting more intense? Are you looking for new allies or playing for yourself?

Hi. It’s been kind of wild since the last blindside. The game is definitely heating up and I have been really trying to gain a sense of who I can trust since the merge. Touchy Subjects was an interesting immunity challenge. It is weirds how we survivor players tend to self-describe ourselves and categorize others in to specific game roles (i.e. the villain, the coaster). It kind of gave me an idea/solidified who I want to align myself with for the rest of this competition. Also, I am certainly NOT playing for myself.  If anyone questions me or my motives, feel free to send me a message.

If anybody has a hidden immunity idol and would like to play it now would be the time to do so.

Felix stands.

Felix plays an advantage called a transparent round. The names of each person who cast each vote will be revealed.

Felix has also played his advantage from the auction, an eraser. This has the power to erase on player’s vote, and he has chosen Zest. Zest’s vote will not count.

Felix plays an idol on Joey

Zest’s vote will not count. Any votes for Joey will not count. All votes will be revealed.

One the votes are read the decision is final and the person voted out will join the jury immediately. I’ll read the votes.

Brianna votes Joey, does not count

bye boiii

Apollo votes Joey, does not count

ummm I wish I could’ve gotten to know you better

Boris  votes Joey, does not count

Lysandre votes Joey, does not count

I'm sorry bud!

Zest  votes Joey, does not count (twice)

joey, honestly forgot you were playing

Flint  votes Joey, does not count

I honestly have no idea what’s going on

Marie votes Joey, does not count

nothing against you

First vote, Marie

Joey votes Marie

Here’s hoping Felix has something up his sleeve lmao

Second vote, and the second member of our jury: Marie

Felix votes Marie

You may got this round. You may not go. Whether or not you will, doesn't matter. To me, I only wanted to draw the line in the sand

Looks like we may have learned an important lesson about splitting the vote this round. An iconic player voted out in an iconic tribal. Marie, please bring me your torch.

Everyone else, head back to camp, next challenge up shortly.

[flordefandom]

@beautifulsmilewiththosesadeyes reblogged your post and added:

I don’t think she knows honestly… if that is the treasure of T.I. and she knows its location, then the book doesn’t make any sense!

@jadedbirch replied to your post “yasae replied to your post “My thoughts on 4x01”...”

She might be lying. Please let her be lying.   

@bal-lantine reblogged your post and added:

#or ya know #what if silver didn’t tell her?#what if she’s just saying so because she thinks he’s gone#and wants to cement her position within the group?#she may have no clue#she’s a tactician like the rest of them (via @thewalruscaptain) Oh, man, I’d LOVE this^^ because it’d be so damn clever and also signifies that despite her grief, Madi’s going to fight the fuck on. But if John really did tell her the location, I’m not sure if I read that as a betrayal of Flint. I can see John, in the early days of the alliance with the maroon camp, deciding that it was the smart thing to do to cement trust between he and Madi.                #though there is the question that he didn't tell Flint he'd told her...

@char7 reblogged your post and added:

There’s also the possibility that Madi was lying. She doesn’t like or trust Flint, she sees Flint is about to reclaim power by reminding that only he knows where the cache is, so she bluffs and claims she knows, too. It also diffuses the argument between Billy and Flint. Smart move from a smart lady.           

@ moonykink reblogged your post and added:

Tbh, I don’t think Silver actually said Madi the location. That seems too big? Ok they’re together but there are still too personal stuff. And betray the trust of others as simply… I think she bluffs.

Finally we’ll see!

Yeah the more I’m thinking about it, the more I agree that she was buffling. It actually seems out of character for me that Silver would tell Madi without telling Flint, not when he was that worried about the previous night about his relationship with him and about them being equals.

Regarding TI, I don’t know, I think the location of the treasure has to be changed at some point bc otherwise why would Silver need a map in TI, also that apparently in TI Flint buried the treasure with 6 others and then killed those others. Though given the case, why would he give the map to fucking Billy of all people, unless does a Peter Ashe and lies trough his teeth and Flint never gave him the map inwhich case... lallalalalala Treasure Island what is treasure island never heard of that, you meant oranges, right, oranges

but yeah i’m more and more convinced that Madi lied to get an advantage, to have power fo the situation bc silver was the glue that kept all of them together and omg that was a beautiful thing to write. also i’m bringing in @coldwarcynicide because we discussed a lot about it.

[squid-inspiration]

#I dont want to shit on your posts please let me know if I'm being rude by adding my own thoughts to it#I am not always sure about tumblr etiquette

you’re not being rude at all!

i’ve actually had this exact same discussion on here like what, the week after the finale aired? and the person i was talking to made the exact same argument as you, and just like back then, i still agree and disagree in equal measure.

what you’re saying makes perfect sense, and i generally agree. at the same time, the fact that james filters out everything beyond that chaste first kiss speaks to how much shame there must still be present in a way, bc he can’t seem to conceptualize their love, forehead bumps and sex and all, as sweet and pure even within the privacy of his own head. and even if we were to discard the sexual aspect, 2min of flashbacks is not a lot of screentime to give us in order to see the depth of this relationship. they used those 2min incredibly well, and i’ll repeat, i ADORE all of it, they’re my otp to rule them all, but even if we had only gotten a little more handholding, a little more conversation, how they navigated their social circle and miranda once their relationship was in full swing, i’d be so happy. of course this also makes their time in london such a fucking rich and fertile ground to extrapolate. thomas, despite the naysayers, is a rly rich character, and there’s a lot of breathing space to play with, which i love. he’s painted in broad strokes, but never flat, and that goes just the same for the time of their affair.

ANYWAY.

this was just on the portrayal of thomas/james. but even leaving that aside, pirate ships were full of sodomy and various shenanigans, whether the person involved identified as gay or not (remember, the exact concept of a gay/straight dichotomy as we understand it today didn’t yet exist, so it was entirely possible for men to engage sexually w each other and still consider themselves “straight”, even if the act of buggery f.ex. was criminal - tho ofc that doesn’t negate the many men who preferred men exclusively and would likely identify as gay by modern standards). what i’m saying is, it was such a missed opportunity for the camera not to casually pan past matelots making out in their hammocks, or a pirate receiving his fallen matelot’s share of a prize, etc. i weep thinking of a black sails where james flint had actually consciously been confronted w a society where these sorts of bonds and intimacy between men was normalized.

... haha sorry, i have so many Feelings and i’m incapable of writing anything succinct :’D i hope u don’t mind.

I KNOW Black Sails is like top tier gay representation and honestly I agree because of the way they made being gay a radical political part of story But I’m also PISSED that it could have been a bigger part of the narrative and they held back to not upset the (less queer friendly)viewers,