#of flint giving up everything to be enslaved

[avastyetwats]

"But to give you away to men she knew would hurt you, Charles?" He understood his reason for defending her, simply because she was his mother, but it didn't make Flint any less angry and disgusted. "As a parent, you're supposed to protect your child. No matter what. Even if it kills you." Flint wasn't a father, and he wasn't sure he ever would be, but he knew what being a parent meant. How any parent could give up their child like that - knowing they'd be in danger - was beyond him. She put herself first before her own child when it should have been the other way around. Perhaps he was slightly biased with his anger because it was Charles, but he just couldn't understand how any parent would willingly and knowingly give up their child to save themselves. Because of what she did, Charles went through hell. Physical and mental torture. As a fucking child.

His anger continued to flare and he had to force himself to calm down and Charles being here with him certainly helped. Especially now that he was on his lap again after Flint pulled him back, making it impossible for him to leave now. Well, not impossible, but it made him not want to leave and search for those fucking bastards responsible. At least not yet. He listened to Charles talk about how he went back Eleanor had stripped him of everything and there was another flare in anger when he mentioned their attempt to kill him, but it was quelled when he mentioned killing the man responsible and freeing those that were enslaved. "Hm, perhaps you didn't need to become a vampire to achieve immortality." He smirked. "You were clearly unkillable before." He was half teasing, but there was also a proud look in his eyes and it was heard in his voice, as well. "Nothing, no one, can stop you, Charles. You've made that clear. You really are the strongest fucking person I know." He smiled, then, kissing him softly with a soft hum. He's come so fucking far and Flint was proud of him for it, and grateful to. He was force to be reckoned with. Far more dangerous than a storm in the middle of the sea. If ever faced with one head on, he'd come out unscathed, Flint was sure of it.

"Do you want to try?" Flint asked him, then, combing the fallen hair away from his face. "We can go back to where it happened, see if any of the others ever went back," it was up to him. If he wanted to kill the men that hurt him, and many others, or let it be and continue on with other things. "I'm with you whatever you decide."

“ S’why I sleep lightly and with a knife under my pillow. “ Eleanor always thought it was a ridiculous thing to do, but he knew that’s when weak men would likely pray on the strong. He’d pissed off all too many people in his life, left wives without husbands, children without fathers. There were a lot of people that would love to see him dead.

“ He did. “ Charles had watched as he sat on the bed but as soon as he came near to touching that mark, he rolled away to the other side of the bed, swinging his legs off. He didn’t like talking about it or thinking about it. Hell, Jack didn’t even know a thing about it. He stared blankly out into the room, his back now to Flint. But he deserved to know didn’t he? He told him something deep and personal. He looked over his shoulder, before looking away again.

“ When I was in Wapping, the press gang dragged me and my mum out of our home.. “ Wapping was the poorest part of London, right on the Thames, where people threw their chamber pots out open windows. “ We could barely manage to eat. Had to go to work at whatever jobs I could when I was five, but it was never enough. And then the press got to us. “ Press gangs were men that rounded up sailors for coin and when desperate would often invade normal homes. “ Mum didn’t put up too much of a fight with ‘em. Plus it was one less mouth to feed. Never knew my father. “

He reached up and ran his fingers over the brand. “ I was thrown on a ship that night and brought to one of the slave camps across the sea. Was too young to even be a ship’s boy. What a fucking waste. “ He sneered softly. “ That’s where the men gave me this and I was put to work doing whatever they’d like. Digging ditches, serving food, cutting trees.. “ His mouth tightened and he clenched his mouth shut. “ Pleasuring the men. But I’d been forced to do that when I was on in the boat over. If I didn’t, they’d beat me until I was barely alive. After that, you start to go along with it. “ He hung his head. “ After a while.. “ He chuckled darkly. “ You start thinking.. that you even deserve it. “

It was silent a few moments as he stared off. He wanted to burst into tears again but he just couldn’t. He’d taught himself not to do that years ago. “ Anyway. Teach came to the island, looking for lumber. He found me, he bought me. Took me away from that place. Gave me a place in life, a reason for livin’. “

[iwt-v]

I will not look back And wonder what would have been If only I had tried. I will try until broken, Rise Until there is nothing left.

--Typewriter Series #2093 by Tyler Knott Gregson

[bring-it-all-down]

I’d like to talk about something that I think is central to Black Sails but often gets glossed over in discussions of Silver: his relationship with the systemic violence of empire.

One thing the show does particularly well is demonstrating the ways in which the violence of empire manifests itself both within England and in England’s colonies. We see this with just about all of the main characters, and this encounter with violence informs their subsequent relationships with imperial England. While Silver’s disability would surely result in his marginalization, his encounter with marginalization differs to that of every other character.

James encounters this violence in England in the form of Alfred imprisoning Thomas and the combination of Alfred and Admiral Hennessy banishing him from the country, in light of which he chooses to become a pirate. Jack falls victim to capitalism when his family’s tailoring business is forced to close, plunging his father into alcoholism and death, and holding Jack, a child, responsible for his father’s debts. Jack then becomes a pirate as a means of escaping indentured servitude. Billy, too, becomes a pirate as a means of escaping indentured servitude (and the violence he commits as a result––killing his enslaver––that would have seen him punished had he returned to England). Likewise, Vane turns to piracy after escaping from his enslavers (though it’s unclear how Vane became enslaved to begin with). Finally, we learn that Anne becomes a pirate after Jack murdered her abusive husband to whom she was married at the age of 13. For all of these people, piracy offered freedom from violence and oppression meted out by England.

We rather deliberately never learn about SIlver’s backstory, and for purposes of this post, I’m going to avoid theorizing about it and stick to what the show tells us about him. We first meet him when he’s aboard a merchant ship that Flint’s crew attacks. Out of self-preservation to avoid being killed by the crew, he fashions a lie, killing the cook and assuming his place, in order to join the Walrus. Thus, the first act of violence he encounters and commits is a result of pirates, not England. He becomes disabled as a result of Vane’s crew, not England. His only encounter with somebody mocking his disability is when Dufresne calls him “half a man” and an “invalid” (3.07). Finally, he tells Madi that he must look strong, not for England, but because he cannot allow his fellow pirates to see him as weak. All of Silver’s encounters with violence and marginalization occur with his fellow pirates, not with any stand-in for English colonialism/empire.

At this point, I’d like to compare Silver to Miranda, as they were the two people depicted to know James the best (as Thomas never knew Captain Flint) and were the two to try and convince him to give up his fight against England. When we first meet Miranda, she is desperate to return to civilization, telling James, “there is no life here” in Nassau, but they could have “a life in Boston...There is joy there and music and peace” (1.07). Her conception of civilization differs from James’ because she was never its direct target. Though she was a woman and was aware of the danger James and Thomas were in, her class privilege insulated her from experiencing England’s violence.

This all changes for her when she and James finally make it to Charlestown and she learns of Peter Ashe’s betrayal. This realization finally spurs her to understand the systemic nature of England’s colonial violence and the reality that she and James could never re-assimilate. Her final conversation with Peter here is crucial to understanding her newfound conception of colonialism: 

Miranda: All these years it never sat right with me how Alfred was able to turn the navy against James. He was far too admired by his superiors for his career to be dashed solely on hearsay. Alfred would have known that. He wouldn't have gone to them armed only with unfounded suspicions. He would have needed a witness, someone who knew Thomas and James well enough to give the accusation credibility. Alfred came to you, didn't he? Asked you to betray Thomas in exchange for which he'd see you made a king in the New World.

Peter: Perhaps this is an opportunity for us all to find a little forgiveness.

Miranda: Forgiveness? What forgiveness are you entitled to while you stand back in the shadows pushing James out in front of the world to be laid bear for the sake of the truth? Tell me, sir, when does the truth about your sins come to light?

Peter: You know nothing of my sins. Were you there when Alfred Hamilton threatened my family's standing, my daughter's future if I failed to cooperate? Were you there when I visited Thomas at the hospital to confess my sins and heard him offer his full and true forgiveness? He knew I had no choice in the matter.

Miranda: No choice?

Peter: A hard choice. Made under great duress, but with the intent to achieve the least awful outcome. You wish to return to civilization. That is what civilization is. I am so very sorry for what you have suffered and for any part I may have played in it. Please believe that. But at this point, the most important thing is what comes next, what we make of this.

Miranda: You destroyed our lives!

Peter: Miranda.

Miranda: You caused our exile!

Peter: I am sorry for what I did.

Miranda: Thomas died in a cold, dark place...

Peter: I am trying to help you. What more do you want from me?

Miranda: What do I want? I want to see this whole goddamn city, this city that you purchased with our misery, burn. I want to see you hanged on the very gallows you've used to hang men for crimes far slighter than this. I want to see that noose around your neck and I want to pull the fucking lever with my own two hands! (2.09)

Through this conversation, Miranda receives confirmation of Peter’s betrayal, and more importantly, that this betrayal is central to the existence of civilization. It’s how people like Alfred Hamilton retain power in England and how people like Peter Ashe obtain power over England’s colonies. In other words, the entire colonial project is one of betrayal, of exchanging lives for power, of the oppressor doing anything and everything to retain that power. When Miranda finally realizes how deeply personal and all-encompassing colonial violence is and reacts with righteous anger, she is murdered. Even voicing the desire to execute some aspect of justice is enough for the empire to silence her forever.

Silver, on the other hand, has no such encounter. All he knows of England’s systemic cruelty is what James and Madi describe to him second-hand. Thus, the war for liberation from empire is never his war, only Flint’s war and Madi’s war that Flint draws her into. In his final conversation with James, he tells him, “this isn’t about England,” calling the war “a fucking nightmare”, “your nightmare” (4.10). The “darkness” which he continuously ascribes to James is one born of a desire to do violence for the sake of violence. Because he has no personal experience with systemic violence, he doesn’t conceive of the war as a means to an end, but rather an end in itself; for Silver, the violence––specifically the violence of Flint, of pirates, of himself––is the point. 

The show’s thesis that the fight for liberation is a deeply personal fight is one that Silver dodges. Unlike James, Vane, Jack, Billy, Anne, Max, and Madi, violence enters Silver’s life as a result of piracy, specifically as a result of meeting Flint, and thus he believes that separating himself from Flint will end that violence. At the end of it all, every other character understands that the “freedom” they won is temporary and can be potentially revoked at any time, but Silver understands it to be more permanent. He tells Madi that in ending the war, he returned James “to the world as it existed before he first closed his eyes”, ensuring her that he is “not the villain you fear I am. I’m not him” and that he will wait “forever” for her to come to this realization (4.10). His experiences with violence prevent him from understanding something that every other main character understands: that Flint was a reaction to violence and not the sole cause of it.

[meldelen]

Dragonlance’s Lost Chronicles I: Dragons of the Dwarven Depths - A rambling review

Cover art by Matt Stawicki depicting Tanis Half-Elven, Flint Fireforge and Tasslehoff Burrfoot, three of the main characters.

By now I should be rereading the second trilogy of the Dragonlance Tales, but I couldn’t resist and started with this trilogy of The Lost Chronicles which, to my eternal shame as Dragonlance fan, I didn’t even know it existed until a few months ago during confinement, when I decided to re-explore this beloved franchise of my teen years. The Lost Chronicles is a relatively recent trilogy - year 2006 - if we compare it with the first original trilogy, Dragonlance Chronicles (1984) that complete each other. Those who have read the Chronicles will remember that after finishing the first volume - Dragons of Autumn Twilight - in the second, Dragons of Winter Night, the authors made a temporary leap omitting part of the story - due to lack of time and creativity, they admitted at the time - in which the main characters’ group was recovering a sacred relic from the Dwarven nation of Thorbardin, The Hammer of Kharas, in exchange for providing protection and accommodation to refugees driven from Solace and enslaved by the Dragon Highord Verminaard. Well, precisely, this what the first volume of The Lost Chronicles is about, written no less than 20 years later, to complete this and other gaps in the original plot.

I have to say that on one hand I was excited to find this trilogy written to complete the original, and on the other hand, I was skeptical about it. Because writing decades later to complete something you had already done usually results in a grievance compared to the original work; it seems unlikely that something better will be done so long later; and unless you go with the lead feet, reread your original work VERY WELL and have a good publisher, it’s very likely to fall into contradictions and inconsistencies in the plot.

Well, nothing of that! This book is great! Not only have the authors recovered the original spirit of the Chronicles, but also - at the risk of being burned as heretic at the bonfire of fandom - they have improved it, and how! On the other hand it is logical, because writers are supposed to improve with time if they care for what they do, and let's not forget that Weis and Hickman are also the authors of that wonderful series called The Death Gate Cycle, which it is totally on another level. All that experience of years has been invested now and it shows.

How does it show? The pace of the plot, for example. The Chronicles, specially the first volume, had a very stressful rhythm - it was like climbing a roller coaster without harness - while Dragons of the Dwarven Depths has a sensible and constant pace, dosing the action and the dialogues in a balanced, fluid and consistent way. Secondly: it’s much better written than the original trilogy, both in terms of prose and setting. They take more time to describe the environments and the lore without becoming tedious, boring, or too hasty as sometimes happened in the original trilogy. Of course, the poems of Michael Williams are still horrible - or perhaps it is the translation that is horrible, I will give him the benefit of the doubt -; that issue seems to be doomed.

And finally I stop at what has always been, for me, the best of Dragonlance and the reason why I love it: the characterization. It has always been wonderful, and in this volume it shows. The Companions, very different in their origins, abilities and personality, have always fascinated me because they seem absolutely human and relatable, believable although many of them are not "humans" per se or have supernatural abilities, of course. They are supposed to be childhood friends and allies of their own free will in a world at war, but they actually malfunction as some kind of dysfunctional family, if I may allow redundancy. The mean-spirited and grumpy dwarf messes with everyone and scolds them all like a curmudgeonly grandfather, the others handle him making him believe that his decisions matter and his intervention is essential to them, the knight won’t stop annoying everyone with his ideals of honor and justice, lecturing them on what is right and good and cooperating rather little when it comes to making morally questionable decisions, the mage messes with everyone and everyone messes with the mage, who reacts like a furious snake because he’s aware that without him they would not make it to the corner alive, and in the absence of a real culprit, his fangs always end up stuck in his poor twin - an actual cinnamon roll, an example of the most tragic Stockholm syndrome -; the barbarians distrust everyone but they have no choice but to get along with them, the kender is, if possible, the most chaotic element of the group, whose burden and responsibility are passing each other as if they could really control him somehow; all of them led by a half-elf with remorse of conscience because he’s a disbelieving atheist who cannot even make up his own mind about if he feels elf, feels human, feels everything or feels nothing, and is not able to choose if he is in love with the elf girl or of the human girl, having enough work with babysitting this sociopathic group. Anyway. A delight for the senses.

Already experts in handling such a bunch of misfits, Weis and Hickman make you laugh hard at the interactions between them. In the Chronicles it wasn’t yet quite funny - especially if you hadn’t gotten used to Raistlin's mood, whom you’ve to swallow in little doses like a bitter medicine - but here, you’ve a great time! The knight annoying the mage, the mage messing with the knight, the two messing with the dwarf, the dwarf messing with everyone, the kender in the middle messing around... it seems incredible that these people saved the world, right? Well, they did! And even though they can’t totally get along, without a single one of them it would not have been possible. There, the greatness of the story.

I don't want to wind up much more. In this volume, the authors take the opportunity to correct other failures their original narrative had, such as devoting more attention to Riverwind, who plays a fantastic role as leader of the refugees - at the cost of casting a shadow over Goldmoon and therefore obtaining the inverse result of the original trilogy - and also, to pay a little more attention to poor Tika - the most human and perhaps most relatable of them all, although unfortunately she’s forgotten, like Goldmoon, halfway through the book - and above all, pay much more attention to Flint Fireforge, the dwarf, who’s really the main character of the book, and who finds himself faced with a moral dilemma: recover the sacred relic of the dwarves, the Hammer of Kharas, and hide it from his own people to take it to the Knights of Solamnia and therefore be used as an artifact to solve the war and give the world in danger of destruction a chance; or willingly return it to the dwarf nation and risk losing it to the cause.

5 stars. Great. Fantastic. It’s not boring for a single moment, there is no tedious, long or unnecessary part, the characters are genuinely themselves, the plot is better written and the style much improved. In short: it seems that time has not passed at all, or rather, it has passed, but for good. Highly recommended for Dragonlance fans and especially for those who are already familiar with the Chronicles. You will not regret it.

Geez, I need to shorten these reviews.

[goldthatglistens]

For some reason I started writing down whatever was in my head when I was watching Black Sails and sleep deprived and this is what happened:

Now you have everyone’s eyes where you want them. What happens next? I wish to speak on behalf of the defendent. The power you’ve given them. That the prisoner before you. For those of you who live to see tomorrow, know that you had a choice to see that the truth and you let yourself be convinced otherwhies. Stay down. Fire. How are they so good at fighting? I’m so confused. Peter Ashe. Her word with be the last hope for this place. Move. What? They’ve engaged the blockade. I’ll take my chances sailing. Oh my goodness. What? I gave you an order? What is your problem. Where are his key’s? And has he seen them since he took me away from my men. Shouting. Gunfire. More screams. Billy Bragg. I legit can’t believe he is in so many shows. Take him to Howell. Help me. If those ships flank us, they’ll have us. Gun crews at the ready. Fire at will. How did that happen? WHo did they conspire against. How did two pirates fight  literally everyone in town. I don;t understand. They’re over there. This is probably the most unrealistic part. People screaming. The buildings on the right, every building. Look down there. Cannons boombing. This is literally chaos. I don’t understand how people. He sets the m free. Move. There is so much chaos, how do they even know who the pirates are? How did they not runinto them. They are really leading their reputation. I wonder if Peter Ashe was a real person? Fire! Get them both. Men. Take aim. Behidn them. Wait, what the fuck happened? Why didn’t he fire? How are they not getting hit by the cannonballs? What did they do to his leg? Somone give him some rum. Somone should just knock him out. Oh my lord that is nasty. I think they need to cut it off. How is he still talking and not screaming. What does that mean?W hat does that mean? They should knock him out omg. Why don’t they. Don’t they have things. But it’s under control now. Release those men. What/ I know what happened and I don’t care, I won’t hold pirates prisoner on my ship and I wont again . Ready the guns, full compliment. Whatever’s left. They are really going to town. Charles Vane is just chill there. I can do it wiht as few as three or four men. I don’t want this. I don’t want this. You’ll die. This way there is a very good chance to prevent this. I don’t understand how cutting off can make it better? Also, how did they do that much damage with just a hammer? I guess hammers are really heavy. Oh wow, this is more graphic than I thought. Wow. Did this actually happen to Charles Town? Is this in penssylvania. Literally everything is being blown apart. Yikes that must suck to be Lord Ashe. But he betrayed them? I really don’t understand what is so bad. HOw are they sawing his foot off when he’s still alvie? Why the fuck didn’t they knock him out? Or why didn’t he pass out. I am so confused. How do they stop the blood? How did they stop the infection? His eyebrows look weird, I think that’s why he looks weird. Also, he should shave off that ugly mostashe. Also, bwhy did they put him on the bed. At least he lived, I guess. Just south of Inagua. Winds blew us east. We stopped at tortuga to refit and garner news which there was plenty. Elanor Guthrie has been arrested. In teh custody of His Majesty’s Navy. There is no Guthrie in Nasseau. Did Guthrie actually exist? Try and act suprised. That’s nice that they coted. THe more those men need you, the more you need them. It drives us to do the most unexpected things. There’s something you’d ought to know before we reached nassea. I’m sorry I’m having a hard time. He lied to us all. And then he sold the information to the other crew so that he could retrieve the gold. WHo the fuck did he sell it to. Mr. Jack Rackham. Oh gotd thats an ugly child. I guess its a boy. Max is honestly so annoying. Honestly, Jack is the best. The information was incomplete at best and they fought like hell. Is that the. We needed the hold space? OMG he got it. I can’t believe it. WHy did the spanish soldeir  figiht. Also, why would the king get so much money. What happen to Elinor Guthrie. What is Carolina? Oh, I bet this is the British dude. Oh wow, those are good brothers. Eww look at his beard. Everythign moves towards its end. I feel like clocks are a symbol. I explained all this to Mary who said she understood. Well, you’re here. I can think of at least three lies. First, I amge she told you I retired from a prosperous trade. The trade was piracy. Second she told you my name was drummond, she clearly led you to believe that you could point your sword in my direction and survive the experience. Yikes. It’s not their fault. This too was somethign less than the truth. There is definitly a similar way they introduce pirates. They start with the bad and then go on to add more layers. Also, was there an intro to every episode, because if so I missed it lol. Who are these masked leaders. Those are the same signs that arthur uses in the once and future king. What the hell is happening. Is this blackbeard? What happened to the gold? Where is Jack Rackham. Jack Rackham is my favorite because he’s funny lol. Oh my goodness are they saving Eleanor guthrie. Oops thats some other blonde woman. OMG thsi is flint. Who are these old farts? Hazzard the magistrate. Their magistrates hagned men for piracy. Fint has gone crazy and SHAVED off all of his hair. I don’t understand why flint is so gungho about saving all the pirates after they are dead? I wagered that despite all I heard about you that you could tell the difference. Why the fuck did he kill him? Oh my goodness, Flint has really gone off the rails. What happened? When he lost his hair, he lost his sense of justice or something. I thin he is being reminded of Miranda. I guess without Miranda he has nothing left as an ancor to humanity. Hoenstly, I just want captain vane and flint workign together. Why does Long John Silver have that ugly ass neck beard? Don’t enable Flint Billy. Charles Vane is very pretty. HE is gathering the slaves. Charles Vane does not like slavery. I forgot how scary the pirates are. Why did that dude just give up? How was Charles Vane a slave? Like how did that happen? HE’s white? Who enslaved him. Oh my goodness, I would rather just get shot. 

[saltyaos]

a loooong meta about lots of things I hated about 5x14 and what happened next, starting with the speech Deke gave Jemma, and while I did appreciate the grandson trying to comfort the grandmother, in the context of this tvshow, of the couple, to me it was incredibly toxic so keep in mind this is anti-fitzsimmons, anti what they did to Fitz lately, anti what they did to Jemma in s5 too, anti Deke and Fitz’s relationship

@whistlingwindtree​​ asked me to confront Deke’s speech to Jemma and his talk with Fitz in the next episode, but there is so much I hate that I extended it. But because it literally turned into a giant of 5000+ words I’m going to cut it in 3 different posts and then probably not being able to write for like three days because it took me hours, but at least I vented a lot (because like I said before, this reminds me of personal life issues and I couldn’t get out of that mindset)

these are points I want to touch, in bold are the ones in this post

-the speech itself  (post 1) -Jemma can never break for the rest of her life (post 1) -all her friends are more Fitz's friends than hers except maybe Daisy who was in the middle (post 1) -Fitz and Deke and the grandparent grandson stereotype  -Deke's speech to Fitz  -what happened after that: mental breakdown or bad friendship because the husband comes first?  (post 1) -Jemma and Fitz were supposed to reverse gender stereotypes but if I look at s4 and s5 all I see is gender stereotypes, tv stereotypes and not much of their fundamental traits and quirks left (will be in my third post)

part 1 post/180449275812/a-loooong-meta-about-lots-of-things-i-hated-about

 [this is part 2] 

[part 3 will be linked here]

disclaimer: this is how I interpreted things, I’m not claiming it to be the Truth. I also wrote what I think the reasons behind their actions are. Reasons, not justifications. They didn’t happen out of nowhere.  

part 3 will probably be posted tomorrow, it needs revising. 

Fitz and Deke and the grandparents-grandson stereotype

this is more in reference to my previous post, I want to put my context before I go to the speech. whistlingwindtree feel free to jump to the next point.

now here’s the thing. I like Deke as a character, but if Fitz had been framed as hating him because protective of Daisy, if they had fought about it, it would have been fine by me, obviously.  (a much better fight than the canon ones too: 

Fitz accusing him of selling Daisy out, 

Deke pointing out that given that they now know Kasius had bombs everywhere, if Daisy had marched in and taken Jemma away, Kasius would have anticipated his plan of demanding people back or blowing the lighthouse up, and they wouldn’t have been ready back then because they had just arrived and humanity would have died, 

and Fitz pointing out that she could have quaked Kasius into pieces, killed all the Krees with her powers without having to get anywhere near them 

and Deke retorting that 1) he didn’t know Daisy back then as anything but the destroyed of world and he had no reason to believe she’d care for the people there at all, just for her friends, since she didn’t listen to his attempts to explain how things worked there, and 2) Kasius’ brother and the other krees would have destroyed everything later. They only had the chance to win when at the very end they found a way to make humans escape on a spaceship. 

And then Fitz telling him he couldn’t have predicted they’d ever make it out anyway and he should just own he did something horrible to Daisy and there is no justification for it. He can’t stand behind near a man who gives up and wants to keep status quo like that

Deke pointing out he regretted it so much he was ready to die to give them a chance to go home because now he knows Daisy would have fought for his people too but he’s not a mind-reader and when he tried to tell her people would immediately die she ignored him. And so on. 

See that? a legit reason to fight and disagree, and less dickery

and after 5x14 Deke asking Fitz if he still feels like judging him that much since he seems to have adopted the: sacrifice one for many frame of mind too, and them fighting over THAT)

but I digress

what I saw in s5 was Fitz being angry at Deke’s childlike interest in the world, and inappropriateness, even though Deke came from a dystopian society where he was a slave himself, and his constant dislike for Deke seemed a bit too much to begin with, but after 5x14 had me go ‘really? you are in no place to say ‘Deke is the worst’. So I was already on the fence about this relationship. I didn’t find anything about it cute. You can say all you want about Fitz being under-stress but it was in a context in which everyone was doing their best to help, Fitz was isolating himself and snapping at the newest arrival, and can you imagine if he had been like that with Hunter in s2? Come on. It didn’t feel like Fitz anymore and it was on the heels of all the Doctorness. It felt like the typical male character that annoys me. And yes, I put male particularly there because female characters aren’t allowed to be like that without having to go through all kinds of redemption soon after or being ‘put in their places’. Jemma has been mean to people before, and has been demonized for it or it has been written off or gone unnoticed because it didn’t fit the typical bubbly scientist role they try to fit her in nor the sad but a bit cold one misreading of her from s2 either. 

(also... why weren’t the gravitonium expert Deke, also a computer genius able to re-program the framework in a world with no books or tech, grandfather and genius grandmother working together on the rift again?? To make Fitz even more of an isolated struggling protagonist? 

Again, it reminds me of the (always male) genius who snaps at people and is tormented stereotype that bores me so much and that is SO NOT Fitz. It’s Sherlock. It’s doctor House. it’s Wells. It was never Fitz. I loved Fitz for being different.)

But watching the flashforward when Robin remembered her past in the Lighthouse, and Fitz furious because Robin predicted Jemma’s death, and ripping projects there, and Robin and May stepping back and kinda instinctively protecting each other from his anger adds up to this and gives me horrible vibes. That’s now how Fitz should have been even in the Lighthouse, and yet that is the same Fitz from a universe where yes, 5x14 happened, and then the world ended, and Jemma supposedly supported him and he was the best man their daughter know. He was sweet with his daughter, I’m sure. But damn, if the context isn’t fighting to make me side-eye that too.  

It just made me so uncomfortable on many levels. They are all under horrible stress all the time, but Jemma is supposed to be nice about it, and Fitz is the grumpy-mean grandfather who snaps at a grandson who already had a bad relationship with his own dad too? Nice grandma who tries to calm down angry grandpa, and angry grandpa who doesn’t want the grandson there? A negative cliché that I hate.

Deke’s speech to Fitz

Deke’s characterization was all over the place, depending on the writers of the episode. And this takes the cake. Deke was shown so UNCOMFORTABLE and unhappy during 5x14, he was also clinging to the fact that the stories his mother told him were real, he needed to believe that.

Fitz: I don't see it. None of you looks like me. Deke: Well, I don't know what to tell you, Grandpappy. I guess your daughter found a real man. Fitz: Of all people. Why couldn't it be Flint? I liked Flint. Deke: Well, that's a lovely sentiment. That's almost as loving as when you had a robot point a gun to my head. Fitz: I didn't want to hurt anybody. Deke: It's fine. It's the first move you made that actually made me respect you a little bit. It's my kind of move. And this place, 80 years from now, I'd survived on moves like that. 'Cause it was kill or be killed. I know Johnson's still mad at me about the whole "selling her into slavery" thing, but you got to play the long game, or else the whole world is gonna be a vacancy, right? Fitz: Maybe. Deke: And you say you don't see the resemblance?

... WHAT?

here’s what I’m thinking: on one hand 1) Deke had at some point been a believer until he lost everyone 2) he was clearly in awe of his mother and her stories about his hero grandpa 3) his ‘long game’ was keeping humanity alive, and he thought he had to go against Daisy for it, like:

Deke: You are about to walk into a buzzsaw. Daisy: You're just worried it's gonna blow back on you. Deke: This has nothing to do with me! If you pick a fight with the Blues, they are gonna take it out on all of us. Today's Renewal was for three people. Tomorrow could be for 30. Death comes easy here. Daisy: Which is why I need to get to Simmons now. So if I were you, I'd get out of my way. Deke: You already destroyed the world once. I am not gonna let you do it again. (gets quaked into a wall)

and by the last Lighthouse-episode he had seen who they truly were and chose to die to let them go home, in the hope they might save humanity instead, so he had changed his mind. 

on the other hand: it’s bad enough that Fitz has done what he did, that the writers had Deke do what he did too, did they need to DRAG DAISY again to write them into another fight? Same show in which Jemma didn’t get to say anything about the time when she got tortured, not about when she was recently enslaved/mistreated/touched/humiliated and used in whatever way Kasius wanted? Same show in which Daisy was also tortured and didn’t get to say a word about it, nor she got to talk about how she was also used by Kasius as a fighting tool, operated on against her will, blackmailed using her friend against her? 

So what happened here? That speech to Fitz was like him slipping back to asshole because of the bad influence? He was disliked and reacted hiding behind dickery (which doesn’t excuse bringing up so lightly that he sold Daisy out, but this is not the point I’m making here)? 

and I’m not saying Deke wasn’t acting like a dick in the first episodes, mind you, but the way he goes from one attitude to another makes me feel like the dick one is a mask to survive and be less hurt, and in this case to be approved by grandpa

What I also mean is that this speech to Fitz takes like twenty terrible turns and I don’t know what the writers were trying to convey anymore, and that I feel it all starts from Fitz. 

Were the writers trying to say that Fitz was so horribly wrong that of course the guy who had to ‘kill or be killed’ his whole life and did all kinds of bad things would relate to it and make Fitz feel bad? That they were both right about doing what’s necessary? The end justifies the means? (no, not always, even the 100 knows that)  

Or were they willingly writing some toxic masculinity type of ‘grandson who just got physically and emotionally hurt by grandfather tries to make him angrier because that seems to be the only way to be respected by that kind of grandfather, and agrees with his actions to get some approval from him without even realizing it’? which is actually my theory except they didn’t think it’s toxic masculinity just like they didn’t think Alistair was abusive to Fitz? because honestly. Fitz blurting out he wanted Flint to be his grandson and all that has to be hurtful, it WAS hurtful, and when Deke speaks about it being a ‘lovely sentiment’ the sarcastic voice and expression are the same mask/defense mechanism that he used in the Lighthouse. Fitz keeps openly disliking him literally the first time he sees Deke after knocking him out really hard and then keeping a gun aimed at him and keeping him hostage. It’s also why Deke is trying to hurt him back pointing out his mother married a real man (and we know Deke disapproved of his father, it was clear in the way they talked with the other Lighthouse old guy about how the Lighthouse changed people, including his father, he was saying whatever he could to hit back)

hell, Deke switches and calls Daisy ‘Johnson’ like he’s some cool guy who barely knows her even though he’s been calling her Daisy the whole time, just to reach Fitz with that attitude. They are ‘strong men’ in this speech. They don’t let feelings get in the way. Fitz points out he didn’t want to hurt anyone, and I’m sure he didn’t, but he also later refused to let Jemma die even if it meant the end of the world, so he did have limits, and in a way he must know he hurt Daisy that much, so what the hell are they really talking about? I can see how people can interpret it as Deke actually just pretending to be nicer, but since we were shown scenes of Deke being alone or kinda unseen and still being all childlike and/or interested in Daisy, and also because of the change of tone and body language around Fitz, I can only see toxic masculinity spurred on by a grandfather who hates him. Deke already had unhealthy ways to react to begin with.

i can also see Deke trying to show Fitz their resemblance as an attempt to bond because he’s that desperate for grandpa’s approval... or as a punishment for grandpa who dislikes him so much, show him he’s not that different because fuck him. 

Of course after that Deke is seen saying whatever he needs to say to his grandma too to get her approval, about Daisy being a hardass and all, and then he apologizes to Daisy for being late and all that and it’s shown Daisy doesn’t know what he’s talking about so maybe instead he was imagining things about Daisy because flustered? 

Were the writers maybe trying to make me dislike both men at the same time, while I was already feeling repulsed by the arc they were giving Jemma?  

Jemma gets a speech about how she has to keep being the lovely kind understanding wife, Fitz gets a speech about how it’s kill or be killed in this world. Jemma is there to be supportive, Fitz is the one who acts one way or another. He’s supposedly in control enough not to hurt Jemma and she can totally trust that their love will keep him from doing anything to her while also not responsible for his action because mentally ill, but after 5x14 he seemed perfectly fine, as if it was just a temporary window in his life. What?

and the deleted scene where Deke hugs him and Fitz can’t wait to get out of it?

this is not a ‘funny’ grandfather who doesn’t want to admit he likes his grandson moment, this is adult grandson who lost both parents at a very young age and never made up with his dad tried to bond with grandfather who hated him and kept hating him and gave him one last hug in case he died which the grandfather really disliked, and grandson even tried to bond over by acting as if he didn’t care about Daisy, that’s how much he was acting there, it was unnatural, and it was okay to sell her out, after all grandpa is the kind who would point a gun at him and sweet grandma so he can operate on Daisy, who is tied up to a table. Same grandpa who said he didn’t want to hurt anyone but also thought it was the ONLY option and therefore never regretted it.

Why the hell did Fitz look almost upset when Deke commented that meeting his grandparents wasn’t that great after he spent the entire season disgusted by Deke?

So what. What were the writers doing? 

I’m supposed to compare these two speeches, the one Deke gave Jemma and the one he gave Fitz, but it’s like they are different people, talking about also different people, two different Fitzes who bring out different sides of Deke. 

There is nothing not toxic about this. Deke feeling the need to act all macho to impress Fitz and talking about disgusting things like they are okay, Fitz so openly insulting Deke again and again even after speaking to Jemma about him, their characterizations changing every episode and making people feel like they don’t know what is really going on (Fitz doesn’t want to hurt anyone vs Fitz bringing up that Daisy ‘betrayed’ them too when she is angry at him vs Fitz showing he’s regretful with his facial expressions to Daisy and saying he didn’t have a choice vs Fitz telling Jemma that he still thinks it was the right thing to do vs Fitz looking at Jemma like she’s insane when she says that maybe it was the right thing to do vs him being annoyed about being locked up as if he’s not hallucinating and cutting people open because he thinks it’s the right solution without even trying to talk to them first vs Fitz being unable to look at Jemma in the eyes). The writers writing Jemma in the position of the good wifey through Deke’s speech in a way that means she really spent her life like that. 

What is science, by the way, she’s sure as hell not the analytical and weird scientist she was before, not if you listen to these speeches. Deke’s speech to comfort Jemma is about Fitz. Deke’s speech with Fitz is him trying to show to Fitz that they can both do horrible things when they think it’s for the right reason so he shouldn’t be on a high horse. 

Everything is horrible. 

[esoanem]

VII.

“They took everything from us. And then they call me a monster. The moment I sign that pardon, the moment I ask for one, I proclaim to the world that they were right. This ends when I grant them my forgiveness. Not the other way around“

Major Content Notes:

Blood & Gore: a man loses a fight, his face is covered in blood, and an eye swollen shut

Needles: a man is tattooed with a traditional needle tapped with a stick. Blood is seen oozing from it

Nudity: two scenes with full frontal male nudity, another with a naked male character framed so genitals are covered incidentally

Slavery: slaves are seen working in a lumber yard, bound in chains. Another seen with slaves chained in a warehouse being fed

Wikipedia Synopsis:

Flint and Gates discuss Mrs. Barlow's letter after Billy's disappearance. Randall accuses Silver of being a thief in front of Dufresne, who is the new quartermaster. Eleanor suffers a loss when Mr. Scott wants nothing to do with her partnership with Flint and he becomes a part of Captain Hornigold's crew. Rackham is having trouble turning a profit at the brothel, so Max helps run the business. In need of a new crew, Captain Vane makes a deal with a man from his past to borrow his men, but ends up fighting a battle to the death.

Now Max’s arc is concluded, we don’t have too much in the way of major content notes, and those mentioned here are relatively minor. This does give us both of the times we see dicks in the show afair though

Timestamps:

As ever, all timestamps are from the “Complete Collection” DVDs which includes a Starz logo at the start, as well as a recap. Depending on your source, timestamps may vary a little, which is why I’ve included the timestamp for the opening titles. Timestamps are only given for the start and end of scenes featuring any particularly warning-worthy content

00:57: opening credits

05:54-07:10: Jack & Anne are trying to have sex but Jack has performance issues. The brothel somehow isn’t making any money. Anne gets dressed and goes, leaving Jack naked and tied to the bed. His genitals are visible

08:13-09:30: Dufresne is getting a shark’s jaws tattooed on his arm with a traditional needle tapped with a stick, blood is shown oozing from it. His hair has been roughly shorn as initiation for his election as quartermaster. Gates urges Flint to go to Mrs Barlow now and not just let her go. Flint agrees and says he’ll be back by dark

26:14-30:02: the bald man hands his men over to Vane, and recognises that he was a former slave of his. Vane gives a speech to the men insulting the bald man and they fight. Vane gets a bloody face with one eye swollen shut. The bald man tells Vane he’s proud of him before stamping hard on his face. Vane’s naked body is rolled into a shallow grave, his genitals are covered by another man’s leg

31:43-32:31: Mr Scott visits the slaves in the warehouse with a basket of apples. He tells the woman he was next to that he has asked Eleanor to free them. That this may not happen, but to not give up hope

51:01-52:43: Vane wakes up and frees himself from the shallow grave. He stabs the bald man with a wooden stake, and kills him. He is seen fully nude, and his eye is still swollen shut. His genitals are visible

Summary:

We open with Pastor Lambrick practising his Easter sermon in a field, sweating profusely as he lectures on the taint of sin. A rider bursts through the crops and gallops past him, eventually arriving at Miranda’s cottage to tell her that Flint has returned

Eleanor meets with Flint and Gates in her office. She asks how the Scarborough found him. When Flint tells her that it was a plot by her father, and that Flint means to hold him to account, she tells him that Mrs Barlow was responsible for keeping him under lock and key, and must also be addressed. When Flint hears of the events in Nassau, and how Eleanor has managed to re-establish herself as the centre of trade despite her father winding up the Guthrie business he agrees to deal with Miranda

As he leaves, Eleanor tells him that Silver proved himself indispensable in establishing the Consortium and that she has promised to put herself between Silver & any resentment Flint may harbour towards him and as such, if Silver were to not return from the Urca, she and Flint will have problems

Jack & Anne are having sex, with him tied to the bed, and her on top. She gets frustrated, saying “it’s gone limp again”

“I’m terribly sorry if I’ve ruined your morning, but at the moment I happen to have quite a lot on my mind. Ship purloined, captain and crew a distant memory, no prospects at all except for this shithole of a brothel which by some miracle of economics seems incapable of turning a profit”

"How can you run a brothel here and not make money”

"I have no fucking idea!”

She gets up, gets dressed and leaves. Despite Jack’s protest, we see him left there, naked and tied to the bed.

Max is gazing out of her window when Idelle comes in with some porridge, to help her regain her strength. When asked how she managed to get eight of Vane’s crew to just disappear, Max firmly holds her gaze and says they left for Port Royal. Idelle doesn’t believe this saying that if that’s true, she’s “Henry fucking Avery”. She tells Max that if she’s planning on working at the brothel again she shouldn’t wait long

“Rackham’s got no idea how to run this place. We’ve all got a hand in his pocket. Mapleton would tell him but she’s too busy stealing for herself. All I’m saying is, get in while the getting’s good”

Dufresne is getting a shark’s jaws tattooed on his arm with a traditional needle tapped with a stick, blood is shown oozing from it. His hair has been roughly shorn as initiation for his election as quartermaster. Gates urges Flint to go to Mrs Barlow now and not just let her go. Flint agrees and says he’ll be back by dark. In the shed, as Flint gets his saddlebags read, Gates confronts him about the letter Billy found

“Just one more thing captain, before you leave to see Mrs Barlow. I think you and I need to discuss the letter that Billy found, and why exactly it is she believes that you’re going to betray your crew”

Randall is being held back by Dr Howell, another pirate, demanding to speak to Silver. De Groot explains that a council has voted him out, and that he was inadvertently responsible, having raised the issue of the fire hazard a one-legged man in the galley might present, before it spun out of control, like most things before the council

“He’s got a raw deal, Mr Silver. The least we can do is let him say his piece”

Silver goes to Randall, and tells him that in his experience, setbacks like this often come hand-in-hand with opportunities. He accuses Silver of stealing the page

"He’s a thief. He thought I was asleep in Miss Guthrie’s tavern. I heard him talking. It wasn’t Singleton stole the page. It was him.”

“I don’t know what he’s talking about”

"Said he has the schedule in his head. That he learned it to stop Flint from murdering him”

"With all due respect, but he spent the last two days beneath a rather heavy cloud of opium, he doesn’t know what he heard”

As Silver goes to leave, de Groot grabs his arm, and tells Dr Howell to get the quartermaster now

At the Consortium, Captain Naft is rummaging for papers as the rest wait exasperated. Eventually he find his notes, and officially opens the meeting, making a note to add choosing a shorter name to the agenda. Captain Lawrence has started modifying his hold, but a good number of his crew have deserted, as he predicted, and he will need replacements

Eleanor is called away by one of her men. Mr Scott has arrived and refuses to leave. She goes down to speak to him

"Quite the story I heard out there from the Walrus’ men. They say you rallied the slaves in the Andromache’s hold, singlehandedly turned the tide against Bryson. Imagine what they’d say if they knew that you’re the reason they had to chase that ship in the first place!”

“I would like the chance to explain myself. What I did, I did out of love. And with every intention of staying here with you to help you find a safer, more settled life, a life you deserve! It was not a betrayal. It was – “

“It was not your decision to make! My life is my own. It’s not Benjamin Hornigold’s, and it’s not Charles vane’s, it’s not my father’s, and it’s not yours. Do you understand?”

He says he would have had nowhere else to go, as he is chattel property of the Guthrie estate. Eleanor is hurt by this reminder of her complicity in his enslavement, saying she’d never seen him that way. He says he needs to ask her a favour

Charles Vane wakes up in the sun, with a slave boy looking down at him. The boy has the same scar he does on his chest. The boy leads him through the lumber yard and we see that many of the workers, of all races, are in chains. Vane is called over to sit by the bald man, and asked if he means to do business. He explains his plan as the bald man keeps his back turned

"There is a place, there’s a place not far from here. A place fueled by plunder. A place of great wealth. Run by its crews. Flying no flag”

“I know of Nassau. What of it”

"She’s weak. So she’s ripe for the taking. A man with enough strength could have his hands wrapped around her throat in a matter of hours. Control the flow of trade. Get rich”

"My men are rich. Wood sells well, and we don’t rely on the mercy of the sea”

"No man is rich who could have a lot more by doing less. When you sailed as captain of these men, they sacked Campeche for you, they sacked Cartagena for you. Give me a dozen of them, and I will bring Nassau in line”

The man asks his name, and says he knows it. When Vane lays out his terms, he doesn’t answer, but turns around and presses Vane on how he knew to find him. Vane ignores the question and asks if they have a deal, before getting up to walk away, when the bald man makes a counteroffer

"How did you know to seek me out? Is my name spoken as far as Nassau? Is there someone there that connects us? Or is it something else?”

In the shed, Flint is dodging Gates’ questions about the letter, saying that his relationship with Mrs Barlow is complicated, but she clearly wants to leave Nassau so desperately she will say anything to make him come with her

"Oh for fuck’s sake enough! This is what we do! You orate, you dissemble, and I look the other way, convince myself that supporting you is in everybody’s interest, but not today. Not after what happened last night. What happened to Billy, Captain.” ”

When Flint says that Billy fell, and asks what Gates thinks happened, he points out that Billy thought he saw them all as expendable, as pawns to use for his own ends. 

“I know what happened on the Maria Eleyne. You told me the man you killed was rooting for a weapon, you told me it was self defence, but there were no weapons in that cabin. I went, and I looked. I still kept my mouth shut. I don’t know why, but I know you used the crew to assassinate those people. Men died that day, our men. And I expect there’ve been other times that we’ve been expendable to you and if yesterday was one of those days then you and I have a problem because Billy wasn’t expendable to me. He was a son to me.”

"Then perhaps you ought to have acted like a better father towards him”

"What the fuck did you just say?”

"You let his suspicions run rampant, you let his paranoia fester to the point at which when he should have been focussed on the Scarborough's guns he was focussed on hurling unfounded accusations at me”

"So I’m to blame for what happened to Billy?”

"Perhaps if you’d intervened when he first came to you with these fantasies, perhaps if you helped him understand the world in which he lived he’d still be here right now”

"I’m tired of this. I’m tired of the energy it takes to believe you, to believe in you. I’m taking this to the crew, you’re their problem now.”

"I’m taking it. After the Urca’s been secured, and the money warehoused before distribution, I intend to sequester a portion of it. Every man on that crew will still be richer than their wildest dreams, but you know as well as I do that no matter how much money they’re given, they will drink, whore, and piss it away. Now they have a chance at something better than that! But it isn’t going to happen unless somebody makes it happen”

"You’re lying to them”

"And if I don’t, who will? Everyone’s lied to. For their own good. Every mother tells their child that everything will be alright. Every soldier who’s told by his commander that courage will see them through, every subject who’s told by his ki-“

"His king? Is that what you are to us now? A sovereign? Levying a tax?”

"I’m quite serious. Who loses? Absent their worst instincts: their pride, their greed, their suspicion, in the light of pure reason, who says no to this? They’ll be rich men in a safe place rather than dead thieves on a long rope. I’m going to deliver them, Hal. I’m going to deliver them into something better.”

"I will sail with you tomorrow to take this prize. I’ll follow your lead in battle, and I’ll take your orders as consort, but when it’s done, you and I will quietly go our separate ways and I’ll thank you not to protest”

Dufresne, de Groot, and Howell are talking outside the tent. They agree that if Randall had told anyone else they’d have heard, and that Flint finding the page on Singleton does seem awfully convenient. Silver tries to convince Randall to change his story

“Say you’re successful in convincing our friends out there to believe your story. I’m not sure you’ve given proper consideration to what happens next. Do you think they just haul me up in front of the crew, air your story, and that’s the end of it? Oh Randall, I think you’ve forgotten one very important detail”

Outside the tent, Howell points out that if they bring it to the crew they’d likely hang Flint & Silver, and that will be the end of the Urca hunt. That acting hastily could come with a very hefty price. De Groot doesn’t seem to like the idea of lying to the crew, along with Flint, and asks if thy think there’s some way to guarantee Randall’s silence. Inside the tent, it seems Silver has just suggested this exact course of action

"They wouldn’t”

"Wouldn’t they? A one-legged halfwit who hazards a chance at a fortune? The odds are decidedly not in your favour. Well, you were confused, or delirious! Take your pick, but tell them now, then even if they wanted to go to the crew they’d have lost their chief witness and no-one has to die”

"You’re a thief”

“I’m a thief, right. Well, good luck, Randall. It was nice knowing you”

At the lumber camp, the bald man has lined up several of his men, and tells them to follow Vane’s orders as if they were his own. Vane gets distracted, seeing the boy with the matching scar, which leads to the bald men stepping over and looking into Vane’s shirt to see the scar

"You were one of ours? You were just a boy yourself. It could not have been easy coming back here. It must have taken great strength. Go on, take these men. Make me rich”

Vane is trembling, his voice shaking as the bald man walks away. As he speaks to the men, the bald man takes notice, stops, and starts striding back over ready to fight

"You don’t know me. But you once did. When I was the lowest among you, now I’ve returned, and I offer you a chance to be free of this place.

I’m Charles Vane, and you were a strong crew once, proper pirates, feared as you should have been before he dragged you away from the sea before he convinced you to live here like animals, because it suits his weaknesses

 There is a place not far from here where strong men live lives of pleasure, not labour. A place where you could be feared and respected once again

 Follow me and I will show you what life is”

As the bald man gets close, Vane punches him first. At the start, Vane is able to dodge the bald man’s blows, but once he gets caught, the bald man hits hard. They each hit & kick each other several times, each getting thrown or knocked to the ground. Eventually the bald man kicks Vane in the crotch and headbutts him hard, before beating his face repeatedly, leaving Vane’s face bloodied and one eye swollen shut. As Vane looks at the boy again, the bald man leans down, and says “I’m proud of you” before stamping hard on Vane’s face, with a hard cut to black. We see Vane’s naked body rolled into a shallow grave

Dufresne pulls Silver over. De Groot is inclined to hand him over to the crew, which would likely mean his death. He isn’t going to risk his life, or commit Randall to an early grave with the uncertainty of not knowing he can trust the information in Silver’s head. Dufresne has brought a test. A page from one of Dr Howell’s manuals, for Silver to memorise in the next five minutes. If he cannot reproduce it satisfactorily he will be turned over to the crew. Silver protests that this is a terrible test, that he could have read the page a hundred times, not just for five minutes, so this proves nothing. Dufresne says he’s aware, but this is the best he could do

Mr Scott visits the Guthrie warehouse with a basket of apples to give to the slaves. He tells the woman who was next to him that he asked Eleanor to facilitate their release, that she wouldn’t have the guns without them. He is careful not to say that this is certain, but does tell her not to give up hope

As he leaves, Hornigold is waiting for him, and asks for his secret to putting up with Eleanor. He tells Scott that he believes Eleanor had the Ranger’s crew killed, but that without the bodies and people saying they left for Port Royal three isn’t anything he can do

“I asked you once to get her under control. The truth is, there is no controlling her is there?”

Flint storms into Miranda’s cottage. When he goes to Mr Guthrie’s room, she tells him that he isn’t there and has taken sanctuary on Mr Underhill’s estate. He demands to know why she wrote the letter, pointing out how if it weren’t for dumb luck it could have got him killed. She says it was to show him a way out of all this

"A way out? Have you no memory of how we got in? What they took from us?”

"What does it matter now?”

He repeats the words back in disbelief, repeating them silently over and over in shock. She tells him that this isn’t a life in Nassau, that there isn’t joy or love here, but that there is in Boston, and he can go there without the war he believes is necessary to make a life, and that it requires no blood, and no sacrifice

"It requires an intolerable sacrifice”

"To accept a pardon?”

"To apologise!”

"Apologise? Who will you be apologising too?”

"To England! They took everything from us. And then they call me a monster. The moment I sign that pardon, the moment I ask for one, I proclaim to the world that they were right. This ends when I grant them my forgiveness. Not the other way around”

“This path you’re on. It doesn’t lead where you think it does. If he were here, he’d agree with me!”

Flint leaves, slamming the door

Silver is finishing recreating the page. He protests again that he had three days with the schedule, but only three minutes with the page. He says to Dufresne that he must have been pretty sure he was the thief to have thought of the test, and he doesn’t think he had that faith in Randall, and wonders who told him, asking if it was Billy. Dufresne leaves without asking. Silver and Randall are alone together in the tent

"Right now at this moment, it is just as likely you’re the one that dies as I am. What if there was a way neither of us had to die today? I go to the crew, and I offer to be your caretaker. I’ll offer to look after you day and night, and give my personal guarantee should anything happen that it comes out of my share. I think I could persuade the crew to accept that. Then you’re back on the ship, all you’ll have to do is change your story”

"You’re a thief”

"Are you fucking kidding me?! Alright yes, I’m a thief. I took the page and I shouldn’t have, I should have counted my blessings to be put off that ship, but what can I say, Randall, I’m not a joiner, I never have been, but I’m willing to do it now so pull your head from your arse and let’s both live to fight another day”

Dufresne enters, and apologises to Silver. It seems de Groot was not satisfied with the copy. As he goes to grab Silver though, Randall starts accusing all the men there of being thieves. Dufresne concludes that it seems they no longer have a witness to accuse Silver before the crew

Mr Scott enters Eleanor’s office, and she tells him that, despite money being tight right now, she has managed to arrange for all the slaves to go free. The able-bodied men will be taken onto the Black Hind under Captain Lawrence to make up for his desertions, with subsidies and credits covering the cost. Eleanor has managed to gather the money to purchase the women, who will be offered a wage in her employ. She tells Scott that he doesn’t need to worry about her if he means to stay with her, and that she doesn’t just blindly trust Flint

“I’m not blind to Flint. I know he keeps things from me, but there’s no reason for you to feel threatened by my partnership with him. If you’re to stay with me, I need to know that I can trust you”

Scott tells her that Hornigold has offered him a chance to join his crew instead though

"If you need me, I will be here for you, but as long as you insist on pursuing this course with Captain Flint, I will always be tempted to interfere”

Jack is telling one of the prostitutes that the income she’s reported for the last two days isn’t believable, and she’ll have to vacate her room to make room for someone else. At that moment, another prostitute comes down to give him five pieces. Max comes down, and asks who she serviced, saying the client she saw leaving only desires to be swaddled while he sucks on a breast, and the price they’ve always charged for mothering is twenty pieces. When the prostitute claims he only had time for a handjob, Max slaps her and asks her to confess, and hope Jack will be more forgiving than Mr Noonen would have been. The prostitute turns to Jack and swears it will never happen again

"In my experience, if you do not discipline a whore, she will always take advantage. Get your fucking house in order”

As Eleanor is collecting the dregs from abandoned mugs at the tavern she finds Flint half-passed out at a table. She leads him to her office saying that he was supposed to be back before dark, and points out that any of his crew might have seen and just before the most dangerous journey of their lives, a pissed captain might not be the best thing for them to see, saying they could find reason to doubt him

"Perhaps a little doubting me is called for”

He sits down on the bed tucked away in an alcove

"Tell me we’re not crazy, you & I. To put ourselves through all of this when the outcome’s so uncertain”

"The outcome’s only uncertain for those who disbelieve. I believe in this place and I believe if there’s anyone who can do what’s necessary to make it something better, it’s you”

He stands up from the bed. They hold each other’s gaze and she seems to briefly lean in as if for a kiss. He rises up instead, kissing her forehead and leaves

The next morning Silver is onboard the Walrus with Randall as the ship is readied to set sail. Silver wonders if maybe Randall is smarter than he lets on, and Randall smiles knowingly as he talks

"Randall, you are a fucking puzzle. Part of me thinks you must be the luckiest halfwit in the colonies the way this all played out. Part of me suspects there’s something else going on here. I’m forced to wonder if you didn’t orchestrate this whole little drama knowing it would corner me into securing your return to the crew. I’m forced to consider the possibility there’s a lot more of the old Randall in that head of yours than you’d like to let on, that you’re not halfwitted at all, but a very shrewd operator who’s managed to obtain the benefits of sailing with these men while avoiding all the risk. That perhaps, just perhaps, you’re a goddamn genius”

Flint & Gates look at each other from the decks of the Walrus & Ranger, nodding at each other as the sails are unfurled. We cut to the tavern the night before, where Dufresne approaches Gates. He tells him that the situation with Silver is resolved for now, that Silver worked out that he already knew about the page, but thought Billy told him, although it may not be long before he realises who really did. He says there is another problem though with Howell & de Groot. Gates says that once at sea their focus will be off Randall and it will go away

"Actually, it’s not Randall that’s troubling them. It’s you

Having had some time to think about it, they’re not certain that you’re up to doing what’s necessary

The lying we could forgive, Singleton we could forgive, we could forgive all of it, but not Billy. That requires an answer

When the time comes, we need to know that you won’t stand in the way. I understand that he’s your friend, but once we have the money, Flint dies. No argument”

Gates agrees in a hushed, sad tone, saying there’ll be no argument from him. We cut back to Gates & Flint nodding at each other on their ships, each playing their part as if there is nothing wrong, as the Parson’s Farewell picks up and the ships sail off

In the blackness we hear the words of Vane’s hallucination of Eleanor, and see an eye open in the darkness, and then see a hand free itself from the dirt

“You could be strong again. You could resist me. You could take this whole fucking island from me. If only you weren’t so goddamn afraid”

The bald man and his men are gathered round in a circle. As the bald man takes a bite of some meat, he is stabbed in the back with a wooden spike. Vane is behind him, covered in gravedirt, still naked, with his eye swollen shut. As the bald man gets up, Vane punches him back down until he doesn’t get back up

[stilljumpingback]

(via Black Sails Episode 304 - XXII)

WELL-FORMED THOUGHTS

Let’s talk about Flint and his relationship to vulnerability.

In this episode, Silver makes two gestures of vulnerability to Flint.  First, he allows Flint to sit beside him while he cleans his stump with his prosthetic off, even though he has isolated himself from the crew to do so.  Second, after falling in the woods, he uses Flint’s shoulder as a crutch during the hike.  This is not necessarily surprising, since in the last episode Silver established a precedent of vulnerability with Flint in a bid for his partnership (by both admitting his role in stealing the Urca gold and in admitting his dependency upon the Walrus crew for purpose).

What is especially interesting to me is how Flint reacts to this.  Instead of using Silver’s vulnerability against him, Flint responds with vulnerability of his own.  In the dark of their cage, Flint tells Silver his past: about Miranda and “her husband,” Peter Ashe, and their goal of obtaining a universal pardon to introduce to Nassau in order to establish colonial rule.  This is something he’s told no one else (I don’t think Gates even knew this).  I do think this is partly because he thinks they will all die on that island, but even so, he wouldn’t have shared that with anyone but a Silver who had previously opened up to him.

What I’m saying is, Flint is desperate to love and be loved, to know and be known.  His role as a pirate captain has necessitated that he close himself off from all emotions save greed and anger.  Miranda was his one outlet, but even his relationship with her was guarded and abrupt until very recently.  Now there is a person in his pirate captain life who interacts with him as an equal to be trusted and relied upon, and it is no surprise that our secretly tender-hearted Flint blossoms under such attention.  He wants a safe place to be vulnerable, and for now, he has found it in Silver.

FRAGMENTED THOUGHTS

When Silver lets Flint in on his revelation about the bigger picture about the pardons, he says it is “the opening move in [the] attack.”  As things get murky and even Flint finds himself wondering why they’re fighting against what seems to be his original goal, it’s important to notice Silver’s choice of words.  The pardons they are being offered are an “attack” while the pardons Thomas envisioned were forgiveness.  TBD as the series continues.

“For whatever reason, when you and I speak with one voice, we seem to be able to compel them to any end.”

Why is Flint/Silver as the unstoppable dream team SO SEXY?  Full confession:  I did not ship Flint and Silver the first time I watched through the series.  I didn’t even think of it as an option until I finished and saw that fandom was all about them.  I remain a diehard James/Thomas fangirl, but I SEE IT, OKAY.  I see it.

Woodes Rogers has a very accurate summation of Eleanor:  “Because you’re smart without needing anyone to explain to you how to be.  And because you’re not afraid of being thought to be wrong when you know that you’re right.”  Later, when she admits the worst of herself to him via the opinions of those in Nassau (“That I’m untrustworthy, that I would turn on anyone at any time, no matter how close they were to me.  No matter who it hurt or how severely.”), he takes it in and then continues to use her as his senior counselor.  I’m not emotionally attached to this relationship, but I can totally see why Eleanor would feel seen and valued.

Jack the badass!  The way he opened the fort’s door, shot a guy in the head, and shut the door again??  UM.

Anne is very smart in this episode.  I think everyone in the show overlooks her, but she’s the one questioning why Vane is singled out as unforgiveable, and later she’s the one telling Jack that they’ve won.  They have an enormous treasure, and they can go learn French and live in Brussels.  Anne, honey, you deserve to be listened to.

I LOVE our introduction to Maroon Island.  The men and women who have escaped slavery are initially presented to fit into our historical narrative as “savages” covered in paint.  But they are immediately shown to be smart and prepared (littering their forest with traps) and civilized (in the good sense).  They have built a stunning city considering they started from nothing about fifteen years ago, and they have a system of government fun by the ineffably elegant QUEEN.  “She is everything here: priestess, governess, warlord.”

I love that the Black Sails writers thought, you know what we need?  Another strong female leader!  No wait, TWO.

MADI AND HER MOTHER.

I love them.

When the Queen asks who their captain is, Flint immediately assumes responsibility.  When she asks for the quartermaster, Silver pauses before doing the same.  Since this season is all about Silver learning how to be a leader, this is very indicative of his progress.

Treasure Island alert!  Ben Gunn joins the Walrus crew.

The only thing this show could do to make me like Hornigold for even a second is to have him warmly greet Mr. Scott and show him special attention.  Augh, fine!  You get ten seconds of my goodwill!

Mr. Scott, however, is being very problematic by offering to find the escaped slaves and return them.  Of course, we later learn that he actually found them and is helping them escape to Maroon Island!

Speaking of escaped slaves, we learn that Jack left their prison unlocked when the fort exploded, which…okay, that’s nice.  I’m glad he didn’t leave them there.  But this is framed as something practical more than moral, since by letting them escape, he prevents the English from using slave labor to rebuild the fort quickly.  This whole plot line (now ended?) has been very frustrating for me, but I suppose I appreciate that the show refused to make our heroes anachronistically heroic.

Hallucination alert!!  It’s a short one but a good one!

Miranda:  You’re curious again.  Ready to follow me through a door that is somehow less frightening knowing I await you on the other side. Flint:  I miss you. Miranda:  I miss you, too. Flint:  When we arrive out there, I am to leave you behind? Miranda:  Yes. Flint:  What if I were to stay?

Flint’s death wish is now fueled by sadness rather than rage.  He’s moving through the stages of grief quite nicely.

Silver goes on a field trip to meet Madi!  This is when the show steps up a notch.  So far it has been a story of oppression of white people by white people.  But instead of letting that be an analogy for people of color to see themselves in, Black Sails says, no.  We’re bring African men and women who were enslaved to the table and letting them speak about their oppression for themselves.  IT IS SO GREAT.

“There are one thousand men and women here.  Among them there is no shortage of anger or hate or fear.  Perhaps you have noticed.  They have suffered cruelties you cannot possibly imagine.  Sisters separated from brothers.  Husbands from their wives.  Mothers from their sons.  No one has greater cause to swear England an enemy and desire vengeance against her as we do.”

Mrs. Hudson is being nosy, and we don’t know why.

FIRE SHIP!  This is definitely one of the coolest naval strategies they’ve done so far.  The pirate fleet escapes, and England is down one ship.

Silver is confused as to why Flint is not plotting.  His knowledge of Flint’s psyche is revealed by this telling question: “Where are you?”  Flint is in 1705, which he tells Silver about in a stunning display of vulnerability (discussed in more depth in the Best Flint Moment above).

“Peter Ashe, Miranda, her husband, and I, we worked to obtain a universal pardon and introduce it to Nassau to eliminate piracy and restore colonial rule there.  I moved away from those things.  Inch by inch, I forgot it all.  And now, in this cage, in the belly of this thing that has swallowed us whole, I wonder if the civilization of Nassau isn’t exactly what I tried to achieve all those years ago.  If resisting it doesn’t set me in opposition to everything I once understood to be good and right.  To forgive.  To make order of chaos.  I wonder if the pardons are the victory, and that the most enlightened thing that I can do is sit still.  Accept what appears to be inevitable, and let this be the end of Captain Flint.”

I assume anyone watching the show knows that Captain Flint will not just sit still, but technically saying so spoils the next episode.  Whatever.  This is Flint’s dark night of the soul; he’s tired of fighting, he’s confused, he misses Miranda, and he wants it all to be over.  But I’m reminded of what Miranda herself once said about Thomas:  “Great men…are made by one thing and one thing only: the relentless pursuit of a better world.  The great men don’t give up that pursuit.  They don’t know how to.  And that is what makes them invincible.”

In the midst of his grief, Flint makes some Very Astute character assessments.  Billy’s lie is that he will fight his way out, and Silver’s lie is that he will talk his way past.  Flint is usually a combination of both fighting and talking, but now…he says he has no more lies within him.

Which is very FITTING, because when Madi confronts her mother, the Queen says she doesn’t trust “lying pirates.”

Madi is too trusting because she did not experience life as a slave.  The Queen is not trusting enough because she did.

Oh, and REVEAL.  Mr. Scott is Madi’s father and the Queen’s husband, which makes him a KING.  Our man is finally given the role he deserves.

[silverlovesmadi]

Black Sails s4 ep9: Last scene, Madi's state of mind and parallels

What is that feeling called when different senses of your brain are being stimulated at the same time? At the end of this episode you’re are left with so many different and conflicting feelings and conclusions. But one thing is for sure: how depressing and heartbreaking it was. For one: In the last scene you see Silver, Flint and Hands gazing upon the utter distruction in front of them. They were unprepared for it, blind too it (Hands wasn’t obviously, always the very neccesary voice of reason), because their inside turmoil was to great. And so again, Billy proves he was right and he wins. Rogers wins too, since his entire purpose of being has become his dedication to the complete distruction of all high seas piracy. What are we to take from this as an audience watching this from the comfort of our 2017 homes? How senseless and stupid ALL of it is? That the times they lived in only warrented tragedy? The only choice of “true” freedom being piracy for so many men (and women)? Former slaves included. Now, like I’ve been saying week after week, am I surprised of this outcome? Of course not. It was more of a “brace yourself, because YOU know what’s coming.” Sadly, our main characters didn’t. Sidenote: To see Billy spare Ben Gunn was so poetic in the sense that if he didn’t had freed Billy, the distruction of the Walrus and the massacre of the Walrus crew wouldn’t even have happened. This entire mess is Flint digging his own grave, if he could’ve mustered to work together for once in his life, to care about the concept of friendship the same way Silver does, to be an empathic being, they could’ve been prepared for this assault, but again we all know Flint, Billy knows Flint and here we are. I personally don’t care much for the pirate cause, because of it’s toxic hypermasculine nature, but damned did all those men die for nothing.

Everything what Madi said to Rogers was in true Madi likeness. To hear her confront Eleanor of her hypocrisy in episode 6 was already incredibally satifying, but to hear her confront Rogers on his bullshit, you could tell he is not used to a Black woman defying him like that. I truly wonder what Madi used out of that book Rogers wrote about himself. Because she was fighting her damnedest to maintain her composure, her eyes were watery, her face evoking so much emotion and turmoil. Meaning not all of her words corresponded with her true thoughts. She doesn’t know anything about what has transpired between Silver and Flint since being captured in Nassau, she has no clue. She’s never had the chance to have a good conversation with a man like Julius, who could possibly be a father figure. As “badass” as her speech was, because truely what Black woman wouldn’t want to give a colonial sociopathic dipshit like Rogers her piece of mind, Madi is acting from what she believes to be the most selfless way to act. However scared she may be and fighting not to show that fear, she believes that to choose her own personal and individual desires (Silver) over a chance to fight for a free world for her people would be the most selfish thing she could ever do. And “It goes against everything she understands herself to be.” She’s at an impasse, a dilemma, the same place her mother was when Madi knew she wasn’t able to lead their men through the first battle with the British Navy. She refuses that deal because she holy believes it to be the most selfless and self sacrifing choice to make. She is in it, part of it, not on the outside like us, the audience, so her mind isn’t clear. She’s deciding FOR her people, not WITH. Her word is law, because before her it was decided that the Maroon community would not be a democracy. She was prepared for this role since she was a child, saw her people’s constant fear growing up and growing up in freedom herself, albeit isolated and hiding from the still existing threat, allowed her to form her current ideology. It’s a horrible and tragic place to be honestly, to finally have such a chance to give your people that freedom they so desperatelly seem to want and to have to contemplate giving it all up to make a deal with the devil were in you have to aid them in maintaining said threat that has caused all these years of intense hatred and anger against the powers purpetrating it in the first place. To be in a place where she can continue her fathers legacy who can not have died for nothing. To, with her own eyes, see the enslaved on the Plantations being brutalized and to not do anything about it. To live in freedom, to enjoy freedom, but see people who look just like you not have the same thing. To not want to disappoint anyone, betray anyone and want to save everyone all at the same time. What a mental hell, which she’s able to hide very well. But it’s easier for her to want this because she was born free. Her people, who still live in fear, would far likely take that deal, despite the fact it would mean that they would have to help the BE recapture escaped slaves. On the outside Madi seems to be a radical when it comes to her cause, someone who chooses idealism over realism, but what truely goes on inside of her head we do not know, because she does not allow us to see it, so we can only go of on body language. Either way, whatever she chooses, it will be a damned if you do, damned if you don’t type of situation. She knows it, so she’d rather choose martyrdom, then to choose to become a villain against the thing she’s been prepared to fight for her entire life. Despite the fact that choosing Rogers’ deal would allow her people and Julians people to live another day. They would rather choose fear over war. All those decisions to contemplate trusted upon so young a person. It’s a horrible tragedy to be in such a position in the first place and for that reason alone very diffult to watch. My heart breaks for her.

I don’t have to point out the very obvious difference between Madi and Flint nature and motives here, that’s why it really annoyed me to hear her speak of Flint the way she did. As if he deserved to be spoken of as such, while at that very moment he was betraying her very cause. His war will NEVER be the same as hers. Weeks ago I commented on somebody’s analysis about episode 5, wondering if Madi knew about Flint’s true motives, so I loved seeing the Madi x Silver flashback in which this was confirmed. He can not lie to her, keep things from her, that absolute trust between them is so important. A true tether moment. But she ended up working with Flint more closely anyway because, while Silver was missing, he convinced her that he wanted the same thing. Silver didn’t know about this, in the same way Billy didn’t know about Silver and Flint’s budding friendship in his absence. So, with that missing information and context, he panics and responds with a “Jesus, you sound just like him.”

I wonder, does Madi still believe this about Flint or is she willing herself to believe it like Silver has all this time, because admitting to yourself that your judgement was wrong, that you let yourself be pursuaded because you wanted it to be true so badly, is so much harder?

Special note: I personally loooved the flashback scenes between Silver and Flint, the in depth dialogue, the tranquility in and the length of the scenes, THE SWORD FIGHTING, Silver’s very apparent vulnerability and evasiveness, constantly struggling to talk about his past, like there is a deep sense of shame, like he truly believes it to be nothing, mean nothing compared to Flint’s story. I’m okay with that, he wants his present to be his origin story. It could also be that he instinctively didn’t trust Flint with that type of vulnerability, but didn’t realize it at that moment. We’ll see if he reveals it or not next episode. Only one episode left, so many loose eeeeends still, my God! How are they gonna do that in a consistent, clean and satisfying way? I hope the series finale is a hour and a half, because they have A LOT of ground to cover *laughs nervously*.

[feathersandblue]

Black Sails 4.10, unfiltered thoughts (SPOILERS!!!)

This all comes out in a bit of a jumble, it’s all a bit of a mess in my mind, and whatever I’m writing here is not going to be the end of it. This post has changed while I was writing it, and maybe by the end of the day, I’ll have reconsidered quite a few things ...

Anyway, here goes. 

JFC, what an ending. 

They did everything one could wish for, we got happy endings, our faves survived, and we got Thomas Hamilton back. But in some points, I found it suprisingly - and a little disappointingly - tell, don’t show?

This was admittedly not what I expected, almost too much fanfiction and too little Black Sais. It’s not that I wanted anyone to die, but I honestly hadn’t dared to hope. So that was a nice surprise, in a way, but the whole thing was ... kinda anti-climactic in only giving us glimpses that didn’t really offer any surprises?

I loved that they got back to Max’ conversation with Silver right in the beginning, and that they actually had Silver send a spy to find out whether Thomas was live. I always thought he might. The way they made use of the whole thing though ... 

Am I meant to assume that Flint is going to stay in that compound and be happy doing farmwork? 

For a while, maybe, for a while I can see it. 

But then he better takes Thomas and runs. 

Don’t get me wrong, I am so fucking relieved that Flint didn’t get killed, and that he ended up being reunited with him. I AM SO FUCKING RELIEVED.

But that Thomas and him would end up broken in spirit so much that they stayed on that compound? Thomas has been imprisoned there for how long? He got imprisoned for all the wrong reasons, and I don’t know how long he’s been in Bethlam and how long in that camp, but it’s a bit like they’re suddenly throwing his ex-boyfriend in as a cellmate, so they can be imprisoned together for the rest of their lives? Nope. Inacceptable. 

Okay. So the next step is definitely to break the two of them out of prison. Clearly, the final word has not been spoken on this. Give Flint a couple of days to recover, a bit of peace and quiet and sunshine, and a couple of conversations with Thomas, and then we’ll see...

It was an extremely lovely ending, and it’s really wonderful that they didn’t kill off any of the remaining faves. And Featherstone as the new governor was a nice touch, though I’m not really sure why Grandma Guthrie would have settled for him.

In any case, all the background talking took a lot of impact from the scenes we saw. The whole thing toward the ending was a little too much telling, too little showing, and the full intensity of both Flint’s reunion with Thomas and Rogers’ defeat were .... less intense than what should have been, especially with Toby Stephens and Luke Roberts as two of the best actors this show has. These scenes could have been a lot more powerful, if these two had been allowed to speak. We got too much of Silver’s and Jack’s narration and too little of Flint’s and Rogers’. 

There was too little time for the scenes to play out in full, though, and I think the writers did it was best as they could, I don’t know they could have done any better ... 

So basically Nassau is now right were it started, only with a little more law and order and a little less piracy. What happened to the maroons? Are they legally free now? I find it great that just as in real life, the revolution basically ended the same way so many others do: all returns to normal after the exchange of some key players. Instead of Richard Guthrie, we have Featherstone, instead of Eleanor, we have Max, and Nassau continues to exist not quite as a republich of pirates, but more as a place of commerce. Ultimately, not so far from what Eleanor would have wanted... I like that, I actually like that, that after all  this carnage and destruction, it all comes full circles, there is a lot of realism in that. 

But I have to be completely honest hear, and please bear in mind that this is only my own, personal opinion: I didn’t like the scene where Flint was delivered into that compound, and Silver’s voice in the background talking of how he ceased to struggle because he didn’t have the strength anymore, or because he was tired of it. I don’t like it at all. 

Silver’s decision to do what was necessary to end the war was completely understandable. I found it extremely well done, especially the scene with the cook during the battle. And the way Silver was able to analyze his own behavior afterward, seeing that he had come very close to turning into Flint. That was very, very satisfactory. But I still  wish the show had him and Flint part on more of an equal footing. I also wish Madi hadn’t forgiven him so easily, or rather, that the writers would have had her deliver some truths to him too. I think she should have pointed out to Silver that his “peace” also meant that slavery would continue, which was easier for him to accept because he’s not in danger of being enslaved ... 

The scene on the island between Silver and Flint was a little weird in a way. It was Flint who wanted to retrieve the cache, and Silver who wanted it to remain buried? If it had been Jack’s and Silver’s part from the beginning to have Flint imprisoned, why didn’t Silver confront Flint, instead of the other way round? I don’t like how Silver ended up having the moral high ground, but then, I know he had to be Flint’s end, one way or another. I just wish the show had taken a little more time to put it all into perspective. 

God, I really wish Silver had broken Thomas out of prison instead of sending Flint in. Though I take a bit of personal satisfaction from the fact that I included this version in my list of possible endings. And a part of me wishes we could have gotten a scene of Silver and Flint reconciling. A scene of closeness between the two of them, acknowledging their friendship, the love between them - the admission on Silver’s part that he actually owed Flint a whole lot.

But hey, that’s fanfic is for...

[gwydionmisha]

Black Sails XXXIV:  Everything Burns

Cut for length.

* We open on Ruth and Silver reminding us of the political situation between pirates and the ex-slave community as part of their negotiation.  They are knocking chains off slaves, to my great relief.  Silver offers them a chance to beat Billy, but not kill him in exchange for Ruth trying to make an alliance with the Underhill ex-slaves and Julius' faction.  They beat Billy and chain him up.  Julius is the better man, which is lucky for everyone, but I always wonder why it is the black characters in things always have to put aside their completely justified anger for the greater good.

* Eleanor and Madi have been cast as symbolic sisters since season three, and thus mirrors of each other.  Two strong women with authority, but one representing Nassau, the pirate Republic, the other the more idylic ex-slave settlement.  The first words they speak to each other here are a cold exchange about whether they trust Flint, who is having the meeting with Jack from last episode in the distance.  "Before this war began, before everyone's roles changed, your father mistrusted Flint as much as anyone in Nassau did."  Eleanor references Mr. Scott in this exchange, because of course, he's as much on her mind as Flint and the immediate political situation.  She has only just learned of Mr. Scott's death and Madi's being alive and is still processing it all.  Eleanor is, of course still angry that as an enslaved person, somehow Mr. Scott's priorities didn't revolve around her, because privilege.  Eleanor only freed Mr. Scott when he asked explicitly after his kidnap on the Andromache.  She may pretend she loved him, but once she became her father's factor, she had the power to free him and it never once crossed her mind that he might want it or have other aspirations for himself.  She may feel betrayed but she is not.  She was keeping a living human being prisoner.  That prisoner chose to use what power and influence he got through her to free other kidnapped people and good on him.  That he did encourage and help Eleanor was a gift he never owed her but chose to give.  Eleanor doesn't see it that way, being the same person who never thought of freeing him until the moment he asked.  "You were my sister.  There is very little that I remember from when I was young, but I remember this.  You were older.  You were beautiful.  I revered you.  When you were told that my mother and I were dead, I have to believe that it affected you. You had just lost your mother.  But if things were as I remember, my mother and I were your family, too.  And yet, through all the years thereafter that my father cared for you counseled you, labored for you he never told you that we were alive.  It would have been so easy to lessen your suffering by divulging the secret.  And yet, he never did.Have you yet asked yourself why that is? My father didn't mistrust Flint.  My father mistrusted all of you."  And rightly so, rightly so.  While Madi and Eleanor both frame themselves as sisters, I think it is important that while dying, Mr. Scott made clear he had one daughter and that was Madi.

* Jack rightly points out that it's his money too and the deal is terrible.  Flint comes along peacefully as collateral, having given his word even though the new information pretty much has killed the deal and Eleanor is currently outnumbered.  I suspect he knows the deal is dead too, but is counting on chaos and wanting to be where he can do the most good when Woodes Rogers hits the beach with the horrible surprise Jack has darkly and correctly predicted.

* I'm going to telescope the plotty bits together by character a little as everything is super intercut and thus a pain to bullet point.  Featherstone sensibly sees the writing on the wall, grabs the money, Idelle, and the sex workers and sensibly flees while sending word inland to Silver to catch him up on the whole Spanish invasion thing.  Meanwhile, in the fort Max and the two guys theoretically in charge are debating their response when the sentinel brings word that Woodes is with the fleet, so they don't bombard the ships or resist.  Sigh.  Max leaves to warn Eleanor, as no one else will, but meets up with Jack, who rises above his fury at Max betraying him to capture by Woodes Rogers and takes her along on his sloop.  He's delightfully snarky about it, but rises to the occation once it's explained.  "'I betrayed you, Jack.  Tried to trade your life for my own personal gain.  Lied to Anne to her face about it.  Please, Jack, I Beg of you. Is there any way you can forgive me?' That was the general sense I had of what I might hear come from your mouth were I ever this close to you again."  Look, I've written a lot about Jack's realistic flaws and blind spots, but when it comes down to it, he really is as good a man as a throat slitting pirate can reasonably be. He also figures out Woodes Rogers invited them in before she could tell him.  Jack may not be as bright as he thinks he is, but he's still plenty clever. The Spanish opt not to chase the Walrus, so it's free to meet up with Jack.

* Silver comes to talk with Billy, but basically monologues explaining why he chose as he did.  "I did not want this.  Flint is my friend, but I know what he is. I have no illusions about it.  But for all the dangers he presents, for all his offenses the one thing he's never done is force me to choose between him and you.  That, you did.  But it isn't too late to find a way to remedy it.  You made a terrible mistake and you paid a terrible price.  But we're at war and you're an asset. Despite what's gone on, you are my friend. And the men out there have had their pound of flesh. And our men Billy, I could walk out there and tell them the sky is red and they'd believe me. That's the power you've given me. But I have to know this is over your vendetta against Flint, your need to see him dead or departed from our story. I have to know you'll never put me to a choice between you again. Swear it and this all ends."  Billy is having none of his reasons, guilt, or thinky thoughts just like Israel Hands.  "You chose.  Live with it."

* Flint and Eleanor have a brief conversation that reminds us again that they used to be friends and allies.  Back in the beginning of everything.  I think Flint was genuinely fond of her and respected her, and the scene in the prison, along with their interactions in this episode reminded me of that impression I always had during their season one partnership.  He tends to use the same tone with her he uses with Madi and Silver.  his pirate friendships are never open the way his friendships with Thomas and Miranda were, as he can never trust people now the way he did then, but I think he only uses this tone with a select few he actually does like and respect in the pirate world, even though he is manipulating them at the same time.  he reminds us a last time of their shared vision and that she was the Pirate Queen of Nassau.  "You know, there was a time not so long ago, when you shared their concern, when you saw what I saw: The benefits of being free of British rule. To make the new world something more than just an extension of the old. Is it so unthinkable that that might be again? You were a pirate once.  Stranger things have happened."  It is at this point they spot a Spanish force, and Flint does what he always does in times of trouble:  He retreats to Miranda's house.

* Silver meets up with Julius under Ruth's auspices.  Julius is sensibly sceptical about what a white pirate's word is worth given the whole slavery and Billy getting their families tortured and the mercurial nature of power amoung pirates.  "Amongst pirates, loyalty changes quickly, it seems.  If a man can be replaced so easily, how can I know that his promises won't be, too?"  I know it's a throw away line right before they all discover how fucked they are by the Spanish invasion, but i think it's one of the fundamental questions at the heart of the show, threaded through everything, particularly Eleanor's arc, but really could be said of everyone.  It's particularly pertinent given Jack's accusations against Max two scenes ago.  While Silver's decision to dig in at the Underhill estate is tainted by his personal concerns with Madi and Flint, it actually does make sense to fight the first battle where they have supplies and some fortifications instead of out in the open with a ragged column of march.  

* The burning and literal rape of Nassau visibly distresses the man who caused it, Woodes Rogers, who is getting zero sympathy from me because everything that follows is entirely his fault.  he tells them the pirates are likely at the Underhill estate.  Then he gets the news that eleanor was out doing exactly what she told him she'd be doing, which he ignored, because of course he did, the shit.  He punches the messenger anyway as if anyone has ever been able to stop Eleanor from doing what Eleanor wants to do short of putting her in literal chains, and really, he looked to the people in the fort to be going along with her plan until he showed up with an enemy fleet to burn and kill anyone.  Again, no sympathy, because he knew damned well who she was and she told him out right what she was doing.  He tries to get the Spanish to not kill his wife.  Their leader points out it's too late to stop what Woodes Rogers started.

* Jack is in command of the two ship fleet and insists they wait a while for survivors, which is very Jack in a good way.  He does lend men to continue the work on fixing the walrus while they wait.  Jack's expression when Max asks to see Anne speaks volumes.  I do love the face acting on this show.

* The Max and Anne scene pretty clearly parallels the Silver and Billy Bones scene even though they are shot from different angles.  In both you have the betrayed person lying down, horribly injured, in a dark, shadowy wooden location and the betrayer monologuing a 'why I did it' non apology to the betrayed person who is having none of it.  "I loved you, and I betrayed you, but I cannot apologize for it. I did what anyone would have done when confronted with the same impossible choices.  I apologize, you will know it is a lie, and I do not wish to lie to you ever again." "Leave." "No.  I am going to stay with you. I want to take care of you."  "Get the fuck out."  I have long said the two I desperately want to survive are Max and Anne.  I stand by that.  One of the things I particularly love about Ms. Kennedy's acting all series is how restrained it is.  She works very hard at the calm, impassive mask, but the real pain the character feels bleeds through.  It is one of the reasons I have enjoyed Max and Anne together so much.  Anne wears the masculine strong but silent archetype like armour, with her pain and anger occasionally breaking through in flashes.  Max wears her traditional feminine presentation as exactly the same sort of armour, but with Max and Eleanor occasionally her pain, anger, and vulnerability break through.  They match.  I keep hoping they will work it out by the end and sail away to friendlier waters together, but I'm not holding my breath.  Right now though?  The breech is as deep and wide as that between Billy and Flint/Silver.

* Flint figures out what Woodes Rogers did, because on this he can be rational.  Eleanor is still lying to herself about Woodes Rogers and loyally insists what clearly happened can't be what happened.  After all the Spanish rape of Nassau is a thing she witnessed as a child and never forgot.  Because it is at the root of her separation from Madi, it is subtext of everything that follows.  The thing that is happening right now is her nightmare, and the thing that shaped her, and caused very specifically by a man claiming to love her.  I have said she was doomed from the moment she condemned Charles vane to death, a man she once claimed to love.  I was right that Woodes Rogers would be the death of her.  I was wrong as to the how.  In any case, Flint has already adjusted to the change of circumstance and has made new plans.  Sentries spot the Spanish troops following them.  Eleanor sensibly hands over command of the combined force to Flint, him being the obvious choice to lead in a battle over two people with little combat experience.  He  has them hold fire until the Spaniards are exposed.  They fire and charge, winning, but three men flee to warn the main force.  Flint leads most of the men to hunt them down, thus setting the immediate stage for the tragedy to come.

* They give us a nice long shit of a sentry guarding Miranda's house and Eleanor's face in the window before we turn inward for a shot of Madi reading one of Miranda's books in a beam of sunlight worthy of Vermeer.  This conversation is beautifully shot, and I think that matters.  The camera keeps finding beauty in the ruins of Miranda's life as the mirror sisters have a last conversation that goes a way towards healing the breech between them.  They start physically separate, but end up setting a fire together, kneeling in Miranda's hearth, a very symbolic fire that first symbolizes their cooperation, but ends up destroying Miranda's very symbolic house.  The visuals perfectly work with the narrative.  (I am going to miss this show so much).  

Eleanor, for all her pride, actually does exhibit a little empathy here, a small bending that begins to acknowledge that Madi and her Mother paid the larger price for Mr. Scott's staying in slavery to help other people to freedom.  It's not enough, not even close to enough, but it's a start. "It did affect me.  When Mr.Scott...when your father told me that you and your mother had died it affected me a great deal. It must have been hard to live hidden away for so long."  Madi responds, "It was hard to be away from him. The rest of it my mother did the best she could with the rest of it."  This next bit was a call back in Eleanor's arc to her conversation with Max about where they'd have gone if they'd fled when Max wanted, but also speaks to Silver's last conversation with Madi where he asked if being together would be enough for her and didn't wait for the answer.  "She must have done well. I've found myself thinking about it. Of walking away from Nassau, from England, from civilization. One can be happy that way, can't they? A life of isolation and uncertainty as long as it is lived with someone you love And who loves you back.  It is possible, isn't it?"  I think Madi's answer is as much for Silver as for Eleanor, a simple, "It is." At this point Eleanor crosses the room to sit across from her, you get another nice shot of sentry still being alive, and unfortunately a Spanish soldier also being alive because Flint forgot to double tap.

I can't help but think that this conversation, held in Miranda's house, with one of her books on the table, might not also be intended as an echo of James and Miranda's debate over whether to seek a pardon, and his answer to Peter Ashe referencing Odysseus when he spoke of the death of Flint.  The spirit of Miranda hangs over all of this, and I think that is entirely intentional.

* Ben Gunn frees Billy before the battle ostensibly because they might get over run and they'll need him to carry on the fight either way, but I've also seen how Ben Gunn looks at Billy, so think their might be extra insentive there.  In any case, Billy legs it as far as I can tell.

* I'm going to put all the Pirate battle stuff in one place so I can talk about the death of Eleanor and surrounding issues in a block the way I did for Charles Vane.  She deserves that.

* Unfortunately pirates aren't generals and they get flanked.  Naval battles with ships, cannon, and marines are extremely different than 18th Century land battles with inaccurate pistols/muskets, infantry, and lancers.  They are very separate skill sets and tactical situations.  The pirates not being great at this is pretty accurate.  It's a maxim that an individual skilled warrior will beat a skilled soldier, but get enough skilled soldiers together and it's going to go badly for the warriors.  The technically win the engagement, with the help of Julius' reinforcements, but they lose half their men.  What happens with the next hundred, or the next thousand?  The eventual outcome is clear.  (The engagement Flint and Madi's people won gainst the British last season was very specifically set up to take advantage of traps and terrain to help guerillas beat conventional forces.  This is classic warfare with some siege tactics and a flat terrain battle favoring cavalry and massed infantry, a completely different scenario).

* Miranda's house has been slowly deteriorating to ruins, the one place Flint was still a little bit Mcgrawaw.  We've seen it slowly turning into a wreck inside as Flint moves further and further away from who he was, unmored from the Hamiltons.  The exterior looked all right, but inside, decay, broken crockery, and now violence.  Exactly like Flint.  This was the one safe haven he always retreats to in reverses.  The thing I thought when it caught fire was: the last bit of Miranda "I'm trying to save your life!" Hamilton went up in smoke.  Of course it did.  It pretty much had to, just as Eleanor couldn't long survive the burning of her beloved Nassau, which was the very center of her.  Jame's face as he watched it burn....  Ouch.  He does her the kindness of lying that Woodes Rogers hadn't done this terrible unforgivable thing to her.  I'm against lying to people to protect them just generally, but this is a clear exception.  Flint takes the word of Madi's loss to Flint in a short exchange with face acting on both sides to break one's heart.  They sensibly pack up and retreat to the ships, Flint tactfully giving the orders to give Silver a moment of private grief.

Eleanor makes it sound like Madi died with her last words, but I am not convinced Madi is dead.  I am expecting a Silver like return later, though of course I could be wrong.  If she is dead, it would be fridging, because it wouldn't serve her arc, but only manpain.  I think Black sails is better than that, so my money is on came to and fled.

At least Eleanor went down fighting, as much as the violence done in her refuge would have appalled Miranda.  It sucks it was a nobody who killed Eleanor Guthrie, but she died as herself, fighting tooth and nail for every breath and trying to protect unconscious Madi.  Emotionally, I might have rather had Jack or Anne kill her for Charles, but she had to die one way or another and right about now, I think.  She was Nassau, intimately entwined with it.  I just can't imagine her without it, and neither could she, really, judging from that conversation she had with Max about where would they have gone if Eleanor had just run with Max as Max wanted.  I think Max's lack of fixed destination suggests that while she wanted out desperately and loved Eleanor, in her heart of hearts she couldn't picture Eleanor any place else long term either.  I think about Eleanor trying to leave New Providence to talk to her grandfather and Berringer stopping her, Nassau politics preventing her going, sucking her back into the island.  The one time she did leave, it was as a captive, and circumstance brought her right back again.  I think of faerie confusing the ways, I think of Escher's endless staircase.  

Eleanor could not be Eleanor anywhere but Nassau, and the moment Woodes Rogers' colonizing hand is away from Nassau, she becomes herself again.  When he returns with fire, he burns her heart out.  I think she can no more be without Nassau than an Oread can be without her stone or a Naiad without her river.  Once Rogers brought the Spanish in, it had to be a Spaniard to kill her because the Spanish burned Nassau.  Who she became was born in that fire sacking, and her life ended by fire and sword when her Nassau died the same way by the same hand.  The Nassau they will build on the ashes won't be her Nassau, but something else entirely.

I do not think she was fridged because her arc worked on it's own terms symbolically and emotionally.  The ends were tied up.  The conversation with Vane about her Father that finished them as sure as the noose she had them put round his neck; the mirror scene in prison with Flint about Mr. Scott and the way it changed how she saw herself and her past; the conversation with Max that tied them up; her final reconnection with Madi; the burning of Nassau and her running out of options for real and for good.

* I still blame Woodes Rogers.  He knew who she was and the choices she made and was likely to make.  If I could see the flaws with the Spanish plan, a man as clever as Woodes Rogers could.  He didn't know it would go wrong in this way, but honestly, anyone could see it would go wrong, and my surprise is the Spanish Governor didn't kill or have him killed under cover of the confusion of the invasion in revenge for his brother.  He mutilated her for more than a season and his disregard of her intelligence and political acumen and his pride and vengefullness did this.  He may pretend otherwise, but it was Flint trying to save her the way he always tried to save Nassau (with as much effect, alas), and the Spanish he let loose who killed her very directly.

Woodes Rogers becomes more himself when she is not around, which likely means he will be even worse with her dead.  I think he's always been a pirate, and the thing in his backstory with the Spanish is part of that, but there is an issue of whether he is seen to be a pirate or not.  He tries to present himself as civilized, but there is always a suspicion in the Navy, in Whitehall, in society in general of what he truly is.  he is tainted the way the Guthries are tainted.

I am not ruling out the Spanish having further nastiness planned for Woodes Rogers and I do think narrative he is getting a taste of the frustration and impotence Eleanor experienced with no one listening to her under the English colonial dystopian regime, what it had to have cost her to be with him.

Flint and Vane both treated Eleanor as an equal and a Power.  Woodes didn't even when he was listening to her.  I do think it was kindness to lie to Eleanor as she was dying, though in any other circumstance it wouldn't have been.  

* Jack holds firm on one more hour's wait for the survivors.  Most of his side of the Featherstone conversation was characteristically eloquent face acting.  Featherstone learns that Max saw anne and tries to cheer her up a little, which is kind, by mentioning how she protected Featherstone from Berringer when betrayal would have been so much easier.  Ms. Kennedy's acting is understated and heartrending, the tremble in her lip, the quaver in her voice, the crack of her stoic mask. "It wasn't supposed to end like this. How can we all have sacrificed so much and none of us has anything to show for it?"  (I want to see Ms. Kennedy act in all the things.  Please tell me she's been cast in another project worthy of her considerable skills?)  She has lost everything: her power, her security, the Urca gold, and most importantly of all Anne, who is absolutely irreplaceable.  

* The survivors turn up, and soon Flint has the Walrus, while Jack retains the sloop.  The Walrus need proper refitting and Madi's people need to head home.  Max is, of course, cut out of the council as to what to do next having betrayed them so thoroughly and destroyed their fleet.  Featherstone is kind enough to tell her what was decided.  Flint gives her a glare that could kill.  

Max: A war against civilization? Jack: What? Max: Civilization has been winning that war for 10,000 years against men richer, braver, stronger, and smarter than you. How can you be so blind not to see that? Jack: What the fuck are you talking about? Max: You mustered a force stronger than you had any right to hope for. You hit the governor when he was at his weakest. And at what result? Eleanor is dead, Anne is nearly dead, and the governor is sitting in Nassau in my fucking chair victorious! You cannot fight civilization from the outside in. And your plan now is to follow that man into more of the same?! Jack: "What result?" That result was because of your goddamn betrayal! Just now, that man and several others wondered aloud whether the smartest thing to do wouldn't be killing you and throwing you in the sea rather than giving you another opportunity to fuck us! For reasons I can't begin to fathom, I argued against it. Bark at me again about braver, stronger, and smarter men, and I might decide to revisit the issue! Max: If killing me seems like the smartest thing to do, then it is obvious to me none of you have any idea how to defeat Woodes Rogers. Jack: And you do?! Max: You're goddamn right, I do! Eleanor is dead, Anne is nearly dead, and I want him to pay for all of it dearly. Do you want to help me or not? When Flint heads south, we head north. Jack: What's north? Max: Eleanor Guthrie's grandfather.

Jack gives her what for; Max proves yet again she is the smartest person in the room.

* Silver and Flint understandably think Jack has abandoned them.  I'm expecting a dramatic, violent return at a key moment, and I really can't wait to see how that all goes with the Pirate Grandfather.

* The scene with Silver and Flint as they approach Madi's island reminded me strongly of the conversation Flint and Silver had after Silver lost his leg.  Maybe it was the lighting; maybe it was the tone; maybe it was the Sacrifice.  Flint gives the one genuine apology in the episode: for the loss of Madi, not expecting to be forgiven.  Flint, after all has lived with a loss of that kind and the endless guilt and regret it brought him.  Silver absolves him of blame, "It wasn't your fault. It wasn't your fault."  I wanted silver to tell Flint about Florida now, but of course he didn't, this moment is for Silver's grief.

* When the Walrus arrives, they find an army and an explanation for why they didn't send the gold.  "They had already begun to arrive when Kofi came with your request for the cache.  You can understand why I didn't let him go. They came from other islands, the colonies, maroons from camps like this one, pirates from as far away as Massachusetts.  They heard that Nassau had fallen and they came to join us.  The revolution you promised has begun!"

Black Sails Master Post: http://gwydionmisha.tumblr.com/post/142320219370/black-sails-master-post

Black Sails XXIX: http://gwydionmisha.tumblr.com/post/156791409647/black-sails-xxix

Black Sails XXX:  http://gwydionmisha.tumblr.com/post/157082720302/black-sails-xxx

Black Sails XXX Chat: Mostly Anne Bonny, Woodes Rogers, and Eleanor Guthrie (Mildly Edited.  Some bits moved for clarity.)

Black Sails XXXI: Tragedy, Oracles, and Adventures in Foreshadowing: http://gwydionmisha.tumblr.com/post/157190307477/black-sails-xxxi-tragedy-oracles-and-adventures

Black Sails XXXII: Fault Lines http://gwydionmisha.tumblr.com/post/157520579047/black-sails-xxxii-fault-lines#notes

Black Sails XXXIII: Decisions, Decisions! : http://gwydionmisha.tumblr.com/post/157787978897/black-sails-xxxiii-decisions-decisions

Black Sails Chat XXXI-XXXIII : http://gwydionmisha.tumblr.com/post/158001448406/black-sails-chat-xxxi-xxxiii

[thatswhywemusyc]

Bandcamp Giving 100% of Share From Sales to the ACLU

Throughout history, music has been a tool for shaping the world and the way we live in it. Hymns led enslaved Americans to freedom. Folk songs drove the labor movement that guaranteed Americans the lunches and breaks we enjoy today. Hip-Hop gave a voice to the unheard as metal channeled the rage of political oppression. Music, for the individual, is a source of catharsis, bliss, and friendship; for the masses, it is a force to change the world.

Not all of us are making music with a cause. But all of us can use our love of music for good. Today, February 3rd, Bandcamp is giving their share of proceeds to the American Civil Liberties Union, an organization of legal experts that has fought for over 100 years to ensure that the courts of the US uphold our laws and constitution. Over 450 bands and labels have joined the cause.

We highly recommend you buy some music today. If you have no idea where to start, check out some recommendations by the Musyc staff - we want to do our part. Alyssa Mount-Bycholski: Anything released by Rose Gold! I’ve Been obsessed with them lately!

Ari Laichas-Malamud: Saint Sister.  I spend a lot of time scouting artists and while wading through a lot of British indie rock from Ireland, I came across these girls they take traditional Celtic music and modernize it. Reminds me of Eliza Carthy as a duo. So outside of what I normally listen to, but so fantastic.

Bri Bacchus: The Flats, their album Auburn In The Everlast is incredible. Spirit City is also another great band. Also, Nominee!

Brooke Daly: I believe Circa Survive is offering some b-side demos! Also, the duo Ellevation (with rapper Ellevan and Elise Bauman).

Connor Meinert: Noname, milo, Sunsquabi, Glue 7 0, Dj Drez, Plini. Poetic hip-hop; distant, funky electronic music; Conscious beats; and orchestral, melodic djent abound.

Lilit Zakaryan is currently lost in the forests of Los Angles, so we’re bringing in four guests to make up for her missing knowledge. Former Musyc writer Mars Simons, budding producer Tristan Flint, Portland folk rocker Taylor Kingman (of The Hill Dogs), and my roommate Gabe.

Mars Simons: Mothership. Doomstress. The Infamists. Ganesha. All hardworking bands from the land of Texas!

Tristan Flint: Fox Stevenson. He brings a unique voice, always changing up the game.

Taylor Kingman: Fruition - The hardest working band I know. Tethered to the road. 3 master songwriters and a powerhouse rhythm section. Unforgettable live shows; Jeffrey Martin and Huck Notari - These guys are the realest of the real when it comes songwriting. The write songs that command a pin-drop silence in the loudest bars. Just a guitar and the truth.   The Resolectrics - Tight and tasty roots rock power trio. Just the right amount of everything. Masterfully creative guitar work w/ deep pocket bass and drums; Felix Hatfield -  Truly timeless mysterious genius mad man song maker. Just listen. You will be in tatters; either from laughter or tears;  Mike Coykendall - Prolific veteran songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentallist. Space folk wizardry. Mind-melting one-man-band performances.

Gabe Hyatt: Polish Ambassador, Beats Antique. (Connor’s note: Both are awesome live, especially if you like dancing and belly dancing)

Written By: Connor Meinert

[modern-slave-reflection-blog]

Week Two: Chapters 11 - 20

The trials and tribulations of motherhood, as well as the individual versus the collective a both themes well depicted throughout Linda’s plans to bring freedom to her children. Ignoring the fact that Linda’s initial reason for getting pregnant was a selfish act to spite Dr. Flint, she proves to be a selfless mother and overall person at only nineteen years old.

The first tribulation which Linda encounters follows the birth of her first born Benjamin - and again after the birth of Ellen. “The child shall follow the condition of the mother not of the father” is a constant reminder to the young mother who is unable to give her children a name and little hope for the future. (66) Linda’s children are symbolic of how her situation has now worsen and will forever be so, similar to Hester Prynne’s daughter Pearl in The Scarlet Letter whom she refers to as her little imp. In both instances, the young children act as reminders of the most negative aspects of their life: Linda and her children’s enslavement and Hester’s loveless marriage and her sins. Despite the fact that both are these were consensual acts, this is similar to that of a rape victim who’s child acts as a reminder of such a situation. The second trial which Linda encounters is separation from her children following her initial escape in the hopes that it will ensure their freedom. Linda performs a selfless but dangerous act which many others do not understand such as Mrs. Flint, who claims that “she hasn’t so much feeling for her children as a cow has for its calf. If she had, she would have come back long ago, to get them out of jail, and save all this expense and trouble.” (87) A mother does what she believes is best for her children and Mrs. Flints understanding of Linda’s decision is condemnatory because she, as a white slave owner, has never had to feel the sufferings of motherhood as a slave.

As not only a mother, but a sister and granddaughter as well she is forced to make decisions as she is constantly reminded that her actions effect more than just her children and herself. She hates to see her grandmother suffer from the anguish she might feel but is also faced with the opportunity to shield her children from the horrors of slavery as her family was did her. These are of course not the only instances in which Linda must make seemingly hard decisions. When the whites open up the church to the slaves and free blacks, Linda agrees to teach an old man how to read. Despite the fact that it is unlawful and risks endangering both of them, she does not hesitate in her decision. Which in modern society, I can say without a doubt, most would not do the same. The United States may have once existed as a place where people strived to help others through hard times, however, the time in which I exist is certainly not. Many human beings are selfish beings in current times because they have the means to do so, unlike the slaves who band together in the hope of finding a better life. In the text, Linda suggests to her readers, who at the time were most likely abolitionists, that they should do everything in their will to end slavery because “there are thousands, who, like good uncle Fred, are thirsting for the water of life; but law forbids it, and the churches withhold it.” (63)

There are, at the very least, two sides to every story. Slavery and religion are no exceptions to the rule. Religion can have both beneficial and detrimental consequences. The initial clergyman of the church aims to keep slavery within the south intact, the slave owners use the idea of morality to further their own objective. They manipulate the slaves in to being obedient, even to the most reprobate masters. The second clergyman on the other hand aimed to teach the slaves their worth and how to better their lives. The second man is of course looked to be in the wrong and he and his family are practically alienated because they choose to help the slaves. Scenarios like this shows the two sided nature of religion. While it can bring a sense of fulfillment to ones life, there are those who use religion to their own bias greed. They are hypocritical and able to condemn others without anyone looking back on their sins and judging them. This has of course existed for centuries and will continue to exist long after I have passed. Religion and morals act as shields for most so they can feel as though they can do and say whatever they want without punishment by placing the blame on a higher being.

[clubofinfo]

Expert: Police state, corporate state, denuded duncery state — a blistery bunch of 80 percenters lost in a carnival of debt, malignant food, maladjusted education and the folly of a full-throttle powerfully propagandist media like a proverbial copper girdle wire around our collective consciousness. That So Called Liberal (sic) Press (sic) playing triple dirges for the death of any emaciated version of democracy with a capital D for dollar. Feeding frenzy of the old and new rich class, and a lot of wannabe’s lusting after lotto, You Tube fame, anything from the comfort of plasma 72 inch Big Brother. Isaac Asimov’s I Robot, going on 70 years soon, and that’s the way of the Zionist drone hucksters, those lovely glassy-eyed Jeff Bezos, Zuckerberg, Gates, Dell types, and the entire class of probiotic Kombucha libertarians who have no interest in climate change, clean oceans, the growth in poverty, wars, pestilence, resource theft, toxins, on-the-spectrum child birth rates skyrocketing, art, revolution, real human to human relationships, nature, other species, blue skies, discourse, food sanity, clean water, education. Read this from NewsSpeak, err, Newsweek rag: The world’s top tech companies are in a race to build the best AI and capture that massive market, which means the technology will get better fast—and come at us as fast. IBM is investing $1 billion in its Watson; Amazon is banking on Alexa; Apple has Siri. Google, Facebook and Microsoft are devoting their research labs to AI and robotics. In September, Salesforce.com announced it’s adding AI, called Einstein, to its business software. Its value, CEO Marc Benioff said at the launch, will be in ‘helping people do the things that people are good at and turning more things over to machines.’ AI will lead us into the mother of all tech revolutions. The last time anything came close was around 1900, when the automobile, telecommunications, the airplane and mass electrification all came together at once, radically changing the world from the late 1800s to the 1920s. Such times are particularly frightening. ‘A society that had established countless routines and habits, norms and regulations, to fit the conditions of the previous revolution, does not find it easy to assimilate the new one,’ wrote economist Carlota Perez in Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital, her classic book. ‘A sense of impotence and frustration accumulates and a growing incongruence is experienced between the new and the old paradigm.’ Amazingly, these people are many cards missing from a full deck of humanity. Shelter, baby, sane sanity, and calm, less frenetic anxiety, less is more, and more is monstrous — obvious necessitates in any hierarchy of needs paradigm. More time for humanity to do what, is the question about these libertarians who think robotics and computers will turn us all into Athenians? More reading and schooling and community-it-takes-a-village action? Right! To help thy neighbor in endless bouts of humanitarian sharing? Right! To bring distribution of health, education, nourishment, and sanity to the rest of the world? Right! So, the goal of AI and robotics is, drum roll, to grease the palms of the millionaire and billionaire class and their classless middle managers and technocrats. More: The danger of artificial intelligence is in its behavior, and whether it is conscious or possesses other attributes of human thought is irrelevant. Computers that can drive cars and fly airplanes certainly pose dangers to humans and in fact Google has gone to great efforts to design safety into their self-driving cars. Computers that can run the entire world economy and provide constant companionship to all humans will pose great danger to humans. Malicious motivation is irrelevant to many of the dangers posed by super-intelligent machines. There are two forms of ‘wireheading’ to guard against: computers that delude themselves about their observations of the environment and computers that modify the source of approval for their actions, for example modifying humans. There are also dangers from what Omohundro described as ‘Basic AI Drives.’ Super-intelligent machines may be tools of competition among humans, who will be careless about these dangers because they are caught up in the heat of competition. And, Bill Hibbard, academic and AI tinkerer, is many times quoted as someone questioning AI, but let’s look at this, from James Barrat, author of Our Final Invention: Artificial Intelligence and the End of the Human Era: That’s the cornerstone of an idea called the ‘intelligence explosion,’ developed in the 1960s by English mathematician I.J. Good. At the time, Good was studying early artificial neural networks, the basis for ‘deep learning’ techniques that are creating a buzz today, some 50 years later. He anticipated that self-improving machines would become as intelligent, then exponentially more intelligent, than humans. They’d save mankind by solving intractable problems, including famine, disease and war. Near the end of his life, as I report in my book Our Final Invention, Good changed his mind. He feared global competition would push nations to develop superintelligence without safeguards. And like Stephen Hawking, Stuart Russell, Elon Musk, Bill Gates and Steve Wozniak, Good feared it would annihilate us. ‘They’ll become self-protective and seek resources to better achieve their goals. They’ll fight us to survive, and they won’t want to be turned off.’ The crux of the problem is that we don’t know how to control superintelligent machines. Many assume they will be harmless or even grateful. But important research conducted by A.I. scientist Steve Omohundro indicates that they will develop basic drives. Whether their job is to mine asteroids, pick stocks or manage our critical infrastructure of energy and water, they’ll become self-protective and seek resources to better achieve their goals. They’ll fight us to survive, and they won’t want to be turned off. Omohundro’s research concludes that the drives of superintelligent machines will be on a collision course with our own, unless we design them very carefully. We are right to ask, as Stephen Hawking did, ‘So, facing possible futures of incalculable benefits and risks, the experts are surely doing everything possible to ensure the best outcome, right?’ These conversations intrigue the controllers and their minions, especially in our institutions of higher learning where a scant few are also the controllers of the narrative and worse, the curriculum. Imagine the dialogues around poverty, resource theft, cultural immolation with farmers, activists, revolutionaries, the parents of 11 million babies dying a year from treatable (mostly caused by malnutrition) disease. Imagine the former prisoners talking about reform and the enslavement of their lives and families’ lives by the punishment society, largely ramped up by the very inventions of the robotics-AI-Big Data yahoos, espousing their idiocy at conferences in the Rockies and at the foot of their superconductors. Imagine the millions of lost human lives caused by the financialization schemes dreamed up by computer whizzes. The model of terror for New Orleans, Detroit, Flint, across the land and globe, the Bhopal-driven corporations utilizing the best and the brightest and their inventions of creative human destruction. The political classless sucking on the crack pipe of power and money. Imagine, these conferences and interviews INTERSECTING with the age old problem of the rich and haves and the majority, poor and haves not, never in the same room. From that mush-making propaganda and infotainment and dirty entertainment, to the daily dehumanizing life cycle of drive-thru’s, Amazon Fresh deliveries, tellerless banking, on-line K12 and college, and the endless Windows and Screens of mush that sucks any agency and verve out of the average person as they navigate the endless bureaucracy of the modern 21st Century/Beyond Kafka Road Show of Stiff Arm Saluting to the Digital Gods. Can anyone see the efficacy of actually calling upon us, the masses, the ones stuck on the hamster wheel of generational poverty, generational indebtedness, generational running from the repo man (now some cyber security systems embedded into all the tools of democratic life – DMV, Labor, Medicine, Insurance, Credit Bureaus, Background Agencies, Drug Screeners, Fact Checkers). I have spasms of the old Molotov way, when I hear these supposed eggheads, and our superficial lust for another Turning or Watson. Oh, these billionaires and their underlings, the geniuses, sure, driving this absurdity of technology, colonizing Mars and Uranus, endless projects of tinkering, while coral reefs melt, farms dry up, millions perish yearly, while these captains of industry fly their AI-captained drones into the orifices of the dying while sending out gigatons of meaningless junk into both the ether and on our highways and byways. Food, Shelter, Safety, Education, Health? Shit no, if you are not part of the White Jewish-Christo-Emirate Class – Big questions derailed in this punishment society scrambling to make sense of 100 years of robber barons and elitists running the show, the neo-con, neo-liberal, neo-fascist, neo-libertarian, neo-gulag show: Where do I live, social worker? Portland, Oregon, where rubber and spewing diesels rule the day and night, 24/7? At least 10 states (California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Texas, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Arizona, Florida and Colorado) offer less than 30 affordable rental units for every 100 potential renters. Will Mexico pay to build a wall to stem the American exodus south? You think those mental tinkerers give a shit about people, of the soil, pushed away from the lands – rivers, beaches, islands, mountains, deltas, steppes, savannas, fjords, ice-fields, hills, canyons, forests, deserts, jungles, cloud islands, plains — to solder the shit of their digital orgasm, and to glue, hammer, weld, galvanize, ionize, nanosize, titrate, liquefy, saw, mill, percolate, mine, harvest, spray, tap, refine, package, burn, acidify, synthesize, denature, distill, stitch, sew, de-ionize, plow, scrape, smelt, sluice, pulverize, butcher, hoe, excavate, fertilize, fumigate, decapitate, denigrate, assemble all the other supplies, junk, consumer items, raw goods, commodities, toys, weapons, propaganda tools for the vaunted minority in the First World. The digital creeps love inventing and marketing the toys of lobotomy and anti-social thought control – one giant replicator for Call of Duty and variations on a theme . . . and all the crap that pits people against people, race against race, religion against religions, class against class, gender against gender, nation against nation in this clawing and shooting and pummeling cultural slipstream that teaches each next generation the devaluing of ”the other.” The controllers this side of the next Kool-aide batch coursing through each and every home’s tap water spigot are having a hay day, as Americans are floundering now more than ever, waiting for the next 3.0 iPhone, pining over the next Ridley Scott movie of salvation, at the ready to stump the Trump in meaningless spasms of attacking just his side of fascism, leaving the rot-gut democrats and libertarians to continue their giant tapeworm of destruction to grow and grow. Now, especially, this abomination out of the closet (Familia Trump) — reflective of the stupidity and tough-guy-in-the-mirror/on-Twitter-Kardashian-wanna-be but never really able to back machismo that is America the Red-White-Blue of the continuous hematoma in the pericardium — IS holding the sputtering heart of America, and Trump and Company, LLC, Kosher Certified, are drawing the ire and bombastic support of the leveling Americans with a little “a” for abomination. All these spasms, or even silent nightly sweats, after this last shit-hole election, when all along, the blackness of Capitalism has been the rancid pustule smothering each next generation – Baby-Boomer, Yuppie, Millennial, Gen X,Y, Gen Zed, Zombie. Always with us, days of genocidal floodgate openings, first nations the real genocide purloined by all manner of cultures, religions, shit-bag people — always here in the place called Turtle Island: those robber barons, slave holders, financiers from over the pond, Rothschilds, the 1.3 percenters called the Chosen People, shifting massive trillions through their sluices of pain, collective punishment gulags, legal gymnastics and technological Kendo moves their forte now. Colluding Talmud-citing, Bible-Thumping, Manifest Destiny-humping peoples from another womb. As I lay Dying, William Faulkner  – And the next morning they found him in his shirt-tail laying asleep on the floor like a felled steer, and the top of the box bored clean full of holes and Cash’s new auger broke off in the last one. When they taken the lid off her they found that two of them had bored on into her face. Soylent Green is people, you’re goddamned right. Money, derivatives, the billionaires’ four-timing shuffle, the perversions of debt and credit, the heavy sack of coagulated blood hanging like a dowager hump on every family’s next and next generation. Now daily the liberals, the so-denatured Americans of the little-to-the-left-of- center adherents of the continuous never tell a lie Georgy Porgy Washington, they cluck and claw and turn pink about this Mafioso President, the one on TV, paid for and delivered by the American people-Nielsen Ratings-Arbitron-$50,000 a second commercial satisfaction. They all tune in, now don’t they, happy Capital Americans. The un-Holy Publishers print his vile, art of the deal, publish the vile of every one of them – traitor, general, politico, POTUS, and shyster peddling invented history and deafening feats of pseudo psychology and mainstream entertainment. We are all the rump and laughing stock in his apprentice way of raping entire classes of people, this POTUS Numero Four-Five. Like a .45 stuck in the craw of every American and Third Worlder! In the mix, though, the controllers, they keep ladling pap or pabulum, pushing the spine loosening pacification into each bronchial of our lives — respect for all peoples, bring in the consensus crew, respect all opinions, all people while they kill us with their smiles. Imagine, we should be teaching who to hate, how to hate and in all the meaningful ways, how to utilize hate into action. Imagine, we teach these toddlers and the college ones and all of us in these sappy companies to do the opposite of what should be – thou shalt hate and seek justice for crimes perpetrated by the elite onto humankind. WTF! So, we unteach anger, unteach retribution, unteach action, unteach revolution, unteach how to spot a precipitant. Every minute we should be auguring that ability to fight back, and rebuff, not only the fascism of the Holy Republican Party and a Trump or Netanyahu, but to hate the entire sociopathic nature of corporations-militaries-punishers-bankers-investors-renters-technologists. Instead, we get pundits and middling folk attacking anyone who might go out and march and scream and shout and dervish in the streets when the police state comes down hard like Gestapo, their weapons of Zionism glimmer in the sweat of the mace and industrial tear gas. I see them go to Costco, see them find more days off lifting false dreams in their Disneyland world, their American evil seeding of cultures with the poison of travelers checks and exceptionalism . . . . like resistant tuberculous, the Americans hit those beaches and slum-poverty tours, cruises, enclaves in Costa Rica, anywhere on earth, the westerners end up like leeches looking for more soft flesh. Americans . . . Germans . . . Canadians . . . Brits . . . Australians . . . . From sea to shining oil slick sea! Interestingly, I go back to Andre Vltchek, on one of his American book and film tours, “In the USA – “I Cannot Write!”: I was shocked by the state in which I found the United States. I left many years ago. I left New York, which was, for more than a decade, my home. I never returned, except to launch my books and films, and to see my friends. I never stayed for long time. Two weeks, this time, was the longest in years. This visit broke me. It exhausted me. It thoroughly depressed me. I saw clearly how grotesque pseudo-morality, disgusting religious concepts and hypocrisy influenced and ruined entire nations, client states, worldwide, especially in Asia and Africa. Yes, I believe in collective guilt. Holding US citizenship, I share the guilt. And therefore, I work non-stop, not to wash my hands, but to stop the madness. I am convinced that the West, the white race and its lackeys abroad, have no right to rule over this Planet. I saw enough to back my conviction. The West is finished, its culture dead. What is left is unattractive, even horrifying. There is no heart, no compassion, and no creativity. And those billions of people beyond the Western realm should not be dying, while forced to support the aggressive individualism of the post-Christian, post-Crusade colonialism and fascism of Europe and the United States. Ahh, living the dream, daily, watching people running around in tights and redneck t-shirts, everyone looking like they are in a Walmart clothing competition. Or the fake ones. All the inside jokes, the memes, from Facebook to the next recipe for spicy hot wings, these Americans lavish in the trash of the airwaves, Netflix, and the entire Madison Avenue tripe fed to this country of ennui, NASCAR, polluting football, and endless buffets. I easily find how much I drown daily – my comeuppance —  the fruity intercourse-interchanges with the people I work with, those neighbors, the frightened ones, and the idiots running the streets with their lifted-up pick-ups with six-foot by eight-foot USA and Trump Makes America Great flags streaming like swastikas ablaze. So many corners turned, USA, the world of half-assed thinking and doing, until we come to today, POLICE STATE USA, thanks largely to the colluding Press, and my daily reminder, how one of my professions ended up in the sewage pit. From Robert Parry, Consortium News: It was on Dec. 9, 2004, when the mean-spirited mainstream media’s treatment of investigative journalist Gary Webb led him his career devastated, his family broken, his money gone and his life seemingly hopeless to commit suicide. It was a moment that should have shamed all the big-shot journalists who had a hand in Webb’s destruction, but it mostly didn’t. Oh these precious decades like Rip Van Winkle narcolepsy of the collective soul, until we are all soiled by this lazy, anxiety-filled hibernation: As nightfall does not come at once, neither does oppression. In both instances, there is a twilight when everything remains seemingly unchanged. And it is in such twilight that we all must be most aware of change in the air – however slight – lest we become unwitting victims of the darkness. — Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas It’s easy to go on and on about this police state, and the policing by the corporations – swabs on cheeks, background checks, no time off, work 24-7, black out those holidays, no excuses for terminal gridlock, wage thieves. This is the mortician on duty and manning the radio and air ways – you are guilty until pronounced dead. You are suspect until you’ve given pound of flesh and left kidney for the cause of Capitalism. You are shit out of luck because we have the backing of the Sixth Fleet, a million marching SWAT teams, endless surveillance of every waking blink and snoring seizure. It all comes down to basic rights, right? In a blistering dissent in Utah v. Strieff, Justice Sonia Sotomayor blasted the court for holding ‘that the discovery of a warrant for an unpaid parking ticket will forgive a police officer’s violation of your Fourth Amendment rights.’ Sotomayor continued: ‘This Court has allowed an officer to stop you for whatever reason he wants—so long as he can point to a pretextual justification after the fact. That justification must provide specific reasons why the officer suspected you were breaking the law, but it may factor in your ethnicity, where you live, what you were wearing, and how you behaved. The officer does not even need to know which law you might have broken so long as he can later point to any possible infraction—even one that is minor, unrelated, or ambiguous. The indignity of the stop is not limited to an officer telling you that you look like a criminal. The officer may next ask for your consent to inspect your bag or purse without telling you that you can decline. Regardless of your answer, he may order you to stand helpless, perhaps facing a wall with [your] hands raised. If the officer thinks you might be dangerous, he may then frisk you for weapons. This involves more than just a pat down. As onlookers pass by, the officer may feel with sensitive fingers every portion of [your] body. A thorough search [may] be made of [your] arms and armpits, waistline and back, the groin and area about the testicles, and entire surface of the legs down to the feet.’ If you still can’t read the writing on the wall, Sotomayor breaks it down further: ‘This case allows the police to stop you on the street, demand your identification, and check it for outstanding traffic warrants—even if you are doing nothing wrong… So long as the target is one of the many millions of people in this country with an outstanding arrest warrant, anything the officer finds in a search is fair game for use in a criminal prosecution. The officer’s incentive to violate the Constitution thus increases…’ Need any lessons on spread eagle poses, downward facing dog body cavity assists, frog march locomotion tips, and upside facing black boot gymnastics? God, the American Psychological Association, here, mealy-mouthing: While much was known about psychologist involvement in detainee abuse prior to the PENS (Psychological Ethics and National Security) report, what has become progressively clearer is that the methods used by interrogators, guided by Behavioral Science Consultant Teams (BSCTs), have been intentionally shaped by psychologists. Many of the most objectionable interrogation strategies had been re-designed by psychologists from U.S. military programs, primarily the Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape (SERE) program, originally intended to protect U.S. soldiers from undesirable thought reform. According to international definitions, and the understanding of the SERE program itself, SERE-based interrogation procedures constitute torture. Official reports and numerous journalists over the last several years have provided extensive documentation depicting how these SERE techniques were used in U.S. interrogation practices by SERE-trained psychologists, both in DOD and CIA detention facilities. Yet, however despicable, psychology should never let these ‘enhanced techniques’ cause us to ignore the only somewhat more subtle techniques prescribed in the Army Field Manual, the common guide for all U.S. military interrogations. In the Army Field Manual, allowable interrogation tactics include deception, fear escalation, ego harm, isolation, and psychological disorientation. Regardless of whether these techniques are ethical for professional interrogators, they are morally problematic for psychologists, given the clearly circumscribed ethical underpinnings of the profession. http://clubof.info/

[sensitivefern]

April 16 [1855]. 5 AM – To Hill. Clear and cool. A frost whitens the ground; yet a mist hangs over the village... I scare up several snipes feeding on the meadow’s edge. [...] From the Hill-top looked to the Great Meadows with glass. They were very smooth, with a slight mist over them, but I could see very clearly the pale salmon of the eastern horizon reflected there and contrasting with an intermediate streak of skim-milk blue, – now, just after sunrise. [...] PM – To Flint’s Pond. A perfectly clear and very warm day... Noticed the first wasp, and many cicindelidae on a sandy place... I got so near a grass-bird as to see the narrow circle of white round the eye. The spots on the Emys guttata, in a still, warm leafy-paved ditch which dried up, are exceedingly bright now. Does it last?

[Thoreau, Journal]

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charlock | Brassica kaber The seeds may be used in place of black or white mustard seeds... the leaves are, of course, edible... Tennyson:

A field of Charlock in the sudden sun... a cloth of palest gold.

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fringe tree | Chionanthus virginicus Zones 3-9... this species is officially determined to be ‘widely underutilized in the landscape’... Fringie is dioecious, so provide gals and lads... no cultivars exist that are worth considering... the Asiatic version, Chionanthus retusus, is similar... the fruits are large blue orbs...

[The Nonstop Garden]

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‘Please, Mr. Johnson, we don’t mean to interfere in any way. All we ask is, please, sir, don’t give us a flat top’. [...] Inside the compound, one could relax a bit. Johnson had committed apostasy, probably, but they still hadn’t gotten it. They only paid for it. The outside world remained as out of it as ever. The new masses still struggled in the middle-middle ooze. The bourgeoisie was still baffled. The light of the Silver Prince still shone here in the Radiant City. And the client still took it like a man.

[From Bauhaus to Our House]

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Sunday. Went with the Epsteins in the afternoon to the Beatles film The Yellow Submarine. Amusing but almost two hours of animated cartoon is perhaps a little too much – Surrealism, Dali, Cocteau, Disney. [...] Wednesday. Lunch with Wilfrid Sheed: very interesting. He has polio and walks with a cane; spectacles, a face which indicated unconsciously a good deal of suffering endured... he said that Father Sheen had allowed himself more and more to cheapen himself as a popular exhorter. He had inspired the Catholic journalist of The Hack.

[Edmund Wilson]

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On May 30, 1539, Hernando De Soto landed his private army near Tampa Bay... He accompanied Pizarro to Tawantinsuyu, burnishing his reputation for brutality – he personally tortured Challcochima, Atawallpa's chief general, before his execution... For four years his force wandered through what are now Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Texas, and Louisiana. looking for gold and wrecking most everything it touched. The inhabitants often fought back vigorously, but they were baffled by the Spaniards’ motives and astounded by the sight and sound of horses and guns. De Soto died of fever with his expedition in ruins. Along the way, though, he managed to rape, torture, enslave, and kill countless Indians... [He also] brought pigs.

[1491]

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❚Norma McCorvey, the "Roe" in Roe v. Wade, died at age 69 today.

The 2017 Miss Germany will be crowned in Rust tonight!

'Blind sheikh' convicted in 1993 World Trade bombing dies in U.S. prison

WHO’S Trump’s ‘Enemy Of The People’? HOORAY, IT IS US! Rebecca Schoenkopf Donald Trump, he’s this guy. Has “special people” and “enemies.” His “special people” is anyone who will give him $200,000. His “enemies” are... the entire Free Press of the United States and the World, minus Fox & Friends, who are always so nice. Now, we’re not saying Donald Trump specifically called us out by name as his enemy — not like when Alex Jones specifically called us “fake news” and made us ~~laugh and laugh all the way to the Jew Bank~~ sad. No, he just called everybody the “enemy of the American people,” which is super cool and not Hitlery at all.