#very james imo. i have been deep in my james thoughts recently.... <- person who has such a delusional and non-canonical vision of james

[foursaints]

how are u saints have you listened to any good songs recently

tennis boy sent me this one & i've been listening to it so much !

[firestorm717]

Book!Stephen vs. Movie!Stephen

I've been making my way steadily through the Aubrey-Maturin books, and I feel compelled here, in the middle of Post Captain, to dump my thoughts on Stephen Maturin. Now, I fell in love with Stephen in the film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World because of his intellectual curiosity, passion, and deep mutual affection for Jack, which is evidenced by the sacrifice he makes on the Galapagos islands. Paul Bettany looking very fly in that frock coat certainly helped! Based on Paul's characterization, I formed a mental image of Stephen as essentially a pacifist who can fight when pressed (he holds his own during the boarding of the Acheron), but who otherwise disdains the warmongering of the rest of the Royal Navy crew, including Jack. Movie!Stephen never struck me as a man who enjoyed fighting or killing, and he seemed largely ambivalent to the war going on around him. His reason for serving on the Surprise was 1) access to new flora and fauna at exotic locales and 2) his friendship with Jack.

This is more or less the characterization we get in the first book of the Aubrey-Maturin series, Master and Commander, and I was quite satisfied with it though I found Stephen a bit cold at times. However, in the second book, Post Captain, Patrick O'Brian seems to have completely retconned Stephen. He's now an intelligence agent, and not just any agent, but a top-level deadly James Bond assassin who can shoot the pips right out of a playing card and has ZERO qualms about murdering Jack in a duel over a woman! I mean, what the hell?! Is that really what we're going with here?!! Patrick minces no words about Stephen's underlying personality: when he's in murder-assassin mode, he is described as "cold", "reptilian", shooting with "machine-like precision". Not ONCE during the lead-up to the duel does Stephen show or feel a morsel of regret that he will most likely kill a man whom he called friend just a day ago (and who recently gifted him a narwhal tooth that Stephen desired dearly!)

The massive contrast between book!Stephen and movie!Stephen slapped me so hard in the face that I stopped reading at that point. I just can't imagine Jack/Stephen ever being genuine friends again, even if they later make up (which I am told they do... off-screen), when Stephen has no compunction about shooting Jack dead. Yes, yes, I know dueling was typical of that time period. And yes, I know Jack technically threw down the gauntlet, though IMO Stephen initiated the fight with his criticism of Jack, which he knew Jack would take badly, as he wanted to confront the issue of Diana (the woman they're both in lust with and who not-so-coincidentally friend-zoned Stephen).

So yeah, call me biased, but I really HATE Stephen in Post Captain because he's nothing like the Stephen I adore in the movie and in my personal head-canon. I don't know if I can finish this book.

Addendum: Stephen also thinks some VERY unkind thoughts about Diana after Diana rejects him, such as that he's glad she's losing her good looks and hopes that he'll be the fallback option. I mean, Christ man, that's some bitter incel level shit. The lady doesn't like you - get over it. And frankly, Stephen, with your attitude and penury, it's no wonder she won't give you the time of day.

I know I'll get a bunch of hate for posting this in the male-sympathizing fan groups, which is why it's going on my personal Tumblr.