#c; james flint

[avastyetwats]

Behind Closed Doors

Continued from here. @fornassau

The kiss was reciprocated instantly and Flint was grateful. He won't say it out loud, but he fuckin' missed him during the time he was gone. For... what? Three days? Far too fucking long for Flint's liking, but such was the life of a pirate. It took them from home, took them from each other, for days at a time, though they always came back. They always returned home to Nassau, but now they had something else to return to: each other. But again, Flint wouldn't say that out loud. It was too... intimate, wasn't it? Romantic was probably a better word and they weren't romantic. Or at least they were trying not to be, but there were some moments where it started to feel as such. Where touches, or even kisses, became too soft and gentle, where praises became almost sweet and sentimental, where feelings came into play that weren't just physical or sexual, where Flint almost said things he shouldn't. Where he wanted to, but he couldn't. Fuck, he wanted to, though.

And there were moments where he thought Vane did, too. Where perhaps he even tried but Flint stopped him either with a kiss or by cutting him off and talking instead or leaving wherever they currently lay. Things needed to remain physical and private, but that was becoming harder with each day. It was becoming harder with each kiss, with each touch of their hands, with each moment he was wrapped in Vane's arms feeling safer than he had in a long time, with each moment he was simply near Vane, wishing to be closer, wishing to be with him longer. Wishing to be with him.

Those thoughts, those feelings, changed how he was kissing at his neck without Flint even realizing. Kisses that, moments ago, were rough and dominating, were now soft, like he wanted to take his time with him and just feel him, just taste him, to drown in him, and he was practically clawing at his chest as though desperate to feel him, but when Vane speaks, it snaps Flint out of his daze. Fuck. He actually forgot about that damned map. The reason they were in this room in the first place. Well, one of the reasons.

He pulls away from his neck to look him in the eyes for a moment and then down at the paper in his hand. He actually got the fucking map. Not that he doubted he would. He learned long ago not to doubt him, and sure as hell not to underestimate him. "Took you long enough," His words sound insulting, but the smirk on his face conveys otherwise. He reaches for the map and gently pulls it from Vane's hand, but he doesn't unroll it. No. He moves to the table by the bed, sets it down and returns to the other Captain. "It can wait." It wasn't often Flint put aside the possibility of treasure and riches for something else unless he had no choice so it said a lot that he did so in this moment because he did have a choice. He made his choice. Though, the blood rushing south into his cock certainly played a part in that choice.

He undoes the belt looped through his trousers and sets it, as well as his weapons onto the table nearby, his eyes locking with Charles' again. "Doesn't feel much like I'm taking anything at the moment. You seem so willing to give it all." He smirks, feigning disappointment as he closes the distance so he can start on Charles' trousers next. His words were meant to challenge the other man, but he figures Vane knows that. After all, they were both all about the challenge. Whether out there or in here behind closed doors.

[illuminated-in-darkness]

Ex-Allies Black Sails Musical Parallels | IX. XXI. XXVII.

I spent a year rewatching Black Sails and tracking all the bits of music that repeated at any point during the show, and my findings are reinforcing that Bear McCreary is a genius and this show should have been called 'parallels that will kill you over and over again'* (tag | chronological)

[vocesincaput-arc]

I apologise ahead of time for my brain becoming overtaken by 'Silverflint' again for the first time in over 2 years.

If you've seen Black Sails, you know can probably understand.

[storkmuffin]

The reason I keep watching this show even though I hate the protagonist popular blorbo so much is (a) James Flint, Anne Bonny and Max as well as the things that men do and say for Charles Vane, (b) because the protagonist isn't in it all that much but also (c) the show lays out clearly the reason I dislike this character.

Yeah. This is very boring to me. Any character that is this - no one from nowhere? I have a brick-wall block from investing in them. At all. I take it that it stays like this whole time for John Silver. Yawn x 1,000. This is a fictional trope I find never less than lazy, uncreative & cowardly. COME UP WITH SOMETHING, MAKERS.

And then there's the fact that he's a conman. I learned in the most unexpected way that I can find it in myself to be invested / stay interested in all manner of evil doers, but I cannot get behind conmen.

Oh and then there's the endless lying:

That wasn't you, that was Billy Bones.

That wasn't you, that was James Flint.

Ugh he puts me in SUCH a bad mood every time he does or says anything.

[heliza24]

Wilhelm and Sara as A Plot and B Plot Protagonists

This meta was originally a part of two-part answer to an ask box question, but since I've seen the idea of Sara and Wilhelm as parallel characters catching on recently, I decided to repost it as it's own meta for easier reference. This is one aspect of my personal Young Royals interpretations I'm most passionate about, so it's been great to see people start to talk about Sara and Wilhelm this way, and I look forward to future discussion. Ok, here we go:

Let’s talk about story structure for a minute, specifically TV story structure. Most TV has an A plot and a B plot (and sometimes a C plot too). In old school cable procedurals, the A plot would be the mystery of the week, while the B plot would be about whatever was happening in the characters’ personal lives. If there was an overarching mystery or storyline that tied the whole season together, that would be the C plot. As you can guess by how they’re named, the A Plot would take up the most time and do the most to drive  the episode forward. The B plot is next most important, etc. Once shows started to become more serialized in the age of streaming, the concept of A and B plots changed a little bit. Now the plots are divided by character and theme. The A plot will be headlined by the protagonist and will explore the main themes of the show. The B plot will be headlined by a secondary protagonist, who doesn’t have as much to do as the A plot lead, but is still answering a dramatic question that relates to the central themes of the show. A lot of times the primary and secondary protagonists’ actions influence each other, but they don’t share a ton of screen time. (If they did, their stories wouldn’t be separate.) You can think of the A and B plot protagonists as two sides of the same coin. They’re intricately connected, they’re exploring the same ideas, but they rarely come face to face, and they often represent different perspectives on the same themes. Black Sails is probably my favorite example of this. (I’m not as active in the Black Sails fandom as I am in the Young Royals fandom, but Black Sails is probably my all time favorite show and I absolutely love all the ungovernable pirates over in the Black Sails tag. Shout out to them). James Flint is the main protagonist and headliner of the A story, but Max is the secondary protagonist that headlines the B story. Both are struggling with the question of how to achieve and wield power in an unjust world, and their political maneuvers consistently influence each other’s plots. They share a lot of secondary characters across both of their plots, but they themselves never interact. So that’s one example, and if you look around at your favorite shows you’ll be able to find lots that adhere to this formula, including, I would say, Young Royals.

I think a lot of people are kind of subconsciously looking for this kind of structure, and have decided that Simon is the protagonist of the B plot. I understand this, because we all love Simon. He’s really well written and acted, his personality is so compelling, and his chemistry with Wilhelm is great. I spend a lot of time writing him in fic (I’m the writer of all the Simon content in Heart and Homeland) so I understand this impulse. But if you were looking for Simon to be anchoring the B plot in season 2, you might have been disappointed. Because in reality I don’t think he’s the secondary protagonist. I think Sara is. 

Sara is set up as a foil to Wilhelm, the main protagonist, in so many ways. I always say that the driving dramatic question of Young Royals lives with Wilhelm, and it’s something along the lines of “should I conform and live the oppressive life that was designed for me, or rebel and find my own path to happiness?” Sara is wrestling with a similar question that’s kind of the inverse of this; for her settling into a prescribed role in the Hillerska class system initially seems like a relief. So maybe for her the dramatic question is something along the lines of “is the price of fitting in worth it? Will it lead to true happiness?” They feel so much like opposite sides of the same coin to me. 

So Sara and Wilhelm are both trying to define themselves in relation to their families and also the class system. This comes up in the similarities of their family structure (they both feel very connected to their class position through their families; they both have complicated relationships with their mothers and bad to negligible relationships with their fathers; they both have a deep connection to their siblings) and in the relationships they choose to embark upon. They’re both navigating a very serious and complicated first love. They’re both dating across class (in the opposite direction, a perfect example of the “different views on the same theme” aspect of primary and secondary protagonists). They both have concerns about how and when their relationships become public, and by extension are both playing in the sandbox of themes around privacy and authenticity that defines so much of the show.  

Both have difficulty regulating and recognizing their emotions. Sara seems to exhibit alexithymia, a common aspect of autism that makes it hard to recognize one's own emotions. Wilhelm has been taught to repress his emotions, which he does well until he explodes (like when he got into the fight at the top of the series or when he yells at his mom on the phone). He’s also managing a lot of physical symptoms of anxiety. 

Both also struggle with questions of justice and how to make things right. In the beginning of season 2, Wilhelm is initially determined to destroy August because he thinks August will never repent, but by the end of the season he’s starting to realize that this was the wrong technique. He realizes this largely because of Simon; he only puts down the gun and walks away from August because Simon does first.  Sara makes the opposite journey: she starts by trusting that August will change and repent on his own, but then she is forced to confront the fact that this is not true, and that she needs to use the legal system to bring August to justice. She also makes this realization largely because of Simon, and seeing the ways that she has hurt Simon, in the same scene with the gun. 

The other big argument in support of Sara as the secondary protagonist of the show is that she and Wilhelm never directly interact. Their actions affect each other all the time, but they don’t share a scene together. They’re living on parallel but separate story tracks. 

Simon is a crucial character in both Wilhelm and Sara’s stories, but the fact that he is close with both excludes him from being a protagonist of his own plot line. (I would say the same about August, who is a sort of antagonist for both Wilhelm and Sara, and Felice, who is a friend and confidant to both.) That doesn’t mean that Simon isn’t well written. He has a very compelling character arc, motivates much of the plot, and his relationship with Wilhelm forms the heart of the show. But I think the reason people were disappointed in his story in season 2 is that they were expecting something from him that the structure of the show doesn’t support.  

If you’re interested in reading more about A/B/C plot structures I found this website really easy to understand. Also shout out to @bluedalahorse for talking to me about Wilhelm and Sara and helping me articulate what I was trying to say here.

[donotexterminateupgradepudding]

Black Sails - Captain Flint’s reading list.

Books are a key point of the storytelling in the first two seasons of Black Sails.  They help to reveal various aspects of characters and their relationships.  Being the nerd that I am, I decided to create a reading list based on Captain James Flint’s key books.

Not only did I bother to compile this short list, but I’m actually reading the books in the list.

The list in sort of the order that they are introduced to the viewer.

De Jure Belli Ad Pace - tr. On the Law of War and Peace by Hugo Grotius.  Published in 1625.  This is the first book Silver sees in Flint’s cabin.  Grotius was a well rounded Dutch intellectual who contributed to many fields but this piece in particular laid down a clear framework for [western] international law.  It is pretty easy to find used copies of this but it is split it up into three books and annoyingly not all online booksellers label it well.

Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes.  Published in 1651.  One of the two books on Flint’s desk that are partially illuminated by the lantern.  Important modern philosopher, interesting spelling inconsistencies (dude, decide if you want to say ‘we’ or ‘wee’) and clearly doesn’t have a great opinion on humanity but has great random quotes.  Like ‘of accidents of bread in cheese’.  However, holy crap, if you think what James struggles with in regard to war/civilization/pardons/human nature.  Yeah - spot on for Flint’s excellent character.

Free as an ebook or easy to find used copies or new.

The Republic by Plato(n).  ~375 BC.  This is the book underneath Leviathan and took me way more time to figure out than I’d like to admit.  Mainly, I could only make out the letters of ‘ton - he - public’ for each line on the spine of the book with the crappy lighting and not enough time from the camera shot to get a better look.  I wondered if the public was part of something else but thrown off by the ton in the author name until I figured out that Plato went by Platon and then I knew it had to be a translation of The Republic.

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. Published 167.  By one of the most famous Roman stoics and Emperors.  James’ most precious book due to who gave it to him and how it likely helped him try to take perspective in situations.

It is easy to find free ebooks, though I’m reading one of the older English language translations to be closer to 1715.  Overall, a very enjoyable read.  I may seek out one of the newer translations. La Galatea by Miguel de Cervantes. 1585 tr by Gordon Willoughby James Gyll in 1867.  This is the only English version I can find and describes it as a ‘pastoral romance’.  Miranda gave James the original version of Don Quixote to read and this book is his way to apologize to her when he left Nassau angry at her.  It takes some digging around to find the English version of this - Spanish copies are much more numerous and I couldn’t find an English ebook.

I’m not including Don Quixote b/c I just can’t seem to read that book.  All my previous attempts have failed so I’m not going to use it to understand Thomas Hamilton.  I also don’t know which Middleton play James gave to Miranda - he just said, “Middleton, I thought you’d like it.” and then smiled all proud of himself while bandaged drinking tea.

So there you have it.  Captain Flint’s season 1 and 2 reading list. 

[ratuszarsenal]

clearing out my writing folder rn, some wips under the cut because I haven't finished anything in ages but need to externalise some of it

character study of a very lonely 400-year old guy, london c. 1660

William had come to refer to the days spent in his master's village as his childhood, even though he left it well into his adult years. That childhood, no matter how padded with his early twenties, was being stretched very thin when compared to the host of centuries that followed. William not so much missed his family, as the fact that he had had one. That before the curse, before Edward, he was just another fleshy, screaming infant. It never became less of a chore to breathe, but it is a rule of life that you can only scream that very first time. William was not spared the passage of time - he was abandoned by it.

Back in his childhood, he paid close attention to smells, because they threaded the difference between a good meal and a slow death; between a beautiful person and a person who looked beautiful at a distance; between a dying body and a body ready to be buried. As time went on, meals gained more flavour and deaths became quicker. These days he only afforded any thoughts to smell when it was on his own fingers. These days, it was mostly brass, snuff and ginger; smelted, manufactured, imported. These were scents untied to any one time. They were constant and constantly late - their conception divorced from their use by months spent in ships' hauls and merchants' carts. William felt similarly orphaned.

---

from what is basically a fantasy story stylised to be the English translation of an in-universe historical novel stylised to be a real (fictional) guy's real memoirs from the period.

Now, I owe the reader a very brief treatment on the significance of ink. [...] Red is a scribe’s way of hastening – not so much of the addressee, but the postman; for if one sees words in crimson, one can be sure that they may soon become old news, or untrue, or cease to be of importance – ‘This is a matter which lives and dies, and quicker than you think.’ On black ink, I will not dwell, for it is only a more expensive version of the common brown. [...] Often times, however, clerks of Orieu could predict and orient themselves further in the motions of international trade, by the few instances when their glassy, black ink would suddenly turn a foul-smelling violet – this was inferred to mean the shellfish shipments were delayed or withdrawn, and the scribes would then be supplied with vulgar plant pigments native to that country. In fact, remembering which years I know to have been lean, I prided myself on being able to track their accounts to the right drawer, by nose only. That Orieuan flower-ink has a truly rank odour, but some credit must be paid here to my nose; [he goes on like this for a while]

---

black sails ff, selkie!flint AU

James McGraw had always had two skins. One of them he showed to the world, keeping his dark-red hair in a perfect queue, keeping his back straight, his hands occupied. The other was kept in a sea-chest with three locks; and a chain for good measure. [...]

"I know your kind," he told James over a waning candle and eel pie. "The sea chooses her men. We all hear that call. But you - you are of it. You, she will not let go. I fear for your soul, lad. I fear for you."

And then he told the story of another man who crawled from the sea, just to return not one drink later. Darby McGraw spoke it like a parable, hopeful that his grandson would see that there is nothing waiting for him by the water and seek redemption from his nature on land. James decided that if the sea had chosen him, there was no good reason to keep her waiting.

---

novel stylised to be a travel memoir, nondescript time period

Miasto, gdy zdrowe, nie zwraca uwagi na twoją obecność, jego oczy są rozproszone pomiędzy wszystkimi drzewami i kawałkami bruku, wszystkimi okruchami i falbanami dachów. Ale miasto, gdy spalone, zyskuje przedziwny wampirzy charakter - nagle stojąc między ziejącymi szczątkami budynków, czujesz jak coś skupia się na tobie. Żąda czegoś od ciebie. Skruszone cegły i czarne żebra dachów są widokiem tak makabrycznym, że nie możesz odwrócić od nich wzroku; nie możesz odmówić.

Miasto podtopione jest inne. Nie umiera. Po szoku pierwszego wylewu, woda staje się jego częścią. Wszędobylski, srebrno-brązowy wykwit męczy kamień, materię miasta jak infekcja, której nie można się pozbyć. Ale miasto nie umrze od powodzi. Najwyżej zgnije, wciąż oddychając przez spleśniałe arterie. Gdy wiatr poruszał strumienie wody powodziowej biegnące wzdłuż ulic, czułam jak puls ten rozchodzi się tępym bólem po całej okolicy.

[mirandahamilton]

What is Miranda to Flint? Is he gay or bi? I watched the show like 4 years ago and never figured it out

words cannot describe how fucking thrilled i am to receive this question at 12:17am this sunday morning like actually....

so i guess disclaimer that i am not the arbiter of a fictional character's sexuality lol but as a queer person with a film degree i will put forth that MY reading of flint is as a gay man

not to be too Discourse abt it but i don't think flint having a sexual relationship with miranda is really indicative of his sexuality in any way. she's the last vestige of his life with thomas, likely the only time he was ever genuinely happy. she's the only person left who remembers him as james, not just captain flint, and the only person left who really knows him at all. they're tied together by grief and desperation, not just affection. they're literally all the other has left.

and like blah blah compulsory heterosexuality there's a million reasons the affair between miranda and flint could have kicked off and even continued. labels are often imperfect and imprecise, to say nothing of the historical & social context of the narrative in black sails.

this take got me yelled at in my sociology class in college but there is a difference between behavior and identity. the sexual behavior (having sex with miranda) and [my reading of] flint's identity (gay man) may seem like they're in conflict, but ultimately life is messy and complicated. i think they're fucking a) just to fuck lbr, b) for emotional comfort, and c) to feel some kind of genuine human connection/intimacy in a context in which they are both constantly playing an invented role

[chibivesicle]

How GK should have ended. Looking to a similar piece of media - Black Sails

I’ve been meandering around various series as of late and finally found one that really stuck a similar chord with me and GK - the mid- 2010s drama - Black Sails.  It is a series that had so many similar themes to GK, the level of violence and brutality, a similar level of outcast/criminals/convicts to colonial powers in a territory that is intended to be tamed for a distant power.  The theme overlap is so great that if you liked all the stuff going on in GK, this show will be your jam. Most importantly, the creative team for Black Sails kept CONSTANT characterization for everyone and it paid off so well.  They make each character so clear that when they go off and do a dumbass/rash thing, you only slightly groan b/c you know that Jack Rackam cares about his identity, that John Silver wants to belong and be accepted despite pushing people away, that Max is tired of the cycle and feels guilt for having to chose between two shitty decisions, Eleanor will not allow anyone to change her mind and that Captain Flint is a carefully crafted fiction/tool for James McGraw to exact revenge upon the very nature of the British Empire.  And Woodes Rogers is just such a good guy to dislike when he enters the story. After finishing Black Sails, I just thought about how Flint/McGraw was so much better that Tsurumi and Sugimoto.  The thing that always fell short with Tsurumi’s motivations about the death of his wife and child were the feelings that were associated with that loss.  It always felt hollow to me that we still never got the full Tsurumi back story to really push his motivations.  We know he came from a family who became wealthy and then lost it and it was never resolved.  His overlap with Sugimoto is his similar tendencies to go to extreme lengths for someone who has not actual input into those motivations (aka I’m doing this for Umeko vs Thomas).  He also has that reckless ability to be shot in the shoulder with a musket and then swim, one armed to a Spanish man-o-war, board her and take the ship over is as equally unlikely, but he pulls it off so much better than Sugimoto.  I noticed that Charles Vane is the one who is more likely to use a musket as a blunt weapon while Flint does a calculated mix of precision musket shot, then sword, and then it degenerates into whatever it will take to kill his opponent - cannon ball, fists etc.

So, if you are looking for a series that is under the radar to fill that void that GK left in your soul with that last arc and flat ending - go watch Black Sails.  Season 1 is a bit lame and over the top at times but after they stopped trying to be ‘Pirate Game of Thrones’ it shines as an excellent series. This show might just make me want to scratch that itch to meta-nerd out again, perhaps doing more GK comparisons.  Plus, I can clearly state that Flint was my favorite character the entire time in Black Sails.  Which is saying a lot for me since I rarely love a MC this much.  There is no real Ogata character in Black Sails as many more of the cast are dealing with lifetimes of trauma, abuse, guilt and moments where suicidal types of behavior are necessary.  Which is a relief for me, since the thing which ruined Ogata for me in retrospect is that he should have died on that damned ice floe.  And Black Sails will not shy away from killing someone with Ogata level involvement to serve the story and motivations going forward and they feel like they make sense to the viewer.

That’s it for now, if you want to see a series that really gets it and nails it - go watch Black Sails. 

[seventh-victim]

actress, Helen Flint  c.1922  (photo:  James Abbe)

[avastyetwats]

Tea and Roasted Pig

Continued from here. @fornassau

James had just finished checking on the roasted pig when he heard the door open followed by Charles' voice, prompting the Captain to turn and greet him with a smirk. Of course he'd know the smell instantly, what with it being his favorite and all, and really the man had the nose of a dog. He was that good but James was glad the smell had filled the house and that it even smelled appetizing. He didn't cook often, no, but he wasn't bad at it. Not at all, actually. He was a damn good cook when he wanted to be, but while out at sea or in Nassau, he didn't have to cook. And when he was with Miranda, she did most of it. He'd do something every so often, but now, with Charles? He cooked more than he ever had, really. But he was still learning, still experimenting, and after learning what Charles' favorite dish was, he set to mastering that.

"Roasted goat, actually." He corrects him, his face serious for just a second before he laughs, showing it was just a jest. "Your nose knows best, Charles." He smirks, wrapping his arms around him and greeting him with a soft kiss, one he intended to be short and sweet but was anything but. Because he let his lips linger, having missed him so fucking much during the days he was gone. He lips stay on his for a good few seconds, sighing in contentment and his shoulders falling in relief. Finally, he pulls away and just looks at him, thankful that he's home. Thankful that he's safe. Thankful that he's--

"What the fuck happened to your face?" He asks suddenly when he notices it. The cut on his face just below his right eye, as well as some light bruising dusting his cheek. It wouldn't be all that shocking if he ran into some trouble out there, they were pirates after all, but he still wanted to know what happened and who was the cause of injuring him. He almost sounded annoyed that his lover sustained damage during his mission, but of course he wasn't annoyed with him. Nor was he really concerned since this was Charles. The man could take care of himself. Far better than most and he'd been through far worse, but he was still curious, and he figured the cause was in far worse condition. Or dead.

[illuminated-in-darkness]

The Urca de Lima Black Sails Musical Parallels | VIII.

I spent a year rewatching Black Sails and tracking all the bits of music that repeated at any point during the show, and my findings are reinforcing that Bear McCreary is a genius and this show should have been called 'parallels that will kill you over and over again'* (tag | chronological)

[flockofdoves]

just saw a post of yours from a year ago (i was searching for ibex art) talking about parallels between ibex + james flint & how you view them and its convinced me to finally check out black sails. the post was really interesting! im also planning to relisten to c/w soon, so im sure ill keep some of what you talked about in mind while doing both of that. thats all & i hope youre having a good day/night

love to know there was someone else having a random ‘looking for ibex art day’ on monday lol. and omg!!!! that makes me so happy to hear :) i love both flint and ibex soooo mcuh

i think the nature of how id frame some of the stuff with flint i vaguely mentioned in the post im assuming you’re talking about wrt flint has slightly shifted now but it doesnt change at all and if anything reinforces my black sails and counter/weight comparisons

i love black sails so much so i’m really excited to hear you want to check it out!!!

i will say that its simultaneously a show that requires a lot of trust and patience because it is very subtle with what it is trying to do at first (but was very carefully planned and makes for a very satisfying rewatch!), which can lead to understandable wariness due to superficial similarities in the first half of it with other media despite it working up to critique and deconstruct a lot of these things. but then also while it went a lot further with its engagement with colonialism and imperialism than i ever had expected, it still would have been a much better show if it had more creators of color, and any indigenous or black writers/directors/creators, if it had a season 3.5 to really flesh some of what it was trying to do with certain black characters, and if it had been more tactful with a plotline in episodes 3-6 of the first season where one of the main characters, a black woman, is raped. (there is no other sexual violence in the show beyond this)

but yeah!!! i hope you enjoy it and the prospect of having someone else out there beyond my gf who would understand my inane counter/weight and black sails parallels posting is soooo exciting to me lol i’d love to hear your thoughts when you watch it!

[storkmuffin]

People not believing James and Miranda are romantic really baffles me as well. I get that its a plot twist that James loves Thomas but this isnt a plot twist where its you think person a loves person b but they actually love person c.

And like the evidence for them not being romantic is like what? That we dont really see them kiss? That the one time we are shown they are having sex its bad? Im pretty sure the sex scene is more to establish that James is not like the other pirates. And there are a plethora of reasons for why the sex was bad this one time instead of jumping to the conclusion they only have bad sex. For example james is wounded at the time. As for the kissing people dont need to kiss often to be in a romantic relationship. Anne and Jack dont kiss that much on the show either. And theres the fact everyone knows barlow is flints woman that would not have come out of nowhere.

Dont people like the poly aspect of it? Is it biphobia? I hope not because this is the best i have seen of a poly relationship in media, though I havent come across it a lot. Where i can clearly see how and why three people all love each other rather than it being a convenient way to end a love triangle where i feel like two of them dont care for each other that much.

Can I just say THANK YOU for giving me these Miranda-James thoughts? Because thank you.

Miranda Barlow and her ways of being loving, her ways of being romantic and sexual are all pretty unique and there's not a single thing about her that isn't complicated. In addition, she's a WOMAN woman, not girly, not crushing out, sexually liberated AND discreet about it, not constantly in the throes of some trembly emotion but is actually a very tough person, designed to be a fully grown lady - in sum, she's a bit hard to wrestle with for a lot of people. She's happily (very very much) married to a man and they adore each other as people AND ALSO for how they can together build a joint life they both like. There's a hard edge of pragmatism to her, which I find super hot, because I'm a hard edged pragmatic woman myself, but I think that makes it hard to see how romantic she actually is. The joy of the Thomas-James-Miranda poly connection for me is from the fact that these two men not only find her hot but they find her hardness and pragmatism hot. SO unusual. Second, she likes men who are bi, and doesn't seem to have much interest in monogamy or faithfulness at all. Again, non standard. Third, she DOES have a romantic relationship with James BUT there's always that constantly calcuating, assessing mind that she has - she approaches James because he's cute, she can tell he's a rule breaker and fucking around with rule breakers is ironically a good way to be discreet, AND she can see that he's crushing out on her husband, which she actually likes about him. She recruits James into the group project of protecting and enabling Thomas - that was part of the attraction. It's not a swooning, like, I must have you and will die without you type thing at all, which is generally the easily digestible formulation of romance. Moreover, Miranda uses sex in a variety of ways - for fun, for love, as stress relief, as a game, to make a point to a houseguest - and on pirate island she just does NOT have as many options as she used to in London, so I take it as, we saw her have "make Guthrie unhappy and I need an orgasm" sex rather than "express my desire for you" sex with Flint, which he fully accepted and uh, cooperated with.

And then there's the fact that shipping in most fandoms tends to be done by male-attracted women who want to just do yaoi (very valid, I do this in other fandoms, just not this one) and so it's kind of inconvenient to have to acknowledge that James Flint does actually have a romantic relationship with a woman and does actually have sexual attraction to women, so that may be motivating the desire to just dismiss their romantic connection out of hand.

By the way - I would recommend (unless you are a super very pro John Silver person in which case the episode comes with a warning) listening to this podcast episode made by @heycarrots (It's REALLY great, overall, as a podcast full stop). TLDR for our discussion - in that episode Dr. Tankard posits that James Flint's romantic orientation and real sex life is basically to participate in a group project - he loves being part of a group that is doing a thing, and that's where all his motivation, erotic energy, everything, comes from, and that analysis really works very well for my understanding of Flint.

[casbooks]

Books of 2023

Book 48 of 2023

Title: Gone Native Authors: Alan G. Cornett ISBN: 9780804116374 Tags: A-1 Skyraider, AC-47 Spooky, B-52 Stratofortress, FAC, FRA France, GER Bad Tolz, GER Flint Kaserne, GER Germany, GER Mainz, GER Munich, GER Schweinfurt, GER USA 1SG Academy - Munich, GER USA ARSOFE Army Special Operations Force Europe, JPN Okinawa, KHM Cambodia, KHM Cambodian Civil War (1967-1975), KHM FANK Khmer Army / Forces Armees Nationals Khmeres (1970-1975) (Cambodian Civil War), KOR Battle of Bayonet Hill / Hill 180 (1951) (Korean War), KOR Korean War (1950-1953), KOR Naktong River, KOR Pusan, KOR ROK 9th White Horse Division, KOR ROK Republic of Korea Army, Military Police, Nungs, PHL Hukbalahap, PHL Philippines, THA Bangkok, THA Thailand, US CIA Central Intelligence Agency, US CIA William Colby, US Court Martial Hearing, US MOH Medal of Honor, US USA 101st Airborne Division - 1st Brigade, US USA 101st Airborne Division - 1st Brigade - LRRP Det, US USA 101st Airborne Division - Screaming Eagles, US USA 173rd Airborne Brigade - Sky Soldiers, US USA 1st Cavalry Division, US USA 24th ID, US USA 25th ID, US USA 27th Infantry Regiment, US USA 27th Infantry Regiment - E Co, US USA 2nd Philippine Scouts, US USA 327th Infantry Regiment, US USA 327th Infantry Regiment - 1/327, US USA 327th Infantry Regiment - 1/327 - Tiger Force Recon, US USA 327th Infantry Regiment - 2/327, US USA 327th Infantry Regiment - 2/327 - Hawk Recon, US USA 34th Infantry Regiment, US USA 34th Infantry Regiment - K Co, US USA 502nd Infantry Regiment, US USA 502nd Infantry Regiment - 2/502, US USA 502nd Infantry Regiment - 2/502 - Recondos, US USA 509th Infantry Bn, US USA 58th Infantry Regiment, US USA 58th Infantry Regiment - F Co (LRP), US USA 5th Army, US USA 5th Army - Inspector General, US USA 75th Rangers, US USA 75th Rangers - A Co, US USA 82nd Airborne Division - All American, US USA 8th ID, US USA 90th ID, US USA ANG Army National Guard, US USA Army Reserve, US USA Camp Frank D. Merrill GA - Mountain Phase Ranger School, US USA Capt Joe Hooper (MOH) (Vietnam War), US USA Col Lewis Lee Millet Sr (MOH) (Korean War), US USA Fort Benning GA, US USA Fort Benning GA - Airborne School, US USA Fort Benning GA - IOBC Infantry Officers Basic Course, US USA Fort Benning GA - Ranger School, US USA Fort Benning GA - Victory Pond, US USA Fort Bragg NC, US USA Fort Bragg NC - Advanced Medical Lab, US USA Fort Bragg NC - JFK Special Warfare Center / School, US USA Fort Carson CO, US USA Fort Gordon GA, US USA Fort Jackson SC, US USA Fort Jackson SC - Moncleaf Hospital, US USA Fort Leavenworth KS, US USA Fort Leavenworth KS - USDB United States Disciplinary Barracks, US USA Fort Riley KS, US USA Fort Riley KS - Irwin Army Hospital, US USA Fort Riley KS - USARB United States Army Retraining Brigade, US USA Fort Sam Houston TX, US USA General Olinto Barsanti, US USA General William J. Donovan, US USA General William Westmoreland, US USA James Walker (101st LRRP), US USA LRRP Team (Vietnam War), US USA Reynel Martinez (101st LRRP), US USA SSG David C. (Mad Dog) Dolby (MOH) (Vietnam War), US USA United States Army, US USA USSF 10th SFG, US USA USSF 1st SFG, US USA USSF 5th SFG, US USA USSF 77th SFG, US USA USSF Green Berets, US USA USSF Special Forces, US USA USSF Team ODB-52, US USAF Eglin Air Force Base FL, US USAF General John F Flanagan, US USAF United States Air Force, US USMC 1SG Jimmie E Howard (MOH) (Vietnam War), US USMC 1st MarDiv, US USMC 1st MarDiv - 1st Recon Bn, US USMC 1st MarDiv - 1st Recon Bn - C Co, US USMC United States Marine Corps, VNM 1968 Tet Offensive (1968) (Vietnam War), VNM Ban Me Thuot, VNM Bien Hoa, VNM Buon Dham, VNM Buon Ma, VNM Buon Ya, VNM Cam Le, VNM Central Highlands, VNM Chu Lai, VNM CIA Air America (1950-1976) (Vietnam War), VNM CIA Phung Hoang / Phoenix Program (1965-1972) (Vietnam War), VNM Command and Control North/FOB-3 (Vietnam War), VNM Con Son Island, VNM Da Lat, VNM Dar Lac Province, VNM Di An, VNM Don Duong, VNM DRV NVA 1st Division, VNM DRV NVA North Vietnamese Army, VNM DRV NVA Work Site 1, VNM DRV VC 816 Main Force Co, VNM DRV VC Viet Cong, VNM Duc My, VNM Duc Pho, VNM Gia Dinh Province, VNM Hill 163 (Nui Cau), VNM Hill 488 (Nui Vu), VNM Hmong Meo Tribesmen, VNM I Corps (Vietnam War), VNM II Corps (Vietnam War), VNM Khe Sanh, VNM Lac Thien, VNM LBJ Long Binh Jail - USARVIS US Army Vietnam Installation Stockade (Vietnam War), VNM LBJ Long Binh Jail (Vietnam War), VNM Long Binh Post - Graves Registration (Vietnam War), VNM Long Binh Post (Vietnam War), VNM Montagnards, VNM Montagnards - Rhade, VNM Nha Trang, VNM Nha Trang - 5th SFG Recondo School (Vietnam War), VNM Nha Trang - Nautique, VNM Nui Dang, VNM Operation Arc Light (1965-1973) (Vietnam War), VNM Operation Cattle Drive (Vietnam War), VNM Operation Crazy Horse (1966) (Vietnam War), VNM Operation Leaping Lena (1964) (Vietnam War), VNM Operation Wheeler (1967) (Vietnam War), VNM Phan Rang Air Base, VNM Phan Thiet, VNM Phu Bai, VNM RVN ARVN 91st Airborne Ranger Bn., VNM RVN ARVN Airborne Division, VNM RVN ARVN Army of the Republic of Vietnam, VNM RVN ARVN CIDG Civilian Irregular Defense Group, VNM RVN ARVN LLDB Luc Luong Dac Biet Special Forces, VNM RVN ARVN National Training Center - Duc My, VNM RVN ARVN Ranger Training Center - Duc My, VNM RVN ARVN RF/PF 302nd RF Co (Vietnam War), VNM RVN ARVN RF/PF Regional Forces/Popular Forces (Vietnam War), VNM RVN ARVN Vietnamese Rangers - Biet Dong Quan, VNM RVN Chieu Hoi Program/Force 66 - Luc Luong 66 (Vietnam War), VNM RVN KHM Cambodian Training Center - Duc My, VNM RVN RVNP Can Sat National Police, VNM RVN RVNP CSDB Can Sat Dac Biet Special Branch Police, VNM RVN RVNP CSDB PRU Provincial Reconnaissance Units (Vietnam War), VNM RVN SVNAF South Vietnamese Air Force, VNM Saigon, VNM Saigon - Camp Goodman, VNM Song Be, VNM Song Pha, VNM Song Ve, VNM Song Ve Valley, VNM Tan Son Nhut Air Base, VNM Tan Son Nhut Air Base - Camp Alpha (Vietnam War), VNM US MACV Advisory School - Di An (Vietnam War), VNM US MACV Advisory Team 25 (Vietnam War), VNM US MACV Advisory Teams (Vietnam War), VNM US MACV CORDS Civil Operations and Revolutionary Development Support (1967-1975) (Vietnam War), VNM US MACV Military Assistance Command Vietnam (Vietnam War), VNM US MACVSOG (1964-1972) (Vietnam War), VNM US MACVSOG Hatchet Force Teams (Vietnam War), VNM US Project Delta - Det B-52 (Vietnam War), VNM US Project Delta - Roadrunner Teams (Vietnam War), VNM US Project Delta - RT Viper (Vietnam War), VNM US USA 6th Convalescent Hospital - Cam Ranh Bay, VNM US USMC KSCB Khe Sanh Combat Base (Vietnam War), VNM US USMC/USA Phu Bai Combat Base (Vietnam War), VNM US USSF 5th SFOB Special Forces Operation Base - Nha Trang, VNM US USSF Mobile Strike Force - Nha Trang MIKE Force (Vietnam War), VNM US USSF Mobile Strike Force (MIKE) (Vietnam War), VNM Vietnam, VNM Vietnam War (1955-1975), WW2 World War 2 (1939-1945), WWII US OSS Office of Strategic Services Rating: ★★★★ (4 Stars) Subject: Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Asia.Vietnam War.ARVN.PRU, Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Asia.Vietnam War.ARVN.RF/PF, Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Asia.Vietnam War.Specops.Green Berets, Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Asia.Vietnam War.Specops.Green Berets.Project Delta, Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Asia.Vietnam War.Specops.LRRPs, Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Asia.Vietnam War.US Army.Advisor, Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Asia.Vietnam War.US Army.Infantry, Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Asia.Vietnam War.US Army.Medic, Books.Military.20th-21st Century.US.US Army.Infantry Year Read: 48 of 2023 Price: 8.99 Month Read: 08

Description: On his first combat assignment, Cornett accompanied the Vietnamese Rangers on a search-and-destroy mission near Khe Sang. There he gained entree into a culture that he would ultimately respect greatly and admire deeply. Cornett's most challenging military duty began when he joined the Phoenix Program. As part of AK squad, he dressed in enemy uniform and roamed the deadly Central Highlands, capturing high-ranking VC officers in hot firefights and ambushes. It was there, deep in enemy territory, where the smallest mistake meant sudden death, that the Vietnamese fighting men earned his utmost respect.While offering rare glimpses of an aspect of the war most of the military and media never saw, Cornett tells the full, gut-wrenching story of his Vietnam. He also gives an unsparing view of himself - telling a no-holds-barred story of an American soldier who made sacrifices far beyond the call of duty . . . a soldier who, in defiance of the U.S. government, refused to turn his back on the Vietnamese. From the Paperback edition.

Review: This is a book that is great in some places, less so in others. I was actually tempted to stop reading it part way through because of how the story ends, and there will be spoilers in this review.

This book is a lot about failure, and overcoming failure, and then more and more failure. So much failure. This is a dude who... fails. He also succeeds but where the heart of the story is, well it's in his failures. He manages to end up in the famed Green Berets as a medic and assigned to Project Delta/B-52 but is basically kicked out for being a liability. He ends up in the 101st with their brigade LRRP team where he finds his first home. For those of you who read a lot about the VN war, you'll recognize a lot of the cast of characters in this section, with a majority of the focus being on his relationship with Rey Martinez. He then bounces around a bit, a little time in Germany, some time training medical stuff at replacement centers, and eventually as an Advisor in a few different areas. Throughout all of this he falls in love, fucks up the relationships, gets into a fucked up relationship, does a lot of drugs, gets drunk a lot, gets in trouble a lot, and eventually marries a VN woman who he later drifts apart from even though staying close to his brother in law who he fought with. At one point he tries to kill his XO and is court-martialed for it, but somehow manages to serve his time and rejoin the army for a very long career - totally unheard of but true! The problem with the book is that it is uneven, which keeps it from being a 5 star book... his coverage of certain battles is super finely detailed whereas his court martial and time in jail is barely a wisp of text. He tells more about using drugs and drinking than he does talking about his role as a medic and the training. Overall a good book and fills in some more stories from the 101st and the 302nd RF Co. He does a great job with the other cast of characters, and their stories and it's worth it just for that.

[human-deactivation]

i just finished reading dr. jekyll and mr. hyde and because it’s by robert louis stevenson who wrote treasure island, started thinking about Black Sails and then was struck with how P E R F E C T L Y James/Flint mirrors Jekyll/Hyde and love everything so much more i just 😩