[tedchaough]

- I read your book. - Did you? - Well, most of it. I confess, I may not have soldiered through to the end. But, you know, I got the gist of it.

BLACK SAILS 3.06 XXIV

[pien-art]

made an mp3 player tie :)) and i can change the music with my button pins hehe >:3

[claudiadpdl]

sorry im not giggling and laughing at the idea of lestat calling out louis for not mentioning his scars or getting the length of his hair wrong when these were continuity errors made by the showrunners and not louis himself, so it's weird to write these mistakes into the show and put the onus on him. just as it's weird to imply (as one of said showrunners) that louis, who purposefully goes out of his way to remember traumatic events in his life—paul's death, claudia's murder, being buried alive—would not only ask that he be made to forget attempting suicide, but that he be fed the exact same lie that was given to daniel; "the same precise edit on two different brains." as it was said in s2.

from the very beginning, louis' trauma has been reduced to "well he was a bad person, too!" as though he needs to be the stereotypical Perfect Victim™. yes, of course louis is a bad person as well, they never shy away from showing us that. that does not, however, remove the truth that he is a victim as well. and to attempt to retcon his experiences or use a cop out statement in order to further hammer home that his abuser is also a victim—something we're never allowed to forget—is textbook antiblack racism. there is something deliberate about how both the in-universe characters and show writers often try and dance around or skirt over the trauma louis has experienced his entire mortal and immortal life. and claiming that you're leaving these things for you audience to interpret is especially sinister given half of them are intent upon demonizing one character over the other at every single turn.

there is no discussing this show without also discussing how racism, antiblackness and misogynoir affect these characters and how they're treated, especially while also acknowledging that while none of them are perfect victims, that's still not an excuse to dimish their abuse in favor of someone else. and i think a lot of people in this fandom aren't equipped to have these multifaceted conversations without centering whiteness.

[artemideaddams]

Flint is so funny because he's an example of anti-system leader who want the best for his fellow man.

But doesn't LIKE his fellow man. Or woman. He tries, but he really just can't help but feel annoyed by most of the people he is trying to lead against the system (or liberate from it) and feels slightly superior to most of them.

He settle on wanting to free his fellow man or woman from an evil Empire because he likes and respects England even less than he likes and respects his fellow man.

Which is valid btw but it's fun how he genuinely only likes and respects a max of five people in the whole show, and yet he still says things like "I can't believe we are so poorly made as that."

Yes you believe that in your daily life, that's why you can't open up with anyone and you can’t stop treating them as your politically, morally and intellectually inferiors!

I think it's fascinating that in abstract he believes in the inherent goodness of humanity and the idea that in a more equal and less corrupted society, people would not oppress each others for fun and history would be a journey though progress; in concrete he thinks that every person he interact with is dumber than him and need to be manipulated and convinced to do exactly what he thinks is the right thing to do, with very fews exception of two or three people he considers as smart and morally righteous as himself.

What a funny character.

The contraddiction of his character between his political/ideological optimism about humanity as a whole and his deep distrust and dislike of almost any individual he meets on a personal and intellectual level is so entrateining and very realistic.

[john-silvers]

So I have begun the duel between myself and our Lord Governor. The rules are simple. I will deny him the cache, no matter what sort of inducements he offers or pain he inflicts.

[itsthenovelteafactor]

it must’ve been so embarrassing for everyone on game of thrones when they fumbled the ending so bad after black sails managed to achieve everything they were trying for two years earlier with a much smaller budget. like well lit fight scenes, intricate politics, morally gray characters with shifting alliances, sea battles, epic stories told on a focused character level, waxing poetic on the nature of stories and storytelling and the way they shape reality… like damn y’all really are just out there reheating jonathan steinberg and robert levine’s nachos

[s0ftest]

Niall's victimhood cannot be defined in isolation, without his abuser. Ruben makes Niall who he is by being his abuser. Niall and Ruben are two faces of the same problem, defining each other like light and shadow on a portrait.

To understand Niall's victimhood you have to understand that Ruben is an abuser first, and a troubled man second. He doesn't abuse Niall because of his mental health issues, or because of his traumas (although, these factors make his abuse more volatile). Ruben abuses Niall because he feels entitled to do so.

He sexually assaults Niall because he feels entitled to his body. He makes demands on Niall because he feels entitled to his time. He premeditates Niall's murder because he feels entitled to take Niall's life.

This fact in isolation is the absolute which defines them both. Niall's murder was premeditated. Ruben is not driven by emotion, but entitlement. He murders in cold blood behind the justification of emotion. Ruben takes Niall's life because he feels entitled to take it. It is not a "crime of passion."

"I don't need to work for status. I was born with it. [I'm] king of the fucking world. I'm the only reason you have meaning in your miserable life."

Ruben believes he has dominion over Niall. He packs his bag and puts on his leathers knowing he will kill him. He imposes himself on the wedding, makes his speech, and embraces Niall knowing he will kill him. In the barn he is a predator playing with his food -- not because he is debased, not because he is an animal, but -- because he has decided to be that way. He feels entitled to be that way.

[thefuglystepsister]

i’ve been grieving the flop of Beautiful Creatures for 13 years

[lyuricheva]

any conversation about who could play odysseus well (as opposed to the obvious terrible choice matt damon) is inane, in my view, because it’s already been done and served by toby stephens of maggie smith’s son fame in an acclaimed yet underwatched show black sails under the name james “flint”—

[free-parking-blog]

[free-parking-blog]

Francis Alÿs, Nightwatch, 2004.  

Surveillance cameras observe a fox exploring the Tudor and Georgian rooms of the National Portrait Gallery at night.

[whatelsecanwedonow]

THE AMERICANS S01E05 | COMINT

[starmaker-astral]

[erraticcat]

[sentrysvoid]

Thunderbolts dir. Jake Schreier | 2025

[rylandgracie]

"you love me? where do you feel it?"

"i feel it everywhere. it runs through me in a way. it's dangerous. it's the only thing i've ever felt."

[sporeblossom]

ruben pallister is also such a good example of how a violent man looms so large in the lives of everyone around him. niall, mona, maura, ava, lori. so many conversations between them are about ruben. what did he do now. how do we negate the damage. how do we keep him from getting angry. oh you know how he is. are you okay. did he hurt you. what does he want. which hoops do we have to jump through now to keep him and by extension ourselves out of harm's way. so much of their lives spent trying to fix and repair and control. all these people carrying the responsibility for one man.

[tuxankhamun]

Trial by wombat