a quick pride month PSA @ all my fellow gays who are still on the fence about watching black sails because they don’t want to be queerbaited for the 800th time:
listen. LISTEN. i know what you’re going through. i know tumblr (and fandom in general) loves to wax poetic about the secret queerness of fundamentally hetero stories. i know we’re all confused about a bunch of shows/films/ships because we can’t tell if the characters are ACTUALLY gay or only gay in the fandom’s imagination (or only after the thought to pay shitty lip service, like d*mbledore). i know it’s exhausting. i know it’s annoying. i know you’ve been hurt. i know you’re afraid to love again.
so let me say this once and for all–black sails is undeniably and inextricably gay, and it’s gay in all the ways that you want. it’s gay in ways you didn’t know you wanted. it’s gay in ways my lesbian ass didn’t even think to demand from the media that i consumed. it’s literally that gay.
here’s a quick list of how that plays out in the actual show: 1) many of the characters themselves are explicitly either gay, lesbian, or bisexual (and i don’t mean throwaway side characters who get one speaking line and die, i mean pivotal main characters whose actions dictate the course of the story and plot) 2) you can’t change or ignore their identities and end up with the same narrative, the same conflicts, the same resolutions. you won’t have the same characters if you erase their sexualities. you simply won’t have the same story. not even close. and 3) on a more meta level, the storytelling itself is gay, dude. it’s magnificent. it’s chock-full of the kind of hefty dramatic symbolism and imagery that we have been denied in mainstream media for so long, it’s complicated and life affirming and revolutionary and empowering, it makes you feel seen and heard and validated in more ways that i can fucking count. it makes you shed gay tears. it fills your heart with gay love until you feel like it’s going to fucking burst.
so, in the spirit of pride month, i would ask that you trust this lesbian. i would ask that you give black sails a chance. and honestly given the amount of trash that we all watch because we love that one (1) background vaguely queer-coded character, i don’t think there’s a chance in hell that black sails will disappoint you. anyway that’s it thank you for your time i love you all watch black sails
tangentwithtanner
prguitarman
gummygunk
pixelskylines
