Black Sails gives me Rome vibes but on the high seas. They just don't make shows like that anymore.

And what a great intro to a "morally grey" ML. The first few minutes of Ep. 1 promised us A Character and the ending delivered.

Side Notes: yay, sapphics!

Something I appreciate about this show is how it drives its conflict with the characters' preexisting relationships.

Every piece of dialogue is written to reveal something about the characters' past, tensions, and power asymmetry so because no one feels like a blank slate we get great emotional payoff as early as the second episode. Case in point: the convergence of Eleanor and Max's breakup with the schedule sale.

Up until this point, these two women have been on screen together for maybe less than 5 minutes and yet we immediately understand why Max would take such a risk to supply the schedule to Vane and Eleanor would resist the opportunity to run away with her because of her limited commitment and how tied to the island her sense of identity and ambition is.

This show has some of the most efficient character-driven plot writing I've come across in a long time!

THIS SCENE!!!

The cross cutting to heighten the tension and viscerality of the carnage!

Flint's character writing! (A true opportunist.)

The change in stakes now that character loyalties have shifted!

Side Note: I need to know Silver's beach hair routine because while my curls also look better in my Caribbean motherland they don't look that good around salt water without product.

So let me get this straight: not only does Black Sails portray queerness in interesting ways it also tackles racist systems with some degree of nuance?

That conversation between Mr. Scott and the enslaved woman when they were imprisoned together on the ship about servitude and capitulating to the promise of white supremacy was so well done. Mr. Scott is such a fascinating character. On one hand he represents the complex and emotionally fraught pseudofamilial relationships Black slaves and servants were forced into by their white masters. He might care for Eleanor as a daughter and she might respect him and seek his approval like a father figure but ultimately she still has authority over him and is not at all afraid of flaunting it when it serves her best. On the other hand, he is shown to be very strategic and self-possessed, which makes me think there’s more to his character and his long-term goals than meets the eye and I can’t wait for him to become a power player in the region.

The women are so ridiculously hardcore in this show:

You got Miranda sleeping with priests and betraying Flint to “save” him from his pirating life.

You got Max purposefully putting herself in danger servicing Vane’s crew to pay off a debt but most likely to punish her former lover and probably some other 4D chess game plan.

You got Anne willing to murder the man torturing Max to protect her even if it would be political suicide to do so.

You got Eleanor one upping Anne by offering to murder the entire crew so that she can technically save Max but also absolve herself of the guilt she felt betraying her and more importantly establish her reputation as the ruthless HBIC everyone should fear.

The transition between S1 and S2 has been amazing when it comes to the plot but now we have TWO polycules???

so many characters are only incidentally bisexual and could easily be interpreted as either gay or straight without much effect on their narrative or personality. not so with eleanor guthrie. despite her story not being About bisexuality she undeniably cannot be anything but. bisexuality leads that woman to places most people wouldn't go with a gun

Cover Reveal

Do y'all want to see the cover of my upcoming book? Well I want to show it to you because I'm completely in love with it.

ISN'T SHE GORGEOUS? I got to hold the print proof in my own two hands for the first time this week and I almost cried about it. Art and design by the fantastically talented @isthiseva.

The book is coming out March 3, and preorders are open now! You can find it in various online shops here: https://books2read.com/citizenofeastport

I'll also be doing a couple giveaways and will have ARCs up shortly... I won't post about all those here, so if you want to hear about them, keep an eye on vbruth.com or subscribe to the newsletter (same link).

Putting the book description below the cut for those that want to read more:

Just started Black Sails. why didn't anybody tell me the series everybody told me was good is good

BLACK SAILS 2.01 “IX.”

james flint

THE OUTCOME IS ONLY UNCERTAIN FOR THOSE WHO DISBELIEVE BLACK SAILS VII

I appreciate the effort to include joan chen in queer films but please stop casting her as the lesbian's mother CAST HER AS THE LESBIAN PLEASE

WE FUCKING WON !!!!!!!!!!!!

(source)

update with new poster!!!!

NEW TRAILER JUST DROPPED

really hilarious and unsexy when hetero romantasy authors refer to love interests as males and females. you sound like david attenborough narrating a special documentary on two turtles humping in the mud

i don't care if he's the king of the fae. if that man called me a desirable female i'd have him gelded

yes i'm a writer (non-practicing)

Nirvana in Fire - Ep 24

THE SUMMER HIKARU DIED - 1.04 "Summer Festival"