mars

If I had a nickel for every time an ethereal being realized they're in love with the person they've been dating for centuries but still refuse to acknowledge as their friend, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that Neil Gaiman did it twice.

I fucking love how Our Flag Means death has explicit, unabashed queer romance and character but ALSO has wall-to-wall metaphors and symbolism. We can have the kiss but we can ALSO read into the colors of wardrobes and whether a character wears gloves or not. We can read into the metaphor of Stede’s secret closet and letting Ed in, and ALSO have a fully fleshed-out storyline about a gay man in a loveless marriage telling his wife “his name is Ed.” We have the red silk scene in the moonlight, of gently handling a bit of cloth to represent a heart, and we have “what makes Ed happy is…you.”

shh shhh shhh because because like because edward never talks about women at all in all his exploits and grand stories and blackbeard heroics there's no like "girl on every shore" nonsense, none of his crew or anyone who knows him and talks about what a legend he is mentions any sort of flirtation or scoundrel tomcat behavior like you would expect. he is tangentially curious who mary is when stede is mumbling in his sleep. and then at the fancy french party antoinette takes a clear interest in him "you can finger my dents any time" and he just. doesn't respond. he's uncomfortable with her fawning over him. she tries to touch him and he flinches terribly and is horribly on edge. when calico jack shows up he reverts to classic frat bro behavior and still. no women spoken of. at all. the only reference to ed's sexual or romantic interests are about stede, and when jack says "anything goes at sea... we've had our dalliances"