A Literary Analysis of Black Sails with Dr. Alex Tankard

This month, I’m FINALLY tackling The Truth about Eros, a SilverFlint soulmate AU that I’d been begging to record since my days in Japan. Sarah, aka Aisalynn, has constructed a stunning epic tale of fate, longing, loss, and redemption. This story spans Silver’s entire history, from his pre-canon childhood, all the way through a post-canon reunion with Flint. It’s stunning in both its scope and its visceral prose and I’m sure, like me, you’ll be absolutely spellbound by it. Then, Sarah and I chat about everything from Plato to how much we love Madi to her almost TOO meticulous research that created a fantastic mystery to solve as a narrator!

Jaynovz narrates the first chapter of her novel-length mod AU, colloquially known in the fandom as the Breakup AU. The title and the story are inspired by the 10 minute version of Taylor Swift’s All Too Well and in our interview, we discuss those parallels, the depth of the SilverFlint tragedy, the art of audio narration, and how best to approach scenes of intimacy from a narrating perspective. Jay and I also discover that we’ve made nearly identical choices for voicing Flint and Silver. This is a jam-packed interview, folks! So buckle up for this ride!

An Interview with Dr. Alex Tankard. Dr. Tankard and I had an amazing and lengthy discussion about all things Black Sails, but in particular, as Flint relates to Luciferian lore in literary texts like Paradise Lost. In discussing Flint’s “darkness” they touched on the themes of “otherness” and the demonization of neurodivergence in Colonial Literature, as it relates to Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and Robert Louis Stephenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Additionally, we talk about gender and sexuality in the 18th century and how Black Sails gets it SO historically RIGHT!

This fall has not been easy on my physical health, as I’m sure you have been aware. I finally regained the full clarity of my voice only to finally get hit by the covid bullet I’ve been dodging for four years. Though I’m over the worst of it, I’m sorry to say that it has made a December episode an impossibility. I’m so sad to let you all down, because this is such a beautiful story, and one that I’ve loved for years. To help bridge the gap, I have a few things coming up that will require far less editing. But, as a treat, I’ve decided to release a preview of the next full story episode, The Truth About Eros by Aisalynn, in the hopes that it will whet your appetite and help you to hang in there with me just a little while longer. This soulmate AU is from Silver’s perspective and I’m certain you will love it as much as I do!

I sit down with the Philanthropic Educational Organization, Waverly Chapter, for a discussion about the nature, definition, and legitimacy of fan fiction as an art form and transformative works as a whole.

I chat with Polish author, Tora, about her beautiful story, the Queen Mother of all hurt/comfort fics, Cinnamon. We get back into the SilverFlint lane and finally earn our E rating! I told you all it was coming! You do NOT want to miss this episode! There’s no pumpkin, but there is definitely some spice to raise your t’gallants!

In our first Flint/Hamilton episode, Croatian author Iva, aka Bluetrees, chats with me about her story ‘Not For Oneself’, which finds James and Thomas exactly where we left them at the end of the finale, but what happens next? How can they find each other again when a decade’s worth of trauma and loss separates them? This story will have you in tears, and the discussion will put the pieces back together. Join us for our longest episode so far, and let the healing begin!

Etoile and I discuss their beautiful Madi and Flint story, set moments after they find out that Silver is still alive. They manage to unveil Madi in a fresh new perspective and I take Madi’s distinctive accent out for a spin!

I sit down with Leckie, aka, Short John Silver to discuss his introspective Flint fic, our mutual love of Black Sails, James and Thomas dynamics, and the war in Ukraine. You do not want to miss this one!

This time we’re taking a journey into the psyche of everyone’s favorite punching bag, Eleanor Guthrie, with the ficlet, Your Life For Mine by VVitchqueen. Afterwards, we chat fic-writing, endless character parallels, family dynamics, childhood trauma, and yes DADDY ISSUES. Join the discussion, follow us on Twitter, and don’t forget to give us a rating and a review!