"Flesh&Blood" Vol. 11 - Pirate Series Reading Club 🏴‍☠️ ⛵

[ekg]

@NicoleIsEnough

Princess Eboli’s son, the 2nd Duke of Pastrana, is called ルイス in the book (which I would read as Luis), but his real name is either Rodrigo (english Wikipedia) or Ruy (spanish Wikipedia). I suspect that there is a Katakana issue that led to the transformation from Ruy to Luis.

Ah! I totally missed this. Thanks for clearing this up! ^>^

[NicoleIsEnough]

@ekg

I don’t think I’ll ever comprehend the Japanese fascination with sponge cake like Castella. It’s ridiculously plain, and I certainly don’t think of the flavor of eggs eating sponge cake. ^^

Haha my thoughts exactly! “Eggs? Eggs?!? ”

@ekg

Maybe, the modern day Japanese version of castella is just so much better?

No.

@ekg

Carlos, Philip’s son who was originally betrothed to Elisabeth de Valois were both in love when the engagement was broken and Elisabeth was married to his father instead.

Oh, that reminds me: I should upload my newest version of the Royal Diagram where I added Carlos (and some others). Looking at it, I found it interesting that Carlos and Elizabeth were born in the same year and died in the same year.

@ekg

were both in love when the engagement was broken and Elisabeth was married to his father instead.

To be fair, Carlos and Elizabeth were 14 at that point (when the marriage took place), so at least in my mind this changes the image of “being in love” to a certain extent.

[ekg]

About Elisabeth, I read the wikipage, saying she cried for days after Carlos passed away. So, they clearly got along well, though it seems the marriage to Philip II wasn’t bad either. Seems he was offered the hand of yet another socialite daughter after Elizabeth died, but he refused.

Also, this conversation made me watch Cooking with Dog! XD

The Best Castella Recipe (Moist and Gooey Kasutera Sponge Cake) | Cooking with Dog

[ekg]

Chapter 5 thoughts

let’s just say, Eboli is one of very strong opinions. Also, she’s giving off them evil lady vibes! not to mention, she calls Kaito a baby monkey. Kaito counters by thinking about her eyes, as ones of a demon (not a cute cat). Touché! XD

Anyway, after this, kaito spots Raul talking with…Kit! But, that’s a person with many allegiances as well, since he’s working for Walshingham. Kaito even thinks he might be there to kill him. :c But, using Kaito’s coughing as a pretence, Kit offers to give Kaito a health check. Which, kaito says yes to, still being torn between fear and hope! *dun dun dun cliffhanger!

[ekg]

Chapter 6 thoughts

Since last chapter was short, I’m moving on to chapter 6…also, because mild cliffhanger.

Kaito is getting help from Leo to settle his stuff, before he leaves. They’re still 猿犬 really! I must say I really like this saying, more so than cats and dogs since they’re perfectly friendly normally.

Well, after Leo leaves Kit arrives and Kaito can finally speak freely. It’s such an energy boost this conversation as Kaito finally can feel hope but also fear for the plan so far. Both the danger of having Raul’s help as well as what all this means for Vincente’s life - Kaito don’t want them to kill him. Still, knowing Jeoffrey is just in the neighbor town with Nigel and even Blackie makes Kaito really happy, understandably. Kaito also gives the ship model to Kit, so he won’t be caught with that on his person. That’s a relief for me! ^^;

Also, Kit! What are you doing! Don’t urge Vincente on when you aim to save kaito! ^^; Now he’s getting all aware about himself being in love really. How is that helping things?

I love how Jeoffreys message for Kaito ended up being Kit’s parting words to Kaito.

There’s some more heart to heart between Vincente and Kaito, but Kaito is again building up his wall, knowing he’s no longer alone in Spain - Jeoffrey, Nigel and even Kit has come for him. <3

At the end, Vincente invite Certantes for a chat, since he got curious about Kaito, and well, Kaito is curious about him!

[ekg]

@NicoleIsEnough

(Vicente: What comes to mind when you think of Italy? - Kaito: Spaghetti! - Vicente: ??

Lol, that exchange was pretty funny. he then went with Chianti! Still, he managed to arrive at the importance of trade for Italy in the end. Not that that’s such a big reveal considering it’s true for all countries. But I guess, in the international context at the time, that’s what they were thought of. ^^’

[eefara]

Chapter 3

GNK have successfully made it to Pastrana; they’re waiting to hear back from Miguel/Raul’s messenger, and so Geoffrey and Kit have taken a walk to see the sites. We get to see a bit more of Kit’s masochistic tendencies when it comes to Nigel, though I have a feeling Nigel may not necessarily turn his nose up at beating Kit with a whip. Geoffrey’s apparently using tar to darken his hair color, which… is that safe for hair? Is that ever going to come out?

Anyway, the messenger arrives, a man named Pablo. Aaaaand apparently he’s actually 蛇? If this is true and not some 4D plot on Raul’s part, then dang; Raul’s craftier than I would’ve initially given him credit for. Pablo says he’ll take one of them with him to the castle where Kaito’s going to be arriving at soon, and before Geoffrey and Nigel can tear into each other too much, Kit points out that he’s basically the only one qualified there, having never met Vicente and can speak at least some Spanish. They agree to give the rest of their money set aside for Raul to Pablo on the condition that Pablo helps them not get caught in whatever scheme Raul’s cooked up. I can’t help but wonder how this is going to turn out; how do they know they can trust this guy?

Anyway! While Kit’s off getting reading and Pablo is being ignored at the table, we have a super huge moment between Geoffrey and Nigel! Geoffrey basically admits that he was in the wrong for stepping on Nigel’s feelings for Kaito, and says that he’s okay with Nigel pursuing Kaito; they’ll let Kaito decide, with no hard feelings between them. Nigel’s incredibly happy at this proposal, which makes me wish even more we got to see his viewpoint in the books; what’s going through his mind?

So it looks like the ball’s going to be in Kaito’s court from this point? Man, Nigel better step up his seduction game; this is his big chance! I don’t think it’s going to help, but he should pull out those ultra-cheesy lines he used back at the Hoe; that should show his dedication. The harem dream has somehow not died yet; 松岡先生 is totally doing this on purpose.

@ekg

It’s confirmed that Jeoffrey really did have a thing for Nigel originally! it was hinted at before, but not quite as definitely phrased: first love even! Since Nigel also have a real soft spot for Jeoffrey at the end of the day, I vote for all three of them to just live happily ever after! ^>^ <3

I will second this motion.

Chapter 4

Back to Kaito, he, Vicente, everyone’s idol Leiva, and their group are an hour or two from Pastrana. Kaito’s apparently not been eating much since the poisoning, and he’s got some, uh, potentially egg-flavored snacks given to him by Philip II. We don’t get to see just how delectable these are, since he gives them away to orphans.

It’s quite apparent from this section that Vicente, too, needs to step up his seduction game. Kaito sits and considers his relationship with Vicente vs. Geoffrey, and poor Vicente’s still sitting in “big brother” status. Man, of Kaito’s three admirers, Geoffrey really lucked out by showing his interest early and in an initially annoying manner (for Kaito, at least). I get the feeling that Nigel and Vicente aren’t really boyfriend material in Kaito’s mind just because of that; Geoffrey’s managed to claim that all-important “he doesn’t treat me like a blood relative” slot. My boys need to catch up.

We make it Pastrana/the castle, and Cervantes is there! Dang, I was wondering if he was going to show up again! Kaito’s thrilled, as am I. We also get a first look at Ana de Mendoza, who seems like quite a character. She’s initially charmed by Vicente’s good looks, but cools off a bit when she hears he’s from the main family, lol. Curious to see how this will develop.

@ekg

I don’t think I’ll ever comprehend the Japanese fascination with sponge cake like Castella. It’s ridiculously plain, and I certainly don’t think of the flavor of eggs eating sponge cake. ^^; Maybe, the modern day Japanese version of castella is just so much better?

I’ve never eaten it; maybe I need to for research purposes.

On an unrelated note, what would you guys think about postponing volume 12, and instead start March with catching up with the bonus stories? Could be volume 11 ends on a giant cliffhanger, of course, but I was reviewing our handy bonus story spreadsheet, and we have a total of, uh, 748 pages/21 stories of potential bonus content we could read now that we’re through volume 11. And two of those stories are a school AU version of F&B! Another one of the stories is the first bonus booklet that came with the F&B drama CDs @ekg; I figure it’s probably not going to have drama CD-only stuff in it somehow, right?

I have 143 pages/4 stories ready to read, with another 2 in the works as of last night (84 pages).

We can definitely go straight to volume 12, but I thought I’d bring up the idea. Plus you never know when/if a bonus story is going to tie into the main story in a big way, as apparently the first one does with Chapter 7 in this book. We don’t necessarily have to read all 748 pages or anything, but it is quite a lot of potentially juicy material.

[ekg]

@eefara

My boys need to catch up.

For sure. Kindness and hugs are all good, but you really need to smex it up a bit for it to go from friendly skinship to actual flirting/boyfriend material stuff. ^^’ Ganbatte Vincente! Nigel! Also, Kit!

@eefara

And two of those stories are a school AU version of F&B! One of them is the first bonus booklet that came with the F&B drama CDs @ekg; I figure it’s probably not going to have drama CD-only stuff in it somehow, right?

None of the bonus stuff I’ve listened to had any school drama AU. So that’s defo an original story. Tbh, I have really not seen any of these extras before! So much stuff! O_O

I wanna say I’m ready to move to the extras, but for me, I’d rather just move onto vol 12 when done with this one. I dunno. For me extras always exist outside of the main story anyway, and they’re great to have that sad moment when the whole story is over. Then, I’m defo gonna have a relisten to the extras I have to ease the void. ^^’

But, I think you defo should just go ahead and read what you wanna read. No hard feelings. Just be free! <3

[eefara]

@ekg

None of the bonus stuff I’ve listened to had any school drama AU. So that’s defo an original story. Tbh, I have really not seen any of these extras before! So much stuff! O_O

Whoops, sorry; I was typing too fast up there. The two AU school stories are part of the doujinshis; the drama CD booklet is separate. Edited my post to clarify.

[ekg]

Lol, same difference! Doujins are defo extras!

[eefara]

I think we’re more or less caught up with the royal diagram; I went back through our comments from volume 8 up to what I’ve covered here. I don’t think Philip II’s advisors are covered on the royal diagram yet, though they don’t seem to play as important a role for the most part, so it’s up to you if you want to include them @NicoleIsEnough.

Not 100% sure with the historical section in general; I’ll need to go back volume-by-volume with my little list I’ve made, but there’s quite a few Spanish names here where 松岡先生 used a family for inspiration at the minimum, but it’s not clear whether the specific people are real or not.

[eefara]

@ekg

For me extras always exist outside of the main story anyway, and they’re great to have that sad moment when the whole story is over.

It’s almost the opposite for me, haha. I can see how fast we’re going through the main series, and my heart’s afraid of finally reaching the end, haha. Better to put it off by reading all the bonus stuff. I definitely understand where you’re coming from, though!

[NicoleIsEnough]

@eefara

Nigel may not necessarily turn his nose up at beating Kit with a whip.

Just probably with a different motivation than what Kit had in mind

@eefara

On an unrelated note, what would you guys think about postponing volume 12, and instead start March with catching up with the bonus stories?

Hmmm, interesting proposal!

@eefara

Could be volume 11 ends on a giant cliffhanger

Hahaha now who planted that funny thought into your head!

@eefara

I’ve never eaten it; maybe I need to for research purposes.

I thought it was basically like a sponge cake - although quite moist and heavy, so maybe there are some more eggs in it than one would expect. Also it is quite yellow so who knows. Plus, the Japanese to love their eggs, so they need to go somewhere ^^ Countries That Consume the Most Eggs - WorldAtlas

@eefara

we have a total of, uh, 748 pages/21 stories of potential bonus content we could read now that we’re through volume 11

Whoa, I was not aware it’s so much at this point We could at least go for a few of them until we decide we need to return back to the main series. And who knows, maybe not all of them are that interesting? We could decide as we go.

@eefara

school AU

Uuuuh srsly Maybe I’d need to nope out of those then…

@eefara

Plus you never know when/if a bonus story is going to tie into the main story in a big way

That’s also a good point. I could imagine that it might deepen the enjoyment of the main series if we have some more background (that we are meant to know even). Not saying that we couldn’t go without them, so I totally unterstand your sentiment @ekg, but I agree with @eefara that it might be interesting to try.

[ekg]

@NicoleIsEnough

I thought it was basically like a sponge cake - although quite moist and heavy, so maybe there are some more eggs in it than one would expect

I know you can make it basically like a sponge cake. But some bakeries I’ve watched on Youtube clearly separates yolks from whites, and so they basically make a meringue of whites and sugar, that’s then mixed with the yolk plus other ingredients. I’m guessing it helps it get extra fluffy. ^^

I’m defo trying it if I get to Japan. As much as I think it sounds plain, it can’t be bad either… ^>^

[eefara]

@NicoleIsEnough

Just probably with a different motivation than what Kit had in mind

As long as everyone’s happy, right?

@NicoleIsEnough

Hahaha now who planted that funny thought into your head!

I don’t know anyone like that, haha.

@NicoleIsEnough

Whoa, I was not aware it’s so much at this point We could at least go for a few of them until we decide we need to return back to the main series. And who knows, maybe not all of them are that interesting? We could decide as we go.

松岡先生 is a machine, it’s ridiculous. And yeah, that sounds reasonable to me; people could pick and choose what ends up sounding interesting to them.

@NicoleIsEnough

Uuuuh srsly Maybe I’d need to nope out of those then…

Hahaha, no worries if so. I’m mostly intensely curious what slots everyone’s been assigned to. Kaito has to be the new transfer student, right? I don’t think it’ll be written this way, but it’d be wild if 松岡先生 has them attend a period-appropriate school, haha.

[NicoleIsEnough]

@ekg

separates yolks from whites, and so they basically make a meringue of whites and sugar, that’s then mixed with the yolk plus other ingredients. I’m guessing it helps it get extra fluffy. ^^

Yes, that’s how you make sponge cake The whipped whites are the only raising agent the cake gets, there is no baking powder nor anything else added to it.

[ekg]

@eefara

I don’t think it’ll be written this way, but it’d be wild if 松岡先生 has them attend a period-appropriate school, haha.

Now, you’re starting to get me interested for reals. XD I’d love that one, but like Nicole I’m not all that into school dramas. Not even when BL. But, you’ve got a point as it’s kind of a fun parody concept as well. ^^’

Anyway, I think you both should get going on the extras. I won’t join for now, but as I said that’s okay.

[eefara]

@ekg

I’d love that one, but like Nicole I’m not all that into school dramas. Not even when BL. But, you’ve got a point as it’s kind of a fun parody concept as well. ^^’

I’m only interested because of the parody aspect myself; school dramas, BL or not, don’t interest me much either; my bias for fantasy is far too strong.

Well, if Nicole and I do end up reading a few bonus stories, we’ll tag you on any really good ones.

[ekg]

@eefara

we’ll tag you on any really good ones.

Thanks! Much appreciated!

[eefara]

Small confession time @NicoleIsEnough: I was reading away last night, not paying any attention, and got to chapter 7 and kept reading. I got as far as them mentioning the name ミニア and went “oh shit” and immediately put the book down mid-sentence. I’ve seen nothing afaik that should impact the short story, so I’ll be reading it immediately now.