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

[eefara]

Those last two chapters; dear God.

Will write up my thoughts tomorrow. Tonight, I sit and ponder. I ponder what is, and what will be.

[eefara]

So, funny sad story: I normally read my F&B through the Kindle app on a tablet, and as I was getting ready to read yesterday, my tablet starts updating. “Okay,” I thought, “I’ll go do a few chores, come back, and read.” So I come back later, and the tablet’s stuck in an infinite booting loop. Thankfully I’ve got physical copies of F&B as well, so I was able to continue (pretty obviously, based on that last message of mine.) It was just terrible timing, though. Anyhow, onwards!

Chapter 11

Man, this chapter was an absolute rollercoaster. You know, I’m starting to suspect that the number of men chasing after Kaito increases directly with how much he’s suffering; he’s going to have at least seven suitors by the end of this series, I swear. This Spain arc has been absolutely wonderful for me and absolutely awful for Kaito. But let’s start at the beginning.

So this is a fairly hefty chapter, and it starts with Kaito leaving a secret note for Vicente in Le Morte d’Arthur with some ash from the fireplace. While I’m impressed with his ingenuity, that had to be difficult, right? He would’ve had to use his finger to write with, I’m sure the ash smudged everywhere, etc. What exactly could he have written? It was an extremely strong chapter opener, filled with anticipation, then we kick it up another notch to go to the dining hall, where Vicente, hero of the hour, has saved Alonso’s life is now enduring the blond man’s friendship.

A: “The man saves my life, and waves it off! I suggest we be friends, and he says no thanks! Do you hate me, Lord Mendoza?”
V: Yes No, of course not.

One thing leads to another, and Leo challenges Alsonso to a drinking contest. This scene right here is all the camaraderie we’ve been missing from this Spain arc! And it comes now, of all times, right before Kaito’s set to be spirited away! D: It was at this point I decided, “sorry G&N, I need Kaito to stay with Vicente longer because I want more scenes like this!”. Anyway, Kaito’s summoned to the Princess Eboli’s chamber, and there are immediate ominous vibes when Kaito decides there’s no reason to tell anyone where he’s going. Like, normally I wouldn’t worry, but it’s specifically pointed out that “it’ll be fine”.

Kaito thinking about how he’s likely been bamboozled by the “you’re just like a younger brother, I swear” line yet again got me to chuckle. He’s slowly becoming more aware.

We get there, and unfortunately, Geoffrey’s plan of the chapter before has managed to backfire. Ana is determined that, if she can’t have Kaito, no one can, and attacks him. Man, this whole situation sucks; I’m so sorry, Kaito. And the real stomp-on-your-chest moment: Ana diagnoses Kaito with tuberculosis. I’m not going to lie, at this point I was 80% tempted to put the book down and start refreshing my knowledge of TB; that is a serious accusation, and if Ana’s correct about it… Damn. That’s a series changer. Like, I’ve been considering the possibility that it’s not TB, because TB is going to be a final boss, but given how Kaito’s already been thrown off a ship into the middle of the ocean and been interrogated/tortured by official courts twice (counting the “inspection” by the Inquisition), I’ve got a really bad feeling about this.

He’s immediately concerned about spreading it to Vicente and Geoffrey, which is valid. I’m concerned about them getting it, but I don’t think they will; other people in this book don’t suffer, it’s just Kaito. Now if Kaito wants to go cough in Raul’s face, I’d be fine with that. Speaking of, the one bright point here was Raul be extremely confused by Ana’s actions.

Anyway, another thought on the TB thing: we all don’t expect Kaito to die of it, right? What if this is the thread Matsuoka uses to tie Kaito back to the present and Kazuya; the present, where life-saving TB drugs exist? I just don’t know. My slapdash research on TB honestly hasn’t given me a great grasp on the disease so far: it’s contagious, but only via droplets coughed up from the lungs. It’s been around for basically all of human history, and can really devastate a population, though I’m not sure what the individual survival rate is.

Man, to be honest, this TB thing is what really has stuck on my mind; more than a daring escape, more than poor Vicente crying into the night at Kaito’s eventual disappearance from his life, it’s this. And man, Ana letting Kaito go because she figure he’ll die soon anyway was absolutely brutal. That woman; she has an unexpectedly dark side. I gotta say, I really appreciate that about Matsuoka: she does a great job of really fleshing out characters when you least expect it.

@ekg

Even as Vincente has arrived on the other side of the door, Kaito takes another hit from Eboli. (I confess reading a bit quick here, so I might have confused the events a bit?)

So since I’m fresh from the chapter: Ana slices Kaito’s arm with the knife, then kicks him in the chest to knock him down. She steps on his while monologuing, and lets him up at the end of the scene.

Chapter 12

Man, again, I almost put the book down so I could sit and ponder the TB. There was only a little bit left, though, so of course I continued. Matsuoka takes pity on us after that killer last chapter and let’s us see through Vicente’s eyes for the finale; he’s off to the palace to answer an urgent summons. Amusingly, Alonso tags along, determined to have Vicente open up to him. Man, I didn’t dislike Alonso before, but I like him more and more as we see him. Highlights from this chapter with him:

• Him commenting about how scary men of the sea are; he’s apparently still nursing a hangover from his drinking contest with Leo, while the kid’s fine.

• “You know, Vicente, it’s pretty obvious to everyone with eyes how much you hate leaving Kaito. I’m newly married, I can tell.”

• Confirmation that Alonso is a superstar because he’s blond! Apparently the hair reminds Philip II of his deceased younger brother, Don Juan.

Alonso is able to notice, thanks to his familiarity with the Spanish court, that Vicente’s summons is a fake, and immediately catches on to the face that someone’s trying to lure Vicente away from Pastrana. Vicente shoots back off to the castle, immediately pegging the crime on Geoffrey. And here we’re treated to The Moment: Vicente acknowledges, finally acknowledges, that he’s in love with Kaito. Man, what a moment to hit me with after that last chapter. Not only that, but Vicente crosses the event horizon and confidently decides that he hates Geoffrey so much (/anyone who gets between him and Kaito), that even if it makes Kaito hate him, he’s going to murder that damn pirate.

One last laugh out loud moment: Vicente’s pondering his love for Kaito, having fooled himself with the “he’s like family” bit, and comes to the conclusion that, unless you’re talking about someone with some serious incest issues, it’s probably not brotherly love. Good on you, Vicente, good on you.

Omg you guys. I know I keep saying this, but that was a fantastic pair of chapters to end with. How is this series still so good, and just keeps getting better?! I don’t blame you at all @ekg for moving ahead; this is top notch stuff. I think I’ll be glad of the time to sit and digest the situation, though; time to solidify the situation and what’s at stake. And time to get a new Kindle

@ekg

Lol, for the chat between Vincente and Alonso, who really do become friends on this journey I feel. Vincente finally asks why Alonso has made it into Philip II’s inner circle, and Alonso says it’s probably to do with this blond hair and face. Blonds rule in this story, clearly! XD @eefara Sorry not sorry for the tag, but you brought it up. Read this once you get to chapter 12! XD

Hehehe, no apologies needed! The universe needs to know how much of a rockstar Alonso the blonde is.

[ekg]

@eefara

TB honestly hasn’t given me a great grasp on the disease so far: it’s contagious, but only via droplets coughed up from the lungs. It’s been around for basically all of human history, and can really devastate a population, though I’m not sure what the individual survival rate is.

it’s a deadly disease. But, for sure, it shouldn’t have progresses at the rate that you start couching blood, after having met someone contagious just months ago. As you say, we have cures today. Ordinary antibiotics. But, people didn’t back then, that’s why Kaito feels such despair.

I think about TB, what’s more interesting is that it’s a disease which has left a huge cultural foot print in Japanese culture. You see the disease referenced quite frequently in anime. Someone who’s born with a “weak body”, being bedridden and coughing, TB took a lot of lives in Japan, not the least the lives of some historic people as well. But, the country was most impacted during WWII as I know.

Found a research paper discussing it. Tuberculosis in Japan before, during, and after World War II | Tuberculosis and WarLessons Learned from World War II | Books Gateway | Karger Publishers

[ekg]

@eefara

So since I’m fresh from the chapter: Ana slices Kaito’s arm with the knife, then kicks him in the chest to knock him down. She steps on his while monologuing, and lets him up at the end of the scene.

Thanks for the blow-to-blow breakdown. lol. That’s woman is vicious. Then again, Kaito is just a puppy in fighting ability! ^^;

@eefara

Omg you guys. I know I keep saying this, but that was a fantastic pair of chapters to end with. How is this series still so good, and just keeps getting better?!

I totally agree! It’s a ride and a half. And so many twists and turns. There are lots of volumes left, so, I’m all in for this one!

[NicoleIsEnough]

@ekg

But, for sure, it shouldn’t have progresses at the rate that you start couching blood, after having met someone contagious just months ago.

Yes, exactly my thinking, that’s why I’m not even half worried. I suspect that Kaito maybe bit his tongue or cheek in the fight, and when he coughed (which people do at times), that blood came out to the confusion of everybody.

Here are some facts on tuberculosis:

• it’s contagious but not very much. You need longer exposure to catch it.
• It takes a few weeks to a few months until the illness develops.
• only 10% of people who are infected actually develop the illness. This affects especially people with existing chronic diseases or weak immune systems.
• If the body could not fight the bacteria, it will develop a so-called primary tuberculosis. This takes about two years from infection.
  (Source: various German pages on the matter)

[eefara]

Man, you guys are knocking all my concerns down like they’re nothing. Your cold hard logic is brutal, haha.