I have been yelling at Malakh about Vane and his perceptions of intelligence so let me do a brief run down for you folks.

Vane does not view himself as smart – he views himself as adaptable and capable of surviving anything just short of a motherfucking apocalypse, provided he has the right resources.
Smart People Are A Resource.
How??
Smart people can tell you if that pardon in your hand is In Fact a pardon and not a letter which reads This Is Charles Vane, Arrest Immediately, Don’t Worry, He Thinks This Is A Pardon complete with overdramatic flourish that was the 16th century standard for the cry-laugh emoji and whose meaning has been lost over time to translate simply as those bitches were extra.

In all seriousness though Vane was kidnapped at the age of seven and forced into hard labor for 13 – 14 something years I am too tired to check my own chronology on this so whatever, sleepdrunk headcaons ahoy.

In any case – after busting out of Hell he meets Edward Teach who is ruthless and big on the whole animal food chain philosophy of Only The Strong Survive – but also, deeply valued the power of intellectual warfare and emphasised the importance of being smarter than the enemy.

He taught Vane a lot of things – including his letters, which nobody in that era understood as Fucking Impressive because you learn your letters as a child or you’re Just A Dumb Peasant for struggling with it as an adult – but above all he emphasised that fear inside of Vane, that internal terror of being dragged back to Hell – by making it clear that if you Were Not Strong & Smart Enough, You’d Be Fucked.

So Vane – a very big, very powerful lad – learned quick to be The Strongest Fuck On The Docks and to establish his dominance as fast as humanly possible. Because with dominance and strength comes reputation and with reputation comes the power to encourage smart people to ally up because often times smart people tended to have a need for strong people, and thus transaction is crafted between the two.

However Vane also knew he could not survive as a dumb people. Not if he wanted to ensure he never, ever found himself on the stocks again. He needed to be more than strong he needed to be smarter than the strong, he needed to be strong and smart. Which leads in to his observational method of learning – he learns by osmosis, to be perfectly frank – and that is why the more exposure he has to the people he registers and views as smart and in charge, the more likely he is to sound vaguely like them when he enters into his own verbal disputes.

Vane is in fact a very quiet fucking person. He is more often than not reluctant to engage in lengthy conversations – for fourteen years of his life talking was often punishable by the lash and learning to overcome that training is difficult. It often takes a mask or an armor to manage, and at the same time he cannot sound like a parrot or people will see right through him.

So he listens and he watches and when he speaks he measures and paces himself, but his focus is generally on how to maneuver this situation like [ insert person best suited to maneuvering this situation ] and builds from there. The only times Vane really sounds like himself is when there is no fight or threat at hand, and generally tends to involve minor domestic moments with Rackham or Bonny – the only people aside from his ‘family’ and Teach who really know he’s a very simple man with very simple needs and goals.

What even they don’t know though, is that while he boxes it up in powerful ways so people will listen, at the end of the day the only thing Vane truly wants is the guarantee that he and those he cares about will be able to live free, and feel safe. And as someone who has never felt safe a day in his life – its the moments when he doesn’t feel like he has anything to prove that he is at his most honest, though more often than not – he is in a safe situation, and just doesn’t realize That Is What This is.

And that’s a rambly headcanon that covers a whole lot of shit to ultimately say if you’re wondering why I often portray Vane in nonthreatening positions its because I want to learn who he is in those situations because I know exactly who he is when he’s threatened and the point of development is putting characters in situations that are abnormal to learn about them :V

And also I just really wanted an excuse for that calligraphy joke. And also to tie in the whole Everything Is A Transaction To Vane thing I nattered about when I was 150% more coherent than I am right now ❤ WOO!

Mun Note: Although I have written some allusions toward the scandals that run rampant throughout the Hamilton family, it occurs to me I should actually put down some specifics so people have a full overview of the General Bullshit that Thomas deals with even before his own scandal tore him down because let’s face it, that family is cursed. ~~It’s probably the wigs.~~

This post will go into why on occasion Thomas will snap at people unprovoked or crawl into their laps like an Irish Wolfhound that has not realized it’s fully grown ass is too big for this seat, simply by introducing the general cast / explaining a bit about Whomst The Fuck the Hamiltons even are.

Thomas is the oldest of three children born to Lord Alfred Hamilton – one of the Lord Proprietors of the Bahamas – and his wife, Helena Hamilton
née Stanhope.

Helena had three older brothers – Christopher, the eldest of the Stanhopes, inherited the family estate and was both a landowner and lawyer. Benjamin, the second eldest, maintained a valuable career in the Navy and was post-captain by the time she died. His career largely tended to benefit the overall reputation of the Stanhopes and consequently, the good nature of their estate.

Andrew however, was the one who made bank as it were. With oversights in the EITC until ultimately gaining a post as governor in the Carolinas, he made a ridiculous amount of money which he poured back to Christopher, who in turn used it to enrich the estate and buy back ancestral lands that had been sold under their father’s tenure.

These three men hate Alfred Hamilton with an extreme prejudice to which Thomas is not in the least bit unaware, and each one of them had some small part to play in keeping Thomas from suffering an even worse fate than what he did when his own scandal came into light.
After Thomas was his brother, William Daniel Hamilton ( who preferred to go by Daniel, and is referred to by Thomas as Daniel, as Publicly Speaking “William Hamilton” is a traitor to England, whereas Daniel Hamilton is simply – and shall always be – Thomas’ little brother ) who by 1715 was known better as Henry Davis, a notorious pirate harassing trade routes in the Bahamas.
Following Daniel is Anna Teresa. Following the scandal surrounding William, Alfred had Anna married off to Lord Cuthbert Langley. Her abrupt suicide followed within a year of the wedding and with it, Thomas was inducted to understanding the role Lord Langley played in Daniel’s exile.
In short: Langley heads those whose conspiracy Daniel uncovered. Alfred, in attempt to appease Langley and ascertain the family Hamilton would not be summarily destroyed by the much older and influential Langley peerage used Anna as collateral and bribery to remain in good graces. Due to Anna’s death, Alfred was forced to trade Thomas – or rather, Thomas’ influence over new age radicals and the more progressive voices in parliament.

It eventually becomes common for Thomas to receive letters from his brother-in-law encouraging him to enforce or support certain causes and ideologies, always under the emphasis that family ought to support one another. Needless to say, the very crest of the Langley family eventually becomes a rage trigger for Thomas, who sees all dealings with them to be ruinous and irresponsible.
Tabitha – a woman whose surname is unknown to Thomas and would likely be as false as the given one she had offered – was his solitary contact with Daniel, and how he managed to keep abreast of piratical affairs in the Bahamas better and more accurately than was often portrayed by publicists. She was killed on the day of his arrest, in consequence for attempting to afford him a window of escape. For this reason, much like James and Miranda, Daniel eventually comes to believe that Thomas committed suicide in Bedlam.

Mun Note: This is a long overdue commentary so – my bad. A lot of this has already been shared with my primary writing partners in regard to Vane, but it should probably be said and linked because it was supposed to be on his profile like, six months ago.

Firstly, although I do write Vane as bisexual I flatly refuse to at any point act as though his relationships with individuals in his canon storyline have any subtexts. As I stated very loudly in my approach to John Silver’s sexuality, I consider it a disservice to the very open discussions Black Sails has on shame and sexuality by openly exploring women who love women and men who love men by inserting commentary and analysing things to have a completely different narrative for the sake of a ship.

In short: While Vane may develop relationships with men in alternative storylines and through threading, I do not consider the canon narrative to provide any evidence toward my decision and interpretation of his sexuality – nor will I, at any point, attempt to push the idea onto anyone that anything said or done in the canon narrative has anything to do with romantic feelings.

Secondly, it should be noted that though Vane has a high sex drive and greatly enjoys fucking in general, he is generally a little wary of being treated like a human sized dildo. More often than not people will get away with it just because he really has a very low standard when it comes to how he expects to be treated in this case, but the more obvious it is to him that your interest in him only stems as far as he can physically satisfy you, the less likely it will be that he’s going to give a shit about anything you need outside of that particular relationship.

In short: Vane is not a dumb animal and it is abundantly clear to him when he is being used as a sex object. Simply because he doesn’t object doesn’t mean he isn’t aware and has not classified the relationship as purely sexual as a result. Purely sexual relationships with Vane mean he is not obligated to give a flying fuck about your opinion, politics, or feelings. While he will ensure that both parties leave satisfied physically, expecting more from him after engaging him like this is sheer folly.

Thirdly, everything with Vane is about exchanges – absolutely everything comes down in some way to a value transaction. Not all values are measured in coin – some are measured in aims and benefits of a more mercurial nature. As long as he believes that those aims remain in alignment and that the partnership is balanced, he will do all in his power to maintain that partnership and ensure that the other party benefits from his protection.

However when it is made clear to him that the balance has shifted, and that his needs and aims are no longer being accounted for, he will address it – and no amount of manipulative bullshit will change the truth. Crossing Vane by going back on a deal never ends well, especially if that deal involves sexual intimacy. He takes it very goddamn personally, and will respond in a manner that is quite personal as a result – he can be very petty when he is enraged, and it never does well to forget that he is an extremely dangerous man.

In short: Vane is a hedonistic creature. When he wants sex, he has no issue procuring it from somewhere. So if he is maintaining a committed sexual relationship with someone, guaranteed it has absolutely nothing to do with the sex part and everything to do with some other transaction in play. As the only time it has happened is on Discord, I cannot say if it is guaranteed, but that transaction can be as simple as a sense of emotional safety – the sex is simply part of that exchange, though Vane would have a harder time quantifying that in words. And I do have a canon example that goes with all this transaction shit but its going under a cut because it involves Cursed Things That I Hate A Lot.

So with Eleanor, the transaction was that in exchange for his protection, the removal of Blackbeard and the power of his name, she would in turn establish for Nassau the legitimacies required to make her sustainable long term. When it became clear that she had no intentions of maintaining her end of the bargain and was instead fully determined to treat him as an obstacle toward her goals as opposed to a partner in achieving them, he was viciously clear in his opinion of this betrayal. Had there been no sexual component, his displeasure would have meted itself out a little less drastically – but no less effectively.

As I will probably never remember to write up the whole spiel on it and I have yelled about it enough with my partners, the TL;DR for Vane and Eleanor was they made a deal and Vane made a choice. He believed in her ability to obtain what he wanted and so he turned on a man he otherwise had no reason to challenge, and saw the success of Nassau as the price for his own betrayal. He refused to give up on Eleanor for so long because without her he did not believe his intentions would be manageable, and without her his sacrifice of Teach would amount to nothing, which was something he could not abide.

Sex between them was always manipulative on her part, and he was not blind to that fact, but so long as it seemed their goals were aligned there was little he would not offer her. When it became clear their paths had diverged, and her betrayals became insurmountable, Vane had little issue burning the bridge because it was never about love between them – it was a transaction, and his sacrifices on the table were massive. He needed her, and he put his chips down – that’s on him. She failed him – that’s on her.

“Sorry. I’m done threatening you.” [ @ theo fkcjFKFNG ]

{ Disenchantment Starters }

“Oh that’s what all the closeness was about,” Theodore had wondered – and it wasn’t as though he hadn’t been intimidated before, it was just generally speaking there was cause for it. As far as he was concerned he hadn’t done anything to warrant the need to threaten him – he was, after all, quite devoted to Captain Flint and his cause, so it wasn’t like he was going anywhere.

“I am so sorry,” He sounded genuinely contrite too, because he did know how important a man’s reputation was, especially when said man was notorious as his captain, “I completely missed it, but I’ll be sure to appear properly cowed if you need me to. I was going to do what you said either way, really.”

redstriings:

g0th-bby:

spooning? more like let’s see how much “accidental” booty wiggling it takes to get him hard

A Safe Harbor

@intolerablexsacrifice continued from [x]

The laugh had been nice – and any other day, any other moment – Thomas would have committed it to memory, and made note to headbutt his lieutenant more often, until the edge of nerves that hinged along the edges of the sound fell away. As it was, his own nerves kept him from doing anything more than seeking the tactile comfort he needed, and praying it would not be asking too much of his reserved and circumspect friend.

He could feel the discomfort radiating off James, and he had enough grace in him that he might have risen, apology falling listlessly from his lips – but as it was, a hand rose and settled on his back, and in an instant any shame that might have pulled him away from the warmth and comfort of his lieutenant was completely dashed.

Pressing his face into the crook of the man’s neck, resting where the curve of his shoulder rose, Thomas was grateful for the cravat that barred the heat of his sigh, for it was not his intention to seek anything here but an embrace. A sense of comfort and security as the world swayed beneath his feet.

“I will be,” He assured after a moment, “I just need some time to remember how to breathe on my own.” His own hand came up then, resting flat against the stiff fabric of the other man’s coat and shifting just a bit, as if to cling on to him but possessing just enough wit not to. “I trust – you won’t mind helping me, until I do?”

It wasn’t often he asked permission for small changes in their routine – but this was not small – and he knew it. Even if James didn’t fully understand, it was momentous enough it required some – form or shape of consent before Thomas allowed himself to succumb entirely to the upsetting emotions rotting within him.

skyjynxart:

You’re gonna go far, kid.

please reblog, do not repost!

He began to feel that life in the Navy, although it seemed to move from one crisis to another, was really one continuous crisis, that even while dealing with one emergency it was necessary to be making plans to deal with the next.

C.S. Forester, Midshipman Hornblower (via oceanmotioned)

“Aye aye” came back the answering hail from the lusty lungs of the woman at the stroke oar; by the curious and ages-old convention of the Navy the reply meant that the boat had an officer on board — presumably the huddled figure in the sternsheets looking more like a heap of trash with a boat-cloak thrown over it.

C.S. Forester and the canonical introduction to our beloved Hornblower (via oceanmotioned)

hatescorsets‌:

* ｡   ☠️    continued from here.   →    @oceanfoamed.
" JACK, “ _{^{doe eyes roll to the back of her head, becoming more instinctive, the more she had been attracted to his company, like a magnetic force, so to speak. it was inevitable, that their paths crossed each time she would be called to the sea, seemingly appropriate that it would be entirely jack’s doing. “ if you’ve returned to formerly choose a side, i would suggest choosing the right one, this time. “}}

“Accepting, of course, that I was on the wrong side at any point – which I do not, by the way – “ Not that he would be offering the bonny lass any insights into why he thought as much. She had her opinions of him and she could sure as well keep them, for they held little impact on his awareness of who he was, regardless of what she might have to say about it!

“Your tone implicates upon me the notion that you might perhaps be considering yourself to be the right side.” A beat, not a hesitation so much as an inflection in and of itself, the silence more punctuation than conclusion. “This time.” His brows rose, as though imploring her to refute him on this score, before pointing out the rather obvious, “I’m not so certain that’s the case love. I may be in need of a more compelling argument.”