đź’“ for Silver! i knew i’d fuckin forgotten someone, figures it’d be the poodle

{ Learn To Make A Heart Flutter }

Silver guards his heart jealously, obscuring it as surely as he obscures everything about his past. It takes about two years before he fully starts thinking of himself as Silver, so letting someone close before he’s fully established who he wants to be – who he needs to become – is incredibly difficult to manage. 

It would be a lie to claim he does not have a weakness for Spanish songs, and for the sound of his mother tongue in prose and prayer. He pretends not to notice it, or to be moved – but in those rare times when he hears native speakers he feels more whole and at ease in existence than he does at any other point. 

Those who have learned the language, but have no mastery of the accent, make him uneasy and even angry, to the point he revealed his own fluency aboard the Walrus simply to avoid hearing his language be chopped and butchered so bitterly. 

đź’“ for Vane!

{ Learn To Make A Heart Flutter }

Alright well first off the big trick you have to pull off is getting this giant triangle of a jungle cat to trust you enough to even get close enough to do this. At present the grand total of people who can tame Charles with this particular method amounts to three and all of whom manage it on a purely platonic level – that said, it can work on a romantic one shockingly well if the romance in question is not based in mutual destruction and manipulation. That’s a whole other headcanon though.

The thing is, getting Charles to melt requires trust inherently because he doesn’t like to be vulnerable – and if he knows he is manipulating you or you are manipulating him or you are both manipulating one another he is obviously not going to let you into his orbit where softness comes into play. He is capable of incredible softness if that trust exists but without it – without that trust, seeing Charles Vane at rest and in a completely gentle state of being is simply not in the cards for you.

That said, those with the power at present ( Jack Rackham, Anne Bonny and Edward Teach ) really need only stroke his hair to get him to grow still. He’ll remain wary depending on the situation at hand, but eventually he will sink into it and possibly even fall asleep with his head on their lap or shoulder. It is a gesture of extreme trust for him which is why, again, it is mostly a platonic matter because he straight up has no lovers he trusts that implicitly with that kind of control. 

It is possible to earn that level of trust though, and it is also possible for it to gain a romantic angle that will result in him being fairly snuggly, which is honestly hilarious because he is a very big man who often thinks he is smaller than he is at such points. Like a giant dog that thinks it still belongs on the couch and in your lap when really it could probably serve as a pony for small children.

đź’“đź’“đź’“ for Theodore bc he deserves nice things ;v;

{ Learn To Make A Heart Flutter }

  1. Acts of pure selflessness. Theodore is an observant man – and he knows that kindness in this world is something that is seen as unfashionable the higher one gets in society. He notices, therefore, every time someone in a position of power acts in a manner that does not befit their station.

    For example, a lieutenant who purchased his commission and yet, wraps his perfectly pressed uniform coat around the shoulders of a shaking midshipman and goes about his duties is far more likely to melt Theodore’s heart than one who passes that same midshipman with nothing more than an order, or complete indifference. 

  2. Softness toward animals. Theodore loves animals and is of the belief that anyone who sneaks their victuals to a ship cat, or goes above and beyond to help a stray dog, is absolutely incapable of being a wholly terrible person. He has been known to stand rather staunchly beside people many would consider monstrous, simply due to the fact their care toward animals has shown him there is more to them – and by looking toward that more, has come to find in them reasons for loyalty.

    ( See, his perfect contentment toward loyalty for Barbossa despite knowing full well the man is a pirate, and an undead one once, at that! ) 

  3. A nice smile. Theodore is – not a picky person, exactly, but he does have a thing about smiles. Certain kinds of smiles can turn him off quickly – generally speaking the more false the smile the less likely it is Theodore will trust you, let alone grow attracted to you. 

    The unfortunate drawback to this one is that often times, he is attracted to wilder smiles because he is so pained by the painted ones so common in upper crust society. This often leads him to being attracted to rakish and boisterous men, and more often than not, that doesn’t end well for him. 

    Sometimes though, it is the complete opposite. A small almost hidden smile, fleeting and shy, can also tug at his heartstrings real good. Or repressed ones – those hints of pure joy swiftly shuttered – can attract him like a moth to the flame, eager to coax that smile into the light. 

The Ghost They Whispered Of

the-empires:

The fire crackling in the hearth of the withdrawing room held Bram’s distant interest as he mused to himself. Five months had passed since the revered sea officer’s disappearance – and not a witness nor accessory nor behaviour of discontent could account for his whereabouts. The major had a strong opinion of Hornblower; he thought the seaman was eccentric and untoward and playfully insubordinate, but cowardly was not and never one of them. Of all the men he would think would desert, Hornblower was the very last. 

Desertion was a weak explanation, however. If he wanted to leave the Navy and it’s clutches ( an ambitious task, indeed ), there would be no reason for him to return. Wherever Hornblower had run off to was, no doubt, a better option than returning to be executed as a traitor. Bram did not think Mister Hornblower was a fool, either. 

No, there was something quite strange afoot.

He leaned back on the tufted back of the chaise, letting his winding thoughts burn in the fire as he awaited Mister Hornblower. The maid set a silver tray down on the wooden accent table and glanced to the master of the house, opening her mouth as if to ask how he wanted his tea. He cut her off, dismissing her politely. When she did not react how he intended, Bram clarified and thanked her for her work and told her to go home early. She blinked with surprise and a smile, leaving the drawing room quickly. 

He took the teapot, white porcelain with flowering forget – me – nots crawling from the handle to the spout, and poured himself a cup of tea. The ceylon leaves gave the hot water the hue of an Indian summer, golden, nearly amber in its strong hue. Bram dropped a perfectly shaped cube of sugar in the teacup just as Hornblower entered, looking every bit the gentleman he had been. 

Bram waved away Hornblower’s gratitude with the silver teaspoon. 

A wistful smile grew on his face as the man went on. Where the Devil has he been?! It’s a question he’s sure he’s not the first to wonder and is confident he will not be the last to think it, if he knows anything about Hornblower. “It’s so very queer, Mister Hornblower,” he said after taking a sip of tea with an air of well – refined insouciance. “One of the Navy’s finest young officers vanishes without a trace, leaving us to believe you simple fell of the end of the world … or deserted. Neither can be so, though. I have always taken you for a man above such childish acts of cowardice and treason. I am eager to learn the truth, if you will tell it.” His eyes narrowed as he scrutinised the man, who, even after a thorough bath and donning expensive clothes, still possessed an air of wildness about him. “Would you care for some tea?”

“To think your half of the tale is the tame portion,” Horatio offered softly, “Queer does not even begin to describe my life since I was hauled from the Indefatigable.” His choice of words deliberate – he had not had any choice in the matter of his leaving the service, but now was not yet the time to get into it. Instead he smiled, and chose to accept tea with grace first, admittedly needing the heat in his stomach to strengthen his resolve against the cold English air, and the unsettlingly fragile refinement by which he was now surrounded.

He still retained proper etiquette – if, perhaps, more pronounced than it used to be, for the sorts of civilized men he had dealt with in the Caribbean were even more uptight than the ones today, to put matters rather mildly. In comparison to the man of – by Edrington’s recollection – mere months ago, however, it was a great deal more natural. The stiffness and displeasure was gone from him, and he seemed to ease into matters as if he had been taking part in dignified ceremonies such as this the whole of his life.

“You are of course quite right in your assessment – desertion has never been in the cards, and I’ve too great a loyalty to my king and country for treason.” Horatio wasn’t even sure if that was true, but he had loyalty to men who did hold the crown as absolute and that would simply have to suffice. Furrowing his brow, Horatio carefully lowered the china cup to its home upon the saucer and confessed, “I am afraid the tale itself is – very troubling, and has potential for great impact on our nation if only it might be heard by the appropriate parties. Unfortunately politics – as you may recall – are not my strongest suit.” Diplomacy was not a game he had played well in the past, though he was rather adept at its trickery now. 

Meeting the other man’s gaze, there was no lie in his earnest manner now, for his desperation was quite real. If this venture failed, he would have no choice but to go about matters above and beyond the law – and he didn’t want to take such actions if he could in any way help it. 

“I would like to tell you everything, the whole of it in fact, though I must ask that you bear with me. I have means of proving my words, but what I need first is to impress that I have only the desire to return to my station aboard the Indefatigable, or whatever ship our Navy deems most applicable. I have no wish for the truth to be known beyond where it would be most useful, and I have no notion of where to begin on that score – but I do know that you are a much more diplomatic person than myself, and perhaps with your understanding of both the present climate and my tale, you may perhaps be kind enough to direct me in what I ought to do next for the sake of our security in this blasted war.” The last thing England needed, after all, was Napoleon with a witch at his disposal – or any of the artifacts in which Horatio was tasked to reawaken.  

To Love What We Die For

the-empires:

“No,” Bram said, almost too sternly. It was pitiful, his meager attempts at controlling himself. Everything he said came out fleeting and distressed. He guarded himself, leaving Theodore to do the hard work. There was no way Bram could continue like this, holding his heart out to Theodore just to snatch it back every time the man came close. “Listen to me.” It felt like an order, but, miserably, it was far from such.

“You must -” he cut himself off and tried again. “I want you to understand that I have never done this before, whatever you might define this as. There has nary been a moment in my life where I did not know exactly what my actions were and what my purpose in doing so was. Mister Groves, I don’t know what I am doing and, even coming here and saying these blasphemous things to you, I don’t know what I hope to gain from this, but, nevertheless, I will confess.” He turned from his place of retreat to the couch as a trio of men lingered in the hall just outside the door. From their conversation, there was little intention of leaving any time soon. Bram stood before the coat rack beside Theodore and kept his voice low, brown eyes staring anywhere but the man of his affections. 

“You have been my downfall since the day we departed from each other. You haunted me. Your smile, your laugh, the outrageous things you spoke of, the …” Bram’s voice fell away and his heart thundered in his chest. His mouth was dry with protestation, but he forced himself onward; he would not let Theodore slip through his fingers. “The feeling of your body against mine. 

“Though it pains me so, for I know we can never be more than what we are now, I feel I cannot deny myself the sweet, sinful knowledge that I love and am loved in return.” Bram sighed and pursed his lips. 

His heart had never been bared, never been surrendered to the terrifying whims of Venus, for he had never before needed to bare it. “My conflict makes for poor company, but I would like you to stay, lest I forever wonder what could have become of this.” 

Perhaps to any other man, Bram’s internal conflict and its devastating results would prove maddening. To be pushed away and grasped at in turns, to be told how deeply they mattered in the same breath as how naturally nothing could come of it, would surely have been a positively heartbreaking experience and possibly, not worth the pain of it. 

Theodore, however, was not quite the average man. He did not despair or rejoice for the words he was offered but rather took them for the whole that they were – complicated and vulnerable in turns. He smiled reassuringly, wanting Bram to feel comfort in the wake of such powerful admissions that doubtless cost him a great deal to profess. 

“Your conflict is honest – and honesty is always good company in my books,” Theodore assured, holding to his chest the warm knowledge that he was loved, even if it was a complicated sort of love. Knowing in his heart that he haunted Bram was a strange feeling – he wasn’t the sort of person who let himself be haunted – if he loved, and was loved, then surely that was all that mattered. 

Bram was a different sort of man from the sorts Theodore usually fell for, and he supposed this strange dance was simply a part of loving a man who truly loved back. Or maybe it was simply the difference in loving a man who was good at heart. Such thoughts only endeared Bram to Theodore all the more, of course.

“I do believe it might look strange for us to have gotten up like this, only to return to our game,” He pointed out, gently aware of the cost of appearances for men like Bram. “Might I propose we go for a walk together, and perhaps clear our heads?” Theodore had no need – he was thinking just fine – but he had a feeling Bram could benefit from an environment that had less of a sensation of eyes upon him. 

River Run Red

@the-empires continued from [x]

Daniel had received the intelligence through one of Theodore’s middies, and had acted immediately, directing his men and Theodore’s into position before gathering a small contingent of men to race back and retrieve the stolen first lieutenant. Word of the major’s presence and direction had come from the scouts he sent to find any word on Theodore’s keepers, thus resulting in their present position. 

There would be little point in rescuing Theodore if the lot of them faced court martials for doing so, and orders from a major – while unorthodox – would be a not entirely unheard of recourse for their actions. Thinking steps ahead like this was precisely how Daniel had managed similar matters in the past – and he doubted it would be the last. 

The trick of it of course, being whether or not Lord Edrington would want to attach his name to this in any way, shape or form. This would hardly be the first time Theodore tangled with a man who saw no value in him outside of risky pleasures, something to be cast aside the moment difficulties arose. Nor would it be the first time Daniel had encountered a Lord who valued his name and reputation more than any human being, least of all one who might tarnish it simply for existing. Edrington’s care for Theodore was a slim fucking chance, and he knew it – but it was a chance worth trying. 

“Theodore has confided in me for two reasons,” Daniel knew that the fact he was even aware of this secret was cause for Theodore to be abandoned as a confidentiality risk. “The first is simply the fact he will not confide in any other person, because he wisely does not trust people to hold secrets on his behalf. He knows my secrets – and in turn, share’s his own. Our destruction is mutually assured, and so you in turn can be certain that this is not blackmail. Theodore would be sure to ruin me if I put you at risk,” Daniel sounded almost amused by this, “His is a heart that cares tremendously, even if perhaps it ought not to.”  

It was here that his expression grew grim, and Daniel’s tone shifted to one of warning. “As the second reason would be that these inclinations of his have nearly killed him in the past. Not for lack of secrecy, so much as a horrible judgement in character. I have never known him to be endangered by the law, so much as by the men he chooses.” 

Here, it was clear Edrington had fallen in with a historical precedent of terrible choices and even worse results, because Daniel’s next words indicated a rather tired understanding. “I do not expect this to come as any comfort to you, and will only ask that, should you choose not to aid us, you do not act against us. I have no intention of telling Theodore I came to you, so he will have no reason to think he lacks value to you should we succeed without your support.Â