Alright, I have procrastinated on this enough; it’s time to go over Thomas Pullings’ scars from his time aboard the Hércules, where he was pressed into service after Acheron was reclaimed by her original crew. I have made some mention of how these marks have affected his personal esteem, and I imagine I will cover more on his mental state as time continues on ( he’s an interesting mix of healthy and unhealthy perceptions, in all truth ) This, however, is a strictly physical accounting of damages.

His back and front have received the worst of the effects of his time aboard Hércules, as oft he would not yet be healed before insubordination ( perceived or otherwise ) would have him tied before the mast once again. Points were reached when it was easier to keep him awake by alternating flogging between back and front, until he came all but mute and ( as much as he could manage ) competently compliant. Eventually, his floggings became very few and far between – more a result of language barrier than his desire to be challenging of authority.

His back and his chest, therefore, are littered with the crisscross of the lashings he received. These marks decorate his shoulders down to his hips across the back, and his upper arms where leather would at times flash throughout matters. Across the front, most damage is over the chest and upper arms – perhaps in a rare show of decency, but most likely to keep from killing him by striking over organs and rupturing matters within. There are a few singular dashes across his stomach and sides, as well as his lower arms, from points when the risk was taken regardless.

He has along his lower thighs some additional scarring, and across the back of his left hand a mark that crosses from the base of his thumb up to the knuckle on his smallest finger. At his throat, there is a small line from where a sword was held too long and too tight, and just behind his right ear is another scar that is shaped oddly – like an anchor beneath a half circle, in fact. This last, of course, being a service brand granted him shortly before being put aboard Hércules – and it is for this reason, that Thomas no longer holds his hair in a queue but rather, allows it to flow freely, thus obscuring any signs of servitude.    

Coming soon to a hell near you; the extent of Thomas Pullings’ scars as a result of his time as a slave. In the meantime, the impact on his sense of personal esteem thanks to them;

  He does not see himself as a catch any longer – even with the one scar upon his face he thought himself a bit dashing – but now, he acknowledges himself as damaged goods as it were. Not the sort one wishes to keep and frankly, he is not too eager to allow himself to be seen.

His arms are often bared despite the lashing marks on them ( no pirate’s brand mind you ) and his shirt tends to be a bit open, casting a glimpse of raised flesh – but that is as far as he reveals. While he still gets dandys from time to time, he tends to keep his shirt on for such dalliances, knowing the marks along his legs are at least somewhat easier to ignore. As these are fleeting affairs he feels no obligation to do anything further nor does he feel validated or invalidated by any remarks made by his partner of the night.

Thomas is very proud of all he has survived and is proud of who he has become – but, he does not like thinking upon how he got there, and he is deeply reluctant to trust anyone. Faith and hope are shattered in him, almost absolutely. Captain Sparrow is among the few that can rouse such emotions – and only because he is such a law unto himself, it is all but impossible not to believe he will accomplish anything he sets out to do.

and that’s the tea on that.

This is a permanent starter call for Weatherby Swann, of Pirates of the Caribbean explicitly.

These calls give me a heads up on who is open to interacting with whom (which is handy for those who have exclusives among my crew! ) and gives me an excuse to kick you starters whenever something crosses the mind, or blow up your inbox knowing who would be most wanted.

These calls also serve as a final tag dump – when this call is posted it indicates a character has been fully moved into the blog and is ready for action!

For other starter calls, check the tag HERE.

Hands

Weatherby has the soft, well maintained hands that mark him as a man of high station. He frequently treats them, as they are prone to chapping ( as are his lips, and the bridge of his nose – the heat of the Caribbean is not particularly kind to him ) and has a habit of rubbing them as though massaging oil into them whenever he is cold, as it tends to help with his circulation.

In general, Weatherby runs a little cooler than most – even in the sweltering heat his palms tend to be dry, though his temples and neck often bead up due to the heavy and thick nature of the wigs that mark his station. He always seems to know what to do with them.

While folding them behind his back when they are not in active use affords him an air of authority, for the most part he tends to utilize his hands in subtle gestures ( always kept close to his own body ) that suggest an ever thoughtful mind and a rather inherent sense of physical control and personal mechanics.

For Weatherby respect is more of an art form than it is a feeling he genuinely prescribes to toward most of whom he claims to hold in high regard. Respect is rather like a dance – there are many motions involved, but none of them really go anywhere. It all stays in one ever growing circle of customs and expectations, rules and manipulations.

Weatherby has mastered the game of respect much like one might master the game of shogi – he knows his expected etiquette and the plays required in order to continue to climb the social ladder or maintain a particular position. It is not that he particularly cares for his company or even the rules of engagement he has to adhere to, so much as he recognizes the strategy inherent in upselling or downplaying one’s interest in the endeavours of others.

That is not to say Weatherby does not genuinely admire others for their accomplishments – rather, it is those he is expected to respect who have done little to earn it that gain the hallow mastery rather than the true article. Those he comes to fully appreciate he must work hard not to favor over much – and in some of these cases he fails abysmally.

Case in point: James Norrington.

Weatherby’s favoritism toward the young and clever naval officer is made abundantly clear by the ridiculous amount of showmanship surrounding the man’s promotion to commodore. Typically speaking such a promotion is not only temporary, but hardly celebrated in such a grandiose fashion –  however, Weatherby dotes upon James as he would his own child and this much is made even clearer by his commission of a newly made sword in honor of the occasion.

These displays of affluence and open preference are thankfully very rare from Weatherby; in fact there are only four people in the world who can boast to being so willfully catered to in every way. His wife, whom he showered with affection and ridiculous displays of grandeur even after they were married for no other reason than to surprise and charm the woman he adored above all others; his daughter, his niece – and his son of heart, if not blood. But this goes beyond respect, and simply into how Weatherby displays his affection and adoration when societal practice dictates he keeps the poetry and heartfelt praises close to his chest.

Weatherby has the patience of a saint for most things in life – though in others, his fuse can be dangerously short. Operating as both a political savant and a single father, he learned to balance his time well and to always make room for disaster. This has in turn afforded him the capacity to be relatively calm in most domestic dramas and to maintain an affable air no matter the situation at court.

This seeming ability to weather any storm with an unflappable sense of calm assisted in the elevation of his status over time; in most cases that could be predicted, Weatherby was well suited to his position. However as he was never known to cause offense enough to warrant a duel and his general role tended to be well clear of any warfare, his patience for it was something of an unknown element.

One he quickly discovered was not a lasting one. Weatherby abhors violence and is in fact a lamentable coward. Pain terrifies him and frankly he would rather avoid it – both in himself and in those around him if he can manage it. He encourages battle to be swift and tends to get tetchy when expected to oversee anything too closely.

Though he will do all he can to keep face when he must – at the end of the day Weatherby has neither the stomach, the strength nor the patience to last long in a battle scenario and will either look to another for guidance or will find a way to get out of sight and out of mind until it is all over. 

Weatherby on his own is not a frightening man – but with the power at his disposal, the areas in which his fuse runs short often tend to prove deadly. He is utterly unforgiving toward bandits and thieves, to the point he will not hesitate to have them hung the moment they are seized.

Though this did bleed out toward pirates as well more often than not, Weatherby actually maintained a somewhat more lenient stance toward them what with his familiarity with certain unsavory Naval practices. No – Weatherby’s hatred focused specifically upon men who preyed upon those on land alone, though the source of that hatred is its own story.

He also lacks all tolerance for those who would abuse women, at least in any public manner or way that could be proven. Though he is distantly aware of the sufferings of many wives, he has no power in those situations – but a man who would strike a woman on the streets of Port Royal may well find himself strung up on charges he never committed, solely to get him off the streets. Permanently.

Violence of this kind is beyond the pale in Weatherby’s eyes. In truth it is often quite triggering for him to witness, and his response is therefore exacerbated exponentially by his own emotional distress toward matters. Hardly an acceptable reason to essentially use one’s power for murderbut, here we are.

This is a permanent starter call for Daniel Gillette, of Pirates of the Caribbean explicitly.

These calls give me a heads up on who is open to interacting with whom (which is handy for those who have exclusives among my crew! ) and gives me an excuse to kick you starters whenever something crosses the mind, or blow up your inbox knowing who would be most wanted.

These calls also serve as a final tag dump – when this call is posted it indicates a character has been fully moved into the blog and is ready for action!

For other starter calls, check the tag HERE.

Happiness

Daniel finds happiness in work and in the puzzles and games he plays with his mother, strategic training exercises that serve a far greater purpose than he in fact realizes. He enjoys working hard and passing out after pushing himself to the limit, just as much as he enjoys an average day in which his body acts on autopilot.

However, the greatest source of joy to him outside of his work and perhaps a few friends, is the tending of his horses. Daniel adores them as one might adore their own child, and often visits them before he even checks in on his parents once he returns to shore. For all his dedicated service, Daniel remains at his core a man of the land – and perhaps, in some ways, a man of the army.

Heart

Daniel is a steady man – he works hard to maintain his health both physically and psychologically, as he knows well the damage that can befall those who do not keep their humors balanced.

Despite the devastation that ruined his career in the army and shattered his willingness to trust in romance easily, his dedication to moving forward allowed him to go above and beyond expectation. He went from one promising, decorated career to carving another from below the bottom, beneath the slew of rumor and wondering, and he did it all without turning bitter to those around him.

There is a thread of instability within him however, that stems from that same devastation. He sees Lord Wilson as his greatest and most dangerous foe, and if there is any man whom he may murder in cold blood – it is doubtless the one who once held his heart.

What does Gillette smell like? ( Can’t do mom and then ignore dad, can we? )

Unlike his senior officer and good friend Theodore Groves, Gillette does not spare expense when it comes to his toilet. Even his wigs are set with the finest quality of scented powders, his clothes carefully perfumed to mask the detritus and the grime one encounters both at sea and upon the streets.

Lady Sarah instilled upon her son the exceptional importance of a recognizable scent – as well as the associated dangers of being toorecognizable. He makes use of common bases – amber and the spirit of musk, which blends to his own scent and keeps all other scents grounded to him at the heart. For head he works with sandalwood and pine scents (occasionally marjoram ) and it could easily be stated that overall, he smells like warm autumn.

The amber and sandalwood cross, however, is something of his signature, as it lays upon his handkerchiefs and gloves as a means of masking unpleasant smells when he is landed and going through lower areas. These articles, when borrowed to others, are almost effeminate for this process and are again, the result of his mother’s teachings.