“ and you had nothing to do with it?” [ @ hume! ]

{ Interrogation Starters }

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“I have never been one to wear my politics and policies openly, Mc–Flint,” Graham reminded the other coolly, not particularly ruffled by the man’s accusatory tone or even his threatening mannerisms. He was confident in his awareness that the Scarborough was too valuable for Flint to throw away, no matter how high his temper climbed. “But I have always known whose parlors to avoid – and have taken considerable care to ensure my name was never tied to them.”

Folding his hands together, he leaned forward on the table, meeting the other man’s strange eyes squarely. Unafraid – and just as unyielding. “Contrary to your belief, my role in this was nigh nonexistent, but before you get twisted up over it perhaps you should consider the facts and the family in question. After all – Alfred Hamilton has never before shown an interest in keeping his children alive – so does that not beg the question then, of why Thomas – who posed just as great a threat as William – happened to have so much effort spent on his preservation?” 

It certainly was not Alfred’s doing – and it was positively laughable to consider Hennessey might be the one responsible. “My role – such as it was – placed me in direct contention with the admiralty. You know where Hennessey stood on this. So perhaps instead of marking me as your enemy, you may want to sit down and rethink that bloody assessment!”   

“ One day, you will be face to face with whatever saw fit to let you exist in the universe, and you will have to justify the space you’ve filled. ” [ @ hume i don’t remember verses dont look at me. g-d flint is so fucking dramatic ]

{ Iconic Lines } 

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“As will we all, McGraw, yourself included.” Graham’s response was not antagonistic, or even unnerved. His was too devout a faith to be shaken by threats of God’s wrath from a man who barely knew him, and certainly not by a man who made no effort to be seen as good in His book. “But we are not here to discuss our place in this world, nor what becomes of us after we leave it. We are here to discuss terms of an alignment – unless I am to take from your vitriol that there is no hope of allegiance here, and that the Scarborough and the Walrus must stand at odds?” 

There was no denying McGraw was a smart man – which surely meant he would not try to pit his forty against Graham’s nigh eight hundred souls. There would be no benefit to it and in fact it was far more likely he would face a mutiny for the damned attempt, and Graham would be right back here in less than forty-eight hours to negotiate terms with the new captain of the Walrus, whilst Flint lay deposed of on the beach somewhere, with no position left with which to barter or bargain. 

Surely, no man was idiotic enough to set his emotions that far above fucking logic.

“Don’t act like I’ve done you some great injustice.” [ @ hume. big knife emoji. ]

{ Things Said To Puppies }

“You have forgotten your purpose – that is no injustice unto me, as it is unto yourself,” Graham responded calmly, unaffected by the fury being spat upon him by the redhaired captain whom he remembered only as another of Hennessey’s promising lieutenants. They both shared a history as self-made officers who benefited under that man’s tutelage – that they flourished under different directions was no cause for judgement between them. 

In truth, that they both stood here now on the soil of Nassau, pirates for all intents and purposes, said as much to their shared history as it did not, if one wished to analyze it more closely. As it was, Graham had too much at stake to afford any further bad blood between himself and the man before him now. 

“Unless the score has changed, and you no longer wish to ascertain Nassau’s stability – in which case, I am afraid we are indeed at odds here, Captain… Flint.” 

“It’s cold outside” | Billy to Graham

{ The Meme }

A tired smile crossed his features as the heavy wool of the blanket encompassed him, seeming at first to trap the cold in closer. He shuddered in rejection of this, eyes finally blinking open properly as he brought the blanket close around himself and held it with one hand, rubbing his arm with the other to introduce some friction and get the heat forming faster. 

“This isn’t yours is it?” He asked after a moment, not wanting to deprive the man of his blanket, even if it wasn’t technically needed at the moment. 

“I believe in all sorts of things I didn’t believe in a month ago.” [ @ hume, verses are for people who arent frantically typing this in class ]

{ The Pirate Chase Starters }

“And you think yourself alone on that score?” Graham wondered, “Or is it that you know you are not, and you expect to leverage something by means of observational diatribe?” Captain “Flint” was not the only man on this island now who had been moulded by the cleverness of Admiral Hennessey – Graham was also all too well aware of the power of a story, the manipulation inherent in a sense of shared convictions. 

“By all means,” He had been warned by Billy that Flint had a remarkable ability to draw people in – Graham was genuinely curious to see how this game was played here. He understood it well in the navy, and indeed he could execute it flawlessly amid the admiralty and through the streets of England – but here, in the heart of the new world – how well did the tricks of ‘civilization’ truly hold up against the wildness of free men? “Say your piece.” 

‘ could you shut up for five minutes? ’ | Billy to Hume here we go I guess

{ Pick A Fight

Graham’s lips parted on a retort – but in the end, he simply looked away. He was deferring leadership to this man often enough, he had to wonder how long it would be before the men saw fit to name Billy captain of the Scarborough in his stead. It might well be for the best, all around, if their captain was as thoroughly pirate as the head quartermaster was. 

On a ship this big, they were operating with division heads – a quartermaster to each, which formed a sort of council with Graham and Billy presiding as the final votes on actions taken. In truth Graham wouldn’t mind stepping down and taking up a post among the council instead – but he knew that could not be done without shaking morale, and that was not something he could or would afford. Which meant he had to continue being the one to make these damned and hellacious decisions. 

Huffing, he waved a hand, indicating he would argue no further. Taking a seat, he reached into his desk and withdrew two glasses from their safe box, and a bottle for them to drink from. Indicating Billy should take a seat, and a drink, and take control of the talking while Graham shut up for five minutes – if not more. 

‘ are you telling me you thought of all of that right there on the spot? ’ | William to Hume ( you know he couldn’t resist freckle boy )

{ Devotion Suspect X Starters }

“Oh, no lieutenant Bush! Not at all, that would be quite the extravagant tale of brilliance, and most certainly not suited to me,” Graham laughed, his amusement at the idea warm and completely lacking any sense of indignation toward what some might consider a calling out of sorts. “My third lieutenant, Ben Ali – he was the one to piece together what they were about on the aft – I was just the one that executed the final order.” 

He was also the one assigned the sum total of the credit by the admiralty, which was why he deliberately told this tale so boisterously as to encourage call outs such as these. Something needed to be done to draw further attention to that young man’s efforts, whether the admiralty liked it or not

“ The more ignorant they are, the more opinions they have. ” | Edward maybe don’t grumble about the Admiralty under your breath in front of Hume, he’s too sharp not to pick up on that.

{ Iconic Lines }

“My goodness, Captain,” The carefully affected tone gave no true indication of Graham’s own opinion – which, considering the other man’s particular note of complaint might well have been an action born of deliberate wisdom. It came as little surprise to him that a man who had held command as long as Pellew would have his share of malcontent – but as the man was always so carefully circumspect it was unusual to hear him denounce the admiralty quite so thoroughly as this. 

Rather than challenge the man however, Graham simply offered a smile that seemed to indicate he knew full well he likely had not been meant to hear that thought expressed. “I think we could both use some fresh air while we await their deliberations, don’t you?” He suggested, offering the man a literal escape from the frustrations of dealing with the admiralty at least for a time. It would be two hours before they were set to be present – nothing said they had to wait here in the interim.