I believe in all sorts of things I didn’t believe in a month ago. | Billy to Jack

“Your tone makes the world sound bleaker for the belief you’ve found there, mate,” It was not an uncommon thing, to find sailors who had seen too much and found they’d had quite enough of all the strange the world had to offer. Generally speaking, it came off on folks much older and far more hardened than this lad seemed to be, which gave cause to wonder just what manner of hells he’d been pushed through to be so cynical already. “Am I to take it then, that you’ve lost all sense of adventure?” No point in recruiting a man with no will to enjoy the chase, now was there?

“no one ranks for creative genius like a sailor shirking work.” for stephen from william

{ True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle Starters }

“Is that what we’re calling this?” Stephen retorted, the amusement in his tone as undeniable as the laughter that had been startled out of him after finding the young lad ensconced away in the tremulous boughs of a young ficus citrifolia – no grown man would have been able to settle so easily upon those slender limbs and find security, let alone the

lackadaisical

comfort presently exuded by the young lord. And how he had managed it with one arm! Stephen could not fathom, but creative genius certainly did seem to apply itself to the moment.

Hardly one to care overly much for the strict runnings of a ship ( no doubt to Jack’s eternal exasperation and deep frustration ) Stephen stepped over and rather than scold the boy, simply set the journal he had wanted to bring him into his hat. It was not the most secure means of delivery, but it would assure the pages their safety should he miss his aim.

Steadying himself, he leaned back and flung it up for William to catch. “That ought to give you something to do other than nap,” He offered, the smile in his voice undeniable as the crinkle at his eyes.

Between a rock and a hard place

@lightsailing continued from [x]

It was not often that the fleet turned its gaze upon vessels belonging to the Navy – preferring to harass merchants and especially the EITC rather than risk directly assaulting military vessels where captains were as likely to fight for the sake of the fight than they were to surrender.

The only time they did targelt a vessel belonging to his majesty was when the cargo aboard that ship outweighed the consequences of attacking her – generally speaking a bit of intelligence Thomas himself was rarely privy to as the essential equivalent to a midshipman. It was for the quartermasters to determine how much the gun crews were entitled to know and today, they had determined it best the crew knew only that this ship would serve well as a replacement for the Brigade while she was under repairs in Port Royal.

As ever, Thomas feared the sight of familiar faces when boarding, and his stomach had dropped down to his toes when he had seen the young lord Blakeney among the captured survivors that would be released when they next made port. He had not meant to make himself known to the boy – had almost missed him when he had come down to check the tally – but now not only had he been seen, he had been just as recognized.

Stilling in the midst of his hard beaten retreat, Thomas considered his options. One way or another, the captain would hear of this – and he would rather she hear it from him than any other. Sighing, he turned and tucked down so that he could approach the brig and speak quietly with the boy.

“There are times when we must favor subtlety, Mister Blakeney – and I do think you’ll agree that this is one of them.” Pressing his forearm against the bars, he leaned his forehead against it in order to keep his back to his own crew and his words private with the younger man. “I’ve no intention of leaving you here for long – but it would be best if you held our old association private. I doubt my friends here would take kindly to it.”

The fact he was ex-Navy was in fact no secret at all, but the boy didn’t know that. What mattered was Blakeney’s companions – they were the ones Thomas could not protect, and therefore were the ones most likely to cause him trouble later. So if they thought they had no hope, it would be better than letting them know there was a chance – and it was not being taken.

‘did it start from the moment i met you?’ | TF’s Cutler to Jack- probably asking if Jack intended to manipulate him from the start la;skfj

{ Odd Eye Circle }

“It would seem that once again you remember things differently,” Jack scathed, laying his palm against the desk and leaning forward, “Allow me to remind you that when we met, your impression upon me was so abysmal I was perfectly content to walk out of your office and seek employment elsewhere. What a pity for us both that I didn’t.”

A lie – Jack didn’t regret finding Kerma and he sure as hell didn’t regret doing all it took to ascertain Cutler Beckett and all those like him would never lay eyes on it. But the presumption that he had been prepared to circumvent Beckett from the start was as preposterous as it was insulting, if only because –

“You think too highly of yourself, mate. Always have.” He really couldn’t stand a self righteous prick. “Now – either we have business or we don’t, and in the case of the former it had best be good, seeing as I’ve worked with snakes more conscionable than you, and in the case of the latter, well you’ll have to excuse me, as I’m not particularly interested in conversation with a man of your ilk.”

@tidefated

😉 Pull my muse in by the hips | TF’s Joji to Tom P cause apparently we’re here right off the bat jfc

{ Nonverbal Starters }

He’d fallen away again – lost in the memories of a life that was no longer his own. It was the sensation of a firm – and now familiar – grip upon his hips that dragged him back as surely as he was drawn forward. The ghosts of long ago fell away for a time as he looped his arms around Joji’s middle, leaning forward to press his forehead against the other’s shoulder.

“Was I gone so long?” He wondered, worried that he had allowed himself to wither in a dangerous way – he liked to think he had not drifted to a point he could be caught unawares when he found himself torn between what he used to be, and who he had become, but something told him Joji would have something else to say about that – without saying anything at all. And wasn’t that a gift?

@tidefated

[intolerablexsacrifice, for Weatherby, from McGraw] 😱 Make a silly face at my muse [ lbr it’s literally just his ‘you said something that confused/startled me’ expression ]

{ Nonverbal Starters }

Goodness, what an expression! It was actually quite the challenge to maintain something of a neutral one himself in the wake of it. Weatherby would never forgive himself for laughing outright at a misfortunate fellow, but it was a very near thing when he found himself fixed a look that for all the world declared more confusion than a noblewoman’s lapdog tilting its head just so.

“I appear to have lost you, lieutenant,” His amusement was carefully refrained, which was just as well considering the topic of their discussion. “The Hamiltons are attending as well – I thought perhaps you would appreciate being extended an invitation from me, personally.” Otherwise, doubtless, he would get one from Thomas and feel stuck between his duty to the admiralty and politeness toward that idealistic young man, or sticking to propriety and declining on account of the fact the host had not invited him!

@intolerablexsacrifice

Tribulations Of Lizards And Boys

@lightsailing continued from [x]

Thomas’ lips twitched somewhat at young Blakeney’s indignation, and the stomping of his feet – admittedly thinking it the dawning of a bloody tantrum rather than the sheer insanity it truly was. The iguana ( which Thomas was fair sure was a friend of the doctor’s ) was a large enough creature that even he would be hesitant to wrestle with it, so to see the young, one armed middie launch himself to pin the beast against the wall admittedly left him speechless.

The lizard was twisting in an unhappy fashion with considerable force when Blakeney’s pleas jolted Thomas into action, hardly wishing to see the boy hurt ( or to have to be the one to explain to the captain how he had been wounded to begin with ) Darting over, he considered matters before him before deciding to do what he might have if the lizard were a dog. Animals were animals after all.

Leaning down, he set his arm underneath a cool belly and pressed his stomach against the rough spinal ridges, quietly hoping he was not about to cause damage to his uniform as he hauled back and lifted the fellow up. There was a great and mighty wriggling in protest, and Thomas stumbled back before reacting on instinct, treating the beast more like a cat and turning it to face himself. This proved potentially foolish when claws flashed so near his face he froze, but once the lizard had its front half over his shoulder, it seemed to calm considerably.

“Is there a reason we are harassing the doctor’s pet demon?” Thomas asked lightly, keeping a weather eye on the scales alongside his face and wincing slightly as he felt pinpricks of claws in his back and front – less for the pain, and more out of lament for his coat.

The Good Die Young

@lightsailing continued from [x]

To his credit, young Blakeney was holding up better under the knife than many men twice his age had done without a nigh heart stopping amount of laudanum in their systems. Stephen was reluctant to use too much on the boy, knowing its ravaging effects could be hard enough on adults – and while he was sure some would argue Blakeney’s status on that front, he was in no mood to hear it. There were some matters when age held too much impact for pride to hold any bearing between who ought to qualify as a boy or a man, and medicine was most certainly one of them.

The work was taxing – both physically and on a lower, internal level that Stephen quietly suppressed. To enact this level of violence on so small a form – even for the sake of sparing the life – was trying at best. It was something Stephen never did particularly well with on a personal level, though he was wise never to show it – but there were times he could not help but remark on certain points of interest, such as ( in this instance ) the sheer amount of blood one small body could contain.

The quiet apology catches him off guard – he had not thought Blakeney was even coherent at the moment, but as it was his own reply was clipped from the stress of his efforts and his desire to get this matter resolved swiftly so as to see the lad on his way to recovery with as minimal pain as possible under the given circumstances.

“That was rhetorical – and hardly anything to apologize for.” He doubted the boy was functional enough to maintain conversation – though if he was some alcohol might be needed soon enough. This next procedure would be even worse, as the flesh was cauterized to seal the wound.

💦 FROM JACK TO STEPHEN IM SCREAMING HOLMES

{ Nonverbal Starters }

“Jesus,” The prayer fell from his lips unbidden and unwanted even as his head fell back slightly, unable to bear gazing down at the lewd sight Jack had made of himself. Firm hands kept his thighs spread wide, which was perhaps the only thing keeping Stephen steady at the moment as he fought to keep himself silent against the sensations – marvelling, momentarily, at how much easier it was to resist a sound against pain than it was to deny his voice against pleasure.

He could not tell from where the tremble in his hand stemmed as he brought it up to sift through the captain’s hair, catching at the nape of his neck with more uncertainty than he had known in ages. He did not know whether he wanted Jack to stay exactly where he was, or if he wanted to pull him back and regain some semblance of control over himself and the situation.

In the end, the decision was made for him by some fiendish trick of the tongue. One moment he was caught in the midst of debate – the next, he was gripping Jack firmly and canting his hips up in unspoken demand without any conscious decision on his part. It was all he could do, in that moment, not to set a rhythm right then and make use of what was being offered to him.

Slowly, reluctantly, he eased his grip and urged Jack off, unwilling to risk obstructing his breathing – though some wild part of him wanted to sink into this completely, he could not bring himself to dare. Instead, he regained his grip on the man’s hair and tilted his head back, sinking down off the chair and onto the floor with him, legs straddling either side of Jack’s hips as he bowed his head to kiss him soundly – demanding his focus somewhere a bit less scintillating, if only to keep his control somewhere he felt he was steady enough to be a contributing party rather than an overwhelmed one.

“Perhaps you need to have a little bit more faith in people.” || Jack to Stephen!!

{ Black Sails Starters }

The dubious look on Stephen’s features likely spoke volumes in and of itself, all things considered. “I have plenty of faith in people.” His tone was a little bland as he returned his attention to the books before him, carefully notating his thoughts in the margins as he continued, “When it comes to the lengths of human stupidity, there is surely no limit to what they can manage.”

He glanced up, knowing full well his jovial and naive counterpart would not take kindly to such a pessimistic outlook. “As for the kind of faith you require – I think I shall leave it to the men to hold on to such hopes. Their prayers grant them ease of mind and I would not take it from them – but I am not a man who is comforted by anything short of facts and figures, Jack. I cannot blindly believe – especially not when the numbers and the history behind them stack up like this.”

He shook his head, and stoppered his quill before he ended up making a spot on the paper. He knew that Jack’s enthusiasm was like a hurricane to these men – something that blew through and stirred them all into action as if to do anything but heed the winds would lead to sheer disaster. Yet all Stephen could see was pride, a catastrophic loss in profit and men, and an ambition that could yet see them all ruined.

“The results speak for themselves,” He stated tiredly, “But if you believe faith and hope will pull us through this, who am I to argue? We both know I’m no sailor, so by all means, carry on.” He huffed irritably, “It’s not as if I can stop you.” He’d sworn not to be bitter – and here he was, chewing bile all the same. It was phenomenal, the way this man could rile him in a fucking minute when he put his mind to it.