#at first I was a bit wary of the Billy ships | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

sainedeparam · 3 years ago

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okay so: one book and one song for 7 oc's your choice and why!!!

Flor i am so sorry because this took me forever to answer 😭😭😭 i really had to think about what fit best and i ended up changing the “one book” to “one quote from a book” since i struggled with that but here we go. Under the cut because it ended up being too long akshsjsksl

One Song

Tate Cerati • Believer by Imagine Dragons

First things first // I'ma say all the words inside my head // I'm fired up and tired of the way that things have been, oh-ooh // The way that things have been, oh-ooh // Second thing second // Don't you tell me what you think that I could be // I'm the one at the sail, I'm the master of my sea, oh-ooh // The master of my sea, oh-ooh

No thoughts, just vibes with this song. I don’t really have a reason why I chose this for Tate other than vibes. It just felt so… him, if that makes sense.

Brynn Delvaux • Born Ready by Zayde Wølf

I don't believe in no devil // 'Cause I done raised this hell // Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh // I've been the last one standing // When all the giants fell // Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh // I won't shiver // I won't shake // I'm made of stone // I don't break // Start me up // Open my eyes // Turn me loose and you'll see why // I was born, born ready // I was born, born ready // Staring at the pressure now // I won't quit, not backing down // I was born, born ready // I was born, born ready

I like powerful women. The type of women that are feared by everyone. And this song best describes the kind of vibe I was going for when playing her route in WTNC.

Ryder Vesta • Centuries by Fall Out Boy

And I can't stop 'til the whole world knows my name // 'Cause I was only born inside my dreams // Until you die for me, as long as there's a light // My shadow's over you 'cause I am the opposite of amnesia // … // Some legends are told // Some turn to dust or to gold // But you will remember me // Remember me for centuries // And just one mistake // Is all it will take // We'll go down in history // Remember me for centuries // (Hey yeah, oh hey, hey yeah) // Remember me for centuries // We've been here forever // And here's the frozen proof // I could scream forever // We are the poisoned youth

In my head this is a Villain Theme Song and he’s cocky enough for this to fit him. And this is also to implement the fact that Ryder could never really become a Vigilante, let alone a Hero. Even if he’s dating a Hero, he will always will be a Villain and I love that for him.

Amaris Voight • Control by Halsey

I'm well acquainted with villains that live in my head // They beg me to write them so they'll never die when I'm dead // And I've grown familiar with villains that live in my head // They beg me to write them so I'll never die when I'm dead // I'm bigger than my body // I'm colder than this home // I'm meaner than my demons // I'm bigger than these bones // And all the kids cried out, "Please stop, you're scaring me" // I can't help this awful energy // God damn right, you should be scared of me // Who is in control?

I was listening to this song while I was thinking about what I wanted to do for Amaris’ future. There is sort of a complexity of whether this means her talking to the citizens she’s meant to protect, her talking to Nathaniel + Areum or just her talking to herself. You can’t just have the amount of power she does while not being able to fully control it and not be wary of her.

Kavan Vekany • Stronger by The Score

Set me on fire // Set me on, set me on fire (whoa, whoa-oh) // I'm still alive // I'm still ali- I'm still alive (whoa) // Bet you didn't think that I'd come back to life // Higher, faster, everlasting // Bet you didn't think that I'd come back to life // Higher, faster, never-crashing // Bet you didn't think that I'd come back to life // Stronger // (Stronger, stronger, stronger, stronger) // Bet you didn't think that I'd come back to life // Stronger // (Stronger, stronger, stronger, stronger) // Bet you didn't think that I'd come back to life // I do this with conviction // I write truths and never fiction // My disease is what you fed // I can't stop with my ambition // Like a missile on a mission // I'm a force that you will dread-ead

If The Exile was a series or movie, I can envision this song being played while at the end of Chapter 3, or maybe Chapter 4 since that’s when we maybe talk to Syfin + Trystan + Our Family.

Benjamin Blackwood • My Demons by STARSET

Mayday, mayday // The ship is slowly sinking // They think I'm crazy but they don't know the feeling // They're all around me circling like vultures // They wanna break me and wash away my colors // Wash away my colors // Take me high and I'll sing // Oh, you make everything okay, okay, okay (okay, okay, okay) // We are one and the same // Oh, you take all of the pain away, away, away (away, away, away) // Save me if I become // My demons

This is just basically him asking for help, I just haven’t decided if I want this to be romantic or platonic in terms of he’s asking for help from.

Kai Morgenstern • Lovely by Billie Eilish & Khalid

Thought I found a way // Thought I found a way out (found) // But you never go away (never go away) // So I guess I gotta stay now // Oh, I hope some day I'll make it out of here // Even if it takes all night or a hundred years // Need a place to hide, but I can't find one near // Wanna feel alive, outside I can't fight my fear // Isn't it lovely, all alone // Heart made of glass, my mind of stone // Tear me to pieces, skin to bone // Hello, welcome home

Kai and her complicated one-sided relationship with the supernatural world. There’s a reason why she has a really high Resistance Stat.

One Quote

Tate Cerati • Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz

“Another secret of the universe: Sometimes pain was like a storm that came out of nowhere. The clearest summer could end in a downpour. Could end in lightning and thunder.”

This ties to the moment he found out the truth about Daphne, and Alex. How everything just shattered for him in the blink of an eye. It also ties to other events, like finding out what happened to his mother and during the battle when Daphne dies trying to save him. It's just him not expecting an outcome that would destroy his life, in a sense. The kind of outcome where he has to live with that knowledge knowing there is nothing he could have done to change it.

Brynn Delvaux • They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera

“Sometimes the truth is a secret you're keeping from yourself because living a lie is easier.”

I headcanon that she had her suspicions about what Hunters really were. I mean you can't really be that strong and still be human. But keeping it to herself and not investigating further was better than to face the truth because being just like the kind of creatures she was taught to hunt was too much for her to handle. Even after she learns the truth during the story she is still in a bit of denial.

Ryder Vesta • The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

“Usually we walk around constantly believing ourselves. 'I'm okay' we say. 'I'm alright'. But sometimes the truth arrives on you and you can't get it off. That's when you realize that sometimes it isn't even an answer--it's a question. Even now, I wonder how much of my life is convinced.”

I told you about what his childhood, and how he came to be working for the Phoenix Organization, so this fits into him questioning Phoenix and his upbringing. Trying to figure out whether what he was told about his parents abandoning him were true or not, and thinking about what he would do if it weren't. The slow process of finding the truth, thinking that he's okay until it hits the point where he realizes he's actually not okay and not knowing if he is actually strong enough to go against the person he was loyal to.

Amaris Voight • Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz

“Sometimes, you do things and you do them not because you're thinking but because you're feeling. Because you're feeling too much. And you can't always control the things you do when you're feeling too much.”

Every decision she made after waking up were based on feelings so they are a bit questionable even if they're not exactly bad, like not reaching out to Nathaniel and Areum. But it also fits in terms of her abilities. She has sort of learned how to use her abilities and has trained in order to be able to control her powers but she still doesn’t know the extent to what she can do so sometimes when she’s feeling too much, she can’t really control her abilities and the outcome of that is not always pretty :(

Kavan Vekany • The Burning Maze (The Trials of Apollo, #3) by Rick Riordan

“Pain is an interesting thing. You think you have reached your limit and you can’t possibly feel more tortured. Then you discover there is still another level of agony. And another level after that.”

After reading the new update, this just fits him so much. Everything he had to go through after [redacted], especially whatever they did in order for him to not be able to fully transform anymore? He’s known pain like never before, and you know it’s bad when even i think it’s too much lmao.

Benjamin Blackwood • Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

“He was not happy. He was not happy. He said the words to himself. He recognized this as the true state of affairs. He wore his happiness like a mask and the girl had run off across the lawn with the mask and there was no way of going to knock on her door and ask for it back.”

He grew up thinking that there was only one way of doing things, his father’s way. It never really hit him until he got older. For the majority of his life he just kept on doing what he was told because he thought it was the right thing to do and because he wanted his father to be proud but he was never truly happy. He never stopped to think about that feeling until later on.

Kai Morgenstern • They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera

“I've spent years living safely to secure a longer life, and look where that's gotten me. I'm at the finish line but I never ran the race.”

My favorite girl, who hates life in NMC and being a Keeper in general. She wasn’t exactly “safe” or “cautious” when doing things before the events of kotsam but her life was never in danger, she had everything she wanted. And then, in the form of one car crash and almost being killed, he future just went down the drain and in the span of 2 years (so far) she has had so many near death experiences. She’s just so tired at this point.

#i didn’t really give a big explanation for the songs and im sorry for that. i just didn’t know what to say since some were based on vibes #and i know Benjamin’s descriptions are confusing since i haven’t talked about him or his story to you so im sorry about that too akshsksks #also. after i finished writing this i realized it ended up being pretty sad and i guess it’s just on brand for me now 😔#i love them though. they do get sort of happy endings #my babies <3 #thank you love!!#misc: asks #tag: flor ✨

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mywingsareonwheels · 4 years ago

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Reasons why we need an mcu/The Witcher crossover

- as I think I’ve mentioned in a previous post, Bucky and Eskel become fast friends and bond over trauma and the healing power of goats. Lil Bleater meets Stevie-the-small-ornery-billy-goat (possibly there are kids :-) ). Steve and Sam both approve so much, as does Geralt.

- Steve makes a very useful and comforting friend for Geralt. As does Bruce, who would be both fascinated and wary of the various potions Geralt uses, and suggests the odd improvement.

- Yennefer and Natasha become friends. Be afraid. Be very afraid. But don’t tell me you don’t want to see it. In fact Yennefer/Natasha is a ship I would v much enjoy. :-D

- ditto Renfri and Valkyrie.

- Valkyrie and Geralt get on terrifyingly well and you cannot stop them talking about horses so do not try. He lets her ride Roach. Jaskier is consumed with jealousy.

- Jaskier attempts to flirt with literally all of the mcu women, and it does not go too well. He then attempts to flirt with most of the men. This goes a fair bit better, especially with Clint since Jaskier is fluent in one of the dwarfish sign languages of the Continent and it’s fairly similar to ASL.

- Triss and Sam become friends.

- Ciri and Shuri become friends and oh good grief the sheer glorious chaos of it.

- Jaskier attempts to make awesome songs in honour of various of the mcu heroes. Bucky is alarmed and melts into the shadows. Steve makes unconvincing excuses and then pretty much scarpers, though is persuaded to return on the basis that nothing Jaskier comes up with could be worse than “The Star-Spangled Man With a Plan”. Natasha is threatening; Sharon is scathing; Okoye says nothing but mark Jaskier down as both scared and horny. Sam on the other hand is extremely up for this, Clint and Rhodey both hover hopefully, and Tony becomes an outright pest demanding more versions while Jaskier’s still writing “The Ballad of the Mighty Falcon”.

- Thor is just lovely to everybody. Lambert... is not. Weirdly, they get on rather well.

- Alpine is used to humans who are grumpy and a bit broken. She becomes the first cat who will let witchers stroke her. Thanks to some exceptional timing in this weird-ass dimensional jump, Bucky is able to send all three of Geralt, Eskel, and Lambert back home with a kitten each.

- Steve and Bucky and Natasha find out about what is involved in the witcher trials. Bucky is distressed, as is Natasha. Steve is outraged and will not stop ranting about it for some considerable time.

#the witcher #mcu #ridiculous crossover time #various characters #I would apologise for this but I am not going to #give Geralt a cat #give Bucky a cat

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cursedserpenthq · 5 years ago

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(ruby rose, 34, cis female, human) Blimey! Is that (Billie Cassidy)? (SHE) is the (MASTER GUNNER) on the Cursed Serpent and has been onboard the ship for (NINE YEARS). Legend has it they are (DARING & OBSERVANT but don’t get on their bad side, because I hear they’re (ABRASIVE & HOTHEADED). Aye! Stop staring! (BILLIE) has their (BLUNDERBUSS) out! (ooc: Chloe, GMT+1, 23, She/her, self-harm)

THE CURSED SERPENT

Billie was born into the life of piracy, raised by a crew of scoundrels who taught her how to be just like them. It wasn’t a bad life, but they weren’t the most ambitious of crews and it wasn’t long before she found herself thirsting for more. She tried to encourage a little more bloodthirst and adventure in the others, but they were more interested in sea shanty’s and fun than riches or battle.

So, at the age of sixteen Billie said goodbye to her family and started searching for her own crew. It gave her a chance to try different roles onboard too, and she quickly found her place as a gunner. It took many different ships and nine years, but eventually she found a captain who was seeking out the biggest adventure there was; the jewels of destiny. Billie seized the opportunity and has been on board since.

The raid by the Silver Moon crew happened relatively early in Billie’s time as their master gunner, and she took their losses that day very hard. Surprised by how close she’d become with other crew members during her time on board Billie has been a bit more distant with everyone since, and for a long time didn’t say much unless she was barking out orders.

Getting attacked by a giant sea serpent on their journey to find the first jewel did reignite some of Billie’s wonder, that battle was one of her biggest challenges to date, which also makes it one of her biggest adventures. Despite the damage done to the ship she’s proud of her crew for sticking together and defeating their foe- it’s a story she��ll be telling for decades and the others can surely tell how it’s lightened her mood.

Admittedly Billie had always been something of a sceptic when it came to the jewels- part of the appeal of the myth was that if they were never found the adventure would never end. Now she’s got a taste of that power though, and it’s made her hungry for more.

Despite her long time on board Billie is not very close with a lot of other crew members. Before joining the Serpent she’d jump from ship to ship quite frequently and so got used to keeping people at arms length. She does respect the rest of the crew a hell of a lot, and has become quite fond of those who’ve been by her side a long time in her own quiet way.

Scott Bradway had been a friend as well as her captain. It’s thanks to him she found her place with a crew who was as wild and adventurous as she is, and owing to their time together the two were an effective team during raids and storms. Losing him in a battle felt like a failure on her part as their first line of defence, but also a personal tragedy. She’s wary of Jax’s ability to lead them with the skill of his predecessor and watches him like a hawk.

SECRET

Owing to her fiery temper Billie has not so much left some crews as been booted off. There’s one ship in particular who’re still keeping a wary eye out for the gunner; twelve years ago, during a particularly heated argument Billie shot and killed another gunner onboard her ship at the time. The crew was just about to dock at Port Royal so she managed to conceal the attack until they reached land, at which time she fled from the ship with little more than her weapon, taking refuge on the first ship that would have her.

KEY RELATIONSHIPS

Familiar Face: This is someone who has been on board a ship with Billie before, and they’re certainly familiar with her short fuse. They might do their best to stay on her good side or perhaps they find fun in riling her up until she snaps.

Old Friend: Someone who’s been on the crew a long time and is just as devested by the loss of Captain Bradway as Billie is. She’s not prone to big displays of emotion but she feels comfortable enough around this person to share her grief, and maybe even talks a little about how responsible she feels for the incident.

Make Me Jolly: It isn’t easy to coax a grin out of the master gunner, but this person somehow always manages it. Maybe it’s their music or their stories or just that their nature reminds Billie of her family, but they’ve got a charm about them that has prevented many an argument.

ANYTHING ELSE

(this is the part where I always hope I didn’t miss a password in the rules) (Admin Note: Nahhh, I’m not that tricky :) )

#cs:accepted #cs: billie cassidy

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dontyoudarejudgemesworld · 5 years ago

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The Apple Doesn’t Fall Far: Chapter Three

Alright guys, so this takes place after a bit of a time skip. While I know that time skips are like coma theories (as in a sort of cheap way out) this is meant to illustrate the sort of relation ship Bill and her 'uncle' are creating. It's a long one (6,000+ words) but gives some insight to the characters. I know not everyone is a fan of time skips but if I were to go from start to finish for this whole fic it would be longer then the whole Lord of the Rings series so forgive me. The next few chapters will all include some kind of time skip as the focus of them is more to establish and form relationships serving as kind of independent one shots instead of parts of the over arching story-line. I understand that this may be a bit unpopular but considering what's coming it seems the best way to structure it to achieve my end goal with out having it drag on forever. I told you this was going to get weird. Also as an aside, I know there were some grammar and spelling errors in the first two chapters, this is due in part to my normal Beta reader being unavailable (because adulting is time consuming). That being said I had a stand in look this over an took much more time in transcribing it so I hope most of the errors were addressed.

Once again it’s posted here on AO3. And now onward to the insanity.

~*~ One Year Later

Stan sat pantsless in the TV room wondering if this was what contentment felt like. Beside him on the floor sat Billie leaning back against the dinosaur skull staring at the trash TV that played across the screen. Murphy announced ‘you ARE NOT the father’ for the third time in a row and the young woman who sat beside him burst out crying as a man who looked like he should be selling used cars jumped up triumphantly to the jeers of the audience. Beside Stan, his ‘niece’ let out a sharp bark of laughter as she took a sip of her soda. He glanced at her and shook his head; she really was a strange one.

In baggy basketball shorts and a tank top, he could see the mural of tattoos she sported. The sleeve on her right arm was actually a bed of colorful flowers and vines with skulls woven in, macabre but beautiful if he was honest. On her left shoulder was a raven’s head that looked like it was tearing through her flesh that was a little to photo-realistic for his taste. She also had a peacock on her left thigh with a long flowing tail that curved around to end on her knee cap, and a small green dog robot thing from some cartoon or other with the word ‘DOOM!!’ in crude childish letters on her right ankle. Wild black curls spilled over her shoulders in an unkempt mane and dark circles around her eyes told him that she had spent too long at the Skull Fracture last night getting rowdy with the lumberjacks. “Told you, Stan that means you’re picking up the tab at Greasy’s,” she told him cheerfully and he let out an exaggerated groan. He should know by now that betting against her was a fool errand. Over the last year, he’d learned a lot of things about Billie. Like she had no fixed address just various post office boxes, and instead, she lived out of a duffle bag and motel rooms. She worked for herself and seemed to make pretty decent money though he had all but confirmed his suspicion that she toed a very fine line between what was legal and what wasn’t. In truth, she played it pretty close to the vest when it came to discussing her work but she’d let a few things slip and he was willing to bet that she was a bloodhound at least part of the time. Someone that loan sharks and crime lords used to find people that didn't want to be found. A dangerous and ethically ambiguous profession at best. And while he couldn’t help but dislike that idea he couldn’t exactly say too much on the matter, instead of taking some small comfort in the fact that at least she wasn’t a full-fledged criminal like he’d been. Maybe if she had kids one day they’d manage to be upstanding members of society, but something told him she wasn’t the settling down type. Overall throughout seven visits and quite a few calls they had developed a comfortable relationship. After the fourth visit, he’d broken down and invited her to just come to stay at the Shack instead of staying at The Twin Beds. Which he regretted almost instantly; Wendy and Soos had both noticed at once and plied him with questions. Fortunately, Billie seemed to have inherited his Ma’s snake tongue and smoothly lied that she was the daughter of an old acquaintance that he was helping out with a place to stay between jobs without batting an eye. Soos and Wendy had been a bit wary of her at first, but they’d come to warm up to her. She tended to help around the shop and was generally amicable flashing charming smiles and quick wit to win them over. He was fairly certain she’d won over Wendy by covering for her so she could skip out to hang out with her friends a few times but couldn’t prove it. And Soos’s natural good nature had caused him to warm to her quickly, especially when she started helping him come up with and build new attractions for Stan to take credit for. When he wasn’t leading tours and she wasn’t off drinking and brawling with the bikers of the town (a pass time she seemed to enjoy a tad too much in his opinion) the two of them usually spent their time watching trash TV in between runs to Greasy’s diner and the bar. Though after she’d started staying with him he’d discovered that the woman could cook. He’d told her at one point that she didn’t need to but she’d shrugged it off with a smile and that cool laugh of hers saying ‘I spent enough nights hungry and cold that it’s a pleasure to be able to make a decent meal.’ That thought had given him pause to wonder what exactly she’d been through; her mother certainly sounded like a piece of work, but it seemed like so much more. But as much as he wanted to know he didn’t ask. In fact, he hardly asked her anything about her past and she in return didn’t ask about his. Instead, they had found a strange sort of comfort in each other's company. Two broken people who had had hard lives that could spend time around the other without pretending to be anything more than they were. The first few visits they'd both been on their best behavior, Billie had kept her habits of beer and brawling to herself and he had cut back on the cigar and shoplifting. But after an incident involving Billie sucker-punching a guy for asking her if she wanted to come back to his room and put a smile on her pretty face after which Stan had declared it was time to leave snatching the guy's wallet as they fled they had come to a silent agreement that they didn't need to put on 'upstanding citizens' acts anymore. He had thought a few times that he vaguely remembered that this strange feeling of accepting each other for who they were was what family had felt like back when Ford and he had been children, but he couldn’t quite be sure. “Earth to Stan,” Billie’s smooth southern drawl broke through his thoughts pulling him back to find her head cocked staring up at him one brow cocked curiously, “You didn't hear a damned word I said did yuh?” she asked a smirk pulling on her lips. “Naw, I was too busy thinking how sick I’m gonna feel at dinner so I cant go to Greasy’s,” he told her to cover his sappy musing. She rolled her eyes as she shook her head. “The most expensive thing on the menu is 15 dollars. I know you're cheap but…,” she began only to be interrupted as an obnoxious commercial can on the volume raising ten octaves. “Are you completely miserable?” came Bud Gleeful’s voice. “Well I am now,” she growled putting one hand over her ear and glaring at the TV as the commercial played. Watching she cocked an eyebrow as Stan’s picture flashed up to be stamped with ‘FRAUD’, “What bullshrimp is this?” she asked incredulously, “That the chubby car salesman? He’s ten times the liar yuh are, how the hell does he have the gall to call yuh out like that?” “I know, right? At least my customers have some interesting stories to go with the junk I sell them,” he said indignantly, “And what’s worse is it’s working. He’s got his kid pretending to be psychic and the tourists are eating it up. Heck, even the locals are. Putting a real cramp in my wallet. I wish there was something I could do to hit him hard but nothing seems to be working. Even the Squid-abitt isn’t enough,” he railed shaking his head. Beside him, Billie cocked her head one eye squinted in thought as she stared at the TV. “What about someone who can talk ta the dead?” she asked and his head snapped over to her his eyebrows shooting up. “What? Well, yeah that would be a real money maker but who the hell do I know that can do that?” he scoffed as he took a drink of his soda, “Even I can't pull that off.” “I can,” she said matter factly and his face pulled into a look of bored skepticism. “Yeah, and I can teach a pig to fly,” he snorted and she looked up at him that sly smirk of hers slowly crawling over her lips. “Ya wound me, Stanford. I’m from the south where snake oil peddlers are ah’ dime ah’ dozen. Hell Bud’s one that’s why he’s pulling this off so well,” she told him in a slightly condescending tone, “Tell you what I’ll go double or nothing on Greasy’s. If I can give yuh a two-night show that will make more then you do in the same two days. That means two dinners at Greasy’s and braggin’ rights from now until the end of the world,” she challenged and he couldn’t help the lopsided grin that pulled at his lips. “Only if you get it up and running by Saturday,” he added, that would give her the rest of the night and tomorrow to prepare. Not to mention that those were the moneymaker days with tour buses on top of regular foot traffic. A challenge he was sure even she couldn’t pull off but she just grinned and put her hand out. “Prepare ta eat crow, Stanford Pines,” she told him as he grasped her hand causing him to let out a sharp hoarse laugh. “Even you aren’t that good kid,” he sniped unable to help the smug laugh that escaped him at the fire that lit in her eyes at his challenge. “Oh you’re fixin’ ta eat those words old man,” she warned as she hopped to her feet. “Hey what about dinner,” he barked as she turned on her heel to head up to the attic. “Time is money, Stanford. Order Chinese from that there place at the mall, card’s by the phone,” she snapped as she hustled off to get started. Watching her go he couldn’t help but smile. She really was something else, and he’d managed to get dinner without paying for it.

~*~

A day and a half…that was all he’d given her. And now he was thinking that had been too much time. The woman had to be some sort of witch. There was no other explanation as to how literally overnight she’d managed to pull this off. By Friday morning there had been flyers plastered all over town with the simple drawing of a closed eye with the words ‘Esmeralda. Two nights only at the Mystery Shack.’ And apparently, somehow everyone in town had heard the whispers about a real live gypsy that could talk to the dead by noon (he had a theory that Billie had somehow gotten Wendy to help her spread the word but once again couldn’t prove it). By Friday night there was a deceptively large tent set up around the totem pole that looked like it had come out of some storybook. It would have been impressive if he didn’t feel the impending loss breathing down his neck. His one hope was that she wouldn't be able to pull off the act; after all, she had become someone the locals recognized by now so they surely wouldn't buy it when they saw her. That was until he’d come downstairs Saturday morning to find a gypsy woman sitting at the table nursing a cup of coffee. Her skin held an olive tint, her eyes a rich deep brown, and her curly black mane was held away from her face by a scarf. She wore a frilled white shirt that hung off one shoulder and a skirt made up of layers of gauzy material in a rainbow of colors with a coin skirt hung low on her hips. Bangles crowded her wrists and a few on her ankle making her every movement musical. Staring at her she flashed him a bright grin. “Good morning Mr. Mystery I’m Esmeralda and I speak to the other side,” she greeted him in an accent that was European but not too strong. Staring at her it took him a minute to realize that she was his daughter. What gave it away was the bandage on her left hand, it was neatly wrapped and wouldn't be worth much note if he didn’t see the slight bump where her extra finger was folded across her palm to hide it. Shaking his head he stared open mouth at her, she looked like a cliche and it was brilliant. The tourist would eat it up. “How?” he demanded his voice cracking in indignant awe causing her to chuckle. “Lots of foundation, contacts, and years of practicing a dozen accents,” she told him smugly in that outrageous but somehow totally believable accent, “You can always admit defeat now Stan and I will only demand one of my dinners,” she offered. “No way toots. You never call a fight early,” he replied and she shrugged as she took another sip of her coffee. Arrogance rolled off her and he let out a low grumble, while he could appreciate her confidence speaking to the dead was a tall order. He opened his mouth to say something to her when Wendy's voice came from the gift shop. "Stan a tour bus just pulled up!" Glancing at 'Esmeralda' she flashed a wicked smile as she stood in a rattle of bangles and rolled her shoulders. Looking him up and down she couldn't help the smirk that pulled at her lips. "May the best con win, " she laughed resting all her weight in on hip as she stretched. Stan couldn't help but let out a bark of laughter that rose in him as a competitive fire lit in him. "Age and treachery with overcome youth and exuberance every time, " he reminded her and she shrugged as she moved to slip out the back door. Watching her go he shook his head getting his cane and flipping his eye patch down, he had to admit having some competition was making the day a bit more exciting. The next 10 hours were a whirlwind of activity as a flood of tourists poured through. He spun his stories with a flare he hadn't felt in years as Esmeralda flittered about. He had to admit that she was good; adding some rustic flare to his stories telling of sighting of the Cat-a-peid in the 'old country' and backing up the claim that the magic crystal they sold were steeped in the mystical energy of the forest. Between the two of them, they managed to create a fevered excitement in the visitors who all but threw their money at Wendy. But even as he reveled in what were surely record profits he couldn't help but notice that all of Billie's help was a double-edged sword. Even as she hyped his attractions she filtered about reading palms and offering charms that she made appear from her skirt. Shiny rocks and crudely carved figures on a bit of string, things he recognized from the bulk supply warehouse he bought his own junk from. A ten here and a twenty there that she slipped away with a smile and an offer to come see her tonight as the spirts had many messages and perhaps one was for them. And he finally got to see her speak to the dead, at least that was what it looked like. Gravitating to a cluster of tourists she placed a hand on her temple as she closed her eyes. Letting out a humming sound she peered up at the curious group. "There is a woman. Older, matronly who wishes to speak to one of you. Some connection with the letter T, " she said softly as she hummed again pausing for dramatic effect, "A name or hobbies maybe. Teresa. Or Teapots. Or Tammy. Or trains...tarting. Tabatha, maybe. I'm sorry it's hard to hear her. Her voice is a soft one but warm like..., " he began only to have one if the men, a middle-aged guy speak up suddenly. "Thelma?" he asked suddenly, "My Mema was named Thelma, " he said excitedly and a murmur went through the crowd. Billie smiled softly as though listening to someone speak before nodding. "Yes, Thelma. She passed suddenly, but not unexpectedly right, " she told him and he nodded his face pinching ever so slightly with emotion. "In her sleep, but she was 98," he supplied and Billie smiled gently as she nodded. "She wants you to know that it was painless and she is at peace, " she told him kindly as she shifted as though leaning closer to someone to hear, "She says that you're worrying over something financial. A promotion or payment of some sort. You are concerned that it won't happen, that it keeps you up at night. You are sleeping and it worries her. Do you know what she's talking about?" she asked and he nodded silently the crowd around him starting in wonder. "Ye...yea. I know what she's talking about, " he choked and Billie nodded sympathetically, "She says that you don't need to worry. That it will all work itself out. She says to tell you to have faith, that God wouldn't have you face a trial you could not handle, " she said her eyes flattering closed once more, "She says she loves you and that you need to read for your own health." For a moment silence hung in the air before the man moved forward and threw his arms around Billie thanking her. Around them, the crowd had tripled in size and an excited clamor rose from them all talking at once. It was amazing and a total sham. He'd seen this sort of psychic before, they were all over daytime TV. And while he had no idea how they did it he knew in his bones they were fakes. But even so, the audiences ate it up including the one now swarming around Billie. "Oh she's good, " he growled as he stood watching her work the crowd telling them that she would speak to the spirits tonight and they were welcome to come, no latter than 7 and cash only for her small admission fee. She only asked 20 dollars so she could continue her travels. And every single one ate it up like starving men. She smiled at just the right moments and spoke just the right word. And that when it hit him. This wasn't her first time pulling this con. She was poised and practiced like she did this every day. This was an old hand to her, a well-practiced grift not some idea she"d randomly thrown out. He'd assumed she was just winging it, she was a PI not a psychic. At least she was now. Just like he was Mr. Mystery now. But before that, he'd been a lot of other things. And it appeared before being a PI Bill had been other things as well. In that moment he realized that he'd been played, that he'd assumed she'd been bluffing without knowing her tells. She was a con artist just like him, and he should have known. Betting against her was a fools errand, and not just when it came to daytime talk shows. She was his daughter after all, and it seemed some of his talents had passed on.

~*~

Billie sighed as she she leaned against the support of the porch, a cigarette in one hand and a can of Pitt cola in the other. She felt like a whole new person after a hot shower to wash off the ton of bronzer and foundation she’d used to make her pale skin darker. It was nice to be out of that stupid heavy skirt and back in sweats and a t-shirt. Pre-dawn just started to brush the sky above the trees with thin lines of pinks and oranges the trees shadows stretched out like fingers of darkness trying to resist the coming day. It got light so early up here it made her feel like it was later (or earlier) then 3:30 in the morning. It really was beautiful though, like a Rob Boss painting. She had to admit when she’d first rolled into the little Organ town the year before she had found the picture perfect place a bit unsettling. It had been the plan to show up meet Stan and never look back, after all she’d never thought he would want anything to do with his brother’s vagabond daughter. Guess that’s what she got for thinking. It turned out her uncle seemed to want something to do with her after all, and surprisingly she wanted something to do with him.

After her research she had expected to find a cold logical man who had no room for sentimentality. While she knew scientific papers were written specifically lacking any emotion his had seemed extra sterile. Even the forwards to the where normally the researcher had some kind of tone had been devoid of anything to give her a glimpse of personality. But instead she had found a man who was the furthest thing from a cold clinical researcher. He was warm in a gruff kind of way and she liked it. It occurred to her that the time line of his published works ending and the Murder Shack coming into being seemed to overlap with Stanley’s death. Perhaps, the sudden change in profession had also been a sudden change in personality, grief was a powerful thing after all.

Or perhaps he’d simply decided that this strange little corner of the world was too wonderful to waste with his head buried in in books. And it was wonderful. And weird. Over her first few visits she’d began noticing strange shadows and odd movement in the trees. And while she’d written off the little men she’d seen rummaging in the diner’s dumpster and the Moth Man she’d seen batting at a street light outside the hotel one night to tricks of the mind and the local legends getting to her, she’d quickly realized there was something inherently odd to the place. Not bad just odd. But once she’d come down one morning to find Stan luring a walking camp fire out from under the porch with marshmallows she’d realized it wasn’t in her head. Instead she had decided that she rather liked this place, after all she was an odd person so she didn’t feel so out of place. It was like she could breath freely in this strange little town with her eccentric uncle.

Her uncle, that was still a strange thought. Billie had never really had a family, her mother had always been too busy being a drunken whore druggie to be anything else. And while she technically had four older siblings they’d all been to busy finding their own way to survive to bother with anything as trivial as bonding. Hell, after she’d been taken into state custody she hadn’t seen any of them for years, a few she still hadn’t seen even after all these years. It had always been her, she’d learned early to never depend on anyone else. Survival was the end game and others had always been passing acquaintances to her. But for some reason she kept coming back here, kept calling to check in on Stan. Perhaps, it was that he never asked any questions or judged her for smoking and drinking. Or maybe it was that she knew that the tired eyes and world weary voice she had was a mirror of his. Not that it mattered, she had come to really appreciate the time she spent with the old con.

It was a nice change of pace. Most people seemed to think that being a PI was like the movies; chasing down leads, sneaking around to get photos, and all that, but it wasn’t. While sure it had its exciting moments (especially when it came to some of her less than reputable clients) it was a lot of time sitting around and waiting for someone to show up. It was digging through mountains of trash and public records to find a lead. It was asking a lot of questions that never got answered to people who didn’t want to talk to you. Over all it was exhausting in more ways then one. She’d always spent her time between jobs partying or holed up in a hotel room getting stoned and sleeping, but now she found coming here to be a much better past time.

There was always some new creation Stan was working on or some project to help Soos with. She had found walks in the woods were eventful as she seemed to run across odd little creatures and weird rocks no matter what direction she went. Even when it was boring around the Shack she at least had company. And Stan sure made for interesting company. He was always ready to snipe at each other or make stupid bets over anything. Heck, the last two days had been the most fun she’d had in years. She had enjoyed watching the old con slowly realized that this wasn’t her first rodeo, though, she knew she had shown her hand and he wouldn’t fall for it again.

Then again even she was surprised she’d pulled it off. While the gypsy shtick had been something she’d acquired as a teenager the rest had been dumb luck. She was constantly surprised that for such a nowhere town Gravity Falls seemed to have everything. 24 hour copy shop to make the flyer? Yup, Shenkos beside the mall. Party rental shop with a thematically appropriate tent? You bet. Costume shop? Yup. Local teenagers willing to spread rumors and wield social media like a finely honed weapon for $20 bucks? Well, everywhere had those but Wendy was a sweet kid who seemed more then willing to recruit help. It just went to show that helping the kid ditch work a few times had been a good idea. Still, some how it had all come together and she’d been able to back up her cocky words. Even with the expenses she’d pull in over a grand in a weekend beating Stan by a hundred buck and some change.

So she’d won, though, since she had told Stan to keep it since it was his customers to begin with she had basically bought herself two dinners and some expenses but useless bragging rights. In truth, she didn’t need the money, she got paid well for her work and had nothing to spend it one. She didn’t pay rent since she refused to settle, and aside from weekly hotels, food, and smokes she didn’t buy anything really. So she had a huge bank account that she just let sit for when she decided to retire. Plus, she’d liked the idea of helping Stan out, if in no other way then sticking it in Bud’s face. How dare he call Stan a fraud when he sold junk cars at astronomical prices? A small self aware part of her knew that she had done it because she cared about the old man, but she just ignored it.

Shaking her head she snorted, she had to be tired to be getting all introspective and squishy. Feelings weren’t her bag, she’d just done it for fun. At least that was what she told herself. Shifting slightly she groaned, her body felt heavy and her eyes kept trying to close. She was exhausted two days and nights of putting on a show took a lot out of a woman. Not to mention, she’d had to strike the tent after last night’s performance so the rental company could pick it up first thing, and of course she and Stan had sat up counting out their respective earnings. Stad had recounted hers twice growling she’d padded them, before finally admitting defeat. The look on his face had been worth it.

“Alright kid, how’d you do it?” came a gruff voice and the smell of cigar smoke pulling her eyes from the trees. Looking over at him she flashed a smile earning a half hearted scowl in response and a dismissive grunt, “Come on out with it. It’s only fair I know how I got beat.” Smirking she let out a sharp bark of laughter.

“It’s called cold reading,” she told him causing one of his eyebrows to shoot up in question, “You size up a crowd; age, clothes, general stuff you know. Then you throw out a line; something vague enough to not be a definitive statement but specific enough to be convincing. One you get a bite you reel them in, double talk so they tell you everything but it seems like you told it to them and bam you talked to their dead aunt,” she explained as she took a drink.

“Sounds like it would be easier to actually talk to the dead,” he grumbled, “Yur Grandmother would be proud. So where on earth did you learn to pull that off? It doesn’t seem like somethin’ you’d learn for a party trick,” he observed as he took a long puff off his cigar groaning as he settled back on the couch. Shrugging she sighed as she moved over to sit next to him staring out at the dark woods tucking one leg under her.

“When I was round about 16 I ran off from the group home. I was tired of being passed around homes like a fruit cake at Christmas yuh know. So I landed at a traveling fair after a while and met the Amazin’ Jezabel. She pulled the same gimmick and taught me how since my weird hand gav’ ah bit of a witchy vibe. I traveled with them for a year or two, ‘fore getting sick of making her a ton of money and gettin’ hog spit in return. I went out on my own and was good at it,” she told him cracking her neck a touch of melancholy settling over her as she recalled the days she spent running the con at fairs all over the south, “I probably could have gone on with it, got one of those shows on TV, but after a while people started coming to me looking for real answers. Sure, stuff like this weekend is fine. Tellin’ people that their grandma loves them or their dog is always hangin’ around them don’t hurt nothin’ It makes them happy, but when you have people comin’ to yuh lookin’ for their missing kid offering their life’s savin’s for answers it changes the game. I couldn’t bring mah’self ta lie to them. I didn’t want to give ‘em false hope so I quit. I was tryin’ to feed myself not cheat desperate people, yuh know?” she finished before calming up. She hadn’t needed to say all that, and it kinda broke the unspoken agreement they had to avoid anything too honest about themselves.

Glancing over she expected to find him either half listening to her ramble on or looking at her with the inscrutable look of mild disappointment he got when she came in half cocked with a split lip from brawling with the guys at the Skull Fracture. Instead his brows were furrowed and the corner of his lips pulled down in a half frown. It wasn’t that he looked disgusted at her words more…saddened by them. For a long moment they just stared at each other before he looked away taking a drink of his own soda.

“What?” she asked finally ignoring the slight feeling of insecurity that his silence had brought on.

“Nothin’. I was just thinking about your Dad,” he said his voice slightly rougher then normal, “That’s impressive though. You got any other tricks up your sleeve?”

“Naw, nothing worth noting,” she said as she looked away from him resting her elbow on the arm of the couch and leaning her head on it. For a moment they were silent, sitting there smoking before her eyes slid over to him again.

“What about him?” she asked unable to stop herself. While she excepted that Stanley was gone, and he seemed to be a subject Stanford didn’t seem keen on she couldn’t help but wonder about Stanley. He glanced at her from the corner of his eyes knowing what she was asking at once. For a second she thought he wasn’t going to answer before he shrugged.

“Nothin’ really. Just that you’re a lot like him. He may have been a cheat and a liar but he never preyed on desperate people. He’d probably be proud of you for that,” he said as Billie barely suppressed the pleased smile that threatened to surface at his words, “Though if he’d have known about you’d you could bet you wouldn’t have even been in a position to have to decided who were acceptable marks,” he added under his breath like he was speaking to himself not her. Smiling she looked back out at the trees.

“Yeah well if that were the case I wouldn’t have been able to get some free meals and braggin’ right now would I?” she chuckled to break the heavy silence that had settled on them and she saw his lips twitch from the corner of her eye.

“Yeah, yeah live it up kid. You cheated and you know it. That was dirty trick, I wouldn’t have made that bet if I’d have know you were a professional psychic,” he grumbled and she chuckled as she finished her drink and stood stretching.

“I’m goin’ ta bed. I’m beat,” she announced with a small yawn, “You should get some sleep too, Stan yuh look like hell,” she added glancing down at him causing him to chuckle.

“You ain’t the boss ah me kid,” he grumbled as she couldn’t help the stern look that crossed her face causing him to laugh, “Yeah, yeah. I’ll finish then and head to bed,” he assured her waving his hand at her. Smiling she yawned again as she headed in.

“Night Stanford.”

“Night Billie.”

#gravity falls #stan pines #Stanley Pines #billie pines #lost pines daughter #gf #au gravity falls #the apple doesnt fall far #AO3 #gravity falls fanfiction #screaming pointlessly into the void #Mystery Shack #tent of telepahy #pines family #pines family bonding #ugh I suck at hashtags

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darknessfactor · 7 years ago

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DOTO Thoughts

Spoilers below.

Game, I dub thee, “the game that had some cool ideas and a lot of potential and absolutely wasted all of it”.

I’m going to start with the bad, just to get it out of the way. Bullet points are acceptable, yes?

Billie was given very little motivation of her own, taking her cues from Daud instead and making the game about him when it should’ve been focused on her.

People have already done a much better job of explaining why Billie and Daud’s motivations make no sense than I could, but anyway, their motivations make no sense.

The level recycling was a bit exhausting.

The scene where the Outsider shows up and takes Billie’s arm and eye is... very violent. And I don’t necessarily mean that in the way you might be thinking, but I think it’s important to note that the Outsider, who has never shown any inclination to touch anyone before, suddenly manhandles Billie and essentially forces her powers on her. There are some uncomfortable implications that go along with that, especially when you consider that he gave the Dishonored 2 main characters a choice, but not Billie.

The lack of the chaos system. The game doesn’t have the stakes of the previous game, and it damages Billie’s character development immensely to have her be able to kill people indiscriminately without any consequences.

“Daud never stopped killing.” This makes absolutely no sense to me, because the fact that he canonically let Billie go would mean that he would’ve had to be low chaos in Knife of Dunwall. But according to Thomas (I’m assuming that was Thomas), he’s still the same assassin? Sure, game. Sure.

Missing pieces of lore. Sure, killing the Outsider/turning him human renders him unable to give magic to people, but the game doesn’t explain what happens to those he’s already marked (of which I’m pretty sure the only one who’s left alive is Emily).

Apparently Arkane has decided to stick with their insistence that all witches are evil. Great.

Now, here are the things that I thought were interesting, or had potential, but didn’t end up going anywhere or were underused.

Billie’s connection to the change in time at Stilton’s manor. Obviously this is important, as it’s the reason for her nightmares and the reason why she can see all the hollows, but for some reason the game never does anything with it. Billie never expresses any interest in finding out why she has the dreams, and she never gets to find out that the reason she loses her eye and arm is because Emily went back in time and saved Aramis Stilton. I personally think that the main plot of the game should’ve been about her figuring this out, but that could just be my fanfic getting to me.

The juxtaposition of Billie and the Outsider. Again, the game had some interesting moments where it’s pointed out that the Outsider and Billie have gone through similar experiences - of not having a choice, and of undergoing childhood trauma. It could’ve been a fascinating parallel throughout the game, except that it’s ruined almost immediately by - you guessed it - the Outsider not giving Billie a choice in accepting her powers.

And honestly this one upsets me on a personal level, because I love both characters and I love the idea that there was this connection between the two because of their similar experiences, and also because they’re both able to see the world in ways that ordinary people are not, but again: the game did nothing with it.

The relationship between Billie and Daud. There was no tension between them at all. I feel like there should’ve been some initial wariness and even some animosity between them at first - after all, it’s been fifteen years, and the last time they saw one another Billie had betrayed him. They shouldn’t have just been like, “Yeah, it’s all good, let’s just do our thing.” I expected more there.

The Eyeless. On the surface, just another nut-job cult, but more insidious than they appeared. But again, Arkane could’ve done a lot more with them.

There was the whole thing about Delilah’s witches joining the Eyeless after Delilah was overthrown, and it was clear that the witches had contempt for their fellow cult members. To them, the Eyeless were just a bunch of wanna-bes. Arkane could’ve taken this plot and run with it, could’ve turned it into an eventual civil war within the cult, could’ve given the player the ability to manipulate both sides - it would’ve been the perfect example of how it’s the choices we make determine our fate, because in the end the cult would have self-destructed.

I think, in general, I think that this game should’ve been about Billie taking down the cult, not the Outsider, because the cult is poisoning Karnaca from inside. The game showed that the Eyeless are at every level of society; uncovering it would’ve been a way for Billie to continue her story, but I guess Arkane wanted to capitalize on the Outsider. We know that the Eyeless are pretty terrible, and if Arkane had really wanted to get the Outsider involved, then you could make saving him an optional action at the end of the game. At any rate, doing this would remove the issue with terrible motivation for Billie and Daud.

The ‘choice’ theme. At least, I think Arkane wanted this to be a theme. The Outsider talks about Billie having a choice, his whole creation revolved around him not having a choice, human beings are the ones who make their own choices, etc. Once again, this is ruined by:

The Outsider not giving Billie a choice at the beginning of the game.

Billie basically being a robot who follows Daud’s orders, instead of choosing to help him for her own reasons.

And now, the things that I liked:

On a very superficial level, I like the non-lethal ending. Yes, I am aware that realistically speaking, the Outsider will probably die within a few weeks because of his lack of real life experience, but I’m instead going to headcanon that he ends up living at Dunwall Tower as an advisor, becomes the biggest advocate for environmental awareness and reform in court, and adopts a lot of cats. Like, a LOT of cats. And names them after his marked.

Billie’s attempts to write a thanks-but-no-thanks letter to Emily killed me. KILLED ME. And yes, that’s almost entirely because I ship them.

The hollows were cool. Kinda pointless, but cool, nonetheless.

It’s still fun to play. If you completely ignore the character development and the plot, then you can still have a blast. Billie’s powers are great, the exploration is fun, and the puzzles are still fun to solve.

Those rare moments when Billie actually seemed like a person - “A secret knock? Really?” and “Cryptic little shit.”

The little tidbits of what happened to the Dishonored 2 characters. I love that Billie keeps newspaper clippings about Emily and Sokolov.

Worldbuilding and the overall aesthetic was still pretty cool.

As you can, based on the above... the things I like about the game are not the things that are important to me in a game. I can forgive a game with a nonsensical plot if the characters are still interesting and engaging (*coughLightningReturnscough*), but Death of the Outsider couldn’t even be bothered to do that. Instead, most of the characters fall flat, and for the first time in my life I’ve found myself playing a game purely for the gameplay. I haven’t seen a mess this bad since the KOTET expansion from SWTOR.

It wouldn’t be accurate to say that I’m upset. After learning about That One Writer, I expected something like this. But I am angry. I’m angry on behalf of the people who are fans of Daud (even if I’m not one), and I’m angry as a fan of Billie. And so, I will do as I have always done: I will turn to my fanfiction, ignore canon, and move on.

(But make no mistake, I’ll be low-key bitter for a while.)

#dishonored #dishonored 2 #dishonored: doto #death of the outsider #billie lurk #daud #meta #doto spoilers #amaya talks crap #currently my cat is on my lap #so i'm not as mad as i was #anyway wow this is long #goddamn #dishonored critical #also if anyone has anything to add #or feels like they need to call me out on something #feel free

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fantasiesromancechicklits · 7 years ago

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In Depth Thomas Doherty interview

TWO things hit home immediately on meeting Scotland’s Disney star Thomas Doherty; the first is he has the arresting good looks normally associated with boy band members, or those young men you see on giant posters on the wall of a trendy clothes shop, wearing nice tops. When Doherty later informs he has over a million Instagram followers it’s not hard to see why.

The second thing is his ankle tattoo, an inscription of sorts, but although I’m sitting a yard away I can’t make the words out. Some foreign language I’ve never come across? We talk about the tattoo puzzle later, meantime the young man from Edinburgh chats about his new Disney role.

Doherty, who is also one of the stars of Disney Channel musical, The Lodge, now stars as Harry Hook in Descendants 2, a sequel to the international TV franchise featuring the adventures of the teen offsprings of the great Disney villains such as Cruella de Vil and Maleficent.

He explains why he’s wild about Harry. “I love playing him,” says the actor who hopes his pirate Son of Hook will be the most evil villain of the past 100 years, badder than old King Kong, and meaner than a junkyard dog, (to lift from the late American songwriter Jim Croce.)

“He can be very hostile and intimidating and unpredictable, but at the same time he has a charming quality. It’s easy to see why people love him – but hate to love him at the same time. He’s such good fun to play. And his character brings a lot to the rest of the film.

Doherty seems to have natural warmth and to be entirely unassuming. As he tells of playing Captain Hook’s wicked progeny, it’s with an endearing sense of incredulity; the actor’s voice has a questioning air, wondering how he can, at just 22, be part of this worldwide franchise, be part of the offspring of the Disney parents who gave the world Miley Cyrus and Britney Selena Gomez.

He later reveals however he isn’t an innocent abroad. But for the moment we continue talk of Harry Hook. Did he channel anyone in particular when he became bad boy Harry? “I did,” he offers. “I thought of Heath Ledger when he played the Joker in Batman. His performance was amazing. He showed how you can totally immerse himself in this huge character, yet make him truthful. It’s such a shame we’ve lost him.

“When I play Harry I want that sort of truth.” He adds: “There’s a real dichotomy about him and it’s important to understand he’s still a kid, which means there’s a lot of teenage angst and frustration in the mix.

“You forget he’s the son of Hook, and don’t think about the pirate ship. What I want to come across is he’s a young man with a lot of problems – peer pressure, father pressures, and loss in his life. And this manifests itself in anger and aggression.” He laughs: “But it’s all good fun.”

Doherty clearly brings an intelligence to the role (his mother, who works in a bank – his dad is a financial adviser – made sure he finished his Highers before she agreed on him taking off to musical theatre college) but you discover there’s also an innate toughness about him which the model looks don’t suggest initially.

“I grew up hoping to become a professional footballer,” he says, revealing a world far removed from fairy princesses and camp.

His talent was such it led to professional trials with the likes of Berwick Rangers, but not quite enough to land the big leagues. “My brother was also a footballer and went to America on a footballing scholarship, so I guess I was following in his footsteps.”

Yet, while Doherty tackled and twisted his way over East Lothian grass he kept a dark, or rather a colourful, secret from many of his school chums.

“While I was seen as a football player, no-one was aware I also did musical theatre,” he says in mock conspiratorial voice. “I’d have my books and packed lunch at the top of my bag but at the bottom I’d hide my tap shoes.

“On Saturdays, for example, I’d go to musical theatre from nine ‘till one and then rush off to the game.” He adds, laughing: “Then during the week I’d turn up for musical theatre with my knees all cut and bruised. It was all a bit Billy Elliott. But I loved both.”

His very close friends accepted his leanings: “Yes, but any 13-year-old boy who wears leotard and tights two days a week is going to get slagged off,” he says, grinning. “Young boys were wary of acting. There was a sense it was all a bit effeminate. And I’d get teased. but it’s part of the banter. And my friends were fantastic and so supportive when it came to seeing my shows.”

Doherty had been attending a local drama group from a young age, but aged 13 he “really began to enjoy it". When the football dream was kicked out of the park, he decided to focus on performing and applied to the Academy of Performing Arts to study musical theatre. “I always wanted to work in TV and film but didn’t feel I was mature enough to go to acting school. And I could sing a bit, and dance as well because I had already done a lot of musical theatre shows.”

At the end of his three years, he performed his showcase and landed an agent. Now, landing representation is every young performer’s dream. But when you coax it out of Doherty there’s a realisation agents were almost queueing around the block to sign him up.

You would imagine they saw him as a cert for a role in EastEnders, a teen heartbreaker shoe-in for Hollyoaks?

“Yes, I met a few agents and some of them suggested they would get me into the likes of Hollyoaks. But it didn’t feel right. I didn’t feel passionate about the idea and felt I would be cheating a little bit.”

What happened was he worked in theatre for a short time, appearing at the Edinburgh Festival in a play about the Black Death, boils and all. Then he landed some film work in the likes of Hercules before being cast in teen musical The Lodge as Sean, filming in Northern Ireland.

He switches conversational channels to offer a bigger picture. “I don’t thinking living two steps ahead in life as being in any way productive. I like to live in the moment. That’s why there isn’t a big career plan mapped out.

“In the six months before leaving college I had the idea I’d get an agent and move to Hollywood and land films and do the red carpet thing. And then I got a little taste of it and I realised I was trying to fill my life with stuff. But I also realised if that was my intent it would never really be filled.”

What? These days actors talk of career moves as if it were a board game strategy. What made Doherty so different? What happened to bring about this epiphany?

Seems he has gone down the way of modelling after all.

“While I was doing The Lodge I was also meeting these modelling agencies, and at the same time I was going to acting auditions. But I wasn’t really thinking about the auditions; I was thinking about what the auditions would bring me. Then I went to LA and did the photo shoot for Teen Vogue and came back and thought ‘That was so much fun’ and people were saying to me it was amazing, yet at the same time it all felt very hollow, a bit vacuous.”

Doherty realised he was being judged for his looks alone. It didn’t sit well. “Old friends or people who didn’t know me were giving lots of attention, and it was weird when girls would scream or ask for photos but it wasn’t fulfilling.”

He felt lost, unsure of the road to take. “I began reading Eckhart Tolle a lot, (the spiritual teacher and author of books such as The Power Of Now) who has been asking why we are trying to fill our lives with stuff. You know; you get the car or the big house or whatever and then you ask yourself what you did to deserve it.

“You wonder if life is all about getting two million followers on social media.”

He has in fact just a million. The actor grins and then takes on a serious look: “But the thing is it doesn’t mean anything, except that ... well, it doesn’t define me.”

It’s quite unusual to find a young man aged just 22 who has been self-aware enough to examine the very point of his being. He could have gone the Bieber route and created minor drugs/alcohol mayhem. But of course, he’s also contained to a certain extent by the demands of Disney. The corporation Disney expects a lot of its young stars, in terms of how they represent themselves to the public, displaying a clean cut wholesomeness.

So how does Doherty balance out the Disney deal with the need to be a young man and have fun – and take a few risks? “Just don’t get caught,” he says, grinning. “But what you don’t do is overthink your status and let it get into your head because it will be a bit restrictive. What you have to do is just see yourself as a you are, which is a normal 22-year-old boy. And don’t let a couple of screaming girls sway you in any way.”

Does he read the tabloid tales of those who have lost the plot? Clearly he’s aware that celebrity is the mask that eats from within. Just think Heath Ledger.

“Yes, and I’m aware if you don’t be careful you crash and burn. Jim Carey once said he wished everyone could spend a week being rich and famous, to see what it’s really like. Attention can bring problems. But I’ve got it under control.”

What helps, apart from Eckhart Tolle and a few pages of natural common sense, is Doherty has a regular girlfriend, who happens to be his Descendants 2 co-star. “Her name is Dove Cameron and she lives in Los Angeles.” His voice becomes more animated as he expands: “She was here for the Edinburgh Festival for the first time and she loved it. She’s great. She’s like my pal, and a really good laugh. The plan is I’m going to head over to LA to live. We’re going to get a place together and live on Venice Beach.”

You tell him he’ll love it. And you’re sick with envy. “Thanks,” he says, smiling. “I think I’m making the right move. London’s great, and so is Edinburgh but it’s too cold.”

Doherty is relaxed about the future. He may be doing another season of The Lodge, and “hopefully a Descendants 3". But thanks to his Instagram success he has a regular income stream, independent of what he earns from acting. “I want to test the water,” he says of work possibilities in Tinseltown.

But gently.

“It’s good to have goals and a career and all the rest of it, but at the same time I want to enjoy life.”

He means it. The actor becomes truly animated when I tell of a young Scots actor, Declan Laird, currently making his way in Hollywood, who plays for a showbiz football team. Declan will get him a game.

“That sounds fantastic,” he says, breaking into a wide smile. “Although I’ll have to watch I don’t get kicked. But of course I won’t tell anyone I’m playing.”

We say goodbyes, but the ankle tattoo questions has to be answered. What the hell language is that? “It’s Elvish,” he declares, as if I should have known it’s Tolkien tongue.

“I’m a huge Lord Of The Rings fan, and it’s a quote from Gandalf: ‘All we have to do is decide what to do with the time that’s given to us.’ Good, eh?”

Perfect line, Thomas. Just perfect.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/arts_ents/15597316.Hook_lines_and_thinker__meet_the_rising_Scottish_film_star/

#thomas doherty #scotland #disneys descendants #Descendants 2 #harry hook #the lodge #sean matthews

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blackstarising · 7 years ago

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stranger things 2 thoughts under the cut:

okay, this season was good, so everything after this is just going to be details but the season overall was good. any roasting is meant to be more of a light grill or even a light toast, if you will

first of all, can they just mail noah schnapp his emmy early? because that boy literally did the Most™. honestly, i don’t believe i’ve ever seen a child actor come full force the way he did. seeing will suffer onscreen was incredibly heartbreaking and noah definitely brought that depth to his role.

the soundtrack, the bush and mandale signs, the arcades, the clothing, the houses, all 80s, all wonderful.

i think the duffer brothers are trying to actually kill me bc not only do we get hopper but we got hopper in flannel doing dad thing and i am left here very thirsty and very distressed rip i brought this on myself

tbh i forgot that hopper even had a daughter until the fifth episode, because everything he was doing looked so natural

and i know there’s some Discourse brewing about jane (i’m going to call her jane consistently from now on, she deserves to be called by her real name) and hopper’s relationship, especially their fight mid-season, so i’ll throw my proverbial hat into the Discourse Ring

i’m not going to excuse hopper, actually, and i’ll even confess that as a binch with anxiety who hates yelling, i had to turn down the volume of my computer and read the subtitles at one point because it really messes with me

definitely, threatening to turn jane back over to the authorities was wrong, and a new low. but i also saw that it was very much anger born of worry. like, parents get angry, and he had a reason to, because you could see that he was watching his daughter willingly put herself in danger, and it’s not like she’s unaware of the consequences

that being said, i don’t blame jane for leaving. you could see she was starting to match the whole experience to her time in the lab with papa and the fact that she was counting the days. damn

so in the end, they both acted shitty, but they both owned up to that and apologized. and i think david and millie did a really good job in really portraying a realistic father-daughter relationship. it’s not always cute, fluffy, one-shot, material, it’s messy and screamy and painful sometimes.

but ohmygoodness their relationship hurts so good the bedtime stories the waffles the halloween candy sorry i need a mome-

max!!!!!! i!!!! love!!!!! max!!!!!! ever since i learned what internalized misogyny was, i’ve been a bit wary of tomboy characters. but max didn’t play into those stereotypes at all, which is super refreshing. she was very content to be who she was, but she didn’t need to denigrate other girls to do so!!!!!! and it’s just good!!!!!!!

(also the fact that the boys didn’t question that max beat their high score. also good, also pure, beautiful, beautiful)

[suddenly wearing a mourning veil] okay we need to talk about bob. right now.

i was one of the people who was suspicious of him (not because of shipping reasons, but the show makes you a little on edge, you know?) so i definitely squinted at everything he did but like he was so sweet and supportive of joyce and the boys and he didn’t like overstep his bounds but the way he tried to encourage will was so sweet and and and he’s just working at radio shack and he checks in on joyce to eat lunch with her and make out in the supply closet [hyperventilates a little] and and and the slow dancing in his halloween costume and he knows BASIC [is practically sobbing at this point] and he loves the byers and he died so that they could be happy and he’s a superherO AND I WOULD DIE FOR HIM AND SEAN ASTIN HOW COULD THEY DO THIS TO MEEE-

also when he’s talking about how he grew out of getting bullied and “I get to date Joyce Byers!” i get so close to tearing up every time you have no idea

i love how we get development for the rest of the party’s families, and barb’s families too. especially lucas’ sister, a gem, an icon™

and just!!!! lucas!!!!!! i really love how he’s the straight man of the group, but you can tell he’s matured over the year that’s past (also that voice drop, i see you caleb)

and lucas and max is now the only relevant ship on this show im sorry i dont make the rules

dustin is so sweet and big hearted and i really loved seeing more of his depth. tbh i may or may not have started projecting a little especially at the last ep when no one would dance with him!!!! but it’s so hard when you’re so loving and no one returns it in the way you’d want it to!!!! and the fact that he was even willing to love and protect a demon from another dimension dustin please don’t let the world rob you of your sweetness

i was crying about noah earlier but finn also basically killed it this season. you could tell that mike was Depressed with a Capital D and even though he didn’t get as much screen time as he did last season, every scene he did have was Quality,

especially the scene when he was talking about how he and will became friends and those TEARS FINN JUST DRIVE TO MY HOUSE AND STAB ME MYSELF

i really loved watching jane grow and come into her own this season! you can tell that she’s very aware of her power, but there’s that internal struggle about how to use it, which made the final battle that much more poignant.

terry’s backstory was immensely heartbreaking, i don’t have much left to say about it

i really did love kali, though! the detour from hawkins was a bit unexpected, but i love that world building aspect and im really intrigued about kali’s backstory and also her...front story? damn i hope she’s in season three because there’s so much more tea left.

and like....what about 1-7, 9, 10? are they still alive [insert eyes emoji here]

i’m going to be Agressively Heterosexual and agree that billy is pretty™ but at the same time i’m super worried that he’s going to be woobified because he is abusive, and i’m 95% sure he’s racist. so yeah i really hope that doesn’t happen but it probably will [sips wine tiredly]

STEVEN, MY MANS. the development that started last season really paid off here! tbh even i felt hurt when he asked nancy “you don’t love me?” like this binch has got feelings! and he’s not perfect but he’s a lot more genuine than i gave him credit for and the fact that he babysits kids and calls them shitheads but also lets himself get his ass beat for them. oh steve, keep growing but never change.

okay, nitpick and potential unpopular opinion, but i kind of hated the jancy development in this season

because there really wasn’t any, i don’t know, and this is really shitty of me for all my campaigning last year, but it just felt very cheap and superficial

like nancy and steve break up very early in the season, conveniently

and then when they’re at conspiracy guy’s house it just felt too explicit, too heavy handed and cliche, like Conspiracy Guy is basically spelling out their relationship to the audience

and then they do the thing where they just....have sex, and maybe it’s because i’m wearing my grey-ace hat, but like, honestly, two characters having sex doesn’t mean shit, anymore, okay?

its mostly because of hookup culture imo

so jonathan and nancy have sex, but there’s no confession of feelings or anything, so it just feels like a cheap way to show the audience THEY’RE TOGETHER NOW ARE YOU HAPPY

and then they don’t really interact as much in that context for the rest of the season, so it’s left kind of ambiguous

and i understand that it’s a 9 episode season and this is more of a C plot, but i think i would have rather had a slow burn throughout the 9 episodes [cough] like last season [cough] with a more affectionate moment at the end than just break up, nancy’s free, SEX, done

it’s not a very emotionally gratifying narrative as it is

second nitpick: tbh the final battle of this season felt a little too note for note to the final battle of the first season, and it felt repetitive at times, so i admit i kind of lost interest in the middle of episode 9

i really thought the “watering the story down” to get JusticeForBarb™ was really clever

and just....joyce. i’ll never get over joyce. i have no complaints, she’s a mom who punches back and she’s tenacious and good hearted and amazing and she raised two amazing boys

i don’t know i need a nap

#stranger things #stranger things 2 #stranger things spoilers #also like comment and stuff im bored talk to me

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vowel-in-thug · 8 years ago

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so @corsaircourser whose username i can’t tag right now wtf asked for “22. It’s not heavy. I’m stronger than I look.” which i immediately tweaked. also i’m fucking eating my words here because this is....a little grim. NOT angsty, but like. casual conversations about cannibalism. like if you watched the show Hannibal this would probably be considered tame. this is also my second (2nd) black sails fic with a romantic cannibalism theme which is an interesting fact about me.

set during 3x4

“It’s not heavy. I’m stronger than I look.”

Flint stands, watching Billy by the treeline. Watching the strange men behind him file out ahead, training their guns on Flint’s crew, who are still too weak and starved to do anything but blink and curse. Billy looks grim, more so than usual, with a gun pointed at his head.

Flint stands, and then, slowly, moves to stand in front of Silver.

Silver, who is still on the ground, and letting out quiet exclamations as a man with a gun approaches them. Two more men with weapons are quick to follow. Flint can’t see what Silver is doing, but he can feel him shift at his feet. He is still on the ground when the men approach.

The man in front of Flint looks at him like he’s fishing. Like Flint is just another fish caught in a net. There’s no anger, no passion, no sympathy. No wariness about what Flint or his men might do. It’s just another task -- to catch him, to kill him, like all the other fish before and all the ones after. Flink thinks this man could cut off his head and then never think of him again.

The man says something, which Flint doesn’t understand. But Flint understands the barrel of his gun. Slowly, so slowly, he lifts his hands and removes his own weapons. He tosses his pistol, his sword, and his knives into the sand. The other men scoop them up, while the man in front of Flint doesn’t even glance at them.

Flint sees out the corner of his eye Silver following suit, his own pistol striking the sand, and then the man in front of Flint glances at him.

And suddenly, the man in front of Flint becomes the man in front of Silver. He points his gun at him and says something sharply, but the way he gestures with his pistol suggests only one sentiment: get up.

Flint finally looks down. Silver’s hands are shaking, in part due to the imminent threat, but also because they’ve been starving, and sick, and when you can’t eat, you can’t sleep either. He has the iron leg on but it’s not straight, and he’s fumbling with the buckles to try and adjust it, but the faster he moves, the more his hands shake.

The man in front of Silver repeats what he said before, only louder, and gestures harder with his gun.

“Wait!” Flint steps in front of it, hands still raised. “Just wait. He just needs another moment.”

The man says something again, his face as passive as before, but the other two men approach Flint, and the man in front of Silver pulls back the hammer of his gun.

“Wait,” Flint says again, “he just needs a moment, please.”

There’s a hand around his arm and he’s never felt so frail in his whole fucking life. The hand wraps itself almost all the way around his forearm and begins to tug. Normally, Flint wouldn’t have been moved an inch, and he tries to stay still, but he is also shaking, and with one more tug the only thing that will be standing in between Silver and a gun is air, but if he struggles they’ll both be gutted like fish either way.

“Just wait, please -- “ and the man in front of Silver steps forward.

“It’s on,” Silver says breathlessly. “It’s on. Captain, help me up, quickly.” He extends his hand to Flint and it’s still shaking. Flint doesn’t need to be asked twice.

He hauls Silver up and Silver stumbles, sinking into the sand. Flint’s hand comes up on his chest to steady him, and he feels sick at the bones he can feel through his shirt. Silver grimaces in pain but says nothing.

The man in front of them says something else, a single word, and gestures again with his gun. He leads them towards where the rest of Flint’s crew are waiting by the trees, waiting for them to head into the forest.

One of his men has run away, and Flint doesn’t even entertain the notion that he might see that fellow again. None of their captors seem all that bothered by it, though, which at least means they don’t plan to take the escape attempt out on the rest of them.

Or that whatever fate awaits them is so bad that any further punishment seems pretty irrelevant.

Silver is cursing beside him as he stumbles along. Flint is terrified what might happen if he falls again, afraid of any sort of additional attention on him and his missing limb.

Silver bumps into him, not very hard at all, but Flint sees the opening and takes it. He grabs Silver’s arm roughly and throws it over his shoulders before Silver can even get his mouth open.

“Enough of this,” Flint mutters, looking straight ahead. “The time for pride would have been before we almost starved to death.”

“It’s not --” Silver sighs quietly. “You need to save up your strength for what’s to come. You don’t need the extra weight.”

Flint feels his whole body trembling under Silver already. The muscles in his neck ache sharply, like he’s being drawn and quartered. His side feels stitched at the awkward angle of his body. Silver jerks when he walks, and it pulls and presses at every healing bruise and cut on him.

“You aren’t that heavy,” Flint says. “I’m stronger than I look.”

Silver doesn’t say anything, and then he snorts softly. “You must have the strength of Goliath, then, Captain.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means I’ve yet to see you look anything other than strong.”

It’s a lie, even if Silver doesn’t realize it’s a lie. Silver has seen him weeping on the floor with Gates in his arms. He has dragged Flint’s unconscious body from the depths of the sea. He has looked right into the heart of Flint and effortlessly seen how awful it is to be him. He has listened to Flint beg, in so many words, for Silver not to leave his side. They shared a cabin recently, in the days following Miranda’s death. Their entire relationship has been nothing but Flint being weak and Silver refusing to notice.

They come to a clearing of wood, and the ground drops below them. Silver steps away from Flint as they gaze out onto the expanse of the Maroon camp. It’s large and bustling and sophisticated. Flint had known they were fucked before, but now he understands just how much.

Their captors lead them down the embankment, which is rocky and steep. Flint walks in front by design, so when Silver finally trips (almost immediately), he lands right into Flint’s back. And then it’s easy to hook his arm around Silver’s tiny waist. Silver has no choice but to loop his arm back around Flint’s neck.

He’s flushed, like he might be embarrassed, and his features are twisted into a snarl.

He feels stupid to say it, but Flint asks again, “Are you alright?”

This time, Silver nods, teeth clenched, before finally spitting out, “Sand.”

“What?”

“There’s -- sand. In the boot.” Silver bits on the bottom of his lip hard enough to turn pink white. “It’s like grinding down right on the bone with each step.”

His fingernails dig sharply into Flint’s neck, in and out, like an agitated cat extending its claws. Flint doesn’t think Silver even knows he’s doing it. It’s the familiar twitch of a person in agonizing pain, unable to stop it and trying desperately to find something else to focus on, even if it’s another pain.

“It’ll be a small comfort, I suppose,” Flint says softly, turning his face so it goes right into Silver’s ear. Silver’s nails dig in again.

“What is?”

“When they decide to finally eat us,” Flint says, “there’ll be less of you to go around.”

Silver lets out a choked laugh, turning to Flint in surprise. Their faces are suddenly so very close.

“I must be honest,” Silver breaths, not looking away. “The thought had crossed my mind back on the ship. That we might have to resort to such measures. And you’re right.”

“I am?”

“It was a comfort.” Silver, of all things, smiles.

Flint looks away, even though he’d started the joke. The harsh terrain is ending soon. He can already see the edge of the river through the trees. He feels Silver panting on his cheek, as heavy as his whole weight on Flint’s frame.

Without thinking, Flint says, “No one would have eaten you on that ship.”

Silver huffs. It hits Flint’s eyelashes. “I don’t think the men like me that much to spare me if that’s the path we had found ourselves on.”

Flint doesn’t know why they’re talking about this. Maybe because they have, in some fashion, found themselves on a similar path, towards a gruesome end, and there’s nothing they can do about it now. Maybe because Silver has stopped twitching and instead is just pressing his fingertips lightly on the nape of his neck. Whatever the reason, Flint says, “I wouldn’t have let them.”

He doesn’t know why he says it, only that now, in this moment, with Silver holding Flint up as much as he’s holding Silver up -- now, he believes it. He’s not sure where the impulse comes from, but it’s there all the same. It’s the same kind of impulse that had struck him in the past, when that other sailor had insulted Miranda in that tavern, or when he’d asked Thomas’s father to leave the dinner table. He hadn’t known where or why those impulses had overcome him, then, either.

As if reading his mind, Silver says wryly, but no less quietly, “I wonder if you would have spared me before, when you were still in the dark about my role in the Urca gold.”

Flint doesn’t answer, because he also doesn’t know that either. And really, it makes no difference. He does know, however, that the only thing he’d felt upon hearing Silver’s confession was pure, unimaginable relief.

“It doesn’t matter anyway,” Silver whispers. “If you had tried to spare me -- either we would have both been the first to be eaten, or the last two left remaining. The two of us, gorged on the blood and fat of our brothers. And then, what do you think would have happened?”

They arrive at the river. There aren’t nearly enough boats for everyone, but their captors are efficient in dividing everyone up, so that their guards are never outnumbered by their prisoners. Flint is put in a boat alone with Silver, possibly because they are still supporting each other.

Silver doesn’t seem to be waiting for an answer, and in fact seems to have forgotten the whole conversation, staring out at the camp in trepidation. Even so, Flint doesn’t think Silver would like his answer, that, in that scenario on the ship, Flint would never have eaten a single man. He would have given all the meat to Silver, to keep him strong, and alive, and when there was no one left but him, he’d offer himself up for a final meal. He’d only ask that Silver start with his heart.

#black sails #black sails fanfic #silverflint #weirdly intimate non-sexual touching #everyone who loved flint helping silver walk in this episode say YEAAAHHH #i'm still living in that pre-s4 world where we just focused on how gay s3 was #anyway i saw meta about how as soon as flint found out about silver's lies in 3x3 he went right back into caretaker mode #and that's what this fic is dedicated to #hey look it's my suffering #corsaircourser

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