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blazingstar29 · 1 year

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lovers in arms

pairing: icemav

wordcount: 1231

warnings: none really, just angst

As the years wearied their bodies but not their hearts, Pete and Tom grew apart and together like undulating serpentines. Never straying far enough or long enough to hurt, but whether orders or their own hot heads, sometimes they stood on opposing sides. But things suddenly escalate when Tom receives Commander. Very quickly he finds himself Pete’s senior officer and changes occur neither of them expect.

Before they flew wing by wing, an unstoppable force together. Pete’s penchant for daring maneuvers, to push the envelope and Tom’s unwavering patience and ability to sit steady not only made them unorthodox together, but in the face of enemy aircraft were undefeated. Things have changed now.

The rosy coloured glasses Tom has worn for so long are forcibly replaced by that of a commanding officer. Not that he hasn’t worn them before. Way back at Top Gun he assessed Pete very quickly and dismissed any longevity in the Navy. But he was proven wrong and fell in love in the process. Now he has to look at Pete as an officer, black and white, cold. What he sees scares him.

He risks losing Pete to himself, to a far off sea. He risks losing Pete from the Navy. Nepotism isn’t a trait he can afford to show and Pete would cut off his left hand before receiving it. Yet does that make him responsible for taking the appropriate action when Pete does cross the line? Does he risk Pete’s dismissal?

The inquiry is unpleasant and the only reason Tom sleeps at night is because he didn’t report it. Another officer heard the transmission before Tom.

“Ghost Rider return to the ship.”

“Bogey has not bugged. Holding position.”

The blatant refusal to land had Pete, Tom and two other officers in the first chopper back to the Naval base in Lemoore for the inquiry. Not a word is spoken between the officers and the disgraced Lieutenant. For the rest of his life, Tom remembers this as his first real test of diplomacy. He defends Pete’s judgment and attacks him equally.

“Gentlemen, I believe I see a different world than you do and if I may be so honest, what I see frightens me. Our enemy is more than a flag, a country. It is an ideology that is carried by the men who pilot the aircraft Lieutenant Mitchell encountered.”

He draws on the patriotism of the men before him. Lieutenant Mitchell, an unorthodox patriot.

“I ask you, do you feel safe leaving unsupervised enemy aircraft in our airspace?”

“There were initial plans to bomb the MiG, Commander. Were you aware?”

“Not at the time,” he says simply. “I wasn’t in the control room.”

“Lieutenant Mitchell could have become collateral damage if the strike had been commenced and he loitered in the airspace. For once it seems he was risking his own life,” a Rear Admiral says. Tom understands his point more than anyone. Pete could have died. But they cannot know how much that affects him. “The fact is he disobeyed a direct order in a multi-million dollar aircraft. And not for the first time.”

“Lieutenant Mitchell’s prior refusal to land saved the lives of two men and saved another multi-million dollar plane.” He takes a breath, stilling himself for the blow. He’s glad Pete is standing just behind his peripheral. If he could see him, he wouldn’t be able to say the words in his mouth. “The Navy needs a few good men. It also needs sacrifices. Men who are prepared to take risks that better men won’t, they are at our disposal to be used. Mitchell is one of them.”

The room falls silent and Tom is indicated to be seated. He knows he has won Pete’s career, at what cost he does not know.

–

It’s a few days before Pete is flight status reinstated and Tom volunteers to stay down in Lemoore to catch up on a few things before returning to the carrier at the end of the week. It means they are back in base housing, but it’s luxurious in comparison to the boat.

Late that night after the inquiry, there’s a sharp knocking on the door.

“It’s open,” he calls from the small desk. The door opens and Pete steps inside, back as straight as a board, to attention.

“Pete-”

“It’s Lieutenant, sir.”

No, not this.

He pinches the bridge of his nose for a second. “Don’t do this.”

“Don’t do what? Don’t do what better men would?”

Tom gets to his feet, heart aching already. “I said what I said for a reason and you know it.”

Pete’s eyes bore into his, flashing and angry. Hurt. He sets his jaw, nose flaring as he suffocates the outburst inside of him threatening to spill over and drown everything between them. After a few moments of steadying himself, he opens his mouth as if to speak. But the words don’t come out. He stands frozen, face morphing from anger to pain.

In the end he can’t even look Tom in the eye. He can’t bear to look in the face of the man he loves and hear the truth. Shoulders lowering in defeat, his gaze falls to the floor,

“Do you really think so little of me?”

A pin drives right through Tom’s heart and threatens to strike him down. It leaves him numb and tingly all over.

“Mav, I think the world of you.”

A sniff breaks the eerie quiet. “How can you, when Ikeep screwing up?”

Finally Tom crosses the ocean between them and takes Pete’s elbows in hand.

“I love you not despite but regardless. I just never realized what I’d have to do to protect you. How in order to protect you I have to hurt you.”

“I’m making your job harder,” Pete whispers. He looks anywhere but Tom until he cups the anxious pilot's faces and guides his gaze back to him. “I’ve asked for the paperwork for a transfer.”

“Pete…why?”

He swallows, throat bobbing. “Because I can’t stop being me, no matter how much I try. I just keep screwing up and doing shit I know I shouldn’t. And you’ll protect me but you’ll get hurt. Accused of nepotism or you won’t reprimand me the way another officer would.”

He lifts his own hand to cup Tom’s face.

“I push boundaries. I don’t want to push you.”

Tom doesn’t want to see the reason, he doesn’t want to even consider the idea. But…maybe Pete is right. They can’t be colleagues and lovers at the same time, not in the Navy. This decision will take them away from each other for months at a time.

He knows he has won Pete’s career, at what cost he does not know.

The cost is setting him free, loose on the world. Maybe the reward is the rest of their lives in love with one another. If being apart means they stay together, it’s a risk he will have to take.

“Okay.”

“You don’t mind?”

“I love you.” Tom’s voice is hoarse as he says it. “If you feel this is the best thing for us, I trust you.’

“I love you, Tom. You’re my wingman, no matter where we are or how senior you rank.”

Tom strokes Pete’s hair back off his face. “If you ever need help, I will be there for you. Always.”

#top gun 1986 #pete maverick mitchell #tom iceman kazansky #icemav #maverick x iceman #angst #top gun fic #fanfic #cross posted on ao3 #hurt/comfort

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birds-of-wax · 1 year

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Here’s notes on a Modern Brotherband AU ideas I’d love to write some day (if I ever get time to write it, or one of the other five Brotherband AU ideas living rent free in my head...):

The Heron is a metal Scandian navy ship (modeled after Canada’s HMCS Whitehorse) - her full designation is the SNS Heron

The Mangler is a rail gun mounted on the front of the Heron

The Heron Brotherband is an experimental crew, composed of disgraced or unwanted Scandian navy or army personnel

Thorn was going to retire early, but was offered the job of commanding the crew by Erak

Hal was going to be dishonorable discharged from the navy for destruction of navy property after he got carried away and accidentally blew up the commander’s office while demonstrating one of his ideas

Stig was facing a court marshal for striking several superior officers

Ingvar is one of the unwanted navy personnel, due to his very poor eyesight, which many officers sited as a risk to their crews

Jesper was getting processed for a dishonorable discharge from the army for petty theft

Stephen had been shuffled from crew to crew due to his inability to follow written orders

Ulf and Wulf always end up annoying their officers enough to keep getting transferred, which eventually made them look unmanageable

Edvin was dishonorable discharged from the army after his first mission due to striking a superior officer, dereliction of duty, and disobeying a direct order

Lydia joins the crew later than most of the others, because no-one else will take a female sniper

Kloof is a military war dog, who was assigned to the Heron after she bit her former partner (her former partner deserved it)

So that’s the basics. Now, more details:

Jesper was stealing to help him cope with losing several teammates after they were captured during an ambush, which only Jesper came back alive from

Stephen can’t follow written orders because he has severe, undiagnosed dyslexia

Edvin hit his former team leader because during his first mission they encountered civilians in the line of fire and Edvin wanted to rescue them. The mission was a secret, so the leader said no. Edvin went and rescued them anyway (and that’s a whole other headcanon in itself).

Edvin spent several years working as a paramedic before being offered a chance to try out for the Heron’s crew medic

Edvin was the last person to join the heron crew

Edvin wasn’t actually looking for a new job, but his step-father (a navy admiral) gave Thorn his file to look at, and Thorn offered Edvin the chance to try out

Edvin drives a banana yellow jeep, or a lime green Kawasaki ninja motorcycle

Stephen has a twin sister, and a second much younger sister who is deaf

Edvin has a large step-family he adores, after his single mom married a widowed navy admiral

not a lot of people know Edvin and his dad are related, due to them having different last names

Edvin’s dad being a navy admiral was the original reason he was in the army instead of the navy

The Heron crew only answers to several navy officers due to it’s experimental nature: Erak, Edvin’s dad, and a couple other admirals

Erak is the head of the whole Skandian navy

While on duty the twins can be told apart, due to their names being on their uniforms. They used to switch, but after a medical incident Edvin told them he had to be able to tell them apart, or they were getting a medical discharge

Ulf is allergic to a common antibiotic, which Wulf is not allergic to. Due to them switching Edvin thought he was treating Wulf, and accidentally gave Ulf the wrong medication. It was bad.

SNS stands for Scandian Naval Ship

Thorn was one of the best trainers the Skandian navy has ever had, but after he lost his hand in a training accident he gave up on living for a while

all of the Heron crew are in therapy

#brotherband chronicles #brotherband #Edvin #Jesper #incoming text wall #headcanon #modern au

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acrossthewavesoftime · 2 years

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Oh my, that was absolutely worth the wait. What a great chapter! And finally George made a move – he deserves Caroline and Caroline deserves him. The two of them are just too cute when they finally admit that they have feelings for each other, society be dammed. And do not get me wrong, I am happy that George got his promotion, he really deserved it after his little stunt at Trafalgar … but does he really have to go back to sea right now? He and Caroline just found each other and I have this bad feeling that Ernest still thinks he has a chance with Caroline. He was totally disgraced by Amelia’s letter and outed as the little devil he is … but I fear that that will not stop him. And what is the deal with this lovely elderly gent from Plön?

Anyway, I will wait in patience for what comes next. :-)

You really, really made it hard for me! Anyways, apologies it took so long, but was lange währt wird endlich gut, nicht wahr?

Anyway, it took me some time to figure out how this whole thing is even possible, and accidentally ended up mapping out the entire plot of a novel I’ll never write. I hope you’ll enjoy it and a fair warning, long read ahead. Warning: contains Stuart and Hanoverian family politics, naval officers and scheming siblings:

The Plot:

The Act of Settlement exists, but it is not acted upon; designed to consolidate a brittle Protestant succession suffering from a distinct lack of heirs, it is, surprisingly enough, not presently required as against all odds, Queen Anne’s sickly only surviving child William Henry, Duke of Gloucester, lives and succeeds his mother to the throne.

This of course does not go down well with the new Elector of Hannover, Georg Ludwig, who inherited the rights to the crown from his mum, Sophia. Georg Ludwig kind of wanted to be king, actually. He hates England, he hates going abroad, but he sure likes a sparkling crown, fancy new robes, and being a Very Important Person.

The cherry on top of the Hanoverian frustration is when the sickly king even fathers an heir, making it nigh improbable that an Elector of Hannover will ever sit on the throne of Great Britain. However, only time will tell if William, Prince of Wales, will succeed William IV. Riding accidents, accidental food poisoning or a beastly case of the smallpox can happen, you know?

Alas, it doesn’t.

So, all that is left for the House of Hannover to do is sit and bide their time (and secretly pray for the demise of William V).

Born into a dull life in provincial Germany and a bickering family, young Georg August Friedrich, Kurprinz von Hannover, simply feels like he doesn’t belong, and longingly looks across the sea to Britain, where everything is more worldly, fashionable and exciting. His undereducated, boring and terribly frumpy family simply annoy him, and since he has been banned from the courts of Berlin and Vienna on account of several unspecified incidents (one of which however is said to have involved a drunk pet ostrich in a full set of plate armour, though this is subject to much conjecture by historians), there is not much to do for him really, but to occasionally travel to Italy to get drunk on better wines and sleep with prettier women than are available in Hannover. One regrettable time, having always favoured women a tad older than him, he woke up next to a certain Charlotte Stuart. Tipsy on expensive champagne and merrily lamenting their fate, they had half a mind to elope together and conquer that blasted throne, the only problem being that they could not agree on who would be whose consort, a heated argument they took to the bedroom. But shh, this is all top secret, and most biographies of King George I (spoiler! J) omit this anecdote.

To his eternal chagrin, his father the Elector, called “Bauer Georg” by his people for his delightful pastoral folksiness and interest in other people’s pigsties, taking heed from his forbears after Elector Ernst August and Electress Sophie lost four sons to the wars of the tumultuous 17th century, insists Georg will stay at home and learn how to govern what little there is to govern in Hannover, while his brothers Friedrich, Wilhelm, Eduard, Ernst August, August Friedrich and Adolph Friedrich get, by the grace of their royal relations abroad, to join the Prussian or British military services and have terrific, gentlemanly adventures. He’d much rather be royal canon fodder, too, than ever have to read and be examined on another book about crop farming ever again.

And what a life is this for a prince who has found his first grey hair and is pestered about not having produced an heir yet? No, Georg cannot do this anymore. He has to leave this life behind! Screw Hannover!

Tired of watching life pass him by, measuring Age Progressing by the increase in his waistline and the cousin his parents have invited to stay at their court (and whom Georg is 100% sure his mum pays a little pocket money to cosy up to him in order to report back on him to her), Georg decides he will do what a (reasonably) young man has to do, and follow his heart: He shall to Britain! And to the sea! The vast, empty horizons will soothe his tortured soul, yet encaged at Herrenhausen palace— and those uniforms are simply too fetching to resist!

When his brother Ernst comes to visit home on shore leave from the Navy, one night, Georg steals away in Ernst’s (admittedly rather tight-fitting) uniform and is discovered by cousin Caroline, whom he has long since suspected to be his mother’s obedient creature. To his surprise however, Caroline, rather than rousing the entire house, agrees to help Georg with the cover-up and, waking Ernst, explains to him what’s going on, telling him that finally, the way is clear for him! Has he not always lived in the shadow of his older brothers, particularly the heir to the electorate? Now is the time to step into the sun! Caroline advises Ernst to pose as Georg, just like Georg is posing as Ernst. The Elector, who is stark raving mad, at least in intervals (this is what they called porphyria back in the day), won’t notice! And Electress Charlotte will know better than to make a big stink, since that would set all Europe abuzz, and potentially endanger the family.

For a time, all goes well. Georg has a rather adventurous journey to England after his belongings were stolen along the way (dancing-masters and Latin tutors don’t teach street-smarts, after all), and ends up lost and stranded in northern Germany, where a kindly man with a thick French accent picks him up in his carriage and drives him to a red brick country house in Wittmoldt near the small town of Plön, where he feeds him and provides him with a change of clean clothes. Realising that he will either be taken hostage by someone opportunistic or alternatively taken for a lunatic if he claims to be the eldest son of the Elector of Hannover, Georg decides to claim to be but the son of an impoverished family of the lesser nobility, who by the good grace of an important connexion in England have managed to buy him a commission in the Navy. The man and his family, a rather gallant son, two charming daughters and a warm-hearted wife, implore him to stay a few days and recuperate. Georg thinks the Frenchman and his family are aiding him as much as they do on account of his profession to avenge their loss of their home once he joins the Navy, but in truth, the Marquis de La Fayette and his wife, ex-courtiers, know a royal when they see one, and sensing that Georg and his fighting-spirit might provide a welcome addition in the fight against Bonaparte, help him by buying a passage from Hamburg to England for him.

Our aspiring hero thanks his noble patrons profusely before at last safely reaching the shores of his dreams, where, once aboard ship, he alas finds himself in a Hornblower-esque Hell in the beginning, yet quickly adapts to naval life. From his ship, the new lieutenant writes to Caroline every week, thanking her for her help. In a return letter, she reveals to him that she could not deny him the freedom she yearns for herself but shall never obtain, being a woman and worse, a princess, and kindly keeps him updated on the family the runaway prince suddenly realises he loves dearly after all.

Meanwhile, Ernst has gotten a taste for power. He secretly hopes Georg will never come back, because this is fun! This is what he is truly good at! He enjoys the administrative stuff, the paperwork— and the idea that one day, he will be the Elector, and maybe even King of England, if that damned asthmatic Stuart will have the good grace to kick the bucket before fathering an heir.

He is finally appreciated, people jubilantly call out to him when they see him— it is only a pity that this is happening under the name of the older brother he begins to care less and less for the more he falls in love with his new role as crown prince.

A few years pass by, and Georg, now Captain, participates in the Battle of Trafalgar, where his extreme personal bravery is noted when his ship, HMS Cerberus, intercepted the French Redoutable before she could get within firing range of HMS Victory, probably saving the flagship, and the life of Britain’s greatest naval hero, Horatio Nelson. Ernst, or rather, Georg, is a celebrated hero to the British who loudly cry for Captain Prince Ernst of Hanover to be named the prospective successor to the crown rather than his dull older brother, Prince Georg, who sits on his fat German arse and does nothing all day while his younger brother is so valiantly defending the freedom of Europe from the Corsican tyrant.

In a letter to Caroline, Georg confesses that he thinks the jig is up and the charade must end; alas, Ernst is not of the same opinion. He is fine being Prince Regent of Hannover now that the Elector has descended into such a deep state of madness that he can no longer govern his territories, and although the British toast to his name, he is not sure if a secret trading back places is even possible.

To Georg’s great misfortune, Ernst, who, since her counsel has proven so valuable to him, has taken a liking to Caroline as his chief advisor, tries to keep him from returning home. In the meantime, he proposes to Caroline, whom he thinks is his most loyal friend, but Caroline, despite knowing the mocking jibes directed at spinsters, refuses him.

A frustrated Ernst, who however thinks himself secure on his preliminary throne, takes a few weeks off to let off some steam in Venice— time Georg, informed by Caroline, uses to return home. Of course, the return of Britain’s favourite naval hero to his native land does not go unnoticed, and Ernst hurries back home only to barge into a semi-secret meeting of George and Caroline in which George who has matured in the face of battle and bloodshed, upon seeing Caroline for the first time in many years, falls to his knees and confesses his love for her, more specifically how he fell in love with her through her letters.

Ernst, hurt and betrayed, is raging— Georg is going to take everything from him! The country, the woman he loves and who has so cruelly cheated him by not discouraging George’s confession— he wants his brother dead.

Luckily for Georg and Caroline, their sister Amelia, the youngest of the Hanoverian bunch and So Over It All and sympathising with Caroline, decides to step in and publishes an anonymous letter in the local newspaper claiming to be “a person of import and close connexion to the Electoral family”. In it, she claims that “Georg” is jealous of “Ernst”, the heroic naval officer and has proposed a duel, to be had in the park at Herrenhausen at daybreak on a fixed date a week from the publication date.

Naturally, the inhabitants of Hannover, and the British delegation at court, are up in arms, and on “Ernst”’s, i.e. Georg’s side. Cracking under the public pressure, Ernst unfortunately admits in an epic shouting match with the British ambassador that he wants to be rid of his brother.

Georg meanwhile, having cultivated a sense of responsibility and duty during his years in the Navy, decides to make a public appearance and end the charade, offering a document in which he cedes his right to the succession of the Electorate, provided his remaining brothers will accept Ernst as his successor and he be allowed safe passage to England, where he intends to live with Caroline upon a meagre pension and his pay as a naval officer. Naturally, his brothers refuse to sign the document and although he is well-loved in Britain, there still is the issue that Georg is not an officer, but has impersonated one, so matters come to a standstill for a time before a cheering British public makes it politick for William V to confer upon George (this is what he calls himself now) the rank of captain in his own name.

Facing an uncertain future, with the disgraced Ernst seething at home in Hannover and George longing for some peace and quiet to meditate about his life on a starry night upon a peaceful ocean, he bids adieu to Caroline to set sail once again and follow his true calling, with a storm brewing on the horizon of European politics, and that at home: for the seething Ernst is not done yet, and attempts to hurt him by seducing Caroline in his absence, who remains absolutely impervious to his platitudes and flattery.

Escaping Ernst’s wrath becomes a lot trickier once Caroline discovers she is pregnant, and in George’s absence gives birth to a daughter, Charlotte. Fearing Ernst, she keeps the pregnancy a secret even from George, as their letters might be intercepted and read; Charlotte, raised for the first year of her life by a nurse in a village a few miles from Hannover, is to become the apple of her father’s eye.

In the end, George returns from the war, marries Caroline, becomes King of Great Britain (his nickname being the “Sailor King”) when William V, last of the Stuarts, dies and helps Ernst obtain the title of King of Hannover as a gesture of goodwill and reconciliation.

His old benefactor La Fayette receives the Order of the Garter, and Amelia a country house in England, where, before her tragic early death from tuberculosis, she is frequently visited by a certain Charles FitzRoy.

Baby Charlotte is legitimised and doted on by both her parents, who shower her with love and affection and provide her with the most stable home life of any British royal to date. The Princess succeeds her father in his titles upon his death.

This is where fiction reverts back to actual history, and we enter the Charlottian Age, named after the long-living Queen whose reign was marked by significant leaps and bounds in technology and science, as well as the largest expansion of the British Empire. But that you know already.

And here, the snippet from the story:

Georg returns home for the first time and surprises Caroline in the garden:

“Caroline?” the gentleman breathed. His face was tanned by the sun, rather unfashionably so, and his coat of blue bleached by the same; perhaps it was not the sun in the sky which had so affected his appearance, but the brightness which seemed to inhabit his heart, for he beamed at her as if before him stood Lady Jersey or another of those fashionable ladies one read of in English magazines. “Georg?”, she replied in disbelief, as much at his leaner, more muscular appearance as at the fact that his radiant smile was clearly bestowed upon her— unwed, of little stature, plump, and aging, as her aunt’s courtiers never tired of reminding her.

All ceremony was lost when Georg, tired of her surprised silence, took her unceremoniously around the waist and lifted her up until her slippers no longer touched the ground. “Fie!” she laughed, and put an admonishing finger to his chest. “You perfect beast! Are those the manners of an English gentleman? You are creasing my muslin, and you will know what your mother’s ladies shall suppose if I were to return from my walk with my gown disordered.”

“They might suppose you were swept off your feet by a sailor,” he jested, which brought a great confusion on in her mind, for she could not say if his teasing was yet as brotherly as she had always supposed his sentiments for her were, judged by his dear letters which had been her chief delight; or if he meant something else by the way in which he took her hand and kissed it before offering her his arm. “Will you not shew me the way? I scarcely remember the garden, it must have been much altered in my absence,” noted he. She gratefully continued the conversation at his suggestion, for struck by surprise as she still was, her tongue was utterly tied, and her wit quite addled by the recent confusion. “Gladly. But might I be permitted to say that you are much altered, also?” He stopped: they were stood near the little bower in which she had bid him adieu, dressed in his brother’s clothes; it seemed to her like it was only yesterday when the aging fop had disappeared to seek for a foolhardy adventure at sea. Never should she have believed that he indeed would go, and not return within the hour when his feet would hurt from carrying his excess of blubber; she had let him go for she had had some measure of compassion for him, not because she had believed in the success of his designs— and yet, there he was, freshly returned from the war. His features, though somewhat weathered, had aged rather favourably, and when he smiled, he was almost to be considered handsome.

“I am not altered,” laughed he, “and you must get me inside unseen speedily, I remind you. For you cannot think that I shall have the family see me in that—” he tugged at his coat and made a face. “Look at the lace— all rusted in the salt air— no, it shall not do. And you must change also, my dear: a feather headdress, and the pearls— you had pearls when last we met, I hope you did not lose them at cards?”

She shook her head. “Excellent. You must promise me to wear them.”

“But why?”, she replied and made him stop in his brisk step. “Am I not—”

He shook his head abruptly, understanding her meaning perfectly. “Goodness, no, never— I just remember how fine you looked— how vastly well they complimented your complexion.” His cheeks blushed crimson, as if having fallen victim to too much rouge, and he averted her eyes as in silence, they returned to the palace. I hope you liked it! :D

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ash-and-books · 10 months

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Rating: 4/5

Book Blurb: A stormsinger and pirate hunter join forces against a deathless pirate lord in this swashbuckling Jacobean adventure on the high-seas. Launching the Winter Sea series, full of magic, betrayal, redemption and fearsome women, for readers of Adrienne Young, R. J. Barker and Naomi Novik.

Mary Firth is a Stormsinger: a woman whose voice can still hurricanes and shatter armadas. Faced with servitude to pirate lord Silvanus Lirr, Mary offers her skills to his arch-rival in exchange for protection - and, more importantly, his help sending Lirr to a watery grave. But her new ally has a vendetta of his own, and Mary's dreams are dark and full of ghistings, spectral creatures who inhabit the ancient forests of her homeland and the figureheads of ships.

Samuel Rosser is a disgraced naval officer serving aboard The Hart, an infamous privateer commissioned to bring Lirr to justice. He will stop at nothing to capture Lirr, restore his good name and reclaim the only thing that stands between himself and madness: a talisman stolen by Mary.

Finally, driven into the eternal ice at the limits of their world, Mary and Samuel must choose their loyalties and battle forces older and more powerful than the pirates who would make them slaves.

Come sail the Winter Sea, for action-packed, high-stakes adventures, rich characterisation and epic plots full of intrigue and betrayal.

Review:

A stormsinger and a pirate hunter who find themselves intertwined as they face off against a deadly deathless pirate lord hell bent on finding treasure and becoming more powerful. Mary Firth is a Stormsinger, her voice has the ability to calm sails, create disasters and shatter armadas. Stormsingers are captured and used as slaves or indentured servants to pirates and Mary finds herself being auctioned off but this is only the begin of her journey as what she is truly after is finding her mother, another Stormsinger. Mary finds herself being hunted by Lirr, a deathless pirate lord who is somehow connected to both Mary and her mother. Then there is samuel Rosser, a disgraced naval officer who is also a Sooth, someone who can catch glimpses of the future and travel into the Other. In this world there are creatures known as ghistens who are made from wood and are essentially attached to ships and they protect and act as a guardian of the ship. Samuel is also hunting down Lirr, as he is commissioned to bring Lirr to justice yet the moment he meets Mary at the auction he can't seem to get her out of his head, especially because she steals his coat and his special talisman that is the only thing keeping him from slipping into madness. Soon both Mary and Samuel find themselves constantly running into one another as they both go after Lirr, deal with pirates and gun fights, betrayals, and the very complicated feelings growing between them. This is a great read for fans of Pirates of the Caribbean! Its the first book in the series and I am excited to see where the next book goes. This book was a bit slow but did pick up by the end so hopefully the next one is better, it did feel like it dragged at some moments but I did enjoy the world that was created in the stories. I am excited to see Samuel and Mary's relationship in the next book and how they grow. Overall if you are looking for a pirate book with a slow burn romance, action, betrayal, and magic then give this one a go!

*Spoilers*: Mary's mother Anne use to work with Lirr on a ship but then she got pregnant by a crew member and had Anne. Lirr has Anne and uses her as his own ship's stormsinger. Lirr himself is a deathless pirate because he is combined with a ghisten, something he tried to do to Anne but Anne instead had said ghisten (Tane) bond with Mary. Samuel is disgraced from the navy because his twin brother Benedict slept with their captain's wife (his brother has the ability to control people's minds and persuade them do things) and Samuel took the blame to save his brother, Benedict tried to do the same to Mary but she escaped in time. Lirr is killed off and Anne and Samuel decide to work together on their own ship.

*Thanks Netgalley and Titan Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

#book review #bookish #the winter sea

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ladysophy · 1 year

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Will the Real Mr. Lincoln Please Stand Up?

I thought I was done with this subject, but I found some more primary sources of President Lincoln’s unpopularity. The shade against this “benevolent” dictator is strong:

“The candidate for President, Abraham Lincoln, is an uneducated man, a vulgar village politician, without any experience worth mentioning in the practical duties of statesmanship and only noted for some very unpopular votes, which he gave while a member of Congress." -The New York Herald on May 22, 1860.

“The tone of levity and frivolity which characterizes the speeches of Mr. Lincoln causes the hearts of our citizens to sink within them. They perceive already that he is not the man for the crisis and begin to despond of any extrication from the impending difficulties." -The New York Express on February 1861.

“The humiliating spectacle is thus presented by the President-elect indulging in the merest clap trap of a politician, thanking the people for voting for him, flattering their political pride and appealing to their sectional animosities." -The Philadelphia Argus.

“Mr. Lincoln is wholly unqualified for his position. The personal presence, the dignity nor the knowledge demanded in the magistrate of a great people. No branch of the Administration has been well and efficiently administered under him. His soul seems to be made of leather and incapable of any grand or noble emotion. You leave his presence with your enthusiasm dampened, your better feelings crushed, and your hopes cast to the wind. Even wisdom from him seems but folly." -The New York World on April 13, 1864.

“That there is in the Republican Party a widely diffused impressions of the feebleness, faithlessness and incapacity of Mr. Lincoln's Administration is notorious." -The New York World on June 2, 1864.

"The age of rail splitters and tailors of buffoons, bores and fanatics has succeeded. Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Johnson are both men of mediocre talent, neglected education, narrow views, deficient information and of course vulgar manners. A statesman is supposed to be a man of some depth of thought and extent of knowledge. Has this country with so proud a record been reduced to such intellectual poverty as to be forced to present two such names as Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson for the highest stations in this most trying crisis of its history. It is a cruel mockery and bitter humiliation. Such nominations at this juncture are an insult to the common sense of the people. Has this country with so proud a record been reduced to such intellectual poverty as to be forced to present two such names as Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson for the highest stations in this most trying crisis of its history?" -The New York World on June 4, 1864.

These primary sources are gold! Especially the last source. But wait! I have two more primary sources that are quite telling and chilling.

The first primary source is from a judge named Henry Clay Dean. He knew what was going on with Lincoln and his administration. He was also arrested with many others for speaking against Lincoln. Here he writes:

“Our government is in nothing uniform except its' contempt of law and powerful only for the oppression of the people. Every officer seems to contemplate his office as an engine of destruction in which he is engaged to work the ruin of the particular department of government entrusted to his care. The Postmaster General (Blair) has for the last five years been violating the mails. The Secretary of the Treasury (Chase) has been squandering the public wealth. The Secretary of the Navy (Welles) has been enfeebling our naval power. The Secretary of War (Stanton) all crimsoned with innocent blood is employing the army for the destruction of the Country. The Secretary of State (Seward) has been subverting Constitutional law and disgracing our form of government at home and abroad. The Secretary of the Interior has been conniving with public jobbers to defraud the government of its' most valuable lands. The Attorney General (Bates) is gravely burlesquing nonsense itself by defining Constitutional construction of unconstitutional laws and is in conspiracy with military commissions to murder innocent women. The President (Lincoln) is administering the government through military satraps in a manner unknown to Republican systems and disgraceful to despotism's, which regard the character of those entrusted to power… The courts of the Country are infamously corrupt. The state Legislatures and Congress are flagrantly accessible to bribes, which has become the only tangible basis of' special, and an essential necessity in general legislation. The people of the late Confederate States after encountering the terrible vicissitudes of war were overtaken by famine, which inflicted frightful forms of starvation and are now overrun and robbed by predatory invasions…”

The second primary source is from General Don Piate. He traveled with Lincoln when Lincoln was doing speeches for his campaigns. Here’s what he said:

“When a leader dies all good men go to lying about him. From the moment that covers his remains, to the last echo of the rule press, in speeches, in sermons, eulogies, reminiscences, we here nothing but pious lies. Abraham Lincoln has almost disappeared from human knowledge. I hear of him, I read of him in eulogies and biographies, but I fail to recognize the man that I knew and liked."

If you don’t find that quote telling and even chilling, I don’t know what will. And I’m officially done.

Source: Weaver, John (Pastor). Honest Abe Wasn’t Honest. AmericanStalin.com.

#primary sources #american history #american civil war #now i’m done

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kierrasreads · 4 months

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The Adventure of the Naval Treaty (The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes #10) by Arthur Conan Doyle Review

Plot

Italy and the United Kingdom have just signed a naval treaty and France and Russia will pay anything to know the latest British naval plans, some of which must be contained therein. While it is being copied at the Foreign Office, an audacious thief acts. The disgraced official, in whose care the original was trusted, loses his mind and then, months later, calls in Sherlock Holmes because the treaty, surprisingly, is still secret. Can the famous detective save the day?

Discussion

This wasn't a bad one! I felt so sorry for Percy, thankfully he was cleared of any wrongdoing! I have to give props to his uncle for not being afraid to discipline him like any employee; I've read countless stories where the owner/manager covers up a blunder made by their relative who works at the same company. I know it's not nearly the same thing, but still.

Can we all just admit that Sherlock is a great drama queen? Having Mrs. Hudson serve Percy with the treaty at breakfast- it was just *chef's kiss*

Rating

4/5

#kierra's reads #bookblr #john watson #sherlock holmes

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clochanamarc · 6 months

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she's been sitting here for about four hours now. just sitting in front of the porthole, contemplating the taut rope that divides it into two halves. beneath the porthole, about two meters or so, swings a rowing boat. one that contains the peacefully slumbering naval officer they'd found just two days ago. not just any naval officer, though. a thoroughly disgraced one, one who wants to give them the locations of the best caches that the navy has to offer. one who once claimed her hand in marriage. one who killed the pirate she'd fallen for instead.

she turns the blade in her hand pensively. the rope stretches tight. it would barely take a touch of the knife to drop him into the ocean. there's a few islands nearby, a few that hold people who might begrudge him a place to rest. it'd protect the crew. fiachra isn't a kind lad. he won't give them gifts for the sake of niceness. he has a plan, a plot... and she doesn't want to find out what it is when it's too late.

she's just lifting the knife, when izzy's voice addresses her quietly. in his words, in his unexpectedly calm tone, lies the promise of the girl she once was. the girl she'd happily been until jim saw the boat bobbing on the waves...

@indestructiblelittlefckr asked: “This isn’t you” (from izzy) / MEME HERE!

" he'll drift to shore on the tide. the wind is carrying east, he wouldn't... " but she knows, even as she tries to forge an excuse, that there's no going back from this. exile is a harsh punishment. she's not even giving him an island, either... she hesitantly lowers the knife. but she doesn't release it yet. " he took everything from me, izzy. but don't mistake this for revenge. he'll tear the lot of us apart. he's dangling some godforsaken loot over your heads as a distraction, but he will rip this crew to pieces long before we ever catch sight of a penny. tell me. if you knew someone could fuck this crew over so completely, wouldn't you do something to stop him before they got the chance? preservation. that's what this is. and he'll be okay. but if he gets hold of ed... i'm not sure we'd survive that combination, izzy. "

#indestructiblelittlefckr #( ' a soul for a soul... ' / reply. )#( i'm piratifying fiachra i have officially lost all sense of control <3 )

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rayyan-talha · 10 months

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Reflection - Television: Black Sails

Black Sails was a 4 season historical fiction TV series focused on the pirate era in the caribbean. The series highlighted some important themes such as colonialism, tribalism, sexuality, and race relations. Many characters shown are historical figures, but the fictional characters also share important messages. One character in particular is Max, a biracial lesbian woman who was brought as a slave and forced to work as a prostitute in a "whorehouse". She clawed for power throughout the series and eventually went from being a prostitute to being a feared businesswoman by the end of the series. After she came out as lesbian, many other characters came out as gay or bisexual, possibly alluding to the strength she projects. This is extremely significant as at that time, this was definitely looked down upon by society, yet, we now know through historical records that the lgbt community was always active, just not highlighted.

Just to highlight the historical time period, most of the big European powers such as the Spanish, French, and English were in the region attempting to project military strength in order to ensure a sense of law and order and maximize on crop profits. The majority of this series is based on the port of Nassau, and even follows historically accurate events like when the republic of pirates took over Nassau from the British navy and created a free trading post.

Another very well known character is Long John Silver. He began as a cook and worked his way to the top of the crew, often serving as the captain's second in command. Unlike majority of the characters, Silver is the most open minded of them all as he looks at new cultures and uses the most useful qualities of them in his adventures. There is a few episodes where the crew was on the run from some British bounty hunters, so they crashed aboard what seemed like an uninhabited island, just to find a booming secret society of runaway slaves. This highlights how no matter how hard anyone tries, the innate human feeling of freedom will never falter. Just like how we have learned about African Americans right after slavery, this series shows an awkard time, where people from a plethora of backgrounds were shown to band together under a captain and his ship. Many slaves helped pirates at the time as "piracy has no color". Blacks in the Carribean would often welcome pirates with open arms. The racial dynamics seen in the show are also quite complex, as slavery was banned in Portugal by the mid 1700s, however, all other nations still had slavery legally justified. Many minorities (especially blacks) were seen flocking toward Portuguese ships as an attempt to be taken to Europe and freed. Another major theme seen here was the lack of care for the native populous, as many were seen in the show to die from diseases immune to populations from the old world. The biggest and most powerful theme of all was the showing of rebellion. Although there is no main character, the captain has by far the hardest role in the story. Captain Flint was a former Naval officer of the British Navy, but when his well known family was disgraced in the House of Lords in England and his lover killed by the governor of Nassau, he turned to violent rage and began the uprising that essentially kicked the English out of the Bahamas. After his lover was killed, he turned gay, especially after seeing Max's public revelation.

Everyone on his crew and in the piracy business comes from a background of racial discrimination, slavery, defeat, and a history of sorrows directly caused by the colonial powers. Towards the end of the show in season 4, the theme of tribalism is seen running rampant as all the former rival crews band together in one last attempt to destroy the British navy's presence in the carribean. These pirates have a very cult-like brotherhood pact, similar in what we see today in various workplaces such as police officers protecting one another and organizations such as worker unions and the armed forces. In all honesty, what fascinated me the most was the diverse and multicultural pact of brotherhood (and sisterhood) all banded together within the pirates under the banner of freedom. Even back in the 1700's and 1800's, people from different parts of the world could be seen living side by side equally, often acknowledging and blending their cultures together.

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kelyon · 1 year

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DM Morraine, did your mother tell you that you and Bae might be able to get engaged later? Are you willing to wait?

Of course I'll wait for Baelfire. If you put it like that, it's almost romantic. To be true to him from afar, even when our love is forbidden--that's like something from a story.

But in real life, a lot can happen between now and the harvest. My parents say they'll let me marry Baelfire even though he doesn't have much right now. But what if some rich old man sees me in the market and offers them a bag of gold in exchange for my hand? How could they refuse that? I'd have to run away with Baelfire. We could marry in secret, with only the stars as witnesses. Even penniless, we'd be happy together, but we would never be able to come back to the village. I'd never see my parents or my brothers and sisters again.

Or what if I was kidnapped by pirates? That's just what happened to Baelfire's mother, and no one has seen her since. There are any number of uncouth sailors down by the docks. They could pluck me off the street and carry me away to their ship. On the high sea, there'd be no way to escape. They'd make me do all kinds of terrible things, and probably laundry as well. Would Baelfire rescue me? Would he join a ship in the King's Navy to learn the ways of the sea and bring all pirates to justice? What if the ship I was kidnapped to was boarded by Baelfire's crew, but I was so changed from my trials that he didn't recognize me? He would be so handsome in a Naval uniform. I'm sure he could become an officer, maybe even a captain of his own ship. Oh, but if that were the case and I was just a pitiful pirate wench, then I would be a disgrace to him. I would see him, but I would never let him know who I was. I would let him hang me for the crimes I was forced to commit before I would ever shame him with my love. Perhaps he would know me only at the moment of my death. He would look upon my corpse--his blindness revealed!--and swear that he would never love again.

I suppose, when you think about the other possibilities, if all I have to do is wait until after the harvest, then that isn't really very bad at all.

#dark mistress #tmi tuesday #sometimes Morraine isn't in the same story as the other characters

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boltlightning · 4 months

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"By remembering that I serve others, Mr. Sparrow, not only myself." ↳ jack davenport as commodore james norrington, the curse of the black pearl (2003)

#pirates of the caribbean #the curse of the black pearl #james norrington #jack davenport #potcedit #disneyedit #filmedit #perioddramaedit #gif: potc #*userbolt #so there's this disgraced naval officer #his eyes were made to roll. and yearn. he contains multitudes #notes

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marjaystuff · 2 years

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Guest Review: The Handler by M.P. Woodward

The Handler

John and Meredith Dale Book 1

M. P. Woodward

Berkley Pub

May 31st, 2022

The Handler by M. P. Woodward allows readers to gain knowledge of the intelligence world with a story all too real, delving into the return of the Cold War days. If readers are looking for a Vince Flynn like author that has the same action, characters to root for, and national security concerns, Woodward is the author to read.

“I have been a naval intelligence officer and like to keep up with what is happening in the world. In January 2020 on the airport TV was the coverage of a civilian Ukrainian airliner shot down by Iran. I started to think about how and why it happened. The people on that plane were largely Iranian students going back to school in Canada. I thought it could be a plot for a novel. I wanted to write a story with authenticity and realism. I worked with Special Forces who must know the smallest details. Remember during the raid on OBL when the helicopter crashed. It did so because the rehearsals during the mission had a chain linked fence. But the actual fence was a masonry wall. People like John in this story must know does the door open in or out, are the hinges on the left or right side of the door.”

In this debut story disgraced CIA operative John Dale is coaxed out of retirement by his ex-wife Meredith, the head of the CIA’s Counterproliferation Division. John is asked to extract Iranian asset Cerberus, a scientist working on the Iranian nuclear program. The CIA mole has kept this terrorist nation from building a bomb through sabotage. But now the mole wants out and will only deal with his trusted former handler, Dale.

“John believes in honor, duty, and commitment, but lacks the patience of working within large organizations. He would rather work alone to get the mission accomplished. His heart is in the right place. He is frustrated with working within the system. He and I are landscape painters, a loner profession. The cabin he lives in is like the one I have, up on a mountain. He can be charming and unpredictable.”

Both John, and his handler, Meredith, must work together to bring the scientist to safety. Together they face very dangerous obstacles including the CIA’s political hierarchy, Iran’s military, and Russian spies. There are Russian agents leading an SVR team anxious to take out John and Meredith, a lieutenant colonel with the Quds branch of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard who wants Cerberus just as badly as the CIA, and Meredith’s corrupt supervisor, Rance.

“Meredith is the opposite of John. She accepts the rules and works within the organization. She also has a sense of honor, duty, and mission. She goes about doing things in different ways than John and becomes frustrated with him. She can read people and at times is intense. Meredith is attracted to someone like John but has a hard time in making peace with his actions. She and John have a bond. On the other hand, Rance is fallible and cautious. He is not decisive versus Meredith who thinks quickly. He does put his career first. He is arrogant, selfish, calculating, uncaring, and tries to throw Meredith and John under the bus. He thinks he can get away with things, which is his undoing.”

Woodward, a former naval intelligence officer, uses his experience to write a very believable story full of suspense and twists. There is plenty of drama, tension, and conflict. Readers will not want to put this book down.

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figonas · 2 years

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kaitlyn! can you sell me on black sails? I’ve been trying to figure out if I should watch it for ages

CAN I SELL YOU ON BLACK SAILS?!

It would be my honor 😈

The short: Black Sails is a prequel to Treasure Island chronicling how Captain Flint & Long John Silver met and where they got the treasure that is the focus of Treasure Island. Don’t worry if you’ve never read Treasure Island or seen an adaptation, it won’t make a difference.

**There are trigger warnings for nudity, violence, gore, and specifically for Max’s character in episode 3 there is a storyline involving sexual assault & rape. Essentially if you watched Game of Thrones (derogatory) and had no issue with the nudity, violence, and gore in that show Black sails will be absolutely no issue for you.**

First off, Black Sails is beautiful. The sets, the scenery, the actors, the acting, the music, everything.

Second, this show is lousy with queer representation. I don’t just mean there are a lot of queer characters. There are alot, I can think of at least 5 main characters off the top of my head, but it’s also queer people in a variety of relationships both good and bad.

Third, it’s nice and compact just 4 seasons with a set, discreet storyline that isn’t dragged on for 80 million terrible seasons.

Fourth it’s just good. I don’t know how I can explain that everything about this show works in its favor and makes it a worthwhile experience.

Essentially Black Sails is an action packed queer pirate drama that gorgeous toe to tip.

If you need more of an endorsement or want to watch me lose my mind over this show, I have expanded on my points under the cut;

If you’ve braved your way under the cut, welcome and buckle up.

Black Sails is full of amazing music, absolutely beautiful scenery, filled to the brim with a cast of phenomenal actors. I don’t really think this bullet point needs any additional explanation but have some screen caps and listen to the opening theme in case you don’t believe me.

Everyone in this show is hot…like everyone..everyone

When I say this show is lousy with queer people I don’t just mean there are queer people in this show; they are the focus of this show. I can’t really elaborate for spoiler related reasons but trust me, you’ve never watched an action drama like Black Sails. Have you ever watched a show with one, let alone TWO canon polycules?? How about an implied third?? Yeah I didn’t think so. The queer people in Black Sails are allowed to be people in relationships just like anyone else. Meaning they can make bad relationship choices. They can fuck up and break up and move on to someone else and none of that is written in a way that makes the viewer pass judgement on their sexuality.

The storyline in this show will blow you away. I really thought I understood Captain James Flint you know? I got him. Former British Naval Officer who’s been disgraced and turned to piracy. Fits in a nice little box of “characters with clear motivations that lead them from point A to point B”. HA HA WRONG, wrong wrong wrong. Black Sails took the version of Flint I boxed up as “interesting but ultimately a pirate cliché” and slapped me full in the face with his backstory. Flint’s motivations and backstory hit me so hard my Irish ancestors are wondering why their teeth hurt.

At the end of all this Black Sails is just good. The story is compact and complete. The characters all have depth; strengths and weaknesses, powerful motivations, their own brand of intelligence, etc. Relationships are complex and complicated, loyalties change, people die, love and trust are broken only to be rebuilt with someone else. What really sets Black Sails apart is this dark, gritty, straight-bait, action drama about pirates and treasure and rebellion has a beautiful, hopeful ending that leaves you satisfied. The people in Black Sails are people it’s real, and raw, and beautiful, and it will haunt you forever.

I’ll leave you with some of my favorite out of context quotes from the series;

“I am so sorry for working so hard to protect the wrong things. For failing to see that there is nothing important that doesn’t include you.”

“Everyone is a monster to someone, since you are so convinced that I am yours I will be it”

“Eleanor this place is just sand, it cannot love you back”

Goodbye, good luck, god speed, Black Sails will take over your brain forever!! You will never forget about it as long as you live!! Abandon all hope ye who enter here!!

#watch this show I’m begging you #I am wasting away to nothing carrying this torch alone #black sails

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everythingispirates · 2 years

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disgraced former naval officers will be like “so do i make your crew… captain? 😏” and insist they’re straight

THIS literally so true like you didn't have to say it like that not with that pause

#they call it a pregnant pause because...nay. i shant say it #ask

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hotbunking-vacheads · 3 years

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number 10 angst for piett and veers

[I apologize for the delivery time and the quality of this prompt, anon. It’s a trying period.]

_______________

“Want to tell me what’s wrong?” Veers rumbled into his ear, the weight of his head resting in the crook of Piett’s neck.

Of course he had noticed. Of course he would pry. Piett closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath.

“Is that a no?” The first question had been soft. In this one, there was a harder edge. Worry, maybe that frustration Veers never failed to express whenever Piett - in his own words - acted like a crabby avoidant bastard. As if Piett’s feelings were an act.

“It is a no.”

The big, warm body pressed to his in the dark went still. Even his breath on Piett’s skin. The critical point between escalation and de-escalation.

“Firmus, you have been acting strange all day.”

Acting. Piett bristled.

“I am fairly confident I did nothing to rile you up, but if I did, I would like to know.”

“It has nothing to do with you. So you may stop asking.”

Veers shifted on the mattress; a moment later, the ambient light rose in the admiral’s quarters. Veers gave a few more taps on the bedside switch, so that the room was bathed in a pale white glow. Then he turned back to Piett, his eyes flinty and narrowed under the knitted brow. “Tell me.”

“Is it a question or an order?”

“Stop beating around the bush and tell me.”

“Dress up and get out of here, General. Now.”

“I certainly will.”

A quick, razor-sharp hurt pricked through the hard armor of anger. Piett just clenched his jaw and held Veers’ glare.

“But on one condition.” Veers raised a forefinger, a few centimeter short of stabbing Piett’s chest. “You have to tell me what’s wrong with you today.”

“I don’t want to tell you for your own sake. You won’t like it.”

A weaker emotion shuddered through Veers’ harsh expression. Concern. Piett bit his tongue. This was only going to make him more prying, rather than discourage him. Fine, then. Fuck this. “I told you I have an older sister back home, didn’t I? Years ago she got knocked up by a good-for-nothing spacer; the kid was a little delinquent who ran off from home as a teenager, and we didn’t hear a word from him until last night. It turns out, my nephew had enlisted. Naval Intelligence spec ops. Had made it to captain, by service merits. And he’s dead now. The insurgent group he had infiltrated found out he was an Imperial spy and tortured him to death.” Piett swallowed back the bile climbing up his throat. “The activities and identity of NavIntel field officers are classified. So his family cannot be notified of his demise.” And he would not be the one to tell Attica, formally as a member of the Imperial Navy or informally as her brother and Haidar’s uncle. Least of all, tell her how Haidar had died. “His CO told me about it only because of who my CO is.”

His face felt hot, his throat tight, and his pulse far too racing in proportion to the amount of caf he had had today.

Veers cocked his head, narrowing his eyes as his face softened the slightest bit. “I’m sorry about your loss.”

Piett found himself clenching his fists, ready to smash one against Veers’ cheekbone if he dared make this about himself and his own loss.

“You must have been close to your nephew.”

The closest thing to a father figure that disgraceful boy had had. It made the poorly digested mess hall dinner in Piett’s stomach do a barrel-roll. “I just told you I hadn’t seen him in decades.”

“That sort of bond doesn’t have an expiry date. Else, you wouldn’t have been so affected.”

“I’m not affected. At all.”

Veers had the mercy not to say anything; the look in his eyes was not angry, but serious and unreadable. Unsettling.

“Look, Max,” Piett tried to keep his voice steady, “I really don’t want to discuss this. Or how I feel about it, or think about my sister... So, please. Stop prying.”

“As you wish.” Veers did not bother to hide his disappointment, or maybe was not even aware of showing it. “Aside from maintaining comm silence, is there something I can do to help before I see myself out?”

Piett considered telling him to please leave him alone; if not even a vigorous shag could take his mind off of it, insisting on company was just a pointless source of stress. But one had to think strategically in love as in war. It was not wise to upset Veers, dealing a potential medium-term (or even long-term, given how unduly sensitive the man could be on certain matters) damage to their liaison, over a bout of emotionalism that would cool off within a few days.

“Care to stay here a little longer?” Piett said.

The response was just what he’d expected. Veers lay down on his back, spread-legged and flinching a bit, making Piett wonder if it was a small ruse to make him feel proud of himself - and feel a bit better. If that was the case, it did not succeed.

He turned the lights off and curled up next to Veers in the dark, quiet room, pulling the bedcovers up over both of them like a zipped-up bodybag.

#my fic #veers x piett #firmus piett #maximilian veers

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