eyes flit from battered pirate to swift-footed protector; a kind air about them—— a charming one, actually. dealing with treachery on the high seas wasn't how brad intended to spend his day; a small cruise to ease the minute sense of homesickness quickly became another adventure. [...] not that you'll find him complaining; between homesickness and boredom, they'll happily take the homesickness &. disregard everything else. ever present grin rests on lips, delight sailing through chocolate brown hues, a light with a sea of curiosity. ( one thing to the next, without fail. )
❛ i know, ❜ acknowledgment comes quick, proud. ❛ not too bad yourself. charmed with words and skilled in a fight—— quite multifaceted. i like people like that. ❜ they'll never turn down praise, no small amount, due to a healthy ego. ( even if it's far rarer for them to give in kind. ) / still, this man did impress him. those purple flames were interesting ! far more interesting than vanquishing such trite foes. this trip might still have some life in it yet, a chance to become his own carnival of viareggio. just down a few floats, but maybe not entertainers.
❛ last minute addition, yeah, sure. ❜ a bit more like a stowaway, with good reason. nothing the crew seems quick to bring up after being saved. ❛ helps i've tangled with pirates before. plenty of experience dealing with them. ❜ &. rifling through their treasures, naturally. ❛ but, life and death battle aside, it's so much more fun to share the stage with someone else. i've been alone for some time, you see. ❜ floating in a space of uncertainty, exciting for the first year—— not so much the second, third, and so on. offers hand in greeting, ❛ bradley, call me brad. the pleasure is yours. ❜
@amcssing (bradley) liked a starter call! (main verse)
"Well fought, my friend!"
Purple flames subside in the wake of a hard-won victory, and Brant lands back on the unsteady wooden surface of the merchant ship, directly in front of the unexpected ally who had been among (but presumably not affiliated with) the merchants who'd hired him.
"These islands have been infested with pirates as of late. I daresay we're lucky you were onboard, otherwise this ship might have found itself in hot water, haha!" He glances around, taking quick stock of the situation. Aside from himself, only Tina and Battier have left Lario to come aboard the smaller ship, checking its crew for potential injuries.
Brant doubts anyone suffered that strong of an injury. While the fight itself hadn't been easy, it had been almost entirely handled by the Troupe and the merchant ship's guest. The Pirates weren't lucky enough to leave unscathed, a scenario which Brant really does solemnly regret—he's been able to call himself many things, but a callous killer has never been one of them.
He exhales a short breath, minor motes of tension leaving his shoulders as he eases more firmly into the role of the helpful guide he's being paid to be.
"You must have been a last-minute addition to this lovely crew, I presume?" Brant asks, gesturing vaguely towards where most of the shipmen have gathered. He catches Tina's eye and nods once, as though telling her to carry on with what she's doing, before looking back towards his real point of interest. "I doubt they'd have hired such a high-scale escort if they knew they had someone so capable aboard."
if there's any canon divergence on this blog it's that Martin tore Christopher Plover apart piece by piece. the end.
FRIENDS – 5.11: The One With All the Resolutions
some metas for brad / overhaul information ;
001. the abelli family has deep ties to magic; it's their breath, it's their blood, it's their life. it consumes their actions and mystifies their thoughts; they are a family of wanderers, explorers, and adventurers. their house flits between the material plane and countless others, an ever-changing locale. the multiverse itself a countless sea for them to explore—— for better or worse. their house is a grand treasure for things they collect.
002. bradley, like ancestors before him, have delved into countless unknowns with sorcery. braved the depths of forbidden knowledge, unraveled the elements, looked upon its treasures with greedy eyes. such exposure, such dredging into the arcane, has changed him. magic seeps from his veins; it replaces blood——flesh shed for a mystical body. he is magic. a shell of arcane power shaped as a man with all the volatility of the sorcery.
003. those deep ties to magic give deep insight to its workings. access to secrets is not meant for common sorcerers; it's the result of going too far in pursuing something not meant for mortal hands. power, surely, yet not without drawbacks. a dulled sense of taste, a numb sense of feeling, a lack of emotion towards life's small wonders. a need to seek even more grandiose things. it loosens the mind, it taints the sense of reason, it's having thoughts scattered between one plane and the next at all times.
004. brad sits somewhere on the chaotic spectrum. sometimes good, sometimes evil, never against trickery or deceit. all his schemes are a means to an end, a step towards another grand adventurer. despite lacking physical sensation in some regards, his emotions are present. prone to changes based on mood, quick to reflect external circumstances, dangerous at times. he's the life of the party until he's not.
i need to start moving thane's lore over here for sure he's one of my most developed ocs to me tbh. greek epic coded fun times.
tag dump. ( 1/??? )
" aw, supey, y'know i'd do anythin' for ya — 'specially after y'came all this way for li'l ol' me in person but ... "
heels click - clack as they bounce off the ledge beneath. she loves this view, where the city lights look like little stars & the factories are just little candles in the distance. good thing he was willing to bring her; she had hopped right into his arms the moment he said he was here off-duty & begged him to fly. she ain't above begging. 'specially if it means she gets to get lost in the vista, in her thoughts. or ... her doubts ? harley has never been able to read herself like she can others. self - denial & all. right now she's caught in the whirlwind. people weren't exaggerating, from the mouth of superman it's easy to believe anything. he could tell her the earth really is flat & what's she gonna do, say no ? it's friggin' superman. but it's been so long, & last time she had a real patient ... would anyone even take her seriously now?? ever?? maybe it's just a prank, 'cause that one time dinah--
blue meets brown. there's no more masks these days & for a second she regrets it. but his smile is easy, his breathing stable, his gaze steady. warm. he means it, all of it. and even if it said it's because black canary needs a break, she knows just from looking at him what he means: i want to give you a chance, too. to work again, to really help people, to connect with others. to have a place. but----no. if batman & superman can trust her, why can't she trust herself?
" ... okay. let's do it! tell canary i'm in! ohmygosh, i'm gonna be a doctor again !! doctor harley in the house!! i'm really gonna--whoa, can you pinch me ?? i'm a li'l dizzy ... "
LISTENING TO THE GEARS TURNING IN HARLEY'S HEAD DOESN'T TAKE SUPER-HEARING.it's a tall ask ——— it's sudden. several times, the issue came up in the league, and it found itself deferred several times, too. not because of a split decision, though. the world's been on unsteady legs lately [ ... ] there's always another crisis. it hangs over their heads and makes them hesitate to do too much; he can sympathize. every time he laces up the boots, dons the cape, and bears the family crest, he remembers he's a small-town boy from kansas. no amount of super speed or strength made those challenges any less daunting.
&. here he is, asking her to bear a burden far heavier than supervillains or stray meteors. far more important than some of the league's most dangerous assignments ——— mental health is no joke. being bulletproof doesn't protect from the scars, the lingering wounds of trauma that can fester. more than once, he led the charge on mental health, not often met with resistance. he is no man of steel; he is not impervious to sadness and grief. one pants leg at a time, he takes what life gives / he does what he can with his life.
the sunkissed lineaments of his features relax, soft creases crinkling at the corner of his eyes, and never once does he lose his serene smile. it's as soft as the kiss of the morning sun; it embraces and warms. only once does he make his offer ——— he does not insist. he does not attempt to wheedle or push. to put pressure on her in such conditions [ ... ] isn't right. she's entered a new world, far from that man, far from who she used to be &. emerged as something beautiful. not fixed, no, but coming into her own with who she's become for the better. it makes him smile become a grin, a silly one at that, surely. it must be quite the sight of him smiling to himself stupidly while she mulls over such a huge decision. it's clear as day ——— what bruce sees in her, he sees it too: a better tomorrow.
he blinks, once. it takes a moment to regain his bearings and shake off the dizzying radiance he caught in that moment. a laugh, deep and baritone, euphony on gentle chords, leaped from his lips. he sets a hand on her shoulder, offering a polite squeeze. ( not the pinch she wanted, but enough in his eyes. )
❛ dizzy already? and here i was, hoping we could grab some grub. believe it or not, a few hits of sunrays aren't all that filling. guess you could say they're pretty ... a pretty light meal. ❜