#bsm23

3/4: Miranda vs. Mr. Scott

Miranda, to Peter Ashe, in 209: "You destroyed our lives! You caused our exile! Thomas died in a cold, dark place… […] What do I want? I want to see this whole goddamn city, this city that you purchased with our misery, burn. I want to see you hanged on the very gallows you've used to hang men for crimes far slighter than this. I want to see that noose around your neck and I want to pull the fucking lever with my own two hands!"

vs.

Mr. Scott, to Billy, in 208: "When Captain Flint first arrived on this island, he gained influence faster than any man I'd seen before. Or since. I heard men say it was because of the violence. I heard them say it was his charm. But it was clear to me the reason why he was so good at bending men towards his will was he knew the power of a story and how to harness it to his own ends. That man there, I would argue, may very well be his equal. […] Yeah, the story's his, the story isn't his. But the power of the telling... that is clearly his. At the moment, he's using it to help the captain. But God help us if he ever realizes what else he could use it to accomplish."

4/4: Mr.Scott vs. Miranda

Mr. Scott, to Flint, in 204: "I know Eleanor's argument. And I know why you think it is weak and I do not disagree with you. Her judgment about Captain Vane has never been right. But because she is compromised, it does not necessarily follow that she is wrong. I fear that to take that fort will be to divide this island in a most dangerous way. To force men to take sides against each other at a time when our very survival demands the very opposite. I fear that if we go down that road, by the time Spain or England arrive, they will find their job done for them. They will find Nassau has destroyed itself. The world changes. It is inevitable. Perhaps the only thing that is inevitable. If it were me facing this decision, I would make peace with that. I would teach myself to see Captain Vane as an unfortunate but unavoidable change in our landscape. And I would ensure that we all live to see the sunrise again tomorrow. Were it me.

VS.

Miranda, to Flint, in 205: "I think you are fighting for the sake of fighting! Because it's the only state in which you can function, the only way to keep that voice in your head from driving you mad. […] The one telling you to be ashamed of yourself… for having loved him. You were told that it was shameful. And part of you believed it. Thomas was my husband. I loved him and he loved me. But what he shared with you… it was entirely something else. It's time you allowed yourself to accept that."

2/4: Miranda vs. Julius

Miranda, to Flint, 205: "I understand why you need that fort. I understand why you need that gold. I understand why you need this island. I understand it all because I was there the day our lives ended and all of this began. But I have been devoted to you since that day. I have been loyal and protective and fucking committed to you since that day, and I am asking you to come with me so that I can save your life."

VS

Julius, to the Maroon Queen, 407: "I have fought alongside these men. But I did it so that I might find security. But what they are now arguing for... does not sound like security to me. Nothing is lasting. But months, years, that is meaningful and it can be had here. You now have the resources to have it here. There is a treasure in the ground here. It'd purchase whatever is needed to survive. [...] No one changes the world. Not like this. Not all at once. The world is too strong for that.

billy, mr.scott, miranda, julius

Votes are in. It was a brutal and bloody battle between Gates and Miranda, with Gates catching up by a full 5 percent in the last hour, but ultimately Miranda won by five percent -_-

Polls for the quarter finals will go live Thursday February 23nd at 5:00 PM EST (so, now. I would have posted this earlier but hashtag gates sweep i still had hope)

Matches:

Billy: “A new story for Nassau,” (310) vs. Mr. Scott: "The villain makes the story." (306)

Miranda: "I have been devoted to you since that day." (205) vs. Julius "No one changes the world. Not like this." (407)

Miranda: "I want to see that noose around your neck, and I want to pull the fucking lever with my own two hands!" (209) vs. Mr.Scott: "The story is his, the story isn't his." (208)

1/4: Billy vs. Mr. Scott

Billy, in 310: “I've lived too long dependent upon Flint to be the one to hold our ranks together. It's time we finally had an alternative. What flows forth from this house, starting tonight, is a new story for Nassau. I've watched her follow mad men. I've watched her follow rich men. I've watched her bow before tyrants. But now it's time she had a king. When we're ready, when he's ready, he'll step into the role we've created for him… and lead an impossible army into an unwinnable war… and win it.”

VS

Mr. Scott, to Madi, 306: “Those men rose to their stations because they are peerless when it comes to shaping the world to their will, in creating a narrative and wielding it to compel men's hearts and minds. But the most compelling story requires a villain at its center. And if either Captain Flint or Mr. Silver sees the other as a villain… or worse… us as that… then all is lost. They are of great value to us, but they must be managed by us to avoid that outcome. I wish… you and I had not been so separate all those years. I wish I could have found a way to be a better father to you. But over time, I was determined to leave you something behind, to give you the one thing that no one could ever take away… and that would make you strong enough to understand their world, interact with their world… wage war on their world. But if their identity lies in their stories, I wanted you to know them so that when we are ready to call them enemies, you would be ready for it. The villain makes the story. So to manage our current partners, we must ensure that we all agree at all times who our common villain is."