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hogsofwar
Yar har fiddle dee dee
Playing as pirates is all right with me
Your options:
1.) Post with a prompt
2.) Post only with a description of what your character is like AUed
3.) Don't post at all but just tag others
whatever, it's fucking pirates, why am I writing rules at all, FUCK IT
Miles Edgeworth
Date: 2014-05-18 11:57 pm (UTC)Miles Edgeworth is dogged and righteous naval captain tasked with hunting down pirates. He does not compromise or surrender for you scurvy sea dogs. Still wears a frilly outfit.]
[OPTION B:
Miles Edgeworth is a pirate himself, a very serious and by-the-books quartermaster who enforces considerable piratical discipline.
Again, frills.]
how majestic is his hat
Date: 2014-05-19 01:49 am (UTC)Really, the challenge is getting there before they do.
But they're in luck today. The wind's gone and the ship they've found is gently afloat with the sails still cast in what looks like stubborn determination. Twelve pale and dark forms skim through the glitter of the late afternoon's water.
Mavros surfaces on the starboard side, dark hair plaited in so many braids with gold coins and shells woven into their multitude. A cry goes up from the ship as they're spotted by one paling sailor. To this he gives a rather sharpened smile.]
'lo up there! [He calls.]
Which one of you dry bones speaks for this vessel?
SO FRILLY AND MAJESTIC
Date: 2014-05-19 02:50 am (UTC)But things are bad right now. If they don't find some solution soon, things will get worse yet.
Usually, merpeople would not be a welcome sight. Edgeworth has never dealt with them personally - truthfully, he did not fully believe in them until now - but their reputation has them as dangerous, treacherous, if not indeed outright evil. But Edgeworth is not so optimistic as to think that there will be some other rescue or hope before the men's patience runs out.
So when the shout goes up, he walks to the rail - none too quickly, trying to look unconcerned. He doesn't want this merman knowing just how desperate their circumstances are. When he speaks, he speaks in a clear and educated and urbane voice.]
I am the First Officer. Good fortune to you.
no subject
Date: 2014-05-19 03:59 am (UTC)Mavros exchanges looks with one of his cousins that flank close on either side, though all that can be seen of any of the others is their eyes peeking above the rolls of the waves. He glances back up to double-check what flag flies on the ship- for that sort of cultured reply is not the usual superstitious flattery or fear normally thrown by pirates.
Nor the occasional harpoon.
Though he does not see anything to indicate this was one of the landfolk's nations. And there are no uniforms among the ranks peering over the rails.]
Charmed, Sir First Officer. [Officer or Captain, he doesn't completely care. Yet he is curious.] Your ship has crossed into our waters without paying proper tribute. It is a pity that's where your good fortune ran short.
[Words that lent to restless rumbling and shifting hands on the ship.]
no subject
Date: 2014-05-19 04:01 pm (UTC)At once, he chides himself internally; he doesn't believe in fortune, or luck, or any of that damned superstition. He believes only in the ill outcomes caused by a poorly-equipped, reckless voyage with bad sailors and bad information.
Those bad sailors at his back are stirring, clearly made nervous by those merfolk down there; it's that nervousness which makes Edgeworth extend this invitation:]
Forgive me, sir. I was unaware of any trespass. Are you capable of coming aboard? I should like to discuss this with you.
[It's a risk, of course; there's always the chance that this will displease the crew enough to stir them to mutiny. But Edgeworth is laying his hopes on the chance that, instead, this show of fearlessness towards a creature that the sailors so fear will make Edgeworth appear stronger. He needs to keep strength, keep up the illusion of strength, until the winds bear them out of this place.]
no subject
Date: 2014-05-19 05:02 pm (UTC)Or a man or two, we’ll take those. The more handsome among your lot, if you’d please! [He swam back, looking over the faces that stared at him and his companions and then has to add with more mirth:] Though the picking seem slim aside from yourself. What of the Captain?
[He grins before another playful dip.] Or do you have something more interesting to offer me, Sir First Officer?
no subject
Date: 2014-05-19 05:48 pm (UTC)Our gold is locked away, good sir, and the lives of the crew sacrosanct. I fear neither of those requests are possible.
But your territory is unmarked on maps or by landmark. I cannot see the fairness in levying a toll when one cannot even know that one has strayed into your waters.
[He crosses his arms and tries to look proud.]
We will offer you fair passage upon our ship, and a meal taken with us in friendship. And we will offer the start to a continuing truce that will see our crew never raising their hands against your people.
no subject
Date: 2014-05-19 07:26 pm (UTC)[They are no in complete rush to define what waters are theirs for it would certainly lead to more ships skirting around and provide less chances for them to raid so easily, for their sisters to hunt. They live apart and unmolested in the seas for the most part, though that was beginning to change as of late. Rumors of captures come with the currents.
As easily as they can skin ships and curse the humans upon them to the ocean’s last sweet kiss, they are not foolhardy enough to believe these men poise great danger in return.]
Are you the sort of man that honors his word? [He tilts his head towards the closest merman on his left and the short-haired one darted off to emerge close to the hull of the ship, calling up for a boat to be lowered.] If your men allow myself and my two companions aboard unmolested while we have this talk; we will leave your ship whole.
But only if I have your honor.
no subject
Date: 2014-05-19 09:52 pm (UTC)[And that's true. Edgeworth keeps his word. Any who set foot on his shop to parlay return without interference. Any enemy who surrenders and is taken hostage does not ever suffer anything on his watch. No woman has been raped, no man beaten or put to work; any members of the crew who spoke of doing harm to hostages were chastised first, flogged second; never has anyone been executed on Edgeworth's watch, but if they were to do harm they would be executed. Treasure is divided up equally amongst members of the crew, with larger shares given to officers - but only in accordance to publicly-available percentages. Edgeworth keeps his honor, as does his Captain - indeed, if his Captain were not honorable, Edgeworth would have found another long ago.
So the merfolk will not be distressed by their time on the ship. His crew, on the other hand...The men behind him shuffle and mutter, and one starts to speak to him about his misgivings, but Edgeworth cuts him off with a shake of his head.]
It will be fine. Lower the boat.
[And so there's a moment of uncertainty - a long, long moment - but then, finally, the crew do as asked. The hoist is thrown, the boat lowered into the sea to take on its weight of the merfolk.]
no subject
Date: 2014-05-21 05:39 pm (UTC)All depends on how one looks at it.
So far he's found it supremely adventurous. Certainly worth the daring venture to a wreckage even they, the sirene, considered cursed.
The down their sides that acted as gills fluttered and huffed with the sudden lack of water, showing slits of tender pearlescent skin underneath as the sirene breathed.
The sailors that hauled the boat up back away as soon as the ropes are secured. No helping hands to help them over the railings and to the deck but that's quite alright.]
Do you have a name? [Mavros calls, sweeping his gaze around the crew that half-circles them with distrust so plain on their features. He searches and settles with a satisfied smile when he finds the man he's looking for- resplendent in that outfit of such a bold color it reminds him of one of the more splendid and glaring variant of fish they eat.
And that hat.
There seems to be no concern for their dripping along the deck, nor for the fact they, while adorned in weapons and armor fashioned from loot, shells and fire hardened coral, are completely and undeniably nude.] Sir First Officer?
no subject
Date: 2014-05-22 10:15 pm (UTC)Edgeworth does none. He keeps his eyes on the merfolk's, and doesn't allow himself to be distracted by the state they're in (flustered though it might make him). And, when their leader asks him a question, he removes his hat and gives a proper bow, the sort taught to educated young men.]
My name is Miles Edgeworth, sir. Welcome aboard the Sailor's Revenge.
[He straightens, replaces his hat, and meets the merman's eyes once more.]
What of yourself, sir?
no subject
Date: 2014-05-23 04:14 am (UTC)[There is the hint of pulling tide in his voice; the sort of raw, lovely crooning that makes sailors willfully throw themselves into waiting arms and held, drowning deaths. There is learning. Knowing. He does not return the flourishing display but his chin raises in acknowledgment before he looks up again at the towering sails above them and how they sag slack. Towards the back, a sailor spits and swears causing the youngest of the merfolk trio to tense.
He lifts a staying hand and steps forward with careful weight.]
Mavros. And this sea belongs to Kushiel, as are we.
[The fluidity of swimming translates oddly into walking, yet doesn't speak towards unsteady. His strides are longer than height would dictate. As Mavros moves, so does those who guard his back. So does the crowd. He is ...fair shorter than Edgeworth. Proximity paints quite the scene between the two.] Are we going to speak with every eye on the your Revenge?
no subject
Date: 2014-05-23 04:53 am (UTC)But he cannot take these men for granted. The merfolk are weighed down by superstition and a lack of comprehension, and Edgeworth does not indulge superstition; that much is true. But that doesn't mean that they're harmless.]
Indeed, no, sir. I will beg you follow me to my quarters. I'll have the cook bring bread and salt - [Signs of hospitality, a gesture he hopes the folk understand and accept - ] and supper. I fear it will be humble fare: salt pork if you eat such things, fresh-caught fish if you do not.
[He gestures in the direction of his cabin, at the fore of the ship. He doesn't want them to linger out here any longer - certainly not. The worst thing that might happen would be an outbreak of violence. So, humble though his quarters might be, they will provide far more protection.]
no subject
Date: 2014-05-27 05:13 am (UTC)[There is several snapped lines of conversation between he and his companion in the lilting language of their own. Mavros looks back briefly, gathering the mass of his braided hair as if preening vanity, if for not the hilt of the short sword sheathed to his back that pokes its way out over his shoulder. It is not like he's defenseless, he assures.
The other two will stand guard outside and keep mark of the time they're spending out of the water. Dry enclosed spaces without the sea in sight are unpleasant places. He feels boxed as they enter, and eyes the walls with mild distaste as he casts a wary look around the simple weather cabin once Edgeworth leads the way in. On that Mavros insists.]
You are a strange one for your kind, Miles Edgeworth. [He comments,. The table in this main room hosts maps, a leaning pile of books.] Do you feed all your assailants just so? Have you come across the sirene before?
no subject
Date: 2014-05-28 03:07 am (UTC)[He takes immediately to making the cabin presentable for company. It's not cluttered, certainly - Edgeworth is disciplined enough that he would never allow his cabin to be cluttered - but it's crowded, and the table is too covered. He rolls his maps with the quick efficiency of practice.]
I've never encountered your people before; nor have any of my men. As for your prior question...
[Another crisp motion, and the maps are stored away in his sea-chest. Then, finally, his hat is removed and hung upon a hook - even that neat and in order - before he sits down at the table, to parlay with the merman.]
I cannot ask it, as I do not see you as assailants.
I did not ever get your name, sir.
this is so late but here and if there is desires to pick up again
Date: 2014-06-20 08:54 pm (UTC)Yes, that's right. We're to be friends...
[Mavros murmurs almost to himself.] Did I not? Careless of me.
Call me Mavros. [He doesn't sit in one of the plain chairs now with a cleared space in front of it. Instead he settles behind, hands wrapping themselves around the top of the back with a deliberateness of one learning a new texture.] I do not think your crew will take kindly to passing friendship with those of the sea. And if I may say, those men do seem...mmm
...the sort of rougher tides.
[He fixes Edgeworth with a look.] What drives you?
B
Date: 2014-05-19 02:21 am (UTC)Kay is sneaking up on him, and slowly reaching out to snatch it off his head. Someone got bored.]
no subject
Date: 2014-05-19 04:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-05-19 04:13 pm (UTC)She begins pointing and gesturing to various crew members with a long sword that...also isn't officially hers but picked up from the weaponry.]
Look alive, mateys! We're on a quest for the greatest booty of all! Hurry up, or ye'll walk the plank! Arrrr!
no subject
Date: 2014-05-19 05:22 pm (UTC)Faraday!
no subject
Date: 2014-05-20 02:04 am (UTC)Yes, sir? [Then she gives a bow, sweeping the hat off her head.]
Option A, let's do this, man to scoundrel
Date: 2014-05-20 04:04 pm (UTC)Oh, a drop of Nelson's blood wouldn't do us any harm--
[ The captain doesn't often sing. He'd learned to, back when he'd been fresher-faced and darting up and down and across ropes like a monkey, all wiry limbs, propelled by piss and enjoyment. He's got a better head on his shoulders, now, and more muscle to him, but the grin is still wrought with a child's gleeful animal savagery. ]
Oh, a drop of Nelson's blood wouldn't do us any harm.
And we'll all hang on behind.
[ The sea is colored like the time, a rich midnight gone to ink now that clouds have cast themselves over the stars and the moon. The little port is quiet; the watchfires are lit, but anonymity and peace have made the people in the young township - ten years, at most - sleepy and content. It's almost criminal, really, but it's their own fault for hosting a wounded transport. ]
So we'll roll the old chariot along
An' we'll roll the golden chariot along--
[ Captain Jaquez never loses a mark. A raised hand puts landing boats in the water; a raised lantern signals the same to the other two ships. In the night's dimness, his smile is lurid and monstrous; the mottled scarring on his right cheek gives an illusion of teeth.
Hence the name: Grimm "Jaw" Jaquez, a traitor to Spain, a wanted man by at least four countries, with a hangman's noose to his name and a dozen children spread across as many ports. ]
So we'll roll the old chariot along
An' we'll all hang on behind!
I love you so much
Date: 2014-05-22 09:47 pm (UTC)But a ship like this one was not unguarded; this is how this is a trap. Word of Captain Jaquez spread ahead of him, because the man has a fearsome reputation and a famous face and an astonishing, uncommon level of arrogance. They knew he was near, and knew he was aware of this ship (if not, perhaps, all of its cargo), and they knew he would not let it go unmolested.
Their ship, a fourth-rate, the HMS Prince Charles, is at anchor just out of town, hidden in a cove, God willing unknown to Jaquez and his dogs. The Captain is on that ship, and the Governor, and his family, and the Mayor of this little town. The cargo has been offloaded into the town - an action the ship's lieutenant, a young and upright officer named Edgeworth, argued vociferously against, as it would put the townspeople at risk. But the captain had pointed out, rightly, that if the cargo were still on the transport then the pirates would secure it quickly and hardly take any time before going after the Prince Charles; if the cargo were in town, they'd have to spend time looting the town, and the Prince Charles - and the governor - would have time to escape.
The transport, now, is loaded only down with Navy men. Edgeworth had volunteered to lead them; he's with three dozen others, brave men who know this ship well and clever men who fight with intelligence and with discipline. They wait, hunched down on deck, making no sound but that of their breaths, in the dark of the night. They wait for the pirate to strike. They'll be outnumbered, and the scurvy dogs fight viciously. But the Navy men have discipline, and they have good modern weapons, and they have surprise. They'll buy enough time for the Captain and the Governor to get away at worst; at best, they may bring an end to this evil man.]
how can one love this much slowness
Date: 2014-05-26 06:31 am (UTC)Each ship launches its own boarding party; the largest, by far, is from his own, the Disgraceful Princess, a galleon lifted straight from the Spanish fleet in the light of day. Men and landing boats spill from her broad curves - the finest, the captain often proclaimed with true fondness - and advance in steady, well-coordinated waves. Their target: the listing transport. The captain himself heads the boarding part, a sword on one hip, a pistol on the other. He guides the boats alongside the transport, signals for the ropes and hooks and ladders, and he is the first to start the climb, the first to let his heels drop onto the deck with a heavy, meaningful stride.
The second largest belongs to the mid-sized frigate with the black eagle as its figurehead, the Night Wind. Another conquest, one that had won him true infamy for the rout and murder of its last crew - slavers, they'd been, though some say that had little or nothing to do with it. Her new captain has strict orders: the town only, no matter the situation on the transport or the other ships. Jaquez has a policy of never retreating without some gains to their name; rewards are rewards, and it certainly keeps the men happy.
The last ship, the small schooner built on plunder to exacting specifications and christened Little Serpent, launches boats of its own, but they are few, and carry a man apiece. It's primary crew remains on board.
Arrogant, arrogant - but never a fool.
The sound of splintering wood signals the pirates' entry belowdecks, the doors pried off their fitted hinges. ]
with passion
Date: 2014-05-26 02:49 pm (UTC)No: the battle begins with a crack, and with a slug of metal felling the man just behind Captain Jaquez. The pirate falls back into the water with a splash. Up in the eagle's nest, Edgeworth has placed three men: two of his best marksmen and a smart, agile young man named Thomas. His marksmen are to fire down ceaselessly at the pirates; Thomas, armed with a spear, is to stab down and slay and pirates coming for his marksmen. The eagle's nest, too, has been reinforced, to give his marksmen shelter from any bullets aimed at them; these three will not stop the boarding party, but they will harry them, annoy them, wear them down, ruin morale, and pick pirates off.
That's one of the tricks Edgeworth has set up. Another is more petty: the deck around the edges of the ship, just under where the boarding party would scramble up, is coated with slick oil, so that any pirates coming aboard will slip - and just under the railings are nasty things, hastily fastened jacks of jagged metal, put together by the apprentices to the blacksmith in town. Few of the pirates will fall upon those - but those that do will find a very painful surprise.
The third surprise, and the one that fills Edgeworth with the most grim despair, is the gunpowder packed in strategic places around the ship. If all goes wrong...If they are losing, then that gunpowder can be lit. And the whole ship can go down, and the pirates can be taken with it.
All the men fighting belowdecks know the ship; all of them are in pairs, behind fortifications, each of them with instructions to just hold their fortification and slay as many pirates as possible. They're to keep discipline, always, consistently.
Edgeworth is abovedecks with his remaining men. They're under canvas, in hiding until a few pirates have gained the deck - and then they burst forth from their camouflage and let loose against the pirates with a hail of gunfire. No words are exchanged, no declarations made; there's just a sudden, forceful martial action against them.
Edgeworth himself has Jaquez in his sights for his first shot - his bullet misses by a mere inch, no more.]
George Sands
Date: 2014-05-19 12:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-05-19 05:35 am (UTC)[ oh no, this dick. cutler has aspirations of captaincy, and he's not particularly nice unless he thinks you're the kind of person who'd back him in a mutiny. obviously george hasn't made it into this esteemed category. though george is the only other person on this ship who seems capable of not mangling the queen's english for his own machismo, and cutler appreciates that much, at least. ]
Sands, was it? Don't you have work to be getting on with?
no subject
Date: 2014-05-19 03:45 pm (UTC)But the problem is that you don't really call people out on being those things when you're one of the few pirates on a ship who doesn't really carry a cutlass about. So George (with difficulty) keeps from giving the really sarcastic reply and instead says:]
No, no, I really...don't, actually, but that's - very diligent, right, thank you. Well done. Very - captain-like.
[Whiiiich actually had something of a sardonic edge to it, rather disrespectful, but that's all right, he thinks; even Cutler's not twat enough to call him on that.]
Stiles Stilinski
Date: 2014-05-19 04:32 pm (UTC)whistles innocently
Date: 2014-05-19 05:12 pm (UTC)But this is a war. And so when Edgeworth is ordered by his superior officer to seek out the pirate Stilinski, he knows that it won't end with Stilinski being apprehended and thrown in some dank, dark prison. And that is keenly, damnably disappointing.
The city of Port Royal isn't a place a Naval officer wants to stay for long. Edgeworth's ship is actually docked several miles away, and he'd taken a horse into town; he seeks to remain incognito. (Though that is difficult, because his back is straight, and his dress neat, and his cheek clean-shaven, and his speech educated and proper; even out of his Naval uniform, it's damned clear he's no pirate.) He doesn't tarry even a moment in town, but instead heads straight for the tavern that Stilinski's crew is said to frequent.
It's not hard to find the boy. He doesn't favor his father in his appearance, but his features are distinct and familiar from the portrait included in Edgeworth's orders. The boy is amongst other pirates, and so Edgeworth waits long enough for him to extricate himself from the group - to go to the privy, or for another drink, he's not certain - before he steps into Stilinski's path.]
A word, please.