come_sailaway | Taking Care of Business

Entry tags:

Taking Care of Business

Who: Stede and you!
Where: Sand Dollars, Library, elsewhere
When: Post event
What: Various things
Warnings: None yet

I. Notes
[a few flyers are taped up here and there around the ship. The amount of tape is-- not quite as excessive as last time, but still more than would be reasonable]

Feeling lonely? Anxious? Needing someone to talk to about past or recent events?

Come to Sand Dollars Monday-Friday 12:30-3 for tea and a willing ear.

See: Stede Bonnet

II. Sweet Dreams are Made of These
[books that is. Stede has finally found the library and while he hasn't quite taken up residence in it. He's there late in the evening and can be found sleeping at a table or in a chair at the late night. It's comforting. Feels like home. The easiest way to avoid the trauma plaguing you is to read until your mind gives out. Besides which, his roomie is a creeper]

III. Everything is fine
[perfectly fine. He is staring at a TV or screen with a blank, far away expression- or at the entrance to John's, rigid in the doorway, staring in. He doesn't seem like he's going to move any time soon, so feel free to move around him.]

IV. Wildcard
[hit him up]

Planning Session [Locked to Lucius]

[Stede has managed to move himself after this fiasco, though it wasn't easy. He's left a helpful note on the back of a crumpled piece of paper for Lucius though, on the bedside table, easily seen]

Lucius,

It's been a long couple of weeks. Why not take an extended holiday? I can handle things from here. All I ask is that some time this week, when you have a moment, you can step into Sand Dollars for a little planning. I need to bounce ideas off someone.

Have fun out there! (In as much as you can).

-Stede

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[ Darcy doesn't need to talk about anything. Well; not the way Stede is angling for, but she seeks him out at Sand Dollars anyway. She's had time to think over her continued participation in... if you could call it a 'crew', sure, and she needs to talk to the man who signed her on in the first place. Darcy brings over a plate of those little madeleines for him, he seems like the sort of dude who likes little fancy baked goods. ]

You're looking better than the last time I saw you. How are you feeling?

Hello, Darcy.

[he is pleased to see her. It feels like it's been a while]

Ohh! These look delicious. Thank you. [he will be polite of course and pats a seat]

Come, sit down and share them with me. We can have a little pot of tea.

[as for how he's feeling- well that's complicated and he'd rather not acknowledge it]

How've you been...?

[ Darcy takes the seat, though it's been far less time for her than it has for him. She idly wonders if anyone bothered to tell him that she stood watch, but it probably doesn't matter. It was an expected duty, not something she needs a pat on the head for. ]

Same as everyone, ehn? Tired, fucked up with everything that's been going on.

[ She does not take the madeleines, or the tea if offered. Tea is gross, and she's been trying to avoid indulging lately. She also doesn't draw attention to the fact that o captain her captain didn't answer her question, for the sake of his dignity, and the fact she doesn't need this conversation to start off on a worse foot than it might end up on. ]

I had something I wanted to ask you about.

Yes... it has been rather difficult hasn't it. [he suddenly isn't very hungry as he thinks about it, tries not to think about it-- but out of politeness he takes a nibble and makes an appreciative noise]

Of course. I'm at your disposal. What can I do for you?

[ Right, now comes the bit where she actually has to... say the things that have been on her mind. She fiddles with one of the napkins she brought over, tearing at it to little pieces of confetti. ]

That thing you said, when you signed me on, about us- the crew being free together. Did you believe it?

[ Mean it, stand by it, whatever the phrasing, she wants to feel for his convictions. Lucius' words still hung heavy in her mind, about him getting them all killed, about the kind of pirate Stede is. She... wants to believe in the kind of leader he tries to be, the kindness and decency and nobility, but she wants to hear him believe in it first. ]

[oh dear. There is some emotional turmoil brewing there, he has a feeling. The question though is a simple one to answer, he was worried it was about something like an exhibition match he was not ready for or badass plans he did not have yet.

Things have been busy]

Of course. That's the very nature of a pirate crew. To be who you are on the open sea while at the same time having a ready group to support you and show you new things. Give you new ideas. Possibly get under your skin.

Why...? Has someone told you differently?

[ As tempting as it is to totally rat Lucius out and say 'your lapdog thinks you're a shit pirate', she doesn't want to risk her ~~friend's~~ resident annoyance's... job? Job, so she gives a half-shrug. ]

There's just been talk. I don't know, that piracy is dangerous and hard and we could all die horribly doing it. Even without other crews or something, this ship is dangerous, and it kind of seems like the Captain- the evil one- hates people banding together more than anything. Since, you know, murder island and all that.

[ She leans forward on her elbows. Her tone is remarkably even and calm as she states- ]

If it's a question of being free and dying, probably multiple times, or something else and living...

[ She gestures, seeking his input. She wants him to pick the former dearly, she wants to know this is a man she can be comfortable dying for, knowing that he would do the same. That his ideals aren't all talk, and he'd stick by them. ]

[he sighs and leans back. That man. That horrible creature. Whatever or whoever he is... Stede shakes his head]

Someone told me that it's better not to form connections at all-- because we're all going to have to ... to ... [damnit. He has to say it. ] mu-murder each other. [god, it doesn't come out any easier]

That we're going to have to go it alone to --prevent pain but--

It's going to happen regardless. That creature [he refuses to give them any sort of title. Not anymore] isn't going to care whether we're in a group or not. We're all going to suffer at his pleasure. He's that kind of bully.

I don't want to die [he swallows hard] I would still rather die for something I believe in then dying alone and scared like a coward.

[which is going to put him at odds with Clarke, he supposes. But he'll take responsibility for that too. He's the captain after all. It's on his shoulders.]

And piracy is...dangerous and hard. [he gives a brief smile] Life on the open sea is always a risk. But the difference between piracy and anything else is that we get to have fun and we're beholden to no king or country or asshole who calls himself a captain, just the wind in the sails and the endless horizon.

[that makes him feel a little better, he has to admit]

[ It's, note for note, exactly what Darcy needs to hear. Which is unusual for her, usually any words aiming to inspire or motivate her end up shredded in the brambles of her prickliness. It's instinctive, part of her perfectionism to seek out the flaws in what she's been presented with. But Stede... shit pirate or not, Stede is a storyteller, and he hits every note with an effortless grace. It settles her; not necessarily just the affirmation that it is better to weather the storm together, but the fact he believes it. That it is something he's willing to die over, that he'd rather pick death than to sacrifice what he believes in, settles some of her own uncertainties. This is a man she can follow. This is a man who she is willing to let direct her like a living weapon, pointed at his foes, keeping him safe. She smiles, faint but warm. When she sees Lucius next, she resolves herself to harass him doubly hard for what he said about Stede. Did pirates have noogies back whenever? Guess she was going to find out. ]

Then we're in agreement. Thank you, Captain Bonnet, really. You know if there's anything you need me to do, you can just ask, ehn?

You're welcome.

[he's glad she's here honestly. He has a feeling she won't be glad unless he steps up his game a little, which means the crew meet and greet has to be really interesting, but that's for another day]

I mean what you can do right now is look after yourself, keep your eyes and ears open for anything that might be useful...that sort of thing. I'll definitely need your help getting everyone sorted when the time comes.

[he's not sure what he means by that precisely, but he'll figure it out hen he gets there]

That's sort of what you told me to do the first time, no? I've been investigating and talking with Skulduggery, I'm not sure my eyes and ears can be more open.

[ His orders are the sort of vague diplomatic shit that Terre Mère would tell her to do while waiting around outside a mission, which usually meant 'stay out of the way, dear, the adults are planning'. She's been looking out, she wants to do something. ]

I'll take anything at this point.

Right? Well what have you found? Tell me everything and we'll plan our next steps.

[or he'll report what she says back to Ed and see what he thinks. He has no idea what he's going to want to do at this point, but it's important that she feel she's a valuable part of the crew.]

[ She counts off on her fingers, ]

That fucker is some sort of void monster who is slowly devouring our emotions and souls while we're aboard. The body he usually shows up in can't be hurt by conventional or unconventional means unless he wants it to be. The ghosts here are all whatever remains of the passengers who came here before us. We only have vague ideas about what he wants; mostly entertainment, apparently. Skulduggery can probably give you more details, my memory isn't so good. But there's not really anything we can plan around yet; It's all just speculation, 'he might do this' and 'he might want that'.

Souls? [he rests a hand against his heart. Emotions were one thing. He wouldn't mind getting rid of some of those from time to time. But souls] The ghosts are... but how is that if they come back?

Maybe...they just died a lot... But listen... aren't ghosts souls? If they're still around, then he doesn't eat souls. Maybe just the outside bits. Or how you eat around the pit of the avocado...

[that's neither here nor there]

What I'm getting is that we seem a little up a creek without much of a paddle. Not ideal. [he drums his fingers on the table] Any...weaknesses we know of? Any fears?

"They're usually-" Darcy starts, then winces at herself, because now she's got to give him the talk.

"Long story, I'm a ghost hunter back home. Usually ghosts are... not people, but they can feel like people. They want things, they're scared of things. These aren't. They don't... want anything. Whatever he's done to them, it's... bad."

A broad shrug and a sweeping gesture, "he doesn't like people in his personal space, I can tell you that. Wasn't impressed with me joking about making him a friendship bracelet. That's about it." It really, really wasn't much.

"Oh... I see..." He looks with sympathy at...well...nothing as he can't see them. But general sympathy in their direction. Perhaps they'd been so stripped away that there was nothing left of them. That they were just tired strips of their former selves.

As for that creature, that darkness at the heart of this ship... He doesn't like people in his personal space...for reasons? Or does it just make him uncomfortable?

...Or does it matter...?

"I've got it..." he slaps a hand lightly on the table. "Group hugs. Whenever we see him just-- latch onto him like an iguana on a branch. I mean he can kill us but if we come back then we just keep doing it until he gives up or--" they became ghost shells haunting the ship for eternity."--we go home. What do you think?"

All her faith and belief in Stede that she'd just established crumbled. Well, probably an exaggeration, but she doesn't even bother trying to diminish the Look she gives him.

"So... the next time we see the Captain, you genuinely, really want us to... hug him. To hug him. The man that can decide to be intangible, and who at the very least has no problem stabbing his own creation, much less us. You want us. To hug him. The Captain, the necromancer that is keeping us here, the guy I tried to fucking stab at the party. You want us to get killed and come back and hug him and get killed again."

She sounds like she disbelieves herself even more with every word she says.

"It sounds gruesome, yes." He is not looking forward to it. "But it's a weakness. It's a fear. Maybe we can find something bigger to use against him or exploit. Something that will make him at least rethink this.

Listen, Darcy...This is going to happen anyway. It-- it already has. Over and...over and over... and over... and it won't stop it just went on... every day. every night the same things playing on and on and on..."

With the music and the noise and the horrific images playing over pained faces, agonizing, people losing and hurting and dying and it wouldn't stop it just wouldn't stop they were in hell and it would just keep happening over and over and over

"Stede," Darcy leans forward to put her hands on his forearms, trying to steady him, "take a breath. You're freaking out."

"Just because I'm willing to die for you doesn't mean I'm going to kill myself in the same way, over and over, with no guarantee it'll do anything. If our deaths fuel him, we'll only be making him stronger, and we don't even know if they do. We're fighting in the dark. I don't like asparagus, but it doesn't mean that's the key to killing me, he might just be more willing to stab someone if they're in his face."

The touch startles him out of a little but the ghostly images keep playing in the back of his mind-- though he knows better than to chase them.

He finds himself looking at her. Of course...he can't ask this of her. She's right. She's so young and is -- well, to put it bluntly--the more valuable person here. She can fight. She knows the lay of the land. She is not spoiled and coasting on money not earned on land bought by a sad little marriage.

"Well... I won't force you..." A wan smile. "Or anyone... But..." At least it's something he can do. After all a captain went down from the ship, not just...sat at the sidelines.

"But don't die for me, Darcy. Don't die for anyone. Live for me if you can manage it and keep going no matter what happens. Alright?"

She doesn't understand. The switch from asking her to die for him to telling her not to, the finality of what he's saying.

"Stede," she says, dropping the formalities and her voice simultaneously, "that's not your choice to make for me. And what is with you, ehn? I've never heard you so pessimistic."

That was her job, after all.

It's not asking her to die for him but for everyone to work together to help each other. Dying together for one common goal and coming back. It's not the same thing.

But she's right here too. He has to put a brave face on it.

"Oh, it's just been a long day. Don't worry about it. I'll be absolutely fine." A lie... hopefully one day he can make them both believe it. "But... I still think you've got better things to live for."

To her mind, there is no separation; the Captain is the crew, both figurehead and the one who sets the course, and if they die, they die under his flag. Darcy's face crumples in dismay at Stede's deflection of her question.

"It's been a long fucking couple of weeks. I'm not going to think less of you if you're having a bad time with everything that's been going on. That's the sensible fucking human response to the amount of suffering on this ship. Come on, I thought we were meant to be here for each other, ehn?"

While of course, not approaching the idea of her having anything to live for. That was a can of worms she didn't want to look at too hard.

"Well it hasn't been great." He can admit that. "But I've had a better time of it than some." Being unconscious for most of it. "It feels like it was fine then everything got horrible all at once. And that's just going to be our lives now. It's... a lot to take in, isn't it?"

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Taking Care of Business

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