We didn't choose the pirate life

[touchofcashmere]

Who: Stede Bonnet, Edward "Blackbeard" Teach, Lucius Spriggs, Skulduggery, John Watson, Darcy LeJeune, Diana York, Ava, Yuri Lowell, Clarke Griffin, Beetlejuice, Jinx, Jim Jimenez and Hiram
What: Pirate Crew Meet & Greet
When: 5/27
Where: Bellona Theater
Warnings None yet




Everyone at some point will get an invite to the theater, either pressed into their hand or shoved under their door. The stage is set with black curtains hanging in the background and on each seat there will be a little gift basket with a black ribbon, a name, a candy bar and a black pen with a little spiral notebook.

In each notebook, Stede has written a little note of encouragement. He will wait for them all to find their seats before he begins.

Comments

[lightconductor]

Yes, a poor doctor and his ex-governess wife sure are fancy. Well, he thought she was fancy, anyway. His opinion is clearly and obviously unbiased.

"It might be mutiny," Watson says, seriously, though a smirk is threatening to make itself known. "On the other hand, I am a doctor, and under the maritime law that I know, I believe I have the right to relieve the captain of duty if I feel the state of his health interferes with his ability to command the ship. This sort of stress cannot be good for them."

[draughtsman]

"That's a law?" Lucius boggles and wait-- "I mean, yes, of course. All on the up and up. It's legal."

It's absurd, of course, they're pirates. Maritime law is literally the one thing they explicitly refuse to be beholden to. But, the idea is amusing enough that Lucius has to let out a snort of honest, open laughter. He's not sure they could use that on Stede but, oddly, suspects it might work on Blackbeard if posed with enough seriousness. Lucius, deeply amused, leans in close to Watson and, quietly jokes:

"Now we just have the tricky part: how do you prescribe them bed-rest and make sure its the same bed?"

[lightconductor]

See, there was a reason Watson read all those sea novels, they totally came in handy.

"I was army and not navy, but I believe that's how it works, yes," Watson says, with an increasingly poor ability to keep a straight face. "But that might be tricky, yes. Oh, I know, some contagion requiring them to quarantine together, perhaps. And of course, in their condition, neither of them should use the bed in the sofa."

[draughtsman]

"We just have to break the sofa. Throw it overboard. Contaminated," Lucius declares with a snort of laughter.

They will not be doing any of this, of course, since Watson doesn't strike him as the make people stay in bed so they'll fuck sort (and Lucius, as established, would prefer not to be stabbed). It's still a fun way to relieve some of the frustration. Lucius chuckles as they get the last of the papers and shuffles them to tuck them in his notebook.

The page he is on contains the sketches he'd been working through while they drew their flags. Tragically, it remains incomplete, and it feels strange to add people to it outside of this event. He'd promised the other two drawings to their models, so he should probably offer Watson his, even if he didn't know it existed. Without more than a moment of waffling, he rips the page out and carefully separates Watson's face from the other two.

"By the way, this is yours if you want it," Lucius tells him and holds out the scrap of paper with Watson's smiling face on it.

[lightconductor]

Watson is still trying swallow down the last of his giggles, but he takes the paper, and his expression goes from curious to delighted.

"Oh, that's wonderful!" He holds it up, smiling. "Thank you, you've really made me look handsome. Distinguished, even. You have a real talent."

[draughtsman]

"I just draw what's there," he demurs but wears a pleased little smile as he tears the other two apart and tucks them back into the notebook's cover. He considers his sketchbook and Watson for a moment longer, he does so love to gossip, but drawings are a different sort of secret than implications.

He gives Watson a cute, over the top, flirty look as he snaps the little book closed.

"If you ever want to be sketched, it's been a while since I've had a new model," he tells him with a waggle of eyebrows. He isn't actually interested, Watson is a nice fellow and cute enough, but too...something. Not quite Lucius's type. Fun to tease, though.

[lightconductor]

He's not suggesting modelling in the nude, surely, because Watson's pretty sure that wouldn't make for a nice picture at all.

Still, his response to flirtation will always be flirting in return. "Such flattery. Is that how you get all your conquests into your bed, with the promise of being a work of art? I could see that being very successful. Clearly I ought to watch myself very carefully around you."

[draughtsman]

Oh, not bad Watson.

"No, no, you've got it backwards. My bed partners are already works of art. I just happen to have a pencil on hand," he defends and clucks his tongue at Watson thoughtfully. "You're still welcome to watch yourself. Watching you is quite gratifying."

[lightconductor]

He wags a finger in Lucius's direction. "You do have a silver tongue, don't you? Well, I suppose you're welcome to watch, at the very least. To a point, as I'm not sure my own bed partners would appreciate the audience."

[draughtsman]

If Lucius were actually flirting he'd be trying to hide his amused smile. He isn't, and doesn't, but he is clearly having fun. He pulls a false frown, more a little pout of objection.

"Now, now, everyone appreciates an audience on occasion," Lucius says and winks. "Do you think they'd like to be sketched?"

[lightconductor]

"I'm not sure how they'd feel," Watson says, appearing to give this some serious thought, "though I might appreciate the souvenir."

And he laughs, from a sudden jolt of self-consciousness, but not an unpleasant one. Talking openly about this sort of thing is new to him. "Perhaps I'll bring it up to them. I'll certainly show them this," he gestures with the sketch, before folding it carefully and tucking it into his waistcoat pocket.

[draughtsman]

"What, really?" Lucius asks and suddenly the spell of escalating flirting is broken. He had only made the offer as an aside but...

"I could actually use a few models. Platonic, if thats how you all would prefer it. Be sure to ask them for me."

[lightconductor]

"Oh, certainly," Watson says, surprised. "I think they're both rather handsome, after all, and would make excellent subjects, but... no, I'll mention it to them, if you'd like."

[draughtsman]

"Yes, please," Lucius says and resists the urge to point out that everyone is handsome in some way. Watson is a nice fellow and his occasional uncomfortable stumbling is charming. Lucius is not quite sure he'd get the idea, but that's fine. Not everybody does.

"If you all pose together I'll have to find some paints and a canvas, so do give me a heads' up, yeah?"

[lightconductor]

Now, that surprises him. No one has ever offered to paint his portrait. Even photographs have been a bit of a luxury for much of his life, though that's changin.

"I won't hold you to anything," Watson says, smiling, "but that's kind of you, really."

[draughtsman]

Watson. You can't just...say things like that to a man. Watson he gives you the most pained look at that. He wants to say something flirty back but they'll get caught in a loop of flirting for the sake of it and he really should finish cleaning.

"Goodbye Doctor, don't forget your gift basket," he reminds and with absolutely uncharacteristic restraint, avoids complaining about how Watson refuses to hold him to anything.