high_seas | **Great Ghost Race Race to the Finish!** and after party!

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Great Ghost Race Race to the Finish! and after party!

The race back to the floating finish line at Port Chance is perhaps as chaotic as the beginning, with ships blasting each other with cannon fire and desperately try to sink the other as they jockey for position. The day is fine and fair -- but no matter who is in the lead or how close to the finish line you are, a ship black as death with tattered sails will pass right beside you, casting frost on decks and sails before flying over the finishing line and disappearing into mist.

Once the ship is gone the skies clear completely, breaking open to a beautiful blue day laced with sunshine. Crowds on either side cheer wildly, throwing confetti, flowers, discount coupons at nearby brothels, rotting fish heads, and occasionally small flash bombs so be careful of that.

After the winners pull into the docks specifically assigned to them, the captains and/or representatives of the first three crews will be taken up to a series of raised platforms high above the city to be presented with: A golden ship, a silver ship, and a bronze ship respectively.

Then they will be attacked by the presenters and have to run from the platforms or be killed, as per tradition, though they won't be pursued further.

The Fourth Place winner will have their Large Mystery Box handed to them after the winners have escaped and must then fend off their own attackers, as per tradition.

The Tenth Place winner will have the small mystery box placed on their ship in the middle of the night (on the 1st) and have to then roust the intruders before they set the sails on fire, as per tradition.

Everyone else gets a cast iron fish head bottle opener chucked haphazardly at the captain's head. (One per crew)

Afterwards, everyone is invited to a two day party! Lasting until the morning of the 2nd, when the town will gather together and chase out any lingering pirates with pitchforks, swords, and rather unpleasant incendiary bombs. As per tradition.

(Don't forget the talent show running on the 1st! See Musa-mun for details)

Thank you all for coming to the First Annual (for you) Great Ghost Race! Hope to see you again next year!

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[Who's that clapping Ragna on the shoulder with a huge grin on his face? Oh, it's ~~his husband~~ the captain (who's starting to smell like the inside of a rum bottle), full to bursting with good cheer and determined to share it with everyone, even people he usually prefers to try to punch in the face when he's this drunk.]

Trouble? What trouble? A little race like this is no trouble at all, I tell you! Of course we won! There was no other possible outcome.

[Normally, this is the part where ~~hubby~~ Motochika gets a HELL'S FANG to the face, along with a string of threats regarding losing the limb he's just touched Ragna with. Normally. Today that isn't the case, and as unusual as it may be, the Grim Reaper seems to forgive him his overly friendly behavior, figuring it can't be helped with how drunk he is.]

Yeah? [He responds with a grin of his own.] And here I thought there's no fun in winning if the result's obvious from the start.

Obvious to us, perhaps, but there will always be those who doubt our mastery over the seas! We've shown them now, though!

[He laughs and smacks Ragna on the shoulder a few more times for good measure.]

This ship and her crew are the greatest ever to sail this ocean and there can be no doubt of that now!

[Okay, that might be a little too much physical affection (?) for his taste, so don't mind him if his eyebrow twitches a bit as he takes a small step back to regain some personal space.]

That so?

[The Grim Reaper looks around the crowd, taking note of the present happy faces of his crewmates (well, save for Mitsunari's, since that guy seems even more persistent about being unhappy than Ragna is). As he does so, a gentle smile spreads across his features.]

... Yeah, guess we're pretty badass.

["We". Heh. Who would've thought he'd ever willingly use that word? Back when he first came here, or even after months spent on the board of the Katabami, there was never "we"; at best, it was "me and that bunch of idiots". But now that he says it, Ragna realizes it... doesn't feel bad. Including himself as a part of this crew can be somewhat nice.

It occurs to him he might want to stop drinking soon, since the weird, warm sensation in his chest must be caused by the amount of rum he's consumed.]

[Seeing Ragna's smile makes Motochika's own widen. They may be a bit dysfunctional, but his crew is always his family and seeing Ragna actually look happy about that for once is a prize greater than that shiny golden boat in the center of the Katabami's deck.

Not that that stops him from reaching out and smacking him one more time, just because he can.]

No guesswork about it. Now, come on! Eat! Drink! Be merry! This celebration is for all of us.

[Okay, THAT one's a bit too much to take. With the last smack, Ragna's expression settles into a scowl Motochika's already familiar with.]

Will you stop that?!

[Now that he's more or less back to his usual attitude, the Grim Reaper suddenly notices he might have been getting a little too comfortable here. Dammit. Sure, they may have won the race, but that doesn't mean he should be getting all... fluffy with the captain. What the hell was he thinking?]

Tch, that's what I was gonna do... not just 'cause you're telling me to, idiot.

[For something that's intended to be an offense, it sure lacks the conviction Ragna usually puts behind those.]

Right, right, of course.

[Motochika pauses, then smacks him again.]

Have some more rum! Oh, and Kodachi made cake! I'd suggest eating some of that if you haven't. Completely poison-free!

[Which is how food should be, but there's never a guarantee of that when Kodachi is involved.]

[Did he just─

Forget the rum. Forget the cake. This means war.]

─Are you trying to pick a fight with me, bastard?!

[... And now we're back to our daily scheduled manchildren quarrels.]

Whyever would you think that?

[smack]

Eh?

[smack]

Eh? I'm not trying to pick a fight! I'm just being friendly!

[After that last "smack", Ragna catches Motochika's hand, shooting him a doubtful look. It's hard to determine whether the captain is doing this on purpose or is just this wasted.]

This ain't how you "friendly", dammit.

[Yes Ragna because you're an expert on that.]

[Really, the answer is "both." He's doing this on purpose because he's this wasted.]

Nonsense! It's quite friendly, but not so friendly that I want to hold your hand. Give it.

[He tries to get his hand back, since the other hand is occupied with a rum bottle.]

Or have you decided to take being my wife seriously?

Wi─

[That single word causes Ragna to let go of Motochika in an instant, as if what he was holding wasn't a hand but rather a poisonous snake.]

Are you stupid?! Don't call me that in public, dumbass!

[A beat.]

─Wait, no! I mean... Don't call me that period, dammit!

Don't think I didn't hear that. Is there something you aren't telling me? I know I'm quite handsome and my charm is irresistible, but...

[This is going to require more rum.]

Perhaps there was some truth to what Xun Yu said back then...?

Edited 2014-08-07 05:10 (UTC)

[Good thing they're not running out of that anytime soon.]

ARE YOU OUTTA YOUR GODDAMN MIND?!

[At this point, Ragna doesn't seem to notice or care he's making quite a scene with his yelling, causing several heads to turn in their direction.]

Irresistible my ass! The hell gave you that idea?! There's nothing true about what she said! It just came out wrong!

[Like the whole lolicon thing.]

You expect me to believe that?! YOU'RE the one who's been acting strange about this whole business since the beginning! If you're going to make such a fuss about it every time it's brought up, you shouldn't have agreed to it in the first place!

[There's some wisdom to be found in that, but the fact remains that it was Motochika's own idea. Sure, someone else could have volunteered, but his choices were limited to start with.]

Strange?! FUSS?!

[Needless to say, Ragna is fuming. He feels his anger is completely justified, given how much humiliation he's gone through just so Motochika could grab his stupid treasure. What did he get out of it? Nothing, save for becoming the butt end of jokes ~~moreso than usually~~, and now the "wife" thing. True, he probably just should've never agreed to it and spare himself the trouble, but who would've thought things would escalate that much? And besides, the captain provoked him. So in the end it's all his fault.]

Maybe instead of yammering all the time you should show me some gratitude for putting up with all this crap!

[It's only a matter of time before they move on to "I sacrificed the best years of my life for you," isn't it.]

And what gratitude am I supposed to show you, then? I've given you a ship to sail on, I give you your cut of what we earn, I tolerate your endlessly disagreeable personality and to what benefit? If you think any other captain on these seas would put up with your nonsense for as long as I have, you're dead wrong!

[Somehow they've gone past "married couple" to "parent lecturing ungrateful teenager." So varied are their ridiculous arguments.]

[That escalated quickly, didn't it? Though it seems this time Motochika hit the nail on the head, and the only thing he gets on response is stunned silence. Ragna can't argue any of those─ not when he often finds himself wondering why the captain is letting him stay on his ship despite the frequent quarrels and how difficult he is to get along with. He honestly thinks it's better in the long run if the crew doesn't get too close to him─ hell, it would be for the best if he wasn't with them at all, but in this world he doesn't have the luxury of being picky.

Yet for some unimaginable reason Motochika sees it fit to allow him to continue to sail on his crew not out of necessity, but of his choice.

Deep inside, he's always known he should be the grateful one here, but like many things he's aware of he chose to ignore it; having it all brought up right to his face is somewhat of an eye-opener for sure. The Grim Reaper's expression darkens and he looks away from the captain, feeling the awful sense of guilt forming at the pit of his stomach.]

You're right. ... Sorry.

[Unlike most of the half-assed, empty apologies he makes just to get people to leave him alone, this time Ragna truly means it. There isn't anything else to say at this point, so he simply leaves it at that.]

[The genuine apology comes as shock. Usually the argument would escalate, but Ragna seems truly chastened, which is the last thing Motochika expected.]

Perhaps I was a bit uncharitable myself. You're a valuable member of this crew when you haven't gotten it in your head to make yourself a pain in my ass. You've come a long way since you signed on.

[It was more "being dragged on" than "signing on," but that's an insignificant detail.]

[Between smiling and an apology, Ragna acting like a decent human being has shocked more than one person tonight. One could think he must have drunk too much, but the truth is he's simply let his guard down for the evening, if only a little bit. Not a common occurrence, so perhaps everyone should cherish it while they can.

Motochika is not the only one surprised by the turn this conversation has taken; the Grim Reaper blinks at the captain's description, not sure if it's an honest opinion or not. There again, the guy is always honest, so...]

Not my fault your ass gets chafed so easily, Little Princess.

[... At least he seems to have recovered fast.]

It does not!!

[Civil conversations between the two of them never last long.]

And STOP CALLING ME THAT!!

[Hadn't he at least graduated to "Sea Princess" for a while? Not that he wants to be called that, either. The crew headed by that ninja brat who burnt down Isla Empieza calls their ship that now.]

[Only when Ragna is feeling generous enough to combine it with the usual "Sea Devil". Which sadly isn't the case at the moment.

The grin returns to his face immediately following Motochika's yell. Somehow, the whole Princess deal never stops being funny.]

C'mon, Your Highness, there's nothing to be ashamed of!

I'm not ashamed of it! You're the one who turns it into an insult!

[He needs to find some demeaning nickname for Ragna. Wait, no he doesn't. That would be lowering himself to Ragna's level. Except it would serve the bastard right.

A dilemma.]

[Well, he's still got "wife" in his arsenal.]

Insult? The hell gave you that idea? [You're not fooling anyone, Rags.] I just call 'em like I see 'em, Princess.

[With that said, he raises his hand and... smacks the captain on the shoulder.

Look, he's learned something!]

[Motochika smacks him back.]

I said to stop calling me that!

[They're going to start beating the shit out of each other soon, aren't they?]

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TSUN TSUN, RAGS

SHUT UP YOU BAKA

NEVER

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