La passion, la passion, how I love la passion

[thatched]

Who: The Spade Pirates
Where: Isla de la Passion
When: September 30th-October 4th
What: Could also be called 'attack of the sex pollen', so draw your own conclusions.
Warnings: Heavy snogging to rampant smut, most like. Proceed with caution.
Style: Sexy
Status: Closed ironically





Have fun, guys!

The List is here.
Theme Song is here .

Comments

[hiken]

Ow, ow-- [Ace winced as Thatch rubbed his cheek red, giving a guilty scowl towards the work they were doing. It wasn't his fault that the lady he invited to the ship thought 'there were too many things on the desk' and that he should 'get rid of it right now'. He honestly thought everything would land on the floor right-side-up.]

Ahhh. I dunno. [Ace squints down at the sheet he had been writing on, dipping his quill once more--]

The few that walked out on us did it without saying a word to me. Vyse and Aya--I thought those guys had backbones.

[thatched]

Tch. [he blows on the paper to dry the ink and sets it to the side] Anyone who leaves the crew has the backbone of a jellyfish. And no they don't have any. Just petty little stingers as they fling their petty little arguments and go crying to their mothers.

[he gets a page of the ruined charter and peers at it, trying to salvage anything]

I'm not going to give out any more tattoos. I probably should change the ones we have but I suppose it'll be useful if they ever get into trouble and suddenly need protection of our name. Ungrateful bastards.

[hiken]

Mmm. [Ace barely had a response to that. He was of the opinion that people should have lived as freely as possible, but he still felt like those ones who left were bound by constraints made by other people. Folks who said they had to act a certain way and believe certain things.

Folks who liked laws, really.]

Unfortunately, our reputation isn't big enough that folks are gonna leave people alone if they've got the crew's mark on it.

[Ace wasn't going to say even for a second that he was remotely close to Whitebeard's infamy--not yet, anyway.]

They're worried about their own reputations. Otherwise, why would they worry about the things we do? It's always 'I'd look bad if I associated with them' or some crap like that.

So, you're right. They don't have any backbones, but I'm not interested in thinking about them, anymore. Once they leave, they acknowledge they're no longer our comrades. Among pirates, that makes them enemies, right?

[thatched]

[They aren't strong enough yet to be acknowledged, but they will be. As for the rest of it, he snorts.]

You tell our bird-brained commander that Roxas is our enemy and see how fast he kicks you in the head. But don't. [and he jabs the quill in Ace's direction] Because we don't need you two going at each other.

We don't have to think about them, aye, and I agree-- but what we do have to think about is what kind of people we let onto the crew. Are we okay with anyone leaving whenever they want? Showing no damn loyalty except to their own hides?

Do you want a crew or do you want a charity? You can't have both.

[hiken]

He and I already had this conversation. I like Roxas and I think I'd like him back on the crew, but I can't acknowledge him as an ally. I'm just goin' by the literal definition.

[Ace wasn't happy with folks running around not because it showed disloyalty, but because it made it tough for him to protect them. Still, Ace understood Thatch's anger. After their big separation, Ace wouldn't joke.] Thatch, I let folks dance around these seas because they're my crew and I believe in them. I'd rather risk being the fool who trusted someone too much rather than the fool who was too angry to trust anyone.

[If anything, he respected folks who could have their little vacations and return light-hearted. Thatch and Marco did that regularly, after all.]

But, it's like you said--I can't have both and I don't want to have both. I thought I could just protect folks, but some people are bad at accepting us. So-- [Ace rested his quill against the well.]

Should our crew stop at this?

[thatched]

[Trusting someone too much... Ace had that luxury... The thought rose unbidden in Thatch's mind, dark and acerbic. He brushed it away and tried to calm himself down. Sitting back and lighting a cigar as he stared up at the ceiling.

Should they stop at this...

It wasn't his position to say either way. Ace was the captain and they were supporting him in whatever it was he wanted. Finally he sighs, letting out the smoke]

It's up to you, Sparks. I'd suggest, though, telling them everything we're about before accepting them, or let Marco or I do it. Or maybe some trial period. If you want to protect people you need a strong base and people you can count on to be there.

[hiken]

That much is clear to me already, but-- I'd be a pathetic captain if all I thought about was my reputation and not being shamed. [He had to be good to his crew and believe in them. If he lunged headfirst into a relationship with mistrust in his heart, then he would be weak. Ace had always wanted to be open with folks. At that, he really felt his anger brimming--because his trust had been violated so many times, it made him wish he could just be a hardened captain and tear the world apart instead of just having fun with it.

Ace relaxed himself after a moment, suppressing all of it. Lately, he had been getting good at it--diverting his anger elsewhere. For the moment, Ace just leaned back in his chair and looked at the ceiling.]

There need to be more pirates in the world. Why is this recruiting pool so weak?

[thatched]

It's up to the crew to support the captain's reputation. Ideally. [he had little faith in this one. He leaned back, closing his eyes and tried to think of how to make it better. Fact was, he didn't know.]

Who can say why, Sparks. Guess that's just the way it is. We'll have to just make of it what we can.

[hiken]

That was how it worked for Pops, but I've gotta be a bit different. I'm not that much of a veteran, yet.

[Not enough that he could coast and his crew's influence would do the work. Ace had too much left to prove before he could let them handle everything.]

Still. Did Pops ever get involved in recruitment?

[Aside from beating up rookies, himself.]

[thatched]

He recruited you, didn't he? What do you think the whole letting you get exhausted and then kidnapping you thing was about. Wasn't just because you were pretty.

[he grinned and pinched Ace's cheek before leaning back]

Aye... different. And I don't... think you'll ever be Pops. I don't think anyone ever could. [much as it pained him to say it] He saw potential in people that they didn't even know they had.

You've got something, too, Ace... [Even Pops wouldn't have lived forever. Ace would have been their Captain. Their Pirate King. Would have ruled the world if not for that asshole Marshall.]

[hiken]

Yeah, but it'd be better if I were smarter like Pops or Marco. [His one weakness, he thought. Ace worried from time to time that his judgement was bad because he just didn't have the brains to read things properly.]

[thatched]

Really? Being smart doesn't always make a better captain. I know a certain captain whose rumored to be dumber than a sack of rubber potatoes and look how far he's come, eh?

[and thank everything that Ace wasn't anything like that]

You'll find your stride out here on the sea. Don't worry. Until then we just have to adjust expectations.

[his own included. Damn him for being an old man. Didn't he used to be young and vibrant and ready for change?]

[hiken]

[Ace propped one hand against his cheek and whistled at Thatch, giving him a dull look.]

Not as a captain. I gotta be smarter, no matter what. As a man.

[He reached over and thumped his hand on the table.]

It's more than that, you know?

[thatched]

[he didn't think Ace needed to change at all. But if that's what he wants, Thatch will help him out]

What do you want to do about it? And what kind of smarts do you mean?