Wicked's Writes

[writingmaz]

Hello, would you be able to post tips on how to start a pirate au? This is my first time making one.

【 Hi! My tip for any au (or any story, really) is simply research. It’s important to understand the dynamics and realism. So I put together some pirate knowledge for you! I’ll probably make more posts on this soon. I’m thinking pirate terms, ship terms, common weapons, things like that. If you’d be interested, let me know. Hope this helps, and good luck on your story (: 】

The Pirate Life

warnings: violence

✶

↳ Drinks

⇝ portable drinking water was hard to come by so many ships carried an abundance of wine, beer, and rum

⇝ a famous mariner drink is grog (sugar-water, lime juice, and rum) which was known to prevent scurvy

⇝ another is bombo/bumboo (sugar-water, nutmeg, and rum) or rumfustian (water, raw eggs, sherry, gin, beer)

↳ Eye Patches

⇝ not only worn because someone lost an eye

⇝ worn to keep one eye adjusted to darkness

⇝ when fighting/raiding below deck they could switch the eye patch instead of waiting for vision to adjust

↳ Flags

⇝ not all pirate flags were black with a skull and crossbones

⇝ most pirate flags were plainly black or red (completely red flags were known as the most aggressive)

⇝ if there were designs, many adorned hourglasses to represent the inevitability of death

↳ Freetime

⇝ when not working, pirates often played cards or dice (although, gambling was against the rules on some ships), sang, danced, partied, etc.

⇝ stopping at ports was a fairly regular occurrence so they could take a break from the harsh sea to sell goods, repair the ship, and of course find women

↳ Life of Crime

⇝ sure, some people became pirates for the life of crime, but the overwhelming majority were simply sailors who abandoned their jobs due to horrendous working conditions

⇝ pirates were treated far better by their captains than navy men

⇝ there were even periods of time where pirating wasn’t illegal — governments would enlist pirates during wartime to plunder enemy ships. these pirates were labeled ‘privateers’ and legally allowed to operate under ‘letters of marque’ which basically made them military contractors

↳ Longevity

⇝ pirate careers were a few years long tops (even the famous blackbeard only lasted two years)

⇝ many were killed or injured especially because medical facilities were practically nonexistent

↳ Positions

⇝ well-run ships had a clear division of labor

⇝ positions included captain, quartermaster, boatswain, carpenter, cooper, gunner, navigator, etc.

⇝ the captain had absolute command during battle and chose where/when to go somewhere

⇝ the quartermaster oversaw ship operations and divided the loot

⇝ pirates were not as chaotic as media portrays — they were actually quite democratic

⇝ but the illusion of being brutal would be beneficial for plundering as the possibility of surrender was increased

⇝ most pirates were illiterate, but there were quite a few who actually came from higher social classes

↳ Raids

⇝ looting gold/silver was much less common than looting supplies (food, drink, candles, navigational tools, repairing equipment, medicine, etc.)

⇝ most pirates didn’t want to kill people — they would steal the goods and leave the crew (or let the crew join them) especially because the bounties weren’t usually worth it

↳ Rules

⇝ most pirate ships took their rules very seriously, with punishments being severe

⇝ common rules were against lying, stealing amongst themselves, fighting on board, gambling, etc.

⇝ walking the plank was not a common punishment (it actually rarely ever happened) — punishments were usually flogging, dunking, tying to the mast, hanging, marooning, or keelhauling

✶

Famous Pirates to Check Out for Motivation: Stede Bonnet, Anne Bonny, Francis Drake, Calico Jack, William Kidd, Henry Morgan, Mary Read, Bartholomew Roberts, Edward Teach (Blackbeard)

[wickedswrites]

City of Shadows

Charlotte R. Bluewood “Charlie” | 17 | Female | Holding Out For a Hero - Bonnie Tyler

Orlando  Macon Tyrellnineteen || male || shadowhunter || capicorn House of Gold - Twenty One Pilots "The world moves for me, for I am it's King"

[wickedswrites]

Songs of the Sea

Odelia did not mean to end up a stowaway on a pirate ship, nevertheless Captain Alexander Morgan's ship. A runaway from various bounty hunters, she will do anything to keep her identity, and her worth, secret. Even working on a pirate ship to pay off an imaginary debt. But the seas are riddled with those ready to kill to get their hands on Odelia and return her to those who wish to end her family line. Now in arms with the crew of Poseidon's Fortune, along with the captain, she vows to return to what remains of her home and reclaim what is rightfully hers.

           Odelia attempted to remain inconspicuous. This was a challenging task as she was hiding a bloodstained dress behind a thick brown cloak. One pale hand clutched the heavy fabric in front of her as she tried to keep her breathing steady whilst also navigating through a thin crowd that was milling around the small harbor town. The sounds of rowdy sailors and sultry women inviting those who passed into their warm embrace echoed through the cobblestone street. Odelia kept to the side of the wide and mucky pathway, keeping a straight course to the harbor. A gasp left her lips as she started down the slope that lead to the docks, her stocking-covered feet slipping on the muddy stones. A whispered curse escaped her lips as she leaned down to massage her sore feet for a few seconds. Her clammy skin and darkly-bagged eyes was revealed as she brushed her hood back.

           A few passing men stopped to glance at her, taking keen note that she was, in fact, a female with no escort. Before their minds could stray to any impure thoughts, a group of much more desirable women lured them into the shadows, hands grasping at the men’s shirts as well as their money pouches. Odelia continued with no further incident, her feminine frame hidden once more behind the large and shapeless cloak. She hurried forward once more towards the glowing harbor, illuminated by countless lanterns. Her eyes darted from ship to ship as she approached them. The crews of these boats were mainly the in the nearby taverns, or so she assumed as this was her first time ever being in a town after dark, let alone in a harbor town.

           She slowed down as her feet began walking on wood instead of cobblestone. The dock beneath her feet rocked slightly, causing her to pause to regain her equilibrium. The man counting coins in a booth a few feet away paused to look at her before returning to his task. Odelia continued once more, albeit more carefully this time. She pushed back the hood of her cloak slightly and found herself gazing in awe at the giant ships before her. The girl had never before seen such majesty in a man-made creation. She would have stayed and gawked longer had voices not began to enter the vicinity, demanding information about an injured girl. Heart-pounding, and one hand pressing against her abdominal wound, she turned and fled onto the closest gangplank. Up onto one of the rocking ships she scurried, breathing labored as she stepped onto the even more unstable surface.

           For the second time tonight, Odelia was outrageously lucky. The two sailors on deck were thoroughly drunk and were currently engaged in a conversation that kept both of their currently short attention spans on one another. She stopped short and stared at them as they drunkenly stumbled up the stairs that lead to the wheel while having a riveting debate. As a chilling wind blew across the deck, Odelia shivered before hurrying to the open hatch that contained a staircase leading down into a poorly lit room of some sort. Cannons lined the area, the ends of them pressing against closed hatches. She scanned the room quickly, looking for any place where she could possibly hide for an extended amount of time, but found nothing. Panic began to enter her mind when she heard footsteps above her. Her eyes scanned the space, deep grey irises flashing as they found another hatch on the far side of the room. Almost wildly, she threw open the hatch and slipped down into the hole, tugging at her cloak as it got caught on one of the hinges. Once she was safely on the ladder that lead down into the darkness, she shut the hatch and took a moment to calm her racing heart. Her back rested on the ladder as her eyes slipped shut for the briefest of moments. The panic in her veins slowly drained away, leaving only determination in succeeding at the task at hand.

           “Storage.” Odelia whispered to herself, gazing at the bags, barrels, and various crates clumped around the room. The area was barely illuminated by portholes that almost touched the ceiling, providing a shadowy perspective of what she was dealing with. She could see herself hiding away down here, despite the slightly damp and cramped conditions. Her short nose wrinkled at her surroundings, not accustomed to the musty smell that assaulted her nose. Nevertheless, she would have access to food and a decent hiding place, given that she stayed alert during the duration of her stay here.

           Edging around a stack of apple crates, she frowned as her intricate silk gown twisted around her legs while the ribbons on the front the dress got caught on the wooden crate. Once into a tiny nook, barely allowing her to sit down, she gripped her dress at knee length and yanked as hard as she could, pulling apart the material with both of her pale hands. Slowly, the material gave away to her grip. As she didn’t bother with complicated hoop skirts that her friends did, all she had to do was tear the extra skirts underneath, leaving her chemise peeking out from under the torn, pastel silks. Stuffing the extra material in a crack between a group of barrels which her back rested upon, she found the adrenaline from the day leaving her body. Stockings ripped and filthy, she glared down at them in the muted darkness as though it was their fault that she lost her shoes somewhere in the forest before she made it to the harbor town.

           Odelia finally felt her weariness catch up to her. With a deep sigh, she rested her head back against the wooden barrels behind her. It was difficult, keeping awake after running for so long. It took her at least five hours to reach the harbor town from her home, by horseback for the first portion of the journey before she discarded her mount for a less trackable way of running.

           Running.

           Because all she was, was a target now.

           No longer was she Odelia Arae, an eligible young woman of intrigue and intelligence.

           All she was now was the heir to a fallen family, their blood smeared across the floors in front of her eyes. It was supposed to be a simple gala, something that her mother had thrown time and time again. But men dressed in crimson as vibrant as the blood they spilled suddenly broken through the doors, cutting down those in their way as their eyes remained fixated on one similar goal.

           Her family.

           Her two brothers snapped into action, drawing their weapons, a short sword and a rapier respectively, and began to push through the crowd in an attempt to reach Odelia and their mother. But Demetrius and Caesar were devoured by the crowd before they could reach them. From then on, it was a blur of movement, screaming, and hands shoving her in every direction, away from her mother and into a hallway that she didn’t even know existed. Alone, scared, and unsure of where the secret hallway went, Odelia found herself running and running until she reached the stables. It was only a matter of time before she found a dirt road to follow, keeping to the shadows until she arrived at the harbor town.

           The weight of tonight’s events finally began to sit on her shoulders. She suddenly wanted to sob, her lungs hurting from the strain it took not to begin crying. It had to be almost morning, meaning that the crew would be back in a few hours. The promise of a bit of sleep was too difficult to ignore, her head beginning to loll to the side while her eyelashes slowly fluttered shut. It didn’t take much convincing to get her to fall into sleep’s embrace before she shed a single tear for her fallen family.