#pirate writing prompts

[unboundprompts]

Pirate Terms and Phrases

-> Pirate Lingo

-> A Pirate's Glossary

Batten Down The Hatches - tie everything down and put stuff away for a coming storm.

Brig - a prison on a ship.

Bring a Spring Upon 'er - turn the ship in a different direction

Broadside - the most vulnerable angle of a ship that runs the length of the boat.

Cutlass - a thick, heavy and rather short sword blade.

Dance with Jack Ketch - to hang; death at the hands of the law (Jack Ketch was a famed English executioner).

Davy Jones's Locker - a mythical place at the bottom of the ocean where drowned sailors are said to go.

Dead Men Tell No Tales - the reason given for leaving no survivors.

Flogging - severe beating of a person.

Gangplank - removable ramp between the pier and ship.

Give No Quarter - show no mercy.

Jack - flag flown at the front of the ship to show nationality.

Jolly Roger - black pirate flag with a white skull and crossbones.

Keelhaul - a punishment where someone is dragged under the ship. They are cut by the planks and barnacles on the bottom of the ship.

Landlubber - an inexperienced or clumsy person who doesn't have any sailing skills.

Letters of Marque - government-issued letters allowing privateers the right to piracy of another ship during wartime.

Man-O-War - a pirate ship that is decked out and prepared for battle.

Maroon - to leave someone stranded on a. deserted island with no supplies, typically a punishment for any crew members who disrespected the captain.

Mutiny - a situation in which the crew chooses a new captain, sometimes by forcibly removing the old one.

No Prey, No Pay - a common pirate law that meant crew members were not paid, but rather received a share of whatever loot was taken.

Old Salt - experienced pirate or sailor.

Pillage - to steal/rob a place using violence.

Powder Monkeys - men that performed the most dangerous work on the ship. They were treated harshly, rarely paid, and were expendable.

Privateer - government-appointed pirates.

Run A Shot Across the Bow - fire a warning shot at another boat's Captain.

Scurvy - a disease caused by Vitamin C Deficiency.

Sea Legs - when a sailor adjusts his balance from riding on a boat for a long time.

Strike Colors - lower a ship's flag to indicate surrender.

Weigh Anchor and Hoist the Mizzen - an order to the crew to pull up the anchor and get the ship sailing.

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[buyandsellcar]

[mischievous-thunder]

Wade's sweet and spicy Pirate Logie Bear

[whump-in-the-closet]

Pirate Whump

the brig!! thrown in there and forgotten while saltwater seeps through and drenches whumpee constantly leaving them coughing and miserable

lack of sleep, forced to be on duty for hours at a time

smacking whumpee to the deck with a blow that leaves their eyes watering.

scrubbing the deck until their hands are scraped and bleeding. their arms and back ache so badly that when they stand up, they immediately double over.

flogging for minor mistakes. the humiliation of having their shirt ripped away and the stabbing, sharp pain of the cat o'nine tails on their skin is enough to break down the most stoic of the crew

collapsing on deck. in general. fainting. nausea. suddenly light headed and woozy from blood loss

falling to the deck on hands and knees and scraping them on the rough, worm-eaten wood

hostage situations on “friendly” terms. whumpee can wander around on deck and maybe they even joke around with some of the pirates. but the minute they try to escape, there’s a sweeping blade at their throat and someone roughly manhandling them to the captains quarters to be “dealt with”

being made an example of for misconduct is often extreme and cruel. there are no laws on the high seas

the damage left by the opposing side’s cannon fire? timber embedded in limbs, gaping wounds, and formerly brave sailors curling up in fetal positions to try and protect themselves

a captain whumper who calls their prisoner whumpee “darling” in the most derogatory way possible.

emergency first aid being applied hurriedly and with unskilled hands.bandages made from old shirts, amputations done unabashedly and crew mates being carried back fireman style to their ship.

“bite down on this” and “don’t look” as they cut away a damaged limb, multiple crew members holding whumpee down

mer whumpees— caught and put on a leash so they’re dragged along the side of the boat. sometimes they pull whumpee up and “have a bit of fun” as whumpee thrashes and gasps for air.

captain whumpee found stranded on an island by an opposing captain. they’re “taken care of” by being humiliated and beaten, laughed at, and forced to be the cabin boy

[mielkae]

Mcyt as Writing Prompts pt. 8/?

[deepwaterwritingprompts]

Deep Water Prompt #3380

Our wars have sunk so many gold laden ships in the sea, that gold has become prized currency for the creatures down there. An entirely new breed of pirate arises for us to contend with.

[marlynnofmany]

Sometimes you don't have time to do anything with a story idea, but it's fun to think about anyway

[serene-cinders]

A mermaid whumpee, strung up in a pirate ship. Kept below the deck, so that not even cracks of sunlight can seep in. Cramped, stinking and hot, this is nothing like the crisp winds and rolling tides. Lagoons of azure and open oceans of royal blue. The salty depths of the sea against their scales was a simple pleasure they took for granted for far too long.

Hemp rope tears the tender crooks of their elbows, the webbing connecting flexible limbs to a lithe body dried to tatters. They’re awkwardly pinned up against unfinished wood. Shoulders are taut and numb.

Every now and then, a gaunt cabin boy will slink in, bucket in hand, and throw a pail of water over the dried coil of scales. It wasn’t much relief. And it was never quite enough. It dried too fast, sucked in by flaking scales.

Even in the low light of the open door, they could see the sunken, almost apologetic eyes of the boy, before he slams the door behind him.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Hey there, friend!! I was wondering if you could give me any advice on writing pirates and kingpin type characters? Im trying to write a love story about this lesbian pirate falling in love with a kingpins daughter, but her mission is to carry out her late captains legacy - which is to make sure both him and his daughter are dead (i hope that makes sense 😭)

Writing Notes: Pirates

The word "pirate" typically conjures up images of a/an:

Slightly comical seaborne ruffian

Parrot perched on the shoulder

Peg leg

Bandana

Eye patch

Gold teeth

Skull and crossbones flag

This comes from a century or more of cartoonish depictions of pirates in Peter Pan, Treasure Island and The Pirates of the Caribbean.

Pirate - a robber who travels by water. Though most pirates targeted ships, some also launched attacks on coastal towns.

We often think of pirates as swashbuckling and daring or evil and brutish, but in actual fact most of them were ordinary people who had been forced to turn to criminal activity to make ends meet.

Nowadays these sanitized pirates are used to sell everything from rum to home insurance. The pirate has become an instantly recognizable symbol whose meaning is far removed from its dark and sinister origins.

The term ‘pirate’ has been changed over the years.

A ‘privateer’ was a government-sanctioned pirate who did not attack his own people.

The French called these people ‘corsairs’, although even this term became associated with Mediterranean ‘pirates’ instead of ‘privateers’.

A ‘buccaneer’ was a 17th-century raider who preyed on the Spanish in the Caribbean, while a

‘filibuster’ (or ‘freebooter’) was simply a French word for a ‘buccaneer’.

As for ‘swashbuckler’, the term meant a 16th-century brigand, or a 17th-century swordsman, but in the 20th century it was adopted by the writers of pirate fiction, and then by Hollywood. In the piratical heyday most of these terms were never used the way they are today.

Finally, there were ‘pirates’. The dictionary specifies that a ‘pirate’ is someone who robs from others at sea, and who acts beyond the law. Usually, they attacked whatever ships they came across, regardless of nationality.

Sometimes, though, these ‘pirates’ themselves crossed the line from one category to another.

HISTORY OF PIRACY

Spans the time of the Egyptian pharaohs to the present day. The real "heyday" of piracy falls neatly into two halves:

The colourful era of the 17th-century buccaneers who preyed on the Spanish Main – men like Henry Morgan or the bloodthirsty François L’Olonnais.

The ‘Golden Age of Piracy’. The phrase was first coined by the creators of pirate fiction rather than by people who experienced piracy for themselves. There was nothing golden or romantic about the real thing. Still, the term serves as a useful historical shorthand for a time when some of the best-known pirates in history were sailing the world’s oceans in search of prey. This was the brief but heady period in the early 18th century when the likes of Blackbeard, Black Bart and Charles Vane roamed the seas.

This early 18th-century French slave ship is typical of the slavers that were often captured by pirates, and sometimes converted into pirate vessels themselves. They had a reputation for being fast, an important feature for ships engaged in transporting a human cargo across the Atlantic.

Pirate ships usually carried far more crew than ordinary ships of a similar size.

This meant they could easily outnumber their victims.

Pirates altered their ships so that they could carry far more cannon than merchant ships of the same size.

Stories about pirate brutality meant that many of the most famous pirates had a terrifying reputation, and they advertised this by flying various gruesome flags including the 'Jolly Roger' with its picture of skull and crossbones.

All these things together meant that victims often surrendered very quickly. Sometimes there was no fighting at all.

It's likely that most victims of pirates were just thrown overboard rather than being made to ‘walk the plank’.

FEMALE PIRATES

The capture of the two female pirates, Anne Bonny and Mary Read, in 1720 provoked the outrage of a society where women were simply not supposed to become seamen, or pirates, or fight. As a result, the pair became some of the best-known pirates of the ‘Golden Age’.

In this 19th-century illustration, Mary Read, having vanquished a fellow pirate in a duel, exposes her breast to reveal to her dying adversary that he was shot by a woman. After their capture it was said that she and Anne Bonny put up more of a fight than all the rest of Rackam’s pirate crew.

While this depiction of Anne Bonny is probably fairly accurate – she wears the standard clothing of a sailor from this period – the artist felt obliged to emphasise her gender by giving her a low-cut shirt.

Like the depiction of Anne Bonny by the same artist, Mary Read is shown wearing the outfit of a European sailor from the period. A contemporary said of the two women that they ‘wore men’s jackets and long trousers, and handkerchiefs tied about their heads’.

A lot of what is known about pirates is not true, and a lot of what is true is not known.

Pirates could also be civil, neighborly, and law-abiding.

One reason piracy was often an act or a phase, and not a way of life, was simply because humans have not evolved to live on the sea. The sea is a hostile place, offering few of the pleasures of terrestrial society.

The expansion of commercial trade, particularly the slave trade, cemented a colonial social order increasingly threatened by instability at sea and less tolerant of social mobility on land. This change in attitudes led to the period we call the “War on Pirates”—roughly 1716 to 1726—and the advent of sea marauders who, with little hope of ever resettling on land, attacked their own nation.

Some Pirate-Related Tropes - you could use to help guide you write your own character.

Writing Notes: Kingpin

A character trope also referred to as "Big Bad", specifically a crime boss (usually a drug lord).

A character with evil plans (some popular examples of "evil plans").

"The Don"

A similar character trope.

The patriarch of a crime family — most often the mafia.

He is shrewd, ruthless, and very dangerous to cross.

Often he will hold to an arcane code of honor, which is perhaps incomprehensible to non-mobsters.

He will be very protective of his family and he will ensure that his dear little girl wants for nothing, all while maintaining the illusion of morality.

Read or watch media that depict this trope to help guide you write your own character, such as:

Vito and Michael Corleone in The Godfather.

Batman's The Penguin fills this role in Gotham City, having retired from committing crimes personally — for the most part.

Mr. Big from Zootopia is Tundratown's most notorious crime boss (right down to being a parody of Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone), despite being a diminutive arctic shrew. Judy is lucky enough to get in his good graces by saving his daughter's life.

Sources: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ⚜ More: Writing Notes & References

Already sounds like such an interesting story, thanks for sharing it with me! Choose which of these notes to help you build your characters :)

[imfinereallyy]

Steve Harrington was not a treasure.

His family had treasure for sure: more gold than they could count, family jewels passed down from generation to generation, and an estate with more rooms than servants. But Steve himself was nothing worthwhile.

Women were worth something; well… daughters were. In Steve’s mind, it all seemed a bit twisted. The women he knew were only as good as their selling price, not seen for their minds or strength. It confounded him most days, considering they could rule better than he ever could. They probably should rule instead. Still, in most family’s eyes, although their worth was demeaning, but it was still worth.

Steve Harrington didn’t hold any value. Most saw him at best as the damaged heir, broken and bruised beyond repair. Others saw him at worst as his father saw him, as a disappointment who would only make good helping running the ship under the man Richard wished was his son.

Steve was almost certain he could be lost at sea, and no one would ever bat an eye.

So Steve is baffled, really, when one of the few times his ships is back in port and he stays a rare night in his family’s estate.

Perplexed when the rooms are broken into and raided in the time before dawn by the ruthless crew of Hellfire, that they come looking for more than gold. He is baffled, and downright alarmed when, instead of killing Steve as they had for many of the guards, they rip him away and steal him, much like the gold that lined the halls.

And when he meets the dreaded Captain Munson for the first time, where he brushes a thumb across the scar on Steve’s lip…Steve can’t help but be stunned into silence when Munson mutters under his breath, “Looks like we found our hidden treasure.”

[andaniellight]

if i could write modern-setting-with-no-power AU where Zoro and Perona are both famous, but the public in general don't know they're siblings, best believe i'd make one where Zoro shows up in Perona's business account like this not because he wants to be perceived as a loving brother but because if he had to fight his way up tooth and nail (literally physically) to have no-lose-streaks reputation as "MMA Fighter" then might as well get comfortable with scaring the shit out of people with threats context-not-provided whatsoever*

(* Perona's been followed by creepy stalkers so he becomes her personal bodyguard for a whole week while they wait for their rich-as-fuck dad, Mihawk, to do something about it)

Zoro's full pic below ↓

(reference pose from that picture of Mackenyu Arata holding up card of Perona btw)

[unboundprompts]

Pirate Prompts Inspired by Lyrics pt. 2

-> writing prompts from the lyrics of songs that have pirate vibes. feel free to edit as you see fit.

link to part 1 found Here.

"Your destiny is here with me." - Once You Were My Lover by Méav

"The soul full of anger is immortal." - Ghost From The Barrow by Paddy And The Rats

"I've seen that look in your eyes. It makes me go blind. Cuts me deep, the secrets and lies storm in the quiet." - Madness by Ruelle

"Fear me or love me, it's all the same." - Empire by Beth Crowley

"It's time to leave, the clouds are hanging low." - Love and War by Fleurie

"I've learned how to forgive." - I Hope You Die in a Fire by Grand Commander

"When you go, I fear you will never return again." - My Jolly Sailor Bold by Ashley Serena

"Batten down the hatches, we're going to war." - Pirates of Three Rivers by Bastard Bearded Irishmen

"Nothing else matters. Only Us." - Only Us by Miracle Of Sound

"A cold corpse lies in the harbour." - Ghost From The Barrow by Paddy And The Rats

"I'll do what I have to do. You can't understand, it's all part of the plan." - Love and War by Fleurie

"Madness and greatness can both share a face." - Empire by Beth Crowley

"Give 'em what they're here for." - Pirates of Three Rivers by Bastard Bearded Irishmen

"The eyes stolen jewelry in the night, and a heart's as dark as a coal mine." - Devil Town by The Builders and The Butchers

"I took this life and I lived it in vain." - Trying to Kill the Moon by Motherfolk

"I'll swim and sail on savage seas with never a fear of drowning." - For the Dancing and the Dreaming by Erutan

"Let vengeance roar for blood and war behind a scornful smile." - Only Us by Miracle Of Sound

"You claim you trust me. You think I don't see the doubt behind your eyes?" - Empire by Beth Crowley

"I would keep you from all harm if you would stay beside me." - For the Dancing and the Dreaming by Erutan

"My spite became the steps upon the stairway of descent." - Only Us by Miracle Of Sound

"Nobody will ever convince me to stop." - Empire by Beth Crowley

[adashoflavendermelancholy]

Bruises and bad habits

Whitebeard loved all his children. He liked hearing about them. Watching them make progress in the things they loved to do. Weather that was getting stronger or completing a project they wanted to do. It was all he could do not to just cheer them on every day.

Ace was his newest son and the most troublesome. His favorite kind of child. The ones that could hardly be handled they were too wild. They always made life interesting and fun. Ace also reminded the older man of a few past friends that he used to have. Ones that never listened and always did what they wanted. Ace listened a littler better than the boy’s biological father but that meant very little to Whitebeard. After all Ace is his son now and nothing would change that.

Ace lived up to that chaos too. Especially when sparing with the others. Pops knew that it would make others stronger too. Ace always went all out. Only holding back enough not to kill anyone. No matter how the fight progressed. It was a little worrying at first.

A sibling was charging forward, when Ace used his flames. Making the other jump back, his sleeve on fire. Everyone was moving before they could stop. Trying to put out the fire. The sibling yelling out. Until they noticed that his fire wouldn’t burn them. Ace stared at everyone with large eyes. Just watching them. “It doesn’t hurt?” The sibling with fire on their sleeve said. They reached out to touch it.

“Don’t do that.” Ace said, “It’s not burning you but the heat might still hurt.”

Marco stared jaw a gape, as Thatch threw an arm around him. “Wow, already knows you’re trick. Ace is gonna beat you with fire manipulation.”

“How long did you say you’ve had you’re devil fruit?” Marco asked, thinking of how long it too him to learn this little trick. His fire wasn’t even used for burning. But he had to be careful when he was younger. Just because the default setting didn’t burn didn’t mean it wasn’t capable of doing so. Marco had burned a few things from losing control his his emotions.

Ace turned around to smile at them. “Just over a year.” That wasn’t enough time to learn this. Just what was Ace doing to gain such control over his powers?

Ace of course, would never tell them how he learn it. Just saying that he ‘just did.’ And leaving it at that. How he managed to train his fruit so quickly in the time he said he had it, they wouldn’t know. Not that Marco wasn’t dying to know how. He would just have to bother Ace about it later.

Later Ace would explain again that he didn’t do anything all that strange. He just had to get off the island, but maintain the heat and power of his fire. That was all the training he did. When Marco tried to use the striker after that be got it. Just that kind of control with a very flammable person behind you was enough to learn control.

If the fire wasn’t a problem it was the way that Ace seemed to always be able to find the weak point in others was. Ace moved about like he owned the place. His steps bouncing off the mast or off the railing. Almost as if he grew up on a ship. Every move was calculated. Chosen to get Ace as closer to his target as possible. Without over shooting what he wanted.

Now that pops could see the boy from an outside perspective, it was easy to see why he won against Jimbe. Why the world government wanted him to be a war lord next, rather than a pirate. Fighting him would be a pain to do all the time. The boy was always improving. When he gets knocked away he’s already got a new idea at how to attack. Not afraid to go again until he doesn’t get hit.

There was a problem with this. It was that the boy would get hurt. There wasn’t a time that Ace didn’t have some kind of bruise on him form one or more of their crew. It was better than when he was trying to kill, their captain but still. If that was all they could learn to deal with it. Ace would get better soon and he wouldn’t get hurt as much.

But when he got hurt the boy would up and disappear on them. Making Marco, the nurses, and Deuce run around looking for him. He was never in the same place either. Sometimes he would be hiding in a storage room. Other times he was hiding on or in the sails. It was all just a guessing game. It didn’t help that Ace being hurt was the only time the boy could hide better than any haki user. Well except for one. One that wasn’t quite willing to help them. After all his son wanted to hide away from all the poking that he himself hated. What kind of father would force him to deal with that, unless if was life and death. Ace was fine. The boy always bounced back. So Pops didn’t mind him hiding in his shadow, or under his coat. As long as he could keep track of the boy himself, it was fine.

It helped that Ace’s viver card wasn’t burning away to nothing. Meaning there was no reason to fear that he was going to die.

“ACE! YOU BRAT!” Marco yelled, frustrated that the boy had once again gotten away. If this kept up they weren’t going to let him spar with anyone but Marco. It was getting so annoying trying to hunt the boy down.

[xxchaosjojoxx]

Prompts ideas

If you wanna use them please tag me, i would love to read your writings <3

I wrote which one piece character i could imagine seeing in it. But of course everyone will work i assume :3

1. They were docking on an island and he went into the library looking around. The cute librarian comes around and asks if she can help him, he is flustered all of a sudden by her beautiful appearance and grabs a random book. “No thanks, I found what I was looking for.” She was blushing heavenly and couldn’t contain a giggle that she tried to hide. At this moment he looks at the book cover and realizes it’s a book from the erotic section. (Penguin/Shachi/Law, maybe Sanji?)

2. Got hit by the truth devil fruit and is being horrible honest for the next 48 hours. Tries to cover his mouth so the words can’t come out. Running away from their crush after telling them how beautiful and cute they are. Pure Chaos (Reader, Law, Penguin, Shachi, Sanji, Zoro, Kid, Killer honestly it works for everyone)

3. Soulmate like AU. When they dream they see the memories of the other person. One day the pirate crew docked on the island and remembered it from reader dreams running towards your house. “I finally found you.” (Like above it works for everyone I assume)

4. He found love letters everytime they docked on an island and has no idea who or how they sneak it into his clothes or give it to the crewmates for him to find. Reader think it’s too obvious if they are doing this while being on the sea. (I can totally see the heart pirates or kid pirates in it)

5. Reader got hit and a little Amnesia. He is unsure if Reader remembers their  relationship cuz reader is shy, nervous and interested in someone else.  (Penguin /Shachi or Sanji/Zoro or Kid/Killer dynamic)

6. You’ve been dating for a long time and he still hasn’t proposed. One evening the reader gets impatient and is drinking with their friend (Robin, nami, Ikkaku whatever). After being wasted and completely drunk, the reader proposes to him and even though he loves the reader he refuses. He believes that this is a “man’s job”. This could lead to a lot of angst/chaos. (Everyone as well)

[transfem-octopus]

These women are actually perfect for Historical Fiction because while we know of then; we know basically nothing about them.

We know Anne Bonny was a member of Rackam’s Crew; she was brutal and foul mouthed; she became pregnant; and sometime after her imprisonment disappeared without a trace.

Anything else is some combination of speculation and fiction.

Same with Mary Reid. She may have been the Daughter of Anne Cantrel and Jim Reed (An associated of the Pirate Adam Baldridge) born and raised in Bristol. But there’s no real way to connect that Mary Reid to the Mary Reid tried for piracy.

We know they dressed in men’s clothing; but it does not appear they did so to conceal their gender identities as Mary Reid and Anne Boney were both known as women when their pirate careers began.

We also know they had large beasts because one of their victims mentioned that’s how she knew they were women in men’s clothes when they attacked her canoe.

It really does make them perfect for Historical fiction; sure we know next to nothing about them but that means you can do pretty much anything with them.

Two notorious cross-dressing women became female pirates: Mary Reid and Anne Bonny, whose story was published as A General History of the Pirates in 1724.

"Normal Women: 900 Years of Making History" - Philippa Gregory

[deepwaterwritingprompts]

Text: There are not so many suns left in this galaxy. Pirate ships circle those remaining, each craft fitted with between six and ten glittering solar panel sails.