Triple drabble: "Indigo"

[veronica_rich]

Title: Indigo
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Property of Buena Vista and Bruckheimer, and of history.
Summary: Triple drabble, an idea I've had for a few weeks, further inspired by pseudoblu's drawing Downright Macabre!. To say more would be even more spoilers for AWE. No pairings.

EDIT: There's a color version of this same drawing linked to above, here.


He sluiced invisibly through the small flotilla of manned lifeboats, the Dutchman his unerring compass to life’s end. Frozen corpses gave way to the ship’s gently-butting prow. Will squeezed the helm, and the ship slowed, stopped. He heard the footfalls of his crew.

“Careful with those nets,” he ordered, stepping off to look over into inky water. Pale forms by the hundreds stared at him, at the stars, confused and bereft – and, he knew from experience, not a little angry.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught an outline. Despite her gargantuan size, the broken ship’s soul was still new and hazy, shimmering in ghostlight. Will felt Dutchman tilt his bow toward her. She hesitated, then drifted closer, timid as a tugboat. He sensed as much confusion in her as in the frightened souls he helped pull aboard.

He comforted each in their language, amazed even after two centuries by this effortless ability he’d been granted. One paused, gripping his forearm, eyes guilty. “They’re all dead?” Will nodded. “I … failed, then.” He lowered his gaze. “I was First Mate.”

“It was their time.” It was not absolution; Calypso simply didn’t play dice with the sea. “What is your name, sailor?”

“William Murdoch.” He looked up. “And you’re …”

“An overextended captain.” Will offered a small smile and nodded toward the ethereal vessel hovering over his ship, indistinct and raw, dwarfing the Dutchman. “Would you mind taking her helm for the duration? She’d appreciate a familiar hand, I’m sure.”

Murdoch started to agree, then stopped himself. “I should probably wait for her captain-”

Will didn’t waver. “Son, I’m Titanic’s captain now. You have new orders.”

He paused a beat, then nodded in obedience. “What is our duration, sir?”

“Why, off the charts, Mr. Murdoch. Just as you suspect.”

Comments

[smtfhw.livejournal.com]

Lovely piece of work! Thanks!

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you enjoyed reading it!

[ainsoph15.livejournal.com]

There are so many wonderful touches to this, and I'm so pleased you tackled this subject. I was really interested to see how you'd write about the Titanic when you mentioned it a while ago.
I like the idea that ships have souls, and how the Dutchman gives as much guidance to his/her (!) own kind as Will does to the men and woman lost at sea. I love seeing Will's quiet confidence in his role, and how he calls Murdoch, 'son'. From so many other people, it would seem condescending. When Will says it, it's comforting and reassuring. But hey, it's Will. He's pretty decent like that! *g*

As always, I really like your choice of vocab and the way you phrase things - everything is very vivid. I particularly love the phrase 'shimmering in ghostlight'. *shivers* Gorgeous.

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

I think Will's been around for so long that no matter how young he looks, he knows how old he really is, and there are days he feels it - so yes, some guy in his thirties or so would be a kid to him.

And I made up that word, ghostlight, which is actually quite fun to do once I get rolling on something. *G* Thanks!

[yoiebear.livejournal.com]

Oh!! I love this!! A mix of pirate fantasy with true history. Brilliant.

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

The idea's been floating around for some time, but I wasn't quite sure what to do with it. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[erinya.livejournal.com]

I really like the concept of the ships having souls here, and the Dutchman doing her part. And Will's easy command of the situation, his communion with the human souls, with the Dutchman, and with the Titanic's ghost. Will isn't the type to do any job poorly, but he really is so well-fitted to this role.

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

I hate that Will gets the fuzzy end of the lollipop, but I think his philosophy is, if you have to do something, don't do it halfway - be the best you can be. An Army of One, and all that jazz. *G*

[elibad.livejournal.com]

Gah! You guys are killing me with this stuff, seriously.

I am pretty much sitting here with the 'der, look, purty picture' and the 'der, bwah, purty words'.

Y'all are bringing out my 'eloquent'.

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

It IS nice to see all the Will fic coming out, isn't it? I have much the same reaction when I read the really good stuff from other writers I know these days, too.

[pseudoblu.livejournal.com]

Ah man, I was so looking forward to you writing this when you first posted about the idea and this was just lovely. I loved the mood and atmosphere, Will's confidence in his job, everything. I never really considered ships having ghosts, but it makes perfect sense in that universe. Love. I'm honored that my picture inspired even a tiny bit of this. :)

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

The idea was rattling around, but it took ART to loosen it from the brain. Thanks!

[the-dala.livejournal.com]

Oh, cool!

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

A tiny bit of inspiration hit!

[venusinchains.livejournal.com]

Oooo! I love that Will finds himself able to speak any language (putting that tongue to good, practical use :-p).

And, as often as I've thought of the Pearl and the Dutchman as extensions of Jack and Will, I've never attributed souls to the ships themselves (or perhaps that's why) - so that was a nice touch.

But, being not much of a Titanic freak myself, you know I was thinking The A-Team when I read the name Murdoch. :-p

A beautiful piece about our immortal captain. Thank you!

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

Hey, Face/Murdock was my very first slash 'ship. Best. Pairing. EVER. (And probably the same elements go into my Jack/Will love.)

Thanks!

[venusinchains.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen that show in ages (though I was fairly sure you were a big fan - you must have mentioned it before), but if I remember correctly, Face/Murdock would have to be borderline crack!fic. :-p Mostly because Murdock was such a (lovable) nut. (Was it really 20 years ago?!)

Is any of your Face/Murdock floating around on the net? (I'm pretty sure it was all Jack/Will at your website.) Or was that all written (and/or destroyed) pre-internet? (Like my Original Series Battlestar Galactica Mary Sue fic. :-p)

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

Oh no - I never actually wrote F/M. I was just dipping my toe into slash, period, and had no confidence I could do a m/m pairing justice, since all I'd ever written was het. Took me 3-4 years to get comfortable enough to make an attempt at it, after I saw CotBP and realized this was my new slash pairing to get into. *G*

And yes, the A-Team debuted in January 1983, on Super Bowl Sunday. It ended with 4 1/2 seasons, in late 1987 - just as another favorite show of mine, Star Trek: Next Gen was making its debut. We are OLD my friend.

[mary684.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the shameless pimp on sharklady35's Titanic fic. This is a great little drabble! I'm feeling all better now, I was a bit sad that Jack had witnessed the enitre event.

What a wonderful story you've written -- Will offering solace to the guilty, and the ship itself having a soul. I like your Will, the little self-deprecating 'an overextended captain' sounds just like him. Thanks for the pimp. *g*

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

Wow, somebody followed the link and read it! :-)

I figure if Will's still captain 200 years later, he'll be very comfortable in his role and an expert at handling bad situations like this with just the right amount of humor and necessary absolution.

(And, you should look at the art that inspired it, too, if you get a chance ...)