Picture Drabble for Ell

[dwgm]

Quite a while back I did that Picture Drabble Meme and shrieking_ell requested a drabble featuring Jack to go with this picture...



...and here it is, finally, with apologies to Jack London:

~ The One That Got Away ~

The peg-legged tavern keeper came to clear the table, and Jack, though somewhat distracted by the assets of the wench seated upon his knee, addressed him as good manners dictated.

“Thanks, Sharkbait. Much obliged.”

“’ow’d you get the name, Sharkbait?” the wench made bold to ask. “Was it a shark as got your leg, then?”

“Aye,” said Sharkbait, cheerfully. “Years ago it were, when I sailed with the Chimera, fellas accused me o’ stealin’ – though it were a damned lie, weren’t it? -- pardon me French. Sentenced to be hauled: drug behind the ship a ways. Came close to drownin’, an’ then a shark was a-comin’ so they pulled me in quick-like, but not quick enough. Bugger snapped me leg right off at the knee.” Sharkbait snapped his own teeth together and made a fierce swallowing sound, then grinned at the wench, who was now wide-eyed and decidedly green about the gills.

“You’re alive to tell of it, though,” Jack observed.

“That I am, Captain. An’ happy to be here, too. Another mug fer you an’ the lady?”

“What do you think, darlin’?” asked Jack, giving the trim waist a squeeze. “You’re lookin’ a mite peeked.”

“I… I think I could use a drink.”

“That’s the spirit! Another round for me an’ the lady.”

“Comin’ right up,” said Sharkbait, and added as he stumped away, “Funny how that story brings out the thirst in folks.”


~.~

Comments

[lj_stowaway]

*sporfle*

Good one!

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Hee! Glad you liked it!

[blondeheroine.livejournal.com]

I love it! The voices are fantastic.

And I know it's late. I just took me four tries to spell fantastic correctly.

[tiggothy.livejournal.com]

Heee :-) Brilliant! (apologies, coherant sentences seem to've failed me, so I can't really expand on that)

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Apologies are certainly not necessary. I'm just glad you enjoyed reading it!

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Oh, dear. Hope you got some sleep and are now well rested. Thanks for reading and commenting -- I'm so happy you enjoyed it.

[felaine.livejournal.com]

Sharkbait snapped his own teeth together and made a fierce swallowing sound, then grinned at the wench, who was now wide-eyed and decidedly green about the gills.

As Mr Gibbs would say, that'll about do it.

Appropriate combination of theme and photo, and entertaining as always.

Felaine

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

(Oooooh!!! Icon!!!)

Appropriate combination of theme and photo

I always like like killing two birds with one stone. ;)

Glad you enjoyed it -- thanks so much for reading and commenting!

[whitemunin.livejournal.com]

haha. Loved it.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Glad you enjoyed!

[jenthegypsy.livejournal.com]

"Thanks, Sharkbait."

Snorked iced tea through the nose! Brilliant!

[hereswith.livejournal.com]

Sharkbait! Heh! This is great, my dear :-)

[hendercats.livejournal.com]

Sharkbait - oh what a wonderful name, I just love it! And the character is marvelous, as yours always are: Sharkbait snapped his own teeth together and made a fierce swallowing sound, then grinned at the wench Whee hee!!

Contrary to recent lengthy absence, I have not fallen off the edge of the earth (nor been eaten by sharks). New job is busy! Perhaps this is because predecessor was an extremely disorganized soul. Am curious - you are in a school office, the principal's secretary, yes? That's what I'm doing, but at an elementary school. The way our county is set up, that means I'm the finance person - and the one responsible for ordering all the textbooks, supplies, furniture, and everything else you could think of. So school starts in two weeks and I'm still playing catch up (sigh).

Actually have a tiny fic to post (hopefully tomorrow a.m.), but also had an idea that I'm uncertain whether it's worth pursuing - care to take a gander?

Need to start catching up on all that good fic I've missed!

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Wheeeee! We are fellow Office Managers!!! That is so cool! I've worked with budgets for years, but we finally did a little restructuring and now have another secretary doing that, praise God. I was never trained in accounting, and was basically faking it for about seven years. I much prefer all the graphic design projects I do for the school.

I was really thinking about you the last few days, wondering if RL would slow down enough for you to participate again. I would LOVE to read your story -- send it along! I'll look at it tonight!

Glad you enjoyed Sharkbait and his horrid little story. *G*

[honorat.livejournal.com]

What a great character, and so appropriately named. I like how he doesn't play for sympathy but seems to enjoy horrifying his customers. Such fun to see Jack with another of his wenches. And Sharkbait knows just how to play his audience to increase his profits. Jack ought to appreciate that trick. Thanks for a great read.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Glad you liked ol' Sharkbait. Maybe I'll have to use him again, sometime...

xo

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

I've run into people like Sharkbait, tough people who come through hellish situations not unscathed, but with their spirit and sense of humor intact, something that I find truly admirable.

So happy you enjoyed the story!

[shrieking-ell.livejournal.com]

Bwahahaha! That was delightfully gruesome! I love it! Especially this:
Sharkbait snapped his own teeth together and made a fierce swallowing sound, then grinned at the wench, who was now wide-eyed and decidedly green about the gills.

Really wonderful. Reminds me of when my EMT brother used to tell gruesome ambulance stories at the kitchen table...

Thank you so much for this! Exactly the sort of thing i was hoping for and perfect to find waiting for me when i got back from martial arts camp!

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

I'm so happy you enjoyed it, Ell!! Took me a while to figure out what I was going to do with those sharks, but I finally did it -- inspired by a character in the_stowaway's story, Allegiance, actually. *G*

Hope you had a great time at camp!