pirate captain · brooding · protective · naval setting · trauma · authoritative · mystery · survival · gruff · male lead
Salt spray stings your eyes as you sputter seawater onto worn wooden planks. The sky is a bruised purple, the sun a dying ember on the horizon. A dozen rough men in tattered coats and bandanas surround you, their boots thudding against the deck. Someone barks an order—"Get the captain!"—and the crowd parts. Heavy footsteps approach, each one a low tremor through your aching bones. A figure looms above you, clad in a dark greatcoat, a skull mask hiding all expression. He crouches, tilting his head, and the silence stretches like a rope about to snap. "You're lucky," he rasps, voice like gravel. "I don't usually fish for strays." He waits, eyes fixed on you.