ABOUT
Legacy. Purpose. Peace. Redemption. Money. Power.
Everybody’s searching for something.
PIRATES INTERNATIONAL is a parable about abandonment, desperation, and redemption. The tale of a broken world and a war that spans the globe. And most importantly, the story of a motley crew of would-be pirates pillaging and plundering across the seven seas.
Well… sort of.
Lead by the fearless Gina Trovatelli, PIRATES INTERNATIONAL is a crew of liars and thieves who operate out of a recommissioned cruise ship. With their powers (and glaring character flaws) combined, they are able to travel the world, pull off heists, and just barely keep their shit together.
THE STORY SO FAR…
Several years ago — who’s keeping count? — Gina M. Trovatelli became captain of a cruise ship that belonged to her father’s vast fleet. The deal was that she could run the ship however she pleased, as long as she stayed out of his hair. (Having never been an enormous fan of her father’s hair, Gina happily accepted this offer.) And to pretty much everyone’s surprise, things aboard the S.S. Yellow Submarine went smoothly.
It wasn’t long, however, before Gina caught a scrappy young man named Ferdinand stealing from cabins aboard her ship. What Ferdinand didn’t know was that the Captain had been doing the same thing herself.
She liked his style. His guts. The cut of his jib. So she proposed a team-up: He would come on board as her first mate, and help carry out bigger and better larceny. And if he refused? Well, no big deal. She’d just turn him over to the authorities once they reached land. It seemed a fair enough compromise, considering the police state in which they lived. And so Ferdinand, reluctantly, agreed.
Years passed. They got by well enough, gliding up and down European shores, pilfering trinkets from their passengers and selling the goods at various ports. But Gina began to get restless (as she was wont to do) and decided to suspend their cruises for a brief time so they could vacation in Paris for Fashion Week. Just a nice, relaxing trip… rubbing elbows with the rich and famous. Along with this came just a few tiny, minor, definitely not important changes to the crew.
Upon arrival in Paris, the new, chameleon crew of the Yellow Submarine became “caterers” and infiltrated a swanky Fashion Week afterparty. All-in-all, it was business as usual… lying, cheating, stealing. That is, until someone noticed something suspicious.
Danica Shedov, fashion model and run-of-the-mill pop culture icon, easily traced the loss of her pearl necklace to the charming but anxious gentleman who had spent the night dancing with her. (A man who, funny enough, happened to be named Ferdinand.) She tracked him back to the port and confronted him, demanding that he explain himself. He told her the whole story — see previous paragraphs.
Upon learning of the long con, Danica made Ferdinand a familiar offer: either bring her on board or be turned in to the police. Well, friends, Ferdinand knew that tune, so he complied. Gina, naturally, wasn’t keen on this. But Danica made a juicy suggestion. Those caterers who had rolled up to the party? Why, they were part of a new business venture between the fashion idol and the cruise ship heiress! They were top-notch event staff, the very best. Surely every celebrity and socialite in the world would demand their service. And just like that, viola – the Pirates suddenly had access to an even better crop of victims.
For reasons unbeknownst to anyone but Gina — and really, probably, unbeknownst to her as well — the crew then set sail for Dublin. It was here that Gina had the brilliant and whiskey-fueled idea to move in on someone else’s territory. Instead of looting her own customers, she’d target those of another business. Namely, Fitzpatrick and Fields Circus. Only one problem: the titular Ms. Fitzpatrick didn’t like this idea.
Caught red-handed and red-cheeked, Gina divulged the secrets of her business to Fiona Fitzpatrick. And Fiona, sensing that these poor, dumb kids were probably going to get themselves killed or imprisoned, did what any rational business owner would do: She chose to join them.
And thus, PIRATES INT’L was born.
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PIRATES INTL is written by Val Toukatly, who has been known to do a bit of pillaging and plundering herself. Val spends most of her life over-analyzing cartoons and video games, because really, what’s more important than that? You can find her over at valtoukatly.com.