The Crew of the Revenge is confined underneath the figurehead and is sitting in the beak's narrow scope. They're positioned in a chain, and the last to arrive, Roach, is reciting what's being expressed in the circle to Buttons, their ship's first-mate-slash-navigator, as he remains at the helm with Karl. They're utilizing the Crew Council, a private, captain-less conjunction that addresses team cadence, sensemaking, and issue resolution. Because Captain Bonnet must be absent, according to the crew, it technically differs from Talkin' it Through as a Crew.
Lucius is sitting in the middle with his back to the ocean, and his crewmates are before him on his left and right. He's got significant throat soreness and redness to his skin, and he strategically ties his scarf around his neck to conceal the abrasion. He's received the backhand of past pirates' demeanor, there's no doubt, but receiving it from Stede Bonnet renders him to reappraise. Again: Is it desire or fear to be the receiver of his captain's inhumane bloodthirst? If Black Pete choked him until his face wrung unhealthy colors, would the outcome be parallel?
The boy clears his throat with a wince and claps his hands to acquire the engagement of his crewmates. Next, he says, "OK, hi. Thank you all for coming to this short-noticed Crew Council, but there's something important we must discuss."
Wee John slouches against the wood and invites, "Yeah? Like what?"
"Well, for starters, there are four black-wearing men on this ship who aim to murder our fucking captain," responds the scribe with an uncomic tone. Afterward, he connects his eyes with the lot before him.
Frowning, Jim lifts their head and questions, "Weren't the captain and Blackbeard playing dress-up not too long ago and even went to that rich party?"
Buttons twists, gazes back at the sitting subordinates, and inserts, "Aye, and the captain and the other fella were sparring the other night, too, just before storytime!"
Roach chimes in and says with astonishment, "Yeah, and with that, Captain Bonnet has been teaching Blackbeard manners or something. Before I came here, he requested, with a please, for a cup of ale."
OK, commercial break. Somehow, the Crew Council has altered to record the achievements of their captain and Blackbeard and not entirely manage the elephant on the ship. This isn't how the meetings are supposed to occur.
"Alright, alright. Let's give the captain and Blackbeard a round of applause for impersonating each other and whatever. They each merit a Gold Star!" saucily comments Lucius with an eye-roll. He adds, "I didn't call you all here to superfan over them."
"Why did you call us here?" shyly asks The Swede in his hefty accent.
Oluwande aggressively exhales and remarks, "C'mon, man. He's already said that we're here to discuss how and why Blackbeard and his crew want to murder our captain, y'know, the last reasonable person who's maintained us from enslavement or death."
"Him slaughtering that one British guy got his name out and about, then. Someone like Blackbeard can't have heard about him otherwise, especially since he's a new pirate-captain and doesn't have accolades under his name," assumes Jim.
"Yeah, but he didn't actually do it, though, right? I thought he told us that the guy accidentally fell on his rapier, which penetrated his eye?" asks Oluwande.
"We dismissed that conversation far too quickly," utters Lucius as he rubs a hand over his throat. "It takes brute strength for a rapier to pierce through the skin, and I'm sure it's no different from plugging through an eyeball, brain, and skull. There's more to the captain than he lets on; he's surprisingly powerful."
"What are you saying? This conversation is giving me full déjà vu vibes right now," skeptically questions Wee John.
"That's because we did have a similar conversation, John. All I'm saying now is that it takes precision to accidentally—" he conveys the word with air-quotes, "—fall onto your rapier and have the damned thing go through your eye of all places."
"Captain Bonnet isn't like that, though, babe. It's literally, like, not in his DNA or something. Don't you remember what he was like in the forest with the tribe?" comments Black Pete with his question directed at Oluwande.
Frenchie politely raises his hand and requests, "Why don't we ask Captain Bonnet what happened that day?"
Roach favors the idea. He excitedly says, "Yeah, I like the idea. Let's do it together!"
Lucius sighs and guarantees, "Fine. We'll do it."
Wee John cheerfully fist-bumps the air. He suddenly recalls something Lucius said earlier and questions the boy, "You said something about Captain having some new strength or such. To be clear: We're still talking about the same soft, curly-haired man, right?"
"There's something unimaginable under that soft, curly-haired exterior," the captain's right-hand man vaguely responds.
There's silence as the Revenge Crew is studying the response.
After some beats, The Swede regards his crewmates, then confesses, "I want to see."
Unexpectedly, there are nods and agreeances.
With each second expiring, Stede descends into an abysmal headspace.
He doesn't require Edward to instruct him on how to be Blackbeard because he's worse than the Mad Devil. As an up-and-coming pirate, being haggled and having his shirt torn by Israel 'Izzy' Hands, the foremost official pirate he encountered, has hypnotized him. Funnily, the theatrics in the forest weren't intended, and for someone like Blackbeard's First-Mate leveling to him, thus being bested by the Gentleman Pirate — well, you can reckon what that does to a man's self-esteem.
But it's more than that, though. It's not a jest at a man's honor or dignity; it's the dauntlessness of a man who's been, for so long, verbally, emotionally, and perhaps even physically abused; a man who's been bullied and taunted and placed in uncomfortable situations because he's different than others. And, finally, he's capable of defending himself.
Is this his Kraken? There's still so much unknown.
No progress has been made to the captain's half-wear; he adores those odd, knee-laced pants, and his top is bare. His kusari-fundo remains around his neck, and he's inserted his flower-embroidered Flintlocks in his pants, one in the front and the other in the back. As he moves to retrieve one of his daggers, it causes him to smile menacingly because it's the exact blade he used on Izzy. He places the sharp object on the table's edge beside the renowned plant he routinely supervises. He'll be needing it later.
So much that transpired in the forest goes overlooked, but not by Stede. He mainly cherishes what the British informed Izzy about him. He grabs his quill and ink and then returns to scrutinize himself in the mirror.
Hysterically, he mocks the British and voices, repeating and elongating, "Believe him, he's quite insane. And, oh, what did the other one say? Oh, yes: He does have the eyes of a madman." As he does so, he dips the quill in the ink and then brings the pointy tip to the lower left of his waist. He suddenly remembers the previous night — stabbing Blackbeard, plus that god-awful approach he discovered on how to combat stab wounds and how to ensure that the blade bypasses all of the substantial bites or whatever Blackbeard said. He applies the pointed tip to his skin and draws a big X. The Devil Incarnate doesn't entirely break the skin, though it's red and aggravated. The black ink trails downwards and disappears into his black pants.
"The trick is to be on the left side, you said? What happens if I do it on the right side?" he challenges the empty room. He re-dips the quill in the ink and repeats his actions on the right side. It's beautiful: Two large Xs on each lower hip. He studies himself in the mirror and how his unruly curls fall over his eyes. He looks badass. Hell, he is badass.
The Revenge Captain's body feels hardened; the pain is benign and tolerable. Perhaps his body has evolved since childhood, specifically when the other schoolboys would throw giant rocks and other objects at him or when his father used to butcher animals before him, and the blood always splattered on his being. You'd never presume it from the way that he's meandering, but he was recently stabbed, yet the encounter didn't bother him; if anything, it was being unprepared and surprised. There's much to retain from that situation, for instance, when the rouse of the Gentleman Pirate ceases and Stede Bonnet arrives. For example, during last night's sparring session with Edward, the man aimed his weapon at Stede and ensured that he would be shot if he didn't act — and, well, let's just say that that ordeal would've concluded other ways, and Stede may or may not have targeted the man's knee in that scenario.
Suddenly, there's a loud knock at his door.
Applying his charming voice, he asks, "Yes? Who is it?"
"It's all of your crew, captain," says Oluwande, and there's a background chorus. He adds, "Can we come in?"
Stede's eyes comically widen, and he hustles to reset his quarters. As he does so, he informs them, "Yes, just give me a moment, please!"
Back goes his beloved kusari-fundo and Flintlocks. Opening his wardrobe, he grabs a black turtleneck and puts it on. Quickly checking his appearance, he notices his unruly curls poking in every direction and attempts to smooth them down with a rack of his hand. He's bootless, but that's OK; this is his room, and he was relaxed away from his crew and guests.
The captain moves to open the door and is automatically met with the various faces of most of his crew; he notices that Buttons and Roach are absent. Lucius, Black Pete, and Wee John are in the forefront, with the others scrunched in the hallway.
"Hey, captain," greets the boy with roaming eyes, "there's something we need to discuss."
And, like that, Black Pete and Wee John seize Stede under his arms and drag him into his room. He's uncharacteristically dropped on his couch, and the others load the room and stand before him.
"What's happening here?" he questions the room as he leans back in his seat. By no means is he fearing for his life because even though he comprehends that some of his crew is from the bottom of the barrel, he's still outnumbered.
"We want to know what really happened that day with you and the British guy, captain," introduces Frenchie as he sits in a chair. Others are rambling their captain's room with their hands behind their backs, looking at this and that.
The Swede adds, "Yeah, and I — we — want to see what's under your clothes. Lucius told us."
The Crew of Revenge halt and goggles at The Swede, and Lucius rolls his eyes and comments, "He wasn't supposed to tell you that yet, but, yeah, that's why we're here, and we're not leaving until we get what we want."
The captain smirks, slumps in his seat, and puts his arms over the back of the couch. He declares, "Oh, really? You lot think that's how it works now, do you?"