LOVED to see Frenchie running scams again and recruiting the Revenge crew to help. Replica planks. Lucius signing fake Stede autographs for Black Pete to sell. Wee John doing Stede tattoos. Use your captain's new found infamy to grift everyone in sight. You're doing amazing babes.
the fact that they use the figurehead izzy defaced for "not doing its job" to instead give him his purpose and identity back. the fact that figureheads were historically not only fixtures of stature and power but also, to their crews, "the eyes of the ship guiding them safely home". the fact that izzy protected the goth crew from a lot of edward's spiraling ire physically, the fact that when izzy was presumed gone and dead the ship was steered and then moored in a storm. the fact that without his intervention they would have likely died in that storm, but instead afterwards were able to be come across by the other half of their crew and brought "home". you see the vision, don't you?
i love love LOVE that stede had little to no reaction towards the captain's quarters being empty/trashed. like, he reacted exactly how i expected him to, how i hoped he would, ie making some kind of quippy comment about how it works for the space.
because yes, the library was his "pride and joy." yes, he had an entire auxiliary wardrobe dedicated to different outfits. yes, his entire space was decked out in finery and material things.
but at the end of the day, they're just that: things.
you know what matters more to him? his crew. his family. his beloved.
he willingly gave up his wealth to his family back on land, and then struggled right alongside his family at sea. he didn't scramble to make money for himself, but instead tried to get a bit more financially stable for his crew, for his love. he stayed right alongside his new family, and prioritized their wellbeing above his own.
it doesn't matter that those things are gone; what matters is that those he loves are safe and sound.
((and like, also, he is probably going to want to rebuild/get more little knickknacks and trinkets. but he'll be able to do so with his family, for his family. it'll be their collective space, their home and heart))
I know this has been mentioned many times before, but I'm gonna mention it again, because it just chokes me up: the smile of absolute joy on Stede's face when his crew proclaim him a real pirate.
This man who just wanted real friends and had never felt accepted or loved, and he's got an entire crew of people loudly declaring him to be a pirate, right in the face of one of his childhood bullies who tried to claim him for "my world."
And his crew are like, "No, he's ours!"
Like, that's not just the face of a man relieved that he's going to live. That's someone who really didn't think there was anyone who cared whether he lived or died being told that a whole crew of people love him.
And he immediately gets a bunch of bitchy confidence:
It's so important that it's not just Ed that stands up for him, but all of them.
I dunno, man, it really makes me tear up.
(Also Rhys Darby's ridiculously expressive face that he puts every emotion into so you can see Stede's joy and relief and pride.)
Reblogs appreciated! (Especially if you reblogged the poll where I asked if people wanted prints of this, because I didn’t think ahead and now have NO IDEA how to find the people who chose yes! 😌)
I love everyone’s reactions to Ed punching Izzy so much, they’re all so casual about it. The crew are politely golf clapping and Izzy is just like “yeah that’s fair” meanwhile Stede is about to be executed five feet away from them.