Pirate Profile
Name: Back-stabbing Brigette (Full Name: Brigette Swanson)
Age: She says she is 22 years of age, but in reality she is a mere 16, her height and voice tricking everyone into believing her. Captains of ships very rarely hire anyone under 18 years old, much less females under the age of 18.
Height: 6’0
Weight: 128
Appearance: Standing exactly 6 foot zero, she has hair as black as ebony, and cascades over her shoulders like a river, when she has it down that is. She usually keeps it tucked into her tri-cornered hat (she stole this hat off of a severed head about a week or two into her renowned piracy), to look more like a part of the crew seeing as all but three crewmembers are men.
She walks similar to that of a cat, slinking her way toward her unsuspecting victims. Her eyes are of deepest hazel, like the trees and the rolling meadows back in her home-country of England. Her face is wind-burnt and scabbed from her continuous sunburns. Since she is captain of her ship, she cannot leave the wheel in fears of coming across an enemy ship or an unseen island. Therefore she gets many, many sunburns, as there is, unfortunately, no sunscreen in Brigette’s era.
Occupation: Brigette uses her pirate name, Back-stabbing Brigette, on her home ship, the Authentic Avenger. On the ships she mutineers upon, she goes by Brigette Swanson, and acts like… shall we say a pirate wench? After about a day, two at the most, when all the men are wooing her, she “betrays” them, and slits the men’s throats while they are sleeping. Since there are usually two crewmembers staying awake to guard the ship, she walks slowly toward them with a devilish smirk on her face, and then whips out her dagger and slices open their throat, obviously killing them instantly. She then moves on to the captain, unprotected, and simply threatens him until he/she either jumps off board in fear, or gives up the ship and becomes one of her crew.
After this, she rings the ship’s bell to call upon the Authentic Avenger. From there they sail on to the high seas, continuing to pillage and plunder on the English Channel.
Place of Origin: Surrey, England
Background: Brigette was raised very formally; her parents wanted her to grow up to be a “respected woman”, but she knew this meant having lots of money and riches so she could benefit her parents. She did not get the love and care a teenager is supposed to receive, therefore growing up bad-tempered and roguish. Hence, she became a pirate.
Brigette’s introduction to piracy: She spent most of her days along the English coast daydreaming of another life. A life filled with adventures, cutlasses, pistols, and severed heads.
Walking along the beach one day, she discovered a cave that she felt sure was not there the day before. She entered the cave and… well, this is where Brigette Swanson’s life was changed. At least 10 skeletons were inside, shackled to the walls. Most, she noticed, had no skulls. Looking around a bit more, she noticed a large mahogany desk with dozens of important-looking papers and documents. In the chair behind it was yet another skeleton, this one fully dressed in pirate clothing; quite tattered indeed. She then heard a voice behind her, talking in broken English, apparently from the Emerald Isles (Ireland). “Who goes there?” he asked with a raspy voice, making it all the more difficult to hear along with the heavy Irish accent. “Erm… m’name’s Brigette”, she said cautiously.
“You need to get out of this place, Brigette”, the stranger warned. She then noticed his eyes. They looked to be at one time an icy blue, but now they were tinged a blurry white. The poor man was blind! “Oh, I’m sorry sir, I just stumbled upon this cave, and I merely wanted to see what was hidden inside…” she stammered.
“There is nothing hidden here!” he shouted. This took her by surprise, and she jumped in fright. “Well I had never noticed this cave before-”
“Get out!” he shouted again. “Go home! Home to family, your friends! Your life!”
She couldn’t help but to notice a sense of loss behind the Irish accent and the raspy voice. “I… I have no home anymore…” Brigette whispered. The man then furrowed his eyebrows and said “How should I know you’re not some sort of… of robber? Hoping to make an old man feel sympathy for a little girl?”
“Hold on! I’m not a little girl! And you don’t look so old yourself! Furthermore I am not a robber. I do not take thing that are not mine.”
Then the man did something she definitely did not expect. He laughed. A warm, hearty chuckle. Brigette glanced around the cave confusedly. “There, Miss Swanson, you are wrong” he said knowingly.
“Wha… how do you know my name?” she asked with wide eyes.
“Oh, everyone on the English Channel knows your name, Brigette Swanson. You are in fact the heir of Mary Read!”
At first Brigette did not believe him, much less trust the man. But after a bit of explaining about her ancestors and heritage… she really didn’t have a choice. They were related on her father’s side, Mary Read being birthed to Brigette’s great-great-grandfather, a sea captain by the name of Orville Thompson. Brigette was the only girl in her family after Mary Read, with the exception of her mother and grandmother. “I suppose she knew that you mother was not the sort of person to become a pirate eh?” he said with a lazy grin.
“Yeah… how did you know this sir? That I’m a … a pirate’s heir…?” she asked.
“Well, my name is Edward, first of all, and I knew this because my own great-grandfather was a pirate as well. He was a crewmember aboard Mary’s beloved ship. The Justified Fear…” he explained with a distance in his voice.
She then understood why she was Mary Read’s heir, and began to become a rebel herself, stealing money and supplies to set off on an adventure of her own. No one could stop her when she knew of her pirate destiny. Soon after that she managed to gather a crew of 17 men and 3 women, heedless of the old myth, “having women aboard is bad luck”. No one else seemed to care either. She offered 5 shilling a week, along with food and drink, of course rum, dry biscuits, and the occasional grits and gruel. Some of the crew even offered to receive no allowance, as the adventure was so enticing. Although, what she knew what they meant was “Because your looks are so enticing”. After she and the crew looted two ports, she named her beloved ship the Authentic Avenger.
Weapons: Brigette has all the weapons a classic pirate should have: a 2.5 foot cutlass, a long sword (4 feet long), a small dagger, and two pistols strapped to a leather belt she has on her waist. Never does she go without her leather belt, for it is inscribed with two letters “MR”.
