#it hurts that I can't draw big buff women to save my life bc I'm doing my girl a disservice by not being able to give her strong arms

[bonjourxrenae]

OC SUNDAYS: Captain Brigid

picrew link (x)

Captain Brigid is a worldly sailor, wise in her years, still as feisty as she was in her youth. She speaks with a rough and playful Irish brogue and adorns herself in the thickest traveling cloaks and extravagant accessories. Beneath her gleaming eyes and the glittering gold hide several hard scars that tell the story of a hard-earned life.

I created Brigid early last year after listening to a lot of S. J. Tucker with Quill (specifically Shipful of Monsters) and seeing a lot of sapphic "pirate x fairy" OCs in Faebruary... if you know my partner and I, this is absolutely our wheel house, and I asked them "how come we don't have a sapphic pirate and fairy couple yet?" And somehow, we ended up making both a fairy and a fairy pirate (oops!)

We made a short little story about them which we call The Sailor and the Storycrafter, and I'll do my best to summarize under the cut!

(quick tw for domestic abuse and suicide mention)

A long time ago, Brigid was just another selkie lass - coming and going with the tides, shifting between seal and human. And, like so many unfortunate others before her, she found her sealskin had been stolen away by a man, leaving her human for many years. Brigid reluctantly became the man's wife, the mother of his children, and her sealskin was hidden and locked away.

The man was cruel to her and her children, especially when the work was scarce. When he was able to finally find work at sea, she asked her children to help her find her sealskin so that they could all escape together. When her eldest child found it, it was far too late: her husband had returned at that moment. Realizing their plan, he cruelly ripped the sealskin from his daughter’s hands and tossed it into a fire in an effort to destroy Brigid's resolve. It only served, instead, to fuel an endless rage and sorrow. She first hid her children away, then waited until the man was asleep before taking her revenge.

With the man who forced himself upon her killed, Brigid was forced into the new reality of being indefinitely human. Unable to bring her children into a lifetime on the run, she left them with their Nan. From there, she descended into madness and violence: she took to the sea - a home close, but unattainable - and turned to piracy as an outlet for her misery. She amassed a crew full of bloodthirsty, vengeful women like herself, and they terrorized every man and ship across every coast for decades.

Eventually, her anger and sorrow began to dull into ennui. After countless years of pillaging and destruction, Brigid began to seek a quieter life as a simple sailor. The most faithful of her pirate crew would remain with her aboard the ship in this new, seemingly peaceful chapter of their lives. Brigid would also unknowingly recruit her own children, who had enlisted to being part of her crew in the hope of properly reuniting with her.

Eventually, Brigid had to face the painful reality that she could no longer hear the song of the sea, no matter how often she sailed it. With a Last Will written out, she and her crew set sail to a quiet port town. There, she would get herself completely drunk, pawn off the last of her treasures, then finally throw herself into the ocean to let it claim her life.

She couldn't explain how she found the place... but that night, she made one last stop at a shop that sold stories.

The shopkeeper was named Dulcamara: a leannán sídhe who specialized in crafting stories. The stories she created and sold took the form of objects and trinkets - there was a story for everyone, waiting for them to find, if they were willing to pay.

Brazenly plastered, Brigid had the audacity to try and sell her own stories, with little luck. After thoroughly annoying the storycrafter, she offered to buy a story for her trouble. The story, in question, turned out to be a music box that played a familiar lullaby, one that she used to sing to her children long ago... stunned into sobriety, Brigid paid way too handsomely for the story, and inadvertently agreed to return for a story commission.

Brigid returned to the Story Shop numerous times to speak with the storycrafter Dulcamara, curious about her craft and how she knew which stories to sell. As Dulcamara worked on Brigid's story, Brigid cooked and brought her food as a way to thank her and ensure she wasn't working herself too hard. She would make excuses to her crew about repairs and storms - anything to get them to stay until the commission was complete.

When it was finally done, Dulcamara presented Brigid with her story...

It is said that no matter how long a selkie is separated from their coat, it will always return to them...