Tag: but you have heard of me ( captain jack headcanons )

I was going to set this into my headcanon but instead I would rather link it as it’s large and I would prefer my ranting to be textual lmao.

Disney and what is continuity anyway did something in AWE that at first I discarded by going with the fan theory that the tattoos we see on Jack in the Locker are in fact as much hallucinations as the versions of Jack themselves happen to be.

There is substance to this in the fact that other versions of Jack have different tattoos – however, I ultimately concluded that the version of Jack who pleaded and spoke of giving people a chance is indeed the truest form of Jack Sparrow. ( Click. ) This version of Jack represented the ideals he was desperate to run from – the very ideals printed in ink upon his skin – and ultimately was a side of himself Jack wanted to destroy.

The poignancy of it all lies in the poem that is printed on Jack’s skin and for the sake of sanity and continuity we will be using the myth that a poem written arguably in the 1900s was in fact discovered in a church of Baltimore in 1692, exactly 200 years after the discovery of America. Again this is the myth of the poem but for the sake of the blog continuity and canon it shall be used as fact.

The poem itself is called Desiderata, meaning “things that are yearned for” or “essential things” and it goes like this:

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be critical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy.

Now, for the sake of brevity all I am going to say is this:

• Jack got this piece done shortly after Christophe betrayed him in Shipwreck – before he was branded as a pirate by Beckett. This tattoo was pressed into him when he was twenty-two – he had been working for the EITC for two years by that point.
  
• Jack – at that point in his life – was still closer to the boy who wanted to end all piracy than he was to the man who could be both a pirate and a good man. The Brethren Court has policies and procedures that encourage a certain kind of goodness in those who fly the black flag, but it is not the amount of goodness Jack strives for in his life.

• However, Jack also knows that freedom is something known only to pirates – and freedom has been a motivation for him for a very long time. These words commit him to an honest life, while at the same time condemning the life he is not sure he wants. These words commit him to finding a way of living that can be lived with, but at this point are not words he wants to face because there is much within him that is left aching by them.

• These words gain significant poignancy after Beckett and the branding, for what I feel are rather obvious reasons.

Jack’s sparrow tattoo is in fact his oldest one, however. Jack got that piece done in Shipwreck Cove when he was eleven; well before meeting Armando Salazar. I do not recall if I have posted it or merely screamed it at all who would listen, but Jack Sparrow came to be of Jack’s own choice. He chose the sparrow monicker for himself, as he had no last name, no father, no legacy he knew of – and he longed to be free, to go wherever he wished. He had been introducing himself as Jack Sparrow since he was ten – the ink, in the end, sealed it.

Jack learned most languages he knows on account of wanting to better understand men and women he deeply admired who came through Shipwreck Cove. Though the most notable among them being Eduardo Villanueva, Don Rafael and Christophe-Julien de Rapièr who inspired him toward Spanish and French respectively, it was only Mistress Ching who taught him anything personally. She is downright his favorite Pirate Lord – but that relationship is its own headcanon entirely.

As his friend Cristophe was around more often, Jack was able to practice his French consistently among him and several other French pirates until he had a flawless beat to it. He was perfectly content with the fact Christophe insisted upon calling him Jacques and often worked to learn new phrases and idioms to surprise the man with whenever he was out.

Don Rafael on the other hand, did not have very much to do with Jack – but he was someone Jack wanted to better know, as he was a pirate lord of considerable renown and was ( generally ) quite kind. Eduardo had a great sense of humor, but not a particularly vast amount of patience – he spoke swiftly and Jack either kept up, or lost track. Generally speaking Eduardo stuck to English around Jack as he did not have the temperament for teaching or repeating himself.

Jack trips over his tongue fairly frequently with Spanish, so he speaks slowly more often than not; he can understand if it is fast up to a point. Once it gets too quick, he tends to interrupt with an unrelated question to slow things down once more. Of all the languages he knows, Jack adores Spanish the most ( French now leaves a bad taste in his mouth on account of Cristophe )

Just listening to Spanish in general used to warm his heart enormously, though with the losses of Don Rafael and Esmeralda it has become softly nostalgic and painful on account of the fact he never got good enough to really row with them in it, and he feels like if he gets better now it would be a disservice to the memories. A strange way of thinking, he knows – but he is a man who believes where sentiment can be afforded, it ought to be.

Jack is a notable polygot. He speaks fluently in English and French, as well as Spanish; unlike the other two, his Spanish is slow, and he can be lost when conversation grows rapid.

On top of this, he also speaks Cantonese well enough to maintain basic, if brisk conversation and enough Swedish and Bantu to get by.

He was exposed to Umshoko only twice in his life, but he picked it up well enough to utilize it in order to keep local natives from cannibalising him before rescue could be arranged.

However, of these languages Jack can only write in English, though he can generally parse his way through reading Spanish, he does at times need to write them out in English when contextual efforts otherwise fail him in deducing things. He cannot read or write in any of the other languages he speaks in, nor would he try to guess at it.

Latin and Greek are considered the ‘high education’ languages and he has had little exposure to either of them, nor is he particularly interested in picking them up as more often than not any time he does encounter them, it is with someone who knows what they’re about enough to get by.