Drabble: 'Give Him An Inch'

[dwgm]

Here's my entry for the drabble theme of the week, angsty and unbetaed, but exactly a hundred words...



~ Give Him An Inch ~


The blade'd been broken, but it'd been deadly sharp and only an inch away.

Yet the moment was too sweet. He'd had to gloat. "Heady tonic, holding life and death in the palm of one's hand."

"You're a cruel man, Jack Sparrow!"

Lord, that was rich, coming from Jones. "Cruel is a matter of perspective," Jack had replied, with gentle malice.

"Oh, is it now?"

The scene played behind Jack's eyes, over and over, on the way to Tortuga. Almost as bad as the Locker.

One inch to immortality, and happily ever after.

Might as well have been a mile.

~.~

Comments

[peladonww.livejournal.com]

Oh nice one!

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[p0wdermonkey.livejournal.com]

Personally, I still think Jack never really wanted to captain the Dutchman - he just wanted to want it because it seemed like a neat way out of his fear of death / the Locker.
But your take on it here really makes sense. It figures that he'd feel bad about losing Liz and Will their 'happy ever after'. Poor Jack!

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

I think you're right that he didn't really want to captain the Dutchman. I don't think he'd beat himself up for it for too long, but I can imagine him feeling something of an obligation to Will and Elizabeth for blowing it at the crucial moment. Could lead to all sorts of interesting developments.

Thank you so much for the feedback!

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[salr323.livejournal.com]

Oh this is great. You know, I've often wondered whether Jack regrets not getting his immortality, or if he feels that he had a lucky escape in the end...

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Exactly what I was wondering. I also wonder if he feels some sort of obligation to Will and Elizabeth for blowing that crucial moment. It's an interesting, and complicated, element of the story.

So glad you liked it! Thank you for the feedback.

[ericadawn16.livejournal.com]

Aww, the last two lines were perfect.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

Love that icon, btw.

[pink-bagels.livejournal.com]

Nice little shot of lingering regret there :P. Well done!

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Glad you thought it worked.

[honorat.livejournal.com]

You know, that minute of gloating is always one's downfall :D But I like how your last line gives Jones the lie. There are some lines Jack just won't cross. He could have claimed his immortality, but a sense of honour remains a horrible nuisance for that pirate. Nicely done.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Thank you! You have to wonder if that moment of hesitation that went so terribly wrong haunted him in various ways. Nancy commented at BP Sails that In the end the good man won out over the pirate and he's going to have to square with that someday, and I can totally see Will saying that to him later, can't you?

[justawench.livejournal.com]

For some reason, this reminds me of Elizabeth chaining him to the mast. Once again, circumstances conspire against him choosing his own ending.

Nice drabble!

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Exactly. Jack forgot his own rule about the opportune moment.

Thank you for reading and commenting -- I'm glad you liked this one!

[sharklady35.livejournal.com]

Jack shouldn't regret that delay too much- as it was Will's destiny to be the Captain of the Dutchman, things worked out just as they were supposed to. And, there's always that Fountain of Youth to grant immortality sans any responsibilities.

But I can believe he felt like this for a little while. Nice work!

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

I expect Jack would eventually assuage any discomfiture or guilt by siting that destiny thing -- what's a poor little pirate to do in the face of Calypso's will? And sure there's the Fountain of Youth, but I think there'd always be a bit of guilt about Will and Elizabeth's fate. After all, it was his fault they were involved with Davy Jones in the first place.

Glad you liked this -- thanks for letting me know!

[torn-eledhwen.livejournal.com]

Lovely.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[slashfairy.livejournal.com]

that's a grand insight into that moment.

enlightening comments to it, too.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm glad you felt it worked to expand on that scene.

[hendercats.livejournal.com]

The scene played behind Jack's eyes, over and over, on the way to Tortuga. Almost as bad as the Locker.
*nods* Oh yes, that's perfect.

Oh, Jack! I agree that he likely didn't really want to captain the Dutchman, but he didn't care for being dead either, and he has a very pragmatic streak and so the search for the fountain is a way to avoid death *and* have a grand adventure.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Too true. But considering it was his deal with Jones that was behind the whole mess, I can imagine the whole thing would have to haunt him, to some degree.

So happy you thought it worked! Thank you for the thoughtful comment. :))

[komandant-krech.livejournal.com]

Very nice! I've been wondering too if Jack really wanted to be the CotFD, _really_ understood what it meant and required from him, or was it just something that sounded 'cool' (immortality and the 'legend' coming with it). Character-wise, I think Will is better suited for the job, anyway -- after all, Jack might be a bit too impulsive and reckless... :D

But, yeah, it sounds reasonable that he felt guilt at some point (I played with the idea in my own story but didn't really take it further -- it _would_ be an interesting plot to explore deeper, anyway!).

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Hard to say how much guilt Jack feels -- he certainly doesn't let his sins and setbacks get him down, just keeps his eye on that horizon -- which is one of the big things we love about him. But he'd be less than human if these events didn't haunt him to some degree, and it's certainly conceivable that they could affect his future, and in particular any subsequent dealings with Elizabeth and Will.

This was an idea I'd been considering for a while. Every time I watch that scene, Jack's gloating hesitation disturbs me. It's such a clichéd trope in movies, but it goes entirely against Jack's policy of waiting for the opportune moment. ladymouse said maybe Jack felt he had those seconds to enjoy his the moment because he didn't expect such wanton cruelty from Jones, whose attack on Will was pure malice, achieving nothing. I thought that was a good point.

Glad you liked this one. Some interesting discussion came from it. Thank you for reading and commenting!

[kseenaa.livejournal.com]

Oh thats good. Really good. Last line is just perfect. :-)

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[hereswith.livejournal.com]

As usual, you do drabbles so well! I think he would have a certain regret over what happened, even though I don't imagine he actually wanted to captain that ship. Like others have said, it was a way to avoid death. Great take on that moment and very effective, especially the last two lines.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

He didn't seem too enthused about the duties involved, did he?

Thank you so much for the feedback -- I'm very happy you liked it!

[florencia7.livejournal.com]

Wonderful! Loved the last lines.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

Nice drabble! I always thought it was interesting that Jones knew exactly who to stab to get Jack's attention the fastest, considering he had both young Turners within his reach.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Yes, I thought about that. What if Jones had stabbed Elizabeth instead? Would've made a number of funs happy, though it might have been problematic for the Disney Pirate Princess line.

[lilfluffykitten.livejournal.com]

Nicely done.

For all his cunning Jack's mouth gets him (And those around!) into trouble more often than not - you really think he'd learn... (although I suppose he deserves at least a little gloat under the circumstances!)

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Letting the opportune moment slip past is quite unlike him. I have to wonder whether he was really up for becoming CotFD. I think he would have done it, but that hesitation makes me think he wasn't entirely happy about it.

Thank you for letting me know you enjoyed this one!

[outinthestorm.livejournal.com]

Finally getting around to reading these, and I'm struck by how perfect this is.
Wonderful!

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Took me a while to respond, too -- but I'm so very glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for letting me know.