Drabble: 'He Who Hesitates' (Jack - PG)

[dwgm]

A double drabble, 200 unbetaed words for the current challenge at blackpearlsails...




~ He Who Hesitates ~


No! No no no no NO! Don't look! DON'T LOOK!

But the horrible sounds carried, as sound did over water, and he couldn't help it. He had to look.

The sight paired with those sounds brought his heart to his mouth and his escape to a sad halt. He sat there, bobbing in the chop, watching Davy Jones' pet have its way with the Pearl and with everyone on her.

He took out his compass. Just to reiterate. As though it would tell him anything different than it had for the last year. And the swift settling of the needle in precisely the wrong direction was still a blow.

A killing blow, his Survive-at-any-cost Brain sneered. Told you not to look. He who hesitates is...

"Lost."

He should have felt lost. But it was a funny thing: as he turned the boat and began to row again, stretching out, faster, faster, for the Pearl, for his crew, for his friends and... and everybody, it felt more like found.

"Bloody delusional," he remarked. But the old, half-mad smile curved his lips as he reached for the Pearl's ladder and he hauled himself aboard, one last time.


~.~

Comments

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

A coward dies a thousand times over, but a brave man, only once. Or, in Jack's case, maybe a few times before it "takes" permanently. *G*

There's a certain peace in accepting the inevitable. Years ago I was in a bad wreck with a tractor-trailer that teetered between "walking away" and "being run over and killed" based on whether my car would quit fishtailing and stay in its lane after being struck - I remember a blinding moment of panic, and then a curtain falling over my mind as I accepted I could die. It was very weird. You show the response to such a thing pretty well, here.

[orpsgod.livejournal.com]

Very much like your take on the scene. Very Jack. Thank you for posting. :)

[honorat.livejournal.com]

Much love for this picture of Jack at one of his finer moments--which always seem to follow hard on the heels of his least finest moments. When he polishes the tarnish off, the silver shines.

[sharklady35.livejournal.com]

Excellent!

T&T have said of this scene, they'd deliberately left it ambiguous which way Jack's compass was pointing. Fics like this underscore the wisdom of their decision- fans can write about both possibilities.

[sharklady35.livejournal.com]

> When he polishes the tarnish off, the silver shines.

Very well put.

Praise from Willofthewisp

[(Anonymous)]

Oh wow, this is so telling and yet Jack's mind is still very closed off to us here. He's not really admitting certain things to himself, is he? What a great moment to write about, too, the debate, the decisions running through his mind.

"...brought his heart to his mouth and his escape to a sad halt." There are just some things we hope we never have to see and when we do see them, there is just that dulled, nauseated, heart-racing sensation going on that you've described so well.

I know it's a small thing, but I love how you include Jack admitting that he has friends. As a sparrabether, I do feel he chiefly went back for Elizabeth, but her earlier words did get to him and while he would never admit to us he has attachments, he does. Whether he likes it or not, this crew doubles as his friends.

"...hauled himself aboard, one last time." That really brings it all home. It accentuates his bravery, too. He's not coming to save the day. I mean, he'll try to, but he's already fully expecting to die, which makes it even more heroic and I love him even more now. Great job.

[djarum99.livejournal.com]

...the old, half-mad smile curved his lips as he reached for the Pearl's ladder and he hauled himself aboard, one last time.

One of my favorite moments from DMC, and you've brought it life here so beautifully. Thanks so much for writing for us ♥

[pearlseed.livejournal.com]

You did the trick! He really was disgusted with himself in the longboat that he couldn't make himself make his escape. He came back on board with a vengence. He always has the ability to turn back the clock and make the right decision. Good one.

Hesitate

[cerebral-1.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the peek into Jack's mind! Very much him.

[greenisbeauty.livejournal.com]

As Mary said above, this is one of my favorite moments in DMC and so very few people actually write about it. I'm so grateful you did- and so exquisitely. I like that Jack's inner dialogue is present here, a sort of precursor to the appearance of the multiple Jacks in AWE.

It makes me wonder what went through his mind, or Elizabeth's when she leaned up and embraced his leg? *OUCH* Did a plot bunny just bite me?

Well done!

[hope27.livejournal.com]

Such a wonderful look at this moment! As many have already stated, I do love that we truly don't know which direction his compass pointed, and have been able to make up our own conclusions.

I was so proud and happy when Jack did the right thing and went back to his ship. You captured this moment and his decision wonderfully here.

Jack is very much "lost" in DMC. He's running around feeling "sullied and unusual" and never quite gets his bearins it seems until this moment. When he makes the decision to turn back to the Pearl, he finally accepts what needs to be done and finds himself once more.

[florencia7.livejournal.com]

That was beautiful. You captured the hint of madness in making the brave, the right decisions in such a perfect way. So Jack. Wonderful drabble!

[luvvycat.livejournal.com]

Yes, yes, yes!!! I love that you chose this scene--undoubtedly one of Jack's most shining moments! Regardless of what the compass revealed to him--whether it pointed to land (which meant he forsook what he wanted most to go back to the doomed ship) or to the Pearl (showing where his heart truly lay...with his friends, with his ship, with Elizabeth), it could only cast him in a heroic light, right on the heels of doing one of the most cowardly and selfish things possible. :-)

One always wonders what was going through his head just then, in that interim between fleeing and returning. I think you've given us an excellent glimpse here. Fantastic drabble! Just excellent! :-)

-- Cat

[ditte3.livejournal.com]

Simply perfect.(Sighs)I miss Sparrabeth so much.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

I do enjoy the Sparrabeth myself, and though this is purposely ambiguous we all know Jack was still mighty "vexed" at this point. I'm so glad you enjoyed the drabble! Thank you for letting me know.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Thank you! That was certainly a defining moment for Jack. I personally always felt he was resigned to death at that point, though others' mileage may vary. So many points were ambiguous, one could interpret his actions in a number of ways. Thank you again for commenting -- I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Jack is so very human, we can all relate to his emotions at this point. There were few moments more thrilling than when Elizabeth and all of us see that Jack's come back to save the day at the end of DMC. Thank you for letting me know you enjoyed this version of the story!

[mary684.livejournal.com]

Going to steal honorat's words, cuz she did your beautiful story great service with this comment: Much love for this picture of Jack at one of his finer moments--which always seem to follow hard on the heels of his least finest moments. When he polishes the tarnish off, the silver shines.

All I need do is tip my hat to the two of you and add: Yes!

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

As has been written before, the loss of Jack's hat at the beginning of DMC is symbolic of his loss of self, and it's only at the end, when he's finally chosen courage in the face of death, that he finds himself again - and his hat. I'm glad you enjoyed this glimpse into his possible thoughts at that defining moment. Thank you so much for commenting!

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Honorat is of the brilliance. Trust her to say it in nine words, rather than 200. *g*

Thank you so much for reading and commenting!

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

What an experience! Thank you for sharing your thoughts about it with us. I'm happy my version of Jack's feelings at that crucial point seemed right to you.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

How happy I was last night to see that you were here to read and comment. I've been thinking about you and yours quite a lot lately.

*big big hugs*


When he polishes the tarnish off, the silver shines.

As I said to mary684 below, trust you to say it in nine words, rather than 200.

Thank you very much for reading and commenting.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Yes, the scene is definitely open to individual interpretation. I've always seen it this way, myself.

Re: Praise from Willofthewisp

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

He's not really admitting certain things to himself, is he?

He's not, certainly not the truth of Elizabeth's words. But he's never been able to deny her his truth.

The ambiguity of these scenes is painful and fascinating, as TPTB no doubt meant them to be. I'm so glad you liked my take on that crucial scene. Thank you very much for letting me know.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much for reading and commenting -- I'm glad you thought it worked!

Re: Hesitate

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

a sort of precursor to the appearance of the multiple Jacks in AWE.

I think the multiple Jacks was a logical progression from his conflicted self in DMC.

Elizabeth is both Jack's nemesis and savior, I think. I do hope that plot bunny keeps at you!

Thank you so much for reading and commenting!

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm glad you felt this worked.

[mary684.livejournal.com]

She is of the brilliance, but I was trusting her to speak for ME, not you! LOL Your piece is lovely and captures Jack in all his mad meanderings that somehow leave him striped down to his heroic goodness, whether he likes it or not. See, now didn't she say that better than me? *g*

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

I knew what you meant, lol -- but her words pretty much sum up Jack for all of us, I think. Thank you for commenting yet again! *hugs*

[phoenix-9664.livejournal.com]

This really pulled me back to that turning points in DMC and let me see into Jack's head in a new way. I love the idea of the compass calling him back to the Pearl as she's done for, and to Elizabeth. Jack's ambivalence--his "multiplicity," if you will--is, in my mind, the essence of him. I also love this as a precursor to the multiple Jacks in the Locker--wow! The interesting thing is that for me, his quintessential Jack moment is turning into the face of the Kraken and whispering, "Hello, beastie!" with that glorious smile on his face. Insanity, courage, and clarity all at once. Thanks for this.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad you liked this. "Insanity, courage, and clarity", indeed. It was a glorious and terrible moment. Thank you for commenting!

[sharklady35.livejournal.com]

Here's a passed-on comment from mypiratecat1:

"LOVELY one shot that you sent to me... and its exactly how Jack felt as he saw what the compass told him... and he went back to the Pearl to save his friends! EXACTLY! Loved it! Love Jack!"

[compassrose7577.livejournal.com]

This had to have been a monstrously difficult moment in Jack's life, because he was about to do the noble thing, and everyone was going to know it. The facades and the pretending would be over... the good man left bared for all to see.

A touching examination!

Good stuff!

[hereswith.livejournal.com]

Great take on that pivotal scene! I remember watching it the first time and being frustrated that we never got to see where the compass pointed, but as has been said above, it does leave things wide open for fanfic.

He should have felt lost. But it was a funny thing ... it felt more like found. I really like that. He's finally stopped running.

"Bloody delusional," he remarked. But the old, half-mad smile curved his lips as he reached for the Pearl's ladder and he hauled himself aboard, one last time. Ah, yes. He does have his heroic moments :-)

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

I can't believe I didn't reply to some of these comments. Please tell your friend thank you for me. I'm very happy the drabble seemed right to her.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Forgive me for taking so long to reply to your kind comment. I'm so glad you enjoyed the drabble. I think you're right, his facade is awfully important to him.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Can't believe it's been this long since I really took a look at my journal. Forgive my late reply, so bad of me. I'm glad you enjoyed this one. It's such a pivotal moment, and so interesting to explore.

*hugs*