Drabble: To Thine Own Self

[veronica_rich]

(Written for the blackpearlsails prompt "I should have..."
Title: To Thine Own Self
Characters: Will, Calypso
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Property of Disney, Buena Vista, and Bruckheimer. I profit only in imagination.


"I should have …"

Not died for his wife? Not helped Jack secure the heart? Not aided Jack to lure the enemy into negotiation? Not turned tables on those who painted him the fool? Not tried to save his father?

Where would second-guessing end, once embarked? Should he have stayed at the workhouse or with his drunken uncle? Left Jack in jail and Elizabeth with … God knew what?

Let Jack twitch on a rope?

Hang regrets. Turner laughed, curiously buoyant as he finally saw he would have done nothing different.

Calypso smirked. "See? You de freest o’ dem all."

Comments

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Perfect drabble, replete with backstory and bits that make one think. Really wonderful!

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

Will has his moments of clarity, when left sufficient time and space to think about them, I think. *G* Thanks!

[venusinchains.livejournal.com]

"Hang regrets."
Yeah, Will doesn't strike me as the type to waste much time on "might have"s. (I suppose it helps that he's usually doing what he earnestly considers to be The Right Thing - and not just in a way that best serves his own situation.)

"Elizabeth with... God knew what?"
I take that to mean Will didn't think Liz would have lasted long as a typical upper-crust bride.

And I had to Awwwww at the "workhouse" and smirk at the "drunken uncle." (Hey, Will doesn't have any relatives!)

Mostly, I wonder if Calypso often has these little talks (or mind reading sessions) with her loyal servant. :)

A lovely drabble.

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

I take that to mean Will didn't think Liz would have lasted long as a typical upper-crust bride

I was thinking of Barbossa and the kidnapping, actually - but the nice (and necessary, by size) thing about a drabble is it can mean a multitude of things ...

usually doing what he earnestly considers to be The Right Thing

For some people, being able to sleep at night is more important to them than who they're sleeping with. *G*

I wonder if Calypso often has these little talks

It's just Will out there - he needs a cheerleader sometimes, worse than I think most would think.

Thanks!

[restrainedchaos.livejournal.com]

Oh, our Will. So sure that what he did was what he should have done, even if it wasn't 'right' or 'good'. I love that you kept him what he is, emphatically, in DMC - true.

Just looked it up real quick using Google:

1)accurately placed or thrown; "his aim was true"; "he was dead on target"

2)devoted (sometimes fanatically) to a cause or concept or truth; "true believers bonded together against all who disagreed with them"

3)truthful: expressing or given to expressing the truth; "a true statement"; "gave truthful testimony"; "a truthful person"

4)dependable: worthy of being depended on; "a dependable worker"; "an honest working stiff"; "a reliable source of information"; "he was
true to his word"; "I would be true for there are those who trust me"

5)genuine: not pretended; sincerely felt or expressed; "genuine emotion"; "her interest in people was unfeigned"; "true grief"


Heeeeyyyy...can you write something about Will being all these true things? I'd want to, but I don't think I've the skill to do Will justice.

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

Well, I could take a stab at writing something like that ... but I gotta tell you, it has to be longer than 100 words, LOL. And your confidence may be misplaced in me, too ...

I think you should take a stab at it. Then post it for us all to see!

Glad you liked it.

[yoiebear.livejournal.com]

I'm not going to write a long explaination of why I love this, just say I do.

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

Plenty of drabbles I have the same reaction to, I know. Thanks!

[yoiebear.livejournal.com]

Again, love it! :-D

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

I'd say that Will's a simple guy and that's what makes it simple, but for all his apparent simplicity of "right" action, he's hard to figure out because he doesn't respond to the usual stick-and-carrot of jealousy or envy. Glad you liked it!

[julesaello.livejournal.com]

"See? You de freest o’ dem all." - Perfectly true.
Beautiful drabble!

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

I thought it would be wholly ironic if the two people apparently seeking freedom the hardest - Jack and Elizabeth - were the two with the most regrets in finding it, while "Rules Guy" Will was actually the freest in truth ... from regrets and "what ifs?"

Thanks!

[giselleslash.livejournal.com]

A wonderfully perfect gathering of words that just fits Will, loved it :)

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

*bows* Glad you liked it.

[ainsoph15.livejournal.com]

Yes. Yes. Living without regret is the only way to be truly free.

It is a great writer indeed who can express profound concepts like these in such spare language, and make them perfectly clear, as well as expressing them so beautifully. You've done that here with such skill, darling.

(I'll let you finish the rest of the syllogism ;D)

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

Coming from you, that is all high praise, indeed, since I know what kind of writer you are to read and re-read again. :-)

I just wanted to try something different - it seemed about every story I read was Jack and/or Elizabeth whinging about how they couldn't be together, or hadn't gotten together sooner, and I've always enjoyed, anyway, the idea of having no regrets because you've lived your life as right as you were able. ;-)

Praise from Willofthewisp

[(Anonymous)]

This is so bittersweet and yet so uplifting at the same time. It really makes me feel better about Will. I'm not crazy about the ending of the series at all. But I digress. A life with no regrets is truly a wonderful thing to have and to pick up lost souls and take them to the afterlife must be very rewarding. Maybe it's a good time for Will after all.

Re: Praise from Willofthewisp

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

I think Will's the kind of person who struggles to make the best out of what he's been handed, but I don't think he just accepts it - I'd like to think he's biding his time and looking for a loophole, but intent on not wasting time lamenting what could've been until then.

Thanks!