#Will Turner

[elventhespian]

So like... it's a Thing in all fandoms where fans sort of latch onto fanon versions of characters and their dynamics with each other that are actually completely off-base, right? I don't know if this phenomenon has an official name, but I've seen it so many times and it's fascinated me every time. Especially when a character's popular fanon selves don't end up just diluted from their source material, but straight up OPPOSITE their canon portrayal.

So one of my "favorite" variations on this was how the early PotC fandom used to get Will EXTREMELY wrong, especially in comparison to Jack, and it made finding in-character fics SO. DAMN. DIFFICULT.

I've talked about this MULTIPLE times before, as have several other fans. It's a dead horse being beaten. But basically certain prevalent takes on fanon!Will have in the past leaned towards a personality that was very patient and grounded and even demure to contrast against Jack's off-beat personality and Elizabeth's fiery rebelliousness. Because Elizabeth has the drive to push back against social norms, Will became the foil who fell back to his pre-pirate version, reluctant to break rules unless she pulled him into it, even in post-CotBP timelines. Likewise, Jack was the one with the WTF decision making, while Will was more rooted in reasonable decisions.

And by their appearances, archetypes, and certain elements of their world views, you'd THINK that's how it works. When we meet Will in the governor's foyer, Will is so lovestruck and doe-eyed and subservient to the governor, I think that people thought that's just Who He Is. Especially because he often acts as Jack's straight-man foil in the comedic elements. Straight-laced. Rigid. Even boring or timid.

But if you actually pay attention to the movies, it's very much the opposite. In canon, Jack's USUALLY the level-headed one who just happens to have chaos follow him, because of the way he can wield it. He thinks in long run, tries to solve problems with words and as little fighting as possible as often as he can. Ideal situations for Jack are more like a thief--he wants to be in and out of the job as silently and slick as possible. The scenarios he's in are insane, because the way he throws other people around with those scenarios is kind of insane, but he himself remains largely cool and collected.

That's Jack.

THIS is Will:

Canon!Will starts out literally so impulsive and rash, Jack has to physically manhandle him at certain points to keep him from blowing up his plans--and then still gets taken out because he underestimates his listening skills and impatience. Will corners Jack into what is functionally a cage match to the death by sanely locking the door with his sword and very nearly wins. He is constantly at 11, constantly demanding things be done faster, more directly, and at the same time quietly scheming behind Jack's back almost from the get-go. He does flashy jumps and flips off of things because using the stairs is too slow or whatever. He shows up in DMC yelling at Jack to give him his compass at the point of the sword, and insisting he'll get Davy Jones' key by just "cutting down everyone in his path."

Even when Will mellows out significantly in AWE, there are remnants of this contrast still there. Jack's plan for leading Beckett to Shipwreck Cove seems to have been a very reasonable and underhanded effort to deliberately make sure Elizabeth is inside the Cove while Will is on Beckett's ship, in command of the Compass. Meanwhile Will's plan was to leave a breadcrumb trail of vulture-sea gulls feasting on dead soldiers' corpses.

What I'm getting at is, yeah, Jack's a charismatic "rogue" and Will's a "romantic hero" TECHNICALLY. Jack makes quippy jokes, and Will glares and scowls and WTFs back. But not only are they are both more alike than people give them credit for, they are also totally opposite their roles' traditional personalities in ways that the fandom tends to overlook.

TLDR; Jack's crazy, Will's a sweetheart. But Will is also a manic gremlin, and Jack doesn't always know what to do with him about it, so they often end up something like this:

And more fans need to play with this fact, the end.

[miss-carter]

Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Swann and Orlando Bloom as Will Turner PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN TRILOGY (2003 - 2007) dir. Gore Verbinski

[owenhcrper]

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) IMDb Trivia

[nocauseislost]

"Orlando Bloom signed to the movie the day before he showed up to shoot this. He came right in and just got the character. He had about ten minutes to work on the stuff with the sword. The flip and everything like that... But just how well he plays this scene is just amazing. Everything about the character you need to know comes across here."

Stuard Beattie, Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio and Jay Wolpert - Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl audio commentary

[imagopirateversion]

bringing the potc fandom back one meme at a time #21

[outtagum]

#just act casual

THE PRINCESS DIARIES dir. Garry Marshall (2001) PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL dir. Gore Verbinsky (2003)

[no-context-kh]

[baltharino]

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

[micksmansion]

jack: i am trying to escape confrontation with my biggest enemy while also attempting to kill him

will: i am trying to save my fiancée from getting hanged so i'm chasing a man for his weird ass compass to make a deal with a fancy ass man. i also need to save my father from his curse

elizabeth: the fancy ass man's deal will only save jack and not my fiancé so i need to escape and dress up like a man to get to tortuga and find him

pintel and ragetti subplot:

[housesofmouses]

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL

[dance-in-the-morning-glow]

[miss-carter]

Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Swann and Orlando Bloom as Will Turner PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN SAGA (2003 - 2017) dir. Gore Verbinski, Espen Sandberg, Joachim Rønning

[owenhcrper]

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL

[nocauseislost]

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

[cupcakeshakesnake]

*Noteblock cover of He's A Pirate plays in the background*