mopirates_moproblems

Hello, turtlelings. I hate to do this, but I think it's time -- as some of you know I've had personal issues lately that have kept me from RPing, and it's set me back in my tagging. I'm going to have to drop most of my lighter CR, especially the older network posts, if I want to keep up with the game. This goes for James (mopiratesmoproblems) and Cinna (afirewithfashion). If we had a thread going that you want to continue, or you want to do a wrap up/ooc handwave/what have you, let me know here! Otherwise, if I drop a thread, please accept my apologies and my promise to do better in the future.

Player Information:
Name: Jenry
Age: 25
Contact: parodysue [at] gmail [dot] com, arashiko
Game Cast: None so far

Character Information:
Name: James Norrington
Canon: Pirates of the Caribbean (The Curse of The Black Pearl, Dead Man’s Chest, At World’s End, and Jack Sparrow #10: Sins of the Father.)
Canon Point:
Age: mid-thirties, though canon is non specific.
Reference: This wiki says he’s “bewigged and resplendent".

Setting: James’s world is a rough mirror of Earth’s own history, with some anachronisms. People, places, and styles from the 16th and 17th centuries all seem to coexist. (For instance, Port Royal was destroyed by an earthquake in 1692, Tortuga’s pirate hayday was really from 1635(ish) to 1665(ish), Blackbeard sailed from 1716-1718, and George II ruled from 1727-1760, yet all appear concurrently throughout the films.)

Arguably, however, the more important difference between James’s world and ours is that in James’s Caribbean, magic is very real. Gods are very present. They are also, often, vengeful. For instance, the Aztec gods curse the treasure of Cortes after his Conquistadors loot it. Centuries later, Barbossa's crew uncovered it and took the curse upon themselves. For ten years, they lived as skeletons in constant torment, unable to sate their physical appetites. Only by returning the gold and spilling their own blood in penance were they able to break the curse.

The legend of Davy Jones is another example. Jones fell in love with the sea -- only here, instead of the term being used metaphorically, he fell in love with the sea goddess. She made him a bargain: immortality and a ship that could sail underwater (and a pet Kraken!) if he ferried the souls of those lost at sea to the afterlife. In return, they'd be able to spend one day together every ten years. When that day came, however, Calypso betrayed Jones -- and he, in turn, betrayed her, leading the Pirate Brethren to trap her in human form. She cursed Jones and his crew: as long as they forsook the duty she assigned them, they would become mutated sea creature humans.

With all these super powered immortals running around, it's no surprise that people constantly make deals with them. No one and nothing stays dead. Jack makes a deal with Jones to raise the Black Pearl from the ocean floor. He makes a deal with Calypso for a compass that points to his hearts desire. Barbossa makes a deal with Calypso: his life, for her freedom. Will and Elizabeth are able to sail to Davy Jones's Locker and rescue Jack Sparrow, trapped there as a result of his deal with Jones. I'll say it again: no one stays dead.

In addition to the deities and immortals running around, there are other, smaller magics seen frequently throughout the world. The Fountain of Youth is real. Mermaids exist. As I mentioned above, Jack Sparrow has a compass that points to the heart's desire of the person holding it. Blackbeard's sword is set with one of Triton's sapphires, and using it, he can miniaturize ships and trap them in bottles.

In short, the theme here is swashbuckling tales. If it's a pirate story told in our world, some version of it exists as literal truth in James's. That isn’t obvious to the people who live there, though: James is somewhat privileged to have seen as much as he’s seen. Even experienced sailors scoff at the tails and dismiss them as fancy. James himself calls Davy Jones imaginary, even after he’s been exposed to pirates cursed by Aztec gold. In CotPB, another lieutenant equates cursed pirates to mermaids when he’s talking to Elizabeth. So, while the existence of magic and mermaids and gods clearly differentiates PoTC world from history, most of the characters are unaware that anything paranormal exists in their world.

Personality: Parts of this have been altered from an app I submitted to Drama Drama Duck. Additionally, I’ve color coded the personality for ease of reading. Blue text is traits shown in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Green text is traits taken from James childhood as shown in Sins of the Father. Red is headcanon drawn from these sources.

James, in a word, is rigid. His world view comes down very simply to one theme which he often repeats. “One good deed does not redeem a man a lifetime of wickedness.” “I had nothing to do with [Weatherby’s] death, but that does not absolve me of my other sins.” James believes very strongly in following the law. Exclusively. He cannot reconcile the concept of a pirate and a good man, which is what separates his journey from Will’s.

This is seen again and again throughout the series. In CotBP, when Elizabeth is kidnapped, he does not immediately issue orders to rescue her, because that isn’t proper. Instead, he works within the Naval bureaucracy before launching a rescue attempt, even though the slow pace is shown to frustrate him. (“Do not make the mistake of thinking you are the only man here who cares for Elizabeth.”) When questioned by his subordinates, “Why aren’t we doing what Mr. Sparrow said, with the canons and all?” James’s response is simple: “Because it was Mr. Sparrow who said it.” Jack Sparrow is not an appropriate source of strategy or anything else. James believes in God, his Majesty, and the Naval Code of Military Justice. Everything else is extraneous. Even when challenged, James returns to this rigid worldview. He sees the Pearl’s cursed crew with his own eyes, but still scoffs at the idea of Davy Jones when Jack presents it.

Why? He was raised by a man who put duty, honor, and reputation above everything -- including showing his son any affection. When James says,”Vile and dissolute creatures, the lot of them. I intend to see that any man who sails under a pirate flag or wears a pirate brand gets what he deserves: a short drop and a sudden stop,” he is really just echoing his father, who told him as a child, “There are men out there who are savages, and they want to destroy your entire way of life. They are uncivilized, heathen, thieving, filthy pirates, and when I have gone to a final rest, it is you who will carry on the banner of civility and order, and help the Crown and our allies in the East India Trading Company eradicate their slime from the Seven Seas."

This may seem, at first, to be a fairly straightforward case of a man believing the lessons taught by his father, but it’s complicated by the fact that Lawrence Norrington was, to put it mildly, a giant hypocrite. He withheld his men’s rum rations so that he could get himself drunk. In the same breath as giving his son the impassioned speech above, he slapped him and told him to stop crying, because he was embarrassing the family name. He brought his six year old son on a war ship and took it into battle. In fact, when James fell overboard and was saved by Teague, Lawrence stated that he'd rather James had died rather than be saved by a pirate

As much of James’s devotion to king and country is him trying to overcome and reconcile his father’s awful parenting. He clings to this rigid moral code because so much of it is unambiguously right: Protect civilians. Enforce the law. Even if his father made a mockery of it, he can still pursue the ideal. He can still bring his family honor, and he can do it better than Lawrence did. It’s a way for him to avoid reconciling the contradiction of his father’s examples. This is especially true as James shares his father’s propensity toward alcoholism, as seen in DMC.

Because James holds so tightly to propriety, it's also not surprising that he's very out of touch with his own feelings and often the feelings of others. Until Elizabeth throws him over for Will, he seems to be completely oblivious to her feelings for Will. Similarly, when he returns with the heart, he seems to believe he is making the right choice without ever realizing that Beckett is blatantly evil.

On a personal level, too, James is just awkward. His proposal to Elizabeth, for instance, is the one time he does not speak with conviction and confidence. Even as a lieutenant, he’s seen giving a gruesome description of hanging to a young girl. Awkward.

When James finally steps out from behind the shield that propriety offers him, he reveals a shrewd mind and a cool understanding of others. Throughout the second movie, he seems almost a different person -- no less quick thinking or acting, but able to see Elizabeth's feelings for Jack before even she realizes them. His sense of humor, usually dry but restrained, becomes almost cruelly sarcastic. He cuts very quickly to the hearts of things with a critical eye. It's not so much that he becomes a different person as that his critical thinking and observation skills are well hidden by the constraints of his position.

Still, he’s blinded by his desire to return to his previous lifestyle. His observational skills don’t extend to Beckett, who, as mentioned above, is sheer evil. Although James shows he is able to operate outside the law, it is not until the moment of his death that he is able to overcome his prejudices and reconcile the ideas of a pirate and a good man.

This is the point from which I’ll be taking James, and it will mark the beginning of his personality arc in Tu Shanshu. Although he has (finally) learned that there is more than one right course and no absolute right, he cannot immediately abandon his life up until this point. Reconciling his new views and his old will be a continual struggle, and though he will soften and open up to new ideas, that change will not be immediate.

Appearance: James is portrayed by Jack Davenport in the movies. So James is, basically, a hot piece of you-know-what. His style, though, is a different story. Jack Davenport has referred to his own costume as “ice cream cone”-like.

James generally wears his Admiral’s Uniform, which is now kind of a mess from being stabbed. He’ll do his best to repair it and keep to this style: lots of buttons, lots of layers, very formal and restraining. As his personality begins to relax, he’ll migrate more toward a cleaner version of his Dead Man’s Chest outfit. He’ll lose the wig and wear his hair (which is shoulder-length) in a neat tail, strip the insignia off his coat, lose a few of the layers, etc. Overall, though, he will always present himself neatly, in what he considers “appropriate” garb.

Under the clothes, James has a scar over his heart from where he was stabbed by Davy Jones.

Abilities:
James’s greatest canon ability is shown to be swordsmanship. According to commentary, he’s equal to Barbossa (and presumably Sparrow.) The only better swordsman in PoTC canon is Will Turner.

James is also a more than decent shot, as shown just before his death. With one shot, he manages to sever a rope which is moving almost constantly.

Additionally, James, as an officer, has been trained in seamanship, strategy, and command. His style is shown to be strict, but tolerant of his mens’ opinions. His reputation is that of the most feared Pirate Hunter in the Caribbean, and he manages to keep an entire crew full of cursed pirates in line while he’s on the Dutchman, but for all that, James is far from perfect. In CotBP, his cynicism leads him to underestimate the strength of Barbossa’s men. Between CotBP and DMC, he loses the Dauntless in a hurricane, in an act of hubris and exceptionally bad judgement. These flaws temper his exceptional skills as an officer.

Inventory:
A flintlock pistol (shown in his hand at death)
Additional shot and powder
A compass
A looking glass (My justification for these items is that James was, essentially, operating within enemy territory on the Dutchman. I believe it would be common practice for him to carry these items on any ship he commanded, but especially since he was committing an act of treason at his death, I don’t think he’d go about it underarmed or unprepared for any eventuality.)
Bootstrap Bill’s sword (shoved through his chest at death)

Suite: Water sector, one floor

James is, at heart, a sailor. Although his primary motivation is shown to be honor throughout the series, I really do believe that underneath that is an abiding love of the sea and sailing. If anything, I believe his duty is what gets between him and his enjoyment of life. In canon, he’s never happier than during DMC, when he’s on the Pearl. Even doing scut work and sleeping with a goat, it’s clear that he’s actually enjoying himself and his freedom. I can’t imagine James (or really any of the main PoTC characters) without some connection to the sea or sailing, which is why I chose the Water sector for him.

In terms of his suite, James is a fairly modest individual. His uniform is ostentatious, but aside from his sword, he really has nothing extraneous. (Even that is as utilitarian as it is beautiful.) I can’t see James wanting or needing a large suite. I think he’d find it unnecessary and wasteful. He’d rather have something (relatively) small and functional.

In-Character Samples:
Third Person:
The flame in the lamp sputtered, threatened to gutter out as the ship tossed. Without much thought, James reached a hand out to steady it. It was always like this on the Dutchman: Dark, with a feeling of grease and mildew that no amount of scrubbing would ever remove. The ship had a wrongness about it that touched him more than anything else he’d seen in his life. Pirates who couldn’t be killed. Hearts that beat outside their rightful body. And this ship, tainted.

A ship shouldn’t feel like this. Kept in good condition, she’d be bright and warm, a bastion against the sea outside. Even the Pearl, despite her questionable crew, had the feeling of a proper lady. Jack Sparrow might be morally bankrupt, but kept her in excellent condition. James had scrubbed her enough himself to know.

And where was Sparrow now? He’d heard nothing of the pirate since he’d fled the Pearl. Beckett had quartered him away on the Dutchman with only Jones and his crew for company. Although he held Jones’s heart, at times it felt as if he was as much a prisoner as the pirates. He was certainly isolated enough, with only Beckett’s occasional orders for guidance. He could only carry them out, blind to their consequences in the larger world.

And now he learned that Weatherby Swann was dead. Elizabeth trapped in another dank cell on this rotten boat. Beckett was a man of the law, a lord. By all rights, James had done no less than he ought to, bringing Beckett the heart. He’d redeemed himself for his foolishness in regards to Sparrow. The loss of the Dauntless. He’d returned things to their proper order, and the pirate scourge would at last be driven from the Caribbean.

At the cost of the Governor’s life, and how many others? Every day, it seemed less honest blood was spilled by the thieves and liars he knew than by the righteous men. He could see how the dogma he held fast to had been twisted, but he couldn’t say when it had happened. The answer was simply that it had always been this way. Nothing had changed except him, except his ability to see.

He hadn’t saved Weatherby, but he could save the man’s daughter. And after that -- well, he didn’t have an answer for that. But he held the heart. He controlled Jones. He could find a way to deal with Beckett.

What he could not do, would not do, was sit idle any longer while good men died.

Network: (adapted from a previous sample at Drama Drama Duck.)
Audio;
[They gave him the crash-course on how to use the console and network shortly after he woke, so at least he knows what he’s doing. In theory. Still, there’s obvious hesitance before he begins to speak, as if he can’t quite bring himself to believe that this device can broadcast his voice to so many people.] A question for those of you in the city. Do you believe in an objective right and wrong? Are there, for instance, acts which, by their nature, can redeem a man from all the wickedness he has done before?

[The next part, though, is unsteady. For all that he’s said these words so many times, he finds they come haltingly now.] For my part, I can say with certainty that I do not believe that to be true. Wicked deeds can not be undone, and good should be done for its own sake, not to balance bad. And yet, I have to -- I must believe that mistakes can be fixed. Perhaps not forgiven, or redeemed, but at least repaired, so that no more wickedness comes of them.

[And see that? By the end, his voice is strong again, almost as if he’s sure of himself. The ground is stable again. This entire act was foolishness -- he does not need reassurance from these people, whoever they might be, that his course has been just.

And yet, he finds himself unwilling to move away from the console, waiting for replies.]