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Jack is a pirate from the 1700s, and while he isn't sexist or homophobic in the least, he can be a lot. If you don't want tags from him, just go ahead and comment below! Everything's screened. | |
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shapeshistory
1. What do they care deeply about? What kind of loyalties, commitments, moral codes, life philosophies, passions, callings or spirituality and faith do they have? How do these tend to be expressed?
Jack's core wants can be broken down in three ways: legacy, money, and greed.
Jack is very much in it for himself and is a pirate in the truest sense of the word. He's loyal to a Captain when he's on a crew, and he'll uphold (most) treaties or deals made between people he actually respects, but for the most part he's a man who only really concerns himself with his own (or his crews') end goal. Obsessed with legacy and making a name for himself, Jack is fixated on making a lasting impression be it good or bad. He's a surprisingly proud man for someone who doesn't care about things like society.
Greed also runs deep in his veins. Since the early seasons, Jack's primary motivation has been money, and even when he acquired all the money in the world and saw the problems created for him, that greed never truly left him. He's far more intoxicated by the thrill of the chase rather than the end goal of money or comeuppances itself. His morals are skewed, usually towards his crew and his own motivations--if it gets him what he wants, then it's fine, although he's less the type to kill and more the type to convince. He'll align himself with someone when he sees an opportunity to gain the upper hand, and though he much prefers to lead on his own he has no qualms about joining forces, especially if the pros outweigh the cons.
Other than money and legacy, Jack is passionate about rhetoric and aesthetics. Flashy even for his time, he doesn't necessarily judge anyone else's aesthetics, but he'll be damned sure you'll notice him.
2. What kind of person could they become in the future? What are some developmental paths that they could take: best, worst, most likely?
While he's adaptable to a point he's far from malleable. Some of his biggest motivations are taken away from him (greed, fame and infamy, money) he's going to have an interesting journey than can go a multitude of ways, all wildly varied. At his best, Jack is a fairly decent person capable of inspiring crews with a well thought out speech and at his worst he's a scheming, conniving ball of grease. His journey and growth will depend very much on the company he decides to keep.
While he's not easily swayed by other people's opinions, if he aligns himself with people that will feed into his negative habits he's sure to continue down that path. A bad end very obviously puts him as every negative stereotype of a pirate: a thieving, looting, murdering man with no qualms about fucking over other people, coupled with Jack withdrawing into himself and lashing out at all of the unknowns in the settings. Alternatively, the best outcome would be him curving that insatiable greed as he learns to stop chasing legacy, instead using his dislike for those with great power who do nothing or lord it over others as a prime motivator to fix wrongs and bring about what he views as justice.
Realistically, Jack will most likely wind up being closer to the 'good' journey--I don't think he can fully drop his need to be something or someone with notoriety or have him not interested in standing with metaphorical giants. He has too much of a natural distrust for people based on his past experiences and profession too truly be a superhero-esque good guy, but I think curbing the lawlessness he's so used to and finding a place in "civilized" society, as it were, as well as coming to terms with no longer living such a hard life and find some balance within himself will be the most likely journey. It'll also be an interesting one, since he's rejected most of that for the vast majority of his life.
3. How do they behave within a group? What role(s) do they take? Does this differ if they know and trust the group, versus finding themselves in a group of strangers? Why?
Rackham thrives in a group situation. A bit of a peacock when it comes to fashion and aesthetics, there's nothing he loves more than milling about around other people. He's not necessarily an extrovert in the traditional sense, but to be in a crowd at a tavern or anything means he can observe everyone up close, and he always has an ear out for tidbits that might be overshared. As a pirate, Jack has no qualms with sharing living spaces or being crammed into small places with other men or women with equally disgusting hygiene.
While not a social butterfly in the truest sense of the word either, Jack is very much a dandy in both fashion and mannerism and that bleeds through his interactions. He has no qualms chatting up strangers if he's not busy or thinking of his next scheme to plot, though if his mind is preoccupied he'll quite happily tell someone to fuck off if they approach, being rather blunt and oftentimes rude. In general, however, Jack Rackham almost never shuts up. A crowd is a captive audience.
While chatting with strangers is something he's comfortable with, Jack is still a very, very careful person when it comes to what he says and what information he potentailly gives away. He generally errs on the rule of 'don't trust anyone, at all, especially if it seems too good to be true' so he plays his cards close to his chest, divulging nothing about what his actual plans are about anything until it's absolutely necessary, though if one can read Jack's mannerisms right it's fairly easy to tell when he's up or down. Those he knows are intelligent or smarter than they look are the ones he watches out for, though he doesn't outright avoid anyone. With people he trusts fully, Jack confides in everything and them some, whether they like it or not. This is an extremely difficult level of friendship to attain, as there's only one person in canon who has his full confidence, and they've been married for God knows how long.
4. What do they need and want out of relationships, and how do they go about getting it?
At his core, Jack's obsession with legacy is one that stems from powerlessness. He's constantly seeking out those that are more powerful under the pretense of learning a thing or two from them. His goal is usually to become their equals or even surpassing them, and it's happened with a limited amount of success. These are the kinds of bonds he actively seeks out to forge, although he'll form a relationship with anyone who seems useful or has some sort of knowledge he seeks. As stated previously: he loves talking, and it always up for a good story. The more dramatic the better.
At a personal level, relationships are something that are important to Jack, which sometimes comes as surprise to himself. He's never claimed to be a loner--there's always one person he's latched onto or has in the wings ready to help him but there are ones that go beyond 'a useful person I will convince to hang out around.'
The relationship between Jack and Anne Bonny is a perfect example of this: they're more than husband and wife, more than partners until the end. They've melded into two halves of one whole and have been for a long time before canon even starts--Anne realizing her sexuality and embracing being a lesbian hardly put a dent in them. They're very much soul mates in every sense of the word, though his borderline co-dependency is certainly a rare exception as to how he forms bonds.
The death of his former captain stirred up emotions he wasn't even aware that he had, causing him to strive for a cause he hadn't believed in but his captain had. Even the great Edward Teach's death by Woodes Rogers added fuel to the fire and gave Jack a mission that was beyond his own personal need for wealth and notoriety. He'd been on board with creating a stable Nassau before then, but to have a good friend and a mentor figure die for the cause at the hands of one man cemented his need to see it through--and not just for himself and his own name.
In general, though, while he isn't a monster and harbours sympathy for others--killing Anne's abusive husband before the series, for example--unless they have some use or value that he can see or seems tangible, he very much doesn't care about other people's well being or their business.
5. How do they understand the world–what kind of worldview and thought processes do they have? Why?
For all of his bright clothing and flowery prose, Jack is an incredibly cynical man. Part of this is because of who he is: a man whom the British felt the need to out into indentured servitude because of his alcoholic father's death, something he also feels that Britain is responsible for. He knows the world won't give anyone anything unless they fight to take it, and that's exactly what he does. Rules and who are villians or monsters are completely arbitrary, in his opinion. The only rules he really adheres to are the ones his kin and crew fashion. He's quite anti-establishment, being one of the leaders of a rebellion and failed revolution.
He's not completely against those with power, however, becoming a fairly influential person himself. It's more if that power actively pushes other people down that he fights back--he'd seen far too much of that courtesy of his life to not give a shit about the little guy, but he'll always put himself (and Anne) first. Self-preservation is the one of the world's best survival trait in his opinion.
Jack believes no one is owed anything, including him. He also believes that anything is possible with the right amount of tenacity and intelligence--in short, he's very much a Bootstraps kind of guy. Jack is a man who came from nothing and made himself into something, molded himself into a great captain. He's not a spiritual man in the least, and while he does see virtue in working together and at times even succeeds at convincing others to do so, he knows that the last word will always be the fat cats with money or power who come out on top. He may as well give them hell.
It is important to add onto this that while Rackham has and will double cross people at the drop of a hat if it suits him, he also knows the power of us vs them. He's far less likely to steal a purse from a fellow pirate than, say, a British soldier.
6. How much do they rely on their minds and intellect, versus other approaches like relying on instinct, intuition, faith and spirituality, or emotions?
Jack is an average fighter and is not very strong at all, both traits that carry you places in Nassau and as an outlaw. He knows that his best chance at survivability will always be his wits, and he knows his strengths and isn't afraid to play them up--as mentioned before, a tactic that's served him well when he's bottom feeding is to attach himself to the strongest or most capable person and ingratiate himself with them.
One of his more famous (and truer) quotes is simple but speaks a lot to the question: "To be underestimated--it's a remarkable gift." Jack thrives when people see him only as a foppish, weak idiot who's only in it for money and fame. He is a foppish, weak person who's only in it for money and fame, yes, but he's so many other things: he's whip smart, gifted at speech, and he knows how to get under people's skin when he really wants.
He can be ruthless with this if needed. A bit of a psychological terrorist, he'll latch onto something he perceives someone is self-conscious about like a dog with a bone and read them the riot act just to shake their confidence. He does this with Mr. Gates in season one, sighting his old age, and again with Woodes Rogers in the carriage before he's rescued, pointing out his privilege and how it still wasn't enough for him to catch Jack easily or understand Nassau. Jack is a smart man, and while his gut and intuition are normally linked to how perceptive he is about other people, he usually lets his ability to talk people in circles do all of the damage. It's the only thing he's almost truly unparalleled at, save for having incredible facial hair.
While his wits and intelligence are his strong points, he's still very emotional--he's far from an icy, bookish individual, and has on more than one occasion buried people in a way that's as extra as possible out of sheer spite.
7. What is something others might find intolerable about them?
For all of his wit and dialogue, Jack is, in high school terms, a loser waiting to be shoved into a nearby locker. This is mostly done by his own self: as stated previously, it seems sometimes he's physically incapable of shutting up. He can be seen as grating and annoying and has had the shit kicked out of him (and worse) for similar reasons.
It's also hard to tell where his allegiances are at times or what his plans are, despite all of his squawkings. He's very much a cockroach, surviving against all odds. He thinks he's better than half of the people in Nassau and Nassau knows it. He comes across as arrogant, slimy, and incredibly untrustworthy and that's because he really, really is.
timeasmymeasure
