mimesere

( Grace notes: things I forgot from part 1 )

In which the courtship continues and other people do stuff that I don't especially care about.

( Me and supertext, or Why I Heart Character Actors )

( Norrington and Governor Swann, picture and a wee bit of commentary )

( I love the smell of napalm in the morning: Norrington as Military Commander )

Ahh, Norrington.  *hearts him insanely*  Arrogant bastard.  *hearts him more*

Actually, this got a little long and I'm kinda hungry.  So I hit post and will do up more after my homework. 

I LOVE THIS MOVIE.

My goodness, Norrington is hot like a hot, hot thing in the prologue.  Just.  Dude.  Dude!

Awwww.  Will!  Big dork boy.  See?  I am fond of him.  It's just, you know, the choice of him MAKES NO DAMN SENSE.

And the corset joke still makes no sense to me.  At all. 

Folded steel! Folded steel my *ass*, Will. though it is a lovely smallsword.

...er, and I just got caught up plotting out VB!sparrington.  so.  this will just have to wait.

ETA: OMG! Norrington's ankles!

ETA2: OMG! the scene in the fort! Could Norrington *be* hotter? I don't think he could. He's all...grabby and forceful! And delivers the bitchslap that, honestly, Will deserves. Yes, honey, THEY KNOW the pirates have taken Elizabeth. I mean, her *dad* is standing right there. But dude! HOtness of Norrington!

And you know what, I kind of do want to know where the Jack/Will people are getting their subtext from. 'cause, dude, Will is all, "I want to kill pirates!" and Jack is all, "You look like your daddy!" and, you know. the sparrington people have to justify it all the time! It makes me go grr!

ETA3: His eyes are so green! Seriously, dude. just. Norrington is *seething* when Jack takes the Interceptor. Mmmmm. He's gonna *blow up his own ship* to keep her from being used for crime! *heart heart heart* "So it would seem." *heart heart heart*

ETA4: Okay, I give Will props for being all, "He roped a couple of sea turtles." like he can't even believe Gibbs is trying to pass that one off.

ETA5: Okay, I also give Orli props for doing face acting. But then he was all back to bombast.

ETA6: Dude. That's a wool coat over a vest over a shirt. In the Caribbean. And three feet of cloth around his neck! how does the man not keel over from heat exhaustion?

ETA7: I truly don't think I could love Norrington *more*. *hearts* "Oh, I think we can give him one day's head start." and he's all classy and gracious! "This is a beautiful sword. I expect the man who made it will show the same care and devotion in every aspect of his life." Which, you know, a) shows that he's perfectly well aware of *who* made his sword, b) and how awesome a philosophy is that? Seriously. If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing *well*. And with one's full care and devotion.

with aid from latxcvi 'cause she's faaaaaaabulous.

1. I'm sorry, but you're gonna have to work long and hard to convince me that Norrington is stupid enough to scupper his career by banging *anyone* with a penis on board any ship that sails for the Royal Navy.

1a. Also? Gonna have to work really hard to convince me that Norrington would think taking up with Gillette or Groves is a good idea. I'll buy it, (Groves before Gillette, honestly, but whichever) but please see point 1 about the career and also, they are his subordinates. And it would feel, I think, very much like an abuse of authority.

1b. The bed thing. World of no. At least, world of no on the Navy side, what Jack has in his cabin I don't want to even think about. If they're going to be having The Sex on board the Dauntless, just...have them go at it on the floor with some padding. 'cause let's face it, hammock sex = badness. A captain's cabin is a fighting cabin and there are cannons and when the ship is beat to quarters or arms or whatnot, there are gun crews running around in there and a bed would just get in the way.

1c. What's so wrong with them having The Sex on land? I mean, sure, I get the appeal of Sex on the High Seas, but like. Norrington has a *house*, I'm sure. It's not so far fetched to believe that that's where he'd do the sexing.

1d. Norrington is also not going to screw his career for Jack Sparrow's booty. I'm just sayin'.

2. Jack can take risks that Norrington cannot. This is useful for The Sex. And also for kidnapping, accosting, breaking and entering, thievery, and assorted other things.

2a. However, going back to point 1d, while Jack can and will take risks, they will be tempered by Norrington's...er, temperance.

3. They really are insanely sexy.

4. Jack steals Norrington's flagship. This is funny. It is also sexy as hell.

5. Gillette and Norrington both would be up for a court martial. Gillette? Also comes off *much* better in the early drafts.

6. Ditto Elizabeth, despite the scene where she tells Norrington to go and capture Jack.

7. Keytwirling!

8. It remains impossible for me to interpret Jack's smile (when Will says, "They're coming") during the stealing of the Interceptor as anything *but* a smile of welcome for the game he and Norrington are about to play.

9. From a character point, Norrington is gonna be like catnip for Jack because Norrington does not buy into Jack's bullshit. And I'm convinced that the reason Norrington thinks Jack is a good man is not because he saved Will or Elizabeth or whatever, but that he *kept his word*. He came back to the Dauntless and to what was sure to be a death sentence. But seriously, the fact that Jack can't dazzle Norrington will act like a red flag in front of a bull (except for the part where bulls are like, colorblind). Norrington's a challenge to Jack the same way that Jack is a challenge to Norrington.

10. Tell me the Jack vs Norrington swordfight wouldn't just be the sexiest thing in a long list of sexy, sexy things about them. 'cause it'd be all like Norrington taking off coat, hat, and wig and Jack taking off his coat, and then they *fight* and it's all about footwork and getting in really close, 'cause these are guys that are totally used to ship-to-ship fighting with the close quarters and that's how they'd engage and then, *then* they start fighting dirty 'cause hello, pirate, and hello again, Norrington's so gonna be ready for piratical cheating because he doesn't forget for a second that Jack is what he is and then it's all woo! with the sexy tangoingness of it all.

11. Norrington sans wig. whether you are going with longish-and-queued or short-n-spiky under the wig, it's still the deep and extreme sexiness.

12. There's an element of roleplay and facades that goes along with the accoutrements of fashion, 18th century or not. But there's definitely a...demasking that goes on when Norrington strips off the wig/uniform, because he's stepping out of a *visible* role and what you're left with is the essential man. And while I'm sure Norrington-the-man is not much different than Norrington-the-officer, there is something to be explored there.

12a. Elizabeth, I think, never knew anyone *but* Norrington-the-officer and, more, was never really willing to look past that. Ditto Will (whose really memorable bit of stupidity is when he barges into Fort Charles and is all 'We must save Elizabeth!' Yes, thank you Will, do you notice her *father* standing right there? Uh huh. And you think you love her more than her doting papa does? Norrington is right to call him on *that*, never mind Norrington's own feelings toward Elizabeth, whatever you interpret them to be.)

12b. Governor Swann, otoh, *does* seem to know the difference between man and officer, at least enough to trust him with Elizabeth. This is telling. It is also telling that Norrington's men are totally willing to sass him.

I repeat myself, but sometimes I am just struck anew by how *much* characterization the movie shoved into not a lot of time. And also the clothes/hair thing, 'cause I heart that.

Also, it could be that I'm poking at repeatingday!sparrington for Mary. Could be. Maybe.

see, again, from discussion with latxcvi, and strangely also from discussion with MGaW who indulges my fits of Norrington Is the Best Evah!! while we work.

*

This was not something that had occurred to me originally, but both latxcvi and MGaW mentioned this in the same day, which was neat all on it's own, and then you know, the realization that Hey! It's *true*! hit and so I offer it up for discussion.

Jack, while certainly valid as a romantic other half, doesn't actually fits a discussion of romantic models simply because he's not really part of the love triangle of the movie. So.

Will and Norrington. Mostly just Norrington, because I don't think it's inaccurate to say that Will is a fairly standard young! romantic! hero! He's devoted, will do anything for her including die, and is respectable while also rogueish enough to not be, you know, Norrington. Which brings me into a whole area of things that annoy me about romantic pop culture and how I think we've been (at least a little) culturally indoctrinated to dismiss an authority figure as automatically less worthy than the rebel/loner/pirate/rogue. But that, like many other things, is for a later date.

so. Norrington.

First off, Elizabeth is a fool and a half for not marrying him. Socially speaking, her reputation has been *completely* compromised, she will not be welcome in polite society, and while marriage to Norrington would not have completely mitigated the circumstances, it would have helped. Also, she's a young woman of fairly high station and wealth. Norrington is her social match in every way, and while it's great that she chooses True Love over sensibility, there's not another person in Port Royal who is going to think that marrying the blacksmith's apprentice was, in any way, a smart thing to do. And! She could have done a great deal worse than to marry a man of rank, apparent wealth, and honor who respected and *loved* her. And sure, from a modern perspective it's all okay, because she chooses Love! over respectability, but she's from the 18th century. It's just not done. all right. now that I have got that off my chest...

It seems to me that Norrington gets forced into a mold of Stock Romance Villain (a la The Duke from Moulin Rouge, though it's not always a bad thing. Often, but not always. And what I mean by this is that in a romance, there is usually the character who represents societal conventions and blah blah it's an arranged marriage and their love can never be Real! and True! because he's not a penniless sitar player and does not know what it is to Suffer For Love!) because he's the main and obvious stumbling block to Will and Elizabeth's One True Love.

Okay, so if Norrington's romantic model isn't The Duke (and I'm using him here in a kind of archetypal way, since he's an immediate example of the kind of stock villain I'm talking about, though I maintain that there are nicer ones), then what is it?

gee, I dunno. Maybe Darcy? Colonel Brandon? Captain Wentworth? Mr. Knightley?

Norrington is, to me, very very obviously an Austen romantic hero. Like, the important thing about him is that he doesn't want Elizabeth for selfish reasons. He doesn't want to marry her (just) because she's the Governor's Daughter. He loves her for herself, and he loves her enough to let her go. He loves her enough to bless her choice.

okay, I'm sorry. I need to um, go watch it again because I love him *that much*.

1. Spike thoughts.
2. Sparrington thoughts.
3. Norrington thoughts.
4. Mental casting

*
1. Spike thoughts, briefly:

I've been wondering at the difference between AtS!Spike and BtVS!Spike for the past couple of episodes and what I've come up with is this: I think a lot of the change in character as it regards Spike has to do with the POV of both shows and how Buffy and Angel view him. like, it seems perfectly apparent to me that the reason AtS!Spike is irreverent and funny and (relatively) juvenile is because that's how Angel sees him. This is especially evident to me given the contrast with BtVS!Spike who, as has been complained by many, is very much like Angel v2.0. What I think is that Buffy is predisposed toward thinking of vampires as either irredeemably evil or tortured and angsty. Or, apparently, both of those things. But yes. Angel sees Spike as being young and cocky and whatever, and so that's the way Spike is portrayed. Buffy sees shades of Big Gothic Romance and shades of Angel, and Spike is all cross draping angst monkey.

Personally, I prefer young-n-cocky to angst-monkey, but that's 'cause I *like* that Spike was originally introduced to combat the Big Gothic Romance of the vampire/villain paradigm. I *loved* the Spike that called wee vampbaby "The Annoying One" and who called humanity a bunch of happy meals with legs.

Also, I truly think that the reason I could never get behind the Buffy/Spike is because I gave my heart to Joyce/Spike and there it shall stay.

*
2. Sparrington thoughts
(mostly just things I really like from the movie)

a) During that last bit o' scene, Norrington *will not* look at the gallows. He looks down, he looks away, and the expression on his face the whole time is somewhat less than happy.

b) The amused smile in the dinghy when Jack is being all touchy-feely. I love that Norrington uses his pistol to push Jack's hand off his shoulder. I love it even more that Jack *puts his hand back* immediately. but mostly I love that ducked head and tiny smile. It makes my heart go all pitter pat.

c) The fact that Jack *is* touchy feely. And happily invades Norrington's personal space.

d) Cheersex. They do it in *spades*. The glance Jack gives him over Elizabeth's shoulder; the way they cannot take their eyes off each other, even with Elizabeth between them in her scantily clad and, uh, obviously cold glory.

e) The look of absolute relief on Norrington's face when Governor Swann gives him the lamest of outs as regards Mister Sparrow.

*
3. Norrington thoughts.
(and also thoughts on Governor Swann)

a) It seems very obvious to me that Governor Swann and Commodore Norrington share a relationship of respect and understanding. Swann doesn't take it amiss when Norrington orders him to do something and, more importantly, I think Swann understands Norrington in a way that neither Will nor Elizabeth does. He knew enough to give Norrington an out re: chasing down Jack, and that whole acts of piracy speech makes me all happy with the good!daddy vibes. heh. Governor Swann reminds me of Arthur Weasley. Anyway. They both love Elizabeth deeply, enough to let her follow her heart even if it leads to a less than stellar match. That scene with Governor Swann outside the cabin trying to let his daughter know that he wants her to be happy, no matter what, always just makes me sniffly. Also, I think it's at least a little bit about protecting Norrington from Elizabeth's sense of obligation. 'cause like I said: respect and understanding.

b) I continue to be impressed that Groves has no problem being snarky in Norrington's presence. And I love that Norrington's response is to acknowledge his own mistake in underestimating Jack and to snark back (though in a kind of gritted teeth way).

c) Personally, I'm chalking up the promotion ceremony to Governor Swann wanting to throw a party.

d) Eight years to go from Lieutenant to Commodore (even if Commodore is not an official rank. Still. At least two ships under his command.)

e) He makes that uniform look *good*. Hell, he makes the wig look good.

f) Norrington is shy out of his element. And absolutely, endearingly confident within it.

g) Ruthless and competent. But also willing to be flexible if given a good enough reason. Honorable. Decent. A fine man. But seriously? The thing that I think I may love the most about Norrington is that he's not really willing to settle for less than he's worth. That whole deleted scene with Elizabeth aboard the Dauntless that the writers keep talking up is, to me, all about how Norrington knows what he deserves and it's not second best. He wants her to love him, not because it's some kind of conquest or whatever, but because *he* loves *her*. He wants to be on equal footing with her.

man, I love Norrington a whole lot.

*
4. Mental casting

Norrington's sassy!mama -- Dame Judi.

Am taken with the strange urge to write fic in which Norrington's older brother and assorted female relatives descend upon Port Royal and he is both exasperated and fond. Because he is a romantic, and ridiculously honorable, and he likes Elizabeth's sassiness and is all sassy himself. So, in my mind, this of course means that there is an absurdly close and sharp and sassy family lurking in Norrington's closet.

It's kind of sad. I mean, not in the way where the fic in my head is sad, 'cause it's uh. Silly domestic comedy, really. But sad in that way where it is silly domestic comedy involving matchmaking mamas and perhaps a sister who is taken with Will, and another sister who is taken with Captain Jack, and the youngest sister who loves and adores her older, dashing Commodore of a brother and is all sad that he doesn't come visit them in England more often.

And there are lots of times when they all go to tea with Elizabeth and Will. And the Will-happy sister is all shy and smitten and keeps dropping things on him, and it makes Elizabeth hide smiles at his discomfort and bonds with the pro-James sister and maybe she is kind of wistful because he has a *nice* family (nice being a word I use to mean "witty and bitingly sarcastic and very proper, but also affectionate in a funny way). And Norrington and his older brother (the heir, because you have two or three brothers. The Heir, the Officer, and the Cleric.) are all, "dude, come visit some time." and "No, no, I have no time. Pirates to catch, you know." and then the Heir is all, "Yes, and you've caught them all." and Norrington is all, "Nope. There's still one out there." and the Heir is all, "haha! The infamous Captain Jack Sparrow, eh?" and then they play with shiny pointy sword type things a lot.

And then Jack shows up. Wackiness ensues.

shut up, I like cliches.

And if being an admiral means giving up sailing, I'm not sure Norrington would go for it. 'cause check it: for all that Will is the one who spends the most time with Jack, I don't think that he's the right parallel character. I mean, he's definitely a foil, but he's not...hm. He lies to Jack and doesn't do right by him (not really, I suspect little flutterings of guilt are the primary motivator behind the Swashbuckly Rescue at the end), at least by the standards that Jack would consider doing right. Plus, he kind of has not found himself yet, though he does by the end, and his self seems to be hopelessly out of date by like, a century. Ah well.

*Norrington*, on the other hand, is a fantastic parallel character to Jack. I mean, with the keeping of their word, and Norrington does right by Elizabeth in a huge, major way, and you can tell that he feels absolutely awful about hanging Jack but it's his duty and that's what he *is*. Norrington knows who he is and why he does everything. Just like Jack's motivation is always Get The Pearl Back, Norrington's primary motivator is his devotion to what he perceives to be right. And just like Jack can be detoured into things that are not All About the Pearl (i.e. saving Elizabeth), so too can Norrington detour into acts of less than legality (i.e., "I think we can afford to give him a day's head start.").

Plus, any two characters at extremes like Jack and Norrington automatically default into Compare And Contrast Right Now! Alert! because I really do engage my analytical brain on the lowest possible setting.

anyway. late night ramblings from a tired brain.

keytwirling!