Tall Ship Tales: intro, story guide, and links

[p0wdermonkey]

Tall Ship Tales is my take on Jack Sparrow's backstory, with glimpses of how he might tell it himself.

The five main tales take Jack from landlocked childhood to Shipwreck Cove and are best read in sequence,  although you can dip into any of them if you don't mind having to guess how Jack got there.

There are also two prequels, Shine and Names, which are mainly about Jack's parents and how he got conceived, born and named.  You don't need to read them first.

Prequels

Tale Minus One: Shine
Jack's backstory, day zero.
Characters: Teague, Jack's mother, Tia Dalma
Rating: PG-13
Can be read on its own.

Tale Zero: Names
Days 266 and 275 (give or take a couple of weeks).
Characters: Mostly Jack's mother
Rating: PG-13.  If birth details squick you, don't read.
Can be read on its own.

Main Tales

Tale One: A Keel
Several years on, Jack does some travelling, but it's not clear if he's getting anywhere.
Rating: PG-13.  Implied underage sex.
Characters: Jack, OCs
You can start here, or read -1 and 0 first if you're interested in Jack's parents.

Tale 2: A Hull
Jack discovers the ocean, and some difficulties.
Rating: PG-13.  Implied underage sex.
Characters: Jack, Cartographer, OCs
Tales 1-5 make up a set.  You can read this on its own if you don't mind filling in the blanks, but it's not the best place to start.

Tale 3: A Deck
Jack goes to sea.  More sea than he bargained for.
Rating: PG-13.  Implied underage sex.
Characters: Jack, Cartographer, OCs
You can read this on its own if you don't mind filling in the blanks, but it's not the best place to start.

Tale 4: Sails
New people, new words, new skills.
Rating: PG-13.  Implied underage sex and massive cultural insensitivity.
Characters: Jack, Cartographer, OCs
You can read this on its own if you don't mind filling in the blanks, but it's not the best place to start.

Tale 5: A Ship
Arrival, of a kind.
Rating: PG-13.  Implied underage sex.
Characters: Jack, Teague, OCs
You can read this on its own if you don't mind filling in the blanks, but it's not the best place to start.

You can now see Jack's map of Shipwreck Cove,  brought to you by the wonderful

justawench.