you know ;)

The fire alarm went off at school today because of a mistake, but your teachers did the right thing to take you outside to be sure it was safe.

Some people use wheelchairs because their legs don’t walk very well. It can happen because they are old and tired, or because they got hurt, or because they were born that way.

Your Uncle Jerod talked to mom and dad, and wants you to call her Aunt Kari now. We will call her Kari too, and we can all practice together if it takes some getting used to.

Anticipate age-appropriate fears the child might have so you can assuage those that are not a threat.

Yes, Kitty died at the vet, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not safe for Puppy to go to the vet.

Yes, Peyton and Jo are getting a divorce, but they are both still part of our family and love you very much.

Yes, Grandma has cancer, but cancer is not contagious, so you are not going to get cancer by visiting her.

Anticipate fears that are realistic, and give the child clear direction about what to do, and what happens next.

If someone asks you to get in their car without permission, find Mom, Mama, or a teacher and tell them right away. We will make sure you are safe.

If Sparky’s sickness makes him hurt very badly, we are going to take him to the vet and she will give him some medicine, and he will die, but then he won’t hurt any more. Because Sparky is very sick, we are going to spend some special time with him over the next few days.

If the fire alarm goes off at school again, follow the teacher’s directions. If the fire alarm goes off and you are somewhere alone, go outside, and ask a grownup to call 911.

Reassure the child that they’re safe and loved, validate their feelings, and see if they have follow-up questions. Give them the option to take space to process, or to stay near you to feel safe.

I’m sad about Sparky too. Do you think we could make his favorite peanut-butter treats, while we are spending special time with him?

I understand why Grandma’s cancer makes you feel angry. It doesn’t seem fair that people we love get sick. Would you like a hug?

I call this phenomenon Jack Sparrow Syndrome because Jack Sparrow in the original POTC trilogy is Not The Protagonist; he's more akin to The Trickster or Mastermind or The Cunning Fool archetypes or some combination of these, which is what made him so compelling in the first 3 movies. None of these are compatible with being a Protagonist (at least not in the conventions established by POTC as a franchise) because the audience has to know what the protagonist's motives are to have any interest in the plot. a huge part of why Jack Sparrow *WAS* compelling in the original trilogy was that we (the audience) and characters around him never quite knew What His Deal Was.

a huge part of why the last two POTC suck ass (apart from the fact they're Just Bad) is because they made Jack Sparrow The Protagonist, and in doing so had to make him legible to the audience in a way that requires fundamentally altering the character's function in the story, and therefore fundamentally altering the character altogether. Often, for the worst. Jack Sparrow is far from the first or only character to suffer this fate.

I'd argue an early significant example of Jack Sparrow Syndrome is Lestat De Lioncourt, who was so fundamentally altered by becoming The Protagonist between IWTV and TVL that reading the books back to back had me seriously questioning if they were even written by the same author. Earlier still, one could make an argument for later Sherlock Holmes stories. Another example is Loki in the MCU, who went from being the literal god of mischief to a fucking COP for all of reality in his own show. I would also argue Spok suffers from this in many Star Trek reboots/spin-offs. There's another, more recent example, which is actually what inspired me to make this post, but the author doesn't deserve the attention.

When I explain this concept to people, they often suggest that I am talking about Flanderisation. While there can be some crossover, Jack Sparrow-ing is not reducing a character to their surface-level mannerisms, but it can appear that way. Often the character's typical mannerisms are ramped up to cover for a drastic character overhaul that places them in a more prominent role than they were designed for. Jack Sparrow-ing is taking a character who was never meant to be the Audience Way In. making them thus, and completely changing them in the process. While there are *some* examples where taking a Side Character and making them the Main Character has worked, it is my opinion that those are exceptions and not the Rule. It is also my opinion that this is one of the more tragic things that can happen to a character you love very much. thank you for coming <333