thisisevenharderthannamingablog:

queen-mabs-revenge:

thisisevenharderthannamingablog:

So first of all, this is delightful – no one ever asks me about headcanons. I don’t think I have the knack for them. 🙂

I was thinking about this while I drove in today. I’ve always had the idea in my head that the tattoo predated Milah’s death, or at least part of it did. I was never sure why I had that thought, but thanks to your question I figured it out, and it’s this moment:

I feel like if the tattoo had been always and only a reminder of that day, Killian wouldn’t have reacted quite like this – there would have been more anger, more defensive tactics employed vs the pure avoidance he resorts to. But it’s not just a reminder of revenge, but of love.

I mentioned it in my first Millian fic like that. I can see him just up and deciding one day  early in their relationship that she’s the one, and wanting to mark that – and being Killian, wanting to do it in a way that isn’t really flashy, but still makes a clear commitment. He’s always been more about actions than words.

By the same token, I’m pretty sure he’s already got a swan somewhere. 🙂

OK I love this so much, and because you know I’m a fucking sucker for minutiae I’m hopping on the train. The thing I love about this headcanon, is that by nature of the tattoo’s design, if he got part of it before she died, it would have had to have just been the banner with her name:

The dagger could have only been added after he found out about it (post meeting Bae) and the way it passes through it, it would have had to have been added either before or along with the heart. You can see from the section of the banner nearest the M that nothing passes over the banner, so it absolutely could have been the original piece

Also, timing wise, he would have had to have gotten the rest done on a cake run, or right when he returned to the EF after escaping Neverland for good.

Or one of he crew had a penchant for tattoo…ist…ry (and the means to do it in Neverland)

Anyway, I love this headcanon a lot, and the idea of Captain Killian Jones with a delicate little scroll on his forearm like so (forgive the hasty photoshop job):

makes me very happy.

But also…

Those feathery bits at the side make me wonder – is the heart itself dark enough to be a cover-up job? Perhaps there was a bird in the original tattoo behind the scroll? A bird to represent the freedom they both sought? Covered over by the revenge he tethered himself to?

I DON’T KNOW I HAVE THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS NOW THANKS.

Thank you for that lovely and painful addition. 🙂