#Sparrabeth romance fic

[princeseerow]

my one singular pirates of the caribbean fic idea however is just an excuse to ignore OST and DMTNT entirely and give elizabeth some actual shit to do post trilogy. still no real action scenes tho lmao probably just a lot of introspection and exploration of her relationships w/ the people in her life

[tespuco]

PotC Liveblog: Dead Man’s Chest

I’d been looking forward to rewatching DMC for some time. It was the movie that canonized my OTP and inspired so many amazing Sparrabeth fics. I fondly recalled seeing it in theaters with my family, my eyes and shipper heart growing bigger and wider with every subtext-laden appearance of Jack’s compass. I remembered feeling personally betrayed by Elizabeth’s death-kiss, like the writers had deliberately buoyed my hopes only to ruthlessly crush them. Unlike CotBP, I had only seen DMC once before, and I couldn’t wait to appreciate the complicated Jack/Elizabeth dynamic with more mature eyes.

Boy, was I disappointed. Not by the Sparrabeth, thank the gods, but by literally everything else.

Is it just me or was this movie composed of a bunch of standalone scenes and set pieces strung together? Did they bring in Tim Burton just to direct the visuals of the interrupted wedding scene? Why does the Turkish prison sequence look like the opening cutscene to a high fantasy RPG videogame with the brightness setting turned down to zero?

OK I laughed at Jack popping out of the coffin and using a femur as a paddle, but I’m confused about everything else

Oh look, the crew’s on the verge of mutiny again, and this time it is Jack’s fault

Listen, I have Ted Elliott’s compass meta tattooed on my heart, but in retrospect the “Why is all the rum gone?” scene was probably too subtle. The audience doesn’t even know at this point how the compass is supposed to work. Maybe if they had the balls to actually include the deleted Sparrabeth scenes in CotBP, Jack’s emotional turmoil wouldn’t have seemed so opaque!

Still, a character being Vexed about their affections/feelings and doing a poor job of managing that vexation is my idea of high romance

(and both Jack and Elizabeth are quite vexed with each other indeed)

I CANNOT believe I had to sit through an uninterrupted half hour of racist filler that does absolutely fuck-all to advance the plot while ticking at least four boxes on my postcolonial bingo card what the fucking fuck

Let’s tally the cinematic sins: unfunny physical comedy in a style that would’ve been more suited to animation; indigenous cannibals speaking in unrealistic, buffoonish gibberish; said cannibals worshiping our hero (and later a dog) as a deity; and worst of all--

All the brown men that Gibbs hired as extras additional crew for the Black Pearl in DMC were put into a separate cage from the recurring white characters from CotBP (btw Anamaria is absent without even a throwaway line of explanation) because apparently even barbaric islanders know and practice segregation

And so segregated, the crew enters the stupidest, most contrived rat race up a cliffside with each other that ends with the brown people’s cage falling into the ravine THEREBY GETTING RID OF ALL THE CHARACTERS OF COLOR IN ONE FELL SWOOP

Also egregious racism aside, I’m put off by the film’s rather cavalier attitude towards gratuitous loss of life? Idk I feel like in the midst of all the action and adventure CotBP knew how to handle death and violence with the appropriate modicum of gravity and horror

Meanwhile on the island Gibbs is just like “oiya we’re standing in cages built from the bones of our former shipmates ha ha”

As for Jack - Jack has yet to save a cat or anything else besides his own skin, so he’s rapidly losing the goodwill he accumulated in the first film

holy shit yet another Elizabeth Swann-related realization about my sexual awakening: her look as a cross-dressing stowaway - pretty, delicate features in a boyish, flat-chested, slender form - is literally my sexuality 

She’s literally pulling the strings of all the men on that ship! What a puppet-master queen

Tia Dalma’s interest in Will and the “touch of destiny” line is an interesting bit of foreshadowing that doesn’t get any payoff in this film. DMC and AWE have been criticized for being impossible to watch as standalone films, but I think there’s something to be said for a universe that strives for internal continuity and demands more than a casual investment in its proceedings (a related but distinct model from the MCU)

If you gave me half a reason to I would ship Jack Sparrow with anybody and everybody. Look at the flirtatious lines and looks he exchanges with Tia Dalma!! Give me that story! (Actually, artaxastra did, twice: once in her standalone Creole!Jack origin story, And All of Them True, and once again in Gods and Heroes, a Jack/Calypso interlude in her Outlaws and Inlaws ‘verse)

Tia Dalma’s acceptance (and release) of Jack’s payment for her services tells me two things about her that I really like: (1) she’s like a magpie that collects interesting miscellany (witty tricksters, cunning pirate lords, undead monkeys). and (2) she’s not interested in caging creatures (the foreshadowing!!)

FINALLY WE GET SOME JACK/ELIZABETH INTERACTION

God bless Keira’s face and acting choices!! The chemistry!! All the little smiles and smirks they share!!

How doth she look at thee? Let me count all the ways: her amused, tentatively credulous smile at Jack’s storytelling and posturing over a magical compass and chest, while Norrington scoffs disbelievingly in the background; her having to bite her lips and walk away before Jack notices her giddiness because she literally cannot handle their flirting; her little laugh as he gently rebuffs the idea that he’s a good man

Also “I have faith in you. Both of you,” were her parting words to Will and here she gets a chance to tell Jack in person yay

Their little dance of “persuasion” is hot and all (Jack literally looks like he has to bite back a groan and whimper), but I’m really here for the banter (“Friendly?” / “Decidedly not.”); they get each other, and, under the right conditions, can communicate so effortlessly

“Why doesn’t your compass work?” - alright so ofc I love the legendary “curiosity” exchange, but I’m so confused by the abrupt transition in their conversation here? Like why didn’t she follow through and tug on that line of inquiry?? The “Because you and I are alike” line that follows makes no logical sense in context (ETA: I guess it could suggest that Elizabeth already knows why the compass doesn't work for him, because he's torn between doing the right thing and the selfish thing... But at this point she doesn't suspect him of lying to her, so...idek)

“You’d never put me in a position that would compromise my honor” - my god what a TEASE my queer heart

Oh, Norrington, what’s happened to you?? What happened to serving others, not just himself?? :(( It kinda confuses me that he goes on about the “dark side of ambition” and the “promise of redemption” when he’s the one who voluntarily resigned from his post...

Norrington carrying both shovels while Jack just poses prettily though lol

JACK’S COMPASS FINALLY WORKS FOR HIM BECAUSE THE TWO THINGS HE WANTS MOST IN THE WORLD--THE CHEST AND ELIZABETH--ARE IN THE SAME PLACE AND HE KNOWS IT

idk I guess some people find the three-way swordfighting scene hilarious but I’m with Elizabeth on this one: men are stupid 

ugh this script makes no sense

I’m so fucking confused by the narrative logic here: if Jones is dead, there’s no one to call off the Kraken?? But isn’t Jones the one calling the Kraken in the first place, to settle Jack’s debt? So if they killed Jones, wouldn’t the debt be null and void? NO JONES, NO KRAKEN, DUUUH.

OK but Jack is really unlikable in this film, last-minute “heroic” acts notwithstanding. Give me fix-it fics please

I mean it’s rather telling that by the time Jack returns to the Pearl there are only enough survivors to fill a single longboat. Oh yes he “saved them all” - the few that were left!!

This script has more holes in it than the Pearl does right now: everyone unquestioningly follows Will’s orders like he’s the captain (what happened to the dork who shouted, “Aye! Avast!”?? And there’s no evidence that since his engagement post-CotBP he’s practiced any sailing)

I mean it’s like no one but Elizabeth even noticed Jack was gone; the moment he comes back Gibbs chirps, “Captain, orders?” as if he never left. This coward just abandoned you all!!!

“It’s only a ship, mate.” - This is actually just the saddest line, and I’m glad Elizabeth was there to witness it because if there’s one thing she took away from their fireside conversation in CotBP it’s that the Black Pearl is more than a ship to Jack; what it really is is freedom, and here Jack’s set to lose both

And that’s what Elizabeth--not the Kraken--definitively takes from Jack: his freedom. Not just his ability to run away from his fate, but also the chance to take a stand and face it. (I like to think that, more than the murderous act itself, is what he finds so hard to forgive post-DMC. The darker Jack in salr323′s oneshot, Perfidy, written post-AWE, articulates this eloquently: “You know nothing of my debt, love, nor of my payment. But had you allowed me a nobler death, my account might have been lighter.”) His last act of defiance entails reclaiming what choice he has left: slipping slickly out of his shackles, hat on, “hello beastie,” into the monster’s maw.

Ugh they could have given Jack’s whole arc with Davy Jones such PATHOS instead of waiting until the very end--he struck a deal with the devil in all his youth and despair and hubris; now the bell is tolling and he realizes 13 years is nothing, no time at all, and he’s not ready to die; not today, not ever--yes it’s selfish and dishonorable (Will’s willing to square the debt of a father he hardly ever knew; he wouldn’t have blinked at paying his own) but how human is that? to fight and run even as the flames lick your heels? 

omg Jack is the jackrabbit

The irony of that eulogy still gives me feelings tho: “Guess that honest streak finally won out.” Elizabeth wrested away Jack’s control over his own story, so now she has to write it for him. When she toasts, “He was a good man,” it’s in both unearned homage and recompense. 

“And the world is a little less bright.” - OK but that’s too much. Moving words from Gibbs, but here it’s like he’s speaking directly to/for the audience, and not in a good way. It’s too obviously meta, and especially out of place in a film where Jack did not shine very bright at all

In-universe, it’s not very believable that two pirates like Pintel and Ragetti--who mutinied against Jack before, without a hint of remorse!--would now risk their lives to save him

Honestly if Disney wanted to include familiar faces/fan favorites in the supporting cast for AWE, they could’ve easily written a more realistic line like, “what the hell do we have to lose?” or some more selfish motive, none of these panegyrics

btw who are the native people standing in the swampwater? holding candles with mournful tears in their eyes?? no seriously who are they??? (I dearly hope such a striking tableau was meant to hint at Jack’s history with Tia Dalma and the residents of this bayou, but the more cynical part of me thinks: “Now hiring: extras of color, to play the part of human candlesticks lit in exaltation of an ambiguously white man” The writers get no benefit of the doubt from me after forcing me to sit through that cannibal island act)

It sounds sadistic of me but seeing how anguished Elizabeth is after claiming she’s not sorry gives me life

She keeps crying, and can’t even bring herself to drink Tia Dalma’s concoction against cold and sorrow! She just fakes a sip, which is such a great little character beat, because it shows she doesn’t think she deserves the remedy! She’ll just have to live with it...

That is, until Will decides he can’t stand the sight of her grief, and opens up Pandora’s box for her despite just catching her passionately kissing another man: “If there was anything to be done to bring him back, Elizabeth...” He really is too good for this world

And Elizabeth MUST know there’s a price, that she’d be staking not just her own life and happiness but her betrothed’s, and yet selfishly, always selfish, she says, “Yes” 

BARBOSSA!!! Still the most epic character reveal ever. I still remember the theater bursting into gasps and applause, good times

[norrington-hell]

For the ship thing, Norrington/Elizabeth, naturally. And, just because I'm an evil little imp, Jack and Elizabeth as a BroShip.

What, ho! I was hoping to get this ask!

Norribeth

Werewolf: ElizabethHunter: JamesI mean…he’s already a pirate hunter. It translates really well, I think. Plus, I like the idea of him finally catching her and not being able to hurt her. >:}

Mermaid: ElizabethFisherman: JamesSelf-explanatory, I should think. And I gotta say…my au meter may have spiked a bit with this one.

Witch: ElizabethFamiliar: JamesHe is ever at her command, is he not? But what kind of animal would he take the form of? A raven? A wolf? Hmm…

Barista: JamesCoffee Addict: ElizabethOkay so this one is less because of personality and more because the idea of James making latte art while wearing an apron pleases me greatly. Extra foam, please! XD

Professor: JamesTA: ElizabethThe nine year age gap has a lot to do with this. I imagine James would teach some sort of history. Perhaps specializing in Age of Sail. But I could also see him studying literature.

Knight: JamesPrince KING: ElizabethI mean…I wrote a whole fic about this one so…lol

Teacher: JamesSingle Parent: ElizabethUGH. Dad!James is a monumentally appealing concept, and that almost changed my answer, but the canon got in the way. Elizabeth raising Henry alone? He’s been acting out at school? His teacher, Mr. Norrington, makes a special project of him, taking him under his wing? UGH I SAY.GIVE IT TO ME.

Writer: ElizabethEditor: JamesI like the idea of her writing a swashbuckling romance serial, and he pretends to hate it but has secretly worn the binding out on every single installment. Especially the one where the romantic lead has oddly familiar, piercing green eyes…

Sparrabeth

(Now, this is pretty far from being an otp or mine, but since you asked so nicely, here you go.)

Werewolf: JackHunter: ElizabethI’m seeing less of a rivalry and more of him helping her hunt the more dangerous werewolves out there.

Mermaid: JackFisherman: ElizabethI don’t really have a reason, but I feel like it fits.

Witch: ElizabethFamiliar: JackOkay, if James is a wolf or a raven, Jack is a cat for sure.…god. I’m warming to this idea. She’s a witch and they’re both her familiars who serve her but don’t get along. The hi-jinks! What possibilities!

Barista: JackCoffee Addict: ElizabethHe looks like the kind of dude to work at an indie coffee shop. Just saying.

Professor: JackTA: ElizabethThough I have no idea what he’d teach.

Knight: JackPrince KING: ElizabethHe’s not really the knight type…but she’s always the King. Always.

Teacher: JackSingle Parent: ElizabethBut mostly because I have trouble picturing Jack with a kid.

Writer: JackEditor: ElizabethOf all of them, this was my fave for these two. He’s always late for his deadlines, and so she has to wade into his cave of an apartment, rip open the drapes, and physically drag him to the typewriter. This au idea has a lot of potential. A LOT.

[apirateslifeforme123]

@snowbryneich I don't have to be good as you asked loads :) 8, 26, 30 and 31, 38, 40, 46 and 47!

Haha yah! :)

8 – what time are you most productive?

           Any time I can steal some alone time. Which is usually at work, strangely enough, but sometimes on the weekends when hubby is embroiled in a project and I can sneak up into my barn loft/studio for some me time.

 26-story you’re most proud of

           Hmm. A toss up between Mark’d and If A Pirate I Must Be. They were pretty original for fic works me thinks. ::pats self on back::

 30- hardest part of writing

           Besides finding the time to do it, I would say writing endings. I get so psyched out about endings because I’m so finicky about endings. It’s rare than a story ends the way I think it should, and I guess I kinda shoot myself in the foot with my own high standards. Instead of just writing and then assessing it afterwards I don’t’ write anything at all unless I know it’s good and exactly what I want.

31 easiest part of writing

           When you hit that creative sweet spot where everything just flows, you know? Then it seems easy. You have your heading, the wind is in your sails, and 8000 words just flow from your fingertips. I love that feeling. I would shoot that feeling with a needle if I could.

 38 Do you reread your own stories?

           I am so guilty of this! I have a terrible memory, so if I wait long enough its like I didn’t even write it and someone is telling me exactly the story I wanted to read, lol. Sad, I know.

40 which one of your stories would you most like to see as a movie/series

           Hmm. In Service To the King could be interesting. Or If A Pirate I Must be. I just LOVE post AWE pirate king Lizzy, killin’ it on the reg.

 46 - share a scene of a story you haven’t published yet

 I will do this one in a separate post due to length... :)

 47 how many unfinished ideas/stories are you working on at the same time.

Ahhhaaahaaaa oh dear. ::starts sobbing:: Actually I’ve been ok at finishing things lately but somehow i still have 7-ish unfinished fics at the moment that I still intend to keep working on. 1) One Year 2) OST Pirate King Remix 3) In Service to the King 4) Sequel snippets to There Was A Time 5) promised sequel to For Whom The Bell Tolls 6) Bring me our horizon 7) the Sparrabeth Reincarnation AU, I’m going to count here bc of writing so many detailed outlines for it here. I need to listen to my dancehall mix and get back on that!

Also maybe 3-ish original works too that I’m plinking away at? I’m always tweaking my Dakota del Toro, Bounty Hunter adventures even though the urban fantasy genre has reached absolute saturation [with mostly crap, thx Twilight, True Blood, & Vampire Diaries] and I doubt I’ll ever see it published. I’m writing a vampire/pirate modern/historical crossover. Hahahaa I know hush. :P And I’ve just started a pirate/royal navy romance novel that I’m 12,000 words deep into just this week that I actually feel pretty good about so far. There’s such a deficit for royal navy romance! Lol. Why is this not a thing!? I guess because it’s such a complex subject, but still. I’m so tired of reading about heroes who were in the army. ::sticks out tongue::  I want navy captains who are tall and green eyed ok? Hahahaa I need help.

[beholdthethunder]

Sparrabeth Chronicles #30!!!!

(It’s like a book club, for Sparrabeth fanfic! Check out the tag Sparrabeth Chronicles every other Wednesday Thursday for a new fic rec brought to you by: @orionredstarr, @apirateslifeforme123,  and me @princesspenelopenerfherder, and anyone who wants to join us!)

Holy Cow! 30 entries! Just goes to show how many wonderful works are out there in the world wide web. 

To kick off the new year, I would like to present a timeless classic written by a mainstay in the sparrabeth community. 

Vulnerant Omnes, Ultima Necat by Florencia7

This story is filled with delicious angst, fluffy romance, and such a masterfully intriguing plot that deals with time travel, Gods, and Death (the embodiment of, that is...no spoilers I swear). As always, Florencia has woven a marvelous tapestry of the characters we love so dearly and brings a fresh take on the events post DMC. 

Enjoy a snippet!

Elizabeth walked inside one of the taverns, without glancing at its name. She cringed, suddenly finding herself in the middle of a noisy, brightly lit room, full of smoke, full of people, and full of rum.

She felt out of place, and out of time...She felt as if she had no right to be there, to be a part of that reality, as if by sending one man to Davy Jones’ Locker, she had killed more than one person...

She looked around feeling like a ghost among the living, even though she could not be sure how many ghosts were around her, while she was certainly real, and  alive.

Alive. He was alive. Somewhere here, he was alive.

The past...She was in the past. Although it was difficult to notice. Tortuga was clearly one of those towns which did not change much over the years. She wondered how far back she had gone? How many years? Will he know her? Will he recognize her? Or perhaps she travelled so far back that he will not eve know who she was...