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marginalia) wrote2004-03-13 11:41 pm
marginalia) wrote2004-03-13 11:41 pm
Entry tags:
fic: salt up the stem
title: salt up the stem
archive: .: marginalia :.
pairing: norrington/jack/elizabeth
disclaimer: i own nothing
notes: for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
viva_gloria & the the first norrington ficathon. requested Norrington/Jack or Norrington/Jack/Elizabeth, not *pure* angst, please, let them have fun, and no "getting rid" of Elizabeth!. one benefit to not reading PotC fic is that if i have no idea if i'm writing fandom clichés or not. also, a bit of a stylistic experiment. hold fast! wait. wrong ship.
It all made sense because, you see, Elizabeth never wanted anything long after she had it. At least, almost never. Also, of course, because Will was never really the pirate. Elizabeth was the pirate.
She kissed him and wed him and it was lovely for a while. But when it came time, when she could not stand the call of the sea and the creak of the ships any longer she said she had to leave. She said he could come along and he said all right but they both knew he would not. In spite of everything, he was a blacksmith, not a pirate.
When Elizabeth left, she knew exactly where to go, how to find the ghost ship. The black sails, the wind, the salt spray had haunted her dreams.
::
The thing about Jack is that he always spoke the truth. The thing about James is that he appreciated grand gestures. The thing about them together is that someone had to remind James to swim.
When James's world went spinning over and he slipped into the deep, Jack caught him and pulled him ashore. James's eyes went dark when Jack licked the salt from his skin.
When Elizabeth finally found them, no one was surprised.
::
After Elizabeth had been at sea three days she threatened to cut off her hair. It blew all about her face in the wind, and by the end of her watch it had twisted into knots and snarls that brought her near tears to comb out. The next day Jack caught her on her way below decks and took her to his cabin. He drew out a jar of light oil (a gift from James), bade her sit, and drew the comb (a gift from an island princess) through her hair, slowly, gently, teasing the tangles loose. He hummed low and dreamy in her ear, and she grew drowsy with rocking and rhythm. He told her to come to him tomorrow before she went above. She dreamt of mermaids.
In the morning he braided her hair, fastened it with beads and bone, and pinned it as a crown. When Elizabeth went above, the rising sun caught her as James turned to say good morning, caught her and made her glow, caught his breath. And he breathed Elizabeth.
James breathed Elizabeth and the sea and the topsy-turvy world, but mostly the sea and the rope and the wood for when it came right down to it, what James loved best was the ocean.
::
Whenever the water was calm and the Pearl slowly drifting, James would say he was going for a swim. Elizabeth, bold, refused to turn away when he would arise dripping from the sea, water streaming from his dark queue. She said she could not bear to miss his smile, when the swim smoothed the furrow from his brow. She said he shone. She said she had never seen him so happy. Perhaps she had never seen him happy at all.
He would go below deck to dress, sometimes returning quickly, sometimes not, lured and captured by Jack's wicked tongue. When he reappeared he tangled his fingers in hers and watched the sun scatter golden coins across the water.
::
They always knew where Jack was, for he was never quiet. Jack at the wheel sang in full voice, Jack about ship hummed, Jack in speech was lyrical. Jack when Elizabeth traced his scars and James kissed him deep, well. Maybe sometimes Jack was quiet.
The rest of the time, Jack's voice twined with the lapping of the waves, the pull of the ropes, and the creaking of the beams. A song that cradled James in his hammock and rocked him to a sleep he had never found on land.
::
The ocean was vast but the Pearl was a world unto itself. The crew was used to Jack's . . .eccentricities. They took to Elizabeth because she immediately wore breeches, glad to be free of the constraints of life on land. And they took to James when they realized he could best them all with the sword.
Some afternoons he would practice dueling with Elizabeth, her feet light on the deck. When battle came, she would be prepared. She would rather die than be shielded. No damsel in distress.
::
James had always loved the ocean. He had learned it and protected it, and then he learned that maybe it didn't need protecting after all. Maybe he did.
He called to Jack to dive, and they raced around the ship. Elizabeth peered over the rail, laughing and cheering. James was the faster swimmer but Jack was more graceful. Casting a quick eye around deck she stripped down to smallclothes and threw herself into the sea. They turned away from her splash, then turned back, circled her, bobbing and shining, touching and tasting in the water.
That night on deck, they drank as the moon grew full and silver, painting streaks across the sea.
::
On the Pearl it all made sense, you understand.
archive: .: marginalia :.
pairing: norrington/jack/elizabeth
disclaimer: i own nothing
notes: for
viva_gloria & the the first norrington ficathon. requested Norrington/Jack or Norrington/Jack/Elizabeth, not *pure* angst, please, let them have fun, and no "getting rid" of Elizabeth!. one benefit to not reading PotC fic is that if i have no idea if i'm writing fandom clichés or not. also, a bit of a stylistic experiment. hold fast! wait. wrong ship.It all made sense because, you see, Elizabeth never wanted anything long after she had it. At least, almost never. Also, of course, because Will was never really the pirate. Elizabeth was the pirate.
She kissed him and wed him and it was lovely for a while. But when it came time, when she could not stand the call of the sea and the creak of the ships any longer she said she had to leave. She said he could come along and he said all right but they both knew he would not. In spite of everything, he was a blacksmith, not a pirate.
When Elizabeth left, she knew exactly where to go, how to find the ghost ship. The black sails, the wind, the salt spray had haunted her dreams.
::
The thing about Jack is that he always spoke the truth. The thing about James is that he appreciated grand gestures. The thing about them together is that someone had to remind James to swim.
When James's world went spinning over and he slipped into the deep, Jack caught him and pulled him ashore. James's eyes went dark when Jack licked the salt from his skin.
When Elizabeth finally found them, no one was surprised.
::
After Elizabeth had been at sea three days she threatened to cut off her hair. It blew all about her face in the wind, and by the end of her watch it had twisted into knots and snarls that brought her near tears to comb out. The next day Jack caught her on her way below decks and took her to his cabin. He drew out a jar of light oil (a gift from James), bade her sit, and drew the comb (a gift from an island princess) through her hair, slowly, gently, teasing the tangles loose. He hummed low and dreamy in her ear, and she grew drowsy with rocking and rhythm. He told her to come to him tomorrow before she went above. She dreamt of mermaids.
In the morning he braided her hair, fastened it with beads and bone, and pinned it as a crown. When Elizabeth went above, the rising sun caught her as James turned to say good morning, caught her and made her glow, caught his breath. And he breathed Elizabeth.
James breathed Elizabeth and the sea and the topsy-turvy world, but mostly the sea and the rope and the wood for when it came right down to it, what James loved best was the ocean.
::
Whenever the water was calm and the Pearl slowly drifting, James would say he was going for a swim. Elizabeth, bold, refused to turn away when he would arise dripping from the sea, water streaming from his dark queue. She said she could not bear to miss his smile, when the swim smoothed the furrow from his brow. She said he shone. She said she had never seen him so happy. Perhaps she had never seen him happy at all.
He would go below deck to dress, sometimes returning quickly, sometimes not, lured and captured by Jack's wicked tongue. When he reappeared he tangled his fingers in hers and watched the sun scatter golden coins across the water.
::
They always knew where Jack was, for he was never quiet. Jack at the wheel sang in full voice, Jack about ship hummed, Jack in speech was lyrical. Jack when Elizabeth traced his scars and James kissed him deep, well. Maybe sometimes Jack was quiet.
The rest of the time, Jack's voice twined with the lapping of the waves, the pull of the ropes, and the creaking of the beams. A song that cradled James in his hammock and rocked him to a sleep he had never found on land.
::
The ocean was vast but the Pearl was a world unto itself. The crew was used to Jack's . . .eccentricities. They took to Elizabeth because she immediately wore breeches, glad to be free of the constraints of life on land. And they took to James when they realized he could best them all with the sword.
Some afternoons he would practice dueling with Elizabeth, her feet light on the deck. When battle came, she would be prepared. She would rather die than be shielded. No damsel in distress.
::
James had always loved the ocean. He had learned it and protected it, and then he learned that maybe it didn't need protecting after all. Maybe he did.
He called to Jack to dive, and they raced around the ship. Elizabeth peered over the rail, laughing and cheering. James was the faster swimmer but Jack was more graceful. Casting a quick eye around deck she stripped down to smallclothes and threw herself into the sea. They turned away from her splash, then turned back, circled her, bobbing and shining, touching and tasting in the water.
That night on deck, they drank as the moon grew full and silver, painting streaks across the sea.
::
On the Pearl it all made sense, you understand.
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With that line I was completely drawn in. I love this story. I don't read any POTC fic... I have no idea why... I just haven't been interested for some reason. This I'm interested in.
They always knew where Jack was, for he was never quiet. Jack at the wheel sang in full voice, Jack about ship hummed, Jack in speech was lyrical. Jack when Elizabeth traced his scars and James kissed him deep, well. Maybe sometimes Jack was quiet.
Mmmm...
This whole thing is just... *heart*
On the Pearl it all made sense, you understand.
Yes. :)
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thank you!
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Excellently done.
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thank you!
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O_O I hadn't the slightest idea who "James" was the entire way through (when in the movie do they ever say his first name?). I caught it when I went back to look at the header and had to reread. Had a sudden image of him losing all composure under Jack as Jack licked salt from him... yeow.
And interesting that, after all, she returns to Norrington. Though she was looking for Jack (and yes, she's the one who's a pirate, never Will) and found a greatly different Norrington. Actually I like your characterization of him (now that I know it's him *sheepish smile*) the best. It's neat to turn him into someone freer. In the movie he does seem like he has some depth to his character but he's really not happy.
sigh. For some reason that just left me with a really happy feeling. Maybe because the freedom that is embodied in a ship at sea (in canon and real life and pretty much everywhere) is found by the three people, and the way you wrote it twined those together.
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i had a really difficult time getting started on this, but when i went back and watched the movie it seemed like he did everything because he thought he should but nothing actually made him happy. and then i thought about this icon and the sea and, well, there you go :)
thank you for the lovely feedback and the rec :)
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WOW!*gasp* This is so beautiful, touching, funny, perfect. I think this must be my fave of your fics so far. *hugs you*
The Characters! I have no words, but...Loved this part:
They always knew where Jack was, for he was never quiet. Jack at the wheel sang in full voice, Jack about ship hummed, Jack in speech was lyrical. Jack when Elizabeth traced his scars and James kissed him deep, well. Maybe sometimes Jack was quiet.
I'm pimping this, you have my word!
~J~
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you deserve the praise for this!
;)
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When battle came, she would be prepared. She would rather die than be shielded. No damsel in distress.
Word.
And that last line? Perfect.
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There is something in this line - the images - that resonated deep within me. Sweetie, this is so beautiful. And I loved your style. I felt like I was bobbing up and down on ocean waves and I lost myself in this story.
I going to rec this puppy for sure. *hugs* Thank you for posting!
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And this bit was truly evocative:
They always knew where Jack was, for he was never quiet. Jack at the wheel sang in full voice, Jack about ship hummed, Jack in speech was lyrical. Jack when Elizabeth traced his scars and James kissed him deep, well. Maybe sometimes Jack was quiet.
The rest of the time, Jack's voice twined with the lapping of the waves, the pull of the ropes, and the creaking of the beams.
I can hear him, above the sounds of the ship.
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wow. if this was a stylistic experiment, it was certainly a successful one...there's something really interesting about the tone here, and i can't articulate what it is, at all, but it's lovely to read and has a certain kind of rhythm to it, i think.
i wasn't too enthralled with Elizabeth or Norrington in the movie, but i loved reading about them here. let's see, i think i'll copy and paste random sentences at you now?
The thing about them together is that someone had to remind James to swim. love that. couldn't tell you why, exactly, am obviously really, really horrible at feedbacking coherently even at sane hours of the day.
the bits about the moon and sun scattering silver and gold over the water were beautiful, and i love the image of Elizabeth with her hair in a braided crown adorned with charms, and the thought of Jack singing and humming all the time to the creaking of the ship.
<333 (and look, i resorted to hearts anyway.)
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and i'm just addicted to music and the sea and getting them into stories, and here i could do it all, and so, yes. thank you :) <3
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I love your eye for detail here: it's not about what is said but a closeness that is implied. Particularly loved Jack braiding Elizabeth's hair -- he's so much more practical than she is, but there's a sensuality to it too, and the bone and beads are so very Jack. And James teaching Elizabeth to fence, to duel. And James and Jack swimming.
There's a wonderful sense of equality to it all, and it's as though they have left the mundane world behind to enter this new Pearl-world where everything is treasure, and much of it silver and gold as well!
Hope poor Will is not too bored without any of them to play with. But he's the one I can least imagine relaxing into the setting!
delicious. Thank you for writing!