Dreams and Desire by ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
gryphons_lair with ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
commodorified -
gryphons_lair takes a classic Sparrington trope and gives it a gloriously fresh spin. It's some unspecified time after the end of the movie and both Jack Sparrow and James Norrington find themselves perpetually distracted by thoughts and dreams of the other. It's a popular tale, but
gryphons_lair makes it feel fresh and utterly believable. What carries it off is her fabulous feel for plot and characterization. Not only Jack and James come alive in this story, but a whole collection of supporting characters, from Lts. Gillette and Groves to Gibbs and Anamaria, every one of them is alive and distinct. They move in and out of the narrative, but they are just as alive and distinct and real as the two main characters. Meanwhile,
gryphons_lair puts as much effort and attention into how Jack and James arrive at their eventual meeting as she does into the meeting itself. She takes her time, she makes it believable, so that the payoff is not merely incredibly sexy, but believable and right.
commodorified is credited as co-author of the final part and her trademark skill for erotic writing is very apparant. Overall, it is simply a stunning, sumptuous story.
Regarding Cowrie Shells and Rum by the_dala - Pirates is a somewhat limiting fandom for femslash. There are really only two female characters we see much of at all, and their interaction in canon is rather limited. That being said, I love femslash and I adore Elizabeth/Anamaria as a pairing and this story captures everything I love about both. Dala's Elizabeth and Anamaria are two sides of the same coin. One young, but no longer innocent, the other hardened by life but not hard. Both supremely confident in themselves and in their capabilities. They are drawn to each other, in the back corner of a crowded tavern, in a heady mix of rum and sympathy and desire. Elizabeth's entire world has just shifted under her, but instead of falling she moves with it, moves into it, opens herself up to the new possiblities now before her. I love reading Dala's fic, because she just keeps getting better and better with every story she writes. She calls this story "just a little femmeslash PWP," but it really isn't. It's too complex to be dismissed that easily. It's a complicated a mix of emotions and motives and intentions with just enough plot to give them solidity and direction.
Crossed by firesignwriter - Everything Firesignwriter writes is phenomenal and this piece is no exception. Set shortly after the end of the movie,
Crossed is told from Anamaria's point of view. The only three familiar characters featured are Anamaria, Jack Sparrow and Gibbs, and all three of them are spot on. In particular Firesignwriter does a terrific job of getting right inside Anamaria's head and bringing her to life; taking the foundation laid by the movie and filling it out into a complicated flesh and blood woman.
This is not a particularly light story. But it doesn't dwell in the darkness either. It has a feel of very matter of fact everyday brutality to it, of what its like to be a woman making your own terms in the roughest and toughest corners of a man's world. Anamaria looks at the world without any blinders and deals with it on its own terms and that's how the story is written as well. Firesignwriter has a stunning way with words, sketching out a scene or character with a bare minimum of words and perfectly capturing the feel of a time a place and the people in it.
The French Connection by gileonnen - Gileonnen was one of the earliest Sparrington writers and hers is the first Sparrington fic I remember ever reading. When I saw that only one of her fics and none of her Sparrington had been recced here, I knew I had to correct the deficiency.
The French Connection is one of my favorites of her stories for the simple reason that it never fails to make me laugh. It's a short, light story, but it absolutely sparkles with wit and Gileonnen's delightful talent for the absurd. Written less than a month after the release of the movie, it is also a look back at the very early days of PoTC fandom. It was actually written before Norrington even had a recognized first name. He may not have had a first name, but the good Commodore did have an obsession. Perhaps a little too much of an obsession...
Acting Pirate Kennedy by linaelyn - This is a delightful PoTC/Hornblower crossover story, slipped into a gap in the HH timeline that I'd never thought of as a gap before I read this. Linaelyn's story of Archie Kennedy's brief sojourn with the crew of the Black Pearl is a deft combination of light banter and darker themes, as expertly befits both Archie and Jack. Part of what makes the story work is the way it's told, from the point of view of Jack's second in command, Gibbs. Linaelyn is the premiere Gibbs fan writing in PoTC and she has an almost uncanny grasp of the character, his mannerisms and voice. Her Jack is nicely complicated, and she does a nice job of presenting him with some interesting backstory. Linaelyn is primarily a PoTC writer, but she does an excellent job with Archie as well. It's an interesting change to see Archie through the eyes of Gibbs, a character who knows nothing of his past history.
There Was One by commodorified - This is one of those stories that's just so terribly incredibly hot and at the same time so gloriously honest and true to character that it floors me every time I read it. This is Jack and James as complicated, passionate and very fully realized individuals. There's strength in these two men, and flexibility -- like in the best swords. And really, this story is all about swords; its about the strength and the steal, the outer flash and the core of steel, and the meeting of two men of sharpened steel in a very different kind of battle.
The Highway is for Gamblers by the_dala - Dala takes two extremely minor characters and provides them with a rich and compelling backstory. Scarlett and Giselle are the two whores who slap Jack Sparrow in Tortuga -- that's all we know of them in canon -- but here these two women are brought beautifully to life. There's none of the fantasy of the movie here, these are two lower-class women who've lived hard lives and lost all their illusions, and yet in Dala's hands they are also appealing and captivating heroines. Dala deftly weaves her narrative around and through the movie. Familiar characters come and go, but we see them only as Scarlett and Giselle see them, just as we see Tortuga as it looks to two working women, trying to scrape by. There's darkness in this story, but ultimately it's strangely romantic and amazingly, impossibly real.
Gallo de Indias by doolabug - In a series of meetings -- some weeks and months apart -- we see the relationship between Captain Sparrow and Commodore Norrington gradually shift from antagonism to flirtation to passion. The changing relationship is presented excellently. Doola combines historical plot details, humor, fabulous character interaction and a succession of small perfectly drawn little moments as both Jack and James come to realize what's before them. This story has everything, it's clever, well characterized and incredibly hot.
Never Won Fair Lady by Malasita - A haunting little missing slice of time, mid-movie. Elizabeth remembers reflects on stories vs. reality. Malasita has a fabulous, sparing prose style; not a word more than needed and not a word out of place. Her Elizabeth is perfectly drawn, the girl poring over pirate stories and the woman living one both impeccably rendered. Haunting and gorgeous and perfect.
Legacy by gryphons_lair - An entirely plausible and gloriously hopeful view of Jack and James' possible future.
gryphons_lair's descriptions here are marvelous, evoking a time and place and implying a complex web of relationships with only a few well-used words. The warmth and the emotion -- clear but understated -- is what really makes this fic. This is the future I like to imagine for Jack and James, and I cherish the way
gryphons_lair brings it to life.
Scoundrels by viva_gloria - A beautifully drawn and blisteringly hot exploration of the three-way dynamic between Jack Sparrow and the newly-married Will and Elizabeth Turner. There's jealousy and possessiveness and attitude. Elizabeth and Jack and even Will get to snark and quip their fill, and then they all get to take their fill of one another.
viva_gloria does an excellent job with multiple viewpoints and rapid switches -- a difficult thing to pull off. She's at her best when writing from the perspectives of Elizabeth and Will but really all three characters are written very well. She has a knack for getting completely inside their heads with only a few words and phrases and bringing out the complex and very human swirl of emotions present in a situation such as this.
Scars by siryn99 - "Every scar tells a story" begins this stunning gem of a fic, and for
siryn99 the scars
are the story. This is the story of three people who've lived very different lives but now find themselves drawn together -- united by their shared scars -- staring down an uncertain future. We see the threesome through Elizabeth's eyes and
siryn99's Elizabeth is a very real and complex woman, sympathetic and secretive, frightened and bold and beautifully in-character.
The Fine Art of Seduction by penm - There's seduction in the air, and for once it's not Jack doing the seducing. A light, sexy and delightful helping of Will/Jack with a hinted side-dish of a most unusual pairing,
The Fine Art of Seduction is told entirely from Jack's perspective and
penm's Jack voice is perfect and perfectly hilarious throughout.
penm embraces Jack's non-linear mind, his wandering thoughts, and makes them part of the story and part of the story-telling. Her use of language is beautiful, and her characterizations are universally excellent. Just lovely.
Freedom by copper_rose - A slight AU from the end of the movie leaves Jack Sparrow pardoned and delirious; struck down by a virus racing through Port Royal and haunted by the former crew of the Black Pearl.
copper_rose gives us a more complicated -- and conflicted -- Jack then is often found in fic. At the time of the movie Jack's entire life has had one focus, one purpose for 10 years, what happens when that purpose is gone, there's a lot of emotional fallout there, and finding himself steps away from and then miraculously snatched away from the noose only makes it more so. I love this story because it deals with the emotion and the angst but there's nothing gratuitous about it, no unnecessary misery, no stress just for the sake of stress. In addition
copper_rose works in a layered and convincing romance, the slow dropping of guard by both Sparrow and Norrington, the degree by degree shift in their relationship as first innocent and then much less so intimacies creep in. It's spectactularly done, and when the result of that creeping intimacy is finally realized it has a true emotional and erotic punch. Long, plotty, sexy and romantic,
Freedom is a perfect example of everything that makes Sparrington such a fabulous pairing.
Courtship by guede_mazaka - Jack and Elizabeth are two peas in a pod, but their similarity -- and their closeness -- may have cost them both Will. Except impusliveness isn't the only trait shared by Jack and Elizabeth, and they are more then wily enough to turn betrayal into courtship. A very piratical courtship. Guede Mazaka has a great feel for all sides of the Will/Jack/Elizabeth threesome. Here, in particular, she gets inside Will's head, showing his solid strength, stubborn will and meticulous mind as he works out what's happened in his life and what he wants his future to hold. In addition to the main threesome, Guede Mazaka drops in appearances from several other characters, all excellently characterized and of service in forwarding the plot. Strongly plotted, superbly characterized and awash with Guede Mazaka's strong, perfect prose,
Courtship is a true delight through and through.
Two Ales and Two Rums and Even More Rum by linaelyn - A mindblowing duet of angst and sensuality, this pair of stories is like nothing else I've read in the fandom. In the beginning and on the surface its is a light tale of drunken debauchery, of flirting and desire and passion. But underneath and through that Linaelyn wends a second thread of duty and infidelity, temptation and betrayal. It's an intoxicating mix. Linaelyn's Will is wholly believable and yet wholly her own, both callow youth and confident man, madly in love with his wife and yet still curious about what else life might offer him. Her Groves too is a man conflicted, torn between his desires and his conscious, between his personal choices and the dictates of his career. In the end something has to give, for both of them, and Linaelyn does a perfect job of guiding her readers and her characters on the breathtaking trip to the dizzy heights of that inevitable fall.
Be Careful What You Wish For by melusina and the_stowaway - One aspect of the film that seems to often be hard to pull off is the magic. Here,
melusina and
the_stowaway capture the magical feel of the film perfectly. Magic is there, but its understated, you have to look for it -- or have it look for you. When Elizabeth Turner goes looking for magic, the consequences for Jack and James are innumerable.
melusina and
the_stowaway are seperately both terrific writers, and fabulous at characterization. Together, they really find the essence of the characters. In particular, their Jack is fantastic, he's not necessarily the nicest of men but for all his petty trickery he is at heart a good man and that makes all the difference. This is a story of magic and memory and love and conflict and possibilities. It's hot and sexy and angsty and hopeful, richly characterized and fleshed out with all the details and side-characters that make for a truly believable world and a truly terrific story.
Craziest Pirates of the Caribbean by commodoresexual - Everything Commodoresexual writes is great and this little gem, written for the Tertiary Character Ficathon, is no exception. The pairing is unlikely, yet handled believably and with dignity, but the focus of the story is not just the unlikely love affair of Anamaria and Marty, but the whole crew of the Black Pearl. Jack Sparrow's crew. Commodoresexual shows us a glimpse of that crew, from within and without, she makes characters -- some of whom don't even have canon names -- come alive, makes them flesh and blood and altogether human, makes them a family. Where else but on the Black Pearl would the lone female crewman pair off with the lone midget? Only in Jack Sparrow's strange-glorious crew of the craziest pirates of the Caribbean.
Alchemy by munchkinott - An extremely erotic and sexy poly story with the focus on the het aspects of the threesome. This is a story about committment and fidelity, about recognizing and valuing that which one has. And its about the intoxicating mix of love and lust and desire and trust within a relationship. I always like reading a threesome story that isn't just about the sex but about the committment between the three characters. Here, Munchkinott captures that dynamic perfectly and also provides some of the hottest het sex imaginable.
Synchrony by redorchard13 - Pirates is a great fandom for AUs and this one is no exception. A modern look at the essence of the Sparrow/Norrington relationship.
redorchard13 keeps the feel and characterization of Jack and James true even while completely changing their surroundings. Reincarnation stories are hard to pull off, but this one is perfect, full of sexually charged witty banter and that constant Sparrington battle for the upper hand.
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