Title: Penelope Date posted: 07-11-07 Fandom: Pirates of the Caribbean Disclaimer: It all belongs to the Mouse. Spoilers: All three movies. Notes: Definite Norribeth tendencies.
She takes a lover the fifteenth year, a local young carpenter whose hands are rough and callused, like every man she's ever known. It feels healthy to feel someone's else's hands on her, and he leaves her sated. She rarely sees his face for what it is- he's forever shapeshifting into her far-away husband, Jack Sparrow, and with increasing frequency, James.
(Will's techniques are the only man she knows intimately. She assumes that Jack would be a considerate, if unorthodox, lover. It's James her mind fixates on. She pictures him, his crisp uniform, his profile in the sun, his fine posture. Would he have been quick and efficient, or hungry? She can see the look in his eyes he had in the last years of their acquaintance, the way he watched her, tightly coiled and waiting for the least sign. She thinks maybe his adoration would have overwhelmed her, but in the manner of a warm wave when the shore was close- a rolling, breathtaking moment beneath and the blessed feeling of powdered sand before wishing you were being turned over again.)
( ... )
I didn't realize the Penelope thing until I was reading, and then I was like, totally stunned that I hadn't thought of it before. And really, their relationship had to deteriorate, becauase one day once a decade? Kind of a lot to ask.
Also, awesome idea to post at the comm, so thanks, pal.
Well done indeed!julianna2002July 12 2007, 01:00:33 UTC
I came across your wonderful fic on the Norribeth journal and may I just say that it is absolutely beautiful! The imagery was breath-taking and the story parallels ver, very well done.
I too love the idea that she transitioned her "love" to Will because it would have been easier to be with a boy rather than being on much more uneven ground with an experienced and worldly man.
The whole only one day every ten years storyline is really impossible, isn't it? Who could make that work? The loneliness would be suffocating.
Brilliantly done, and I sincerely hope that you post more POTC fics! I would love to read them!
Thank you so much for posting this to the norribeth community - I never would have found this otherwise!
In an attempt to be coherent ...
I love the connections you draw between Elizabeth and Penelope/ Will and Odysseus. This is a completely fitting way for Elizabeth and Will to part ways and fall out of love - the gradual split because of the distance and a final goodbye.
(When did she become so old in relation to him? He tends to the dead, she raised a son. She is tired of the house that aches with loneliness, her pillow sodden with tears, the echoes of poor choices and a life that she gave up. He looks so young.)
She tells him not to.
That is absolutely pitch-perfect. This whole fic is more gorgeous than my meager vocabulary can describe. Beautifully, beautifully done!
I'm glad you liked it! I felt a bit odd separating Will/Liz (not because I ship them, but because... usually I like the OTP and breaking up what the writers intended kind hurts me) but really, how could it work? How?
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(Will's techniques are the only man she knows intimately. She assumes that Jack would be a considerate, if unorthodox, lover. It's James her mind fixates on. She pictures him, his crisp uniform, his profile in the sun, his fine posture. Would he have been quick and efficient, or hungry? She can see the look in his eyes he had in the last years of their acquaintance, the way he watched her, tightly coiled and waiting for the least sign. She thinks maybe his adoration would have overwhelmed her, but in the manner of a warm wave when the shore was close- a rolling, breathtaking moment beneath and the blessed feeling of powdered sand before wishing you were being turned over again.) ( ... )
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Also, awesome idea to post at the comm, so thanks, pal.
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I too love the idea that she transitioned her "love" to Will because it would have been easier to be with a boy rather than being on much more uneven ground with an experienced and worldly man.
The whole only one day every ten years storyline is really impossible, isn't it? Who could make that work? The loneliness would be suffocating.
Brilliantly done, and I sincerely hope that you post more POTC fics! I would love to read them!
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Thanks for reading!
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Thank you so much for posting this to the norribeth community - I never would have found this otherwise!
In an attempt to be coherent ...
I love the connections you draw between Elizabeth and Penelope/ Will and Odysseus. This is a completely fitting way for Elizabeth and Will to part ways and fall out of love - the gradual split because of the distance and a final goodbye.
(When did she become so old in relation to him? He tends to the dead, she raised a son. She is tired of the house that aches with loneliness, her pillow sodden with tears, the echoes of poor choices and a life that she gave up. He looks so young.)
She tells him not to.
That is absolutely pitch-perfect. This whole fic is more gorgeous than my meager vocabulary can describe. Beautifully, beautifully done!
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