[POTC series fic] - KINGDOMS OF THE SWAN, Installment One, "The Ghosts at the Brink" - rated R

[writing_samsara]

Series: KINGDOMS OF THE SWAN
Installment: 1/???
Segment Title: "The Ghosts at the Brink"
Timeframe: Post AWE
Pairing: J/E, shades of W/E
Rating: R
Word Count: 6,444
Disclaimer: No copyright infringement is intended. All rights belong to Disney, etc.
Acknowledgements: Many, many thanks and squishes are owed to djarum99and piratemistress , for flawless beta,

Comments

[compassrose7577]

I'm exhaling, in a massive sigh of relief that you've come back to us!

It's been a long dry season! I dropped everything the moment I saw your post...and, as always, I wasn't disappointed.

You've found layers and levels of Elizabeth in those pursuing moments that no one else has. Her struggles with the chest--reluctant and joyful both--take on something of a Greek tragedy air, toiling with the very thing she treasures the most.

The scene of Jack returning her father's ring was especially touching...and I am a little too claustrophobic to be able to revel in the grotto discovery. Sorry, my own short-comings obstructing the way.

We can only hope that you've found the breath of fresh air that will continue to bring you to us.

Missed you, luv!.........Kerry

[writing_samsara]

Thanks much for the welcome and review!

I'm glad that Elizabeth's characterization felt multi-dimensional to you, and that you felt her struggles were resonant. She's my favorite character, and I enjoy trying to peel back the onion, as it were. I've wanted to write a post-AWE series for some time now, and the issue of hiding the chest was always at the forefront. Also, I'm glad that grotto came off as truly creepy and claustrphobic. I really wanted the weight of the cliff above to be there, as a metaphor and a really terrifying reality.

I'm trying to work on the next installment now, and hopefully things have leveled out enough for me to get some writing time.

Thanks so much for reading!

[cmgacrux]

Great chapter, simply marvelous. Can't wait for the next one. :)

P.S. I'm so glad you're back, darling! I really missed you and your writing.

[writing_samsara]

Thanks so much for reading and commenting, love! As always, I really appreciate your support and encouragement. :)

I'm working on the next installment now, so crossed fingers that I'll be able to post it in a timely manner.

And many thanks for the welcome back. It's been a hectic summer, but hopefully the briskness of autumn will bring a crisper, clearer mind and more time for writing.

*hugs*

[cortie]

Beautiful. Simply gorgeous.

I love Elizabeth's inner voice... hell, her voice in general. The details are magnificent and your writing flows so well with the cadence of the story.

Can't wait for more!

[writing_samsara]

Thank you so much for the wonderful comments and for taking the time to read! :) I'm thrilled that you enjoyed Lizzie's voice, and that my style worked for you.

Working on more at the moment, and hoping to post soon.

Thanks again! :)

[azulada]

There you are! Be wondering if you had left the fandom. Great to see you back and better than ever! :) Can't wait for more!

[writing_samsara]

Thanks so much, love! It's good to be back to writing (and doing the tons of catch-up reading that I missed over the summer). Thanks for reading, and for the encouragement.

*squishes*

[djarum99]

Huzzah, huzzah, for posting! So glad to see this up, love. Brilliant, every word.

This captures her desperation and uncertainty so well (how can she know how to safeguard her husband's excised heart?) -

She shivered, imagining him on the deck of the Dutchman, choking and sputtering in the open air as his heart plummeted beneath the waves. Or perhaps he would merely drift, untethered, if no part of himself was anchored in solid ground.

I love the dream, the vivid description of her room (The moon road high on the horizon, round and oddly lemon-bright. It cast a lazy, sterling spell on the books at her bedside, on the combs and brushes and pins strewn across the far table.) and her father, his reassurances that somehow don't mask the undertone of doubt, the subtle sense that she is aware this is fantasy

[writing_samsara]

Oh love, you are the ocean beneath my dinghy. :) Thanks so much for being there to hold my hand, prod me along, and put up with my thousand "does this suck?" queries. *hugs*

I'm so glad that Will came through in this piece despite not making an appearance in her dream. Poor girl is so lost at this point - family and friends dead, home a place she cannot return to (and perhaps wouldn't after so much sea-change), and then this loss of Will - probably her best, oldest friend, beyond being a husband. I really felt for her, along with the horror of figuring out the chest situation, she's sleep-deprived, hungry, and totally alone.

Really glad that you liked the rings. The story of how Jack got her father's ring is on the horizon.

Thanks for keeping me buoyant, and for leaving such detailed comments. It's a huge help to know what resonates, what works best.

Will be in touch soon.

*smooshes*