#'he quite literally became the flying dutchman'

[emp-blast]

he got banned for typing /gamemode c

[oveliagirlhaditright]

@bluerosesburnblue

https://archiveofourown.org/works/25692442

Summary: Between At World's End and Dead Men Tell No Tales, Elizabeth tries to show Will she can be together with him on the Dutchman... but soon realizes why she cannot. And a slight wedge is grown between them, when she somewhat tries to force his hand, even so.

Basically trying to explain some things about her in Dead Men Tell No Tales.

Attempting to Line the Pieces Up

Elizabeth crashed into Will's chest, from where she'd just climbed aboard the Dutchman and swung herself over the railing. He caught her with the kind of grace she knew he would—though Elizabeth, who was supposed to be strong now, hated that he had to do that at all; and it reminded her of Will had essentially died to save her to her shame—and then kissed her forehead.

"You shouldn't have come here, Elizabeth," Will said breathlessly and tirelessly, as his body didn't seem to believe his own words and held her tighter. "You can't be here." Elizabeth thought she knew what he meant, of course... she couldn't be aboard the Flying Dutchman because it was unsafe. Its crew had once—though not any longer—become literal, dangerous monsters, who would want her to swear the Oath if she were here... and when the ship went under water the times that it did, Will surely did not think she could survive it. Well, she was about to put that belief of his to bed! And she tried to do just that, as she wrapped her arms around his torso and begged him to let her stay with him forever.

"It really is safe for me here, Will. Because of you, the crew is no longer cursed because of Jones. So that can’t come over me. And if you order it, they won’t harm me! And I could defend myself, even if they tried. And when the ship goes underwater… Will, just give me a warning so I can catch my breath, and-”

“Elizabeth, you can't stay here because you’re pregnant."

Elizabeth gasped, not quite understanding how Will had figured that out (as the rain that had been beating down on them on this dark night became like stiff needles now). She wasn't entirely certain she had gathered that yet… But did he have enhanced senses as a supernatural being now?

If so, perhaps that was even more proof that they didn't belong together and that he was right that she couldn’s stay…

But Elizabeth wasn't going to give up just yet. And so, she tried to play an Ace that she really didn't mean—or did she?—to try and get her husband to change her mind.

"...Very well. So I suppose I can't come look for you for a long time in your eyes, then… but what if I raise our son to come find you? Would you let me stay then, to save him from such a fate?"

And Will’s eyes were absolutely tragic as he pushed her away. And Elizabeth opened her mouth once, twice, three times, as she tried to grapple with what she’d done again. “No… Elizabeth. Don’t do that. But even if you do… I can’t let you stay even then, because you willdie.””

Elizabeth sighed. Will had given her his answer: one that was so like his former close-minded self, who had hated pirates.

And, as sad as Elizabeth was to admit it, she knew he was right. Water was already starting to engulf the Flying Dutchman, that had nothing to do with the ship's power but rather a typhoon’s. In her mind’s eye, she could imagine such force tearing up the little island that had been her home lately… so what could it do to her? And as it stood, she had another life to worry about now, too.

Thus Elizabeth got in her small boat after giving Will one last peck on the cheek, and started rowing away… before she could see worry in Will's eyes once more.

Though Elizabeth truly didn't want Henry to go after Will, for it wasn’t the sort of life he deserved… she raised him knowing about his father—because how could she not?—and he decided to try and save him himself. Something that both terrified and secretly thrilled Elizabeth. But whatever way she felt about it… even on the days her fears about it all nearly consumed her, Elizabeth respected Henry’s choice.

And it would lead to a wedge between her and Will for a little while, even when they had been reunited.

Because that was just the real world they lived in… and yet Elizabeth cherished it greatly.

Author’s Note: I know you liked Pirates when you watched it, Liz—and how you liked that Will and Elizabeth were real—and so I tried to do something with it here, and to try and explain some things…

I’m glad to finally write my Willabeth babies… even though I wish it were better circumstances. But hopefully this could end up being a nice warm-up, as my first dive into writing in this fandom:)

[amandaklwrites]

Movie Review: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (POTC #3) (2007)

Genre: Action/Adventure/Fantasy

Rating: 10/10

Movie Review: 

I’m going to be honest here. While I loved this movie as much as the others, I also felt like I was high on drugs the whole time. 

You have to admit. This one was trippy. A ship flipping upside down in the water? A huge waterfall landing them in Davy Jones’s Locker inside the Kraken?? (Like.... how does that work??). Jack seeing multiple versions of himself? And how did they not freeze that frozen tundra? Pirates managing to entrap a goddess in a human form?????

But this one has the most fantasy out of all them, to me. (Though I still need to rewatch Dead Men Tell No Tales, and I remember that one being far out there too). 

This was the first of the POTC movies I saw in theaters (remember how I said these movies scared me when I was young because of the violence? It took me a while to start watching them on the big screen). 

This one has so many great points though, especially when it comes to character arcs. We see Elizabeth Swann develop into the strongest, most badass female character I have ever seen (PIRATE KING!!!!), and she’s fully into the pirate world. She’s become herself, she has figured out that she will make decisions that will be risky, but she has to choose what is best for her. Will Turner saves his father, though he doesn’t 100% realize the sacrifice he’s making because he’s dead, and protects Jack and Elizabeth until his dying breath. Jack discovers that protecting just himself doesn’t make the world turn, so he gives up immortality for Will (though, you know, he still goes searching for the Fountain of Youth). Norrington, with the help of Elizabeth awakening him more, realizes that the system he is a part of doesn’t work, it can be rather cruel, so he protects the people he should be stopping and ends up dying in the process, but he still did the right thing. There are so many finales of character arcs in this movie, that you can tell the screenwriters did a marvelous job at doing an actual trilogy that worked and made sense. 

Let’s talk about Tia Dalma and Davy Jones for a moment. I remember being in the theater and I knew it was the two of them that had been involved (Tia Dalma, or Calypso for that matter, was the one Davy Jones loved). And I love their love story, though I do have questions. Davy Jones was human at one point when they were in love, and I want to know how he had met a goddess and fallen in love with her. But alas, we didn’t get the whole story. But what we did get was wonderful. That scene with them talking was one of the best love stories I had ever seen. Her touching his face and seeing him human broke me nearly in half. We saw the man behind the monster, we saw the man without a heart look at her with such love. For someone who couldn’t feel because of his heart, that scene, I think we saw so much more emotion than we could believe. Remember what I said in the last review about love stories being at the heart of basically every story? Here, we know it. Davy Jones was spurned in love and that’s what led him into the villain we know. And that makes it so interesting and complicated. 

Now, I found it strange that when Calypso was released (and I know who she’s supposed to be, I've read the stories) from her human form, she... just turned into a storm? I know it was supposed to represent her rage, and she’s a goddess that can become anything she wants, but it just felt a little lacking. I wanted to see more of what she could do. However, I do think there was supposed to be some metaphor or symbology or whatever at the end. When Davy Jones died, he said her name, and then the storm stopped. I hope that means their souls are together somewhere, that their love/hate storyline had ended in the human world. They moved on somewhere else, and maybe, the goddess Calypso brought her love back with her in some form. That’s what I would hope for them. 

Beckett. I would love to slap him in his scrawny face. But I mean, you have to give him credit as a villain. He literally had control of THE powerful villain creature. That makes him an ultimate villain. He used others, he manipulated. He had Elizabeth’s father murdered (Elizabeth’s reaction is so heartbreaking, she literally has no family left, except for the one she creates with the pirates). He was a metaphor for the greed and destruction of the human world. He was literally that representation. He was the entitled bastard that made people want to become pirates (because I guarantee you, so many pirates in history became that way because they didn’t want to follow the British systems any longer-- they even created their own!). He is what is wrong with our world. 

But what I love is how little of importance he is. They literally just blow up his ship, killing him, and that’s it. There’s no great battle with him, no final eulogies of the villain. He literally means nothing to them. While he’s a mastermind at manipulation and power and control, he’s so meaningless that he’s not even worth the fight. They just turn their ships, blow him out of the sea, and wipe their hands clean. 

And that’s because, honestly, he’s one of those men that use other people to get what he wants. He may have the power, he may figure out how to have power over people and control them, but without those people, he’s nothing. He has others do his dirty work, he has a sea captain with power and infamy kill people for him. He’s the epitome of the bastards high in power who do absolutely nothing. He’s the gang leader who sends everyone off to kill people for him, and keeps his hands clean. It’s a weird psychology thing, one that I won’t get into too much depth about, because I could write pages and pages about it. But the best revenge is not giving him the satisfaction of rage or a battle. Just blow him up like the little, worthless man he is. 

Barbossa is still just incredible because he’s there. He doesn’t really have any story arc, which is fine, because he’s the character that represents the pirate’s life. Him and Beckett are on opposite ends, to represent these two different worlds. He has depth, he’s interesting, but he’s also somewhat of a prop for others to bounce off of. He’s there to create humor and tension with Jack. He has the best quips. He’s not necessarily a one-dimensional character, but he’s rather close to it. But we all still love him because he’s just... Barbossa. The battle scene with him marrying Elizabeth and Will is one of my favorites as well, because it’s funny and sweet and monumental. 

Will’s death and transformation is effortlessly done, and I try not to cry every time I watch it. Throughout all the movies, we see Will slowly come out of his shell-- he was so quiet and in his place in the first movie-- and controlling the ships without Jack or Barbossa. He’s constantly proving himself as a leader, and THEN, he becomes the leader of one of the most famous ships on the seven seas. I remember crying in the theaters when Will died, but then seeing him as captain of the Flying Dutchman was quite the gasping moment. But what I noticed this time was that the crew changed-- they were monsters anymore, they were men. Will became the captain and instantly, everything changed. Because he’s a good leader, a good man. And he would treat them fairly and like other men. 

I have to admit, the ending scene of Will and Elizabeth on the beach was rather... hot, let’s just be honest. Especially kissing her leg. Like good lord, I’ve never felt so hot in my life. And it releases some tension-- they’ve been waiting YEARS to finally have sex. Now, they have. And it makes them feel different, which is wonderful to see. Will and Elizabeth have literally gone through hell and death and the ends of the world for each other. It may not be happily ever after because he’s gone for so many years at a time, but they still have each other. And honestly, if they are ever out at sea, he can protect them from afar. 

Jack has come a long way too. It ends with him and Gibbs planning to find the Fountain of Youth, even though Barbossa-- once again!-- has stolen the Black Pearl. Jack may have come rather far-- the many different versions of him was... interesting, and funny-- but we see that he’s still who he is. A pirate who wants to live forever. That will never change. But he has learned some things, and that’s the whole point. 

The trilogy is over. There are more stories to come, but this arc, Elizabeth’s (and even Will’s story) have pretty much concluded. The scene at the very end, of Will returning home to visit Elizabeth and his son, is one to remember. The trilogy started with Elizabeth, and her finding Will, and it ends once again with Elizabeth, and Will coming home. It was always this love story, these two falling in love and being together, despite everything, of Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann. This is Elizabeth’s story, at the very, very heart, and we watched this world of piracy and adventure unfold with her, watching her grow at the same time.