Working out the kinks ...

For the POTC J/W fans on my list, we're having an open ficathon on the JackXWill Yahoogroups list. vireydamagodaly is really in charge of it; you can read more by visiting dmcficathon and reading the first post or the user info page. Basically, we're encouraging cross-posting of finished stories to both the community and to the J/W list beginning September 16 (and trying to get more sign-ups on the list as well for the 17-and-over Turrow slash crowd). There is no real theme to this - write whatever grabs your fancy about J/W, set in any time, with second-movie spoilers or no.


In other news ... I have a big bag of gum. A big, freakin', HONKING bag of gum. Orbit, and coffee-flavored Doublemint, and Lifesavers, and Eclipse, and CremeSavers, and shit you can't even buy in stores yet. This woman I interviewed for a story tonight is quitting her job as a sales rep for a gum company, and gave me this big pink bag of goodies as a thank-you (and probably also to unload her van of samples). And those Orbit commercials are right - they DO make your mouth feel clean! Damn, I'll never brush again!

As I am an avid Turrow fiction whore and I know there are others who read this, I wanted to throw up a link to tessabeth's journal. Her latest entries are repostings of very old fic from early in the POTC fandom, all J/W. Besides being a good writer all around, she portrays the fellows in a way I really like (especially Will, who was, in those early days, all too often treated like a wet bitch).

A politically-minded friend calls me this morning and leaves me a voice mail that she's watched the early-morning news and talk shows and yes, indeed, it seems the Republicans ARE going to trot out the tired old dog-and-pony show of anti-gay marriage yet again for the mid-term elections this year, by putting forth a federal amendment proposal. (Spectators will remember this is how they retained Congress and the White House in 2004.)

The sad part? I'm sure it'll work.

So, to summarize: Economy is in the toilet, thousands of our own soldiers, civilian contractors, and Iraqi citizens have been killed in a war over false pretenses, energy prices are nearly 300 percent of what they were just over six years ago, we're considered the most dangerous nation on Earth by almost every civilized country, we've lost allies left and right in the past six years - and the semenal issue facing our nation is to make certain every matched set is pepper-and-salt, with no deviation in that combination.

Fabulous. (And there were no typographical errors in the above.)


For this next bit, I think only the fandom folks will "get" and appreciate it ...

There's a local truck that drives around town here, just a small diesel cab with a small back compartment - sort of like a Schwann delivery truck. It's painted black and has a red-scarf-tressed Jolly Roger skull with two wrenches crossed behind it, called "Pirate Tools." I was having my oil changed today, and the truck pulls into my mechanic's. I asked the driver about his business - he said he drives around selling tools, supplying those who want to buy them as a mobile business.

"So," says I, "when did you start your business?"

"About two years ago."

"How'd you come up with the name?"

"My daughter suggested it."

A thought crept into the back of my head. "How old is she?"

"Fourteen."

Pause. "Did she get it from-?"

Nod. "She loves that DVD, watches it all the time."

I was in a happy spot. :-D

My sister, dahlianna, makes videos every so often for the heck of it (I'm trying to get her to consider a career in editing or visual arts of some sort, but she's more hobby-minded with this, LOL). There's a couple of POTC videos she made last year that I may have posted before, but it was on yousendit.com and those links expire and only allow limited downloads.

If anyone has a fast connection and would like to see a couple of the videos, I'll post the links here. All she asks is that if you share with other people, leave the credits on the end intact. (I'd also appreciate if you'd post here that you downloaded it so I can count how many there are.)

The first is one she made for ARCHON last October (held near St. Louis), a movie video set to "Thriller." The second is something more fun made to "It's Raining Men."


(NOTE: If you get an error message on either of these, simply hit your browser "refresh" and wait. You may be asked to sign up for eBay - look for the link at the top right of the window that allows you to "go on" to Megaupload and you can bypass it.)

Found an interesting article, while surfing around, on the mythology behind specific popular entertainment venues ("Lost" "X-Files" "Mission: Impossible") and thought it might be relevant to a "Pirates of the Caribbean" discussion.


( First, skim the article, which I've cut and pasted here )


It was interesting to read this while keeping POTC in mind. The only specific backing "mythology" for the first movie is the ride, which pre-dates the movie by about 30 years. I've been on the ride; it's not that great shakes, as storytelling goes. It's a loose collection of pirate cliches thrown together in animatronic scenery for a slow boat ride. Yay.

Now of course, piracy on the high seas has a long and rich history and mythology to draw from. But what I found interesting in the movie was the *lack* of cliches. I saw only one peg-leg, and that was in very brief passing; I don't remember eyepatches or hooks for hands (though maybe I just missed them?) or "Yarrr!" except from Barbossa a couple of times. Hell, I don't even remember gold hoop earrings (the only ones I do recall were Elizabeth's at the beginning fort scene).

So the question becomes: Does POTC have a bigger fan base than M:I because it has a longer backing mythology? I don't think so - after all, spies and their myths have been around forever, too. Does it have a bigger base because of better acting or more compelling stories? I don't know - I haven't seen the M:I movies, though I used to watch the TV series, and while Tom Cruise would probably be on my celeb shit-list if I had one, the fact is that he is an entertaining actor when he wants to be.

What do you all think? (Feel free to pimp this in your own journal if you like, since I don't think my shake alone is enough to bring all the commenters to the yard.)

CONTRADICTIONS 9: CHOICES
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Turrow slash
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Jack and Will, nor the details associated with “Pirates of the Caribbean.” I am simply borrowing them for a while for creative expression and writing practice (and because the boys are in my head and won’t leave me alone).
Special Thanks: To N. Ranken as usual, for beta suggestions and helping write two of the scenes herein, to Julie-Rae for nagging at me to write via Nice Words – and to everyone who’s read this WIP that is now FINISHED AND COMPLETE.
Summary: This is continuation AND FINAL INSTALLMENT of an AU fic, breaking off from the movie’s events immediately after Barbossa’s defeat and death in the caves of Isla de Muerta. The previous parts consist of, in order, FLIGHT, FIGHT, LOSE, WIN, ADMIT, DENY, FREED, and CLAIMED.


( We, Jack? It was your own estimation. )


On to Part 2

See Part 1 for disclaimers, etc.


( I'd say mornin's on her way out ... )

See Part 1 for disclaimers, etc.


( Has Gibbs been fillin' your ear with that superstitious rot? )

See Part 1 for disclaimers, etc.


( What plane of Hell did you sail in from? )