Apologies for my having been a miserable slacker and not commenting on each chapter as it's been posted. Please know that I have been faithfully "tuning in" every day for each new installment, and have enjoyed this tale immensely! You know how much I love this AU of yours, and this is a magnificent addition to your H&P canon, and a supreme delight to read! :-)
Among those delights...
Snooty Caroline's disgust (and thinly-veiled jealousy?) at Harry and Jack still so obviously in love and unnaturally youthful for their advanced years!
Harry and Jack's "clandestine interlude" in the secluded copse off the Druid's Walk, and (later) Harry's determination to forge happier memories for Jack of Fleet Hall, armed only with her own disrobed self and a vial of herb-infused oil (and what must the household staff have made of the oil-stained bedsheets the next morning?)...
Tom Sparrow, being so thoroughly a younger incarnation of his rakish pirate father, only without having suffered the same pains and tragedies of Jack's younger years, having been raised in the loving care of a doting extended family...
His and Anne's transition from affectionate playfellows to a loving couple (with one misadventure in abduction along the way), looking forward to enjoying the same marital joys as their parents have ... Jack's counsel to his son regarding how best to express the physical side of love to a new, blushing bride... and the revelation of how Tom received his own "basic training" in the arts of love, thanks to a fateful and revelatory week spent a bevy of very generous (and highly instructive!) island girls... (and Jack's sly knowledge of his son's "rite of passage" into manhood). ;-)
Wilby and Daisy, her accidental wounding (as well as Jack's fatherly distress at his beloved daughter's injury), and how sweetly she dozed at her punished cousin's bedside, clasping his hand in comfort... (definitely an "Aaaaawwwww!"-inspiring moment!) ;-)
Jack, coming to terms with his past, with the help and support of his darling Harry...
And many more such delights! :-)
What can I say? As usual, pure GeekMama perfection! You certainly do know how to tell an engaging tale, and keep the reader eagerly anticipating each chapter. Your wonderful narrative style, and the richness of the period detail, just draws the reader into this 18th-century world you've created and into the lives of these characters. And as much as I adore all three PotC films, I just love, love, love your version of Jack -- still the man we were introduced to in CotBP, but without the trials he would go on to suffer in DMC and AWE: the Kiss of Betrayal, his banishment to the Locker and its ensuing madness. And the fact that all the other PotC canon characters have been spared grim fates as well ... my love of the original films notwithstanding (as well as my deep respect for T&T for having created these wonderful characters), I have to say I believe I much prefer the kinder, gentler fates you have blessed them with here!
I'm also heartened to "hear" that you may not be ready to abandon this series after all, and look forward to the prospect of "missing scenes" and additional one-shots set in this AU!
In any case, thanks so much for a great read! At the risk of repeating past praise, I think you're an exceptionally gifted writer (truly pro quality, if not better than many published authors I've read over the years!), and I for one am thankful that you continue to be inspired to create such beautiful works of fiction based on our favourite PotC characters, as well as the new ones you've brought so wonderfully to life! You're always Number One on my "must read!" list! ;-)
no subject
Among those delights...
Snooty Caroline's disgust (and thinly-veiled jealousy?) at Harry and Jack still so obviously in love and unnaturally youthful for their advanced years!
Harry and Jack's "clandestine interlude" in the secluded copse off the Druid's Walk, and (later) Harry's determination to forge happier memories for Jack of Fleet Hall, armed only with her own disrobed self and a vial of herb-infused oil (and what must the household staff have made of the oil-stained bedsheets the next morning?)...
Tom Sparrow, being so thoroughly a younger incarnation of his rakish pirate father, only without having suffered the same pains and tragedies of Jack's younger years, having been raised in the loving care of a doting extended family...
His and Anne's transition from affectionate playfellows to a loving couple (with one misadventure in abduction along the way), looking forward to enjoying the same marital joys as their parents have ... Jack's counsel to his son regarding how best to express the physical side of love to a new, blushing bride... and the revelation of how Tom received his own "basic training" in the arts of love, thanks to a fateful and revelatory week spent a bevy of very generous (and highly instructive!) island girls... (and Jack's sly knowledge of his son's "rite of passage" into manhood). ;-)
Wilby and Daisy, her accidental wounding (as well as Jack's fatherly distress at his beloved daughter's injury), and how sweetly she dozed at her punished cousin's bedside, clasping his hand in comfort... (definitely an "Aaaaawwwww!"-inspiring moment!) ;-)
Jack, coming to terms with his past, with the help and support of his darling Harry...
And many more such delights! :-)
What can I say? As usual, pure GeekMama perfection! You certainly do know how to tell an engaging tale, and keep the reader eagerly anticipating each chapter. Your wonderful narrative style, and the richness of the period detail, just draws the reader into this 18th-century world you've created and into the lives of these characters. And as much as I adore all three PotC films, I just love, love, love your version of Jack -- still the man we were introduced to in CotBP, but without the trials he would go on to suffer in DMC and AWE: the Kiss of Betrayal, his banishment to the Locker and its ensuing madness. And the fact that all the other PotC canon characters have been spared grim fates as well ... my love of the original films notwithstanding (as well as my deep respect for T&T for having created these wonderful characters), I have to say I believe I much prefer the kinder, gentler fates you have blessed them with here!
I'm also heartened to "hear" that you may not be ready to abandon this series after all, and look forward to the prospect of "missing scenes" and additional one-shots set in this AU!
In any case, thanks so much for a great read! At the risk of repeating past praise, I think you're an exceptionally gifted writer (truly pro quality, if not better than many published authors I've read over the years!), and I for one am thankful that you continue to be inspired to create such beautiful works of fiction based on our favourite PotC characters, as well as the new ones you've brought so wonderfully to life! You're always Number One on my "must read!" list! ;-)
Brava, m'dear! Bloody brilliant writing! :-)
-- Cat