" temp story gif: me "

pitch black. darkness. nothing.
but night is not an obsidian abyss.
when the sun falls,
the moon rises into view.
the world transforms into new.
the stars shine from millions of miles away.
lovers grow close under moonlight's waves.
the sea is pulled by the moon,
and in the end released.
a connection established,
yet never connecting.
two hold hands under moonlit paths.
rest comes to those who bask in its gaze.
the moon loves, and it loves the world viciously.
yet it releases its hold
and runs farther than you can see.
over the horizon, across the sea of gold,
lies a woman touched by moonlight
with more than stardust in her veins.
" moonlight. katie "

taboo, they say, is a girl on the sea. curses and tragedy follow ships that carry women over waves. they mutter and mumble their odd little sayings. that the gods know a woman's place isn't off-land, and that is the reason tragedy strikes vessels that go against their wishes.

but she knows her place better than the dogs that whimper. your ships are named after women or given dainty titles. the gods of the sea aren't simply gods they're goddesses.

your taboos are your fears. for you are haunted by ideas of mermaids and witches, you make up the tales to feel better until they become legends. for there are witches of blood and mermaids of old, both like the taste of men's suffering the most. even your gods that you pray aid you, are the goddesses of tales that control all oceans and currents, and winds and tokens.
" taboo. katie "

THEY HAD MET ON A CLOUDLESS NIGHT. The heavens were an explosion of colors and stars stretched across the edges of the horizon. And the sea seemed to go on for forever under the crescent moon's fractured gaze. There she had stood, on a beach which held a treasure beneath its' sands. Dark hair pulled from her face by the wind and a timid smile on her lips.

She might've been the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

There surely was treasure on the velvet sands of that beach that night. Just not what he had been expecting to find. But entangled in each other's arms under the moon's glittering glow that seemed to have expanded on the pair as they laughed and whispered sweet nothings. Surely this was what his compass had meant for him to find.

A full moon shone above the two, she could see him clearly in the night's lights. The tattoos, the brand, the head-over-heels look in his eyes. Her hand brushed along his jawline, eyes locked with his and the inches closing between them. It was then that their lips met. Two becoming as close as could be, meeting the other with every bit of passion in their hearts. In a whirlwind of emotions, she doesn't even remember when he led her to the ship he called his own, that he called home.

The sweet nothings became everything as he whispered his love into her ears. There was liquid courage pounding in their veins and butterflies burning in their stomachs. She looked at him like he was everything and he swore to the gods he felt the same.

And as she lay in his arms, safe. She could hear his gentle snores. She could feel his chest rising and falling with her pulled right up to it. Her heart fluttered as she tilted her neck to look at his face, eyes resting in an unspoken comfort.

But fear filled her just as quickly as love had. A soul had not merged so swiftly with her own since, well, ever. Uneasiness pulled her from between the sheets of the bed they had shared. Anxiety held her right hand as her left gently set a ring of silver with moon and star-like carvings etched into it. As rapidly as she had fallen for this man, she was gone. Not dead. Not missing. Not hiding from his view. Not waiting for him on the next horizon. Gone.

Yet there was the moon, high and far above him, sometimes full and sometimes crescent. He swears that it was both when he met her. The moon over him closely as he races around the world and keeps his eyes peeled for her wherever he finds himself. And where he was was the moon, with her laugh and her fears, and her love for the mortal captain that fit her soul to perfection.

"STAY BEHIND ME."

Mother's voice trembled like she had never heard it shake before. Mother held a short sword in one hand and the other pushed her deeper into the closet. Deeper behind the chest she kept under her dresses. Deeper until the loose wooden panels parted and she crawled into the hiding space she had watched her mother create.

There were strange voices all around the house until they were inside. But there was Mother's voice, quivering as she whispered how much she loved her. That she had to be quiet no matter what happened. That she's already sent word to her father. That she loves her so much.

Clouds passed by the window of the bedroom and it grew darker and darker. Her little breaths were rushed as the shadows hugged her tighter and tighter. There was no comfort in this embrace. They were coming up the stairs now, finished knocking things over and breaking the cabinets in the kitchen.

She could hear laughing in between the walls. She could hear Mother whisper her love again. She could hear the prayers on her mother's lips as the clouds passed from the window and flooded the room with moonlight.

She could see everything. The men who kicked the door from its hinges. The man who walked into the bedroom and laughed at Mother and her sword. The men who snickered behind him. The way Mother fell backwards in a horrible way as a gunshot smothered her ears. As blood splattered against the walls, reaching the door of the hiding place she couldn't move from.

Her little hands covered her mouth. She had screamed when Mother was shot. Tears trickled past all her defenses, slipping over her fingers that were covering her wobbling lip. She almost whimpered when the dresses were shoved aside in the closet and a man forced open the chest Mother had used to hide the hinges of the space she hid in. When a man leaned over Mother and she heard her cry out for the second time that night.

She stayed where she was when the men left. When they took the chest with them. When they left Mother on the floor as her chest shook and desperate gasps left her lips. She stayed in the closet until the sun poked through the clouds that had covered the bedroom window, again.

She could hear horses outside, snorting and stomping, and the rooster crying from the barn down the street. That was when she kicked at the door, trying in despair to get the little door to open so she could escape. And when it did, it swung open and slammed into the closet's wall. She froze. Holding her little breath, blood pounding in her ears, and waiting just to hear if anyone heard it.

"Mother?"

She whispered to the woman laying, sprawled out on the bedroom floor. She looked uncomfortable, limbs spread in all directions.

"Mama?"

She tried again, a little louder now, desperate for a response as she crawled closer to her mother. The sun peaked into the room, but the little girls focus was on her mother. Not the blood on the floor. Or in the closet. Or smeared on her clothes. Or splattered on her own cheeks.

"Mama, you have to get up!"

Her little hands became stained with crimson as she got to her mother's side. She was shaking, sobbing as she begged her Mama to wake up. She just needs to open her eyes.

She almost doesn't hear the footsteps coming up the stairs. Almost. Her stained, little hands grab the sword her mother had once held. Her tear tainted cheeks created a path for the new tears that ran from her eyes. She's terrified. Did they come back for her? Did they hear her getting out of the closet? Is she going to die like Mother?

There's the sound of running toward the bedroom door and the man that appears is all too familiar. He looks like the man in Mother's sketches. The man that Mama promised knew the code the pair shared. The man she promises has loved her, loved them both from the day that he met each of them.

"No..." he whispers, pain filling his eyes at the sight of Renata laying, lifeless beneath their daughter's feet.

And his eyes look over his little girl. Her hands are stained with her mother's blood, and she's quaking. He shakes his head despite the shaking in his chest. She needs him now more than ever.

"Octavia, love," he whispers, putting his hands up to show that he isn't going to hurt her, "you're safe now, okay."

Her breath hitches in her throat at her name and her palms grip the sword that's too heavy for tighter. Is this a lie? A trick so he can take her like they took Mother?

"I'm you're father. Your mother said she sent for me right? To help you."

Octavia nods slowly, letting the sword drop down to her side. But she's still shaking, knees nearly giving out on her as fear swallows her whole. He can see blood across her cheeks, he had thought that they were just freckles.

"Vicente?" She questions, tearful eyes meeting his own.

"Flores," he says, kneeling down and opening his arms for her.

For the first time in a long time, his daughter runs into his arms and her stained, little hands surround his neck. His arms lift her with him as she sobs into his chest, allowing him to lift her up from this place. And he whispers in her ears as she cries and whimpers, that they have to take care of Mama before they can leave.

Her mother's eyes are closed for the final time. She sees her father cry and she grips his leg tightly as he whispers his goodbyes, as he apologizes for not being fast enough, as he blames himself for that night. Octavia watches as he takes opens her mother's fist, clamped tightly upon itself and takes the ring she always wore and kisses it gently. Vicente takes Octavia from clinging to his leg and into his arms again, letting her relax in an embrace that already feels familiar.

Her little head falls against his chest, eyes tired and unreleased sobs still throbbing in her chest. Sleep takes her from the house before her father leaves the only place she's ever known. But she knows she's safe in his arms. She knows that he'll keep her safe from now on.

Mama always said that she reminded her of her father in nearly every way. Mother had once told her that she hoped that they would be together again one day. But as dreams take Octavia from the last place her mother ever touched, she wonders why it had to be like this...

" the main cast "

THE LUNAR GODDESS

ADELINE KYRINA... SELENE

" there are things in play here that are far above what mortals could even begin to understand "

portrayed by son ye-jin

THE CAPTAIN ABANDONED

JACK SPARROW... CAPTAIN

" so you claim that no lies lay between us, but there are still pauses there that propose secrets you have yet to divulge "

portrayed by johnny depp

THE SPY REVEALED

OLIVIA FOUNDERS... OCTAVIA FLORES

" the only thing that i can remember of my parents is when my father took me and led me along this path, and i have never wondered if things could have been different since "

portrayed by ana de armas

THE BLOOD OF KARMA

WILL TURNER... WILLIAM

" why does it feel like you keep trying to leave me behind, i'm not going to leave you "

portrayed by orlando bloom

" temp story gif: me "

DISCLAIMER: i do not own and do not claim to own any part of the pirates of the caribbean franchise. i however do own my original characters such as Adeline and Octavia, as well as their individual plot lines and character arcs. all unfamiliar dialogue and plot (and characters) are mine as well. i do not claim to own any of the gods and goddesses mentioned in this fic. the lore surrounding the greek and roman gods does not belong to me, BUT i will say that i use several elements from what i have learned about greek and roman mythology but it will be different and you will have to accept that i had the idea for these changes and have made them.

WARNING: this book will contain many things one would find in a potc film including: violence, m!rder, stealing and robbery, piracy, and alcohol, as well as traumatic backstory, character d!ath, and sexual references and actions.

GRAPHICS:
- all the aesthetic gifs, current story gifs, and individual character moodboards were made by me!! the obi-wan sign-off gif was also made by me
- the COUPLE moodboards (between each couple) were made by my bestie hecatespells
- the current cover was made by the amazing darthvvderr

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

so this chapter takes place roughly 14-15 years before Curse of Black Pearl. my original idea was to have these events all happen at the same time that Elizabeth meets Will on their crossing, but Octavia's entire life revolves around what happened the night her mother was murdered. this also means that this happens before Jack is given the Pearl and before he's betrayed.

this fic is going to be huge because it will include all five pirates of the caribbean movies plus sub-plots between some movies written by me. i'm going to incorporate a lot of mythology and gods into this fic as well as a lot more female pirates.

a very important thing to know about the two ships above is that they are both going to be very angsty and are both slowburn no matter how much chemistry and flirting is there.

I'm really excited to get into this story and into all of my characters!! besides Adeline and Jack AND Octavia and Will there will be more couples. some of them won't get a lot of "screen time", while others will get their own little plots. i'm excited to write this, and I hope that you all enjoy <3

DEDICATIONS:
hecatespells Winter326 darthvvderr jacksoftaxgel princesscamillia13 mkbucklin2 CXPTAINSYNDULLA Sister_Of_Wakanda Kolinda007 Phxntom-Spider silksabers -crrashingwavves darkhoImes StrawBerryBubblegum3 starkissed- harringtonsike alyssas-angxls @icarusni

thank you all so much for being interested in this fic and for supporting me!! i love and appreciate you all so so so much <3

started: 11/05/2021
published: 6/09/2022
finished: tbd