#I don’t buy too much into him being possessed/corrupted anymore honestly?

[soullessjack]

haven’t had chuck-won-theory on the brain for a few months now but my quick pre-work thesis for it is this

• chuck offhandedly mentions that an ending where he’s defeated by the Winchesters “feels right”

• jack spends roughly 14 episodes combined in the worst mental state possible (on a scale of psychotic to suicidal) and all of that literally magically goes away after absorbing chuck’s powers

• AU Michael describing what Jack will turn out to be is almost a perfect match for how he acts after becoming god (particularly on the ‘loyalty’ part)

• jack has literally never once expressed any interest or desire for power; he blatantly tells the guys that he’s “done being special, and just wants to live his life before it’s over” in 14x08; he abandons God’s Throne in heaven for the bunker without a second thought in 14x19. from mid-season13 and onward he’s only ever cared about his family and staying with them

* even if it turns out that he did willingly become god to save the world, it was still to serve a purpose and not something he truly wanted for himself, which defeats the whole point of his arc being about being loved for who he is and not for his place in a grand scheme (Cas’ final words to him mind you) , and defeats the point of the show

theres definitely more but like I said I’m spitting this all out before work and I just like to reorganize my thoughts every so often (ˊωˋ)👍

[anqeluv]

kinktober : stray kids with a daddy kink

content warnings : i’ve typed out daddy so many times it doesn’t feel like a real word anymore, a pinch of degradation, oral sex, and fingering

bang chan : he likes the care giving parts of this role the most, to be honest. he likes giving you what you need, making sure you feel good. he wants to take care of you. having you falling apart in his lap, cumming on his fingers until you collapse against his chest, your own heaving in pleasure. he would clean you up gently, pressing kisses all over your neck and calling you, “daddy’s good baby girl.”

minho : he’s more of a sir than a daddy, but he doesn’t mind it when you call him that either. as long as you’re being respectful, he doesn’t care too much. he might be a little strict, but it’s only because he expects the best from his best girl. if he wants you to pull your panties down and hand them to you where you stand, then you will. because that’s what daddy wants and you’re his good girl aren’t you?

changbin : he loves the power trip of being called daddy. he likes knowing that you belong to him and that he belongs to you. he’s your daddy and no one else’s. he wants to see you falling apart on his cock, knowing that no one else could take his place. he gets very possessive when he’s in that headspace. “who do you belong to? huh baby?” he wants you to beg for him, beg for your daddy to let you cum.

hyunjin : only wants you to call him daddy sometimes and he’ll almost never admit it when he does. it’s a specific mood, usually when he’s a little pissed off and wants to blow off steam and your ass just happens to be available. you’re literally over his knee, your whole bottom half bright red, but when he lets you up you say, “thank you, daddy” all teary eyed and he’s gone. like fully feral, he’s fucking you until those tears spill down your cheeks. and then he’s buying you ice cream for being so sweet.

jisung : honestly feels a little out of his depth when you first called him daddy, but he adapted quickly. he likes how easily it turns you on. you get so wet as soon as one little word leaves his lips. it’s so cute. he’ll be playing with your little clit, fucking you over the back of the couch and all he has to do to push you over the edge is say, “such a good slut for daddy, aren’t you? so wet and warm.” and there you go. cumming all over him. but he can’t say he doesn’t like it.

felix : he froze when you first called him that. he was eating you on your couch, when he hit an especially sensitive spot with your tongue and it just slipped out. “what did you say?” he asked, pulling away from you with a laugh, but he kept a thumb on your clit, rubbing gently back and forth. it was very distracting. unfortunately, felix wasn’t in the mood to be ignored. you were just about to cum when he pulled the thumb away to smack against the sensitive little bean harshly. “i asked you a question, love,” he growled, all traces of laughter gone.

seungmin : likes the name more than you’d think. it gives him this little power rush he likes. not that you don’t use it against him. whenever you’re in the mood, you always know exactly what to say to make him pull you into the nearest empty room and give you what you’re craving. even the smallest moan and a soft “daddy, please” under your breath is enough to have him yanking you out of the room by your wrist with a grip hard enough to bruise.

jeongin : honestly hasn’t ever been very into names like daddy or sir until one night when he comes home a little earlier than usual and walks in on you curled up in bed with two fingers buried inside you and that sinful little word spilling from your lips. he doesn’t know how it happened, but he’s been hooked ever since. he wants you to call him that every time he’s inside you like that. he wants to hear you gasping and begging, barely even able to get it out past your own noises. it’s like you’ve corrupted his mind and seeing you squirming underneath him is all he can think about anymore.

[lexosaurus]

Going Angst Week 2021: Family/Friends

Read: [1: Birth] [2: Instinct]

Continuation of the No One Knows AU plotline.

---

Everything had changed since the accident. The biological differences were obvious. He glowed, his hair inverted, his eyes turned green, he had ectoplasm running through his veins, he was cold, he didn’t need to breathe as much in human form—the list went on. 

But the psychological ones were easily more terrifying.

And nothing scared him more than the way his friends and family were treating him as of late.

He knew that deep down he would never be able to match the way he acted when he was fully human. But that didn’t mean that his heart didn’t skip a beat every time someone shot him a worried glance, every time someone asked if he was alright, every time he caught himself doing something wrong. 

He wasn’t human anymore. He wasn’t even sure what he was now, and Vlad seemed to have too much fun emotionally torturing him to give him a straight answer.

“You up for a movie tonight?” Tucker asked, leaning across Danny’s desk. 

“Hell yeah,” Sam said. “My house?”

“Oh, you know me too well. What do you think, dude?”

Danny realized that both teens were looking to him for an answer.

He wanted to stay home. Hanging out with either of them meant there was a chance they would see him slip up, and he couldn’t have that.

“Sure.” He hoped his voice didn’t sound too pained.

“Perfect!” Tucker clasped a hand down on his shoulder.

Danny tried not to duck away.

“So we’ll go to Sam’s after dinner. I can bring snacks. Anything you want in particular?”

The thought of eating anything was nauseating. “No. I’m fine.”

“Alright, I’ll just bring the usual then.”

But Danny should have known that something was up. After all, it had been a while since they’d done a movie night. And lately, Sam and Tucker had been acting...oddly. 

Well, that was nothing new. Danny thought that as time went on, they’d forgive him for being a bit jumpier than usual and everything would go back to normal. 

Except, of course, it didn’t.

The past few weeks had been especially hard. It seemed like they constantly had something to say, but never did. The worried glances had only increased, and the silent conversations seemed to only grow.

Danny had been trying his best to act normal, act human, but it seemed like the more he tried, the worse they’d get.

So of course, in between the first movie and second, the elephant in the room finally stomped all over Danny’s metaphorical floor.

“Hey, Danny.” Sam glanced over at Tucker. A moment passed between the two before Sam nodded and turned back to Danny. “We really need to talk to you.”

Dread pooled in his stomach. He knew exactly where this was going. “I can start the next movie if you want?”

“No, Danny. Listen, can you just sit down for a second?”

His ghostly instincts were begging him to run, but his human side forced him to sit down.

“Listen, we know that...well, Jazz told us about the lab accident.”

Danny could have sworn his heart stopped beating.

“She said it was pretty serious? And she was surprised that you hadn’t told us?” Sam fidgeted with her black rings. “We didn’t say anything to you because we wanted you to be the ones to confide in us.”

“That and we didn’t want you to get upset that we were talking to Jazz about you,” Tucker interjected.

“Right, and Jazz only told us because she was worried. And honestly? We’re really worried too.”

Any oxygen left in Danny’s body was sucked out of his throat like a vacuum.

They’d found out. They knew the truth, they knew he was a freak of nature half ghost and they were going to out him, they were going to tell his parents, they’d tell the school counselor, and Danny would have no one and he’d have to run away to become Vlad’s apprentice and he’d change, he’d be corrupted, he wouldn’t make it out alive.

“I’m just wondering why you didn’t say anything?” Sam asked, her violent eyes brimming with concern.

“I…” Danny’s mouth felt like it was lined with cotton. He tried to swallow, but it was like swallowing sand. “I didn’t want you to worry is all.”

“Yeah, and we get that,” Tucker said carefully. “But, I mean, we’re your best friends. And dude, you’ve been...well…”

At Tucker’s helpless glance, Sam took over. “You just have been acting really off lately.”

“Sorry.”

“No!” Sam nearly leapt out of her seat. “Danny, don’t apologize. It’s not your fault. I mean, hell, if I nearly died in a lab accident I’d be acting off too. It just, you know, it explains a lot. It must have been really terrifying.”

Danny didn’t trust himself to say anything. 

How much of his personality had shifted because of Phantom, and how much had shifted because of the accident? Were his ghostly instincts really creeping up that much into his human form? 

Would he ever be the same again?

Did they know?

“Is there anything you wanna talk about?”

“We’re all ears, dude.”

He had so many questions he wanted to ask, but he couldn’t say a word. Not without outing himself as Phantom, and that was bound to backfire on him in the worst way possible.

Oh god, he was acting too suspicious. He needed to save this.

“I’m good.”

There was a beat of silence.

Sam leaned forward. “Danny...I don’t mean to sound like Jazz, but bottling stuff up isn’t—”

“I’m fine!” Danny snapped. “I didn’t say anything and I’m sorry, but you know it’s not every day like you’re nearly electrocuted to death in your parents’ ghost portal.”

“Is that what happened?” Sam’s eyes grew wide. “Oh my god, Danny.”

“Holy shit,” Tucker agreed.

Danny threw his arms out. “Ta da! I survived, I’m fine. Nothing to talk about.”

“Danny, I—”

“No.” His tone was final. “Drop it, seriously.”

Another beat of silence passed, and then Sam finally sighed. “Fine, but I’m telling you as your friend that if you ever need anything, we’re here for you.”

He wished he could have trusted those words. But he knew they were nothing more than a farce.

It would have been cruel to hold onto false hope.

Still, he tried to smile. “Thanks.”

Even though he knew he hadn’t fooled anyone.

---

Maddie’s POV

Maddie watched her son from across the kitchen table, just as she’d done every night for the past several weeks. Quietly, as inconspicuous as possible, always watching.

Ever since the lab accident, he’d been….different. Jack hadn’t noticed, but to Maddie the changes were far too obvious. The dropped spoons, the flash of green behind his eyes, his limbs losing visibility without him even noticing, their ecto-inventions that always seemed to go off around him.

One day, she even saw him walk through his bedroom door.

At first, she thought it was just a simple case of possession. But there were telltale signs of possession, one’s that Jack, for all his enthusiasm, always failed to take into account.

Sure, Danny’s eyes flashed green every so often, but most of the time they were blue. Human blue.

And then there was his personality. In cases of possession, the ghost would be completely controlling the body. But in Danny’s case, he was still very obviously Danny. Still the sweet boy she always knew him to be, but he was just...different. Jumpier. Scared.

Like he knew he was living a lie.

And then, just a few weeks after Danny’s run in with the portal, a new ghost appeared. 

Of course, Maddie didn’t make the connection at first. The ghost was obviously new, and didn’t seem to have a grasp on its powers. Its fighting was laughable, its ectoblasts nearly always missed, and it seemed to constantly forget about its core powers.

Not to mention, its hair was white. Danny had black hair.

But then the ghost gave itself a name: Danny Phantom. And that was when Maddie decided to take a second look at it.

It was Danny’s height and build, its voice sounded similar to Danny’s, it seemed to know all of Danny’s classmates, it used a Fenton thermos, it wore a hazmat suit that looked eerily similar to the ones in their basement closet—not to mention that Danny’s hazmat suit had gone missing recently.

On its own, one small correlation didn’t mean anything. But when the little similarities kept piling up, then Maddie had to draw some sort of conclusion.

Just what was the conclusion though?

The Danny across the table had gone to school like any other human child, he’d eaten his meals like anyone else, he’d hung out with his human friends, he talked with his human family. On paper, he seemed normal.

Human.

But his grades were in a downwards spiral, Jazz had expressed concern about him and his friends, he’d been breaking curfew, and there were times when she’d peak into his room at night to find him gone.

He could have been just experiencing trauma from the accident. Maybe he was rebelling. There were so many explanations for his behavior that didn’t involve ghosts.

But then he’d do something ghostly or a weapon would beep around him or Phantom would fly nearby, and her red flags would be raised once again.

Maddie learned long ago to trust her red flags.

The Danny across the table took a bite of his salad, and his face immediately scrunched up.

Maddie felt sick.

He swallowed, and Maddie could see his eyes watering. “Is there something wrong with the lettuce, Mom?” 

She feigned innocence. “Hmm?”

“I don’t know,” he prodded a carrot on his plate. “Something just seems off.”

“Tastes fine to me,” Maddie said. “I just bought this lettuce today. Jazz, is yours okay?”

“Yeah,” she said.

Maddie suppressed a grin. She could always count on her “facts and research only” daughter.

“It could be the dressing? I used a new brand tonight. It’s healthier than the other stuff.” 

That, or it was the small amount of blood blossoms she’d blended into the vinaigrette. 

“Maybe.”

But it couldn’t end here. She needed to know. She was a scientist, she had to see the experiment through.

“Eat the rest of your salad, honey. I’ll buy the other brand tomorrow, okay?”

Danny carefully put another forkful of salad into his mouth. He gave a small wince, but swallowed. 

“Good boy,” she said. “I have fudge in the fridge for when you’re done.”

“Oh, fudge?” Jack exclaimed. He shoveled the rest of his salad into his mouth. With a mouth full of food, he said, “Thanks, Mads! You’re the best!”

“You’re welcome sweetie!”

Jazz made a face. “Gross, Dad.”

Jack laughed and bantered back at his daughter, but Maddie had already tuned out of the conversation. Her only focus was on Danny, whose face was now just too flushed to be healthy. Still, he forced himself to eat.

There was just no question. No doubt about it.

No matter how Maddie looked at it, this was proof enough.

Danny Fenton wasn’t human. The portal hadn’t nearly killed him, it probably did kill him. And now here he was, pretending to still be a part of the family while using Phantom to distract them from the fact that he was a ghost.

It was a truly elaborate ploy. And if Maddie was anyone else, his plans probably would have worked.

But she was Maddie Fenton. She had a PhD in ectobiology. She’d been researching ghosts for twenty years.

Dinner ended, and the children went upstairs to do homework. Although, if Maddie looked, she was sure Danny wouldn’t actually be in his room. And if she went outside, like she’d done in nights past, there was no doubt she’d see Phantom soaring through the skies.

But she knew. She knew. She knew.

She slipped a white business card out of her jacket pocket, grabbed her cell off the counter, went into her bedroom, and dialed the number. 

It rang once, then twice, then stopped. A deep voice sounded from the other line. “Maddie Fenton? I figured I’d be hearing back from you. Have you made your decision?” 

“Yes.” Her voice was mechanical, as if she’d only called about a malfunctioning weapon. “I have. I agree to the partnership.”

“Excellent. And the terms are to your liking?”

“Yes.”

“Understood. We’ll be in touch tomorrow to sign the official contract. Will your husband be involved in this, or are you working alone?”

Maddie closed her eyes. “The contract will be for my name only.”

“All right, then. We’ll talk tomorrow. You won’t regret this.” 

“I know.”

---

<previous / next>

[scuttle-buttle]

Thoughts on my writing process & other headcanons about the Niki × Catherine universe

Headcanons:

Hunt wasn't actually mad that his sister is with Niki, it's more so he was hurt by the fact that is was behind his back and that she lied to him about not seeing Niki. In reality he thinks Niki is a really good guy, if not too serious sometimes. Once they get past the initial hurt he's all for it. In fact, he hopes you'll corrupt Niki just a little. You do.

Niki started listening to your favorite radio station when he was working (at a reasonable volume, of course)

Niki would want to give Cat the world and considered buying her a really fancy engagement ring but in reality he knew that part of the reason she loved him so much was because he was so normal and practical, hence the simple gold band. He wanted it to remind you of him everytime you looked at it.

Niki loves that she is super independent because it means he doesn't have to 'worry' about her. They both do their own thing and coexist.

She definitely helps him to open up in general and be more friendly and socialize with others. Even with Hunt they are low key besties but still bust each other's balls every chance they get.

Speaking of Hunt he did plan the stag party. Niki went because you made him but the whole night it was just second hand embarrassment because hunt was being his usual self and yes there was a stripper involved (we are sex work positive in this house) and alcohol. Niki didn't want to talk about it afterwards even tho nothing bad happened. His only response when you asked - "a lot of ass," and no I don't mean the dancer's.

Niki is those tight little bell bottom corduroy pants. Send tweet.

Niki knows Cat goes feral when he talks dirty in German during their sexy times. At first it was just the appeal of him whispering in a foreign language. But since learning German she's able to pick up on what he's saying and good lord 🥵

He lets her drive the Ferrari sometimes on open roads in the countryside. She goes as fast as she wants. He lets her.

He always makes her join him on/next to the podium when he wins if she is present for the race

Despite being pretty private people, Niki will flaunt you off in front of the press. It’s subtle but he definitely wants people to know that you’ve got him wrapped around your finger

Elena and James 100% had a tiny set of red coveralls made when you announced your pregnancy. Thankfully James left off the “Sex: breakfast of champions” patch

Writing process:

Someone told me Elena gives Katheryn Hahn vibes and honestly that's such a compliment to me I want to be her myself. But also im kinda the Elena of my friend group irl

Sex on a ping pong table? I really really did that and I regret nothing

A wanted to find the balance between modern and 1970s women's roles in society. Second Wave Feminism was definitely making an impact around the western world, but there was still a lot of gendered issues going on. Hence the things like Elena being a secretary, Cat going to school for art history (which was common for women, and art history is so fun), and James being all defensive about his sister. That being said, women who sought personal freedom with things like birth control pills and careers were seen as very "modern women", both in the positive and negative sense.

I would find a song and play that shit on loop for 3 hours to get the tone right for a chapter

I wanted to make Catherine as vague as possible in terms of appearance because idk what readers are like, you know? So I did my best to not reference things like hair, eye color, skin color in hopes that as many people could enjoy this.

I regularly slip into accents that I don't actually possess when writing and reading my stuff outloud. Examples are: British, Australian, german/austrian/absolutely horrid rendition of niki

I am technically a medievalist through my first degree which is why I always try to find some way to sneak out into my fics since I don't get to practice it anymore with my current job.

I tried to balance the film with some real life details about Niki and James. For example they really did live together for a time.

[cakeandpi]

Parker!! spoilers abound

hm, so Harry (aka Lawyer) has been fired/let go and no one gave him the memo on it. Is his old job/boss going to be this episodes mark?

oof, Harry is bad at being subtle with his ‘okay look in [place]’ comm directions

ah okay so isn’t a legal firm that’s about representing their clients to the best of their ability. it’s a firm whose about smoothing bad things over for rich clients so that there’s little to no consequences.

“I remember when you wanted to change the world.”/“World did change. We just went along for the ride.” So the world changed the boss, the boss gave up on changing the world because he saw a way to profit from it and didn’t care that he hurt others along the way.

The way that car drove up onto the curve, I thought that was Sophie in a big hurry at first. (I would have thought Parker but there wasn’t enough time for her to crack the safe, get to the relevant files, get out, and then drive there.) But no, it’s Maxwell’s thugs because the man holds a grudge apparently. So I’m going to guess he’s going to be the season big bad? Or is he just a 2-episode bad guy and we’ll find out who the real big bad is later?

Hardison: listing various problems on various international efforts he’s helping with Eliot: let’s make this a restaurant metaphor Hardison: *very much regretting ever buying Eliot that brewpub*

Nuts and bolts about bad guy details

Also that bit about Hardison being distracted by problems is definitely a distraction, there’s no way he’d pause on making sure their safehouse was secure

Eliot is not so much pissed as insulted that the world is at the point of advertising the corruption rather than him needing to beat it out of someone.

drone!!

*snort* eliot's usually the grouchy one, and he’s carrying a trashcan right now. there’s no way hardison doesn’t make some oscar the grouch joke once he sees that.

“It’s like you never stopped.”/“Yeah. Quite the act.” Sophie slows down at Hardison’s comment, then sighs and sits. She’s finding this tiring now. Is it because she’s out of practice? Or because after so many years of retirement, her hearts not in it anymore? And Hardison notices. He doesn’t say anything concrete immediately, because Sophie hasn’t really elaborated on what’s going on with her. When she does - it’s her grief, and how its affecting her grift now - there’s this concern in Hardison’s face. There’s absolutely going to be a meeting between the OT3 about how to straddle not straining Sophie too much and not babying her should she stay on for another job after this.

“But I can’t work forever, can I?” There’s a defeated tone to this, and it’s true - Sophie’s just human, one day she too will pass on. Her grief for Nate (and how being back with the team keeps reopening that wound) is coloring her view on this for sure. (Did Nate work himself to death?) It’s also, very distantly, a remark on the OT3 - they too can’t work forever. They were Sophie’s and Nate’s proteges. And it’s not that the OT3 doesn’t have anything in place if they go down - they’ve got small teams running all over the world. But they don’t have their own personal proteges. Harry’s a decent start, but they’ll need to recruit and open up their circle to at least one, maybe two more before they’re ready to retire. Before they, too, burn too hot for too long.

“You hear that? That’s a very distinctive sound.” YES

Another Basil & Brick truck! This one has.... empanadas, ropa vieja, sancocho, and I think the last one is yuca frita. Mm, yuca fries.

BREANNA!!!

Parker! Taught Breanna to tail people! (Hardison in particular?) When she was 11! Wait does that mean Parker’s met Nana?! Also Parker is so smug and satisfied that Breanna paid attention to her lessons.

“I teach every kid I meet how to do crime.” <3 be gay do crime

This is a big ‘I’m telling mom!’ argument and I love it, especially the “I think she’s napping” LMAO

“How you saved Eliot’s life all those times” Oh man Hardison is sleeping on the metaphorical couch tonight. But also I need to come back to this later because honestly and really? Hardison has - as part of a group team effort - saved Eliot’s life from himself. By giving him a way to work through his anger issues, by caring for him, by showing Eliot he’s needed and that he’s more than just a hitter. The team saved Eliot’s life. (And there’s probably a bunch of erasing digital trails/etc where Hardison did more directly save Eliot’s life but that's besides the point.)

“But hacking’s kind of old school anyway.” And as she goes on, Eliot goes from aggrieved to ‘oh, a new best friend’ because now he has someone to help him annoy Hardison.

Parker pulls Hardison into a side room (by his ear, but he’s not protesting in pain so that’s got to be just for show). And then pushes him up against the wall and Hardison is like ‘okay whatever lecture is coming can it not be like this?’ If it weren’t for the glass walls that’d be some makeout stuff right here.

LOL at Parker’s standard for a ‘normal’ person being ‘uses Uber, pays taxes, and has a birth certificate’.

“Wait is this like that time in Paris?” I... don’t remember an episode set in Paris with a robot and explosions so this must be during the time skip. And - “... but you didn’t want to hurt Eliot’s feelings so you secretly wanted us to agree.” I’m going to scream if there’s no confirmed ot3 by the end of the season. And cry. And read a whole bunch of fic.

Look at these two being honest with each and communicating and respecting each others opinions, they’ve grown so much from pretzel metaphors.

“You’re not mad. You did the Picard tug.”/“I am mad.“/“Did the tug. You know I like that.” Parker might be mad (at Hardison? Breanna? Both?) but not so much that she’s completely shutting out Hardison, giving him a nonverbal signal that she’s not pissed, just needs some time to be upset before everything’s okay.

“One. Job.” Parker says. And we the viewers know it’ll be more than one. But really what that means by now is that this is an audition. Parker may have taught Breanna some things, but now Breanna has to show that they do better with her rather than without, that she’s an asset and not a liability or dead weight.

I laughed so hard that because this shit’s illegal, there’s no cutting corners on the paperwork.

“And you didn’t get tortured.”/“Not this time.” I can’t tell if Eliot wants Harry to get a little bit tortured or if he’s just reminding Harry that this time around people were in a good mood and showing off.

Breanna stops herself before suggesting something, and Hardison, for all that he isn’t delighted at her presence and protested her being here, encourages her to speak up. If she’s going to be part of the team, even for one job, she’s part of the team and that means speaking up and throwing ideas out there for others to bounce around, even if it winds up being a football that can’t be dribbled.

OT3 TEAM JUST GOT DUBBED ‘DRILL TEAM’. (why is that also somehow a dirty joke i’m dying here)

Oh one of the baddies is a Com4r4t fan... oh wait no this is the beginning of a plan backfiring.

Aww Breanna is so proud of what she’s done! It’s very much like season 1 Hardison. So Sophie and Hardison go to do their own thing, only that means the baddies are here to talk to Breanna and she doesn’t have backup.

THE 'LET ME GET MY BOSS’ THE SPIN AROUND AND THE ‘WHY ARE YOU BOTHERING MY STAFF’ I LOVE BREANNA.

“I’m your neighbor who runs a business built on discretion.” This is going to go very badly depending on how Breanna plays this. At least she gets the earbud in to call for help!

Another Brick&Basil truck! Etoufee and jambalaya, dammit eliot stop choosing delicious food to advertise. 

“I monkey-shamed the DJ” I. Love. Her. Also Sophie’s already read Breanna as having the skills to just need general guidelines for an impromptu grift rather than needing to be fed specific lines.

“Okay here’s the thing.” And there’s a pause, we’re thinking he’s about to come down real hard on Breanna, and then we get “I love Com4r4t.” he is a fanboy I guessed it right!! And then he does go through with the threat, but not as a ‘cancel it or die’ sort of threat, but a ‘if i’m disappointed you die’ way.

Breanna nails the impromptu grift though she’s understandably a bit shaken by the threat at the end. (What newcomer wouldn’t be?) But the threat is what pushes Parker into deciding Breanna should go home ASAP. This is Hardison’s family, from before the team, and Parker isn’t about to risk messing that up. If she pushes for Breanna to stay when Hardison doesn’t want Breanna to, and something goes wrong? Parker would never, ever forgive herself.

But as Sophie has pointed out, they’ve all been out of their depth at one point or another. That doesn’t mean that someone should be sent packing.

Lmao Eliot being possessive of the drill.

“Then you ain’t got no more problems ever again.” There’s a certain sense of morbid humor with the team, one that’s both necessary but also a reality. They deal with this level of danger on a semi-regular basis. Harry just hasn’t caught up to that fact yet.

I have a feeling this particular baddie is going to end up dead for managing to drive a 40% cut.

“I’m just saying dude.” I love that Eliot and Hardison don’t have to rehash their entire arguments anymore unless they’re really enjoying themselves, that they can just be all ‘you know I’ve said my piece’.

“Don’t get distracted by the side gig.”/“Is it a side gig?” For all that the team has been their main focus for so long, for all that they all have side projects and gigs, this has been eating up more and more of Hardison’s time. What I thought was him pretending to be distracted earlier may have been a real distraction. And Eliot’s noticed, and he’s noticed that Hardison hasn’t noticed, that Hardison needs to make a choice here.

“In our line of work, you’re one of the best. But in that line of work you’re the only one, man.” Eliot has a soft smile at the end of that, and it's a bit painful, even as I saw it coming, to hear Eliot suggest that Hardison begin to step away from the team’s day to day.

“It’s okay to grow up, to realize you’re not the person you used to be.” None of them are the person they used to be. Not Sophie, not Parker, not Hardison, and certainly not Eliot. They can see that in each other if not in themselves. (Eliot, being the most grounded of all of them, already knew he’d changed eight years ago.)

“You never grew up.”/“Yeah. I achieved perfection pretty early, huh?” Even as Eliot’s the most grounded, even though he’s the one saying that there’s no one else that could fill Hardison’s role in that other work, the idea that Hardison might actually choose to step away from the team is too raw to handle without turning to humor.

Harry’s a bit jumpy, but he’s learning to play it off. I like that he’s a very different character from Nate, that it’s not his anger or ego driving him so much as a desire to make restitution.

And a “Dammit Hardison”

Ooh, Eliot’s in the vents too, just in time to help Parker. (She doubtless has her beloved taser but that would take time away from getting into the vault.)

“I smell lasers” Ahahahahaha

“You’re going to compare me to Eliot right now?” (’over the comms, where others who aren’t Eliot can hear?’ Hardison did not say out loud.)

ouch, okay, Hardison hurting his back like that might be what actually makes him choose the other gig over the team, or at what makes him take a little vacation so he can heal from that. (back injuries are nothing to play around with!)

how did Maxwell get past Eliot? but it’s all good, Eliot’s right behind to disarm him. And Parker’s been doing her hitting lessons, she didn’t even need a taser or to stab anyone!

Oh Harry, the bomb will be used, it’s just not time yet.

New Orleans gumbo is its own food group.

Okay so Hardison’s done a lot of work getting this place in order... WAIT IS THAT A PUNCHING BAG? That’s a punching bag! It might not be the love-letter the brewpub was but it’s definitely a thing added specifically for Eliot.

Oh no, Eliot might realize what Hardison’s doing with this, but Parker hasn’t caught up yet that Hardison’s going to be taking a break from the team.

Parker’s blindsided by this, and she’s upset, but she’s not mad because why didn’t she see this coming she should have seen it, so she leaves to deal with her emotions alone. Hardison follows, naturally, she knew he would, but she can’t face him because then he’ll see her crying, and Parker doesn’t do emotions easily. She’s torn between wanting him to help people and wanting to be with him (and she can’t go with him, she needs to be helping people too).

And Parker doesn’t want Breanna there without Hardison. Again because it’d put Hardison’s family in danger and that’s a step too far for Parker if Hardison doesn’t okay it. And also because with Hardison leaving, Breanna’s just going to be reminders of what Parker’s missing. And Breanna doesn’t have Hardison’s skillset, can’t fill his shoes - not that she should but she can’t, and Parker, I think, is already mentally preparing herself to go it alone again. Because if this job needs Hardison so bad, then surely Eliot’s got some project that needs his specific attention, and it was just one job for Breanna, and Sophie’s been adamant that this is one last job for her, and Harry’s still new and will probably decide to do his own thing given time to think... I think that’s where her brain is at, at least for the next thirty seconds, before she catches up with herself and realizes that more like the time she busted her leg than the team dissolving around her. (This kind of went weird places but that’s stream of thought for me)

And as they come back in Parker’s already cheering up some, because that wave of despair has already blown over. Yeah, she’s not a parent, but she’s good at teaching when she tries.

“It could be a reunion tour.”/“No. I’m retired.” It’s very different from Nate’s old protestations. He was not a thief. Whereas with Sophie it’s not ready. And while they all point out that she’s been happier while doing cons, that they could use the help, it’s not forceful or overpowering. It’s still Sophie’s decision. They’re not going to make her house their new base and taunt her with it; they’re not the sort of people who’d do that anymore, and anyway that’d be cruel instead of a fun sort of goading.

And because they give Sophie space to make a decision, while she doesn’t want to make a long-term commitment, she’s willing to take on ‘just a few more’.

[dogcopter]

Rose is Liveblog 2020: Steven Universe Future

Rose is Liveblog 2020 Masterlist

Lion hasn’t shown up much yet in Future, but if he’s Rose that’ll likely be the business of an episode or two down the road.

Rose Buds

Lion has a cameo at the very end. It plays some suspensful music that sounds like a leitmotif I don’t recognize (I’m not good at the music but I know there’s lore involved), shows the empty space where the portrait was:

Note it was next to Cat Steven’s, who Lion has been shown napping with a few times.

Then a pic of Steven in bed with Lion sleeping at the foot.

Steven does mention him earlier when talking to the Roses, but he doesn’t appear before that. End of video. I also have some non-Lion (or Lion adjacent really) meta for you since this is a Rose lore episode.

I’ll happily go either way on her, but let’s talk Shy Rose.

A meta take/theory on this episode: If the portrait being gone has more than one meaning, maybe Rose's astral projection state has changed too? Thought: Rose no longer possessing Lion? Ergo Rose really is Shy Rose after all?

Edit: I believe this now, based on thoughts from this liveblog. Shy Rose is Rose Theory Post here

It would be interesting if she is - like she’d made herself a Rose Quartz gem?  (Ethically I would prefer if Rose had like made an “empty” gemstone and is not hijacking another living thinking gem’s body for her own purposes, so we’ll see what comes of her. Is that even possible?) She did want to fit right in and play with the Amethysts. It’s not impossible she tried to find another way to do that while making a kindergarten of Rose Quartzes for her cover story. Or maybe the others were part of the process of finding the right appearance. After all, she’s the only one we’ve seen who looks exactly like Pearl’s OC - there aren’t even any others with curly hair. And the Crystal Gem Rose would be nervous to meet Steven, startled to see the others, concerned about Pearl, concerned about Steven, & she would have sworn she “wouldn’t talk about this”. All consistent, it’s still possible. If Shy Rose isn’t Rose, she’s just an emotionally intelligent stranger who’s hyper-aware of how much she looks like Rose. If she is Rose, this is like...idk...Rose nervously in the secret OC body, maybe wanting to talk to him, maybe playing it safe first to see how they react, weighing the idea of yet another false life...maybe scared to do it or not sure how. This would be a good setup for Steven corrupting honestly, if that’s gonna happen, or at least whatever mom issues-induced total meltdown Future has been building to. Yeah I still buy it. And then this:

Please don't leave like this! I'm really sorry. It's not like I don't like you or don't want you here. It's just that you look so much like her; like my Mom. I thought I was ready to move on and not have her hanging over me anymore, but I can barely be in a room with you because I still feel all twisted up about her.

Since Steven specifically mentions her appearance is triggering, both about Shy Rose personally and not the others, maybe that makes her hesitate to tell him the truth further. And he says he’s trying to put his mom behind him.

Shy Rose looks down for a second when he says he feels all twisted up about her. In this lighting, her coloration is more like Rose’s, too. Could be a guilty conscience. Steven also says something important if this is a Lion/Rose hearing about Steven’s struggles moment: 

I've been pretending that I'm fine because it's not your fault, but I'm not fine.

he admits he’s not ok. He still hasn’t done this to the Crystal Gems as of Prickly Pair, even though it’s clear, but he did tell the Roses. And if this is Rose, then some of his problems are actually her fault.

Ofc what Shy Rose says at the end seems to indicate she’s not Rose:

Your mom created us too, and got us all bubbled, just for being Rose Quartzes.

At the same time... not only is that a true statement, if she’s Rose, both talking about her own former identity with scorn & being mad at Rose Quartz is still characterization consistent with Rose Quartz; she was down on herself in We Need to Talk and during the rebellion she told gems like Garnet and Bismuth stories about how terrible Pink Diamond was... so ok, I’ll bite. It would add a layer to all her reactions in the ep if that’s so. I’d love if Shy Rose is in fact her own person and showed up again so we could see another side to her though, because looking like Rose is an interesting dilemma.

[chloe-is-a-lesbeean]

A Generation Unafraid

Hello, @anime-puns. I’m your @mlsecretsanta . Have some Hurt/Comfort. The characters are in their 20s & I got the lyrics from Battlefield by Svrcina.

/Meet me on the battlefield/

They freedom he had as Chat Noir was unparalleled to Adrien. (Except maybe by Marinette’s kisses.) Tonight it was needed more than ever, especially after what he had seen. It was the ninth anniversary of his mother’s disappearance, and when he had gone to see her portrait, his father had gone through a hidden staircase in his office. Which was strange. What was stranger was seeing Gabriel Agreste’s face get covered by Hawkmoth’s cowl.

Which lead to his current situation: running across the rooftops of Paris to get to Ladybug. He knew she had been concerned by his insistence on an in-suit emergency meeting. The last thing he wanted to do was worry his fiance, but this was huge and it would be so much easier to tell her as Chat Noir than as Adrien Agreste.

When he finally arrived on that rooftop, the past ten minutes felt like forever.

“Ladybug….”

/Even on the darkest night/

Immediately Marinette was concerned. Her kitty wasn’t like this. He never called for emergency meetings while she was having a family dinner, and he used at least one nickname when he greeted her. What could possibly be wrong?

“….do you remember when we were kids and you thought that Gabriel was Hawkmoth?”

“Yes?”

That set off even more alarm bells in her head. Since when did he call his father Gabriel? Why was he bring up a coincidence that happened when they were thirteen? What was wrong?

“Apparently…apparently Hawkmoth can akumatize himself.”

It took a second for the weight of his words to sink in, but when it did…”

“Oh. Oh mon chaton.”

Marinette immediately moved to comfort him somehow, stepping forward and extending an arm. Her thoughts races,but even still she shouldn’t possibly imagine what he felt.

“I..I just…I don’t know what to do,” his voice cracked, an unusual show of vulnerability while transformed, even in front of her. “He’s been hurting everyone, trying to kill us, trying to kill our friends. And I don’t even know why.”

“Have you talked to Plagg?”

“He’ll want to-” before the word ‘leave could come out of his mouth.

“Kid, did you really think I would care about this? I’ll be here as long as you have cheese.”

/ I will be your sword and shield, your camouflage, and you will be mine/

The next akuma attack was different. Chat Noir made none of his usual puns, nor did he flirt with Ladybug. As soon as the call of “Miraculous Ladybug!” went into the air, the pair of them were cornered by the other heroes. Carapace was the first to talk.

“Alright dude. Talk.”

Nino wasn’t one to mince words. Especially when his best friend was hurting and he didn’t know why. Obviously Marinette did, but she wasn’t talking either.

“I discovered Hawkmoth’s identity. He’sfather.”

Adrien spit out the last part so fast Nino almost couldn’t tell what he was saying. When his brain woke up enough to fully absorb the message, he wished he could say he was surprised. Gabriel had always been a jerk. Especially to his son.

“Adrien, I’m your father now I’m adopting you.,

Queen Bee threw herself forward and gripped him as tight as she dared.

“It doesn’t matter. His actions don’t reflect who you are, only who he is.”

Out of all the others, Ladybug, Carapace, Renard Rouge,Queen Bee was the one who could relate the most. While Chloe’s father wasn’t a supervillain, he was a corrupt politician. In the end, the two of them were alike, using power to manipulate people.

Adrien was markedly happier after what the Heros of Paris referred to as ‘The Great Intervention’. Unfortunately, this wouldn’t last for long.

/Echoes of the shots ring out, We may be the first to fall/

“ You are my son, you live in my house, and are employed by me. You will do as I command you.”

The knocking against her window reminded Marinette of Evillustrator.  All in all it was a,fairly nice memory, well, it was for being kidnapped by an akuma. Opening the window revealed Chat Noir.

“I had a fight with Gabriel. I was just so tired of pretending that he cared about me and..I guess he heard me mumbling about not having to work for him anymore, since I started looking for a different job and he just exploded.”

“Oh Adrien, come here.”

It didn’t take long to get him inside and on the couch curled up in a warm blanket with some hot chocolate.

“I know it must be hard for you, but we’re all here for you alright? Me, Nino, Chloe, Alya..”

“I don’t think she knows.”

“What?!”

“Alya had a cold so she wasn’t at that akuma so unless Nino told her she doesn’t know.”

/Everything could stay the same, Or we could change it all/

“Let me get this straight: Your father is Hawkmoth, you don’t actual have any proof besides your word, and you all tell the investigative journalist last?”

“So you’re going to..”

“Investigate this like it’s a story and take all the proof I find? Adrien, you bet I will.”

/Meet me on the battlefield/

Adrien Agreste wasn’t exactly incognito, so Nino was the one who helped Alya buy all her supplies, admittedly with Adrien’s money. Which was technically Hawkmoth’s money.

Nino sure appreciated the irony of that. It felt..strange to just sit around and do nothing. Well, not nothing but they aren’t charging into battle. Well, if there’s one thing he’s learned since meeting Wayzz, patience is key, even if he may not like it.

Alya burned with a righteous anger. How dare he. This emotion wasn’t unknown to her, nor was the man it was aimed towards. Incidents involving Gabriel’s treatment of Adrien had made the scenario far too common than was healthy. She also hadn’t ever acted on it. And the stakes this time were larger than anything she had ever faces before.

/We’re standing face-to-face, With our own human race/

Finally the moment came. They had more than enough evidence to bring Gabriel Agreste  to court through the new magical crimes division. Unfortunately, he had figured out their plan right before they could implement it. So they got the showdown they had all been expecting. This was Adrien’s first time seeing Gabriel as Hawkmoth since he first accidentally watched him transform. The first time his father saw him as an enemy.

/We commit the sins again/

Hawkmoth didn’t hold back.

They didn’t either.

/ And our sons and daughters pay/

Adrien wasn’t sure what to make of the fight afterwards. He had detransformed. Gabriel looked shocked. He hadn’t stopped fighting them though. He didn’t care about Adrien enough.  Walking through the streets after the battle to clear his head, he notices that even though it had been less than twenty minutes,people still eyed him suspiciously. Fine. Let them. He doesn’t care.

/Our tainted history Is playing on repeat/

The Hawkmoth trials dragged on and on.  They all knew he was guilty, why couldn’t it just end. Adrien especially hated how they just kept repeating things. Honestly, if he wasn’t required to testify Adrien would have left long ago. The battle had caught on security cameras and one adrenaline junkie that had sneaked onto to roof with the intention of scaling the wall had also recorded it. The news of their relation had spread everywhere by that afternoon. Chat Noir, Hawkmoth’s Son?!’  Had been the trending news story of the week. He just wants everything to stop. Or slow down.

/But we could change it, If we stand up strong and take the lead/

“Using the powers of the destruction and creation miraculous combined turns the person using  them into a god. I intended to use this power to bring my wife back to life.”

That had not been what Marinette expected. Power, sure. He was a villain going after powerful artefacts, why would he not want power. Turned out he was just a man who didn’t know how to grieve. It was ..sad,really. A man so desperate to save his family tore it apart beyond all repair.

Nino wanted to talk to Gabriel. Maybe to get some closure for himself. He wasn’t the one most directly affected, but… he needed to know if he really ever cared about how his actions impacted Adrien. What had been going through his head?

“I thought that once I had his mother back, he would be happy and forgive me.”

/When I was younger I was named A generation unafraid For the heirs to come, be brave/

Adrien sat down at his desk, the pen in his hand hovering above the page. He wasn’t sure what had possessed him to even contemplate writing this letter. Closure? He thought that he had gotten after the trial. Maybe because he now had a child of his own?

Dear Father,

                  I expect this will come as a surprise to you, seeing as we haven’t talked since the trial. But Paris is healing, and I still can’t move on. I thought I could after the trial, but recent events have stirred up old feelings. Adeline Dupain-Cheng is wonderful. You won’t be seeing her, not for a while. Possibly someday, when me and Marinette can face you again. She deserves to know who you are. I do this for her sake, not yours. I don’t expect you to write back, and if you do I will be surprised.

        Sincerely,

                                   Adrien

[the-captains-ayebrows]

The Long Road Home - Canon Extension for 3x11 “Going Home”

My contribution to this year's CS Storybook! Check out the cover art by @elaine--captain--swan  who makes very beautiful things, and I highly recommend looking her up on Tumblr.

A series of missing and extended scenes that mostly take place during the Season 3 "Missing Year". It begins with Emma and Killian saying good-bye as Pan's curse rolls in. Lots of internal monologue.  Canon-compliant mentions of Emma and Walsh's relationship. This also contains a favorite headcanon of mine about where Blackbeard gets all those portal beans

Length ~4K words. Rated T for a few swear words. Also on [AO3]

There’s not a day that’ll go by I won’t think of you.

Good.

-- Killian --

One word. One word is all she gave him, but it’s enough. It’ll have to be enough. Because there’s no time now. There’s never enough time. Her friends and family surround her. Then she’s disappearing into that bizarre yellow carriage of hers, and then even that disappears from his view in a wash of purple smoke. But he meant it, what he said to her. He hopes she meant it, too.

-- Emma --

One word. One word is all she could offer. Because there wasn’t enough time. There’s never enough time. And everyone else is around her, hugging her, and when the hell did she become a hugger? Anyway, it’s not the time for heart-to-heart confessions. She and Henry have to run. She always runs. At least she has her son with her this time. At least she’s not alone. But, Hook… he meant it, what he said to her. Her inner lie detector was absolutely silent. She meant it, too, her one word. And she hopes he can hear in that word what she didn’t say.  

Don’t forget me. Don’t give up. You have to remember for the both of us.

But most of all, Bring me home again.

-- Killian --

Will mermaids ever cease to be the bane of his existence? Bloody hell. The Crocodile and Pan are finally dead - rather considerate of the Croc to have taken himself and his accursed father out in one blow - and he would’ve thought all the tribulations he encountered from his centuries in Neverland were behind him. But no. Bloody mermaids. Can’t a man pay off a harlot in peace?

Still, if the lass is telling the truth about Blackbeard and his beloved Jolly Roger, all the sins of her piscine race shall be forgiven, at least as far as he’s concerned. From where he sits, or rather crouches, behind assorted cargo crates with this Ariel person and Smee, it would appear her information is accurate.

By the gods, it's been so long since he’s seen her, the first love of his life. Before Milah, before… that lass whose name he refuses to speak aloud, though it certainly echoes through his thoughts constantly. Before any fair maid had tempted him, there was her. The Jewel of the Realm. The Jolly Roger. His constant companion. His confidant. His home.

Even as he thinks the words, he feels a tug behind his breastbone, a fisherman’s hook (the irony is not lost on him) buried deep in his chest that pulls him in a very different direction from the gangplank before him. He ignores it. He forces the emptiness in his breast into the shape of a gracefully curving hull and towering sails, instead of the softer lines, painted in shades of red and gold and green, that have haunted him of late.

“You know you’re talking about a boat, right?”

Bloody mermaids. “You have your love and I have mine.”

And he does love her, his Jolly. He needs her. Needs to feel like himself again. He feels like he’s losing himself. Losing everything. He lost his revenge, the one thing keeping him alive over the centuries. The Croc now dead by his own hand. He’d lost his ship to Pan’s curse. He’d lost…

But now here the Jolly sits, ready to welcome him back with open yardarms. What is he without her? Without his identity as Captain Hook? He’s a pirate. He’s always been a pirate, just as he told the Prince those months back. He needs to get back to that, back to himself, back home to his beloved ship. It’s all he has left.

And Blackbeard is daft if he thinks he can stand in the way.

-- Emma --

He spilled his coffee on her. Ran smack-dab into her on the street, his latte splattered all over her bright red wool coat. It’s the most cliched of meet-cutes - actually, it reminds her of some story she heard a while back. Maybe an old friend met their fiancee that way? Whatever. But still… since her place in Boston burned down, she really does need new furniture for her new home, and the insurance money was surprisingly generous. He seems nice enough. Mostly harmless, anyway. So, when he gives her his business card and an apparently sincere offer to pay for her dry cleaning, she accepts it.

Walsh Ozman, Antiques and Fine Furniture.

But, here’s the thing… The wood puns may be too much for her to handle.

“Wizard of Oak. Really? Was ‘Shiver Me Timbers’ already taken?”

His smile at seeing her in his shop flickers for a moment, and she senses she’s said something wrong, but she can’t imagine what. Perhaps he’s the one who can’t handle it? His grin is right back in place before she can figure it out. He does, in fact, pay for her dry cleaning, and she buys an end table.

He calls her a few days later to ask if she’s satisfied with her purchase. She is, of course. Something about the scrollwork beneath the table top reminds her of ocean waves, and she finds it strangely calming. She’s caught herself more than once tracing her fingers across it absently as she reads a book on her couch. He asks her to dinner, and she says she’ll think about it.

She does. Think about it, that is. Henry is, first and foremost, the love her life. She thanks whatever deity is listening every day that she decided not to give him up all those years ago. Can’t imagine what kind of a person she’d be without her son. She’d probably be a lot more guarded, more jaded, without seeing every day all the light and hope in his sweet, brown eyes.

Still, it’s been just the two of them for years. She didn’t have time for anything resembling a love life when Henry was little, to say nothing of the lingering wounds Neal had left on her heart. Henry’s not a little kid anymore, though, and she’s in a really solid place in her life. Good apartment. Good job. Maybe a nice guy is the logical next step?

She can admit that she’s been lonely. Every once in a blue moon, when the loneliness got too much for her to bear, she’d been known to send Henry off to sleep over with a friend, while she ‘slept over’ with a stranger. Not that she ever spent the night.

It feels like ages since she’s even had that level of adult contact, though. She literally can’t remember the last time that someone made her feel, well, anything really. Not even base lust, and certainly not anything resembling an actual emotion.

Even as she thinks the words, something pricks at the back of her mind. It’s not a memory exactly. Or really, it’s more like a memory of a memory? Is that even a thing? Like a Xerox of a photograph. Faded, corrupted, colorless, but still there. Pieces of a dream, maybe. Has to be. Who the hell would wear black leather in a jungle in real life? As if she’s ever even seen a jungle.

Emma Swan is far too pragmatic to let herself get bogged down in fantasy. So yeah, after getting the official go-ahead from Henry, she agrees to go to dinner with Walsh. And he’s kind, and he likes Henry, and there’s something familiar and appealing about his dark eyebrows and messy hair.

So, she tells herself to hope that this, this is what’s been missing. This is the thing that’s finally going to make her feel like she’s found a home.

And she’s not about to let some stupid dream stand in her way.

-- Blackbeard --

By Neptune’s left testicle, look what the tide’s washed in! That bloody ponce has some gall to show his face in here. He knows full well this is the regular gaming establishment patronized by Blackbeard’s crew. Wonder how he feels seeing the Captain himself in residence this evening?

Perhaps he thought his old nemesis had been swept up in this latest curse, but even a scurvy git like Hook should know better. He’s not the only sailor on these waters with the sense to steer clear of an onslaught of purple smoke. If he only knew how easily Blackbeard could extract himself from any… unfortunate situation.

He’d have used a bean when Hook made him walk the plank if that little mermaid hadn’t saved him the trouble. He’s always got a handful on him at any given time, and when he runs low, he simply uses one to transport himself to the uncharted island where he grows the blasted things. Oh, everyone believed that all the beans had been destroyed when Prince James (the original, not his insipid twin) and his little strumpet Jack defeated the Giants of the Beanstalk. Certainly, Blackbeard’s taken great pains (and inflicted great pains - ha!) to ensure that is the only story being told.

In truth, the Prince had managed to steal a small cache of the beans before the last giant set the fields ablaze, then paid Blackbeard a ludicrous sum of gold to hide them from King George. Probably planning a patricidal coup or some such thing. Blackbeard swears the Prince would’ve made an excellent pirate, not that it matters anymore. The Prince went and got himself killed, and there was no other living soul to know Blackbeard still had possession of the beans.

So, he’d made a little investment of them. He’d located a tiny island not found on any map, gathered up a crew of… shall we say, 'indentured workers' to plow and plant for him, and now he’s got a field full of lovely little stalks growing as many beans as he could possibly need. Even used one to pay off a former fairy for a bit of cloaking magic, to ensure his plantation is never discovered.

Honestly, you’d think someone would’ve noticed by now. How he can be in Arendelle in the morning and the farthest reaches of the Maritime Kingdom by tea time. Bloody idiots, the whole lot. Heads firmly up their own arses.

Ha! Oh, but this is too delicious. Hook absolutely reeks of desperation, and apparently, one such bean is the object of his desire. No. Check that. It’s a woman. Captain-bloody-Hook has been bested by a woman!

This is rich. Simply glorious! He swears by all the gods, this is the best day of his life. He shall not take a single coin of Hook’s gold. No, no. The son of a codfish tried to kill him. His utter humiliation is a far better price. Blackbeard wants Hook’s ship - the very ship they dueled over before - and he’ll accept nothing less. Far be it for him to tell Hook he’s got hundreds of the damn beans at his disposal.

Let the fool trade away his pride. His ship. His home. And all for some damned wench! Ha!

-- Henry --

He knows. She hasn’t said anything, but he knows. Henry’s a pretty smart kid, after all. And it’s been just the two of them - he and his mom against the world - for too long for him not to notice.

Walsh really seems like a good guy. He’s got terrible taste in music and his store has, like, the lamest name ever, but Henry can tell the guy actually likes his mom. Like… like , likes her.

It just... Doesn’t seem like enough? He can’t explain it. His mom still seems like something is holding her back. Like her brain and heart aren’t talking to each other. She loves Walsh - says she does anyway - but Henry is grown up enough now to know there’s a difference between love and Capital-L Love .

Henry knows his mom loves him , though. Capital L truly loves him. No question. That doesn’t mean she isn’t still lonely. For, you know, the other kind of love. He worries about her. He’s the kid and she’s the parent - she likes to remind him of that when he’s acting ‘too grown up’ - but he still does.  And she’s definitely, totally, lonely.

He just… he wishes they could find that missing piece, you know? So, he asks her to go with him to his usual thinking spot. That big fountain right beside the library. The books kind of help him focus, and the water… well, that’s what fountains are for. Wishing.

He feels - he’s always felt - like there’s something about this place. Something special. Magical.  That’s stupid, he guesses, but he can’t think of a better word for it. So, he tosses his coin and makes a wish.

He knows his mom thinks he’s upset about something from school, and he should tell her he’s worried about her. He should. But there’s something holding him back, too. Something he can’t quite remember. He doesn’t know how to tell her what he thinks is missing because he really doesn’t know. There’s just this empty space, you know?

So, he tosses a coin and he wishes - more than he’s ever wished for anything - for their little family to be complete. He isn’t even sure what he means by that. He just feels like they’re waiting for something. That something is out there waiting for them. An adventure, a future, a home.

-- Emma --

What. The hell. Just happened. Emma blinks once, twice, and again, licking her lips before she can think better of it. She can’t really think of anything. Her brain feels like a cat in a YouTube video frantically scrambling on a freshly waxed floor, but never actually getting anywhere.

“Mom? Who was that?”

“No idea. Someone must’ve left the door open downstairs.”

Because no. She had no idea who he was. Just some crazy person. He had to be, but she…

Sh- she…

She froze . Emma Swan absolutely vapor locked. It was weird enough that she opened the door without looking out the peephole first - especially since the way he’d pounded on the door already had her on high alert, but even so. A strange guy dressed like a freaking pirate is standing in her hallway sighing her name as if she’s an oasis in the desert and she just, what? Stands there with her mouth hanging open, squinting at him, listening to his voice, trying to place him.

Why would she do that? Why not just slam her door in the face of the weirdo in his elaborate costume? Nope. She asked him if she knew him. As if she’d forget that face. Or that outfit.

What the hell is wrong with her? Why did he seem so familiar?

And, and, and -

God, he telegraphed that kiss. Like, every nerve ending in her body could sense it coming from the way he was looking at her alone, not to mention the awkward full body twitch before he leaned in. Even if she wasn’t a pro at reading body language, the guy practically had a neon sign over his head that said, ‘I’m about to reach for you.’

And she stood there. And let him. She didn’t step back. She didn’t grab his wrist and twist it behind him and shove his pretty face into the wall and shout for Henry to bring her handcuffs.

She stood there and closed her eyes and… time stopped. She was in a jungle, the one from her dream. Everything smelled leafy and sweaty and a mosquito was biting the back of her neck, but she didn’t give a single fuck because his lips were touching hers, and it felt like - it felt like…

Funny thing about time stopping. When it starts back up again, it zooms ahead even faster to catch up to where it should have been. It also makes a noise that sounds very much like your own voice screaming in your ear, “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?”

The kick to his balls was a (literal) knee-jerk reaction. But even then - even then - she still stood there talking to him. A random stranger kisses her on the mouth and she gives him the chance to explain himself. Like he’d tell her the truth.

He was telling her the truth.

Just because he believes it, that doesn’t make it true.

Oh, sure, she threatened to call the cops and finally managed to remember that her door does, in fact, close. But god, the whole interaction…

There shouldn’t have been a whole interaction. Who even is she today?

Maybe she’s overly tired. She’s been working a lot of late nights recently. Maybe tonight she’ll take a sleeping pill so she’ll get a good night’s rest. No...unwanted dreams. Unwanted in the sense that she doesn’t want confirmation of exactly where she’s seen his face before.

Maybe her blood sugar is out of whack and she just needs some pancakes and hot cocoa.

“Come on. Let’s eat.”

-- Henry --

What. Was. That. Let’s eat? That’s all she’s gonna say? Henry’s twelve, he’s not deaf and blind. Fine. If that’s how she wants to be, Henry can play it cool, too.   And he’ll do it better than her, without all the out-of-breath huffing. He can keep a secret after all. He hasn’t told her that Walsh is about to propose, even though it’s been a week since he asked for Henry’s blessing. So, fine. He won’t talk to her about this either.

But like… really? He knows what he heard. There was some guy at the door - he definitely heard a guy’s voice - and that guy was talking about  Cs mom having a family and that her family was in trouble and, well… Henry’s also about 99% sure his mom punched the guy or something. But then she kept talking to him? What even is that?

It was kind of like she knew the guy, but she didn’t at the same time, if that makes any sense. She never opens the door for people she doesn’t know or isn’t expecting. She says it's because of all the skips she’s put in jail. Never know when one might try to come after her. Or him. She’s really protective of him. She wouldn’t even let Walsh come over until they’d been dating for months .

Really, his mom is being super weird, even now that the guy is gone. She never acts like this. Her face is flushed, she keeps licking her lips and it’s not because of the pancake syrup. She hasn’t even touched her food which is also very un-momlike behavior. She loves food. About the only time Henry ever sees her this way is when she’s really close to solving a big case, like right on the edge of figuring it out.

Maybe that’s all this is. Maybe that guy is part of some big case she’s trying to crack.

Or… maybe she’s just being weird because she’s got a date with Walsh at some fancy restaurant tonight and she’s figured out what he’s going to do. That’s probably it. He really wants his mom to be happy, and if marrying Walsh will do that, then he’s cool with it. But, he’s not sure. It could be Walsh is the missing piece for their family like Henry had wished, but it doesn’t seem to fit somehow. He’s not sure why.

Speaking of that wish, Henry can’t stop thinking about what the strange guy yelled right before his mom slammed the door. “You have to remember, ” he’d said. Like it was the most important thing ever.

Family. They have to remember. It’s all so… Henry’s not sure, but it sends a shiver down his spine. It was seriously just a couple of days ago that he’d made that wish. That their family would be complete. Because it felt like there was something out there that he couldn’t quite remember. It’s spooky and way too much of a coincidence to let slide.

So, maybe magic isn’t so stupid after all? Maybe some strange guy showing up is somehow connected to his wish? And his mom just slammed the door in the guy’s face!

-- Killian --

That went… about as poorly as he should have expected. Nothing is ever easy with that lass. Crumpled on the floor outside her door, Killian isn’t sure which hurts more, his manhood or his heart. She did a rather stunning job of crushing both.

He’s a bloody idiot. He should have known, should have realized that she didn’t… that she wasn’t…

Gods above and below, he actually attempted to give her True Love’s Kiss. They’d only ever shared one kiss of any kind. One soul-shattering, life-altering kiss, to be sure but…

A one-time thing. Don’t follow me.

It was just a kiss. How is that your darkest secret?

He should have known, but he had hoped. He’d hoped in a way that he didn’t think he would ever be capable of doing again. She’s given him that, and even as he sloshes through a mire of self-loathing disappointment, he’s grateful to her.

I never thought I’d be capable of letting go of my first love, of my Milah… that is, until I met you.

She is his new dream, his beacon guiding him out of the storm into a fair harbor. It matters not that she doesn’t return his feelings. He came here to save her, not to make love to her. He will find a way. He will bring her back to the people who love her. All the people who love her. He shall bring her home and she’ll save the day once more, not because she’s ‘The Savior’, but because she’s Emma-bloody-Swan and he’s yet to see her fail.

He must not give up. He must encourage her to remember who she is, her true self, not whomever Regina’s blasted false memories have conjured her into thinking she is. Emma is a smart woman, practical, but with a keen intuition. He’ll need hard evidence to get her to listen to him. Once she does, he hopes (there’s that word again) that her innate ability for detecting lies will convince her he’s speaking the truth.

But what evidence can he possibly offer? He racks his brain as he drags his sorry carcass off the floor and stumbles down the hallway. Gods, but this is a strange land. All these people living in what amounts to nothing more than little crates all stacked on top of each other into towering monstrosities. He’s seen tenement buildings in his travels, of course, but nothing like…

Wait. He’s seen exactly this kind of tenement before. It was here, in this very land. Baelfire’s - that is to say, Neal’s - place. He found it once. Perhaps he can locate it again? He’s grasping at straws, he knows, but this may very well be his only chance. The only place he can find something to make Emma believe again.

And when she believes, when she remembers… No. He tries once more to snuff out the tiny spark inside him that should have been fully doused when her knee connected with his groin, and yet it persists.

When I win your heart, Emma, and I will win it, it will not be because of any trickery. It will be because you want me.

There’s not a day that’ll go by I won’t think of you.

Good.

Perhaps she did want him. Perhaps she does… No. No, no, no. No. At the very least, he cannot waste time thinking on it now.

For now, he must focus on the task of getting her to believe. To remember. Once she does, he will bring her home.

Whatever happens after that, well… That’s up to her. As for him, he’s made his decision. Even before he made the deal with Blackbeard. Home is where the heart is, after all, and his heart is with Emma Swan.