#he’d probably settle for a mix of Benedict’s and Contance’s like chocolate and strawberries

[laniidae-passerine]

okay I’m moving long post here because I do not want all our followers and mutuals to murder us for clogging up the dash @bi-demon-ium @sqenthusiast but I still have thoughts of the thoughts™️ kind so let’s go

okay but when you mentioned Curtain going slightly apeshit back on the island it really made me wonder what his plan would be??? where does he think S.Q has gone like is there a boat he has that he can note the absence of or does he just sit in his office coming up with insane schemes to how S.Q escaped? Who would he send after S.Q like. Oh my god how funny and terrible would it be if he’s like ‘you know who to send after my child? smaller, younger children” and then the gang probably plus Martina are roped into finding S.Q. Sticky and Martina are seen as actual competent members of the team and then the rest are the expendables because I can’t really imagine Curtain being upset if they lost Reynie in the woods as 1) he hates Reynie 2) stops him having to get Reynie out the way personally 3) Reynie is an orphan and nobody is gonna call the school about him (ha you’re WRONG!)

so then the children are just stuck on a zany adventure that would be SO EASY if not for Martina being like “I will destroy whoever kidnapped S.Q” because it’s better to say your son was kidnapped than to say “yeah he left because I’m an emotionally abusive father, now catch him in a cage like a rat you children!”. The team just have to deal with finding S.Q, figuring out where he went and then when they figure where he went, they have the extra tasks of somehow getting S.Q to agree to leave pillow fort city ruled by Queen Rhonda in exchange for hell world ruled by Dad and making sure Martina doesn’t find the cabin and try attack Benedict whom she could probably definitely beat up.

Plus we have the option of fast tracked Martina ‘redemption’ (I mean she doesn’t really need redeeming as such but improvement sounds. Ew) because I can imagine her finding the cabin and getting ready to just attack everyone only for Kate to intervene. And then we have the fun plot of “Wetherall, you’re a traitor?”, Martina trying to get back to the island and failing because everyone keeps sabotaging her and then actually agreeing to hear them out which turns her against the Institute and Curtain.

Obviously it’s been a week and now instead of one son down, Curtain is now one son and 5 children down (and he ‘likes’ two of them) so he’s panicking even worse!!! just the drama of him being like. I wonder what evil scheme my brother (because it’s always my brother) is using to lure these children away? I’m sure it’s complicated and technical psychological warfare! and then it just cuts to everybody helping Martina put a tetherball court up next to the side of cottage and her trying to teach them all to play.

(side note: how funny would it be if Milligan got his memories back not from a serious and dramatic event like in the books but from Martina backhanding a tetherball into his face? just the force of the impact throwing him backwards and when he wakes up to Kate concernedly examining the bruise on his head he’s like ‘Katie-Cat! I missed you!!!’ freaking everybody out. Love the image of Martina just wanting to play her favourite sport and then bringing back the memories of her crush’s dad she didn’t know was even her dad instead. However it would probably result in Kate bear-hugging Martina and telling her thank you so much! so net win for a likely blushing Martina.)

Anyway does Curtain just keep sending children or does he try find everyone himself??? we’re making the assumption he hasn’t done something terrible to S.Q like microchip his son like a dog rn but. Instead of a big blow up fight in the Institute it’s Curtain ruining pancake morning to start yelling at his brother while everyone is just trying to enjoy their meal. I can’t even conceive of how that would end - frankly funniest if Milligan just clocks how weak Curtain is compared to him, picks him up and just tosses him into the lake. Problem solved, we fixed it everybody!