#imagine the parallels they could do to Lucy’s kidnapping

[kat-rose-griffith]

Imagine if Elijah kidnaps Tim because he’s Angela’s best friend and there’s plenty of people she cares about that aren’t her direct family and aren’t being guarded by her or Wesley

[purplebass]

Tweety how do you feel about villain!Lucie 👀

Lola! You know, I actually thought that Lucie would go a little dark in CoT 😄 because I thought she wouldn't be able to revive Jesse so the only other person who could've helped her would be Belial. But of course, he would ask for something in return 👀 since James refused possession, and Lucie herself cast Belial out of Jesse's body, he thought that he could use her as ransom, but she would have to play by his rules or he would kill the people she loved. Lucie accepts because she doesn't want James or Jesse or anyone else to die, and to make things interesting, Belial turns Lucie's emotions off (this would be a parallel with Julian in LoS! But also with possessed!Jesse). Imagine her disappearing, everyone thinks she died or she was kidnapped, then she comes back out of the blue and she is the villain. Everyone would be shocked, but they wouldn't lose hope that she can still be saved. And of course, at some point, she is! But not before everyone suffers a little bit and she destroys a little bit of London and wakes a few ghosts in order to put Belial's evil plans into motion. 😂

This sounds like a fanfiction, I know 😄 but I would only accept villain!Lucie if she is redeemed by the end XD I wouldn't have made it if she stayed evil 🥲

[tbhwhocaresanymore]

Nancy Drew 2x1

ONE OF YOU apparently ran to @kat--writes, or as my friend and I call her Tumblr Kat, and snitched that I had not yet posted my Nancy Drew premiere review. I promised to get it up by today and yes it is technically after midnight but the sun has not yet risen, so please find my thoughts under the cut.

Before I do anything else let me just say I will never stop appreciating the continuous book Easter eggs the show writers drop. Nancy mentioning how she learned that trick with the mirror in “a bungalow mystery” when she did in fact pull that exact same trick in The Bungalow Mystery? Iconic.

Now that’s out of the way, I’m going to do something I’ve never really done before and start off with the negatives. Guys, I was underwhelmed.

Not by the episode itself, the episode was great. It picked up right where we left off and continued into the mystery of the Aglaeca, the cast was engaging, the horror was chilling, the story kept unfolding. The problem is, it was great as any other regular episode, it was less great as a season premiere. I waited TEN MONTHS for this episode. And granted I understand that ND didn’t get to finish off its first season how they wanted, but they have had, I repeat, ten months to plan this. The season 1 premiere, for all its issues, did exactly what a season premiere is supposed to do. It established relationships, a season-long arc, character trajectories, and even a couple of smaller plots. We saw Nancy and her dad were on the rocks, she and George didn’t get along in high school, Bess is rich but living in a van, Tiffany Hudson was murdered and the crew are suspects, George is sleeping with Ryan, Ace is working for the police, and we found the bloody Lucy Sable dress in Nancy’s attic, to name but a few.

You guys, that is a lot of plot lines. And the writers explored and solved every single one of them over the course of the season.

Now we have the season 2 premiere. The crew tries to find a mirror to fight the Aglaeca, meets a mouthy dude, and takes a break from the Aglaeca to hide from the Gorham wraith. (Gorham is 100% a play on Gotham fight me.) Like yes there is more if you squint, but aside from that nothing all that major really happened. Mr. Hudson is setting up a defense, but we knew that already. Ryan wants a relationship with Nancy and is pissed at Carson for keeping her a secret, but we knew that already. The new head cop doesn’t trust Nancy or the crew at all, but, again, we knew that already.

But since this was still a good episode even if a lackluster premiere, I will still give you some positives.

The Gorham wraith you guys, oh my god the horror was fantastic. Nancy Drew is really looking every other magic show’s super special effects in the eye as it hits them over the the head with a folding chair made by their costuming and makeup department. The scarecrow coming to life, banging on the back of the bus, crawling in after Nancy? On point. I was on the edge of my seat.

Ryan I know you are an asshole and your character arc is a work in progress but kidnapping? Are you serious right now? “Your suicidal girlfriend begged us to hide and take care of her child right before jumping off a cliff. Also I didn’t even know you were the father.” “Omg how dare you. Time for BLACKMAIL.” It’ll be interesting to see how this whole Ryan v Carson thing plays out. I suspect maybe Carson will become like an example father figure to Ryan, teach him how to be good to Nancy. Something like “if you’re serious about being a father lesson number one is it’s not about you anymore, it’s about her. And you sending me to prison won’t just hurt me it’ll hurt Nancy.” I think that would be a nice parallel, Kate was Lucy’s guidance counselor, and now Carson will be Ryan’s parental counselor/therapist/whatever.

I’m going to be completely honest here, I totally forgot Nick and George had not actually told Nancy they are together. No idea how long this is going to go on for, I suspect not that long, but maybe up until like episode 5 or 6. I do think it would be fun if Nancy found out in like the absolute worst way possible. Like here is my worst/best case scenario. I know Nancy is supposed to have some kind of thing with Gil so let’s say they hook up a couple times and he burns her, as he probably will, and Nancy goes to Nick cause she’s upset and needs to talk, and when he opens the door thinking it’s the pizza guy he is shirtless and George is in the bed behind him. Unlikely, but fun to imagine. But however they do it, all the Nick and George fans will undoubtedly get some fun footage of them sneaking around, so enjoy guys.

All the Nancy and Ace shippers are also getting good material, even if I want to grab Ace by the shoulders and physically shake him.

Nancy: I can’t let you guys help me summon the Aglaeca, there could be really bad consequences.

Crew: Psh, consequences? What consequences? We have the power of FRIENDSHIP.

*Aglaeca sends them all death visions*

Ace: How dare you drag me into this Nancy I can’t believe we’re all going to die because of you.

LIKE BRUH. ACE. MY GUY. If you could maybe use your considerable brain power to pull your head out of your ass for TWO SECONDS I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks. But aside from that, their scene at the end? Poetic cinema. The slow burn is strong with this one. Even if I do have faith she will eventually find her way back to Nick aaaaaaaaah

Not sure how I feel about the twins yet. I know they were in some other ND-verse book series, but tbh I only ever read the Nancy Drew books. I never delved into the Hardy Boys or anything else, I was a Drew girl all the way. I do think the writers could maybe have done a better job introducing us to Gil and making us like him. Like they were definitely going for the Han Solo type I feel, and George being all “wow the Bobsey twins are hardcore” as he ups the price while literally dying. Um, George, no, the Bobsey twins are fucking morons, or at least Mr. Diabetic over here is. It says a lot that Amanda had only two lines of dialogue and I liked her considerably more than Gil. But who knows, maybe they’ll grow on me. And they did mention their family used to work for the Hudsons, I would bet good money they know about more than one skeleton that’s been stuffed in the closet.

This paragraph right here is for me and the like two other Drewson shippers in the fandom. Hhhhhhhhhhhhhhh the first meeting flashback oh my god. I was dying. I rewatched it ten times. I am in love. The way they both just sort of stared at each other, the way Nancy clearly feels a certain amount of nostalgia for him and what they had. I am deceased. Honest to god I don’t care how many Nick x George and Nancy x Ace moments the writers throw at us, just as long as I continue to get crumbs like that I am good. Have faith guys.

And finally, oh my dear, talented writers. I would like to know when exactly you are planning on pulling my three most favorite women out of whatever floorboard you have stuffed them under. I WOULD LIKE DEAD LUCY, VICTORIA, AND HANNAH GRUEN TO PLEASE STAND UP. Yes I know Hannah Gruen is in the next episode but the wait is excruciating. And if the last time we saw Dead Lucy was going to be in the courtroom scene, her standing in the doorway as Nancy read her suicide note? I am going to mcfreaking lose it.

Well that’s all for today. Sorry this took so long, I guess I just wasn’t all that inspired by this premiere episode. But hopefully I will get the next one finished much quicker. And with that, I leave you until Wednesday the 27th when Nancy Drew 2x2, The Reunion of Lost Souls airs. See ya

[elizabethrobertajones]

Not that I revel in grief or anything, but if that was the extent of Cas's grief for Sam's death, imagine what we'll see if/when Billie comes calling for Dean. There were about a million ways they could have weaseled Luci into the camp, but I feel like they used a clearly temporary Sam death just so we could see the juxtaposition of Cas's grief.

Well, I mean, it probably wasn’t JUST for that, but it will be interesting to do parallels at the end of the season with everything they presented us here. I mean, we saw Jack’s grief too, and Gabriel and Mary… Dean obviously being the main focus and who the whole lesson seemed most for until we got to Jack. 

(Plus there’s some part of me that’s still waiting to see what happens with Billie, like, not that she’s there for Dean’s death but there’s Some Other Fuckery going on and we can’t know it until Dabb’s thrown all his curveballs our way :P)

And… bleh, I hate to sound like I’m just disagreeing with everything because you’re not really wrong, I just feel like I where I see how they used Sam’s death, it was not just to get Lucifer in the camp in a mechanical way - like, the episode isn’t particularly well-written if you just think everything happens for mechanical reasons like oh we need to not make a portal happen immediately so Gabriel has low grace and then we need to kill time so he hooks up with Rowena, but they’re the most powerful still so they go kidnap Lucifer and they leave Rowena behind because she knows the most spells and the Moria direction happens because they need a shortcut to Sam and Mary and then Lucifer is punted into the portal and saves Sam just because it’s finally time he and Jack met and they wanted everyone in one place for the end of the season… 

Like that’s the most boring version of the episode to me, all of it is because of character stuff which just happens to be the best choices to power us towards where we need to be at the end of the season, while exploring some really important stuff along the way. So the choice of it being Sam who dies and is brought back by Lucifer carries an enormous weight of their history that in one scene packed in what felt like season 5 level enormity of their interactions for the first time SINCE season 5. And all the other stuff worked well because it was doing character work for us that’s going to be important, whether it’s checking where Gabriel is at, or making Dean confront Sam’s loss, or Rowena once more dealing with Lucifer and coming to her revelations about caring about the others… 

I mean there’s much longer and more detailed thoughts on all of this that I’ve either said or reblogged when it comes to the personal details between the characters, but essentially I can’t really reduce down decisions to do things for just the mechanical reasons of getting the story done unless there’s really nothing else to it, like, the kind of bleh machinations that happen in Buckleming episodes where characters really do just go back and forth to cause the story to happen and it’s not tuned to their personal arcs in the same way. 

For me it feels like getting Lucifer to Jack was the main PURPOSE of the episode, mechanically, but emotionally it was another couple of ticks in the boxes about confronting abusers and addressing trauma, and grief of course, and a Sam and Lucifer reckoning was really high up on the list of things that needed to happen. It’s as essential in a way as the plot machinations, and I really love that Bobo wrote it. I think he got a lot of flak for 11x22 where Sam has to work with Lucifer and registers very little complaint and people had to meta how flinchy Sam was around him for lack of any other writing. I feel like it’s obvious Bobo took it on board and he has been better about it since, but saving his final emotional whammy on the show for being a Sam vs Lucifer nightmare is a wonderful parting note if he’s gonna go off to Wayward Sisters, because it makes a mic drop about things he was criticised for, and in a way really settles for me that he cared about the story and all the characters, and if this is his last episode on the show, we can pretty easily put him in the show’s list of all time great writers… For me these reasons are more important when it comes to probably what shapes the episode, why it was set up like it was, and therefore instead of being millions of ways to get Lucifer to Jack, I feel like “through Sam” was the ONLY way on the table, and everything else may have grown organically around that. 

I mean I can’t claim to know Bobo’s writing process but these factors all suggest to me that this is the core of the episode, and the reason behind it is how Sam vs Lucifer is such a powerful element of the show, and all other confronting abusers mirrors have been for the benefit of leading up to Sam having some sort of reckoning with Lucifer, which we now finally have the core of. For me, the grief side of it all is still another important emotional exploration of the season, but in a way that could have shaken out in whatever different ways and is offering us secondary characterisation to the importance to the story and Sam’s journey that the main Lucifer confrontation was about, and for this section of the episode, the focus was on Sam as a main character and the story catering to him. 

[tuxiedjabberwock]

Some of my fav fics from back then + today

Fairy Tail

Life After Near Death - Wild Rhov (just want to take a moment to gush that I love her writing, characterization, her storylines, her everything)

Gray nearly dies in battle. Although Natsu saves his life, Gray is left severely handicapped and may never walk again. Now Gray despises Natsu, feeling weak and indebted, while the Dragon Slayer is confused with why he feels possessive over Gray. The team falls apart as both deal with intense feelings of regret, shame, desire, and both physical and emotional agony.

Fairy Tail - Rated: M - English - Tragedy/Romance - Chapters: 57 - Words: 237,370 - Reviews: 1220 - Favs: 566 - Follows: 617 - Updated: May 7 - Published: Dec 1, 2014 - [Natsu D., Gray F.] Lyon V., Juvia L.

Beastly Possession - Wild Rhov

Something is murdering people in Magnolia. When Lucy is attacked, Natsu goes on a rampage to find the culprit, and everyone in Fairy Tail wants revenge. But could this bloodthirsty attacker be someone they know? Warning: High octane nightmare fuel! Do not read while eating, and beware of red eyes in the dark!

Fairy Tail - Rated: M - English - Horror/Suspense - Chapters: 37 - Words: 160,165 - Reviews: 1588 - Favs: 1,741 - Follows: 1,279 - Updated: Aug 12, 2014 - Published: Feb 1, 2012 - [Lucy H., Natsu D.] - Complete

Lions Pride - Wild Rhov

When Lucy gets pregnant with Loke's child, Fairy Tail must protect her from the harsh laws of the Spirit World and enemies who want her half-spirit baby. The Lion fights for his lover, his child, his guild...his PRIDE!

Fairy Tail - Rated: M - English - Drama/Family - Chapters: 50 - Words: 196,375 - Reviews: 1305 - Favs: 1,437 - Follows: 732 - Updated: Sep 1, 2012 - Published: Aug 5, 2011 - [Lucy H., Loke/Leo] Gray F., Zeref - Complete

The Soul’s Inferno - MizzyPlatinum

The summer before her first year at university, Lucy Heartfilia never imagined she would find her soul mate and she certainly didn't imagine he would already be dead. Ghost AU. NaLu.

Rated: T - English - Romance/Supernatural - Chapters: 24 - Words: 79,722 - Reviews: 1813 - Favs: 819 - Follows: 1,012 - Updated: Jun 23 - Published: Jul 12, 2016 - [Natsu D., Lucy H.]

Demons of Redemption - Mnemosyne’s Elegy

When Zeref sends an emissary to Fiore to prepare for the coming war, things quickly go wrong. Gray's darkest secret is torn out of him, and the demons in his past are bigger than anyone ever realized. It's hard enough to fight against the most powerful mage in existence without having to fight against your own allies and yourself at the same time.

Fairy Tail - Rated: T - English - Angst/Drama - Chapters: 8 - Words: 79,972 - Reviews: 90 - Favs: 87 - Follows: 43 - Updated: Jul 13, 2017 - Published: Jun 2, 2017 - Gray F., Natsu D., Lyon V., Team Natsu - Complete

Detach - LoadedEel

Everything was gone. His mind was empty and brain fuzzy. His memories were erased and his magic stolen. He woke up to a blonde woman calling him Natsu and a guild full of people expecting him to act a certain way. They want to get to the bottom of this, but you know what they say...curiosity killed the cat. (Cannon divergent) Rated M for adult situations.

Fairy Tail - Rated: M - English - Adventure/Romance - Chapters: 9 - Words: 39,775 - Reviews: 71 - Favs: 129 - Follows: 196 - Updated: Feb 10 - Published: Dec 6, 2017 - [Lucy H., Natsu D.] Erza S., Gray F.

Kidnapping Erza - CrimsonStarbird

After inclement weather causes Erza and the others to cancel their trip to Akane Resort, thus ruining Jellal's plan to have her captured and brought to the Tower of Heaven, he is forced to take matters into his own hands. Needless to say, things don't quite go to plan. They never do when Fairy Tail is involved. COMPLETE.

Fairy Tail - Rated: T - English - Humor/Romance - Chapters: 27 - Words: 248,055 - Reviews: 205 - Favs: 118 - Follows: 93 - Updated: Jul 2, 2017 - Published: Jan 1, 2017 - [Erza S., Jellal F./Siegrain] Levy M., Natsu D. - Complete

Wild Card - xxIAmTheSkyxx

"At the end of the day, whether someone had a motive to kill or not, they're still labeled a murderer." Delving into the psyche of a serial killer isn't a pleasant endeavor, no less so than trying to understand it—and being sucked into a game of life and death with one is outright torment. Present for @kagero-assassin on Tumblr. **WARNING: THERE IS BLOOD, MURDER, AND SOCIOPATHY**

Fairy Tail - Rated: T - English - Angst/Suspense - Chapters: 1 - Words: 10,089 - Reviews: 13 - Favs: 31 - Follows: 23 - Published: Feb 29, 2016 - Lucy H., Natsu D. - Complete

Kiss Me, Kill Me - kiss.pink

So a confused zombie, his sexy vampire girlfriend, her bossy witch-bitch roommate, his annoying soul-shifting neighbor, a grumpy werewolf and a random human walk into a bar...yeah, there is no punchline. "Okay, rules. Lucy, no blood. Erza, no spells. Gray, no pranks. Gajeel, no howling. And Natsu—oh my god, Natsu! Don't eat the bartender's brain! We're in public!" Only chaos. [AU]

Fairy Tail - Rated: M - English - Romance/Supernatural - Chapters: 4 - Words: 20,143 - Reviews: 64 - Favs: 144 - Follows: 194 - Updated: Apr 24, 2016 - Published: May 9, 2015 - [Lucy H., Natsu D.] Gray F.

Parallels - Mslead-Ktrin

Lucy always knew books opened roads to new adventures, but never had she dreamed she would be falling into one herself. When she comes across a dusty old book, Lucy finds herself thrust into a journey filled with evil wizards and a tricky dragon who kept looking at her like she was lunch. She had to find a way to return home, but at the end of the day - would she want to? NALU

Fairy Tail - Rated: M - English - Fantasy/Romance - Chapters: 61 - Words: 265,197 - Reviews: 2959 - Favs: 1,892 - Follows: 1,293 - Updated: Feb 13, 2016 - Published: Aug 18, 2015 - Lucy H., Natsu D. - Complete

With Our Love Comes Patience - luclipse

(NALU) This story takes us through the progression of Natsu's and Lucy's relationship through a series of events, starting with a failed Valentine's Day. Rated T for suggested sexual content and slight swearing, though there is the possibility of a rating change in future chapters.

Fairy Tail - Rated: T - English - Friendship/Romance - Chapters: 5 - Words: 37,387 - Reviews: 159 - Favs: 254 - Follows: 349 - Updated: Mar 8, 2016 - Published: May 27, 2014 - Lucy H., Natsu D.

Avatar

Another Brother - AvocadoLove

It was a mission of revenge. There weren't supposed to be any survivors, but Chief Hakoda couldn't bring himself to kill the Fire Nation boy. Against his better judgment, he brought him home. A Zuko joins the Water Tribe story.

Rated: T - English - Adventure/Hurt/Comfort - Chapters: 28 - Words: 224,540 - Reviews: 3727 - Favs: 5,439 - Follows: 5,178 - Updated: Mar 20, 2017 - Published: Jul 22, 2008 - Aang, Sokka, Zuko, Katara

The Undying Fire - Boogum

"He has the eyes, Princess Ursa." They were half-forgotten words, a whisper of fears never explained. Zuko had dismissed it all as nothing to worry about—until he somehow healed the Avatar. Fire healers weren't meant to exist, except he did. He'd saved the kid's life. Naturally, he wanted answers. Too bad finding them wasn't so simple...

Rated: T - English - Adventure/Friendship - Chapters: 62 - Words: 427,058 - Reviews: 2036 - Favs: 2,459 - Follows: 2,761 - Updated: Jul 22 - Published: May 6, 2012 - [Zuko, Katara] Aang, Azula

Bringing Out the Blue - maguena1

AU.  The arrow injured the Blue Spirit instead of knocking him out, and Aang never found out his identity.  Zuko made a Plan to find out more about the Avatar.  He didn't expect so many truths to come from the lies.

Rated: T - English - Adventure/Friendship - Chapters: 26 - Words: 249,291 - Reviews: 1188 - Favs: 2,550 - Follows: 2,507 - Updated: Jun 25, 2015 - Published: Apr 14, 2011 - Zuko

Zuko’s Tiny Dilemma - Boogum

It was the kind of thing that happened in folktales: a cursed prince, a transformation that could not be broken. Except those princes usually became monstrous-looking creatures who needed true love's kiss to return to normal. They did not get stuck as a six-year-old boy depending on a bald runt and two Water Tribe siblings.

Avatar: Last Airbender - Rated: T - English - Friendship/Humor - Chapters: 24 - Words: 140,976 - Reviews: 761 - Favs: 532 - Follows: 507 - Updated: Mar 31 - Published: Jan 4, 2017 - [Zuko, Katara] Aang, Sokka - Complete

In His Shoes - AvocadoLove

In order to fully understand a man, you must first walk a mile in his shoes. Sokka and Zuko are going to find that out the hard way.

Avatar: Last Airbender - Rated: K - English - Drama/Adventure - Chapters: 19 - Words: 101,987 - Reviews: 924 - Favs: 1,263 - Follows: 710 - Updated: May 31, 2012 - Published: Jun 5, 2008 - Sokka, Zuko - Complete

The Problem With Zuko - AvocadoLove

When Prince Lu Ten returns with the Avatar and his Water Tribe companions in chains, Zuko is put in charge of their imprisonment. But things are not what they seem, both with the child Avatar and his own family. And soon, he will have a decision to make.

Avatar: Last Airbender - Rated: K - English - Drama/Suspense - Chapters: 1 - Words: 26,298 - Reviews: 253 - Favs: 1,475 - Follows: 232 - Published: Sep 29, 2010 - Zuko - Complete

God of War

Silenced Tongue - 2space_lesbo1

 Atreus has picked up the title of "Silver Tongue" throughout the Nine Realms, and he is quite proud of his ability to talk his way out of situations. Until he's not, anyway.

The Tales of an Angry Father and his Small Son - 2space_lesbo1

Since God of War(2018) came out, my writing creativity has returned fully and I've been writing and writing tons of one-shot stories of my fave characters. There will be violence and gore because it's a God of War game, but then there will also be fluff and more fluff because it's me writing it. Have fun

Carry My Fears as the Heavens Set Fire - furtivus

Kratos doesn't reach the Travel Room doors in time. Now his son is lost to him, swept away by Baldur and held captive in the grasp of the Æsir. Only the gods are a lot more hospitable than Atreus imagined - and certainly nowhere near as bad as his father ever made them out to be. This is really what it's like to be a god, isn't it? While Kratos is doing everything in his power to bring his son home, Atreus is relishing in everything that was denied to him for so long. And deep inside, a seed of resentment begins to bloom. Maybe being a god isn't so bad after all.

When No One’s Watching - Baknami

Kratos can only do certain things when no one else is watching.

Miraculous Ladybug

You Don’t Know Me - Ferisae

When Ladybug suffers a near-fatal accident and is presumed dead, it is up to Adrien/Chat Noir - who has discovered Ladybug's secret - to help her through her painstaking recovery and reacquaint her with herself. All this while trying to save Paris on his own without losing himself in the process. Adrinette/Marichat/Ladynoir

Rated: K+ - English - Hurt/Comfort/Angst - Chapters: 17 - Words: 143,440 - Reviews: 857 - Favs: 1,203 - Follows: 1,467 - Updated: Nov 24, 2017 - Published: Feb 20, 2016 - Marinette D-C./Ladybug, Adrien A./Cat Noir, Alya C./Lady Wifi/Rena Rouge, Hawk Moth

On the Prowl - ghostgirl19

"I'll be fine, Alya. It's only a couple blocks." "But it's ten at night, it's not safe. Especially with that Chat Noir prowling around." AU

Rated: T - English - Romance/Drama - Chapters: 23 - Words: 56,929 - Reviews: 1368 - Favs: 2,097 - Follows: 1,082 - Updated: Aug 2, 2016 - Published: Jun 24, 2016 - [Adrien A./Cat Noir, Marinette D-C./Ladybug] [Alya C./Lady Wifi/Rena Rouge, Nino L./Bubbler] - Complete

I Saw Mummy Kiss Chat Noir - RicardianScholar Clark-Weasley

Emma Agreste thought she had the perfect life...until she saw her mother kiss the superhero Chat Noir. With the help of her twin brother, Hugo, Emma is determined to stop Chat Noir from ruining their family and stealing away their mother. Meanwhile, Adrien is convinced his children hate him.

Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir - Rated: T - English - Family/Drama - Chapters: 11 - Words: 32,103 - Reviews: 469 - Favs: 1,116 - Follows: 630 - Updated: Dec 21, 2017 - Published: Oct 31, 2016 - [Adrien A./Cat Noir, Marinette D-C./Ladybug] [Alya C./Lady Wifi/Rena Rouge, Nino L./Bubbler] - Complete

Lucky Fox Paradox - imthepunchlord

After the failure with Stoneheart, Marinette had successfully given up the earrings and thought that was that. That she was done with the hero business. Done with anything miraculous. She was wrong. And her actions sparked off a great change of events.

Rated: K - English - Drama/Friendship - Chapters: 24 - Words: 241,176 - Reviews: 470 - Favs: 562 - Follows: 654 - Updated: May 22 - Published: Jan 25, 2017 - [Marinette D-C./Ladybug, Adrien A./Cat Noir] Alya C./Lady Wifi/Rena Rouge, Chloé B./Antibug

Disenchanted - yonderful

She was in too much pain to realize that the impact caused her to detransform. The crowd stared in shock. Many gasped. Some screamed. Alya's phone clattered to the ground. Tikki cried. And Chat's expression had never looked more horrified. "...Marinette?"

Rated: T - English - Angst/Hurt/Comfort - Chapters: 11 - Words: 46,462 - Reviews: 434 - Favs: 724 - Follows: 977 - Updated: Jul 2 - Published: Jun 16, 2016 - Marinette D-C./Ladybug, Adrien A./Cat Noir

Fullmetal Alchemist

A Boy Named Ed - BelloftheSea

Ed knew he was different. It wasn't just that he was smarter than the other kids or even that he had automail. No, it had more to do with the way people would occasionally look at him, like they were expecting somebody else. It was the way his mechanic cried the day she met him. It was the way his dad would sometimes slip – and call him Fullmetal.

Rated: K+ - English - Family/Angst - Chapters: 41 - Words: 302,732 - Reviews: 1222 - Favs: 1,097 - Follows: 1,191 - Updated: Oct 7, 2016 - Published: Aug 24, 2014 - [Roy M., Riza H.] Edward E., Alphonse E.

Bury It Forward - KawasakiTriple

Mustang is forced to decide on the best way to cope with Edward's broken, tortured mind; his first task is to decipher why Ed will stop at nothing to escape his custody when the weather turns foul.

Rated: T - English - Drama/Angst - Chapters: 38 - Words: 460,881 - Reviews: 893 - Favs: 894 - Follows: 698 - Updated: Oct 23, 2014 - Published: Sep 13, 2008 - Edward E., Roy M., Alphonse E. - Complete

My Master Ed - Blue Teller

Slave number Twenty Three didn't know what to make of his new Master. The strange boy was nothing like other slave owners. Short on both height and temper, yet strangely kind to him, Master Ed seemed to know something about him that he didn't himself. Just what was it? Time-travel fic.

Rated: T - English - Friendship/Hurt/Comfort - Chapters: 8 - Words: 46,413 - Reviews: 212 - Favs: 544 - Follows: 618 - Updated: Sep 6, 2015 - Published: Apr 19, 2015 - Edward E., Hohenheim

Harry Potter & the Alchemist Brothers - Blue Teller

A few years passed since the Promised Day. Ed and Winry are happily married, Al proposed to May, everything is just like it's supposed to be... What can go wrong? But then, a foreigner with strange powers steals the last Philosopher's Stone from Central and of course Ed and Al have to go after him. But what will the Elric brothers do when they end up in an entirely different world?

Crossover - Harry Potter & Fullmetal Alchemist - Rated: T - English - Adventure/Hurt/Comfort - Chapters: 11 - Words: 131,139 - Reviews: 246 - Favs: 436 - Follows: 606 - Updated: Jul 11, 2017 - Published: Mar 22, 2015 - Harry P., Nicolas F., Alphonse E., Edward E.

Sonic the Hedgehog

(this first happy few is all by Taranea)

Burning Arrow, Wildfire Heart

After receiving an ancient book for his birthday, Sonic finds himself transported to a fantastic world of magic and heroes - which is threatened by an evil Djinn! Cursed by a flame arrow when he dares to rise against him, Sonic will need the help not only of the genie Shahra, but also of his oldest friends to survive this adventure...Full Secret Rings game adapt, with everyone in!

Rated: T - English - Adventure/Humor - Chapters: 42 - Words: 234,629 - Reviews: 1177 - Favs: 397 - Follows: 354 - Updated: Jun 23 - Published: Aug 29, 2007 - Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Shahra

Life Could Have Been So Different

Someone has died and Sonic finds himself unable to pick up the pieces. But when Mobius has already given up on its hero, Shadow drops in from a storm, intent on finding out whether there isn't a bit of spirit left. To coax Sonic out of his shell, the black hedgehog starts to tell him about his past...and what REALLY happened aboard the ARK. Shadow's childhood, now COMPLETE.

Rated: T - English - Drama/Humor - Chapters: 56 - Words: 209,438 - Reviews: 1525 - Favs: 624 - Follows: 342 - Updated: Oct 21, 2014 - Published: Feb 23, 2007 - Shadow, Sonic, Maria R., Gerald R. - Complete

Advent of Equinox

Post-Unleashed. The Curse of the Werehog is over - or so Sonic had thought. But when the sun is eclipsed from the sky by a comet and Shadow undergoes a violent transformation of his own, the two heroes will now have to work together to save the world...

Rated: T - English - Adventure/Humor - Chapters: 11 - Words: 74,510 - Reviews: 421 - Favs: 372 - Follows: 340 - Updated: Aug 2, 2016 - Published: May 2, 2010 - Sonic, Shadow, Tails, Rouge

Shadow The Hedgehog First Class

He can outrun a missile. He can shoot a man at 100 paces. He just can't do calculus...In a world where Shadow, Maria and Gerald survived the ARK massacre, the Ultimate Lifeform now struggles to get used to ordinary life. Only people at his new school are clearly insane, the local hero 'Sonic' as well, and *someone* might still be after his family -welcome to the Robotnik household!

Rated: T - English - Friendship/Humor - Chapters: 11 - Words: 51,910 - Reviews: 398 - Favs: 245 - Follows: 276 - Updated: May 31 - Published: Oct 27, 2014 - Sonic, Shadow, Maria R., Gerald R.

Alternate Reality - thekyuubivixen

Shadow had never been so confused in his life. Tails painfully shy? Knuckles apathetic toward the Master Emerald? Sonic...less pleasurable to be around than normal? Shadow expected a lot of things waking up from his concussion induced sleep...this was not one of them. Rated T for language.

Rated: T - English - Adventure - Chapters: 44 - Words: 192,476 - Reviews: 335 - Favs: 212 - Follows: 161 - Updated: Jan 18, 2016 - Published: Jul 16, 2014 - Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Shadow - Complete

Freak of Nature - thekyuubivixen

Werewolves. They were nothing but fantasy. They didn't exist separate from the intricate words written down on a page, or from the oral folklore that would leave children guessing at the world around them. There was no reason for Shadow to believe otherwise. Well...until he hit one with his car. Rated M for language and violence.

Sonic the Hedgehog - Rated: M - English - Supernatural - Chapters: 14 - Words: 71,025 - Reviews: 63 - Favs: 47 - Follows: 56 - Updated: Mar 17, 2017 - Published: Jul 6, 2016 - Sonic, Shadow, Silver

Premonition - thekyuubivixen

When fighting Eggman, Sonic is hit with a peculiar ray. The Blue Blur then discovers some kind of power that activates when he least expects it. But, is it a blessing…or a curse? Whatever it is, he shouldn't lose sleep over it, right?

Rated: T - English - Drama/Humor - Chapters: 28 - Words: 159,035 - Reviews: 184 - Favs: 141 - Follows: 111 - Updated: Sep 27, 2015 - Published: Jun 18, 2014 - Sonic - Complete

[captainsimagines]

Kill ‘Em With Kindness - PART TWELVE

Bucky Barnes x Reader

You had been detected.  You were now on their radar.  You were recruited for one mission only.  You’re trained and put to the test.  With your background, everyone realizes it was a mistake recruiting a college student who would soon be faced with the thing that drove her to kill in the first place.   

Warnings: ANGST; ANGST; ANGST; SWEARING

Word Count: 2,532

“You are the most beautiful person I have ever seen... I want to ruin you.”

“You’re too late.”

PART TWELVE 

     “What the fuck?”

     You were seething. Your face was puffy and red, your lips sucked in so far you were talking through clenched teeth.  Your voice was a mix of tiny squeals and angry whispers, the combination frightening.  The pressure of the two clawed at your veiny throat.  Your hands were around Sam’s neck, nails digging into his skin as he struggled to get away. 

     Bucky could only tug at your shoulders because the sight of your bulging, tear-filled eyes prevented him from pulling you any further.  He knew the anger you felt and how no one should interfere.  He believed you were right in threatening Sam, Tony, literally anyone who let Peter leave their sight.

     “How could you let this happen?” Your frustration caused an overflow of tears and your face became redder.  Sam clawed at your hands and looked around at the rest of the team for some assistance.  Natasha was in the same boat as you, deciding however to stare at the wall blankly and think of a way to retrieve Peter.  You would be trying to do that too but there was no possible way you could clear your mind. 

      “The hall... was clear!” Sam choked.  Steve huffed, finally stepping in and ripping you away from Sam.  Your fists curled and your nails punctured the tender flesh of your palm, the crescents most likely visible from miles away.  Each breath you took felt like a sea of fire, every second passing as if you were drowning in hell. 

      “It wasn’t! It fucking wasn’t!” You began to whimper and your body gave out.  Your back ran into the wall and slid down to the floor, Bucky following your actions and pulling you into his body.  He tried to calm you down, not really understanding why you were so emotional over his disappearance.

     “Y/N, please calm down.  You are having a panic attack,” Vision warned, his hands extended in a comforting way.  You only stared at him and shook your head. 

     “He doesn’t have his web shooters! He was taken by HYDRA and he doesn’t have his web shooters,” you declared, looking at Bucky as if you were trying to make him comprehend that information.  You searched his eyes for understanding.  Bucky knew you what you meant.  Peter doesn’t have his web shooters and there is no way he could win a fight with just his fists... no matter how hard Steve had trained him.  He didn’t even have his suit.  

     “Security is getting the video now.  We’ll have our lead soon.” Tony rounded the corner looking disheveled and out of breath.  He wiped his face and his eyes, holding his chest every so often and blinking rapidly as if this was all a dream. 

     This had to be hitting Tony harder than it was hitting you.  It certainly didn’t feel like it but this wasn’t a battle of ‘who was the most worried’.  Everyone was dealing with the kidnapping in their own manner.  

     Tony began to regulate his heavy breathing while Steve stood still and clenched his jaw, deep in concentration.  Natasha picked at her cuticles, straining her ears for the slightest sound that could possibly lead to Peter.�� Clint sat silently, imagining if this was his own kid and how that would feel.  Thor held Wanda close, her silent sobs muffled by his shoulder.  Sam was perhaps the most scared.  He breathed heavily and closed his eyes.  This was all his fault, he thought.  

     Ten minutes had passed before security gave you the tape.  You all piled into the safety room which was specifically built for protection against the mafia.  

      Here you were, pushing a VHS tape into a VCR and praying the old technology would work.  The equally ancient television shined, a grainy image and crappy audio of the hallway coming to life.  You witnessed Sam leaving the room and doing a routine check, sweeping the hallways three times over before he stepped into the elevator. He had done everything right.  

     You apologized quietly, Sam nodding in return.  Nothing appeared for five minutes and the tension in the room had everyone on their toes.  Finally, you saw Peter emerge from his room and walk to the middle of the hallway, entering the small corridor where the vending machine was located.  Three minutes.  

     Peter got his snack and came into view again, this time not alone.  Once he rounded the corner, a woman in a high ponytail and regular street clothing purposefully bumped into him.  You could hear Peter apologizing and see as they separated.  Then the woman made an abrupt turn and raced towards Peter.  It was the same woman who had planted the cameras in your room and around the tower, but she wasn’t wearing a baseball cap this time.  You could make out her face, even through the static and shitty image. 

     You raised your hands to your mouth, no one noticing your shocked state yet.  They were focused on the screen.  You backed away slowly, eyes filled with tears, and bile lapped at the base of your throat.  

     Lucy.  

     Inhaling was harsh and you became verbal, whimpers beginning to escape your covered, quivering lips.  You backed up enough to run into the table and grip the back of a chair.  Your vision became useless, the image abolishing any former notions of reality you once had.  You knocked over the chair and you went down with it.  Your body crumbled to the floor and you landed on your knees.  The loud cries you let slip wracked your battered form until you had to breathe in again to exhale a more intense cry than the first.  

      The whole team was startled.  Shock was evident in their faces and the mere sight of you scared them beyond anything they could conjure up.  They had never seen you like this. You had never cried in front of them when you were in pain.  You had only cried out of frustration and anger, but never once did they see you wail. 

     Your heart shattered, each piece piercing through your breast and evening gown, landing on the concrete floor.  

     Bucky couldn’t help but weep.  He didn’t know what was happening- no one did.  But seeing you crouched on the floor, bawling and screeching, destroyed his tough guy act.  He had suffered for years, saw numerous others suffer a horrible fate due to his own hands, but never once did he think he was completely and utterly ruined.  This conclusively mutilated him.  

__________

     The hotel was forced to inform their guests on the floors above and beneath the team of the loud noises filling the building.  Many of the guests relocated with no questions asked. 

      No one knew what to do.  They sat in their rooms and waited.   Sitting on the edge of their beds, making calls, and trying to sleep.  No one could relax completely, your sudden wails snapping them awake.  The sounds were etched in their minds with each flinch you caused. 

     You were thrashing around in bed, screaming and crying at the top of your lungs.  Bucky lay behind you, clutching at any part of your body you would let him.  He tried to rock you, smooth down your hair, wipe your tears, and hold you down so you wouldn’t injure yourself.  He was struggling and the intensity of it wouldn’t allow him to breathe.

      Your face was red and puffy, the pressure of your yells taking a toll.  You had a headache, a stomachache, hell- you had vertigo, nausea, all the fucking above wrapped into one catastrophic meltdown.  

      Bucky had changed your clothes and dressed you in his, hoping the size of them would help you feel less constricted or panicked. 

     When you had finally choked out Lucy’s name, the team quickly realized why HYDRA wanted to find you.  It was finally obvious as to why you were asked to go to Paris instead of Germany.  They wanted to break you, and then Bucky, and then Steve.  The order was going to be chronological- they had planned this. 

      Bucky, however, could only cry with you.  He was experiencing this all over again.  He had no idea what it was like to be in your place, but knowing what it was like to be mind controlled wasn’t foreign.  You were now dealing with two people who had suffered the torture of HYDRA.  You didn’t deserve it. 

     When you finally stopped thrashing and yelling, Bucky hooked his arms under and over you to hold you in place and rock you back and forth.  It calmed you down, but you still wanted to scream for your sister and Peter. The innocence of both was parallel and the urge to rescue them was immense.  

     As your screams dialed down and went extinct, the others exited their rooms and went to see why.  You had finally fallen asleep, the brutal beating you had made your body endure ultimately tapping you out.  Bucky slowly rose from his spot, heading to the bathroom in Steve’s room to throw up. 

     When you woke up, you expected to find Bucky still holding you and whispering in your ear.  However, you were greeted with the sight of Steve sitting in a chair beside your bed, napping as well.  

     Your eyes were swollen and your lips were extremely chapped, the constant stretching and pulling resulting in a few bloody cracks.  You took short breaths, watching Steve’s chest rise and fall.  You were on your side, half of your face hidden in the blankets and pillow.  Your knees were tucked in.  You could have sworn you were the smallest being on earth at the moment, the feeling so dangerous your swollen eyes began to water up again.  With a small sniff, Steve woke up and locked eyes with you.  

     “Y/N,” Steve whispered, leaning from his chair and taking your left hand in his.  You whimpered and ducked into the pillow.  He massaged your palm and each individual finger. 

     “Shh, Y/N.  Listen to me.  You’re okay.”  

     His words cut sharper than any knife you owned.  You sobbed and responded. 

     “How did you do it, Steve? How did you get through it?” 

     Steve seemed surprised by that question.  Never did anyone ask him how he bounced back from the Winter Soldier reveal.  They would always ask him if he was okay and if he needed anything, not how he was going to recover.  

     Steve had witnessed his best friend in the whole wide world fall off a train to his death.  He had suffered while fighting in the war, the misdoings of his country and the rest of the world a distraction from his own turmoil.  When he woke from the ice, he was reminded of everyone he had lost.  Even though he was asleep for seventy years, Bucky’s death technically happened a few days earlier in Steve’s mind.  

     “I thought he was dead.  I knew he was,” Steve explained, his voice soft and reassuring.  He continued to rub your hand, inching closer to the bed as he did so.  You nodded but urged him to continue. 

     “I woke up like he had died a week ago.  It was still fresh.  I didn’t have time to recover and adjust.  I was automatically recruited and told the world needed me.  While I was trying to piece my life back together, he was losing his all over again.”

     Steve matched your expression, the pain expressed in both his words and his face.   

      “I was peacefully asleep for seventy years and he was tortured-” Steve sucked in a ragged breath, “he was tortured for all seventy of them.”

     Sniffing, you started rubbing circles into his knuckles.  

     “I should have recovered his body.  I didn’t and I regret it everyday.  But he’s here now, Y/N.  We’ll get Lucy and Peter back.  I promise you that.”

     You shook your head, “Don’t promise me anything, Captain.”

     Steve wiped his cheeks and stood up, looking down at you with determination swimming in his blue eyes. 

     “Suit up.”

__________

     “Are you okay?” Thor asked as you walked onto the quinjet.  You looked around the cabin and met Steve’s eyes.  It was almost as if he was giving you your answer. 

     “I’ll get over it.”

     You strapped yourself in and grabbed Bucky’s hand, squeezing it to let him know you would indeed get over it.  

     You could feel yourself slipping away again.  No matter how hard you tried to hold on, the same feeling you felt when your parents died, when your sister was taken, and when Mark betrayed you, began to creep its way to the front of your mind.  

     The silence in the jet was interrupted by your ringtone.  You stared at everyone and they stared back.  The number was blocked.  You motioned for Tony to record the call just in case, tracking the number if possible.  With everyone leaning toward you and your phone on the fifth ring, you answered. 

     “Hello?”

    “Y/N?”

     A whisper.  

    “Who’s this?”

    “It’s Mark.”

     He was the last person you wanted to talk to right now.  You growled, the pressure of your teeth cracking your jaw slightly. 

    “Listen to me, I don’t have much time.  The coordinates are tucked into a page of your anthropology textbook.  Someone in the Avengers compound was working for me this whole time.  The textbook should be stored near Clint’s arrows,” Mark stammered.  Clint practically flew to the back, searching through every crack until he found your favorite highlighted copy.   

    “Why are you helping us?” you asked him.  You weren‘t about to allow your voice to falter.  

     “I didn’t know what they did to her,” Mark choked.  You closed your eyes but let him continue. 

    “The money they offered was too much to refuse.  My team had no idea how to copy Howard Stark’s recipe-”

     “It’s not a fucking deep dish- it’s a weapon!”

    “Y/N, I know.  I know that now.  Please, I am so sorry.  I don’t have much time.  The place is surrounded.  When you get here, do not approach Lucy.  They wiped her beyond repair.”

      Bucky dipped his head, his shaggy hair falling over his face. You ignored Mark’s comment about Lucy.

    “Is Peter with you?”

    “He’s right here.”

    “Y/N?”  The weight on your chest was immediately lifted, as was everyone else’s.  Tony clutched at his chest and mumbled something along the lines of ‘thank fucking god, May would have had my soul.’

     “Peter, oh my God!” you happily stated, clutching the phone tighter in your hand. 

    “I’m okay, but they are planning something big.  Keep Natasha safe, guys,” Peter instructed, his voice wavering. He was trying to sound tough but you could hear his sniffling. There was shuffling on the other line. 

    “Peter, we are so sorry.”

    “Don’t sweat it.  Things would have been easier if I had my webs and a tracker but hey, life has its little games.”

     “Peter-”

    “I am fine for now.  I don’t want to worry you.  Mark says we have to go.”

    “Peter, we promise we’ll get the-”

    “Please just hurry,” Peter interrupted Steve.  Before you or Mark could hang up, you brought the phone to your ear and lowered your voice. 

     “Peter, I couldn’t save Lucy... but you can be damn sure I will save you.”

TAG LIST: 

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[huffleporg]

The Catfather

Part Two: Leave it to Chewie

Captain Swan, Captain Cobra, [G], ~5.4k words, 2/?

Summary: Thomas O'Malley couldn’t say he had the perfect life, but after adopting Swan the cat and her two kittens, Thomas finally had a sense of normalcy restored. That was until the day his dead wife’s long lost son Henry Mills showed up on his doorstep, claiming that not only is his wife alive, but her name is really Emma, he’s really Captain Hook, and that it’s his job as her True Love to find her and save her so she can save everyone else.Quite a lot to swallow before breakfast.

From the Beginning

Tags for those interested: @canwetalkaboutcaptainswan @cherrywolf713 @karl0ta @look-at-this-world-in-the-eye @grxyswan @forestiyari @its-about-bloody-time-cs @krystalsficpage @kmomof4 @hungrywhovianpotterheadfrom221b @whimsicallyenchantedrose @chinawoodfan @gingerchangeling @pirateblackrose @spitfiresandhurricanes @5oceansaway @blackwidownat2814 @princessschreaveherondalerogers @killiansprincessswan @32variations @flyflyangel @lillpon @cocohook38 @swiftmicheles @hookaddict @piratesbooty63fan @its-so-me-love @thegirlwiththeleadarrow @animatedshorts @cinnamonduckling @maybesandhopefullys @captainswansjourney @acaptainswaneternity @alaynagayle @cinnamon-swan @chitown1320 @natascha-remi-ronin @syddysb @trueromantic1 @longlivetherollyjoger @pirateherokillian @spartanguard @swansorceress @book-and-music-lover @el-kelpo @fecc94 @its-like-a-story-of-love @winterbaby89 @greenleaf777 @vatrixsta @sailormew4 @ilovegemgem​ (and who might be interested @csficpromotion​ @csfanfics​ @thecsfanficsource​) 

And without further ado, Part Two!

“So let me see if I have this straight,” said Thomas. It was nearly three hours and four cups of coffee later. Swan had remained in his lap almost the whole time, occasionally mewing and pawing at him, but largely just watching and objecting to being put on the floor every time Thomas got up to make another cup of coffee.

After the first half hour, Henry had accepted the offer of coffee, though he had only taken a few sips in between long-winded and often extremely confusing explanations, which only prompted more questions from Thomas and even longer answers that were never entirely satisfying. Henry’s neglected mug of room temperature coffee rested on the kitchen table, beside the remnants of the orange that Lucy had eaten after over an hour of helping tell the story.

“The daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming broke the curse cast by the Evil Queen in Storybrooke, because you found her… your mother, and brought her there and convinced her to believe in…” he really didn’t know how to describe it. Part of him thought that this was completely ridiculous and impossible, but there was something in Henry’s conviction that made him want to believe, and an even odder lingering feeling in his gut that there was something undeniably true in the story Henry had spun. “... all of this. Anna - Emma,” corrected Thomas, “broke the curse and saved you from the same sleeping curse the Evil Queen put Snow White under with True Love’s kiss. You’re the son of Emma and the son of Rumplestiltskin and the Milah from my tattoo, who was my first love…” He had needed to sketch out the family tree Henry had described on a piece of paper, but it was really a jumbled mess that looked more like a wreath than a tree. “And you were adopted by the Evil Queen, who’s name is Regina. Her half-sister’s the Wicked Witch, and she tricked Robin Hood, got pregnant, but Regina was Robin’s soul mate… but he was killed by Hades? Despite being a Greek god, he’s someone in this mess too.”

Henry nodded as Thomas spoke.

“And I’m Captain Hook, but my name is Killian Jones and not James Hook like it is in the play--” He had seen the play growing up, though if what Henry was telling him was true, he only believed that he had seen the play. “Emma and I met in the Enchanted Forest because somehow she and Snow White wound up there. We climbed a beanstalk to help get a magic bean to get everyone to Storybrooke. In Storybrooke you were kidnapped and taken to Neverland by your father’s ex-fiancee and her lover. I had gotten a magic bean and I was going to leave, but then I came back and I took your mothers and grandparents to Neverland, where I had spent a few centuries living, as had your father.”

“Don’t forget that Peter Pan was there!” interjected Lucy.

Thomas glanced down at the family knot. “And he was your great-grandfather.”

“Malcolm was, but then Malcolm went to Neverland, de-aged himself and called himself Peter Pan,” explained Henry.

“Right…” Thomas looked down at the picture of the family sitting all on one side of the table as if they were in The Last Supper. Everyone a stranger to him but Anna. “Sorry, but even after all those curses and back stabbings and… everything, everyone still got together at Granny’s once a week as a family?” In terms of difficult things to believe, this was hardly the most difficult to accept, but it was high on the list of things that he was having trouble with believing.

“There was the time when Belle gave everyone food poisoning and you might have sent a few vaguely threatening texts from the ‘head,’” said Henry with a small smile.

Thomas blinked. “The head?”

“Bathroom on a ship, but you would refer to pretty much any bathroom as the head.” The young man shrugged his shoulders with an amused grin. “But yeah. Surprisingly, we came to accept everyone as having changed for the better and found that our bonds as a family were stronger than anything thrown at us. You never did get along well with my grandfather on my dad’s side, and I don’t think he ever really liked you, but you both considered each other family to a certain extent.”

The way that the younger man spoke, it seemed that Henry had so many memories crowding his mind that he wanted to share, but the urgency of the situation prevented him from going into great detail. Thomas found himself yearning to know just what memories colored the words Henry chose, how he sighed and paused, which ones lit up his eyes with excitement or brought the pain that had stretched his voice thin in many places. These small glimpses were not enough to know the forgotten lifetimes that Henry was trying to explain to him. Lifetimes that Thomas himself believed he could feel the weight of.

Or perhaps these were all imagined stories Henry had invented himself and told his daughter. Perhaps Henry and Lucy had come to believe these stories he told about his birth parents’ families, but that didn’t mean that any of this was real. If this were all in Henry’s and Lucy’s heads, and Thomas accepted it as true, then son and daughter were mental, and Thomas was mental for believing them.

That was the logical explanation, but Thomas’s logic couldn’t explain away the odd sensation of familiarity that followed every one of Henry’s words. He couldn’t deny that something about Henry’s story spoke to some part deep inside of him that was telling Thomas to believe. This was right.

“It’s quite a lot you’re asking me to swallow, Henry,” said Thomas gently. “A lot of extremely improbable stuff. Impossible even.”

“I know it seems like that,” said Henry, “but it’s real.”

Thomas shook his head and continued, “Fairy tales aren’t real, though. And you’re saying not just fairy tales are true. Stories written by real people like J.M. Barrie and Hans Christian Andersen actually happened, but different than these authors wrote them.”

“They were Authors,” said Lucy. “With a capital A. Like my dad is.” She proudly looked over at her father. “So were the Brothers Grimm. Scheherazade too.”

“Even Walt Disney was one,” added Henry. “He was the predecessor to my predecessor. Sort of like my Grand-Author.”

Running his fingers through his dark hair, Thomas sighed, “So how do you explain the fact that all these stories are old? Some are thousands of years old. But you’re saying Snow White just happened some fifty-ish years ago.”

Pausing for a moment, Henry seemed caught, as if he had overlooked a critical part of the narrative he had been creating. “In addition to recording the stories of their time, many Authors have been gifted with the ability to see the future. It comes in flashes, and it’s not always accurate, since there are always possibilities when it comes to the future. Authors rarely get clear ideas or see the whole story before it happens. So, you wind up with a version of the story out here that isn’t always right about someone who hasn’t even been born yet. That story gets told, and people change it as they’re telling it. You know, like the game telephone.”

Compared to some of the explanations Henry had provided to his questions, this was extremely straightforward. “Okay, I’ll allow that that does seem completely plausible given the… based off of what you’ve told me about this… parallel universe--”

“It’s not a parallel universe,” interrupted Henry. “It intersects with this one. That’s why we are all here. That’s why everyone in Fairyland is here.”

“Poor choice of words, but how else am I to describe it?”

“Reality,” suggested Lucy.

Urgently, Henry nodded. “It’s what’s real. None of this is real. A curse made it all.”

Thomas glanced around the room. The home filled with items he and Anna had accumulated together, each item with a memory attached to it, seemed as real to him as anything ever could. The memories he had acquired over half a lifetime were ones that he trusted to tell him the truth about who he was and what he had overcome to get here to this moment. He could remember learning in introductory psychology in college that it was possible to create false memories. He let out a laugh as he realized that that memory itself could be a fake memory implanted by magic he didn’t understand instead of some experimenter with photoshop.

Leaning forward, Henry asked, “What?”

“This is all so… surreal,” Thomas said. “A part of me knows that this is absolutely mad, but…” He trailed off, his smile fading.

“A part of you knows that it’s real,” Henry said. “You want to believe.”

“It’s just so hard to accept.”

Swan started licking his hand at that moment. Surprised, Thomas pulled away from her rough tongue and wiped the wetness off onto his robe.

“I know I’m asking you to believe in a lot, and that it’s confusing and seems far-fetched,” Henry said. “You’re not the first person I’ve had to convince about this. Actually, this isn’t even the first time I’ve had to explain this to you?”

“It’s not?”

Henry shook his head. “The Author before me wrote an alternate universe for all of us, to give the villains happy endings, only really he just turned the villains into heroes. Everyone except me and my mom weren’t able to remember anything. But, I was able to convince you then. I will convince you now.” A confident smirk crept up on his lips.

As if he were in an elevator, Thomas felt an unsteady upward jerk, forcing his heart up. Dizzy recognition filled him. That expression. He had seen it before. Many times before. He could see the man in front of him before he had become a man, memory overlaying the present. The gears in his mind that had been stubbornly still suddenly inched forward, teeth knitting together.

No quicker had the sensation come over Thomas did it vanish, leaving him feeling as though he had just run all the way to the city hall and back.

“The Wookie,” managed Thomas. His voice was practically a rasp.

Henry’s eyes lit up, and Lucy, seeing her father’s reaction, got to her feet.

Still in his lap, Swan started to purr.

“I remembered… something…” Thomas shook his head. “I’m not sure what… but…” He looked intently at Henry. “I know I knew you. I know you.”

Beaming, “Yes. You do,” Henry said.

Thomas pointed at Lucy. “And I don’t know you, but something tells me that I should get to know you.”

“You should,” said Lucy. “I’m your granddaughter.” She gave a smirk that mirrored her father’s.

Awkwardly, Thomas laughed and scratched the back of his ear. “That’s really going to take some getting used to.”

Henry said softly, “You will,” before pushing the storybook closer to Thomas, and adding, “You really don’t know any of these people?” The book was still open to the dinner scene at Granny’s.

Shaking his head, Thomas repeated, “Other than my wife and you, no. I’ve never seen them before in my life… this life.” Henry’s and Lucy’s disappointed expressions made Thomas wish that he was able to give a different answer.

“That’s to be expected, I guess,” said Henry with a sigh. “Storybrooke was a town, and I didn’t know everyone.”

“And Fairyland is a city,” said Thomas. “Not a big one, but a city.” Enough hours away from Seattle or any other big city to be considered out of the way and essentially in the middle of a lot of nothing, as if everyone within a certain radius had been drawn in towards the center, leaving miles around the city desolate. There was really no reason to ever leave the city and travel the hours it took to get anywhere else. It had everything the residents could ever need and then some. There were plenty of businesses that seemed to never get customers, but somehow managed to scrape through. He hadn’t ever given any thought to their presence in the city, but after Henry had described Storybrooke the eerie familiarity had lent him an explanation. None of the businesses were real businesses. Anything bought or sold here was in essence irrelevant. The curse kept everything in stasis.

Henry shrugged his shoulders. “It would have been nice if you had recognized someone. It would have been a place to start. But that would only get us so far. Everyone here is cursed.”

“Not everyone,” piped up Lucy. “Not whoever cast the curse! We haven’t figured out who did that yet.” She paused. “Remember, Grandma remembered who she was, since she cast the curse, and she was mayor.” She was grinning broadly with pride for having thought of this. “Who’s mayor of Fairyland?”

Before Thomas could answer, Henry said, “Not necessarily, when Grandma and Grandpa cast the curse, they were cursed too, and when you,” he nodded at Thomas, “cast one, you got cursed too. But both times a memory component was added by someone else, so the person who added that component remembered, even if they didn’t create the curse.”

The name of the mayor faded on Thomas’s lips. “I cast a curse? But I thought I was just a pirate.”

“You weren’t just a pirate,” said Henry. “You were also a Dark One. Briefly. Like for a week, but you didn’t remember. Anyway, that’s how you wound up dead and Zeus brought you back.”

As Thomas leaned back in his seat feeling once again overwhelmed by all the information Henry was dumping on him, Swan placed a paw on his chest and rested her white head upon it purring. Thomas rubbed the velvety fur on the bridge of her nose that was more fuzz than anything else. “It seems I have led quite the life. Wish I could remember it.”

“If we find my mom, you will,” said Henry firmly. “I know it.”

Swan sat upright and started kneading Thomas’s chest, causing the robe to open up.

Thomas let out a surprised cry of pain and picked Swan up, only to find her claws were tangled up in the red robe. As he unhooked them, he said, “And the mayor might be a good place to start? Our mayor’s name is Clive Wilder. I don’t reckon that’s any help though.” He set Swan down on the ground. Instead of slinking away, the white cat placed herself decidedly between the legs of Henry’s chair.

“Is he in the book?” asked Lucy.

Thinking back to the illustrations Henry and Lucy had shown him from the book as they had been explaining their story to him, Thomas shook his head. “He wasn’t in any of the illustrations you showed me,” said Thomas.

Lucy let out a frustrated sigh.

Henry let his fingertip go around the rim of his abandoned coffee mug. “Think you could take us to him?”

“I mean… it’s Saturday afternoon. I don’t think he’d be in his office,” mused Thomas. “But we could try to look him up. I’m willing to hazard a guess that his number is unlisted, though.”

“What about his address? Could look that up.”

Thomas wasn’t so sure that it would be likely to be listed either, but he pulled out his phone and with a few clicks brought up the town whitepages. W-I-L-D-E-R he typed. “So there are two Wilders in Fairyland, but only one ‘C. Wilder.’” He looked up from his phone. “57 Crescent Court.” He gave a small shudder at the alliteration. Getting to his feet, Thomas said, “I’m going to get dressed.” And take a much needed bathroom break. “I will be back in ten minutes.”

He was back in seven. He was quick to shed his robe and pulled a shirt and pants out without paying much mind to it until Marie decided to pounce on the sleeve. “Not a toy,” he said, tugging the flannel out of her mouth. He picked up a nearby catnip mouse. “This is a toy.” He threw it in the direction of Berlioz who was lying on his back in a patch of sunlight. Marie pranced off after the toy, allowing Thomas to finish getting dressed and emerge from the bedroom.

No sooner had Henry turned to face him did an amused smile crept up on his face.

“What?” asked Thomas, pulling on his shoes.

“Oh, nothing,” laughed Henry, shaking his head while his daughter and Thomas looked equally confused at him. “Just I don’t think Killian Jones would be caught dead in flannel and jeans. Especially not something so… colorful.”

Thomas glanced down at his green and blue flannel top. It was hardly vibrant or particularly loud. There was a thin yellow stripe in the flannel pattern, but that was a muted shade.

“Flannel was more what my mom would wear. You normally wear mostly black or dark colors,” explained Henry. “And leather. Lots of leather.”

“I don’t think I own anything leather other than a few belts. And I detest black.” The suits that he wore to work were always grey, navy or somewhere in between. The only black suit he had ever worn had been to Anna’s funeral, and that was something he hoped to never wear again.

“That’s the curse,” said Henry, still smiling. “Come on, let’s go.”

Lucy gave Swan a final pat and then straightened up. She tucked the makeshift storybook under her arm and hurried to the door. Henry quickly followed. Thomas took up the rear. As he paused to shut the door, a blur of white shot through his legs and scampered onto the porch. Swan made it all the way down to the mailbox by the time Thomas caught up with her.

“Bad kitty,” scolded Thomas, as he wrapped his arms around her middle.

Swan fought against his hold, giving a low disapproving growl.

“Indoor cats do not belong outdoors. You know what I promised the shelter. You’re an indoor cat now.” He walked up the path and climbed up the stairs. When he reached the hallway, he set her down on the rug. “Please behave.” He had to move fast to beat her to the door, shutting it firmly behind him. From the other side of the door, Thomas could hear Swan clawing at the wood, trying to scratch her way outdoors. “It’s for your own good.”

A muffled plaintive meow came through, that was heart melting enough to make Thomas wish that he had attempted to train her to walk on a leash. Too late for that now. “I’m sorry.” He walked away from the door, not looking back until he couldn’t hear the scratching anymore.

From above, Thomas heard, “Cat trouble?”

Thomas looked up to Marvin on the duplex’s balcony, small plate and sandwich in hand. Lunchtime, which for Marvin Roquefort meant something with avocado and cheese that was supposed to be healthy. “Nothing I can’t…” Thomas held up his fake hand, “handle.”

Marvin stroked his black beard and looked perplexed as if wondering if it was polite to be amused by Thomas’s joke, while Henry let out a laugh.

Thomas sighed dramatically and said, “It’s okay to laugh, Marvin. I give you permission.” How many times would they have to go through this? How many times had they actually gone through this? Based off of what Henry had told him, he and Marvin could have had this conversation thousands of times, and not been aware of that fact.

Instead of laughing, Marvin said, “Who are your friends?”

Henry stepped forward and said, “I’m Henry. This is my daughter, Lucy.”

Thomas added, “They’re family. Visiting.”

Squinting down at the three of them, Marvin said disbelievingly, “You’ve got American relatives?”

After years of being neighbors and visiting one another’s place, Thomas knew that Marvin had a fairly decent understanding of his family tree from the pictures on the wall and conversations that they had had. “Anna’s relatives. So family, with American accents.”

The surprise was evident on the older man’s face. “Wasn’t aware she had any family.” He picked up his sandwich and took a bite out of it. “Enjoy the family reunion.” He turned around and vanished out of sight into his second floor apartment.

Thomas walked up to Henry and the unfamiliar car that Lucy had already sat down inside. The ten-year-old girl made it obvious that they were going to take Henry’s car. “Who was that? When he’s not Marvin,” he whispered as he opened the car door.

“Blackbeard,” said Henry, still grinning from ear to ear. “But with a haircut and better grooming habits.”

Thomas sat down in the passenger seat and tugged the seat belt into position. “So he’s Edward Teach?” He had heard about the legendary pirate before who had terrorized the West Indies. It was hard to imagine the man who went to Quaker meetings weekly running around with a sword and hemp burning under a much longer beard. It was hard to even picture Marvin with any beard larger than his very closely shorn balbo.

Henry started up the engine. “Not entirely sure on that one. Being able to travel through realms, he could be, but to be honest, I think that there are just two pirates with the same name. One in this world, one in your world.” He pulled away from the curb.

“Like how I have two brothers named Liam?” He raised an eyebrow, still finding that fact both bizarrely amusing and horrible.

With a shake of his head, “Different matter entirely. But you are still stuck on that fact.”

“Yes. Because it’s morbid and demented. Worse than George Foreman.” Suddenly naming several children after one’s self seemed entirely acceptable compared to the idea of naming a child after an older dead sibling. There was something so arcane about it that it made Thomas not know whether he should wince or laugh.

“And not very original,” added Lucy from the back.

“Luce,” chided Henry, before turning to Thomas. “Okay, Killian.”

Thomas looked at Henry. Though he knew that Killian was his name, he felt no connection to it, no ownership whatsoever.

“You’re going to have to direct me where to go, and Operation Chewbacca can begin.”

“Operation Chewbacca?”

Taking his eyes off the road for a moment, Henry grinned. “Every adventure needs a name.”

Honestly, Thomas couldn’t say that he was a big Star Wars fan, but suddenly the franchise was growing on him. “It’s a good name,” allowed Thomas. Better than Operation Mog.

“Glad you think so. Now, do I turn left or right up here at the stop sign or do I keep on going straight?”

****

Without traffic, it only took twenty minutes to get to Crescent Court, or rather the street beside Crescent Court. As Henry parked on the street next to the one where the mayor lived, Thomas gave Henry a quizzical look.

“It’s important to take precautions,” said Henry. “We don’t know who or what we’re dealing with.”

“I’m pretty sure he’s not a what,” said Thomas. He hadn’t ever met the mayor in person, but he was fairly sure that Clive Wilder was as human as any of them were.

Ignoring what Thomas had said, Lucy leaned forward between the front seat and the passenger seat. “Did you learn that from Grandma?” Her brown eyes were wide and hopeful.

Henry nodded and unbuckled his seatbelt. “Yeah. That and a love of comic books, spy stuff and action movies.” Catching sight of Thomas’s confused look, he added, “My mom was a bail bondsperson. And before that she was a thief. That’s how she wound up in jail.”

“You can’t be a bail bondsperson with a record,” said Thomas incredulously, though of all the things to question about what Henry had told him over the past few hours, this was extraordinarily trivial.

“Sealed juvenile record? Curse magic?” suggested Henry. He opened the car door and stepped out. Thomas followed suit, and Lucy wasn’t too long behind them bouncing out of the car, the book still tucked under her arm.

Eagerly, Lucy said, “So what’s the plan?” She bounced up onto the balls of her feet, glancing from father to grandfather expectantly.

A small smile crept up on Henry’s face. “Remember how Killian thought you were a Girl Scout?”

“I can track, but I’m not a scout,” said Lucy.

“No, not a scout, scout. Girl Scouts are kinda like a club for girls, and they sell cookies. Everybody loves their cookies,” explained Henry. “They were uniforms and go camping--”

“Earn badges,” added Thomas. “Climb mountains.” The more he heard from Lucy, the clearer it became to him that she knew very little about this world.

“We’re going to go up to Clive Wilder’s door, ring it, ask if he wants to order Girl Scout Cookies,” said Henry. “If it’s clear that he knows something’s up then… well… just follow my lead.”

Thomas had to admit, it wasn’t a bad plan. If he had assumed that was what was going on when Henry and Lucy showed up at his doorstep a few hours before, then it was possible that Clive would make the same assumption. “Let’s do it.”

The houses on Crescent Court were much nicer than the ones in Thomas’s neighborhood. Elegant and well kept, painted with whites, blues and greens, the houses stood proudly, sprawling out. They mimicked older style houses, though Thomas knew now they couldn’t be as old as they looked. Manicured lawns with gardens that had to be cared for professionally separated the houses from the sidewalk lined with deciduous trees in full summer green. Cars glinted in the driveways, bright and new. It looked more like the suburbs than a city neighborhood.

“This is the sort of place I grew up in,” murmured Henry as they walked past the third hedge wall in a row. He stopped suddenly, his face growing pale. He pointed to a blue house a few houses down. “Tell me that’s not 57?”

Thomas peered farther down. “I think so. This one’s 53, so next must be 55, and then--”

“You don’t recognize it? It doesn’t bring back anything?”

Lucy joined Thomas in staring intently at the blue Queen Anne. Thomas shook his head, frowning. “No. By your tone I take it I should.”

“Yes,” said Henry, almost laughing in frustration. “That’s your house! We picked it out together.”

Thomas’s forehead wrinkled as he stared more intently at it. “Really? I don’t recognize it at all. Never been one for Victorians.” He tried to imagine living in that house, sitting in a rocker on the wrap around porch or looking out of the wide windows. Not even the faintest spark struck him. “Sorry.”

With a sigh Henry brushed it aside. “Well, let’s see who lives in it now.” Swiftly, Henry closed the distance between them and the blue house.

As they walked up the brick path and started on the steep stairs, Thomas found himself looking upwards at the house, willing himself to remember something, even the smallest of flashes. Without paying attention to where he was stepping, Thomas found himself falling forward onto the stairs. Thomas put his hand out to brace himself. The impact stung, but he gave an embarrassed laugh. “You’d think I’d be better at climbing these stairs,” he murmured to Henry and Lucy. He pushed himself up and climbed the rest of the way up the stairs onto the porch so he was standing beside them in front of the door.

“Actually, you would get tripped up on that step even when you remembered the house,” said Henry nonchalantly. Turning to his daughter, he asked, “Are you ready.”

Lucy nodded firmly, face set in a determined expression.

Firmly, Henry knocked on the door.

After a moment, the door swung open, revealing a blonde teenage girl wearing a purple shirt that read ‘Fairyland State.’ She looked at them, clearly annoyed to be interrupted. “Yeah?” she asked. “Can I help you?”

If Henry was disappointed, it didn’t show on his face. Instead, he smiled at the girl. “We’d like to talk to an adult. Is your father available?” he said smoothly.

“I am an adult,” said the girl, her voice dripping with irritation. “But sure.” She stepped back and shouted, “DAD!” loud enough so that a dog started barking somewhere inside the house.

Footsteps came from inside.

“Someone wants to see you,” she said to someone out of sight.

“Really?” A man with grey hair stepped forward. Blue eyes surveyed the three standing on his front step. He gave a small polite smile. “I’m sorry. But you are--”

“I’m Lucy Mills.” She stepped forward smiling. “I’m a Girl Scout. I’m selling cookies.”

The teenage girl smirked and vanished inside the house.

“My daughter Riley was a Girl Scout back in the day,” the mayor said. “It’s good to the Brownies are still thriving.”

Oblivious to what the mayor was referring to, “We’re not selling brownies, we’re selling cookies!” said Lucy brightly.

Clive Wilder blinked in confusion at the girl. “I am aware.”

“Lucy’s got a sense of humor,” said Henry quickly.

Thomas offered a nod of confirmation. He was fairly sure that Brownies were younger than Lucy, but perhaps the mayor was an even worse judge of age than he was.

“But Lucy’s having a whale of a time in Girl Scouts,” continued Henry.

The emphasis Henry placed on the word ‘whale’ made Thomas frown slightly, wishing he understood the implication.

Jovially, Clive said, “That’s good to hear. The Girl Scouts are always doing excellent community service in this city. Say, how would you girls like to get a tour of City Hall?”

Lucy glanced up at Henry.

“We’ve got our meetings planned out for the next school year already! But thanks for the offer.” Henry’s ability to lie under pressure was uncanny. Certainly better than Thomas could ever hope to be.

“So, cookies?” said Lucy.

“Right, yes.” Clive nodded. “Do you have any Thin Mints.”

“Oh, we’ve got thin mints, thick mints, all kinds of mints!” chirped Lucy.

The mayor’s face was blank for a moment, but then suddenly he let out a laugh that sounded hollow. “There’s that sense of humor your father was talking about.” His grin lasted long after his laugh, as if painted on. It was exactly the sort of smile that Thomas would expect from a politician. “Put me down for a box then.”

Lucy beamed.

“We’ll be back with your order in a month’s time!” said Henry, starting down the stairs. “Have a good day, Doc- Mister Mayor.” He gave a wave, which Lucy echoed before prancing down the stairs and walkway.

Thomas gave the porch one last sweeping look, frowning with desperation, before rejoining his comrades. As soon as they were out of earshot, Thomas whispered to Henry, “Do you think he cast the curse?”

Firmly, Henry shook his head. “No. There’s no way he did.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“Because,” Henry stopped to glance over his shoulder to make sure that they were now hidden by the hedges of the next two houses down from 57, before continuing on towards the car, “Frankenstein doesn’t do magic. He’s all about science.”

Blue eyes widened. “Frankenstein’s real too? What about his monster?”

“All real, but I don’t think he’s brought anyone back to life recently. Really it didn’t work so well the last time.”

Thomas wanted to ask more questions about Frankenstein and his monster, but instead it was Henry who asked a question.

“Is that a ticket? Damnit.” Henry ran up to the car and pulled a yellow paper out from under the windshield wiper.

From where Thomas was standing, it didn’t look like a ticket. “I think someone’s probably advertising a yard sale or bible study group.” He caught up to Henry, Lucy a couple strides behind him.

Henry unfolded the yellow piece of paper.

“See, look, just an ad for a performance at a jazz club,” said Thomas. “The Blue Village. Not a bad place if you like jazz. Not my cup of tea, though. I prefer--”

“Killian, we know you like sea shanties,” interjected Henry. “Look at the bottom.”

Thomas glanced down to the bottom of the flyer underneath the big lettering and silhouettes of instruments one would associate with jazz. In elegant, flowing script, someone had written, He can help.