#I mean I know Brennan can tell a story but boy oh boy can Brennan tell a fucking story

[bardy-boy]

I’m very normal about this episode *loses my mind*

[unsleepingtales]

MENTOPOLIS REACTIONS EPISODE ONE

Here we go babeyyyyyy. (this is so long. you have been warned.)

Right off the bat the cc says (cool opening noir music) and I'm in love

Mind of a scientist ok!!

brainstorm I'm dying already

HE'S BEEN HERE THE WHOLE TIME <3<3

I'm so excited for Hank Green in the dome guys

Also I love that Hank gets to show just how big a dropout fan he is here

I love that they hacked the system by hiring the people who wrote the original system lmao

God the table is SO COOL

Oh god is this gonna be corrupt

It would be so cool to see theoretically moral 'people' have to deal with being the mental functions of a not necessarily 'moral' person

closeups on the buildings this is SO cool

Dome antics AND light antics??? We're being so spoiled this season <3

First episodes are usually one of my favorites in any given season because I love getting introduced to the characters and watching a story get set up and this looks to be no different

I love the custom office scene for Trapp is there going to be a unique backdrop on the dome for each intro??

Brennan found a list of slang terms for detectives somewhere and decided to have a good time huh

A rubbery kinda guy

Tropes!

I for one LOVE the puns

Siobhan is gonna kill it as a femme fatale I can already tell

They're being so dramatic I love them I love this so much

ooh okay different time system? That's really interesting I wonder why like is it just because the scale is smaller or is there some larger reason within the world logic?

"I understand the sequence of the words you've said, I don't understand how it involves me just yet" FELT

ooh that's a cool feat

what the fuck are you two talking about

they have a mayor?

Does stuff being in the newspaper mean that it comes to the attention of the big guy?

(nat one sound) I love that that's a normal caption <3

Halving mechanic my beloved!! King Solomon that shit

(sad, New York accent) me every day of my goddamn life

is one of god's own children a real saying that I've just never heard in my life

Brennan was just waiting for Danielle to ask what their name was and I'm so glad he was able to slip it in even though she didn't

Norrel Ojiccle I'm gonna lose my mind

The clunk means failure :D

Entirely unrelated but I can't wait for merch of this season I just know it's gonna slap

so many reporters, just one fact checker. so real.

Ooh okay so A probably has ties to a rich/powerful family but left to make her own way

So when an attention being goes somewhere it actually calls the big guy's attention to it? Like if A went to the red light district it wouldn't matter if she reported it or not, the very fact of her being there would do something?

"I heard you say a lotta words there but deep down I really don't wanna pay attention" FELT

Also the word play of he doesn't want to pay her. Because she's A Tension.

Also I didn't write it before but. I think there's more going on with her name than just being a play on attention. Tension means something else. We've gotten clues that the Pulse family has impact on the big guy's actions, implying that they have something to do with the circulatory system, I'm thinking something similar could be going on and that the ties A has could be to a musculatory family? Idk maybe I'm clowning.

(making those sounds you make right before sneezing) cc writers I love you

I was prepared to have mild distaste for this character I was not prepared to be charmed

I love that the names in the red light district all seem to be things that feel good or are a luxury or connect to a physical pleasure trigger in the body I think that's neat

Dan Fucks and Donny Urges. Man.

Ohohoho intrusive thoughts. Oh boy.

The lighting on Brennan's eyes as he said that lmaooo

That one time a barber whispered in your ear. Is this just like a universal experience.

It's not sexual. It's also not not sexual. (being satisfied) it's nooOt sexuAl

oh my GOD oxytocin being hot chocolate but also oxytocin being outlawed because the big guy is lonely and touch starved

I silence with my arms. Also my gun, if necessary. I love you.

Why is he vaguely french

The big guy doesn't DESERVE pleasure???

Deserve.

Hmm.

(saying "yeah" back and forth in increasingly horny ways)

(Hank trying to control his laughter and himself)

(weirdly tense mouth sounds)

They're all so delighted by what's happening this is wonderful

Nobody's allowed to feel good until the job is done this is such neurodivergent guilt shit. This is gonna nerf me I think.

You're telling me that the giant hitman has bad sneak? Unbelievable.

Tropes!

I am once again begging for posters of the dome art. Please. Like retro style travel posters.

oh he's good at this. he's really good at this.

fuck why was that kind of hot.

(Brennan silently laughing in terror and awe) me too babe meee toooo

He can use sharp instead of slick 'cause he's Menacing another cool feat!!

Also yeah that is menacing

I don't think Brennan was prepared to be that flustered and honestly besties neither was I

Hank's satisfied little smirk <3

Trapp so fed up and simultaneously delighted with the puns

But what happens when he's hyperfixated on something that is of no use to the main ambitions of the big guy? What happens to him then?

He's so prepared for it to be a pun

He feels a feeling that he does not know and is not comfortable with. I was so right when I said the audhd rep (explicit or otherwise) would nerf me in the emotions.

Ooh I just noticed on the map it looks like the university is in the red light district? Fascinating.

"Would a good guy do a bad thing?" oh my GOD??

I gave him all the facts and he made a choice KIDDO

He put the papers out of order on purpose?

(old timey speech music)

And all of this makes sense!

Bonjour, hello- Oh well I don't speak that!

"Please reconsider" reconsider what?? Just the illegality of it? Or did he get rejected for a job or smth? I feel like I'm overthinking this.

OOH STAT BREAKDOWN LOVE IT

Are they gonna alternate spellings of his name because if so that's hilarious

My MORTAL ENEMY (referring to a child that was introduced as small, too small, and whose character sheet refers to him as teeny tiny.)

We need lore on the Fakename family please

Oh of course they know each other!

Does that imply that Imelda is somewhat related to intrusive thoughts?

They also know each other!

Babe what are you saying

Notably slightly shinier than most rocks!

It's very satisfying to me that Conrad's stat dice are in descending order.

Wayward interests...

That's not what a superlative is?

OKAY I'M GLAD HE AGREES WITH ME

I love him

The wayward interests are past hyperfixations?? Or maybe interests that were deemed unhelpful?

They both know so many facts this is going to be a wonderful season

I like when it is very clearly explained thank you

What are youuuuu

List of Lists kid <3

Oh my god magic kid. I'm gonna cry.

Key??

Okay so she has an insane amount of power.

Cousins! Ok!

A also has a key! Noted!

Is this kid about to get shot

oh GOD WHAT

Oh what have you done

I loved that so much cannot wait for next week <3

[sillsif]

↳ 8 Shows To Get To Know Me

thank you @jyuubin for tagging me! sorry it took me a while to type this up.

i have decided to pick shows that i rewatch for comfort or keep me awake at night thinking about every little detail and emotion inside. here we go!

Bones (2005 - 2017) i grew up with this show and i just love temperance brennan with my entire life. i love the smithsonians i love booth and brennan i love i love i love and i rewatched s1-s3 sooooooo many times because iykyk it just kills me in the best way everytime.

Because This is My First Life (2017) my comfort feel good kdrama. i love how this drama focused on telling the stories of three women fighting for their dreams, and how every one of them had their own definition of happiness. oh i feel so much for the three of them and i love love love their love interests too. such a well-written show.

The Good Place (2016 - 2020) another comfort and feel good show. the good place is fun, intelligent, and most importantly, kind. it came out during a time when we all needed that reassurance: that things can be changed. things can be better. things SHOULD be better. WE should be better, and we CAN be. i'd even say it's another version of everything everywhere all at once's philosophy. it also has chidi anagonye, the love of my goddamn life.

First Kill (2022) if i were a zombie ♪ i'd never eat your brains ♪ a lesbian vampire x hunter show that got fucking cancelled by netflix bc netflix hates lesbians. i miss them sorely. this show was fun and intriguing, it has the right tone for teenage romance — dramatic and heart-wrenching. the cast is incredibly charming — gorgeous women from mothers to daughters and beautiful men too. talia burns you are everything.

Racket Boys (2021) coming-of-age sports kdrama. i had a visceral reaction to insol when he [redacted] and then i had a mini phase where i had intense brainrots over haesol ( haekang x insol ) which in retrospect is sorta like me with palmchopper. you get what i mean? i still love insol very much and i still have brainrots about them in fact i'm looking at my gifsets right now.

The Get Down (2016 - 2017) I WILL NEVER FORGIVE NETFLIX FOR CANCELLING THIS SHOW. the get down was about the bronx and the beginning of hip hop. ezekiel figuero and shaolin fantastic. mylene. dizzee kipling. i love them so much. so many iconic scenes and lines. justice smith has remained one of my fave actors since then.

Better Call Saul (2015 - 2022) i watched this show during the airing of its final season bc it was all on netflix and i did not expect how easily i grew attached. i watched breaking bad a long time ago and never thought too much of saul goodman the funny lawyer, so i didn't rush to watch bcs when it first aired. but damn how glad i am to have binged it when it delivered its finale too. incredibly tight-knit and immaculate in writing and filming. the details are so intricate it's almost impossible to pull off but they managed. it's quite heavy from time to time, and such a tragedy too. but that's the story. and it does get the ending it deserved. i can say it's the best written tv show i've seen with such a long run.

Scissor Seven (2018 - ) happy, feel good, comfort show. it's a chinese animated series with a lot of canto humour, which just hits home for a canto like me. it follows the regular shounen anime formula but with less self-importance. it's just about a guy who wants to live a good life with people he cares about on this island he calls home. well, with the past coming back for his life.

tagging anyone interested!

[mst3kproject]

She Freak

Oh, boy, this is going to be a fucking delight.  If the 1932 movie Freaks were Invasion of the Saucer Men, She Freak would be Attack of the The Eye Creatures.  Freaks is a very troubling movie, but it does go to great effort to present the denizens of the sideshow as human beings who can be loving, greedy, heartbroken, or naïve as much as anyone else, and who find family in each other when the rest of the world rejects them – and must be very careful who they let into that club.  The horror of the story is derived as much from their predicament as from the fate of Cleopatra.  She Freak is… not like that.

A woman named Jade Cochrane works at a little diner somewhere in the south, quietly (and sometimes not-so-quietly) enduring sexual harassment from both the customers and her married boss.  Wanting more out of life, she quits her job and goes looking for work at a passing carnival, which she figures will at least allow her to travel.  From there she sets her sights on marrying Steve St. John, the owner of the freak show and the richest man connected with this community. Unfortunately for everybody around her, even this very moderate form of power corrupts Jade to the core, and after too much of her mistreatment, the sideshow stars take a horrible revenge!

The opening sequence is a bunch of carnival footage in which everybody looks bored, worryingly reminiscent of both Carnival Magic and MUZ.  Even worse, quite a bit of it is shot by somebody sitting on a moving ferris wheel or other midway ride.  I’ve never been able to enjoy midway rides because I get motion sickness (I can’t see J. J. Abrams movies in theatres for the same reason), so this was not a fun experience for me, even on my tiny laptop screen.  It goes on way too long, and most of it doesn’t even have any credits over it.  Crow would have fled to go throw up in a corner.

The moment I knew She Freak belonged on MST3K, however, is this shot:

What the hell does that sign say?  YHJCY A+ FTJB?  What does it mean?  Is it an acronym?  A secret code?  An in-joke? A message to or from aliens?  That would have fascinated Mike and the ‘bots.  They’d have built a whole host sketch around that sign.

She Freak is tooth-rattlingly bad in many different ways.  I don’t know what any of the people in it think they’re doing but it sure isn’t acting.  It’s relentlessly padded, full of pointless footage of putting the midway up, taking the midway down, putting the midway back up again, and carnival-goers wandering around looking dazed.  At one point we have to watch a stripper do her act, to a chorus of background hooting and applause that sure isn’t coming from the bored-to-shit audience we see.  Most of the film feels like nothing is happening, and then what ought to have been the entire plot is crammed into the last fifteen minutes.

The one place where there is a glimmer of competence is in a couple of quite nice directing choices.  There’s a scene where Jade leaves her new husband with his buddies and sneaks off to bang the guy who runs the ferris wheel, Blackie (don’t worry, he’s white. She Freak has a little person called ‘Shorty’, but to my relief it wasn’t tasteless enough to cast a character named ‘Blackie’ as an African American) that makes a very good use of shadows to tell us what’s going on in two places at once.  Pity the film stock is so crappy it almost ruins it.  I also liked how Jade’s scenes with Blackie have proper dialogue, while Steve woos her in a series of montages.  Jade wants to spend time with Blackie, while her marriage to Steve is something she goes through the motions of and gets out of the way.

She Freak really has no right to tout itself as a remake of Freaks, for the simple reason that it isn’t even about the sideshow.  The older movie had characters like Hans the dwarf and Daisy and Violet the conjoined twins, who were people with relationships and roles in the plot.  In She Freak we never even see the sideshow that so upsets Jade in an early scene.  There’s Shorty, the little guy in a cowboy hat who works for the carnival, but when we see him he’s acting like he’s Steve’s friend and assistant rather than one of the exhibits.  An armless woman and a few people in funny makeup appear at the climax, but we’ve never seen them before and we have no idea who they are.  Where the hell is the ‘Alligator Girl’ the banners promised?

It’s probably all for the best.  If there had been any ‘unusual people’ with major roles in the movie it would doubtless have treated them in a disgusting and exploitative manner.  But what’s on screen shouldn’t even pretend to be a remake of Freaks.

As the owner of the sideshow, Steve insists that he cares about his employees and considers them ‘human beings, just like you and me’. He tells Jade that many of them came from abusive homes, and that in his show they’re able to earn a living and be around others who won’t judge them.  This is a reasonably noble sentiment, but what we are subsequently shown is somewhat at odds with it.  Steve says his employees are also his friends, but he hangs out and plays cards with the other carnies, not with them.  When Shorty tells him that Jade is cheating on him, Steve slaps him like he would a misbehaving child.  This is not how people treat friends and equals.

You may have guessed where this is heading: in one of my favourite running complaints, yep, we have nobody to root for in this movie.  We’re probably supposed to like Steve, but he’s bland and his actions don’t agree with his words insisting he’s a nice, compassionate guy. The character from whose point of view we see the events is of course Jade, but Jade is the villain of the movie and we’re watching it to see her hubris destroy her.  That means the protagonists ought to be the sideshow people themselves, but since we never actually meet them, their revenge is meaningless. In this context they are not human beings, they are not characters, they are merely what Jade has been calling them all along: monsters.

(Shorty, by the way, is played by Felix Silla, who is the closest thing this movie has to a star. He was Cousin Itt on the Addams Family TV show.)

She Freak presents us with several reasons why we ought to dislike Jade.  She’s introduced working at the greasy little diner, where she turns down a date first with a customer and then with her boss.  The customer accepts this gracefully but the boss does not.  The scene tries to show us Jade as an uppity bitch who thinks she’s too good for other people, but her boss is such a slimy toad that we have to take her side.  She tells us how her mother married too young and lost any chance at her own dreams, and while Claire Brennan is a terrible actress, the story is one that inspires sympathy.  When Jade seizes on the carnival as her chance for escape she becomes downright pathetic.  I mean, how awful is your life if a travelling midway and sideshow seems like a step up in the world?

Of course, as the movie continues we find that Jade really is just a snotty bitch whose idea of ‘getting more out of life’ is having a rich husband to carry her bags when she goes shopping. She sees others only as what they can provide to her – Steve for money, Blackie for sex.  This attitude blinds her to others’ true intentions.  She is entirely oblivious to the fact that Blackie is an abusive bastard or that Steve honestly loves her.  The lesson of the movie seems to be ‘beware of women who want more out of life.’  She should have known her place!

This is a pretty nasty attitude towards women but there are other female characters who are treated a bit better.  Pat the stripper tried marriage and domesticity and didn’t like it.  She seems to enjoy working at the carnival and is gregarious and kind-hearted.  We’re invited to leer at her performance but she’s presented as much less trashy than Jade, who considers herself above such things. Pat continues to try to be a friend to Jade for as long as she can, and keeps giving her second chances long after it should be obvious that Jade isn’t interested in reciprocating her kindness. There’s also Olga the fortune-teller, who needed to support herself after her husband died.  The three of them even manage to have conversations that pass the Bechdel test.  In a movie called She-Freak that’s almost impressive.

The ending of She Freak is the only place where it really even seems inspired by Freaks.  The sideshow employees take their revenge on Jade, and we see her on display in the sideshow, licking a snake and wearing some unconvincing Harvey Dent makeup.  This is supposed to feel like justice, in that she has become what she most hated, but it’s been so watered down by the movie’s refusal to humanize the sideshow, or even to show us Jade interacting with them at all, that it has no power to horrify.  It’s a big letdown after the opening scene that promised us a horrible freak that was once a human being.  Why does her burned side have an elf ear?

Invasion of the Saucer Men was not a good movie, at all, but it still deserved better than Attack of the The Eye Creatures.  It’s up for debate whether Freaks was technically ‘good’ but it was an ambitious film with much to say about how human beings treat one another and about the eugenics movement of the 1930s.  In fact, the US National Film Registry considers Freaks one of the most significant films ever made, and it currently boasts a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes.  The fact that writer David Friedman claimed She Freak was a remake of Freaks just proves that, like the audiences who booed that film in 1932, he never bothered to understand it.

[jq37]

The Report Card – Fantasy High Sophomore Year Ep 6

The Fall of Fabian Seacaster

OK, let’s do this.

We pick back up with Kristen and Riz who are still outside Garthy’s room. Kristen’s Detect Good and Evil from last week pings Garthy as well as the general aura of the Golden Gardens which is protected in the way a sanctum sanctorum would be but with celestial energy. Riz and Kristen improvise a not super cogent plan that involves ribbon dancing and knocking over barrels before Riz just decides to cut to the chase and ask Garthy’s guards to send for Sandra-Lynn. Once she comes out (still looked sexed up and pretty annoyed) they’re not quite sure what to ask her and Riz wants to bail but Kristen (who has cast Zone of Truth, tried to muscle into Garthy’s house, and gotten smacked down physically by Sandra-Lynn) says that she’s worried about Sandra-Lynn because she’s “not poly but [she’s] acting poly.” Being directly called out is enough to snap Sandra-Lynn out of it (and to think about Fig’s reaction) so she agrees to get her stuff and come back to the gang’s suite.

Meanwhile, Fabian is hanging out with Bill’s cult of 20-ish warlocks. They’re all super glad to see Fabian--who they assume has been sent by Bill to help them--and they want him to regale them with the tale of how he slew his father in battle. Fabian tells them the story which, as you all know, isn’t a story about besting his father in a hard-fought battle so much as it is about a story about bittersweet mercy killing. They are less than impressed, especially considering they want Fabian to defeat Captain James Wicklaw who has promised to kill all of Bill’s followers. Ego stung, Fabian says that he may not have bested his father but he did (help) kill a dragon and, more importantly, he’s gonna lead them into an ambush against Captain Wicklaw (who he sees, presumably looking for him, with 30 men).

Oh boy.

Fabian telepathically alerts the Hangman that he’s about to get into a big fight before slamming down a door and full-out attacking Captain Wicklaw. He’s able to get a good couple of attacks in and Wicklaw misses his first couple of attacks but then Fabian fails an intelligence save with a Nat 1 and gets stunned while Wicklaw tries to open his skull and eat his brain.

Meanwhile with the rest of the Bad Kids, the Hangvan alerts Gorgug that the Hangman has sped off and everyone assumes Fabian is in trouble. They all do their best to get to him as quickly as possible and, even though these scenes are intercut with Fabian’s I’m going to summarize them all at once:

Fig (w/ Gorgug in tow) Dimension Doors as close to the Hangman as she can. Then, Gorgug has the idea to try the classic pirate move of grabbing a rope, cutting the weight, and instantly flying to where on the ship you want to go. They try that and begin flying towards Fabian at terminal velocity, both dislocating their arms. Fig passably disguises herself as Jemina Joy (even with quadruple disadvantage) and tries to get a wizard to teleport her to where Fabian is but they’re going way too fast for anyone to hear her. Gorgug (also with quad disadvantage) tries to throw a hand axe and, on a nat 1, almost cuts the rope they’re swinging on.

Gilear is fully passed after a back-slap from Fig.

Adaine casts fly on Riz (because his rogue speed means he can make the most use of it) so he can go get Garthy to see if they have any teleport spells. Then, she gets on Baxter with Kristen and Sandra-Lynn (plus Tracker who follows in spectral wolf form). Kristen tries to bring up Sandra-Lynn’s relationship stuff again and Adaine casts Tasha’s Hideous Laughter on her. Adaine tries to pull from the jacket to get something to help her get to Fabian faster and she gets a Razor scooter.  

Ragh drives the Hangvan towards Fabian’s.

Riz finds Garthy who takes him to a room, pops out neon angel wings, and does some kind of teleport spell that almost seems like it moves the space closer to them rather than the reverse.

But, none of this really matters because Brennan says none of them will be able to make it to Fabian before 22 rounds of combat. Woof.

Still in the first round of combat, 2 of the warlocks manage to hit Wicklaw and break Fabian out of his grapple (right after Wicklaw says that he’s eaten many of Fabian’s siblings but let’s put a pin in that because we have so much to get through here). Fabian declares that all spells are on him for the remainder of the fight (which is maybe the last funny thing he says all night). Then, 6 of the 20 warlocks on Fabian’s side die to gunshots from Wicklaw’s men. Fabian sends his men forward then falls back and attacks with his crossbow. Wicklaw mocks him for abandoning his crew so viciously that I feel like he should have spontaneously taken a level in bard. Brennan rolls for the ten still living pirates who never got names and only one survives. Then he rolls for the named pirates (Alistair and the three I haven’t mentioned yet because this episode is A Lot--Chungle-Down Bim, Old-Young Benjamin, and Creaky McBarrel) and only Creaky dies. In two rounds, Bill’s cult is down to four (plus one guy who peaced out after Fabian said he didn’t actually brutally murder his dad).

Fabian’s tactical retreat shakes the confidence of everyone but Alistair who stays loyal (even as he gets wrecked on his next attack on Wicklaw). Chungle-Down Bim is so disgusted by Fabian’s cowardice and performance that he tries to Eldritch Blast him and misses. He says, “Yeh ain’t no pirate and Bill would spit in yer eye.” Fabian has to hold back tears. He, with a heartbreaking mix of trepidation, reluctance, and resolve, asks if there are any ropes he can use to escape. Roll a perception check. He does.

Natural 1.

Sure, Brennan says. There’s a rope that looks like it will 100% guaranteed hold Fabian’s weight. Fabian goes for it--leaving behind a stunned and crushed Alistair--and finds that it’s actually a clothesline. He goes plummeting down a quarter-mile towards the ground but, before he actually hits, he hits a bunch of other ropes and, on his last possible chance, is able to save from splatting and taking max fall damage. Lou opts to take some damage anyway because he’d feel like he was cheating otherwise.

The rest of the group shows up through their various means and all immediately assume that Fabian got jumped. Fabian is meek in a way we’ve never seen before. I’m talking Adaine with Jawbone in Prompocolypse meek. He doesn’t tell them what happened and he answers all the questions with short yesses or no’s as much as possible. The healers heal him (plus Fig and Gorgug) up and take him back to the suite. The Hangman asks if he’s alright. “No Hangman,” he says. “It’s all bad.” Cathilda brings him kippers but he feels like he doesn’t deserve them.

Garthy has a little tete-a-tete with Fig about their tryst with Sandra-Lynn. Garthy is all about getting down but not if that person is in a monogamous relationship (even though they’re against them on principle). Fig (who has been avoiding her mom since the top of the ep) says she’s only mad at Sandra-Lynn (she says Sandra-Lynn, not Mom--oof) since Garthy didn’t know better. It just sucks that this happened to Jawbone. Jawbone as in Jawbone O'Shaughnessy? asks Garthy. Turns out he’s visited (many times) and they’ve boned (super hard) which, honestly, totally tracks.  

Because she didn’t get a full night of sleep, Tracker can’t keep the Moon Haven spell up all night which isn’t great. Kristen can also gather than she’s too tired to remember anything that happened earlier in the night (ie: things about Sandra-Lynn and Jawbone). Fig, concerned that she might get mind controlled again without the Moon Haven up asks Adaine to tie her up (this actually happens before the above conversation with Garthy).

Sleeping arrangements are Fabian, the Hangman, and Riz as a bodyguard in one room and everyone else in another. Adaine trances a little early so she can regain her spells and be awake in case anything happens. Brennan makes everyone do wisdom saves. Kristen and Adaine roll high and Adaine gives her TWO (2) NAT 20 portent rolls to Fig and Gorgug. That leaves Riz and Fabian, but we’ll get to them in a minute.

Adaine wakes up from her trance and she sees Ragh get up early as well. He says he’s going to get some food. Adaine, vigilant as ever asks Ragh who his first kiss was. Ragh acts confused for a second, and then screeches and attacks her, waking everyone up. He’s been dominated. Adaine goes for a Tasha’s Hideous Laughter and subdues him. Also Fig is able to escape Adaine’s magical ropes so maybe she’s not the best person to do that next time.

Meanwhile, Fabian is having a nightmare. He dreams of Wicklaw trying to eat his brain and Chungle-Down spitting in his face and his betrayal of Alistair. He sees the ghosts of the warlock  cultists entering hell and his disappointed father. And then, he’s approached by a man. A man with a familiar, non-threatening sounding, yogurt-offering voice. Fabian, like Adaine before, feels very strongly that if he looks at this man’s face, something terrible will happen but he does take the offered yogurt and agrees to go with him without looking at him. He’s taken to a lovely, sunny, kind of museum area dedicated to Bill Seacaster. Fabian thinks it’s very nice but he starts to notice that though there are many pictures of Bill and Hilariel, there are none of him. He asks why. The man says that Fabian needs to look at him. Fabian is hesitant. The man says that Fabian really needs to look at him. The yogurt in Fabian’s stomach curdles, weakening him (and me because yogurt grosses me out on the best of days and this is not the best of days). The man turns Fabian’s face to look at him and Fabian finds himself looking at a doughy, middle-aged Fabian Seacaster. He laughs hysterically and Fabian wakes up, plunged into the sea.

Elsewhere, Riz wakes up in his room. Fabian is gone, he’s paralyzed, the Hangman has been stabbed through by Fabian’s sword and is leaking oil, and Kalina is sitting on his bed. She was able to get in with the Moon Haven spell down. She speaks to him unsettlingly casually. She sounds almost friendly as she demands Riz and his friends stop looking for the Nightmare King’s crown on the pain of their lives. Riz, a grizzled old knight to his core like all of Murph’s characters, can’t wrap his head around why she would be doing this. It’s simple. Power. She psychologically toys with him, saying that Riz throws himself into his cases (which she seems to know quite a bit about) to distract himself from how sad he is about his dead dad. Then, she says that Fabian is in massive danger and if Riz doesn’t play ball (pun not intentional but it’s staying in), he’ll die. Riz assumes she knows where the Nightmare King’s crown is and she asks why he’s sure she knows which makes him think she actually doesn’t know. Riz, who sleeps with his sword because he’s rightfully paranoid, uses it to Misty Step outside but he’s still paralyzed so he just hits the ground and breaks his arm.

Kalina meets him outside, tells him Fabian is long gone, and tries to bargain with him: information about his dad for information about what he knows. Riz counter-offers that he’ll tell her about where the Nightmare King’s crown is if she guarantees his friends’ safety. She doesn’t care about the crown. She wants to know what Riz knows about her. Riz agrees (to save Fabian) and tells her everything he knows except that he withholds the information about Adaine’s mom being involved and tries to withhold the information he got from Ragh but he accidentally gives himself away without saying Ragh’s name. That’s enough for her to put two and two together though and she leaves to kill Ragh’s mom.

Back in the sea, Fabian has to make three Constitution checks. He rolls two nat 20s in a row for the first two and is rescued two flying imp monsters (presumably sent by Kalina) who drop him off at the edge of town. Fabian, absolutely destroyed, rips off his eyepatch and takes off his Owlbear jacket as he makes his way back. He rolls one last Constitution check. Nat 1. He’s got pneumonia. Cathilda shows up in the Hangvan to pick up Fabian.

The rest of the group is still shaken up by Ragh’s attack. They snap him out of it and someone gets Garthy. Post Riz’s encounter with Kalina, Ragh bursts in, devastated and says that someone from home called and said that his mom died. The whole group is immediately suspicious because--post Gorgug/Zelda debacle--they know they shouldn’t have signal. Ragh tries to call another number and all he hears is laughing on the other end. When Riz (healed up by Garthy) looks, he sees that his phone shows 5 bars for a second. Riz, Tracker, and Sandra-Lynn also see the flicker. Possibly illusion magic. Tracker and Garthy can also now suddenly see the Shadowcat in the picture (but it doesn’t seem like the rest of the Bad Kids can). Riz thinks Ragh’s mom is in serious danger but not dead yet.

Garthy has the idea to send the group to the Leviathan Library so maybe Adaine can learn a Sending Spell to communicate with their various parents and allies in Solace. They give Adaine a note that says to let the group safely use the library addressed to one Aida Aguefort.

Fig checks in with Sandra-Lynn to see if maybe she was under the influence of something more malevolent than alcohol when she cheated. Sandra-Lynn cries, and admits that she just F’d up but that they should deal with the problem at hand for now and that’s where we end, with the bulk of the group en route to the library.  

Detention

Fabian for Everything

Oh Fabian.

Fabian, Fabian, Fabian.

I don’t think I have ever seen a series of events so driven by a single character’s careless actions.

Truly, almost every single bad thing that happened in this episode can be traced directly to Fabian losing his entire chill at the worst possible time.

All those warlocks, dead (And Alistair either dead, seriously hurt, or set on the path to show back up with a vendetta later on down the road).

Because Tracker didn’t get her 8 hours, she couldn’t do the Moon Haven properly which is why Ragh got mind-controlled, the Hangman got stabbed, and he got brain-jacked and dumped into the ocean.

It’s why Kalina got to Riz. It’s why Lydia’s in danger.

And it wasn’t just that what he did was dumb, it was also completely unnecessary. There was no plot reason for what he did and he wasn’t forced into it. It was a completely character driven decision and it was bad, y’all. It was pretty much an absolute fail parade.  

Honor Roll

Brennan and Lou for Absolutely Stellar Roleplay

Everyone had their moments this episode.

Siobhan and Zac made some clever choices. Ally brought some needed levity. Emily subtly continued her emotional threads about Fig’s relationship with her mom and her distress over her actions while mind controlled. And Murph had that absolutely stellar scene in the back half of the back half of the ep with Kalina.

But Brennan and Lou 100% carried this episode.

Brennan is such a good DM that I feel like it’s almost easy to take for granted. Like, if you visit a town, you’re gonna talk about how how cool the shops, and food, and events were. Not about how well the roads are paved. But if the roads are all janky and potholed and stuff then it’s a big issue.

This episode clearly took a major turn from whatever was supposed to happen but Brennan deftly kept pace with all of Fabian’s wild choices and made sure the roads were paved before he got there.

So much of this episode was just Brennan talking to one other person (Fabian and then Riz during the Kalina scene) and he nailed all of it. The disgust from Chungle-Down. The betrayal from Alistair. The concern from Cathilda. The quiet but sinister lilt of Nightmare Fabian. And the affable, dispassionate, Just Business evil from Kalina.

And Lou. Everything Fabian did this episode was an extremely bad idea but it is exactly what Fabian would do in the situation. Lou played him completely consistently, even when it clearly pained him to do so. 

When Lou rolled a nat 1 on his perception check for an escape rope, Brennan essentially handed him a fully loaded gun and said shoot yourself, and Lou grit his teeth and he did it.

Mad respect to both of them for keeping the tension and gravity going for a full three hours basically. That was lightning in a bottle. D&D is an amazing game.

Random Thoughts

I know there’s a significant chunk of the fandom that ships Riz and Fabian and, can I just say, RIP to y’all.

It really was narratively cool that we started out with the Sandra-Lynn plot in this crazy, over the top, comic scene and then ended with the quiet conversation between Fig and her mom on the same topic. It really was a through line throughout the episode without over-shadowing the main drama. This episode had a clear A and B plot just like a scripted show.

Also if Garthy is a powerful as Brennan is making them seem, wild that the NK and Kalina were able to bust through what is supposed to be super sanctified ground, especially since Tracker--a jr. cleric--has been keeping them at bay by herself.

Zac: This is a real Axford move.

Also Zac: I don’t understand what’s gonna happen if this goes well.

Riz and Murph Equally: We’re so stupid.

I think it’s funny how players in D&D tend to treat Zone of Truth like it forces them to spontaneously say things that are true rather than just preventing them from actively lying.

The kinda wild thing about how this whole mess started is that Fabian’s character development is part of why it happened. When he told the warlocks about the dragon and his dad, he gave everyone else their due credit, didn’t hog the spotlight, and didn’t lie/embellish the truth to make himself sound cooler. That in turn disappointed them which made him relapse into S1 Fabian who attacked Gorgug on the first day of school for absolutely no reason. I was actually going to give him major credit for that before he, you know. Made some other choices. He absolutely gushed about how cool his friends were and then invited exactly none of them to his terrible plan.

Lol at Lou being like, “I rolled to get Alistair to make a better speech?”

Bill’s cult of about 20 guys has collectively sent him like 350k gold. That’s insane! They’re all so poor!

Lou playing Fabian very confidently making an absolutely suicidal decision, and then surfacing to laugh hysterically for a full thirty seconds out of character about how he’s for sure gonna die, was such a mood. It was like Lou was being held at gunpoint by Fabian for the entire first half of the session.

Big props to Zac for trying to get everyone in on the action by suggesting the Hangvan would see that the Hangman was gone and let the group know.

OK, so now let’s talk about that line about Wicklaw having eaten many of Fabian’s siblings. Hoo boy. You know this episode was wild because that line was said and never followed up on. What might have been a headline in a different episode was a footnote in this one. No big surprise that Bill would have fathered a ton of kids. That pretty much tracks, as Adaine said last ep. I feel like this was something that was going to come up regardless, Fabian just forced it to be right then and there. This dude hates Bill so going after his kids seems like an obvious move (unless he’s bluffing I guess, but I doubt it). But, like, did Bill know about these kids? Was he fully ignorant? Willfully ignorant? Did they know they were Bill’s kids? Are there any left? Can Fabian please have a little pirate sister because I would love that so much you don’t even know.

You think Lou expected to say (loosely quoting), “I try not to cry in front of Chungle-Down Bim,” when he woke up that morning? Idk but I can tell you that I didn’t expect to hear it and feel strong emotions about it.

Chungle-Down Bim, which is short for Bimothy.

Lol, Brennan makes Emily rolls with Quadruple disadvantage and she still gets a 15 because she has a plus 11 to persuasion. No wonder she’s so quick to slam the disguise self button if there’s even a sliver of a chance it’ll work.

Adaine getting a useless Razor scooter on the way to try and help Fabian and then being like, “Well, I’m still gonna keep it,” was such a funny beat during the tenseness of that fight scene.

I need you guys to know that this is a mindflayer ability: Extract (Ex): An Illithid that begins its turn with all four tentacles attached and successfully maintains its hold automatically extracts the opponent’s brain, instantly killing that creature. Truly what was he thinking? You’re gonna eat his brain? Go ahead because he clearly isn’t using it!

You know the part of Princess Bride when Wesley is giving the “To the Pain” speech to Humperdinck? I feel like that’s what Brennan did to Fabian this episode. “Oh you think I’m going to kill you? No, that would be too easy. This fight is to the pain. You will watch your allies get slaughtered until you are forced to betray them or die. You will escape but in the most clownish fashion possible after breaking your most loyal ally’s heart. You will be beset by your concerned friends and forced to either own up to your horrible life choices or stew with them and lie by omission. You will be the reason your ultimate enemy is able to break in and attack your friends and you will be forced with your worst nightmare before being unceremoniously dumped into the sea. You won’t die. You’ll just wish you had.” Absolutely brutal.

Anyone else feeling a possible villain turn from Allistair? Dude’s a warlock so he’s already prone to dabbling in questionable power sources. And Fabian really did him dirty. I was hoping he’d at least get Kristen or Tracker to try to see if he was around anywhere for a heal but he just went into shellshock shutdown mode and they bounced. We didn’t see him die on screen so I feel pretty strongly that we’ll be seeing him again in some form.

Also, maybe I’m way off, but did you guys feel like Fabian missed a clear opportunity? I thought he was gonna ask his dad for help. Or, at least try and talk to him before the fight. Clearly it’s possible because the warlocks are doing it. Just pray for some infernal intervention or guidance or powers or something? Worth a shot when you’re in such a bad situation anyway.

Fabian never did tell the party what was going on. They all still think he was ambushed and forced into a fight somehow. I really can’t wait for the truth to come out. I wonder how long he’ll sit on that info. He better tell them before they fight Wicklaw again and they find out that way.

Every single player playing up their concern for Fabian and making a point to presume he was in the right and that it had been a wrong place/time situation to make him feel even more like garbage was *chefs kiss*.

The Hangman basically acting like a big metal dog and pressing itself up against Fabian to comfort him is weirdly adorable.

“Anyway, I’m gonna go get tied up.”/“What?”

Also I love Adaine’s reaction to being asked to do it. She’s like, “What? I mean, I’ll do it but, what?” Sidenote, Fig said she was gonna ask Riz as her first choice but that’s also a terrible choice! He has like a minus 2 strength modifier I think. Ask Gorgug!

Truly, the entire episode can be encapsulated in the fact that Siobhan was sitting there with two nat 20 portent rolls but sidelined and useless because Fabian decided to go completely rogue.

I have to give Adaine big credit for checking to see if Ragh was mind controlled because whenever I’m watching a show where a bad guy can shapeshift or possess people, I always think, “Why don’t they just have a codeword or something?” This is one of the few times I’ve seen it properly executed. Genre savviness saves lives people.

Fabian’s rolls really matched his decisions this week. It was like the dice were punishing him with all those nat 1s on crucial checks.

Also, Brennan being like, “You get pneumonia” was lowkey hilarious. Just like, insult to injury. What’s next? He’s gonna die on dysentery on the Oregon Trail?

I wonder if Fabian is considering chronomancy-ing this away? The thought for sure crossed my mind. Also, everyone was joking about everything being all a dream, but that’s something that could happen in this campaign without it being cheap because it’s been set-up that that’s the kind of bad guy they’re up against so I’m staying vigilant.

Ragh coming into the room and, voice cracking, announcing that his mom was dead cut me up so bad. And I thought it would be not as bad on my rewatch. Nope, still awful. I can’t believe I like him so much now. This is like a Steve from Stranger Things level turnaround for me. Also, the chat was absolutely blowing up when Murph was like, “I tell her everything,” without excepting Ragh’s info at first. Brennan is a nice DM for reminding him about that (despite the absolute ravaging of Riz and Fabian otherwise this ep).

Also gotta give a shout out to Murph this ep for playing Riz so well during the confrontation with Kalina. His steadfast, simple, “We can’t stop. It would be wrong. Fullstop,” mentality is so pure. Riz is such an interesting character. When he tried to withhold info, Murph said, “I have low deception.” That’s who Riz is. He’s a rogue with low deception. He’s sneaky but only in pursuit of justice. No guile at all. Kalina, who is as casual as he is wound up and amoral and he is knightly is such an interesting foil for him. I’m very intrigued to see how this develops.  

Like I said in the recap, Garthy and Tracker can now see Kalina in the picture, even though neither of them saw her when she broke in (that they know of) so the plot thickens there. I’d go into it more but I really don’t have any new theories off the top of my head and this was honestly the least of my worries re: this ep.

Also, she says that all of her abilities come from serving the NK, and she had the abilities since she was working with Pok so this doesn’t seem to be a new development. I will say though, based on the info the group got, I really thought she was gonna be a more ancient being, you know? Maybe it’s just a title and she’s just the latest tabaxi to serve him and get it? I dunno.

Truly the mood for this episode was dawning horror. Things just got progressively worse in new and interesting ways every single scene.

Speaking of, let’s talk about Fabian’s vision. First of all, Brennan did a great job real-time DJ-ing that scene. The switch to that creepy music was very unsettling. Second of all, the chat exploding when Brennan started doing That voice and everyone for a brief moment thought that maybe, Maybe, Gilear was the Nightmare King, was delicious. But, on to the important stuff: When this happened to Adaine, my guess was that if she had looked at figure, it would have been a representation of her anxiety which I think was like 65% correct based on what happened to Fabian. Her worst possible future for herself is probably herself ruled by anxiety to the point of uselessness so she would have seen that version of herself. Fabian’s worst possible future self is essentially Gilear. Which, on behalf of Gilear, ouch. But, yeah, I see why it would be. And, honestly, NK-Fabian was worse than Gilear. Gilear is pathetic, sure, but he’s pathetic in pursuit of his own goals. To be stuck in his dad’s shadow, devoid of any other purpose is the antithesis of Fabian’s whole making a name for himself thing and a sick twisting of his very real pride in his dad. It’s a real raw nerve to hit, especially right after his colossal failure that left him feeling unworthy of even his favorite snack.

I’m really glad Fabian looked at the face of his nightmare. Brennan pushed him a little (in that fantastically unnerving, cajoling yet demanding voice) but I think he would have done it anyway. Like, it’s good information for the team to have and, if anyone was gonna get hit, it made most sense for it to happen right then, when Fabian was already at basically his lowest point. Both Adaine and Fabian felt like something horrible would happen if they looked at their nightmare and I’m wondering if there’s a mechanical effect to that or if it’s just psychological. I feel like there might be some not yet revealed mechanical effect going on but, when your players are as devoted to the RP as Lou (who, again, asked to take damage from his fall even after Brennan was gonna let him off with just the shame) you can get away with just giving the character trauma and having the player hinder their own actions based on it.

Titles for this recap that I rejected include Actions and Consequences and Keyfish 2: Pirate Boogaloo (because the first part of this episode truly felt like the CritRole Keyfish incident but spread out over an hour and a half).

Yet another thing that would have been a headline item in another recap but is just a footnote here: Aida Aguefort. That’s gotta be a sibling, ex, or parent (in my order of probability). What is an Aguefort doing running a pirate library? Are they as chaotic as the other Aguefort? I think it would be very funny if Arthur is this dude in a high position in a “normal” town who is just feral and Aida is living on this insane pirate island but, like, a completely normal librarian.

Oh, speaking of Aguefort, Kalina called him out on his child soldier factory and, listen, I know she was just trying to hurt Riz but she doesn’t not have a point.

Kristen was able to discern that Tracker probably won’t remember what happened with Sandra-Lynn but I hope she keeps track of that info because if Tracker rolls high perception and finds out that she semi-willfully kept that information from her, she might be miffed.

Are all of Bill’s dead warlocks gonna work on his hell ship now? Didn’t they become warlocks specifically because they were bad at being pirates?

I notice the group didn’t wait for Fabian even after Riz presumably told them what happened. I also notice that Cathilda was able to find Fabian right away which is interesting.

Adaine solemnly Razor scooting at the front of the party towards the library is low key hysterical.

Fig better hope it doesn’t get back to Jemina that she was being impersonated.

Also, that plan was crazy but super not the craziest thing Emily has ever done and Brennan backed her up on that. He was like, “This is good. This isn’t Hilda Hilda,” which is where the bar is because Emily is crazy.

Fig: We’re gonna fail./Gorgug: We’re gonna die./Adaine: And, more importantly, we’re gonna fail school.

Riz’s “How about no dead friends,” one-liner was so good. Unfortunately, it didn’t do anything to stop his paralysis. Ouch.

I’m assuming Kalina was asking what he knew to see if there was anyone she needed to kill because they knew too much about her? Because, otherwise, it seems like unimportant info for her. I was thinking when it was happening that she needed him to give her that information so they could take it from him and he wouldn’t have it anymore, like in a weird Fae way, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. It’s probably just the simple thing.

Garthy doesn’t leave the Golden Gardens which is probably good for game balance. You don’t want to give the players a super powerful ally who has no reason not to help them at any given time. That’s rife for PC abuse.

I have to say, after last week, I was hoping we’d be done with the pirate stuff halfway through the ep and en route to Falinel but this was such a turn. I was saying to someone last week, it’s very tempting to try and predict where a D&D game is going by using typical narrative structure as a guide but that only halfway works because you really can’t account for the improvisational nature of it. I absolutely could not have guessed that this is what this episode would be and I’m glad.

Goes without saying, this ep totally snatched the crown for Most Heart Attacks Given To Me By BLM from Family in Flames.

“The game isn’t about what you plan; it’s about what happens,” sounds like a line from an inspirational Ted Talk, and not from a man who, minutes later, said that a pirate named Chungle-Down Bim wanted to use a teenager’s mouth as a toilet.

“I feel drunk from anxiety.” Same Ally.

You wanna know how many pages of handwritten notes I have for this episode? If you guessed 16, you’re right. And I was so into the ep, I forgot to keep track of crits, which is why I had to watch it a second time.

Emily proposing “felettes” as the feminine version of fellas.

“How many HP you at?”/”I’m not telling you.”

Just, the idea of this warlock drawing on Bill’s power to try and attack his son is so raw.

Brennan, being asked by Zac if he can help with Emily’s crazy plan: You absolutely may not and, in fact, take five points of damage.”

Siobhan: What do you have to lose?/Gorgug: *Rolls a nat 1 and almost severs the rope he and Fig are holding on to*

Garthy plays the harpsichord (I have in my notes harpsichord and not harp so I’m going with that) post-coital which is definitely a choice.

The shot of levity that Brennan injected between the big fight and the NK invasion by having Garthy know Jawbone was great. I knew it was coming as soon as Fig said his name, but the comic timing was still perfect. Apparently, Jawbone’s stories are crazy even by Garthy’s standards, which is wild.

Also funny, Fig being tied up as combat started. It didn’t end up making a difference but, at a certain point, when enough bad things have happened, piling more bad stuff on top just becomes funny like, yeah. Of course. That tracks.

Ally: Sleep when you’re dead, which might be this episode.

Riz and Gorgug (and Allistair) each roll one nat 1. Kristen rolls a nat 20. Adaine has 20s for both of her portent rolls (which she gives to Fig and Gorgug). And Fabian rolled an amazing 2 Nat 20s (in a row) and FIVE nat 1s.  

Edit: Oh, forgot to say! Next week there won’t be a game because Thanksgiving is happening in the States. Early Happy Thanksgiving for y’all in the U.S. who are celebrating. I’m thankful for a week off to recover after the ordeal that was this episode. 

[Footnote: This ended up cracking 6000 words, in case you’re wondering about the ways I choose to spend my time. Shoutout to y’all for reading these and justifying the dissertation length brain dumps my dumb, former English major brain compels me to produce for absolutely no good reason.]

[lettersinscarlet]

Love Her (Colby Brock Imagine)

Hey guys! This was requested a few days ago and I’m getting to it now. Know that if you did leave a request, I am working on it I just post them on different nights. Sorry these posts are coming out so late I’ll work on it!

Request: Y/N being tired of waiting for Colby to tell her how he feels about her so she asks Brennan to fake date her so Colby would get some action going?

——————————————————————————

“Oh, and (Y/N)?” Colby said, turning around before he opened the door. You silently hoped that this was it. The moment you’d been waiting for. The moment when he would finally say those words you wanted to hear oh so badly.

“Yea?” you asked in a slightly higher pitched voice.

“Stay safe,” Colby said and walked out the door. You sighed out the air that you didn’t realize you were holding in. You walked off and sat down on your couch. Colby had dropped by your apartment before he left for his Kansas trip and you had hoped he was finally going to tell you that he liked you. You knew that Colby had feelings for you. If he had tried to keep it a secret, he had failed miserably. You had feelings for him, too, but you wanted to wait for him to say it first. You would say it first, but you were always so insecure when it came to relationships and you hated making the first move. It normally didn’t end well for you.

You reached for your phone and sighed as it started dialing. “Brennan,” you said after he picked up. “I need your help. Come over right now, please,” you asked and he said he’d be there shortly.

You had known Brennan ever since middle school. You were the new kid in seventh grade and you were shy and awkward. You were next door neighbors with Brennan and one day he just decided to walk you to school. You guys had been best friends ever since.

“(Y/N) what’s up?” Brennan asks as he barges through the door.

“Alright I need help. I’m so tired of waiting for Colby to tell me how he feels,” you confess to Brennan as he sits down.

“You know?” Brennan asked.

“I’d have to be deaf and blind to not know,” you retort and Brennan laughs.

“Okay, so what are you gonna do about it?” Brennan asked. You look at him and give him an evil smirk.

“I have a plan,” you say and Brennan leans in close to listen. “We are gonna fake date.”

“What?”

“So we are gonna pretend that we are dating. Maybe post some pics on Instagram and things on Twitter to make fans, and most importantly Colby, suspicious. Then when he gets back, we’ll tell him that we are dating. Hopefully, he gets jealous,” you say and look at Brennan expectantly.

“I love it!” he yells and gives you a hug. “Just one thing. What are you gonna do if he doesn’t get jealous?”

You thought it over for a minute before you responded. “If he doesn’t, we will ‘date’ a couple more days and then have a breakup or something.”

“Or we can stick together, mamacita,” Brennan suggests and wiggles his eyebrows. You laugh and playfully shove him and he laughs with you.

“So you in?” you ask, holding out your hand as if to close the deal.

“I’m in,” he says and shakes your hand. You then position him and take a picture you guys’ legs on the couch together. You guys spent a few minutes posing for pictures and not revealing each other’s faces. You then drafted a couple of tweets to post later. You wanted to have stuff for the whole week that Colby would be in Kansas. You guys laughed at your little prank that you were working on and you had a lot of fun with it.

Colby had just texted you that he was landed and at his house and that he was gonna come over and say his hellos after he unpacked. You called Brennan and he came over and you guys got in positions. Colby texts later that he was on his way and you decided to go over the plan again.

“The plan is that he’s gonna come over and we’re gonna be snuggled up and everything,” you confirm, looking at Brennan. He nodded his head and you continued. “I know he’s been seeing our posts all week so he’s gonna know something’s up. Eventually, he’ll ask and we’ll tell him that we are together. Then we can talk about his trip and I’ll get up and go to the bathroom and then you two can talk. If he says what I think he will say and somehow admit he has feelings, I’ll come out from hiding and reveal it’s a prank. If he doesn’t, then I’ll just come back and we can keep pretending.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Brennan said with a wink and put his arm around your shoulder. You listened in close and you thought you heard footsteps in the hall.

“Brennan, stop it,” you squealed and giggled and he laughed, too. He quickly leaned over and left a hickey on your neck just to seal the deal and you gasped. You then heard some knocks on the door and you hopped up to open it.

“Colby!” you greeted him and he stood in the door. You hugged him tightly and he hugged you back even tighter. You welcomed him in and you went back and sat on the couch next to Brennan. He smiled as you sat down and Colby sat in a chair next to the couch.

While you guys made conversation with Colby, he would rub his hand on your thigh or he would play with your hair. You would play with his fingers or trace patters on his arm and hand. You noticed that Colby was watching you guys’ every move but he hadn’t said anything yet.

There was a moment of silence and then Colby finally asked the question. “So what’s going on with you two? I’ve been seeing some of your posts and things since I was gone,” Colby says, looking at you with wide eyes.

“Well,” you chuckle and look over at Brennan. “Brennan and I decided to start dating while you were gone!” you squeal excitedly. Brennan leans over and kisses your shoulder and you both look at Colby.

“What?” he almost yells and he sits up straighter.

“(Y/N) and I just realized that we’ve always been close and decided to give this a shot,” Brennan answered for you, giving your shoulder an extra squeeze.

“Oh, um, I’m happy for you,” he says, glaring at Brennan with a look that says otherwise. You giggle again and you snuggle up closer to Brennan.

“But enough about us,” you say, shifting his attention back to you. “What was your Kansas trip like?”

Colby stutters for a moment and then regains his computer and tells you some interesting stories about his trip. You finally excuse yourself to go to the restroom and then you cut behind the wall and wait.

“How could you?” you hear Colby ask.

“What do you mean, brother?”

“Don’t brother me,” Colby snaps back. “You know how I feel about her.”

“Well, Colby, I couldn’t just wait around forever for you to make your move. I was getting restless and you weren’t doing anything anytime soon-“

“STILL BRENNAN THAT’S NOT RIGHT!” Colby yells and you hear the chair slide back across the floor. “You know that I like her and I’m pretty sure I love her so how could you go and date her?”

“I guess it’s a good thing we aren’t actually dating, isn’t it Brennan?” you ask as you walk out from behind the wall. Colby spins around and stares at you. His face then goes red as he turns and looks away. “That’s right, Brock, I got you! Me and Brennan are not dating! We would NEVER,” you say and walk over to Brennan. You give him a high five and you walk over to Colby. You grab his chin and force him to look at you.

“By the way, lover boy,” you say as you get on your toes. You smash your lips with his and then you pull away and look at his starstruck eyes. “I’m pretty sure I love you, too.”

[teamhook]

A Chapter a Day... Savage Heart CS AU

This story will be finished by the end of the month. :)

A love story between a pirate and his savior. An innocent, beautiful, selfless woman meets a man with no manners, no formal education and not even a last name. Will Emma fall in love with Killian once she discovers that beneath his tough exterior lies a heart-wild, but a heart of gold? This is a Captain Swan AU

Beta-ed by the awesome @ilovemesomekillianjones​​​��​

|AO3| |FFN| previous chapter

|AO3| |FFN| current chapter

Chapter 11: Getting To Know You, The Real You

"How did you end up with the job of giving me a tour of the estate and making me feel welcomed? Last time I saw you, we were at the convent, not being extremely friendly if I recall correctly," Killian asks as he sits in front of Emma while drinking his tea.

Emma looks at him closely and answers, "Well, August's mother Cora isn't feeling well. I know the estate well enough to have been tasked with the job no one else here can fill."

"I suppose, I forget you were groomed to be the perfect little wife for August. I imagine that included being familiar with the estate."

Emma looks away for a brief second and answers, "Yes, I was groomed by Cora to be the perfect wife she thought her son would need. In the end, it didn't work out."

"I too know the feeling of rejection all too well. I went away on a business trip thinking on my return I would wed the woman I love, only to return to find out that the woman I love had given herself to another in marriage."

"She told you she would marry you?" Emma asks as she looks around to ensure no one is listening. "Are you finished with your tea, Mr. Jones?"

"Mr. Jones? Hmm, I like the sound of my name on your lips." He realizes his comment makes her uncomfortable and adds, "Sorry lass. I apologize for the improper comment. To answer your question, yes she did."

Emma smiles, rolls her eyes and gestures to his cup.

"I'm done."

"There is more I need to show you," Emma says.

Killian bites his bottom lip, holding back the comment that naturally wants to come out.

"August mentioned he met you as a young boy. Do you remember anything about your stay here at that time?" Emma asks.

"I wasn't here that long, love," he answers.

"Yet August cares for you deeply and sees you as a true friend," Emma says trying to guilt Killian. She hopes that reminding him of their childhood friendship will deter him from whatever plans he may have.

"Ah, perhaps he does."

Soon Killian is walking after Emma out of the house. She is pointing to different areas of the ranch. The estate consists of vast farmland and to fill the awkwardness as they walk along, they keep talking.

"How long were you here? I used to visit often and I don't remember seeing you."

"Hmm, I was here for maybe a couple of months. Once Mr. Booth passed his wife kicked me out. I didn't even have a chance to say goodbye to August."

"Why would she kick you out, did you do something?" Emma asks and adds, "She has always been so generous, and I cannot believe she would just toss you out."

"Automatically you assume I did something? I was a child, I had lost my father. Mr. Booth generously gave me his last name and you spontaneously believe me to be at fault?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to upset you," Emma starts as she sees Killian getting upset, "It is hard for me to believe from my experience with Cora, but if you say that's what happened, I believe you." Emma reaches to touch his hand as she says her apology.

Killian looks down at where they are connected and finds her touch soothing. "No need to apologize. Just like everyone else, Mrs. Booth never allowed me to forget I was nothing, all she saw me as was a simple charity case."

Emma is rubbing little circles on his hand, though she doesn't even know she is doing it. As they walk, they come across some of the workers huts and hear someone screaming in pain. They look at each other before hurrying to the door. They find a man bloodied, lying on a cot. Emma looks at Killian, her big green eyes tearing up at the sight. "We need to call the doctor," Emma says urgently.

Killian kneels next to the man. "He was beaten like an animal. These wounds are not older than a day."

Emma asks, "Who would do such a thing?"

Killian laughs as he is getting a rag wet and cleaning the blood from the man's body. "Who is in charge? Or can you not believe your perfect August could be responsible for this?"

"August is not a cruel man. Someone else must be responsible," Emma insists.

"People from your class, like August and Cora only see their workers as pawns, worthless and disposable."

"I know you believe I'm too sheltered and you are correct, but I do have my own opinions. Even though everyone has blood inside them, there are only a few that are more fortunate. Some people lack things that others have plenty of. Some have nothing, and deserve it, and those that have everything their heart's desire don't deserve it."

"Maybe heading to the main house now and getting a doctor out here would be more beneficial to the poor bloke than breaking your romanticized illusions of August Booth," Killian says as he grabs Emma by the arm and pulls her toward the door.

"I don't understand your obsession with Milah if you hold 'our' class in such low opinion," Emma says as she walks with him to the main house.

"Milah was my chance at a happy ending. Women want a man with money and power. No woman wants a man without a last name or financial stability to care for her. I have only one of the requirements. I can offer a comfortable life, not one in the league of Booth, but a nice life. The surname is my mother's. My father didn't see me worthy of his. But that is a long story," he says and adds, "too long for now."

Emma looks at him as she hurries to keep up with him. "I'm sorry," Emma says.

Killian slows down to look at Emma, she is not judging him for his misfortunes. He has no idea why he is sharing so much with her. "I have known Archie since I was young. He thinks it's my choice to not marry and to live my life as is. He doesn't understand that it is not only my decision. I ask you, what honorable woman wants to be saddled with a man like me? Don't you think I would love to marry and have a family? Milah accepted me as I am, and then she changed her mind. What she took from me no one can replace." Killian's jaw clenches as he speaks his troubles aloud.

"What did she take away from you?" Emma asks as the reach the main house.

"The same thing August took from you, hope."

Emma pauses for a second and calls out for the Booth's maid. "Enith, please go fetch Dr. Whale. There is an injured man in one of the worker huts." Emma smiles as she gives her order.

"Oh, I need to make sure it's alright with Mrs. Booth for me to leave," Enith says.

"Enith, the man is in bad shape. August gave instructions for our orders not to be questioned. Mrs. Booth is not feeling well, therefore you will follow our instructions or am I to inform August that you didn't follow his?" Emma's tone is firm, surprising even herself.

Enith glares at Emma and says, "I will leave to go get Dr. Whale."

He's in awe of Emma taking charge, and he tells her as much. "I'm impressed, Emma," Killian tells her in a soft voice filled with admiration and pride.

Emma looks at him and says, "I'm sorry. I should not have been so harsh with you the last time we met. You are not exactly what I expected. Did you know I shared a room at the convent with your friend, Tink? She thinks the world of you. To be honest, at first, I thought she was biased because of her obvious feelings for you, but now I see, there is more to you." Emma starts to walk away and says, "I'm going to get some supplies that may be useful when Dr. Whale arrives."

When she comes back with some clean rags, Killian is standing just outside the door waiting for the Doctor's arrival. He looks lost in thought. He must have heard her approach and turns to face her.

Emma joins him outside. "I need to make sure that your room is prepared. August wants you to be comfortable. He also mentioned that there is housing in the estate for the steward, but that he will take care of that in his return."

Killian smiles and looks intently at Emma as he says, "Of a gentleman, as you can see all I have are the clothes. But, I also want to tell you that if I'd had you, only becoming blind, deaf or an imbecile would I have left you for another woman, much less for a whore like your cousin."

Emma stares at Killian in disbelief as they wait outside for Enith and Dr. Whale.

Cora peers outside her window at the sound of voices. She notices the resemblance between Killian and her late husband. In a moment of panic, she rushes to her locked trunk, frantically struggling with the key she hides close to her heart and finally is able to open it. She digs until she finds what she is searching for, a letter. The same letter Brennan had written to Archie in hopes to acknowledge Killian as his first born son to be precise. She should have ridden herself of such damning evidence then. If it was to be found out now her son would have to share his inheritance with that bastard.

She knows there are still workers who knew Brennan, what if they notice the resemblance? She might need to force them into retirement. Sure she had heard rumors of Killian's good looks, but she had never been curious enough to see for herself. He truly has too much of his father in him, more than August. She is baffled how August could not see it? Then she remembers August hasn't seen Killian, Archie had made the arrangements. Her attention is drawn back to reality and the commotion outside.

They stand outside of the Booth main house while the doctor checks on the patient. Killian is watching Emma sway back and forth she is so nervous. The doctor had finally arrived and now they were waiting on his prognosis.

"The man was beaten badly, in addition, he has pneumonia and it has not been taken care of. If he makes it, it will be a miracle," Dr. Whale says as he hands Emma medication for the employee.

How could they treat their workers so poorly? "Thank you, I will make sure he takes it," Emma says confidently.

"Pneumonia is always dangerous and you have to take into consideration the poor physical state that he is in as well. If he makes it through the night it will be a good sign, but he will need much care," Doctor Whale says.

They head to the little hut where Emma administers the medicine to the ailing man.

"Emma, you have to know that there is a chance he may not make it," Killian tells her.

"I have faith he will," Emma says.

"If he makes it, it will not be because of divine intervention, it will be because of your care," Killian says as he holds Emma's hands within his. He slowly lifts her hands and places a soft kiss on each as he keeps his piercing eyes on her.

After showing Killian to his room, Emma is walking to her mother's room to wish her a good night and is stopped by Cora.

"Emma, I couldn't help notice that you spent all day with the pirate," Cora says.

Emma looks at Cora and responds, "I was only following August's instructions. He mentioned that you were not feeling well and for me to make sure Mr. Jones felt welcomed."

"I wonder how welcomed you make him feel. You two looked very cozy," Cora says and walks away.

Emma stares after the woman who had always shown such affection to her, and now her current attitude is the opposite.

Cora heads to Killian's room. She is assuming that there is much more to what is being said. She knocks loudly on his door.

Killian opens the door and is surprised to see Cora.

"What do you want in exchange to leave the grounds?" Cora asks.

Killian only smirks and responds, "I will not be leaving without what belongs to me."

Cora is stunned he knows he is the elder son of Brennan.

"I can have my husbands' last name reinstated as yours and money alongside a beautiful honorable bride," Cora says.

"I don't need your husband's surname or for you to find me a wife," Killian answers. He is confused by Cora's offer.

"Think about it, don't discard the idea," Cora says and walks out.

Killian stands dumbfounded. It is an interesting proposition. He could marry and accept the money. He would appear less threatening. Perhaps this could work for his benefit.

All Cora can think of is that she needs that bastard gone. Her son will not share his inheritance with that lowlife. She knows Emma still cares for her son. She will use that to push her to make the decision to protect August. Cora decides to apologize to Emma for her behavior and plant a little seed. She is not blind, she saw how Emma and Killian had interacted. She arrives at Emma's door and knocks softly.

"Darling girl, please forgive my attitude from earlier. I know it is not an excuse for my poor behavior, but it is not a secret that I'm not happy with the presence of Killian Jones in my home. I know for a fact that he is only here because he covets all that my son possesses. He will take everything that is within reach. If August was to know of his true mission here, I cannot imagine what would happen. All I wish is to find a way to protect the family. I even offered him some money among other things for him to take his leave. If only somehow, someone could find a way to protect us from whatever that man is up to. Sorry to bombard you with my concerns. Good night sweet girl."

Emma watches Cora leave her room and quickly comes to the conclusion that Cora must know of the prior relationship between Milah and Killian. What else could Killian want that August has?

Tagging:

@hookedonapirate​​ @kmomof4​​ @searchingwardrobes​​ @seriouslyhooked​​ @profdanglaisstuff​​ @let-it-raines​​ @revanmeetra87​​ @snowbellewells​​ @hollyethecurious​​ @kymbersmith-90​​ @branlovestowrite​​ @thejollyroger-writer​​ @shireness-says​​ @ilovemesomekillianjones​​  @thisonesatellite​​ @thesschesthair​​ @winterbythesea​​ @stahlop​​ @resident-of-storybrooke​​  @superchocovian​​  @lfh1226-linda​​ @artistic-writer​​ @thislassishooked​​ @shardminds​​ @winterbaby89​​ @xhookswenchx​​ @ultraluckycatnd​​ @gingerchangeling​​ @laschatzi​​ @wellhellotragic​​ @xemmaloveskillianx​​ @courtorderedcake​​ @pirateherokillian​​ @optomisticgirl​​ @darkcolinodonorgasm​​ @sherlockianwhovian​​ @andiirivera​​ @djlbg​​ @nikkiemms​​ @jennjenn615​​ @scientificapricot​​ @officerrogers​​​ @imlaxdris71​​​ @therealstartraveller776​​​

[elenajohansenreads]

Books I Read in 2020

#114 - In Other Lands, by Sarah Rees Brennan

Around the Year: A book about a non-traditional family

The Reading Frenzy: Read a book about friendship

Mount TBR: 102/150

Rating: 2/5 stars

Oh, boy, this is going to be messy. Unpopular opinions ahead!

What did I like about this? Luke is a treasure. He is best boy. I cannot fully express with mere words how much I love this child and need him to be happy. He is the only reason I finished this book.

As for the rest of it, I can give passes to a few things it attempted to do but failed to achieve, and I dislike the rest.

I'm always harping about the missing b-word, so credit where credit is due, Elliot eventually grows comfortable enough with his sexuality to actually use the word "bisexual." Several times, in fact. I don't mind that it took him so long because it's obviously part of his coming-of-age arc. I'm less impressed with the fact that he is, by far, the one with the most active sex life, because while it shows that it's possible for someone to learn and grow from failed relationships, even that young, it also plays into the promiscuous, flighty stereotype. The text does attempt to address this in the later stages with Elliot bracing for someone to reject him for admitting he's bisexual, but it's little more than a lampshade acknowledging that he fits the stereotype. As a bisexual person myself, I'm honestly conflicted about this, because there's some good and some bad about Elliot as bi rep.

I think that pales in comparison to his place in the story as the outsider with a clear savior complex. While it's not "white savior" in the classic sense, because everyone in this book is white, it's impossible not to view the various fantasy species as Other when so much of the plot revolves around inter-species tension, whether it's on the societal or personal level. But here comes Elliot, the snarky bratty pacifist who's so much smarter than everyone else, he's going to prove to this entire fantasy world that war isn't the answer and his way is soooooo much better. The fact that nearly everyone in our world would agree--war is awful and we'd be better off without it--doesn't mean he isn't tromping in to impose his thinking on inferior (to his view) cultures. I can agree with his moral viewpoint without endorsing his actions or attitudes.

Also, I don't like Elliot as a person. I can't simply label his meanness as bullying, because that implies he's seeking some sort of power over the people he mistreats, and he mostly isn't. He's just a deeply unpleasant person who takes literal years to realize other people have feelings too, and his behavior for 70% of the story is disgusting and cruel. I can tell I'm supposed to like him, because oh look he's a sad boy with a bad home life and he's unwanted and unloved and that's why he's the way he is...but I stopped falling for that trick years ago. I've had enough people in my life who were constantly, offhandedly cruel but somehow expected me to understand that they didn't really mean it, they were just joking, hey why are you so offended. But that's not even the case with Elliot, because we're inside his head, and he's not joking. He really does think everyone else is stupid, and even by the end of the book when he can grudgingly admit that some people aren't so bad, I still didn't like him.

On a smaller but still dissatisfying note, Serene got tiring quickly. The whole "elves are sexist but in favor of women" was a joke that started out decent but didn't last through the whole book, and it's not empowering for me as a woman to have a female character being as much of a raging misandrist as some real-world men are misogynist. It's not a subversion, it's just a reversal, and it's not interesting for long.

So there are my issues with the story. I also have issues with the writing itself. I appreciate the effort put into showing how characters are feeling--especially Luke, who gets most of his characterization through displaying how angry or not he is with whatever insulting thing Elliot's just said. The slow burn of this romance is telegraphed through four years of schooling and over four hundred pages--that's the other thing that made this read at all bearable for me.

But the rest of the plot is thinner than a steamrolled penny and has pacing issues out the wazoo. If I lost focus for even a second and accidentally skipped a paragraph, the characters who I thought were in the library might suddenly be in the middle of a battle. Fights started out of seemingly nothing. Conversations usually seemed to start somewhere in the middle with no context. Scene breaks might cover thirty seconds, or months. There was no real structure beyond "this part of the book is this year of school and Elliot is this age" and the knowledge that time does indeed proceed forward, not backward, not sideways, as there's no time travel. Events that most other books would emphasize were breezed past so we could have more time with Elliot being cranky--instead of those events being opportunities for him to grow as a character through his actions, they're wayposts, mere plot points the story has to have but doesn't want to linger on, so we can get back to the "good" part, the constant teenage angst.

I might have loved this when I was a teenager myself, but as an adult, I have no patience with it. Even knowing that this humor is supposed to be genre-mocking, at least partially tongue-in-cheek, most of it didn't land for me, because as hard as I tried, Elliot never grew more funny or likable.

[branlovestowrite]

The Decoy Groom (1/5): A CS Fanfic

I have been absent from the fandom lately, and I woke up this morning with a burning desire to get back in. I miss everyone! To that end, I decided to challenge myself by posting a story I’ve been sitting on for months.

This is loosely (very loosely) based on the movie The Decoy Bride (starring Kelly MacDonald and David Tennant; it’s super cute and highly recommended). Brennan Jones is in this story, and, as it’s a no-magic AU, Tim Omundson will be playing that role.

Title: The Decoy Groom

Rating: M for language and some suggestive scenes in future installments

Summary: After a failed turn as a musician in Los Angeles, Killian Jones has returned to his home: Storybrooke Island, a remote, tiny island off the coast of Maine. Emma Swan is a famous actress that just wants one day out of the spotlight so she can get married. Storybrooke Island, just two miles long and accessible only by ferry, seems like the answer to her prayers. But will she really be able to keep her nuptials a private affair? And can Killian find the solace he craves when there’s a world-famous actress in town?

Also on AO3

Chapter 1

“The wedding is off!” Emma cried out as she stormed into her apartment. She kicked off her black stilettos and combed her fingers through her long blonde hair. Her green eyes narrowed on her fiancé, ready for a fight.

Walsh heaved a sigh and mussed his shaggy brown hair. This was unfortunately something they’d already been through once, and he knew she was not cancelling the event because of anything he’d done. “Who do I have to fire?”

“I don’t know!” she cried. “But someone leaked the location to the press, and now it’s up on TMZ and all the paps are going to be there, and… it’s just ruined! Everything is ruined!”

“Calm down,” Walsh said, putting his hands on her arms. “It’s not ruined.”

“Don’t tell me to calm down,” Emma growled as she pulled away. She stood with her back turned and rested her forehead in her right hand. She took a few deep, cleansing breaths before turning back around. “I think I’ve been pretty reasonable about this wedding. I agreed to your choices for the venue, the guest list, the menus… The one request I had was that we keep the press OUT. Now I’m not even getting that!” She stomped her foot and crossed her arms over her chest. “It’s not totally unreasonable to want this one day of my life to be private, at least for a little while!”

“Emma… come on, think about what you’re saying! You are the most popular movie star in the world! People want to see you get married! And if we would just work with the press instead of against them, we could charge whatever we wanted for exclusive rights. And then that publication will keep the others out. It’s a win-win!”

“No!” Emma cried out. “I have lived my life in the spotlight since I was sixteen! My wedding is going to be private.”

Walsh huffed again and walked to the kitchen. “Fine. You win. The wedding’s off. I’ll call Zelena tomorrow and have her make the cancellations.”

“Thank you,” Emma said, visibly deflating. She followed him to the kitchen and let him encircle her with his arms. “What now?”

“Elope?” Walsh asked. “We could go to Vegas.”

“Hell no. If we’re eloping I want it to be somewhere the press would never think we would go.”

“Some remote island? I could get on board with that. Some private beach in Tahiti?” His brown eyes sparkled with mischief. “We can ditch your big dress and get you a sexy little white bikini.”

Emma pulled away before he could slide his hands any lower. She was not in the mood. “No, there’s always someone with a camera there. We need to go somewhere crazy remote. Some island with less than 100 people where they don’t watch movies and no one knows who we are.”

“Good luck with that. We’re only the most well known couple in Hollywood. Biggest producer. World-famous actress. You’d have to find a place without internet to find somewhere that people don’t know us.”

“It’s got to exist.”

“Fine. I’ll ask Zelena to look into that too.”

“No, don’t,” Emma interjected. “Let me find a place.”

“Are you sure? She’s a wedding planner. This is her thing. She’ll probably know of a place.”

“I want to do this.” She stepped closer and threaded their fingers together. “I’ll find us a beautiful, romantic island where we can have the picture perfect, private, wedding of our dreams. Then we can have a beautiful honeymoon and escape the craziness of this life for a while.”

“Sounds perfect,” Walsh said, but his tone and lack of a smile set off Emma’s lie detector. She knew he’d rather have a flashy Hollywood wedding, but she was adamant on this point. No press. She would find a way. Once they got past this hurdle, their marriage would be perfect, and Emma would finally have the family she’d always wanted.

Killian stepped off the ferry and began the trek toward town. Last time he left, he told himself he’d never be coming back to Storybrooke Island. If only he’d known that he’d be returning three years later with his tail between his legs. He kept his head down and his eyes trained on the pavement as he walked. He’d been fortunate that the ferry driver was new and didn’t know him. And since it was the off season, there wasn’t much foot traffic in town. If he was lucky, he’d be able to traverse the entire two mile walk to the lighthouse at the other end of the island without anyone noticing him.

“Killian Jones! Is that you?”

He groaned before pasting on a smile and turning to face the woman currently running out of her establishment. He’d not even made it a tenth of the way. “Hello Granny.”

“I thought you were leaving us for good? Off to L.A. to make it big with your band. What are you doing back?”

He bowed low before the woman. “You must know that I can never stay away from you for very long, Lady Lucas.”

“Yeah, yeah,” the old woman said, turning her head away from him and waving at him dismissively. She chuffed and turned her head back, her steely blue eyes looking at him skeptically. “You’re here for him aren’t you?”

“Of course I am. I can’t leave him alone.”

“It would serve him right!”

“Regardless of his past misdeeds, he is still my father.”

“You’re too good,” she scoffed.

“I must admit that my motives are not entirely altruistic. I was not as successful as I had hoped I would be. I think it’s time to reevaluate my life and see if there is something more stable I could do to make my name.”

“Well, I forbid you from taking over for him in that lighthouse. You were not meant to waste away the rest of your life there.”

“I’ll take that into consideration,” he said, bowing his head. “I should be going.”

“Tell your father I said hello.” She waved after him.

“Anything else?” he asked, looking back at her with a raised eyebrow.

“That he needs to get off of his sorry ass and come visit me every once in a while!” she yelled, but Killian kept on walking.

He had several similar encounters before finally reaching his destination. When he arrived at the house situated at the foot of the lighthouse, he didn’t bother knocking, but instead simply opened the door and walked inside. It was as if he’d never left. Nothing seemed to change on Storybrooke Island, other than the residents getting a little older every year.

“Killian?” he heard his father yell from the back of the small cottage.

“Aye,” he replied, raising his voice only slightly. Brennan Jones may be getting older, but his hearing was still as sharp as when he was a boy. Killian dropped his suitcase by the door and walked toward the kitchen, finding his father cleaning some fish. His nose crinkled at the pungent smell.

“You’ve been away too long!” Brennan said with a laugh as he spied his son's expression. He rubbed his forearm against the side of his nose and shook his head, his long gray waves shaking loose from the haphazard ponytail he’d secured them with. “Give it a week and you won’t even smell it anymore.”

Killian nodded. “That’s a nice catch there. Where’d you get it?”

“Will has a job on a fishing boat. He gets to purchase them at wholesale price.”

“I see. And where is Will?”

“Out on the boat for another week.”

“And how is Natalie?”

Brennan’s eyes lit up as he smiled. “She’s pregnant! She’s visiting her parents on the mainland while Will’s away, but I’m sure you’ll see her soon.”

Killian forced a smile. Unlike himself, his younger brother had no delusions of grandeur and thus was living a happy existence with his pretty wife, spending their lives on one of the most remote islands in the Northeastern US. It was not a life Killian would have chosen, but after the disappointment of the last three years, he was starting to see the appeal.

He walked over to the sink and began washing his hands. “What can I do?”

“I’ve found it!” Emma said as soon as Walsh answered the phone.

“Found what?”

“The perfect place for our wedding! Storybrooke Island. It’s off the coast of Maine, accessible through only a 90-minute ferry ride or a 30 minute helicopter ride. It has a beautiful church that was built as a replica of one in Ireland. And the best part is, the population is only 60 people!”

“Oh. Sounds… amazing.”

Emma’s mood soured the moment she heard his response. “Can’t you be a little excited for this? You know how much this means to me. There’s no way the press can find us there, and even if they do, they’ll have a hard time getting there in droves. We can have the beautiful, picturesque wedding I’ve always dreamed of.”

“You’re right, gorgeous. If this is what you want, I am happy to do it for you. When do we go?”

“This weekend too soon?”

“No. We can do that. I’ll make sure everything’s cancelled so we can leave Friday. I’ll let Zelena know so she can book the arrangements.”

“No, Elsa’s already taken care of everything. No need for Zelena to trouble herself.”

“Are we bringing anyone with us?”

“Elsa is coming along. The reservation is in her name, and she’ll be my maid of honor and witness. You’ll need to bring someone too. Robin?”

“No, Robin and I had a little falling out. Look, let’s not worry about me. I’m sure someone there can be our second witness. I don’t need anyone else but you.”

“Okay.” Emma breathed a contented sigh. “We’re finally doing this. Are you excited?”

“Hey, babe, listen. I gotta go. We’ll chat more later.”

“Oh… okay. See you tonight?”

“Maybe. I think I’m gonna have a late night again.”

Emma felt her lie detector alarm go off once more, but bit her tongue. “Okay, well, call me and let me know for sure.”

“Will do. Bye babe.”

“Bye…” Emma said, though he’d already hung up.

“Did you hear?” Granny said to Killian one morning a few days after he’d returned.

“Apparently not,” Killian replied.

“Some location scout is coming to check out the old church. They’re thinking about making a movie here. They even went ahead and rented out the place to ‘test the lighting’ or something like that. Could it be anyone you know?”

Killian laughed. “Not likely. LA is a big place, and I didn’t really spent time around the movie crowd.”

“Maybe you should introduce yourself when they’re here. You’re a pretty boy. You could make it in movies.”

“Not sure that’s where I want to focus my efforts.”

“Come on…” Granny teased. “Don’t waste those baby blues. Those are your money makers right there.”

“If I change my mind, I’ll make sure and hire you as my agent.”

“Damn right you will! I’ll ride your coattails all the way off this island!

Stepping off the ferry, Emma was transported back in time. “Wow. It’s so beautiful here! So untouched. Did you see the seals on the beach?”

“Yeah. It’s great,” Walsh said. “Now where is our car?”

“No cars allowed on the island,” Elsa said with a smirk, her crystal blue eyes glancing down at Walsh’s custom-made Italian leather loafers.

“So how do people get around?”

“You’ve got legs,” Emma teased, “start walking.” She stacked her overnight bag on top of the matching rolling suitcase and secured it in place before rolling it alongside as she began the trek. She’d already plotted the course to Granny’s Inn, the only place in town with lodgings for rent. It was a ten minute walk from the ferry. The cool air and calm atmosphere invigorated her. Her hair was pulled up under a beanie and she wore an oversized coat to protect against the chill. There were no cameras around for miles. She was anonymous for the first time in a long time, and finally felt at peace.

They’d only been walking a few minutes when Walsh began to complain. “Can we at least get a golf cart or something?”

Emma stopped and smiled back at him. “You’ve become spoiled. Come on, stretch those legs a little!” She turned her head to look at the beautifully blue sky. “Isn’t this place wonderful?”

Walsh said nothing but continued his trek. They reached Granny’s shortly after, and were surprised to come upon the proprietor herself standing in the yard, talking with a tall, dark haired man with brilliant blue eyes. Emma startled at the sight of him. He was gorgeous! Was he another actor? He was no one she could place, but she felt there was no way this man was simply just an inhabitant of such a secluded island as this.

“Good afternoon,” he said, the lilting tones of his British accent lending further credence to her theory that he was famous. He returned her gaze, and she felt suddenly very warm and exposed. She chastised herself for this sudden attraction to another man. She was here to get married!

Emma quickly broke her stare, and Elsa took her cue and jumped in, discussing their reservation. Granny bid the unfairly attractive man farewell and led them inside to procure keys and show them to their rooms.

Granny’s Inn had four rooms available, and Elsa had rented all of them to reduce any chance that a photographer or anyone else could crash the wedding. She’d engaged a professional wedding photographer that was coming in the morning to sign an ironclad NDA before taking wedding photos. He would not be releasing the photos to anyone other than Elsa. Emma would then review them and select a few to be released to the press at a later date.

The freedom she felt in this remote location could not be overstated. The moment she reached her room, she flopped onto the bed and sighed contentedly.

Killian took a seat in the diner and tried to forget the gorgeous pair of green eyes he'd seen. Although she was bundled up in a beanie and large jacket, he felt like he recognized her from somewhere. He just couldn't place it. Did he perhaps meet her when he was living in L.A.? It was a mystery, but one he hoped to have a chance to puzzle out more.

He was disrupted from his thoughts by a squeal as a blur of brown and red hair tackled him, pinning him to the side of the booth.

“Killian Jones!” The girl cried as she released her hold and permitted him to sit up. “I can't believe you're back!”

“Aye Ruby, I am,” he replied, straightening his clothes. “How are you?”

“In college now,” she said with a smile, bumping shoulders with him. “Not a little girl anymore.” She batted her eyelashes at him. Lashes that framed a striking pair of hazel green eyes. Complimented by smooth, creamy skin and a tall, lithe figure. Ruby Lucas was gorgeous, and she knew it. When he'd last been to the island, she'd been working in the diner and finishing high school online. Now she was a 21 year-old college student, and very clearly hitting on him.

Killian cleared his throat. “What are you studying?”

“I'm still a sophomore, so just working on my prerequisites.”

“And do you still work in the diner?”

She laughed and playfully hit him on the chest. “No way! I live on the mainland now, but when Granny told me you were back, I had to come see for myself. I came over on the ferry this morning.” Her gaze changed from playful to lusty in an instant. “Are you staying upstairs?”

“Ah… no. I'm staying with my father for now.”

“Oh boo,” Ruby said, exaggerating the pout on her lower lip. “I was hoping we could find somewhere to be alone together.” She moved closer and put her hand on his thigh, dangerously close to his groin. “I know you're shy,” she continued, her voice a near whisper. “And I know last time you were here I was a little girl, but I'm not little anymore. I'm a woman, and I know what I want. And, Killian Jones, I want you.” She squeezed his thigh, the tips of her fingers barely grazing his crotch and causing him to jump.

Carefully, he removed her hand from his thigh. “Ruby, you are a beautiful woman, but I just got out of a bad relationship, and I'm not ready to be with anyone else yet.”

“I don't mind being your rebound,” she replied with a giggle. He gave her a wary stare, to which she responded with a full-on laugh. “Killian! Come on! I'm 21 and still in school. I don't want anything serious. But I have had a crush on you for as long as I can remember!” She threw her hands up to emphasize her last point before her eyes took a predatory gleam and she leaned in to whisper once more. “The first time I masturbated, I was thinking of you.” He felt a flare in his cheeks at her words. “I just want to know if you are as good in bed as I imagine.” She rubbed against him, deliberately pushing her breasts into his arm. Killian bit back a groan. “You can deny it all you want, but your body is betraying you.” She glanced down at his pants, where the beginnings of an erection stood out. “I'm here all weekend. You know where to find me.” She slid out of the booth, adjusting her short skirt as she stood, and giving him a glimpse of her lacy black underwear.

Once she was gone, he exhaled a deep breath and took a sip of his coffee, trying to calm down. Had he met a girl like Ruby in L.A., he probably would have gladly taken her up on her offer, even if she was 10 years his junior. But Ruby from Storybrooke Island was different. He'd known her since she was very young, and he saw her in many ways as a little sister. Reflecting on her words now, he felt ashamed for not stopping her sooner. He felt like a dirty old man. He sighed once more and scrubbed his hand down his face, waiting for his hard-on to go down.

Once he felt able to move, he stood and exited the diner, leaving cash on the table for his coffee. He’d suddenly lost his appetite. The entire walk home, he pondered the face of the woman he’d seen outside the inn. He was almost to the lighthouse when it hit him. She was Emma Swan! All thoughts of his encounter with Ruby fled from his mind as he raced inside. He needed to look her up to confirm his suspicion.

He was still staring at his iPad 20 minutes later, not believing his eyes.

“What are you looking at, Killian?”

“Dad!” he jumped, not having heard his father enter the room.

“Who is Emma Swan? She’s quite pretty,” Brennan said.

“She’s an actress, Dad. Surely you’ve heard of her? She was in the ‘Savior’ trilogy. And that thriller about the madman that takes two women hostage. The one where they fight back and have to escape his house of horrors.”

“Never heard of her. It’s not like we have a movie theater here.”

“Well, for some reason, she’s on the island, staying at Granny’s.”

“What would a movie star be doing on Storybrooke Island?”

“I don’t know for sure, but I think maybe she’s getting married in the old church.”

“In the church? But it’s the off season! And I still don’t understand why some Hollywood couple would want to get married here.”

“According to a couple articles I’ve read, she’s canceled her wedding twice because she wants to keep the press out. So it would make sense that she might prefer to come here and have a private ceremony. There’s limited access to the island. It makes for a good hideaway.”

“She’s been trying to escape the press?”

“Aye.”

“I bet they’d pay a lot of money to know that she was here now.”

“What are you going to do, Dad? Are you going to call up TMZ and tell them she’s here?”

“What’s TMZ?”

“Exactly. Let’s leave her be. If she wants a quiet wedding away from the horde, then she should have it.”

“Right…” Brennan trailed off. “I’ll just be off to the kitchen to get started on dinner. How would you like your fish prepared tonight?”

Killian suppressed a groan. After just a few days on the island, he was growing tired of eating fish every night.

Elsa had booked all the rooms at Granny’s Inn, but Emma assumed only two of those four would actually be occupied. So it came as a shock to her that Walsh insisted on staying in a separate room.

“Come on,” she said, standing in the doorway of the room he'd claimed. “This doesn't make any sense. Let's enjoy some quiet time together.”

“I'm really not in the mood,” Walsh grumbled.

“I don't understand, babe. We're getting married tomorrow. Aren't you excited? This is what we wanted.”

“No, Emma!” Walsh snapped. “It's not what I wanted. It's what you wanted. What you've insisted on, even though you know how important this wedding is for my career.”

“Your career?” Emma spat back. “Is that all this relationship is for you? A career move?!” She charged on him and shoved his shoulders. “I thought you loved me?!”

“Shit… that came out wrong. But you know the business we work in! When everyone finds out we ran off to get married in secret, there are going to be a lot of people pissed off that there wasn't a wedding for them to be invited to. People we can't really afford to piss off.”

“Fuck them,” Emma said. “They're not really our friends if they don't understand the importance of this for me.”

“They don't have to understand, Emma. Dammit, don't you see that?! It's not about us. It's about them feeling slighted. And then the next time I need a picture bankrolled, will these people pass me over because I didn't invite them to my wedding?”

“That's ridiculous, Walsh.”

“No, that's business. You're the one being ridiculous! Insisting on a private wedding?! What the fuck are you thinking? You know we don't get to have private lives. That's the trade-off.” He huffed a breath and turned his back to her before muttering something she couldn’t make out.

“What’d you say?”

He turned back to face her. “I said ‘Zelena gets this.’”

“What the hell does Zelena have to do with any of this? She's a wedding planner.” She stepped back and scrutinized him. His face looked suddenly pained, as if he didn’t like her belittling Zelena. Emma suddenly thought back to the past few months. How Walsh was always working late. How he was always speaking to Zelena. He’d volunteered to be the main point of contact for their wedding planner, without any prompting. Emma’d been glad for it at the time as it wasn’t something she wanted to deal with.

“You're sleeping with her, aren't you?”

Walsh stared at her for a full minute before replying. “Stop trying to change the subject.”

“That's not an answer.”

“Emma, come on. Let's not get distracted.”

“No! Lets! Answer me! Are. You. Sleeping. With. Her?”

He groaned fiercely. “Fine! You win. Yes. I've been sleeping with her. She gets this business. She understands. She's not some spoiled starlet who has had no true grip on reality.”

“That's what you really think of me?!” Emma reeled back and punched Walsh in square between the eyes. He doubled over, cradling his head in his hands.

“You stupid bitch!” he cried out, his voice muffled behind his hands.

“What the hell is going on?!” Elsa cried out, charging into the room.

Emma loomed over her fiancé. “Walsh is cheating on me. With our wedding planner!”

“Oh grow up, Emma.” Walsh stood and looked at her, his eyes already blackening and his nose bleeding. He grabbed a tissue from the box on the dresser and wiped away some of the blood. “No one is faithful in Hollywood. She’s just a good fuck.”

“How can you say that?” Emma cried. “I loved you!”

“You’re so naive. It’s part of your charm. You and me, getting married was a business move. It’s going to skyrocket your career and give me even better name recognition. Love wasn’t part of the equation.”

“Get out of here.” Emma bit her cheek to keep her tears from spilling. She had to keep it together until he left. “I don’t ever want to see you again.”

“Good luck with that, sweetheart,” he sneered. “You won’t be able to step foot on a set without my permission.”

Walsh’s head suddenly snapped back again as Elsa punched him in the chin. “Get the fuck out of here, Walsh,” she said, shaking her hand. “Your chauvinistic bullshit doesn’t fly anymore. Here,” she dug into her pocket and threw a business card at him. “That’s the number for the company that runs the helicopter rides to and from the island. Call them and get the hell away from here before I hit you again and break your jaw.”

He bent down and picked up the card before grabbing his still-packed suitcase and stomping out the door. The second he was gone and Elsa closed the door, Emma broke down in tears.

Tagging a few friends. For those of you I discussed the story with, sorry it’s taken me so long to do something with it!

@flslp87 @gingerchangeling @hollyethecurious @initiala @jonirobinson64 @kmomof4 @kymbersmith-90 @laschatzi @nerdyhuntress @resident-of-storybrooke @searchingwardrobes @sherlockianwhovian @shireness-says @snidgetsafan @snowbellewells @teamhook @thejollyroger-writer @thislassishooked @winterbythesea @winterbaby89 @wingedlioness @wyntereyez

[let-it-raines]

Second in Command (34/35)

Summary: Life as the “spare to the heir” isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be when you’re the supposed screw-up of the family, but people don’t know what really happens behind closed doors. 

Rating: Mature

A/N: I’m just going to throw these words at you and pretend that I haven’t already written the final words to this story. Thanks for being such wonderful readers for all this time! I really, truly appreciate it! 

Double line break of “-/-” means we’re changing POV and skipping ahead in time!

AO3: Beginning | Current

Tumblr:  | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |

Sequel : 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15

Tag list: @nikkiemms @resident-of-storybrooke @kmomof4 @wellhellotragic @ekr032-blog-blog @bmbbcs4evr @onceuponaprincessworld @jennjenn615 @mayquita @captainsjedi @captswanis4vr @kristi555 @teamhook @skyewardolicitycloisdelena91 @artistic-writer @branlovesouat @dreadpirateemma @alys07 @andiirivera @emmas-storybook @superchocovian @in-spirational @cs-forlife @qualitycoffeethings @shireness-says @jonirobinson64

“Darling,” Andy says out of nowhere, and Killian practically snaps his neck with how quickly he turns around to look at his son who is cupping his wife’s face with his small hands as he speaks to her with an intense focus, “listen.”

“I am listening, Andy,” Emma laments as she looks directly into Andy’s eyes while her legs are still covered with all of his toy trains.

“No, darling,” he sighs, making just the most ridiculous face that makes Killian feel such a kinship with the way that he moves his small brows across his forehead, “listen. I want biscuit.”

Why the hell is he calling Emma darling? What has made him decide to do that? And he’s definitely not getting a biscuit when he’s already had one today and they’ve still got to go to his parents’ house for dinner. He’s already going to be rambunctious because he’ll be around Alex and Lizzie. They’re so much bigger than him, and as nice as they are to him, they don’t exactly wait around for a one-and-a-half-year-old when they can run so much faster.

“Andy, what is her name?” he asks, pointing at Emma simply out of curiosity. “Is it Mummy?”

“Nooo,” he laughs as if Killian has just said the most ridiculous thing in the world, his blue eyes lighting up with such joy that Killian can’t help the way the corners of his own lips tug up into a smile. “She’s darling.”

Andy doesn’t quite say the word correctly, a few letters changed with others, but he has no trouble understanding exactly what his son is saying. It’s taking everything in him not to laugh. He doesn’t want Andy to think he’s laughing at him. He simply wants to laugh because his little lad is convinced that his mum’s name is Darling, and Killian doesn’t hate it. He actually quite loves it, but it does mean that he probably needs to start calling Emma by some different names more often.

“I like when you call me Mommy,” Emma sighs, lifting Andy off of her lap and up in the air while he giggles.

Emma looks over to him, a watery smile on her face, and he simply reaches over and places his hand on her shoulder, squeezing the soft material of her t-shirt. She’s been having such a hard time lately, and even when she’s happy he can still tell how upset she is over not being pregnant yet, how much it’s weighing on her mind. He is too. He wants another child so badly that it physically pains him sometimes, but he also knows that with how Emma is blaming herself, he could never say that. It’s not her fault. It’s no one’s fault, and he remains optimistic that things will be okay despite months of heartbreak.

Besides, they’ve got this lovable munchkin who means the world to him even when he’s having a crying fit so loud that Killian swears his eardrums have burst. Maybe his eardrums did burst and that’s why it doesn’t bother him so much anymore.

“Biscuit,” he repeats, and Emma’s eyes roll before they crinkle, lines forming that she claims are from her being thirty, but that he knows are from laughter. Laugh lines are the good ones, and he’ll be a wrinkled up old man as long as it means that he’s lived a good life.

“After dinner, Andy. We have to go see Gammy and Grandpa. And Alex and Lizzie.”

“Yay Lizzie.”

“Yeah, yay Lizzie,” he laughs, clapping his hands together and reaching over to take Andy out of Emma’s arms. Alex would be so mad if he knew that Andy preferred Lizzie to him. He wouldn’t care about it until he found out, but oh boy would he care afterward. “We’re going to see Gammy, Grandpa, Liam, Abigail, Alex, and Lizzie. And you can play with your horse.”

“I love how you say that like it’s an actual horse.”

“Maybe one day it will be. I’ve still got to get out there and teach you how to ride. We should go to the stables next week. The weather is supposed to be nice, spring finally coming in.”

“I’m not going to go spend a nice day out getting my teeth knocked out by a horse.”

“Oh, come on. That won’t happen.”

“It will.”

“It won’t.”

“Darling is silly, Daddy,” Andy laughs before crawling out of Killian’s arms and waddling over to play with his trains again while Killian can’t even bother to hold in his laugh, especially when he twists his head to look at Emma and sees how her cheeks are flushed.

“He takes too much after you. Just saying. Far too cheeky.”

“That is not at all a bad thing.”

“Yeah,” she sneers, even if there’s no venom behind it, while taking the toys off of her legs, “whatever. I’m going to go get dressed to go to your parents’. You can handle your mini me.” Emma stands only to immediately sit back down, her eyes tightly closed while her hands grip into the cushions, the material bunching as much as it can while her knuckles go white.

“Darling,” he whispers, reaching over and laying his hand over hers while his heartbeat ticks up a few paces, worry settling itself in his stomach, “what’s wrong?”

“I’m dizzy. I don’t…It was just for a moment. I stood up too quickly.” Her eyes open again, but she doesn’t look at him. “I’m fine.”

“Emma, the last time you were dizzy you were – ”

“Don’t. please don’t. I can’t think about that right now, okay? And before you ask, I don’t want to take a test. I’m tired of them and of getting my hopes up. We have to go to your parents’ place. I don’t have time to get upset about everything again.”

“Can we at least talk about it later?”

“I don’t know,” she mutters before she’s slowly getting up from the couch and walking out of the room.

He doesn’t want to get his hopes up either, but they already are. How could they not be? He just wishes that she’d talked to him, that she’d take a test and make sure she’s taking care of herself. Watching her faint in her early weeks of pregnancy with Andy was terrifying, and he wants her to be safe. He knows that she is, that she will be, but he also knows that this is now all that he’s going to think about for the rest of the evening.

And it is, even as they eat dinner with his family, the conversation flowing across the table from nearly everyone but Emma. She really only talks to the kids when they talk to her, but she will join in on occasion. It’s bothering her too. He can tell. Liam’s been telling a story about his time in the Navy, talking about some antics he and his mates got up to, and even with everyone laughing, Emma doesn’t. Maybe she’s heard the story before. Liam does tend to repeat himself when it comes to his younger days, but he believes that Emma’s simply preoccupied with her thoughts.

He wishes he could take her out of them.

“So Killian tells me your house is nearly finished building. Are you excited? Emma? Emma dear? Are you excited?”

“Oh yeah,” she startles, fixing her napkin in her lap and straightening up. “I’m thrilled. It’s absolutely beautiful, and I think we’ll be able to move in over the summer. I think Andy’s really going to like the pool and having the backyard. He and the dog are pretty much the same that way.”

“You’ll have to come see it, Mum,” he says, reaching next to him and resting his hand on Emma’s thigh, tapping his fingers against her skin so that she can feel him. “The master has these windows that open up onto a balcony that’s just over the garden and the pool, and you’ll love the kitchen.”

“I’m just sad that you guys are moving away from us,” Abigail whines, looking at Emma before glancing at him. “I know it’s only twenty minutes, but that’s so different than being able to walk over to visit.”

“Abi, they’re probably leaving so that we can’t do that anymore.”

“Damn, you guys have discovered our secret,” Emma laughs, a genuine smile forming on her face for the first time in a while. “I’m going to miss you guys too, but I’m sure we’ll still see far too much of each other. We just want the space to raise Andy, you know? And we don’t always have to be near the offices like you guys.”

“We completely understand, Emma. I’m simply teasing. You already know that I’m going to be bothering you all the time. Ruby and I will, really.”

“Ruby asked for her own room there, so she might move in.”

“With Graham?”

“Nah, he’ll get to stay at their home. They can visit each other on the weekends.”

“That’s quite the marriage there,” Liam laughs.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Abigail playfully laments, leaning back in her chair and stretching her arms over her head, “only having to see my husband two days a week sounds like a grand plan.”

“I’m sitting right here.”

“I know, darling. I’m hoping that you get the hint.”

“Darling!” Andy squeals, and Emma looks at him, her lips pressed tightly together for a moment until her entire face lights up in laughter while his does the same, the both of them unable to hold it together over his new obsession with the word.

“Have you two gone mad?” Brennan asks as he takes a sip of water.

“No, it’s just,” Emma giggles, reaching over to get Andy out of his high chair so he can sit in her lap while she smooths his hair back from where it had gotten a little wild. It’s got a curl to it now, almost like a swoop, and either he or Emma are always trying to calm it down. “Andy started calling me Darling today, so he really likes that word. I think he might think it’s my name even though he knows that I’m Mummy, right?”

“No. You’re Darling.”

“That’s adorable,” Abigail sighs. “Alex and Lizzie never do things like that.”

“Because your name is Mummy,” Alex says flatly as he squirms in his chair. “Can we go play now?”

“Finish those peas, and then you can go.”

“I’m finished,” Lizzie points out, pushing her empty plate forward.

“That’s because you like peas, Elizabeth,” Alex murmurs under his breath in the same manor that a teenager would. He’s six, but he’s got some spunk.

“My name is Lizzie,” she spits back, huffing her chest up to make herself bigger. This is obviously a fight they’ve been getting into lately, and so much like with Andy, even when he shouldn’t laugh, he can’t help himself. “I don’t like Elizabeth.”

“Guys,” Liam sterns, staring the both of them down with the same glint in his eye that Killian remembers Brennan getting when he and Liam were younger, “calm down. Alex eat your peas and stop teasing your sister. Lizzie, why don’t you take Andy with you so you guys can play in the playroom?”

“I’ll go with them,” his mum volunteers, pushing back in her chair and walking over to the other side of the table so she can take both Andy and Lizzie to the playroom. “I think I need so Gammy time with my grandbabies.”

“Andy is the only baby.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Allison says, her face stern. “I think I need some time with my grandchildren and then my one grandbaby.”

“Thanks, Mum,” he and Liam say at the same time before everyone dissolves back into conversation, Alex eventually finishing his peas and running off to the playroom to join his sister and his cousin far before dinner ends and everyone goes back to their respective homes with children who stayed up far too late and ate too many sweets. Andy finally got another biscuit, even if it was a small one.

After they have him asleep in his crib, they both walk to their room so they can change out of their dinner clothes and into pajamas. It’s been such a pleasant day, May deciding to actually be warm for once, but their house is cold enough to still need to dress in thicker pajama bottoms, most of which are already packed up in moving boxes. He’s just pulled on a t-shirt, his head getting stuck in the hole, when he notices that Emma is sitting on the bench in the closet still dressed in her clothes from dinner.

“If I…if I,” she begins, picking imaginary lint off of her pants. “Will you sit with me as I take a test? I know I said I didn’t want to, but I think I have to. I can’t turn my mind off.”

He can’t either. He can’t turn his mind off, can’t get it to shut up as his head pounds and his heart thrums, but it’s probably nothing compared to how Emma is feeling.

“You don’t even have to ask, love. Why don’t you go ahead and change though, okay? It’ll make you feel better.”

She nods her head before getting up from the bench and stripping out of her clothes and pulling on the first soft thing that she finds. She’s pacing herself, going as slowly as she can, but he doesn’t say anything as he watches her and the way that she fidgets. Honestly, the only thing that’s keeping him from fidgeting is keeping his focus on her, on making sure that he’s strong for the next few minutes.

For every minute to always be sixty seconds, the time never changing, never altering, it seems like this is one of the longest sets of minutes in his life. There were the minutes of waiting to know if he was going to be accepted into university, as if he would ever be rejected for who his parents are. But he was still nervous, still anxious about getting in on his own merit. There were the minutes before the first time he slept with Emma, all of the heightened nerves and emotions and flat out anticipation making everything seem so much more heightened than it was. Then there was the entirety of their holiday when he was about to propose. For that entire dinner he was anxious, so anxious that he didn’t ask until they were on the beach when that was not what he wanted. Those minutes seemed to drag on and speed up all at once. But then again, there were also the minutes right before he got married and the minutes right before he became a father for the first time. Those two moments, well, they likely get equal billing to this, and watching Emma’s leg rapidly tap up and down while she watches the timer on her phone doesn’t help.

“You know,” he begins, strengthening his grip on Emma’s hand from where their fingers are interlocked, the pad of his thumb running over her knuckles and around her engagement ring and wedding band, “we’ll have been together for ten years in a little over three weeks.”

“I know,” she whispers so quietly that her voice barely reaches her ears. “I have a gift for you hidden somewhere I’m not divulging, and you’re taking me to Scotland for our anniversary weekend.”

“Aye, I know. We’re going to have a great time.” He squeezes her hand again before bringing it up so that he can brush his lips over her knuckles once, twice, three times more. “You infuriate me more than anyone else on this planet, but I also love you more than anyone else on this planet. Don’t tell Andy that because he gets his own little category.”

Emma chuckles as she leans her head onto his shoulder, hair sticking up and getting caught in his mouth while her tapping slows a bit. “I promise I won’t tell him.”

“Good. You’re my best friend, Nolan, and I – ”

“Woah, talk about a flashback. You’re calling me Nolan again.”

“If I keep calling you darling, you’re going to have to change your name according to our son.” He twists his head to kiss the side of her head, smelling her perfume and the faded smell of her shampoo from this morning. “You’re my best friend, and Emma, as much as I want that test to be positive, as much as I think it’s going to be after we’ve tried for so damn long, if it’s not, you will still be the person I love most and the person who I want to eat horrible food with at two in the morning while we watch television. Nothing is ever going to change that.”

“How are you so damn good with words?” she sighs, nuzzling into him further. “Like, you are stupid good with them, and it’s not fair because I still can only do that on occasion. I can’t think of a single thing to say to you that doesn’t sound dumb. I guess I love you.”

He chuckles into her hair before pulling back and leaning down to kiss her shoulder. “I love you, and I don’t need your flowery words. I never doubt your love for me, and when I have my emotional meltdowns, you always know what to say too. I think we can look at the test now.”

“Can you do it for me? I know that sounds pathetic – ”

“It doesn’t,” he says, rising from his spot on the edge of the bathtub and standing to grab the pregnancy test that’s on the counter without letting go off Emma’s hand. He closes his eyes for a brief moment, gathering the strength, before he’s picking it up and looking at a little screen that very clearly says the word pregnant. Emma’s pregnant. She’s pregnant. They’re having another baby, and he does not wish to control the way his lips are tugging up on the corners or the way his heart is beating a quicker pace in his chest.

It could beat out of his chest right now, and he wouldn’t care.

“Killian, what the fuck does it say?”

He turns back to look at Emma, releasing her hand so that he can cup her cheeks, holding her gaze to his and staring at the freckles that run across her nose the way that her eyes are shimmering with tears. “I can’t wait for this kid to grow up so I can tell them those were their mum’s words in the moments before she found out she was pregnant.”

“Really?” she chuckles, the water already falling to her cheeks. “I’m pregnant?”

“Really,” he smiles, contentment spreading across every inch of his, “you’re pregnant.”

-/-

-/-

“Are you nervous?” Killian asks her as they wait backstage and listen to some of the other speakers at the women’s conference they’re attending today. Or really, she’s attending and Killian’s secretly tagging along because he’s weird and wanted to watch her speak. He’s being supportive, and she appreciates it, but she’s freaking out a bit right now. Her speech is as personal as she was allowed to make it, which she kind of feels like defeats the purpose of the women’s empowerment that’s going on today, but she also knows that five years ago no one in this family would have been allowed to do this because it would be seen as too political.

It’s not. It’s…human. Speaking up for women is human, and so this is simply another patronage that she is lucky enough to support and to bring attention to and not some kind of political statement. If she wasn’t speaking, she’d likely be bouncing with excitement and anticipation over this.

“I’m terrified,” she whispers, adjusting herself in her chair and smoothing down her dress over her protruding stomach. She’s six months pregnant, but sometimes it’s still so weird to look down and for something to be there that’s not always there. But it’s not like she can forget. If her body didn’t scream with the changes every day, she’d be reminded by Andy every day when he says hi to his baby sister or Killian when he’s far too overprotective and worries about her if she eats too much ice cream. She thought he’d calm down this go round, especially since the actual pregnancy has been so much easier (the months leading up to it not so much), but it might be worse. It’s sweet, but she wants to be able to pick up her two-year-old without Killian freaking out.

“You’re going to be fantastic. I know.”

“You’re biased. You don’t think the speech is a little much? That it’s not too privileged?”

“I think that you are afforded different opportunities and advantages in life but that doesn’t mean your experiences aren’t important.”

“There you go with your wise words again. It’s amazing how you can also be so dumb.”

“I love you, my sweetheart of a wife.”

“I know, right? I’m pretty much the definition of kindness.”

“And humble.”

“Oh, definitely humble. That’s what I put on my business cards.”

“Emma,” Isabelle says, interrupting them and pulling her out of her distraction and back to the reason she’s here, “they’re ready for you.”

“Thank you, Isabelle,” she sighs, rising from her chair and straightening out her dress as much as she can. “Alright, babe, wish me luck that I remember how to speak.”

“If our kid can do it, I have faith that you can too.”

She rolls her eyes before squatting down and briefly kissing his cheek. Isabelle guides her to the side of the stage, and when she’s introduced, she walks out and stands at the podium, her heel turning a bit underneath her. She’ll never quite get used to doing things like this. Spending time with kids and sitting at stuffy dinners, sure. Giving speeches, well, that’s different. She’s kind of regretting being here right now. She feels ridiculous.

But no. She wanted to do this. She wants to do this. She wants to support everyone who she can. This is a good thing.

“I am a lot of things,” she begins, swallowing the lump in her throat that always comes whenever she speaks in public. “I am a wife, a mother, a daughter. I am a former bartender, a current Duchess, someone with dual citizenship, a patron of charities ranging from education to mental health to arts and athletics. I am also a television enthusiast, someone who loves to eat every dessert I can get my hands as well as someone who enjoys running until my legs feel like jelly. And then, you know, eating actual jams and jellies.”

She takes a moment as the crowd laughs to tuck her hair behind her ears and take another deep breath. Why are there so many people? No, she’s not going to freak out. She can do this. It’s fine. It’s just talking.

“You can label me with every word in your vocabulary. A lot of people have labeled me in words that I cannot repeat here because I like to play as a proper lady sometimes. But here’s the thing, on top of these labels, on top of the ones that I embrace and the ones that I hide behind, I’m Emma. I’m Emma, and I am my own human being, my own person with all of my own interests and wants. Being a wife and a mother are two of the most important things in my life, but I cannot be either of those things without loving myself and knowing who I am as a woman first.

I spent a long time hiding behind the shadows and allowing others to control my life with their narratives of who I am. I was a thief, a pushover, a commoner, an unfit bride, and a horrible mother who refused to follow tradition for not showing off my newborn child five hours after giving birth. I was untraditional, uncaring, crass, and I was someone who was labeled all of these things by people who have never met me. After this speech, I’m sure I’ll be labeled the same things by more people who have never met me, maybe even some who have. So here’s my point. For your entire life, people are going to try to tell you who you are. They just are. It’s going to happen no matter what you do. But here’s the thing, you have the ability and the power to push back, to fight back, and to say no, I’m not those things. And even better, you have the ability to show them exactly who you are.”

She hears the claps. She really does, but these lights are bright, and her daughter is doing some kind of Olympic level gymnastic routine in her stomach. That’s really all she can focus on as she regulates her breathing again and runs her hand over her stomach, resting it there while she looks back at her page, the words written in large, printed letters.  The kicks comfort her. They’re proof of the life she wanted for so long.

“We as women have the difficult challenge of being cornered into a box and not allowed out. If I cry over having to leave my baby at home, I am weak. If I get excited over being pregnant, people think that I don’t care about having a career. If I love my husband, I am not my own woman. If I spend time to do things for myself, I am neglecting everything else in my life.

You know what? That’s not true. I can love my child in the same way that you all can, and it makes me strong. And if you don’t want to have children, good for you. It’s your life, and you shouldn’t do something that’s not right for you. If I am excited over being pregnant like I am right now, I can still be excited over getting to stand here speaking to all of you as a part of my job no matter how nervous I am. Being a mother does not mean you have to give up your life. It’s a way of adding to it. I can love my husband with every fiber in my being, but that does not at all mean that I am not my own person. And I can spend time with my friends, spend time away from home, spend time doing things that make me happy without being told all about how I have a baby at home. Trust me, I know.

What I’m trying to say is to drop the labels and simply and unapologetically be you. There is no better thing that you can be, and I hope that everyone here can be of service to you and to all of the strong women in your lives. Thank you for having me here today.”

She nods, smiling out at the crowd before she’s walking away with her heart pounding in her chest while her face heats. She was terrified to give that speech, terrified of how it would sound using herself as an example when she lives a privileged life, but she had to listen to herself and allow herself to follow everything she just said. She had to do what felt right to her, and while she never imagined having such a platform to help others, she’s glad that she does.

She’s definitely going to avoid public speaking for a little while, though.

“You’re bloody amazing,” Killian sighs when she gets to him, his hands palming her cheeks before his lips are slanting over hers in a kiss that makes her head reel from the emotion behind it. “I’m so damn proud of you.”

“Thank you. I think I’m going to go vomit now.”

“Pregnancy or nerves?”

“Both.”

-/-

-/-

“Okay, buddy,” Killian sighs, holding onto Andy’s hand as they walk through the back hallways of the hospital, “we’re about to meet your little sister. She’s really rather small, and like you are with Indy, we have to be gentle, okay? With Mummy too. So no jumping on the bed.”

“Why?”

“We don’t want to hurt Sutton or Mummy.” They walk up to the door, Thomas greeting them when they get there, and he picks up his son before they push through the doors, David and Mary Margaret’s backs the first things they see when they enter.

“Mimi,” Andy shrieks, squirming in his arms until his can get a hug and a kiss from his grandmother and eventually his grandfather. “I’m a big brother.”

“You are indeed,” David tells him as Killian walks over to Emma and leans down to briefly brush his lips over hers while she holds Sutton. It’s been six hours, and he still absolutely cannot believe that he has a baby girl. She’s beautiful. So is his wife.

“Hi, love. How are you feeling?”

“I’m okay. This still sucks, and she’s not latching, which is freaking me out. I want - ” she sighs, leaning back in bed and closing her eyes, a piece of her hair falling in her face “ – I want to take a nap, but I want to see Andy, okay? She’s quiet now, so it’s probably a good time for you to have brought him since I’m sure he won’t want the screaming banshee that I can already tell you that she is.” Emma looks down at their daughter then, running a finger over her cheek. “I love you, baby, but you are a handful already.”

“We’ll get that all figured out in a minute, okay? It’ll be fine, love. You want me to get Andy from your dad?”

“Yeah.”

“Dave, can I have my kid?”

“You have to say please,” Andy huffs, sticking his chest up as David walks toward him. Killian’s just about to say it when Andy gasps, his hands going over his mouth while his eyes blow wide. “Is that my sister?”

“This is your sister,” Emma laughs, holding Sutton up the slightest bit while David gently puts him down on the bed. “Can you say hi, Andy?”

“Hi,” he whispers, waving to her as he slowly walks toward Sutton and Emma. “She’s small. Can she talk?”

“Not yet,” Emma says gently, puling Andy closer to her while he keeps watching Sutton. “When she gets bigger like you, she’ll learn how to talk.”

“Can I hold her?”

“You can help me hold here. Um, hold on,” she mutters, adjusting Sutton in her lap. “Babe, can you get a pillow for him?”

He nods his head and turns to grab her breastfeeding pillow, figuring it’s sturdy enough for this as he adjusts it around Andy while he settles down next to Emma. It’s a bit of a complicated maneuver to safely get Sutton situated on the pillow and in Andy’s small arms as he looks down at her with a soft, pensive smile on his face.

“How did she get out of Mummy’s tummy?”

Emma’s cheeks flush, his doing the same, and he hears David snicker behind him. “You know what, Andy, I’ll tell you about that later.”

Andy shrugs before looking at Sutton and then Emma’s stomach, his brows pushed together in thought. Yeah, they’re definitely going to have to figure that one out later before he comes up with one of his ridiculous theories.

-/-

-/-

“Don’t we have to turn around at some point?”

Killian hums next to her and tightens his arm around her shoulder, fingers taping against her sweater while she gets a sniff of the spice of his cologne. “Most likely. The end of our property is just up ahead, and as much as I love Ruby and Graham, I’m not sure how much I trust them with a newborn and the wild child that’s itching to go swimming even though it’s still chilly.”

“They’ll be fine, babe,” she sighs, tucking her hand into the back pocket of Killian’s jeans and playfully squeezing his ass as they walk. “They’ve watched them before, or at least Andy. And Sutton is two months old, so all they really have to do is not drop her. Besides, I’m really enjoying our full transformation into an elderly retired couple with our walk.”

“Weren’t you just the one who wanted to turn around?”

“I mean, yeah, but I just wanted to make sure we didn’t walk all the way back to London when we’ve finally left it.”

“Considering I’d have to carry you home on my back were that to happen, I, well, wouldn’t let it happen.”

“Hey,” she laughs, slapping his ass again, “what the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“I don’t have a death wish, so I’m thinking it’s not what you’re leaning toward.”

“And what exactly do you think I’m leaning toward?” He stops walking even as she keeps going, so when he tugs her back, she nearly stumbles and falls into the lush grass, dew still coating the blades. Or maybe it’s residual rain. She’s not exactly sure, but it doesn’t matter as long as she doesn’t fall. “What was that for?”

She sees his brows raise, then settle back into their normal resting place all the while one corner of his mouth ticks. He’s obviously trying to school his features, to keep from saying whatever it is that’s on his mind…which makes her completely sure that whatever it is he wants to say is going to make her mad. He’s so predictable in that way. Or really, maybe being together for eleven years means that she knows him a little too well.

Plus, those baby blues tell all.

“Nothing, my love,” he promises, wrapping his other arm around her and pulling her into an embrace while he brushes his lips across his forehead. Yeah, he’s definitely holding his tongue and trying to distract her. “Let’s keep walking until we get to the swing.”

“You’re going to have to fulfill your worst nightmare and carry me there because I’m not moving until you tell me what you were going to say.”

“I was going to say I don’t want to carry you and, you know, some other stuff that I’m seriously not going to say out loud.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m a weak, weak man who is incapable of carrying my wife unless I know that the faster I get her to the bedroom, the faster I’m going to have to have sex. So I could carry you go the swing now if certain promises are made.”

“I’m not having sex with you on the swing. Oh God,” she laughs, slapping his chest and leaning back so she can look in his eyes, the blue dimmed under the shade of his baseball cap. It’s a Yankees one, and she’s pretty sure that he stole it from her back when they were dating. “Is that why you had this swing built so far away from the house? Is it a sex swing?”

“Emma,” he bellows, leaning down and pressing his face into her shoulders while his entire body moves with laugher, the vibrations running through her from how close they are, “no, I did not build a bloody sex swing. I’m also not sure that you realize that that is something entirely different.”

“I know what a damn sex swing is, and you know that’s not what I meant.”

“Mhm, sure, love. Sure. If you want to hop on your old man’s back, I’ll carry you to our sex swing.”

“Nah,” she sighs, pulling back from him and reaching down for his hand so she can interlace their fingers and run her thumb over his knuckles, “I can walk. Take me to your sex swing.”

“You’re ridiculous.”

They walk a few more minutes until they come up on two large oak trees that twine together, obviously having grown here for much longer than any of the other trees and flowers they had planted when they were building the place. Her green thumb has gotten better since she planted the small garden outside of their apartment, but it’s definitely not enough to keep up with everything here. There’s so much beauty out here, much more than in the city, and even as her sneakers gets soaked in the damp grass, she’s so damn happy to be living here with her family.

The privacy is wonderful too. They can walk the grounds without worrying about anything. It’s like having freedom again.

She settles down onto the cushioned swing, not swaying until Killian settles down next to her, but then she pushes off the ground and starts moving them, causing the chains to gently hum and rustle with each movement. She’s going to have to bring Andy and Sutton out here one day. Andy will like the swing, even if it’s not like the one on his playground, and, well, maybe Sutton will like looking around at all of the leaves above them and the squirrels that are running around. She loves looking around, love focusing on her surroundings, and even though Emma sometimes thinks that her daughter is already attempting to be as different as possible from her brother with the fits and the crying, she does enjoy being swayed and getting to see everything around her.

There are so many similarities in her two children, so many that she already sees, but the moment Sutton was born without any hair but the tiniest of peach fuzz and the with features fairer than even Emma, she knew that this was not going to be another Killian. Sutton was going to look like her, even if her features are already changing, like a mix of the two of them but also her own person. Genetics are so strange, and even if she remembers studying them in school, she can’t quite explain her children. For all she knows, if they’re crazy and decide to have another one in a few years, that one could have hair as red as the flecks in Killian’s beard. That would really be something else.

“So I was thinking that we should go on a date sometime soon.”

“Yeah?” she asks, lifting her feet from the ground and curling them underneath her while she rests her head on Killian’s shoulder as he keeps them swaying.

“Most definitely, and as much as I love going on walks with you and hanging out on our sex swing, we should probably go somewhere without the kids being on the same property.” “Is this like when you made me leave Andy all night?”

“A little bit. But mostly I just want to take my wife on a date. We didn’t get to do that while I was courting you, so I feel like we still have so much to make up for.”

Sometimes he talks like he’s from a different century, and she’ll never be over how much she loves that.

“I don’t think we need to go on retroactive dates.”

“Well, that’s not really what I meant. I just meant that I like going out to dinner with you or sneaking into a movie or a play. Hell, we can go on a hike or to a football match. Just trying to keep the romance alive since my sex swing isn’t doing that.”

She chuckles to herself before twisting and propping herself up to glide her lips over his, almost instantly deepening it into a gentle push and pull. He tastes like his tea, but she doesn’t really notice that as she thinks about how much she loves him and how much he makes her laugh with his ridiculous jokes that literally no one else in the world would find funny. He pisses her off sometimes (a lot of the time), but then they have moments like this, the gentle quietness of nature surrounding them, and she wonders if all of the hell they went through to get here was actually quite so painful.

“Have I ever told you of the wonders that you are capable of with that mouth of yours, love?”

She laughs against his lips, their skin brushing together while Killian’s hand snakes up under her sweater and rests on the skin of her back, his skin warm compared to the early spring chill that’s still roaming around them. “You have, but it’s usually not quite in this context.”

“So dirty.”

“Hm, you usually say that too. I love you, you weirdo, and I definitely think that we should go on a date.”

“See, I always knew you’d come around to my plans. I’m very convincing.”

“Well, it sure as hell isn’t because of the wonders you can do with your mouth.”

He pinches the skin of her back before kissing her nose, the gentlest of touches that has her fluttering her eyes closed and trying to memorize this moment as one of the good ones. “You say that now, but wait until we go to dinner, and I drop the lettuce of my salad down my shirt.”

“You are a messy eater. That’s where Andy gets it from.”

“Eh, possibly.”

“No, definitely.”

“Whatever you say, darling. Just wait until Sutton stuffs a fistful of popcorn in her mouth instead of one or two pieces at a time. That’s what you do.”

“I do not.”

“You most definitely do.”

“Whatever.”

“Hey, Emma?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you too, you popcorn eating weirdo.”

-/-

-/-

She falls.

And then gets up.

And then falls again.

It’s this continuous cycle, but every time he gets up to try to help Sutton walk, she refuses his help. It absolutely cracks him up how independent she is, that sometimes she won’t even let him hold her hands for her to take a few steps around the room when she’s trying so hard to move. She’ll let Emma, the Mummy’s girl that she is, and on occasion, she lets him when she’s feeling particularly affectionate. It’s the funniest thing to him. Andy was the sweetest, calmest baby, and Sutton, well, she’s an absolute spitfire who is definitely some kind of karmic payback.

He’s not even sure if he believes in karma, but Sutton kind of makes him. He knew the first kid wasn’t difficult enough…and the first kid was damn difficult.

And while Andy favored Emma for a long time, mostly in his early days, he did come around to Killian eventually. Maybe he’s simply seeing it differently. Or maybe Sutton has much more obvious favoritism. Hell, Emma probably thinks that both of their kids favor him, even if only Andy looks like him. Sutton is all Emma.

Looks and personalities, though…two totally different things.

“Sutton, sweetheart,” he coos, adjusting himself on the ground and clapping his hands together. “Do you want to walk to come see Daddy? I think that sounds like a great idea, but you usually think otherwise.”

“So condescending there, Daddy.”

He twists his head to Emma standing in the doorway, her hair messily piled on top of her head and her t-shirt falling off her shoulder like it nearly always is. She must have finally woken up from her nap, and she obviously had a good one if the pillow creases on her face are any indication.

“I’m just speaking the truth. You try coming to get her to walk.”

Emma rolls her eyes before stepping into the room and over him so that she can take Sutton’s hands in hers as Sutton stands from the ground. “Alright there, baby girl, Momma needs you to walk with me, okay?”

Sutton’s face turns red for the briefest of moments, the tears and protests on the verge of coming to fruition, but then the red fades and she’s left with Emma’s creamy skin as her lips press into a straight line and she focuses on walking with Emma. It’s like watching magic happen, really. He’s got these two bloody incredible girls in his life, and they’ve got this bond that blows his mind. He definitely is jealous of it sometimes, jealous of the way Sutton doesn’t want him, but he likes that his loves have this bond.

He doesn’t understand how in the world he could have them, how he could have made one of them. It’s…sometimes he doesn’t deserve them, but man is he glad for them.

“Yay, Sutton,” Emma cheers when they take a few steps before Sutton insists that she sit down, crying out “Momma” until Emma releases her hands. “You did so good, Sutton, but you’ve really got to walk with Daddy sometimes, yeah? He gets a little jealous.”

“I can hear you.”

“I know. Don’t we have another one of these?”

“He’s in the playroom watching a movie, and I’ve got the camera on my phone. He hasn’t moved from the couch.”

“Good,” she sighs, reaching her hands down for him. “Why don’t we go in there and join him?”

He nods his head as he takes her hand, pushing up on his legs and ignoring the slight ache in his knees from standing from such a low position. “I think that sounds like a plan.”

Emma scoops up Sutton, and they walk out of the nursery and down to the end of the hall to the kids’ playroom. This room is nearly always such a mess, toys and clothes and pillows scattering across the floor and the tables despite the closet of bins that he swears he cleans up every single day. But it’s better that things are mostly contained in here, even though he stepped on a Lego in the living room downstairs yesterday, and he nearly screamed “fuck” so loudly that the kids could have heard him and woken from their naps. That would have been something else.

He does love this room, though. They have this set of windows at the end of it that stretch from floor to ceiling, and it looks out into the yard and to this oak tree that he thinks he might build a tree house in one day. He knows that they don’t age well most of the time, that children grow out of using them, but they’ll enjoy it for a little while. Besides, he and Emma get the cushioned swing out near the end of the property and the view of the pool from their bedroom. The kids can get this.

Some day.

“What are you watching, bud?”

“Chicken Little. The sky is falling from the sky, Mummy.”

“Oh no,” Emma gasps, settling down next to Andy on the couch and settling Sutton in her lap while Killian grabs some blankets out of the basket and dims the lights a little bit.

“Don’t worry, Mummy. I checked our sky. It’s still there.”

“Oh, okay. Well, that’s good.”

He snickers under his breath and then sits down in a recliner, propping the legs up only for Andy to scramble over to him and sit on his lap, his bony limbs poking Killian over and over again until he finally plops down in the small open space left in the chair and tugs the blanket up over his legs too, looking up at Killian and flashing him the widest grin. Andy looks so proud of himself, and Killian has no idea why. He’s probably hidden Killian’s wallet or something.

The movie continues to play, everyone settling into it, and then out of nowhere, Andy speaks. “If my name is Andy and Indy’s name is Indy, does that mean Indy is my sister and Sutton isn’t?”

“I’m sorry…what?”

“Is Indy my sister?”

His eyes glance over to Emma’s, and she simply smiles and shrugs, giving him absolutely no help for how to answer this. His son’s name is eerily similar to their dog’s, and sometimes he wonders how they didn’t plan that better. He didn’t ever really think that would be a problem though.

“Well, Indy is part of our family like me, Mummy, and Sutton.”

“And me.”

“Yeah,” he chuckles, tugging up on the blanket again, “and you. And we all love Indy, but she’s a dog, remember? She has all of that fur and we pet her and she barks.”

“And eats gross food.”

“That too. So her name sounds like yours, but Sutton is your sister and we love her too, right?”

“Yeah, but she cries.”

“She’s not crying right now.”

Andy tilts his head to the side, his gaze falling away from the television and toward his sister who’s intently watching the movie while Emma’s fingers play with her small wisps of hair. Without any kind of warning, Andy scrambles up from his spot, kicking Killian multiple times before he’s off of the chair and moving to sit on the couch while he stares at Sutton with rapt fascination like she hasn’t been alive and living with them for a year.

Finally he nods and reaches over to kiss Sutton’s cheek in a move so gentle that Killian feels his heart swell for a moment before going back to a normal, functioning size.

“I love you, Sutton,” Andy whispers while Sutton tries to decide if she likes her brother or not, her eyes slanted as she studies him. She’s always kind of wary of him at first, but then again, she’s wary of anyone who’s not Emma. “You’re not a dog, but that’s okay.”

They spend the rest of the day in the playroom, watching movies and letting the kids run their toys over the two of them before they feed them dinner and get washed up for bed. It takes far too long every night, but it’s not like they can simply not feed or bathe their children. That would be inhumane and bad parenting among so many other things. But it gets done, and the moment he closes Sutton’s door, the wood clicking into place, Emma takes his hands and intertwines their fingers while the corners of her lips turn up into a smile.

Beautiful.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Oh, Killian,” she mutters, walking backward down the hall and tugging him with her, “I know that you’ve gone all soft on me, but I still like to think that you know when I’m trying to seduce you.”

“Is that what this is? Because I don’t know if you’ve looked at yourself today but – ”

“Jackass.”

He tugs her closer even if she resists a little bit until their chests are pressed together and he dips his head to softly glide his lips over hers, staying still for a moment until she begins to move against him, her hands letting his go so they can wrap around his neck, fingers teasing his hair, and his hands find her hips and the skin that rests under her shirt, warmth in every inch of it that buzzes across his own skin.

She’s soft, always so soft even when she’s firm.

“Am I still a jackass?” he whispers when his nose is still heavily pressed into her cheek.

“Absolutely, but I’ll allow it.”

“Oh thank goodness.”

She chuckles against his lips, the vibrations traveling across his skin too, before she’s unwrapping herself from him and walking down the hallway and disappearing behind their bedroom door. By the time he joins her she’s setting up the baby monitor on the bedside table and stripping out of her clothes, tossing them on the glider.

“Someone is eager.”

“Someone is efficient,” she shrugs, reaching back and unclasping her bra until her breasts are exposed to his gaze, a shiver running down his spine that has nothing to do with the high speed at which the ceiling fan in this room is running. “And cold. I’m cold,” she laughs, quickly hoping into bed and pulling the comforter over herself while he laughs and strips out of his clothes as well. The fan has to do with Emma’s shivers, apparently.

“I love you,” he sighs as he lifts the comforter and settles down on top of her, feeling both the warmth and chill of her skin as their lips come together again.

“I love you, even though you’re not a dog.”

“Oh my God,” he laughs, trailing away from her mouth and moving down her neck, working all of the places he knows Emma loves while his hands move across her body, exploring and teasing and making her gasp from his touch, especially when he begins stroking her, wetness gathering at his fingers as Emma’s hips buck up into his in a motion that’s delightful and enticing while his lips move over her breasts.

Glorious, glorious breasts.

“K-Killian,” she stutters when he slowly starts pumping his fingers inside of her while his thumb rubs her bundle of nerves in slow, practiced circles.

“Like that?”

“Like that.”

It doesn’t take much longer as he teases her, and he didn’t realize how keyed up she was before they started as her hips buck at a more furious pace and she falls apart beneath him, alternating between whispering quiet words and muffling her loud curses against his shoulder.

“I’m still cold,” she sighs, and he grunts in response before covering her entire body with his, hoping that his warmth and the blankets that surround them will help as he guides himself inside of her, her warmth enveloping him and making his eyes roll back at the pleasure of being inside of her while he moves her left leg to rest over his hip, opening her up to him.

“Still cold?”

“I think that can be fixed if you start moving.” She smiles up at him with the most innocent of smiles, something he would see when they’re out working together, but then she thrusts her hips up, causing him to nearly lose his balance, and pulls his lips down to hers so that they can slide together in a rhythm that matches the thrusts he’s slowly moving into.

He takes his time, experimenting with thrusts and angles and depths, and as the minutes move on, the unsteady beat of his heart not at all matching up with the hum of the fan or the chirps of the insects outside, he finds himself in a position that’s good for the both of them. Emma’s breath is unsteady as well, her heartbeat likely beating a similar rhythm, and as her skin heats, sweat beading at her forehead and dripping down her skin, she mumbles for him to move onto back until he’s pulling out of her and rolling over onto his back only for Emma to settle her knees on either side of his thighs and slowly guide him back into her warmth as she moves above him.

He’s been with her for over a decade, since she was a little under twenty-one and him twenty-three, and over the years he’s seen her change, her personality and convictions and her body. She’s so much stronger now, so damn confident in herself that when he looks at her, he’s still amazed that she’s chosen to love him and to be with him. He knows how much shit she’s put up with over the years, a lot of it before him, some of it because of him, and likely even more of it that has nothing at all to do with him, and he’s watched her handle it with grace and with bravery and something undeniably Emma.

Softness and strength all at once.

Emma.

As she moves above him, her hips swiveling and driving him into madness while his hands explore her skin, kneading her ass and her breasts in the ways that she likes, he watches her with as much focus as his muddled mind allows him to. Her breasts are heavier than when they first met, two children likely causing that, and while Emma sometimes complains about not being able to get away with going braless anymore, he selfishly is not going to complain about that. Nor will he complain about the curve of her hips, the firmness of her ass, or the faded tiger stripes on her stomach from carrying their children and from simply living life.

Really, he’d be a fool to complain about anything. He’d also be a bit of an ass.

So he doesn’t. He won’t. His body has changed too, his life as well, and he’s simply glad that they’ve changed together instead of growing apart.

“Fuck,” he stutters when Emma leans forward and wraps her arms under his shoulders while her lips trail down his neck, the pleasure in his spine becoming concentrated at the base while his hips start doing the work, snapping up into her while she nibbles on his ear, her breath hot and lips soft. “Fuck, Emma. That’s incredible. You’re incredible.”

She gasps when his hands grab onto the globes of her ass, guiding her as she whispers dirty words into his ear that have him closing his eyes as his pleasure reaches him, the thrusts becoming erratic and his mind blurring for the shortest of moments even though he tries to keep the presence of mind to rub his fingers over where they’re joined to let Emma fall apart as well.

“I love you,” she sighs as she rests on top of his chest, not bothering to move even as he slips out of her and the need to cleaned up calls to them. Her lips trail across his chest and up his neck until they’re slanting over his lips, the salt of sweat prominent on them. “And I’m still cold.”

“I love you, darling, but I cannot possibly understand how you’re still cold. You’re literally sweating.”

“It’s making me cold.”

He snickers against her lips and nuzzles his nose into her neck, nipping at the skin for a brief moment before rolling them over and covering Emma’s body with his. “I’m going to go get you a washcloth and some flannel pajamas, okay?”

“My hero.”

He rolls his eyes before getting up and making his way to the bathroom to get the washcloth and some clothes.

“Hey Killian?” Emma calls, and he turns around to see her bundled up under the white of the comforter with only her head showing, her hair matted and tangled from the day and their activities. The sexiest women he knows is also the most adorable, and the affection he feels for her continues to grow.

“Yeah, love?”

“That’s a nice ass you’ve got there, so if you want to, you know, not get dressed, that’d be fine with me.”

He winks. “As you wish.”

[miasswier]

miasswier’s ultimate glee ranking: no 24

24: I Do

Written by: Ian Brennan Directed by: Brad Falchuk

Overall Thoughts: This one is a tough one to rank, mostly because the parts that I love I love so goddamn much, but the parts that annoy me annoy me so goddamn much. It’s pretty high up on the list because, objectively, it’s a really strong episode. It’s smack-dab in the middle of the strongest set of episodes in season four (lasting from “Sadie Hawkins” to “Guilty Pleasures”), and has really good entertainment value, while also showing a fantastic portrayal of the difficulties of living with mental illness. I originally had it higher on the list than I do now, but I re-watched it again and ugh, seriously, the parts of this episode I dislike drag it down so goddamn much. Still, it’s really strong, and it has some of my favourite moments in all of Glee history.

What I Like:

Finn telling Rachel that not everything is about her. What I like most about this moment is that it’s true. It’s not just Finn telling Rachel that to ~conceal his true feelings or whatever. Him kissing Emma legitimately had nothing to do with Rachel.

Okay, this whole storyline annoys the fuck out of me, but the scene before Jake and Marley sing their duet is pretty funny. It’s too bad they didn’t give Ryder more of a chance to be funny, because Blake Jenner has fantastic comedic timing.

Kurt and Blaine making out in the backseat of that car. Obviously.

“This is just bros helping bros.” “I love it when you talk fratty.” These two are the biggest fucking dorks.

“Tell me that’s not Tina again!”

Becky as the angry flower girl, throwing her petals with so much fucking force.

Jake calling Ryder out on his racist assumption that Jake would steal, or that Marley would assume Jake was stealing. As far as I remember there’s been no indication that Jake has ever actually committed a crime? He’s just lippy with teachers and sleeps with tons of girls and thinks that makes him a badass, but he isn’t a thief.

Jake and Marley not having sex. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: nobody can convince me that Marley wasn’t asexual. Still, I remember hearing the spoilers that five couples would go into hotel rooms and that four of those would be having sex and instantly hoping that Jake and Marley would be the ones that didn’t. I mean, Jake talks a big game about “taking it slow” but they’ve only been dating for four episodes, so that’s, what, a month? Maybe two? I’m glad that Marley didn’t let herself be pressured by the romantic gestures and such.

Santana raising her arms above her head while she follows Quinn into the hotel room. She’s so excited for the sex she’s about to have.

Honestly, Santana and Quinn in general in this episode. Everything about it is perfect, other than Quinn instantly shooting down the possibility of bisexuality, but my absolute favourite exchange is when Quinn tells Santana that the only non-gross guys are Will (ew) and Al Roker and Santana goes “Al Roker is disgusting, by the way.”

Seriously, though. Santana and Quinn had sex. Twice. That is a canonical thing that happened. I think about it every day tbh. God bless Glee.

Brittany taking pictures of Sue as she walks down the aisle and whispering “you look so good.”

“Oh, look, it’s the glee kids.”

Kurt very obviously hiding his boner behind his jacket as he gets out of the car, and Blaine’s adorable “oh my god.”

“You do realize how trashy blasphemous this is, right?” “Oh, come on Mercedes, everybody hooks up at weddings.”

Kurt pulling Blaine into the hotel room by the fucking tie.

I really enjoy the entire montage of couples post-sex (or post-not-sex, in the case of Jake and Marley). Obviously the Klaine scene is my favourite, but even the Artie/Betty scene is pretty cute. Also, Finn and Rachel’s scene is really heartbreaking in hindsight, since that’s the last time we see them on-screen together (in the same location, at least), and it’s the last kiss Rachel ever gives Finn.

Honestly, although it does annoy me in the context of the episode and in the context of when it aired, in hindsight the whole “we are endgame” speech is pretty sad. Hearing Finn talk about how he and Rachel are going to end up together, no matter what, is like a knife to the heart. Like, wow. There’s so much stuff on this show that in hindsight is just gutting.

That being said, it’s hilarious when Finn gives that whole pseudo-deep metaphor about seeds and Rachel just responds with “are you telling me you want to be a gardener?”

“Will Schuester is a weepy man-child whose greatest joy in life is singing with children. And his best friend? Nineteen.”

“Well, don't say that to Will Schuester. He'll have you singing a stripped down acoustic version of I Will Survive in a choir room full of teenagers with meaningful looks on their faces.”

Rachel telling Finn the honest truth that Emma running off has literally nothing to do with him. I’m glad that we’re at the point in the show where Finn making every woman in his life’s drama about himself is getting nipped in the bud.

Blaine and Kurt flanking Tina in red and white. They look like the angel and devil on her shoulders. Also, they’re totally going to make out during Showgirls.

The portrayal of Emma’s downward spiral over this episode and the previous one is so fantastic. Because it’s real. Here is a woman getting ready for what is supposed to be the happiest day of her life, and she’s just dreading it. Her anxiety gets worse and worse, and that just makes her OCD flare up even more-so than usual, and the result we get in the scene leading into “I’m (Not) Getting Married Today” is so wonderfully acted by Jayma Mays. I can think of very few TV shows who accurately dealt with this downside of mental illness: not even being able to enjoy the things that are supposed to bring you joy. Emma wants more than anything to marry Will, but she just can’t do it. It’s so raw, and emotional, and I’m so glad that we got to watch her perspective and not just Will and Finn’s. It’s just… god, I love that whole scene and that whole story. It’s just so goddamn real.

What I Don’t Like:

Mercedes calling Kurt and Blaine her “arm gays”. No thanks.

Okay, yeah, in hindsight the Finchel stuff is really sad, and I did tear up at a few of their scenes, but for fuck’s sake. It’s season four and we’re still dealing with this bullshit? They don’t have that much screen time, but it feels like every one of their scenes is never ending. And just exhausting. Plus, one of those scenes takes place while Kurt and Blaine are singing and I’ll never forgive Glee for that. Never.

In a similar vein, Artie and Betty have way too much screen time considering she was a one-episode character, and they also have a scene during Klaine’s song. It’s almost worse than the Finchel scene because it involves Artie literally annoying a girl into dancing with him via insulting her. She said no, bud. Leave her alone.

Jake/Marley/Ryder is SO ANNOYING OH MY GOD. Of all the annoying heterosexual bullshit I’m forced to put up with in this episode, theirs annoys me the most. First of all, we’re supposed to be rooting for Jake and Marley, but Glee is clearly showing us that Jake is the worst. But then Ryder kisses Marley, who is dating his best friend, so guess who just got added to the list of “the worst”? Seriously , why were these two the only two options given for Marley? She would have been way better off dating Unique.

I know this is a stupid, nitpicky thing, but I hate when Ryder says “she’s just a sophomore” about Marley, because I’m 98% sure that he and Jake are also sophomores, but this makes it sound like they’re both these mature adults or at least seniors, which just ends up making it seem creepy that these two guys are trying to get with this girl who they both clearly see as innocent and inexperienced, and seem to like all the more because of those qualities.

Again, one of the few episodes where I could accept Will having a lot of scenes, and he’s barely in it. Why does Glee always shove Will down my throat when I don’t want him, but hold back on him when he should actually be there? This is his goddamn wedding and he just got stood up. At least show him going to the honeymoon sweet in the hotel alone or something.

Another nitpicky thing but Mercedes isn’t at the reception and that makes me sad >:(

Songs:

You’re All I Need to Get By: I like the scene that comes before this, but the actual performance is boring, mostly because I do not give a rats ass about Jake and Marley. Also, it’s weird that Marley has solo lines in this. I would understand her singing along to some of it, but why is she singing parts by herself? She didn’t know this performance was happening!! HOW DID THEY CO-ORDINATE!!!

Getting Married Today: An awesome performance and amazing vocals by Jayma Mays. I love all of this except for the weird, floating Will Schuester head that is horribly green-screened to hove over Emma running away.

Just Can’t Get Enough: I really, really like this song. The performance, however, frustrates me. You barely see Kurt and Blaine! There are two scenes interjected in the song of straight couples talking, and almost all of the shots during the song are of straight people dancing. WE GET IT FOX! You didn’t want too much gay on your TV, and this episode already had two boys making out, and the implication of them having sex, as well as two girls having sex. Can’t let the boys actually be seen singing together after all that. (Seriously, though, the cover itself is fantastic).

We’ve Got Tonite: Despite my frustration with Finchel in this episode (and always), I really adore this song. It’s the last time they sing together, but even before it was that I still loved it. It’s slow, but sweet, and has fantastic emotion behind it. Plus, we haven’t had Finchel duets shoved down our throat for quite a while now, so I can appreciate how nice they sound together all the more-so. I also love the sneak-attack group song approach they took. Having everyone sing one line and then Finn and Rachel close it off was really clever and makes for a cool song and a great performance.

Anything Could Happen: This is a fun, upbeat song, and it’s a fun, upbeat scene, but honestly, it feels out of place. We aren’t at a fun, upbeat place when this episode ends. Rachel thinks she’s pregnant. Will can’t find Emma. Finn still feels guilty even though Rachel told him explicitly that it wasn’t his fault. Marley feels weird about Ryder kissing her (even though it wasn’t her fault!). The only storyline that really had a happy ending was the Klaine/Tina one (technically Artie/Betty too, but since we literally never see her again…), so I don’t know why this is suddenly all upbeat and happy. It feels like a really odd note to end such an emotional episode on.

Final Thoughts: I’ve always held this episode close to my heart. There is so much that happens in this episode that is so important to me (mostly Quinntana sexy times, but a lot of it is the Emma stuff too). Yeah, some of it annoys me, and the stuff that annoys me really annoys me, but it doesn’t outweigh all the awesome parts of this episode. Just, overall really strong and well-crafted. A+ Glee!

[secretlessvicki]

Charades and Masquerades

He was a devote Catholic. She was the direct descendant of Madame Marie Laveau. Could he bring her to the side of God and holiness? Or would she show him the ways of magic and sin? 

What happens when a string of murders in one of the most haunted cities brings together two people who never planned to see each other again? And how this all tie into an infamous treasure?

Prologue   Ch 1

Chapter 1

It was another night of tossing and turning for Lieutenant Killian Jones. Being aboard a naval ship never alluded to a good night's sleep. But it wasn’t just the crashing of the waves and the sways of the ship that always had Killian waking in the morning feeling just a tired as he had been when he went to bed.

The empty rum bottle that sat on his desk and the memories of abandonment and betrayal plagued his mind. His mother passing just before his sixth birthday. His father not returning home one night after work. And an endless string of foster homes only homing he and his brother for the paycheck not really caring how the boys fared. And then there was her.

“Get your bloody arse out of bed!”

A sudden splash of water woke Killian from his sleep. “What the fuck, Liam? You couldn’t have just woke me with an alarm like everyone else?”

“I tried. That blasted device has been blaring for half an hour.” He pointed to what looked like a previously working alarm clock. Now it was just a pile of wires and plastic parts all across the cabin floor. “Did you go through another bottle again? Killian, when are you going to stop all of your self-loathing?”

Liam Jones, older brother extraordinaire began tossing away empty bottles with a roll of his eyes. He had been there with Killian through everything. The morning their mother passed, Liam was there holding his baby brother as he cried into his shirt. When their father did not come home, it was Liam who watched over his little brother. The day he turned eighteen, Liam fought with everything he had to earn custody of Killian. It meant working two jobs while also making sure that the rebellious Killian attended school and was clothed and fed. By the time Killian was old enough they were both in their respective ports serving in Her Royal Majesty’s Navy.

“Liam, the bloody fucking sun is not even out. Why in God’s name do I need to be up before it’s light out?” The faint pounding in his head increasing with each blink of his eyes. He almost swore someone was wielding a sledgehammer behind his eyes.

“You know better than to take his name in vain, little brother. Did you forget everything you learned in Bible study?”

A sudden memory of a nun slapping a ruler against a chalkboard flashed in Killian’s mind. He didn’t remember everything but he knew the important bits. Jesus turned water into wine. The Ten Commandments. It’s not as if any of it had helped him recently.

“Are you going to tell me why I am sitting awake on wet bed sheets? We are suppose to be on liberty. That means sleeping in.”

“You are only sleeping in because you stayed awake all night. Now put a shirt on and meet me in the Mess. I’ll fill you in over breakfast.” Liam threw a pillow at his brother before leaving.

After a string of incoherent curses, Killian rummaged around his bunk to find his uniform. Without a window in the cabin, he took a guess at what the weather would be like. The coast of Ireland in April could always be deceiving and he was sure Liam was going to take them both out for the day.

It took Killian almost 10 extra minutes to get down to where he was sure his older brother was waiting for him. He could almost hear Liam drumming his fingers against the metal table each time he had to stop because a fellow sailor commented on his red eyes or the dark circles underneath. Every time he opened a bottle he would tell himself that he would only have a shot or two. But two shots would turn into an entire glass, and after two glasses Killian would ditch the useless tumbler and drink straight from the bottle. He knew what would happen. No matter how much water he drank or how many painkillers he took, the result would always be the same. One massive headache and a piss poor mood.

His mood was even worse when he walked into the Mess to find that Liam had a glass of some awful green concoction. It could only be one thing. Liam Brennan Jones’ version of a hangover cure. One thing for sure was that the bloody drink would taste absolutely terrible.

“What ever happened to a good English breakfast after a night out on the town?”

“First of all, you did not spend the night out on the town. You wallowed away in some pub all night only to drink yourself unconscious in your bunk.

Second, you can do whatever you please at the end of the month when you get discharged. Until then you will continue to follow not only the royal navy’s rules but mine as well. I will still be your older brother even when I am no longer your captain.”

“Aye aye, Captain.” Killian saluted. “In two weeks you will have a new lieutenant to push around.”

“Aye, sometimes I look forward to the day. But until then you are mine, little brother. Now drink up. I want you more coherent. Something big came about last night.”

“Younger brother.” Begrudgingly, Killian drank his hangover cure. He flagged down one of the steward’s for a proper breakfast, finally settling in for Liam’s big news.

“Are you ready?”

Trying very hard not to roll his eyes, Killian slowly nodded his head. The movement felt like his brain was hitting the inside of his skull but Killian managed not to wince. At least he hoped not.

“We found something!” Liam vaguely explained.

“We? As in you and me? Because I certainly do not remember finding anything of importance. Or do you mean the crew? If that is the case I must be far more hungover than I thought, because I was almost positive our latest mission was a recon.”

“Just shut it you git and let me explain. Petty Officer Morgan…”

“Oh you mean that American you have been chatting with in your free time?” Killian suddenly was more interested in this story. Especially when it involved his prude of a brother and a woman.

“It is not like that Killian and you know it. Get your mind out of the gutter so I can explain. She and I have been emailing back and forth since we meet when you and I were stationed at the U.S. Joint Reserve Base in New Orleans. Reylin is into history same as we are. In fact, she actually did a semester abroad at Imperial College the same time you were in your second year.”

“So she likes history. Sounds like the two of you were made for each other.”

“Stop it, Killian. Would you let me get to the point? She likes history and her favorite subject is lost treasures of the world. She and I have been talking about our hobbies outside of our respective navys and she mentioned looking into an old New Orleans legend. Jean Lafitte.”

If Killian hadn’t been interested before, he was certainly now. While he was not as enthusiastic about history as his brother, Killian Jones did have a love of pirates, fiction or real.

“So you two were talking about a man who was one of the lesser known pirates? What is so important about him?”

“What is important is that to the people in the southern states, Lafitte is not just a second rate pirate. There he is a legend. And before you interrupt me again I wanted to tell you that Morgan has been looking into an old legends about Lafitte. More specifically his last buried treasure.”

“And she found it?”

Pirates and buried treasures had not been what Killian had thought he would be spending his morning talking about. And honestly, he still wished he wasn’t, his bed and pillow were screaming for him to return.

“Not exactly. But she has been digging and she found coordinates to a possible location.”

“Liam, what does this have to do with us?”

“I was thinking that you will be discharged at the end of the month and I will be on leave from my tour. And what better bonding than going on a treasure hunt?”

Killian was thankful that in that moment the steward had brought him his breakfast. He was going to need more protein to get his brain functioning if he was going to deal with Liam and another one of his grand ideas of adventures. The last time the two of them spent bonding time together, Liam ended up in a naval hospital in Brazil after finding out he was highly allergic to a thorny plant in the jungle.

“You want to go on a treasure hunt?” Killian began scanning the room. “Are you pranking me? Or is this some type of documentary for National Geographic? You honestly think it is a good idea for the two of us to fly to the colonies to help a Yankee sailor hunt for an unknown buried treasure? Are you sure you are not trying to impress this lass? Because trying to become Indiana Jones sure sounds like it.”

There was silence between the men as Killian ate and Liam sulked. It was when Killian’s eyes didn’t seem so heavy and his proper posture returned that Liam spoke again.

“You are telling me that you do not want to go? Killian Jones- Mr. ‘I love a challenge’ does not want to help a pretty woman find a long lost treasure? What else would you be doing besides wallowing away in your apartment?”

What was he supposed to say to that? Killian huffed and slouched in his seat. He could tell that Liam knew he had won. 

The next week and a half was spent listening to Liam and Officer Morgan talk about what the possibilities were at the end of the coordinates Reylin had. Killian had to admit that it was all very interesting and that he often found himself wondering what the treasure could be. Realistically he knew that the chance of finding something valuable was slim to near impossible. But it didn’t stop Killian from reading up on Jean Lafitte in his spare time.

As it turned out there was more to the man than it seemed. He had no loyalties to anyone but the person paying him. He looted supplies from ships belonging to Britain, France, and America. But what was interesting was that much of the loot that was stolen was dispersed by Pierre Lafitte, Jean’s half-brother. From his reading, Killian could tell that Jean and Pierre were close. Enough so that he could see the similarities between these brothers and he and Liam.

Jean was the romantic type. A number of legends and tales told of his seduction of women and his charm. Liam had almost choked on his dinner one night when Killian read the latest biography. “Sounds like a certain young lieutenant I know.” He had coughed.

Pierre was more reserved. He was the brains of the operations. It was his job to make sure that all treasures were sold or taken care of. While Jean was out having fun raiding the ships, it was Pierre who was keeping them both out of jail. Until he unfortunately found himself behind bars in a rat infested jail in New Orleans that is. Killian kept that news away from Liam.

Late one-night, Killian sat at his desk lost in a rabbit hole of information. If he was going to go on this adventure with his brother and some American lass, he wanted to know what it was that they were going after. His search started with possible treasures that one might look for with pirate hunting. It was after one in the morning, that Killian ended up on a forum made up of men and women across the world that discussed possible leads in hunts, myths and legends, and even a few experts on famous lost treasures. One post in particular caught Killian’s attention.

The lost treasure of Jean Lafitte is considered one of the world’s greatest lost treasures. It is believed that Lafitte hid the treasure somewhere in the city with clues left behind for his brother to one day find. To this day it has never been recovered.

The Voodoo Queen of New Orleans herself spent much of her life dedicated to finding out what was in the lost treasure of Jean Lafitte. No one knows why she wanted the treasure so badly. Was it for the money? Was the treasure powerful? Could it have possibly been tied to the city? To magic? Was the treasure a person? Perhaps the treasure is the long lost Fleur de Lis.

There were more posts and comments that all led to the same thing. The Napoleon Fleur de Lis. It was a pure gold statue encrusted with the finest cute diamonds and rubies. The fleur de lis itself was priceless without even considering it’s history. Napoleon had the statue commissioned as a physical representation of his family crest. Before his exile the statue had gone missing only for it to turn up in the hands of the American government after the Louisiana purchase. The government then gave the Fleur de Lis to the city of New Orleans as a gift. Years later the very statue went missing again, never to be seen again. At the same time, Pierre Lafitte had been imprisoned for the murder of an American sailor (was later exonerated) and his brother had moved all operations to Galveston.  

This was it. It had to be it. The treasure that Reylin and ultimately Killian and Liam were hunting.

With a quick text message to the group chat between the members saying he found a lead, Killian sat back in his chair with a grin on his face. Maybe this whole treasure hunting thing wouldn’t be so terrible after all. It could be just the distraction he needed from his constant thoughts of her eyes. Or the three faint lines she would get on her forehead when he said or did something that annoyed her.

That night he fell into a restless sleep. Dreams of a conversation from a time long before his own flashed behind his closed eyes. But just before he woke the next morning, the mystery man in Killian’s dreams faded into an image of himself. Green eyes full of tears broke his heart as he spoke to her.

“I told my brother. He knows to come find you. Keep it safe.”

[jq37]

The Report Card -- Fantasy High Sophomore Year Ep 1

Sophomores and Spring Break 

Note: Hey guys! I decided to try something a little bit different and slightly more structured than my usual recaps for FH: Sophomore Year. I’m hoping this will be a little easier for me and a more useful tool for keeping up to date since there will be a lot more eps to keep track of and they’ll be easier to miss. Lemme know what you think and if you want raw, unfiltered opinions on anything specific, feel free to send me an ask. I’m always down to go off about literally whatever. 

We’re back, baby! It is Sophomore Year at Aguefort and the gang is on Spring Break. A lot is going down so lemme break it down. The Bad Kids, having defeated Kalvaxus last year, are all entitled to a share of his hoard and all the red tape is finally cleared so they all get 20k gold each (which is an insane amount of money converted to USD if you use the WOTC conversion rate of a gold coin being around $145 (circa 2006 when they answered the question)--which would be close to $330 with inflation). Jawbone and Sandra-Lynn are moving in after less than a year into a profoundly haunted house and it’s kind of a Full House situation because Adaine, Fig, Kristen, and Tracker all officially live there (plus it seems that Zayn has also anchored himself to Adaine’s tower--btw, Adaine took the tower that the haunted house obviously has) and you know all the other Bad Kids are gonna be there on the regular. 

More importantly, Aguefort gives the gang their big project for the year--finding the crown of the Nightmare King which was stolen at the end of last season--which is worth 60% of their grade (Adaine does a full Hermione at this information). Each of the gang has info about the NK but the trail has mostly gone cold. Luckily, Fabian just got a hot tip about where Falinel is keeping Aelwyn and she seems like a pretty good lead to start with since she was super tied up in the bad side of all the messiness of last year. Adaine is displeased to say the least. 

Going off to find the crown is super exciting story-wise for two reasons. First of all, it means the gang gets to hire, well, hirelings to help them and temporarily join the party! They ping basically every cool NPC they can think of (except for Tracker for some reason which is BONKERS because (1) she probably would have done it for free and cutting her in would still be keeping the money in the family, (2) she’s dope as hell, (3) she’s a cleric and the party can always use more healers, (4) she’s a werewolf so presumably she has skills that would help in the woods, and (5) they’re t r a c k i n g down a crown and the girl’s name is literally T R A C K E R, but I will not backseat D&D) and eventually end up with Ragh (who has been without an adventuring party all year, poor guy), Sandra-Lynn (swayed by a nat 20 rolled by Fig), Cathilda (!?) ,and, for some reason, Gilear (which Fabian is happy about, mainly for the opportunity to maybe bump him off on the way). Second of all, if you recall, Elmville is a pretty modern town but the rest of the continent is less fantasy high, more high fantasy. Horses and lanterns and all that pseudo-medieval goodness. They are gonna stick out like a sore thumb. I am very here for it. 

Everyone goes home to rest up but, after some ominous dreams, only four of them wake up. Riz and Fig are left asleep and then Brennan mic drops and ends the episode which is a power move and I am extremely upset about it but also, respect. Right for the jugular immediately. I heard Murph and Emily are on tour in the UK next week which probably has something to do with this but, in the moment, I did not know that and I really felt the hammer drop in my heart. It was wild. Cannot wait to see where we go from here. Plus, who doesn’t love watching characters freak out because their friends are in danger?

Random Thoughts

I have no idea what the title of this episode is or if it’ll even have one and not a number but I gave it a placeholder one for now. I also don’t have access to the stream yet so I didn’t get to include some info I wanted to (like a record of nat 20s, and nat 1s so I can track their stats for the school year) and I probably missed some stuff because my brain can only hold so much info guys. I’m not Brennan. 

I mentioned this yesterday during the stream, but there will never be anything better than the pure D&D joy of everyone, in character, talking over each other to clown on each other. They get the friend-group banter that’s a hair breadth’s away from bullying so true to life and it’s so fun to watch. On the flip side, the opening scene with everyone introducing themselves and affirmatively claiming each other as their best friends was also peak D&D. Found family= best trope. 

Fig and Adaine burn spell-slots at basically the same time to try and beat each other to the best room in the (Scooby-Doo ass) house--which is exactly the kind of thing that would happen in this world. It’s such an intuitive setting. I love it so much. (BTW, Fig ends up staying in the false space under the revolving grand piano because, of course).

Fabian and Gorgug went to recruit Ragh, who assumed they were propositioning him for a three-way. In his defense, they did do it in a super proposition-y way and they were in the middle of the LGBTQ student union.

Also, Gorgug gives Ragh an inspiring speech about thinking you’re your own dad which makes him burst into tears. 

Speaking of, Jawbone offhandedly says he’s poly but, like, based on some of the stuff he’s said, I feel like that’s not really a reveal. He also gets along well with Gorthalax and would be down w/ a three-way if Sandra-Lynn wanted to which, again, totally checks out. 

Arthur Aguefort uses Chronomancy to rewind time and catch a snide comment Adaine made under her breath, which is exactly the kind of frivolous use of God-like power I’d expect from him.  

I really love Adaine’s energy coming into this season. She’s in therapy. She’s in a good home environment. She’s comfortable enough with her friend group to do stuff like prank Fig (love that they’re gonna be living together now). And she’s good friends with Zayn now which I want to see more of based on their one interaction in this ep which was very cute. I am already on record as saying I would be down with her getting a ghost boyfriend--I mean, for the aesthetic alone--but I’d be happy with just more friendship. 

Fabian is also hilarious this season because you can tell he’s gone a bit soft from having friends and leaning into that (the friendship necklace with Riz) but also he’s fully aware that it’s happening so he’s, like, ping-ponging back and forth like, “These are my friends,” and, “What am I saying? I used to be cool,” and it’s very funny. Very happy the Aelwyn storyline is happening right out of the gate, both because I think Aelwyn is a very interesting character with a lot of potential for nuance but also because Fabian reacting to her and Adaine reacting to Fabian reacting to her is always gold. 

Prompted by an offhand conversation from Fig about rock and roll, Brennan--earning another feather for his Cap of God Tier DMing--goes on an impromptu five minute long improved diatribe about a bard who played such a good concert that it instantly impregnated everyone in attendance (dudes too) who gave birth to kids with sick rocker hair and denim jackets and ascended to Rock Heaven on their 18th Birthday. You truly have to watch it to believe it. At a certain point I thought he was gonna drop it but that was the moment he doubled down and kept going. Amazing. 

Watching Murph, in real time, make up a girl/boy/whateverfriend in Fantasy Canada was a gift. 

I don’t have access to the stream yet but best quote of the night that I can remember is Kristen choosing her room: This is triggering and I’ll take it. (Her line about her lesbian starter kit and the one about wanting a horse were also bangers). 

The group talks about what they’re going to do for transportation outside of Elmsville since they don’t really use cars out there and they somehow get from “disguise Fig’s tour bus” to “commission Aguefort to create a brand new animal that can hold six people plus hirelings, one of which is Fabian who is also riding his motorbike”.

I love that Sandra-Lynn’s Mom Powers work on Tracker. 

Basrar doesn’t accept the invitation to come with on the quest, but he does give Kristen a bag of infinite ice cream sandwiches, which is basically just as good, IMO. 

Oh Gilear. The man is sleeping in the Seacaster garage, being bullied by skater kids, and now he’s stuck on this quest with his ex and Fabian who actively wants him dead.  

Speaking of, I’m psyched to see more of Sandra-Lynn. She was kind of a sleeper badass at the end of last season. 

Ragh is keeping secrets which I hope the cast doesn’t forget because it could be nothing serious (like the high school drama happening with Skrank and the 7 maidens--maybe he’s just crushing on Gorgug who did full kiss him during Promocalypse) or it could be Serious Business that will blow up if the don’t stay on top of it. We’ll see. 

Oh, almost forgot. Adaine wants an emotional support frog. Every time I think I can’t love her more.   

Detention

Fig for Not Respecting Personal Boundaries

Fig goes full Emily right out the gate and, after finding out that Skrank (nerdy bird dude who apparently can get it) was not only dating Ostentasia (rich, popular dwarf) but also dumped her in pursuit of Danielle Barkstock (one of Ostentasia’s party members, the scandal), disguises herself as him with Danielle to figure out what’s going on. And, wouldn't you know it, when she gives herself away, Danielle immediately is shocked and appalled, as you would be, obviously. We also learn that she’s still catfishing Dr. Asha which is, how you say, for sure a crime. Fig, please, I’m begging you. Cease. 

Honor Roll

Fig, Riz, and Adaine for Researching the Nightmare King

Fig made both lists, look at that. Wasn’t my plan for this to be a three-way tie (also didn’t expect to use the word “three-way” this many times in this writeup) but I think their contributions were pretty much equally valuable. Rainsolo on the Discord wrote up this summary of the lore dump Brennan gave them.

[hookedonapirate]

Tangled Up In Blue

You be the anchor that keeps me grounded, I'll be the savior that lifts you up 

(Chapter 30/31)

Summary: Fear for her unborn child, a bruised and broken Emma Swan is determined to escape an abusive marriage. After she drives a long way from home to a small town in Maine, she doesn’t think her life could get more complicated… that is until she ends up falling for her OBGYN, a blue-eyed British man who’s shielded his heart from love long ago. But he may be just what she needs to begin her healing process and start a new life for her child. If only nothing gets in the way.

Notes: I am so sorry it took so long for this chapter, but I have the epilogue mostly written as well. It has been a process and there were some bumps in the road, but I decided to post what I have now and include everything else in the epilogue. Thank you to everyone who has helped ma and motivated me to get the two last chapters written, @onceuponaprincessworld, @rouhn especially. 

I am so sad the ending of this story is near, but I've enjoyed writing it and I hope you will like how I conclude it. Thanks for reading and following along!

Thank you @rouhn for looking it over and for all of your suggestions!

Rated: M

Catch Up: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29

Check out deleted scenes: 1 2 3

Also available on: AO3 FF.N

Killian made his way down the stairs and started buttoning up his shirt when he came up behind his beautiful girlfriend in the doorway wondering who could be at the door. He could see little Ian’s patch of hair from over her shoulder, his little hand clutching her arm. “Who’s at the door, love?” As soon as he asked the question, he stepped up behind Emma, grabbing her hips and brushing his lips against the back of her ear, taking in her wonderful scent.

 That’s when he saw them on the porch staring at him and his girlfriend completely dumbfounded.

 Killian lifted his head, eyeing them in confusion. “Mum? Papa? What are you—what are you doing here?”

 Emma stepped aside to allow Killian to stand beside her. Ian looked at Killian, reaching for him and let out a giggle so Emma kissed her baby boy and transferred him into Killian’s arms.

 Holding Ian was comforting and probably the only thing keeping him together under the judgy, scrutinizing eyes of his parents. He took Ian’s hand in his as the infant rested his head on Killian’s chest. Cradling the little lad’s head, his heart fluttered at the affections Emma’s son was showing him. But he couldn't help but feel a bit perturbed by his parent’s presence, why they landed on his doorstep out of the blue and why Emma seemed stiff under their gaze.

 “It’s nice to see you, too, Killian.” His father’s words were taut and short as he placed his hands on his hips.

 “We were promised a visit, but haven’t even heard one word from you in months, and now here we are standing on your stoop and all you can say is say ‘what are you doing here?’, not even bothering to invite us into your home?” his mother chided sternly, crossing her arms over her chest.

 “Aye, where is the respect we taught you growing up, boy?” Brennan added with equal intolerance.

 “I'm sorry, I was just… I was just surprised,” Killian replied once he found the words. “I wasn't expecting you, that's all. Please come in.” He and Emma stepped inside, letting his parents into the foyer, shutting the door behind them.

 “Would you like anything?” Emma asked them politely, but her expression was unreadable. Killian could tell his parents had already done or said something to upset her.

 “Yes, we’ll take some hot tea, please,” Alice replied and Emma and Killian walked into the kitchen as his parents slowly dragged behind them, muttering something amongst themselves.

 They sat at the table across from Killian as he cradled Ian in his arms, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of his head. Emma filled a kettle with water as Alice and Brennan studied their son’s interaction with Ian, a bewildered expression settled in their features.

 Emma joined them at the table, sliding in next to Killian and her son while waiting for the water in the kettle to boil on the stove. Killian curled an arm around her shoulder while the other one was holding Emma's son securely against his chest, Ian’s pudgy little hand squeezing a tiny fistful of Killian’s still unbuttoned shirt.

 Alice was the first to speak, steady and calm, breaking the unsettling silence. “Killian, your father and I have decided to ignore your rude mannerisms, which we certainly did not teach you, and the fact that we haven’t heard from you in the past five months. Instead of dwelling on those things at the moment, your father and I would like to discuss the most pressing issue here—why didn’t you tell us you had a son?”

 The awkwardness of the question and the silence that followed as Killian and Emma both gaped at his parents, was so deafening, one could hear a pin drop in the room. “Um…” He swallowed thickly, not sure how to answer that.

 “The boy in your arms. You weren’t going to mention him?” Brennan asked, pointing to Ian.

 “Oh, he’s not Killian’s…” Emma cut in. “I mean not biologically. Killian and I are raising Ian together, but I unfortunately had our son with another man—my ex husband. But you could say Killian is his real father.”

 During all of Killian’s existence, he was not sure he’d heard words so beautiful, ones that made his heart sing like it did in that moment. They had both discussed this before Emma had given birth to Ian, but he didn’t know, after she had left Storybrooke, if that scenario was still be on the table or not, and he didn't want to pressure her by bringing it up. But apparently it was still feasible.

 “You're divorced?” his mother asked, as though she were offended by such an idea. “And now you’re dragging our son into your mess?”

 Killian gritted his teeth, practically snarling like a wolf protecting his mate and pup against anyone who dare threaten to hurt them.

 Emma glared at them, trying to compose herself. “First of all, my life is none of your business, and secondly, how dare you judge me? You have no idea who I am or what I've been through. And you certainly don't know shit about my relationship with your son,” she spat.

 “Aye, she's right,” Killian quickly agreed. “You want to talk about respect, and yet you come in here speaking that way about the woman I'm madly in love with who, may I add, lives here too. How dare you come into our home and talk to her like that?”

 Emma turned her head and he could detect a subtle smirk curving her lips as she rested her hand on his thigh, giving a delicate squeeze, which he knew was her way of telling him she loved him too.

 “Killian, we're only looking out for your best interest.”

 “And how the bloody hell would you know what my best interest is?” Killian challenged, keeping his voice low so as not to disturb the wee lad in his arms as he rubbed his small back in soothing circles.

 “Well, it's certainly not her. She's obviously the reason you haven't come home to visit your parents and—”

 “My reasons are my own. And my home is here with Emma and Ian. I've wanted to visit, but there were many things that have kept me here.”

 “Well, you used to put family before anything. Why all of a sudden does one woman change that?”

 Killian was glad his son was in his arms because otherwise he’d be slamming his fist on the table. The only things keeping him composed was Emma's hand rubbing his thigh and Ian’s warmth and tiny breaths against his chest. “In case you forgot, I have family in Storybrooke, too. Liam and Cordelia, and now Emma and Ian.”

 “Then why are we just now learning about Ian if you say they're family?” his mother demanded.

 “Because I wanted to tell you in person when we could have a long discussion about it. Don't you think it would've been a bit irritating for me to call and say ‘Mum and Papa, I'm raising my girlfriend’s son with her’? Don’t you think you would have wanted to meet her first?”

 “Aye, it is very upsetting to be out of the loop and not know anything about our son’s life here,” Brennan expressed. “But we're here now. Let's have the discussion, shall we?”

 “As long as Emma's okay with it. Like I said, some notice you were coming into the country would've been nice,” Killian stated them bitterly.

 Emma took a deep breath and nodded. “I'll get the tea.”

 Killian leaned over to kiss her chastely on the lips before she stood up to transfer the water to a teapot.

 “Killian, why can't we discuss this between the three of us?” Alice asked in irritation.

 Killian was starting to get angry, but again his son kept him calm. “Because, as I said before, Emma lives here. She's not going anywhere.”

 “But we want to talk to you , not her .”

 “Speak for yourself, love. You heard him—Killian’s in love with her—so I want to hear everything, and I want to get to know this lass who has stolen our son’s heart,” Brennan remarked with a small smile.

 Killian nodded appreciatively at his father. “Thank you, Papa.”

 “It's fine, she's right,” Emma interjected, handing Alice and Brennan each a cup of hot tea. “I should take Ian and leave the three of you to talk and catch up.”

 “Sweetness, you don't have to leave. You have every right to be here.”

 “I know, but maybe it's better. That way I won't say anything I might regret,” she muttered with tight lips, glaring at Killian's mother.

 “Emma, I have to agree with Killian,” Brennan stated. “You are more than welcome to stay. I for one have been dying to meet the woman who my son’s smitten over.” He looked over at his wife with pleading eyes. “Come on, Alice, aren't you interested to hear how they met and what they've been up to.”

 Alice let out an exasperated sigh as she looked at Killian. “I suppose. But you better have a good reason for not visiting us.”

 Killian gazed at Emma, encouraging her with his eyes, and Emma took her seat, Alice's stare moving to her, waiting for some answers.

 With reluctance Emma began, her hands trembling as she felt the mind crippling gaze of his mother on her. “I came to Storybrooke to keep my son safe from my ex-husband. He…” Emma stammered and Killian took her hand, soothing his thumb over her fingers.

 “Love, you don't have to do this.”

 “No, it's okay.” Emma took a deep breath and gently squeezed his hand, drawing energy from his touch. “He was violent and I didn't want him to hurt my son and I didn't want to raise Ian in a household like that. I was pregnant at the time when we came here to Storybrooke. And of course when I arrived I sought an OBGYN, and Killian was highly recommended to me.” Emma didn't get a chance to go on before Alice clapped a hand over her mouth, eyes practically popping out of her head.

 She looked at her son, perplexed. “She is your patient?!”

 Killian shot her a glare. “Mum, would you let her finish?”

 Alice shook her head and started pushing her husband over so she could get up from the seat. “I've heard enough.”

 Brennan, however, didn't budge. “Alice, would you calm down and listen to what this lovely woman has to say?”

 Alice huffed, but listened to her husband's plea, sitting back in her seat and taking her cup of tea, mumbling under her breath. “Fine, please go on.”

 “Maybe this isn't such a good idea,” Emma muttered and started to stand up, but Killian put a gentle hand on Emma's arm to stop her.

 “Love, please stay,” he begged softly.

 Emma sighed at his mother and picked up where she'd left off. “Yes, I was Killian’s patient, at first. He was very kind and respectful. He gave me hope when I had none. I started to fall for him, and he wanted to keep things professional, but neither of us could deny what we felt for each other. So I switched to another doctor.”

 Killian’s mother wasn't any more at ease, and she slammed her cup down on the table, hot liquid sloshing around and a little spilling over the rim. “Killian, you could have lost your license!” his mother squealed.

 “But I didn't. I went to the board and told them about our relationship,” Killian clarified firmly.

 “Then you are lucky! How could you risk your career for her?!” his mother asked, completely flabbergasted.

 “Because, as I told you, I love her. I love her and Ian. They are my family, and I wouldn't take back my decision to choose them over my practice for anything.”

 “This is absurd! Please, get up Brennan! We are leaving!”

 “No, that's okay,” Emma assured, irritated. “You both should stay. I will take Ian and leave so the three of you can talk. I'm sorry, Killian,” she whispered, taking Ian from his arms and holding her son securely, quickly standing up before Killian could stop her.

 He scowled at his mother, angrily. He couldn't believe she was acting like this. “Emma, wait!”

 She left the kitchen, and Killian launched from his seat, hurrying to the foyer where Emma started gathering Ian’s diaper bag and stroller from the closet.

 He came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her stomach, whispering gently in her ear. “Sweetness, you don't have to leave.”

 Emma paused and took a breath, sinking into her lover’s body, indulging in his warm embrace. “It's okay, Killian. You need to sort things out with your parents. Ian and I will have a nice day enjoying the weather. Maybe we’ll visit Mary Margaret and David. And perhaps you can join us when you're done?”

 Killian pressed a kiss to her temple and her ear, squeezing her a little tighter. “As long as you're okay, baby. You know I love you, right?”

 Emma nodded. “I know. But it's a lot for your parents to take all at once, so I get their frustration. They just care about you.”

 “But they don't have a right to degrade you or talk to you like that.”

 “They're just upset.” Emma turned around in his arms, looking Killian in the eye. “Ian and I will be fine, I promise.”

 Killian rested his forehead against hers, caressing her cheek, Ian stirring between them. “Just wait, after a while they will soon see how amazing you are and love you and Ian just as I do.”

 Emma flashed a weak smile. “I love you Killian… so much.”

 Killian’s heart fluttered, and he leaned in, capturing her lips. They kissed slowly, savoring the taste of each other, tongues moving softly against one another. If Killian could have his way, he would kick his parents out and take her upstairs, kiss every inch of her body and make love to her showing exactly how much she meant to him—how much he loved her. But judging by the way her lips moved with his, with so much passion and eagerness, and the way she fisted his shirt with her free hand to pull him closer, she already knew. Lord, did she know.

 ~~~

 Emma pushed Ian around in the stroller when they arrived at the park in her car. The day was warm and sunny, birds chirping pleasantly as she dreaded the phone call she knew she would receive from Killian after he had talked everything out with his parents. She hated that she’d gotten in between their relationship and she knew Killian’s parents, or his mother at least, hated her guts already.

 Emma hadn't quite pictured their meeting turning out like this. She had envisioned flying over to England with Ian and Killian and being greeted warmly by his parents as they welcomed her with open arms. But of course, this was their reality; this is what she should've expected to face knowing how she and Killian had met. His parents were both doctors, so of course they would be against the relationship. Emma felt so stupid. She should've known they wouldn't accept her. Not after Killian risked his career and reputation to be with her.

 Emma reached a bench and unbuckled her baby boy from his stroller, holding him in her arms as she kissed his forehead. She sat down and looked into his big, sparkling eyes as she smiled down at him, caressing his cheek. She tried to empathize with Killian's parents and how they must have felt after flying all the way here to the States to learn that Killian had been keeping things from them. If it were Emma in their position she would have just been glad her son was happy. She’d be happy her son had found a love like she and Killian had. But she wasn't sure that was exactly the problem. Maybe Killian's mother simply didn't like her based on hasty assumptions and quick conclusions, or perhaps Alice was threatened by her, thinking she was trying to steal her youngest son away. But still, who was this woman to judge her so quickly? Alice had no idea what had happened.

 “Ian, I promise you, when you are old enough to find love, I will accept whomever you are with. I want you to be happy… always.” Emma's eyes started swelling with tears at the thought of her son growing up and the kind of future he might have, hoping they would always be close no matter what happened. She hoped, no she knew they could get through anything together. They've already been through hell, but she knew the moment she left Neal they’d be able to get through anything.

 Ian reached out for his mommy, grabbing her finger, and Emma laughed, bringing his fingers to her lips and kissing each one.

 “Mama loves you so much.” Emma's heart swelled and she enjoyed the quiet time with her son, trying not to think about the conversation Killian was having with his parents.

 After a while, Emma took Ian to the diner to see what everyone was up to. She missed working there but she wouldn't change the way things turned out. She was lucky to have snagged the job as deputy with no prior training.

 Emma was surprised by how warmly everyone greeted her, although she guessed she shouldn't be. These people, the customers, the employees and of course the owners, had become family to her.

 She was pretty sure the entire town was there—well not everyone , but it was pretty crowded. Looking across the diner as she was talking to Ashley and hearing the latest gossip of Storybrooke, she had to admit she was surprised to see Regina and her father sitting at a table… with Robin.

 “Emma!” Regina called out and waved when she spotted Emma. She stood up, and Emma walked towards the booth and met her half way, drawing her in for a hug. “How are you?”

 “I'm good. We’re both good.”

 “And Dr. Jones, how is he?”

 “He's good too,” Emma laughed. Once word got out about something here in Storybrooke, everybody knew. “Now you know why I couldn't tell you before.”

 “I know,” Regina stated with a smile before her features grew serious. “Listen, Emma, I have to thank you.”

 Emma arched a brow, not knowing why Regina would be thanking her. “For what? I should be the one thanking you.”

 “You've done enough, believe me.” Regina turned her head, looking at Robin who was chatting with Henry, before facing Emma again, biting her bottom lip. “Robin told his wife.”

 Emma's mouth fell open; she was a bit shocked he actually went through with it. “He did?”  

 “Yes. They're waiting for the divorce to be finalized.”

 Emma was stunned, but also glad he was able to man up and be honest with his wife; however, she was still confused. “So what do I have to do with this?”

 “Well, when he told me he was finally going through with the divorce, I asked him what changed... and he said you inspired him.”

 “I did?”

 “Yeah, he said you spoke to him and told him about your situation. He said if you can travel as far as you did, and find a new life for you and your son, then he should be honorable enough to give one to his wife, and like you had phrased, set her free. So he confessed to his wife about the affair and told her he wanted a divorce.” Regina paused, letting out a heavy sigh. “It's been a rough few months for them, and I feel guilty for coming between them, but Robin keeps telling me I did them both a favor. Things between them weren't going to get better no matter how much they let everyone think it was.”

 “Well, I really can't take credit for it. I just told him he should do the right thing. What he did with that was up to him.”

 “Still, you have inspired great things, Emma. You don't even know how much you've influenced the citizens here in Storybrooke. After you left and the word got out what had happened with Neal, I gained six new clients in one week, and they were all women who wanted to escape their abusive husbands or boyfriends, but had been too scared to do anything about it, or didn't know how or what steps to take. And now you're the deputy out to protect the people here. These women look up to you.”

 Emma gaped at Regina, completely baffled. “I inspired them to come to you?”

 The brunette nodded. “You did. You give people strength to do what they didn't think they could, and you didn't even know it.”

 Emma was shocked. She had no idea she had that kind of effect on people. She’d had women come to the station with complaints about domestic violence, wanting restraining orders, but Emma didn't know she had anything to do with them overcoming their fear to be there.

 “Emma. How are you and your son?”

 She was so bewildered she hadn't noticed Regina’s father along with Robin had come over to join them. “We’re fine,” she replied, smiling warmly. “I'm glad to see you're okay.”

 “Thank you. I wouldn't say I'm doing that great because I'm on a restricted diet of vegetables and fish, which I hate,” he grumbled, and Emma laughed. “But as much as I miss our favorite waitress I'm glad there is someone smart patrolling this town. One day, you will be the Sheriff.”

 “Thank you, I miss being your waitress, but I think I was destined for something else honestly, and I have a long way to go until I'm Sheriff.”

 “Well, I know I’ll be voting for you when the time comes.”

 Emma blushed. “Thanks, Henry.”

 She talked some more with him, Regina and Robin as Ian lay asleep in his stroller, for it had been a very long day for the little guy already.

Almost everyone in the diner came over at one point, gushing and swooning over Ian, commenting on how adorable he was. It wasn't long before Emma received a text, her phone vibrating in her pocket, and she grabbed it, looking at the screen.

 It's safe to come home, darling. Miss you and Ian — Killian

 Since his message wasn't very detailed, she was nervous, her stomach coiling with knots during her drive home. She didn't really know what to expect. Will his parents still be there or are they already gone? Was Killian alright, had they fought or was everything okay between them? These were all the questions racing through her mind, and she hoped that everything would be okay because she didn't want to cause problems between Killian and his parents. She would never want that.

 So when Emma saw their car still parked in the driveway, her nerves tightened even more. She pressed the automatic button so the garage door opened, and she pulled the car in, closing the door behind her.

 Killian had assured her it was safe to come home, so hopefully he had gotten through to them, and hopefully a bloody match hadn't transpired between them. Emma knew how protective Killian could be, and without even knowing them for very long, she knew his parents, especially Alice, wouldn't be so easy to back down.

 So, warily, Emma came through the side door from the garage with Ian in one arm and the folded up stroller in the other, preparing herself for anything.

 When she entered the kitchen, setting the stroller down against the island counter and was immediately greeted by Alice, whose eyes were full of sorrow and regret, Emma was a bit struck.

 Alice took Emma's hand between both of hers, offering a frail smile. “Emma, I wanted to apologize for my behavior. Killian explained everything that happened, and I'm sorry I was quick to judge.”

 The first thing Emma did was search her eyes, looking for any signs of pity. If Killian told his parents everything, then she knew there was the possibility that Alice felt guilty and felt sorry for Emma, so she could've been compelled to apologize, but Emma could see the genuine look in her eyes, and there wasn't a trace of pity, only shame.

 “Thank you.” Emma was taken aback when Alice opened her arms and pulled her and Ian into a hug. She felt a bit overwhelmed at first, but after looking at Killian, who smiled and nodded at her, she allowed Alice to hug her, and relaxed again; she was glad to know Killian’s mother didn't hate her.

 Alice was suddenly insecure and vulnerable; Emma could feel it when Alice breathed a sigh of relief against them. Emma didn't really know how to respond, so she allowed the hug to continue until Alice finally pulled away; she decided she liked this side of Killian's mother much better.

 Alice pointed at Ian, smiling at him with a love in her eyes only a grandmother held, hope edging her voice when she spoke. “Is it okay if I hold him? I mean since he is now like my grandson?”

 Emma nodded. “Yeah, of course.” She transferred her son to Alice and watched as the woman looked at Ian with a warm smile. He appeared to be a little nervous, like he might cry because of the strange person holding him, so Killian stepped over, offering a smile to reassure him.

 “It's okay little lad; she won't hurt you,” he cooed softly.

 Normally Ian was not settled around people he didn't know, but it seemed he felt Alice was a good person because the only thing he did was play with the necklace hanging from her neck.

 Alice laughed and gently swayed him in her arms. “You are such a sweet little boy.”

 It was Brenan’s turn to apologize as he came up to Emma, taking her hand between both of his. “I am very happy my boy found someone like you. And I hope you can forgive me for any stress I have caused you.”

 Emma assured him with a small smile. “It's okay, I forgive you. I know this all was a shock for you both.”

 Brennan grinned and lifted her hand, pressing a kiss to her knuckles, and Emma laughed. She could see where Killian got his good looks and charm from. “I can tell you're his father who taught him how to be a gentleman.”

 Brennan cheeks filled with blush as he flashed a smug smirk. “Aye, I surely did, lass.”

 Alice rolled her eyes, but kept her gaze on Ian. “All of the Jones men are handsome and charming, but they're also full of themselves. Isn't that right little Ian?” she murmured in a childish voice as she pressed her index finger to his little button nose, making him giggle. “See? Ian agrees. He’s such a cutie, I must say. Any plans of having another one with my Killy?” she asked casually, glancing at Emma again.

 Emma blushed and opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.

 “I think it's a little too soon for that, Mum,” Killian interjected, and when Emma looked over at him, his cheeks were also red.

 “Alice, the lass just had this one. There's no need for them to rush into anything,” Brennan added.

 Luckily Killian’s phone rang to save her from having to add anything further to that.

 “It’s Liam, be right back,” Killian said, answering his phone and leaving the kitchen.

 Emma didn't know what exactly Killian had said to them, but he must have gotten through because Alice and Brennan had transformed into different people from that morning when they were on the door stoop. They were both making silly faces at Ian and playfully tickling and making him laugh. Emma was watching in amusement when Killian reentered the room, drawing everyone's attention, and he had a readless expression on his face which slowly grew into a grin.

 “It looks like grandbaby number two is on the way. Cordelia’s in labor. They're on their way to the hospital now.”

 Everything after that was a rushed blur as Emma dropped Ian off at the Nolan’s and went with Killian and his parents to the hospital, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the newborn. They stayed all night, retaining their energy by drinking coffee and eating cafeteria food.

 Several hours later, Maya Alice Jones was born, six pounds, eleven ounces and twenty one inches long.

 There were lots of tears and hugs and kisses and congratulations before Emma and Killian took a break from the hospital to give the new parents a break.

 They returned the next morning with Ian and a bouquet of flowers, so they could introduce him to his new cousin who was wearing a pink onesie and matching cap, blinking her little eyes open as she lay in her father's arms, who was giddy with excitement.

 “Thank you for the flowers. They’re lovely,” Cordelia commented from where she lay in the raised bed in her hospital gown as Emma set the vase on the bedside table.

 “You're welcome.” Emma smiled and took Cordelia’s hand. “Were you able to get some rest?”

 “Yeah, a little. I'm still exhausted though,” she replied weakly. “But I'll be okay.”

 “You did great, love.” Killian went over the bed and bent down to kiss his sister in-law’s forehead, holding Ian securely in his arms.

 “Thanks, Killian. Maya was worth it. Isn't she beautiful?”

 “Aye, she is,” he agreed with a smile as he came up and looked over at his brother curiously.  “Did Mum and Pop leave?” he asked, seeing as they weren't in the room.

 “No, they went to the cafeteria,” Liam answered as Emma approached him, admiring the small bundle of joy and gently taking the baby's small hand in hers. “So, I heard about the surprise visit,” Liam chuckled and passed Maya over to Emma's arms. She swooned over the tiny, precious bundle of joy, smiling down at her in awe.

 “Yeah, they stopped by yesterday morning,” Killian replied, eyeing his brother suspiciously as he rubbed Ian’s little back. “You didn't know anything about them coming to visit, did you?”

 “We knew, but we were told not to tell you,” Cordelia admitted.

 Liam scolded her, but went over to drop a kiss to her forehead. “Way to keep our promise sweetie,” he teased playfully.

 “Hey, I just had your baby, so you are not allowed to be mad at me,” she grumbled.

 “Of course I'm not mad, sweetling,” he quickly replied in a corrective voice when he pulled away.

 Killian glared at his brother. “Since when do brothers keep secrets, Liam?”

 Liam shrugged apologetically. “Sorry, we were sworn to secrecy.”

 “Don't be mad at him, we just didn't want you to go anywhere knowing your parents were coming to town.” The sound of Alice’s voice drew everyone's attention as she and Brennan walked into the room.

 “I would never,” Killian replied, but his cheeks were tainted with pink, a shy smirk gracing his lips.

 Alice laughed as Emma transferred her granddaughter over to her, waving at the small princess with a smile. “Judging by the look on your face when you saw us yesterday morning, I’d say you were ready to slam the door in our faces.”

 “I told you, I was only surprised,” Killian rebutted. “But I will admit, after you talked to my girlfriend the way you did, I wanted to kick you both out on your arses.”

 Brennan scolded his son for speaking that way to them, but he let out a heavy sigh of regret. “I'm surprised you didn't,” he said, and Alice playfully swatted his chest.

 “Hey, we both apologized.” She looked over at Emma and took one of her hands in her free one. “Emma, we’re happy to call you family. In fact, Brennan and I would like to invite you and Ian to our home in England this Christmas for a couple of weeks. What would you say to that? Would the deputy be able to take that much time off?”

 Emma was stunned at first by how quickly his parents were opening up to her after the previous morning, but she was grinning from ear to ear. “I think I can make that work.”

 “Perfect.”

 “Mum, how about you give Maya’s uncle a chance to hold her, hmm?” Killian asked after a while.

 “Of course.” She whined having to let her granddaughter go, but after Killian gave Ian to Emma, Alice shifted the pink bundle over to his arms.

 His eyes glittered with love for the little lassie as he looked down at her, his free hand coming up to caress his fingers over her cheek, speaking in a soothing voice. “Hi, Maya. I’m your Uncle Killian.”

 Emma turned Ian around in her arms holding him up securely so he could see Maya. “And this is your cousin, Ian.” Her son smiled as he reached his hand out to touch her arm, speaking in baby tongue, and Maya opened her mouth, letting a bubbly gurgle. It was one of the most adorable things she had ever witnessed.

 Killian’s heart constricted at the sight. When he tore his eyes from the two babies and looked up at his brother, Liam had a knowing smile on his face, as did his wife. He gave them both a smile before peering down at Maya again, and she was blinking up at him, her tiny fingers grasping one of Killian’s.

 He knew how he and everyone else felt about him and Emma having babies of their own, but he knew Emma wasn't ready for that, yet, and he was definitely okay with that. He would spend his entire life giving Emma exactly what she needed—what she wanted—no matter what. He would make sure she and Ian always had everything they needed. Either that or he'd die trying.

@resident-of-storybrooke @followbatb @weplaydumbb @strawberrycupcakeprincess @shady-swan-jones @kmomof4 @ultraluckycatnd @phoenixsxul @eala-captian @teamhook @i-love-books2014 @andiirivera @piratesbooty63fan @missclois86 @fallensites @harrietmjones @winterbaby89 @wordsmith-storyweaver @andiirivera @slimacwrites @jennjenn615 @its-about-bloody-time-cs @liloproductions @followbatb @klar425 @hey-it-is-jess @ascolinwishes

[teamhook]

CSSNS 2019 Dark Blue Star

Hello all!

This is my contribution to this year's CSSNS. I know my other story is still going on and it will find it's ending, but since I cannot say no to @kmomof4 here I am, once more.

I wanna thank the lovely ladies at the CSSNS Discord. I love chatting with you all.

And since we all know how shady Blue truly is I give you Rionnag Dubh Dorcha... I took the title from Reul Ghorm, and please forgive me if the translation is not spot on. Blame Google translate. :)

I wanna thank the mods of CSSNS19, my lovely very patient Beta @searchingwardrobes and my artist for the event @hollyethecurious

FFN     AO3

A/N: It is said that evil is not born but made. This is how an act of kindness is twisted into a story about revenge. Emma and Killian are childhood friends until a tragedy separates them will another reunite them. 

Rionnag Dubh Dorcha (Dark Blue Star)

Every town has an urban legend that they tell to scare kids, yet the stories tend to change with time. The real story sometimes gets lost. This is how this one is told.

A long time ago in the middle of the Enchanted Forest there lived a kind woman who loved children forevermore. Her heart was true, but misunderstood. She had once before victoriously escaped a grim fate, but was unable to succeed again. This time her fate was sealed.

Storybrooke had become home to Hester Blue after she narrowly escaped the witch hunts in Salem and left her fallen sisters behind in order to survive. She had hated her cowardness, but finally settled in a new town. She had found her home. She was adored by the town's children. She would give them sugar glazed fruit and greet them with a kind smile. On the day their final baby tooth fell, she would give them a special treat a gold coin.

Everything was peaceful for years. Until she was falsely accused when two of the town's most beloved young children went missing in the woods. No time for explanations or pleas. In their outrage, the town quickly served their brand of justice.

Hester was making treats for the children. Her little cabin filled with the aroma of the sweets. She heard a commotion outside quickly approaching. There were angry men walking closer to the house with torches. She panicked and barricaded the door to keep them out. The men outside angrily called out for her to open the door. The little house shook as they pounded their fists on the old wood. With her back on the wall she lowered herself to the floor. The tears freely flowed. It was happening again and she had a feeling this time luck was not on her side. The vengeful mob finally tore the door off its hinges, ripping it apart piece by piece. They found her sitting on the ground.

Hester was yanked by the hair as she kicked and screamed, "I didn't do anything!" Tears stained her face. The men hauled her out of the safety of her home. They overpowered her and tied her to the large tree that shaded her home and simply told her that her life had been forfeited the moment she made the children disappear. As she took her last breath, she swore vengeance and cursed the town. Later that night when the children emerged from deep within the forest unharmed, the townspeople realized their mistake. They buried Hester's body by the tree that witnessed her death and promised never to speak of her again. No one noticed the tree started to wither away.

Time passed, and the small town of Storybrooke grew so much that the woods in the heart of the Enchanted Forest became a park. There was a dark shroud that extended from the tallest tree in the center of the park to the outer town line. The story of Hester Blue, the Blue Fairy, became a legend. People said her dark spirit visited children on the night they lose their last baby tooth. If anyone sees her when she visits, they are marked for her vengeance.

The children's sightings of the fairy had gone unnoticed by the adults. The sightings increased as the town prospered. The children would share their encounters to give each other a good fright. Once in a while, a nameless child would disappear never to be seen again or heard from ever again.

The attacks on the founding families could not be missed anymore. Finally, the adults heard of the infamous fairy tale.

In every generation, the youngest child of each founding family would disappear leaving the bloodline to continue on with the eldest. The missing children who caused her death were the youngest in their families. The adults never saw the connection: that the curse was the fairy's revenge.

The adults would murmur their suspicions hoping they were wrong.

They weren't.

The Jones ancestors had promptly left America to return to their homeland due to a family emergency. Their estate had flourished under several stewards throughout the years.

Now, Brennan Jones has returned to Storybrooke with his family. They are one of the six notorious founding families along with the Spencers, Mills, Midases, Golds, and Blanchards.

Brennan and his wife Alice shared two sons. The eldest had brown curly hair and blue eyes while the younger had unruly black hair and the classic bright blue eyes of the Jones lineage.

David Nolan had inherited his steward position from his father Robert. It was a family tradition. David and Brennan had met on many times to discuss the financials, and although there was an amicable trust between the families, their true friendship developed soon after the arrival of the Jones.

Liam and Killian quickly bonded with Emma, but the relationship between the youngest Jones and Emma was undeniable. They became thick as thieves quickly. Liam served as an older brother to the two, and he loved them even when they followed him around everywhere. Soon a boy Liam's age moved to the neighborhood and they became friends, Robin Locksley.

The children grew up hearing of the stories. They failed to heed the warnings until it was too late.

The night the youngest Jones boy lost his baby tooth breathed life to the dark fairy myth.

The day's end was fast approaching. Emma smiled sweetly at her friend. "Hey, Killian. Don't forget to put your tooth under your pillow. Who knows what the fairy has in store for you?"

Killian laughed, "You don't truly believe the stories are true?"

"I don't know, I mean for as long as I can remember, I've heard the stories. Uhm, I did it, and I got a gold coin." She blushed as she confessed her secret.

"A gold coin? Do you still have it?" Killian asked excitedly.

She giggled, "Well, yeah but I've got it at home. I didn't bring it with me. I could run home and get it if you want."

There was a soft knock on his bedroom door. "Killian, Emma, we are leaving now. Liam is outside with Robin if you need anything." The door slowly opened, and his mother entered with a smile on her face. "Let me look at you my handsome son, will you behave for your brother and maybe I can convince your father to take us sailing this weekend?"

Killian couldn't help smile wide at the prospect of going sailing with his family. They all loved the water, but Killian was especially fond of it. "Mum, can Emma come along?"

Alice couldn't help noticing the new gap in her son's smile. "Oh dear, did you lose another one?"

"I did it was my last one. I'm no longer the baby of the family," he stated proudly.

"Nonsense, you will always be my little boy. I love you, and yes Emma can come along if her parents allow it."

"I'll make sure he stays out of trouble, Mrs. Jones," Emma ensured.

"Emma, I know you will, you are the only one that can tame my rambunctious son. We will be back soon." She winked at the duo as she left.

"Should we watch a movie?" Killian blushed as he sat closely next to Emma on the bed.

"Did you still wanna see the coin? I can go get it." Emma nudged his shoulder with her own.

"If you like, we can go after the movie."

"Okay, so what do you wanna watch?" Emma resumed her seat.

Killian scratched behind his ear, "I remember you once told me that your favorite movie is 'The Princess Bride' I found it, and I've never seen it. If you don't mind, we can watch it."

"Are you sure you wanna watch a girly movie? I know it has a pirate in it, but you don't have to watch it just because I like it." Emma shrugs. "We can always watch some action movie."

He wanted to see it because she liked, and he liked her. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he fancied her a lot. Liam would never stop teasing him if he knew.

"Emma, I want to watch it. You say it's good, and I trust you."

"Okay, do you have any popcorn or something to snack on?" she asked as her stomach growled.

He smiled fondly, "I'll go make the popcorn and get something to drink. Did you want a sandwich too?"

She blushed, "Nope, the popcorn and drinks will be fine. I'll set up here."

"I'll be back." Killian left his room and made his way to the kitchen to get their snacks.

He returns to his room with a tray filled with snacks. He not only has the popcorn but some chips, sandwiches, and drinks.

They watch the movie and soon are comparing favorite pirates.

"Killian, did you still want to go get the coin?" Emma asked.

"Emma, do you mind going alone? I left a mess in the kitchen, and if I don't clean it up my parents will ground me." He gave her a slight pout.

"I can go by myself. I'm a big girl. Okay, I will be back." She smiles and walks out.

Outside Emma smiles at Liam and Robin as she makes her way home. "Hey, I'm going home for a sec."

Liam and Robin share a look as they see the younger girl jog home.

"They're really close aren't they?"

"Yes, I think my little brother is smitten and doesn't even know it." Liam smiles at his friend. "Rob, did you ever talk to Marian?"

"Yes, I did and," Robin smiled "we are officially a couple." His happiness was obvious.

"I'm happy for you two." Liam bumps Robin's shoulder.

"Come on mate, there has to be someone you fancy."

"Rob, I'm not interested in anyone. Besides, I want to focus on my studies."

"You say that now mate, but when you meet her, you'll know." Robin winks at him and they burst out laughing.

Emma approaches them smiling. "Hey guys, I'm back"

"I'm sure my brother missed you." Liam teases her.

Emma rolls her eyes and waves at them as she makes her way inside the Jones home.

Killian is in his room tidying up and looks up and smiles.

"Did you miss me?" Emma asks.

Killian smiles, "Yes, I did. So do you have it?"

Emma takes the gold coin out of her pocket and hands it to him.

Killian inspects it, "This looks very old."

"I know, uhm, they say that a fairy leaves the coin but you cannot look at her. If you do-"

"And you believe this?" Killian is skeptical.

"I didn't before, but I did find the coin." Emma shrugs.

"It could have been your parents."

"I don't know, Killilan. My parent's seemed surprised when I showed it to them. My mom cannot keep a secret."

"Emma, I don't know if I believe it, but the coin is nice." He smiles at her.

They talk until Emma has to go home, and they finally wish each other goodnight.

Killian is fast asleep when a noise wakes him. Frightened, he listens carefully. There's some scuffling, and he pulls the covers refusing to look. He swears he is not afraid, so he decides to peek.

Worse decision ever. He is startled by what he sees. There's a body hovering over him. The scarred face growls when he shines his flashlight directly to its face. It screeches as it covers its face.

Killian runs to the restroom and locks himself inside with the lights on. He hides still holding his flashlight. The doorknob shakes frantically, and the lights flicker then it all stops. He loses track of time as he hides in the bathtub.

There's a soft knock on the door. "Killian, son it's mum. Are you okay?"

"Mum, is that you?"

"Yes it is, who else would it be?"

There is silence for a moment.

"Son, open the door."

"No, there's someone in my room."

"Sweetheart, there's no one. Liam and your father are outside talking. It's just you and I."

"Mum, there is someone in my room."

"I'm gonna prove there's no one." She makes her way to his room. She opens the door wide open and speaks loudly. "No one is in here, Killy." There's a scuffling and she turns to the source and screams.

The scream quickly reaches Killian and he quickly rushes out of the restroom. In his room, he finds his mother's limp body on the floor. He kneels next to her and shakes her to try to wake her. She is so still, so unlike herself. She is always full of energy. Her pale skin is an angry red in some areas, while in others it's beginning to scald although her clothes are still as pristine as they were earlier that night. Killian cannot stop the tears from blurring his eyes. He doesn't understand what has happened. How could his mother's skin be burned when there is no fire?

Liam and Brennan run inside the house. They separate to check all the rooms for the source of the scream. Brennan is the one that arrives first. He is shocked to find his youngest kneeling next to the prone body, the lifeless form of his beloved.

Brennan moves quickly, he kneels opposite of Killian and glares at his son. "What have you done?" He gently shakes his wife's body trying to wake her.

Killian refuses to let go of his mother's bloodied hand. "Father, I didn't do anything. I was in the restroom. I told mum someone was in my room."

"Where! Where is this person? Liam and I saw no one while we rushed inside? Where?!" Brennan screams at Killian.

Liam enters the room while holding the phone, "I called 911. Someone will be here shortly. What happened?" He asks as he notices his mother on the floor and moves to go near her. Brennan shakes his head and Liam stays put understanding his father's silent request.

"Killian, come with me." Liam urged.

Not long after, the Sheriff escorts Killian out of his home to the car. Outside the neighbors surround the yellow tape. The body covered on the gurney follows not far behind.

Emma stands next to her parents and without a second thought she rushes to the car. He is looking out of the cracked window.

"Killian, what happened?" she asks softly.

"She's real. I peeked." That's all Killian says before Emma is rushed away from the vehicle and her friend.

Emma stood dumbfounded as she saw her best friend being taken away.

Months later, without any plausible explanation for the death of Alice Jones, Killian was sent to a mental hospital for evaluation after mistaken speculations that he killed his mother. No one believed his story that someone else had been in the house when Alice Jones died.

Liam and Brennan argued long after Alice's death. Brennan's anger towards his youngest would not disappear.

"Father, when is Killian coming home?" Liam waited for a response that never came. "Okay, when are we going to visit Killian?" Liam asked impatiently. "Father, Killian loved mum, you do know he would never hurt her don't you?"

Brennan stood silent avoiding eye contact with his son.

Liam stormed off. The family was broken, with his mum and little brother gone it was simply a shell. But unlike his father, he will not abandon Killian. His mum wouldn't want him too.

Brennan stood still as he heard the front door slam.

What Liam doesn't know is that he has relinquished his rights to Killian. He cannot look at his son without seeing the image of his beloved Alice, scalded, scarred and bloody.

Liam and his father fought over Killian too often. Their once-close relationship now completely destroyed. It was reduced to door slams and heated arguments.

Liam visited Killian as often as he could. Always making excuses for their father, but he knew he wasn't fooling Killian. He promised him that he would get him out of that horrible place.

"I swear little brother, I will bring you home soon." Liam's promise sealed with a warm smile.

Months passed, and Liam kept visiting Killian as often as possible at the awful juvenile facility. Only in Storybrooke, frozen in a bygone era, would a child be thrown into a mental hospital, but that was Killian's tragic fate. Killian had stopped asking about their father.

"I'm looking for work, so I can support us." Liam explained, "you are a growing boy after all, and I need to be able to feed you." Liam's wink lightened the mood.

Liam's 18th birthday was fast approaching, and he has shared his plan to join the Navy with his friend Robin and Killian. He knew his father was going to flip when he found out. He wanted him to follow in his footsteps. To someday helm the family business, Jones Jewel Shipping. All Liam knows is that he wants to get his brother back.

In an effort not to lose too much time, he wanted to be emancipated from his father. If Brennan Jones was able to give up on one son without a problem, it should be as easy to lose the other.

Liam gave up on his dreams, dropped out of high school, and settled for a job at a small boating company, Treasure Island Ferries, as a deckhand.

On what would have been a routine trip along the coast, a mechanical failure caused a fire and it resulted in an accident. Liam was one of the casualties. John Silver the owner was quickly made responsible. He had chosen to use subpar parts, and he had faced the grieving wrath of Brennan Jones. Treasure Island Ferries had quickly been disassembled under pressure of the elder Jones.

Maybe it had been an unrealistic dream of his to be rescued by his brother. The visits stopped, and on a rare moment of generosity from his father, Killian was informed of his brother's death. That same day he was shipped off to foster care. After that, he bounced around from home to home. No one wanted to deal with a kid with night terrors and anxiety.

Eventually, he grew up alone and anti-social. At first, he had tried to stay in touch with Emma. He would write to her from wherever he was. They started to lose touch little by little. Killian felt darkness follow him, and he wanted to keep the one person that still mattered to him safe and away from the dark cloud that surrounded him.

It was his fault his mother died, and he lost his brother not long after. The moment Alice Jones died was the moment his father decided he only had one son.

Years later, Killian was still terrorized by the encounter with Hester and it showed. His apartment had dozens of high powered flashlights, and it was rigged with motion detectors. His many meds spilled on the counter. They treated everything from sleep disorder, anxiety, and depression.

He was able to find the closest thing to family in his boss, Dakkar Nemo, owner of Nautilus Security. His coworkers thought of him as eccentric and slightly paranoid. Killian had become a specialist in home security. He wanted to protect families since he had failed at protecting his own.

On the anniversary of his mother's death, Killian Jones was drowning his heartbreak with rum. His brother should be with him. His mother should be with them. He should have been brave and faced whatever monster lurked that night. He didn't even feel the tears pour down his stubbled cheeks. Some days he would stare in the mirror noticing little things that he inherited from his mother or similarities he shared with his brother. He felt connected to them in those rare moments.

His phone kept ringing nonstop. "Bloody hell, take the hint" he slurred. There was finally silence. "About bloody time." Then the phone started ringing once again. He lost his patience and answered without looking at the caller id, "Oi, it's my bloody day off, I said not to bother me, Mr. Smee." He ended his tirade.

"Uhm, yeah. This is Emma, remember me?" The line went silent for what felt like an eternity.

He hissed, "sorry about that lass, I thought you were someone else. How did you find me?"

"It's what I do, I find people. I know we've been out of touch, but I was hoping for old time's sake that you could help me."

"Help you with what?" He scratched behind his ear.

Emma cleared her throat, "I don't know if you remember, but my mom was pregnant when you-" she hesitated, "when you went away." even to her ears that sounded awful, but she waited for his response.

He scoffed, "It's not like I went on holiday Emma. I uh, was taken away from what was left of my family."

"I know Killian, I was there," she sniffled, "you were taken away from me too. I lost my best friend."

The silence was back.

Emma's small voice was barely audible. "I know it can't be easy to talk about it, but - "

"Then let's not, shall we?"

"Killian, my little brother Leo, he saw her too, and my parents think he is having night terrors. He sleeps with his room light on. Please, help him. Help me."

Killian stayed quiet.

Emma decided to continue, "I know we aren't close. I know I have no right to ask for your help. I know it's selfish of me to. I just can't lose him too, not the way I lost you. He is so scared. All the doctors want to do is medicate him and he is hollow. I miss my little brother."

Little brother, in that moment he can almost hear Liam's voice calling out to him. Killian closed his eyes. "I'm sorry, I don't know if I can." He disconnected the line.

Silence was what he yearned for minutes ago. Now he was suffocated by it.

The next day, Killian woke up with a hangover. The pounding of his head only worsened because of the blinding light. He still couldn't sleep in the dark. It was his cross to bear. Slowly the night before came back to him. He walked to his bathroom to get some aspirin. His eyes were still adjusting to the light. He swallowed the pills with a discarded bottle of water in his room.

He remembered - Emma. She called him. His smile was small but genuine. The memory of her voice made him miss her all over again. He used to dream of going back for her - Emma.

Last night he was a coward. He knew this. Even in the haze of his drunken memory, he was still afraid of a ghost. Liam would tell him it was bad form to let Emma's younger brother suffer the same fate he did. Deep in his mind, he knew that he needed answers. They all did.

~~~

I’m not the best tagger but here we go:

@searchingwardrobes @revanmeetra87 @let-it-raines @kmomof4 @hookedonapirate @ilovemesomekillianjones @profdanglaisstuff @snowbellewells @kymbersmith-90

[northernreads]

ultimate summer reading challenge - june

so goodreads posted about an ultimate summer reading challenge (x) and I decided in my infinite wisdom to try and do the ‘expert level’ because of reasons unknown to myself. I am overlapping some of the challenges if I can get them to fit a single book so it’s not exactly an unreasonable challenge. I mostly tried to pick books from my physical tbr shelf, but some of the challenges could only be stretched so far.

So for June my tbr is as follows:

Take Pride (book written by queer author/ features queer character)- “Wonders of the Invisible World” by Christopher Barzak

Into the Great Wide Open (book that takes places out in ‘the great wide open’) [still don’t know what this means but alas] "Tell the wolves i’m home” carol rifka brunt 

It’s the End of the World (a book about the end of the world as we know it) “Fight for Power” by Eric Walters

School’s Out for Summer (reread a book you were forced to read in school) “Hatchet” by Gary Paulsen

Sick Day (a book you were supposed to read for school but didn’t) [there is literally only one assigned book that I never read] “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie

Hook ‘Em (a book about fishing or fishermen) [I am willing to take recs for this but otherwise I’m counting Hatchet as this one because he learns how to catch fish in that book)

Sports-a-holic: (a book that features a popular summer sport) [is rugby season by chance in the summer? oh well you can play it in the summer right?] “Stand-Off” by Andrew Smith. UNLESS I can get my hands on “Honey Girl” by Lisa Freeman which is about a sapphic surfer girl

Dear Pen Pal (a book that features letters or journal entries) “Emergency Contact” by Mary H. K. Choi [if it comes in time at the library otherwise I’ll re-read the first Pendragon book)

Father Knows Best (a book that features a father) I’m tempted to re-read Second Chance Summer by will probably read “Anansi Boys” by Neil Gaiman because it mentioned a father in the summary.

Campfire Story (a book that scares you) Any recs? Cause otherwise I’m counting Fight for Power because the first one did actually make me scared about not being disaster prepared.

Ocean Blue (book that takes place on the water) “Salt to the Sea” by Ruta Sepetys [there’s water on the cover and the word sea is in the title, does it take place on the water?]

Won’t Be Long (read a collection of short stories or essays) [not June- specific) "Summer Days and Summer Nights” OR “All Out: the No-longer-secret Stories of kick-ass queer teens” if it comes in from the library in time

High Noon (read a classic or contemporary Western) I think “River of Teeth” by Sarah Gailey counts as a western? At least 38 people have tagged it as a western on goodreads so I’m counting it.

Listen to Me (read an audio book) Annnnnnd “River of Teeth” is also up for this one because I could only get it on ab.

That’s 11 books (I think) for the challenge. That’s 14/45 challenges.

 “A Natural History of Dragons” by Marie Brennan because I’m in the middle of it, “The Iron Flower” by Laurie Forest because I just got the e-arc, and I want to get to “Indian Horse” by Richard Wagamese because it finally (finally!) came in at the library. So 14 books total.